Article: Game Thread: Twins v Tigers, 7/9 @ 7:10pm CT

[Riverbrian]

A four-game series with the Tigers kicks off tonight... Will the Twins be in front of the Tigers when it concludes? I don't know... only Seth Stohs with his inside connections knows for sure... The rest of us will have to wait and see.

The Tigers were rough on the Twins in April but that seems like months ago. The Twins have been the better team since they last met.

A good series for the Twins into the All-Star break could lead to additions before August is out.

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. The Tigers -- I've crossed over enemy lines. I have assimilated their culture. My reconnaissance has uncovered many things previously unseen by Minnesotans and it's time to pass along my first report. Michiganders for the most part are decent people; they mean well but they prefer fair weather when it comes to baseball. They also prefer gasoline scented glade and they catch spiders outside and bring them back into the house. My super secret research has revealed that they are not baseball happy at the moment and they blame Brad Ausmus and Betty White for some reason.

2. Brian Dozier -- Brian Dozier should be in the All-Star Game. There... I said it and I'll say it again... Brian Dozier should be in the All-Star Game. That's all that needs to be said. So... I've nothing else to say... (Long Pause)... Nobody is buying that... I've got more to say. Based on his performance it isn't a stretch to say he's been the top 2B in all of baseball in 2015. Yet... he has been kept on the outside by a couple of questionable all-star conventions: the iron clad guideline that each team must be represented, and, the biggest crime of all... fan voting. I'm OK with each team getting a representative and that leads to Brock Holt being selected over Dozier because nobody else on the Red Sox is worthy. But I haven't been OK with the fans voting. They obviously don't know what they are doing and these are the same people who elect the people inside those fancy buildings in Washington. They need to be stopped. No more fan voting and no more elections. The only non-corruptible system of selection for the White House and All-Star game is pulling a name from a hat. I've tested this theory with a hat and here are the results:

American League Starters
C- Salvador Perez
1B- Eric Hosmer
2B-Brian Dozier
3B-Mike Moustakas
SS- Christian Colon
LF-Alex Gordon
CF-Lorenzo Cain
RF-Amos Otis

President 2016
Miranda Waiters, age 37, Registered Nurse, Helena, Montana

In conclusion... I want everyone to know that it took me a real long time to put everybody in the United States into a single hat for the Presidential result. It also took a really big hat.

3. Sano -- OK... he's taking a page out of Kris Bryant's book. Don't come to town and try to hit a 5 run homer each at bat. Take what the pitcher gives you and do something with it and so far so good. If Sano keeps going up there with a game plan... he's going to be here a while. Yeah... the strikeouts are still piling up a little with Sano and Bryant as well... but when contact is made... it's been pretty effective. Good approaches leads to more at bats and more at bats eventually means more home runs.

4. Not Selling -- At the end of this 4-game series... the teams will break. And the Twins are in contention. This means the Twins have to be talking about the necessary improvements that need to be made. The front office has playoff considerations to consider. The All-Star break is when teams finally decide if they are buyers or sellers. We don't know if they will buy because it's hard to think of our Twins as buyers but... we darn well know... they ain't selling. So what do they need? About 3 quality bullpen arms and one of those new Buicks that nobody believes is a Buick.

5. Salad -- I've realized that I haven't been eating many vegetables for supper lately so I thought I'd remedy that during lunch time. There is a pretty decent salad bar down the street. I tried it... It was OK and I almost tried it again the very next day. I stopped myself because I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to dominate vegetables.

--------------------
Game-time forecast: 80 deg F, clear, sunny, winds at 7mph from the SSW.

Lineups:

TIGERS
Kinsler 2B
Cespedes LF
V. Martinez DH
J.D. Martinez RF
Avila C
Castellanos 3B
Krauss 1B
Gose CF
Iglesias SS

Price P

TWINS
Dozier 2B
Mauer 1B
Plouffe 3B
Sano DH
Hunter RF
Nunez SS
Hicks CF
Suzuki C
Robinson LF

Pelfrey P

Play ball! Go Twins!

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[glunn]

Great setup.  You climbed to the top of the food chain?  

[Riverbrian]

Great setup.  You climbed to the top of the food chain?

 

Yeah... That's how you get there. You don't swim to the Top... You gotta climb it. The path to the top of the food chain is a series of trees, step ladders and playground equipment.

[Craig Arko]

Pelfrey vs. Price in game 1 looks grim; the rest of the matchups could be quite favorable. I'll say 3-1 series win.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Anyone else think that Miranda Waiters would be a better President than the crap coming out of DC these days?

[Puckett34]

 

Pelfrey vs. Price in game 1 looks grim; the rest of the matchups could be quite favorable. I'll say 3-1 series win.

I'd take a 3-1 series win.  I'd even take a split.  Could anyone even imagine that the Twins could be at or near 50 wins by the all star break?  I know I didn't.  Oh and also #VoteDozier, Trevor May told me several times on Twitter that he is pretty good.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Testing article comments. Nothing to see here.

[Squirrel]

 

Anyone else think that Miranda Waiters would be a better President than the crap coming out of DC these days?

Wrong thread … leave it to you to glom onto that one, though!

[JB_Iowa]

Wow, a game thread first thing in the morning.   All day to anticipate.

 

I hope Pelfrey has a good game.  I hope somebody out there wants him (or at least, could use him).

 

I've kind of worn myself out on the voting but I'm sure I'll put in a few hundred more today.

[mikecgrimes]

If Alex Gordon is out I have to assume doizer is a sure thing with or without the vote.

[GACbaseball]

I'll be attending this game - what are the chances I see Pelfrey's last start as a Twin?

[ashbury]

I am considering becoming a vegetarian, not because of some great love for animals, but because I hate vegetables.

[Craig Arko]

I am considering becoming a vegetarian, not because of some great love for animals, but because I hate vegetables.

You may regret that.

 

 

[USAFChief]

I'll be attending this game - what are the chances I see Pelfrey's last start as a Twin?

ditto.

[ashbury]

Nothing to see here.

This would mean the message body should have been blank, so now I'm really confused.

[ashbury]

If Alex Gordon is out I have to assume doizer is a sure thing with or without the vote.

Adam Jones.

 

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/kansas-city-royals-alex-gordon-injury-carted-off-strained-left-groin-070815?vid=480625219629

 

[mikecgrimes]

Jones was already a reserve, now starting for Gordon.

[gocgo]

When I look at the stats, it looks like an edge to Detroit in the hitting department (possibly a push with Cabrera out).  Pitching - not a big fan of ERA, so BAA is .269 vs. .264 (slight edge to them), and we have 46 errors vs. their 43.  The pitching and fielding stats are both dependent on the scorekeeper, but I'll assume that the scorekeepers are equally unobjective.  

 

So, on paper, Detroit looks a little better....but paper doesn't win games.  Given the stats and the tear that Detroit has been on, I'd take a split.  Win tonight, and all bets are off.  Go Twins!

[gocgo]

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a blown save by the Detroit bullpen in this series as well.

[Winston Smith]

Yeah... That's how you get there. You don't swim to the Top... You gotta climb it. The path to the top of the food chain is a series of trees, step ladders and playground equipment.

Sisyphus would be proud!

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Cabrera being out means 4 or 5 fewer homers from the Tigers in this series. You always want to face the best competition, but it will be a relief to not have his bat coming around every few innings.

[JB_Iowa]

 

Yeah... That's how you get there. You don't swim to the Top... You gotta climb it. The path to the top of the food chain is a series of trees, step ladders and playground equipment.

 

Seems to me its a pile of chicken, bacon, hamburger, pulled pork, a little fish, lamb if you want it, steak, etc. etc. etc. 

[gil4]

 

I'll be attending this game - what are the chances I see Pelfrey's last start as a Twin?

 

Just the standard .05% that any given pitcher's arm falls off after any given game.  Not much better than that, though.  I guess you could add another .45% chance that the Twins find someone to give them something of value for him.  Call it .5%.   

[James]

 

Seems to me its a pile of chicken, bacon, hamburger, pulled pork, a little fish, lamb if you want it, steak, etc. etc. etc. 

Was this all acquired from Kwik Trip and their creepy butcher guy?

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/tUv1ddWKTEk/0.jpg

 

(Fun fact: The last type of meat he offers is really human meat).

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

Yeah... That's how you get there. You don't swim to the Top... You gotta climb it. The path to the top of the food chain is a series of trees, step ladders and playground equipment.

I must say Brian, that you were born at the top of the food chain. You didn't do any climbing. Be kind to salads. Like Sano, you must take what the pitcher gives you. Also like that Michiganers bring spiders into the house - where they belong!

[Blake]

 

Seems to me its a pile of chicken, bacon, hamburger, pulled pork, a little fish, lamb if you want it, steak, etc. etc. etc. 

Unless it's Coastal CA, then it's nuts, toffu, kale and kiwi.

[ScrapTheNickname]

Brad Ausmus bugs me. Is it because he has a face that perpetually looks like it has no idea what the hell is going on?

Edited July 9, 2015 by ScrapTheNickname

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

Was this all acquired from Kwik Trip and their creepy butcher guy?

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/tUv1ddWKTEk/0.jpg

 

(Fun fact: The last type of meat he offers is really human meat).

 

I gotta get myself to Kwik Trip, I love Soylent Green.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

Brad Ausmus bugs me. Is it because he has a face that perpetually looks like it has no idea what the hell is going on?

 

You've noticed, too?

 

Mark my words, Gardy will be managing either the Tigers or Whities in 2016.*

 

 

 

* or sooner

[gocgo]

When I look at the Twins shopping list which should just be bull pen arms, I'm not seeing much out there.  Chapman...but we don't need a closer.  So, how about this - we go after a starting pitcher.  Whaaaaa?  We have too many of those already!  But what about moving Pelfrey to the BP?  Would it tick him off?  Sure.  Is he gone after this year anyway?  Probably.  Is he better than some of the current BP arms?  I think so.  I don't think we need to get into the bidding war for Cueto, but there are some other quality arms out there who might improve both our rotation and our pen in one shot.