Game Thread: Twins@Astros 9/2 1:10PM

[ashbury]

Twins: SP Andrew Albers

 

Alex Presley CF

Darin Mastroianni RF

Brian Dozier 2B

Josh Willingham DH

Trevor Plouffe 3B

Chris Herrmann C

Chris Colabello 1B

Clete Thomas LF

Pedro Florimon SS

 

Astros: SP Paul Clemens

 

Robbie Grossman LF

Jose Altuve 2B

Jason Castro C

Matt Dominguez 3B

Chris Carter 1B

Trevor Crowe RF

Brandon Barnes CF

L.J. Hoes DH

Jonathan Villar SS

 

Things to think about:

 

1. I wonder where Brian is?

[MichiganTwins]

Also, why Pinto is not playing today too.

[MichiganTwins]

Someone needs to explain why Clete Thomas continues to get at bats. He is not good.

[big dog]

Also, why Pinto is not playing today too.

 

Hermann caught Albers in AAA and they seemed to mesh well together. It's been working up here, too. No sense messing with it- we need to evaluate Hermann as well.

[ashbury]

Open ended poll: Labor Day preference, hot dogs versus hamburgers versus brats versus whatever...?

 

We'll be having grilled pork chops, I think.

 

/ leftover chops from the other day - still good when microwaved but lacking some magic

[MichiganTwins]

Good point but DH him?

[stringer bell]

I guess until Mauer returns we'll be seeing a lot of Brian Dozier #3 hitter. Whodathunkit?

[snepp]

Pinto is a catcher, that means he can automatically play the outfield too, right?

[big dog]

Things to think about:

2. Arcia- is his injury so bad that he might be shut down? We keep hearing he's a little ways away. Hopefully he can come back and hurt some baseballs before long.

 

3. Presley- is it time to trade him, when he's at his peak? This year we had too few outfielders, but we are all hoping for a time in the near future when we have too many.

 

4. Kevin Correia- when he's bad, he's very very bad, but he's had some very good starts as well (and not just in April). A couple of his "quality" starts have been cases where a lot of rockets were hit at people, but last night he looked totally in control. I no longer have a complete feeling of dread when he's the starting pitcher. So he's got that going for him, anyway.

[stringer bell]

Some nuggets from PP Twins guy Beradino: Arcia could be playing as soon as tomorrow. Hicks unlikely to get a recall, while Parmelee likely is coming back when the Red Wings are eliminated.

[ashbury]

I just saw that Morneau went 1-for-3 plus a walk yesterday for the Pirates, for an OBP of .500 and a SLG of .333. Thus his lifetime NL OPS is .833, versus his career AL OPS of .832. Further proof that the AL is the tougher league!

[Winston Smith]

Think about Brian so excited by the new twins spending his Labor day waiting for the ticket office at Target field to open so he can buy playoff tickets.

[Riverbrian]

5. Think about Riverbrian... Who was getting around to it.

[Rez]

Not the lineup I was hoping to see today.

[Chance]

Rochesters doing their part to try and make the playoffs. Batting around in the 1st.

[Mr. Brooks]

Not the lineup I was hoping to see today.

 

At this point, any lineup without Bernier in it is a good one.

[Chance]

Norfork and Durham are tied in the 6th at 0-0. It appears they both had starters making their AAA debuts today (at least for this year).

[Chance]

Escobar now 2-2 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI in the first inning! Jeez...

[ashbury]

5. Think about Riverbrian... Who was getting around to it.

 

[VATwinsFan]

Rochesters doing their part to try and make the playoffs. Batting around in the 1st.

 

Uh, 9 runs in and they're still batting?

 

Not bad.

[big dog]

Uh, 9 runs in and they're still batting?

 

Not bad.

 

I like Diamond's chance at getting the W...go Rochester!

[ashbury]

I like Diamond's chance at getting the W...go Rochester!

 

As a complete gambling n00b, I will ask what may be an obvious question: do sports books offer any interesting/fun propositions in-game when the first inning is like that one?

[VATwinsFan]

I like Diamond's chance at getting the W...go Rochester!

 

I guess he's not going to take the easy way -- three singles and the bases loaded with no outs in the third.

[VATwinsFan]

A triple play with the bases loaded -- Diamond had it under control the entire time.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Durham & Norfolk 0-0 through 8.

[ashbury]

From the ESPN.com pbp:

A Presley fouled out to second

 

Even though I've got a pretty good idea what must have happened, this way of saying it looks funny.

[snepp]

From the ESPN.com pbp:

A Presley fouled out to second

 

Even though I've got a pretty good idea what must have happened, this way of saying it looks funny.

 

The grounds crew was drunk when they drew the lines today.

[VATwinsFan]

The 'Stros have 5 guys with BAs over .250.

 

The Twins have one.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Anderson to Albers: "You're getting pounded by the worst team in baseball. Think about that, rook."

[glunn]

Rochesters doing their part to try and make the playoffs. Batting around in the 1st.

 

Same for the Astros it seems.