JB_Iowa

I cannot believe that the Pelfrey game the other night went by so crisply and this one seems slow as molasses in the wintertime.

I just wanted CB to have a few options. I like the Corky with the elephant better than Dolenz.

So glad to see that the Wild overcame the mumps.

Uh-oh

I wish they wouldn't replay old home runs, though. I got all excited ... but Escobar is still batting.

Twins Win! Twins Win! Another chance today for a Series win. Both the Twins and Mariners are 7-10 and the Twins are in 3rd place in the AL Central, ahead of Chicago and Cleveland. We saw last night that the Twins may not have the worst defense in the league. Everything is a work in progress. The Mariners were originally scheduled to start righty Hisashi Iwakuma but he went on the DL this morning with a Grade 1 strain of his right lat muscle and will be expected to miss two to four weeks.(1) The Mariners are bringing up 26-year-old lefty Roenis Elias from AAA Tacoma. Like Trevor May, Elias lost a ST battle for the 5th starter spot. Unlike May, he did not excel at AAA, posting an 8.04 ERA with a 12/7 K/BB ratio in 15 2/3 innings but he still was 2-0. He was 10-12 with a 3.85 ERA in the majors in 2014. That included going 0-2 against the Twins with an ERA of 8.71. So the Twins have some familiarity with him – keep those bats warm! The Twins counter with Kyle Gibson making his fourth start of the year. Kyle’s last start was Monday in KC where he gave up 4 hits, 4 walks and 4 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings. Kyle is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in four career starts against the Mariners. I think he’ll bounce back from his KC outing and continue his tradition of good pitching against the Mariners so look for a Twins win today. Molitor has really shaken up today's line-up with Escobar, Nunez, Herrmann, Robinson, Arcia and Santana all starting (alongside Dozier, Plouffe and Mauer). Suzuki gets a day off as do Vargas and Hunter. Seattle's line-up is the same as Saturday with the exception of the catcher. This is the only series outside the division in April -- it would be great to take advantage. The Twins need to build a little momentum before going home to face the Tigers, White Sox and A’s. It is also the Twins’ only trip to Seattle this season. So grab a coffee (or your favorite beverage) and some fish and chips (no sushi here) (or maybe Gibby will make salmon for all of us) and settle in for a late afternoon of baseball. Twins 2 Brian Dozier 2B 21 Shane Robinson CF 7 Joe Mauer (L) 1B 24 Trevor Plouffe 3B 9 Eduardo Nunez DH 5 Eduardo Escobar(S) LF 31 Oswaldo Arcia (L) RF 12 Chris Herrmann C 39 Danny Santana SS RHP Kyle Gibson Mariners 16 Austin Jackson CF 7 Seth Smith (L) RF 2 Robinson Cano (L) 2B 23 Nelson Cruz DH 15 Kyle Seagar (L) 3B 20 Logan Morrison (L) 1B 13 Dustin Ackley (L) LF 5 Brad Miller (L) SS 2 Jesus Sucre C LHP Roenis Elias Line-ups from a photo by LEN3 (1) http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/25/hisashi-iwakuma-has-a-grade-1-lat-strain-will-miss-2-4-weeks/

Can someone explain two things to me about Pinto? 1. Have the Twins given up on him as a catcher? I think it was yesterday that Berardino tweeted that "if called up", Pinto could be an emergency catcher. Not back-up, certainly not started but EMERGENCY? That seems like a real downgrade. 2. Why does Pinto keep getting hit in the helmet on the back swing? It happened again yesterday I believe and while there wasn't an injury, this seems like a recipe for (eventual) disaster. Is it where he sets up? Is it his squat? Someone please enlighten me. Maybe question 1 has something to do with questions 2. Thanks.

Even after getting knocked out of his homecoming start by a Kyle Seager line drive off his pitching elbow, the Twins right-hander was upbeat about his chances of taking his next turn on Thursday at home against the Chicago White Sox. “Absolutely,” May said after his 10-out start, half of them by strikeout. “At this point I fully expect to be right back on track. It’s probably going to be a little sore tomorrow. It’s something we’ll just have to address (Sunday) and see how it feels.” May said the ball hit him “a little bit on the forearm side on the back side of the arm.” There was discoloring at first, but after icing it he said it “looked a lot better already,” just a couple of hours after taking the blow. http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2015/04/26/postgame-twinsights-trevor-may-optimistic-about-making-next-start/ I wonder if he still feels that way this morning or if he wasn't acting on a little ice, 150 friends and family members and the immediacy of the injury.

Fell asleep when it was 8-3. Glad you all preserved the victory.

Well that would be an additional bonus.

CBIU 2-1 M's after 1

Trevor, Trevor, Trevor .... gotta get out of this for Grandma.

Plumping, yes. Plumbing, no.

Circus Boy Scoring Update 1-0 Twins, middle of the 1st

Love scoring without a hit .... but some hits would be nice.

I think Pinto caught today for ROC and I think he got hit by a bat (again).

I saw someone (Berardino, I think) say Pinto could fill "emergency catcher" duties if called up. Has he been reduced to emergencies? Is Suzuki an iron man?

Another decent start for Phil Hughes last night …. without any run support. It’s a pity that he is 0-4. He hasn’t pitched perfectly but he deserves better than this. I know King Felix is hard to hit but the Twins need to warm up those bats! It’s cliché but I’m thinking that they need to bring in a chicken or two – seems to me this would be a good task for Kennys Vargas. The Mariners improved their record to 7-9. After tonight’s game, I want to see both the Twins and the Mariners at 7-10. The Twins will put the ball in the hands of Trevor May. Trevor is from Kelso, Washington. Kelso is south of Seattle – almost on the Oregon border but he should have a lot of hometown support. The original inhabitants of the Kelso area were members of the Cowlitz tribe. I’m sure that’s the origin of the term “cowlick” and I’m sure Trevor has a cowlick or two somewhere in that head of hair. Trevor won his start last Sunday, 7-2 against the Indians to even his record at 1-1. He was able to fuel up on his favorite sushi so I’m looking for another good start tonight. Maybe he can feed the bats sushi to try to liven them up. The Twins face lefty James Paxton who is 0-1 with an 8.40 ERA after 3 starts. His last start was Sunday against the Rangers where he went only 2 2/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and 7 runs. BUT the Mariners went on to win that game 11-10, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th for the win. Nelson Cruz was the hero of the game with 2 HR and the winning single. Maybe the Twins could steal his bats. Tonight’s game starts at 8:10 CDT. It is “Hisashi Iwakuma Bear Hat” night so look for a lot of little bears in the stands (bears, not beers – although there will probably be lots of both). Twins 2 Brian Dozier 2B 48 Torii Hunter RF 7 Joe Mauer (L) DH 24 Trevor Plouffe 3B 15 Kennys Vargas (S) 1B 9 Eduardo Nunez LF 8 Kurt Suzuki C 5 Eduardo Escobar SS 21 Shane Robinson CF RHP Trevor May Mariners 16 Austin Jackson CF 7 Seth Smith (L) RF 2 Robinson Cano (L) 2B 23 Nelson Cruz DH 15 Kyle Seagar (L) 3B 20 Logan Morrison (L) 1B 13 Dustin Ackley (L) LF 3 Mike Zunino C 5 Brad Miller (L) SS LHP James Paxton Line-ups from a photo by LEN3

I saw my first flock of wild turkeys in a pastoral setting last fall. We saw them all the time within the less populated areas of Sioux City but somehow they don't make a great impression when they are blocking the road. But last fall I saw a flock in the country amongst old trees in pastureland. What a gorgeous site. Not as majestic as Bald Eagles but still beautiful creatures. I'd love to see a fight so I could see those blue heads!! I did see some with tails fully spread.

Just a heads up. The Mariners were kind enough to schedule the Saturday night game for 8:10 CDT and Sunday for 3:10 CDT. This according to twinsbaseball.com. So we do get a bit of a break there. Nevertheless, I'll probably be heading toward dreamland tonight -- and cursing Dish Network for their perpetual arguments with Fox so that they don't have FSN 2 go.

I like mute.

WAlks in to this thread... Seems the main topic of conversation... Quickly exits.