Memories, Series Recap, and Other Notes

Yeah, this series could've been uglier, but it wasn't pretty.

Friday's game was nice and smooth on all levels -- Matt Capps even delivered an uninteresting save for smiles all around.

Saturday's game was a fun pitchers' duel -- until a really ugly sixth inning. And the Rays had smiles all around.

Sunday...ugh. Just...ugh!

Notes from the series:

• I think the brief love affair with Clete Thomas may be cooling off. Turn out he strikes out a lot. Like, a lot a lot. So, while hitting a home run in his first game as a Twins was totally crush-worthy, strike outs are a total turn-off. Ew.
• Don't look now, but I think Joe Mauer is healthy. So is Denard Span. They've both played in all 16 games so far this season (along with Josh Willingham and Jamie Carroll).
• Nice job Josh Willingham on his 15-game hitting streak, tying with Kirby Puckett as the longest to start a Twins season. Too bad he couldn't extend it on Sunday. And, as the cliche goes, he can start a new one tomorrow.

~~~
Memories of Kyle Loshe
Francisco Liriano has me remembering back to 2006 -- the days I would shudder whenever Kyle Lohse took the mound for the Twins. I was so relieved when they traded him to the Reds. And, now he's doing all right for himself with St. Louis.

Liriano has a ton of talent, but Twins staff continues to struggle to get through to him -- similar to Lohse.

Sometimes a different coaching staff has success with a guy with a strong head. I'm just sayin.

~~~
Injury Watch
Justin Morneau took a nasty foul off his foot on Wednesday, so the Twins are being extra cautious about having him return to first base. It's probably pretty sore. Hopefully it'll feel better soon.

~~~
Roster Move, Sort Of...
After Luke Hughes was designated for assignment by the Twins last week, we was claimed off waivers by the Oakland A's. Best of luck to him.  

Quick Notes: Jan. 22

Tuesday was the deadline for teams and their arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary numbers. There were three arbitration-eligible players on the Twins roster: Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, and Alexi Casilla.

There were two others at the beginning of the off-season, but Kevin Slowey was traded to the Rockies (and then traded again -- more on that later), and the Twins declined to offer Jose Mijares a contract (and then he signed with the Royals).

The players are under contract for this year, but they're due raises, so they need to agree on the paycheck.

If the numbers are close, then the team and player generally finalize things right away -- Liriano (who will make $5.5 million) and Perkins ($1.55 million) did this. However, the Twins and Casilla felt like they were a little too far apart to settle right away.

Casilla wants $1.75 million, but the Twins are offering $1.065 million. So what next? They'll schedule an arbitration meeting and keep talking. They have all the way up until the start of the meeting, which will probably be scheduled for early to mid February, to meet somewhere in the middle. If they actually do sit down for arbitration, either Casilla's number or the Twins' will be his salary. There is no compromise in arbitration.

From all accounts, everyone wants to avoid arbitration. Both parties will sit before an independent arbitrator (not arbiter; I looked it up) and try to make their cases, which, I imagine, goes something like this:

Player: I'm awesome and I deserve the money.
Team: Weeellll...you're good, but we wouldn't say awesome.
Player: Yeah, but look at all these awesome things I did....
Team: No, but look at all these crappy things you did...
Player: I'm still pretty awesome.
Team: Not awesome.
Player: Yes.
Team: No.

And so forth until they're done, and then the arbitrator will decide one number or the other.

And after it's all done, the team will tell the player he'd better have an awesome year.

~~~

Kevin Slowey, whom the Twins traded to the Rockies early in the off-season, was traded again last week to the Indians. Poor Kevin didn't even make it as a Rockie long enough to go to their fan fest. In fact, I don't even think he's in the country yet after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with R.A. Dickey.

And from the looks of things, the Rockies got a better player in return than the Twins did.

But the Indians were desperate. One of their starting pitchers, the right-hander formerly known as Fausto Carmona, is in some trouble with stolen identity and falsifying his age. He's not likely to get a work visa to come to the US anytime soon.

It's odd; I've always been intrigued by "Fausto Carmona," and, to be honest, a lot of it may have had to do with that magnificent name.

~~~

Joel Zumaya passed his physical. Welcome to my spreadsheet, Joel. Oh, and welcome to Minnesota, too.

~~~

Seth Stohs is a Twins blogger, and is probably the foremost expert outside the Twins organization on the Twins' minor-league system. He's a great supporter of all us Twins bloggers, and he always does great work.

Seth's 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook is now available. I encourage you to buy one -- it's very reasonably priced. He always does a nice job writing it. If you don't really know much about prospects, this is a great resource every time one of those minor-leaguers gets called up. There are stats and such, but he also writes up a brief description of each prospect, so you get some background information every time.

I also encourage you to use his Handbook to become more familiar with the prospects. These guys work hard to move up the ranks, and it's kind of fun to follow their progress. They're the future of the Twins team; we should give them all the encouragement we can, if only from afar.

It's a must have if you're planning on going to Spring Training, or even if you're planning on listening to Spring Training games.

Visit Seth's website for info on getting his Handbook.

Wish List, Part V: Admit That Good-enough Pitching Isn't Good Enough

Why did the San Francisco Giants win the World Series last year? Why are the Tampa Bay Rays making a run at the AL East Wild Card spot?

Pitching.

Good pitching.

And good pitching is something the Twins lack. To be honest, the Twins have been lacking good, reliable, consistent starting pitching since Johan Santana was traded.

Of course, there are Twins with potential to be aces, but for one reason or another, none of them have fulfilled their promise.

Scott Baker probably has the best chance of becoming an ace pitcher, but frankly, he's been on the verge of becoming an ace for six years now. Six...years. He has a hard time staying healthy, and when he is healthy, he has flashes of inconsistency.

Francisco Liriano has the stuff to be an ace, but he doesn't have the head for it. He lacks the confidence he used to have, and he doesn't always make smart pitching decisions. He also seems to have a hard time staying healthy.

Carl Pavano isn't really ace material. He's been a tad more consistent than the others, but he's not performing like he did at the end of 2009 and all of 2010. Or maybe he is, but the sub-par defense behind him is making it harder on him.

Brian Duensing is better suited for the bullpen. Kevin Slowey may be better suited for the bullpen as well, but he doesn't want to go there. Nick Blackburn is only good in May and Game 163.

And on it goes.

The Twins have been getting away with good-enough pitching for the last few years. Ever since the Johan trade, the start of every season has started with the media predicting second or third in the division because "they just don't have the pitching." But, with all those gloom-and-doom predictions, the Twins found ways to squeeze good seasons out of their rotation. Unfortunately, the karma of getting by with a crew of three-, four-, and five-starters has caught up with the them.

Solving the problem, of course, is going to be a lot more difficult than me sitting here wishing for a solution. There isn't exactly a pitcher Genie lamp that Bill Smith rub and out pops an ace. There are a few good free agent pitchers available, but of course the really good ones will be expensive.

I'm in no position to speculate on which free agent or trade candidate the Twins should target. I'm pretty certain that neither Mark Beurhle nor CC Sabathia (if he opts out of his contract) will be getting any calls from the 612 area code. However, Smith and company must -- must -- resist the urge to pull one off the scrap heap (just say no to Livan!).

But if there were a pitcher Genie lamp, I'd wish for C. J. Wilson.

~~~

Since I mentioned Carl Pavano, here's his paper doll:

I find it a curious coincidence that the man who has the most infamous history of being injury-prone (pre-Twins), is the only starting pitcher to not go down at all the in the most infamous year of injury and illness.

He hasn't missed a start, and as far as I recall, he hasn't come out of a game because he got hurt. Although, we all worried about him hurting himself during some of the dugout rages he engaged in this season.

C'mon! Enough Already! (Injury and Illness Update)

Good grief! I don't know what the Twins did to piss off the injury and illness demons, but they had better figure it out and correct it really quickly before things get any more serious.

Let's take inventory, shall we:

We already know that Nick Blackburn's season is over.

Joe Mauer's season is over. He has been diagnosed with "mild" pneumonia, and he needs to rest for two weeks -- which will take up the rest of the season. Mild pneumonia, often called "walking" pneumonia, is the least serious of the pneumonia infections, and it usually doesn't require hospitalization. This is not to say that Joe's not miserable. Pneumonia of any strain is an infection of the lungs. He can probably walk around and do some light activity, but he's got a bad cough and probably has a hard time catching his breath when he runs.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka's season is over. He has a nagging oblique strain that just doesn't seem to be getting better, so the Twins shut him down. According to LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune, the Twins have sent him on his way with instructions for an off-season workout program.

Justin Morneau's season is most likely over. He's still fighting concussion symptoms and now he's got the flu. The concussion symptoms are quite worrisome because they reappeared after he made a somewhat routine play attempt at first base. This article by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports explains just how scary and frustrating Justin's situation is.

Jason Kubel's season is most likely over. The foot injury he suffered earlier in the season has flared up again, and he's in quite a bit of pain. He'll have it looked at more during the off-season.

Denard Span's season might be over. He also can't shake off the concussion symptoms and migraines.

Scott Baker is still on the DL with a forearm strain. He hopes to be able to pitch out of the bullpen soon.

Alexi Casilla is still on the DL with a hamstring strain. He hope to be able to play before the end of the season.

Danny Valencia has the flu.

Ben Revere just got over having the flu.

Brian Duensing just got over having the flu.

Fransico Liriano pitched two innings out of the bullpen on Saturday. So that's good news.

~~~

Since we're talking about injuries and whatnot, here's Michael Cuddyer's paper doll:


Michael Cuddyer missed several games in August due to a sore neck. Then when he came back from that, he was promptly hit in the wrist by a pitch.

He played the day after he was hit by the pitch after verifying with medical staff that playing wouldn't damage it further and all he needed to do would be manage the pain.

This, of course, riled up columnist Jim Souhan, who praised Cuddyer's toughness (kind of omitting the fact that he missed time from the neck the week before) and used him as an example to prove that Joe Mauer is soft. Cuddyer, of course, wasn't able to play particularly well with the sore wrist.

Of course, all that put some bloggers and fans into a small snit (Souhan puts people into snits pretty regularly). A lot of folks (not wrongly so) kind of used him as an example that playing hurt is not necessarily a good option.

Once rosters expanded, Cuddyer missed some time to get the wrist feeling better.

I don't think it mattered too much either way whether he played hurt or not. He played when the team despirately needed warm bodies, and it wasn't like his poor play blocked anyone else from getting a chance. Then, when there were warm bodies, he sat. No problem.

Short Notes

And by "short," I mean: terse, tense, curt, crabby, rude. Which I am. And I'm unapologetic.

Jim Thome has been traded to the Indians for a player to be named later. And, I'm sorry, but I just can't get over being upset about this. I'm not mad at Big Jim at all; I'm mad that it came to this. I hate that the Twins are in a position to shed players, and I especially hate that the Twins put themselves in the position that a great player like Jim Thome simply deserves better.

I am very grateful to have been able to watch him play in a Twins uniform and lead this team for these last two season. It was a real treat to watch him step into the box late in the game and watch the pitcher shake in his boots. Many Twins fans agree that some of the best memories of Target Field's short history involve the great Jim Thome. And no one can take that away from us.

I sincerely wish the very best for Jim. This move might be a harbinger of a farewell tour for him. I hope the Indians' fans love him as much as they did years ago. And I really want him to hit a few more home runs -- I don't even care if they're off the Twins.

~~~

The Twins lost a four-game series to the Orioles. Let me clarify that statement a bit...

The Twins, with sucky pitching and even suckier batting, lost four games in a row at home to a team that has the worst road record in the league (I think that statement is true; I'm in no mood to verify it).

I sincerely hope that after Thursday's game, Gardy flipped every buffet table over, tossed some baseball bats into the showers, and threw a loud, good old-fashioned, Hulk-smash snit...no, outright fury. And then, I hope he made each and every one of the players clean it all up until the clubhouse attendant was satisfied. And then, I hope he made each and every one of the players give the clubhouse a generous tip for his trouble. Because something, anything, has to be done to grab their attention.

These guys are clearly not trying and it's hard to imagine that they even care. I suppose that it's hard to go to work every day knowing that your beginning of the year goals simply won't be met. Baseball is supposed to be filled with failure, but, jeez, not this much failure.

Whatever happened to the Joe DiMaggio philosophy on playing hard? -- "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best."

More of that "my best" stuff, and less of whatever the hell they've been doing the last month.

~~~

DL Report: Another repeat injury.

The Twins have placed Francisco Liriano on the DL with left posterior (back) shoulder strain. He was taken out of Thursday's game after two innings in which he was quite ineffective.

This is probably the same injury he suffered back in May.  However, because Anthony Swarzak, who was scheduled to start Friday's game, had to pitch 3.1 innings on Thursday, and there wasn't anybody else they could plug in for Friday's start, the Twins were probably quick to put Liriano on the DL so they could call someone up right away (run-on sentence much?). Scott Diamond has been recalled to take his place.

Other DL Updates:

Baker is throwing. Casilla is running.

Blackburn only has some swelling in his arm that happens to be pinching a nerve, so some rest should help that.

It's likely that Jason Repko will be activated to replace Thome's spot on the roster, but an official announcement hasn't been made yet.

Joe Mauer was out on Thursday with a stiff neck. He says that he has a hard time looking left and right

Tsuyoshi Nishioka was still out Thursday with a sore back.

On Wednesday, Michael Cuddyer got hit in the wrist by a pitch. It hit so hard, you could hear it on the TV broadcast, and it dropped him immediately. He said later that he was sure it was shattered, but x-rays and an MRI came back negative. He played on Thursday. However, I imagine that it is still sore and it might bother him for a few days.

The Eighth Inning That Froze the Golden Arm

Wow. It's one thing to take series from the Royals and the Indians, but it's quite another to take one from the Rangers. The Rangers are a good team, so this one was downright impressive. Well, except for Friday night's debacle. Perhaps we shouldn't allow Brian Duensing to pitch when it's raining; he never seems to do well in bad weather. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch much of the first three games. But I went to Sunday's game.

Boy, that was a blast. It was pretty exciting as we noticed there were no runs, no hits, and no men left on base for the Rangers as each inning went by. It was a real bummer when the error by Luke Hughes broke up the perfect game; I imagine that no one felt worse about than he did. However, I'm more upset about what caused the break-up of the no-hitter. It was a perfect storm of unfortunate situations and happy craziness that kept him sitting on the bench for almost half an hour between his last pitch of the seventh and his first pitch of eighth innings:

• A very loooong, drawn out version of God Bless America (note to singers everywhere: patriotic songs are to be sung at an appropriate tempo -- the focus is on the country, not how long you can hold each and every note)
• A regular version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame (to be expected and appreciated)
• The Rangers taking the field
• A line drive from Danny Valencia off pitcher Matt Harrison's arm (ow!), which required a visit from Rangers' coaches and trainers
• The removal of Harrison from the game, which required relief pitcher Mark Lowe to take as many warm up pitches as he needed (and, good grief, he did)
• Jason Repko grounding out and moving Danny Valencia to second (as Bert would say, he did his job)
• Rene Rivera reaching on a fielding error by Elvis Andrus, allowing Valencia to score (yay!)
• Matt Tolbert popping up to third
• Ben Revere striking out, but since the pitch was wild, and Benny is the Jet, he reached first base anyway (yay!), which required a coaching visit to the mound
• Alexi Casilla getting a base hit, moving the runners up
• Michael Cuddyer homered, causing me to dance crazily to a Prince song
• Delmon Young singling
• Luke Hughes also singling, requiring yet another pitching change (yawn)
• Danny Valencia stepping in for the second time of the inning and flying out, which was finally the third out, but really the fifth out, what with the errors and all
• Another between half-inning stint
• And finally, the Twins taking the field

All of these things conspired to make Liriano wait 29 minutes 48 seconds on the bench. This extended alone time probably cooled off his arm (it was a bit chilly), but more importantly, it got him out of his groove. It showed right away in the 8th, when he went 3-0 before giving up a single to Adrian Beltre, a wild pitch to Nelson Cruz that moved Beltre over, and a single to Yorvit Torrealba that scored Beltre. He finished the inning, but Alex Burnett finished the game.

There's nothing that could've been done about that eighth inning; it's all baseball. And you certainly don't want to slow down your hitters when they're scoring runs. Plus, this pitching performance was certainly better than the real no-hitter he had earlier in the season.

It's just a shame that it wasn't meant to be.

DL Report: When Thome Goes to DLandia, He Doesn't Go Alone

First, let me start by saying that I don't really mean to stick to doing only DL reports with this blog. I fully intend to keep writing other stuff too. I'm trying to think of clever things to say, but, unfortunately, I'm usually only clever when I'm content. And, well, I'm not feeling terribly content with my baseball team. It'll come back soon enough. I'm sure you understand.

Anyway, on to the paper dolls...

The Twins have placed DH Jim Thome on the 15-day DL with a strained left quad. He tweaked it taking a swing on Wednesday. This after he just returned on May 23 from a DL stint due to an oblique strain. I'm guessing, but could it be that he's still favoring the oblique, so he swung differently, which cascaded to tweaking the leg? Hard to tell.

IF Luke Hughes has been recalled from AAA Rochester to take his place on the roster.

Apparently, Thome's a-scared of DLandia because he never goes alone. Last time, he brought Jason Repko with him. This time, since any old Jason will do, he's bringing Jason Kubel. (Yes, I know, Jason got hurt first. Just go with the joke, ok?)

The Twins have placed OF Jason Kubel in the 15-day DL with a sprained mid-left foot (I know that's worded weird, but that's how it is in the transaction report). It's interesting they used the word "sprained"; this means there is some actual tissue damage. ("Strain" usually means "sore"; "sprain" means "tear.") He hurt it going after a homerun ball in Detroit on Monday. According to the Twins radio broadcast on Wednesday, he said that he hurt it right when he broke to chase the ball, not when he jumped up the wall.

OF Ben Revere has been recalled from AAA Rochester to fill his spot.

However, with two of his power lefty hitters down, Gardy needs another left-handed hitter. So the Twins have purchased the contract of OF Brian Dinkelman. To make room on the 25-man roster, IF Trevor Plouffe has been re-assigned to AAA Rochester, and to make room on the 40-man roster, C Joe Mauer has been added to the 60-day DL. This move means that Mauer won't be eligible to return until June 12. It was highly unlikely that he would've returned before then, so it's just a paperwork move.

Updates:

Joe Mauer caught three innings in an extended spring training game, and went 0-5. He reported feeling fatigued after the game. He'll continue alternating DHing and catching. He's been struggling at the plate against prospect pitching.

Liriano and Perkins are throwing and making progress.

Nishioka is playing in the field in extended spring training, but he's also still struggling at the plate.

Here We Go Again...DL Report

The Twins have placed LHP Francisco Liriano on the DL retroactive to May 23rd with left shoulder inflammation. This doesn't come as too much of a surprise as he's been experiencing soreness since he pulled himself out of Saturday's start. Like I mentioned last time, an MRI showed inflammation and maybe a bit of tendinitis. According to the StarTribune's Joe Christensen, Gardy is hopeful he'll only miss one more start.

Anthony Swarzak took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in a spot start replacing Liriano on Saturday. Swarzak will start in Liriano's place again on Thursday.

The Twins called up RHP Anthony Slama from AAA Rochester to replace him on the roster.

Other transactions:

The Twins activated LHP Jose Mijares off the DL who will be available Monday.

The sent down LHP Dusty Hughes to AAA to make room.

Updates:

Joe Mauer continues to play extended spring training games. Mauer has been DHing rather than catching due to some shoulder soreness. I think I remember reading somewhere that Gardy hinted that maybe they'll send Mauer to AAA at some point to face better pitching, but I don't remember where I saw that.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka has been playing both 2nd base and shortshop in extended spring training. He's eligible to return June 7.

Glen Perkins could begin throwing again in a couple days.

Also watching:

Jason Kubel hurt his left foot trying to bring back a home run by Victor Martinez in Monday's game. X-rays showed no breaks, but he is wearing a boot. He said it's the top of his foot, not the ankle or the toes.

The "Win" Stat

The series against the Angels pretty much sums up everything I hate about the "Win" stat for pitchers. I hate it so much, I usually won't acknowledge it when determining a pitcher's worth and I use stats that pitchers actually have some kind of control over such as WHIP or K/BB rate. (For the record, I do use ERA, even though it's flawed. It generally gives an accurate feel for how well a pitcher does, as long as he pitches enough innings to make it meaningful.) I believe that teams win games; pitchers just guide the team there.

This series paints the ridiculous picture of the Win stat is.

First, let's define the Win: if you're the guy who threw the last pitch before your team took the lead for good, you get a "W". If the other team ties or goes ahead after you come out of the game, you can't get a W. Oh, and if you're a starter, you have to pitch 5 innings or more in order to earn the W, but if you're a reliever, all you need is one pitch -- as long as your timing of that one pitch is good. Getting a Loss is easy -- you cough up the baserunner that turns out to be the go-ahead run, and that go-ahead sticks, you get the L. It's not so easy to get the W; it depends so much on the rest of the team.

Take Scott Baker for example. On Friday, he pitched brilliantly, going seven innings without giving up a run and leaving the game with a 5-run lead. He must have felt pretty good about himself as he sipped his Gatorade in the bottom of the 7th -- as well he should have. And then he probably choked on that Gatorade as he watched Alex Burnett, Dusty Hughes, and Jim Hoey parade through to piss away the lead. Scott Downs, who faced two batters, got the W because he happened to throw the last pitch before the half-inning when the Angels scored their sixth run. Scott went home with a homely "No Decision" for his efforts. That's all he deserved because he couldn't get his bullpen to pitch well.

On Saturday, both Anthony Swarzak and Jered Weaver sparkled as they pitched eight and nine scoreless innings, respectively. However, neither one would take home a W, as they simply couldn't make their teammates score runs. Alex Burnett got it, because he was able to will that winning run in the 10th. Fortunately for Swarzak, his No Decision wasn't as homelys as Baker's because at least his team won. Poor Hisanori Takahashi had to wear the L, and he wasn't even on the mound when the Twins went ahead.

Then Carl Pavano was going for his 100th career W on Sunday. This was his sixth try at that golden stat. Now, to be honest, in some of those tries, he didn't pitch well enough to actually earn that W. However, on Sunday, he probably did, except he just didn't have the ability to make his fielders behind him make routine outs. If he had, well, who knows.... But, instead, he takes home another ugly L.

~~~

DL Report:

The Twins have placed RHP Joe Nathan on the 15-day DL with elbow and forearm soreness. This is probably an expected condition as a result of his Tommy John surgery. The forearm flexor muscle has to be pulled apart during the ligament replacement, and can be easily irritated if the patient works very hard during rehabilitation, which Joe did. An MRI showed only inflammation, and no other damage, so he and the Twins are hopeful that two weeks' rest will do the trick.

(Don't worry, he's not as deformed as this paper doll suggests. I'm at the lake this weekend, and I'm borrowing my nephew's computer. It only has Paint for photo editing, and only one of those lame touch pad things for a mouse. This was way harder to do than it looks. Although the Popeye forearms and lack of wrists are kind of funny.)

The Twins purchased the contract of LHP Chuck James to replace Nathan. In order to make room on the 40-man roster for James, the Twins placed Tsuyoshi Nishioka on the 60-day DL. This transaction is paperwork-only as it does not change the expected return date for Nishioka.

Updates:

Matt Capps experienced some soreness in his forearm earlier in the week, but after resting a couple of days, he's fine.

Jose Mijares has been pitching in extended spring training games and could be activated Monday.

Joe Mauer is continuing to play in extended spring training games and increasing his activity. Gardy says he's doing and feeling well. As far as I know, the super-secret timetable for his return has still not been revealed.

Also watching:

Jim Thome needed a cortisone shot in his right shoulder that he tweaked while swinging hard on Saturday.

Francisco Liriano was pulled from Saturday's start due to shoulder soreness. According to ESPN1500's Phil Mackey, an MRI showed some inflammation and maybe a touch of tendinitis. They'll determine his status on Tuesday after his scheduled bullpen session.

A Little More Fun

Let me ask you something...which was more fun: the last three games, or the previous nine?

Ok, yes, obviously winning is more fun. However, I'm a little scared to admit that maybe the Twins turned a corner and are finally becoming the Twins we all know and love. Of course, I'd love nothing more to say that with all the confidence I have, but I'm not there yet. I mostly don't want to jinx it.

But there were things about the last few games I really liked seeing. Justin seems to be swinging the bat better. How much did you love that two-run homerun on Thursday? Off a lefty even? And he's swinging more like Justin, and less like a little leaguer.

Liriano looked good on Tuesday. It seems like every time we're all ready to give up on him and send him to the bullpen (or worse, send him packing), he pulls out a gem and makes us forgive him. I like that Francisco; the icky Francisco can stay away. He admitted that his shoulder (elbow?) had been bothering him, but he's feeling better now.

Pavano looked better on Wednesday than he had been. He still didn't really strike out very many, but he got outs when he needed them. So hopefully he's back to being the good Carl.

And how awesome was Nick Blackburn? More of the same, please.


It's only three games, but it's great how a little winning streak improves our attitudes.

Inter-league play next!

~~~

Injury update:

Jason Repko and Jim Thome might be able to re-join the Twins in time for their next homestand on Monday. Thome has had a number of plate appearances in extended spring training, and will have a few more this weekend. Repko is with the Rochester Red Wings.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is suffering some pain as his fractured fibula, which is to be expected. He's working through it, and as a few days away from playing in games.

Jose Mijares had an MRI on his sore elbow and it showed no structural damage. He should be able to start throwing again soon.

And, Joe Mauer (remember him?), has flown to Florida and is working out there. LaVelle Neil from the StarTribune reports that his elbow and shoulder are feeling better. Which is odd, because he was put on the DL because his legs were weak. Apparently, according to an article by Jim Souhan of the StarTribune, the problem isn't that his legs are hurt so much, but rather it's one leg overcompensating for the other one that had knee surgery and then both legs overcompensating for a sore shoulder. Or something like that. I don't know; I don't think Joe knows. And, of course, there's no timetable for his return. Maybe that could be his mob name: Joey "No Timetable" Mauer.

Read and Follow Directions...

I don't have to tell you, it's not easy being a Twins fan lately. I'm sure, like me, you're being pounced on by anyone who knows you're a Twins fan demanding to know what's wrong. Everyone has questions. Everyone has answers too. Everyone wants to tell the Twins what to do and how to do it.

Well, it just so happens that I write directions for a living. I'm very good at telling people what to do. So, it's come to the point where my work life must step in to my baseball-fan life.

Instructions for fixing the Minnesota Twins. Please note that the following instructions are to be used under the supervision of trained professionals (not really, I just have to say that all the time).

1. Inspect the training staff: Of the six guys still on, or recently off, the disabled list, Nishioka is the only one whose injury doesn't seem to be from a lack of proper training or conditioning. Two oblique strains, a case of shoulder bursitis, a quad strain, and a mysterious bi-lateral leg weakness all seem to me to be potentially preventable. It's true that the cold, damp weather all over the country isn't helping matters any -- many teams are suffering through a lot of injuries (including both my fantasy teams). However, this isn't the first year that people have questioned the effectiveness of the Twins' training staff; last season, Pat Neshek openly criticized them for mis-diagnosing his hand injury. Improve the training and conditioning techniques or get a staff that can.
2. Review Justin Morneau: Gardy needs to sit down with Justin and have a heart-to-heart discussion with him and really figure out what's wrong. His offensive numbers are horrible (and well-documented), but he just looks over-matched in the batter's box. He swings and misses at pitches on the outer half of the plate -- pitches he used to hit, or at least foul off. Additionally, his defense is nowhere near what fans have come to expect. He simply doesn't make the nice scoops he usually does. He's thin, and weak, and clearly not himself. I commend him for trying to tough it out, but he's not really helping the team much in this condition. Unfortunately, due to the diminished capacity of the team as a whole right now, there isn't much anyone can do about it; he's a warm body and those are hard to come by. However, as soon as Young and Thome return from the DL, perhaps the Twins should consider giving Justin some more rest. A lot more rest. Like 15 days of rest. Oh, and just for kicks, check his vision and see if his LASIK procedure didn't take a step or two backwards.
3. Get on Carl Pavano's back: I know Carl's a veteran. I know the Twins signed him to a two-year deal. I know he's supposed to be the leader of the rotation. He stinks lately. He knows he stinks lately. He admits he stinks lately. Not only is his stinky pitching putting too much pressure on the hitters, but it's also putting too much pressure on the other pitchers. Granted, he's the type of pitcher who really needs a good defense behind him, and he doesn't really have that. However, he's walking too many guys and he isn't striking out anybody. Gardy and Anderson need to kick him in the pants.
4. Get off Francisco Liriano's back: It's pretty well known that Liriano can be a bit of a head case. It's also pretty well known that Liriano's real talent is as a strikeout pitcher. In order to be effective, he has to trust his stuff. But since the bullpen is so lame, the Twins want him to get outs using fewer pitches so that he can go deeper into games -- i.e. "pitch to contact." However, this strategy simply doesn't seem to work for him. It's as if the Twins are trying to force him into a mold that he simply doesn't fit into. They need to just leave him be, let him pitch the way he wants to pitch, build his confidence, and let him go. I think that if they let him strike out batters, he'll wind up walking fewer.
5. Figure out the shortstop position: Shortstop is considered the leader of the infield. Alexi Casilla has proven he's not leadership material. The Twins have now handed the job to Trevor Plouffe, but he's hurt and may land on the DL. Even if he's ok, he should have a pretty short leash -- I just don't think he's quite ready for prime time. It's time for Bill Smith to pick up the phone and get a decent rent-a-shortstop. Strength in the field, and in the batter's box, will go far to picking up this team.

~~~

DL Report:

Delmon Young and Jim Thome are headed to Florida to rehab. Thome had an MRI and it indicated that there was only a slight strain in a back muscle. He should be able to re-join the team as soon as he's eligible. Young needs a couple minor-league games, and he should be ready to come back.

Nishioka is also in Florida, rehabbing his broken fibula. He's working with Paul Molitor on fielding drills.

Also watching: Trevor Plouffe. He tweaked or pulled a hammy on Sunday. He's due to have an MRI on Tuesday to see if it's serious. 

Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press has all the injury details.

As you know, Kevin Slowey is off the DL. Dusty Hughes was sent down to AAA to make room.

And, finally, Joe Mauer is getting stronger all the time. But, sing it with me -- you know the words, ♪♫ there's no timetable for his return ♪♫.

Beers All Around!

I have piece about Fransico Liriano half written. It talks about his struggles, and how he walks everybody, and how he and the coaches can't line up, blah, blah, blah. Well, all that may still be true, but I don't care -- not tonight. I'm shelving it because Liriano just no-hit the White Sox. It's Francisco's day, but for all the right reasons!

I've always been a huge fan of wonderful pitching, but when it's my guy, it's an amazing event. I can't even tell you how nervous I was for those last two innings; I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep tonight. Add to it the pressure that was a 1-0 game. Plus, that was some great defense behind him to save the game. Impressive!

Sure, he had six walks. Sure, it took 123 pitches. Sure, the White Sox are pretty sucky right now. None of that matters. Fransico threw a freaking no-hitter, and he and fans should celebrate! And this comes at a time when the team and its fans were at their lowest. Call it a bit of a stimulus package. Hopefully all these good vibes carry forward.

As fine as Frankie did, it takes a whole-team effort to pull off something this special: Butera for calling a good game and helping Frankie keep his wits, Denard Span for making a nice play in the outfield, Danny Valencia for making an incredible play, Justin Morneau for making a couple nice outs, Jason Kubel for hitting that homer for the only run Frankie needed...and so on.

So, Minnesota Twins, I'd like to buy you all a beer.

~~~

Unfortunately, there's some DL news too. Jim Thome is on the DL with an oblique strain. Sounds like Jason Repko will be placed on it too with a strained quad (I think). I saw on Twitter that Trevor Plouffe and Ben Revere are being recalled from AAA. Paper dolls and more info tomorrow.

Royals at Twins: Uptight

Recap:
Tuesday: Royals 3 - Twins 4 (10)
Wednesday: Royals 10 - Twins 5

Record: 4-7

Everybody is uptight. And the more the Twins lose, the more uptight they're going to get. It's time to relax and have some fun.

Well, the hitting is starting to come around. Cuddy had a great night at the plate on Tuesday by going 4-4. And on Wednesday, the Twins finally scored a run in the first inning. So that's something.

I'm getting worried about the starting pitching, and I'm really getting annoyed with the defense.

I don't really expect Duensing to repeat the fantastic season he had last year to the letter. But I gotta admit that I'm worried that he's overmatched, or at least he's feeling that way. I think that Gardy's naming him a starter so early in spring training may have put a lot of pressure on him. He's uptight; hopefully he can settle down and find a comfortable groove.

I'm more worried about Liriano. You can practically see how uptight he is. We all know how very good he can be -- it was just last year. But now he's tentative and meek. Gardy has been saying that he wants Frankie to worry less about strikeouts, and try pitching more to contact so he can go deeper into games. Which is fine, right up until his defense lets him down, and then he can't figure out what to do. At that point, all that "contact" turns into a bunch of "hits" and consequently, "runs." It's fairly well known that he's easily rattled -- "headcase" is a term that's thrown around a lot. Clearly he and Rick Anderson are tinkering, and he's still figuring out what he's trying to do. But asking him to pitch to contact when he has fill-ins for middle-infielders might be asking a bit much for someone who seems to get wigged out easily. Gardy needs to just let him pitch how he wants to pitch and Frankie just needs to learn how to relax and stop thinking. After all, in the wise words of Crash Davis, "don't think; it can only hurt the ball club."

Poor Frankie did have a lot of bad luck on Wednesday. With Tolbert playing short and Cuddyer playing second, he kind of didn't have much of a chance. There were a couple of plays I thought they should've made. I'm willing to cut Cuddy some slack -- he's truly filling in. But Tolbert was playing uptight and should know better -- he airmailed a ball in the first that probably unsettled Liriano from the get-go. Valencia also had a couple diving attempts both Tuesday and Wednesday that I thought maybe he should've made. Maybe I'm being a little tough on them, but I miss the days when the defense was excellent.

Anyway, I'm getting too uptight too. I need to relax.

~~~

I went to Wednesday's game. I got a chance to sit in those once-in-a-lifetime-you-can't-turn-them-down-because-you'll-never-get-a-chance-to-sit-there-again-ever seats. I also brought my nice camera. Needless to say, I may have taken a picture or two.

Twins at Blue Jays: Working out the Rust

Recap:
Friday: Twins a little - Blue Jays a lot (3-13)
Saturday: Twins 1 - Blue Jays 6
Sunday: Twins 4 - Blue Jays 3

Record: 1-2

 

There was a lot of rust for the Twins this series, but Sunday's win kept it from being a complete clunker.

Forgive me, I'm experiencing some rustiness. I haven't done a series recap in so long, I had to look up posts from a year ago to remember how.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who has some rust to work out. Pavano, Manship, D. Hughes looked very rusty. Liriano didn't look so sharp either.

It's hard to tell if Nishioka is suffering from rust or jitters. He's made some mistakes at second; some of them costly. I'm willing to give him a whole bunch of slack because he's got a lot to learn very quickly, but, man, some of those mental mistakes are hard to watch. I hope he's the type who learns from his mistakes and works hard to avoid them in the future. Anyway, I don't mean to be terribly critical; it's only been three games. I'm sure he'll settle in soon and be just fine.

Of course, the owner of the most rust was Joe Nathan. And understandably so. That save, which is his first since Oct. 3, 2009, was probably the most difficult, nerve-racking, excruciating, stressful, heart-thumping, nail-biting, prayer-inducing, hair-pulling, oh-my-god-Joe-just-get-him-out pleading performance I've ever witnessed. It very well could be a good thing it was that way. He had to have been extremely nervous, excited, and scared. And, though it wasn't a pretty save, he certainly earned it. It must have been a great boost to his confidence to face that challenge, stumble but not fall, and finally complete it mostly intact. All with Gardy believing in him enough to let him get that far (although you know he was done after that last batter). I'm sure Joe will be better next time. The only concern now is how his elbow feels after throwing that many pitches. Let's hope for the best, of course.

Another guy with more rust that the others is Justin Morneau. This series takes him back to the place where he suffered his season-ending concussion last year. He played in all three games, but DHed on Sunday. That's great progress. Unfortunately, he didn't his first hit until Sunday -- a broken-bat infield single. That's kind of amusing.

~~~

High Fives:

I've never really done this kind of thing before, but I may as well give some credit where credit is due. As long as the Twins aren't swept in a series, I'll try to figure out three players (or more, if I'm so inclined) who deserve a high-five.

1. Nick Blackburn. He was outstanding on Sunday. He pitched in and out with movement, and when the Jays made contact, it was weak. Well, except for Jose Bautista, but Nick's not going to be the last guy to give up a homerun to that guy.

2. Denard Span. He had a game-saving catch and a moonshot on Sunday. Plus, he's currently leading the team in batting.

3. Joe Nathan. Well, he earned a save. And by that, I mean, he really earned a save. Oh, if you watched the game on TV, did you notice how sweaty he was during the post-game interview? I guess he was a bit anxious.

Quick Notes: Feb. 20, 2011

Well, it's here...it's finally here. The end of the long dark offseason is finally here! Pitchers and catchers have reported to Florida, and the position players continue streaming in. Sure, they're not really playing games. Sure, they won't start playing games for another two weeks. Sure, those games in two weeks won't count. Sure, games that actually count won't start for another six weeks or so. But, yup, guys whom I admire are doing baseball-related activities in the warm sun. It's the beginning of the end.

It's great to see the accounts and pictures from the beat writers who are there. It's interesting to see how Nishioka's getting along. I guess he grunts as he swings a bat, and he fields grounders one-handed. But it's most interesting hearing about the Japanese media circus that's following him. I'm curious if that'll keep up and whether all these reporters will be an intrusion to the other players. It'll be different, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

~~~

The Twins avoided arbitration with all their eligible players by coming to terms with both Francisco Liriano and Delmon Young recently.

Liriano signed a one-year deal for $4.3 million, which is the halfway point between his and the team's offers. Joe Christensen of the StarTribune indicated that the Twins aren't necessarily interested in signing him long-term. This news started a tempest in the Twitter and blogging worlds. One would've thought he was about to be traded to the White Sox.

I'm going out on a limb and state that I don't think the Twins will trade him in the near future; he's still under team control for a couple more years. With that being said, I'm also sure that if Bill Smith gets a phone call, he'll answer it. I'm also going out on a limb and state that I don't think that he and the Twins are a perfect match. Yes, I know he's immensely talented, but I just get the feeling that he and the front office personnel don't always see eye-to-eye. For example, he just recently received an MRI for a sore shoulder without contacting the Twins first. This after he pretty much got his Tommy John surgery behind the Twins' back. And now, LaVelle Neil reports that Liriano admitted that he didn't do his proper conditioning this off-season. This kind of lack of communication and stubbornness is a sure recipe for getting traded (see: Garza, Matt). So, while I hope they don't trade him, I wouldn't be surprised if they do. If they do, however, I certainly hope they get a haul for him; he's worth it.

Delmon signed for one year at $5.375, which is less than the halfway point of his and the Twins' numbers. I find it interesting that he accepted less. It makes me wonder if perhaps there were some incentives included. Or, and I'm just throwing this out there, perhaps there was a promise of further negotiations once spring training starts for a long-term contract. Or, maybe he was tired of the whole thing, said "screw it," and signed so he could worry about getting ready for the season.

I tell ya', we're all getting ready for the season.

Twins at Tigers -- Expecting Excellence (and Not Always Getting It)

Recap:
Tuesday -- Twins 2 - Tigers 0
Wednesday -- Twins 6 - Tigers 11 (!)
Thursday -- Twins 0 - Tigers 3

Twins drop series 1-2 (first dropped series and first two-game losing streak all season)

Record: 14 - 8

~~~

Generally speaking, sports fans expect excellence from their teams. If not, then what's the point? Passion is part of the bargain. The word "fan" itself proves it; it's short for "fanatic." Therefore, dispassionate people can't really be called "fans"; if they like sports at all, they're merely admirers or connoisseurs, right?

So, what's my point? Well, part of the passion-pact is that we fans expect excellence from our team. Yeah, pretty much all the time. It's the deal -- you play well, I'll be happy; you suck, I'll be unhappy. Simple. All I ask is that everyone does his job -- excellently.

~~~

Fransisco Liriano
So, how excellent was he on Tuesday? Wow. And the best part? It's still kind of unexpected -- we're still waiting for last year's version of Frankie to show himself. But, for the third start in a row, he sparkled. It was a work of art.

Seth Stohs asked on his Facebook page something like (I'm paraphrasing because I'm too lazy to go back and look it up) "can we finally say the 2006 version of Liriano is back?" To which I replied something like (paraphrasing again; lazy again, er, still) "Who's to say we even want the 2006 version of Liriano? That guy wasn't a smart pitcher and because he always wanted to overpower batters, he hurt himself. The 2010 version is a much better, and much smarter pitcher. It looks like he trusts his stuff, and his catcher, much more. He seems calmer and more confident. Leave the 2006 version in the past. I like the 2010 version better. I hope he can keep it up."

In fact, Eric Karabell on ESPN's Baseball Today podcast predicted Liriano will be the AL Cy Young Award winner. Now, I'm not quite ready to go that far, but I'm sure having fun watching him.

~~~

Denard Span
Sometimes a man displays excellence off the field. And sometimes a man displays his excellence in how he responds to a less-than-excellent moment. On Tuesday, Denard lost his cool because the umpire, Paul Emmel, was not doing his job excellently. Denard argued balls and strikes and then threw his bat in frustration. And because of it, he was ejected from the game, which lead to some interesting defensive replacements.

Now, many passionate Twins fans were quick to forgive Span; Emmel's strike zone was ridiculous. But it was still a bad moment for Denard, and he wasn't proud of it. But the excellent part came after the game: he apologized to the umpiring crew, issued an apology to the press, and apologized on Twitter. He was perfectly contrite and he promised to try to avoid doing that again.

~~~

Luke Hughes
It didn't take long for him to display a nice little outburst of excellence. In his first Major League at bat, he deposited a fastball into the right-field seats. The last time a Twin homered in his first Major League at bat was Andre David in 1984. Excellent!

~~~

Jesse Crain
So, there's a reason a lot of people call Jesse "Crain-wreck." I know he can be excellent. I've seen him be excellent. But when he's not excellent, he's a looooong way away from excellent. And Wednesday, he and excellent were miles apart.

I know he was trotted out in a difficult situation. I know that Scott Baker and Pat Neshek weren't exactly excellent themselves. But, damn, watching Crain was just plain painful.

~~~

Carl Pavano
He was excellent on Thursday. Too bad he wasn't excellent enough, and Dontrelle Willis (of all people) was excellenter. And too bad the Twins bats weren't excellent at all.

~~~

Umpires
For the second series in a row, and third time in a week, the umpires kind of took the concept of excellence and sent it to the showers.

• On Saturday (at Kansas City), umpire Greg Gibson called Scott Podsednik out at 2nd to end the game when JJ Hardy bobbled the ball and threw to Orlando Hudson clearly after Podsednik reached. A game should never be decided on such a horrible call.
• On Tuesday, umpire Paul Emmel, who early in the game enforced a reasonable strike zone, suddenly started calling very obvious outside balls as strikes. He was awfully quick to eject Span for arguing. Now there will always be bad balls/strikes calls, but actually changing the entire strike zone in the middle of the game is not cool.
• On Wednesday, umpire Paul Emmel (again!) called an awesome running catch and subsequent drop by Denard Span a no-catch. Span clearly took about three steps with the ball in his glove before he dropped it as he exchanged it to his throwing hand. Emmel defended his call by quoting the part of the rule that says the player should "hold the ball long enough to prove that he has complete control." Umm. Three steps is a pretty long time. But ultimately, the umpires admitted that they lost sight of the play. Again, not cool. And I'm absolutely convinced that it changed the game against the Twins.

I know umpiring is a human job, and humans make mistakes. But this recent lack of excellence from umpires it getting almost strange. It's also generating a lot of buzz regarding expanding instant replay in baseball. I tweeted my response to that idea:

Unfortunately, the umpires may leave us no choice. It may come to be that instant replay is the lesser of two evils. Sad, really. It's time that Major League Baseball demands more excellence from all umpires.

Indians at Twins - Gems

Recap:
Tuesday: Indians 1 - Twins 5
Wednesday: Indians 0 - Twins 6
Thursday: Indians 8 - Twins 1

Twins take series 2-1: That's FIVE consecutive series.

~~~

So you've probably heard the old saying "chicks dig the long ball." Well, not this chick. This chick digs wonderful, slow, knee-buckling curves and devastating, hard sliders. Ok, we're talking about baseball. Get your mind out of the gutter. Sheesh.

But anyway, I love, love, love excellent pitching. And it was a treat to see Slowey and Liriano pitch such terrific gems. I'll admit, Baker pitched a lump of coal, but fortunately for me, I was too busy at work to pay much attention.

Before Slowey's start on Tuesday, a lot of folks were worried because he struggled during his previous start -- it just seemed like he just wasn't clicking with Joe Mauer. But all those concerns were erased when he dialed in and mowed down the Indians' batters. He was confident and precise. Just amazing.

And before Liriano's start on Wednesday, a game I went to by the way, a lot of folks were concerned because, well, because he's Francisco Liriano, and he pitched well in his previous start and we always wonder if he can be good twice in a row. Well, he can and he did. It was a lot of fun watching him strike guys out and make them swing funny. What was even more impressive was that he didn't freak out when men got on base; he was able to wiggle out of his jams and come back out strong the next inning.

As far as Scotty's lump, well, let's hope he's got that out of his system and pitches a gem next time. I think he would have had a better day if he hadn't started out with a couple tough-luck calls.

~~~

Oh, and a side-note from Wednesday's game. When Mike Redmond came to the plate, I gave him a standing ovation. I was the only one in my section to do so, but I didn't care. I miss him, and it was good to see him. And, in good old Mike Redmond form, he got beat up by a few foul tips -- just like old times.

Seeing him again made me kind of wonder why I'm not reading as many personal-interest, fun stories about the players. Is it because everyone's writing so much about Target Field right now? Is it because it's still early in the season and no one's doing anything interesting yet? Or is it because the funniest, funnest, goofiest guy on the team isn't on the team any more? I don't know. But I sure wish someone could fill his shoes in that regard.

Hmm...

A few notes on a couple of things that kind of made me scratch my head.

The Twins signed all eight of their arbitration eligible players
This is good. I've heard that neither the teams nor the players want to go into the arbitration room. The team tells the player how awful he is so that they don't have to pay him as much money as he wants, and then when it's all done, they have to convince him how much the love him. Can't be good for anyone.

So it's great that everyone (JJ Hardy, Carl Pavano, Delmon Young, Pat Neshek, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Francisco Liriano all for one-year contracts and Brendan Harris for a two-year contract) signed so quickly -- all done on the very day when figures were exchanged. But it's curious that it was indeed that fast. The Twins and one other team (I forget which, Dodgers maybe?) were the only ones that had that many arbitration eligibles. So it would have been understandable if a few of them had taken a day or two.

Now, I haven't really followed Twins contract activities in the past, so I'm not sure about what to think of this. But I seem to remember when Cuddyer was arbitration-eligible, he and the Twins came to a "hand on the doorknob to the mediator's room" agreement.

So it seems odd to me that they'd knock off all eight in one swell foop. What does it mean? Are they opening the wallet freely? Are they just trying to get it over with and just saying "whatever" to whatever the players wanted? Were all the players extraordinarily reasonable with their demands? Huh?

The Twins are seriously interested in signing Jim Thome
Um, ok. The White Sox announced earlier this evening that they're not interested in him, so speculation is that he's deciding between the Twins and the Rays.

Now Thome's great. He's the kind of player you hate, only because he always beats you. I always like him a lot better when he's in the National League.

He's been described as the nicest guy in baseball. And that came from Mike Redmond -- after Thome cracked his skull when he forgot to hold on to his bat.

But, despite all that, the curious part is: why? We already have a left-handed, and much younger, DH in Jason Kubel. And it's not like we could put Thome out in the field to rest some guys.
I know the bench is a bit thin, but I seriously think they have other needs to address first. I don't know; bringing him in is like bringing beer to a wine tasting -- really good beer, but it still doesn't quite fit.


Ok, this is a no-brainer
The estimable Seth Stohs is planning a super-duper, action-packed, star-studded, pre-TwinsFest extravaganza podcast tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. Ok, I exaggerate, but it's still going to be great.

Follow this link to listen live: www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks

Here's his tentative schedule (Central Time):

8:00-8:05 – Introduction

8:05-8:20 – John Sickels

8:20-8:35 – Pat Neshek

8:35-8:50 – Joe Benson

8:50-9:05 – Carlos Gutierrez

9:05-9:10 – Catch Up

9:10-9:25 – Kyle Gibson

9:25-9:35 – Open

9:35-9:45 – Denard Span

9:45-9:55 – Jeff Manship

9:55-10:00 – Wrap-Up

Be sure to tune in; it sounds like an awesome show.

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.

Carl Pavano, Huh?

First, let me start by apologizing for any typos or misinformation contained in this post. I have about 5 minutes to write this, and I won't have access to the Internet again until late Sunday, but I wanted to get a few thoughts out now.

Ok...

I want to welcome Mr. Carl Pavano to the Twins.

I want to do that because it's the polite thing to do.

I mean, I really hope he takes advantage of this new opportunity and makes something really good happen.

But to be honest, I'm a bit skeptical. I'm not convinced that adding him is much of an improvement over what the Twins already have. And a deal between division rivals, even if one of teams is out of the playoff picture, just seems a little suspect (what do they know that we don't?).

As an additional kicker, according to the book The Yankee Years, when Pavano was a member of the Yankees, the other players stared called the Disabled List "the Pavano" because he was on it all the time.

I'm still hopeful that this is a good move. And I'm willing to give him a fair chance to prove himself. Honestly. But I just can't shake the feeling the Bill Smith is making moves just to make moves. (During the Terry Ryan years, for as many times I disagreed with what he did or didn't do, I never felt like he was going through motions to satisfy others.)

And since Liriano is now likely to move to the bullpen, he should look upon this as a new opportunity and not a demotion. I think he'll do well there.

[Last minute edit:] Oh, and I'm a little annoyed that R.A. got sent down to make room. I know he hasn't exactly been brilliant lately, but I'm wondering how many chances Keppel gets before the front office realizes that he's the one who needs more time in AAA.