Game Thread: Twins vs. Tigers 12:10 MST (1:10 PM CDT) 8/25/2019

[obtusebanter]

It was the June of 1994 and our local lads, the Twins, ripped off 11 wins in 14 games to become briefly relevant in the newly created AL Central after playing .500 ball through the Spring. It was a momentous time. O.J. Simpson was soon to captivate the nation in his white Bronco, our great nation hosted the World Cup for the very first time, and Ken Griffey Jr. was on track to make Babe Ruth a #2.

 
This tale, on the other hand, can only be appreciated by a true Twins degenerate. I shall now regale you all with the story of Jeff Reboulet and Chip Hale swinging some hot bats. It all started innocuously enough on June 4th when Hale came on in relief of the sturdy Pat Meares in the midst of a 21-7 drubbing of the AL East celler dwelling Detroit Tigers and went 2 for 2 with a home run. Chip stayed hot and collected a pair of pinch hits for David McCarty and Pat Meares (once again) bringing us to the 10th of June where the story heats up. 

 

On this day, White Sox ace Jack McDowell had dominated the Twins’ lineup through eight innings and came out for 9th to finish off what he had started with a comfortable 6-1 lead. Unfortunately for Black Jack, Chip Hale came on to pinch hit for Pat Meares for a third time in a week. Hale promptly lined a double to the gap and the floodgates were open. Shane Mack capped off the five run 9th with a three-run shot right off Roberto Hernandez, Dave Stevens pitched 1-2-3 10th, and the stage was set for Jeff Reboulet to enter the scene. Namely, he hit an infield single to second and scored the winning run on an Alex Cole walkoff dinger.

 

Reboulet stayed hot. He got the start at SS the next day as Kevin Tapani twirled a shutout. More importantly, Rebs went 3 for 3. As it now stands, Chip Hale had gotten hits in five consecutive at-bats while his benchmate Jeff Reboulet had done so in 4 straight at-bats. Would it continue?

You already know it did!  TK moved that bat up the 2-hole as Reboulet spelled Scott Leius at 3B and rewarded his manager’s faith with three more knocks running his streak of consecutive hits to 7. Alas, the gods of BABIP intervened in the bottom of the 7th and Reboulet grounded out to short. 

 

On to the 13th of June.  A truly wretched Jim Deshaies was set to 'duel' surefire HOFer Roger Clemens. Things did not look good for the boys from Up North. However, Tom Kelly must have known he was dealing with matters of the arcane and wisely batted Chip Hale 7th and Jeff Reboulet 9th. The payoff was immense. Chip Hale smacked three singles eclipsing Jeff Reboulet’s seven straight hits with eight of his own. Not to be outdone, Reboulet contributed another three hits (including a double down the right field line that drove in the 4th and final run served up by Clemens) to conclude a sure to be satisfying 10 for 11 stint at the plate. Deshaies pitched six innings of 2-run ball and picked up the victory.  

 

There you have it. The forgotten tale of a couple Twins utility players who got real hot for a week shortly before baseball went on strike.

 

Anyway. The lineups:

 

 

Tigers: TBA

[obtusebanter]

I waited on them Tigers to post their lineup but I gotta get to church. Can someone post it when it is available?

[Squirrel]

I waited on them Tigers to post their lineup but I gotta get to church. Can someone post it when it is available?

Yep. Peace be with you.

[Squirrel]

Tigers lineup:

 

Victor Reyes(S) LF

Harold Castro(L) CF

Travis Demeritte(R ) RF

Ronny Rodriguez( R) DH

Dawel Lugo( R) 3B

Willi Castro(S) SS

Jordy Mercer( R) 1B

John Hicks( R) C

Gordon Beckham( R) 2B

 

Matthew Boyd(L) P

[FlauerPauer]

Big game today. Hopefully the Twins jump on Boyd early and often. Go Twins!

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Fantastic intro.

 

Wish i'd been paying closer attention in those days...

[stringer bell]

Great intro!

[Dantes929]

Great intro.    Another note about that year.    I often tout Shane Mack on here.   In his 5 year Twins career he had a higher OPS  than Kirby Puckett.   Of course he did not have the same impact Puckett did but he was really really good and I always thought he was at least as deserving of the Twins HOF as many guys in there.      When the strike shortened the season and ended Mack's Twins career, Mack was hitting .333 with a .966 OPS.    

[MNT1996]

I would like to see Sano get more reps at first. He's an upgrade over Cron offensively and it would allow Arraez or Gonzo to play 3rd while keeping the main outfield of Rosario, Buxton, and Kepler in tact. 

[rkevin]

Twins bring the A game today! Us fans need to see it but more importantly the players need to play it.

 

[Bomba2026]

Please tell me they are not wearing those hideous white costumes today....what is their purpose? Did a psychic tell them to wear these? Go Twins beat DTW. Please.

[USAFChief]

2-0 KC bottom 2.

[RaymondLuxuryYacht]

the one with the bushes

[FlauerPauer]

3-2 KC bottom 3rd

[bighat]

 

3-2 KC bottom 3rd

 

Just saw that. Against Bieber no less.

[Bomba2026]

Help me someone, why did the Twins change their uniforms? Kepler looks like a ghost!

[FlauerPauer]

 

Help me someone, why did the Twins change their uniforms? Kepler looks like a ghost!

 

Player's Weekend unis

[bighat]

 

Help me someone, why did the Twins change their uniforms? Kepler looks like a ghost!

 

They've been wearing them all weekend, as has the rest of the league. "Players' Weekend" attire. Much maligned going by early feedback from players and fans.

[FlauerPauer]

Perez showing solid command so far. Needs to keep hitting his spots if he wants to be successful.

[Nine of twelve]

The uniforms are mandated by MLB. The Cubs got reprimanded for not wearing the white caps. Based on what I've read the Spy-vs-Spy color scheme will never happen again.

[PDX Twin]

 

Perez showing solid command so far. Needs to keep hitting his spots if he wants to be successful.

 

Sure would be nice if he could turn back into the Perez of the first third of the season.

[Blake]

What sorcery is this? A Tiger leadoff batter did not reach? 

[Blake]

 

Great intro!

Ditto.

[operation mindcrime]

Good eye Garver! Great plate appearance!

[FlauerPauer]

Danny and Cory talking about the demand for Boyd that the Tigers were asking for. I really don't get the high asking price; he just isn't that good, in my opinion. Doesn't throw hard and essentially a two pitch pitcher. Hard pass if you ask me.

[FlauerPauer]

 

Good eye Garver! Great plate appearance!

 

And then absolute poo at-bat by Polanco.

[FlauerPauer]

Think I'd rather have Sano in the cleanup spot, especially with how well he's hitting lately.

[Nine of twelve]

More nonsense about this weekend's uniforms - home team pitchers are required to wear black caps because it was thought that white caps would be distracting to the batters. Well, there are now and have been many teams that have white caps as part of the uniform. I'm speaking not just of MLB but all levels of professional, amateur, collegiate, and high school teams. Please chime in if there is information to the contrary but this is the first I've ever heard of this being an issue.

[FlauerPauer]

Scoop from the clubhouse: Walks are not a bad sign for Perez? Someone care to explain that one for me? I listen to DAnny and Cory with the video overlay.

[Danchat]

 

Danny and Cory talking about the demand for Boyd that the Tigers were asking for. I really don't get the high asking price; he just isn't that good, in my opinion. Doesn't throw hard and essentially a two pitch pitcher. Hard pass if you ask me.

IMO he's a fine #3 starter in the MLB. Certainly not an ace, and maybe has the upside of a #2 if he could go to a place like Houston where his potential could be maximized. I can see why they didn't end up moving him because they probably asked for waaay too much in a trade.