Tag Archives: Carl Pavano

2011 Twins Game Logs

Game 113: Sox at Twinkies

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It'd be nice if Jim Thome would hurry up and hit number 600, so I can move on with my plan of watching games until we're losing by two, because we're back to the point where the starting pitching is bad, and a Twins lead sometimes seems like an insurmountable deficit. Things are tough to watch, a few players excepted.

The Smartest Pitcher in Baseball takes the mound tonight against Zach Stewart, who is making just his 4th big league start. Our favorite tater-masher should get some good cuts in today.

Let's see some dongers jacked... I mean... umm... yeah.

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 98: Tigers at Twins

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Tonight, the Twins play the first of four against the scarier of the two not-scary-to-any-other-divisions-out-there Central division leaders. Of course, the home field advantage is nullified by the pitching matchup:

Carl Pavano 6-6, 130 IP, 3.88 K/9, 1.73 BB/9, 4.08 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 4.12 xFIP, 1.6 WAR
Justin Verlander 12.5, 157 IP, 8.77 K/9, 1.89 BB/9, 2.29 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 2.96 xFIP, 4.7 WAR

You know, now that Pavano's numbers are starting to look not so bad, it's cruel that I have to set them up against Verlander's ludicrous numbers. Well, Pavano walks 0.16 fewer guys per nine innings. That's something, right? Guys?

This one could get frustrating for the hitters, but hey, Kubel might be back tomorrow, and Verlander isn't all that likely to pitch in back-to-back games, as durable as he is.

Go Twins! Bunt early, bunt often. Get Verlander tossed!

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game #92: Royals at Twins

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I had a post written up about how much Matt Capps sucks, but I wrote it while angry and somewhat inebriated. Today when I read it, I realized that it wasn't even quarter-bakef. We can't have substandard stuff like that, so instead, I'm going to half-bake it on the fly.

Carl Pavano (6-6, 97 ERA+)

Jeff Francis (3-10, 84 ERA+)

The 'stacheless 'stacheman has been pulling it together as of late, that one game in Milwaukee excepted. We've beaten Francis around a little bit in couple of times we've played him this year, so I'm feeling pretty good about tonight's game. I predict Ben Revere will hit an inside-the-park home run in which he will run the last 80 feet backwards.

Matt Capps sucks....but we'd better score a few more runs tonight than we did last night.

2011 Twins Game Logs

End of the First half: Brewers at Twins

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Thirty games ago, I don't think any of us would thought we could be 8 games out at the halfway point. Fifteen games ago, I doubt that any of us would've been happy with that result, but here we are.

Tonight, we've got Carl Pavano taking on Chris Narveson tonight. When these matches up last Sunday, the result was... not good. On the other hand, after Liriano's game last night, I expect that the Twins will probably win 8-0.

I won't be around much this weekend, so everybody have a safe, fun 4th of July weekend, and cheer on the Twins to a positive end to the first half.

Go Twins!

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game Logs Game 71: Minnesota @ San Francisco Baseball Giants

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Carl Pavano

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Madison Bumgarner

Are we having fun yet?

No matter what arbitrary end points you chose the Minnesota Twins have been playing pretty good baseball as of late. They have won 6 in a row-- 9 of 10--  14 of 16-- well, if you go back much further than June 1st it doesn't look too good but you get my point. The Minnesota Twins are starting to do what many predicted them to do at the start of the season, be a winning team with aspirations of a division title.  This isn't new information to anyone here, of course.

If the Twins do the unexpected and climb back from from 16 or so games back from the division lead to claim the AL Central title there is going to be a ton of revisionist history claiming this team got hot once star players like Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel, Jim Thome, Tsuyoshi Nishioka,  Glen Perkins (heh), Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Kevin Slowey, and Joe Nathan all returned to the line up from injury. Only then did this team start to live up to its expectations.  I am just here to remind everyone the following players are the ones who trimmed the division lead down to 7.5:

Ben Revere, Rene Tosoni, Brian Dinkelman, Matt Tolbert, Rene Rivera, Drew Butera, Luke Hughes, Jason Repko, Trevor Plouffe!, Anthony Sleestak, Phil Dumatrait, Chuck James, Eric Hacker, and well, not so much Jim Hoey.

Just remember Brian Dinkelman when Reusse complains on the radio in September saying this team had no chance until their players got healthy. Remember Rene Tosoni when Souhan says the Twins would have won the division by 15 games if Joe Mauer wasn't such a wuss. Remember Chuck James when the Twins prepare to face the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs, again.

Summer starts today and the Twins are looking good.

I don't know about you but this is starting to get fun.

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game Logs Game 66: Chicago (AL) @ Twins

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Gavin Floyd

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Carl Pavano

 

Let's warm up for the first game of the series against the White Sox with a miniature version of The Nation Has Problems, sound good? Great.

On Saturday a Twins starter retired the first 12 batters he faced.

On Sunday a Twins starter retired the first 19 batters he faced.

The last time the Twins opened a series on a Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox the Twins starter did not allow a single hit.

How many batters will the Twins starter, Carl Pavano, face before allowing a hit tonight?

Sadly, there is no spoiler button for when you are writing a post. It seems each of you will have to watch 9 innings of baseball to find out. Oh crap, I hope I didn't give it away.

Let's keep this streak of butt-kicking alive. Win Twins.

 

2011 Twins Game Recaps

Game #58: Twins 6, Royals 0

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Twins record: 21-37
Fangraphs

Whoops, I forgot I had to do one of these, so I'm going to get in, get out, and go to bed. The Twins won, we swept the Royals in KC, baseball is fun again, Duensing was on top of his game, there's some cool pictures from the WGOM get-together in the CoC, I can't think of as many things to say when the Twins win as when they lose. That's all I've got.

Hitter of the Week: I suppose I ought to give one of these to Alexi Casilla before he turns back into Alexi Casilla.
Pitcher of the Week: Carl Pavano

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 46: Mariners at Twins

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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)