RNC delegates cheer for Twins
Posted on September 5th, 2008 – 8:44 AMBy Howard
Yes, that’s why they kept chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” during Sen. McCain’s acceptance speech.
It did make me laugh this morning when I read into this comment from last night, posted shortly after the game began and before things got outta hand in Toronto: “I think I’ll just hit myself in the head with a hammer tonight instead of watching the Twins.”
Thanks, Izzy.
Fortunately, I had news duties to distract me last night so I didn’t hafta suffer.
I was afraid the Twins were going to pull off an effort that looked like this one from last July, when they were still trying to convince some folks they were contenders and all the wheels fell off in one afternoon, including an 11-run inning by the Blue Jays and a shutdown performance by the same Jesse Litsch who mastered them last night.
It’s pretty simple. There are no more excuses. Most of the remaining games are at home, most of the matchups are favorable. None of the remaining opponents mess with the Twins the way the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Angels do. There could be a hugely emotional and entertaining seven-day stretch against Tampa Bay and the White Sox starting at the end of next week.
Time to get after it, battle their tails off, don’t get too high, don’t get too low, take it one day at a time, do the little things right, pick each other up, use the Dome field advantage and show how well they can compete at the major-league level. Did I miss anything there?
other people are here too
128 Responses to "RNC delegates cheer for Twins"
Would sending them a DVD of Rocky work? (Or — wait, this is Minnesota, send them Miracle. At least that would resonate with Mauer and Morneau…)
In Gardy’s postgame last night he said “We play better at home so we have to play better at home” so i’m not worried at all now. Yesterday i wondered why he didn’t put Korecky in for the 11th on Wednesday and now i know why.
1) Span
2) Casilla
3) Mauer
4) Morneau
5) Kubel
6) Young
7) Ruiz
Buscher
9) Harris
The Twins best 9. How hard is it to start this line-up consistently? This is the best potential of offense. The Twins need offense. Someone please route this line-up to Gardy. And fast.
I’d add one more cliche - Give ‘em hell.
AJ
I’d swap Young and Kubel, but otherwise this looks like the best offensive lineup right now. I haven’t looked at the numbers, but it seems like Casilla is struggling just a little in the #2 hole. I’d stick with him for awhile longer, but if he doesn’t pick it up, I might switch him and Harris as well.
No Punto in the lineup… Gardy has no use for it.
I thought this was for Twins comments and not any political discussion… Unless there is a roster spot for McCain. Can he hit lefties or strike batters out in the late innings?
maybe he can show some “guts” to the players they seem to have lost any during this road trip
I wouldn’t say most of the remaining games are at home they do have another 10 game road trip ahead of them. If they don’t win this next series I am putting them out by the curb and turning my attention to the NFL and College football for the rest of the season.
Plunkton,
You’re right. I’ve deleted ‘em. My bad for making a throwaway political reference, I guess. (But I can’t resist reacting to your comment. I think McCain’s demonstrated an ability to hit lefties, working both inside and outside.) OK, that’s IT!
Harris has no business in that line up. Can’t take another game of him looking at multiple 3rd strikes while playing well below average D
thanks Howard for revealing your true colors
“Harris has no business in that line up. Can’t take another game of him looking at multiple 3rd strikes while playing well below average D”
But at least he’s mastered the headfirst slide…
fcmlefty, stop being gardy and take the subjective views out of setting the line-up. it’s time to play the best 9. Harris may not have the better average now, but historically he is the better player. plus I don’t need a bunch of stats thrown in my face now that Punto or Tolbert are better. All I need to see is them swing the bat. Harris has the better bat. No question.
How will the Twins do it in 2010 and beyond when there will no longer be any Dome Field advantage?
AJ
The Twins have lost a lot of games due to poor D, so I think it is fair to use Harris in moderation. I’d probably give him the nod if I were constructing a strictly offensive lineup, especially if Casilla needs to be moved, but his defense does put him behind Punto in my book as well.
The upside-
White Sox play the Angels this weekend
Twins play the Tigers
This is our chance to lift our spirits a bit. Beat the Tigers like we have, and let the Angels do a number on the Sox
true they are scuffling a little, and true there wasn’t much battling, or getting after it last night but its only only game, well actually 9 games now, but who’s counting. the problem will be if they scuffle at the outset of this short home stand they could go in the tank, not that last night they looked in the tank.
troubling is they won the first 2 games of the trip and then went 3-9 not a real good spring board to make a playoff run.
everyone grow a tail today so you can battle it off tonight.
Twins could be a little lethargic tonight after the roadie and late night flight to MSP. But I like the pitching matchup for tonight. Go get ‘em Frankie!
Punto plays unfundamentally sound defense. He plays the ball off to his side. He normally makes the play, but when he doesn’t, you saw what happens. The ball rolls up his arm and goes past the infield, which is a partial reason we lost the game in Toronto. Even little leaguers know to keep the ball in front of you, knock it down, do whatever. Punto may have more range, but I’ll take the fundamentally sound guy any day.
I am being objective. The game is more than just offense. Buscher and Harris terrible D on the left side of the infield together will lead to more runs scored for the opposition than what they will produce offensively themselves. Since Buscher is better on offense, he plays, while I use a defensive player at SS to try to have some balance between O and D on the left side of my infield.
BTW, I’d have no problem with Everett being the SS instead of Punto
Plunkton: That’s what concerns me about tonight’s game as well. At least our starting pitcher is rested.
AJ be careful you’re talking about the skippers little buddy!
Harris does not have a better bat than Tolbert and Def. not as good on defense. Buscher might when facing a righty, but his D is horrible.
fcmlefty: But Everett can’t throw out a runner when he has to play a ball to his right near the hole. Great hands but his arm strength still isn’t there since the injury. Punto is doing a good job, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Harris in. Our offense is starting to sputter and Everett isn’t the answer for those woes.
Free at last, free at last!
My Twins loving friends, I am happy to report that I lived up to my promise in a dreadfully long response to Howard’s previous blog. So blame him for another one on the way (thanks by the way to those who wrote kind words about my internal struggle coming out in the form of that post Wednesday/Thursday. Right back at you folks. I enjoy reading yours as well).
My first day of freedom from the chains of my Twins love affair was spent with just one goal: Enjoy the many blessings in my life, free from the pain that the Twins have caused all of us of late. With that in mind I awoke to the sound of our 14 month old son laughing in his crib. I walked down the hall, passing the picture of me and the “Mrs” with Joe Nathan at Fenway Park at the end of the that magical ‘06 season. Good times. But I digress. Arriving in our son’s room I pick up his little Twins jersey off the floor (gift from his Aunt) and step over his oversized Twins pillow on the floor (Thank you Twins Pro Shop). I pick up my boy with a new lease on life.
Breakfast followed with our little angel (not to be confused with Angel like our other favorite Torii). I clicked on Strib.com to read what many of you had to say while the next John Castino guzzled out of his Twins sippy cup, in between smearing food on his “Future Twins All-Star” bib.
With our bellies full it was time to play. So we rolled his oversized Twins ball back and forth on the floor ($19.95 Twins Pro Shop). Soon an odor filled the room. We both decided the stench was not coming out of his Twins toy box in the living room ($99.95 Target). When I removed his diaper I looked as the smeary display and naturally my reaction was to say “That pretty much sums up how the Twins have played as of late son”.
After cleansing our mind and body (butt to be exact) of the crap the Twins had left behind it was time to sit down and have a special father reading to son moment. Given my recent epiphany (Thanks Howard!) I naturally grabbed our son’s copy of “Kent Hrbek’s Tales from the Twins dugout” (I know what your thinking, but he’s grown tired of reading “I love this game” by Kirby Puckett).
After a few chapters it was time for our midday nap. So we snuggled up clutching his Joe Mauer teddy bear ($15 Twins Pro Shop) and took a long nap.
After a few hours we awoke just in time to read La Velle’s pre-game lineup posting. Dinner followed. Mrs. Kirby91 then returned to take over child care duties so daddy good get on the phone to call back to Mpls (home of the ‘87 & ‘91 World Champs) for his fantasy football draft. Sidebar note: I’ve moved to an unnamed “liberal” town on the east side of the river where cheese is free, beer is flowing and Bucky calls home, but I digress.
With a new mesh back fitted Twins cap ($25 Twins Pro Shop) I put in my DVD of game 7 of the ‘87 World Series ($69.99 Twins Pro Shop) and I’m ready to draft.
My computer may have “misremembered” our charge for the day and accidently turned onto a certain game in Toronto. But It was liberating not to notice Slowey giving up a first inning run or a 5th inning bomb. I didn’t see Span getting the shaft on a force out call at 2nd or Morneau not driving them in when he had a chance in the 3rd. And I certainly didn’t shed tears on my Nike, Twins Torii Hunter jersey (Hey, Puckett was at the cleaners).
At then end of the night I was left with this: A crappy Fantasy football squad, another nail in our favorite teams coffin, and yet this great feeling that comes with having been unshackled of the burden that my Twins addiction has wrought. I know this new approach to life will make me a better husband, father and man.
It already has!
PS-no our son’s name is not Kirby or Hunter or even Johan. I would never do that to a kid. Time to go tuck Bombo in bed under his Twins blanket ($30 Twins Pro Shop). Welcome back to the Dome Twinkies!
does anyone thinking shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic(playing LNP,Everett,Buscher,Harris,Tolbert) makes any difference in winning games?
the bullpen and Mauer/Morneau/Kubel/Young’s of the world will decide if this team makes the playoffs
There is no perfect solution to the problem that is the left side of the infield, but I definitly know the answer isn’t Harris. He is at least 4th on the pecking order defensively at SS, and his .250 average isn’t going to jump start the offense. You do realize that Punto is hitting about 60 points higher from the right side than Harris, right?
Kirby91. I’m speechless.
I just like the fact that Harris is second on the team in doubles and that’s a big plus playing in the Dome. With not much power in the lineup, I like the idea of him possibly getting some extra base hits. I wouldn’t mind seeing both Punto and Harris in the lineup because Casilla has been struggling a bit. Punto has earned his spot no question.
Frankly, I’m not shocked we’re having this conversation. The left side of the infield has been a headache since Koskie and Guzy left. Not to say those two were all stars, but they were two guys you knew you could pencil into the line up every day
The Twins (and their fans) need to forget the last two weeks and focus on one fact. This team is 1.5 games out of first place with 22 to play (the Sox have 23). This is doable.
again unles the 6 - pack of infielders can take turns pitching out of the bullpen and hitting for Mauer/Morneau/Kubel/Young the difference is hardly worth talking about
Kirby91 you owe me 3 minutes of my life back.
Plunkton,
So’s my wife!
Kirby91 you could quite possibly be 1 of a unique few men in this world who communicates more words in a day then his wife
I don’t think there has ever been a Twins season (in my memory) with this many disappointing, crushing defeats. Sure there have been worse overall seasons (2005 & 2007) but most of those losses were of the 3-1 or 4-0, no offense variety. The Twins are-somewhat remarkably-a poor defensive team and it’s cost them at least a dozen games this season.
Kirby91
Medication will do wonders for you. I feel violated after reading by far the worst post ever written.
Kirby91,
I hope Bombo doesn’t wander out of the house while you are writing this blog diary.
Gardy, If you want those 3 minutes back and can only imagine what you feel the Twins owe you after the last two weeks.
Fire Gardy & Vavra, actually I don’t. And who wants to just talk about LNP, Buscher’s D & Go-Go’s cluelessness all summer long. I think we’ve all beaten that dead horse into submission long ago. Call it a cleansing of the palet. No we can go back to bashing Boof.
Mow down the Motor City Kitty’s boys!
I agree with Crikket. Instead of seeing the road trip as a 5-9 disaster. We should look at it as 1GB pre road trip 1.5GB post road trip. Based on what I half expected, which was a disaster, which kinda happened, I’m pretty content with only losing .5 games.
Now lets have a great home stand and let the White Sox struggle with a fairly tough week/weekend.
Kaci - lighten up and live! yeeeshhh!!
As painful as getting swept by the Jays was, Kirby91 just topped that with that mind numbing post.
I was living until I read that post now I’m looking for a sharp razor blade.
it would cheer me up if howard could put a few more pictures of jilian on the side.
not that beating the same dead horse to death for 140 games isn’t fun and entertaining.
(def; Dead Horse: gardy, young, gomez, bullpen, harris, vavra, ____________ fill in the blank) punto now seems to be off limits.
“As painful as getting swept by the Jays was, Kirby91 just topped that with that mind numbing post.”
Mind-numbing is what I needed.
Kaci - bye bye
“Mind-numbing is what I needed.”
sid is your TV on the frist because you obviously haven’t been watching these last ten games.
Dont go anywhere Fire. Every 9th or 10th day of you posting you actually have a valid point. Please dont go!
clap clap clap I am impressed you have been reading them all!! what no mind numbing occurences after the 9th or 10th reading? I must be losing my touch.. and don’t worry I am here to stay so get out your blades and whatever else you need to get through your day
Ok I’ve decided that i’m going to buy into what all the ESPN experts were saying earlier this year about the Twins in that they were getting lucky. They maybe right but if that’s true then these last few weeks they’ve been very unlucky as well. I’m willing to sacrifice a goat a pig or my old homer hankie if it will help change there luck.
Fire
Good. keep um coming. Your post will always get me through the day, always. I will try and start posting more, instead of just reading.
BC..ok, if you sacrifice an old homer hankie, and the Twins win the WS this year, that hankie might be worth, maybe…$5.00. Are you sure you want to take that chance?
thanks Kaci!!! and remember to fit in don’t bash LNP but do bash Young and Gomez
Fire
If we win the division will you still want to fire all of our coaches?
If the Twins keep it within a game before the series with the Sox at the Dome, there is no way they should lose the division…
Kaci,
Gardy and his clique should go regardless… With a decent manager and coaches this team would have been 5 games up at this point
FIRE, if I remember right, 90 wins was the magic number for you to change your moniker. If this happens, I think Howard should open up for discussion and voting a new name for you. My immediate choice: Randy Ruiz Love Handles.
[…] Originally published by A Fan’s View […]
thrylos98 says:
September 5th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Kaci,
Gardy and his clique should go regardless… With a decent manager and coaches this team would have been 5 games up at this point
—————————————–
Right, because it wasn’t our bullpen and errors that killed us in the last few series. C’mon now, I understand the new fun thing is to bash Gardy, but the experts and players and other coaches all agree that Gardy is one of the best. In fact, SI just wrote an article about that very thing earlier this week.
Thyrlos98
I have to respectfully disagree. With the Sox payroll we would be leading the division be 10 games at least. Only the Rays have done more with such a sad payroll.
Kaci you obviously have not been reading this blog for too long.. I have gone on record that I will change my moniker if/when the Twins reach 90 wins this year regardless if they win the division
Roto - “I think Howard should open up for discussion and voting a new name for you. My immediate choice: Randy Ruiz Love Handles.”
NICE!! I opened it up to taking suggestions when I first declared my promise what was settled on is
BILLY,GARDY,& VAVRA MIRACLEWORKERS INC.
must say i was impressed with what cito did to us by playing his corners in tight and his outfielders shallow against all our punch & judy hitters. granted a couple got over their heads but but over all really slowed down our supposed “speed” guys. i wonder if they’ll see more of that?
Gobble…ssshhhhh!! Don’t be giving Leland any ideas. I swear if I see the Tigers defense playing the Twins this way this weekend I’m coming after you. Oh, I mean…..good point. You might be correct.
Plunkton as cheap as i am i would be willing to give it up for a WS.
Maybe the Twins could sign a leprechaun and then use him as a pinch hitter against guys like Zumaya since they have no control anyways he would get an easy walk. I’m willing to try anything to change there luck.
Tiggers can’t play DEF as good as Jays so no worries.. we can bunt single Tigger’s into submission!!
I actually hope you keep your name, Fire. The more we win the sillier it looks. Lets just hope you dont get promoted from blog master to Twins GM. You will be the first GM in history to fire a coach mentioned for coach of the year.
surprisingly gardy put it best. The team got exactly what they deserved - they played like sh!t and they lost. If you do not get the hit, catch the ball, throw the strike, then you lose games. It is pointless to blame gardy or individual players, as a team they played like crap and got what they deserved.
bc doesn’t tolbert kind of look like a leprechaun?
once again I will explain Kaci the moniker is a bit developed because of a number of factors I don’t want to bore you with(who knows what you would do then!)
Good news, this will be the first series in about a month that we are facing a team with a worse bullpen. Bullpen futility at it’s finest this weekend. High scoring games.
gobble he does but he would be the most unlucky of all leprechauns if he was maybe he’s like the dark leprechaun or something.
” dark leprechaun ” ? there was a series of horror films featuring such a creature can’t recall the name
he makes me nervous he always looks like a little kid that has to go to the bathroom real bad.
I just heard that Chad Johnson officially changed his name to Ocho Cinco so i’m wondering if any Twins players might be inspired to do the same. LNP could change his name to Nicky Hustle or Gets after it Guy.
Battle my Tail off Guy
Twins need to play the game the right way, put the barrel on the ball, and hit their spots tonight.
Nicky Nada
Nick Ocho Oh No!
Nicky O for Ocho
Grapefruit Guardado, Jesse Migraine, Matt GRRRRRRRR, Joe Chubby Nathan (anybody else notice that?), Brendan Frasier could hit better than me, Boof…what can you say, he already changed his given name to BOOF!!!
Nicky Numero Uno Twin or Nicky NUT
Just because we’re playing at home doesn’t guarantee anything. You can lead a horse to drink, but you can’t make him water.
When I noticed how short he was on TV last night I thought “Nick Runto”.
OK, that was dum.
Hey Mudflaps, I think you mean you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink…
No jake what he meant to say is you can’t squeeze a turnip out of blood.
Good one Jake. My mistake. But what really p.o.’s me is we got rid of Lamb, Bass, and Hamburger.
The meat of our order.
Nicky Buntno
Boof Bonbon
I must be stupid or drawing a really big blank, but who the heck is hamburger? Everybody keeps mentioning hamburger, and I get the joke and all, but who is hamburger?
Mark Hamburger was the player the Twins traded for Eddie G.
You can please all of the people all of the time, but you can’t please some of the people some of the time? Right?
No, it’s “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me………um, well, ah, ya won’t fool me again!”
(george bush, get it?)
So, our road record predicting was so much fun, I think we should do the same for how many games ahead or behind we finish. (BTW, my prediction for this trip was spot on. I called it 9-5, so nailed the numbers perfectly.)
I’ll get us started. (No surprise from eternal optimist Carlos). Twins win division by 2 games.
I think Mudcat might be onto something there the lack of protien maybe having an adverse effect on them. I mean look what happened to Neshek.
CARLOS:
Glad you brought that up. I predict by midnight Monday the Twins and the Vikings will be in First Place!
Yep, you read that right.
Remember you heard it hear first.
Ok mudcat you know Howards rules only one drunk on the blog at a time and that’s me.
BC:
I’m not as think as you drunk I am.
Hamburger: A big fat juicy minor league prospect thrown away to acquire Yesterday Guardado,
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him do the backstroke.
Yeah, Izzy.
Ground meat for dead meat.
quit it sane. i’m at work and people are wondering why i’m laughing out loud.
Correct. Is a punto in the hand is worth two in the bush?
Eddie can still be valuable.
After our bullpen blows another lead, Eddie will become the interim pitching coach………………………………until Livan’s season is over.
This is MUCH better than baseball.
Mudcat’s drunk at work?
Never would have guessed he was an airline pilot.
Yep. Just flew in from Toronto. My arms are tired.
(kinda like our bullpen’s)
the saying in a laurel and hardy movie was “you can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead”
Howard, don’t forget “use that hustle.”
Sigh. I’m cautiously optimistic (crosses fingers).
Go Twins!
On another note, it was just reported that Quentin will have season ending wrist surgery.
i heard that to thrylos that is good news.
Yes, in the spirit of Chad Ocho Cinco, the White Sox are now Carlos Sans Quentin.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/27921874.html
Sorry. Kind of.
Not too surprising he gets hit so much considering the way he crowds the plate. Its nice for the OBP, but this is the obvious drawback.
mudcat,
“quit it sane. i’m at work and people are wondering why i’m laughing out loud”
Just tell them that you love your job, and can’t possibly be unhappy while at work.
Would they buy that?
“Chicago said Quentin will be operated on by hand and wrist specialists..at Rush University”
Rush University will do that surgery in no time.
I want all my surgeries done by Rush surgeons.
Do it fast, or do it right?
Pick one.
to bad for the guy having a great yr. mvp is for jason to take unless nicky makes a hard push to take it away.
Wow… that’s just really too bad.
(places hand in front of mouth to hide inappropriate smile)
mvp for jason?? not unless he actually starts doing something other than hitting a grounder back to the pitcher with 2 men on base.
I’m not going to lie, Carlos Q going down is the best thing to happen to the Twins since Denard Span…
that’s why i said “to take”. he needs to get after it and start battling or it won’t make any diff how many sox get hurt.
‘keep battlin’
ggg - i agree then. if he puts the team on his back over the next 22 games and gets them to the playoffs, then it is his to take. not sure he has the character to do it though.
Hate to see the Twins sneak into the playoffs this way, but I’m sure I’ll take it. White sox lost Crede probably for the year too in case anybody forgot. They really hurting now. Happens to everybody to some degree though… how much could the Twins bullpen have used Neshek for the year? How many of those 8th inning leads would not have been coughed up by Guerrier if Neshek was the set up guy this year? At least a few, and that would be good enough to switch the Twins and White Sox in the standings right now with a game or two lead. Another thought….I’ve only heard a few names tossed around for MVP at this point in the year, Quentin, Morneau, and Pedroia. I’m guessing Quentin’s chances are pretty close to zero if he doesn’t come back, and certainly zero if the white sox don’t make the playoffs. In that case, it comes down to Morneau and Pedroia, and you could certainly make the argument that Morneau was a lot more valuable to the Twins than Pedroia was to the Red Sox. The Twins don’t really have ANYBODY else that presents a legitimate power threat, at least not on a regular basis. This opportunistic fact was probably what gave him the edge for his last MVP award when he stole it from Jeter. He will definitely get more votes now this year too.
the only other wild card is if the Josh Hamilton story gets the MVP. Obviously he plays on a crappy team, but that didn’t hurt A-Rod back when he was in Texas.
Hamilton really dropped off in the second half…. he was blowing everybody away in July, but he’s come back to earth quite a bit.
Hamilton
.301 31 121 .363 .542
Morneau
.311 21 109 .388 .516
Yeah, Hamilton’s story is touching and everything, but I don’t think the fact that he plays for a team that isn’t going anywhere should be overlooked considering he’s only got about 10 more hr/rbi than Morneau (and a correspondingly slightly higher slugging avg). His OBP is slightly lower than Morneau’s. I don’t think anybody can really give their vote to Hamilton based on the numbers and the team records, but that didn’t stop everybody from trying to give Hamilton the de facto home run derby title….
baseball writers have short memories….
2 games out—- Sept 6th—Forget about the road trip, think about this month. It’s gonna be “velly intelesting” indeed. Clocking everyday Eddys mph was also interesting. 85,86,85,87,86,87,87,86,87,86,87,. I loved everyday in the his 1st go round with the twins, but maybe a hamburger was to much to trade this time. How bout never again Eddie, or every other month Eddie, or see ya later Eddie. Don’t want to be cruel, but do want to win. Oh well, you’ll never know until you try.
HOW ABOUT WE WIN THE PENNANT THIS MONTH!!!
HAVE FUN!!! GO TWINS!!!
