Game Thread: Twins v Blue Jays, 8/5/22 @ 7:10pm Local Time

[wsnydes]

Cleveland lost, White Sox won.

[IndyTwinsFan]

1 minute ago, Danchat said:

Toronto simply choked harder. Wow!

Definitely didn't see that coming. 

[luke829]

This team isn't short on suspense, that's for sure.

[Aggies7]

I need to know why Gordon wasn’t moving to third on the third strike to cave. And why cave wasn’t moving to third on the final play.

 

also I hate the contact play with nobody out 

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

Beckham with the walkoff.

As expected.

The patented walkoff fielder's choice!

[TWTwinsFan]

sorry to say this but this is not a happy win

[IndyTwinsFan]

Just now, TWTwinsFan said:

sorry to say this but this is not a happy win

Why??

[Longdistancetwins]

5 minutes ago, Longdistancetwins said:

Ugliest walk off ever!

Of course, not entirely true:  there were those wacky games with the White Sox and Tigers earlier on.

[ashbury]

23 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Three consecutive choke jobs.

Choke and win.  That's all this team does.  Choke and win.

[Mike Sixel]

Literally complaining about a win. 

[mrtwinsfan]

2 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I need to know why Gordon wasn’t moving to third on the third strike to cave. And why cave wasn’t moving to third on the final play.

 

also I hate the contact play with nobody out 

THATS THE KIND OF QUESTIONS I WISH OUR BEAT WRITERS WOULD AT LEAST TRY TO ASK, 

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

Literally complaining about a win. 

It needed to be winnier.

[USAFChief]

1 minute ago, Aggies7 said:

I need to know why Gordon wasn’t moving to third on the third strike to cave. And why cave wasn’t moving to third on the final play.

 

also I hate the contact play with nobody out 

Had Cave been moving as he should, there's no reason not to run the contact play there.

Gordon scores

Or

Gordon stays, hitter thrown out at first. Runners at 2nd and 3rd, 1 out.

Or

Gordon is thrown out at home. Runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Having a runner at 1st and 3rd instead of 2nd and 3rd really doesn't make much difference. 

[gil4]

8 minutes ago, gil4 said:

Laying down a bunt is also our kryptonite.  I guess when you aren't Superman, everything is Kryptonite.

Infield defense might be theirs.

For the record, I posted that after the play where Cave was safe at first, but before the last play. 

[gil4]

1 minute ago, ashbury said:

It needed to be winnier.

Agreed.

We didn't win. They lost.

[Aggies7]

1 minute ago, USAFChief said:

Had Cave been moving as he should, there's no reason not to run the contact play there.

Gordon scores

Or

Gordon stays, hitter thrown out at first. Runners at 2nd and 3rd, 1 out.

Or

Gordon is thrown out at home. Runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Having a runner at 1st and 3rd instead of 2nd and 3rd really doesn't make much difference. 

The contact play was on so he should have been moving to third.

2nd and 3rd instead of 1st and 3rd take the inning ending DP out of the equation 

[USAFChief]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Literally complaining about a win. 

Yeah. I am. 

They played pretty bad. 

So you do you, celebrate the win, and stop complaining about other posters.

Every thread.

[jkcarew]

The unearned run is not earned.

[USAFChief]

Just now, Aggies7 said:

The contact play was on so he should have been moving to third.

2nd and 3rd instead of 1st and 3rd take the inning ending DP out of the equation 

Right. I said, if the contact play was on, Cave should have been running.

And I accept the small difference I 1st and 3rd instead of 2nd and 3rd for the chance he scores.

I'd run that play every time, unless the ball is hit right to the pitcher.

[RpR]

5 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

The contact play was on so he should have been moving to third.

2nd and 3rd instead of 1st and 3rd take the inning ending DP out of the equation 

Nit picking taken to new levels, or just I do not like this player whining?

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

Now Mahle needs to throw a complete game win with no more runs, to come out of the game with decent looking stats.

Called it!

 

/incorrectly

[Aggies7]

3 minutes ago, RpR said:

Nit picking taken to new levels, or just I do not like this player whining?

It’s not nit picking to point out that we’re a poorly coached team in the fundamentals of the game. Like noticeably bad 

[srjr19]

I'll say this, this would've been another crushing loss, but we didn't lose so...

Quote

 

 

[jimbo92107]

Nick Gordon's slide at the end was a thing of beauty. Swooping in along the ground, whipping that oven mitt over the plate... Did you see the ump point when Gordon touched home a second time? I wonder if he missed the initial play... Re-play would have shown it. Cracked a big homer, scored the winning run... not a bad day for Nick Gordon.

Lopez was not able to snuff out the Jays in the 9th, but Fulmer showed he's a tough S.O.B. in the 10th. Twins got three good new pitchers. 

[RpR]

4 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

It’s not nit picking to point out that we’re a poorly coached team in the fundamentals of the game. Like noticeably bad 

OK, what about Cave's hustle when he struck out but the catcher dropped the ball

His hustle forced the throw, damn few other Twins would hustle in the same circumstance.

[jimbo92107]

54 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Should they be flip flopped?

Depends what team they're facing. I might prefer Duran's overpowering stuff against a good hitting team like the Jays. Even disciplined hitters get flummoxed by his velocity and movement, and if he's not walking anybody, Duran is very tough. Lopez may have earned his reputation against lesser teams, I don't know. However, he shows signs of being a great closer under development...as does Duran. 

Looks like neither man has quite reached total shutdown level. Both have been hit around a bit. Both probably will get better if they keep doing this. I don't mind wondering which one is better. 

[Aggies7]

33 minutes ago, RpR said:

OK, what about Cave's hustle when he struck out but the catcher dropped the ball

His hustle forced the throw, damn few other Twins would hustle in the same circumstance.

He did hustle as he usually does, but he also struck out after failing to get a sac bunt down. Second time in 3 nights a batter has struck out while attempting to bunt. It’s one thing, to me, to boot a grounder like the jays did in the 9th. It’s another to not be able to execute basics of the game, like SAC bunting and smart baserunning. It’s usually what separates team in the playoffs. And we don’t play well enough to be poor in the fundamentals 

[jimbo92107]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

You can tell all this based on 2 innings?

Remember what Aggie and Nathan looked like? Both could peg the corners pretty much at will. Wasn't just the velocity, it was the precision. Neither Lopez nor Duran has that almost monotonous ability to pick corners, 1, 2, 3. Not quite yet. 

You know what the tell is? Greg Maddux had it, Nathan and Aggie and Rivera had it. It's in the footwork, absolute consistency. Great command comes from finishing exactly the same way on every pitch. I watched a video of Maddux warming up before a start. His drive foot dug one hole, his landing foot dug another hole. Same spot, over and over. No whirling around, no leaning left or right at random. Everything was centered at home plate, same thing every time. Only difference was his grip on the ball. Cutter arm-side, cutter glove-side looked exactly the same out of his hand. 

Now Lopez has a delivery that's pretty close to monotonous, but not quite. Same with Duran. You see slight differences between pitches, how they finish. Those inconsistencies can be ironed out, with tons of work, just like bowlers and golfers do. An mlb closer has to be even more specialized. He has to throw two pitches just about perfectly - a fastball, and something else, usually a slider. Trevor Hoffman threw a perfect change up. Rivera threw a perfect cutter at 96 + mph. Nathan could pick all four corners at 96, plus a near perfect slider. 

All the great closers ride their one or two dominant pitches to fame and fortune. Both Duran and Lopez look like they could get to that level, but I'd guess Lopez will get there first. 

[SwainZag]

2 hours ago, RickOShea said:

Jays just put the bat on the ball.  Twins can't make contact.  Hard to swing when your gasping to breathe.

I love this statement considering the way the Twins won this game tonight.

[SwainZag]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Literally complaining about a win. 

This is one of the uglier game threads in recent memory... and they won.  The negativity is pretty astounding.