Month: August 2011

A Slight Detour

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Now that the non-waiver trade deadline has passed, there’s a little more time to stop and take a breath. I admit that I generally really enjoy the days and weeks leading up to the trade deadlines, both the one we just went through and the waiver-deal deadline that comes up at the end of August. That’s the date by which players have to be on a team’s roster in order to be eligible for post-season play with that team.

The Twins were particularly interesting to follow this month because of all the uncertainty concerning whether they were buyers or sellers or, as some of us have begun to suspect, have very little clue which they are or should be. But regardless of what any of us think about the Twins’ front office and their performance during this critical period, the fact remains that this particular trade deadline period is over… and I find myself a little burned out on writing about the Twins.

Partially as a result of that fact, my focus has begun to shift a bit to other areas and today I’m going to take a little detour off of the Twins highway.

As I’ve indicated before, I’m also a Vikings fan as well as a fan of Iowa Hawkeye athletics. The whole labor issue thing with the NFL has frankly soured me a bit on professional football, but I’m sure that by the time the Vikings play their first game, I’ll be taking a glance at their roster to see who’s still here and who isn’t.

But I’ve been really getting geared up for college football. I’m a Hawkeye season ticket holder, which means I can also put in for tickets to road games. I’ve received word I got a pair of tickets for the Hawks’ visit to TCF Stadium this fall, but, alas, I apparently don’t donate enough $ to the I-Club to have earned tickets to their game at Nebraska. I’m kind of bummed about that. The game is scheduled for the Friday after Thanksgiving and we’re kind of hoping that becomes a big traditional game. I’m going to try to get tickets through other avenues, because I hear Lincoln, Nebraska is a really nice place to spend a couple of days in late November. Besides, they’ve decided they’re going to play for a trophy or something… how cool is that? Yes, I know pretty much EVERY Big Ten contest involves a trophy these days, but this contest even has a NAME… “The HEROES GAME”. How can a guy not want to go see that?!

While I’m on the subject, I just want to mention how excited I am about Nebraska joining the Big Ten Conference. I thought it was a good fit when it was announced over a year ago and I think it’s an even better fit after several months of reflection.

I’m not always a big fan of the people who run college athletics at any level, whether it’s the NCAA or the people in charge of the Big Ten (or even the people in charge of the Iowa Hawkeyes, but I’ll spare you all that particular rant today). But I have to say I think they got this realignment thing pretty much right, with the addition of the Cornhuskers and the way they divided up the schools in to divisions. No, I’m not fond of the “Legends and Leaders” division names, but off hand I can’t say I’ve heard suggestions I liked any better.

I don’t mention it often here, but I’m also not generally a huge fan of most of what I read in my local home town Cedar Rapids Gazette sports section. Some of the writers there do an OK job covering local and college sports, but I don’t remember the last time I read something and thought, “Wow… that was really good. I’m glad I read the Gazette today!”

Until a week or two ago, that is.

A local writer for the Gazette, Scott Dochterman, wrote a 10-part series about what the Big Ten Conference went through as they tried to figure out how to divide up the twelve schools in to two divisions. He interviewed conference staff and almost every school’s Athletics Director and while he didn’t come out of those interviews with any juicy stories of ADs in fistfights, he did manage to give readers a good look at the process and challenges that the decision-makers had to work through. I came away with a lot of respect for the way people set aside some parochial interests in order to do what was right for the whole conference. When you compare the way these people conducted themselves with what was reported about how the Big 12 poobahs comported themselves in the past, you really feel good about being a Big Ten fan.

The series doesn’t focus on Iowa, despite being authored by a writer who covers the Hawkeyes, so if you have an interest in Big Ten football, I highly recommend checking the series out. You can click here to go to a “Postcript and Links” entry, which includes summaries and links to all ten chapters of the series.

As for the Twins, I’m planning on driving up to the Twin Cities this weekend to catch at least some of the White Sox series, so I’m sure I’ll post some pictures and thoughts about those games at some point. I was hoping to have a chance to catch Jim Thome’s 600th home run, but the way things are going, I may have to settle for seeing Joe Nathan’s record-breaking save (since he and the Twins seem bound and determined to screw up our DVD contest!). It may also be the last time I get to see Ozzie in action if rumors of him managing the Marlins next season turn out to be accurate.

If you’re going to be in the Twin Cities over the weekend and especially if you’re planning on going to any of those games, leave a comment or drop me an email and maybe we can find a way to get together for a beer or something. The season may not be going the way we all hoped it would, but there still aren’t many better ways to kill a few hours than going to a ballgame and I’m going to do a bit of that this weekend.

– JC

GameChat – Twins @ Angels #2, 9:05pm

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*yawn* Another west coast game… I swear I’m actually a nightowl but there’s something about baseball at this time of the night back home that just puts me right to sleep every time. Especially the way so many of these games have been going lately. My only request for the team tonight is the Twins give me a reason to stay awake for the end of the game.. is that too much to ask?? I would REALLY love to award our ’91 World Series DVDs prize to someone tonight. That would be good enough.

Also – Thome is sitting tonight because he came to work today with a stiff neck.. I don’t know what that means for his availability off the bench.

 

Minnesota

@

 LA Angels
Span, CF Izturis, M, 2B
Revere, LF Aybar, SS
Mauer, C Hunter, To, RF
Cuddyer, 1B Abreu, DH
Kubel, RF Wells, V, LF
Valencia, 3B Callaspo, 3B
Young, D, DH Trumbo, 1B
Nishioka, SS Bourjos, CF
Tolbert, 2B Mathis, C
  Baker, S, P   Pineiro, P
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 1 2 0 1 4 0 1 0 2 11 15 1
LA Angels 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 6 0

Five home runs? In one game? By the Twins?

Is that allowed?

It certainly was in this game. In fact Jason Kubel came just a few feet from being the third Twins player to hit two HRs in this game. Instead, he had to “settle” for two doubles to go with his one HR. Scott Baker got off to a good start, but he hit a wall in the 3rd inning (or maybe the wall hit him?). Enter Anthony Swarzak, who followed with five innings of one-hit shutout baseball.

Delmon Young ripped two home runs, which certainly makes him worthy of BOD consideration, along with Swarzak and Kubel. But matching him home run for home run was Michael Cuddyer and one of his home runs was a tie-breaking grand slam HR, which gave Swarzak and the Twins a mid-game boost and that earned Cuddy the majority of the GameChat’s BOD votes, with Swarzak and Young also garnering enough support to earn them baked goods of their choice.

Michael Cuddyer

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Is It Too Early To Look At 2012?

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(NOTE: The silver lining to the Twins struggles of late is that Joe Nathan still hasn’t broken the team career record for saves and that means you still have time to enter our contest for a chance to win a set of 1991 Twins WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP DVDs! Click HERE to enter!)

There’s still some baseball to play over the next two months and we can still fantasize about the Twins making another late season surge in the standings similar to what we saw in June. But with no help being brought in at the non-waiver trade deadline, hopes are fading.

If this team somehow pulls off a miracle and works its way back in to the AL Central race, I’ll have no trouble focusing 100% of my interest on the current season. But as things stand, I can’t help but take a little peek at 2012.

A lot was made this year about the Twins’ payroll growing to a record $113.2 million. With their shiny new ballpark and a guaranteed 3+ million fans filling those seats this season, GM Bill Smith had pockets deeper than ever before to work with in constructing a roster. He made some peculiar (and ultimately questionable) choices, but nobody could argue that the Twins were being “cheap”.

The Twins are, and will likely continue to be, among the more fiscally conservative teams in Major League Baseball. MLB clubs are not supposed to incur debt in excess of 10 times their annual revenues. That doesn’t seem like it would be a difficult standard to meet, does it? Well, apparently nine teams currently think it is. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Twins are nowhere to be found on that list. (That’s a good thing, by the way.)

Will Jason Kubel be back in 2012?

What will the Twins’ roster and payroll look like in 2012? I find that to be a very interesting question. Matt Capps, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Jim Thome will be free agents and, despite his return to effectiveness, it’s still likely that the Twins will opt out of Joe Nathan’s $12.5 million option, making him a free agent, as well.  How many, if any, of those players will be brought back?

Let’s look at their existing 2012 contractual obligations (from Cot’s Baseball Contracts):

PLAYER Salary (mil)
C Mauer 23
1B Morneau 15
IF Nishioka 3
3B Valencia 0.5 pre-arbitration
IF Casilla 1.5* 2nd year arbitration
OF Span 3
OF Young 7* 3rd year arbitration
SP Baker 6.5
SP Blackburn 4.75
SP Liriano 7* 3rd year arbitration
SP Pavano 8.5
SP Duensing 0.5 pre-arbitration
Nathan 2 Buy-out of option
*estimates

That’s around $82 million being spent on less than half of your ultimate 25-man roster. Your entire starting rotation is accounted for (though let’s be honest, it could stand to be improved) and all but one of your eight defensive positions.

Of course, there’s no assurance all of these players will return in 2012. Bill Smith might have been unsure whether to be a buyer or seller in July, but if the Twins fall back in the standings this month, there’s a very good chance he’ll listen to offers for just about anyone who clears waivers (at least those not named Mauer) and anyone not traded in August could still find himself on the trade block during the next offseason. Also, would Casilla, Young and Liriano all be offered arbitration? I don’t think so.

It also would surprise nobody if the Twins made an attempt to keep some of their free agents. Kubel, Cuddyer and Nathan are having solid seasons. Would any of them accept a little less money to stay in Minnesota? We kind of assume Jim Thome may be ready to hang up the spikes if he reaches the 600 HR mark this season, but if he decides to play another year, would the Twins invite him back?

And then there’s the curious case of Denard Span. Despite being a productive CF and leadoff hitter, the Twins were obviously open to trading him at the end of July. If they were open to offers then, you have to figure they would be similarly open during the offseason.

I won’t be disappointed if the Twins bring back some of the current familiar faces fans have grown to know and love, but I will be disappointed if they bring back all or most of them. This team’s performance in 2011 has been less than expected and it hasn’t all been due to injuries. As Howard Sinker pointed out in this post over at Section 219, some of these guys failed to live up to past levels of performance.

The point is, the Twins are going to have an enormous amount of flexibility between now and the start of Spring Training, 2012. If they decide their revenues are likely to drop off in 2012, you could see an awful lot of these guys who have been doing the Rochester Shuffle this season playing significant roles in 2012 (not to mention a few that we’ve yet to get a look at in a Twins uniform). On the other hand, if the organization is confident that they can sustain a payroll close to what this season’s is (and with a waiting list of fans who want season ticket packages, there’s no reason to think they shouldn’t be confident), they should be able to afford to be significant players in the free agent market and if they are serious about regaining a place at the top of the AL Central Division, they’ll need to upgrade several positions.

It should make for interesting discussions.

– JC

GameChat – Twins @ Angels, 9:05pm

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Welcome back Denard Span!!! 😀  I’m not sure I’ve been happier to have a player back from DL in a very long time – especially given how many OF’ers we seem to have up here right now. I wish I had a really good reason for why I think he’s better than the majority we have but I just do. I don’t know why our management makes all the decisions it does but it’s going to have to figure out what to do with the OF glut because I’m sure that Span will be back to his regular position. There is some discussion of moving him around a little bit but we’ll just have to see who isn’t there when he’s playing some other spot.

Here’s an update from the Strib on Morneau – another player I’ll be happy to see come off the DL eventually:

* Justin Morneau has been hitting in the cage but hasn’t been able to do much on the field with all the rain at Target Field. Gardy said the hope is that Morneau will be able to get a full workout on the field Wednesday and then the team will decide whether to send him out to start playing in some games.

The other item of note in tonight’s lineup is listed in the top of the batting order. Yes, Trevor Plouffe is in Gardy’s 2spot/2B hole.. what is it with that anyway? Gotta say I like Plouffe but I don’t have a lot of confidence in taking a guy who is fairly sloppy at worst/inconsistent at best with his fielding in his natural position and sticking him at a new one. Didn’t we try that already once this season with disastrous results? I’m a positive person and I’ll wait and see how he does but.. yeah, good luck Trevor. You’re going to need it.

 

Minnesota

@

 LA Angels
Span, CF Izturis, M, 3B
Plouffe, 2B Abreu, DH
Mauer, C Hunter, To, RF
Cuddyer, 1B Wells, V, LF
Kubel, RF Kendrick, H, 2B
Thome, DH Trumbo, 1B
Valencia, 3B Aybar, SS
Young, D, LF Bourjos, CF
Nishioka, SS Wilson, Bo, C
  Duensing, P   Santana, E, P
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
LA Angels 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 x 5 8 0

0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. ’nuff said. – JC

GET YOURS TODAY!!

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Yes, you still have time to enter our contest to get a free copy of the Minnesota Twins 1991 World Series Collector’s DVD set.  And if you want to cover your bases, there are a few other blog sites with contests going for the same prize:

 Of course, as everyone here knows, baseball is never predictable no matter how well you cover your bases – the only game you know the ending for is the one played before today. So, if you just can’t wait to get your hands on a DVD collection of one of the best World Series ever played (understandable), you’re in LUCK! A&E TV has assembled the entire collection plus a highlight DVD!

It is officially available to the public for sale TODAY for $69.95 for the Collection!

I am so excited to have had a sneak peek! Since it was an off-day for the Twins anyway, the first thing I did was throw in game one to see if they had any of the pregame celebrations from the game I was able to attend. My high school marching band actually performed during the pregame and I would have gotten a double joy if it was there but I didn’t expect ANY pregame stuff. Guess what? Right there under Scene Selections was a listing for Pregame! They didn’t have the marching band but they had just about everything else including the National Anthem by Gladys Knight that I had completely forgotten about. I spent the whole first DVD trying to remember where I was sitting and if I remembered little things that happened and the next hit… AMAZING nostalgia and I was shocked by what I remembered and what I had forgotten from 20 years ago. If you were lucky enough to attend any of that series, you’ll find yourself doing the same thing. If you weren’t able to attend, the energy from each game is palpable.  Yes, you know what’s supposed to happen but you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat anyway. You can’t help it. This really was an unforgettable baseball experience.

THE MINNESOTA TWINS 1991 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR’S EDITION

 In 1991, the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in seven grueling – and unforgettable — games to capture their second World Series championship since moving to The North Star State in 1961. Now, catch every historic moment of this championship series with THE MINNESOTA TWINS 1991 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR’S EDITION, a handsomely packaged 7-disc set. Packed with bonus footage and all seven games in their entirety, this is sure to be a must get for not only Twins fans, but baseball fans everywhere as the Twins get set to commemorate the 20th anniversary of this milestone series.

Was it really the greatest Fall Classic ever? Five games were decided by one run. Four of the games were won on the very last plate appearance. Three games went extra innings. Two managers played a seven-game chess match. One run was scored in the Game 7, 10-inning masterpiece. Add in Kirby Puckett’s Game 6 for the ages, a power-hitting third base tandem, Kent Hrbek providing a lift at first, a rookie rising above the tension, veteran power, clutch pitching led by the wizened Jack Morris, plus a relentless and dynamic Atlanta Braves team –and yes, it was the Greatest World Series ever played. This beautifully-packaged seven-DVD collection contains every pitch, hit, sterling defensive play, and ear-popping Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome memory along with each glorious Minnesota Twins 1991 World Series championship moment. The collection displays the heroics of Dan Gladden, Gene Larkin, Chuck Knoblauch, Chili Davis and Brian Harper, plus the steadying leadership of Manager Tom Kelly. A special DVD audio feature allows fans to watch the World Series television broadcast and listen to the Twins Radio Network announcers! Yes, it was the greatest World Series and the proof is in the seven games digitally preserved in this DVD trophy.

Also available is a highlight collection called Magic in Minnesota for $19.95.

MAGIC IN MINNESOTA: REMEMBERING THE 1991 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP revels in the mesmerizing masterpiece of Jack Morris’ 1-0, 10-inning Game 7 and Kirby Puckett’s unbelievable heroics in Game 6. This commemorative DVD, timed to the Twins’ 20th Anniversary celebration, salutes the contributions of superstars, support players, and the deafening, intimidating Minnesota Twins fans who electrified the Metrodome like never before and includes extensive game highlights and interviews with two-time World Champions manager Tom Kelly, Kent Hrbek, Gene Larkin, Dan Gladden, and John Gordon. As an exclusive bonus, the DVD also includes footage such as the final outs from four Twins 1991 ALCS victories plus the celebration footage after winning the 1991 American League Pennant; a vintage 1991 Minnesota Twins commercial; the footage of the ‘91 Twins meeting the President at the White House and Kirby Puckett’s Hall of Fame induction speech.

 MAGIC IN MINNESOTA is more than just another film about just another championship team. It’s about the Twins – your Twins – and perhaps the greatest World Series of all time.

If the DVD collections of the baseball games aren’t enough for you, the Twins have a couple other things put together to honor the 20th Anniversary: a Jack Morris MVP autographed baseball and limited edition print by Karl Jaeger.

To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the 1991 World Series championship team, the Twins have released an autographed Jack Morris “1991 World Series MVP” baseball and a 1991 World Series Print for sale with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Twins Community Fund.

The 20th Anniversary of the Twins 1991 World Series triumph over the Atlanta Braves holds special significance for legendary pitcher Jack Morris. In Game 7 of that series, “Black” Jack pitched a complete game shutout in what many have called one of the most thrilling World Series finishes in history. To celebrate the anniversary of this milestone, the Minnesota Twins and Jack Morris have created an exclusive series of autographed baseballs to commemorate the event.

Jack Morris has signed 1,000 baseballs with his name and the notation, “1991 World Series MVP.” Each baseball carries the special 20th anniversary logo created by the Twins and is numbered from 1 to 1,000. Jack Morris will sign no other baseballs with that notation. For $91, you can own one of these baseballs and a piece of World Series history.

The 1991 World Series print (a part of the Minnesota Twins Memories series) was created with colored pencils by local artist Karl Jaeger. This fine art print captures the memories and finest moments from one of the greatest World Series in baseball history.

The 1991 World Series prints are available in a variety of styles including a limited edition canvas giclee, fine art paper prints, as well as an autographed version signed by Tom Kelly, Dan Gladden, Kent Hrbek, Gene Larkin, and Jack Morris.

More than anything, watching the DVD series reminded me how much I would really, really, really like to see something like this happen again. This is the ultimate experience for players, managers and fans alike. It’s time boys. 20 years is long enough to wait!

Snappers Photos, Part Deux

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I took the afternoon off from the office to sneak out to the ballpark and take in the final game of the Snappers/Kernels series today and it was well worth the penalty I’ll pay of having more work to do tomorrow.

The Kernels won the game 5-4 in 11 innings. Given the heat and the fact that I went straight from the office and thus was still in “business casual” attire, I really didn’t need a four hour extra innings game, but it certainly was entertaining.

Lefty Ryan O’Rourke threw six solid innings for the Snappers but was left with a no decision as his team mates committed four errors behind him (OK, technically only three were committed behind him since O’Rourke committed one of those errors himself when he lobbed a pick off throw to 1B well down the RF line).

The latter stages had everything a fan could want to see in a game. Strategic bunting, clutch hitting, diving catches, good baserunning, controversial umpiring, and a 9th inning manager ejection (the Kernels manager, Brent Del Chiaro… though Snapper manager Nelson Prada and 1B coach Tommy Watkins came close to getting early showers one play later, following what could best be referred to as a pretty obvious “make up” call).

In the end, the Kernels won the game on a walk-off HR down the LF line. If it was fair, it wasn’t by much, but it was called fair and that’s all that matters I guess.

Here are a few pictures of some of today’s action… I didn’t take as many as Sunday, but we have a few shots of guys who didn’t play in Sunday’s game.

Infielder Adam Bryant gets low at 2B
OF Wang-Wei Lin gets some swings in during a catcher's visit to the mound
Coach Tommy Watkins with instructions to Lin at 1B
Starting pitcher Ryan O'Rourke delivers
Catcher Tobias Streich glances toward the Kernels dugout
Relief pitcher Michael Tonkin delivers and SS Daniel Santana breaks to cover 3B as the hitter squares to bunt
Lefty reliever Jose Gonzalez strides toward home
Reliever Nelvin Fuentes gave up the game winning HR, though he and the Snappers weren't convinced it was a fair ball
Pinch runner Derek McCallum scored the tying run in the top of the 9th on a wild pitch as Tobias Streich gives him the "get down" sign

 

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Michael Cuddyer in his own words

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“Some kids pretend to be hitters; some kids pretend to be pitchers.” – Michael Cuddyer

I don’t link other people’s work in it’s entirety here very often but given how much Cuddyer had always wanted to pitch and how many times we had talked about it happening.. oh yeah, and of course the fact that it finally happened and I didn’t get to SEE it, I thought you would like to see his own write-up that he put on FSN about the experience.

Cuddyer: My trip to the mound took years

 Cuddy_Pitching_PG.jpgJuly 26, 2011

Just about every little boy in America at one point in time dreams of being a major league baseball player. He and other kids from the neighborhood run around in the backyard and pretend to be the players on their favorite teams.

Some kids pretend to be hitters; some kids pretend to be pitchers. Then there are some kids, like me, who will not relinquish being their favorite player and will use that player to pitch even if he’s a hitter. Don Mattingly was the starting pitcher in 500 or so games in my backyard. Sometimes, when no other kids were home to play, he even would pitch to himself, using my garage door as the batter.

It was my dream to be major league player. I wanted to hit home runs and make great plays in the field. I also wanted to get guys out on the mound and control the game and how it flowed. After years as a hitter in the majors, I got to live my pitching dream on a hot Monday night in Texas, and it is something I will never forget.

I was drafted in 1997 out of Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Va. I was scouted mainly as a shortstop, but I also pitched. Some teams were interested in me as a pitcher, but none was really serious. I did have a good arm and occasionally would pitch in the mid-90s, but I was nothing more than a thrower. That means I had no clue on the mound; I just held the ball and threw it as hard as I could on every pitch.

In high school, that’s great. It can get you through a lot of games, and it allows you to have success while doing so. However, most teams saw that having a good arm would be more beneficial to me in the field. Still, when the Twins drafted me as an infielder, it didn’t stop me from living out my pitching dream about once every month or so in the minor leagues.

My first stop in pro ball was with the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wizards. Being that I was 19 and not even a year removed from pitching, I would try to get our catchers to catch for me in the bullpen. Because I was a high draft pick and the coaches didn’t want to lose their job if I got hurt, they put an end to that quickly. But that just caused me to wear out my throwing partner’s glove and shins when we played catch on flat ground warming up for batting practice.

I would throw four-seam fastballs, two-seam fastballs, sliders, cutters, curveballs and split-fingered pitches. Heck, I’d even invent pitches. I would lobby to pitch an inning in blowouts but never was given the opportunity. That trend continued all through my journey to the big leagues.

My first few years in Minnesota, I never was in a spot to request pitching time or even play around with pitches while warming up. I didn’t want to do anything that would cause Manager Ron Gardenhire or the front office to feel as though I didn’t belong or was just messing around. Once I got somewhat established, that all changed.

I remember infielder Nick Punto and I would go out early and work on our pitches. I would catch for him and he would catch for me. Nick had a great knuckleball and an electric arm. Before I dislocated my index finger in ’08, the knuckleball also was in my arsenal. But after that injury, I never could grip the ball with my fingertips again. Nick and I would tell pitching coach Rick Anderson and Gardy how we were available in case of a blowout. There were a few games when I thought one of us would have a chance to get on the hill. Once in Oakland, we were getting beat pretty badly and had gone through a few pitchers with three innings to go when one of our relievers did a great job and got through the rest of the game with a minimal amount of pitches. I was sure that would be the only chance I would have in my career to get on the mound.

Then came Monday night when — unfortunately/fortunately — the stars aligned themselves for me to get a chance to live the dream I had in my backyard all of those years ago.

For those of you who didn’t watch the game Monday night, we struggled. Whatever our guys threw up there, the Rangers hit it. Before we knew it, we were down 18-1 in the fifth inning. When we got to the top of the seventh, Gardy came up to me and asked how mad I would be if he put Trevor Plouffe in to pitch.

I told him that it was his team and he obviously should do what he felt was best, but I would have been hot, given how long I had wanted an opportunity to present itself like this. Gardy then proceeded to say reliever Alex Burnett would pitch the bottom of the seventh and I would pitch the eighth. Words can’t describe how excited I was. I was hitting in the top of the eighth and ended up walking. As I was on base, I was worried I wouldn’t have any time to throw a few just to get loose. Then Jason Kubel hit a two-run home run and it gave me a chance to go down to the bullpen to throw a handful of pitches before heading to the mound.

The run from the bullpen to the mound was surreal. I had seen so many pitchers make that run, and for me to finally be able to do it … I just took it all in. When I did get to the mound, I was surprisingly calm. I figured my heart would be racing a mile a minute, and I was sure my first warmup pitch was going to hit the back screen. Fortunately, it didn’t.

After leadoff hitter Mike Napoli doubled, I thought I was in for it. There was no way I was going to be able to finish the inning. It felt like the hitters saw the ball on a tee and were just going to let it rip. I ended up loading the bases with one out and fortunately got Elvis Andrus to hit a shallow fly to left. Then I was able, by the grace of God, to get David Murphy to pop up to end the inning with no runs scored. My dream was over, but it ended with the best-case scenario. I obviously had a huge smile on my face when I came in the dugout and was happy to see smiles on my teammates’ faces as well. It was good to see smiles during an otherwise pretty tough game.

So now I have a story to tell, and you just heard it. I get to do something every day that millions upon millions of people dream of doing but only a handful ever get to do. And then, one hot Monday night in Texas, I got to be a major league pitcher. Who knows? Maybe Don Mattingly would have fared just as well as he did when he went 500-0 all of those years ago in my backyard.