2012 Twins Game Log

2012 Game 134: Royals at Twins

100 Comments

The Twins come into this one now boasting a winning record in the all-powerful AL Central. They won two yesterday - can they do me the courtesy of one win today?

Esmerling Vasquez gets the start - the first in his career - for the hometown nine. Luis Mendoza, also known as "Meh," goes for the Royals in a game that nobody outside of this site cares about.

The Royals were 17-11 in August. Did you know? I did! Well, as of a few moments ago. Well, good for them. Every time I get down about how bad the Twins are, I think of franchises with prolonged streaks of futility that the 1993-2000 Twins only wish they could match.

100 thoughts on “2012 Game 134: Royals at Twins”

  1. Despite this being Vasquez's first start, it's his 142nd game in the majors.
    In those 141 games, he pitched 137 innings and faced 610 batters. ERA of 4.66, WHIP of 1.5, ERA+ of 92, Opponents have batted .244/.358/.375/.733 against him.

    This is his longest outing to date in the majors: 2.2 IP, 0R, but he did allow all three inherited runners to score. Overall, he let 22 of 69 inherited runners to score.

      1. 22 of 69 doesn't sound that bad. Less than one out of three.
        Don't know what ML average is. There should be a better way of valuing that, because keeping a runner at first with two outs from scoring is worth a lot less than preventing a runner at third with no outs from scoring. Like actual inherited runners divided by expected runs from inherited runners. Something like that.

        1. I've thought before that the previous pitcher should be responsible for the expected number of runs when he is replaced. Any extra runs would then be alloted to the new reliever.

          With a runner on first with two outs, less than 0.5 runs are expected to score, so that extra amount would be assigned to the new reliever.

            1. No, it would just work as it is now. I would be open to considering negative runs, but need to think about how it would affect their A(ssinged)RA.

      2. And: Vasquez gets the loss because Robertson allowed an inherited runner to score.
        Somewhere Leo Rosales is smiling.

    1. I get the joak, but I still think Chrissy Chrissy Parm Parm is the best TV related reference for him.

  5. I've just decided I'd rather play video games than watch Vasquez pitch. I'll catch up with you guys later.

  7. Two more outs and he matches his MLB best! At 33 pitches so far, I think he's got it in him.

    Not listening to the radio, is Walters warming up yet?

  8. Looking for minor-league stats, I came across the Red Wings leader board.
    Nishioka is fourth in Slugging!

    Spoiler SelectShow

      1. Let that be warning to everyone else:
        If you think an egg might be rotten, best not to crack the shell and confirm it.

  11. Beet update:
    I threw them back in the oven, turned it to 375F, and waited an hour (no preheat).
    Now in great shape. The skins (which I thoroughly scrubbed) were very black, but not burnt. Some suggest you toss them. I suggest you eat them because they're delicious and give a bit of smoky depth. (Not quite smoky, carbony? But not strongly so. Some parts were a bit crispy/crunchy.)

    So, 375F for 150 minutes was definitely enough.

      2. Incorrect. Roasted beers are delish. But I would do them at more like 425 or 450.

        But what I really like is beet greens. Yumm.

  13. I think maybe the way to view these games is like they were an early start for next year's spring training. We root for the guys to do well, but we don't really worry too much about the final score, because it really doesn't matter all that much anyway.

        1. Back in reality, Twins Elimination number is 13, and 14 for the Tigers to be ahead of Twins. But, with 5 games left, the best outcome for the Twins to win the division is that the Tigers win 3 of their remaining 5 games against the Sox, which means the Twins real elimination number is 11.

          1. Furthermore, the Twins E# for the second WC is 12, but with the O's playing the second-place for second wild-card Rays three more times, and the Rays one game behind, but tied with the O's in wins, (for another few minutes), one is guaranteed at least two wins, so the Twins real E# for the Wild Card is 10.

  19. Royals have a pitcher named "Francisley"? That's a new one to me.
    In case you were wondering, yep, he's Cuban.
    (Same island nation that gave us Yuniesky, Yuliesky, Aroldis, Yoenis, Yunel, and Yasmani)

    1. Yeah, he struck out 35% of the first 33 batters he faced, but since then it's only been 18% of the next 49.
      My enthusiasm about the strikeouts is diminishing as well.

  23. Royals PBP: "In looking through Indians history, I realized I had forgotten that CC Sabathia was ever with them."

    I'm not really cutting on the PBP guy here. East coast infatuation by the MSM really makes it seem like CC's a New York lifer.

      1. yeah. Whenever folk trivialize sabrmetrics, they always pick on the non-SABR he's x-for-his-last-y against so-and-so that scouts use.

      2. There's no way Dazzle will ever come around on that. It's not that he's stupid - I mean, he seems to be but I don't think that's why - it's that he would be panned as a player today with the use of advanced stats.

        I love effort. I'm really a huge fan of effort. But Dazzle and others like him seem to truly believe that a player who plays hard is automatically good.

        2. What made it funnier is that he applauded Gardy for "using his gut" to leave Burnett in the game. He no sooner had the words out of his mouth than the next batter hit an RBI single.

  27. I am prepping up a couple of dozen Jucy Lucies for a labor day party tomorrow. These folks aren't going to know what hit 'em. Actually, they probably will as scalding cheese is pretty identifiable.

    1. The Red Wing's season leader in BA, Hits, HR, RBI, and SLG. He's second behind Parmelee in HR.

      Spoiler SelectShow

      1. Meat's been busy with the move to NOLA and the two-hour commutes and the hurricanes. You must admit that Carson's name and heroics have been nondescript.

  29. With the Os now just 2 GB the Yankmes, and the Rays 1.5 GB them, can I dream of a postseason without any Boston, NY, Philly, or LA teams?

      1. Twins host the Yankmes for three games at the end of September. I would love those games to be decisive in their elimination.

    2. Dunce and Fien
      Should have been warming him up before the prior inning was over, like when Burnett was warming up.

      1. I think that was his social security number.
        Dazz: Burnett has a sub-3 ERA but he stinks. This is why people look for better numbers, because how good can things like ERA be if Burnett can suck so much and still have a low ERA?

        1. That's what's so interesting about people like Dazzle. He's not opposed to "numbers", per se. He's quite happy to quote numbers if they support what he already thinks. What he's opposed to is numbers that might tell him something he doesn't know.

  36. Does anyone track which batters were the last out for their team (in games where the other team doesn't walk-off)? Ben Revere must have a ton.

  39. Well, it was a good game. Things just didn't go the Twins' way. It happens sometimes. We'll just have to settle for 83-79!

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