Game Thread: Twins v Cardinals, 5/16 @ 12:10 Central

[Doubles]

Inexcusable not to slide there.  You know there was no way they were getting Buck at first.  Unbelievable bonehead play that could have had Twins on 1st & 2nd with nobody out.  Turrible play by Morrison.

[Puckett34]

 

Both, when I typed “hopefully Hughes comes out” I started sweating

Ok.  Just checking.   Because both are not preferred options.

[VATwinsFan]

4 hits and 3 BB in 2 innings doesn’t come out to equal a very impressive WHIP.

[TFRazor]

Time for one of Joe's patented 2 strike double into the gap

[Mill1634]

JOE! Finally some good hitting. 

[TFRazor]

 

Time for one of Joe's patented 2 strike double into the gap

I suppose I'll accept a RBI single in lieu of a double

[Blake]

 

Can someone start getting loose please? Enough already

Welp, my Lynn "defense" just became weak sauce.

 

Maybe trade Lynn and Hughes for a sack of potatoes?

[Puckett34]

 

Welp, my Lynn "defense" just became weak sauce.

 

Maybe trade Lynn and Hughes for a sack of potatoes?

At least you can make mashed potatoes out of that sack of potatoes.   

[TFRazor]

Brian fighting off some tough pitches

[Mill1634]

Man, Dozier missing pitches we are used to seeing him crush. 

[Puckett34]

 

Man, Dozier missing pitches we are used to seeing him crush. 

I think he's trying to do too much.   He's trying to hit dingers when all he needs is a dink.  

 

Would I like him to mash with 2 on and 2 out?   Yes, I don't want him to become a slap hitter.   But it just seems like he's pressing a bit. 

[Aggies7]

4 hits and 3 BB in 2 innings doesn’t come out to equal a very impressive WHIP.

Probably not going to help much when he came into the game with a 1.98 whip

[Aggies7]

What are you waiting for Paul? It’s not going to get any better

[wavedog]

That's enough!

[Aggies7]

Man garver has been getting smoked today.

[cmoss84]

I was a big advocate for Lynn in the off season but he has been brutal. Not watching the game today...are his pitches close or is he just all over the place?

[woolywoolhouse]

 

Man, Dozier missing pitches we are used to seeing him crush. 

 

 

I think he's trying to do too much.   He's trying to hit dingers when all he needs is a dink.  

 

Would I like him to mash with 2 on and 2 out?   Yes, I don't want him to become a slap hitter.   But it just seems like he's pressing a bit. 

 

Someone must have reminded Dozier that he has yet to hit a homerun at Target Field this year; every at-bat it seems like he's aiming for the second deck (which leads to a bunch of strikeouts and infield pop-ups.)

[Danchat]

 

Man garver has been getting smoked today.

That's another reason the Twins need to add another catcher - if Garver goes down, we're in big trouble.

[woolywoolhouse]

 

Wow.

 

 

Just bad? Or something more?

 

Do checked-swings count as swing-and-miss?

[KidBro]

Lynn still somehow pitching for STL.....     

[Puckett34]

On the current pace, Lynn will give up -1 run in the 4th (2 in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd, 0 in the 3rd).  So its a tie ball game now at worst.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Lynn working hard to disprove there is no such thing as a bad one year deal....I did not see him as this bad, no way

Is Hughes up?

"no downside to this move"

 

We hear it every offseason.

[Mill1634]

That is unfortunate. LONG single

[FunnyPenguin]

This Rosario kid is the spark plug of this team

[Mill1634]

Interesting to take Lynn out. I'd have sent him back out there with 8-9-1 coming up. I guess it helps that there is an off-day tomorrow.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Wonder if Garver can gidp in his next at bat too...

[Riverbrian]

 

The Twins have owned the Cardinal's 3-0 so far in the season, and look to make it a 4-0 sweep of the Red birds during today's matinee. My first two game threads of the year did not look so good with the weather, as one was snowed out, and another was delayed. Hopefully we have better luck today.

 

GAME TIME WEATHER: 82 Degrees Fahrenheit, 0% chance of rain, winds WSW at 11 MPH.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Lance Lynn (1-3, 7.34 ERA) vs Miles Mikolas (5-0, 2.51 ERA)

TWINS' LINEUP:

1. Joe Mauer (L) DH

2. Brian Dozier ® 2B
3. Eddie Rosario (L) LF
4. Max Kepler (L) RF
5. Mitch Garver ® C
6. Logan Morrison (L) 1B
7. Byron Buxton ® CF
8. Ehire Adrianza (S) SS
9. Gregorio Petit ® 3B

 

CARDINALS' LINEUP:

1. Tommy Pham ® CF
2. Jose Martinez ® DH
3. Paul DeJong ® SS
4. Marcell Ozuna ® LF
5. Dexter Fowler (S) RF
6. Jedd Gyorko ® 3B
7. Matt Carpenter (L) 1B
8. Francisco Pena ® C
9. Greg Garcia (L) 2B

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Mill's Milling Moments:

 

1. What in the world is Molitor doing:

If you look at the lineups you will notice that Mauer is once again playing DH, which means he is not playing in the field. This makes absolutely zero sense, as Mauer is the best defender after Buxton on the team, in my opinion. Why in the world are we giving Mauer a day off from the field after LoMo cost us the game two nights ago, and we have in off day tomorrow. On top of that, Mauer was DH just two days ago. He could not possibly need rest again. If Mauer is asking for the days off, Molitor needs to say no. If LoMo is asking to play 1st, Molly needs to say no. This stems from the same issue as Dozier batting leadoff. 

 

2. The return of Lynn

Lance Lynn has the opportunity to square off with his old dance partner in Target field today, and I am predicting a good performance from Lynn. Lynn has struggled with command early in the season, but the weather has finally started to heat up (we can still use that excuse, right), and he is going up against familiar faces. The Red Birds have 6 RHB in the lineup, and Lynn limits RHH to an OPS of .634 in his career (.861 this season), while lefties have an OPS of 791 in his carrer, and 1057. this season. 

 

3. Adrianza

Adrianza should have been gone long ago in my mind, but now I think that has been proven even farther. Yes, he is a fine player in a utility role where he does not have to start 4 or 5 times a week, but under the current situation he provides no value. His glove is fine, but his throws are wild. He had a hot streak at the plate last year, but is nowhere near that kind of hitter. And his baserunning has cost us a game already, and he was picked off in last nights matchup. Get Nick Gordon up here while Sano is out, lets see how he performs, and then make a decision.

 

Go Twins. 

 

Nice opener Mill... Thank You. 

 

Of course... I'm gonna counter your points. 

 

Disclaimer: I've stated multiple times that I'm not a starting 9 guy. My point of view will always be driven by my desire to have a roster full of players who can be counted on every day. Whenever a player on the 25 man roster is labelled as a back up, only play in case of emergency type guy... I'm going to disagree with that approach. 

 

WIth the disclaimer in place. 

 

1. I agree that Mauer should start at 1B nearly every day. However... I have a suspicion that occasional starts at 1B for Morrison was probably agreed to in order to entice him to sign here. If the occasional start at 1B is something that Morrison asked for in consideration of signing the contract. It may be why he chose Minnesota over whoever. Falvey and Lavine are probably going to say OK if that's all it takes to get a FA for a decent price and once they say OK... They are not going ignore a hand shake agreement after one month of play. If I'm right... I could be wrong but if I'm right... Morrison will probably get starts every third game or so. Until he proves completely inept or doesn't cooperate with the club on other matters. 

 

2.I'm still waiting for a return to past Lynn form from Lynn and I do believe he will straighten out eventually. He probably has more rope to work with but we are deep with starting pitching that rope will exhaust itself eventually. Study the film... work with the catcher... fine tune those mechanics Lance. 

 

3. After you read my disclaimer... my thoughts on Adrianaza will be pretty clear. I continue to assume that the Twins personnel see something in him. I will give the front office the benefit of the doubt and assume that he has something of value. I will assume that they believe he could hold down a starting job for a stretch and not hurt the team.

 

If they kept him on the roster for a backup job once a week type role... then I'm going to have a serious issue with the roster construction. To prove my point... Who is starting at SS right now.? It's Adrianaza. No you can't predict injuries and suspensions other than safely predict that that there will be injuries and suspensions. 

 

I will always believe that if a player is on the roster... that player should play. I am not a starting 9 guy. If So... I'm OK with Adrianaza getting playing time since I assume that the front office gave him a roster spot in anticipation of the eventual need for him to play. This is his moment and It's up to Adrianaza to prove the front office right. 

 

[VATwinsFan]

Bring back Bobby “The Masher” Wilson!!!

[Loosey]

LOMO! Nice bunt against the shift, just needed a bit more on it.

[Riverbrian]

Dear Logan Morrison,

 

Thank You for trying. I appreciate the attempt. Keep working on it and just push it past the pitcher if you can. 

 

Don't give up. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Riverbrian.