Wednesday August 11, 2004
QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Good morning to everyone! I am going to try to be asleep by midnight, so today's entry will be short. I do have a few questions that I need your help answering. So, if you'd like to answer any or all of them, please send me an e-mail.
1.) For BLOGGERS... how do you do it? How do you determine what you are going to write about each day? When you do analysis, how much time do you put into it? I am curious how you do it? Me? I'm usually online a few hours every night. I get to bed well after 1a.m. every day and still have to wake up in time to work at my real job from 8-5. So, how do you do it? Any suggestions or ideas would be welcome.
2.) To other readers... what do you like about this website? What do you NOT like? Do you like my game summaries? My minor league updates? My opinions and/or analysis? What else are you interested in? Other sports? TV? Movies? Seriously, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism is a good thing! HELP!
3.) Are you looking forward to the Olympic Games? Apparently they are starting this week sometime in Athens, Greece? Do you care about the Olympic Games? Which events do you chose to watch? How do you think the USA Basketball team will do?
4.) DISCUSSION QUESTION REVIEW - With the Olympics and all the sports out there, it reminds me of our "Favorite Sport" discussion from last November. Since that time, there are a lot more readers to this site so I would like us to ask the question again. What is your favorite sport to watch. If it is baseball, why? If it is football, why?
5.) Twins Questions:
a.) Cuddyer or Rivas?
b.) LeCroy or Blanco? (Why is Blanco catching so much?)
c.) Durbin or Baker?
d.) Ford or Stewart? Which in LF? Which DHing?
e.) Lohse or Mulholland?
f.) Other Thoughts on the Twins?
6.) TV Thoughts:
a.) What TV shows are you watching this summer? In the past (pre-house purchase), I would watch all kinds of TV. I love The Amazing Race, Big Brother, The Simple Life, the Joe Schmo Show and a few other shows. I just haven't had enough time to get into them all yet..
b.) However, I generally make time to watch HBOs Sunday night lineup. Six Feet Under is great (although not as good this year as last). Entourage seems pretty good. But my favorite comedy, Da Ali G Show, is the best show on TV!
7.) Bush or Kerry... or Other?
8.) OK, I can't think of any other questions off the top of my head. But I do want to hear from you. I would like to post a few of your thoughts throughout the rest of the week. I will answer any questions you have for me about myself, my opinions on the Twins, baseball or anything. I'd also love to hear where you are from and how you came to this site. Just send me an e-mail. I do appreciate it!
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Terry Mulholland got the start for the Twins. The team had actually called up Matt Guerrier before the game just to make sure that they had available arms in the bullpen. Aaron Fultz was sent down to Rochester. It looked like the team would need Guerrier and possibly a few more arms at the beginning of last night's game! Edgar Martinez hit a two-run homer in the 1st inning. A few batters later, rookie Bucky Jacobsen connected for another two-run shot to give the M's a 4-0 lead. Wow, did the Mulholland-Bashing kick in strong on the Dickie Thon Twins Fan Forum.
Everyone seems to want Mulholland to be dropped, but what he did last night proved exactly why he should be kept. Mulholland is a veteran who did not fold because of one bad inning. No, he went six more innings without giving up another run. That meant that he kept the Twins in the game, giving them a chance. He also knew that the bullpen needed a day off, and he allowed that to happen. Every team needs a pitcher like Terry Mulholland, someone who can fill a number of roles and provide these types of innings. Joe Roa is another example of this. He isn't a great starter. He certainly isn't a guy you want in the game in a pressure situation. But the other day, the Twins needed him and he gave them five innings. Sure, it would be great to have all of your best pitchers on the big league roster, but would JD Durbin or Scott Baker have been able to give the Twins what Mulholland did last night? We don't know. I think we can be pretty sure that Kyle Lohse wouldn't have.
Matt Guerrier did pitch the 8th inning. He got all three batters out.
Unfortunately, the Twins were unable to score enough runs. They actually had just four hits for the whole game and made Gil Meche look respectable. Fortunately, three of the hits were home runs which helped the team stay in the game. Corey Koskie hit his 16th homer in the 5th inning. Lew Ford pinch hit for Henry Blanco in the 8th inning and led off with a home run. With two outs in the ninth, Torii Hunter hit an opposite field homer off JJ Putz to cut the Mariners lead to just one. Jacque Jones then singled, but the team was unable to tie it up.
The Twins now have their two aces pitching the next two games of the series. You have to like their chances. Here are the scheduled pitching matchups:
Wednesday - 9:05 - Brad Radke (7-6, 3.61, 1.14, .269) vs Bobby Madritsch (2-0, 2.12, 1.12, .246)
Thursday - 3:35 - Johan Santana (11-6, 3.34, 0.99, .203) vs Ryan Franklin (3-10, 4.93, 1.45, .294)
Any thoughts on the Twins? E-mail me.
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TWINS/AL CENTRAL STANDINGS
Here are the AL Central Standings through last night's games (Twins lost, Indians and White Sox win).
Minnesota Twins 62-50 .554 ---
Cleveland Indians 59-55 .518 4.0
Chicago White Sox 56-54 .509 5.0
Any thoughts on the Twins or this Seattle series? E-mail me.
ROCHESTER REDWINGS
Redwings 10, Buffalo 8 - The long ball played a big role in this game. At the start, it was bad for the Redwings, but in the end, it was their biggest friend. Adam Johnson got the start for the Twins and lasted just 2 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on nine hits and two walks. He gave up three homers. Willie Eyre came in and gave up just one hit and one walk in 3 2/3 innings. Down by 2 in the bottom of the 9th, Terry Tiffee finished the home run derby with a grand slam. It was his second homer of the game and his 10th of the season. It gave the win to Beau Kemp, who gave up an unearned run in his three innings.
Tiffee was 3-5 with the two home runs and five RBI. Jason Bartlett went 3-5. Jason Kubel went 3-5 with his 24th double and 11th home run. Brandon Marsters went 2-4 with a double and his 2nd home run.
NEW BRITAIN ROCKCATS
Rockcats 3, Akron 4 - Colby Miller had another strong start. He went six innings and gave up two runs. He allowed seven hits and two walks. Kevin Cameron took the loss as he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He did strike out two. Victor Moreno then pitched two scoreless innings. Matt Scanlon went 2-4 with a triple. Garrett Jones continues his hot streak. He homered for the third straight game, his 23rd of the year, tying him with Kevin West for the team lead. He also had a double, his 27th.
FT. MYERS MIRACLE
Miracle 4, Clearwater 5 - The Miracle were able to score, but just not hit, or keep Clearwater from scoring more. The Miracle had just six hits. Elvis Corporan went 2-4 with a double. Felix Molina had a triple. John Thomas got another start. He went five innings and allowed three runs. He gave up five hits but walked four more batters. He did strike out six. Jannio Gutierrez continues to impress. He went 2 2/3 innings. He gave up an unearned run on five hits.
SWING OF THE QUAD CITIES
Swing 0, Lansing 7 - It was a complete reversal from the night before. The Swing won by a touchdown on Monday night. Last night, it was the Lugnuts that scored seven and pitched a shutout. Quad Cities had just five hits, but they did have seven walks. That's a lot of base runners left on base. JR Taylor and Kyle Geiger each had a double. Chris Schutt started and went four innings. He gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks. Peter Tautor came in and gave up a run on three hits, but he did strike out four.
ELIZABETHTON TWINS
E-Twins 3, Johnson City 2 - The E-Twins got eight hits from eight different hitters. Only Trevor Plouffe did not have a hit. 2B Matt Tolbert hit a double. 3B Jay Yaconetti hit a solo homer, his third of the year. Kyle Waldrop, the Twins third 1st round pick, made the start and went six innings. He gave up a run on five hits and a walk. He struck out six. Jonathon Martinez pitched a perfect inning. Jason Bowlin gave up an unearned run in his inning. Finally Frank Mata struck out the side in his inning.
Thank you very much for stopping by this website and please continue to do so. Have yourself a great day! If you ever have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.