It's another series against the AL Central as the Twins travel to Detroit to take on the Tigers.... AGAIN!!!

Playing the AL Central over and over again is tough because the teams are tough in the AL Central and the Tigers are perhaps the best of them all.

I don't know if the Twins have enough horsepower to pull through this series but the Twins have showed surprising horsepower thus far... So maybe they can... I ain't betting against them.

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. The Central Division -- I often wondered if the job of MLB Scheduler is a cool job or not. I imagine they sit down at their desk and look at all the requests from all the MLB teams and think about how they can meet these requests and then realize that they can't and throw eventually throw them in the wastebasket and just pust a random generate button of sorts. The Twins have played 32 games thus far and it will be 35 after this series with Detroit. Of those 35 games... 29 have been played against Central Division teams. I don't think the Twins requested this so the MLB scheduler is probably laughing and talking to co-workers and saying... Look what I did to the Twins. If you look at the current MLB Standings... Right Now... Both Wild Card teams would come from the AL Central and one of those teams would be our Twins. This suggests that the Central is the top division in baseball and this makes the Twins 18-14 record even more impressive.

2. The Other Divisions -- In the AL West... 2nd place is below .500. In the AL East... 2nd place (Rays) is barely above .500. Playing the teams from other divisions while they are struggling would be considered good timing and there are teams struggling all over the other divisions. This probably means that when the Twins get around to facing the AL East and AL West. Those teams will have started to play better and the Twins won't have to face them at their weakest. I guess it comes down to this... I'm kinda worried that when the Twins qualify for the playoffs... They will have to do it under the hardest circumstances possible. Facing Teams at the top of their game all year long.

3. Detroit -- The Twins travel to Detroit... a city that started as a small little hamlet and exploded into a major metropolis during the industrialization age. You all know the industry that fueled this growth... Yep... Crack Cocaine. Once Crack Cocaine was discovered the population started busting through the infrastructure and it's still a problem today since 85% of Detroit doesn't have running water. That's when Henry Ford came in... Henry looked around and thought... What do Crackheads need and it dawned on him... Motorized Vehicles. Let's put these people on wheels with a combustible engine and let them drive around and crash into other people. It makes perfect sense because they were always forgetting to feed their horses. After the horses died... Detroiters were seen pulling the wagons around town themselves and they didn't like it when their family would whip them and the bit tasted funny. With the invention of the Automobile... Detroiters didn't get the concept right away and they originally pulled the car. The lucky ones had a horse that was still alive to pull the car. Eventually Detroit boomed and this led to producing Barry Gordy and then Barry started producing and Detroit was forever known as Motown. That Mo eventually dried up when Toyota started producing cars that Americans liked.

4. Jose Iglesias -- While watching our Twins play those Tigers... Keep an eye on SS Jose Iglesias. No Joke here at all... He's simply one of the best defensive shortstops in the game today. Andrealton Simmons followed by Jose Iglesias is how I would rank em. Baseball defense has reached a whole new level... The Bar has been raised higher then when we were watching Ozzie Smith and Rey Ordonez. OK... Here's come the Joke... He's a good SS but I really don't like his song "To All The Girls I Loved Before". (Pause -- Think about it's place in the world) BAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

5. Housework -- My wife asked me to help her out the other day. We had company coming over and she wanted the beds made and the dishes washed and the floor vacuumed and stuff dusted. I just looked at her... I didn't understand the need... after all... we are just going to have to do it again in another month or two.

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Lineups:

TWINS
Dozier 2B
Hunter RF
Mauer 1B
Plouffe 3B
Vargas DH
Suzuki C
Escobar LF
Hicks CF
Santana SS

Gibson P

TIGERS
Gose CF
Kinsler 2B
Cabrera 1B
Martinez, V DH
Martinez, JD RF
Cespedes LF
Castellanos 3B
McCann C
Iglesias SS

Simon P

Game-time forecast: 57 deg F, overcast (sunset @ 8:43pm), 0% chance of precipitation, winds from the west at 17mph

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1. The Central Division -- I often wondered if the job of MLB Scheduler is a cool job or not. I imagine they sit down at their desk and look at all the requests from all the MLB teams and think about how they can meet these requests and then realize that they can't and throw eventually throw them in the wastebasket and just pust a random generate button of sorts. The Twins have played 32 games thus far and it will be 35 after this series with Detroit. Of those 35 games... 29 have been played against Central Division teams. I don't think the Twins requested this so the MLB scheduler is probably laughing and talking to co-workers and saying... Look what I did to the Twins. 

 

 

But if the Twins can come through May in decent shape, they won't see much of the Central until September.

 

For now, I guess I'll assume that's a good thing.  At least it will give us a chance to judge the other divisions.  

Edited May 12, 201511 yr by JB_Iowa

Really wish we could have Hughes going in this series also.

Speaking of tough divisions.  The 1991 Twins were in a division where the last place team had a .500 record.

Not sure I'd call the White Sox and the Native Americans as tough this year.

 All of the 7:00 ET MLB lineups are posted on Rotoworld except for Mollie's.  Waiting on Hicks?

 

 All of the 7:00 ET MLB lineups are posted on Rotoworld except for Mollie's.  Waiting on Hicks?

 

Finally... Hicksie in CF and batting 8th in front of Santana.

I'll be really curious to see the leg kick in action.  As a fan I have two things I want to see from Hicks early and often - the ball getting actually driven and his play in CF looking less like it deserves a Benny Hill soundtrack.

 

Do that and I'll be very excited about his prospects for contributing.

Escobar instead of Rosario in left.  

 

Escobar instead of Rosario in left.  

Yeah ... was kinda hoping to have both of them out there ... baby steps I guess

 

I'll be really curious to see the leg kick in action.  

He was doing that in ST but probably still getting his rhythm with it with live pitching.

 

Not sure I'd call the White Sox and the Native Americans as tough this year.

At least not as tough as we thought they were

Two races to watch this year: AL Central and NL West.

 

The rest are just along for the ride.

 

I have to admit, I'm curious to see how the top three teams in the AL Central and the top three teams in the NL West do outside their respective divisions. (the Twins are in the top three in the Central? Anyone see that coming? Is it a mirage? Are dogs and cats sleeping together? Mass hysteria?)

Let's see Gibson's streak of 17 scoreless grow tonight. 

Let's see Gibson's streak of 17 scoreless grow tonight.

I hope that wasn't a jinx!

4 Switch Hitters in a row is nice.

4 Switch Hitters in a row is nice.

Heh, http://mlbstartingnine.com/ lists Hicks as batting right.

 

Also, if the above lineup is correct, Suzuki bats between Vargas and Escobar, breaking up the sequence.

I want to get something off of my chest.

 

With the Twins having some very good success that last few weeks, I have noticed that the game threads have been more chipper, enlightened and optimism is abound. It takes some getting use to, but I really dig it. Jokes are a bit crisper, posts are more positive and the energy seems to have a different, better tinge to it... sort of how the cameraderie appears with the Twins 25 man roster right now.

 

Saying that, I have no regrets about spending 3 hours per day locked inside this chat room in the Dark Days of the Twins the last 3 years. There is a certain comfort in that and I had a hell of a time.

 

Hopefully this new brand of Twins Baseball sticks around a while.

 

PS - This post is Jinks Proof. I urinated on my hands prior to typing this. I did some research and found that this is what the Native Eastern Siberian peoples have done to avoid being jinksed since pre-historic times.

I don't understand the no Rosario.  He has short time left up here.  He shouldn't be sitting, Ever.

 

 

Speaking of tough divisions. The 1991 Twins were in a division where the last place team had a .500 record.

That had not occurred to me. I went back and looked at the record. Indeed 3 AL teams had losing records: The Yankees, the Orioles, and the Indians. And before inter-league play, those 3 had to lose enough for the other 11. So my hat's off to them for their noble sacrifice in making everyone else feel better.

 

But speaking of tough divisions... 33/115 and 35/122 both apparently round to .287, but the first fraction must be greater than the second, 'cause they list Hunter first in the batting averages. I might have to pull out a calculator to verify...

 

Really like the horsed horseless carriage. Twins Daily, you make me smile broadly.

 

Now about those bright spots on Ceres...

 

http://earthsky.org/space/closest-look-yet-at-ceres-bright-spots

 

I don't understand the no Rosario.  He has short time left up here.  He shouldn't be sitting, Ever.

 

If Rosario is playing, one out of Hunter, Vargas, Escobar, Hicks, Plouffe, Mauer, or Santana needs to sit, all of whom have very legitimate reasons for playing every day too.

 

I'll be really curious to see the leg kick in action.  As a fan I have two things I want to see from Hicks early and often - the ball getting actually driven and his play in CF looking less like it deserves a Benny Hill soundtrack.

 

Do that and I'll be very excited about his prospects for contributing.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic. His stats in Rochester are looking nice.  

I don't understand Mauer's thinking. He takes 'every' first pitch, usually a get over FB, and then is in the hole.

If the first pitch happens to be a ball, he takes the next FB down the middle. I know he's a lifetime .319 hitter- just sayin'.........

 

I don't understand Mauer's thinking. He takes 'every' first pitch, usually a get over FB, and then is in the hole.
If the first pitch happens to be a ball, he takes the next FB down the middle. I know he's a lifetime .319 hitter- just sayin'.........

He is swinging at a lot of first pitches this season, and the first pitch of his at bat was a ball, and there are many other good hitters who take a lot of pitches.

Nice work!

Hey Halsey, how did you like Plouffe taking off from 1^st, on an apparent hit-and-run,and STILL making it only to 3^rd on a double?

Awful.

Hey Halsey, how did you like Plouffe taking off from 1^st, on an apparent hit-and-run,and STILL making it only to 3^rd on a double?

I didn't see it (nor am i Halsey) but might it have been one of those "hit and run, and wait at second to see if it is a double or a fly out"?

Edited May 12, 201511 yr by sampleSizeOfOne

Very poor base running by poof cost us a run there.  And we are going to need runs.