bitchsox?

hilarious. almost as funny as "white sux".

I'm still in shock.

How did this team -- the team that lit up Bitchle like a Christmas tree in the bottom of the ninth -- do *that* for the rest of the game? How did we lose after a 7-3 lead?

And what in God's name has happened to the Jackal? Has anyone checked him for repressed memories of alien abduction?

I would so love to see some league-wide pink bat stats...

That triple play sucked ass.

um... but wow! seven runs in one inning! off Mark Buehrle! that was fun. I'm going to live in the bottom half of the first forever, I think, because of how fun it was.

This was like the ongoing battle between Kyle and Lyle on a macrocosmic scale. The baseball gods really do have the sickest sense of humor, don't they?

Oh dear...
That was bad,
Have you noticed that last year we where wining and losing games 1-0, 0-1, 2-1 and so-on and now look at us we can hit but where is are pitching?

That was an incredibly painful loss. I think it's the first I time I was so frustrated at a baseball game that I actually broke something. Although... the light bulb I chucked across the room when Morneau struck out (after nearly doing so when Redmond was allowed to hit) had already burned out, so it really couldn't be 'broken' anymore. It was just moved from 'broken' into 'a mess'.

Man, the bottom of the first tonight rocked. I was there with my Mom and we were all so very happy. And I had this fleeting thought of how maybe I'd just have to go to Monday's game and bring a broom-- I didn't voice this, because I didn't want to jinx the game, but . . . someone must've heard somehow. Dangit.

The bottom of the first was so lovely, I thought it even better than the wondrous game I attended on Friday.

Maybe we shouldn't have handed Silva that Carlos the Jackal monicker. It seems to have some really bad karma still sticking to it. Let's all hope that Nutty is able to protect Scott Baker tomorrow from the nightmare that is Jim Thome Back In The AL Central. Also, I knew Thome would swing a pink bat today because he has no doubts whatsoever about his masculinity. Barry Bonds, on the other hand...

Nutty is quite protective.

Torii started with a pink bat then swapped out for a regular ass-bat.

It'll be interesting to see if any of the players league-wide that had good days with pink sticks continue to use them for a while.

Epic battle indeed. Unfortunately, on a day like today, that battle is apparently taking place in my belly. Oh, please, boys, I just recovered from last season's ulcer. And that four game winning streak? Like Rolaids for the soul. I'm with Kaf...let's just stop time in the bottom of the first, and restart it tomorrow when we go back to beating the Bitch Sox into submission.

BG, you make it all better, as always. "Your mommy never loved you, Mark Buerhle!" Perfect.

TD, I believe I read that MLB was sanctioning the pink bats for Mother's Day only.

That's the idea, yes. And at some point they're auctioning off all the bats that were used. But I would think a guy like Thome or Mark Kotsay might want to at least ask about it.

After the beatings on Friday and Saturday, I am thrilled at the potential for a split. I have to say that you Twins fans must be ecstatic about this newfound offense. I'm thinking this is less an aberration and more a harbinger of runs to come, which must be most reassuring.

Congrats on blowing by Cleveland. Then again, I think we ALL have had occassion to do that ourselves at least once...

"evil twins" might be a line to run and run. it all seems to work really well with no trouble in sight right up to the moment it doesn't.

What was the name of Drake Ramore's evil twin?

D

DanIn, that has to be the funniest placement for a random Friends reference ever. Ever.

I think it's time for 'Cisco to start breathing down the Jackal's neck.

At the same time, so much negativity after the Sunday game; but what about Friday and Saturday? They were things of beauty! And Bradke didn't suck bad enough for us to lose!

e-9

Well, I guess we know which spot in the rotation Liriano will be filling......and here I thought it would have been LOHSE SMASH! Eh, it's not like this is the first time I have been wrong.

Big cheers to Jim Thome - Shannon and Rondel for using the pink bat for the whole game =)DJ Cuddles almost did!
And Carlos - you're killing me - but Shaggy had a nice couple of innings!

I still believe Mark Buehrle is the devil

Much Love
WonderWoman

Is it just me, or are BG's comments about Johan getting spicier? What's this about the velvet-walled basement lair? Yikes. Does Jeb know about this?

I dunno about Jeb, but I think this was probably the first time I've ever gotten turned on from reading a Twins blog.

Kinda scary... but at least it took my mind off that ugly game last night for a moment.

JC

Dear Batgirl,

I wanted to let you know that there is a new site following baseball bloggers called "Baseball Nooz." (http://www.baseballnooz.com/) We've been following your blog for a while and I featured it today on the main community page. We have aggregated a lot of feeds from bloggers and news sources, all on baseball. Registered users can choose the feeds they like most and build a custom baseball news page, with headlines from their favorite sources.

Anyway, keep up the good work.
Walter

Here's the text of my post:
"Female baseball bloggers aren't exactly rare, but few are more dedicated than Batgirl, a passionate Minnesota Twins fan. Her sassy entries keep fans talking and commenting through good times and bad. Today's Batgirl-take on the Twins' bizarre, Jekyl and Hyde loss to the hated White Sox last night reflects their sometimes bipolar personality..."Good Twin" versus "Bad Twin." The entry drew 22 comments (and counting)."

Problem ....

we need Cisco to take two spots in the rotation ...

Let's see:

El Presidente
Cisco
Bradke
Cisco
Baker

Yup, that works ...

i was at the game last night so i got the pleasure of seeing a triple play, although i wish it was us turning it on them. it was frustrating because Punto and Stewart on the bases didn't even look for the ball. just put their head down and run.

also, i was keeping score with my nose in the book in the 9th inning, so i couldn't tell if Redmond went around on that strike 3 pitch or not, which prompted Gardy to get thrown. can anybody fill me in on what Dick n Bert were saying, or if replays showed him going around? thanks.

I think a part of me died last night watching that game. I was hobbling along all right until that triple play. Now I have a sprained soul.

As for the question of why the Twins scored 7 in the first and then went silent, it was noted on a couple Sox message boards and by the radio announcers that Buerhle appeared to be tipping his pitches in the first inning. After Cooper talked with him, he stopped doing the glove placement thing (his tell), and settled in. That may have something to do with it.

I have to say, BTW, I am having fun watching this series. The call Saturday that sent AJ and Ozzie into a tizzie was indeed BS, but then, so was the very similar one last night that got Gardenhire ejected. And what a game last night! Triple play, Uribe dodging a sawn off bat to make a play, Hunter with an over-the-wall HR-robbing catch, AJ with his first homer of the year, 4 errors between 2 of baseball's best defensive teams, pink bats... exhausting, but fun!

One more thing. I am sure most of you watched last night's game on ESPN. I have to ask this question, for all baseball fans - does announcing get any worse than Joe Morgan? I mean really, I that Hawk Harrelson was bad. Morgan got Ozzie Guillen's first name wrong, talked about the Twin's defense on the triple play, thought Thome changed bats when he obviously hadn't, etc... they really are awful. I think we'll all be glad to get out hometown announcers back in our ears today.

My wife and I absolutely HATE the ESPN guys, and have ever since the 2002 playoffs. I mean, that Hawk guy for the Sox is obnoxious with his "He gone!" and homerun calls, but hearing the Sox guys gushing about the Twins all night Saturday (really, the only bitching they did was about the blown call(s)) made me appreciate them. The ESPN guys, on the other hand, never seem to have anything good to say about the Twins, except for the obvious stuff like "Torii Hunter's a good outfielder".

Sox Matt,

Absolutely. Morgan is one of the absolute worst* announcers in all of sports. The most recent Morganism to draw my (intense) ire was when he was calling the Giants @ Phillies game last week. A fan (or group of fans) had put together a sign that stretched across like 25 seats, saying something like "Babe did it on Hot Dogs and Beer, Aaron did it with class, how'd you do it Barry?" Clever enough, and points for effort (pardon me if I paraphrased the sign wrong). Morgan's inane-chatter contribution? Something like "yeah, but wasn't beer illegal during most of the Babe's career?"

Thanks Joe, way to diminish the severity of steriods by comparing it to beer. Parents of children and minor-leaguers thank you...

What a maroon.

YankeeFan

*No discussion would be complete without mentioning that Buck and McCarver are right up (down?) there with Morgan.

Is there any truth to the rumor that Radke, Silva and Loshe have been dining regularly at Taco Bell so they can play the 'Become El Presidente' contest?

Geez, did you have to mention Joe Buck? I mean seriously, the man makes my brain start kicking me from the inside. All we need now is an appearance from Skippy 'El Diablo' Bayless and the Trifecta of Doom is complete.

Salt-Man, that stupid Hawk "He gone!" crap makes me physically violent every time he says it. I scream at the TV. I mean, I actually want to kill him. Kill him dead. And I'm a pacifist. Right up there is that "after 6, the score is good guys 3, bad guys 1" garbage. Lord above, how I hate him.

The Brewers'(TV) announcers are a close second.

And YF, no discussion of annoying announcers is complete without John "thaaaaaa Yankees win!" Sterling and Michael "SEE ya!" Kaye. (For the record, Keith Hernandez makes my blood boil as well. And that was before the famed "no women in the dugout" brouhaha.)

"lure a shirtless Johan Santana into your velvet-walled, leather-floored basement lair and trap him in there and force him to do your bidding, except on some days when it's more fun for you to do his bidding"

BG - this was positively cruel. how am i supposed to concentrate on anything for the rest of the day? *drool*

I'm shocked, SHOCKED!

Latest news -- sounds like Carlos is going to the bullpen. Liriano starts Friday.

Monday, May 15, noon: Kyle Lohse breathes a huge sigh of relief when the breeze on the back of his neck suddenly disappears, and so does Carlos Silva... to the 'pen. And not the State Pen, because as much suckitude as he's emitted, he doesn't exactly deserve to be sent to prison.

And Lyle Kohse emits a wicked cackle heard all the way to New York City.

LaurieNY,

We must (again) agree to disagree on Sterling and Kay. While I think Kay was better on the radio (he could make you see, hear, smell and feel what was going on) he is not a bad announcer.

Sterling, for all his faults, is like the lovable uncle that attends family picnics. You bitch about him, but it wouldn't be a picnic without him.

Each make mistakes, and each have tendencies that could be annoying (e.g., "Seeya!" or "It is high, it is far, iiiit iiiiiis....GONE!") but my history is so steeped with great calls (e.g., "Seeya! Get your tokens ready!" or "Ballgame over. WORLD SERIES OVER. Yankees win THEEEEEE YANKEES WIIIIN!") that a game without at least one of them just doesn't feel like a game.

I would pledge to listen to a thousand Kays and Sterlings if someone would just fire McCarver and Buck (and Morgan).

Note though that Leiter and O'Neill make surprisingly good announcers. Whether it's their knowledge of today's game or something else, it was surprisingly refreshing to hear each of them call games while filling in the blanks with relevant chatter (how Posada might pitch to Ortiz or what Jeter might be thinking at the plate on the 1-2 count).

For what it's worth, I wonder what anyone thinks of the unsung and unheralded Al Trautwig. I grew up with Al being the sideline guy for the New York Rangers, but he has done everything from Olympics to Yankee games (he did a lot the last season they were on MSG). For my money, if I was starting a station, this guy is my #1 pick because he can do it all, knows about every sport he covers (including bobsledding like 12 years ago), is never annoying, and most of the time brings excitement to whatever sport he is covering.

Anyone else have a thought on him? Can we get FOX to fire McCarver and Buck and hire Trautwig and anyone?

Ponderingly yours,
YankeeFan

And I actually like Tim McCarver... ;-)

Anyway, just being a "signature" call doesn't make something great, or any less irritating. It may be endearing to the fans of that team, but to everyone else, it's annoying. Now, I KNOW you think the Yankees are the center of the universe and everything near and dear to Yankee-fan hearts is also beloved to all of baseball... ;-) but... uh, NOT SO MUCH. A game to me is still very much a game without Kay and Sterling's nonsense.

One thing I do appreciate about the Mets' announcers is the lack of "look at me, look at me!" so-called "signature calls (except maybe Gary Cohen saying "that ball is outta here"). And they are about as far from biased as announcers could be. Sometimes their lack of support for the team and constant criticism get on my nerves. It's like, "LIGHTEN UP! Give these guys a break!" Unlike, say, Michael Kay, they don't act like someone died or a heinous crime against nature occurred if the Mets lose; all hushed tones, somber head-shaking and incredulous hand-wringing... "when we come back, we'll try to explain HOW this happened..."

But yeah, I like Al Trautwig. ;-)

Last night was STRANGE. It was the first time in 106 YEARS that a starting pitcher gave up 7 runs in the 1st inning and still got the win.

It's also strange that I am rooting for Jim Thome, who for all his years in Cleveland was known as Damn Jim Thome in my house.....

So if Liriano is going to come out of the bullpen to become a starter, which of the three disasters will he replace?

I was at the Sunday game with my mom. It was totally 2 different teams out there. My mom was totally yelping during the first inning (trust me, with my mother's high pitched screams, we were definetely getting some stares), but then was nearly in tears for that triple play. I actually asked the lady sitting next to me if a TRIPLE PLAY had really just happened. Hopefully, better luck will come against the Tiggers!

By the way, Dan in London, I think Drake Ramoray's evil twin was named Striker...