Saturday pregame: Twins/Angels
Posted on August 23rd, 2008 – 5:03 PMBy Joe Christensen
ANAHEIM — The first-place Twins take a four-game winning streak into tonight’s game against the Angels.
A matchup to watch: Jason Kubel vs. Jon Garland. Kubel is a .400 career hitter against Garland — 8-for-20 with three home runs and 11 RBI.
Nick Blackburn held the Angels to one run on five hits over seven innings on April 2, but the Angels won 1-0 behind Ervin Santana.
Updates to come…
Update (8:15 p.m.): Apologies, folks. No big news to report pregame. With the time difference, I’ve been cranking out copy for our first print editions.
Gardy mentioned his concern about getting Justin Morneau some rest during the middle of this stretch of 17 games in 17 days.
As for how Alexi Casilla has looked in his first two games back from the DL, Gardy said, “He’s swinging at balls that might have hit him. He’s a little hack-happy right now, but he’s playing the heck out of defense.”
On the overslide at third base by Carlos Gomez on Friday, Gardy said, “You can call it bad, but here’s a guy busting his butt. He slides in and people do fall off the base. He’s making it happen.
“That’s the kind of stuff that you make an out but it still fires everybody up in the dugout. Yeah, we’re all like, ‘Darn, he made it an out.’ But it’s not for a lack of effort.”
The Twins actually will send seven prospects to the Arizona Fall League. Class AA third baseman Danny Valencia was omitted from the list the team announced Friday. He’ll join pitchers Jeff Manship, Rob Delaney, Tim Lahey and Anthony Slama, infielder Steve Tolleson and outfielder Dustin Martin.
More on the above topics in my Twins notebook.
Enjoy the game. It’s 79 degrees. Just gorgeous here.
Twins (74-54)
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brian Buscher, 3B
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF
Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn
Angels (77-50)
1. Chone Figgins, 3B
2. Erick Aybar, SS
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Vladimir Guerrero, RF
5. Torii Hunter, CF
6. Garret Anderson, DH
7. Juan Rivera, LF
8. Howie Kendrick, 2B
9. Mike Napoli, C
Starting pitcher: RH Jon Garland
Angel Stadium. First pitch: 8:05 p.m.
333 Responses to "Saturday pregame: Twins/Angels"
I was at Blackburn’s start in April (the third game of the season) I remember him striking out a few and I remember being very impressed with Blackburn (I still am). The game was a let down as the only run was scored on a wild pitch, what a way to lose your first major league start.
I hope the rays can put something together against the white sox
Bases loaded, no outs for the rays in the eighth…
Iwamura to face Thorton with the bases juiced. In four plate appearances against Thorton, Iwamura has 4 Ks…
Gatty790….Rays are working on it in the 8th….Go Rays!!!!
Walk with the bases loaded. 3-2 sox.
walked Iwamura, 3 - 2 game..Go Rays!!!
Error with the bases loaded 3-3 game
YESSSSS!!!!! Tied UP!!!!
5-3 rays
still no outs
5 - 3 Way to go PENA’!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess the ball that O Cabrera couldn’t handle wasn’t scored an error…
Twins blog not score board watching!
Go Rays!
Wow the Sox really look like the complete team don’t they! Ozzie rant time????
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
Pitching change, 5-3 Rays, bags full, no out….Keep it up Rays, pour it on!!
These fox announcers are the worst BB people I have ever listened to.
Worse than the Sox announcers?!
Even worse!
The play-by-play guy is the voice of the rangers and the SD Chargers and I feel he has the most annoying voice in broadcasting.
Greg, you’re no fun. We are Twins fans rooting for the Rays…Let us, ok?
That I cannot imagine
No one is worse than the sox announcers, they are the only reason I hate the white sox.
Speaking of lousy announcers, ESPN’s Joe Morgan is the absolute worst IMO.
The one thing I do love about the sox announcers is when the sox are getting blown out and they’re still doing the “you can put it on the board…YES!” thing…makes me laugh everytime!
Blackburn lost to Joe Saunders 1-0, not Ervin Santana…
A CWS loss now, would sure make tonight more fun to watch, knowing we would stay in 1st place!
The strike zone has expanded lower for the Rays sidewinder. I’m not complaining though…
The catch-phrases is why I dislike the Sox announcers so much. It is just tacky, boring and automated.
Totally agree onthemark…GO TWINS!!
I don’t like when the cubs announcer yells out “Cubs Win!” excessively when the cubs walk-off…
If the Cubbies get to the WS, I will root for them, except vs. the TWINS!!!
These guys on Fox are pretty bad…talking about pixie-dust and asking people what are they smokin’…Wow…professional.
3 outs to go for the rays
2 outs to go for the rays
1 out to go for the rays
not sure why fox won’t cut to the game when the phils game is in a delay
GRAB SOME BENCH!
There was a guy behind Thome that had a sign that said, “Thome is my homie; hit a homer to me.” I guess that guy does not understand what qualifies as a home run.
Twins are in first by a whole game
Way to go Rays!!!! Time for a nap so I can stay awake and watch our FIRST PLACE MINNESOTA TWINS later…..GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!
AMF JUNIOR!
SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE
SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE
SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE
SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE SOX LOSE
ya Aaron, I saw that and LMAO trying to figure if the holder figured Thome could hit one around the world….
The Rays didn’t have a .300 hitter in the lineup today. By comparison, the Twins have 5.
Although we are still guaranteed our first place spot no matter what tonight, we shouldn’t let up. Lets put some space between us the the Sox. The Angels are down right now, so lets keep them there. Like TK said, its not who you play, but when you play them, so lets just keep pushing them down.
This is where the Sox go on their losing streak. The Twins are the most consistent team in baseball. I believe the Twins were the last team in baseball to have a 3 game losing streak.
Macleod, yes they were the last team to have a 3 game losing streak.
We’ve had some sucess against Garland before. I like the look of tonight’s lineup. Let’s hope Blackburn is on. To win 2 already in LA is amazing. Kinda worried the Angels are due to break out of their offensive slump. Hope it isn’t until Monday though. Go Twins!
Twins fans come on, get with it. It’s WIN!TWINS!, not Go Twins ! Our cheer is historical, unique, and very catchy.
The Angels aren’t in a slump. They have been winning games all year with pitching and average hitting. Our pitchers have shut them down, and we exploded with one good offensive game. Last night was a rarity. Look for two more tight ball games.
The White Sox easily have the worst announcers in MLB and that HR call is even more grating then Chris “Leather Pants” Berman’s excessive stupid nicknames. He should have quit after giving Bert his nickname.
Big start for Blackburn, he’s been a little shaky lately. hopefully he can throw a gem
Everett makes that play that LNP just missed…
Nice DP ball!
Nice DP for Blackburn
So…with the Sox already losing, does that mean today is the first time the Twins will be in first place for two straight days? (Not counting ties?)
Not that I’m getting complacent. Just curious.
You must mean the first time since the white sox took the lead in early summer correct?
Span even had time to flip the ball to the unhappy fan
That head first into slide has to stop
Punto 0-1. 10 game hitting streak on the line.
man garland works so slow
head first slide into first that is
Another poor throw from Buscher
Arg…
gatty
why is punto allowed to continue to do that?
God damnit buscher make a routine player
play*
You can’t play in the Big Leagues and throw like that, Buscher!
It wasn’t punto that did it, it was gomez. And it should be used only in emergency not in the third inning.
That poor throw from Buscher is looking bad right about now.
You must mean the first time since the white sox took the lead in early summer correct?
Yes. I know the Twins have had trouble in the past few months getting and holding the lead.
What the hell, two bone head plays
Bench Buscher for a week
looking ugly tonight.
Buscher throws like shit, and Punto is the problem?
How many posters are consumed with a Punto obsession, when he isn’t close to being THE significant problem?
Man they are going to be screwed the way Garland is throwing they will be lucky to get one.
Okay…who the heck slipped Suckbug into the Defense’s drink.
This inning should be over now…
thanks gatty. too distracted. watching football, and rockies baseball.
Buscher throws like shit, and Punto is the problem?
Just wait until he actually does do something wrong later…then this place will collapse in on itself.
Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re miserable.
Not watching this game anymore, switching to football.
Good lord, anyone but Buscher at 3rd, well at least we will split the series
I don’t remember Gomez making a bad play like that before. Guerrero leads the league with 24 or 25 times hitting into double play. Too bad it wasm’t 1 more
Get his =ss off the playoff roster!
well, Butcher’s gotta sit. Gardy better PH Lamb next inning…
So are we ready to make Bathroom Caulk jokes about Buscher now?
Two errors in one inning. Unbelievable. He is almost single handedly giving this game away!
If I were Gardy I’ll pull Buscher right in the middle of this inning to make a point.
my error - only fitting
Once again the starters take the hit for the lack of defense.
Buscher makes the first error, and then tries to do too much to make up for it and makes another.
C’mon. Heads out of butts here. And Blackburn, don’t get all pouty. Just chip up and get through it.
Buscher is not a major league third baseman. Good bat for a bench lefty, but he is a mess in the field.
I’ts getting to the “close your eyes” point when the ball goes in that direction.
I guess the alternative is Lamb or play Harris against righties, too.
It’s too bad.
Can’t give a team like the Angels 6 outs.
If you were Gardy you would let him play the next 10 games to work it out
He is almost single handedly giving this game away!
Gomez’s error looms just as large. All runners advanced an extra base on the drop instead of just the lead runner scoring.
The angels have quadrupled the number of runs they scored in the last two games in 2/3 of an inning.
T,
Gomez was not charged with an error…
If Buscher makes the first play, gomez probably doesn’t make the second play thus single handedly
Gomez should have been charged with an error
Gomez was not charged with an error…
Seriously? The ball was in an out of his glove wasn’t it?
Whatever the case, just as crucial.
Gomez is an excellent CF who made an error.
Buscher is a serial butcher who made two errors.
No comparison.
If Buscher makes the first play, gomez probably doesn’t make the second play
If Buscher makes the first play, Gomez’s catch is the 3rd out I believe.
you can’t make those mistakes. i’m a buscher fan, but you gotta back your pitcher on the road. harris might see a start or two at 3rd.
Gomez made 2 great plays also in this inning… Butcher is Butcher and Gardy better pull him out.
In two years Gomez will be a great CF.
In two years Buscher will be bagging groceries.
can’t pull Buscher in the 3rd unless his effort is lacking
Just checked the replay. Gomez’s thing was not an error. He was playing shallow, try to back pedal and misjudged the ball… Happens every day but we are spoiled watching Gomez making these plays routinely….
If Buscher makes another bad play pull him out of the game immediately.
1 Ringy Dingy
Casilla saying “Hmm…hand feels good.”
I guess Lexi isn’t having any more problems from the left side, eh?
Officially, Casilla can bat left handed
Nice HR
That may be true thry, but we’ve seen the Young and Kubes make the same plays in LF/RF and get ripped big time. You KNOW they’d be buried alive by now had that been the case.
Bottom line:
Gomez gets slack, based on his past defensive record.
Buscher gets NO slack, based on HIS past defensive record.
How many is that from the left for Casilla now? Didn’t he hit his first this season lefty?
Gubby will be a nice 3 inning change. He does a good job for fox
Nice homer. If Buscher gets three more, he gets slack.
no Bob
Gardy has a great excuse of 6 lefties in a row coming up to use Harris and Punto.
so, we should bury everyone equally no matter what?
T,
The same case as with Buscher.
Kubel and Young haven’t earned a defensive pass, as Gomez has earned.
Garland is looking a little shaky this inning. We’re still in this game.
Another hit for Kubel. Continuing to get it going and keeping at it and battling.
Misjudging an untouched fly ball, is not an error, but it IS a bad play by Gomez.
Delmon 2-spot.
I always thought it would be cool if when doing a national broadcast, FOX or ESPN would bring in one of the two guys for each team to call a few innings.
FOX did that once when the Twins played Oakland. They had Bert in the booth. It gave the FOX annoucers a chance to let somebody who knew the team better to talk about them. (As opposed to the talking points that normally come up)
Shawn,
“so, we should bury everyone equally no matter what?”
No.
If Ozzie Smith boots one, it goes under the “shit happens” column.
If Buscher boots one, it goes under the “HOW MUCH LONGER ARE THE TWINS GONNA TOLERATE THIS…?” column.
Just imagine if Bert had to switch with one of the White Sox announcers….yikes.
At least Bert would add some class…
Just imagine if Bert had to switch with one of the White Sox announcers….yikes.
Dick and Hawk in a homer-off.
Hawk: “Here’s the pitch, Morneau hits it to center. This is a will be a homerun. Four runs will score. Morneau should’ve been struck out on the last pitch. We shouldn’t be in this situation.”
Dick: “Dye swing and hits it BACK…goooing deeep….Gomez looks up AND. Catches it to end the inning.”
I still hate seeing Butcher on the field this inning, coming from a manager who has put players in the deep freeze doghouse for unknown reasons. Butcher’s fielding percentage is officially hovering around .900 now…
sane,
i agree! Thank You!
T,
you forgot the “bad guys” reference re: Hawk
and Blackburn was never the same…
Blackburn being sure to let that RBI hit fly right over Casilla’s head.
over-under on how many pitches it will take before Boof is starting to warm up?
how about zero
0
jinx, huh
Amazing, just amazing.
I think I am done with this game
I try not to second guess, BUT when THE sinkerball pitcher (Blackburn) starts, Punto and Everett should be the left side of the infield.
I forgive Gardy tonight, because I didn’t catch it pregame tonight, but there should be no future forgiveness on Blackburn’s starts.
Hopefully Liriano can pitch well tomorrow and get us 3 out of 4, that would be HUGE.
Putting things into perspective, the Twins will be in first place in the AL Central and by the last 2 wins they did better against the Angels than a lot of us thought they would do…
that said, Gardy should bench Butcher for a while and if he doesn’t Smith should remember that Butcher still has options…
I like Blackburn and he is having a good year, but long term, he is going to have to work the hardest of the 5 to be successful. He just seems to have the least margin of error
sane
do you really see that big of an upgrade at 3rd of Punto over Harris???? Harris has a better arm than Punto and range isn’t as important at 3rd.
sane unless LNP and Everett can take turns pitching Blackburn is still responsible for the mess this inning and part of it last inning.. I think we may be seeing Blackburn emerge as the #5 starter out of the “young guns” the guy that can be traded for 3rd/SS upgrades when someone like Manship etc.. is ready for the rotation
plus we fact 6 lefties in a row coming up. gardy shouldn’t be blamed for trying to get buscher into the game tonight. kid’s going to be sitting for quite some time.
slowey pitches tomorrow not liriano
Free,
Not pointing my finger.
Just saying that on Blackburn’s starts, Punto and Everett give us the best chance to shrink the 5-6 hole.
That would be directed to FIRE, not FREE.
We need at least 3 runs here
Koskie was a stone handed butcher at 3rd when he was learning also.. perhaps Buscher can with hard work be a decent glove there too
gardy shouldn’t be blamed for trying to get buscher into the game tonight.
He should be blamed for keeping him in. And how about letting Lamb rotting on the bench?
Fire
Remember how mediocre Baker was in his first couple stints in the majors? Blackburn has a 3.79 ERA even after tonight’s mess.
am i saying he shouldn’t be traded? no. just that i think he’ll get better, and that the trade better bring someone good back.
punto with a 11 game hitting streak. man does he play for the money (contract year)
Ok, I never really left the game.
Dang it Torii
Hunter showboats on that one
agreed sane but the run production you give up by starting Everett with LNP makes it close to a push IMO
I wonder if FSN will swtich to the other booth for a few innings so we can also hear the play by play guy for LAA as well as the color guy.
Fire,
Koskie was never in a pennant race when he was learning the roles…
thrylos98
i have no problem with gardy staying with Buscher. remember when robinson pulled lecroy in the middle of an inning. he was in tears the next inning. you don’t do a knee jerk reaction on mistakes. unless they are of the lack of hustle variety. glad gardy has more class than you.
lamb start before the game? maybe. hindsight sure is nice.
“Punto and Everett should be the left side of the infield.”
That wouldn’t be very popular with most people either.
Let’s face it, the options aren’t that great.
Lest we forget, Garland is an ex- White Sox player, with all the faculties incumbent with that position.
T,
I am listening to the LAA broadcast via MLB.tv… Gubisza is the color guy, but for the last 2 inning Bert is the guest commentator and will be for the next 2, so you are not missing much 
lamb start before the game? maybe. hindsight sure is nice.
Agreed. Lamb in the lineup (out of the blue considering his use recently) would’ve been rightly riddiculed.
They should walk mauer to get to morneau now…
edit
that should read robinson was in tears after the game. just not something many managers would do. unless the mistakes are from lack of hustle or effort.
inning ending double play?
Get Morneau to the plate this inning. If they do that this game will end alright for the Twins.
Punto always finds a reason to dive…
JP I get that point, trouble is Baker was mucher younger and improved with age Blackburn is already 26 and he is a sinker ball pitcher that pitches to contact his margin for error is tiny to begin with. I mean as a #4/5 pitcher he is awesome don’t miss understand.. but Twin’s have a few pitchers in minors knocking on the door soon and it makes sense someone has to go out of the current rotation and it wouldn’t be Baker or Liriano
JP,
“do you really see that big of an upgrade at 3rd of Punto over Harris???? Harris has a better arm than Punto and range isn’t as important at 3rd”
Range at 3B is not “AS” important as middle-IF, but it IS IMPORTANT.
Punto is significantly better at 3B and IMO Harris will have to out-hit Punto by 20 points in BA to win that job.
Just don’t hit into a DP Mauer…
This game is not ova yet!
Joe Mauer…so hot right now.
Who talked about starting Lamb today? All I said is that Lamb (and Harris) is rotting on the bench and Butcher is playing despite hurting the team today…
This team never dies
Excellent excellent AB Joe, now lets go 33!
i agree fire. i’m just saying blackburn still has some ceiling. how much? i’m not sure. again i have no problem trading surplus to fill holes.
And it all started with Buscher leading off…
if we get the lead Gardy puts in the defensive unit
Hey ma…how ’bout a cookie.
No dice.
This ain’t over.
Punto is significantly better at 3B
I think that’s true about Punto and most infield positions. But as with you, that’s just MHO.
…, nice Simpsons ref.
So when they come to switch the color guys to their home booth…we say no way right?
thrylos98 - I think front office committed to this rebuilding project aka using young player and having them grow up on the run.. they never expected the division (besides W Sox) would stink this bad and that the rotation would be this strong
Let’s see if morne can get his first hit off of oliver!
That was a gift strike
Pulling a player mid-inning for performance failure has no place in baseball coaching.
Pulling a player mid-inning for disciplinary reasons is the only justification.
Glad someone picked up on it T.
thanks sane,
i guess unless we’re talking about foul pop ups to third, which punto is among the best i’ve ever seen, i don’t see that big of difference in range at 3rd. its mostly about reaction time and harris really isn’t that bad. harris does have a better arm. really the only knock i would have against harris at third is just lack of experience.
Not Terry… “this team never dies”.
So true. The blog does, but not the team.
one run game
Well were back in it, now blackburn needs to shut them down quick
Okay Blackburn, let’s not have a repeat of the last inning. Your offense put one up and you gave 2 back.
Now they’ve given you 4 more. HOLD.
Hey the game isn’t over yet, but the pitching and defense has to respond.
does Blackburn get to stay in the game 1 more inning?
“The coward (blog) dies a thousand deaths, the hero just 900.
Blackburn’s pitch count isn’t a concern yet…
Nice job handling yesterday’s game without me boys while I was on the road. Just came in.
I see Nicky screwed up two plays at 3b and one in CF. Hopefully he picks it up a bit.
fire,
that would have been true, if Butcher was a “young player”. He is 27.
That was a nice, yet awkward play by delmon
Great play by Delmon
At least the hard hit balls are hit at twins players and not at people in the stands…
sane do you think Buscher can still improve at 3rd? or at 27 is he pretty much going to decline and be a mailbox?
JP,
“i guess unless we’re talking about foul pop ups to third”
Don’t forget swinging bunts, base-hit bunts, topped balls, and ground balls Punto (not Harris) can cut off before Everett has to throw out the batter from the hole.
Come on Blackburn
Wow surprised gardy with the hook that quick
Nick don’t give the runs back!!!
I think Buscher can improve 100%, IF he will abandon his 2 o’clock arm angle and replace it with a higher (one o’clock or earlier) arm angle.
He must commit to it this offseason, or make alternative career plans.
Nice pitch by Bonser
Buscher’s problems are twofold. He has both an innacurate arm and a stone glove.
He’s a placeholder at third.
Let’s score a couple more runs offense!
Yet another sign of Blackburn blowing up in the dugout after a not-so-stellar outing. He is our Jeff Weaver / Brett Myers of emotion.
Vikes couldn’t hold a one point lead, got beat at the buzzer. Maybe the Twins can get a couple and win this one at the end too.
I hope this isn’t one of those situations where the team’s long man comes out and dominates the twins…
there goes the manager of the millennium… not PH Butcher against a lefty… way to go Gardy
Chief,
IMO, if Buscher’s throwing errors are eliminated, he is a good enough hitter (and fielder) to be a MLB starting third baseman.
There are average (or worse) fielding third basemen all over the Big Leagues.
how many times has blackburn shown emotion like that arschlach? if anything i would say perkins is closer to that mold. but neither is in the zambrano, weaver, myers mold.
be a little steamed after not doing his best, i like that.
It is amazing to me how any major league player doesn’t swing at two consecutive fastballs that cut the plate in half…
sane,
Mora aside, who is a worse fielding 3B than Butcher?
Punto has been productive this year and I have supported him. However throwing his bat after every ground ball or pop up he hits is getting really annoying. He is going to hit someone at some point and look like a real idiot.
Did Blackburn blow up?
Someone has to go protect Gardy’s office door.
The ghost of Kyle Lohse is loose in the clubhouse.
Buscher’s bat is Major League, maybe he can play 1B for someone
Throwing a cup is hardly a blow up
Well, we’ll have to disagree, Sane.
Buscher will never hit LHer’s enough to anything more than half a platoon, and that ignores the fact he really shouldn’t be even that unless he CAN improve his defense, by a lot. And at 27, the chances of him improving his defense, while in the majors, isn’t good.
Like I said, he’s a placeholder, just holding a job until the Twins decide to give someone else a try.
thrylos98
sane was saying take away the throwing problem and there are worse 3rd baseman than buscher. which means he does have good range (above league average in ZR). sure that is a huge “if” but that was the point of what sane was trying to make.
correct me if i’m wrong sane.
That was really unlucky there
I like Blackburn. But I’ve seen him get pissed here and there - nothing like punching the water cooler, but just showing a little more anger than the other guys. But, you make a good point - at least he doesn’t stare down the other players when an error is made (like Perkins did). And really, Blackburn tonight didn’t do too much other than slam his glove or something to the ground and spit.
damn another homer off Boof.
“Mora aside, who is a worse fielding 3B than Butcher?
No one, if you include throwing.
Lamb and Ensburg shared for the Astros.
Miguel Cabrera, Jose Guillen, Troy Glauss come to mind immediately.
there are worse 3rd baseman than buscher.
Name one (with numbers to support it), please
JP,
Agreed.
here’s some food for fodder -
Bonser is only 4 months older then Blackburn he turns 27 this Oct Blackburn turns 27 next Feb.
Bonser has better stuff then Nick and IMO everyone but Liriano he problem is his head always has been.. if Rick Anderson can somehow get him straightened out then what?
Finally! We got a call on a close play!
re: the Buscher debate, Crede has the most AL errors for a 3B this season - 19.
Crede is a better 3B then LNP!!
no doubt bonser has good to very good stuff. me thinks he will be packaged up in a trade during the offseason. unless he shows enough out of the bullpen, the twins think he can be effective back as a starter or out of the bullpen.
just like any teacher or coach, anderson’s style just isn’t going to work for everybody. lohse good example of that.
“Name one (with numbers to support it), please”
If by “numbers”, you mean FA, no thanks.
Dick Stuart had a better FA than Vic Power at 1B, but that proved all you need to know about FA.
My “raison d’etre” is NOT to convince anyone else that they may be incorrect.
Yeah, I would take that offense from Crede anyday. I think he may just be booting more than usual in 08. Could be wrong.
damn lexi take that for ball 4!
Hank Blaylock is a bad 3b…granted, he hasn’t been healthy enough to butcher balls the last couple years…
sane,
from those, you named,
Lamb, Ensburg and Cabrera are not starting 3B any more.
Guillen for all his clumsiness as an emergency 3B in a flawed club has a .949 FP this year. Glauss (back problems and all has a .985 FP this year.
Butcher’s FP was .936 before this game…
(as a comparison, Cabrera had a .941 FP in Florida last year, Lamb has a .970 FP this year and Ensberg has a career .956 FP at 3B; .976 with the Yankees this year….)
anyone else in mind?
It would be nice to get a HR soon
Mark Reynolds
Besides, why am I defending Buscher?
I threatened his life three times tonight.
I guess the Casilla and Mauer would rather make an out than walk tonight
Hunter swinging at the Hunter
Subtract Buschers throwing errors and recalculate.
My original answer was to the question:
“If his throwing was corrected…….?
The Casilla swing on 3-1 really pissed me off.
And hunter grounding out on the Torii. Buscher made an accurate throw!
Also, I may have already mentioned that “FP IS B.S.!!!!”
“If his throwing was corrected…….?”
…he’d still have a stone glove and no mobility.
sane says:
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Subtract Buschers throwing errors and recalculate.
My original answer was to the question:
“If his throwing was corrected…….?
At this point, that seems like a big IF…
Slick play by Buscher
If the Twins can score two runs this inning, they might actually win this game.
Yep, gatty Buscher looked OK on that throw!
Well, he was only about 10 feet away, but, hey! That’s a start!
“If his throwing was corrected…….?”
…he’d still have a stone glove and no mobility.”
But would he be the WORST 3B in MLB?
You say yes;
I say no;
and the earth keeps spinning.
one more chance before K-Rod enters to shut the door.. odd that Morneau has only 1 hit against Angels all year?
We need a bloop and a bomb
markinmn
yes it was already stated that the correction was a big if.
probably time to move on…
I think Torii might have hurt himself
Looks like we are going to have to try to get a win tom with K Rod coming in
Well I think this game is over so I am leaving now.
“I think Torii might have hurt himself”
Not on grass.
Turf would have killed him!
JP-
I couldn’t agree more…
WHAT! Buscher,LNP,NOGO are due up in the 9th! I smell extra innings!! or maybe not…
You’re confusing me with someone else, Sane.
I never made the claim Buscher was the worst third baseman in MLB.
I said he’s too bad defensively to be more than a placeholder, and too old to get much better.
Fire, maybe Busher will redeem himself and Nicky will hit one OVER Torii this time.
Chief,
Sorry!
I had several simultaneous arguments going and I think I came out on both sides of at least one of them.
thrylos98 says:
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 pm
there are worse 3rd baseman than buscher.
Name one (with numbers to support it), please
There…mystery solved…
Lets make Frankie throw 30 pitches in the 9th, so he has to rest tomorrow.
Fire:
WHAT! Buscher,LNP,NOGO are due up in the 9th! I smell extra innings!! or maybe not…
Hard to get any love from Fire. Gomez 2 hits in three straight games. Nicky, Buscher, Gomez with 4 of Twins 7 hits tonight.
Time to rag on some other guys for lack of hitting, me thinks.
Frankie does tend to get wild…29 walks in 53 innings
ummm you did read who is up in 9th for Twin’s? Frankie would have to develop short-term blindness to throw 30 pitches
The good news:
If the Angels hold onto the lead, the @#$%@#$%@#$% monkey stays in his @#$%@#$%@#$% cage!
Carlos my take was based more on Frankie’s studliness.. he may be wild a bit but he has LIGHTS OUT stuff!
sane let’s bring the monkey out and SPANK HIM!
why was Angels trying to steal 3rd?
yep harris can play tom
I think we need to thank two former twins for stepping up big the last couple of days and helping the Rays beat the Sox; Bartlett and Balfour. Those two have been sox killers the past two games. Thanks guys!!
Crap!
Now, Frankie may start tomorrow!
So, did anyone else notice that the over achieving Twins started this game 3.5 games behind the team most everyone says is the best in baseball?
Astounding! And, it comes with about 4 players worthy of their starting spots, one relief pitcher, no DH, no bench, a young SP staff, a manager who is the worst in MLB, and no coaches. How do they do it?
come on lamb, if you hit one out, i will apologize for all the mean things i have said about you
MVP!
MVP!
MVP!
Carlos…maybe we have a good manager and good coaches…your arguments make no sense at all
We need a HR by Lamb
Lamb looked foolish in that at bat. It is all up to Denard.
Carlos G,
“And, it comes with about 4 players worthy of their starting spots, one relief pitcher, no DH, no bench, a young SP staff, a manager who is the worst in MLB, and no coaches. How do they do it?”
They get exceptional advice and direction from this blog.
Not Terry is new to the blog? That was quite sarcastic of me.
K-Rod thought that was strike three
I knew Terry Ryan had no sense of humor!
K-rod knew that was strike three
good game
Hate to say it, but the twins gave this game away
Yeah…not bad to be 2 out of three at this point but we should be 3-0.
“Hate to say it, but the twins gave this game away”
Not all of them.
Even I didn’t expect a sweep. But, sucks to give games away on defense. Gardy has heartburn tonight.
Well we do only have 4 starting players, no DH, the worst manager, no coaches and 1 relief pitcher, so of course we we lost. In fact, we will lose all of our remaining games because we are so terrible
KRud is kind of a hot dog.
A Juan Berenguer wannabe. A juannabe.
The twins win as a team and they lose as a team therefore the team as a whole gave this game away.
“Gardy has heartburn tonight.”
Well, with the Twins 11th in the AL in fielding % and errors, I’d say he shuld be used to it by now.
don’t forget third, notterry.
and gatty you failed us and the team tonight by not calling for a clutch HR from Span. Hope you pick it up tomorrow. (Smiley face for the new readers, like Not Terry)
I thought I did call a Span HR, wait that was Lamb. Dang.
i think that was the winkie face, carlos. another frikken error.
As someone said yesterday: “Telly Hughes, making the English language his bitch”
Not Terry,
Sorry, not really picking on you. You see, I am one of the up-beat, koolaid drinking, always seeing the silver lining, Twins’ supporters.
So, you see, I was just pointing out the irony of the Twins’ current status given blog-world’s critique (which I summarized) of the Team.
Peace.
We gift wrapped this one for them. Buscher’s plate appearance in the ninth, swinging at the first pitch while down two, tells me his head wasn’t in the game. Plus, marginal to lousy defense. Gardy’s move removing Blackburn in the fifth may have been one of his best this year. One can’t like our chances against Santana manana. He can make life miserable. But, we’ll see….
One thing I did see at the end of the game was Denard Span was a little nervous. You don’t see that very often.
MudCat says:
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
i think that was the winkie face, carlos. another frikken error.
True…the Official Scorer ruled it a W (Winkie face)
Carlos,
Explain sarcasm to me again, pleeze.
Dang, my head wasn’t in the game tonight. Getting ready for my birthday party tomorrow. G’night. winkie face to follow…
i believe we are 6-16 if we give up 2 or more errors.. theres a reason.. too many errors and it loses the game for you… blackburn did great.. it was the stupid defense.. not just buscher but gomez too for dropping that ball in the outfield.. he was lucky that didnt count as an error cause it should have been..
Daniel,
“Buscher’s plate appearance in the ninth, swinging at the first pitch while down two, tells me his head wasn’t in the game.”
Tomorrow, his *ss won’t be in the game, either.
“Tomorrow, his *ss won’t be in the game, either.”
Agreed…I’d say he could be the bullpen catcher, but he might kill a couple fans with that arm…
I hope Slowey can show some guts and pitch this team to a victory tomorrow…
What good is Lamb, he sure hasn’t done what he was brought in to do. They should cut their losses and get rid of him. It sure would be good to have another right handed bat on this team, but that ship has sailed. No place for Cuddyer when he gets back? Right handed DH or maybe another try at third?
The name is Buscher……Should have made the throw and catch. He will be the first one to tell you that!
yay! more LNP at 3b tomorrow, or later I guess….. I am wondering if Harris will even make it the rest of the season on this team, now there is a 4 man platoon at 3rd base……
“No place for Cuddyer when he gets back? Right handed DH or maybe another try at third?”
If he was returning by August 31, Cuddyer would probably move Span to CF and Gomez to the bench (my take on Gardy’s likely actions)
Since he won’t be returming in time to get on the playoff roster, IMO he will just be a spot player.
Third base - ZERO chance!
Morneau comes up with runners on second and third and he grounds out??? We have seen this far too much from the guy who is supposed to be our MVP. AT some point, he needs to at least single in that spot
Miss Optimist,
If LNP had played 3B tonight, there MAY have been a different result.
Buscher cost us this game, of course, but Morneau did NOTHING to save it for us
I know sane answered this-but this is for every Twins blog:
Please….Please…no more suggestions about Cuddyer playing 3b…it is not going to happen.
“he needs to at least single in that spot”
Every hitter fails at least 2-out-of-3 times.
true Sane, but he has been doing that far too much lately
he has not come up with the big hit as often as someone of his stature should
TUK,
Agreed.
He is in a slump.
No hitter has permanent immunity to THAT disease.
Morneau has 340 RBI in 443 games in the last three years.
That’s an average of 124.33 RBI per (162 game) season.
So he does more than his share, normally.
Plus, coming into the game, Morneau was batting .375 with RISP…35 points higher than Mauer. Yes, Justin is in a slump right now–he’ll be fine. The good news is that the Twins have won w/o him during his recent slide…when he gets hot again, and he will, it should make the team that much more dangerous.
also, regarding morneau and all other ballplayers, pitchers or hitters — they go through streaks, good and bad, over and over, year after year after year (assuming they manage to hang on to their jobs).
Oh great. Another stiff in the bullpen. Billy Smith is scraping the barrel, just like he did with Hernandez, Lamb, Everett etc. His track record sucks as GM, and now we get this. Smith, please resign.
