It has been an interesting summer. The actual weather has been on the cool and rainy side; the political weather has been … words fail. What I’m seeing — the apparent final death knell of the original American Dream — makes me speechless. A deeper question, did we lose our way or hit our ceiling, tasks me.
Regardless, there is a looming deadline in November that overhangs my thoughts and makes it hard to find much interest in anything else.
Regardless of that, Friday Notes marches on.
Oh, my! I mentioned last time that the Minnesota Twins, after a surprisingly good month of May, cooled down big time in June. Fans held their breath wondering how far the team would fall from the height reached in May. Now, with June behind us and July well under way, we can start breathing normally again.
The Twins lost ground in June but remained above the .500 mark (by five games!) by month’s end. But July seems to have brought an end to the ice-cold bats. The Twins are 8-4 in July as we begin the All-Star break.
But more importantly: It’s Pluto Day!
Last night the Minnesota Twins played their 81st game of the 2014 season. That means they’ve now played exactly half of the 162 games that comprise a Major League season.
They lost, which — unfortunately, lately — isn’t surprising. They’re back in last place in the AL-Central, nine games behind the first place Detroit Tigers and seven games below the break-even .500 mark. Most of the stats show a downward trend that doesn’t bode well for the second half of the season.
It appears that earlier optimism about a decent Twins year was unfounded.
The baseball joy in July continues! Last night, the American League won the Midsummer Classic, the MLB All-Star Game. In fact, it really wasn’t even a close game. The AL shut out the NL, 3-0, which ended a three-year losing streak! Prior to that streak, the AL pretty much owned the NL back to 1988, winning 18 of 22 (with one tie in ’02).
You are perhaps wondering why the American League is “us” and “we.” It’s simple. I’m a Minnesota Twins fan, and they’re in the AL (Central Division). And why the Twins? I lived here from 1960-1967 (my “Wonder Bread years”) and from 1984-present, so I’ve been a “Minnesnowtan” for 62% of my life. That’s reason enough.
What follows is a write up of notes I took during the game last night:
After Saturn-Day comes Sun-Day, a day named after our local star. (To clarify: I’m referring to the nearby ball of hot, flaming gas, not a regional celebrity.) ((To clarify the clarification: I’m also not referring to any politician, but to the astronomical object.)) [And by ‘astronomical’ I mean ‘in space’ not ‘really, really big’ (although in this case both apply). And by ‘space’ I mean ‘outer,’ not the stuff in your attic.]
I trust things are perfectly clear now. It’s Sunday, so we worship the sun. Or in many cases, the Son. It may be a sacred day — a Sabbath day — or it may be just a day off from (normal) work. [For some parts of the world, it’s just a regular workday.]
A very common view is that Sunday afternoon is just for fun.
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