Archived Game Threads

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy. Winds blowing in from right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature near 85. White Sox: SP, Rienzo Eaton CF Beckham 2B Gillaspie 3B Abreu 1B Dunn DH Ramirez SS Viciedo RF De Aza LF Nieto C Twins: SP, Correia Santana SS Dozier 2B Mauer DH Morales 1B Arcia RF Suzuki C Parmelee LF Escobar 3B Fuld CF --------------------------- Okay, Bri, go to it. I think these lineups will give you a few things to think about, not that you need any help as your brain seems bursting with plenty to work with! ----------------------------------------------------- It's long been assumed that my brain burst along time ago. I used to love the taste of pain…

Today is a momentous day, in that I bid farewell to regular season game thread duties. Hard to believe, 159 games later, it's time to move on, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D6xSDffm6c and look forward to the playoffs. Yes, the playoffs go through "those guys" in a town memorialized by the "Chairman of the Board:" *Frank's voice is decent but the big band behind Frank makes the song. This season has been one heck of a ride: And the ride couldn't have ended in much better fashion. Well, the regular season ride, anyway. But, one last stop in KC, taking on the Royals and this series also represents the swan song for Mr. Ned Yost. It's going to be …

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature near 90. TWINS: SP, Nolasco Santana CF Dozier 2B Mauer DH Vargas 1B Plouffe 3B Parmelee RF Nunez SS Fryer C Schafer LF ORIOLES: SP, Chen Markakis RF Lough LF Jones CF Cruz DH Davis 1B Hardy SS Paredes 3B Flaherty 2B Joseph C Okay, lineups in and up. Brian, your turn. ---------------------------------- Roger That!!! Who is Roger? Things to Think About: 1. DH/1B -- Joe Mauer is playing his third straight game at DH while Kenny Plural starts again at 1B. To my understanding... this is just Gardy getting an extending look at Vargas as a 1B. Joe has a reported sore …

Twins versus Royals. I'm in a hurry. Gotta right fast. Space bar sticking. I have been called into work due to an emergency. After having weeks to prepare I now virtually minutes. The Twins! - er, Dozier and Buxton - have been fun to watch lately. The team is extremely young and however one feels about the front office 2016 has been one of the best years for checking out young players, A few retreads, but not as many as in the past, I don't think. The happiest teams in MLB. Who is smiling? Who is joking? Who is the loosest? Who enjoys playing the game? Who enjoys each other’ company? There isn’t a cybermetrric for this yet, but I suppose one day there will be. The …

Welcome to the game thread. I’m going to use the traditional five-point format in which the five points may cover any topic that happens to come to mind. And keep in mind that this is dependent on the mind, the mind-set, and the state of mind of the writer. I hope you don’t mind what I write, and if you are of a mind to respond please mind your P’s and Q’s. 1. Where did the saying, “Mind your P’s and Q’s” come from? Here are three possibilities. One, it could have come from typesetters keeping track of the difference between the two lower case letters, as they differ only by being mirror images of each other. I’m not sure why it wouldn’t have been “Mind your B’s and D’s…

Good evening and welcome back to the Twins Daily Game Thread party! Happy September 1st too. Only 30 days left of the regular season. If I'm gonna level straight with my gentle readers today, I am tired of this losing streak. To be honest, (because what I usually write on here are fabrications and lies) I'm a little angry and frustrated too. The losing streak ends tonight! Trust me! My win percentage when I do game thread introductions has got to be over .750. Everybody just relax, I am going to will us a win tonight. If these players can't get it done tonight I will do it for us. By the way, I also have some help tonight from a big Mr. Pineda and Mr. Buxton. I'm expe…

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to left field at 10-20 m.p.h. Temperature around 70. Twins: SP, Correia Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Plouffe 3B Colabello RF Kubel LF Pinto C Suzuki DH Hicks CF Florimon SS Royals: SP, Chen Aoki RF Infante 2B Hosmer 1B Perez C Gordon LF Butler DH Moustakas 3B Maxwell CF Escobar SS -------------------------- Check back here for Brian's thoughts ... could be dangerous ... so beware! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- They are dangerous... I already cut my finger typing them. So with Blood on the Tracks!!! Things to Think About 1. .500 Ball -- Some of you people are so sick…

Good afternoon Twins fans and welcome back to more Game Thread fun and excitement! Can our Minnesota Twins win tonight in front of a full stadium? Local media in Minneapolis report that tonight's game is sold out and the stands will be full. Personally I'm glad I'm not going as it's hot as Hades here...game time temperatures will be almost 94 degrees with a heat index near 100. I think I prefer watching tonight's game in a dark bar with a few cold ones lined up. Happy July 5th by the way! It is the officially observed holiday at least according to my iPhone calendar. Hope most of you had the day off today. I had the day off and didn't do much. Getting ready to grill …

Game-time forecast: Clear. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Temperature around 55. (Yes, back to the real weather game-time local forecasts. Yesterday's was from Aqaba, Jordan, if anyone cares.) Tigers: SP, Porcello Kinsler 2B Hunter RF Cabrera 1B Martinez DH Jackson CF Castellanos 3B Avila C Romine SS Davis LF Twins: SP, Correia Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Plouffe 3B Colabello RF Kubel LF Pinto DH Suzuki C Fuld CF Florimon SS -------------------------- Brian's deep in it at the moment. In thought. That's the 'it' I meant. More from him later. Until then ... Go Twins! ------------------------------------------------------- Oh I'm in more than "i…

Game-time forecast: Mostly sunny. Winds blowing from right to left field at 10-15 m.p.h. Temperature around 65. Mariners: SP, Hernandez James Jones CF Michael Saunders RF Robinson Cano 2B Corey Hart DH Justin Smoak 1B Kyle Seager 3B Dustin Ackley LF Mike Zunino C Brad Miller SS Twins: SP, Nolasco Brian Dozier 2B Joe Mauer 1B Trevor Plouffe DH Chris Parmelee RF Kurt Suzuki C Jason Kubel LF Eduardo Escobar 3B Aaron Hicks CF Daniel Santana SS ------------------------------ And Brian's on deck. Check back to see him knock another out of the park. -------------------------------- Warning track and I thought I got it all. Things to think about: 1. Sid Hartman…

Twins | 53-59 overall, 20-35 on the road, 5-5 last 10 Jake Odorizzi, RHP | 4.60 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2.55 K:BB in 115.1 IP Cleveland | 62-50 overall, 35-23 at home, 6-4 last 10 Mike Clevinger, RHP | 3.48 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.09 K:BB in 139.2 IP Lineups: https://twitter.com/RhettBollinger/status/1027289194337628161?s=19 Additional notes: Adalberto Mejia left last night’s game early due to a wrist injury, but per La Velle E. Neal III the team does not believe it’s serious. The hope is he’ll make his next scheduled start. In a recent article, Mike Berardino reported that Matt Magill’s role would be changing. Instead of length, Paul Molitor will look to Magill for more high-lev…

Forecast-- 81 degrees, with no rain in sight Lineups: Twins: 1. Eduardo Nunez, SS 2. Joe Mauer, 1B 3. Miguel Sano, 3B 4. Brian Dozier, 2B 5. Max Kepler, RF 6. Kennys Vargas, DH 7. Eddie Rosario, LF 8. Kurt Suzuki, C 9. Byron Buxton, CF vs. Justin Verlander, RH Tigers: 1. Ian Kinsler, 2B 2. Cameron Maybin, CF 3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B 4. Victor Martinez, DH 5. Nick Castellanos, 3B 6. Justin Upton, LF 7. Tyler Collins, RF 8. James McCann, C 9. Andrew Romine, SS vs. Ervin Santana, RH Things to think about: 1. New Beginnings--I am genuinely happy with the developments of the past month or so for the Twins, both in the front office and in personnel decisions …

Mr. Moustache The Moustache Gang Rollie Fingers, one of the pioneers of the closer role in baseball, is also known as the owner of the Best Moustache in Baseball History. Ironically, Fingers grew the famous moustache in 1972 in protest over Reggie Jackson showing up for the A’s spring training with a full beard. Fingers and a few other players (Catfish Hunter being one) didn’t like Jackson’s beard and grew their own facial hair, against club policy, figuring Charles Finley, the team’s erratic owner, would force them all to shave, thus ridding the team of Jackson’s hirsute appearance. Finley however, always the showman, instead offered a $300 reward …

The Twins have a chance to sw***p the Tampa Bay Rays today, in a matchup that pairs RHP Cole Sands against LHP Jeffrey Springs, with a righty-stacked lineup. More on that matchup is below, but first I wanted to take a moment to remember Chi Chi Gonzalez's tenure as a Twin. ROSTER MOVE - Ciao to Chi Chi Gonzalez was designated for assignment this morning, after two starts for the Twins. He pitched 7 innings with an era of 7.71 and a 1.71 WHIP. While it wasn't pretty, the Twins won BOTH Chi Chi starts against tough AL East opponents in Toronto and Tampa Bay. Chi Chi activated an opt-out clause earlier this week that required the Twins to call him up in a few days,…

Today is day three of my Twins game thread extravaganza. Since taking on the responsibility, the Twins are 2-0. Coincidence? I hope so because no way I want to write a 162 game threads. Though, I suppose the possibility of the Twins FO offering financial remuneration might be an incentive to continue. Anyway, I was taken to task about the brevity of previous posts and I protested that "brevity is the soul of wit." Of course, the response I received was a rather tacky "and you've written something funny when?" I hate it when I get a query like that where I can just hear the tone at the end of the sentence go up in pitch. Some stuff to think about:* *not a s…

Game-time forecast: Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature around 80. PALE HOSE: SP, Danks Adam Eaton CF Alexei Ramirez SS Jose Abreu 1B Adam Dunn DH Dayan Viciedo RF Conor Gillaspie 3B Gordon Beckham 2B Alejandro De Aza LF Tyler Flowers C TWINS: SP, Correia Danny Santana CF Eduardo Nunez 3B Brian Dozier 2B Chris Colabello 1B Josh Willingham DH Oswaldo Arcia RF Kurt Suzuki C Eduardo Escobar SS Sam Fuld LF ----------------------- Bri ... I had a minute, so put the lineups up. Thanks, though. ------------------------ OK... The way you worded that sentence... It means I have to say "You're Welcome" for your putting the…

Okay ... we had tomorrow's thread up already and nothing for tonight. Due to some confusion all around, I hid tomorrow's temporarily ... so ... this is the emergency thread for tonight in case it's needed. No word if the game will be postponed, so far it's only in delay. Okay ... things to think about in the meantime ... 1. Nunez, our sole All-Star representative. If they had to choose just one, I guess he'd be it. Congratulations, Eduardo! 2. Rain ... I love the rain. And I even love thunderstorms and watching the lightning ... it's like nature's fireworks display. So incredible! Unless it strikes a tall tree outside your home. That crack of lightning is LOUD!!! It…

(a late rally intro) 0. Bailey Ober (R) P 1. Max Kepler (L) RF 2. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 3. Josh Donaldson (R) DH 4. Luis Arraez (L) 3B 5. Miguel Sano (R) 1B 6. Nick Gordon (L) CF 7. Ryan Jeffers (R) C 8. Jake Cave (L) LF 9. A. Simmons (R) SS them 0. Nick Pivetta (R) P 1. E. Hernandez (R) 2B 2. Kyle Schwarber (L) DH 3. X. Bogaerts (R) SS 4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 5. J.D. Martinez (R) LF 6. Alex Verdugo (L) CF 7. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 8. Travis Shaw (L) 1B 9. C. Vazquez (R) C

Some one pointed out that we just passed the 40 game mark. Half way through the first half of the season. Zeno would be proud. If he knew about Major League Baseball. I am taking a cue and writing half of a game thread intro. The good half, i hope. When i finish my parade, maybe i'll write the other half? Only one way to find out. Things to think about. 1. Winning. I'm positive about this. It takes thinking to win. 2. Numbers. It helps to have more. 3. Bingo... It's nice song, eh? How do you sing it backwards? _ _ _ GO! Twins Kyle Gibson ( R) 1. Jorge Polanco (S) SS 2. Jonathan Schoop (R ) DH 3. C.J. Cron (R ) 1B 4. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 5. Willians A…

Minnesota Twins: Pitching. Hector Santiago (L) 1. Brian Dozier ® 2B 2. Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B 3. Joe Mauer (L) 1B 4. Miguel Sano ® DH 5. Max Kepler (L) RF 6. Jorge Polanco (S) SS 7. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 8. Byron Buxton ® CF 9. Jason Castro (L) C Boston Red Sox: Pitching. Drew Pomeranz (L) 1. Mookie Betts ® RF 2. Dustin Pedroia ® 2B 3. Xander Bogaerts ® SS 4. Chris Young ® DH 5. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF 6. Sam Travis ® 1B 7. Andrew Benintendi (L) LF 8. Christian Vazquez ® C 9. Deven Marrero ® 3B Gametime Forecast: 68°F • Drizzle • 28% PoP From weather.gov: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11pm. Some of the storms could produce small hai…

Lineups: Twins 1. Jorge Polanco 2B 2. Josh Donaldson 3B 3. Nelson Cruz DH 4. Rob Refsnyder RF 5. Miguel Sano 1B 6. Trevor Larnach LF 7. Ryan Jeffers C 8. Andrelton Simmons SS 9. Gilberto Celestino CF SP: Michael Pineda Astros 1. Jose Altuve 2B 2. Michael Brantley DH 3. Alex Bregman 3B 4. Yordan Alvarez LF 5. Yuli Gurriel 1B 6. Carlos Correa SS 7. Kyle Tucker RF 8. Myles Straw CF 9. Garrett Stubbs C P: Framber Valdez One of the biggest reasons of the current situation for the Twins is a barren pitching staff, so I looked at whether any old friends would have h…

What a weird time for a first pitch on a Saturday afternoon in June. Not 3:05, or 3:07, or even 3:15. Instead, the White Sox decide to throw first pitch at 3:12. Not that it really matters, but I just found that odd. Maybe it will help the Twins bats wake up today, as they have been fairly cold the last few outings. Michael Pineda faces Ivan Nova in a matchup that I would've found intriguing six or seven years years ago. In 2019, not so much. I expect runs to be scored in bunches today. http://mlb.mlb.com/images/1/3/4/150487134/091915_min_sano_hr_med_yb5990h3.gif The Pitchers: Michael Pineda (4-4, 5.02 ERA, 67 K's) vs Ivan Nova (3-6, 5.91 ERA, 58 K's) Pineda had a…

Twins: SP Kevin Correia 2B Dozier RF Herrmann DH Morneau C Doumit 1B Colabello 3B Plouffe CF Thomas LF Ramirez SS Florimon Tigers: SP Anibel Sanchez CF Jackson RF Hunter 3B Cabrera 1B Fielder DH Martinez LF Dirks 2B Infante SS Iglasias C Holaday Things to Think About: 1. Think about Porcello...Yeah that was fun beating Porcello last night. The degree of difficulty gets steeper after that. Here come Sanchez. 2. Think about Mauer... A Concussion or at least concussion like symptoms and a trip to that 7 day DL. Thee Ole Foul Tip off the Catcher's Mask was the culprit. In my opinion... Catcher is the greatest position to play. Except for that foul tip stuff. …

Twins: SP Kevin Correia 2B Dozier C Mauer 1B Morneau DH Doumit LF Arcia 3B Plouffe RF Herrmann CF Thomas SS Florimon Royals: SP Jeremy Guthrie RF Cain 1B Hosmer DH Butler LF Gordon 2B Tejada 3B Moustakas C Kottaras SS Escobar CF Dyson Things to think about: 1. Think about the Astros... Yeah we swept them... But they played some bad baseball... It has to be the worst sweep feeling produced in quite some time. 2. Think about the Royals... The Royals are turning it on. I've always felt that this team was capable of contending and they were very slow coming out of the gate. They are 13-3 since the All Star Break and within wild card consideration distance. …

Have you ever played Tri-Bond? It’s a board game where three items are listed, and the guesser is to identify what the three things have in common. For example, here’s an easy one: Metropolitan Stadium, HHH Metrodome, Target Field. The answer, of course, is “Stadiums the Minnesota Twins have called home.” So, that’s the subject of tonight’s Game Thread. Take a shot at these, which may or may not have anything to do with tonight’s game, and check out the answers below: The Queen of Soul, the Sultan of Swat, the King of Rock and Roll. Dick Howser, George Brett, Frank White. Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Jack Morris. Archibald Leach, Bernar…

Welcome back to another exciting Twins Daily Game Thread! I have been eagerly anticipating my first game thread introduction of 2018 since last fall. I even had planned out an idea for my first game thread intro since February but because of the unusual circumstances surrounding today's game, I called an audible and decided to save my idea for another day. Todays game is guaranteed to set at least one record. By game time this will be the coldest Twins Game ever played at Target Field. The previous record was recorded April 17, 2014. At game time the temperature back in 2014 was 31 degrees. At game time today we should see a balmy 25 degrees for the first pitch.…

Roster Moves: The Twins have placed RHP Josh Winder on the 15-day IL with a shoulder issue. They have also optioned LHP Devin Smeltzer to AAA-STP after last nights start. Bailey Ober has been activated from the injured list and will start tomorrow's game. He has thrown a rehab game, so his pitch count shouldn't be too limited. To replace Winder, the club has purchased the contract of RHP Trevor Megill, a 28 year old. He is 0-2, with an ERA of 3.27 at Saint Paul in 11 innings of work. He has earned two saves, and struck out 15 while walking only 4. He appeared in 28 games last year with the Cubs, allowing 22 runs in 23.2 innings of work. He throws a 4S that sits in the upp…

Game-time forecast: Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing from left to right field at 1-5 m.p.h. Temperature around 70. TWINS: SP, Gibson Santana SS Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Vargas DH Pinto C Arcia RF Escobar 3B Herrmann LF Hicks CF DETROIT: SP, Price Kinsler 2B Hunter RF Cabrera 1B Martinez (Victor) DH Martinez (J.D.) LF Avila C Castellanos 3B Romine SS Carrera CF ---------------------------------------- ONE: This is the ONE, the last ONE of the season, the ONE that everyone will remember until next year. Leave us with a good ONE, Brian! ---------------------------------------- The Last One!!! Wow... It's gonna be weird to not have to do this tomorrow and the tomorro…

Yesterday was an awesome game to watch. A high-stakes matchup against a good team won in a nail-biter. Despite all of that, I will not be watching the game today. Why, may you ask? South Dakota State is gunning for a FCS national championship today. I know some people shrug off lower-level football, but there are a lot of high-caliber players that come from low level Division 1 football, may of which the Golden Gophers would have gladly used. Zach Zenner, Dallas Goedert, and Adam Vinatieri are three alumni that have had significant success. For baseball, Blake Treinen and the Twins' own Caleb Thielbar are currently relief pitchers. It is awesome to see the jump to Divisio…

LINEUPS: Twins 2B Brian Dozier CF Aaron Hicks DH Joe Mauer 3B Miguel Sano 1B Trevor Plouffe RF Eddie Rosario SS Eduardo Escobar C Chris Hermann LF Shane Robinson (Cy Young) Indians 2B Jose Ramirez SS Francisco Lindor LF Michael Brantley DH Carlos Santana C Yan Gomes CF Abraham Almonte RF Jerry Sands 1B Chris Johnson 3B Giovanny Urshela Ahem. Well, I got the 4 runs right. If you read yesterday's thread, I predicted a 4-1 Twins win. Missed that by a tad. This Indians lineup isn't a very good one. But yesterday, they were able to take advantage of subpar pitching performances from Ervin Santana as well as the bullpen, especially Ryan O'Rourke and AJ Achter. And…