Article: Twins vs. Pirates, 06/21/2012, 6:05pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?690-Twins-vs-Pirates-06-21-2012-6-05pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

Lineups:

 

Twins

Span CF

Revere RF

Willingham LF

Morneau 1B

Plouffe 3B

Doumit C

Dozier SS

Casilla 2B

(Hendriks P)

 

Pirates

Presley LF

Walker 2B

McCutchen CF

Jones RF

McGehee 1B

Alvarez 3B

Barajas C

Harrison SS

(McDonald P)

[DaveW]

Good God, can Mauer just tough it out for once in his freaking career? I like the guy plenty and rarely have a bad thing to say about him, but its time for him to actually be a leader and stay on the field as much as possible.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Good God, can Mauer just tough it out for once in his freaking career?

I'm using a new source for lineups and I'm not 100% sure they're accurate yet.

 

I really hope it's not in tonight's case...

[jokin]

I'm using a new source for lineups and I'm not 100% sure they're accurate yet.

 

I really hope it's not in tonight's case...

LEN3 cited his own sources for Mauer being unavailble.

[jokin]

Wouldn't this be the perfect night to be giving Dozier a rest and putting Carroll, the NL vet, at SS against a tough right-handed starter?

[IdahoPilgrim]

I'm going to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt on Mauer. We don't know just how his leg is progressing. He played with the injury the second half of Sunday's game, and he could barely run by the time they took him out. What good is it having him swing the bat if he can only jog to first? He got booed because he was unable to leg out a double; he get's booed if he's not in the lineup. Kind of a no-win situation for him.

[DaveW]

I'm going to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt on Mauer. We don't know just how his leg is progressing. He played with the injury the second half of Sunday's game, and he could barely run by the time they took him out. What good is it having him swing the bat if he can only jog to first? He got booed because he was unable to leg out a double; he get's booed if he's not in the lineup. Kind of a no-win situation for him.

Only a complete moron would boo Mauer.

[Brock Beauchamp]

That half inning wasn't exactly awe-inspiring.

[ashbury]

That half inning wasn't exactly awe-inspiring.

McDonald was acquired via a deadline trade of Octavio Dotel. Maybe Capps can fetch us something similar.

 

In other news: after that inning Revere is in a 5-29 slump. Would be nice if he can break loose today.

 

This just in: Andrew McCutchen is good.

[GCTF]

That half inning wasn't exactly awe-inspiring.

How's this half inning working out for you?

[Brock Beauchamp]

How's this half inning working out for you?

We're all cheering for the guys with the "P" on their helmets, right? I sometimes get confused.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Hendriks dodged a bullet in that inning. It could have been a hell of a lot worse.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Ballsy move by Doumit.

[GCTF]

So.....what else is on?

[Obie]

How is that Hendricks put up those numbers in AAA?

[jokin]

Wouldn't this be the perfect night to be giving Dozier a rest and putting Carroll, the NL vet, at SS against a tough right-handed starter?

Watched the bench reaction, I think Jamey just reminded Gardy that this would have been the right move (he said...as he slapped himself on the back...).

[Brock Beauchamp]

How is that Hendricks put up those numbers in AAA?

Kind of like Jekyll & Hyde, isn't it?

[Guest USAFChief]

Good God, can Mauer just tough it out for once in his freaking career? I like the guy plenty and rarely have a bad thing to say about him, but its time for him to actually be a leader and stay on the field as much as possible.

The single, simple thing most likely to keep Mauer on the field--and at his most productive--is to move him off catcher. Should have been done years ago. Paying $23M/yr to a catcher, where the player cannot under any circumstances play his position every day, and where he's also most likely to get injured, suffer long term debilitation, and hit the least--is and always was idiocy, despite what FANGRAPHS tries to tell you with WAR or some other poorly thought out crap.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Damn it, Morneau. He throws you three outside the zone and then you roll over on one.

[Brock Beauchamp]

And then Plouffe gives it a ride. Le sigh.

[Guest USAFChief]

And then Plouffe gives it a ride. Le sigh.

pfft. Plouffsie is helpless against righties.

[The Greatest Poster Alive]

Plouffe has turned my HR category around in my fantasy league.

[glunn]

If Plouffe could improve against righties, he would be a lot more valuable. Maybe Vavra can help him with that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Oh, for crying out loud.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Time to go do something else with my night.

[jokin]

Time to go do something else with my night.

September, 2011- meet June 2012

[Brock Beauchamp]

September, 2011- meet June 2012

It feels that way some nights. I can deal with young players who aren't very good. But stuff like Burnett not lugging his ass over to first in time to cover the base or Morneau getting caught in a run down for no good reason? Nah, I can't watch that.

[jokin]

It feels that way some nights. I can deal with young players who aren't very good. But stuff like Burnett not lugging his ass over to first in time to cover the base or Morneau getting caught in a run down for no good reason? Nah, I can't watch that.

Again, begging the question, is failure to execute the "simple stuff" (Gardy's phrase from 2011) more on the manager or the players?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Again, begging the question, is failure to execute the "simple stuff" (Gardy's phrase from 2011) more on the manager or the players?

I put it on both. The manager needs to be in peoples' faces (maybe not literally but figuratively) when stuff like that happens. When it starts to happen too often, he should be running extra drills until they get it right.

 

On the other hand, the players should already know better, especially a vet like Morneau. Twice tonight he almost made an out between second and third for no reason.