Twins knuckle under in 12-inning loss to Rangers

The choice was improbable, and minutes after R.A. Dickey threw a fastball to Ian Kinsler rather than his signature knuckleball, the right-hander knew his mistake.

[Joe]

I would be more concerned about the hitting of 3-6 who haven't done squatt lately. Mauer has gone down hill so fast since the HR Derby he looks like he is in free fall in a downward spiral. It appears he is trying to pull everything. Bring Morales back up and give him some time off for a couple of games or so. Morneau and Cuddyer keep swinging at bad pitches that are not even close. Whats up with these guys? They are not bad hitters just bad selection of what to swing at. Somebody better get on these three hitters before they all go into free fall. Just an observation that is reality and could get worse. Pitching has been acceptable and defense outstanding. Go Twins!!!!

[Franklin Adams]

Joe wrote:

I would be more concerned about the hitting of 3-6 who haven't done squatt lately. Mauer has gone down hill so fast since the HR Derby he looks like he is in free fall in a downward spiral. It appears he is trying to pull everything. Bring Morales back up and give him some time off for a couple of games or so. Morneau and Cuddyer keep swinging at bad pitches that are not even close. Whats up with these guys? They are not bad hitters just bad selection of what to swing at. Somebody better get on these three hitters before they all go into free fall. Just an observation that is reality and could get worse. Pitching has been acceptable and defense outstanding. Go Twins!!!!

Slumps happen to all players at one time or another. Just has to go its course.

[okforyou]

Left handed pitchers are the Twins Achilles heel..they will face 2 L handers in the California series..I'm not sure why Morales isn't DHing or something. Twins just don't have the killer instinct. Gardy always complains about things after the fact, doesn't he have any input or control when its happening?

[Come ON]

Who told DICKEY to throw he fastball! It wasn't my wife!

[scotwil]

A gerbil, had it watched the 6th inning, would have known not to send Liriano out for the 7th.

[ronald mcdonald]

why on earth did Liriano even come out of the dugout in the 7th? horrible decision #1, obviously, and #2, why pinch hit for Nick Punto when the guy is 3 for 4 ont he night, and then clearly #3 was the fastball. 3 horrible decisions = a loss that should not have happened. These Twins are really looking lousy.

[Arrogant American]

It's nice to see Young and Punto hit the ball. It's too bad they were the only ones. Mauer has one single in his last 22 at-bats. By comparison, Young has nine hits in his last 22 at-bats. Punto has reached base 32 times in his last 24 games.

[Mad Dog Gus]

Three weeks ago the question was: "Can Mauer hit .400?"......now the question is: "Can Mauer hit .300?"

How many personal records can he get in July? 1. First time with 4 K's in a game. 2. First time 0 - 6 in a game. 3. Largest mid-season drop of a batting average. 4. Most left on base by batter in a 3 week period.

Remember, Mauer hit only .276 on real grass in 2008, and .259 in 2007. What's going to happen next year when the Twins are outside?

This is looking more like a disaster than a slump!

[Elvis Presley]

nice job putting in that terrible knuckleballer GARDY!

[Monk]

The Twins have turned things around on the road, 2 out of 3 from Texas. Last night's game was a nail-biter, what more can you ask for as a fan. There is no perfection in baseball.

[Erica]

That was a team loss. When you get to the twelfth inning, SOMEONE's going to give up a run. Dickey's been pretty reliable this year, so I'm not going to get bent out of shape.

2 outta 3 in Texas is pretty good. The Bronx Bombers swept the Tigers and the Twins kept pace with the White Sox- all in all, a nice way to start the second half.

[scotwil]

Monk wrote:

The Twins have turned things around on the road, 2 out of 3 from Texas. Last night's game was a nail-biter, what more can you ask for as a fan. There is no perfection in baseball.

I can ask Gardy not to send Liriano out in the 7th. Expanded to a general proposition, I can ask Gardy not to make inexplicable, dumb choices which result in wholly predictable and avoidable losses. Watching him make such choices is less than entertaining, and this whole enterprise is supposed to be an entertainment.

[ronald mcdonald]

agreed, Gardy is a moron and should be fired.

[Henry]

It's too bad the Twins couldn't have pulled off a 3 game sweep in texas, but I'm sure they'll start another winning string tonight.
However, the main thing I want to know is:
When are those 3 characters from MSN North coming back from the Dells? Haven't they been there about a month now?

[Hammond WI Twins Fan]

Aside from the Yankees sweep the Twins have won 11 out of the past 13 series including a number of them on the road. Also, hitters 3-6 were carrying this team a few weeks ago. Now with Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddy slumping a little, the rest of the team is starting to pick up the slack. I like our chances....

[Monk]

scotwil wrote:

<quoted text>
I can ask Gardy not to send Liriano out in the 7th. Expanded to a general proposition, I can ask Gardy not to make inexplicable, dumb choices which result in wholly predictable and avoidable losses. Watching him make such choices is less than entertaining, and this whole enterprise is supposed to be an entertainment.

If it causes you so much pain, don't watch the games.
Entertainment or not, they won't win them all.
Second guessing Gardy is part of the game. Everytime Cuddyer strikes out in a big at bat, I give him hell.
Delmon Young is an over-rated bum. Trade him now.
But I don't lose any sleep over it, tomorrow is another day. 2 out of 3 in Texas is a good days' work, IMO.

[Gypsy Cab]

This game is a good example of why I think this team probably won't make the playoffs. It seems that everytime they have a chance to put some pressure on the division leaders by closing the gap in the division lead, they lose a painful one and fall back.

They just can't seem to get over the hump that is required of teams to make the playoffs. Again the saving grace is that they play in a weak division and they will probably still be the race even in September.