This.
I was feeling lonely last night, having been away from home for seven days and counting. I miss my wife and daughter. Wednesday is getaway day and I'll be home by Wednesday at 8 PM for six straight days. But, last night, I was tired and lonely. Sure, Mom and Dad are around and that's terrific, but I needed to get home.
Dad and I settled in down the basement to watch the game on his flat screen. I like watching the game down there... it's cozy, Dad's TV is nice and the lighting is soft: a very good viewing atmosphere.
Somewhere in the middle innings, I dozed off. I woke up in the sixth and I said to Dad, "Has Liriano given up a hit yet?" "Nope." I saw the pitch count: 86 pitches. No way he makes it.
Then, inexplicably, the White Sox started helping out. Maybe Liriano was making pitches that they couldn't take or maybe the White Sox got jumpy, but the next six outs took just 15 pitches and it was clear that Liriano was going to get a shot at it. I talked to Dad about that game against the White Sox where Jacque Jones got the only hit for the Twins, a 1-0 victory that I had the good fortune of seeing in person. I thought about how much fun it would be to see my club get a no-no for the first time. I was driving through the Twin Cities on the morning of Eric Milton's no-no and I didn't see Scott Erickson's either. So, I was pretty excited about the prospect of seeing it. With Liriano cruising through the seventh and eighth, I was thinking he had plenty to get there.
The ninth was no picnic, though. Liriano looked like he was nervous. His first two pitches of the inning were breaking balls, badly thrown and out of the strike zone. I'm sure he was tired and nervous. That first ball to Tolbert was the kind of play that makes you realize why he's not a regular. He had plenty of time, but he hurried the throw. Luckily, there was a major leaguer over there to catch it. A little pop up for the second out and here comes Adam Dunn.
Dunn doesn't have a single hit against left handers this year. Not one. But, he's a big homerun hitter and thoughts of that Jones game flashed through my head: one hit and a win. One hit by Dunn here would equal a win. Liriano went to 3-0 on him and battled to a full count. Dunn fouled off a pitch and then hit a bullet right at Tolbert.
And there it was. In this frustrating season, with Liriano being so disappointing, there was nothing but happiness last night for Twins fans. I'm going home today, the Twins did it to the White Sox again, and all is right with the world.
Sorry to step on toes, but we need a recap for this one.
I looked at the pitch count at the same time, 86 pitches, and made an LTE that the Sox would have to help them out. Nice of them to oblige.
Beyond Liriano's stretches of absolute dominance, he's been tied to a lot of favorite Twins moments in my (relatively) short time following the Twins really closely. In 2005, I remember hearing a game where he was pitching during his September callup, and he was the first prospect I really knew. So I've always really hoped for the best for him. Before he joined the rotation in 2006, I remember listening to a game on the radio as I headed to get lunch (I believe it was this one?) where Liriano struck out the side on 10 pitches. Gordon and Dazzle seemed mighty impressed and I was to.
Obviously he went on to start that summer, and had an insane run until his surgery. He's been shaky since the surgery, but I've always rooted a little extra hard for him. He was great last year, and I was so happy for that. I was also happy that during the first game I went to at Target Field, he threw a gem against the Red Sox.
I guess what I'm saying is that I am glad it is him. I hope this keeps him in the rotation for a while. I hope that lets him figure it out and have a good season. And I hope that he's a Twin for a long time to come.
My favorite start of his prior to the no-no was when he stole the show from Clemens' uber-hyped return to baseball.
Ah, here we are. I love re-living this one.
Yes, that was the one that came to mind to me, too.
I remember flying into Cleveland for an interview, finding out my car had XM radio and immediately flipping it to this game. Pretty cool to listen to the rest of it on my way to the hotel.
Was Liriano one pitch from being pulled with a no-hitter still intact? He fell behind Dunn. If he walked him to bring up Konerko with the winning run on base after throwing 123 pitches, does Gardy go to Capps? If he's truly thinking of getting the win, I would think so. Konerko and Quentin both coming up and the two have been the White Sox's best hitters so far by far. I have no doubt that if Dunn's liner had been a single, Liriano would have been pulled immediately. But would Gardy had allowed him to go for history with the game, and an end to a bad losing streak, on the line? I hope not. The Twins needed a win more than they needed Liriano to get a no-hitter without help. They really needed both, so I'm thrilled it didn't come down to that.
Winning run was already on base; it'd be in scoring position of Dunn walks.
Not true. Only one runner was on base.
There's that darn math again.
For a guy who seemingly has confidence issues on the mound, I think I'd rather see Gardy leave him out there for Konerko. Even though they've been putrid through April, I think I'd risk a loss (and a lost no-no) for the chance to show Liriano that he has Gardy's support. Especially after being on the chopping block and then throwing 8.2 innings of no-hit ball...it'd be his game to lose.
It very well could be that we lose the game on a hit by either of the next two batters. On the other hand, how huge would it have been for F-Bomb to walk Dunn then get Konerko out? I don't think one more loss means GOSO for this team, but a confidence boost to it's most physically talented but "poise-challenged" (is that even a phrase?) pitcher could mean big things.
Or, the team could have felt that the win was more important than the No-no...I'm just glad it didn't come to that.
Just found out that one of my buddies from up here was at the game last night. Lucky.
My best friend went to her first Twins game after she moved to Chicago last summer.