Game Score (Game 2): Tigers 5, Twins 4

9 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Couldn't help noticing that all our hits in game 2 were from guys who might be gone by the end of the month, with the exception of Polanco, while all the o-fers were guys discussed to be the future core, with the exception of Kepler.  Going with the kids could be rough the rest of the way.

It is going to be rough the rest of the way no matter who we put in the lineup

The get rid of the veterans and it will be an insult to those who buy/bought tickets.

I wonder if any team has been held hitless for two games in a row, if they bring up the wonderless kids from AAA the Twins may be the first.

When you are losing, you find new ways to lose and vice-versa. Despite a good period just before the All-Star game, the Twins reverted back to losing to a seemingly inferior team. Maeda struggled with command but only gave up 1 key hit- to someone we let go. Then Rogers gives up a game tying hit- to someone we let go. Then the weird hit ending the game. Taking Sano out made no sense IMHO because he was leading off an inning. Yuck!

23 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

...and this team finds yet another ridiculous way to lose a game.  You can't make this stuff up.

If there's any optimism left out there.....can't believe anyone has that at this point, but please don't reply that things "can't get any worse,"------because it will and thats just the sad state of affairs for this inept franchise.  Hate saying that as I've been a fan since the mid 1970s.....but this organization (with the exception of our 2 WS titles) from top to bottom is riddled with such an abundance of problems with no solutions anywhere in sight.  Sad.

"A ghost from Kenta Maeda’s last start came back to haunt him, as he failed to retire the leadoff hitter, issuing a walk."

A walk that was a missed called strike three. A perfect pitch. One that the batter can't make himself swing at, and was right on the bottom corner of the zone. That would have been 3 outs before the hit, HBP, and the triple. That would have changed quite a bit. 

At least the Twins gave their fans an on-brand performance. Two games in a row that most teams would have won, the Twins lost 'em both by 1 run. Are they still leading the league in 1-run losses? Briefly caught Morneau talking about how bad the bullpen has been, I believe it's been 2x as bad as the league average, worst in the league, and how that more than anything has led to this disasterous season.

I'd be happy if Rogers was traded, the guy is still OK but not even close to dominant, his 2019 year is getting further and further back in the rear view mirror.

For fans like me who were at least hoping to watch the team play quality baseball in the 2nd half, this was a dose of harsh reality. Nothing really to look forward to except for analyzing the trade hauls.

I realize this is a Twins site, but lost in the gloom is a good baseball play, just not by the Twins. Schoop running all the way, not dogging it, on a game endiing ball with an expected .000 hit possibility. Good baseball. 

It was good hustle by Schoop.  But I do think that almost all center fielders make that catch.

25 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

Yup.  This was a case of an infielder playing outfield.  Still should have been caught, but perhaps a bit more understandable.

That really doesn't make it any less irritating though.

Kudos for Schoop running that ball out.  Goes to show that you never really know what will happen, so play hard until the end.

It is understandable that Gordon doesn’t make the play due to his lack of experience in CF.  Less understandable is that the Twins feel he was the best option to be out there in the first place.

I agree with running it out by the Tigers.  The Twins have many times this year dogged it on the baserunning.  Twins don't seem to have any pride at all.  It should be a privilege to put on a Twins uniform.  It's going to be a very long second half of the season.

The Twins need to be more like the Yankees, White Sox, and Astros ---- cheat and sign expensive free agents.

Evidence - World Series Championships, Lance Lynn, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Ryan Pressley, and other free agents from someplace other than the Twins brilliant front office duo [as influenced by Pohlad's missing check book].

On a real topic: Gordon was playing a deep CF and Simmons knew that. Simmons played that like it was his ball until the very last. In the end it looked like it was his ball [as it landed closer to Simmons]. But, really it was just bad communication from Gordon....I guess. Tigers didn't look much better. 

18 minutes ago, FritzDahmus said:

On a real topic: Gordon was playing a deep CF and Simmons knew that. Simmons played that like it was his ball until the very last. In the end it looked like it was his ball [as it landed closer to Simmons]. But, really it was just bad communication from Gordon....I guess. Tigers didn't look much better. 

It seemed to me, watching Simmons pat his chest as he walked in with Gordon, that the communication was made and that Simmons bailed or felt that Gordon wasn't going to stop and bailed. Simmons was owning the horror of what had just happened. Without hearing from Simmons and Gordon, all is just supposition on what happened as it was apparent that either could have caught the fly if the other wasn't there. Gordon was playing deep, and got a horrible jump, but the fly was in the sky for plenty of time. The Baldelli assumption that they both lost the ball ...... seems conjured up by Baldelli for the press conference, as he had to say something that could be sold. “It’s obviously a hard way to lose a ballgame; a game that we played pretty hard in,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s a tough time to be in the field and have to go get some kinds of fly balls. Obviously, Nick lost that one in the sky.” One would think that Simmons would speak out about it, as the veteran. They both made the decision to not hit the other. Probably the right decision, considering the season. No need to take each other out for with no stakes on the line in this dreadful season.

“We are challenging our guys and we are sending them out there in unfamiliar spots and seeing what they can do,” Baldelli said. “And this is going to happen. It’s not something you ever want to deal with or you want to see, but when it does happen, you understand why it happened.”

13 hours ago, wsnydes said:

...and this team finds yet another ridiculous way to lose a game.  You can't make this stuff up.

The 1962 Mets called to say hi.

Gordon should be sent down NOW.

32 minutes ago, RpR said:

Gordon should be sent down NOW.

Well if that's the case there are a number of vets who should have been sent down this season as well.

What a terrible team.

Where to send Kepler?  2nd WORST BA in the lineup today?  Is he Dozier 2.0?  I loved Dozier and never saw him going out like he did!

While Rocco walks around like the guy pulling the "Bring out your dead" cart, Met's manager Luis Rojas blows a cork in the Pirate's weird swinging dribbler turned into a 3-run infield single and Taijuan Walker error play and gets tossed in a lively manner. The key here is this: "Walker said Rojas' passionate defense helped the team get back into the game after a lackluster start. "He was fired up for, sure, and I think that got the whole team fired up, to have our backs,'' Walker said."

Michael Conforto hit a 2 run homer in the 9th and Trevor May locked it down for the save and a Met's 7-6 comeback win.