We’ll start with first things first. Since this is a Twins blog, we’ll discuss the state of your Minnesota Twins. I don’t know how many of you caught today’s game on TV, but what a game it was! I still haven’t come down from cloud nine. First off, compare the Twins’ opening day lineup:
LF- Shannon Stewart
2B- Luis Rivas
1B- Doug Mientkiewicz
3B- Corey Koskie
CF- Torii Hunter
RF- Jacque Jones
DH- Matthew LeCroy
C- Joe Mauer
SS- Christian Guzman
With today’s lineup:
LF- Lew Ford
SS- Christian Guzman
RF- Jacque Jones
1B- Jose Offerman
CF- Torii Hunter
DH- Michael Ryan
3B- Michael Cuddyer
C- Henry Blanco
2B- Alex Prieto
That’s exactly THREE opening day starters- a lousy THREE!! Awfulman batting cleanup (again)!? Blanco and Prieto back-to-back? Not exactly a lineup that strikes fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers. But somehow (as I stated the other day) the Twins simply find a way to win! Twins pitchers, most notably a Mr. Juan Rincon, made the victory all that more dramatic, but no matter. Today’s “hitless wonders” battled all day long at the plate, but it took until the ninth for the pot to boil over.
Down 5-2, singles to the outfield by Hunter and Cuddyer were followed by an INFIELD SINGLE (!) by Blanco (I know, I almost went into shock too). That set the stage for today’s hero, Matthew “Big Country” LeCroy. The only man left on the Twins’ bench (not including Jerry White or Wayne Hattaway) absolutely crushed a Terry Adams fastball over the centerfield fence for a grand slam! I was watching the game by myself but I couldn’t help jumping up and yelling for joy! My behavior earned me a couple of confused stares from passer-bys, but who cares! Joe Nathan came in and slammed the door, capping what was one of the most satisfying regular season wins in a long time. Bring on those ChiSox!
Unfortunately, it seems that the buzz from today’s spectacular Twins game will be overshadowed by the Wolves Game 7 win over the Kings. But I’m just as excited about the Woofies! Great win for them as well, and a very entertaining game to watch. KG finally played like an MVP should, and all I can say is that it's about frickin' time! I’ll bet there wasn’t a person in the state who wasn't holding their breath as Webber launched that three as time expired. But hey, “a win is a win” as they always say! We'll all take it!
Overall, it was a very emotionally draining day. But still a good day. I can still only think of one word to describe it all: Wow.
Big Country takes Adams deep for a game-winning GS
KG howls after the Wolves eek by the Kings in Game 7
