Article: Game Thread: Twins v Reds, 4/27 @ 7:10pm CT

[Riverbrian]

The Twins are coming back home to start a 3-game series with the Reds tonight. It’s been a difficult road trip and, typically, when loved ones come home from a difficult road trip, they are welcomed back. I’m sure there will be throngs of well-wishers lined up to greet them at the airport with flowers.

Let’s not sugarcoat it… things have been very bad on multiple levels; however… we will get an opportunity to gauge just how bad things really are this weekend. Yeah… it’s bad… but it could be worse than we think. The Reds have won a total of 5 games this year. If the Twins continue to struggle against the Reds… things will be worse for us than we think because as bad as it is for us… it has been much worse for the Reds. This weekend will be a test… I hope they have been studying.

BTW… against the Yankees… we had some third strike calls that were missed by the umps, which turned into hits and runs. It reminded me of the Didi Gregarious missed call and subsequent 3 run homer in the WC game last year. I’m an automated strike zone advocate and you won't ever change my mind about that. If people insist on the need for the human element, let’s give the job to a 10 year old so we can have more of that human element. Let’s be honest… when people say “human element”… they are using a term that sounds better than “mistakes”.

Here are some things to think about:

 

1. Top Non-Trump News Story (Or Stories):

I’m currently in Iowa and they don’t get news here. I think that is so they are not influenced by anything before they get to decide who the presidential candidates will be. Anyway, I’m a little behind on what has been happening around the world. All I can really do is talk about something that happened to me yesterday. I’m in Des Moines driving past a golf course. It looked to be in wonderful condition for this early in the year. Up ahead on the left side of the road I can see netting, and I correctly assume that it must be surrounding the course driving range with the netting protecting the cars on the road. As I get closer to the netting, I was thinking to myself that it didn’t seem high enough. The very second I was thinking that… a golf ball struck the car in front of me. It’s quite possible that I was right.

2. Our Twins:

Seven straight losses… I’ve always talked about the need to put up crooked numbers. The seven in our losing streak is not what I meant.

3. The Reds:

It’s bad in Cincinnati - 5 wins and 20 losses thus far. Offensively, they are being led by someone called Scooter; it is never good when a guy called Scooter is leading the way. On the mound they are led by a guy called Homer; you don’t want a guy named Homer giving them up. The Reds will hopefully “scoot” “home” on Sunday with 3 more losses to add to the pile of L’s they have been collecting.

4. Today’s Joe M Conversation:

Montana: Guys… I’m in trouble.

Mauer: Why?
Montana: My wife had a dream last night that I was flirting with someone.

Maddon: Let me get this straight - your wife dreamt that? You were not doing that?

Montana: Yeah

Morgan: I’ve been through this before… there is nothing to do about it. Take the blame.

McCarthy: Yeah… it’s your fault.

Montana: Seriously?

McCarthy: Yeah

5. Crown Royal:

Crown Royal comes in a pouch. After you drink the entire bottle, the pouch doubles as a barf bag; or you can use it hold your shattered dreams. The genius and efficiency of that does not get nearly the credit it deserves.
____________________

Lineups:

REDS
Jesse Winker(L) DH
Jose Peraza(R ) SS
Joey Votto(L) 1B
Scooter Gennett(L) 2B
Eugenio Suarez(R ) 3B
Scott Schebler(L) RF
Adam Duvall(R ) LF
Tucker Barnhart(S) C
Billy Hamilton(S) CF

Luis Castillo(R ) P

TWINS
Brian Dozier(R ) 2B
Joe Mauer(L) 1B
Miguel Sano(R ) 3B
Eddie Rosario(L) LF
Max Kepler(L) CF
Eduardo Escobar(S) SS
Logan Morrison(L) DH
Robbie Grossman(S) RF
Jason Castro(L) C

Phil Hughes(R ) P

Gametime forecast: playable with little chance of a postponement

Go Twins! Win ... PLEASE!

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[diehardtwinsfan]

 

BTW… Against the Yankees… We had some third strike calls that were missed by the umps, which turned into hits and runs. It reminded me of the Didi Gregarious missed call and subsequent 3 run homer in the WC game last year. I’m an automated strike zone advocate and you won't ever change my mind. If people insist on the need for the human element. Let’s give the job to a 10 year old so we can have more of that human element. Let’s be honest… when people say “human element”… they are using a term that sounds better than “mistakes”.

 

There aren't enough likes for this paragraph.

[Dave The Dastardly]

"Offensively they are being led by someone called Scooter and it is never good when a guy called Scooter is leading the way."

 

Yeah, but guys named Scooter can always get a presidential pardon.

 

Makes me wonder if a guy named Paul can get one of those, too.

[Blake]

On the upside of the loss yesterday, Gibson may be turning into "must watch pitch" right behind Berrios.

 

Yesterday, Gibson held down hitters who, in the past, had some pretty good numbers against him.

 

 

[ashbury]

On the upside of the loss yesterday, Gibson may be turning into "must watch pitch" right behind Berrios.

 

Yesterday, Gibson held down hitters who, in the past, had some pretty good numbers against him.

Moreso than most pitchers, I think, Gibson's command comes and goes. It's not that his stuff is so awesome (like Berrios) that sometimes the fancy pitches don't go where he and the catcher plan; but nevertheless some games you can plainly see that even the regular pitches don't go where Gibby and the catcher plan. That's got to be the most frustrating thing in the world for an athlete.

[Craig Arko]

Ah, I heard there’s some new artsy-fartsy film opening today. Both human and alien elements involved.

 

Probably go to that instead of watching this game.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Ah, I heard there’s some new artsy-fartsy film opening today. Both human and alien elements involved.

 

Probably go to that instead of watching this game.

Enjoy!

 

I can't seem to find either element on the periodic table, so i'm not sure what everyone is talking about...

[jtkoupal]

I definitely see the Twins taking at least 2 in this series. The Blue Jays present a challenge after that, but then 4 in Chicago could get us back on track too. 

 

My Projection: Twins go 6-4 in the next 10.

I know you all are hoping for at least 7-3 to get back to .500, but baby steps, guys. A couple of cellar-dwellers will provide an opportunity to get the process back on track. We may drop a couple games, but I think 6-4 in the next 10 is a reasonable expectation to help get over the run the Twins are in.

[Dave The Dastardly]

 

Ah, I heard there’s some new artsy-fartsy film opening today. Both human and alien elements involved.

Probably go to that instead of watching this game.

I've seen both aliens and humans at Twins games. And that's even getting into fartsy... That's the real reason why we got rid of the dome, right?

[gocgo]

In the time it took to shut down my computer and walk to my car, the Twins went from up 3-1 to game over on a walk off dinger.  Wow!  That one got away quickly.  Oh well...move on.  Who's next?...and btw, we are cursed when it comes to the Yankees. However, if Boston could lift the curse, so can we.

[gocgo]

I hate to say this, but as bad as Cinci has been, we have Hughes going tonight and the Twins have been just what teams like Tampa have needed to get on track.  It's not going to shock me if we suffer our 8th straight loss tonight.

[ashbury]

I hate to say this, but as bad as Cinci has been, we have Hughes going tonight and the Twins have been just what teams like Tampa have needed to get on track.  It's not going to shock me if we suffer our 8th straight loss tonight.

It's not going to shock me if Hughes struggles and puts us in a hole but we come back to win.

[ashbury]

Gameday shows the Reds starter as Luis Castillo^*. He's young but has been traded a few times. Baseball-reference.com shows an odd sequence:

 

July 29, 2016: Traded by the Miami Marlins with Josh Naylor (minors), Carter Capps and Jarred Cosart to the San Diego Padres for Andrew Cashner, Tayron Guerrero, Colin Rea^** and cash.

 

August 1, 2016: Traded by the San Diego Padres to the Miami Marlins for Colin Rea.

 

Two days after a big trade, the two teams both say "whoops, didn't mean to include that one guy. Backsies? Okay. Whew." ^***

 

 

^{* _{Not to be mistaken for that guy who played second base for us for a little while and eventually netted us Drew Butera in trade.}}

 

^{** _{Not to be mistaken for that Crying Game guy}****}

 

^{*** _{Actually the trade was unwound due to an injury to Rea. Ruins a good story.}*****}

 

^{**** _{Don't you just hate unnecessary footnotes?}}

 

^{***** _{Yeah, me too.}}

[laloesch]

I've watched enough games this season and see A LOT of questionable calls made by umps to finally agree.  It's time for automated pitch calling or at the very least the ability to make appeals, etc.

[Respy]

 

Gameday shows the Reds starter as Luis Castillo^*. He's young but has been traded a few times. Baseball-reference.com shows an odd sequence:

 

July 29, 2016: Traded by the Miami Marlins with Josh Naylor (minors), Carter Capps and Jarred Cosart to the San Diego Padres for Andrew Cashner, Tayron Guerrero, Colin Rea and cash.

 

August 1, 2016: Traded by the San Diego Padres to the Miami Marlins for Colin Rea.

 

Two days after a big trade, the two teams both say "whoops, didn't mean to include that one guy. Backsies? OK."

 

 

^{* _{Not to be mistaken for the guy who played second base for us for a little while and eventually netted us Drew Butera in trade.}}

 

Here's my fair warning: Something's been off with Luis Castillo so far this year, but he was really good down the stretch last year and has really good stuff (Upper 90's FB with lots of sink, and decent strikeout stuff).  I'd easily take him over Hughes tonight.  Mahle starting Sunday for the Reds is also underrated.

 

Votto is heating up lately, Suarez just came back from the DL. The Reds have Billy Hamiton roaming CF and the Twins are missing Buxton.  I hate to be so pessimistic, but I'm not terribly optimistic about the Twins in this series against a 5-20 team.  I honestly predict that the Twins will lose 2 of 3.

[gocgo]

 

I've watched enough games this season and see A LOT of questionable calls made by umps to finally agree.  It's time for automated pitch calling or at the very least the ability to make appeals, etc.

Yeah, I kind of look at what tennis has done.  Their system tracks 100+ mph tennis balls and gives them an accurate call.  I was baffled watching Sabathia throw left handed hooks that "clipped" the outside corner (even though they were 3 inches outside) and then watched Berrios the next inning throw fast balls to the same spot that missed.  The playing field won't be level until we remove the human factor.  Replay has improved the play while reducing managers getting tossed for arguing calls.  It just makes sense.

[Twodogs]

 

Yeah, I kind of look at what tennis has done.  Their system tracks 100+ mph tennis balls and gives them an accurate call.  I was baffled watching Sabathia throw left handed hooks that "clipped" the outside corner (even though they were 3 inches outside) and then watched Berrios the next inning throw fast balls to the same spot that missed.  The playing field won't be level until we remove the human factor.  Replay has improved the play while reducing managers getting tossed for arguing calls.  It just makes sense.

Yeah, Im not completely in gripe mode, but it seems like the human element favors teams such as the Yankees and such.  If the human element was just that all the way around and everyone got affected the same then I would be ok with it.  But you know Clayton Kershaw gets borderline calls that someone like Berrios won't get.  If it was all equal I'd say leave the human element in there, but it doesn't seem to be equal.

[Andrew Thares]

The Reds seem to be getting some of their lineup back together. Joey Voto has homered in 3 straigt games, and Eugenio Suarez was just activated of the DL yesterday.

[joefish]

Go T'ins.

[Squirrel]

 

Ah, I heard there’s some new artsy-fartsy film opening today. Both human and alien elements involved.

Probably go to that instead of watching this game.

I expect to see your review after the first showing this afternoon. I'll be waiting until Monday afternoon, when traffic at the theatre has died a bit.

[Squirrel]

 

I've seen both aliens and humans at Twins games. And that's even getting into fartsy... That's the real reason why we got rid of the dome, right?

I've been seeing both aliens and humans at work this week. It's what happens when John Williams is in town for a series of concerts. It brings out the ... best? ... of both worlds.

[Mike Sixel]

I still need to see Black Panther. Maybe this weekend, if I can find it.....I hear I should see that first.

 

Oh, right, Twins. Go. Win. Etc.

[Squirrel]

Yeah, I kind of look at what tennis has done. Their system tracks 100+ mph tennis balls and gives them an accurate call. I was baffled watching Sabathia throw left handed hooks that "clipped" the outside corner (even though they were 3 inches outside) and then watched Berrios the next inning throw fast balls to the same spot that missed. The playing field won't be level until we remove the human factor. Replay has improved the play while reducing managers getting tossed for arguing calls. It just makes sense.

I've always been dubious of machines calling balls and strikes; still kind of am because I just worry about how much it changes the game I've grown up with. However, if we want to avoid that, the human component in this has to be better than it has been and there has to be a better way to 'force' that accountability. I can't imagine it's an easy job at all, but, when the data shows what it does, something needs to be done about it, imo. It's not fair to anyone in the game ... winner, loser, batter, pitcher. I guess some could argue that it all balances out, but I'd want to see data that it actually does. And while it's difficult to see the game change, how 'pure' is the game really when this level of unaccountability in wrongness is being allowed to occur.

[Squirrel]

 

 

I still need to see Black Panther. Maybe this weekend, if I can find it.....I hear I should see that first.

 

Oh, right, Twins. Go. Win. Etc.

Black Panther is one of my favorites in the Marvel movies.

[Mike Sixel]

Always been a supporter of automating the strike zone.

 

The human element is the players, not the umpires. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Black Panther is one of my favorites in the Marvel movies.

 

we keep planning to go, and end up doing something else. Not sure why, we both want to see it.

[Danchat]

 

I still need to see Black Panther. Maybe this weekend, if I can find it.....I hear I should see that first.

 

Oh, right, Twins. Go. Win. Etc.

If you're going to see Avengers Infinity War soon (it came out yesterday), then you're gonna want to see Black Panther first. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

If you're going to see Avengers Infinity War soon (it came out yesterday), then you're gonna want to see Black Panther first. 

 

it came out yesterday? who knew?

[yarnivek1972]

It’s a red later date in the yarnivek household. Mr. and Mrs. yarnivek have been working toward adopting a child or children for several years. Today we met the girl we hope to adopt for the very first time. It is going well. So, I may not be in forum much this weekend.

[Mike Sixel]

 

It’s a red later date in the yarnivek household. Mr. and Mrs. yarnivek have been working toward adopting a child or children for several years. Today we met the girl we hope to adopt for the very first time. It is going well. So, I may not be in forum much this weekend.

 

wow! very happy for you.