GAME THREAD: 7/15/222 Minnesota Twins v Chicago White Sox, 7:10 PM CDT

[RickOShea]

Maybe feeding the wolf, will help Rocco lessen the number of guys on IL.

[Aggies7]

6 minutes ago, Mill1634 said:

Yep, in reality this team is basically what most thought they were. A .500ish team that can sneak into the playoffs because of the terrible division but realistically doesn't have a chance to advance in the postseason barring some true overperformance by some starters. 

The stages of being a minnesota sports fan:

-over excitement after a hot start

-an unreasonable belief that “this is the year”

-anger when things inevitably go south

*-calm acceptance of a disappointing season 

-foolish excitement over a playoff berth after the team gets it together 

-utter disappointment

* I am here

[Montdak]

Oh well the only true tragedy that could happen in this four game series would be to get swept.  They should be able to do that.

[RickOShea]

A sharp comebacker to the nether region of Liam would suit me just fine, about now.

[Montdak]

Avoid doing that I meant.

[Aggies7]

[Mill1634]

this sucks, and see you tomorrow.

[Danchat]

4 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

-over excitement after a hot start

I'm thinking it over, when was the last time a hot start ever lead to anything? Feels like every Twins/Vikings squad that has a great first half always falls apart in the second half (2015 Twins, 2016 Vikings are great examples)... it's also a thing for most other teams, I can recall so many NFL squads that start the year 6-0/7-1/8-1 and then lose momentum and accomplish nothing. I wonder if teams are almost better off playing .500-.550 during the first half and then taking off late in the season. 

5 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

-foolish excitement over a playoff berth after the team gets it together

Haven't felt that since 2017! Maybe if I were a Wild fan that'd get bumped up to 2021-22, but Minnesota sports is so consistently bad in the postseason that I've completely lost faith. It's going to take a Vikings 98/09 regular season level of play to get me to even think about winning it all for any of these squads. 

[SanoMustGo]

2 minutes ago, Montdak said:

Avoid doing that I meant.

tomorrow is their only chance based on pitching matchups.  Lose tomorrow, and it's most likely a sweep.  22-27 the last 49.  Pretty confident the ceiling is 83-84 wins.

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I'm thinking it over, when was the last time a hot start ever lead to anything? Feels like every Twins/Vikings squad that has a great first half always falls apart in the second half (2015 Twins, 2016 Vikings are great examples)... it's also a thing for most other teams, I can recall so many NFL squads that start the year 6-0/7-1/8-1 and then lose momentum and accomplish nothing. I wonder if teams are almost better off playing .500-.550 during the first half and then taking off late in the season. 

Haven't felt that since 2017! Maybe if I were a Wild fan that'd get bumped up to 2021-22, but Minnesota sports is so consistently bad in the postseason that I've completely lost faith. It's going to take a Vikings 98/09 regular season level of play to get me to even think about winning it all for any of these squads. 

Twins were 40-18 to start 2019. 2017 Vikings were 2-2 before they won ten in a row. But those years didn’t amount to even a title appearance. 

[IndyTwinsFan]

5 minutes ago, SanoMustGo said:

tomorrow is their only chance based on pitching matchups.  Lose tomorrow, and it's most likely a sweep.  22-27 the last 49.  Pretty confident the ceiling is 83-84 wins.

And that's probably optimistic, based on what we've been seeing lately. 

[Aggies7]

7 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I'm thinking it over, when was the last time a hot start ever lead to anything? Feels like every Twins/Vikings squad that has a great first half always falls apart in the second half (2015 Twins, 2016 Vikings are great examples)... it's also a thing for most other teams, I can recall so many NFL squads that start the year 6-0/7-1/8-1 and then lose momentum and accomplish nothing. I wonder if teams are almost better off playing .500-.550 during the first half and then taking off late in the season. 

Haven't felt that since 2017! Maybe if I were a Wild fan that'd get bumped up to 2021-22, but Minnesota sports is so consistently bad in the postseason that I've completely lost faith. It's going to take a Vikings 98/09 regular season level of play to get me to even think about winning it all for any of these squads. 

I was thinking about it recently and I think the 2009 Vikings were the best MN team I’ve ever seen. Most solid all around. Better than 98 due to a much better defense. 
 

Twins, I can’t decide which team was best. Im 35 so I missed out on the World Series years. I always give a nod to 2006. Had liriano not gotten hurt, that team could have won a pennant. 2019 also gets a mention

[Danchat]

10 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I was thinking about it recently and I think the 2009 Vikings were the best MN team I’ve ever seen. Most solid all around. Better than 98 due to a much better defense. 
 

Twins, I can’t decide which team was best. Im 35 so I missed out on the World Series years. I always give a nod to 2006. Had liriano not gotten hurt, that team could have won a pennant. 2019 also gets a mention

I'm about a decade younger than you, so I don't have quite as much misery under my belt... but even back in 09 I knew there was something special about that Vikings team. I went to the game vs the 49ers and the Favre revenge match at Lambeau that year... I may never go to a sporting event as exciting as those two.

I thought the 2019 Twins could win a series, but I don't think I had much hope they could do any real damage with the pitching they had.

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I'm about a decade younger than you, so I don't have quite as much misery under my belt... but even back in 09 I knew there was something special about that Vikings team. I went to the game vs the 49ers and the Favre revenge match at Lambeau that year... I may never go to a sporting event as exciting as those two.

I thought the 2019 Twins could win a series, but I don't think I had much hope they could do any real damage with the pitching they had.

09 should have been it. How many turnovers did they have, on the road, and still should have a had a shot at a GW FG. Even after the saints committed assault and battery on Favre (and mostly got away with it unpenalized). I think they would have had a great shot to beat the colts. The twins have never really been close in my watching life. I do remember thinking we would win the AL after Joe mays shut out the angels in game one at the dome. Then it just all fell to pieces 

[h2oface]

2 hours ago, Sutter50 said:

How do you know that? Are you his agent?

No. Because I read, and Duran said so himself as late as 4 days ago.

https://www.mlb.com/news/how-twins-are-managing-jhoan-duran-workload

But did Duran ever imagine himself becoming this sort of closer-type late-innings arm?

"No," the soft-spoken right-hander said, simply.

Well, does he enjoy blowing up radar guns and locking down the finishes of games out of the bullpen?

"In reality, it’s OK," Duran said through interpreter Elvis Martinez. "I don’t think about it that way, but I always liked to be a starter. I always liked that."

Duran said, "God willing," he hopes to return to a starting role in the future, if the team would be open to it. But for now, with his 2.54 ERA, 48 strikeouts and seven walks in 39 innings, he has been -- and will continue to be -- the focal point of a bullpen that has otherwise been the weakness of a first-place Twins roster.

[MMMordabito]