JJ HARDY!!!!!!!
Wow, he really is excited to get back to hitting! I hope that it translates into his AB’s. Of course, I was ever-hopeful that it would translate into Cuddy returning to the OF. So, my joy is tempered. *sigh* Gardy has apparently fallen in love with this arrangement and while I’m frequently in the position of Gardy-defender for all those who get on his case, today, I’m looking at him kind of sideways.
Sorry I missed y’all yesterday. I simply couldn’t get over to the computer because my house was invaded by 45+ people. Craziness ensued. I missed the entire game!!!! *sigh*
So here’s hoping that they are able to repeat the win for me today – at least the brief bits I get to watch!
| Tampa Bay | @ | Minnesota |
| Rodriguez, S, 2B | Span, CF | |
| Crawford, LF | Hudson, O, 2B | |
| Longoria, 3B | Mauer, C | |
| Aybar, W, DH | Morneau, 1B | |
| Shoppach, C | Kubel, RF | |
| Upton, B, CF | Cuddyer, 3B | |
| Zobrist, 1B | Thome, DH | |
| Kapler, RF | Young, D, LF | |
| Bartlett, SS | Hardy, SS | |
| Davis, W, P | Liriano, P |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 0 |
That was a tough game to watch. 7-run seventh innings really are no fun when it isn’t your team doing the merry-go-round around the bases thing. And giving up a grand slam to dead CF to a guy hitting .158? Ugh.
But Can I just say it was GREAT to see JJ Hardy back out there, hitting the ball hard and being Mr. Reliable at SS? And I can do nothing but bow to the great Jim Thome. Catching and passing Harmon Killebrew in the same game and then narrowly missing his third HR in the 9th inning (who’s idea was that 500 ft wall in Right Center Field, anyway?). All of that on top of Cisco Liriano sitting hitters down consistently through 7 innings.
No the result wasn’t what we wanted, but I suggest we all just pretend nothing after the seventh-inning stretch even happened. -JC