2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 62: Rangers at Twins

269 Comments

The Twins return from a road trip that turned out to be pretty respectable, particularly because of winning six of their last seven. The team isn't that good, but they weren't as bad as they played up to that point, either, so whatever.

Now the Twins host the West-leading Rangers in another chapter in the ongoing saga of Josh Hamilton vs. Jason Morneau. Who will they be jacking 28+ dongers against tonight?

Derek Holland 5-1, 74.1 IP, 4.36 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 3.72 xFIP, 1.1 WAR
Nick Blackburn 5-4, 75.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 3.85 xFIP, 0.5 WAR

Some similar numbers there, but Holland's value comes from his ability to strike some punks out (60 in 74.1 innings, while over the same workload, Blackburn has negative three strikeouts). Holland is a lefty who tends to wreck lefties, so it's all up to Cuddyer and pals tonight. Ahem.

I'm feeling a little better about the Twins after the last week, but the Rangers could easily bring that to a screeching halt if our team continues to lose at home. Let's avoid that, Nick "Big Game Ace Superstar" Blackburn.

269 thoughts on “2011 Game 62: Rangers at Twins”

  1. I am off to an end-of-year picnic for the Mrs's preschool. On the bright side, I remembered to set my DVR to record the Dallas/Miami game tonight, so I will get to watch THAT game.

    take care of this one, kids.

  2. RANGERS (35-28)

    1. Elvis Andrus, SS
    2. David Murphy, DH
    3. Josh Hamilton, LF
    4. Michael Young, 2B
    5. Adrian Beltre, 3B
    6. Nelson Cruz, RF
    7. Mitch Moreland, 1B
    8. Yorvit Torrealba, C
    9. Endy Chavez, CF

    Starting pitcher: LH Derek Holland (5-1, 4.36 ERA)

    TWINS (23-38)

    1. Ben Revere, CF
    2. Alexi Casilla, SS
    3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
    4. Justin Morneau, DH
    5. Delmon Young, LF
    6. Danny Valencia, 3B
    7. Luke Hughes, 1B
    8. Rene Rivera, C
    9. Matt Tolbert, 2B

    Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn (5-4, 3.57 ERA)

      1. The more it stews, the closer I am to thinking Hamilton is the player in baseball I dislike the most.

        1. For some reason, I don't feel all that strongly about him. Maybe I don't hate him because I know what it's like to fight off addiction, but beyond that the guy is still basically a tool. I just can't summon up the anger for him like I can for someone like Jeter, who enjoys a reputation as the greatest team player in history despite a long history of passive-aggressive whining.

          1. I dislike the legend of Hamilton more than I dislike the guy. He's an imperfect fellow, like all of us to some degree or another. And it's all well and good to point out that if you've screwed up, you can still redeem yourself. But I think if that's the story, it should also be pointed out that Hamilton screwed over a lot of people to get to the point where he needed to redeem himself. As much as it gets old, I'd rather hear about Cuddyer being a good guy than about Hamilton fighting his demons.

            1. I feel about the same. Painting formerly terrible people as heroes instead of highlighting actual heroes who have never wavered is a strange habit of our society.

      1. Every time something weird happens with Casilla and an ump, I recall his first major league PA when he walked on 5 balls. In some respects, I can't believe that wasn't a bigger deal at the time. I mean, it's one thing if an ump messes up a judgement call, but how does an ump forget the count AND the slighted team lets him get away with it without even arguing. Of all the times to argue balls and strikes, that would be the most justified time.

  11. Bert: If you hit that glove, the ump's gonna give you an inch or two inside.
    Me: So why don't we use robot umps who don't make that mistake?

    1. I have a feeling that the campaign for robot umps will never include former pitchers who spent their whole lives getting screwed over by real people. If I had to suffer, you will too, dammit!

      1. You know what would solve that problem? Bring in a bunch of robot players. We know they'll be on board for robot umps!

          1. Good point. While we're at it, we can just replace the game with a simulation.

            Let me run my program...

            ...Twins win 18-1!

      2. Hell, Curt Schilling went ballistic on Questec and he wasn't exactly a technophobe.

          1. I think Schilling figured that he paid more attention to the idiocyncrasies of each umpire's strike zone and making the strike zone uniform for everyone would take away an edge that he had. I'm pretty sure that is at the heart against a lot of why people want "the human factor" in calling the strike zone; it's considered a game within a game, even though it's a really silly game within a game.

            1. Yeah. I get that and I don't particularly begrudge him that, but it's a game that only exists because once upon a time, human umpires were the only option available. Baseball didn't use crummy mistake-prone humans because they thought it would be fun, they chose them because there was no better way to do things.

  12. BEAST MODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. We need to get all Twins bloggers and Minnesota sports writers to start writing about how amazing he is.

      1. I, for one, never doubted his talent. I also heard that he's been playing with injuries his entire career in Minnesota, and he's just about to get fully healthy and realize his true potential. Now is the time to buy!

            1. You guys are killing me!

              ...but Delmon never would! He's a true American hero.

              1. When I was job hunting last spring, I briefly entertained the idea that it would be fun to write resumes for major league baseball players. Then I realized I was just trying to procrastinate.

  22. So, I'm listening on the radio. Is Holland as nasty as his strikeout total would indicate? Why are they making this guy look like Halladay?

  24. Hey, the Pirates need a catcher. If Mauer is back next week, I wonder if we could send them Butera for a bag of baseballs.

  27. We're still having Tolbert bunt on a 3-1 count? C'mon guys, he's not that bad is he?

  30. Rivera gets to be out three* times in one inning. Never seen that before.

    *OK, probably 2, it looked like he was safe at second the first time.

  37. From my game log: so it's all up to Cuddyer and pals tonight. Ahem.

    I was totally right, as long as you ignore the "ahem!"

  38. you're so into your shift!
    f%&k you! you make me sick!

    (2 points to whomever gets the reference)

  39. Just checked out the pitchFX. Surprisingly, only about 4 terrible called strikes for each pitcher. At least it's an impartial wide strike zone.

    1. what happened, now? i had the game on mute with music while making dinner, but i saw they kept the cameras on homeboy...

    1. Don't worry guys, my TV got back just in time to see Andrus foul a ball into his own head.

        1. It's been raining here all afternoon/evening. It's all going down the Big Sioux to Sioux City, Jeff A isn't getting any sort of reprieve yet.

  48. dick: "twins bullpen actually in pretty good shape with james and hoey warming up."
    hj: "you're half right."

      1. You would have if you'd been to batting practice. _elm_n's always putting on a show!

  56. Look, i can't watch these games at home because I live 4.5 hours away from dallas so I have to watch them at a sports bar where these texans want to beat my skull in because I like the twins. Please don't give the rednecks anymore fuel.

        1. Yeah, if that "hit" anything, it was a stray thread hanging off one of his jersey buttons.

    1. You know my stance on that. They should be executed on field as between inning entertainment.

    3. Based on the camera angle, the whole broadcast team seemed convinced he would bunt. That's always a great use of a pinch hitter.

  92. Coldplay? Bottom of the 9th, 2 on, 1 out, a tied game and you're playing Coldplay over the PA?

  94. This is what Laddie is good at, right?
    BTW, who is this with Dazzle in the booth?
    Is that the Attebury y'all been praising?

  108. twins hold on for the win. let's hope dallas can do the same.

    this is now a DAL-MIA thread.

      2. I flipped over in time to see the Heat take "Their first lead of the second half". I'll turn it off now...

  109. CJ is fated to never get a decision or a save/blown save, but to keep his batters hitting .000. (Hyper-performing version of Guerrier Syndrome, it makes me think Guerrier had a mild case of Chuck James Syndrome.)

    That's why Gardy put in Hoey: he didn't want extras, but a W or L in regulation.

  110. Astros on their way to losing to the Cards, putting them a half game ahead of the Twins for the 2012 #1 pick.

  119. For a while there, I thought that Miami might get this one, but the Mavs did not give up. This series is off the charts.

    1. Yeah, I want to thank everyone for making me feel like I wanted to trade for Delmon.

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