All posts by TexasTwinsfan

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 51: LAAAAAAA at Twins

102 Comments

Dan Haren vs. Pavano.

Of the 53 pitchers in the AL that qualified for the ERA title, Pavano is dead last with a 75 (through Friday's games). Haren is sixth in the AL at 174, so this could very well be a worse matchup than Saturday's game. Of course, the Twins won that game.

But who cares? Chuck James is here!!! OK, I doubt he'll be anything close to dominant, but his numbers certainly warrant him being called up before this. Who knows, maybe he can get the save. Matt Capps was battling a sore arm and pitched last night, so who knows about his availability in a day game after a night game. Also, no Jim Thome most likely as he was expected to get a cortisone shot in his shoulder last night. But I hear Jim Hoey is available!!

So, once again the Twins have an opportunity to win a three-game series for the first time this season. They can't lose them all, can they?

The good news is the Twins are now .500 against the AL West (6-6). Of course, that means they are 11-27 against everyone else.

They're due, right? Go, TWINS!!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 50: Twins 1, Angels 0

Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in!

In all seriousness, this is why I love this sport. Moments like these. This is a historically bad baseball team right now and yet we still will have great memories from this season. You have Sizzlepop's amazing spot start that ends with a walkoff win Saturday night and then Francisco Liriano's no-hitter. Plus ... hmm ... well, that's all I can think of at the moment, but you get the idea.

What really made Saturday fun was Snapcracklepop seems like a guy that is really easy to root for. Pitchers are really taught to not show any emotion on the mound, but Swivelhips let it show through on occasion and you could really feel for him. You could tell he knew he got away with a bad pitch to the FOTF when he jerked his head around to see where it went (easy catch to Span) and then he let out a big sigh of relief when Cuddyer caught a ball on the warning track. He even showed a little frustration when the no-hitter was broken up on a hanging breaking ball. I feel for you, Slamdance!

I think it was fitting that he was filling in for Liriano, who had his no-hitter earlier this month. The Twins  now have four extra-inning wins and Danny Valencia has walk-off hits in two of them. He also had a go-ahead RBI hit in an extra-inning game, but the bullpen blew it (shocking, I know). Valencia is quickly becoming one of my favorite Twins, probably because Gardy seems to love to bag on him plus he's exceeded my original expectations for the most part. Plus, he's active on Twitter making himself more accessible to fans.

It was pretty ingenious of the Twins to figure out a way to win without forcing the bullpen to protect a lead. The bullpen has lost the last four games it has been given a lead to protect. The last Twins win before this one was Nick Blackburn's complete game.

But, for a night, it was fun to forget all about that and enjoy a well-played game and an exciting win.

Minnesota Twins, MLB

Kevin’s Saga

4 Comments

Kevin grabbed his Treat Ticket from Ronnie, the Team Mom, and ran with his Little League teammates toward the snack bar. He already knew what he was going to get. It was what he always got and what he loved: a Twix bar.

Kevin got in line behind some of his teammates and peered in the snack bar. Twix is a popular item at the snack bar, and he could see that only a few were left. He counted five in the box on the shelf and then looked to see how many were in front of him in line.

Carl was first in line. He was the oldest player on the team and always got in line first. Frankie was next. He was big and fast, so he usually wound up near the front of the line.

Then came Nicky. He was slow and uncoordinated, but he was Ronnie's favorite and could usually sweet talk his way to getting his Treat Ticket first.

Finally, it was Scott, Kevin's closest friend on the team. The two of them had played on the same team together several times. Scott was a little older and a little faster and could usually stay ahead of Kevin, but he didn't mind. Today, Kevin was just happy to know that there was just enough Twix to guarantee him his favorite treat.

Kevin finally got to the front of the line and saw that there was exactly one Twix left. He ordered his favorite treat and held it triumphantly as he started to look for his mom.

Brian also was in line, just behind Kevin. Brian was a little younger and a little slower than Kevin, but he was Ronnie's son, which provided him with extra privileges. Brian also wanted a Twix bar and ordered one at the snack bar. He was disappointed to find out none were available, but he told the lady at the snack bar, "OK. Give me a Mr. Goodbar, then."

Ronnie was with Brian and saw that Kevin had taken the last Twix. She marched over to Kevin and snatched it from him and gave Kevin the Mr. Goodbar.

"That's mine!" Kevin said.

"Not anymore, it's not," Ronnie retorted.

"It's OK. He can have the Twix. I like Mr. Goodbar, too," Brian said.

"No son of mine is going without a Twix!" Ronnie said.

"But it was mine first and he said he's fine with it!" Kevin pleaded.

"You're lucky you get any candy at all," Ronnie said. "This is why nobody likes you!"

Ronnie stormed off with Brian in tow. Kevin looked down at the Mr. Goodbar. He had a taste of one before, and it was fine. But it wasn't a Twix. He opened the wrapper and took a small bite. A peanut made his tooth hurt and the chocolate turned bitter in his mouth after the anticipation of that sweet Twix bar. He tossed the Mr. Goodbar in the nearest trash can and looked for his mom.

Kevin told his mom what happened.

"Don't worry about it Kevin," his mom said as they pulled out of the parking lot. "There are plenty of stores that sell Twix. We'll go get you one. Maybe even a giant size bar."

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 46: Twins at Diamondbacks

151 Comments

The Twins narrowly averted another tragedy late Saturday night when Hall of Fame inductee Bert Blyleven was hit in the head by a baseball thrown by Scott Baker but not seriously hurt. The motive behind the throw was not entirely clear, but Baker was heard to yell "Is that enough attitude for ya?" after the throw.

The baseball glanced off the top of Blyleven's head and knocked him to the ground. He did not lose consciousness and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. An emergency room physician was concerned that Blyleven was showing signs of a serious concussion before fellow television announcer Dick Bremer told the doctor, "No, that's the way he always talks." The doctor immediately admitted Blyleven into the hospital for observation and referred him to a specialist in dementia.

Baker was demoted to Triple-A Rochester immediately after the incident. The Twins did not say whether the demotion was a punishment for the incident or if the incident was just the last straw in their disappointment in Baker's inability to get the ball down.

The incident was just another bad moment in a season full of them for the Twins. However, they finally seem to have found their offense despite the absence of Joe Mauer and Jim Thome and have an opportunity to salvage a winning road trip with a victory today.

The Twins will send Francisco Liriano to the mound. He pitched the Twins to a 2-1 victory in his last start that ended a nine-game losing streak and will probably be asked to go as deep as possible in this one. The Diamondbacks will be sending former White Sox prospect Daniel Hudson, who has won four of his last five starts after losing his first four.

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 45: Diamondbacks 9, Twins 6

21 Comments

Who do we blame? Who has done this to the Twins? Who did the Twins piss off to bring this horrible curse on themselves? Yes, the Twins have played horribly for the most part throughout this season, but they have also had hideously bad luck with injuries and illness to players they just can't afford to lose. Especially not all at once. Just when it seems like the Twins are finally getting healthy, their best reliever in a very shallow bullpen goes down. And this just after Jose Mijares has gone on the DL. Now the Twins are down to Matt Capps, Joe Nathan and ?????

And then there has been too much pure bad luck on the field. Too many line drives for outs for the batters (or double plays) and too many bloopers and bad bounces at just the wrong time.

Saturday's game featured the second straight game in which the Diamondbacks' late big inning featured not one but two bunts, and the Diamondbacks screwed up both of them. One was a terrible bunt that was popped up over the head of hard-charging Danny Valencia for a single. I mean, the D'backs were trying to give away an out with a runner already in scoring position, and instead they get a gift single, and there was nothing the Twins could do about it. What was really bad luck was the Twins had Valencia charging. Often with a runner at second, the third baseman lays back in hopes the pitcher or catcher can field the bunt and throw the runner out at third. If the Twins had chosen to use this defense, Valencia would have had an easy catch for the first out. Since the runner didn't advance on the infield single, the next batter, a rare pinch bunter, bunted and left it too close to home, so catcher Drew Butera jumped on it and threw to third base for the forceout.

The previous night, the Diamondbacks had runners at first and second and no outs and the batter attempted to bunt, but the Twins got the forceout at third. With the pitcher up, he did get a sacrifice down, and, after an unfortunate decision to intentionally walk Willie Bloomquist, Perkins allowed a three-run double to make a one-run deficit a four-run deficit. Of course, the Twins would eventually lose by just one run. Plus, you don't want to forget Jason Kubel's triple, which was hit to the only part of the ballpark that it wouldn't have been a home run.

As for Saturday's game, the Twins were perfectly set up with a three-run lead and Glen Perkins in to face three left-handers with only one runner on base. He comes up lame after a hit and suddenly Capps has to come in with no outs and the tying run on base. Other than the home run, I really don't think he pitched all that poorly. The double that made it a one-run game not only was butchered by Delmon Young (who has actually been pretty good defensively this year), but also was on a pitch that looked to be six inches outside. Then there were the two bunts and then a soft single to left and then the home run.

Capps may have blown up in the ninth if Perkins had gotten out of the eighth without injury, but I have to believe that having his routine suddenly changed. I'm sure he won't use that as an excuse, but I'm sure it didn't help any. I always get a bad feeling when a pitcher comes in after an injury and is given as many pitches as he needs that the pitcher doesn't use as many as he should to get ready since all eyes are on him and he probably realizes he's the one holding up the game.

Another frustrating issue, in this series the Twins have hit five home runs; all solo shots. And it's not like they haven't had runners on base.

Looking at it another way, the Diamondbacks had five errors, struck out nine times and allowed two home runs and won.

Can someone find me a live chicken to send to Gardy?

It just better be Chuck James getting the call up this time, because Dumatrait has done nothing to make me feel like he can be trusted to be a LOOGY in the eighth inning. I'm also expecting Brian Duensing to be sent to the bullpen and either Slowey moved into the rotation or sent to AAA in favor of another starting pitcher, although Kyle Gibson hasn't been very good of late. I guess Manship could be recalled and he or Smartyak put into the rotation.

2011 Twins Game Logs

Game 38: Twins at Blue Jays

161 Comments

Gardy stalked down the sidewalk straight to an obscure door of the decrepit Metrodome. Gardy reached around the wall feeling for a light switch. He found it and switched it up, but nothing happened.

"Figures," he muttered to himself.

Gardy stormed down some stairs into the bowels of the Metrodome. He continued down several corridors before finally trying to open a door, but it was locked.

"Why is this thing locked?" he called through the door. "Open up!"

"You didn't give the secret knock!" a muffled voice said from inside the room.

"I hate all this cloak and dagger b--- s---," Gardy muttered before tapping out "Shave and a Haircut."

The door was unlocked from inside, and it opened slowly with a loud creeeaaaak to reveal a darkened room save for a lonely candle in the center of a table in the middle of the room. Bill Smith and Jim Pohlad were sitting at the table wearing black capes with hoods.

"The plan isn't working!" Gardy said as he stormed in, slammed the door and dropped in a chair at the table.

"You must have patience, my young apprentice," a crusty voice said from a darkened corner of the room followed by a puff of cigar smoke. "This is a long horse race, and we have to hold our thoroughbred back, so he will finally have enough endurance to finish the race and win the prize at the end!"

"T.K., I am not your apprentice anymore, and I'm tired of all the horse racing crap. Your horses have won fewer races than I've won playoff games," Gardy said. "And who is that in the other corner over there?"

"I'm hunger. I'm thirst. Where I bite, I hold till I die, and even after death they must cut out my mouthful from my enemy's body and bury it with me. I can fast a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred nights on the ice and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst," a creepy voice said from the darkened corner.

"OK, who brought the FOX exec here?" Gardy asked.

"I did," Smith said," He has a vested interest in this as well."

"Yes, and it's going splendidly," said Pohlad with glee. "This is going to be a spectacular comeback. This is going to be so much fun!" Pohlad jumped up and down as he talked. "They thought they had seen amazing comebacks before, but they've never seen anything like this."

"OK, OK, settle down," Smith said. "Gardy, I know you're frustrated, but you knew the first part of the plan would be difficult. Your players will be restored to you when the time is right. We need to rest them so they'll be ready for October."

"Could you at least have given some reasonable injuries? Sore arms, oblique strains, bilateral leg weakness? C'mon, even Ron Coomer doesn't buy that one."

"That one's mine," Pohlad said with a grin. "I love that one."

"And why did you give Morneau food poisoning? Or force Pavano to grow a beard? And what did you do to Cuddyer?" Gardy asked.

"We took his magic kit away," Smith said with a wry grin.

"And I didn't know we would get this far back in the standings," Gardy said. "The fans are starting to lose hope. I'm starting to lose hope."

"When the time is right. We must stick to the plan," Smith said.

Well, it better be soon," Gardy said. "Please! Let it be soon!"

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 37: Jays 9, Twins 3 (11)

3 Comments

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins set a major league record Saturday by stranding 33 base runners in a 9-3, 11-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

The Twins also continued their losing streak, which extended to 37 games, also a record to start a season. Reliever Glen Perkins dropped to 0-8 after allowing a leadoff single in the 11th. Perkins was pulled from the game and the Blue Jays proceeded to hit five consecutive home runs to put the game away.

With his bullpen overworked and ineffective, manager Ron Gardenhire was forced to bring in reliever Kevin Slowey, who normally is a right-hander but was forced to use his left arm to pitch. With his right arm in a sling, Slowey wore catcher's gear in hopes that if a ball came back to him, he could knock it down with his body and throw it with his healthy arm.

Fortunately, it never came to that as the Jays batters were laughing too hard at Slowey to swing the bat and Slowey struck out all three batters he faced on just nine pitches.

TV analyst Bert Blyleven was heard to remark about Slowey, "Not too bad, but he needs to work on keeping the ball down."

The heartbreaking loss was followed by even more bad news when six more players were put on the disabled list following the game, also a major league record. All six had broken wrists after slapping hands with Michael Cuddyer after he homered in the seventh, which was the first by a Twin other than Jason Kubel on the season. In fact, it was the first hit by a non-Kubel to leave the infield this season.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 32: Twins at Red Sox

81 Comments

Pavanostache (2-3, 5.84 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) vs. Dice-K (2-3, 4.33, 1.33)

Happy Mother's Day, all! MLB marks the day with breast cancer awareness. Any batters who want can use a pink bat. Plus, you'll see pink armbands and cleats, and possibly even gloves. This subject is near and dear to my family as both of my boys' grandmothers have had breast cancer. Fortunately, both were caught early and both are in remission.

Still, this is a worthy cause and not one to be taken lightly. Plus, it's a good reminder to make sure to give your mom a hug (or a call if like me you can't be with her today).

As for the game, Carl Pavano needs to get rid of the beard. He needs to return to the Pavanostache that intimidated hitters into submission last year.

The Twins need to show patience at the plate. Dice-K alwayshas been prone to control problems in the major leagues and the Twins need to take advantage of that. Maybe this can be a breakout game for Justin Morneau. He's 6-for-12 with a home run and two doubles against Dice-K.

This game would have been a media circus if Nishi hadn't gotten hurt. Oh well. At the very least, the Twins can improve to .500 in their last 14 games with a win today. Plus, it would guarantee a split in the series with a chance to win it tomorrow. Let's get er done. Go Twins!!!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 31: Red Sox 4, Twins 0

1 Comment

I hate Fox with a passion.

I have discovered the greatest help to baseball watching ever conceived. I record the games with a DVR and I set my Skip function to skip ahead 10 seconds. This allows me to skip ahead between each pitch, eliminating 10 seconds between each one. I also can skip through the commercials, pitching changes, umpire arguments, pitcher-catcher discussions, and, yes, rain delays. Which has been working fantastic until today.

The Twins were on Fox, and only on Fox (I have MLB Extra Innings package that I paid a pretty penny for), and I started to watch it a couple hours after it started. This, of course, means that I have to remain offline, or at least avoid sites that will display the score, as well as other channels, like ESPN. (I once turned on the TV to start watching the game, but it was on ESPN and the Twins score was at the bottom of the screen at the exact moment I turned it on. I would have really been upset, except it showed the Twins won, so I was still happy to watch the game in its entirety). So, I had no idea the Twins went into a rain delay. I was OK about it (I set the DVR to record 4 1/2 hours for each game) because I could fast forward it. I was fine until I saw a different score at the bottom of the screen, which meant the game had resumed, but Fox had not gone back to the game. So, I had to go to the computer to find out that I had missed three innings of the game.

Of course, as it turned out, I didn't really miss much. I listened to the rest of the game on XM, but there wasn't much drama to it, especially once Alex Burnett came in. If the Twins are going to make a move, I would bet on it being a setup right-handed reliever. At the very least, maybe they can give Anthony Slama another shot.

Justin Morneau does not look good right now. A week or so ago, he was hitting line drives and not having much luck. Now he looks like he's trying to do too much and trying to pull everything. He probably should have gotten the whole day off today and not just DH. That is probably the worst thing to do is DH when you are struggling. The player can only sit around and think about his last weak swing instead of go out and play defense. I know some are panicking that this is the result of the concussion and that he'll never be the same, but we have no evidence of that and it's not like he hasn't gone through stretches like this before. He just needs to remember that there is a left field out there as well.

The good news is Kevin Slowey pitched well in his return, so the bullpen has been bolstered. Hopefully, Delmon Young will be back soon as well.

Minnesota Twins, MLB

Oh, Danny boy

23 Comments

The Twins are ready to make some changes. While I agree something probably should be done at this point, I just hope they don't do the wrong ones. Getting Casilla out of there is obvious, but this is the part that has me concerned:

The club also is concerned third baseman Danny Valencia has regressed defensively and is not the player he was last season, when he batted .311 in 85 games as a rookie and was solid in the field. Valencia is batting only .211, and his defense has been shaky at times. Manager Ron Gardenhire also has not been happy with Valencia's baserunning.

Valencia actually leads the Twins with 13 RBI, but that's more a reflection of the struggling players around him. Some with the club believe Luke Hughes' best position is third base, but there have been no indications the club is ready to make a change there for now.

I'll give them that Valencia hasn't been as good as last year on defense, but the defensive metrics say he has gone from a terrific defensive player to slightly below average. He's only been credited with two errors. And at this point in his career it's more likely this first month of the season is a fluke than three months last season, although we really don't have enough defensive data to make any true judgments at this point.

However, as for his offense, Valencia has a .225 BABIP after having a .345 BABIP last year, so he went to being somewhat fortunate (the Twins had a .306 team BABIP last year) to extremely unfortunate. Valencia actually leads the Twins in walks with 11 and only has 13 strikeouts for by far the best K/BB rate on the team. He has increased his walk rate from last year, dropped his strikeout rate and maintained the same line-drive rate, which is right at the major league average.

As for baserunning, I'll give them that he hasn't been aggressive enough, but he hasn't regressed in that area, he just hasn't improved. Last year, he only took an extra base 25 percent of the time, while the Twins as a whole did it 41 percent. This year, Valencia is at 23 percent in very few opportunities, so he has essentially remained the same. He may not be aggressive, but at least he isn't costing the team outs on the basepaths.

The Twins have many problems, but I don't think Valencia is one of them. Unfortunately, he hasn't been around long enough to get a free pass like many others are getting. I hope his luck changes before the Twins do something stupid.