IGT, AL Wild Card, MIN @ MFY, 10/3/17

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

We're three and a half in. Kevin Costner has now married Stands With A Fist and gone full Lakota.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't think I've ever seen Brett Gardner make an out.
Keith Lockhart on those '90s Braves teams was the same way.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Judge. Kabooms.

[Frayed Knot]

So the Twins are down by three with the game half over, are in a battle of bullpens, have their best two hitters out of the game/roster (Buxton & Sano), and haven't won a game in the bronx since
Tom Kelly was their manager.
But other than that it's lookin' good.

[ashie62]

4th inning at 10:30. Nyet for me. Yankees own the Twins anyway. Seeya!

[Frayed Knot]

I hope this Hindenberger guy the Twins just brought in from the pen doesn't crash and burn.

[bmfc1]

VOMIT: http://nypost.com/2017/10/04/what-is-it-about-clutch-yankees-shortstops/

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I've caught up on the entire Ken Burns Vietnam in the 1st inning

, I tuned to that to watch again around the 4th, I saw somewhere that the first 3 or 4 innings took 2.5 hours+

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Did this game end yet?

[Frayed Knot]

This was an unusual game in that the pace actually picked up in the final few innings enabling the game to pull in at a breezy 3:51 (aka: right around midnight EDT)
Usually it's all the late game pitching changes that slam the brakes on things once a game hits the 7th inning but here it wasn't like you could slow it down from its early pace.
Also, while I assume the Yanx still did their 7th inning GBA thing, unlike the local channel, ESPN was under no strong-arm requirements to televise it and only then go to commercials so that break
wound up taking less time than the usual MFY game.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: I hope this Hindenberger guy the Twins just brought in from the pen doesn't crash and burn.

Nice.(Because we don't award BOCs anymore.)
Later

[Frayed Knot]

It was only after posting that that I realized the guy's name is spelled Hildenberger not Hindenberger, but I wasn't about the rescind the joke over such minor details.
Plus I think he wound up as the only Minnesota pitcher who didn't crash and burn last night.

[Frayed Knot]

One thing I suspect this game will do is stir up discussion from those who advocate something closer to the all-bullpen type of pitcher use in general.

- The Yanqui starter went 1/3 of an inning with relievers then filling in for: 2, 3-1/3, 2-1/3, and 1 innings. In total the pen allowed just 1 run on 5 hits with 3 walks and [u:6t31g6mk]13 Ks[/u:6t31g6mk]
Hard to know if Severino is going to be scarred for life by this but Girardi's quick hook certainly looks like the right call considering the circumstances.

- The Twins starter lasted all of two innings while giving up 4 runs. His follow-up was more akin to a second starter than a true reliever who got tagged for 3 runs/5 hits over 3 IP.
After that their actual pen then covered the remaining 3 innings: 1 run, 1 hit, 3 walks

[Frayed Knot]

Mets Willets Point wrote: Kind of annoying that the start times for the ALDS are still TBD. You know they're just waiting for the Yankees to win so they can slot them into prime time for every game.

And as predicted:
The Red Sox @ Houston will get the early slot on Thursday (4:00) while the Yanx @ Cleveland gets the later time (7:30)
and the situation is the same for Friday: 2:00 / 5:00
and again on Sunday: 2:30 / 7:30
and again for the Game Fours on Monday and Game Fives on Wednesday with exact start times for those days subject to 'if necessary' status.


On the plus side, you wanted some daytime playoff action for your kid and some of it's even on a weekend!!

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

That is a definite plus.