Thursday Night,
October 7, 2010
How You Doin’?
One questionable call. That’s all it
takes when you’re playing against a great team. Of course, a team has to be
able to take advantage of said questionable call. In Game 1, RF Greg Golson clearly caught a line drive that should have ended
the game, but instead it was inexplicably called a single for Delmon Young. The Twins got one more chance, but Jim Thome popped up to end the game and the Twins lost. In Game
2, it was the Twins who were on the wrong end of a very untimely, questionable
call. With two outs in the top of the 7th inning and a runner on 1B,
Carl Pavano got two strikes on Lance Berkman. Then he threw a pitch the was, according to everything available, a strike in
which the baseball was over most of the inside corner of the plate. Berkman took the pitch. Pavano
walked off the mound toward the dugout. But Hunter Wendelstedt,
the home plate umpire, called it a ball. Pavano
handled it well and on the next pitch threw a sinker that dipped several inches
below the bottom of the strikezone. Unfortunately, Berkman went down and got it. He drove a double to left
centerfield to give the lead back to the Yankees. Manager Ron Gardenhire came out to “talk to his pitcher and his
infielders” but it was clear what was going on. He waited for the umpire to
come out and he gave him a piece of his mind. Eventually, he was thrown out of
the game, and rightfully so. The Yankees added another run, and for all intents
and purposes, the game was over. There was some question about what Andy Pettitte would do since he was hurt for about the last
three months, but he was tremendous. He had great control and a very sharp
cutter and slider. He made the Twins hitters look bad, and he got better as the
game went along. Kerry Wood dominated the 8th frame, and then
Mariano Rivera got another save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Throughout the game, I was on Twitter which was a terrific invention by whoever it was the invented that technology. Immediate thoughts on the game, stats, and much more. It
really is something that baseball fans should be following for many reasons.
The immediacy of Twitter can be equal parts amazing and frustrating. To be able
to collect information so quickly is great. To have to hear some people’s
opinions can be frustrating. Typically I’m pretty level-headed, but during the
game tonight, even I got more than a little frustrated. And some of my “followers”
called me on it… Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share with you a
miniature transcript of my Twitter activity from throughout the game with more
information than can fit into 140 characters, when appropriate.
Pregame Fun
PMac21 Craig Sager rocking olive colored pants and shoes today. Interesting.
You have to love the interesting style
choices of TBS’s Sager. Is he good at his job? Not really. But man, is it entertaining
to find out what he is going to be wearing each time he’s on TV.
1st Inning
Maybe
a sac bunt wouldn't have been so bad there? :)
In Game 1, Orlando Hudson bunted Denard Span to 2B after Span led off with a single. In Game
2, Span was again on 1B after a hit. Hudson did not bunt. Instead he grounded
into a double play.
Mauer’s 1st At BAt
Hey
Joe (Mauer), it's called a Curveball... it's supposed
to do that.
Joe Mauer has
two soft singles so far in these two games. Against the tough lefty starters
for the Yankees, Mauer has looked really, really bad.
Sabathia struck him out twice in Game 1 on sliders,
and in his first at bat of Game 2, Pettitte did the
same thing.
Small Sample Size
@Larjones64 - It’s the beauty of the
small sample size of the playoffs. can't be in a 2-day
slump or you will be bashed, I guess. #Twins
The regular season is a marathon, not a
sprint. Things happen in a regular season game and even if it’s bad, you can
look at the bigger picture. In the playoffs, especially in a Best of 5 series,
it’s all magnified. Every pitch counts. Every at bat is scrutinized. A player
can be great, but if he has two straight bad games, he is called out, called a
choker, or worse. Is that fair? I don’t know, but it is what it is.
Irony
#yankees fans complaining about the strike zone? Wow RT @Ledger_Yankees
Some Tweeps are suggesting that the strike zone is <huge for Pavano>Yankees writers apparently like to call
Carl Pavano the American Idle due to his lack of
health and pitching infrequently in the Bronx during his four years there. I
just found it very ironic when I read some Yankees writers/tweeters complaining
about the Twins getting some ball-strike calls that the Yankees weren’t
getting. Think of the irony of that!
Another Lead
That works!! #Twins grab 1-0
lead on Valencia Sac Fly to RF.
The Twins are 0-10 with Runners in Scoring Position through these two
games. Obviously that isn’t idea. Valencia has been up twice now with bases
loaded, and although he does not have a hit in either of those plate
appearances, he has been productive. In Game 1, it was an RBI walk. In this
game, a sacrifice fly gave the Twins the very early lead. I’m finding it
comical that Twins writers are talking about how the pitchers can’t hold a
lead. In tonight’s game, their lone lead was 1-0 in the 2nd inning. Against the Yankees. I wasn’t really expecting that lead to
be held through nine innings.
Gotta Still Have Fun, Right?
martyandrade If Carl Pavano
were a character in Star Wars, what character would he be? extra
points for extreme nerdism, expanded universe counts.
Just because it’s a big game and all
doesn’t mean fans can’t have a little fun. Here’s a question that you may want
to consider too!
Limiting the Damage
big BIG pitch by Pavano!!! Great sinker got exactly what he needed!
That was big in that it limited the damage in an inning that could have been really ugly. Nice work by Pavano. Gardy right about him!
Somwhere, Tom Kelly's nodding, saying "This Pavano fella's got moxie."In the top of the fourth, Curtis Granderson led off with a double, and Mark Teixeira singled
him to 3B. Pavano got Alex Rodriguez to fly out to RF
for a sacrifice fly that tied the game. But Robinson Cano singled and Teixeira
went to 3B with one out. With Nick Swisher up, Pavano
threw a first-pitch strike. On the next pitch, Pavano through a terrific sinker that dropped below the
strike zone. Swisher swung and tapped weakly back to Pavano
who started the 1-6-3 double play to end the threat and keep the game tied.
Pet Peaves
"Oriented" not
"Orientated" - sorry, one of my pet peaves!
Again, nothing to do with the game, but
I believe one of the TBS crew said “orientated” and I felt the need to say
something.
Reusse Researches Runs
1500ESPN_Reusse Dozen prior playoff games vs. Yanks for Twins: 3 runs, 1, 1, 1, 2, 6 (in 12 innings), 4, 5, 2, 3, 1 & 4.
1500ESPN’s Patrick Reusse
did a little research to show that the Twins offense has been pretty much
non-existent in the playoffs. We can now add a two to the end of that list.
Just the Start
You know things aren't going
your way when Lance Berkman homers against you!
Despite an incredible career in Houston,
Berkman has really struggled in his two months with
the Yankees. His 5th inning, long solo home run gave the Yankees a
2-1 lead, and Berkman wasn’t done yet.
Lance (Berkman) Love
richardjustice Puma homers for Andy. Two great Americans.
HunterPence9 OMG PUMA!!!! That's serious oppo pop!
A former teammate and a great Houston
writer who covered Berkman for a long time each had positives
to say about Berkman. Justice’s comments are
interesting. Everything about both players says that they’re terrific people,
especially Pettitte.
Nothing New
Yes, TBS and FOX really, really want the
Yankees to win because then their rankings go up and up. As much as Twins fans
would love a Twins/Rangers ALCS or a Twins/Reds World Series, FOX would be less
than happy.
Fan Participation
Pump 'em up, @TwinsGeek
!!!There was a ton of talk after Game 1
about fans who were standing and cheering throughout the game were being told
to be quiet and sit down by other fans or by ushers. The Twins Geek was at the
game, and he gets pumped up, so when there was another big moment in the game,
I implored him to get the Target Field crowd going!
BRUTAL HONESTY OF A CHILD
Ha!!! RT @dotsonc
Little lost kid at the soccer field tonight: "Have you seen my mom and dad? My mom is fat and my dad has gray hair!"A little more
comic relief. This is just funny! Kids are fun!
Tweet 17
Which TBS guy just said that
the #Twins
"need more offense to score runs?"
Tweet 18
ORLANDO!!!!! AT DAWN!!
Tweet 19
DELMON!!!! ATTA BOY!! C'MON My Homie!!!
Tweet 20
How will #Twins/Pavano handle bad call? Ah, RBI double
to LF.
Pavano made two TREMENDOUS pitches there. Deserves better! Go get 'em GARDY!
Alright Carl, now you've got to
strand another one.
Tweet 21
The funny thing is there are
still #Twins
fans out there who will blame Gardy for this!
Ridiculous! Happens every year, most games!
Tweet 22
I want to see Mauer get tossed here. It's not like he's hitting at all, and maybe it would actually inspire something.
@mookie5 - No, Mauer
ejected, Butera in would not be good for #Twins. My point
was I just want to see some fire from Mauer sometime!
Tweet 23
@bbarnes333 - I don't blame Gardy at all... You're right, a
clutch hit would be good.
Tweet 24
Speaking of #Clutch, how
about the performance by Jon Rauch right there?! And I loved his excitement
coming off the field!
Tweet 25
Valencia = Rookie,
Non-Yankee... Pettitte = Pettitte,
Yankee... you think the 3-2 pitch was going to be a ball?
Tweet 26
Didn't expect them to vs Sabathia/Pettitte. RT @pbm408 @SethTweets
Mauer, Thome, and Kubel have not carried their weight on offense.Not at all. RT @ruck13180 REALLY? so you expected us to lose both games?
Tweet 27
I apologize to #Twins fans for
my frustrations with this game. I'm kind of embarrassed. It's not the usual me.
Twins are just frustrating me
It's not the umps. It's not the
pitching. It's not Gardy. Offense has stunk tonight
through 8. It's all the Playoff Small Sample Size. Uggh!
But anyway, I know a lot of
people follow me here because I generally am a lot more level-headed than I
have been tonight. I apologize!
And I would be really, really
happy if the Twins found a way to beat Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th!
Tweet 28
JeffPassan Hunter Wendelstedt is abysmal. He made 16 bad calls out of 93 pitches Carl Pavano threw. Eight balls in the K zone, eight strikes outside.
Tweet 29
It was the play of the game.
For sure! RT @frogtown3 I think it's
ok to suggest that horrendous call by ump had a huge impact on this game.
Tweet 30
Who knows? Can't remember. RT @StatFreak101 @SethTweets
When was the last time the Twins offense performed well in the postseason?Tweet 31
This hurts way more than last
year... other years.
Tweet 32
Yeah, it's over... (and I'm a positive #Twins blogger) RT @PMac21 OK. Now you can panic. #Twins
Tweet 33