"You wanna know the problem with baseball? Exciting plays are down because the shift sucks the fun out of everything."
Rambling On is a local, independent Minnesota sports blog and podcast. We release weekly articles on each active pro team, in addition to posting a lot of fun content on Twitter. Join our active Twitter community and let your voice be heard.
Current articles are released on Thursday (Minnesota Twins) and the occasional Friday (all Minnesota sports). Coverage of inactive teams is released as news breaks. Our archive covering the 2018 Vikings and 2018-2019 Timberwolves and Wild seasons can be found on our blog page.
In this edition, Rambling On god-king Erik Ritland goes old-school "ramble style." The Rambling On blog began by posting articles in an easy-to-digest bullet point format, and we occasionally go back to that.
He discusses the Twins and the Blue Jays, his thoughts on the shift, and Twins fifth starter Martin Perez in this edition.
Thanks for your support!
Canadian Voodoo
For some reason, as far back as I can remember, the Blue Jays have always had the Twins' number. This has partially been because they usually have a better team, but not always, as this years 1-3 record at home against them shows (the Twins are a far, far superior team).
Considering that both teams have changed almost all players and coaching staffs since the old days when the Jays would beat up on the Twins, it's irrational to think that the past has anything to do with the failure of the present. But what other explanation is there? Isn't life often irrational?
Maybe the Blue Jays owner has been spending a lot of time in New Orleans, discovered voodoo, and for some reason just really has it out for the Twins and only uses his powers against them.
Can you prove me wrong?
Beating (up on) the Shift
Any time somebody rips on the shift, the new guard of geeks that have taken over baseball scoff. "What, do you want to get rid of the DH?" And on and on and on.
As if there couldn't be any legitimate reason to be against some new things.
I hate the shift because it ruins the flow and excitement of the game. Baseball is getting closer and closer to basically being a bunch of robots being shifted around to where each batter hits the ball. That's not human. That's not interesting. That's not exciting.
You wanna know the problem with baseball? Exciting plays are down because the shift sucks the fun out of everything.
The Twins are crazy about the shift. That's why I'm glad when it backfires and they lose because of it, as happened on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
Apology Segment: Martin Perez
Before the season began, I gave the Martin Perez signing a D-. I saw it as a typical Twins move: a guy who the owners know who is cheap and has never shown any signs of being great.
So far, I'm being proven quite wrong. Perez has looked good. His velocity is up and he hasn't really had a hiccup. Hopefully his six innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays will be a sign of things to come.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. Founder of Rambling On, he has written hundreds of articles and hosted almost a hundred podcasts. He began his career as Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Hometown Hustle and Curious North. He directs all of the content on Rambling On, created and maintains the website, and is social media content director. He is also copy editor and writer for Music in Minnesota. Support Erik's music on his music site or BandCamp, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
Rambling On is a local, independent Minnesota sports blog and podcast. We release weekly articles on each active pro team, in addition to posting a lot of fun content on Twitter. Join our active Twitter community and let your voice be heard.
Current articles are released on Thursday (Minnesota Twins) and the occasional Friday (all Minnesota sports). Coverage of inactive teams is released as news breaks. Our archive covering the 2018 Vikings and 2018-2019 Timberwolves and Wild seasons can be found on our blog page.
In this edition, Rambling On god-king Erik Ritland goes old-school "ramble style." The Rambling On blog began by posting articles in an easy-to-digest bullet point format, and we occasionally go back to that.
He discusses the Twins and the Blue Jays, his thoughts on the shift, and Twins fifth starter Martin Perez in this edition.
Thanks for your support!
Canadian Voodoo
For some reason, as far back as I can remember, the Blue Jays have always had the Twins' number. This has partially been because they usually have a better team, but not always, as this years 1-3 record at home against them shows (the Twins are a far, far superior team).
Considering that both teams have changed almost all players and coaching staffs since the old days when the Jays would beat up on the Twins, it's irrational to think that the past has anything to do with the failure of the present. But what other explanation is there? Isn't life often irrational?
Maybe the Blue Jays owner has been spending a lot of time in New Orleans, discovered voodoo, and for some reason just really has it out for the Twins and only uses his powers against them.
Can you prove me wrong?
Beating (up on) the Shift
Any time somebody rips on the shift, the new guard of geeks that have taken over baseball scoff. "What, do you want to get rid of the DH?" And on and on and on.
As if there couldn't be any legitimate reason to be against some new things.
I hate the shift because it ruins the flow and excitement of the game. Baseball is getting closer and closer to basically being a bunch of robots being shifted around to where each batter hits the ball. That's not human. That's not interesting. That's not exciting.
You wanna know the problem with baseball? Exciting plays are down because the shift sucks the fun out of everything.
The Twins are crazy about the shift. That's why I'm glad when it backfires and they lose because of it, as happened on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
Apology Segment: Martin Perez
Before the season began, I gave the Martin Perez signing a D-. I saw it as a typical Twins move: a guy who the owners know who is cheap and has never shown any signs of being great.
So far, I'm being proven quite wrong. Perez has looked good. His velocity is up and he hasn't really had a hiccup. Hopefully his six innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays will be a sign of things to come.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. Founder of Rambling On, he has written hundreds of articles and hosted almost a hundred podcasts. He began his career as Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Hometown Hustle and Curious North. He directs all of the content on Rambling On, created and maintains the website, and is social media content director. He is also copy editor and writer for Music in Minnesota. Support Erik's music on his music site or BandCamp, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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