Game Thread: Day-Night Double-Header Twins v Astros, 8/11 @ 12:10pm and 6:10pm CT

[Squirrel]

Weather really can screw things up. Last night we saw a couple innings of 5-0 baseball (against Keuchel no less) get washed away by the rain. Gone, completely. My At Bat app doesn't even have the box score of what was played. No going back to watch videos of the hits and errors that led us to five runs, no going back to see Santana get through two with only one hit relinquished. Just a big, bold, all-caps POSTPONED. Weather can be a good thing. Who doesn't like getting caught in the rain? (No, no NO ... do not start with the pina coladas.) But in this case it really mucked it up good and completely erased what was. The game this afternoon will go as planned with Berrios on the mound. No TV for you locals, but I'll be able to watch Houston's feed here in Chicago. But this evening's game, well, it will be Milone starting instead of Santana and it looks to be televised for y'all. It is what it is ... you can blame it on the weather.

 

Game 2 thread begins here.

 

In keeping with Brian's format, the five things themed thread, I'm going with weather ... what else? It's a Midwesterners favorite thing to talk about. So here are some past weather events in Minnesota's past.

 

1. Flood of 1965 - I barely remember this event. Actually, I don't think I do. What I remember is the pictures in the family photo album and Mom and Dad saying what was. We were shipped off to our grandparents in Duluth. Don't remember if Mom stayed with us or left us there, but Dad stayed home in Winona to help with volunteer duties ... you know ... filling sandbags, walking the dike, things like that. I think I had the mumps, too. Ah, well ... that's how it goes with the recollections of a 2-almost 3-yr old.

 

2. The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 - This one I do remember. I was living in Minneapolis in a duplex on Kenwood Parkway just down from the Blake School. I remember walking to work that morning. My route was through the Sculpture Garden, across the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge (yes, that's the name of that bridge, I had to look it up) to Loring Park, through the park, the Greenway and to Orchestra Hall. There was a pretty good path in the snow to follow through the park so I made it just fine. It took a bit longer, but made it just fine. We were supposed to have a concert that morning at 11 but it was, of course, cancelled. By noon, it was announced ... go home, go home now. So I bundled all up and started my walk back the way I came. I got to Loring Park and in just two short hours, there was no more path in the snow. It had been completely erased. (Like last night's game. Thank you, weather.) The wind was up, the snow was falling thicker and faster, and the snow was deeper, much deeper, in just two hours. That ended up not being a walk through the park through the snow, but one, long, difficult trudge by trudge step. I can see how people get lost in a white out, get exhausted trying to get somewhere, and die in a blizzard. Thankfully there were no headlines about me losing my way in Loring Park. 

 

3. 1965 Fridley tornadoes - Not in my own words because I didn't experience this: "On May 5th and 6th 1965, a violent outbreak of at least 12 tornadoes roared through Minnesota. Six twisters touched down in or close to the metro area. Particularly hard hit was Fridley, with two of the tornadoes crossing the city. In all, 14 people died due to the storms. The event has been called the greatest weather disaster in Twin Cities history." Well, maybe at the time it was the greatest disaster ... was there worse than that?

 

4. The Dust Bowl of the 1930's - Chief could probably give you a first-hand account of this, but this wasn't just a Minnesota thing. It was a weather disaster nation-wide. Drought and heat led to turning lush prairie farmland into, well, dust. And when the winds kicked up, it was massive. It displaced 10s of thousands of families and was an ecological disaster. Yes, there is more to it than just that ... but now that I'm down to point four, I want to finish this thread.

 

5. More rain in the forecast for tonight. While I talked about seeing Milone pitch tonight, that game could also go the way of last night's game. So, maybe after two innings, the game will get delayed and eventually postponed and the Astros will see their 5-0 lead wiped off the face of the Earth. That would be a time when weather disaster isn't so bad. It is what it is ... they can blame it on the weather.

 

Lineups for 12:10pm game:

 

ASTROS

Springer RF

Bregman 3B

Altuve 2B

Correa SS

Gonzalez 1B

Tucker LF

Reed DH

Marisnick CF

Castro C

 

Fister P

 

TWINS

Brian Dozier 2B
Joe Mauer DH
Max Kepler RF
Kennys Vargas 1B
Eddie Rosario CF
Jorge Polanco 3B
Eduardo Escobar SS
Juan Centeno C
Robbie Grossman LF

 

Berrios P

 

Lineups for the 6:10pm game will be posted in-thread when they are available and linked here.

 

Forecast for 12:10pm game: 77 deg F, 81% humidity, partly cloudy, 3% chance of rain (at the start of the game), winds from the SSW at 4mph.

 

Forecast for 6:10pm game: 84 deg F, but will feel like 90 (similar to what it was an hour ago in Chicago), mostly cloudy with a 41% chance of rain/thunderstorms, winds from the SSW at 7mph.

[Craig Arko]

All I know is that the A/C is *still* busted in my office so I'll be working from home this afternoon. Means I should be able to follow the first game.

 

Also, I do remember the tornadoes of 1965, and actually seeing some of them in the distance. Fortunately, New Brighton is in something of a geological depression so they passed over us there. Still one of the scariest things of my childhood.

[Brock Beauchamp]

It looks like they'll get the day game in but tonight's game is pretty sketchy.

 

They should have bumped the night game to 5:05pm because the later it gets, the less likely they are to complete the game without a delay.

[ashbury]

They should have bumped the night game to 5:05pm because the later it gets, the less likely they are to complete the game without a delay.

There are wheels within wheels toward getting a game underway - first pitch dignitaries and so forth - that might not be able to adjust on a dime and people will feel deprived. Luxury box owners might choose to risk the weather, and money talks. Not an easy decision.

[ashbury]

Smart, maybe obvious, move to start JO in the early game, and if AA's start in the second game gets washed out, who cares.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

There are wheels within wheels toward getting a game underway - first pitch dignitaries and so forth - that might not be able to adjust on a dime and people will feel deprived. Luxury box owners might choose to risk the weather, and money talks. Not an easy decision.

Well, the 6:05pm start was the game manufactured out of thin air, wasn't it? IIRC, they already had the 12:05pm start on the books.

[Mike Sixel]

Halloween blizzard of 91 was my first date with my now wife.

 

We had been trying to find a day for a few weeks, and that day worked. Frankly, I was worried she might be blowing me off.....

 

So, I leave the house in EP (driving a damn Plymouth Horizon, sigh, how did she date me?), and there are already about 4 inches of snow on the ground. I get to Edina (near Southdale) in about 30 minutes or so...and the first place we try to go to is closed (I was taking her to Fuddruckers before going to a movie, ah, the days of no money and classy date joints). We discuss things, and agree to go to Joe Sensor's for our first date. About 6-7 inches of snow on the ground. 

 

Now, thankfully, this is 1993, and not today, so, I know this is hard to believe....but there are only a few TVs in the place, because walls can only hold so many TUBE TVs (or, they were just expensive...). IIRC, we had chicken fingers and talked for like 3 hours. 

 

By the time I got home, there were some 12+ inches of snow on the ground. I have no idea how my "car" even got me home. 

 

What few recall is that there was a "Thanksgiving" blizzard that year also. We had a date, and I had to sleep on her couch because I couldn't get home safely (yes, couch, it hadn't even been a month people). Her college roommate was getting married the next day. Her car was snowed in. Her roommates car was a stick (you ever try to drive a stick for the first time in snow!). So, I drove her to the wedding, in the clothes I slept in. We were not the only ones to show up in slept in clothing. And, while the city had plowed a path from the bride's house to the church (government isn't all bad, you know), no one had though to request the same for the groom. He was almost late.....and people were getting nervous.

 

It's great to have an easy to remember first date..... 

[ashbury]

Well, the 6:05pm start was the game manufactured out of thin air, wasn't it? IIRC, they already had the 12:05pm start on the books.

Oh! Well that's very different then. Never mind.

 

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/103/1164723671.jpg

[ashbury]

Halloween blizzard of 91 was my first date with my now wife.

...

Now, thankfully, this is 1993,

Wow, long date. I hope you at least made breakfast for her.

[Vanimal46]

I didn't get to experience any of these awesome weather related disasters first hand... I've heard stories about that infamous Halloween blizzard in 1991, but I had better things on my mind at the time... Like bouncing in a chair, or eating Gerber baby food. I don't know, whatever 18 month olds have on their minds... 

[Vanimal46]

We may be blasting this jam during the 2nd game tonight... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzFnYcIqj6I

[Mike Sixel]

 

Wow, long date. I hope you at least made breakfast for her.

 

Damn, ya.....um....ya....we were married in 93, not sure how I did that!

[wsnydes]

 

Well, the 6:05pm start was the game manufactured out of thin air, wasn't it? IIRC, they already had the 12:05pm start on the books.

Considering the attendance at games these days, I wonder if they considered a single gate for these games.  If you have tickets for either of them, you get in to both of them.  Give the grounds crew time to prep the field between games and start playing soon after.  If I had the day off, I would have been all over attending that.  I probably would have had to abandon my concessions boycott for a day, but I would have enjoyed watching baseball all day.  That also would have given them more leeway to get the second game in.

[wsnydes]

 

Damn, ya.....um....ya....we were married in 93, not sure how I did that!

Does that mean that you didn't make her breakfast?

[Mike Sixel]

 

Does that mean that you didn't make her breakfast?

 

You know, I don't recall breakfast. I recall trying to figure out which of the three cars could get us to the wedding on time (I really wanted to type it that way....). I recall that I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. I recall there were a lot of other people not dressed up (though, some would have come that way w/o the storm, I believe).

 

Frankly, given my memory for details, I am surprised I recall that much!

[ashbury]

Frankly, given my memory for details, I am surprised I recall that much!

Get her a TD account, invite her to recount the story without referencing yours, and then let's see whether any of the details match at all!

[Vanimal46]

This probably wasn't the deadliest tornado in MN history, but the St. Peter, MN tornado in 1998 sticks out to me as the weirdest weather related disaster in my lifetime. Who would have guessed a family of 14 tornadoes would strike during the end of March? 

https://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-history/2013/03/when-wind-screamed-looking-back-1998-st-peter-tornado

[Mike Sixel]

 

Get her a TD account, invite her to recount the story without referencing yours, and then let's see whether any of the details match at all!

 

hahahaha, ya, I can't see her doing that, but I'll ask anyway. the eye rolls should be priceless.

[ashbury]

Let me just get this out of the way, in advance of tonight's game:

 

Andrew Albers is the perfect choice of starting pitcher.

 

 

_{^{(For me to poop on.)}}

[wsnydes]

My craziest weather related memories revolve around the winter of '96-'97.  I grew up in Fergus Falls and we received 100"+ of snow.  We lived near a bridge over the Ottertail River and they brought in dozers and front end loaders to push the snow back and haul some away around the approaches.  We got almost three weeks of school off for Christmas because of constant snow storms.  Most of December was three day school weeks.  We'd get Mondays and Friday's off due to snow.  They stockpiled the snow from downtown out near us and there were piles remaining in July.

 

The ensuing floods add to it.  I remember a group of us running up to Fargo a couple of times to help sandbag.

[wsnydes]

 

hahahaha, ya, I can't see her doing that, but I'll ask anyway. the eye rolls should be priceless.

Stock up on ice for the repeated punches to the shoulder and ear plugs for the constant yelling of, "THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!!!"

[Mike Sixel]

 

Let me just get this out of the way, in advance of tonight's game:

 

Andrew Albers is the perfect choice of starting pitcher.

 

 

_{^{(For me to poop on.)}}

 

Uh, I don't think he's starting....

[ashbury]

Uh, I don't think he's starting....

If not, Emily Litella is warmed up in the bullpen already...

[Comrade Bork]

Why don't they postpone the game and just pick up where they left off as opposed to completely restarting it? Like I know its a rule but I'd like to hear the rationale.

 

Also it is ridiculous that they don't air noon games (especially the July 4 game..) I guarantee the twins would have better ratings than the WPT or drag racing. Production cost can't be that high...

[Mike Sixel]

 

If not, Emily Litella is warmed up in the bullpen already...

 

Aren't Berrios and Milone starting, or is Milone in the bullpen?

[wsnydes]

 

Aren't Berrios and Milone starting, or is Milone in the bullpen?

I read this and I instantly somehow got "Cats in the Cradle" stuck in my head...

[Mike Sixel]

 

I read this and I instantly somehow got "Cats in the Cradle" stuck in my head...

 

that is an odd sequitur, or am I knot remembering that song well?

[wsnydes]

 

that is an odd sequitur, or am I knot remembering that song well?

I don't know, but I don't recall any knot references in the song either.  

[wsnydes]

yaaaay defense!!!  

[Mike Sixel]

 

yaaaay defense!!!  

 

I have no idea what this is about, since I'm working....but remember, it is all about the slash line, and OF defense does not matter, and Sano is plenty athletic (again, I have no idea what this is about).