Han Joelo

I'm too happy about this. Don't know why it matters, but it's kind of cool to "beat" the Yankees before the playoffs even start.

Delicious irony, or something. Mostly unrelated, but last night I was flipping through Gameday, happened to notice Luke Bard was pitching (to the Astros,) and by the time I could confirm it was indeed Luke, and not Daniel, or William S., he had managed to give up a three-run homer. So, by that sampling of ex-Twins preventing potential playoff opponents from hitting homers, I have little faith in Lance.

What a cast of characters. No disrespect to the vanilla flavors we had in the past, but this team if bursting with flavor. Sure hope these games will be on Fox--maybe one benefit of playing the Yankees? (Other than finally setting them down.)

This seems like a game best "watched" via well-timed (read: lucky) check-ins on Gameday. I sense something awful might have happened here and there, but from where I stand, the Twins are winning 9-6. Would I be happier if it was 3-0? Not sure.

While I am unable to participate in the game thread tonight, I hope it is filled with references to the Glenn Sparkmann Experience, and how he once sold me a used Ski-doo. Or maybe I took Intro to Professions in Outdoor Recreation with him. No, he worked at the grain elevato. That’s it.

I love the way the recap writers are able to have distinctive voices. Love your style, Cooper. (Love all you guys, though( While he's not doing it alone, Sano seems like he has been performing at an MVP-type pace lately. He seems all grown up out there. Literally and figuratively. It looks like he's got an offseason job if he wants one--Mitch Trubisky and Aaron Rodgers would be having nightmares if they saw that man coming off the edge. I suppose it would take some Twins losses, but it would be kind of cool if they won their 100th game precisely as the Royals lost there's. Not to pile on the Royals, but it would just be a neat mathematical coincidence.

My older brother liked Almond Roca, so my Mom figured it was his "thing," so every Christmas there was a tub of it under the tree. This usually counted as his birthday present, as he was a Christmas baby. Later, we had a fiery Basque guy drive truck for us during sugar beet harvest. His name was Tony Rocca, so of course we called him Tony "Almond" Rocca. My brother was also a Dallas Cowboys fan, so the transition from Tony Rocca to Tony Romo was relatively seamless. Finally, my brother moved to South Carolina a few years ago, as a crop insurance guy. I haven't looked, but I'm assuming that one of those Tropical Storms circling out there in the oceans has to be named Tropical Storm Sergio. There. Game thread conquered. Before I hit post, I will now check to see what has happened in the game, while I was taking that stroll down memory lane... ...I'm back. Apparently, Ryan LaMarre is playing for the Twins, and hitting .300. He looks more like a Tony Rocca, to me.

De-duno Abides, Forever and Always.

I hope "Devin Smeltzer" and "Randy Dobnak" are the answer to a trivia question years from now. Something like, "After Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi, who were the Twins 3rd and 4th starters for their historic title run in in the 2019 playoffs?

Just curious why you think it was more likely the Indians would sweep the Twins vs. the opposite. I love this team. So resilient. Hard to believe Kepler and Polanco were able to recreate last night today.

Maybe this was the plan behind the Lamarre deal--he's a Twin Cities guy, they sign him for a couple days while AK finishes up the playoffs. AK must have finally clued in to the plan and stopped hitting homers.

I don't mind the blowouts, but winning these tight games--head off seeming implosions--is powerful stuff.

Happy to see Wander Javier finish his season with a homer, even if he was only 1-5 for the game. Good games from the three Wahoos in Pensacola as well. And Bailey Ober...man, hard not to put that kid in the hope basket.

I guess I'm kind of surprised Berrios is not getting even one day of rest. I have a fond (and I hope real) memory of lighting up Eovaldi last year. Even in a down year for them, it would be nice to take it to the champs in their house.

Watching on Gameday, and listening, was Radsurb Loretarg really "struggling?" He seemed like he was hitting his spots with speed (obviously) and precision. Seemed like a couple of lucky hits to me, and the visit from Johnson was probably to say "keep doing what you're doing." Which worked wonderfully. Just my interpretation though. And I think that his name backwards is almost as cool as it is forwards.

I hope the Twins bring up every single player who's contributed this season, tomorrow. I feel like the the team's success has been contributed to by so many players, and this is the type of year where everybody, especially those pitchers that have been on the taxi squad, should be up. Along with Brusdar and Alcala. The nice thing is that several of these guys are battle-tested, and should rightfully feel like they played a significant part in whatever happens in the post-season, whether they get on the roster or not. I'm pretty confident we'll see the Medium Five (starters) get some added rest, starting Monday, as the pitcher that day is still "TBD," at least on MLB.com.

Yeah--I just read an article on the Ringer talking about the new homer era, and what you say is kind of talked about--in this homer happy era, getting a double play or even just trusting your defense to make an out is less of a thing, because so many balls fly out now. They should radically change the rules, and award a team a run or something if their pitcher makes it to the seventh inning. Two more for the eighth; three for the ninth. Think how much aces would get paid then!

This, my friends is vintage Stu. If I had to bet my kids' college money on this, which currently consists of an aging $100 bill in my wallet that I'm afraid to break, I'd go with the Toilet Explosion, because it only stretches credulity a smidge. Don't get suckered into that "Fast Zombie" thing. There is no such thing in real life. I believe those are technically called ghouls, although I'd have to consult my D and D manual to be sure.

Well done Mr. Braun. You've made a purse out of pig's ear, or something like that.

My reflex would be to say that in an ordinary world, he's an extraordinary player. His ERA, FIP. and RIO all indicate he's one of the best young prospects on planet earth. Another view, to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, is that he could come up this fall and pitch out of the bullpen, and perhaps pick up a save. A prayer, to be sure, but he has become notorious enough to warrant consideration, and his performance has certainly shown him to be hungry for a promotion. Hungry, like the wolf, of course.

As a non-Minnesotan, Twins only fan from Idaho, I have a vastly different perspective re: Twins fandom. Mine started with that improbabl3 '87 team, and I have fond memories of other underdog/undermanned teams overcoming the odds or imperfections to make their mark. Just make the playoffs, and see who rises to the top. Giving Makina a chance in this game was probably a smart move. Didn't work, now on to plan B.

Can I call him Zach "Legit-ell?" The FO's plan to make these guys look over their shoulders at Brusdar and Jorge seems to be working. Bullpen doesn't seem half bad when Duffey and May are dealing. Still, the odds of this team winning a 1-0 playoff game seem kind of slim. Bludgeon away, boys.