Hello everyone and welcome to the game thread for the Royals vs. Twins on Joe Mauer Day. The weekend is all Joe Mauer all the time and his elevation to the Twins' Hall of Fame along with the retirement of number 7 has brought back many Twins' greats and Mauer teammates. There will be a sellout crowd tonight and I would expect the game to start later than the posted 6:10 start time. Mauer and his career have been discussed to death on this site, so I will leave that topic and concentrate on the game.

 

First thought--With now a two-catcher rotation and ten very capable players everyone is getting days off. Adrianza is in the lineup at least twice a week and Gonzalez gets four or five starts in a week. This is keeping everyone fresh and shows the quality and versatility of the position players on the 2019 Twins.

 

Second thought--Jake Odorizzi has been nothing short of fantastic this year. The win-loss, ERA and WHIP numbers are off the charts. I would think unless he stumbles there will be an All-Star berth for the free agent-to-be.

 

Third thought--One of the Twins' most indispensable players left the game early. I suspect Buxton will sit out today, but a long-term injury for Buxton could be damaging. Let's hope Byron stays healthy.

 

Fourth thought--Except for Taylor Rogers, the bullpen had last night off. Getting a couple of the struggling members in a low-leverage situation would be a chance to "hit the reset button" and be more effective going forward.

 

Fifth and last thought--The opponent. The Royals aren't very good, but they have gone about rebuilding in a good way. They have lots of young players, team speed, decent defense. They need to hit and pitch better. Today's starter, Glenn Sparkman, is coming off a good start. 

 

Please post lineups when they become available. I'll be enjoying a parade in my former hometown tonight, so I'll have to catch up after the game. Go Twins!

 

 

Discussed to death?

 

Zombie thread!

It's alive!

 

Royals

Glenn Sparkman (R )

 

1. W. Merrifield (R ) RF

2. A. Mondesi ( S ) SS

3. Alex Gordon ( L) LF

4. Jorge Soler (R ) DH

5. Lucas Duda ( L) 1B

6. C. Cuthbert (R ) 3B

7. Nicky Lopez ( L) 2B

8. M. Maldonado (R ) C

9. Billy Hamilton ( S ) CF

 

Twins

Jake Odorizzi (R )

 

1. Max Kepler ( L) CF

2. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS

3. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH

4. Eddie Rosario ( L) LF

5. Mitch Garver (R ) C

6. M. Gonzalez ( S ) RF

7. C.J. Cron (R ) 1B

8. Ehire Adrianza ( S ) 3B

9. J. Schoop (R ) 2B

I would love it if the team had some arms so the bullpen could get the kind of rest the lineup gets. When the team was firing on all cylinders, the bullpen seemed to always have 2, 3, or even 4 guys who hadn’t pitched the previous day. Now that they’ve been relied upon for some more back-to-back outings, we’ve been seeing more -shall we say- ineffectiveness.

Someone more adept at this sort of research could probably prove or disprove this theory, but it feels right.

What does the sky look like in Minne?

 

Future radar is a tad inconclusive. Looks like there is and will be rain in the area, but it seems to suggest the game should get in, possibly with a slight delay at the start.

 

What does the sky look like in Minne?

Future radar is a tad inconclusive. Looks like there is and will be rain in the area, but it seems to suggest the game should get in, possibly with a slight delay at the start.

Special souvenir balls in use for this game.

 

Special souvenir balls in use for this game.

 

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Cool!

 

You got one already?

 

You're quick!

I don't have access to watching the festivities on TV, but perhaps someone will post the pregame show to Youtube or something like that (hint, hint). 

 

However, I'm listening on the radio. Here are some clips from interviews. 

 

 

• Bobby Bowden -- "We wanted you to play football, but you were too good at baseball, and you made the right decision." 
• Ron Gardenhire -- (didn't think to start typing)
• Joe Vavra -- (see Gardy)
• Drew Butera -- (see Vavra
• Steve Liddelll -- Mom would say, "Why don't you tell Joe to quit taking those strikes down the middle." I'd say, "Mom, he's got three batting titles already." 
• Jake Odorizzi -- "Greatest teammate I ever had."
• Byron Buxton --  "Meeting him for the first time was a dream come true."
• Max Kepler -- "When you were playing with a legend, you can't take it for granted."
• Terry Ryan -- (Talked about the draft process and how they came to focus on Mauer around the end of May.) (On whether there was pressure in drafting a hometown player:) There was more pressure on Joe than there was on the Twins. Every game in high school he had about 35 or 40 scouts. After the season got going, that dwindled, because the teams drafting in the middle knew he wasn't going to last that long. 

 

Cool!

You got one already?

You're quick!

No. I’m still re-learning to walk post-surgery.

Rocco: We play a lot of games, but there's only one night when Joe is here and has his number retired. We were able to recognize him in private in the clubhouse with a lot of players that came in to be with him. 

 

Rocco: We play a lot of games, but there's only one night when Joe is here and has his number retired. We were able to recognize him in private in the clubhouse with a lot of players that came in to be with him. 

 

I wonder if Molitor will be involved, or if the wounds are too fresh? (Not that he isn't making a nice salary for not managing the Twins.)

Molitor is in the ceremony, yes.

 

And Terry Ryan and Bill Smith.

 

And Johnny Bench.

Edited June 15, 20197 yr by Craig Arko

 

1. Max Kepler ( L) CF
2. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS
3. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH
4. Eddie Rosario ( L) LF
5. Mitch Garver (R ) C
6. M. Gonzalez ( S ) RF
7. C.J. Cron (R ) 1B
8. Ehire Adrianza ( S ) 3B
9. J. Schoop (R ) 2B

Can you imagine a lineup in the last couple of years where you would have the likes of Cron batting 7 and Schoop batting 9?

Weather map looks like lots of rain. Are they under cover?

Can you imagine a lineup in the last couple of years where you would have the likes of Cron batting 7 and Schoop batting 9?

Sure. During the last couple of years it would have meant they were in career-threatening slumps.

 

Can you imagine a lineup in the last couple of years where you would have the likes of Cron batting 7 and Schoop batting 9?

 

Another (not very timely) way of putting this is "Could we have found a place for #7 in this lineup?"

Best team in baseball against the 2nd worst team in baseball and we have our best pitcher on the mound? I'm calling it: this game is unloseable. There is NOTHING we could POSSIBLY do to LOSE this game   

Edited June 15, 20197 yr by MVP Nick Punto

This is over the top. 

Is this game being played tonight?

Best team in baseball against the 2nd worst team in baseball and we have our best pitcher on the mound? I'm calling it: this game is unloseable. There is NOTHING we could POSSIBLY do to LOSE this game

Uh oh ... that better not end up a jinx

I get it now.  Get us to tune in early to catch the tributes to Joe.

 

 

 

Uh oh ... that better not end up a jinx

I'm conducting an experiment to test the Twins' ability to deflect jinxes.

Edited June 15, 20197 yr by MVP Nick Punto

 

I'm conducting an experiment to test the Twins' ability to deflect jinxes.

 

 

 

 

Well Played Mauer  !!

A PITCH!!

 

Well Played Mauer  !!

 

And Well Played, Twins. 

There goes the no-hitter.

 

There goes the no-hitter.