Man, I feel bad for Gardy. I don't even know what I would do. I mean, we have to leave Lew and Justin in there for the 3,4 punch. We need Lews hits and Justins power. But we can't lose Shannon, he's back and rockin' and rollin'. I'm rootin' for you Gardy, have fun making up the lineup for tomorrow. Maybe, you should have asked for a hug instead of saying you'll give one. Next time man, next time.

with lots of love,
Megan

Is anyone else peeved by Dougie Defence's recent whining? "I think we're a better team with me at first and Morneau DHing," or words to that effect. In Gardy's six men-for-five spots matrix, Dougie is currently No. 6 and needs to bide his time. Right now, he's acting like a candidate for, dare I say it, the hated B-Sox.

Dear Mr. Davis,

Now, now, that was way harsh! Though Dougie was in better form last year when Morneau came up and he helped him out at first--and I believe played right field then. Batgirl can only imagine he was more secure in his spot at the time, and now is feeling a wee insecure. Batgirl adores Dougie, but he is at his best when he's not talking.

Sincerely,
Batgirl

notable: righty starter for Ballmer tonight (John Maine)

I'm Ron Gardenhire and I approved RD's message.

Well, I have to say he, being Douglas, is doing a GREAT job tonight. Made a WebGem play already. Saved a double. I say we got to have him back for the defense at least. His bats coming back. When he starts hitting his doubles again, he can be dangerous. When we play good teams we need him out there. He ain't Doug Defence for nothing.

meg

Nice job, Batgirl. I like the new look of AS THE LINE UP TURNS, it adds suspense. Better than the old text. Keep up the good work!

Megan

I'm bubblemint, and I approved Meg's message.

I propose another edition, perhaps entitled:

"All My Pitchers"

Sorry, but lots of teams seem to be able to make due with average defense at 1st and good offense. What annoys me is when Bert or Dick say "he's stuggled a bit lately" and I want to scream at them "NO! Not a little bit! He's setting records for futility!"

0-4 with a walk Doug. Pip! Pip! Pip!

I understand what you are saying (man I feel weird cuz this is like my fourth time writing a message). I just don't think we are like a lot of teams. Our strength is defense. We've never really had power at the corners. Doug doesn't deserved to be messed with unless Corey gets messed with too. Corey isn't doing much if any better than Doug. How bout we put Michael Cuddyer at third. He has power.

What does make me mad is that whenever Corey or Doug or even Jones gets in the worlds biggest hitting slump they are still in the batting lineup every day. Yet when Rivas (yes, I'm a Rivas fan, don't hate me) has like 2 games where he gets 0 to 2 hits total he is out of the lineup just like that. Jones goes like 1 for 32 or something and he's in there yet Rivas is out. I know Jones and Doug are career .300 hitters. But if they aren't producing, they aren't producing.

One game back from being out since July 6th, when he was just coming out of his slump, hitting .333 for July on a six game hitting streak, and so many people are ready to toss him by the wayside.

Morneau went 0-4 without a walk in his first game after being called up.
I'm not saying I expect Doug to hit like Justin is capable of doing (provided the scouting reports don't help opposing pitchers catch up to him like they did back in May), but he certainly deserves a little respect for everything he has meant to this team for the last few years.

Give him a break. Have a little faith.

I'm right with ya bubblemint.

Megan

Pardon me...I need to edit part of my comment. Instead of "provided the scouting reports don't help opposing pitchers catch up to him like they did back in May"...

I meant to say, like they did last season.

Dear Meg,

Thank you. Perhaps we should start a coalition.

We could be known as "Doug's Defence".
An organization of defenders that provides resistance against attacks on Doug Mientkiewicz.

As of now a coalition of two, but I hope there will be others joining us soon.

Dear Bubblemint,

Sounds like a great idea. I'd love to be part. I'll always defend my Douglas. How can I not, when two of my really good friends are huge fans. Plus, he is an amazing player, nothing less than that. I'm sure tomorrow many more people will comment and hopefully join with us. As for now, WebGem Doug is back in the building.

Megan

Dear Megan,

Sleep well, and steel thyself, for tomorrow we are certain to meet massive resistance. It may even begin in the dead of night.

Yours in solidarity,

bubblemint

A little faith huh? Give him a break huh? That'll be great. I'll remind you of that in October when nothing is happening at the Metrodome because we've LOST THE CENTRAL. Hyperbole I know, its more than just one person, but really personal concerns and attachments have to take a back seat to winning. You have to with what is more likely to win. Winning salves a lot of egos.

Rivas was always in there because everyone who we could replace them with is just as bad if not worse. Note when Punto returned from the DL that he was filling in every other day or so for Rivas until Guzman went down? Same with Koskie, who can we replace him with? Maybe if Cuddyer got more regular playing time he'd be better but really it's not that huge a difference offensively at 3rd right now so go with what at least gives us defense but at least Koskie is hitting for some power.

I agree that Jones deserves to SIT against lefties. But I've given up breaking his hold over Gardenhire. I swear, I hate Gleeman's guts but I agree with him about that.

Doug got his respect when he produced - a new contract! I think that's what he deserved.

It's a balance. How many runs does Doug save over say, an average first-baseman vs. how many runs does he cost us because he can't hit? Can Morneau be a an average defensive 1st baseman? Will get get us more runs than he gives up? I think these questions are yes.

Locking the Twins into a team that is pitching and defense just because thats the way it's been since the resurgence, is just as useless as painting the team as all sluggers. You need both of course. In the World Series years, the teams were pretty good offensive machines.

Lest you say I'm giving Morneau a chance when I'm axing Doug, it's because Morneau has been up a week. Doug has been offensively absent for about 3 months. Hitting slumps are one thing, but this has gone long beyond that. Fish or cut bait Doug.

All My Pitchers.

Hahahahahaha

Pure Brilliance!

I commend you, bubblemint.

Jealously,
Meghan

That's what I said. Give him a break. Have a little faith.

Doug has proven his value to this team in the past. My comments are not based solely on "personal concerns and attachments."

Gardy spoke of intangibles that the stats don't show. Doug is one of those intangibles on this team. I think trading him would be a bad idea. They can find a way to get Morneau in the lineup and still keep Doug out there most days too.

"Locking the Twins into a team that is pitching and defense just because thats the way it's been since the resurgence, is just as useless as painting the team as all sluggers. You need both of course."
Of course. Which is another reason why trading Doug would be a bad idea.

Morneau has been up a week. Do you think that he'll never have a hitting slump?
Of course he will. If he's lucky, it won't be as prolonged as the one most of our veteran hitters have been in for the last couple of months. But it could be.

"at least Koskie is hitting for some power"
Yes he is..at least he did tonight. First homerun in the month of July. I'm glad to see him do it. I hope it means he's coming around.

Doug is 2nd on the team in walks. He's not a "power" guy, he never has been. Of players with more than 200 at bats, he's 3rd in OBP.

He deserves better than to be tossed aside like dirty dishwater because he's had a rough spell, especially since he's not the only one who has.

Well, Morneau is young and can hit , but Dougie has a "z" in his last name ... and how cool is that?

Dear Ms. Ru and Beloved Readers,

You are more than entitled to your opinion, but so are those people who hold opposing viewpoints, and I must insist that ire be reserved for Bitch Sox and possibly the Yankees. Batgirl is not the DTFC or related message boards, nor does she want to be, and arguments about the levels of sucking of this and that player (or Batgirl's esteemed blogging colleagues) will threaten to destroy her long-held dream. And what happens to a dream deferred, I ask you?

That said, Batgirl agrees with Ms. Mint that baseball is about more than offense, (as judged by the fact that the Twins are in first without having any). But more than that, she agrees with the wise words of Mr./Ms. 'ville: "..but Dougie has a "z" in his last name...and how cool is that?"

Sincerely,
Batgirl

And I'll tell you something else right now. I have the solution... Nobody wants to hear it, but I have it. Not less injuries, more injuries. Get more injuries, and give 'em the right fucking people. Mmm mm, cuz every time you hear about some famous Twin overdosing on injuries, it's always some really talented guy. It's always like Chairman Maurer or Dougie Fresh. You know what I mean!? The people you wanna have overdose on injuries never would! Like Jacque Jones would never fucking injure man, never! You could put him in a room with two tons of injuries. He’d come out a half an hour later, "I’m ready to hit lefties" "Shit, he’s still not injured. Fuck! He’s probably going to start against Mark Buerhle now, God dammit!"

I want Morneau's bat in the lineup nearly every day, yet still I remain a Doug Mientkiewicz fan. (I even know his song by heart.) Fortunately, our fair team plays in the AL, where a team's resident masher doesn't necessarily need to be stashed at 1st base whether he can guard the line, scoop errant throws and blow bubbles all at the same time, or not. Dougie & the Doctor can co-exist on the same team. It just takes some creative platooning & lineup rotations involving 1B/DH and the outfield, if not a trade of a certain Jacque Jones.

Paddy, remember when Jacque got his groin injury? He was still out there as much as he could instead of taking a rest. Injuries won't keep Jacques name in the line-up, maybe if he lost his arms. Maybe. Then again, maybe he would hold the bat in his mouth. ;)

Dear Batgirl,

I decided to continue my conversation with bubblemint privately. I regret any distress you felt when your Sea of Tranquility was disturbed.

Mimiru

Dear Ms. Mint and Megan -

Please count Glove Boy among the members of "Doug's Defence". I have always liked his spunk. I have always liked the pine tar smeared all over. And being Glove Boy, I have, of course, always liked his defense. And defense at first is MUCH more important that defense at third, if I may say so.

But fellow Bat-commentators, this string of comments has begun to make it sound like it was 1982 or something. Come On!!! The Twins are in first place!!! Ahead of the Bitch Sox, which is the bestest thing that can be!!!

I have to agree with you, Glove Boy. The Twins are the healthiest they have been all year. The problems Gardy is having with the line-ups is the best problem he has had all year. He has too many good players to put in too few spots. This is a lot better than too few good players in too many spots. Time to put focus on the sox. They're losing players due to injury. Let's rejoice and pull them down. It's funner than 'fighting' about Doug.

Anyways, throw back jerseys tonight. LOL. That'll be interesting.

Welcome to the club, Glove Boy. I'm a defense kinda girl myself. Love my Luis' glove.

Megan

This is so cool, a philosophical argument about first basemen among people who presumably read books and, uhhhhh, stuff like that.

I am proud to be among y'all, even those with whom I disagree. If Congress ran like this, how much better off would our country be? Of course, I'm feeling a little snippy that the name "Dougie Defence" has been pirated by the DMLF (Doug Mientkiewicz Liberation Front), but it is piracy with which i can live.

In the meantime, the decisions that our Gardy has to make are a heck of a lot better than whether to pray with Lecroy at first base, Cuddyher in right field and "how can I stop getting them to send me these guys Prieto and Bowen. Are they gonna send me Carlos Pulido next?"

To wit, he has six choices for five positions in one chunk of the lineup (the OF, 1B and DH); a back-up middle infielder who's not Denny Hocking as relief for Guzman and Rivas, and a right-handed hitting backup at third base in Cuddyher.

The list of things that can't be relied upon is shrinking: Blanco as a regular fill-in, Lohse every fifth day, Aaron Joe Roafultz in the bullpen, Cordel's health and Dougie's bat.

Enjoy rhe weather.

Dear paddy,
I seem to remember a certain Denis Leary saying something similar about Motley Crue and Cocaine. Anyways, nice reference. I'm goona have to dig out "Cure for Cancer" tonight.
amr