Category Archives: Gamelog Archive

Archive for game logs from previous seasons.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 51: LAAAAAAA at Twins

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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.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

2011 Game 49 Recap: City of Angels Squared 6, Land o’ Lakes Twins 5

17 Comments



Weather: 53 degrees and overcast
Wind: 10 mph, right to left
Time: 3:21
Attendance: 38,976

 

Box Score
Fangraphs

The boys from last year, so freewheelin',
are back on their heels now and reelin'
from a punch to the nose
and a heel to their toes
and a knee to the groin they're still feelin'.

It's not what we thought we were getting
and I'm glad that I'm not fond of betting;
I'd be down on my luck
and I'd lose my last buck
on a wager I'm best off forgetting.

Intemperate spring soon turns to summer,
but this season has been such a bummer
that I don't think I'll mind
when we leave it behind.
Reading Souhan always makes me feel dummer.

The Twins tilt tonight was no fans delight,
carnage in the bullpen's a terrible sight.
But no crying, no sorrow,
there's another game tomorrow
and maybe we'll have something go right.

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game 47: #6org 4, #6org 2

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All the optimism and hope I had at the beginning of the season has mostly evaporated at this point. I tell myself that all I want is for the Twins to play competitively, and if they're going to be miserable they end up with a protected first round draft pick.

Easier said than done, I guess. The last few games have been gut wrenching. So tonight when Blackburn got into trouble in the 7th, and Casilla gunned down Olivo at the plate to seemingly get out of trouble, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was totally expecting Brendan Ryan to run into one and deposit it over the fence. Or just hit some junk ball down the line. I was expecting the worst possible outcome.

So when they wriggled out, I was shocked. I spent the rest of the game waiting for that other shoe to drop. As we approached the 8th & 9th innings, I was wondering who in the world would pitch if the Twins got the lead. I was both relieved that Capps & Nathan were unavailable, and horrified at the Rochester Red Wings waiting in the 'pen to try to save the game. Blackburn had an efficient 8th and came out in the 9th to get the complete game win.

So, apparently all they have to do to win is to keep the bullpen from getting involved? Sounds like an easy blueprint for success! But they can worry about tomorrow tomorrow. The Twins beat the Mariners and the Cameron Curse tonight. It's been a while since the Twins won one at home. Feels good, man.

Final Score: Minnesota Twins 4, Seattle Mariners 2.
Twins Record: 16-31, 14.5 GB in the AL Central. Could the Indigenous People lose a few, please?
WP: Nick Blackburn (4-4) | LP: Doug Fister (2-5)

2011 Twins Game Recaps, View from the Ballpark

2011 Game 46: Mariners 8, Twins 7 (10)

19 Comments

Weather: 75°F, partly cloudy
Wind: 9 mph
Attendance: 37,498
Time: 3:40

Twins record: 15-31 (last in AL Central, 15.5 GB)
Fangraphs boxscore | MLB wrap

Highlights:

  • Highest WPA, hitter: Thome .344 (2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB) | Highest WPA, pitcher: Dumatrait .038 (0.1 IP)
  • JI
  • JIM THOME's return

Lowlights:

  • Lowest WPA, hitter: Kubel, -.166 (0-5, SO) | Lowest WPA, pitcher: Sconeskuzz, .338 (0.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB)
  • Bullpen: 3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, BB, 2 K

Over a decade ago I had a side gig as a yard maintenance lackey for a realtor who owned a bunch of rental properties. The guy lived in my neighborhood, in a huge red brick Victorian house with white trim and a huge front porch that I can't remember him ever sitting on in the evenings. Well, the guy must've decided that he'd had enough of living near the college (and his tenants), or maybe business was just that good, but he and his family bought an even bigger Tudor close to the Big Lake in Winona. Being that I worked for him, he asked me if I would help move them out. I don't remember what he paid me, but whatever it was, it wasn't enough.

The day of the move arrived, and I walked down the block to his place. One of the guy's tenants showed up around the same time, either to work off some unpaid rent, get a reduction in rent, or pick up a little cash, I don't remember which. We were told to head down to the basement, which was our main focus for the day. Once down there, we just about turned around and walked back up the stairs and away from what was in store for us. I honestly don't know what made us stay. There was crap everywhere. Collections of bicycle rims, coffee cans full of random junk, old sheet metal signs, rusty miscellaneous iron componentry - you get the picture. And it wasn't organized. Oh no. It was just strewn about, almost as if the guy had opened the basement door, stood at the top of the stairs, and heaved whatever was in his hands into the depths beyond. He was the Smaug of low-grade scrap metal, at least for an area supposedly zoned as residential.

Well, my temporary coworker and I schlepped that junk up the stairs all day, piling it in the back of an old quarter-ton pickup, the gloss of the maroon and white two tone paint on its flanks long gone. It was pretty wretched work, but what took the cake was, near the end of the day, unearthing a freakin' barber's chair down in the basement, one of the old ones with more chrome parts on it than a 1958 Buick. That sucker was heaaaavy, but we were duty-bound to lug it up the basement stairs, hoist it up into the truck bed, and haul it in one of the last loads over to the big Tudor. As we got in the truck for the drive across town, bed piled high with barber chair, rims, and all kinds of other detritus, the tenant looked at me and said, "You remember that TV show, Sanford & Son?" I looked at him, sighed, and said, "Yeaaah...," and hoped nobody I knew saw us until the job was behind us.

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This week's View from the Ballpark:
photo by Flickr user kevin wen

 

photo by Flickr user kevin wen

Remember, no embiggening.

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 46: Mariners at Twins

319 Comments

Another "tough weekend" in the rearview mirror.

Twins fans were a-twitter after a three-game run against Seattle and Oakland that seemed to signal that the end of the dark times was nigh, as predicted by the prophet Harold Camping. All those hopes foundered on the plain of Megiddo Maricopa, as the Righteous were denied three times by the serpents in the service of Kirk Gogson.

But the false prediction might not be so easily effaced from the lives of Twins followers. The L.A. Times writes that a 38-year-old tractor trailer driver took a road trip with his family to see the Twins before the world ended.

"With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, some wins would have been a relief," the paper writes.

But he is not angry at Camping for his false prediction. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see Baker and Liriano outhit their catchers," he told the paper. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

An east coast fan, who spent $140,000 of his life savings to advertise the Twins resurrection in New York, said he was dumbfounded when life went on as usual Saturday.

"I do not understand why ...," he told Reuters while awaiting the event in Times Square. "I do not understand why they just can't seem to get it done. I thought Morneau was out of his slump and that Dusty Hughes would make all the difference."

Fortunately, life and the season go on.

Seattle comes in on a roll, having won five straight since the Twins bested F-Her.
Pitching matchup:

Jason Vargas (3.39 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 3.78 xFIP, 110 tRA+, 41:14 K:BB, 4 HR in 58 1/3)
Pavanostache (5.30 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 4.65 xFIP, 85 tRA+, 20:14 K:BB, 5 HR in 54 1/3)

also, THOME TONIGHT!!!!!1111one1111!!!! (thanks, socal)