Gametime forecast:  70°F • Clear • 0% PoP    Great Night for Baseball!  Wish I was there!

 

For the Baltimore Orioles:   RHP Kevin Gausman  (1-0 after appearing in 10 games;  23.1 innings;   2 saves;  3.09 ERA)

1. Manny Machado ® 3B

2. Jimmy Paredes (S) DH

3. Adam Jones ® CF

4. Chris Davis (L) RF

5. Matt Wieters (S) C

6. Chris Parmelee (L) 1B

7. Travis Snider (L) LF

8. J.J. Hardy ® SS

9. Ryan Flaherty (L) 2B

 

 

For your Minnesota Twins:  RHP Kyle Gibson   (6-6,  100.2 innings;  3.04 ERA)

1. Brian Dozier ® 2B

2. Joe Mauer (L) 1B

3. Trevor Plouffe ® 3B

4. Miguel Sano ® DH

5. Eddie Rosario (L) RF

6. Eduardo Escobar (S) LF

7. Aaron Hicks (S) CF

8. Kurt Suzuki ® C

9. Danny Santana (S) SS

 

You’ll be reading me a lot this week.  I had already taken 2 games in the Tigers series and then I felt bad last night when Chief didn’t have anybody for today so bear with me.

 

1.  Great game last night.   What a statement made by Mr. Dozier!    I went skimming around the net this a.m. and found he really doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.   ESPN did put him 1st up in their daily roundup but there wasn’t a separate headline like “Dozier hits walk-off HR in 10th”.    Olney and Schoenfield acknowledge him as one of the top “snubs”.    MLB put him on the front page but CBS didn’t even mention him.   Nothing on Yahoo although Hicks’ catch did make the front page.   Twins just aren’t getting good national press.

 

2. I’ve voted more than 500 times.   I don’t really expect it to pay off but I’ve got it figured out how to type on my keypad and then just hit the left button on the laptop touchpad and voila, another vote so it is pretty fast.  There’s something strangely addictive about it.   VOTE EARLY!    VOTE OFTEN!!

 

3. I don’t know about the TC but today is an absolutely glorious day in northwest Iowa.   Sunny, 70’s, low humidity.  One of the best days of the summer.

 

4. Aaron Hicks – Can he make it 3 in a row?   Two HR by Mr. Hicks in 2 days is a nice comeback.   He looks so much more confident at the plate --- as though he knows what to expect.   (This is unlike Danny Santana who always looks diffident to me).  Hicks bolstered by some great play in the field.   I’m liking CF at the moment.

 

5. Ryan O’Rourke – Nice Irish name.   I know nothing about him as a pitcher but Nick Nelson did point out:

 

Dating back to 2012, O'Rourke has faced 247 left-handed hitters in the minors.  He has allowed 34 hits (.138 average) including one home run, with 115 strikeouts and 19 walks.

That is a 46% K-rate against LH batters.

 

At least it gives us something different to anticipate.   Thompson had worn out his welcome.

 

6.  Looking for another masterful performance from the one-and-only Kyle Gibson!   He’ll need it and the Twins are somehow going to have to find a way to score some runs.

 

 

That’s it.  Enjoy the game, everybody.    KEEP VOTING!

For one thing, Mazzone said he "never covered my mouth -- not one time" when he talked to Maddux, or anyone else on that awesome Braves staff. For another, he said, Maddux was so dominating, he practically eliminated the need to hold mound conferences.

 

"One time," Mazzone said with a laugh, "he said to me, 'Come on out and visit me. I haven't seen you [on the mound] in a couple of months.' He said, 'You know, Leo, it gets kind of lonely out there. So why don't you come out and visit me in the sixth inning.'

 

"So sure enough, he's shutting out the Mets, and he looks in the dugout with one out in the sixth. And Bobby [Cox] says to me, 'Mad Dog is looking for you. Go out there and make sure he's all right.' So I go out there and he says, 'I'm glad you came out. My catcher doesn't speak English. I'm tired of talking to Chipper. So it was nice of you to come out here. You got anything you need to ask me?' And I said, 'Yeah, you planning on going seven tonight or all nine?'"

Edited July 7, 201511 yr by jimmer

No Torii in the lineup and Sano takes his first crack at hitting cleanup.  

 

This is awesome.

In other news, Holland gives up a lead off triple in the 9th, then throws a wild pitch without his AS catcher Salvi Perez behind the plate and the Rays tie it up 5-5.  Rays runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.  GO TAMPA!

 

 

This is awesome.

 

Is there some sort of Twin-of-the-month Pin-up calendar that hasn't been announced yet?  If so, I think I know who has dibs on the 5th month.

 

Is there some sort of Twin-of-the-month Pin-up calendar that hasn't been announced yet?  If so, I think I know who has dibs on the 5th month.

 

Ladies of TD.....is Trevor May a sexy enough candidate to be Dozier's campaign spokesmodel?    

I wish Mollie would drop Poof down to 7 or 8 in the lineup.  Sano's off to a really good start and Hicks is looking like what we hoped for a couple years ago.  This team could have a future. 

 

Ladies of TD.....is Trevor May a sexy enough candidate to be Dozier's campaign spokesmodel?    

 

He's taken the job to heart.  He's built a little like a "block" - not really pin up material.

 

But he has good hair and he's kind to animals.  (He needed his cat in the photo.)

Apparently the best picture in front of the #BullDozier will win a free auto'd Dozier baseball according to a tweet I saw.

And KC wins on a walk-off Grand Slam by Orlando.

 

And KC wins on a walk-off Grand Slam by Orlando.

 

Bloom?!?

 

  http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/3603/_3603.jpg

 

 

This is awesome.

This is probably the funniest thing I've seen today. 

Also, Trevor May seems to have made a video to go with those pictures.

 

http://m.twins.mlb.com/min/video/topic/75206220/v213312783/what-are-you-waiting-for-votedozier/?affiliateId=clubMEGAMENU

Ladies of TD.....is Trevor May a sexy enough candidate to be Dozier's campaign spokesmodel?

Yup. IMHO.

He's taken the job to heart. He's built a little like a "block" - not really pin up material.

 

But he has good hair and he's kind to animals. (He needed his cat in the photo.)

Yup. I think he has a Frenchie, too, or was thinking of getting one. One of the rare times I was on Twitter remember him asking for name suggestions.

 

Also, Trevor May seems to have made a video to go with those pictures.

 

http://m.twins.mlb.com/min/video/topic/75206220/v213312783/what-are-you-waiting-for-votedozier/?affiliateId=clubMEGAMENU

 

The best part was when he cut off Duensing.  Terry Ryan should take notes.

Trevor May was congratulated by his Mom for his victory in relief last night.

 

Also, Trevor May seems to have made a video to go with those pictures.

 

http://m.twins.mlb.com/min/video/topic/75206220/v213312783/what-are-you-waiting-for-votedozier/?affiliateId=clubMEGAMENU

That was... interesting, to say the least.

 

Is May doing this because Dozier got him a win yesterday?

 

That was... interesting, to say the least.

 

Is May doing this because Dozier got him a win yesterday?

 

 

He's a little goofy.

 

That's endearing.

 

But he's wrong -- you can vote WAY more than 35 times.

He's a little goofy.

 

That's endearing.

 

But he's wrong -- you can vote WAY more than 35 times.

Do the rules differ?

Twins have made a deal with the Mets to link Dozier and Familia so I've changed my voting.

 

Twins have made a deal with the Mets to link Dozier and Familia so I've changed my voting.

WE'RE TRADING DOZIER FOR FAMILIA?

 

....oh! OH! Sorry, my bad. I didn't read the whole thing. Whoops.

 

Also, Trevor May seems to have made a video to go with those pictures.

 

http://m.twins.mlb.com/min/video/topic/75206220/v213312783/what-are-you-waiting-for-votedozier/?affiliateId=clubMEGAMENU

Heh...  nearly got a snot bubble watching this.  All those presidential campaigns gearing up, take note-  Now THAT'S the way to pimp your candidate! 

Good for Gibson.  Starts out a little dicey but finishes off well.

Gibson seems to be dealin' early.

 

2 strike outs with runners at 2nd and 3rd to get out of the top of the 1st.

 

Not bad.

 

Heh...  nearly got a snot bubble watching this.  All those presidential campaigns gearing up, take note-  Now THAT'S the way to pimp your candidate! 

 

The Jindal commercials run every night during "Wheel of Fortune" (which probably shows who he is courting).

 

I could scream.

 

The Jindal commercials run every night during "Wheel of Fortune" (which probably shows who he is courting).

 

I could scream.

Sounds like he's courting you.

 

Sounds like he's courting you.

 

I consider Wheel of Fortune the lowest common denominator.

 

It usually stays on only because there isn't anything else and I'm too lazy to find the remote after Jeopardy.

Plouffe!

 

RBI double over the center fielder's head.