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2012 Twins Game Log

2012 Game 10: Twins at Yankees

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First Pitch - 6:05 p.m. CDT
Television - FSN, ESPN
Game Notes
Lineups
Scorecard

Oy. Considering the season start we're having, heading to New York City for a four-game series against the Evil Empire just seems sadistic. What, the brain trust that is MLB scheduling couldn't wait a few weeks to add insult to injury? They couldn't wait until May or June to have the Twins demonstrate their futility in the Bronx?

ON THE HILL
Few things tickle me as much as the fact that the Yankees paid Carl Pavano 40 million dollars for less than 150 innings of work over 4 years, and the Twins have wrung 220+ innings out of the guy each of the past two seasons. So at least in the coveted IPP metric (Innings Pitched per Pavano), the Twins continue to outperform the Yankees. While Pavano has been adequate as expected in his first two starts, he's giving up more hits and more runs that any of us would like and would do well to pitch a bit less to contact and a bit more to the catcher's glove.

On the other side of the street, the Yankees send longtime lefty Twins nemesis Freddy Garcia to the mound. The last time I saw Garcia pitch, Jim Lehland was trotting him out against Ozzie Guillens' White Sox in a rainout makeup game that would send the Sox to a game 163 versus the Twins. The last actual time Garcia pitched, just last week, he threw five wild pitches, the first MLB pitcher to pull that off since 1989.

In a universe where karma moves faster than a rebate check from Menards, the Twins would win this game by ten or twelve runs and Pavano would throw a 130-pitch complete game shutout (come on, you just know that a-hole A-Rod would break up the no-hitter with a two-out Texas league dink in the 9th inning). But I'm going on the record as predicting that won't happen today, or any other day for that matter. All I'm asking for out of this series is a split and I'd settle for just one measly win. With Sabathia pitching tomorrow and former Dodger Kuroda on the hill Wednesday, today may be as good a chance as we get this series.

Play ball!

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 9 Recap: Minnesota 3, Texas 4

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Jackie Robinson Day. Jack Roosevelt Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He played 9 years in the majors and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. I could go on, but if you watched baseball today, you already know everything there is to know about #42. Sh*t, even if you didn't watch baseball today you probably already know all about Jackie. He is that significant to the Civil Rights era and the eventual improvement of race-relations in America; a true icon.  His inclusion and eventual debut in the majors was carefully orchestrated by Branch Rickey (to me, one of the more interesting characters in MLB history). In case you're still wondering, this game came nowhere near the historic magnitude of Jackie Robinson or even Branch Rickey.

The game ended poorly for Glen Perkins and he took the loss. Robbie Ross took over in the 6th and pitched 2 scoreless inning for the Rangers to notch his 2nd win. Through the early innings, it was the Clete Thomas and Liam Hendriks show. In their season debut for the Local 9, the former Twins draft pick (and recent Tiger) jacked a 2-run homer and had a nice (sort-of?) outfield assist, and the Aussie pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball. After completing 7, the Twins had a 3-1 lead and the top of the order due up. It should have been enough to get the Twins back in the win column, ready to salvage the rubber match of the series against the Dallas, Texas Rangers of Arlington.  Except it wasn't... Continue reading Game 9 Recap: Minnesota 3, Texas 4 →

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 8 Recap: Twins vs. Run Expectancy Charts

The Twins won this battle handily. Run Expectancy put up a good fight, but the Twins persevered against the odds, stranding 15 runners on base (including 3 innings where they left the bases loaded).

"Our hitters were just clutch" Ron Gardenhire said in his post-game presser, "you gotta figure that some runs are gonna score with how many times we got guys out there on the basepaths, but our hitters dug in there, and made sure that those runners stayed where they belonged. I saw Doomy [Twins rightfielder Ryan Doumit] get up there in the fifth, and I didn't even worry, I knew he had it covered. This is a big win for our guys, now we just gotta get in the frame of mind to go out there tomorrow and do it again."

Indeed, the Twins accomplished most of their magic with some incredibly well-timed strikeouts and weak pop flies, frustrating REC's attempts to average things out. At times, REC just seemed snakebit.

"I don't want to talk about it" REC's manager stated after the game, "this loss doesn't even seem real right now... 21 baserunners, and only 2 score? Seriously. What the hell."

2012 Twins Game Log

Game 8: Rangers at Twins

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Today, the Twins will be trotting out this lineup:

1. Span, CF
2. Caroll, SS
3. Mauer, C
4. Morneau, DH
5. Willingham, LF
6. Doumit, RF
7. Valencia, 3B
8. Parmelee, 1B
9. Casilla, 2B

If that lineup looks familiar, it's because it was the opening day lineup, and most likely the one the management hoping to get a lot of mileage out of. Whether or not this is the lineup that the team ends up with, and whether or not it's the one that shows some punch, it's worth noting that this is the third time they've used it in this young season. I'm sure you remember that the team used their opening day lineup precisely never after opening day, partially due to Nishioka getting hurt, then sucking horribly, partially due to a million injuries. What you might not be aware of is the fact that there were only 3 lineups that ended up being used 3 times over the entire of last year, and none that were used more than three times.

The Twins probably won't contend for anything this year, but at least it's looking like we'll have a fairly consistent lineup to see day after day. There's a bit of comfort in that.

Today, Nick Blackburn (4.04 xFIP, 7.50 ERA) tries to find a little bit more luck, while Yu Darvish (5.23 xFIP, 7.94 ERA) tries to show that his ugly first start wasn't the shape of things to come.

Total team record, 2-5
Saturday record, 0-1

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 Log

2012 Game 7: Texas Rangers at Minnesota Twins

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Matt Harrison
v
Anthony Swarzak

Last season was crap, but the Twins managed to beat the AL champions five of the eight times they played including three out of four in Minnesota. The bad news: Swarzak pitched in that game. The good news: the loser was Duensing, who went two innings and gave up seven runs. Swarzak went the next six, giving up only two runs.

Harrison also lost in the homestand, in the one game where Liriano was awesome. That was the game where Harrison got hit in the head, the Twins decided to score a bunch, and messed up Liriano's groove. Don't mess up Swarzak's groove and 158-4 stays in sight.

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 6 Recap: From the Brink

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The hero closed his eyes as he concentrated on his hands. The rope had gone beyond chafing, he was now gripping it so tightly that he imagined the particles in the rough fibers and in his skin mixing and merging until they were indistinguishable from each other. He could hold on forever. For the rest of his life.

He could hear his enemy coming closer, heavy boots clattering across the flagstone court. He would cut the rope, he would let the hero fall into the void below to land amongst the rest of the twisted and broken bodies. The enemy would turn around, victorious, heavy boots would clatter again across the flagstone court, and he would watch the sun set and rise again. But the enemy would not break the hero's grip.

Continue reading Game 6 Recap: From the Brink →

2012 Twins Game Log

2012 Game 6: Angels at Twins

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12:10 PM
Francisco Liriano vs. Dan Haren

So, the Twins are well on their way to 158-4, the best record in franchise history. I wanted to take this game log to look at some recent signings by today's teams.

Josh Willingham Albert Pujols
Average .353 .222
OBP .421 .333
SLG .941 .667
Home runs 3 (on pace for 97) 0 (on pace for 0)
RBI 6 2
Contract 3 years/$21 million 10 years/$240 million

We're getting twice the production for a tenth of the contract. Is it really any wonder that the Twins are on pace to win 158 games?

2012 Twins Game Recaps

Game 5 Recap: Dewey Wins! Puppies!

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Twins 6, Laaaaaaaaaaaaa 5

WP: Gray* (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
LP: Takahashi (0-1, 10.80 ERA)
SAVE(!) Shortening (1)
Fangraphs loves baseball. I do too.
Mlb Recap

FireworksWow. Where to start with this one? The Twins had a lot of firsts tonight including the biggest first of them all, Matt Capps converted the Twins save of the season. Without Matt the local nine wouldn't have had their first win, and for that we thank him. Carl pitched perfect through three, but then he started looking a little shaky. He gave up a leadoff hit to start the fourth, turned a double play into a single play, and then a stolen base lead to a run off poo-holes's bat. Poo-holes forced himself out by trying to take an extra base, and Carl worked himself out of the fourth. JC Superstar stepped to the plate and stroked a double, Joe Mau Mau pussied a single to tie the game, the Mountie struck out, and Josh Willingham absolutely crushed a home run to take the lead. Carl was determined not to give the lead back, but accidentally left one up and Bourjos punished him. Actually, Bourjos punished everyone except LAAA fans. Carl pitched a scoreless 6th, but coughed up another run on a two out hit in the 7th. I was about to give up on the game when Doumit and Sweet Danny V hit back to back singles. Parmelee came to the plate and stroked a double that ii face planted into a triple to tie the game at five. Casilla and Span both went down without making much noise. I began to worry that we were being set up for heartbreak, but JC Superstar assuaged my doubt by singling in Parmelee to take the lead. Glenn Perkins took the ball for the 8th and destroyed the heart of the Angels order. The sequence of pitches to poo-holes was nothing short of magnificent. Capps was called on to close the game out, and other than padding ii's stats he was best there ever was. Perfect.

*Sworn enemy of DPWY

Culture Club: I've done this recap thingy for a couple of seasons and I usually follow up the post with a review of art or a cultural institution. I'm choosing to focus on printmaking workshops this year as a way to feature a large number of artists creating diverse images though a wide range of techniques. I'm also interested in promoting the collecting of original art, and fine art prints offer an inexpensive way to own works by famous, infamous, and unknown (me!) artists. I know that I've already featured them here several times, but, what the hell, Highpoint Center for Printmaking is one of the premier professional printmaking centers in the United States. Cole Rogers, a Tamarind Master Printer, and Carla McGrath have created a professional and community workshop, gallery, and educational outreach programs that are unmatched. From their professional shop they print original works from local, national, and internationally known artists such as Willie Cole, David Rathman, Julie Mehretu, and Todd Norsten to name a few. Their gallery is friendly and features a diverse catalog of work hat can accommodate every level of art patron. Stop by, or better yet take a class at the workshop, and visit Highpoint, and tell them I sent you down.