With the events of 07/20 still fresh in our minds, we should take the time to focus on the positive aspects of The Atrocity At Alameda, Part I.
- Jason Kubel reached safely in all six plate appearances. At this rate he'll be good enough that we'll be debating whether he'll be playing for the Yankees or Red Sox in 2012.
- If you went to bed after the 5th inning as I did, you likely drifted off to sleep thankful that Gardy was able to get away with throwing a completely hapless Nick Blackburn out there in the 5th so he could get the decision. That was a nice feeling, wasn't it? Yay Nick! Yay fleeting moments of happiness!
- As Patrick Reusse noted in this Twitter feed (typing that just feels weird), Kevin Mulvey retired every batter he faced. Granted, it was one batter, but it should be noted that for one game, Kevin Mulvey was unhittable.
- At one point, the 3-4-5 hitters were 9-for-9 with a slugging percentage of "math is hard."
- Not one remote live shot pimping Wisconsin Dells, which means not one clip of a shirtless Ron Coomer getting a massage. It's not TV, it's FSN North.
- The Twins scored 13 runs with a lineup that featured Mike Redmond, Alexi Casilla and Nick Punto. Since we're keeping our chins up, I DO NOT recommend looking at the Oakland lineup that scored 14 runs. Twinkie Town is not responsible for rage-fueled damage to your laptop caused by the viewing of box scores.
- In his post-game comments, Ron Gardenhire emphasized that responsibility for the loss lay solely with the guys in the locker room, not home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski. Unlike Ozzie Guillen, he managed to speak the obvious truth without coming off like a total douche or challenging any of his players to a fistfight.
- That said, Cuddyer was SAFE SAFE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SAFE, and the Twins really did get jobbed on the final out call. For those looking to nurse their grievance that Minnesota teams always, always get shafted by the refs and umps, which at last check was every sports fan in the state of Minnesota, it was a banner evening. Would it surprise you to learn that Drew Pearson was in attendance at Monday night's game*? And that he threw Nate Wright to the ground to get a better view of the play**?
- Bobby Keppel proved to be human. With many of the world's religions fighting over who could claim Him as their Savior/Prophet/Anointed One, St. Robert of Creve Couer's failure to get anyone out on Monday hopefully tamped down some of that turmoil in these troubled global times. (For the record, it looks like the Jesuits have the inside track.)
- Not one key starting pitcher or off-season acquisition was sent to an orthopedic specialist after the game! Not one!
- It wasn't as bad as Wednesday.
*He was not there.
*This did not happen.