Archived Game Threads

As per usual, I decided to do some in-depth research, for this thread, (some might call it wiretapping) into clubhouse shenanigans. The following is a transcript of a recorded conversation. However, to protect the innocent, I have put this in the form of an award winning screen play. (Thank you. I’ll put my participation trophy on the wall next to my participation plaque) Scene: meeting between baseball master minds. Shot starts wide showing a comfortably appointed office with 4 people seated on tasteful furniture reminiscent of the Art Deco era of furniture design. Camera slowly zooms to closeup of the Manager as he chats with Owner, GM and POBO. Manager: 13 pitche…

Today is a special day. Not only do our Twins host the Royals on their push for a post season berth, but today is the first day of Oktoberfest. Now you may note that it's not yet October. There is an important distinction. Oktoberfest is the harvest festival held in Munich Germany. It's the largest beer festival in the world. On the east side of the Saint Croix River, we have a great German Heritage. Fantastic German restaurants, festivals, and of course, a hearty few of us Twins Fans! So next time you feel that urge to tease me about my great state, just remember, Wisconsin is as close to a German experience as you can get to from Minnesota without catching as flight…

Are we back? I’m on my way up to the Cities, ready to type away..... and no connection. I panicked. Is my phone breaking down at the absolute worst time? I have to start writing. But alas, the website is back up and firing at full force. (Thank you TD administrators!) The team seems to be on a bit of a roll, the offense still hits lots of bombas, and the World Series still looks like a possibility. What more could a Minnesota sports fan ask for? This is the first of two games I will be up to Target Field for, and I hope the team plays to their potential. Doubleheader for the Indians today, so game reports of those two games are highly encouraged. I’m going to go enjoy t…

Today’s game thread will feature one of my favorite aspects of baseball- the ‘game within the game.’ No, I’m not talking about the duels between pitcher and batter that drive the game. Nor am I talking about the proverbial chess match as managers attempt to match wits a la Bobby Fisher vs Boris Spassky circa Reykjavik, 1972. Stop at the gas station, grab your favorite carton of smokes, and head to your local VFW. It’s time to play a very special edition of Dick and Bert Bingo, aka DABGO. Dick Bremer has been the voice of Twins baseball on television since 1983. Whether games were broadcast on Spectrum Sports, TwinsVision, Midwest Sports Channel (MSC!), the ill-fa…

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…

┴Ɔ ɯd0Ɩ:ㄥ @ 9/ϛ 'sɔᴉʇǝlɥʇ∀ ˙sʌ suᴉʍ┴ 'pɐǝɹɥ┴ ǝɯɐפ Weather: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8:00 PM. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63° F. South southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. (Forgive the grammar - I copied that and am feeling too lazy today to fix it.) Sunset: 8:23 PM (an hour and 13 minutes after the first pitch, given the game starts at the planned time). Line ups: ATHLETICS (12-16): 1. Crisp, LF 2. Burns, CF 3. Reddick, RF 4. Butler, DH 5. Vogt, C 6. Davis, 1B 7. Lawrie, 3B 8. Semien, SS 9. Sogard, 2B …

Preview: Kyle Gibson (11-11, 3.84 ERA) vs. Yovani Gallardo (13-11, 3.42 ERA) Lineups: http://www.baseballpress.com/lineups Twins (0-1): TBD Orioles (1-0): 1. Manny Machado ® 3B 2. Adam Jones ® CF 3. Chris Davis (L) 1B 4. Mark Trumbo ® RF 5. Matt Wieters (S) C 6. Pedro Alvarez (L) DH 7. J.J. Hardy ® SS 8. Jonathan Schoop ® 2B 9. Joey Rickard ® LF Yay! Baseball is back! After a heartbreaking 9th inning loss the Twins get a mulligan on opening day I figure. Today's matchup features the same Orioles lineup we saw on Monday and... not sure about the Twins' yet. Two teams that figure to strikeout a ton each facing pitchers that don't strike anyone out. And a hitters par…

Twins (11-33, 5th AL Central) vs Royals (23-21, 3rd AL Central) Santana (1-2, 3.13 ERA) vs Volquez (4-4, 3.79 ERA) Target Field, Minneapolis, MN Forcast: Partly Cloudy, 76F, 0% of Precip. TV: FS-N Radio: Go 96.3 Minnesota Twins Lineup: 1. 2B Eduardo Nunez ® 2. 1B Joe Mauer (L) 3. DH Miguel Sano ® 4. 3B Trevor Plouffe ® 5. LF Robbie Grossman (S) 6. RF Oswaldo Arcia (L) 7. SS Eduardo Escobar (S) 8. C Juan Centeno (L) 9. CF Danny Santana (S) Kansas City Royals Lineup: 1. SS Alcides Escobar ® 2. 2B Whit Merrifield ® 3. CF Lorenzo Cain ® 4. 1B Eric Hosmer (L) 5. DH Kendrys Morales (S) 6. C Salvador Perez ® 7. RF Paulo Orlando ® 8. 3B Cheslor Cuthbert ® 9. LF Jarrod…

The Twins are in the midst of a five game winning streak, a number commonly referred to as “half a dozen” by Bert Blyleven. Today’s game will see beautiful western Florida weather at 86 degrees game time but none of that matters because Tropicana Field makes the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome look like the Ritz Carlton, even accounting for the current state of said Metrodome. In celebration of this winning streak, I have compiled a half dozen talking points about today’s game. 1. Tyler Duffey. The righty is taking the mound for the fourth time in a Minnesota Twins uniform. After being on the unfortunate end of a whooping stick in Toronto, he has strung together 13.2 in…

Well, the day managed to slip away, because, for some reason, work decided that I should actually work at work, rather than look at baseball stuff and think about game threads. The nerve! I shan't go over history, because it's over and done with. Instead, I plan to take each day, one at a time, put forth my best effort, and let the chips fall where they may. Now that the standard platitudes are behind us, I hope the Twins get after it and battle their tails off the rest of the season. It's a race and the Twins are contenders! And, because things are running way behind, it's time to put some random thoughts down: !. What was Diaz thinking? 2. What was Diaz thin…

The Twins are right in the middle of the slump, and that shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. They probably aren't the best hitting team to ever grace the fields of the MLB, and their pitching wasn't going to hold up. Jake Odorizzi isn't, and was never going to be in the conversation for Cy Young for the entire year. Martin Perez was going to get figured out, and the bullpen wasn't built to hold up the entire, and that is okay. We're in June, not October. This roster will look different come August 1st. But for now, lets get back to our winning ways against the Royals. The Pitchers: Martin Perez (7-3, 4.09 ERA, 74 K's) vs Jakob Junis (4-6, 5.33 ERA, 76 K's) Martin P…

WHAT'S IN A NAME? I asked for a chance to do a game thread for Houston. Actually I begged for a chance to do a thread for the Houston Astros. On second thought, “begged” might be too strong a word. “Whined until the Powers-That-Be-Surrendered” is probably more accurate. Which might also define a certain request, oft repeated, that I’ve made of my dear wife over the past thirty odd years. Anyway, my reason for wanting to thread the Houston needle (had to try and sneak that past you) was because despite the yuge amount of knowledge I’ve acquired over the years since my son graduated from high school, I’ve never been able to figure out just what an “Astro” is. So I th…

The Twins play the Tigers today, and Ricky Nolasco (2-1, 9.00 ERA) will face Kyle Lobstein (3-2, 3.00 ERA), always33 will have lineups and weather after your "Five Things to Think About.” 1. Roommates— Well, one of the things we are going to think about tonight is roommates, but I have a problem, one of my roommates is a sophomore in college who likes to wake me up with songs from Disney movies, and his favorite one is Under the Sea, and here are the lyrics: The seaweed is always green In somebody else's lake
 You dream about going up there 
But that is a big mistake 
Just look at the world around you
 Right here on the ocean floor
 Such wonderful things surround you …

Weather: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. East wind 10 to 15 mph. Bad Guys: Carlos Santana DH Jason Michael Kipnis 2b Francisco Miguel Lindor SS Michael Charles Brantley Jr. LF Michael Anthony Napoli 1b Yan Gomes C Lonnie David Chisenhall RF Juan Cespedes Uribe Tena 3b Tyler Wesley Naquin CF Cody Andrew Anderson P Good Guys: Daniel Ernesto Santana CF James Brian Dozer 2b Joseph Patrick Mauer 1b Miguel Angel Sano Jean 3b Oswaldo Celestino Arcia RF Byung-ho Park DH Eduardo Jose Escobar SS Kurt Kyoshi Suzuki C Eddie Manuel Rosario LF Carlos Enrique Nolasco P Ricky Nolasco versus Jose Ramirez - The last time Ricky Nolasco faced Jose Ramirez this happened: …

Happy August Fool's day! Some are born, some are made, but y'all have foolishness thrust upon ye! Today's foolishness is taking a look at the big picture instead of the immediate game. Who'd ever think we'd be here back at the start of the season? Rookie manager and all (and see how well he manages rookies!) Did ya agree with the trades? Are well positioned for the remainder of the season? Some people might call it a stretch run, but i have find it difficult to stretch and run at the same time... That said, we're finishing up a little series at Miami. We done pretty good this road trip, even with one designated hitter tied behind our back... Wouldn't mind facing…

Short and sweet: 1st! Hurrah! 2nd: Hurl That stiched sphere. 3rd: Flash Some leather. SS... 4th: Streaking of win variety. 5th: Who's the Boom King? Line ups: Minnesota: 1. Mitch Garver (R ) C 2. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS 3. Miguel Sano (R ) 3B 4. Eddie Rosario ( L) LF 5. C.J. Cron (R ) 1B 6. M. Gonzalez ( S ) RF 7. Max Kepler ( L) CF 8. J. Schoop (R ) 2B 9. Kyle Gibson (R ) RHP Milwaukee: 1. Trent Grisham ( L) LF 2. Y. Grandal ( S ) C 3. C. Yelich ( L) RF 4. Keston Hiura (R ) 2B 5. Mike Moustakas ( L) 3B 6. Lorenzo Cain (R ) CF 7. Eric Thames ( L) 1B 8. Orlando Arcia (R ) SS 9. Gio Gonzalez (R ) LHP Did i miss anything? If so, pull a Diaz and send me home! …

Tap Tap Tap... ChiTown... Tap Tap Tap... ChiTown... Tap Tap Tap... ChiTown. ChiTown: What do ya want Sheldon? Sheldon: I need the lineups!!! ChiTown: Lineups? Sheldon: Baseball nomenclature for the systematic placement of nine athletes selected by the team supervisor that declares the exact order of batters to face the opposition and where they have to stand when playing defense. ChiTown: Oh (Pause) In a bit Sheldon: So... I should wait right here. ChiTown: Yep Right Here (Door Slams) ------------------------------------------- Geez, settle down, man ... Game-time forecast: Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing in from right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Temperature near 40. (Yik…

Game-time forecast: Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 10-15 m.p.h. Temperature around 35. Jays: SP, Dickey Melky Cabrera LF Munenori Kawasaki 2B Jose Bautista CF Edwin Encarnacion 1B Colby Rasmus DH Brett Lawrie 3B Moises Sierra RF Josh Thole C Ryan Goins SS Twins: SP, Gibson Brian Dozier 2B Joe Mauer 1B Trevor Plouffe 3B Chris Colabello RF Jason Kubel LF Josmil Pinto DH Kurt Suzuki C Aaron Hicks CF Pedro Florimon SS The 2nd game's lineups will be posted in-thread as we continue into the next game. Yes, one big long thread for two games! Woohoo! And tonight's lineups and tonight's game thread begin here: http://twinsdaily.com/showthread.php…

Mercy! The Twins haven't been playing too well.... Weather: Sunny, with a high near 77. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Lineups: The Bad Guys: Adam Cory Eaton, CF Melky Astacio Cabrera, LF José Dariel Abreu Correa, 1b Todd Brian Frazier, 3b Brett Russell Lawrie, 2b Dioner Favian Navarro Vivas, C Avisail Antonio García Yaguarin, DH Jack Burdett Shuck III, RF Tyler Artolo Saladino, SS Pitcher: Mathew Adam Latos, (1-0, 0.00 ERA) The Good Guys: TBA Pitcher: Johan Ramon Santana, (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Our minds must focus on baseball today, so your five things to think about will be solely focused on baseball. #1 - Mat Latos - Mat L…

"Red-headed step-children are mollycoddled compared to this thrashing." ----Halos Heaven game thread, last game of the series against the Angels. The above statement can be applied to multiple teams this season, with the way the Twins have been swinging the lumber. And, even better, the Twins have also had their share of close games, yet found a way to win. But, the White Sox are in town, and, as a division rival, cannot be overlooked, because things tend to be tough within the division. Witness what happened when the Twins played Detroit and split the series. Currently, the Twins own an 8 game lead over Cleveland and take on a Chicago team that, with the young …

Today, the magic number stands at 3. Not 4, not 2, and 5 is right out. The number is three and three shall be the number. *I put in the whole thing because I can relate to the "soiled armor" bit what with some of the things that happened during the season. Now, the Twins head into Detroit and the Twins faithful are looking at this series, knowing things are counting down to the post-season. But, we are not counting our playoffs before they hatch, are we? The Twins head into Detroit and, if the past is anything to go by, they will exact their revenge on Detroit. (Well, okay, the Twins have been exacting revenge on Detroit all year....) And, with that,…

I've never done a game thread before and I'm only starting this one because no one else has. Apologies for overstepping my bounds. I can only assume that we are all suffering from a trade deadline hangover which brings me to the topic of this thread - the hangover. From the Mayo Clinic website - Various factors may contribute to a hangover. For example: - Alcohol causes your body to produce more urine. In turn, urinating more than usual can lead to dehydration — often indicated by thirst, dizziness and lightheadedness. - Alcohol triggers an inflammatory response from your immune system. Your immune system may trigger certain agents that commonly produce physical s…

Perfect baseball weather for game 2 of the series. Pitchers: Wei-Yin Chen (3-2, 4.25) vs. Ricky Nolasco (2-4, 4.93). Lineups at bottom. Being a Twins fan in 2016 is no doubt some sort of cosmic test, administered by forces we do not understand, and frankly…. it’s a test we are failing. Did you see what direction the game thread went last night? The team needs help, but more importantly, so do we. We have descended into the mud. We treat straightforward discussion threads as self-help communities. One commenter in a game thread this weekend even suggested that Brian Dozier should check himself in to Pull Hitters Anonymous. If he does, he should wait a few weeks, beca…

It is June 2, and the Twins still have the best record in baseball and have yet to have a 3 game losing streak. Is the sky falling?!? Sadly, it quite literally is. While this isn't necessarily close to me, it reminds me of a lot of flooding I saw going down to Kansas City last weekend. In my area, many fields won't be planted, and some roads and bridges were taken out by the floodwaters. Many major roads will be closed in need for repair for quite some time However, this is nothing compared to the devastation I saw heading south on Interstate 29 (which is currently closed due to flooding). Houses halfway under water, cattle desperately clinging onto little islands of…

http://in2english.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/turkey.jpg Welcome back to another exciting Twins Daily game thread! The place where snappy conversation and arm chair quarterbacking are the norm. A place where fun banter and the occasional friendly jab at your Twins Daily counterparts is not only encouraged but allowed (please note I said friendly jab). Before we post the lineups tonight, I wanted to share with you, our gentle readers some things I was pondering at work today. I know we're still 6 months away from Thanksgiving but for some reason I'm just feeling thankful today for our Minnesota Twins. I started to think about all the disappointment and anguish we'…

Time for perspective. Twins lost a heartbreaker yesterday. Would be great to get a win today before facing Clevinger tomorrow. But more importantly, it's a beautiful day, and I'm about to head out to coach my youngest son's Little League game. We've had one 1.5 hour practice. We have new uniforms (provided by the Washington Nationals baseball club), and it's likely that the whole team will have their glove for the first game of the season. We're ready to roll. Our team sponsor is a local dental practice, and the team cheer is "Don't forget to floss!" - followed by the kids doing the floss dance, of course. Here is our fearsome line-up of 7 and 8 year olds: 1.…

Down 2-1 in the series, a win would earn us a split. And a theme that should be obvious for every get away game i could introduce: what can we get away with? And today i feel like trackin' down youtube references of musical nature to favorite, but lesser known movies: Six String Samurai: (and the band responsible for its soundtrack, the Red Elvises) El Mariachi: The Man in the White Suit: (you may doubt its musicality, but you'd be surprised how often you hear it sampled in other movies... most notably Bunsen and Honeydew's appearance in the Muppet Movie) and you can go watch any of 'em if your stomach isn't equal to the sight of Nick Gordan's majo…

http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/jim-lange-dating-game.jpg ANNND Welcome back! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line: The Dating Game Edition! That game wasn't very fun yesterday! I'm going to tell you a little white lie... Things will be better today! It's the last game of the series in the TropiDome between our Twins and Tampa near a Bay. Before we find the next pitcher to love, let's talk weather and lineups. Intern, take it away! Van, don't you remember from yesterday that they play in a dome? We don't have to worry about weather! Oh yeah... Minnesota Twins (8-7): P - Phil Hughes -- If you can't say something nice about a person don't s…

Friends, meet Phil the Badger. Originally from a certain city in western Pennsylvania, he left because he was tired of certain fellow woodchuck popping out of his hole and looking for his shadow all the time. Badger Phil just can't abide repetition. So he lit out with some migrating sidehill gophers and now welcomes us to Milwaukee. He is here to make sure i don't just reuse last week's game thread intro. Oh right.We are playing in Target field this time. Maybe that will free me feom Phil's wrath? Brewers: 0. Corbin Burnes ® P 1. Avisail Garcia (R ) CF 2. C. Yelich ( L) LF 3. Keston Hiura (R ) 2B 4. Justin Smoak ( S ) 1B 5. Ryan Braun (R ) DH 6. Omar Narvaez ( L) C 7…

First, a brief history of the number zero: According to Live Science, the Babylonians borrowed the concept of zero from the Sumerians, the first people in the world to develop a counting system. (probably invented the accountant, tax shelter and tax collector, too) Also, thanks to the invention of Zero, we’re able to perform sabermetrics, calculus, differential equations, algebra and show the real balance of a checkbook. (yeah, yeah, I know, sometimes the balance of the checkbook is less than zero. However, negative numbers aren’t a part of this thread. The TD Game Thread style sheet expressly forbids mentioning anything negative) Now that we’ve covered nothing, let…