The boys worried me tonight. It's not good to blow a 4-run lead in the 8th. Great to havea comeback, but, damn, where did all the Twins' pitching go? Officially worried, despite Batgirl's optimism and niceness.

In regards to the starts, did the Twins EVER have pitching?

All I hear is "pitching and defense" but since the 2002 playoffs, last year and so far this year, I've seen precious little of it from the starting staff.

Let's see if they get better as time goes by. Maybe we should throw Santana back into the bullpen for a week so he can regain his dominant form :P (joke),

Hey, Batgirl, can we get some kind of recap of what happened in the 8th? All I know is Ford singled, Blanco bunted, an intentional walk and a pitching change seemed like a good time to run into the grocery store and back out. I come back to a commercial and a 9-5 lead. I missed all the good stuff!

Dear Mr. MMMMMMM,

Batgirl is happy to oblige. It seems the opposing pitcher had some sort of emotional breakdown. Michael Ryan (pinch hitting for Punto) singled scoring one, then Stewie singled, scoring another, then Mientkie moved the runners over. Then they tried to intentionally walk Corey and THREW A WILD PITCH DURING THE INTENTIONAL WALK scoring Ryan, and then ANOTHER wild pitch to the next batter.

Sincerely,
Batgirl

May I address a delicate problem, one that is hinted at in the above query about the 8th inning? Even when you ARE listening to the game in these TV-less times, it's sometimes hard to know what's going on. Heck, it's USUALLY hard to know what's going on. The current crew announces games as if some sugardaddy has won a charity auction and bequeathed a year in the announcing booth to Grampa Ronnie, Uncle George and Weird Cousin Al. When those three were only required to fill an inning or two during a quick errand, it was OK because the TV guys will review anything substantial (and slapstick in limited quantities can be pretty funny). But when the Radio Guys are the primary source of real-time information, well, it's easier to figure out what's happening by following the cyberplay-by-play at Twinsbaseball.com. It's maddening for a "hit to right" to suddenly become a triple that rolled around in the corner and came to a top somewhere below the big milk jug. The other night, when I had the fortune of good company at the Twins-Toronto opener, a Blue Jay hit a looping double to center. It became a double largely because Cristian Guzman's half-hearted ambling toward the ball kept Lewwwwwwww Ford from going all out and possible making the play. Well, listening to the "highlights" on the way home, no mention was made of Guzman's role and the hit was made out to be just one of those unfortunate things. Thanks for listening. I'm off to Jared Jewelers.

Dear Ron Davis,
It is impossible to know what is going on anytime you are listening to John Gordon. Therefore I do not listen to Twins games. He is, was, and always has been the worst play-by-play announcer in the entire world. And yet WCCO seems clueless about this.

I was so happy when driving to Colorado on Sunday that I reached Des Moines (and a KC station) before the start of the game. JG is fine for pre-game, but I won't listen when he does play-by-play (aka ignoring the action and keeping listeners uninformed).

If Batgirl defends him by saying he's cuddly, I might have to ralph. Batgirl?

p.s. How come I ask you to remember my info, yet I have to fill it in each time?

Is it just me, or does Lew Ford look just like Lindsey Whalen?

Re: Announcers

I understand the frustration Pyrrhic Victory and the nonproviders have created, but let us not take it out on our announcers. After all, they're Twins fans. Aren't we all on the same team here? Besides, I've heard baseball in several markets, and you'd be surprised how lucky we are. Yes, Herb is getting on in years, and he's lost some energy. And some animation. And some focus...but let's look at the rest of the team. John Gordon is an excellent announcer. He may not perfectly describe a situation, but that's why they invented TV. The important thing is that the play by play announcer keeps your attention and helps tie your emotions and your mood to the game. When I heard that suicide squeeze on the radio, it was exciting. And when I heard Koskie's home run last night, that was exciting. That's why I think Gordo's great. As for Dazzle, he's not as talented. But do I like him? Of course! He's Dan F'n Gladden! Have some respect.

Sorry to disagree, but I had to stand up for the guys. Though I would love to hear the Capped Crusader's opinion on this...

Dear Florida,

Batgirl must admit she loves and worships Gordo and the Dazzleman, and she would like them to provide play-by-play and color commentary for her life. They fill her with warm fuzzy feelings, but Batgirl of course respects the right of some of her readers to disagree.

Sincerely,
Batgirl

Thanks, Batgirl!

Does anyone else remember the game last year when Juan Rincon kept the Twins rightfielder from catching a fly ball? The Twins were away, and the visting bullpen was in play, with the pitcher having his back to home plate. The hitter looped a foul ball to right, and as the RF (I want to say Dustan Mohr) sprinted over to catch it, Rincon turned, stuck his glove in the air and caught it. When the RF started yelling at him for interfering, Rincon just looked confused and shrugged. One of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Corey Koskie's real first name is "Cordel"? Damn, that's right up there with "Khalil Greene" and "Lew Ford."

I kinda worship Gordo and Dazzle, too, mostly because that's how I fell for the Twins again: listening to WCCO over the internet. It also means a lot to me that Herb and Gordo go back a long way with the Twins. I would hate to hear anybody else.

Cordel Koskie surprised me, too. How about Jon Lewis Ford? Jacque Dewayne Jones? Shannon Harold Stewart? Or good ol' John Bosner, who legally changed his name to "Boof" in 2001?

The Twins became "my" team when Hosken Powell, Bombo Rivera and Willie Norwood populated the outfield, and such pitchers as Paul Thormodsgard and Pete Redfern were allowed to wear the colors. That doesn't mean I want those guys -- or facisimiles thereof -- on the field in 2004. It's nice to be loyal to Herb, John and Dazzle but not at the expense of the game. One treat of spending a chunk of the summer in Vermont is listening to the Yankees and the Red Sox on the radio -- and having announcers who both capture the enthusiasm and give me a sense of the game. (I can also listen to les Expos and have no clue!)I guess that announcers are like salsa, in that people have different tastes. At the very least, can someone at least ask Gordo to pronounce it BROAD-way instead of Broad-WAY? Can you do that for me, Bat-girl? There'll be some Legos in it for you!