Sunday Sundries

A few thoughts about the goings on over the last week.

Twins traded Go-Go to the Brewers for Hardy? Wow! Did. Not. See. That. Coming.
So the biggest news of the past week was also the biggest surprise. First of all, I'm not used to trades happening before the first week of Post-Baseball is up. And, I figured if any of the Twins' extra outfielders were to be traded, it would've been Delmon.

On paper, I think it's a fair trade -- not really a blockbuster, but ok. Talent for talent; they needed an outfielder, we needed an infielder. I do think Hardy will be a decent player for the Twins, despite the fact he had a crappy season in 2009. And I'm glad that Span is now guaranteed to be the everyday center fielder. I'm also hopeful that Young will improve, knowing that he's the everyday left fielder.

It's a bummer that this ensures that Orlando Cabrera won't be with the Twins any longer. He was great while he was here. And I'll always be grateful to him for his Game 163 heroics. MNTwinsZealot has a nice tribute to him.

But I'm the most sad about losing Go-Go's spark, personality, fun, and fire. He would drive me nuts with his crazy swinging at balls on the ground, but I'd always forgive him because he was so luvable. Erin and Tricia have nice tributes. Godspeed, Speedy Go-Go.

And welcome J.J. Hardy.

k-bro and her mom go shopping - the salesperson win edition
On Friday, Mom and I stopped in the Minnetonka Twins Pro Shop to spend a little of my birthday money (thanks Auntie!) and we had a really nice time. The gal working there was so happy to see us -- probably because it was dead and she likely hadn't had any customers for a while. I do feel bad that I was the one who broke the Gomez news to her, because she seemed really bummed about it. But, otherwise, we had such a nice time talking baseball with her. She was super helpful in locating the items we were interested in. So Mom and I bought matching shirts. I know that sounds lame, but they're really sweet shirts, so we're cute.

But, as we were talking about buying tickets for next season, our new friend gave the info I needed: single-game tickets will go on sale at 5 pm on the Friday of Twins Fest (I can't remember if it's the 22nd or 29th of January -- sorry a quick glance at my Target Field calendar tells me it's January 29th). They'll be available by phone, on line, at the Metrodome (Twins Fest will still be at the Dome), and at the Pro Shops. She did make sure to tell me that it's subject to change and that I should keep checking the Twins website for info. So, I'm thinking about hanging out at the Pro Shop on that day.

k-bro and her mom go shopping - the sale fail edition
Mom and I decided to head to the Twins moving sale Saturday morning. We figured if we showed up at about 10:30, all the people who camped out would be in and we wouldn't have to wait.

Yeah. Riiiiight.

The line was long when we first got there; we were happy that the weather was nice. After waiting for about 20 minutes, I decided to see just how long the line was. So I walked. And I walked. And I walked all the way around the Dome. Yeah, the end of the line was about 20 feet away from the start of the line. I walked so long, Mom got worried. I asked the folks at the start of the line how long they'd been there. An hour and a half.

Forget that. We figured by the time we got in, all the good stuff would be gone anyway. And the irony that the piped in announcement said "a short wait may be required" was not lost on us.

So we went to the mall.

Two more years of Cuddy
So, in the time-suck that was the moving sale line, I learned via Twitter that the Twins exercized their 2011 option on Michael Cuddyer. Everyone standing immediately around me learned it too, since I kind of shouted it.

Yay!

And that's all I have to say about that.

The Newest Twins Commercial
Clever as ever.

Click here.

Who Are These Impostors?

Why is it that as soon as I think that I've got the Twins starting pitchers figured out, they go and do the exact opposite?

Recap:
Tuesday: Twins 6 - Royals 14
Wednesday: Twins 7 - Royals 1
Thursday: Twins 4 - Royals 5

On Tuesday, I sat down to watch the game and figured "oh, it's Nick Blackburn -- this should be a good game." Um, nope. He couldn't get out of the second inning. That's so not like him. Must've been an impostor.

On Wednesday, I sat down to watch the game and figured "ugh, it's Francisco Liriano -- there goes another game." Again, nope. He was brilliant. In fact, he was the ghost of his 2006 self. That's so not like him this season. Must've been an impostor.

Then today, I put on my headphones to listen to the game (I was at work), and figured...well, I didn't know what to think. I've only seen Carl Pavano pitch three times -- twice against the Twins, and then his first start with the Twins. He was very good all those times. So, I guess I figured "ok, it's the Royals, we've got a good chance to take this series." I don't know him well enough to know if this was live or Memorex.

~~~

There was a point in today's game that I want to sound-off about. Well, actually, I want to reply to every one who has already sounded-off about it.

In the bottom of the 6th, both Joe Crede and Mike Redmond walked. Then Nick Punto came to the plate with two on and nobody out. Unfortunately, he failed to complete the sacrifice he was expected to make and was out bunting the third strike. And boy, a lot of people are upset over that. In fact, plenty of folks blame the loss on that at-bat.

Ok, I agree that it was a horrible, awful, downright ugly at-bat. At this point in his career, he should be more than capable of executing a routine sac bunt. He really should work on that. But as nasty as it was, it turned out that it wasn't costly.

If he had executed, there would've been runners at second and third with one out. As it was, it was runners at first and second with one out. Then Denard Span took a base on balls. Assuming that D-Span would've walked regardless of where the baserunners were, Orlando Cabrera comes to the plate with the bases loaded and one out either way. It was his GIDP that was was costly.

Not that all the other guys who left runners in scoring position, and the pitcher who gave up 5 runs, weren't also responsible.

~~~

There were some positives from this series, though. I'm glad that the offense has taken my "4 or more runs" directive to heart, Joey is back in his rightful place atop the batting leader board, and Orlando Cabrera is sporting a very groovy 22-game hitting streak. Oh, and how about Cuddy's arm? Throwing out baserunners at third base from right field is very, very hot.

That Was Deflating

After a nice sweep of the Evil Uglies earlier in the week, the Twins and their momentum deflated pretty quickly, and they became the dustbunnies. Oh, and they're below .500 again.

Recap:
Friday: Twins 5 - Angels 11
Saturday: Twins 6 - Angels 11
Sunday: Twins 4 - Angels 13

(52 - 53, 3rd place, 3 games back)

Ga! It's awful having to type all those double-digit numbers for the opponent. You'd think that scoring four or more runs in a game would at least keep the Twins close. Nope.

So, not only was the entire series a big pthpthpthtphptht, but every little thing was a slow leak. Every time a positive thing happened for the Twins, the good feeling immediately floated away because of a much larger negative thing.

On Friday:

• Joey hits a 3-run homer, Nicky hits an RBI triple, and D-Span hits an RBI double; Blackie and Matty combine to let them tie it up.
• Matty and Nathanator do a nice job keeping it a tie game through the 9th and 10th; Keppel, Crain, and Dickey combine to allow six (!) runs in the top of the 11th, with help from Brendan's tangled feet at the worst possible time.
  

On Saturday:

• Red-Dog and Go-Go hit RBI extra base hits to tie the game; Swarzy allows four singles and three runs in the next half-inning.
• R.A. pitches two nice innings to keep the Twins within two; then starts his third inning of work with a single, a throwing error, a walk, and a homer -- and then Keppel relieves him and quickly gives up two homers.
  

On Sunday:

• D-Span makes an awesome grab for the first out in the 4th; Perkins allows a base-hit to the next batter who eventually scores.
• O-Cab hits his first homer as a Twin; Perkins coughs up 5 runs in the next half-inning.
  

The whole thing felt like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it. It gave me a headache.
~~~

Up next:
An off day, then a road trip through Cleveland.

I don't recommend taking the Indians too lightly. Their team has been devastated by a bunch of trades, so the young guys starting are hungry and fearless -- they have nothing to lose. And, they just took 2 of 3 from the Tigers (and the one they lost was in extra innings).

Is This Supposed to Be My Shannon Stewart?

Ok, I don't literally want Shannon Stewart. I want what Shannon Stewart was for the Twins when they traded for him in mid-2003. I want the guy who fires the team up with his great offense. I want the guy who leads quietly but effectively. I want the guy who brings a winning attitude. I want the guy whose mere presence changes the team's direction toward winner-ville. I want the guy who is the final piece to the World Series puzzle. I want the guy who makes a difference.

Is Orlando Cabrera that guy? I'm trying to remain open-minded, but I'm a bit skeptical. First of all, I didn't think we needed a shortstop. He doesn't seem to be much of an offensive improvement over Brendan Harris, and his defense might be a downgrade.

Secondly, where in the order is he going to hit? We really need someone to bat second, but many of the smart bloggers (you know, all the ones smarter than me -- which would be most of them) are saying that he's not really a two-hole man.

So, with that said, I'll put out the welcome mat for Mr. Cabrera. He says he's excited to come here, so we'll see how it goes. He may just work out ok. I hope so.

All I ask is that he leaves the ugly white shoes back in Oakland.