Twins-Mariners: Pregame Notes
Posted on August 5th, 2008 – 7:26 PMBy La Velle
Just got word that Livan Hernandez has cleared waivers, so the path is clear for the Twins to deal him. Colorado is interested. ESPN’s Buster Olney suggests that the perennially pitching starved Mets may be interested, too.
I’m not expecting much in return for Hernandez, but you never know how an A-ball guy is going to pan out.
Update: Now there are reports that there were claims placed on Livo. Looks like I’ll have to keep looking into this one. But someone who would know walked up to me today and told me that Livo cleared. We’ll see…If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But I acted on info I received…
Dennys Reyes, who looks like he’s aged 10 years, is still sick and it didn’t sound like he could pitch today. He said he had chicken and pasta for lunch yesterday that didn’t agree with him. “Worst day of my life,” he said.
Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey goes for the M’s tonight. The Twins signed him as a free agent only to watch him be selected by Seattle in the Rule 5 draft shortly thereafter. The Twins did land catcher Jair Fernandez from Seattle late in camp so the M’s could send Dickey to the minors, but Dickey is up and pitching O.K.
I would like to know why didn’t the Twins wait until after the Rule 5 draft to sign Dickey in the first place? Was it a procedural thing?
Bad news for Michael Cuddyer. Rochester’s game against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs tonight has been postponed.
Lineups
Twins (62-50): 1. Denard Span, RF. 2. Nick Punto, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Moreanu, 1B. 5. Jason Kubel, DH. 6. Delmon Young, LF. 7. Brian Buscher, 3B. 8. Brendan Harris, SS. 9. Carlos Gomez, CF. Pitching: Scott Baker.
Seattle (43-69): 1. Ichiro Suzuki, RF. 2. Jeremy Reed, CF. 3. Raul Ibanez, LF. 4. Adrian Beltre, 3B. 5. Jose Lopez, 2B. 6. Jeff Clement, C. 7. Wladmir Balentien, DH. 8. Byran LeHair, 1B. 9. Yuniesky Betancourt, SS. Pitching: R.A. Dickey.
348 Responses to "Twins-Mariners: Pregame Notes"
Ken Rosenthal reported that the Rockies have claimed him. He reported that a source told him that two clubs claimed him (both NL) and the Rockies “won” because they have the worse record.
Any reason why there would be two reports?
La Velle….you put span as playing OF not RF
From the Denver Post: “The Rockies’ need for a proven starter led to a bold move Tuesday. Rather than wait for Livan Hernandez to become a free agent, the Rockies claimed the veteran right-hander on trade waivers, according to a major league source. It is a bit surprising because by claiming him from the Minnesota Twins, the Rockies could get stuck with the roughly $1.6 million remaining on his contract. The next step is for the Twins to try and work out a trade with the Rockies. They could decide to eat a portion of Hernandez’s contract to receive a better player in return. …
Colorado has been seeking an upgrade over tonight’s starter Jorge De La Rosa, tiring of him alternating brilliant performances with horrific ones that exhaust the bullpen.
In addition to his remaining money, Hernandez, 33, will begin making $133,334 in incentives once he reaches 160 innings and for every five innings after that up to 230. Hernandez went 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA in 139 2/3 innings …”
Hey Lavelle, You Spelled Morneau Wrong.
This is will be a good gut-check for the Twins. That includes you Jason Moreanu!
“…tiring of him alternating brilliant performances with horrific ones that exhaust the bullpen.”
Ha. Good luck with Livan…
La Velle, you scared me when I read “Bad news for Michael Cuddyer.”! A number of pitch hitting hand/sliding injuries popped into my mind.
twins need a commanding win tonight. something like….10-0. hopefully, baker is on his game and i don’t see how/why dickey wouldn’t give up a lot of runs tonight.
For what it’s worth, I believe Livan pitched the clincher for the NL West title last year for the D-Backs. The opponent was Colorado and the site was Coors Field.
Well, we know this much: If Baker is on his game, Gardy will pull him out after the sixth or seventh, even if he has a pitch count of 69. If Baker is struggling, Gardy will try to push him through eight so as to “save the bullpen.”
The biggest difference between this team at home and on the road is that, for whatever reason, Gardy over-manages on the road (think Detroit first trip, Boston, Chicago, New York, and last night, so far) while he keeps to himself, mostly, at home. And, truth be told, Gardy doesn’t know or FEEL the game well enough to be over-managing.
Well, hopefully we can hit Dickey better than Wakefield….
wakefield’s knuckleball > dickey’s knuckleball.
We smoked Wakefield earlier this year…
but that was at home…
My bad - I disregarded our start against Wakefield this year. We’ve just generally never been historically good at hitting knuckleballers. Hopefully that doesn’t factor into tonight. 
We should be the winners tonight, but I don’t know. I still have bad taste in my mouth from the seventh, more so then after the chicago series and the 19-3 epic. It’s probably the team that did it to the Twins. I’ll try not to freak out when this game goes south like I did yesterday, but in my defense, that game was in the bag.
Just looking at the scores from today, it looks like the Brewers are bouncing back from an even worse game than the Twins game. And Detroit is leading Chi 2-1. Something tells me that a couple more runs will be scored after the starters are pulled…
Hey LaVelle, you spelled Ichiro wrong. Man, this is fun nitpicking LaVelle for no reason whatsoever!
i will make better managerial decisions i swear…..tsk tsk
” I would like to know why didn’t the Twins wait until after the Rule 5 draft to sign Dickey in the first place? Was it a procedural thing?”
No, La Velle, it probably more in the lines of being a stupid thing (aka, a “Bill Smith thing”).
Looks like Olivo and Greinke will not be playing during the series against the Twins if the appeal process goes fast enough.
Word is that the Cardinals, Rockies and Mets all put in claims, but the Rockies get to make the deal since they have the worst record.
The Rockies have reportedly offered to pay $1.5 million, but word is that the Twins want a player…
What ever happened to Delmon batting eighth?
Shouldn’t have tried the slider…
I’m surprised that Morne thought he was going to get something to hit there…
” I would like to know why didn’t the Twins wait until after the Rule 5 draft to sign Dickey in the first place? Was it a procedural thing?”
It didn’t matter.
The Twins gained $50K for him in the draft and could have regained him for $25K of that money at the end of ST. The Mariners decided they had no room for Dickey on their MLB roster, so they were forced to offer him back to the Twins.
The Twins decided they would rather have Jair Fernandez, a Low-A catcher.
THERE is the WHY? in the situation.
Not just WHY?, but WTF?
I hope that Scott Baker can command his fastball better than he did in the first. If he doesn’t, chalk this one up to the loss column…
Dickey probably wouldn’t be a starter for the Twins anyway right now
Strike Zone looks a little high today
gatty, buddy, take a breath
Wow, nice strike zone…
Scored a run!
“I would like to know why didn’t the Twins wait until after the Rule 5 draft to sign Dickey in the first place? Was it a procedural thing?”
So would I, but since I read the Strib I don’t expect to ever get an answer.
Harris is an enigma to me. He always looks like he has a plan at the plate. He handles the bat well. Seems to have a good knowledge of strike zone. Why isn’t his average higher?
Shawn,
“Dickey probably wouldn’t be a starter for the Twins anyway right now”
OK!
Now convince me he shouldn’t be the long reliever instead Brian Bass.
Never mind!
Don’t waste your valuable time!
Only RA Dickey can convince me of that.
And he may have to die to convince me.
The biggest problem with Harris is that he get behind in a lot of at bats.
Yes gatty that is a good point. He is maybe a bit over patient.
At least we don’t have to worry that Reyes will lose too much weight on his temporary diet.
Baker must be trying to keep his fastball high to these hitters. The only problem with that approach is that when his arm starts getting tired, the ball will drop into the HR zone.
point
Baker must not be finishing his pitches, his control is really bad today so far.
Trivia: Jeff Clement was a player on the 1996 Little League world series team from Iowa. I recalled his name. I believe he was a pitcher/OF… but might have that wrong. Didn’t bother looking that up.
Baker really grooved that one to Betancourt. Cut the plate in half.
Head first slide, Tolbert would be proud…
And the head first slide into first by Punto is rendered useless.
is it possible for Delmon to dive head first?
Yuck.
would have been nice if they’d have traded that guy
It is almost predicable. Groove a fastball to the player that hit the exact same pitch for a grand slam last night. I am done with this game, at least Baker decided to do it in the third rather than the 7th saving me some time.
The pitching so far this series has been unacceptable. What is going on? Ugh.
both of the runners should have been out
Thats the 6th out they’ve given the Mariners this inning
Man what is going on , don’t the M’s have one of the lowest team ba in the league?
The lads are putting on a fine display of “away from home” ball.
I think Gardy will use the same location description of these pitches from Baker as last night with Perk… the cockshot pitch isn’t working out real well.
hideous just hideous
Good grief, looks like Boof is coming soon…
Is it just me or does Delmon look like the most ungraceful outfielder in the league?
really needed Baker to be a stopper tonight
what the hell is going on?
We need Livan’s veteran presence…..haha
Can we still pull Livan back from waivers?
Great.
d … they probably do, but Ichiro’s ball popped out of Harris’ glove, Delmon should have caught the liner right in front of him, and Buscher didn’t make the play that was hit to him
This is starting to remind of earlier in the season when we had pitching meltdown in Chicago
With all of the discussion of whether Gardy is a great manager or not, did anyone mention the seeming lack of disposition of Twins pitching to pitch inside. To me, this emanates from the manager to the pitching coach to the pitcher. This team is afraid, and has been for the Gardy years, to pitch inside and make their opponents move their feet, much less duck/move.
Seems something is wrong. I think it is the road games though. The team is playing terrible on the road that is the only explanation. Unless the Mariners picked this series to finally show up this year. Ugh.
all three of those hitters were given hits
Why doesn’t Mauer wear the new “hockey style” mask? The face does not absorb as much of the blow.
Can our pitchers have one uneventful inning. This series so far is a disaster.
Harris should have caught the screamer at him. Buscher I dont think had a chance, and I missed Delmons but its delmon, im guessing it should have been caught
Maybe the problem is jet lag.
Even on flights to Chicago.
Ibanez always kills the Twins. I say just walk him.
Ibanez does it again. Anyone got him on your fantasy team?
Side note: Mauer another double play…he’s in the top 15 in the league in doing so. I’d love to see him fly out when there is a runner on first once in a while…heck maybe it’ll go out. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is good, but this is an area that has to improve for him down the stretch run. He keeps killing momentum in front of Morneau!
Farnsworth just gave up the game-tying HR. What an acquisition by the Tigers.
sox just tied it
Buscher is definately not the long term answer at 3B
Tigers just alloed Sox to tie. Cellular field should just be named homer field.
I always loved Farnsworthless, he’d always give the Yanks a good chance to lose, but it would be nice if he could hold it down vs the Whities
Great, I wish the Twins would make Mariners pitcher work at least a little.
Boy, it’s fun watching the Twins get stomped by a team that’s 26 games under .500.
Am I allowed to compared Brian Bass last night to RA Dickey so far tonight?
No?
OK!
How is Luke Hughes doing at Rochester?
Baker better start paying his outfielders by the mile!
There’s a fight at the bat rack!!!
Maybe Ibanez was worth all of those prospects?
“Buscher is definately not the long term answer at 3B”
By long term, do you mean the 9th inning?
Ibanez has driven in 9 runs in two games. Any brush back pitches from the Twins? Guess not. Maybe next time….
I mean the rest of this year much less beyond
wow how can M’s be scoring runs if they have such a low batting average??
way to go punto watch it right by you
Simply laughable.
1st and 2nd, 0 outs…and no runs scored.
May I compare Brian Bass last night to RA Dickey so far tonight?
Still no?
All right!
Twins are playing horribly right now. They need to fight through times like this. On the road against a bad team…If we lose this series it could really come back to haunt us.
I guess that MLB leading batting average with RISP just took a dive 
HRs, clearly an over rated stat…
I really, really love sac bunting, down 2 in the middle innings, to get Punto to the plate.
That’s some pretty smart baseball right there.
I’m really tired of looking where the Sox are to determine where the Twins are.
with Span up, that wasn’t a sac bunt. As you can see he darn near (or did) beat it out
Span’s bunt was a base-hit bunt.
When the throw beat him, it was down-graded to a sacrifice bunt.
KUBES! That was a bomb!
Thome, Konerko and Griffey batting against Fernando Rodney in bottom of the 10th in Chicago. 6-6
Need More Kubel!!
Span bunted to get to PUNTO because he is batting .375 with RISP no doubt that trend will continue
Maybe if the Twins don’t waste an out, that HR by Kubel comes last inning.
Alright, MLB.com gets medical with “Colon gets roughed up in rehab outing.”
that’s how Gardy keeps the team AVG up … if they beat out the bunt it’s a hit and if they don’t it’s a sac and the team BA isn’t hurt …. he does that garbage all the time …. and when they play at home the official scorekeeper for the TWINKIES gives everyone a hit on all errors …. that guy should be embarassed and fired for some of the crap he rules a hit … another night of PANSY ball by the Twinkies …. bloopers,bleeders,choppers and hoppers ….. WOW
Why would the manager be concerned with keeping the batting average up? Wins is the bottom line!
Good outing from the “ace” of this staff.
IMO Mauer’s defense has taken a step back this year.
yep Liriano did good on Sunday..
Other than throwing, I’ve always thought Mauer is overrated defensively, he gets lazy and doesn’t block some balls and will give away when he calls a curveball by getting up and wider to be in position to block a pitch
Erik, people who bitch about any money wasted on veterans like Livan, can’t whine when the kids don’t pitch up to thier liking.
“if they beat out the bunt it’s a hit”
And the bases are loaded with nobody out.
If it fails, 2nd and 3rd with one out.
Both good!
BA isn’t a factor to Gardy.
Maybe to Vavra, but not Gardy.
Ibanez with bases loaded.
Lovely!
Why couldn’t the Mariners trade him!
The way we are playing on the road really makes you look forward to the big road trip at the end of the month doesn’t it!
thats the game
Very painful to watch.
Nightmare on Putrid Sound!
Twins would probably win both games if Ibanez isn’t there. Ibanez always kills the Twins. So this is what it is likje to face Morneau for other teams. Yuck.
inning would have been over if Mauer blocks strike three instead of trying to pick it
sucks that we didn’t get the out with the K. That ball doesn’t get by Joe and none of this cr-p happens and it is still 4-3.
hope tiggers and whities play 24 innings tonight
Twins seem to be in awe lately of every ballpark. Did Gardy have a talk with the team about the legendary Safeco? LOL
That has been a problem also in the games besides pitching. Questionable defense.
Sane, I emphatically disagree that intentionally making an out–when you only get three per inning–is a good idea, except in rare circumstances.
In the middle innings, down two, with your pitcher not exactly shutting down the opposition, and Punto due up next, is not one of those rare circumstances.
Not even close. Chance for a big inning, you take it.
Chief,
“Sane, I emphatically disagree that intentionally making an out–when you only get three per inning–is a good idea, except in rare circumstances.”
I emphatically disagree that BUNTING FOR A BASEHIT IS “intentionally making an out”
Well, Sane, since you, I and every infielder for Seattle knew that Span was gonna bunt, I’d call that as intentional as you get.
It was only close because Span is fast. IMO that was clearly a bunt called by the bench, and meant to advance the runners. YMMV.
Another meltdown by the Twins…they should just forfeit on the road and save us the agony of watching these debacles.
On another subject, Big Sweat picked a bad series to get food poisoning, no?
Screw it!
RA Dickey is better than Brian Bass!!
LAST YEAR!
THIS YEAR!
NEXT YEAR!
FOREVER!
Plus he can throw 150 pitches a night.
FIVE DAYS A WEEK!
52 WEEKS A YEAR!
Depends…it’s probably good for his ERA.
“It was only close because Span is fast.”
If he wasn’t fast, it would have been a sacrifice, INTENDED to sacrifice.
Since he IS fast, it was a basehit bunt, INTENDED to load the bases with no out.
THe twins are bringing in BOOOOOOOOOOOF!!
Sane and Chief,
After checking the blog rule book, I find Sane in error on the repetitious use of “emphatically”. Sane, you need to go with “more emphatically” or you could jump to “most emphatically”, but that runs the risk of not following appropriate escalation etiquette.
Boof = the next Eddie/Latroy?
I claim rights to “with the most possible emphasis.” So I got that in my back pocket if needed.
Carlos,
Why would I escalate vs a USAF Chief?
Do you think I am THAT stupid?
If it makes any difference, Sane, I’m retired. If necessary, though, I might be able to ask a favor from an old friend or two and call in an airstrike.
I claim rights to “with the most possible emphasis.” So I got that in my back pocket if needed.
Excellent!
Reality is rearing it’s ugly head. The Twins win because of the dome.
In 2010 they will play in a park that’s the same as every other team. Sub .500 is their fate from then on.
This year and next are the last chances for the Twins to return to the World Series. After that, the party is over.
I think Harris’ zone rating took a hit this inning.
Thank you Gomez! Maybe we wake up the bats now.
Boof is the next Bob Wells/Travis Miller/Hector Carrasaco or any other fine former garbage
Nice catch Gomez!
“I claim rights to “with the most possible emphasis.”
How about “BEYOND possible emphasis”?
Boof is the next Bob Wells/Travis Miller/Hector Carrasaco or any other fine former garbage
Boof has a chance if he can locate his 95 mph fastball and curveball … all of those guys struggled to hit 90 mph
TNAIC, I’d say it’s more like the Twins weaknesses–young and not overpowering starters, a thin bullpen, sometimes shaky infield defense, lack of power–have reared their ugly heads for a couple games.
Does seem to happen a lot on the road though. Can’t argue with that.
We got six outs left. Lets put an inning together.
Craig,
You are drawing conclusions.
That never works!
The past is totally unrelated to the present which is totally unrelated to the future.
Kubel with another bomb! Lets go boys come on lets get a few more!
Cowbell !!!!!
The Mariners pulled RA Dickey!
What an absurd decision by Gard……….er Riggleman!
sane and chief,
I was just rearing my ugly head.
Dear Tribune,
It’s night night time over here in the East in Bonzerland. Thanks for staying up and recording this event with a positive spin in the morning. Thats what you get the big bucks for. Fellow bloggers, thanks for commentary more entertaining than the game. Craig, I think you are on to something. The dome is probably pumped full of Michael Jackson oxygen that keeps the Twins winning. They probably need backpacks to win on the road.
Those 2 HR swings shown again on replay clearly show why the Twins have been so high on Kubel. Ah, it would be sweet if he can get some great swings like this game in and game out.
Why would you ever let Kubel bat against Lefties?
I think we need Dougie!
Kubel can play in Pacific Daylight Time.
He is from Highland High School, Palmdale, California.
Or maybe I was heading my ugly rear.
I love how Beltre makes everything look so effortless … kind of the opposite of punto
Bring in Bam-Bam Lamb.
the Mariners are out of LHP’s!
Come on boys ! Please little baby jesus let us come back and win
Here comes the closer.
Its JJ Ka-Putz!
Oh, great, now I get to sleep with one eye open and one hand on the keyboard
another long day at work tomorrow, just cant get myself to turn this off…….haha
Let’s go Lamb. (fingers crossed)
Slam, bam, thank you Lamb.
LAMBBBb CHOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’ll do Lamb. That’ll do.
sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttt lamb chop
Chief,
How would you feel about Lamb bunting?
Never mind!
Calm down people…our bullpen still has to pitch.
OMG!!! Lamber!
props to Gardy for PH’ing Lamb there. Gommez has been better lately but gets way to jacked up in spots like this
TIGERS TAKE THE LEAD!
Nathan for a 2 inning save???
Let’s put an inning together.
Who pitches the bottom of the 8th?
GRRRRR!!! The Lamb roars!!
Span is swinging at the memory!
Lamb now has more doubles than Kubel. Obviously he is the better player.
Can we hold on?
Way to go Lamb!
Ill take the 2 inning save
It started with a great catch by gomez and then the rope line drive DB by MVP.
Insurance please! Guess who is coming up next inning!
tigers up 2
I’ve never been a bigger Mike Lamb fan.
Its gotta be Bass in the 8th!
Hide the women and children!
oh great FSN problems
is the video feed going out for anyone else?
Who pulled the stake out of Lamb’s heart? I was sure we finished off that guy.
Mike Lamb starting 3B next year - you heard it here first!
Or maybe not.
warm up Nathan … Now!
Not to overlook a key play… Buscher beating out an IF hit.
Who wants to open up the “Nathan in the 8th” discussion?
Here we go! Hold tight!
I say we need a pitch between the M and A
Umm, yeah. Nathan. Now.
Never mind
Oh no…Ibanez is coming up.
IBB please.
We are taking it in the Guh-rear!
Come on Joe lock it down
Thankyou, Gardy. Thankyou. If we lose, I’m officially not allowed to complain.
Get me outta here!
No more Goo Rare please…we need Joe.
Gardy,
I am very pleased. Regardless of outcome. The “save” is right now. Not next inning. Let’s go Joe!
OMG, Nathan in the 8th!!!
If it works, Gardy will catch hell for 100 previous games!
If it doesn’t work, Gardy will catch hell for tonight!
Glad to see we made Ibanez move his feet…again!
crazy as hell.
I will go on record now as saying I will not second guess Gardy for bringing in Nathan. Except he should’ve started the 8th.
Put Guerrier on the DL!
Punto in CF. Yeeeeeeeehah. Drive one deep for Nicky to catch.
USAFChief - Should have posted before the 8th, noone will believe you. I was thinking the same thing though.
Please explain to me again why closers are overrated!
Because Bass will pitch the 9th!
I want to see Nicky bring one back.
FSN is pissing me off.
Trains must be reeking havoc on the video feed… at least we didn’t see the M’s get in front.
at least i didn’t see it
that’s terrible.
wtf?!?!?
REALITY, HAS ONCE AGAIN REARED IT’S UGLY HEAD.
this is exactly why Billy Smith doing NOTHING to solve the bullpen problem makes me sick.
Tony … I posted before the 8th that Nathan should be in there to start the inning
I give up.
Its all part of Gardy’s plan so Nathan only has to pitch one inning.
There won’t be a bottom of the 9th, unless the Twins score.
Just got home and tuned in to the TV.
I see we still have a BP experiment/rebuilding kind of year thing going.
Gardy publicly asked for BP help and a RH bat something like 4 weeks ago.
Poor guy.
Joe grooved that one…what gives?
Mariners are hot right now. They got to Nathan that pretty much proves it. Geesh
Hell, I coulda done that blindfolded.
Great just great, Sox win at pretty much the same exact moment.
thanks Zumaya
The Twins might play .500 ball the rest of the way.
Sox win…
Punto goes deep?
Much more important to have Perkins on the starting staff than make any moves for Beltre or BP relief.
And I stayed up for that.
Chernobyl says:
August 6th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Joe grooved that one…what gives?
Don’t know. Every hit the M’s have has been off of meatballs.
Twins have a bunch of dead arms in the bullpen. Not looking good.
The Twins wet themselves whenever they are close to the ocean - either ocean - it must be the sound of the waves.
Lets do the Mojito and get some runs here
what a disaster.
“Mariners are hot right now. They got to Nathan that pretty much proves it.”
Wrong.
It only proves Gardy is desperate and has relented to experiment in the use of Nathan.
Matt, I saw that and was in agreement. With 123 coming up, put in your best reliever. The save stat isn’t as important as a win.
good ab punto
At least Nathan saved himself from pitching two innings.
Even if we do somehow tie or get the lead who can we count on in the bullpen. It does fine at the dome but completely falls apart on the road. It is ridiculous!
he’d still get the save whether he came in to start the 8th or came in during the 8th
Where’s Tyner when you really need him?
These sailors are the best! They should be in first place - golly wally!
ground ball to second
Matt, I’m aware. I wanted him to start the 8th but not necessarly finish the game.
Nice job FSN on the Nathan 3-2, 2 out pitch.
What is wrong with the Twins and being on the road?
The republican covention should seal this teams fate for sure.
“experiment in the use of Nathan.”
Like Francona uses Papplebon. Or Torre and Girardi used Rivera. Or whatever this guys name is used Putz tonight?
Regardless of outcome, I applaud Gardy tonight. I can live with a loss when Nathan is pitching.
kubel coming up third homerun of the game???
Kubel again?
Kubel likes the fastball.
No pinchrunner…..
Lamb, Everett. Blah.
Who’s available?
JP, I agree. Gardy made the right decision. It didn’t work but who else would you rather have pitch?
This is actually a good match-up for Kubel.
he’s not going to give him anything to hit.
“Kubel likes the fastball.”
But he’ll get the splitter!
Good call on the pinch runner. Too bad we had nothing but redmond?
And there you go Jason, a double! Hooray!
put in redmond for everett?
Twins need 2 runs. Can’t count on the BP for Xtra innings.
Ev.
Everett or Red Dog?
Are you kidding me Kubel?
God I love that guy’s potential.
The only way Delmon can get a walk. LOL
Tell me why Everett is with the team and not Macri???
Redmond in Right field if he delivers?
No clue
Bad outcome, pretty entertaining game though.
boo hoo
Twins pitching has been entertaining for the Mariners. *sigh*
Mariners must be playing .600 ball. Man those guys are great.
hey, the mariners beat nathan. gotta give em props.
How can the team be this bad on the road but look so good at home. Frustrating.
How much for the piano on Morneau’s back on Kubel’s double? How can he not score on that hit?
That does it. Send everyone down to AAA and let them get some Liriano time.
Actually it was better than last night.
These Mariners can mash!
note to Mr. Smith … one reliever would have made a big difference in the last two games
Tomorrow’s blog discussions:
“Nathan should’ve started the 8th.”
“Send Morneau.”
“Hang Bill Smith in effigy.”
Prepare your arguments now.
the outcome stinks (not as bad as the one in chicago) but that was a great baseball game. i don’t remember the last game i watched with so many ups and downs and twists and turns and expletives at the TV both for joy and for anger. i hate the tigers a lot right now though, that’s just ridiculous.
just go get em tomorrow, i guess that’s all you can say.
“How much for the piano on Morneau’s back on Kubel’s double?”
He was also pushing a safe. Wasn’t he?
“How can the team be this bad on the road but look so good at home.”
Really? What are the Twins home/away splits compared to the rest of the League?
Note to Sane (with the utmost emphasis): That’s why you don’t play small ball in the 5th inning.
just a crazy, crazy 2 nights of baseball. gardy made all the right moves (even redmond in the 9th) but the pitchers couldn’t get it done and ichiro couldn’t have been in a more perfect spot.
There you have it. Gardy goes to Nathan in the 8th. Result: Twins lose.
Don’t strain yourself too iard trying to second guess this one.
I repeat. Twins are more than that magical “one arm” away.
On the plus side, Kubes played like a man posessed. Glad to see his issue last night didn’t drain him. And Lamb with a clutch PH in the 8th.
TRADE NATHAN! Though it won’t matter now that the sky has fallen.
tampa on road 23-28
boston on road 25-33
white sox on road 26-33
twins on road 23-29
looks about the same to me.
“Bad outcome, pretty entertaining game though.”
“Prepare your arguments now.”
The arguments have been well-prepared and stated for some weeks now.
Excellent moniker for 2008:
Bad outcome, pretty entertaining season though.
I live in Alaska and get to see all of the Mariners games and they really have been bad this year. But they are professionals so the can play inspired at times. By the Twins losing these 2 that they should have had then they need to make up for it and win some on the road that they are not expected to win. August is so often where the young players get exhausted, begin to struggle and then fade. Lets hope that isn’t the case and that Smith will get the bullpen help that Gardy has asked for.
the twins aren’t going anywhere, people, relax. other than a stupid error from renteria, the white sox should’ve lost tonight and haven’t looked too great as of late.
Only T could come on this board after the last two nights and argue the Twins wouldn’t benefit from bullpen help.
Sheesh.
T - Kind of a small sample size to scrap the idea though, isn’t it?
Bill Smith said there was no trade available to make the Twins a better team. Smith WANTED to make a trade. Blame the other GMs instead of Smith.
Is there no one in the minors that can be of help in the BP? Is the cupboard that bare?
Remember way back when a lead in the seventh was pretty much a sure win for the Twins? Those days are over.
There is noone who can replace Gurrier or Nathan, and they are the one who lost it tonight.
“I repeat. Twins are more than that magical “one arm” away.”
Totally disagree. Neshek was a jewel. Bass is his replacement.
Ergo, BP is in shambles…..because of one player. Because this MLB stuff becomes tightly competitive, no?
And of course the other player ain’t an arm, it’s 3B defense.
But admittedly, the injuries hurt. So we’ll see. Therefore…..
We’re still two players away.
I understand that Nathan didn’t do well tonight…I get it. That will not happen often. But when I read that the manager feels that his BP is run down right now then perhaps a fresh arm from the minors might help. Seems logical but I must be missing something.
I would be all for almost anyone replacing Bass in the bullpen. Korecy, Barrett, Mulvey, Humber, pretty much anyone.
Smith said that for PR purposes … he would have gotten ripped pretty bad if he came out and said we didn’t want to make a trade … also he has Terry Ryan as his right hand which is a sign that they were not going to trade any of our pitchers.
The Diamondbacks got Rausch for pretty much nothing.
If there were 2 or 3 teams trying to claim Livan, wouldn’t it seem easy to get at least a half way decent A or AA player before the deadline(not a top prospect, a player like Bartlett from the Buchannon trade or Casilla from the JC Romero trade from one of those teams - neither of those players were top prospects at the time)
Smith said he talked to a lot of different teams. I don’t think he made that up.
nathan made 1 bad pitch, it happens. it’s not like he’s going downhill, jeez. it was a bad pitch taken advantage of, oh well. it seems like guerrier was out there with nothing, again. he’s tired, and needs a couple days off.
Talking to and realistically trying to trade are two different things
“it seems like guerrier was out there with nothing, again. he’s tired, and needs a couple days off.”
hence the need for some help from the minors.
Agreed on Guerrier. He’s not that good to start with, and he’s been abused a bit. Which is why, if you’re gonna bring Nathan in anyway, why not let him start the 8th?
Anyone know anything about Slama … I know its only high A ball, but his stats are pretty impressive - .90 ERA, 92 K in 60 IP.
It would be nice to at least see what he can do at AA and possibly work his way up here by mid September the way Francisco Rodriguez did. I know he’s probably nothing close to KRod (or ever will be), but he could maybe make an impact in the bullpen.
romer says:
August 6th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Much more important to have Perkins on the starting staff than make any moves for Beltre or BP relief.
The primary reason to keep Perkins is that he’s cheap. The only move, again, the FO made at the end of the year is to save money. It’s a shame what they did to Livan. I’m glad someone else picked him up so he could get his bonuses. He did a hell of a job for the Twins this year. I’m nearing the end of my patience with the cost-consciousness of this club.
ron gardenhire says:
august 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
i will make better managerial decisons i swear….tsk tsk
OOPS I LIED!
Slama is going to be good from what I have heard but have no real info…I just think that if this is truly a rebuilding year then let the young guys play and see what you have.
lasvegasdave, you are stupid. that’s the dumbest thing i’ve read in awhile. the twins cut livan to save money, that makes a lot of sense. it had absolutely nothing to do with giving up 199 hits in 133 innings, or the fact that he had absolutely nothing his last 3 starts and for the most part of the year. just shut up about the twins being cheap.
uh, a guy in A-ball is not going to be called up. just because he’s dominating in A-ball means nothing.
There is no doubt that the Twins are cash conscious. But I had no problem with them not making any big deal this year. A small deal for some BP help would have been great but if they couldn’t do that then maybe some help from the minors.
I don’t really think this is a rebuilding year anymore, or at least the front office shouldn’t be looking at it like one
I didn’t say call him up to the majors … I said we should see what he can do in AA if he is that dominating at the A+ level
Keep swallowing the company line whalefeet, the twins like it that way. Sorry I called them out for who they are - concerned with the bottom line first and foremost. Don’t tell me they couldn’t have used Livan in the pen instead of Bass. Don’t tell me they had no option because poor BS (aptly named) had no trading partners. They only had all year to realize Neshek was important ad they were a man short. IOW don’t p!ss down my back and tell me it’s raining.
Well, I do not think it is a rebuilding year either but keep hearing that the Twins are playing for 2010…
Good call LVD … Smith conveniently kept Livan long enough to make sure Liriano would not get enough time at the major league level to reach higher status, but cut him before he could reach his incentives
Three very serendipitous back-to-back posts:
“Remember way back when a lead in the seventh was pretty much a sure win for the Twins? Those days are over.”
“Is there no one in the minors that can be of help in the BP? Is the cupboard that bare?”
“There is noone who can replace Gurrier or Nathan, and they are the one who lost it tonight.”
Yes, “[T]hose days are over” if BS continues to believe the “cupboard is bare” which forces the overuse of “Gurrier” and an experiment out-of-the-blue for the use of Nathan.
BS is the “one” who lost the game because he’s made no moves whatsoever, even after hearing the public call from his manager.
I mean, Korecki & Mulvey. But Bass and Bonser are too precious.
I mean, Beltre. But Perkins & Buscher and the rest of the minor leagues are too precious.
But yes, on the Beltre thing…
“Bill Smith said there was no trade available to make the Twins a better team. Smith WANTED to make a trade. Blame the other GMs instead of Smith.”
Could be true, but I’m not convinced. I smell the Pohlad way, like I’m a nose on the office desk chair of Bill Smith.
once again…199 hits in 139 innings. i don’t think bass has that bad of a ratio.
We are playing for the future smack dab in the middle of our superstar’s prime. In 2010 Morneau wil be 30 years old. Beltre is currently 29.
would you people get over the beltre thing? it would’ve been nice to have him but not for what the M’s wanted. baker or slowey PLUS span PLUS another prospect? are you nuts?
Bass’s numbers doubled would be 129.1 IP and 158 hits which isn’t much better
this team will bounce back just like they did after the chicago series, just like they did after the boston series and just like they did after the yankees series. they need to take tomorrow’s game and have a good series against KC.
“In 2010 Morneau wil be 30 years old. Beltre is currently 29.”
Be careful, LasVegasDave, when you flash your light of insight. The standard posters will only become a little stirred, spout some more of their pablum, and then superstitiously resent your competence.
You will only tempt resentment, and group-grope will hence win its day.
This team has shown amazing resiliency and should bounce back. I only worry about the it being August and the young kids seizing up in the heat of a race…but you have to learn sometime.
BTW, from the box score, looks like Dickey beat the Twins tonight.
Was BS involved in any such inevitability?
Romer I have noticed that and so I read almost daily and comment seldom. Being a lifelong Twins fan in Alaska right now, I am always anxious for news and read this for some insight. Sometimes that is a good thing and some times not so much…but always entertaining.
“baker or slowey PLUS span PLUS another prospect?”
Where do you get your information, whalefeet?
I believe there’s been some misinformation going around and you — forgiveably — have been believing it.
Seriously, does anyone have any reliable information as to what the M’s wanted from the Twins for Beltre?
LENIII, are you in the house?
actually, it was in a LENIII article and all over mlb trade blogs at the deadline. the M’s didn’t want to trade beltre unless they were overwhelmed in any deal, and who could blame them after the bedard debacle.
http://ww3.startribune.com/blogs/neal/2008/07/30/twins-trade-tidbits/
also, i remember reading a post on espn’s trade deadline blog that the M’s wanted one of our young major league pitchers and span, along with a prospect.
Mariners wanted one of our major league pitchers OR Span as part of a package
Any chance one of Colorado’s relievers cleared waivers and is available in a deal for Livan? Grilli, Herges or Vizcaino would all be nice additions.
I wish we could do that, but I think the most we could get is a class A player for Livan, since Colorado just wants to give us cash for Livan.
“Colorado just wants to give us cash for Livan.”
Does anyone seriously think Carl Pohlad would be content to just receive cash?
ha-ha-ha
whalefeet, I don’t believe it was in a LENIII article. I believe some posters pointed that fact out because it wasn’t written perfectly clearly by LENIII.
So you actually saw the “baker or slowey PLUS span PLUS another prospect” deal in a MLB trade blog? Or blogs?
I realize it’s burdensome to make you PROVE it. But I thought the M’s wanted a helluva lot but only one or two MLB players in the deal.
And if they’re righteously miffed and/or pinned in a corner because of the Bedard thing, then they should welcome a s**tload of minor league players to replenish what they lost in the Bedard thing.
I’m only saying…..what the hell is going on?
Not trying to be lazy, or a troll, or a miscreant. But I don’t really have the means to get the real story — either as it’s been reported or from the inside FO knowledge.
I thought I knew the story as it’s been reported. Can anyone help?
LENIII?
Seth Stohls (sp?)?
Thanks for the link, whalefeet:
“…Mariners have asked for Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins or Denard Span as part of a package,…”
That means 1 of the 5 players listed, right?
So, I’ve been saying Perkins and Buscher and a minor leaguer.
I still believe Beltre is as solid as they come.
I just wonder if the M’s wouldn’t accept a haul of good minor leaguers for Beltre the same way we essentially did in the Santana trade.
Try this, GM Smith:
Do a private dinner with the M’s GM. You serve him lutefisk in return to his serving you sushi.
Then tell him, if he does the Beltre deal, you’ll switch dinners with him.
Hey, I’m only trying…….
“Dennys Reyes, who looks like he’s aged 10 years, is still sick…”
People in Marshall, MN are heaving violently with the flu.
LOL
Romer
Didn’t seem like hitting or scoring runs was the problem. Looked like the starting pitching and bullpen was the reason we lost. So trade starting pitching for hitting. Not smart.
If you ask for Putz or relief pitching it might make better sense.
USAFChief,
“Note to Sane (with the utmost emphasis): That’s why you don’t play small ball in the 5th inning”
Now that I am deep in my underground bomb shelter, I wish to repeat with superhuman hernia-inducing emphasis that:
1) basehit bunting in order to “get a batter on base” is NOT small ball; and
2) basehit bunting in order to “get a batter on base” in fact is virtually the definition of playing for a big inning (similar to taking strikes to induce a walk); and
3) If an airstrike is still being considered, I’d like to retract statements 1) and 2).
T - Kind of a small sample size to scrap the idea though, isn’t it?
Just pointing out the “Careful what you wish for” mantra.
Though I think tonight’s mishap was more the Baseball Gods reminding us that karma’s a b*tch
Sane: I can neither confirm nor deny whether or not what might be construed as an “airstrike” is, or is not, being what might be construed as “considered” in the instance of the current dispute regarding what some have properly termed “small ball” and others, despite ample evidence, choose to ignore, or downplay, or misrepresent, in the midst of the aformentioned skirmish in and around the Puget Sound area late last evening.
Next Pentagon press conference in one hour.
Chief,
I assume that was a joint communique from you, the Pentagon and FIRE_GARDY_WITHOUT_CAUSE_ASAP!
I’m going to skip the next press conference for some R&R.
