Lineup Change:

Stewiw
Mauer
Ford
Morneau
Hunter
Jones
Cuddy
Punto
Castro

That's a very interesting lineup. I guess we'll see how it works!

This is almost the lineup I envisioned at the start of the season. I had Ford before Mauer.

Otherwise it's about right.

Ugh, I cannot BELIEVE I am stuck with the FSN Ohio feed on MLB Extra Innings again!!

Could be worse, you could be listening to the Chicago Feed when we play the Sox.

very interesting lineup...

Torhu, that happens too. It's really annoying. This is now two straight series with no Dick and Bert. I wish you could choose between home and away feeds!

that shortstop wants to be bored. I can hear his thoughts with the... portable thinger. those outfielders want to catch rebounds off the wall. all night long. it makes them happy.

Anybody else think it's some kind of sign when we're facing the pitcher who's only win is against us? With our pitcher the same guy he beat?

...It's a second chance really :)

Not entirely sure about the new lineup, but I guess it does that whole righty-lefty-righty thing they seem to like so much, so fine.

I bitch about this every year. Cannot Gardy break up Torii and Jacque?

Watching them hack, back to back, kills me.

Sizemore, you shit.

OUR shortstop, on the other hand, wants to be kept busy. Castro, Punto, and Morneau want lots to do.

woohoo!

I guess that's what you had in mind, kafumbly?

So our shortstop was simply waiting for the double play!

exactly! :)

Is it just me, or do Twins games seem to involve the most DP's? Seems like one every other inning.

If we don't turn them, we sure as heck hit into them.

didn't Justin just say in that article on the Twins website that he wanted to stop swinging at pitches like that?

Looks like we have a bigger strike zone tonight, at least early on.

ooh! a walk! let's go, JJ!

Nice job Torii!

As long as it's consistent...I'm alright.

WOOOOO!!! nice error, Belliard! thank you! :)

Oops. There's a bad error. I found Torii's path to second rather amusing.

Wow! About time that goes our way.

for sure, Nick, I was wondering where the heck he was going. almost looked like that Mets play the other night.

Kafumbly, I heard that.

It looked like he was doing two things:

1. Getting into posistion to break up the DP.
2. Preparing to turn round 2nd should the ball roll into the outfield.

THE GAP!! HIT IT TO THE GAP!

I figured it was the first, Torhu. I just found it funny how he stopped and changed direction.

Where did the fans think that pitch was?

whoops. sorry, Laurie! I meant no disrespect. *blush*

tuned in at an interesting time... cuddyer up with 2 on. he's been clutch...

LOL. I never said I wasn't thinking the same thing!!! :-)

double steal, interesting call. i like it.

wow, at least the runners advanced.

Nice. For a second there I thought there were two outs.

Hoooray for the double steal. Don't worry Cuddy, you'll get them later.

Geez, Cuddy looked ugly on that last swing. Well, as ugly as he's capable of looking...

looks like gardy's pulling out all the stops tonight to try to break the offense out of its slump...

It's the ever expanding contracting strike zone.

It's Maaaagical.

Wow, bunting on a 3-1 pitch? That's... very interesting.

oooh, I'm nervous...

Wow! I tuned in just in time for a double steal, one of my favorite things in baseball! That has to be a good sign, right?

ARGH!!!

CURSES!

Kafumbly, for the record, that call against the Mets last night was 100% correct. We rolled the dice and lost.

Dammit! Well, we again fail (twice) to come through with RISP.

hey look, westbrook has a no-hitter after 2 innings. a NO HITTER!

LNP has his own 3 true outcomes:
Strikeout
Walk
Bunt

Boy, my remote will be getting a workout tonight... Twins, Mets AND American Idol.

Oh. Or not. Next inning?

Brink,

What's this about a NO HITTER by the CLEVELAND starter? I didn't catch what you are trying to say...

MK

Did someone say NO-HITTER?

Both 3rd strike swing by Cuddy and Punto looked ugly. C'mon guys, score some runs!!

boy, it sure was the right call, Laurie. anyone who would argue is, well, an idiot.

aw, ass crap.

well, that'll give Castro, Punto, and Morneau something to do later.

Cue brink, working that early hoo-doo early, as it should be worked.

um, what's going on with the creative camera work?

Come on, Joe... throw strikes. He's been falling behind too much early.

Ah, Kafumbly... if you only knew the kinds of insane arguments I had with Met fans today. Drove me nuts. It was so obvious that Wright (whom I love) was not headed for the bag. Come on. It's one thing to be a fan, but quite another to be divorced from reality as a result.

the best way to help a pitcher is to mention the fact that he has a no-hitter going... it's an old baseball tradition!

Somebody was being Artsy...

Oh crap. Hope the strikezone doesn't magically shrink like it does in these situations.

Ugh. Walks are bad, m'kay?

That was one ugly looking bunt attempt.

Wow, did gameday make that fourth pitch NOT look like a strike. Oh well, moot now. What happened to diamond joe? perhaps he is some other form of carbon tonight?

Have you guys ever heard Skip Caray when someone is threatening a no-hitter against the Braves? He's hilarious. Brings it up every chance he gets. "And if you're just joining us, so-and-so has a no-hitter going!" "Gee, Don, how many hits has he given up tonight? None? Why, that means he has a no-hitter!"

I'm just not sure if you can jinx the opposing team by bringing it up. Your own team, on the other hand...

THANK YOU!

Woot.

Oh yes, Nick, you absolutely can! And you must!

Sorry, that was directed at the infield :)

woohoo! I like it when the other team listens to me and gives Castro, Punto, and Morneau fun things to do, like turn double plays. they love that!

So in the case Laurie...how many hits as Cleveland's pitcher given up?

Why, that would be NONE! And you know what THAT means!!

is someone pitching a no hitter

He's got a no-hitter going!

My work here is done.

What, he has a NO-HITTER going?

I'll be damned...it worked! :)

Laurie, you're so smart... :)

yay Castro! WOOOOO!!! he's safe! that kicks so much ass. Wedge, you argue all you want, buddy, it'll do you very little good!

yahoo!

damn it with hand injuries on head first slides!?!?!

This is what I turn on the game to see!??! he better just have a bruise.

Hey, one of my best friends is a major league pitcher. I know every trick in the book.

my unbiased (OK slightly biased) opinion: good call at 2nd there. tag was put on castro's head, and castro's hand beat his head.

And every superstition...

No-hitter successfully jinxed! Nice work, all!

Castro esta en fuego. Ay Caliente!

That was an unproductive AB. We really don't seem to like bunting...

oh, Stewie. at least it wasn't a DP.

Hit the ball the one way you're not supposed to.

We really need to get the offense going tonight. Doesn't have to be a blowout, but 5 or 6 runs would be nice.

here's where teh lineup juggle gets interesting. better hitters stacked 1-4 now, and one of the cabooses got on base. bonus!

perhaps I'll fire up my transporter and send Tumbleweed over to give 'em all a good talking to.

ARod hit another dinger.

Yes, everyone did a fine job curtailing the no-hitter. There is strength in numbers. Although technically we were a few innings early.

If I cared about ARod...I'd watch ARod ;)

blah blah blah A-Rod. who gives a crap.

nick, i think gardy thinks asking his "good" hitters to bunt is "disrespectful." notice that both of these adjectives is dubious, as gardenhire has strange ideas about who is "good" and who cares if it's "disrespectful" anyway...

Of course helped that he dropped the ball!

Go Tumblekitty!

Man, that was some interesting stats that Dick was throwing out there about the hitting percentages for our hot boys in facing righties vs lefties... Practice some more against left handers kids.

Hit...please?

LEEEEWWWWWWW!!

LEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

I'm sure Mike's comment about A-Rod was meant with the proper disgust.

Batting Coach Tonto say: "Hit ball hardest in middle of plate. No miss if ball in middle, if you miss you no deserve to get hit. Lay off ball too far bad, unless 2 strike."

lineup juggle experiment looks good on the first run through. cash dividend!

LEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Well done. Score the leadoff hit. Soemthing we need to do a LOT more of.

Now MORE-no...let's have NO-more of this assbatting.

YEAH!! the force is with you young fordwalker...

LEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!

Woohoo, we got the runner home!

That appeared to be a generous strike.

Get a hit or we'll start calling you More-NO again. Don't think we won't.

oh, I'm sure, Laurie. didn't mean to sound snotty, Mike. well, I did, but not at you.

I guess it's a thing with my friends.

blah blah blah Terrell Owens.
blah blah blah Shaq.

and even, I'm sorry to say, in reference to Mauer's knee (but not the boy himself, as I love him dearly), blah blah blah Joe Mauer.

Come on, toss Doc a cookie!

The Yankees are all that is good and right with the world.

blah blah blah A-Rod

Mike,

Then we must agree to disagree. I thought that the Yankees were a baseball team.

MK

this pitcher is cracking me up how preoccupied he is with Lew on first.

OK, maybe I misjudged Mike.

"The Yankees are all that is good and right with the world."

Let's ease up on the republican sentiment... this is a baseball thread.

He must know that Lew has the force.

SECURITY!!!!!!!!!!

That was a ball all the way...BAD.

baseball's a funny game, isn't it... moreneau can do no wrong to start the season and cuddyer bats like crap. now the roles are reversed. is it something in the gatorade?

I think the Royals missed out on a major revenue stream. They could have made their manager hiring process into a reality show. Maybe even get Donald Trump, Tony Pena, and Jose Lima to be the judges. That would be hilarious.

I am just sitting here giggling about how carefull Dick is being to actually say MORneau.. he said the name like 40 times just to nail it into his head.

But you guys, did you see the look on the doc's face as he was batting.. boy he is sure thinking about these AB's really hard. I wonder how much of this he is doing to himself just by trying too hard.

No, Brink. Just goes to show ya that baseball is a game of slumps and streaks, and we should never take EITHER too seriously. :-)

I guess telling oneself not to swing at bad pitches and not swinging at them are two entirely different things. easier said than done.

Joe needs to work on getting these leadoff guys. Then again, if he keeps getting DPs...

Well, let's see what Morneau was thinking:

"I'm not gonna swing not gonna swing..."

*swings*

"Awww...did I do it again?"

CB, I think you're right. he's worrying too much about swinging or not, and he's not allowing himself to do what he does best... which is beat the crap out of the baseball.

too bad we can't feed him some of those Bud Lights right before he bats.. *GRIN* that would relax him.

I would say one but.. well.. he is kind of a big kid. I don't think one would really do anything.

Mays looks worried. he needs to relax and do what he does best, too.

everybody needs to just relax! RELAX!!!

;)

That's a good idea, CB. I coach college mock trial, and I've seriously considering giving some of my kids (who get way too wound up) a drink before trial. Heck, I've thought about it myself. Maybe this is why so many lawyers are alcoholics...

CB, are you coming to Toronto on Sunday? I'm still waiting to hear from my friend. not sure yet if this will work out.

Yay for wind!

ooooh, wow! good job, Torii!

That's gotta suck, hitting a ball 400 ft and making an out.

and still not advancing the runner. :)

No - I want to cause I can't think of a better bday present for myself but... well... my Mom would KILL me. She has visions of a grand family bbq since I will probably have the weekend off from the Capitol as well. I haven't been able to see much of the family lately with my work schedule.

It would've sucked more to have hit the ball 400 feet and made TWO outs ;)

But hey... you interested in planning a trip to Milwauke to see the Brewers at the end of June?!?!

Ya know, this whole Morneau/Bud Lite thing...

I thought Canadians liked beer?

I thought the bbq was on Saturday... we're just planning Sunday now. but I totally understand.

*phew* That was a scary inning.

Okay, bats. Be GOOD!

Mays doesn't look too happy for a guy who's winning on the scoreboard. Then again, he hasn't looked nearly as good as he did against the Jays. Let's hope he can start getting that ball down like he did Thursday.

YES! I was planning to say something here closer to the date, but I'm all for planning now.

(do you see that... the word "closer"... it makes me think of our boyfriend, even though I'm using it in a different way here.)

hmm.. Sunday only now huh? let me talk to the folks tonight and see what's up.

He's only got a one-run lead. He's probably having flashbacks to Johan's start Sunday, and Lohse's start Monday.

Is gameday way behind for anyone else? Radio says the inning's over, gameday says Joe's still pitching to hernandez with nobody out yet.

*laugh* Fumbly!! I thought the same thing at "closer"!!!

*giggle* Anyway, I want to see the new park the Brewers have anyway. I would love to make that trip.

Twink,

I don't know. My Gameday says 2004...

Yay Hunter! Break that slump!

yahoo! nice hit, Torii. I like high choppers over the other team's heads.

I wonder what Morneau thinks about at the plate when he looks so deep in thought. I remember an interview with Torii awhile a couple years ago (pretty sure it was that Dan Patrick deal in the back of espn the mag). He was asked that question and admitted that often he is thinking about Mrs. Hunter in uh...an extremely amorous way.

Holy crap. Nice catch. Had visions of yesterday there.

Yay! Torii tagged. :)

woo! too bad that didn't hit the wall, but at least Torii got to second.

gold stars to jacque for the deep fly and torii for tagging. little things like that are a nice plus.

well damn... the Doc doesn't have a Mrs. I say we set up a Batling competition to give him someone to think about!! *wink*

Oh, and Gameday IS way behind. It's just now recording the leadoff single for the Indians.

aw, ass crap. I thought that might drop.

Too bad Cuddy couldn't hit the ball the other way...away from third.

Oh well, Mays...do you're thing.

Did I not tell you guys Torii was about to snap out of it? That last night would be the start of something big?

Always believe in The Soul Patrol, together or apart.

Babs,

Being a straight male I'll have to pass on that competition...

MK

Is it still the bottom of the 3rd, like Gameday says?

Laurie, maybe he just needed people to get all over his case so he could rub it our faces when he starts hitting again.

good for him.

From what I've been gathering from the conversation, it's probably the bottom of the fourth.

nope, it's the bottom of the fourth, alskntwnsfn.

Yep, bottom of the fourth, and Mays falls behind 3-0...

It is the bottom of the 4th, 3-0 to Hafner.

And make it a walk. Come on, Joe...

I never take slumps or streaks particularly seriously unless they last for months on end.

*wink* @ MK

one less competitor for me.. *GRIN*

woohoo! see, that's what we like. way to GIDP, Cleveland.

mays being tutored by silva?

Ha! A Silva-like outing, except more walks.

Pitcher's best friend, and particularly friendly to Joe tonight.

Babs, I'm out of that contest too.

Mays is a sinkerball pitcher like Silva, so he's going to get lots of ground balls and douple plays.

Wel Lauriel, Hunter was on a 4-26 homestand. It just looked that bad. Combined with the two double plays in consecutive innings against the Brewers.

Yeah, Babs? You're on! Count me in on this little competition.

I know Mays is a sinkerballer, but has he always gotten this many DPs? I guess I don't remember, becuase it's been so long since he's been healthy and good.

I'm not out! except it feels a little creepy, as I'm roughly 7 1/2 years older than the Doctor...

so here's to you, Mrs. Robinson...

I'm glad that Mays is a sinkerball pitcher again. There was about a two-year period when his sinkerball only sunk over the outfield wall.

I think it just seemed worse than it was because we're looking up at the B-Sox in the standings. Everyone's a bit rattled by that.

Gameday isn't even trying. I have a vision of a Uecker like character drinking Jack Daniels and having a nervous assistant enter the commands in.

"Don't worry, no one's listening anyway." Great line!

Kafumbly, I'm sure you two would make an adorable couple.

That person behind the annoucer is what we call a "moron."

that inning was too short. bleh.

Geez, Twins. I didn't know there was a 24-second clock in baseball.

Nice play, Cuddy!

I'm definitely not in the Morneau race (for the same reason as MK) but, up until his last birthday, I was twice as old as young Justin.

Ya whippersnappers!!!!!

Nice toss, Cuddy

well 'Fumbly.. *grin* you are younger than me! not by much but closer to him than I am.

Fran,

The Twins have probably realized that Gameday's slow and are trying to give Gameday Guy a hard time...

MK

Wow. Nice fan. Gave it to the kid :)

Which one of the Batlings is the gameday score inputter again!? anyone able to fire off an email!? *laugh*

Dammit, Joe. That was a horrid pitch.

SONOFABITCH!!!!!!!

Curses. Foiled again. I'm having VERY nervous flashbacks to the Santana and Lohse starts.

And the 1st homerun for this guy...why do we always make these guys heroes?

awwww... ASS CRAP!!!

nice try, though, Lew. boy, he did everything he could to get that ball. if he'd been able to get on the wall, would they count it if he caught it?

Fan walks the trail as blazed by Babs.

and by the way, damn you, Jody Gerut.

ahh... ass crap.

Babs, no offense, but I'm rooting for Kafumbly in this race. Naturally I have ulterior motives, though...

must have crushed that one, wind is really blowing

Despite the DPs, Joe really doesn't have it tonight.

*bites nails*

Why?

C'mon, Joe...you do not walk Jose Hernandez, you strike him out. Everyone knows that.

lol, Laurie! don't worry, I have three other boyfriends besides DJ. our closer is at the top of my list. :)

Joe got freaked out by that homerun, methinks.

well, when BG gets around to reading the game thread, maybe she can put some thoughts into a Batling Baseball Season Calendar?!?!? *GRIN*

How funny would that be? (I'm trying to distract myself from tie score jitters..)

WOW! That guy was dead from the moment he left.

Nice throw, Chairman!

Although I thought I saw Young Justin at Brit's Pub last Tuesday after the game with an attractive young lady...

But nowhere in your league, Babs & Kafumbly

Teach you to steal on Little Joe...

Score that one 2-4. Nice throw, chairman.

way to throw out the base stealer, Joe!

C'mon Jose. You know you're too old to try that stealing business.

Thank god we caught that guy stealing.

NICE! Talk about running yourself out of an inning.

Ouch... two runners (and at least one run) lost on the basepaths!

Kafumbly and I are together in our primary BF choice.. but he HAS a Mrs to consider in stressful situations. *sniff*

HOLY COW, NICE THROW!!! *heart races*

He's toast!!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

trying to stretch a double into a triple, eh?! THAT'LL teach you!

yahoo!

Score that one 8-6-5. Make them pay for that baserunning, let's get a run or three.

Nice job, Fat Face, committing the Cardinal sin.

CLEAR!

*BZZZT*

a Mrs. and a new little baby!

our boyfriend's Mrs. does not exist in our imaginations, Babs. we are free to dream as we please!

LEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

LEEWWWW!

YES!

Hey, the annoucer at the Jake got the name right ;)

Peralta's flapping jowls must have gotten in the way. HAHA.

Wow, on that replay he was out by even further than on the live shot. The best is that he thought he had a shot of being safe

hey, did you hear? the Cleveland announcer said "Justin MORE-no." cool!

LEW?

Ladies, start your engines...

He really is afraid of Ford isn't he?

LEEWWWW!

Ah.

LEEEEEWWWWWWW!

And we execute! Take THAT.

LEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! way to steal second!

The force is with young Fordwalker tonight. If that throw had been on target, he was out.

Cue the spooky music...

Attaway, Doctor. Take the walk. Anything to help you get back to your awesome self!

Nice.

Now Hunter. You're slump is over. Time to get back in the swing :)

LEEEWWW with the steal.

I liked that Torii showed bunt there. :)

BUNT! Good plan! BUNT!

Come on Torii! wait for your pitch.

Ugh, stupid Gameday. I'm multitasking, and I missed it--how did Ford get on?

Sending happy thoughts to Torii...

Wow....four years + since Hunter's last bunt.

Talk about not expecting it.

Lew singled. Doc walked. Torii's up.

Heh.

Hunter can't be up again: Gameday says he's still on second.

Ford singled, twink.

Ok, for anyone using gameday. I'd suggest using CBS Sportsline. They have been very good all season.

Well, he advanced the runner. That's just as good as a bunt.

Foghorn,

He's just having a good game, is all.

MK

Torii hasn't bunted in four years?! Well, it matches up fairly closely with TK leaving.

yeah... Justin is a BIG good looking kid but he will never have the same speed as Lew... the man is a freaking roadrunner.

The squeeze? Wow.

We're 1-16 with RISP in this series? Oh dear.

Yeah, Nick. They flashed a graphic that his last bunt was in May of 2001.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Oh dear. Yes, it was a horseshit call, but JJ probably shouldn't have argued.

He tossed him ALREADY! They've let other players argue more than that.

dammit, Jacque! that was a good pitch. stop freaking out!

After fouling all those off...you call him on that piece of CRAP.

But boy...he's getting his money's worth. This is ASSCRAP!

NOT a strike. No way.

JJ is even yummier when he's all heated up... but this is NOT a good thing.

so, what happens when the DH gets ejected? Do we still have it? or does the pitcher have to bat now?

JJ, JJ, JJ. Come on buddy.

speaking of reading lips, what do you suppose Morneau was saying to the first baseman?

That was a good pitch.

No. Because you can also pinch hit for the DH and still have it.

It's only if the guy who'se DHing gets moved into a posistion that you lose it.

TIB, I'm fairly certain we still have it.

I said yesterday that I thought Wendelstadt was an asscrap announcer, and I think it's true.

Yay, Cuddy!!!

WOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, my sweetheart! Lucky 13!

yahoo DJ!!!

And by "announcer," I of course meant "umpire."

gotcha. So, whos the new DH? LeCroy or Tiffe?

Shaun, it was a questionable pitch on the edge. If a guy is fouling off a lot of pitches, he doesn't deserve to get rung up on a questionable pitch if he has a ball to give.

And I agree it was a good pitch. But it was NOT a strike, IMO.

They can just plug someone in the DH spot.

There we go, got the lead back.

By the way, mark up Cuddy's hit to karma ;)

for real, Torhu?

oh, yeah, Dick just said. so would that mean we lose a hitter, or would the pitcher actually have to bat?

i think it has to be lecroy

I was so sure Gardy was going to get the boot there, too. He usually does when a player gets tossed.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't LeCroy

Actually, Dick is wondering whether or not they have to announce the DH immediately, or can they wait until his next at bat.

I'd go with LeCroy. Save Tiffee's switch hitting for later.

hahahaha, newmie just got booed for not throwing that into the stands. classic.

glad we have the lead. lets keep it this time.

The only time you would have to bat the pitcher is if you take the DH and move him into the posistion.

It's been done in other games. In fact the Twins have done it this year. You replace the DH with somebody on the bench and he stays there.

Oh, and nice move by Newmy. Fan gonna give me crap, fan not gonna get the ball. Gardy looked to be liking that too.

I am saying it was a good enough/close enough pitch to swing at and be a strike (after watching the replay) I have seen way worse calls for strikes than that.

I hope he puts in Tiffee, only to get him some more at-bats. he needs to hit regularly to get his groove back.

Gardy didn't say a word. JJ wasn't really out of control, so he didn't need to.

I would think they'd only have to do it when it comes up. As when you make a defensive switch between innings it doesn't get annouced until it's executed.

Wow! I get to hear the game late and guess what, the Twins are ahead by 2? What a concept.

I would guess the choice between Tiffee or LeCroy might depend on whether or not they pull their pitcher and put in a lefty doesn't it?? Of course, that being whether or not they have to assign someone the DH spot right away..

imagine a baseball fact that Dick doesn't know.. I would never have thought it..

I thought the ball was way inside at first. It broke closer to the plate, but it looked to be at least a few inches inside. I can't blame JJ for being pissed, though he shouldn't have reacted the way he did.

I hope the strikezone stays where it's at now for Mays. I can see that ump shrinking it to the size of the ball.

And there right away is the pitch he rung up Jones on.

aw, hell.

@#$!#$%!#$%

Well, here was what I was just going to post:

"I hope this is Mays' last inning. We'll be lucky to get out of this inning with the lead."

I didn't even get to hit the post button in time. Sigh.

DAMNIT MAYS! That is NOT what you do.

Gardy, pull him NOW. He didn't even make it one batter.

Ok, so we still have the DH its sounding like. Its just I dont ever remember this type of situation. I know you lose the DH when you have to put him in the field, and that you can pinch hit and pinch run for the DH. I just wasnt sure what the rule was for when the DH got ejected.

Gah, WHY?!?!???

Well, there goes morale now.

Yikes, there goes another lead.

the ball is staying up. if he can't get it down soon, we need to get a reliever in.

See...this is where the pitching lets us down so much. We scrap for a run and he gives it RIGHT back.

Nick, why don't you think Jones should have reacted the way he did? He didn't think the ball was a strike, so he said so. Wendelstadt is not infallable, although he seems to think he is.

Why didn't he ring the guy up on that pitch? Now watc...here's the hit.

I agree with Franorama. The ump had no place throwing him out that fast either.

This whole "feud" thing is BS. It's baseball trying to generate some heat to draw fans and money.

Well, I would've been pissed too, like I said. (I was, actually). And I don't know what JJ said -- maybe it didn't warrant an ejection. But it's just generally a bad idea to argue balls and strikes.

Ok, time to scrap back and grab the lead again. Lets go for 2 or 3 runs this time though.

And I should note that I was surprised he got tossed so fast. Maybe he said something really bad and deserved it. Or maybe Wendelstadt (I have no idea if I'm spelling that right) is a horrible ump. Actually, I think that regardless. :)

I personally didn't think JJ should have been booted. His reaction was pretty mild... until he was booted. I have a feeling the ump misunderstood something he said, because you could hear JJ say to him "...that's all I said!"

Well, for how poorly Joe pitched tonight, he's in position to get the W if we can score a run and we pull him. And regardless, two runs over six innings isn't too bad.

Why though? You see players getting away with it all the time...

I understand if Jones gets to heated about it...THEN you throw him out. But he tossed Jones right when he turned around and yelled at him. That's why Jones got even more ticked off.

Once he was ejected, he stayed to get his money's worth.

I think that because they were all warned in advance to not do anything at all that would be questionable in activity, the umps feel like they have to apply that ruling VERY strictly. I think the the advance warning was the true BS advertising. This they just have to do to keep up the act.

Yeah, you're not supposed to be able to argue balls and strikes at all. But it's rarely enforced that way, most umpires will take a word or two, even if it is not a nice word. Some of these umps just think they're god. Maybe Jacque going off will spark the rest of the team. I just think he has to say what he has to say, regardless. Don't just give in to the ump.

He was in posistion for the win last inning too. And he seemed not to care.

Whatever the case, he stays gone next inning. It's the bullpen's time.

And the strikezone changes again. I hate umps a lot.

Well, like I said, I think this guy's a horrid ump. So that might well explain it.

BULL that was a strike. Seriously.

Just discovered a quote that really applies to BatGirl's "High Moral Ground"...

"Glory follows virtue as if it were its shadow" - Cicero

How about some virtuous at-bats?????

See, they did pull the pitcher... but they put in another so.. is it better to put in a switch-hitter on the left side of the plate?? I seem to recall that Tiffee has really good numbers against righties.

but with this being the only AL team Mays hasn't beaten, I think Gardy may leave him in. there doesn't seem to be activity in our bullpen.

Agreed, Torhu. I hate umps (bad ones, at any rate) too.

Not much hurt, anyway. The Twins get to wait to name their new DH, it could actually work out as a break for them that way.

If Gardy's using that logic, he should seriously be fired. Mays just doesn't have it tonight, and the bullpen hasn't been overworked lately. We need to go to the bullpen here.

of course I meant that they put in another right-hander.. *laugh* man I just type like crap...

I don't care if he hasn't beaten the Indians. He'll get another chance down the road sometime. We need to win this game. For Santana, Lohse, and all the other starters who didn't get a win.

He screwed up big, and they're hitting him HARD now. He needs to come out.

Mays has done a nice job for someone who 'doesn't have it.' The assbats are just magnifying a two runs in six innings performance.

Ok Fordwalker. Its homer time

Catcher to Pitcher: "Toss that garbage inside...we'll get that everytime."

He's getting hit hard. Two homeruns and a lot of deep flys.

Twins need a reliever. I nominate Bert. A 48 MPH loopy curveball would really tie the Wahoos in knots.

Fran,

I agree. A quality start is a quality start--the offense just needs to get more of that timely hitting people keep talking about.

MK

Fran, I agree the assbats aren't helping. But they're hitting a lot of balls very hard, including two that left the park despite the wind. Add that to the walks and other hits... he's not having a good night. Regardless, I can't be upset with two runs over six. Let's just leave it at that.

....MORE-no. Don't swing. Don't SWING!

hee hee hee... another walk.

you can do it, Doc... you're good against lefties, remember?

Two virtuous at bats...

Here comes the glory

Let's do it, Hoss...

Come on Justin... you are my NSMC!

Oh... hi everyone.

New Pitcher. Can we expect a little slumpbusting here?

Nick, I think your standards for a good night are a little high. He's had some good defense behind him, but he is still having a good night.

Let's see MORE-no go for extra bases here and the decision gets a lot easier.

hi sacky!

oh, this Rhodes guy. I don't like him.

ooops... Dick just said Morneau wrong.. those habits are so hard to break.

Fran, my point is not the results so far -- I think they've been quite satisfactory. My point is that I see the results of leaving him in for another inning, given the current trends, as being bad.

good to see you kafumbly!

Please don't go down one two three. Just get a good hit.

Yay, Doctor!!

I sure hope Rhodes question today is "I wonder how far Morneau can hit a ball?"

THANK YOU! That's a slump-breaking hit if I ever saw one.

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

talk about tuning back in in time. nice work morneau!

huzzah!!!

I KNEW Doc could do it!

good running, Chairman!

yay!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

Why are we being so tough on Joe? He's only given up 2 runs!

I still don't recognize Rhodes without his earrings, he seems like an imposter.

Looked like Dick misread that, it looked like a bloop single right off the bat.

Changing pitchers again? See, this is what we need to do.

Mays has the win now, so we should go to the pen.

Huzzah!!!! aaarrrgghhh!!!

Sorry, Kafumbly, I work at the Mn Ren Fest, and I hear that way too much. ;-)

hmmm.. Lucky for 'fumbly, another pitching change before we even get to the DH spot. *laugh* This could be interesting.

Ok, I'll be clear. The results have been quite satisfactory. It's entirely possible for a pitcher to not allow many runs when he doesn't have his best stuff. I think that's what has happened tonight. Joe should be commended for doing what he's done.

My only point is that Cleveland is starting to hit the ball very hard, and I'm concerned that they've figured out Joe for tonight. Thus, my call for his night to be over.

Cleveland announcers were saying broken bat hit. I'll take it either way though.

I agree, put the Crain Train in.

I agree, torhu. bring out crain or something.

Hey, Gameday's almost caught up!

Don't you wish you could just hug him when he comes through like that ......

Laurie, he's been getting hit hard. He has the win, he's on record with a great outing. Let's leave it at that.

Remember Lohse last night. Had a great outing and went one inning too many. The bullpen needs to get some work in anyway.

The Twins have the lead back and so "the book" has changed. I expect that we will now see the CrainTrain/Boo/Veep rotation.

Doc...

What was the Doctor doing? Couldn't he have just gone around him? Or did he just have too much momentum to change directions in time?

aw, Doc. I thought the fielder got in HIS way. crap.

oh, well. it would have been an out at first, anyway.

*shaking head*

Man... they are just "letter of the law" tonight. I don't think Justin intended to get in the way - it was a baseline intersection.. sheesh.

I think Lohse actually went one batter too few last night.

Sure, it may very well be all he's got left in his tank for tonight, but some of the remarks sound like he's getting bombed. To quote JJ, "that's all I said!"

Screw That. Doc's from canada and plays for Minnesota. Lets see a little hockey action next time and just go right through the guy. That'll teach him to get in the doc's way.

Anyone know precisely what the rule is on that? I agree that the Doctor basically was just trying to get to second, and the fielder was really the one in the way.

Wait a gosh-darn minute here. I'm listening to CCO, so I didn't actually get to see it, but Morneau's out for interference because the fielder ran into him? That just doesn't seem right.

Alright, so Gardy's not paying attention to folks like Torhu and me. We'll see how this works out.

He has to give the fielder a chance to field the ball...just kind of a wrong place, wrong time deal. Hard to avoid.

Mays...*bites nails*

As far as Morneau. That doesn't look fair after a second look. The second baseman didn't even looks like he knew what he was going to do.

Morneau made a GREAT effort to get out of the way. The 2nd baseman is at fault there.

Fielder playing the ball has right of way, no matter who runs into whom.

for sure, TIB! hip check the guy, Doc! send him flying!

looks like Joe's getting the ball down again. he'll be fine.

Funny but I just realized that I don't think Bert has changed the pronounciation in anyway. He is still saying Morneau the old way.

Well, so far Mays has kept the ball down nicely this inning. *Crosses fingers*

You know, I think I've seen that play go exactly in reverse. Where the fielder gets called for interfering with the runner.

In fact, I think there's a play last year where a guy broke a leg because the fielder did something similar.

Morneau gave him a chance. He held up, but the 2nd baseman backed off as well, as though he was playing for the ball to get by Morneau.

Well, Gardy had a plan. And it's... OMM??

It's Grampy!!!

Ok, im liking the decision for now. I think we go magic juan and nathanator for 8 and 9 though

The Mets just went through this last night. The runner has to clearly be heading for the bag and not the fielder, and the ump has to feel that the runner's foot could have touched the bag from where he ended up, i.e. wherever the fielder was positioned.

I think Bert THINKS he's saying it right, but he's totally not. he is changing the way he's saying it, but he's not accenting the right syllable. he's putting MORE emphasis on the NO.

oh! Banjo coming in? this'll be interesting. I really like him, but sometimes... aw, he'll be fine.

the letter of the law really does say that it is the runners responsibility to stay out of the way. I think that was a situation where things just happened faster than Justin's decision making process could deliver. He was still thinking at the collision - he did try but just couldn't convert fast enough.

Mays had a good night with some luck
Let's hear it for the rubberband man

Interesting, Laurie. It seems to be a somewhat strange rule.

Well, I've been watching the O's game. Sammy's off the DL, but a foul tip just broke Javy Lopez's hand. He'll be out for 6 to 8 weeks. Needless to say, I broke open the Kendall-Jackson and am feeling only a touch less pain now.

So, thank you, good Doctor, for that lovely hit. It helps a touch.

Oh, the old dude sure does make me worry. I never feel comfortable with him pitching.

Good job, OMM!

That was awfully nice of them to give our infield a workout like that...

oh, yeah, the feather! good featherballs, there, Banjo. got him to ground out! yeehah!

Basically you can't just try to take the fielder out, unless he's as close to the bag as you are. You have to be, in the ump's view, trying to reach the bag... not just the fielder's legs.

Looks like they're going with Tifee. At least that's who they've got penciled in.

It'd be funny if they brought out TC ;)

Ah, bummage. Gameday is stuck again, this time it's stuck at Proffesor Rhodes' inquisitive mugshot.

Hold on one sec. I though the old man was out for a while with an eye poke from a feather in a pillow.

It's not a strange rule, the runner has to give the fielder a chance to field the ball. The fielder has the right-of-way, even when he is backing up and the whole deal seems unfair.

oh. well-hit, though, Tiffeenator. I wonder if that woulda been out without the wind?

Well, so much for the Phantom DH.

I think he was just out yesterday, TIB.

Us old folks recuperate faster than you think

Oh, Terry, Terry, Terry... I think being called up may have frightened his confidence a hair. Poor kid.

exactly Laurie, which leaves it open to the ump's interpretation of the runner's motives. If the runner makes an attempt to stay out of the fielders path then they usually let it go.

But that is what I mean by they have left all interpretive ability of ump off the table and are just going with the "runner cannot interfere with the fielder" with no wiggle.

Again, I think this is a result of the "rivalry" they have been trying to create.

Cuddy's taken some ugly swings tonight

Feather in the eye had OMM listed as day-to-day (just like the rest of us)

but... right handed pitcher = Tiffee as DH

Oh boy. I thought they might toss LNP there...

B....S...

SAFE!

yeah, Carrie, I'm sad for Tiffee. I think he's trying too hard. he knows he had awesome showings his first couple times, so he's trying to prove he can do that all the time. and now he's struggling. he, too, needs to RELAX.

OH, NICKY! didn't we talk about this today?! no more of that!

AND HE WAS SAFE!!!!

And he looked safe on the replay. I guess veteran umps doesn't necessarily mean good umps.

Sosunds like im mistaken again. Oh, well.

Nice hustle LNP, as much as i hate to say it you were out though. 2 more innings to go.

oh good god with the sliding head first into first base...

LNP hon.. I can't breathe when you do that. Much less when you say naughty words and run the risk of getting your ass tossed!!!

I think it's becoming more and more obvious that this ump crew has been given a "make a firm call and don't take any guff, by the book at all times" lecture for this series.

Poor Tiffee. Poor LNP. Poor Javy. Poor me, I've had way too much to drink tonight. Such as it is. To those with TVs, was he safe?

Ugh. So, rivalry and all, I get it, umps grumpy...but why aren't the Indians on the bad side of any of these calls?

Some of it is the ump's interpretation, but the other part of the equation is how far the runner is from the bag. If he's 10 feet from the bag and still under the fielder's feet, it's pretty clear what his motive is. You can't stray from the basepath just to take a fielder's legs out.

LNP was SAFE!!!!!!!!!!

All right, with all these umpire-related shenanigans going on, I'm getting upset that I can't watch the game.

Twink, there was one bad call against Cleveland last night. But I think most of them have hurt us.

he was WAY safe, Carrie.

yay, Boo! ;)

doesn't sound like he's getting crap...

Right Laurie but that wasn't really a factor in this case. There was not a deliberate attempt to go AFTER the fielder, but in addition, the runner bears the responsibility of getting OUT of the way occasionally too.

Kafumbly,

Wouldn't that be Boo, Yay?

Looks like the strike zone is contracting again. C'mon, Boo, let's get out of this.

aw, ass crap. let's get the next guy, Boo!

that would be Boo-ya, mk.

Time for another DP ball?

The Tribe did get one call possibly against them last night on the bunt. Friend of mine has the play TiVoed and it was about as bang-bang as you can get. After watching it about 187 times we thought the Clebeland runner probably should have been safe.

I know, Babs. I was just explaining the factors that umps use to make that call. The Mets were burned by it last night. But we deserved it. ;-)

Late entry re: interference

Babs is right - the official rules make it an umpire judgment call. The impression I get is that the umps try to call it based on a strict situational basis, though, so as to avoid accusations of favoritism.

Just my $0.02US, and I don't know any actual umps.

Let's see if the bullpen can nail this one down.

Ugh. That was not good.