GameChat – Athletics @ Twins, 7:10

The triumphant warriors return!!  They are a little battle-weary and beat up but they have returned home victorious.  Sadly, they just won a battle, not the war.  Such violent trending in my thoughts today – wonder if that is a result of the give & take yesterday.  Regardless, the California boys get to experience a little Minnesota back-to-school weather.  No time to rest up yet.  However, you’ll see by tonight’s lineup that some of the starters are getting a little break which is very good.  Mauer is sitting tonight allowing Butera to catch Blackburn since he didn’t catch yesterday.  Span has a sore shoulder after that hard dive in CF last night.  He was feeling it in batting practice so they scratched him late and Revere gets a start.  Kubel is still a bit sore so Repko gets his spot.

The only one who really needs a rest that still hasn’t gotten it?  Michael Cuddyer.  Really, Gardy, someone needs to spend at LEAST one day getting some innings at 1B so as to have adequate backup later JUST IN CASE Cuddy is not able to play a complete game at 1B for whatever reason.  Just saying. *knock on wood*

All together, I am glad that they are getting a break now so as to be back soon.  We’ll see what that does to the mood and effort tonight. *crosses fingers*

I suppose I’m being greedy, especially given my post earlier in the day where I proposed giving guys a little rest, but I really wanted to see the guys come back and win this game. I admit that, since I was watching this in a bar during my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner, that my judgment may not be absolutely crystal clear. However, it sure looked to me like Blackie threw a nice ballgame. I saw a LOT of ground balls and with Nick that’s a really good sign.

I understand that this was virtually 2/3 of a “normal” lineup, but dangit it sure seemed like whenever I looked up at the screen during the last half of the game, the Twins had some guys on base anyway. Seeing the Chairman pinch hit and then stay in the game behind the plate for the last couple of innings sure sent the message that Gardy wasn’t inclined to be throwing games away, so that’s encouraging anyway.

I’m also not sure I’ve ever been so happy for a guy to get a walk as I was when Ben Revere worked the count full got the free pass in his final plate appearance. I saw him in Spring Training and while he may not be a power hitter, I can assure you all that he is perfectly capable of hitting the ball past the pitcher, despite his three consecutive “1-3” ABs tonight. Keep plugging, Ben!

Finally… am I the only person who found it just a little humorous that Manny Ramirez finally hit his first home run as a Sox tonight… the night AFTER the Twins left town with their sweep? Maybe they should have worn those god-awful green uniforms earlier (still not sure what that was about… did I miss the announcement about a second St Patricks Day this year?).

OK that’s enough about tonight. It was just a minor speed bump and I’m sure our guys will come out swinging tomorrow afternoon. Go Twins! – JC