Poor Kyle. What a game he pitched. He's got to feel good anyway. Now Lew, on the other hand. Well, Lew may have gotten a spanking.

I can't take much more of this...

I just don't understand. What is it? What happened that made them go from Wild-Card leader to laughingstock, almost overnight? Did Rick Anderson decide that all the batters were tipping their swings, and force a change in their mechanics?

I just don't get it.

You know that choking, wrangling feeling of barely succeeding in suppressing hystrionics around someone you don't want to underwhelm?

Gardy's not only going to be bald by the end of the season, but drunk, pudgy, and perhaps addicted to something.

In other words, he'll be having more fun than most of us were tonight.

I've checked on this site from time to time, so after watching tonight's game, I knew I would have to come look at the comments. I'll just come out and say it now, I'm a diehard M's fan. I do not, however, hate the Twins by any means. In fact, "Sweetcheeks" as he's known here in the Batgirl land, is one of my favorite players and I wish every team would play the game and run their organization like the Twins do. Having said that, I would just like to say that, yes, Kyle Lohse did pitch a great game. But he was outdueled by the Phenom, Felix Hernandez. I just wanted to say that Felix is the hope of the M's franchise. While you guys are mourning your loss from Wild Card leader, I'm over here overjoyed that I have something to feel happy about again. And that's watching a boy 4 years my junior pitch great. So if you can't be happy about Lohse's game, at least be happy for me, the M's fan whose pinning his hopes on a 19 year old kid. But keep the faith, Twins fans--things will get better for you before they get worse. And hail the Phenom--Felix Hernandez.

King Felix - our "Rey" of Hope this season.

Another M's fan checking in. Believe me, I wish King Felix could have done this to the Yankees instead of my third favorite team. Lohse pitched well, although normally he wouldn't have had to in order to take a W on this game. Of course: How is this night different from all other nights? King Felix!

Apparently, the Home Plate ump was giving both pitchers the low, outside corner of the plate, and they both took advantage of that. Anyway, I wish you and your beloved Twinkies well. The M's aren't going anywhere, and I'd rather see you guys happy in October than anyone else. Right now, we only have one thing: a crop of interesting, and in the case of King Felix and Chris Snelling exciting, young players to watch. After all, we've jettisoned half the team so far. BTW, thanks for giving Boonie a last shot.

TTFN

Dear M's fans,

He was outstanding. Truly outstanding. You have something to very excited about. Ichiro is Batgirl's Mariner's Boyfriend of course, but I am sure King F will make lots of hearts flutter in his time.

Sincerely,
BG

Wow, I just want to say way to go KKKKKKKyle (is that seven?)! Now all we need to do is find out how to share the mojo between the defense and offense... hmm. The M's fans I have met are generally classy; thanks for that, above posters!

Wow. Did you guys hear about that fan at the Yankee game? He decided to test how strong the netting protecting the people behind homeplate was, so he jumped from his seat in the upper deck onto the netting. Game was delayed for almost five minutes. Guy was taken to the hospital, is apparently ok, and is going to be charged with a number of crimes.

Another M's fan checking in. Sorry Felix had to do it against the Twins.

That feeling of ass-batness? We all feel your pain. Be strong.

Will,

That fan jumping from the upper tank was so incredibly symbolic of the Yankee fortunes this season-- and beyond. How fitting that they were completely dominated by Jose Contreras.

Here's to the Twins getting back on track later today...

My pal Deanna has posted game recaps (from the perspective of a Mariner's fan at the games) for the last two games at her site Marinerds:
http://marinerds.blogspot.com/

She's even put up some pictures of our players and of some Twins fans who were at the game.

Kyle was great, pity he pitched that game against such a phenom.

And I never did hear why Lew was replaced by LNP. I did, um, step away from the game occasionally, so maybe I missed something?

No doubt Hernandez pitched very well, but this has happened far too often this year for me to do a lot of tipping of the cap any more. I'm not trying to be a downer to the M's fans, but I wouldn't read TOO much into this. Yes, he pitched well, but consider who else has shut us down this year.

The Pioneer Press indicates that it was Lew's inability to get down a bunt good enough to advance LeRoy to third was the reason he was pulled, which is what I had suspected.

In all fairness, I don't know how much this was ass-battery. The kid lit the place up.

I love pitcher duels. Kyle has nothing to be ashamed of. The Twins have nothing to be ashamed of (Monday, on the other hand...). Sometimes, you play damn hard, and you get beat. Such is baseball. Better to lose a tough game than give it away (look at what happened to the Royals last night, for instance).

But, luckily, the rest of the Mariner's rotation doesn't look like this.

To M's fans...I was surprised by the lack of Bucky Jacobson this year. What happened? Last year he looked to be the next big name for Seattle.

...or was that not Seattle?

...a bunt good enough to advance LeCroy? Does Gardy know how GOOD that bunt would have to be?

And he pulls Lew out of a game after one failed bunt, but leaves Mays in after a 5-run first. And then doesn't take him out when the team gets three back?

See, I don't get Gardy this year.

Right, Carrie. Everyone is going to lose a third of their games. Best to do it against great play.

And from all I heard (didn't see), this kid was awesome. The problem is the string of pitchers that we've helped to look awesome this year, despite track records that indicate they aren't.

Hard to begrudge the Mariners anything, though. I used to watch them a lot, and they've gone through a hideous reversal of fortune. I hope they're on the upswing.

And speaking of upswings. Is it time? Hey, the A's blew this season right up until they stopped blowing, and now look how good they are. We could do that, too, right?

Don't sell the kid short - he was outstanding, though I think he was helped out a bit by the plate umpire.

I'm not saying he was unfair or inconsistent - far from it.

The kid kept the ball down all night and the guy behind the plate was calling them strikes, so he stayed there (which is what a good pitcher does).

His motion looks pretty good, too - for you Mariners' fans sake, I hope he keeps his head on straight and stays healthy.

I like M fans.
I like when Lyle stays home.
I like when Kyle pitches unbelievably.
I DON'T LIKE ASS-BATS!

Aches and pains: As the Twins pull into the season's home stretch, a number of players are experiencing minor aches and pains, but none serious enough to miss time. Among the walking wounded, according to Gardenhire, are Lew Ford (mild soreness in his left hip flexor), Joe Mauer (sore hamstring) and reliever Ricardo Rincón (minor elbow soreness).

When did Ricardo Rincon come to our team??

I hate first-pitch swining. Especially with runners on, and double-especially after walks. Triple especially after TWO walks...and then don't you DARE first-pitch swing after a 4-pitch walk!

Dear Kyle,

You were great. Do that again. And again.

Dear M's Fans:

Wow. That kid was awesome. He looked like a real pro out there (what I mean by that was since it was his first home start, he didn't seem overly pumped or nervous). I hope he does that well for you for a very long time.

Dear Torhu:

I agree. I can't figure Gardy out either. Why take Lew out because of one bad at bad. Sheesh. If he did that all the time, we'd run out of bench every game. Also, regardless of why he took Lew out (who knows, maybe he really locked himself in the bathroom and couldn't get out), why replace him in the field with LNP? Why not just move Jones over and put Ryan in at right (like he eventually did the next inning)? I can't say for sure that having Jones at center for that second double the M's hit would have been different, but I think he would have had a better chance of getting it.

k-bro

Just to make us all feel a bit better:

Straight outta the "It Could Be Worse" Dept...

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3877074

re Bucky Jacobsen.

He had knee surgert at the end of last season, and he has been rehabbing for close to nine months. He just started facing pitching again a few weeks ago. Will likely be back during the September call-ups.

Poor Kyle. It sounded like he was doing so well, too. Let's hope Bradke can get us a win tonight.

While we can be puzzled by Gardy at times at least we don't have Pohlad publically questioning his moves as Steinbrener does to Torre (which I read in the morning paper). Classless. I agree about the fan's swan dive. Another absurdity of NYY

This was at the end of the article Torhu mentioned.

Royals Hall of Fame 3B George Brett, who is a club vice president, was in uniform before the game and threw batting practice.

I think maybe he should have just stayed in uniform to play the field. I mean with all the pine tar he's used I'm sure he could catch balls single handed without a glove.

hey bat-girl...do u kno y gardy took lew out of the game??? they said of a medical condition or somthing like that i was just wondering...kyle pitched a great game!

As a Mpls.-to-Portland emigrant, I've wanted to become an M's fan -- or at least a combination Twins/M's fan -- but so far, the 2005 season hasn't given me much reason to do so. Maybe things are looking up.

(And boy, I wish they'd somehow find a way to switch the Beavers from the Padres' organization to the Mariners', although I suppose the proximity of Tacoma makes that a rather unlikely proposition...)

Dear Mrs. Mauer,

It seems that Gardy was none too happy with Lew for failing to execute a bunt, and in the paper there were dark murmurings of "other factors," which are "internal clubhouse matters." So we may not know. Lew is apparently a wee bit battered and bruised as well. BG remembers a few weeks ago Lew missed a hit and run sign because he just didn't know what the sign meant, and Gardy was not very pleased about that, so it may have been a "Keep your head in the game," thing.

Now that we are in the position of building for next year, perhaps Gardy has decided to start kicking people in the testicles.

Sincerely,
Batgirl

There shall be some serious testicle-kicking.

Knowing that makes me feel better. I'd like to see the guys with freshly healed testicles and a desire to win (AND HIT) next year.

I'll still keep blind faith in the boys this year, though. We maybe realistically be out of it, but I'd still love to see them go on a winning rampage. You know, just for kicks and giggles.

But BG, why would the testicle kicking start with Lew? There's so many other guys this year that have deserved a far more potent shot to the specials.

"While we can be puzzled by Gardy at times at least we don't have Pohlad publically questioning his moves as Steinbrener does to Torre (which I read in the morning paper). Classless. I agree about the fan's swan dive. Another absurdity of NYY"

The problem with Steiny doing it is that usually the team is winning, and he jumps in with a critique when they go 8-2 in their last ten.

This year, I wish we had the ownership and GM looking down on the field and wondering what's going on.

For example: "Why did you have Ford bunt when it's LECROY that's trying to advance...or why is Punto in the outfield when you could have Jones and Ryan?....or why the HECK is Romero coming in?"

"in the paper there were dark murmurings of "other factors," which are "internal clubhouse matters." "

*horrified*

Not the clubhouse! Pain and suffering on the field is one thing... but clubhouse tension will be too much! BG, make them stop fighting! Remind them of love and sass and the joys of baseball for the sake of baseball! Not getting to the post-season is meaningless, I swear! They just have to stay our fun-loving, sassy, happy Twins, and it'll be a winning season!

Hopefully it was nothing more than Lew forgetting to recharge the batteries after borrowing Gardy's Gameboy.

Maybe they need to start linking arms in the dugout again when there are runners on base. Or someone needs to go all Koskie on a hapless seating implement, find a lucky spot in the dugout, or supply another Barbie backpack to the bullpen. (or all of the above).

Oh, and another article...

This one straight outta the "What Powers Does The Commish Have Again" dept.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2129925

Who is this arbitrator...and how did he get so powerful?

What if they linked chairs together with barbie backpacks...and then proceeded to beat them senseless until they fit in a certain lucky spot in the dugout?

Hmmm...Torhu might be on to something there.

My two cents:
I just got finished reading the article in the S'Trib and it sounded more like Gardy just didn't want to comment on why he took Ford out of the game--not that there was inter-clubhouse drama. Just what I got out of it...

Gardy wouldn't dare start kicking testicles because any casual observer (not to mention those who are more than casual) would immediately note that his own testicles are long overdue for a solid kicking.

For sticking your 2nd baseman in to center field in a 0-0 game because he failed to bunt well enough to get LeCroy to third base, there isn't a foot strong enough to deliver an appropriate kick to Gardy's testicles.

But even after all of that... at least TR didn't trade for KC's left fielder. So things could be worse.

These West Coast games are waaaaay past my bedtime, but I still have to feel for Lohse, having wasted what must have been his best performance of the year. Bat-Girl, it's time to kick some T's, and throw in the towel. Sigh. This is just a bad team. They teased it for a while. But they just got no Sass.

Woefully,

Oh

Yup, I am convinced. For all of Batgirl's international travel, she is most definitely up to no good. ;) Recently Team BG was caught up in further Booroid scandal (see BatKitty #1 speaks, Aug. 5) and now BG brazenly displays ill-gotten wares from a Sunday drive last August.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/08/23/Arts/munchtheft040823.html

Must be the hot dog days of August causing these nefarious deeds.

Jekyll,

I believe if you look closely, the "Scream" displayed here is a cleverly designed forgery instead of the real thing. So let us clear Batgirl's name and catch the real art thieves!

MK

Just want to point out that Gardy has played Punto in center field before and has always considered him one of the backup outfielders. It's not like he suddenly stuck Rivas out there.

i was quite impressed with both pitchers tonight

Sorry, MK, Munch painted four versions of the Scream and two have been stolen.

http://www.markstivers.com/cartoons/Cartoons%202004/Stivers-11-29-04-The-scream.gif

C'mon, Twins. Knock Eddie on his kiester and win the farkin' game, wouljyas?! Argh, down to one out.

rotfl