2013 Twins Game Log

2013 Game 6: Twins at Orioles

268 Comments

So, the Twins are 3-2? I can't believe how foreign that feels, even this "late" in the season. Today, something called Pedro Hernandez, making his second career start (he gave up eight earned runs in four innings for the Hosers last year), will try to keep that going.

Jason Hammel goes for the Orioles, who strikes out his share and walks a few more than average. Last year looks to me like the best year of his career thus far, as he's nothing real special, but unspecial Orioles pitchers have a way of...well, you know.

Meanwhile, last night Tyler Robertson was sent to the minors while it appears that Swarzak is coming back to Minnesota, so get your nicknames ready, won't you?

268 thoughts on “2013 Game 6: Twins at Orioles”

  1. Sitting down with an Alaskan Black IPA, getting my ass kicked in chess against Beau, watching some Twins baseball. Sounds like a recipe for a good Sunday.

    1. Love Alaskan's stuff.

      I had a bottle of Long Trail's Double Bag alt last night and played a little Go, which I've just started learning. Would have streamed the game, but the local community radio station has a killer Saturday night lineup.

      1. I love most black ales, IPA or otherwise, but I'm a pretty big fan of this Alaskan version. Very tasty.

        Never played Go. Always intruiged me.

  3. From today's paper, by La Velle:

    AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels: He fell just short of the award last season, but he won’t be denied in 2013.

    He "fell just short" because of people like yourself. You said you were going to vote for him late in the season only to change your mind at the last second when Cabrera led the AL in three arbitrary stats.

    1. My dad (we'll call him a 'fledgling' stat guy, he likes the idea of FIP and has long considered batting average a weak stat) said he was absolutely incredulous when Cabrera won the MVP. He said "in fifteen years, people are going to look back on that and wonder what on earth they were thinking."

      1. I'm really curious to see what sportswriting looks like in another fifteen years. Guys like LEN3 will be edging into Murray Chass status, but I wonder about people like Gleeman, who were once on the cutting edge and have now moderated a bit, at least in terms of the stat profile they're comfortable with using for their analysis. This assuming that Gleeman doesn't leave NBC to launch a TMZ/Popoholic competitor.

        1. I think the stuff we'll see on the internet won't be too much more advanced than it is now. I think that there will be a lot of intense computer analysis that the teams themselves do which they won't share. I imagine it will lead to a lot more unorthodox fielding situations, similar to the shifts they do now, but perhaps even weirder. Stuff like putting 4 guys in the outfield might start to pop up more.

          1. The increase in proprietary data is really frustrating. We're getting to the point where it's hard for fans to get the data themselves and teams have little interest in releasing it in any form. I think it will lead to fewer people interested in baseball analysis, once again slowing the development of new insights.

            1. Also, the next person to discover a FIP-like breakthrough would likely learn from Voros' example and not just toss it out on the web for all to see.

            2. It's sort of hard to avoid and you can't blame the teams for not wanting to share. If you root for a team with a smaller payroll, you should hope for your team to do this. If all teams share the same information, it becomes difficult for the smaller teams to gain any sort of edge.

              1. I disagree. If a smaller team shares the information, then they can build off free research that would be better than what they would be able to afford.

  6. That Hardy kid is pretty good. It's too bad the Twins can't find any good shortstops

      1. Sure you can. An error occurs when a player "under ordinary effort" should have made the play. It's just as ridiculous as Escobar's "double" the other day.

          1. The only way to get an error at Target Field is to bobble a ball, drop it while trying to pick it up, and then finally pick it up and throw it into the stands.

            1. Was on the way back from a long bike ride over in Windsor, and tuned to the AM dial to see if could find a game.

              Found the guys in the Met's Peerless Boiler broadcast booth. O.K. guys, but they were handing out scores for other games going on. Of course I had to wait to listen to the NL stuff, then they gave out scores/color for EVERY OTHER game in the AL except ours. Natch.

  14. WASTE must be thanking his lucky cards that the team was so bad (and Torre so clueless) that he could be considered enough of a "Twins legend" to be featured in a commercial with World Champions like Gladden, Smalley, Senor Smoke, and Buck-Ninety.

    1. I just realized that when I see Cole De Vries, I think of his (nonexistant) LiveJournal. This makes me like him more, even though it's based on something that doesn't have anything to do with him.

      That being said, using words like "carnivalistic" will go a long way in adding to his likability.

      1. I like the squeakyness, almost carnivalistic texture of the cheese they use in poutine - and the mystery of the gravy (what's in there?).

  28. With that double-play, now it looks like Shortstack will be making his season debut in the fifth instead of the fourth.

  29. Sheenie and I were at that Morneau game (he absolutely smoked that ball - a grand slam). It was the series when Morneau was super awkward because Koskie was teasing him about Sheenie the whole time.

      1. It was detailed thoroughly on my old blog. Unfortunately, I think I let it vanish into the vapors of the interwebz forever.

      1. With him on a different team and Butters on the DL, I'll need to find somebody new to pick on. I'm thinking about Florimon.

          2. I actually feel a little bad for Hicks. It's not his fault he was rushed up here and things have gone about as poorly as they could to start off his career. Plus, he at least has long term upside.

            1. Exactly. Casilla, like Rivas before him, never had Hicks' potential, and from everything I've heard, Hicks sounds like he's much more likely to figure things out when he's slumping than either Laddie or 0-for-3-vas.

  34. Hicks is hitting below my age. But, the Twins are romantic and want to sell tickets, so he's here instead of in Rochester.

    1. I was never sold on dealing both Revere and Span and banking on Hicks. I hate it when my skepticism gets reinforced.

      1. Put Mastroianni out there for a while. He can hold the fort down until Hicks is ready. It's not like this is the year for winning anyway.

        1. Mastroianni has been hurt since before Opening Day and is unavailable to start until next weekend, though the Twins helpfully have let him appear in a couple games, trashing his DL-eligibility.

        2. I was okay with the Revere + Span trades knowing Mastoianni could hold his own and give Hicks some time; I'm not that thrilled with the current scenario

          1. Which is why you sign Reed Johnson or Rick Ankiel or Andres Torres as your insurance/4th OF until Hicks is ready in May or June or whenever.

            1. Or let Joe Benson try. Then when he struggles for a week, he can be sent back to AA again.

    2. And if he was batting .500, you'd be spouting about how it was just in a SSS.

  35. Dick'n'Bert rapidly transitioning into a "Maybe the rookie can find a way to not make an out" commentary that should have their fans chirping for Hicks to be sent back down.

    1. I love it when I run a race like a 5K/10K/Half where the people in front are walking and you have to parkour around them in the first half mile.

      1. The only 10K I ran had a great first 2M and last 1M, but in between women and children were passing me. I'll never actually walk in a race, though

        1. I love it when the youngsters pass me in mile 1 knowing that they will tire out and I will pass them in mile 4-5.

  40. FYI for anyone playing along with the "Guess Morneau's RBI total" Twitter game, the last time Morneau tallied even 80 RBI was in 2009. Of course, Dick did not provide a "70 or below" option.

      1. When I studied German I always wanted to write that I grew up on the "Mißißippi fluß," even though the language doesn't work that way.

        1. Re: D'land: NBBW was working in Germany (a whilst ago) - in the Russelheim computer lab they had some kind of a bottle of tape cleaner. The Deutscher word for the cleaner was so long that it went the entire circumference of the bottle (ended in 'Wasser').

  43. Aaron Harang got traded and DFA'd yesterday. I wonder if the Twins could make use of him in this year of waiting-for-next-year?

    Last season with the Doggers: 179 2/3, 131:85 K:BB, 4.14 FIP, 4.95 xFIP.

    1. I wouldn't mind having him on the roster, but I'm guessing the Rockies would ask for more in return than makes sense to give them for a guy like Harang.

  49. A lot of inside stuff. I don't think any of the Twins want to be the one to rush this guy though.

    1. for future use, a wgom.org original (somebody feel free to edit this pic and upload to th' .org)

      some rights reserved by wgom.org

  74. That's what we call a "Hicks base-on". They're exceedingly difficult to find.

  79. As much as I hate a twelve-man pitching staff, a thirteen-man pitching staff is the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

    1. OK, Bert corrects me immediately. A more ridiculous thing is expanding the roster because the manager's hands are tied by his limited bench.

  81. In response to the shallow bench/deep bullpen issue, when you figure that Drew Butera probably would be the 26th man on an expanded active roster, it makes it that much less compelling.

    1. Brian Duensing should not take out any loans thinking that he'll be making major league money for any length of time in the future.

      1. Naw. You have to play at least six games before you know if the guy is ready or not.

  94. Matusz wanted no part of the Hammer. I guess it makes sense with Morny up next and a lefty on the mound.

  98. jiminy. No respect for Morny. Dude has to get off the schneid against lefties if he wants to play for the Yankmes.

  104. Probably should stop sending them. What is that like 0-3 in stolen bases this series?

  105. Sox are tied with the Mariners 3-3 in the top of the 8th. It's tight and tense on top of the AL Central.

  108. It's a good thing Jones runs like he's jogging in the park. That could've been bad.

  111. I may have to take that $8 ticket deal for next Monday's game. If the Twins keep playing like this the bandwagon's going to fill up fast.

    1. Yeah that was confusing. They should've known by the swing that it wouldn't have been a HBP.

  119. If Casilla makes the last out of this ballgame, it's the only sure way to break the "Curse of the Casilla".

  127. A day game, huh? Thought it was a night game, so I spent the afternoon picking up dog poo. Ah well, at least its gorgeous outside.

        1. Heh - I did almost the same thing during the morning, but then was fortunate to be in the car for most of the afternoon. Took the poop-producers to my parents house so we the house can be pooch free while on the market.

          1. Our dog definitely produced more in the last offseason than I remember from years past. It must be a contract year.

  132. Hey, that was EZ. Top of the AL Central with the Sox hitting and tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth.

    1. They're wearing their 80s uniforms; Ramirez just got to first on a strikeout; and somebody named Capps is pitching to them. It's an ugly scene.

  133. Fun fact: The Twins are undefeated in games that aren't the first game of a series.

  140. I thought today would be a good time to point out that the Twins currently have the best record in the American League.

  141. Twins currently on pace to win 108 games, which would be a 42-game improvement and shatter the team record for most improvement in one season, which would be a 23-game improvement from 1964 to 1965 (Twins history only). If the Twins win 90 games, that would be a 24-game improvement.

  142. Even the guys we pull up from the minors are awesome! Hernandez! Swarzak! We're still on track for 160-2!

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