complete the cycle"Jason Kubel was always one of my favorite Twins players. I mean Russell Martin Jersey , one can’t help but be impressed by his “origin story”: he came through the Twins’ system as a blue-chip prospect and earned a call-up at the end of the 2004 season (in which he hit .300). He then went to play in the Arizona Fall League and completely blew out his knee and missed an entire campaign. He re-emerged as a slugger in 2006 (providing this dramatic grand slam in one of the most memorable games of that year) and cemented himself as an RBI machine in the middle of the lineup.I also identified with Kubel because he seemed so shy, socially-awkward, and completely wanting to shun any semblance of spotlight. As a very shy, reserved, oft-socially-bereft person myself, I can appreciate that lifestyle. One has to be a bit quirky to use this as his walkup music for a time...Anyway, 2009 was perhaps Kubel’s best single campaign in a Twins uniform. He tied Justin Morneau for third place on the team in WAR (both lefty mashers clocked in at 3.5 behind Joe Mauer’s 7.8 and Denard Span’s 3.8) and put up some hefty counting numbers as well: 28 HR, 103 RBI, .300 BA, .907 OPS.On April 17 of ‘09—exactly ten years ago today—the Twins were hosting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the Dome. Kubel doubled in the first inning, singled in the third Josh Donaldson Jersey , and tripled in the sixth when Angels RF-er Bobby Abreu let a ball pinball around in the right field corner. One would think this would bode well for the hometown bunch, but sadly Nick Blackburn (6.1 IP, 4 ER) was not sharp out of the gate and the “firemen” (Jesse Crain & Matt Guerrier) added fuel (5 more ER) instead of water. Heading into the home half of the eighth, the good guys were trailing 9-4.Even worse? I wasn’t watching any of it. You see, back in 2009 I was struggling a bit career-wise. Though I was employed, it was not gainfully—the local Walmart being where I was clocking in and out. As the retail schedule dictates, I was often working the 1-10 PM shift (an experience that to this day still causes me to wake up from nightmares in a cold sweat from time to time). Not ideal for a Central time zone baseball fan, to be sure.That night, upon (finally) completing my shift, I hopped in my 1992 Ford F-150 to head home...When I clicked the radio on, the Twins were coming up to bat in the 8th. In the 10-15 minute drive back to my domicile http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , I listened to Mike Redmond and Span produce run-scoring hits, and then Angels pitcher Jason Bulger intentionally walk Morneau to load the bases for Kubelwith the score 9-7 Halos. As I pulled into my driveway, I remember hearing John Gordon’s call of Jason’s final act of the night...Cycle obtained! Twins win obtained (or would be after an easy 1-2-3 Joe Nathan inning)! Complete and utter pandemonium! I burst into the house and probably woke up most of my family members with my state of euphoria. This moment was exactly what I needed to break out of my 1-10 funk.Somewhat remarkably, this wouldn’t be the last time Kubes would come up clutch with a granny. Just a season later, he would take Mariano Rivera deep to give the Twins a rare Yankee Stadium win.I no longer drive that F-150. I no longer work at Walmart. Heck, I no longer even live at that house (or anywhere close to it!). But I’ll never forget that moment of pure bliss listening to Kubel & the Twins stage a late-game comeback for the ages. Plus, Victor Victor’s vector and more Marlins links for your Thursday."From the “Aw, hell yeah!” Department:The teal uniforms everybody wanted are back! They will be the chosen throwbacks used during the July 26-29 series with the Diamondbacks in 2019. Not to be confused with “eugoogaly”Looking forward to 2019 is what Fish fans have been doing since, well, all year. But there were still some good moments this season which Fangraphs discussed in their elegy for the Marlins’ 2018. The outlook still isn’t brilliant, however. Insult to injuryNot only will the Marlins possibly have traded two MVP’s in the past year (if Christian Yelich wins this year’s award) J.A. Happ Jersey , it’s also possible that Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, and Marcell Ozuna all are going to make the playoffs with their new teams. But I guess it makes sense that trading a good young core to other teams would make them better, right? Plus, those clubs were already pretty good anyway. Now, to get those sour tastes out of our mouths, and since we don’t have any game highlights due to yesterday’s off-day, here’s some fun ones of Ichiro’s 2016 season with Miami that I found while searching Twitter for more recent Marlins news. But what’s Victor Victor’s vector? Kids, if the Marlins sign Cuban phenom Victor Victor Mesa, you’re going to need to get used to these kinds of references. I am letting you know now because, judging by Marlins beat writer Joe Frisaro’s latest mailbag Kendrys Morales Jersey , that could very well be a reality in the near future. Ladies and Gentlemen, your Fish Farmhands of the year:I don’t think this needs any further explanation, does it? Congrats to both Nick Neidert and Austin Dean. Maybe the future is brighter than Fangraphs thinks!Today’s game:As mentioned yesterday, the Reds are in town, and it’s the battle of the 0-2 pitchers. Jeff Brigham takes the hill against Cincinnati’s Cody Reed at 7:10 p.m. It’ll be a high-stakes entanglement, too: