2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game Logs: Game 28 Minnesota @ Chicago (AL)

244 Comments

Francisco Liriano

v

Edwin Jackson

There is a saying here in Buffalo, New York about our football team, the Bills. It goes something like "I don't care if the Bills go 2-14 every year as long as the beat the Dolphins those two games". I am sure Vikings fans have a similar saying about the Packers or the Bears or whomever it is Vikings fans deem their biggest rivals. It's funny because I honestly believe that statement to be true. Well, maybe not every year, but if there were a season or two where the Bills only won two games I would be pleased to stick it to those south beach jerks who wear aqua and white.

Now, I know the Twins have been playing poorly. You can chalk it up to injures, ass-batting middle infielders, me giving my child the middle name of Mauer, or whatever else it is you want to blame. You could write off the team this season for all I care. But I will tell you what, if you can't get up for a Twins/White Sox game I don't know if there is any hope for you.

Sure, a baseball team going 18-144 would be embarrassing-- no question about it. But hell, wouldn't it be great it those 18 wins all came against the White Sox?

 

244 thoughts on “2011 Game Logs: Game 28 Minnesota @ Chicago (AL)”

  1. wouldn't it be great it those 18 wins all came against the White Sox?

    Especially if the White Sox were kept out of the playoffs by one game.

  2. I can't speak for all Viking's fans, but as of this past year, I didn't give two shits if the Vikings beat the Packers or the Bears because they turned into a big joke that is really hard to root for even the smallest of positives.

    Now the Twins, on the other hand, are not completey unlikeable (Tolbert and _elm_n (and ok, Hoey too) excepted). So I can agree with you on the "lets beat those d-bag south siders" sentiment.

    1. I still want the Vikes to beat the Pack twice a year- it's just not likely that will be happening anytime in the next 5-10 years.

      1. I want them to beat them three times a year - twice in the regular season and then to knock them out of the playoffs.

      2. Having lived as close as I have to Illinois for the past 5-6 years, I now just want Bears fans to feel shame and disappointment. (and Badger fans, for that matter.) So its less that I want the Vikes to win as much as I want the Bears to lose (and to a lesser extent the Packers, the fans of which I know are not nearly as obnoxious as Chicago fans.)

        1. Chicago fans are pretty terrible. I never really felt any scorn towards the team until recently, gosh do I hate Urlacher and Hester. Cutler & Martz are also hard to like.

          I find it hard to hate the Vikings, but I do get sick of hearing about them year round.

          1. There are a lot of guys on the team that seem likeable: Adrian Peterson (recent comments notwithstanding), the linebackers, the receivers. Maybe sans Brett Favre, I'll find myself with less hate. But those like-able guys will have a hard time making up for the hate-able asepcts of the team: The safeties, Bryan McKinnie, the ghost of Brad Childress.

            1. Oh, you reminded me of Jared Allen. I really don't like that guy. Hate having to face AP twice a year, but he seems like a solid dude. These Vikings are a heck of a lot harder to dislike than teams of years past. Randy Moss, Daunte Culpepper, Onterrio Williams. Yuck.

              1. I can understand opposing fans Jared Allen annoyance, but he at least seems to be a "good citizen" these days, and he is pretty freekin good. I think I'm to the point where I mostly hate that some of these guys like AP, EJ Henderson, Antoine Winfield, etc won't really have a chance to win a SB because of that aformentioned ghost of Brad Childress.

  3. Hmm, looks like no Hawk tonight. Could I be so lucky? I still dislike the hell out of Steve Stone, but his voice doesn't send me into a blind rage. This could be a Twins miracle tonight.

      1. Of course, Steve Stone sounds like he's been swallowing barbed wire for the past week, which does not help my ears.

    1. This was exactly what I thought when I checked out the ButtTol 8-9 spots, and then I looked at the rest of the mess. Luckily, Kubel and Span keep it from being completely hopeless.

      2. Fortunately there's Casilla to tilt the scales way over to teh suck.

        Oh wait, that's not fortunate at all.

      3. Just Kubel and Span? Not Morneau? Actually, that's probably the right thought.

    1. [image of Little Red Riding Hood with the caption "my what low OBP your lineup has"]

  6. If Jackson is going to throw dead straight fastballs all night, this might not be so bad.

  7. I feel like there is an assignment that Casilla would be a good candidate for designation to.

    1. Yep. Gardy looked exasperated in the dugout after he hit into a double play, but really, what do you expect? Casilla is playing to his talent level and the team went into the season relying on him to be an effective player. He just isn't.

      I really don't understand what putting him at 2B is supposed to do.

      1. Hopefully Plouffe is up tomorrow. I have no idea why he's not up today to be honest.

        ...I'm clamoring for Trevor Plouffe. My kingdom for a major leage shortstop.

        1. I feel your pain. Wish the medium-term plan was more clear, apparently they want Nishioka taking reps at SS during rehab and Casilla's playing 2B tonight. Flipping the two around doesn't seem like any sort of solution and if Gardy liked Hughes more than Casilla then Hughes would be in the line-up tonight.

          1. I guess my "ideal" solution would be Plouffe at short, Nishi at 2B, Casilla as the utility guy.

              1. Fair enough. I think Tolbert & Casilla are pretty much equally crappy, so I would not shed tears if either or both were off this roster.

  12. Is it bad that every time there's a runner on first I think "please don't hit and run"

    1. Since I had an early day today, I think he's probably below that if I'm the reference.

    2. Having Butera in the lineup expands the bench. You can have a pitcher pinch hit for him.

      1. Can we trade him back to the Mets for Santana? I always liked watching him hit in inter-league play.

        1. The Triple he hit against the Marlins a few years back was one of my favorite Santana moments.

            1. You know, the more I think on it, the more I think 15 run rule as opposed to the 10 run rule would be for a league with a greater variance in the talent of the players.

          1. Great, now Gardy will think his improved BA is enough to keep him around longer.

    1. Yeah, a guy that gets on as rarely as he does should just be happy he's there and f(@*ing stay in one spot until someone hits a home run.

    2. I don't think he'd make it through waivers. Do the Cardinals have a need for a (s)crappy (f)utility infielder?

  23. Ugh, Sux announcers pull out the "how many times" bit. That's a muting in my book.

      1. Since Harrelson is "sick" tonight, I thought I'd at least give em a chance.

  24. Since the ad just ran, if I had a Norelco electric razor, I'd totally throw it out knowing that Papelboner and that smug Swisher use it.

    1. Without looking it up, who can tell me where Kubel currently ranks in AL batting average?

        1. You were correct with your first answer. I only ask because I had not looked at the rankings yet this year and had not read/heard about it anywhere, so I was curious.

  33. Ugh, walking Juan Pierre makes me sad. Is Liriano aware of his inability to hit the ball particularly far?

      1. One reason why the earlier "Revere has a Juan Pierre upside" conversation made me sad.

  34. Evening gentlemen. I hear that we have lots of singles and a HR...okay then.

    1. The wide-angle shot was cool, Span got up to speed in a hurry and took a very direct path to the ball.

      1. I would dive too, if I knew that Span was awesome.

        Not that I like agreeing with someone who has anything to do with icing.

          1. While not as NSFW as googling your own name, it will make you no less disgusted. (also, its completely SFW.)

  37. Flipped it over to Versus to check on hockey and the 'yellow-out' in Nashville is really something else.

  38. Gladden just dropped a _o-hitter on the radio broadcast. Seriously?

      2. Just thought that the 5th inning was a bit premature, that's all.
        /edges back out of spooky's presence/

        1. Hey, man, if I was in the dugout, I'd totally play along. An announcer's job is not to play along, though. I love the superstition of players, but announcers need to get the story of the game across.

          1. That's a good point. Your first response just seemed a bit...uhm, brusque.

  41. So it appears Casilla has decided swinging the bat no longer works for him....

  42. Okay, I gave in and found out about Icing. It's pretty stupid.

    I enjoy the irony that in order to embarrass friends by forcing them to drink Smirnoff Ice, frat boys everywhere are giving Smirnoff Ice their best sales numbers ever.

    1. A lot of people at first thought it was a marketing thing. Smirnoff denied it, of course.

      I find it stupid, but amusing in its stupidity. This might be because I do not associate with any dudebros.

    3. I just read this on the Wikipedia:

      Refusal to consume an Ice results in excommunication, meaning that that player can no longer ice anyone or get iced.

      I would think this would be the most awesome outcome.

      1. Yeah, pretty much. Win-win.

        I have to say, it was way less moronic and dangerous than I was expecting. I've seen worse.

        2. Some dudebros think it's funny to ice their bros while they're driving. That's awfully moronic and dangerous, but yeah, there's been worse.

  43. yeeks, hope Mrs. Runner doesn't see the PayPal charges in Quicken. Got a good run on a slew of Twins jersey and auto cards off eBay. Time to back off.

    1. I totally missed that because CSN decided replaying Span's catch with Tosoni's dive was more important.

  53. That sounded like the kind of play that would make me start to believe something special was happening, if I was a believer in special things happening.

      1. speaking of insurance runs...seen in the Sac Bee this morning was a riff on how the Nats had broken the unwritten rules of baseball by bunting for a hit in the 8th inning against the Giants when holding an insurmountable lead -- the Nats won the game 2-0.

        Yes, I laughed.

  54. I can't complain too much, but I was hoping to have left work for home by now... guess I can hang here a little longer.

    1. Ok, so a replay shows that that was a brutally bad call. But I'll take it.

  61. I'm finding it totally hilarious that Liriano has a DP after 3 of his 4 walks.

      1. Hey, a foot and a half from the runner is close enough on the tag. Its the "neighborhood play" taken to new extremes.

  64. My heart could handle losing the bid. It could not handle a loss. Let's get it done.

  87. Liriano out of the rotation if he doesn't pitch better. Message...received(?)

  88. Seriously, I think Hawk being suspended for saying stupid shit sick was truly magical tonight.

  93. Glad to join the game log. Cheaptoy can verify that I was following along but I didn't want to jinx it. Man, it feels good to beat the White Sox.

    2. Verified. I think it was like the 6th or 7th inning where his decision was made, and it makes sense that the "hitman" should not show up during a no-hit bid.

  94. Does anyone else find it somewhat hilarious that Tolbert made all three of the 9th inning outs?

  95. OK, over the Easter weekend, I wore my Twins TC cap at my in-laws' house. Then I didn't wear it during last week. Tonight, I decided to don it again. I think I'll be wearing it a lot.

    1. I'm surprised to find that frankie wasn't pitching under the influence of LSD.

  98. I can log off at work now and go home. Thanks, gents, as always for making a memorable event even better!

    1. I think I'll be making a pro-Liriano bet against you, Klaw.

      This was the first Twins no-hitter I've gotten to see. I missed the Milton no-hitter out of necessity (I was in a show) and I've been pissed ever since.

      1. I missed that one too. I think that came during the only period in my life where I didn't follow baseball closely.

  103. I've been lurking half the game and didn't want to comment cause it might've messed with the mojo.

    Mojo maintained. Game over.

    CONGRATULATIONS FRANCISCO LIRIANO!!!!

    1. Considering that I'm sure you heard Steve Stone mention the no-hitter about 7 million times, I think you would have been safe.

      1. I muted him after an inning of his gravel sick voice.

        I turned on Gordo and Dazzleman who are a lot easier to listen to when you can see the game as well.

        1. I un-muted them for the 8th and 9th, and they made it a point to say some variation of "no-hitter" as many times as possible, which, I think, dis-proves the jinxing theory.

          1. I wanted to un-mute him just to get some better crowd noise, but I was too superstitious to do it until Tolbot caught the last out.

          2. i was hoping to hear this. thankfully, 4ltr actually played all of gordo's calls for the 3 outs in the 9th.

            1. dick's call must have really sucked, because i've heard gordo's call 3 times now.

      2. I'm going to record the Sox rerun of the broadcast tonight just so I can watch the last couple innings. 🙂

    1. Oh crap, this reminds me that I have thus far forgotten to bring my secret joke second username over to the new place.

    2. i walked off my 2 hour delayed plane in nashville, turned on my phone, opened my browser with google news as the homepage, saw it as the first headline, and promptly thought, "well that figures..."

    3. Perhaps you will find it somewhat comforting that you didn't miss the game while doing work in a hotel in Chicago.

  107. The Twins sure know how to end a losing streak. Wow! That was awesome. Also, Plouffe was called up after the game and Thome was put on the DL.

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