First of all, Happy Memorial Day to all of our veterans out there. I don’t get into politics at all on this blog (and I’m not going to start now), but I think we can all appreciate the sacrifices made by those in the armed forces in defense of our country. So, thanks to those who gave their lives serving America (and those currently serving overseas); it is because of you that we can spend today grilling, shopping, or just enjoying the nice weather in relative peace and security. You make all of this possible.

Anyway, here’s a little reading material for those unfortunate souls stuck at work today:

Stick and Ball Guy’s beautiful Memorial Day post.

Over at Kirby’s Left Eye, one of my new favorite Twins blogs, myjah takes Twins fans to task for being too negative. And picking on fans of opposing teams (as does Andrew at Off the Mark). Ugh, I was afraid Target Field might draw the more casual Twins fans (you know, the kind who come only to get drunk and cause trouble; or as I like to call them, Vikings fans), and unfortunately that seems to be the case.

Is the Twins’ annoying tendency to ground into double plays something to be concerned about? Jon Marthaler says no. And as for their struggles with runners in scoring position, Nick Nelson chalks it up to just plain bad luck.

If you missed the Common Man’s great post on historically bad umpires over at The Daily Something, here it is. I think Joe West’s performance against the White Sox, in which he tossed both Ozzie Guillen and Mark Buehrle, was the worst ever. He made me agree with Hawk Harrelson and defend Brrrrrly. Blech.

It wasn’t exactly the result of a celebration, but the collision between Orlando Hudson and Denard Span during Span’s game-ending catch was definitely a roller-coaster-drop from elation to agony. Hudson didn’t travel with the team, and x-rays on his wrist were inconclusive, so it’s unclear at this point how long he will be out. Let’s hope it isn’t too long.