Yay! Twayn!!!!!!!!!

beautiful.

(i am also a big fan of tim o'brien. well done.)

That seriously, nearly made me cry. What a magical season.

That was brilliant. You only forgot one thing: all of our boys have carried us, and for that I am truly thankful.

This is why this site rules. O'Brien is my favorite. Now we just need the Bitch Sox to die in a field of sh!t and it will be perfect.

That was beautiful!

Nicely done. And way appropriate, since O'Brien is a Minnesota boy living in Boston.

Twayn, Hooray for bringing one of the best opening chapters ever into the baseball domain! Can't wait to see how it turns out, on so many levels. Just one question: Who carried the SpongeBob backpack into the remote Fenway bullpen, handling the taunts of beery and heartbroken Boston fans whose team has been done in by injuries and its own flawed sense of self?

Best, RD

So, is "carried" the word for the day, or is "humped"?

It's "humped", dlars. It's always "humped".

As a fan of Tim O'Brien myself, I gotta say - OUTSTANDING.

This is yet another prime example of why BG.com has become a "must-check" website in my morning routine.

What RD said. I am very pleased to see such a nice adaptation of one of my favorite books' first chapter ;) It's almost more poetic shed in this light, though!

Awesome game, guys. It's funny how a team that plays in a dome seemed to be handling the rain better than the one that doesn't. Has anyone ever seen Ortiz so twitchy at the plate before? He was giving McXanax a run for his title, I swear.

How can you not love these guys?

Good job, twayn!

This is probably the reason I am a Twins fan.
Each year we might not have the best individual players in baseball (although this year, I think we have most of them) but we have TEAMS--you know that old high school motivation: "there is no "I" in Team" stuff. We have players that care about the team, care about each other, have fun playing the baseball, and can literally step up to the plate and hit that ball when a comrade is down. Well written Twayn.

This gives me goosebumps. I LOVED The Things They Carried...

Has anyone noticed that Justin Morneau has become Joe Mauer:spraying hits all over the field with no power {1 h.r. in 16 games], but lots of doubles and a high obp? While Joe has become a disciplined Lew Ford {bunting and trying to slap singles to the opposite field}.Joe's average has dropped .30 since late July, as he has hit .240 over that period. He is the smartest hitter I have ever seen, but seems to be auditioning for the leadoff spot. Why can't he just rip at the 2-0 and 3-1 pitches he sees in so many abs?Is he protecting his b.a.? If so, it isn't working, and he is batting 3rd, so extra base hits are acceptable, and don't get me started on Cuddyer. How can he and Mauer go 2 for 10 with a couple of opposite field singles, while Castillo and Morneau go 8 for ten against the same pitchers? We need production from Cuddyer and Mauer to beat good teams, but instead we get it from Tyner, Hunter, and Morneau. Last night we get a game breaking 3 run homer from Bartlett {his 2nd of the year} and 2 for 10 with cheap singles from Cuddyer and Mauer. What is going on here?

Well done twayn. Well done Twins. Well done everyone. There's nothing more to say.

Gee whiz, Al - don't burst a blood vessel. Everybody's contributing at different times, every hitter goes through dry spells - and if you don't think that Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer are a HUGE reason we're where we are now, you are sadly mistaken. Getting frustrated about them not producing every single day is just silly, don't you think? You say we need production from Cuddyer and Mauer to beat "good teams"; well, we just beat the Red Sox, World Series champs a scant two years ago, with neither of those players doing anything. All we need is production from someone to beat good teams, and I couldn't care less if it's Mauer or Bartlett doing the producing. (Oh, and the fact that you put Morneau in the "lesser player" category, next to Jason Tyner - !!!! - makes me think you've not been paying attention to him much this year.)

Go, Twins. Keep on humping.

Al-

For some reason only known by the baseball gods, that's how it goes.

I'm just glad you left out the whole chopping up the water buffalo or Wakefield...or whatever...

Nicely done.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning (and Tim O'Brien) as much as the next guy, but c'mon. Baseball is a game that's fun. I've had enough cheapening/trivializing/line-blurring of real actual war for one decade.

Bravo.

Though the image of pirhanas humping is not one I necessarily needed this fine bright morning.

Best of luck in capturing the division. Incidentally, I would feel better at the Yanks' chances in a 7 game series against the Twins than I would in a 5 game series.

Warm regards,
YankeeFan

YF, I'll bet you would!

What are your thoughts on a return by that greatest of, er, humpers, Brad Radke, for said 5-game series? Does he make you tremble, or does he make you lick your chops?

Dear al,

Chill. This is supposed to be fun.

WArmly, Mr. B

guys check out this article by Dan Shaughnessy in the Boston Globe - http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/09/20/system_works_for_minnesota/?page=1

this is what (finally) happens when you play on the East Coast - a little notariety.

I added Morneau as he went 5 for 5, not because he is a "lesser" player. He is the least "lesser" player in the league. The Red Sox, even if they had won 4 world series in a row, are not a good team right now. Production from your 3 and 5 hitters being important is not a revolutionary concept. Mauer's production has been off for 7 weeks, not a few games. I am as happy as anyone when they win, and have been for 53 years now, but, if your 3rd hitter in the lineup hits .240 without power for 2 months,that is not a good thing, sorry.

It's "humped".

Every Wednesday.

Now go get 'em, Boof!

Great entry, great book!

On August 16th J. Bartlett went 4 for 4, and was hitting .369, since then, he is 24 for 101. He is a great ss, and the best 9th hitter in the game, but, 24 for 101 is what it is. Did he do anything last night? Well, I guess he did;never mind.

TWAYN, YOU MAKE ME PROUD.

Carmen,

Tremble, without a doubt. That being said, I hope he pitches again. Baseball would be deprived of an appropriate epilogue to his oddessy without his return.

Tranquilly yours,
YankeeFan

I don't even know why I asked that, what a silly question! An astute and genuine fan of the game like yourself would certainly recognize the enormity of Brad Radke quietly walking to the mound in his steady, unchanging way, toeing the rubber and slowly lifting his gaze to meet that of the leadoff hitter...

I love giving myself goosebumps. Oh Brad, the faithful eagerly await your return.

Yes, YF, Brad deserves that last moment in the sun...let's hope that it's actually under the Teflon sky of the Dome in late October, with the Mets about to fall in five to the AL champion Twins. And, for Al's sake, let's hope it isn't one of those first- or sixth- or seventh-place hitters who gets us to that point, eh? (Just joshin', Al. I see your point, and I understand your concern, but there's no reason to fret. We've already gone farther than any one of us thought we would, and we've more to come, so whatever's left is bonus.)

Carmen, you're envisioning a scenario much like Willis Reed walking onto the court for the Knicks in game 7 of the NBA Finals back in 1903 or whatever it was, both knees shackled and his head in a cast and his hands severed at the wrists...OK, I may be exaggerating a bit. But Bradke could do that for our boys, and I think it'd be a fitting way for him to step away from the game he clearly loves so much. Go get 'em, Brad.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/index?&lpos=globalnav&lid=gn_MLB_MLB

I wanna know who the 3% from
Minny, voting for Jeter in the MVP race is! Who are you??

Not the same as Twayn, but I love O'Brien enough to give it a shot:

This is true.

My cat asks me: "Dad, have you ever been to the Metrodome?"

It was 1993. The Twins were falling deeply into the shit field of the late 1990s. I could have avoided that game. I could have gone to the Mall of America, to the movies, where Pulp Fiction was showing. I could have gone to Canada. But I was a cowardly baseball fan: I went to the game.

Eddie Guardado had a start, his first start, but he wasn't yet one of the guys, you know? And I was afraid--afraid because Dennis Eckersley was on the mound, because the Twins were losing in the ninth inning, but I didn't want to tell anybody I was afraid, because I didn't want to let my mom, my dad, my high school buddies, the vendors humping with their cotton candy and their beer, and everybody else down. Shane Mack hit his second home run, but still, the Twins lost, and I left a little of myself in that shit field of the 90s. And 1993 just wasn't a time to see the Twins.

So I could tell the truth and say to my cat: "Of course I've been to the Metrodome."

Or I could tell the truth and say: "No."

Outstanding post--outstanding game last night--glad BG and Jeb made it out to Fenway. Nothing much to add to whats already been said. Much better September than last year when all we had was to keep track of our Katrina pledges based on Twins homers.

DAM

sorry--last post should have read:

all the excitement we had was...

(note to self--proof before posting)

DAM

Gina, we need to form a task force to rootle out those people and reeducate them. Immediately.

Excellent post.

Watching Bartlett take Wakefield over the Monster brought back a memory from my teen years.

My HS coach called me in from the pen one afternoon and said, "this next hitter loves breaking balls... so what are you going to throw?" Smart boy as I was, I said "Fastballs?" To which he responded, "Well, in your case, straightballs, but yes."

Saying Bartlett hit a Wakefield fastball gives both pitcher and hitter a little more credit than they deserve... but ya gotta love the result, nonetheless.

BATbandwagoner,

I was going to say the same thing. That baby water buffalo scene was the most horrifying scene in the book to me.

Donnalove.

Wow -- I love it when my life comes together. I just stopped in to read this as a little break, because in fifteen minutes, I need to go teach a Tim O'Brien novel to a bunch of freshmen. Spookie!

Apparently, I need to read me some Tim O'Brien. Which book is the excerpt from please?

And teacherrefpoet, where is yours from? I liked it, although it made me a little sad. I remember those years all too well and the thought of going to the Metrodome instead of the Mall of America . . . I tell ya, I miss Met Stadium to this day.

Beth,

The book is called, "The Things They Carried."

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/dp/0767902890

RD

OK, everybody. This thing about who to root for has been hashed and rehashed lately, but the following makes it crystal clear:

"It's kind of exciting," Torii Hunter said. "We're actually rooting for the Chicago White Sox. Can you believe that?"

If it's good enough for Torii it's good enough for me! We want the division! ;0)

Thanks, RD. That should have been easy for me to figure out. *puts 'L' on forehead with thumb and forefinger*

Anyone read CNNSI's article about Mauer & Morneau?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/players/09/19/roomies0925/index.html

Hrbekfan, do you think there's a shot at the Sox in Torii's comment? As in, "We're rooting for the White Sox to beat the Tigers, 'cuz we know they're not a threat to us any more"? I suspect there might be...

Since this was very uplifting and beautiful, I want to share something I thought was uplifting and beautiful:

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The man was a quote machine, but this is a good one and when I saw it today I immediately thought of the Minnesota boys. My dad says it every day: they play the game like a bunch of little leaguers, and they're not in it to win it, they're in it to have fun and do their things, and winning is just a bonus.

I firmly believe that we will win the Central Division. And if we can do that (dare I say it?), I truly think we can win the World Series.

That's it exactly, Erin. I'm more into watching this Twins team than I have been past teams that have done as well. Why? Cuz they're just so obviously enjoying themselves. Heck - even the Doctor is cracking a smile now and then!

Donnalove-

Exactly. It definitely created dichotomic emotions for me. My literary appreciation side "gets it," of course. But I am always going to be somebody basally disturbed by violence to animals.

I did punch my brother in the arm for not warning me :)

thanks KanedaX for the article. Those boys are just so funny. I usually dont care about little details of "celebrity" lives, but articles about those two always seem to put a smile on my face.

Go Twins!!

"Anyone read CNNSI's article about Mauer & Morneau?"

Blankets? On the windows? I'm sure the neighbors love that.

Speaking of the things they carried---Like you, Batgirl, I relocated this summer and now find myself at Safeco Field when I'm lucky enough to get to a game. And, when the TWINS are on national tv, it's sometimes at 10 in the MORNING. Now, my move wasn't too bad with the things that I carried, but I'm wondering how *you* did it when one of the things you carry is amazing talent,and then the brilliant insight and the writing skill that makes one weak in the knees. Must've been quite a load for the Mayflower truck... Still wearing my CHICKS DIG SMALL BALL and wearing it proudly.

Hopefully this will be as apropos tonight as it was after last night's game:

(It's too bad Detroit got rid of Mr. Young, or this would be titled "Fearful Dmitri". Since I can't top that, I'll just leave it untitled.)

---

"Tigers, Tigers, fading out,
In the wake of White Sox rout:
What immortal hand or eye'll
Halt thy fearful downward spiral?"

---

(I encourage fellow Batlings to add more verses as they please!)

Props to the Salt Man.

In other news, I LOVE

(Repeat: LOVE)

Boof's curveball. That thing is a work of art.

he forgot the field of shit that they would come back to reminisce over long after their triumph, i'm assuming it would be AJ being AJ.