Game Thread: Twins vs. Orioles, 7/7 @ 7:10 CDT

[gocgo]

Tonight is Fireworks Friday at Target Field!  Fireworks may have originated in China, but they are as American as baseball, apple pie, hot  dogs, and the right to blow one’s fingers to smithereens with fireworks…at least in South Dakota where I’m from.  In case you’re wondering, it’s tough to type this with the two bandaged fingers that I have left (kidding).

 

When I was a kid, I would use fireworks as a way to destroy old toys and blow up ant hills.   I watched my neighbors grandkids having Roman candle fights on the 4th and I couldn’t help thinking of all of the stupid stuff I did with fireworks and that somehow, miraculously, I managed to survive with minimal damage and all my fingers and both eyes intact.  Fireworks Friday got me wondering about fireworks, so I did a little digging on fireworks and here is what I found:

 

- Thought to be invented by the Chinese 2,000 years ago, fireworks have been a tradition of America's Fourth of July celebrations since the country's inception, with the founding fathers themselves seeing fireworks fit to mark the birth of their nation.

 

- In a July 3, 1776 letter to his wife, John Adams declared that the signing of the Declaration of Independence should be a "great anniversary Festival" and "solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."   Not exactly the romantic stuff that wives dream of reading in a letter from their husband, but times were different back then.

 

- A year later, Congress itself ordained the tradition, enjoying, in Philadelphia, "a grand exhibition of fireworks, which began and concluded with thirteen rockets on the commons," according to the Evening Post.

 

- Boston also saw a fireworks display in 1777. In the following years, the tradition spread through the Boston area to New York and other cities, with various papers reporting colorful displays lighting the sky at the time.

 

- Early Fourth of July celebrations through the 1876 centennial saw the popularization of set pieces, enormous platforms to which fireworks were attached, creating images of flags, bells and other Independence Day iconography that have since lost favor. Cities sought to outdo each other with their displays, with New York becoming the leader of fireworks celebrations, having 15 different displays throughout the city.

 

- Pyrotechnicians emerged as a profession in the early 1800s, as cities hired them to design and execute their exhibitions.  This period also saw the rise of fireworks being sold to the public…

 

…and that’s when things got crazy.

 

- By 1783, Philadelphia merchants were selling fireworks to its citizens, including the very young, making the streets a dangerous place.   Children would walk down the street in Philadelphia and would throw a lit firecracker on a table of fireworks a merchant was trying to sell…and you thought Philly was rough town now!

 

- In 1867, the Washington Evening Star reported one firm had received orders of orders 2,000 boxes of fireworks, 84,000 torpedoes and 190,000 roman candles. Fires ravaged American cities and towns throughout the 19th century due to excessive fireworks use.

 

- The pioneers also brought the practice out West, using dynamite instead of traditional fireworks to light up the sky.  Dynamite!  Yeah, that seems like a good idea.  I’m guessing alcohol might have been involved.

 

- The mayor of Colorado Springs issued a ban on dynamite use in city limits in 1901. In other cities, associations emerged to promote "safe and sane celebrations" – including sports, games (like baseball), contests and musical performances – to replace unorganized firework activity.

 

- In 1909, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Cleveland were among the first cities to hold such "safe and sane celebrations."  Notice that Philly didn’t make the list as they were still laughing at the fireworks merchants being blown into orbit.

 

- Early attempts to regulate citizen fireworks focused more on the noise – celebrations would often start on July 3 and carry on for a day and a half – than the danger involved. It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that momentum to crack down on street fireworks started to grow, with the American Medical Association beginning to track casualties in 1903.  I suppose people dying might tend to temper a day and a half celebration.

 

- Over the years, regulations have become more stringent in pyrotechnics and the selling of fireworks to the public, but fireworks are something that harken back to the Star Spangled Banner and what Francis Scott Key saw back in 1814 in Baltimore Harbor.   "The rockets' red glare" may have referred to an American flag Key saw waving triumphantly during a battle in the War of 1812, but since then it has come synonymous to the explosions in the sky Americans see every Fourth of July and tonight at Target Field.

 

- Our Minnesota Twins – here we sit in contention slightly past the midway point in the season.  How did we get here?  Two words – smoke and mirrors!  I’m not sure because the stats show that our bullpen is bad in spite of having one of the better closers in the AL, our starting pitching is marginal at best, our pitching overall has one of the worst WHIP’s in the entire league, and our OPS is ranked 19th so it isn’t like we are winning slugfests.  We do play in a weak division, so that helps.  Chris Gimenez’ six appearances probably doesn’t help the pitching stats.  Our defense has been stellar, so that is certainly a key.  However, it’s tough to blame the pundits for predicting that the Twins will not make the playoffs and that the edge of the cliff will eventually come for this team.

 

With all that said, I will haul out one of the great movie quotes from Star Wars – “Never tell me the odds”.  Go Twins!     Defy the odds!

Starting lineups – TBD
On the mound:
Jorge (1-0)
Gausman(5-7)

[Craig Arko]

Spider Man Homecoming night for me. Will tune in if the game is still going later.

 

High hopes for Felix 'The Cat' Jorge.

[70charger]

 

When I was a kid, I would use fireworks as a way to destroy old toys and blow up ant hills. I watched my neighbors grandkids having Roman candle fights on the 4th and I couldn’t help thinking of all of the stupid stuff I did with fireworks and that somehow, miraculously, I managed to survive with minimal damage and all my fingers and both eyes intact.

 

Man, my brother and I used to light so much **** on fire in the canyon in our backyard, it's amazing that we not only survived but that we didn't start a major brush fire.

 

Good times.

[ashbury]

Spider Man Homecoming night for me. Will tune in if the game is still going later.

I am confident you will view the movie in a new light if you first watch the Onion Film Standard's review of it:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nkboMqYhSA

[USAFChief]

Great job, gocgo! Much appreciated.

[Squirrel]

Spider Man Homecoming night for me. Will tune in if the game is still going later.

 

High hopes for Felix 'The Cat' Jorge.

A high school student turned spider isn't a man. They should call it Spider Boy.

[Craig Arko]

 

A high school student turned spider isn't a man. They should call it Spider Boy.

Spider Adolescent.

[Squirrel]

Spider Adolescent.

Spider Teen has a better ring to it.

[ashbury]

A high school student turned spider isn't a man. They should call it Spider Boy.

Then you reeeeeally need to click that Onion link I provided.

[jimbo92107]

"It's better to be looked over than overlooked." - Mae West

 

Felix 'El Gato' Jorge takes the mound again to fool and befuddle another major league ball club with his special blend of clever deliveries...or is it a clever blend of special deliveries? 

 

Jorge was overlooked by many as an important piece of the Twins future. This tall, gangly young man doesn't look fearsome on the bump, yet his game has much of the deception and smoothness that we see in Erv Santana. El Gato can't bring it quite as hard as Zentana, but he does top out at a respectable 93 to 94 mph, surprising for a guy that really looks like he should eat a sandwich. 

 

What's most promising is that it looks like Jorge can be a true innings eater in the middle or tail end of the Twins pitching order. A guy like that can help protect the limited resources in the bull pen. At his best, he might be better than that. We've seen signs of a back-wrenching change up and control of the lower zone with all his pitches. This guy could be very good. 

 

2017 is the year the Twins should be looking over a lot of guys, including the ones perceived as marginal prospects. AAA guys like Slegers, Hurlbut, Baxendale, Turley, Gee should get a look... and then in the field, I'd like to see Granite, Garver, Park, Palka, Vielma, etc. There is time to look over a lot of these guys. 

[gocgo]

2017 is the year the Twins should be looking over a lot of guys, including the ones perceived as marginal prospects. AAA guys like Slegers, Hurlbut, Baxendale, Turley, Gee should get a look... and then in the field, I'd like to see Granite, Garver, Park, Palka, Vielma, etc. There is time to look over a lot of these guys. 

 

 

I'm sorry, but every time I read the name Hurlbut, I start snickering like Beavis.  I just can't help myself.

 

[wsnydes]

Mauer to the DL, Vargas on his way back up.

[Don Walcott]

"It's better to be looked over than overlooked." - Mae West

 

Felix 'El Gato' Jorge takes the mound again to fool and befuddle another major league ball club with his special blend of clever deliveries...or is it a clever blend of special deliveries? 

 

Jorge was overlooked by many as an important piece of the Twins future. This tall, gangly young man doesn't look fearsome on the bump, yet his game has much of the deception and smoothness that we see in Erv Santana. El Gato can't bring it quite as hard as Zentana, but he does top out at a respectable 93 to 94 mph, surprising for a guy that really looks like he should eat a sandwich. 

 

What's most promising is that it looks like Jorge can be a true innings eater in the middle or tail end of the Twins pitching order. A guy like that can help protect the limited resources in the bull pen. At his best, he might be better than that. We've seen signs of a back-wrenching change up and control of the lower zone with all his pitches. This guy could be very good. 

 

2017 is the year the Twins should be looking over a lot of guys, including the ones perceived as marginal prospects. AAA guys like Slegers, Hurlbut, Baxendale, Turley, Gee should get a look... and then in the field, I'd like to see Granite, Garver, Park, Palka, Vielma, etc. There is time to look over a lot of these guys.

El Gato doesn't need to look fierce, he has una bolsa de trucos!

[Squirrel]

ORIOLES

 

1. Smith, RF

2. Machado, 3B

3. Schoop, 2B

4. Jones, CF

5. Trumbo, DH

6. Mancini, 1B

7. Kim, LF

8. Joseph, C

9. Tejada, SS

RHP Glausman

 

TWINS

 

1. Dozier, 2B

2. Grossman, DH

3. Sano, 3B

4. Kepler, RF

5. Vargas, 1B

6. Rosario, LF

7. Gimenez, C

8. Polanco, SS

9. Buxton, CF

RHP Jorge

[Dave The Dastardly]

I got bit by a spider once. Didn't get a cool outfit or a web-slinger. Only got a shot in the a$$. Penicillin. I guess he wasn't a superbug.

[Squirrel]

I got bit by a spider once. Didn't get a cool outfit or a web-slinger. Only got a shot in the a$$. Penicillin. I guess he wasn't a superbug.

You mean radioactive. Wasn't that what it was? Spider Teen was bitten by a radioactive spider?

[Blake]

 

I got bit by a spider once. Didn't get a cool outfit or a web-slinger. Only got a shot in the a$$. Penicillin. I guess he wasn't a superbug.

You're supposed to seek medical attention after getting bitten by a spider? I think I preferred my ignorance as I've been gotten a couple of times by those nasty little arachnids.

[gocgo]

Starting lineups - read 'em and weep.

 

Baltimore 

RF Seth Smith (L)
3B Manny Machado ®
2BJ onathan Schoop ®
CF Adam Jones ®
DH Mark Trumbo ®
1B Trey Mancini ®
LF Hyun Soo Kim (L)
CC aleb Joseph ®
SS Ruben Tejada ®

 

SP - Kevin "Meatball" Gausman

 

Minnesota
2B Brian Dozier ®
DH Robbie Grossman (S)
3B Miguel Sano ®
RF Max Kepler (L)
1B Kennys Vargas (S)
LF Eddie Rosario (L)
C Chris Gimenez ®
SS Jorge Polanco (S)
CF Byron Buxton ®

 

SP - Felix "The Cat" Jorge

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Starting lineups - read 'em and weep.

 

...

Do i have to weep?

[Dave The Dastardly]

 

You're supposed to seek medical attention after getting bitten by a spider? I think I preferred my ignorance as I've been gotten a couple of times by those nasty little arachnids.

I was a kid. My mom thought that big swelling pocket of pus needed professional attention. She dragged me kicking and screaming to the doctor's office. The doc pulled out a needle a half mile long and then dragged me kicking and screaming back into his office before turning me into a dart board. Made quite a story to my classmates. Had to show 'em both the spider bite and the extra hole in my fanny. If I'd read Tom Sawyer already I would've charged the guys a quarter a peek. Had to chase down the girls to make them look. Started me off on a long career of chasing women.

 

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

[snepp]

 

I was a kid. My mom thought that big swelling pocket of pus needed professional attention. She dragged me kicking and screaming to the doctor's office. The doc pulled out a needle a half mile long and then dragged me kicking and screaming back into his office before turning me into a dart board. Made quite a story to my classmates. Had to show 'em both the spider bite and the extra hole in my fanny. If I'd read Tom Sawyer already I would've charged the guys a quarter a peek. Had to chase down the girls to make them look. Started me off on a long career of chasing women.

 

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

 

Charge the guys a quarter to look, give the girls a dime to look, everyone wins!

[drock2190]

Really bad 0-2 pitch there by Jorge

[spinowner]

Yikes. This is the majors, rook.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Double play to end the inning.

 

Yeah back to back homers might not be the best start to the night....

[spinowner]

 

Double play to end the inning.

Yeah back to back homers might not be the best start to the night....

It's a learning experience.

[Huddy]

He is so vertical throughout his entire delivery and almost 'shortarms' the ball. Its no wonder he has a hard time keeping the fastball down, but might make his changeup more deceptive?

[drock2190]

Gausman looks to be dealing tonight!

[Riverbrian]

Dear Felix,

 

On June 9th, 1966 in the 7th inning of a game between the Twins and Kansas City. 

 

Rollins, Versalles, Oliva, Mincher and Killebrew all hit home runs in the same inning.  

 

You did better than that. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Riverbrian

[mickeymental]

actually, three walks and a home run would be a far worse way to start a ballgame.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

It's a learning experience.

Maybe we can teach them something as well later in the game?