Happy Fan Appreciation Weekend! or something like that anyway.. they have all sorts of things going on at Target Field this weekend that may or may not have anything to do with baseball.

What I know for sure is that the Twins could not have ordered a better weekend weather-wise for the final home stand. It’s stunningly gorgeous outside for the end of September – will still be in the 70′s at first pitch and lovely sun. Minnesota really shines in the fall and I hope that everyone is taking advantage of it.

Of course, the real story of the day is that the Twins officially released Nishioka this afternoon – at his request. I think he has realized that they just aren’t going to put him in the big games if he can’t play the way we want him to and he has decided that he either can’t or isn’t willing to continue on the path he’s been on. I think it’s really a very good decision for both parties. The Twins are free & clear of the money he’d have been owned and I think he’ll be happier for the decision. Also, having this decided now means that they will have that dynamic removed as they are looking for off-season moves for the team.

As for tonight’s game, the Tigers currently have a solid 2 game lead on the White Sox. Do I think we could change that by beating them each of the three games? No, looking at the math, I don’t think so. So, let’s hope that a) the offense remembers what they do with the sticks and how to run smart baseball b) the defense doesn’t get caught bird-watching or anything silly like that and c) Diamond goes out there and does what we know Scotty really knows how to do… and I admit that a little Tiger Circus never fails to disappoint on the entertainment scale…

What do you know? That was a FUN game! We managed to meet Cabrera head on and still never let him score (especially off a better-than-his-average throw from Ben Revere to home plate).

The fun started with a fantastically pitched game from Scott Diamond. That is quite the lineup and he did very well. It should make him feel good about his chances for next year. It’s really a nice way for him to be looking at the end of the season with performances like this.  He went 7 scoreless innings and then tagged by Omar Infante in the 8th but Burton finished that well.  Then Perk got one of the quickest Saves all season. To our pitching staff tonight, my husband says, “have a Summit on me, it’s National Drink A Beer Day!”

But the vote for BOD was unanimous – Ryan Doumit. He just did a brilliant job with the stick tonight. He just sewed it up with a crucial double, a home run and all 4 RBI belong to him. Yep. No debate.

Ryan Doumit