Know Thine Enemy: Bless You Boys
The Tigers have 19 games left. The White Sox have 21, the Indians 22. The Sox currently trail Detroit by nine games; Cleveland trail by nine and a half. This division is pretty well locked up in favor of the Tigers, as it should be. But that doesn't mean the Twins can't play spoiler and take the eventual division champs down a peg or two.
Hey, it's all we have right now.
Every pitcher can have their day, but on most of Penny's days he gets hit pretty hard. I realize the Twins are running out a minor league lineup, but against a guy like Penny that shouldn't be a problem...provided that minor league lineup can handle mediocre breaking balls and off-speed stuff.
Another strong start would mean a lot for Kevin going forward, who's coming off of a couple of good outings.
If you're wondering why the above seemed more S-M-R-T than usual for a Friday, Jesse wrote it. Ye Olde Friday Dumbass checks in with lineups and news-y bits after the jump:
Twins (courtesy Joe C.):
1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Trevor Plouffe, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Jason Kubel, DH
5. Danny Valencia, 3B
6. Chris Parmelee, 1B
7. Joe Benson, RF
8. Rene Tosoni, LF
9. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, SS
Tigers:
TBA
Notes:
- Not a misprint: Joe Mauer is catching for his close personal friend Kevin Slowey.
Also not a misprint: Nishioka is playing short. So, for those of you clamoring for Trevor Plouffe's sketchy defense but without his pesky well-hit baseballs, happy Friday! - As noted earlier here at Twinkie Town, the buzz this afternoon has been the sacking of manager Tom Nieto and hitting coach Floyd Rayford in Rochester. If Jim Rantz's statement on the matter (part of a wholesale "directional change" for the club's minor league system) is any indication, these won't be the only changes. And they probably shouldn't be.
- Based on this, do you think any of the major league front office guys are a little nervous now?
Enjoy the game, everybody.