2 November 2009

Bridges, Burned

Mmm, mmm, mmm…there’s nothing quite like the taste of a big, heaping helping of nothing but the finest crow on a Monday morning.  Last week I authored a post entitled “The Turning Worm?” about B**tt F**re’s performance in Pittsburgh leading directly to the first Viking loss of the season and hopefully being a harbinger of things to come in Lambeau Field.  Everyone knows by now that this was not the case- the old gunslinger went into Green Bay and authored one of his finest performances as an NFL quarterback, dismantling the Pack for the second time in five weeks and driving a stake into 16 years of fond memories Packers fans had of the guy.

Naturally, there were a few taunting messages thrown my way during and after the game, one of which said “So, does this mean the worm has turned back around or just never turned in the first place?” My initial reaction- “Sweet!  Someone’s actually reading this blog and not only that, remembered an article!”  After the giddiness of the message wore off, I quickly returned to the reality that a) the Minnesota Vikings, led by B**tt freaking F**re, are 7-1 and have established themselves as one of two legitimate championship contenders from the NFC, b) the Packers have firmly established themselves as a team with a ceiling of the divisional playoffs and no more (more on this later) and c) there are going to be a lot of people just waiting to hear what the bitter Packer fan has to say about this game.

I’ve gotta say, I tip my cap to the old man.  Yes, it’s really hard to do, but what else is there to say?  He listened to the cacophony of boos raining down on him as he emerged from the tunnel and you could just read his mind, figuring “I’m going to shut these 70,000 fans up in the best way possible- by dissecting their defense like a surgeon.”  Sure enough, Voldemort did exactly that, and those boos were shut up really, really quickly.

Obviously, the story was F**re, but I argue that Percy Harvin had just as big of an impact on that game than old #4 did.  He’s now entered that Devin Hester Zone of “under no circumstances should you ever kick to that guy.”  Case in point- the Packers score that touchdown to continue the charge in the 3rd quarter…the Packers feel the momentum and the crowd is going bonkers…Vikes fans everywhere think their standard 4th quarter collapse is starting early…and POW!  Harvin snaps another big return.  Short field for the Vikes and a touchdown.  It’s tough enough to stop their offense right now; give them a short field and it’s pretty much impossible.

Another great taunt sent my way- “Rodgers may have the arm of Elway and the feet of Marino, but he’s got the internal clock of T-Jack.”  Ouch.  Any comparison to T-Jack hurts, unless you’re comparing things like his skills holding a clipboard or making sure B**tt’s helmet has enough air in it.  It hurts more because it’s true- there were a few of those six sacks that were definitely on Rodgers.  Just throw the ball away, Aaron…you’ll get another snap, plus you won’t lose yardage and you won’t take an unnecessary hit.  Those hits add up…the Pack needs you around for the second half of the season.

So yeah, about the statement saying the Packers have a ceiling of the divisional playoffs and no more…after this game, I just don’t see how they could even entertain thoughts of going into the Superdome or the Metrodome and defeating a rested Saints or Vikings team.  They’ve certainly got the talent to be a playoff squad, even one that goes on the road and defeats a weak division champ if they get the right draw, but there are too many deficiencies for them to make a deep run.  Sure, their line play (both offensive and defensive) isn’t spectacular, but what’ll kill them in a big game is their propensity to take idiotic penalties.  Case in point- they stop the Vikings on third down early in the game, forcing them to attempt a field goal…except that Johnny Jolly decides that now would be a really good time to knock over Chester Taylor with a head-butt right in front of the ref.  Naturally, the personal foul leads to a Vikings touchdown and in my opinion, gives the Vikings the momentum for the entire first half.  Do the Packers win the game if that head-butt doesn’t happen?  Maybe, maybe not…but all I know is that giving up a field goal right there is a win for the defense, while allowing that second-chance touchdown is a morale killer.  Mark my words- that’ll be the way this season will end for the Pack; they’ll be in a close game, perhaps even winning late, when a stupid penalty will give a team new life and they’ll capitalize on it.  Any time you’re the most penalized team in the league, your shelf life is very, very limited.  Put that squarely on McCarthy and the rest of the coaching staff.

I knew coming in to the office today was going to be interesting.  I bring a lot of this on myself, being a Packers fan working in the heart of downtown Minneapolis (and not living too far from there myself).  Still, all morning I’ve had worse rabbit ears than a shaky high school basketball ref.  “What’s that?  Someone four rows over is talking about how great F**re is?  Someone else over the other wall is laughing about the play three Packers collided with each other?  Grrr…”  Yeah, it’s been interesting, but fun at the same time.  Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes you’ve just gotta tip your cap to a team that comes in and just gives you the business.

Finally, there was one more message that came in yesterday, one that kind of gives Packers fans hope.  I’m paraphrasing here, but the gist of the message was that Pack fans should hope for a dominant, 14-2 Vikings regular season, only to see F**re crap the bed in the playoffs and destroy the Vikings fan base, leading to hundreds of “we’re just jinxed, we can’t even win the title with B**TT F**RE!!” laments.  I agree, that would be the most demoralizing way for the Vikings’ season to end…but man, it sure would’ve been nice to see him throw at least one interception yesterday instead of throwing up one of the more legendary “F You” performances in history.  All that was missing was B**tt flipping the bird to Ted Thompson after his 4th touchdown pass.

Too bad the Twins weren’t still playing and keeping the Vikings off the front pages, because the F**re love-fest has gone on long enough.  Thank God the Vikings have a bye this week and they won’t play another truly meaningful game until January.  The buzz for the Saints/Vikes NFC Championship is already building…I haven’t seen the Saints play a full game this year, but after watching the Vikings thrash the Packers twice and go through that Ravens-Steelers-Packers portion of their schedule 2-1, I don’t see how the Vikings don’t make that game.

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30 October 2009

The Dark Lord Cometh

We’re now within 48 hours of a moment that, three years ago, would’ve been considered a certain sign of the Apocalypse.  Everyone who knows what the initials NFL stand for (and probably a sizable percentage of those that don’t) knows that B**tt F**re is making his grand return to the city that made him famous with the enemy colors on.  Throw in the fact that his new team is 6-1 and looking to assert themselves as one of the dominant teams in the NFC against a 4-2 squad that’s looking to bring that team down to earth, and, well, this game is one of the bigger regular season games in memory.

So what’ll happen when he comes out of that tunnel?  If it’s something other than the loudest booing the Lambeau fans have ever given an opposing team, I’ll be shocked.  It’s unfortunate, too…if the fans really want to make a statement, there should be dead silence.  I mean, teams have been booed out of the tunnel before and they’ll be booed out of the tunnel again; there has never been a deafening silence.  THAT would be quite a statement- it’ll never happen, but just the thought of 70,000 fans falling silent would be unreal.  (It’d also be great to see one of those paper things high school teams use to bust through when they take the field in front of the Packers’ tunnel, complete with F**re images and then let Aaron Rodgers lead the way through…or if the Pack gave jersey #4 to the backup punter or the emergency quarterback…but alas, that’d be too much fun.)

Then what?  He’s going to be on the field and there’s going to be a football game, which is getting lost in all this crazy buildup.  ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert called this out in an article early this week, saying there’ll be 1-2 minutes of insanely crazy emotion when the Vikings take the field and then 3 ½ hours worth of an absolute battle on the gridiron.  He couldn’t be more right- if the Vikings were 1-6 instead of 6-1, you know the vibe would be more like “oh, here’s B**tt coming back, let’s cheer him because his team’s so bad.”  Since it’s a monster game against a rival…well, you know.  Also, imagine if the Jets had come to town to play the Pack with their big early season record.  Would there be mock funerals for B**tt and T-shirts with “JUDAS #4” printed on the back?  Heck no.

What are my thoughts?  Obviously, since I’ve spent three months lampooning the guy, I’d be joining the boo birds if I had a seat in the stadium (if I couldn’t convince everyone to give him the silent treatment).  It’s not all anti-F**re though; it’s a lot more anti-Viking.  I’ve booed Jeff George.  I’ve booed Daunte Culpepper.  Hell, I’ve booed Spergon Wynn, all because those guys wore the jersey of the enemy team.  While there’ll likely be a day when I applaud the Packers raising #4 to the rafters, this year you’re the quarterback of a rival team that happens to be one of the teams you have to beat in order to be considered good.  For that, B**tt…BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(A final note…maybe this weekend will bring some closure to this whole F**re venom thing.  I can already feel the vitriol subside a bit, like it’s hit the tipping point and just can’t go any further.  It kind of makes sense, too…it’s a bit like an old boyfriend going over to his ex-girlfriend’s place to pick up the box of his stuff.  Once that’s done, the couple gets that closure…maybe, just maybe, seeing B**tt come back to Lambeau to get his old stuff will provide some closure as well.  Of course, it would be nice if he brought some stuff to give to the Pack…like the football!)

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25 October 2009

The Turning Worm?

Sometimes, it’s better to not be watching. On Sunday, I was at a baby shower (insert requisite DirecTV commercial here), sitting toward the back of the room while my dad and I were monitoring the gamecast of the Viking/Steeler game. I was constantly refreshing the game in the 4th quarter with Pittsburgh leading 13-10, but Voldemort was leading the charge down the field in big chunks. I hit refresh and see there was a touchdown…then check the score and find it’s 20-10 Pittsburgh! At that time, all I knew was that a fumble got returned for a score, but I didn’t know who the offending player was. Maybe it was B**tt who fumbled…could we be that lucky? With a grin on his face, my dad quipped, “maybe the worm is beginning to turn.” Just when we were thinking that a 10-point lead with 6 minutes to go was safe and that the exodus from the F**re bandwagon could begin, Harvin snaps that kick return and it’s 20-17.

Now, we’ve had pretty rotten luck being at family functions on Sunday this fall. A few weeks ago, we were all together for my niece’s baptism…the week that the Viking fan base officially embraced F**re thanks to that pseudo-Hail Mary against the 49ers. Last week, we were all over at my place celebrating my dad’s and my father-in-law’s birthdays…and Hauschka hooks that game-winning field goal. After Harvin negated that fumble return, I didn’t know if my dad could take it any more. “Honestly, three family events and three of these BS Vikings wins??” was the generalization of the quote…I can’t exactly remember because the refresh on the phone was working overtime.

The Steelers end up punting the ball away to the F**res with 3+ minutes to go, and all we could think of was yet another comeback win for the Vikings. The people watching my cousin and her husband open up baby gifts would “ohhhh” on every single gift…which covered up the curse words I was muttering as the Purple went down the field like a knife through butter. Then, the final refresh…and the word “touchdown” appears. Naturally, with the Vikings inside the 20 I think of nothing but the worst, and then I look at the score…26-17 Pittsburgh! An 82 yard interception return for a touchdown!! F**re kills the Vikes! I then turn to my dad and say, “Well, B**tt F**re threw a touchdown.” I wait for a second as I watch his face fall, and then add “…to one of the Steelers.” I think at that moment, even though my cousin and her husband had just got done unwrapping a Bumbo chair, my dad had the biggest smile of anyone there. “The worm,” he said “has indeed turned.”

Still in the back of the room with no access to video of what happened, I do the next best thing- fire up Facebook to see what my friends are saying. Interestingly, I see no venom toward F**re- instead, it’s all Chestor Taylor sucks this, F Chestor Taylor that. There’s some venom toward Childress- “Why did you take Peterson out and put that joker Taylor in??? This one’s on you, Childress!” was one post, “CHESTER TAYLOR SUCKS @$$!!!” was another…I then got an email from a friend saying that seconds before the fateful pick, the announcers welcomed the fans who had been previously watching the Green Bay/Cleveland game. “I thought just our f’n luck all these bad vibes come flowing towards the tv to #4. 6 seconds later Taylor hands the ball to Pit…game over.” Still, no blame on F**re. What the hell happened?

I finally get home and catch the replay of the interception- yep, right through Chester’s hands and into the arms of the defense. Thing is, that’s exactly the kind of play that elicited “your quarterback sucks!!” type messages from Purple fans before #4 turned to the dark side. So before you get all defensive when people give you grief for the Vikings losing, just remember not too long ago, the shoe was on the other foot. A sizeable percentage of those F**re picks came on rebounds, ricochets and other things that weren’t his fault, but the way people talked about it, it was like #4 was pointing at a D-back and throwing it right to him. So heck yeah, I’m going to really enjoy the fact that F**re cost the Vikings a win this week. Say all you want, but a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown defines killing your team. To paraphrase Herm Edwards, let hope he can build on this! Besides, you were due for some karmic payback after those two fortunate victories earlier in the year.

And now, the stage is set for the madness that will be Week 8. It’s only Monday and I already can’t handle it.

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21 October 2009

Gettin’ Random

Well, without the Twins to spin long, rambling tales about, I’ve been kind of at a loss for what to post next.  I’ve also been at a loss for time with the baseball playoffs still going on, with football season cranking up and with a couple nicer days outside to sneak in one last run where I don’t have to bundle up.  But I’m back and today’s topic will be…lots of ‘em!  Let’s get right to it.

Does anyone have a shot to take down the Yankees? Yes…and that team is the Yankees.  We saw after Game 3 the media try to whip everyone into a tizzy about Joe Girardi’s binder that he uses to determine pitching matchups, about how he can’t manage a pitching staff, about how this team is a total farce and will implode any time now (that one’s made up, but I’m sure someone’s spouting off about it), but the simple fact is that this team is unbelievably talented, ridiculously stacked…and playing their best ball of the year.  How’d they respond to this made-up tizzy about their 11-inning Game 3 loss?  By trouncing the Angels 10-1 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.  It seems like absolutely nothing fazes them, from the media hounds swirling to the other team scoring.  Look at what they did in the Twins series- seemingly every time the Twins scored, the Yanks came right back in the next half-inning and got those runs right back, and then some.  Down 3-1 in the 9th with Joe Nathan on the mound?  No big thing, we’ll just get Teixeira on and let Rodriguez hit a bomb.  Tight game late?  We’ll let the other team press too much and make a backbreaking baserunning or fielding mistake.

Ever watch Tiger Woods on a Sunday in a major?  Not only does he often go to that “special place” where he raises his game to a level that only he can reach, but more often than not his competition cowers to the pressure and shoots scores in the mid-70s.  This Yankees team reminds me an awful lot of Tiger on a Sunday…they pressure you, and pressure you, and pressure you…finally, the opposition just can’t take it any more and they crack.  Say what you want about Nick Punto’s baserunning gaffe, but when there’s so much pressure on you to be absolutely perfect, sooner or later you’re going to slip up…and that’s when they’ve got you.  You might be able to win a game, even two against this Yankees squad (kind of like how a golfer might take a couple holes off Tiger in a match-play event), but to take four of seven?  No chance.

OK, so how about the way the postseason’s set up? Completely nonsensical.  Look at the first round- three series end in sweeps with the fourth going four games…and then we wait three days for the championship series to start up again.  Completely kills any kind of momentum an underdog team (re: anyone but the Yanks) needs to knock off the big dog, and it also kills the buzz generated in the media.  We’re staring that same situation in the face- the Phils could close out the Dodgers tonight with the Yanks doing the same on Thursday.  The first game of the World Series? Wednesday, October 28.  Five full days in between the end of the championship series and the World Series?  Ugh.  Is it really that tough to say the next round will start two days after the matchup is set?  You’d keep the buzz, you wouldn’t play into November, you’d reduce the chances of getting horrible weather…I just don’t see how this is bad.  Yes, I know that Fox controls the schedule, but come on.  Five days between playoff series is completely unacceptable.

Did you know the NHL season has started? Not only that, but the Wild are off to a 1-6-0 start!  I’m thinking the same thing you are…it doesn’t really matter.  How many years in the past have the Wild started off ridiculously hot, only to slowly fall down the standings throughout the season and either completely miss the playoffs or be totally overmatched?  Why not go the opposite route and be like all these other teams that start getting hot toward the 50 or 60 game mark, rally to the 6th seed in the conference and wreak havoc all the way to the finals?  There was a point last January (maybe even February) that the Penguins were out of the top 8 in the East…all they did was win the Cup last year.  Really, there’s not much reason to get worked up about anything that happens in the NHL until January when you can actually fit some hockey into your busy sports schedule.

That’s about all for now.  Tonight starts the rush of broadcasting high school football games- this week is the last week of regular season ball with playoffs starting next week.  There’s absolutely nothing like going from place to place, covering these teams as they try to make a deep run in the playoffs.  Throw in a couple volleyball matches and tournament season gets wild for broadcasters and everyone else involved in radio…it’s a bit like stores during the holiday season.  I’ve been lucky enough to cover state finals in volleyball, basketball and fastpitch during my broadcasting career, but none of the teams I’ve covered have made it beyond the section finals in football.  Is this the year?  If it is, I’ll certainly have something to say about it.

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12 October 2009

One More Final Last Game

At last Sunday’s “Farewell to the Dome (sort of)” celebration, Kent Hrbek got the crowd all riled up by saying “when we needed a win, where did we go?  To the Dome.”  Well, what do you do when you need to close down a Dome?  You bring in the Yanks.  Nine days after the countdown to outdoor baseball hit zero, the Yanks sucked the life out of the Dome one last time, sweeping the Twins out of the AL playoffs with a 4-1 victory.

By now you know the story of the playoffs for the Twins- their normally sound fundamentals went horrifically flat, their newly found power went soft, their years-long jinx against the Yanks keeps getting worse (an anti-perfect 0-10 again the Bombers this year).  I won’t go into a rant on why the Twins always flame out in the playoffs, the inequalities in the baseball economic model (I’ll save that for when the Yanks or Red Sox bring in Matt Holliday or some other stud in the offseason), or how you can beat the Royals and White Sox without Justin Morneau but not an elite team.  Rather, I’ll focus on the 54,700+ that were in the Dome on that cold Sunday night.

Last Tuesday’s tiebreaker was the most crazy, intense, loud, fun game I’ve ever been to.  After that Jason Kubel home run in the 6th to bring the Twins to within 3-2, it was non-stop, voice-destroying yelling for the next 6 innings.  Before that, however, the Tigers had taken a 3-0 lead on a home run in the 3rd inning.  Despite being down from the 3rd inning through the 7th and then again in the 10th, I never got the feeling from the crowd that losing the game was even conceivable.  Heck, even after the top of the 10th the vibe wasn’t doom and gloom; it’s like everyone knew the Dome wasn’t going to let the Twins lose that game.

Sunday night?  Completely different.  I tweeted during the game that if Tuesday’s crowd was a 10, this one was around a 4.  The player intros were nowhere near as loud as the tiebreaker…the cheering before the players took the field was muted…you just got the feeling that while the crowd really hoped the Twins could win, they just didn’t believe that it could be done.  I’ve read enough early Bill Simmons columns that talked about the imminent sense of “uh oh, the wheels are coming off and there’s nothing we can do about it” in the pre-2004 Fenway Park playoff games…well, this had to be what that felt like.  I guess that’s what being down 2-0 in a series to a team that’s 9-0 against you during the season, beating you in every heartbreaking way possible, will do to a fan base.  Oh, and let’s not forget the playoff beatings in 2003 and 2004 either.

To further illustrate my point, here’s the four loudest cheers from the throng on Sunday night:

  1. Joe Mauer’s RBI single in the 6th to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  That, I must admit, was a ton of fun- crowd screaming “MVP!”, Mauer in a clutch situation ripping a single to left to score the game’s first run- and for a fleeting moment, I thought this game was going to be different.  Of course, when I flipped over the scorecard and saw Teixeira, Rodriguez and Matsui the scheduled three, I was nervous…for good reason.
  2. Bottom of the 9th, one out, Twins down 4-1…and a fan jumps on the field behind the plate and runs all the way out to center field.  He eludes the guards for a while and as he’s trying to climb over the plastic fence in center, they finally corral him, cuff him and stuff him.  The crowd went bonkers.
  3. Third inning, 0-0 game, Nick Swisher’s batting with a 2-2 count.  He takes ball 3…and starts taking off for first base, thinking it’s a walk.  When the ump called him back, the crowd really got on him…we stayed up for the 3-2 pitch and when Nick went down swinging, it was the loudest cheer for any of the 13 strikeouts of the whole night.
  4. Before the 8th inning, the video board showed that “steroids don’t create great athletes, they destroy them” commercial.  Since A-Rod had went yard the inning before, the crowd got the old “A-ROID” chant going.  I’ve gotta admit, it was pretty funny to show that PSA.  I can just imagine the people running the video board, coming up with this idea last Thursday but not really having the guts to play it for a while.  Finally, with the Yanks up 2-1 and Rodriguez hitting the big bomb, the guys say “screw it, this baby’s going on” and playing it…and the crowd ate it up.

Notice a theme here?  Only one of the big cheers was due to something the Twins did.  Everything else was brought on either by hatred of the Yanks or by a few too many Miller Lites.  Not a very good sign for your chances to pull an upset.  And really, is it the crowd’s fault?  It is our fault we felt the impeding sense of doom after blowing Game 2 for the 9th loss in 9 games to the Yanks?  How about being beaten with the whole “The Twins haven’t won in NY since 2007″ stat?  Yes, we certainly sensed something bad was going to happen, and you’ve gotta wonder if the Twins didn’t feel it too.

I hate to end the season with such a negative post, but it is fairly disappointing to have been to the playoffs five times in the last eight years and only have one series win to show for it.  Disappointing to have lost nine consecutive playoff games.  Disappointing to see the Twins go into brain-lock once again to blow a lead late, or to cough up runs the half-inning after scoring themselves.  Disappointing to get sucked out of the Dome one last time…actually no, that wasn’t disappointing.  I wasn’t the only one looking for that final experience of getting blown out of the place, as there was nobody using the revolving doors.  Who knows, maybe they’ll set up some giant barn fans at Target Field so fans can relieve that experience of getting whooshed out of the Dome.

RIP, Metrodome.  It’s been real quirky, but it’s been pretty fun.

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7 October 2009

The Never-Ending Game 163

For three years, I’d been beating myself up about not taking my friends up on the opportunity to catch the final game of the 2006 season at the Metrodome.  I’m sure you’ve all heard the story a zillion times by now- Twins win their final game, forcing Detroit to defeat Kansas City…the Detroit game is being played on the Jumbotron at the Dome with thousands of fans sticking around chanting “Let’s Go Royals”…the Royals defeat the Tigers to give the Twins the division championship…the crowd goes nuts as the players party it up on the field…and I passed that opportunity up because I wanted to monitor the games at home.  Since then, my crew’s gone to dozens of other games, some of them big games (last season’s three-game sweep of the White Sox in September), some of them games that turned out to be full of foreshadowing (July 4, 2007 in the Bronx, the Twins’ last victory out there and Johan Santana’s 8-inning audition to play in New York), and some of them historic games (Michael Cuddyer hitting for the cycle against the Brew Crew).  Still, with all those games, my friends kept saying that nothing topped that game in 2006 to win the division).

Until now.

I was one of the 54,088 screaming fans that subjected themselves to 4 ½ hours of the most intense, insane, nerve-wracking baseball that’s ever been played in the regular season.  Win this thing, you win the division…lose and it’s déjà vu from 2008’s Game 163 loss.  Let’s get right to the story from section 229, row 5, seat 7:

4:02pm: After getting out of work around 3:40, I make the Superman phone booth change from the work clothes to the trusty Twins jersey.  This jersey got off to a rough start- in fact, it was 0-for-2007 until the aforementioned game in the Bronx.  Since that game, ol’ blue has been hot.  There was no doubt that baby was coming out for this battle.  After stuffing myself onto the light rail up to the Dome, I manage to find my way to our seats just as Jacque Jones is throwing out the first pitch (and the place went bonkers when they announced he was throwing it out).

I was the first of our group of five to show up- in fact, at first pitch the stadium was probably about 70% full.  It was the perfect storm of crappy weather, tons of traffic coming into town for the game, and work traffic trying to leave.  If you’ve ever driven around the Dome for a game, you know it’s not the easiest thing to do.  Add in a huge crowd, all the downtown workers filling the ramps, and the fact it’s raining out…well, you’d have a better chance getting into Natanz to see what Ahmedinejad’s hiding than of finding a decent parking spot.

2nd inning: One of the others has made it in, but amazingly, there’s no one sitting in rows 1-4 in front of us.  People who have a ticket for row 30 notice this and pop a squat…and within seconds, the usher is over giving them the boot.  Later, we overhear that all these seats are reserved for people with special needs.  It gets to be pretty high comedy, watching people sneak into these seats with guilty looks on their faces (honestly, did you think Minnesotans could pull off the whole “sneaking into a better seat” thing without their faces giving everything away?) and getting tossed within a batter.  In fact, by the 6th inning the usher is getting so good at this the fans’ butts aren’t even touching the seasons before they get run.  Fantastic.

3rd inning: During his first at-bat in the top of the second inning, the outfield fans serenade Miguel Cabrera with a loud “AL-CO-HOL-IC!!” chant.  Naturally, Miggy responds by striping a ball off the wall in left for a cozy double.  In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a good idea to fire that up again in the 3rd, especially after he hits a ball approximately 440 feet to dead center for a three-run dinger.  3-0 Tigers and the crowd takes a body blow.  In a related story, the rest of my crew shows up in between the half-innings…and right on cue, the Twins get one back when Porcello throws a wild one over to first, letting Tolbert score.  3-1, Tigers.

6th inning: We jump ahead to the sixth inning…Porcello is cruising and we’re taking nervous glances at the scoreboard as the inning ticks upward, upward, upward.  The crowd’s eerily quiet…in fact, we’re getting called out on it by people not at the game.  I get a text from my wife who’s watching from home that we need to fire it up.  My friend Julie, sitting next to me in seat 8, gets a text from a friend demanding she get the crowd into the game.  Who’s coming to the plate…Joe Mauer!  Time to get the crowd on their feet!  It’s the 6th inning, the Twins are down, the MVP’s coming up…and I feel a tap on my shoulder.  Nah…it’s not someone asking me to sit down, is it?  At a situation like this?  It sure is.  Only in Minnesota will you get the tap in a situation like that.  Luckily for me, my friend Bryan turned me around before I can lambaste this guy for asking me to sit down in the 6th…little did I know that we’d be there for another six innings.  And little did I know that Jason Kubel would get all of us on our feet with a mammoth bomb to the upper deck in right-center to make it 3-2.  Now the crowd’s into it…we wouldn’t be getting any more “fire up” texts from anyone for the rest of the game.

7th inning: Back in August, I was breaking down the moves the contenders in the AL Central made at the deadline with my amateur baseball team.  I talked about how the Tigers got better by getting Washburn…how the White Sox got better by adding Peavy (and man, did that help the Twins down the stretch)…and how the Twins, um, got Orlando Cabrera.  “I don’t think that’s the move that’s going to put the Twins over the top,” I distinctly remember saying.  While I’m sure that statement (along with my previous statements on the blog and on the WCMP sports show saying the Twins couldn’t possibly make up all that ground on the Tigers in the standings) didn’t energize Cabrera’s fly ball just enough to clear the fence for a 2-run home run, it sure stuffed those all those words right down my throat.  We head to the 8th with the Twins enjoying a 4-3 lead and 54,088 people thinking “just six more outs until we win the division”…little did we know that this game was just getting started.

8th inning: Remember thinking about how the Twins just needed six outs to clinch the title?  Magglio Ordonez put a very quick end to that when he launched a home run on the second pitch of the inning to tie it up.  It was a bit like the cops showing up at a raucous college party and shutting the place down as the Dome went from rockin’ to silent.  In fact, I even got the tap once again to sit down during a big at-bat (that ended in a walk).  With two on and one out, Ron Gardenhire called in the big gun…Joe Nathan.  Now, for his entire career, Nathan’s been a lights-out closer, but recently fans are a little more nervous when he gets the ball.  Maybe it’s because guys are getting on base against him…maybe because he’s given up a few home runs…or maybe it’s because it’s a 4-4 game in the 8th inning of the biggest game of the season.  Either way, Bryan’s going Jerry Tarkanian with his Homer Hanky, wadding it up, chewing it…and Nathan rewards him by getting out of the jam.  The Twins do nothing in the 8th, so we head to the 9th tied at four.  I’m just starting to feel a tingle in my throat…yep, it’ll be sore tomorrow.

9th inning: A few weeks ago, my wife said that Joe Nathan’s saves were starting to get a bit Eddie Guardado-like, a reference to the fact it’d seem like the tying run would be on third and the go-ahead run on second when Everyday Eddie would “induce” a rocket right at a fielder for the third out.  So when Joe allowed the first two guys to reach via the single and put runners on the corners with nobody out…seriously, are we going to get bounced due to a Nathan loss?  I was almost sick thinking about it…how this was such a great game, how I was screaming my lungs out, and how it was all going to be for naught.  Then, out of nowhere, 2006 Joe Nathan arrived, striking out Polanco on a devastating hook.  Up came Magglio, the guy who tattooed a dinger an inning before.  Pins and needles can’t begin to describe how tense I was…Ordonez smashes a line drive…right at Cabrera who doubles off Granderson!!  Inning over!!  The Dome erupts in (what was at the time) the loudest roar I’ve ever heard.  Punto leads off the bottom of the inning with a walk…and now, we’ve got Span, Cabrera and Mauer to follow.  In my head, I’m thinking this baby’s done.  Span does his job and sacrifices Punto to second…Cabrera hits a smash toward the hole at third that Inge somehow makes a fantastic diving play on (the first of many game-saving plays)…and the defensive substitution Gardy made in the 8th comes back to haunt him, as Mauer gets walked intentionally.  Would this have happened if Jason Kubel was batting next?  Probably…but with Carlos Gomez on deck, this was a Fort Knox-sized lock.  Could Kubel get a hit and win it?  “If he gets a hit here, I’ll forgive him for all the times he’s driven me crazy this season,” I told Bryan…but nope, a grounder to short and we’re going ten.

10th inning: Unbelievable, uncharted territory.  Tied after 162 games…tied after 9 innings in game 163…it’s almost fitting, isn’t it?  Gardy goes away from Nathan (a wise choice given the fact he’s already gone 1 2/3 innings and the 9th wasn’t exactly 1-2-3) and goes to Jesse Crain, the reliever that gives more Twins fans ulcers than any other one.  After a leadoff out, Wilkin Ramirez (???) gets hit by a pitch.  Crain gets Raburn to strike out, bringing up Brandon “How The Heck Is This Guy Always Batting In Big Situations??” Inge.  Almost as if it were pre-destined, Inge strokes a double down the left field line, scoring a pinch runner and giving the Dome fans a collective punch to the stomach.  Crain gets the next guy to finish off the inning and while 30,000 fans lean over and say they knew this was going to happen because they all despise Jesse Crain, we head to the bottom half of the 10th.

Now…it’s a great time to mention the Metrodome will be losing the Twins to Target Field next year.  This stadium is having a tough time letting the Twins go; I was at the game on Sunday, the “final game at the Metrodome”, that not only wasn’t the last game at the Dome, it wasn’t the last REGULAR SEASON game at the Dome!  Two weeks earlier when the Tigers were in town, an easy fly ball to left field got lost in the lights, turning a likely Twins loss into a Metrodome-style win.  Yep, this stadium isn’t going out without a fight…as evidenced by Michael Cuddyer’s sinking line drive that ducked into a light bank at just the right time, turning a potential out into a leadoff triple.  Again, we’re going completely bonkers with the tying run on 3rd with nobody out and Delmon Young at the plate.  Like I am with Gomez, Bryan’s ready to forgive Delmon if he can come through…but no, a first-pitch groundout to short kept him on Bryan’s, um, “undesired” list.  After a walk to set up a double play, who’s coming to the plate?  Matt freaking Tolbert.  Who?  This guy’s the one we’re counting on to save the season?  A guy that was probably on about 3% of fantasy baseball rosters?  And of course…a base hit!!  Up the middle, about four inches away from the second baseman’s glove and a game-ending double play; instead, we’re even at 5 and there’s runners on the corners with one out.  Up comes Nick Punto, another of the Twins who have been mercilessly crucified in the media this season, with a chance to be the hero.  Alexi Casilla’s on third, looking to speed home at the first opportunity.  Punto rips a shot to left…Casilla’s gonna tag and try to score…OUT AT THE PLATE!!!  We’re going to the 11th, and I’ve gotta sit down.  At this point, the ushers started handing out paper bags to everyone, just in case people started hyperventilating…or worse. (OK, I made that up, but I don’t think I was too far away.

11th inning: The crowd’s obviously worn out- while we’re still standing for most of the inning and definitely with two strikes on a guy and yelling as loud as we can, the pain in everyone’s throats is creeping in.  The Twins’ pitchers are dealing a couple strikeouts, but the yelling with two strikes and the cheering for the third is just a bit quieter than it was in the ninth.  We’re running out of gas, and Gardy’s running out of pitchers- he just put in Bobby Keppel, the 8th guy to appear on the mound for the Twins tonight.  Keppel gets the last out, and with the top of the order coming up, maybe this will be the inning the Twins break through!  Nope…a 1-2-3 inning sets the Twins down, and we’ve got a 12th inning coming up.  I don’t know if I’ve got another one in me.

12th inning: Oh my.  If I didn’t have a nervous breakdown during this inning, I don’t think CIA interrogators could crack me.  How many times can the Twins allow guys on third with less than two outs and not allow runs?  And how many times can Brandon Inge come up with the game on the line??  Sacks jacked, one out…and of course, it’s Inge at the dish.  It’s a chopper over the middle…it could be two…wait a minute, Punto’s throwing home???  HE GOT HIM!  An unbelievable play that looked fairly pedestrian on TV, but man, to make that play charging in, throwing the ball across his body, right on the money to Mauer at the plate…wow.  Two outs.  Now it’s Laird, the catcher…ball one.  Ball two.  Oh no…we’re not going to walk in a guy, not after all this, right?  Strike one…ball three…foul ball, full count.  The crowd taps the reserves for one last yell…and Keppel gets him!  I don’t know whether or not to wave the Hanky, stand and scream, or collapse into my seat.  I pick the latter, take a look at my scorecard and see Gomez, Cuddyer and Young scheduled, and steel myself for the 13th.

Again, I decide if Gomez can come through, I’d forgive him for all his transgressions against the Twins.  This time, it’s no grounder to short…base hit to left!  “Should we start chanting ‘Go! Go! Go!’ like they did in Major League?” Bryan asks me.  At this point, given the emotional wringer this game has put me through, I would’ve thought a traditional Estonian folk song would’ve been a great idea.  After a ground out to advance Gomez to second, something happens- actually, two things happen- that I never thought would.  With Delmon Young coming to the plate, Bryan starts screaming “LET’S GO DELMON!!” at the top of his lungs.  Yep, he’s forgiven the guy.  Secondly, the Tigers intentionally walk Delmon to put runners on first and second.  Let me say that again- the Tigers INTENTIONALLY WALK Delmon Young.  And sure, it’s a good idea to walk the guy in front of a guy hitting right around the Mendoza Line (Casilla), but who would’ve thought Delmon Young would be getting intentionally walked??

So now it’s Casilla batting with Gomez on second and Young on first.  Three of the most vilified Twins throughout the course of the season, guys that people would argue if just one of them would’ve shown up this season, this tiebreaker wouldn’t be necessary.  What are the odds Casilla comes through?  While I’m running through any available bat on the Twins’ bench, Casilla digs in…and bounds one through the right side for a hit!!  Gomez is gonna score and the Twins are gonna win it!!  Unbelievable!!  After 4 ½ hours, the Twins win it!

The scene after the win was crazy.  I was at the game in 2003 when the Twins clinched the division, and that sounded and looked like a garden party compared to the madhouse in 2009.  We’ve got Jose Mijares stealing the big Twins flag from the mascot and running around the field with it…Carlos Gomez high-fiving everyone in sight…Joe Mauer leading the team on a victory lap around the field…and me yelling the last bit of voice right out of me.  The crowd in front of the ticket window buying up playoff tickets was insane (and cemented my thoughts that postseason priority is reason #1 to have season tickets).  The mile-long walk to the car was like an extension of the party.  So what if the Yanks are heavily favored in the playoffs?  This Twins team has overcome everything else this season, so why not go out to NY and shake up the Yanks a bit?  Besides, that Metrodome just isn’t letting the Twins go…we saw it in September, we saw it on Tuesday night, and we’ll see it again this weekend.  Who knows, maybe there’ll be a game on Sunday or Monday that’ll be just as memorable as this one.

Tying this back to the introduction from long, long ago…now the demons I had from passing up the trip to the season finale three years ago are gone.  I’ve got the game that I’ll be able to tell everyone that I was at, and fifty years from now when I pull out the scorecard from this one, I’ll be able to remember Granderson getting doubled off, Casilla getting thrown out at the plate, Cabrera hitting that go-ahead bomb and Gomez diving home with the winning run.  I’ll remember the deafening roars of the course, my raspy voice the next day, and most of all, the most exciting Twins win I’ve seen.  Unbelievable.

Quick picks for the divisional series:

Yanks over Twins in 5 (I’d love to see them win, but I just don’t see them winning a fifth game at the Stadium…or any games at the Stadium, for that matter).

Sox over Angels in 4, setting up yet another Sox/Yanks ALCS.  Yech.

Cards over Dodgers in 3.

Phils over Rox in 5.

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29 September 2009

The Hinrichs Super Five

Before I launch into my Super Five, the best five teams in the NFL, let me expound a bit on the Twins/Tigers clash for the Central:

Coming into this series, I called this a situation where the Twins were trailing the Tigers 2-1 in a 7-game playoff series.  After the Twins were able to gut out Game 4, you’ve got the Tigers and Justin Verlander coming back in Game 5 to wrest control of the series right back.  I’d argue that Game 5 meant a lot more to the Tigers than it did to the Twins; if the Twins lose, well, they’re back to 2 games out with arguably the pitching advantage in both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games (Pavano vs. some dude named Eddie Bodine, then Baker vs. Nate Robertson and his 5.56 ERA).  If the Tigers lost it, however, you’ve got the same pitching without the 2 game cushion.  So I’m not exceptionally worried yet…but man, the Twins have their backs to the wall now.  Zero margin for error.  Just like being down 3-2 in a 7-game series.

So onto football.  Without wasting any time, here’s my Super Five NFL teams heading into week 4:

5) New Orleans. I said early on that you shouldn’t get sucked into the Saints and their big point totals unless you like to lose bets…and while I still wouldn’t put any scratch down on them to win a big game in January, they’re certainly playing some great football now.  Drew Brees is continuing to torment me for trading him away in a dynasty league back in 2005 (when I chose Phil Rivers over him) and honestly, would you want your favorite team playing the Saints right now?  I guess we’ll see what the Saints are all about when they take on the Jets this weekend…

4) NY Jets. I had a hard time figuring out which team should be 3 and which should be 4.  The Jets have put up a strong, strong resume, smoking the Texans in Houston in week 1, knocking off the New England Bradys in week 2, then beating a Tennessee team that I still think is going to make some noise this season despite starting 0-for-September.  I have to remember back to last year, however, when the Jets started out white-hot but then fell off the planet when their golden boy quarterback started to play like a 39-year-old with 350,000 miles on his tires.  This year?  The Jets are at the other end of the spectrum with young Mark Sanchez.  How will November and December treat the latest USC quarterback?  Who knows…but all I know is that this matchup vs #5 New Orleans is going to be a nice one.

3) Indianapolis. Is it just me, or is Indy kind of a forgotten team?  They don’t have the buzz of the Saints, the Jets, or (gulp) even the Vikings, but here they are again, 3-0 and looking strong.  In fact, the only game they’ve lost in their last 13 was that overtime contest out in San Diego last year during the wild card round.  That’s 12 consecutive regular season wins for the Colts, and with the Seahawks coming to town this weekend, I don’t see why it won’t be #13.  Will it be enough for them to maintain the #3 spot over the winner of the Jets/Saints tilt?  Probably…just because I think that the Colts beat either of those teams if you line ‘em up.  Watch out for the Colts.

2) NY Giants. It’s kind of pathetic- two of the best four football teams reside in New York, the odds-on favorites for the World Series play there- but hey, at least the Mets and the Knicks suck.  While the Giants haven’t exactly played the same type of schedule their co-tenants in the Meadowlands have, it’s to the point where I would be very, very surprised to see them lose.  They’ve got Kansas City this week and Oakland the next before their next real game (at New Orleans), so get used to seeing them in the Super Five.  I might have to move them down, however, depending on if any of the other Super Five look impressive against a legitimate NFL team…

1) Baltimore. Last year, I had a strong affinity for the Titans, riding them to win after win, cover after cover.  This year?  The unhealthy obsession is with the Ravens.  I absolutely love this football team.  Everyone knew the defense was going to be there, but the offense?  Clearing the 30-point hurdle in each of the first three games?  Uh-oh, NFL.  This squad was right there last year and they look better this year.  They embark on a tough three game stretch this week, traveling to New England before taking on the Bengals at home (yes, that’s actually going to be a big game) and then a trip to Azkaban to take on Voldemort and the Vikes.  Ain’t no thang.  They’re a 1.5 point underdog in New England?  Take the money this week, because after this win the secret will be officially out.

Oh, and before I get the comments about the lack of a certain purple team in the top 5…wins against the horrible Browns and the merely bad Lions along with a last-second heave to beat the Niners at home do not make them a top five team.  If this were a Sensational Seven instead of a Super Five?  Yeah, they’re in that.

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