Game Thread, Twins @ Red Sox, 6/2 @ 6:10 pm CT

[formerly33]

Monday 6/2, 6:10 PM CT at Fenway Park

TV: FS-N; Radio: Go 96.3, TIBN, BOB FM

 

 

Weather:

 

Is it raining in Boston tonight?
Is it cloudy on Cape Cod?
Are the Red Sox in the race?
They'll just blow it again, by God.

 

A chance of rain. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 51. Northeast wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

 

 

Line ups:

 

TWINS (30-19):

1. Dozier, 2B

2. Hunter, RF

3. Mauer, 1B

4. Plouffe, 3B

5. Suzuki, C

6. Rosario, LF

7. Escobar, DH

8. Hicks, CF

9. Santana, SS

 

Mike Pelfrey, RHP (4-1, 2.77 ERA)

 

 

RED SOX (22-29):

1. Pedroia, 2B

2. Betts, CF

3. Ortiz, DH

4. Ramirez, LF

5. Sandoval, 3B

6. Napoli, 1B

7. Bogaerts, SS

8. Leon, C

9. Castillo, RF

 

Clay Buchholz, RHP (2-6, 4.33 ERA)

 

 

America(n League)'s team? The rags-to-riches Twins

No squad has captivated MLB fans like the Twins, favorites who maintain an underdog feel.

 

 

I know that's a play off of an MLB article concerning the now 2nd place Royals, but it's just too absolutely true to not borrow. Now, I know that MLB fans still aren't captivated the way they should be, but it'll come, and I'm more than willing to wait. While our bandwagon still isn't quite full yet, there's a long waiting list at the bus stop, and to tell you the truth, nobody in the world has captivated anybody quite the way we have (pretend I couldn't have said that last year).

 

So I'll repeat:

 

Favorites who maintain an underdog feel.

 

Oh yeah!!

 

Now, in case you just got back from a long voyage to Mars (or some other faraway land like Toronto that measures temperature in Celsius, length with the metric system, and time in half), and last you heard the Twins had had back-to-back 90-loss seasons, I'll give a little overview of recent Twins history before your Things to Think About.

 

On Sunday, the now 30-19 Twins won their 20th game of the month, doing so for the first time since what I believe was the year 1990. On Sunday, the Twins pulled ahead of the Astros for the best record of any team in the AL (.612), doing so for the first time since...(can someone else do the research for me?). And on Sunday, the Cubs beat the Royals, putting them in a respectable 2nd place behind our rags-to-riches Twins.

 

Also, my sincerest thanks to SampleSizeOfOne for letting me take today's game after being rained out yesterday.

 

1 - Pelfrey-Buchholz - Remember the last time those fellas pitched? I won't bore you with the details because it just happened the other day and you should still remember it - unless you did indeed just return from Mars or Toronto - but I just have to throw that one out at ya'll.

 

2 - Red Sox - Nobody likes teams like the Red Sox and Yankees; even fans of those teams will admit that that statement is at least half true. So while sweeps are always exciting when they go the Twins' way, last week's series when we hosted the BoSox at Target Field and swept 'em right back out of town was made doubly exciting by the fact that it was indeed the Red Sox, a team we've been struggling against for years. Of course, the icing to the cake was the fact that we brought ourselves 10 games above .500 and tied the Royals for 1st place in the AL Central since that same day they lost their 18th game (ironically to the Yankees).

 

3 - Boston - It's not easy to find very many true baseball fans in Boston. They all jump on and off the bandwagon as their team wins the World Series one year and then slips into the rear box car spot in the division the next. I have a theory about this, though. Take the 2013 World Series for instance. Enough of the Red Sox players to count as the whole team grew beards so long that if you didn't know any better you'd think they were a pack of homeless people hijacking Fenway Park. The problem is, they won the World Series, and all the Bostonians (and, I am sorry to say, people from various other parts of the world) jumped onto the bandwagon and tried to pretend that they were lifelong fans. People ran around with fraudulent facial hair hanging from their ears and cockamamy baseball hats with red B's on the front perched insolently atop of their craniums. Everyone claimed that this team was going to be the Yanks of the 21st century. And, needless to say, the vagabond players were now too well known to be able to get any peace while roaming the streets of Boston anymore. They were reduced to the sad state of having to purchase a razor with their remaining pennies and shave their beards so that they would no longer be so identifiable by the common populace (meaning bandwagon fans). Of course, the true fans of Boston (if there is such a thing) still knew what was up, and there were some bandwagon fans who continued to keep up the farce, but what happened? They ended the season with only one more win than the Twins.

 

But I shouldn't be mean about bandwagon fans. They do have something over me; all that jumping has to keep them in remarkable shape, whereas if I were to merely run around the bases of a field with major league proportions, I'm afraid I'd be out of breath by the time I reached third. I can't say conclusively, though...I've never tried it...and that pretty much sums up how athletic I am.

 

4 - Brad Pitt - Okay, I know....You're saying "Who's he?" or at least "What does he have to do with us?" Well, here we are in Beantown to take on the BoSox in Fenway - which reminds me that we should expect Joe Mauer to hit his 2nd home run of the season in this series, smashing the ball high and deep over the Green Monster. But to resume, I think that one of the main reasons the Red Sox made an offer to Brad Pitt to become their GM after the 2002 season was because they wanted to change the spelling of one of Boston's many nicknames to Beanetown. But as it is, Pitt chose loyalty over royalty - which is exactly what we Twins fans have done the past few years, and now we (the Twins fans, not Brad Pitt) are being rewarded.

 

5 - No Sox - I was raised on Beatrix Potter. I remember one scene from The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle with a hen named Sally Henny-Penny who ran around clucking, "I go barefoot, barefoot, barefoot." That's definitely how I feel right now, and for more reasons than just the fact that it's summer and has been...uh, warmer...(?)...lately. The Twins have been playing the Sox teams a lot lately, and I'm going to express my solidarity with the losing Sox by joining in with the speckled hen's chant.

 

Take 'em on, Twins!!! Pull off their stockings and stand 'em on their bare tootsies to welcome our dear friend Brad Pitt at the end of the week with all reverence due to the prince consort of Moneyball!

[nicksaviking]

Twins win 6-2.  Let's talk baseball.  Or at least what ever it is that game threads are classified as.

[SwainZag]

Excellent game thread post always.

 

On the weather front, it looks cold and overcast.  51 degree game time temperature with a slight breeze to the NorthEast.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Excellent game thread post always.

...

As always.

[Mike Sixel]

51? they built an outdoor stadium there? Unreal.......

 

 

[twinsnorth49]

 

Twins win 6-2.  Let's talk baseball.  Or at least what ever it is that game threads are classified as.

Not baseball that's for sure.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Not baseball that's for sure.

True enough. I speak baseball with a bat and a glove. And i suppose a couple of pudgy feet.

 

Alas, i'm perhaps not as fluent as i once was...

[Blake]

Fenway: the only park where Mauer's patented "fly ball lifted to left" automatically becomes a hit.

 

[COtwin]

What's with the obsession with batting Suzuki 5th?  Rosario has 100 points of OPS on Zuk and has been driving in runs.  Plouffe deserves a bit more protection as I don't think that Zuk instills much fear in opposing pitchers.  Just a thought.

 

I get that they like the string of speed at the bottom that this line up supplies, but it seems like Suzuki is like a speed bump in the middle or maybe a construction barrier between the two parts of the lineup.

[Mike Sixel]

 

What's with the obsession with batting Suzuki playing every day?

 

that's what you meant to type, right?

[JB_Iowa]

 

[Halsey Hall]

51 degrees might be a little cold for Pelfrey.  His slider doesn't seem to break until he gets warmed up and loose.  I hope he warms up a lot in the bullpen before the game.  I'm looking for him to add another win on his and our record.  And happy to see Roserio in the game again. 

[Craig Arko]

Yes, there will.

 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

...

 

3 - Boston[/b] - ... People ran around with fraudulent facial hair hanging from their ears and cockamamy baseball hats with red B's on the front perched insolently atop of their craniums....

Sorry, this made me think of the following scene...

 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Yes, there will.

 

Bark, if you're out there, what would Molitor look like as "the man in black"?

[formerly33]

 

Sorry, this made me think of the following scene...

Uh...question...are those supposed to be baseballs or stones? I can't quite place it. They look about as realistic as the women's beards.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Uh...question...are those supposed to be baseballs or stones? I can't quite place it. They look about as realistic as the women's beards.

Alas, only stones.

 

The connection was everyone parading around in false beards, though beyond that there isn't too much of a connection.

 

No more thought to the comment than that.

 

Good movie in general, though.

 

"We are all individuals!"

[Craig Arko]

Alas, only stones.The connection was everyone parading around in false beards, though beyond that there isn't too much of a connection.No more thought to the comment than that.Good movie in general, though."We are all individuals!"

Life's a piece of ****, when you look at it.

 

Those negative people were right after all. Now we just have to get them to sing about it.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

Bark, if you're out there, what would Molitor look like as "the man in black"?

Maybe not what you had in mind...

(Edit, after reviewing what, I posted. I could see how this could be misconstrued. Not my intention - DELETE.)

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Maybe not what you had in mind...

Mollie-NWA.jpg

That's one of the beauties of any collaborative process. Ya wind up with something outside of one's mind.

 

Thanks.

 

And my musical knowledges are always expanded in game threads, another one of the benefits of participation.

 

A stands for attitude, if i'm not mistaken? Beyond that, i don't know anything of the music...

[Gibby]

 

What's with the obsession with batting Suzuki 5th?  Rosario has 100 points of OPS on Zuk and has been driving in runs.  Plouffe deserves a bit more protection as I don't think that Zuk instills much fear in opposing pitchers.  Just a thought.

 

I get that they like the string of speed at the bottom that this line up supplies, but it seems like Suzuki is like a speed bump in the middle or maybe a construction barrier between the two parts of the lineup.

 

  Are you for real? Zuke is what we have to worry about in this line-up?

[Gibby]

 

  Oh crap, the wife is home. She's gonna want to walk me.

[twinsnorth49]

Ortiz>Escobar.........um.......yeah.

 

Kennys Vargas we hardly knew ye.

[Craig Arko]

Fenway: the only park where Mauer's patented "fly ball lifted to left" automatically becomes a hit.

Indeed; I'd consider batting him cleanup here.

[Craig Arko]

Ortiz>Escobar.........um.......yeah.

 

Kennys Vargas we hardly knew ye.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know Tonkin is the 26th guy being called up for the double dip tomorrow.

[Gibby]

 

Indeed; I'd consider batting him cleanup here.

 

  Pedroia is going to have a busy day.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I'm sure you'll be happy to know Tonkin is the 26th guy being called up for the double dip tomorrow.

 

This is not serious, is it? another RP?

[JB_Iowa]

 

  Oh crap, the wife is home. She's gonna want to walk me.

 

And then she'll want you to feed her!

[Craig Arko]

This is not serious, is it? another RP?

Honest as the day is long.

 

http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2015/06/02/twinsights-twins-hope-to-keep-ricky-nolasco-off-disabled-list/

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I'm sure you'll be happy to know Tonkin is the 26th guy being called up for the double dip tomorrow.

We have happened upon a new definition of happiness: happy as a fan whose team is calling up Tonkin to be the 26th man on the roster for the second game of a double header in Fenway Park.

 

I don't see it getting significant use, but it is a comforting thought.

 

This obviously increases his chances of pitching in the game, as they would be zero otherwise, and if they were still zero...

 

Lost my train of thought. Nevermind, its cargo was not particularly vital.

 

Almost game time...