Article: Game Thread: Twins v Rangers, 8/11 @ 7:10pm CT

[Riverbrian]

My thoughts are negative so let's counter that with some positive thinking to begin with:

-The Road Trip is over. The Twins have come home and they have a much better home record.

-The Twins are still in contention for a wild card spot.

-Cold Streaks often end quickly and Hot Streaks can begin as quickly.

-It's Summer!!

-It's not Winter!!!

-Teddy Bridgewater has shown an ability to complete 10 yard passes to his tight end.

-The Twins have ranged far and wide and have come home to face the Rangers...

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. Rangers -- The Rangers were rolling pretty good but I'm hopeful that the Seattle Mariners cooled them off by taking 2 out of 3 this past weekend. Maybe this is a sign of the Rangers' hot streak running out of gas and maybe... just maybe... we will be facing just a normal run-of-the-mill squad. The Texas Rangers were named after the New York Rangers. To be called a Ranger doesn't really narrow things down. You can be a Texas Ranger... a New York Ranger... a Park Ranger... a Forest Ranger... an Army Ranger... a Power Ranger... a Lone Ranger... a Night Ranger (Don't Tell me You Love Me)... an Iron Ranger... a boat or a Ford Truck. Prince Fielder is the Ranger that most resembles a Ford Truck.

2. One Turn Through the Rotation -- On our latest trip through our rotation the Twins gave up 52 runs. Thank God we had 9 pitchers in the bullpen or it could have been worse. This may be the 1st time in history where a front office is looking at an exhausted 9-man bullpen and openly discussing the need to call up a 10th bullpen arm.

3. The Last 15 Games -- Here's a list of Twins players hitting below .230 in the last 15 games: Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Torii Hunter, Kurt Suzuki, Joe Mauer, Eduardo Escobar, Eduardo Nunez and the backup catcher combo of Herrmann and Fryer. That's everybody except Aaron Hicks. Ladies and Gentlemen... Aaron Hicks is carrying the Twins and I'm afraid that we are too heavy for him to carry right now.

4. The Last 15 Games -- On the Pitching Side... Here's a list of Twins Pitchers with ERA's over 5.00 in the last 15 games. Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson... Oh God!!! I Can't go on!!! Let's just say... thank God for Mike Pelfrey... His 4.76 ERA is keeping this from being a total disaster.

5. Starting out with Nothing -- I don't want to be totally negative because of the results of this last road trip. I think it's helpful to remind all that the Twins came into the 2015 season and they started out with nothing and they still have most of that.

--------------------
Game-time forecast: 78 deg F, clear and sunny heading toward clear and moon/starlit, 0% chance of precipitation, wind from the N at 6mph. I'm hoping that this lovely-sounding evening isn't spoiled by a baseball game. (ChiTown's addition, not RB's.)

Lineups:

RANGERS
DeShields CF
Choo RF
Fielder DH
Beltre 3B
Moreland 1B
Hamilton LF
Andrus SS
Odor 2B
Gimenez C

Gallardo P

TWINS
Hicks CF
Dozier 2B
Mauer 1B
Sano 3B
Plouffe 3B
Hunter RF
Rosario LF
Suzuki C
Escobar SS

Gibson P

Go Twins! Play ball!

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[Platoon]

"Thank God for Mike Pelfrey" I never thought I would see those 5 words consecutively in TD, or for that matter anywhere !

[Squirrel]

So much to say. So little time to say it.

[big dog]

Good-news prediction: Achter will get an out next time he takes the mound, and his ERA will plummet below 40.

 

Optimistic prediction: he'll show enough stuff to be in the mix for next year's pen.

[JB_Iowa]

Gibson and Gallardo are both 8-9.  I'm calling on Kyle to be the stopper (Heaven knows we need one) and even up that record at 9-9.

 

 

[Halsey Hall]

Dozier's run for the all time Twins strikeout record continues on tonight.  Look out Danny Darwin, here he comes!

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

No time like today to turn things around - the Twins have been embarrassing to watch since the all-star break.

 

They've played some hot teams, sure, but that's no excuse for the completely flat play they've displayed the past few weeks.

 

I miss Kennys Vargas and Oswaldo Arcia. I didn't mind the strikeouts as long as they crushed 2 or 3 out of the park per week.

 

Gallardo hasn't won two consecutive starts since the month of May - let's keep that streak alive, Twins!

[spinowner]

The Texas Rangers were named after the New York Rangers but they weren't named for them. They were named for the Texas Rangers. (I'm confident that Riverbrian knows this but I couldn't help myself saying so.)

[Mike Sixel]

I'm going to try this one more time:

 

Win Twins.

[big dog]

 

Dozier's run for the all time Twins strikeout record continues on tonight.  Look out Danny Darwin, here he comes!

I don't think Dozier will hold the title for K's as long as Darwin did, though.  Sano might have it by August 1 next year.

 

It's amazing to me that the all-time single-season record for the Twins is only 145 K's.  Harmon had 145 walks in a season.  There have been almost 300 instances of a hitter striking out more than 145 times in a year, none (so far) by a Twin.

[Platoon]

The Texas Rangers were named after the New York Rangers but they weren't named for them. They were named for the Texas Rangers. (I'm confident that Riverbrian knows this but I couldn't help myself saying so.)

If the Texas Rangers were named for the Texas Rangers, should they not be the Texas Rangers Jr.? If I get stopped for speeding in Texas, (which btw is almost impossible to do) how will I know which Ranger I am talking to?

[David HK]

 

Dozier's run for the all time Twins strikeout record continues on tonight.  Look out Danny Darwin, here he comes!

Methinks it's this Darwinian presence of which you speak--  Danny was a pretty good chucker with the Rangers for a while.  Man, that Bobby D could swat 'em long, tho, in between K's.

 

[Halsey Hall]

Right!  My bad. 

[mickeymental]

 

My thoughts are negative so let's counter that with some positive thinking to begin with:

-The Road Trip is over. The Twins have come home and they have a much better home record.

-The Twins are still in contention for a wild card spot.

-Cold Streaks often end quickly and Hot Streaks can begin as quickly.

-It's Summer!!

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. Rangers -- The Rangers were rolling pretty good but I'm hopeful that the Seattle Mariners cooled them off by taking 2 out of 3 this past weekend. Maybe this is a sign of the Rangers' hot streak running out of gas and maybe... just maybe... we will be facing just a normal run-of-the-mill squad. The Texas Rangers were named after the New York Rangers. To be called a Ranger doesn't really narrow things down. You can be a Texas Ranger... a New York Ranger... a Park Ranger... a Forest Ranger... an Army Ranger... a Power Ranger... a Lone Ranger... a Night Ranger (Don't Tell me You Love Me)... a boat or a Ford Truck. Prince Fielder is the Ranger that most resembles a Ford Truck.
 

let's not forget iron rangers!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

If I get stopped for speeding in Texas, (which btw is almost impossible to do) how will I know which Ranger I am talking to?

First of all, that's one fast horse......

[Cap'n Piranha]

Shouldn't there be a law that requires there always be a player named Walker on the Texas Rangers roster?

[Vanimal46]

 

If I get stopped for speeding in Texas, (which btw is almost impossible to do) how will I know which Ranger I am talking to?

 

You are correct that it's nearly impossible to be stopped for speeding.... The date: May 2014. I was cruising on I-35 somewhere between Dallas and Austin, traveling 88 in a 70. I look back and see a State Trooper gaining traction on me in the side mirrors (the car was filled to the brim with stuff I was moving down from MN). Brand new, less than 24 hours in my new state, I thought "oh ****, I can't afford a fine right now." I signaled to the right lane and slowed down, anticipating the cherry lights to flick on. INSTEAD, the trooper kept right on moving, going well above 90 MPH, and the sweat stopped dripping down my face. 

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Just for context...

 

Rank

Player

Strikeouts

Year

1. Bobby Darwin 145 1972
2. Carlos Gomez 142 2008
3. Harmon Killebrew 142 1962
4. Josh Willingham 141 2012
5. Jim Lemon 138 1956 (* with the Washington Senators)
6. Bobby Darwin 137 1973
7. Harmon Killebrew 135 1964
8. Rich Becker 130 1997
9.  Michael Cuddyer 130 2006
10. Brian Dozier 129 2014
  Jacque Jones 129 2002

Edited August 11, 2015 by Kirby_waved_at_me

[diehardtwinsfan]

Shouldn't there be a law that requires there always be a player named Walker on the Texas Rangers roster?

We could offer Adam Brett Walker to them for a king's ransom.

[Mike Sixel]

 

We could offer Adam Brett Walker to them for a king's ransom.

 

As a bonus, he has the three name thing going, which Texans seem to love....

[ScrapTheNickname]

Spin #3497:

 

After starting 1-6, the Twins are 54-50 (.519).

[ashbury]

and the sweat stopped dripping down my face. 

http://thetopfivepercent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ICallBS_747_Blog.png

 

This was Texas? The sweat never stops dripping down one's face.

[Vanimal46]

 

I call BS. This was Texas? The sweat never stops dripping down one's face.

 

 

You'd be surprised how you acclimate after a while being in the TX heat. It's currently 105 today, been near 100 for the last week and a half. Sometimes you're too dang hot to sweat! And the beers go down easier too.......

[spinowner]

 

Spin #3497:

 

After starting 1-6, the Twins are 54-50 (.519).

Additional spin: The Twins are 1-6 in their last 7 games.There are 51 games left in the season. In the 51 games after their 1-6 start the Twins were 32-19. If they replicate that performance they will finish at 87-75.

[ashbury]

As a bonus, he has the three name thing going, which Texans seem to love....

Except that none of them is a nickname for a child of three.

[D. Hocking]

 

let's not forget iron rangers!

 

People remember the Lakers moving to LA and the North Stars moving to Dallas, but for some reason forget about when the Hibbing Iron Rangers moved to Texas.  Bob Dylan's grandfather was on the team, and the town's pain from losing the team fueled a lot of Bob's early songwriting.  

 

If we lose today, it will obviously be because RB was not sincere in having positive thoughts.  The baseball gods can sense when someone is just giving lip service.

 

http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/fayralph1.gif

[ashbury]

Except that none of them is a nickname for a child of three.

I should add, he could save it by appending Junior to his name. But no. He's Adam Brett Walker II. Ooo, lahdeedah! Care for a scone with your Earl Grey tea, sir?

[Squirrel]

 

let's not forget iron rangers!

Because this is a most excellent thought, and because I'm sure Brian wouldn't mind, and, being his editor, I put that into the article.

[jimmer]

My preseason pick for AL MVP, Josh Donaldson, is tearing it up this year.  As great as Trout has been (and always is) I still think Donaldson wins it.

[Mike Sixel]

 

My preseason pick for AL MVP, Josh Donaldson, is tearing it up this year.  As great as Trout has been (and always is) I still think Donaldson wins it.

 

He clearly has a shot. If the O's somehow make the playoffs and Machado carries them, it could be him. Really, it depends on what the Jays, O's and Angels do as teams the rest of the way.

 

Trout will still be hurt by old schoolers, Donaldson by Canada and all the hitters they've amassed....imo.