Twins should be refreshed headed into Royals series
Posted on September 9th, 2008 – 12:07 PMBy Joe Christensen
The Twins needed Monday’s off day as much as they’ve needed one all season. This team played 40 games in 41 days earlier, and 17 in 17 days before that off day last Monday between Oakland and Toronto.
But an off day at home gives a team the ultimate rest.
Coming off the 14-game road trip and turning right around from a Thursday night game in Toronto to play Friday at the Metrodome, the Twins must have viewed the first part of this homestand as more of the same three-week whirlwind.
Now, they’ve had a chance to take a deep breath. A sense of normalcy should return as the Twins open a three-game series with Kansas City tonight. In other words, there will be no excuse if they continue stumbling as they have during this 4-11 stretch.
Tonight, the Twins will face Royals RHP Brian Bannister, who is winless in his past 12 starts. Bannister has a 2.91 ERA in his past three outings, and explained to the KC Star how reverting to his old fastball has helped make a difference.
The Royals are 5-3 in their past eight games, but getting to face Bannister (7-14, 5.56 ERA), Kyle Davies (6-6, 4.59) and Brandon Duckworth (2-1, 6.60) — all at home — should be a welcome sight for Twins hitters.
(*) The White Sox play a day-night doubleheader against the Blue Jays, with that A.J. Burnett/Javier Vazquez matchup starting at 1:05 p.m., and Jesse Litsch/Clayton Richard in the 7:11 game at The Cell.
(*) Minnesota native Shad Ireland will throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch at the Metrodome. Ireland is quite a story. Diagnosed with kidney failure at age 10, he became the first dialysis patient to finish a triathalon, including another one Sunday in Los Angeles. Shad has set up a foundation to help other dialysis patients pursue their dreams; here’s a link.
(*) Check back here later this afternoon for the Twins’ starting lineup.
85 Responses to "Twins should be refreshed headed into Royals series"
Burnett and Vazquez? Def could go Toronto’s way, plus, they’ve won like 8 in a row.
Litsch looked sick against the Twins last week, but with the way they were hitting that series, it isn’t saying much, but against Clayton Richard? I’d take my chances with Litsch on that one too.
Twins got no excuse to beat the Royals tonight with Bannister pitching.
That would leave the Twins just a game back potentially tonight if the Sox choke and the Twins play up to potential against KC.
ahem… no excuse NOT to beat the Royals tonight.
If this goes the opposite way, I’m going to be ready to write em off for this year, and I’ll be ready to avoid football for the next 5 months.
the last few weeks have felt like chinese water torture, but seeing the 4-11 in print makes it look really bad. seems like these are the kinds of pitchers we have the most trouble against. going into the weekend who would a thunk that the gopher football team would be the highlight?
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
If Bannister is pitching well like he did in his last 3 starts he could be a problem. We will see.
I appreciate a good hope-seller blog just as anyone else, but what does “being refreshed” have to do with the reason the Twins are looking up from second place: bullpen failure.
No amount of refreshment is going to solve this season-long problem, folks.
i may be wrong but i think a womens product called masingail is used for being refreshed. maybe the twins should try that.
Wow, could be anywhere from 1 to 4 games back after tonight. Get the TOR v CWS game on MLB.com up on your web browser at work and keep one hand on the boss button!!
I hope both the twins and Toronto don’t lay an egg on the same day…
Ok boys (or boys and girls) time to get back to baseball. Toronto has a man on base already…go Jays!
Yadda Yadda Yadda, let’s wait until they play in a REAL ballpark in 2010! Then we’ll see some action, eh?
The Twins will stink in the new ballpark. We have a huge advantage playing in the dome. When we move off of astro turf it will take away our advantage.
Yea that is not something many people are talking about, taking away the “dome-field” advantage. Lots of Baseball and football teams lose their home edge for a few years while the park feels like an away game.
But it sounds like there will still be some crazy aspects of the new park. Did anyone else hear that there will be a rock face in play? Not sure if I understood it correctly
Does anyone know when the Twins will be auctioning off the seats from the Metrodome. I already got the OK to buy some when they become available
better watch out… I know they running a pretty low-budget operation over there at the startribune, but they know how to run IP addresses over there at the startribune to see who is posting under other’s names.
I don’t know if we should be that optomistic going into a game against Bannister. Isn’t this a guy that’s shut the Twins down in two or three starts already this season?
I seem to recall a sweep-breaker one Sunday with him on the mound. A 2-3 hitter maybe?
As difficlut as it is to say one series is the deciding factor for any one team, I would have to say that this series against KC will be the determining factor as to wether or not the Twins will make the playoffs. As much as I love the team, if we are not able to take AT LEAST 2 out of 3 of these games, do we really deserve a playoff run? I would much rather see us finish close to entering the playoffs rather then be sweept out of the Divisional series. We have the pitching matchup to support our push for these 3 games and we have a very good chance to close the gap when you look at the White Sox as well. Hopefully a day off did well for the struggling bullpen as well otherwise I’m planning a road trip to spring training next year to see if I can be signed as a reliever…
jimmy i don’t think they’ll be selling seats until the vikes are done and it’s exploded or bulldozed.
T do you know when the Twins will be auctioning off some of the memorabilia from the Dome
GGG it is becoming a trend of selling off the old stuff from stadiums. I guess Detroit sold seats in pairs for something like 250 each. I want the Hrbek banner and 2 seats
jimmy,
The Twins won’t be auction anything off from the Dome as it is owned by the city of Minneapolis.
shea is selling seats for closer to 1000, maybe 8 something
Sweetone Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I want 2 seats for my game room
yeah, I heard that there will be a limestone rock/wall that will be in play in right field I think?
i suppose that if they sell the seats vikings fans could bring a case of beer to sit on. probably work out ok.
Can we rename the Vikings “The Minnesota Childressess”
c,
Techincally the Twins haven’t played on Astro Turf since 2004 I believe. They play on Field Turf.
Justin-yep the Limestone Monster.
If they auction anything off i want that huge milk jug they used to have in RF so i can make a waterslide for my kid.
I want a foul pole.
gotta have something quirky about this ballpark to make for interesting post-game quotes…. I remember a game a couple years ago when Papi jacked a ball up into the speakers in center - probably would have been a 600 ft homerun in any open air park, but the ball was dead and then he struck out or something. Franconia - not a big fan of the metrodome, it was pretty clear.
I want the Kent Hrbek banner and some seats BC
will outfielders potentially crash into the ‘limestone monster’ if it is going to be in play? I’m assuming they will have some sort of padding at field level…. maybe those details aren’t available yet?
They are not going to have a “Limestone Monster” in right field.
The plaza section in Right field will actually hang over the field. The facia of that section will be limestone.
Here are a few seats for sale: http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Metrodome-Seats-Minnesota-Vikings-Tickets-Twins-Wild_W0QQitemZ260239256191QQihZ016QQcategoryZ50117QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247
halfway through the WSox game, no one has scored.
Justin they will drop in price when more become available. Those 2 for 695 look a little beat up.
The Minnesota Childressess better not get in my way of my owning seats from the dome
“I remember a game a couple years ago when Papi jacked a ball up into the speakers in center - probably would have been a 600 ft homerun in any open air park”
600 ft.?
OK
burnett no hits after 5. still 0-0
could be a big swing today possible 1 gm back to 4 gms back.
White Sox will win the division. Twins bullpen too weak and a 3rd worst defense in the league spell 2nd place. The hitting is just not enough. The TB series will be way too much to overcome. Be realistic. Chicago is just that much better and will win the Central.
No, no, Sid. I saw it too. It was probably 700 feet. The ball had a vapor trail behind it. Surprised it didn’t take down the whole section of lights that it hit.
[Correction though JustinCB, the ball wasn’t dead. Big Papi got a hit; I think it was a double. He wasn’t too happy though. A ball hitting anything over fair territory is in play. Used to be anything over foul territory was in play too, but they changed that rule. That probably means they should put foul lines on the roof. Haha.]
wasn’t the longest homer recorded micky’s 565′ against the washington twins.
The Twins have outscored the white sox this year and are currently 4th in the league in runs scored but were third over the weekend. The hitting isn’t the problem, it’s definitely the bullpen and the defense.
I don’t know about longest HR ever. Dick Allen hit some huge shots and Frank Howard also. Did I ever tell you I saw Pig Pappy hit a 750 foot HR but the speaker got in the way and it was a double. It was the farthest HR ever till it hit a speaker and caused it to become a double. Canseco hit one in the Skydome that went a ways and Dick Allen hit the farthest HR ever at old Tigers stadium.
“…the first part of this homestand as more of the same three-week whirlwind.”
Excellent point, Joe C.
Yeah Carlos, I guess that sounds right. It was awhile back and I was at the game but we were, shall I say, enjoying ourselves? Memory a little hazy I guess. Can’t ever remember the crazy metrodome rules. But anyway, pretty sure Twins ended up winning that game b/c of that.
2-0 Toronto
It’s not who you play - it’s when you play them. Based on what transpired in Toronto over the weekend, I would not want to be playing the Jays right now. How hot do you have to be to get a walk off GS from Greg Zaun in the 11th??? This after he was benched by a 0-21 streak. (He was like 2 for his last 28 at the time). Also, If you need cheering up, look at what is happening to Tampa lately. Every team goes through the lull, then they take off. Hopefully, we have gone through our lull for September.
the hitting isn’t the problem until they score 3 or fewer runs off of someone like Batista or something called Rowland-Smith.. this offense fails at critical times and against terrible pitchers also..
story on longest homeruns:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/art_hr.shtml
GGG Allen was one of the few men in the entire history of the game who possessed legitimate 500-foot-plus power. His 1974 blast certainly traveled over 500 feet, but just as certainly it was not rising when it was forced to as sudden stop. Such a batted ball would require literally superhuman velocity, which would render the batsman capable of authoring 700 foot home runs. Allen may have hit some of his sport’s longest home runs, but neither he nor anyone else ever hit a baseball nearly that far.
there goes the no hitter for burnett… on a single right to Rolen that he could have caught…. he’s got like a zillion gold gloves too…. thats unfortunate.
alright, I wasn’t being literal about the 600 ft, just saying, in my drunken mind at the time, that ball looked absolutely crushed.
uh oh… wheels starting to fall off for the jays, started with the Rolen biff and now nobody knows how to play.
Jays are going to hell this inning.
Runners on 2nd & 3rd with 1 out. Thome at the plate.
I am sticking with my 700 ft estimate however.
The ball had smoke trailing.
The noise of it striking the speakers was heard in St. Paul.
The ball hit the speakers before Papi finished his swing.
The ball was flattened and had to be thrown like a frisbee back to the infield.
yeah…. the look on Franconia’s face after that… heh heh heh, good stuff.
Carlos G I think the farhest HR ever recorded was hit by the Wonderboy bat and Robert Redford hit it.
Hear that? It’s a For Sale sign getting pounded in Gardy’s yard.
The 700-ft homerun was hit by Dick Allen on the moon, which was a home game for him.
dick bremer made a call this summer on a punto liner that he made sound like it would travel 600′ if the shortstop hadn’t caught it.
jimmy bee,
Good movie. They don’t make bats like that anymore.
I wonder what the average number of AB’s is for a bat these days? I guess for some guys, it depends on whether or not there is any contact with the ball.
ggg,
Yea, Dick is great at that. “It’s hit way back, way back, and… the SS has it for the 3rd out.”
Carlos G, jimmybee,
hmmmmmmm, poetry!
The Roy Hobbs blast was not hit by Wonderboy.
Wonderboy was broke.
“Pick me out a winner, Bobby.”
sane,
Good catch. That’s right. Wonderboy bat was busted. Then Roy busted the stadium lights.
“I wonder what the average number of AB’s is for a bat these days? I guess for some guys, it depends on whether or not there is any contact with the ball.”
If thats the case there’s a lot of Twins players using the same bat all year.
“If thats the case there’s a lot of Twins players using the same bat all year.”
Gomez eliminated a few of his “hitless bats” over his knee. Someone should find out what “odor” he is trying to detect in his “smell test” of the bats and sprinkle a lot more of that on his bats.
Off to a long meeting. Toronto better hold onto that lead.
Little something here on the longest HR
from wiki answers so not sure if it’s legit.
The answer to this question, which is a fact, is none other than Babe Ruth. The “Bambino” hit at least 650 ft. (it has not been determined the exact distance, however it was over 650 feet) at Wilkes University’s (Artillery Park) in 1926 that topped them all. Ruth came to the Wyoming Valley on October 12, to take part in an exhibition game between Hughestown and Larksville. After challenging Larksville pitcher Ernie Corkran to throw his fastest pitch over the plate, Ruth cracked what is now deemed to be the longest ball in baseball history. The ball cleared the right field fence 400 feet from the plate by more than 40 feet and was still ascending. The ball landed on the far side of the running track of a high school athletic field in Kirby Park. Officials estimated the length at 650 feet.
This is the only homerun that Ruth wanted measured because he said that it was the furthest hit he had ever had. These are the facts and again…Babe Ruth is definitely the “Sultan of Swat”. Hands down!!
“Officials estimated the length at 650 feet.”
Keyword - “estimated”
Gomez is sniffing for the odor of baseballs when he sniffs his bat.
So far he hasn’t sniffed that odor in many of his bats.
I say Dick Allen on the moon or Robert Redford hit the longest. Dick Allen hit a ball so hard at Dodger stadium that it hit a palm tree on the way out of the Ball park.
sane what about Dave Kingman for HR distance
Can anyone tell me why with all of these bats constantly breaking lately why the catchers don’t where neck guards. Steve Yeager had a bat shatter and debrese hit him in the neck way back when. I am just waiting for one of these cheaply constructed bats to do the same.
The Hobbs light breaker was hit off the “Savoy Special”
Konerko, Griffey, and Ramirez up in the 9th
Jays get an insurance run in the 9th
3-1 Jays
Here we go
that was a nice two-out insurance run
In the headline, replace “Royals Series” with “Final Collapse.”
if gardy would have kept tolbert down in the minors i think our club would be doing much much better in the race. so far tolbert has done nothing but stunk up the place since his return
jb,
Catchers’ masks extend lower now to protect the throat(or are like the NHL goalie ones). This longer mask replaced the plastic “flap” that used to be attached to masks.
I love to being a Twins fan. Now that all these Viking fans have accepted the loss to GrnBay last night. And all this chaos and anarchy from early this morning is now somewhat subdued. Let’s get back to baseball. Im pulling for Toronto to beat up on Chicago! Now on paper the Twins should be able to handle KC but, Im not going to say that because of what happened in Oakland, Seattle and Toronto. So lets go Twins.please find a way to pull off a sweep…..
tolberts sad
Let’s go Twins. It’s now or never. BTW, everyone needs to go to the Twin’s website and vote for Justin for Man of the Year.
