Prior to very recently, my research group at MGH, CEPAC (Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications) did not have a website. Now it does… but we need Google to find it and rank it highly. So, now that I’ve posted it here, hopefully it will. (Also, those of you who aren’t web crawling robots are welcome to check it out as well.)
The official word from MGH Police:
“As you may have heard in the media, there was an incident this afternoon at 50 Staniford St. involving an assault on an employee. An off duty security guard, not associated with MGH, shot the suspect and the suspect has died. The employee is being treated for injuries and is in stable condition. The building is safe and has been secured. The Boston Police Department is processing the scene.”
Today was a fun day in the office, what with being in a temporary lockdown and all. But I am fine as is everyone I work with. (The incident happened on the 5th floor, I work on the 9th floor.)
My previous statement about Alex Rodriguez still stands.
On the plus side… no more Metrodome! As much as I have fond memories that took place there, it cannot be stressed enough how awful a baseball stadium it is. (There is one exception — if it is raining outside and the stadium is full, it’s kind of worth it. See last week, for example.)
I didn’t get to see the last two Red Sox games, wherein they were swept by the Angels. I went to bed after the Twins game on Friday so that I could get up early and drive to Maine. And I was out hiking in Acadia during today’s game. More on that later…
I really dislike A-Rod right now.
Edited in the 11th: Mark Teixeira’s on my list now too. MFNYY win 4-3. Even though Mauer got screwed out of a double in the top of the 11th. I didn’t think the Twins would win this series, but I didn’t think the games would be this frustrating. Maybe they’ll squeak one out in the Dome on Sunday to avoid the sweep.
This is so unpleasant, I’m running away to camp in Maine. (Actually, this was always the plan. And getting a motel on Sunday with a TV to watch game 3 is also part of the plan. And bringing a portable radio to listen to other playoff games involving the local team is also part of the plan.)
Well, that pretty much sucked.
On the other hand, it was pretty much to be expected given that the Twins arrived in New York at 4 am this morning after last night’s exciting win. Plus, now it’s safe to wash my jersey, which is a little rank.
Holy mother of exciting baseball!
How much do I wish my boss had e-mailed me Sunday morning and I had actually changed my flight and stood in line for tickets!
Instead, I was watching at Forrest’s apartment in downtown Boston on his big screen HDTV. (Sidenote: I need to seriously consider getting one of those. I could read the phone numbers for the bullpen and the locker room written on the dugout wall!) I brought the guacamole, beer, and chips; Forrest made the chili. Oh, and key… I brought the Homer Hankies and the Twins jersey that remains unwashed after being worn to both Metrodome games this weekend. It’s lucky, you know.
Twelve innings that lasted nearly 5 hours. Fo-fo and I had a whole system of waving the Homer Hankies throughout the game. Our hats were inverted to rally mode when the Twins were at bat, but in regular mode when the Tigers were up. (I’m pretty sure his non-Minnesotan roommate thinks we’re crazy. Actually, I think his Minnesotan roommate thinks we’re crazy too.) Sure, I know none of this actually affects the game… but I’ve got to pretend I have some sort of control just to keep sane.
There were multiple occasions when I thought the Twins were done. When Alexi Casilla failed to score in the 10th by tagging up on a shallow fly to right and getting thrown out at the plate to end the inning, I had a sinking feeling that the Twins had just blown their chance. When the Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the 12th, I was certain that was the end. But man, the Twins just do not want to say goodbye to the big ugly bubble that is the Dome.* Little Nicky Punto made an amazing play from second to force out the runner at home and Bobby Keppel got a strikeout to end the half inning. And then who should be the hero in the bottom of the 12th? Alexi Casilla, making up for his earlier base running error, singled Gomez in and for the 5th time in 8 years, the Twins were Central Division Champions.
… and in 18 hours, the playoffs begin. I hope the Twins are less exhausted than I am right now.
* This is the most honest farewell to the Dome I’ve read yet.
From: Silva, Karen A.
Sent: Mon 10/5/2009 9:00 AM
To: Rhode, Erin R.
Subject: Message from KenGood Morning Erin:
Ken said you should stay in Minnesota for the next couple of days.
Regards,
Karen
Too bad my flight had taken off when she sent this, or I would have taken him up on that…
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| No more indoor baseball… except for Tuesday and maybe more if that goes well |
Okay, that’s out of my system.
When I made plans to come home for the last regular season game in the Dome, I did not prepare for the contingency of a one game playoff with Detroit two days after the last scheduled game. And so, instead of being at the Dome again on Tuesday, tomorrow I get on a flight back to Boston and will have to settle for watching the game on Forrest’s big screen TV instead. Even Kent Hrbek mentioned it in his speech during the post-game ceremonies which were supposedly to close out the Twins tenure in the Dome. But, as Herbie put it, “you guys screwed up my speech. Now we have to come back on Tuesday and drink more beer. And I will be back and I will drink more beer.” Wish I could be there with him…
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| Jason Kubel hits his first 3-run homer of the game |
But I was there today… and it was pretty incredible. I’d like to think that the folks at the Metrodome followed my example of bringing back the Homer Hanky magic yesterday as they were passed out to everyone attending today’s game. These weren’t new hankies, mind you, just leftovers from previous years. The ones we got were from 2004, but I saw some from 2006, 2003, and 2002 as well. And hey, old or not, they worked as the Twins put on quite the offensive show.
Jason Kubel hit two three run homeruns to put his RBI count over 100 and Delmon Young also had a pair of homers. Yesterday’s hero Michael Cuddyer had the fifth homerun of the game as the Twins cruised to victory 13-4. The only way it could have been better would have been a White Sox victory in Detroit so that the Twins could have clinched it today. In fact, one of the loudest cheers of the day happened when the scoreboard changed from 5-1 Tigers to 5-3 Tigers at the same moment that Matt Tolbert swung and missed. He’s probably never got such a round of applause for getting a strike before. My other favorite came during the “Don’t Stop Believing” sing-a-long, which got a chorus of boos during the “born and raised in South Detroit” line.
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| Kirby Puckett Jr. removes the last number in the countdown to outdoor baseball… ignoring the whole playoff thing. |
After the game there was an hour long ceremony celebrating the top 10 Metrodome Moments and introducing the All-Metrodome team. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one tearing up during some of the Kirby tributes. Puckett’s homerun to win Game 6 of the 1991 World Series was selected as the number 1 moment. In somewhat of a surprise to me, the number 2 moment was one I was at — the spontaneous packed house of fans who showed up to welcome the players back after winning the American League Championship in Detroit in 1987. As Herbie put it, probably the craziest a ballpark has ever been without a game happening.
But for me, the top moment might just be being in the ballpark these past two days as the Twins did their part in mounting a comeback for the Central Division title. And yes, it’s the worst division in baseball and in any other division in the American League, the Twins would be in third place. But I don’t particularly care right now. Right now the season isn’t over and there’s a game on Tuesday to watch.
Plus, the Twins have this guy with the prettiest swing in baseball…
| Joe Mauer swings: A Triptych | ||
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| Set… | Swing… | Run! |
Way back in 1984, when my sister was less than a month old, my parents took us to a Twins game at the Metrodome, which also happened to be fan photo day. One of the big stars of the team back then was Tom Brunansky. All of two and a half, I have a vague recollection of being in line with my parents, but being terrified of the man and his mustache when it came to taking my picture with him. My sister, having not yet developed an ability to show terror, had no such qualms about being handed over to a mustachioed stranger and thus the following picture was taken…
Fast forward 25+ years… it is the last weekend of regular season games in the Metrodome, and in celebration, the Twins are having another fan photo day. But instead of photos with current players, it’s photos with “Metrodome alumni,” including Tom Brunansky (who has shaved the mustache). After some scanning, some blowing up, and some printing of an old photo, the following picture was taken…
After pointing out that the baby in the picture was my sister (on the left), I think we made poor Bruno feel old.
Oh, and a bonus for you… me, my mother, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, 1991 World Series Game 7 winner Jack Morris, and the man who scored the winning run in Game 7 Dan Gladden.
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| I wave a homer hanky while keeping score… my mother crops my head out of the shot |
That was one of the most amazing games I have ever been to.
To set the stage for those not paying attention to the AL Central… going in to today, the Twins trailed the Tigers by one game with two left to go. If the Twins lose and the Tigers win, the Tigers clinch the division. If the Twins win both and the Tigers lose both, the Twins clinch the division. In the meantime, I have two tickets to tomorrow’s Twins game and my dad has bought us four tickets to today’s game. Plus there is a photo of Tom Brunansky involved, but I’ll save that for another post.
So, now that the stage is set, here were the key players…
Let the face off begin…
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| Joe Mauer at the bat |
After five and a half innings of a pitchers duel, I bring out the homer hanky in the bottom of the sixth. Immediately, Nick Punto draws a walk. After two sacrifices to advance Punto to third, Joe Mauer comes to the plate. In the face-off between the year’s best American Leaguers, Mauer came out the victor, lacing a single to right field to score Punto. A few batters later with the bases loaded, Delmon Young hits a bases clearing double to put the Twins up 4-0.
And it is all because I started waving the Homer Hanky, I swear.
Then I got lazy and the Royals started chipping away at the lead, eventually tying it up in the 8th. Going in to the bottom of the 8th, my dad and I have this conversation…
Dad: Who’s up next for the Twins?
Me, looking at scorebook: Kubel, Cuddyer, and Young.
Dad: Good, one of those guys can jack it and then Nathan comes in in the 9th for the save.
Sure enough, my dad was right. Cuddyer hit one deep to left to put the Twins up 5-4. Nathan got up in the bullpen the instant Cuddyer flipped his bat. In the top of the 9th, the Twins closer mowed down the Royals 1-2-3 to win the game.
And with that, the Twins were only a 1/2 game back of the Tigers. And just now, the Tigers lost to the White Sox (again)… which means that the AL Central is tied with one game left. And I have tickets tomorrow.
Colossus of Rhode 