Jim Thome's Triple

With the Twins down 5-1 to the Tigers, and generally having played abysmally over the last week or so, I was not in a good mood. Jason Kubel had already grounded into two inning-ending double plays and Francisco Liriano had given up four runs in the first inning. After Ramon Santiago's at bat in the fourth inning, I was at my low point. That's because Santiago was 2-2 with a walk, on the back of a bunt single, an infield single, and a terrible walk call. When the batter stays in the box to continue hitting, you know you've made a huge mistake (pitch #5).

That's when Jim Thome made everything feel okay. With Michael Cuddyer on first base, Thome crushed a ball to right-center. It was hit so hard, in fact, you thought he might not make it to second. That's when things got interesting--the ball caromed off the side of the scoreboard and rolled back toward the right field corner.

My immediate thought was: oh my god, Thome might get a triple!! As he lumbered, to put it nicely, around the bases, I considered all the things that would be moving faster. Prince Fielder. Bengie Molina. The guys in World's Strongest Man when they're pulling an 18-wheeler. And, despite all that, he was able to leg out his first triple since 2004. Which couldn't help but put a smile on my face, regardless of the situation.


As I type this, Thome just homered to make it 5-4! I swear, I didn't write anything in the offseason about how Thome was a useless pickup!