Time Off & May Day Baskets

Frank: Well, here is a brief recap of the weeklong road trip by the Minnesota Twins to Oakland and Texas: the Twins had a disappointing week, winning only one of three games in each series. The San Francisco Treat was set to Rochester, is now the Rochester Treat (would that be Mayo?). That’s right, Francisco Liriano has been sent to Triple-A Rochester. Now for the positives of the week: First of all was the opening of the floodgates that I talked about last week. For the first 18 games of the season, two Twins had homered – Jason Kubel and Justin Morneau. But Brendan Harris and Craig Monroe joined them in back-to-back games and then Carlos Gomez got in on the fun Thursday.

But more important was the return of outfielder Michael Cuddyer from injury. He joined the team Friday in Texas, and immediately made an impact. He started an unconventional double play with his first (of many, no doubt) outfield assist of the year to stop the bleeding and keep the score tied. After five runs had scored on six consecutive hits -- before Nick Blackburn recorded the first out of the third inning – Cuddyer fielded the seventh, a double by Jason Botts, off the right field wall and fired to second. Nick Punto relayed the ball home, where Joe Mauer was waiting to tag the runner who had started the play at second base (not first!). Mauer then threw to Mike Lamb at third base, where he tagged out Botts. The old 9-6-2-5, started by none other than Michael Cuddyer. He added his name to the homer list his second game back, showing his enormous all-around impact. So seven games later, the number of players who have gone deep has tripled to six. Tripling probably won’t happen again, because not many American League pitchers have that much pop in their bats (or opportunity to show it)!

Now for the potential positives: The spread of productivity needs to continue, with Delmon Young, Joe Mauer and Mike Lamb getting on that list. The impact of Michael Cuddyer should be felt more and more, as he plays himself back into shape. I asked Bert about another upcoming positive.

Frank: The Twins have three days off out of eight, including today. Can you, with your insight as a former starting pitcher, tell us about what the extra rest does for the pitching staff, be it good or bad. Manager Ron Gardenhire made it sound like it could be an interesting starting rotation. Why would that be? Did it change when Liriano got sent down to Class Triple-A Rochester, leaving the Twins with just four starters? What about the bullpen, which was roughed up in Detroit? Will the days off help them against the division rivals, the White Sox and the Tigers?

Bert: With the Twins having three days off over the next eight days, I don't think it will hurt the starting staff at all. The Twins decided that Francisco Liriano needed to be sent down to the minors, and I bet having the off days helped them make their decision. Right now the Twins have and only need four starters for the next two weeks. Kevin Slowey is going through rehab in the minor leagues right now, and when they need a fifth starter again, look for Kevin to rejoin the team. The days off will help Rick Anderson, Twins pitching coach, keep the current four starters on schedule. You win pennants with your horses -- meaning your starting pitchers -- and with three off days and only four starters, it helps getting those horses back to the mound more quickly. If there was a fifth starter it would mean that your numbers 1-3 starters would have more time between starts. Also, any off day during the season is great for the relief pitchers, because they are usually up in the bullpen every game. Off days help keep the relievers fresh.

Frank: Yes, that might be especially important this week, as we take on division rivals. During the off-season, the Detroit Tigers loaded up with all-stars, making several additions to an already imposing lineup. But picked to win the division, they have been an enigma so far this season. They lost their first seven games; then they beat up the Twins bullpen twice in a row, prompting you to say repeatedly, "Did we wake a sleeping giant?" But I think we actually only slightly nudged them, and the Tigers went just 4-6 over the next two weeks. But last week they started living up to their team nickname, clawing four in a row by a combined score of 42-11 (This question was written before the Angels series, which Detroit lost while scoring just 11 runs in the three games.) The giant is awake now, huh? Will it help the Twins enough to be at home and better rested when they battle the beast this weekend, rather than in Detroit on the last leg of a 9-day, 3-city road trip?

Bert: The Twins start this homestand against the Chicago White Sox, who are leading the American League Central Division. It's a short 2-game series, but an important one for the Twins. The two teams split the earlier series in cold and windy Chicago. It was suppose to be a 3-game series but the last game was rained out and will be made up on Monday, June 9 in Chicago. The White Sox are playing good baseball right now and the Twins need to show them they can play with them. It's important for the Twins to beat the teams in their own division since they will be facing all the teams in their division 18 times each. The Tigers will be doing the same thing the Twins will be trying to do, and that is to get back to the .500 mark for their record. Yes, the Tigers have a great offense but, as I will say in almost all our blog entries together, winning will come down to starting pitching. Their starters and their bullpen will be question marks for their success this season. Until the likes of Verlander, Bonderman, Robertson and Rogers are more consistent, it might be a tough job for the offense to score more runs than the starters give up. Their bullpen has missed the arms of Rodney and Zumaya, who have been on the disabled list.

The Twins are 6-6 so far at home and they will have to have a winning record if they want to compete in their division. The old saying is play .500 on the road and play about .700 at home.

Frank: I am really excited about this homestand, but you’re going to miss part of it?! I have heard that you are at your home in Florida right now (as of Sunday night). Please tell me, and other Twins fans, that you won't go circling anyone down there, unless you are at a Twins minor league game! The last day of your vacation is Thursday, May 1, also known as May Day. Have you ever given anyone a May basket (Back when I was in elementary school, it was a tradition to fill baskets with candy or flowers, and give them to friends - sometimes those of the opposite sex. I think that this tradition is on the way out, but I wish it were not.)? Any stories? Should I fill one for your mother-in-law, after I ran with your joke last week comparing her to a seal?
Bert: I am taking off the only game we are televising against the Chicago White Sox, Tuesday night. With Wednesday not a TV game and Monday and Thursday off, I am flying to Florida to spend the four days at home. Maybe I will work on my golf game a couple of days and make sure that the lawn is getting enough water. To be honest with you, Frank, I have never heard of May Day. I will have to ask my wife Gayle if she has ever heard of this very important day! If she has, I will almost have to buy my mother-in-law a basket of goodies, since I dropped the seal on her. How about a basket of fresh fish? You are hereby "Circled."

Frank: We will try to survive without you and your circles, but I don’t know if Boof can do it when you are not there praising the tight rotation of his curve ball; we will see . . . If you golf like I’m guessing you do, you might be able to water your lawn with your golf balls after a round! You have never heard of May Day? Oh yeah, I forgot, you grew up in Southern California! Do they even have Long John Silver’s in Florida? Well, that purchase might not be so fresh.

Watch the Twins on FSN North this week:
Tuesday, April 29: vs. Chicago White Sox at 6:30
Friday, May 2: vs. Detroit Tigers at 6:30
Saturday, May 3: vs. Detroit Tigers at 12:30

Don’t miss the Kids in the City Celebration at the Metrodome this Thursday, May 1 with host Michael Cuddyer and other Twins players including Craig Monroe and Nick Punto!

Tickets are still available: please visit http://www.boys/ and girls.org or call 612-435-1916 for additional information and to purchase tickets!

Kids in the City: a celebration of the accomplishments of the Boys and Girls Club youth. Mingle with professional sports celebrities, college athletes, team mascots and other special guests. Games, food, silent auction and raffle!

Twins vs A's & Sea Lions vs. Seals

Frank: Well, “The Treat” (Francisco Liriano) got beat, again. On Friday night, Liriano was beaten by the Cleveland Indians for five innings and lost by the final score of 4-0. But the Minnesota Twins rebounded nicely against their Central Division rival, winning the last two games to take the series. As usual so far this year, the base runners had an active week:

The Twins are stealing a lot more bases this year than last; not surprisingly, given the additions of Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young. Manager Ron Gardenhire even had them running last week in Detroit despite the presence of Ivan Rodriguez, one of the best catchers ever at throwing potential base stealers out; we were 4-4 in the two games stealing against Rodriguez, and we continued the attack, stealing four more bases in seven attempts in the five games the rest of the week. But Gardy has always been a rather conservative manager. Will he reign in the running game at some point to avoid running into outs, or keep it flying when the Twins are not down by more than one?

Bert: The Twins, after the game yesterday, have hit a total of 9 home runs (That ranks second to last in the league, after yesterday’s home run by Brendan Harris, just the third Twins player to go deep. The Twins are also at or near the bottom of the league in several other offensive categories, but tied for first in stolen bases.) So we can tell by the first 19 games of the season that this year’s Twins team is not a power hitting team. So what the Twins need to do to win games is to run the bases aggressively. Stealing bases is their game right now until someone else other then Justin Morneau or Jason Kubel can show team staff that he has power (we will see if the homer hit by Harris yesterday opens the floodgates, since the Twins are still waiting for the productivity of several players--including Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, Mike Lamb and Craig Monroe—to show. They are also waiting for the return from injury of Michael Cuddyer. Expected to be one of the most productive hitters in the lineup, he has not swung a bat for the Twins in over two weeks; the team anxiously awaits his return.) The Twins cannot afford to sit back and expect the 3-run homer. With the way the Twins are hitting g right now, base stealing is their biggest weapon against an opponent and advancing aggressively on the bases is their key to victory. This includes going from first to third on a base hit, scoring from first on a double and staying in their game plan. Let's hope the offense shows more power as the weather gets warmer, but until then the team’s speed is a necessity.

Frank: Of course, when Bert answered these questions Saturday, he did not know that Frank Thomas, the veteran slugger who is a notorious Twins killer, would be released Sunday by the Toronto Blue Jays. The weather does not need to get warmer for Thomas to have power. Although, if the Twins do sign him, and he puts a hole in the roof on some summer day, that could certainly warm things up in the Metrodome. Could that be what Bert was talking about? The Twins pitching staff, most of it anyway, needs no reminders of Thomas; I asked Bert about the starters.

The starting pitching was a big concern heading into the season, and now the Twins have lost one of the original five to the DL. But even so, the rest of the starters have done well enough to ease most of the worries. However, a somewhat shaky turn through the starting rotation last week, which saw only one quality start, casued the Twins to come up short. The bullpen was uncharacteristically roughed up in two games in Detroit, but redeemed itself at home (one run in 16 1/3 innings). Don't you think that the refurbished offense, with all the new and improved hitters, should be able to pick up the pitching staff when it falters more than they did last week?

Bert: Teams throughout the summer months are going to have their ups and downs. Look at the Detroit Tigers, for example. Starting the season 0-7, and now they are playing better baseball as a team. Starting pitching is the key to any team’s success. The Twins starting staff has some good young arms, (am I calling Livan Hernandez young?) and there will be some growing pains. In today's game a starter is asked to get into the 7th inning and hopefully through the whole inning. If they can do that, then the bullpen will stay strong throughout the summer. Other then the 2-game series in Detroit the Twins bullpen has been exactly what we all expected going into the season and that's rock solid. If the starters falter in a game let's hope the offense can score enough runs to make up the inconsistency of the starter for that particular night.

Frank: The starting pitchers redeemed themselves too, in part, since I asked Bert these questions after the game Friday night. Solid starts by Nick Blackburn (that’s right, St. Nick) and Scott Baker, combining to allow one run, led to two victories over the weekend. So now we are ready to hit the road and take on the American League West:

The Twins are in Oakland this week. What will you and/or the players do in your off time in the Bay Area? As you and I both know, California pizza is not the best. But there are many other great culinary choices in that area; do you have a favorite restaurant out there? Ever been to Chinatown in San Francisco? How about North Beach, the wonderful Italian district with a lot of, surprisingly, wonderful Italians. I don't know much about the dining in Oakland, do you? Wherever you go, will you keep up your circling prowess on the day off by circling the area on the BART? I can hear the Bay Area now, saying "Circle me, BART!" Just wait till you get there.

Bert: The Twins stay in San Francisco when they play the Oakland A's. San Francisco is a city of many cultures and a fun place to visit. My trips to Oakland/ San Francisco have always included trips to Fishermen's Wharf. I love the view of the city overlooking the Bay and seeing Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. When my wife Gayle is with me we will rent a car and go over the bridge to Sausalito and spend the afternoon there. We also love to go down to the wharf and visit the seals and the sea lions. We have actually had many funny conversations with those seals and sea lions. They all try to get on this one big rock fighting for space to lay and are consistently making their seal talk. I swear I saw my mother-in-law on one of those rocks once (I wanted to figure out which species Gayle’s mom resembles more closely, sea lions or seals, so I googled it: “How can you tell the difference? Sea lions have visible external ear flaps, and walk on their flippers while on land. Seals have small ear holes and they crawl on their bellies on land.”

Hmm . . . If I had to guess, I would think that she’d be more like a sea lion. But when Bert starts talking, I bet she wishes she had the small ear holes of a seal!) We have also taken the Alcatraz tour a few times and if any of you get a chance to go on this tour, do it. You will love it. To get to the stadium in Oakland, if I don’t rent a car, I take BART. I usually take the wrong train to get to the stadium in Oakland, so that is always an adventure. BART is a great way to get around the Bay Area. BART is just like the subway system is in New York, but a little cleaner and safer.

Texas is another story. Not much to do in Texas with the ballpark in Arlington. I do have a nephew that lives in the Dallas area so I have a chance to visit with him and his family. He is a high school baseball coach there and hopefully on Friday or Saturday I can watch his team play a game. And then he comes to the Texas Rangers Stadium to root on the Twins.

Frank: Gooood choice, but no relative of Bert’s can be all bad.

Watch the Twins on FSN North this week:
Tuesday: vs. Oakland at 8:30 PM
Wednesday: vs. Oakland at 8:30 PM
Friday: vs. Texas at 6:30 PM
Saturday: vs. Texas at 6:30 PM

The San Francisco Treat

Frank: The Litany of the Saints played out at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City this weekend for the Minnesota Twins: Saint Livan, play for us, Saint Boof, play for us. The two right handers at the top of the Twins rotation, Livan Hernandez and Boof Bonser, along with the bullpen, shut out the Royals on consecutive frigid nights Friday and Saturday. But most important of all, San Francisco, played for us (I don’t know that much Spanish). Francisco Liriano made a regular season appearance yesterday for the Twins for the first time in 19 months. A huge step in his comeback from career threatening surgery, the start was promising, if a bit disappointing. Although his results were not nearly as good as those of the previous two starters (4 runs allowed on 6 hits and 5 walks in 4 2/3 innings in a 5-1 defeat), simply seeing the San Francisco Treat on the mound was enough to warm any Twins fan’s heart, even as he froze his entire body on another chilly Kansas City day. The reappearance of the lefty is the biggest reason to look forward to the coming week, but not the only one, so I asked Bert about it:

There are three series this week, against the Detroit Tigers, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Cleveland Indians. Detroit and Cleveland are not only Central Division rivals, but they are very good teams. In fact, the Tigers represented the American League in the World Series in 2006; and the Indians were one win away from doing so last year, ahead of the Boston Red Sox 3-1 in the American League Championship Series. And the Rays are vastly improved this year; sparkling with optimism that at the very least, 2008 will be the first winning season in the 11-year history of the franchise. But the Twins offense finally busted out last Wednesday in Chicago, doubling the previous season high for runs scored in a 12-5 victory over the White Sox. Can Twins hitters like Mike Lamb, Jason Kubel, and Brendan Harris keep up their improved hitting this week? Have you noticed anything specific about what they are doing differently?

Bert: As the Twins head into Detroit they don't really know what to expect. Everyone had the Tigers running away with the Central Division in April and never looking back. But that hasn't happened, has it? The Tigers line-up is scary to look at on paper because they have so many All-Stars and are led by a great manager in Jim Leyland. But as we all know, it always comes down to pitching, pitching and more pitching. Their pitching staff hasn't really done anything yet. Their starters have struggled and they are finding out that their bullpen needs help. But, they can break out of this early season slump with a few well-pitched games and some timely hitting, and there they go!

The Indians are a solid club that won the division last year and, like you said, almost made it to the "Big Dance." Once C.C. Sabathia finds his stuff they might have the best starting rotation in the Central Division. Cleveland is a team led by a very good manager in Eric Wedge, the AL Manager of the Year last season, and he has his team playing solid fundamental baseball. Grady Sizemore, their leadoff hitter, is one player to watch. He has a lot of talent offensively and defensively. If he gets on base, good things happen for the Tribe. Travis Hafner has always enjoyed hitting against the Twins and Casey Blake always seems to be the one guy in their line-up that always gets the big hit with the game on the line. But the Indians, like the Tigers, are off to a slow start.

The Tampa Bay Rays, not Devil anymore, are young and exciting to watch. It will be good to see Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza, even though Matt is on the 15-day disabled list, again at the Dome since they are former Twins. Their manager, Joe Madden, whom I know from my California Angels days, is a good teacher of the game. The patience the Rays have shown over the years is finally starting to show some progress. Carlos Pena is their power hitting first baseman and it's important to face him with no runners on base throughout the two game series. Carl Crawford is fun to watch because he is so fast and aggressive. It's just too bad the Rays are in the Eastern Division, but they would like to finish at .500 for the season.

The cold weather has affected every team in baseball. For the Twins, players like Brendan Harris and Mike Lamb are just getting their feet wet for their new team. Both are good hitters and will do well throughout the summer. Jason Kubel is one player I feel will be very important to the Twins offense. I believe he is going to have a solid season after missing all of the 2005 season because of knee surgery. Coming from someone that missed time because of surgeries, it takes time to bounce back and I believe Jason's bounce back year is now.

Frank: Speaking of rehabilitating from surgery, Francisco Liriano was kept down at the minor league level coming out of Spring Training to get some more innings under his belt and show that he is ready for a major league regular season again, after a 19-month layoff. He has struggled a bit, though Twins manager Ron Gardenhire made it sound less problematic than it might seem. He guaranteed that Liriano would pitch better for the Twins than he does in the minors; and he was true to his word, too. He called up the young left-handed pitcher to start yesterday against the Royals, even as Nick Blackburn was ready to fill in. YOU saw him in Spring Training, right? How much do you think he could help the Twins this year?

Bert: As I write this for the blog (last Friday night), Francisco Liriano was called up to pitch on Sunday, here in Kansas City. He has done everything the Twins have asked him to do; two rehab starts in the minors, and has gotten his pitch count to almost 80 to 90 pitches per start. This young man isn't called "The Franchise" for fun. He needs to show that he can throw all three of his pitches for strikes and stay strong throughout the ball game. He will be another big asset to the starting rotation if he can stay consistent. Time will tell.

Frank: The Treat, as I prefer to call him, may not have been as great as he was in 2006, but he certainly gave Twins fans reason to hope. When the Twins take the field Tuesday, we will be playing on the 61st anniversary of the first major league game played by an African-American. Jackie Robinson, a former Negro Leaguer, became a Major Leaguer on April 15, 1947. He is a hero of mine, because of all the stories I have heard (My father was born in Brooklyn in 1946, and grew up an avid Dodger fan -- mainly a Jackie Robinson fan) and read. For the second straight year, MLB commissioner Bud Selig has decided to allow major league players to honor Robinson by wearing his otherwise retired jersey number 42 for one day only. Six Twins will don the number; my question for you is this: I know you retired a few years before the big 50th anniversary in 1997. But you were in the major leagues for the 25th, 30th, and 40th anniversaries. Any memories? More importantly, you were around before he died; did you ever meet the man?

Bert: I never had the opportunity to meet the great Jackie Robinson. I wish I had. Growing up in Southern California, my dad with a huge Dodgers fan and it was my dad that helped me fall in love with the game of baseball (That’s not uncommon, as many of us had the same experience.). Jackie Robinson's last season with the Brooklyn Dodgers was in 1956 and I was still in Canada (before CA) at the age of 5 year old. I cannot imagine what he went through when he first joined the Dodgers in 1947. The man, through all the crap he went through, was named the Major League Rookie of the Year that first season and then two years later became the Most Valuable Player in 1949 (Back then, there was only one award given, not like today, with one for each league). To me it really doesn't matter what color you are or where you were born, because we are all born equal. It takes some people longer to realize this, but hopefully we can just all get along. I actually hope all the Twins players wear #42 on Jackie Robinson Day. I am proud that Major League Baseball will always continue to honor Jackie Robinson.

Be sure to check out the Twins on FSN North this week:

Monday: 5:30 PM vs. Detroit

Tuesday: 5:30 PM vs. Detroit

Wednsday: 6:30 PM vs. Tampa Bay

Thursday: 6:30 PM vs. Tampa Bay

Friday: 6:30 PM vs. Cleaveland

YUM--Chicago Style Pizza

Frank: I would like to point out, first of all, that the Twins, though below .500 at 3-4, are infinitely far ahead of the Tigers in winning percentage. The Tigers have not won a game yet, a trend that might not continue. Our Minnesota Twins opened the season with a weeklong home stand that started out frustrating, then became uplifting. We come off a weekend series win against our division rivals, the Royals, which leaves the Twins teeming with optimism.

Solid starting pitching combined with terrific defensive plays and Joe Nathan continuing his spotless season all have Twins fans wanting more. But perhaps the biggest reason for excitement is that the biggest bat in the lineup, the one belonging to Justin Morneau, sprang to life over the weekend. After a dismal Spring Training carried over into a dismal opening series against the Angels, Morneau collected his first hit Friday night. He followed that up with his first home run of the year--a three run shot--and an RBI double Saturday afternoon; then he got two more hits, including another homer, yesterday. He went 5 for 12 over the weekend, five more hits than he had in the same number of at-bats as he had against the Angels. Of course, he was not the only Twin who struggled in that series:

The Twins had a lot of trouble scoring runs in the opening series with the Angels, scoring only eight times and hitting just one home run in the four game set. The offense was a major problem last year, so management went out and made several moves trying to strengthen the hitting. What should the hitters focus on, especially the new players?

Bert: The lack of runs that the Twins scored in the home opening series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 8 total runs scored in the 4-game series, can be attributed mainly to the good quality pitching by the Angels starting pitchers. Even with the Twins winning the home opener 3-2 behind Livan Hernandez, Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan, the Angels starter, Jered Weaver, did a great job of keeping his team in the game until the end. The next three games were started by Jon Garland, Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana (NOT JOHAN), and they allowed ONLY 3 total runs in their combined 22 innings pitched, to the Twins offense. It is still too early in the season, but I think you can already see that the Angels might be the team to beat in the American League Western Division. If their starters continue to pitch the way they did against the Twins, the Angels will be tough to catch.

Let's not read too much into the lack of runs scored in the series against the Angels. Give the offense time to HEAT up. . .

Frank: Well, I guess you were right, as the Twins broke out of their offensive doldrums this weekend against the Royals. Maybe the fact that you were right has something to do with those 22 seasons you spent in the major leagues.

Two years ago, the Twins fell behind Detroit and Chicago right out of the gate, and kept falling further back until the second half of May, when they started playing well and came all the way back to win the division on the last day of the season. Given that, and with this week's games against Chicago and Kansas City, how important do you think it really is to get off to a good start against division rivals?

Bert: No team wants to fall behind the other teams in their division in April. The Twins are in what might be the toughest division in baseball, and that is the American League Central Division. But, since the Twins play each team 18 times throughout the 162-game schedule, falling behind early isn't the end of the season for any team. The Detroit Tigers are supposed to be the team to beat in the division, but the Kansas City Royals swept them in the opening 3-game series in Detroit. Boy, did the Royals send an early message or what? The Twins will take one game at a time, and let's hope by the end of each month they can be leading the division or be within a stone's throw away from the division leader. Every game is important throughout the season, but the games played within your division are a little more important. Hope you understand?

Frank: Yes, I think I think I get it; only one team from each division is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, so we don’t want to fall too far behind the other teams in the Central, and I suppose the improbable story of the 2006 season was an exception to a lot of rules . . .
Now let me switch gears. With a rare day off Tuesday in the middle of the series in Chicago, what I really want to know is: Do you prefer Chicago or New York style pizza? If you're not a pizza guy, have you ever been to Ed Debevic's, the fun, 50's burger joint with the song and dance waiting staff? It's in downtown Chicago, and worth the drive from the ballpark area.

Bert: Sometimes for a player an off day on the road can be very boring but Tuesday's off day in Chicago, if they are able to get the home opener for the White Sox in on Monday, it will be welcomed by all the players and the coaching staff. As a former player, I'm sure the current Twins players will find themselves catching up on all the things they couldn't take care of because of spring training, the excitement of opening day and playing a game every day. But what they will try and do the most on the off day is to "SLEEP."
Chicago is a great place to have an off day because the Twins stay right downtown and there is plenty to do. Just walking around will be relaxing to the players knowing they don't have to be at the ballpark, for at least one day, at a certain time. It also gives the players a chance to have dinner together with their teammates. Gino's pizza is a favorite for many players and that includes myself. Chicago pizza has the tradition, so it just tastes better. I consider myself a room junkie, meaning I stay in my hotel room a lot, but when my wife Gayle is with me on the road I go out more. She, like almost all the wives, loves Chicago. Could it be the shopping or just spending quality time with their husbands? You're right, spending quality time with their husbands!
And to answer the question if I have ever been to Ed Debevic's? Yes I have and actually once my wife and I joined the staff in doing the traditional dance. Now try and picture that!

Frank: As we all try to picture you “circling” Gayle on the floor of the restaurant, I can’t help but wonder if you are serious about Chicago pizza tasting better than New York pizza. As a man who served up quite a few “meatballs” in his day, I am surprised that you don’t know more about Italian food: New York pizza is far better. I guess what I said earlier about you being right a lot applies only to baseball.

Be sure to check out the Twins on FSN this week:
Monday: Twins vs. Chicago White Sox starting at 2:30 PM
Thursday: Twins vs. Chicago White Sox starting at 6:30 PM
Friday: Twins vs. Kansas City starting at 6:30 PM
Saturday: Twins vs. Kansas City starting at 5:30 PM