Game Thread: Twins v Angels, 3:07 and 6:07 CDT, 5/20/21

[Squirrel]

it's Double-Header day. Does this mean ... double the joy? Double the pain? Or double the 'eh, whatever, the season is over with anyway'?

Hope for the joy, prepare for the pain, and eh, whatever for whatever.

I have nothing really to say. Baseball is a very long season so I'm usually a proponent of 'just wait and see.' I don't like to prognosticate because, frankly, I'm not very good at it, especially not in a sport where the impossibly good or bad can and does seem to happen when we don't think it should. But man, this has really sucked so far this year and I am pretty sure the nail is in the coffin. But, as my brother always says, "I see something I've never seen before in most games." I think it's why he, and I, like the sport. Because you just don't know on any given day what you will see ... you might see the worst player have the best day, or the best player have his worst day, or a really odd play you've never seen before. It's just difficult to predict what will happen in the details of any particular game. Sure, the odds and the stats tell us a broad story of probability, but it won't tell you the day to day of what will be. In a season where everything seems to have gone wrong, seems to be going wrong, seems like it will continue to go wrong ... the day to day can bring something new, something interesting, something worthy of discussion or even something good. Is that my way to put a 'positive' spin on things, to find the hopeful, to be the Pollyanna? No. Anyone who knows me knows that's not really my personality. I'm actually , over all, fairly cynical about humanity, the planet and life expectancy, but in the day to day details, there is still good and fun and joy to be found. So, here I am ... and yes, I might just start singing, 'The sun will come out, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar, there'll be sun ...' I guess my 'hope' in baseball is ... it's not about hope ... it's about perspective. It's just a game. For now, there's always a new day, always a new game. We may not be overly hopeful for its outcome, but ... yet, here we all are ... watching it, talking about it, spending our time and energy being frustrated about it ... is it because we live and hope for that one game, where we will see something we haven't seen before, where our team will actually win, will actually be good, where maybe a turn around is possible? Do we continue with baseball because of the day to day details that bring us ... something? Do we keep at it because we are still hoping? Can't say why we all are here for the daily grind. And maybe we are all just gluttons for punishment. Anyway ... for one who has nothing to say, I've gone on long enough saying very little. Here are the lineups for the first game. The lineups for the 2nd game will be posted in thread after the first game has ended.

And let's (try to) have double the fun, regardless, and maybe something unexpected will happen to make it worth our while. ☮️

Go Twins!

TWINS

1. Luis Arraez (L) LF
2. Josh Donaldson (R ) 3B
3. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH
4. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B
5. Miguel Sano (R ) 1B
6. Willians Astudillo (R ) C
7. Trevor Larnach (L) RF
8. Rob Refsnyder (R ) CF
9. Andrelton Simmons (R) SS

Lewis Thorpe (L), p

ANGELS

1. Jose Iglesias (R ) SS
2. Phil Gosselin (R ) 1B
3. Anthony Rendon (R ) DH
4. Justin Upton (R ) LF
5. Taylor Ward (R ) RF
6. Kurt Suzuki (R ) C
7. Juan Lagares (R ) CF
8. Jose Rojas (L) 3B
9. David Fletcher (R ) 2B

Alex Cobb (R ), p

 

[USAFChief]

4 hours ago, Squirrel said:

it's Double-Header day. Does this mean ... double the joy? Double the pain? Or double the 'eh, whatever, the season is over with anyway'?

 

☮️

 

 

Yes.

[Squirrel]

2 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Yes.

A lot of intentional yes moments in the game thread.

Had to say something without saying much of anything.

Kind of like the team in question.

[Danchat]

Fun fact - The Twins and Angels are 14th and 15th in runs given up in the AL. We should see lots of runs today...

[wavedog]

Let's hope this double-header goes better than the others have this season.  I think last one we did not score a run in either game.  An interesting trip - fly out to the coast and play two games (granted not 2 full 9-inning games)  and fly back probably all within about 24 hours.    Doesn't seem like a good recipe for success but can it really get much worse? 

[Squirrel]

18 minutes ago, wavedog said:

Let's hope this double-header goes better than the others have this season.  I think last one we did not score a run in either game.  An interesting trip - fly out to the coast and play two games (granted not 2 full 9-inning games)  and fly back probably all within about 24 hours.    Doesn't seem like a good recipe for success but can it really get much worse? 

Yikes ... a jinx waiting to happen if ever there was one! Take it back! Take it back!

[shortround81]

 

6 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Yikes ... a jinx waiting to happen if ever there was one! Take it back! Take it back!

I honestly panicked something had happened!

[Dave The Dastardly]

A positive spin.

 

 

[MMMordabito]

Ouch, on that outfield.

[chaderic20]

5 hours ago, Squirrel said:

Because you just don't know on any given day what you will see ... you might see the worst player commenter have the best day post, or the best player commenter have his worst day post, or a really odd play post you've never seen before. It's just difficult to predict what will happen in the details of any particular game game thread. 

 

Why we all continue to come to the game threads...

[Shaitan]

I'm just going to say this for every doubleheader:

7-inning baseball isn't real baseball.

 

It was fine last year, because it also wasn't a real baseball season.

 

[Cap'n Piranha]

I wish Josh had struck out there.

[singlesoverwalks]

Donaldson shouldn't hit right after Arraez with his propensity to hit into double plays. Polanco should hit second.

[Cap'n Piranha]

Game Over.

[wavedog]

20 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Yikes ... a jinx waiting to happen if ever there was one! Take it back! Take it back!

I am trying to come up with some things that could make it much worse but it is hard and I don't want to put them down in print to further jinx them.     Good news on the first inning we got a hit every other at-bat!    And it ended quick!    All Twins game the rest of this season should be 7 innings - Baseball Lite.  Do fans get 20%+ back on the tickets?     Joking aside something does seem wrong going with 7 inning games this year.   

[Azviking101]

I don't have any stats to show this, but does it just seem like Donaldson has done most of his damage in garbage time (usually when they're down so much it doesn't matter)? He continues to fail in big spots early in the game and late when the game is on the line. For someone who was supposed to be so clutch he hasn't had a single clutch moment yet (as far as I remember)

[wavedog]

Odds on Twins scoring a run with runners on 1st and 3rd and no outs?    5%?  

[wavedog]

More Refsnyder...

[stringer bell]

Bad at-bat for Larnach. Refsnyder did bring in the run to tie the game. 

[mnfireman]

 Duffey and Baldelli suspended for throwing at Mercedes....

[MMMordabito]

Thorpe isn't fooling anyone so far. 

[stringer bell]

So far Thorpe hasn’t fooled anyone. Just not sure he has the stuff to excel at the highest level. 

[wavedog]

Another Fun fact - Thorpe started the first game against LA back in April - so he is going back-to-back against the same opponent in the same stadium.  

[MMMordabito]

That's how losers play.

[Brock Beauchamp]

When exactly did Donaldson’s hands turn to lead?

[Danchat]

1 minute ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

When exactly did Donaldson’s hands turn to lead?

I was wondering the same thing... he's got the legs of a 50 year old and his fielding skills are deteriorating. And we haven't reached the second half of his contract yet...

[Otto von Ballpark]

What's especially impressive is that ground balls tend to roll the opposite direction in Thorpe's native Australia.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 minute ago, Danchat said:

I was wondering the same thing... he's got the legs of a 50 year old and his fielding skills are deteriorating. And we haven't reached the second half of his contract yet...

Except his range doesn’t look that diminished and soft hands isn’t exactly one of the first skills to diminish. 

[Azviking101]

Well Donaldson has given up and is happily taking his money. 

[wavedog]

Not sure if I have ever seen a pitch in the middle of the strike zone called a ball