Date: 9/30/09

Opponent: Detroit Tigers

Home/Away: Away

Starting Pitcher: Pavano

Final Score: L 7-2

Record: 82-76

Best Moment: Well, there's always next season. I think we've all known the this team has been pieced together with paper clips and gum, so it's hardly a surprise that we aren't winning. We've lost our All-Star 1st baseman, our starting 3rd baseman is Matt Tolbert, and we don't even have a 5th starter. Our other starters consist of our "ace" who has an ERA below league average, an oft-injured Yankee reject, a groundball pitcher who walks a fine line thanks to his tendency to pitch to contact (a lot of contact), and a pitcher plucked from triple-A who is pitching way over his head based on his minor league numbers. I guess the roll we've been on just had me thinking we had a chance. I should know better; the Twins always torture me. I'm hoping we win tomorrow, if only so we are out of Detroit when they clinch the division. I would just as soon not have them celebrating after playing us. At least we know we're going to finish the season with a winning record. That's something of an accomplishment.

Pavano sucked today, coughing up a 2-run lead and then some thanks to two big innings. Yes, I would argue that Gardy should have pulled him earlier, but that was terrible. His worst outing as a Twin in fact. And can I just say Matt Tolbert is a fucking idiot? He gets on base in the 2nd inning, after Bonine had struggled through the 1st, and he attempts to steal 2nd base and runs himself into the first out of the inning. It's just dumb with the pitcher having such troubles. Even Gardy mentioned it post-game. And you know it's bad if Gardy actually throws his beloved Tolbert up the bus. Then in the 6th inning, with men on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, Tolbert swung on the first pitch and flied out. The strike zone was tiny, the pitcher had been struggling with it and had just issued a walk, but there goes Tolbert on the first pitch.

Most Questionable Moment: Yeah, about that strike zone. I'm pretty sure there wasn't one. At least not a predictable one. I had no idea where those balls were missing.

Worst Moment: I'd have to say the fact that we couldn't take advantage of Bonine in the 1st inning. He was on the ropes, the bullpen was up, and then Morales grounded into a double play. The next inning Tolbert ran himself into the first out, and Bonine settled down and killed us the rest of the way. It could have been a whole different ball game.

Quotations of the Day:

• "It doesn't look very good right now, but it isn't over yet. I'm not a math guy, but I believe that tomorrow is a must-win situation." - Ron Gardenhire. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but every game is now a must-win situation. And even that won't be enough.
• "We really didn't do a thing after the first inning. It just didn't work out tonight." - Ron Gardenhire
• "I needed to step up, and I didn't do the job. They gave me two runs, and that should have been enough. I hope I'll still get a chance to redeem myself." - Carl Pavano. Um, unlikely after that game. That was your big chance.

Suck-Ass Performance of the Game: Carl Pavano (4.2 innings pitched, 7 hits, 2 walks, 7 earned runs, 1 loss)