Vikings Defeat Pack in Field Goal Battle, 15-3

by RandBall's Stu on May 21, 2010 11:45 PM EDT in Game Recaps

It was over practically before it even started. The Twins had seven runs before they even made their second out, Nick Blackburn cruised and Minnesota thumped Milwaukee by a final of 15-3.

The Twins loaded the bases on Brewers' starter Dave Bush with no outs, and after coaxing a pop-up from Justin Morneau, he imploded. He walked Michael Cuddyer on a borderline pitch at the knees, and as the Twins first run scored, Bush confronted home plate umpire Ed Rapuano about the strike zone and had to be restrained by Prince Fielder. Fortunately for the Twins, Rapuano didn't toss Bush, and as Ron Coomer just said on the postgame show, "It changed the whole complexity of the game." Ah, Coom-dog. Anyway: Kubel 2-run single, a comical balk by Bush, Young 1-run single, Plouffe1-run single, Punto 1-run double, Span 1-run fielder's choice that still didn't result in an out, 7-0 Twins, good night Dave Bush.

The Twins actually had opportunities to take this game from embarrassing to absurd, but Joe Mauer (!) hit into two early-inning double plays, and Jason Kubel lined into a 2nd-inning double play-that-wasn't on a blown call in the outfield. These would prove irrelevant, as the Twins added five more runs in the fourth, with Justin Morneau's two-run, opposite-field double providing the key blow. Meanwhile, Nick Blackburn kept pumping strikes and keeping the ball down, as a clearly dispirited Brewers didn't mount a significant threat until it was 15-0 in the 8th.

Notes and junk:

Carlos Gomez accounted for the three Brewers runs with a long home run off Blackburn in the 8th. I assume the Twins noticed how Gomez admired his shot at the plate, before flipping his bat and starting his home run trot. In a 15-3 game. Wonder if that will result in a future plunking, or a "just Go-Go being Go-Go" shoulder shrug from Gardy & Co. (UPDATE: Gomez apologized after the game and said he'll take his punishment "like a man." Seriously, read the interview at ESPN1500. Classic Gomez.)
Did you hear all the Twins fans yelling "Plooooooouuuufe" whenever the new shortstop did something good? I was unaware that so many Twins bloggers were in attendance. Plouffe finished 2-for-5 with an RBI double and an RBI single in his first major league at-bat.
Mijares pitched the 9th and nothing terrible happened.
The only Twins player with no hits tonight? Joe Mauer. He did still manage to walk twice, scoring both times.
Everyone else did something good at the plate, too. Jason Kubel's Beard tallied 4 RBI, O-Dog went 3-for-4, Morneau went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI, and so on and so forth.
The Brewers just flat-out looked terrible. They've lost 10 of 11.

Enjoy your weekend, everybody.

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GoGo's strut was absurd.

If we are comfortably ahead tomorrow I would love to see a HBP.

Great WIN!

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on May 22, 2010 12:03 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

Live it up Go-Go

You hit one homer for every fifty times you make yourself look like an idiot

"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backward in a mirror" ~George Carlin

by thewild_viking_twins on May 22, 2010 12:37 AM EDT reply actions

Brewer fan here

But by my picture you can tell I come in peace. I was watching in on your gamethread and noticed a lot of negativity about my team. I always thought of the Brewers and Twins as similar organizations with similar aims who would benefit from each other’s successes. Maybe I’m not old enough to remember the rivalry when we were in the same league, but I always like to think of the Twins as my AL team.

Anyway, enough about that, I just dropped by to offer a Brewer fan’s perspective

1. Gomez’s home run watching didn’t seem excessive to me considering his feelings for the Twins organization, but I could understand how the players and fans would be upset.

2. I think, as far as the Dave Bush situation goes, that was maybe the worst meltdown I’ve ever seen from a major league player. He just didn’t have it tonight and your strong lineup made him pay.

3. It didn’t help that home plate umpire Ed Rapuano marched all the way out to the mound to chastise Bush for what looked like minimal arguing in an important situation. In addition to Fielder restraining Bush, I think it’s worth noting that Craig Counsell had to restrain Rapuano from going after Bush. Maybe I’m a homer, but that seemed like some of the most unprofessional and unacceptable behavior I’ve ever seen from an umpire.

Anyway good game, at least for you guys, and good luck tomorrow.

"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." - Yogi Berra

by mnbrewer on May 22, 2010 12:38 AM EDT reply actions

Not sure why there is negativity either.

Its not a rivalry save for the border. I’m thinking perhaps some angst was left over from our recent 2-5 miserable, pathetic road trip. I have always liked the Brewers. That M/B glove logo is awesome.

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on May 22, 2010 1:12 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

+1

I’ve always liked the brewers, and they have baseball’s best logo by a long shot

by snolls on May 22, 2010 7:48 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Not sure why there is negativity either.

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on May 22, 2010 1:12 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Olive Branch double post FAIL.

/shame

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on May 22, 2010 1:13 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Two olive branches

are better than one :) Believe me, as a Brewer fan I understand frustration over losing. I live in Minneapolis and generally find Twins fans to be very civil, especially compared to our actual rivals like the Cubs and Cardinals.

"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." - Yogi Berra

by mnbrewer on May 22, 2010 1:51 AM EDT up reply actions

I like the Brewers

I just have some overall disdain for the National League

by ckb on May 22, 2010 1:42 AM EDT up reply actions

I've heard

many fans of AL teams say this. What is it that you don’t like? The pitchers hitting? Our general futility in interleague play? Pinch hitters? Sacrifice bunts?

"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." - Yogi Berra

by mnbrewer on May 22, 2010 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions

I like that pitchers bat in the NL, the differences between the leagues make MLB more interesting as a whole, IMO. I like that they added the DH to the All-Star Game though.

I think the viewpoints of a lot of NL fans are a bit archaic though. I’ve seen a lot of hate for the DH, interleague play, the unbalanced schedule etc… from them. I haven’t seen as much of the reverse from AL fans.

But the main reason is that I think the AL is clearly much stronger. Dominance in interleague and the all-star games, and generally in the world series too although not as clearly as in the other cases.

If you switched the Brewers and the Twins for example, I think that the Twins would have been as successful over the last decade as any NL team. Other than the Phillies the last two seasons (who I believe the Twins have equaled this year), its hard to think of a team that has sustained excellence well enough over a long period of time to definitely be ahead of the Twins.

I also think the Brewers would probably slot in firmly in 5th place in the AL Central, only ahead of the Royals generally.

And I know the Twins would for sure be able to go deeper into the playoffs in the NL. Not having to face the Yankees or Red Sox until the World Series? That’s practically the biggest advantage any team can have in the postseason.

by ckb on May 22, 2010 2:17 AM EDT up reply actions

4th place for the Brewers in the AL Central, I mean

I was thinking about if there were 6 teams like in the NL Central.

by ckb on May 22, 2010 2:19 AM EDT up reply actions

These type of hypotheticals are pretty hard to figure.

I’m not a big fan of the “If we were in the NL we would be ____ games better and would go _ far into the playoffs.”

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on May 22, 2010 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn't try to quantify it

but undoubtedly the recent Twins teams would be more successful if they had played in the NL.

by ckb on May 22, 2010 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

The Rapuano thing was bizarre.

I assume Bush went all Bull Durham and called him a cocksucker, or something. Here’s hoping that Rapuano gets severely reprimanded, because that sort of reaction brings his impartiality into question for the rest of the game.

http://www.realityfish.com

by Robin G on May 22, 2010 3:37 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I agree

Another poorly umpired game. How could a person miss that trap by Braun? And there are so many better ways to handle Bush’s complaining rather than charging out to the mound like your hair is on fire swearing sailor-style. All you do is politely tell the catcher that the pitcher will be tossed for arguing balls and strikes (and the pitch was a strike). A pitcher like Bush can’t afford to be squeezed and he was probably frustrated.

by wcooley on May 22, 2010 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

+1

Bush melted down, but before Cuddyer had even reached first, it seemed like Rapuano was on the mound and in Bush’s face. I agree, the pitch was probably a strike, or at least very close, but when you’re two feet off on all your other pitches it’s not likely you’re going to be given the corners.

by Adam Peterson on May 22, 2010 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions

I re-read the thread and didn't find that much negativity

I mean, I extend the olive branch, too, but I didn’t see much. People live in the moment and like to throw tomatoes at the TV in mid-game (hitting our own guys as much when we are losing). Upon re-reading the thread, I didn’t even see much of that.

Me, I try to stay away from the opposing teams game threads.

by DavidRF on May 22, 2010 8:29 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree, I came late last night but I quickly ran through some stuff to get myself caught up with what had happened

because the game score at that point 52 – 0 (I think) doesn’t tell much of a story. Anyway, I think the usual negativity for some stuff was there but it was from usual suspects and pretty much random not necessarily aimed at the Brewers. The negativity that was there was pretty lighthearted, and poked fun at the pretty weak offense they have at the bottom of the lineup.

I for one, agree that given the hard feelings Gomez most likely has for the Twins’ org. his watch and trot seemed pretty acceptable. Now he’s got it out of his system, and hopefully he’ll just put his head down and play hard.

by montanatwinsfan on May 22, 2010 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Why would Gomez have hard feelings for the Twins org?

by JonathanR on May 22, 2010 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions

seriously?

by montanatwinsfan on May 22, 2010 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree with

JonathanR…I don’t really understand why he would have hard feelings. Because he was traded? He is getting more playing time in Milwaukee than he was here, so he should be grateful. I dont really understand your statement/assumption.

"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any of us." - Kirby Puckett

by BCTwins on May 22, 2010 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions

C'mon

It’s like when a girl dumps you. You might end up with a better looking Girl but you still have hard feelings you got dumped in the first place. A natural reaction, an I’ll show you additude.

by b1 on May 22, 2010 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

He probably should have showed us back when he was still a Twin

instead of all that striking out he was doing

by ckb on May 22, 2010 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions

We are way better looking than the Brewers.

Have you seen the Brewers hips? And oh my gosh those flabby arms?

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on May 22, 2010 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Gomez

It’s the way he plays. I let it go. I have no interest in killing that spirit.

Now, if he does it again, he’s down…twice.

by PinkiePinkerton on May 22, 2010 12:45 AM EDT reply actions

I let it go at this point

he apologized after the game, and I’m sure he got a talking to from the Brewers coaches and/or veterans. There’s little need for that in a tie game, in a 15-0 game it’s silly.

by Adam Peterson on May 22, 2010 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Looks like the Twins offense

finally clicked the way we thought it would. Great game! Congrats to Trevor Plouffe.

by taralynn09 on May 22, 2010 1:12 AM EDT reply actions

Casilla has a sore arm

I hope Plouffe stays up when Hardy comes back. If Plouffe plays well at SS, what do we so with Harris? RH pinch hit?

by b1 on May 22, 2010 8:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Gomez

great to see that young man back. It seems like he has changed a little bit. And as to his hr watching, who couldn’t admire a homer hit like that!? That was an absolute moonshot almost to the third deck! I mean, come on, everybody has to admire those!

Congrats to Plouffe on a good game at the plate, and oh, we all love Justin Morneau – especially if he keeps hitting like this!

"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any of us." - Kirby Puckett

by BCTwins on May 22, 2010 1:34 AM EDT reply actions

Loved the comment on the radio

John Gordon said offhand that the person glad that Gomez was traded was Joe Vavra.

by DJL44 on May 22, 2010 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I loved it

When Gomez screwed himself into the ground on a swing earlier in the game, the TV coverage showed Gardy and he had the funniest look on his face. I love Carlos and his spirit, but he is a wild player…If he could just control himself a little bit he would improve ten-fold.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have"
Thomas Jefferson

by RileysCannibalJct on May 22, 2010 10:19 AM EDT reply actions