3 Up, 3 Down

An interesting week in sports thus far and plenty more to come.  Here's my best and worst of the week that currently is.

3 Up

1. Wimbledon – Not sure why I’ve been so enthralled with a sport I have no past with, but I can’t stop watching.  In the men’s draw, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Tsonga, the top five seeds, are all still alive after straight set wins in Round 1.  As for the women’s draw, Venus Williams has bowed out, further accentuating her fall from grace.  Sharapova, Radwanska, Serena Williams, Kvitova, and Azarenka are all still alive as well.  My favorite part is watching the people along the surface on the back row dodge 100mph serves and returns.
2. New York Yankees – So far June has been a great time to wear pinstripes.  The Yankees are 18-5 this month and have no signs of slowing down.  They enter today percentage points ahead of the Rangers for best record in the MLB.
3. Yu Darvish – He wasn’t great last night against the Tigers, but he was good enough to earn his 10th win of the season on the heels of a 10 strikeout performance.  One of the most anticipated stories leading into the 2012 MLB season has had very few hiccups thus far.

3 Down

1. Aroldis Chapman’s Somersaults – Sure, the Reds fireballer had blown two saves in a row (a two-run go-ahead HR in the 9th by the Twins’ Josh Willingham and a walk-off two-run HR by Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians), but after fanning the side to earn a save last night, he proceeded to do two somersaults off the mound.  Act the part big fella, please.
2. Dwayne Wise’s “Catch” – On Derek Jeter’s 38th birthday, Dwayne Wise went into the stands to try to make a catch.  Problem was, he never made it, and umpire Mike DiMuro refused to ask to see the ball.  I think that’s protocol when a player winds up in the crowd.  Wise deserves an Oscar.
3. BCS < 4-Team Playoff – College football announced it is moving to a 4-team playoff format beginning in 2015.  Sounds like progress is being made, but they still have a lot of kinks to iron out, namely who is on the decision committee.  I like where their heads are at, but there will be some controversy moving forward.

Oddities

• Tigers closer Jose Valverde was perfect in save chances last season - 49 for 49.  He blew one this year in his first chance, against the Red Sox.  He did pick up the win, however.
• The Mets are 4-0?  Really?
• The Rays and Padres are the only two teams with a grand slam
• The Padres are hitting .266 in day games compared to .109 in night games
• The Phillies have only 4 extra base hits - Hunter Pence has a 2B and HR, John Mayberry and Freddy Galvis have a 2B each
• The New York Yankees pitching staff has the 2nd worst WHIP at 1.74 (Atlanta is 1.78)
• The Red Sox have the worst ERA in the majors at 6.75
• The Rays are the only team with a BB:K ratio instead of a K:BB ratio
• The Braves and Twins remain the only two teams without a win

Have a great Tuesday, freaks.

Instagram Feature; MLB Opening Weekend

Instagram Feature
If you've been thinking to yourself, "there sure are a lot of pictures on the top of this page" when you check out WRT, you're right, there are.  My Instagram feed is fed right to the blog.

Thanks to the people at Instagram for bringing their platform over to Android.  I can finally snap and shoot photos with my phone and share them with the world.  There's plenty of filter options to make it look like I'm a really good photographer.  I promise not to take pictures of the sky - those are severely played out and have become boring to look at - unless it's a kick ass shot.  And I am not a hipster.

MLB Opening Weekend Storylines
Baseball season is here and so are the premature headlines that are shaping the baseball world.

Here's some shocking stories and some that aren't so shocking.

• SHOCKER - The New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles are both 3-0.  They swept the Braves at Citi Field, holding them to just seven runs while scoring twelve of their own.  Johan Santana was the only starter not to get a W (Niese and Dickey both got W's).  Lucas Duda has two homeruns and David Wright is hitting .667.  For the O's, the pitching has been the story - 5 runs allowed in their three-game sweep in Minnesota.
• NO SHOCK - The World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals are picking up right where they left off and are 3-1.  They beat the Marlins in the first game stateside and then took 2 of 3 from the Prince-less Brewers.  They did all this on the road.  Carlos Beltran looks rejuvenated and Lance Lynn threw an absolute gem, striking out eight Brewers in 6.2 innings on Easter Sunday.
• SHOCKER - Yankees and Red Sox are both 0-3.  The good news for the Bombers is that the last time they started 0-3, they won 114 games and the World Series in 1998.  They got dominated by the Rays, who many experts believe will win the AL East.  Bobby Valentine was hoping to have a better start, but his Red Sox were swept by the Tigers.  They coughed up a ninth-inning lead and an eleventh-inning lead yesterday - you think they miss Papelbon?
• NO SHOCK - The Twins lack of offense.  Justin Morneau, Denard Span, and Josh Willingham are the only three with more than one hit.  Joe Mauer is hitting .100.  Mauer and Morneau are really the only two Twins who can do some damage.  It's going to be a long season in Minnesota.

Some "By The Numbers" stuff.

•  4 - Players with 3 HR's - Yoenis Cespedes, Jay Bruce, Miguel Cabrera, and Corey Hart
• 10 - # of hits for Rafael Furcal, the only player in the majors with double digit hits
• 1 - Duane Below of the Tigers is the only pitcher with 2 wins - both in relief.
• 3 - Saves (2) + Wins (1) for Rays reliever Fernando Rodney, in 1.2 innings pitched
• 2 - Losses by Red Sox reliever Mark Melancon in his 1 inning pitched this season
• .500 - Fielding percentage of Angels 3B Mark Trumbo (3 errors in 6 total chances, in 2 games)
• #8 - Kurt Suzuki has thrown out 3 of 8 runners - the 5 SBA in four games is alarming for the pitchers
• 5 - # of teams sitting at 3-0 as well as teams stuck at 0-3

Let's remember, it's only three games (four for some).  I am not hitting the panic button with the Yankees nor am I anointing the Orioles the favorite in the AL East.  It is what it is, one weekend.  There are still 158/159 games to - buckle up.

Yankee Stadium in the Light Rain

I hope this weather holds off and they can get this game in.  Headed over there with Lindsay in a few minutes, so hopefully it won't get cancelled because I am not sure I'd get my parking money back - it's ridiculous.

Took a cab there a few times and trying to get back here is a joke too - all they have are car service drivers, so these douches want $45 to take me 5 miles - no shot.

Subway is not really an option, because the 4 (which takes you right to the Stadium) is on the other side of the Bronx and takes 20 minutes to get there.  I'd have to find parking, get on the train ($2.50 times two, times two = $10) so I'd rather spring for an extra $15 and park a hundred feet from the ballpark.

The rain is coming down steadily at the moment, but the forecast is light rain and showers the entire night, so although it certainly won't be dry, it should be alright for a few hours at least.

Headed out now.  Matt Tolbert, good luck brother.  Last night he pinch ran for Jim Thome and scored in the ninth.  He's only hitting .200, but he's a role player, which isn't a bad thing. 

Freddy Garcia and Carl Pavano tonight - welcome to 6 years ago when these guys were guys.  Oh well, maybe it'll be a good game.

The garlic fries are calling our name; so are the hot dogs.

Play Ball!!

Playoff Baseball is Here!!!

  As an appetizer, an ex-Phillie dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Pete.  For an intermezzo, Doc Halladay no-hit the Reds.  NO-HIT.  Understand something - it's only been done once in MLB Playoff history - by NYY great Don Larson.  The Yankees trail the Twins 2-0 in the third inning now, after a leadoff hit by pitch was followed by a 2-R bomb to center field.  Leadoff freebies always come back to bite you in the ass - ask CC.

  A-Rod is still not great.  Clutch he is not.  Yanks get the first two guys on - BB and 1B - and proceed to hit two fly balls and a K from Mr. Rodriguez.  That was the chance to get right back in it, get some of the momentum back.  Instead, a goose egg.  Swisher had the right idea bunting - he gets it down and the next fly ball scores a run.

  Good thing they told him not to bunt - SIKE!

  C.C. needs to settle in here and act like the big donkey he is - be a horse and get some 0's up there to give them a chance.  They've been playing like crap coming down the stretch, and it cost them the division. 

  I am home with Nathan watching the ballgame, missing the Mrs.

  Time to get ready to take Nathan for a stroll in the park - may make a night-time trip to the dog park out back.  Dog loves it over there.

  Sofa, chair-and-a-half, and ottoman are scheduled for delivery tomorrow - it only took Bob's over two weeks to do what I asked them to do.  Never order from them, and if you do, pick it up yourself.  Maybe it's just their customer service department that blows.  You walk in there and get bombarded by 40 sales people looking for a sale - it's like a feeding frenzy.  I'm just happy it's finally going to get delivered, start making this place look like something.  It gets old sitting on the damn floor.

  Time for October baseball.  Let's make it a game Yanks.  Joe Mauer is a good hitter.  A pro.  Damn the Twins are a scrappy team.  Good play Teixeira made, but Hudson's a sneaky little bastard.

  Big AB.  Posada sucks defensively.  I'm out.

  A split on the road is good for me.  Then they gotta continue their domination of the Twins.

Baseball and Birthdays

Well, the Yankees almost pulled it off last night against the Phillies.  Brad Lidge's ERA went up from a 1.12 to a 2.00 and he made the game pretty interesting.  He's been pretty automatic since he's been healthy this season, so it was good that the Yanks showed a little fight.  I was on the flight back from Dallas, so I missed it.  We flew AirTran but I wish I would have gone JetBlue.  AirTran has some of the most cramped seating of any airline I've ever been on.  K, K, BB, 2B, 1B, K.  He struck out the side, but all the drama started with a two-out walk to Mark Teixeira and could have ended with a walk-off. 

The Rays are reeling (7-6 in June), the Yankees have been fairly steady (10-4 in June), as are the Sox (10-5 in June).  The Blue Jays have fallen back down to Earth and the O's are still looking for an answer.  Shaping up to be a three horse race again, for like the fifth straight season. 

I am going to the Yankees game tonight - and am just counting my blessings I don't have to suffer through a Jamie Moyer start.  Kyle Kendrick vs. Andy Pettitte.  Andy is going for win #201 as a Yankee and #238 overall.  He is putting up incredible numbers thus far, with his only real bad outing being against the Rays on May 20th (5 IP, 9 H, 7 R) in am 8-6 loss.  Looking forward to the game - it's always nice seeing a game at the Stadium, freaking thing is awesome.  It's really a sight to be seen.

The Rays are on the docket too, as Big Game James Shields takes on Tim Hudson in Atlanta.  The Yanks could take over first place tonight.  Hudson has been nothing short of dominant this year (6-2, 2.43 ERA).  He's had some command issues (30 BB in 85.1 IP) but has pitched out of the jams for the most part.  His last outing was a 2-1 CG loss to the Twins (8 IP, 7 H, 2 K).  When he's on, he's tough to hit.  Let's go Timmy.

Party at the "Copacabana", Barry Manilow turns 64 years old today.  He's still knocking them dead - I mean he should be, he's probably had a lot of $$ pumped in and out of his face.  He's made quite the transformation - I mean normally, you go from left to right, he went the opposite direction.  Wrinkles be gone, poof!!  I am kind of glad he chose Barry Manilow, seeing how he was born Barry Alan Pincus.  He was raised in Williamsburg Brooklyn.  He started off writing jingles, and his most famous being State Farm Insurance ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there...") and Band-Aid's (I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!").  Happy Birthday Barry, and thanks for taking on your mother's last name.

Back at work, gotta do some work.  Going to purchase some chain and lock it down at Gaelic.

Lock it up!

Bad showing

Where have all the clutch performers gone?  We needed guys to step up today, and no one seemed to deliver.  We didn't help ourselves - 8 walks and a hit by pitch - 2 scored.  Can you guess the final score?  7-5 bad guys.  Did our freshman SS make an error, yeah - but even still, we had two outs with only one run allowed and it ballooned into a 6-run fourth inning.  Pitcher's need to be able to get an out - one single, solitary out, in a row.  They've gotten one out in a row thousands of times in their baseball lives.  We threw up 0's all day (except for a solo HR in the B6), and had a chance at the end.  It just wasn't meant to be today.

Got a big one tomorrow at 3pm.  Big is actually an understatement.  Lose, and the season is over.  Win, and live to play another day.  Whoever is tougher tomorrow will prevail.  Backs to the wall, fight your way out.  We need to deliver the first punch, right in the mouth, early on.


Yankees won both - 1-0 in the suspended game from yesterday (Jeter hit a HR 399' to left center).  The bullpen patched together the shutout.  In today's scheduled game, they won 3-2, behind a Nick Swisher HR to right field.  Mariano closed out both games, earning saves in both, his 9th and 10th of the year.

Boston finished off a surprising sweep at The Trop, beating the Rays 11-3 behind Adrián Béltre's 6 RBI. 

The Magic are up 13 on the Celtics with 8:59 left in the game.  Celts lead the series 3-1.  Maybe Dwight Howard read my blog and decided to grow a pair and play like a man - he's got 17 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks, and only 1 foul.  Go Dwight Go!

Big one tomorrow.  Act as if.

Tens-Day

Ten points of emphasis that are running through my mind this morning:

1. MAAC Tournament.  Game one at 3pm vs. Canisius.  Game one is ever important in a double elimination format, and I think we'll come out loose and ready to play.  We're the #4 seed after all, and we have nothing to lose.  Everyone else is supposed to be better than us, all we gotta do is play the game hard, have a little fun, play some defense, pitch well enough to keep us in the game, and score more runs.  That formula translates to wins.  That's pretty evident.
2. A Mosque at Ground Zero?  I don't think this is something that NYers should have to deal with.  I was watching Channel 5 and there was a debate on it and all three on the panel said it wasn't a good idea.  The money ($100 million) is being funded by Islamic countries, and how the hell do we know who this money is coming from?  It also serves as a reminder of that grim day on September 11, 2001.  "I don't deny anyone a church or a mosque, but if I were to walk by that mosque, I would think of my son's plane," Hanson, of Easton, Conn.  (NY Daily News).  I am not against it either, but the fact remains that almost 3,000 Americans perished in the 9/11 attacks.  NYers did a great job of coming together and bouncing back, but they don't need any more reminders.  Not 100' from where Tower 1 once stood.
3. DWTS winner announced.  I'll be honest, I watch this show but generally don't pay much attention.  The Bruno guy is hilarious though, and I look forward to hearing his comments.  Nicole Scherzinger beat out figure-skater Evan Lysacek and ESPN's Erin Andrews.  Not sure if this was a shocker or not, but either way, I'm looking forward to seeing this Bruno Tonioli guy again.
4. Phoenix Suns tie series with Lakers 2-2.  I hate the Lakers, as I've stated before.  What won them the game?  Simple, their bench, which was non-existent in the first three games of the series.  The Suns bench scored 54 points last night (76 previous three games).  Good for you Phoenix, take the series.  I don't need another Celtics-Lakers finals.
5. 2014 Super Bowl at Meadowlands Stadium.  Good to see a Super Bowl being played in a cold weather state.  Bloomberg said it, this region is a great place to come to.  NYC is an awesome place and I know people from all over the country attend the Super Bowl every year, and many probably have never been to the NYC area.  Bob Golic is saying that weather shouldn't be an issue in the biggest game of the year, but in 2007, Super Bowl XLI was played in the rain down in Miami.  It's cold in February, sure, but why not.  Why the hell not?  Good for you NFL, now let's hope the Giants or Jets are playing.
6. Yankees woes!  A.J. Burnett finally settled down and was throwing a good game - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K and 75 pitches before the rains came and washed out the game against the Twins.  His last three starts before last night were a mixed bag.  He got rocked vs. Tampa on the 19th, pitched well vs. the Twins on the 14th, and was tattooed by the Red Sox on the 9th.  I hope he uses it as something to build off, because his stuff is way better than he's showed the past few.  The Yankees, however, are 6-3 in games he starts.  Still waiting for a 10+ strikeout game.
7. King beds.  At home, me and Lindsay and Nathan share a double bed.  After sleeping in this king bed in the hotel last night, it brings me back to my thoughts whenever I stay in a hotel - king beds should be mandatory.  It's like sleeping in an in-ground pool.  The thing is huge.  Maybe it's the hotel bed idea, that they are always so comfortable (except at a Days Inn).  
8. "Future gay terrorists."  This is stuff that shouldn't happen.  A soldier is under investigation after a video was posted on Facebook.  The video showed two children who were asked, "Are you going to grow up to be a terrorist?", to which the children gave thumbs up.  Chances are they didn't understand English, but seriously, are you that stupid that you'd:  1. say something so ignorant to two kids, and 2. post it on Facebook?  Stupid ass.
9. Flying anytime soon?  Here's a few tips to securing some cheaper airfare.  1. Very few seats are ever on sale - when you see a low price deal, book it.  2. Tuesday is the best day to shop for airfare, at around 3:00pm.  3. Friday and Sunday are the most expensive days to fly, so plan accordingly.  4. Book at least two weeks in advance, maybe even three weeks.  Here's a test I just did on Southwest Airlines - if I wanted to fly from NY to Denver: in 5 days, $311; in 12 days, $219; in 20 days, $189.  5. Pack a carry on bag.  Baggage fees suck.  6. Fly midweek.  Have a good flight.
10. Back to the Bronx.  Some local news from the Bronx.  This morning, two parents are under arrest after leaving their baby in a parking lot near 161st St.  Both parents say they thought the other had the child.  Maybe they thought there was a Yankee game that the kid wanted to see. 

OK, time to get ready for a late breakfast.  It's nice not having to wake up at 7:30am and get to the park at 9:15am to start batting practice.  Let's hope we can dust the sand out of our eyes and play a great game today.  Lindsay is coming up today, Nathan is staying in Long Island.  We'll miss that pup.  He's become the unofficial mascot of the Jaspers.

Sunday Funday

Not so fun for the Yankees.  After winning the first two games of their series with the Twins, the immortal one, Mariano Rivera walked in a run with the bases loaded and followed that up by allowing a grand slam to Jason Kubel, as the Yankees blew a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning today in the Bronx, eventually falling 6-3 to the Twins.  I watched from the seventh inning on, and was in total shock when Rivera blew it.  Hey, the guy is human.  He just fools people into believing he isn't.  Jon Rauch let up some hits in the 9th, but got Jeter swinging, Gardener swinging, and Teixeira looking to end it.  They must have been scared by his tattoos.

On a lighter note, brunch with Paul and Jenny was good - even though the Bloody Mary's we ordered had bird food in them.  Or so it seemed - there was so much pepper corns, and all other sorts of stuff that looked like bird food in it, it made it almost undrinkable.  It was a shame because the BM was actually pretty good.  But then again, I've only had a BM two other times, and both were made by a person under the influence of alcohol.  The omelet was great - had bacon and cheddar.  Lindsay got goat cheese and mushrooms.  And they made these donuts, cinnamon sugar, holy crap.  I could have eaten 45 of them.  Easy.

In our celebrity sighting of the day, while at the Beer Garden at The Standard after our brunch, Lindsay and Jenny wandered off to the restroom and when they came back, I was told to come take a look inside.  Thinking there was someone famous in there, I walked back in with Lindsay and saw Jesse Tyler Ferguson sitting at a table inside.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he plays Mitchell on ABC's Modern Family, probably the funniest show on television.  We were in the meatpacking district, so seeing celebrities is not too far-fetched down there.  Here's a look at who I'm talking about: 

So Sunday is almost over, weekend is almost over, and setup for graduation is almost set to begin.  Awesome!! (sarcasm).  I am exhausted, Lindsay is sleeping on the couch, Nathan is passing out on the window sill.  I am trying to hold it together enough to get this post done, take Nathan out to pee, and pass out.

See you tomorrow suckaaaaaaaa!!

Yankees looking to extend domination of Twins

Today's 1:05pm tilt between the Twins and Yankees will feature two lesser known arms for both side - Nick Blackburn (MIN) vs. Sergio Mitre (NYY).  Game 1 had AJ Burnett taking on Scott Baker.  Game 2 was two lefties, Andy Pettitte vs. Francisco Liriano.  Advantage:  NYY.

The Yankees took the first two games of this series and are looking for their third series sweep of the season (vs. TEX, vs. BAL).  The first game was tight until A-Rod decided to show up, belting a grand slam in the 7th with the Yankees down a run - IBB to Teixeira to pitch to Alex Rodriguez?  Then bring in a guy who A-Rod is 4-6 with 3HR against?  Gardy, bad  idea!!  The second game was won behind with pitching - Andy Pettitte gave them 6.1 innings of 2-hit ball in his first start in 10 days.  A-Rod had another good game at the plate - in his last 10, he's hitting .378 (14-37) with 3 2B, 2 HR, and 11 RBI.  Looks like he is starting to get hot.  Teixeira hit an absolute bomb in the 7th inning, and he is starting to pick it up a little too - in his last 10, he's hitting .317 (13-41) with 2 2B, 5 HR, and 16 RBI.  He's raised his average from .136 to .217 since we flipped the calendar to May.  That's two big names stepping up for the Yankees, who are surprisingly only 6-4 in the past 10 games.

Blackburn has pitched against the Yankees before - most recently in last years playoffs.  He pitched well enough to win (5.2 IP, 3H, 1R) but didn't.  Overall, in 4 career starts vs. the Yankees, his numbers look like this:  16.1 IP, 21 H, 12 R (9 ER), good for a 4.96 ERA, almost a full run above his career ERA of 4.20.  He seems to be struggling with his command a little this year - through 39.2 IP he's walked eleven batters and struck out only nine.  He has never been a strikeout pitcher, but the most walks he's allowed was 41 last season (in 205.2 IP).  Four starts vs. NYY?  Seems like I hear his name every time they play one another.  Weird.

Mitre has been throwing the ball fairly well this year - I mean he has HOF numbers compared to his career stats:  2010 - 3.86 ERA; Career - 5.50 ERA.  The trick with him may be the bullpen.  He can fool a few hitters at a time, but starting hasn't panned out for him.  I think it's a good idea once the rotation gets back in order, but in the long run, he'll be a bullpen guy.  And for some reason, I like Sergio Mitre, I hope he does well.  Don't ask why, I don't have any ties to Mexico or any of the other teams he's played for.

Game's on at 1:05pm, I will more than likely not watch, gonna be in the city for brunch.  May be able to catch the tail end of what will hopefully be the 14th straight win over the Twins.  The Twins are up a game and a half on the Tigers, who are hosting the Red Sox.  They pulled it out last night on the always exciting two out, walk-off walk to Ramón Santiago, a career .245 hitter.  Poor Red Sox, can't close games out with their bullpen.  What a shame.

Time to take Nathan out - he's slept all night, woke up at 5:45am, and is sleeping again.  The life of a dog is one I'll never understand.

Santa Fe Friday Night

My Friday night consisted of about 8-10 of these short little fat guys:

And the Yankees came back to win, courtesy of "An A-Bomb, from A-Rod"!!!  Just one question to the Twins:  Why the hell would you walk Mark Teixeira to get to Alex Rodriguez?  Tex is hitting .209, A-Rod .281.  A-Rod is A-Rod.  But Teixeira isn't exactly killing it at the dish.  You deserved to lose the game if you decided that pitching to A=Rod was a smart decision.  It was stupid stupid stupid.  He makes $33 million this year because he can hit.  He can also play defense, steal a base, and probably dance pretty good too.  What are you thinking!?!

Cervelli is hitting .415?  Really?  Just wanted to throw that in there.

Here is what the Phillies/Brewers went with for uniforms:  Jamie Moyer vs. Randy Wolf.  Just as I had hoped. 

And the Flyers beat the freakin' Bruins!  History!  Not only was Boston up 3-0 in the series, they were up 3-0 in Game 7 - lost the game and the series 4-3.  #7 Flyers vs. #8 Canadiens.  Eastern Conference Finals. 

Buck Foston!!

It Doesn't Feel Like Friday

But I guess it is - heading over to the Bronx Ale House for some post game beverages after we thumped Iona 19-3.  It was a good game, our starter came out after 5 with a slight twinge in his elbow - trainer said it was a tendon flare-up.  He'll take it easy for a few days.  We pounded out 23 hits (5 2B, 4 HR) and stole six bases.  We held them to seven singles.  Gotta hope it carries over into tomorrow, this is a big weekend for us.  We're a game up on Siena, who we play next week.  They won two today, so we are half game up.  It'll be an interesting stretch run.

Just called B&N regarding my Nook, the damn battery fizzled out.  Only had the thing since February, but they're good, they are going to send me a new one tomorrow.  Quick and painless phone call, battery will be here soon the guy told me.  He was probably in India somewhere, I know a lot of company's outsource their technical support divisions.

On the MLB front, the Phillies and Brewers open up a three game set in Milwaukee - Phillies wearing their powder blue road uniforms from the 70's (left) - not sure what the Brewers are wearing, but I hope it's something along the lines of these on the right.  Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper, Jim Sundberg.  Should be a good game as Jamie Moyer takes on fellow lefty Randy Wolf.  Both are off to good starts, Wolf's a little better, but it'll be a treat on the eyes.

Dallas Braden takes the hill for the A's, his first start since his Perfecto against the Rays.  The Angels just lost 2 of 3 to the Rays.  Joe Saunders takes his dismal 6.19 ERA to the mound in Anaheim.

And finally, the Yankees take on the Twins - which is why I am heading to the Ale House.  Liriano for the Twins, Burnett for the Yanks.  Two guys with nasty stuff, Liriano seems to have regained his dominant form from 2006.  Burnett is coming off a horrendous start in Boston where he let up 8 ER in 4.1 IP.  Let it fly A.J.

Let's Go Yankees!  It's Miller Time!

Statehood: Minnesota

On May 11th, 1858, the great state of Minnesota was admitted to the union as the thirty-second state. 

The Minnesota Twins are at home tonight, and beautiful Target Field, to take on the White Sox.  Not sure if they'll celebrate their statehood with a promotion, but it doesn't look like it.  Kevin Slowey will try to get the W for the Twinkies tonight - 4-2, 3.93 ERA, 11 BB, 28 K - pretty good numbers for the Conroe, TX native.  Freddie Garcia takes the hill for the Sox - 1-2, 5.28 ERA, 12 BB, 18 K.

My guess is the home-field Twins will pick up an AL Central victory.  I hate Bobby Jenks' chin hair too, so 2 strikes against the White Sox.  It's usually blond - either way, he's a slob.

Happy Statehood Minnesota!