I thought that puppy was done.

Just going to jot a few notes about the game last night, because while the Twins ended up losing in the end, it's not a game that I'm going to gnash my teeth over.

Tie Game

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Twins were down 6-3 with runners on the corners.  Mariano Rivera was in the game, one of the best closers and relief pitchers in the history of baseball, and with an aggressive Delmon Young at the dish I wouldn't blame you if you just walked out of the room expecting the inning to be over.  Instead, Young took a Rivera cutter on the outer half of the plate and went with it...and did he ever.  For a swing that looks so effortless, Young put a charge into the ball, launching it deep into right field.  There was no doubt that it was going to be out, but for a moment it looked like it could be a foul ball......

...but it was fair.  For the first time EVER, the Minnesota Twins hit a home run off of future Hall of Famer Rivera, and more importantly they just tied a game that for all intents and purposes seemed over.  An absolutely incredible moment, and once again, for just a few minutes, it was easy to believe that this team could do anything.

Mike Mussina

If we never see him pitch again, it's still too soon.  RETIRE!

Relief

When Nick Blackburn couldn't finish the fifth inning, it looked like trouble.  Then Boof Bonser gave one up in the seventh and Jesse Crain in the eighth.  Thankfully, Young's 3-run bomb erased those runs.  Unfortunately, once again, Matt Guerrier is the goat of the bullpen, allowing a pair of homers in the top of the twelvth.  Although to be fair, watching Alex Rodriguez glare at Guerrier I'm pretty sure any other result was impossible.  A-Rod is incredible, even if he plays for the Yankees, and those deadly blue eyes were willing that fateful pitch to end up in the center field black hole.  One run wasn't good enough though, and Guerrier's 2-run meatball to Xavier Nady sealed the deal.

Guerrier is a good pitcher, but he's tired.  The conundrum is that he can't be shut down, not right now, so the Twins need to find a way to alleviate the pressure they put on him.  If it were my decision, which is clearly isn't, I wouldn't be putting him back out there until Friday, and after that he'd be limited to two appearances a week until September.  Those extra bullpen innings would have to be split up between Crain, Nathan and Breslow.

509

Holy hell you guys, you really busted the record for commens again last night!  509 comments is amazing to see.  I like the game threads because they have give TT a sense of community, which is great, but I also like talking about the game with people....win-win.  33MorneauMVP was by far the most ambitious, so congrats to you sir, but thanks to everyone for making our game threads a success!  Here's the Roll Call...

Stars of the Game

#3  Mike Redmond  (2-for-6, 2B, R)
#2  Adam Everett  (1-for-4, 2 RBI)
#1  Delmon Young  (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, SB)