Its scary, i woke up this morning around 2ish in a sweat and had trouble getting back to sleep. After reading this, i think i understand it a little bit better now. Oh well, i'll just take a little napster on the chair today and in the end, things will be better.

The Batkitties are so wise the take the lose better then some. Batgirl you must find a way to harness their calm energy to make through the rough spots. Batnation one crappy game does not a season make. This year is the year of the Twins the will be would series rings all around.

Well, that explains a lot... I was beginning to think that the Peanuts cartoon that ran in todays Strib threw the boys off!

Tinger, take comfort in the fact that your boyfriend Bart did not contribute to the mess today. I do believe that at some point in the late innings of the game, he said a silent prayer of thanks.

Tumbleweed is going to have a long talk with Mr. Tiffee when she gets back, but not until she's had a talk with Little Nicky Punto about that DP business today. *tsk, tsk*

and she sincerely hopes the Batkitties recover from their kitty blackheads.

Looks like Restovich has moved to Pittsburgh. He should be able to catch on there, considering they're the Royals of the NL.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rockies-piratestrade&prov=ap&type=lgns

The bat kitties took the loss much better than Rick Stelmaszek, who talked after the game with Gordo. He said this is the kind of loss that is very hard to take because we played like crap.

I think some righteous indignation was called for here. Dr. Batvet had it right.

Cinematic, Batgirl.

I hope the BatKitties are doing well. My cat Abigail had to go into the vet this morning; something is wrong, but we're awaiting more lab analysis to narrow down the diagnostic possibilities. Isabella, meanwhile, is recovering wonderfully well and says hello.

I too was screaming in my car as I listened to the bottom of the 8th on the drive home from work.

Waiting on the entrance ramp to the freeway, I have to wonder what my fellow rush hour drivers were thinking as they heard the muffled screams of "NOOOOOO!!! NOT TIFFFFFEEEEE!!!" from my closed car windows, and saw me beating on the steering wheel in the agony of defeat.

I know we can all identify with the way Dr. Batvet was feeling today.

"Johan Santana does not give up four runs. That does not just HAPPEN."

Sorry BG, this one didn't make me feel any better. I'm still pissed. Maybe Jon Stewart will help.

And no, the continued bad mood isn't your fault. The writing was brilliant as always. The loss just sucked more than usual. One of my coworkers asked why I was so grumpy this afternoon. She's not much of a baseball fan, so a "Johan gave up four runs and the Twins booted the game away in the 8th" response would have only elicited a "why aren't you working" in return. *sigh*

Check out this good article about M&M!!!!!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/twins/2005-05-10-twins-mauer-morneau_x.htm

Sounds like Saturday is going to be quite the night for Joe and Justin! I wish I was invited to "Hotel Joe" :)

perhaps a Florida update will help? click my name for Tumbleweed's latest report. I know it doesn't solve anything, but rest assured: Boo is coming home!

Totally missed this one because of work and it sounds like that was a good thing.

But, you know, in the end, it only counts as one loss.

Awesome article! Hotel Joe... haha.

I want to go to Hotel Joe.

I'm glad you got through to Batvet, BG!

As always, BG, you're fabulous. And kafumbly, nice job too. I hope Tumbleweed enjoyed his trip. I feel much better about this loss now. First of all, I wasn't particularly optimistic about keeping pace with the Bitch Sox when they were playing the Rays, and we were playing the O's. Yeah, I know, it's too early to worry, but I do. And we broke even, and now they have to play the O's, who generally impressed me.

I was also happy to see that, according to the Strib, the two GIDPs late in the game for us were the result of outstanding plays by the Orioles. So perhaps that wasn't the result of ass-bats.

my name contains a link to an article that says Al Newman will be asking for the managing job in Kansas City!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I mean, good for him if he gets it, he totally deserves it... but whatever will we do without Newmie at third?!

and how DARE he make the Doctor cry!

"I don't want him to leave," said Twins first baseman Justin Morneau.

"Maybe I could ride my bike to the park. That's what I used to do as a kid," he said. "Maybe this time, I could have hand brakes and stuff."

Newmie, don't go!

*shakes head*

I was there, and I still don't know what the hell happened.

I mean, I went Tuesday night as an Orioles fan and my counterpart went as a Twins fan (he being the Twin Cities native), and my heart was ripped out of my chest. Not being willing to expose myself to that kind of pain twice in 24 hours (especially considering it was Santana versus Ponson), we switched caps, and *I* went as the Twins fan to this game.

And then...

*sigh*

None of it makes a lick of sense. I mean, you remember that Ponson during the inning the Twins scored 3 times? On bad throws, balls, singles after singles? That's the Ponson we're used to. That's what I was expecting him to do all game. Or even if he didn't do it all game, I didn't think Santana would give up four runs. His changeup had been abducted by the aliens. Every time he tried to throw it, it would go high or in the dirt.

But the very strage circumstances that led to this game... like Mazilli keeping Raffy "I Whiff Against Everyone But Radke" Palmiero on the bench, or the infielders having ass-gloves at the beginning of the game, but switching them out by the end, or Jay Gibbons miraculously not *completely* sucking out there in the field...

*shakes head* I just don't know.

Well, we shall do our best to unleash some serious whuppage on the BitchSox. You have my word.

NEWMIE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sad, sad thoughts. Good for Newmy, but horrible for the rest of us, I mean is there a more loved base coach than newmy?

The article about Joe & Justin made me laugh. Like many others, I wish I could go party at Hotel Joe. The article about Newmie made me sad, because I like Newmie and don't want him to go. I guess if he really wants to be a manager though, Kansas City is as good a place as any for him to start.

And now for the weather report:
It hasn't started snowing here yet, but there are roads closed in the southwest part of the state. It's been raining for quite a while now and the temperature is dropping. I am not pleased.

He said they're going to use gift certs at a restaurant. Wonder which one...?

NDTF, if it makes you feel anybetter, its chilly and rainy down here, I know its not as bad as snow, but at least its not warm down here and cold there?

Thanks aurora, that does make me feel a little better. It just seems wrong to have winter weather advisories and warnings in mid-May.

Another thing to share with you all: when I was getting ready for work this morning and listening to the sports, the announcer made the comment, "Who told Santana to pitch like he was human yesterday?"

Thanks, Batgirl. Yesterday's game was traumatizing (especially with the bad, slow gameday updates). I must remember: it's the second week of May.

Also, did ya'll see this in ESPN.com's Power Rankings?:

"With all due respect to Mark Teixeira, Richie Sexson and Paul Konerko, Justin Morneau is the AL's best first baseman."

seriously, if that's Santana on a bad day, dude... I'll take it. his bad day is a good day for a lot of pitchers... 8 K's (or J's, I guess), 1 walk, 4 runs, 9 hits over 6 innings. not the best, but it sure as hell isn't that bad.

Carrie,
If it makes you feel better, even your last prediction was spot on: "If we don't win this one, there's something terribly, terribly wrong."
Well, there was certainly something terribly, terribly wrong yesterday. So, there you go.

It hurt yesterday, oh, yes it did, but Word Smith is right: it only counts as one loss. We'll take out our frustration on Texas. The Orioles, made bold by yesterday's win, will totally cream the BitchSox. Soon enough, Batgirl will be in her Grab n Go, and all will be right with the world. Sorrow lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Tomorrow is another day. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.

Now, I'm going to purge yesterday from my memory. Ahhhhh....

Katharriet - very moving speech.

There was something very wrong, and the bitch sox have to crash sometime. If it takes the Orioles beating us to pump them up for it well, then I guess, I'll survive.

Welcome to the Hotel Joe! I thinks its funny how Justin's curls are almost as popluar as his bat is:) Great Article.
Thanks Bat Girl for the perspective on the game (as always)!

And I can say the weather woes here are the same (with exception of the snow) our front door awning (sp?) blew off yesterday and it has not been nice enough to go replace it! grrr

Baby Brother and Just Beth were at Wrigley during yesterday's game. It was freezing cold (windchill around freezing, and of course we didn't bring winter coats), making us appreciate the Dome a little bit, but we did keep track of the Twins on the scoreboard. Our game ended just before the Twins, so we didn't see the three runs until after we got back to the hotel last night...

Glad to see the Twins new stadium is moving along well so far, though, after the past two days of baseball.

And, yes, that means we saw Henry Blanco and Doug Mientkiewicz yesterday. It was pretty cool. (And we've got pictures to prove it!)

Just Beth

Johann's performance was awful, and, he had the late afternoon shadows working for him. They don't hit when they have to or field when they have to. They are 20-13. They are 9-0 vs K.C.and T. Bay. The White Sox are off to their best start in history. I see no reason for optimism here. We have 2 guys, both 24 and under, who can cosistently hit major league pitching, and, a group of veterans who refuse to learn anything{except,so far, Jacque}and we have utility infielders, who don't hit, who take 3 positions in the lineup every day; and don't mention Matt Lecroy, and major league in the same sentence. Koskie isn't walking through that door to paraphrase Rick Pettino, and they better start playing like contenders, and stop thinking how "early" it is. It ain't early; we are close to a quarter of the way thru the year.Al

gee Al... we had missed your commentary for bit. You are always such a ray of sunshine...

Well, Al, now I think I'll curl up into a ball and die, because our fate is sealed.

Or maybe not. I think about it.

Couple of comments from Camp HooliganKat:

1-It is still pretty early, it's not even the all-star break, and we're only 4 games back, not 20. Johann is at least part human and we saw that today. Rookie's make mistakes, but that's how they learn and then kick some ass later.

2-Newman, bless his little heart, I would jump up and down with joy if he got the job, however I would have tears streaming down at the same time. He's become such a lovable fixture here. A funny story, at a game this year, JustIncredible hit a liner at Jerry White who had to scramble to get out of the way, a guy behind me yelled "Newmie would have had that!".

3-I hope this weather improves. Camping out for the Jacque Jones Bobblehead is going to be miserable unless it does.

Why, al, what a surprise that you are not optimistic!

I, for one, see plenty of reasons for optimism.

1) The Twins lost a game in which Johan's performance was awful. Who wants to take bets that he will be awful next time?

2) The White Sox are off to their best start in history and have the best record in the American League. And yet the Twins are only 4.5 games out, and they are clearly not playing up to their abilities yet.

3) Can we please lay off Matthew LeCroy? He's a bench player. He ain't gonna play like Albert Pujols.

And now I think I will go home, because I am already one-quarter of the way through my work day and I can already see how this one is going, so it clearly isn't worth going through the motions.

P.S. Did anyone see Kruk's commentary on the Royals on BBTN last night? He had Harold Reynolds in stitches. Me, too.

>>>And now I think I will go home, because I am already one-quarter of the way through my work day and I can already see how this one is going, so it clearly isn't worth going through the motions.

I like the way you think Word Smith! I think I will go home and crawl back under the covers for the rest of the day.

>>>And now I think I will go home, because I am already one-quarter of the way through my work day and I can already see how this one is going, so it clearly isn't worth going through the motions.

i am doing the same thing, but I'm hanging on until noon.

Aww, everyone's depressed. Now I'm depressed.

But I did like the picture of Batgirl wielding her Bats of Impending Whup-Ass. (Hmmm, is that the exact opposite of an ass bat?)

1. Johan's performance was poor, not terrible. And the president insists that you limit your spelling of his name to the single-n variety.
2. "Close to a quarter of the way through the year" *is* very early. At this time a couple years ago, the Royals were running away with the division. And if anyone thinks the Yankees are going to end up 5 or 6 games behind the Orioles 3/4 of the season from now, I want some of whatever they're on; that reality must be a better place than this.
3. Matt Lecroy would be starting at 1B or DH for at least a third of the teams in the majors (and at catcher for a precious few intelligent others). Really not a bad 10th or 11th guy to have.
4. Those two guys, "both 24 and under," are a better 3-4 combo than what a lot of teams have; moreover, if Lew Ford and Shannon Stewart can't consistently hit major league pitching, there are only a handful of guys in the world that can. Torii can hit as well as most, and Lecroy can consistently hit lefty pitching, Jacque righty. Bartlett should start hitting eventually too. It's not a great lineup, but there are enough problems with it that you don't need to make more of them up.

I'm not depressed.

Juan Rincon will be back tomorrow.

Johan Santana is gonna pitch his ass off on Tuesday, and he'll have all his pitches working, and he's gonna make those bitches sit their asses DOWN. even Corey Koskie.

I, for one, am extremely excited!

"And if anyone thinks the Yankees are going to end up 5 or 6 games behind the Orioles 3/4 of the season from now, I want some of whatever they're on; that reality must be a better place than this. "

Don't harsh my mellow, man.

I will see Juan tomorrow! Welcome back Boo.

I'm excited to see Corey... Going on Tuesday...

The poll on ESPN.com Page 2 is a good one today.

Which headline is the least likely to appear this fall?
Clemens anchors Red Sox rotation
Yankees battle D-Rays for last place
Bonds closing in on Aaron
Giambi named AAA MVP
Pedro, Mets snap Braves NL East streak
White Sox clinch AL Pennant

I know which one I voted for!

Yahoo has an article about how all the good closers are hurt right now. I think the writer forgot about one very good closer in Minnesota. Click my name for the link.

Smitty. I hadn't noticed a post from you in a while. Thanks for saying what I was going to (only earlier -- and probably better).

The beauty of baseball is the long season. It starts with the ground still frozen, runs through planting, tasseling, and harvesting seasons, and concludes when morning frost is expected. Does anyone doubt that there is the heart or the desire, or the talent on this team to improve and earn a fourth consecutive division title? If so, you don't deserve Batgirl.com -- you should be visiting that gawd-awful Oriole blog.

And kudos to Hooligan for risking life and limb for a JJ bobbinhead. I'm taking my own chances by skipping out of work a bit early on Friday to snag me a Hrbie fishing lure.

Smitty. I hadn't noticed a post from you in a while. Thanks for saying what I was going to (only earlier -- and probably better).

The beauty of baseball is the long season. It starts with the ground still frozen, runs through planting, tasseling, and harvesting seasons, and concludes when morning frost is expected. Does anyone doubt that there is the heart or the desire, or the talent on this team to improve and earn a fourth consecutive division title? If so, you don't deserve Batgirl.com -- you should be visiting that gawd-awful Oriole blog.

And kudos to Hooligan for risking life and limb for a JJ bobbinhead. I'm taking my own chances by skipping out of work a bit early on Friday to snag me a Hrbie fishing lure.

Ndtf--
I just read that article, coincidentally. I don't think he's saying _all_ the good closers are out, just that a lot of closers are hurt. He asks a good question: what do you do when your closer goes out? So since Nathan's not hurt _and_ we have good backup (Rincon, Crain), I guess we don't belong in the article. And that's good!

Thanks, double-a, nice to be missed. Still reading regularly, not posting much. It's all I can do to catch up after the game threads.

Love your description of the season. Especially since it is so quintessentially Minnesotan. They don't get that in Anaheim of Los Angeles, do they?

Alas, the part about going home from work was rhetorical/metaphorical. But guess what? Midway through the morning, good news arrived. Anybody care to take that as a sign?

I still wouldn't trade being a Twins fan for anything. Truly.

Smitty (whose glass is very much half full)

I sometimes don't have full attention to editing when I post so I have to say, I'm sorry JohaN, I will never accidentally spell it with a double "n" again.

I have just recently been sucked into the whole Bobblehead experience, I only have a few, however I have had so much fun camped out by the dome. It truly is an experience that every Twins fan should go through just once, to say they've done Bobblehead.

I can't wait for the Kent Hrbeck Rapala Fishing Lure on Friday. My boss overheard my conversation with my Dad about whether he was going to be able to get out of work early enough to get it and I said, "You have to get there early it's Kent Hrbek Rapala Fishing Lure day!" My boss laughed and laughed, he obviously doesn't know how cool a Kent Hrbek Rapala Fishing Lure is, I mean Doug's was cool, but Hrbie's is going to be way cooler.

Thanks to kafumbly for letting Tumbleweed go to Florida to supervise Boo, and for the truly hilarious pix she sent back. I nearly fell off my chair several times. Zero-G kitty! Kitty on a ride at a theme park! Girl gets around.

There I go again, not proofing my post, I meant Hrbek in the first line. See, I work in advertising and we have proofreaders, I rely on them to fix my mistakes. I'm not used to fending for myself in the grammar/typing real world.

Perhaps Tumbleweed and Boo would like to swing by Bismarck to visit me and have a snowball fight?

I may camp out for Lew Ford's bobblehead, if it's nice out... but I'm not worried about collecting them. I have too many other OCD habits, like hockey jerseys, which is way too expensive. I've gotta kick that one. it's a good thing game worn baseball jerseys aren't easy to come by. and if they are, please DO NOT tell me about it. ;)

ndtf - is it really snowing??

I have no bobbleheads, I didn't realize people camped out for them. Sound fun though... I don't collect them because I'm too anal to have anything remotely knickknacky in my house.

OK. Nobody mention to kafumbly about the Twins Pro Shops (in Roseville and Apple Valley) carrying game-used merchandise. Or that TwinsFest is the best time/place to get affordable (100 bucks or less) jerseys.

Yes, it is really snowing here. It started about an hour ago. So far it hasn't accumulated, but in the SW corner of the state, they've had to close roads. There's 9-12 inches on the ground in the Bowman area.

ick

double-a... I shake my fist at you!

kafumbly-
Just make sure you don't buy your jerseys with the money that's supposed to be spent on Tumbleweed's food! She seems like such a nice kitty, I'd hate for her to go hungry. Of course, I think the guys probably owe you a few jerseys for letting her go to Florida with Boo!

double-a: "tasseling"? Now I know we've spent some time in the same corner of the world.

And regarding al's teeth-gnashing and the conundrum about how much the early season matters, Jayson Stark had a good article about Aprils recently . Basically, he showed that if you suck in April, you're not coming back; but if you play .700+ ball in April, you probably are (coming back to the pack, that is). So if history is any indication, the Royals should be worried, but the Wox shouldn't be confident.

Now I now that May 12 is not April, but it's closer to April than June, so I think Stark's analysis still applies.

I also noticed that Buster Olney has something about Gardy today, but I'm not part of the ESPN In-crowd, so I don't know if it's worth reading.

To take a little bit of the sting off of losing the series to my old hometown Orioles, there's a nice interview with O's sensation Brian Roberts at ESPN that makes you just wanna hug him.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=miller_gary&id=2056439

Oh, and in today's Baseball Tonight Extra section, they recognize that Vice Pres has possibly been the best reliever in the game the past year or so. I don't think they archive the page, so go quick to read the blurb!
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/bbtn/index

thanks, Paul, that is way cool! my boyfriend is finally getting a little recognition! *sniff*

now I just read the Brian Roberts one... *wipes away a tear* very nice. thanks for bringing it to our attention; I wouldn't have read it otherwise.

ndtf, how nice of you to worry about Tumbleweed! never fear, she eats better than I do. I've subsisted on ramen noodles at times, while she's continued to get her Purina One Senior Care.

my mom thinks I'm nuts.

which, of course, I am. :)

Kafumbly-
I am always on the lookout for my feline friends, especially those that help downtrodden Twins pitchers and defend small utility infielders. Coincidentally, I am responsible for my aunt & uncle adopting a beautiful kitty named Lucky who looks like a smaller version of Tumbleweed. I think she favors Shannon Stewart, because she sure jumped when he hit his home run Tuesday night. Then again, maybe that's because I started cheering loudly...

Kitty, P.O.P.'s special diet is going to have us in Ramen before too long. Poor dear little fatty.

aawwwww... Kafumbly!! Our boy Joe was considered a power hitter!??!!? I LOVED that article.. saving it for times when I need a morale booster.

weirdly, I had a dream that I met you last night. Funny huh?

this is completely off the subject, as there was no b.o.d. yesterday, but is it possible to have a major boyfriend, and then a sub-boyfriend? my heart will give a huge thump for torii, but lately i've been noticing a pitter-patter for joe mauer. am i just a normal female or a trashy slut? Help!

KittyQJW is much older in cat-years than OMM is in human ones. He "has to" eat a prescription diet. Kafumbly, please let your mom know that there are many, many others who are much further 'round the bend about the situation than you are.

A toast to Tumbleweed, the Hardest-Working Cat in Show Biz!

(Oh, yeah: Welcome home, Boo!)

Dear Mr/Ms Z,

Of course you can. One can have vice-boyfriends, sub-boyfriends, junior boyfriends, or even little boyfriends.

Sincerely,
BG

Well, that's what I am here for: to cheer you guys up. The thing that bothers me the most is the 11-13 record vs teams who aren't the Royals or the D. Rays. As far as Stew and Lew go, they don't hit homers, and they don't hit .300. They are both decent hitters, but it takes several guys like them to turn an offense around. Torii Hunter is a mediocre hitter with a great glove and arm, and I only Mispell Johan's name when I am angry, which is frequently, I admit. I dread looking back on losses like this in September when we are three games out.My initial reaction was caused by my absolute certainty that we would win that game. When I know something good is going to happen, and it doesn't, I get all enraged, and become a curmudgeonly pessimist, as opposed to my usual carefree self. I hope C. Babs will accept my kinda like apology.Al

thanks, BG, for reassuring me that i'm not a big fat cheater. i feel much better.

by the way, as i stated in my first post, i'm a female, so it'd be ms. z.

thanx!

okay, I'm watching the O's/Bitch Sox game on WGN... I've never heard these announcers before. but I now understand what everybody's talking about. Bitches have hit two HR's.

c'mon, Orioles, shut those Bitches up!

Yeah, I'm watching the Bitch Sox game too. I tried watching with the sound on, but after about an inning, I absolutely can't stand it. I'd rather watch the game in silence.

I know, TV announcers are so horrid. During the ALCS last year, I muted the sound on the television and turned on the radio because I just couldn't bear to hear the announcers fawning over the Yankees. I believe it was the ESPN announcers that made me so mad, but the Fox ones weren't much better. WCCO forever!

On the other hand, they're 18-7 against teams that aren't the two best teams in the American League.

hey, CB, I'll be at the games this weekend. I'll wave to you in ... 117? from the Cheap Seats, and then it'll sorta be like we've met. right? ;) I printed the Joe article, too. man, now I want to see him hit!

and to everyone, Tumbleweed appreciates the love. she would tell you herself, but she's busy standing in the bathroom sink, waiting for me to turn on the faucet.

kafumbly - because of my work schedule right now, I traded in my tickets through the end of May for other games (I only have partial season).

*sigh*

My next chance to see the boys in person isn't until June 1st. I may not even get to see a lot of them on TV due to the demands of the job but I have every ounce of faith that you will be cheering our boy on. (drool some for me too...)

PS. Al, it's all about expectations. Unrealistic expectations are doomed for disappointment and that will always make you angry. No apology is due to me - I have learned to adjust my expectations on your posts accordingly.