I watched this game. The whole thing. And I totally spaced on the recap. Because it is a painful thing to do at this moment in the season.
Hicks had four hits. That was cool. Mountie hit one on a line into the right field seats. That was nice.
Other things were not good. Thielbar gave up a run so Gardy will probably never use him again. Deduno still makes me wonder if he is an OK pitcher or not(trick question because on this team he is the ace). Tropicana Field looks like an unpleasant place to watch a ball game. The turf has weird stains like a dorm room throw rug.
All in all not a great game. Alas there is another game today to hopefully cleanse the palate. As Slowey would say, we can't help but continue to watch the Sisyphean effort that is the 2013 Minnesota Twins' season.
Both teams hit some homeruns...and doubles - 22 hits between 'em. In the end, the Royals did just enough against Twins pitching to eek out a "W".
Positive note - after going a very long stretch of the season without a HR, Mountie has doubled his HR total in the last 10 games to 4. Trader Clete now has 3 on the year...le sigh.
In other news and to much less fanfare - the NHL held it's draft. Colorado selected 17-year-old center Nathan MacKinnon with the first overall pick.
I had a dream last night that I was pitching for the Twins at Target Field. It was a beautiful sunny day and there was a huge crowd cheering for the first pitch and I was up on the mound and the batter was standing in the box and the umpire was shouting âPlay Ballâ and the ball was in my glove and then the ball was in my hand my hand and then⊠I just couldnât throw the ball. I knew I had to throw the ball, and I wanted to throw the ball, and I was staring at the ball in my hand thinking âI need to throw youâ but I just couldnât do it. I couldnât throw a pitch. Everybody was waiting for me to start the game and the crowd was getting impatient, and I could hear them muttering âWhy canât he throw the ball, whatâs wrong with himâ and I was getting more and more frustrated. Then I saw Coach Gardenhire start to walk out of the dugout towards me and I knew I had to throw a pitch right then, throw it Now! Okay, just throw it Now! Come on! Whatâs wrong with you just throw it now! But it was too late, Coach Gardenhire was coming and I couldnât do a thing. And then I woke up.
In a spot-start, Pedro Hernandez gets his third win of the season and helps prevent an Indians sweep. The offense racked up 5 runs on 12 hits.
The Twins are now 34-38, 5-5 in their past 10 games. They are 7 games behind the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers and 1.5 games behind third place KC.
Not to steal Jeff A's thunder, but the bigger news from yesterday is that Hernandez was optioned back to Rochester and Kyle Gibson was recalled. He is scheduled to make his MLB debut against the Royals on Saturday...apparently, the future is now!
From the Twins website:
Gibson made 15 starts for the Rochester Red Wings this season, going 7-5 with a 3.01 ERA, 79 strikeouts and 28 walks in 92 2/3 innings.
Music: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton - Can't Hold Us
I just got off the phone with Brian. He called from the clubhouse to tell me he had another big game and is still âJacking bombs all overâ and is really on a roll now. It was great to hear him excited about baseball again and hear the guys getting rowdy in the background after a big W. Sometimes Brian acts like baseball is just a thing you do to help you get girls lol. I know deep down heâs got a the same Passion I do for the Game but he just needs to show it more often.
They managed 3 hits and Dozier had 2 of them (one for a Twins HR!). Trader Clete had the other. It was that kind of day.
PJ Walters took the loss - going 5.1 innings while giving up 4 earned runs on 9 hits and striking out 4.
For what it's worth, they're telling me that ii hit his 300th career homerun as a Tiger at Target Field. He hit is 1st career homerun as a Twin at Tigers Field...how many of you care?
The Twins are now at 30-36, 2 games ahead of the last place White Sox and 7.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Tigers.
Well guys I guess sometimes acheiving your dreams is easier said than done. I have had a few Setbacks here at triple A and I guess I am not quite Ready to join the boys up with the Twins. It sucks and maybe the Old Me would have let the darkness creep back in but the New Me is all about positivity. Coach Glynn told me not to be discouraged because I have the âstuffâ to make it in the big leagues, and I said âYou donât have to tell me, I know I have the âstuff,â I just have to believe in myself more and really Let It Fly.â He kind of laughed a little and gave me a long look and then sighed and said âYou got it kid.â I like Coach Glynn a lot and Iâm going to miss him when I get called up, but I like Coach Gardenhire too even though he can be intimidating but you always know that he is in your corner fighting for you.
Didn't catch much of the game yesterday (or at any point in the past 10 days...) due to moving. I did see Hicks was a HR short of the cycle and that rookie Chris Herrmann jacked his first career homerun. Doumit, Consensual Pork and Dozier also found the bleachers as the Twins combined for 16Â hits.
