Time: 7:10 p.m. CDT
TV: FSN
Radio: TRN, XM 178
Starting Pitchers: Glen Perkins (1-2, 3.73 ERA, 1.12 WHIP)
vs. Dontrelle Willis (NR).
That catcher the Twins recently called up straight from Ft. Myers looks to be the real deal. Since he made his debut on May 1, the Twins are averaging 5.5 runs scored, up from 4.2 in April. Their run prevention in May (5.0) is also slightly down from April (5.3), meaning after being outscored 116-93 in April, the Twins have outscored their opponents 60-55 in May but only have a 5-6 record to show for it.
With a red-hot Justin Verlander looming tomorrow afternoon and the Twins having horrificly bad offensive numbers in day games (that would be a good subject for tomorrow's game log), the Twins really need a win today to take this series.
Willis is up after only four starts in the minors while recuperating from his "anxiety disorder." A look at his numbers from last year and from spring training convinces me that the man with the anxiety about Willis pitching for the Tigers was manager Jim Leyland. Or perhaps catcher Gerald Laird. Willis' biggest problem has been control and he walked four in his final start in Triple-A, so the Twins need to make sure to do their part to raise money for a cure for breast cancer. My kids' grandmothers would appreciate it. They are both survivors.
As for Perkins, he has had great results for the most part this season, at least as far as his pitching line goes. However, the Twins have not been so generous on the run-scoring side of things this year as in the past for Perkins, which explains why they are only 2-4 in his starts despite Perkins' shiny ERA. I'm concerned that Perkins' last two starts (9 ER in 12 IP) is him coming back to reality considering his K-rate is virtually identical to last year and his BB-rate is only slightly improved.
Perkins has pitched well against the Tigers in the past (2.84 ERA in 31 2/3 IP), and that came when the Tigers usually feasted on lefties more than they do now.
Win today and the Twins would be back at .500 and then tomorrow could go for the sweep of the Tigers, who came into this series in first place, and a winning record for the first time since they were 3-2. GO TWINS!
Why is anxiety disorder in quotes? Granted, he was also recovering from total suckage, but the two may have gone hand in hand a bit.
Something similar to Zach Greinke? He wasn't suffering from an anxiety disorder, just general depression. When he recovered after something like nine months away from baseball the results on the field were, and still are, incredible. His fastball is no longer topping out at 92-93, but 97-98.
Let's pray the same post-recovery results don't happen tonight with Willis.
From the guy who ought to know best:
Headline on mlb.com
"Dontrelle back and ready to deal again for the Tigers"
I am not doubting that Dontrelle is back, as he is starting tonight, but I don't know if I am quite ready to admit that he will be "dealing" tonight.
Most importantly, I've got Denard Span to extend my "Beat the Streak" hitting streak (5 games currently).
Prediction - Denard Span leads off the game with a triple
/New Guy
That's a great prediction. I really like when predictions are super specific. They count for a lot more when they are true.
Anyway, my prediction for the night: The Twins or maybe the Tigers will win this game.
he's 2/3 of the way to third base before the completion of the second plate appearance! do I get half credit?
It's more credit than I usually get.
My ten-streak ended the day I mentioned it...so beware.
I've got a one right now. I think I have Nick Markakis today...? I pick him a lot.
I picked up Wakefield in my fantasy league this past week. He's making his first start for me tonight... and I am extremely nervous.
I love how Gomez will race to a ball 100 feet away...and then wait for it.
If I had that error-less streak going I'd be doing the same thing.
And I love the clueless look on Gomez's face as he walks away. He gawks up at the stands like a teenager.
There's another nickel for breast cancer research. I think we may see a lot of nickels tonight.
I would recommend that they don't even swing until they have 2 strikes for awhile.
Right. And we go out and give away an out with a guy on second! I HATE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
eleven
wow, and Willis had him picked off with a decent throw
I'm not bunting here. Make him throw strikes!
Are you crazy? That's at least +10 Gardy points right there.
Willis is not pitching for his career tonight, Dick. He's got a ton of guaranteed money and he'll get every opportunity to succeed.
Anyone else here uncomfortable with Bert speaking on behalf of black people everywhere?
Raises hand.
Sure, but in fairness, I don't really think Bert should be speaking on behalf of any flavor of people.
Not even the Dutch?
...maybe. We can negotiate.
I was really afraid for a second that he was going to say something much worse. Instead he just came off as dumb rather than offensive.
Do you remember once about seven or eight years ago where he was doing an impression of a Hispanic former teammate, and he did this awful Speedy Gonzalez thing, followed by several seconds of silence? I've worried every time he's opened his mouth since.
That's probably why he usually just sticks to talking about pitch counts and leaving balls up. FSN told him not to stray from that because any other topics might cause something horrible to fly out of his mouth.
Wow. That was craptastic. I'm really hating this inning.
Mark Prior would have gotten the run in.
...causing him to stare expressionlessly.
Love that Canadian!
The key to this inning was the bunt!
(And that 435 ft. HR by the big fella.)
Amazing that a two-run inning is still a wasted opportunity because of stupid baseball. Sigh.
Oh, Canada!!!
I think I can get used to these two-run homerun things.
I was shocked, shocked!, today when I found out that Dave Thomas did the voice for Rex Banner in Simpsons prohibition episode. It was definitely a masterful performance.
I believe it cost him his citizenship.
I'm sorry, but his most masterful performance will always be as Rita's uncle living in Wee Britain.
Isn't there room for many masterful performances in one career? Although I have no idea who Rita's uncle is.
He was Charlize Theron's uncle in Arrested Development. Those are probably my two favorite comedies (third is SCTV. You go, Dave Thomas!).
If pressed, I'd go with Rex Banner as his masterwork. I think that was the best guest performance in the history of the show.
Even better than the baseball players?
I've never seen Arrested Development, so that would explain my confusion.
Ever since the Twins had that discussion about not waiting for the multi-run homers, they've sure been hitting a lot of them. Funny how it leads to scoring
Personally, I'm very uncomfortable with the amount of home runs the Twins have been hitting lately. It's just too many!
They're getting awfully comfortable with the idea of Playing the Wrong Way.
Perkins with the assist! - nice play Tolbert.
Way to clean that up, Tolbert.
Does anyone else think of a hung over Tom Berenger saying "Is that you, Tolbert?" every time Matt Tolbert is at bat or even mentioned?
That was a quick half inning!
I don't know that I've ever seen a more efficient two innings than those two from Perkins. 16 pitches, 6 outs. He's on pace for a 72 pitch complete game.
I'd say that's impossible, but Silva did that precise thing.
I was off looking for the game log on that one.
Man, I was at that game. It was some seriously awesome shit that went down that night. (I also loved Radke's quote after that game.)
Crazy. I had a blast watching that...he just breezed. And to think he did that even with...what? Four hits?
I feel for the Mariner fans. They never saw the valuable version of The Chief.
Oh, and refresh me on the Radke quote, if you would.
If I remember it correctly, and I may not be, he said something along the lines of:
"There going to skip my start tomorrow and send Silva back out there."
Given in Radke's deadpan delivery, it was great.
what was Radke's quote?
Was that the one where he induced like a hundred double plays and then chucked the ball into the stands at the end? I know he got fined for that, but I thought it was pretty funny.
I think that was his 11-hit shutout. The other end of the Silva spectrum.
No, that was his first complete game (which I also happened to be at. That dude should have paid me to attend every game he pitched.) I know people were pissed about the ball thing, but it was pretty sweet when he did it.
I agree. It's not like it was malicious, and some lucky fan walked out with a great souvenir.
In retrospect, it might have been one pitch Carlos wanted back.
The main problem is if the Angels thought that Silva was trying to show them up and they hit Mauer in the head with a pitch the next day.
Wasn't F-Rod already way too demonstrative with his post-save bit by then, or did that come later? (Something he learned from the Jackal?)
A fair point, but I think that the Twins would have made Mr. Rodriguez tone down his post-save theatrics if he was pitching for Minnesota.
That double play was just unlucky. But, how about that lollipop that Willis threw to second? He looks supremely uncomfortable out there.
I'd give him the benefit of the doubt after missing time, but the guy has looked uncomfortable since before he ever became a Tiger.
I've seen at least a couple examples that just remind us that baseball is a game of inches. A few inches this way, or a few inches that way and the entire game could be different.
That's why I love baseball.
Add the fact that it involves epic one-on-one showdowns all game long, and that about sums it up for me.
I think I'm going to avoid Gameday tomorrow at work (especially since I'll be busy) and instead try to make it home and watch the Squeeze Play without hearing about the score
8 pitch 3rd inning - right on track.
I wish I got Twins games on tv. Instead, the fiancee is watching America's Next Top Bolemia patient.
For just under $100 you can get MLB.tv. Very underwhelmed with their service and customer relations, but the actual product is great and worth every penny.
I would love to get that, but I just recently finished paying off huge medical bills and am in the process of planning a wedding, so money is super tight. My goal is to get it next year, or call DirecTV and threaten them with leaving, or something, until they somehow allow me to get the games.
Very underwhelmed with their service and customer relations, but the actual product is great and worth every penny.
That would qualify as a half-assed endorsement. You're gonna fit right in. ;)
I agree with every word you said. I've never seen worse customer service for something so good. The online support guys are just open about their total dickhood. If nothing else, I guess it's pretty honest.
I love the way corporations spend xillions on designing and rolling out customer surveys (that never get completed). If only they data-mined blogs (like this one), they could learn a great deal about their products.
The forums that they have set up now are pretty effective feedback and I can't imagine that it costs them all that much. The problem is differentiating the people who are complaining because they can't use their computer (or can't follow instructions) from the people who are complaining because something actually went wrong.
I would imagine feedback tends to be quite skewed by those who are very happy, or very disappointed. The rest don't bother to respond.
So did Matt Tolbert really choose "Zombie" as his walk-up song? What a weirdo.
I noticed that the other day! I'm older than him by about 3 months, and that song reminds me of the road trip to the state Mathcounts meet in 8th grade...but that's about it. Maybe his discoveries of his love of baseball and love of the Cranberries were simultaneous? It's really hard to understand why a guy would pick that as his walk-up song. If I was in charge of the broadcast, I would definitely get to the bottom of that mystery.
what year was Mathcounts state?
I was there in 1996, missed making the national team by one lousy point.
If it was in the spring (I forget now), it would have been '96. You must have done better than me, I didn't do all that well at state.
I was more pissed that I barely missed the state math meet as a senior. Too many dumb arithmetic mistakes that year.
It was March, my Dad and I skipped the banquet to go to the State High School Hockey tourney. Good times.
Yeah, in the sporting parlance, we were pretty much "just happy to be there." Our coach/teacher pretty much had zero faith in us, since we were a small school and there were a lot of larger schools in our region. She said something like if we made it to state she would shave her head, or wear a fruit basket on her head all day at school, or something. But of course no follow through when we actually made it. She practically jumped out of her seat when they announced it. I was happy, but a little pissed that I didn't beat my teammates. :)
Meeting of the minds. Damn. ;)
There are a lot of passive-aggressive wanks on there that complain even when the MLB guys give them an answer, so I don't blame them for being annoyed. I just can't believe they're so open about it.
Having worked retail and visited message boards for various products, you couldn't pay me enough to work Customer Service.
I put this in the wrong place.
back at .500!
Mauer has hits in half of his at-bats tonight, how long do you think he can keep that up?
Indefinitely. Mauer will win the batting title this year with a batting average of at least .500.
What you talking about, Willis!
Well that's it for me in this game log. I have to go release myself from the burden of LOST for another year.
I got hung on the phone so this is a few minutes late.
And a couple of inches too wide...
Oops, if I'da had more time, I'da cropped Kirk Cameron out too.
-1 Banana
Anyone else noticing Bert's stammering tonight? Or does he do that every night?
Could be Tourette Syndrome.
I saw Everett hit his GS earlier this year. Hopefully that's the only one I see...
I think the odds are on your side.
How did Redmond not make that play?
Eh, a little harder than it looked at first. Still...
Baby Jesus would've had that.
What happened? Dazzle doin' PBP.
Score that WW.
Everett with a bleeder up the middle, Tolbert dives and stops the ball about 10 feet behind second base, throws home, ball takes a hop on the turf just in front of the dirt around home plate, bounces to Redmond's waistline or so, and Redmond doesn't catch it. The runner would have been dead to rights.
Wait, with 2 outs, why did he need to go home with it? Was that really the only base he could have thrown it to based on body position, or sumthin?
One run had already scored, and there were no other plays. Tolbert did all he could, and made a nice play.
Ahhh, ok, that makes more sense now.
Yeah, it was Redmond with the misplay on that.
I think Tolbert could have made a better throw considering how much time he had. Unless that's the farthest he can throw, which I doubt.
It could have been better, but I think that it was good enough. Tolbert deserves some responsibility, but I think Redmond should make that catch.
I agree. I wasn't saying Tolbert should shoulder the blame, just share in it some.
Wow, Thomas has a total noodle arm. Not quite Rondelle level, but approaching that.
Gomez was posing at home plate like he went yard after he made contact--he was that happy to get the SF.
All those sprints paid off for Harris!
I was listening! Cannot stress how often I'm clueless after a Dazzling call. Gladden lacks pith.
Do you think Harris taking third there showed enough "battling his tail off" for him to get another start at short tomorrow?
Gomez's second RBI. Wow.
FREE CARLOS GOMEZ!
What the dealio, Perkins? This isn't supposed to be the flaw in your game.
Can we get a restraining order so that Bert Blyleven is not allowed to speak to the pitchers on the team?
I love how K-Slow is basically killing Bert's theory, so Bert just keeps trying different wording instead of admitting defeat.
Another example of how MLB.tv sucks. They cut to their famous "The Game Is In Commercial Break" in the middle of Slowey's interview.
Darn it.
I wondered if that was just me. Blech. Ubelmann and I both live in Washington State, so we feel your pain. Well, I assume Ubes uses MLB.tv. I guess I'm not sure.
I live in Arizona and had a heck of a time working around MLB.tv's blackout restrictions for any live game.
Two phone calls - no actual human voices, mind you - and hours on their customer support pages later and I though I had it for good. Nevermind.
Yup, I grudgingly subscribe to their service. I can't live with it or without it. It's great when it's working, but so amazingly frustrating when you are planning on watching a game and it doesn't work.
Redmond+++. Perkins gets the metric.
Okay mlb.tv, I know that Perkins is pitching like crap right now, but I also know that there's not a commercial break in progress, despite what your screen says.
Perkins with a case of Willisitis.
Well, if Willis is going to doing jumping jacks on the mound after every walk, I guess I can see why they thought he had some kind of anxiety disorder.
Pitch counts on the walls. Umpires and their strike zones. If Bert's audio tomorrow was spliced from old games and he wasn't even in the booth, I swear to God I wouldn't notice.
So, the Tigers scored three runs on one hit the last two innings. Nice.
The Twins ought to be able to deduct that Granderson run from their taxes as a charitable contribution.
I was thinking about making a snarky remark about Cuddy with the "hot hand" after that dribbler up the middle. Then Bert goes and does my job for me by saying he's continuing to swing a hot bat. Le sigh.
If you're thinking about making a sarcastic broadcasting comment, you can rest assured one of those two dinguses will say it in sincerity.
At this point, I'm just happy when they correctly identify players who have at least been hitting well lately when they say that they've been "swinging a hot bat." Cuddyer's had a good couple of weeks, even if that has no predictive power.
Fair enough! And they're talking about baseball and not Bert eating some sort of insect/bug/worm, and that's a good thing right?
Indeed. (Although I don't mind the occasional non-baseball diversion in a blowout, we're certainly not in a blowout situation right now.)
I was about to say how bad Perkins is pitching today, then I saw Luis Ayala warming up in the bullpen and realized that it could get worse.
Yeah this could get ugly...
Sure about that?
Yeah, I've seen Ayala give up HRs just like that Inge blast.
Mind you, Ayala is worse than Perkins overall, it's just not feeling like that right now.
I don't like Brandon Inge. Poop.
Sigh. I was really hoping Perkins would somehow prove me wrong this year.
Way to pay attention to the runner, Luis.
I don't like Luis Ayala. Poop.
Could use some kind of cappage, here. Fez, Greek Captain hat, Gilligan, not sure.
now??
Yes, no time to lose.
Bert has been pretty pointless all day, month, year, forever but he's right, starters era of 5.00 isn't going to cut it. Did any of these starters even have an era over 4.50 last year?
Does Hernandez count? Perkins was pretty close at 4.41.
It's worth mentioning that the AL ERA is up about 32 points from last year, for whatever reason(s). So far, AL starters are averaging a 4.81 ERA and the Twins had a 5.00 starters ERA going into the game. While that's certainly not good, it's barely below average considering how early it is in the season.
Tip o' th' cap, pally!
fancy hat delivers in style.
Remember that fancy hat, Monsieur Twayn.
The plutocrats always fucking win.
Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Now that the entire league knows the way to beat Perkins - simply taking pitches - we're effectively screwed unless two of the other four can start dominating.
Perkins has been better at throwing strikes in the past, so I think he'll probably get that under control. To me, the big problem is that when he does throw it in the strike zone, he's totally hittable.
Perkins is too in love with the inside fastball. He's got to use both sides of the plate. That's why you go inside in the first place, so the hitters won't camp on the outer half of the plate.
I haven't been paying close attention; did Perkins shake off Red-dog on a regular basis?
Not that I noticed, but he just kept trying to pound the inside corner, even though he wasn't getting the call very often.
Good evening, folks. I left for an hour, what the hell happened?
If I ever had to watch a baseball game with Bert in person, I would seriously contemplate packing a handgun.
I recommend one of these. Non-lethal (usually) so you stay out of prison, but still gets the job done.
Overkill. Consult E-6 for more practicable shiv options.
Span delivers!!
Hoo-hah!
Spantasm!!!
Spandemonium!!
Go Big Mak!
I was on my way home, so I missed it! But, I'll still take it. I like this prediction stuff.
Dino!
Hitting the ball down the line with Gomez on first is pretty much an automatic run.
Even though it's going to pain me to sound a bit like Gardy, man I love watching him run around the bases.
It's so awesome. If he could even manage a .350 OBP some year, it would be so much fun to have him in the lineup.
D-SPAN FTW!
I'm reminded of this game.
The instant he hit the ball, I was taken back to that game. That one was awesome.
The crowd intensity was a little different that day.
Uhhhh, with Span on third and no one else on base, why did Gameday say "Pitchout"?
guessing on suicide squeeze
Oh yeah. I suppose it would have been more insane had Span been on 2nd.
If a team thinks that someone is getting too much of a secondary lead off of second base, you could run a play to try to pick him off.
It was a pitchout. Anticipating a squeeze play, apparently. With one out and Mauer on deck, a squeeze would piss me off.
Never put anything past the "old school". But yeah, I don't think even Gardy is that nuts.
But apparently, Leyland does.
I'm with Leyland on this one. Gardy must have at least considered it, since Span is fast and Tolbert is supposed to be a good bunter.
And an extra ball to Tolbert's not really such a big deal.
I irrationally love the squeeze play, so I probably wouldn't complain if it was successful.
TRIPS!
And Big Mak's "Beat the Streak" is saved.
Span for MVP. And Gold Glove. And Silver Slugger. And Cy Young.
Look at those guys run! woohoo! I love triples.
$.40 for breast cancer research tonight so far.
Speed Kills.
Somehow I knew when I left to eat we'd lose the lead. I got here in time to get it back.
Just the one observation, and it's preaching to the choir: this game had in no way entered Luis Ayala Territory.
+10, pally!
Call for the ball, Tolbert! His first RBI of the year.
So who pitches 7 and 8 tonight?
Nice AB TOLBERT! Is that you Tolbert? If you're gonna pull this spit at least say you're with the Yankees
It took a couple hours, but I knew someone else would say they were thinking the same thing.
Three runs on one hit? Where have I heard that before, today?? Hmmm....
Dick: Tolbert has fit in quite well in the 2 spot.
SBG: Tolbert's line: .217/.333/.304
Please, please, please let Ayala not suck this inning.
Um, that wasn't supposed to go there.
How are they still announcers of a professional baseball team?
You'd think someone on FSN would realize the sheer quantity of idiotic remarks made by these two goofuses.
When guys have been there for a few years, familiarity and touting the company line trumps absolutely everything else. I'm sure the hiring folk know these guys blow, but nobody cares. It's not like baseball fans will stay away due to the announcers.
Just once I'd like to hear them say "This player plays hard, is fast, sucks, and is Caucasian. He's the perfect throwback #2 hitter."
Luis Ayala is bad at baseball.
I do not have profanities severe enough to communicate my displeasure with Luis Ayala.
Poop.
A few well-placed "F"s might stand that poop straight up.
(Shit.)
Bad cheese.
Now rotten cheese. :(
Ruh-roh. Ugh-ski.
Stinky.
Luis Ayala is terrible. He almost makes me long for Rincon, circa 2007 (or he at least reminds me of said Rincon)
If I'm not mistaken, Rincon became available again this week.
They're not booing, they're yelling, "Cheese!!!11!ones!"
Matt Guerrier--just not that good.
This bullpen coughs up leads like a cat coughs up a hairball.
A cat with tuberculosis, no less.
Gordo sez: "Leland is right!"
I'd have to agree... pushing the player along, even if done with good intentions, is sort of uncalled for.
It's not so much a matter of it being uncalled for as it is just dumb, dumb, dumb. Pushing someone who doesn't want to be pushed is a stupid idea and nothing good would ever come from it. If Ordonez is taking too long, warn him that you're going to toss him, give him some time to move along, and if he really insists on not moving, you toss him from the game. But you don't ever touch him.
I tottally missed what happened
Ordonez struck out on a close pitch, didn't like the call and jawed a bit with home plate ump. Ump decided he'd had enough, and put his hand on Ordonez' back and sort of directed him to run along.
Leyland lost it. I would hope Gardy would do the same.
I was thinking that both managers should have come out of the dugout to argue on that.
Actually, that would have sent just about the perfect message.
Ordonez was complaining about the called third strike (really longer than he should have, regardless of whether he was right or not) and the home plate up went up to him and put his hand on his back to guide/push him towards his dugout, to get Ordonez moving along. Then Ordonez stepped back with a "WTF did you just do?" amazed-looking expression on his face as Leyland came out to (deservedly) give the umpire two or three pieces of his mind.
I agree too.
So did the TV guys. Umpires are such wads.
And every so often, Gordo is somewhat clear...
Uh, guys... I think there is a relatively large problem with our bullpen.
Oops. An F-Bomb on the air. And it wasn't Liriano.
Or Garza. Or Bert. Or Pat Borders. Jeez, baseball is full of potty talk.
Shitfuck, you say.
F*ck you. ;)
Er, "all y'all."
Pound some Bud!
Pound some bud? How 'bout this bullpen stats pounding some sand.
A Joe Schultz matnra. Like Kelly's "One day at a time."
I'm too young for these references. /age related jab.
Gouge away! Youth is wasted on the young.
(You kids need to read Ball Four ...)
That's on deck in my reading lineup. I just finished The Boys of Summer (loved it) and I'm thinking of reading something a little lighter next (like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), but Ball Four looms large on my shelf.
Dude, PaP + Zombies = Hi-larious, check out pride and predator, funny if nothing else.
Did someone say One Day at a Time??
Christ, Guerrier...
Alright, then... who else we got?
Well, at least there's no one on base...
/silver lining
Well, fuck.
I try to stay positive, but this team is going nowhere with this bullpen.
So I'll agree: fuck.
as fans, we're getting dicked again.
This has been a rollercoaster of a game.
Yeah, but I don't much like that part of the ride where we got decapitated.
cr@p. Dickey in. Are the bases loaded?
I loved the little audio bleed there before the break. Dazz speculating that Gardy's gonna get tossed.
grilled lamb breast riblets, baked potatoes, salad tonight.
I love how you just interrupt the insanity by reminding us of meat, potatoes, and veggies. Comfort food
Wow. What a game.
Grilled sirloin, baked taters, and salad.
Kubel. Sweet.
R.A. Dickey on to get some work in. Gardy must think this game is a lost cause. I should just go to bed now.
I tried to do my part: 2 Maibocks consumed. At least I feel good.
I'm wasted on rum. Turns out I needed it.
First batters are 5 for 8 against Dickey?? Well, hell... let's make him a reliever! We should see if Mauer can pitch.
Well I like his chances out there more than Ayala or Dickey.
How about pulling a Nationals and totally overhaul the bullpen?
I think we can salvage the closer, but otherwise I'm on board.
I think Mijares will have his uses.
Do we get Zimmerman in the deal?
Are there rules in baseball against cloning? I propose we make 5 clones of Joe Nathan.
No reason to stop at 5.
I dunno, we wouldn't want them to fall into the wrong hands.
Let's call up Michael Keaton, eh?
evening folks.
*nods*
Painter...
What the hell happened?!?!?! When I left the park it was 3-2 Twins.
Everything, more or less.
Oh, I see, Ayala was in the game.
That's what I said.
Well, that sucks for Cuddy.
Pitching change in the middle of the batter. Classy.
...and it had to be Zumaya
Well at least the beer I'm having is good.
mmmmm. That's quality.
That was the most hilarious pitching change ever. Just before the pitcher went into the stretch for the 1-2 pitch, the pitcher, catcher, and hitter all looked over to the dugout like someone had gotten shot or something.
I'm thinking that as bad as the Twins bullpen has been today, it's not such a good strategy to hand us an extra out, but that 3rd run is a killer. I'll gladly take the out, though.
Dickey is just a poor man's Mulholland..
I loved having Terry Mulholland.
I'm not a fan of this suckage.
I think I wouldn't mind Dickey so much if he was strictly the groundskeeper.
Paging the Dude to home plate, dude to home plate.
OH BOY!
DUDE! FUCKING DUDE!
The Dude abides. Awesome.
DUUUUUUUUUDDDE
Sweet Jeebus, I love Jason Kubel.
We basically said the same thing using different words 3 seconds apart.
I noticed that was frighteningly similar.
Gawd I love the dude.
Get Dick some new Trousers and a cigarette.
It's probably just because I caught a few minutes of it last night, but sometimes Dick reminds me of Frasier.
gordo needs some new depends, too.
That home run really tied the game together.
+2 meanings
+ 1 Bunny Lebowski special.
- 1 toe.
+ 0.69 cents.
Kubel is a mangod.
Okay boys, let's get one more to avoid that pesky 9th run.
DUDE!
Kubel, baby!
That last pitch to Span was no strike.
Jason Kubel is 82% god, 18% great baseball player.
Zumaya got the Mario Rivera strike zone on that one.
Mariano. Damn.
This ump is honestly just guessing.
Whoa, when Bert says that a pitch is not even close, you know it's not close.
Oops, the L-Kube is supposed to be down here.
It bookends the inning nicely.
I've mentioned this in the past, but the similarities between Kubel and Ortiz always give me irrational hope that Kubel will continue to improve at the plate. He's done nothing to curb my irrationality so far this year.
So the Stribbies' "White Papi" patter might have some grain of truth to it?
WTF??
this is one of the worst strike zones I've seen all year
There's a strike zone? Like a certain area through which a ball must pass to be deemed a strike if the batter does not swing? Who'd a thunk it?
Good Lawd, what is with the leadoff man tonight?! It doesn't even matter who's pitching or who's batting.
/obligatory /
Ahhhhhhhhh, neverhit to bat, FOR THE OTHER TEAM! BWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
LOL!!!!
I LOVE IT!
1-6-3 the hard way, fellas.
There was a weird DP in our softball game on Sunday. With runners on 1st and 2nd, the batter lined the ball off of the pitchers glove. I was playing shortstop and caught it on the fly, then stepped on second for the DP.
I'm pretty sure that's scored 1-6-6, right?
This has been one crazy game.
Hopefully it doesn't turn into more than one game.
Who hits the walkoff homer? Mauer, Canada, cuddy, or crede?
Tolbert, Mauer and Morneau to bat. This should be like shooting fish in a barrel, right?!?
Doh ---> Maurer, Morneau, Cuddy...
This would be an ideal time for some more Pauer.
'Atta boy, Harris. That's how it's done.
Nothing prettier than a double play.
It seems like the Tigers could benefit from Leyland still being in the game. It seems unlikely he'd have sent Zoomy out for a third inning.
Green light?
Hrm, I guess not.
Joooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolmost.
D'oh!
9-9?? I go away to make/eat dinner and this is the cowpie you leave me?
I wonder what the umpire told Joe right before that 3-2 pitch. I like to imagine the conversation went something like this:
Mauer: Can I trust you to make the right call if I take this pitch?
Ump: Not at all, I'm having a really bad day.
Mauer: Okay. [Thinks to self: I guess I'll just swing no matter where he throws it.]
Ump: [Grabs Mauer by the shoulders and shoves him back towards the Twins' dugout]
Gardy (racing from the dugout): "Showtime!"
+1 Kicked hat
Mauer: "Okay. These are not the strikes you are looking for."
+Midichlorians off the chart
Hey! They escaped from that gas.
I'll be upset if we go to the 10th and Nathan doesn't come out.
Hold that thought.
Dude, you know that Joe has been in the clubhouse for, like, at least 15 minutes.
Ok, Crede ftw. Please.
The way our bullpen's been, i'm going to have to go with "pretty" please.
Put a little sugar on it, too.
9-9, you guys been busy tonight, eh?
SOMEbody spent th' Cap too soon. It had spillover effects.
It hasn't been pretty. Basically a contest to see who has the worst bullpen.
Dammit Gardenhire.
Good play, Jose, but show a TOUCH more urgency next time.
That was the scariest ground ball to a pitcher I have ever seen. Does Mijares not know that Granderson is faster than him?
You know, we question Gardy for not using Nathan enough sometimes. But 46 pitches for Zumaya? That seems like a bad long-term strategy.
agreed.
As long as he doesn't play too much Guitar Hero he'll be fine.
Especially when Zumaya is throwing 98-100mph.
I was just thinking, how long before Leyland ruins this kid?
Oh, for the days of Angel Hernandez behind the plate.
You are one messed up dude.
We are so screwed if this game goes to 13 or more innings.
Once Mijares is spent, we're out of bullets.
We could maybe go to Cuddyer. Or Delmon. Or both.
Also, Redmond's in this 'til the end, too. (Reminds me of Roy Campanella telling Roger Kahn about catching both games of doubleheaders down in Venezuela.)
Damn fine inning by Mijares, including a strikeout of a guy who's tough to do that to.
Let's get him his first win, shall we?
Nice job, Mijares. Let's win it now. I don't want to see Cabrera again tonight.
Nice inning by Mijares. Hopefully we won't need anybody for the 11th.
Bringing in the closer in a tie game on the road? Inconceivable!
I do not think that word means what you think it means
He must have lost his closer job. That's the only explanation.
What's the record for most "Letters to the Editor"?
Definitely over 450. Maybe over 500. The archive page seems broken, otherwise the most-LTE list is there.
were' not close.
I take that back, if this thing goes on any longer we could break records.
Okay, I don't know why, but McClain/Kaat thing made me chuckle.
Don't tell anyone, but it got me too. Granted, I'm sloshed.
Load up the Lebowski graphics.
I believe in you, Dude.
If the dude abides here I'll kiss his feet.
Lightning can strike twice in the same spot, right?
Maybe not on the same day.
Crap. Looks like it'll be Cabrera 4tw.
I predict Mauer with a walkoff.
D'oh.
freakin leadoff man
Alright, I'm back and I'm caught up on all the insanity that I missed. If I tell you guys that I our bullpen makes me cry, you won't think less of me will you?
Not at all, you big pussy. ;)
That may violate the no crying in baseball rule.
We're all crying together, Mak.
OMG, Crain warming in tha pen.
Tolbert again!
What a great play by Tolbert.
Hells yes, Tolbert. Heads up play.
nice play by Tobert.
Yet another sweet, unconventional double play!
*Deep exhale*
Nice play Tolberto.
w00t!
Great play by Tolbert. C'mon Jose, one more...
I feel a lot better about the Twins winning chances with Cabrera behind us.
...and with Mauer and Morneau ahead of us.
Breslow or Crain. Not the choices I'm looking for tonight.
What an effing savvy move by Tolbert!
And the expandable strikezone swallows Lyons whole. Oh, the humanity.
I'd say Mijares deserves a win, right?
(meaningful glance at the top of the Twins order)
These games kill me, knowing that a loss hurts double because you lost and killed your pen, nice play by tolbert is that you? Any situation where rondelmon hits for tolbert? Not that I want that just guessing if gardy ever puts him in the game
My hunch is that Gardy wouldn't PH for Tolbert since he's a switch-hitter. I could see Gardy putting Delmon in for Kubel if Kubel winds up matched against a LHP.
Also, Delmon could come in as a pitcher. We've gotta get value out of that Garza trade somehow.
I think I would trust him more than crain
Commercials on MLB.tv now. Shit. I already pay for this!
Now would be a good time for some game-ending offense from the top of the order.
I
needneed to go start studying for finals, but I am stuck here. And I know that one of Breslow or Crain will ruin the night anyway...Ugh.
Mijares appears to have no fear, when he has every reason to be a little scared. That gives me some hope, and makes me a little nervous at the same time.
Mauer is only 1-4 tonight. Pussy.
Drops the average under .500.
What an awful game for him.
Joe Mauer, deliver us.
A walk. Solid.
Rally time!
A walk?!?! I knew that the pauer was fake.
Do you think the hitters feel any additional urgency seeing Crain ready in the bullpen?
Pitcher couldn't beat the odds.
Mauer on base.
I guess this game is going to go on forever.
This is the game that never ends....
Wow. So much free baseball tonight. How generous of the teams.
If the Twins only knew that Stones Week would go on tonight, they might win this game. They are stringing this out in fear of Olivia Newton-John.
At least the Tigers have Everett and a dude hitting .050 up this inning.
Oh dear... please... No crainwrecks...
This is all a cruel joke right? Crain in the 12th?
Ugh. Four hours into a tie game, I can't help but think of Span getting thrown out on that stupid hit-and-run in the first.
On the plus side, it will all be over soon.
Did that hurt us? Mauer reached and scored on Canada's hr. Love the DPs
so, you are saying the hit-and-run was the key to the inning? ;-)
It was giving away an out when the leadoff guy was already on second that torqued me off.
Oh God, I hadn't even remembered that play.
You guys see Werth stealing his way around the bases last night?
Safe to say if Raburn gets on base, it's game over?
Please prove me wrong!!
My god, the freaking leadoff man!
Awwwcrap. I wish we would just win this mother...
If anyone is downtown tomorrow we'll be at the bike/walk to work between 6:30 and 9:00am.
Link
Woot!!!
What? Harris knows how to turn double plays?? WHY WASN'T I NOTIFIED??
Jesse gets a break. Nice turn by Tolbert, he's quick.
Now he just needs to get Neverhit.
All right, let's get a win for Crain!
6-4-3!!!
ZOMG, we survived the top of the 12th!!!
Never doubted you for a second Jesse!
huh. miracles do happen.
Is Breslow hurt? He's pitched one inning in the last week.
You may be on to something.
How about that? Crain gets out of an inning unscathed!
Cuddy FTW?
Uh, no.
Lets win Twins.
Bullpen has now allowed 4 ER in 6 2/3 innings after Perkins allowed 5 ER in 5 1/3 innings.
I can't believe Cabrera didn't f that up.
I used to covet Brandon Inge back in the days of Tony Batista.
It was pretty easy to covet just about any third baseman back in the days of Tony Batista.
Dick didn't pee himself on that drive...radio guys, did Gordo?
Dazz didn't even spill his beer.
For a second there... I thought maybe... Damn.
Another warning track fly ball. ::sigh::
Ah! Just about had it for us.
No cigar, Rat Boy. Wonder how Gordo's call on that was.
Dazz was calling ... "this one miiiight have a chance...one hops into the seats...."
DazzL's inning.
If this goes on much longer, can I just call this my gamelog preview?
Maybe it's just late, but that made me giggle
That would undoubtedly be fun.
So we're going by Rottblatt rules?
Definitely.
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who knows the rulebook.
...and another warning track fly ball. At least this one was a double.
Nice hit, Harris..... lets go, Dude.
Er... Redmond... yeah... that's what I meant. Meh, it's late.
eff.
Granderson was playing rover depth on that.
I'm done. I will catch up in the morning.
Lol. Coomer is drunk.
drunk on LIFE
One Bloody too many, it appears.
DazzL: "Well, John, I guess we're gunna miss last call."
13th inning? Geez...
I think Coom should eat Robbie for a midnight snack.
Question: Ron Coomer?
a) Drunk
b) Just not all that interested in the game
Little of column 'A'.... little of column 'B'
Usually I don't care that much about the players' moods, but I am glad to hear that Gomez seems in good spirits. As long as he keeps his head screwed on straight he'll be the starting CF eventually.
He's been having some more patient at bats lately. If he can do that when he plays every day I'll be happy.
This may not be so bad. Crain may be able to get us through this inning. Maybe. There's a hypothetical possibility, at least.
All of the above.
Could Buscher have made that play?
we are allowed to retire the leadoff batter?
This is the time foretold by ubelmann. None shall be spared.
We're in better shape than I'd expected. But still not in good shape.
Fudge. Granderson on 3rd with 1 out is a problem.
feelings of dread....
Crap..looked like a BP pitch.
A triple? Seriously?
Time for another double play.
Breslow sighting!
so far, Crain is making excellent pitches to Polanco...
Non-game related note: We are well over the 500 LTE mark...
I think they should go for the steal of home.
why not
Really wish he hadn't.
Good pitch by Crain. About as good an outcome as could be reasonably expected.
Whew. I wasn't so sure that Granderson was going to stay put on that FB.
My thoughts exactly.
Is it 1988?
no kidding
Bert: "I think it's gotta be somethin' hard, Dick."
Me: giggle.
What the HELL?!?
WTF?
WTF happened/!?
Crain didn't come to a full stop in the set position before he went home. I didn't notice it live, but on the replay it's pretty obvious. Dick is giving credit to Granderson for distracting Crain with a bluff....I'm not sure if that's what it was, but Granderson's fast enough that he could have been in Crain's head a bit, and rushing to get the throw to the plate is something that a pitcher would do if he thought the runner was coming home.
On the one hand, I love the cat-and-mouse game angle, on the other hand, I hate that it went against us.
oh for fuck's sake
WTF????
That's gotta get Gardy thrown out of the game, right? Aww, sh!t
No. We can not lose this way. This aggression will not stand!
Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
That's so lame.
Tell me I didn't invest four and a half hours in a game that will be lost on a balk. I will fucking snap.
That would basically be the most retarded way to lose ever.
a walk-off balk would be worse
True, but this would be the worst way to lose at home.
It's the right call... smart move by Granderson. Dammit.
I disagree but I'm tired, biased and need to see a replay.
A BALK??? WHAT THE HELL???
it was a good call. This just sets up for the dramatic blown save win
My Mauer walkoff prediction still stands.
Except for it's not a blown save. He didn't have the lead to lose.
But Lyon does.
He would be blowing his own win, not a save.
....and of course Crain has to strike the guy out.
That fucking sucked.
So if you do the full wind-up with a man on 3rd you don't have to come to a stop but in the stretch you do? Why?
because in the stretch, you are allowed to stop, then throw a pick-off. Can't have it both ways
I wonder if it has to do with quick-pitching the hitter. The balk rule is pretty crazy.
I knew a guy who was a pretty good pitcher back when I played who just could not fathom the balk rules. I think he had 4 in an inning once or twice.
For those of us who can't see, what in the world actually happened on that damn balk??
Granderson started a fake steal of home, which freaked Crain out, so he threw home without ever coming to a full stop.
Granderson faked home...Crain got excited and didn't come to a stop before throwing home
Bluff steal of home and Crain flinched, not coming to a stop from the stretch. He's been watching too much Baseball Tonight.
attaboy Kubes.
RALLY TIME!
The dude has done his part for tonight.
giving up an out...hmmm...if it's Mauer/Morneau, okay. Tolbert/Mauer? I don't know
Why are we playing for one run in the friggin' 86th inning? Win or go home.
The game in oak is over before ours? Jeesh
Wow! Awesome read by Punto!
at least, that's what he'll tell gardy.
OMG!
WHOOOOOOOO
holy cr@p!
Holy balls.
Fuck you, john gordon. Call a game straight. I'm sick of this the ball is caught, no it's not caught bull shit.
In fairness, Dick did the same thing.
Anderson came out of nowhere on the TV feed; I couldn't tell.
In fairness, Grodo does it all the time.
You are correct, sir.
Yeah, that was a tough call to make. I thought he caught it at first, too.
I'm all for giving room for error, and I'm sure that it was tough to call, but John is soooooo poor at calling games, I just can't take it anymore. (okay, that's a bit of hyperbole)
did you know that James Patterson has written the definitive book on the Twins TV and radio crews?
Yes, we won't lose on a balk!
Atta boy, Tolbert!
holy shiznit
Amazing move By Gardy! pinch running, bunting.... close plays in the field. Punto, tolbert, TWINS BASEBALL!!
sometimes you need a little luck.
I think I read the book about this game once.
+2,000 innings
Suppose if I get up tomorrow for work this game will still be going?
I'd say that's likely.
None of us want to see Crain or Breslow. Let's finish this!
Not too often you see a team lose when they score double digits.
One of these teams will lose. Them's the facts.
Yep.
Think Lyon is getting tired after nearly 50 pitches?
Alright, Cuddy... let's do this.
wild pitch please
Did Tolbert get to second on Mauer's ground out? (Gameday says he didn't.) If not, why not?
He did.
ah, dude. I hate getting beat by one second
he did
It seemed very irrational that Gameday said he advanced on Morneau's walk and not the groundout...
Yep, now he's at third after 2 walks.
Let's go, Joe. End it.
Now or never, chaps.
C'mon walk off balk!
It's a walk-off!
HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!
salami holy shit
Do not doubt the power of the hat!
my prediction for the night: The Twins or maybe the Tigers will win this game.
As hard as it is to believe, it seems New Guy's prediction came true after all.
JOSEPH MUTHAGRABBIN CREDE!!!! EPIC! HOLY HELL!1
BOOOOM! Way to go RAT BOY!
hell yeah. makes the 5 hours way worth it.
I wonder if that's the first 5-run 13th inning by a home team in the history of baseball.
That's ending it in style!! WOOT!!
Rat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD!!! YES!!!
TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN!
UN. BE. LIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
+1 WARP