Doubles

Yes, it is speculation on my part. As I'm not on the inside, it's what I do. I made zero mention of Mauer's contract, but thanks for adding that in there. From Berardino's gamer: "After Yoan Moncada drew a four-pitch walk and stole second one out later in the fourth, first baseman Mitch Garver booted Nick Delmonico’s soft grounder to his right for a run-scoring error. Garver was playing first for the third time since being called up last Friday, but before that the natural catcher hadn’t played there since June 9 at Triple-A Rochester. In five games (four starts) at first for the Red Wings this year, Garver had been charged with one error. “I think it was a broken bat,” Garver said. “I knew I had to get over there and try to make a play on the ball. I think it hit off the heel of my glove and I ended up slipping.” The ball kicked away far enough for Moncada to score from second. “He’s going out there and he’s working on his defense,” Molitor said of Garver. “We’re trying to make him as versatile as we can. We don’t have a lot of options against left-handed pitching right now. He’s made some plays.” So you're saying you're okay with running a guy out to an infield spot- who has a lot of learning to do about the position- over a guy many people feel is playing defense at a Gold Glove level? Sorry, but I'm not. And unless Joe is dealing with some sort of malady that makes it impossible for him to strap it on- then yeah, I'm demanding more. I'm not blaming Garver at all. I'm questioning why a guy with only a handful of games played at first base this season is being asked to learn an extremely difficult position on the fly at the major league level. Meanwhile, Mauer, and his remarkably good glove- sits two games & DH's another in the last week.

Anybody else disappointed Mauer wasn't in the lineup? Easy to pile on given the error at first base, but come on, Joe. Team is fighting for a playoff spot. No idea what Mauer's numbers are vs Holland, but it's not like he's Randy Johnson out there. This should be a time of year when a manager has to drag a guy out of the lineup, kicking & screaming. That's not the feeling I get from Mauer.

As intriguing as Greene is, isn't anyone skeptical about going 1.1 on a pitcher that only threw 28 innings? I mean, aside from having a lightning bolt for a right arm, what else is there possibly to glean from that? I realize that minimal wear & tear on his arm could eventually be a good thing, but still...

Gotcha.

Did you hear this directly from a Twins source? I'd find it extremely hard to believe they weren't aware of him or whatever "on the Twins' radar" means. Remember, around draft time a favorite cliche' of NFL executives is you know they're lying when their lips are moving. Not saying the Twins are lying, I'm saying I'd be shocked if they weren't well aware of Greene and all potential first round picks leading up to this draft quite some time ago.

I had surgery to repair a torn labrum. The injury itself was no fun, the surgery was no fun, and the recovery was no fun. Still have limited range of motion / mobility with that shoulder today. Mine was on my non-throwing shoulder, luckily. I can't even fathom trying to throw, much less pitch, with a torn labrum. Always admired Brad Radke for that.

Hopefully this team can find The Fire Inside, else management may go for a complete Shakedown if the results are Still the Same. Who knows, maybe Paul will tired of playing the role of Beautiful Loser, and ask management at season's end to Roll Me Away.

We're gonna have to get used to all these strikeouts. The makeup of this team is such that they are gonna whiff, and whiff a lot. That's just the nature of quite a few hitters in the Twins lineup this year. They're gonna strike out a lot, and I think they're gonna hit a good number of taters and score quite a few runs, too. We're gonna have to learn to take the bad with the good...

How did I not find out before today that as a paying subscriber of DirecTV, and with FSN included in my subscription, that I can stream all games via the Fox Sports To Go app?

Thanks for that, Paul Douglas.

BH the DH

Nothing personal, but I hope you don't get cast as a reliever on the downhill side of his pitching career in a movie that tries really hard to otherwise look semi-legit.

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Herndon must have been dinged up, but I couldn't find anything on that. That's the only explanation I can think of for pinch-running a pitcher for an OF with decent speed, which Herndon was.

LH batting Dave Bergman started the game at DH against RH Les Straker. In the bottom of the 3rd, TK replaced Straker with LH Dan Schatzeder. Sparky went to RH Larry Herndon, who hit a two-run double off Schatzeder to stretch the Tigers lead to 5-0. The Twins would score 2 runs in each of the 4th, 6th, and 7th innings, and what was a 5-0 Tigers lead evaporated into a 6-5 score in favor of the Twins. Herndon lead off the bottom of the 8th against Reardon by lining a single to LF. Now this may be where the question comes in: Herndon was lifted for a pinch-runner. I am wondering if Herndon may have had a bum ankle? Anyways, who was inserted as the pinch-runner? That is my easy-peasy trivia question. Tom Brookens foul-popped a bunt attempt that was caught by Hrbek. Sheridan came up with one out and one on, and drilled a Reardon offering into the upper deck in RF at Tiger Stadium. After staring down a possible 3 games to 0 deficit, the Tigers suddenly had life. But it wouldn't last very long.

I also remember Bruno hitting a dinger I believe in the 9th inning of Game Five. One of the highest homers I've ever seen. Seemed to take forever to come down, and landed one or two rows back behind the left field fence if I recall correctly. That was the moment when I was like, "Ooooooh, wow! The Twins are going to the World Series!!!! Yeah boyyyyyyyy!"

I believe you're thinking of the decisive Game 5. I remember listening to that game on the radio at school that day. I had a little Sony Walkman radio (remember those?). I took one of the headphones off the headset. Made sure to wear a long-sleeve shirt that day. Radio in my pants pocket, shirt untucked. I ran the cord from the headset up my shirt and down the sleeve of my left arm. Held the earphone speaker in my left hand, and leaned my head on it. Was able to listen to John Gordon and the legendary Herb Carneal call all the action right in class. None of the other students, much less any teachers, figured out I was listening to the whole game. Game 3 also may have been a day game. That was when Pat Sheridan hit an eighth-inning two-run-dinger off Jeff Reardon to take a 7-6 lead the Tigers would hold onto for their only win in the series. Trivia time: Name the pinch-runner that entered the game for Larry Herndon in the bottom of the 8th, who would go on to score ahead of Sheridan on his dinger? This is a pretty easy one, actually...

Gibby- I wouldn't recommend trying to outdrink Mr. Dixon. That is one massively large individual. At least he was during his playing days...

I'm okay with the Twins staying out of the Tulo sweepstakes. I haven't read this entire thread, but I'm sure someone has already made these points. Yes, Tulo's been productive, but keep in mind the Jays are getting Tulo from age 30-35, not 21-28 year old Tulo. His offensive numbers are obviously gonna regress moving out of Coors Field, and durability is a concern. There is also a high probability that his defense and range will certainly decline as he ages. Here are also some numbers that would make me uneasy: 375 512 203 606 529 Those are Tulo's AB's starting with 2014 and going backwards to 2010. Yeah, shiny new toys are cool, but if they don't work and you can't play with them very much it really takes all the fun out of it. Especially when they come at the expense of possibly getting other toys that actually work when you want them to.

Switching positions, especially between infield and outfield, and especially at the highest level of the game- can be a very tricky adjustment. I salute Plouffe for putting in the time and work he has to improve so much. Hopefully this will play out and this level can be maintained for a long time. The Twins have had some very, very good defensive infielders at the corner positions over the years. Guys like Hrbek and Mientkiewicz were very naturally gifted fielders. Let's hope Plouffe joins guys like Gaetti, Koskie, and Morneau as guys who through hard work turned their labels as defensive liabilities into above-average defenders.

I'd like to see MLB flip-flop the rules for interleague play. In other words, I'd like to see American League rules in National League parks & vice versa. Give the hometown fans an experience they haven't been privy to yet.

I don’t think it was overrated at the time, but in the years since 1987 ALCS Laudner’s pickoff of Darrell Evans has certainly been overlooked and in a way, “lost in the shuffle.” The Twins won the first two games at home, and the Tigers had taken Game 3. Game 4 was pivotal. A Tiger win meant they had held serve and preserved home field advantage. A Twins win would put them one win away from their first World Series appearance since 1965. This was a critical game. The Twins were leading 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th inning and threatening. A sacrifice bunt moved Evans to third and Dave Bergman to second. Juan Berenguer, on in relief for Keith Atherton, was set to face Lou Whitaker. Berenguer’s first pitch to Whitaker was low and inside. Laudner back-handed the pitch, sprang from his crouch, and threw an absolute pill to third baseman Garry Gaetti, whose snap-tag nailed Evans for the second out. Two pitches later, Bergman would advance to third base on a wild pitch, which naturally leads to speculation that Evans would have scored to tie the game had he not been picked off. Berenguer eventually retired Jim Morrison on a fly ball to center to retire the side. Tigers threat, inning, game, and essentially season, over. Twins eventually went on to beat the Tigers 5-3 in the critical Game 4, before finishing them off the next day in Detroit with a 9-5 victory. The following quotes from the clubhouse that night are courtesy of the Chicago Tribune: ``I thought it was the turning point in the game,`` (Tigers Manager Sparky) Anderson said. ``Gary and I have a predetermined signal,`` Laudner said. ``If he feels he can get him out, he puts it on, and I`ll throw it down there. The ball was down and in, it kept me square to third base. ``It`s fun to do something when it works,`` Gaetti said. The play was embarrassing to the 40-year-old Evans. ``It was something I didn`t expect,`` said Evans, who was further embarrassed when he made two errors after being inserted at third base. ``The ball was in the dirt, and I went a half step too far. It was a big mistake, no question about it.``