Have you ever played Tri-Bond? It’s a board game where three items are listed, and the guesser is to identify what the three things have in common.

For example, here’s an easy one: Metropolitan Stadium, HHH Metrodome, Target Field. The answer, of course, is “Stadiums the Minnesota Twins have called home.”

So, that’s the subject of tonight’s Game Thread. Take a shot at these, which may or may not have anything to do with tonight’s game, and check out the answers below:

1. The Queen of Soul, the Sultan of Swat, the King of Rock and Roll.
2. Dick Howser, George Brett, Frank White.
3. Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Jack Morris.
4. Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz, Lucille LeSueur.
5. John the Baptist, Winnie the Pooh, Attila the Hun.

First, we’ll pause for a little commentary, here mainly as a way of separating the questions from the answers. Our favorites will be taking on the Royals tonight, hoping to put together back-to-back wins for just the third time since the All-Star Break. Yowch. I knew they’ve been struggling, but I didn’t expect a stat like that. Not to get the cart in front of the horse, but if they were to win tonight and tomorrow, it would be the first three-game winning streak since June 25-27 and their first three-game sweep of a series since May 20-22. The good news is that that sweep also came against the Royals, so we know it can be done.

And now, on to the Tri-Bond answers:

1. The Queen of Soul, the Sultan of Swat, the King of Rock and Roll were each cultural legends in their own way, but something they have in common is this day in history. Each died on August 16 – Aretha Franklin in 2018, Babe Ruth in 1948, and Elvis Presley in 1977. August 16 is also a noteworthy day in my family history. My brother and his wife were married on this day in 1980. They are the only couple I know of who had their wedding reception in a pig nursery. It was supposed to be in the bride’s back yard, but massive rain throughout the day made that an impossibility. Without a Plan B in place, someone came up with the idea of having it in the nursery, which had recently had pigs moved out and had been completely washed down. It made sense to do it there, given that my sister-in-law was very active in her dad’s hog operation and had been president of the FFA, etc. The local paper heard about it and sent a photographer, resulting in a big feature story that included the lovely couple holding a recently weaned pig.
2. Royals legends, obviously, these are the three people for whom numbers have been retired by the Royals, in addition to the MLB-wide Jackie Robinson. Howser wore No. 10 while leading the Royals to the 1985 World Series title and eventually succumbing to a brain tumor. Brett wore No. 5 in his Hall of Fame career. White wore No. 10 and was, along with Ron Washington and U.L. Washington, one of three players to make the majors as a product of the Royals Academy, a player development system of the Kansas City franchise.
3. Perhaps the low-hanging fruit in this set of questions, Molitor, Winfield and Morris were all Twin Cities products who played briefly for the Twins on their way to the Hall of Fame.
4. Though they are the birth names for Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Joan Crawford, you’ll have to watch this clip to see what they have in common:

 

 

5. Finally, in a bit of a trick question, what John the Baptist, Winnie the Pooh and Attila the Hun have in common is the same middle name, “the.”

 

And with that bit of frivolity, you might be wondering – is there a prize?

Why, certainly. To those who correctly identified all five, send me your name, address and twenty bucks for shipping and handling, and I’ll send you an autographed photo of me. I know, you probably don’t need a picture of me, but I’d be glad to have your twenty bucks.

Shucks, let’s make it a participation trophy. For anyone who wants to send me a spiffy Hamilton, whether or not you got any of them correct, I’ll send you a photo.

 

And now, without further adieu, the lineups…

The visiting Kansas City Royals (48-69)

1. M.J. Melandez (L), rf
2. Bobby Witt, the Younger (R), 3b
3. Salvador Perez, the Ancient (R), c
4. Vinnie Pasquantino (L), dh
5. Michael Massey (L), 2b
6. Michael A. Taylor (R), cf
7. Nick Pratto (not Punto) (L), 1b
8. Kyle Isbel (L), lf
9. Nicky Lopez (L), ss
10. Zack Greinke, also The Ancient (R), p

The homestanding Minnesota Twins (59-55)

1. Luis Arraez (L), 2b
2. Carlos Correa (R), ss
3. Byron Buxton (R), dh
4. Jose Miranda (R), 1b
5. Max Kepler (L), rf
6. Gio Urshela (R), 3b
7. Nick Gordon (L), lf
8. Gilberto Celestino (R), cf
9. Sandy Leon (S), c
10. Sonny Gray (R), p

Oh wow. The 16th already?
 

My how time flies...

 

Isn't there also a regular meteor shower this time of year? I forget...

A fine game thread introduction! The Cliff Claven meltdown on Jeopardy is a classic. 

Okay, game threaders, I'm repeating an invitation for you to participate by making a game thread introduction. We have two introductions remaining in the month of August, (23rd and 27th), so if you would like to step up you can get your chance in the next two weeks! If you have any questions about game thread intros, message me or you can reply to the Game Thread introductions link here:  https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/55362-game-thread-introductions-2022/#comment-1169127

 

I know I'm slowly (or very quickly, depending on which member of my immediate family you're talking to) going senile, but I can't even remember how long it's been since we won two games in a row. It can't be THAT long ago, but it sure seems like it. Maybe we can do that tonight? 

13 minutes ago, CRF said:

I know I'm slowly (or very quickly, depending on which member of my immediate family you're talking to) going senile, but I can't even remember how long it's been since we won two games in a row. It can't be THAT long ago, but it sure seems like it. Maybe we can do that tonight? 

The middle two games against Toronto, I believe. It has been a long while since the club had an honest-to-goodness winning streak, to be sure.

14 minutes ago, CRF said:

I know I'm slowly (or very quickly, depending on which member of my immediate family you're talking to) going senile, but I can't even remember how long it's been since we won two games in a row. It can't be THAT long ago, but it sure seems like it. Maybe we can do that tonight? 

1987. Games 6 and 7

I share a middle name with John, Winnie, and Attila.

 

Chief The IncredibleJokeTeller

52 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

Oh wow. The 16th already?
 

My how time flies...

 

Isn't there also a regular meteor shower this time of year? I forget...

The Perseids. 

Y'know, Mrs Chief is forever calling me immature.  Well, I've had it with that. So I banned her from my fort.

41 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I share a middle name with John, Winnie, and Attila.

 

Chief The IncredibleJokeTeller

Incredible? I don't believe it.

29 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

The Perseids. 

Sorry i was too lazy to look up...

Go twins,  Hope with Buxton now getting regular at bats, he can trend upwards from here on

Not what we wanted after 2 on----

Two on and no outs….. complete ineptitude!?‍♂️

Never fails...we get a couple guys on, or God forbid, the bases loaded...and what happens? NOTHING!

*peers in cautiously and takes a seat after a long time away*

just tracking on ESPN, but has gray thrown a pitch in the strike zone yet? does he look off?

 

Gray ?  be surprised he makes the 6th, to many pitches

6 minutes ago, Tlaker said:

Two on and no outs….. complete ineptitude!?‍♂️

Worse than that...2 on, no out, 3-4-5 hitters due up.

4 minutes ago, flpmagikat said:

just tracking on ESPN, but has gray thrown a pitch in the strike zone yet? does he look off?

 

MLB radio is $20/yr.

A lot of window shopping out of the Royals in that inning but yeah, Gray is already at a lot of pitches.  So he'll have a no-hitter thru 4 and get pulled.

So far Leon has been a good pick up. He hasn't done anything to make me decry the modern baseball player yet.

Professional.  Hitter.  

 

We were lucky Greinke went 1st, Urshella hesitated,  had him ezzy 

14 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

MLB radio is $20/yr.

And no static during a thunderstorm…. but around here we don’t have any of those anymore ?‍♂️

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I share a middle name with John, Winnie, and Attila.

 

Chief The IncredibleJokeTeller

Still waiting for the joke

2 hours ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

Oh wow. The 16th already?
 

My how time flies...

 

Isn't there also a regular meteor shower this time of year? I forget...

A great nighttime driving song, particularly at loud volumes…

I would like to see the Twins get hot and roll into the postseason this year.

However, I have my doubts we will be able to win a series if we get there.

Greinke is so much fun to watch; what a pitcher.

24 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

MLB radio is $20/yr.

It’s a steal. I enjoy it tremendously. Not only can I listen to all the games, with no blackout, but I have the freedom to switch to the opposing team’s broadcast during the middle three innings.