Anxiety

 The word "deadline" always inspires a little bit of dread. This is when your project is due, your taxes need to be filed, when the thing your are stressed about needs to be completed. Part of the stress is that you need it completed by this particular date. 

Trade deadlines are stress inducing for a different reason. If your team is contention, then the wait is on to see what help you might get. If you are a fan of a team that is out of contention, then you await with some level of apprehension, seeing which of your favorite teams players will be leaving town.

How do you make it worse? Draw things out longer. So far, Isaac Paredes, Zach Elfin, Randy Arozarena and many others have already been traded, and we, as Twins fans, are aligned with a team that, for better or worse, is exceedingly patient. They tend to make their moves within the last hour or so before the deadline, making us all sweat. Will they even DO anything? 

Last year, as it turned out, they didn't, and we still didn't quite believe that until well after the deadline had past. We're at a point where everyone has access to reading a hundred opinions, and we just find ourselves just wanting action. Every ticking moment until the deadline, which will either bring only relief or disappointment.

I think the Twins are going to make a big move this year, running against the momentum of headlines. But I'm just going to be waiting with baited breath, hoping they don't botch another trade for a reliever.

Team USA is reaping what American sports have sowed

Team USA's warm ups to the Olympics have recently gotten a little bumpy. For a nation who has come to expect utter dominance from our men's national basketball team, the tight games against South Sudan and Germany have raised alarm bells. They are not sounding in Adam Silver's office, I'll tell you that much.

Every men's professional league has played a game or series outside of the United States, with some frequency, in the attempt to "grow the game". American sports were so successful at this that the Europeans and South Americans have started bringing their game to the US. As a result, soccer is one of the faster growing sports in the country, and US men's and women's soccer are now players on an international stage, and Major League Soccer is pulling major international superstars.

Like soccer, the barrier to entry in basketball is very low. which allows talented players to emerge from anywhere. South Sudan, for example. Or Serbia or Slovenia, where two of the best players are form, or Nigeria, via Greece. Even Germany had 4 players currently in the NBA on their roster. Surely, the NBA's aggressive global outreach was an important factor in introducing the game, if not to Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Giannis Antentokuompo, then surely their friends, or mentors, or whomever taught them the game. 

Now the Olympics are hard. While it isn't great for American interests, this is probably a boon for the IOC as well. Having a globally popular game with world famous athletes playing competitive games will bring eye, which can sometimes be hard to come by for the Olympiad. 

Team USA's struggles are not reflective of an issue with Team USA, even though the criticism will come back on that organization. It's the targeted development of the international game, which is part of a trend in American sports leagues. It's been a resounding success for the NBA, even if it has the potential for disaster in Paris. 

Waking a sleeping giant

 It's no secret that the Twins have not gotten the Christian Vazquez they were hoping for when he signed a three year deal with the club before last season. Fortunately, the wound isn't grievous, as he is still a good defensive backstop, and Ryan Jeffers has ably stepped in and is now among the better hitting catchers in the league.

But still, he is an easy scapegoat for a fanbase that needs someone to blame when things aren't going well. Obviously, the blame will always go to the suits not playing the game, but Vazquez is often the example naysayers bring to the table. With ample reason.

The start of July and really the end of June as well, have been explosive for the Twins. They've had their 25 game home run streak, there was Jose Miranda's record, Brooks Lee's debut, Buxton is coming around, Correa has been on fire... and meanwhile, almost unnoticed by everyone, there is Christian Vazquez. 

So far in the month of July, he's played three games, hit .500, with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in, which has brought his season's average to over .200. In the 7 run attempted  come back against the Astros, Vazquez had a clutch ground rule double, and then today he hit the walk off home run against Josh Hader. 

 It's not much, but it's something. And in July so far, Vazquez has really been something. 

What in the heck was that?

I got to go to the Twins-Astros game at Target Field on Friday. For a game in which the Twins walked away losers, it may have been the most interesting, entertaining roller coaster I can remember being on. 

Two things that my friend and I knew we would see at the game were the City Connect uniforms (I like the associated merch, the uniforms are fine) and Brooks Lee in his second game. Both came through, as the Twins wore the outfit they said they were going to. For his part, Lee did just fine too, and finished the game, his third of his career, still batting over. 500. 

And yet, Lee was overshadowed by Jose Miranda. He tied the Twins record for consecutive at bats with a hit by going 4-4 in the game against the Astros last night. It didn't help much, because the Twins were down by 8 runs through 8 1/2 innings. But this game won't be remembered for any of that.

It also won't be remembered for Kody Funderburk beaning Cesar Salazar and having the two exchange heated words up the first base line before Carlos Santana came in and played peacemaker. This came after Jose Altuve had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch. For what it's worth, Byron Buxton was hit earlier in the game as well, and Miranda was plunked today, with no flared tempers.

It might be remembered for one of the best catches I've ever seen.

Of course, I didn't see it with my eyes, but I was there! See, here I am on the Bally Sports North feed of the catch, as Loperfido disappeared in the corner. 

Not a great angle.

And while that catch may stand the test of time, last night it wasn't even the most wild part of the night. That was saved for the bottom of the 9th, which started with the Twins behind by 8. The Twins had already replaced Trevor Larnach with Manuel Margot, but Austin Martin and Kyle Farmer had stepped in to give Miranda and Carlos Santana the rest of the night off. Margot struck out, and Martin had a single, followed by a Farmer strikeout. And then the Twins were off.

They hit  three more singles, leading to 2 more runs, and Christian Vazquez coming to the plate. Sureley, this was the end of the road. 

Nope. Vazquez hit a ground rule double. The Twins were down by 5, and Willi Castro walked to load the bases, bringing Carlos Correa, who surely thought the game was over, came up with the bases loaded. And naturally, he hit it just into the flowers to bring it to within 1. For a game that started the bottom of the ninth with an 8 run deficit, the crowd was electric.

Margot struck out immediately thereafter but the point is, it was an incredible game up until that point, full of some of the weirdest, wildest stuff that I've ever seen. 

Oh, and I didn't even mention this play by Correa, which today Glen Perkins described as his best in a Twin uniform.

Or this one, by Altuve, which made me gush, maybe because he was running in our direction before he caught it.

What a game.