Two teams are in the playoffs, two are a game out, one has an outside shot, two have been eliminated. The major league team, of course, will make the playoffs with a record of 89-73.
Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins
2012 Game 121: Funnyball vs. Moneyball
First Pitch - 9:05 p.m. CDT
Television - FSN
Lineups
Oooooow, look at all that foul territory. The Twins will feel right at home there, they've been playing pretty foul ball lately, winning just one game in their last ten and riding a five game losing streak. It's so bad I wandered over to Cot's today to see what our payroll situation looks like for next year. The good news is a lot of money is coming off the books, about $35 million, give or take a nickel. So Terry Ryan should have some money with which to play ball this winter. Let's hope he doesn't decide to bunt.
On The Hill:
Brian Duensing vs. Brandon McCarthy.
I'm not going to bother with their stats at this point. I'll just say advantage Oakland and leave it there. With this late start, I'll be down for the count after three innings. It won't surprise me if The Dunce is, too.
Play ball!
Where They Stand: Through August 16
Minnesota is 50-67, fifth in the AL Central, 15 games behind Chicago. The Twins have lost two consecutive games and are 3-7 in their last ten games.
Rochester is 65-61, fourth in the IL North, 13 games behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. They are tied for third in the wild card standings, 3.5 games behind Pawtucket. The Red Wings have won three consecutive games and are 6-4 in their last ten games.
New Britain is 67-57, second in the EL East, 5 games behind Trenton. They are 1 game ahead of Reading for the last playoff spot in the division. The Rock Cats have lost one consecutive game and are 5-5 in their last ten games.
Fort Myers is 51-69 overall, 23-30 in the second half, fifth in the FSL South, 5.5 games behind St. Lucie. They are 5 games behind Jupiter for the last playoff spot in the division. The Miracle has lost five consecutive games and is 4-6 in its last ten games.
Beloit is 67-55 overall, 28-24 in the second half, third in the ML Western, 3 games behind Clinton. They will be in the playoffs due to their second place finish in the first half. The Snappers have lost one consecutive game and are 8-2 in their last ten games.
Elizabethton is 37-16, first in the AL West, 8.5 games ahead of Johnson City and Greeneville. The Twins have lost one consecutive game and are 8-2 in their last ten games. The Appalachian League season ends August 28.
The GCL Twins are 27-25, second in the GCL South, 2 games behind the Red Sox. They are third in the wild card standings, 4 games behind the Pirates. The Twins have lost two consecutive games and are 2-8 in their last ten games. The GCL season ends August 25.
The DSL Twins are 28-35, sixth in the B. C. B. C., 9 games behind the Diamondbacks. They are twenty-second in the wild card standings, 10.5 games behind the Pirates1 and the Rangers. The Twins have lost three consecutive games and are 3-7 in their last ten games. The DSL season ends August 25.
Game 115 Recap: Detroit Tigers 3, Minnesota Twins 9
2012 Game 115: Panthera Tigris v. Gemini
First Pitch - 7:10 p.m.
Television - FSN
Lineups
No, we don't really have the Tigers by the tail, we're 11.5 games behind them in the standings and from here you can't even see their tail, although you can catch a faint whiff of what's directly beneath it. The Detroit Tigers have been disappointing their fans lately by struggling to gain ground on the division leader, losing four of their last ten games. The Twins, on other hand, have been adding glory to their franchise history by proving triumphant in five of their most recent ten contests and remain poised to surpass both the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians before the season draws to a close.
With this season well on the downhill side, the non-waiver trade deadline in the rearview and a few weeks to go before September call-ups, there's not much for Twins fans to get excited about except playing spoiler, the face-crushing demotion of Nishi, and the glorious return to the lineup of Trevor Plouffe!. Even the chance to play spoiler to the contending Tigers is tempered by the realization that beating them does nothing except improve the chances of the White Sox winning the division. Boo dat.
On The Hill:
Anibal Sanchez - Who cares about his stats, he's named Anibal. This guy is one vowel substitution away from losing a testicle.
Samuel Deduno - His middle name is Lake. I got nothing.
Neither of these pitchers has a record against their opponent, so who knows what to expect. But I would be pretty surprised to see an old-fashioned pitchers' duel tonight.
Play ball!
This Week in Twins Transactions
Jeremias Pineda was acquired by trade for Danny Valencia and assigned to the GCL Twins.
Tsuyoshi Nishioka was recalled to Minnesota from Rochester.
P. J. Walters was sent to Rochester on a rehab assignment.
David Bromberg was promoted from New Britain to Rochester.
Anthony Slama was sent to the GCL Twins on a rehab assignment, then was activated from the disabled list by Rochester.
Carl Pavano was sent to Fort Myers on a rehab assignment.
Jose Berrios was promoted to Elizabethton from the GCL Twins.
Byron Buxton was promoted to Elizabethton from the GCL Twins.
Where They Stand
Minnesota is 49-62, fourth in the AL Central, 11.5 games behind Chicago. The Twins have lost one consecutive game and are 6-4 in their last ten games.
Rochester is 60-59, fourth in the IL North, 5.5 games behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Red Wings have won one consecutive game and are 7-3 in their last ten games.
New Britain is 63-55, third in the EL East, 7.5 games behind Trenton. The Rock Cats have lost two consecutive games and are 5-5 in their last ten games.
Fort Myers is 51-64 overall, 23-25 in the second half, tied for fourth in the FSL South, 1 game behind Bradenton. The Miracle has won three consecutive games and is 4-6 in its last ten games.
Beloit is 63-53 overall, 24-22 in the second half, tied for second in the ML Western, 5 games behind Clinton. The Snappers have won five consecutive games and are 8-2 in their last ten games.
Elizabethton is 31-15, first in the AL West, 6.5 games ahead of Johnson City. The Twins have won two consecutive games and are 6-4 in their last ten games.
The GCL Twins are 26-20, first in the GCL South, one game ahead of the Red Sox. The Twins have lost two consecutive games and are 4-6 in their last ten games.
The DSL Twins are 26-31, sixth in the B. C. B. C., 7.5 games behind the Rockies. The Twins have lost three consecutive games and are 4-6 in their last ten games.
Happy Birthday–August 9
John Grim (1867)
John Galbreath (1897)
Jack Tighe (1913)
Ralph Houk (1919)
Julian Javier (1936)
Claude Osteen (1939)
Paul Lindblad (1941)
Tommie Agee (1942)
Chris Wheeler (1945)
Bill Campbell (1948)
Ted Simmons (1949)
John Moses (1957)
Matt Young (1958)
Deion Sanders (1967)
Troy Percival (1969)
Pat Mahomes (1970)
Ryan Radmanovich (1971)
Matt Morris (1974)
Mike Lamb (1975)
Brian Fuentes (1975)
Drew Butera (1983)
Ralph Houk was a special assistant to the general manager for the Twins from 1987-1989.
Better known for his Hall of Fame NFL career, Deion Sanders was a major league outfielder for nine seasons, leading the league in triples in 1992. He hit .263/.319/.392 in 2,123 at-bats.
Game 109 Recap: Minnesota Twins 14, Cleveland Indians 3
2012 Game 109: Twins at Indians
First Pitch - 6:05 pm CDT
Television - FSN
Lineups - TBD
I don't have a lot of time for today's game log since I spent most of the day yesterday walking (3.25 miles on the Coon Rapids dam trails), shopping (Trader Joe's) and eating (chicken, black bean and corn quesadillas with guacamole) instead of working on the work work I probably should have been working on. What can I say, the doctors told me I have to be a little more selfish about taking time for my health from now on.
The Twins have been playing pretty good baseball lately. They've won seven of their last ten games and sit in fourth place, 12.5 games off the division lead and 3 games behind the third-place Indians. Cleveland, on the other hand, is in total collapse mode, riding a nine-game losing streak that started with a series sweep by the Twins at the end of July. We'd all like to see the Twins continue Cleveland's losing streak by sweeping this series, too. After all, now that the Cuyahoga Rivers doesn't start on fire when you toss a cigarette butt into it, we have to give the Indians something else to cry about. Extending their losing streak to an even dozen games and moving into a tie for third place ought to do it.
The Twins made an unexpected move over the weekend, trading Danny Valencia to the Red Sox for minor league outfielder Jeremias Pineda after a waiver claim. This looks like a move that will improve the Minnesota team immediately by subtraction and could pay off several years down the road by addition or ancillary transaction. Some four-cylinder import named Nishioka has been called up from Rochester to fill Juicy's roster spot, which was temporary anyway, but I expect Nishi will take a turn at shortstop and/or second as a September audition. Or maybe he'll just ride the pine for a week. It's not like the team is concerned about getting him regular at-bats like they are with Parmelee. Jamey Carroll will likely get all the duty at the hot corner until Babe Plouffe! returns from the 15-day disabled list, possibly by Friday.
On The Hill:
Tonight the Twins send ace-apparent Diamond out to face something called a McAllister. Diamond has a record of 9 wins and 3 losses, while McAllister has notched 4 wins and 3 losses. Diamond has an equal rights amendment of 2.93 and McAllister has an equal rights amendment of 3.42. All other pitching stats are made up and/or meaningless.
Play ball!