Bring on those damn Yankees!

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Posted By: Tbob

It's official, the Twins could only win 1 of 2 vs. Cleveland today so they start with the Yankees at NY. Santana vs. Mussina.
Meanwhile the 'Stros are beating the Rockies in the 9th so it looks like the Jints are out.
Cubs, A's, Giants all out. All picked by most to win their respective divisions and all choked.
Angels- Red Sox at Anaheim.
The real season begins now...

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Posted By: barrysloate

I'm a lifelong Giants fan and for them to take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth and give up 7 runs is almost inconceivable. But I've learned to get used to it.

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Posted By: runscott

and for them to come through in the clutch the way they finished the regular season this year...is also almost inconceivable.

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Posted By: Kevin Cummings

...the thoughts that will be running through George Steinbrenner's mind if the Yankees face the Astros in the World Series and have to bat against Roger Clemens.

Sad to say (for a Yankees fan), but I don't think either of them will make it to the final dance this year.

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Posted By: Joe P.

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Posted By: Pcelli60

I'm a fan of ANY team playing the Yankees!. I would love to see Houston run the playoff table as the Marlins did last year. I believe the hottest team going into these playoffs is the most dangerous team to beat, and thats the Astros..

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Posted By: Kevin Cummings

I think the Anaheim Angels might take exception to your statement.

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Posted By: barrysloate

The Astros were dead and buried six weeks ago; for them to make the playoffs suggests this may be their year to win it all.

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Posted By: Tbob

Twins and Braves again would be heaven
Bud Selig would be having a heart attack if the Twins got in the Series again after the cretin did everything he could to disband the team in 2001
Nah, I'm not bitter :-O

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Posted By: Jay Miller

TBob--Pull the needle out of your arm. Haven't the Yankees won like 20 of the last 23 games against the Twinkies? Yankees-BoSox or Yankees-Angels series will be tough, but Yankees-Twins? NEXT!

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Posted By: Joe P.

A match made in Barnum Heaven.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

I'll take Santana and Radke agaainst any of them starters, if Gardenhire is smart the Twins while never see that fourth starter we call Kyle Lohse. Playoffs come down to pitching and the Twins are pretty solid in the starters and bullpen.

Sorry Yankee fan you'll have to watch the Twins in round two on TV. I'll be at Fridays game to watch the demise of the Yanks.

GO TWINS !!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: ChuckkieB

As an official Yankee hater (*cough...cough*...Mets fan here)I'm rooting for a Red Sox Cardinals World Series. :D

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Posted By: ockday

I gotta agree with Jay..Twins are not ready for prime time..I will be at Yankee Stadium watching the Yanks take out the Twinkies.
Then bring on the Red Sox !!
The "curse" is eternal !!!!!!

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Posted By: Todd

they win. The Yankees won't beat Santana--they had two shots at him, and mustered 3 runs in 12 innings. They should have been tagged with 2 losses, and this time they will.

That means the Twins need only win 1 more, and I'm confident Radke can beat them at least once.
Last year's Yankees had Pettite and Clemens shutting down the Twins, and of course they're gone. The Twins are healthy, except for Joe Mauer, which leaves us with Henry Blanco, who had to get hot to break .200 at the end.

Hey Tbob, remember the last time the Twins had a .200 hitter in the post season? Tim Laudner, 1987, when they won and he batted .300 in the WS with a homer. This team reminds me alot of that squad. Feisty leadoff LF (Stewart v. Dan Gladden); Incredible CF (Hunter v. Puckett); some pop on the corners (Koskie/Morneau v. Gaetti/Hrbek); two very good starters (Santana/Radke v. Viola/Blyleven), and stud closer (Nathan v. Reardon). Plus this team has more depth and a better overall pitching staff. Of course, they were written off before playing the mighty Tigers (98 wins) and Cardinals (95 wins), but hey, just play the games, baby!!

GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: dennis

the metrodome(worst park in the majors) gives the twins a greater home field advantage because of crowd noise(in doors), turf(bad hops etc..),roof (bad to see ball)and they can always turn the air conditioning on when they come to bat(for the wind blowing out).

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Posted By: Julie

Even if they just BARELY made the playoffs, like the As
almost did,which they didn't, you can bet they'll be around when the Series starts...pity...

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Posted By: jw

clemens battles the red sox at fenway.

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi TBob,
Be careful what you wish for................. The Yankees aren't the best team in baseball this year, but in the postseason they usually get the job done. You'd be better off facing Pedro and the Sox than the Yanks.

Be well Brian

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Posted By: Ray

Including myself, gotta love the possibility of Clemens and Pettitte pitching games 1 and 2 at Yankee Stadium. (yeah, i know Oswalt would pitch game 2, but it's fun to dream!) And not for nothing, it would be hard to root against either one of them. I still wear my Pettitte jersey with pride!

My guess though: Yanks vs Cards

I know the Yanks have the most rings, are the Cards second?

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Posted By: Joe P.

All right so Clemens vs Mussina wasn't enough.

Let's follow that up with a Pettitte vs "El Duque" match.

Keep in mind that the playoff's is like starting a new season.

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Posted By: jay behrens

Yes, the Cardinals have the 2nd most rings.

Jay

I saw weird stuff in that place last night. Weird, strange, sick, twisted, eerie, godless, evil stuff. And I want in.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

Round 1 to the Twins!!!!!!!!!

Santana was not at his best but our defense sure was!!!!!!!!

GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: John/z28jd

Great game to watch,got to see or hear most of all 3 games.Im so glad this was on espn radio at work so i didnt have to listen to those damn bias Yankees announcer or that moron McCarver with his great one liners today

'hitting rivera is like hitting a 10 lb barbell with a bat' then explaining what he meant by saying he made the ball a heavier sphere.Last time i checked a barbell wasnt a sphere

and first place goes to him for

'The runner will be moving with a contact pitcher on the mound'

I dont even wanna know what that means

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Posted By: jay behrens

He still has nothing on Ron Fairly when he did the Giants games. They used to have a daily report of bizzare things he said each game. My favorite was "...and he slides into second with a standup double."

Jay

I saw weird stuff in that place last night. Weird, strange, sick, twisted, eerie, godless, evil stuff. And I want in.

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Posted By: Pcelli60

Minnie's got a mojo!

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Posted By: Julie

Jeterstilloverrated?

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Posted By: Chris B.

yes, Jeter is still overrated.

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Posted By: tbob

Friday night, count the minutes spent talking about Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Torre, Steinbrenner, ad nauseum. The Twins get mentioned 25% of the time, Yanks 75% of the time. I guess it's only fitting since the great Rodney Dangerfield passed on to comedy heaven yesterday and the Twins get no respect. If not for Ron Gardenslug, the Twins manager, the Twins would be 2-0. Yeah be sure and pitch a guy 50 pitches who hasn't thrown more than 25 all season long. Keep Lew .300 average Ford on the bench while a rookie keeps whiffing with men in scoring position, keep Jacque "rally killer" Jones in right field with the weakest arm in the majors instead of playing your best defense ahead 6-5 in ther last inning. Sheesh...
Still a Twins fan (since '61) but never a Gardenweasel fan.

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Posted By: Joe P.

Ofwhateveryou'redrinking.

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Posted By: Tim Mayer

i am so sick of the Jeter is overrated stuff..

why? because of stats,,,

when you need to win, he gets the job done..ala Joe Montana...

what else does he need to do? win again? probably will...

he will definately do at least one special thing this series,,,hes does year after year,,,your blinded by hate if you can't see it..

I hate David "jabba the hut" Ortiz, but I am not too blind to see he is a monster,,,

yes gardenslug sucks....

thats part of the game..

not the yankees fault...

as for bring on the yankees stuff..

be careful of what you wish for

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

how 'bout them Astros! I enjoyed standing out in the crowd today! Clemens hit a foul ball (rocket) right over my head.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

I'm with Tbob on the Gardenhire losing this one

The first big mistake was leaving Kubel in in the 8th, than leaving Nathan in to finish the game after 2 walks, what a shame.

The Twins will prevail though.

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Posted By: Todd (nolemmings)

Nathan needed to go for it. The alternatives were Romero, who had been scored upon in something like 4 of his last 6 appearances, or the rookie Crane. Nathan still had good stuff, he just got no calls in the 12th. The guy was a long reliever last year and a starter before that--to think he couldn't handle a third inning is ridiculous, IMHO.

The Kubel thing is baffling, although I think Lew Ford really needs to take a step back and evaluate things. The guy had 4 hits on Saturday to get his BA up to just over .300, and hasn't hit since. I watched those weekend games, given what was on the line, and it looked like Ford couldn't believe Gardy would risk his .300 BA by making him play the final game, never mind it was must win. The guy took meatball pitches for strikes, almost hoping he could draw a walk, and when his BA slipped to .299, it was like he was a whole different player. Pull your head out, Lew.

As for JJ in RF, I seriously doubt it would have made a difference with Ford out there, given the way that particular ball was hit. Unless the man was playing deeper and could charge that ball to get momentum (a risky strategy), it would have been tough to get a strong throw on line.

I'll save most of my Yankee vent for another post, but will say that I get so irked to see an inside pitch miss the corner by 1-2 inches, yet Jeter, Cairo and others flop backwards like they're doing the limbo, with the so-called "knowledgeable" Yankee fans booing like the pitcher is head-hunting. What a flippin joke.

Not to worry, we're still taking 'em down!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: Joe P.

"how 'bout them Astros! I enjoyed standing out in the crowd today! Clemens hit a foul ball (rocket) right over my head."
*
*
Damn Clemens, he missed again.

Yankees fan for Clemens and Pettitte.
We appreciate what you did for us.
A win win situation.

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Posted By: Jay Miller

Nice series guys--when does the downsizing come through?

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Posted By: johnny

I live 3 miles from the metrodome and can't stomach to watch a game there so I watch the games on t.v.- domes should be outlawed for baseball but I guess I will go see the red sox if we make it past Jeter who is the best baseball player the game has seen since Pete Rose- anyways I am hoping for either a
Twins - Cardnials rematch or Red Sox- Whoever it dont matter the red sox will lose-----

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Posted By: Gary B.

I thought I was going to get off easy and have the Yanks eliminated quickly, but oh well, there's still time. Who are the Yankees playing again? Oh yeah, the Twins. For me it's a competition between the Yankees and "whatever team they happen to be playing that I automatically root for."

At least the Red Sox are winning. If the Giants couldn't make it, at least hope is alive for my greatest baseball dream - to have the Red Sox win the World Series. I certainly hope they make it. I hate it when two teams make the World Series that I don't really care about. I'll watch it, even enjoy it, but it's just not the same...

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Posted By: Tim Mayer

oh yeah,

took a whole day for jeter to do something again,,,for an overrated guy, he sure seems to be in the thick of things alot...

todays espn:

Who's Your Daddy?
Pedro looked like the Pedro of old as Boston put a stronghold on Anaheim. Derek Jeter was up to his old tricks as the Yankees dramatically tied their series with the Twins. The NL takes center stage today, with Houston hoping to push Atlanta to the brink, and L.A. ready to rebound against mighty St. Louis.

notice the jeters up to his old tricks headline...what is that about..? hes being overrated again? haha

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Posted By: Julie

you REALLY think G should have left him in?His fastball was gone, and he couldn';t even get a slider over the plate.

Go BSox, Astros and Twins, and are there going to be games on Friday in the afternoon, or do I have to miss one?

Damon looks like Jesus, or Chris kristoferson, or somebody...

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Posted By: Tbob

The guy he should have brought in was Lohse. I know you are cringing because he has been so up and down but he has playoff experience, he has good stuff even though he doesn't always have his head screwed on right and he proved in Cleveland that he can come in and finish a game (1st game of the doubleheader). What Gardy has done is take Nathan out of Friday's game, the most important in the series.
Second guessing is always fun but if I am managing the Twins in the 12th, Lohse is on the mound, Cuddyer shifts over to 1st with Ojeda at 2nd and Ford in right, all for defense. The ball hit to right should not have been able to score Jeter, it was a shallow line drive not a long fly ball. Jones threw a lollipop to LeCroy and Hrbek, Doug M. or Morneau would all have thrown Jeter out at the plate.
I think we gift wrapped the game although Jacque the rally killer Jones did manage to come around and score on his 3rd strike out of the game, that was a gift too. I only wish the Yanks had a lefty so Jones would be on the bench where he belongs...

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Posted By: runscott

the outfielder needed to take it with more momentum going forward, his throw was off, forcing a relay, then the relay throw was bad as well. Terrible execution all the way around.

But a split in NY isn't bad.

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Posted By: Todd

Kyle Lohse??????????????
I love hearing from fellow Twins fans (we pick up quite a few when we play the Yankees:)), but Kyle Lohse? That guy will not play in a meaningful game this post-season. He will be relegated to mop-up, innings-eating duty if the Twins are ever getting their asses kicked.
The guy does not have the toughness, at least now, and his stuff is not that good--it's all flat and the same speed. He seemed to latch on to a hard slider that actually had bite during his last start, but then left early from a blister on his middle finger--probably from throwing that very slider. Would I cringe if he had come in?, no, puke, yes.

Nathan did not lose his stuff, although his command faltered. Rewind the TIVO and look at the pitches he threw Olerud to start the inning-they were near perfect, and I don't care if he's old, that guy is tough to whiff.
BTW, Nathan will pitch in game 3, so you needn't worry about him being spent. I think there are just as many questions about Rivera's effectivenes from this point out than
Nathan's.

Scott is right- hideous execution on that final play was costly. Still,don't forget that the winning play was exactly that, a winning play. The best that happens is Jeter's out and we're moving to inning 13. Who knows what happens then, although with your projected scenario, the Twins would be completely out of bench players at that point.

Let's get 'em in Game 3--GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: Todd

My picks to click:
Game 3: Guzman (although Hunter will be big again)
Game 4: Jacque Jones

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Posted By: Jay Miller

My picks to click:

Game 3-Kevin Brown

Game 4-Twinkies golf clubs as they head south for the winter

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Posted By: Jay Miller

Well, there was click one. I can hear those Twinkie pings clicking already (or is that their knees shaking?). Yoo Hoo, Johan, adios!

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Posted By: Jay Miller

Hey, those are Twinkie golf clubs I hear clicking.

THE YANKEES JUAN! THEEEEEEE YANKEES JUAN!

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Posted By: ockday

twins shoulda/coulda put the yanks away in game 2 but didn't ..now they golf while the yanks get to stick it to the red sox yet again....go yanks!!!

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Posted By: Red Sox

They are far too inconsistent to seriously think that they can contend this year. History has shown that teams whom depend on always coming from behind, typically fall short sooner or later.

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Posted By: Gary B.

The best team that money can buy.