Archived Game Threads

Last night was the battle of the Avators! While there was no clear winner, there were some very creepy entries. Nick went with a clown, I think it was It. Clowns mean different things to different people. Joy to some children, terror to others. A happy face at a birthday party, a sad face on Weary Willie. Or as in the Stephen King novel, a creepy look back into your childhood. Speaking of creepy, Chitowns obsession with eyeballs freaked out many. Did it reach a level of incarceration? Possibly in some jurisdictions, but doubtful in Chicago. Listening to the pundits, Chicago is the crime capital of the USA, so an eyeball peeking through a hole in a wall here or there is…

Second game with the Indians in this home stand, hope it goes better than the first! Here are some thoughts about the game. 1.Hall of Fame Day Two notables will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame today…that seems more interesting talk about than last night’s game… 2.Torii Hunter Hunter was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 20th overall pick in the 1993 MLB draft. He made it to the Twins Major League club in 1997 and did the Rochester shuttle through that season and ’98 (much like this year with many of the young prospects) before becoming the starting center fielder in 1999. Hunter continued to improve and by 2001 he began to be a league leader in many …

Let's all load up our baskets and blankets, and enjoy a nice socially distanced picnic while we watch the game: 2 fine teams competing for the shere joy of it. No tricks, no weapons. Just skill against skill. Sportsmanlike. Hmmm, i wonder how old is the value of sportsmanship? Ship... does it originate in maritime practices? Or perhaps it was originally sheep... coming from those good old shepharding days, ever since David bested Goliath... Well, we need only to watch, and find out which is the sheep, and which the goat... Twins 0. Jose Berrios (R ) P 1. Max Kepler ( L) RF 2. Josh Donaldson (R ) 3B 3. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH 4. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS 5. LaMonte Wade…

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature near 65. (Gulp ... 65??? Brrr ... don't want to get used to the cold again.) ANGELS: SP, Shoemaker Calhoun RF Trout CF Pujols 1B Kendrick 2B Aybar SS Freese 3B Boesch DH Iannetta C Navarro LF TWINS: SP, Nolasco Santana SS Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Vargas DH Plouffe 3B Arcia RF Pinto C Herrmann LF Hicks CF ---------------------------------- Brian's up ... stay tuned ... or come back and tune in again ... ---------------------------------- Tuned... can mean so many things. Tune what you want to tune. Things to Think About: 1. The Californ.. Umm... Ana High... Umm...Lo…

Starters: Mike Pelfrey (1-0, 2.65 ERA, 5.43 FIP) VS Anibal Sanchez (1-2, 5.96 ERA, 4.80 FIP) Hello, everybody! I’m going to be tonight’s entertainment, so please, sit back and relax. Let’s see how my first game thread goes. 1: Mike Pelfrey OK, let’s get a few things cleared up first. Some of you may remember me trashing Pelfrey and saying he doesn’t deserve any more chances in the rotation. But now I look stupid for saying that, don’t I? Pelfrey has an ERA of 2.65 and has had pretty good starts in the last two games. So what do I think about him now? The main thing is that he’s finally healthy. He’s throwing that fastball at 93 MPH and he’s clearly in better form than las…

A green monster with two heads! or Two for the price of... two. Dedicated to USAFChief (and Chief Jr.) who are reputably at at least one of the games, and who unequivocally and infallibly will tell you if the Twins will win or lose... "yes". and to River "Old Hoss" Brian, being inducted into the Game Thread Hall of Fame (if he can find it) as we speak. Or type. Hard to say, really. Oh, I'd heard the story of Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn, and as it is a story which sticks in the mind, i couldn't recall the name. So i looked it up, and the caption under the boston beaters photo in wikipedia is priceless. A 59+ win season as pitcher, and the first photograph of a Trudeau…

Twins: SP Liam Hendriks CF Presley 2B Escobar 3B Plouffe LF Arcia DH Willingham 1B Parmelee C Pinto RF Herrmann SS Florimon White Sox: Erik Johnson CF De Aza SS Ramirez 3B Gillaspie 1B Konerko DH Dunn LF Viciedo RF Danks 2B Beckham C Anderson Things to Think About: 1. Think about the White Sox... I can't start a game thread... Game One... Against the White Sox... Without stating how much I hate the White Sox... I want them punished. 2. Think about Liam Hendriks... Will he pitch well... Will he struggle?? That's a good question... Let's find out. 3. Think about Trevor Plouffe... Batting in the 3 spot... Moving up in the world. 4. Think about Ron Garden…

The Twins put a stop to their 6 game losing streak last night with a 3-2 win over Chicago. Tonight they look to take the series, playing their final game of 20 in a row before a timely off-day tomorrow. The White Sox sit on top of the ALC standings with under 30 games to play, but the Twins can bring themselves into half a game with a win over the Southsiders tonight. The Pitchers: RHP Reynaldo Lopez (0-1, 8 IP, 9.00 ERA, 8 K's) vs RHP Jose Berrios (2-3, 36 IP, 4.75 ERA, 39 K's) The Twins scored a bunch of runs off of Lopez the first time they saw him, but Berrios got knocked around on opening day. Both pitchers have been up and down this year, with Lopez landing on …

A's: SP Sonny Gray CF Crisp 3B Donaldson SS Lowrie RF Moss LF Cespedes 1B Barton DH Smith C Vogt 2B Sogard Twins: SP Mike Pelfrey CF Presley 3B Escobar 2B Dozier RF Arcia DH Plouffe LF Willingham 1B Parmelee C Herrmann SS Florimon Things to Think about: 1. Think about Sonny Gray... The Kid has been good with a 2.51 ERA since coming up from the farm recently. Kids that start good tend to stutter after awhile and maybe he will stutter tonight. I'm not sure I'd want a name like Sonny Gray... The two names seemed opposed to each other. He's like a conflicted sky. He's been Sonny so far... Let's make him Gray tonight. 2. Think about Eduardo Escobar... Batting 2n…

That game last night was something that I expected to see from the Twins lineup on most nights. Driving in guys when they have the chance, hitting for extra base hits, and being aggressive on the base paths, albeit did back fire one time. If the Twins continue to play like they did in game one of the Red Sox they should have no problem getting back to .500 and even challenge the Indians throughout the summer. GAME TIME WEATHER: 78 degrees Fahrenheit, mostly cloudy, 0% chance of rain, wind ENE at 12 MPH PITCHING MATCHUPS: David Price (8-4, 3.76 ERA) vs Lance Lynn (4-5, 4.98 ERA) - Price is pitching like an all-star once again, and is the 2nd cy-young winner the twins …

Good morning/afternoon, Twins fans! Today the Womb-mates of Minneapolis finish their annual home/away series against the Makers of Beer in Milwaukee. Nothing fancy from me today. Just a little stream of consciousness. (Warning: My consciousness sometimes goes to strange places.) My family has just “enjoyed” three weeks of passing around the omicron virus, and this week is my turn. (I'm still testing positive, so cautious Game Thread readers may want to mask-up.) Good side: We have gotten an extra 10 days with our delightful 2-year-old granddaughter, waiting for 10-day quarantines to expire allowing them to fly home to Massachusetts. Bad side: Feeling yucky for s…

Good morning Twins fans and welcome to the "just another manic Monday" workday edition of a Game Thread extravaganza! I'm writing this introduction sitting at my desk and trying to get WCCO to come in more clearly on the radio. The building I'm in does an excellent job of keeping out radio signals...I might have to migrate to internet radio so I can listen to the ball game this afternoon if I can't get the antenna dialed in. I am expecting another fun filled game like yesterday's Easter smack down on the Brewers. Detroit has been playing ok but I believe the Twins will run away with this today. It will be fun to see if Arraez can keep up the torrid pace of making it on …

After a very nice sweep of the very bad team, Baltimore, the Twins face a team that is the opposite of very bad, the Houston Astros. This is a good test on this home stand and, hopefully, the home town 9 can bring the lumber and the pitching needed to navigate the loaded Houston lineup. Though, truth be told, the Twins have been putting on a pretty impressive show with the lumber themselves. On paper, this is not a matchup that favors the Twins, however, games are not played on paper, but on grass, mainly because paper just doesn't hold up well under baseball cleats. Some things to think about; 1. Whether or not the weather will cooperate. 2. Will the pitcher…

Is it time to panic yet? Of course not! Honestly, after the last three games, I am just as confident in this team being a contender than when the team had a sparkling 10-2 record. However, these last three games have me concerned for the first round of playoffs. Any team in baseball can win a 3 game series, as clearly shown against the cellar-dweller Royals. In basketball, having 16 teams make the playoffs work, as star players can play huge parts of every facet of the game. Baseball is my favorite sport because of the opposite of that. Even if you are one of the greatest players of a generation, you may still end up without a playoff win a decade into your career. Jaco…

Welcome back to another exciting game thread and fun filled evening! I need to start this game thread by first apologizing to all of the Twins Daily readers out there. I was supposed to start the game thread last night but completely forgot about it (yes, I will take the blame for our loss last night). In order to redeem myself and help the Twins stop their 2 game skid I'm prepared to do two things: 1. I will be attending tonights game and will personally cheer the boys on! 2. In order to rebuild my reputation on this site and build a more neighborly community, I am prepared to buy a couple of beers for any Twins Daily readers lucky enough to attend tonights gam…

After a nice win to usher us into the second game of the double header, the Twins are now officially over .500 this season and half a game closer to the playoffs. Veteran players came through strong today ... Mauer had his greatest antagonists crying "Mauer Power!" as he stepped to and from the plate, and random Twins fans were heard shouting "MVP!" all the way from NY when T-Nutts doubled to drive in 3 runs in the 4th. The youngsters weren't bad either ... the Buck had an RBI single in the 7th and then a solo shot to lead off the 9th. Both times I had just tuned in to see what was up without knowing who was batting. Methinks this should become a habit. Kyle Gibson was st…

GOOD MORNING, TWINS FANS!!* What a great day for meaningful September baseball!! I know it doesn't look good for the Twins in Gotham this week. We just lost two tough games, with Santana and Berrios starting, and we failed to beat Garcia and Sabathia. Now, Twins nation turns our lonely eyes to Big Sexy. And now, the Yankees look to pour salt on our wounds by moving up Severino to start today. Severino has not only been the Yankees' best pitcher this year, he's been particularly dominant lately. And if we manage to make a wild card game, we'll likely have to face him again. But that's good news, right? We get a preview of Severino? We should always look on the bright si…

First and foremost I would like to wish a Happy Father's day to all the dads out there, including my own! I am not a father, but what a great day it is. Not only do the best team in baseball go for a sweep of the Royals today, we get Sunday at Pebble Beach for the US Open Crown. Golf has been a past time with my father and we will be hitting the links this afternoon with Twins game on the radio. I hope all of you get to spend some time with your fathers today, or with your kids and make some long lasting memories today. In a favorite film of mine, Little Big League, when the front office is talking about letting Billy the kid manager the ballclub, they utter the lin…

Game-time forecast: Sunny. Winds blowing out to right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Temperature near 70. TWINS: SP, Gibson Santana CF Dozier 2B Plouffe 3B Vargas DH Arcia RF Suzuki C Parmelee 1B Nunez SS Schafer LF ATHLETICS: SP, Kazmir Crisp DH Jaso C Donaldson 3B Moss LF Lowrie SS Reddick RF Vogt 1B Fuld CF Sogard 2B ------------------------------------------- Okay, Brian ... lots to think about today, but save some for the 'big debut' tomorrow! --------------------------------------- I'm gonna keep a bag over here... In this bag will be the stuff I save for tomorrow. It also has my gym socks. I hope that doesn't cause a problem. Things to Think About: 1. Fo…

Game-time forecast: Sunny. Winds blowing from left to right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature around 75. TWINS: SP, Gibson Dozier 2B Nunez SS Plouffe 3B Morales DH Willingham LF Arcia RF Suzuki C Colabello 1B Fuld CF MARINERS: SP, Elias Chavez LF Jones CF Cano 2B Seager 3B Morrison 1B Hart DH Saunders RF Zunino C Miller SS ------------------------------- Up next? The Brian Show! Please stay tuned ... -------------------------------- The Brian Show? I don't know how to produce any video... You'll have to imagine everything in your mind. Things to Think About: 1. It's always Sunny in Seattle: The Forecast says Sunny... In Seattle??? Must be a summertime…

The Twins welcome Derek Shelton and the Pittsburgh Pirates to town for a quick two game home series before both teams pack up and travel back to Pittsburgh where they will square off in another two game series, making this a four game series. Very stupid of you MLB, but more on that later. The Twins come off of a very productive week, taking 2 from STL, and 3 of 4 from the Cleveland Indians. The Pirates sit at 2-7 on the year, complete opposite of our 7-2 Minnesota Twins. The Pitchers: LHP Derek Holland (0-0, 3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP, 5 K's) vs LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 1 K) Derek Holland is coming off a very poor year with an ERA of 6.08, and peripherals such …

Greetings all, and welcome! For today's game thread intro I'm going to use the time-honoured (Canadian spelling to acknowledge Twins fans living in the Dominion) 5-topic introduction. 1.) Today is the 67th anniversary of 11 April 1954. On this date there were so few events of significance that it has been designated to be the least noteworthy and least interesting day in modern history. Feel free to do an internet search and you'll see that to be the case. Of course, there is significant irony in this. The fact that it has this designation makes it noteworthy and interesting. 2.) Today is also the birthday of one of this site's more noteworthy members. I'm not going…

Hello Twins fans, this is wsnydes here with the introduction for today's game thread. Today is the rubber match for the series since both teams have already won once this series. I've had the fortune opportunity to visit The Trop on a number of occasions, and I can't say enough about it. It's a great place to catch a game because...ummm...well...erm... (clears throat) well, maybe it's not such a great place to catch a game. It makes the Metrodome look like a palace. It's hard to get to. There's nothing around it. Except Ferg's, which is an experience in and of itself with cheap burgers and buckets of beer. I'd recommend that. But, back to the Trop. The bes…

Welcome to Game 6 of the 2021 season! Just as with my other game, we’re coming off an extra-innings defeat. I’ve heard of being a jinx for a team, but never via a time-reversal. We have two opening-day starters squaring off today, so the batters may not have an easy time of it: Kenta Maeda, RHP, 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 5 SO Matthew Boyd, LHP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SO Carnac the Magnificent: <holding envelope to forehead> “Today’s lineup” Ed McMahon: <solemnly> Today’s lineup. Carnac: One of us is redundant here, and I’m pretty sure it’s not me. Ed: My apologies, your Magnificence. Tell us the extraordinary import of your divination. Carnac: The whatinary what of my…

Gametime forecast: 56°F • Light Rain • 72% PoP Twins: SP, Pelfrey Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Willingham LF Colabello DH Plouffe 3B Arcia RF Suzuki C Hicks CF Florimon SS Indians: SP, Salazar Morgan CF Swisher 1B Kipnis 2B Santana 3B Brantley LF Cabrera SS Murphy RF Gomes C Chisenhall DH Check back later for Brian ... he's doing his thing: http://www.sortius-is-a-geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/thinker_man_statue.jpg --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thing Done... Thanks ChiTown Things to think about: 1. Cold Weather -- Let's be honest... The Baseball played by both teams on the South Side of Chicago wasn't what I…

1. Dedication: If i were clever, i would dedicate this game thread to the pioneers of Twins Daily. But i wasn't around in the before times, when Godwin's law was the only thing keeping people civil on the internet. And many of the folk from my first baby steps in these pages are still around. So i'll say thanks for the hard work, and hope ya reminisce or otherwise toot your own horn as ya feel inclined, as that's better than aught i could say. 2. Kansas City. They're a stuborn bunch of gutsy players, ain't they? Speed, Pitching, and fielding. Gotta admire them. Real pioneer values. Isn't KC somewhere near the beginning of the Oregon trail? Though i suppose "you have die…

Well, we’re back to real life after a good, long weekend. I hope we’ve shaken off our hangovers, at least gone through the motions of another workday, and are ready for some more Twins baseball. I had quite a lot of time recently to think about the Twins and what they mean to me. You see, I took an intercity bus ride yesterday afternoon that was supposed to last four hours and took nearly nine, all the while sitting in the seat directly in front of a woman whose voice was slightly more pleasant than a war crime. I made it through the ordeal, which is, incidentally, just about all that can be said for the experience of being a Twins fan the last several years. Knowing th…

Today is clinch day for one team in the ALC, and the Twins can make that happen multiple different ways today. The two simplest ways to state this is either by (a) Twins win OR ( White Sox loss. So, in conclusion, just win baby! The Pitchers: LHP Rich Hill (2-2, 3.27 ERA, 27 K's) vs RHP Sonny Gray (5-3, 3.73 ERA, 68 K's) Rich Hill makes perhaps his final start of the season, as he is not in line to be one of the starters for the wild card round of the playoffs. It has been an up and down year for Dick Mountain, but we have seen him come into form lately. Hill will play a key role in the playoffs, whether starting or relieving. Gray is making his second start off the i…

Last night I sat down feeling rather satisfied at a local bar with a micro brew in hand next to a few friends. The Twins were leading 7-0 in the 8th, the Vikings were about to start their season. After 3.5 quarters of excruciating bad football from the men in purple, a handful of beers and a few off hand comments that would make a hooker blush, the future for the Vikes seemed bleak.....to say the least in my mind. After sleeping on it, I thought of another team who stumbled......and that's being nice.....out of the gate this season. The Twins as we all know, limped out of the gate one their way to a 1-6 start being outscored 45-16 and 3 of those losses coming from …

Good evening and welcome back to another great game thread experience! I apologize for posting this so late... This Covid thing has thrown a real wrench into my usual schedule. Seems like everyone is having the same issues. Regardless, the Twins making the playoffs (never any doubt) makes this Covid crud more bearable. Five games left to play and we are only a half game behind the White Sox to win the division. Bet on this: The White Sox will fold and the Twins will take the division. This game means something and I think the Twins players want that divisional title. Let's GO TWINS!!! Playoff bound and ready to fight. Tonight's Lineups: TWINS: 1. Byron Buxton …