Game Thread: Twins @ Royals, 4/19 @ 1:10pm CT

[Squirrel]

Game-time forecast: Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to left field at 10-20 m.p.h. Temperature around 70.

 

Twins:

SP, Correia

 

Dozier 2B

Mauer 1B

Plouffe 3B

Colabello RF

Kubel LF

Pinto C

Suzuki DH

Hicks CF

Florimon SS

 

Royals:

SP, Chen

 

Aoki RF

Infante 2B

Hosmer 1B

Perez C

Gordon LF

Butler DH

Moustakas 3B

Maxwell CF

Escobar SS

 

--------------------------

 

Check back here for Brian's thoughts ... could be dangerous ... so beware!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They are dangerous... I already cut my finger typing them. So with Blood on the Tracks!!!

 

Things to Think About

 

1. .500 Ball -- Some of you people are so sick minded that if the Twins just kept returning to .500 ball like a tight rubber band was guiding it. Some of you sick minded people would be happy with that. Just imagine all year... The team will be 3 games back from .500 and then win 3 in a row... Get a game over .500 just to lose the next one. Get 5 games over .500 and lose the next 5 games. Thinking about that a little more... I'd be happy with that. Of course... I've never contended to be anything but sick minded.

 

2. Defense -- Stomp Stomp Defense... Stomp Stomp Defense... I didn't really get to see much of the game last night... I did see the play made by Brian Dozier in the highlights. Brian Dozier is becoming one of the finest fielding 2nd basemen in MLB. I don't know much about this Rosario looming on the horizon. I've read good things about him. He's gonna have to be real good to move Dozier.

 

3. Joe A. Preusser -- Joe claims to have series prognostication ability and he has prognosticated a Twins series win. I want to believe in this series prognostication ability because you have to believe in something in life. I need to believe that an Orangutan named "Eli the Ape" from the Salt Lake City Zoo can correctly predict Superbowl Winners. I like believing that Buffalo know to flee Wyoming because they can predict the super volcano. I want to believe that Joe has that same animal skill.

 

4. Sunday -- I imagine that I will think more about Sunday on Sunday but right now... We dropped last night's game and Sunday we face the 200 MPH hard throwing righty named Yordano Ventura. We may need to win today!!! I'm looking at Joe A. to bring this one home.

 

5. The Price of a Sandwich -- A couple of summers ago... I took my Family on Griswold style vacation in the car from North Dakota to Kansas City... Then to the Ozarks... Arlington... Austin... The Texas Hill Country... Lockhart... New Bruenfels... Galveston... New Orleans... Clarksdale Mississippi... and back home. We pulled into Kansas City early Saturday and did the Barbecue thing all day. We saw the Twins play the Royals on a Sunday. After the game we were just looking for a quick sandwich before hitting the road for our next stop in Southern Missouri. I had seen this place called "Grinders" on Diners Drive Ins and Dives and this became the chosen destination. We walked in... it was an old building and there were like 4 people in the place. My wife wanted to turn around and grab Subway instead after walking in the door. We stuck with the plan and ordered our food.

 

The sandwiches came to the table when I noticed a back door. I got up and went out the door to see what was out there. It led to this huge open area and a big stage. There was a band on the stage going through a sound check. I told the family to grab the food so we could eat at a table outside and watch. Doing the sound check was Ben Harper himself. Sitting in a chair with his lap slide guitar. Singing a song for a verse... stopping and saying... can you bring the highs up a little and then starting over. It lasted about as long as it took us to eat our sandwiches. The Sandwich was pretty good and it cost 8 bucks. The experience was worth a little more.

 

A few days later at Schlitterbahn's Waterpark in New Bruenfels Texas.

 

While attempting to boogie board on 50,000 gallons of rushing water... In front of maybe 300 kids and parents either waiting in line to try the boogie board themselves or sitting in the grandstand waiting and watching the action below. My Shorts were swept completely off my body and thrown to the back of the pool. As I stood up in all my glory... to surprising applause from the hundreds looking over me!!! I noticed a lady with a sandwich in the stands. I knew how she felt. I just had the unexpected bonus of seeing Ben Harper doing a sound check a few days of ago while enjoying a sandwich.

[Brock Beauchamp]

This is going to be a low scoring affair.

 

Or not.

[Mr. Brooks]

Happy birthday Joe Mauer.

[Jerr]

Happy birthday Joe Mauer.

 

And a Mauer homerun for his birthday!!!!

 

Or at least a Twins win!!!!

[drock2190]

Pinto please be in the lineup. My fantasy team is ready.

[JB_Iowa]

Kurt Suzuki, your MN Twins Designated Hitter

[Mr. Brooks]

Kurt Suzuki, your MN Twins Designated Hitter

 

Good, we aren't going to figure out if Pinto can be a MLB catcher if he's not catching.

[Jerr]

Pinto please be in the lineup. My fantasy team is ready.

 

Here's what I found:

Brian Dozier 2B

Joe Mauer 1B

Trevor Plouffe 3B

Chris Colabello RF

Jason Kubel LF

Josmil Pinto C

Kurt Suzuki DH

Aaron Hicks CF

Pedro Florimon SS

(Kevin Correia

[JB_Iowa]

Good, we aren't going to figure out if Pinto can be a MLB catcher if he's not catching.

 

I agree that Pinto should catch. But the DH choices are downright dismal.

[Riverbrian]

This is going to be a low scoring affair.

 

Or not.

 

I could not agree with this more!!!

[Jerr]

I agree that Pinto should catch. But the DH choices are downright dismal.

 

Need a stronger word than dismal:(

[Jerr]

Kurt Suzuki, your MN Twins Designated Hitter

 

With his hefty .125 over his last 7 games:mad:

[jokin]

Kurt Suzuki, your MN Twins Designated Hitter

 

Need a stronger word than dismal:(

 

 

Suzuki is lifetime .385BA/.770OPS against Chen. Gardy knows the cure for getting a guy out of a slump.

[Guest USAFChief]

I could not agree with this more!!!

Or less.

[Jerr]

Suzuki is lifetime .385BA/.770OPS against Chen. Gardy knows the cure for getting a guy out of a slump.

 

OK!!! Good to have all the knowledge on this site;)

I feel better now!

[stringer bell]

Glad to see Pinto catching, but Suzuki DHing is a sad sight.

[stringer bell]

I could not agree with this more!!!

 

Or not.

[Jerr]

Just, a pregame off subject question: anyone familiar with The Baseball Project group? I just got their new cd and it's kinda fun hearing songs about baseball.

[Guest USAFChief]

Suzuki is lifetime .385BA/.770OPS against Chen. Gardy knows the cure for getting a guy out of a slump.

13 ABs, 5 singles. One just can't ignore these long term, large sample size trends.

[Jerr]

13 ABs, 5 singles. One just can't ignore these long term, large sample size trends.

 

Too, bad your Gomer avatar isn't facing the other way:roll:

[jokin]

13 ABs, 5 singles. One just can't ignore these long term, large sample size trends.

 

It's a lot more significant when it's player-on-player specfic.

[Joe A. Preusser]

I am truly honored to be uncluded in your thoughts. Even with the comparison to an ape.

 

The .500 roller coaster you described sounds exactly what we went through with the Wolves. And yes, it was kind of sick.

 

Go Twins.

 

Edit: BTW, you put me off sandwiches for a while.

[Mr. Brooks]

Top 5 sandwiches:

 

1)Philly: Has to be authentic, and I am FIRMLY in the Cheese Whiz camp, while my wife is in the Provolone camp.

Once, I saw a commercial on TV with Arby's advertising a Philly with Swiss cheese. I damn near broke the TV, that is not a Philly, please call it something else.

 

2)Cuban: Nothing beats a good cuban. But at the same time, it can be very hard to find a good one. Have ordered Cubans from many places that have left me disappointed. Have to say I wasnt impressed by the Cubans at TF. Too small, and maybe it was a function of SSS, as I've only tried them once, but mine had a chemical taste or something to it.

 

3)Meatball: Everyone who cooks has a 'signature dish'. Mine is Chicken Parmigiana over spaghetti with meatballs. I usually make it on Sunday's, and I make everything except the pasta from scratch, takes me most of the day.

Long story longer, there is almost nothing better than picking up some hoagie buns on my way home from work Monday for some amazing leftover meatball sandwiches.

 

4) Patty Melt.

Patty Melts are such a perfect combination of ingredients, and unlike the Cuban, it is pretty hard to screw up. This is one you can order most anywhere and know you are going to be satisfied.

 

5) Pastrami.

With lots of spicy brown mustard, YUM.

[Guest USAFChief]

Too, bad your Gomer avatar isn't facing the other way:roll:

Deputy Gomer, if you please.

[Guest USAFChief]

Nice play, Plouffe-sie.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Time for our vaunted DH to produce!

[Guest USAFChief]

Name the announcer: "THREE and one!"

[Jerr]

Hicks under .200:(

[stringer bell]

Bottom of the order is still a major concern.

[Guest USAFChief]

Atta kid, Hicksie.