Author Archives: Eric Pleiss

GameChat – Twins @ Rangers 7:05pm

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Roster moves all up in here!

The Twins have placed Samuel Deduno and Wilkin Ramirez on the 15-day DL and recalled Pedro Hernandez (yes, that same ineffective Pedro Hernandez) and Darin Mastroianni to take their places.  Joe Mauer will remain on the 7-day concussion DL for a while longer, and there is really no reason to do much of anything with him as rosters expand on Sunday and then Ron Gardenhire can have any number of catchers on the active roster.

Tonight Twins fans will be treated to Yu Darvish vs. Liam Hendriks.

Go Twins!

 Twins

@

 Rangers
 Dozier, 2B  Martin, L, CF
Herrmann, C, C  Andrus, SS
 Morneau, 1B  Kinsler, 2B
 Willingham, LF  Beltre, A, 3B
 Doumit, DH  Pierzynski, C
 Plouffe, 3B  Rios, RF
 Thomas, C, CF  Moreland, 1B
 Mastroianni, RF  Profar, DH
 Florimon, SS  Murphy, Dv, LF
 _Hendriks, P  _Darvish, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 6 1
Texas 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0

Just about all I read on Twitter today was about how the Twins and Liam Hendriks had NO chance to win against the mighty Texas Rangers and Yu Darvish.

So, imagine my surprise when I check the score after the Kernels’ game tonight and see the Twins and Hendriks beat the Rangers and Darvish.

How could that be?

Seems Mister Hendriks only gave up five hits in six innings and four members of the Twins’ bullpen combined to throw three shutout innings.

Meanwhile, Chris Herrmann and Justin Morneau had back to back home runs off of Darvish. True those home runs constituted 2/3 of the total hits Darvish gave up to the Twins, but so what?

I’m going to call Chris Herrmann the BOD for his two-run dinger. – JC

Chris Herrmann
Chris Herrmann

Talk to Contact Episode 50.5 – The Radio Episode

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Episode 50.5 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

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We’re going old school this week and talking radio!  This week’s Twins topics include bad pitching, bad hitting, and the rise of Pedro Florimon.  We also discuss the Arizona Fall league assignments and Down on the Pond we talk about Matt Tomshaw’s THING!

 

You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan, and you can find Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) and read his writing at PuckettsPond.com!

If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes(ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which turns us into Matt Tomshaw’s THING and helps spread the word about our podcast.

GameChat – Kansas City @ Minnesota #3, 12:10pm

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The Twins will need a victory today to avoid being swept at home by Kansas City.  The Royals came into Minnesota losers of seven of their past nine games, but outside of a strong start by Kevin Correia, they have not looked to least bit challenged by the lowly Minnesota Twins.

The Twins have not hit or pitched well agaisnt the Royals this week, and on the season the Twins are just 4-14 against Kansas City and have been outscored 49-95 (-46), accounting for more than HALF of the Twins current run differential (-90)!

Bruce Chen is on the mound this afternoon for the Royals, and while the Twins have had some success against him in the past (almost a 5 ERA against the Twins in his career), this is not the same Twins team that was beating up on opponents for almost a decade in the 2000’s.  These Twins haven’t scored more than a single run in an inning for almost a week!

Go Twins!

 Royals

@

 Twins
 Gordon, A, LF  Dozier, 2B
 Bonifacio, 3B  Florimon, SS
 Hosmer, 1B  Morneau, DH
 Butler, B, DH  Willingham, LF
 Maxwell, RF  Doumit, C
 Kottaras, C  Plouffe, 3B
 Escobar, A, SS  Colabello, 1B
 Getz, 2B  Ramirez, W, RF
 Dyson, J, CF  Thomas, C, CF
 _Chen, B, P  _Deduno, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0

Well, Brian Dozier hit a home run so that was good. Looks like that’s about it, though. – JC

GameChat – Kansas City @ Minnesota #2, 7:10pm

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The Twins bullpen let a Kevin Correia gem result in a no decision last night, so let’s hope that they’ve learned their lesson and pitch well this evening.  The Twins have struggled against the Royals all season, and if the Twins lose today, they will have failed to win a single series from the Royals in 2013.

Go Twins

 Kansas City

@

 Minnesota
 Gordon, A, LF  Dozier, 2B
 Bonifacio, 2B  Ramirez, W, RF
 Hosmer, 1B  Morneau, 1B
 Butler, B, DH  Willingham, LF
 Perez, S, C  Plouffe, 3B
 Maxwell, RF  Herrmann, C, C
 Carroll, 3B  Colabello, DH
 Escobar, A, SS  Thomas, C, CF
 Dyson, J, CF  Florimon, SS
 _Duffy, P  _Albers, A, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 2 8 13 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 2

I really think the line score and box score says all that needs to be said about this game. – JC

GameChat – Royals @ Twins, 7:10pm

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The Twins kick off tonight’s action in line to have the sixth pick in next year’s amateur draft, but they’re within three games of picking as high as fourth and as low as fifteenth. While the Twins are out of postseason contention, there are still thirty three games left on the Twins schedule that hold a whole lot of value.  There might not be a big difference in value between the sixth and tenth picks, but if the Twins fall past that tenth spot they would no longer have a protected draft pick, which means they would not be given a compensatory draft pick the following year if they were unable to sign their 2014 selection.

I’m certainly not arguing that the Twins should go out and try and lose games, just that the real goal for the remainder of the season should be on finding out what kind of talent is available in the system and seeing that talent on the field in Minnesota.

Go Twins!

 Kansas City Royals

@

 Minnesota Twins
 Gordon, A, LF  Dozier, 2B
 Bonifacio, 3B  Herrmann, C, RF
 Hosmer, 1B  Morneau, 1B
 Butler, B, DH  Willingham, LF
 Perez, S, C  Doumit, C
 Lough, RF  Colabello, DH
 Getz, 2B  Plouffe, 3B
 Escobar, A, SS  Thomas, C, CF
 Dyson, J, CF  Florimon, SS
 _Shields, P  _Correia, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 6 13 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 1

So Kevin Correia went seven innings without giving up a run and the Twins’ bullpen blew it?

That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. – JC

GameChat – Chicago AL @ Minnesota 7:10pm

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The win last night was the kind of win that reminds you why they play all nine innings. The Twins came back from an early hole, chipping away, and finally took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the 9th.  Anything even half that exciting this evening will be excellent.

Ryan Doumit is back from the DL, and to make room for him the Twins optioned Chris Colabello, who never really looked like the AAA slugger he was early in the year, back to the Minor Leagues.

Go Twins!

 White Sox

@

  Twins
 De Aza, CF  Dozier, 2B
 Keppinger, 2B  Mauer, C
Ramirez, Al, SS  Morneau, 1B
 Dunn, A, 1B  Willingham, LF
 Konerko, DH  Doumit, DH
 Garcia, A, RF Plouffe, 3B
 Gillaspie, 3B  Ramirez, W, RF
 Viciedo, LF Thomas, C, CF
 Phegley, C  Bernier, SS
   Quintana, P    Correia, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chi White Sox 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 10 0
Minnesota 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 1

Nine hits seems like a pretty high number to just generate two runs. Going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position is no way to try to win a ballgame. – JC

Talk to Contact Episode 49: Andrew Albers Awesome Adventures

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Episode 49 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

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This week Paul returns from the wilderness to banter with Eric and Cody about Andrew Albers who continues to impress and pitch well with his 86mph fastball, Brian Dozier and his silky smooth hair, the loss of Jamey Carroll, the return for Drew Butera and other happenings surrounding the Minnesota Twins.

 

You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan, and you can find Eric on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read his writing at Knuckleballs!

If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes(ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which help us become warlocks and spread the word about our podcast.

Talk to Contact Episode 48: Cody’s Sweaty Twinkie Costume

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Episode 48 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

Circle me, Bert!
Circle me, Bert!

Paul went camping this weekend and we never heard from him, so while he’s PROBABLY not dead, he CERTAINLY isn’t on the podcast this week.  Don’t fret, because we’re joined by Jesse Lund (@TwinkieTown) from TwinkieTown.com to talk all things Twins and Twins blogging, and Cody and I do our regular exciting Twins talk.  Join us for 84ish minutes of baseball noise.

 

You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan.  You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.  And of course, you can find me on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing at Knuckleballs!

– ERolfPleiss

GameChat – Twins @ Royals #3, 7:10pm

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Fresh off of a fabulous Andrew Albers performance, the Twins have an opportunity to win a series in Kansas City less than a week after being swept by this same team in Minnesota.  The Twins will send their “lead starter” (which as Babs pointed out on Twitter, is a lot more accurate than “staff ace”) Samuel Deduno out to do the job.

The Royals are sending Danny Duffy to the mound tonight, making his 2013 debut.  Duffy started 20 games for the Royals in 2011, and then just six starts a year ago due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament, requiring Tommy John surgery.  Duffy had mid-90s velocity from the left side, which could cripple this Twins lineup, but who knows what he has left post-Tommy John.

Oh, and no Joe Mauer tonight, so that’s one less lefty bat against Duffy.

 Minnesota Twins

@

 Kansas City Royals
 Dozier, 2B  Lough, RF
 Carroll, 3B  Hosmer, 1B
 Morneau, 1B  Butler, B, DH
 Colabello, RF  Gordon, A, LF
 Doumit, C  Cain, L, CF
 Plouffe, DH  Moustakas, 3B
 Arcia, LF  Tejada, M, 2B
 Thomas, C, CF  Hayes, C
 Florimon, SS  Escobar, A, SS
   Deduno, P    Duffy, P

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0
Kansas City 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 x 5 14 0

Let’s be honest, we didn’t REALLY think our guys would win two games in a row, did we?

Sam Deduno certainly didn’t stink, but you aren’t going to win many games when you only score two runs. You’d think with 10 hits, you could scratch a few more runs, though, wouldn’t you? Twins were 2 of 11 with runners in scoring position and the Royals were 5 for 14.  Pretty easy to tell from that which team won.

Those 16 strikeouts didn’t help, either. – JC

GameChat – Astros @ Twins #3, 1:10pm

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The Twins bullpen has done a fantastic job of keeping the Astros off of the board this weekend, but after back-to-back games of heavy use, the Twins will be looking to Mike Pelfrey to pitch deep into the game.

The Twins are not necessarily running out the typical Sunday B-Lineup, but that might be because their everyday lineup is pretty bad on its own.  Trevor Plouffe has the day off, and it looks like Pedro Florimon is still nursing his sore wrist as Doug Bernier is starting for the second day in a row.

Go Twins!

 Astros

@

  Twins
 Grossman, LF  Dozier, 2B
 Altuve, 2B  Herrmann, C, RF
 Castro, Ja, C  Mauer, DH
 Wallace, 1B  Morneau, 1B
 Carter, DH  Doumit, C
 Krauss, RF  Arcia, LF
 Dominguez, 3B  Thomas, C, CF
 Barnes, B, CF  Carroll, 3B
 Villar, SS  Bernier, SS
   Peacock, P    Pelfrey, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 9 0
Minnesota 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 x 3 5 0

I didn’t watch or hear anything about the game, but if you hit the home run that leads to the win, I think you get BOD, right?

Minnesota+Twins+Photo+Day+Arcia