I as well.

DOWN WITH THE BITCH SOX!

Oh man, i just had the joy of turning on the last couple of innings of the A's and the BSox, and it was, by far, the most exciting and enjoyable couple of innings i've seen in a long time. Crede leaned into a curveball, the umpire didn't give him first base. Ozzie came out and got tossed. Next pitch, Crede popped up, Chucked his bat, got tossed. End of the inning, and the sox got no manager and no shortstop. Enter Jermaine Dye at short! HA! that was funny. Even funnier was the first hit of the inning, a little pop-up that got lost in the sun by the center fielder. Dude gets on base and ends up being the winning run. WHOOHOO GO A'S!

The announcers were just bitching (per normal) about how the umpires cost them a couple of games and how if they had a different crew they'd have won bla bla bla... wasn't it last year that a controversial call around home led to their demise? (thank you Torii Hunter). I predect a downward spiral for them that shouldn't end until they hit 4th place in the division. (I don't think they'll fall below K.C.)

I'm predicting a 7-1 win today. Go Twins!

The BitchSox lost again. Not that we should be watching scoreboards in April. But it doesn't have to be about standings. We can enjoy a BitchSox loss on its own merits.

Gentle Readers,

While Batgirl agrees that standings do not matter and we should not scoreboard watch this time of year, nonetheless, due to events of the last two weeks, the last two Bitch Sox losses have made her very very happy.

Love,
BG

Hey, love the site...thanks to Aaron's plug found my way over here. Trying to get my daughter to check it out (she fell in love with Lewwwwwwwwwww! and the boys last year) but she's forced to do without until end of finals next month. Looking forward to watching Mighty Joe baffle the hapless Toyals tonight.

True, standings don't matter, but the more the Bitch Sox lose and the sooner they start playing to their talent level (aka .500 ball), instead of the way they've been playing during this miraculous streak they've been on, the better.

I'm sick of hearing about "Ozzie Ball"--aka the same damn style they played last year, only with two new guys that are actually suited to it (The Japanese 2nd baseman and Posednick) and a pitching staff that was channeling the year 2000, the last year any of those pitchers were good (excluding Buehrle). It's still the same old Bitch Sox, they still don't have the players to play Twins style baseball like Ozzie wants (and tried to force them to play last year).

Hey, as the boys keep saying, a win now is as good as a win in September.

By the same logic, a BitchSox loss now is as good as a BitchSox loss in September.

And plus, it's fun.

(Okay, so I'm a little high from the East Coast Bitch Sox losses at the hands of the O's, but such as it is.)

Glad your other team is having success so you can enjoy it, CarrieIC. 'Tis a Twins game thread, and player injuries are never, ever a good thing, but you've noted that the East Coast Bitch Sox will be without two of their more well-known starters for a time, yes?

Tinger is right about the B..chsox announcers. Ken Herralson is a real D...bag. Creede totally leaned into that pitch because he was down in the count with 2 outs. Even so, the fact that it was then 2-2 with runners at 1st and 2nd, instead of 0-0 with the bases loaded, totally cost the Bitchsox the game. Listening to those two make it seem refreshing when Dick Bremer puts so much energy into "deep to left field, that's gone a home run!!!" when the other team hits one out.

Tinger -- I caught about the same amount of the Bitchy game that you did. And you're right. It was a classic bitchfest. The post-game show, too. It was clearly a case of a vindictive umpiring crew stealing two games from the poor, downtrodden Wox. Waaah.

And I was wishing for a line-drive at Dye, just for giggles. Heck, even before Crede was tossed, he was playing short and the back-up catcher (Widger) was at third. Teehee.

Now, though, serious stuff. Could we please look much better than the Royals tonight, instead of just barely, 1-run, or extra-innings better?

I almost prefer the losses at the beginning of the year, particularly this year. You see, I'm moving away from NW Indiana and away from my Bitch Sox aficianado counterparts. They have been giving me grief about the beginning of the season, but it would be nice to be able to be smug and give them an "I told you so" before I head off to god knows where.

Re Crede's action at the plate today: He must be getting batting tips from Jorge Posada. I have noted Mr. Posada doing that very thing many times over the years.

gjw -- Yeah, Wells went down. I doubt it's that much of a lost for the ECBS, though, since he hasn't really been pitching up to snuff for most of his starts this season. But Schilling is back... though he's not pitching up to snuff, either.

Come to think of it, Randy Johnson isn't up to snuff for the Yanks. Clemens is, but with no run support, who cares?

Seems the only big-name pitcher who is not only meeting expectations, but exceeding them, is... El Presidente.

Heh, heh, heh.

Okay, that's not entirely true since it leaves out a lot of other very good pitchers, but isn't it fun to say?

Uh, sorry, Carrie, but you don't have Mr. Schilling either; at least for 15 days. Have you noticed the Orioles?Al

Regarding the announcing in games:
I watch games via the DirecTV MLB pack, and get many different sets of announcers. BY FAR, the work are Ken "HOCK" Halleson and DJ, who used to play for the Twins. Even thogh I am a Twin fan, I find Dick and Bert to not be awful as far as being homers. The grup in Seattle opening series was marginal, but props to KC, those guys have been VERY professional.

P.S. It must be HOCk, not Hawk, cause he makes me want to hurl

PPS, going forward I will spell check

SawdustK: Bremer's enthusiasm for good plays by the bad guys proves he's a fan of the game first (which I suppose is a good thing), but at the same time, it's absolutely maddening when what SHOULD have been a Twins hit and a hit they sorely needed is robbed by somy extraordinary play and Bremer's wetting himself with excitement. Maybe I'm a fan of the Twins first, I dunno.

Mays should have a good night with the rest he's had. Hope Gardy leaves him in for the haul.

Al -- Whoa, totally missed that new Schilling news. Dude.

I agree, scoreboard watching is a waste before about august, but yeah, i was mostly watching for the enjoyment of watching the bitch-sox lose. Man it was fun. I, also, was hoping for a shot at Dye. It would have been funny to see him use his outfielders arm for the short throw to first. Probably woulda ended up somewhere in the stands. good stuff.

saw a little bit of Buerhle's game on mlb.com all the strikeouts. I never knew what people meant when they said "he gone." Now I do. Ugh. Worst. Catchphrase. Ever. Worse than "say hello to my little friends" on sportscenter (which should refer to LNP).

I see CC Sabathia has signed on with the Indians through 2K8, which I say (without irony) is a good thing. I WANT our opponents to hate us; I WANT intense division rivalries. I think it's good that the Indians and Sox hate us, and I hope the Tigers hate us too. The Royals, it's hard to feel anything for.

I'm a guy who longs for the days when a normal game would likely turn into a brawl among the FANS as well as the players. Especially if it was the Giants and Dodgers in their New York days--that rivalry made the Yankees-RedSox rivalry look like a slumber party pillow fight.

"The Squawk"
(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=squawk)
was in mid-season form for the last two BSox games. Last night between innings he obsessively replayed over and over a close play at home, so much so that it runs over into the next inning and he is late starting the play-by-play. The audio is faint in the background but it is pure bitch, 180 proof. On the best view the runner for the A's foot was on the plate before the tag, so "The Squawk" decides to look at the less clear footage and declare that the ump didn't have a view of the play. Obviously his choice of the poor angle is much clearer then the ump standing two feet from the play. So, today he claims that the terrible call at home cost them the game last night, even though the Sox went ahead and reclaimed the lead and then blew it. Today, after the Crede incident "The Squawk" says that it is a shame that the umps are going to cost us two games. Classic, mid-season form.

I love afternoon baseball that is on tv. because its the only time i get to watch baseball

I saw Douggie Baseball hit a home run for the Mets today. His (gasp) 4th of the season

hip hip

Dougie Baseball's doing great this season - I'm so happy for him. I have a friend who's a huge Mets fan, and he loves him.

... and here we were, afraid that Dougie's Mouth would ruin him for the NY Media. I suppose it's still early.

Is the pregame show bumper music Atmosphere?
Sounded like "Bigger than Cigarettes" or whatever that song off the Lucy EP is.

Unrelated, but I saw that the Buc's closer has 8 saves so far this season, exactly equal to the number of games the team has won. Way to go, dude!

The Bucs have 8 wins?

wow

BG-
Love the site. Can't get enough of LegoVision. Hate the BSox (go Cubs!), and have always respected the scrappiness of the Twins. They just win and win and win. (I'm secretly praying that we fire Dusty "Lizardman" Baker and somehow land Gardernhire, but I know it ain't gonna happen.)
Anyway, I KNOW you guys are huge fans, and devoted fans. But how do you DO it with that "ballpark"? That has GOT to be one of the worst yards in baseball. You deserve so much more.
I just don't know how you can show up at that place and be expected to enjoy yourselves.
As I say, all the more credit to you.
(He says smugly, thinking about his left-field line seats just off the field at Wrigley.)

Just got home...

No game comments yet?

Tom,

I can't presume to speak for Batgirl but as for myself, baseball is baseball, whether it's played in one of the game's cathedrals (like Wrigley) or in a crater on the moon (which may or may not describe Coors Field in Denver). Thus it deserves my attention and, if the play is high quality, my enjoyment.

It automatically deserves my enjoyment if it involves the Twins...

MK

Mays gives up a lot of long shots...that worries me

Gah.

I don't like Sweeney.

Mays flaky so far

I don't like Sweeny either, but I HATE Dimitry Young and CC The Fat

Nice to see Punto gets the start @ 2b

I think it's precious how Sweeney has stuck with the Royals all this time. Also, I think it's pretty funny that we only think of him when we are actually playing against the Royals. We don't even mention him between games. Someone I think about that little I just can't hate OR dislike.

Yeah, I'd rather have his bat than Rivas although neither are stellar...If I remember right Punto had a great play in the field last night

I agree Bits.. I kind of like the combo of Bartlett and Punto in those positions. I really want to see how the play goes with it tonight.

LNP's bat??? He's batting .192, certainly not an improvement on Rivas (although, sadly, not much worse either).

Speaking of left handed hitters off the bench, and 4 catchers, and Corky-Corky-Corky, has anyone noticed that Greg Myers refused a minor league assignment and is a free agent? Al

Just a though. Why not switch Jones and Hunter in the order? Jacque has a monster average so far this year and Torii only seems to hit in clutch situations. Why not put another man on for him for a while? Like I said, just a thought.

Yeah, like I said...neither are great

Ryan, I hear you- Sween is one of those guys. what would he do if he actually had other good batters around him the lineup?

Ryan,

Can't agree more about Hunter and Jones...Torii comes through when he has to but overall I like Jones' bat

watching the royals TV feed and the Twins radio feed for sound. Dang, I love the internet!

Where are you getting the radio feed? Gameday Audio?

JJ's swing looks different this year. Not such an upper cut.

Jonathon:

yeah, both through MLB.com

Um... being as Anderson isn't actually that good, how about we get on base, or something?

So much for Jones' monster average... Do the boys know this is Brian Anderson? I mean, he's no Jose Lima.

Tom,

I like to pretend (because it amuses me) that all the recent loudness about a new Twins ballpark is thanks to my hour-long phone chat with Dave St. Peter a couple months ago, in which I told him exactly what I think of the Metrodump. it amazes me that one of his comments was... I don't remember exactly, but it was an excuse about the length of time it would take to construct a new stadium. I said, "but if people know for sure that it's coming, that, say, in 2009 there will definitely be a new park and they can see it being built, then they will be patient and they will be happy."

and this kills me... he said, "really?" as though the thought had never crossed his mind.

d'oh!

and I must say that I'm sad that my boyfriend Lew "Made in the USA" Ford is not in the lineup tonight.

6.62 ERA on this guy Anderson...this should be that hard

I think the argument for keeping Torii ahead of JJ in the batting order is the lefty-righty-lefty thing.

so uh... what'd i miss? looks like another average twins outing...

damn, just in time to say Goat High get a hit. i hate that guy. well, just his name.

M

Those were some ugly swings

Goat High, Die-az... these names all suck.

I find myself clenching when Cuddy throws to first.

No-hit by K.C.?! who packed the ass-bats?

They can't annoy us with anything else, so they just have goofy names like Ambiorix

Don't fret. Anderson will splode sooner or later.

No hit=constipated ass-bats

Kansas City is just goofy...their names, baseball ability, that stupid little crown that is by the score on their broadcast, the whole KC baseball experience is just messed up

Also stuck with the Royals TV feed AGAIN here in New York City. Even had it during the Metrodome series. If I see that annoying Royals mascot dance across the screen one more time... anyway, Go Twins!

Honestly, not that I really like them, but the Royals are my second-favorite team in the AL central. Someday, when the Twins are in a 'rebuilding' phase, I hope I can cheer on the Royals to beat the Bitch Sox.

Well, at least the royals aren't wearing those god-awful sleeveless uni's from yesterday...

Who is this Anderson guy? Is he seriously descent enough to be no-hitting us? or are we helping him on his bid for player of the week?

I cringe more when i see Cudderror in the batters box...

See, the nice thing about playing the Royals, is that if we dont let them score more than 5, as sacky said, their pitcher will eventually have a severe breakdown. We've got this one.

Cuddyer is an out machine!

The only reason I'd cheer for the Royals if we weren't in the running is cause all the other teams hate us. CC has said he hates us, the bitch sox always hate us, and Dimitry Young from Detroit hates us. So by process of elimiation, i'd cheer for KC

yahoo li'l Nicky!

way to go, POON-toh!

Yay Lil' Nicky!

Li'l Nicky!!!!!!

Way to Go LNP!

Look at LNP! attaboy!

That didn't look too hard...

That's better.

Punto is my cat's boyfriend. Tumbleweed loves li'l Nicky.

and he scored the first Twinkles run! Tumbleweed is happy.

Let's go Stew, yesssssss

Run, Li'l Nicky, run!

ah... Little Nicky! you kind of look a little bit like Lew running the bases like that!!

Gotta love those little chuggers who just fly around.

Sigh of relief. We've decided to hit with runners in scoring position.

And Stewie!!!

OK, just had a "Family Guy" moment!

WHOOHOOO!!! GO SMALLBALL!!!

Way to go Stewie!

Can I get a WOOT for calling a splosion?

Let the run factory continue to produce!!!!

Ah-ha! Our boys have received the "How to Rally" memo.

Ugly.

Here we go. NICE JB!

The merry'go'round go ronud and round...

Great job guys!! Getting the hits when we need them!!

Woot!

Dear Twins hitters:

Thank you for remembering that tonight's Kansas City starting pitcher is Brian Anderson, not Tom Seaver.

Andre

Yes! Thank you to Punto, Stewart, and Bartlett.

Bartlett is rapidly becoming a new favorite of mine. I like him a lot at SS.

chad

Oh Yea! Something feels good right now.

I wanna see a 3 run bomb

Mauer just draws walks all day long. I love that kid.

Come on Dr. M

Juiced for the Doc! this could get good.

(J.B. is my boyfrined)

That was close to a K

Bases loaded...kiss of death...

grrr... is anyone else having issues with MLB gameday not updating info?

chad

arg... no bother, we're still in good shape

Brian Anderson actually used to be a pretty decent pitcher when he was with Arizona. Dude never walked ANYONE.

I was watching the A's and Bitch Sox earlier, and i saw something that i dont think the Twins have done yet... correct me if i'm wrong... but they GIDP *WITH* the bases loaded! Most impressive.

Kinda like that inning. Nice 2 out rally. Glad they finally figured that out.

Well, can't complain about taking the lead.

hmm.. maybe it is the good mood this game has suddenly birthed in me but we have some FINE looking men on this team.

Gotta say, I always loved watching baseball but there is absolutely nothing wrong with making it artistic too.

I'm just excited about that "0" in the last column of the score.

*moral high ground*

Babs, sorta like in "A League of Their Own" and Madonna suggested that her "bosoms come out" of her uniform...

very artistic!

come on GIDP....

The Chairman strikes again!

Way to nail the would-be base thief. Makin' the plays. That's The Twins Way (TM).

Big Joe with the gun... I like that

I just realized i actually got excited when the twins had the bases loaded. My bad. Didn't mean to blow up. It won't happen again.

prrrrrrrrr... that's my boyfriend! Nicky with the tag at second. Tumbleweed is happy.

Are my eyes deceiving me? Is Cuddles under the Mendoza line?

Bartlett has been a favorite of mine all season. Even when he wasn't hitting the ball well, he had great at-bats, battling every time. Then he made a few nice plays in the Field, and violla... instant favorite. He's gonna get hot this summer and start hitting the ball real well. Better than Hunter just hit that ball.

"The Royals have gotten a runner on base every inning so far. THey're going to want to continue doing that in the upcoming innings"

--The Royals broadcasters.

I miss Dick and Bert

Cuddyer hasn't exactly been... oh, lets say... hitting the ball in the past couple of weeks....

Jonesy, on the other hand... on fire!

woohoo, Matchew! KFC does it again!

Tinger, I made the same mistake.

Hey LeRoy! Newmie has a donut for you!

Matt Lecroy! Say what you will, but if he keeps homering, I say we keep him. Fat Matt on the basepaths is still scary though.

I think this Anderson kid would have potential if he shaved up those sideburns.

WHOOHOOO!!! KRISPY KREMES FOR EVERYONE!!! WAY TO GO MATTY!!!!!!!!

YAY LeRoy!!! Way to get your weight through!!!

"That home-run was a 'trolley-wire' " according to the K.C. announcers. Can't say i've ever heard that one before. It was a laser, though.

ok.. THIS is how you would expect a game against the Royals to go. We have had some of our previous experiences against KC be entirely too close for comfort.

And I don't mean that to be an insult to the Royals, just a statement of I think our pitching is far superior to theirs and the runs should reflect that.

I think we can all point to where that has not been the case this year.

JHK- Observe..

JHK- As of game time, Cuddy ba .194

Am I mistaken or did Cuddles seem to hit better at 2B instead of 3B (hint to Gardy)

LNP almost got eaten by Anderson.

LNP is looking for extra bases again... i'd be happy just putting him on the bag.

Oh, and at least we can give cuddles an A for effort on that K...

WOW, LNP, might want to work on that one a little... rather un-graceful.

Cuddy either hit better playing 2b or he hits better not playing everyday.

hee hee hee... li'l Nicky fall down go boom.

it's okay, hon, Tumbleweed still loves you.

Mays has found "it"

(late)

LEROY!!!!!!!!!!

Mays is looking pretty good out there tonight.

We saved you a donut

lol hi batgirl

AWESOME! Thanks, TJ

Did anyone else just hear that the Royals are having a trucker cap nite?

Batgirl shows up late to her own party... how cool is that?

Better late than never, especially when there are still Krispy Kremes.

(Am at BatMom and BatDads and someone was using the computer. Can you imagine?)

Another great inning. This game is fun, its not raising my blood pressure, and i'm not worried about anything, really. This is my kind of Twins game. We should do this more often... (minus the ass-bat from cuddyer)

Bye all- My lovely wife and a big bowl of popcorn just arrived.

I don't even need the Ambiorix.

Have they no descency, BG?! cripes!

Tinger, If we didn't have ass-bats from Cuddyer, how would we enjoy the sweet-bats from LeRoy?

No. No decency.

Why is everybody so anti-Royals? They are my non-twins team I cheer for this year. (Last year: Padres). I really like them. Crazy names. Minor leaguers with their first taste of the bigs. Zach Grienke! Runelvys! Ruuuben! Beautiful park that we can drive to. I was out of baseball from 1994-though 2001, so I've never followed a losing team as an adult, or with the internet, but I like these guys. Did I mention the boy wonder Grienke?

And they're in the AL central, so I can follow them without the extreme effort that it would take to follow the Pirates.

Plus: second-best ballcap logo in MLB. The all-blue look tonight is great. Although they look a bit like jockeys. Best alt uni in MLB, I think. Of course, the black hats are awful.

By the way, anyone know any good Royals blogs?

Yes, it isn't the Royals fault. They deserve our pity, not our contempt. Contempt must be reserved for the Bitch Sox.

Anyone remember two years ago--the start of the 2003 season? Guess who was our "starting right fielder"? Yep, he had his banner on a lightpole outside the dome and everything.... You see, if he gets a chance to "play every day" he's going to be a monster. So, how long did he last? hmmmm It lasted until April 30, at which point he was batting a whopping .197.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/players/gamelog?statsId=6637&year=2003

How much of this can we take? How many chances does he get? I for one anm sick of it! Yeah, I know he was our number one draft pick eons ago and we've invested a lot of time and money in him, but can't we just cut our losses sometime along the line here?

I can just hear the Twins' management line in 2009: "Our starting (whatever) will be Cuddyer; once he gets a chance to play every day, we'll be in last place...."

best part is, we're still sitting pretty well on pace for that 7-1 win i was talking about earlier!

Hey BG... figured I'd join in the fun. Hi from NYC, new home of Minky the Mouth!! :-)

Hey, Sousafly!

It's your favorite bassist!!!

R

A pleasure to see you Laurie.

They keep calling Bradke the "ace" of our staff.

Its a tough call when they're all as good as the next guy, and the "next guy" won the cy young last year. I love the twins.

Hey Laurie,

Make sure and pass on our love! There are a lot of us here who still love our Dougie Baseball and wish him all the best.

ok,i meant *almost* as good as the next guy.

*pouting* Koskie would have knocked that down.

Don't worry, I will bring all your Dougie Love to Shea Stadium with me whenever I go... my MIENTKIEWICZ 16 t-shirts are the Twins version!! And will stay that way!!!

Ignore what?

Another good inning. This is fun.

I'm with you, heraldguy. Were we supposed to be ignoring something?

yup, there's that K.C. Truckers hat thing again.

I do so love my admin.

Hi admin!

Anywhere else in the ballpark...

Uh oh, KC. Torii's on base...

Torii's gonna steal 2nd.

I'm waiting for Torii to steal home base from first.

I've seen more Balks this season than ever before. And its only april. He'll steal third.

Brian Anderson: "Oops."

He called it a Trolley Wire again! HA!

Matty's hittin the ball hard today.

Hey Heraldguy!
I just realized that "bassist" has the word "ass" in it! And if you contract the word to "ba't" it also has the word "bat"! Now wadda ya think of that? I it an omen?

I SOOOOOO miss Dick and Bert!

I'm not sure I even knew what a balk was before this season.

That was my problem in kid baseball - no hit, no field. That's why I lasted a year.

Was a major slugger in backyard whiffle ball, though...

Mays is looking pretty good today, eh? How long do we think he can keep this up?

*sigh*
Oh, sure. I finally get online and the Royals score.

Tell me this is a coincidence....

what the crap... thats not looking good for my 7-2 prediction.

AT,

Shhhh!

MK

I spoke too soon. Nuts.

Well AT, I heard Gardy interviewed on 'cco and he said that because of the long break, they might leave him in there for awhile tonight - see what he has through maybe 85-90 pitches.

oh dear.

NO.

that didn't really happen, did it? sons of bitches.

BAAAAAAAAH

8(

*going pale* Oh, god... poor Joe.....

Ruben Gotay?

LAAAAAAAME!

What ever happened to "turning it into a 6 inning game"?

I thought that was what our bullpen was for?

Oh well, I suppose we can afford to lose on the same day as the Sox.

something tells me that they won't let him go 90 pitches.

AT, about that long.

damn

WHOA! Pirates in the stands! neat. they get 1 point for cool.

Goat high pisses me off.

I think Joe wants another 9 days of rest.

Wow, I suck. I'll crawl back into my shell now...

Doh

How pathetic are the six people in K.C. chanting "Let's Go Royals"? I mean, those six aren't pathetic. They have spirit. I mean it's pathetic that there are only six of them.

It is not supposed to be this hard to beat the Royals. I'm sure the Twins will still win, but dangit, when are we going to get one of those "laughers" I keep hearing about?

here i was all excited about this whole "easy, relaxing game" thing, now i'm just pissed off.

I blame Corky (corky) miller for this.

That was not pretty. We're gonna have to open up a big ol' can on their a** now.

pizza break.... but I'm back now. Don't blame AT. It was my fault for leaving.

cuddy now hitting robust .188

ugh... okay, boys, bring out the awesome bats.

No, no. I'm sure it was my fault for joining in, Ryan.
Or yours... or ATs... shall we split the runs?

Back to the ambiriox.

aw, Joe Mays just said "shit" on TV. oh no, poor Joe. buck up, little camper.

maybe we can get tiffee to pinch hit this inning...oh wait

Hey Cuddyer, there's some nonfat yogurt waiting for you at home plate!

At least Cuddy's helping his OBP along...

See, this is what's great about Twins fans. We argue about who is to blame, but we only blame ourselves.

Don't tease, Nick. It's not nice--

AW, PUNTO! You're so cute when you're playing small ball!

LNP!!!!!!!!!

LNP!!!!!!!!!!

Good on LNP for moving the runner over to third...

OOOOHHHHHH... Cuddyer is on base, last time that happened, didn't we win the game? i like this idea...

and THAT idea. Nice little slap, LNP!

Beautiful little slap-hit by LNP.

Minnesota State Lottery is promoting the "Seventh Inning Scratch" like it's a clever turn. Jeez, I've been doing that for 12 years now!

Somewhere, a kitty named Tumbleweed is happy!

yahoo, li'l Nicky!

Cuddy is trying to match Koskie's performance so far this year. But can he really get his average to .195?

FINALLY! LNP is doing the slapping for once.

And there I was blaming myself for complimenting Brian Anderson...

So, Pena pulls Anderson for a guys with an ERA over 9. Man, I feel bad for that manager...

This is why I feel it is foolish to celebrate victories prematurely. No cheers for lil Nicky, nor if we score a run or 2. Wait, damnit!Al

Sacky:

No advertising in the history of the world has ever actually been clever. Just painful.

I'll take splitting the blame for the runs. How about little Nicky? Remember earlier this year when he'd go whole games without even swinging at a pitch? Pena definitely should have read the signs: a leadoff walk to Cuddy, at this point, and Anderson is DONE.

The bases-loaded jinx will be obliterated this inning. Mark it down.

Nooooo! Don't load the bases!

WOOOOOOT!!!

No fair, hitting the batter to load bases

Ouch. Poor Shannon.

I was thinking a bases-clearing double or something, but that works.

No fair, hitting the batter to load bases. Oh, wait. I like this Camp guy.

*laugh* Ok, when Dick says if you follow Twins games, you might not want to look right now because the bases are loaded but I think something good is going to happen...

And then Cuddy actually SCORES!!! I think Dick reads the BG game thread as he's calling the game.

This is why I feel it is foolish to celebrate victories prematurely. No cheers for lil Nicky, nor if we score a run or 2. Wait, damnit!Al p.s., if this shows up twice, it is not my doing. It is censorship at work.

Bring on the fresh meat!!!

wow, welcome tot he game.. maybe we'll plunk a guy!

OK J.B.! Lets see that Boyfriend status! (there i go getting excited with the bases loaded again...

YES! awesome. No more bases loaded. Now i'm really excited. can't GIDP either! WHOOHOOO!!!

We have RISP and get a run, but it's not because of a hit. Of course.

I LIKE this inning. I like it a LOT. And we had bases loaded and DIDN'T EVEN CHOKE.

Can o' whoop-a**, you are hereby OPENED!!!! WHOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!

I'm not too proud to decline an ugly run.

Bases-loaded jinx = obliterated.

Nice triple, Bart.

:::eats words:::
Good thing I was hungry.

Hah! Triple alright!

Jason Barlett is my boyfriend.

WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Dear Jason,

THAT'S how you behave like a good boyfriend.

*Rubs eyes* Wow, where has this been?

Tinger, will 7-4 work for you?

I'm gonna miss that Camp guy. :(

I meant ACCEPT an ugly run. And now we have more! Goody.

As bad as we may have been playing lately...at least we aren't THAT guy.

Wow...I hope his family was watching, odds are that's the last time he'll be pitching in the majors.

*sighs* Now THAT is what I like to see. More, please!

Well Al, the way our bats have been working this season, I feel very comfortable cheering whenever they start working regardless of the inning.

Now, the fact that they are working again NOW when we actually need it again just makes it all the better.

cowabunga, Bart! yahooeee!

AT, Kath. It was clearly my fault that the Royals clawed their way back into it. I'm back and the Twins are too.

Is there anything worse in the entire world than Dick Enrico?

I know what you're thinking, and I'm sorry, the Ebola virus is slightly less gruesome.

Come on suicide squeeze...

Who knew the robot from Get Smart was playing for the Royals?

Jamie Cerda...

Ryan, I guess it's hard to argue with the facts.

Whoa, still no outs?

...

The guy they just brought in has a *higher* ERA.

...

I meant 7-4 all along, i just kept having typos!

uh... yeah...thats it!

and Jason Bartlett is still my boyfriend

Too bad they pulled that pitcher. I think he'd have balked if he was just given one more pitch.

I meant 7-4 all along, i just kept having typos!

uh... yeah...thats it!

and Jason Bartlett is still my boyfriend

Ryan,
Clearly you must glue your butt to your computer chair.

Morneau is 0-4! When does that happen?

Damn, sorry about the double post. and, now my whole 7 run theory is out the window. Damn.

I'm not very good at my predictions. My bad.

Tinger, before this season, I never thought I'd ever hear you say some guy is your boyfriend. It must be the magic of the Twins and Batgirl...

Maybe Morneau is angry about not being called the Doc

Tinger, clearly you meant 17 to 4.

Buthe's shown great warning track power every at at bat!

well people, i'm out. Go twins.

Does this mean that Joe comes back for the 7th?

Ah, the Royals. The best part of those four runs there was the way Bartlett, in scoring from third base, made Camp's infinite ERA for the night an even higher shade of infinity. Hooray math... at least math that involves the addition of Twins runs. :)

See you tomorrow Tinger

JHK,

Nope. In comes Crain.

MK

Morneau needs to HIT THE WEIGHTS. Then more balls would be out.

HI-me!! ....serda

Later, Tinger. Will you be back tomorrow?

Twins currently have 3 LOB???????

it's too bad we don't have more pitchers named Joe... so Joe could start the game, and then Joe can set it up in the 8th for Joe, and they'd all be caught by Joe.

we could have JoeFest every five games.

Dearest Jesse Crain,

Please do well as you are on my fantasy team.

-Stacy

Ryan--Oh, good. I was thinking it was all my fault. Left work, game was 4-1. Got home, game was 4-4. Turned on computer, twins immediately began scoring. Glad you took the fall for that one.

Tinger, you are the most enlightened military man I've ever encountered! JB should feel proud to be your boyfriend.

Twins: 8 runs on 7 hits.

How's that for efficiency?

I heard Gordo say Jesse Camp gave up 3 runs on 4 pitches

wow

Mk,
It looks like someone kidnapped the April Twins all of a sudden and replaced them with Mid-season Twins. H'm. Not going to be looking real hard for the April Twins....

I miss Gordo... why did I go out of state for college...

Katharriet,

Well, that would explain it then. I have a couple of shiny nickels and some lint. Will that be enough to ship them to Chicago?

MK

Once again, I think there are more people in this thread than at the park. Maybe because we have donuts.

Uh oh. Crazy Mike Macdougal. Hopefully Justin is wary.

Did y'all hear about Crede and Ozzie gettin booted today? Crede argued that you could stand directly on home plate and still get to go to first if you got hit. The ump said no......

MK
H'm, looking at the box score for the BitchSox tonight, we may not need to. They're starting to show impending signs of suckitude....

There's donuts left? Pass one over!!!!

They go great with Guinness...

holy crap, does Macdougal hurt himself when he throws the ball like that? ouch. it looks painful.

Katharriet & MK--Never fear, the August Bitch Sox will make their appearance soon enough. Then all will be right with the world in Twins Territory.

Tinger saw it and posted about it at the beginning of this game thread. It made us all very happy.

Typical.

And "Jacques Jones" draws another walk...

OK, wait wait wait a minute: so JJ just went down 0-2 and then WALKED? Before this season, I'm willing to bet that had never happened before. Wonderful.

JJ still has more BBs (10) than SOs (9)! And the July Twins in April! Life is good.

Wow... and we just avoided a dp 'cause of good Jaque baserunning. "Jaque Jones," I love you.

ANYone else would have made it to first on that. geez.

Matchew, lay off the KFC, dude. seriously.

As LeRoy gets down the line with glacial speed...

Sorry BG... I just read that you did see....

If any of you have a good arm, could you toss one of them there donuts over here to New York? Much obliged.

way to go Cuddy!!!

See now, Mikey? Doesn't that feel better?

And cuddy-bear gets a hit!

No apologies necessary. We should be reminded as often as possible. Apparently the whole postgame show was about the bad calls.

And yes, THAT is why I call them the Bitch Sox.

(muttering to self)

Torii's got a cannon - he could get a donut to NY

That puts Cuddy back on the Mendoza line...

Cuddy! A HIT! LNP! I love you! How'd you like a kitten named after you?

LNP!

and LNP is above 200 for the year

Unfortunately, Torii doesn't have the donuts...

see Ryan, I think Cuddyer was reading our debate in yesterday's thread and that was enough to get his bat in gear.

Don't ya think????

li'l Nicky with another ribbie! ain't that nice?

I'm gonna go play with string now and celebrate my glee.

Wow, MacDougal really has fallen. Brought in down 3 runs in the eighth, walks JJ, gives up hits to Cuddy and LNP? Maybe he really is hurting himself when he throws these pitches. I'm starting to feel bad for the guy...

Now, that Cuddy's quite the stud! That hit just prolonged his major league career another year or two....

Babs, I think you may be right. Nice to know he respects our opinion.

There may be games this year where the opponent does not commit errors, nor balks, nor wild pitches, nor passed balls.The hope is that the Twins can win a fair percent of them.Your's in optimism, Al

What did cuddy do? I missed it.

Okay, at the beginning of the game, I commented, "LNP's bat???" He subsequently has gone 3 for 4, raised his average 75 points, and got a ribbie. I must now humbly apologize to Nicky (and perhaps offer to do it again next game).

Sacky,

A got that rarest of gems: a base hit.

MK

Why was Ivan R talkin bout JC's Mama?

J.C. and JB have the same goofy smile on their MLB images... We need to fire that photographer

Get Art from Fort Myers!

Now, now. J.C. doesn't need to be giving up walks to John (Buck) Buck...

the only thing that's sad about big leads is that I don't usually get to watch my boyfriend Yo Joe! pitch the 9th.

you and I can commiserate together Kafumbly...

and I have decided that I think the grunt is kind of sexy.

Okay, Jeb and I are going to head back to Casa Bat and will listen on the radio. Good job, team.

CapitalBabs and kafumbly,
I was just thinking the same thing, tho the Nathanest isn't my boyfriend (much as I love him). That is, actually, one sexy grunt.

See ya later Batgirl, Jeb

Hey, doesn't Kyle Snyder's mug shot on Gameday make him look like a real young Galactic Emperor-to-be?

I admit it's no fun at all to watch Cuddy suck such serious ass, but come on. The guy's just wrapping up his second whole month as a major-league starter. Meanwhile, Luis "I Am Horrible" Rivas has had a starting job for four straight YEARS.

If we get to the All-Star break and Cuddyer's still a complete waste of bum-wipe, fine, I'll join the bitchfest. But I'll withhold judgment until then.

Snyder's lookin' a bit like Bronson Arroyo sans cornrows... whoops, not quite as poofy in the back. I have a buddy who covers the East Coast Bitch Sox for the Boston Globe, and he told me that when Arroyo just wakes up and comes to the park, he looks like a llama. hee hee

"when you see llamas where people are swimming, you must warn them and say, 'look out! there are llamas!'"

I was thinking "quiet neighbor serial killer" actually (it's the stare), but you've got a point, MK.

It's nice to know that we can score 9 runs when our 3-4-5 hitters go 0 for the game.

I wonder if that'll carry over against any non-Royals team. Well, we can hope.

And it's Dollar Store Pitcher for the ninth...

We're putting Terry in. Ladies, we still might get to the Nathanest of Joe's.

Hmmm...let me get this straight. So tonight, "Jacque Jones" is batting for Jacque Jones, but (the real) Jacque Jones appears to be batting for Torii Hunter, based on that AB.

Twink,

So then, where's Torii?

MK

MK,
Pretending to be Cuddyer?

that was a NICE play by Cuddybear. I give him some more time before I make a final judgement.

Torii was umping in the Bitch Sox-Oakland game

Eeep!

With my goatee and hair length I could be a finalist in a Terry Mulholland look-alike contest!!!!!

WHOA! That was an awesome play by LNP!

oh, yeah, give it up for li'l Nicky!

Honestly, that was a nice, quiet 9th by Old Man Mulholland-- I like that guy.
And I looove LNP!

man... I am just getting more and more impressed with Lil Nicky.

and our pitching really did a pretty darn good job tonight - all of them.

Nothing like a little Moral High Ground by LNP to end the game!

LNP for BOD?

Heraldguy, I admire your courage in that you're willing to admit that so publicly.

Good job, Twins.

Ahhh... aside from the wicked head cold, I will breathe easy tonight.

yeah, heraldguy, LNP for BOD would make a little kitty cat very happy.

Heraldguy,
I hope so.

All, can I just say-- game threads already make this the best season _ever_. Thank you all.

nice work by billy bob

Ok.. Bartlett in the post-game interview! Close up that boy is HOT... damn.. wicked little grin.

And his little comments about Newmie there - I think Al might have been claiming he got his finger injury secretly in the hotel room with Mauer and Morneau. Didn't he sound just a bit defensive about "watching a basketball game"???

Of course, I don't want to imagine what he could be doing with the other boys that would rip off a finger nail. (BAD mental image)

Nick Punto is on the radio for the post game

nice!

CB: I was thinking the same thing about Bartlett.

Great win tonight, guys! And as always, great posting by the Batlings.

Aw, that's so sweet of LNP!
"Getting runs for your pitcher is good-- I wish we could get them for Santana and Radke"

CapitalBabs... must you... with the mental imagery? sheesh.

must find pictures of Yo Joe! to save me from nightmares...

I personally trust Terry Mulholland with a one run game or more. The problem that Gardy has is he keeps him in for an inning to long. One or two innings should be the max for Mulholland.

The problem with Terry is that he throws a lot of changeups and offspeed pitches and once hitters get their timing on him - they can crush him. One time through the lineup is plenty for T-Mobile.

sorry Kafumbly but if you kept the postgame show on long enough to see that "rallycap" Twins commercial, I am hoping that helped distract you!

I hadn't seen that one yet - what a great commercial!!!!

On Encore Mystery tonight -

"Island of Dr Moreau" followed by "The Jackal"