Monroe returns to lineup for Game 2 against Chicago
Posted on April 9th, 2008 – 3:23 PMBy Joe Christensen
CHICAGO — Craig Monroe gets a start tonight, as the Twins resume their three-game series with the White Sox. Skies are clear here, and it’s about 50 degrees. Rain is in the forecast here for Thursday’s finale.
UPDATE: Kevin Slowey came to the ballpark feeling lingering stiffness in his strained right biceps muscle. So he won’t play catch and won’t be able to start Sunday.
Manager Ron Gardenhire noted the strong chance of rain Thursday, and said if there’s a rainout, the starters would simply be pushed back a day, meaning the team won’t need a new starter until Tuesday.
Gardenhire also said Francisco Liriano might not have pitched well last night for Class AAA Rochester, but in a pinch, the team might just turn to the lefthander. Stay tuned.
TWINS
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Brendan Harris, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Delmon Young, LF
6. Jason Kubel, RF
7. Craig Monroe, DH
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Adam Everett, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Scott Baker
White Sox
1. Nick Swisher, CF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Jim Thome, DH
4. Paul Konerko, 1B
5. Jermaine Dye, RF
6. A.J. Pierzynski, C
7. Carlos Quentin, LF
8. Joe Crede, 3B
9. Juan Uribe, 2B
Starting pitcher: LH John Danks
U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch: 7:11 p.m.
373 Responses to "Monroe returns to lineup for Game 2 against Chicago"
I’d put Kubel at #3 and move Joe M back to #2.
Let the lineup debate begin
Funny how much better the Sox look on paper. I never realized it until it was right there.
With a lefty starting, I think Gardy got it pretty much right today. I like Harris in the 2 hole with the lefty.
hopefully monroe can get it going. i doubt it though….
Who are the crazies going to be mad about not starting today?
a. Span
b. Tolbert
c. Punto
d. Everyone who’s not starting should be starting
i’ll tell you about 10:00 pm if this is a good lineup!
notice all the pitching problems already? garza could be out a long time and may need surgery, harden had 2 starts and his shoulder hurts, won’t be long and livan could bring some good prospects. understandable why you don’t want to give pitchers really long contracts. big chance!
I’d say Span. Man he looks overmatched. I think he is going to make a career of just being able to tick a foul ball and have 4 at bats nine pitches each.
*First Post
Joe M is not a #3 hitter, he should be permently cemented in the #2 hole for the rest of the season no matter what pitcher they are facing. Who really expects this team to perform when the lineup is being changed every game? B. Harris is no even close to a #2 hitter, he is a #7 or 8 hitter. But, that is besides the point, the top two guys should be GoGo and Joe M, the rest of the lineup will work itself out in time. I am just tired of changes every game, and I am betting the players are too!
Jama, Not being one of the “crazies”, I can only guess. But, I imagine not having Tolbert (switch hitter) in there instead of Everett might get some comments. He has 6 hits in last 4 games, so hard to keep in on the bench right now when we need hitting.
Well, jama, if we were facing a right hander I wouldn’t mind seeing Tolbert in the lineup over Everett. But against a southpaw I think this is the best we can do.
It’d be nice to see Delmon Young pull something tonight with some authority.
I like that Gardy kept Kubel in against a lefty… I hope he keeps that up.
That, with the lack of games started by Punto this season, should give us hope that he gets it…
@ jama:
probably B, people like not seeing Punto and Span hasn’t really proven himself to be a superb option.
I’d rather see Harris in the bottom third of the lineup, but all in all, its not too bad.
Everett is a righty… if you want to play R/L matchups, you would have Tolbert play 3b for Lamb.
Oh, forgot to say that I agree with MSLY. Mauer is a perfect #2 hitter and against a lefty with Cuddy out, I’d like to see:
Gomez
Mauer
Young
Morneau
Kubel
Monroe
Lamb
Harris
Everett
I am so bored with the Mauer batting #2 argument.
Anybody else think Monroe’s running out of time? He’s got one or two hits and an RBI after the first week.
Even Lamb’s shown some extra base power. Not to mention Everett’s managed to get a few hits (not to mention a few BIG bunts)
Monroe? Not so much. I’d put him first on the chopping block.
My ideal lineup against righty or lefty:
Gomez
Mauer
Morneau
Gomez
Mauer
Morneau
Gomez
Mauer
Morneau
PJS — Completely agree w/ the lineup. The only thing I may change is place Tolbert in for Everett. I dont know how long we can keep playing Everett with no bat and struggles in the field. As of right now, Tolbert seems to be the better option, but that could change if he cools off.
“Even Lamb’s shown some extra base power”
I hope so, that is why we brought him in here and signed him to a 2 year deal.
I also agree that Monroe is running out of time. This may end up being the season that the Kubel fans have been waiting for — a healthy full season in the lineup. With Monroe gone, we might finally be able to see what Kubel can do over an entire healthy year (if he stays healthy and if Monroe can not get it going)
My Ideal line up is:
Gomez
Harris
Mauer
Morneau
Young
Monroe
Kubal
Lamb
Everett
Twins need to start winning and start hitting. There hitting like a bunch of sissies…….
PJS, that is the right line-up. Not sure what the deal is with him in the three hole. Still, a much better line-up then I was thinking. I imagined both Tolbert, Span, and Punto starting. Good work Gardy.
People that think “Monroe is running out of time”… don’t remember how much time Rondell White had last year.
PJS
I think Gardy wants to put Young in the three hole eventually but what has he done to force his hand. If you go by potential yeah it wouks, but if you go by performance this season Mauer would be a better three hitter by a small margin. They pretty much both have just gotten ground ball & blooper hits. Mauer at lease is going to put the ball in play more often.
Tolbert started in all of six games at short in the minors last year. He’s nowhere near the shortstop Everett is. I agree he’s a better hitter than Everett. But shortstops need to catch the ball too.
MSLY,
What are Everett’s defensive struggles?
Jared and PJS,
In addition, with Mauer batting 3rd, Gomez may have stolen 2nd and 3rd so that Joe’s ground ball to 2nd will be a run instead of a DP.
Jared,
Good point. Also, Young has not put one single ball into left field yet this year. Crazy. Never seen a righty not pull the ball for 8 straight games. He seems like a great #3 hitter…if he learns to take some pitches.
JT — you tell me, who has more errors between Tolbert and Everett right now. But, I understand what your getting too. Everett has always been a supurb fielder, and I am sure he will be this year too. But, can we sacrifice hitting?
JT,
Redmond is another righty hitter that never pulls a ball.
I don’t think Monroe is going to be gone anytime soon. Twins aren’t just going to swallow over $4 mil (or whatever figure it is) just like that.
Errors? Are you kidding me? That is your definition of struggles. So the fact that he has the most chances and the biggest zone rating of any SS in the AL means nothing? He has 2 errors…so therfore struggling…and somehow compared to Tolbert who has had exactly 78% less balls hit to him this year then Everett. The fact is he hasn’t struggled. Now, his hitting has been rough…and I agree it might be worth looking at sacrificing D for O. However, lets not make the statement that he is “struggling” defensively when it simply is not true.
Tolbert is hitting now, but the sample size is so small you can’t judge Everett as a bad hitter and Tolbert as a good hitter. Still…I understand sometimes the “hot bat” needs to stay in the line-up…and perhaps that is Tolbert right now.
Carlos.
Good point. Hahaha, forgot about him. Remember during the miracle 2006 season that he pulled that double down the left field line because everyone was shifted way to RF. Classic Red Dog moment.
I agree with Mauer being the #2 hitter. He is the only one that can get Gomez over. At the start of the season, they were putting points on the board because Mauer was able to get Gomez in. You’d think by now that Gardy would have realized that seeing how they have been losing. Hopefully things will change soon!
young should bat third cuddy should bat 5th enough said…
“JAMA”Who are the crazies going to be mad about not starting today?
a. Span
b. Tolbert
c. Punto
d. Everyone who’s not starting should be starting
Pretty true pretty true ha ha ha ha haa
Mandy,
I agree with you about Mauer at #2. However, you say “at the start of the season…” They were 1-3 to start the season with a big problem scoring runs. I don’t think your argument about points is particularly strong. I think we are currently 2nd to last ahead of Detroit for least runs scored. Most of those games included the Gomez-Mauer lineup.
Jared ZZZZZZZZZZZZ–
You are probably right that Gardy wants DY in the 3-hole eventually. And I don’t think he’s ideal, but he’s the best we have at the moment. He played every game last year, drove in nearly 100 runs and batted in the mid .280s (I think).
I don’t see the point in giving Harris or Tolbert or whoever is in the 2-hole more at bats than Mauer, Young and Morneau.
Uh Reality… not liking Cuddy’s chances of getting on base in any spot in the order right now, let alone the important 5 spot.
On mothers day last year I say Red Dawg Crush his only homerun of the season over the left field wall. It was so damn funny.
Yes Mauer belongs in the 2-hole, but right now they don’t have any hitters capable of filling the 3-hole while Cuddyer is out. While Young will develop into a #3 hitter he isn’t their yet.
If they put Mauer in the 2-hole, they will walk him (especially after GoGo gets on and steals 2nd so that whoever hits in the 3 hole can ground into a DP.
Whereas now GoGo gets on, steals 2nd. 2-hole gets out (productive or not?) then Mauer either drives him in with a hit a sacrifice.
If Gardy is convinced he needs Mauer in the 3 hole with Cuddy out…at least put Kubel at #2. He, like Morneau, Mauer, Young should get as many atbats as possible. I doubt lefty-lefty-lefty really matters in most games.
Does anyone else crave for the days in the late 80s, early 90s, when the Puckett led Twins destroyed left handed pitching.
That’s why the DY trade, at least in theory, was a good one. We desperately need some right handed punch.
Wait, I forgot, Punto is a switch hitter!
i just wish that Gomez could get on base without bunting evey time. I would love to see him just pull a ball down the line and off to the races. I think if he hit a an average players triple he could get an inside the park home runs
Kubel would fit well in the 5th spot
Take Young out of the five hole and who do hit 5th then. Morneau wouldn’t see fastball for the next ten games.
I wonder if Red Dog goes up to the plate once or twice a year with the idea that this time I am going to take one of those inside pitches and jerk it down the line? It doesn’t happen often. Gotta luv that guy. Too bad we don’t have a couple more like him.
Sweet-one,
I like your thought. However, it seems to only apply to the first inning of the game. In the flow of the game, you never know when Gomez will get up without runners on (to steal) or with 0 to 1 outs (to sacrafice over). The top 3-4 spots are not that important for scoring a single run in the first inning…as they are important because they offer the most at bats for those players. Its why I love the White Sox batting Swisher 1st. He is a great hitter, gets on all the time…so he gets the most at-bats. Not overally fast, wouldn’t be able to do what Gomez can in the first inning…but he will get the most at-bats of any hitter on the team.
put delmon in the 4 and morneau in the 3. Morneau is not do great in the 4 but he is starting to show signs of power. Hunter is leading Baseball in HR’s
at 6′4 Gomez with age should also acquire some power so one would think
If it is more at bats that we are concerned about, then I would just move the whole middle of the order up one spot…
Gomez
Mauer
Morneau
Young
Kubel
and so on.
I agree with Jaredzzz that you need a quality bat behind Morneau. That is our only long ball threat right now. We can’t have him getting pitched around every at bat.
Come back here and stare in awe at this amazing correct prediction after the game tonight.
MONROE, MIN: 3-4, 2 HR (2), 4 RBI (5)
I think this line-up is fine, but I would put Monroe in RF and keep Kubel at DH. Monroe runs better, and is less likely to get hurt.
Jimmy-Bee,
True. He actually hit for decent power in his short tour of the minors. He’s not a slap and speed guy like Lofton/Crisp/TYNER/Span, he seems to have some power potential. I think its why Scouts were so high on him…rare combination of speed and power. First 60-60 guy? Bring back the PED’s!!!
Has anyone else noticed how much Monroe throws like RonDL did? That funky over the head cocked elbow noodle thing. Too funny.
“Gamer” think this line-up is fine, but I would put Monroe in RF and keep Kubel at DH. Monroe runs better, and is less likely to get hurt.
Gamer I would have to agree. Everytime Kubel runs he looks like he is going to get a knee injury or pull a groin muscle and also he is slooooooooow….
I would like to see someone other then Vavra work with Gomez. Also he MUST get rid of that flailing swing where he puts his knee in the dirt
How many bases will Gomez steal tonight? i say 2 more to give him 7.
3 more bases for Gomez
Monroe isn’t going anywhere. We kept Rondell for what two years?? and he sucked the whole time. Monroe has only played in 4 games and has had 11 at-bats, give the guy a break.
you know I think RonDL is still a free agent
JT,
You are correct that my theory is only guaranteed to apply in the first inning. On at least one occasion this year Gomez led off the inning all 4 at bats.
I think we all know Gomez won’t be a league leader in hits all season like he is now (thought that would be great). But I can’t think of a player I watch more when he is up or onbase them him. Reminds me of Morneau and Mauer in 2006. You just knew Morneau was going to hit it hard and wanted to watch. You kept thinking Mauer would get to .400 so you watched to see him hit. Gomez has that this year. Speed might be over-valued, but it sure is fun to watch.
4 bases tonight. First plate appearance-bunt-steal second-steal third-steal home. 3 right there. All on three pitches to Harris.
Yes, “Can’t Catch 22″: With Joe C.’s dire outlook and predictions the other day, he did leave out some positive things. At this pace, Gomez will steal 101 times this year; Nathan will have 60 saves; Livan will win 40 games. It is an early sample.
Sweetone,
Yeah, I remeber that. I think it was one of the Angels games. Probably one where Everett was 0-4…lots to choose from.
imo they should hire paul molitor for a couple months and attach him to gomez.
I like this lineup for the time Cuddyer is out…
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO is quick like 60-70 SB’s this year
is Randy Johnson going to make the HOF or will he get done wrong like Circle Me Bert
About Gomez’ swing: He so reminds me of a young Torii Hunter. It is all wrist strength. When Gomez swings (and when Hunter used to swing his first year up) the bat takes him everywhere, like he is doing a 360. Eventually that would be build up. The guy is 22. He will beef up. Not that he’d have a compact swing ever like Puckett, but he will get better. Really is not a matter of “teaching” but a matter of forearm and wrist strength. The one single person that I would like the Twins to bring in as a coach (and he is available and out 3rd base coach is inadequate) because he would do wonders for Gomez in several respects is Rickey Henderson.
On another note, is it true that Bass will start Sun with Slowey not on DL yet?
gobble,
They do hire molitor for a couple months every year (Feb. & March).
Jimmy
Bert will make the HOF. He has 3 years of eligibility left. The voters know that he belongs and he will get voted in in 2 years.
how bout Robin Yount teaching Gomez
Also what ever happened to Dale Murphy
Re Randy Johnson: He has 5 Cy Youngs, his career winning percentage is .654 (which if put into full season numbers will translate into a team winning 109 games a season). He is a first ballot HOFer.
Bert should be there, but he was not close to Randy Johnson
thrylos, It is unknown if Bass will start on Sunday. The determination on Slowey status will happen tomorrow with his bullpen session. He Slowey is still experience stiffness in his arm while playing catch today or the bullpen session he will most likely be placed on the DL and someone called up to start Sunday.
sweetone he has to listen to vavra now. bring moitor in for a few months of the season so gomez has someone to listen to that knows how to hit and sb’s. i have no faith in vavra not screwing gomez up.
let vavra work with punto.
tonite i hope they just go up to the plate and hit the damn thing like major leaguers are supposed to hit…its been dreadful watching this bunch perform, and almost embarrassing to watch these at bats….i know they can hit better than they have shown..delmon and monroe can hit the hell out of the ball…im not sure what they have been teaching in spring training that they all look so weak at the plate…its not normal…hell corey patterson has as many homeruns as our whole damn team…..im not sure, vavra is not playing a role here, you tell me….
Statisticians have shown that the protection arguement you are all making for having a bat after Morneau is largely over-rated, it not non-existent.
I agree with just moving the whole order up one spot with Cuddy out, or in moving Delmon to the 3rd spot. Who knows, if your protection arguements are actually correct, maybe Delmon will see some fastballs (not likely).
correction “if not”, not “it not”.
gobble,
Molitor doesn’t want that type of job during the season. He wants to spend time with family.
He turned down positions of hitting coach and manager.
any word on how slowey did on the side today and if he is going to start on sunday if not who is going to. also has gardy said anything about liriano’s status
gomez
mauer
young’
monroe
morneau
kubel
lamb
harris
everett
also wouldnt mind seeing span in the 2 hole and have real speed 1-2 and kubel on the bench/dh….if this lineup ever breaks out, 6 runs a game would be the norm and with pitching holding up as well or better than it has already, this team could be very exciting…everyone is suffering injuries etc, and luckily thus far the twins have some depth, and the franchise is still a ways away, but will be back to make things even better…lets start tonite…please
then dig kirby up anybody has to be better than vavra. how long can they stick with him?
Molitor did not accept the manager job because it was offered to Gardy and not to him. A coaching job would be an insult to Molitor having a person with less qualifications (Gardy) as his boss…
Tonights the night we break out of our offensive slump. Happy positive thought everybody. Who knows, we may even have a multi-run inning tonight— but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
As far as potential hitting coaches go, there is a good one and currently in the Twins’ organization with 17 years of major league ball experience…
Vavra can’t hit for these guys!
anyone dares to guess Vavra’s minor league total HRs in 5 years of play?
Maybe Gardy is missing the opportune moment with Young. Morneau’s starting to hit, so they wouldn’t pitch around Young in the 3-hole.
Go
Mauer
Young
MVP
geno..true, but he can get into their heads….i never have been able to find out what qualified vavra to be a hitting coach, i know the guys works hard and long hours, but…….??
On other words, let me put it this way: In his last 5 years of minor league ball (the last 2 of which he was shuttled up and down), Adam Everett hit 20 home runs. Joe Varva in full 5 years of minor leagues he hit 5 home runs. Is that guy the “hitting” coach you want for your team? Maybe, if you are a manager who had 4 home runs as a player in 5 major league seasons…
thrylos98 — by that logic, though, Barry Bonds would be the world’s best hitting coach. Or maybe Mark McGwire, I think he’s available. Someone’s physical prowess has no bearing on their ability to dissect and teach.
Yes, romer, yes. Exactly! Instead we have Harris in the 2-hole, and a lefty behind DY.
GBG, not necessarily… and I did not bring those names up, did i? 
just look at who the other hitting coaches are in the league…
thrylos - I never said you did — I just said by that logic…
I’ll repeat it:
Someone’s physical prowess has no bearing on their ability to dissect and teach.
Someone who is a .300/.400/.500 career hitter may be a lousy teacher. Conversely, someone who didn’t have the physical tools might still be able to teach effectively. I’m just saying, there’s no correlation between performance and coaching ability.
What’s the old saying, “those who can’t do….”
romer, that makes too much sense, Gardy won’t do it.
mj1,
I agree with how the Twins have hit so far. So that’s why I do getting not starting Tolbert. The Twins need HITTING right now. The defense has not been costing the Twins games right.
The I know the whole “Twins hitting philosophy” has been beaten to death on these boards, but why can’t the organization realize that while that style is ok if the goal is only AL Central titles, but not enough to go to the World Series let alone win it?
It sounds to me like Liriano is still going to be recalled for Sunday’s start in KC. I know he didn’t pitch very well last night, but Cliburn thought that he pitched backwards. He threw his slider more and didn’t challenge hitters with his fastball. Our other options at Rochester haven’t exactly lit it up so far. Perkins and Humber both struggled in their first starts. Mulvey might be the best candidate, but he isn’t on the 40-man. It will be interesting to see how things play out over the next couple days.
just to add to the pain of it all.. the angels hit 4 home runs just today…one more than we have hit all year…its uncanny….sickening…and then some….
Alright folks,
digest these numbers:
91 Twins: OBP .342, SLG .420, 776 runs
87 Twins: OBP .326, SLG .430, 786 runs
02 Twins: OBP .332, SLG .437, 768 runs
03 Twins: OBP .341, SLG .431, 801 runs
04 Twins: OBP .332, SLG .431, 780 runs
06 Twins: OBP .347, SLG .425, 801 runs (best record in Twins’ history)
07 Twins: OBP .330, SLG .391, 718 runs
05 Twins: OBP .323, SLG .392, 688 runs
see the trend?
Ahh to have that power with good solid pitching which the Twins currently have for the most part and will continue to have.
I knew the 2006 Twins were ranked pretty well with the WS champion teams. Twins had their best chances in 2002 and 2006 but the ice cold bats did them in.
Maybe, if you are a manager who had 4 home runs as a player in 5 major league seasons…
The best part about people who make this argument is they don’t look at Rick Anderson’s career stats first.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/anderri02.shtml
Funny that nobody lines up to crucify Andy when the pitching’s struggling. Nope, then it’s Gardy, Smith, and the pitcher’s fault. But never Andy…
Re Joe’s Update — So the only thing we know for sure is Baker pitches tonight and is scheduled for and will pitch next Monday.
Sure, Livan is scheduled for tomorrow; but the weather continues to look disastrous.
And not too good in Detroit next Mon/Tues either — cold and snow showers. So why would you start Lirino on Tues in Detroit?
Supposed to be 50 in KC Sunday.
last thing i would like to see them do is bring francisco out in lousy weather, like he pitched in last eve..dont rush him and let him work in nice weather–maybe back in fla..as much as we could use him, i would rather see him where its nice and warm and get strong …jmho
no TV tonight?
Ish! Gardy’s putting one very ugly team out there tonight.
Excellent chart, thrylos.
That’s why they added Lamb and Harris. And why they hope Young can improve his SLG this year. And why Kubel is projected to be the fulltime DH.
But it’s still all up to M&M and Cuddy to come in with ‘06 type seasons.
P.S. And there’s long-shot hopes for Monroe too.
So, all of the above is why we see the lineup we see tonight.
weather delay in chi?? sounds like grounds crew is working…
Hmm, not sure why grounds crew would be out since it’s not raining here. Although I am out at work in the ‘burbs until 7 before I head home to the city to watch the game.
Game is on My29 TV tonight.
“Someone’s physical prowess has no bearing on their ability to dissect and teach.
Someone who is a .300/.400/.500 career hitter may be a lousy teacher. Conversely, someone who didn’t have the physical tools might still be able to teach effectively. I’m just saying, there’s no correlation between performance and coaching ability.”
GBG is ALMOST totally correct. What a career superstar does have is instant credibility. The student may initially pay closer attention to the ex-superstar. But if the teacher can’t explain clearly what he knows; or if he knows nothing but made it on talent only; the instant credibility is quickly lost.
At that point, previous playing success will no longer help the teacher teach.
really pulling for monroe to settle in tonite..this guy really needs one good game to get him going…when that happens i think alot of good things are going to happen…not only him but this whole lineup may wake up
sane,
That makes me think of Rod Carew when he was the hitting coach in Milwaukee. He didn’t seem to do the best job there and he hasn’t been a coach since.
Perhaps some guys just don’t have the best ability to teach what they know.
No TV this Friday, which is odd.
But TV this Saturday.
There are times when I try to explain something I’m good at, and I fail. This is often because it’s either been so long that I don’t think about it anymore…or because in some cases it just comes naturally and I don’t know how to explain it.
Shaun,
Agreed.
Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew were among the greatest hitters in their eras. Their is no evidence (even though Williams authored books on the subject) that they are (were) better hitting instructors than Walt Hriniak, Charlie Lau or many other marginal hitters.
screw this i dont want to watch the Twolves…they suck. It sucks that outstate fans cant watch the game tonight.
why do I have the MLB ticket??
Don’t know if it was the Twins strategy or just Gomez’s. But he was going on first movement when they picked him off.
Next two guys get hits. Now it’s 3-0 to Morneau.
Sucks that Gomez got picked off ahead of two hits and possibly a walk.
But like the annoucers said (eerie foreshadowing), he’s learning how to run on lefties yet.
Delmon needs a big hit here
In ST this year the Twins had Carew, Oliva, Killebrew, Hrbek and Molitor talking hitting with the players. The Twins ST hitting was still terrible.
Hitting is far more difficult than “see ball, hit ball”. If the hitter has no idea what the pitcher will throw him on a given pitch, he is in deep dung.
That is why good hitters hit, bad hitters don’t, and that happens regardless which hitting instructor is helping the hitters at the time. The batting instructor can pick out flaws in the swing, but only the hitter can ultimately correct those flaws.
Nice
Morneau walks, now it’s 2-0 to Young with bases loaded.
The kid comes through, smacks a single.
1-0 Twins.
There’s the pulled ball you guys were looking for
He needs to drive in a run here
As Monroe walks to the plate, I don’t think he has any confidence. Been down a long time.
But there’s no pressure here for him with Twins leading 2-0.
Great job. 27 pitches for Danks in the 1st.
They need to get into that bullpen they need to make danks throw a lot of pitches every inning not just the first few like they did against tomko.
What a CATCH!!!
Man, Baker had nasty movement on the 2-seam strikeout pitch.
And he has late movement on just about every pitch.
And now Hunter makes the play in center!!!!
Baker looking calm, strong and with good control.
Baker has looked great so far, throwing strikes and keeping the ball on the corners.
If you haven’t seen it here is Gomez’ diving catch (vidcap)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/2402302012_03b64f0523_o.jpg
Awesome catch by Go-Go. To bad he got caught stealing, now he is 5-6 on the season.
Also, how close was his last hit to going out, I missed it.
that ball was close to a triple. It was in the base of the wall in left center
It wasn’t really close to going out, but it would have at least been a double.
So was it a great catch by Swisher?
great catch by Swisher… not as good as Gomez’ catch but still great. he robbed him.
TT, a long drive to the leftfield gap. Seemed like Swisher came out of nowhere to dive at about the warning track.
Yeah, just looked at the play on GameDay. Would have been a triple IMO.
How about Harris tonight. 2-2 now on the game.
Now we need to drive them in, no DP.
You can see replays on gameday? How/where?
I think I am the only guy in favor of Harris in the 2 hole. He is 2 for 2. I tell you the guy has an idea of what he is doing at the plate and has great bat control. I think he could easily settle in permanently in the spot if he fields as well as he has.
Wow, who are these guys in gray getting hits?
I like dicks call
Ben, if you go back innings, you’ll see a blue play button. Click it to watch that play.
M&M should play this cold weather tough.
Thanks for the call, Dick.
OK Kubel fans. Now is the time to come through with the sacks jammed.
I see a crooked number right here.
3-1 to Kubel…
If we don’t get anything after a bases loaded no out situation, I’ll be pretty upset…
1.Gomez CF
2.Mauer DH
3.Young LF
4.Morneau 1B
5.Monroe RF
6.Harris 2B
7.Lamb 3B
8.Redmond C
9.Tolbert SS
This should be the obvious line-up vs lefties but Gardy refuses to do the right thing!!
Kubel already with 2 RBIs. Love that guy!!
Inning ending double play anyone?
3-0 after a Kubel single.
Can Monroe finally come through?
How many seeing eye singles can we get in an inning?
Absolute professional hitting by Kubel! Just like Dye pulled off of Neshek Monday afternoon.
It was like he was holding back, protecting against the slider. And he just stuck his bat out to line the FB in the hole between 1st & 2nd.
Kubel shouldn’t play against lefties
Monroe swings at a ball with a 2-0 count 
He looks so helpless at the plate.
Even if it worked out today
The only decent hit this inning was Harris’s. And he had a crappy hit in the first inning.
The way he has been swinging I would have taped the bat to his shoulder on 2-0
He swung at ball 3 no less.
Another 3-2 count, lets do something Monroe!
nice rbi monroe
Sane,
you can’t mean that the hitters are responsible for their at bats. That just doen’t make any sence.
Nice take that was close.
Finally a decent AB for Monroe. Hopefully Lamb can come through now.
Danks is out and Masset is coming in.
Oh no another ‘”under one roof” commercial. I hate My29
I hope Lamb can get a clutch hit here to extend the lead…
Who needs extra base hits?
Single for Lamb and its 5-0 with Everett up and one out.
Big AB for Carlos
Monroe gets the walk in that situation but still not a good at bad. The swing at a 2-0 fastball that was WELL OUT of the strike zone. Then another bad swing on a fastball down and in. Not impressed with him so far.
Lamb smart hitting drilling a first pitch fastball to RF.
If Everett keeps hitting like this, Tolbert could easily play his way into the lineup.
And we get an extra base hit, another ugly one though
Wasnt very good looking but it got it done.
Now, professional hitting by Lamb too.
Nice one Go Go!
Under One Roof looks like such a good TV show…
Rome
The Sopranos
West Wing
Under One Roof
All about same quality
YES! Go-Go gets a two-run double and its 7-0 Twins in the third!
All Twins hits are solid tonight, except for the only Xtra base one, which was a nice poke to right by Gomez.
lookatthosetwins’ 7 runs.
I do like the fact that Gomez didn’t try to pull that one, even after ripping one in the gap last at bat.
Toby, nice call on the crooked number
Six hits and five runs in the third and its 7-0 after two and a half innings of play!
Great inning. Got the pitcher on the ropes and knocked him out and then strung together hits to blow the game open.
7-0
this sounds so good
Go-Go is having a good night so far. That walk, that two-run double and even that out was a good at-bat.
Do you seriously think all the twin’s hits are solid? I’ve seen about 5 hits that weren’t hit hard.
It isn’t always about solid hits. Morneau hits best when he takes the pitch to left, and it seems like everyone is just going with the ball tonight. I’ll take 9 hits after three innings whether they are solid or not.
It doesnt matter how hard the ball is hit. A seeing eye single is the same thing as a rocket single to the outfield.
HR for Swisher. Its 7-1 Twins.
At the Twins are HITTING.
At least the Twins are HITTING.
Baker gets strikeout number four and its 7-1 after three innings.
I haven’t seen any slow rollers or dribbling infield hits.
And a hit doesn’t have to be a screaming liner to be a solid.
After watching the first three innings tonight, I think we can conclude that Vavra is a good hitting coach.
I don’t remember any seeing-eye singles.
Now there’s a solid groundout by Mauer in his 3rd AB.
Don’t know if it’s been said on the radio. Lots of guys look cold with stocking caps and hooded sweatshirts.
After 3-1/2, not much power hitting tonight. Swisher’s HR and Gomez’s FO to left-center.
HR for Konerko and its 7-2 Twins. I hate to see the Sox slowly creep into this thing again.
Until Konerko there.
Better be careful or the Sox will homer themselves back into this game.
Baker losing his grip. More resin Kevin.
If he’s losing his grip, give Jake Peavy a call.
Dye strikes out and Baker has 5 strikeouts with one out in the fourth.
Strikeout number six, two outs in the fourth.
Love the AJ strikeout.
That slider to strike out AJ looked pretty nasty…
7 K’s, 2 solo homers in 4 innings. I guess he replaces Santana as our ace.
A solo homerun to Konerko followed by three straight strikeouts. Through four, Twins lead 7-2.
Baker has seven strikeouts so far, and has thrown 68 pitches. 49 strikes and 19 balls. Pretty impressive.
“More resin Kevin”
Kevin Baker?
I like how he is throwing the ball… he has a lead, throw strikes. If you give up a solo shot here or there… so what…
romer, you are correct. We are looking at the Twins’ ace foe the foreseeable future (though he reminds me more of Radke than Santana)
Wow, Monroe just doesn’t look good. He strikes out and is hitting .077 on the season.
You have to wonder how much time they’ll give him to get going.
I want more Tolbert
Swisher was a really good add for the white sux. They still have pitching and fielding issues, so I don’t think they will challenge this year. But, they sure have hitters.
What is going on tonight? Baker gives up another leadoff homerun and its 7-3. Hopefully he’ll get the next three to K.
Carlos G, Swisher was a pretty good add but that Gonzalez guy they traded for him is supposed to be pretty good.
Here’s a perfect example of the White Sox problem.
3 homeruns tonight. But they’re still down 7-3.
Though Twins need to be careful they don’t gnaw away at that lead.
It’s also why solely having HRs isn’t neccesarily what a team always need.
No, RyanW, I was just noticing Baker losing command some.
Then he was hurring his delivery, when Mauer went out and straightened that out.
Now he’s going a bit nuts again.
Jesus, the Sox have as many HRs in this game as the Twins do on the season!
Keep the stinkin’ ball in the park!
T,
Good point. You need to have a middle ground between the White Sox and the Twins in terms of power.
Still, it’s worked for the Sox so far this season.
Yeah, the Twins can’t let them slowly creep their way back into this thing. We need to hold them at 7-3 and then add one or two in the sixth.
The Sox do lead the league in homeruns. They have a lot of power, and that is their best quality.
Baker is starting to fall apart now…
Of course when the Sox won it all in 2005, they weren’t so reliant on the long ball. However they seemed to go back to that in 2006 and 2007 and they of course didn’t win anything.
It’s cold, Baker can’t really find a rhythm, still he has shown signs of being the ace.
Lamb with the error, too. Cold!
Go-go hurt his arm on the throw to 2b. He needs to hit the cutoff man. There 150 games left. He’ll never make it through the whole year like this, so many unecessary plays.
I fear the Twins are going to blow this game.
Now to go to the valid part of watchthosetwins’s comments.
The Twins just don’t have the HR potential. And tonight, they’re not reaching their doubles-potential either.
So here’s Thome with 2 on. Very dangerous.
“Swisher was a pretty good add but that Gonzalez guy they traded for him is supposed to be pretty good.”
Gio Gonzelez could be a solid middle of the rotation type for the A’s. The bigger prospect in the deal though was Fautino de los Santos.
Still, it’s worked for the Sox so far this season.
And the Tigers are an example of what happens when that formula falls flat (at least at the moment)
Like they say. Live by the longball, die by the longball.
Go-Go hurt his arm?
Yeah Seth, I remeber seeing that the Sox gave up quite a bit…
I mean lookatthosetwins’s comments….
Yeah, the Twins can’t let them slowly creep their way back into this thing.
I’m getting visions of the ESPN game last year when Silva blew the 7-0 first inning lead.
Two outs and Konerko comes up with runners at first and second.
An out here would be huge. Then maybe Baker could pitch the sixth against Dye, AJ and Quienton with just over 80 pitches.
He was wincing and shaking it and that throw rolled into Harris. Looked weird.
Someone above said Go-Go hurt his arm, is that true?
Everett, does he seem alright now though?
How about something high and tight to Konerko……
Different philosophies between the white sux and the Twins… Sux are willing to give up young talent for the chance to win now. The Swisher trade was an example of that.
In case no one mentioned it yet the white sux suck.
Well done Baker.
yeah nothing serious, I don’t think, probably just the cold, one of those things were it hurt for a little and went away, still though he needs to be smarter
Inning is over after a leadoff solo homerun. Its 7-3 Twins after five and we’ll have to wait and see if Baker comes out for the sixth with 89 pitches.
Everett_Fan, thats good. And I do agree, I hope he hits the cutoff more often. I know he has a great arm, and I want him to use it. But not when he doesn’t need to like that play.
Konerko looked like he was pulling a Kubel/Dye type poke on that swing.
BTW, Lamb did the little league thing on that muffed grounder, backing up and letting the ball play him.
But at least he made the solid play on the popup.
Harris has looked really good today
Harris having a very nice game in the #2 hole…I like it!
Yea, twinsterritory. Gomez was just short of the warning track in straight away center and tried to throw it to 2nd base. Missed the cutoff and ball rolled the last 30 feet. Not a good play, even in warm weather.
by the way… my man Harris with his 3rd hit. Oops, just hurt my arm patting my back on that call (see earlier posts pre-game).
Fatino de los Santos and Gio Gonzales is a LOT to give up… Swisher better perform…
Wow, Harris with his third hit. Mauer and Morneau need to extend the lead a little bit.
I’d like to see Tolbert play more at short instead of second.
Tolbert should be playing ahead of Harris.
Ha-ha. Almost a wild pitch on an intentional walk to MVP.
wow, do they fear Morneau or what? Where’s Craig?
I am being sarcastic… I am a Harris fan, he puts pretty good wood on the ball for a 2b.
Come on, Young. He was just under it a bit.
Looked like Young just missed that foul ball…
TT, someone pointed out today that Tolbert’s only play like 5 games at SS.
I love it romer. Morneau’s so awesome he can advance runners extra bases without moving his bat. 
Really?
I’d still like to see what he could do. Maybe move Harris to short if he hits well and Everett doesn’t?
Bases loaded for the third time today. The first two times have gotten us runs.
Kubel will bat with two outs…
Yeah that’s a gapper alright.
YES!!! I love kubel
KKUUUUUUUUBBBEELLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
Hey “look at those twins”!!!!!!!!!11
Kubel just stuck a dagger in Monroe with that slam.
Kubel swinging at the first pitch and extends the lead to 11-3 with a Grand Slam!
6 RBI for Kubel!
BOOM, Jason saying this is my full time job, try and take it Gardy
You can put it on the board….YES!
Did I mention I love Kubes? Any haters need to eat crow tonight. Two great ABs vs a lefty and a GRAND SLAM!!!
GRAND SLAM!!!!!!!!!!
That’s an honest hit for Monroe. Swisher played it to a double.
The monroe signing is looking worse and worse. Nice doucle for lamb.
Why can’t the Twins hit even half this well every night!?
Ok save some for tomorrow!
Two words:
Joe Vavra
Extend him.
Story of the game.
Sox: 3HR, 3R
Twins: 1HR, 4R.
The monroe signing is looking worse and worse.
That was at least a single. Swisher could’ve let it land in front of him and fielded it for a hit.
He tried to make the extra effort (spark something for his team) and missed it.
That’s a true hit for Monroe, played into an extra base.
Everett is saving his hits for tomorrow
Monroe is a bench player. The signing (really a trade) isn’t that bad. Let me remind you of Lew Ford, Luis Rodriguez and Jason Tyner…
A right handed bat off the bench that at least has some power potential isnt such a bad thing.
That was a doubly ugly fielding play.
As far as the leadoff double. Gomez and Young appear to have cut each other off.
If the rest of the lineup does its job we can keep Everett at SS because he is so special in the field. However, if we struggle to score runs for a couple months, the team will need to adjust.
well that was a screwy play
Bass is bad.
“Story of the game.
Sox: 3HR, 3R
Twins: 1HR, 4R.”
You could have used total runs too- Twins 1 HR, 12 R
Either way, Craig is smiling somewhere right now.
by the way, avs 2-0 over wild in late 2nd period. the clicker is getting a workout
And Bass forgot you have to squeeze the glove.
Holy cow, the defense is looking awful!
Nice defense.
Good thing the Twins have been HITTING to make up for that crappy defense all of a sudden.
Either way, Craig is smiling somewhere right now.
Gomez had a 2-run double.
Lamb had an RBI double.
Kubel had a Salami.
That’s 7 of them right there.
The WILD!
Thanks for the reminder Carlos. Me thinks the Twins are trying to make this a laugher so us Minnesotan’s can go watch hockey!
The last Harris throw is only an error because it went into the dugout… you cant assume double plays. But since the runner advanced, it is an error.
Craig likes doubles, especially by fast players.
He just hates home runs.
Craig probably pitched a fit when Kubel hit that grand slam.
He wishes he would have taken a walk instead… Kubel has to be the type of player Craig hates.
Either way, Craig is smiling somewhere right now. If that is reference to Craig’s negativity towards Lamb and Kubel I’m laughing right now.
Harris got drilled by AJ on the throw as well.
All I know is after Monday’s game, it’s nice to see the Twins answer back.
ok folks,
how about the bad news:
KC is blanking the Yanks
and Detroit might actually win a game tonight
KC is blanking the Yanks
Why is that bad news? Any Yankees loss is a good one.
And I think the Twins odds of beating KC are better than the odds of beating the Yanks.
Kubes looked like Thome with big power, swinging at the low outside slider.
KC blanking the Yanks is never bad news.
Kubes looked like Hrbie tonite
PS: If another White Sock hits a solo homer, they’d better not shoot off fireworks.
15 outs to go, and the game is 2-1/2 hours long already.
so far, we are the only team capable of beating KC. 2 of 3 looking pretty good right now, eh? And 3 good games of 4 against the angels is not too bad either. The lads may have a better year than many think.
On a somber note, it looks like the Tigers are going to win today. Up 7-2 in the 9th. But wait… Todd Jones is pitching…
No quality start for the Twins starter tonight.
A rarity.
Methinks thats about when Punto should come in the game…
So Kubel has 3 slams. 1 against the Red Sox, 2 against the White Sox.
New rule. Before every game, somebody has to rename the opposing team to ____ Sox.
Ex: This weekend they play the Blue Sox.
After only one huge offensive game this year, the Twins have 9 starters —-
Three .320 hitters
Three .285 hitters
Morneau, Lamb, and Everett.
Tigers win to improve to 1-7 on the year.
That’s good to see. The only thing missing is the timing of those hits.
How about the Last Sox?
That doesn’t work quite yet.
So the question is with an ejection, and such a terrible outing tonight after a season like last year… how long before Ozzie Guillen is a scout for the Twins?
Hopefully that’s nothing long term. Punto plays third, Tolbert to first?
Or Redmond to 1st?
And wow…what classy fans as Lamb walks off the field.
Hitting Coach maybe?
Ha! Welcome, BC.
Lamb walking it off, doing everything to keep Punto out of the game.
Fat chance.
And Punto strikes out on one pitch
Punto get an atbat (injury atbat), but it’s still cause for alarm… Punto was overmatched in that one pitch, lol.
(relax I’m just kidding tonight)
Punto now is striking out for other people!
There is one very loud fan in the stands that is saying some very vulgar things.
Punto is so amazingly terrible that he can strike out on one pitch.
No K for Punto. Charged to Lamb.
Yeah the booing was very rude.
Frickin’ fouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul.
Gomez turns on it. He’s exciting!
Vulgar fans at the Cell? no way
That’s gotta be rough for Punto. Hasn’t had an AB since last Wednesday or so and has to come up cold with a 1-2 count already on him.
Could this actually be Kubel’s year?
And Baker looked kind of like Radke tonight… good command, decent life on the ball, and 3 solo homers.
Punto is so bad that when he swings the bat he strikes his teamates out.
wild tie it up 2-2
Hey, I’ve so far been treated better at the Cell than Wrigley (and of course I wouldn’t be seeing the Twins there-at least not until next year possibly).
Punto is so bad that when he swings the bat he strikes his teamates out.
Okay. That one made me almost fall out of my chair.
RyanW. Can I use that on my baseball blog for tomorrow?
I will give you full credit Ryan, but that one was fantastic!
I havent heard much from the chorus of “Gomez needs to go to the minors to learn how to hit a breaking ball” or “Gomez cant hit a slider” latley.
Where did all those people go?
man, no Twins game on or Wild…. go gamecast
BC, anything for you my friend.
I probably owe you for some rant I had earlier this spring.
Even including the sarcasm, I’m trying to remember “White Sox fans” and “classy” in the same sentence…
OK, moving on. Very happy to see Bass’ outing tonight. I’ve been intrigued by this guy all winter, and nice to see him put it together.
Do you think if a Sox player hits a homer Hawk will still yell “YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD!”
Do you think they’ll shoot of fireworks?
…Ps. Best random taunt ever:
“Mauer you suck!”
Hecklers are just pathetic. Its kind of dumb to tell a guy that is getting paid millions of dollars to play a game that he sucks.
Other than not catching the ball at first, Bass has done well. But he needs to stay in this role… he could be a nice find.
Oh the Hawk will…but I always mute the Sox broadcast here and stream Gordo and Dazzle online.
Punto’s in the game, and the game isn’t over for the White Sox.
Steve Stone on the radio is good times… takes me back to old Cubs TV games with Harry
Thanks Ryan.
Hey, but at least they stuck out a cold 12-4 loss. They’re die hard dumb a#$%es.
that’s kubel 6 and the sux 5.
The important thing is to come out tomorrow and play them just as good.
They can’t do what they did after a big win last year and go silent for the last game of the series.
Toby- lol
Agreed, my worst game day experiance ever was at the dome a few years ago against the Tigers, the guy behind me was trying to heckle Marcus Thames. After about 5 straight innings of “Hey, Thomas! You suck!! You wouldnt start for my son’s little league team!!! Thomas! You’re garbage!…” I couldnt stand it, I had to turn around and say… “hey, the guy in left field’s name is Marcus Thames, I assume that is who you are yelling at. They dont have anyone named ‘Thomas’ You just sound stupid when you are yelling the wrong name.”
Blank look… “really?”
“Yes”
“Dude… my bad.”
The worst part is he wasnt even drinking.
Wow, can I jinx a guy, or what??
Agreed T, winning this series would be nice.
We would take two series in a row from two teams that are playing pretty well.
ESPN said last night that no team starting 0-7 or worse has ever made the playoffs.
And I think they said only 2 teams starting 0-7 or worse have finished above .500.
Yeah GBG, Monroe was one of the few who didn’t have a good game.
perfect timing, 5 minutes of hockey is about all I can take… and that only during the playoffs.
A penalty shot? Uh-oh.
What’s hockey?
It’s like baseball, except the ball never leaves the ground.
And it’s flat.
And made of rubber.
And played on ice.
With skates.
Okay. It’s not like baseball at all.
Most likely no game tomorrow — forecast calling for an inch or two (!) of rain in Chi-town. We’ll see. Meanwhile, I guess we need to get out our shovels — again!!
Rain out? That’d suck. Just when the bats are warming up.
lookatthosetwins — Huh? I was talking about Bass! But where is that guy who was predicting a pair of homers for Monroe tonight…?
Here’s why I like hockey. Colorado currently has two plaeyrs on it’s team named Foot and Finger.
No special spellings, no special pronounciation. It’s Foot, and it’s Finger.
Baseball is the better sport to watch and probably to play. Hockey is probably the most difficult sport, IMO. Lots of frustration; lots of hard work with few rewards; lots of hits and clutching. When you are done with a game of hockey you know you’ve had a workout.
T — hey, look at what they did tonight after a day off! Maybe it’s just what they need…
Monroe scored twice, .400 OBP tonight.
Unfortunately, Everett looks like the grand old shortstop in his last year. He’s hitting .095 now.
And Punto still looked like Punto.
I think the day off Tuesday was a “head out of @$$” sorta break.
Though it may help Lamb if he needs to recover from his foot injury (boy, both backup 1B go down? That’d be rough)
Don’t need to play tomorrow please. 20-30 mph winds too.
Injuries.
