actually, Liriano gave up a hit (a double if I remember correctly)
so it was 7 batters, 6 outs, 5 k's

horray sweep!

Nice relief work, RD. But Batgirl has bestowed upon Mr. Remond a suitable short-hand reference, or perhaps a suit-less one: NBP. Is that no longer current? Say it ain't so!

I must say, my mood has lightened. A sweep of a good team. Yea! And a long weekend! Now, beating the Yankees several times soundly would send me into delirium. (Sorry YankeeFan.)

All I have to say is wow. First, we saw Bizarro Lohse. A doppleganger that didn't completely implode when he got behind. I bet he even went in to Gardenhire's office and painted the door pink with clouds and unicorns and flowers and bunnies. I was shocked.

Then there is Liriano. OMHFG, was he impressive. I just sat there dumbfounded by how good he was. The future is looking bright, my friends.

Oh, yeah. BTW, has anybody else noticed how weird a cat Fatista is? He has got the oddest mannerisms on the field I have ever seen. And that batting stance.........

Y'all need to stop raggin' on Tony Batista. That man made my life as a Met fan utterly miserable on more than one occasion. It's hard to believe he suddenly has no evil powers left in him (although now he'll be using them for good). Cut him some slack. He's just getting warmed up.

We've been in Bizarro Sports World since Sunday, when everyone BUT Phil Mickelson had a meltdown on the back nine of the final round.

I posted this in the game thread, but I think it bears reposting.

a Haiku for Liriano

Liriano's Pitch
A's can't help but flail away
The Bitches will sit!

Redmond is known as NBP, hope that doesn't change. I also think he is BOD.

Was an article in Mpls paper a couple days ago about Batista's odd mannerisms. It said after the first pitch he does sort of a arm raising circle making prayer for everyone-even the fans. Also leaves his back pocket out to show kids not every player had chewing tobacco.
I like him. He is a bit of a quirk.
Can anyone answer a question? When they are having a discussion on the pitchers mound the background dome music plays some techno (?) song. What is it?

I think it's a Moby cover of the Chicken Dance

This was just a very impressive game to top off an impressive series. The Twins may have fallen behind early in every game, but they showed the strength and determination to not let that get into their heads, battle back and win each game. If they can keep this confidence when they play on the road, this waill make for a very fun summer.

And Torii's Homer...DAMN

There was some radio talk late Thursday that Redmond is called Red Dog in the Twins clubhouse, but NBP is definitely a keeper. Naked Truth?

But how about Redmond just stepping up and filling the shoes of Chairman Mauer in the No. 3 slot in the batting order? Nothing like the spot for the team's best hitter going to the backup catcher. Made Gardy look like a genius.

I was at the game, and really, it had every element you'd want from a ballgame: power hitting, power pitching, a little small ball (How about the hang time on Castillo's chopper that scored a run? He could do that every day and twice on Sunday), some nice catches in the OF, a weird injury, a Gardy argument with the ump (Anyone notice the jovial Gardy playing to the crowd as he ran off the field?), fans jawing with the umps over balls and strikes, even a triple. And most of all a Twins win with no sign of Lyle.

And LaurieNY, if you are/were a Met fan, a myriad of third basemen have made your fan life miserable, but they have all played for the Mets.

One can hardly blame RD for blocking all memory of "NBP" from his mind. Not a pretty picture, that.

Nice that our T-Phat has earned his "Ph." I hope it's for keeps...

P.S. And as for Liriano? I, for one, am stirred by his Dominican Thunder. He makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.

Wow. Just...wow. I'm not sure what to gush about! Should I praise Kyle for his oh-so-not-sucking 2nd-inning-on performance? Should I bow down before Liri's undeniable, nasty-90+-mph-slider greatness? Should I bask in the clutch hitting of the naked one? Perhaps I should just gibber and drool, amazed and speechless.

Liriano impressive...The lore of liriano is true...

I must pose a question...Why was the LNP so angry after being called out in the 8th? If yoga has taught him anything...its to be calm and soothings...Not a raving lunatic

RD acknowledges that he excised the notion of Nekkid Batting Practice from his mental images, all the more after RD and Sweet-N-Sassy shared a hotel lobby in Seattle with NBP. Thanks to all of you whose memories weren't cleaned.

Also, RD stands corrected on the official Dominican Thunder pitching performance. He did yield a double. Seven batters, five strikeouts. Thanks, James.

I, too, was at the game, and I couldn't ask for a better way to spend a Thursday afternoon--good baseball, fun stuff happening, flying tiny superheroes, a young rookie making the pros look like little kids, and, well, my boyfriend hit his first home run of the year. It was pretty all around.

And if Lohse wants to emulate Bradke by giving up a couple runs in the first, and then closing the door for the five innings, he has my blessing. As long as he follows all the rules.

I dont know if anyone else goes through this, but everytime I'm reading an article on the twins, or watching them on ESPN and someone mentions Nick Punto... my first thought is, awww Little Nicky Punto! Im sure "Nick" appreciates what youve turned him into Batgirl.

Observation on Liriano -
after he strikes out the side in the top of 7, A's bring in Antonio Perez to play 3B - with Chavez due up in the top of 8.
Why bring in a defensive replacement for a 5x gold-glover - and take his red-hot bat out of the line-up?
I can think of one reason - he was curled-up in the fetal position in fear of facing 'Cisco.

Sorry to post this here but I want to get the word out. I got this as a season ticket holder email today...

In a unique move, Representative Phil Krinkie, chair of the House Tax Committee, has decided to hold two meetings to hear the Twins bill. The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 19 at 3 p.m. at the Capitol where testimony in favor of the bill will occur. The second meeting will take place on Thursday, April 20 at 6 p.m. at the Oak Grove Middle School auditorium in Bloomington where testimony in opposition to the bill will occur.

Given the unusual nature of Thursday’s meeting at the school, we are working to mobilize as many fans as possible to attend and demonstrate their support for the Twins bill by filling up the auditorium. This is where you come in. We strongly encourage ALL Twins season ticket holders, their family, and friends to attend Thursday evening’s hearing at Oak Grove Middle School. And, we ask that you wear something Twins-related to demonstrate your support of the team and the new stadium.

The school is located at 1300 West 106th Street in Bloomington.

I hope people can make it!

I pray for a new nickname for Redmond. This one always makes me ill. Commish, we've had quite a nice cast of third basemen in recent years, thank you very much. I have very few complaints.

1-) I was going to suggest Mike-rosoft as a nickname (because MS is HQed in Redmond, WA) until hrunting brought up Naked Batting Practice (forgot about that).

2-) I passed out for like two innings during the Mets' rout of the Natties yesterday afternoon and when I woke up, Matty "Boom Batty" LeCroix was on base, which was disorienting for a second. He looked well and sends his love.

3-) I like your blind optimism re: the 157-5 finish. I'm keeping the same sort of tally when I do my updates on gottabelievers.com (click my name to visit and please forgive the shameless plug ;-))

I'm looking forward to October, when the 157-5 Twins take on the 161-1 Mets in a World Series for the Ages. It'll be great- it's going to take 27 games, some lasting long enough for the starters to have rested enough to pitch the final 9 scoreless innings (and you thought Game 7 in 1991 was a feat)... parts of the games will spill, WWE-style, off the field, into the clubhouses, onto the subway or into the Mall of America... and in the end, Connor Macleod cuts off some ugly dude's head, experiences The Quickening and lightning shoots out of his balls when he says "There can be only one."

Oh, incidentally, Dougie Baseball got name-checked during yesterday's Mets game. There was a conversation between SNY's Gary Cohen and Ron Darling about the Royals' sad state of affairs, an example of which was that Mientkiewicz is their #3 hitter.

It was not Mr. Cohen's intention to insult Doug (despite the latter being a grumpy nonhacker while wearing blue and orange), so he quickly amended his statement to reflect no ill will and promptly praised the player's skills as a #7 hitter (he IS, after all, a white middle infielder).

I really hope that Baker isn't hearing footsteps - he really has enough to worry about right now. This could be a game that defines him - either he rises up to the challanges and shows he belongs or the pressure will crush him like a fastball left up in the zone.

And I agree with Laurie...its time to find a replacement for Mike moniker. He deserves better.

Feeling like a modern day Fred Flinstone, I snuck into the game during my lunch and watched the bottom of the first through the fifth. Had a great time - except that it was not a Dome Day. Tear the roof off! Left with the Twins in a comfortable lead, 6-2. Still, I was very sad that I missed seeing Francisco Kid and Mikey Cuddyer's first homer. Won't you let the...good times ro-oll!

A few thoughts from the temporary holder of the Batgirl chair:

1. Thanks for notice about the hearings, Amber. RD, though, asks Batgirl's posters NOT to turn this into a stadium-debate site. It's cool to have the information, but I just felt a need to head that off.

2. To Let's Go Mets. Thanks for the Matty Go Boom sighting and the TV interplay during the Mets' game about DougieDefence. As far as a No. 7 hitter goes, I'll take T-Phat! over Dougie eight days a week.

3. I'm all for finding new shorthand for Mike (Nekkid Batting Practice) Redmond. Consider the suggestion box open. Also, I'm feeling a little guilty about creating Rondell (The Other) White (eat) Maybe when he starts hitting, we'll come up with something better for him and coach Jerry (The Original) White (Meat).

4. To Jimbaseball: "Moby cover of the Chicken Dance" was a total Coke-spitter. Thank you!

LetsGoMets, I hope you agree with me on our third basemen the last few years. I have not one complaint about Wright, Alfonzo and Ventura. Recent years have been kind to us at the hot corner.

Yes, I heard the Dougie shout-out (if you can call it that) by Cohen. As he was my favorite Twin when he was there, I was so excited when he came to the Mets. I wish things had gone better for him here because he did have the personality for it. I will always wish him well.

And it was so good to see Matty chugging into 2nd yesterday. I was yelling "run, Matty, run!" even though it was against the Mets. It was so adorable to see him running so hard. I miss him.

Count me as one who's secure enough in my manhood to have always kinda liked the "NBP" nick for Mr Redmond. Guess it's just the kind of thing I could see myself doing back in the day.

But if others are hell bent on coming up with something new, there are a couple of suggestions perhaps worth noting.

First, we could join mlb.com writer Justice Hill and call him "Mark". See http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060413&content_id=1398430&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min

Personally, if he continues to hit at a .625 clip (or even if he tails off to a mere .500 or so), I'd suggest simply calling him "god"... as in "oh my god!"

You could always follow Gardy's lead and just call Mike Redmond "Red Dog". Seemed to work out okay.

Just great that we got a sweep together. When they fell down 4-0 on Tuesday night, I was just about to turn off the TV and go upstairs. Man o man, let's keep it all in perspective!

Jim, there is no god but God, and His name is Greg Maddux.

in answer to bojangles,punto was pissed because he had done the usual headfirst slide into first and thought he should be called safe for the effort......i don't disagree, as there is always something to be said for hustle.....but it remains ridiculous that the twins won't replay a 'controversial' call like that one, especially in front of 13,000 afternoon fans, half of whom were lawyers in suits.....

Laurie, since you're already picking out china patterns with someone else, this point is probably moot... but any chance you and I had for something deeply meaningful just went out the window... we are clearly incompatible on account of religious differences.

Ain't that always the way? ;-) (Guess we'll have to settle for something shallow and meaningless...)

I happen to like NBP as a nickname for Red Dog.
I'm not sure what that says about me though.

I think it would be unfair if Baker's place in the rotation is in question this early in the season. I'm glad Loshe had a good outing but personally if anyone should be in the hot seat it should be him.

I like the Yankee fans on this site but I hope it's not a good weekend for your guys in road grey.

WIN TWINS

Laurie,

I think David Wright is the bomb, but I'm thinking a little bit more in the past:

From USA Today: Wright plays a position that has been an almost legendary Mets weakness in their previous 44 seasons, with 131 third basemen since the club's inception in 1962.

Answers.com entry on Robin Ventura: Most of the Mets’ previous 114 third basemen were too old, too young, too inept or just too dull to merit attention, so even an average season by Ventura would have been outstanding, but he had his best year ever, hitting .301 with 120 RBIs and only nine errors; he also hit 32 homers.

And GothamBaseball.com: When the Mets celebrated their 25th anniversary in the summer of 1986, they produced a videocassette entitled An Amazin' Era, the highlight of which was an original song commemorating the 79 men who had played third base for them to that point. That seemed like a lot. Since then, though, the hits have kept on coming. There have been 52 more Mets third basemen who have taken the field since that song was recorded, adding up to a total of 131 in 44 years, including 12 who played exactly one game at the position.

Full piece at: www.gothambaseball.com/bigmedium/moxie/Features/
couldnt-anybody-here-play.shtml

Commish, believe me, I am well aware of our past problems in the area. That was kind of my point. It's (thankfully) been many years since that old chestnut has actually applied. :-) But I am glad to see Gotham Baseball get a mention here, as a good friend of mine is the managing editor.

Heh. He is the author of that very article!!

I can hear "Meet the Mets" right now. But maybe I should get back to the Twins.

Laurie, I can do "shallow and meaningless"... and I have references.

Meet the F'ing Mets, bay-bee!! LOL And Jim, I never had even the slightest doubt.

Sorry Mike and YankeeFan, but I'm really looking forward to the Twins opening up a can on your boys!! I didn't think I'd be able to physically see it, but if it keeps raining here, my night at Shea Stadium ain't happenin'. WIN TWINS!!!

I'm jealous. I'm afraid I'm relegated to another evening of following the pitch by pitch on GameDay

It's amazing what you can get if you're willing to pay $200 a month for cable, plus XM Radio... although to avoid the Skank announcers, I'll have to endure the long delay between TV and satellite radio so I can listen to good old Dazzle and Gordo.

It's pouring here and the Met game has been pushed back at least an hour. I wish the Twins started earlier so I could be watching them in that hour!

Since we're doing shallow and meaningless, I should just move in with you to use your cable and XM.

You wouldn't be the first.

But Kafumbly is next in line, and you don't wanna fight her.

No problems, I share well and it's not like we'd be fighting over what game to watch.

Of course now I've got the theme song from "Three's Company" in my head.

Mr. Wright is so totally my man-crush. What it must be like to be him- so studly on and off the field and WINNING to boot! Usually, I latch onto the quirky guys (Roger McDowell was my idol in like 8th grade; my favorite Twin is Lewww) but ever since I saw Mr. Wright play a few times at the end of the '04 campaign, I was smitten.

That said, I did quite like Fonzie and especially Ventura... but HoJo was no slouch himself.

Laurie's already betrothed? Tsk. Hope he's a Mets fan ;-)