Twins Sisters

Twins  3  Kansas City 1

I dug up some interesting information today.  The Twins are currently 54-51  and 7 games out of first place.  On July 31st last year they were 61-44 and 9.5 games out of first place.  So even though our guys have won 7 less games than they did this time last year they are still closer to the top.  Don't give up! October baseball should still not be ruled out! 

Scotty pitched 8 solid innings last night. Good for him. I used to get so worried whenever his turn would come up in the rotation and now I look forward to it.  He only gave up 1 run with 2 hits. Then Joe Nathan got the save in the 9th inning.  He got the first 2 outs with 4 pitches. 

Joey's hits scored all three of the Twins runs.  He just  stung the ball into the outfield!  Jason Tyner really stepped up and did well in the lead off spot.   I'm so proud of everyone for playing so well it spite of how bummed out they were over Luis being traded just prior to the game.  I saw a clip of Luis saying goodbye to Torii right before he left the field and he looked to be very glum. I'm sure he was.  Luis will be missed by the other Twins and fans alike. I hope he kicks ass with the Mets!

Game 2 is tonight. Carlos is our starter tonight.  I would  LOVE to see the winning streak go from 3 games to 4!!

Go get 'em!

**Becca**

I just turned the TV on to watch the Twins pregame show and I'm very distressed to hear that Luis Castillo was traded to the Mets.  I'm sure that Terry Ryan knows what he is doing but I loved this whole group of guys and I hate to see that one of the Piranhas get traded away.  I always get sad when one of the Twins leave. I was just beside myself when A.J. was traded to the Giants (yeah, I know he's a jerk but I liked him) and don't even get me started when Brad announced his retirement late last year.  I dread the day Torii gets traded from the Twins.

I wish Luis the very best with the Mets.  I hope he is able to get a lot of infield hits in the National League.  He was awesome for the Twins.

**Becca**

The Twins have a four game series against the Royals starting in an hour-and-a-half.  I never, ever assume that a game against the Royals equals an easy win.  The Twins have had some trouble against them this season, and the Royals are on a roll right now.  I think it's time for our guys to put the brakes on the Royals' winning ways. 

It looks like the Twins are going to trade Luis Castillo to the Mets.  I guess it'll be official one way or the other pretty soon, later today probably.  This makes me feel sad.  I know he wanted to stay until the end of the season.  He's not in his prime anymore, but I know he always plays to win.  I will wish him luck wherever he goes.

I watched the last three innings of Saturday's game at the Super 8 in Eveleth, MN.  (Where? Be skeptical if you must, but they have comfy beds, a great breakfast, a pool, and free Internet access.)  The woman working at the desk watched the game with me and the Twins Kid when she wasn't answering the phone or helping someone check in.  I always love to meet another crazy baseball fan.  She said Joe Nathan makes her nervous, the way he's all twitchy.  She said her daughter wants to marry Joe Mauer.  I think her daughter needs to get in line.  I'm guessing it's a long one. 

Cuddy thinks his thumb will be healed enough to play again starting on Friday.  I hope so.  We need him back!

I've been reading grumblings that Jason Tyner's homer would've been a ground rule double at the Dome, and that if he had hit the ball anywhere else at Jacobs Field that it would've been a double, or maybe even been caught.  Well, so what?  He hit it over the fence, and that's all that matters. 

Scotty is pitching tonight against the ace of the Royals pitching staff, Gil Meche.  According to the Twins official site, they haven't had much luck against Meche.  Come on guys, now's the time to turn the corner.  Please? 

Enjoy the game tonight!

--Tricia--

Happy Birthday, Becca! 

Isn't it wonderful that the Twins won on your birthday?  They must know how much you love them. They didn't want you to be disappointed today. 

What's up with C.C. Sabathia hitting Jason Tyner with a pitch?  Sabathia is 6'7" and 290 pounds, and JT is 6'1" and 180 pounds.  I looked it up.  Go pick on somebody your own size, dude. At least some good came of it, since that's when the Twins started scoring some runs. 

I feel a little bit jealous because there will never be a Twins game on my birthday.  Not unless the baseball season gets extended 'til the end of December, that is.  Huh.  I don't quite see that happening.

Happy Birthday again!! 

Twins 4  Indians 1

The Twins win the series in Cleveland! I taped the game because I was out and about with Andrea, the sister who is not a baseball fan. I hit the rewind button on my VCR and watched from the 6th inning on. At that point the Indians were leading 1-0. Matt Garza pitched an outstanding game today. I don't know if outstanding is even a strong enough a word. He struck out 11 and gave up just one run. Matty didn't get credit for the win because the Twins didn't score until the 8th inning after which Matty was out of the game. That's a drag but the important thing is that they won! The Twins are gaining ground in the AL Central.

C.C.Sabathia was pitching for the Indians. I don't like this guy. I haven't since he nailed Justin with a pitch earlier this season. That looked to be done on purpose. His downfall started in the 8th inning when he hit Jason Tyner with a pitch on the back. My thought is that he meant to do that. He's a jerk. Jason Tyner has hit just the one home run in his whole major league career. He does not need to be pitched hard in. So after being beamed JT is on first when Mike Redmond comes up to bat and drills a double into right field, scoring JT. Redmond does the "Smell 'Em" motion that he started last season. I love it! Good to see that is back. L-Rod comes to pinch run for Mr. Smell the RBI guy and Joey comes to the plate. He hits the ball to the Indians 2nd baseman, Josh Barfield, who mishandled the play THEN he launches it over the head of the first baseman, allowing Joey to take 2nd and L-Rod to score the go-ahead run. Justin adds a hit to score Joey. The icing on the cake was when Lew hit his 3rd home run in the 9th to make it a final score of 4-1.

There has to be a sense of relief for the team. Hopefully they will be able to carry this momentum back to the Metrodome for the 4 game series starting with the Royals starting tomorrow. The Royals are not a team to be taken lightly and I'm sure the Twins know that. Their overall record is not too great but the Twins have had trouble with them. The Royals defeated Detroit at Comerica Park not too long ago. Then we have the Indians coming to town next weekend. Should be an interesting week. We'll keep you posted.

**Becca**

Twins 3  Indians 2

The dreadful 5 game losing streak is over! The big news of the night is that Jason Tyner hit his first ever major league home run!!!  I'm so glad that I saw it! There were a couple of hugs and high fives all around when he got back to the dugout.  Kudos, Jason. I knew you would do it!  The Twins have really needed something special to happen after the past few sucky days they have had.

 Congrats on your home run, JT!!

Johan was pitching his A game tonight! He had 12 strikeouts and a no hitter going into the 6th inning. His only "oops"  moment was that goofy 2 run homer that Travis Hafner hit.  That'll happen. Torii hit that awesome leadoff double in the top of the 9th and came around to score the go ahead run.  Torii got some of his hitting mojo at just the right time.

This game was such a nail biter. When the games get this close I tend to hit the "mute" button on my TV. I get so nervous that I can't handle listening to it. I know it is silly to get that emotionally invested in something I don't have any control over.  I love baseball and I love the Twins.

The Twins picked up one whole game in the AL Central standings tonight as the Tigers lost. I think this was a pivotal win.  The Twins CAN defeat the Indians. I think a lot of people thought the Twins didn't have an snowball's chance in hell of winning. Kind of like in the fourth Rocky movie when no one thought he could beat the Russian guy until he threw the punch that drew blood.

No one knows what the next two months of the baseball season holds.  I'm going to enjoy every single last game until the end of the season.  I'm not going to worry about the playoffs.  That's their job. My job is to be a loyal Twins fan who loves them no matter what. I've have that down for ages. 

**Becca** 

Twins 3,Indians 2

Holla! The Twins snapped their 5 game losing streak. Thank goodness! Let's hope they can keep the momentum going.

Congratulations to Jason Tyner on his very first major league home run. That's sweet. How 'bout you get another one for us real soon?

Hey, Becca...if you're wondering how I managed to do a post tonight, it's because we decided to stay at a hotel, and it has Internet access. Cool, eh?

Ok guys, let's get another win tomorrow!

--Tricia--

Blue Jays 13, Twins 1

There ain't no pretty way to say this, so I won't mince words.  The Blue Jays handed the Twins their collective ass on a platter.

Lopsided games like this are a lot more fun when it's the Twins beating up on the White Sox.

Mercifully, I was only following this game on Yahoo! Sports, not watching it on TV.  What in the world happened to the Twins' pitchers in the bottom of the 6th inning?  They imploded.  Kablooey!!  Couldn't get an out to save their lives. 

Sigh.

A game like this makes me feel very, very sad.  I can't even imagine how the players must be feeling now.

I hope they all take a deep, collective breath and say, "We're so much better than this!" Then they need to go prove it in Cleveland. 

That's it for now.  It's all I have to say.  I'm out of town now until Sunday. I imagine the blogosphere will survive without new entries from us for a few days.  Maybe.  :-)

Keep on rooting for our guys.  They need it now more than when things are cruising along great.

--Tricia--

Blue Jays 7, Twins Zilch

Not that any of you need me to tell you this, but good Lord are the Twins ever mired in a slump.  Yikes!  I mean, I know they swept Oakland, and they took 2 out of 3 from the Angels, but that seems like so long ago.  Right now they must be feeling like a bunch of sad sacks.  Kind of like this guy, Ted from the TV show Scrubs. 

Poor Torii.  What was up with him trying to score from third after he'd stopped?  The throw home beat him by a mile.  He was crabby for the rest of the game.  He made a routine catch in CF later on, and he looked totally PO'd.  Usually he gets a big fat smile on his face after he catches a ball, even an easy one. 

Poor Justin.  He didn't get any hits tonight.  I guess he can't be expected to hit two homers every night, much as we'd all love that. 

Poor Scotty.  He pitched an ok game, and again he couldn't get any run support.

Poor Sideshow Pat.  He gave up 3 runs, and he usually doesn't give up any.

Whew.  Ok, pity party's over, boys.  Stand up, dust yourselves off, and go get a win tomorrow.   Don't forget, Ted will be a sad sack forever, stuck in endless reruns on Channel 45, but you things are bound to get better for you guys. 

--Tricia--

p.s.  Loved Cuddy's interview with Dick-n-Bert during the 4th inning.  He has a wonderful, gentle Virginia accent.  I'm pretty much a sucker for any guy with a nice southern accent. He said he can't do much right now but sit in the dugout and be a cheerleader.  Come on, Cuddy, cheer harder! 

p.p.s.  I'll be following the game on Yahoo! Sports at work tomorrow.  There may or may not be a blog entry.  After work, I'm heading out of town, and won't be back until Sunday.  I'm going to go float on an air mattress on a cold northern Minnesota lake, play Bingo at Kabetogema Community Hall with Becca and my mom, and try not to worry about how the Twins are playing against the Indians.  Wish me luck!

Twins 4, Blue Jays 6

Well, phooey.  This game was a bummer.  It was a short one too, over in just two-and-a-half hours. 

Johan wasn't his usual self at all.  I hope he's feeling all right.  He gave up four homeruns, including two to Frank Thomas.  Poor Johan.  Frank Thomas is now Public Enemy #2 as far as I'm concerned. (Public Enemy #1 is reserved for Magglio Ordonez, who has a freakishly high batting average against Johan.)

The Twins had a threat going in the 5th inning, with runners on the corners and nobody out.  Then Luis hit a grounder, Jason Tyner tried to run home, and he got caught in a rundown.  Nicky was on his way to third, but he couldn't get there in time.  Boom!  Just like that, two outs and the scoring threat was essentially over.  It seems to me like the guys might need a refresher course in baserunning.  I was feeling a wee bit bummed out with them. 

There were some bright spots of course.  Joey got a triple, Justin hit two homers, (further cementing his status as my baseball boyfriend) and Torii hit one.  If Johan had pitched in a Johan-like fashion, that would have been plenty of offense.  If, if, if.  It's only two letters long but it's one of the biggest words in the English language. 

The thing about baseball is that there's always another day, always another game.  A few good ones help shove the memories of bad ones away.   Come on guys, give us a good game tomorrow.  You can do it!  It'll make everyone feel better.

All I have left to say about this game is Spongebob Squarepants' favorite swear word.  It fits how I feel perfectly.

Barnacles!!

--Tricia--