For the traditional little boy in all of us…

If there was such a thing as a baseball lottery, this might very well be the top prize. In Defiance, Ohio, a man in his 50’s is put in charge of his dead aunt’s estate after she died. The dear lady was a bit of a pack-rat – kept EVERYTHING – which it appears was a trait she inherited from her father. Carl Hench ran a meat market before he died in the 1940’s. Apparently, in 1910, he received a promotional set of baseball cards which he apparently put away, never to be seen again – well not for 100 years or so anyway.

What’s amazing is that they were found in the attic of his home where they’d been for who knows how long in near-perfect condition! His grandson, Karl  Kissner, found them in a metal box under an old dollhouse in the process of sorting through everything collected and kept by his aunt. It took him awhile to figure out exactly what he had and started going through the process to have them authenticated.

Included in the collection are several names you and I know well – Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Cy Young among many others. There are more than 700 cards total in a series that is called E98. All other known copies of Honus Wagner cards show obvious wear while this one is graded a 10 (as new). This is every collectors DREAM. The entire collection is expected to net the 20 grandchildren who are sharing the proceeds between 2 and 3 million dollars. The best 37 are expected to be sold at auction in Baltimore at the National Sports Collectors Convention on August 2nd so if you really want one of them (and have a LOT of liquid resources) you have the opportunity to add it to your own collection. The rest will  be offered in small batches over the next few years in order to avoid flooding the market.

 

Something like this makes me wonder… given my own pack-rat-like tendencies, I wonder what might happen to my husband’s collection of 1991 Twins and other baseball cards that we just recently reacquired. Our grandkids might be very, very lucky. Isn’t that what just about every little boy (or girl) dreams about when he starts collecting baseball cards?

GameChat – 2012 All Star Game featuring Joe Mauer & RA Dickey? 7pm

Of course I’m very glad that Joe Mauer is at the All Star game – more importantly, I’m very glad that his PLAYING has actually deserved a spot at the All Star game. Would I like to have more than one representative? Of course. Do I think we have other players that are as important to the Twins as Joe Mauer? Absolutely – especially since this IS a team sport people. Do I think that a team’s MVP is the one who should represent them at the ASG? no, not necessarily. If voted on today, is Joe Mauer the Twins MVP? Maybe… Who cares? That’s who’s there for us and I’m glad that it’s someone who is hitting the ball well right now – good for everyone all around.

I am much more intrigued by someone else’s story and the controversy that surrounds where he plays in the game.. NL Pitcher, RA Dickey. I’ve always had a soft spot for him because I really enjoyed watching him play as a Twin. I thought he was good for us, fit in well here and I would have liked to see him stick around. That’s just not how the business of baseball works though sometimes so I have followed his career after he left us and am AMAZED at what he’s doing with the Mets this year. And I’m not alone. The fact that he’s not the starting pitcher has really angered and baffled a LOT of NL fans. I think Matt Cain is also an incredible pitcher and is equally deserving of consideration so I’m not as flummoxed as some east coasters seem to be. I see that not every CATCHER is prepared to handle a Knuckleballer so it makes a lot of sense to start a more traditional pitcher if you think your starting catcher might not be up to the game. More smart strategizing than deliberate slight. This is what you do when you put together a lineup after all.

I planned to do a little profile on RA before tonight’s game just because he’s always been a favorite around here – both for the namesake pitch, his personality and his originality. In fact, I fully intend at some point to feature a review of his autobiography Wherever I Wind Up here on Knuckleballs at a later date. But in my research, I actually found a really well-written piece that I decided to share with you instead – in its entirety which is something we rarely do here. Skip to the bottom if it doesn’t interest you but I find his story to be fascinating.

From NPR:

Pitcher R.A. Dickey’s Tale Is As Wild As A Knuckleball

July 9, 2012

R.A. Dickey’s career as a major league pitcher has been as unpredictable as his signature pitch, the knuckleball.

And on Tuesday night, the New York Mets’ 37-year-old phenomenon will hit a new pinnacle: the pitching mound at baseball’s All-Star Game.

He won’t be starting for the National League — manager Tony La Russa chose Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants for that honor. But the manager says says Dickey will pitch.

This guy isn’t the best story in baseball because he’s the best pitcher in the National League. If anything, Dickey is the pitcher he is because of his story. He believes there is a direct line between the pitches he throws and the person he is, which is the only time you’ll ever hear his fluttering knuckleball compared to a “direct line.”

Back in 1996, Robert Allen Dickey was a first-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers as a conventional flamethrower. He was 21 years old and about to be paid more than $800,000 to play the sport he loved.

“[I] flew down to Texas to sign my contract, throw out the first pitch … do all the things that I dreamed about doing my whole life as a baseball player. The first thing I had to do when I landed was head over to the doctor’s office to get a physical, and it was there that they kind of were alarmed at what they saw,” Dickey says.

What they saw, or more accurately didn’t see, was a UCL — an ulnar collateral ligament. Dickey was born without that ligament in his throwing elbow. Doctors said he should be in excruciating pain just turning a doorknob, and yet he had no problem reaching 95 miles an hour on the radar gun.

But past performance didn’t matter to his new club. He was damaged goods, and 90 percent of his signing bonus was revoked.

It was a serious setback in the one area of Dickey’s life that was supposed to be a refuge. Dickey’s parents had divorced when he was a child. His father was distant as R.A. grew older, and his mother was loving but a drinker. He was, while still a boy, sexually abused by a baby sitter and a teenager from his neighborhood.

Even as Dickey entered his 20s, he struggled.

“I began to really hate who I was, and, you know, I was having suicidal thoughts and just all kinds of terrible things running through my mind. You know, I was using the unhealthy ways to escape pain,” Dickey says.

Eventually, Dickey found a few things that helped: his mind, his wife, his faith, and a pitch that’s impossible to own. But if you’re dedicated, it can be leased to great effect.

Learning To Throw Like ‘The Jedi’

A knuckleball is confounding, both going and coming, because it’s thrown with almost no rotation. The baseball’s laces interact with the air, turning it into a Godard jump-cut of pitches.

Currently, Dickey is the only regular knuckleballer in the major leagues. It’s a hard pitch to learn, but there is a fraternity of knuckleballers who can offer advice.

“The people that poured into me and lent me their wisdom and acumen were Tim Wakefield, Charlie Hough and Phil Niekro,” Dickey says. “And so speaking from that experience I can tell you that there’s nobody on this Earth that knows more about it than they do.”

Dickey calls those former major leaguers “The Jedi Council.” In addition to throwing a quirky pitch, he loves Star Wars and The Lord Of The Rings. He names his bats after swords in Beowulf, and the music he has cued up over the stadium PA when he walks up to bat is the theme to Game Of Thrones.

There’s also Dickey’s literary side. His revelatory memoir, Wherever I Wind Up, is clearly written by a lover of language who entertained thoughts of becoming an English professor.

And then there’s the side of Dickey that wants to teach others his recondite skill. Though Cy Young award winner Frank Viola is the pitching coach of the Savannah Sand Gnats, the knuckleball is as baffling to him as string theory. But Dickey eagerly passed along what he knew to minor leaguer Frank Viola III.

“He’s amazing,” the elder Viola says. “R.A. invited him to the games he pitched, invited him to his side sessions to watch; they planned on having Frankie tape a couple workouts and then sending it to New York and having R.A. look at it to critique it and get back to him. I mean he just shared his wealth with Frankie.”

Speaking of wealth, Dickey is in line to be rewarded with the first truly huge contract of his career. Last off-season, Dickey scaled Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for exploited women in Mumbai, then published his memoir. In it, he dwells on the interplay between his psyche and the knuckleball.

“Oftentimes the more cerebral you are about pitching, the more apt you are to make small changes that might take you out of where you really need to be,” he says. “So for me, there’s a fine balance between being self-aware and really believing in what you can produce on the field organically.”

So far, Dickey has produced back-to-back one-hitters, 10 straight wins, a 12-1 record and his first All-Star invite.

For opponents he’s produced befuddlement; for the Mets, he’s helped produce a winning record. And every fifth night he produces the only extant link in the chain of a confounding and fascinating pitch.

So, with all that? yeah, I’m looking forward to watching him pitch even if it is for the “opposing team”. At least he’s not a Yankee, right? 😉

National League

@

American League
C. Gonzalez DH COL D. Jeter SS NYY
M. Cabrera CF SF R. Cano 2B NYY
R. Braun LF MIL J. Hamilton LF TEX
J. Votto 1B CIN J. Bautista RF TOR
C. Beltran RF STL P. Fielder 1B DET
B. Posey C SF A. Beltre 3B TEX
P. Sandoval 3B SF D. Ortiz DH BOS
D. Uggla 2B ATL M. Napoli C TEX
R. Furcal SS STL C. Granderson CF NYY
M. Cain SP SF J. Verlander SP DET

 

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OUCH! That just SUCKED for the AL. I’m pretty sure that no one expected such a tough outing from Justin Verlander – including him – but yeah, that was most definitely not his best.

It was fun to get to watch RA finally come out for an inning. It wasn’t anything all that exciting but he did hit Konerko with a pitch which is kind of fun.. *grin*

I decided I was too tired to wait for who was finally decided upon for the MVP.. gotta admit, I didn’t really care all that much but it’s reportedly between Sandoval & Melky Cabrera.. whoever gets it, congrats.

Everyone Needs a Break

Considering the lack of any games of real importance going on in Major League Baseball at the moment, there sure seems to be a lot of “stuff” flying around the perimeter of the game, agitating the media which, in turn, agitates the masses (or is it the other way around? I’m honestly not sure).

I’ve tried to get fired up about some of it or at least interested enough to give a damn about any of it, but it’s just not happening. But I’ve been embarrassingly absent as a contributing member of this group of bloggers lately, so I’m determined to say SOMETHING about at least a few of the items that have passed for “news” in and around the Twins and the rest of MLB the past few days.

R.A. Dickey’s snub

Dickey deserved to be the starting pitcher for the National League in the All Star Game. He knows it. So does Tony LaRussa. So does Buster Posey, the catcher that the voters erroneously voted to start behind the plate for the NL.  He deserves to start more than Matt Cain does. Even Matt Cain knows it and apparently said so out loud. In fact Dickey deserves to start more than Posey does, but that’s immaterial, I guess.

He’s not starting for one reason and one reason only. He throws an 80 mph knuckleball. Posey has seen it as a hitter, I would imagine, and since he’s apparently never caught even a 60 mph amateur version of a knuckleball, he’s none too anxious to learn how to catch Dickey’s for the first time in front of 40,000 fans and at least a handful of people who tune in to watch the ASG on TV.

As a former knuckleballer myself (though I doubt mine ever even reached the 60 mph level), I should be outraged at the injustice of this discrimination against Dickey. But I’m just not. Hopefully, he got to spend some time yesterday working in the bullpen with one of the NL’s catchers so neither party gets embarrassed out there when Dickey inevitably enters the game.

I’m really happy for the guy because he’s a great story, but I just can’t get worked up about the fact that he’s not starting the game.

Reggie’s dis of Bert, Puck and other Hall Members

I really stopped caring what Reggie Jackson said about anything the day he became a Yankee, but if there was one of these items that did get under my skin a bit, it was Jackson spouting off about how certain recent Hall of Famers didn’t deserve the honor of being enshrined in Cooperstown. The first Tweets I saw indicated he specifically referred to Bert Blyleven and Kirby Puckett. The next Tweet I saw pointed out that Reggie’s results when facing Bert in their careers were… well let’s just say that Reggie didn’t get to Cooperstown based on how he hit against Blyleven.

Bert Blyleven

Eventually I saw that Bert himself Tweeted that Jackson had called to apologize, relying on the old, “my comments were taken out of context,” line of BS. But whatever, at least the guy apologized. He apparently did likewise to others that he lumped in to the “unworthy” category. Again, however, I just couldn’t get too worked up over this. After all, as much as I loved both Puckett and Blyleven as players, I have to admit that their on-field HOF credentials were both marginal, so while Jackson should probably keep that kind of opinion to himself, he’s entitled to it and it’s not an altogether unreasonable opinion. I don’t think the BBWAA gets it right all the time, either, and I’m actually a “big Hall” guy.

I did care enough, however, to seek out the actual SI article that the quotes came from. I came away thinking that it’s really too bad he said the stuff he said about the HOF, because the rest of the article is very good. Ironically, the underlying theme of the article is how Reggie has changed and no longer prone to making outlandish comments and feeding an oversized ego.  Then he has to go and say that he’s going to get up in front of the HOF dinner next year and tell the other members that they all need to do something about keeping guys like Puckett, Blyleven, and others, out of their club in the future. It’s a shame.

Now we read that he’s been invited to stay away from Yankee Stadium for daring to say that A-Rod’s accomplishments are tainted because he admitted to using PEDs. Again, should he have given that quote, considering he’s still collecting a “special assistant” check from the Yankees? No. But he’s not exactly alone on an island with that opinion.

Anyway, it all just seems like more drama than it really should be.

Royals fans dis Cano

Speaking of things that are made bigger than they should be, apparently thin skinned Yankee fans took a major exception to the way the Kansas City crowd treated Robinson Cano during the Home Run Derby Monday night. Fans booed Cano loudly when he was introduced, mostly because after originally publicly stating that putting Royal Billy Butler on the Derby team would be the right thing to do, he changed his mind and didn’t select him after all. Of course, I think just the fact that he’s a Yankee makes him worthy of a pretty loud boo, but maybe Kansas Citians need more than that.

Anyway, not only did they boo him beforehand, but lustily cheered every “out” Cano made when the defending Derby champ came to the plate for his cuts in the first round. They got lots of opportunities to cheer, too, because Cano got completely shut out. No home runs in 10 cuts. With his dad pitching to him.

Anyway, Yankee fans apparently lit up Twitter with comments bashing KC fans’ treatment of Cano. I guess it’s easy to see why they’d be upset, though. After all Yankee fans are generally so well known for how politely they treat players of other teams, right? I guess the rest of us are all just supposed to acknowledge that anyone associated with the F’ing Yankees is entitled to be shown due respect.

Yeah, this is another not-so-big deal to me. Get over it and move on.

Prince Fielder wins the HR Derby

Yeah, I enjoyed watching the Derby. Prince Fielder can hit a baseball a LONG way. I also love the remodel job done on the stadium in Kansas City and it remains very high up on my list of favorite ballparks, so I enjoyed seeing it host the event. But neither the Derby nor the winner matter to me at all.

Mauer the lone Twins representative at the ASG

I’ve covered this before. Mauer deserves to be at the ASG, in fact the voters screwed up voting Ranger Mike Napoli as the starting catcher. I’d have liked to see Josh Willingham go, but there are just a lot of All Star worthy outfielders and very few catchers. And when you’re on a team that appears headed to its second consecutive 90+ loss season, you probably will just get one representative. Joe was the correct choice and anyone who doesn’t think so, while entitled to their opinion, is simply wrong.

By the way, Napoli is one of THREE former Cedar Rapids Kernels on the AL All Star Game roster. Napoli joins two other former Kernels (both now with the parent Angels) Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. Trumbo represented well in the Derby Monday night and Trout is… well… if you don’t know who Mike Trout is, then you clearly care less about Major League Baseball than I care about the Home Run Derby.

Home Field Advantage

It’s been a decade now since the infamous tie game that led Bud Selig to decide that the ASG should matter more and declared that the winning league’s representative in the World Series would have home field advantage.

Bud Selig

I swear I have heard this thing bashed on every sports talk show for a week. I feel like I should care, but I don’t. It’s not a perfect solution to the trend of these games becoming poorly played and poorly managed exhibitions, but after the sham of a Pro-Bowl the NFL put on a few months ago, MLB needs to make sure the game counts for something if they want players to give any kind of effort whatsoever… or even bother to show up.

And at least it gives me another excuse to post my favorite Bud Selig picture of all time.

That’s it… enjoy the All Star Game if you care to watch it. If not, hold on tight and we’ll begin the second “half” of this exciting Minnesota Twins season in a few days!

–          JC

GameChat – 2012 All Star Home Run Derby, 7:05pm

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!

In a return to the form we all know and love so well, TC Bear has managed yet another victory amid his mascot colleagues. I don’t think we Twins fans really appreciate how hard that bear works to represent Twins baseball at its finest. Can you imagine trying to hit baseballs with paws not to mention that limited field of vision???

We just want to say CONGRATS and THANK YOU for all your hard work.

And now that we have the important stuff covered, we’re ready for the other Home Run Derby. If you’re planning to watch it, you can hang out and chat with others!

Participant RD1 RD2 RD1&2 FINALS
Fielder 5 11 16 12
Bautista 11 2 13 7
Trumbo 7 6 13
Beltran 7 5 12
Gonzalez 4 4
McCutchen 4 4
Kemp 1 1
Cano 0 0

Here’s the way things went down! Prince Fielder just KILLED the competition this year. He’s officially the first player ever to win the HR Derby representing both the NL & AL Leagues. Interestingly enough, both of his Derby wins were also in Missouri – one in St. Louis, one in Kansas City. Congrats Mr. Fielder!

 

All Star Break Fun & Games!

BREAK TIME! After last night’s marathon game that ended so badly (and so late), I think Minnesota fans and players alike could definitely use the game vacation.

However, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some fun anyway.

Not long ago, ERolfPleiss reviewed the biography of Harmon Killebrew by Steve Aschburner. THEN he sent it to me!! I’m so excited that I put down the book I was reading and have started it. We here at Knuckleballs would like you to be able to do the same thing! The folk over at Triumph Books have offered to provide copies of the book as prizes for any contests we care to run – which means it’s time to have one.

So I got this idea while hearing Steve interviewed on 1500 while he was in town for a book signing. If you want to listen to the interview itself, I highly recommend it. Go here and listen to Hour 2 on July 2nd.

As conversation proceeded, they discuss the fact that the forward is from Jim Thome who many say is often compared as the “Harmon Killebrew” of this generation because he is universally liked and considered the epitome of Gentleman Baseball. One question asked of Steve stood out to me. They ask him if now that he’s done Killer’s biography, if he’d consider doing one for Thome and if so, would he call it Ultimate Slugger II??

Gotta say boys over at 1500 – that’s just not a great title even if it might be appropos of something.

So here’s what I want from our readers for this contest:

Give us your best shot at what you would title a biography of Jim Thome. Leave your answers in the comments. You may offer as many suggestions as you like and you may comment on other suggestions. However, if you offer multiple suggestions, I will have you pick just one as your final submission. Deadline for submissions will be noon 6 pm on Wednesday, July 11th.  Then we’ll take all our submissions and put them into a user poll to be voted on by all the members of Knuckleballs! The highest vote getter will win a free copy of Harmon’s biography, Ultimate Slugger. If necessary, we’ll run a tie-breaker.

I am really intrigued to see what a bunch of creative/reader/writer people can come up with! Have at it folk!

GameChat – Twins @ Rangers #3, 7:05 pm

The last game before the All Star break is finally here. Let’s see if Cole DeVries can keep the game close and whether our guys can score some runs off of Roy Oswalt and the Rangers’ defense.

TWINS

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RANGERS
Span, CF Kinsler, 2B
Revere, RF Andrus, SS
Mauer, DH Hamilton, DH
Willingham, LF Beltre, A, 3B
Morneau, 1B Cruz, N, RF
Doumit, C Young, M, 1B
Plouffe, 3B Murphy, Dv, LF
Dozier, SS Napoli, C
Carroll, 2B Gentry, CF
  _De Vries, P   _Oswalt, P

 

 

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9

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Texas

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14

1

extra inning losses are ALWAYS painful.. but this was especially torturous because Cole DeVries had pitched a BEAUTIFUL game and left the field in the 7th with a shutout lead against a seriously powerful lineup. Even with a 45 minute rain delay in the middle! and then, it didn’t go well for Perkins at all.. so we had to play 4 more innings until things really didn’t go well for Swarzak.. yeah, it wasn’t a lot of fun to watch for the most part. At least now there is a little bit of vacation time for players – oh yeah AND fans! It’s a good time to let your mind wander to the better memories or thoughts you have of baseball for awhile.

However, lest you think Twins fans are insane for watching this team play all the way through marathon games.. I thought I would link you to a little video of the start of the rain delay – trust me, it’s worth at least 3 innings of baseball! LOL

See you after the All-Star Break!

GameChat – Twins @ Rangers #2, 6:05pm

I find myself having a SLIGHT advantage over most Twins fans tonight since we have a pitcher making his Twins debut tonight. I actually saw Deduno pitch at a B game in ST while on my honeymoon. However, that advantage is extremely slight because I can remember almost NOTHING about his outing. He didn’t suck but he wasn’t really out there a very long time – I think they went through something like 7 pitchers in that game…  At any rate, I’m kind of looking forward to seeing if I remember him when he’s out there.

Of course, I won’t get to see much of today’s game since I’ll most likely be either swimming with a 1 yo or fishing with a 3 yo.. fun times. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to listen to parts of the game on the radio.. *cross your fingers* Another win would be FANTASTIC.

Minnesota

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Texas
Span, CF Kinsler, 2B
Revere, RF Andrus, SS
Mauer, C Hamilton, DH
Willingham, LF Beltre, A, 3B
Morneau, 1B Cruz, N, RF
Doumit, DH Young, M, 1B
Plouffe, 3B Murphy, Dv, LF
Dozier, SS Napoli, C
Carroll, 2B Gentry, CF
  Deduno, P   Holland, D, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Minnesota 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 10 1
Texas 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 10 0

Another game, another boatload of missed opportunities. From the first inning through the 10th, our guys had runners in position to score but found a number of different ways to avoid doing so. The result is another big fat loss. – JC

GameChat – Twins @ Rangers, 7:05pm

The Twins have a couple things to be thankful for while in Texas at the moment… First, it’s cooler there than it is at my house in MN – not by much but it IS cooler (of course it is 100 degrees at my house as I type this so it doesn’t take much). Second, no rain.. after the crazy delays of every game in Detroit, it must be nice to look at the clock and start on time.. I’m also grateful for this because those crazy delays were bad enough in Eastern time, no way would I make it to the end of games delayed that long in Central time.

At any rate, we have baseball to play and I wish I could see a little bit just to see Joe Nathan – hopefully, not in his official capacity. My hope is that the Twins offense and Liriano’s pitching can keep us from entering the merest suggestion of a Texas save situation.

Minnesota

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Texas
Revere, CF Kinsler, 2B
Mastroianni, RF Andrus, SS
Mauer, DH Hamilton, LF
Willingham, LF Beltre, A, 3B
Morneau, 1B Young, M, DH
Plouffe, 3B Cruz, N, RF
Dozier, SS Napoli, 1B
Butera, C Torrealba, C
Casilla, A, 2B Gentry, CF
  Liriano, P   Perez, M, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 9 0
Texas 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 2

It always feels good to pick up a game against one of the big boys of the league, doesn’t it? The Rangers demonstrated that they’re capable of playing a little circus-defense and our guys took advantage.

Kudos to Justin Morneau… not only did he pick up TWO hits against a left handed pitcher (something that’s been far too rare this season), but one of them was a line shot two run home run to right field. That was good enough to earn him consideration for Boyfriend of the Day tonight, but in the end, Francisco Liriano earned that honor. Frankie did walk a few more than we like to see, but he kept his cool and gave up just the one run in 6 2/3 innings while striking out six Rangers. – JC

Francisco Liriano

GameChat – Twins @ Tigers #4, 12:05pm

Obligatory weather announcement: once again, it rained in Detroit this morning but I think it kept the temperature in a reasonable range. Unfortunately, it’s warming up fast. It could make a pretty uncomfortable day for the boys though. They’ve lucked out the last couple days temp wise just waiting for the rain delays. They should have a couple hours of clear weather but the chance of more pop-up thunderstorms is definitely high. Temps are supposed to max out in the low 90’s which is still better than here at TF.

But since it looks like everything is going to start on time.. here’s what we have for the afternoon. I’m hoping for more Twins offense than last night because, even though we have a pitcher that I trust pretty well, that does seem to be the thing that wins games.. As Brian Duensing announced on Twitter this morning, it would be great to take this series. Interestingly enough, I think we are doing this a little backwards with Detroit this year – they won all three games in Minnesota & one in Detroit and we’ve taken four so far in MI (if my math is right which is questionable). I would really love to keep the Detroit balance in our favor!

[edit] and of course I’m wrong again and we start THIS game with a rain delay. Again, let’s hope it keeps the temps under control and they have clear sailing once the game starts up.

[edit#2] if you’re keeping an eye on things, our favorite Twins unofficial forecaster, @Bennyc50, thinks the game will be ready to go about 2:30 or so Central time… let’s see how close he gets!

[edit#3] and the official announcement from the Detroit weather people is for 1:25 central. I think that is doable.

 

Minnesota

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Detroit
Span, CF Jackson, A, CF
Revere, RF Raburn, LF
Mauer, DH Cabrera, Mi, 3B
Doumit, C Fielder, 1B
Morneau, 1B Young, D, DH
Plouffe, 3B Peralta, Jh, SS
Mastroianni, LF Boesch, RF
Dozier, SS Laird, C
Carroll, 2B Santiago, 2B
  Diamond, P   Porcello, P

 

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After yet another long rain delay, we finally got the game underway about 1:30. It was another really great outing from Scott Diamond. It’s really a shame we just couldn’t get the offense together to back him up. And I’ll give the Twins credit for at least giving it a lot of effort. There was a lot of energy and attempts on the base paths that simply didn’t go our way and some that did. In the end, it was the HRs that got to us again – one against Robertson in the 8th & one against Swarzak. For all the circus defense that we are able to take advantage of on a regular basis, this is still a ridiculously potent offense.

We just got beat today in the final innings.. Sorry Scotty, you worked hard.