Mauer Hits Number 100

The Twins got back on the winning track yesterday. Correia gave the Nationals a two run lead when the returning Jayson Werth hit a huge homerun to center field.

But the Twins came back to tie it in the top of the third, and from then on the pitching was pretty stingy on both sides. The Twins need 11 innings, but they pulled out the win.

Joe Mauer hit his 100th home run in the process, and Ryan Doumit came through in the clutch at the end. It was actually a pretty good baseball game. It was also nice seeing the sun shine again, even if it was only on TV. We've been mostly cloudy here for about 15-16 days and it's starting to get to me. Last weekend I bought some "rose-colored glasses," just to trick my mind into thinking it's sunny out when I walk. They actually work pretty well. Officially, they're safety googles made to look like sunglasses. I don't care about that. They just bring sunshine into my life. I'd recommend them to all my seasonally-depressed Minnesota readers. You can get them at Walmart right next to the paint supplies for only $5. Consider it an inexpensive investment in your sanity.

My California fans are getting lots of sun lately. Last I heard, they were around 110 degrees. It's hard to believe that we are struggling to get out of the mid-60's here and we're already close to the middle of June.

More baseball news:

There were two marathon games yesterday, so consider yourselves lucky that the Twins only went 11 innings. The Jays beat the Rangers in an 18 inning game yesterday. The Rangers tied it in the top of the ninth and then nobody scored for another nine innings untill the bottom of the 18th. It went 5 and a half hours.

And then there's the LONG game. The Marlins beat the Mets in TWENTY innings yesterday. The final was only 2-1. I can't imagine sitting 6 1/2 hours watching two teams not score. The Marlins picked up their 17th win of the season, though. (Yes, they are the worst team in baseball.)

I still think that every single regular-season-extra-inning game should end in a tie after a couple of innings of OT play. Ties could be factored into the standings like everything else. There is no reason to deplete two teams' bullpens like that. And my guess is that every bench player available was used early on. That's just too much baseball for one game.

Remember how I said they should change the ground-rule double rule with two outs allowing runners to score from first if they are moving with contact? This is another rule change I would make. Let all the fans go home a little happy with a tie after11 innings instead of sending half of them home angry after 20.

If I were the players association, I would make that a priority in my next negotiation. OR, at the very least, ALL players could come back into the game after 13 innings if they were removed earlier just for safety reasons.

Though having ties would make more sense. Why is it that the sport with the most games in a season doesn't allow ties, but the sport with the least amount of games on their schedule (football) does? Ties would be good for baseball, and it might stop the idiotic one-game play-off between teams tied in the standings at the end of the season. If one team is 90-72 at season's end, and the other is 90-71-1, guess which team gets into the playoffs? Exactly. Genius.

You're welcome.