Tuesday pregame: Twins/Indians
Posted on September 16th, 2008 – 4:07 PMBy Joe Christensen
CLEVELAND — Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he’s giving Matt Tolbert a start at second base and Brian Buscher a start at third simply to keep more players involved in a series against three lefthanded starting pitchers.
Scott Lewis shut down the Twins for six innings on Monday, and tonight rookie Zach Jackson gets a turn. Jackson came to Cleveland from Milwaukee in the trade for C.C. Sabathia. Tomorrow, of course, the Twins will face Cy Young favorite Cliff Lee.
(*) Boof Bonser has been playing catch and is available to pitch again after straining his lower back Saturday in Baltimore.
(*) Jesse Crain is expected to return to the team in time for Wednesday’s game after flying home Monday to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.
Twins (82-68)
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Matt Tolbert, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brian Buscher, 3B
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF
Starting pitcher: LH Francisco Liriano (5-3, 3.19 ERA)
Indians (73-77)
1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Franklin Gutierrez, RF
3. Ben Francisco, LF
4. Jhonny Peralta, SS
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Kelly Shoppach, DH
7. Ryan Garko, 1B
8. Andy Marte, 3B
9. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
Starting pitcher: LH Zach Jackson (0-3, 5.70)
Progressive Field. First pitch: 6:05 p.m.
582 Responses to "Tuesday pregame: Twins/Indians"
Buscher gets a chance against a LHP. I’m interested to see how that goes, but I like the idea.
I know I’ll get flamed for this, but I see Cuddy having a key hit tonight. Just a gut feeling
We don’t have much time to be experimenting on Cuddy. He better hit tonight and he better hit early. Tick tock.
Why is Young in the lineup when he’s got a bum ankle? If Cuddy and Young get hits to the gap they won’t make it to 2nd base!
Young will make it to 2, maybe not Cuddy, but it won’t matter if they’re driving in a run from first.
harris goes 0-3 and he’s out.lets hope mc doesn’t foul one of the foot.
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
LNP in line-up..night ruined
LM
I guess go Cubs
Where is Kubel?
what a joke… Cuddyer should not be in the lineup.. We are in pennant race. There are plenty of players sitting on the bench that would much more to the lineup tonight instead of Cuddy. Just terrible.
Can someone explain why Kubel is on the bench for two days in a row and yet we run out Punto again, put Buscher in vs LHP and “SEE” if Cuddyer can actually hit anything… ridiculous… Gardy “plays” with his lineup WAY too much when it matters most.
Wow, we just do not have time for Cuddyer to find his grove. He should only be a pinch hitter at this point. Randy Ruiz or Jason Kubel should be in there, hell I’d even take red dog catching, with Mauer DHing. I hope Gardy’s right on this one.
Kubel is on the bench because Jackson is another lefty that the Twins are facing.
MarkW just read my mind.
Starting Tolbert is find, but start him for Punto, not Casilla.
And constantly flip-flopping 3B is a complete joke.
Gardy is a complete joke.
groove
Wow, nice lineup there. Guess we’re just writing this game off.
“) Jesse Crain is expected to return to the team in time for Wednesday’s game after flying home Monday to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.”
GOD DAMN IT
Diffbean: It didn’t look like any big right handed bats dominated the lefty last night… Kubel should be in the game, regardless of what hand the ball leaves from on the mound.. he’s the 3rd best offensive player on the Twins and needs to play if we want to win anything.
anybody seen Buscher’s current BA vs. LHP? .179 What is wrong with Gardy with this lineup? He overmanages the lefty - righty matchup, which is fine b/c that’s in line with most other mlb managers, but then he just throws the notoriously-unable-to-hit-left-handed-pitching Buscher “simply to keep more players involved in a series against three lefthanded starting pitchers?” Sounds like a good series for Buscher to come in as a pinch hitter against a righty maybe, not to take a flier on him starting!@!!
Span RF
Casilla 2B
Mauer C
Morneau 1B
Young LF
Kubel DH
Harris SS
Tolbert 3B
Gomez CF
Seriously, is that SO HARD?!
MarkW,
Sounds good!
… and dont say we need DEFENSE, because you dont need gloves when 9 of the last 10 runs scored are from balls leaving the yard…
MarkW…I totally agree. Just answering your question as to why Kubel was not in the lineup.
Yes, yes…put a guy in the lineup who hasn’t seen any major-league-level pitching for three months, and leave your third best offensive player on the bench.
I hope they get shut out again. In fact, I hope they don’t score another run all year, and Gardy gets fired, because there is only one word for this lineup: idiocy.
I need some Kubel.
What the hell is wrong with you, Gardy? Do you know you’re in an f-ing pennant race? Do you?
Most people would PLAY THEIR BEST PLAYERS in a pennant race.
UGH.
I have been literally living at work so and sadly the Twins are the highlight of the night here….(atleast for me) and I get to see this lineup…. boo…. I think I am going to be checking on the power company most of the night….. booo
this is a quote from Gardy in today’s game preview on FoxSports.com
“We are very frustrated right now,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We know where we are and what we have to do.”
Does he really know what to do? It doesn’t appear that way… and the FANS are the ones who are frustrated.
“Yes, yes…put a guy in the lineup who hasn’t seen any major-league-level pitching for three months”
Especially when said guy wasn’t hitting too well before he was out for three months. (Has it really been that long?)
Gardy and Yost should get together in the offseason (which will be in 2 weeks for both teams/ex-team) and perfect the ‘line-up card on the dartboard’ school of managing.
i like the lineup, minus buscher. go twins.
btw, cuddyer is the best right-handed hitter the twins have.
ruiz sucks. he’s a career minor leaguer for a reason. he has had a whopping 2 starts in september. he has 28 ab’s in his last 10 games, including 11 k’s and a .214 AVG. he has also shown incapability/unwillingness to advance runners in situations where runners need to be advanced.
kubel is hitting .226 on the road vs left-handed pitching, with only 5 XBH.
I hope Andy Pettitte has a good night.
Speaking of Ned Yost, apparently he didn’t see his firing coming.
Although there is no way Gardy would ever get fired-Twins don’t seem to operate that way. However, Gardy doesn’t need to be fired-just needs to wake up and realized he’s supposed to be managing the team to win.
Back off of Gardy everyone. How many managers in the game have a winning percentage higher than his? How many can do it with the payroll he can? He obviously knows more than us rubes on a message board.
I wonder if our old friend Grant Balfour would’ve been a good pick-up before the season?
“29 teams passed on Rays reliever Grant Balfour last spring. Now he has a 1.62 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 50 innings.”
I always liked the guy when he was with the Twins-nice guy too when I got to meet him in Fort Myers a few years ago.
How many managers in the game have a winning percentage higher than his?
22
How many can do it with the payroll he can?
Have you checked the Rays’ payroll recently?
Where’s Kubel?
thrylos-
there is not 22 managers that have a higher winning percentage than gardy. unless you are talking in the history of baseball?
Kubel is on the bench where he belongs against a left-handed pitcher. And with his nonchalant fielding, he doesn’t deserve to play in the outfield.
Nothing against Harris? Wow…. I love how even the television monkeys threw him under the bus for last night’s game…..
i looked it up, and indeed ron gardenhire is tied with mike sciosia with a .550 winning percentage, which is good for 22 IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL!! of active managers, only bobby cox has a higher winning percentage.
Bobby Cox is awesome….. he is my hero…. I hope I get to come within 100 feet of him the last series of the season…… (I am not THAT crazy)
of active managers, only bobby cox has a higher winning percentage.
and Sciosia (since yesterday)
Regardless…
the question that should be asked is how many active managers have more world series rings than Gardenhire. Wins in the regular season matter, but winning it all is what really matters. Tom Kelly has a bad winning percentage. However, he brought 2 WS trophies to the Twin Cities.
Is Gardy a better manager than Kelly?
simple question…
Nice call on a clutch hit by Cuddy!
1-0 not too bad to start the game
When was the last time Delmon did not swing at a 1st pitch?
Go yanks, Go Franchise!
So somebody fill me on the Sox and last weekend’s rain delays. If they finish a 1/2 game in front of us, they have to play the makeup game with DET?
Lame job by the Yankees who had 2 hits with less than 2 outs and did not score.
“what a joke… Cuddyer should not be in the lineup.. We are in pennant race. There are plenty of players sitting on the bench that would much more to the lineup tonight instead of Cuddy. Just terrible.”
“Can someone explain why Kubel is on the bench for two days in a row and yet we run out Punto again, put Buscher in vs LHP and “SEE” if Cuddyer can actually hit anything… ridiculous… Gardy “plays” with his lineup WAY too much when it matters most.”
“Wow, we just do not have time for Cuddyer to find his grove. He should only be a pinch hitter at this point. Randy Ruiz or Jason Kubel should be in there, hell I’d even take red dog catching, with Mauer DHing.”
funny stuff, people. keep it coming…
If the differential between the Twins and the Sox at the end of the season is half a game either way, the Sox will have to make up the Detroit game
asking to rank tom kelly vs ron gardenhire is really silly considering their managing styles are very similar, and gardy learned most of what he knows from tom kelly.
is tom kelly a better manager simply because he has won more world series rings? moreover, because he beat him in 1991 world series head-to-head?
*is tom kelly a better manager than bobby cox
mighty casey,
simple question:
Is Kelly better manager than Gardy?
Yes or No.
Gardy is better than Childress.
I thought Konerko was injured? Apparently not too bad, since he is playing.
thrylos,
no.
is gardy a better manager than tom kelly?
no.
thylos-
do you think gardy self-destructs as a manager once he reaches the playoffs?
ok. If Gardy is not a better manager than Kelly, I don’t want to hear about Gardy’s winning percentage….
Wow, seriously what is wrong with the starting pitching now. Even Liriano is throwing cookies. Unbeliveable.
and with that HR, this season is over.
I think that Gardy is a very bad game manager and this deficiency really is much more in the post-season, because it is a continuum of short series and every game matters.
In a course of a week the starting pitching is gone along with the BP. Not good. Not good at all.
Dead. Men. Walking.
So what offseason moves will Billy Boy make? My guess is none.
Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory…It was a nice run.
way to get the boys fired up gardy!!
The game is not over yet.
3 runs can be made up quickly. The key is for the Twins not to give up. The Indians’ pitcher is not exactly Cy Young…
Wow. This is ridiculous. 4-1 Cleveland now
wow….. Buscher don’t hurt Franchise!!!! The rotation will fall apart!!!
Maybe not but if it continues this way there is not much hope. Liriano can’t give up anymore runs.
that’s pretty ignorant
when is the last time this team came back from a 3 run deficit???
Well, a team capable of scoring 12 runs apiece in a double header and in the top 5 in runs scored should be capable of it…
how much you wanna bet the twins hitters will make jackson look like cy young.
Anyone else noticed the funky mechanics of the Indians’ starter (Jackson)?
He has a really high leg kick, but gets no power out of it, he just lets it drop in front of the mount getting all his momentum from hips and arms, like a slide-step… an injury ready to happen
But giving up a 4 spot in the 2nd is hardly encouraging.
Nora, they’re certainly capable of putting up runs, but it seems they get discouraged the second a pitcher gives up an early lead and the bats go silent. I sure hope they prove me wrong, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
Season is over!
Geaux, I can’t disagree with you there. That does seem to happen. We can only hope that it doesn’t tonight.
…maybe craig monroe can pinch hit in the 9th.
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
Minneaple is cooked and served. C ya next year. Probably will see some of the Twins on the links out here in less than a month.
with 82 wins already in the books, at least they have assured themselves of finishing over .500.
Who is this Larry Onno that Flash Gordon keeps talking about???
Yanks 1-1 in the third
Punto!!!!!!!!
It’s too bad they couldn’t make the playoffs, but at least we have a team where we can enjoy many more thrilling mediocre seasons with early playoff exits.
Well I would like to say thank you Twins for an exciting year. I am already looking forward to next year. All we need in the off season is a relief pitcher and a 3rd baseman and Cuddyer as a DH. I am excited for it already!
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
C H O K E C I T Y ! ! !
I swear, this team is in complete disarray.
getting blown out against an unheralded rookie with Liriano on the mound?? STICK A FORK IN ‘EM!!!
Great, whiners are out in full force about the season being over. That just makes watching a bad game worse.
Golf anyone?
It would be alot easier if Liriano, Blackburn, Perk gave the Twins a chance instead of pitching BP.
what’s up with all the negativity? The season is not over… as a matter of fact this game is not over.
Live and let live (but Gardy has to go 
)
Know of any good/cheap courses near LA TFiSC?
Liriano looks terrible, Buscher’s already showing futility at the plate against LHP and at third base (not that his stumble/sprawl for that single wasn’t DAMN impressive), Gomez is bunting with 2 out, and Punto continues to use his play as a way to beg Gardy to bench him, but Ron refuses to listen.
And to make it even better, we’ve got an inexperienced lefty throwing against us. Looks like another night of hoping the White Sox lose. Sigh.
I’ve watched just about every game through to the end this year… but this one may just be too much.
Nora, props to you for still believing this team can do anything positive.
Liriano has hit the wall…he has thrown over 185 innings so far this year (between the Twins and AAA)…that’s a lot for someone in his first year back from TJ surgery.
Twins never had a chance with the way the pitching has been.
All of the pitchers have hit the wall at the same time. It is pretty bad. This is the problem when you try to have a starting lineu full of young pitchers.
What are the chance we don’t make a run at Crede since he is sometimes hurt and than he signs with someone else is is awesome aka Thome?
starting rotation, I mean
well I’m going to save 2 hours of my life and quit watching. Nonetheless, GEUX TWINS
Gary Gaetti: “It’s hard to throw with both hands wrapped around your neck.”
Well, that does it for me. Better luck tomorrow, Twins.
hard to hit and pitch that way too.
Where’s Doug Melvin when you need him?
um….. intentionally walk to get to the guy who hit the 3 run jack?
Not sure Liriano should intentionally walk anyone with the way he is giving up the longball.
3-1 whitesox
Looks like Liriano is chaneling his inner Guerrier tonight.
Come on Juan. Knock in these two runs.
So Nora, what would you prefer?
Do you want people who might be able to discern superior baseball to ignore what they see? Do you want people to mindlessly babble about how well the Twins have played the last month? What exactly do you expect?
For whatever reason this team is limping into the pseudo-race. They have no energy. They are manipulating a lineup with people who haven’t contributed to the season thus far. What is it you want? I’m curious because as I watch this I see a manager who hasn’t gotten his team tuned up to be at their peak when it was needed. Should we applaud that?
I see a general manager who didn’t apply basic business principles when he had the chance to make a move. Do we have to jump and down about that?
What is it you want?
This team had a chance to make something happen and stood pat. People oohed and ahhed about the fact that no one expected them to compete. Guess what? They were competing and the manager and front office weren’t up to the task. We should pat them on the back?
Seriously, you only get a chance at the brass ring every so often (assuming you don’t have the Red Sox/Yankee resources.) When you do you have to be agile and nimble as an organization and try to do things that allow you the chance. Nothing is promised next year. There is no such thing a building in baseball…too many injuries, too many fluke seasons by unknowns.
What do you expect, Nora? Cheers for a front office that makes no moves? Kudos for a manager who doesn’t have his team performing when performance is needed most? Give me a hint of what I should be cheering for.
And never confuse legitimate criticism for whining. The Twins organization is far from perfect.
I think any fan who wants to vent about this season when there was a chance to take an eminantly winnable division is within his or her rights.
What do you want us to say, Nora?
They clearly aren’t tuned to the situation that the season has presented them. They are grab-bagging a bullpen, grab-bagging a lineup with a guy who hasn’t contributed all year. We should be happy about this?
This is a flawed organization… the things they were built on in the MacPhail/Kelly regime don’t exist anymore. They don’t do things the right way. They don’t invest wisely in free agenst (Chili Davis vs. Batista, etc.) It’s a sham that lives on days gone by.
What should we be tolerant of, Nora.
Just asking/
Really annoying, Twins don’t look like they can win the division. I absolutely loathe the White Sox and their obnoxious fans. Used to post on the Twins MLB boards but grown tired of the contant trolling by Sox fans. They have probably overtaken it now.
Why should anyone be tolerant of you and you long posts either then?
So whining is going to make you feel so much better? Go ahead. Alot of it sounds more like whining then criticism. ‘Season is over’ etc.
Define whining. I see you didn’t answer my questions.
One big hit here by the Sox puts the game out of reach. Come on Cabrera. End our misery!
This team is showing it’s youth. And that corpulent buddha with a goatee (in the dugout) seems to be clueless.
The Twins playoff hopes just went BOOF.
I don’t answer questions in lomg winded posts. When things are said like ‘fire gardy’ and ’season is over’ that is whining imo. See ya all later. The game is bad enough.
It ain’t Buscher. He hasn’t given up the long ball nor thrown away an out or dropped a routine fly ball.
Point fingers at Liriano, Punto and even the wonder boy Span for starters.
How many HRs in three games now, I’ve lost count? 8 or 9. Can’t win with than kind of starting pitching.
But hey, we’ve got Lee tomorrow and then Tampa at their place. They place terrible there, so no problems.
Twins will still win the division…..
If the Twins score a touchdown, will they go for 2 to take the lead? Or kick the extra point to tie it up?
Thanks for playing, N!
i forgot to write it down in my calendar. anyone remember the last time morneau got a hit?
the stength of this team was the starting pitching all season, as well as the league’s most valuable player in justin morneau, followed closely behind by a certain joe mauer.
the bullpen has faltered, but the starting pitching has fallen off lately.
without starting pitching, the twins are just another average team. unfortunately it took 5 months for them to wear down, in the process getting the fans excited for a nonexistant pennant race.
Thanks for showing up with long winded whining when things aren’t going well!
You have to play it safe and go for the extra point and then kick an offside kick and go for a long field goal….. is that right? College football just started and I am not fully locked in my football jargen…..
I’ve been here all year. I didn’t just show up “whining.” I’ve been critical and praising when warranted.
And long-winded doesn’t mean untruth. Bring your opinions, I’d like to debate.
i for one will be there to back gardy and the twins even as the white sox win the division in the dome next week.
i’ll debate with you a bit, willie norwood.
“this is a flawed organization”
really? you honestly think that?
9 pitches, damn that is impressive. the twins take themselves out of the inning in 9 pitches and they even had an extra out with the error given to them.
I’m afraid to ask but I am stuck at parent teacher conferences. What was the problem with Liriano tonight?
mc,
Yes I do think this is a flawed organization. They have two organizational “blind spots” that limit their action when required.
1) They manage against as self-fulfilling prophesy that they are a “small market” team and so cannot spend vast amounts of money when, in fact, payroll level isn’t determinative. I call it the “little engine that can’t meets chicken little syndrome” If you take the money they have wasted the past three years on old, washed up free agents and applied that money to signing Latin American players, one young free agent,etc. they would be better off.
2) They promote themselves against a myth. The Twins of MacPhail/Kelly actually played good defense and did things the “right way.” They also allowed for the big bat or more than one in their thinking. Pirahnas’ were not something to be proud of in that regime.
I would submit that this organization is flawed because the mis-spend on the wrong assets, they are deceived that they play a brand of ball that they don’t, and they are too “scout-centric” and fall too in love with their own prospects.
Anybody who thinks a two-run lead against the Yankees in the stadium means a win and is impossible to overcome is fooling themselves. Remember, we have yet to see the CWS bullpen.
Seriously, you only get a chance at the brass ring every so often (assuming you don’t have the Red Sox/Yankee resources.) When you do you have to be agile and nimble as an organization and try to do things that allow you the chance. Nothing is promised next year. There is no such thing a building in baseball…too many injuries, too many fluke seasons by unknowns.
This sums it up perfectly for me. The Twins did nothing substantial (Eddie G??) and expect the fans not to notice. People think that the Twins are guranteed to succeed in two years. Theyt are not. They may have a good chance with M&M to be successful for a number of years, and if they don’t get it done people will be disappointed, but there absolutely is NO gurantee.
I’m not saying they should have mortgaged the future or anything (r.e. Beltre) but the bottom line is, they didn’t get enough done at or past the deadline. This was an easily winnable division and it appears to be slipping away. It was fun for a while, I will say that. It is NOT fun now.
yes, this is a ‘flawed organization’
here is an example:
Can anyone argue that the Twins do not hit enough home runs? I hope not.
At some point earlier in the season I counted all the collective home runs of every manager and every hitting coach in the Twins’ system from Dominical summer league up, in every level of baseball they played and the total was less than 100. What can you expect?
Second fact: this team has been giving way too many home runs.
Can anyone argue against that statement?
The pitching philosophy from Rk- up has been throw strikes no matter what. Guess what? If you throw strikes no matter what, lots of them will leave the park… Simple.
nobody here thinks the twins have played well the past month. they have been outplayed greatly. the pitching has been worn down tremendously, and they have played poor baseball, beginning with the looong road-stand in anaheim.
how can you blame gardenhire for sticking a solid stick (although injured for much of the year) into a struggling lineup. you insist it is unwise to play someone who “hasn’t contributed to this team thusfar,” but what are the alternatives. play kubel against a lefty when he struggles against them? play ruiz, who has been next to worthless the past month? cuddyer is someone who could give a struggling offense a much-needed spark. ruiz isn’t.
in baseball, success breathes energy. there is absolutely nothing gardy can say or do to get grown men excited to play baseball if they aren’t already.
i’d love for you to elaborate on how the manager “wasn’t up for the task,” referring to competing in a pennant race.
be honest: this team (minus nathan, mauer, and morneau) would be struggling to win the international league right now. how can you NOT be overwhelmed with the great success this team has had? i don’t understand..
you honestly think a chad bradford would have put this team over the top? or adrian beltre, at the risk of the future? i don’t, and it’s not worth it.
what made terry ryan the great GM he has was his unwillingness to pull the trigger on any deal that would in any way compromise the future of the team, whether by giving up young talent or giving up money. bill smith is in that same mold, and it will take years to successfully analyze the job he does.
Let the comeback begin
whattodo– Lirano gave up some cookies to Garko and Cabera and a few costly errors plus a wild pitch led to him leaving after I think 3 innings….. or in the 3rd inning….
you guys are making so many stupid points that it is going to be impossible for me to refute them all.
Here is another comparison between Kelly and Gardy:
Career hitting:
Steve Lombardozzi: .233/.307/.347; .654 OPS.
Driven out of town by Kelly
Nick Punto: .252/.319/.334; .653 OPS
every day player for Gardy
any questions?
Let me throw this out there. Any moves that you would like to see the Twins make in the offseason? What relievers are out there or would you target? The way some of these bullpens are around the majors the relievers are going to be a high priority!
Strikeout here Mauer. You can’t hit ****
run out of town by kelly, but still started all season for lack of a better alternative.
hmmmm
mc,
If you think Terry Ryan was a great gm we can’t debate. If you think that riding what got you to the competing point (Harris, Ruiz, Kubel) isn’t better than bringing in a guy who had one good year two years ago and hasn’t played for months then we simply will never agree.
I don’t respect a manager who rides a long winning streak with regular contributors, says NP has to earn his way back because he doesn’t want to upset the apple cart, then turns around and puts him in for no reason.
I don’t think I’ll change your mind and you won’t change mine so we can leave the debates to the offseason when emotions aren’t so raw. I’ll look forward to chatting in Dec/Jan. I mean it. I don’t want to seem confrontational, but this probably isn’t the time to discuss “universal” themes.
I’ll be around then… I promise.
That worked pretty good, I-Hate. Reverse psychology, right?
fair enough.
Did anyone notice who is warming up in the Indian’s bullpen?
Absolutely Mudcat…Have to try everything
rincon warming up in the bullpen - maybe there is still hope
Any moves that you would like to see the Twins make in the offseason?
there are a lot of free agent relievers this year and I hope the Twins get one or two.
that said, the need a clean slate and a new field management team. Gardy and his regime has to go.
They have 3 good starters (Liriano, Slowey, Baker). Blackburn is ok as a 5th starter. They need to find a 4th. Swarzak? Maybe. AFL will tell..
They need to get a third basement (via a trade) and a SS (Furcal would be a great addition)
They need to bite the bullet on mistakes and find a trading partner who is willing to pick up Cuddyer
that’s about it.
I think we were one hit/walk from seeing Rincon.
Would’ve like to see a better AB from Morneau there.
TC…these bunch of losers have no hope…they will get you excited and let you down. It’s the theme for all Minnesota sports teams
Gotta swing at that Cuddy.
Only 3 runs down with Rincon warming up. Twins have this one in the bag
perkins isn’t good enough to be in the rotation?
I thought I smelled a three run homer, Chief, but Morny was about 400 feet short. Pretty lame RBI, but we’ll take it.
Perkins is not good enough to be in the rotation… he could be a fine reliever, but not a starting pitcher
Just about beaned another Indian baserunner, what’s going on here?
Early in the year when the hitters were struggling everyone wanted Vavra fired.
Now, late in the season, the pitchers are struggling and everyone wants Gardenhire fired.
Why doesn’t anyone ever complain about Anderson?
Just curious.
PS-The Twins have 5 starting pitchers under age 26. Did you all really expect them to go through the season wihout their arms getting tired? Seriously, people talk about young pitchers not being able to handle the workload all the time. And now people on here are surprised to see it happen to this team. No matter what else happens, this season has done nothing but exceed my expectations and has been fun to watch.
we should dump this whole team of losers and start over
hate to jinx him, but Boof has been doing a great job this evening
Yeah, Andy should be fired too. But I like your idea, Thrylos. Keep our young pitchers and pick relievers from the group to rebuild the pen.
boof should be in the mexican league
rick anderson has been worthless all year. in fact, he has done nothing ot better this organization in the 8 years he’s been with the team. gardy and andy should be in the circus.
Watch Rincon dominate us.
gomez should’ve been in AAA all season. i still don’t know what the heck gardy was thinking..
Same ole Juan.
Casey, Boof should play in Japan.
Boof Bonsai, American “piccha”
(that’s really their word for pitcher)
This game has been an ugly all around game
God bless Juannie
Any chance we can give them Guerrier before the game ends?
I am not in the least surprised to see the young pitchers arms getting tired. In fact, I have been surprised they have done so well. But that is precisely why I felt so strongly that the Twins needed to make some moves via trade or whatever to shore up the BP for September. It was easy to see this coming but maybe there were no deals to be had. I do not know. I guess we will never know.
WOW!! I do not miss this guy
this is the guy we want up…
DID any one here Dick right there? They are giving Alexi a break because he is popping the ball up too much…I know some else that could get a break because he is popping the ball up too much lately
*hear
gardy is stupid for not pinch-hitting ruiz here…. i’m sure he saw him all the time when he was with AAA buffalo.
just another bonehead move by gardy
who else? Everyone else is not worthy of getting breaks…
Doesn’t Wedge read scounting reports? Isn’t Joe, like, killing LHP this year?
lets try this again…you can’t hit **** Mauer
Should have left Juannie in!
Stupid!
Strikeout here from Morneau
Here it is
good AB…
HAHAHA…thanks Justin! You da man. I guess this is why people think you deserve the MVP award
boof v. sizemore
matchup of the century
btw,
why didn’t billy boy trade for grady sizemore at the break??? ludacris…
The Twins are making it interesting–I hope that Morneau can come up with a big hit sometime between now and the end of the year: 0-for-4 tonight…
punto sucks. lucky play.
ps fire gardy
Yankees are not providing us much help tonight.
yo
casey,
that was a routine play (as was Punto’s error in the second; despite the cries from the Twins TV announcers) and yes Punto delivered.
Ps. yes fire Gardy indeed
thrylos
A play that should be made? Probably
Routine? Not so much. That was a nice pick and he quickly got the ball to Tolbert so they could turn the DP.
Punto isn’t above criticism, but that was a nice play.
ok
tell me
1 out
man on 1st and second
would you let Punto hit or pinch hit Kubel
(Duh)
which bullpen is worse? ours or theirs?
i could have made that play in my sleep… blindfolded.
you let speed hit to stay out of the double play
duh
Strikeout Punto…You suck
Didn’t see Punto’s play, but listening to the CLEVELAND announcers, it sounded like a HELL of a play. You don’t hear that from visiting announcers very often.
Sounded far from routine.
CRAP!
grand salami for Gomez
That was as unlucky as you get
Time for a timely DP from Go-GO
You can watch the video of the play on mlb.com gameday for free.
gardy pinch-runs pridie and he gets doubled off… what an IDIOT!
fire gardy mid-game
that’s priceless
I was at a Twins game about five years ago where we came back from down 7-1 to win. I wonder what the team record for largest comeback is? 8-1 is pretty substantial and Cleveland is hanging on by their fingernails. Still have two more shots.
span sucks. put in macri
No kidding, Casey. Should have left Cuddy to run. He would have been standing behind the bag to protect his tootsies.
Mark, I’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry about it. If by the grace of God we get the lead, Nathan will blow it.
“that was a routine play”
That was a routine assessment for a Punto-hater or a dork.
put in mauer to pitch. wtf
Not looking good…Sox are up 6-2 and Cleveland is ready to score again.
they’re shutting it down.
what’s next years roster look like?
Small thing but Buscher’s diving stop kept the hitter to a single and allowed Punto to make a great DP. Even though BB’s throw was off target the runner would have been save anyway…..
Buscher 2 -3 against the lefties. Someone tell me this last 10 ab’s against lefties. Look it up. Very good as of late.
Hater,
Just wondering, why do you watch the games???
Let me get this one, MC: Nathan sucks, wish we had the Mets closer, whoever the hell it is tonight!!! :*)
I am not so sure that the Twins should have gone to the Boof well for one more inning. It seems like they were pushing their luck.
(i got fed up with all the idiots, so i’m trying to join their club)
Being a Minnesotan I feel obligated to cheer for our lovable losers. I choose not to be a bandwagon fan.
As a hater, I hope the world ends tonight, as long as I am there to tell you that “I told you so!”
Well IF gardy is fired…. can the Twins get a manager who isnt so obsessed with matchups and makes 8 pitching changes a game? That is really annoying……
Sarcasm…if the Twins fire Gardy we will be stuck with some trailer trash coach from the minors
Talk about a team that knows how to choke, the Mets lost again to the Nats. Phils can take over first. Wait, the Brewers are bigger chokers. Wait, AZ has gone down in flames…
Guess the Twins aren’t so bad after all. Fire Gardy.
(BTW, “football mentality” doesn’t work in baseball)
I’m ok with getting Matty out of there with success still intact. He needs some good outings if were to make the playoffs.
Good job!
What’s funny is, we more or less traded Rincon for Breslow.
Working around the leadoff triple…wtg BP!!!
gardy gets us out of the inning, and he gets complaints for making too many pitching changes. lol
*were=we’re=Twins
someone needs to get on for morneau to go deep here.
Nice job BP! that ought ot fire up the offense and get them swinging the sticks. That can be a season saver potentially.
Spantastic !
No that was just a general complaint lodged when he was making a pitching change….. I am sorry, my timing sucks….
what do you thin…bunt him over for Mauer and Morneau? I would.
come on tolbert you gotta move him over
Why doesnt Gardy just tell them to bunt…he is the manager
The least he could do is act like one every once in a while.
Twins only bunt in the first 3 innings.
wow. I really think a bunt to get him over would have been the right thing to do.
Maueriffic ! ! !
I would imagine Kubel is on deck
PRIMEAUX, MORNEAU ! ! !
There is the big hit that someone called a couple of innings ago
Woo Hoo!
This is where an MVP earns the title.
GO Twins
I’m shocked to my very core.
…and then you totally redeem yourself! wtg Morneau!
Yesss!!!
You don’t bunt to tie when playing on the road.
Now that we’ve tied it, I need to find out our biggest comeback.
Wait, Nathan sucks, so he’ll blow it anyway. :*)
Man, talk about a BAD bullpen. How about Cleveland?
why when Justin gets a big hit, Dick always has to say, “That was possibly his biggest hit as a Twin”? That is really annoying
The season is over and over and over and…..
Hate,
Ya have to have a little faith. We need to get a knockout punch, here.
Wtf, DY?!?
I’ll never understand Cleveland’s thought process in trying to pass Breslow (a lefty!) through waivers when their bullpen is so bad.
TAKE A PITCH
DY! Way to recover!
or that too!
YES
TOTALLY TUBAL, KUBEL! ! !
Mark…I want the team to win but I’m not getting excited until it’s over.
ladies and gentlemen, the bandwagon has just pulled into the station and is about to begin boarding …
Ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly game
geez
you would think he would’ve challenged the bush man
L
N
P
Those of us who have never left said bandwagon will just have to make more room.
LNP…the Tarvaris Jackson of the Twins
Too bad. I rather liked that pitcher.
Aaron
If T-jack was as good as Punto is the vikes would be 2-0
and I am not a lover of Punto, but he is at least an average player T-Jack is a stinker
Go Pack!
punterrible………….
newsflash, punto still sucks, but we will sign him to a 3 year 15 million dollar deal at the end of this year, gardy will never let his step son leave
and here goes Punto, again…
of course, the bandwagon’s bullpen still needs six outs …
If, and its a BIG if, the Twins win tonight, Delmon Young would’ve made his biggest contribution of the year with that sac. fly rbi.
need i remind you guys punto had the play of the game…
how soon we forget
GUARDADO???? NO!!!!
Sorry folks, the bullpen is not going to get the job done.
Hmmm…not sure how I feel about Eddie on the mound. Hope I’m wrong.
I’m real happy they took the lead, but with all the opportunities in this game the Twins should have 20+ points..hope it doesn’t come back to bite them.
while id like to be upset about punto silliness in the top of the eighth, he kinda kept us in this by bunting those runners ahead in the 6th
why isn’t breslow allowed to pitch to more than 1 batter?
hey guys with a TV, is nathan throwing?
(in the pen)
*points=runs…My brain has almost fully converted to football mode with the way the Twins have played the last couple weeks.
i love eddie with the team…if he returns to the form he was in when he was a twin. another reason i was bumming when they couldnt bring the hawk back, i bet he would dominate in the right environment
razz,
is there a football team in MN more worth my time right now than the twins?
punto had the play of the game
and what was that? The error he made?
Everyday Eddie…
awesome.
wow that is just bullshit
I hate it when I’m right.
i am not shocked in the least
gil,
not a TV, but he is not throwing
(and heck, ain’t that enough with the yesterday Eddie experiment? Gee)
MC
Can’t argue with you there, but while I am a Vikes fan I’m from Iowa so I’ve got the Hawks and my fantasy team…of those 3 my fantasy team is the best though…sigh
ahhhh, ha ha ha ha ha ha….oh, no no wait……ahhhhh ha ha ha ha, I called that at the gym, as did probably all of you, ahhhhh ha ha ha ha ha
For all you Guardado backers…told you so.
I go and leave the tv for 2 minutes to complain about some stupid show and the game is tied….that is crap…… good to see Ranger Eddie still here….
Guardado throws so slow that the prolonged battle will go to the batter.
yuk, this sucks
oh wait, here’s where they load the bases up and give up the lead using like 7 different pitchers, this is the good part….I got popcorn at my place if anyone wants to come over???
Yep, Billy Smith comes through with a GREAT TRADE. At least most on this board thought so. What idiots.
once again. breslow - era of 2.08, left hander, had faced one batter. guardado - has given up tons of runs lately, left hander. WHY GARDY???
Who leads in Minnesota sucktitude right now, the Twins or the Vikings?
Tom loves Eddie??
anyone want to have sex?
haha, tom loved eddie. now tom is sad.
Gardy is an fn idiot.
i don’t think the eddie-peralta matchup is very favorable for us
no thanks
I was happy that Guerrier and Bonser had already been used, because I figured no one could really dish up the game. However, I see Eddie picked up their slack and served up a meatball to Sizemore. Great.
Love that pen!
twins can’t lead in suckitude because no one is as bad as super chili
great idea for the next saturday night live….just show clips of MN sports teams imploding, obviously there would need to be like a triple episode to fit all the clips
I feel like an “I told you so” is in order
Eddie is an example of what a brainless do nothing GM does.
why didnt breslow stay in , didnt he throw like 5 pitches?
dh
I would say the Vikes because expectations were so high for them.
1-2-3 in the ninth….Nathan pitches the ninth…Crain in the 11th…oh no…
Billy Smith should be run out of town.
but u can start by showing the entire vikings green bay debacle on christmas eve–thank you santa, f off
crain isnt here
Breslow didn’t stay in because that is how the manager of the millennium manages.
And I hope he does that for another team sooner than later…
crain isn’t in cleveland, or he would’ve come in to get the righties that eddie got
_______ in the 11th…oh no…
I bet if Gardy could have only 9 position players on his roster, and the rest washed up relief pitchers he would, and after the 6th inning he would have each pitcher only throw one pitch…..it would be a great strategy
Props to the team for coming back, but I totally called them blowing this game after they took the lead. I wish they would have just quit and saved us the heartbreak.
Well, get a run here and turn it over to Nathan and then no problem…I hope.
I agree
Bill Smith stinks
But its still not over…crain hasn’t pitched yet
It was one homerun…Sizemore is pretty good those things will happen. If they lose this game it won’t be Eddie’s fault the offense blew a lot of chances to put up big numbers…kind of like the Vikings in the red zone Sun! haha
Is there any way we win? Even if we take the lead we will for sure lose it to a walk-off win for the Indians.
Does anyone care to guess what would happen if Gardy and Childress got together and tried to put game strategies together? would the world implode into a black hole? I’m guessing lots of bad loses would come out the other side…..
It is tough to blame an offense that scored 9. I’d blame our hero, Liriano.
ya really grady sizemore is one of the best hitters in the league
mauer needs to hit him home, or get on for morneau to do it, or this one is over
Game Over. Season Over. It’s not whining, it’s just the truth.
and that’ll do it folks.
i blame liriano for getting hurt two years ago and screwing us in the playoffs
Clearly, in the most important game of the year (let’s face it–if they lose this one, they’re out of it), Gardy will use his best relief pitcher in the 9th to keep the game going, right?
I mean…right? Nathan will pitch the 9th and 10th…right?
Right?
I guess he is entitled to one bad start per season
I love how people rationalize how Sizemore hit a homerun….HAVE YOU NOT WATCHED THE LAST MONTH OF TWINS BASEBALL, it is NOT A FLUKE…
i don’t hate the sox, but i’m beginning to hate this team for hanging on so long. **** or get off the pot, i’m getting sick of the drama.
oh great its senior sweat time
Daz,
Ha
Reyes will be pitching next…
Reyes in.
Here comes the walkoff victory…
Is it a bad thing when I look forward to having Joe blow a game just to prove I’m right?
I wish there was a counter on this blog for # of times ’season over’ has been typed
Sizemore hitting a homerun isn’t a fluke either…
wow. down 8-1, rally to take a 9-8 lead and then let them tie it just like that. This one would be a crushing lose…but it isn’t over yet.
The Indians are going to win this game. If I am wrong, let me not drink beer for a month.
WHY THE HELL IS REYES IN THE GAME INSTEAD OF NATHAN!!??!?!?!?!?!
If this game ends and Nathan is on the bench in the bullpen, you HAVE to consider pulling a Yost and firing Gardy.
At this point, ONE RUN WINS THE GAME. Wouldn’t you want your best pitcher in?
Absolutely retarded.
Johnny,
No its not but sizemore is an awesome player
Reyes is good for a guaranteed lead off hit
twins are going to win this game
most important game of the year? theres still a 3 game series against the sox in the dome! if the twins want to become a true tradition like the vikings, they’ll be two and a half going into the series against teh sox, win every game, then get swept by kc to close teh season. that would be epic
Dana, I hope you’re right.
they saw that the yankees were losing and knew they had to come back. they did. they know this is a must win.
If I’m Gardy, I put Gary Coleman in the game, it’s hard to pick up the ball when it’s leaving the hand so low to the ground
ok, so play nathan now and watch someone else come in and try to close the game on the road if they somehow manage to regain the lead? screw that, i’d see reyes go down in flames.
Tom, if that happened I would laugh so hard. That’s how our sports teams do it here in Minnesota.
when does travis hafner come in and hit?
2010, i’m with you on looking ahead. thats why i wish this team that i figured would not be playing for anything at this point would just give up! being a game back has earned me a nickname at work and is becoming more depressing with each passing day
this team will be good for quite a few years, but they NEED a different manager
Sorry, I have nothing to add. I just got here. But, I really can’t get my mind wrapped around this last inning.
So, Breslow throws 2 pitches to get 1 easy out. Then, we take the lead. Then, we bring it what has been our worst reliever of late. Eddie has now given up runs in 4 of his 7 appearances for the Twins (6 runs in 5.1 innings). Cruising along at something over 9 ERA for us. Really? That’s the move? We got nothing better? Do we not want to win? Breslow was too tired?
Mind numbing management.
Congrats to Boof for keeping us in this game and lowering his ERA below 6.00!
they NEED neschek
Gardy is on the phone with Childress plotting his next move, should be interesting…probably extremely boring, and everyone will see it coming from miles away
boof pitches well when they are down by a ton of runs because he trusts his stuff and when the game is on the line he nit picks
let’s win it in the 10th!
The point is that Nathan is 100 times better than Reyes, and has a better chance of prolonging the game and giving the Twins more CHANCES (innings) to score a run.
2010..no guarantee this team will be good for years to come. Look at what happened to Cleveland.
Reyes is going to need the next week off since he had to work an ENTIRE inning…. lets not go too long here guys, win it in ten, maybe 11….
you can’t put gardy in the same boat the super chili. gardy knows baseball, chili has no idea what he’s doing.
i am calling a morneau fly ball out, a kubel double, a young first pitch ground out and a casilla base hit
Should have T-Jack come in and pitch, first 2 pitches will be strikes, then he’ll loft one up into the stands, winning run walks in from 3rd
The negative energy from the blog is working for the BP tonight! I blame the blog for not being more negative intially when Eddy came in for the Sizemore HR…
How about a leadoff homer, Justin? I’m pretty sure Nathan would come in in the bottom of the 10th.
cleveland was the joke. they got hot at the right time and had all the other teams face the hot teams at the right time. funny though how the two teams everyone thought would be battling this year are battling with the royals to stay out of last.
I HATE THE SOX EVEN MORE: i agree IF there are injuries. that is the entire reason why cleveland didnt live up to expectations
Cleveland just had injuries implode their team and the realization that CC wasn’t going to give them the hometown discount unless they went to the playoffs, so why not trade him and get one of the more highly touted prospects in baseball for him?
Sure the Twins like to tease us but at least they’re not the Brewers.
hmmm
any Childress supporters say Aye
any Gardy supporters say Aye
(btw, next Vikes game I am wearing my number 3 jersey…)
Strikeout here by Morneau
What is Cleveland’s closer doing in for 2 innings!?!
You wonder why Morneau kept the bat on his shoulder for that close pitch. And clearly the up didn’t know the count.
Sad.
he’s a stud and wants the win
way to go delmon oh wait…
i think cc left for milwaukee because he heard they had better burgers up there and he was hungry
now who? Humber or Korecky?
DY just saw a record number of pitches: 2.
everytime the Twins get in these situations, tied games, they struggle with full counts and base-runners and long innings, then the Twins bat and go down in like 3 minutes
Let Korecky hit…at least he can get a base hit…
well thats just not true
but, johnny, that is true
Will someone please have sex?
Any bets they lose this inning…probably won’t even get an out, and there’s a good chance the bases will be loaded before Indians win…anyone?
oh i forgot about mijares. Good call Gardy
Here’s Mijares audition…
Mow em down, Jose.
i still think the twins will win this game
dick needs his eyes checked
Johnny I take that bet Twins win…I’ll put up 100 Shrute bucks…
2010..that’s crazy talk
I see your Scrute bucks and raise you 500 more that they lose
Razz, all I have left are Beaver Pelts, will 5 do?
no i really think they will pull this one out and i am the one who usually thinks they will blow it.
oh, left over the french american war….i’ll see your five and raise you a hootenany; and can’t my peasant farmers dance
I’ll see the 500 and raise you a 1000 Stanley Nickels
3rd law of thermodynamics….everything tends to move towards chaos….the Twins are built into this law unfortunately
and the rookie impressed me
Very nice!!!
they really are over due for a shocking win. nice inning. Leave him pitch the next inning if we don’t score please
2010–I hope you are right!
Maybe it would motivate them to concentrate during each and every game. They seem content with 2nd place, and that bothers me.
I wouldn’t have minded seeing Mijares in…the 8th inning!
i just really have a different feeling about this game than the other games…..
Congratulations Mijares, you are now the second best pitcher in our bullpen.
We’ll dance and feast liked we’ve never feasted before!
this guy’s ERA is over 12. here we go.
they just need a lead off doinker
what makes you think they are content with second place? the fact they have been there for two months? well, you’ve sold me, let’s start winning ballgames now
or a ball squirted as dick would say
Oh is that how it’s going to be? I’ll raise you 500 more schrute bucks, 1000 more stanley nickels, and a canadian.
The higher the ERA the harder for the Twins to hit them, again, have you watched the last month of Twins baseball?
I thought when you’re number two you try harder?
damn that was a good pitch
You could throw in Canada itself and it holds no value….but I appreciate the offer…I do have some tanned leathers
I agree with Johnny–the higher the ERA, the most the Twins press to succeed instead of just staying relaxed and focused.
You can’t think too much when you’re in the box…
Unfortunately I have, Johnny, sorry for trying to be positive.
not when the expectations are so low mudcat
there is the “chip shot”
Their 3 minutes are up, let’s get the indians up again
PUNTO’S GOING HOME HEAD FIRST!!
gomez is due for a homer
and little nicky is on, now who wants my hootenanny?
punto needs to steal
if he does he’ll break his thumb
Gomez is a fool.
hes trying for a bunt triple
And you all thought that you were through with West Coast games? 400 pitches + will get you there, hey?
HAHAHAHA johnny u are too much
i will say it again: punto needs to steal
Gomez has been decent in the 9 hole
so how are we going to use cuddy with span doing so well?
TRADE CUDDY
Maybe if enough of us write it, punto will magically hear that he needs to steal!!
……that took like 5 minutes, way too much time batting
he can’t be our dh, he isn’t our best right fielder, what is he?
for relief help
ssssssTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL
AAAAAARRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Tom, I just try to have fun in here and not take it too seriously, I got upset after the first 15 games they blew, I finally realized I can’t get all upset, I have no control over them winning or losing…glad you enjoy the humor!
Nathan going to blow it?
WELL hopefully they can get through this inning and have another chance to bat with the good part of the order cumming up and hopefully mijares will still be pitching GARDY!!!!
As I recall, the Ron Davis/Jamie Quirk game in ‘84 ended 10-9. If so, how prophetic.
I’m making the call of Nathan blowing this game.
So…then you use Mijares for….7 pitches.
At least stick to a plan Gardy. Even though I have no idea what that plan may be.
OH what for??? now if they do take the lead who pitches the bottom of the 15th or whatever it may be?
this is not going to end pretty
Gardy is making a mistake here. Who’s left if we take the lead?
at least put korecky in now…
Gardy needs to save Mijares’ arm for next year…he seems to be struggling, he may petition to have Guerrier pitch again
oh too late
I’m sure Cleveland would let the Twins use Rincon for an inning…
nathan isn’t good for more than twenty pitches it seems
Man on base..it’s over
i think i am smelling a seattle type comeback here or maybe oakland…not quite sure which one
no problem…nathan likes guys on base right?
Ooooooooooo is Nathan going to blow it?
He needs to be able to get the fastball by them because he apparently can’t get the slider across.
This just in, Gardy to sit Mijares for rest of season and next season as well to rest his arm for when the stadium opens
my legs are spread and waiting for anyone to stick it in instead of watching this
nathan has been great with folks on base this year. he isn’t good in non save situations. this spells something that doesnt = a win for the twins
**sigh**
To channel a little DEEP PURPLE (or JIMI HENDRIX but I like the DP version better) “Hey Joe, where are you going with that gun in your hand, I’m going down to shoot my Gardy because I caught him messin’ ’round with another reliever…” My first question to Gardy would be where was Nathan in the 9th and 10th? What is more important, getting Joe the SAVE or getting the Twins the WIN? Once you get to the bottom of the ninth, relievers should be used in inverse order of how good they are and for the Twins that is: Nathen, then Reyes, then Mijares, then Korecky, then Humber, then whoever but Joe is paid the big bucks to lead the charge.
this is just not like the Twins I know….uh, I mean, uh, nevermind
put him on
when is the last time joe struck out a batter?
johan owned peralta
When’s the last time Gardy realized he was coaching baseball? Does he have any clue where he even is?
does he even have a changeup?
Is Gardy making out with Childress in the dugout?
Is it too late to trade Nathan? He really sucks.
Victor victor victor, thank you for ending this
over
hahahahaha i think that probably sums up the season doesnt i
One month ago, all the Twins players wrote what they thought would be the most demoralizing way to lose a game on a piece of paper and threw them all in a hat…..they still have a few left to pull out after tonight
and the white sox have clinched
unbelievable.
this team needs mauer to step up and be a leader. not a leader in stats, he’s already that. he needs to rally the troops. gardy can’d do that, and it’s not his job to, not in the way i’m talking about at least. obviously i’m not in the clubhouse, but it isn’t gardy’s job to provide the kind of leadership this team needs. it isn’t his type of leadership, it’s a “hey guys, let’s start playing some ball” type leadership.
This is too good. Nathan I hope you die in your sleep tonight.
And like that “poof”, the season’s gone
“_______ in the 11th…oh no…”.
Sorry I predicted the outcome of the game at the end of the 8th. Just name the wrong pitcher. My apologies to those who really think we still have a chance at the playoffs this year. Losing in the 11th wasn’t a hard prediction to make after Eddie gave up that shot in the 8th. Can’t remember when the last time this team won an extra-innings game.
Damn there goes my beaver coat for the winter…
Way to go Joe.
Ah…whatever. I heard there was an error earlier, but Span doesn’t drop that stupid fly ball and this game ends in 9.
Boy, good thing they got Eddie like everybody wanted!
These SOBS! When will the humilation stop?! Please just end the season and maybe even bring up contraction again. Please!!!!
they would do nothing in the postseason anyway…you can never overcome horrible coaching, doesn’t matter who’s on the team
This is too good. Nathan I hope you die in your sleep tonight.
And I hope your house burns down and takes you and your family with it.
Oh, and that your cat gets lukemia.
you know, during that last road trip, i was the most pissed off person in the world after all of those tough losses, but now days, i just smile and think about the other good things in life. for example, the white sox getting killed in the playoffs. that is a bigger heart break than not making the playoffs
I am willing to accept payment in small, unmarked muskox pelts
you can never overcome horrible coaching, doesn’t matter who’s on the team
Horrible coaching doesn’t drop a fly ball in the 3rd inning. Or cause a supposedly elite closer to buckle for the 4th time in about a month or so.
That is really uncalled for
but u dont get my hootenanny
Maybe we should have traded Nathan before the deadline. Man, has he sucked sh!t lately. Maybe he is off steroids just like Rincon.
CONTRACTION? Impossible.
They sure need a leader, ’cause Mauer, Morny, Gardy, Cuddy, Nathan, nobody has that capability or ability. I do not care if they draft or trade for Grandma Moses, if she can lead and motivate this team, I’ll have her in a New York minute!
alright,
another game in the books. This season is not yet over.
But
how many people here want Gardy to come back and manage this team next year
please speak up
Gardy, who probably has the worst playoff record of any manager, deserves this.
Night folks!
My wife, who knows nothing about baseball, asks me each night how the Twins lost…..she just assumes they always lose now, that’s flippin’ hilarious!
That is only the second (and third and fourth) earned run Nathan has given up since the beginning of August.
HOW DO U BLAME THIS ON NATHAN!? this isn’t his role! his role is to come in a finish a game. don’t talk about the past, that doesn’t matter. this was crain’s game to lose, not nathan’s.
I like to dream too.
Season is over. We went on this season long date, but no sex for us this year.
I HATE GARDY. GET HIM OUTTA HERE. HELL, HIRE BERT TO BE THE MANAGER
May I introduce Mr. Joe Davis to Victor Quirk. Amid the multiple personalities on this blog, they must fit in perfectly. What a psycho team performance with no one at the helm.
None of the this would have been an issue if 8 runs were not given up at the beginning of the game. With Liriano, of all pitchers doing the damage for the most part.
Nathan is required to pitch and get batters out. HOW CAN YOU NOT BLAME HIM.
Maybe the Twins can move here to Ventura County and become the Simi Valley Twinks and the Vikes can also start to play in the soon-to-be renovated (again) LA Colosseum. Whoopee! And it’s 1-2-3, what are we fightin’ for, don’t ask me I don’t give a damn, next stop is the off season in Vietnam!
tom wanted Guardardo to still pitch
I think we replace Childress with Gardy, Gardy has no problem pulling people that throw the ball and putting someone else in to replace them! Childress should just go, well go somewhere and live with boring, predictable people somewhere
Sorry, but how could you not want Gardy back.
what?
WELL AT LEAST WE ALL CAN DO OTHER THINGS NOW INSTEAD OF WATCHING THIS
Mastny’s ERA went from 12.18 to 11.50, and he got the win.
Nathan’s ERA jumped to 1.47 and he got another L.
Stop this bleeding.
Better to go down in flames now and spare us fans the heartburn of another miserable first round in the playoffs. It was nice to see them able to rally back but then to blow it twice after that is painful to say the least. Well, I’ll be rooting for in descending order: Rays, Cubbies, guess that’s it, not going to root for anyone else and definitely not the Whities…how obnoxious would that be if they were to get another WS and have to listen to that A**H*** Pierczynski rub our noses in another ring.
…and it’s 6-7-8, open up the pearly gates, no time to wonder why whoppee we’re all going to die!!
This one hurts and that could spell the end. Gomez hits a bullet right at the third baseman with the bases loaded for the double play in the 8th, and Sizemore hits the damn foul pole! Like they’ve said even way back to 1984 when the Twins blew that 10-0 lead on the final weekend of the regular season…”Weird things happen in Cleveland.” I’ve lost track of how many home runs we’ve given up the past three games? I think it’s 10 and the Twins have hit one.
It’ll stop (the bleeding) on September 30th. Now for hockey or broomball.
Twins would lose to the kids from the movie “the sandlot” right now…anyone want to make more bets and win some pelts back?
They’ve just given up. F-ing pansies! There is absolutely no leadership on this team.
i like gardy. gardy knows baseball, and why i disliked him earlier for leaving in starters too long, that has kinda worked out, in as much as they can all pitch more than 6 innings. gardy knows, just like kelly did, that to win championships, it isn’t about the manager, it’s about the players, and you need to give the players as many opportunities to prove their worth as possible. this team needs a leader from within if they want anywhere near a fighting chance to make the playoffs.
Another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by the bullpen.
This is what I’m going to do, I’m going to stop watching the Gophers football team after they squeak out a win against 8th graders this next weekend…then I will have watched a successful Gophers football season! 4-0
That sound you heard was the Twinks doing a 01.25 nose dive on their bellies.
if they find that leader, then WATCH OUT, because every other team in the twins position, INCLUDING the white sox, is looking for that leader, and the one that finds it will win the world series
2010 you’re right. Thinking about the Sox losing in the playoffs does make me smile. Thanks for the pick-me-up.
i did not see the eighth - why was breslow pulled for guardado? breslow got one out on 2 pitches in the 7th and he is there most consistent lefty. he was also pulled after about 4 pitches in his last outing.
Unbelievable what I just witnessed. A great comeback all for nothing. Bert said Everyday Eddie was the man. He has pitched just awful w/ the exception of his first outing.
11 home runs given up in 3 games. 11……….11 home runs. 8 of the 11 off of starters. 1 to Humber, 1 to Everyday and 1 to Nathan.
This is the beginning of the end. Team was pumped to take the lead but completed deflated when Everyday gave up the homer to Sizemore.
Who did we give up for Everyday? And who was scouting Everyday? What a move…
I have tickets to Tampa for the four game series. Anyone want them?
I don’t understand why Gardy didn’t put the steal sign on when Punto singled with one out. Gomez and Span then have a shot at driving him in.
The big story is that Nathan is no longer Nathan. Still good, but not the pitcher he once was.
Jack Morris, you should know by experience with your 10 inning game 7 shutout….you pull a pitcher that is pitching well after 3 pitches, it’s Gardy’s secret sauce
There was a bit of levity in watching the Cleveland feed of this game. Their announcers were yukking it up about who was left in the Twins pen. They then had a shot of Korecky, Humber and the pen catcher sitting there. The announcers said two of the 12 fans still remaining at Progressive Field had gone into the pen and taken the Twins jackets to stay warm!!! LOL
If a leader has not emerged yet on any of those teams. Why all of a sudden would there be one? I don’t see it.
It’s probably hard for Nathan to get in a groove, he rarely has to pitch these days.
I threw in the low 80’s in 9th grade before I quit playing baseball, I could pitch for the Twins…well, probably not, Gardy doesn’t want to put any decent relievers in, he has plenty that are worst than me
I AM ROOTING FOR AS FOLLOWS:
cubs: they deserve it
brewers: my second favorite team
rays: reminds me of the twins
phillies: good team
red sox: i have respect for them
dodgers: manny
angels: torri deserves one
mets: Johan
white sox: suck
ya there is 9 there but one of them wont make it and it will be the brewers
Pert of the reason is when is Nathan ever used? I know they don’t want to use him in case he is need for a save but when a week goes by without using him he is not going to be sharp and you see what that leads to. I bet he will be fine next year.
I think that not a leader, but like a T-Rex needs to emerge on a team when no one expects it, and eat like 20 players from both teams
because these are the times when men are men and women are women and people sleep with one another…..i dunno, because tough times call for tough leaders, leaders to lead us from the perils of certain dismay towards a better way of playing baseball, like getting clutch relief appearances and doubles that drive in game winning runs
Maybe the T-Rex will start with the bullpen…
And enormous T’Rex’s that eat peoples legs off…that’s what time it is
wow. a comeback like that would have been inspiring. guardado needs to be castrated, assuming he has any.
T-Rex could destroy the yankees even though they are out of it just because they are the yankees…..that would make everything good
I would have said Alligators, but their arms are short and Gardy might have tried to make them pitch in relief
Not that a T-rex has long arms, but he’ll bite your face off before he’s out of the pen
“Who did we give up for Everyday?”
Guardado was acquired for Hamburger.
The Twins fetish for washed up veterans never ends.
Mijares has looked good.
t-rex throws like a girl
i could use a hamburger about now
Is anyone hearing me…….
11 Home Runs in THREE games.
Is that some sort of record?
11 home runs in THREE games……
or a turkey burger
Guerrier, Reyes, Guardado will be gone from this bullpen in the offseason.
Let’s see, 11 HR given up in 3 games. My non-CA math tells me nearly 4 HR a game. Whities average half their lineup hitting HR’s in any given game. OH OH, definitely looks gruesome for that last series with them. Oh wait, I said 5 minutes ago it’s already over anyway!
The Twins have just been toying with us all, they are pretenders not contenders. Maybe they have had more luck than we realize and won games they should not have. Maybe,they have lost more games that they should have won, not because of bad luck because of poor play. They have made us feel happy, but then break our hearts and make us go crazy. Rebuilding year? Maybe that would have been easier on us fans, we would not have expected so much then. Have they given us false hope? I know the it’s not over yet, but there are less games to be played and harder to make up the difference. Are they deserving of the playoffs? Will they show up in the playoffs if they got there? This team does need more heart and some leadership.
well congrats to the white sox for sucking it up and playing without quentin and konerko. they do deserve it…i hate to say that but they really do. if we lost mauer or morneau, we would be five games back at least
the spoilers were the mariners not the indians
Nathan is 34 years old. It’s a long season. What do you want?
How are Garza and Santana doing?
can’t disagree with steve-h, but one question remains burned in my mind: where’s my ham sandwich?
Santana has the third best ERA in baseball.
Interesting, I see the Royals have beaten Seattle five out of six ganes this year, aren’t the Twins better than the Royals? 2010 is right about the Mariners being the spoilers.
Someone asked why a leader has not appeared on this team? Because if the great Kirby Puckett came up today, he’d be branded a “lose cannon” and an overconfident prima donna. Gotta keep the MN favorite flavor…VANILLA!
ah craig, new and improved even. we have no rapport, otherwise i’d call you a jerk, though i’m sure you aren’t. garza was a calculated risk, and i think young for garza was a pretty much straight up trade, given what each will eventually give to each club. now bartlett for harris…..
santana was giving up home runs with the twins and still is. more importantly, he didn’t want to be a twin anymore. he made that all too evident after the trade deadline last year. if you don’t want to be here, i dont want you here.
garza was the same type of trade. he didnt want to be a twin.
everything went downhill fast as hell when we got to seattle. we had played well in seattle coming into that series and poof it went
i still see the white sox as somewhat more pathetic than the twins and somehow forcing a one game playoff in which the twins win only to be swept in the divisional series
You knew with the way it was going tonight, that it would end the way it did - with the Twins best pitcher (is suppose to be) on the mound giving up the long ball….
Anyone still want Liriano to pitch against the White Sox?
When the White Sox meet the twins, worst case scenario is that Chicago has already clinched. Best case scenario is that the twins are 2.5 games up. The twins will probably be around 4.5 or 5.5 games back from Chicago when the series rolls around.
One thing we should not forget, it’s dangerous for contenders to play also rans this late in the season. They are loose, Twins are real tight right now. They have nothing to lose and beating up a contending team is a great moral victory and all they can still look forward to. Now against each other it’s a free for all, like freakin’ KC absolutely thrashing these same Indians over the weekend so long as a pitcher not named Lee was on the mound.
Maybe Gardy’s inane “just have fun” isn’t totally moronic after all.
Gatty, I was one of the ones lobbying for rotation juggling but after the four games since Baker last pitched, I readily say “no mas!” I hope Scotty can be different tomorrow but giving up the long ball seems to now be an equal opportunity thing with all Twins pitchers. So Gardy might as well roll the dice and throw whoever out ther against the Sox.
i hope we destroy cy lee
It’s over. We all know that. But we played well into Sept with meaningful games, if that is any consolation. Just don’t think our year is next year. This is a team that had played way above it’s talent level. And finally the league had caught up with Nathan. Not a good sign going into next year. They have also figured out Perkins and Blackburn so we are in trouble. And obviously all the free Jason Kubel people were wrong. He’s a platoon type player at best. No power in the minors. Target field will be a deft to hitting the outfield bleachers for the Twinks.
Considering that Bill Smith traded away Gardy’s two best starters and his starting SS, Gardy has done a fabulous job.
Nick Punto has stepped in and has made an admirable effort as Bartlett’s replacement.
Livan, Boof, and now the other youngsters, have done a good job trying to fill in for the huge losses in the rotation.
Gardy should be “manager of the year” considering the circumstances.
Gardy also lost Torii Hunter from last year. Considering that Gardy lost Santana, Garza, Bartlett and Hunter, Gardy has been nothing less than a sensational manager this year. What a magician.
ouch. tough loss. and not a bad argument, craig.
although, and i hate to monday-morning quarterback, i don’t get why gardy pulled mijares after seven pitches, or breslow after two.
Does Gardenhire get credit for hitting over .300 with RISP? Because that’s the only reason they are where they are right now. I would argue that Gardenhire quit managing the game after it was tied 9-9. Carlos Gomez should not get any more meaningful bats in late innings this season. To not PH for him is ridiculous. Also, why can’t Punto ever be pinch hit for? Does Gardenhire forget that he is a utility infielder and they have an expanded roster? He has 2 HR and 26 RBI and he plays every day. I think there had to be someone on the bench who had a better probability to drive in runs with the bases loaded.
11 home runs in three games.
18 of 21 runs scored via the HR.
11 home runs in three games. 5 Sunday,
2 Monday, 4 Tuesday……
8 off of starters……..
Unbelieveable………
DAVE:
Only half the game is played at the plate, so I suppose he leaves those guys in for defense. I have to admit, when Martinez hit that homer, I thought Gomez was going to scale the fence, jump, and fly up and catch that ball.
There simply is no excuse for bringing Eddie into the game in the 8th with our 1 run lead. And, I like Eddie.
His ERA over the last 4 weeks, most of which is with us, is: 11.57. For the season, lefties are hitting .218 and righties .270 against Eddie.
Breslow’s ERA over the last 4 weeks is 0.93! For the season, lefties are hitting .200 and righties .225 against Breslow.
No excuse for the inexplicable pitching change. No logic. No excuse. Mind numbing.
I totally agree that Breslow should have stayed in for the first two batters of the 8th or go with Reyes. Guardado is third or maybe even fourth on the depth chart for lefties because I’d probably go with Mijares ahead of him. Eddie should have been sparred for possible extra innings.
