2012 Twins Game Log

2012 Game 115: Panthera Tigris v. Gemini

207 Comments

First Pitch - 7:10 p.m.
Television - FSN
Lineups

No, we don't really have the Tigers by the tail, we're 11.5 games behind them in the standings and from here you can't even see their tail, although you can catch a faint whiff of what's directly beneath it. The Detroit Tigers have been disappointing their fans lately by struggling to gain ground on the division leader, losing four of their last ten games. The Twins, on other hand, have been adding glory to their franchise history by proving triumphant in five of their most recent ten contests and remain poised to surpass both the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians before the season draws to a close.

With this season well on the downhill side, the non-waiver trade deadline in the rearview and a few weeks to go before September call-ups, there's not much for Twins fans to get excited about except playing spoiler, the face-crushing demotion of Nishi, and the glorious return to the lineup of Trevor Plouffe!. Even the chance to play spoiler to the contending Tigers is tempered by the realization that beating them does nothing except improve the chances of the White Sox winning the division. Boo dat.

On The Hill:
Anibal Sanchez - Who cares about his stats, he's named Anibal. This guy is one vowel substitution away from losing a testicle.
Samuel Deduno - His middle name is Lake. I got nothing.

Neither of these pitchers has a record against their opponent, so who knows what to expect. But I would be pretty surprised to see an old-fashioned pitchers' duel tonight.

Play ball!

207 thoughts on “2012 Game 115: Panthera Tigris v. Gemini”

  1. Well every night you drag me where the bright lights are found
    There ain't no way to slow you down
    I'm about as helpless as a leaf in a gale
    And it looks like I've got a tiger by the tail

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeOddejiGw

      2. i don't remember where i heard this, but it always rings true: [paraphrased] "for every obnoxiously beautiful woman there is, there's a man that's sick of her."

  4. Refrain from hitting anyone on 9/30:
    Before their game against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 30, the Marlins presented Sánchez with the pitching rubber and home plate used in his no-hitter. The Miami-Dade County Office of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners officially named September 30, 2006, Aníbal Sánchez Day.

  5. The Twins have yet to win a game since they took Nishioka out of the starting lineup. Just saying.

  7. One of my good friends out here is named Anibal (uh-KNEE-bull). So I got that going for me.

  9. I guess walks won't hurt you if they don't get any hits. I'm not sure that's a sustainable plan, though.

      1. this movie is awesome. among soooo many highlights: gregory hines. "and that's the ethiopian... shim-sham!"

          1. if the phrase "count the money" ever comes up in everyday life, i'm sure to respond, "de monet, de monet..."

      1. Just when you thought our farms system couldn't get worse. Next thing you know, they'll be trading Slama to the Twins!

  20. My coworker is generally pretty level-headed as a Twins fan (if not particularly sabermetrically inclined), but he loves Sam Deduno, because of his ERA, and won't be convinced otherwise.

    He thnks we should wrap him up for the next 3 years. I don't know if I could watch three years' worth of Deduno starts.

      4. 3 years of Duderino, because of the name.
        Also, hey, walks are better than extra-base hits, right?

    3. Deduno is 29 and has averaged 5.1 walks per nine innings in the minors. I'm not saying he can't improve, but it seems doubtful that he's going to magically learn to throw strikes.

      1. Randy Johnson averaged 6.5 walks per nine in the minors and he turned out OK. Just sayin.

        1. Yeah, Randy Johnson, he of the 100 fastball and 90 MPH slider seems like a perfect comp for Deduno.

  22. Seems like everything we've hit has been in the air or right up the middle. So that's a good sign, anyway.

        1. I found my old Walkman, too. But its an mp3 player and I didn't even really lose it, just put it away a couple months ago when I got an iPod. Still weird, though.

  33. Well, we got on the board. What are the chances of Deduno walking four in a row to give the run back?

    1. One of these days he'll have a 12 BB inning and his ERA will be right about where you'd expect it to be.

  56. The Maestro does it again, then shows off his baserunning skillz.

    Good night, all! Take it home.

  58. this Mastroianni guy seems to be a spark plug. Something exciting seems to happen when he is in the game.

      2. I'm not sure that's a bad idea. I know they've at the very least put him at second in garbage time once, so what would it hurt to give it a try? Our second basemen have been quite bad over the course of the year. We tried Nishi, and it didn't stop the bleeding. Maybe Mastroianni could help?

        1. Dustin Ackley. Eddie Rosario as well. Assuming not sarcastic. Once I got to the second name, realized might be. I couldn't resist the stats though.

              1. Now that is a very rare move. Though, I'm sure it happens more in the minors, it is very rare in the majors.

      4. After watching the Rays pencil in whoever the hell they wanted to at SS and 2B last series, I'd say Maestro would do fine at 2B.

    2. Guys don't foul off any of his pitches. They either get a hit, walk or strikeout.

      Plus, Delmon.

    1. He'll come in tomorrow crowing about how they need to lock him down "he's a good #3 starter", he'll say.

      Better than guys at golf complaining about how much Mauer sucks because he doesn't uno.

      1. That Fidrych* kid managed it for 250 innings, so Deduno is good for a little bit still, right?

        * He admittedly was at the Blackburn end of the scale.

  62. Just got back from my bike ride. Thirty minutes and just shy of six miles. I've got a lot of work to do, but I am starting to build up some butt calluses.

        1. Wrong thread. Anyway, before Doumit interrupted me, I was typing that I'm about half a mile from Elm Creek Park, and the full bike trail circuit there is 17 miles. My goal is to do the full circuit in an hour before the snow flies. After that it's treadmill and stationary bike, though I would like to try cross country skiing this year.

    1. this has nothing to do with CT, but i had a friend that was pissed about the thome signing, comparing it to rondell white, batista, et al. he quickly conceded i was correct.

      1. Not really. He was bad for about a month. He's had at least an .800 OPS every month since April. I wouldn't really worry much about one bad month for a guy with a solid track record who shouldn't be at decline age yet, even if it's at the start of the season (that is, I wouldn't worry until one bad month turns into two or three).

        1. Well, it made me nervous, but early in the season I also thought Plouffe! might never be a major league hitter.

          2. So many balls hit right to the fence, you'd think he'd be able to get a few over, or hit them to shorter parts of parks.
            Of course, what the hell do I know? I still think Robertson could be something.

  78. Before tuning into the game Mrs. Buffalo and I watched a Chopped Grill Masters from last night. One of the ingredients? This. All chefs who used it remarked that it was the worst thing they ever tasted.

      1. Yeah, the food network doesn't have the best track record when it comes to their chefs and beer.

          1. I'm just sayin, those chefs obviously hadn't been to the Buffalo Brewpub. Their scoe is narrow.

  87. fascinating historical tidbit today from the National Baseball Hall of Fans on teh Bookface

    Today in baseball history - August 13th 1947 -At Sportsman's Park, pinch-hitter Willard Brown of the Browns becomes the first black player to hit a home run in the American League. The historic homer, a pinch-hit inside-the-parker off future Hall of Fame hurler Hal Newhouser, helps the Browns beat the Tigers, 6 - 5.

  88. Deduno dedid it again! He's challenging Scott Diamond for rookie of the year! We're still on track for 97-65!

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