Twins postgame: Return of Eddie edition
Posted on August 26th, 2008 – 1:33 AMBy Joe Christensen
SEATTLE — The Twins fell to 60-6 when leading after seven innings Sunday, but up until Monday, they had not lost this season when leading after the eighth.
They were 64-0 before Adrian Beltre hit his two-run homer off Jesse Crain in the 11th inning, giving Seattle a 4-2 victory at Safeco Field.
Joe Nathan suffered his fourth blown save when Seattle scored a run in the ninth. The Twins came back to win after two of his previous blown saves, and the other was spoiled in the eighth inning — Aug. 5, right here at Safeco Field.
“Get to the ninth, that’s normally a done deal for us,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Leadoff double, but we missed the ground ball to short, and it ends up costing you a ballgame.”
Gardenhire thought Nick Punto hesitated because he saw Adrian Beltre running to third. If Punto gets the out at first, then the Twins could have played the infield in instead of conceding the run to get the double play.
This one can’t be pinned on the bullpen. Matt Guerrier, Eddie Guardado and Jesse Crain all had 1-2-3 innings. Nathan stayed poised and sent the game to extra innings, and Crain got beat in his second inning of work, after pitching Sunday.
Having Guardado in mix should only help.
“For sure,” Nathan said. “The move they made today makes us a lot deeper, gives us confidence. Any time you can get a guy to help you out, especially in close ballgames and in the late innings, it’s nice to have.
“We feel like we have some arms now that — especially from the seventh inning on — we can finish out some games. Unfortunately tonight wasn’t one of those cases. We’ve got a long stretch to go, and it’s nice to have Eddie on board.”
Guardado’s pleasant postgame session with reporters broke the ice in a quiet clubhouse.
“Obviously, it’s a tough loss today,” Guardado said. “August, September, you’re playing for something, and every loss is tough. But I’ve been watching these guys play for a while now, and we’ll bounce back.”
136 Responses to "Twins postgame: Return of Eddie edition"
It’s great to have Eddie back! His veteran leadership is really going to help out down the stretch.
[…] Original post by Joe Christensen […]
Mr. New & Improved Craig (1:07am), Couldn’t agree more. Gardy blamed the loss on “Punto’s error and the bullpen was terrific”. Must have been watching another game.Obviously. we stroked the ball against a bum with a 6.5+ era, garnering 1 run over 6 innings. The guy struck out “Wade” Mauer out twice. The TEAM lost this game (including the players and the coaches). For Gardenhire to say otherwise is pathetic.
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
The defense this team has showed over the past few weeks has been suspect. While Crain did get through his first inning of relief after working Sunday, you’d think he’d still be able to pitch one more inning. The pitch he threw to Beltre was right over the heart of the plate and Beltre killed it. Ballgame over. 1 game out now.
For Gardenhire to say otherwise is pathetic.
Wow. Gardy actually makes a negative comment about Punto and people gloss right over it. Very unexpected.
Game should’ve ended 2-0 in the ninth. No doubt. Casilla had the error earlier in the game that lead to the first run. (I still don’t get their explanation as to how that was earned)
Whatever the case, lineup looked ugly. (hangover from a tough LAA series and not a slump I hope) A few good ABs by Young and Morneau. Gomez drew a late game walk (After drilling himself into a 0-2 hole no less)
Twins can still bounce back and win this series. It once again took the TWINS to beat the Twins (defensively anyway).
Nice to see Eddie go out there in first chance and put together a strong 1-2-3 inning worth of work. I’m still going to be nervous as heck for the next few weeks, but yesterday was a step in the right direction.
But again, even if Guardado and Nathan are rock solid from here on out, Twins still need SOMEBODY in Reyes/Guerrier/Crain to step it up.
Because (like with “Who bats 3rd? Okay…now who bats cleanup?”) I have concerns “Who pitches the 8th?” could start turning into “Who pitches the 7th?”
Yes Punto made a critical error that arguably ended up costing us the game (whether or not Beltre would’ve scored from second after the leadoff double is anyone’s guess). However, when your team is facing Migeul Batista, you should have more than 2 runs going into the 9th inning, There is no excuse for this game. It was just sad watching the Twins lose a game to the worst team in the American League. These are the games that we need to win.
So far on raod trip: 2-3
Angels: 2-2
Seattle: 0-1
Even though we lost the last two, the series split against the Angels makes me happy. We need to take the last two here from Seattle, and then take 3 of 4 from Oakland, and two of three from Toronto. I guess I could live with one from Toronto. That would put us at 8-6, which I could live with on this road trip.
The White Sox face the Red Sox when we face Oakland, and Cleveland while we face Toronto. I hope we can stay close so the series at the end of September matters.
(whether or not Beltre would’ve scored from second after the leadoff double is anyone’s guess)
I was thinking the same thing. Beltre was on his way to third, and Punto had no way of getting him even if he cuts that ball off perfectly.
So if we assume the out, that puts Beltre on 3B with 1 out.
So do we assume that they’re able to cut him down at home on the ensuing grounder? Or does he not even break for him and Punto throws out the runner for the 2nd out?
It’s almost an identical situation to th earlier run off of the Casilla error. Assuming the runner is standing on third after the double, does he actually score on a grounder or not….
These are the reasons I’m glad I’m not a scorer.
all right I want everyone who roasted Buscher and called for him to be sent to the minors after his error in the Angel series to also call for LNP to be cut,tarred, and feather.. LNP is a 10+ year veteran who supposed is a Gold glover.. that play in the 9th looked like a little league play
We loss because because we became complacent. Twins thougth 2 to 1 we can win. wrong! On paper the Twins should win these kind’s of games. On paper anything can happen, but in the real game of baseball not so! Twins need that killer instinct. they need to set that tone early in each game. And then follow through with a win. Offense is vital to winning any game, the Twins did not have it. Make a mistake this time of the season(Mr Punto)and it will kill ya!A weak and inconsistant bullpen and brother you got problems! for me the Fan this was a very sloppy game as well as boring. Maybe they can get it together to night…..
nothing new, nicky has made this kind of play before. for every web gem he has a bone head running mistake or a nonchalant appearing error. it “may” have lost the game. let’s hope this doesn’t put him into one of his funks.
interesting to know exactly (not rumors)what they wanted for beltre, he may end up costing us a playoff spot.
The team is playing very flat, conservative baseball. It starts with the manager. He needs to take some chances. He doesn’t use the teams speed. Casilla is a base-stealing whiz, but has 4 steals.
Gardy can’t stand around waiting for Morneau or Kubel to hit a bomb. He doesn’t have enough firepower to compete that way. He has to force the opposition to make mistakes.
Gardy and Ullger are playing way too conservative. They are playing, don’t make mistakes baseball, instead of being aggressive.
“let’s hope this doesn’t put him into one of his funks” LOL he mean the funk he has had his entire career? actually his 2 funks so far have been when he hits 35 points higher then career average during contract years(like this year)
Alexi’s two base error hurt early. Buscher had a RBI taken away with Young being thrown out at the plate on a perfect throw.
Buscher didn’t lose this game…..Errors by Punto, Alexi, blown save by Nathan, HR off of Crain. It happens to all of them.
They have to bounce back and kept tracking……No time to feel sorry for yourself.
Lefties coming up. Will Harris be at 3rd? I like him and his bat…..
Go Twins. Rebound……..30 games or so to go.
Craig that agressiveness you so wanted got Young thrown out at the plate on a terrible decision to send him on a short hit and on a great RFers arm
well, thats three games against Seattle we should have won, not just could have won, but should have won
if we lose the division, Seattle was the reason
One would think that the Twins would want a more versatile player than Ruiz on the playoff roster. He can’t play any position.
I would think Tolbert would give Gardy more options. With Everett’s arm still a question mark, he might be nice to have around.
They will probably see what Ruiz does this week, against LHP. When he doesn’t miss the ball, he has done okay. He has K’d in almost 1/3 of his AB, however.
“Lefties coming up. Will Harris be at 3rd?”
He might get a start against a lefty, but my money’s on Punto at 3b with Everett at ss most of the time. (Unless Gardy decides to bench Punto for last night’s misplay.)
Buscher makes a costly error and gets benched. Will Punto be in the line-up tonight for the 33rd straight game?
ABSOLUTELY!!!!
LOL (Unless Gardy decides to bench Punto for last night’s misplay.)
LNP is on Gardy’s “favorite” list all others like Kubel get thrown under the bus no matter how much better players they are
it hasn’t been gardy’s thing in the past to bench punto. he may play nearly every game until the end of the season. his mistakes don’t seem to bother gardy as much as what others may have done.
gardy seems to dislike harris, he has benched him when he was hitting well and when the team was going well.
i expect harris to be traded this winter and nicky to get a new contract.
Fire,
So that’s what I was calling for? Terrible decisions? Running on Ichiro on a play like that is not what I’m calling for.
Gardy doesn’t send his runners against catchers who can’t throw at all. Twins base-runners don’t take the extra base against OF who can’t throw the ball for distance or accuracy.
Ichiro has an enormous arm. That’s a whole different ballgame.
Gardy likes Harris, but not in the middle infield. Harris will play 3B with Everett at SS. Nick gets the day off. Maybe.
Nobody can play SS and never make an error. It’s part of the game. Nick tried to make the play. Alexi threw the ball away also. It happens.
at 74-57 i just can’t get mad anymore at one loss, even if i stayed up until 1:30 LNP error, no hitting, Crain be damned
maybe if they lost today
you said being agressive and forcing the other team to make a play well that is what happens
Fire,
Sorry man, I don’t know what your talking about.
Coming into the season I thought we would be better because of 2 reasons: Punto not playing everyday and a much better and deeper bench. Well, we all know Punto is in there everyday, but to be honest he’s done decent, but last nights game was more typical of Nicky Baseball. But now the Twins have released our veteran presence on the bench, guys with a little pop in Monroe and Lamb. Yes they sucked as starters, average down, but it was nice to have them on the bench in case of a pinch-hitting situation late in the game. Now we have Everett, Harris (who should be starting anyways thus Punto is on the bench), a rookie in Ruiz, and Reddog. It just doesn’t seem as strong as we once were.
I still can’t understand how they lost to Batista. Is it just me or did they look like they might be a little to confident against him and were swinging at everything he threw.
Gladden said the pitch by Crain, fastball, outside part of the plate was a bad call. He said that lets Beltre extend his arms. Said to jam him or throw him a curve. Gladden has been critical of some of the pitches called this year.
Nathan kept throwing the fastball also. When he finally mixed in a slider he was much better.
the game is done, let’s wait for today’s. Eddie was great and so was Guerrier for that matter. I feel more confident for the 7-8-9 now. Very good performance by Frankie.
There were some interesting manager calls out there from sending Delmon to challenge Ichiro’s arm to pitching Crain the day after he got shelled in Anaheim…
Give this one to Gardy & his staff. Hope that BS keeps tally and does the right thing in the offseason …
Craig let me refresh your memory:
“Gardy can’t stand around waiting for Morneau or Kubel to hit a bomb. He doesn’t have enough firepower to compete that way. He has to force the opposition to make mistakes.
Gardy and Ullger are playing way too conservative. They are playing, don’t make mistakes baseball, instead of being aggressive.”
batista is a veteran and has had some decent seasons. him pitching a good game isn’t a big surprise, i’m more concerned when they look bad against a no-name. even livan pitched a few good games and batista has much better stuff.
Fire,
Does that mean, run on Ichiro?
You putting something in your morning coffee?
believe me after getting 5 hours sleep listening to the Twins I need something in my coffee!!!
There is a difference between aggressive-smart and aggressive-stupid.
The coaching challenge is to teach players what plays go into which of the two categories.
Nice to see Bill Smith send Lamb home to be with the wife and kids. It was very magnanimous of him. Lamb didn’t want to play baseball anymore.
Funny how Lamb never made much money with Houston, where he played reasonably well. He walked away with 6.6 mil from the Twins. Nice retirement package.
Freaking Crain. Guy throws 95 mpr lasers, no movement at all, and he gives up 95 mpr lasers right back out and right over the fence.
Does anybody know if Young was sent by Ullger or did he miss the stop sign?
If he was sent, it was one of the dumbest moves of the year.
The hit was virtually identical to Casilla’s that scored Span and he barely beat the throw. Young is nowhere near as fast as Span and was out by a mile.
I wonder if the Twins will have Casilla play SS in winter ball, in the off-season. I would think they would make the switch. Casilla claims he has an incredible arm.
The Twins have a bunch of 2B-3B types, but are really thin at SS in the minors. I doubt if the Twins will bring back Everett next season. Punto might return to give them some depth.
sweetone,
Ullger sent him home
yep that aggressive play rubes like! 
I still don’t understand how the run charged to Liriano is earned? I really hope we get Brendan Harris back in the lineup with all the lefties the Twins will be facing in the next week. I like his gap power and although his range is average, he has a rocket for an arm.
I agree with AJ Pesh, our bench is much weaker now. With Harris and Punto, I don’t really understand the need for Everett. Everett is a good guy, good fielder which the Twins like, but if we make the playoffs, I don’t see him starting and he’ll be useless as a pinch hitter. His arm is still very weak from the hole. As for the bullpen, Crain needs to throw more breaking balls period!!
How about the decision to concede the run in the 9th for the double play… the equivalent of taking a knee. This wasn’t the 5th inning where they had more time to get that run back. Why not play the infield in regardless of the runner on first and try and win the game?
Hope that BS keeps tally and does the right thing in the offseason …
Both Eddie and Reyes are free agents. So I can imagine both will be pitching for their jobs this season.
Eddie has momentum on his side if he can come in off the trade and pitch well down the stretch.
But he also made a comment during an interview that he’s getting towards the end of his career. Less than encouraging, but hopefully a sign he’ll retire when it’s time instead of trying to overstay his welcome.
Other Twins FAs potentially this year: Punto (this one will be interesting), Redmond (club option for next year, think they take it?)
TNAIC,
I remember reading here that Casilla was their SS of the future. Now, if we can just get Harris to work on the DP transition this winter…
I am in shock that Gardy blamed the loss, in part, on LNP’s error. That is so un-Gardy like. Perhaps he felt that his little buddy embarrassed him after Gardy called him a “Gold Glove” infielder at any position last week.
The error certainly did not help, but neither did Nathan’s pitching in the 9th, Crain’s in the 11th or the team’s failure to generate offense against Batista, who they apparently thought was Mr. Cy Young last night.
Gold star to Eddie, and another confidence building outing for Francisco.
I would really like to see Harris in there tonight.
Harris’ numbers have improved significantly, the last two months, as his playing time has been cut back.
all right I want everyone who roasted Buscher and called for him to be sent to the minors after his error in the Angel series to also call for LNP to be cut,tarred, and feather..
Weren’t you paying attention during Saturday’s game? We can rip on Buscher because he hasn’t proven himself defensively like Gomez.
I would imagine the same applies to Punto. Afterall, Gomez and Punto are about equal offensively recently… 
“I still don’t understand how the run charged to Liriano is earned?”
Because you don’t assume the out in that situation. Casilla only got an error on that play because the runner advanced on the bad throw. Had the runner been safe at first and not advanced no error would have been charged even though the runner should have been out. The scorekeeper determined that the runner would have eventually scored from first, so the run was earned.
LasVegasDave,
Harris is finished at 2B. As a Twin anyway. Same with SS. He can back up either position in a pinch, but Gardy doesn’t like his range.
Harris has a nice arm at 3B, and he has decent hands. He could be very good there, if he worked at it. I don’t know if he has an everyday bat, though. Too many K’s. Gardy doesn’t like that.
T,
I am not talking about players when I said hope that BS keeps tally and does the right thing in the offseason …
as i said before gardy doesn’t like harris in the field period. he doesn’t make the web gem play, even if he has been steady when he has played ss or 3b.
nicky will be back next yr if gardy is.
ullger has to be questioned on both span and young going home. a good throw would have had span and young was out by 10′.
i don’t understand cutting lamb this close to sept 1. cutting everett and keeping lamb on the bench for pinch hitting seemed more logical and in the winter try to peddle him. in 5 days you can bring up infield help, big waste of carl’s hard earned money.
Thanks Thrylos,
I figured that he was probably sent since they didn’t mention anything. If you would’ve blown through the stop sign DnB would’ve been all over it.
“thrylos98 says:
August 26th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Very good performance by Frankie.”
??? OK maybe, IMHO.
“There were some interesting manager calls out there from sending Delmon to challenge Ichiro’s arm to pitching Crain the day after he got shelled in Anaheim…
Give this one to Gardy & his staff. Hope that BS keeps tally and does the right thing in the offseason …”
I realize it’s grating when you predicted a 130 win season.
You are always quick to fault manager & Players you don’t like, and RARELY if ever give credit. I realize they are professionals and don’t need or deserve credit to do their job.
It’s interesting just HOW BAD this team really is, and ALL of that can be atributed to Gardy. I mean Gardy & the Twins have lost 57 games. Totally unacceptable. Any Major League manager who loses 57 games should be summarily sacked.
Regards,
ggg
Judging by his comments, Gardy wasn’t a big Lamb fan. Also, as Craig pointed out in an earlier post, Gardy doesn’t like Harris at 2b or ss. That leaves only two middle infiedlers (plus Harris in a pinch) and three guys at 3b. Lamb was the odd man out.
i just hate to see carl’s money wasted, he’ll need food stamps if this keeps up!
T,
Saam has it right regarding Casilla’s Error and it being an ER.
Basically there are 2 types of errors: Those that would’ve been outs and those that advance a baserunner.
If the error is the type that would’ve resulted in an out, if that baserunner scores it is an unearned run. Also if the error would’ve been the 3rd out, all subsequent runs for that inning will be unearned.
If the error is the type that advances the baserunner, the official scorer has to answer the question “would he have scored from his original position with the following plays in the innning?”. They must’ve felt that Burke would’ve either scored from first on Cairo’s Double or from 3rd on Betancourt’s Ground out to Short.
Dragon,
I don’t fault Gardy for pitching Crain, I fault him for Pitching Crain for the 2nd innings.
The Twins have no bench (have they ever had a bench?). This is a problem.
Crain should have been pulled after the lead off walk to Ibanez.
Its surprising that all of the blame for this one is going to the bully…Gardy’s decision making and some poor fielding plays….in my view the biggest factor in the loss is the lineup scoring 2 runs on one of the worst starters in baseball.
Those of you questioning Crain pitching another inning, or wanting Crain “pulled after the lead off walk,” can you tell us who Gardy should’ve had pitching instead? Did you want Boof, Breslow, or Reyes pitching?
BTW, it’s picking nits, but it wasn’t a “lead off walk.” It was a one out walk to Ibanez.
TNAIC,
I don’t think Harris has an everyday bat to play 3rd either, which is why I would like the Twins to have him work on defense at 2nd. But of course, the manager won’t play him there so my point is moot.
I don’t understand why Harris has not played more SS, I don’t ever remember him missing a routine play. His range is suspect, but I think if you tally up the misplays by Punto and Everett, and the plays they make that Harris could not, you would be about even, if not ahead of the game with Harris at SS.
Casilla’s Error
Punto’s Error
Young out at home (maybe he should have trucked Burke?)
1 run off a guy with a 7+ ERA
Leadoff Double in 9th by Nathan
Conceding the run
Crain pitches 2 innings
All things you take into consideration for the loss… and I think everyone will pick out which was the most costly…but I’d say it was a “team” effort…
Need to take the next 2, really no excuse for not doing it…
USAChief,
I would’ve been more Comfortable with any of the remaining 3 RP that with Crain out for a 2nd inning.
Thrylos
The twins would be a laughingstock if they fired Gardy. Gardy has his faults, like playing favorites, etc. But almost every year he has the twins playing winning baseball, despite the front office signing, and shortly thereafter releasing, washed up retreads. Every year, they release these old, bad players, and bring in young players that produce. Not many managers have the kind of patience you need to be manager of the twins. I scratch my head over gardy’s moves sometimes too. But, in this case, the devil you know is far better than the devil you don’t. I’m curious, who would you like to manage the Twins?
Livan is gone. Lamb I heard is gone and Everett is next hopefully. Get rid of all that baggage
“The twins would be a laughingstock if they fired Gardy”
The Twins are laughstocks because they keep settling for average or just competitive - when will this team finally be built to be a real contender?
Fire I think that we are 1 DH away from being a contender.
Who is going to be this years AL Cy young award winner this year. K Rod or Cliff Lee
ygtbkm,
Wally Backman
and a 8th inning reliever younger then 38, a 3rd baseman, a SS, and a time machine to suddenly give NOGO,Young,Span,Casilla,Buscher, starters are another year of experience
Regarding Craig’s 8:26 AM post…probably the first time I have agreed with something he has written. You said it just right, Craig.
Fire they also need Russell Martin
it would be a travesty if k-rod won the cy young. he’s only the third best closer in the american league. he’s not even close to the best pitcher overall.
Ciff Lee
“This one can’t be pinned on the bullpen.”
My thoughts exactly…
“Well, I’ll start by saying this…do not blame that game on the pitching, alright…
I don’t care who you play…a high school team, junior college team, college team, much less a Major League team…when you go 0-for-5, strikeout once, pop out another time, and fail to field a routine grounder in the 9th….you’re not going to beat anyone I just talked about…
and that was a disgraceful performance in my opinion…we gave them the game by doing that…we gave them the friggen game..
AH, what’s that…Punto? Don’t talk about Punto…Punto…You kidding me? I just want to win a game…another game.
Didn’t Cliff Lee yell at GoGo this year for trying to bunt off of him. I don’t know if I support Clif Lee after that poor move on his part.
The Twins are laughstocks because they keep settling for average or just competitive
Funny, I hear nothing but praise when I listen to national coverage of the Twins.
I am not talking about players when I said hope that BS keeps tally and does the right thing in the offseason …
Is this going back to that tally someone’s keeping of “games Gardy lost”?
Because to put it frankly, that’s a really stupid tally.
Milwaukee has such a large payroll why don’t the Twins increase there payroll like milwaukee. The 2 teams are in a similiar market.
I’m curious–does anyone else think that the Twins play to their opponents level?
Sometimes I get that feeling. They torch Saunders in LA, a guy who just shut them down in the beginning of the year…and then a few days later they get shut down by a guy with an ERA around 7 who they lit up a month ago.
Weird.
More on Crain and bullpin … it’s frightening when Gardy’s best option is Crain and his straight-down-the-middle fastball. Face it, the bullpen gets away with below average stuff against mediocre hitters, but are no match for good hitters. Then it becomes throw and pray.
Is this going back to that tally someone’s keeping of “games Gardy lost”?
Because to put it frankly, that’s a really stupid tally.”
why is it a stupid tally because you don’t approve? the Twin’s margin for error is so small most games that any mistake Gardy makes is magnified
People use Brian Busher to rip Nick Punto? Are you kidding me? I’ll take Punto in my infield any day over Busher and they are about a wash at the plate as well. This team STILL doesn’t have a real third baseman. Busher is mediocre, at best, and has little to no power. He has filled a role for us this year…..guess that shows you how short we are of third basemen. Punto did not lose the game for the Twins last night. Our offense STUNK. We should have had a 3-4 run lead heading in to the ninth.
I hear nothing but praise when I listen to national coverage of the Twins.
because the compare them to teams like the Pirates and the Reds and not to perennial world series winners… if you like the Twins to be at that level, fine. Some of us just expect more.
Why don’t the Twins increase there payroll to where Milwaukee’s is at. They are practically in the same market?
jimmybee Milwaukee has a new stadium that’s why. I’m sure when 2010 comes around the Twins payroll will soar.
I’m sorry i couldn’t resist.
That 9th inning double play by the Twins reminded me of the same situation of the final weekend of the 1987 season. Remember Al Newman practically taking the head off the pitcher on a 6-4-2 double play with guys at 1st and 3rd? Was that even a possibility last night?
Hey BC
we could/should/maybe/might have had an extra 3-4 runs BUT we know for sure LNP’s error lead to the game tying run LNP cleanly fields that ball he has the runner dead going to 3rd the next batter’s DP ball means GAME OVER!
and yes Buscher is a better hitter then LNP he is hitting 30 points higher!
FIRE….when’s the last time you saw Buscher on web gems…
honestly, consider all the facts, please.
FIRE: Casilla’s error earlier also lead to a game tying run.
Like I said, the game should’ve been at least 2-0.
What up jimmy bee. Did you hear about that 9 year old pitcher on espn today? Apparently the kid is so good the little league he plays in banned his team from using him because he intimitdates the other kids.
thank you for correcting me Jason.. I also did not factor in the “get after it” “battle his tail off” and “grind it out” factor that Punto brings to the table.. he ENERGIZES THE TEAM!!
yep T we can debate all the breakdowns before the 9th inning.. bottom line though Twin’s still had that lead when Nathan took the mound regardless and the 3rd out can still be recorded whether Twin’s are leading by 1 or 10..
go twins
First iphone post 
BC apparently they had to refund the $$$ to the other kids and also took apart the teams. That seems a little strange to do that to a poor kid because he is doing well. I played for a team where we would destroy teams and the slaughter rule went into effect constantly. Then I played for a team where we lost every game. This seems unfair to punish a poor kid.
The Twins have a tendancy to play to their opponents level when on the road, especially when playing horrible teams like Seattle. They need to fix that. Hopefully they are pissed off enough after losing last night they can take care of the next two.
Punto can not be blamed for any loss ever if you are talking about his defense. Offense, probably, but defensively, he makes outstanding plays on a day in day out basis. They stopped showing him on Web Gems becuase they would have had to change the name of the show to “The Nick Punto Show.”
BC, Jimmy - I sent that story in to KFAN and common man just finished talking about it. I thought that story was sad, Punishing a kid for being too good. The kid is 9 years old. I’m sure he just wants to play baseball. Poor kid.
and look I just saw a Pink elephant appear from a monkey’s posterior..
I know i blame it on over protective parents. This country has gotten way too soft IMO
TwinsNotesGuy I remeber in our league one year all of the coaches sons made the all star team. They travelled around and lost to all of the other areas all star teams. The next year they used 1/2 coaches sons and 1/2 real good players that deserved to be there at the all star games. They did much better. I remember it was a huge advantage to be a coaches son. I was never a coaches son and I hit a ton of HR’s and got screwed for the all star team every year.
mammas boy = coaches son
Twins need a better base running coach. When the throw beats you at Home, you have zero chance of knocking the ball loose with a head-first slide. Who is teaching a big guy like Delmon Young to try a finesse slide? Why are players sliding into 1st base and sliding past the base? Gomez tagged out a couple nights ago for sliding past the base and last night DSpan was out (umpire missed the call) after sliding past 2nd base on a steal. I realize the players are probably doing this on their own, but since they never learn, I assume that none of the coaches is teaching them about how and when to slide.
the twins are laughingstocks?
that’s pretty silly and something that could only be conjured up by a small handful on blogs such as these. the cubs, the recent yankees, the red sox until a few years ago, last year’s mets, the brewers, the pirates, the padres — THOSE are among the laughingstocks.
every franchise has flaws, every team goes through streaks. but the twins of recent seasons make the playoffs more often than not. and from there, as was proved in ‘87 and ‘91, anything can happen…
i agree jimmy the coaches should never have kids on the team in any sport it’s always bad i know i’ve been there.
Royals are laughingstocks. 1990’s Tiger teams. 1980’s Cleveland teams.
BC you could hit 30 HR’s in a season and a coaches son bats .180 for the year and you still would get the short end of the stick. I used to accidentally bean the coaches kid whenever I would pitch and right away out of the game and back over to first I would go. Any other kid and who cares. just not the coaches son. I wonder what kind of special treatment Toby Gardenhire gets.
Jimmy- ya, Out in my area growing up (central carver county), i think there was one season where the team I was on didn’t win the league title, from coaches pitch all the way up to legion ball. We pretty much had the same exact team every year all through that time. Little League Dynasty pretty much. I thought that was pretty cool.
My mom coached most of my little league days, and was our teams pitcher in the coach-pitch years (she was an all state softball player back in her day), We didn’t really have many coache’s son problems, but that was probably because our perennial head coache’s son was far and away the best player on the team (if our high school coach hadn’t blown up his arm, I’d have to think he’d at least be playing minor league ball somewhere today).
The only thing like that I remember is other teams drafting other team’s coaches kids when they picked the teams at the beginning of the year so they could have their choice of good player’s from that coaches team so they could have their son. That was the year my team didn’t win the title, but the ’supposed’ all-star team they put together to try and go to nationals didn’t even win the league either.
I’m just glad Minnesota has such a great Amatuer baseball scene and I can still play the sport in the summers. State Tournament in Chaska and Shakopee just wrapped up.
Tx,
“Why are players…sliding past the base? Gomez tagged out a couple nights ago for sliding past the base and last night DSpan was out (umpire missed the call) after sliding past 2nd base on a steal.”
Sliding hard and late into a bag gets you to the bag earlier than sliding early and being slowed up by the friction of the dirt.
The downside is the risk of oversliding the bag. Most baserunning coaches think its an acceptable risk for getting to the base earlier on a close play.
check that, championship round is this coming weekend,
TwinsNotesGuy yeah we used to go to the Chan Legion a long time ago. Pretty cool place but the old shack was muuuuuch better. Haven’t been there in years
maybe eddies “verteran leadership” can help crain grow a brain.
sane are you going to the Pamona fair this year. We used to go all the time and loved it.
I don’t think Span was out on the overslide. Nor was Young when he overslid. (Well, not as much overslide as he did awkward slide and come off)
In both cases, the M covering the bag made a “flashy” tag but didn’t bother to keep his eye on the play.
On Young’s SB, he swiped and then left it at that, when he had a shot at getting Delmon as he was crossing (his lead foot came off I seem to recall)
Same situation with Span. Mariner casually went for the swipe, but then turned his attention away from the play once Span was ruled safe. If he pays attention to that play he’d never have lifted his glove and Span would’ve been out.
I had to watch the replay a few times.
If Young would just learn to slide head first everytime he would have no problems.
Buscher is an okay player. He can come off the bench, play 3B once in awhile, back-up 1st, or DH. He’s very good matched against certain RHP. He has to hit RHP very well to be useful. He has done that.
Buscher VS RHP:
OBP SLG AVG
.375 .489 .350
Probably see something tonight like this:
Span
Casilla
Mauer
Morneau
Young
Ruiz
Harris
Punto
Gomez
I just hope Mauer doesn’t sit… we need these games.
MarkW,
I think you have it. I think Ev gets the nod instead of Punto tonight, but we will see. I’ll go with your lineup, except for the Ev - Punto switch.
yeah, it’s possible, Punto could use a break I think…
MarkW,
I dont think Kubel will be pulled. Remember Kubel absolutely kills the Ms this year and we cant judge him on one game.
Span - RF
Casilla - 2B
Mauer - C
Morneau - 1B
Kubel - DH
Young - LF
Harris - 3B
Punto - SS
Gomez - CF
Gomez might get a rest in this Ms series with Span playing CF and Kubs playing RF with Ruiz DHing…maybe look for it tomorrow….
My worry is he sits Mauer and Kubel on the same day… which is stupid. Either rest Kubel today and start Mauer or rest Mauer today and start Kubel… either way, we need one of the two in the lineup.
Young’s knee may be sore/stiff tonight after fouling a ball off of it last night so he may sit.
That would put Kubel in LF and Ruiz at DH.
I think Everett is definitely going to start at SS tonight. The only question is it going to be Punto or Harris at 3B.
I changed my mind, Everett is 0-fer against Rowland-Smith. It will be Punto & Harris tonight.
Kubel got the night off the last time we faced R-S, so he will either be in LF or on the bench.
Gomez proven himself defensively? Since when……He can’t time a single
jump….New and Improved hit it on the head about his Bambi jumping. What the heck is that? I call it Hotdogging….
Span needs to be in center………
Enough errors last night to go around. See, Buscher isn’t the only one to make errors. But I completely agree. Buscher should have made those routine plays. Believe me, he was down on himself. Fined for not talking to media per MLB requirements after Sat.
game.
Vote of confidence though with letting Lamb go. Buscher will be much improved next year..wait and see. He has a great workout routine in SC in the off-season……
Pretty sure Mauer sits tonight. LHer on the mound, right? And Mauer’s played 5 games in a row.
Ever notice how good Punto looks because he is always off balance and diving and such. Fans and web gems love the heroics.
I still dream of cher and playing like Kubel
USAChief,
Twins face a LHP the next 6 games.
Mauer is a career 3-4 with 1HR and 2 RBI against Rowland-Smith. Mauer should play tonight and get tomorrow afternoon off.
“I dont think Kubel will be pulled. Remember Kubel absolutely kills the Ms this year and we cant judge him on one game.”
NO, but we can judge him on his last 6 games (4-for-26, all singles, 0 RBI).
wait, that was the old Jason….I’m all about positivity now….Kubes rocks, he’s going to destroy the M’s tonight like he always does…free him Gardy…free Jason Kubel! Free at last, free at last!!!!!
Twins have to a send a message to the M’s and tell them that they still suck today. Scoring more than 10 runs will do the trick.
“Twins have to a send a message to the M’s and tell them that they still suck”
Umm, that is, unless they are playing the Twins at home (3-1 record)
Mauer, Morneau, and Young are 7-12 against Rowland-Smith this year.
“I don’t think Span was out on the overslide. Nor was Young when he overslid.”
Well, I didn’t say Young overslid–he just didn’t come in strong. It was Gomez that overslid a couple nights ago and was called out for it. As far as Span, I watched the Seattle feed and they had the definitive replay on that one–he was out. But I am happy the ump missed it.
In any event, I never saw Rickey Henderson overslide and he was an OK base runner.
Go Twins Tonight!!!
