Archived Game Threads

Goooooood morning Twins Territory!!!! For the last two days, we’ve been treated to the Gameday thread starter’s stories of experiences in the Tampa area. I too have an amusing Tampa tale. This took place just after Christmas, 2010. Mr. and Mrs. Yarnivek were taking their honeymoon on a cruise that departed from Tampa Bay. If you recall, a major blizzard was hitting the east coast at that time. Naturally, our early afternoon flight from MSP was scheduled to connect in Philadelphia. By the time we woke up (5 am or so), the flight from Philadelphia to Tampa was already cancelled. It was another couple hours before the flight to Philly was officially c…

What's In A Name? In the best tradition of the Dastardly family, I was in Tampa once. There’s a lot of places that I’ve been once. The key number is “once”. Yeah, okay. I know “once” ain’t a number, but it’s close. I mean you got a “o” an “n” and your basic “e”. Ignore that “c” for a bit and you got “one”. One’s a number. What the dickens (I have no idea what a “dickens” is but I’m trying to be in a family way here - no, not that kind of family way), if you can call the first day of the month the... wait, I guess I already gave that one up. Okay, if you can call the second day of the month the... crap! Did it again! Let’s just say you get my point about words and n…

GOOD MORNING TWINS FANS!! What a great day to be a fan of this Minnesota Twins team. They are finally the darlings of Pythagoras (I never thought he'd come around), and they have come through like a Labor Day Santa Claus for Always in Moderation's wishes. (Couldn't he just once not be in Moderation? I mean, given the power of his wishes, couldn't he have been Over the Top just once, and wished for us to win the World Series . . . five times in a row?) Twins Daily topics that used to be about who to drop are now about who to re-sign. Topics and comments about Mauer are now about whether he's finally back on the path to the Hall of Fame, as opposed to . . . not being nic…

Twins (70-64) vs Kansas City (66-67) Target Field, 7:10pm Onelki Garcia vs Kyle Gibson Starting lineups TBD The Minnesota Twins Baseball Club tries to even the series against the Royals, after losing the opener 7-6, with the game ending on a strike out with the bases loaded. The Twins almost came all the way back from a 7-3 deficit, but couldn't quite pull off the improbable two nights in a row. Luckily the Yankees and Angels both lost, so the wild card chase remains kind of similar to the day before: 1. NYY, 71-63 2. Twins 70-64, 1 GB of the Yankees 3. Angels 69-66, 1.5 GB of the Twins 3. Orioles 69-66, 1.5 GB of the Twins Tonight the Twins start polari…

Hi! How are you doing this summer? My name is sampleSizeOfOne, My teach said i had to have a penpal over the summer. It would help me grow and learn and help me understand other places and peoples. I am not sure if that is true, but i think i get credit for trying, so here goes. I like the Twins. I think Buxton is really fast, and this new fellow Colon is funny to watch. But i get grounded if i make fun of his name... And lots of them are playing good too. But it is confusing as so many of them change which side of the plate they hit from. At least it doesn't seem to matter. Homers, triples, they just keep hitting the ball and running bases. All their minor tea…

One time i was at this park and i heard a story about two hikers that rounded a corner in the trail and came across a bear. One of them quietly sets his backpack down, removes his boots, gets out his running shoes and puts them on. The other looks at him like he's stupid and points out that bears can go upwards of 40 mph over short distances and there's no way he'll out run it if thinks come to that. The other fellow acknowledges the truth of what the fellow says, but points out in this situation, he just needs to not be the slowest person the bear is chasing. I'm not sure if that story has bearing on this game, but it seemed somehow appropriate, what with the wild card…

You Can Never Go Home Again (Thomas Wolfe) I don’t know if Tom hit that nail on the head with that one. I thought home is where the heart is. So if we can’t ever go back where our hearts are what’s that make us? Zombies? I’m grasping at straws here for a lead. That makes three cliches already. I’m sounding like a professional athlete. Time to step up. Pull together. Swing for the fences. Take one for the team. Leave it all out there - well maybe not that last one. Sounds more like something a pervert might encourage. Maybe Dorothy, a Minnesota native and she of the red baseball spikes, said it best; “There’s no place like home.” Okay, enough dithering. I was in …

When Twinsnorth says it's spelled Tronno, who am i to question local custom? Who's to say Tom Horton's better than Dunkin Donuts? Speaking of which, Rumor reached me. That when asked if they had anything to declare, here were a few of the answers... Mr. Gee: I'm gonna win a game. Mr. Garver: I'm gonna hit a homer. Mr. Kepler: I'm gonna hit the cutoff man. Mr. Escobar: I'm gonna score! Mr. Buxton: I'm going to swing a bat. Mr. Vargas: I'm gonna walk. Mr. Dozier: I shall hit and run. Mr.Mauer: We will win the world series... not saying when, or for who, but yeah. Customs agent: No, i meant in your luggage. Speaking of world series... While awaiting a parade in New Eng…

I thought I'd relate this spring training tidbit. I swear, the following story is absolutely true. A buddy of mine and I were at Spring Training, watching Chris Sale show a few batters who's the boss. My buddy leaned over and said, "Watch this, I'll get Chris to pitch to me." I looked back and said, "Yeah, right." Buddy: "No, seriously, Sale will pitch to me. I swear." Not wanting to entertain my buddies delusions, I merely nodded and watched as Mr. Sale sent batter after batter back to the dugout. Next thing I know, I see a guy who looks somewhat familiar settling into the batters box, getting ready to take a few swings. And I could swear he was talking trash to Chr…

First off, I'd like to thank Vanimal for pointing me in this direction for this thread. (notice how I'm cleverly deflecting any blame if things go wrong while retaining full credit) I look at baseball and was thinking of players and which player I might most closely identify with. In my case, it has to be Bill "Spaceman" Lee. I remember reading in his book about how he handled contract negotiations without benefit of an agent. And, one time, his contract was up so, he decided to wait for the GM without any advance notice that he was going to be in the office. Mr. Lee was asked, upon the arrival of the GM "How did you get in here." To which Mr. Lee responded "Through t…

I was waiting for someone to remind me of the game thread I need to write and finally gave up waiting. I decided I needed to get on my butt and get it done. I guess I've learned I shouldn't sit around waiting for people to remind of my obligations. That, and I managed to remember that I needed to do a game thread. Well, the Twins split the doubleheader (probably would have won the first if they could have batted Polanco back to back) by pounding the ball over the fence in the second game. The Sox have gone into rebuild mode and are debuting a starting pitcher by the name of Lucas Giolito. The Twins are trotting out Kyle Gibson on this fine evening. Why is it a fine …

How are the Vikings doing? Preseason must be underway. But i haven't bothered to look it up yet. And the Lynx? Aren't they in midseason? What about the current Tennis Tournament? Or golf? I never know what to think of subpar golf. Apparently its for the birds or something. Anything Wild about their offseason? Did the Timberwolves draft someone yet? Is Kevin going to finally get them over the hump? I suppose i will look these things up eventually, but off hand, i wouldn't know. Because i'm a Twins fan. (feel free to google Kids in the Hall Doors fan to see the inspiration, albeit the intro suffers somewhat for a midwestern aversion to expressing contentious…

ANNND Welcome! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line on a Saturday! Normally there's a theme on this particular day, and I guess you could say the theme is random? Anyway, how NEAT was that game last night? The Twins square off again against the Diamondbacks tonight. Who knows, maybe this game will be good too! Before we get into randomness and debauchery, let's talk weather and lineups..... It's going to be a beautiful day in Minneapolis! Partly sunny and 80 degrees at first pitch. Wind out of the SSW at 7 MPH... GOOD HR WEATHER as they say! Minnesota Twins (61-59) 2nd WC holders: P - Jose Berrios ® - 84 overall on MLB the Show! Arizona Diamondbacks (67-55): P - Zack…

I can't decide if we're doubling up today, or doubling down? Whichever... My thoughts are as disordered as Molitor's use of the bullpen at times is perceived to be. Which should make me just about ripe for introducing a Game Thread? We'll see about that. Scale: Hairspliting: Fly outs and tagging up. Always bothered me. To advance on a fly out, the runner must tag up until it is caught. But what if it gets juggled, the runner leaves, then it is caught? And one is allowed to tag up on an infield fly rule. Shouldn't you be allowed leave as soon as the ump calls it? Mundane: Target Field a nice place to play, or so i hear. We should perhaps start playing a w…

I have a confession to make. It’s a rather serious confession and one that is not easy to say… I grew up in Cleveland. Now before you disparage me, please understand that this was not my choice. My parents up and moved from Owatonna, MN to Cleveland and forced me into a childhood surrounded by Indians fans. Cleveland baseball fans might be the worst, I might add, and are not deserving of a professional baseball team as the definition of fair-weather fans shows a picture of an Indians fan. They are about as loyal as a cat. This is not to be confused with a Browns fan, as those are the definition of loyalty. Things to think about: 1) Songs – Cleveland has a few songs …

Alas, the Tigers came back last night: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ltlPINPn8UU As you might guess, that weighs heavily in my thoughts today. Not that my thoughts are particularly heavy. Although i suppose they are for their size... Other things that come back: Yo-yos. Boomerangs Undeliverable first class mail Salmon TD readers, i hope. But i don't expect that to shed to any light on how to prevent it in future games. I would like to parody the whole "for want of a nail" sequence, but i am not thinking hard today. Feel free to add more steps. For want of a pitch, the game was lost. And wanting to appear helpful, but fall entertainingly short, i started thinki…

I survived my first game thread (7/25), although the Twines and Señor Berríos didn’t fare so well in Dodgerville that night. Here goes another one as they put their 6-game winning streak on the line against the aging and wilting Tigers of Detroit. Looking at the pitching statistics below, the Twins’ starter leads his Tiger counterpart in EVERY statistical category listed: more wins, fewer losses, lower ERA, lower WHIP, more K/9, and less BB/9. And Detroit is paying their starter $18,000,000 this year (and $24,000,000 next year and $25,000,000 for two years after that) with the Twins’ starter making $525,000. After seeing those numbers, I’m not quite so dismayed (see bel…

It’s a little known fact that Milwaukee was a Native American settlement long before the Brewers came on the scene. But the Algonquins didn’t know how to play baseball or sell beer. They didn’t even have a billionaire that could convince them to build a baseball stadium at the taxpayer’s expense. All those shortcomings left them behind the eight-ball for landing a professional baseball team and that created a great deal of angst around the council fires. So in a fit of pique (I’ve never had the pique, though I heard it’s gruesome) the Algonquin chiefs voted to attack Chicago. Mostly because Chicago had two professional baseball teams... okay, one and half professional tea…

Probable Starters: Matt Garza (5-5, 3.68 ERA) vs Adalberto Mejia (4-5, 4.30 ERA) 1. Today’s Special Event I’ve whipped up a little game on Sporcle, a website for quizzes. If you click the link below, you can try and remember which 25 players where on the Twins roster on the same day one year ago. Can you go 25 for 25? Go ahead and try and post your score in the comments! (Rules: You have 4 minutes to guess all 25 players and you can eliminate them by typing in their last names. Good luck!) https://www.sporcle.com/games/Danchat0/twins-8817-roster 2. Twins Pitchers Summer Stats Let’s look at how Twins pitchers have fared from June to August so far, and perhaps we will f…

Good day, and welcome to today’s game thread. 1. It’s a beautiful day for a ball game. Expected weather at game time: Partly cloudy, 72º, very light winds. 2. I’m looking for Berrios to have another good start today. Let’s hope he gets more support than he got last Tuesday against the Padres. 3. Why doesn’t Molitor consistently put the team leader in OBP in the leadoff spot? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l4nVByCL44 4.Today is the 50th anniversary of a perfect game for a Twins starting pitcher. Sort of. Dean Chance pitched 5 perfect innings in a rain-shortened 2-0 win. 5. Today is the 48th anniversary of Billy Martin sending Dave Boswell to the hospital to g…

Welcome to Sabado Espectacular! The best knock-down, drag-out fight west of the Mississippi!* In the southern corner, we have the Texas Rangers, and in the northern corner, your Minnesota Twins! Pictured: 70charger and Mrs. 70charger waiting for show to begin. *Offer only valid within a three-mile radius of the Mississippi. The backstory The Rangers and Twins are back at it for their third game this series. It isn’t a rubber match, because it’s a four game series. Also, I recently learned that “rubber match” is a term that comes from cricket, and cricket is truly quite stupid, so it’s relieving in a way. The good news from last night is that the Twins won…

Good Evening, I sampleSize De Un will be your waiter today. 1) Would you like a booth or the bar? 2) The wait time to be seated is 45 minutes. Here is your pager... may i recommend a stroll by the mighty Mississippi. 3) I'm sorry we are classy restaurant. If you do not have overalls or a Feed Hat one will be provided for you. 4) Oh i'm sorry. You are still waiting for one of your party to arrive? Can i get you sometthing to drink or some appetizers? No? 5) Finally you are all here! Here are your menus... I'll be back to take your orders momentarily... Menu Le Field Targe Rangers P. Martin Perez (L ) 1. Shin-Soo Choo (L) DH 2. Elvis Andrus ( R) SS 3. Nom…

ANND Welcome! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line: Beatles Edition! I'm your emergency host for the day, Vanimal. A game happened last night, if you didn't know! Today is the final game that the Twins will be in San Diego, which is sad, really. They barely had any time to enjoy the weather! Who knows, maybe they'll score a run this afternoon! Before we get into debauchery, let's talk weather and lineups: It's San Diego, so you know it's going to be sunny with no chance of rain. 80 degrees at first pitch. REAL FEEL of 94 degrees! Winds out of the WSW at 5 MPH. Minnesota Twins (50-54): 1. Joe Mauer (L) 1B 2. Eduardo Escobar (S) 2B 3. Max Kepler (L) RF 4. Miguel Sano ® 3B 5…

ANNND Welcome back! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line on a Sunday. Well, that game didn't go exactly as planned yesterday... On a positive note, Mejia looks like he's gelling into a decent pitcher they can count on in the future! The Twins have one last game in Oakland before taking the day off for moving day. Before we get into more debauchery, let's talk weather and lineups. It's looking like a picture perfect day! Sunny without a cloud in the sky and 74 degrees at first pitch. REAL FEEL of 78 degrees. Winds out of the W at 10 MPH. Minnesota Twins (50-52): P - Big Sexy ® - How many more starts do we have the privilege(?) of watching. Oakland A's (45-59): P - …

ANNND Welcome! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line: Price is Right Edition! I am your host for the next 2 days, Van Barker. What do you guys think of my new microphone?! ChiTown chipped in her hard earned money to make sure we were LEGIT for Trade Deadline weekend! We've got a real BARN BURNER series this weekend against the Oakland A's. Who knows, maybe this game will be good! Before we get into the debauchery, let's discuss weather and lineups. It's going to be a BRIGHT sunny evening in Oakland! 65 degrees at first pitch. Wind out of the WSW at 9 MPH... Minnesota Twins (50-51): P - Adalberto Mejia (L) - 78 overall on MLB the Show! Oakland A's (44-59): P - Chris Sm…

Having done more than my fair share of minimalist Game Thread Intros, due to trying to do other things, well, i was thinking of joking here that i'd been optioned to the AAA Game Thread Intro squad. So now that i'm back up, i gotta show i can get the job done, or Chief and ChiTown won't trust me to tow the Game Thread Rubber the next time round in the rotation... And actually i'm doing less today than i'd been doing the last few times. Life is still hecticker than i'd care to admit, and it is in fact my fault, but well, for one day, i thought i'd be able to get stuff done. So, subjects to cogitate upon... 1) I miss Buxton. Not to say i don't like having Granite around.…

This is my first game thread and I’m a little intimidated. There’s such a rich tradition of creativity here! I shouldn’t be nervous, it’s just words. I like words. I like to play with words. For example, in the car I’m always playing with the 3 letters on the license plate in front of me, looking for the shortest word that uses them in the given order with as few intervening letters as possible. (Try it, it’s fun.) One of my favorite “word games” is taking familiar phrases or quotations and adding, omitting, or changing one letter to make something interestingly different. For example, I routinely pass up the sample carts at Costco by invoking the maxim “Taste not, …

As of this writing, the Twins are 49-47 and are 1.5 games behind Cleveland. The Royals have been coming on strong (of course they have, they've been playing the White Sox) and we are tied with them for 2nd in the division. And the WC race is even closer with 4 teams within a game of one another. There has been much discussion about the season so far with a number of people excited, we need to add some pieces, we are close and we could be in it, and maybe (dare we dream?) even make it to the WS. Let's go Twins! And then there are a group of fans who don't think the Twins are quite there yet and are a bit too far to be too excited about the possibilities of maybe, and makin…

Greetings, and welcome to the game thread. 1.) As almost all of us know, this weekend the organization is recognizing the 30th anniversary of the 1987 World Championship team. Here is a summary of today’s events copied from the Twins web site: • 1987 World Series Championship Stein will be given away to the first 10,000 fans 21+ through the gates (presented by Budweiser) • Pregame alumni photos at the Digital Clubhouse from 4:15-4:45 p.m. and near Gate 29 and in the Puckett Atrium within the Delta Sky360 Club from 4:45-5:15 p.m. • Twins 1987 World Series Reunion pregame with emcee Dick Bremer begins with an introduction of the 1987 World Championship Team. The cerem…

Things to Think. 1. Bases. 2. The Ball. 3. The Bat. 4. The Field. 5. The Teams. Yankees Pi. Jordan Montgomery (L) 1. Brett Gardner (L) LF 2. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF 3. Gary Sanchez ( R) DH 4. Starlin Castro (R ) 2B 5. Didi Gregorius (L) SS 6. Clint Frazier ( R) RF 7. Garrett Cooper ( R) 1B 8. Austin Romine ( R) C 9. Ronald Torreyes ( R) 3B Twins P. Jose Berrios ( R) 1. Brian Dozier ( R) 2B 2. Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B 3. Miguel Sano ( R) 1B 4. Robbie Grossman (S) LF 5. Max Kepler (L) RF 6. Chris Gimenez ( R) C 7. Ehire Adrianza (S) SS 8. Jorge Polanco (S) DH 9. Zack Granite (L) CF