Photo Mosaic of 5th Third Field in Toledo — Click to see details

I recently came across a program called Andrea Mosaic which allows you to make photo mosaics out of your own photo collection. After messing around with the pictures I happen to have on my laptop, I came up with a pretty cool photo mosaic of 5th Third Field in Toledo (from my minor league excursion last July) which is now my current desktop background. I set it up to use only baseball related photos, which includes ballgames I’ve been to, pictures from Cooperstown, and action shots from the batting cages we went to during Jenn’s bachelorette party. If you’ve been to a ball game with me in the past two years, chances are you’re in there somewhere. Overall, I’m pretty impressed with it — for comparison, the original image is here. I can’t explain why it likes the Red Sox logo so much, but refuses to use the Twins logo at all — I had both in the collection, I swear.

A few warnings if you want to try it yourself… you need a fairly large image collection if you want to make a good mosaic (or in some cases, if you want the algorithm to find an appropriate set of images at all). You can help that a little by allowing it to rotate, flip, and “alter” the images (which I think it does by changing the brightness and/or tint) and there’s also a neat extension which allows you to use frames from .avi files. (Unfortunately, it doesn’t clarify which codec and it’s clearly not all of them since it wouldn’t let me use a video Amrys took of Fenway.) It’s also a huge memory and CPU hog, and can take 20 minutes or more to complete, so don’t expect to multi-task too much while you’re playing around. But it’s a fun tool to waste time with.

… and it was unanimous, so my hat is safe and there will be no pictures of me eating headwear on this blog.

Cardinals win series 4-1
Quote of the Night, during the top of the ninth: “Damn, stranding a runner on third is like being with a chick who isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work just to get there, and in the end, you still don’t get paid off.” — My cello playing housemate
My streak is over and I realized last night that it’s an eerier streak than I thought. The brief history is as follows: I’m born in Minnesota in 1981 and six years later, the Minnesota Twins win their first World Series title since 1924 (when they were the Washington Senators*) against the St. Louis Cardinals. I move to Boston in 2000 and four years later, the Red Sox win their first World Series title since 1918 against the St. Louis Cardinals. I move to Michigan in 2005 and a year later (my power seems to grow stronger as I age and the time gets shorter), the Tigers have their first winning season since 1993 and go to the World Series for the first time since 1984 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
But note that I didn’t say that they won the World Series, for here my streak seems to end. In a postseason where the general consensus prediction among the pundits has been wrong at every level of the post-season, the Series proved to be no exception has the Tigers managed to win only one game and failed to bring it back to Detroit. At least this means I can go to the Halloween party tonight without worrying about the score of the game the whole time.
Also, the last time the Cardinals won the World Series was 1982, the first World Series I am alive for. Coincidence? Almost certainly.
* — The 1924 Senators’ star pitcher was none other than The Big Train, Walter Johnson. I recently found out that my friend Sara is his great-grand niece (the granddaughter of his nephew) and I briefly met his nephew at their family’s tailgate after the Michigan-Iowa game last week.

Cards lead series 2-1
It was poker night tonight, which means me and a crowd of guys who know significantly less about baseball than I do playing Texas Hold ‘Em with the World Series on in the background. (And on this night, I went home with $16 on a $5 buy-in — jcbarret would be so proud.) Being in Michigan, we’ve all adopted the Tigers as our team (for now) even though none of us are from here. Here’s some snippets of conversation…
Fox flashes Chris Carpenter’s home ERA of 1.41 on the screen
Guy 1: What does that mean?
Me: That the Tigers aren’t going to win.
Albert Pujols comes to bat in the 4th inning with runner on first.
Me: Man, this guy is scary.
Guy 2: Why?
Pujols hits a ground rule double.
Me: That’s why.
A few minutes later, Scott Rolen walks to load the bases with no outs.
Guy 3: This isn’t good, right?
Me: Nope.
After a ground out at home, Jim Edmonds lines a shot to right field.
Me: Well crap.
Guy 1 (looks up from his cards): Wait, what?
Me (points to television as Rolen and Pujols cross home plate): That.
Guy 3: I realize this would take a lot of work and stuff, but why don’t they just make all of the stadiums bigger so that they can allow aluminum bats?
Me (pause to figure out if he really asked what he just asked): Uh… because that would be stupid.
Guy 3: Why?
Guy 2: Yeah, the game would be more exciting that way.
Me: But some poor pitcher would get hit with a line drive going 200 MPH and be killed!
The game enters the seventh inning.
Guy 3: So is this game over?
Me: Never say never in baseball… although Carpenter’s still out there firing rockets, so the odds aren’t good.
Another Tiger wiffs at another pitch.
Guy 2: I think that was the third consecutive pitch over 100 MPH.
Me: Well, maybe it’s over.
The Cardinals score two more in the seventh on an ugly throwing error by Zumaya.
Me: Now it’s basically over.
Top of the 9th, two outs, two strikes on Craig Monroe.
Guy 2: Maybe the Tigers will come back.
(Me, Guy 1, and Guy 3 give him an incredulous look.)
Monroe grounds out to third to end the game.
Guy 2:… or maybe not.
Guy 3: Aren’t the Tigers supposed to be cleaning up against the Cardinals?
Me: What did I tell you during the ALCS? Don’t believe anything the pundits say — they’re wrong a lot. Particularly in this post-season.
Guy 3: Actually, I’m repeating what you said to me when the Tigers were playing the Yankees. You said that the American League was basically a lock to win the World Series.
Me: Oh… don’t listen to anything I say either.

It’s time for an old game I haven’t played in a long time… fun with the 9th Edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia.
After 9 innings of some very good baseball, the World Series teams for 2006 have been decided and its going to be a rematch of the 1968 World Series. The Tigers beat the Cards* in seven games that year. And who hit .333 with a homerun and 4 RBI for St. Louis that series? None other than our favorite Fox announcer, Tim McCarver.
It’s also a rematch of the 1934 World Series, another 7 game series, but this one won by the Cardinals. All four of the Cardinal wins were attributed to the Dean brothers — two each for Dizzy and Daffy. Mother must have been so proud. Not to be outdone in the fun names department, the Tigers three winning pitchers were Schoolboy Rowe (this is how he’s listed in the Players Register), Elden Auken, and Tommy Bridges. Well, two out of three, anyway.
So, what can we expect of the coming World Series if history is to be any indication? Seven games and a bunch of colorful characters.
Of course, the last time there was a World Series rematch involving the Cardinals, history didn’t even come close to repeating itself, so what do I know.
* — Sidebar: I was talking to a friend yesterday and he was asking me who I wanted to win the NLCS. I responded with “I think I’m going for the Cards,” and he thought I was making some reference to our weekly poker game.

Oh, so this is what it’s like to cheer for a team that wins in the postseason… I had forgotten.
I actually started my Tiger cheering last night after the Twinkies got swept, by going to a bar full of Detroit fans and seeing them go up 2-1 in the series with the Yanks. After returning from my tailgate experience this afternoon, I sat in my room alone and watched the Tigers finish it up and send themselves to the ALCS against Oakland starting next. Jeremy Bonderman took a no-hitter into the sixth while in the meantime, the Tigers offense demonstrated that yes, the AL Central was the best division in baseball. They clobbered the Yankees left and right — I was so pleased.
The one thing I didn’t understand… Bonderman went 8 and 1/3 innings. With only two outs to go, why didn’t Leyland leave him in to finish it? He didn’t look in particularly poor shape to me and it’s not like Jamie Walker is an unstoppable closer or anything. Not that it really matters that he gave up a two run homer to Posada. The Tigers are still going to the ALCS and, almost more importantly, the Yankees are not.
Edit: Oh man, how can you not be happy for these guys? I’ve never before seen a team win a series and then go back on to the field and spray the fans with champagne. Not only that, but one of the security cops standing guard also got his own champagne shower.

This one wasn’t even fun to watch.
I wanted Brad Radke to have the final start of his career that movies are made of. I wanted him shut down the offense. I wanted the rest of the team to be so fired up to support him that they’d give him run support galore. I wanted to be able to watch Twins baseball tomorrow.
Today was clearly not the day for getting what I wanted. The brooms were out in Oakland, and the Athletics used them to finish up the sweep. I could argue that the ump made the wrong call at the plate when Hunter came around and failed to score. And while he very clearly did, that wasn’t really what today’s came hinged on. No, the Twins just had the same problems they’ve had for the past two games — no momentum. Watching the games on ESPN, I find it hard to believe that this is the same team I saw in Cleveland a few weeks ago and Chicago a few weeks before that. It’s like someone cut out their heart and soul.
But here’s a final salute to Brad Radke… the last guy left on the team to have played with #34. The guy went out there and did his damnedest, broken shoulder or not, and finished off a twelve year career with his head held high. And here’s to Torii Hunter, who with his homerun and gutsy slide that should have been safe looked like a one man machine that refused to give up. And Joe Mauer… yeah, we are so over. Enjoy your Miss USA — I’m marrying Justin Morneau instead.
Time to cheer for Tigers against the Yankees, I guess. Go Tigers, she meekly waves.
Oh and, Anand? Shut up.

Uh, that sucked.
A lot.
Once again, the starting pitching did pretty well, but the Twins had no offense outside a pair of back-to-back solo homers by Cuddyer and Morneau. Admittedly, those were fun to watch, but I’ve never really thought of homeruns as great momentum builders. Mauer once again proved his worthlessness in clutch situations and the piranhas lacked bite. Well, except for Punto’s outstanding catch in foul territory — but good defense doesn’t score runs.
In the 7th, with the score tied at two apiece, Torii Hunter tried to be a hero and came up empty handed… literally. And in the meantime, Kotsay just kept running — all the way home for an inside-the-parker. That was the moment when I knew it was over.
But Friday will be a new day. Let’s hope the boys go to Oakland and rally around Radke’s bionic arm and actually, you know, generate some offense.

ALDS Game 1
You want to know a secret? Despite the fact that he’s my favorite player and all, when the game is on the line and there are two outs and runners on base, Joe Mauer is pretty much the last guy in a Twins uniform that I want to see at the plate. .347 BA or not, the guy is not clutch. I’ve seen him ground out and line out in key situations more times than I care to remember this season — and I watched him do it again today.
But there were good things for the Twins today. Outside of the second inning, Santana was on fire, and pitched out of a few jams that the uncharacteristically sloppy defense got him into — he just got no run support in the other half of the innings. And while the Twins botched a few defensive plays here and there, Nick Punto made an outstanding leaping catch into some netting on the third base side that had me sitting up (which is no easy feat, given that I have the flu). Michael Cuddyer utilized the homefield advantage that is the worst stadium in baseball when he made it all the way to third on a ball that Milton Bradley couldn’t find in the dome ceiling. When Torii Hunter hit him home, I thought maybe they had a chance to come back in the ninth. But no…
Because you see, the A’s have Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas. And those two homeruns of his really did hurt.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!
I sat in my room peeling apples for some delicious homemade applesauce with the Twins game on the game channel and the Tigers game on TV. Going into the day, Minnesota and Detroit were tied for the Central Division lead. Because the Tigers had won the season series between the two teams, if the Twins wanted the division title, they needed to win today and the Tigers needed to lose. This seemed somewhat unlikely, given that the Tigers were facing 100-game losers Kansas City and the Twins were facing a more formidable opponent in the Chicago White Sox. But in a season full of unlikely surprises, that’s exactly what happened as the Tigers choked big in KC.
The fourth inning of today’s game pretty much represented everything that is offensively awesome about the Twins — a double by Joe Mauer, a double by Justin Morneau, and the 31st homerun of the year for Torii Hunter. Oh, and did I mention that by going 2 for 4 today while over in New York Derek Jeter managed only a paltry 1 for 5 that Joe Mauer is the AL batting champ? Oh, wait… not only that, he’s the MLB batting champ — the first catcher ever to do so. How d’you like them apples, Derek?
And now that the season’s over, it’s official that Johan Santana, who’ll be going on Tuesday in game 1 of the ALDS, has won the MLB pitching triple crown — 2.77 ERA, 19 wins, and 245 strikeouts. If he doesn’t win the Cy Young unanimously, I’ll eat my hat. And photograph it and put it on this blog.
So bring on the A’s… the Twins have the momentum and a division title and the piranhas are ready to fight this postseason.