15 posts tagged “twins”
Well, I didn't expect the Twins to be contending past June, so it was a successful season. Watching the Twins come back with 5 runs in the 9th inning against Tampa, and then finish off the sweep of the ChiSox by erasing a 6-1 deficit were as exciting as playoff games. Having Denard Span lead off from day one will help next year, as will the experience the young pitchers gained this season.
The one thing that really bothers me, though- the Twins won the season series between the two teams 10-8. The Twins were 8-1 vs the White Sox at the Dome, and 2-7 in Chicago. Sure seems logical to give the winner of the season series home-field advantage in a 1-game playoff game. But, no- they flip a f*cking coin! If this game is in the Dome, the Twins win it.
It's like I've been watching the 7th game of the World Series over and over down the stretch. These must-win games are very stressful to watch. Especially when you're facing the team with the most home runs in all of baseball.
Harold Reynolds is incredibly annoying. He chided the White Sox for not bunting in the FIRST INNING, then thought the baserunner made a mistake on the double play the Twins turned. The guy would have been tagged out if he didn't hold up! Idiot. For a while, I thought Robert De Niro was in the booth, but apparently it's Ron Darling.
Blackburn is throwing the ball very well- lots of movement, painting the corners. Danks' pitch count was very high after the first couple of innings, but Twins started swinging at the first pitch. Through 6 innings, Danks is at 87 pitches, and Blackie's at 71. Three hits total- quite a pitcher's duel, and the game is absolutely cruising along. We've gotta get to the ChiSox bullpen...
'bout them Twins. In all fairness, I did knock on wood. To make matters worse, I have Glen Perkins in fantasy baseball, and I tuned into the game shortly before they allowed TEN fucking runs in the 7th inning (to the worst team in the AL).
I didn't bother reading any stories about this game, but I really thought the Brendan Harris error was a big blow. It wasn't a good throw, but Morneau usually scoops those. If he had reeled that in, it would have gone to the 8th inning, with the Twins down 1 run, instead of 5. Could have been a different ballgame.
At first, I was questioning some of Gardy's decisions (leaving in Perkins to long, going to Bass first, not pinch hitting for Lamb vs. a lefty), but this game got so ugly so quickly, that it really probably wouldn't have mattered. Hopefully the debacle leads to a closed-door meeting where Gardenhire makes one of his famous inspirational speeches. With the way things are going in Detroit and the South Side right now, the Twins don't need to be incredible down the stretch- decent will probably suffice.
Are there any arms at AAA that could give us some bullpen depth? Right now, Brian Bass and Boof Bonser are wasted space. Rosters don't expand until September 1, and I just hope it's not too late at that point. Why the Twins have a woody for Bass, I'll never understand. If either Bass or Bonser weren't out of options, here's no doubt they'd be in the minors. Instead, they are taking up valuable real estate, and Bass is being used in high-leverage situations. Ugh.
Francisco Liriano's triumphant return to the mound (7 shutout innings 3 hits, 3 walks), combined with the Royals torching the White Sox, means that the Twins are in first place in the AL Central! Not only that, but they're only 1 1/2 games out of the wild card spot, with 51 games remaining. It was a little disappointing to see the Twins yet again fail to make a move at the trade deadline, but at least they stayed firm on their pledge to not trade Liriano, Blackburn, Perkins, Baker, or Slowey. The big move by White Sox GM Kenny Williams was acquiring Ken Griffey Jr., who has averaged 100 games over the past 7 seasons, and has aged rapidly in recent years. Putting Griffey in CF makes their defense much worse. It can be frustrating being a Twins fan, but making bad trades is a lot worse than not making any.
Even the most optimistic Twins fans figured Cleveland or Detroit would take the division, with the Twins gearing up for next year. The most amazing thing about the fact that the Twins are contending is that none of their offseason moves have helped the team. The free agents they signed (Livan Hernandez, Craig Monroe, Adam Everett, and Mike Lamb) have been completely worthless (well, not completely worthless- Livan had a decent stretch early in the season, and Monroe did win a couple games with big home runs in April or May).
Although Carlos Gomez has gotten Twins fans fired up, he's actually played very poorly- he's got the worst WPA among Twins' hitters, and the only person who has contributed more to the team losing is Livan Hernandez. Meanwhile, Delmon Young has been quite disappointing at the plate, and pretty awful in the outfield. When you factor in the Twins losing Johan Santana and Torii Hunter, it doesn't seem to make any sense that they're in first place. But, they are, and now that Liriano has replaced Hernandez in the rotation, there's no reason to think they can't stay there.
The Twins do have a stretch where 24 of their 30 games are played on the road (where they've lost more than they've won), but the White Sox have a pretty brutal schedule, playing 6 games against Boston, and 4 in Yankee Stadium. The Tigers, 7 games behind the Twins, have the easiest remaining schedule of the 3 teams. The Twins play 3 games against both the Sox and Tigers, all in the Metrodome, while the Sox and Tigers face each other 6 times.
If their 5 young starters can stay healthy, the Twins have to be considered the favorites to win the division (knocking on wood). If they can just figure out a way to get past the first round of the playoffs...
This weekend, the Twin Cities are issuing a full-scale, multi-pronged attack on the Mile High City.
- Cloud Cult has gigs at the Larimer Lounge on Saturday and Sunday.
- Tapes 'N Tapes play the Bluebird Theater on Saturday.
- Slug and Ant, aka Atmosphere, play the Ogden on Saturday and Sunday.
- The Twins play a three-game series vs the Rockies, Friday-Sunday.
The Hold Steady recorded a version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," with some Twins flavor. Apparently, Kevin Dutcher, the Twins' musical director, asked the band to record it, and he played it over the PA opening night. The Hold Steady has grown on me like crazy- at first I had problems with Craig Finn's vocal style, but once you see them live, it all seems to make sense. I'm quite psyched to see them at Sasquatch. That being said, I think this song is pretty weak, even with all the Twinkie references.
For better or worse, Ozzie Guillen's nickname for last season's scrappy Minnesota Twins ("pirañas") has some staying power. Fans hold up "piranha" signs, the weak television broadcast tandem of Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven can't stop making "piranha" references, and the Twins even filmed a promotional commercial based on the concept:
I prefer the commercial featuring Johan Santana and Joe Nathan, though:
While watching the Twins tonight, it suddenly occurred to me how many "J's" are on the team: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, three Jasons (Bartlett, Kubel, Tyner), Jeff Cirillo, Juan Rincon, and Jesse Crain. Sure enough, there are more J's on the Twins than any other major league team- one quarter of their roster!
As a fellow J, I am very proud of this fact.
With only a day's notice, my boss and workmates worked some magic to get me out of work by 11 AM both Tuesday and Wednesday, so I could get to the Dome to see the Twins play the A's. I've never been to a playoff game before, so I was understandably excited. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to cheer about. The peak moment came yesterday, after Mike Cuddyer and Justin Morneau blasted back-to-back home runs to tie the game at 2. Unfortunately, it was in the next inning that Torii Hunter made an ill-advised dive at a ball, surrendering an inside-the-park 2 run HR, silencing the crowd, and killing the momentum we had all felt.
It's not a done deal- this is the Twins team that everyone had left for dead in May, after all. And the A's have had a history of choking away series leads- they squandered away 2-0 advantages in both 2001 and 2003. Even with his injury problems this year, there's no one I'd rather have on the mound tomorrow than Brad Radke. Of course, pitching hasn't been the problem.
In any case, I'm just glad the Vikings have gotten me so used to letdowns over the years- these Twins losses have stung, but I know how to deal with it, and move on quickly.
The fate of the Twins' season (and my mood for the rest of this month) rests in the seemingly steady hands of Boof Bonser...
