All posts by Daneekas Ghost

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 57 Recap: Twins 8 Cubs 7 (10 innings)

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Denard Span could feel his brain swimming laps between his ears.

This whole game has been one big blur, people rising up out of the dizzying maelstrom of colors and sounds shouting that we were "coming back!". How many times do we have to come back in this one? It seemed like they had come back 3 or 4 times already, let's see there was the Doumit homer (ed. note - to give the Twins a 6-5 lead), the Plouffe homer (ed. note - to tie the game at 2), the time Babe the Blue Ox ran over the Cubs catcher while Jim Thome dressed as Paul Bunyan applauded from the third base coaches box (ed. note - ????), the time Mastrioanni hit a triple - wait, Mastrioanni hit a triple? this flu is seriously messing with my head (ed. note - Mastrioanni did indeed hit a triple, it scored Dozier and tied the game at 5), and now Morneau had tripled to score Willingham and Gardy is shouting something at me.

Liddle is next to me now. Suddenly I'm on the field. Third base, I think. Yes. I focus all my energy on the bright yellow dragon standing in the batters box (ed. note - Casilla, probably). I hear the crack of the bat and I just start running. It's only after I get back to the dugout that Joe explains to me that I was out by about 20 feet and looked kind of like a fool. Honestly, at this point I'm more focused on not passing out than whether the game is over or not.

Because of that focus it took me a while to realize that I might have to bat. I'm conscious enough to realize this is probably a bad idea as the pitcher's mound currently appears to be occupied by a particularly malevolent shade of purple to my eyes. Josh Willingham looks at me in the on-deck circle and asks if I'm feeling OK. I try to reassure him, but given his look of concern, I'm guessing I ended up speaking in tongues again. I hear him mutter "I had better just take care of this myself." As he walks up to the plate.

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 39 Recap: Twins 11 – Brewers 3

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MINNESOTA 11 -- MILWAUKEE 3
Twins Record: 13 - 26 (5th in the Central, 30th in MLB)
Highest WPA - Mauer (3 for 5, 2 2B, 3 RBI), Span (4 for 5, 3 R, 3 RBI), Bullpen (3.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 SO)
Fangraphs - MLB Recap

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The only thing more surprising than my little brother giving a speech at his high school graduation last night was seeing that the Twins won their third in a row while we celebrated his being named valedictorian.

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 32 Recap: Twins 7 – Blue Jays 6

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MINNESOTA 7 -- TORONTO 6
Twins Record: 9 - 23 (5th in the Central, 30th in MLB)
Highest WPA - Doumit (1 for 2, 2 BB, 2 RBI), Mastroianni (2 for 4, 3 RBI), Bullpen (4 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 SO)
NOTES - Twins hitters drew 9 walks, 5 of those runners scored.
Fangraphs - MLB Recap
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Rain delay pushed this one into a West-Coast game time-slot, and with Blackburn going against the homer-happy Jays lineup, you could be forgiven for turning in early. If you did, you will not be surprised to learn that the Jays hit 4 home-runs (Bautista with 2) that accounted for 5 of their 6 runs. But the Twins, armed with the ability to watch Kyle Drabek and Carlos Villanueva throw lots and lots of pitches (not many for strikes), would put across a bunch of runs without hitting any balls over the fence.

Ryan Doumit, who has been hitting well (last 3 weeks - .275/.350/.549), started things off with a 2-run single in the first to erase the 1-0 deficit resulting from Bautista's first homer. Then a nice mix of walks (Mauer, Doumit, Parmelee) and doubles (Span, Willingham) in the 5th broke the game open for the Twins as Darin Mastrioanni's first big-league hit came with the bases loaded to drive in two and cap the 4-run inning.

Blackburn did everything he could to give all those runs right back, giving up 3 runs without recording an out in the 6th, but got pulled with the score 6-5. Both teams would add a run in the end to get us to the final score, with Capps pitching a scoreless ninth to earn a save.

The HR that Perkins allowed to Encarnacion was only the second time all season that a Twins reliever has allowed a run in a Friday game (3 runs allowed in 16 innings on Friday this season - 1.69 bullpen ERA). If one were only paying close attention to the games that one had to recap on Friday nights, one might conclude the bullpen has been pretty good.

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 25 Recap: Twins 3 – Mariners 2

MINNESOTA 3 -- SEATTLE 2
Twins Record: 7 - 18 (2-9 since my last recap, oh boy)
Highest WPA - Mauer (1 for 3, 2 BB, RBI), Bullpen (3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 SO)
Fangraphs - MLB Recap

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Twins win!

Mariners bullpen revealed to be vastly inferior to Minnesota equivalent!

Recap posted much later than expected!

Joe Mauer drove in a key run!

We face King Felix tonight! (focus on the positive)

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 14 Recap: Twins 5 — Rays 4

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MINNESOTA 5 -- TAMPA BAY 4
Twins Record: 5- 9
Lowest WPA - Hendriks (5.2 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 2 BB, SO)
Highest WPA - Willingham (1 for 4, 2B, BB, 3 RBI), Carroll (2 for 3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2B), Bullpen (3.1 IP, O H, 1 BB, 2 SO)
Fangraphs - MLB Recap

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Denard Span and Jamey Carroll were on base 6 times in this one (1 double, 3 singles, 2 walks in 10 PA) and scored 4 runs. Joe Mauer could have driven in all 5 runs, but left the bases loaded for Willingham in the 7th because Josh is new to the team and wants to feel like he's contributing. AmenableBacon extended his hitting streak to 14 games, and continues to lead the team in quite a few offensive categories (BA/OBP/SLG/HR/RBI/2B/R/TB/HBP).

The bullpen was stellar getting 13 outs in 14 batters, including Matt Capps retiring Longoria, Scott, and Joyce in order in the ninth. Fun fact: Coming into the 9th, those three hitters hit a homerun every 15.9 PA against the Twins, compared to every 22.7 PA against all other teams. That includes the homeruns by Joyce and Longoria earlier in this game.

The Twins April schedule has been pretty tough, but since being steamrolled by the Orioles, the Twins are 5-6 against LA, Tex, NY, and TB.

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 7 Recap: Rangers 4 — Twins 1

MINNESOTA 1 -- TEXAS 4
Twins Record: 2-5
Lowest WPA - Swarzak (7 IP, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 SO), Mauer (1 for 4, SO, GIDP)
Highest WPA - Willingham (1 for 2, R, BB, HBP)
Fangraphs - MLB Recap

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The Twins made some solid contact in the first few innings, but Texas made some sparkling defensive plays to keep the damage to a Danny Valencia sac fly in the second. 1-0 Twins for the first time all season. But would it be enough?

It would not. Swarzak put up another perfectly reasonable start, the big Texas inning was one where the Twins needed a sparkling defensive play or two. Instead the first 5 Rangers reached (4 singles and an error) resulting in 3 runs. Minnesota would get a few guys on base over the course of the game but never get the big hit to bring the game back within reach.

There are plenty of people who will say Texas is better than the Twins. Tonight the Rangers got a little bit more pitching, a little bit more hitting, and a little bit more defense. That was enough to make this a not terribly exciting end to the Twins longest winning streak of the year.

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 1 Recap: O’s 4 – Twins 2

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MINNESOTA 2 -- BALTIMORE 4
Lowest WPA - Pavano (7 IP, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 SO), Doumit (0 for 4), and Plouffe (0 for 1)
Highest WPA - Span (2 for 4)
Fangraphs - MLB Recap

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Ron Gardenhire turned to Rick Anderson and asked, "Is Duensing ready?" Anderson frowned and picked up the bullpen phone, speaking only a couple of words. After hanging up the phone, he returned to Gardenhire's side. "Ronald, he's ready, but I have to seriously question why we would use him in this situation."

"This is the perfect time to use him, late in the game, score's tied, Adam Jones is a dangerous hitter coming up."

Anderson blinked in confusion, "Tie game? Ronathan, it's not a tie game. And Adam Jones is right-handed, wouldn't you rather have Duensing come in to face Markakis for the lefty-lefty matchup?"

"Who?"

"Nick Markakis, the right-fielder."

"What are you talking about? Look, it's 0-0 in the eighth inning and I don't have time to do some ridiculous comedy routine with you and your made up ballplayers. We had a bad year last season, and I want to start this off right."

"Made up..? 0-0..? Wait, what do you think happened in the first inning?"

"We walked Hardy, then Pavano got a groundball or two and we got out of the inning. Pavano looked pretty good today, nice to see all those groundballs turning into outs isn't it? Just the one Hardy single on a groundball, but then he got Jones and Wieters and got out of it."

"Rontell, I think we need--"

"No time, got to make the pitching change now. Back in a second. And Rick? We don't need our bullpen walking people, talk to this Gray kid when he comes in, will you?"

Gardy made his way to the mound, and Scott Ullger made his way off the bench to join Anderson at the rail. "What was that about?"

"I think Ronwin has completely blocked Nick Markakis from his memory. He doesn't remember the 2-run homer in the first, or the RBI triple in the sixth, and I bet if we ask him, he won't remember Markakis' lead-off walk leading to a run in the fourth either. What are we going to do?"

"Send him home" Ullger said.

"I'm worried he wouldn't be safe there"

Ullger stared blankly, "Why would that matter?"

"Memory loss could be the sign of any number of serious problems. No, I think we should keep him here and try to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't forget anyone else in this game."

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To this day Ron Gardenhire believes that Josh Willingham's ninth inning donger won the 2012 season opener for the Twins, Rick Anderson has never corrected him, he figured it was a long season, it's probably best not to get too caught up in one result.

NHL

Weekly Wild Whangdoodle – Games 1-3

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Another season has kicked off for the Wild, with quite a few new faces.  A quick rundown of those who migrated to the State of Hockey to begin the 2011-2012 NHL season.

Dany Heatley - Traded to the Wild from San Jose for Martin Havlat as the search for Marian Gaborik's heir continues.  Heatley has the potential to pot quite a few goals and he can be a power-play wizard.  The question is whether he will get enough chances to make the difference that a top-notch goal scorer can.

Devin Setoguchi - Traded to Minnesota from San Jose on draft day as part of a big deal that sent Brent Burns to the Sharks.  He's averaged 24 goals/year the last 3 seasons, and the hope is that his pairing with Koivu and Heatley will yield him plenty of opportunities to match or exceed those totals.

Brett Bulmer - Made the jump from Canadian Juniors straight to the opening day NHL roster.  He was a 2nd round pick of the Wild's in 2010, and he's only 19.  More of an energy guy than a goal scorer, and I'd expect him to spend some time in Houston this year, but it's a fun story that he made the team.

Nick Johnson - Spent last year with the Pittsburgh AHL affiliate before coming to the Wild.  Nothing special, but could be a role-player.

Darrell Powe - Traded to Minnesota from Philadelphia for a 3rd round pick (2013).  Checking-line winger, adjusted plus/minus and Corsi don't think much of him, but I haven't seen enough to really say anything.

Contrast those additions with the loss of Mittens, Brunette, Burns, Havlat and Madden.  The biggest impact on the offensive side might end up being a healthy Bouchard and Latendresse.  If those guys are healthy and productive, I think this team could be somewhere around a league average offense, which would be a nice change.

Defensively, they are about the same, although they lose the puck-moving of Brent Burns, they look to Marco Scandella and some younger guys to provide that.   They should be alright but nothing spectacular in that respect.

So average offense, and a passable defense, does that spell playoffs?  It's within the realm of possibility, but I think things need to break right (no injuries, some breakout seasons, etc.).

Continue reading Weekly Wild Whangdoodle – Games 1-3 →