Baseball Weather

Well, at least it looks like it in the pictures. It's nice to see that Spring Training is getting underway.

Still no word on how the Twins are going to fit Luis Ayala on their roster. I'm assuming that Bobby Korecky will be DFA'd, pass through waivers and end up in Rochester. If, by chance, he is lost... oh well.

Rumors still swirl that the Twins are in-play for Joe Crede. I'm not sure what to think at this point. At the right price (what's the right price?), I would be okay with it. It would turn Brendan Harris into the utility guy that Nick Punto will no longer be and will allow Brian Buscher to be a left-handed bat off the bench. Both of those scenarios are desireable. But throwing a lot of money at a guy that may or (more likely) may not hold up is not something that fits the way the Twins roll. Regardless, Crede will sign a 1-yr contract somewhere for a contract that is loaded with incentives. If that happens to be with the Twins, I hope he earns the incentives.

That's all for tonight.

Oh, for the American Idol record, I'm taking Danny Gokey, Anoop and Alexis to move on to the finals. I also think Ricky Braddy will move on as Wildcard.

Twins Update

• The Twins agreed to terms today with RP Matt Guerrier. They split the difference on their arbitration figures and he'll be playing this year for $1.475
• Last week I made a comparison - on a pretty well-known blog -between the first couple of seasons of Delmon Young and the first couple of seasons of everybody's favorite Twin Kirby Puckett. Not everyone thought it was deserved - and it very well might not be - but at least it shows that there still is potential for Young to suceed.

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/aarongleeman/325991758735726083/#338126

• Check out this website (after looking at my comparision). Looks like somebody likes the way I think...
• PS - I was a little off on my Super Bowl Prediction, huh? Oh well.

Super Sunday

Just a few random thoughts on Super Sunday.

• I fully expect the Steelers to capture their second Super Bowl win in the last four years. I'm hoping for an enjoyable game, but I'm not convinced the Cardinals will be able to keep it close for all four quarters. (My prediction: Steelers 31, Cardinals 13. Steelers score 17 unanswered 2nd half points. No one individual shines, so Ben Roethlisberger takes home game MVP.) With all of that being said, I'm rooting for Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals.
• I had a blast watching Georges St. Pierre kick the living crap out of BJ Penn last night. After a close Round 1, GSP had Penn on his back for the next 3 rounds. To Penn's credit, he did whatever he could to not have to tap out. Luckily for him, his manager/trainer/brother wouldn't let him go back out for Round 5. Personally, I think GSP is the best fighter in the UFC right now... of course, I may be bias since he's on my Fantasy UFC team.
• Still consider me "not in favor" of trading Delmon Young. With the bullpen issues and the appearance that the Twins are going to make a trade, all signs point to Young being a likely casualty. I really think his career will take a sucessful turn. As I commented on a different blog, Young's stats through two full seasons almost mirror Kirby Puckett's identically. I don't expect Young to become Kirby (not possible), but it is evidence that players can turn it around in a hurry - and in a big way.

Off for some more pre-game preparations.

Your "Daily Dose"...

***Joe C. of the Star Tribune just reported that the Twins have broke off talks with RP Eric Gagne. It appears that Gagne had just met the Twins asking price (1 yr, $3m+incentives) but the Twins are moving in a different direction - apparently a trade. No word yet what that means, or who is being targeted. Personally, I would have been fine with Gagne for $3m. He would have, in effect, just been keeping the seat warm until Pat Neshek returns in 2010.

So it's hardly been daily. Sometimes it's closer to monthly... like mostly all the time. When it's soooo cold outside its hard to get fired up to write about the Twins. However, TwinsFest seems to get this blood moving again. I was in attendance both Friday night and Saturday and had a pretty good time.

My main objective on Friday night was to hit up the Minor League area for autographs. Last year I went with a few balls to have signed. My plan was to go to the top prospects and have them sign a ball. But they were in a small group, so I had all three guys sign the same ball. I was immediately disappointed, because not all three were considered top prospects (or prospects at all) and I knew that I would have to either display all three or none at all. (Needless to say, two still remain Twins, and only one remains on the Prospect Radar.)

This year I went more prepared. I had no intention of trying to locate an actual baseball card of the prospects because it was either going to be too hard to find, or too expensive to purchase (rarity, not quality). So I went hard to work on locating and downloading pictures from the internet. Anyway, I went armed with a dozen or so decent-looking 4x6 pictures.

I also brought my Seth Stohs Prospect Handbook to have the prospects sign their profile. I was pretty happy when the first person I saw in line was Seth Stohs himself. Those who are wondering, this is Seth from sethspeaks.net. I introduced myself and shot the shit with him for awhile. I had to let him go to chase his daughter who wasn't interested in standing still.

I was excited for all the top prospects, but was especially looking forward to OF Ben Revere, INF Trevor Plouffe and 3B Danny Valencia. It was interesting to see how they interacted with fans. Revere appeared to be nervous; he didn't say much. I congratulated him on a good year and all he mustered was something that sounded like, "hu". Valencia and Plouffe were talking football, so I joined in there conversation. They were discussing where Tim Tebow would be drafted (even though he didn't enter the draft this year) and what position he would play (I expressed that I didn't think he'd play fullback like they were predicting.) Plouffe was especially enjoyable. He showed the picture to the guy next to him (P Anthony Swarzak) and said, "Look, long hair, don't care." Before he signed we talked a little about where the picture was from. He probably would have talked to every one in line for ten minutes, but there wasn't time for that.

Pictured below is Ben Revere.

Saturday we went back to take in the sights. We were able to catch the tail-end of a photo-op and got one taken with former Twin Tony Oliva. He seemed to be having a good time.

We also took the clubhouse tour. It was interesting; we got to sit in the press box, tour the clubhouse and sit in the dugout, but wasn't as cool as I expected it to be. Throughout the whole weekend there is also a sportscard/memorabilia show that is very impressive. I was able to survive the weekend with only purchasing a Joe Mauer Plaque. Although I bought a Beloit Snappers hat and a Snappers shirt for LeAnne. They threw in a Brian Duensing Bobblehead Doll for spending $35 too, so that was alright.


That's all for tonight. I hope to start doing this weekly (at the least) until the players report. So come back next week...

Twins Roster Projection

A few others have posted their projection (and I'm assuming mine isn't all that different), but last week after the Winter Meetings had concluded I went through their roster and made my assumptions. I've concluded - to myself anyway - that the Twins will start the year with a 12-man pitching staff. Players that I think will be on the 25-man roster are highlighted in red. Players who I think would be the next call-up, if mentioned, are in navy.

First, the fielders:
It's a given that Joe Mauer takes a lion's share of the innings behind the plate, with Mike Redmond being the primary back up. I expect to see Redmond catch more innings and get more AB's. His 129 AB's last year was the least since his rookie season. Mauer proved he could stay healthy, and hopefully will do the same this year. I'm hoping that Mauer will be able to do some DH to preserve his knees. If the Twins to decide to carry a 3rd catcher, which is possible, they will be choosing between Drew Butera and Jose Morales. My assumption is that Butera would be the guy that serves as the emergency catcher because he's a better defensive catcher.

Justin Morneau will play 162 games this year if he can stay healthy and the vast majority will come at 1B. It appears that Alexi Casilla is the starting 2B, although I wouldn't be surprised if he also sees time at SS. Little Nicky Punto was re-signed to be the team's starting SS. Although I think he will see a lot of time there, it appears the Twins are still pursuing others at this position. Punto's versatility allows him to play 2B, SS and 3B, which the Twins value. I anticipate that if the Twins add another SS to the roster that Punto becomes the primary 3B.
Right now it looks as though the Twins will platoon Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher at 3B. I don't think anyone out there views this option as perfect, but with the roster that is assembled, it makes sense. Buscher will see more time there because he is left-handed (he could also spell Morneau at 1B), but I anticipated Harris seeing a lot of time as well. The bench will be held down by UTL guy Matt Tolbert. Tolbert started last season hot before cooling down and getting hurt. He will be on the field when a defensive replacement is needed. There are a few guys on the farm that could see time in 2009: Matt Macri (3B/2B) played well for the little time he was up last year, Luke Hughes (?) has a great stick, but had a bad hammy last year and doesn't have a position, Trevor Plouffe (SS) is younger, but appears to have a decent glove, and Alejandro Machado (SS), although not on the 40-man, could fill a hole ala Howie Clark.

Denard Span showed last season that he is the team's leadoff hitter. I imagine he will split time among all three OF spots. Carlos Gomez might be the best defensive CF in baseball. Hopefully he has accepted the fact that he's going to be a #9 hitter. It appears that Michael Cuddyer is going to be the "everyday" RF. Although I'm not giving up on Delmon Young. Jason Kubel is the team's primary DH, although he can lumber around the OF when necessary. I don't see any one of those five spending long stretches on time on the bench and expect them all to play pretty well when given the chance. Jason Pridie will play CF in Rochester and be an injury away. (I also assume that Punto could play OF in a pinch.)

Now, the pitchers:
The rotation appears set (and young): Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins and Nick Blackburn. I like them in that order because it will prevent hitters from seeing a similar pitcher on consecutive days. The bullpen is when things get hairy. I've allowed for seven guys. It's obvious that Joe Nathan, Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain will be 3 of those guys. The other four spots are - in my estimation - up in the air.
Let's look at the candidates:
Boof Bonser - Boof brings some power to the table that not every guy possesses. As he has no options left, I hope he can get it under control, because I think he could be very valuable as a long-reliever/spot starter.
Craig Breslow - Breslow pitched well after coming over from the Indians during the season. Another guy who is out of options, he has value as a LHP.
Philip Humber - Humber came over in the Johan trade as a big name. He ran out of options and is making more money because he signed a Major League Contract out of college. He struggled badly early last season - and was moved to the bullpen - before re-emerging as a starter in Rochester and pitching pretty well.
Jose Mijares - Mijares came onto the scene in a big way last year. After missing the first half of the year with an elbow injury, he made the big leap from AA and became the primary setup guy during the playoff run. I'm hoping for a similar output, but expecting a little less. He is also a LHP.
Jason Jones - Came over from the Yankees in the Rule V draft. Big right hander.
Sleepers: Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak and Bobby Korecky.

My best guess: Breslow is safe because he's LH and out of options. Bonser is safe (for now) because he doesn't have the trade value that Humber does.

That leaves two spots: I think that Mijares and Duensing will battle for a left-handed spot. I think Mijares will hold off Duensing, who has primarily been a starter. In the other race, it will come down to Humber and Jones (and maybe Bonser). I think the Twins will try to move Bonser (and fail) before trying to pass Jones through waivers. If he makes it through and the Twins and Yankees can wourk out a trade, Jones will be sent to Rochester. Leaving Humber in the last spot. It wouldn't shock me if the Twins moved Humber, who is under team control for 6 more years (as opposed to Boof entering arbitration after this year and having 3 years plus 09 of control left). I think would like to see both Humber and Boof stick around, even if that means risking losing Jason Jones.

Regardless, the Twins will probably have 11 guys arbitration eligble next year (as opposed to 3 this year). Which will make for more off-season action. Look for the Twins to make some long-term deals in the middle of January with some core guys to avoid arbitration next year. My early guesses: An extention for Joe Mauer (at least 4 more years), a 5-yr deal for Scott Baker and a 3-yr deal for Franciso Liriano. Of course, these deals could be agreed upon already, but keeping with Twins tradition nothing will be announced until TwinsFest, all to drum up a little excitement.

A few roster moves...

Last time I posted I said that I thought Randy Ruiz's roster spot was in jeopardy. He was released the next day. I also said that I thought Bobby Korecky's roster spot was in jeopardy...

The Twins big "splash" this offseason is the re-signing of SS Nick Punto. I put SS because Gardie said he will start there. As much as I dislike Little Nicky Punto, I was going to be ok with them taking him back. And then I heard what Gardie said... and then I saw the figures (2 years, $8.5 m, option for the 3rd year). It bothers me a little, but I'm sure it will bother me more when the first time he slides head-first into 1st base. Bat 8th and hit over .260 and I'll lay off.

The Twins also acquired RHP Jason Jones from the Yankess in the Rule V Draft. They need to keep him on their active roster or offer him back to the Yankees. He will have a chance to compete for a role in the bullpen. Hey, if the Twins can keep Brian Bass on the active roster for almost an entire season, I see no reason why this guy won't stick. I think this also makes Bonser, Humber and the aforementioned Korecky more expendable.

The Twins lost 3 guys in the Rule V draft. In my opinion, none are worth mentioning.

I fully expect the Twins to make another roster move, possibly tomorrow. I anticipate the Twins clearly a spot on their 40-man (my guess: Korecky) and signing former Astros 3B Ty Wigginton. I can see him signing for 2 years, $16 m. (09: 7m, 10: 8m, 11: option for 9m with a 1m buyout.)

Just remember, you read it hear first...

Not much new...

As you know - or may not - the Hawks weren't able to get it done in the State Semis; but it sure was a fun year.

There isn't much new to report. Apparently the Twins have offered Casey Blake a contract. Details aren't certain, but a 2 year deal with an option for a third, at a little over $6m per year. I go back and forth about what I think about signing him. At this moment, I'm against signing him. I think some combination of Buscher/Harris/Macri/Tolbert/Punto (yeah, Punto) can get it done. It lacks punch offensively, but the whole team did last year and that turned out ok.

Things I would like the team to accomplish this offseason (in order):

• I would like to see a reliever brought in. I don't have a preference who it should be... but the bullpen needs to be upgraded. If Reyes accepts arbitration - though I doubt he will - that will fill the roster.
• Get a left-side infielder - preferably a SS. If JJ Hardy can be had, go get him. The Brewers need a starting pitcher and the Twins have a few (extra). It would probably cost Perkins or Blackburn plus a prospect. That is a reasonable price.
• Unclutter the OF. Some believe that having 5 OFs is a good thing. I don't. Span needs to stay. Gomez needs to stay. Young - yes, Young - needs to stay. That leaves Kubel and Cuddyer. Personally, I think either one is expendable (although I like Kubel's power). If the team could get anything with any value for Cuddyer, I wouldn't mind seeing that trade be made.

I have a feeling that Randy Ruiz won't be on the 40-man by the 1st of January. I also think Bobby Korecky's roster spot is in jeopardy. I think the Twins made a mistake adding Drew Butera (even though he probably would be lost in the Rule 5 draft).

The last thing I've noticed is that the Twins currently have a lot of LHP on their 40-man roster: Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, Craig Breslow, Jose Morales and Brian Duensing. Dennys Reyes could potentially be added to that list. Last year coming in, I believe it was only Perkins and Reyes (with Liriano injured).

I'm curious to see how it's all going to play out.

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.