PDX Twin

Toriii, PLEASE go to the casino. NOW!

Had him played perfectly!

Buxton's BA reaches .231. I'm liking the trend.

Definitely not dePressly tonight!

Anybody missing Oswaldo right now? I was reminded of his existence when his brother played against us for Milwaukee. Hard to see where he'd fit into this lineup even at his best.

The old 5-0 jinx strikes again!

Well, my game-thread luck continues for Berrios and the Twins...

The lineups: Twins 1. Brian Dozier ( R ) 2B .253/311/.467/.798 2. Max Kepler ( L ) RF .250/.319/.432/.752 3. Joe Mauer ( L ) 1B .278/.369/.377/.745 4. Miguel Sano ( R ) 3B .269/.356/.510/.866 5. Eddie Rosario ( L ) LF .292/.332/.492/.823 6. Robbie Grossman ( S ) DH .245/.374/.371/.744 7. Byron Buxton ( R ) CF .226/.298/.312/.610 8. Jorge Polanco ( S ) SS .242/.292/.344/.635 9. Jason Castro ( L ) C .225/.326/.365/.691 P. José Berríos ( R ) 10-5, 3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.28 K/9, 2.63 BB/9 Tigers 1. Ian Kinsler ( R ) 2B .247/.325/.396/.721 2. Mikie Mahtook ( R ) CF .298/.349/.474/.823 3. Justin Upton ( R ) LF .278/.364/.519/.883 4. Miguel Cabrera ( R ) 1B .252/.337/.407/.744 5. Nicholas Castellanos ( R ) 3B .245/.309/.442/.751 6. Victor Martinez ( S ) DH .249/.315/.362/.676 7. James McCann ( R ) C .247/.317/.429/.746 8. Alex Presley ( L ) RF .313/.364/.404/.769 9. Jose Iglesias ( R ) SS .257/.292/.355/.647 P. Jordan Zimmermann ( R ) 7-9, 5.27 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 6.06 K/9, 2.64 BB/9

I survived my first game thread (7/25), although the Twines and Señor Berríos didn’t fare so well in Dodgerville that night. Here goes another one as they put their 6-game winning streak on the line against the aging and wilting Tigers of Detroit. Looking at the pitching statistics below, the Twins’ starter leads his Tiger counterpart in EVERY statistical category listed: more wins, fewer losses, lower ERA, lower WHIP, more K/9, and less BB/9. And Detroit is paying their starter $18,000,000 this year (and $24,000,000 next year and $25,000,000 for two years after that) with the Twins’ starter making $525,000. After seeing those numbers, I’m not quite so dismayed (see below) about Joe Mauer and Phil Hughes. Random Trivia: Did you know that there is a town called Twinsburg, Ohio, that celebrates a Twins Days Festival? If you don’t believe me, check out this photo gallery, which, distressingly, does not have any pairs in Twins’ uniforms. My favorite is the guys in this picture, who look like they are having fun. Of course, all of these sibling-pairs should be rooting for our Twins, even though Cleveland is only 15 miles away (and the pair in the picture might feel quite at home at Miller Park). More fun with words. A month or so back, one of the senior posters on this site suggested that Eddie Rosario could use a bit more “chalance” in the outfield. That started me thinking about other words that we use only in the negative. If you can think of others, please add to my short list in the comments. 1. Reckless. Have you ever heard anyone being “reckful”? Surely a driver who is "reckful" is more likely to be "wreckless." 2. Disgruntled. I’m really a lot more “gruntled” at the Twins’ play over the last week than I was the week before. 3. Disturbed. If you are unbothered, does that mean you are “turbed”? 4. Detract/distract/extract/subtract. Do we ever do anything positive with “tract”? I suppose that “contract” is positive when it means “make a legal agreement,” but that’s offset by the all-too-familiar “reduce in size” usage that the Twins nearly suffered two decades ago. Just to be positive, maybe I’ll start referring to addition as “surtraction.” 5. Dismayed. Of course, the Twins were “dis-Mayed” in March when Trevor was lost was lost for the year with elbow surgery. Then we were all dismayed in the more traditional sense by the Twins’ performance during their losing run. Does that mean that we’re now “mayed” by the current winning streak? Starting pitchers: Twins: José Berríos (10-5, 3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.28 K/9, 2.63 BB/9)Tigers: Jordan Zimmermann (7-9, 5.27 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 6.06 K/9, 2.64 BB/9)Lineups will be posted when available.

Or maybe a 2-run single...

Of course. Sir John Hicks was one of the most influential English economists of the mid-20th century!

Between Buxton's catch and that one by Kepler, all that's missing is Eddie going over the wall to rob the homerun. (Maybe he'll get another chance in the 9th.)

They weren't last night...

TV graphic says Eddie's OBP > .400 over last 49 games. That's an impressive improvement.

Good wine is a culinary, as well as a social, delight. It's what I drink for dinner, with or without companionship.

Not that bad, but he just turned the wrong way. But the recovery was sure fun to watch! I'm glad he plays for us!

And Upton doesn't jump to rob Eddie of a home run. Maybe they have some kind of deal... EDIT: Maybe ... maybe ... Eddie's was out of reach anyway. But he sure didn't try.

Is Seth that old?

To me, this has been the biggest difference between 2016 and 2017. Last year, the horror start took away their confidence and they never got it back. Every time they lost a game you expected them to lose three more in a row. This year, with the exception of the West Coast swoon two weeks ago, there has always been a sense that they could always come back following a defeat and win the next one. Some of this is probably greater maturity in players such as Buxton, Berrios, Sano, Kepler, Polanco, and Rosario. Some of it MIGHT be more effective mentoring by the new veterans Castro, Gimenez, Belisle, and maybe even Colon. Whatever the reason, it seems likely that they will be able to at least hang around .500 and get the experience of serious September competition. I'm not counting on making the post-season, and if they do I'm expecting at best a wild-card or first-round loss, but it is sure a lot more interesting than last year (or 2011 or 2012 or 2013 or 2014 or 2015)!

Now it would for sure, but I think he could have covered the ground at 30. That last at bat, his gait to first was short, choppy steps, not the loping glide of Joe in his prime. I guess age catches up to all of us.

I think Joe could have been an outstanding 3B, LF, or RF if they had put him there and given him a year or two to settle in.

If he keeps this up, I vote we change his name to Yay-senitz!

It seems like Gee had to finish the game last night. After Gee comes Aitch, and we don't have him on the active roster.

I'll bite, was it unorthodox?

Wow. They said that the Brewers were a very homerun oriented team, but I didn't think they meant it this way.