Game Thread: Twins @ Jays, 6/9 @ 6:07pm CT

[Squirrel]

Game-time forecast: Mostly sunny. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Temperature around 75.

 

Twins:

SP, Nolasco

 

 

Daniel Santana CF

Brian Dozier 2B

Joe Mauer 1B

Josh Willingham LF

Oswaldo Arcia RF

Kendrys Morales DH

Trevor Plouffe 3B

Kurt Suzuki C

Eduardo Escobar SS

 

Jays:

SP, Dickey

 

Jose Reyes SS

Melky Cabrera LF

Jose Bautista RF

Adam Lind DH

Edwin Encarnacion 1B

Juan Francisco 3B

Brett Lawrie 2B

Josh Thole C

Anthony Gose CF

 

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

 

And now we wait. And wait. And wait. And wait ... It has nothing to do with patience. It's all about timing.

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

 

And Perfectly Timed

 

Things to Think About:

 

1. Toronto -- I had to research it... But it turns out that the Twins have to travel mostly east but a little bit South to get to Toronto. This is because Toronto is located in a completely different country called "Boobakin" whch means "everyone squeeze to south to stay warm" The Blue Jays carry the hopes and dreams of the entire country. Since there is seemingly no chance that any of their many hockey teams will ever win the Stanley Cup. Toronto was formed in 1935 on the northern shores of Lake Ontario. Rickshaw traffic jams are quite common and can delay getting home from work by as much 2 hours on bad days. The standard tip for a rickshaw operator is "Get a Car... You'll get where you are going faster". Politics are a little bit different in Toronto... High ranking city officials craft deals in crack houses with large buffets of endless food... creating a whole new race of power brokers that others call "Overweight Crackheads". They have a bouncy energy that is hard to follow and they take powernaps that last 4 days but in the end... deals are struck and nobody can remember them. According to demographics... 65 percent of Toronto is made up of Canadians which means that they like beer and have a good sense of humor while wearing funny hats and the other 35 percent stare at them not sure how to respond.

 

2. The Rogers Centre -- It used to be known as the Skydome but they realized that it was actually built on the ground so they changed the name to the Rogers Centre. When spelling "Center" they got the R and E mixed up at the end and were too lazy to change it since they already ordered the signs and letterhead. It's a multi purpose facility which means that it can host baseball games and football games(if you can call anything with a 55 yard line football) and it will also transform into a giant Godzilla type creature and patrol the city for villians and crush anything in it's path with it's giant teeth and long tail. The dimensions of the baseball field are normal sized but it's odd because home runs that clear the fence in Toronto seem to clear the fence by a long long way. Balls don't just barely fall over the fence... They bounce off of Hotel Room windows... land in upper decks and knock dinner plates on to the floor in the restaurant.

 

3. The Blue Jays -- Toronto is having a good year. Last year... expectation was quite high after they increased payroll significantly... trading young talent for high priced talent. The team was loaded on paper and empty on the field and it failed. This year it's coming together as they currently lead the AL east by 4.5 games. Not over the Yankees Red Sox or Rays but over the Baltimore Orioles... Yep the Blue Jays are bringing it while the usual suspects are nowhere to be found. It could be the year of the Maple Leaf. The lineup is long ball heavy... Bautista... Encarnacion... Francisco(named after Palo Alto)... Lind and Lawrie can all go deep at any time. They also have speed with Jose Reyes and Anthony Gose which provides a lineup that can beat you a couple of different ways. Tonight we face Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey... Which means stand there and watch it bounce around and then swing the bat.

 

4. Kendrys Morales -- Whenever... I read his first name... I can't help but wonder if he is plural. He has been officially inserted into the lineup in the 6th spot. When Stephen Drew signed with the Red Sox... They were able to send him down to the minors for a little game experience before putting him in the major league lineup. That worked real well since Drew is currently hitting .071. Kendrys don't need no stinking game experience... He just needed a meal at Murray's... A chance to burp... stretch his arms a little and wait for his shipment of bats to arrive and he's good to go... And I'm looking forward to watching him.

 

5. Walking -- I hear it's good for you... I guess it's better then doing nothing and letting your important parts atrophy. My Aunt was getting up in age and was having some medical issues and the doctor strongly suggested taking long walks... so she did. She started walking 5 miles a day. It's a couple of years later now and we have no idea where she is.

[jokin]

1. Danny Santana (S) CF

2. Brian Dozier ® 2B

3. Joe Mauer (L) 1B

4. Josh Willingham ® LF

5. Oswaldo Arcia (L) RF

6. Kendrys Morales (S) DH

7. Trevor Plouffe ® 3B

8. Kurt Suzuki ® C

9. Eduardo Escobar (S) SS

 

Guess all that talk about a 10-day slow transition period for Kendrys was a bit premature.

[Squirrel]

Who talked about that? What I heard on the press conference was that they'd see his BP and take it from there, one game at a time. Plus he's been working out this whole time. Maybe some weren't expecting it tonight but I saw a lot of guesses that he'd make an appearance at some point this series.

 

Oh and I merged your thread with the game thread. Made more sense to do that with lineups et al.

[jokin]

Besides the print media, there was speculation on the broadcast yesterday that the signing and necessarily immediate rostering of Morales could be problematic, as it might leave Gardy shorthanded during the "acclimation period, which could last up to 10 days or more.....maybe to be used as a pinch hitter in the meantime...etc, etc."

[Squirrel]

Besides the print media, there was speculation on the broadcast yesterday that the signing and necessarily immediate rostering of Morales could be problematic, as it might leave Gardy shorthanded during the "acclimation period, which could last up to 10 days or more.....maybe to be used as a pinch hitter in the meantime...etc, etc."

 

Meh ... they probably said that as they were all guessing ... and probably guessing on the side of forever instead of too soon as not to make us all irate if it was 5 games in before they played him.

[jokin]

Meh ... they probably said that as they were all guessing ... and probably guessing on the side of forever instead of too soon as not to make us all irate if it was 5 games in before they played him.

 

Yes indeed. "Quandry for the Day" solved in one BP session.

[JB_Iowa]

Andrew Walter ‏@MNfanfromafar · 49m

Good read about Nick Burdi, @Twins 2nd round pick: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/uofl-beat/2014/06/07/nick-burdi-pissed-about-draft/10116305/ … h/t @BaseballSwagger

 

 

I hope Burdi is p*ssed enough to get himself to the bigs this summer!!!

[Squirrel]

Yes indeed. "Quandry for the Day" solved in one BP session.

 

Indeed.

[Craig Arko]

Kendrys Morales -- Whenever... I read his first name... I can't help but wonder if he is plural.

 

He is. The other part is named Kennys Vargas.

 

As I recall, back in the old days that hotel in SkyDome used to have issues with some 'additional action and adventure shows' being put on for the crowd. They put in shutters or one-way glass after that.

[PseudoSABR]

That's a pretty good lineup.

[Squirrel]

4. Kendrys Morales -- Whenever... I read his first name... I can't help but wonder if he is plural. He has been officially inserted into the lineup in the 6th spot. When Stephen Drew signed with the Red Sox... They were able to send him down to the minors for a little game experience before putting him in the major league lineup. That worked real well since Drew is currently hitting .071. Kendrys don't need no stinking game experience... He just needed a meal at Murray's... A chance to burp... stretch his arms a little and wait for his shipment of bats to arrive and he's good to go... And I'm looking forward to watching him.

 

 

JB - wonder what color suit, tied, hat and shoes he'll wear?

[ashbury]

Andrew Walter ‏@MNfanfromafar · 49m

Good read about Nick Burdi, @Twins 2nd round pick: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/uofl-beat/2014/06/07/nick-burdi-pissed-about-draft/10116305/ … h/t @BaseballSwagger

 

I hope Burdi is p*ssed enough to get himself to the bigs this summer!!!

 

He has grounds to be annoyed with only 10-15 teams that passed him up after the early 30s or whatever. I hope this doesn't mean he grooves nothing-fastballs to the other teams.

[longstrangetrip]

Meh ... they probably said that as they were all guessing ... and probably guessing on the side of forever instead of too soon as not to make us all irate if it was 5 games in before they played him.

 

Chi- Morales himself said "it may be 5 days, it may be 10 days, it may be 7 days". I wasn't happy when I read that, but surprised and pleased to see him in tonight's lineup. Maybe something got lost in translation!

 

Morales is a terrific slugger. Strikes out a bit too much, but when he connects, they go a long way.

[Squirrel]

Chi- Morales himself said "it may be 5 days, it may be 10 days, it may be 7 days". I wasn't happy when I read that, but surprised and pleased to see him in tonight's lineup. Maybe something got lost in translation!

 

Morales is a terrific slugger. Strikes out a bit too much, but when he connects, they go a long way.

 

He also said, he just didn't know and he/they would take it one day at a time. So my interpretation was simply that ... one day at a time and we'll see without a real time frame in mind. However, given that he had been working out regularly and the need for him to be there, I was hoping for sooner rather than later. Am pleasantly surprised that it's this soon, as I'd have guessed sometime this series with a late inning pinch hit low leverage situation. But again ... was my guess ... as it was all a one day at a time.

[JB_Iowa]

JB - wonder what color suit, tied, hat and shoes he'll wear?

 

Well, we know a couple are wearing pink.

 

I'm waiting for the one who is brave enough to wear peach!

[JB_Iowa]

He has grounds to be annoyed with only 10-15 teams that passed him up after the early 30s or whatever. I hope this doesn't mean he grooves nothing-fastballs to the other teams.

 

Has some CWS games to work off that mad.

 

Really looking forward to seeing him. Somewhat mentioned in the minor league threads that Louisville plays Vandy on Saturday -- so maybe we could catch a glimpse.

[Riverbrian]

Andrew Walter ‏@MNfanfromafar · 49m

Good read about Nick Burdi, @Twins 2nd round pick: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/uofl-beat/2014/06/07/nick-burdi-pissed-about-draft/10116305/ … h/t @BaseballSwagger

 

 

I hope Burdi is p*ssed enough to get himself to the bigs this summer!!!

 

I like players with a little Tude. Tude wins baseball games... I'd love to see him this summer.

[Beezer07]

Morales has already jumped to #1 on my list of Favorite Kendryses

[Craig Arko]

Well, we know a couple are wearing pink.

 

I'm waiting for the one who is brave enough to wear peach!

 

Deduno could wear that well, methinks.

[TKGuy]

Andrew Walter ‏@MNfanfromafar · 49m

Good read about Nick Burdi, @Twins 2nd round pick: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/uofl-beat/2014/06/07/nick-burdi-pissed-about-draft/10116305/ … h/t @BaseballSwagger

 

 

I hope Burdi is p*ssed enough to get himself to the bigs this summer!!!

 

Vaughan mad, "every time I pitch against you I'm gonna shove it down your f'in throat" mad hopefully without the wildness of course

[Riverbrian]

​santana

[Richie the Rally Goat]

The Danny Santana show

[Craig Arko]

​santana

 

Clearly he's been working with Dozier.

[Squirrel]

And we're off!! In good fashion!

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Chi- Morales himself said "it may be 5 days, it may be 10 days, it may be 7 days". I wasn't happy when I read that, but surprised and pleased to see him in tonight's lineup. Maybe something got lost in translation!

 

Morales is a terrific slugger. Strikes out a bit too much, but when he connects, they go a long way.

i predicted we'd see Morales pinch hit a few times before he started... I was wrong, and happy to be so

[Squirrel]

In double good fashion!! Woohoo!

[Riverbrian]

Dozier

[Richie the Rally Goat]

He is. The other part is named Kennys Vargas.

 

As I recall, back in the old days that hotel in SkyDome used to have issues with some 'additional action and adventure shows' being put on for the crowd. They put in shutters or one-way glass after that.

By the way Crarko, is your avatar Muppet Christmas Carol?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Dozier

I like the home run rate for the game

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Dickey, what a knucklehead