Posts in category GameChat

GameChat – Twins @ Braves #3, 11:10am

May22nd
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

a) it’s too early for baseball..

b) it’s especially too early for baseball when the game last night was slow.. had a rain delay.. and THEN went more than 9 innings..

c) and even worse, it was long, slow, overtime baseball we LOST.

I’d really like to avoid a second consecutive sweep here boys…

Minnesota

@

 Atlanta
Escobar, E, 3B Schafer, J, LF
Florimon, SS Pena, R, SS
Willingham, LF Heyward, RF
Morneau, 1B Freeman, F, 1B
Doumit, C Gattis, C
Colabello, RF Johnson, C, 3B
Hicks, CF Uggla, 2B
Dozier, 2B Upton, B, CF
Worley, P Maholm, P

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E
Minnesota

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

2

3

9

0
Atlanta

1

0

2

5

0

0

0

0

x

8

10

1

If you HAVE to have it, that was exactly the kind of baseball you want played during the middle of the work day where no one can actually see it…

Wow, that was bad.

Twins baseball

Twins @ Braves #2, 6:10 pm

May21st
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Jim Crikket

Game two of the series is going to go much better than game one did, right?

OK, I’m not terribly confident about that, either, but we can hope.

If you want something to at least look forward to… kind of… the Twins announced today that Sam Deduno would be called up to start on Friday in Detroit. It’s not that we should assume Deduno will be incredible, but he won’t be any of the same guys we’ve been watching fail miserably to start seemingly every other game recently.

In the mean time, here’s tonight’s line up:

 

TWINS

@

 BRAVES
Carroll, 2B Simmons, SS
Mauer, C Heyward, RF
Willingham, LF Upton, J, LF
Morneau, 1B Freeman, F, 1B
Plouffe, 3B McCann, C
Doumit, RF Uggla, 2B
Hicks, CF Francisco, J, 3B
Florimon, SS Upton, B, CF
Pelfrey, P Hudson, T, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 10 0
Atlanta 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 10 0

This team is getting very good at one thing… finding new ways to lose baseball games.

Glen Perkins gets his first blown save of the season. Guess you can hardly blame him, given how long it has been since he had his last save opportunity.

Twins baseball

GameChat – Twins @ Braves, 6:10pm

May20th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

doggone these east coast games.. I can’t hardly get home early enough to get these out to you!

But here we go!

Minnesota

@

 Atlanta
Dozier, 2B Simmons, SS
Mauer, C Heyward, RF
Morneau, 1B Upton, J, LF
Willingham, LF Freeman, F, 1B
Plouffe, 3B Laird, C
Parmelee, RF Uggla, 2B
Florimon, SS Francisco, J, 3B
Hicks, CF Upton, B, CF
Correia, P Teheran, P

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E
Minnesota

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

6

0
Atlanta

4

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

x

5

9

0

not really a whole lot to say about this game…  *sigh*

Best I can do for you is CONGRATS to Thielbar! That was certainly a lovely MLB debut! 2 innings, 3 K’s and only 1 Hit is a great way to start! Let’s hope for more great stuff.

Twins baseball

GameChat – Red Sox @ Twins #3, 1:10pm

May19th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

Ok, we have a break from the thunderstorms! But that means it is hot and steamy and is ripe air for the long ball – I hope Pedro can keep them on the ground today.

Today the Twins are showing The Sandlot after the game in honor of the 20th Anniversary – our favorite Twins Fan turned radio show host will be sporting appropriate gear so say Hi to Lindsay if you see her!

Photo by lindsayguentzel • Instagram

Otherwise, let’s see if we can salvage this series huh? I’m going to be taking advantage of the NON-rain by putting in a new planting bed in the yard.. sorry folks, but chat away!

Boston

@

 Minnesota
Victorino, CF Carroll, 2B
Gomes, J, LF Mauer, C
Pedroia, 2B Morneau, 1B
Ortiz, D, DH Plouffe, 3B
Napoli, 1B Arcia, DH
Nava, RF Ramirez, W, LF
Middlebrooks, 3B Parmelee, RF
Saltalamacchia, C Hicks, CF
Ciriaco, SS Florimon, SS
  Lackey, P   Hernandez, P, P

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E
Boston

0

1

1

0

1

0

0

0

2

5

11

1
Minnesota

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

5

1

Well that could have gone better…

Sweeps are just ugly and proof that we weren’t playing well. We lasted out the rain delay while they played the entire Sandlot movie for the fans who stayed through. Once the game restarted, it was sadly the worse for us.

Let’s hope we get ourselves back on track on the road.

Twins baseball

GameChat – Red Sox @ Twins #2, 6:10

May18th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Jim Crikket

It’s time for the Twins to get back in the win column. I’m not sure how they’re going to do it, but getting Joe Mauer back in the line up would seem to be a good start. Having Scott Diamond on the mound can’t hurt, either.

Diamond and Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster went head to head in Boston and the Twins came out ahead 6-1.

I haven’t really followed Twins news today, but I do believe I saw where they activated Cole DeVries… and then optioned him.

I do note with interest that Justin Morneau is hitting ahead of Josh Willingham. Phil Miller of the Strib reports that the first time that’s happened this season.

I’m covering the Kernels tonight, so I won’t likely be in the chat much, if at all, but for those of you who are, I hope you enjoy the game and the company!

RED SOX

@

 TWINS
Ellsbury,   CF Carroll,   2B
Gomes, J,   LF Mauer,   DH
Pedroia,   2B Morneau,   1B
Ortiz, D,   DH Willingham,   LF
Napoli,   1B Doumit,   C
Nava,   RF Arcia,   RF
Middlebrooks,   3B Plouffe,   3B
Lavarnway,   C Hicks,   CF
Ciriaco,   SS Florimon,   SS
 _Dempster,   P   _ Diamond,   P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 3 0 1 0 3 0 4 0 1 12 13 0
Minnesota 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 5 12 0

The Twins only lost by one… if you keep score by number of hits instead of runs. And they didn’t commit any errors, so they’ve got that going for them.

Alas, what matters is runs and the Red Sox scored a lot of them while the Twins scored far fewer.

Tomorrow should be a better day, if for no other reason than it’s the day the Twins are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of the movie “Sandlot” and are going to be showing it on the video boards.

Twins baseball

GameChat – Red Sox @ Twins, 7:10pm

May17th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

So the Red Sox are in town – and we greet them with soggy, grayness. Yay.

And we face Clay Buchholz with no Mauer (out tonight with a sore back) and with Parmelee in the 2-hole. THAT’s kind of interesting.. not sure what I think about that.

At any rate, let’s see what the boys can do since I’m pretty sure that they’ll get the game in..

Boston

@

 Minnesota
Ellsbury, CF Dozier, 2B
Nava, RF Parmelee, RF
Pedroia, 2B Willingham, DH
Ortiz, D, DH Morneau, 1B
Middlebrooks, 3B Doumit, C
Drew, SS Arcia, LF
Gomes, J, LF Plouffe, 3B
Carp, 1B Hicks, CF
Saltalamacchia, C Florimon, SS
  Buchholz, P   Worley, P

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Boston 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 10 0
Minnesota 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1

I was watching an extra-inning game tonight, but it didn’t involve the Twins (at least not the current Twins), so I couldn’t begin to comment on what happened. I did note from Twitter that Vance Worley seemed to have one of his better games on the mound since joining the Twins, but it wasn’t enough to get the win. For that, your bats typically need to accumulate more than four hits. – JC

Twins baseball

GameChat – White Sox @ Twins #3, 12:10pm

May15th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

Getaway Day! This  is the last day of the series of course and I would be GREAT if the Twins could manage a series win by taking this afternoon’s game. That makes it a pretty big deal of a game for Mike Pelfrey. He’s going to have to continue to improve rather than backslide – and to me that means: a) keeping the pace moving – if this game goes 4 hours, it better be because we played 3 extra innings (not that I want to); b) keeping hits and walks to a minimum – he doesn’t have to be perfect but both those items have come back to bite him on the rear already this season; and c) going deep into the game – we’re past the point in the season where 4-5 innings is acceptable from a starting pitcher, our bullpen needs the rest.

Who knows who will be around to chat during the middle of the work day – I’ll be watching the curiousity that the strike zone has become on gameday while the rest of you enjoy the radio or whatever.

Chi White Sox

@

 Minnesota
Wise, CF Carroll, 2B
Ramirez, Al, SS Mauer, DH
Rios, RF Willingham, LF
Dunn, A, 1B Morneau, 1B
Konerko, DH Doumit, C
Gillaspie, 3B Arcia, RF
Viciedo, LF Hicks, CF
Keppinger, 2B Escobar, E, 3B
Gimenez, H, C Florimon, SS
  Axelrod, P   Pelfrey, P

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E
Chi White Sox

0

0

2

1

2

0

2

2

0

9

14

0
Minnesota

1

1

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

4

11

0

Ouch.

Ok, it wasn’t all bad. Mauer has extended his hitting streak to 14 games (I believe his personal record is 16) so that is cool. According to Dustin Morse, he also now has 7 games with at least 3 hits, currently tied for the most in baseball (Loney, Lowrie). That’s great too..  it just didn’t translate into enough RUNS to compensate for those given up by our pitching.

Really, I’m trying to temper my frustration because that is what I knew this season would be like but I still can’t help but say we need to expect more from Pelfrey than he is giving us. It’s just not enough. Sadly, the bullpen didn’t really do all that well for us today either – except for Perkins who came in after a several day break dealing with an oblique strain and looked pretty good.

But still.. the White Sox.. ouch.

Twins baseball

GameChat – White Sox @ Twins #2, 7:10pm

May14th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

Given my well-announced nerves for the games following nights of double-digit run explosions, I’m hopeful that Correia can keep the White Sox in line just in case we aren’t hitting as well as we were yesterday.

It’s HOT in Minnesota for the record – it hit 95 at the airport today tying a record high for this day set back in 1932 [correction: NEW record high of 98 at MSP & higher elsewhere] – and who knows if that hot weather will help the ball carry a bit more …

I laughed at a tweet from Chris Parmelee earlier today in which he claimed it’s finally baseball weather! Yeah, if you say so Parmesan. Glad I don’t have to wear all those layers and a cup and go stand in the sun of Target Field.

Chi White Sox

@

 Minnesota
De Aza, LF Dozier, 2B
Ramirez, Al, SS Mauer, C
Rios, RF Willingham, LF
Dunn, A, 1B Morneau, 1B
Viciedo, DH Parmelee, RF
Gillaspie, 3B Plouffe, 3B
Keppinger, 2B Arcia, DH
Wise, CF Hicks, CF
Flowers, C Florimon, SS
  Peavy, P   Correia, P

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E
Chi White Sox

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

4

12

1
Minnesota

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

2

6

0

Every TIME!! I swear.. *sigh* I think there is something called a Run Hangover that means they aren’t in “performance ready” shape the night after they get a lot of runs. It just hasn’t been scientifically/statistically examined… yet.

The White Sox win one… Correia wasn’t on that roll that we would need to have to match up against Jake Peavy. We needed to have him keep the Sox batters as off balance as we expected ours to be.. that didn’t happen so much.

The good news is that at least Willingham got a timely, great hit – maybe he’s breaking HIS streak?

Twins baseball

GameChat – White Sox @ TWINS, 7:10 pm

May13th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Jim Crikket

It’s always fun to look at the AL Central Division standings and see the White Sox below the Twins and that’s what those standings show right now. Our guys are 2 1/2 games in front of the visiting South Siders.

Of course, that also means that if the Twins don’t take care of business in this three-game series, they could just as easily be looking up at the White Sox (and everyone else in the Division) by the time the series wraps up Wednesday.

The flip side, if you care to be a “glass half full” kind of fan, is that the Twins are also just 2 1/2 games out of first place in the Division, so sweeping the Sox out of town could also certainly improve their spot in the standings.

If anyone saw any of the game Sunday night between Chicago and the Angels, you’ll join me in also celebrating the fact that the Twins will not be facing pitcher Chris Sale this series. He was literally almost unhittable last night, giving up just a Mike Trout ground ball single up the middle.

Meanwhile, it appears Aaron Hicks and Pedro Florimon are over their respective owies enough to return to the Twins line up. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I’ll leave up to each of you to decide for yourselves.

WHITE SOX

@

 TWINS
De Aza, CF Dozier, 2B
Ramirez, Al, SS Mauer, C
Rios, RF Willingham, LF
Viciedo, DH Morneau, 1B
Dunn, A, 1B Doumit, DH
Keppinger, 3B Plouffe, 3B
Wells, C, LF Arcia, RF
Flowers, C Hicks, CF
Greene, 2B Florimon, SS
_  Santiago, H, P _  Hernandez, P, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 6 11 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1

If there’s one thing more fun than watching the Twins beat the White Sox 10-3, it’s watching the Twins beat the White Sox 10-3 and listening to Hawk Harrelson explain why it’s happening (the Sox “gave” the Twins 7 of their 10 runs).

Tonight was hopefully Aaron Hicks’ breakout performance. He hit two home runs and stole a home run from Adam Dunn by snaring the ball as it sailed over the center field wall. He even got a curtain call from the fans after his second dinger. It really was great to see Hicks smile out there on the field. Let’s home this helped cleanse him of some of the tension he had to be feeling after his struggles thus far and we’ll start seeing more of this kind of thing going forward.

There were plenty of other solid performances from the Twins, including solid pitching from all involved and a fine night at the plate from Justin Morneau, but there can be only one choice as our BOD. That would be you, Mr. Hick. Keep up the good work!

AaronHicks

Twins baseball   

GameChat – Orioles @ Twins #3, 1:10pm

May12th
2013 Leave a Comment Written by CapitalBabs

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!  … unless you’re a guy and then you just have to wait.

Another day of cool but sunny weather for the boys in Target Field – game time start should be a little over 50. Considering it’s going to be 90 on Tuesday, they should all just count their lucky stars…

I’m going to miss the start of the game again since I’ll be off lunching with my mama but we all eat fast.. ;) JC is also off to be with his mother. Who knows who will be around to chat baseball but I will be later. See y’all soon!

Baltimore

@

 Minnesota
Markakis, RF Dozier, 2B
Machado, M, 3B Mauer, DH
Jones, Ad, CF Willingham, LF
Davis, C, 1B Morneau, 1B
Wieters, DH Doumit, C
Pearce, LF Plouffe, 3B
Hardy, SS Parmelee, RF
Casilla, A, 2B Ramirez, W, CF
Snyder, C, C Escobar, E, SS
  Chen, W, P   Diamond, P

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 6 11 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1

Not much offense today. Only one Twins hitter had more than one hit and only one Twins hitter had an extra-base hit. It should come as no surprise that, in both cases, the hitter was Joe Mauer.

The Twins had been scoring 5-6 runs a game for a while so I suppose we shouldn’t whine too much about just the second shutout they’ve suffered this season. Just don’t make a habit of it, boys. – JC

 

Twins baseball
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