Article: Game Thread: Twins @ Cleveland, 9/26@6:10pm CT

[Riverbrian]

The Twins are in Cleveland for a 3-game series with the Indians. We all know the situation but there will be no talk about the Twins being in until they are actually in. There are many common phrases that are in existence to warn against such things:

You don’t count your chickens until...
Someone asks you “how many chickens” you own and you want to answer accurately.

Don’t cross that bridge until...
You pay government ransom in the form of a toll.

Everything comes to him who...
Has a very limited amount of everything.

Rome wasn’t built in...
Bulgaria

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. Ohio – With an equal mix of Republicans andDemocrats, every 4 years the state of Ohio gets to decide who the President of the United States will be. All the other 49 states spit out their assigned number of electors consistently the same, leaving it all in the hands of the 18 Ohioans in the Electoral College. This important decision is being handled by a people who elected Jerry Springer mayor and chose Hang on Sloopy as the state song without being forced to by gun-toting McCoys.

2. Our Twins – The math is pretty simple. There are 6 games to go and the Twins have a 5 game lead over the Angels. The Twins would have to lose 6 in a row and the Angels would have to win 6 in a row for the Twins to at least not be in a tie-breaking game #163. I am somewhat comfortable with our chances but also cautioned by the knowledge that the odds were once against me learning how to use punctuation and look at me now… after ChiTown edits all my mistakes.
[Editor's note: up to this point, I have made 11 corrections. Some just for 'style' purposes. This does not include the ones I missed and will change later.]

3. The Indians – They have been long assured of a postseason spot. However, that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for. They hold a 2-game lead over the Astros and keeping that lead means home field advantage through the AL postseason. They are also 1 game behind the Dodgers for home field advantage in the World Series. It’s possible that they may actually try to win.
4. Today’s Joe M Conversation:

Morgan: Give me a beer, Joe… I skipped out of work early today.

Maddon: Enough work, eh?

Morgan: Every day at work… there comes a time when you decide that you are not going to do anything productive the rest of the day. Instead of sitting surfing the web, I just left and here I am.

Montana: It’s only 1PM, Joe.

Morgan: Doesn’t matter… when you are done being productive… you are done being productive.

McCarthy: That is so true. Most people coast to the end of the work day. It comes at random times but the work days tends to wind down like that.

Mauer: Yeah… it’s about the 7th inning for me.

Morgan: Work is weird… everything gets done at the last minute yet… nothing gets done in the last minutes.

5. Missing Person – On Saturday I walked up to 10 strangers. I handed them a picture and asked if they had seen this person. It was a picture of me and 6 of the 10 people said “No.”
____________________

Lineups:

TWINS
Brian Dozier 2B
Joe Mauer 1B
Jorge Polanco SS
Eddie Rosario LF
Eduardo Escobar 3B
Max Kepler RF
Byron Buxton CF
Jason Castro C
Robbie Grossman DH

Bartolo Colon P

CLEVELAND
Francisco Lindor SS
Austin Jackson LF
Jose Ramirez 2B
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Jay Bruce RF
Carlos Santana 1B
Jason Kipnis CF
Roberto Perez C
Giovanny Urshela 3B

Josh Tomlin

Game-time forecast: Sunny, until sunset at 7:18pm, clear, 80 deg F, winds at 2mph from the NNE

Play ball! Go Twins!!!!

Click here to view the article

[AlwaysinModeration]

I don't think I've seen you either, Brian. Or at least, I'm not going to admit to it.

 

I don't know when productivity ceases in the day, Joe M., but I will contend that it dwindles greatly during October, when your team is in the playoffs.

[Dantes929]

#5 reminds me of a parade i was at where a politician had volunteers handing out pamphlets with her picture on it and then she would follow along shaking hands.   When she got to me I told her she looked familiar and she stopped and said "yeah, you look familiar too".   Then I looked down at the picture I had been given 10 seconds earlier and said "Oh, that's why"    I voted for her despite the name she called me.

#5 also reminded me of this.

https://www.google.com/search?q=matt+harvey+asks+about+matt+harvey&oq=matt+harvey+asks+&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0.195199.196208.0.202017.6.6.0.0.0.0.223.422.0j1j1.2.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..4.2.420....0.ciaa5Pwi9KM

[ashbury]

5. Missing Person – On Saturday I was walked up to 10 strangers. I handed them a picture and asked if they had seen this person. It was a picture of me and 6 of the 10 people said “No”.

"Say, aren't you the spokesman for that one milk company? I see you on all their cartons."

[gocgo]

But what about the days when you get to work at 8 AM and realize that the entire day isn't going to be productive?....Mondays for example.

[Vanimal46]

 

But what about the days when you get to work at 8 AM and realize that the entire day isn't going to be productive?....Mondays for example.

 

Does anyone in the world work on Friday afternoons? By 3 PM, let's be honest. Everyone's screening phone calls for Monday and hoping nobody stops by their desk with a work task to accomplish. 

[Jerr]

 

Does anyone in the world work on Friday afternoons? By 3 PM, let's be honest. Everyone's screening phone calls for Monday and hoping nobody stops by their desk with a work task to accomplish. 

Well, if one doesn't work in an office setting, yes some work right to the end of the day. But, on Fri. it doesn't feel like work, as the weekend will soon start.

[Jerr]

Ohhh ya we have a game tonight:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Jerr

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I like how we get to play our likely post season adversaries during the end of the regular season.

 

And the fact the Yankees swept us leaves us like a rake in the grass... (um, i hope the hard pronged kind used for dirt and the like, rather than the kind for fall leaves)

 

That said, i also hope we take care of business and whipe 'em out...

[theBOMisthebomb]

My friend insists the Twins are going to pop champagne and celebrate when/if they clinch the second wild card spot. This seems ridiculous to a sane person, celebrating locking up the #5 playoff spot. I am fairly certain the Houston Rockets or whatever middle of the road lame NBA team isn't popping the bubbly when they secure their first round spot in the NBA playoffs. Will our Twins really celebrate such a minor accomplishment in this fashion? The memory bank does not go back to 2010 for such trivial matters.

[Mike Sixel]

 

My friend insists the Twins are going to pop champagne and celebrate when/if they clinch the second wild card spot. This seems ridiculous to a sane person, celebrating locking up the #5 playoff spot. I am fairly certain the Houston Rockets or whatever middle of the road lame NBA team isn't popping the bubbly when they secure their first round spot in the NBA playoffs. Will our Twins really celebrate such a minor accomplishment in this fashion? The memory bank does not go back to 2010 for such trivial matters.

 

why not celebrate? It's an achievement no one thought they'd make, isn't it? We are way too serious in the world, imo.....have fun, do excess, celebrate life more!

Edited September 26, 2017 by Mike Sixel

[gocgo]

 

why not celebrate? It's an achievement no one thought they'd make, isn't it? We are way too serious in the world, imo.....have fun, do excess, celebrate life more!

Because we ain't done.  I hear all the "experts" saying that the Twins won't beat the Yankees in NY...and they might be right...or not.  I think it is ridiculous for them to write off the Twins after they just lost 2-1 in a game in NY where Erv pitched.  That's a couple of bloops and a bleeder from being 3-2 the other way.

 

Do I think the Yanks are better?  Yep.

Do I think it's baseball and weird stuff happens?  Yep!

[Mike Sixel]

 

Because we ain't done.  I hear all the "experts" saying that the Twins won't beat the Yankees in NY...and they might be right...or not.  I think it is ridiculous for them to write off the Twins after they just lost 2-1 in a game in NY where Erv pitched.  That's a couple of bloops and a bleeder from being 3-2 the other way.

 

Do I think the Yanks are better?  Yep.

Do I think it's baseball and weird stuff happens?  Yep!

 

I doubt we'll agree on this.....moving on. And, not sure what experts have to do with celebrating or not, along the way. Teams that never celebrate during the process suffer, imo. 

[gocgo]

 

I doubt we'll agree on this.....moving on. And, not sure what experts have to do with celebrating or not, along the way. Teams that never celebrate during the process suffer, imo. 

I guess the bigger question is if you consider the wild card play in game "making the postseason"?  Some say that the winner of that game makes the playoffs.  My approach is that we have unfinished business.  If we can exercise that demon, then pop the bubbly.

[Blake]

 

But what about the days when you get to work at 8 AM and realize that the entire day isn't going to be productive?....Mondays for example.

Piker.

 

Personally, every day of the week is Monday, as far as I'm concerned. Although, I do slip up once in a while and allow myself a Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Blake]

 

Does anyone in the world work on Friday afternoons? By 3 PM, let's be honest. Everyone's screening phone calls for Monday and hoping nobody stops by their desk with a work task to accomplish. 

Yeah, IT people do, because we're the go to excuse for why things aren't getting done.

[Dave The Dastardly]

 

why not celebrate? It's an achievement no one thought they'd make, isn't it? We are way too serious in the world, imo.....have fun, do excess, celebrate life more!

Agree. Sometimes it is not the size of the victory, but only that you were victorious. As Brian mentioned, Rome wasn't built in Bulgaria. And it wasn't built in Minneapolis either, but I think this year the Twins may have laid a new foundation.

 

I always celebrate when doing some laying. So should the Twins.

[Blake]

 

Agree. Sometimes it is not the size of the victory, but only that you were victorious. As Brian mentioned, Rome wasn't built in Bulgaria. And it wasn't built in Minneapolis either, but I think this year the Twins may have laid a new foundation.

 

I always celebrate when doing some laying. So should the Twins.

Dave, is this you?

 

[Vanimal46]

 

I guess the bigger question is if you consider the wild card play in game "making the postseason"?  Some say that the winner of that game makes the playoffs.  My approach is that we have unfinished business.  If we can exercise that demon, then pop the bubbly.

 

For sure it's making the postseason. At that point, only 10 teams continue playing baseball. 

[Dave The Dastardly]

 

 

But what about the days when you get to work at 8 AM and realize that the entire day isn't going to be productive?....Mondays for example.

I was productive once... but I never let it happen again.

[Jerr]

Coughed up the $4  to get MLB.tv, had to scout the Yankees and now can watch our Twins the next day....Twins can take 'em!!!

 

Also the video is so much better from 1 yr. ago when I quit MLB.tv. Just sucks that MLB has their blackout rules, as I will not pay for cable/satellite and really believe that only hurts the growth of baseball, along with all the late night games.

 

Kids now have little chance to see many games.

[spinowner]

 

 This important decision is being handled by a people who elected Jerry Springer mayor and chose Hang on Sloopy as the state song without being forced to by gun-toting McCoy’s.

[Editor's note: up to this point, I have made 11 corrections. Some just for 'style' purposes. This does not include the ones I missed and will change later.]

 

The editor missed deleting the apostrophe in the above sentence.

[Riverbrian]

 

My friend insists the Twins are going to pop champagne and celebrate when/if they clinch the second wild card spot. This seems ridiculous to a sane person, celebrating locking up the #5 playoff spot. I am fairly certain the Houston Rockets or whatever middle of the road lame NBA team isn't popping the bubbly when they secure their first round spot in the NBA playoffs. Will our Twins really celebrate such a minor accomplishment in this fashion? The memory bank does not go back to 2010 for such trivial matters.

 

 

 

I think it is Ok to celebrate any accomplishment. If they all learn to pronounce Adrianaza's full name correctly. Go ahead and celebrate that. 

 

Never waste an opportunity to gather together and have a good time. 

[Whammy]

We have the chance to eliminate four, count 'em FOUR, teams from the playoffs today.

 

Has that ever happened?

 

Let's do it!

[Jerr]

 

We have the chance to eliminate four, count 'em FOUR, teams from the playoffs today.

Has that ever happened?

Let's do it!

Not yet.......

[Mike Sixel]

 

We have the chance to eliminate four, count 'em FOUR, teams from the playoffs today.

Has that ever happened?

Let's do it!

 

soon, my young Padawan, soon... (pretty sure I got that quote wrong, btw......)

[ashbury]

I think it is Ok to celebrate any accomplishment. If they all learn to pronounce Adrianaza's full name correctly.

Let alone, spell it. (Yeah, I had to be that guy.)

[spinowner]

 

We have the chance to eliminate four, count 'em FOUR, teams from the playoffs today.

Has that ever happened?

Let's do it!

Doing it all on one day would be great but the ultimate scenario would be for a Twins win to eliminate four teams at once. However, this would require a few things to fall right. First, the Angels would have to lose to the White Sox before the Twins beat Cleveland. Second, Tampa Bay would have to beat the Yankees or lose in a game that ends after the Twins beat Cleveland. Third, Kansas City would have to beat Detroit or lose in a game that ends after the Twins beat Cleveland. And fourth, Texas would have to beat Houston or lose in a game that ends after the Twins beat Cleveland. The only way this would have a chance of happening would be for the Twins/Cleveland game to go into extra innings (edit: or have a weather delay). I don't know if I could stand watching that.

 

Edited to add: If the Angels and Twins both lose tonight and the other three teams win tonight it would be possible to eliminate all four teams at the same time tomorrow, again depending on who wins and/or when each game ends.

Edited September 26, 2017 by spinowner

[Squirrel]

 

The editor missed deleting the apostrophe in the above sentence.

Further comments like this will be deleted. Only one editor is needed, tyvm.

 

(And I can say that to him ... he's an annoying older brother type.)

[spinowner]

 

 

he's an annoying older brother type

Gotta maintain my good reputation!

Edited September 26, 2017 by spinowner