Bert's Buddy Blog: Time Off & May Day Baskets

Monday, April 28, 2008

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!

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Frank's Story

The Day Perfection Died (Frank's Story)

The headline of USA Today's sports page on Thursday, September 15, 1994 read “’YER OUT!” Countless other newspapers proclaimed “Going, Going, Gone.” But the pain felt by baseball fans when the season-ending, World Series-cancelling announcement was made was not alleviated by such cute little phrases. Throughout the strike, the propaganda had flown from the lips of owners and players alike, but we fans expected a return to normalcy. But for a large majority of fans, the tragic passing of baseball in 1994 was a new occurrence. In fact, much was made of the fact that all the wars and even a major earthquake weren’t enough to stop the World Series. But for at least one fan, me, the loss of the national pastime was a repeat offense. Theft of the game by modern greed was a parallel to the crime perpetrated against me many years ago.
Back in my pre-teen years, I experienced one of the more intense growing pains imaginable—baseball was stolen from me. For when I was nine years old, I was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia, a rare, degenerative, neuromuscular disease that I inherited recessively from my parents. Although the disease made it progressively harder for me to walk, run, stand still at the plate (anything involving muscles and their coordination), I continued to play the game I loved. I was a mere shadow of the player I had once been, but I guess my natural mental capacity for the game kept me in my little league team’s starting lineup. I was the Lou Gehrig of Ames, Iowa pre--teens, playing first base as well as I could, giving it my all, despite dwindling physical abilities. Eventually, it was taken from me altogether. At the time, I didn't realize what a devastating loss it was. Ten difficult years later, my heart had grown fonder. When I read the strike announcement in 1994, memories of this loss poured out of me for the better part of an hour. Three years since have not dried my line of tears, which trail off into the remembrance of my favorite game.

Top of the first . . .
Baseball was, before the diagnosis, the one incredible passion in my life. I would have dropped anything (and often did, much to my mother's displeasure. Our neighbor even reported to her of me in my diaper playing ball in the backyard.) just to play baseball, softball, wiffle ball, or even a game of catch with my big brother. We played hotbox with our friends; we played simulated games imitating our favorite major leaguers, trying to hit, throw, and catch just like them. We played ball wherever we were. Our motto was "take me out to any ballgame." I could not have foreseen a life without the joy of playing baseball.

Top of the second . . .
There was a reason for this undeniable passion; I was really, really good. I remember that back during my tee-ball days, my best friend Fred and I were the two best players that Irv Rosheim had seen during his 40 years of coaching rec ball in Ames, or so he told our parents. He would bellow from beneath his red Welch Junior High School cap whenever Fred or I stepped to the plate on the rec league practice field, "All the Way to Lincoln Way," a spirited plea to be sure, as Frank Thomas probably could not hit Lincoln Way from there. In the field, Fred and I dominated the game from whichever two infield positions we chose on a given day. Basically we chose between left side and right side, because the other five-year-olds couldn't hit the ball hard enough to find a hole or clear the infield. We were a two-man blanket on defense, and a very short murderer's row on offense. One of my favorite stories of our juvenile diarchy is a tee-ball game my father told me about. With the bases loaded and nobody out, a kid popped one up. I was playing fielding pitcher, and raced in to catch the ball. I looked at the runner on third, and he had not set foot off the base, as base running was not top-notch in tee-ball. For the same reason, the runners on first and second kept running forward, even after the catch. Fred realized this at the same time I did and took off running toward second base from his position at first. Halfway there I hit him on the dead run with a bullet throw, as we were always in sync. Fred tagged the guy running to second and out-ran the kid who was now retreating to second at his third-base coach's plea. While Fred and I trotted off the field, an audible gasp rose from the crowd, followed by the murmur of husbands explaining to wives how many outs had been made. I think many women and children heard the term "triple play" for the first time that day. As my dad says now, I was slightly more athletic and a better baseball player than Fred, but he was taller and always preferred basketball, which is why he currently plays in the NBA.

Now entering the third inning . . .
One day during the coach-pitch league, the next level after tee-ball, I was playing fielding pitcher still. A kid obviously was lucky just to make contact with a pitch once. His mother jumped up and down in the stands, screaming "Run!" Her excitement was not deterred by the ball's dribbling three feet in front of home plate. I sprang off the mound as the kid took off for first and raced in, grabbed the ball and fired to first in one motion, getting the out by a full step. As my parents beamed quietly, certain that I possessed the strongest eight-year-old arm in the world, the kid's mom surveyed the situation and allowed, "HolyCow!"

Top of the fourth . . .
But as I grew older, my physical abilities deteriorated gradually, even before the disease was diagnosed. After a while in the coach-pitch league, I had slowed enough to move to third base or the outfield usually. But even as my speed left me, I was still good. I could hit, catch, and throw better than most of my peers. One year, after the diagnosis, I made the all-star team in a close vote. During the all-star game, I hit a line drive up the middle that the fielding pitcher somehow dodged. In the car afterward, my dad, apparently knowing my need for reassurance, said, "Frank, you had the hardest hit of the game." I wasn't so sure, so I said, "Really, you don't think Eric Holm's hit was harder?" He paused and answered, "No way. Yours was up the middle. Perfect timing." It was perfect in a grander sense than he could have realized, as that was my final all-star game. I was 10 years old.

Moving right along, we head to the fifth . . .
As my disease ate away at my nerves and my muscle control, I slowed down enough that the coaches moved me to first base--just like all the other greats nearing the end of their careers. Just like my dad, who bestowed his first baseman's glove on me, because he still had a couple years of center field left in his legs. I think he knew I would be done breaking in the glove before he needed it. And break it in I did. For my final couple years of little league, that glove scooped balls out of the dirt more frequently than ever had been seen in Ames little league action. That glove allowed me to be the best first baseman in the league, at least the best at catching, but only partially alleviated the internal havoc my illness was wreaking. My balance continually worsened, making it difficult to stand still in the field and especially in the batter's box. My ability at the plate had been decimated, and my lack of speed only compounded my offensive woes. Try as I did, my heart and baseball intelligence were no match for my degenerating cells.

Top of the sixth . . .
On the eve of a playoff game during my final year in baseball a juvenile prank left a pine needle lodged in my skull. The morning of the game, a friend took me to the hospital in my team's uniform, as my parents were out of town. A doctor opened my scalp and left the wound open, in hopes that the intruder would work its way out. I rushed to the game and played my heart out, overcoming dizziness to do my normal bang-up job at first base. My older brother Larry, the brother whom I had played with for countless hours of my youth, umpired first base in that game. I remember that one of my famous scoops came up into the heel of my glove. I squeezed it tightly, showed it to Larry, and he signaled the out. The first base coach jumped up and down and yelled at him, but I think it was the right call. If not right, at least appropriate. My usual ineffectiveness at the plate, however, was exaggerated by dizzy spells. After exacting all my effort and courage to stand in the box, I would make an out. Upon returning to the dugout, I'd remove my helmet and ignore the specks of blood that I saw. Despite my physical problems, we won that hot summer afternoon. As it should be--and as it always was--my physical woes took a back seat to the game. The important thing is that we won that day to move on in the tournament, and I was no small part.

Now entering the seventh . . .
Saturday, July 8, 1984--no newspaper headlines proclaiming loss, no announcement. Just the next game of the playoffs. I walked clumsily to the plate in the last inning with two outs and my team down by a couple of runs. After fouling back strike two to push the count to 2-2, I knew I needed to protect the plate on anything close. At the same time, I understood that my team needed a base runner to prolong the inning, so a walk would do. Ironically, my old pal Fred, the league's star player, watched from his position at shortstop, probably unaware of the profundity of the moment. The pitch came, and it looked good, so I started to swing. I don't know why, but the ball kept rising, and I thought it was high. I checked my swing, or so I thought, but the umpire yelled, "Strike three!," and the game was over. I wanted to ask the ump if he called the swing or the strike, but my words drowned in my rapidly forming tears. As Fred's teammates mobbed him, I cried for five minutes, mourning both the loss and the fact that I had let my teammates down. After that day, I never played little league again, but I would not let myself miss it. I shut off any nostalgia. I still liked baseball, but my passion had died. Ten years later, the strike announcement shook away the numbness, and the true mourning began.

We go to the eighth . . .
As my disease progressed to eventually confine me to a wheelchair, it drove me to pursue scholastic endeavors. My senior year in high school, I traded off headlines in the local paper with Fred, my former athletic equal who had taken off athletically. He owned the sports page, while frequent tales of my academic career somehow didn't bore people. This arrangement helped plunge any pain that could have stopped me up. My favorite teacher in high school, who teaches History and English, during our Western Civilization class's art section mentioned that the best test he could think of to judge the greatness of a painting was whether he would cut off one of his arms in return for an original copy of the painting. He has a handful of ampu-worthy paintings; thinking about his test makes you appreciate the unbelievable passion he has for art. I've thought about this test in relation to baseball, and I would gladly give an arm to be restored to full strength and allowed to play in the major leagues for a day--one day. In a heartbeat. That is the depth of my frustration.

We head into the final inning . . .
In Hollywood's rendition of my life story, "Field of Dreams," Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a man whose father played professional baseball but never attained his ultimate goal of playing in the major leagues. His father died before Kinsella ever developed a real relationship with him, and only a love of baseball binds the two. Kinsella plows over his cornfield in order to sow some fantastic seeds. He builds a baseball field surrounded by his corn, which he thinks will bring his hero--the legendary Joe Jackson, wrongly banned for life from baseball--off the black(sox)list to once more play the game he loved. Kinsella reaps what he sows, as Jackson shows up and brings many of his contemporaries to play. Kinsella also brings others whose dreams of playing in the major leagues had been discarded for one reason or another. In a stunning portrayal of dreams being taken off the back burner, they all gather at Kinsella's heavenly cornfield to play together. This scene is even more amazing for any boy who ever had the same dreams, the same disintegrated aspirations and loves as the movie's characters. Ultimately, Kinsella's final dream of making friends with his father also comes true, as the elder Kinsella shows up and plays catch with Ray. This game of catch represents the ultimate dream come true for many boys; seeing their fathers as young, athletic men; father and son throwing their hearts back and forth, squeezing them tightly with both hands to make every catch, for fear of letting their mutual love slip out of the palm of the glove and vanish forever.

As they say, game over . . .
In a sense, I guess, that's what happened to me on that dark and dreary summer day back in 1984. A piece of me, part of my heart, slipped out of the catcher's mitt and disappeared as the other team celebrated its victory. I don't know for sure whether the umpire called the pitch a strike or said I didn't check my swing in time. But I suppose it doesn't matter. The fact is that I struck out, ending my once-promising baseball career. My final swing was not really a swing. And now, after thirteen years, I would give anything for a chance to take another cut. I wish I could get another chance to play the game I love, but I realize it will only happen in my head, my field of dreams. I guess with the current state of the baseball world, dreaming is the only way to keep the game as flawless as it really is. That calls to mind my favorite line from "Field of Dreams." One of the men who had never fulfilled his goal of making the majors says to Kinsella upon getting his first glimpse of the scrimmaging ghosts, "This is unbelievable." Ray, carefully studying the activity on the field, sums up the scene, "No, it's more than that--it's perfect." In the words of the great Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully, "And how."

» Frank Genalo was born and raised in Ames, Iowa, went to Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California (http://www.hmc.edu). He then went to graduate school at the University of Arizona. He now resides in St Paul, Minnesota.

Bert's Buddy Blog

Monday, April 28, 2008

Time Off & May Day Baskets

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