It was in the stars

HOROSCOPE: LEO

Your friends and family might look to you for guidance now, but not necessarily for motivation to get ahead. Instead, the laid back Taurus Moon suggests a day of pleasant relaxation and rejuvenation. You can set an example for others today by doing what makes you feel good, whether it’s watching a movie, lying by the pool or taking a nature walk.

So I made the family head over to the Metrodome this afternoon for the last day of interleague play.  Well I didn’t so much as make them as I mentioned it to my grandmother as a possibility and SHE convinced the ‘rents that attending today’s Twins v. Brewers game was a must do. (Have I mentioned how much I love my grandma?) But last-minute tickets, awesome left field seats, a pre-game all-Mascot t-ball game*, and some kick ass nine innings made for a ridiculously pleasant day.  Especially when those nine innings meant a complete game shutout by Slowey, a stand up triple by way of a foul line hugging line drive, and Young’s two-run  HR dropped into our section. Oh happy day.

*Twins mascot T.C. has invited his mascot friends to participate in the annual mascot softball game prior to Sunday’s contest against the Brewers. Mascots planning to attend include Apple and Bee (Applebee’s), Wilbur the Pig (Famous Dave’s), SPAMMY (Hormel), Moe (Minnesota Daily), Thor (Minnesota Thunder), Crunch (Timberwolves), Viktor (Vikings), Starman (Star Tribune), Subman (Subway), Toucan Harry (Treasure Island Resort & Casino), Patches the Panda (SPIRE), Airman Andy (United States Air Force Reserve 934th Airlift Wing), Goldy Gopher (University of Minnesota), Peppy the Pizza Slice (Broadway Pizza), Roy (Bethel University), Alfie the Liver (American Liver Foundation), Fairborn and Fairchild (Minnesota State Fair), Colonel Ohmoopapa (Valleyfair), Bullseye (Target), Spirit (Qwest) and special guest Bernie Brewer from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Seriously the most pre-game fun I’ve ever had (outside of Joe Mauer getting stretched), I mean when Alfie the Liver took a face-planting dive into home plate for the tying run…hilarious.  Twins are now 8-0 in mascot softball.

Speaking of mish-mashes

Debating again, not entirely convinced but almost there.

Do I train for another marathon?  If so, which one? I could enter the lottery for New York, but I won’t find out ’til late summer if I am in which means I would need a back up race. I am not interested in Marine Corps again. Chicago is sold out. Baltimore is open, but the weekend it falls in is desperately close to an international conference that may require my attendance.  Do I register anyway and suck it up if I don’t happen to get into NY?  What other fall marathons are out there that don’t require too much travel?  See, in Chicago and NY I would have a free place to stay. I don’t think I know anyone else I could bum a bed/couch from. Or do I just sign up for Marine Corps since it’s here in my back yard and I am guranteed at least a cheerleader or two? Plus I want one that does deferrments in case I get into NY…Baltimore only does medical deferrments which means I would eat two race fees in I did get into NY.  Ugh. I am boring myself with this discussion, but this is what’s going on in my head.

In baseball news, Sidney Ponson of the Twins was designated for assignment this weekend. Thank God! The bars and food establishments surrounding the Metrodome may feel a little less fat in the pockets now, but it’s really best for everyone that he go.  Perhaps the tides of Lake Superior won’t be so crazy anymore.

Joe Mauer has a strained quad. I’ve been sleeping quite restlessly these past few days.  Apparently the image of hot, strained quadriceps gets me a little worked up.

I have more Fiesta Salad for lunch today. Yum.

Because the Vikes are 4-6

and because this rocks with the fury of a thousand rock concerts…

My baseball boyfriend, Justin Morneau, gets the AL MVP award. Even more satisfying than Santana’s Cy Young win just a few days ago (I mean how cannot they NOT give the Cy to the guy that led the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA?). It’s more satisfying because he had to beat Jeter as well as his own teammates (Mauer garnered 3 third place votes; Santana one first place) to do it.Remember these? These are MVP balls. Heh. Balls. Personally tossed to me and then again to my sister back in August by the mother friggin MVP of the American League. How cool is that?

Shhhhh, let’s have some Justin time, eh?

See, isn’t that nice?

Because the Vikes are 4-5

By unanimous vote…the American League Cy Young Award goes to Johan Santana. What? pitching triple crowns are easy, he says.

So we get the Cy back, and Santana also brings in the Player’s Choice Award for the AL’s most outstanding pitcher, Sporting New’s Pitcher of the Year, and Baseball America’s Player of the Year.

Twins also get reign over the batting title (Mauer) and Executive of the Year (GM, Ryan) as well as the bling with a Golden Glove (Hunter) and a couple of Silver Sluggers (Mauer and Morneau).

And MVP voting still isn’t over!

Updates! Get your Updates!

A while back I posted about how I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and suffering though my one-track mind lately (ok, five-track if we are counting…I can’t expand my brain to think and obesses about more than 5 things? And I call myself a girl?!?!).

Specifically, this is what I said back on September 15th:

Thing #1: I have a pace-tastic 17 mile run tomorrow. Whereby “pace-tastic” means I get to try out my projected marathon pace on a portion of the run. Preferrably at the end portion of the run, you know…when you are ready to stop. Preferable to whom, I do not know.
UPDATE: I am officially tapering! This means no runs longer than 14 miles in the next three weeks. In fact my weekly average will go down from 40 miles to about 25! The race itself is still looming, but there I will have adrenaline and cheerleaders to get me through.

Thing #2: Hot damn I want to get myself to Chicago. Hotter damn I want to be entertained while I am there.
UPDATE: Why go to Chicago, when Chicago comes to you?

Thing #3: 5 conferences in 10 weeks. Hence, the “overwhelmed” thing.
UPDATE: Three conferences down, two to go.

Thing #4: One.game.back.
UPDATE: AL Central Title baby! Stolen on the last day of play, or Royally handed over. Who cares how we got it? There is also the AL Batting Title. A possible Cy. There is not, however, the ALCS. Sadness.

Thing #5: A make-shift receiving corps could actually prove to be effective if a certain wide out can learn to actually catch a ball.
UPDATE: Why worry about a certain receiver when you can’t even mount any offense at all? Good thing we get to play teams like Detroit and Green Bay for four games a year.

MLB DS Photo of the Day – Game 1

MN TWinsIt was a tough call as to which photo to pick, I mean there was the crazy, spider-arms Neshek who got the Twins out of a bit of a mess in the 9th (not that it meant anything in the end). I could watch him pitch all day, that side-arm is pure craziness. There was also this gem from Trevor Hoffman, what with the shiny, hairless chest and all…but alas, the photo was disqualified because it was not an actual game day photo.

The first runner-up had to be Derek Jeter explaining to Curtis Granderson that it’s not that they’ve sold their souls to the devil that makes the Yankees so good, it’s the luck o’ the Irish.

But the winner?

3rd baseman Nick Punto, tiny super hero…

“Spiders? Did someone say spiders? Get ‘em off me man!”

And *poof*! The magic number is gone

And just like that the Twins guarantee themselves that they’ll keep on playing into October! So easy, ya? Well it took a crumbling White Sox team to help make it so, now we’ll just see if we can topple the Tigers as well. Woo!

Torii got his 30th last night, most HRs he’s ever put up in a single season! Plus Morneau jacked one for two runs as well, first home run he’s had since he saw me on August 24th. I think it’s because he missed me and when he saw me there in Baltimore the day before last night’s game, he figured it was time to go big. Heh. Go Big.

So yeah, playoffs. I can dig it. Except for I am going to miss the ALCS…well all of it but one game . This travel schedule is kind of brutal–gonna totally mess with my taper for the marathon too, and it’s also kind of nixing any plans I had to head to Chicago before November. But it’s oh so cool. More deets on that to come later. I’ll wait until I actually have my plane ticket.

p.s.
How did this turn into a Justin Morneau soft-core porn blog? I have him pictured here all dripping with champagne, below he is bending over. I need to get a grip. Or smother the swan.
Also, I forgot to mention this:

The Magic Number is 2

2 wins to clinch a play off spot OR 1 win and a loss by the Chicago White Sox OR 2 more wins than the Detroit Tigers to secure the AL Central. The last week of baseball, it’s a bittersweet thing. Actually it’s only sweet if your team gets one of the eight coveted spots. If not, then it just sucks and you can finally turn your attention fully to football.

I am still divided. I went to the Twins game in Baltimore yesterday and missed all the football games (well I did watch the Broncos roll over the Pats with the ugly stick last night). I mean the Vikes were playing at the same time as the Twins! What’s a girl to do? Well, she wears a Vikings tank top underneath her Twins jersey, while jumping up and down and screaming for Torii Hunter’s 30th HR, while getting NFL text updates over the phone, that’s what. (Hunter didn’t get it by the way, close but no cigar). But if your rookie pitcher gets flustered and starts giving up runs, thus pulling the score in to a too-close-for-comfort 4-3, then you remove the Vikings tank top and go with a neutral undershirt sometime around the 6th inning to try and shift the power back to the Twins. I love my Vikings, but I will totally sacrifice a win for them early in the season for a win for the Twins who are pushing to take the pennant. It’s true. I call myself a football fan but it all gets thrown out the window (with a safety ladder) during the MLB playoff race. Call me two-faced, but it’s a precarious line. Oh, and before you ask I did not get any love from Morneau, just some gratuitous warm-up shots. Yum!

Here’s to a Twins/Mets series!

In other news, I hit my peak in marathon training this weekend. 23 miles. Twenty-three mother fucking miles on Saturday morning. 4 hours and 1 minute of continuous running. Ok, I totally walked through the stairs and the intersections on the last mile and plus there were two bathroom-breaks and 1 water stop spread out over the run. All told it was 4 hours and 9 minutes. I wasn’t mentally ready for that run, I was in NY for most of last week and was only able to get one training run in. Not to mention the fact that I came home totally exhausted from my trip. I just could not psych myself up for it and it’s true what they say, it’s all mental…so I was scared and so nervous, even as of 6am Saturday morning. It wasn’t until mile 14 that I felt confident that I could finish the run. It went well for me, I’ve been sore in the days following, but I stayed in it and finished strong and didn’t once question myself as to why I am doing this. So bring it on! I am so ready for Marine Corps. 5 weeks to go…and it’s all downhill from here!

Joe Mauer Justin Morneau I’m gonna press my lops* against you…

Ok, so I may have a new baseball boyfriend, ‘cept he’s not as hot as my old one but damn, is he charming.

The Scene
August 24
Orioles v. Twins
Game 3 of a split three-game series
Twins need to stay hot to stay in the Wild Card race—the White Sox had just pulled a 10 run shutout over the Tigers earlier in the day
My little bro had procured 1st and 2nd row visitor’s dugout seats to said game in celebration of his Leo sisters’ birthdays.
We are all beyond excited. Best seats we’ve ever had for a Twins game, by far. Anticipation was huge.

annnnnd action!

We actually made it out of DC with relative ease (read minimal traffic) and were in our seats while the team was still stretching. Would have liked to see batting practice, but impossible for a weekday game. Perhaps for the weekend series in September? So, the seats? Amazing. Those are my badly pedicured feet there on the dugout. I mean, how much better can you get?

Every guy rounding third, right there. The entire team, as they come in off the field, right there. Torii Hunter gave us a “what’s up” nod. Nick Punto mouthed a little “hey”. And as I leaned over the dugout to see who was standing on the steps just as the game was getting underway…who did I see? Johan Santana! Ace extraordinaire! What do I do at this point? Well of course I screamed “Oh! My! God! Hi! Johan!” To which he turns, looks at me, gives the cutest little wave and says “Hi”. Ohmigod! Santana said “hi” to me. I’ve never been one to be star struck, but I think I got weak in my knees. It was such a heartfelt “hi”. With a wave! Sigh.

So the game gets underway, Castillo leads off with a single. Punto advances him with a beauty of a bunt. Hottie Joe Mauer then clears the bases with a double that erred into a triple. I think it was so he could stand there bent over on the third base line for me. 2 – nothing. Just like that. Torii Hunter gets up to bat and we chant “Torii! Torii!”. He glances over his shoulder as if to say “Shut up”. I love it! Non-verbal communication with the players. How friggin cool is that?

Ok, so I am not going to rehash the game pitch-by-pitch. But I could. But I won’t. There are box scores for that. You may not get the benefit of me screaming “Booooooof” for every pitch thrown by Bonser (btw, way to step up dude!), but hey that’s your loss. So the other highlight of the game, you know besides the time that Cy-Young winner and possible future hall of famer, Johan Santana totally waved and said hi to me in a totally sincere and possibly I-think-you’re-hot kind of way, we got Justin Morneau to smile.

Insert shock and awe here.

Seriously. The man never smiles. Not even when knocking in the winning run. Not after his home run last night. Just never. So he made have found himself near our end of the dugout last night sometime in the middle of the 6th inning, looking for his glove before he headed over to first.

Me: “Hey Justin! You know…you could smile any day now!” (Might I mention they were up 7-0 and Justin himself had already blasted a solo HR in the 3rd, it was a good day, you know?)

Justin glances up towards us and gives a little grin. He then ducked back in the dugout to grab the glove and upon emerging I think my brother yelled out “I mean it’s 7-nuthin!” to which Morneau responds with this wide-ass grin. Soooo cute.

*NOTE: We this photo was snapped RIGHT AFTER we got him to smile. We thought we had broke him. Look at him, all Smiley McSmilerson over there on 1st base.

The bottom of the 6th is played. Boof quickly retires the inning. As Morneau trots in from the infield, we are up and cheering them in, offering words of encouragement annoyance, he pauses at the steps of the dugout near home plate scans the seats, finds us and tosses the ball over. A game ball, touched by MVP candidate, Justin Morneau! Holy Geez! I’ve never gotten a game ball ever in my life. Never even been near one. Now I am holding one, tossed to me ON PURPOSE by Justin Morneau. By now, our entire section hates us. Oh well, we are having the time of our lives.

Cut to the 8th, the Twins knock in 4 more runs. Score is now 11-2, we are beyond ecstatic. After Crain closes out the 8th for us with three up, three down, Morneau again jogs in from his first base spot, stops just before heading intot he dugout and scans the first row. Bypassing countless children who are much closer to him, he (again) tosses us the ball. My sister catches it. Two game balls! Delivered to us personally by Justin Morneau! I am never going to be this lucky again, ever!
Twins win, 11-2 and end the game on a double play.

/End scene.

Good times, good times.

So…who should it be?

*“I can dream about you I’m gonna press my lops against you…” is a lovely quote off a lovely pink diary from the lovely Megan who procured said diary in the lovely Czech Rebublic. Apparently, the CR loves putting English phrases on tee-shirts (and diaries). Well, they like putting their version of English on things. And Megan, knowing how much I love the engrish, sent along this diary, with this very amusing quote on it, to me, for my birthday. Thanks Megan! To what “lops” was translated from, I do not know. Perhaps they mean “lips”? Would that make too much sense?

shhhhh