As EE sauntered to the plate, I turned to my wife and said, "I don't like this. He knows he's going yard." And so did Perez and every Twins player and every fan in the stands and at home watching telly. Let's be clear: Like Chuck Norris, EE grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage. I'd walk him every time there's men on base.
Nice win, and given the way the season's gone, even the nailbiting last inning was enjoyable. Cabrera's laugh at Schoop fanning his glove after catching the scalding drive for the last out ... priceless! Baseball is the best sport.
I don't mind when a team's best hitter -- in Cleveland's case, Lindor -- beats us. Good on him. But when .200 hitters turn All-Star performances, that's doubleplusungood and means a lost game. Go get 'em Jose!
Six of his losses in 1982 were by one run, including a couple walk-offs. He was bad in only a couple starts, including when he was called into put out the fire after a 7-1 lead over KC dwindled to 7-4. He gave up four runs and the lead, and the Royals tacked on 10 more on other meat to win 18-7. Bad luck, indeed. His ERA was 4.99.
It was a preposterously young bunch with a ton of talent that got thrown into full-time roles -- Hrbek, Laudner, Viola, Gaetti, Brunanski, and more. Ron Washington, at 30, was the oldest full-time player.
Nice wake-up call. If the Twins win, great! If they lose, well, maybe it'll click to focus every inning, every game. EDIT ADD: I typed this before Schoop's bomba. It's still an evergreen sentiment.
It's at this point in every getaway game that we're ahead by a touchdown and I think, "Golly, how many guys' heads are already on the plane?" The 7-0 lead is the most dangerous score in baseball.