Like The Bad Taste Line, But With Rain

I just got back from camping out in front of the Power Center in order to secure myself student tickets for the Royal Shakespeare Company performances this November. (Sorry, lmesseri, these were for students only...) Tickets went on sale for the reduced price of $30 this morning at 9 AM. My original plan was to get up and get in line at 6:00 AM, figuring that would be early enough. So, I curled up to go to bed at 11 last night and at about 11:30, my housemate knocked on my door.

"Uh, Erin? There's eight tents up already. I think we should camp."

So, I got up, grabbed my tent and sleeping bag, called the friends who were going to meet me at 6 to tell them the change in plans, and headed over to the line. Estimated headcounts had us at about persons 50-55. At about 1 am, members of the Emerson String Quartet, cellist David Finkel and pianist Wu Han stopped by with the University Musical Society president to distribute chocolate and check up on the line, which was about twelve tents strong at that point. My housemate, a cellist himself, nearly had an aneurysm trying to explain how big a deal it was for him to meet these people. I was just glad to eat the chocolate.

Shortly thereafter, it started to rain. We climbed into our tents (or makeshift tents in some cases) and grabbed some shut eye. I woke up at about 8 and realized just how important it was to have gotten there when we did. The line stretched around the block (and it was still raining). With only 443 tickets total, maximum 170 for each of the three shows, most of those people weren't going to get tickets.

But I have mine in my hand... one for the Tempest, with Patrick Stewart as Prospero, one for Antony and Cleopatra, with Stewart as Antony, and one for Julius Caesar.

Twins 2 (+1?), Royals 1

While the real story of this game is the return of Brad "My arm didn't fall off" Radke and his five innings of 3 hit ball despite a broken shoulder, I'll just direct you to two other blogs if you're interested in that. Although it is worth mentioning that Bradke's ability to play through the pain all season is right up there with Curt Schilling's bloody sock in the 2004 World Series.

The second story of tonight's game? With the Tigers loss earlier in the day, the Twins are now tied for first in the AL Central. This is the first time they've been in first place for more than five hours since 2005 -- maybe even 2004. But I don't particularly want to cover that either. Especially since I tend to agree with the pundits who say that the Twins best chance to get to the World Series is to face the Yankees in a five game ALDS instead of a seven game ALCS. (And all of the pundits are in agreement that the Yanks are the AL team to beat right now, and that the Twins have the best chance of being the ones to beat them.)

No, what I want to figure out is if the score of this game is what it should be.

Here's what happened... While Bradke was pitching his arm off (not literally, though it was in question for awhile), the Twins generated no offense until Joe "Mr. St. Paul" Mauer's homer in the ninth to tie it up and send the game to extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth, the Twins manage to load the bases with one out and Jason "Not the fake president" Bartlett comes up to bat. Bartlett hits the ball to deep center field and it bounces over the fence for a ground rule double.

Under normal circumstances, each runner advances two bases on a ground rule double, meaning that both Morneau at third and Ford at second would score and the Twins would get two runs out of the deal. However, this is the bottom of the last inning. Once the winning run scores, the game is over, so in this case, only Morneau scores and Bartlett is only credited with a single.

Except, and here's where it gets tricky, if Bartlett had hit a homerun instead of a GRD, all four runs would have been allowed to score. Since a GRD also has an automatic awarding of bases with the ball gone out of play, why aren't the two runs allowed to score much in the same way? So I've consulted the rules...

4.11(c) If the home team scores the winning run in its half of the ninth inning (or its half of an extra inning after a tie), the game ends immediately when the winning run is scored. EXCEPTION: If the last batter in a game hits a home run out of the playing field, the batter-runner and all runners on base are permitted to score, in accordance with the base-running rules, and the game ends when the batter-runner touches home plate.

... and it turns out, the rules don't actually help answer the question at hand, except to specifically state that the exception holds for homeruns only. I really think the rulebook should be amended here to add the exception for GRDs. Because at the end of the day, Bartlett hit a double, not a single, and the scorebook should reflect that.

Twins 8, Royals 1

Good things that happened tonight in baseball land:

• The Twins won and the White Sox lost, shrinking the Twins magic number to zero. 0. A goose egg. Playoffs, here we (and by we, I mean they) come!
• My future husband, Joe Mauer, went 2 for 3, upping his batting average to the still-AL-leading .349.
• Torii Hunter hit his 30th homerun of the season. Justin Morneau hit his 34th. This marks the first time since 1987 that multiple Twins had 30 homer seasons. (And incidently, no Twin has had 30 homers since then.) Do you know what else happened in 1987? The Twins beat the Tigers in the ALCS and went on to win the World Series. I sense good things for this post season. Good things.

Oh, and the Red Sox lost to Toronto, 5-0.

Twins 0, Red Sox 6 -- 8th inning

I'm posting this before the game ends so that I can relish the fact that the Twins are atop the Central Division right now. Especially because it doesn't look like it's going to stay that way. Johan "Unbeatable in the Second Half of the Season" Santana had an uncharacteristic blow up on the mound in the second inning. It sort of made me queasy when he bobbled that bunt. And then there was Papi...

Oh man, I can stop cheering for the Sox, but I can't stop cheering for David Ortiz. His swing is just so sweet. He's like a big teddy bear that hits homeruns. And I'd like you all to note that I was a fan of his long before he was the Boston favorite and MVP hopeful that he is now -- I was a fan of his when he was a Twin. (And let's not rip on Terry Ryan for "letting him go." That was in fact a strategic favor to me as I moved to Boston and needed some Twins to come with me.) But he's Boston's now... all-time Red Sox single season homerun leader with 52 and counting. And he doesn't share that title with anyone.

Twins 8, Red Sox 2

Some open letters to my two favorite baseball teams...

Dear Red Sox,

I'm sorry you were eliminated from the AL East title today. Even though we're still on a break, that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt to know that the Yankees are going to be in the playoffs (again) instead of you. But Papi, congrats on number 50... if I wasn't so opposed to DHs winning the MVP, I'd vote for you.

Rhode

You boys make me so happy. For about an hour tonight, you were tied for the Central Division lead and I was actually rooting for the Bad Sox in Chicago so that you could have that lead out right. But instead, you'll have to settle for shrinking the Wild Card magic number to 6. And Justin Morneau, you do get my MVP vote -- because you play defense and you have 125 RBI with a .325 batting average.

Rhode

PS - Don't worry about my still being friendly with the Good Sox -- you'll always be my true love.

Fan of the Game

Lisa mentioned seeing this happen, but I never got to see it myself. Now with the wonders of youtube... Baby fan of the game pukes on Mom.

Edit: More Twins videos on youtube... I'm not ashamed to admit that this one made me tear up a little, cheesy though it may be. It's especially recommended for my dad. Non-Twins fans probably won't be as touched.

Twins 6, Indians 1

My second game this weekend played out similarly to the first. The Indians scored quickly in the first and the Twins starting pitcher, this time Scott Baker, looked unsteady until the second, when he mowed the opposition down 1-2-3 and proceeded to pitch superbly for six innings, followed by some excellent bullpen relief. And like yesterday, the Twins quickly got the first run back on a Torii Hunter hit in second.

No, wait. It wasn't a hit, it was an E-3 that the Twins later capitalized on. Defense was the name of today's game and the Twins knew how to play it and the Indians didn't. Cleveland made a total of three errors that cost them at least one, if not two or three Twins runs. In the meantime, the Twins made five double plays (one on an incredible fielding play by Nick Punto at third), which saved who knows how many Indians runs.

All in all, an exciting weekend for me. Jacob's Field gets two thumbs up as a stadium, the Crowne Plaza hotel gets two thumbs up for damn comfortable beds, and the Twins get two thumbs and two big toes up for winning two games. There will be pictures... eventually.

Twins 4, Indians 1

Tonight was the first of my planned two games in Cleveland to catch the Twins take on the Tribe. My housemate, Patty, joined me for the three hour drive this afternoon and the subsequent game and current night's stay at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Cleveland.* It was 80's night at Jacob's Field, and in honor of that event, all of the fans were given free Cleveland Indians Rubik's Cubes. I solved mine quickly (okay, fine, they came solved... but I messed it up and retraced my steps quickly).

After Patty checked out the pro shop and picked up a jersey for her boyfriend, a German who roots for the Indians because he loved the movie Major League, we took our seats in the very back row of the bleachers. I met a guy from Cleveland earlier in the summer who heard of my baseball travels and told me that I had to get to Jacob's Field, because "there's not a bad seat in the house." Well, I can now at least vouch that the half-off-in-September bleacher seats have a good view of the field, though they lose a few points for having no view of the Jumbotron.

The game started out looking bleak for the Twins, with the Indians scoring quickly in the first off of a pair of hits and a fielder's choice. Carlos Silva looked a little uneasy on the mound and I was a little nervous about the Twins' chances. Surprisingly, the fans weren't all that excited, even when their team was ahead. I'd forgotten how much lower the energy in a stadium can be when the team isn't contending for a playoff spot. I was impressed with the guy next to me, however, when he proceeded to name the line-up of both the '87 and '91 World Champion Twins, despite the fact that he was a lifelong Indians fan.

And speaking of the Twins, while they were down early, they certainly weren't out. They got the initial run back in the third on a pair of singles of their own, followed by a pair of sacrifices from Little Nicky Punto and Mike "Joe Mauer who?" Redman to score Jason "The Piranha" Bartlett. Torii "Gold Glove" Hunter hit a homerun in the fourth to put the Twins ahead by one, and the boys from Minnesota grabbed an insurance run in the fifth off a Redman double. In the meantime, my worries about Silva's pitching were quickly allayed as he pitched another six solid innings, giving up only three more hits and no runs, including a five pitch seventh that was over before you could blink.

Redman earned himself another RBI in the top of the ninth, proving that the Twins can depend on their catcher for offense even when Mauer isn't in the game. (Have I mentioned that Redman has signed my scorebook? Well, he has and tonight I'm pretty proud of that.) Joe "Even better than Rivera" Nathan came in in the bottom of the ninth and the stadium began to slowly empty, even before he sent the Indians down 1-2-3 to earn his 33rd save of the season.

* - Priceline is pretty awesome for setting your own hotel rate, and I don't mind giving them free advertising. This is the same line of hotel I stayed at in San Francisco back in April, with the sleep CD and ridiculously comfortable beds, not to mention excellent location (walking distance to Jacob's Field). The price? $60 a night, split between us.

Dirty Car Art

The next time I go months without washing my car and it is covered in a thin film of grim and filth, I'm just going to tell people that I'm preparing it to be a work of art. Check out the gallery -- it's really amazing.

Random Trivia I Observed Today

While filling out some paperwork, one of the department secretaries asked me to confirm that MN is the correct abbreviation for Minnesota. As I thought I about the other possibilities, it occurred to me that every other choice (where the choices are defined as the first letter of the state followed by a second letter occurring somewhere in the state's name) is the abbreviation for another state. (MI = Michigan, ME = Maine, MS = Mississippi, MO = Missouri, MT = Montana, MA = Massachusetts) This is equally true of Maine and Montana, and no other states.

Of course, this bit of knowledge is completely useless. That's why it's called trivia.

Random Personal Things of Note

First, last Friday I auditioned for the University of Michigan Women's Glee Club and was officially informed today that I made it. (I was unofficially told this last Friday since there weren't that many second altos auditioning -- hurray for low voices.) I was one of two grad students auditioning and last year the group had no grad students -- thus I find the following bit of information amusing:

Our second rehearsal will be Thursday from 4:30-6:30 in Aud. 4 of the MLB followed by a pizza party where you will meet your Big Sister.

I'm going to have at least three years on this "Big" sister. Awesome.

Second, it was sprinkling this morning, so I put on my MIT Ice Hockey jacket as I left the house. When I got on the bus, I woman I didn't recognize approached me. "MIT ice hockey? I have that exact same jacket. When did you play?" Turns out her final season was the season before I got there and I recognized her name as one of the old captains. We chatted a bit about people we both knew -- it didn't surprise her at all to hear that ktfilion had coerced me into playing. How completely random...

Third, I'm planning on going to Cleveland this weekend to catch one, and possibly two games of the Twins-Indians series. I have one housemate who's equally excited about this prospect. Hurray for finding people who favor baseball over Michigan football! And hurray for five Twins games in five stadiums in the past month and a half!

Twins 12, Tigers 1

Well, Johan Santana pitches 7 scoreless, 2 hit innings, Joe Mauer goes two for three with two doubles and two RBI, and the Twins clobber the Tigers to come within two games of the Central Division lead and to go up a game and half over the White Sox (who lost to Cleveland today) for the Wild Card lead. And since I'm in the Detroit area, you'd think that I'd get to watch this game, right?

Wrong.

I really hate football. And professional poker. And the "Detroit Sports Report," which FSN decided to air instead of, you know, actual Detroit sports.

Watching the Yahoo! GameChannel means I have no chance of watching the announcer drop the f-bomb -- twice. (Go watch it, even if you don't like baseball... the look on Blyleven's face after he realizes he was live is priceless.)

Rascals 4, Freedom 2

That would be the River City Rascals (Missouri) and the Florence Freedom (Kentucky), members of the Frontier League. I extended my journey across the middle of the country an extra night in order to attend a minor league ballgame in an open air suite, courtesy of Dave Zitt's boss. For the first time in over two years, I didn't score the game. Well, not the entire game -- I did score the last three innings in someone else's scorebook while she borrowed my special "Upstairs Guest" bracelet and took advantage of our catered ribs. However, I did get a free shirt (thanks, Evan) and the opportunity to participate in the "Diamond Dig."

What really makes minor league games fun is all of the crazy promotional stuff that goes on beyond the game itself -- and last night was no exception. Three diamond necklaces were hidden somewhere in the infield dirt and the first 500 women over the age of 16 who attended last Friday's game were given little plastic shovels and the opportunity to literally dig for diamonds -- but then it rained on Friday and the three necklaces were left buried in the field. (Okay, rumor has it that the necklaces weren't actually buried, only the velvet boxes and a little slip of paper that guaranteed you a necklace.)

Just our luck, the dig was rescheduled for last night, the last game of the Frontier League season. Instead of giving shirts and shovels to the first 500 women, shirts were randomly thrown into the stand and any woman wearing a shirt was allowed to dig after the game. I'd like to say that I made some sort of heroic catch to get my shirt, but by the end, they had so many leftover shirts that they were walking up and down the aisles looking for women to pass them to and Evan was paying attention, and thus secured two shirts for me and Martine.

The dig itself wasn't all that exciting. They herded us around the infield like cattle, lining us up along the grass and then yelled go. Five hundred women dropped to their knees and just began digging like little kids in a sandbox while strains of the Bangles "Manic Monday" played over the loudspeaker -- only the sand in a sand box isn't rock hard and impossible to dig into. My strategy quickly became to search for a patch of softer dirt and search for the diamond that way. I have no idea if that was the correct strategy, because three women found necklaces before I could figure it out.

Oh well... at least I got a free shirt and plastic shovel out of the deal.