A little update...

It's been a while since I've had a chance to say much...

The football team that I help coach started off with a win. We didn't play as well as we're capable of, but the team we beat is picked to win their conference.

The Twins are hanging in there. They are getting to the end of their crazy road trip and have held their own. They are still a half game behind the White Sox, but ESPN's "playoff probability" lists them as 54 to 45 per cent favorites to win their division.

Fantasy Football (as well as the NFL season) is about to get into full swing. I just finished my 4th and final draft. I will keep both of you readers updated as my year progresses.

Cade is 8 weeks today. He's getting so big already and has slept til 6 AM two nights in a row. Marin is still goofy Marin... I'm going to miss them both when I have to go back to school on Tuesday.

I will try to post more frequently.

Quick update

So two-a-days are over, which means I'm actually home. Practice isn't all that bad... but the days sure can be long. Anyway, both kids are sleeping right now, so I thought I'd post a little about the last week.

Since my last post, the Twins have continued to play well. The problem is, so do the White Sox. Through it all, the runner-up in the Central has become a legit contender in the Wild Card Race.

The Twins mysteriously tried to acquire P Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners. (In a local twist, his old high-school baseball coach at Webster is now my boss.) To me, that says that the Twins are concerned about the innings their starters - namely Glen Perkins - need to pitch. I talked about that awile ago, so it should be somewhere in my achieves. Regardless, the acquisition fell through and the team plugs on with five young starters.

Second Baseman Alexi Casilla should be returning to the lineup tonight. To open a roster spot, the Twins outrighted P Brian Bass. It was a little surprising in that the bullpen has been carrying a heavy workload, but my money is on the Twins bringing up Philip Humber in the near future to help alleviate the problem. Humber has been a stud lately; I'm looking forward to him being in the 'pen and possibly the rotation next year.

Carlos Gomez has transitioned to part-time CF/defensive replacement/pinch-runner. I can't say I'm disappointed in that. I am, and will continue to be, a big fan of his... but Denard Span is clearly the better baseball player. Speaking of Span, I'm a pretty big fan of his too.

Casilla's return means Nick Punto doesn't get to bat 2nd anymore.... YES!!! I don't hate Punto as much as I used to... but I'm still hoping that he's not on the team past this season. If he does return, it needs to be on a 1-year contract, because it's obvious to me that he only plays well in contract years.

Well, Cade is awake and I'm sure Marin isn't far behind. It was nice while it lasted :)

Big road trip starts tonight. Let's see how they match up with Baseball's Best.

Twins Update

It was great to see the Twins take 2 of 3 from the Yankees. I thought Delmon Young played especially well, it would just be nice to see the guy crack a smile once in a while. Adam Everett seems to coming around. While I don't think he'll be back next year, it's nice to see him contribute positively. The starting pitching continues to perform. By my accounts, no Twins team has ever had 5 starting pitchers with 10+ wins. (In 1970, 4 starters and 1 reliever accomplished the feat.) It's possible that 5 -including the now-departed Livan Hernandez - could get it done this year.

In minor-league news: It appears the Twins have agreed to terms with 6th round pick BJ Hermsen. I didn't see that coming. If it is true, I would expect Hermsen to debut next year. The deadline to sign picks is tomorrow.

Francisco Liriano will be facing former-Twin Carlos Silva tomorrow.

Twins Beat Yanks

The Twins beat the Yankees last night behind a shutout performance by Glen Perkins. He pitched 8 innings, scattered a few hits, walked 3 and struck out 4. The offense was led by a 2-run HR by Adam Everett.

The White Sox apparently lost, because the Twins are back in the lead in the AL Central. It also appears that Alexi Casilla will be returning in the next week or so.

Posts may become few and far between for these next couple of weeks. Football practice starts this morning and we'll be rolling twice-a-day.

Have a good Tuesday.

Blog Update

UPDATE SUNDAY NIGHT 10:25 - I was going to post today, but after watching what happened, I just don't feel up to it. I am growing more tired of Nick Punto every day. At one point I said "Adam Everett is everything that Nick Punto is supposed to be." And then Everett went and "pulled a Punto" by messing up a throw. By "pulling a Punto" I mean: You're there for defensive reasons and your defense sucks! (At least for one play.) I'm convinced that when Alexi Casilla is ready to return it's going to be Randy Ruiz who is sent down. There is no way that Mike Lamb or Everett get DFA'd. Big series starts tomorrow.

On another note: I just watched the 4x100 swimming relay. Great comeback by the USA. Awesome!

-----

I wasn't able to watch the Twins game last night and I watched the DVR'd version of tonight's game. Either way, it's late and I'm going to bed. I should be able to post tomorrow.

It's too bad about Michael Cuddyer hurting his foot. It doesn't sound like he'll be back this year.

Twins Avoid Sweep

The Twins avoided a sweep by beating the Mariners 7-3 this afternoon.

They get a needed day off tomorrow. The bullpen needs some time to recover.

Three Stars:
Denard Span - 3 for 5, 4 RBI, 3B, SB, game-saving HR-robbery. Without doing any research, I can confidently put this into the "Twins Top 5 Individual Performance of the Year". Offensively, his bases-loaded triple was a game-changer. Defensively, his catch of an Adrian Beltre homerun was a series-changer. It's impossible to put into words what he's done for this team lately.
Brendan Harris - 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, BB. Maybe it's fitting to start calling him Brendan "Doubles Machine" Harris. He's got 23 2B this year, but over a quarter of them have come in the last week. I don't know where he'll play in the future, but I'm confident that he'll be on the roster next year. (Two weeks ago I wasn't.)
Randy Ruiz - 2 for 5, 2 R. Although he hasn't shown much (or any) power, he's been effective.

Watching the last three games has been a bit of a downer. It shouldn't happen that a team is in first place, winning a ball game, yet you're watching it and feeling a sense of doom. That happened every game this week. Luckily, Denard Span saved today's game. The reason is mostly the bullpen. Mix that in with some other issues that are coming up and here is what I think will happen:

The first and biggest issue is with the bullpen. Earlier this year, the team went with 13 pitchers. Maybe it wouldn't be a crazy idea to revisit. It also seems like Michael Cuddyer's return will come in the next week and Alexi Casilla's injury isn't as serious as it was first believed.

My steps to fix the problem:

1. DFA Brian Bass. He would probably clear waivers and remain property of the organization. If he clears he could stay on the 40-man (I think) and pitch at his level in Rochester.
2. Promote LHRP Ricky Barrett. We've seen what happens when Craig Breslow is the only left-handed option in the bullpen and it isn't pretty. Even though Dennys Reyes is back, I still don't think it would be terrible to have another left-handed arm. Plus, Barrett has been very good this year, except for a week in July.
3. I like Randy Ruiz. I don't think he's been in the lineup enough to justify him being here. Unfortunately, when Cuddyer comes back, there won't be room for Ruiz. So Ruiz should be sent down to make room for...
4. The return of Michael Cuddyer. The Twins front office is looking a little silly over the long-term deal they gave Cuddyer in the offseason. I believed at the time it was a very good deal because of the uncertainty of the Twins outfield. But now with Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez and Denard Span - not to mention Jason Kubel - the outfield will be fine. At this point, though, 5 guys for four spots - and you know that Span and Kubel have to play against all right-handers - it leaves one, and possibly two, of the guys on the bench.
5. You can't let young guys rot on the bench. Young has become a guy that needs to be in the lineup and Span has become everything that Gomez was supposed to be. It won't be popular, but in the best interest of the team, and himself, Carlos Gomez should head to Rochester.
6. That opens up a spot on the active roster. I mentioned earlier that the Twins wouldn't be crazy to carry 13 pitchers. One of the big names involved in the Santana trade was Philip Humber. He struggled early and was sent to the bullpen. Since his return to the rotation - more out of necessity than earning it - he has been great. 3 starts, 20 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 16 H, 6 BB, 24 Ks. Now, I'm not calling to add him to the rotation. I do think, however, that he could be a great guy for long-relief, and, since he is out of options after this year, this could be a great audition for a job next year. (Even though I'm pretty sure he'll be on the active roster all year.) So let's give Humber a shot in the bullpen.
7. Alexi Casilla is supposed to get healthy again. I know the popular opinion would be to DFA Adam Everett. But I like the way that Mike Lamb has looked lately and maybe he deserves another shot at 3B. So maybe Brian Buscher could head down to Rochester to make room for Casilla? I'm not 100% on board with that, but at least it's a possibility.

The nice thing with all of these choices is if they don't pan out, they can easily be reversed. (Unless Bass is lost.) I do think that doing these things would add some energy to the team and, besides sending Gomez down, not be too damaging to the egos. When rosters expand on September 1st, I expect guys like Barrett (who'd have to be added to the 40-man), Humber and Matt Macri to all be on the roster. I would just really like to see Gomez gain a little confidence for the stretch run.

In other news - I just stumbled onto the fact that the Twins signed 30th round pick Michael Tonkin. Normally, I don't say much about draft pick signings, but I feel this one can be significant. Tonkin was a highly-regarded high-school senior. (I've seen him ranked 47th in his high-school class). And he was expected to enroll at USC this fall. Generally, highly-ranked high-schoolers that don't seem signable will drop considerably. Teams will take a fliar on them, and they will go unsigned and nothing is lost.

In this case, though, I didn't see it coming. Right after the draft I went through the list of players and marked them as "will sign", "might sign" or "won't sign". So far, only 3 of my 20 "will signs" haven't signed. Of my 19 "might signs", 5 have signed. But of my 13 "won't signs", only Tonkin has signed. (That brings the total to 23 signed draft picks... to my knowledge.) Of course, it probably helped the Twins' case that Michael Tonkin's sister, Blake, is married to DH Jason Kubel. I guess maybe it shouldn't be so shocking...

In other draft-related news, Twins prospect P Shooter Hunt, who entered tonight's game for Beloit with a 0.62 combined ERA, gave up 6 runs (5 earned), 4 hits, 6 walks and only 3 Ks in only 3 1/3 of an inning. Ouch!

Enjoy the day off tomorrow!

Yikes!

I'd prefer to just no talk about last night's game. I was about to go to bed... and I wish I would have. Instead, I remained hopeful of a 5-run 9th. Nope.

Tonight's game pits Scott Baker against semi-former-Twin R.A. Dickey. Dickey signed with the Twins, but was lost in the Rule V draft. Dickey is a knuckleballer, so it should be interesting.

In other news...

Cade turned 4 weeks old on Sunday. He had some pictures done at Target. Enjoy...

First-Place Twins

The Twins completed their series with the Indians by beating them 6-2. Couple that with a White Sox loss to the Royals and the Twins are now in sole possession of first place. Not bad.

Three Stars:
Francisco Liriano - 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K. He wasn't the Liriano of old. He also wasn't the Liriano of April. Today's performance, though, was better than I expected. (If I have time, I'm going to re-watch today's game and comment more thoroughly on Liriano's performance... if I have time.)
Mike Lamb - 1 for 3, 3B, RBI, R. Lamb's defense wasn't great, but he did make a good play on a bad throw. He made up for it with a triple that scored Kubel. He's expensive for a left-handed situational player, but he's been alright lately.
Nick Punto - 1 for 4, 3B, RBI, R. First of all, the head-slide into first base was unnecessary. For that, I would sit him a game. I would call him into my office and say something like this, "Are you an idiot? How many players on our team are hurt because they've slid head-first into bases? I'm not saying don't slide head-first ever, but don't do it just to do it. Take some time - tomorrow's game - to think about what it would be like to hurt yourself unnecessarily as you watch the game from the bench." With that being said, Punto did make some nice defensive plays (and one bad one which cost Harris an error). He also added a nice triple. Of course, the pattern of him batting second is becoming somewhat annoying. BUT, as long as he continues to get on base, I'll zip my lip.

The Twins head to Seattle in first place. The White Sox have tomorrow off and then welcome the Tigers for three and then the Red Sox for four.

I'm hoping for a solid week, at least solid enough that when the Yankees come to town, the Twins have a 2 or 3 game lead.

Let's hope anyway!

Twins beat Indians

The Twins continued their quest for the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Indians on Friday night. At this moment the Twins trail the White Sox (Central) and Red Sox (Wild Card) each by a half game. ESPN also puts their chances at making the playoffs at 49.8%

Three Stars:
Joe Mauer - 1 for 4, 2-run HR. Mauer's 7th HR of the year - his 6th against LHP - was the "hit of the game". It looks like Mauer is developing more power... at least we're hoping he is.
Nick Blackburn - 7 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 2 K. Blackburn continues to get it done. The rotation is definitely going to be a strength for years to come.
Brendan Harris - 2 for 3, RBI, R, 2 2B. Harris continues to be a doubles machine, and he's been on a tear for the last six weeks.

*NOTABLE:
Randy Ruiz picked up his first major-league hit tonight. After calling for his release from Rochester earlier this year, I've come full-circle and have been calling for his promotion the last couple of weeks. It finally came; and you could tell he was nervous. I expect him to continue to be the regular DH against LHP.

I mentioned earlier that the Twins would have five spots open on their 40-man roster when the season concludes. I expect a few others - that will remain nameless - will be taken off of the 40-man. At this point there are handful of guys that I can almost guarantee will be added, therefore safe from the Rule V draft: AAA P's Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak, AAA INF Trevor Plouffe and AA INF Luke Hughes. There are many other players who have a case to be added. This is the closest I've followed the Twins minor leagues, so I'm not going to try to guess any more... but it will continue to be interesting watching what roster moves the Twins make.

Slowey tomorrow and the Franchise on Sunday... should be a great weekend!

Franchise

Many of us are wondering whether or not Francisco Liriano will be making his scheduled start tonight for Rochester. LaVelle doesn't think he will be. Remind yourself that you read it here first: Liriano will start of the Red Wings tonight. So no promotion yet...

UPDATE 5:00 - So I was a little off with Liriano. He will be joining the team and the rotation. Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe are out. Replacing Monroe will be right-handed 1B/DH Randy Ruiz.

If you read my thoughts yesterday, here is what I said:

Craig Monroe will be traded or cut. To fill Monroe's spot, the Twins will call up 1B/DH Randy Ruiz from Rochester. Spot on! The thing with this move is that I had never even heard it before I posted it.

The Twins will fail in their attempt to land a second baseman. Right again!

Francisco Liriano will be promoted and in the rotation. Boof Bonser will be traded. The "8th inning" job that needs to be filled will go to current Twins starter Glen Perkins. Somehow, someway, Livan Hernandez, Mike Lamb and Adam Everett will all remain with the Twins. I was off a little bit. I totally didn't think Hernandez would be let go. It almost made too much sense.

It also appears that Ruiz will be in the starting lineup tonight. He will have to added to the 40-man roster. That is no big deal since they started the day at 38 and gained two more spots. After Ruiz is added, they will be at 37. (I also believe they have 3 other FA's at the end of the year - Punto, Reyes and Everett.) They will have to re-add Neshek to the 40-man, so that gives them 5 extra spots for next year.

More to come...

Twins take series

The Twins closed their series with the Sox by beating them 10-6. It was a game full of excitement and it pulled the Twins (again) within a half game of the division lead.

I'm not going to pick three stars tonight. I could, but the whole offense contributed to the win. The pitching was just good enough to hold on. Here's a look at some of the guys' nights:
Justin Morneau - 1 for 4, 2 R, 3-run HR. Have I mentioned I think he's the MVP?
Joe Mauer - 3 for 4, R, 2 RBI. For as long as I've wanted him in the 2-hole, I'm starting to come around to him batting third.
Jason Kubel - 1 for 5, 3-run HR. I was getting that "strikeout feeling", so I quick told LeAnne, "I'm starting to like Kubel less every game." It worked! Next pitch: 3-run blast. Face it Kubel: You need my support.
Brendan Harris - 2 for 3, 2 2B. I like Harris as a utility-guy.
Delmon Young - 2 for 4, 2B, RBI, R. Still has some brutal at-bats, but I think the page is turning...
Nick Punto - 2 for 5, 2B, RBI, R. Batting him second tonight turned out ok, but seriously...
Carlos Gomez - 1 for 4, R. For as bad offensively as he looks sometimes, at least he's not as bad as...
Adam Everett - 0 for 5. At least he didn't have any errors.
But the line of the night goes too:
Denard Span - 0 for 3 with 3 runs. I guess that must have helped his OBP.

The other news coming out of the Cities is that the Twins are expected to DFA Livan Hernandez. This would make room on the roster and in the rotation for Francisco Liriano. I am actually a little surprised by this report. I expected Brian Bass to be the one moved. If Livan is replaced in the rotation, I figured he's still experienced enough to keep around just in case. Although, I wouldn't jog him in from the bullpen in a close game.

Minor League Update: Shooter Hunt pitched for Beloit tonight. 5 IP, 2 H, 1 unearned run, 5 BB, 9 K. The walk numbers are a little high, but that's been his story. At this rate, if he can gain control he may be competing for a rotation spot by 2010.

We'll see what happens, I guess.

Trade Deadline Today

The trade deadline is this afternoon and I expect the Twins to be active. By active I mean I think they will make some sort of transaction.

These are either rumors I've read or thoughts in my head:

• Francisco Liriano will be promoted and in the rotation.
• Boof Bonser will be traded. The Giants and Rangers are in the running.
• Craig Monroe will be traded or cut. The Rays may be interested.
• The "8th inning" job that needs to be filled will go to current Twins starter Glen Perkins.
• The Twins will fail in their attempt to land a second baseman.
• To fill Monroe's spot, the Twins will call up 1B/DH Randy Ruiz from Rochester.
• Somehow, someway, Livan Hernandez, Mike Lamb and Adam Everett will all remain with the Twins.

2:30 UPDATE: Still no action from the Twins. It appears that Liriano will be promoted sometime - although he is scheduled to start tomorrow for Rochester - so it is unclear whether his promotion will come before or after his start.

Twins prospect INF Luke Hughes was promoted to Rochester to replace injured OF Darnell McDonald. (I posted my thoughts earlier on Seth's work-in-progress blog. LEN3 just reported the promotion at 2 this afternoon. Apparently, I have decent sources.) I think this move suggests an additional move or moves because right now the Rochester roster only has one natural OF (Jason Pridie), one guy that can play OF (Garrett Jones) and an INF that has been playing a lot of OF lately (Howie Clark). Hughes has dabbled in center for New Britain, but is considered more of a 2B/3B player.

I believe that Rochester will have a spot after Liriano's promotion. It would make sense for either OF Dustin Martin and/or 1B/OF Erik Lis to be moved up. As I mentioned earlier, there may also be a spot when and if Randy Ruiz is brought up.

The deadline is less than a half hour away.

4:30 UPDATE: The deadline has come and gone; The Twins didn't make a deal. But hey, this sure beats being a seller like last year...

All signs point to Franciso Liriano being called up. Not sure if that means that Boof Bonser or Brian Bass will be DFA'd.

The big move that went down was centered around the Red Sox and Manny Ramirez, who went to the Dodgers. In return the Red Sox acquired Jason Bay. A deeper look reveals the Red Sox parted ways with Manny, kicked in $7m and gave up two decent prospects... and got Jason Bay in return. Doesn't that seem like a lot? The Pirates made out like thieves, getting four really good prospects, including top 3B Andy LaRoche, who many Twins fan were interested in. Even the Dodgers get Ramirez's salary paid and two draft picks after Manny leaves as a FA. I guess in Boston's mind, getting rid of a headache is worth doing whatever it takes.

Lost in the hoopla of today is the fact that the Twins close their series with the Sox tonight. I expect Scott Baker to get it done.

Twins Win (Game), Lose (Casilla)

The Twins came from behind to beat the Sox 6-5. It was a great win and it pulled the Twins within a half of a game of the White Sox.

Instead of naming Three Stars, I'm going to briefly talk about the other news surrounding the Twins. If you haven't heard, 2B Alexi Casilla was placed on the Disabled List this evening. He injured his thumb sliding into second base last night and apparently has a torn tendon. It's not known whether he'll be able to play again this year or not. In my mind, it's a big loss; but not a loss that can't be overcome. I anticipate Nick Punto will become the everyday second baseman. Punto clearly is not the hitter that Casilla is (so he shouldn't be in the 2-hole), but makes up for it with his defense. Personally, I would like to see Punto batting 9th and Gomez batting 2nd.

The second half of the news is about SS Adam Everett. Everett's rehab assignment expired today, so something had to be done. Initially, the Twins were going to designate him for assignment. He was apparently given his walking papers; he just had 3 days to decide whether he wanted to take a minor-league assignment. (He wouldn't have.) Shortly after he left - thinking his Twins career was over - the Twins called him back and probably had a conversation that went something like this:

"Hey Adam... you know how we cut you today... GOTCHA BITCH!"

Ok, it probably wasn't entirely like that. But I'm assuming that Everett had to agree to come back. With that being said, he should probably just find a piece of bench next to Mike Lamb, because that's where he will be. The only difference is that where Lamb offers limited offense and less defense, Everett can be a solid late-inning defensive replacement.

So where does that leave the roster? In my estimation, when Michael Cuddyer is ready to come back - which might not be for a while yet - Craig Monroe will be heading elsewhere. And then when Casilla, or Matt Tolbert is healthy again, Adam Everett will be re-issued his walking papers.

The other thing that I've been asked about is the trade today between the Angels and Braves that netted the Angels 1B Mark Teixeira. Personally, I think the Angels are getting better, but this trade allowed them to get a jump on free agency. The Angels don't make this trade if they don't think they'll be able to resign Teixeira. They'll throw a boatload of money at him; and the trade price was steep as well.

Why didn't the Twins throw their hat in the ring? Because they didn't have the ammo to pull it off. Casey Kotchman is a pretty good ballplayer and is under the team's control for a couple more years. It would have taken a piece the Twins are probably trying to build around... and with a small market club, there is no way that Teixeira would resign.

Anyway, tomorrow night's game is actually a battle for first-place. The game pits Livan Hernandez against Gavin Floyd. If you remember, Floyd almost no-hit the Twins earlier this year. It should be a good one!

Twins beat Sox

I (think I) have a little bit of time to write about last night's game...

I wasn't able to watch the game live. However, I did DVR it and watch it later last night without knowing the outcome. I like to do this because 1) I usually don't have a lot of time to sit and watch TV and 2) I can fast-forward in between pitches and minimize the amount of time I have to hear Dick 'n Bert.

On an aside, I've determined that ADD was created by the advancement in technology. Growing up, the Twins might have been on TV once a week; now, every game is broadcast and I don't even have to wait for commercials, let alone waiting seven days until the next game is on TV. I'm a pretty patient person - I work with 8 and 9 year olds for nine months out of the year - but even I love being able to fast forward everything. It's not that we have attention-deficit, it's that we usually aren't required to have any sort of attention-span... and when we are, well, we don't know what that's like...

Back to baseball...

Twins beat Sox 7-0. WOO HOO!

Three Stars:
Kevin Slowey - CG, Shutout, 6 H, BB, 5 K. Francisco Who? Slowey was amazing. Loved it.
Denard Span - 1 for 5, 2-run HR to start the scoring. Again, he's here because he's a catalyst and a stud on defense. You can't send him down when Cuddy comes back, can you? (No, you can't. Craig Monroe WILL be sent packing.)
Justin Morneau - 2 for 3, HR, 3 RBI, R. All-Star. Home-Run Derby Champ. Gold-Glove First Baseman. Team MVP. AL MVP. Yup, I really think so.

That's all for today.

Twins win series; gain game on Sox

The Twins completed their series victory today with a win over the Indians. It wasn't exactly pretty, but a win is a win. Couple that with a Tigers victory over the White Sox and the Twins now sit 2.5 games back in the Central Division heading into a 4-game showdown with the ChiSox. Personally, I wouldn't be disappointed with a split, although that wouldn't be progress. However, I expect by the time the Twins leave Kansas City (August 10), they will be on top of the AL Central. You can put that on the board! (The Twins are also 2.5 game back in the Wild Card Race. They trail both the Red Sox and Yankees, and they are currently playing.)

Three Stars - I think today's game is tough to pick!
Nick Blackburn - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K. This is a great line! His performance, on the other hand, wasn't this pretty. Blackburn had to deal with leadoff runners every inning... ok, not every inning, but pretty close. He was able to wiggle his way out of trouble and left the game with only one run allowed and a win staring him in the face. And then Reyes came in... No matter, Blackburn pitched very well. If it weren't for bad luck (or a bad bullpen?) - and thus, a few extra wins - I really think he would be in the running for AL Rookie of the Year. At 7-6, though, it's not gonna happen.
Craig Monroe - 2 for 4, 2B, R. I gonna give Monroe the benefit of the doubt today. On a day where the offense wasn't too visible, Monroe was able to get the ball rolling on a bloop double. This started the 2-run 6th inning and put them back in a position to win the ballgame. For today, Craig, we'll forget that your "specialty" - hitting against left-handed pitchers - you came into the game batting .125 (10 for 80), but just for today!
Denard Span, sorry Justin Morneau - I know, Morneau had a pretty big-deal double in the 9th, but let's talk about Denard Span and his defense! I forget the inning, but Span made a great catch running towards center and leaping/turning to snag a sure double. And then in the bottom of the 8th, a shot to the gap, a sure go-ahead double... wait, here comes SuperSpan. Dare I say it... does Gomez make that catch? He probably does, but holy smokes, what a catch!

Tomorrow, White Sox, 7:05, Slowey, Buehrle, GIDDYUP!

By the way, Francisco Liriano - you may have heard of him - pitched for Rochester. He improved his record to 10-2. 6 IP, 8H/1BB, 4 ER, 9 K. Not the greatest line, but surely skewed by a 3-run HR. With over 100 pitches, and roughly 60% strikes, it's definitely better than it was in April, but still not how it was in 2006. I go back and forth (oscillate, if you will) on whether or not I think it's F-Bomb time. Right now, I'm content with the rotation... but for real, can't Liriano be the 8th inning guy? I don't want to hear how it would screw him up... two months of relief... isn't there a reason for "spring training"?

On another, unrelated note - am I the only person that thinks that Barry Bonds could help somebody?!? Honestly, he seems to be messed up, sure, but he was injured last year and still managed to hit 28 homers. How about a .480 OBP? How about averaging over a walk a game? Mauer leads the team in walks - less than half a game. I'm not saying Kubel is junk - because Kubel would be the most directly affected when it comes to playing time. But let's compare:

Jason Kubel - $1.3 million in '08, .263/.327/.451, 13 HR, 20% K-rate
Barry Bonds - $200,000 (prorated minimum), 07 stats - .276/.480/.565, 28 HR, 16% K-rate

To me, that's more production for less money. And I'm not even going to say anything about how it would positively affect the on-field production of Mauer, Morneau, Young, etc. Off-the-field, locker-room type-stuff, yeah, maybe that wouldn't be great... but Bonds wouldn't need to be a leader... he would just need to take walks and hit HRs, which, I remind you, he's still pretty good at.

I'm not calling for the Twins to sign Bonds... but I really think he's unfairly taken the blame for what was wrong with baseball the last bunch of years. He deserves another shot.

Back to Winning

The Twins won tonight 11-4 behind a 6-run 1st inning. Even though the game lacked the suspense of last night's loss, I definately will take the outcome.

Three Stars:
Brian Buscher - 3 for 5, HR, R, 5 RBI. Buscher's first inning 3-run HR really blew this game open. Maybe this game makes the front office reconsider their quest for a different 3rd baseman...?
Delmon Young - 3 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI. I wish he would hit for something other than singles. But singles are better than outs, so I'll take them. I really hope Young can get and keep his average over .300. Then we'll look for his power numbers to go up.
Denard Span - 1 for 5, R, BB. This has more to do with his patience at the plate than it does with his performance. Span's leadoff walk began a huge inning; would Gomez have taken a walk? Everything is different with Denard leading off.

On a side note, Carlos Gomez left last night's game on a stretcher. He seems to be doing better, but is still very sore. I don't know what's going to happen when all four outfielders are healthy. I do know that with Gomez being dinged up, it's an excuse to shelve him for a while. Maybe a stint on the DL wouldn't be too bad. Gomez to the DL, call up Liriano. When Cuddyer is healthy, DFA Bass. There, it's solved.

I posted previously about the sucess that Shooter Hunt was having in Elizabethton. That sucess earned him a promotion to Beloit. (Sidenote: Hunt and Ben Revere are two of the Twins top prospects and they are both at Beloit. If you could make it there, it would be worth it.) He made his premier at low-A today. He didn't disappoint.

5 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, (1 wild pitch), 9 strikeouts

The knock on Hunt was that he's a little out-of-control. He didn't do anything to show me that's gone, but the 9 Ks is a great start. Is it crazy to think that Fort Myers might not be too far away?

Twins Get Swept

I'm not too discouraged by the sweep that just occured. Yeah, it's disappointing; but only because the Twins couldn't get one win. No one expected more than that. The pitching wasn't great, but the offense was clearly disappointed.

The big news continues to be Francisco Liriano. When is he going to be promoted? Personally, I don't think arbitration has anything to do with him being held down there. I think other things - like his behavior from November 06 to April of 08 - are the things weighing heavier on the Twins mind. With that being said, if Liriano doesn't reach Super-2 status, his contract will be renewed and he will probably make about $420,000 next year. If he were to reach arbitration he would make significantly more. Of the pitchers who were arbitration-eligible last year, Scott Kazmir and Chien Ming-Wang are most comparable to Liriano.

Scott Kazmir avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1 yr, $3.875m contract with the Rays. He has since signed a long-term deal.

Chien Ming-Wang went to arbitration with the Yankees. He requested $4.6m, while the Yanks offered $4m. The Yankees won and Ming-Wang is making $4m this year.

Liriano's case differs in that he missed a whole year, but while he played he was better than either Kazmir or Ming-Wang. I would say $3.5m would be a fair guess - which is $3m more than he would make without arbitration. Regardless, this should be a moot point.

The part that needs to be addressed is getting Liriano up to the big club. It needs to happen. Having just pitched yesterday, he will need his rest, but should be ready by Sunday. In my opinion, it is Nick Blackburn and not Kevin Slowey who needs to be moved to the bullpen.

Nick Blackburn sits at 120 innings this year and is on pace to pitch 192. In my mind, I want him at a number that's more around 150 to 160. Kevin Slowey has only pitched 87.2 innings. He has a lower WHIP and BAA (although his ERA is higher) and is on pace to only pitch 140 innings.

My other concern is with Glen Perkins. He needs to stay in the rotation, but is now at almost 130 innings (combined MLB and AAA). If he stays in the rotation he will finish with around 180 innings. I think that number is too high.

So what's my solution? Slowey gets bumped up to pitch Sunday. Because of the off-day he will stay on 5-days rest. Liriano gets called up and pitches at home on Monday. Blackburn moves to the bullpen. To make room for Liriano, Brian Bass needs to be designated for assignment. For one, his spot on the 40-man roster will be needed in November and for another, Brian Bass will clear waivers and end up in Rochester, where he belongs. As for the the questions with Liriano's contract... well, they can play themselves out, because I doubt Bill Smith has let him affect his decision. (If anything, having to pay Liriano an extra $3m will limit Smith's ability to sign another Mike Lamb.)

I guess we'll see what happens...

Twins Win Big

Tonight's 14-2 victory was very exciting. Being in the Metrodome with 35,000 other people was also quite the time.

Three Stars:
Justin Morneau - 2 for 4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB. All I can say is, "MVP!"
Livan Hernandez - 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K. I think he has earned another start. Oh, and this was his 10th victory.
Delmon Young - 3 for 5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. I was especially excited after Young's 3rd hit, which put him at .300 for the year. His line-out in the 8th dropped him back to .299. (Side note: Delmon absolutely destroyed the ball during BP. In my opinion, more impressive than Josh Hamilton even. And yes, my friend Tim did catch two of his BP Home Runs... in the air.)

According to LaVelle E. Neal III, the Twins will not be trading for Adrian Beltre. Apparently the price is too high. If the price, in fact, would be one of the four youngsters in the rotation, then yes - that is too high.

Neal suggested this afternoon that the Twins "are also on the lookout for bullpen help, an area some people in the organization feel is a greater need. There are a few out there. Jon Rauch of the Nationals is one."

If the name "Jon Rauch" rings a bell, it's probably because I suggested yesterday that the Twins may have interest in him. (I'm not suggesting that the Star Tribune hire me, but I would have broke that news for an earlier edition.)

Also of note (and new to me), Neal believes that four of the Twins top prospects are out for the year: Tyler Robertson, Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson and Deibinson Romero. I will be the first to say that none performed to expecations and all will probably dropped on prospect lists. Ok, I'm probably not the first to say that.

Going for the sweep tomorrow!

Twins open 2nd half with win

The Twins cruised to a 6-0 victory tonight over the Texas Rangers.

Three Stars:
Glen Perkins - 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 98 pitches. With this performance, Perkins's ERA drops to 3.84. That is a pretty encouraging number for a guy that started the year in the AAA rotation and was viewed as a possible reliever. Although the 3 walks, with only 1 strikeout, isn't great; the fact that Perkins was able to hold a big-time offense to 3 hits - and 6 innings of shutout baseball - is a feat in itself. (This is the first game of the year that the Rangers haven't scored, I believe.) I think it should be pointed out that Perkins has never pitched more than 134 innings in a year as a professional. He is at 117.2 right now. So basically, when the calendar turns to August, Perkins will be in unchartered waters when it comes to innings pitched. I don't think it would be crazy for the Twins to limit his innings, especially coming off a shoulder injury, but at 7-2 and cruising, it would be tough to shut him down for any amount of time. Although, I do think the Twins might have a guy that could step in for a start or two...
Delmon Young - 4 for 4, RBI, SB. Don't look now, but D-Young is batting .294. I know the power numbers aren't there, but he's batting 30 points higher than Jason Kubel. And with tonight's game, he will be somewhere are the Top 20 in batting average in the AL. His slugging percentage on the other hand... four singles don't really help that.
Justin Morneau - 1 for 3, 2 R, BB, 2B. No let-down after the All-Star game. Tonight's scoring started after Morneau was able to reach with a double in the 4th. I think Morneau is officially on the radar when it comes to AL MVP.

Livan Hernandez will be on the hill tomorrow night. It is also Delmon Young bobblehead night. Hopefully, I will be able to snag a nodder or two from the "haters" that will be in the stands. I'm still a big fan of the guy; even though he hasn't performed as many of us had hoped. And his defense remains shaky. We'll see what happens with him.

On a side note, I wouldn't mind the Twins looking into making a deal with the Nationals to get Delmon's brother, Dmitri Young. He's relatively cheap ($5m this year and next) and would be a great mentor to little brother. He also still has some ability and could provide the team with a player much like Craig Monroe, only as a guy who could play a little 1B. The Nationals have the worst record in baseball, so they probably wouldn't hesitate to sell. Other guys on their roster that may generate some interest with the Twins:
-SS Cristian Guzman - .312/.341/.423. He's been (by far) the Nationals' best player. But his contract ($4.2m) expires at the end of the year and by trading him, the Nationals guarantee a return.
-RP John Rauch - 2.85 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 17 SV. If the Twins are actually looking for an 8th inning guy, this could be an answer. Rauch's contract is also affordable: $1.2m in '08; $2m in '09; $2.9m option in '10.

Of course, those names are all just curiousity/specualtion, but interesting as well. There is also that other rumor involving a Gold-Glove 3B. But at this point, with the team playing so well, why make a move?

Shooter Hunt

As much fun as it has been to follow Ben Revere's year -- and his assault on .400 -- I think it's now time to tune into the new career of Shooter Hunt.

For those of you who don't know, Hunt was a top prospect but fell to the Twins in the Sandwich Round after a disappointing last half of his collegiate year. Since signing, Hunt has played 3 games in the Rookie Level Appy League with the Elizabethton Twins. Here are his lines:

July 4 - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 6 K
July 11 - 5 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 10 K
July 16 - 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 K

His stats: 0.64 ERA, 0.29 WHIP, 16.7 K/9

People don't just luck out and have numbers like that.

My only question is does he make his next start with low-A Beloit or high-A Fort Myers?