Archived Game Threads

Wednesday 5/18, 12:10 PM CT at Comerica Park TV: FS-N; Radio: Go 96-3, TIBN Fantastic baseball weather with clear skies and a high near 65. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Introduction I would like to thank Joseph Mauer for leading off the game in the DH spot; in an alternate universe with no Joe, this Twins team would be significantly worse. A warm thank you to Eduardo Nunez for batting second and playing shortstop, and a very special thanks to Miguel Sano in the three-hole and performing his duties to the very best of his abilities in right. I am deeply grateful for Byung-ho Park who has the cleaning duties for the day and will be covering first; also Trevor Plouff…

My day as a 26 year old GM. A Perspective. If John Chayka (see Arizona Coyotes) can do it, so can I. After the dust settled, Terry was nowhere to be seen. There were theories of course. Spontaneous combustion was a popular one for a while. It covered all the facts, Terry, already born down by unforeseeable poor play this season, combusted after a top prospect got shelled. The Negativity Police arrived too late. Some thought that he was sent back in time as a gift from the Pohlads. Back to a time when baseball was simpler and the boys could just play. Rumor said he worked for some Ohio team. The spiders or something? Others think he simply went to ret…

ANND Welcome back! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line - Game Thread Edition! How neat was that yesterday to watch our favorite team win?! I hope you all enjoyed Negativity Police and the positive vibes he or she provided us! Unfortunately like all super heroes, they have another community to save from negativity.... Let's talk line-ups and weather! Weather is colder than yesterday. 44 degrees at game time. Real feel of 36 degrees. Chance of showers at 2 PM. Minnesota Twins: 1. Joe Mauer (L) DH 2. Eduardo Nunez ® SS 3. Miguel Sano ® 3B 4. Byung Ho Park ® 1B 5. Oswaldo Arcia (L) RF 6. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 7. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 8. Juan Centeno (L) C 9. Danny Santana (S) CF …

ANND Welcome! To Minnesota Twins Whine Line - Game Thread Edition! I am your host for the next 2 days, Vanimal. We got ourselves a real barn burner match up this weekend between our Twins, and the Cleveland Indians. Let's get some things out of the way like lineups and weather to set the mood... 49 degrees at game time and spotty showers. Winds from the west at 20 mph. Gusts higher than that. Minnesota Twins: 1. Joe Mauer (L) 1B 2. Eduardo Nunez ® SS 3. Miguel Sano ® RF 4. Trevor Plouffe ® 3B 5. Byung Ho Park ® DH 6. Brian Dozier ® 2B 7. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 8. Juan Centeno (L) C 9. Danny Santana (S) CF P- Ervin Santana - 81 overall on MLB the Show! Cleveland Te…

We're not this bad. We're really not. That's not even the problem though. The problem is, if you're good, you just don't have a 32 game stretch like this. Just using last year's data as an example, the worst 32 game performance by a playoff team was the Rangers, going 11-21 from June 20 to July 29. It's just a 3 game difference, but it seems like a chasm. If you believe in the power of a hot start, Texas began last season 14-18, a far cry from our current 8-24. If you love baseball, you can just take it one day at a time. You can enjoy a Wednesday getaway game on a dreary day....if you try really, really hard. Pitching Matchup Tyler Wilson takes the hill for the O…

Twins (8-23, 5th AL Central) vs Orioles (18-12, 1st AL East) Berrios (1-1, 6.75 ERA) vs Gausman (0-1, 1.42 ERA) Target Field, Minneapolis, MN Forcast: Mostly Cloudy, 59F, 20% of Precip. TV: FS-N Radio: Go 96.3 Minnesota Twins Lineup: 1. 1B Joe Mauer (L) 2. SS Eduardo Nunez ® 3. 2B Brian Dozier ® 4. 3B Trevor Plouffe ® 5. RF Miguel Sano ® 6. DH Byung-Ho Park ® 7. LF Oswaldo Arcia (L) 8. C Kurt Suzuki ® 9. CF Danny Santana (S) Baltimore Orioles Lineup: 1. LF Joey Rickard ® 2. SS Manny Machado ® 3. CF Adam Jones ® 4. 1B Chris Davis (L) 5. RF Mark Trumbo ® 6. C Matt Wieters (S) 7. DH Pedro Alvarez (L) 8. 2B Jonathan Schoop ® 9. 3B Ryan Flaherty (L) Well, it's be…

I'm sitting here, wait for the muse to strike and, managed to strike out. For some reason, getting to first base was rather troublesome as I worked on getting this thread ready for publication. Even when I got a few things lined up to score for my writing, in the end, I had trouble making enough solid contact to bring things home. Then, when my writing started to look promising, it again let me down, to the point I wondered why I even continued. Luckily, I stuck with it, (pipe down, over there, yes, I mean you, Mr Twinsnorth...no comments about whether I should have continued my efforts and should have retired my word processor years ago. So what if I'll never make th…

strikezoid: noun pronounced strike ĕh(tip of the cap to our northern neighbors) zoid antecedent: strike zone Definition: a curious shape that defies normal geometric definitions. This shape, which changes from minute to minute, is designed to drive both batters and fans crazy. In fact, this shape, while correctly known as a "strikezoid" is often confused with the "strike zone." However, since strike zones are rectangular in shape, the distinction quickly becomes obvious. Back to the subject at hand: strikezoid. It has become apparent the umpires have designed a new shape for the strike zone. Henceforth known as the "strikezoid." Curiously, the strikezoid seems to be…

Things to think about: Texas - Texas is one of the best baseball states in the country, with only California and Florida having more active Major League Baseball players, and compared to Minnesota's measly 6 native born players the 69 from Texas are quite a lot. Baseball is not the most interesting aspect of Texas, because they have rednecks, which by definition is a working class white person, especially a politically reactionary one. Rednecks like things big, and they especially like big guns, which is why big, bullet throwing pitchers come out of Texas. Exciting teams that do bad - This is something that the Twins and Astros both are, so what they should try to do …

Twins (8-18, 5th AL Central) vs Astros (8-18, 5th AL West) Line: HOU -143 O/U: 8.5 runs Meyer (0-0, 18.00 ERA) vs McHugh (2-3, 6.65 ERA) Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX Forcast: Overcast, 58F, 0% of Precip. TV: FS-N Radio: Go 96.3 Minnesota Twins Lineup: 1. CF Danny Santana ® 2. 2B Brian Dozier ® 3. 1B Joe Mauer (L) 4. RF Miguel Sano ® 5. 3B Trevor Plouffe ® 6. DH Byung-Ho Park ® 7. SS Eduardo Escobar (S) 8. C Kurt Suzuki ® 9. LF Eddie Rosario (L) Houston Astros Lineup: 1. 2B Jose Altuve ® 2. RF George Springer ® 3. SS Carlos Correa ® 4. LF Colby Rasmus (L) 5. 1B Tyler White ® 6. DH Preston Tucker (L) 7. CF Carlos Gomez ® 8. 3B Luis Valbuena (L) 9. C Jason Castro …

It was not a good day at the park yesterday, expect for the fan give-away bomber hats. Let’s see if the team can take a game in the series. Add to Post Here are some things to think about: I have to admit that I was nervous about Byung-ho Park when I followed him during spring training, now I think he seems to be catching on with MLB pitching. Six home runs in the month of April, and a very respectable .561 Slugging percentage….he is fitting in very nicely. I talked with him (sort of) in Ft. Myers and enjoyed his quiet demeanor. He seems to be letting his hitting (and his interpreter) do the talking for him. These 1st inning (or early inning) run deficits, where the o…

Went to the game last night…enough said. Hoping to see a better game today! Here are some things to think about: It’s the policy of these game threads (and a policy I agree) to stay on the positive side, with that in mind, it’s important to note that Sano had a sweet RBI double and made a great diving catch in in the 7th inning last night! Not much I can really comment about the routine fly ball that fell between Santana and Arcia in the 9th. Through Friday's game against Cleveland, Mauer is batting .313 with a .451 on-base percentage and a .438 slugging percentage. That batting average puts Mauer at 13th in the American League among qualified hitters, and his .451 OBP…

Jose Berrios - Berrios is making his Major League debut tonight! I have been rooting for him ever since he got drafted, and that was a pretty emotional night for him: Berrios was a shortstop until his senior year of high school, when he broke out as a the top pitcher in Puerto Rico. Trevor Rosenthal and Jacob DeGrom are two all-star pitchers who were shortstops in high school. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/picking-berrios-top-prospect-debuts-for-twins-tonight/ Walk-off winners - The Twins have picked up a win in the bottom of the ninth the last two games, and Jepsen has been the pitcher who has benefited with the wins, which he did not deserve. Extrapolation -…

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: …

The "What have i missed." Game Thread intro... The passed week, i've missed a couple of possums, i think, a rabbit, a few exits and turns, and happily every other vehicle or obstacle in the road. Sadly i have missed a few of my predicted arrival times as well, but getting enough sleep in driving cross country is kinda non negotiable. Oh, and i guess i missed the instructions on how to keep a plant happy on long road trips. Oh well. I really meant to ask it specifically about the Twins. Who are swinging hot bats, flashing the leather, throwing heat? I kinda been out of touch, and don't know. As usual i seek to hide my inadequate research habits with clever wordp…

Twins (4-9, 5th AL Central) vs Brewers (5-8, 5th NL Central) Santana (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs Peralta (0-3, 10.13 ERA) Target Field, Minneapolis, MN Forcast: Overcast, 50F, 50% of Precip. TV: FS-N+ Radio: Go 96.3 Minnesota Twins Lineup: 1. 3B Eduardo Nunez ® 2. 2B Brian Dozier ® 3. DH Joe Mauer (L) 4. RF Miguel Sano ® 5. LF Oswaldo Arcia (L) 6. 1B Byung-Ho Park ® 7. SS Eduardo Escobar (S) 8. C John Ryan Murphy ® 9. CF Byron Buxton ® Milwaukee Brewers Lineup: 1. 3B Colin Walsh (S) 2. 2B Scooter Gennett (L) 3. LF Ryan Braun ® 4. DH Jonathan Lucroy ® 5. 1B Chris Carter ® 6. CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis (L) 7. SS Jonathan Villar (S) 8. RF Ramon Flores (L) 9. C Martin Maldonado ® …

Nick Tropeano (1-0, 0.00) vs. Kyle Gibson (0-2, 4.22) Lineups: http://www.baseballpress.com/lineups Angles (5-6): TBD Twins (2-9): TBD Twins bats erupted for a season high 3 home runs yesterday afternoon, as they wailed on the corpse of Jered Weaver and the Halos bullpen. The Twins struckout just 4 times, against 3 walks. They kept defensive mistakes to a minimum, with one exception- another outfield collision. This time between (CF) Rosario and (LF) Arcia. Come on, Twins outfielders, you just wrapped up spring training. Nick Tropeano takes the hill for the Angels today. A product of the Astros system, Tropeano was drafted in the 5th round in 2011. The righty …

Jered Weaver (1-0, 1.50) vs. Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 1.29) Lineups: http://www.baseballpress.com/lineups Angels (5-5): TBD Twins (1-9): TBD Eduardo Nunez was 3/3 yesterday batting leadoff. He's hitting .778 in the early going. He also played second base, which is directly in front of right field, where Miguel Sano sits. Er, plays. In the third Nunez threw a low block on Sano that stopped the hearts of every Twins fan. Here it is if you missed it: http://m.mlb.com/video/v591921283/laamin-nunez-shaken-up-mauer-nabs-escobar/?query=sano Thankfully the Kentucky bluegrass in right field was well-watered and gave way to Sano's cleats, saving the young slugger from missin…

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…

Twins (0-7, 5th AL Central) vs White Sox (5-2, T-1st Al Central) Hughes (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs Rodon (0-1, 2.57 ERA) Target Field, Minneapolis, MN Forcast: Clear, 67F, 0% PoP TV: FS-N Radio: Go 96.3 Minnesota Twins Lineup: 1. 2B Brian Dozier ® 2. 1B Joe Mauer (L) 3. DH Miguel Sano ® 4. 3B Trevor Plouffe ® 5. LF Eddie Rosario (L) 6. SS Eduardo Escobar (S) 7. RF Max Kepler (L) 8. C Kurt Suzuki ® 9. CF Byron Buxton ® Chicago White Sox Lineup: 1. RF Adam Eaton (L) 2. SS Jimmy Rollins (S) 3. 1B Jose Abreu ® 4. 3B Todd Frazier ® 5. LF Melky Cabrera (S) 6. 2B Brett Lawrie ® 7. DH Jerry Sands ® 8. C Alex Avila (L) 9. CF Austin Jackson ® It's a beautiful day out in Minneap…

Well yesterday didn't go so well. Everything started to unravel in the 4th with the back to back HR's by Moustakas and Cain. The comedy started in the 5th with 2 errors by Escobar which led to 2 more runs. The 3rd act was more of the same as Casey Fien was rocked to the tune of 3 more runs. Danny Santana gets hurt. Twins go 0-5 with RISP bringing their total for the season to 3-38, yada, yada, yada.....they got shutout 7-0. Enough said. Today, the 0-5 Twins, desperate for a win, send Mr. Ricky Nolasco to the mound to face Edison Volquez and the Royals. Volquez, Kansas City's opening day starter, looked the part on Opening Day tossing 6 shutout innings against the Me…

We are back! I know we are 4 games in, but it’s my 1st game thread, so welcome back everyone. Welp…..not how we all wanted the season start, but here we are winless. A day short of a year ago, the winless Twins sent Tommy Milone to the mound looking for win #1. What they got was 7.2 shutout innings and an offense that “erupted” for 6 runs on the way to a win. This year’s winless Twins will send the same Tommy Milone looking for win #1 and offensive breakout. Sound familiar? The 2016 Twins haven’t had it as rough as last year’s bunch though. A year ago’s Twins were absolutely pounded in their 1st series of the season to the tune of 22-1 by the Tigers. This year’s…

Phil Hughes, RHP (11-9, 4.40) vs Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP (12-10, 4.11) Lineups: http://www.baseballpress.com/lineups Twins (0-2) 1. Brian Dozier ® 2B 2. Danny Santana (S) RF 3. Joe Mauer (L) 1B 4. Miguel Sano ® DH 5. Trevor Plouffe ® 3B 6. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 7. Eduardo Escobar (S) SS 8. John Ryan Murphy ® C 9. Byron Buxton ® CF Orioles (2-0) 1. Joey Rickard ® CF 2. Nolan Reimold ® LF 3. Manny Machado ® 3B 4. Chris Davis (L) 1B 5. Mark Trumbo ® RF 6. J.J. Hardy ® SS 7. Pedro Alvarez (L) DH 8. Jonathan Schoop ® 2B 9. Caleb Joseph ® C After another save by O's closer Zach Britton some fans are questioning Mollie's decision to let starting catcher Kurt Suzuki bat…

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…

Okay ... last little bit of tune up before it all begins ... Go Twins! TWINS Dozier 2B Mauer DH Sano RF Plouffe 3B Rosario LF Park 1B Escobar SS Murphy C Buxton CF Nolasco P NATIONALS Taylor CF Rendon 3B Harper RF Zimmerman 1B Murphy 2B Werth LF Ramos C Espinosa SS Ross P (Ross P)

This is not a joke, prank, fool, etc. This is the real deal, almost. Not really ST, but not regular season play. I don't know about you all, but I'm getting excited! It's still possible! Everything is still possible! TWINS Dozier 2N Mauer 1B Sano RF Plouffe 3B Park DH Rosario LF Escobar SS Suzuki C Buxton CF Hughes

I didn't see one, so thought I would get it started. Welcome to swing at the first pitch game. Foul balls will be frowned upon today!

From the book of Spring Training, Chapter 30, Vs 1: And The Managers said "We have line ups" and lo, it was so: Toronto: P. Ryan Tepera ( R ) 1. Roemon Fields (L) CF 2. Andy Burns ( R ) 3B 3. Domonic Brown (L) RF 4. Casey Kotchman (L) 1B 5. David Adams ( R ) 2B 6. K.C. Hobson (L) DH 7. Jio Mier ( R ) SS 8. Humberto Quintero ( R ) C 9. Melky Mesa ( R ) LF Minnesota: P. Ervin Santana ( R ) 1. Brian Dozier ( R ) 2B 2. Danny Santana (S) LF 3. Joe Mauer (L) DH 4. Trevor Plouffe ( R ) 3B 5. Oswaldo Arcia (L) RF 6. Byung Ho Park ( R ) 1B 7. Eduardo Escobar (S) SS 8. Kurt Suzuki ( R ) C 9. Darin Mastroianni ( R ) CF And The Umpire said "Pla…

In progress ... Twins up 2-0 on two solo hr in the 1st by Dozier and Sano.

Okay ... this is getting started after the 1st inning is underway. First half went like this: Buxton HBP, then caught stealing. Santana singled. Sano flies out. Arcia K's. TWINS Buxton CF Santana 2B Sano RF Arcia DH Rosario LF Nunez SS Hicks 1B Murphy C Beresford 3B Duffey P PIRATES Jaso 1B Joyce LF Freese 3B Morse DH Rodriguez SS Figueroa 2B Stewart C Ortiz RF Richardson CF Cole P