Category Archives: 2011 Twins Game Recaps

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 138, Injury 139: Angels 10, Twins 6

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Ho-hum. Another day, another injury.

This game went far too long, so I'll keep it short.

It's truly amazing how much injury this team has gone through. And then it seems like all the injuries seem to pile up in one part of the team. The Twins trade Delmon Young because they have too many outfielders, but suddenly Joe Mauer has to play right field. In the first part of the season, the rotation was the one part of the team that wasn't hurt much by injury, just ineffectiveness. Now the Twins have three members of the rotation on the DL and Duensing is probably headed there as well. What would a Yankee fan say if he was told that Carl Pavano was the only member of the rotation to stay healthy?

And finally, is it me or does every former Twin have like a 1.500 OPS against the Twins this year?

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins

2011 Game 137 Recap: Gemini 13, Cherubim 5

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Weather: 74 degrees, clear
Wind: 3 mph, out to CF
Time: 3:23
Attendance: 37,198

BOX SCORE
FANGRAPHS

The dog days of summer were not good to the Twins this year. The team posted its worst monthly record ever in August, winning just seven games while losing 21. If Target Field weren't such a lovely place, and if Minnesotans weren't so gosh darn polite, you'd probably see a lot of empty seats in the stands for home games after a month like that. For my own part, I knew going into the season that August would be a lost month for me as far as watching baseball goes. Major product launch at work, family road trip vacation, getting ready to send Elder daughter to college. I just figured back in April that August would be a lost cause. I was more right than I could have known.

But those hot August nights are behind us now, and the Twins/Red Wings want to finish the season strong. At this point, that basically means staying out of last place in the worst division in baseball. For a team that's never been in first place this year, or even above .500 this year, even that may prove to be a tall order.

So what can you say about a meaningless road win in September? Well, you can say its better than a meaningless road loss in September. You can say Carl Pavano pitched an okay game, giving up four runs, just three of them earned, in six and three-quarters innings. You can say the Twins were facing a rookie pitcher who struggled with his control, and that the Angels bullpen resembled nothing more than the Twins bullpen, allowing seven runs in five innings. And you can say that it was the Twins, not the Angels, who played like they were only a few games out of first place going into the home stretch of the season.

You could probably say a lot more if you actually watched the whole game instead of just the last couple of innings.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 136 Recap: Twins Win!

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Twins 7, Sux 6
WP: Diamonds are a girls best friend LP: Peavy
SAVE! Joe Nathan
Twins record 57-79, 18 games out of first, 1.5 games ahead of the cellar

I'd look at the king of the savers race, but I really don't care.

The Twins scored a whopping 7 runs in this game. Whopping. One of the runs scored was driven in by Joe Mauer which brings his career total to 500 rsbi. If he'd play like a man he'd have more than a mazillionty by now, but he's really a puss. Not. The only other thing to know about this game is that SBG fired the Tweet heard round the strib. Rational folks cheered.

Culture Club: I've always enjoyed touring Chicago's art venues, and when in town I always make a trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art. There is always something happening at the MCA including great installations, weird contemporary art, performances, theater, working artist projects, and a good gift shop to boot. Heads up, hj, Tuesday admission is FREE for IL residents.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 135: Twins lose again, Zack struggles to care

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I didn't get to watch or listen to this game at all, as I was working until midnight at my former job as part of a consulting gig I offered to take on until I can transfer all the knowledge I amassed during my tenure there. I have very limited internet access at my new job, so I won't be able to post tomorrow, so I wanted to get something up.

I checked in a couple times during the game and was surprised to see they scored 6 runs. I was less surprised that they lost anyway thanks to their craptastic bullpen. As I can't give a whole lot more than that on the game, I thought I'd start a post which may be early to talk about the 2012 Twins (who I sincerly hope earn their W back).

I think part of the big problem they're going to have next year is that the there is a very thin crop of middle infielders, which I still think is their most glaring need. I don't mind having Plouffe, Nishioka, Casilla, or Hughes manning those spots occasionally, but we basically have four guys who should be backups as the starters. And the depth beyond that is... well, I don't consider that depth. It's too bad Jose Reyes has probably played himself into a $100+ million deal. We could sign a Type A free agent without surrendering a pick!

I'm assuming that Span & Revere are for sure in the outfield. I'm guessing one of Cuddyer or Kubel will be back. I'm thinking Tosoni & Benson will be in the mix at some point. I don't have a lot of concerns here other than Cuddyer getting a giant albatross of a contract.

The starting pitching was clearly exposed this year, and who knows what they'll ride into next year with. The bullpen is, um, less than adequate. I'm hoping they can restructure something to lock up Nathan for another couple of years. I hope Neck Fat isn't a disaster again. I hope Perkins continues to be lights out. I would like Duensing back into the 'pen. After that, I hope they can find someone on the scrap heap and not pay them outrageous sums of money.

I think right now outside of Mauer, Morneau, Span, and Valencia, I don't know who I'd be too attached to on the roster to carry over into next year. I think next year's team is going to look vastly different. I hope there is a front office shakeup. Any chance they can go hire Andrew Friedmann to overhaul the team? I just don't want them to think everything will be fine when they're healthy. This team had horrible health and was unlucky... but there were a crapload of problems beyond that.

What are your thoughts on what next year's team will look like? Thinking about a better roster next year is about all I have left.

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 132: Tigers 6, Twins 4

FOX spared me the pain of watching this one, so I don't have much insight on this game, but at least the annoying streak of pitiful offense is over finally. The Twins had gone 61 straight innings without scoring more than one run. And all it took to end the streak was the Twins getting back-to-back home runs by Luke Hughes and Jason Repko off Justin Verlander at Target Field.

The Twins are now 5-19 in August, their second 19-loss month in this season that will seemingly never end. The Twins haven't had lost 20 games in a month since September 1999 when they went 7-21.  However, the Twins' record for most losses in a month is safe, at least for August,  since the Twins only have four games left. However, they will have to go 2-2 to avoid having their worst month since the Twins went 3-26 in May 1981. Wow, that would kill any hopes for a season real fast.

The Twins are 14-29 since the AS break. Surprisingly, they have outperformed their Pythag by five games on the season.. They are 23-23 in one-run games and 5-4 in extra-inning games.

 

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins

2011 Game 131 Recap: Tigers 8, Twins 1

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Box Score
Fangraphs

Weather: 86 degrees, clear
Wind: 12 mph, out to RF
Time: 2:55
Attendance: 38,918

I woke up with a head pounding like Niagara Falls and a mouth as dry as Death Valley. An empty bourbon bottle lay on its side on the table, another soldier that gave its last full measure. The dame was long gone, more than a month ago now. One night while we were having a few laughs she slipped me a mickey and took a powder, taking the mojo and my wallet with her. Yeah, she played me for a real sap, and I let her. The name's Twayn. I'm a shamus.

I thought I had her angle figured, see? It seemed clear that the dame was setting me up for a double cross. It was the smart move, after all. Hire me to find the mojo for her, then stick a shiv in my back and make tracks. There's no shortage of teams looking for some mojo this time of year, and they're willing to shell out a stack of semollians to get it. Some of them aren't above using a dame to get what they want. I was onto her from the start, but I let my guard down that night. Maybe it was the way her eyes shined in the moonlight, or the sob story she poured out along with the whiskey.

I've heard a lot of sob stories in my day. They mostly went along with the sound of a tinny piano playing in the parlor downstairs. "Mister, I met a man once when I was young," it always began. This one wasn't much different. So I let her set the hook and start reeling. I just didn't figure she'd make her move quite so fast. Now the mojo is gone for good, and things have been going south ever since she flew the coop. Bad pitching, bad hitting, bad defense -- it's pretty much been the perfect storm of horseshit baseball for the team. And to top if off, Jim Thome got shanghaied to Cleveland.

I still watch the games most nights. Call it my self-imposed penance for letting the mojo get away, and since the boys downtown pulled my license I don't have a lot to do these days. But it doesn't take a detective to see the signs of a team that's lost its mojo. A 5-18 record in August, the worst in the major leagues. Six losses in a row, and no more than a run scored in any of them. Hell, the boys haven't scored more than a run in 13 of their last 23 games. And for the first time in franchise history, they've lost six straight games at home.

I pull the covers back and drag my sad sack of bones out of the bed, run fingers through my hair and head for the shower. There's an afternoon game today, and I need to get to the liquor store before first pitch. Maybe I should just get a case this time. I have a hunch it's going to be a long September.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 130 Recap: Orioles 6, Twins 1

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4 - 24.

In 4 games against one of the two AL teams with a worse record than Minnesota, the Twins were outscored by 20 runs, Liriano and Cuddyer went on the DL, adpfhoubev- qf7ncs .......

[NARRATOR]:  It appears that your recapper has been overcome by the sheer disaster that was this series against the Orioles.  He didn't even get to Drew Butera starting all four games, the Twins' starters pitching a total of 15.2 innings, ad;kfhvbn ....

[2nd NARRATOR]: (Looks at two unconscious bodies) I ain't touching this.

 

 

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 129 Recap: Worst team in the Al Vs. The local product

Os 6, Twins 1
WP: Guthrie
LP: K-Slow
Twins Record 55-74, 14.5 games out, 1 game out of 20 below .500 ... again.
 

Oy, this has been one turd sandwich of a season, and now DJ Cuddles looks to be headed to the DL. Figures. My mother always told me that if I couldn't say something nice then I shouldn't say anything at all.

Culture Club: Check out one of our hometown graphic designers John M Vogt. I especially like his I heart MLPS t-shirts.