Cuddyer starting at DH for Twins against White Sox
Posted on September 30th, 2008 – 4:01 PMBy Joe Christensen
CHICAGO — Michael Cuddyer gets a start at designated hitter tonight, with Jason Kubel available off the bench.
Cuddyer is 7-for-12 (.583) for his career off tonight’s White Sox starter, lefthander John Danks, while Kubel is 3-for-7 (.429).
(*) Manager Ron Gardenhire said he’ll be ready to go to the bullpen early to help rookie starter Nick Blackburn if need be.
(*) It’s all hands on deck, though Gardenhire said he won’t use Francisco Liriano tonight because this is his first season coming back from major elbow surgery. Liriano pitched Friday and would be working on three day’s rest.
(*) Gardenhire said Scott Baker would be available out of the bullpen. Normally, he would throw a side session today anyway.
(*) Kevin Slowey (bruised right wrist) will play catch again today, and the Twins will see how he feels before clearing him for a bullpen session Wednesday.
(*) I had a couple position typos written below earlier, apologies.
Update (6:40 p.m.): The White Sox announced a first-pitch temp of 56 degrees, with winds from the north/northwest at 11 mph. Not as blustery as some forecasts made it look.
(*) Glen Perkins is also in the bullpen wearing spikes. So he and Baker are both available for relief.
Twins (88-74)
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brendan Harris, 3B
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF
Starting pitcher: Nick Blackburn (11-10, 4.14 ERA)
White Sox (88-74)
1. Orlando Cabrera, SS
2. Dewayne Wise, LF
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. Ken Griffey, Jr., CF
7. Alexei Ramirez, 2B
8. A.J. Pierzynski, C
9. Juan Uribe, 3B
Starting pitcher: John Danks (11-9, 3.47 ERA)
U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch: 6:37 p.m. (Televised on TBS)
970 Responses to "Cuddyer starting at DH for Twins against White Sox"
Gutsy going with Cuddyer. Hopefully it pays off.
Cuddyer had better produce…he’s not provided much so far.
Maybe 2 RF will help with the wind blowing out…maybe span can play in the stands and catch a couple hrs.
I think Cuddy is the right choice for 3 reasons.
#1 He has been pretty clutch over his career and has been chomping at the bit to play
#2 Kubel struggles against lefties a lot and a move to a lefty out of the pen for the Whities is less effective at stopping our middle of the lineup.
#3 He is available off the bench if we have a key AB. That is great!
I got a good feeling about Cuddyer, Last time gardy went with the Gut it paid off BIG TIME
When I looked it up earlier today and saw Cuddy was 7 for 12 lifetime, I figured Gardy might go with him. Hopefully Kubel can provide some late inning thunder if need be.
i got the chills already. please pitch well, blackburn…. pleaseeeee
Cuddyer (2008 v. LHP)
65 AB 0 HR .246/.372/.308 OPS .679
Kubel (2008 v. LHP)
99 AB 3 HR .232/.330/.374 OPS .704
It also works because then you fave the option of playing Kubel in the field later too. If the Twins are down after 5 or 6 innings and Danks is out they hit Kubel for Gomez and Kubel can stay in the game in the field if they need his bat later, I don’t think the Twins want Cuddy in the field at all. They would have to go straight to Pridie if the Cuddy was the one coming off the bench
Also, keep in mind we will likely see these starts have very short starts. Any sign of struggle and they will be yanked. This means Kubel could be in much earlier. Also Cuddy is hobbling around the bases so he could get pulled for a pitch runner early as well.
I expect Kubel to get at least 2 AB’s tonight.
I like Baker coming in if Blackburn gets in trouble as opposed to having to go with Boof in long relief…
can we get 5 out of Blackburn, 2 out of Baker, then go Mijares/Nathan!!
I don’t think Cuddyer has any business being in tonight’s game, but I hope he proves me wrong. He has shown nothing since coming back. Kubel should be starting for the same reasons that Gardy gave a week ago, playing in game one of the Sox series.
Like I said, I hope he proves me wrong and Gardy’s gut is correct two weeks in a row. Let’s hope lightning can strike twice.
I hope that starting Cuddy, who has done nada since coming off the DL and whose swing looks rusty, pays off, but my gut is uneasy about this.
If Blackburn falters, please, please, please Gardy DO NOT bring in Guerrier!
I honestly feel like it all comes down to our offense. When they go cold, they go real cold. If they’re hitting, they’ll hit enough.
MarkW,
Great point…I would even say 3 or 4 out of Blackie with Bake going 2-3. Mijares and Nathan can go 2 each if need be!
I love how the heading states “Cuddyer starting at DH for Twins against White Sox” …
But then in the lineup Joe put 2 RF’s, Cuddy being one of them.
If Cuddyer waves at pitches off the plate and looks pathetic, I’m going to be mad. I hope he can get a hold of one though, especially with the with blowing out.
Aside from that interesting note,
I want to see Nathan go 2 innings, Breslow for several, and if need be, Mijares 1+
On another post I heard Joe C is from out of state. Where is Joe C from?
Glad to see that Harris got the nod at 3rd over Buscher.
Yeah, as long as Gardy is quick to pull Blackburn if needed and go with Baker right away… we can’t dink around with hoping Crain/Guerrier/Reyes/Guardado can get anyone out…
Cuddyer as DH is fine, as long as Kubel gets his chance against the first RH reliever… it’s all you can ask for really. AaronK’s right, i would think Kubel gets 2 ABs in the game…
Wow…I don’t think I would have benched Kubel. I hope it pays offs. We need you Cuddy!
Well danks is a lefty and Buscher might still be sick that is probably the only reason Gardy went with Harris…. and I hope he does really good tonight…. I need to try to find a feed of the game from work….
There is no reason Cuddy should be starting this game. He is NOT the same guy right now, and you’re going to go with him over a guy who is your second best power threat? What a joke.
The 5-6-7 hitters for the Twins will do the real damage tonight. I look for Harris to be the offensive hero.
do you think mlb would have found a national tv feed from espn or somewhere if this had been the red sox and yanks?
This is unbelievable. This shouldn’t be about “going with your gut” this should be looking at the stats. Yeah, its nice to look at the match-ups, but look at the entire season numbers. Kubel has 20 HR’s this season. In addition,
Kubel vs. White Sox (past two seasons)
BA .303
HRs 10
RBIs 35
Games 28
I hope Gardy is right on this. At least Kubel’s lefty numbers includes a few HR’s. But, maybe Gardy has seen something from Cuddyer, or wants to keep some power off the bench.
jimmy bee,
From above:
Joe Christensen, the Star Tribune’s national baseball reporter, has covered the big leagues since 1998. A Faribault native, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1996. Before working for the Star Tribune, he spent three years covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun. He also covered the Padres and Dodgers for newspapers in Southern California.
Alright Twins, here we go. You can do this, this is your division, this is your season. Time to go out and take that first place honor…time to show the White Sox fans how we play.
Go Twins Go!!!
They are required to use TBS since they have a contract with them through the playoffs…. it would have been them or Fox, and Fox only really has the rights to the NLCS and the WS
No Swisher again. Sounds good to me.
Thank goodness. No Butcher.
I think the first guy out the bullpen should be Eddie Guerrero. He is well rested, and you know he would bring it.
Is this the “Beat John Danks lineup”?
JMP thank you very much
12-4 Twins. Take it to the bank. If I’m wrong I won’t post for the rest of the year.
Gardy needs to put the “coaching for dummies” book down tonight. If the game is close in the 6th, you may even think about bringing in Mijares early to shut them down, and hope the offense sparks next inning. Joe Nathan must be ready to pitch a 2-inning save. Matty G or Bonser should not see the field today.
First guy out of the bullpen = Joe Nathan……lets hope thats all we need! Here we go Twins!
Hmmmmm Joe C covered my 2 favorite teams the Dodgers and the Twins
So the Twins have two players in RF. That advantage will be minimized by the two 1Bs the Pale Hose are using.
does anybody know if this game is nationally televised? if so, who? thanks!
Okay, I said that comment Evets, this blog is messed up…
I called this on Howard’s blog earlier today…I disagree.
Mike Cuddyer has done nothing to earn this start…
AG–I still think you were wrong to print this and the analysis hasn’t panned out your way–but today I’m going to say it with you:
“Free Jason Kubel”
On this topic, I want to refer everyone to Gardy’s postgame comments last Tuesday night when asked about Kubel.
“He’s our DH,” Gardy said.
Sure he is, Ron.
Johnny,
It is nationally televised on TBS.
LETS PLAY! We’re Comin’!
2010 KEYS TO THE GAME:
1. Score first. Even if it is one run. Get the crowd out of it.
2. Blackburn’s sinker better sink right away.
3. Morneau needs to get a few hits.
I think if those three things happen, we will be OK.
Yeah, The last name that posts sometimes shows up in the name required box, not sure why that happens. But I could not have said it better myself. Be very liberal with Nathan.
I have brought you to this game. I will lead you through it. I couldn’t ruin tradition.
Giants win ‘87 Superbowl; Twins win ‘87 World Series.
Giants win ‘91 Superbowl; Twins win ‘91 World Series.
Giants win ‘08 Superbowl; TWINS WIN ‘08 WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!
7+1=8!
[…] Around the Majors – […]
Is this not the ultimate indictment that Kubel is a platoon player?
Biggest game of the year and he sits for a guy who hasn’t played meaningful baseball all season and hasn’t so much as hit a double since his return.
This is Gardy’s move…Gardy’s been right plenty before…wow I hope Gardy’s right.
Key of the game:
Keep Chicago in the park.
Didn’t Cuddy get the start over Kubel last week against Danks, and wasn’t Cuddy an 0-fer?
Kay,
Danks didn’t pitch in MN. He pitched Friday against Cleveland and got shelled.
Kirby delivers again.
Tonight Twins fans we’re fighting for our right to live…to exist. We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Tonight we kick some White Sox ***!!!!
Gardy has some big balls starting Cuddy over Kubel. Cuddy hasn’t done anything this year and I hate this move. I hope I’m dead wrong but I have a sinking feeling Gardy is going to get salvaged for this move tomorrow. Kubel has been hot this month/year…keep him in there…
Although I have my doubts, I gotta hand it to Gardy for being proactive with the Cuddy thing. I presume Cuddy is super-ready and has his timing?
Woulda thought that Cuddy would be more valuable as a PH than Kubel in the desparate last-ditch effort thing, with him batting for Casilla or Punto.
But who knows.
Oh no it’s the “Curse of Cuddyer!”. Blah blah blah
I like the lineup. I’m feeling a Twins tonight, cuddy two doubles, HR by Harris and morneau. Nervous about any lead though.
Cuddy better earn his $8 million for ‘08 tonight…what an insult to Kubel. I guess if Kubes would have brought the 163+ t-shirts in spring training, he’d get the nod…
I would point out that last week when Gardy went with his gut and started Kubel against Vazquez, there was a lot of bitching around here. And look how that turned out. I’m going to reserve judgement until I see how Gardy’s gut pick goes tonight. I would also point out that since that great game against Chicago, Kubel has gone 3-16 with only one of those three hits meaning anything (the double against Kansas City in Saturday’s losss).
Big mistake starting Cuddyer… Huge.
Lifetime Kubel is hitting Danks about as well as Cuddyer and Cuddyer cannot run these days…
And then batting him ahead of Young? Inane… Adding insult to injury.
Cuddyer has a .578 OPS in September
Kubel has a .788 OPS in September
Young has a .851 OPS in September
do the math.
I hope that the idiotic move by Gardy doesn’t hurt the team…
What is next? Yesterday Eddie in at the seventh to protect a lead?
“Nervous about any lead though.”
I’ll take a lead, thank you. I’ll also request the A-squad bullpen sit this one out (guerrier, crain, reyes).
I agree Buffalo that Gardy has earned the right to go with his gut…
I’m just pointing out it’s in direct contrast to the message we got Tues. night during the postgame…this idea that “why are you guys so surprised…Kubel is our DH”
I’m also saying that I personally, even though I have advocated for Kubel to be a platooner all year, would have him in the lineup over Cuddy. It has more to do with Cuddy than Kubel.
hey BC twins fan (from 4:11), even if Kubel is DH and Cuddy would pinch hit for Gomez, you could still have Kubel play right…
There was one night last week Cuddyer got the start and I believe he didn’t do anything, again.
This is Gardy’s move…Gardy’s been right plenty before…wow I hope Gardy’s right.
yeap!
like putting in Juannie and Bassie and Mattie (in Aug & Sept) in tight situations and like starting Nevin and Tyner as DHs for the 2006 postseason while Kubel was rotting on the bench…
Yeap
Gardy’s gotta go the day after the Twins season is over (and I hope it is the day after the WS parade)
Blogs still messed up with names/addresses of others.
Still… Wind is blowing to right center and no Kubel? I hope that works out, but feel I need to revise my prediction earlier of 7-3 Twins to 6-3 Twins.
Danks is going to be all over in the 1st inning. Hopefully the ump and the 1st inning batters don’t help him expand the strike zone. We are going to be up 3 or 4 to 0 before whities get to the plate. Mornie goes yard.
Like everybody says, Cuddy will be in for a couple of AB’s. If nothing happens, obviously Kubel will come in. I think the keys to the game are:
1. Twins score first, hopefully a few runs. The crowd will not be into it at that point.
2. Don’t give up HR’s. The Sox can not beat the Twins (or anyone) when they don’t hit HR’s.
3. Sinker sinking. Lots of ground ball/DP outs.
Kirby you are a hero.
“Like everybody says, Cuddy will be in for a couple of AB’s. If nothing happens, obviously Kubel will come in.”
Right, but by then Danks will probably be out and Thornton will be in and then we’ll actually NEED a right handed PH.
Kay,
Cuddy played the Thursday game and went 0-2. He really didn’t get a chance to hit.
Kay, the last time Cuddy started back back on Sept. 20, 10 days ago, and he did go hitless, but it was in an 0-1 with two walks performance. Not great, but then again, not exactly nothing either.
SweetOne, Cuddy didn’t start that game though. He pinch-hit for Kubel in that 10-inning win over Chicago.
Now is not the time, especially not tonight, to be giving Cuddyer a chance to hit. I do hope I am wrong, but I think this is a big line-up mistake by Gardy and a slap in the face to Kubel, on the biggest game of the season, to sit him in place of Mr. Rust-Bucket.
I have said this multiple times on this blog this year.
When Kubel proves he can hit LHP with some consistency then you can complain all you want. However, until then it is hard to argue against the platoon. His numbers look like a platoon player to me.
Kay, because Kubel has definitely earned it with his .188 batting average since his big night against Chicago last Tuesday, huh?
Buffalo, because he has earned it, as Gardy said last week, because he “is our DH.” Has been all season. He also is second only to Morneau for HR’s on this HR-starved team. And Cuddyer, nice as a guy as he may be, certainly has done nothing to earn the start tonight.
season is over and I hate LNP
Did I forget anything?
Wouldn’t it be just sweet if the Twins won the division in US Cellular Field? Against the White Sox? Tear up their clubhouse? With the odds against us? It would remind me of the game in Oakland when they clinched the alds in Oakland. We were young then too and had our backs against the wall as underdogs. A win tonight would be the icing on the cake.
“162+, No Excuses”
Well Cuddy we’re at 163 and yet to reach the postseason.
Put up or shut up Mikey C.
let’s face the facts:
the twins are as big of underdogs tonight as they were heading into this season. they suck on the road, and blackburn is probably the last guy you want starting this game right now, as he hasn’t pitched well in weeks.
that being said… why not? nothing to lose. either we celebrate in the whities club house and bring home the 4th central division title in gardy’s tenure, or we go back to minnesota with our heads held high and a LOT to look forward to in the years to come.
did anyone else call in sick for work tonight?
Well said mightycasey. Go Twins!
(going home to watch the game now!)
GO TWINS GO!
I can’t freaking sit still I’m pumped up.
Is this what crack feels like?
Kay, because Kubel has definitely earned it with his .188 batting average since his big night against Chicago last Tuesday, huh?
And Morneau in that same span of time? A .300 OPS give or take?
Agree, AM. We’ll be 2nd guessing this move all winter. Good to see Gardy is consistent: playing his pets til the bitter end while the better player rides the pine.
Gardy and his dang stats. Cuddyer has done NOTHING since coming back and I would rather have Kubel hit..even thought that lefty vs lefty crap comes into play. Just watch, Cuddyer will not get a hit DHing tonight. Just waiting for Guerrier to be put into the game also.
all right. Are we Twins FANS, or bitchers and moaners on Gardy’s decisions………Let’s be TWINS FANS, and root for our PUPS…OUR JUNKYARD MADDOG MUTTS to beat the Suxies!!!!! GO PUPS!!!!!GO MADDOG MUTTS!!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOD LUCK TWINS!
His name has not been mentioned so far. But I think Breslow will play the key role in tonight’s game. He keeps the ball low, doesn’t give up homers. Get four or five innings out of Blackburn, then Mijares for two, Breslow for one or two depending on Blackburn and then Nathan to wrap it up. Only use Baker if Blackburn goes less than four. I just don’t know how much he’s got left after starting just two days ago.
And how is that Guardardo trade working out for everyone that loved him. Called it a waste of a pickup at the time, and that is exactly what it was. No benefit at all. Nice Job doug rise….I mean billy smith.
Cuddyer? Come on Gardy. Kubel has killed the White Sox especially at the Cell. I hope Michael proves me wrong. Good to hear Baker is available. I hope he’s the first arm out of the pen to give us an inning if we need it in the middle of the game.
Here is an idea….why not just flip a coin to determine the winner. Selig looks retarded…now we have proof.
Kiss off Guerrier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and I mean Guerrier SUX, not Matt!!!!!!!!!
Wind is currently at 7 mph.
Weatherpeople stink!
If you’re a Twins fan, however, you’re happy….
Kubel’s second home run of the game last Tuesday at the Dome was off a lefty. What has Cuddyer done to earn this start in the biggest game of the year? The wind is blowing out and Kubel, with the second most home runs on the team, is on the bench. What is Gardy thinking?
Selig (Seig Heil) is the WORST comish in the history of any major professional league!
thanks, La Velle….
DrDon, take no prisoners tonight. These naysayers can go have a big double bowl of bran.
Seriously, I won’t waste my time arguing with idiots.
Whoever is seeing the ball well today will win. Haven’t had a drink myself since Sunday.
When Kubel proves he can hit LHP with some consistency then you can complain all you want.
This season against LHP
Kubel: .232/.330/.374 .704 OPS
Cuddyer: .246/.372/.308 .679 OPS
So Kubel hits LHP better than Cuddyer
if the idiot wanted a RHB in there instead of Kubel, he should have gotten Ruiz who is batting .273/.351/.394 .745 OPS against LHP and does not need a walker to got from 1st to 2nd
Louie:
The name is Buscher……dumbass.
Hey romer….welcome to the Twins Support Board…
BTW La Velle, my wife/gal says I’M the weather expert….
:)>
Just had a buffalo burger (indigenous prairie non-urban food) and about to sip out of my Twins cup.
I’m warm now…….
At your service, DrDon.
Be right back.
It is getting close to game time….33 minutes to go….All TWINS FANS…stand up and yell…GO PUPS!!!!!!!!! Right Now!!!!!!!!!
Prediction: 6-5 Twins victory. Breslow gets the win. Nathan the save. Span is the game MVP, 3 hits, 1 HR, 3 rbi’s, and robbing Konerko of the game tying home run with an over the fence catch to end the game. Danks is gone by the 4th inning after giving up 4 walks and 4 hits. Twins hang on to a 6-2 lead after Blackburn leaves early. CWS commit 2 errors, but really have 2 others the scorers dont count, leading to 4 unearned runs.
The MADDOG MUTTS WILL HEAR US….YELL NOW……GO PUPS!!!!!!!!!!!
Go PUPS!!!!
I’m stoked.
DrDon, you’re crazy…love it.
Right Buff. Gardy must be playing a hunch here. Get some payback for the big money Cuddy’s earning. If he gets on, pinch run immediately, that’s got double play written all over it.
John Swan,
go eat some all bran, a banana, an apple or 2 or something…
Buscher is a Butcher on the field (his .937 fielding percentage makes Lamb’s .970 look like a gold glover) and has the worse OPS of any Twins in September with .578.
Are you related to him somehow?
hey romer….good job on the buffalo burger….good stuff….had grilled salmon with fresh vegies for pre-game meal….salmon swim best upstream…PUPS will RULE against the ChiSux….
PRE GAME IS ON!!!!
LETS GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tampa Bay…Tampa Bay………LET’S PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GARDY’S WARMING UP! ! !
He’s ready to relieve Blacky if necessary and battle his tail off! ! !
Cal’s on our side.
Right, says. He thinks that coin flip is b.s. also.
They had better have a damn good reason to have a Sox october commercial but not a twins one.
LET’S DO THIS!!! they hit danks hard, and they need to get on the board early to keep the crowd quiet!
thanks ….says…..I love the Twins. LET’S GO PUPS!!!! PLAY LIKE MADDOG MUTTS!!!!!!!!! Go MUTTS!!!!! Go PUPS!!!!!!!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!
What is the over under on how many times Cuddyer will strike out tonight. I say twice. Geez Gardy. Kubel would have been the much better choice. But this is what we get from a manager that keeps pitching Guerrier when his era over the past 2 months is approaching NINE. I bet anything Gardy’s fall bowling league starts soon and he does not want to be inconvenienced by a pesky thing called the playoffs. Perhaps that is why his history of losing in the first round of the playoffs is so great. Time to BOWL>
Please pass the beer pitcher and chips.
1 thing is certain, boof and Guerrier will not be pitching tonight. Cannot be trusted
Gardy playing hunches like when he puts Guerrier in the game. Sorry. Said 2 months ago Guerrier was the new Rincon. If only Gardy could see the light, we would ALREADY be in the playoffs.
hockeydude, then go bowling….hope you get 7 -10 split every frame.
10 MINUTES!!!!
4 minutes till the PUPS route the Sux….C’mon MADDOG MUTTS!!!!!!C’mon PUPS!!!!!!!!!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!!!
I think the fat lady is Cal’s sister.
wow….. ozzie is capable of tears? he was crying during the anthem?
Prediction: Nick Punto hits a line drive off Danks wrist. Not sayn’, just sayn’
A few days ago, I went and looked at the stats of our starting lineup for the previous 30 days. I used Buscher at 3B and did not count Harris, Tolbert, Cuddy, Everett or Redmond.
So, our 9 starters had a .297 BA for those 30 days.
After the Sox sweep, they KNOW they’re good too.
I still refuse to criticize any of our players at this point. They have done everything they could. And it hurts that Morneau/Young/Casilla are a little banged up.
But still, they came through. I don’t care if they get beat 9-0 tonight, I will refuse to call any of them out. They’re young, so their mistakes are forgiven.
And they all play hard. If they have a mental fart tonight — no matter what their age — I don’t care…….they got us to this game. No one beat them in the regular season for the Central pennant.
Enjoy, people.
We’re gonna win Twins, we’re gonna score
We’re gonna win Twins, watch that baseball soar
Knock out a homerun, shout a hip-hooray
Cheer for the Minnesota Twins today!
We’re gonna win Twins Give it our all
We got the Guys who’ll knock the cover off the ball.
Let’s hear it now for the team that came to WIN! Cheer for the Minnesota Twins TODAY!
Watch this on MLB Gameday at the same time so you can see the strike zone. We’ve been getting screwed BIG TIME on balls and strikes according to MLB’s computer. If that happens tonight, I DONE with baseball. Give the small market teams a chance by making it a fair game. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Werd romer.
Ladies and Gentlemen: May I introduce to you the MADDOG MUTTS, from the great Minnesota Twins Cheering Section!!!!! The PUPS, representing everything good about Major League Baseball!!!!!!!!! (In spite of Bud Sielig, alias dirt jerk). Go MUTTS!!!!! GO PUPS!!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!
We’re gonna win Twins, we’re gonna score
We’re gonna win Twins, watch that baseball soar
Knock out a homerun, shout a hip-hooray
Cheer for the Minnesota Twins today!
We’re gonna win Twins Give it our all
We got the Guys who’ll knock the cover off the ball.
Let’s hear it now for the team that came to WIN! Cheer for the Minnesota Twins TODAY!
Great Job, Dan….
ok DrDon,
i’m here, lets do this thing!
You too, Pat O’Brien!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Shawn….Good evening….romer is here too.
Well, here we go.
Sometimes it takes a little luck to win a ballgame: knock on wood, kiss a 4 leaf clover, cross your fingers, drink whiskey - whatever it takes.
This should be gooooooooooooooooood!!!!!
Mauer has to go 0 for 7 tonight to lose the batting title. If he goes 0 for 7, man oh man are the Twins gonna romp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kinda reminds me of the Star Wars bar scene….all these black, evil types lurking.
One inning at a time, one batter at a time, one pitch at a time, easy does it - focus!
Great AB Span!!
Get him home!
Span camina y ahora, Casilla, que no camina!
This is supposed to be the intimidating wild Sox crowd? Hah, the dome crowd owns this crap.
Danks with too much adrenaline already.
Casilla needs to work on the bunting.
El picher tiene mucho nervios y los Gemelos deben tener paciensa.
SOB!!!!
Blah, good try with the hit.
Gardy with bad luck.
OMG, ye’ve gotta be kidding me. Run us out of any momentum just like ye did against Oakland the 1st game of the playoffs. This guy never learns. Idiot.
Ein glückliches Spiel für den Weißen Sox - verdoppelt Spiel!
Not a quick inning. 15 pitches.
Ok Blackburn time to put up or shut up.
Wenn dies, auf Wiedersehen Zwillinge fortsetzt.
Liner to 3rd. DP.
You know which way luck’s going tonight.
They’ve changed all the views on MLB.tv and it’s a BS strike zone. And MLB Live isn’t even showing the strike zone. Hmmmm… glad i’m not paranoid or i might come up with a conspiracy theory. :o) GO TWINKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S. Why steal with Mauer and Morneau coming up??? Stupid.
good play for the white sox-very good? play
Meine Deutsch ist nicht so Gut
Dang
Span/Casilla were at least OK. Mauer might be a little pumped. How can ya not be?
Let’s see how calm Blackie looks.
Excellent 1st pitch.
Excellent 2nd pitch.
Gardy ist ein stummer Kopf!
Ok now we need a DP.
Terrible 3rd pitch
Orlando is a twin killer, he just keeps getting on base…
Pull Blackburn now. Slider doesn’t slide.
yes 0-2 count….shameful
hanging hanging hanging
0-2 again…
Wir brauchen ein doppeltes Spiel! (we need a double play!)
Time for the Blackburn guy to bear down….C’Mon Nickie!!!!!!!!!
Ump is being ultra selective!!!
Pull Blackburn, he got a DP
Haha well that worked!
Stockton is terrible. He’s already been wrong on 2-3 pitches. He used to be very good but has gotten very old fast.
YESSSSSS!!!! Great DP!!!!!!!
That’s a great play
Doppeltes Spiel!
strike 2
Punto fired up like a quarterback after that DP.
keep on keepin’ that ball DOWN
Cmon Joe, the youngster starts the game off with a walk and you chalk up a K, whats your deal?
He is hitting 94 on the gun…
Stockton is still NOT as bad as the jerk off on ESPN.
94 mph heat coming from Blackie towards Dye’s knees.
Dye tötet uns!
Now was that such a chore?
Good inning for Blackburn…
Aus!!!
Other than that hanger, very fine inning.
Nice inning Blackburn.
1 down 4 or 5 more to go Blackie. Now get’em some runs!
Erdball zu Punto, der zu Morneau für das rauswirft.
Ich mochte eine Beir bitte
attendance check in time for TWINS FANS!!!!!!!!!!
DrDon In Moorhead, present.
Chopper two hopper.
Time for Cuddy to hit one out of the park, and I don’t mean a foul ball…
Morneau needs to hit the crap outta the ball tonight.
Lets get the line movin….
Das ist eine gutten inning, ja?
Let’s just hope that Morne doesn’t swing at the crap…
in Binghamton, NY
Blackburn has been the man this year. if his record was a little better and he didn’t have those couple of hiccups I’d call him rookie of the year. The guy is a gamer and gutted out 5 innings his last time out. He has pitched the most innings this year by far and has shown consistency. He is the best guy for this situation and I know he’ll keep it up. go nick go!
Sux fans KIND of hate Morneau…..
Missed on that change up…
ja sure, ya betcha, Deutsch!!!!!!
YUCK
Morneau, stop swinging at pitches that are out of the strike zone…
Wow WTF Morneau?
Morny looked awful. Picking up where he left off. I guess the day off didn’t do him any good.
romer, kind of the same way we “love” AJ!!!! LOL
Crap
in Sutherlin, OR (for one more day)
Two really poor at bats to start this inning.
4 and 5 hitters may kill us tonight.
Oh I’m in Lake Zurich, IL.
Holy crap, stop looking so desperate with the swings at the plate. Middle of the order looking b-a-d.
DrDon, romer, Shawn, any other real FANS here???? We are the old timers…
At least Delmon hit the ball hard. Offense looks cold…
Mauer and Morneau clearly arent mentally ready for this game (and Morneau has been mentally out of it for ages). The game will be decided by what contributions we’ll get from the other guys - Young, Harris, Span and the other pirahnas (and maybe even a surprise from Cuddy, wouldn’t that be nice?)
Come on Blacky…Hang another Firestone!!!
i hope Cuddyer can have a useful at bat this game
Hey, and howdy to Agate and Shaun, welcome aboard, Twins Fans. Let’s hoot and holler for the MadDog Mutts, OUR PUPS!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!
Thome should have struck out on that pitch, come on.
strike 3
Wow, ump is being tight with the zone. Sounds like he has that rep.
Come on Twins, do what Gardy says and battle your tails off and really get after it!!!
Go Twins To!
He threw strike three TWICE!
Strike four!
strike 4
Agreed…
Thome gets alot of calls
second out of the inning…be careful with that pitch
Now if the Twins hitters would realize the Ump is being tight with the strike zone, they might stop swinging at crap
Agreed gatty. Beautiful pitch. I’ll take the walk off Thome though.
Blackburn man of the year…yeah…sigh young
Hi gatty, Tim, and MD!!!!!!!!!! Thome will never get a called 3rd strike…
need to be more careful with pitches
Okay, that pitch is a strike to griffey but not thome
first pitches I meant
Very good point Matt. Morneau was swing 3 feet off the plate.
beautiful
Blackie pitching as well as Danks so far.
Only thing is, when Danks makes a mistake, it’s unhittable cuz it’s a ball. When Blackie makes a mistake, it hangs a little high over the plate.
nice replay of yesterday….talk about grooving one
Pitch the Cuban missile inside, he is almost standing on the plate…
Mauer is a smarter catcher the Ramirez is a hitter.
Now remember, this inning should have ended already since Thome struck out twice…
C’mon Blackburn FOCUS.
not another walk…
But a nice pitch gets out of the inning.
AJ, thank you.
Good thing A.J. pulled a Mauer and grounded out when it matters 
way to go AJ
come on twins get some runs!
very nice 4 out inning by blackburn
thanks AJ
gotta like it when AJ grounds out on the first pitch…ends the suspense
That was AJ Peroxide’ great at bat….:-)
Well at least the sinker is working, 3 ground ball outs in 2 innings is not a bad ratio
Twins butterflies just about gone now. Now we play.
That’ll work.
Time to get to Danks-after this is the 1st time he has pitched on 3 days rest, at least at the MLB level.
This ump is VERY picky and his strike zone is the size of a stamp with Blackburn.
No doubt pitch to Thome was strike 3.
DrDon’s in Moorhead? So am I…guess the Spuds are representing well…
*after all
Dare I say it, but if Blackie continues and we somehow pull this off, I like him as our 3rd starter *gasp*
Clean slate! Go hitters! Clog the bases.
Dye, Konerko, Griff Jr have all crushed balls and Paul’s didn’t go out because he hit 8 miles in the air. Dangerous foreshadowing? Have the pen ready because the strike zone is small.
ok, PUPS!!!!! TIME TO ROCK AND ROLL, with the MadDog Mutts, and romer with Buddy Holly and the Crickets….
So with the umps and the fans wearing black - what does this mean? Homage to Blackburn or homage to the infamous “Black Sox”
Twins Fan in SoCal
funny you mention stamps; Nick will be stamping the corner the rest of the game and give us a major chance to win
“Pitch the Cuban missile inside, he is almost standing on the plate…”
Plus he steps out of the box before his first pitch to rankle Blackie. I’d-a hit him on his knuckles.
medschool matt, knock on wood NOW!!!
Hi Tim…gotta love Moorhead Spuds, and I live by Concordia where the “scenery” is awesome on beautiful fall evenings…BUT, I will try concentrate on the PUPS!!!!!!!!
“Cuban missile??” more like a “Cuban Pencil!!”
Who am I? Houseke?
I already knocked on wood - you’re talking to the guy who wore the same shirt 3 days in a row during the ChiSox series last week
I believe there is a mix up on this site - i am suddenly TC fan in LA
2 ball fours he cut at….our hitters DO NOT look comfortable in the least
Punto with a good AB.
Justin with the weight of the world on him in the dugout. Somebody cheer him up.
I am NOT “TC fan in LA”
ball 4 Punto
Great at bat by Punto.
nice AB though…Danks is overthrowing this inning
Hell of an AB Punto.
Anyone think Go Go is due for another cycle trip?
Way to battle Punto!
Gomez needs to remember how much he likes hitting against the Sox.
DrDon gets an “A” in Social Observation class.
I don’t care what the announcers say…Danks’ pitch count his huge
May not be due, but let’s not forget, he DID it once, so can do it again. GO GOGO…..
Gomez,,,Cycle??? 100-1 odds…NOPE
update on pitch count guys?
Dang, someone needs to break up this no hitter…
That was lame.
why not bunt gomez?
c’mon SpanMan…..
well, still has a few more tries i guess
Could the Twins make their outs ANY EASIER!?
Gotta get Dinks to throw a bunch of pitches early on - his stats show that he gets worse and worse as he gets deeper into the game.
Lot’s of weak grounders and pop ups. Not much good contact the first time thru.
I think that TBS is way over-analyzing this game.
Danks with a no hitter…….
:)>
All black clothes in Sux Field….will be bad luck. TWINS will WIN!!!!!!
Danks has 50 pitches in 3 innings
No hitter through 3. Danks making these guys look sick. Oh, wait! They ususally look sick this time of year.
Any takers on whether Morneau will get a hit?
If you’d have said the only hitter the first time through the cycle to hit the ball hard was Young, I’d call you crazy
romer….Big Deal….seen many no hitters thru 3 innings. and lost big time. GO MADDOG JUNKYARD MUTTS!!!!!!!!!
lilbiscuit,
Morneau will get a hit…sometime in April 2009.
WOO BLACKIE KEEP IT GOIN!!!
There’s the curve
GREAT inning for blackburn!!!
That inning was quick. C’Mon let’s score some runs!!!
Nice quick inning Blackie. Let’s drill some hits this inning.
Good Inning…Blackburn will get tougher, Danks will get rougher…ed up!!!!!!!!
Anybody able to get MLB Gameday of this game? For me it is saying it is unavailable.
1-hitter for Blackie through 3.
Offense help Blackburn out!!!!
Gameday is working for me…
Who do you think the Rays fear the most Twins or Sux?
TBS has rights…gotta find that…channel 52 here in the Hub of Western Civilization……..Moorhead, MN
Got it, Thanks
40 pitches for Blackburn
Twins, since they are a team built to play in a dome.
“Black Out” Blackburn is pitching a heckuva game so far.
Make him work Lexi, geez.
Twins, Buckwheat.
Bring in Everett.
O bunts the so far for Span, Lexi, Go-Go. Got to try it tonight boys. It’s cold, wet and your not power hitters. Put some pressure on the D.
Yeah, TBS, the reason Danks is painting the corners is because of the ump…
cmon someone start something…
“romer….Big Deal…”
No-no, DrDon. I was doing the jinx thing on Danks.
Boy, Mauer is swinging like a rookie!!!!!!!!
somebody is kidding right?
Wow Mauer Ks twice already.
Not good.
Twins may never get a hit today. Horrible at bats all around.
That was too easy.
Pitiful at bats by Maurer and Morneau
They are making EASY for Dinks - grrrrrrr!!
Make the switch to Buescher at first???
Blackie 40 pitches (in 3 innings) Dinks 58 pitches (in 4 innings)
Joe Mauer sure is clutch in big game situations, like in the 2006 ALDS when he went 2-14.
And Justin Morneau further proves why he shouldn’t be considered an MVP candidate
OMG Joe what is your deal? You wanna get benched for Reddog? I’d do it now!
God those two need to have good AB’s the rest of the game two k’s for Mauer WHO IS THIS GUY?
Maybe the debate shouldn’t have been Cuddy/Kubel. Maybe sit Morny and play them both (Cuddy or anybody at first).
He looks lost.
Ok who is going to be the heroes for the Twins on offense?
Mauer has been watching Morneau too much.
Morneau couldn’t hit off a tee.
WTF?
The law of averages states that the White Sox will not go homerless for long…
2-11, my bad
Morneau is out of sorts and in a MAJOR FUNK.
Mauer and Morneau looking really good.
I may have jumped the gun when I suggested that Blackburn be removed in the first. Let’s hope he keeps it up. We need that since the Twins batters forgot to come to the game.
I’m guessing they get no-hit tonight, not looking good at all.
Mauer and Morneau are too quiet with the bats and personality wise.
Here we go, 2nd time thru for Blackburn
you think, lilbiscuit? he’s the only reason we aren’t getting shelacked right now
here it comes, I can feel a big inning for the Sox…
I DO NOT like seeing my team hitless after 4 innings in a tiebreaker against an 11-9 pitcher. Why the suckage?
Speaking of 2nd time through-Twins really seem to have problems adjusting to a pitcher 2nd time through.
Danks is a guy we should be able to 2nd and 3rd time through.
Who ordered up all of these bitchsox fans?
Wow we got a K call on Thome!!!!
Sox fans please go back to:
Watch out Blackie because all Paul is doing is swinging for the HR.
arschlach…ignore their comments…GO PUPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Caught a break take advantage!
Damnit Lexi!
Casilla sucks!!!!!!!!!!!11
So there’s your rookie brainfart, as predicted. No harm done though.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS BLACKIE YES YES YES SCORE SOME EFFING RUNS!!!!
Nice inning again Blackburn!
Lexi is off the hook for that bad throw. Maybe the breaks will go our way tonight.
OK. Here comes runs. Bottom of the order is going to get it going. I’ve got HRs from DY and Gomez.
I like puppies….and I’m hoping that’s how the Sox finish the game, the pit bull in the doesn’t come out to play!
1 more inning Blackie and then bullpen them to death. Don’t give the top of the order another look at him. 3rd time is the charm.
Time for the Twins offense to wake up…
Can’t watch the game does Blackburn look as good as his line would indicate.
How about a couple of hits!!! Lets GO!!!
Yes Rod he has.
Yes Blackburn is very good
Cuddy with a lead off double…
Holy cow Cuddy with a double!
Cuddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cuddy get him over and get him in
Ok…so much for the Kubel theory.
Cuddy was the right call I guess.
That’s what I’m talkin’ about!!! YEAH!!
Too bad Morneau and Mauer have sucked. That coulda been an RBI.
Cuddy does some damage!
Cuddy looking fleet-footed in both AB’s. Wow, just in time for the playoffs.
Young going for a ton!!!!!
Cuddy smashed the cap off of that ball…
When isn’t Delmon behind 0-2??
What did I tell you? Blackburn is a gamer - now if the hitters would just show up…
AgateHunter…great web site…Cuddy 2 bagger, bring him around…I borrowed a cold one from this inning….LET’S GO MADDOG MUTTS!!!!!
that works
Good ‘ol Delmon, swingin at everything!!
If the Twins don’t capitalize on the lead-off double, I’ll be mad. At least Cuddy got to 3rd on the fly ball.
Moved the runner over, now we need a deep fly ball…
Please get Cuddy home!
come on brenden
Take advantage twins!
Cuddy looking fleet-footed in both AB’s. Wow, just in time for the playoffs.
WTF WAS THAT !!????
Good Try, Guys, I would have done that too!!!!!!!!!
i agree with the call to send him too bad aj held on
Yeah, try to tag up on about as shallow of a fly ball as you can get.
how hobbly does cuddy look?
Dang it, don’t run cuddyer, stupid, stupid.
We just can’t give away enough outs today…
What moron sent Cruddyer from that shallow fly?
Twins will lose for sure.
Don’t have a beef with Ulger. But it was too shallow — therefore a pretty easy throw for the veteran Griffey.
worth a try! Opportunity lost however!
FIRE SCOTT ULLGER!!!!!!!! WTF WAS HE THINKING???!!!
Back off, Corey, if he would NOT have tried, you would have complained, so stop it….right call, nice try, good hustle. GO PUPS!!!!!!!!!!
If Blackburn can somehow get out of this inning, I think the Twins will win the game
I still go by the rule of thumb of not making the 3rd out at 3rd base or home.
A hit would have gotten him in.
Awww, cuddy, lead with the forearm on that hit!!!
interesting that this is technically a regular season game and yet they are using 6 umpires.
Scott Ulger needs to be fired NOW. He was a terrible hitting coach and a HORRIBLE third base coach. How many blown calls have we seen this year JUST LIKE THIS?
I wouldn’t have complained. At least Blackburn is responding well and got a first out very quickly.
When you got Mauer 0-2 and Morneau 6 -40, you have to take chances1
AJ is shot an idiot. Does he want to fight Cuddy? he’d lose. Then don’t go lunging at him to show him the ball. He did what he had to, run the catcher over.
You’ve got to take the chance on Jr’s arm though when runs are so hard to come by. It almost worked. Everything had to be perfect.
no, it was not worth it. just gave sox a ton of motivation. should have accepted that harris did not get the job done and let punto try to get him home. it was first eff’n hit of the game for the twins. think they have a lot more coming?
Knock it off….That was absolutely the right thing to do. So cool it.
how close or not was it?
Pathetic….the way they’re playing that might have been their 1 opportunity to score tonight.
WTF announcers Johnny Damon Would have thrown Cuddyer out at home on that
One more out to get out of this inning…
Cuddy had a better chance of scoring on Griffey’s old arm than with 2 outs and Punto up. I wished it had worked.
Moron Michael Cuddyer, that was a dumb play, stupid.
Nice inning Nicky!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to shut them down!!!
BLACKIE IS DEALING HONESTLY ONE RUN COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS ONE
62 pitches through 5 for Blackburn…
Quick side out for the Sux….HERE WE GO MUTTS…..
Need to keep Blackburn up a couple runs going into the bullpen innings….or else you know what.
That was perhaps the worst home plate collision I’ve ever seen. Cuddyer should be flat out embarrassed. You have a chance to knock Pzierzinski into next week and you do that? What was that? I don’t even know what kind of collision that was. That was so bad. Learn how to plow someone over because that is as bad as it gets.
blackburn responded well. now time to get some hits.
This is beginning to feel like Game 7 of the ‘91 World Series
Griffeys speed is not the same but his arm is, that pop fly was waaay too shallow to tag on.
Well regardless, we now need a big inning. Blackburn is so far throwing a gem on the biggest game he’s ever been in, and to have it all for naught would be sad.
Now, how long do you ride Blackburn? Do you give the top of their order a 3rd look at him? They’ve hit some balls hard in the middle of the order. Or do you start throwing everything but the kithcen sink at them from the pen?
Thoughts?
Anyone think Morneau might get a BIG hit this game?
Alright, Punto, don’t square around to bunt, it’s predictable like the Vikings running the ball. Swing away man!
Blackie = Black Jack
Twins need one of those freak HRs
that was a key bottom half-inning for the twins there. take the mo back from the white sux after that play at the plate by peroxide boy
NO, that was NOT the right thing to do. It was a shallow fly ball, and you just knew Ullger would send Cuddy. BS.
Sorry I like the play
I also think that you will probably go nuts when Punto gets a hit to lead off and then we take the lead!!! Go Twins!
Surprised they sent Cuddy, but not a debateable point in my opinion. Griffey’s arm isn’t what it used to be. It wasn’t that great a throw. Skipped to AJ from very shallow CF! It very easily could have worked. With one hit to that point, odds were better to send him than to expect hit #2.
Okay Punto, really get after it!!!
Guerrier and Bonser are warming up.
Wipron,
No.
Pitching count:
Blackie 62
Dinks 72
I agree he should of said screw the run and went helmet to helmet!
There’s that warning track power popping up to left!
I wonder if Baker could go an inning or two?
This game is cruising along..sheesh. Not good to be the road team in these ones.
Twins hitters are really helping Danks pitch count now…
We’re gonna Win TWINS!
We’re gonna Score.
We’re gonna Win TWINS,
Watch that baseball soooaaaarrrr.
Crack out a Homerun,
Shout a HIP HOORAY!!!!
Cheer for the Minnesota
Twins TODAY!!!
Let’s Go TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!
Gasoline and sparky are warming up, heh.
No way Carlos, way too shallow.
Pirahna’s sharp teeth
Bite great White’s soft fat belly
Small and fast is good
This is a lucky Hakiu, I posted it before the Chisox series in the Dome.
If Gardy brings in Guerrier, Boof, or Crain he should be fired while they are running out to take the mound.
BTW - The wind is blowing IN at 10mph.
OMG, please don’t post that gay song.
Good at bat for span
go deep lexi
Please don’t let Guerrier or Guardado on the field.
pitch count update guys?
81 pitches by Dinks - we should begin to see some hitting action or walks.
Say it ain’t so Guerrier is up? Please let it not be true, really?
Before the game, Gardy said Baker could go.
Bonser coming in?
What your posts folks. The blogs are screwed up today and you might have someone else’s name in your comments — like the one a couple minutes ago listed as mine.
For a righty, I’d use Baker for an inning. If we need a lefty use Breslow and/or Mijares both before anybody else.
Carlos, I have been having the same problem…
No guerrier, crain, boof, every other year eddie. Please for the love of all things good and just in this world!
Go!!!!!!!!!!!!
I keep getting “TC fan in LA” on mine
Mauer should shock the world and swing at the first pitch meatball he gets every at-bat because they know he doesn’t swing at first pitches.
I think AJ made a great short-hop scoop to save the day.
Good god, Casilla’s swing was way off the mark there. Still nervous.
2,3 and 4 hitters rippin’ it up!!! 0-7
Twins need to wake up offensively…
Whoa! They sure are making Danks look good.
This team is worrying me a ton - they cannot hit consistently well in open air stadium and guess what kind of stadium they will be playing in starting next year at home.
casilla’s at bats have been generally horrible since he came back from DL
C’mon Twins. We need another scoreless inning from Blackburn, and hopefully Mauer and Morneau can do something, as impossible as that seems these days.
ALRIGHT BLACKIE 1-2-3 KEEP ROLLIN!!!
What a great game….1st time in MLB history a playoff tie breaker game like this is scoreless after 5 innings….LET’S GO MADDOG MUTTS!!!! GO PUPS!!!!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!! -;)
Wow! These guys are making Danks look like the second coming of Whitey Ford.
Dinks has 87 pitches after 6 innings
damn wish I’d know they had the Twins broadcast before this on XM
Hi, I am Little Miss Sarcasm. Please tease me!
Nice catch by Morne
Okay, Morneau made a defensive play, now he can match that with a home run next inning.
I am not myself tonight - help!
Wow, McClellan is f**ked tonight on balls&strikes.
Maybe they should just have a coin flip on every pitch.
nice to see him do something
Two plays by Morne…
Blackie looks great ! ! !
Morneau making up for his pathetic lack of hitting.
Blackburn did his job tonight!! Big Game Pitcher!! Way to go Blackie!!!!!!!!!! 1 more inning??
AHHHHHHHHHH YES BLACKIE MACHINE FING MACHINE!!!
If Danks is the second coming of Whitey Ford than Blackie is the 2nd coming of Greg Maddox.
I know I’m Mr. Negativity, but Mauer and Morneau are going to come through big time this inning.
Wow, Blackie. Who knew? C’mon boys, let’s light the scoreboard.
He’ll be out for the 7th
Okay, Blackburn is dealing right now. The twins offense needs to wake up and have good at bats. Stop swinging at the high stuff Mauer and stop swinging at the breaking pitch on the outside Morne…
Got a funny gut feel that Cuddy or Young are going to do something special tonight.
SoCal - TC Fan in LA here. i just got your id and email. let’s not share that info, okay?
Does this remind anyone of game 7 or 91 world series (with the obvious differences)
please score here
yes, please tease me, that sounds like me…..
the broadcasters have mention the homerun comparison a dozen times….that means the twins will out-homer the sox.
3, 4, 5 hitters!!! Do SOMETHING!!! Like get some HITS!!! L E T S G O ! ! !
let’s go M&M boys! do it! i want at least 2 runs scored by the twins this inning. that or danks throws his arm out!
This is the make or break inning for the Twins. If they score I think that the Twins will be playing the rays on thursday…
Time to borrow from this next inning again gang…grain group time!!!! LET’S GO MUTTS!!!!! WIN TWINS!!!!!!!!!
Morneaus do for a big hit, i say he jacks one tonight.
71 to 87 Blackie v. Dinks pitches after 6
nick blackburn is REALLLY impressing tonight. they sure are playing like a playoff team. yet so is john danks :/
Very poor at bat for Mauer. Work the damn count!
Blazing speed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At this rate, Mauer will go 0-8 and lose the battle title.
Mauer isn’t that fast, that was kind of dumb.
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Work the count!
Morneau looks awful
Two really horrible at bats by two of our best hitters. Unacceptable.
that bunt by Mauer was pure desperation by this team when there is no need for it….terrible. Morneau has his eyes closed
Gardy should gather Mauer and Morny and do the Moe thing - grab their heads and clunk them together.
I’d say stay with Blackie until 2 men get on???
1 hit through 7 innings? Good God…
They are not big game players period. Not yet. Hopefully next year.
Twins won’t even break into the crappy white sox bullpen before the eighth. Mauer and Morneau may have just lost the game with those two at bats.
This is going to go 20 innings - no surprise - neither team does want this thing!!!!!!!!
what a bunch of chokers…the meat of the line-up sees 6 pitches.
so much for getting into the Sox bullpen early…
Argh!!!!
If it weren’t for his defense you’d have to think about get Morny out of the game. I know this is crazy but he’d not even close to helping.
Poor hitting. Not working the count, Danks can still pitch 8th. Swinging at low balls in low counts, we are lucky we are this far without a score.
Don’t know how much more of this I can take, anyone else thinking of game 7 ‘91?
I’ve seen this tooooo many times this year, one of these innings the Sox are going to start off with a double and put a few digits on the board, please don’t let it be true!
Wow…. Renyolds is calling a griffey shot…. talk about unbiased…. I knew I hated him
MORNEAU SUCKS!!! 6 - 41!! Big Game Player there!! Great time to be in a slump! Guess we wont see any good swing out of him until Spring Training!! That inning was WEAK!!!!
93 pitches by Doinks
nice game plan that inning gardy! what the hell was that? you have mauer the A.L. batting champion butting as the lead off guy. come on! weak
Blackburn is gaining a lot of Rookie of the Year votes tonight. He’ll finish 3rd.
Cool it, let’s remember that our opponents are major leaguers too, as are out PUPS. Let’s get ‘em out quickly again Blackie!!!!!!!!
Why MUST the Twins make it so damn easy?
6 pitches WTF?
Good game no matter what. Perzinski bobbled the ball but they’re not gonna call that unless it’s obvious (ie comes all the way out of the glove) so good call on all parts. Why does Punto keep trying to go deep??? I smell drama/maybe a lonnnnnnng game. Hope not.
“1 hit through 7 innings? Good God…”
And the Twins can’t hit in open air stadiums, blah blah…
Sux had 4 hits through 7 last night in their open air stadium.
Blog is effen up like Twins 3-4-5 hitters. I am not Buckwheat.
Pretty pathetic display of offense.
yeah, im sure gardy had him bunt on that,thats all joe.
Blackburn needs a quick inning.
this is where Blackburn finally gives in…too bad we couldn’t have got him any runs…
The Twins do NOT have classic number 3, 4 or 5 hitters. Mauer - a 2, 6 or 7, Morneau - a 3 or 5, and Cuddy - a 3 or 6.
This is the inning to be nervous. All big boppers getting a 3rd look.
THIS GAME IS PHENOMINAL!
What happened? Did I get banned? None of my comments are coming through.
I am not Buckwheat.
And the game is over…
there are some outsiders using some of your id’s. We are TWINS FANS and this is a great game.
WHOOPS GUESS NOT
Mistake pitch up.
Congratulations Sox on winning the division! blah!
Here we go!!
Thome. Poop!
That probably is enough.
sorry…called it right…
Good call “Tim”
…as I was saying!
Hey i’m not libiscuit.
Game over…
Thanks for playin’ boys….see y’all in Ft. Meyers.
This game is NOT over
Game over!!
I just don’t get it. What is going on with Morneau and Mauer. Are they in the same bowling league as Gardy? It is not like Danks has over powering stuff. Morneau is an obvious head case so I expected this from him. I thought Mauer wouldn’t let the pressure get to him.
The way to Twins are batting, Danks will have a complete game shut-out in about 15 more pitches!!!
Scew the Tribune with their messed up blog.
Twins had this game served to them on a silver platter, but the offense could muster only one hit. That is pitiful.
Hope this wakes up the Twinks.
I’d pull him now. He did his job.
Twins hitters not doing theirs. M&M obviously. They could be done for the night.
Give Ruiz/Kubel a chance instead of Harris?
Too bad I cant see the game. Just checking in on the webcast. Unbelievable. Both teams cant hit because both teams are way too tense at the plate. Bad news for us I’m afraid. I dont think there’s a snowballs chance the Twins score a run. I really hope I’m wrong though. Can I revise my pre-game prediction now? Is that allowed? Sort of like a default credit swap?
Go Twins. Prove me wrong. Bailout out my overleveraged bad prediction….
wish it could be different…can’t put much blame on Blackburn, though. He’s pitched great…much better than ever could be expected.
Thome could have been a Twin if POHLAD WAS NOT SO CHEAP!!!!!
I am not sold on Morneau - this is (almost) OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Offense is to blame.
Relax…PUPS will come back with about 6 in the next inning.
Keep Blackburn out there. He’s pitching awesome and made one mistake pitch. If the bullpen is brought in this game will get out of hand in a hurry I can guarantee it.
WHy didn’t cheap Pohlad sign Thome. Watch Carl Pohlad cut the payroll another 21 million this upcoming year. All to help pay for his share of the stadium.
That Thome HR was so predictable it’s almost laughable.
Yeah, why TF would you throw him ANYTHING to hit? WHY? There was no one on base, he’s the first hitter . WHY?
at least the M&M girls did not go down without a fight.
DrDon is nutz.
Blackburn pitched his heart out, but thier inability to have good at bats in consecutive plate appearances has perhaps sealed the Twins fate.
We are now going to see some pinch hitters or replacements - but who for who??
6 more outs and the White Sox are in the playoffs.
…that said, this game isn’t over, either. Unless the Sox put up another couple of runs, I think the Twins tie it up and we go extra.
Thome wasn’t a free agent-Sox traded for him.
Goodnight Blackburn-great effort.
White Sox have now doubled the number of twins hits in 1/3 of an inning…
Alright Nicky….You did your job…Time to exit
They got players, we didn’t. End of story. Told ye so. (part 5)
Don’t give up don’t ever give up
GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone else find the TBS guys annoying as all get out? They’ve been homers for the Tighties since about the 2nd inning.
I thought it would be a double before the homerun, just backwards. Either way not looking good for the Twins wiffle bats.
I hope they have Breslow or Mijares warmed up to face A.J. Pierzinksi.
Okay, that pitch to Griffey was up too. Maybe it is time to bring the BP in so they can make this a blowout.
KG Jr (aka “I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth”) is going in for a pedicure and massage.
The whole light hitting Twins team is to blame. Delmon Young….nice year. Production WAYYYY down. What a terrible billy smith trade. But hey, at least smith got us Guardardo. When you look at it that way. Smith and Pohlad do not deserve a playoff spot.
Tough luck, but the twins didn’t take advantage of their chances and that cost them…
lefty…is it Mijares?
Oh, DrDon, relax? WTF, are you gonna go and hit? No one is interested in your lame scolding.
WRONG move!!!!!!!!!!!
Mijares.
Play BALL!
DrDon, kind of a dry night for ya? You have command permission to wet the whistle. I’ll beat ya to it.
I hope so (Mijares). And use him for more than just one batter, since he’s been good for us. Crain = I need TUMS
The Twins had a chance to get Thome…..
Thank you Blackie. No one could have asked for a better game than that from you.
This game is on the hitters right now.
DrDon, let’s change it up for the bottom of the inning. Drink left handed or skip an inning.
Gardy is a fool. This was not a game to wait for trouble. He should have had a plan to remove blackie after 6 and go mijares for 7 and 8 and nathan for 9. With this line-up you need to keep them off balance. Go with the lefty damnit. How stupid to roll the dice with the hot hand. Yes he pitched awesome, but you could see his velocity down and pitches start to hang. It was only time. Gardy lost this game!
The Sux will surpirse the Rays because it’s a short series. I see them getting mowed down by the Angels in the ALCS.
Lukebrayden…..that is the very favorite quote of mine, compliments of the late Jim Valvano. GO TWINS!!!!!! Jimmy V loves you too!!!!!!!!!!
Get those wiffle bats out Twins. I’m guessing of the final 6 outs, 4 are ground-outs to 2nd base and 2 are pathetic strike outs.
get out of this inning one run down, twins still have a chance
all of you who think it is over why are you still here–you probably have better things to do now that you think this is over see ya
Of course Majires will suck right here.
what can a guy do? Blackburn was great
as long as Crain never appears in a Twins game again…
So, who should NOT BE BACK next year?
Young?
Guerrier?
Bonzo?
Everett?
Bushcer?
Yeah, if Mauer and Morneau showed up today, and we actually put up 2 or 3 runs, we’d be talking right now about how great Blackburn was today.
Guerrier = Straight Jacket
THis is a BIG out
Gotta have it
So many people giving up already - this is the same team that was down 6-2 less than a week ago and came back - I’m not counting this team out. They just need to get on base.
“Light hitting” is not what’s hurting the team - their approach tonight hasn’t been strong. They need to make an adjustment and be more patient, start slapping the ball to get on base. The Twins haven’t needed home runs all year, and if they start swinging for them in the next couple innings, they won’t score anything.
Get ‘em on, get ‘em over, get ‘em in. You can score a run without a hit, and the Twins have done it time and time again.
Guerrier, Guardardo, Crain, Everett.
man do you give up easily on the Twins. I know they have not been lights out, but the Sox bullpen isn’t the greatest either.
let mijares pitch to uribe. no ibb. cabrera is a really tough out
Year is on the line. All pitchers available. Why is he pitching lefty to Uribe????? Idiot
Time is running out!! Time to get some hits!!!
Steve….The Twins sucked against KC, and they can’t hit a lick tonight. Sorry, you can think otherwise, but I smell a shut out.
Yes
come on bats get us a couple
Twins don’t score this next inning, they lose the game…
Very LUCKY there!
can’t wait to have mijares for the whole year.
Their bullpen generally isn’t good…But the Twins are about to face their best two guys, both of whom are very good
i trust mijares more than any righty in the pen other than nathan and it is too early to go to nathan.
WAKE UP OFFENSE!!!!!!
Twins don’t score PERIOD they lose the game.
again, the Twins will tie this up and send it to extra innings…
…then we can talk about what’s going to happen after that.
If all the Twins do in the offseason is improve their bullpen they should win the division. If they can add some power or a legitimate 3rd baseman then they will be serious contenders.
I’m still upset about the Mauer bunt…Terrible.
I think mijares has earned the eight inning job for next season
Now that the seasons done, Boof can hit the road to start his presidential campaigning. Boof the Goof 08! His first mate can be Guerrier.
Yes…interesting Reyes did not get the call. That speaks volumes for next year. Reyes is on his way out.
Delmon in a hurry to get home.
Twins are soo tight, they couldn’t pass gas!! Nice at bat Delmon!!
Thank goodness. I’m doing a shot every time we screw up or Chicago does something positive. I’m soooooo wasted!
LoL, this game is just like the whole season. Why didn’t we at least get home field for having a better head-to-head record??? In football, we’d have just gotten the playoff spot. Makes the 162 games seem sorta meaningless.
nice at bat demon
Poor at bat by Delmon, again. That has been the theme of this game.
All this talk about Danks on 3 day rest and Twins with a day of rest - BS. The Twins forgot to bring their bats!!!!!!!
Why did Young even go up to bat
Mauer ….. sigh. No wonder he isn’t even mentioned as an MVP candidate even though he won the batting title. He just isn’t clutch.
who has speed if harris gets on - pridie?
at least the hitless angony will end tonight, instead of thursday, friday, a sunday.
Finally another hit for the twins
omg
Gomez needs to piss the Sox fans off and launch one NOW.
Denks is having a great game… not so fast though, LoL. Nice hit. Here we go!
The Young trade will go down as Billy Smith’s worst call of the year so far. Smith is an idiot compared to Terry Ryan.
Sane,
If you’re out there tonight I hope you just heard Harold Reynolds chastise Delmon for the first pitch swing in the 8th. Something we’ve seen way too much of in crucial situations this year. But I’m sure Harold doesn’t know that Delmon is 23 and his coaches want him hacking!
Go Twins!
There is NO Team in Baseball that can take an ORDINARY Pitcher and turn him into a CY YOUNG type of pitcher than our beloved TWINS!!! Nice hit Harris!!
This is just like Game 1 of the ALDS a couple years back. One mistake costs our starter because our offense was miserable.
Neither is Morneau. I liked to see the Twins put Cuddyer and Perkins together in a nice trade package for some veteran with pop.
Crap, there’s one out.
Don’t want to hit and run, but what can ya do?
BUNT?!?!
No, the Twins want Delmon Young to produce. Something he fails to do consistently. And he is like Willie Norwood in Right Field.
calling a punto HR - right now (getting desparate)
Can we still pick up Darryl Strawberry to bat this inning? or is it too late?
Punto for the love of god get a hit!
Punto gonna hit another fly ball to shallow LF? He needs to chop it!
A double for Punto would be nice…
Punto HR….someone got a new lid.
Nice HR Punto
PUNTO SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Twin Killer!
damn, i think its over
Mauer or Morneau will get the big hit in the 9th to tie it up…
Well, at least the twins made it to game 163. I am guessing that Kubel will pinch hit for Gomez, but the Twins offense has cost this young twins team a playoff berth…
Can somebody please tell me why Nick Punto is still batting in that situation?
omfg punto!!
I woulda pinched Kubel there.
Good job Punto.
Nathan now? I would.
So, if the Sox win, who’s gonna be your team in the playoffs? I’d like to see the Cubs win it all, although the Brewers, with C.C. Sabathia, would be fun to watch too.
Typical Minnesota
Yes, no 6 runs this inning. Bunch of idiots posting here.
Bob,
Punto showed Gardy a new stash of blackmail pics before the game today.
If there is ONE guy on the Twins that does not want to bat again, it’s Morneau. In fact, I’m predicting Morneau makes the last out of the year!! On a weak a$$ grounder to second, with the tying run at third!!
winners know how to win and the twins look for ways to lose
I said “chop it” not “slop it” no bat control tonight. And we STILL need on RP and a 3B. How much would Beltre cost NOW??? Prob’ly more money (the way he hit) but at least not two SPs. And we’d win 2-3 World Series with that combo and the young SPs maturing under Anderson(who i still think should get Manager of the Year over Gardy!)
think we can get Garza back for Young? we need someone cocky like Garza to give this team some energy. Mauer, Morneau, Perkins, Slowey, these guys would fall asleep in the dugout if it weren’t for, well, actually I think they do fall asleep in the dugout.
Playoffs?? you guys are talking about playoffs??
Game over
Game over
Lotta faith in Mijares.
morneau’s grounder will only make it to the pitcher for the last out.
Maybe next year, the Twins won’t choke away the division title.
Very good point Craig….Too mellow and nice for situations like this it seems…
This is a BIG NO SHOW by the Twins hitters and it begins with Mauer and Morneau! Not just their inability to hit tonight but NO LEADERSHIP. This team misses Hunter and Santana, not just for what they do on the field but for their presence and influence in the dugout!!!!
If all fails, we still have the Vikings. Oh wait, they still have Childress as a coach. Maybe the Timberwolves will win big this year, lol.
If only we could have won one of the NINE games Guerrier lost in his bullpen suck fest. Guerrier needs to go the way of Rincon.
Thankfully, Mauer and Morneau won’t get up next inning.
It has to be Mauer grounding out to 2nd to end the season, it would be his 4458th groundout to 2nd base this year, all weakly hit.
Time to empty the bench, eh?
Sox may get into the playoffs but they are not winners. If they were they would have won a game in the metrodome. Sox will be out in the 1st round.
this sounds like sour grapes, but why is it in baseball the season does not mean anything, if this was the NFL, this game would be in the dome.
Twins offense went into a come during the last series in 2006-which carried over into the ALDS.
Twins offense has done the same thing in 2008.
Still a chance though.
Casilla will be the last out - but if they can get someone on second with less than 2 outs, then we have something.
Majires needs to be our setup man next year!
Okay, the only pitcher I would replace the kid with is Joe.
I envisioned a south side riot yesterday because of a blown 9th inning, I will keep the faith until the last out.
but for all the complaining just one more win against the Royals and the Twins are in Florida.
S—!
every other league, they do it by head to head or records; baseball does it with a coinflip and a 1 game playoff >_<
Jose Mijares is the Twins setup guy next year. Wow he has been impressive…
LoL, Corey (T-Wolves). This is gonna be a hella division next year if the Royals continue to improve. Imagine, if Cleveland had kept Sabbathia, this game might not have been necessary. But I think we have BY FAR the best team if we get a 3B and RP and avoid injuries. If that happens, I’ll start buying shirts, etc again. Hard to go to games from Ohio though :o(
I bet we will have some idiots posting that we still have a chance an hour after the game is over. Sorry, 2 hits in 8 innings. Pathetic offensive explosion.
I already called Morneau hitting a weak A$$ grounder to second, with the tying run at third, to end the season!!
I won’t be mad if they lose tonight, I didn’t really expect anything from them. I have come to expect this type of performance this year…at least we can’t blame this one on the horrible bull, or should I say, baby seal pen.
Rod,
I have been saying the same thing. Blew it against KC.
About Guerrier, he was used too often as a set-up man, or in high-leverage situations once Neshek got injured. With Neshek hopefully back from injury next year, and Mijares around for an entire year, Guerrier can go back to excelling in mop-up duty, and perhaps we can trade Bonser?
somebody should be fired for saturday and tonights performance.
Sweet! Only three more outs for Nick Punto and Adam Everett in a Twins uniform!!
Now, can we get Gardy to resign? (As in quit, not extend his contract.)
I never considered Morneau as an MVP candidate after these past weeks of nothingness (Span and Gomez did a lot more for us to comeback those final weeks), and at least if we lose tonight, someone more deserving, like Dustin Pedroia can win it.
Twins are 10-8 vs Sox this year.
This game should either be played in the Dome or not at all.
Or……One less outing by Guerrier would have sealed our spot in the playoffs.
I am looking forward to FatBoy coming in to pitch at the top of the 9th!!!!!!!!!!
Can the Vikings maybe try out Nathan at QB???
okay…and why did they bring Nathan in????
Sux crowd looks like a prep school soccer match in England.
Only a 93 mph FB on the swing and a miss.
Brought Nathan in to give us a chance. He’d pitch 3-4 innings tonight.
why do i think blind kids would have a better cance of getting a hit then kubel, span and casilla in chicago…
Not Joe Nathan at QB. Let’s sign Joe Mauer as a QB. He was a great QB in high school, and maybe he can perform in the big games as a Viking as he obviously doesn’t as a Twin.
Let’s take this rivalry to the next level, plunk Thome.
You know when the last time was that a Minnesota team advanced in the playoffs, the Vikings in 2005, beat Green Bay
Dang….if only Cuddyer would have knocked the crap out of AJ Pussinskee.
F’n SCORE!!!!
When will MLB learn that baseball in October isn’t a cool thing. It’s stupid, just like baseball in October. Look at how cold it is there. Now, can we really expect the best baseball to be played when guys are wearing parkas under their jerseys???
Mauer wins the batting title and carries the team, and he gets dumped on. You guys are nuts. He’s the best Twins ballplayer most of you have ever seen.
nathan’s in because in this situation if we somehow miracusly come back you can use Baker as your closer….
Well, maybe Gomez can get an XBH and get something going…
Sorry, that should’ve said just like baseball in April.
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s deflate the Fat Boy!!!!!!!!!!!
Gardy….what a game. Battle our tails off. Great pitching. Needed a little more offense but that is the way it goes. Seeya boys…I am going bowling.
p, that’s further proof that Mike Tice was unappreciated during his tenure. At least he coached us to big game victory, instead of none.
Jimmy Valvano: “Don’t give up!!! Don’t ever give up!!!”
Gomez: bunt hit
Span: bunt hit
Mauer: double (Gomez scores)
Morneau: ground out (Span scores)
Cuddy: fly out (Mauer scores)
…Twins win!
TBS got a good game for free with this one…
Bottom line is that if either of M&M don’t come through in big games such as the playoffs, why even get there?
I want the WS, not just another measly playoff run.
Done posting till post game.
Mauer the BEST….are you kidding me. He is not clutch and has the personality of a zombie. No fire whatsoever and tonight proves it. These guys needs to be aggressive..and Mauer bunts…gotta laugh at that.
Terry Ryan was the guy who convinced the front office to finally bring up Mijares.
Morneau is the best Twins player. Just because he had a couple bad weeks means nothing. The guy has carried this team in the second half.
theres a hacker in this site again
I would have let Gomez hit…..
If the Twins would have done ANYTHING before the trading deadline, we wouldn’t be playing this game. Put the blame where it belongs. MR BILL SMITH and CHEAP A$$ POHLAD!! One more time;;; Morneau hits a weak A$$ grounder to second, with the tying run at third to end the season. Ends the season on a 6 - 42 tear!! .143BA! AWESOME ..Jason is it??
Ah, the good ole days of last week.
my name keeps changing everytime i try to post!
Kubel at lead off? OMG, horrible when ye’ve got an auto lead-off guy batting. Gardy’s an idiot.
nice job kubel
Dang it, if you see a name other than yours, don’t post with it.
Kubel with the predictable strike out…
Wow, Kubel sucks.
It’s fitting that Nick’s last at bat with the Twins was one in which he had a rally-killing double play.
PLEAE let Mauer end it on one of his weak groundouts to 2nd base
Oh well, Gardy ruined my scenario. So much for managing a game. The guy’s a moron.
I agree.
That is why I would have let Gomez hit. A bunt and fatty would not be able to handle.
Dang it, this game is over. Great game by the pitching staff. Horrible, season ending performance by the offense…
Non-tender Kubel. No Kubel in 2009, please.
Nice SEASON TWINS!!! Proud to call you MY TEAM!!!!
I hope Gardy makes the Twins watch the White Sox celebrate so they can remember it for next year.
God I wanna puke.
Screw you Twinkees…At least Pohlad can’t make more money.
Pathetic.
No excuse for the lack of offense, but I had fun this season and will be back for next season…
Nice season…that is a comment for losers.
Is it now ok to say the game and season is OVER?
Good job Blackburn.
Attaboy Mauer and Morneau
Good season
I freakin hate baseball
I’ve obviously forgotten more about baseball than Gardy has ever known (if he ever knew anything). Batting Kubel for Gomez was the most ridiculous move i’ve seen all year. What an overrated idiot. F Gardenhoser. F this.
what a choke job…..
Twins NEED OCTOBER GUYS!!!!!!! Mauer and Morneau have a TON TO LEARN!!!!! Nice year - let’s make the right moves for next year and let’s take the division and pennant then!
No, that is a comment for those who settle for mediocrity.
CRAIG: KISS MY ASS!
The choke job happened over the weekend. Twins were expected to lose tonight and they did.
Another chapter in pathetic MN sports, hey at least we have the Vikings who might win 3 games, the Twolves, who might win 13 games, and the Wild who traded everyone to get a bunch of washed up old 45 year old men. At least we consistently know we will have horrible teams!
The TribBlogs made it too easy for jerks to make asses of several on the blog….trust me, they will change their blog methods. Several jerks took a lot of fun out of this for many of us, and I now know. So for now, good night my friends, and to you interceptors that did not dare identify yourselves….SCREW YOU!!!!
Congats on a totally putrud offensive effort. That was depressing. But really was it any different that what we saw against the Royals or much of the last month with the exception of the WSox series? Long cold winter now.
Pieces of sh*t. Get a tema leader next season.
Congratulations to the White Sox. Ozzie was great.
At least one minnesota team had a chance to make it into the playoffs…
CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE. Twins 1 and 3 during their last 4 games. They do not deserve a post season berth.
Good luck Rays, I hope you loose.
The White Sox deserved this game more than us. Think, if Carlos Quentin, who was for sure the MVP, didn’t break his wrist by getting frustrated after hitting a foul ball, they would’ve won the division a week ago.
The Twins at least proved those who assumed we’d finish last place without Hunter and Santana wrong, and we did have a good season.
Now if only the Vikings could follow the lead, and stop being underachievers every year. They were picked by many experts to make it far in the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl.
top of the ninth, down 1-0 and in need of a base runner. and the eff’n idiot pinch hits with a oxen
At least i have my friend Jose. And they’re not interviewing those idiots Gardy or Perzinski.
Wow, coinflips, win vs. KC yadda, yadda, yadda.
One Thing Matters
2008 American League Central Division Champions
Chicago White Sox!!!!!!!!
But remember.
There is only one October!
Enjoy watching US Losers!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, whatever happens I hope with the most fervent of desire that both Chicago teams get swept in the first round. I hate both of them with the heat of a thousand white hot suns.
Bring on the goat. For both of them.
Nice interview by Thome, he might be the only guy they’ve got with an ounce of class….sure would’ve looked good in Twins Pinstripes….
thank-you!!!! for NOT letting the bull-pen give up the game.
Wow, no runs guys? Really? 2 hits? Come on, give Blackburn something better than that to work with. He pitched a hell of a game.
At least Thome hit it, he’s one of the nicer players. This game says it all, WE NEED MORE OFFENSE. Upgrade!
Another chapter in pathetic MN sports, hey at least we have the Vikings who might win 3 games, the Twolves, who might win 13 games, and the Wild who traded everyone to get a bunch of washed up old 45 year old men. At least we consistently know we will have horrible teams! Very bad!
Wipron…I bet you are a loser in life also.
All of ChiSux.. yeah, we beat you in the season series, lost by one run at YOUR stadium, you getting all the calls, and with your payroll (that’s double ours). But you have fun getting swept by the D-Rays. LOSERS!!!
The choke happened at home, they had a chance to lock the division up against the Royals and didn’t close out. Get ready for some over the hill free agents to give the Twinks a new look next season.
We made it to a ONE-Game Playoff and POHLAD made a lot of money!! What else is there??
Congratulations to the White Sox. They were the better team tonight. And congrats to Nick Blackburn for a very gutsy performance. He earned alot of respect from me tonight.
All of Chicago,
I didn’t realize people who lived in trailers could get the Internet.
Rays in 3.
Pissed that right down there legs! Hit the effin ball!
Yep were losers.
Funny I dont hear Loser When I hear
2008 American League Central Division CHAMPIONS
After/before 2010 for next Minnesota playoff victory, The way things are going I’ll have to say after, unbelievable
All things considered the Twins had a heck of season. They need to make off season moves because the Indians look good as does the Royal (good bullpen with a great closer). Sux on the other hand will be older and slower.
If Gardenhire praises Danks and says ‘We battled our tails off’, I’m going to shoot myself in the big toe. I shoulda done it in ‘Nam, but now is not too late.
This was the only 1-0 game the White Sox won all season apparently.
The koolaid drinkers can now be happy and wait till next year. For me, I am pissed that our big trade was to get Guardardo, Pohlad cut the payroll by $21 million and Gardy pitched Guerrier one game too many. Pohlad needs to ante up big time next year. We need middle relief…shortstop and third baseman. The trading away of Bartlett in addition to Garza was a HUGE mistake by our idiot GM Billy Smith.
Yeah, Thome getting the hit is the only thing that makes this tolerable. He’s a class guy and a good player (when healthy). Hope the best for Jim. The rest of that team and their manager can get sucked into the abyss. Classless bunch of whiners, thugs and idiots. Plus they’re from Chicago…. Grosstown, USA. And their pizza sucks arse compared to NYC!
I stayed away here this on purpose, because I figured the second guesser’s would be out in full force.
Everybody thought tonight’s game would be decided on pitching, boy was that ever wrong.
Blackburn and Danks looked incredible tonight. Left nothing on the field. It’s too bad one mistake cost the Twins tonight.
No disagreement sending Cuddyer on Griffey’s arm. It’s too bad he didn’t pay attention, he probably could’ve dodged AJ’s tag no sweat.
And why not PH Kubel? Gomez hadn’t done anything all night, and we know how he can get in a tight situation. I’d rather see Kubel (who has a chance to pop one out) than Gomez (who just as easily could drill himself into the ground) on that play.
I liked seeing Gardy go to Nathan in the 8th. Mijares had been able to get the heart of the Sox order before, but that wasn’t after an inning of work. And at that point in the game if the Twins can’t muster one run in the ninth it doesn’t matter WHO pitches because it’s game over anyway.
And I don’t care what the Whiners try and say. This was a hell of a season by the Twins. They lose Hunter, Santana, and Neshek halfway through…and with guys like Span and Casilla (who everybody figured were gonna go nowhere after 07) came back strong.
But this game was a perfect summary of the AL Central race…two teams that were doing everything they could to lose it, and by the simple fact that games don’t end in ties SOMEBODY came out on top.
Sucks ass that it wasn’t the Twins.
hey
it’s over
relax
but let’s run the idiot manager and the coaches out of town…
this game is a perfect example of a lesson the Twins front office never seems to get: That is, you cant win forever playing small ball, you need to have a couple of boppers who can win the game with one swing like Thome did for the Sox. Mauer and Morneua will go in slumps, you pirhannas will not always come through, PLEASE cheap ass Carl: spring the money to get a bona fide right handed power hit,,, break the bank if you need to,,,,not a retreat, but a real bona fide power hitter
and I am going to puke if someone here says, well, we should be proud of the Twins this season, we never expected to be here,,, that is trueh, but the last month and a half this team stunk,, and I dont blame the players, I dont blame Gardy, I blame cheap ass Carl who will not do what it takes to win
minnesota sports team do not know how to deliver at clutch time. blackburn did everything you could ask, but the hitters and coaches did not show up. running cuddy on shallow pop up, letting mauer try to bunt, pinching hitting for gomez with kubel.
Good game. Blackburn and Mijares were fantastic. You guys do realize its possible for the other teams pitcher to pitch well too? When we don’t score it isn’t always gardy’s/punt’s fault. Sometime the other guy pitches well and danks was great tonight. If Blackburn goes 8 with 2 hits then hes a hero but when the other guy does it its Gardys fault…
I am gay…any guys wanna go out?
Garza will suck in the playoffs. Sux will tee off of him.
man DrDon,
whats happening here?
Was a great year, a good game. Twins will fight Cleveland for the division next year.
my only beef is Morneau coming up small the last week.
I hope MLB looks at that stupid coin flip rule. I don’t think it decided the game today, but come on, that has to go…
CRAIG: are you the same MORON that kept saying to trade Morneau for pitching?? Yeah, your a brain. My comment was made Tongue-in-Cheek. I’ve been jumping on people all year about being happy with “GOOD ENOUGH”!! I’m NOT! The front office screwed this season by not doing anything except counting their profits!!
T,
Gardy better be history tomorrow, that’s all I am saying…
I can’t wait to sit back with a cold one and enjoy the baseball play-offs. Go Brewers…Go Cubs… What a rotation set up for next year.
Craigs last post was mine.
How do you know Garza will suck? At least he is in the playoffs.
The offense was a joke tonight. Only one runner makes it to second base, thats pretty sad. But in all honesty this is the same thing that would have happened in the playoffs. We don’t know how to hit in the clutch and make the mistakes from other pitchers count. Blackburn was the MVP of tonight’s game because he really gave us a chance to win. I think it was a great move sending Cuddy to on that play. They had to make the perfect play and they pulled it off. We all complain about Childress not going for it on fourth down with the game on the line, we would have said the same thing here because punto would have hit some weak groundall somewhere or struck out. Two hits is pretty worthless. Might as well have substituted Santana for Blackburn tonight and it would have been the same result. You dont win any games when you score 0 runs!
I think all of the REAL twins fans on this blog will agree that this was a good game, but one team had to lose and this time it was the twins.
Dear Morneau and Mauer: it’s hard to hit with two hands around your neck.
Kind of felt like whoever broke the ice would probably take the game…if Cuddy knocks AJ into next week, who knows….overall a really great baseball game, 2 pitchers just dealing tonight, too bad one mistake costs us the game. All around pathetic offense by both clubs. I just don’t know what to say right now, hard to watch it end this way, but things only go up from here. When do pitchers and catchers report?
Go Rays…
And with that comment, I’m done for a while. I can already predict what the next few weeks will be:
1) Whining about “one game”, failing to realize the Twins won just as many they shouldn’t have vs. lost.
2) “Chicago fans” who are really the common trollers posting under different names.
3) Craig.
Until the offseason, go Tampa. Do what Colorado couldn’t last year and finish off the Cinderella story.
I bet this is what all the losers are going to say…..no one expected the Twins to be here…blah blah blah. Fact is there were in prime position and choked. That is a fact. They blew it and should be pissed. Enough of this sugar coating rainbows unicorns and lollipop crap. They had a job to do and FAILED. End of story…end of season.
Why does my name keep changing. I like my Guerrier Sux name?
Chicago? Big payroll. One year run. The Twins will win the Central for the next five years. Celebrate while you can, sore winner. At least we don’t have to buy a title and we won’t get swept like you will vs the Devils (Ray). And your manager is a cartoon. Ours is just a pathetic, lovable grandfather (like the snowman on the Rudolph movie). We’ll be here for YEARS to come. This is “it” for you. Bye bye. Bye. Buh-bye…. BYE!
Great start by Blackburn. More than anyone could have expected. You knew when Casilla hit the bullet to third and they turned the DP in the 1st, it might not be our night. I wish Cuddy could have broken AJ’s arm with the play at the plate and jarred the ball loose. Good gamble by Ullger. I’m sorry but with Danks at 80+ pitches the batting champ can’t bunt the first pitch. And then after a 6 pitch inning, Delmon as usual swings at the 1st pitch of the 8th. We should have won this division by 5 games but the future is bright. Just think what the White Sox will look like in a couple of years with no Thome, Konerko, Buerhle, Griffey..etc. I hope the D-Rays kick the living snot out of the White Sox.
How many days to spring training?
6 more months til twins baseball. In the meantime we get one month of great matchups in the postseason. Hopefull the Rays embarass the Sox and win it all.
All of Chicago says: Enjoy watching US Losers!!!!!!!!!!!
We will enjoy watching you Losers!! See what happens when you forget that comma? You just called yourself LOSERS!!
“Ours is just a pathetic, lovable grandfather (like the snowman on the Rudolph movie).”
Best post of the entire Twins season. Thanks for the laugh.
Not to be a sore loser, but I’m putting money on the White Sox get SWEPT against TB.
Is there something about Minnesota that circumvents efficient offense? I mean, the Twins, this year’s Wild, the Vikings…
Christ. How can we actually remain loyal to these loser organizations?!
All of you apologists are missing the point…
Why do you keep score, why do they have playoffs and the World Series. That is every teams goal when you start the season. No other goal, not to finish second, not to almost get to the playoffs.
This is part of the pussification (that is right, I made up a word) of America.
Blackburn pitched great, but not good enough. His team needed a shutout and he could not provide.
We have no offense. Kubel pinch hitting for Gomez who only hit .257 for the year but could bunt or something to get on base. Kubel sucks. Flat out, he hit 20 home runs, but how many when his team was behind or within a run…. 4… 4…..
Matvick and Coomer and Smalley should be fired. Call out the team, call out Bill Smith who did nothing at the deadline and WILL DO NOTHING DURING THIS OFFSEASON. He might do something before the new stadium opens, but nothing in the offseason.
Cuddy couldn’t “knock” anyone into next week, because Perzinski was too afraid to block the plate (i still don’t know wtf the announcer was talking about). What a puntang! At least he only bobbled the ball and didn’t drop it completely. Gotta give the d-head SOME credit i suppose. HERE COMES THE TWINS DYNASTY THOUGH!!!
Bobby Kope…you on meds.
Angels beat the Dodgers in the World Series.
Maybe this will finally drive the point home to Twins management that great pitching and defense are important but you can’t win in the playoff (which is what this really was) without more than one power option. Especially when that guy goes into a slump as Morny did.
Hope the wait till next year doesn’t turn into 100 years like the Cubs.
In five.
The Twins offense did not show up tonight, the M & M boys especially. Justin has let his team down, everyone was just swinging away at bad pitches, too many first pitches. Why did they not hit for Punto in the 8th? Nice double play! Kubel, bad at bat as well, Gomez could have struck out. Blackburn pitched a heck of a game, one bad pitch and the Sox got lucky. Mijares will be great next year as the lefty late in the game and Neshek will be back in great shape (we hope) Twins need to make some moves, get some more power on this team. As evidence from tonight, look at what the long ball can do for you….
T, agree with your 9:05 post. Tough, tough loss in a very frustrating game. Was expecting them to lose, coming into this game. But was HOPING for the best. Oh well, it’s over. Just remember, it’s only a game. Maybe that’ll help ease the not-so-positive feelings going on right now.
Guierr Sux, you are right on the money,, I am sick of these people trying to put a positive spin on this,,,
this team does not have the goods, I dont blame the M and M boys,,, players go in slumps,,, thats why you need some other hitters,,, the Sox did not sit still, they were stocked and still went out and got Griffey, in case they lost someone, as they did with Quentin,, I am not sure Griffey made a difference, but winning teams dont stand pat like this miserable Pohlad and his butt boy GM
There was a day when somebody said, “Good game Marino, Don’t worry… You’ll get to another Super Bowl.” You better win’em when you can!
Agree about Mijares. He could be a heck of a setup man next year.
Angels are easily the best team in baseball. The Cubs are still the Cubs. And, Torre and Manny know how to navigate a post-season.
Angels over TB in ALCS
Dodgers over the Phils in Seven in the NLCS.
Angels over the Dodgers in WS, in five.
“Christ. How can we actually remain loyal to these loser organizations?!”
I used to be in the same church congregation as C. Pohlad. Maybe he’ll loosen some $$$ and get a 3B and/or SS.
He’s a nice guy and a terrifically responsible businessman. Just a little too ardent.
Congratutions to the White Sox. They were the better team. And congratulations to Nick Blackburn. He made me eat my words about him being able to come through in a big game. The Twins have a bright future if they don’t get the injury bug and learn to get a little swagger like Hrbek, Puckett, Gaetti and the good ole boys.
Thanx, Shaun. Too bad i have to be so intoxinebriated to be funny, or i’d be a rich comedian. Then again, there’s Ron White (the Tater)
I’d like to see the Rays and the Brewers in the series, MLB wouldn’t. Both Chicago teams will choke it away, Boston is not the same team as last year. Don’t want the Angels, they benefited from playing in an easier division than the Twins. Don’t want Manny in the series, maybe Philly.
Romer, if you’re serious, how about both???
thrylos,
i’m not gonna miss your idiotic posts. you’re the one guy on here that always manages to piss me off the most. gardenhire was given a bunch of a AAA players, a horrible bullpen, 5 starters under the age of 26, and the M&M boys. and you want to run HIM out of town?
keep wishing because gardy will be here until HE decides he doesn’t want to be anymore, or until a team with money buys him away from us.
And just think, tomorrow we all get to pay an extra 3 cents for a gallon of gas thank to our idiot politicians who voted for the tax. What a great day. The only way to salvage the week is if Childress gets fired.
maybe if Pohlad used some of his money to get a hitter rather than contribute to the Osama presidential campaign, we would do OK
The problem here is you never know when you get another chance,, we could not be in this position for years, look at the Tigers and Indians,
I remember when the VIkes lost the 99 NFC title game, you think they will be back next year,, well, they were back two eyars later in a weak way,, but you need to strike when the iron is hot
Steve, fair enough. But the Angels are just too good. They breeze to the title.
Maybe the twins could go after Orlando Cabrera. He would be a WS player next year…
It’s not losing that bugs me the most it’s the stupidity. Gardenhire is utterly clueless. 7th inning the Sox have two lefties coming up and he leaves in Blackburn when Breslow should’ve been brought in. Lefties hit around .120 points less against Breslow than Blackburn. Way to spoil a great and gutsy outing!
Then the thing I feared the most… Punto allowed to hit in a key moment. Even if Danks makes a mistake what can Punto do? Pop it up to 2nd? Ruiz, Tolbert, Everett, Pridie, anyone but LNP!!!!!!!!
Why so much anger and negativity, the Twins played their tails off.
Steve H, Rays and whoever….
Remember when AJ ran into that Rays player in the run down?
I do not agree with GArdy on every move, but this is not his fault,, we take the bad with the good with him and overall he did well, I blame Pohlad, who we taxpayers paid 300 million for a stadium and he cant even spring for some bona fide players
Twins won’t be in this position for at least another decade. And in 2010, these fans are in for a rude awakening when Jim Pohlad takes the same road that the teams in Cincy and Pittsburgh did after getting brand new taxpayer-funded stadiums.
Twins finish fourth next year. They finish last in 2010, when they have to trade Cuddyer, Baker, and Mauer because of contract problems due to a lack of fair ballpark revenues.
mightycasey,
Gardy is a loser… Period. If you like a losing team, support him.
This game should not have happened if Gardy managed like a major league manager for the whole season.
Period
If you are happy with almost runs and mediocrity, Gardy is your man.
Have fun
We have the brightest future in the division. Nothing can be assumed but to compare us to Detroit is ridiculous. We have these young players controlled and most of them are only going to get better. Think about next year we won’t have Livan in the rotation for 1/2 the year. That makes me smile by itself instead we’ll have Liriano for the whole year and hopefully he’ll be one step closer to ‘06 form.
Happy with everything that happened this season? NO
Happy with lack of trade deadline activity? NO
Want more power in the lineup? Course!
Want every facet of the team improved? Course!
Could of expected such a great season? IN MY DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS to the following:
Gogomez
Mauer
Casilla
Mourneau
Span
Baker
Liriano
Slowey
Blackburn
Nathan
and yes thanks even to:
Delmon Young (hope they dont listen to bloggers and trade you)
Uh, Kev, taxpayers are on the hook for $420 million, actually. Pohlad sprung for $130 million of the $550 million.
I doubt the twins will sniff the playoffs for a couple more years. cleveland will be real tough next year, if they can stay healthy. The tigers will be much better,the twins missed a golden opportunity this year to take a down central divison and may not get another chance for a while. Plus there is no way we hit over .300 with runners in scoring position again next year.
what a bad year,, TWins lose, and it loooks like that empty suit loser Obama will be our President, supported by Carl Pohlad contribution dollars, which should have been going to get us a hitter
I’m depressed but even so can see plainly enough that this was a wildly successful season for the Twins. Gardenhire did a masterful job and would win Manager of the Year if not for Maddon’s performance in TB. I’m looking forward to being competitive for the next few years. How many more days until pitchers and catchers report?
and here is a serious question:
(and I am on Mets’ radio footprint and I hear all of the ‘nicies’ from their fans)
Would you trade Justin Morneau for Wright, up straight? Yes or no?
Righting the bullpen ship is our biggest concern. AL Central was a joke this year becasue of terrible bullpens (Sux, Twinks, Kitties, Injun’s). If they don’t address this problem it will be more of the same next year.
Pohlad should have paid for the roof as well.
romer sounds good to me, I still would like Milwaukee in there otherwise what NL team would you like to see? Who is playing the best now? Cubs maybe? Angels and Rays in LCS, goes seven games with Rays winning.
So who wins AL MVP…..Sure ain’t going to be Morneau.
Frustrating to watch a guy like Howard, who also doesn’t see very many good pitches, take the Phillies on his back over the last month or two. Very frustrating.
Tyroid,
No. Morneau needs a solid 5th hitter behind him.
Gardy does suck. We counted at least 11 road games he pissed away this year simply by gross mismanagement of his bullpen. His problem is always the same: He’s always trying to prove that he’s some master NL strategist, with his double-switch mentality. And the problem is the guy has next to no baseball intuition. He really is a liability at this point, and that’s why the defense has gone south every year he’s had the team. He can’t manage effectively, and he HATES to teach. Really, he’s NEVER managed at the minor league level. Scotty would have been a much better choice.
I might traide Morneau for Wright straight up,, Morneau is just too dang streaky of hitter, you cant count on him for your every day banger
hes like Kevin Garnett, he cant carry the team on his own,, he needs someone else to play off of
I have to be honest–I’m not as sad as I thought I’d be. I think it has to do with a few things:
-the game was a good one
-Thome was the only White Sox I like and who is a class act
-They’ll lose to the Rays in 3, maybe 4 games
-Blackburn pitched in an important game and delivered big time
-ditto for Mijares
The worst part in this game, to me, was Mauer and Morneau. It didn’t look like they could handle any pressure. Mauer had some good swings, but Morneau looked lost the entire night. Also, Delmon swinging at the first pitch to lead off the 8th wasn’t the best thing to do in that situation.
Still, though, I feel good about this Twins season, even with all of the blown leads throughout August and September. I like this Twins team, and I think we’ll be pretty good next year, especially with our rotation.
Go Twins!
Hats off to Blackburn. He pitched a great game. The Wonder Boys for your Twins M & M looked silly……
But as the Twins announcers said Mauer has the batting title. As if the batting title was more important. And
the other M still in the running for MVP with the second most RBIs. Yeah, right…..
everyone who ripped La Velle for his objective non-HOMER takes on why winning tonight’s game would be so hard for the Twins need to apologize!!!
The Twins vastly overachieved this year the starting staff looks great, and the offense was much improved, the bullpen is what let this team down, time to shore it up in the offseason and make another run in “09″..
So Pohlad paid 130 million for the stadium. He shaved 21 million off the payroll this year. Probably the same next year. And he get the revenue for the naming rights. His net contribution is going to be ridiculously low. NOW GO GET US A REAL TEAM MR CHEAPSKATE POHLAD.
Wright for Morneau?
Absolutely. No question. Wright has struggled in clutch spots but that is the only knock on him.
I have watched the Twins all year and I have never, ever seen a batter consistently swing at the FIRST PITCH the way D. Young did……(Missing most of them).
Can the manager not get him to be more
disciplined as the Twins are suppose to be. Young and Gomez swing at first pitches regardless. Don’t give me the young and inexperience crap. They are in the MLB.
Delmon can’t pick up a foul ball at his feet when running.
In ‘09 Cuddy should be in LF; Gomez in CF and Span in RF. Young off the bench.
Alexi went backwards since his injury as well…….
Cuddy in left….only if he can hit. Not sure about that.
so, are there any RH power hitters we can go after this winter? I mean, assuming Pohlad would be willing to pay, which is make believe, but who would be out there this off season?
thrylos,
i love watching the twins play meaningful games in september, which is exactly what gardenhire has done in each of his 7 seasons. he has done this with marginal talent, at best. getting the most out of your team is what makes a manager successful.
your take that gardy is a “loser” is just another stupid statement to add to your pile.
Get Carl to pony up some big bucks and trade for A-Rod, he’s probably tired of playing in New York by now. Give the Twins some more home run power and could even let him go back to plying short. He and Beltre would look good together on the left side of the infield.
Ok, Gardy made stupid decisions this year (as he does every) but there are much worse, and he don’t get overpaid. We could’ve gotten Beltre and RP and won the division EASILY, buy balked. We didn’t play our best and lost the division by one game to a team that went out and spent on Griffy, etc and we’re all sad.
But we have our base, have a decent (albeit old, and boring) manager, have a new stadium (not me.. i live in Ohio), have the best, youngest pitchers in the majors (would you rather have the Mets bullpen?), and are gonna be the favorites to win next year, etc, etc etc. I’m drunk, psd, and half Polock and half Irish (so i dunno know if i’m more drunk or stupid), but this isn’t the worst scenario. We COULD have the Reds, Pirates, BlueJays, etc… OK? Let’s just get some sleep and argue about it next year. I dunno think there will be much to complain about. The glass is obviously half full.
But food for thought. How many times has Gardy made it out of the first round of the playoffs?
I was telling my brother before the game, I would much rather lose big than by one run
just a reminder that a manger makes a s***-ton of mistakes in games, let alone the entire season. the bottom line is that gardy makes more RIGHT moves than the average manager.
Diggity… great post! We’ll be back :O)
A few weeks ago, people were comparing Gardy to Mike Scoscia (sp) as comparable. Big difference, Mike leads a team and directs his team (including the calling of pitches), Gardy follows, suggests (his word not mine), and is talking to Anderson as Thome homers (while His coach,Lidle, calls the pitches). And please don’t tell me about payroll differences. Mike S. was the same manager when he had younger players. Gardy and the Twins are living on their reputation and not up tp it. And thanks Coach Lidle for calling that 2-2 change up to Thome, who later commented on Blackburn’s great cutter. This coaching staff, as I said last spring, is mediocre and must be replaced. The longer talented players are around them, particularly if they have any guts and/or personality above vanilla, the poorer their results will be. And ThaT’s noT whining!!
So to the idiot who thinks Buerhle isn’t classless:
Mark was just on the local Comcast feed. Luckily for Comcast, they were on a delay. He called the Twins ‘$h*theads’ a couple times then said that when the Twins swept “its like they won the World Series or something.”
mightycasey,
methinks that you are satisfied with a 1 for 6 record in the postseason as far as series goes.
A lot of us are not
It is as simple as that.
Go drink your koolaid, eat your lefse and lutefisk and be Minnesota nice about it.
And repeat year after year. ad nauseum.
mauer and the pitcher calls pitches. mauer looks into the dugout for pitchouts, etc.
thrylos,
are you satisfied with a world series, then 10 years of HORRIBLE and UNCOMPETITIVE baseball?
i’d rather take the team that gets to the crap-shoot every year than the team who sucks a fat one year in and year out.
i’m not minnesota nice. i know good baseball and a good product when i see it.
casey,
I’d rather have a team like the Marlins (2 WS in 6 years with major suckage in between) than the Twins (6 years competing and either not getting there or almost getting there) It’s much more truthful and less heartbreaking
but the idiot manager and his coaches gotta go
I’m feeling very sad. DrDon if your still here, do you have a pill?
Steve Liddle doesn’t call pitches… Joe Mauer does. Liddle only throws stuff out there, maybe a throw to first or pitch out, but Mauer calls pitches.
Yet some more learning-curve opportunity tonight for Gardy.
How in the world does he know how his young players will react/perform — Casilla, Span, Young, Gomez.
Don’t know what he coached them to do, but I would have liked more bunting and scrapping like opposite-field hitting and the like.
But maybe that was too much to ask of the these youngin’s. Or, maybe he asked and they couldn’t figure it out.
But, he hits and runs in the 1st but not the 8th. Looked like Tolbert wasn’t ready to pinch run in the 8th.
Such it is with these youngin’s.
Smalley said he didn’t understand some of the AB’s off Danks, and looked like hitters weren’t ready in their approach.
Once again, is it the coaching, or is it just them being to young to be composed and to execute.
Bill Smith will ask these question of Gardy and Vavra, I hope. And he needs to ask some questions of the Pohlads in the next 3 weeks and expend some of that cash reserve left over from this season and push the team to the next level.
No more Castro/Lamb/White/Ortiz/Hernandez stuff.
The idiocy of saying that the Twins haven’t won in all their chances in the playoffs is so ridiculous.
I LOVE the fact that the Twins build and develop and are in competition for the division title every year. The playoffs are a total crapshoot. Completely. The best team doesn’t always win. So that’s why I’m happy with getting there this often and competing. Getting there is all you can do. After that, it’s about timing and who’s hot and who is healthy.
So the idea that this organization is somehow flawed is ridiculous!!!
Thrylos - Would you rather the Twins go out and spend all kinds of money and trade the farm system and such? When is the last time the Yankees won a World Series? When is the last time the Mets won the World Series? How did that stupid thinking work for the Tigers this year?
“Looked like Tolbert wasn’t ready to pinch run in the 8th.”
Based on what?
And this whole YOUNG thing is stupid… Nick Blackburn is young. He pitched his best game. John Danks is young and he was remarkable the whole game! Denard Span walked twice, showed great poise… he’s young.
Stand up and shout
Let’s Go Punto, Let’s Go
MGR sank or swam with the AAA’er all season and you don’t bother to pinch hit him in the 8th with the season on the line. Ruiz, Redmond, anyone who could hit a homer…hello…the grit cost you but he didn’t slide into first.
Harris singles and you send LNP up with Everett, Tolbert, and Busher as Defensive replacemnts (tolbert shouldn’t have pinch run)and bat anyone with power.
How about ph Kubel for LNP and let Gomez swing away..he can at least hit a homer.
Let’s hear all you LNP fans meet tomorrow night in the Continental Diamonds Parking Lot and Chant “Let LNP drive you home”
163 game schedule and a dp in the 8th to get me through the winter. gotta love it!
Go Twins Go
Fifth 1-0 loss this season (most in the majors.) When that small ball crap went cold, it really stank. Thanks for nothing Morneau.
well, i like Mijares, Nathan, and Neshek for next year’s bullpen………
congrats on a good season and a good game. Next year looks bright. I got things i could bitch about but not tonight.
I refuse to dewell on the negative. I shall instead focus on the positive. A team that was picked at the beginning of the season to finish last in their division and win perhaps 73 games has just come within one win of the playoffs. Sure they could have/should have won the division outright without this playoff. We can all point to games they coulda/shoulda won, but didn’t sor one reason or another. That’s the way the mop flops.
This is a young, up and coming team that can only get better that should only get better. I’d much rather be Twins fan than a fan of several other teams I could mention. Yes, this loss hurts, but the Twins future is bright.
Thrylos98 I totally agree with your remarks & frustrations with the coaching staff and front office and especially LNP. The lame-oh Gardy lovers & Lets Go Punto crowd are complete idiots.
Looks like the multiple personalities are, again, out TonighT. Lidle sure calls alot of pitchout options…when there is no one on base.
How does a dose of reality feel Twins fans. Your team doesn’t deserve to be there. Deal with it.
Morneau still for MVP right Twinks fans? HAHA
Right, Reality, we have to deal with it. We should have went out and BOUGHT some future hall of famers to round out the squad and get that one more run which would have given us the division. Right, the DIVISION. Chicago fans were celebrating like they just won the World Series. But everyone gets excited when you BUY something you really want
I don’t like Chicago I just hate the Twins and there unrealistic fans.
That AWFUL trade with Tampa set the tone for the whole season. Who would think they could sink lower in left than Rondell White. And don’t give me this “he’s only 22″ crap either.
That “crap” should be “he’s only 23″, but that’s OK. I thought we came out OK.
Twins got an everyday left fielder and, in my opinion, an everday third baseman. We gave up a .250 hitter and a .500 pitcher, and we have a team full of those.
Great year, great team! As disappointing as this lost was, the future for the Twins is as bright as ever.
The off-season will be full of what if’s, but when opening day arrives BS will supply Grady with a team to succeed.
Right, JA. Probably sign a few cheap veteran free agents to plug some holes until a minor leaguer is ready to take over the job. Then we can dump them and see how far the young guys take us. It’s a tried and true method that seems to be working pretty good. I can’t believe we’ll suffer all those injuries to top players again. Maybe Mijares and Neshek would have won the title for us if they hadn’t had that bad luck.
““Looked like Tolbert wasn’t ready to pinch run in the 8th.”
Based on what?”
I thought I heard either TBS or Gordo/Gladden remarking that it took Tolbert a while to get onto the field.
Could be wrong though.
Typical twins fans, “Oh well we had a good year”, HA you did, you are golfing tomorrow that’s not a good year. Raise your standards you losers. I wish I could live in a state where the expectations are so low. HOW PATHETIC. Just like your Twins
Romer:
It takes a while to prepare to run real fast and turn left.
I Don’t expect to movement of the roster. Punto, Reyes, Everett are free agents, So we will most likely have Punto resigned, or go after a FA. Valencia and Plouffe are very close to being MLB ready. Both should handle everyday duties, with soild production.
Forget about the #’s, Plouffe will surprize people with how he’s developing, I’ve watch him play. Valencia, is flat out a grinder of player, does have a bit of an additude, but that’s not always a bad thing.
Is it March yet?
Reality, the only loser here is you. Go back to watching your Football, you twelve year old punk!
I’m sad cuz the baseball season for the Twins is over and I’ll have to wait 6 months to see them play again.
They sure had a great season of baseball, I don’t see how they can possibly top it for next year, but sure hope they do!
Thanks Twins for a great year. I’ll be counting the days until spring training.
I am a loser cause I got stand the Twins, really mature? I was running my own business tonight actually, not watching football or the Twinks. Get a clue, your team sucks, Deal With It, like an Adult.
Magic Number = 81
Only 81 more home games in the Dome until we’re outside where baseball should be played. Can’t wait for it.
thrylos wrote, “but the idiot manager and his coaches gotta go”
Go slit your wrists. Do you watch baseball at all? When this season started, I said that I would be happy with if this Twins team was a .500 team for 2008. They far exceeded my expectations. Yes, it’s disappointing…the coin flip is ridiculous, the Republicans coming to town forced us out of town for 24 days (but they will LOSE the White House so that will help make up for it!)
All in all, this was an exciting season-and agonizing one at times(that’s baseball). We showed up at the Cell, and Blackie gave a remarkable pitching performance in his rookie season in a hostile environemnt.Twins org is one of the most respected in baseball-due to our scouting, coaching, and talent and talent development. The haters on here who call me an apologist need to go jump off a bridge beacuse nothing will make you happy. Incidentally, deals aren’t made that easily-the GM deosn’t run to the RH power hitting 3rd baseman store and pick one up. Watch some tennis or bowling, haters, and learn a bit about the game.
Thanks Twins for another exciting season….I’d rather root for the small market underdog anyday. You did me proud in Chicago tonight-Sux fans really wanted a blow out. The future look very bright for the MN Twins!
whoops-lots of typos there! See ya April 6th Twins! Suck it, Twin haters and fair weather fans!
Good point, ML. Maybe if we’re more of an outdoor team we score that extra run or two we needed tonight.
I’m with ya, Dreamsleepeat.
But, can you figure out what “I got stand the Twins” means?
Hey Reality?:
The REALITY is this:
Small market Rays sweep Sux in four.
It will be so fun to watch the $133 million dollar aging Sux get swept by the $40 mil Rays.
Raise our standards, you say? You standards went in the crapper when you signed the Billy Idol wannabe throwing out 10% of the baserunners and getting into fights w/his rookie pitcher on the mound. What great team chemistry!
You run your own business? Those lemonade stands making a comeback! All right kid! Go get ‘em!
I love how heartbroken you are dreamsleepeat. It is funny, HAHA, Go Cry yourself to sleep, You are probably the same loser shooting your mouth off last night. We are going to do the White Sox just like we did last week. GO GOLFING LOSER. Join Morneau
Plus the sux were just good enough to wipe out your team. It doesn’t make your twins look very good to put down the team that just took you out. Think before you type.
THE SUMMER OF STUN, EEEEEEERRRRRRRR, I MEAN DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HA HA
i still cannot believe they sent a gimp from 3rd on a shallow fly ball. not the speediest to start with, but cuddyer misses over a month with a broken foot, a broken eff’n foot, and you run him to test juniors arm. that is some brilliant coaching there. and if cuddyer went on his own, that is still a sign of bad coaching.
Hey Twins fans!
If you don’t care for the posts of Reality? (see above) a kid from the slums of the South side of Chicago who trolla here on a MN board…please email him at his real name and email address: Davemaher@hotmail.com
If you a such a MAN, why not out celebrating in Chi town with a brewski?
Have a curfew, kiddo?
I wasn’t here last night…and I am hardly heartbroken. I am proud and came on here to talk to my fellow fans…not a 7th grader like yourself.
CRY CRY CRY
SEND ALL YOU WANT, I GET A BUNCH OF SPAM EMAIL EVERYDAY
How about this Jim Thome TOUCH EM ALL JIM THOME, TOUCH THEM ALL.
Congratulations to ChiSox fan on winning the AL Central.
And thank you Minnesota Twins for a great and memorable 2008 season. The grit and character this team showed fits with any of the champion seasons of this franchise.
I’m proud to be a Twin fan tonight.
dreamsleepeat, you are proud to not make the playoffs. You are a loser. So some pride and respect. I just talked to a Mariner fan they are also happy not to make the postseason. Well and the fact that they continued to work you losers. Pretty Funny,
where are u at, mr. tough guy dreamsleepeat, you give my email, and then you hide. TYPICAL TWINS FAN! BLAH
GO Play withyourself while you sit yet ANOTHER POSTSEASON OUT
thank you, seth speaks. it’s about time someone with some actual baseball knowledge steps up and says something knowledgable towards the game of baseball.
plus, thylros is an idiot.
i appreciate it, and i appreciate your website. good info on future prospects. thanks a bunch.
You can’t say we didn’t try to warn the Twins and Gardenhire about the Curse of the Cuddyer. Gardenhire’s foolish move of putting the clumsy Cuddyer in the lineup cost the Twins when he tried to score from third on the fly ball to center field and was easily thrown out. The Curse of the Cuddyer struck the team, just as predicted for weeks, and the Twins lost the division championship. Cuddyer should be traded before the start of next season to prevent the Curse from dooming them to further bad luck.
Cuddyer doubles and gets to third. Then he gets thrown out on a fly to shallow center. Somehow that means he shouldn’t have been in the lineup? THe Twins thrive with guys getting on base. Dank’s shut them down — even the big boys. This team has a great nucleus and future. One power arm in the bullpen and one more bat with pop and we’re pretty set.
Hey Bart — Happy October — Your favorite month — Happy Halloween
I wish some of you on the ledge would just jump already.
The Twins scored plenty of run this year. The hitting is fine.
Let’s hope Cuddyer brings some t-shirts next year that say:
163+! - No Excuses!
Realitys life is empty as most trolls are. It will be even emptier when Sox go nowhere in the playoffs. Sox only won because they were in their homefield. Pretty big advantage. Just ask the Twins when they swept the Sox at the Metrodome.
I’d like to thank all the whiners for trying to dampen the season. Why do you even watch the Twins they obviously don’t make some of you happy. Without a new stadium Twins would have moved. So instead of having a team to whine about Minnesota would have no team.
I’ll savor what this young Twins team has accomplished anyday rather than lament unfinished business!
