Sorry, gang, this last week has been kinda awful. Thankfully the bruises are finally fading.
Anyway, it's a Berríos night, so even though it's only the Royals, we've do have a chance to make an entirely undeserved five game win streak. Sweet!!
Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins
Happy Birthday–July 7
George Moriarty (1885)
Double Duty Radcliffe (1902)
Satchel Paige (1906)
Billy Herman (1909)
Sammy White (1927)
John Gordon (1940)
Bill Melton (1945)
Tommy Moore (1948)
Len Barker (1955)
Dan Gladden (1957)
Glenn Hoffman (1958)
Tim Teufel (1958)
Dave Burba (1966)
Jeff Shaw (1966)
Chuck Knoblauch (1968)
Matt Mantei (1973)
Cory Provus (1978)
John Buck (1980)
Brandon McCarthy (1983)
Yangervis Solarte (1987)
Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe played in the Negro Leagues for many years. He got his nickname because he would sometimes catch one game of a doubleheader and pitch the other. He played professionally until 1954, when he retired at age 52. He is the oldest player to ever appear in a professional baseball game, throwing one pitch for the Schaumberg Flyers of the Northern League in 1999 when he was 96. I'm no expert on the Negro Leagues, but it seems to me that he should be in the Hall of Fame.
John Gordon was a radio broadcaster for the Twins from 1987 through 2011.
Tommy Moore was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-eighth round in 1966, but did not sign.
Cory Provus has been a radio broadcaster for the Twins since 2012.
Game 85 O’s at Twins
I've been dealing with flood issues so I havent been that in tune with the Twins for the last few weeks, but man, the O's are a bad team. I hope the Twins sweep them this weekend!
Game 84: Orioles at Twins
Home sweet home. The Twins, as badly as they've played lately, are still twelve games better than the Orioles. The Baltimores have the worst record in baseball, a half game worse than Kansas City. Clearly, that's no fun if you're an Orioles fan, and I really don't take much delight in seeing other teams struggle (the Yankees excepted). Still, it's nice to know that there are still a few teams worse than we are.
As bad as Baltimore is, their starting pitchers have not been uniformly terrible. Andrew Cashner, who starts tonight, was very good last year for Texas. This year he's 2-8, but his ERA is 4.48, which isn't awful. On the other hand, his WHIP is 1.57, which is pretty terrible. On the other hand, the Twins have found ways not to hit some terrible pitchers.
Aaron "Sluggo" Slegers gets the start tonight. He started really well in Rochester, but has not done as well lately. A 3.55 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP is still pretty good, though. Paul Molitor says he was called up for the start because "it was his turn", which doesn't exactly inspire confidence. The Orioles are next to last in scoring runs, so maybe Sluggo can treat them like Mr. Bill.* It's time to break this losing streak. Go Twins!
*Nothing like a forty-year-old pop culture reference to show how cool you are.
Game 83: Minnesota at Milwaukee
Maybe Berrios can stop the losing streak. Maybe the Twins will be inspired by Independence Day. Maybe I'm grasping at straws. Well, you've got to grasp at something. Go Twins!
Game 82 — Twins v. Brew Crew
First half of the season done and the Twins are um... on a 70-92 pace. Ugh. This first half has stunk, the Twins stink, injuries, suspensions, poor base running, bullpen disasters, walk off losses, disappointing performances by key players.... You name it, The Twins built this.
Jake Odorizzi against Junior Guerra today. Odorizzi righted his ship last start as he went 6 strong innings after a bunch of disastrous starts. Guerra is one of those decent guys that the Brewers typically toss out there.
3:10p game and its only broadcast on something called Facebook Live. Seems like a good place to have the game as only the olds are on Facebook these days. Also, Willians Astudillo playing second base today, so that's something. Wasn't he a catcher? At this rate he may take a 9th inning pitching spot before he sees time behind the plate.
Go Twins.
Game 81: Twins at Brewers
It's game eighty-one. After this one, the season will be half over. The Twins will be either eleven or nine games under .500, depending on how this one goes. Buxton is in AAA. Sano is in high-A. We have a catcher on our roster who's batting .132. Our big free-agent slugger is batting .192 with nine homers. Of the two starters we acquired, one has an ERA well over five and the other isn't too far under. Tonight, Jorge Polanco comes back. The Twins are acting as if he's some sort of savior, rather than a player with limited defensive skills who nearly lost his job a year ago.
But hey, we've got Willians Astudillo! And each day is a new day. And it's baseball, where even the worst team can beat the best team on a given day. Maybe we'll be given a good day today. It's Kyle Gibson against Brett Suter. Let's do this! Go Twins!
Twins at Wrigley. In progress
Sorry for the lateness, I just woke up from a nap.
Game 77 – Minnes_ta @ Chicago
Odorizzi v. Giolito
Getaway Day Recently-regular lineup.
Play ball.
Game 75 — Twins at White Sox
Twins embark on the great Upper Midwest Baseball Tour(TM) with a three game stint against the Southside Pale Hosers. At 25 games under .500, the Sox are as bad as advertised so it would be nice to take all three games this week before heading into the friendly confines of Wrigley over the weekend.
Lance Lynn on the mound for the Twins. He's as excruciating slow as ever, but at least he's been productive with a 4-1 record and 1.73 ERA in his last 5 starts. Reynaldo Lopez on the mound for the White Sox, coming off a pretty bad outing against Cleveland (or was it Toronto?). Game may take 3.5 hours but I like the Twins chances.
First pitch at The Rate. Potential for rain is receding in Chicago, so hopefully the tour can start off with a win.