Twins try to sock it to the Sox and beat Mark Buehrle for the third straight time.
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 – 12:04 PMBy La Velle
Sorry this is late. Gardy’s session ran long, then I had a session with my baseball editor, the dangerous Dennis Brackin.
Francisco Liriano threw in the bullpen before the game and felt great. He told pitching coach Rick Anderson that his arm feels better than it did in spring training.
No word on when Glen Perkins will pitch for Class AAA Rochester.
A lot of talk about Jose Morales before the game. Gardy said Morales’ defense, his throwing and footwork, has improved some but he still has work to do. Gardy added that in a pinch - like an extra-inning game when the bench is empty, Morales could play in the field. That won’t happen very often.
So it’s no surprise that Mike Redmond is catching today while Joe Mauer is the DH. Gardy said Mauer will get a full day off sometime during the next road trip.
The Twins are facing Mark Buehrle for the fifth time this season. Buehrle won the first two meetings but the Twins scored 13 runs off him in the next two meetings. Red Dog, by the way, is batting .457 against Buehrle.
To get Jim Souhan off my back, I’m mentioning here that he can be read on Twitter @SouhanStrib
Lineups
White Sox (64-69)
1. Scott Podsednik, DH
2. Gordon Beckham, 3B
3. Paul Konerko, 1B
4. Jermaine Dye, RF
5. Carlos Quentin, LF
6. Alexei Ramirez, SS
7. Alex Rios, CF
8. Jayson Nix, 2B
9. Ramon Castro, C
Pitching: Mark Buehrle, LHP
Twins (67-65)
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Joe Mauer, DH
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5, Jason Kubel. LF
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Brendan Harris, 3B
8. Mike Redmond, C
9. Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: Brian Duensing, LHP
433 Responses to "Twins try to sock it to the Sox and beat Mark Buehrle for the third straight time."
First!
Wow….Yahoo had the wrong lineup
Wow, we have played against Buehrle 5 times this year?
Gardy said Morales’ defense, his throwing and footwork, has improved some but he still has work to do.
wheareas Redmond’s defense, throwing and footwork (not to mention his bat) are stellar…
gee
Good base running by Pod.
Duensing the good or Duensing the AAA hittable today?
Leadoff single. Hope that’s not a sign of things to come.
Morales footwork/defense. Um, ok Gardy. That’s fine.
But there is NO WAY that Morales is not the backup catcher next year if all are healthy. I do not want Dru Butera and his .213 AAA average playing unless it’s an emergency.
“Francisco Liriano threw in the bullpen before the game and felt great. He told pitching coach Rick Anderson that his arm feels better than it did in spring training.”
Does this really mean anything???
When u screw up the hit and run, you’ve reallly packed it in.
The sound quality for this game is terrible again for the 3rd straight game.
Jim - maybe if you weren’t so Shecky, more people would follow you on twitter.
Thrylos… give him credit for doing well against Bruehle. Hopefully having him play today will be for the better!
GO TWINS! I love being at school but still able to listen to the game while waiting for class 
Mulvey gone.
No replacement on the 40-man roster.
Twins have no excuse for leaving Valencia at Rochester except:
“We don’t WANT to!”
“We don’t HAVE to!”
“You can’t MAKE us”
“We are stubborn and stupid!”
“Francisco Liriano threw in the bullpen before the game and felt great. He told pitching coach Rick Anderson that his arm feels better than it did in spring training.”
Does this really mean anything???
Even if Liriano cant be a starter, im sure everyone agrees he would be a dominant reliever.
Looked like a stellar rundown on gameday. 
But Funky, Drew Butera’s footwork is better than Morales’ footwork.
sane,
I would not be surprised they leave that last spot open until AAA season is over.
And bring up Slama.
uh oh… sane is losing his sanity. That can’t be good!
Yeah Wally Backman would play Morales at Second LOL
scottz,
DruBu was named the best defensive catcher in AAA. Despite the fact he has at least a half-dozen PBs on the year.
Good Start!
Funky,
As if passed balls have anything to do with being a good catcher. Most of DruBru’s PB’s were probably Brendan Harris’ fault.
Let’s hope Duensing can have a quality start today like last time. If he could do what he did last time… I’d be a happy camper for sure!
“I would not be surprised they leave that last spot open until AAA season is over.”
Or until we are nine games back, with eight to play.
Of course Rochester might finish in fourth place this way.
And THAT would make it all worthwhile.
Is Young in the doghouse again? I know Mauer is in the DH spot today, so Kubel has to play left, but shouldn’t he get the day off versus Buehrle?
A guy’s gotta have a rant every now and again to stay sane, Crikket.
It is so wrong when people draw conclusions about a player by watching him play, instead of the proper way of just looking at stats
For Once, if Mauer has to GIDP, could he go to the left side!
I dont understand why Kubel would ever start against lefties. His splits are gawk worthy.
“sane is losing his sanity. That can’t be good!”
Thanks for the diagnosis, JC.
We may have caught it in time.
That inning squandered be our best hitters…grrrr
Ouch. That double play hurt.
i’ve seen Mauer do that quite a bit lately, that’s the pitchers best friend.
Mauer and Morneau need to STOP killing rallies……
This is the second time in a recent while where Cabrera and Span hit singles and the Twins fail to score.
Morneau comes through again, wasted opportunities just kill this team sometimes.
RedDog w/ Buehrle. How much meaning can you realy attach to 36 PAs? As if it isn’t good enough that he’s a career .290 hitter? Just because some marketing flunkly puts it on the pre-game sheet doesn’t mean it’s valuable information.
Morneau is hitting .204 against him in 54 PAs.
Well, good players fail 2/3 of the time. It’s just the nature of the beast. I’ll stick with Mauer and Morneau.
No problem.
We have Mr. and Mrs. Congeniality (Red-dog and “the Little Fella”) coming to bat.
What’s up with Morneau? Anyone know his batting average in the past month? He doesn’t seem to be hitting very well.
Of course, if Red was hitting .196 vs Buehrle, there’d be no shortage of “WTF is he doing catching today… he can’t hit this guy!” posts.
Boneyard
Help me with my math…what are chances that they fail 2/3 of the time at the same time? Honest question.
Kubel hit that with some authority
Kubel says, “Tell your ’splits’ to shut the f%#@ up.”
“How much meaning can you realy attach to 36 PAs?”
If there is a big success differential in the 36 PA’s, it is significant.
“The pitcher ain’t gettin’ the hitter out” is a good indicator.
Gee, I wish Young was in the game, Kubel can’t hit against lefties.
About 45%.
Morneau slump in August
BA .220, OBP 319, SLG .390
Besides for Mauer, all balls have been hit hard
There is an equation for that, Aaron, but it’s been a long time since I took stats (a really long tome, but let’s spare the old guy jokes). Any math whizzes on the blog?
Thanks bison
“Help me with my math…what are chances that they fail 2/3 of the time at the same time? Honest question”
They will BOTH fail 4/9 of the time.
what are chances that they fail 2/3 of the time at the same time? Honest question
33.3%
Actually, I think it would more accurately be described as a problem of probability, but again, it’s been decades . . .
On Morneau, it bothered me that he seems willing to heap blame on Billy Smith (Not that he is wrong, mind you) but take very little responsibility himself for the Twins missing the playoffs last year. If he had hit better in September….or even in the fateful end of the year KC series when he struck out with bases loaded…the Twins would have made it. This year, it seems like he has faded again when the Twins need him the most. Maybe instead of criticizing the Twings FO, he should be looking at video and taking a few more batting practice pitches.
One guy fails 2/3 of the time.
The other fails 2/3 of the 2/3 times that the first guy fails.
2/3 of 2/3 = 4/9.
I love it when we talk math
“Maybe instead of criticizing the Twings FO, he should be looking at video and taking a few more batting practice pitches.”
He has sufficient time to do all three.
Ah geez…Don’t tell me this is going to be one of those “collect 12 hits but leave 13 runners in scoring position” day games….
Wher’s that blonde heade freak of an A.J. today? They saving him for a pinch hitting role later?
“I love it when we talk math”
Then, I have been using the wrong come-on lines for most of my life.
I suggest Gardy send Morales up to pinch hit the next time there’s a runner in scoring position… regardless of who’s coming up.
One guy fails 2/3 of the time.
The other fails 2/3 of the 2/3 times that the first guy fails.
Yeah, if there were independent variables, it would be like that. However, Morneau has been failing only half of the time after Mauer has been failing, so you got 1/3 of 2/3 = 1/3 or 33.3%
Or you’ve just been coming onto the wrong people, sane.
The answer depends on whether you add or multipluy, and I think that depends on whether the chances of success are mutually exclusive or not. Who is right here, thry or sane?
They only fail 2/3 of the time 3/8 of the time, so it would be 3/8*3/8=9/64
yeah sane, how come talking baseball and math never helped us with the girls back when we were… you know… young enough that a little help would have helped?
Duensing growing up in a hurry. He looks like a crafty veteran.
He looks like Buehrle!
It’s simple math, thrylos.
Sane has it right.
BTW, 1/3 of 2/3 does not equal 1/3.
“Yeah, if there were independent variables”
Those are independent variables, unless Morneau is letting Mauer’s failures affect him.
Duensing looking real good so far, wonder how long Gardy will let him stay in if he continues like this?
Thry
Isnt 1/3 of 2/3= 22.2%?
Another honest question:
Why do twins fans HATE AJ? His cheekiness made him one of my favorite twins when he was here.
He’s a great heel.
What happened in the 1st please.
How did Duensing pitch to the minimum 3 batters only when one got a hit and another a BB?
Another way to think about it is, how often does one or the other of them succeed.
They will both fail 4 times in 9.
One but not the other will succeed 4 times in 9, and
They’ll both succeed 1 time in 9.
Thyros double counted the instance where they both succeed, thus understating the probability of failure.
romer, Sox had a brainfart and Podsednik got trapped between 1st and 2nd. Not sure if it was a botched hit-and-run or a missed sign or what.
single, caught stealing, walk, Double Play
romer and also a double play, the pitchers best friend
1/3 of 66% is 22%.
span had a brain fart and got caught
And now Span returns the brainfart…..
Thanks, Benny. So then there was a DP?
Is a brain fart when you pass gas through your ears?
Nope, bisonaudit is correct. Thanks, a million.
C’mon, Duensing!
What’s the point of those KGB commercials if they’re going to put the girl in a hasmat suit?
He has that breaking ball really working for him today
Is 1/3 of 2/3 = 1/3 a brain fart?
Thanks, everyone, for the updates.
Meat of the order coming up.
We still have a meat of the order, right?
“Is a brain fart when you pass gas through your ears?”
i think any oraface counts.
I said this the last time Duensing pitched and I’ll repeat it. If Liriano had this guy’s mechanics and balance he’d be an All Star.
The way Duensing delivers the ball just seems like it is not putting any strain on his arm and that he isn’t overthrowing. Just watch how he finishes his pitches (Baker could take note of this, too)
I have no idea if Duensing is for real or a flash in the pan but Liriano should be given a tape of his delivery and be told to come back in February throwing like that.
The “meat of the order” is more like tofu today. Someone needs to step up here.
Same for Buehrle for that matter.
This from BA Transactions section
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Kyle Gibson,
What would be the reason to do this?
Ugh, Redmond? I really don’t get why anyone thinks this team is well managed. Gardy doesn’t have a lot of actual jobs here, making out the lineup is one of them.
Ah, the old “Edamame Lineup.” Either that or the return of the Assbats.
Kubes and Cuddy are the meat of the order.
Justin is absolutely clueless. He needs to sit out some games because he can’t hit right now.
“I think any oraface [sic] counts.”
Only if the brain is in a location other than the head. Cue rimshot.
Maybe Morneau should move down in the order. I bet he would get some pitches he could handle if he was hitting 8th or 9th.
Looks like we have a good old fashioned pitchers duel going today.
I thought today was a really good time to put Cuddles at 1b and get Young in. If you wanted to give Kubes a rest you could have also had GoGo. I guess that’s why I don’t get paid the big bucks.
I still think Morneausie could have used a rest.
“Liriano should be given a tape of his delivery and be told to come back in February throwing like that.”
It is nowhere near THAT easy, Fredo.
Have you ever taken instruction from a golf pro?
If so, you know the difficulties in changing the mechanics of pitching delivery. (golf swing, baseball swing, etc.)
Meat of the Order
We’ve gone vegetarian
and class starts and now it’s to gameday… dang.
Our hitters need to start warming up here… Span being the only one who can hit off the guy it seems.
Cuddy tries harder than Dye.
Dye wasnt even THINKING about maybe getting 2 bases on that ball. No excuse for not burying these guys today.
It’s always that easy from the blog, sane.
The Twins aren’t exactly making Buehrle work hard.
sane,
I’ve funded three golf pros childrens’ college funds.
I was being facetious in a way. I know that it is really hard to change.
But I’ll stick to my belief that unless Liriano improves his mechanics he will be what he was this year. He really needs to learn how to throw then learn how to pitch with that new wing.
Why hate on RedDog? He’s getting a little long in the tooth but for a reserve catcher I think he’s still has an above average bat.
“Maybe Morneau should move down in the order. I bet he would get some pitches he could handle if he was hitting 8th or 9th.”
How would that help? Kubel and Cuddy are giving protection to Morneau.
But I appreciate your desparation, ES 16!
Now we’ll see how much Duensing slows the game down to get out of this.
Protection is a fiction. But so is the idea that Justin would see better pitches hitting down in the order.
Fredo,
I agree completely.
Liriano’s mission statement should be “SIMPLIFY and Stay Balanced at ALL COST”!
No excuses other than the fact the Buerhle is really, really good.
“Liriano’s mission statement should be “SIMPLIFY and Stay Balanced at ALL COST”!”
And Morneau should use the same mission statement.
I have to say my concerns with Punto all season looks Einstein-like compared to this uproar over Justin Morneau. The guy is just fine, folks.
Two adequate starts now from Manship and Duensing.
God, these Twins sure now how to string out a guy’s emotions…….
Looks like Shazelle was right - Duensing is pitching just as bad as Blackburn and Manship did
Cool, watching fan graphs, CWS was 62% to win before the DP and 48% after. 2 outs are worth a lot and 3rd base isn’t worth much.
Three college funds, huh, Fredo? I quit after 2. I discovered werbellik (when he chooses to blog, anyway) is an excellent source of golf tips.
Is there no position that Morales can play? None whatsoever?
I hear ya, trish.
Will try and compensate for you, keep you updated. So please ask questions.
I’m all energy today because of the Twins.
“The guy is just fine, folks”
If you are saying that Morneau is not struggling right now, then neither of you two “is just fine”.
It is interesting (perhaps and indictment?) to me that Liriano’s delivery flaws have continued for so long. One has to wonder if either Liriano is incapable/unwilling to make the needed changes or if his mentor is incapable/unknowing how to get him to do them. Perhaps a case where a different voice… I sure would hate to see FL leave and blossom elsewhere…unless we got someone like JJ Hardy for him, of course.
I like it, Too Nice. Where is our charming shazel today? Just can’t stomach eating crwo, I guess. Duensing is doing all right, isn’t he?
Justin is 4-34 with 4 walks since AUG 16 in his current but predictable slump to end the year. C’mon Justin we need you for the final month.
Will Gardy let Duensing come out for the sixth? What was his pitch count?
Batting averages for Twins’ infielders during their last 10 games:
Harris .322
Punto .318
Casilla .250
Cabrera .193
Morneau .118
PoD nomination for Too Nice’s 1:09.
Morales plays catcher better than Red, and he hits MUCH better. I don’t understand the thinking at all. And don’t give me that PH bull. I love how some people think 1 PH is more valuable than 4-5 plate appearances….if that was true, wouldn’t you always save Mauer for that key PH appearance?
Fredo, Brian Sabean was willing to deal him for a reason. It’s not just the Twins that haven’t been able to address Liriano’s mechanics/susceptibility to injury.
Steve,
His PC is 60
Sample size much.
Only 60 through 5 for Duensing.
Whew, this game is moving right along.
Great movement on that curve by Duensing.
Haven’t you ever seen a snowcone before Ozzie?
Play ball, umpire crew!
121 pitches combined through 5 innings, or roughly what it would take Scott Kazmir alone to get through 5 innings.
six strikeouts so far, not too shabby, I think he is good to go seven innings
“Brian Sabean was willing to deal him for a reason.”
Sabean wanted to get rid of Joe Nathan, Boof and Liriano so badly, he even agreed to put up with AJ for one year.
DOUBLE!!?? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!
If they lose this game over that call, this guy needs to lose his damn job.
Fans better throw some crap onto the field.
It’s a 100% clean catch.
This is BS!
Awful call.
Thats the Twins’ favorite umpire behind the plate again, right? Timmy boy?
what happened???
Ozzie whined and got a clean catch against the baggie reversed to make it a double
I thought Hunter Wendelstadt was the Twins’ favorite umpire.
HP ump is Bob Davidson. Tschida is at 2B.
no harm, no foul (luckily)
yep, romer… you’re right. and it was Tschida who overruled the 1B umpire’s original accurate call.
Duensing bails out the Umps
I thought Tichenor was the twins favorite umpire
Considering who he is and what he’s going through, Duensing is having a monster game.
Wow!
Bad call, but the kid still pitched out of it.
Duensing is tough to shake that off
Blindness can be the only reason for that reversal.
Who reversed it?
Ha! They get 4 outs and still don’t score and nothing will happen to the UMP. His job is secure because they make mistakes and nothing ever happens..Unfortunately.
The Twins hate ALL umpires because of the World-wide umpire conspiracy organized to f*ck-up the Twins…..or get Gardy to behave….whichever comes first.
No harm? 1) We’ll see where CWS is at in their line up come the 9th. 2) Half a dozen extra pitches for Duensing = more out our bullpen has to get.
Thanks Tschida! No doubt he changed the call. Horrible over-rated ump from St. Paul. Just ask the Red Sox from the playoffs about six years ago!
And the always dangerous LNP comes to the plate . . .
Thanks JC. How can you possibly reverse that?
It was wholly visable all the way.
Too much coffee for Timmie?
LNP and his popups.
bison, I would argue it now works in our favor since undoubtedly it’s been relayed from the Twins dugout that they missed the call…
look @ span do work
Span is on fire today
Span having a nice season after almost being written off after Spring Training.
Looked to me like Tschida reversed it. The 1B ump asked him if he saw it differently and, apparently, he did.
And sorry, sane, but Tschida sucks… and for that matter Wendelstadt does, too. He and his old man have been screwing up calls for two generations.
yeah, that Redmond-Punto section of the lineup is looking a bit silly by Gardy at the moment.
Come on OC!!
The Twins are going nowhere with stiffs like Duensing on the mound.
Same with Harris, Too Nice.
Jason, so what we’re going to get one back? That’s not the way it works. They don’t even things up.
75 pitches through 6 innings ofr Duensing. With 7 strikeouts and one extra out to get, that’s pretty impressive.
Someone besides Span needs to prove he can hit an 86 mph fastball.
Hey everyone, remember Austin who posted here?
Now’s the time when I miss him.
Talk some talk, get the Twinkers goin/!!!
Swinging at pitches up by your forehead O’Crab.
Have people now seen enough of Cabrera to realize he’s not a good baseball player? I hope BS and Gardy have….if not all the fans.
Really needed that to stay in the park
YEAH JOE!!!
Bash this sluffer Buehrle!!!!
damn… next year they should raise the height of the walls in the dome!
oh… never mind.
“And sorry, sane, but Tschida sucks… and for that matter Wendelstadt does, too. He and his old man have been screwing up calls for two generations”
No argument.
But why all the “other umpires”?
Why the Twins?
Damn that Tschida! He even made the ball bounce into the stands.
Intentionally walking Morneau to pitch to Kubel? I’m not sure I agree with Ozzie’s stragedy here…
ESPN says Tschida is at third…
DO IT UNCONSCIOUS KUBES!!!!!!!!!
KUBEL!!!!
F**K YOU UMP!
The home plate UMP does not favor the Twins. KUBES!!!!
JC, I can still occasionally hit an 86 mph fastball. Just not where and when Buerhle throws it. Not many guys have shown they can do that.
justice prevails. Should have been a walk on that 2nd strike.
I can’t believe Ozzie walked Morneau there! I’d rather pitch to him than Kubes lately…
Quentin lol
Kubel: “screw the one RBI…I’ll take two”
and who didn’t want Kubel to play today??? HA
Whoo-hoo! Atta Babe, Kubes!
I STILL can’t believe Gardy had the nerve to start Kubel over Young!
haha
Boneyard, I used to be able to, too… but nobody paid you and me millions a year to do it.
Thankfully, Kubel responded to my challenge.
God help me, I miss JimmyBee too.
Looks like Ozzie may have outsmarted himself.
Finally some runs on a clutch hit, time for more!
Yeah… really too bad Kubel can’t hit tough lefties.
Next guy to hold up a “Free Delmon!” sign should be flogged.
JC, Kubes responded to the umps’ challenge.
He’s our little monster now.
And we all thank you for issuing the cahlenge, JC.
Btw, nobody everpaid me anything to hit an 86 mph fastball b/c that was, unfortunately, my ceiling. Sigh.
romer,
“God help me, I miss JimmyBee too.”
I can replace him, but my liver wouldn’t survive it.
Hey but Young may have hit the Grand Slam that Kubel couldn’t! Just kidding…
He left the pitch up…….normal result — a single for Kornerko.
My liver is the size of a basketball. I’ll replace JimmyBee. It may take me a while to get this quart of scotch down my gullet, though. Be patient.
Tangent: Was anyone else curious as to why Nathan did not enter last night’s game in the 9th inning….or even worse, the fact that it was going to be Bobby Keppel (not Nathan) in the 10th if the game went extras?
That seemed like a violation of textbook managing. When you’re the home team, in a tie game, your closer should get the ninth.
Come on Duensing, don’t pull a Blackburn and give the runs right back.
Anybody trust Mijares today?
Keep ripping on Delmon, that’s good. No one knows what he would have done today, he does have good numbers against Buehrle.
Slow it down Duenser, make Dye think about his pain.
Nice GIDP!
YES!!!
Gardy won’t put him in unless it’s a save situation. As I’ve said all year his managing is costing us big time. Therefore, FireGardy!
Jason, I thought about that and I assumed the reason was that Nathan had pitched the prior couple of games in a row… and with a day game today where he might well be needed for a save, I was ok with letting someone else do the job last night in the tie game.
Sox aren’t even trying
PoD for romer’s 1:43?
Kubel with the fundamentals BABY!!!!
Romer… what you asked for is done. Go ahead and read away
Quentin thinking he is GoGo or what?
Would Young have cut Span off and thrown out CQ?
They gave me the extra out that had now with that bonehead play.
Quentin runs the bases about as well as he plays LF.
I disagree, JC. You know darn well if there was a save situation Nathan would have pitched. You don’t turn a tie game over to Bobby Keppel when Nathan is available.
I tell you, there isn’t much fire in those Pale Hose right now.
As long as the Sox start trying when they play Detroit, I’ll forgive them.
Kubel’s legs are finally looking healthy.
He was a good OF (and pitcher) with a great arm at Highland HS (CA) before his injury.
Twibnotes, probably not, because they wouldn’t have run on Young’s arm.
To think Brendan Harris sat on the bench for three months this season (April, May, half of July, half of August), while Punto played…
someone stole a sign there, huh?
I’ll get there, trish. My computer is slowish today.
After the game……
Hey everybody, trish put her short story assignment on her blog. Just click on her name here and read it for good luck!
Sox have the Twins’ signs. (pitch-out on a steal attempt)
Too bad I’m not watching this game live. I’m missing all the crisp baserunning!
I would have to agree with JC on not pitching Nathan last night. If he would of pitched last night there could of been a good chance he would have been available for the day game today, and looks like we might need him today.
Apocalypse!!!
PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNTO!!!!!!!
Punto–What a moron
The Return of The Head First Slide, Part Cinquante-deux!!!
You can stab it with a steely knife but you just can’t kill the Beast.
$4.5 million infield hit. Better than a pop-out.
Here comes the giant!
yeah, the WGN guys were kind of funny with Punto and his head first slide….
Too bad Harris was actually safe. I know the ball beat him, but there was no tag to the feet of Harris by Ramirez. Tschida 0-2!
WOOKIE!!!!!
Rauch in the evening, Rauch in the morning, Rauch all the time.
It is odd that Gameday has Tschida listed at 2B. He was the HP ump last night so he should be at 3B today.
Bear down BIG GUY!!
Very nice performance by Duensing, let’s hope the bullpen can hold up their end today.
This morning on KSTP, PR asked Cuddy if after hitting his two HRs last night he was going to get a full neck tattoo. Cuddy said that you need to be a guy as big as Rauch to get something like that, because even if it looked stupid, nobody’s going to tell him.
Wow he can’t find the plate.
NICE!!
Punto nice turn on the DP
Wow - Twins turn their 4th double play of the inning - Go Twins!!!!!!!!!!!
Well that works nicely.
thanks Rios!!
Wrong, Dick. Hitting the mound actually sped up that grounder.
OC in perfect position.
Let Nathan do two innings today
Awesome outing by Duensing!
No kidding, Too Nice. I hope Gardy doesn’t go back to Alexi on Friday…
I guess that’s pitching to contact
Chewbacca pitches out of a jam!
Oops - 4th double play of the game - my bad. MC
but if anything if Harris was safe he would have argued it…. seeing he has the hot temper of the group. I am not sure he was tagged before he hit the bag but he didn’t argue it so it must have been close enough or they were told not to say anything to Tschida and the Twins have something in the works with the umpire association to look into his “work”
Don’t jinx ‘em Robbie……you little twit!
(That was me imitating Austin…..)
Boy, the Twins couldn’t have asked for better starting pitching for this series.
BTW, nothing PoD-worthy yet…entries accepted all afternoon.
You hit St. Joe, DORK!!
CREAM IT MVP!!!!!
Minnesota Cat - 4th DP of the “inning”? They must be playing some great defense today.
Of course he’s out, TISH-CHEATER!!!!!!!!
Gardy should go argue that catch
Just on priciple
(I nominate myself for PoD for my 2:05)
Just on principle
Rob does his homework he is stats geek does a real good job.
Robbie is out of his slump, vicar.
Twins Fans, Stand Up and Shout!
Sox Fans, Go Home and Pout!
COME ON, LET’S GET TO CUDDY!
Cue Twitchy
If you can spell Rob’s last name you can criticize him. lol
Enigma Joe comin’………
If Nathan is “Twitchy”, we should start calling Kubel “Winky”.
Dick is calling out the HP ump!!
Pithy Twitchy
Frickin’ umps…….
Bad gas?
Orafice probs?
Gomez = Bouncy
Delmon = Ploddy
Harris = Vanishy
Punto = Effigy
Home run! HOME RUN!!!
WAKE UP, UMP!!
(My Austin imitation).
Umps = Ray Charles
Damn it Nathan!
Well, I guess he made Beckham swing the bat.
I knew that was gonna happen.
Beckham is a natural.
I think that was a double…Fan interference…or something
I had a feeling Bacon was going to do that.
I’m not sure what was the bad call this time, but it sure sounds like the umpires are wearing White Sox jerseys today.
That Beckham guy is a pretty good hitter for a soccer player. Plus his wife is hot too……….
It’s the return of Everday’s An Adenture With Joe.
Dye will not “Bend it like Beckham”…
Better get Jose Morales warmed up.
Ha, Aaron!
yeah… wish theyd trade him to the NL!
I’d love to switch to WGN here cuz I love a demure Hawk.
But I don’t dare tempt bad luck.
This Beckham kid sure likes hitting against the Twins. Looks like he might be around for awhile too.
BLOWN SAVE!!! SOB!
WTF Nathan
Nice job Nathan
wtf nathan… you don’t do this!
Now we know why they don’t pitch Nathan two innings…it’d be 8-2
Where’s the Godfather of 220? We need to chat…
So much for Nathan in the Hall of Fame talk…
two feet too far.
Sucks bigtime
Poor Duensing just like Manship yesterday
Wow, just wow.
Sox fans heckling me now here at work.
Bring in Crain!
Jason,
I think you’re question was WHY no Nathan in the 9th last night?
You just got your answer.
Too bad Gardy didn’t do the same today. Sadly, game lost due to bad managing.
Regards,
Apparently Nathan doesn’t want rookie starters getting wins.
I just let out a wail at my desk and everyone is looking at me like I’m sick or something. I am sick - no way should Nathan give up Duensing’s win - I’m just sick - get Nathan out of there.
Maybe Rauch could be the new closer and Nathan could take Keppel’s job as the mop-up man.
So much for a short and sweet game…
Another PoD nominee at Jason’s 2:21.
It seems like Nathan doesn’t have any trust in his fastball…what happened to the 95-6 mph heat?
I’m beginning to think that Gardy is too automatic with Nathan in the 9th inning.
Where’s the Godfather of 220? We need to chat…
“Oh noes. Nathan blew t3h save! The sky is fahling!”
I’ve never seen somebody so happy to see the players on their favorite team struggle.
Well, at least now we’ll all get to sit through shazel’s rant and rave about how Duensing’s no good because he didn’t get the W today.
Section 220: Just a glitch or mini slump eh..Nathan is not the same anymore He can’t throw strikes.
I vote Rauch for closer.
If you think I’m happy right now T you don’t get me.
Let me re-phrase that: you don’t get me.
You’ve got to be kidding me!!!
HR…that seems to be the pattern
Duensing pitches a gem and Nathan pisses all over it. Classic.
Get Nathan out of there..He does not have it!!
I repeat…He has not been the same since that 53-pitch outing in KC……The dude is hurt or just spent or something. He ain’t right and there needs to be a change in philosophy regarding him as an automatic appearance in save situations.
wtf
Gardy you have to take him out.
Gardy you have to take him out.
Nathan owes Duensing one big apology!
WTF!!!!
If Nathan was smart, he’d pull a Perkins after the game and say his arm was hurting and he shouldn’t have been out there.
Somebody needs to tell Twitchy that Ron Davis IS coming for the end-of-the-dome festivities. He doesn’t have to fill in for him.
This game has turned into the bad news twins. What a joke!
I’m in a glass case of emotion right now.
this is flippin tragic.
hand on to the ball redmond you suck!
typical twins - snatch defeat out of the jaw of victory.
Twins can’t get that third strike anymore. Wow. This is a bummer.
This could be a huge momentum killer.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Didn’t Howard just tell us that Nathan is out of his mini slump? I think there is a bigger unknown problem with him yet to come to light.
Why so many sliders from Joe? This has been his problem for the past few outings now. Either he is hurting or he/or whoever is calling the pitches is dumb.
I know Carlos hit a fastball out but that was a location problem not a lack of gas problem.
Nathan needs a long rest. He is nothing but a bunch of nerves out there. He is jerking all over the place. Sports psychologist anyone?
Why do they pronounce Matt Guerrier’s name as ‘guh-RARE”? They ran a promo earlier in the game and Matt pronounced his own name ‘guh-REAR’.
Don’t even know what to say right now…
I meant Beckum.
He ain’t right and there needs to be a change in philosophy regarding him as an automatic appearance in save situations.
If he’s not the go-to in a save situation…he isn’t the closer anymore. Becaues that is the Closer’s job.
At least we get a day off to have this one soak deeper into the wound.
Nice way to end the home stand and you have and extra day to think about this one. This game and the blown 10 run lead in Oakland may be the season in a nutshell. No more Nathan in save situations till a doctor checks him out.
Trish,
An interpetation of your short story could be that you had a premonition about the Twins 9th inning play today.
The guy laying down gasping for air would be Gardy, IMO…
Twins will go quietly in the ninth, they always do… Dang this stinks!!!
The only thing worse is that Shazelle will probably show up now.
So for those who are watching the game…should the game have been over on the appeal of the check swing, strike three? John Gordon made it sound like it should have been.
Safe to say Morales hits for Red?
O.k. now I am really pissed! Nathan, Gurrier, and Morneau all need to get it together. Right now they absolutely blow chow!
From 0-2 with two out and nobody on to losing 4-2. Unreal! A great pitching effort by a rookie ruined by a struggling veteran who has lost faith in his fastball!
Chalk this up as the 2nd worst debacle of the season behind the Oakland one of course.
That was the type of inning that can set back about 2 weeks of good fortune.
typical twins - snatch defeat out of the jaw of victory.
Repeat after me:
11 of the last 14…
Very perceptive T. This guy shouldn’t be the closer for about the next week. Let Rauch or someone else handle for it a while.
This one really hurts
Twins will go quietly in the ninth, they always do
You have a really short memory
Who did all the whining at the trade deadline? Morneau and Nathan. Who has sucked the last month? Morneau and Nathan. They need to keep there mouths shut and play!
The only thing worse is that Shazelle will probably show up now.
shazel shows up anyway. Because he’s an idiot.
randi: I’m glad somebody else is calling out Morneau. The guy had his dizzy spell but doesn’t appear to be out of it yet.
Without a solid cleanup guy or a stable closer this team could be in trouble.
I love how the two guys (Nathan and Morneau) who were complaining about the FO not getting the players they needed to make a stretch run, have folded down the stretch.
To follow up my rant… after the homer to Beckum (on a fastball) Nathat threw 12 sliders (with virtually no control over and of them other than Konerko’s HR) and ONLY 5 fastballs.
Really? From a guy who throws mid 90’s after they’ve had a does of Deunsing all day.
Then Matt throw 5 sliders (1 for a wild pitch and ONLY 1 fastball (which got the only out). Who’s calling this game and what happened to working off the fastball that is the Twins mantra?
This has been pretty common or Nathan’s recent bad outings. Someone has to figure out who the hell is doing this or why the closer can’t throw a fastball.
Oh by the way, the first two hitters saw 4 fastballs, 2 curves and ONLY 1 slider.
right when you need the “studs” the most…. nathan and guerrier pitch batting practice, and morneau can’t hit. the twins are sooooooooo out of synch still. the young spot starters come through and the reliable vets fail, miserably. d a m n.
WAAAAAA SEASON’S OVER!
Perhaps Morales may have been a better choice at the start of the game, Gardy.
Painful, painful loss. Ouch. We NEED a Cleveland win tonight or it’s probably over.
Ozzie Guillen is like “Take that you f-ing Metrodome, I guess we have the last laugh!” Boy aint that the truth, now Detroit will probably win and that will stink as well.
“Perhaps Morales may have been a better choice at the start of the game, Gardy. ”
Because he would have pitched a scoreless 9th!
Why did he pinch hit Buscher to end the game instead of Young?????
And once again as always, we can question the pitch selection. Damn it. This one could very well sink us…
Bring it Meat.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m really bummed about the game, I’m just not ready to have Nthan beheaded for it. Over on Joe C’s blog before the game, Waylon Gardy asked if Nathan was HOF-worthy. My, my, how feelings can change in a hurry. Just like games.
This loss is just not on the bullpen, everyone had a hand in it.
Gardy trots out his “B” game lineup.
Hitters don’t produce enough RISP during the game.
Duensing deserves better…
It would have been sweet to go on the road trip after beating the Sox three games but now the Twins will be thinking about how they let one get away that should have been won. I would like to be the one to interview both Morneau and Nathan and ask them “WTF is going on with you?” I think it’s a legitimate question and one that they should face up to. This is crunch time and they folded like a paper airplane - let’s man up and make some apologies and move on; hope to see the Tigers lose tonight.
Because he would have pitched a scoreless 9th!
No. Because he would have probably got more hits than Redmond and would have not dropped that ball at the plate as Redmond did to allow the go ahead runner (beat by 2 yards) to score instead of ending the top of 9th in a 2-2 tie.
Smith should save Gardy from himself and DFA Redmond.
No chinmusic…others may have fault, but with a two run lead, two out, two strikes and no one one base…yeah it entirely the bullpens fault.
With respect.
I thought we had Beckem struck out on the first check swing with the count 0-2. Man did it ever fall apart after that. Why didn’t Nathan challenge Konerko with a 3-2 fastball? He swung through the first pitch fastball up and in. Instead a flat 3-2 slider and tie game. Nathan had no confidence today in any of his pitches and we’ve been saying that a lot lately.
As it turns out, Morales did get more hits than Redmond. I don’t know if he makes the play att he plate or not.
“This loss is just not on the bullpen, everyone had a hand in it.”
Nah, the Twins beat ‘em 2-0 — except for what Nathan did (no velocity, 2 walks).
The starting pitching has looked a lot better lately, but the Twins need to score more runs! They can’t do that when Morneau doesn’t hit, Punto is playing, etc, etc Cabrera? I’m thinking not such a goos pickup after all…
It’s not why they lost but there is something funny about the fact that on the day Gardy tell LEN3 that Morales’ D is jsut not good enough to play Red Dog can’t hand the throw to the plate on the GW wun, had a past ball/wild pitch get past him that allows the 4th run to score and the goes 0-3 at the plate. Would Morales really have been worse in the lineup today? Hard to believe.
It’s not why they lost but there is something funny about the fact that on the day Gardy tell LEN3 that Morales’ D is just not good enough to play Red Dog can’t hand the throw to the plate on the GW run, had a past ball/wild pitch get past him that allows the 4th run to score and the goes 0-3 at the plate. Would Morales really have been worse in the lineup today? Hard to believe.
Tough loss. No need to hang Nathan over it, even good players have bad days. Sure would have been nice to have Morales’ bat in there the whole game…..this lame excuse about his D is ridiculous, but I’m sure that everyone will keep singing the company song on this one.
LENIII,
Next time Nathan and Morneau come to you mid season gripping about the FO’s inaction for the stretch run, please gently remind them that what this team needs more than anything is for those two to not disaapear at the end of the season.
Morneau
September 08
.243/.298/.398
August 09
.220/.319/.390
If he has the same type of Sept that he did last year it wouldn’t matter what BS did pre deadline the Twins won’t go anywhere.
Morneau and Nathan need to take a reality check. Less crying about how the team doesn’t have the players to support them, and a whole lot more support of the team.
Mike wants wins:
This game should be hung squarely on Nathan…..Its called a BLOWN save. That is he one and only job. And he sucks at it!
He always struggles and is NOT one of MLB’s closers……..The Twins will be fun to watch outdoors. You dumb butt.
chinmusic says:September 2nd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
“This loss is just not on the bullpen, everyone had a hand in it.”
Huh?
2 outs 2 strikes 0 balls and Nathan goes nibbling?
YEP, it’s everyone elses fault.
Regards,
How does m’s post make through the filter? Seriously.
I never said this one loss wasn’t partially on him. I said I’d not hang him over it. But, feel free to disagree in your mature manner….
Nathan isn’t one of mlb’s closers? He sucks? Huh?
HOF? he’s not even a top closer in the game, he has no confidence and has no intimidation at all. Batters are not afraid of him he’s one of the easiest hit closers in the game, and also he’s way overpaid.
but red is good in the clubhouse!
too bad the games aren’t played in there then red and nicky would be allstars!
Redmond’s blooper-reel triple earned him enough points for the Twins to sign him to an extension.
Weren’t Nathan and Morneau complaining at the deadline?
Lol, these dbags should never talk again… Mauer is the only one that should have a say in anything..and Jose Morales
The Twins could be FIVE games back by the time they play again.
Red may be good in the clubhouse, but I think, at least for Gardy’s purposes, LNP is good somewhere else. It’s not the sort of thing you’d do in the clubhouse. Unless of course you’re sure everyone’s gone.
Nathan blew it today, but M. Redmond missed a chance to tag out the go ahead run at the plate to end the inning. He was afraid of getting run over and took his eye off of a perfect throw from Span. Then he let a ball get past him during the next at-bat. Sorry, but the glorified bench coach needs to stop being put in the lineup. There’s no reason Morales can’t fill that role. I don’t care if Redmond is “one of Gardy’s guys.”
Twins are schizo!
When the offense is hot, the starting pitching and/or bullpen stinks.
When the starters get it going, the offense stinks and/or the bullpen stinks.
If the Twins could ever fire on all cylinders, it would be a sight to behold.
If the Twins were .500 on day games (22-22) instead of 17-27, they would be 72-61 and have a 1 game lead in the division. Gardy has failed to balance his lineup throughout the week and has put in all his backup players in most of the day games this year.
“No. Because he would have probably got more hits than Redmond and would have not dropped that ball at the plate as Redmond did to allow the go ahead runner (beat by 2 yards) to score instead of ending the top of 9th in a 2-2 tie.”
And the rest of the game would have played out exactly the same with Morales instead of Redmond.
The catcher plays a part in EVERY SINGLE PITCH. How can you claim that the game would play out exactly the same save for an extra hit and a play at the plate? It wouldn’t have. Perhaps Morales calls a curve instead of a fastball, and the thing gets put into the upper deck in the 1st inning. Totally different game.
The Twins obviously feel that Morales shouldn’t be behind the plate. What do you know that they don’t about the defensive side of catching?
No need to be trashy…
But this one is on Nathan. You don’t need Captain Obvious to figure that out. All Star closers are not supposed to give up back-to-back HRs and then walk two guys with a 2-run lead and 2 outs.
We’ll fight again Friday, friends.
The early afternoon (national) SportsCenters on ESPNRadio said the Sox were in Detroit today.
They were wrong.
“A lot of talk about Jose Morales before the game. Gardy said Morales’ defense, his throwing and footwork, has improved some but he still has work to do. Gardy added that in a pinch - like an extra-inning game when the bench is empty, Morales could play in the field. That won’t happen very often.”
Thanks La Velle for pointing this out again. This is the same thing Gardy has said for two years and has said a couple hundred times. People don’t want to understand it.
Morales is a good third catcher.
Gardenhire: seen enough already?
With 2 out and an 0-2 count and the Twins still in contention, this is one of the more devastating losses in recent memory. And now we don’t play again until Friday, although Nathan probably needs a day off.
Gardy playing Redmond again over Morales is BS (and I don’t mean Bill Smith). Morales could knock one out every at bat he gets and would STILL never get a start.
But Nathan’s the goat here. Oh wait, goats are better than that.
There needs to be stat for not only blown saves, but near blown saves(i.e. allowing tying runs on). I bet Joe is one of the leaders in that. He’s still probably better than average, but fact is he’s still never closed out a big game.
And when closers go bad, they go bad hard and fast. Smith needs to at least inquire about what he could get for the guy in the offseason.
Ugh… Cleveland sucks. Wish they’d help us out a little bit.
Nathan struggled in the all-star game, but pitched out of it. Seems to be something goin on since then.
I have to wonder if Morneau is still having problems with dizziness. It took Span a while to get back to where he is.
Well, guess Twins will have to beat the Tigers themselves. Certainly can’t get help from anyone else in the division. That is the one bad thing about not so good division teams. Luckily Twins have 7 games against Tigers. They will win or lose the division in those games obviously. Don’t like that the team has all of tomorrow to think about this shocking loss.
Talk about jumping the gun Disguntled. Lets just fire everyone who messed up today lol
“To get Jim Souhan off my back, … he can be read on Twitter @SouhanStrib”
um … really … no thanks!!!
If you have to advertise through other writers ….. hmmmm.
Wow, really can’t understand the hate for Nathan today!!
Sudden case of “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-itis”. I’m not shocked though.
Matty g has not gotten ot done his last two outings either. He HAS to pick up Nathan there.
On Aug 4-9 the Twins on the road went 2-4 vs Cleveland and Detroit. After that point, they pretty much had to win every series to get back in contention.
If they had won every series since then (and split the 4-game in TX), their record since Aug 9 would be 14-8.
But their record since Aug 9 is 13-9.
Mathematically, I think they’re one game shy of where they should mimally be.
So, now if they win the next 7 series (and they haven’t lost a series since the Cleveland one Aug 14-16), they’d go 15-7 before the big 4-game showdown in Detroit — and still have a decent chance at the division.
If they sweep Cleveland this weekend, then mathematically they’re the same as having won every series since August 9 (and gotten the split in TX).
That should be the goal Twins leadership instills in its players. And they’ll use their three good starting pitchers (as of late) to try and do it.
Detroit goes to Tampa Bay this weekend. Tampa Bay is gasping to stay in the WC. It’s very possible for them to win this series.
And very possible for the Twins to win theirs in Cleveland.
I’m with danimals on this one. If you went to somebody who didn’t watch the game and said “Wow our pitching blew that one” the last thing from their mind would be “Oh Nathan blew the save?”
If you believe that’s it for Nathan this year, then you might as well stop watching now. Because if Nathan’s done, the Twins don’t have a closer.
(And frankly they don’t have much at 1B right now either)
When 2 of your all stars are in huge slumps, others need to step it up.
“If you believe that’s it for Nathan this year, then you might as well stop watching now. Because if Nathan’s done, the Twins don’t have a closer.”
Nobody’s on-field performance could make me stop watching the Twins. I don’t believe Nathan is ‘done’ but I am worried there may be something wrong. Last year he went through a rough period where he got lit up a bit, but I don’t recall him throwing so many pitches like he has been lately.
If he had given up four (or more) runs without retiring a batter I would have said, “Oh, well. He didn’t have it today.” That’s not what happened. He retired the first two easily and then completely fell apart after appearing to strike out the third without getting the call. I don’t believe he choked. Joe Nathan doesn’t choke. He just suddenly hit a wall and that is cause for concern.
I was watching the highlights and Redmond has terrible location. Nathan threw the pitches right where Red put his glove….
You have to expect a TB series win this weekend and the Twins must sweep.
The most important thing for now is that DET loses today… its the difference btween 4 back and 5 back
If you went to someone on the street and said our closer is struggling, Morneau is in another horrific slump and we are relying on Pavano, Blackburn and 2 rookies called up from triple A, the last thing from their mind would be that we have gone 11-5 for the best stretch of the season.
If Nathan is done and you stop watching you migh miss something special or you will miss nothing. The same is true if Nathan is not done.
All people have their ups and downs.
Those who “pile on” people during their “downs” are called rats.
nope. they aren’t called rats, they are called distraught fans.
“they are called distraught fans”
That may be an explanation for rat-like behavior, but if he walks like a rat, and acts like a rat, he’s a rat.
you know whats interesting the only ones saying Mauer shouldn’t be MVP are certain Yankee fans and journalists who don’t even cover sports. Other Yankee fans welcome it because they have hopes of getting Mauer for 2011.
Just a thought
Personally it appears some umps squeeze Nathan on purpose and others are a little generous. In LA and now those two umps cost us a ball game
why are the royals the only team in our division that knows how to be a spoiler.
the bad news is they are the last team we play this season
Good to see the Indians helping as they have been doing the past couple of days
Not sure if anyone commented on this yet, but Nathan kind of took a shot at Redmond by talking about the pitch calling and saying how he is getting too predictable out there. Is Red really that big of an influence in the clubhouse that he needs to play over Morales?
“Nathan kind of took a shot at Redmond by talking about the pitch calling and saying how he is getting too predictable out there.”
Pitch-calling is a collaborative process.
Nathan has the wave-off power and if he agrees to throw pitches that he thinks are a bad idea, then he should be (and actually was, IMO) taking a shot at the Nathan-Redmond pitch selection collaboration.
