twinssporto

Does Hildy know he's in the Twins bullpen? Nobody say anything! Shhhh.

I think his arm just got out of a sling. Can't hurt to get him in the game though.

This is the best part of the game to watch. Real life drama unfolding before your eyes....It literally could go either way. Bullpen fun!

Another no.

Boof Bonser

Any relation to Dionne Warwick? Walk on by.....

I'm excited! At least we should have some fun baseball to watch through September...I'm keeping my expectations high. It's just baseball anyway. After the lousy 5 years of baseball here I'm enjoying the sunshine!

As a baseball fan I love this! It's nice to see a little bit of the "behind the curtain" stuff.

Great post but you forgot another injured player. This one is not physical but mental. Gibson should be sent away immediately. Doesn't have the mental side of this game down yet. Not sure he ever will.

The name alone could make millions. Could be a high end mustard product or a line of designer jeans.

I smell playoff run....Serious....just go with it. Go Twins!

Here's something to ponder...or as many of our game thread intro's say: "here's something to think about"...) Did anyone ever really feel comfortable with Brandon closing? He was never a Rick Aguilera, Joe Nathan type guy. Was he a dominate type of closer? Not really. Keeping Kintzler statistically, long term, was not going to work out well. I think the Twins brain trust knew this and decided it was a great time to dump him and pick up some long-term potential. I do agree that Falvey and company have shown their hand and bailed on a potential playoff run. As a fan its very disappointing. From a business perspective I think it was shrewd.

I feel good about it. Brandon is a great guy to have around, especially when your bullpen blows. However, we need to build a staff/team full of good arms. This is a good way to reach that goal. Longer term I don't think Brandon has a lot left in the tank over the next two-three years...the $500k in international pool money really helps too. Hope to see Brandon pitching in the W.S.

Totally agree with this post. Obvious I know but I think its more of a head issue with Gibson than talent...He always looks scared when he pitches. Don't like to see that.

Not a fan of Mauer in the 4 hole...

Agreed. The kid is gonna be good. The offensive side of this team is only going to get better, especially as the youngsters mature. Keep bringing up these young pitchers until something sticks.

No! Stay up a little longer. I think there's only 3 or 4 of us still on here at quarter to midnight.

That just tells you how low the bar is set. I've been thinking the exact same thing. Look on the bright side. It will get better someday.

It's slow because everyone was at high school graduation ceremonies. They last forever you know.

Thanks for the help! By the way, it was a looooong graduation.

Sorry - It was on top of mind so just went with it. They needed a pinch hitter tonight for Game Thread so I volunteered. Do a topic on Grad parties. There is loads of potential in that one!

http://www.ric.edu/commencement/publishingimages/commencementweb.jpg Good afternoon and welcome back to the Twins Daily Game Thread. I think tonight will be a lot more fun than the disappointment we experienced last night. I have written a few Game Thread introductions this year and I think my record is very good. I'm not really sure but I think my win percentage is close to 90%. Have faith people! Seattle is on a hot streak now but I think the Twins will shut them down tonight. Speaking about tonight, my oldest son graduates from High School tonight...If any of you have already experienced this it's kind of strange. It seems like just yesterday he was leaving for kindergarten. I don't feel that old....As I have been pontificating on my son's graduation it got me to thinking about baseball. Specifically, Twins baseball. I feel we have a bunch of young players that have finally graduated to the big leagues. I know some of the names I'm going to throw out there have some flaws but realistically they are acting and playing like guys who have graduated to the major leagues: Sano, Kepler, Polanco, Rosario, Buxton, Berrios. This is a strong core group of young men. I think this team can be a real contender once we shore up our starting pitching and bullpen staff. Who will be the pitchers in the minors coming up next that will graduate into big leaguers? The answer to that is difficult to determine but similar to watching my oldest son mature into a fine young man its been fun to watch these young ball players mature into real major league baseball players. Oh, a couple of comments on graduation ceremonies: They run too long. My son has a graduating class of over 750 students. Can't we break this up into smaller groups? Maybe one group in the parking lot, another in the gym, etc.Why do they ALWAYS read names in alphabetical order? Our last name starts with an "S" it's not fair. Maybe alternate Z's and A's every other year. Commencement speeches. They are supposed to be the last lesson students learn before entering the real world. Really? That scares me. Commencement speeches. They are too long as well.For larger colleges and high schools they should serve cold beer and other beverages for the spectators. This would keep them engaged during the two plus hours of reading out loud each of the graduates names. They should try to find a way to recognize the worst students in the group as well. Maybe a worst student award, worst attendance, most tardy, stuff like that. Now that would be funny and entertaining. Remember, in this day and age everyone gets a trophy!A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells all of the students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success. Really?Why do they always let the smartest student with the best GPA speak? Why not the funniest student? The latter will probably make more money and be more successful in the future anyway. Congratulations to all the graduates out there! On to the next stage of life! As Oscar Wilde once said: "Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught". GO TWINS! Lineups: TBD - someone may need to post these for me tonight. By the time they are posted I will only be on the A's during the ceremony. I'm guessing we will be wrapping up the big event by the 8th or 9th inning of the game. Sorry! Weather: As Riverbrian so cleverly stated: Who cares! The stadium has a retractable roof.

I really like the batting order today. Seems loaded with potential.

Lineups: Sorry they are late. Had a meeting that ran loooooooong. I'm going to play a joke on the people that kept me from posting the lineups earlier. Still deciding what to do. Something devious perhaps.... TWINS: 1. Brian Dozier ® 2B 2. Jorge Polanco (S) SS 3. Miguel Sano ® DH 4. Max Kepler (L) RF 5. Kennys Vargas (S) 1B 6. Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B 7. Eddie Rosario (L) LF 8. Chris Gimenez ® C 9. Byron Buxton ® CF Jose Berrios ® SP Orioles: 1. Seth Smith (L) RF 2. Adam Jones ® CF 3. Manny Machado ® 3B 4. Mark Trumbo ® DH 5. Chris Davis (L) 1B 6. Trey Mancini ® LF 7. Jonathan Schoop ® 2B 8. J.J. Hardy ® SS 9. Caleb Joseph ® C Chris Tillman ® SP

Good Morning Twins fans! Get ready for punch number two today. On the mound this morning (Minnesota time) is the now fearsome pitching phenom Jose Berrios. He is part of the now pitching one two punch of Minnesota's starting rotation of Santana and Berrios. The game last night was fantastic. Twins are still in first place and Santana threw his second shutout of the year (only major leaguer to do that so far this year). I'm expecting a great showing today for the young Berrios. I think he is going to thrive after Santana's performance last night. They say hitting is contagious but I think pitching can be too. It's an early game today for us Twins fans back home. I assume there will be a large number of you watching or listening to the game from your place of work. Which got me thinking about work and actually having fun at work. Over the years I have played a lot of practical jokes on my coworkers and staff. One of the best jokes I pulled on someone was many years ago. I was employed on a production line while working my way through college. This new guy had just started and he seemed like a great target...Anyway, after we wrapped up our second shift lunch break we were walking back out onto the production floor and I saw an empty bucket on the ground. I grabbed the bucket and handed it to the "new guy". I explained to him that we needed to have the bucket filled with steam to clean our equipment before restarting our production line. I gave him the bucket and told him to walk over to the shift supervisor and ask him to show you where to fill the bucket up with steam. Of course he followed my directions to the T and proceeded to walk in the direction of the shift supervisor. The rest of us were rolling with laughter as he walked towards the supervisor looking to fill his bucket with steam. A few minutes later the new guy comes back and we all broke down laughing again. He was a good sport about the whole thing. If you get time today at work between watching or listening to the game and doing actual work, remember to play a good joke on your coworkers. Life's too short not to have a little fun while working. Looks like there might be some rain today in Baltimore. Hopefully they get the game in. Go Twins!! Lineups TBD.