For reasons relating mostly to boredom, I made an absolutely ridiculous pie last week. What you can’t see in the picture is the layer of raspberry and blackberry compote on the bottom. It’s covered by a layer of lime curd whipped with cream and then some pretty delicious Italian meringue, made with the help of a stand mixer. (I’ve hand whipped a meringue once before… I never want to do it again.)
It might not be as pretty as the magazine cover, but it sure was delicious!
While I was home, my dad and I went to see Stevie Nicks live at Mystic Lake in their outdoor amphitheater. (Incidentally, my ticket was supposed to be for my mom, but I took when my mother failed to name three Stevie Nicks songs… actually, she failed to name even one.) Before the concert started, when we were sitting in our seats, my dad announced that he knew his youth was over. “How?” I asked.
He took a big inhale through his nose. “Smell that?” he asked.
I smelled the air. “No… I don’t smell anything but maybe a freshly mowed lawn.”
“Exactly,” he said, “I’m at an outdoor Stevie Nicks concert and the only grass I smell is the lawn. My youth is over.”
Now, fast forward to tonight…
Brandi Carlile was opening for Ray LaMontagne at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, an outdoor amphitheater. I wasn’t originally going to go, because while I’m a fan of Brandi’s, I’d only heard two Ray LaMontagne songs and all the good seats were sold out anyhow. But this afternoon I found a seat dead center in the fourth row for face value on craigslist, so at the list minute I arranged to meet some strangers from LA whose friend had canceled on them and buy their spare ticket.
Brandi was great… played some new stuff which seems to be leaning more country than her old stuff. Then Ray came on… and well, things got aromatic. And it wasn’t just me who started smelling things. After two or three songs, Ray started to talk and introduce the band, but quickly just started laughing, “Sorry, Berkeley, but all I can smell is your pot.”
So there you are, Dad. Your youth might be over, but it’s alive and kicking in Berkeley.
And despite not knowing much about him past the two songs Pandora keeps playing for me, I’m now a definite fan of Ray LaMontagne. In particular, I have new favorite song of the moment: Like Rock and Roll & Radio. He played it as his final encore and I liked it so much I bought his new album.
I’m a little late, but it was State Fair time again… I left my camera at the cabin, so the only photo I have is one taken with my phone of a calf just after being born. Moo.
I went to the fair twice this year. The first time was with my sister on a slightly rainy Tuesday. We arrived early in the morning (8:30-ish) and got in as much as we could before I went to work at the milk booth for the second year in a row. As we were heading in, the ticket takers offered us a map.
A calf born about 30 minutes before the picture was taken in the Miracle of Life barn
“Do we want one?” I asked my sister.
“We could,” she said, “Or we could just rely on the fact that we’ve been coming here for over 25 years and we have the place memorized.”
“Right,” I said, “Let’s go with the second option.”
And into the fair we went, eating in chronological order…
I’m combining my two Target Field games into one post because, well, they felt a lot like the same game. Except that yesterday Jim Thome was on the team and today he wasn’t… but I’ll get to that. The games worked like this:
But there were a few differences in my game going experiences. Yesterday I took the light rail to the game from my mom’s office and went by myself after getting a cheap ticket off of StubHub to sit in the Legend’s Club. (Since the Twins have been out of any sort of playoff hunt, it’s possible to get tickets now for below face value.) The Legend’s Club is pretty nice — you must have a ticket in that section to get up there and it is home to all sorts of memorabilia commemorating the first three Twins Hall of Famers: Killebrew, Carew, and Puckett. Plus, there are air conditioned lounges and bars for you to watch the game in if it gets too hot (or cold?) to sit in your seat. I didn’t really take advantage of these as it was nice outside. The fourth Twins HOFer, Bert Blyleven, having only been inducted a few weeks ago, doesn’t have a trophy case there yet. I wonder if that will change next season. Barring major construction, he certainly won’t get his own room like the other players, but a kiosk of mementos would be nice.
Also, in the Legend’s Club, you can get one heckuva root beer float. They line the cup with soft serve ice cream from bottom to top, leaving just a hollow center. In this hollow center, they poor as much of a bottle of Killebrew Root Beer as will fit in the hollow space, and give you the remainder of the bottle. As I discovered tonight, this is not available downstairs for the “regular” people — that root beer float was just some root beer in a cup with about a third the amount of ice cream. And they don’t give you the rest of the bottle of root beer.
Tonight, you see, I was not in the Legend’s Club, but was sitting downstairs with my parents in seats I paid full price for a few months ago, back when I thought a late season Twins-Tigers series was going to be an exciting series for the division title. But not so much. On the plus side, tonight was a give-away game and my parents and I are all proud owners of Jim Thome wind-up walkers. (I’ll maybe post a picture, eventually.) Unfortunately, as of this afternoon, Thome is no longer a Minnesota Twin. He was traded to Cleveland, his first team, for a player to be named later. Thanks for the memories Jim… it was a thrill seeing you crush 597 in Oakland.
Since Oakland was so kind as to give me a free jersey during the last Twins game I went to, I decided to go to an A’s game where I could wear it and cheer for them. Thus, tonight I headed across the Bay to enjoy a baseball game, meeting up with two friends-of-a-friend who are big sports fans. As it happens, it was also fireworks night, so we hung around to see the Elvis Presley themed explosions in the sky while sitting on the outfield grass. Bert Blyleven likes to talk about the Oakland foul territory — well, tonight I sat directly on the foul line and noted how far away the bleachers were.
But Bert wasn’t there tonight; he was back in Minnesota watching the Twins clobber the Yankees (and I don’t get to say that often). Instead, the A’s were hosting our neighbor to the North, the Toronto Blue Jays. They didn’t sing “O Canada” before the game, which I thought was odd, and perhaps the lack of a national anthem threw the Blue Jays off their game. They scored a quick run in the first, but after that, A’s pitcher Gio Gonzalez was unstoppable, striking out 9 in 8 innings of work. In the meantime, the A’s answered quickly with a run of their own in the bottom of the first and another run in the 4th to go up 2-1. This score held until the 8th when the A’s generated some two out offense including a two run homerun in a nine pitch at bat for Josh Willingham, who was pinch hitting for David DeJesus. After a quick 1-2-3 9th, the A’s were victorious with a score of 5 to 1.
Having now gone to non-Twins games in both Oakland and San Francisco, I think I might prefer the A’s. AT&T Park is clearly superior, and at least for me, the location can’t be beat. But much the way it was with Fenway, you have to plan ahead to go to a Giants game and there are a lot of pink hats and people not actually watching the game. Because the Giants just won the World Series, starting to cheer for the Giants now feels a little like jumping on the bandwagon. By contrast, we got our tickets at the gate tonight (upgrading from some free seats Chris had from work) and they were dirt cheap. Pretty much everyone at the game was actually watching the game (except maybe the drama filled section in front of us that resulted in multiple ejections — we still don’t know what was going on there). And the A’s aren’t doing so hot these days, so I’m in no danger of front-running. Plus, I’ve always been an American League fan… going to National League games just feels a little off to me.
I utterly and completely screwed up.
As you may have noted from my last post, I woke up in Michigan this morning.
So did Jim Thome and the rest of the Minnesota Twins as they were scheduled to play the Tigers tonight. A few weeks ago, I realized this was going to happen, and thought about changing my flight so I could go. But then I was feeling cheap and didn’t do it.
Fast forward to a few hours ago… Thome is entering the game with 598 homeruns. I am just getting out of the San Francisco airport. (As an aside, thanks, broken SFO conveyor belt, for making me miss the beginning of the game.) Eventually I get home to discover that Delmon Young is batting for the Tigers… I check twinkietown.com and discover that he was traded while I was on the plane for a couple of minor league prospects.
Bummer, I think to myself, it would have been fun to see Delmon go to the other dugout.
Then Thome gets up to bat with the score tied at 3 and Jason Kubel already on base… and he hits career homerun 599.
Dang it, I say to myself, I should have stayed in Michigan. I also call my dad and say this to him and my sister. While we’re on the phone, Ben Revere nearly hits an inside the park homerun but is thrown out at the plate. Eventually we hang up.
Then, Jim Thome comes up again with two runners on and the score at 6-5 Twins with runners on the corners. BOOM… he hits number 600, the first guy in history to hit 599 and 600 in back to back at bats. (Ruth did it with only a single homerless at bat in between.)
#$%%$^%&^#$#@, I say to myself, I really should have been at this game. And then the phone rings with my Dad’s customized ring, which happens to be the Twins theme song. I briefly consider just listening to the song and not answering, but I don’t.
And I am given crap for not being there. Which I deserve. But I hang up on him anyway.
Congrats, Jimmers… I really should have been there.
I’m back in my old stomping grounds of Ann Arbor for the weekend, to celebrate the wedding of Sarah B and John. The wedding was de-lovely; held at a farm outside of town with an outdoor ceremony, tented reception (just in time for the rain), and dance in a barn with a jazz band.
Also, there were puzzles provided by yours truly. If you’d like to try your hand at them, they can be found here:
http://web.mit.edu/errhode/Public/puzzle/SarahAndJohn-Puzzles.pdf
No knowledge of the bride and groom is required…
But back to the band… I heard them warming up, playing strands of De-lovely by Cole Porter, which I once arranged for SSAA and sang A2 on. (I also knew it was the wedding song as I wrote a puzzle around it.) So, I walked over and chatted with them for a bit where I learned that the Easy Street Jazz Band has been playing continuously as a band in some version or another for 40+ years and they were even nominated for a grammy in the early 80s, playing with Bonnie Raitt. And they learned that I have some singing experience, especially with De-Lovely.
After that, I had a brief chat with the bride and groom, and the next thing I knew, I was on for singing with the band during the bride and groom’s first dance, entirely unrehearsed and completely sight-reading the second bonus verse written just for the wedding. The key was a touch high, but I managed. I got a few compliments — the biggest of all probably being from a friend who didn’t realize it was me and had just figured that the band had a vocalist. Later I went back and sang Blue Skies in a key a bit more fitting for me. It was a hoot… and the band leader actually asked if I live in Ann Arbor and wanted to come out to their regular Tuesday gig. I’m a little sad that I don’t — that band is phenomenal!
So, thank you to John and Sarah for allowing me to indulge in one of my fantasies (just jumping in with a band like that) and for letting me be part of your wonderful day and your de-lovely moment. Congratulations on a wedding I’ve seen coming for years and best wishes on what is sure to be a long and happy marriage!
A recap of the 7th inning of today’s 7-3 loss to Oakland, accurate to the pitch, with apologies to Ernest Thayer
The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the ‘Sota nine that day:
The score stood seven-three, with but three innings more to play.
And then when Sweet Drew grounded left, and Sizemore threw to first,
A sickly feeling grew inside as Twins fans feared the worst.
A straggling few got up to go and catch the BART. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Thome could get but a whack at that –
We’d put up even money, now, with Thome at the bat.
But Joe preceded Thome, as did also Ben Revere,
Cuddyer’s bat came third and Kubel’s batting clean-up here ;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Thome’s getting to the bat.
But Benny drew a four pitch walk, to the wonderment of all,
And Joe, the much belov-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
Cuddy took a strike, a ball, a strike, and fouled one off,
But then he watched strike three go by and sat down with a scoff.
With two outs now, Kubel rose and stepped into the box,
But Breslow’s pitch was low and wild and bounced near Jason’s socks;
And when the ball passed Kurt, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Mauer safe at second and Ben a-hugging third.
When Kubel walked to load ’em up, there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Thome, mighty Thome, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Jimmer’s manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Jimmer’s bearing and a smile on Jimmer’s face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Thome at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Thome’s eye, a sneer curled Thome’s lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Thome gave a mighty swing, but couldn’t catch his share.
The second pitch was just as fast and Thome’s swing as slow –
“Well, now,” Jimmers mumbled. “Two quick strikes, dontcha know.”
From the benches, gold with jerseys, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
“He’s old so strike the bum out!” shouted one drunk Oakland fan;
But Twins fans wouldn’t listen, they had faith in their man.
With a smile of Christian charity great Thome’s visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Jim held his bat back for first ball one and then ball two.
The Twins fans did remember how Jim hit five-ninety-seven;
That homerun in the third to put them up, well it was heaven.
And now they saw his face grow cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Thome wouldn’t let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Thome’s lip, his teeth are clenched in grit;
He settles back into the box, quite sure he’ll get a hit.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Thome’s blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Twinsville – mighty Thome has struck out.
****
There was an inning eight and there was an inning nine;
But nowhere in those innings did they show a winning sign,
Oh, they had the lead but lost it when the A’s scored in the third;
And in the fourth Oak scored again and ’twas the final word.
Well, that game was less fun.
I went early and watched batting practice. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to Jim Thome before… that man is huge! He didn’t hit 597 (HR) tonight, but he did have a double and single — and he even managed to score from second on a Delmon Young single. Watching Thome “run” around the bases amuses me. It makes me think I could be a professional athlete… if I also had hulking muscles and could hit 500 ft homeruns. During batting practice, I watched as they took turns running the bases between their turns at bat. While younger players like Matt Tolbert and Ben Revere busted their butts, Thome just kind of trotted — he really does look like a jolly Paul Bunyan out there. But look at him crush this ball (for a single):
Jim Thome crushes a single
Unfortunately, Thome’s offense was about all the Twins had tonight. By contrast, Oakland had it in droves and were helped out by some pretty terrible Twins defense. The lowlight was possibly in the second inning when, after turning a double play, pitcher Nick Blackburn headed back to the dugout… except there were only two outs and a runner on 3rd who thought about scoring. The Twins only had one error on the scoreboard — a muffed thrown from Joe Mauer to Tsuyoshi Nishioka that allowed Coco Crisp to steal not one but two bases in the first inning, which lead to the first Oakland run. However, there were at least two other plays that were questionably errors as well: Danny Valencia missing a Scott Sizemore “double” down the line in the 5th which drove in three runs and Trevor Plouffe making a mental error, (over-)throwing to second on a hit and run when he had no shot at the runner. Oh, plus Joe Mauer’s passed ball that led to a run… that’s five of Oakland’s 8 runs caused by Twins errors or pseudo-errors. That’s the run differential right there.
Also, for the person who reads this that is enamored of him, Cliff Pennington had a double and walk, each of which led to him scoring a run. I do not like your man Pennington, even if he does have a name that invokes images of British tea parties.
To end on a happy Jim Thome related noted, these pictures are from yesterday’s game. If you don’t get it, go watch this first.
Jim Thome stand-ins: The men with the ox in the batter's box... two pictures to be sure you get both the mustaches and the back of the flannels
Tonight I traveled across the Bay to Oakland to see the Twins take on the Athletics. It was also the first weekend back for Twins broadcaster and new Hall of Famer, Bert Blyleven. Bert loves to talk about the large amount of foul territory in Oakland, and thus I made a sign… and as he is wont to do, Bert circled me! Check out the animated gif I made from screen grabs of my (very brief) moment of Twins fame.
Unfortunately, the guy in front of me chose my brief window of fame to get up and in doing so, partially blocked the sign. But it says “Circle me {Hall of Famer->} Bert… if you can find me past all this Foul Territory!” My mother texted me to tell me she and her sisters (and my sister) had seen me. After confirming that he was circled too, I think I made that kid in front of me’s night.
It wasn’t just the circling that made this game fun — the fact that the Twins beat up on the A’s 9-5 added to the enjoyment. The Twins struck first in the first on a two out double from Jason “Professional Hitter” Kubel that scored Trevor “I almost got his jersey” Plouffe and Joe “Milk Drinker” Mauer. The A’s answered quickly by tying it in the bottom of the inning on a two run Josh “Named like a Cricketer” Willingham homer. In the third inning, the Twins went ahead for the final time on a rather anemic display of offense — two errors leading to runners on first and third followed by a GIDP by Michael “I actually have his jersey” Cuddyer that incidentally scored Plouffe from third.
Just to prove that they had real offense left in them, the Twins scored again in the 5th on a Plouffe double, in the 6th off of successive singles from Delmon “Don’t make him run” Young and Matt “Morneau Lookalike” Tolbert followed by two walks to Drew “The Other Catcher” Butera and Ben “Damn, he’s fast” Revere. The Twins really put the nail in the coffin in the 8th with another Plouffe RBI double and a three run homerun by Cuddyer to go up 9-2. Hey, Onion, they figured out that two runs in one at bat thing.
The A’s finally scored again in the 9th on another Willingham homerun — this one a three run shot. This made the very nice Oakland fans next to me happy, so I was happy for them as long as Glen Perkins was in the bullpen to make sure it didn’t become a trend. Those same fans later gave me their extra turkey sandwich while we waited for the start of the postgame fireworks (inexplicably set to Broadway showtunes). Incidentally, this was the second time this season I went to see the Twins in Oakland and random strangers gave me free food. Seriously nice people in Oakland…
Colossus of Rhode 