this almost looks like a real lineup...

does it feel to anyone else that we haven't played in about two weeks? i know days off are great to rest/heal the guys, but it drives me crazy.

Radke: "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"

Silva: "Diamonbacks. Very dangerous. You go first."

The post above illustrates why I have never won a spelling bee.

LOL, MK

Where do you see the lineup posted?

And yes, days off are tough. Sitting and drinking alone when you're watching a ballgame (even if it's just on MLB Gameday) is almost All-American. Without a ballgame, it's considered a danger sign.

Not gonna lie, I kind of wanna see Jacque at first base, I'd bet he would make fewer errors than LeCroy

Jim,

The lineup's on Gameday. Since the Twins' main page doesn't have it up yet, you can get there from the MLB scoreboard page.

MK

Strange coincidence, a Diamonback is actually a much more dangerous snake than a Diamondback.

Don't look it up, just trust me and feel better.

NL rules. Is it true the batters have to pitch? I can't wait.

somebody gonna post the lineup? I have dial-up and am too lazy to wait for Gameday to load.

I wasn't expecting Jones at 1B tonight anyway. Didnt Gardenhire say he was more likely to play 1B tomorrow, against a rightie?

Stewart
Abernathy
Mauer
Hunter
Jones
LeCroy
Cuddyer
Castro
*** RADKE *** (this is not a typo!)

According to Gameday:

Stewart, LF
Abernathy, 2B
Mauer, C
Hunter, CF
Jones, I., RF
LeCroy, 1B
Cuddyer, 3B
Castro, SS
Radke, P

why isn't the brand new kid at first? I'd rather see that and see what he can do than... LeCroy. as much as I love LeCroy, I don't want to see him at first. even to have his bat in the lineup.

I wonder if he'll be Rad Brad or Bad Brad at the plate today?

A lineup like this requires double the scrutiny, I see...

man, they get an open roof today! I can't wait to see my very first pro ballgame without a freakin' roof! Milwaukee better have that damn roof open.

If we can get a big lead early, it might be kind of fun/funny to watch LeCroy at first.

What do you think the over-under should be on total number of hits by Twins pitchers in the Dback and Dodger series? I'm saying 2

Ohh Kafumbly, I loved Miller Park when I went there, I even got on the jumbotron...I hope the roof is open so you can have as much fun as I did!

FSN just HAD to mention that Barmes broke his collarbone while carrying groceries. that's funny.

has anyone figured out how they choose which feed they show on MLB.TV? Once again, I don't get Dick and Bert, but instead the DBacks broadcast. Man, this sucks worse than LeCroy in the field.

I love to go to KC and watch the Twins. As old as it is, it's still one of my favorite stadiums.

I feel your pain Tbird, I had to suffer bad broadcasters on MLB.tv for 2 months. I was so glad to come home from school and be able to watch the games on TV with Dick and Bert

Perhaps MLB.TV is convinced that Dick and Bert don't exist?

I think you can tell which feed you are going to get by looking at the Yahoo preview about the game...like right now it says FSAZ, and you are getting the Arizona feed...does that make sense?

I feel like it's always the other team's turn to have their broadcastors when they're playing the Twins.

Or ... maybe the home team?

if Mauer injures himself again... I swear... it just seems like maybe he should sit out a few more days, jsut to be sure. you know?

YEAH!!! I just got home and I think I will be able to watch the whole GAME!!!

Hi Everyone!

I love to watch our pitchers bat... I really do.

Nah...it's not the home team--they showed the YES network the two games I saw against the Yanks

According to Bert, when Radke's up he should either bunt or take as many pitches as possible and hope for the best.

If Mauer injures himself again, we need to send the team a large amount of bubble wrap. Half of that would go toward making sure Mauer stays safe between games.

Bert giving hitting advice. hmmm ok.

Just letting everyone know the game is on ESPN2 tomorrow

Jim,

Bert *did* spend a couple of years in Pittsburgh, back in the day.

Arr...

MK

damn I love Pittsburgh.

arrrr

shiver me timbers

mk,

Would the other half of the bubble wrap go towards making sure the first half got there safely?

lol, mort

Heh.

wow, we're getting silly again tonight. should be an interesting game! ha

Mort,

Exactly.

MK

Bert actually played for the Twins before the DH too. He had a .131 career BA in 6 years of regular at bats.

Not Dean Chance, but not Jim Kaat either.

HDTV game on Fox hi-def. Kewl.

We'll see how long I last. Our charter plane to Uzbekistan leaves at 6:30am, but, I mean, the TWINS are on!

Of course, before criticizing Bert for giving hitting advice, maybe I should look up Scott Ulger's career statistics. :)

Kafumbly,

I've been offline since Friday, so I'm just catching up on the silly.

MK

A small, strange part of me kinda missed GameDay. How very strange...

hey, as long as you can stay awake, Batgirl. I hear Uzbekistan is beautiful this time of year.

Hi def? What channel?

Anyone remember the SCTV sketch involving Uzbeks?

That would be 1610 for you Time Warner Mpls subscribers.

Oh, 1610. God that's pretty.

I'd like to thank Pedro Martinez for making very quick work of the Astros, freeing me to give all my attention to the Twins.

OK I know Im just talking to myself and nobody cares... LOL... but I had to do it. One season. 35 games. Scott Ulger hit .190.

OK Bert, go ahead and give hitting tips.

Hey, if a runner gets a fielder's choice, are they charged a time at bat? It's scored an out for him, yes?

kafumbly, which game are you going to in Milwaukee?

Holy crap--the temperature in AZ last week was in the 100s every day. That's freaking hot.

Yeah, you need a heapin' helping of technology, but I cashed in my mid-life crisis chips on it. The bad news is: that sentence sounds kinda pathetic. The good news is it's cheaper than a sports car.

if a batter hits into a fielder's choice, they are credited w/ an at bat

Batgirl,

If there's one thing that my weekend trip taught me, it's that you can always sleep on the plane.

Provided there aren't any screaming kids two seats over...

MK

BG is in Uzbekistan? I hear Tashkent is nice this time of year...

No screaming kids on an airplane.

Yeah, that'll happen. Good luck with that.

Shaun, a group of us are going on Saturday the 25th. you are very welcome to join us.

That's the way New Guy!

I will be there for all 3 games-the 25th I will be going with some family. Of course, I am the only Twins fan in the group:)

yahoo, Abby! nice base hit. let's see what Mauer and his... no, I'm not going to finish that sentence.

Yeah TBird, it goes from 75 straight to 100+ here usually in the spring to summer transition...VERY short stop in the 80/90 range.

Abernathy is really growing on me.

oh no, Joe.

I cant get Gameday to come back up. Gonna be one of those nights.

Gotta like the way Abby works the count.

Quick, we need to convice Radke that it's the third inning. How do we do it?

for sure, silly.

Tell him its his turn to bat

I like Bradke's shoes.

That's easy. tell him the game started at 7 Minneapolis time. He should be cruising by now.

good idea Molly. Maybe could have had him lead off?

oh, poopy. Bradke, you'll get the next guy.

Good idea silly.

I like when pitchers have to bat, because then if they suck it up bad while pitching, they can maybe make up for it while batting

AZ commentators just revealed that brad's 1st inning ERA is over 10, while the rest of the game he's at about 2.50.

would would have thunk it? ;-)

that last pitch looked pretty good to me

Molly, you're funny. :)

aw, Brad. um, you'll get the next guy?

jacque would've gotten that if we were playing 1st base.

Just setting up a triple play.

thanks...now Brad needs to stop being funny and start shutting the diamondbacks down

Hey Brad? You know how Silva gets those double plays all the time? I think you should try that.

Thanks,
TBird41

Maybe Brad should be hypnotized to convince him he never pitches in the first inning?

oh, good grief.

bad bad brad

Yuck.

We're right on schedule...

dang, right on cue... that's freaky...

does anybody else find his 1st inning struggles incredibly weird?

Say, Brad, how about an out now?

faaaaan-tastic...

Brad gives up the standard 2 runs in the first...man oh man.

Im shutting up cuz my mom taught me that if you cant say something nice...

brad has them right where he wants them now...

well, notice how he seems a little more confident out there now? I think he just needs to give up two runs before he can feel good about himself. you know, get it out of the way right away, because a 0-0 score just makes him nervous. maybe he doesn't like 0's.

This is brutal

I do Molly, I can't recall seeing a pitcher so jinxed in the first. I think he needs to warm up longer or something to get his rhythm faster.

Didn't he say in an interview once that he doesn't like playing with the lead or something like that?

Ryan,

This isn't brutal. It's normal. Now we can watch the offense scratch together enough runs to either bail Radke out or give the 'pen a vulture win.

MK

oh, dear.

We're edging into brutal.

I wonder how many games we've won after he gives up at least 2 in the first?

molly, it's weird but there are several good reasons for them, i think. some logical reasons:
- hitters are swinging freely against him knowing he's trying to throw strikes early
- radke is a precision/feel pitcher, so it might take him a little time to get dialed in properly
- 1st innings you're pretty much guaranteed to get at least 3 of the team's best 4 hitters or so.

2-0 Brewers over Yankees in the 7th

Hmm, that is strange to not to want a lead on a team whose offense is streaky.

The only reason I'm disturbed is that Brad usually has 2 out before the third run crosses the plate in the 1st...

oh yea, there's definitely valid reasons, but you'd think it wouldn't be like this every game, nonetheless, I still love Bradke

well, let's see how he gets out of the inning, and then see what he has in the second. really, this is *gulp* normal. um, for Bradke. and our boys are capable of getting out of it.

just remember that it usually takes a turn through the order before the hits come. we'll be okay.

more good news... BP kim just served up a 2-run double to pierzynski in denver, sox up 2-0 in the 4th.

AJ was a great pickup for the sox...

Ok kafumbly, I'm with you. Let's see if the boys brought the good sticks to AZ.

brink that would not be good news

brink, I hope that was tongue-in-cheek.

it's really too bad we don't play the Rockies in interleague this year. Who do the BS avoid?

haha jk i know u were being sarcastic

estes will likely give up his share of runs in this game. he's not very precise tonight and the twins have done a pretty good job of making him throw quite a few pitches per PA. i see good things in the future for the twins offense. can bradke hold it down though?

I dont like that Shawn Green (on my fantasy team) finally decided to get an RBI against my team.

AAAHHHHHH!!! there are snakes on Clayton's head! somebody help him!

BS don't get the Giants.

ok, this sucks now.

Ass-crap!

um...now brads starting to worry me

Brink,

Me, I'm waiting for the big explosion by the Rocks. After all, that game is being played at Powder Ke--er--Coors Field.

MK

Wow. Tough night for Bradke so far. Methinks the offense had better step up and bail him out.

I wanna go home! er... um..

Thx HG -

No SF? Almost (but not) an equalizer...sans Bawling Barry...

Any time now for that 3rd out Brad....

hmmm...

yeah Shaun but no one said it was a LOGICAL fear... so what would that particular phobia be termed in a technical sense?

RISPophobia? no... that would be a batters problem. How about LEADLOSSiphobia??? Any other ideas??

Regardless, Bradke seems to have found the cure. We certainly don't have to worry about it with Arizona getting 4 runs in the first inning.. sheesh.

The phobia problem seems to fall right in line with THRG and similar contagions...

Pretty soon I'M going to make a mound visit.

Re: Radke leading off. I know it was meant as a joke, but the Twins actually did have their starting pitcher lead off a game once - it was the game where Cesar Tovar played all nine positions. He pitched the first, then moved around the rest of the diamond each inning afterward.

Box score via Retrosheet - http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09220MIN1968.htm

D-back bullpen is sketchy-don't stress out too early

BG, I'd pay to see that.

it's interleague karma time for the twins, sillyson... in years past, the twins have gotten six games with awful brewers teams, plus like last season plenty with a similarly awful NY mets team. now the twins have to play some real teams like Dbacks and padres, and the brewers are suddenly a real ballclub. giants aren't looking too hot though.

DMW, that would be fun! they should do that again.

RR

I do remember listening to that Tovar game on the radio. I didn't remember him leading off though.

Oh thank god, it is finally over

haha nice Babs-I think I will have to work on Brad's diagnosis.

Brink -

Fair point about karma (though it's always dangerous to keep score of that). In the big pic, doesn't matter much for the race, but down 4-0, I'm looking for distractions...

Oh, hey, Mellanie, glad you're here! BatBandwangon is our source for all things Diamondback.

I don't remember the Twins playing the Mets last year. I think the last time was 2002.

It looks like its gonna storm pretty bad here...i dont know how much longer I will be here

MK - depsite playing in the coors, the rockies just aren't a good offensive team. plus contreras' deal with satan apparently hasn't come due yet, though i'd put the over/under on that at around june 21st.

Let's score some runs!!!! (Yeah, I borrowed that from the Cubs, but it applies here too)

Do you think you will lose power up there Molly?

its possibly, the skies do not look friendly in the least

OK, not so good igniting Torii...

Its looking grim here too that weird greeny sky.

We did play the Mets Laurie. We swept them. It was HOT.

Laurie,

I can't think of a situation where you would want your team to *not* score any more runs.

MK

where you at aurora

What?! Where was I?

Burnsville.

We played the Mets? I must have been with Laurie.

Oh, stupid me. The Twins were last HERE in 2002.

true mk... but she made a fatal mistake with the baseball gods.

Laurie you want the TWINS to score some runs... *GRIN*

Aurora

Greeny sky = bad juju.

MK

Estes shows no Bradke like tendencies so far...

ya Aurora, I'm in Apple Valley

Greeny skies mean hail.
- Ryan (meteorologist)

Proof!

http://www.bat-girl.com/archives/000224.php
http://www.bat-girl.com/archives/000227.php
http://www.bat-girl.com/archives/000229.php

laurie--i'm sure you're blocking out the twins' sweep of the mets at the metrodome last year... ;-)

I see a line of storms in north central WI on the radar,far north of me.

LeRoy: good hit, no field.

BG we never doubted you.

Ok my ride is here. bye

MK, "let's score some runs!" is what the singer of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" says at Wrigley after they're done singing. It's very Cubs. That's why I acknowledged it as such. :-)

I thought green sky = tornado

(but never mind, I just have a stupid English degree. I can only SPELL tornado.)

No, I was sitting here thinking "why would I not have gone to those games?" Then I remembered that the Twins were last HERE in 2002, and that's why I was thinking that way.

What is LNP's prognosis?

my sky in Fridley is sort of fading blueish. it's quite pretty.

There's a very nice sunset up in Plymouth...

Weather cell must have passed south of me heading for Burnsville/Apple Valley

Now, let's hope Brad has all the kinks worked out.

No, orange sky = tornado.

And an English degree is fine, as long as you have at least one childhood memory of huddling in the cellar under a blanket listening to WCCO on a summer evening.

Laurie,

I know. Like I said earlier, I'm just making up for lost snark. ;)

Kafumbly,

That's what I thought, too. Greeny sky = tornado. Tornado = bad juju. Therefore, greeny sky = bad juju.

MK

Typical New Yorker... if it didn't happen onthe east coast, it didn't happen.

(Looks over at Laurie and ducks)

*gasp* Bert can't circle people again!

They sure have a lot of tacky loca lawyer ads on the D'backs telecasts now.

dmw, I have many memories of huddling in the basement. tornados scare the crap out of me.

Never huddled under a blanket, I always liked watching the storms come over the lake.

I didn't deserve that, Jim. I'm here, ain't I? Supporting the Twins. Doesn't that count for somethin'? :-(

Well, for certain dynamic principles, large hail (larger than an inch diameter) is associated with tornados, but green skies don't always mean twisters, they usually do mean hail. As always though, keep an eye to the sky and an ear to 'CCO.
-Ryan(meteorologist)
P.S. Go Twins!

Um, I meant LOCAL lawyer ads. LOL "Loca lawyers." Too funny.

"Loca lawyers" - redundancy?

Um. Why hasn't Bradke finished off Estes yet?

It does indeed Laurie. My apologies.

Ah. Nevermind. Carry on.

hey, I just learned something...

torii: a Japanese gateway of light construction commonly built at the approach to a Shinto shrine.

green sky = violent weather. The details are variable. ;)

Let's prevent some runs!!!!

laurie-- AZ, specifically phx and tucson, have a very high rate of vehicle accident injuries and fraudulent insurance claims. you need a lot of lawyers for stuff like that!

we have one of those windup radios in our basement. Haven't had a chance to really use it yet.

Nice stat on FSN:

Radke is first in the majors in percentage of 1st pitch strike. Johan and Carlos are 4 and 5!

That works.

see? it all calms down in the second. we'll be fine.

as long as they brought the real bats.

Thattaway!

I'm in Portland, so it's all moot to me, but Ryan, I _AM_ listening to 'CCO. They've got the game on. Of course, they may interrupt in MN for weather.

BG, whassup with the stats? ;-)

Was that a stat I saw, BG? ;-)

The sky turns green because the ice refracts light. Same as why we get rainbows, but without all the colors. I'm hear to teach and talk baseball :)

dang, brewers still up 2-0 on the yanks, bottom of the 8th, brewers with a man on 1st.

how far will NY fall?

Laurie, get out of my brain!!!!!!

Now, really. It just says LESS Stats, not NO stats. As long as we keep a healthy stats/sass ratio, that's all the matters!

What the crap? I couldn't figure out what time the game started (calculating from Mountain Time to Pacific Time might as well be trying to translate Mandarin to Hmong, with neither of which I am in the least familiar), and by the time I show up, we're already down a bunch? Not cool.

It's time our boys got their game on.

Brink, the best team in NY won again tonight. ;-)

Hey, the motto is 'less stats', not 'no stats'. Cut the beleaguered international sass aid worker some slack here!

see batgirl? they'll turn on you for that stat stuff!

Darn those small second basemen...

oh, that bitch! don't get that ball, you Diamondback!

Castro got ROBBED!

Actually, those were some pretty sassy stats. My bad.

I want to be sure I have this right: Radke's main problem is lack of support, right? Did you see how he manuevered things so that Estes would lead off the 2nd? That's a clever veteran pitcher for you.

Hey! We both winked!!!

Brewers still ahead? WOO HOO!!!!!

he didnt exactly take Bert's advice huh

the NY intracity rivalry could very quickly turn into a mets laugher...

Thanks, DMW. You are an excellent citizen.

Twink, I'm in Indiana, so its moot to me too. Bradke's batting...I'm excited.

My excitement was misguided, methinks.

okay, so first time through the order is out of the way. next inning or two, we kick ass.

hey, do I hear sirens or train? ah, it's a train. never mind. all this storm talk has me edgy.

AZ announcers call gonzalez and glaus the "G-force." that sounds so 1990s to me.

OK, that play was scarier than a tornado...

Weather question, Ryan -

What did tornadoes sound like before freight trains were invented?

Matty, you'd better yield to Li'l Abner on that...

Where did you say you are Kafumbly? If you are around Le Seuer I would be edgy, but otherwise in your shoes I would jsut enjoy the game.

Hey, BG, do you have an opening for a meteorologist here? I can work for free.

more AZ announcerisms: they're marvelling at the fact that brad is only 32 years old. "it seems like he's been in the league forever!"

Brink,

I hear the phrase "G-force", I immediately think of "Battle of the Planets". And I haven't seen that show since I was thisbig.

MK

The bats have got to step up tonight. They can't leave him all alone out there.

HG - Thousands of stampeding buffalo.

oh, I swear, I'm gonig to make this damn bat SHUT UP. the flying kind of bat, with echo-location. stupid thing circles my apartment building every damn night.

stupid bat...

*grumble*

You know, Ryan, we don;'t have a meterologist. The job is yours.

Um, Bradke, you do know that this is the *third* inning, right?

Clayton looks weirdly like those new drawings of King Tut...

i think we need to think of more tandem nicknames for groups of twins players, you know, like the "M & M boys," "the soul patrol," and the "AAA wonderboys."

Kafumbly, one thing I can promise you is that there are no bats, at least not the flying kind, anywhere near my apartment.

That must be so cool, though.

What exactly is going on here?

Cheap mosquito control...

RRR

I usually like bats, because they eat the mosquitos. but THIS ONE is VERY LOUD and I want to MAKE IT SHUT UP.

AZ color commentator has during the broadcast tonight done impressions of bobby bowden and dr. phil. pretty well i might add.

what's going on where, Ryan?

Did anyone notice that Estes has only given up TWO HITS so far?

Get the juju working....

i like the look of this game, despite the 0-4 hole. brad looks dialed in now and i still think the twins are going to put the wood to estes before this thing's done. may not result in a win, but i think it'll at least be competitive.

Ryan,

Supposedly a baseball game in a park named for someone who may or may not be a Discordian god. I distinctly recall Radke causing the customary first-inning ulcers in us Batlings, but everything else seems to be a blur.

MK

Yankees just lost again.

Abby! that was scary.

What, Estes is throwing a TWO-HITTER? Wow, that's pretty good.

Taking lessons from Punto.....

hahahahaha... Tankees lost.

great. another 2B sliding head first. We've got lots more, right?

Sorry... Baserunners fluster me.

And I should learn to be more specific with my rhetorical questions.

By the way, thanks for the job BG.

have we started the yankees deadpool yet? as in, when do they start firing people?

Congratulations, Ryan!

MK,

A TWO-HITTER? Really?

TORII!

see, that's what happens when I learn what his name means. :)

Most impressive, of course is that Estes is pitching a SHUTOUT

Hmmmm. Interesting brink. I think Torre is gone next week.

WOO HOO!!!!

TORII!!!!

Let's hope that wakes the bats up

That's ONE!

there's the first blow... more to come.

nice work, torii...

wtg Torri!

not any more, Ryan!

and congratulations on the job!

Brink, I think Torre may be history very soon. Not that any of this mess is his fault, but that's George.

SWEEEEEETCHEEEEEKS.

Well, so much for the SHUTOUT, but at least Estes has a THREE-HITTER going. That'll look good in the box score.

hahahaha! I have powers!

wtg TorIi too

C'mon, Matty

estes has been known to have the concentration problems of lyle kohse...

FOUR-HITTER would be impressive to the nation's fans....

Shawn Estes=former BF

matty's swinging HARD.

oh, and by the way, Torii hit that homer just as I put my Lew Ford jersey on.

LEEEWWWWWWWWW comes through again.

It will be ridiculous if Torre goes and Cashman does not...not that he's any more guilty than Torre...in fact...that's exactly the point. Last year it was all Cashman's fault according to George.

I agree, Silly. A FOUR-HITTER would look very impressive...

Damn, Matty just missed that one. At least we're starting to hit, though.

In other news, the Brewers beat the Yankees 2-1.

You can't fire the players, so it's either Torre or Cashman.

I like interleague baseball. I know it's not a universally held opinon, but I still enjoy metchups between teams that you wouldnt usually expect, like Kansas City and San Francisco, for example.

nice try, matt. just missed that one.

Even just a one-run game.

That's a start...

Gotta go, y'all.

BG, have a great time with the orphans.

Kafumbly, it's all yours.

Cashman may outlast Torre, but if the Yankees dont come back strong, I'd be willing to bet he's toast by year end. Even George wouldnt fire his GM right before the amateur draft. After Wednesday, anything could happen.

Laurie:

Was that BEFORE he refused to throw at Clemens?

inning break... OK, it's june 7th... everyone knows what that means, right?

Ryan - or KC-Colorado. The Plains series.

PS We'll be taking in the KC-Houston natural rivalry over the 4th of July. Plenty of good KC seats available...

y'know, for a moment as I was still waking up this morning, the though crossed my mind that maybe the Yanks were tanking on purpose with next year's draft order in mind... and then I woke up all the way and remembered that this is George Streinbrenner I was talking about. heh. I can be silly when I'm sleepy. George is about winning NOW, not later.

Um...it's a Tuesday?

since BG threw out a stat I would like to share one that I found interesting. The Bitch Sox are 20-5 against the AL Central so far this season. That's just crazy.

Re: the Spank-Me's...

Matsui looked thinner to me in his Dome stint: 34 HR last year, 4 this year. He really should take something for that...

I'm one of the few people who think he did the right thing not hitting him, although Roger the Rat is one of my least favorite people ever. We retained the moral high ground, and Shawn hit a HR off him later in the game anyway. I enjoyed that far more.

no, MK... it's prince's birthday! and no, i'm not talking about tom prince!

In random news, I can't see the game, and so am left with this vivid and profoundly unpleasant image from years past: every time I think of the DBacks, I picture Randy Johnson, in a typically hideous-looking DBacks uniform (kinda whitish with maybe purple stripes?), sweat relentlessly dripping from his jowls, looking wrinkled and dried up and old, as if he'd just been scraped up from the bed of an arroyo.

Wow, I'm remembering this like a bad dream. I need a new image of the DBacks, like one of a bunch of guys sitting in a dugout, staring dejectedly at each other's shoes as Sweetcheeks and the Chairman hug and jump around in victorious glee. Yeah, that'll do. Now make it happen, boys.

How is it not Cashman's fault? We give TR all the credit for putting together a great team through an excellent farm system and an occasional well-planned trade. Shouldn't it be Cashman's fault if the Yanks do neither well (nor play the free agent market successfully)?

That said, I expect Torre to go first, because I figure Steinbrenner would do the least logical, effective thing he could.

DAMMIT! I missed Queer Eye for the Red Sox Guy, or whatever they're calling it. dammit.

Schedule cx: KC-Hou is two weekends hence. We get KC-LAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Ah yes, but Estes unofficially ceased being a Met at that very moment. The transaction just came later.

AZ announcers just showed Bert and said "please, writers, put him in the Hall of Fame." Now they're bragging on Bert.

there was the obligatory "blyleven ABSOLUTELY deserves election to the HOF!" comments from the away announcers. i'm telling you, away announcers LOVE bert!

As in The Artist Once Again Known As Prince Since Nobody Could Pronounce A Squiggly Mark? That's cool...

What does the 7th mean? Today is 07 of 06 in 05 if that correlates to baked goods of any sort.

Mike Piazza actually didn't want him to hit Roger. He was way tired of the whole thing by that point. The whole team was.

So, does it seem that BRadke is himself again after the crazy times earlier in this game, or is he still looking kinda crazy?

Joel,

Since it doesn't seem like a Cupcake Day, would this be a Muffin Day? A Brownie Day?

MK

Kafumbly, check Bravo.com. They'll replay it a lot.

i played little league baseball at the park across from paisley park in chanhassen!

I'm having some Fig Newtons, myself.

take a walk, DJ.

that ballpark pool is ultra-pathetic, by the way. Sort of like a lame wading pool, only deeper

And Bert & Dick are crazy to think that stadium is anything other than a piece of poo. We took in opening day there...more excess concrete and steel than I'd ever seen...plus they closed the friggin' dome on a sunny day because the pitchers were complaining about the WIND!

Take your pick, MK. I'm up for any one of the three.

<Homer voice>
Mmmm...baked goods...

hey, where can i get that cool twins "TC" trucker cap that dude was wearing on the away broadcast?

Fig Newtons will work. Especially if the tasy fig brings DJ cuddles home.

oh, yes, they probably will. thank you, BG. I was going to tape it to watch later, but I forgot.

yep, here it comes... good work twins... now pretend that that's kevin brown on the mound...

So what will Brad do to get himself some run support here?

nice, bunt, Bradke! too bad he didn't make it to first. but nice, nice, nice!

Nice, radke!

Way to help yourself, BR

Wow! Great bunt, Radke!

that was the best sac bunt in the history of organized baseball.

twink,

It's NOT Cashman's fault because he doesn't really make any of the big decisions. George does. What IS Cashman's fault (and why I feel zero sympathy for him) is that he has embraced the paper tiger role. See: Pedro Martinez negotiations.

Yay bunt!!!

Now can Shannon make Brad's sacrifice worthwhile?

Stewy seems off lately. Has anyone else noticed that his swing just hasn't looked right?

so strange watching "NL ball" with its momentum-killing pitcher hitting thing. not that that's a bad thing, just strange.

I wish I could have seen that bunt.

But I was there to see Ryan's tear-worthy bunt on Sunday, so it's all good...

what's wrong with stew's swing? he's looked OK to me. nice AB going on right now, BTW...

Laurie:

I agree that that was the view presented to the media. Roster moves spoke otherwise.

brink, I think it's my contacts. This is one hell of an AB. I rescind my previous statement in shame.

epic at bat going on here... they're wearing estes out...

As per Cashman: correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he initially assemble a rotation with five righties in 2004?

I missed a lotas my misguided neighbor asked if I wanted to go running with her (hell no!) But I also played Little League in Chanhassen. Whoever mentioned they had played their, was it at Lake Ann?

well, shit, nice camera work. couldn't even see the run scoring.

Nice camerawork, FSN. I know Shawn is cute and all, but...

oh GOOD JOB CUDDY!!

haha jk i know u were being sarcastic

I love the blue "run-scoring" circle.

Payback for all the foul balls Estes had in his AB. But with the RBI at the end

nice AB by stewart. hit would've been nice but a sac fly will do. now for brent "i see an average of 15 pitches per at bat" abernathy.

That's TWO.

um ignore my last comment, i have no idea what that was all about

that was a great Stewie AB. Will New Guy follow with a similar one, like how he ruined Kevin Brown the other day?

I'm not talking about the media. I never base my opinions on what the media says. The media never knows what's really going on.

And I can't go any further into this conversation without betraying valued confidences. I'd rather talk about the Twins here anyway.

come on Li'l Abner.... we have Castro on third - he's pretty fast.. you can do something with that I'm sure!

Whoo hoo!

What was that about the D'backs' bullpen being sub-par? 'Cause Estes has thrown 72 pitches through 4 2/3.

I've noticed that the Twins usually turn things around after twenty minute at bats. Hopefully the trend continues here.

ryan, i can't remember the name of the park... just that it was/is right across from paisley park, on hwy 5 i believe.

Silva would have finished the game by now on that many pitches.

Stewie should be BOD just for that AB.

Estesssshakyyyyyyy

i *really* like abernathy. the guy is a walking pitch count destroyer. i know it's a small sample size, but dang...

oh boy oh boy oh boy...

2 outs and men on the corners... how's that cup feeling Joe?

oh no, Joe.

Aw say it aint so, Joe

we needed mike ryan there for that AB with his patented non-called safety squeeze play!

Nuts! (sorry...)

Babs,

Apparently, it's not feeling 100%.

MK

I think the Chairman just got a little over-zealous there. He'll get it back, and I feel pretty good about our chances in this game. Actually, at this point I feel pretty good about our chances in every game, which is nice.

hehehe @ Silly

how appropos for young Mr Mauer.

Brink - Probably Lake Ann.

Now, Joe Mo, lets get it going soon ok? Nagging injuries should apply only to Ken Griffey Jr.

Aw, man, that's not a good at-bat to tune in with, Joe...

Did I miss anything important so far? I was umping a couple 11/12-year-old games...

all right, hang in there brad, help's on the way... the cavalry's comin' directly!

I just with these guys would stop swinging at the first pitch...

Yeah, Silly, I thought that was totally appropriate.

something more rare than a no-hitter going on tonight in denver... a pitchers' duel at coors field!

yeah Mk.. perhaps a bit on the snug side yet... They say that.. oh, never mind.. that just goes too far.

arrrrrr!!!

DANG

dang, ball's really carrying in phx tonight...

well that went too far as well... come on guys, that was rhetorical - you didn't have to retaliate.

Babs,

I'm feeling sympathy pain just thinking about it...

MK

Well crap.

I stopped watching the game after the 4 run first. Then my dad said they had gotten back into it...so I came back.

And then Radke gave up a homerun....

Oh Radke, why do you tick me off so?

I still love Radke. At least until he lets another one of those up.

Alas.

Honestly Mort, I don't know how much he had to do with that...but then the Red Sox have gone seasons without a lefty starter as have the Walt Jocketty-created Cardinals. I personally think it's asking for trouble (and YES I know about the Green Monster but 50% of games on on the road) but then they all get paid serious money for their answers to these important questions so I humbly defer to their knowledge.

Bradke at least has Glaus's number...

Torhu, werent you the one suggesting your dad was a jinx? Ever think that maybe its YOU?

Sorry, late to the party here. Can anyone explain why a.) Jones is playing/Ford is sitting and b.)LeCroy is at first.

Torhu, I thought it was your DAD that was the curse.

oh! those are words I like to hear: "LeCroy has it."

beautiful.

BAJ - great question.

that commercial for the chevy dealership on the AZ feed looks like it was made by a high school student with a VHS cam in 1993...

Thats a good sign.. Matty fielded a ground ball! I dont think their 5 runs are going to hold up... the question is whether they get held to 5 now.

Kafumbly,

Those words are cause for celebration. Or at least relief...

I'm no pitching coach or anything, but perhaps we should have Radke warm up more to at least lessen his first inning woes.

Just an idea.

Man, Torii is killing it! Way to go, Sweetcheeks!

hooray, Torii! woulda been nice if he'd been up last in the last inning to drive in those guys...

too bad brad didn't hold it down a little better. twins are all over estes now.

My dad? Heck no. I was at the Yankee game when they won :)

still don't want them to hit the first pitch though 'fumbly?!?!

I think Torii is out of his slump...

I think Torii's still mad about getting hit on Sunday...

I watched 2-3 games in the Yankee series (I was at the first and watched the third)

I missed the 2nd cause I had to work. That's the one they lost.

Also, I wasn't there for Hunter's homer, but I was there when they started the inning that got them the 2nd run.

I'm not a jinx. ;)

Despite his problems with fielding and donuts, I think he would be the coolest guy to hang out with. I don't know what it is about him.

that's right, Babs. more often than not, they make outs when they swing at the first pitch.

my idea for fixing brad's first inning woes--a DS. Designated Starter. just a guy to take the edge off by pitching ONLY the first inning and then handing it over to brad. baker or mullholland would do fine, depending on the team. voila! problem solved.

That's THREE.

Nice job, Mr. Donut!

well, at least Torii got home.

twins aren't going away in this one. the question is, will the AZ offense go away? BUCKLE DOWN BRAD!

batten down the hatches!

I'm with you, kafumbly, on Torii's not swinging at the first pitch. And Jacque too.

I'm also with sacrifice flies.

Looking at gameday...
Cuddy's cheeks are shiny

brink, you're a genius. Anything to fix Radke's "issues."

Scratching and clawing for runs is all well and good, but I miss the Small Ball Ballet that was performed on Sunday.

Hoist the main sail! Arrgg!

possible Moment Of Truth coming. if castro reaches, do you PH for radke?

oh, I love GTX!

Yay for Castro! Cheer me up yo!

there we go... Moment Of Truth!

I think you almost have to, brink.

It's been a valiant effort...

Yes. Hit for him. Sorry, Brad but you'd be in a position for the win if you didn't have the first inning jitters/ass arm/whatever.

New new guy. Welcome to the bigs.

brink, yes. let's see what the brand new guy can do.

Who's Glen Williams? And would he be New New Guy?

holy shit.. poor Glen Williams.. bases loaded.

Rookie Luck Glen!!!!

Yep. welcome to National League baseball.

Lets go new new guy!

holy schnikeys! first MLB AB (that's right, isn't it?) for glenn williams with the tying runs on base! gulp!

Well, if Williams hits a HR here, it's Bradke's win!

Wow, what a place to make your big-league debut. Let's go, Newest Guy!

I thought they stopped naming males Glenn in the late 60's.

I'm surprised they put in the new guy...though gardenhire likes to drop them in right away

YAY for Williams! I love Rookies!

okay, I still feel the same way about first pitch swings, but I'll TAKE IT!

Yeah, Newest Guy!!

ok.. all the staff looking through the books because they don't know the hitter at all was funny.

WAY TO GO WILLIAMS!!! that was pretty cool there "glen miller"

*giggle*

glenn williams: australian for "clutch"?

kafumbly,

Technically they make outs more than half the time when they swing at *any* pitch.

:)

Ryan, there's a Glen McMillan that does some acting. He's pretty cool.

Estes must be terrified of facing Stewie with bases loaded.

Good to know GW can do more than simply fill the Aussie quotient.

Brand New Aussie guy plays 1st-2nd-3rd...odd combo. Others out there?

That was lucky. And Glenn's from Australia where they name guys Boof and stuff.

lol Ryan

I think Gardy's on to something. Rochester has been so effective, let's just run a series of rookies up every night. After a week or so, when the new player smell wears out, send them back and get a new batch ;)

What is he doing? Doesn't Glenn know that we don't load the bases in the Majors?

Williams is an Aussie. I like Aussies.

he's been hitting well for Rochester, so why not put him in?

molly, gardenhire LOVES to drop rookies/newbies right into the fryer... see crain, abernathy, ryan, etc...

Torhu, you're right on about new player smell. It's just the way of the Twins.

So are they replacing Estes?

>>he's been hitting well for Rochester, so why not put him in?

Because he's been in the minors for 11 years and hasn't produced enough to even get a sniff of the show? I mean, maybe he's finally "getting it" but sheesh.

"After a week or so, when the new player smell wears out, send them back and get a new batch ;)"

hehehehe, that's awesome, Torhu

VICTORY IS MINE!!!!

YES!! ok... um... I almost used some profanity there. I Erased it.

Well, now I feel better, and less like a jinx. :)

*hugs Stewart...in a nonsexual man-to-man kinda way...where they both remain cool...you know, like in Grease*

That's FOUR and FIVE and we're BACK!

Bradke still in a position to get the win, BTW...

Boof isn't an Aussie, strangely enough. he's from Florida.

man, I hate sidearm pitchers.

STEWIE!!!!!

Ok, anyone else think Bert said "Toughlove" was the pitcher's name? C'mon, show of hands.