Squirrel

That works.

I'm calling for a bunt.

THE OPPOSITE OF A BUNT! Wooohoo!

I'm calling a bunt.

Mostly, it's for my own entertainment to call for bunts against him. Because it IS hilarious watching him. And I do think it's a strategy to get to him. And yeah ... you take advantages of an opponents weaknesses. But, it still is risky. Someone will get plunked and he's an ass for doing that, but, I'd still hate to see someone get hurt. Then again ... this is sports, good or bad, it's a gritty business.

Game-time forecast: 86 deg F, partly cloudy, very slight chance of rain, but not likely, winds from the S at 6mph. Lineups: YANKEES Ellsbury CF Young LF Rodriguez DH Texeira 1B Beltran RF Headley 3B Murphy C Ryan SS Drew 2B Sabathia P TWINS Dozier 2B Hicks CF Plouffe 1B Sano DH Hunter RF Escobar 3B Robinson LF Suzuki C Santana SS Milone P Oh, where to start ... hmmm ... 1. We beat them last night, and good. One could say we spanked them, and good. I'm not sure we can expect the same tonight, but given our home record, we can hope. But I loved last night's game. It's always way more than fun to beat the Yankees than most teams, or maybe any team, and last night we got to call them 'The Yankees.' But that was last night. This is tonight. It's true for any game, but we really need to keep the bats swinging, play good D and hopefully the good times will roll again. 2. Milone v Sabbathia. Milone is going to have to find his pre-Athetics form against CC. The Athletics flattened him but I’m hoping that is not the trend going forward and it was just 'one of those games.' He was rollin’ prior to that and I hope he can get back to rollin’ and roll right over the Yankees. He’s going to have to pitch against CC. CC has been regaining some of his old form and has been pretty tough his last couple of outings not to mention has pretty good career numbers against the Twins. I'm not good at prognosticating so I won't even try to wonder about the outcome. 3. There’s been lots of discussion about the Twins and bunting. Mostly what I read of opinions on this board is the Twins bunt too much in the wrong situations and not enough in the right ones; or too much all around. Personally, I’d like to see the Twins bunt more than usual against CC. He hates it. I’ve seen him fall over trying to get to a bunt. And it’s pretty funny, imo. His shape just makes him so … inept … against the bunt … putting it mildly. The only problem with a strategy of bunting against CC is the team risks injury. He gets mad and plunks batters in retribution. I guess it's his only means of defense - send the message out … bunt at your own risk. Still, watching him retrieve bunts is entertaining, but not at the expense of him injuring anyone. So, it's not really a strategy I'm endorsing. Maybe it would be more fun to watch another team bunt a lot against CC. 4. Okay, I mean, hmm, this lineup. Really? I'm not sure what to say except that I expect some grumbling, me included. I mean, why no Mauer? Yeah, okay, I see he doesn't have the best line against CC; but if Plouffe moves to play first, Sano should play 3rd and Arcia should DH. Oh, wait. Okay, rethinking ... I'm going to stop there. I'll let the rest of you sort it out. 5. Despite thinking I'd have the whole weekend off, I'm here at work. I wasn't supposed to be. But I am. And my thoughts are on work, and getting this project done. So, not the best game thread lead in ... but that's why the rest of you are here. To add and enhance. So have at it. Hopefully I'm home in time for the game. Go Twins! Play ball!

Yay! A win against the Yankees!

Well, ****. I really wanted that shut out.

This is the Midwest. No moonshine. Everclear.

Yes I do … it's called Webster Park.

This was on recently and I watched it … twice.

Get off my lawn, old man! Pee in your own yard!

Oh yay … drunk Brock … he's so much fun!

I just said I was sorry to be polite. It had no real meaning behind it.

I say leave it on … he needs all the help he can get

Ooops … sorry about that … got totally engrossed in a project at work … one I actually really liked … totally spaced getting in the lineups.

There really is no 'cheap' if you want regular games. Occasionally the Twins might be a MLB game of the day and be seen on the MLB channel, or, hmm, maybe even on ESPN. But that's more rare than occasional. And who knows, maybe they'll show up on a FOX broadcast in your area? Just gotta keep checking the listings. Otherwise ... not on the cheap ... you can get an MLB premium subscription from mlb.com ... not sure what the yearly is up to these days. Or, maybe your cable/dish service providers have Extra Innings. Again, you'd have to check with your local provider to see what the costs are. I'm in Chicago ... so I'm a little closer than Rochester ... and I pay to see the Twins on television.

Yeah, but pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis321Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious becomes a bit unwieldy.

This was what I thought seeing him at Spring Training. Those thoughts were then tempered by his suspension. But I'm coming back around now.

By many of us, maybe even most. But it was a fun wave to ride while it lasted. But now we've been thrown face down on the beach and it's time to find that new wave. We've been lying face down on the beach for a while now. A new wave couldn't come soon enough.

Ugh. I am dreading the games this weekend.

I think Hunter wanted to prove everyone wrong about his abilities and just gave everything he had left. Who knows, maybe there's a spurt or two left. But I think it's time to make the change. At the very least, give him more days off or split his time. If he becomes a malcontent over that, well, so it goes.

I agree with all of these. I wish they'd been done already.

Thanks, JB! Enjoyed the intro ... working tonight but might get home in time to catch the end ... if it's worth it at that point to watch, I will.

Yup. And I'd add that even though they've done very well thus far and continue to be 'in the hunt,' I'd hesitate to call them 'playoff calibre' considering some of their ... issues. But that's a discussion for another thread. Bullpen, catcher, SS ...