You know what's hard? Trying to not to scream while sitting in the quite portion of the library when I watch a really weird double play, Nathanest strike a batter out, and the good Doctor send one over the wall.

Too hard. The fist pumping must look odd...

oh well! Twins wiiiiiiin!

Yeah. A walkoff game winning HR pretty much says it all.

That's what they call a made-to-order 9-4-2-6 double play.

I totally thought that guy caught it.

Justin!!! AMAZING!!!! Just what we needed!

He probably wanted to go home and check the NHL highlights, eh?

What a calm game, right up until the CRAZY ending. Let's not forget Silva, keep it up Chief!

Neau doubt about it.

That was the coolest and ugliest (on the Rays' behalf) DP ever. I'm still giggling.

And yay for TB outfielders not catching ultimately catchable balls. Again, giggling.

Way to go, Doc! That was awesome.

Neshek floored me, He's killer out there... Those K's should have gotten him some consideration.

I think Zobrist and Crawford should be the co-B.O.D.'s. Without their inspired base running, Mrnie would only have tied it.

Boom! goes the Doctor's bat.

Only a couple of minutes after the Boom! in the clubhouse as Carlos (who earned his real name, not the Carlohse nickname, tonight) put his glove, an extra pair of spikes, part of the postgame spread and an unlucky clubhouse kid through a locker stall when Boo blew the W for him. Sigh.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of asking Carl Crawford to teach base running to my Little Leaguers. Not because he knows how, but because he reminded me of how amazing and hilarious this game can be, even when 8-year-olds aren't involved.

That bottom of the 8th baserunning mistake made me feel slightly better about a few of the ones the Twins have made this season.

sorry, that should be "Top of the 9th"

ok - this sucks for Carlos, going 0-1 after 2 very solid starts - i mean, i could tell it was a sinker he was throwing tonight - but if i may put a positive spin on this, what we've been looking for is his return to his 2005 form, when he was 9-8 with a 3.44 ERA. well, now he is 0-1 with a 0.77 ERA - sounds like 2005 for me. now c'mon guys - hit behind him!

What a great game. And props to Silva for turning it on tonight. Hopefully this game was a sign of good things to come!

Nice to see Tiny Slurpee-hero make some good catches. :) Also, good to see Jackal out there.

Gotta love Silva's early 0.77 ERA. If he and Ortiz can keep it up, very good things are in store...

I don't want to get too excited or anything, but has Carlos been looking, well, ever so slightly Jackalish?

And (no pressure, no pressure at all, as BabyDash needs extra supervision these days with the BabyNathan wooing) I can't help but feel that tonight's ninth inning double play could only be accurately portrayed in Legovision.

I second that CarrieICL.

4 words, Jackal. Dr. Pat-the-bunny. Awesome.

I love the Twins.

Silva can ask Radke for advice on how to cope with losing a game or getting a no-decision while only giving up a run or two (or zero!). It seemed to happen to Radke a lot. That's why I hate win-loss records for pitchers. I mean, Nathan got the W tonight and if not for the ridiculous base running error by the D-Rays, they would have scored the go-ahead run. But a win is a win!

I'd vote for Crawford as BOD too if players on the enemy team were eligible - "boneheaded" doesn't even begin to describe that base-running.

Dr. gets the nod for winning the game.

"Supporting" awards go to Jackal for a great start and Pat-the-Bunny for bailing Rincon out of his attempted #$@%#^ of a win.

Dear Batgirl

Please accept my apology for posting something off topic, but you are our only hope.

MLB has come out with a line of Alyssa Milano (baseball outfits for woman ! I like Miss Milano well enough, but what's next ? a Sesame Street line of baseball clothes ? Whats wrong with just wearing a real jersey or t-shirt ?

p.e.m.

http://tinyurl.com/28usoo

Darn, BD beat me to my comment. Crawford is definitely deserving of a BOD.

I just wanted to point out...

http://www.twinkietown.com/story/2007/4/13/01544/7980

It is the funniest thing ever outside of this site.

Hm, in defending Little Nicky, the comments of Rick Sutcliffe during a Jeter at-bat this week come to mind:
"So often late last season Derek failed to connect on these opportunities and let Mauer take the batting title away from him." So, too, did LNP let Dr. Morneau take tonight's BOD title away from him.

Wow. The Chairman never gave up the lead on the batting title. But apparently Jeter 'let' Mauer take it away from him. It was never Jeter's to begin with. It was the Chairman's to lose. Funny stuff.

Wasn't it also Crawford who didn't catch Morneau's dinger (I, too, actually thought he caught it - he was darn close)?? Torii would've totally taken that one back!! BTW... Torii had a good interview on ESPN yesterday -- said he would much rather take away the winning home run than hit it. Coincidence??
Silva looked pretty good, but SEVEN hits?? Pretty lucky, too.

Now I am not one to ever question Batgirls choice of BD and our favorite Canadian MVP is very deserving, but I MUST voice my thoughts. If nothing else a BIG KUDO should go to Mr Silva for going 6.2 innings with 7 hits (thats about average) 2 BB (actully thats a little high, did anyone get hit?) and NO RUNS.

Now I know we all have been a little concerned about the Jackall, but hopefully Carlos got his groove back.

Gordo ("Oh myyyyyy!") and Gladden's ("There's a player [Crawford] who knows nothing about the game!") radio call of the baserunning blunder is an instant classic.

I'm not sure if I enjoyed it more listening to it live on my return trip from Bismarck last night, or hearing it again two or three times on "Baseball This Morning" on XM today.

John and Dan trying to figure out the scoring right afterward was a good part. The XM producer used the Tommy Tutone song (also a classic) "867-5309/Jenny" in the background.

Hooray for Carlos and Cuddly McDimples and Dr. M and all the boys. That was too fun. Check out this pic from the Strib -- is our Tiny Super Hero in mid-leap, or mid-climb, or what?

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/1117525-a1118036-t3.html

Gordon described Silva last night as having "cat-like quickness." Are we to start calling him El Gato? "The Jackal" fit when he was coming out of the bullpen to claim wins not really his own. Maybe the new Silva deserves a new nickname -- viva El Gato!

The baserunning of Mr. Crawford cries out for logovision.

I heart walk-off booms.

And to think Silva could have been close to winning a B.O.D...poor Chief.

Sweetness! Not necessarily loving the somewhat impotent offense, but we are still winning (when not playing the Jerks). Remembering last year's start, I feel confident that we can get things going.

As for last night's baserunning debacle, I don't have TV so had to settle for the incredulity of John and Dan until the wonders of the Internet today. Unbelievable.

And one final thing. With the exception of Boof's bad outing and Ponson's bad outing, our starting pitching is exceeding all expectations. Let's keep that up!

Lovin' it right now!

Rotrhed, I understand your skepticism, but that's what Silva does when he's on top of his game. He gives up a bunch of hits, and he erases them with DPs and harmless grounders. As long as he doesn't leave his sinkers hanging, he induces contact (on the ground). That's a VERY good thing and a beauty indeed. I recall an incredible game a couple years ago when he pitched a complete game shutout--with 13 hits!

Because he minimizes walks, his allowed baserunners are not much more than other solid pitchers. While not totally jumping on the bandwagon yet, he is looking like the wonderful pitcher we had two years ago, and I say welcome back!

Crawford deserves every bit of the criticism he's getting for his TWO bonehead baserunning mistakes.

That said, I'm not going to let the 3rd base coach get off the hook. A guy hits a triple down the right field line and you're holding up the runner ahead of him?

I know... no outs.. play conservative.. but really? The guy should have been able to jog home on that play and even if, by some miracle, he gets thrown out by the best relay in the history of the game... you've still got Crawford on 3rd with one out.

All that said... just about the weirdest darn play I've ever seen in the major leagues.

Hrbekfan - the game you are recalling came in August of 2004 against the Angels - & it was an 11-hit complete game shut-out. Jackal tossed the game ball into the crowd after that one, i think - for which Gardy chewed him out for excessive celebrating (we are in Minnesota, after all).

i believe that game came within a remarkable run where we had back-to-back-to-back complete game shut-outs from Radke, Santana, & Silva - please correct me if i'm wrong Twins fans (i know somebody remembers). now, i'm thinking of soething here, in light of the fact that 2 of our starters sport sub-Santana ERAs - but i'm not going to say anything, 'cause i don't want to jinx it.

Dfb, my mistake. I exaggerated a bit, but an 11-hit shutout isn't half bad! I remember the three consecutive shutouts pretty well--I know they were the week of July 4, and they were against the hapless Royals. For some reason, though, I was thinking that Kyle Lohser actually had one of the three.

>Gordon described Silva last night as having "cat-like quickness."

Which pairs nicely with the dogged (get it?) determination (thus far, at least) of one Diogenes Ramon Ortiz.

Last season, the piranh(t)as, this season, cats and dogs.

i remember that too, but i think Gardy pulled him in like the 8th or something - which of course led to Lohse throwing a fit, because after all Johan, Radke, & Silva got their coplete games, why not he!

i think we need someone with the resources to help clarify this particular point of Twins history for us.

Found a blog on Silva's shutout:

http://twinschatter.blogspot.com/2004_08_04_archive.html

And the three consecutive shutouts:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/games/2004-07-08-royals-twins_x.htm

right - so we were both right, sorta. there were 3 shut-outs in a row in July, & Carlos' was in August against the Angels. i also found his BOD for it in BG's archives, where she claims that he allowed 169 baserunners, which is more baserunners than JLo has fiances, and that he let lead-off hitters on only to toy with them by making the next guy hit into a DP. good times!

Don't get me wrong... I've been taking a lot of grief for being the last one OFF the Silva bandwagon. I still have images of the ground-balling, no walks phenom he once was. I REEEEAAAAALLLLLYYYY want him to return to form (plus he's Johan's bud and we don't want to rub any team karma the wrong way).

Just sayin'... there were some solid jacks off him last night (not ground ball after ground ball) and he was pretty lucky to scatter them throughout the game. He's not quite back to form, yet. Still holding out massive hope, tho.

The baserunning blunders of one Mr Crawford reminded me of days long past and one former Twin's uncanny knowledge of the rules of baseball.

http://www.bat-girl.com/archives/000197.php

Just because we *can*: Bang my name for a link to the three-shutouts-in-a-row game recaps, etc. Just before the break in '04, Radke, El Presidente and Lyle combined to barely beat the Royals, 25-0. Three weeks later, El Gato (somehow, that just seems *wrong*) got six DPs, the veritable definition of 'scattering' 11 hits en route to a 10-0 win over the Angels.

It was old man Mulholland who was hoping to make it four shutouts in a row, and he came pretty darn close, giving up only one run in the 6th inning (thanks, Retrosheet!)

I remember the Silva shutout vs. the Angels because it came in a game where the Twins turned what...five DIFFERENT double plays and 6 total.

Since this is the BOD thread after all...

I know my initial reaction after the game was to concur with the wise and powerful BG and the BOD committee, because I am, after all, aware of the "rules" favoring BatFamily BFs and a walkoff home run is pretty darn impressive.

That said, my vote, if I were to have one, would have gone to Sideshow Pat.

He came in facing a tough situation and sat down two hitters to keep the game tied. That was incredibly "clutch" imho.

JC

JimCrikket, please don't think I was trying to hijack the thread. I realize it is a BOD thread, but it's fun reminiscing about vintage Silva--especially since he's starting to look like vintage Silva. He very well could have been BOD! I agree with Justin, though.

I was very pleased to see the quiet game turn into a riot in the end. A Cuddy homer, a double-play break, Silva's sterling-performance, Nathan power and an MVP ending. Overall, a 6-hour round trip-road trip and a Mauer helmet later, I would say it was a perfect day.

Not to worry, Hrbekfan, I wasn't insinuating anything at all. I was just catching up on the comments this afternoon and thought I would add my 2 cents in favor of Neshek. I enjoy a stroll down memory lane as much as the next guy... probably more than most given my advanced age ;)

Babe Herman once tripled into a triple play, but I have no idea how. He was a better hitter than even Carl Crawford, and just as cerebrally challenged.

Just like it should be...Dr. Neau and not a thing more!

A common misperception, al... but the play you're referring to actually might top Mr. Crawford's brainfart last night and certainly sounds eerily familiar! This from baseballlibrary.com:

August 15, 1926: The Braves are at Ebbets Field with Brooklyn's Hank DeBerry on 3B, Dazzy Vance on 2B, and Chick Fewster on 1B. Babe Herman drives the ball against the RF wall, and DeBerry scores. Vance holds up, then rounds 3B headed for home. Fewster stops at 3B. The RF throws home and traps Vance, who heads back to 3B. Herman slides into 3B as Fewster steps off. Herman is out for passing a base runner. Fewster, thinking he's out, too, walks off with Babe, and gets tagged out. Vance, still on 3B, later admits it was his fault, but Herman, who doubles into a double play, gets the blame.

i've read about this as well, as a child. the story is that this is the root of the following comedic exchange:

as a man returns to his seat in the stands, his neighbor says excitedly, "you just missed it - the Dodgers had three men on base!"

"oh really", replies the man, "which base?"

dfb,

That back-to-back-to-back complete game shutout streak came against Kansas City at home July 5-7, 2004. The pitchers were (in order) Radke, Santana, and Lohse.

Silva's shutout came a month later on August 3rd. In that game, the Twiuns turned 6(!) double plays.

Saying something that others have said before, but I just watched the condensed game and Crawford's baserunning...

Ok so I've probably watched the least baseball in my life of any Batling (including Baby Dash), being English and all, but that was the WORST play I have EVER seen. It's hard to imagine worse baserunning being possible.

Great Twins victory though, had a lots of good stuff

AHHHHH! ASSBATS!!!

YUCK that stunk.
I do like MVPs and hr tho'.
Go Ponson (?)

OK, if you are go to twinsbaseball.com and click on "Cuddyer: Twins play as a team" you get a blank page. Humm....
Suspiciously,
twin-X

crawford runs kinda funny

"MLB has come out with a line of Alyssa Milano baseball outfits for woman! "

what, clothing to wear while serially-dating baseball players?

Inside-the-park homeruns seem to be the bane of the Twins. We just can't escape them. I hate them. Unless one of the boys hits one.

Wow! Have fun picking a BOD from this butt-whooping!

I was at the game... on the third base line.. it was really quiet but such a FUN GAME TO BE AT!! :)