Sorry for the brief absence. I'm back up, and fully functional. Especially after an invigorating visit from the Brew Crew. Thank you Milwaukee for continuing to be our collective whipping boys. Mmmm, you really can taste the hops.
While the Twins persist in alternating between awesome and frustrating, there has been one constant: the beautiful nature of Joe Mauer's game.
Jo Jo Ma has been crafting awe inspiring harmonies for years through the play of his cello. Some say that his parents put the instrument in his crib while he was an infant. There were no teddy bears or nookies, just a bow and the cello. By the age of 4, he was already creating his own melodies and had begun to work on his first full orchestra symphony. And he did it all left handed.
When his fingers were too blistered from playing, he would venture into his backyard and hit a few bombs into other St. Paul backyards. One summer he decided to earn a little extra cash by having a newspaper route. He would stand at the end of his driveway and chuck papers into every home in the neighborhood with pinpoint accuracy. Occasionally, when feeling extremely energized, he would stand in the middle of the street and receive hits from passing cars, just to see if he could hold onto a ball.
But his first love was always the cello. For years, Jo Jo worked on his craft. When he first became a professional, he was still developing some key aspects of his skill. He would lace concertos into the left-center section of the Ordway on a consistent basis. Occasionally he would show flashes of his overall cello game, but it wasn't with regularity. His immense fan base demanded more. They clamored to see Jo Jo Ma in all his glory, wanting him to finally deliver the masterful symphony that they knew he possessed inside of him.
After an offseason of uncertainty and some amounts of doubt, Jo Jo Ma returned this concert season with a briefcase full of sheet music and a newly found power stroke. In 23 concerts, he delivered 11 home runs. Twins fans were singing his name in the streets. Finally, Jo Jo was delivering on the promise of his early career, giving us power while still playing with average.
It's been an amazing month with Jo Jo. Let's all hope that this mastery of the instrument continues throughout the remainder of the season, and that the entire Twins roster can find some sort of consistency in their lineup.
Follow the genius of Jo Jo Ma, boys. Hear the sweet, sweet music...
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