Article: Game Thread: White Sox@Twins 4/11 3:10PM

[Riverbrian]

These are the days that test who you are as a Minnesota Twins Fan. Rough Start... Expectations not being met... and a small sample size. Do you start throwing babies out with the bath water or do you just keep washing this baby.

All I know is that many of you have got the baby by both ankles and are looking for a place to dispose of it.

I'm saying not yet because that's what Molly Ringwald would have done.

 

1. 0-6 -- I like to keep things loose. I'm not the type of guy who likes to focus on the bad stuff and I am constantly in search of the good stuff. It's just the way I am... I don't like feeling bad... I like feeling good. I like people who are happy and that's the table I want to sit at. If the other tables are complaining about things. I'd rather sit somewhere else. So here is what I have to say about an 0-6 start. Nothing... I'm going to stay quiet and whistle past the graveyard. I actually don't know how to whistle and that is a little awkward because everybody seems to be able to whistle at the table I sit at. So in order to keep up... I bring an actual whistle to blow into and this does get the waiter/waitress to the cool kids table faster.

2 0-6 (Part 2) -- I didn't do any research on it but I'm willing to assume that nearly every team has gone through a 6 game losing streak at some point during a 162 game schedule since the beginning of time. We just got ours out of the way early. When the Twins go 100-56 the rest of the way. I was talking about this at the cool kids table and even the cool kids want me to sit somewhere else.

3. What has gone wrong -- Well... It's all players that we were dying to see. Sano, Park, Buxton,Rosario and Dozier. The players who were supposed to lead us to the promised land can't make contact with the baseball. Those 5 have struck out 49 times in 6 games.

4. Trucking -- When you go to Best Buy and purchase a new 98 foot television. This is possible because of truckers. Truckers are the backbone of America... they keep the economy moving and in order for you to buy that TV. Someone has to be willing to leave their family for extended periods of time... sleep in a small space in the back of the cab... shower when you can in a truck stop and walk out in the cold to get back to truck with your hair all wet... give up your home court advantage when using the bathroom... eat truck stop food... and I would imagine you spend a lot of time talking to yourself because of the solitude of mile after mile. I'm thinking about trucking because I got me a 16 foot Budget Truck and I'm driving that thing through Northern Michigan, Upper Michigan, Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota today and tomorrow. I'm gonna stop at the truck stops along the way and share my story of the road with my trucking brethren and I'm sure that they will except me as one of their own. Hopefully.. they can give me some advice on how to get this 98 foot television into this 16 foot truck. I'm struggling with that right now.

5. The White Sox win the World Series!!! -- And when this happens... the first thing that the White Sox fan will do is... Turn off the Play Station.

One last thing... North Dakota. National Champions in Hockey!!! Woo Hoo!!!

--------------------
Lineups:

WHITE SOX
Adam Eaton(L) RF
Jimmy Rollins(S) SS
Jose Abreu(R ) 1B
Todd Frazier(R ) 3B
Melky Cabrera(S) LF
Brett Lawrie(R ) 2B
Avisail Garcia(R ) DH
Dioner Navarro(S) C
Austin Jackson(R ) CF

Quintana P

TWINS
Brian Dozier(R ) 2B
Joe Mauer(L) 1B
Miguel Sano(R ) RF
Trevor Plouffe(R ) 3B
Byung-ho Park(R ) DH
Eddie Rosario(L) LF
Eduardo Escobar(S) SS
Kurt Suzuki(R ) C
Byron Buxton(R ) CF

Gibson P

Game-time forecast: partly cloudy, 40 deg F (brrrr!), winds from the NW at 18mph (more brrrrr!)

Go Twins!

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[twinsnorth49]

Good to see UND take their rightful place at the top again, congrats!

[Mike Sixel]

Brrrrr. Gonna be cold out there. That's the true test of those with tickets.....

[Craig Arko]

It'll be cold out there even for those of us who don't have tickets.

 

The happy table is the inside table.

[scottz]

DID...WE...WIN...YET?!?!

[Mike Sixel]

 

DID...WE...WIN...YET?!?!

 

when you first posted this.....I assumed you were talking about that particular game, not the season....

[alarp33]

Any idea why Mauer hitting 2nd this year lasted all of 2 games?  Does he move back there today?

[USAFChief]

 

Good to see UND take their rightful place at the top again, congrats!

BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Any idea why Mauer hitting 2nd this year lasted all of 2 games?  Does he move back there today?

1.069 OPS seems pretty third-spot-like to me. 

[alarp33]

 

1.069 OPS seems pretty third-spot-like to me. 

 

Yeah except that OPS means very little when he's batting with 2 outs and no one on base.  But sure, we should continue to give Santana and Rosario more at bats than him

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Yeah except that OPS means very little when he's batting with 2 outs and no one on base.  But sure, we should continue to give Santana and Rosario more at bats than him

mmmmmkay...

[Halsey Hall]

I wasn't going to watch any more games til they won one, but had to tune in yesterday to see how Nolasco would do. It was worth it..........til he got lifted. Actually flipped the channel when Perkins came in, but flipping back and forth I did witness the blow. Not sure what to do today.

[Blake]

So far, the Twins are the Salvador Dali of the baseball world.

 

Like Dali's paintings, the Twins seem to be just a bit off.

[Craig Arko]

 

So far, the Twins are the Salvador Dali of the baseball world.

 

Like Dali's paintings, the Twins seem to be just a bit off.

I was thinking more like Duchamp; Nude Striking Out on a Staircase.

[Cap'n Piranha]

On point 2, did you mean team or franchise?  Because I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the 2001 Mariners team that went 116-46 never lost 6 in a row.

[Pardon My Dinger]

Definitely Duchamp. 

 

[Vanimal46]

Have fun driving the Budget truck! For me, there was nothing more terrifying than driving a U-Haul with my SUV hitched to the back all the way down I-35 to get to Texas. Never again.... 

Edited April 11, 2016 by Vanimal46

[Vanimal46]

 

Good to see UND take their rightful place at the top again, congrats!

I would say better that they win it than an East Coast team, but I've been raised to hate UND more than the Yankees, Red Sox, and Brian Duensing combined... I just can't muster a congratulations to that school. 

[Blake]

 

Have fun driving the Budget truck! For me, there was nothing more terrifying than driving a U-Haul with my SUV hitched to the back all the way down I-35 to get to Texas. Never again.... 

I was driving a U-Haul towing my car...and had some fool with a death wish who was in oncoming traffic, decide to pass..and there wasn't enough room. I made it onto the shoulder so as to avoid a head-on collision but it was pretty dicey.  

[Mike Sixel]

Ya, number 1000 we are hiring movers next month, and not driving our stuff to Oregon from MN.....

[ashbury]

I was thinking more like Duchamp; Nude Striking Out on a Staircase.

Once again I learn something by reading Game Thread. Exactly what value I gained... ummmm...

 

_{^{/ edit - one of the things I learned is that you have to include "Duchamp" in your Google Image Search string...}}

[Vanimal46]

 

Ya, number 1000 we are hiring movers next month, and not driving our stuff to Oregon from MN.....

You will not regret that decision. If I could go back in time I would have bought the U-Haul pods 10 out of 10 times. 

[rghrbek]

 

1.069 OPS seems pretty third-spot-like to me. 

 

Do we think Mauer's 4 game OPS batting 3rd will hold up?   Seems to me we have a rather large recent sample size that says it will not.    I agree with Alarp that we need to have some better thought put into who is batting 2nd.    However, if Sano et all cannot start contributing, it won't matter if we have terrible OB% guys batting 1st and 2nd.

[Vanimal46]

 

I was driving a U-Haul towing my car...and had some fool with a death wish who was in oncoming traffic, decide to pass..and there wasn't enough room. I made it onto the shoulder so as to avoid a head-on collision but it was pretty dicey.  

Jesus, that is TERRIFYING! I had a couple of dicey situations, but nothing as crazy as that. I remember getting screwed up with the Kansas Turnpike... Not wanting to go on the toll road but couldn't make the maneuver quickly enough, so I was stuck on that toll road... And a lot of stretches on I-35 where the speed limit was 75+ and the stupid U-Haul topped out at 65... Thought the engine was going to burst in flames chugging up some steep inclines. 

[James]

 

Do we think Mauer's 4 game OPS batting 3rd will hold up?   Seems to me we have a rather large recent sample size that says it will not.    I agree with Alarp that we need to have some better thought put into who is batting 2nd.    However, if Sano et all cannot start contributing, it won't matter if we have terrible OB% guys batting 1st and 2nd.

We also have several years of data that suggests that he is capable of continuing these numbers.  So, I'm just going to enjoy this ride while for as long as possible.  

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Do we think Mauer's 4 game OPS batting 3rd will hold up?   

Let's just forego the SSS talk, because we all get it, and we all hope things start changing. 

 

But how does his OPS change depending on which spot he's in?

[Mike Sixel]

 

Do we think Mauer's 4 game OPS batting 3rd will hold up?   Seems to me we have a rather large recent sample size that says it will not.    I agree with Alarp that we need to have some better thought put into who is batting 2nd.    However, if Sano et all cannot start contributing, it won't matter if we have terrible OB% guys batting 1st and 2nd.

 

yes, i want to believe.....

[David HK]

 

Have fun driving the Budget truck! For me, there was nothing more terrifying than driving a U-Haul with my SUV hitched to the back all the way down I-35 to get to Texas. Never again.... 

Seems like a heck of a lot of trouble just to get to.... Texas.

[HitInAPinch]

Can Nolasco pitch again today? 

[David HK]

Been busy with the rugby this week, and missed most of this early-season debacle.  (But at least UND won!  Haaaaaaaa!)

I'm back now, and it's time for them boys to get to work!  I've peeked in a few times, enough to wanna tap Molly upside the head with the Pisek phone book, but if he doesn't watch out, I'm coming for him with the Anamoose one.