2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 90: Royals at Twins

206 Comments

The "second half" gets underway tonight in the best way possible, save for maybe the Hosers coming to town. Tonight, the Royals visit a team that's gotten some much-needed rest, as they've faced a total of one pitch since Sunday.

Bruce Chen 5-2, 60.2 IP, 3.26 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 4.37 xFIP, 0.7 WAR
Francisco Liriano 5-7, 83.2 IP, 5.06 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 4.26 xFIP, 0.6 WAR

You know, I expected Chen's basic numbers to look better than Liriano's, but even the advanced stats? Well, huh.

Chen's year has been a success (in Royals terms) mostly because his walks are way down and his homers are down. Standing in his way, though, is the fact that he is Bruce Chen and is a thoroughly mediocre-at-best starter. Still, he's a lefty, so...

Liriano, meanwhile, has crummy K/BB stats on the season, but they've been stumbling toward respectability since his pitch-to-contact nonsense. I'm predicting, not so New Guy-ally, I don't think, that he gets the "second half" started with a bang, leading to the Twins finishing no worse than .500.

So let's get healthy at long last and do this thing, eh?

206 thoughts on “2011 Game 90: Royals at Twins”

    1. Just this game or MLB.tv in general? I'm having no problem watching the Yankee-Jays game.

      1. MLB.tv in general. No worries...my wife stopped commandeering the PS3, so I've got it up there. I can't get it going on the laptop, though.

        1. Oh, I'm watching on my Roku, not the laptop. It's a mediocre experience on Linux to begin with, so I usually don't bother.

          1. My laptop usually gives me pretty decent picture, and in general, doesn't lag occasionally like I get on the PS3.

            So, whatever problem this is, I hope it's temporary.

  2. Man, I get games for a few days right when Bert gets back? Might have to look for the Royals feed.

    1. And then Bert goes ahead and makes a good point about Liriano's approach against Hosmer.

  5. I have the Royals here on FSN KC. BUt for some reason the HD feed isn't working, so I'm watching in standard def. No worries, at least it's the Twins.

    Also, I got a text from Mom that said she's in Row 12 right behind the Twins' dugout. I'm not sure how she got them.

  9. I really hope F-Bomb can start throwing strikes with his fastball sometime tonight.

  13. dick with the massive understatement that in a four-game series, with him as crew chief, cowboy joe west will be very visible.

    1. I'm cautious about that unless the Twin's face a junkballer like Bruce Chen every game. He throws slow enough that _elm_n's slow-ass bat has time to hit the ball.

      1. Didn't Ubes to a write up on how elm'n hits fastball pitchers well but stinks against junk ballers on the old site?

  21. bert on butler: "he's willing to hit home runs."

    well that's awful sporting of him.

    1. The official word on Ichiro in Washington was that "He can hit home runs, but he doesn't because that isn't his game." Um, if he can hit home runs and he elects not to, then he really isn't a team player, as all the racist rednecks in Washington were more than happy to tag him.

      1. Cobb said the same thing about himself. We pretty much know he was all about, but it does seem like the value of the home run wasn't as realized back then.

  22. Harry Potter night. The daughters are dressing for the premiere, and Mrs. Twayn made dinner from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - breaded pork chops and roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary.

    1. Get some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!

      For me, it's water (ugh, Phoenix) and nothing else yet. I ate a ludicrous amount of pizza at noon.

        1. Ya gotta pick your spots.

          It seems like the greatest idea in the world, in a heat-induced delirium, to have a cool summer beer on a 111-degree afternoon, but it'll dry you out and knock you flat.

          2. You just need to get into the right rhythm. Something like a beer then a pint of water should be right.

              1. Just gotta be careful you don't drink enough ale to the point where you come to realize that beer is mostly water.

                1. You know, if you drink enough beer, eventually you will start sweating alcohol. Then that will have a cooling effect because it evaporates more easily than water.

    1. Are you going to be spending some time in the Cities? We should arrange a caucus or something.

      1. We'll be all over the state this trip, but I'm sure we can try to have a gathering of citizens.

    2. I made your chili+pork shoulder in the crock pot for dinner tonight. I don't think I did it just right - I used a can of red chilis in adobo sauce, not red chili sauce. Still turned out excellently.

      1. That's in my crockpot right now, smelling up my house. I'm having trouble restraining myself.

        1. I grabbed the wrong can. I saw "Red Chili" and stopped reading. Only later did I realized. So for more liquid I threw in some salsa.

  24. i don't think joe west doesn't move with the catcher cause he's stoic, more cause he's fat and lazy.

  29. Good to see that the offense came back from vacation. Oh, and Joe Mauer sucks. Move him to first base -- he's too tall to catch. That is all. I'm going home.

    1. That reminds me, I actually ran into Dan Barreiro at work today. He was getting off an elevator that I was getting onto. I would have said hello, but I'm pretty sure it would have come out of my mouth as a different word.

    1. I feel like I could handle that better than Bert's "Valencha".

      Come to think of it, they might be equally annoying.

      1. They're bad, if I remember correctly. I've been doing the opposite feeds for a couple of months now, but I went with the home feed today.

        1. I'm glad I decided to stick with DicknBert then. Now I've just got the volume way down so my wife can read.

  32. I give it about 1 more inning of this then it's back to "Breaking Bad" We just watched the season 3 episode where...

    Spoiler SelectShow

    Edit: My bad. I know I'm on season3, so I guess I assumed you guys did too.

  40. I'm trying to think of a good word for smashed that incorporates a Plouffe like sound. That was hit well.

    1. I did something at work one time and immediately said "oh, for dumb." and my co-worker looked at my sideways and said "Jesus, you are from Minnesota."

        1. I imagine you'll run into a person or two retired to 'Zona that knows what you're getting at.

          1. I don't expect to really meet anyone here before I'm off to LA in a week or two. I might have gotten stuck here longer if the Milkmaid hadn't nailed down this job, but that didn't happen.

              1. That's this coming Tuesday?

                Argh. Okay, maybe I will be there by then. At this point I'm just trying to finish my screenplay before I leave and I was hoping to wait for the Milkmaid to start drawing a paycheck, but I wouldn't want to miss a meeting with a Citizen.

                1. Yeah this coming Tuesday. But you certainly don't have to leave for LA away from your family on account of me.

      1. I thought about going back to look for it, but I figured you'd know what I meant if I just left it down here.

  45. Just cracked one of Dad's home brews. The smell isn't all that enticing. It's got pretty good carmel notes, but is a little watery(?) tasting. It's only his second batch ever, first of this type. And he's using a Mr. Beer kit, nothing fancy. All in all, not bad, but here's hoping for better next time.

    2. If he's digging it, you should direct him to the incredibly informing howtobrew.com

      1. He does seem to be enjoying it. Every/both times he's brought me some bottles you can tell he's very proud of it. When we talk on the phone, he'll update me on how the fermentation is going, etc. I'll pass it along. Thanks 'toy.

        1. As am I. Mixed up some Surly Furious last weekend. Waiting to see the yeast do the deed. Came home tonite to see a nice 2-2.5" foam in the carboy. All is well.

    1. They might want to get it to ten, as nine didn't seem to work out too well before.

    1. Heh. I thought I missed the context on that, but maybe there was no context.

        1. Mebbe biblical... Like Aaron or Moab or Meshek cast an icon of an herding ... sorry - doesn't work.

  49. Hmm, I just looked up Liriano's pitch count and for some reason was surprised he was just now getting up to 100 pitches today.

  51. Luke Hughes with the perfect bunt. I don't have the sound on but I'm guessing Dick has a new boyfriend.

    2. And then a HBP.

      Ankiel was on the Royals last year. What is the dormancy on Blass disease?

      1. that's the guy. I couldn't recall his name for some reason. Blass was a good pitcher at one time.

  57. royals baseball!

    who is this guy? who was that Royals' pitcher with the yips who couldn't throw the ball to the plate???

  59. Bert ridiculously calls the bases-loaded walk "the easiest RBI in the game," and right on cue, Casilla knocks one in in a much easier manner.

    1. I suppose a bases-loaded intentional walk is the easiest. Barry received one once.

    1. Have you ever seen the "Best name in the minors" tournament? I can't remember if MLB.com does it or what, but it's always good for few howls. I think Rubby De La Rosa was a fixture there before he made the majors, as were Teagarden and Bastardo.

          1. those can't be real. tuffy gosewisch? i swear that's stolen from a harry potter book.

          2. That's terrific, although I don't agree with the winner. I'd have gone with German Sacks myself.

            1. There are a lot that are better than the winner, and I like the winner just fine. It's ludicrous that all those people were in the minors at once.

              I also, of course, love that there's a "Razor Shines" bracket.

              2. My only other real complain is that double names (such as Jose Jose) should have been automaticaly not considered.

  65. The Royals must stink if this Mauer guy who can't stick and one position is getting hits off of him.

  69. Hey everyone -- nothing like showing up for Liriano's first 1-2-3 inning and then putting a 4-spot on the board.

    Way to take it to the Human Pez Dispenser.

  71. by the way, this is a great first twins game for Pete and i to watch together.

    1. Pete's been pretty calm so far, but he got fussy after both of neck fat's walks.

    1. Gordo says Crow didn't even dress for the ASG or get introduced. Well, I saw him there in uniform being introduced, just like some of those other malingerers who couldn't play (Verlander).

  77. Doo MAH tray one safety away from a SOC. Gett Capps warmed up, and one minute after that, get Perkins warmed up.

  78. Twins Win! Stupid Indians keeping the Twins from gaining games.

  79. Heh, I like the title of a "Coming up...." on the side bar: "Forever Young"

    HE'S ONLY 25!!!!!!!

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