Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Scoreboard Watching (10/6/09): Tigers @ Twins, 2p

Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.04) vs. Scott Baker (15-9, 4.36).

COMMENTS: If you're a fan of baseball, or just someone who doesn't want to work this afternoon, then you'll be tuning in to this game, the 163rd of the season for the Tigers and Twins, who are competing for the right to go play the Yankees in the Bronx. This is also the last quasi-regular season game ever to be played in the Metrodome; the Twins also played a 163rd game last year, in Comiskey Park, only to lose to the White Sox 1-0. Will a home-field crowd advantage, and emotional ties to giant center-field trashbags, buoy the spirits of the Twins? We'll see.

107 comments:

Josh S. said...

You posted on the hour and used the opponent's real name! We're screw...

...oh. Right.

I'm going with the Twins for two reasons:

-Joe Mauer has earned the right to play some postseason baseball.
-I'm convinced the Metrodome is now a living organism that refuses to let go of the Twins.

Kyle Baker said...

Detroit:

Granderson CF
Polanco 2B
Ordonez RF
Cabrera 1B
Guillen DH
Raburn LF
Inge 3B
Laird C
Santiago SS
Porcello P

Roberto Baly said...

I'm pumped up for this game. Go TWINS!

Kyle Baker said...

Twins:

Span CF
Cabrera, O. SS
Mauer C
Kubel RF
Cuddyer 1B
Young, D. LF
Morales, J. DH
Tolbert 3B
Punto 2B

JuanLove said...

it just gets me mad how the media rides Porcello's jock but basically ignore Kershaw.

"oh he's a vet. he's only 20. blah blah blah"

Kershaw is 21 and a lot better right now.

whatever. for that, i'm going with the Twins.
but i am going with them anyways lol

Kyle Baker said...

Amen, JuanLove. Good point.

Kyle Baker said...

OT but playoffs related:

Bigleaguestew reports, per Gordon Edes: "De La Rosa off NLDS roster bc groin, may be able to pitch in LCS"

That groin was bigger than first disclosed, so to speak.

JuanLove said...

sucks for the rox.
now they got no lefty's to face the Phils

Kyle Baker said...

Also just saw JC Romero will go under the knife Thursday and be out for 3-4 months. So he's out for Phillies, which may actually be helpful to them, come to think of it.

Kyle Baker said...

BREAKING:

"Torre announces Game 3 starter will be Padilla and Game 4 Billingsley if needed."

Kyle Baker said...

[Sorry to use this SWGT as a news outlet.]

NicJ said...

Looks like belli is getting starting 2nd base over o dog.

Kyle Baker said...

Furcal
Kemp
Ethier
Manny
Loney
Blake
Belliard
Martin
Wolf

koufax said...

i get belliard, really concerned about padilla

Loney Fan said...

I'm going for the Twins. My in-laws (the good ones) are all from Minnesota. And they all have the asinine dialect to prove it.

Loney Fan said...

Dontcha know

Kyle Baker said...

This broadcast crew I'm picking up on MLBTV over the internet is putrid. There are seconds that go by where no one is talking. Like 10 seconds of silence at a time. The feed seems like it's being carried by some Pasadena Community College freshmen.

Josh S. said...

Listening on Gameday Audio. I may occasionally keep everyone updated on the Twin Cities-area local ads.

Justin Morneau wants me to buy an engagement ring!

Kyle Baker said...

Josh, that would be great to hear about local adverts. Love that aspect of broadcasts. Especially like the athletes themselves plugging crappy car companies and so forth.

For instance, is there a Bigelow Green Tea-ish type ad out there?

rbnlaw said...

Uff da! Go Twinkies!
Ya, sure. You betcha!

My in-laws are from Wisconsin. They sound an awful lot like Minnesotans, but with more of a nasal delivery. Lots of "Aw, for Christ's sakes" thrown in as well.

Josh S. said...

They're still running ads for regular season Twins weekend home game promotions. They might want to pull those.

Loney Fan said...

People in Minnesota (at least in my in-laws region) say "oh for ____". As in "oh for Pete's sake". But if something is dumb they will say "oh for dumb". If it is cold outside they will say "oh for cold", etc.

Josh S. said...

Miguel Cabrera getting booed? Go figure.

Kyle Baker said...

Or "oh for four"

Kyle Baker said...

Detroit making some noise early. Damn I wish I were at the pub watching this.

Josh S. said...

No great ads that break, though some lady was talking about her magic box. Make of that what you will.

rbnlaw said...

Re, Cabrera: Oh for drunk!

Another good one is, "Oh for pity sake."

Us Californians just say, "Ah shit."

Nostradamus said...

@rbnlaw

What's Minnesotan for "well, fuck me in the armpit!"

rbnlaw said...

Don't nobody want to win dis here game?

rbnlaw said...

Mr. C,
Not sure, but in Wisconsin I believe the proper term is, "Fuck me in the morning, the Packers are on right now dontcha know."

Josh S. said...

I'm confused. When does the pitcher bat?

Kyle Baker said...

MLB quoting Tony LaRussa:

"La Russa: "it's a matter of making the right pitch or hit and getting hot and then getting hot is not enough. You've got to stay hot."

This sounds like a disco anthem, not an answer to a question about baseball.

Kyle Baker said...

@ Mr. C-

I'm still trying to figure out how to say that in Norwegian.

Nostradamus said...

LaRussa clearly has some managerial chops, but he always seems a little Cro-Magnon to me when he opens his mouth. I can't ever get past the first sign of bloviation without tuning him out.

Kyle Baker said...

Amazing what one can do with the bat when one isn't blowing a .26!

Nostradamus said...

@Dusty

It's a dramatic re-enactment. First he had a double, then he drove himself home.

Loney Fan said...

Oh for third inning!

Kyle Baker said...

Mr. C with the killer line!

rbnlaw said...

@Mr. C
*claps*

rbnlaw said...

Twinkies are rattling the cage.
2 on; 1 out.

Nostradamus said...

@Dusty,

I don't know about Norwegian, but armpit is Achselhöhle in German. I can never say it with a straight face.

Josh S. said...

Mr. C -

Comment Of The Year.

rbnlaw said...

Oh for Achselhöhle!

Nostradamus said...

@db, rbnlaw, josh s.

Shucks...

Kyle Baker said...

Kind of like how I giggle when I hear GER football player Michael Schweinsteiger's name.

rbnlaw said...

So this Joe Mauer character hit .365 this year and had 28 ding-a-lings?
And he's a catcher?
Who knew?

rbnlaw said...

@DB
Schweinsteiger is one thing; how about Frings?

He's fries and rings in the same order!

Bases full of cream-filled Twinkies!

rbnlaw said...

Oops. Throwing error scored a Twinkie.
Cream filling still in tact.

rbnlaw said...

3-1 Tiggers over Twinkies; top of 4.

Current temp in the Twinkie City area is 44 with scattered showers. And they're still pumped about that outdoor stadium (Target Field; my wife will insist we go there once it opens as she does all Targets)?

Josh S. said...

Carl Pavano loves getting to the ballpark early to watch the grounds crew use their Kubota Z-Series Zero Turn Mowers.

But don't tell anyone. It's his little secret.

Josh S. said...

Kristen Wiig HAS TO throw out the first pitch at Target Field.

Kyle Baker said...

Rancho Hostess treats?

Kyle Baker said...

@RB re: Target:

Yeah I was hoping Mrs. Dusty didn't find out about the new Target Center, else she will insist we go there at least three times a week and spend 2/3 of our paycheck on things we didn't go there for originally.

Kyle Baker said...

Reports that in the Dodger Stadium press box, a Stadium employee collapsed and died. Body still there. Writers relocated.

Josh S. said...

I'm currently covering the front desk, so no more Gameday Audio and no more commercial updates.

I can, however, tell you that Blue Bunny ice cream is the official ice cream of the Twins.

(Funny, I thought it was the official ice cream of ghetto liquor stores.)

Kyle Baker said...

We go to Miguel Cabrera's favorite inning: bottom of the fifth.

Josh S. said...

Twinkies running out of time.

I'm running out of Twinkies.

Kyle Baker said...

Update:

"This could be a bad sign for the Dodgers. A 49-year old vendor died in the Vin Scully Press Box at Dodger Stadium of unknown causes. Being the first open workout a day before the National League Divisional Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, most media members were not in the press box when the vendor died. Access to the press box was blocked off pending the arrival of the coroner, however bags, laptops and cameras were retrieved for the media by several members of the Dodgers staff. More details as they come in."

Josh S. said...

That line about the "bad sign" is totally tasteless. Who wrote that?

Kyle Baker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kyle Baker said...

Fuck I didn't even notice that, Josh. Wasn't meaning to pass along something in poor taste, just the breaking news.

Kyle Baker said...

Here was (is) the source:

http://laist.com/2009/10/06/an_omen_for_the_dodgers.php

Josh S. said...

I didn't think anything of you posting it, DB. No worries.

Steve Sax said...

3-2! Twins back in this one!

Kyle Baker said...

No, but you're right, Josh. It was in poor taste. If I get a second I'll respond to the laist post and say so.

Kyle Baker said...

Twinkies threatening...Tiggers go to the bullpen. Damn I need a Sammy!

Josh S. said...

1st comment on the post already asked him why he said it.

Kyle Baker said...

Rancho Hostess treats!

Josh S. said...

RANCHO GEMELO!

Josh S. said...

Oops. Rancho Popout.

rbnlaw said...

Listened to the Twinkies broadcast on the way home via XM. Apparently they have a couple of guys named Giacomo and Angelo hawking frozen pizza wearing cleats in the kitchen.

@DB
Don't say Target Center out loud. I swear my wife will hear it.

rbnlaw said...

The other Cabrera homers.
Twinkies lead!

rbnlaw said...

One of the Knights Who Say "Ni" now pitching for the Tiggers.

Kyle Baker said...

Suck it, work! You're pissing me off. It's getting in the way of my enjoyment of the game of making snarky comments with online friends.

Josh S. said...

Twins radio announcer keeps calling Fu-Te Ni Fu-KE Ni.

Or I'm hearing him wrong.

Kyle Baker said...

Nix on Ni.

Kyle Baker said...

4-4!

Josh S. said...

The tiebreaker is tied.

Kyle Baker said...

What a game. It's nice to be a neutral and just appreciate a good game instead of slitting one's wrists based on how one's team is doing.

Kyle Baker said...

Can they just flip a coin at this point?

Steve Sax said...

Holy smokes, it's 4-4 now. What a game.

Kyle Baker said...

It's hilarious that they have played 162 games and 8 innings and they still can't separate the men from the boys.

Josh S. said...

My baseball-hungry Metrodome-monster theory is coming into play.

Kyle Baker said...

I saw a tweet on Sunday that quoted an announcer talking about the Twins' game that day...said something along the lines of "the stadium seems like it doesn't want to give up its baseball team." I was really moved with the way that was put given my big love for all ballparks.

Kyle Baker said...

Listening to local Twinkies broadcast now. Talk about bad taste - is it really necessary to invoke Kirby Puckett's name in a health care (HMO?) advert?

rbnlaw said...

Catching the rest of this one on the radio

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

In the ninth now. I love a one-game playoff that goes into extras. Everything becomes so much more important. I can feel the tension and I really don't even care who wins.

koufax said...

pretty big pitch there, will these teams have anything left for the yankees?

koufax said...

wow, runners on first and third one out, line drive to the shortstop, doubles up the player on first and the twinkies are alive!

Kyle Baker said...

Refreshing to see other teams getting doubled up for once.

karina said...

Awesome double play!

Twins' Cabrera is the MVP of this game so far.

My heart should be with the Tigers, but i want the Twins to win.

karina said...

Mr Customer: "It's a dramatic re-enactment. First he had a double, then he drove himself home."

Well played, sir!

I'm gonna miss this kind of wit on the offseason

Steve Sax said...

extra innings, oh my my

Kyle Baker said...

Josh-

You didn't mention that woman had piping hot coffee in her magic box. Man, that's a weird commercial.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Tigers take the lead. The Twins' season boils down to three outs.

Kyle Baker said...

Tying run at 3rd. No outs. WOW.

karina said...

Runners at the corners, one out, Punto's up

DRAMA!

karina said...

Out at home....game's still tied on the 10th

Anonymous said...

Chip Carey doing a Charley Steiner. "Line drvie BASEHIT! Wait its caught, double play". (I know that's not what he said, my head exploded after that first comment/

Kyle Baker said...

Have to listen to the rest in the car on the drive home. Wow. WOW.

Josh S. said...

"Don't Stop Believin'"! Do the Twins have a DSB guy?

Steve Sax said...

this is crazy, 5-5 through 11

Alex Cora said...

Fun game to watch, but saving all the cheering for tomorrow!!!

karina said...

Twins win! wow!

karina said...

@Josh S exactly my thoughts!

MR.F said...

Wow. GG.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Another exciting game. Three straight years of a playoff, and two of the three have been very exciting.