Balta1701

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:30 PM) FOR THE TWINS At this point, I figured that was just implied.

INSTANT OFFENSE!

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:24 PM) For a guy who needs to be stretched out, McCarthy lasted longer than Contreras. For a guy who isn't Cy F***ing Young or whatever ozzie said he wasn't...he's outdueled Santana while he's been in there.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:20 PM) The point you make is exactly why I won't, for one second, start ranting about any "luck" issues this year. Teams create their luck for the most part, and luck occurs when you're playing good baseball and making smart strategical decisions. WHERE ARE OUR BLOOPERS? I definately think there's something deeper than that different about Ozzie's style this year. Last year, when he'd make an idiotic move, like starting Timo at 1b or something like that, we'd still lose games. But then he never did things that would really kill you that often, except when Timo was leading off...he kept Carl Everett out of the OF for the most part, he didn't obsess nearly this much over the righty/lefty matchup (except for his 9 righty lineup against Santana), he didn't hurt his defense to put offense on the field beyond what people needed for rest. This year, it's like he's taken all of the tendencies that cost us games last year and expanded them...so that we no longer see the good games in-between.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:17 PM) As well it should. He's not putting this team in the best position to succeed. All you have to do is watch the way Leyland and Gardenhire handle their team. How's Christine O'Reilly handling things? Ozzie's managing style this year can be summed up quite well as Putting people in the best position for them to fail.

God I just adore having #55 on the mound right now. Even when he has a bad game I like seeing him out there, because you can see all the potential right in front of you.

Hehe, brushback, me likey. Get your ass away from my plate B****.

Man, that last pitch was a strike if Santana threw it.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:08 PM) Twins have a very average schedule the rest of the way. But they're also playing much better baseball than the Tigers are right now. QUOTE(jamalmanburg @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:08 PM) now seems like a good time to pull macarthy. how's mackowiak on the mound? let's find out tonight huh? Are you mad son? We can't live without Mackowiak's bat!

I tell you what, the Twins are going to be looking at being 4 games back in the division after tonight. They're going to have a real shot at this thing.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:04 PM) How many pitches has Santana thrown? 68 pitches, 43 strikes through 5.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 06:04 PM) And then we'll bring in a bad reliever when it's 6-3 in the top of the 9th, and he'll give up another homer to Hunter. However, the Twins still have their closer come into the game, and we go down silently. IMO, it doesn't matter if it's 6-5, 6-3, or 15-3 in the 9th inning. If it gets to the 9th, and Nathan comes in against us, this game ends. We still have never beaten Nathan.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:57 PM) Hunter is swinging the bat just awesome right now. He has so much confidence at the plate, and he's hit two changeups for homers in the last two days. That's impressive considering how well he hits fastballs. It's too freaking bad that the Twins didn't trade him 3 months ago. I'm really starting to think the Twins will make a real effort to pick up his contract in the offseason, especially with this recent streak and money from a few playoff games. And I still think McCarthy has looked really good out there.

Man, that was a terrible pitch selection.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:53 PM) For those of you who attend games, watch Ozzie during the course of a game. For a manager who supposedly manages by a hunch or by the gut, he sure does look at a lot of stats. I'd love to know which stats it is he looks at. I really would. I'd love to know why Iguchi still gets days off against righties and plays against the lefty the next day, when he's hitting .230 against lefties. I'd love to know why Rob Mackowiak plays against lefties, or why he plays CF in general. I'd love to know why we don't try someone else leading off, especially with Podsednik's performance lately.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:51 PM) Didn't Garcia lose a 1-0 game to Santana while pitching a 1 hitter. 2 years ago, Garland took out Santana in one of those 2-1 games, the only runs we got were on a home run by Lee. Last year, Garcia lost that 1 hitter to Santana. 2 days after the Rally Crede made his triumphant appearance last year, McCarthy and Santana both pitched absolute gems against each other in a game the Twinkies won in 14, IIRC.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:47 PM) Does it make me a bad fan when I hope that certain players go on the DL tonight in order to improve this team? Of course, I'm not rooting for serious injuries...just little things that they'll recover 100 pct from. Rob Macko...ah screw it. I'm getting beer. Ok, here's an idea...Ross Gload in CF?

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:46 PM) I'm not saying what he said is true...but I'm also not saying that Ozzie doesn't favor some of his buddies. I can't wait until next year when McCarthy gets pulled at the first sign of trouble. The good news? I don't think this kid's going to be getting in much trouble. God I love watching him pitch.

BMac shows our staff how it's done, just like he did last year. Man did he look good there. 7 pitches, 3 outs against the top of their order. Guess he isn't showing much rust yet.

Maybe it's just me not having seen him pitch for a month, but McCarthy's delivery looks slightly different than last time out. Seems less violent to my eyes.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:42 PM) The Twins sure act like its a big series. Maybe thats why their kicking the Sox ass again. If the Sox continue to fall apart, it will be interesting to see what KW does with the roster. I don't think he'll make a lot of changes, but I think he will make a couple big moves. Kenny Williams made big changes after winning a world series. I can only imagine what he'll try to do when a team that should win a 2nd one in a row fails to make the playoffs.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:41 PM) About the only good news is that we're still only 1.5 back and now it looks like the Twins won't have Liriano or Radke. One would think they can't possibly be this hot. It's just such an embarassment how they've kicked our ass all over the place. Is there a new update on Liriano having troubles? Because last I heard it was sounding more and more like he'll be back within a couple weeks.

So, as one of the people who think that anyone who suggests that steroid use won't help a person because their sport isn't conducive to it's use, something I have heard about Golf before, it is absolutely excellent to hear the biggest name in golf call for steroid testing. I will guarantee you that there are people in that sport who are on the stuff, probably bigger names than you think. Why? Because there's no testing, and it's not going to hurt anyone's performance to use the stuff. The other reason this makes me happy? Honestly, I've wondered if Tiger might have used something before. I've just gotten so used to seeing the dominant people in each sport getting caught, when there's a sport where someone is far and away better than everyone else, it's just becoming an instint to suspect them. So to hear that same guy calling for testing is actually a real relief, in my eyes.

QUOTE(My Dixie Normus @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:36 PM) Detroit just picked up 3 and is still batting. The Twins are disappointed that they won't pick up any ground.

QUOTE(3E8 @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 05:34 PM) No don't let him ruin whatever trade value he may hold. I doubt that a knuckleballer is going to have much trade value at all based on his AAA performance until he shows something in the big leagues, since no one really knows how to project whether they'll succeed in the show based only on their performance in the minors. He comes up and has a couple of good games and it'll really, really help build his trade value.