Nicely done gentleman, all three of you!

Is that a remote control camera mount, perhaps?

Rick, that "totally boss" contraption off the Trap now holds a remote camera that FSN uses. Kubel's HR against the Yankees last week nearly hit that camera.

Your replay proposal is entirely logical and reasonable. Therefore MLB will never be able to accept it.

Great pictures, everyone! Jared - did you use a star filter for the 'glare' shot, and the last one with the sun peeking through the canopy, or did they just come out that way? Either way - great shots!

GBR

Thanks Rick, tk.
Good, well thought out article. I see some holes potentially but I am going to re-read it and then post those ideas to make sure they make sense. Is it just me or has the appeal of a check swing become more and more prevalent? Seems like it happens once a batter now. I know thats not what actually happens but it just seems like it.

One thing I want to point out is, "with great power comes great responsibility" (thanks spiderman). While I think instant replay is a great way to get the call right, it could be taken too far. Some of these ideas i will divulge when I have better time to re-evaluate but the biggest I see here could be the potential coup of the strike zone and the call for the implementation of a Fox-trax type balls and strikes system. This would be totally rediculous but considering the tidal wave of chatter after a game where replay would help get the call right, I can see the overwhelming chatter/support of even more rediculous ideas. The focus is changing from playing the game and learning the mistakes to how can technology change that one call and the perception of the outcome of the game. Its taking the accountability off the players and putting it elsewhere which doesn't make sense.

As I re-read this, it seems a little disorganized and irrational but hopefully I can clear up my thoughts later.

Expectorate,
No star filter, I wish though, they can add some cool effects. Canon XSI, 18-55mm lens, polarizing filter (which in direct sunlight usually has no effect, but i am often too lazy to remove it) and a typical lens hood.

Detroit opening up a can of whoop ass on the tribe up 12-7 in the 7th inning! Lets get that split tonight!!!

Twins scored 2 runs over last 23 innings! FCOL!

As I was watching the twenty minutes or so of analysis and commentary about last night's Detroit blown call, one of the thoughts that ran through my mind was this: Selig and the Mlb owners must love all this controversy (whether they admit it or not is another story). Think about all of the TV time, water-cooler talk, and newsprint this kind of story gets. If there was replay, the call would have fixed on the spot, you'd hear about it for a few minutes how the historical game was almost spoiled by the human factor, and everyone would have moved on.
As much as I hate to say it, this kind of controversy is "good for business." Do I think we should have replay? Yes, because like Rick's article alludes to, "We aught to get the calls right."

We gotta jump on this guy tonight! Leftys need to crush this guy! FCOL!

Hernandez is 2-1 with a 1.91 ERA in five starts at home versus the Twins.

An orange triangle sign. Lawl! That's fantastic!

But like I said yesterday, I'm with you Rick. I never thought I would be, and I always have and still consider myself a "purist" and "preservationist" at heart too, but it's like you said: there comes a time when you must wake up and accept the realities of the present, or become irrelevant and forever be stuck in the past.

My guess is that the people who still oppose instant replay are mainly afraid of two things:

1) That it will affect the flow and speed of the game, a la horrible, anticipation-filled, and seemingly endless instant-replay reviews in the NFL that sometimes aren't even able to get the call right (thank God there are no hogpiles in play in baseball), and

2) The familiar refrain we've all heard hundreds of times in regards to implementation of replay, and that's the popular declinist narrative juncture, that it's a "slippery slope" to using it for balls and strikes. "One year it's just homers, then it's just homers and fouls/ground rule doubles, then plays at the bases too, and before you know it we're going to the camera for that third called strike."

Solution to concern #1 is straightforward and simple and Rick has clearly articulated the governing principle for solving this concern. After a controversial play, if there's an argument, the manager has the right to ask for a review of the play (politely, of course). The umpire on the field decides whether to allow the appeal. If not allowed, there's no recourse. If allowed, the replay ump's decision is final. It wouldn't happen on every close call. Presumably, they would do it on the same calls where they now come out of the dugout to argue. End of story. It's how we already solve some argued close plays or blown calls, we'd just be making the process more objective to get the blown call right. 

As for concern #2, the "slippery slope" argument is a fear mongerer's argument. It will never come to that. Baseball will never allow replay to be used in the decision making of balls and strikes. Why? A foul ball is a foul ball. A homerun is a homerun. A runner who's safe is always safe, and an out is always an out. Umpires want to get everyone of those calls exactly right. They're not subjective plays - they either are or they aren't. Foul or fair. Homerun or base hit. Safe or out. But balls and strikes? Now those are subjective, and we want them to be. It's those subjective balls and strikes that are baseball's essence that we are worried about. They affect the game as much as anything, and in a good, non-robotic, artistic, and human way. Knowledge of a certain umpire's strike zone, whether it's consistently slightly bigger than average or vice versa, informs a pitcher's decisions on how to pitch his game that day, e.g. to try to "get the call" on the outside, etc. It affects a batter's decisions about which pitches to swing at and which to let go. The fact that the strike zone is not an infallible digital box, that it's not an entirely objective thing, these are the good things, the "essence" of the game we so deeply want to protect from replay. And we should. But I don't think anyone in baseball, not least the fans, but nor the batters, pitchers, managers, officials, commissioners, or umpires want replay to ever get anywhere near the strike zone in an official capacity. And it never will. Those of you who are worried about a foxtrax-type replay implementation on balls and strikes - I think you can relax. Baseball owns the system, but it's because umpires want an objective way to evaluate themselves and the job that they're doing behind the plate, not because they would want to use it during the game.

Rick, I really like your replay solution, with the exception of the additional "game-changing error" part. If the two examples you cite would be game-changing errors, then you could say that all errors are game changing. Neither of those errors directly resulted in a win or loss. I would consider the bad call at second base the other night to be "game changing", as the rendered call ended the game. I think that the ump in the replay booth should only make a call when the umps on the field allow the appeal, period.

Also, what calls should not be reviewable? I don't think balls and strikes sould be reviewed, but what about the recent balk fiasco?

I like your idea for replay, but there should be some way to limit how often appeals are made if a manager can initiate it.

I saw something very similar when I lived overseas: every pro rugby match had a TV referee. If there is a questionable play or call on the field, the in-game ref has a wireless mic to the booth, tells him exactly what he wants to verify about the play, and the TV ref gives him an answer. It rarely takes more than a minute and while not perfect, worked very well. I think something like that would work for baseball. Ump keeps control of the game and these calls get made correctly more often.

Love the replay ideas Rick. An idea that I always liked to throw around too was a pitch clock. Like a play clock or a shot clock. 30-40 seconds for each pitch. Probably too bizarre of an idea, but would limit how many times a guy can throw to first or hold the ball looking for signs etc. allowing for better timed stolen bases.. but, as Bert would say "EVERYTHING FOR THE HITTERS!" haha..

Yes that was totally random, but thought since on the subject of changes to improve the quality of the game, thought i'd pick my own brain for a bit :)

Well, when I was growing up, we walked 3 miles up hill both ways to school, in the 8 feet of snow every day including Labor Day, and we ENJOYED IT!

Ok, so you know where I'm coming from. One joy of baseball is that calls are missed. I feel bad for the pitcher that didn't get the (now seemingly common) perfect game, and I feel bad for the umpire that blew it. However, the sun came out again this morning, there are still 100 games left in the race, and even if a missed call determines a world championship it only adds to the lore of both teams. The NFL takes itself way too seriously.

We of course don't need umpires at all. FoxBox calls the balls and strikes, sensors in bases and gloves gives us an instant "green light - red light" for outs, laser beams tell us if a ball is fair or foul. Ok, one ump in the press box to signal for an infield fly rule. That may take more computer power than MLB is willing to spend.

Ah, the DH sucks, why don't we just have two 15 team leagues with no divisions, games were ruined when they introduced lights and night games, blah blah blah. I get Rick's point, and I know things change, so maybe I'll just go try to find a Western Union office and see if I can send Rick a telegram to express my concerns. This is all mostly in jest, but I will note one paragraph from above:

*******
The integrity of the game is damaged much more by the blown calls than it would be by adding a sensible replay procedure. The ultimate results of the playoffs might not have been impacted by all these errors, but then again they very well might have been. That is simply unacceptable.
*******

I would say that the integrity of the game rests in its 110 years of history and 2000+ games a year, and it is completely acceptable for humans to make mistakes. Especially if they keep the game under 3 hours :).

To assert that MLB will "never" allow any sort of mechanical balls and strikes machinery is absurd. It is probably still some years out, but with the amazing developments in optical and sensory technologies I have no doubt that day will come eventually. Obviously baseball will not rush into it (they don't know the meaning of the word) but "never" is a mighty long time.

Witty and amusing to be sure Linc, and you make some very good points as well. But I must point out that neither Rick, nor anyone else is saying that it's unacceptable for people to make mistakes. What is unacceptable is to behave as though it's the year 1912. To make a mistake, shrug, throw up your hands and say, "oh well, there's nothing we can do about that, it's just part of the game I guess, blowing that 27th out call..." What's unacceptable is for MLB to sit around with their thumbs up their butts and act like there is nothing they can do about it. Mistakes are just fine. Umpires have no shame in admitting them when it comes to meeting with the other umpires on the field and overturning a call if one of the other ones had a more definitive view of the play. So why the big issue when it comes to occasionally consulting the video and if it had a more definitive view, overturning the play?

TLJ -- I actually have no problem with the current replay rule for home runs (since the play is over regardless), and I guess I fall into your fear monger's argument really. I just think they will not be able to control themselves in an ESPN/Hi Def world, and I don't know how we place players on base correctly when a call is overturned (though certainly rules can be created to solve that problem). Mostly, I'm just a fan of a game that has withstood 110 years pretty much intact (unlike any sport but soccer), and I don't mind the controversy. I'd rather have 100 marginally wrong calls and one HUGE wrong call, rather than 101 totally right calls that break the rhythm of the game. That is just a personal opinion.

I think the ideas presented are reasonable, but in the end we can't have 3.5-4 hour games on a regular basis, as baseball's biggest enemy long term is attention span of the populous. Any review of plays just slows us down.

And, I do believe what I said...some of the charm is human error.

I agree with Linc.

I really don't think strikes and balls will ever be reviewed on instant replay. I certainly hope not too. Part of the great thing about baseball is the umpire element. It adds a bit of strategy and skill because the pitcher and catcher have to be able to figure what the umpire is calling that night, same with the hitters. If we start reviewing balls and strikes, the game will become far too mechanized as someone mentioned earlier.

I said it before and i'll say it again, Rick- i think your replay idea is great. Also nice pictures Jared and everyone else too!

The Twins are so predictable, 1-3 in Seattle, I saw that coming a mile away. Maybe 1 win in Oakland and they will be lucky to have a 2-5 road trip against 2 garbage teams. Good thing we are in the AL central and we get to beat up on the Royals and Indians.

My two cents - the missed call in the '85 World Series game 7 was way bigger than what happened last night in Detroit.(many news outlets are calling it the worst ever. I hate the 24 hour news media/twitter/everyone has a blog/etc.) This missed call, while it did prevent history (3 perfect games in 3 weeks! WOW!) did not effect the OUTCOME of the game. The Tigers won.

I consider myself a purist. I didn't like the wild card at first. Now I love it! I didn't like realignment at first, now I like it. So, replay? If they came up with a system that did not slow the pace of the game, I'd probably be against it still, but end up liking it. Rick's ideas are solid.

Here's the bottom line - get the call right. You can't review everything (balls and strikes) and sometimes there still has to be human judgement (there still is plenty in the NFL).

That call by Don Denkinger was in Game 6 of the 85 World Series. I'm pretty sure.
Don Denkinger at first base that night I believe.
There was an ESPN thing about him a few years ago. He says he still gets death threats.

firedog - I am right there with you.

As I mentioned the other day, what have the Twins showed us this year other than their 15-8 record against the lackluster AL Central?

Yes, they have one of the better records in baseball and are in first place, but the main reason is because of their 15-8 division record.

But than again, all that matters to a majority of Twins fans is that "we are in first place" and are simply happy with winning AL Central Division titles and nothing more.

Hear hear Mike. You're gonna get blasted for that post but there is more truth to that than most people want to admit...

three runs in the last three games. absolutely pathetic and inexcusable (even with cuddyer and hudson missing from the lineup).

personally, i think there is a real problem on this team and i believe it stems from the clubhouse. specifically, there is a lack of true player leadership on this team from a fiery, competitive offensive standpoint. perhaps we don't see it on t.v. but you rarely, if ever, see anyone get in another guy's face in the dugout to get him going. it is just "oh we are just doing our business out there, blah, blah, blah". and you hear the same thing most of the time in their comments to the media. mauer and morneau are the obvious best players on the team, but i have a hard time believing that either of them get too worked up in the clubhouse when other guys aren't pulling their weight.

i would like to see this team be more emotional and more fiery when they play. even borderline mean with a bit of an attitude towards other teams. enough of this midwestern, church boy, everybody be the perfect gentleman and professional crap. bump into a few guys.....knock some short stops on their ass as you are sliding into second base......drop some f-bombs at the opposing pitched.

said another way: somebody on this team please get even a little emotional from time to time!

The Twins have scored a measly 3 runs now in the last 32 innings, your right Beta that is unacceptable and watching the Twins body language its like they lost interest and mailed it in before the start of the game. Nobody ever rides Mauer cause he is the golden boy, but he needs to start producing we are the 1/3 point of the season and he is projecting to hit .318 6 HR 72 RBI that is unacceaptable for the 2nd highest paid player in baseball. I am thinking we grossly overpaid him based on 1 good year.

There is no way that an organization like the Twins should've signed Mauer for that much money. But, he's the local kid. There would not be $100 million+ difference between his output and Ramos' output on a daily basis. He didn't give a home team discount either. Not even close. The Cardinals are in the same situation with Pujols, and haven't panicked yet, and I think are willing to let him go if need be.

But, there are bigger problems on this team. Not with the pitching either. The starters have been decent, if not great. The relievers generally are doing their job. Rausch has equalled Nathan.

Harris and Punto need to be in the minors. Thome is old and completely ineffective and should not be playing. Hardy is a bust. Hudson and Morneau are solid. I'm giving Kubel some time as he hopefully will continue to work out of a disastrous beginning of the season. Sometimes, I think Gardy is too focused on the righty/lefty thing...putting players in that hit .210 doesn't help, even if they hit from the "good" side.

The most confusing thing about all this is that the Twins are, what, 3-5 against two of the worst teams in MLB, right? Ugh.

Can we let Mauer get out of his current contract before calling him a bust? Jesus.

Regarding replay. Rick, I think your proposal for how to replay calls is dead-on. I think to most reasonable people, this is fairly obvious. You have certainly articulated it better than most, and for that I give you credit. Implimenting this procedure for replaying calls is a no brainer, and needs to be done to protect the integrity of the game. If they had the technology we have now when the game was invented, I guarantee replay would have been part of baseball.

The tricky part of replay, and the part of the discussion that you didn't address, is what to deem as reviewable. It's easy to say that "anything except balls and strikes" is reviewable. Sounds good in theory, but when you think about it, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Some situations are obvious. The perfect game call, reversing the call would end the inning, and the game. Easy to see that one being reviewable. The call on the final play of the Twins/Mariners game. reversing the call ends the inning. Absolutely reviewable. Mauer's "foul" ball in the playoffs last year. After hitting fair, the ball left the field, ground rule double, easy call.

However, if you tweak a few of these situations just slightly, the waters get much, much murkier. Take the call in the Seattle game. Let's say instead of the runner being called safe, the original call had been that he was out, but replay shows him to have been safe. What do you do with the other runners? How can you say what would have happened if the call been correct? Can you say for certain the runner would have scored? Probably, but you can't say for sure. Mauer's hit in the playoffs. What if instead of leaving the field of play, it bounced around in the outfield? As soon as the ball was called foul, the fielders let up. Had the call been correctly made, who is to say where the runners would have ended up. Replay doesn't work when it requires a replay official to determine where he thinks the runners would have ended up had the call been correct.

I know there already a few situations that require umps to make that decision, and I'm uncomfortable with that, as it is.

Don't get me wrong, I am 100% for the expansion of replay. But I think any call that would require the umpire to make a judgement about where runners would have ended up can't be reviewed. It can only be used in circumstances where the end result of reversing a call is absolutely clear, with no judgement needing to be made. Even if you can say that 99.99% of the time, you know what would have happened, who is to say that the runners moving wouldn't have caused someone to rush a throw, and miss the target, or fumble with the ball in the field.

Man 1-3 vs freaking Seattle? We make a stiff like Lopez the second coming of A Rod!!!!!! As I said yesterday we are stinking it up on the road! Are Hardy and O Dog the next coming of Crede??? We need to get our swagger back in a hurry or we might be coming back home 1/2 game out! We come back 1-6 and all bets are off!!!!!!FCOL! Lets gets some freaking runs man!

I say there will come a point in time where the homeplate and all umps will be wired up and get there calls sent to them. We already have the pitch tracker in place. Home plate ump has a head set on and gets the calls for balls and strikes from the tracker. They will still be on the field but will get any assistance from some guy in a booth. Will happen sooner or later!

The tracker is there and its cool scifi. What happens then when the strike zone is exactly the same for everyone everyday? I think we'd start seeing 20 run 6 hour games because no body could get out. The tracker would have to be programmed to vary "randomly". That would take AI. Basically then you're just back to human umps adjusting the zone.
Part of the home plate umps job I think is to be consistent but yet at the same time make the strike zone challenging. The tracker is set up to scan the theoretical knees to chest, corner to corner zone. Not many umps have that exact size zone.

J2 you may have a point there. I would like them to try this out in like spring training to see how it would work and maybe go from there. I do think that more and more of this technology will be incorporated into the game at some time!

...Next thing you know, we'll be using a Juggs Machine instead of pitchers...

Beta - are you suggesting the Twins trade for Milton Bradley to fire up the dugout? ;)

TTH-

Not. Funny. :|

I find it interesting how so many fans reference the Joe Mauer blown call by Phil Cuzzi in the ALDS but what about the Brandon Inge hit-by-pitch that was never called by Randy Marsh in game 163?

If they call the HBP, a run scores and Detroit very likely wins that game and goes to the ALDS instead of your Minnesota Twins. Should a hit-by-pitch call like that be reviewed?

Keep it the ways it is. The calls even out in the end.

I wonder if Drew Coble's call on Hrbek's tag would have been reversed?

Mike-

I think they're both in the same category, in that they both could be game changers, but slightly different...

...this is going to turn into a weird argument that I won't be able to explain. They both lead to what-ifs and what should have beens.

Yes as upset as I was about the missed call at 2nd base on Wednesday night in Seattle by Dale Scott, I couldn't be too mad because the Twins were the beneficiary of an almost identical call at 2nd base in Kansas City in April.

Watch Gardy's postgame pressers. He is getting more and more agitated by the questions from reporters. They are softball questions too. I mean the other night he flat out said a question was "stupid". Ron, you haven't seen a pressure cooker!! It is only early June. How many reporters from MSP actually follow the team on road trips? Let's count...Joe Christensen or LaVelle Neal, Kelly Theiser, Robby Incmikowski, the Pioneer Press reporter, anyone else? Bueller??

For the heck of it I would like to see a game without umps during a spring training game! Have some guy behind the curtain up in the booth run the whole freaking game and put it all on the scoreboard! Could be a hoot!

Course I guess you need somebody to throw balls into the game. Let a ballboy do it er something!

"Hardy is a bust". I love it. It's June 4 and Twinswschamp already labeling him a bust. He missed most of May with an injury and has 133 ABs. Give him some breathing room, for crying out loud!

I laugh reading this board and the sheer panic because the Twins went 1-3 vs. Seattle.

I don't think I would call it "sheer panic" but there does seem to be the kernel of a trend developing here which is less than wonderful.

Faber - its not the "sheer panic" of going 1-3 in Seattle but rather a FACT that the Twins are just a .500 team (14-14) outside of their 15-8 division record and 2-1 interleague record.

We all know the Twins can win in the AL Central (15-8) and can play extremely well against NL teams (2-1), its that 14-14 record against the rest of the AL that disturbs me.

Maybe we could swap with the Brewers and go to the National League since we have the best record in MLB in interleague play tied with the Yankees at 134-97. Hopefully we can get 2 out of 3 this weekend and have a 3-4 road trip and get back to TF where we are 18-9 on the season.

Couple of stats at the 1/3 season Mark 27 Home 27 Road games

Home Wins 18
Road Wins 13

Home Losses 9
Road Losses 14

Road 33 Homers
Home 13 Homers

Road Batting Average .285
Away Batting Average .256

Road On Base % .328
Home On Base % .374

Road Runs Scored 114
Home Runs Scored 140

As long as we don't get swept! FCOL!

oops had road and away batting averages flipped!

boldRoad Batting Average .285
Away Batting Average .256 bold

eeeeeeeeer???

Um, road and away would be the same.

FCOL I meant Road and Home!!!!! It's been a long week!

Over the past week this place had morphed into another KFAN Rube Chat and the Strib's comments section. Kind of sad.

Buffalo,

Could. Not. Agree. More.

twinfan - man, you sure do "cry out loud" a lot. that must get tiring.

do you speak in abbreviations in person as well? that would be something to see.

i mean......FCOL!

Indeed Beta indeed!!!! Everytime Herman Munster heads to the mound to try and get a save I'm crying out loud!!!

Beta did you see the stock market today? Tears!!!!!

So now the stock market depends on the Twins?

FCOL!

whadda you talkin' about?! FCOL!

Bad - sort of. Remember the Market Mondays promotion from last year?

FIRST POINT:

a godfather reference for you. think about it.

i have always viewed ron gardenhire as the "tom hagen" of the minnesota twins. unlike tom kelly (vito andolini corleone), ron gardenhire (tom hagen), is "not a war time consigliere" when it comes to the playoffs, world series and taking that next step.

is ron gardenhire our robert duvall? i think we need a marlon brando as our manager. and throw in a richard bright (al neri) as caporegime/bench coach for good measure......just to keep everyone in line during the season/playoffs.

SECOND POINT:

this is not a reaction to the recent three game skid, as i was thinking this before the season even started. but shouldn't it be possible that if ron gardenhire and his coaching team are not able to get to AT LEAST the ALCS this season that twins ownership looks in another direction as far as managing/coaching? i mean if i was spending over $100 million on payroll this year (in a pretty average AL) i would expect this team to at least get to the ALCS this year. i certainly wouldn't blame there or be disappointed if they did.

thoughts?

Uh oh, is it new filter time again? So soon? Pretty soon we're only going to be able to say "Twins4Life!" on this site. FCOL-LOL!

Well ballpark magic has gone the way of every other sports team message board in the world.... the constant battle between the "cool-ade drinkers" and the "chicken little/sky is falling" crowds... *sigh* we just don't have any ballpark construction updates to distract us and our 12-year old ADD attention spans anymore.....

As to your second point Beta - I think you might be on to something.
Could very well be possible.
Tonight in Oakland should be interesting. Another perfect game for Dallas Braden?

luke - personally, i really wanted people's thoughts on my first point.....i put a whole 2 minutes of thought and reflection into that masterpiece!

7 buck seats at the K tonight!

Golden Gophers vs. Cal State Fullerton on ESPNU (614 DirecTV) @ 10:00 central for NCAA Regional.

Also,
Maz,
Let's go Royals!

Oh. Marlon Brando, for sure.

Man the supporting cast on this team sucks. Its Morneau and Mauer and then a bunch of garbarge. We haven's scored a run on anything other than a home run in 40 innings. So much for manufacturing runs.

Finally!!!

eeeeeeeeffffffffffffffffff AGHH

Gophers on 729 on Comcast Minneapolis

At least I have a game to switch to after this game. Yay extra innings!

Nice to see Delmon deliver the big hit in the clutch and knock in the winning run.

Memo to Gardy: Delmon needs to be in the lineup and playing every day!!

Beta,
are you serious? You think a team should just up and clean house of their management when they spend $100 mil in payroll and don't make the ALCS? (The Twins payroll is $90 mil, by the way.) The ALCS, the championship of the stronger league in baseball, the one that includes 12 whole teams with a higher payroll (should those teams do the same if they have no ALCS appearance?), the league that includes the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Tigers. Really? You're telling me that a $90 million payroll should guarantee 1 of 2 spots in the AL's championship series, with 5 other dominant teams, and several others that can compete as well?

I'm sick to death of all the Gardy hatin' in MN. That guy and that coaching staff have taken peanuts, year after year, and turned it into a contending team, winning the damn division 5 times in 8 years.

Rick said it several months ago - these are golden years for the Twins. It's like you guys forgot that our boys were basement dwellers for most of the '90s. Cheer up and enjoy some premium professional baseball played by your team...who knows how long it may last.

HUGE victory for the university of minnesota tonight! the #4 seed gophers beat #1 seed cal-state fullerton (also ranked #7 in the country) by a final score of 3-1 in the cal-state fullerton regional. a great pitching performance by gophers ace seth rosin.

the gophers will play new mexico tomorrow in the winner's bracket at 10pm CST/11pm EST/8pm PST on ESPN-U.

I'm a little worried about staff sergeant Oscar Brown. Seems a little unhinged.

Who was the Spamming Sergeant Rick? Twinkfan? :P

Some variation on the Nigerian scam?

Watching the game last night, I was a little confused.
I didn't know if a) I was listening to a high-school basketball game (you could hear rumblings of junior-varsity cheerleaders in the outfield singing "let's go oakland clap, clap, clap, clap, clap") or b) a damn soccer game in London (those ridiculous whistles and noisemakers).

God, Oakland is a dull town.

I would have absolutely no problem if Twins management demanded that Gardenhire improve on his 6-18 career playoff record (2-12 since his first season) before signing him to another extension. Especially with a vastly increased payroll this year. To use a basketball analogy, the Bulls with Michael Jordan never did much in the playoffs while Doug Collins was their coach, but when they plugged Phil Jackson in they won the championship his second year (and six championships in a row in years in which MJ played). Nobody seems to deny the talent on this team, so the expectations need to be raised accordingly.

I like "Let's go SQUIRREL" [clap clap clapclapclap] more.

OMG - we've gone 10 hours without ONE comment?
How is this possible?

twins are winning. there's nothing to complain about

Me first - Jessie Crain SUCKS. Why pull Liariano for CRAIN?

damnit i jinxed it....

Thanks Jesse crainwreck! Why is he still in the majors.

I think the negative waves coming from this site ie what did it. Think beautiful thoughts, people. Think beautiful thoughts.

How many chances will Crain get this season? Gardy must now know that he can no longer trust Crain! I want to see what Slama can do.

First beautiful thought - Crain being moved to bat boy.

Why didnt he use Burnett at the beginning of the inning. Gardy is an idiot, my 7 year old could manage better than him.

Still with the negative waves. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

See what happens when you send a little positivity their way? They're back on top.

weeeeee i love the twins! they can do no wrong!!! I LOVE KOOL-ADE!!!

See...It worked. The Twins won.

The Twins defied all the "experts" on this site and won! Rauch is now tied for the league lead in saves. Who'da thunk it?

Good win with a make-shift infield lineup!

Nice to see Delmon Young heating up, too. If he starts hitting it makes the bottom of the lineup much more potent.

Damn, too bad that Rauch's been "exposed," huh?

A three legged iguana with heart problems would make the bottom of the line-up more potent.

Crain has got to go! At least the twins still came back to win, even with the makeshift infield! Now to go for the sweep, GO TWINKIES!

Would like to make a trade: Jesse Crain to Milwaukee for a twelve pack of milwaukee's best. Ok six pack..

Gardy was saying yesterday Neshek has to go down and earn his spot just like anyone else...Ummmm..Ok,What about Crainwreck? Enough is enough...

Retaining a spot on the line-up is not the same as earning a return to it. And no, I'm not defending Crain.

You're asking a guy to throw a ball over sixty feet, as hard as he can, and hit a precise spot that changes from batter to batter and umpire to umpire. With so much of the job reliant upon muscle memory, we should expect a guy to have some ups and downs. Sure, he's paid a king's ransom the throw a baseball, but how many of us perform at a peak level at work every single day? You might be trying as hard as you can, but you'll never acheive machine-like consistency. How many of us hit the perfect golf shot with every swing of the club?
If Crain reels off a few good outings in a row, I hope that folks here will acknowledge that effort in accordance with how much abuse they've heaped on him.

I was wondering if anyone here has three tickets for the July 21 game against the Indians.
Please email me (click my name).
Thanks.

Batting practice Blackburn is back at it getting shelled by another mediocre offense, he reminds me of Joe Mays.

THE SKY IS FALLING
THE SKY IS FALLING
THE SKY IS FALLING

Good thing Blackburn is locked up until 2014 we would hate to lose him.

Anybody want to lay bets when the next game is that Harris and Punto will combine for 3+ hits?

Young-Span-Cuddy
Valencia-Hardy-Young-Morneau-Mauer
Kubel

This should be our lineup every day with each player getting 1 in 10 games off, except Morneau.

Gardy insists on getting AAA players major league time. I seriously think the above lineup, day in, day out, can get us home field advantage this year. And yes, Valencia is a stretch, but I think there is only one direction at 3rd base, and that is up.

3 hits for Punto! He is in the zone!

Make that "Hudson" in my lineup. He's awesome.

Pass the koolade someone! I'm thristy!!!!

Pick a side, everybody. Either you're completely down on the Twins or you drank the Kool-Ade. There's no in-between for any wishy-washy types.

How many times do the Twins win the first two games of a three game series than fall flat during the third game?

@ Chicago
Kansas City
Cleveland
@ Kansas City
Milwaukee
@ Oakland

This road trip continued to prove the fact that the Twins are pretty much a .500 team outside the division in the AL (16-15 to be exact). Yes, they were short-handed without Cuddyer, Hudson, Hardy and Morneau but they still proved to be nothing much better than a .500 team against the AL East and AL West.

Obviously they play well within the division and against the NL so an expectation of a 6-3 or 7-2 record for the next 9 games at home should be reasonable, but who knows at this point with Hudson and Hardy's injuries.

On to some positive news, it's nice to see Delmon swinging the bat well. He needs to be playing every day.

But if they win the first two games of every series only to drop the third, they'll wind up with 108 wins. Traditionally, it has been said that if you take two of three at home and play .500 on the road (approximately 95-96 wins), you can win a championship.
Maybe we need to take our fingers off the panic button.

You make a good point Dr. X, but the Twins have not shown me they can consistently beat teams outside of their division, where they have a 15-8 AL Central record.

They are 16-15 against the rest of the AL...

Toronto 1-1
Boston 2-3
NY Yankees 2-4
Baltimore 2-2
Seattle 1-3
Oakland 2-1
LA Angels 3-1 (season opening series)
Texas 3-0

While that 3 out of 4 in Anaheim was impressive, I would not look too much into that considering it was the first series of the year. Not to mention Anaheim was a below .500 team for the first two months of the season as well.

Other than the 3 of 4 in Anaheim, the only other impressive series was Texas last weekend at Target Field.

Jim Souhan was correct when he said this team lacks a "killer instinct"...They also lack depth and true leadership. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are great players, but they don't seem to provide that emotion and leadership that players such as AJ Pierzynski, Johan Santana and Torii Hunter provided. You never see any players in the dugout get in the face of another player like Hunter and Santana did.

The only time the Twins seem to show any emotion is when they get called out on a third strike while their bat sits on their shoulder.

Way too much inconsistency on this current Twins team as well.

*yawn*

FCOL! Is it finally time to send Brendon Harris packing along with train wreck crain????

*yawn*

I love the pics. Keep em coming, boys.

this will be my last post; i can't stand reading the bickering and negativity/ignorance of most of the comments on here nowadays.

rick,
thanks for putting this blog up. i've enjoyed reading the analysis and insight over the last couple of year.

au revoir...

this will more than likely be my last post as well...too many whiners/sky is falling...

it's a long season, and you cant have all-star hitters at every spot in the lineup, especially when 4 of your good hitters are out...

It is insane the amount of whining, even after taking two of three in Oakland. You would think that would quiet some of it, but instead it started all anew after Sunday's loss. People need to get a grip. I still don't get why some of them even follow the Twins or baseball since all it seems to do is get them worked up, upset and sullen.

I will take another 6-3 homestand! That would be our 4th this year. Very strange how everyone of our homestands have been 9 games!!! That would get us to 11 games over 500. Will 90 games win the central?

Whoops make that 12 games over if we continue the 6-3 homestand tradition to date! Anybody know what they are charging for standing room tickets? Do they vary? Or are they all $25 a pop?

I'm out too. Thank you very much Rick for giving us a place to follow the construction of Target Field. It sure made the time pass from inception to completion. Unfortunately, the site has deteriorated into a collection of mindless posts from a bunch of negative idiots who don't understand the game. If I want to read about how much Harris, Punto or Crain suck or how the Twins should trade Delmon Young for Tim Lincecum or who's got dirty pics of Gardy, I will read the Strib blogs.
Baseball isn't NFL football - its a long season with many ups and downs. If you can't come to grips with that go follow the World Cup you have a much happier summer.

Wow...I was simply stating some facts and making a point that the Twins are essentially a .500 team outside of the AL Central and several of the kool-aid drinkers get defensive and threaten to leave the site. Yes, the Twins are in first place and have one of the best records but if you do a little research and look into the numbers, this team is just 16-15 against the rest of the AL. Why is stating that fact so negative??

I still support the team and have been a season ticket holder for seven years, but its a matter of fact that this team is pretty much a .500 team outside of the division.

To me, it sounds like its the kool-aid drinkers who are the whiners and, now apparently, the "quitters" on this site.

The fans in general, along with the media, are very soft in this market. What's wrong with being held accountable and facing some criticism??

I'm not leaving. I like this place. :-)

Next game for me is Thursday night against the Royals. /fingers crossed/ the rain stays away.

I think it is sad to see people leave because of not liking the commentary that some provide. Simple fix, ignore those comments then. I still think Rick has a lot more to provide for people who are truly still intrigued with this ballpark or baseball in general. I personally enjoy Rick's posts and hope that he continues to provide insight on all things Target Field/Baseball/Twins/Transit/Neighborhood Developments. Thanks Rick for all you have done and I will keep coming back to this site to check out your well thought out posts!!

I'm here man!!!!!! Be at the game Wed for game 7 to try and break above my 3-3 mark. Tickets also Sat for the Braves. No tickets for the Rockies but have em for my first $1.00 dog nite on June 28th! Might have to even pass on my Holiday station dog stop. Anybody been to a monday dog nite yet? Are they sold out by the 1st inning? I see there are only 6 monday home games the entire schedule. The first one for Boston they did not offer the $1.00 dogs!! FCOL!!!!!

Target Field a bull's-eye for downtown nightlife. Click my name for the entire article.

From the article...
"It's as if the design and feel of this particular stadium was for it to be perfectly connected to the rest of the downtown," said Kieran Folliard, the Irish pub kingpin who relocated his 16-year-old namesake bar Kieran's into the floundering Block E mall in time for the Twins season.

Leave it to a bleeding-hearted Irishman to poetically sum up the stadium's impact: "You go to the game, and you can see and feel downtown from the stadium," Folliard continued. "There are no big gaps. The energy between the ballpark and the rest of downtown is interconnected now."

Twinkfan - I went to the first Dollar Dog night on May 3 and there were still hot dogs available until at least the 2nd inning. They could have been going even longer, not sure.

The only drawback (but well worth it) is that the lines are longer since the dogs are grilled fresh rather than pre-wrapped and placed in warmers.

One area I have wanted to discussion on this blog for a while, and I think would draw more interest in the ballpark discussion is more comparison to other ballparks. I can say before Target Field was being built and finding this blog I never thought much about the intricacies and unique features of different ballparks. Now I've become fascinated in learning about every ballpark and how they compare. I have told my wife on many occasions now how much of a fantasy it would be for me to visit every ballpark. I know people have done their ballpark rankings on this blog, but I would love more in depth discussion on the different ballparks and how they compare and contrast with our new Target Field in both the positive and negative. For one thing I love how much MN is incorporated in the ballpark both from a historical standpoint as well as food options, and where everything came from. I would love to hear what other ballparks were successful in incorporating their state and it's history. Just a thought, and one of many discussions that could be generated.

Target Field review from Stadium Journey. Click my name for the complete review.

Thanks Mike, I may have to pull my standby and bring in some Holiday station dogs just in case. I will sometimes put those in the microwave at the store to steam the buns so to speak. Then wrap em up and head right up the block or so to gate 6! Best deal in town man! So far no problem bringing the clear rum in the water bottle either!

OK I wanna see a new grass cutting design already!

I am gonna take my ball and go home. If you dont like somebody's post dont read it.

I participated in the "Heart Walk" on Saturday. The gathering area for our group was section 106. I measured the seat in that section and came up with 19" inside of one armrest to outside of the next armrest - so I was sitting in a seat that was at the small end of the advertised range (19 - 23 if I recall correctly). The seat was a good inch or two wider than my ST seat (in 204) and much more comfortable than other seats I have checked out. Negative perhaps, but the tape measure does not lie.

If they go, they go. It's their decision. Eventually, everybody has to move on; maybe this is the reason or impetus they need to make that move. Good luck to them all.

Awesome pictures man. I had the opportunity to see one of the opening series games against Boston, and what I was most impressed with was that there were no major flaws, and the fans just seemed unbelievably happy. Like they just got out of a domed prison and into the fresh air and sunshine for the first time in 30 years...Hmmm...

My nine-year-old is going to her first game at Target Field on Wednesday and her fourth-grade choir will be singing the National Anthem. There's a once in a lifetime memory for you. Give 'em a big cheer if you're there.

I'd hate to see Vikes, and lucky and annoying leave.
However, I think we can come up with a little better commentary than wanting to see a new lawn mowing design.

How about, get excited, the Twins are coming home tomorrow!

Wow, really no comments about comparing Target Field to other ballparks in more intimate detail. That holds no appeal to anyone?

Well Hebrew that subject has been discussed here in pretty good detail since April...

I always think the best part about people announcing they are leaving an online forum is when they come back at some point in the future. They always do.

I'm not gonna leave, if someone wants to state their opinion they can, and if i don't like i just don't read them. I'm happy for them to come home again. my next game is gonna be in philly!

Good news!

Justin Morneau has now overtaken Mark Teixeira in the third set of American League balloting figures for the All-Star Game. Bidding for his first fan-elected starting assignment, Morneau has jumped atop a deep field at first base with 973,563 votes, slightly ahead of 931,405 cast for Teixeira.

Make sure to keep on voting for Morneau and his fellow Twins, so they rightfully START in the All-Star game.

Click on my name for a link to vote.

Anybody know anything about the Twins' first round draft pick, other than his name is Alex Wimmers, and he's a pitcher from Ohio St.?

I disagree Faber College Alum. When comparisons and rankings have been discussed in the past, it has, at least in my opinion been very broad sweeping statements. There are so many cool unique features about Target Field from the Mankato limestone, the history of the Met Pole, the old basketball floor in TownBall Tavern, the devotion to Twins History, the MN food options, etc. etc. I would love to discuss more and compare what other ballparks have done to incorporate their state and history, what unique features the builders came up with that is unique to just that ballpark, etc. There has not been an extensive comparison done on the little details that make each ballpark special. I feel for the most part only the obvious features known to everyone, or broad top 10 rankings have discussed at any great length on this blog.

twinkfan - you certainly are a "unique" dude to say the least. i mean that in a good way. i have never heard of someone so pleased with themselves when it comes to the art of stashing convenience stores hog dogs and drinking warm rum out of a water bottle.

contrary to some other's overly dramatic stances, i could never leave this site as i would certainly miss twinkfan's almost comedic overuse of exclamation points and acronyms/abbreviations way too much.

i mean FCOL!

okay......i am going to go and buy a holiday station store hot dog now........

expectorate - i do know that alex wimmers threw either a no-hitter or perfect game against michigan during the 2009 season.

I think the wrong guys left the site.

Interesting article from Joe C regarding some problems at Target Field, specifically some glare issues the players are facing.

click link

what a bunch of whiners (especially hitting coach joe vavra) in that article. no other teams seem to have an issue hitting the ball at target field. sounds to me like a bunch of twins making excuses for poor play. stupid.

Beta, have to totally disagree with you. They aren't being whiners, they're being honest about some of the things they're experiencing at TF.

Vavra isn't whining at all, he's just relaying what he's hearing from his players. Why is that whining? And I don't think they're making excuses for poor play because let's be honest, they haven't been playing poorly at home, 18-9 record, averaging a run a game better than on the road.

A great follow-up question would have been, "why do you think the you all have been averaging more runs and have such a better record at home if there are such issues with glare at certain times of the day?"

In defense of the people who are leaving this site, it hasn't been as simple as ignoring some people's posts. Especially during the last road trip it was nonstop. At times it seemed like every post was senseless negativity and if you dared to say something positive or disagree, you got something with the words "Kool-Aid" thrown back at you. Just saying.

I agree Buffalo. I'm not a "kool-aid" drinking, "Twins can never do any wrong" kind of guy but I'm also not a doom-sayer, every move the Twins make sucks, Bill Smith is a clown, Gardy is a moron, Punto is a AAA player, Hardy is a bust and you're too soft if you don't see it my way kind of guy either.

My life is too busy and hectic to worry a lot about "holding the Twins accountable." I love baseball, I love the Twins. I chose to spend my entertainment dollars at Target Field, etc. I get ticked when they screw up or if Bill Smith gets snookered in a trade, but I don't lose sleep over it. I'm psyched when they sweep the Rangers and we see someone like Delmon start to come into his own. In short, this is my diversion. I'll save the accountability to elected officials and my work. If that means I'm drinking the "kool-aid" so be it.

Pretty thoughtful comment. But using "accountability" and "elected officials" in the same sentence?

Beta I mix that rum with a refreshing Diet pepsi bought at the ballpark! Warm rum out a water bottle? Now that would be hardcore man! Need to go at least 6-3 on this homestand! Greinke should be beatable! Wow 1-7 this year! OUCH!!

Greinke is almost always a treat to watch whether beatable or not. Hoping to see a great game tonight!

Lets hope it drys out a little! I see they are calling for showers most of the afternoon anyways! I've been to 3 games that had rain already so looking forward to some good weather tommorow!

Going to my first game as a fan tonight! What rain? Might spend a bit of time in the Twins Pubs!!

Where you gonna be sitting J2?

I have no plans to go the game tonight but it's interesting to see prices crater on StubHub this afternoon. You can get some really good seats right now for well under face value. I'm sure the weather has a lot to do with it...

I'm going to have to partially agree with Beta on this one. (Is that a first)

While T don't think the players came off complaining, I took it as the players saying some things they would like to see changed in their ballpark.

Vavra on the otherhand comes off sounding like a whiny little child. Complaining about the relections off of the glass behind center field. Look at the picture above from the Champions Club, what glass is he talking about.?

I do like Gardy's idea of painting the railings. That has always seemed like it was a forgotten detail. Another thing I would like to see them do in the park, and it would be expensive, but it would add a lot in terms of the look of the park, is to put limestone on the facing of the upper decks, where it is concrete right now. I cheaper soulution would be to paint it the same color as lime stone. I've just always found the bear concrete matched with the galvanized steel railings to be very industrial.

The weather is supposed to clear up tonight as well. I might pounce on some tickets if the price gets low enough, although I wouldn't be able to go tomorrow during the day. I've got tickets for the last 2 games of this series but it would be more fun to go to all 3.

Wrong call Dahl says should be ok in another hour or so as this last batch moves through! Raining down here in bloomington! Lets light up Grienke man!!!All lefty lineup tonight me thinks!!!