Brief Thoughts About Baseball (6/15/2009 - 6/21/2009)

1. Here's a heads up play.

2. Not that people really want to hear about my fantasy team, but it was a light Monday as far as games go, so I only had one batter going and so did my opponent. I was excited when my player did this for the first time in his career. But then his player did this...and then this. I wasn't so excited anymore. But I ended the week well so I really can't complain...much.

3. Since we're in the middle of interleague play, I suppose I should make my opinion known. The NL's no DH policy is vastly superior to the AL. The Designated Hitter has never made much sense to me. The NL feels more pure.

4. Blackburn got a complete game for the Twins on Thursday. That's the first complete game for the Twins since 07/28/2008.

5. Kerry Wood came back to play against his former team, the Chicago Cubs. He apparently is still fond of them because he gave them a couple of gifts.

6. So Saturday night's Twins game started off with the opposing pitcher, Brian Moeller, taking the mound. Moeller then bent down and inscribed "FM" into the mound. The announcers commented that he does that in honor of his father Frank Moeller, who died before he could watch his son pitch in the major league. Then, on the second pitch, this happened. Good for the Twins (if ultimately meaningless), but still I had slightly mixed feelings. I just needed a few more buffer pitches.

7. I'm probably alone on this one, but I've always been for standardizing the dimensions of baseball fields. I know it's sacrilege and that it will never happen, but when this hit ends the game...something doesn't feel right. (And the fact that MLB referred to it as a "wallop" is just plain embarrassing.)

8. Thursday's Yankees game was the first game in the new Yankee stadium not to have a home run hit by either team. So the record of most consecutive games with a home run hit to start a new stadium ends at 35. And what juggernaut of a team had the pitching chops to shut out the vaunted Yankees offense on that day? Why, the mighty Natinals, of course.

9. I know Gardenhire has been wanting to rest Morneau more this year and I know Morneau has been in a minor slump lately. But with Denard Span out of the lineup, should they also be taking Morneau out? Especially after Kubel is taken out of the game for an illness?

10. Speaking of the Twins, they usually use interleague play to get on a hot streak. Not this year.. On their latest 6 game interleague homestand they went only 3 and 3, losing a series to the Astros. The White Sox, on the other hand, are doing extremely well. Not a good sign for the Twins.

10 Pop Culture-y Things For Which Teebore is Thankful

Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes: the two best super hero comics that nobody reads.

DVR: all the convenience of recording shows without the thinks-for-itself self-programming (and the inherent fear of death by robot uprising therein) of Tivo.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Speaking of robot uprisings, I'm behind a few episodes, but so far, this show has really stepped it up a notch in the second season, with some interesting new plot developments and clever writing and directing. (John's still too much of a whiner, though...)

Pizza Hut's breadsticks


The episode of Saved by the Bell in which the gang decides it's better to have Zack drive drunk than to let Screech drive. Hilarity ensues.

The 25th Anniversary GI Joe figures: now into its 26th anniversary year, Hasbro just keeps pumping these gems out. And now they're making exact replicas of all the vehicles I never had as a kid, like the Cobra Rattler and the GI Joe SHARC.

Old Godzilla movies


Fantastipotamuses

Christopher Walken in Batman Returns


That time Gentlemen of Leisure VP Hulk pretended to be a robot in a clown suit whilst juggling circus animals

Retro Review: Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder

AKA: Homer gets depressed when his 15 minutes of fame expires, so he attempts suicide and bonds with Maggie.

The Setup: After showing up at work 26 hours late, Homer skives off early to go bowling with Lenny and Carl, wherein his rage at Mr. Burns helps him bowl 300.

Favorite Lines:

Burns: Turn around, Simpson
Homer: No! I can't get in trouble if I can't see you.
Smithers: I'm afraid he's got us, sir.

Lisa: Dad, what she's saying is, you've had your moment in the sun and now it's time for you to gracefully step aside.
Homer: Lisa, I know what's going on here. They did it to Jesus, and now they're doing it to me.
Marge: Are you comparing yourself to Our Lord?
Homer: Well, in bowling ability.

Ron Howard: Look, I'd love to help you out, Homer, but I'm taking my kids to the zoo.
Homer: That's great -- even big stars take their kids to the zoo.
Howard: Well, it's a different zoo, containing animals *you've* never heard of.
Howard's daughter: Daddy, we're missing the fantastipotamus. She only sings twice a day.

Teebore's Take: I remember greatly disliking this episode, but it's more boring and scattershot than anything else. The best bit is the first act, with Homer's bowling of a perfect game, Marge's hilarious over-the-top concern for Lenny ("Oh, no, not Lenny -- not Lenny!!" and her subsequent shrine to his well being) and Lenny's inadvertent attempts to jinx Homer by ordering a banana split that cost $7.10. After that, it's pretty blah as Homer meanders his way into and out of fame before the final act (which is notable for giving Maggie the most attention she's received in an episode since season three's "Streetcar Named Marge") ends in the zany fashion we've come to expect.

Zaniness:

Homer sleeps through a day-and-a-half, eats several mouthfuls of toxic waste, survives a jump off the top of a skyscraper, and is single-handedly rescued from drowning by Maggie.

Jerk-ass Homer:

Homer casually ignores Maggie at the beginning, uses his anger at Mr. Burns to help his bowling game, and is generally annoying and arrogant during his 15 minutes of fame.