Twins postgame: Two down, one to go
Posted on September 24th, 2008 – 11:40 PMBy La Velle
Pressbox mood: I figured I’d give you a little taste of what goes on in the press box during games. Joe. C. and Pat Reusse might not like it, but they can go off on me later.
Joe Nathan was struggling in the ninth inning Wednesday. A.J. was digging in, and Reusse looked over at someone in the visitor’s on deck circle.
“Nick Swisher?” Reusse said.
“Yeah, he’s going to bat for Uribe,” I replied.
Just then, A.J. hammers one to center field.
“…and A.J. just doubled to center,” I said.
But Carlos Gomez becomes a blur, reaches out and sucks in the ball as the fans go nuts.
“Oh, I forgot that it’s Gomez out there,” I said.
“Torii Hunter does NOT catch that ball,” Joe C. barks out.
Reusse and I agreed.
After the game, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire wasn’t sure if that was Gomez’s best catch, “but it may have been the most important catch of the year.”
And, of course, Gomez shows up in the clubhouse wearing a Superman t-shirt.
“Every time I see the ball hit to me,” he said. “I think I can catch it.”
Every I see the ball hit to him, I should think that too…..
Minneapolis Bartman: We almost had our own Steve Bartman moment in the fourth inning, when Brendan Harris caught a foul ball by DeWayne Wise to end the inning.
A fan, sitting in the front row of a section behind third base, reached out as Harris went for the ball. It looked like he nearly touched it.
“If he had touched it, I would have knocked his beer over,” Harris said. “And he had a full one too, I saw. But it kind of sliced back, so it came back in play. I saw an arm come out then, I guess, some alligator arms.
“Close to being a Bartman moment.”
Harris tossed the ball into the stands after making the catch.
“Definitely to the guy next to him,” Harris said.
Blackie’s back: It wasn’t pretty. He had to pitch out of some jams. Alfonzo Marquez could have called a couple more strikes. But Nick Blackburn got through five innings to win just his second game in his last nine outings.
He got two strikes on a lot of hitters but got into some battles.
“It wasn’t an easy five innings,” he said, “but I felt good. I felt confident. My pitches were finally where I wanted them to be.”
Blackburn (11-10) has thrown 187 innings, fourth most by a Twins rookie.,
“Blackie was awesome tonight,” Joe Nathan said. “He went five innings, but I don’t think it really shows what he did.”
Delmon rolling: Delmon Young is batting .500 (15 for 30) during an eight-game hitting streak.
59 Responses to "Twins postgame: Two down, one to go"
OK, I need some clarification here, because my current understanding leaves me a bit upset.
The coin toss that the White Sox won was only in case the two teams tied in the standings with a 9-9 head-to-head record, correct? By that I mean, if the Twins win tomorrow (going 10-8 against the White Sox this year) and the two teams somehow tie for first, the one-game playoff is played here, right? That is why we play head to head, isn’t it?
I know that when two teams are tied for first and one needs to be champion and the other the wild card (think a few years ago in the East), the team that wins the head-do-head is division champion (Yankees that year) and the other takes the wild card spot (The Red Sox the same year). So…
That catch by Gomez was truly amazing. There isn’t another CF in the league who makes that catch. Just watching him come out of nowhere… it was incredible. I don’t care how many times he records an out with a two-out bunt attempt when he can play defense like that.
Glad to see Mijares pitch the 8th. You could tell he was a little nervous when he threw three straight balls to Thome but once he settled down he looked good. Loved the fire. The bullpen in general got it done. Breslow looked really sharp.
Another good game by Delmon. He was almost 4 for 4. I thought he hit that first ball out for sure. Of course, Dick and his psyche out home run call didn’t help.
Looking for a big game from the M&M boys tomorrow. Morneau especially hasn’t done much this series and now would be a good time to have big game.
All in all, obviously I’ll take the win but it shouldn’t have been as close as it was. We let Buerhle off the hook too often in the first few innings.
Lala-
A tie break would be played in Chicago regardless of the teams head to head record. I agree, it’s stupid.
“If he had touched it, I would have knocked his beer over,” Harris said. “And he had a full one too, I saw.”
That is a great quote.
The strike zone must of had a cold tonight because it was shivering all game…
If that guy had touched it, in the field of play, it would still have been an out. Some fans just aren’t smart.
Patrick, thank you. Stupid, illogical rule, but I guess it stands.
Holy crap, Delmon Young is hitting .296!
It was nice to get a chance to watch a game on the tube for a change, even if it was the Chicago Comcast feed. Listened to the Twins radio team with the sound muted on the tv (so I got Hawk and DJ via closed captioning). Harrelson was whining about the call on the pickoff move at 2nd the entire game.
Funny… he didn’t seem to mention that the BitchSox wouldn’t have had their first run if Marquez would’ve rung up Thome on that 0-2 pitch in the 2nd inning that cut right through the heart of the plate. But I forget that to Hawk and BitchSox fans, the only missed calls are those that go against them.
And yes… that catch by Gomez was exactly why you play Young, Gomez and Span in the OF this week, regardless of what any of them do offensively. Balls hit in the air to the outfield are outs… plain and simple (assuming they stay in the yard, of course).
Oh… finally… really “classy” comments by Ozzie about Blackburn after the game. Pressure getting to you a little bit, big guy?
Thanks, SethSpeaks, for the pre-ruling.
I’ve searched your website a week or so ago to find the the Twins post-season roster as of 8/1. Can you help me find it?
gatty, choc milk and kahlua might taste pretty good. But you might be up all night.
Two games, two miserable jobs by the home plate umpires. Why on earth did MLB send this B-C group to do an A series. I understand that they have a pre-determined schedule but that’s no excuse. Like someone said earlier, the strike zone the past two nights varied from inning to inning, pitch to pitch. And the pick off play at second on Gomez looked like a blown call… bad call but no sympathy here for the White Sox. The Twins are young and getting better and the Sox look tired and showing signs of cracking. One more manana, boys!
[…] Twins Insider – […]
“Why on earth did MLB send this B-C group to do an A series”
I believe I’d have to talk with the Commissioner to find out why. Got the phone number?
I’d allow him to talk to me over the phone with his glasses on……just so he’s not confused.
romer, after watching this last game, I’ll probably be up all night anyways. What a great, yet nerve-racking game…
Lastly — La Velle, what did you knock over in the presser? Is there a post-game spread there?
“What a great, yet nerve-racking game…”
Luckily, I watched at the local tavern. BUT, the “wife” was yacking with her galfriends. Terribly dangerous, but I managed to concentrate nonetheless.
I’m hungry, and DrDon is sleeping.
Also, Blackburn looked like Cy Young compared to JV yesterday, and I am sure if JV pitched like that yesterday Ozzie would have praised him. Ozzie might be on the brink of a HUGE rant. But the same can be said after any game the white sox have lost this year…
It was terrible for me because I all alone watching the game and I always have a billion stats floating in my head; all of them telling me that the twins must win the game, but I saw every second of the game and I didn’t have a nervous breakdown in the process.
Let’s finish of this whiny bunch and sent them home with their collective spirit crushed!
Be here tomorrow to watch more drama @ the dome!
Baseball just does not get any better than this.
(But if we lose, seemingly it doesn’t get much worse).
Going to the game. There’s 3 games left. That fact seems almost lost. This game seems like the game for all the proverbial marbles. Winner take all…and yet, there’s still 3 more games. Damn schedule makers! This SHOULD have been the last series!
(But I guess no one thought that this series would be this big either).
*I’m going to the game.
**The Twins should have made some kind of trade at the deadline**
Carlos has an interesting idea as to what constitutes a “ball hit to him.”
That ball was perhaps in the same zip code as Gomez, but that is about all it and Gomez had in common.
Outstanding catch.
“If he had touched it, I would have knocked his beer over,”
That would’ve been awesome. Harris looked like he wanted to kill that guy, and they would go back to him during the game to see he was just sitting there with his arms folded.
He probably got it from the crowd around him. Thankfully he wasn’t in Boston or New York (or even Chicago) where he likely would’ve gotten killed.
Great fire by Mijares. He was soo excited to get out of the eighth. Showed great poise getting behind the count 3-0 on the leadoff batter to come back…..Great job by Mijares, Boof,
Breslow and the pen…..
Mijares looks like a keeper and can help the club in 2009.
I’ve heard Mijares cannot be on the postseason roster? Can someone confirm or deny this please!?!
Lala, I think they do the coin toss because they need to know a certain amount of time in advance where the game is going to be played, rather than waiting it out till the end of the year to see who has the better record.
gatty - If the Twins win the division, you will see one of the most legendary melt downs in MLB history. Ozzie will go absolutely bezerk. So much that he will either resign or Kenny will fire him.
The Twins are a whole different team at home!! 4 more games to win and the division is theirs
After hearing AJ yak at him his whole at-bat in the bottom of the 8th (ending in a strikeout), I think Gomez took extra satisfaction (and had an extra gear) in chasing down his fly in the 9th.
Unfortunately, if the Twins and the Sox are tied at first, the winner will be determined by a one game playoff that was set to be in Chicago by coin flip because their record would be less than that of the wild card team in the league. If their record was higher than the wild card team, a tie would be broken by a. head to head record b. winning percentage in intradivision games c. winning percentage in the last half of intraleague games and d.winning percentage in the last half plus one of intraleague games
regardless, if the Twins sweep them and KC, they’ll be fine 
and Gomez should win a gold glove
Andy,
Mijares can be on the postseason roster. He can replace Neshek’s spot since his is on the DL.
Last night’s game was one for the ages with all the possible meltdowns lurking in the bullpen - but it didn’t happen and the Twins showed real maturity in how they handled the close situations. It’s a pity that Majeres won’t be with us for the post season cuz I think we have a great chance of being there. I agree with Fry Dog that Ozzie will completely lose it and Kenny will have no choice but to fire him - too bad because I love to listen to him after the Twins have ripped into the Sox. Go Twins and show these non-believers what it takes to stick together and play as a team - and how about that catch by Go-Go? My heart was in my throat at the time but it looked just as beautiful on the replays as it did live - couldn’t sleep last night because I was going over all the great plays! Go Twins!!!!
Blackburn needs to throw his cutter 60% of the time, and pound it in on left-handers. It’s his best pitch, and it’s a good cutter at that.
The Twins have won the first two battles, but I have a feeling tonight’s going to be war.
The Sox have been backed into a corner and will be doing everything they can to get out of it. If I’m in the lineup or on the field I’m keeping an eye out for cheap shots and inside pitches.
Twins need to set the tone early and put SOMETHING on the board in the first few innings so the Sox don’t have a chance to feel like they’re getting back into things.
Twins win tonight, that’s it. Guillen will go on one of his patented meaningless tirades and the Sox will go into full-on mope mode.
Even with three games after tonight, this is the Twins last chance. The winner tonight has a TON of mometum into the final weekend. Twins win and they’ll be pumped to finish off the season. Sox win, and they’ll be comforted knowing that they struggled but managed to squeak out with the lead intact (as they have been doing all season)
yes, what an awesome game.
just found this on chicago tribune site: http://chicagosports.inside-edge.com/whitesoxscoutingreportrosters.aspx?Team_ID=13&dt=092508 you can see all the twins’ (and white sox on their page) scouting reports. Another good tidbit from the Tribune is that, should the Sox play their make-up game with Detroit, Freddy “Big Game” Garcia will face them - and he apparently has a beef with the Sox for disrespecting his talents. Of course, four more wins for the Twins make that all moot.
“Of course, four more wins for the Twins make that all moot.”
Not true.
Four more Twins wins and three more Sox wins will leave the Sox 1/2 game behind.
The Detroit-WSox game on Monday will be necessary and a WSox win Monday forces a playoff Tuesday.
JimCrickket,
I watched the game live on Comcast Sports Net here in Chicago. I agree that the ump missed the call, but it was a hard one given the positions of Gomez and Cabrera. The replay clearly showed that Cabrera tagged Gomez in the back before he touched the bag, but Gomez’s body completely shielded the tag from the ump. You can’t call the tag if you don’t see it.
You’re right that hawk will never admit a bad call that goes their way. I mean, the Sox basically won the Series in 2005 on the back of some horrendous calls that went the White Sox way.
good point, sid. Of course, we’re all assuming (or at least I am) that the Twins do well against the Royals and that the White Sox don’t lay an egg against the Indians. Am thinking this will come down to the make-up game, for sure, and then maybe the one-game playoff.
I think it should be clarified that even if the Twins win their next 4 games, that doesn’t mean they win the division. If Twins win today and sweep the Royals, ChiSox can still force a playoff by sweeping the Indians and then beating the Tigers. We have to win today and then win 1 more game in the Royals series than the Chisox win in their Indians series.
Gomez should put that 2nd base umpire on his Christmas list for his call on that pick off move last night. He was hooked but got a nice gift from the ump. I’m glad it wasn’t a reviewable call.
1 GAME AT A TIME STARTING TONIGHT. GO FREAK OUT OZZIE!!!!!!! NOBODY IN BASEBALL MAKES THAT CATCH. THATS GOTTA HURT A.J.
If the fan touches that ball while leaning into the field of play, the batter is still out. The difference with Bartman was that that ball was in the seats but he didn’t give the Cubs outfielder a chance to catch it. To the people that watched the Chicago broadcast, did Hawk say anything about the missed third stike call to Thome that was followed by his double and then scored the Sox first run?
Jimbo,
Hawk was strangely silent on that third strike call. That’s how you know the ump missed it.
Time for the Ozzie’s annual end-of-season meltdown. You can count on it every year. The guy can’t handle a real pennant race. Sux never would have won the series a couple of years ago if they hadn’t built that huge early season lead. Buh bye, Ozzie. Buh bye, AJ. Buh bye, Hawk.
As a die hard sox fan i want to congratulate the Twins fans! I have watched this team all year and there is NO WAY they win this game tonight. The Twins could call up there entire AAA team and they would still win. The Twins are in the heads of the Sox and there is nothing we can do about it. Good Luck in the Playoffs!!!
and you have heard me last night say that I didn’t think Blackburn pitched a good game. After losing the game tonight, I will take it to the next step by saying that the Twins are nothing but lucky, and there is no chance the Twins deserve to be where they are. Please stay tuned to watch me go off tonight.
when I saw Gomez make that catch on the 9th……I was sure it was going to be a double, but holy crap Gomez…wow!
Jimbo,
You are assuming that the umpire would make the right call there.
It’s a travesty that if the teams tie in the standings, that the one-game thing is played in Chicago. It should OBVIOUSLY be by whoever has the better head-to-head record between the two.
And if that were tied, it should be on a neutral field like in Kansas City, a site that fans from both teams could get to *IF* they really wanted to. It would be odd, but at least it would be 100% fair.
Jimbo, I decided to watch the Chicago feed for the first part of the game, and both DJ and Harrelson said the pitch to Thome was strike three. They said it was a break for the Sox, and the Sox should look to take advantage of a break.
Harrelson is annoying as hell, but he’s no more of a ‘homer’ than DickBert, and is in many cases much more honest.
What’s with the strike zone last night? Looked like Thome got extra swats including a base hit on pitches waist high and on the corners. Minnesota nice Joe needs to frame those pitches and get the crowd in a frenzy.
Please, Twins, pull up the right field curtain and let the faithful flood into the customarily covered cheap seats…
56,000 at full-throat will help our cause tonight…
Let’s Do It…
Historic!
Fan interference?
I believe the ball was on the field of play, so if the fan had touched it, it would have been fan interference, assuming the ump calls it. In the Bartman case, the ball was in the stands, so it was not fan interference.
Um, Hawk & DJ did in fact acknowledge that the ump missed the strike three call on Thome. They mentioned that Thome looked back at the ump and that he was getting ready to walk back to the dugout. A sure sign that he (Thome) knew that he got a break.
Twins fans must not be hearing the same things that I hear from Hawk & DJ. They’ve (H&DJ)been praising the Twins’ style of play throughout the whole series and practicly saying that the Sox can’t compete against them.
It’s nice to hear that some of you Twinkie fans acknowledge that the ump missed the pickoff call at second base. That was the game winner.
I’m still puzzled by how Blackburn gets away with tossing all of those lollipop pitches to my Sox. Oh yea, now I remember, we always take the first pitch for some reason. Then we foul off the next pitch and swing at the ball in the dirt for strike three.
Three hits in one inning that didn’t get out of the infield, leads to two runs. And you wonder why the Twinkies are inside our heads in the Dreaded Dome? Your team always makes the big hit. The Sox popup, hit into DPs or watch called third strikes in the clutch.
Anytime you get tired of Nick Punto, please send him to Chicago.
Gomez = The Catch. Way to go kid. Your table is waiting for you.
Did anyone else find it odd that Alexi Casilla was almost hit in the head two or three times last night? I know the game was close, so the Twins couldn’t retaliate, but after that and Ken Griffey’s homerun poses and trots, if the Twins get a good lead tonight, I really think a reciept is owed somewhere.
And no, I don’t think you can hit Mr. HOF, Jr., but why not AJ? Anywhere but on that big-ass elbow pad of his.
What a moron!! If I see him at another game I will buy him a beer and proceed to pour it over his head. Hopefully that a**hole learned his lesson!
I was out in left field so I didn’t see the pitches too good, but I think Ozzie was right. Blackburn didn’t pitch so good. The Sox hitters helped him out a lot.
Early in the season, Blackburn, after an impressive performance, said, ‘Joe calls ‘em and I throw ‘em.’
Now I hear from Reusse that 3 pitchers are consistently shaking off the calls from Superman. Two of the three are Perkins and Blackburn. Go figure.
God! I gotta work tonight. Argh!!!
“Harrelson is annoying as hell, but he’s no more of a ‘homer’ than DickBert, and is in many cases much more honest.”
Actually, I pretty much agree with you, Chief, to that extent. But the Hawk often also goes off on irrational tangents which are baseless. He becomes an absolute kook.
Really wierd of him. And he’ll never change (meaning grow) out of it.
weird
Does anybody else notice how much more civil baseball fans are than football fans??
“ctowner35 says:
Does anybody else notice how much more civil baseball fans are than football fans??”
(Not that anyone will read it now, but…)
Not on this blog.
