Article: Game Thread: Twins v Astros, 8/28 7:10pm CT

[Riverbrian]

It was a late flight from Florida to Minnesota as the Twins get ready for the battle of nobody thought we'd be here. Both the Astros and Twins were overlooked as possible playoff teams in 2015. 2020 was supposed to be the year of playoff contention for both clubs. The Future is here and it's on display at catwalk-less Target Field this weekend.

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. Astros -- If you would have asked 100 people on opening day, "Do you think the Astros will be in 1st place on August 28th?" 80 would have said, "No"... 7 would have said, "Yes"... and 13 would have asked why August 28th was chosen as the date for a survey question on opening day and then would have refused to participate out of principle. Nearly all the experts were saying the Mariners were the team to beat in the AL West; and those who didn't pick the Mariners to win the division picked the Padres because the Padres were supposed to be so good they would win every single division in baseball.

2. Correa/Buxton -- Let's go back to June 4th, 2012. That was the day that Carlos Correa became the #1 pick in the baseball draft slipping in ahead of consensus #1, Byron Buxton. It was always supposed to be Buxton until this Correa kid started getting rumored in the 11th hour as the #1, and those rumors ended up being true. After the draft it was Buxton who became the darling as the #1 rated prospect in baseball until injuries knocked him back a little. Fast forward to today... Correa is the new darling at the major league level. Speed, power, and extraordinary defense at the SS position. This weekend at Target Field you will see the 2012 draft on display along with Lance McCullers Jr. who went 1A (41st overall) and Jose Berrios who was also a supplemental 1st rounder at 32nd overall. Oops Sorry... Berrios isn't here yet. It's possible that someone will bring that up later in a post.

3. Catwalks -- Oh My... Miguel Sano struck the Catwalk last night. According to Dick Bremer... if that ball wouldn't have struck the Catwalk it would have landed somewhere outside of the domed stadium. This leads to the obvious questions: how many cats are kept at Tropicana Field and who is in charge of changing the litter? It shouldn't be the responsibility of the grounds crew if it's that high off the ground.

4. Wild Card Race -- With the Twins loss and the Rangers win, we are a half game back from the final spot. Truth be told... only the A's are truly out of it. The 2nd worst record in the AL belongs to the Red Sox and they are only 7 and a half out. If the Red Sox get hot they could find themselves back in contention, and this is more possible now that Dave Dombroski is playing LF for them. If the Red Sox can get themselves into the race so can anybody else with a hot streak. The Twins can't focus on the Rangers... the Twins need to focus on the Twins.

5. Being Ignored -- You really start to understand what it's like to be ignored when you get a cat.

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Game-time forecast: 68 deg F, partly cloudy to clear, rain possible earlier in the day, but at game time it looks good, winds from the SE at 9mph.

Lineups:

ASTROS
Altuve 2B
Lowrie 3B
Gattis DH
Rasmus RF
Gomez CF
Valbuena 1B
Gonzalez SS
Castro C
Marisnick LF
Kazmir P

TWINS
Buxton CF
Escobar SS
Dozier 2B
Plouffe 1B
Rosario RF
Hunter DH
Nunez 3B
Suzuki C
Robinson LF
Gibson P

Play ball! Go Twins! (despite this lineup)

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[Jerr]

Another big season defining series, GO TWINS!!!!

 

Show the home fans ya got heart and care about winning  

[Blackjack]

I can relate to #5. My sister-in-law recently picked up two adult cats at the shelter and you can't get near them!!! I'm thinking why wouldn't you just get a nice puppy that would come tumbling into your lap every time you sat down, a puppy that would ALWAYS be happy to see you (as compared to say, your wife, who is only happy to see you some of the time).

 

Different strokes for different folks.

[Craig Arko]

It's supposed to rain this afternoon but clear up by gametime.

 

You want a friendly animal? Go for this little fellow.

 

http://mashable.com/2015/08/26/tiny-horse-chase/

[Platoon]

While there is a chance for cats to be on a cat walk, there are no cakes on a cake walk, and no rivers on a river walk! But don't dismiss walks out of hand. The Twins place great emphasis on walks! Both thrown and taken. Little known fact. There is previous history to the term cat walk in baseball that precedes domed stadia. In the fifties, the late, not that great, Ray Katt took 74 free passes in 8 years. These rare occurrences were widely referred to as (wait for it) Katt Walks!

[Squirrel]

 

While there is a chance for cats to be on a cat walk, there are no cakes on a cake walk, and no rivers on a river walk! But don't dismiss walks out of hand. The Twins place great emphasis on walks! Both thrown and taken. Little known fact. There is previous history to the term cat walk in baseball that precedes domed stadia. In the fifties, the late, not that great, Ray Katt took 74 free passes in 8 years. These rare occurrences were widely referred to as (wait for it) Katt Walks!

Uh, but there ARE rivers on a river walk ... but you are usually walking along side the river and not in it.

[Platoon]

Uh, but there ARE rivers on a river walk ... but you are usually walking along side the river and not in it.

My point exactly! For if the river were on the walk, it would require one to walk on water. And there are few of us with that ability! :)

[Craig Arko]

Since it's the Astros, how about moonwalking; Moon included.

 

[Platoon]

Randy Moss tried that in, I think, Green Bay? It was not well received! For the record, I thought it was hilarious.

[gocgo]

As opposed to Michael Jackson's moon walk which did not include a moon or any mooning.  Funny posts to start the morning off.  Thanks for the chuckles!

 

Now, on to more serious stuff.  I'm of the opinion that any sort of a losing streak of around 6-7 games would pretty much doom any of the wildcard contenders other than the Yankees.  If that happens to the Yankees, they'd be flirting with missing the playoffs depending on how other teams perform.

 

So, the first order of business is to avoid extended losing streaks.

 

As Crash Davis said - "A player on a streak has to respect the streak. You know why? Because they don't happen very often."

 

The same applies for a team.

 

From a glass half full perspective, you can see what would happen if a team goes on a 6-7 game winning streak based on what we saw when the Twins went on their recent tear.  Granted, it happened to coincide with a couple of teams faltering, but if the Twins or another team were to go on a 6-7 game winning streak, they could easily create a 3 game cushion and then play .500 ball the rest of the way and make it in as a wildcard.  Go Twins!  Just keep playing solid ball.

 

 

[twinsnorth49]

 

While there is a chance for cats to be on a cat walk, there are no cakes on a cake walk, and no rivers on a river walk! But don't dismiss walks out of hand. The Twins place great emphasis on walks! Both thrown and taken. Little known fact. There is previous history to the term cat walk in baseball that precedes domed stadia. In the fifties, the late, not that great, Ray Katt took 74 free passes in 8 years. These rare occurrences were widely referred to as (wait for it) Katt Walks!

http://media.giphy.com/media/1XoXJkOGri6Hu/giphy.gif

[gocgo]

Astros are gonna be a tough match up.  They hit a lot of dingers, they strike out a lot of hitters, and they steal a lot of bases.

 

Given that we don't miss a lot of bats, have plenty of young bats who love to swing, and a catcher and pitching staff that give up plenty of stolen bases, I don't see this series going well for us.

[James]

 

Astros are gonna be a tough match up.  They hit a lot of dingers, they strike out a lot of hitters, and they steal a lot of bases.

 

Given that we don't miss a lot of bats, have plenty of young bats who love to swing, and a catcher and pitching staff that give up plenty of stolen bases, I don't see this series going well for us.

Well, the Astros like to strike out a lot themselves.  So, maybe they'll make the Twins pitching look pretty good.  The Twins are also playing very well at home this season.  So, hopefully that bodes well for the home team!

[gocgo]

Texas hosts Baltimore while Tampa Bay hosts KC.  Do you hope for a sweep in the Texas vs. Baltimore series?  or some sort of a split?

[ttreadway]

Just saw the lineups. Its Buxton, Escobar, Dozier, Plouffe, Rosario, Hunter, Nunez, Suzuki, Robinson. Come on. This is suppose to be a defining series against a good team and no Sano or Mauer in the lineup? I understand they need rest, and Mauer is not that great right now, but at least lets alternate their days off!

[gocgo]

 

Just saw the lineups. Its Buxton, Escobar, Dozier, Plouffe, Rosario, Hunter, Nunez, Suzuki, Robinson. Come on. This is suppose to be a defining series against a good team and no Sano or Mauer in the lineup? I understand they need rest, and Mauer is not that great right now, but at least lets alternate their days off!

Sano needs a day off after hitting the catwalk?  No way.  Gotta be something else going on there.

[gocgo]

Just read that Correa is out for the Astros.

[mikecgrimes]

Get mauer out so sano can play 3rd makes complete sense plus Buxton struck out 4 times so get sano out.

[Halsey Hall]

Glad I don't have a ticket to the game.  I'd be pee'd if Sano didn't play. 

[twinsnorth49]

 

Just read that Correa is out for the Astros.

http://replygif.net/i/877.gif

[twinsnorth49]

WTF is with this lineup?!!! Seriously? I was sure as **** we were in a playoff race.

[twinsnorth49]

Well at least  Mollie will have his 9th inning bench bat we all so desperately asked for.........there's that......right?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I've really wanted to see Nunez get a shot at third for awhile now.

 

*rubs eyes*

 

Oh, wait. No, that's not true at all.

 

Sano. I've really wanted to see Sano get a shot a third for awhile now.

[Squirrel]

WTF is with this lineup?!!! Seriously? I was sure as **** we were in a playoff race.

I almost didn't want to post those after I rubbed my eyes clear and realized I was really seeing what I was seeing. All I could think was 'Oh hell.'

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

Just saw the lineups. Its Buxton, Escobar, Dozier, Plouffe, Rosario, Hunter, Nunez, Suzuki, Robinson. Come on. This is suppose to be a defining series against a good team and no Sano or Mauer in the lineup? I understand they need rest, and Mauer is not that great right now, but at least lets alternate their days off!

You speak the truth, and it's sad.

[D. Hocking]

The line-up is to lull the Astros into a false sense of security.  They will not have the proper adrenaline rush, play sub-par, and the rest will be history.

 

And to help people relax and not worry about it, they can still make the decision to pinch-hit Hermann later in the game if necessary.

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

Glad I don't have a ticket to the game.  I'd be pee'd if Sano didn't play. 

I went to one Fall League game last year and neither Buxton or Kepler played. I felt ripped off.

 

Then again, someone standing in line next to me gave me a free ticket, so I couldn't complain.

Edited August 28, 2015 by ScrapTheNickname

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

http://media.giphy.com/media/1XoXJkOGri6Hu/giphy.gif

I am out of the loop (whichever loop that is): WHO IS THIS GUY?

[drock2190]

No Correa or Sano?

 

I read that Correa might be iffy all weekend, which is good news for the Twins but I would like to see the young guy play. 

[D. Hocking]

 

I am out of the loop (whichever loop that is): WHO IS THIS GUY?

 

I am hoping it really is Twinsnorth49 (as long as I never meet him in a dark alley).