Posts tagged ‘Metrodome’

Anybody who’s ever watched a White Sox-Twins game in the HHH Metrodome knows what it means to stand on the side of the road as a horrific car crash you were able to predict 20 minutes beforehand unfolds in agonizing slow motion directly in front of you.

Too reactionary?

It’s one game on July 31, but it sure felt like a lot more. It always does when you’re playing the Twins and the type of lunatic scenarios like the one which unfolded in the 7th inning of tonight’s game help spark a meltdown that would make the China Syndrome seem like a minor slip-up. After a series like this you can’t do a whole lot other than just tip the cap and sigh that, no matter what the stakes or situation, the Twins don’t quit. That was evidenced when their manager threw a 100% undiluted hissy fit and got himself thrown from the game over a play in which no out was recorded, no runs were scored, and ultimately the batter in question reached first base anyway.

After stalling the Twins on Wednesday behind a sharp performance from Gavin Floyd and key power hitting from Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez, the Sox were getting exactly what they needed from John Danks heading into the bottom of the 5th inning, and piecing together some timely hits for a 4-0 lead. You may recall that on Tuesday this exact same script was unfolding while left-hander Clayton Richard was on the hill. Thursday’s performance had an identical ending.

The key sequence in tonight’s game came in the bottom half of the 7th inning, with an incorrect “swing” call on Denard Span’s bunt attempt as he was hit by an inside pitch. The misjudgment was all it took to set off the raging mound of fury that is Ron Gardenhire. After futile efforts to plead his case gave way to an incoherent ramble of profanities, he punctuated the performance by tossing his cap in disgust; by this point the Twins faithful were sufficiently motivated to litter their blessed little FieldTurf with caps and balls, triggering Ozzie Guillen’s more primal instincts as his instantly recalled his team to the dugout and got into more than one verbal spat with fans hanging just over the first-base line. Ordinarily I would just sit back and wait for order to be restored in a situation like this. “Both teams are letting off a lot of steam but things will settle back in,” I’d tell myself. Not against the Twins. Not now, and not the seemingly 72 other times in the last five years when s&*t like this has routinely happened to presage a Twin comeback in a game the Sox absolutely had to win. I muttered to nobody in particular, “Minnesota’s gonna score at least 3 runs this inning.”

They scored 4.

The Sox closed back within 7-6 on a Jermaine Dye homer before the weakest links of what is now undeniably a fading bullpen allowed three more runs (aided in no small part by the fact that Nick Swisher cannot play first base. You want to know ultimately why I oppose benching Paul Konerko? The reason was on display tonight with Swish’s attempt to show “range” on the right side of the infield. Does he think he gets extra points for falling down on his rear end after failing to catch the ball?).

It was gonna take a real whopper in tonight’s game to turn the news that the Sox acquired Ken Griffey, Jr. into an afterthought, but (as they always do) the Twins and their voodoo-powered ballpark didn’t disappoint. The Sox can do two things for this point on: dwell on two blown leads in three nights against the Twins, or turn their attention to beating the Royals. I’d love to be able to say confidently what might happen next, but at this point I think everybody knows what a pointless declaration that would be.