I hope LEW FORD attended the bunting clinic.

"New rule: with runners on and less than two out, we pinch-hit for Hunter. I don't care what freakin' inning it is."

Can I get an Amen!?

This is as good as I've felt about this club in two years.

The thing with Torii is, the guy JUST WALKED 3 STRAIGHT BATTERS, and so what does Torii do? Why, swing weakly at the FIRST PITCH -- of course!

Great game, though. We left for DQ after the seventh, so I missed the fans-on-the-field. :(

that was a pretty fun game, and the first one i've had the chance to listen to in its entirety in quite awhile. And it is worth noting that intrepid batling Tinger was NOT, as originally feared, the fan running on the field. No, instead tonight he was the Fan of the Game, and he was seen pointing and laughing at those who ran on the field. nice work, kiddo.

And speaking of nice work: infield, thanks for the great recap.

Tinger was the Fan of the Game? I totally missed that! bummer!

about Kubel's home run tonight... he put that up in section 211, I believe. I thought Justin owned the rights to that spot, sorta the way the IDS owns the Minneapolis skyline. maybe I'm wrong... I wonder if Justin hit his grand slam to left field in an act of defiance, as if to say, "see? I can hit a home run anywhere I want to! so there!"

JC,
Amen. I've been saying since April it's never too early to pinch-hit for Castro. He starts more double plays with his bat than with his glove.

Good work, infield.

By the way, thank goodness the Twins are winning, and winning in entertaining fashion, because this hockey thing down here is about to drive me nuts and I need the distraction! ;)

WHOO! Go Bradke! What a lovely flag day indeed.

Great game tonight, first game I was able to get to this year, fun to see the Twins beat the BoSox. Oh, and the fans running on the field was hilarious, deking out the security guard and making him fall flat on his face, sliding home head-first only to get tackled by Boston's bat-boy, classic! Can I just say, Metrodome security seemed rather lackadaisical about the whole thing. At any rate, props to Justin, boo to Hunter, and how bout Kubel, almost 3 HR's in 3 straight ab's!

"Besides, he wears his socks the right way."

Hehehehe. I love it.

That was a fun game to be at, to say the least. My voice had barely recovered from Saturday's slam from Cuddles, and I'm afraid it's somewhat shot again. Ah, well, it was WAY worth it! Two grand slams in as many nights... three in a week... wow.

MTRR that I really liked having Punto at third. Y'see, T-Fat? That's how you get to a ball. Also, a big "welcome back" to Bart!

Also, the ECBS batboy is officially my favorite Red Sock for that tackle. I HATE it when fans pull that crap, and I was impressed by that take-down. I hope he bruised that dumbass up good 'n' plenty. :mutter:

How about this for Hunter: Put him in at pitcher/CF. He can still get back to the fence on a long fly ball, but we can DH for him! Plus, we'd have a spot for an extra fielder somewhere.

-Glove Boy

FordH, I do not believe that batboy works for the Red Sox.

It's rather sad that when Torii came up after all those walks, people in our section groaned. And my husband and I said "here ends the inning" and then . . . well, it did. One freaking pitch. Argh.

Later on in the game when Torii came up with no one on, my Dad said "at least he can't hit into a double play here" and a number of people around us chuckled. Later after Torii got on base, I said "but he can still get out on the basepaths!" (Fortunately he did not).

I like Sweetcheeks, but he's driving me nuts.

Was a very fun game. One time after the whole Bat Boy incident, Mr. Ortiz was coming off the field from third and heading toward the dugout just as the Bat Boy was heading over by the plate to pick up a bat. Mr. Ortiz smiled at him and then faked left and right as if trying to elude the Bat Boy. Hee! The Bat Boy got cheered for the rest of the game any time he did anything.

Sounds like it was a great game, missed it thou I was watching Game 5 of the Stanley Cup. Couple of things:
1) Love the comment about pitch hitting Torii giggle giggle.
2) Now that T-Fat is gone when do we unload White?

I hope tonight is as good as the last couple.

"I HATE it when fans pull that crap, and I was impressed by that take-down. I hope he bruised that dumbass up good 'n' plenty. :mutter:" -- FordHoiberg

Entirely with you, FH. I enjoyed the take-down. Otherwise, apart from being a nuisance, the whole thing was horribly lame.
I mean, forgoshsakes, they didn't even streak. If you're going to take the trouble to hold up the game and be an idiot, at least do it naked. *grumble*

Great job on the commentary infield!!

I do believe that Donnalove is right. The batboy works for the Twins, in the visitors clubhouse.

Regardless, it was suggested on the radio this morning that the Vikings call him to work with their defensive line. That may be a good idea, but considering the Keystone Kops security force we have at the Dome for Twins games, I think we'd better keep him around.

I have to admit though...as much as I hate it when idiot fans do things like that, when he got to centerfield & Torii Hunter gave him an unenthusiastic high five we found it pretty hilarious.

The thing that really bugged me though, is that the whole incident really distracted fans from the game for quite a while afterward.

I'm just grateful they were only a couple of drunken idiots, and weren't looking to hurt anyone.

Nevertheless, I hope they throw the book at 'em.

Can I say this? This is the first home run Bradke's given up in about four consecutive starts. Yay! And another quality start, but with a win, this time! I hope the shock doesn't mess him up. :concerned:

"New rule: with runners on and less than two out, we pinch-hit for Hunter. I don't care what freakin' inning it is." I like Torii, but someone suggested he start walking up to the plate without a bat. That might be a better idea, as it won't sacrifice the defense. And, from the sounds of it, Matt Clement would've walked him anyway.

Great job, infield!

At least the guys didn't tackle and beat senseless an elderly first base coach, like they do in SOME ballparks I can think of...

Thanks for last night (and the last four starts), Brad. I knew my faith in you was well-placed. Now, come on, Carlos - leave the vest in the locker and just get us another W, wouldja?

If Silva chooses to drag out those pixie vests tonight on national TV (ESPN 2), he may quickly become my least favorite Twin. Of course, managing to throw sinkerballs that actually sink could overcome that initial feeling.

Here's the lowdown on the batboy - he looks younger then 25!

Big hit, big moment

Nate Reese, 25, works as a bat boy for the visiting team at the Metrodome. So why, late Wednesday night, was he receiving congratulations from David Ortiz and Torii Hunter?

Because when two fans sprinted around the field, eluding security guards, during the eighth inning, and one decided to slide into home plate, Reese became a baseball version of a bodyguard.

He tackled the intruder, then put a wrestling move on him, pinning him to the ground, and received a loud cheer.

"The guy was rounding third, and there weren't really any guards around, so I just thought I'd hit him," Reese said. "Between [Joe] Mauer and the Big O [Ortiz], there was a lot of liability, so, looking back, I guess I'm glad I did what I did."

Reese said he wrestled at Minnetonka High and has played rugby.

As Twins reliever Willie Eyre walked past Reese in the Twins' clubhouse, Eyre yelled, "Nice move, Goldberg."

Some might say it was the best play by anybody in a Boston uniform all night.

Much love
Wonder Woman

The stupid thing about "Inning the Third" is that Hunter swung at the first pitch. Clement had only thrown a coupld strikes so far in the inning, and Torii golfs at a sinking inside fastball. Didn't we learn in little league to take a few in this situation? Why can't professionals learn this. Okay, if the first pitch had been a meatball "I gotta throw a strike now" kind of pitch, we'd all be singing Spiderman's praises...

The thing about Torii is that on so many levels you can't help but love the guy. He's got an enthusiasm for the game and a desire to win that you have to admire. I've always liked him.

But since his buddies have been moving on to other teams, he's shown sides to his personality that just aren't all that lovable. You can overlook a lot of that when he's playing well but when he's not, he becomes an easy target for criticism (and deservedly so).

Does make one wonder, since Gardy was so quick to tell the media about taking the Doctor to the woodshed over his being too quick to swing at a bad pitch on the last road trip, when will we read about him giving Hunter the same treatment?

TOTALLY off topic, I know... but I figure BG can't reach me from California to slap my hand, so I'll post this anyway.

You think having a bunch of bloggers making a concerted effort to vote for our beloved Joe can't make a difference in his All Star chances? Maybe not. But... then again...

A couple of weeks ago, Pat Neshek (Red Wings closer and hopefully future Twins BOD candidate) mentioned on his blog (click my name for the link) that it would be cool for him to make the AAA all star game and asked his readers to go vote for him. Shameless self promotion? Maybe... but see what a few netheads can do. This from www.minorleaguebaseball.com:

"The biggest surprise in the voting thus far has been saved for last, Rochester's Pat Neshek doesn't just lead all relievers in fan votes -- he leads all of Triple-A. The 25-year-old right-hander certainly deserves the nod, as he is 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 12 saves. Still, he must have legions of internet-savvy fans in order to have accumulated his staggering vote total. In second place, with less than half the votes of Neshek, is Indianapolis' Scott Strickland, a veteran of six Major League seasons."

Now... go "vote Joe" dammit!

JC

In case anyone missed "when bat boys attack"

click my name.

Great job with the fill-in recap, infield! I can see that you've really worked on your leadership skills.

So -- will Gardy say about Hunter the same thing he said about Dougie "He saves more runs with his glove, blah blah blah"? I love the guy but a player with this much experience MUST have better AB's

Nice recap infield! Sarcasm is good.

As for Torii - can't we make him designated fielder and have someone bat for him instead of the pitcher?

As for the batboy - A former UND athlete. Hence the good tackle. A gopher would have missed the guy. I love the “I figured I’d hit him” comment.

Very nice recap! I like the inning by inning commentary.

They traded Castro today back to the Reds, looks like Barty's getting the nod.