Beatdown in Chi-town

by AdamOnFirst on Apr 11, 2009 4:33 AM EDT

Friends, I know there is nothing we love more than a dominant win over the White Sox, and on the first head-to-head game of the season, the Twins delivered such a beating.

The wind was blowing hard all day (heck, all MONTH) here in Chicago, and R.A, Dickey's knuckleball was dipping and dancing all about the place. Sure, he gave up a few runs, but altogether an excellent performance from our improvisational fifth starter (Baker pitched well in Fort Meyers today, by the way, so Dickey may not be holding that fort for much longer at all).

The real show came from the bats. Joe Crede got a wonderful ovation from the homerish Sox faithful and promptly thanked them for their warm reception... via a baseball souvenir for someone in the left field seats. The Sox would fight back and even take the lead for a time, but it was the Twins bats who would answer big.

With a narrow one run lead into the top of the seventh, Dr. Morneau hit a one run dinger and the Twins offense didn't stop afterwords. By the time Morneau hit again, it was 11-3 Twins and there were still no outs in the seventh.

Listening from Chicago, it was absolutely, DELIGHTFUL to hear the resignation in the voice of the loathsome Hawk Harrelson as the Twins piled on hit after hit.

Altogether, a very solid showing by Dickey and a wonderful job by the Twins to steal a win with the backup pitcher on the mound. Now, we get a great Sisco Kid vs. Blue Whale (sorry, Bartolo Colon, hard to tell the difference these days) matchup. Viva la Twins.

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7th

Listening from Chicago, it was absolutely, DELIGHTFUL to hear the resignation in the voice of the loathsome Hawk Harrelson as the Twins piled on hit after hit.

AMEN! I cannot STAND those guys.

by njsimonson on Apr 11, 2009 7:42 AM EDT reply actions

Love this

Nothing like taking it to the Bitch Sox, or as I say, the Pale Hosers, Of all the teams to put a hurtin’ on, that’s my favorite. It was especially sweet to see Crede hit a bomb in his first at bat against his old team.

I really loathe those guys, though the ranks of the worst hose heads are thinning, with Uribe and Cabrera gone. Still, no team in the league has a pair of hose heads as big as Buehrle and Pierzinski. And their announcers amplify the general attitude of arrogance.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Apr 11, 2009 10:07 AM EDT reply actions

Cmath

I gotta say Cmath, they still have all their fans to hate. One of the most delusional fan bases I’ve ever been around. I don’t forget about Ozzie Guillen.

"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all."
~ Earl Weaver
"In God we trust. All others must provide evidence."
~ Billy Beane

by AdamOnFirst on Apr 11, 2009 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions

great game

this baseball season is off to a great start. of course, i would probably say that even if we got swept by the abysmal mariners b/c last night was so fun! i’m hoping cisco takes it to the sox tonight and crede and morneau both go yard again. my favorite part last night, however, was how angry a.j. got on the wild pitch he couldn’t corral in the 7th. on mlb.tv he was clearly yelling (and not at all in a supportive way) at his pitcher. he makes it so easy to hate the bitch sox.

by dctwin on Apr 11, 2009 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

I noticed that

I noticed that Pierzynski thing, he did shout “COME ON” at his pitcher in the 7th. TO his credit, Mac was throwing some total crap.

by AdamOnFirst on Apr 11, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Am I being reactionary?

Or is the idea of RA Dickey pitching another spot start in Chicago in September not such a bad idea? There were 5 or 6 balls that these guys got every stitch of that died on the warning track. The only one that went out was that mistake fastball he threw to Konerko that Dickey regretted almost as soon as it left his hand.

Consider that Chicago stadiums tend have the wind blow in on nights in April and September in addition to the fact that the White Sox are still a run production via home run team. If Dickey is still on the 40 man roster, it might not be a horrible idea to try this again on this September series to give the rest of the starters a night off late in the season.

by TMW on Apr 11, 2009 1:23 PM EDT reply actions

I wouldn't start Dickey again unless I had to

He’s listed as a starter next time through the rotation, but if Scott Baker is ready, Dickey will go to the bullpen or to Rochester when Baker comes back. And I hope he stays there.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Apr 11, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm talking about 1 set of circumstances as a spot start in cold weather again.

by TMW on Apr 11, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Comcast broadcasters

I couldn’t agree more that the White Sox TV crew are among the worst ever. They whine about everything, and their shtick is annoying after just two innings. The whole “he-gone” and “put it on the boarrrrrrdd, Yes!” bits are tired. How would it sound if PA did KFAN shtick during a Vikings’ broadcast? Steve Stone talks about himself the entire time, and every situation becomes "well when I was pitching. . . " While I am enjoying the free preview of the Extra Innings Package on Cable, I did not enjoy the broadcast of the Twins last night one bit.
I hope the Twins hang another 11 runs on them this afternoon!
As an aside, Joe Buck isn’t much better.
I’d take Dick and Bert any day.

by LittleMac on Apr 11, 2009 1:38 PM EDT reply actions

welcome to Extra Innings and the worst announcer in the bigs

Hawk is horrible, except when his “good guys” are getting their ass handed to them, then I find I enjoy him quite a bit.

Here is a fun site: http://www.heavethehawk.com/

Sometimes it’s annoying not getting the Twins broadcast but it’s great to watch the Twins on TV instead of my computer.

by caluofmn on Apr 11, 2009 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Watch with no volume, that's what I do.

by AdamOnFirst on Apr 11, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Not anymore

Steve Stone, the new color commentator, is probably the most insightful color-man working. His ability to know exactly what pitch is coming next is unbelievable. He used to be Harry Carey’s color-man in the 90s for the Cubs. He’s awesome.

But yeah, Hawk still sucks.

by TMW on Apr 11, 2009 5:15 PM EDT reply actions