With the MLB All-Star Game upon us, we don’t have a whole lot of Twins stuff to talk about, so it’s a good time to give something away.
In a fortuitous coincidence, the good folks at A+E Networks Home Entertainment and MLB Productions have offered us some stuff to give away in conjunction with the release of MLB Productions Films on iTunes.
Here are the details that the sponsors would like us to pass along to you, our readers:
Baseball fans are now able to experience their favorite films in an entirely new way, as titles from the Major League Baseball Productions Film & Video Archive are now available digitally. Over 100 titles are now live on iTunes, which already includes hundreds of classic games as well as podcasts and award-winning mobile apps from MLB Advanced Media, including MLB.com At Bat, the top grossing sports app of all-time.
Aside from MLB Bloopers and Prime 9: MLB Heroics, available programming includes The Best of the Home Run Derby and “Prime 9: All-Star Moments;” Official World Series Films dating back to 1947, including the 1969 and 1986 films; the first season of “This Week In Baseball,” which originally aired in 1977; a documentary offering a fresh perspective on Jackie Robinson’s life and career; recent productions including a comprehensive film chronicling every era of World Series play and documentaries created to celebrate notable anniversaries for the Mets, Astros and Red Sox; bloopers titles highlighting the funniest MLB moments; and many other titles. Any of these films can now be downloaded from the iTunes store (www.iTunes.com/MLB). Prices range from $1.99 for individual episodes of “Prime 9” and “This Week in Baseball” to $19.99 for the Official 2012 World Series Film in HD.
In return for that promotional announcement, we’ve got two copies of the Minnesota Twins Magic in Minnesota: Remembering the 1991 World Series Championship DVD to give away.
To be eligible for one of these DVDs, just tell us about your favorite All-Star Game moment… or maybe your LEAST favorite ASG moment… or maybe your FIRST ASG memory. Just tell us something about an All-Star Game that stands out in your memory in the comments section and we’ll put your name in a hat from which we will draw two winners next Sunday, say about noon.
For me, my favorite All-Star Game memory might be Torii Hunter stealing a home run from Barry Bonds.
Then again, the first vivid memory I have of an All-Star Game was Pete Rose barreling in to Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse, back when players still took the game seriously.
Kyle Gibson gets his first start at Yankee Stadium today as the Twins try to accomplish the near-unthinkable… win a series against the Evil Empire in New York.
That said, the guys wearing Evil Empire uniforms resemble the real Yankees about the way Rick Moranis and his minions in “Spaceballs” resembled Darth Vader, et al, in Star Wars. The resemblance is almost more for comedic effect than anything else.
Still, winning would be better than losing. It would be particularly nice to get a W from Captain Cheeseburger.
Across town from where the Yankees and Twins are playing, Twins prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton will be playing in the annual Futures Game at 1:00-ish at Citi Field. Sano is starting at 3B for the International team and Buxton is starting on the bench for the USA team.
I’ll be watching the Kernels take on the Bowling Green Hot Rods at 2:00 here in Cedar Rapids.
If you can’t find any baseball to watch today, you just aren’t trying hard enough! – JC
Well, HOT DAMN!! We just took a series IN New York! We haven’t done that since 2001!!!
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Yankees game without the usual umpiring fiascos… what’s UP with that anyway!?! seriously? I want it on the record that I despise horrible umping even when we WIN. Gah.. just gives them all a bad name and most of them don’t need the help!
But there was a lot of good things about today’s game – people stepping up and having good games all over our lineup. Let’s start with the rookie getting a W in NY. Yep. So that happened. Gibson did well and even though he only went 5 innings, let’s just put that down to the fact that it’s pretty darn miserably hot – there and here.
Florimon, Carroll and Dozier all had fantastic games – I’m really pleased with all of them and Morneau seems to finally have clicked again although his numbers and his actual plate appearances were kind of an odd thing. He was 3/5 but all the ones he hit hard were out – the rest were just weird or ridiculous misplays. The smile on his face during the post-game interview tells me he’ll take it.
My last mention of the day is Trevor Plouffe who filled the DH position today – he seemed to like it getting 3 runs and 2 hits today and just by that additional run, manages to earn today’s BOD!
Additional Note: Twins are sending Parmelee, Arcia and Escobar down to start getting more AB’s and better swings during this All-Star break. They are bringing up a few young folk including Hermann.
You know, you look at the line up the Yankees are putting out there right now and you just can’t believe that’s a New York Yankees team. It’s just as hard to understand how the Twins simply can’t beat them.
Maybe Sam Deduno hasn’t had time to figure out he’s not supposed to beat any team wearing pinstripes in Yankee Stadium.
The losing streak is OVER! Both of them, even! 6 game losing streak AND 6 consecutive losses to the Yankees. It feels good to have the boys on the winning side of things this time.
That being said, we still haven’t solved the RISP problem – the boys just decided if they weren’t going to have the guy behind them bring them home, they were just going to have to get home on their own – 3 homeruns in today’s game from Plouffe, Doumit and Florimon! It was great to get the long ball though because it was such a morale booster!
And what is it about the officiating at Yankee Stadium?!?!?! Gardy got tossed after a HORRIBLE (not even close or rational) call at 1B. Clete Thomas was called out for interference/leaving the base path. You know what is funny about that call? Video is really great to show if a runner ever does that.. and sure enough, never happened. No clue where that call came from – even Overbay looked a little surprised. Gardy was more than surprised of course – and as Ron Coomer predicted the moment the call was made, Gardy was tossed for explaining to the ump exactly the relative positions of his head and his ass.
Maybe that was what was necessary because the 1-1 tie didn’t last long after that..
The real story for today is Samuel Deduno. He really kept the Yankees off balance – like he did when he faced them last time in Minnesota on July 4th. At least this time, his colleagues gave him the win! 7 solid innings with only 1 earned run is just about the best we have seen from any of our pitchers lately! So today, he earns our BOD!
Our sincere apologies for the late post!! I had to work late and apparently my Knuckleballs compatriots are otherwise occupied or at least not baseball engaged.
After 13 innings of baseball that completed less than 12 hours ago, I’m sure that NO ONE is actually ready for playing again now…
Considering the series the Rays had before us included a sweep of the White Sox, they are seriously on a roll. I would LOVE for the streak they have going to come to a conclusion right about now even though the Twins are major underdogs going into this game.
That’s a role our boys are fairly familiar with and sometimes manage to overcome. I have my fingers crossed for Pelfrey today though because the only guy who didn’t pitch last night was Perkins… yeesh.
If you had told me before the season started that the line up the Twins are using tonight would be something they’d be using in July, I’d have said, “that team must be in trouble.” And they are.
It looks a lot like the kind of “B” line up that Gardy has been known to trot out there for a day game after a night game. But the day game is tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Rays swapped out their RF and their C and otherwise went with the same line up as the first game of the series.
Anyway, let’s hope Kevin Correia can get some guys out tonight. – JC
Actually, this was NOT a bad game of baseball – this was a pretty well duked-out pitchers duel and you know darn well we come into that gun fight with a knife. BUT the boys actually did a pretty good job at defense – Aaron Hicks was on FIRE! (and something tells me he’ll be feeling the efforts in the morning.)
Sadly, we just couldn’t hold it and they won with a walk-off in the 13th. Sad that there were hardly any fans there to see that kind of game.
It’s the top of the seventh inning and his team is leading by two runs. There are two outs, but the bases are loaded with opposing base runners.
It’s the kind of situation the best relief pitchers almost seem to relish coming in to face.
Kernels relief pitchers Tyler Jones (35) and Steve Gruver (R)
Lefty Steve Gruver and right-hander Tyler Jones have been among the most reliable bullpen arms in the Midwest League this season and have presented a formidable lefty-righty combination out of the Kernels bullpen.
Gruver was one of eight Kernels named to the Midwest League All-Star Game in June and on Friday night it was Gruver who entered the game with two outs and the bases loaded, determined to protect that two-run Kernels lead.
Gruver would like to forget the moments that followed, as Tyrone Taylor launched a grand slam home run off a pitch that found its way too close to the middle of the plate and put the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers up by an 8-6 score.
Gruver finished the final 2 1/3 innings of the game for Cedar Rapids and the Kernels scored once in the eighth inning, but it wasn’t enough, as they lost to Wisconsin 8-7.
The next day, on Saturday afternoon, before the Kernels took on the Lumber Kings in Clinton, Gruver, who was drafted by the Twins out of the University of Tennessee in the seventh round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft, talked about the life of a professional relief pitcher.
Jim Crikket: Steve, this is your second year in the Midwest League and you spent time in Beloit last year both as a part of their starting rotation and pitching out of the bullpen, correct?
Steve Gruver: Most of the year, I started and then toward the end of the year, actually right around this time, I went to the bullpen.
JC: Was that primarily to limit the number of innings on your arm? I know they had a few guys that pitched in both roles last year.
Gruver: There were a few, but mainly for me, my velocity started dropping a little bit and I had a few bad outings in a row. So I was just trying to get back in to not thinking and just trying to throw hard and get my velocity back up a little.
JC: Coming in to this year, did the Twins tell you that this is your role, working out of the bullpen, or did they tell you to be prepared for anything again?
Gruver: It was kind of be prepared for anything. They don’t really let you know too much. They want you to be prepared for anything. They want you to be able to be versatile and come out in any role so I’ve kind of kept it open and like there was a chance to do anything really.
JC: Do you have a particular preference, now that you’ve done both? Is there one role you prefer over the other?
Gruver: I enjoy both. I’m not too picky, as long as I’m pitching. I try to treat every inning as just one inning at a time, whether I’m trying to go six or seven that day or just one. I try and look at it the same, whether I’m starting or relieving.
JC: The preparation between games has to be a little different, though, right?
Gruver: There’s differences in the preparation between the two and I try and keep that the limit of the differences. But there are definitely differences there.
Starting, you have four or five days in between each start, so it’s a little bit more logistical, I guess, in how you prepare. You have a little bit more of a plan going through each day, on what you do each day in your bullpens in between when you pitch.
When you’re in the pen, you kind of have to let it fly. You never know. You could pitch two, three days in a row sometimes. So you don’t have those days in between to throw pens and work out as much. You kind of have to have somewhat of a loose routine when you’re coming out of the pen, compared to a starter routine, which would be very strict and kind of a more day-to-day basis.
JC: As a starter, your pitching coach can work with you in between starts, maybe work on a new grip for one of your pitches. How do you go about making those sorts of adjustments as a reliever when you don’t know whether you’re going to have to pitch that night or not?
Gruver: You have to limit your pitches. You have to really be diligent in what you do and every pitch has to matter when you’re in a relief role.
When you’re trying to get that extra work in, you have to use every pitch. I may only throw 10 pitches in my bullpen when I go out, but I try and make sure every pitch counts and I have a plan for each pitch so that every time I throw, I’m getting something out of it.
JC: What about the mental approach to relieving, as opposed to starting? Out of the bullpen, you have to be prepared to go in either to start an inning or with guys on base.
Gruver: I enjoy that. I enjoy having that excitement, especially when you come in with guys on base. It’s a do or die situation and it kind of gets you focused, it gets you excited and it kind of gets your heart rate up a little bit.
Starting is different. Starting, you have to be a little bit more under control. You’re starting the game and you know that you’re the one the team is counting on to get through the long innings.
There are different approaches to it, but both are exciting in their own way.
JC: Which leads us to last (Friday) night. Bases loaded, you come in and second pitch didn’t go where you wanted it to go. At least it didn’t end up where you wanted it to end up.
Gruver: No, it didn’t. The pitch didn’t go where I wanted it to go, either.
I made a bad pitch and he got the best of me on that one.
As a relief pitcher, that’s got to just disappear from your mind, because tonight they may call on you again in the same situation and you can’t go in there thinking about what happened last time.
Even closer to the situation, I had to go two more innings afterward. I had to get out of that situation and tell myself we can still come back. I have to be able to put that behind me and keep going through the game, just in case we score.
We were only down two and still had a chance to come back. If that was still on my mind, I could have given up two or three more runs the next innings and really blown it.
You have to have a very short memory in those situations.
JC: You said you enjoy that aspect of being a relief pitcher, of always being ready. Is that part of it, too, knowing there’s a little bit of a mental challenge to have that short memory?
Gruver: Yeah, that’s definitely something that’s tough for a lot of guys, but it is exciting. When you can push through that, you feel good even in a bad situation like that. You feel good coming out of it, knowing that you got through it.
You really tell yourself it’s not the end of the world. So next time, you might come in a little bit more relaxed and get out of that situation.
JC: There are some who believe that it takes greater mental fortitude to be a late-inning reliever, as opposed to a middle reliever. Do you look at it that way or does it really not matter when you go in to a game?
Gruver: I try not to make it matter. I try and take every inning as the same. Really, you can break it down in to one pitch at a time, even less than an inning. I’m trying to throw that one pitch, whether you’re up five or down five, you’re trying to make that one pitch at a time.
If you’re coming in during the fourth inning, you tend to be either up a lot or down a lot, so there is a little bit less pressure sometimes. You can come in and try to pound the zone a little more, knowing that even if you give up one or two that you’re still going to be in the game or you’re not inherently affecting the game, where coming in in the eighth or ninth, a lot of times the game’s on the line.
But, overall, you try and look at it the same way.
JC: There’s a perception that it may take a guy less time to reach the Big Leagues as a relief pitcher than as a starting pitcher, particularly for a lefty. Does that influence your preference as far as your role or do you even think about that kind of thing?
Gruver: It’s not my decision. I do what they tell me and I’m happy to be in whatever role, as long as I’m still playing. And If I’m moving up, it doesn’t really matter to me what role I’m in.
JC: Tell me a bit about how you’re finding the Cedar Rapids experience this year. Is there anything in particular about playing in Cedar Rapids that stands out to you?
Gruver: I really enjoy the fans. They get behind us a lot. The games are always exciting in that way. It’s always loud and the fans get in to it. When we’re playing well, the fans let us know. It’s fun to hear a loud crowd. When you’re on the field and something good happens, the fans get in to it just as much as you do.
JC: Off the field, do you have hobbies or other interests? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at the ballpark?
Gruver: I enjoy some movies. I enjoy being outside a lot. Anything I can. Playing other sports, but I really can’t do that in the season. In the season, in the time I’m not at the field, I enjoy some movies.
I enjoy reading a lot, especially with all the road trips we have and all the time on buses, I’m really getting in to some books. I enjoy that a lot.
JC: Do you have a favorite movie?
Gruver: One of my favorites is “Shawshank Redemption.” It’s a classic favorite.
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Speaking of redemption…
On Monday night in Clinton, In Gruver’s first appearance since Friday’s tough loss, Gruver entered the game in the fifth inning with the Kernels trailing Clinton 3-1.
He threw three shutout innings, giving up just two hits and one walk, while striking out three Lumber Kings hitters, while his team mates came back to take a lead and earning Gruver his fifth win of the season.
Crap. One bad inning of pitching and then, in the 9th, tying run at the plate with no outs and we get three straight Ks. I know Rodney was throwing 100 mph, but still. Disappointing. – JC
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of our FOUNDERS, JimCrikket!!!
(I figured saying Founder was a nod to his more senior status 😉 )
Another game of baseball that I probably won’t get to see but.. maybe I’ll get in toward the end.. I’m really intrigued to see how Deduno fairs against this Rays team. I have to admit that I respect what the Rays do a LOT (sometimes more than my own team) and friendly association (competition) can’t hurt if we are able to glean something from the meetings!
And who knew that it would FEEL like Florida in Minnesota while the boys were on the road!
So I popped my head in to the game early to find a run deficit – yelled at the boys to fix that by the time I returned. Which I will give them credit for – they did! They even had a one run lead when I returned! And then I had to again… Maybe it’s my fault for not giving them further instructions to KEEP the lead until I got back again.. or maybe I shouldn’t have left but it is funny how life keeps interfering with baseball lately.
