Game Thread: Guardians @ Twins 7:10 5/13/21

[Danchat]

The Twins face Cleveland for the first time with their new moniker, and the Guardians will be missing several parts of their coaching staff. Is this a good time for the Twins to beat up on a mediocre team, or will their downward spiral triggered by the Astros continue further?

Lineups

Aaron Civale R 1-2 9.45 ERA
CF Myles Straw R
LF Steven Kwan L
3B Jose Ramirez S
1B Owen Miller R
SS Amed Rosario R
DH F. Reyes R
2B A. Gimenez L
RF O. Mercado R
C A. Hedges R

Sonny Gray R 0-1 3.48 ERA
CF Byron Buxton R
1B Luis Arraez L
2B J. Polanco S
RF Max Kepler L
DH Gary Sanchez R
3B Gio Urshela R
LF Nick Gordon L
C Ryan Jeffers R
SS Royce Lewis R

 

First on today's agenda, let's see how the starters match up against their opponent:

Civale vs Twins

I	Split	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	SO9	SO/W
	Minnesota Twins	1	3	.250	3.31	6	6	0	0	0	0	35.1	30	13	13	5	5	0	36	0	0	1	139	0.991	9.2	7.20

Hmmmm, not good. Yes, a 1-3 W-L record is not good, but Civale has pitched very well against us if you don't factor in their inability to score runs the past few years.

Gray vs Guardians

I	Split	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	SO9	SO/W
	Cleveland Guardians	5	3	.625	3.22	11	11	0	1	1	0	64.1	50	26	23	6	25	1	67	0	0	5	264	1.166	9.4	2.68

Looking good, and some of those numbers are very close to Civale's. 

 

Next up - I like making Sporcle quizzes and making you guys try to remember obscure things about the Twins... and I've got one cooked up. I did some looking back through the Twins Daily archives and I've whipped up a quiz based upon a 2016 Twins Top 40 Prospects that Seth made. Outside of a few of the big names who made it through, some of these are hard. Give it a shot here and let me know how you do: https://www.sporcle.com/games/Danchat0/twins-prospects-2016-seths-midseason-update

And while I'm off on this non-sequitur, here's a random quote I found while looking for quiz content. It's from Nick Nelson, in a minor league update back in 2018:

Quote

The ascent of Astros shortstop Carlos Correa was about as smooth and optimal as one could hope for from a No. 1 overall pick out of high school. He cruised through the minors, developed into an elite prospect by the end of his first full pro season, and reached the majors at age 20, becoming an instant superstar and Rookie of the Year.

The pace that Royce Lewis is currently on makes Correa's look decidedly sluggish. The shortstop is crushing High-A and hurtling toward a 2019 Twins debut.

Oof, this one hurts. If only Lewis could have busted out in 2019, yet here we are in the first month of Lewis' MLB career 3 full years later. And ironically, we have Correa on our roster, which I'm sure is something nobody in the past could have predicted happening. Just thought that nugget was a funny one to read.

Alright, let's get this show back on the road! Win this one, Twins!

 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I am heading out.

 

I caught (er i mean i watched. I have no real familiarity with the tools of ignorance. Except to admit my ignorance of them) yesterday game and a half.

That makes them 0-2.5 this season with me in attendance. I leave it well enough alone.

 

But i am not snake bit. Once knew someone who was, and he didn't take too kindly to it.

[KirbyDome89]

Does Sanchez the DH hit better than Sanchez the C?

[sampleSizeOfOne]

30 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Give it a shot here and let me know how you do: https://www.sporcle.com/games/Danchat0/twins-prospects-2016-seths-midseason-update

I may...

 

But if i click on a link in a game thread and don't see stylish shoes, i might be disappointed. Prior game threads have raised expectations considerably on that point. 

[Danchat]

12 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

I may...

 

But if i click on a link in a game thread and don't see stylish shoes, i might be disappointed. Prior game threads have raised expectations considerably on that point. 

Stylish shoes? I think I missed a memo there...

[Unwinder]

I don't understand why they had to change the name to something so boring. What's wrong with the CLASSIC team name, loved by all? Sorry, I don't care who I offend. To me, they'll always be the Washington Senators.

[Unwinder]

Guardians has a nice ring to it though, Cleveland has got the right idea.

[wsnydes]

42 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Stylish shoes? I think I missed a memo there...

@Squirrel, you presence is required!

[wsnydes]

27 minutes ago, Unwinder said:

I don't understand why they had to change the name to something so boring. What's wrong with the CLASSIC team name, loved by all? Sorry, I don't care who I offend. To me, they'll always be the Washington Senators.

You know, when is the House of Representatives going to finally get their due?  I mean, they are the larger group, so it only seems reasonable that they should have at least 5 teams named after them right?

Or is that too discriminatory?  Best just call them all Congress and be done with it!

[wsnydes]

59 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

I may...

 

But if i click on a link in a game thread and don't see stylish shoes, i might be disappointed. Prior game threads have raised expectations considerably on that point. 

Do not forget about the Game Thread Shopping Network. 

@Richie the Rally Goat has also been instrumental in bringing us all the finest of home accessories available to us by the opposing teams!

[a-wan]

Hopefully the Twins can get through the series without Cleveland infecting the entire team with COVID.

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Danchat said:

Stylish shoes? I think I missed a memo there...

I think Sample is referencing this ... it's @USAFChief's favorite!

[Unwinder]

31 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

You know, when is the House of Representatives going to finally get their due?

That can be the AAA team.

[Schmoeman5]

What happened to the Cotter guy they found at the playground. Baldelli said he had him penned in at 1st tonight. Don't tell me he's on the IL already

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Back by “popular demand” it’s Shopping with the Enemy.

I found myself wondering, what is a Guardian, and what does it have to do with the city of Cleveland? What better way to learn, than through the enemy’s pro shop?

initially, the only clues received were a C or a G.

of course single letters without context don’t paint a very vivid picture, so my quest for knowledge continued…

I then found The Guardian, and apparently it’s a dinosaur

 

there you have it. Apparently Cleveland is known for T. Rex

 

[wsnydes]

2 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

Back by “popular demand” it’s Shopping with the Enemy.

I found myself wondering, what is a Guardian, and what does it have to do with the city of Cleveland? What better way to learn, than through the enemy’s pro shop?

initially, the only clues received were a C or a G.

of course single letters without context don’t paint a very vivid picture, so my quest for knowledge continued…

I then found The Guardian, and apparently it’s a dinosaur

 

there you have it. Apparently Cleveland is known for T. Rex

 

A sleeveless hoodie?  Does it get any classier than that?!?

[Schmoeman5]

The Guardians of Traffic. Several statues that watch you as you drive 100 mph to get the hell outta Cleveland 

[Dave The Dastardly]

"Guardians" doesn't cut it for me. Can't visualize one. Some Roman Legion dude? A night watchman in a run-down warehouse? One of those devices for preventing conception? All three?

Should've gone with an animal, you know, like the Tigers, or Cardinals. As far as I know "Coyote" hasn't been taken. The Cleveland Coyotes... has a certain ring to it. Get permission to use Wile E Coyote as their logo, maybe holding a stick of dynamite, eyes wide open in disbelief as the fuse gets down to the barest of nubs...

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/SQcWeuVQFDn2dpeYA

[snotboogie]

1 hour ago, Unwinder said:

Guardians has a nice ring to it though, Cleveland has got the right idea.

Back in the olden days, they were the Cleveland Spiders. Guardians/Spiders. Not even close. Spiders by a mile. I don't understand why Guardians was chosen.  Is there an inordinate amount of arachnophobia in Cleveland?  What the heck is worth guarding in Cleveland?

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Long ago my sister gave me a cartoon on t-shirt captioned "t-rex hats pop flies".

 

Perhaps that is why they are called t-shirts?

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I got fastfood today, i was customer 86.

 

That is what being 86ed is like?

 

(oh, greetings from Middle Spunk Lake, by the way....)

 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

2 hours ago, Danchat said:

Stylish shoes? I think I missed a memo there...

Nah, no memo was sent. I think that was part of the problem. In those particular game threads, many things were promised, i believe, but stylish shoes were delivered.

[Danchat]

Maybe Smeltzer?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 hour ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

Long ago my sister gave me a cartoon on t-shirt captioned "t-rex hats pop flies".

 

Perhaps that is why they are called t-shirts?

They’re long-sleeved shirts for T-Rex?

[USAFChief]

What's up with Bundy, I wonder?

[snotboogie]

Guardians mascot:

[Danchat]

1 minute ago, USAFChief said:

What's up with Bundy, I wonder?

Maybe he got COVID bad? 

[wsnydes]

3 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Maybe Smeltzer?

The plot thickens!

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

I think Sample is referencing this ... it's @USAFChief's favorite!

People BUY those??!?

[Mill1634]

I feel confident with Gray on the mound. I feel less confident with the current lineup

Twins 5, Cleveland 3

PTC: Kepler