Blindsided - In a Good Way

 So waking up this morning and the Minnesota Twins have signed free agent shortstop Carlos Correa.  This is a shocker.  

Carlos Correa. File Photo by Trask Smith/UPI |

 Spending big has not gone well for the Twins of late, so I expected the Twins to trade for talent not dive back into the free agent market.  We just off loaded Josh Donaldson and his 50 million contract on the Yankees, so I thought "once bitten, twice shy," but no, that is not the approach the Twins are taking.  This is a big jump in offense and defense for the Twins. 

My first thought after digesting this move was that the Twins are now like a beer league softball team.  We should hit the ball well, but our pitching...Our games might be 10-7 wins.  We score, they score, we hope to score more.

Hat tip to the Twins front office.  This should put butts in the seats.

A Day in the Woods...

Two chickadees

Downy woodpecker

Red bellied woodpecker

Hidden Brown creeper

Less hidden Brown Creeper

Another Red bellied.

The view from the bottom of the Minnesota River Valley.

Hairy woodpecker.

Decaying tree looking like rock.

 

Welcome Mr. Kiner-Falefa

Welcome to Minnesota Mr. Kiner-Falefa; you don't know how happy we are to see you.  We love that you are a glove man.  You help us in two ways, first your are a reassuring presence to our pitching staff, and second you keep Jorge Polanco at second base, where he has been killing it.  

The middle defense for the 2022 Twins is now a plus defense - according to Aaron Gleeman and Dan Hayes from theathletic.com.  Having Polanco at shortstop would not a plus defensive move...

This way if Martin or Royce Lewis comes along we have all sorts of positive options.  The two prospects won't be thrown in the deep end and expected to survive.  

 

The Stone Age

 So I have always known that if I were to become president, the first phone call goes to a friend named Steve.  He has the best analytical tool kit I know.  

When discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Steve is of the opinion that the Russians don't want to fight Ukrainians, so they will be content to bomb Ukraine into the Stone Age.

The slow to move line of transports fits this theory.  The random nature of the rocket attacks in several Ukrainian cities also speaks to a plan to break they Ukrainians by destroying everything.

All this because Russia is nervous about a westward looking Ukriane on her borders.  Can't risk having a democracy that has an economy that has connections with the West.

Today I Lost All Faith in the Cubs...

Today I lost all faith in the Cubs.  They signed Andrelton Simmons.  Did these people not watch a Twin's game last year?  I am floored by this signing.  Who thinks this is a good idea?

Talented player.  Yes, at times outstanding, but at other times not-at-home.

Good Guy In the Clubhouse:  I believe that Simmons refusal to get vaccinated did not help the Twins clubhouse.  I am sure there were other people who did not get vaccinated, but Simmons is not a guy to pull a clubhouse together.  I am without words for this.

Better in 2022

 

Birding, Wood Lake, 31 December 2021

Taking a Breath in November...

So, it is sunny and 21° outside (windchill has it at 8°)and I am glad to have the opportunity to take a breath and clean up a little. Yesterday, I worked on the garage, and today I am moving indoors and I am going to tackle my office space a bit. The first part of the cleaning was to go through pictures I have taken recently and see if any of them are keepers. Here is what I found...

Flying squirrel waiting for me to leave.

It is always a delight to see the flying squirrels in the maple tree. I try to keep their feeder filled, to increase the chance of seeing them around. Here is another look...

Should I stay or should I go?

And finally...

Finally okay to return to eating.

Last weekend we went for a long walk at the Old Cedar Trail Bridge. There were not a ton of birds to be seen. A hairy woodpecker, a bald eagle, and some swans, Canadian geese in the far distance. But on our walk back toward the north side of the Minnesota River we saw a ton of sparrows and here is my best sparrow shot.

I believe this is an American Tree Sparrow. So that is the update on the birding/photography part of life...

And here I managed to capture a red-bellied woodpecker flying.

Red-bellied woodpecker