Twins get set to face the 2-10 Tigers
Posted on April 14th, 2008 – 2:57 PMBy Joe Christensen
DETROIT — The sun is shining here. It’s about 50 degrees. The Twins just got done taking early batting practice. These two games in Detroit should be much more pleasant for the players, in terms of weather.
The press box is buzzing with talk about how the Tigers came to this 2-10 start. Of course, it can turn around quickly. I guarantee the Twins players are not taking this series lightly.
Update: Manager Ron Gardenhire said there’s a good chance Craig Monroe will play tomorrow, when the Twins face LHP Nate Robertson. For Monroe, that will be a chance to face his former team.
TWINS
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Denard Span, RF
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Delmon Young, LF
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Brendan Harris, 2B
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Adam Everett, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn
TIGERS
1. Clete Thomas, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Gary Sheffield, DH
4. Magglio Ordonez, RF
5. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
6. Carlos Guillen, 1B
7. Edgar Renteria, SS
8. Ivan Rodriguez, C
9. Jacque Jones, LF
Starting pitcher: RH Jeremy Bonderman
Comerica Park. First pitch: 6:05 p.m.
487 Responses to "Twins get set to face the 2-10 Tigers"
first
Span in the 2 hole is a mistake.
If Everett plays while batting .095, either Everett bats 8th or Span bats 2nd.
One of the two is probably batting 9th.
How long is Gardy going to go with Everett? The guy can’t hit (no surprise), and he’s not doing the best in the field either. I think he has already committed two errors, and it seems like he’s got no arm strength. I’d much rather see Tolbert in there.
I agree i would rather see Monroe in the 7 spot and Harris in the 2 spot. Can’t Monroe or Kubel play RF?
So why isn’t Monroe getting any atbats, and FLUSH keeps starting in RF?
MORE Punto, geez.
Span is a much better fielder than Kubel and Monroe has no shot at hitting a righty. That being said, I’d much rather see Harris hitting 2nd.
BAR HARRIS SECOND.THREE LEFTIEST IN A ROW, NO.
I guarantee the Twins players are not taking this series lightly.
No kidding. That lineup is not going to lay dormant forever. One can only poke a sleeping beast for so long before it finally snaps.
Provided they’ve got quite a hole to dig out of…they have the offense to do it.
It’s just a matter of hoping the Twins can get to that bullpen before it gets too late in the game.
Biggest key though, keep the ball in the park.
Wasn’t impressed with Span’s route to the ball on the liner over his head Sunday. If he’s going to play, has to do better than that.
Bonderman will be tough. Runs will be hard to come by. Good luck Blackburn.
Why isn’t Mornoe playing against his former team with which he has a serious bone to pick? If Gardy was not going to use him why didn’t he cut him before the $ was due in spring.
he will go with him until him until he gets injured and I don’t want to see Punto playing for him. Are you serious. I would would rather keep him in there until he gets hurt.
So why isn’t Monroe getting any atbats, and FLUSH keeps starting in RF?
I wonder why Monroe isn’t getting ABs….http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080413&content_id=2525348&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min
Also:
In 16 ABs, Monroe has struck out 7 times, walked thrice, gotten two RBI, and has hit a mighty .133.
In 16 ABs, Span has struck out thrice, walked twice, gotten two RBI, and has hit .250.
And for the most part Span’s been hitting at the bottom of the order. Monroe’s been hitting behind guys like Morneau, Young, and Kubel.
If Gardy was not going to use him why didn’t he cut him before the $ was due in spring.
If you’ll recall, Kubel wasn’t exactly impressing anybody this Spring. He’s since picked it up. Too late to cut Monroe to save the money.
Regardless, he’s still a better bench option than Ford, Tyner, and Rodriquez would have been.
Why isn’t Punto playing? He is a (should be) gold glove infielder, he’s hitting great and bunts well, (see Sat. night) and is a wonderful base runner. I don’t understand why he doesn’t play every day?
*that’s referring to Monroe as the bench option, not Kubel*
BAR HARRIS SECOND.THREE LEFTIEST IN A ROW, NO.
Harris bats righty
I think Punto isn’t playing b/c he’s not very good at baseball.
I sure hope the twins aren’t taking this lightly…its a division opponent, how many games under .500 were we against the AL Central last year, 14? 15?
No chance at the playoffs with a divisional record like that.
I will agree I’m confused about the lack of Tolbert. He’s had just as many ABs as Everett, and is hitting almost 300 points higher.
bc twins
Harris bats Righty but Span, Mauer, and Morneau don’t. That is where the 3 lefties in a row comment came from I’m sure.
If “The Due Theory” has any merit, the Tigers certainly fit the bill. That scares me.
Monroe will get his at bats in vs Robertson Tuesday night, I suspect.
T: Kubel did swing the bat very well this spring. There were 4 or 5 games where he hit bullets right at people and possible home runs got knocked down by the wind. He’s going to have a very good year. I hope .285, 18-20 HR’s and
80-90 rbi’s, but people have to start getting on base throughout this lineup.
I’m a little suprised Gardy went with
Everett against a tough righty. I know he is suppose to be our everyday shortstop but Tolbert batting from the left side may have been a better option.
LLLRRRRRR,
HMMMMMMMMMM
I’d almost rather play a team on a long winning streak. The odds will tell you something’s got to give sooner or later, and the hot team will eventually cool off. The team that just got chewed out for a pathetic start is going to come in fiery and ready to prove themselves, and the odds are in their favor for a turnaround too.
I definately think the Twins should bring up Jose Morales from Rochester and release Mike Redmond, who has become useless and expendable. The Twins could greatly benefit from Morales good switch hitting, much like they have benefited from Matt Tolbert’s presence on the roster.
Where the hell is Tolbert?
Ask Kubel what happens when a hot hitter like Tolbert is out of the lineup for 2-3 days in a row.
He returns to the lineup and is no longer hot.
T-
I love how you asnwer all the questions like it’s your blog dude.
Span is worthless, and Monroe is a former Tiger, and you’d think that maybe just maybe Monroe would bring his A game against Detroit of all teams…
Since you are imploring your infinite wisdom on everyone… explain to me why the Twins can’t seem to hit the ball very well, and draw walks very well? Let me guess it has nothing to do with Joe Vavra, and isn’t a franchise achilies heal, but more of a fluke and they will turn it on?
Gomez
Tolbert
Mauer
Morneau
Young
Kubel
Lamb
Harris
Monroe
That is the lineup I would like to see tonight.
Sane it goes:
RLLLRLRLR
That’s not too bad with a righty going. The Tigers only have one good Loogy.
herb,
You are judging catchers (Redmond and Morales) on offense only. Catchers and SS are defense-first; offense-second positions. Morales is a poor defensive catcher now. He will have to improve that to ever replace Redmond.
Thats why Mauer is a great catcher that many Twins fans want to become a below-average 3B. ANOTHER BAD IDEA!!
Gotta keep Redmond around for leadership as well with such a young team.
And, has to provide the ability to lighten guys up with his ‘naked walks’.
His bat isn’t so hot right now, but his opps have been limited as well.
thirty fifth
T is a piss pants
bc twins fan,
Of course you are right.
I must have dozed off.
I hope good Nick pitches well again tonight this will be his first big test. Maybe he can do something Johan couldn’t last year and get Ordonez out.
From MLB.com, Kelly Theiser:
Tidbits
Matt Tolbert did not get a start in Sunday’s game after going 0-for-4 on Saturday against the Royals, though he did strike out in a pinch-hit at-bat in the eighth. Gardenhire said he will continue to mix in the utility infielder, but that it could be difficult if the other infielders continue to play well.
I Mauer did move to third base, (I think that would be a mistake) I think we would make an above average fielding 3b. He has what good 3b’s need. Great arm, tall, quick reflexes and probably some decent range. The problem is that his offense will be a lot less valuable at that position. Where I think he is an above average hitting catcher he would probably be only an average hitting 3b.
Monroe is a head case. Let him settle his “reunion” stuff today and go against a lefty tomorrow.
I hope Delmon’s brother gave some tips to him on how to hit at Comerica. He needs to have a breakout night.
Big game for Blackburn. If he wants to stay when Slowey is ready to come back, he’d better start making a strong case tonight.
I have no major disagreement with the lineup.
I think Everett is in since blackburn induces a lot of ground balls and does not have a record as a strikeout pitcher (08 anomaly notwithstanding). Tolbert has looked shaky in the field at times - though I do like his potential.
I would rather have some offense in the game (i.e. Tolbert). Twins certainly looked icy cold at the plate yesterday for the most part.
TJ,
I have not been impressed with Everett’s defense so far. His arm seams really week and his range isn’t that great. At least his bat is making up for it…. Oh wait, nevermind.
“T is a piss pants”
No, T happens to be one of the best contributors on the blogs, Hank. I’ve had my battles with T, but his posts are always well written and thoughtful.
What have you offered us, Hank?
Romer: “Big game for Blackburn. If he wants to stay when Slowey is ready to come back, he’d better start making a strong case tonight.”
How I would characterize it… It will be good if Blackburn continues his strong showing from the first two outings where he has given up just 3 ERs in 12 innings while striking out 11 against the strong hitting lineups of the White Sox and Angels.
Everett’s had a sore shoulder. Got a hit yesterday.
Cross your fingers…
Craig,
I agree that T offers good comments; even if you don’t agree, you value and respect his thoughts… unlike the childish and insulting comments of others.
I have not been real impressed thus far with Everett’s defense either. I should have clarified that I trust that his reputation is well-earned and that the many analyses that have been done demonstrating he is a fantastic shortstop are not all wrong. I have faith he is still that guy and will start showing it soon (tonight?).
I do wonder if his seeming lack of range may actually be illusory. Does he make some plays look easy and so we think they were not very difficult when for others they would have been?
Do any of the old timers on this blog remember how the Tigers of old Cecil,Trammel,Whitaker,Deer,etc.. used to just kill our young Twins pitchers? I was and still am fearfull that it might happen again this year.
Nick Blackburn has been tested this season. He pitched againsyt the Whitesox and Halo’s. I’d say those are two of the best lineups in the majors. If anything this is probably the woest team he has pitched against if just going by this season.
If Tolbert is not going to play Gardy should have put Harris batting second. Gardy going to F Tolbert up Pinch hitting him once a game in the 8th or 9th inning. and not getting him serious playing time.
Tolbert made the club as a bench player, I’m not sure why everyone is surprised that he’s on the bench.
Jared,
I agree. Blackburn has faced the best hitting club in baseball (Angels @ .301) and held them to 5 hits and 1 run over 7IP, and the highest scoring team in baseball (White Sox @ 70 runs), holding them to 2 runs and 7 hits over 5IP.
Tony
Bc he (Tolbert) has the highest batting average and OBP on the team, maybe.
Personally, I would have been thrilled if someone would have given the Twins a .500 record against two 2nd place teams and a 1st place team in April 2008. (I wouldn’t have guessed that KC was one of those teams). Nevertheless (I like that word), if we play .500 against top teams and beat up the teams below .500 (starting tonight?) in April and May, then I believe we have a chance to “contend”, not just “compete”, because I believe this team will be MUCH better in June than they are today. IMO
Tolbert was gonna cool down. At least Gardy could have sat him on the bench after his Ba dropped below .400. He will be cooled off now.
This is why Tolbert doesn’t play every day. He isn’t a shortstop. If you guys think Everett has a week arm then Tolbert is my grandma. He is a nice fielder but not good enough to play shortstop every day. Third or Second sure, but then you sit Lamb or Harris. Would everyone like to see Tolbert over Lamb or Harris?
I also want Tolbert to play every day, but only because I think he is a better baseball player than Lamb, Harris, Punto and Everett.
Gardy isn’t convinced of that, so Tolbert will sit for awhile, but I don’t think Gardy will be able to keep him on the bench for long. Good players will rise to the surface, and that kid can flat out play.
There’s something wrong with Everett’s throwing, be it an injury or just not being with the new season yet… but if you watch him play, he throws with that sidearm slinging motion that causes the ball to drift towards the home plate side of first base. Until he straightens that out, he’s a pretty useless player - Punto offensively and David Eckstein without accuracy defensively. Quite frankly, I’d take Nick Punto with a .320 OBP over Everett at this point (.298 OBP and grossly inflated numbers from hitting in that bandbox).
Leave T alone, he just tends to nit pick a little to much and could use a litghter rose shade in his glasses. A little front office balance, could be said he’s the Fox news of this blog stands up old Carl.
Thanks Tony Punto should play every day! He’s the only piranha left!
Everett again…gotta love Gardenhire’s immaculate philosophy to have at least one automatic out in every line-up.
Gardy seems like the little league coach who wants to give every player equal playing time. But, in the case of Monroe, I think Gardy forgot he is even on the bench. Because if he did know he was on the bench this should be a no-brainer to put him in the lineup today. Kubel in Right, Monroe as DH
Punto took a lot of heat last year, deservedly so. But, he is where he belongs this year. Coming off the bench late in games and maybe getting a start at 2nd, 3rd, or short every once in a while. I actually enjoy watching him play as long as it’s not every day! He’s got a great glove, speed, and hustle, which is perfect for the role he’s playing now.
I’m not saying I don’t want Tolbert in there, I’m just saying he made the club as a bench player and it may be a little early in the season for any manager to change players’s roles. Gardy is usually slower than most, so I don’t see him making a change any time soon.
BC of ND,
I remember how the Twins killed the ultra-favorite Detroit team of ,Trammel, Whitaker, Deer,etc.. in the ‘87 Division series. In fact I was in the celebration in the dome 
Are we playing to win or evaluate future players? In either case, Tolbert should be in the lineup, at least until he proves he is not worthy of the starting lineup.
For those that think Everett’s range has been poor, you are sorely mistaken. His zone rating is very high and this is not playing full time. He is getting to a lot of balls and making a lot of tough plays. He is just very smooth.
Span isn’t in the major leagues to sit on the bench. He will probably sit against the lefty, Robertson, but otherwise he needs to play.
Gomez still has the CF job, but he is by no means rock solid. The Twins want to see if Span can play, in the event Gomez totally flops. Span actually looks more polished than either Gomez or Young, at this point.
Aaron,
I agree that Everett’s range is very good. He is obviously having some serious arm/shoulder problems as his throws to 1B are very week.
Maybe his 2 days off with a sore shoulder is actually a more serious problem than we think (rotator or labrum?)
I agree his arm hasn’t been perfect, but he is still making a very high percentage of plays compared to other SS in the league. He is defensively outperforming most even with those 2 errors that everyone likes to talk about. As if 2 errors is so horrible.
“I’d take Nick Punto with a .320 OBP over Everett at this point (.298 OBP and grossly inflated numbers from hitting in that bandbox).”
What about a .291 OBP from Punto? In other words, his 2007 season?
My biggest concern with this team is the lack of Delmon Young to turn on an inside fastball and drive it in the air. He is a ground-ball machine, and that is not a good thing.
Biggest Letdown So Far: Delmon Young
Biggest Surprise: Livan
Did What I Expected: Kubel, Monroe
People I want to give more time to: Lamb, Tolbert
Ideal lineup:
Gomez
Mauer
Young
Morneau
Cuddyer
Kubel
Lamb
Harris/Tolbert
Everett/Tolbert
Permanent Bench Players: Monroe, Redmond, Punto
As far as tonight’s game, and tomorrow’s for that matter, I have an odd feeling that the Tigers will outscore the Twins 15-3.
I mean Robertson is basically Cy Young against the Twins. (2-1, 1.93 against us last year). Oh, and he gave up 16 hits in 28 innings, to go along with 19 Ks.
Good for the Twins, Carlos G, since they’re hanging in there against the 1st and 2nd place teams.
Let’s see how they do with the “lesser” teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Mariners, Indians.
Aaron,
How about the weak through that led to a run yesterday in the 1st off Liriano. We signed Everett JUST FOR HIS DEFENSE. When his defense is not steller, his purpose on this team is lost. 2 erros is not horrible for other fielders, but given his background and the reason we got him, those 2 errors and other plays, such as a weak throw, are horrible.
Everett, in the past, has covered the small, highly subjective “zone” fairly well.
I haven’t been able to find any highlight reel, type stuff on Everett from his years with the Astros. Maybe someone has a link for me.
So far, I haven’t seen Everett fly behind second, or go deep into the hole, and throw out the runner, the way Bartlett used to.
*throw
Fred,
That is the best lineup this team can hope for. I think Harris and Tolbert should be playing.
“Gomez still has the CF job, but he is by no means rock solid. The Twins want to see if Span can play, in the event Gomez totally flops. Span actually looks more polished than either Gomez or Young, at this point.”
Yeah, five years in the minors will do that to a guy. Long term, I’d still take Gomez or Young over Span in a heartbeat. At least they put up numbers in the minors.
Everett’s defense has been thoroughly covered in our blogs already. And some expert bloggers have shown his range to be tops again this year.
He’s better all-around than Bartlett IF his arm is okay.
MSLY,
The play you are talking about was a weak chopper with one of the fastest players in all of baseball running down the line. What you fail to realize was that play is converted far less than 50% of the time by any SS. Everett made that a bang/bang play. You see the weak throw and I see how quickly he got to the ball and how quickly he released the ball. Everett will sacrifice power on a throw with his quick release at times.
This perception that his arm is so weak is pretty laughable to me. I am stunned that a player with such a weak arm can be among the league leaders in defensive SS when considering zone rating, +/-, and all the other defensive ratings beyond just field %. Yes it is only 3 weeks and these numbers don’t have enough meat behind them, but he is always in the top of these categories. Every SINGLE year.
He will again be amongst the leaders the league in these categories, probably #1, when 162 games are played. Unless he doesn’t start hitting better, we can all agree he will need to hit better to stay in the lineup.
“At least they put up numbers in the minors.”
Whatever does it for you, Fred.
The most insightful and provocative player analysis of the day:
Tony says:
April 14th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I think Punto isn’t playing b/c he’s not very good at baseball.
Thanks Tony (the Tiger?) Keep ‘em coming!
Craig, it has been well documented that he is not a flashy defender and makes it look to easy. He has made a few plays in the hole and up the middle, but he has been positioned so well that he makes it look routine.
So, what is the criteria to pull the plug on Everett?
Any highlights, or sensational plays by Everett, or does he just do the routine plays?
I’d like to see some highlights. You can easily find quite a few highlights on most SS.
I would like to know how you can claim that play is made less than 50% of the time, where is the stat for that, or did you just make it up based on your own thinking? Not only was his throw weak, but it was off target. Even given his weak throw he could still have gotten the out with an on target throw. So let me ask you this, you see how quickly he got to the ball, you see how quickly he released the ball, but did you see the off target and weak throw? Or are you just so in love with what Everett COULD DO that you will look the other way on a bad play?
Jimmy Jam,
I would say the criteria for pulling the plug would be the fact that Tolbert is almost hitting 300 points better than him. I dont care how good of defense he plays, it does not equal that amount of offense.
Not in panic mode here about our SS, but would like to have access to the Bill Smith crystal ball and gaze into the future (or current) SS plans.
Is Everett here as a stop-gap until Casilla is ready? Or is the SS position Trevor Plouffe’s in 2-3 years? Is it Tolbert’s postion by the All-Star break, or will the organization view him as a Utility player?
The system isn’t loaded with SS talent, so it’s anyone’s guess, but I’d like to hear what others think.
MSLY,
hahaha, you want 3 weeks of .300 hitting to justify a change? Do you want Boston to dump Ortiz to? Do you realize we have played 3 weeks of baseball here?
Look for the Tigs to bring their “A” game tonight after getting lambasted by Leyland yesterday.
I don’t think we are going to see massive changes from what management expected and brought north out of Spring Training,at least not the first month.I agree with others who said Tolbert was the 25th man on the roster.He shouldn’t be playing every day.None of these players have more than a handfull of AB’s.You can’t make judgements from two weeks worth of games.
Having said that I still do not understand the logic of having Everett,Tolbert,Harris,and Punto on the same roster.With Harris having the ability to play three infield postions as well as Punto and Tolbert I would have much prefered another OF who might be able to hit a bit off the bench(Jason Pridie).I thought one of the Twins objectives this year was to strengthen the bench.A Monroe,Punto,Tolbert bench strikes fear into few.
“Craig, it has been well documented that he is not a flashy defender and makes it look to easy. He has made a few plays in the hole and up the middle, but he has been positioned so well that he makes it look routine.”
So, what about all those balls just on the border of his range? Any diving stops, or attempted stops, caught on film?
Jimmy Jam, My opinion is Everett is a stop gap until Plouffe or Castilla can prove to be ready. I believe Plouffe is #1 on that list and Castilla and tolbert will fight over 2nd. Just my gut.
Craig I don’t have a personal video collection of Everett, but yes he makes diving plays. LOL
I am not even a big Everett fan, I just defend him when people make inaccurate assumptions that are proven incorrect with data.
Aaron,
Did we, or did we not, sign Everett for his defense? Oh wait, I can answer it for you, we signed him for defense. You didnt answer any of my questions from the previous post, so that tells me you were making up your 50% stat. Also, answer me, what did Everett hit last year?
Do not attempt to compare Ortiz to Everett, you make yourself sound silly. Everett has absolutely NO history for his offensive ability, Ortiz does. Get with it!
If you want someone to run around the field and get to balls quickly, might as well play punto.
Craig, I posted two links above that are pretty good plays that Bartlett\Punto\Tolbert probably don’t make.
This is the lineup I would use for ever game until cuddy gets back.
CF Gomez
C Mauer
LF Young
1B Morneau
DH Kubel
RF Monroe
3b Lamb
SS Everett
2B Harris
subbing Redman for Mauer on a day game after a night once in a while and giving some else a break every now and them. I think the Twins a the only team in MLB that changes it’s lineup as often as a hockey line change. How do they expect anyone to hit when they play 2 days off 1-2 days.
BC of ND:
What I remember best about the “Tigers of old Cecil,Trammel,Whitaker,Deer,etc.”
is when Senor Smoke “punched” ‘em out in the playoffs that year.
Remember? ? ?
What was wrong with Mauer batting second? I don’t like where Span is batting, but I am hoping he does well.
Look for the Tigs to bring their “A” game tonight after getting lambasted by Leyland yesterday.
Or look for Sheffield to make one of his usual comments to the press again… That group of players are primadonnas and methinks will not respond to the press well. Actually it’s Leyland’s fault because stuff like that should happen behind closed doors and not openly to the press. How would anyone like it if his/her boss openly has a fit about their job performance? Totally immature and uncalled for action by “the best manager in the universe”.
It’s early. We will keep watching Everett, but so far, I haven’t seen much that has impressed me, at the plate, in the field, or on the bases. He put down a nice bunt one day, that’s about it.
Maybe there was a reason the Astros, essentially, released him.
(I hope for the last time): The thing with Everett is that he makes plays that nobody else makes seem “mundane” and “unimpressive”. His positioning and footwork are superb and does not have to dive to get to balls like others…
Craig he was a free agent so the Astros could not release him, they did not resign him big difference.
TN&I Criag,
Agree!
Isn’t Everett coming off a broken leg and playing with a bad shoulder? I thinks he’s gonna take a while to get to form.
asi see it the first person to be pulled from the lineup will be gomez and replaced by span…i think thats why span continues to play everyday, and gardy has said he will not let span sit on the bench in the bigs, that being said he will have to continue to impress and will probably go back when cuddy is healthy, but if gomez continues to slump and play silly baseball, you can bet gomez will go to rochester and span stays, os gomez had better get a hold of himself and start taking to heart the things hes being told about his game, and maybe that will just take time, time that may have to be spent in AAA
What is the opposite of rose colored glasses? Black?
So, the Twins go 6-6 after a 1-3 start (that would be 5-3 in the last 8). They give back to back shutouts over one of the hot teams in the league. Their starting pitching has been outstanding. The closer has done his job. Middle relief has been great some games; not so good some others. Their offense is not performing as well as we expect or have reason to believe. Their defense has been ok in the infield (maybe equal to last year at this time) and every bit as good as last year in the outfield.
So, if Twins drop the series to Detroit, some on this blog will write off the Twins’ season. If the Twins win the series, it will be on to rant about how lousy the Tigers are.
Seriously? This is a game people. You need to breathe once in a while and look at the calendar. April is not the month when the playoffs are decided. Twins probably won’t be in it; they shouldn’t be in it with the host of changes they had to make (yes — I meant “had to”; Hunter and Santana had opportunities to stay and did not WANT to). But, I will give the lads at least the month of April before I condemn the team. Shoot, I might give them half of May since I am so optimistic. And, if they are within 14 in August, I might even be so foolish as to think they can replicate 2006.
Carlos G is out tonight. Enjoy blogging and the Twins. Go Twins
How many times will Mauer ground to second tonight?
“Whatever does it for you, Fred.”
Minor league numbers from position players mean a lot more than they do for pitchers. Can you name more than 5 position players who put up awesome numbers in the minors but failed in the majors? Barring injuries?
And yes, it does do it for me. Quite nicely.
its hard to think that there is such a thing as a big game or series this early in the season, but its hard not to think of these 2 games with det as big- simply because of the start the tigers are off to and the young twins playing pretty well and now going up against the so called big guys in baseball, the twins want to be able to compete with them, so i hope they come out of detroit with no less than a split
How many times will Gomez attempt to bunt tonight?
If Blackburn is able to keep his composure and pitch another good game, I will begin to get pretty optomistic about our starting pitchers.
Tony, Thanks for the link with the 2 nice plays by Everett. I saw those clips previously. The one goes back to 2006. They were all I could find, also.
Considering how long he’s been around, he sure is a far cry from a walking highlight reel. One would think that a guy who earns his living with his glove, would have more to show for it.
On the positive side, he’s steady, has soft hands, positions himself well, and makes the routine plays. I don’t dislike him. He reminds me of Ed Brinkmann and Mark Belanger. Maybe, just slightly below those two players. They were two excellent SS.
All this Everett defense debate is moot. Got settled last week on our blogs using stats. There are only 2 questions remaining:
1) Will his shoulder get strong again?
2) Will bloggers with their weepy subjectivity drop the subject?
How many times will Gomez attempt to bunt tonight?
Will Guillan having a hamstring issue on the 1st and Cabrera on the 3rd, Gomez should be bunting all the time…
Wow Romer, that is great that you and your stats were able to settle the question regarding the feasibility of Everett. Maybe you should work for the organization so they can have access to your wisdom and stats.
You see, the problem all of us “weepy subjective” bloggers have is that Everett is still NOT performing. The next time I ask about a good player from the PAST, I will be sure to ask you so you can put your wonderful stats to good use. But, for us who watch baseball in real time, we do not feel Everett is the best option.
Looked like a tie on the Span bunt.
looked like a grounder to 2nd for dp by mauer
Gomez bunting with two strikes is really getting annoying. The kid doesn’t know how to pull back and bluff a bunt, so why would Gardy have him bunting down 0-2 when he’s going to see junk?
Is anyone having trouble watching the game on mlbtv?
Someone posted Everett’s stats this year in addition to his past. Looks like he’s on par with the past.
And someone posted the statistical comparison of Jeter v. Everett, and Bill James’ skeptical analysis of that.
And I was skeptical of Everett too. But not any more. If he’s lost range, it hasn’t shown up statistically yet.
The Bill James explanation on this one is excellent. Please go back and read it.
I was skeptical about such defense analyses too. But after reading what Bill James said about his becoming convinced, I got my eyes opened….and a lot drier.
thryos98- In reference to Leylands comments to the press, I would agree with you if he singled out one or two players (like Gardenhire sometimes has).But Leyland basically called out the whole team which,to me is a big difference.You are right though,todays players probably don’t listen to much of that stuff.Leyland is old school and I don’t mind what he did.
And MSLY, I was zealously critical of Everett last week too. Called SS a black hole for the Twins.
But then I read the stats and found out he has a sore shoulder.
PED IROD gets booed. Love it!
Tigers are getting old. Gettin’ harder for Pudge….
Harris has been a delight this year. And Lamb remains a professional hitter.
Wonder if Everett’s shoulder is affecting his swing. I hope so.
A weak effort there.
But 2-0 Twins!
Everett shows range, but no arm on the Ordonez hit.
“Minor league numbers from position players mean a lot more than they do for pitchers. Can you name more than 5 position players who put up awesome numbers in the minors but failed in the majors? Barring injuries?
And yes, it does do it for me. Quite nicely”
Fred,
That was easy. I could easily find a couple hundred players that put up huge minor league stats and couldn’t play much at all in the bigs. To make it more of a challenge, I came up with six ex-Twins, that fit that description. I’m sure you remember these guys. The first five are AAA numbers, the last is from AA.
Brent Brede
483 AB - 102 Runs - 86 RBI - .348 AVG.
Charlie Manuel
432 AB - 82 Runs - 30 HR - 102 RBI - .329 AVG.
Joe Lis
487 AB - 102 Runs - 36 HR - 107 RBI - .324 AVG.
John Barnes
441 AB - 107 Runs - .365 AVG.
David McCarty
434 AB - 85 Runs - 22 HR - 92 RBI - .353 AVG. - .419 OBP
Tim Laudner
434 AB - 87 Runs - 42 HR - 104 RBI
Laudner did the best of the lot, but was a marginal player at best. The rest stunk, though McCarty hung around a long time, sitting on the bench of various teams.
I could also find guys, that didn’t do much (statistically) in the minors but played well in the majors. Carlton Fisk comes quickly to mind. I think he is in the Hall of Fame, isn’t he?
romer, I’m not sure any SS could have thrown out Ordonez on that infield hit.
Probably, PJS. There might be a few highly athletic ones with super arms that woulda had a chance. Maybe even Guzman in his prime.
I empathize with some around here that that’s the kind of defensive SS they want, given the low BA Everett has.
I’m sure we’ll all keep an eye on him.
im afraid the twins cant afford to have such an easy out as everett…i was so happy when they signed him, knowing how sharp he was defensively, but i didnt know he was this pathetic with the bat…this last out was a joke…swinging at a ball way out of the zone…and i havent seen enuf of him in the field to say hes doing anything more than tolbert would do…i am for putting tolbert in the ss position and let him run with it…with everett out of the lineup we have no auto outs …
I think Laudner was an all-star, wasn’t he?
mj1, Everett was advertised when signed as a light-hitting SS with an above-average or better glove. He’s a stop-gap player.
Tolbert has been a nice surprise, but to give him the everday SS job at this point might be jumping the gun. His bat will cool off, just as Big Papi will start hitting. And Tolbert isn’t the defensive player Everett is.
romer- Laudner was an All-Star once.And only because TK was managing the AL that year.He was the managers choice, not voted in.
When Brent Brede hit .348 in AAA, some scribe suggested to Tom Kelly those stats should earn Brede consideration for a spot on the team the next season. TK’s, retort was something like, “We should know better than that by now.” That’s not an exact quote, but it went something like that. Anyway it was a subtle, but funny slam on the scribe. TK was always dismissive of the importance of minor league numbers, and rightfully so.
Like I blogged about a week ago, Everett seems like the Grand Old Shortstop in his last year. So Gardy will give him his loyalty.
Let’s see if Everett’s leg is good again, and if his shoulder comes back okay.
Tolbert has looked solid, but has looked green a couple times. He only played 6 games at SS last year, right?
I don’t remember if he was an All-Star, romer, but he hit a bomb in the World Series didn’t he?
pj.. youre probably right that its too early, but the selfish side of me wants tolbert and his hot bat to stay in the lineup….i hate rally killers…
Yeah I know, Doug Munson. He wasn’t an all-star type, but he wasn’t marginal either.
Know what I mean?
Let me guess it has nothing to do with Joe Vavra, and isn’t a franchise achilies heal, but more of a fluke and they will turn it on?
Joe Vavra was credited as a hero in 06, and wast he villian in 07 (Craig I think put it best…how can one guy go from being so smart to so stupid in one offseason?).
One can only advise a player so much, in the end it comes down to the player. They can advise Gomez to stop being so free swinging all they want…but he’s actually got to go do it.
And you mock the idea of a “fluke” yet submit the following:
you’d think that maybe just maybe Monroe would bring his A game against Detroit of all teams…
As if Monroe could just magically stop sucking because of the jersey the other team’s playing.
To PJS and Romer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Laudner
According to this he was an All-Star in 1988. Now Wiki is sometimes vandalized and can be unreliable on some topics. But when it comes to straight facts such as this it can’t be beat. 
tolbert and his hot bat to stay in the lineup
I’ll join you in that. Yeah he’ll come back to earth at some point, but I’d like to see them take this season and run with the youngsters if they show hope.
Man! Lamb slurs a little shot down the 3rd base line just foul on a half-swing. Almost had a double.
Boy, I hate those kinds of catches, and that’s a nice throw by the CF.
Gomez…buddy. 0-10. Only 1K, but c’mon man.
Almost 2-2 “T”.
Is Span mis-playing these balls or is he just that good?
CeSar, both.
Twins have a great outfiled for Comerica.
romer IMO Timmy Lauds was pretty marginal.He was OK defensively but didn’t have the best of arms if I remember correctly.He could lean into one every once in awhile but didn’t hit for much of an average.He was one of TKs boys though and TK was loyal.I actually kind of liked TK “giving” Lauds the nod in the “88 All-Star game.He was the manager and he got to pick his reserves, and the Twins mid summer 1988 were on top of the Baseball world.Some guy named Rick Fox took care of that. Remember?
Is Span mis-playing these balls or is he just that good?
I think he took a bad route to that. Backed off first and had to rush to get back to it.
No way that was a K on Morneau.
Didja see J Jones whine on his called first strike last inning?
Still a chance that Monroe is a better pickup than Jones.
Dave Engle was an All-Star not Laudner, but Engle was a token All-Star like Ron Coomer was.
Delmon and Kubes. Nicely done!
Hoo-hoo! Tigers are imploding.
3 errors, for at least what…3 runs?
man i would not want to be in the detroit clubhouse tonight
No doubt good for Comerica. I liked old Tiger Stadium tho. Perfect place to watch a game-live or on TV.
Leyland better teach some fundamentals, CF’er looked awkward on both balls.
The Clubhouse? That audience is bad enough right now.
Wow, if I was a Tigers fans, I would’ve run out on the field by now and ask them to hand over their glove. This team is a train wreck - kinda reminds me of Gopher football.
Harris looking like an all-star.
Twins could very well have 2B solved.
Telly Hughes is brutal.
This team is a train wreck
Agreed. They’re cracking under the 2-10 thing. It may be good for them to get out of Comerica for a nice long road trip. Those fans would be taking the gusto out of me right now.
John and Danny verbally shaking their heads over the Tigers
Gordo says “the wheels are off!”
yah i’m glad i’m listening to it on the radio
Yeah, Harris will be OK. Between Harris, Everett and Lamb, I did not expect this.
If you don’t like Timmy Laudner as an example of a player who hit big in the minors but couldn’t hit much in the majors, here’s another ex-Twin you might prefer:
Danny Walton
AAA - 492 AB - 117 Runs - 42 HR - 122 RBI - .289 AVG.
Danny had a few similar years in AAA. In the major leagues, he stunk.
Gordo is tough to listen to. I’m glad I don’t have to resort to radio very often. I can’t stand how ‘CCO and now KSTP constantly come back from commercials 1-2 pitches too late. The beauty of radio is that most people don’t notice, but it’s so blatantly obvious sometimes when dumb ass Gordon gives play by play on 2 pitches in like 3 seconds.
4 for 25 for mauer and 5 for 35 for gomez since mauer moved back to the #3 hole.
Offensively, Harris had a real good year last year. Lamb too.
Gotta keep it in the park!
Bill, you’re exactly right about Telly. I had to stop watching his shows with Tubby Smith because it was absolutely brutal.
Who is he? I’ve never seen him before a few games ago. He just doesn’t have the voice or demeanor for TV.
This is that whole “sleeping beast” thing.
Cheese and Rice Blackburn!!!!!
Uh-oh. The Tigers have come out of their slumber.
Bill Brasky-Not only was Laudner an All-Star in 1988 he has a life time All-Star batting Average of 1.000.He went 1-1 as a reserve in the ‘88 game.You are correct about Engle.He made it in the early ’80’s as the Twins lone represenative.
That is a BIG top of the 6th…
Telly Hughes is brutal.
You’re being too kind.
Punto probably would have made the play on the hit that started this rally, the infield hit by Sheffield.
Wow. Cruising thru 5 and he gets the first 2 guys easily in the 6th and then WHAM. Buck up young man and finish the deal. That’s brutal. Learn from it.
romer,
nobody could have made that play…
looked like lamb just doesnt have the speed to get to the ball that kept the inning alive… should be top 7th 5-0
Bill, Telly is your typical re-tread sports guy who has bounced around various local television stations. Here’s a link to his FSN bio.
Okay everybody…breathe.
Get those runs back!!!!!
Kept in the park and still got a grand slam inning.
Punto probably would have made the play on the hit that started this rally, the infield hit by Sheffield.
But Punto wouldn’t have gotten the double that scored what’s become one of 5 VERY important runs.
PJS - I don’t know what is worse, Tell Hughes voice or Ann Carroll’s nose job (or lack thereof)
Addy’s trying to get those runs back.
Tigers woke up a little.
Twins need to come right back and score. Put the ball in play, the Tigers can’t catch anything.
Nice hit by Everett.
Lamb is on pace for 75-80 RBI’s. I don’t care if he has to play with one arm like Jim Abbott - he’s still in a different universe than LNP.
Why are the fans BOOING? Gomez is FAST!
Gomez’ bunting has been absolutely brutal since the first couple games.
Tigers fans are on crack.
Cabrera is awful at 3B.
FTR: Adam Everett reminds me of Frodo.
T-
“as if he could stop sucking” He has had 16 atbats. You sure were sticking up for Punterrible last year after 300 atbats of sucking… and yet we know that throughout the history of this game that players can do well against certain teams, or certain starters, or during certain situations. Leaving this to me as a great opportunity for Monroe to play.
Sorry but Flush doesn’t do anything for me.
Tigers fans are like Gopher basketball. Clueless. They boo every little call.
The fans are booing Cabrera.
Who else is ready for Gomez to go down to AAA and polish his game… Gomez may in the long run have a better career, but Span has impressed me with his approach to the plate and solid defense.
Bill, I’m no big fan of Anthony LaPanta, but he’d be a vast improvement over Telly. Heck, even Marney Gellner.
I thought Lil’ Nick woulda thrown the runner out on that dribbler Lamb barehanded with no throw.
Just my first impression on the play.
You sure were sticking up for Punterrible last year after 300 atbats of sucking…
No. What I was trying to get people to do was stop blaming Punto’s starts on Punto.
If he’s in the lineup, he’s in the lineup. No MLB player (or any player making money on a roster) goes to their manager and says “Don’t put me in the lineup.”
Punto did what he could do. And for the first half of the season the front office gave Gardy NOTHING to work with at 3B.
Yeah, Lapanta sucks too, but he’s way beter than Telly. The only FSN guys I like are Mozacco for Gohper puck, the Wild guys, and Bert. Everyone else, including Dick Bremer ar awful.
Punto would not have gotten that ball in the whole. Lamb was playing deep, no way anyone gets to that ball.
Sorry but Flush doesn’t do anything for me.
And Monroe does nothing for me. I guess we’re at an impass.
Good bye Bonderman.
MORE SPAN! ! !
And Beneke’s favorite player gets his second hit of the game.
“Who else is ready for Gomez to go down to AAA and polish his game… Gomez may in the long run have a better career, but Span has impressed me with his approach to the plate and solid defense.”
I’m not quite ready. I think Gomez deserves to go to the end of May. If he’s below the Mendoza line at that point, with a big pile of K’s, he needs to go down.
Mauer, please get the ball up in the air.
the baby jesus needs to nut up and get the job done here. no excuses.
As for FSN, they should ax everybody, they are all terrible. Telly, Marney, Ann, all of them. They are a clown show.
On Gomez: I’d like to know if Gardy is asking him to bunt all of these times (especially on the 2 strike coutns) or if the kid is doing this on his own. If Gardy is ordering so many bunts, perhaps we should let the kid just hit. He’s hit the ball fairly well when he hasn’t been asked to bunt.
Go-Go is still hitting better than Mauer and Morneau. Maybe they should be sent down too.
I would agree with that Craig, Do you like how Span has handled the bat? He just looks very polished, but thats what seven years in the minors will do to you, and its paying off now.
Span is flushing BC.
Smile Brad.
“T”:
Maybe it’s time to take Frodo (Fredo?)
fishing.
$20 Mauer gets a slider
Gomez hasn’t K’d that much. Only once in his current slump.
DJB,
I like Span. Always have.
CeSar ToVar says: “MORE SPAN! ! !”
So, I take it you’re going to be upset when the Twins send Span back down when Cuddy is back from the DL. It’s either Span, Gomez, Tolbert or Monroe, maybe a reliever. And I don’t see them keeping Gomez and Span on the roster because they want those two to play every day.
CeSar, I wouldn’t be THAT cruel.
And as far as Fredo vs. Frodo: his picture when they have the lineups actually has me tossed up between Frodo and GOLLUM.
I owe somebody $20
Gapper anyone?
PJS: at this point I’d dump Monroe. But only because I’m favoring young talent in a rebuilding year.
“Gomez hasn’t K’d that much. Only once in his current slump.”
Good point.
PJS,
I agree with your point, it will be interesting to see what the decision is when Slowey and Cuddy are back healthy.
I think Span should get a shot though. Do you see Bass being sent down?
P.s.
Is juan rincon still on the team? kidding…
Morneau is CLUTCH!
BILL:
“baby jesus needs to nut up”
(that’s a good one LMAO)
MVP MVP MVP
We need 2 more this inning!
Yehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Justin Morneau. I’ve always liked that guy, too. Haha.
Great inning for the Twinkies. Everett single. Gomez messing around on the bases. Span’s good AB. Mauer’s patience. And a good approach at the plate on the base knock for Morneau.
That’s the kind of at bat that won Morneau the MVP in ‘06!Way to Answer boys!
DJB: Good point about Rincon. It’s a damn shame the Twins weren’t able to unload him in the Delmon-Garza deal. It’s been a downward spiral for Rincon since he was caught with the PEDs.
Delmon 3-3 with at least one RBI.
THAT is how to answer back.
Justin’s base-running is always hilarious.
I’m reading this in China. Give me a break. Where does the game stand?
We got those runs back!!!!
Good to see the middle of the line up coming through.Now we need this game to hurry up so I can watch the Wild kick some Av butt!
Demoralizing for the Tigers. Hang your heads, boys.
scott - Twins lead 9-4 middle of 7th inning
Top 6, Twins get 3.
Bottom 6, Tigers get 4.
Top 7, Twins get 4.
Bottom 7, Comerica empties.
That needs to be a four base error. Oh Spanny boy.
Oh NOOOOOOOOo. Span will forever be on highlight reels with Jose Canseco.
Thanks, Krissy! I’m missing the first 3 months of the season; the most fun! Every scrap of info helps me imagine the hometown boys better.
Way to span
looks like the Tigers paid off Span.
9-5 now. That’s a standard catch for a MLB outfielder. He wasn’t even banging the fence yet. Span should have caught it.
scott, the ball bounced out of Span’s glove for a HR.
Spam is the goat so far.
Span giveth Torii taketh away
scott - I-Rod just hit a homer..
Span had it bounce off his glove and go over the wall…
nice assist by Span
That has to be a 4-base error and unearned run. If he does that and it stays on the field it’s a X-base error wherever Pudge ends up.
One of these days a play like Span’s will get scored appropriately, a double and a two-base error.
My first impression was Lil’ Nick would have made that catch………….oh, I already said that.
T,
agreed. Should be an error. He just jumped a foot short of the fence and flopped the ball over for a homer… Hope he is off the field next inning and for a while…
Flush with his first Gopherball… somehow I think everyone knew he’d give one up before he’d hit one.
So Everrett just got his 2nd hit of the game… does that make him a batting champ like Flush?
And if Little Nicky Punterrible was a team player he would have said Coach… I need to go to Triple A, but he was working the Bathroom Caulk and getting more and more playing time.
I have newfound respect for how Gardenhire and Anderson manage the Twins’ pen. Leland should have had a right-hander warmed up in the seventh, especially when his lefty was facing the heart of the Twins’ lineup. No wonder the kittens are struggling.
Agree?
Give the rookie a break. Spans a fine fielder. How come no one says anything about Morneau’s base-running blunder? He’s a 4 year veteran.
BC where did the nickname Flush come from??
BC where did the nickname Flush come from??
Nowhere. BC just thinks it’s clever.
BC also apparently prefers it when bad things happen to the Twins so he/she/really don’t care can post digs instead of anything worth talking about.
Bonehead Bremer just said “It’s been a good day at the plate and in the field for Denard Span.”
Um. No. Span created the type of highlight you don’t want on ESPN. Why did FSN ever let Ryan Lefbvere (sp?) go anyway?
Give the rookie a break. Spans a fine fielder. How come no one says anything about Morneau’s base-running blunder? He’s a 4 year veteran.
Morneau’s always been a boob on the bases. His value comes from not hitting like half the guys the Twins tout as viable major league hitters.
Base running blunder by Morneau? You obviosuly have never played baseball. Morneau sacrificed himself on the bases for a run.
Gomez has hit the ball hard the last few games…just pulling too many pitches. He also needs to quit bunting with 2 strikes.
As strange as it sounds, I like what I see during his slump. He has made good contact and has shown a very quick bat. His ceiling is so high.
How come no one says anything about Morneau’s base-running blunder?
Because it’s not trendy to rip on Morneau anymore. Just wait though, he’ll go on a slump and BC will bring the bandwagon by for anybody that wants to jump on.
I nicknamed him FLUSH because that’s what you do after a toilet is filled with SPAN.
Midmarketwest: I agree that Gardy does a good job with the bullpen.
On Leyland, I’m just not sure he’s the right manager for this type of team. I mean does Sheff, Polanco, Renteria and company really want to be treated like children? The Tigers might need someone with the personality of Terry Francona.
Morneau did nothing wrong on the bases. I think Joe C. or LEN need Jerry White to do a baserunning Q & A on this blog.
BC, you remind me of those people that always refer to it as Micro$oft. And I mean always.
Yeah, if your 13 and need a quick joke it’s clever to toss in a burn-nickname. But to use it every time (even going so far as to keep it all keeps 90% of the time), you just start to sound really pitiful.
Especially when you’re the only person who uses it.
what happens at 9pm? will they switch to the Wild game?
“Morneau’s always been a boob on the bases.”
I’m glad someone else has noticed.
“Base running blunder by Morneau? You obviosuly have never played baseball. Morneau sacrificed himself on the bases for a run.”
Haha! That is funny.
The Wild game tonight is on Channel 45. Tomorrow night I’d guess they’d do a split screen thing.
not even close to the chalk line Dick. open your eyes.
Gomez; 5 for 37, Mauer; 4 for 26 since moving to the 3 hole. Gomez .450, and Mauer .375 before the move.
Base running blunder by Morneau? You obviosuly have never played baseball. Morneau sacrificed himself on the bases for a run.
Morneau has been making poor baserunning decisions for years now, this isn’t something new.
Giving away outs is not good baseball, especially when the run is going to score anyway.
Get him out of there….
are you serious? Morneau is supposed to force a run down to make sure the run scores - which is exactly what he did.
Craig, I was thinking the same thing about Morneau’s baserunning. They cut off the throw home.
Ouch on that defensive play there. Good call by Gomez, but who’s covering that?
Everett….buddy. 2 hits but that’s costly!
jesus christ…. come on boys
“Especially when you’re the only person who uses it.”
After over a year, still the only one.
T -
I have never once gone off on Morneau. Not once.
No one gave Vavra the credit either. Where you get that from I don’t know??? Hunter credited Mauer, Morneau credited Mauer, Cuddyer credited Mauer, and Punto credited Carew. Plus 2006 was what most people would consider a Magical year where everything went right. Vavra isn’t an upgrade from Ulger, and this team didn’t hit well, hit in the clutch, or hit and run very well, and has never had a good on base percentage as a team… Vavra had no qualifications to be the Hitting Coach so you just accept it because they hired him then it’s ok. You remind me of this guy Arenal on the Wolves blog… he kisses McHale, Wittman, and Taylor’s ass every chance he gets. No matter what the facts state.
We need Tolbert. Now.
Stop poking the gosh durn sleeping Tiger.
ummmm, i think we’ll see LNP in the 9th at SS.
I defended Everett above ….. well, that was so ugly. It was like he pushed that throw.
Brasky, Punto’s in at 3rd for Lamb.
You remind me of this guy Arenal on the Wolves blog…
And you remind me of the common internet Troll. Got nothing to say unless something goes wrong. Then you got LOTS of baseball knowledge.
LNP is already in at 3rd….didn’t notice
What’s with Gardy leaving in his pitcher’s just an inning too long tonight?
Guerrier seems to have lost it a little so far this year, always was pretty dependable in the past.
Neshek and Nathan need to pull this out quickly. But I’m still concerned for tomorrow now that we’ve sparked the Tigers offense.
The best pen in the majors? I can’t watch this anymore, time for the Wild!
Lil’ Nick woulda made that throw…….
(work with me people)
T-
I asked you earlier… who made you the father figure on here where you feel it’s your job to correct everyone, and to asnwer everyone’s comments… now I understand I’m talking directly to you, so that makes some sense, but if I want to call Span a crappy ball player, and I decide to call him Flush. I have that right. You always have some kind of smart comment about anything anyone says. You are the most pro-management fan I’ve ever seen on here. That is not a compliment.
Okay, this is enough, Everett out, Tolbert in at SS from now on.
Gardy is a moron. Why send Matty G out for his 3rd inning???? What’s the point of carrying 12 pitchers if only Guerrer, Neshak, and Nathan pitch?????
Steve
I agree. Guerreir has not looked sharp at all this season, but it’s still quite early. Neshak is on, and hopefully he does his job, and Nathan comes on and earns his 11 million.
are we gonna see the position players throwing the pitchers under the bus after this game? All we hear about is hte lack of run support blah, blah, blah….Well, here is your support. Get someone out.
Span isn’t a great defensive RF, IMHO. His routes aren’t that good and he doesn’t have a great arm. He has outrun some of his mistakes and his speed has shown several times. Offensively, Span has done what he is supposed to do. He reached four times this game. My only problem is that Span offers no power and hits lefty. They really don’t need that. On the ball off his glove, he could have and should have made the catch, but it happened because he didn’t get back to make the play.
Anybody with respect for their body would play Sheff deep with a 5-0 game in the sixth, if they play him deep, he beats out that ball.
Everett’s key error gives the Tigers a chance. Ugh. However, what really is showing is that Detroit is waking up. I doubt Baker will shut them down tomorrow. It is very important for the Twins to win today. If the Tigers come back to win, they will be very tough tomorrow.
Well, at least Everett could make the throw to second.
ajpesh
Gardy has always been a moron, but he’s still a pretty decent manager… he’s just doing what got Torre into trouble the last few years… he get stuck on a reliever. Tony LaRussa is known to do it from time to time as well. But Gardy’s also a very very nice guy so picking on him while easy to do still isn’t my favorite thing to do.
Blackburn wasn’t in one inning too long. He had 72 pitches thru 5.
who made you the father figure on here where you feel it’s your job to correct everyone
It’s suddenly wrong to post facts to correct people?
And if you’re going to accuse somebody of being a father figure or bossy, you probably shouldn’t say the following:
…and to asnwer everyone’s comment
Because then you’re just telling somebody what to do. And essentially saying they don’t get to post.
You always have some kind of smart comment about anything anyone says.
I appreciate your compliment. I can tell your a true judge of intelligence.
You are the most pro-management fan I’ve ever seen on here.
While I’m generally pretty upbeat, I can find fault. Meanwhile you’re what? Excessively negative and only happy when stuff goes wrong?
I didn’t realize it was healthy to go through life perpetually pissed off.
Tie Game 9-9
Jesus Pudge - act like you’ve been there before.
I don’t think blackburn was meant to ever win a game.
Very strange Guerrier was in for so long.
Big goof, the way it looks.
Can’t believe we’re giving this game away.
Time for the Wild game
Man if they dont come back and win this game…Gardy should let them have it, but hes a “players manager” and won’t do that. If we had a leyland type we would have won 2 W/S in the last 6 years
Jacque needs to do what he does best….strikeout!
No, Gardy should look in the mirror and ask himself why however you spell his name was sent out one more inning.
Typical Jones. All they need is a ball put into play and he’s swinging for the fences.
I don’t wanna hear another peep out of this pitching staff or coaches about run support. This is a freaking joke.
Bull ^%$% Everett sucks
Seems like Rodriguez always kills us. Hope nobody buries I-Rod’s jersey at Land-O-Lakes Stadium.
Scorchcake, it reminds me of Boof early on. Had two chances at his first win and Crain blew them both time.
#$%#$%#$
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve awakened the sleeping giant.”
3 million for a great glove and no bat. Everett’s arm is gone
best pen in the majors??? We blew two 5 run leads.
Two out of his last three outings Neshek has been shelled. Hitters figuring him out?
“T” you got your fingers on the wrong keys. Try peck and search.
“Very strange Guerrier was in for so long.
Big goof, the way it looks.”
Agreed. Gardy isn’t good at improvising.
The tragedy of this whole thing is all that slugging and winning run is currently a friggin’ sac-fly.
By friggin’ Jaques friggin’ Jones…
This is Tiger’s baseball. The Twins just get to be the first to witness it.
And so the skirts come out for the Twins tonight. Be nice if we had some kind of IQ in the field for a change. Why aren’t Span and Gomez attacking the ball instead of letting it go the wall like this? Blackburn in too long…Guerrier same thing…Neshek gave up a G.S. last week and now this crap. WAKE THE HELL UP, GARDY!!!!!!!
Of course, the way Neshek is getting hit, it doesn’t much matter.
Why doesn’t Gardenidiot take him out???????
Why wasnt Nathan brought in when it was 9-7??????????????????????? arrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh!!!!!!
T-
I’ve been asking questions since I was a little kid, and when no one was answering I got louder, and that might be where the anger started.
I never questioned your smarts… I wouldn’t bother with you if I thought you were stupid. I respect your knowledge and that’s why I don’t try to disrespect you.
But again, why can’t I call Span “Flush?”
Who are you to tell me that I’m acting like a teenager by calling him that? I think it’s awefully kind of me considering what I really think of his ability as a ball player.
I will continue to be upset until I see things done the way I would like them done. I also have no problem with being wrong occasionally. It can only benefit the team if they can prove me wrong.
When I’m happy I’m out having fun… when I’m listening to Gordo and Gladden calling a Twins game it’s pretty difficult to start in a good mood.
I can’t believe this… 11-9. wow.
That’s pretty bad when Placido Domingo gets a hit. Isn’t he one of the Three Tenors?
Okay, you know what. Get all the runs you want tonight. It only counts for one win.
Score 20, score 30 for all I care. Just do it, get it out of your system, and let’s play again tomorrow.
But wow Everett’s error is huge. I have to agree that he needs to sit.
Blackburn has done pretty well, he needs to stay in the rotation. Boof should move to the pen in some capacity and get rid of Rincon!
Ugh of course they would wake up against us. Should have left neshek in the pen and brough in Joe, and I said that when he was walking on. I guess I jinxed pat.
If Span made that catch, I don’t see any of this happening.
It was 9-4 Twins at the time.
“It ain’t over ’till it’s over” - Yogi Berra.
Who are you to tell me that I’m acting like a teenager by calling him that?
I’ve been around the ‘net. And that’s whole “Flush” thing is exactly what I see when people do M$ or Nintendonalds. It gets a laugh once, and then they don’t quit.
Or in some cases, such as Flush, it doesn’t get any laughs and they keep rolling with it anyway for their own amusement.
Once in a while you gotta put the nicknames away and talk baseball. Because you could have a super intelligent post, but people see a ton of nicknames and it loses it’s pizzaz.
——–
And boy, those Tigers fans. They’ll be back on the bandwagon tomorrow.
No Spans play didnt kill them, everetts did
romer, there’s a lot of those moments. Everett’s throw that fell WAY short of Morneau was just as big.
What sucks is the Twins have gotten 9 friggin’ runs…and they’re in the ninth needing TWO MORE!
Let’s hope Jones forgets how to pitch after some time off.
They better release Everett now, people wanted to hate him anyway and now he turned on the Tigers with crappy D. Yikes!
If Everett can’t field, he needs to go. I know SSs make errors, but his ONLY tool is his defense.
Guerrier shouldnt have even gone out for that inning… way to go Gardy!!!
We need to come back and take this one. Hopefully baker has the grapes to bean pudge tomorrow. I absolutely hate it when players show up pitchers like that. I wish every pitcher was like Nolan Ryan and would drop him for that bit.
WHERE ARE THE EVERETT FANS, HE BATS LIKE CRAP YOU SAY WE NEED HIS GLOVE. HIS GLOVE SUCKS AND YOU SAY WHAT NOW? THAT HE HAS RAISED HIS AVERAGE TO .180 FREAKEN BRILLIANT
Neshek is not lights out any longer, I’d rather see Crain in there right now!
As Ron Burgundy once said: “My that escalated quickly.”
“No Spans play didnt kill them, everetts did”
…and Morneau’s base-running mistake.
Toby, what did Pudge do? He just knocked in the tying runs after being down by 5 TWICE.
There’s nothing wrong with that emotion. The Twins have had numerous shows of that.
Showing up is when you do something like what Manny does ON THE ROAD. But there’s nothing wrong with what Pudge did at 3rd (if that is what you’re takling about)
…and Morneau’s base-running mistake.
It was 9-5 at the time.
This game falls on the pitching and the defense. They had a 5-0 and 9-4 lead to work with.
They couldn’t handle either.
Can someone please tell me (of the regular experts sane, BC berneke, thrylos98 etc) why i didnt see any of the twins pitchers come inside to tigers batters when we saw this whole thing unravel hit by hit by hit by hit????
T- I also think you might be 100% on the money when you said we’ve just woken up a sleeping giant.
I have backed Everett all year but I am turning on him now, they need to sit him down until he can put something on the ball.
Dickbert with another phantom homerun call on a very routine flyball, that never gets old.
If the Twins score 9 runs and can’t win, they deserve to lose.
of course Gardy won’t pinch hit for Monroe…
Wheres Monroe right here
Punto in for Everett from now until much later on, then trade Everett, or send him to Rochester.
And if the Tigers gave up 9 runs like they did do they deserve to win?
Gotta pinch hit Monroe right here… Got to.. do not put punto at the plate
punto 3 run yard job!!!!
PUNTO IS HITTING????????????? YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!
Punto brought in for defense, and the disaster happens.
This needs to be Tolbert or Monroe.
u gotta be kidding me
Let’s go Punto, hero time!!
at least the Twins aren’t giving up after a very deflating pitching performance.
WHAT????????????????????
Punto pinch hitting for Lamb?
What the hell was Gardy thinking there letting Punto bat?
Game riding on Punto Holy Sh%^$
Keep the faith baby!!:(
Yeah, Gardy needed to PH Tolbert…or even Monroe at that point.
What a terrible terrible managerial display by Gardy.. Awful
You dont act like that on a ball field. It is a matter of respect for the pitcher and the other team. Even if you hit a walk off you dont show up the pitcher. And when you show up the pitcher you get some chin music. If a young guy took too big a cut against Ryan he beaned him. It has been lost in todays game because the umps police the game instead of the pitcher but I guess I am just old school like that.
I think we can go off on me anytime, but this loss has to go on Gardenhire tonight.
Left Guerrier in too long, left Neshak in too long, and brought in LNP. All three moves hurt the team.
Punto pinch hitting for Lamb?
Punto was brought in for defense in the 8th when it was 9-5 still.
Even with that long out to left, Punto should stay and Everett should go. Who’s going to light into the Twins with this crappy performance? No one. Not one damn coach or manager will same one damn negative thing. Same old thing every damn time.
wow…. best of i don’t say anything right now.
go wild….
Gardy couldn’t make it two stinking weeks without letting his manlove for Punto override what should have been an automatic pinch-hit decision.
Bah, that whole “you can’t show emotion thing = showing up” is stupid. If I hit a triple to tie a 9-6 game, I’m celebrating.
Punto is batting, wow. Why is Monroe on this team, exactly?
DJB, I couldnm’t agree more. Alright you have 2 runners on, the go ahead runner at the plate and yet you don’t pinch hit for LNP, Gardy? Are you serious? Are you trying to lose? That is absolutely pathetic, please get somebody in the managerial spot that is at least going to try and win games and not be buddies with the players.
Toby,
I’m with you. Pitchers need to be allowed to dictate the game, but you also have to realize that most of the pitchers now days have never had that empowerment from the time they were little.
…and Morneau’s base-running mistake.
“It was 9-5 at the time.
This game falls on the pitching and the defense. They had a 5-0 and 9-4 lead to work with.
They couldn’t handle either.”
T,
Everyone gets to pick their goat.
I can’t wait for Gardy’s quotes on this one.
ok. Gardy gotta go. Period.
Even if you hit a walk off you dont show up the pitcher.
Dude, walk-off celebrations happen all the time. It’s not a big deal. Showing up is one thing, but Pudge was excited.
If I were Detroit, and Pudge, I’d have been excited. How BIG was that comeback for them morale wise?
And Punto was brought in defensively during a 9-5 game. Did anybody expect a meltdown by the defense AND bullpen?
The mistake was not PHing for Punto in the 9th, but in the 8th there’s no mistake bringing in Punto for defense.
On Sat. night I told my friend during the Nascar race, that 1. Gomez has forgotten how to but and now looks like he’s swing for the fences. Look for him to go into a big slump. Has NO hits since. and 2. The Tigers are too good of a team to keep playing like they are and will SWEEP the Twins. And let me tell you I thought when we were up by 5 runs on 2 different occasions I would be eating crow, but not MY Twins!! No way!! They will be swept by Detroit. Bet the house on it! I have to go now and waych the WILD keep up the MN theme for sports teams and LOSE! Can’t tell that I’m frustrated being a MN sports fan for over 40 years can ya?? Can hardly wait for the Viking to choke!
How do you give up six runs with the “best” bullpen in baseball? Are you kidding me? Preview of things to come I guess. Everett needs to go - PERIOD. Crappy, crappy loss. Everyone from Gardenhire on down is responsible for this.
The following link has nothing to do with the game, as I can’t handle watching it anymore.
BC B — Pay attention to the game — Punto’s been in for Lamb for a while. Sounds like he got a good whap at the ball, the defender made the play.
If Guerrier can’t pitch that long, he shouldn’t be on the freakin’ team. Same with Neshek. Are all of our pitchers only allowed to pitch to only one batter? BCB again — you’re the one who wanted Neshek in the game. You got your wish.
Wow. Punto… could have seen that one coming. We had a chance too… When will Gardy get it?
Monroe was on the bench, Tolbert was on the bench and Gardy keeps Punto in… great game management.
TOBY:
Rodriguez was definately hot doggin’ at third and when he scored.
Everett needs to go. Just trade him for a single A pitcher right now.
BTW, final score 11-9 Tigers. Punto almost came through with a long drive to left which the leftfielder almost blew cause it zoomed over his head.
Very close. Woulda tied the game
Please someone post how much range Everett has at short, Unbelievable. Why not bench a kid batting .450
3 errors on the season??? WTF!
Why the BEEP is Punto hitting in this situation, why? Give the team a chance at least, I’d let anyone else hit but him! Monroe would have loved to jack one against his former team! This loss was stupid, never should have happened!
Interesting show on Roman ship construction on the History Channel right now.
The outfielders just don’t seem to be in the right position on anything. It’s like they’re so freakin’ scared the ball will get behind them, they just let it flop in front of them. Where’s the proper positioning? Where’s the last second diving catch? What is this crap?
Everyone gets to pick their goat.
This one falls on the pitching staff. As a whole. Heads up their butt. The offense gave them 9 runs and you demand three more of them.
That is riddiculous. No if’s and’s but’s.
I can’t wait for Gardy’s quotes on this one.
The quote we’ll get won’t be the same one he gives the team. I don’t think you can print that comment.
I’m not calling for his head after this one though. In a game such as this, who else does he go to in the pen? Guerrier, Neshek, Nathan are the “important lead” guys.
Would you rather have seen Crain maybe, Reyes, maybe… But Rincon or Bass?
This is essentialy the first game of the Chicago series all over again. The offense gave them runs to work with, and the bullpen imploded. It sucks, it sucks hard.
My only hope is that we didn’t just wake up Detroit. I mean seriously…11 runs after being shut out nearly 3 straight games. Friggin’ ouch.
The offense did nothing wrong in this game. 9 runs is more than enough.
And I’ll even take some of the blame. Tonight I said that the Wild and Twins both played, and I hoped that they could both pull out big wins.
Then they asked if I had to choose. I chose Wild (playoff win).
I apologize.
Neshek and Guerrier were awful everything was up and over the plate. They better get it together or we are in BIG trouble.
Way to go T.
I like Jimmy Jam’s idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEQKOKsOpzs
Another completely unrelated video. Though it voices my current emotional state after this loss.
How about the folks in the hardware advertising agency script some clues to Gardenidiot on how to manage a game with a FIVE RUN LEAD! Pathetic.
tigers were taking batting practice. somebody needed to knock a couple of them off the plate. tiger batters looked so comfy i thought they might come to the plate with a smoke and a beer.
i dunno if i can watch this team much longer if the management continues to treat this like a rebuilding year. i feel as though this team can win games, there’s no reason to throw them away like they have with the personnel decisions the past 2 nights. yuck.
Quit ripping on Punto he almost tied it up and he didnt cause the loss. The bottom line is if you score nine runs and get a decent starting performance you need to win. This falls entirely on the pen and everetts error.
Way to go T.
Yeah, me bad. I think I need to get sent down to the Minors for a few games to get back in it.
The Twins have always won by making the plays in the field. They need to tighten up the fielding. The relief pitching will eventually settle in.
Chin up, buckaroos. Tomorrow will be better.
“tigers were taking batting practice. somebody needed to knock a couple of them off the plate. tiger batters looked so comfy i thought they might come to the plate with a smoke and a beer.”
Exactly they didnt throw anyting hard inside.
if the management continues to treat this like a rebuilding year.
Hey everybody. Just a reminder, the Twins are currently playing the Detroit Tigers.
And the Detroit Tigers lineup is a lot like the Yankees and Red Sox. It may go cold occasionally, but it’s not going to stay quiet forever.
I’m pissed right now, but I’m not going to put the blame on the wrong spot. Leaving Punto in to hit was dumb…almost got lucky…but still dumb.
But for cripe’s sake Punto wasn’t responsible for the ELEVEN RUNS the Tiger’s got.
Everybody go watch the YouTube link I posted. It’ll cheer you up. Or creep you out. Depending on what your opnion is of death metal dogs.
PUDGE SHOULD BE BEANED
He lucked out tonight. His double bounced off the glove into the stands. His triple was misplayed, shoulda been cut off. He scored on a bad throw from left. Then he pumps his fist. Act like you’ve done it before.
There, I said it.
What a shock that the BoSox are on ESPN. Is anyone else besides me completey bored with them? Good lord, I’m sick of seeing Boston and the Yankees.
I do agree, Toby. This one isn’t Punto’s fault, not in the least, so everyone just chill on Punto, ok? It’s time to see if Gardenidiot has any emotion at all in the post game, because it’s obvious he’s not in the same league as Leyland. I can see on FSN he’s just his normal freakin’ lamo quote machine. Whatever. I want to see him with shards of broken bats and batting helmets sticking out of his face after this fiasco.
good night everyone…i’m too pissed to blog anymore.
talk to ya tomorrow around 6:00.
Exactly CeSar. It was a big hit but he should be able to contain himself and show some respect for the pitcher. Hopefully baker hits him but at the very least back him off the plate HARD. Well Baker needs to step up tomorrow and be the stopper for us.
For the record, there are times when I see Gardy in the dugout when he’s sitting there with his head down.
And in those moments, he’s fuming. It’s not anger like we see from Ozzie, it’s straight up rage.
The thing with Gardy is that I think he has that demeanor in the media, but he’s got the emotion where it matters.
What is calling out the team in public going to do? Piss everybody off? Like Leyland said: “If I wanted you in the meeting I’d invite you.”
Gardy chews the team out tonight. The defense and the pitching. But he does it behind closed doors.
I don’t care what he says to the media. His job is what he says to the players.
It would be nice to see gardy get pissed and show some emotion.
im still in shock, i would never have thought punto would bat with 2 out 2on and needing 3 to win…that is exactly the situation we have monroe on this team ..thats his spot…what the hell is gardy doing….i have heard no feasible explanation for not hitting for punto….
I’m also going to add this. Right now I’m pissed, and I agree we’ve got all reason to.
But I see a lot of people calling for firings and rolling heads after this loss.
Keep in mind Detroit’s still on a 3-12 skid. They’re still under more pressure to come back and win another one than the Twins are.
I’m trying not to sound like a Detroit, New York (either), or Boston fan at this point and overreact to one really ugly loss.
The true judge is how this team bounces back. I’m thinking back to the ugly 9-1 loss the Twins had against LAA that the pitching staff responded by only giving up the one.
Or the ugly Chicago loss that the offense answered back with 12 runs of their own.
It sucks, sucks hard, yes. But let’s not pull a Ruesse and start throwing a fire sale.
For everyone who had to labor through watching J. Jones when he was with the Twins, where do you pitch him to strike him out?? That’s right, down in the dirt. Where did we pitch him? About thigh high, so he could get a nice swing on it. Guess the Twins were not aware of that!
For the last time. Punto hit the ball hard and almost tied it up. If the bullpen held the lead like it should this wouldnt be an issue. Quit trying to put everything on punto.
i have heard no feasible explanation for not hitting for punto
That’s the ONLY thing that has me really mad at Gardy tonight. Otherwise I’m pissed at the pitching staff.
gardy needs to be fined for stupidity–this one i will never understand….blamed cold weather for taking nesek too long to get loose…maybe poor planning on gardenhire instead…get him up earlier…you can tell gardy doesnt know what to say tonite….hes got no one to blame but himself….no reason to lose 2 five run leads anytime….
“T”:
That friggin dog has some issues.
And a lot of stamina for 55 seconds.
T- good point on Gardy’s Rage.
It’s my job to call the team out publically, lol.
Gardy cant make the pitcher hit their spots. Quit blaming gardy and punto. Gardy made some mistakes but none were as big as throwing the ball down the middle every pitch for the last 2 innings.
It’s my job to call the team out publically, lol.
I’ll join you on that one tonight. I’m baffled on the Punto move…still.
But I have a good feeling that come September we’re not going to be looking back on Punto’s one AB in this game as the “oh crap that was the end of it” moment.
Honestly, I think the entire Twins team was just flat out shell-shocked.
Well on a positive we did score 9 runs. And at least a heartbreaker like this is better than getting hammered 1-11.
I think that I would have went with Gurrier to get out of that jam, and then brought in Bass for an inning while we had a big lead, and not wasted Guerrier’s arm, but now we’re getting into armchair hindsight thinking, and while I’m admitting to my negativity I don’t like to come across complaining about things like that. I would have handled it differently… as another commenter put it, we have a 12 man rotation for a reason.
I also see where my typing screwed me up. I said Punto pinch hitting for lamb, and I meant to say punto in for lamb and no pinch hitter!
You want something else to get pissed about as a distraction?
How about the NHL for putting a playoff hockey game on at 9 at night in one of the home markets?
I will be royally pissed if gardy has span over kubel in right though.
I’m all in favor of a nice Pudge beaning tomorrow. but seriously, with twins pen, where’s the gamesmanship, the moxie, the game within the game…etc etc. they just kept reaching back and firing the ball like there was a bus they’d miss if they slowed it down a bit. you gotta knock someone to the ground at some point!!!
Gardy says Guerrier and Neshek couldn’t get the ball down. And he emphasized the Everett error.
That’s the long and short of it, though there’s a lot of other what-if’s.
My favorite what-if is the Span miss turned into a HR. It musta tweaked the bully nature of those Tiger hitters, lettin’ ‘em off the self-hook, un-demoralizing them.
pudge was pumped up and i don’t blame him a bit for how excited he was. his team needed that kind of emotion after going 2-10.
but don’t get me wrong, as a twins fan it was wayyyyy hard to watch and i was ticked as anyone. pudge is one of those players that is easy to hate when he’s not on your team.
oh yeah…, pudge’s hr should be removed and go down as a big four base E. span will be having nightmares about that one. only thing i could think of to ease my mood was at least it wasn’t a canseco….
another thing i think about gardy is he better get a handle on gomez…rather than defending every move and saying how fun he is to watch, and ocassionally saying we talk to him about this and that- get serious with this kid…i have a feeling he is not the best student and goes about his business just the way he wants..in other words the tail is waggin the dog here….c’mon gardy get this kid straight…sit him down, send him down, whatever it takes to get his attention….hes been schmoozed enough - span is very capable of playing in cf for awhile….span has shown alot of maturity and seems so together at the plate…too bad on the fly ball that jumped out of his glove…
If anyone should be blammed it should be….
ADAM EVERETT!!!
He’s suppose to be a defensive upgrade, but he’s not… he doesn’t have the range…. and he certainly doesn’t have the arm strength. Tolbert isn’t just better offensively he’s better defensively!!! I’d rather see Tolbert make rookie mistakes draw Justin Morneau off the bag cause he threw it too hard off a line then see a WEAK throw like that!
Bench him or cut him!
A couple times, Gomez and Span looked like they expected the other guy to catch up to those rolling groundball gappers.
Span isn’t an experienced right fielder.
Tolbert isn’t an expierenced SS.
So, Punto (no Everett please) at SS tomorrow. And Kubel in right. Monroe DH.
“hes got no one to blame but himself”
Huh?
Not Everett, Guerrier, Neshek, Lamb, Gomez, Morneau, Mauer, Blackburn?
Nobody?
You must be watching Low-Definition television.
Everett’s arm is so weak. I mean come on man put something on those throws. he supposed to be such a stud on defense but it doesn’t look like it.
Yeah, we should bean Pudge tomorrow because WE were horse sh-t!
Thats what makes baseball such a great game.
Baker should bean someone early, get tossed, bring in Rincon, Crain and Reyes early and lose our third straight.
Maybe we could wear out the bullpen covering for Baker’s ejection and start a long losing streak.
All good ideas.
gomez cf
harris 2b
young lf
morneau 1b
kubel rf
mauer c
monroe dh
lamb 3b
tolbert ss
span, redmond, punto, everett bench
hopefully this is what we see tomorrow nite….
mj1,
Do you think Gomez is outplaying Span right now?
And Punto almost made me look bad because he ripped the hell out of that ball, and the Tigers made a great catch…
So overall, offensively except for Morneau’s bad base running which Craig has complained about for a year and a half tonight we have to tip our hats to the offense. I mean even Everett got two hits!
sane,
it’s obvious i was kidding about pudge-beaning. but still, you have to agree we should’ve pitched more inside tonite. everything set up on a platter, ready to eat, right down the middle. tigers batters shouldnt feel that comfortable. span’s canseco impression, everett error all had they’re role tonite, but the relievers looked like they were throwing batting practice.
i’m just saying.
they should consider the dl for everett til his arm/shoulder gets stronger ..whatever it is…
bring up another bat…
i think span is outplaying gomez at this time…more dependable at bat it seems…
gomez is confused right now…hes trying to do so much, he needs to slow down, and i know they have told him this, but i dont think he gets it…jmho
Danimals,
No question.
Pitching down the middle is dangerous for the infielders and exhausting for the outfielders.
Guerrier and Neshek should be paying their outfielders a dollar per mile.
I think T and I will agree???
Pudge does not deserve a Beaning, or anyone being upset. The team has been under-achieving all season, and they came back from 5 down twice to take the lead. He had every right to be excited, and he did not showboat, or get cocky towards the Twins. That was the emotion of the moment.
When a team comes back from 5 down twice in a game to take a lead they have earned the right to celebrate. He didn’t do the Jeffery Leonard around the bases on a home run, or the Barry Bonds bat toss… he is a 37 year old catcher that hit a triple, and then scored the winning run… that’s pretty freaking exciting stuff.
Danimal…
Ok, yes we should have pitched more inside, every pitcher except for Neshak has made their money by being able to bust a batter in… Guerrier seems off, Neshak is an outside pitcher.
Can’t blame Blackburn, he pitched lights out, and then ran out of gas. Guerrier pitched badly, and was left in too long. Neshak came in and poured gasoline on the fire… it wasn’t his night.
mj1,
I agree.
If Gomez was allowed to sit a game or two, he might regain his bearings.
He could sit next to Gardy or Vavra while the Twins are on offense and next to Jerry White on defense.
Sometimes it is easier to learn if you are not wide-eyed and the veins aren’t
sticking out of your neck.
allowed…hell id make him sit next to gardy… lol..till tomorrow…out…
The only exception to the pitching inside strategy is Sheffield.
Skid Row is full of ex-pitchers that thought they could throw inside heat past that guy.
Maybe when he turns 45 years-old.
BC,
I guess what i was saying is not just pitch inside, but brush sheffield or magglio back. when you have a slow drip drip Chinese water torture thing going on like we had tonite (remember it’s not like they loaded the bases and got all their runs on a grand slam), someone had should’ve brush someone back and not let the Tigers get so locked in. OK, i’m basically done venting and will let this go. i think tonite the twins couldnt believe they could actually tie it up, just like we couldnt when we were watching it. lets get them tomorrow!! I like this years roster a lot and look forward to seeing gomez, young, tolbert and co. grow up together!!
Pudge does deserve a beaning for showing up the Twins when he was too upbeat there. Maybe not his head, but definitely his hand or his cup, pitcher’s choice.
Span’s play was similar to Canseco’s so long ago in the sense that both were STUPID. The next time Gomez hacks at some nonsense pitch, sit him immediately after the out, no question. Maybe then he can figure out that undisciplined batting=bench time.
Anyone for making Neshek go into a Famous Dave’s BBQ and not come out until his belly is sticking out? This vegan crap needs to stop now.
Are we supposed to rip Rick Anderson after a pitching staff meltdown like tonight?
After all, the blog vented on Vavra yesterday.
It wasn’t Bannister - it was VAVRA!!!!
Or does Anderson get a free pass while we wait for the next opposing pitcher to stick it up our whatevers?
Anderson had nothing to do with Rincon, Ponson and Ortiz last year.
He is only responsible for pitching successes while Vavra is only responsible for hitting failures.
I think I’ve got that straight, now.
Arghhhh,
As soon as you decide whether the target is Everett, Gardy, Pudge, Span, Gomez or Neshek, I’ll get the posse together.
Just let me know.
Anderson had nothing to do with Rincon, Ponson and Ortiz last year.
He is only responsible for pitching successes while Vavra is only responsible for hitting failures.
That’s the feeling I get sometimes. The players are totally responsible for their own success. But when they fail it’s a managers fault.
Unless it’s the pitching, in which case it’s never Anderson being unable to reach a guy.
In both cases, the manager can only say so much before the player has to make it happen.
The game sucked @$$….I’m not going to lie. It’s going to stick for a long while. But if they can come out and take one tomorrow it’s a 5-3 road trip against three Central division rivals.
Sid, it’ll be a big posse.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly nominations are:
The Good:
a) Blackburn was great again; deserved better; 2 strikes, 2 outs and Sheffield gets his ugly 75 foot hit; then ground ball hit; then ground ball hit; then opposite field double. One good hit out of the bunch and he gets 4 runs against him.
b) The offense
c) Wild short handed goal in period 3 (thought I would slip that in to see if you were paying attention)
The Bad:
a) Gardy waiting too long to change Guerrier and Neshek; c’mon, we all can see they were struggling; when did we go to an 8 man pitching staff?)
b) Guerrier
c) Neshek
The Ugly,
a) Span assist on HR
b) Gomez 2 strike bunt attempt
c) Morneau’s base running
d) Gardy’s game management (ok, it is similar to The Bad nomination above; but Gardy’s game tonight is worthy of two nominations)
Let the voting begin.
Span should play centerfield for Gomez tomorrow night. He has definitely been outplaying Gomez the last couple of days and Kubel and Monroe both should be in the line up tomorrow. They could put Monroe in right and keep Kubel at the DH because he has been hitting so well lately being the DH
Carlos G, The Good=none of the above, unless you change “great” to “reasonable.” The Bad=A. The Ugly=all of the above.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s OT winner saves what could have been a real lousy night in Minnesota sports. As our man Bob Casey would say “Thank you and good night”! I had to drink 10 Blue Ribbon’s after that Twins game so I will get a decent night sleep. I’m sure Gardy is doing the same.
Two questions before I go to bed…
Anyone else think Gomez is partially threatened with having Span in the line up?…Span’s first game Gomez tried to stretch a single into a double and also poorly missed played a ball hit to deep left center. Since then I think his average has dipped way below the luscious .330 mark.
Why is Adam Everett playing more 3 games in a season?
“Gardy made some mistakes but none were as big as throwing the ball down the middle every pitch for the last 2 innings.”
Actually, that’s what Gardenhire and Anderson have been telling their pitchers to do for years now, “Just go out and throw strikes.” Neither have ever heard the term “effectively wild” before. They act (and Bremer and Bert constantly boast about) as though the fewest walks allowed by their starters is a stat equivalent to that of winning ball games. Moreover, Mauer doesn’t know how to call a game… the kid graduated from high school with a C- GPA and now we’re letting this albatross decide which pitches get thrown when. Against the Angels, he of all people should know that once you get two strikes on Hunter all you need to do is throw one three feet off the outside corner to get him to swing… instead Frankenberry asks for a fastball over the plate.
“Asked why he didn’t turn to Neshek to start the eighth, manager Ron Gardenhire said: “We had a four-run lead. Neshek’s a setup guy. If it’s a three-run lead or a two-run lead, we use him in those situations. I would think Matt Guerrier could get through. At 9-5, I think we’re doing OK there.”
How myopic can a manager be?!?
Bad managing of the pitchers lost that game for the Twins. That homer off Span’s glove stunk too! LOL I thought about Canseco right away and said to my bro at least it didn’t hit him in the head and go over. Then Bert said the same thing 2 seconds later. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
But all in all Span is doing a great job in his first call up just a bad luck night for the Twins
With a night to sleep on it, I’ve been able to collect myself and post a bit more reasonably.
1) No blame on the offense. Yes the rally came up short in the 9th, but when you had the pitching staff two 5-run leads and then are asked in the last inning to score just two more to tie it back up…riddiculous.
2) Punto’s AB in the 9th: Gardy did the wise move and put Punto in to play defense. Unfortunatly the Tigers hit the ball to everybody but Punto. (Punto I think had only play and that was fielding the throw to third on Pudge’s triple). In the bottom of the 9th there were two guys who made outs prior to Punto’s AB, which means it didn’t need to come down to him. And finally, who else does Gardy have that can play third? Tolbert? Gardy made the right move bringing him in for the 8th (who assumes the bullpen is going to collapse like that?) and got burned.
3) Gurrier. Yes he pitched “three” innings. But I believe he only threw one pitch in his first inning of work. All last year people ripped on Gardy for not going to Guerrier, Neshek or Nathan in close games (even if the Twins didn’t have the lead). Here Gardy went to Guerrier for a 4 run lead and got burned. Should he have gone to Neshek? Pat got hit aroud just as bad as Gurrier. We can play hindsight bias….but Gurrier only gave up two hits and “two” runs (Pudge’s homer is a Span error, no fault on Gurrier) in his first few innings of work. No signs that he was in trouble until it was too late.
It comes down to the pitching staff as a whole. Blackburn blew the first 5-run lead, and the bullpen lost the second one.
And friggin’ Jacques Jones got the winning sac fly. Of all the flargle blarg!
But let’s hope Baker can come out tonight and pitch a solid game. If I’m the Twins offense I’m disappointed, but I’m optimisitic that the Tigers pitching is entirely hittable. They won’t score 9 again, but they can hopefully score 5-6 and give the pitching a chance to redeem itself.
A win tonight and they’re 4-3 on the roadtrip and 6-4 in the division. That’s wouldn’t be too shabby considering how close they played LAA.
T,
I didn’t watch the game (only casually followed it-last score I saw was 9-7 Twins). But didn’t Blackburn leave with a 5-3 lead? I don’t think he blew the lead since the Twins still had it when he left.
As for Everett-he needs to sit down until his shoulder is better. Plus Tolbert has been much much better at the plate, so I don’t get why Gardy sits a “hot bat” in favor of a guy who 1 hopped a bad throw last night which made the game worse for the Twins.
Guerrier hasn’t been quite so automatic. That being said, as mentioned above Gardy needs to realize you can’t always have guys come in to just be a setup guy or a 9th inning close. You wanna win right? Wanna kick those Tigers while they’re down? Guess not.
Too bad the Twins wasted 9 runs in a loss, since the bats might only score 1 tonight.
I don’t think he blew the lead since the Twins still had it when he left.
If you compare the Tigers offense to a sleeping giant, Blackburn was essentially poking it with a big stick all night long.
Guerrier finally came in and did the equivalent of putting spray cheese on the monster’s hand and tickling its nose with a feather.
And boy, was that monster grumpy when it woke up.
No one is blaming Punto, Gardy is the one who sent him to the plate. Why is Monroe on this team and why are we paying him 4 million dollars? I just cannot understand why Gardy did not bring him in to bat for Punto in the ninth.
Gyro Mnemonic,
“the kid graduated from high school with a C- GPA and now we’re letting this albatross decide which pitches get thrown when.”
Have you ever seen Yogi Berra interviews?
What the hell does your HS GPA have to do with baseball smarts?
If the Twins field staff (who know more baseball than you ever will) thought that Mauer wasn’t calling a good game,
they would signal pitches, themselves.
The pitcher (who may have an idea about his own capabilities) can shake off a questionable pitch selection.
Maybe Bill James should be the Twins catcher. - or Hillary Clinton.
There is a difference between pitching in the strike zone (the Twins philosophy) and pitching down the middle. (insanity)
No one pitches to an MLB hitter in the zero-spot (intentionally) without an L-screen.
I agree, no one is blaming Punto for the loss. But, he was the worst hitter in all of baseball last year, and historically bad for an every day player. There is no reason for him to bat in the 9th. None.
As for Gomez, we are getting exactly what we should expect from a guy that NO ONE thought was ready for the majors when they dealt for him. Incosistent play is what we should expect. We should expect him to go through long streaks where he just isn’t all that good. He’s essentially a rookie, a player that every expert said should spend more time in AAA.
I think it best for all of our sanity that we remember that, and temper our expectations.
after last night:
gardy has a hard time when things get sticky, he seems to be a step behind.
everett should be on the dl if his shoulder is so bad he can’t make that throw.
they’ve had spring training and going on 3 weeks to COACH gomez and he should know by now the difference between bunting for a hit and a sacrifice.
if you don’t pinch hit for punto in the 9th there is no reason to keep monroe on the team, the worst hitter in baseball last yr up and monroe sits on the bench. someone said who plays 3rd who cares they have to tie the game before it even matters. stick tolbert at 3rd or leave monroe there for an inning.
it is hard to say anything bad about the starting pitching, but the magical relief group has been suspect on most occasions and is at this point not the teams strong point.
my hope is that after a game where the coaches were sleeping next to the heater to stay warm this doesn’t put this “young” team in a long tail spin.
that was as ugly as it gets!
A throwing error by Everett hurt too! I thought this guy was supposed to be this crazy good fielding SS, so far I’ve seen his fielding is good but his arm is weak and not the most accurate. Maybe it’s the shoulder? Or maybe it’s Knoblauch Idiss…Who knows it’s early…But a game that should have been won
Everett also booted Gomez’s throw to 2B earlier because he didn’t or wouldn’t bend his knees and get in an athletic position to receive the throw.
The batter ended up with a double and the baserunner, who had stopped at 3B, was allowed to score as the ball rolled away.
Please don’t show me any more b-ll sh-t metrics to prove that Everett is a better SS this year than than Ozzie Smith ever was.
I could lose my breakfast.
Just remember that Punto hit that last out hard to deep left, so lets not automatically assume Monroe or Tolbert would have been solid gold. Having said that, I do agree that Gardy should have put in someone with better odds at the plate, but we’ll never know now if the outcome would have been any different. Lets just hope the coaching staff is over with the waiting until it’s too late mentality when it comes to personnel changes during the game. And get Everett out of there! Absolutely no reason to not have solid defense there and just eat the out whenever the ss comes up to bat, instead of having both iffy batting and very iffy fielding there.
worst loss that I can remember seeing ever.
Early returns on the Tampa Bay trade:
Garza 0-0 9.00 DL
Bartlett .167
Young .280
Harris .351
