Uh, if anybody wants a game log, here you go.
Category Archives: 2011 Twins Game Logs
2011 Game Logs: Game 122 Minnesota Non-Delmons @ Detroit _elm_ns
@
Alright, you guys are going to have to bare with me for a little bit here. I am going to try to crunch some numbers and see if I can find a way for the Twins to make up the 10.5 game deficit currently between them and first place.
While I understand the caveats of a small sample size, it is difficult to argue with cold hard numbers. One such case of ignoring sample sizes has to be the result of the Twins scoring 9 runs in every single game that Delmon Young has never been a member of the Twins this season. Conversely, the Twins have allowed only 6 runs in each and every game played since they traded Delmon. Considering the Tigers had a team ERA of 4.25 before the Delmon trade, I feel comfortable saying the Delmon has made the Tigers 1.75 runs worse per game.
So, at this point the next natural thing to do was to go through the previous 121 games, see how many games the Twins would have won if they scored 9 runs and allowed 1.75 less runs the scoreboard reflected. I will then take that winning percentage, apply it to the rest of the season and see if it puts the Twins in position to win the Central.
This would put the Twins record at 112-9. Over the course of a full season that translates of a winning percentage of .925. This would give the Twins 37.02 wins over the remaining 40 games. We will round this down to 37 wins (to be realistic), putting the Twins final tally over the last 40 games at 37-3.
Assuming all of this elm'n-less math to be true this will put the Twins at 90 wins for the 2011 campaign. Not too shabby. Now how about the other teams? Seeing as how the Tigers are still yet to win a game while employing Delmon I think it is safe to figure they will continue to lose every game the rest of the season. With the Twins winning 90 the Tigers will be pretty far behind with only 64 wins.
As for the other teams the Twins have to pass, pfft, it is AMR's White Sox and the lowly Indians. Neither of those teams should prove too much trouble as the Twins cruise to their 7th division title in 10 years.
Man, this is going to be an awesome couple of months.
2011 Game 121: Marisa Monday, Post _elm_n Edition
I just got this message from "ThaReal_elm_n":
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryAeNSzanKY
Thome Watch continues. Younger and wussier players around him continue to wilt in the August heat, but the Masher keeps on keeping on. The Tiggers have pretty much pwned the Twins for the last year, having won 12 out of their last 13 against our boys.
pitching matchup:
F-Bomb (tRA+: 92, FIP: 4.53, xFIP: 4.41, fWAR: 0.8, 97:66 K:BB in 117 innings)
Rick Porcello (tRA+: 108, FIP: 3.92, xFIP: 4.00, fWAR: 1.9, 76:30 K:BB in 126 innings)
The 22-year old Porcello is having a solid season. Amongst the mortal starters on the Tiger staff, he leads the way in pRAA at +4.8 (Verlander is at +33.0, tied for 7th in the Majors; he's third in pitching rWAR). But the real strength of this club is the offense, which weighs in at +43.2 bRAA and is 5th in the A.L. in runs per game at 4.44 (Twins are 12th at 3.87 -- behind Oakland, for goodness sake). So, tell me again why they wanted _elm_n???
Porcello is a ground-ball inducing righty. The Twins have a lefty-heavy lineup, with no _elm_n and a questionable Cuddy.
Thome Watch, Game 120: JI at Indians
Thome's quest for 600 is all we got left right now, other than maybe avoiding the cellar or passing the White Sox to make ourselves feel a little better but not really accomplish anything constructive. At this point, I think it would take a miracle to get to .500.
Lefty David Huff is pitching and it's a day game after a night game, so it might be a good day for Thome to take a break, especially on the road. I'm sure it's no great secret that the Twins want him to get to 600 at home to give the fans something to cheer about. However, Thome is 4-for-8 with two home runs and three walks (1.886 OPS) vs. Huff and those are numbers Gardy has a hard time ignoring.
Oh yeah, some kid named Slowey was recalled from the minors to take Scott Baker's spot in the rotation. I hope he takes the ball and shoves it up Gardy's ass.
Game 119 – Minnesota GOSOs v. Cleveland Indifference
The 2011 season...
2011 Game 118: Twins at Indians
Carl Pavano vs Justin Masterson
Last time Masterson faced the Twins, he threw 104 pitches. 103 of them were fastballs. I'm a little skeptical they were all fastballs, since the velocity range was 89.9 to 97.7. Let's check his pitch selection this year. BIS says a mere 0.8% of his pitches have been change-ups, while MLBAM says 0.1%. Okay, maybe it really was 103 fastballs. Depressing.
Pavano meanwhile... it's not too pretty. He hasn't been terrible, but below average for a 35 year-old pitcher with another year on the contract. He'll be worth more than two wins, but by virtue of eating a lot of innings.
Oh yeah; welcome back Morneau.
Game 117: Red Sox at Minnesota Nice
I approve of this lineup. Sort of.
Go Twins!
2011 Game 116: Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins
Liriano looks to stop the bleeding. Thome looks to smash homers until the cows come home. That's all I got.
2011 Game 115: Red Sawks!!!! on ESPN!!!!
Tonight on the 4ltr, the Red Sawks play*, and the Yankmees don't!!!!111one111!!! How did that happen?
Anyway, there is some sort of milestone at stake (Tim Wakefield seeks career win 200, including many games NOT against the Yankmees).
In order to provide context for the milestone, there may or may not be another team on the field. However, it is rumored that two non-Sawks players that 4ltr viewers may have heard of, Joe Mauer and Jim Thome, may be mentioned. Mauer, because his iconic sideburns are two of the most notable features of flyover America, and Thome because he too is within striking distance of a milestone of sorts, even though it is likely to happen in obscurity unless it happens tonight.
Bring the snark, kids. That's what we are playing for.
*some guy named Booker or Barker or something is starting for the other team, in case anyone cares.
Game 114: White Sox at Twins
I started following the Twins on an everyday basis in 1986. My family had moved to Minnesota in 1984 and we had gone to a handful of games the previous two years, but I had not really discovered the joy of baseball yet.
Then, a plucky center fielder with a unique body build suddenly discovered his power stroke and the country began to take notice. I remember Bob Costas saying he would name his son after him if he was hitting .350 at the All-Star break. And, of course, that was how Keith Michael Kirby Costas was named.
Kirby was so fun to watch, it didn't really matter how bad the Twins were (and they were pretty bad that year), I just had to watch (or as often or not listen to home games) to see what he would do next. He could do it all. He could hit for average and power, he could steal bases and was a Gold Glove center fielder who specialized in leaping over the short center field wall at the Metrodome to rob the opponents of home runs.
The next season, of course, the Twins won the World Series, and what a magical ride that season was. That season cemented my love affair with baseball for life, but it was Kirby that piqued my interest to begin with. Of course, he's most famous for his Game 6 in 1991, but he was pretty good in Game 6 in 1987 as well (4-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a SB). Of course, he also was the ALCS MVP in 1991.
Of course, his career was too short due to glaucoma and his life was too short due to a stroke, which I guess is appropriate since he was deemed to be too short to play in the major leagues for much of his youth.
Today, Kirby will be remembered at Target Field, which will include a pregame video tribute. I sure hope I get to see it, along with a couple Thome dingers.
I mentioned yesterday that the Twins need to finish 30-19 to finish at .500. I would be happy, all things considered, if they could do that. I also would like to think they could pass the White Sox. A big step toward that goal can be accomplished today with a win. It's Peavy vs. Duensing. GO TWINS!!!