(Twins Edition)

Even though the Twins may not be mentioned alongside Britney Spears, Bobby Brown, and Paris Hilton on the VH1 hit show “The Best Week Ever”, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who had a better seven days than our very own Minnesota Twins. Last Saturday, the Indians had trounced the Twins for the second consecutive day and looked poised to completely erase what was once a six or seven game lead in the AL Central. But Terry Mulholland came through with eight strong innings and Corey Koskie broke out of his season-long slump in a big way as the Twins won 4-2 in 10 innings. From last Sunday through yesterday, here is what the Twins have done:

Win-Loss Record: 6-1
Team ERA: 2.81
Team Batting Average: .308
Team OPS: .918
Runs: 49 total (avg. 7 per game)
Stolen Bases: 10 in 12 attempts (83%)
Lead in Division: 7 games (previously 1 game)

However, the Twins dominance goes beyond mere statistics. To fill out this post, I’d like to draw your attention to what I consider the five most important developments to have taken place during the week that was:

1. Kyle Lohse pitches seven strong innings to defeat Cleveland 5-1 on Friday.
We all know that, come October, Brad Radke and Johan Santana will be ready to against the Yankees, Athletics, Angels, or whomever else the Twins may find themselves up against in the ALDS. But one of the key weaknesses on this team (besides an inconsistent lineup) is its lack of a true #3 starter. As I’ve stated on numerous occasions in this space, Carlos Silva has performed admirably in his first full year as a starting pitcher, but he should not be counted on as more than a slightly above-average #4 guy. He’s simply doesn’t have the stuff to beat a good team come crunch time. Lohse, on the other hand, has that ability. He’s shown flashes of brilliance the past two seasons, but those flashes have been few and far between thus far in 2004. A 5.26 ERA on August 22 doesn’t lie: Lohse has been pretty bad overall. That’s why Friday’s performance was so encouraging—Lohse allowed just three hits and one run to one of the game’s most potent lineups. The Twins were four games up at the time, but still needed to get out to a good start and squash those young upstarts from Ohio. Lohse wasn’t perfect by any means; the Indians missed more than their fair share of hittable pitches early in the game. But Kyle did pitch much better as the game went on, and hopefully that start was the turning point for the young righthander. His team’s playoff fortunes may rest upon his shoulders.

2. Corey Koskie hits a game-winning two-run home run off Rick White the 10th inning last Sunday
You could make a very valid argument that this was the play that made “The Best Week Ever” even possible, and you’d probably be right. The full story has now become a part of Twins lore: Koskie commits an error and strands five baserunners by striking out twice in clutch situations, all in the game’s first five innings. He vents his frustrations on a chair in the clubhouse and promptly collects three hits in his next three at-bats, including the game-winning homer in the 10th. The Twins escape Cleveland with a much needed win and are still alone in first place. And so on. But the fact remains that incident, Koskie is hitting .462 with 5 homers, 9 RBIs, and has a mind-boggling 1.506 OPS. He’s been the team’s best hitter during that span (obviously) and is a big reason why the offense has experienced its recent renaissance. Maybe the Twins should re-sign Koskie after all…

3. Brad Radke pitches seven tremendous innings as the Twins beat the Yankees 8-2 on Tuesday
Although this game didn’t hold as much significance in the division race as any of the games against the Indians did, it was a HUGE win for the Twins. Seemingly every news outlet in the country was broadcasting the fact that the Twins hadn’t beaten the Bombers in the regular season since 2001, and with the team having lost six of its last eight, it didn’t appear that the streak would end anytime soon. But Radke was truly vintage Brad Radke that night. He located his fastball impeccably, fooled the A-Rod-less but still-powerful Yankee lineup with his devastating change-up, and got the big outs when he needed them most. Koskie and Morneau hit two mammoth homers and Shannon Stewart went 3-4 as the offense finally burst out its self-imposed protective bubble. With that monkey off their backs, the Twins could focus on doing something else they hadn’t done in 3 ½ years: take a series from the Yanks.

4. Shannon Stewart leads off with a home run and the Twins never look back in a 7-2 victory over the Yankees on Wednesday
“Okay,” you tell yourself, “The Twins beat the Yankees once. Big deal. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…” Well anyway, it was the Yankees and their fans who were shamed on Wednesday, as Johan Santana checked off yet another team on his “To Dominate” list. Stewart’s homer set the pace for another laugher. Guzman had a clutch double and Koskie continued his hot hitting. I cheered my head off along with almost 42,000 other people as the Twins beat the Yanks for the second straight day.

5. Torii Hunter caps off a 10-pitch at-bat with a three-run double against C.C. Sabathia as the Twins complete their sweep of the Indians at home
There is no doubt in my mind that Hunter’s at-bat against Sabathia in the sixth inning of yesterday’s game was the BEST at-bat any Twin has had all season long. Up 4-2, Hunter comes to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Lew Ford had just popped up on the first pitch (the antithesis of a good at-bat) and the Indians were on the verge of escaping a very dangerous situation. Hunter quickly fell behind 0-2 but was able to lay off the next three pitches, working the count to 3-2. He then proceeded to foul off four consecutive 95-97 mph fastballs from Sabathia, no small feat in itself. But on the 10th pitch of the at-bat Hunter crushed an outside fastball and barely missed a grand slam, settling instead for a three-run double high off the baggie in right. That hit put the Twins up 7-2 and essentially dashed any comeback hopes the Tribe may have held. Sunday’s game was as important for the Indians as last Sunday’s game was for the Twins: Cleveland desperately needed to win one of three to stay within striking distance in the division. Instead, the Indians are riding a seven-game losing streak and stand seven games out. To make things even worse, the Yankees are coming to town and they will be out for blood. The Indians most definitely have their work cut out for them.


Well, there you have it: the top five moments of “The Best Week Ever” as chosen by yours truly. It certainly was a great week to be a Twins fan, but as Master Yoda once said, “Mindful of the future, you must be.” The Twins need to parlay their recent successes into road victories against Texas and Anaheim or all will have been for naught. It’s gonna be a tough upcoming week for the Twins, but I’m confident that they can handle it.

Thanks for stopping by the site today, and I hope you enjoyed this column. If you’re in the mood for some more Twins chatter, check out the running game summary below that John posted yesterday in his triumphant return. Also, if you have any other favorite moments from “The Best Week Ever” feel free to share them with the rest of us in the comments section. Take care, everybody.

Going for the Sweep

I'm finally done travelling this summer which means now I can sit back and enjoy the Twins drive toward their third straight playoffs. I had a great trip to New Zealand if anyone was wondering. It's a beautiful country but unfortunatly I didn't have regular internet use. I vaguelly knew what was going on with the team from the few minutes I had and little of it seemed to be good. I was shocked to discover on my second to last day there that one of the local cable networks had picked up the ESPN broadcast of the Twins and Yankees Wednesday night game. It was a great pleasure to learn that the Twins had rebounded from a 1 game lead to take the first two from the hated bombers.

Now that I'm back I'm trying my best to get caught up with everything. It makes it easier that the lead is back to 6 and the Twins have played very good baseball the last week. Today they go for the sweep of Cleveland. To ease my way back in I thought I would just post my thoughts on today's game as it is happening. It is a nice casual way for me to get back into my blogging stride.

Pregame -
Today the Twins go for the 3 game sweep of Cleveland and 7 game lead in the division. It's hard to sweep a division rival but the Twins have already done it to the White Sox this year. Brad Radke is on the mound for the Twins agaisnt the Indians ace, C.C Sabathia. Radke as usual should give the team a great chance to win while Sabathia may pose problems for the Twins. It should be a good matchup but this will be a tough one for the Twins to pull out. Jacque Jones is not in the lineup today against the tough lefty. As a result Ford is batting second and LeCroy gets to Dh.

1st Inning -
Smooth start for Radke, it is always good to see him get through the first inning. The Lew Ford double play was a buzzkill. Sabathia looks like he is trying to pick the corners. A bad sign for a pitcher who has recently had problems with the umpires, this should work in the Twins favor if they can resist the urge to chase pitchs. Hunter had a great first at bat laying off pitchs out of the zone. The continued to put pressure on the Indians by stealing second. Morneau is my favorite player to watch hit. Every swing could be a homerun, something us Twins fans have waited along time for. Even his outs, such as this flyout, go a long way.

2nd Inning -
Rough top of the inning for the Twins. Radke has some problems leaving his pitches up and they were pretty flat. He still should have been out of the inning without giving up a run but Guzman had a ball skip off of his glove that should have been the last out. The inning started off with a couple of bloop hits off the end of the Indians bats. The Indians hit the ball a little harder near the end of the inning. Radke needs to get his pitches down and pitch better if he's going to keep the Twins in the game. Guzman made a second mistake in the top of the fourth dropping a throw to second on a steal. He can be such a frustrating player when his head isn't in the game. Twins went down 123 in the bottom of the second.

Bottom of 3rd -
This is starting to look like it is going to be an exiting game. Neither pitcher is dominent today. The Twins got a run back on a Luis Rivas double and then steal of 3rd. Shannon Stewart then drove him in with a ground ball. The Twins then had a couple of hard hits off of Sabathia before the inning was over. While I love Rivas's aggresive base running, I'm wondering if it was a smart play. Stewart is probably the Twins best clutch hitter and Rivas was on second with only 1 out. The liklihood of Stewart getting a hit seems high to me. Regardless it worked out this time for the Twins but may be cause for concern in the future. Radke rebounded to pitch a strong top of the third.

4th -
Corey Koskie continues to carry this team on his back. His 21st homerun of the season tied this game at 2. It is amazing how this team always has someone step up and carry it on his back. Koskie, Hunter, Guzman, Mauer, Jones, Stewart and Ford have all stepped up at some point and gone on a hitting rampage. This helps to make up for the lack of a Manny Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez or any other star hitter in the lineup.

Bottom of 5th -
Twins baseball at its best. The got a few big hits, drew a walk and ran the bases aggresively to go ahead 4-2. Tori Hunter is playing almost as well as Corey Koskie right now. He had his second hit of the game while moving Lew Ford to third. Then on the Justin Morneau sac fly he advanced to second while Lew scored. Matt LeCroy finished the scoring by driving in Hunter with a single of his own. Hunter never let up, running hard all the way to home plate. This is how team's win ballgames and divisions. When the Twins play this way they look like a team that can compete in the World Series. It has been three years and its time to take the next step. Now Radke seems to be heating up with back to back 123 inning in the 5th and 6th. The Indians are going to have a tough time winning this game.

Bottom of 6th -
What did I say about Tori Hunter above? He just narrowly missed hitting a grand slam with a 3 run double. He hit on a 3-2 count after having fouled off several pitches. Sabathia self destructed in this inning, missing his spots, overthrowing the ball and afraid of his breaking ball. The Twins took advantage like good teams do. Meanwhile, stick a fork in the Indians, they are DONE! If they are swept as is likely to happen they have an almost insurmountable road to climb in the last month of the season. 7 games for a team as inexpierenced as they are against the 2 time defending division champs is near impossible to make up.

Scary Moment -
Following the Hunter double, Morneau was hit in the hand with a pitch. He was taken out of the game and to the hospital for X-Rays. Everyone should be holding their breath that they are negative. Losing him would be a huge blow to the lineup.

8th Inning
Radke pitched 7 very solid innings before giving way to JC Romero. Romero looked nasty albeit slightly erratic. Pitching a 123 8th inning. Uneventful bottom of the inning for the Twins. Stewart had a 1 out single against Bob Wickman. Wickman could have been a differance maker had he been healthy all year. Casey Blake made a great play at third to rob Lew. Once again punishing the Twins for letting him go.

Postgame -
The Twins have put themselves in the driver seat to win the division. Joe Nathan pitched the ninth and while he allowed a run looked to be his old self. This win and sweep of the series was huge for the Twins. They sent a message that it is still their time. Some key players appear to be getting hot just at the right time. The Twins have a tough schedule up ahead so they might need the 7 game pad, but if they continue to play so well they wont. The best thing to see this weekend was a solid performance from Kyle Lohse. He has been so inconsistent and it would be a huge boost if he could build off that start.

You Can't Win 'Em All

It seemed almost too good to be true, and in the end, it was.

In one of the more impressive comebacks in team history, the Twins, down by six runs at two points in the game, managed to score a total of nine runs in a span of three innings. Five of those came against two of the better relief pitchers in the game, Paul Quantril and Tom Gordon.

When Shannon Stewart’s two-out line drive flew past Gary Sheffield out in right field, it looked as though the Twins could do no wrong. Up 10-9 and with “Mr. Automatic” Joe Nathan entering the game, it seemed the impossible (or at least improbable) was inevitable.

We should have known better.

I’m not too mad or disappointed with Joe Nathan despite his ugly performance in the ninth last night (2/3 of an inning, 4 hits, 3 earned runs). Let’s face it: as tremendous as Nathan has been this year, Eric Gagne he is not. Joe hadn’t been particularly sharp his last couple of outings, and even though he had gotten by pretty well, you could plainly see the writing on the wall. Nathan was due, probably even overdue, for a bad inning and it just so happened to come at a rather inopportune time. Let’s not forget the first three batters for the Yankees in the ninth, either: Jeter, Sheffield, and Rodriguez. That’s almost like facing the #2 through #4 hitters on the AL All-Star team. Even Joe Nathan is human. He wasn’t his sharpest last night and the veteran hitters of the Yankees made him pay.

But the disappointing end does not mask the fact that this was a great game. If the Twins had lost the first two games of the series we might not be saying that, but they did so we are. Thursday’s comeback shows just how much confidence this team gained by handling the Yanks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Usually when you’re down by six runs against the Yankees late in the game, you pretty much resign yourself to defeat. Not consciously, of course; these guys are professionals and they will still give a good effort even in defeat. But subconsciously, you’re thinking “I don’t know how we can possibly score six runs against Quantril, Gordon, and Rivera.”

The thing is, those two victories have got the Twins thinking that they should be able to score six or seven runs off the Yankees’ bullpen. Everyone was getting big hits: Offerman, Rivas, Jones, Ford, and of course, Stewart. For a team that has struggled mightily to get the clutch two-out hit (the Twins were last in the AL with a .213 average with RISP and two outs before Thursday) it was great to see so many guys step up when needed. I have no doubt that the success the Twins experienced in this series will carry over into this weekend’s series with Cleveland. All in all, I’m extremely satisfied with taking two of three from the Yankees, and the Twins should be too.

Big Powwow with the Indians
That takes us to our next topic: those previously hard-charging Indians. I say “previously” because, as most of you already know, the Indians were swept by Texas this week in rather convincing fashion. Now the Rangers are a much better hitting team than the Twins, but it doesn’t say a whole lot about the Indians’ seemingly invincible offense when they manage to score just 8 runs against the likes of Mickey Callaway, Scott Erickson, and “The Gambler” Kenny Rogers (he of the 4.61 ERA). We shall see what takes place this weekend, but I strongly suspect the Twins will play much better. Tomorrow’s pitching match-up isn’t the greatest (Lohse vs. Westbrook) but Saturday and Sunday look much better, as it’s Mulholland vs. Durbin and Sabathia vs. Radke.

Despite the loss, the Twins have finally gained a little momentum heading down the stretch. We’ll just have to see how far it takes them.

A Long Time Coming

I only have one thing to say: it's about freakin' time.

Your Minnesota Twins defeated the New York Yankees 8-2 last night, their first regular-season win over the Bronx Bombers since May 10, 2001. For the sake of amusement (and to see just how far this franchise has really come), let's compare these two victories, which were separated by a mere three years, three months, and seven days (1195 days total).

In 2001:
The Twins featured a lineup that had Christian Guzman leading off, Matt Lawton batting third, Chad Allen batting sixth, and the ever-fearsome Jason Maxwell starting in the DH slot (he would be replaced by the just-as-fearsome Denny Hocking later in the game). Mark Redman started for the Twins and pitched well in his matchup with Andy Pettitte.

In 2004:
The Twins of 2004 decided to throw everything they had against the Yanks. Newcomers into the lineup were Shannon Stewart, Lew Ford, Justin Morneau, and Henry Blanco. Radke started against the Yankees' new ace, Javier Vazquez.

2001
The Twins played their patented version of small-ball, scratching out 4 runs in the first 4 innings against Pettitte. A.J. went 3-4 and scored twice, and Allen had a key run-scoring triple. Dougie Baseball went 2-3 with 2 RBIs, including the game-winner in the 10th against Mariano Rivera. Mientkiewicz drove in Guzman who had stolen second to get into scoring position. LaTroy (remember now, this is before his second-half meltdown) pitched a scoreless 10th to earn his 11th save and the Twins won the series in New York.

2004
Brad Radke pitched seven innings of outstanding baseball, squashing a big Yankee threat in the seventh. Koskie and Morneau hit mammoth home runs in the second and third innings, respectively. Stewart (wouldn't he have been nice to have back in 2001?) went 3-4 and started two key Twins rallies. Hunter even pulled a Chad Allen with his steal of second in the fifth, taking off when the pitcher had barely toed the rubber (the steal also ended Vazquez's no-steal streak at 225 2/3 innings). Juan Rincon and J.C. Romero, neither important members of that 2001 team, escaped jams of their own in the 8th and 9th as the Twins held on for the victory.

Jottings...
Just a little bit of interesting information there. I guess it's true what they always say: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Yesterday's win was a big one for the Twins, and it should hopefully do a lot for their confidence as they head into one of the tougher parts of their schedule. The lightning in Corey Koskie's bat was not lost during the flight from Cleveland, which is extremely encouraging (as I mentioned yesterday). I also must say that Justin Morneau's homer was one of the most impressive sights I've seen all season. When Posada called for that cutter (or whatever that pitch was) I just knew Morneau was going send that baseball on the ride of its life.

I am very excited for tonight's game, featuring the pitching matchup of Santana versus Mussina. I have two of the best seats in the house (18 rows up from the visitor's dugout right on the aisle) for one of the biggest games of the year, and I can't wait. Plus, it's Twingo and Dollar-a-Dog night! What more could a guy ask for? Because I'll be at the game until rather late, I may or may not have a new post up tomorrow, so consider yourself forewarned. Thanks for stopping by Twins Chatter and come on back right soon, ya hear?

-Ryan
twinsfan21@msn.com


Photo courtesy of startribune.com
Koskie rounds the bases after his two-run homer puts the Twins ahead of the Yankees for good

Hammer Time (Break it Down)

Don't you just love my corny/wildly entertaining post titles? I feel they are a key part of the whole "Twins Chatter" allure... but I digress. As promised, today I'll take a quick look at the members of the Twins' lineup that are currently struggling through a rough patch. In other words, I mean the majority of the Twins' lineup. Let's break it down.

Corey Koskie
Nobody embodies the Twins' season-long offensive struggles better than Koskie. Simply put, Corey is having a horrible season. Sunday's outburst was nice, to be certain, but it still doesn't change the fact that Koskie is hitting an anemic .239 this season with an OBP (.339) a full 35 points lower than his career average and 54 points lower than last year. His 17 homers are fine, but the guy has been hitting in run-producing spots in the order all season long and has a measly 48 RBIs (which doesn't look that bad on the Twins, but trust me, it is). Koskie has had a tough time driving in runs the past two seasons (69 in '02 and '03) but at least he was getting on base those years. Now he's not even doing that. He's on pace to strike out 111 times while drawing just 55 walks, which would be the worst ratio in his career. Not exactly great numbers to parade out there on the FA market this winter. But who knows? Maybe after Sunday's performance Koskie will turn his season around and once again become a force to be reckoned with. But I'll believe it when I see it.

Torii Hunter
For the season's first four months, it appeared that Torii Hunter may have found his niche as an offensive player. Obviously he has always played world-caliber defense out in center, and that is a large part of his value as a player. After Torii's breakout 2002 season (29 HRs, .858 OPS) Hunter regressed a little last year (.250 BA, .763 OPS). He did post a career-high in RBIs with 102, but we all know how meaningless that statistic was; it's more telling that he hit .228 with runners on base. Through July of 2004, I thought that Torii's place as a hitter would lie somewhere between his 2002 and 2003 numbers: a .275 batting average, 25 homers, and 85-90 RBIs. Not superstar numbers by any means (and most certainly not worth the $6.5 million the Twins will pay him this year) but solid nonetheless. In August, however, Torii has looked nothing like the player that was voted to start the 2002 All-Star game. He's hit .236/.276/.455 with only 5 RBIs in 55 at-bats, and has drawn a pathetic 2 walks to go along with 12 strikeouts. I'm be tempted to say that my little brother could draw more than 2 walks in that many major league at-bats, and he's 12. Once again Hunter is hitting 30 points lower with men on base than he is with the bases empty, so there can be no doubt that he has contributed more than his fair share of ineptitude to the Twins' struggling offense this season, especially these past few weeks.

Jacque Jones
Jones is leading the team in homers (19) and RBIs (60) this season, but this is almost by default as few others have performed up to their potential. He also has the most at-bats on the team with runners on base (175) and is one of the only Twins who has not hit lower than his overall season average in this situation. Jacque has been one of the team's lone bright spots in August (.341/.396/.523) but it is hard to forget what he did (or didn't do) in May, June, and July. Jacque posted some pretty measly numbers during those months (.220s, anyone?) although he did remain one of the team's top RBI men. Jones is on pace to hit 26 homers and drive in 83 runs this year, which isn't too terrible, but I know the Twins wouldn't mind if he caught fire the last month and a half and made a push to bring his season totals in line with the rest of his career marks.

Christian Guzman
When Guzman goes into a slump, hardly anyone makes mention of it simply because it happens so often. Hasn't this guy pretty much been in a perpetual slump since July of 2001? Right now, Guzie is REALLY struggling, even by Guzie standards. He's 1 for his last 25 and has seen his batting average (which actually reached the .290 range in July) drop down to .270. Because he hardly ever walks (just 18 in 430 at-bats this season) Guzie's on-base percentage is an embarrassing .299. I sure hope Guzman is embarrassed by that number, because he sure as hell should be. Unfortunately, from what I know about Guzman's personality, I'd be willing to bet that he couldn't care less. It's amazing how quickly Guzie has fallen back to earth after his spectacular July in which he hit had an OPS of .800. For those of you unfamiliar with Guzman's prowess (or lack thereof) at the dish, the terms ".800 OPS" and "Christian Guzman" are actually listed as antonyms in Webster's Thesaurus. Getting Guzie to hit at even normal Guzie levels would go a long way towards curing what ails the Twins' offense.

Luis Rivas
With the numbers that Louie has put up the past few years, it is truly amazing that he still has a starting (or even platooning) role in the major leagues. For a guy that plays no better than slightly above-average defense at SECOND BASE for crissakes (in my opinion one of the easier defensive positions on the diamond) he been on the receiving end of some very good fortune. Rivas is hitting .244/.269/.389 this season with 7 homers, 25 RBIs, and 11 SBs, but with no obvious replacement looming on the horizon, he may very well be around again in 2005. In Sid's "Jottings" the other day Gardy expressed his displeasure with Rivas' work habits. While I'm not glad that Louie doesn't seem to be giving it his all, I'm glad that Gardy had the testicular fortitude to call him on it. Maybe that is the spark that Rivas needs to turn his season around, but in my opinion, Rivas just plain stinks. Maybe Cuddyer is the short-term and/or long-term solution at 2B, but it remains to be seen if he can handle the position competently defensively. I don't know about you, but I'm not expecting a whole lot of production from Rivas for the rest of this season and beyond.

As the Twins open up a much-anticipated three game set with the hated Yankees tonight, their most pressing weakness is definitely the lineup. I've gone over a few of the key non-performers, but in reality the entire lineup can take some of the blame (with the exceptions of Ford and Morneau). It remains to be seen if the Twins' Achilles' Heel dooms them against the pinstripes, but I sure hope it doesn't. Should be a fun series to watch if only because both Radke and Johan will toe the rubber. I'll be watching. Won't you?

Now THAT Was a Close One

If there is anyone else out there who is as inherently pessimistic as I am, hopefully you can sympathize with my plight.

Following the 8-2 and 7-1 butt-whuppings the Tribe unleashed on our offensively-challenged Twins Friday and Saturday, I thought it was all over.

Carlos Silva had pitched like crap, allowing seven(!) runs in only two(!) innings of work. Kyle Lohse nearly matched Silva's ineptitude the next day by allowing seven runs in five innings, including three in the first.

The Twins had managed to strand 26 runners on base and eke out three runs against the likes of Scott Elarton (he of the 8.00+ ERA) and Jake Westbrook (who has admittedly been pretty good this year). The Twins had just one hit with runners in scoring position in the series' first two games.

Things didn't start that well on Sunday, either. Mulholland threw a sure double-play ball into center field after facing just his second batter. The next batter (Matt Lawton) grounded into a DP which allowed Mulholland to escape with just one run allowed.

Predictably, the Twins made Indians' starter Chad Durbin look WAY better than he actually is through the game's first five innings. Durbin threw 106 pitches through five innings, walking four and hitting a batter. Yet, this team keeps finding new ways to NOT score runs. First and second no outs? Second and third no outs? Bases loaded one out? It really doesn't matter. I couldn't even bring myself to yell at the TV (something I usually relish) because this routine has become so commonplace of late.

Durbin would have leave the game after the fifth, but that hardly seemed to matter. With one out, Lew Ford had singled and Corey Koskie had connected with a rare double. Christian Guzman had followed with his usual plate appearance (a completely unproductive one, in this case a foul out). With two outs, it seemed inevitable that yet another once-promising rally would fall by the wayside. However, something would then take place that the gods did not foresee: a man named Jose Offerman came to the plate.

With two runners on base and TWO OUTS, no less, Offerman connected with the hit that may have saved the Twins' season for now--a two run double into the rightfield corner. For the series, the Twins on batted .083 with runners in scoring position (RISP), but that second hit was certainly a big one.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the tremendous job that Terry Mulholland in his eight innings. The Twins simply could not afford another short and/or terrible start, and Mulholland, with all his crafty veteran mojo, turned the clock back to 1993 for a day. He allowed just two runs (one earned, although the unearned run was his fault anyway) and shut down a lineup that had previously looked nearly invincible. No matter what he does from here on out, it looks like Terry Ryan outsmarted us all (fans and the rest of the league alike) when he signed Mulholland back in April. Sunday's game was HUGE for the Twins and the vet didn't choke like Lohse and Silva did.

Perhaps this win will also be the coming-out party for Corey Koskie. It was a game in which Koskie finally hit absolute rock-bottom by striking out twice in his first two at-bats, stranding five runners. His second strikeout was especially ugly, as it came on a curve in the dirt that everyone in the entire stadium knew was coming. After that embarrassing AB, Koskie's body language seemed much more determined his last three at-bats. He crushed a double in the sixth, lined a single in the eighth, and delivered the big blow in the tenth.

After J.C. escaped a jam in the bottom of the ninth, the Twins were left with the unenviable task of winning a game in extra innings on the road. Lew Ford was buzzed by a Rick White fastball that skimmed the top of his helmet. When Koskie fell behind in the count 1-2, I thought (pessimistically) that he would revert back to his old ways and flail at some off-speed pitch in the dirt. But White decided to challenge Koskie and he connected with a mammoth two-run homer to put the Twins up 4-2. The homer was even more impressive considering that if was against the wind and hit to one of the deepest parts of the park. The Nathanator would slam the door as usual in the bottom of the inning and the Twins flew out of Cleveland with their pride wounded but not shot.

More reactions from this weekend's series
As you can probably tell from the tone of this post, I was extremely disappointed overall by the Twins' performance over the weekend. To be sure, Cleveland played extremely well. They are a terrific hitting team, and when you make mistakes (Silva and Lohse made plenty) they turn into three-run homers, not just singles (or harmless foul balls in Torii Hunter's case). I don't like it when people say that this series made the Twins "stand up and take notice" of the Indians. I'm assuming that the Twins took the Indians very seriously even BEFORE this series began. They are very hot right now, but that doesn't change the fact that they are an extremely formidable opponent. Sunday's game did prove one thing: when the Twins get a good performance from their starting pitcher, they should have the edge over the Tribe. But anytime it's a slugfest between these two teams, the Indians will come out ahead almost every time. These teams do play each other 10 more times this season, so nothing has been decided just yet. If the Twins can start playing a little better they can still win this thing.

I know I rambled a tad in today's post, but I had a few things that I wanted to get off my chest. I appreciate that you stuck with me today, and I promise to be my normal self tomorrow. Tomorrow is an off-day, and I plan on using this space to look at some of the Twins' struggling hitters, most notably Hunter, Jones, Rivas, and Koskie. Be sure to stop by and check us out again. Have a good one.

Put Up or Shut Up

This is it. Now is the time when we will see whether or not these Minnesota Twins are for real. While yesterday's 4-3 loss to the Mariners (the second straight such loss) may have ended on a couple of flukey plays, the fact still remains that it was still a loss, yet another against a bad team. The Twins now have a record of 62-51, three games ahead of the Indians (60-55) and five games ahead of the White Sox (56-55). I'm just about ready to write off the White Sox, who have been struggling to score runs with their best two hitters (Magglio Ordonez and Frank Thomas) on the disabled list. Since these two guys are probably out for the remainder of the season, and since the Sox pitching was never that good in the first place, I highly doubt that the South Siders will make much noise in the AL Central Division race.

The Indians, on the other hand, are a completely different story. This is a young team that is fiery, plays hard, and is hungry to win. The same formula allowed the 2001 Twins to win 85 games and set the stage for back-to-back playoff appearances. However, this Indians team has much more talent than the Twins of three years ago. First of all, they hit the snot out of the ball. Victor Martinez (18 HRs, 84 RBIs, .885 OPS) and North Dakota native Travis Hafner (22 HRs, 88 RBIs, 1.007 OPS) are having breakout seasons. They are two of the best young hitters in the game right now and pose a formidable threat in the middle of the Cleveland lineup. Matt Lawton is also having a nice comeback season for the Indians after suffering from various injuries the past few years. Twins castoff Casey Blake is having a solid year and is outhitting Corey Koskie by a very large margin. Even veterans Omar Vizquel and Ronnie Belliard are enjoying offensive renaissances as members of this Cleveland team.

As unimpressive as the Twins' hitting has been this season, Cleveland's pitching has been perhaps even LESS impressive, if that's even possible. Cleveland has a team ERA of 4.86, third-worst in the American League (the Twins are first in the AL with a 4.04 team ERA). Their starting rotation has had two solid starters this year: ace C.C. Sabathia (9-6, 3.77) and undeserving All-Star Jake Westbrook (10-5, 3.61). After that, it seems to go downhill pretty fast. Lefty Cliff Lee has 10 wins and was pretty effective until the last six weeks or so, and his season ERA is an unimpressive 4.77. The Indians are also sending out Scott Elarton and Chad Durbin every five days, which certainly doesn't say much about their starting rotation. I'll take an inconsistent Kyle Lohse and a washed-up Terry Mulholland over those two any day.

The Indian's bullpen is where the Twins really have a marked advantage on their pursuers from Ohio. The Indians have blown and astounding 24 saves this season and their bullpen has an ERA of 5.32 and a WHIP of 1.53. By comparison, the Twins' bullpen has blown just 9 saves this season (6 by Fultz and Romero) and has an ERA of 3.71. If the Indians had even an average bullpen they would have overtaken our Twins long ago. The recent return of Bob Wickman has brought some stability to the closer's role for Cleveland (he's 6 for 7 in save opportunities) but that doesn't change the fact that this bullpen has cost this team many many victories this season.

However, I digress from the matter at hand: the Seattle Mariners. I'm willing to dismiss the past seven games; let's pretend they don't matter that much. The Twins are still in first place by three full games, they still play a last-place team this afternoon, and they still have the best pitcher in the American League on the mound to face said last-place team. Things may look a bit bleak right now, but there is no reason to think that another patented Johan-esque performance won't turn everything back around.

I hate to say this on August 12, but today's series finale is a must-win game for the Twins. Because they are such a streaky team, they need to gain a little momentum as they head into Cleveland for a key three-game series this upcoming weekend. As I've discussed in this post, Cleveland is a team with some definite strengths (hitting) and weaknesses (pitching). On the surface, the Twins appear to match up quite well with the Indians, whom they have beaten four times in six games already this season. But championships aren't won and lost on paper--they're won on the playing field. We'll just have wait and see what happens.

Thanks for stopping by Twins Chatter today. Our readership numbers seem to be leveling out, which is good. Tomorrow I'll have some reactions to Thursday's game as well as an extensive preview of this weekend's big series against the second-place Indians. So long, everybody.

-RM

A Plethora of Topics

The fact that it was freakishly cold yesterday in Minnesota (temps in the high 50s? In August? Come on!) is all the more reason for you to curl up in front of your computer today and enjoy a nice helping of Twins Chatter. And we've got plenty of news to discuss, so here goes.

Twins lose to Mariners 4-3
As disappointing as losing three of four to the Athletics this was weekend was, Tuesday's loss to the Mariners was just as bad. Yes the game was close and the Twins played the once-mighty M's tough, but this was a game the team needed to win for a number of reasons. Terry Mulholland needed to deliver a quality start, but he gave up two two-run homers in the first and the Twins quickly found themselves in a 4-0 hole from which they could never fully recover. This team has a number of comeback victories this season, but getting down by four in the first inning can sometimes psych a team out. That seemed to be the case yesterday as our hitters made Gil Meche (he of the 6.51 ERA) look like Curt Schilling. I thought that this offense had finally outgrown that nasty habit of making bad/mediocre pitchers look like world-beaters, but apparently old habits die hard.

Another reason this would have been a key win is because both the Indians and White Sox won their games on Tuesday, moving to within 4 and 5 games of the Twins, respectively. Before the Oakland series there was a temptation for Twins fans to automatically place this team in the playoffs, as I myself have been guilty of this assumption on more than one occasion. Instead of running away with the division, the Twins seem determined to let these two teams stick around, which could be a recipe for disaster. A four-game lead can evaporate in a hurry, and two teams are a lot tougher to shake than just one. With two key series coming up with the Indians (the next two weekends) now is not the time to go into a funk. The Twins have been a very streaky team these past two years, and nobody wants this current stretch (the team has lost 4 of their last 5) to become a losing streak. I am confident, however, that the Twins will take two games of the series. If they can give both Radke and Santana any kind of run support whatsoever, I don't think the last-place Mariners should pose too much of a problem.

Joe Mauer is scheduled to get a third opinion on his sore knee Wednesday
From what I hear, this latest doctor's diagnosis is going to have a large impact on the course of action that the Twins choose to take with their star catcher. If he agrees with the Twins' team doctor and says that the problem will heal with rest and treatment, Mauer could be back in a matter of weeks. If he says the problem is severe and requires more surgery, then Mauer will most likely be out for the rest of the season. If that is indeed the case (God forbid), then the Twins will most likely be in the market for a veteran catcher to platoon with Henry Blanco. Blanco has done an admirable job this season given the circumstances, but he is what he is: an all-field, no-hit backup catcher forced into a full-time role. Any help in that area (since Matthew LeCroy obviously isn't an option) would be a welcome addition.

The third Mauer possibility is the one that most of us would rather avoid. I'm talking about the possibility that he won't be able to catch ever again. While this is admittedly the most unlikely scenario of the three, it is still possible. The Twins need Mauer's bat badly, but I just can't see him playing a different position this year already, unless it is as a part-time DH. This is only a remote possibility and one that we probably needn't worry about just yet.

Aaron Fultz is demoted to AAA Rochester; Matt Guerrier recalled
I don't know if this was true for anyone else out there, but I was very surprised to see Guerrier on the mound in the 8th inning of last night's game. Although I realize that Fultz most certainly had to go, I simply didn't think that Guerrier would be the one to take his place. Looking at it now, I realize that Terry Ryan didn't really have many other choices. He's not going to bring up J.D. Durbin or Scott Baker and have them pitch in relief, and the Twins could ill-afford another short Mulholland start with long reliever Joe Roa still recovering from his "start" on Sunday. Even though Guerrier was fine in his inning of work, I think this move really brings to light the weaknesses the Twins have in the back end of their bullpen and how much they need Grant Balfour to get healthy. Both Guerrier and Roa are mop-up/long relief guys, Crain has struggled somewhat, and Romero has been tough-and-go at times. Getting Balfour healthy eliminates the surplus long relief guy and gives Gardy another hard thrower to bring in at key times.

That's about all the relevant Twins news I have come across today. If I missed anything or you would like to give your own two cents on any Twins-related manner, feel free to drop a comment below. Otherwise, be sure and bundle up because it's downright COLD outside!

-Ryan
twinsfan21@msn.com

It's Been a Hard Night's Day

I'm sorry to disappoint all my loyal readers, as there are actually quite a few of you out there, but I just don't have the will to write a good post today. As sometimes happens, I had this great idea all planned out that simply did not materialize the way I hoped it would, so I'm going to take the night off and save it for tomorrow.

In the meantime, don't forget to check out all the other Twins blogs out there: Twins Geek, Aaron Gleeman (who's skill level I hope to someday approach), Seth Speaks, and last but not least, BatGirl. BatGirl is really moving into the mainstream now, as she even has her own Online Emporium! How cool is that--official merchandise for a blog!

If you're also looking for something interesting to read, I highly suggest that you check out Chris Kline's minor league tour diary over at Baseball America. Kline is a writer for BA, and the Pirates' organization agreed to let him become a "player" for both their AAA and high-A minor league teams for a week. He did everything that the players did except play in the games, including batting practice. This 8-part series (and I highly recommend you read them all) is both hilarious and informative at the same time. If you've ever wondered what life is like for the thousands of professional players who AREN'T in the major leagues, you'll get something out of this diary. Plus, former Twins catcher Tom Prince happens to be the manager at single-A Lynchburg, which is one of the teams that Kline "played" for. I always knew Princey would make a good manager someday and it appears that day has come sooner rather than later. Just thought I would share this interesting tidbit.

I did go the game yesterday afternoon, and even though it was disappointing that the Twins lost, I'm not entering panic mode just yet. Gardy had very few options out of the pen, and I'm glad we finally saw the true colors of Aaron Fultz. Jesse Crain wasn't overly impressive in his stint either, but I'm now fully convinced that Fultz should be the one to go next week when Balfour gets healthy.

Thanks for stopping by Twins Chatter and hanging in there with me while I fly solo for the second time in the past month. The difference between writing 2 or 3 and 5 posts a week is actually larger than I imagined, but I'll keep throwing my thoughts, analysis, and opinions out there every day in case something sticks. Have a good one.


This is the view I had from my seat on Monday afternoon. Lower GA is still the best deal in town!

The Longest Day

Whoa. If what took place on Sunday afternoon was not the longest baseball game that I have ever watched or attended or participated in, then I will eat my hat. The game went all Energizer Bunny on the Twins and just kept going, and going, and going, and going... you catch my drift. Despite the fact that the Hometown Nine came out on the short end of the stick, it was still a highly entertaining game to watch, one of the best all season long in my opinion. Who would have thought that Carlos Silva would extend his scoreless streak to 15 innings and nearly outduel Mark "Cy Young" Mulder? Or that Christian Guzman, of all people, would come up with the clutch 8th inning homer (which he absolutely crushed, by the way) to tie the game at 3 apiece? Or that Joe Roa (!) would pitch five innings of one-hit baseball? Or that the Twins bullpen would throw 10 (!) straight scoreless inning? Or that the recently rejuvenated Twins offense would go 10 innings without scoring?

Who would have thought that Terry Mulholland would promptly give up three runs in his only inning of work and render all those other accomplishments totally meaningless? Okay, I would be willing to bet that most of us could probably have seen that last one coming, but you can't be too hard on ol' Gramps. He had already thrown a bullpen and done his regular workout earlier in the day, so he understandably had even less on his pitches than he normally does, if that's even possible.

Even though it came in a losing effort, it was still a fun game to watch that included some memorable moments. New utilityman Augie Ojeda made his Twins debut, and once again reminded us all just how short he actually is. Guzman's homer was the second dramatic home run of the series that caused the Twins to use up their bullpen in a losing effort (Shannon Stewart's 9th inning homer on Friday being the other). And for those of you who watched the bottom of the 18th because you are a "never say die" Twins fan (or just couldn't find anything else to watch on TV) saw Justin Morneau literally golf a baseball about 415 feet over the centerfield fence, which was an almost awe-inspiring feat.

All these extra inning games are taking their toll on the Twins bullpen, however. The starters have been doing their part, but Juan Rincon, J.C. Romero, and Joe Nathan have pitched quite a bit recently. Gardenhire was so concerned about Rincon's workload that he opted to bring in Mulholland, Tuesday's scheduled starter, instead of the team's top setup man. That's Gardy's call, but it sure would have been nice to hold the A's for a couple more innings with Rincon in there. Once again, I was very impressed with the performance of Joe Roa. His five innings means that Rincon, Nathan, Fultz, and Crain will all probably be available for today's game. They might all be needed, seeing as Kyle Lohse will be the one to toe the rubber. Roa once again proved that he is a very valuable member of this team and needs to be retained when Balfour comes off the disabled list.

Sunday's loss bothers me a lot less now that the Twins hold a comfortable six game lead over both the White Sox and the Indians, who have taken advantage of Chicago's ineptitude (and failing health) to seriously challenge the Sox for second place. I'm planning on writing tomorrow's post about these two teams and what the Twins should expect in terms of pressure for the season's final two months.

I'm cutting off today's post a little sooner than normal because I'm getting up a little earlier and heading out to Metrodome for today's series-ending tilt. I'm planning on testing out the $715 million investment all the Minnesota taxpayers put into our new light rail system (I don't include myself in that group since I don't actually pay taxes yet). As you've undoubtedly seen already, it stops right at Metrodome and is supposedly quite the cat's meow. Hopefully this Kyle Lohse start will go better than the last one I attended, in which he was lit up for seven runs by the Red Sox. If in fact he has turned the proverbial "corner" then hopefully we'll see a little proof of that this afternoon.


I love the new red hats, but unfortunately, Terry Mulholland does not model them well at all

Post-Trading Deadline Roster Review Part Two: Pitchers

We all know that the Twins did not make a significant move at the July 31st trading deadline, and that the current 25-man roster will probably be very similar to the 25-man playoff roster that will be set on August 31st. Yesterday I wrote up a brief overview of the Twins' hitters, position by position, highlighting some strengths, weaknesses, and minor controversies. Today we move on to the pitchers, also known as the "best athletes on the field" (with the exception of David Wells).

Starting Pitchers:
Despite the poor overall performance the Twins have received from Kyle Lohse (5.14 ERA) and from the #5 starter, starting pitching has actually been a relative strength of this team. The starters' 4.21 ERA (which includes Terry Mulholland's horrific "performance" yesterday) actually isn't too bad and is above league average. Who do we have to thank for this better-than-average number? Two men: Brad Radke and Johan Santana, as good a 1-2 punch as exists in the American League this side of Oakland, California. As well as these two have pitched this season they present a serious challenge to any team that has the bad fortune of matching up with the Twins come October. Radke has suffered from a lack of run support, as his 7-6 record is no where near indicative of how well he has pitched this season. He sports a nifty 3.77 ERA and a solid 1.16 WHIP in 148 innings (he's on pace for about 225). But here's the real kicker: Radke has walked just 12 batters in those 148 innings, for an average of .73 per nine innings. That's one walk every 12 and a third innings. When you have a good defense behind you and don't allow ANY extra baserunners, you are going to be pretty formidable. Especially when you have a changeup that is as good as Radke's. The only thing I worry is that Brad might go into one of his occasional funks where he doesn't have the impeccable control. As I've mentioned before in this space, because Brad doesn't throw that hard and is always right around the plate, he has a very little room for error. When his control does leave him for (usually) brief stretches he can get hit pretty good. But he has yet to endure one of those slumps thus far this year and I'm confident that he'll be just fine.

What more can I say about Johan Santana that hasn't already been said? The guy is a strikeout machine (172 in 152.2 innings). Opponents do not get hits off of him (just 37 hits allowed in 91.2 innings since June 1). And opponents rarely score runs against him (he allowed 6 runs total in 6 July starts). Is there really anything more you could possibly want in a starting pitcher? Johan is prone to the longball, as he has allowed 22 this season, but if no one ever gets on base anyway, how much could that possibly hurt? Santana is now among the elite pitchers in the game, right up there with Mark Mulder, Randy Johnson, Curt Shilling, and Jason Schmidt. There is no one else I would rather see on the hill in Game 1 of the ALDS than Johan, and I'm sure the rest of the Twins community feels the same way.

After the Big Two, things start to get a little sketchy. Carlos Silva, as I mentioned the other day, has been all that we hoped he would be and more. He throws strikes (1.48 BB/9), eats innings (140.1 so far), and gives his team a chance to win (he has 10 victories). Silva has been a key part of this team's success thus far and he will continue to be so until October. In a 162 game schedule you need guys like Silva to help take the pressure off your big guns, who were supposed to be Santana, Radke, and Kyle Lohse for the Twins before the season began. That brings me to my next point: Kyle Lohse. As you are all fully aware no doubt, Kyle Lohse has pitched like the second coming of Rich Robertson so far this year. His five wins and 5.14 ERA are very disappointing, as is his 1.65 WHIP and 50 walks allowed in 133 innings pitched. The walks have been a big problem, as Lohse only allowed 45 free passes all of last season. I was, however, encouraged by Lohse's last outing on Wednesday against the Angels. After squandering a three run lead Lohse didn't back out in the fifth on the defensive. He attacked the strike zone and the Anaheim hitters and retired 12 of his last 13 batters. That, my friends, is the Kyle Lohse that we know and love--not this imposter that we have seen for the previous four months. I'm cautiously optimistic that this will be the turning point for Kyle. He beat a very good hitting team and had to overcome some adversity to do it. Lohse is also key to the Twins' playoff hopes, because if he shows he is back to his old self I think the Twins probably make him their third starter in October.

I won't dwell much on the fifth starter spot, as I could easily write an entire post on this subject alone. Before his start yesterday Terry Mulholland had performed admirably in this role, picking up two wins while posting a 3.02 ERA. Yesterday was only a matter of time, however. You knew that the clock was ticking on Mulholland as he was FAR overdue for a bad outing. Maybe he'll be able to bounce back in his next start (whenever that might be), or maybe not. The Twins do have some options at Rochester. J.D. "Real Deal" Durbin pitched the brilliantly the other day in his AAA debut and is already on the 40-man roster I believe. Scott Baker, a second round pick last year, has also pitched well at both AA and AAA but would have to be added to the 40-man roster, making a non-September call-up very unlikely. I advocate giving Mulholland a couple more starts and then calling up Durbin and giving him a chance. As the #5 starter hopefully there won't be too much pressure on the kid, and it will be a good gauge for next year when he will probably have to inherit a more prominent role in the rotation.

Relief Pitching:
In all my ranting about the Twins starting staff I have neglected what is arguably this team's greatest strength: the bullpen. Much maligned in the off-season, this group of players has lived up to the high standards set by the Twins' 2002 and 2003 'pens. The Twins bullpen leads the league with 25 wins (a statistic that really only means the team has a lot of late-inning victories) and is 5th with a solid 3.74 ERA. Juan Rincon has been outstanding, seamlessly inherited the role left by the departed (and now combative) LaTroy Hawkins. Joe Nathan has been the best closer in the league and is unscored-upon in almost two months. J.C. Romero has seemingly emerged from his season-and-a-half long funk and is pitching very capably. Grant Balfour is currently on the shelf but has emerged as a relatively reliable and sometimes downright dominating option after Rincon. The Twins should be fine with those four guys leading the charge, but the bullpen's final 2-3 spots may see some change before playoff rosters are set.

I wasn't able to catch Jesse Crain's major league debut yesterday, but the Twins' coaching staff sounded positive after the game. He allowed two hits, one of them an infield single, and struck out two in an inning and a third of work. It will be interesting to see what the Twins do with their roster when Balfour comes off the D.L. next week. Will they keep 12 pitchers on the roster, even though it seems unnecessary given the team's recent success? That would be the easy way out, as Rob Bowen could easily be shipped back down to AA for about the 10th time already this year. Personally, I think that the Twins need to make a decision on Aaron Fultz and/or Joe Roa. Unless he falls flat on his face, Crain should not be sent back to AAA. Roa is the obvious candidate for release, simply because he is righthanded and Fultz is lefthanded. However, I think it is Fultz that should be the one to go. Fultz is a mediocre pitcher that doesn't even fare that well against lefties, the only guys he really needs to get out on a consistent basis. He has proven time and time again that he can't get the big outs in clutch situations. Roa, while he hasn't pitched that well lately by any standards, actually inhabits a much more important role in the Twins' bullpen. As a long reliever/mop-up guy, he has saved the rest of the bullpen on numerous occasions, protecting Rincon, Romero, and Nathan from overuse. It will be interesting to see what Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire do when this decision must be made in the coming weeks.

Well folks, there you have it. It took me two days, but I addressed nearly every player on the Twins' 25-man roster, some in greater depth than others. As always, if you have any qualms, questions, or comments pertaining to what was discussed above feel free to let me know below. I usually respond in a timely matter. The Twins have a big four-game series coming up this weekend against one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Oakland A's. We all know that the Twins have traditionally fared well against Oakland for some reason, but we'll have to see what happens. Thanks for stopping by Twins Chatter today.

Post-Trading Deadline Roster Review Part One: Hitters

The main topic of conversation in Twinsland the past week and a half has been the controversy (if you could call it that) surrounding the Doug Mientkiewicz situation, as well as the July 31st trading deadline. It became more and more apparent as the deadline approached that the Twins would not make a major addition, although it could be argued that they made an addition through subtraction by substituting Morneau for Mientkiewicz. What this means is, that for better or for worse, the 25-man roster that currently resides in the Metrodome is probably the same one that will square off against one of the American League's powerhouses come October (barring an unlikely South Side turnaround). The roster has changed quite a bit from spring training, and I think it is time to go through position by position and evaluate the Twins' performance through the first 105 games and predict what the season's final two (hopefully two and a half) months holds in store for us. This is already a really long post so I will go over the hitters today and the pitching staff tomorrow.

Catcher:
This position, more than any other on the Twins roster, is a source of anxiety for the Twins organization and their fans alike. We all know that Joe Mauer will produce when he plays. He's been arguably the team's best overall player when in the lineup. He hits for average (.308), power (6 HRs and a .570 SLG in 107 ABs), and gets on base (.382 OBP). Unfortunately, Mauer's key statistics are 35 and 107: the number of games he's played in and the number of at-bats he's had. The Twins may even go out and deal for a veteran catcher if it is determined that Mauer's sore knee will prevent him from playing for the rest of the year.

But let's focus on what we've got right now. In my opinion, Henry Blanco has done all that has been asked of him and more. His batting average, while paltry (.218) is almost identical to his career average. But he has a surprising 7 home runs thus far and has been superb defensively: he's thrown out an impressive 50% (20-40) of attempted base stealers, has blocked everything in sight and has been an outstanding receiver behind the dish. I think that he deserves a great deal of credit for the development of Carlos Silva, if only for the way he has called the game in Silva's starts. Matthew LeCroy, on the other hand, has had a subpar season. Sure his .746 OPS looks much better than Blanco's .651, but LeCroy is simply not good enough to catch on a consistent basis in the major leagues. He blocks okay and seems to be an average receiver, but I'm afraid he couldn't throw out a runner at second to save his life. Unfortunately for LeCroy, he looks less and less like an everyday each day. Overall I think the Twins can survive the rest of this season with the Blanco/LeCroy platoon but I wouldn't be upset at all if they acquired a veteran like Dan Wilson before the August 31st deadline.

First Base:
I hate to put too much pressure on a 23 year old, but Justin Morneau may just be the difference between another early playoff exit and a World Series run. He finally became impossible to ignore back out in AAA (22 HRs, .915 OPS). The only downside (that I can see) to trading Dougie mid-season is it means the Twins are operating without a safety net. If Morneau somehow falls flat on his face (an extremely remote possibility I'll admit) or gets injured, the Twins are left with Jose Offerman and Matthew LeCroy as replacements. Offensively the Twins might be okay with that pair, but defensively those two make Morneau look like, well, Doug Mientkiewicz. We'll leave that negative voodoo alone right now. Morneau already has 7 homers this year and will probably finish out the season with 15-20 in 250-300 at-bats. He's gonna strike out quite a bit, and probably won't hit much higher than .250 or .260, but his power stroke is unmatched in the entire organization. I feel much better about this team now that the good Doctor has taken over.

Second Base:
This was a position we questioned in spring training, and neither Luis Rivas nor Michael Cuddyer has done much so far to quell those doubts. After a torrid June, Rivas came back down to earth in July by batting just .210 with a .242 OBP. I actually feel good about the direction Gardenhire is heading in regards to the second base position right now. Gardy has been playing Rivas on a regular basis, but he has been starting Cuddyer two or three times a week in order to get him playing time and spell Rivas. In games Cuddyer starts Rivas usually comes in as a pinch runner and/or defensive replacement in the late innings, which makes sense. Since neither one of these guys is hitting all that well right now (Cuddyer is hitting in the .250 range with a .326 OBP for the season) I think that this strategy will serve the Twins well if they continue to do so for the rest of the season, or until one member of the duo steps to the forefront.

Shortstop and Third Base
Shortstop, along with third base, are the two least controversial positions on the diamond for the Twins. This isn't because Christian Guzman and Corey Koskie are playing so well; it is simply because we don't really have any viable replacements right now. Guzman is hitting .287 and having arguably his best season since 2001, which unfortunately isn't saying a whole ton. He did have a .313 batting average (to go along with a .337 OBP) in July, however, so maybe he has finally turned the corner (but don't count on it). His defense has been about average. Jason Bartlett recently made his major league debut, but he's not ready to replace Guzman quite yet. There's a chance he might hold onto a major league roster spot for the rest of the season as a utility infielder/pinch runner now that Nick Punto is out for the year, but he could just as easily be sent back down to AAA. At the very least he gives the Twins some middle infield depth.

Despite his 15 home runs, Koskie has had a very disappointing season. This is unfortunate because 2004 might be his last with the team (the Twins hold a $5.5 million option for 2005). He has played outstanding defense but is hitting just .240 with 45 RBIs and an uncharacteristically low .343 OBP. While the rest of the team was surging in July, Koskie hit just .209 with one homer. While it would help this team's offense immensely if Koskie began living up to his standards, the Twins will keep sticking him out there no matter what happens. Koskie is a veteran though so I'm holding out hope that he will somehow turn his season around.

Outfield/DH:
I have included the designated hitter in this category for an obvious reason: the Twins actually have four starting outfielders, but someone has to play DH in order to get in the lineup. Lately that someone has been Lew Ford. I highly disagree with this move by Ron Gardenhire for a number of reasons. First of all, Shannon Stewart has a below-average arm. It doesn't detract from his overall status as a baseball player that much, but the fact remains that Stewart has always had a weak arm and always will. Ford, on the other hand, has one of the better leftfield arms in the league. He's not always that accurate, but then again neither is Stewart. I also think that Shannon should be DHing in order to protect his foot. Anyone can easily tell that Stewart has lost a step both on the basepaths and in the outfield, and that double he misplayed against the Red Sox the other day only served to reinforce my position. Why is Gardenhire so reluctant to make Stewart the full-time DH? He's a very good offensive player. Isn't that the main requirement for a designated hitter? Instead Gardy refuses to let one of his better outfielders showcase his skills in the field. I just don't get it.

As for Hunter and Jones, you pretty much know what you are going to get with those two. Hunter has been having a pretty mundane season, and he will finish with about 20 homers, 75 RBIs, and a .275 batting average after missing a few games at the beginning of the season. Jacque's average is about 50 points too low, but his other numbers are right in line. With a late season surge he could finish with 30 homers and 100 RBIs. Twins fans have nothing to worry about here, as Ford, Stewart, Hunter, and Jones are arguably the Twins' top four hitters.

There you have it. Part One of this post-trading deadline roster review. I hope I have highlighted a few key issues that we will no doubt expand upon in the coming months. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the Twins' on-the-field exploits last night. Wednesday's 6-3 saw Kyle Lohse finally throw a decent game and Justin Morneau homer for the second consecutive night. The Twins are now the proud owners of a 6 game lead in the AL Central, thanks to Brian Anderson and his 2-hit, 11-0 shutout of the fading Chicago White Sox (note: that is not a misprint). I'll have more on Lohse and the rest of the Twins' pitching staff tomorrow in Part Two of this post.

-Ryan
twinsfan21@msn.com

An Unconventional Path to Success

I am going to apologize in advance for my relative brevity today, as it is technically John's turn to write. John is leaving on another trip this afternoon, this one to New Zealand. I promise to have a much more substantial post tomorrow.

Last night's 10-0 win over the previously-surging Anaheim Angels was a strange win indeed. Carlos Silva compiled one of the most unorthodox lines you will ever see from a pitcher in a complete game shut out: 0 runs, 11 singles, 3 strikeouts, and most amazingly, 6 double plays. You read correctly--Carlos Silva recorded almost 50% of his outs through the double play. He was also only 3 hits shy of tying the record for most hits allowed in a complete game shutout. Somehow the Angels managed to go 11-33 in the game (that's a .333 batting average for you mathematically challenged) and not score a single run! Not one! I could hardly believe it myself as I watched.

Carlos Silva has shown an amazing propensity for getting out of trouble this season. Obviously wins are an extremely deceiving statistic (for a number of reasons) but Silva has still pitched well enough to earn the 10 he has so far. He also has a better-than-league-average 4.23 ERA, which is even more impressive given the fact that opponents are hitting a ripe .312 against Silva this year. His whip is also 1.45, which is very high for a guy that walks just a batter and a half every nine innings.

The thing is, Silva has done exactly what the Twins asked him to do at the onset of Spring Training. Terry Ryan saw in Silva a guy who would go out there every five days, throw strikes, get groundballs, and eat up innings. Isn't that really all you want from a number four starter? Silva's most impressive statistic, in my mind, is the number of innings he's pitched: 140.1. If Carlos makes his projected 33-35 starts this season, he is on pace to throw over 220 innings. 220 innings with a 4.23 ERA from your #4 guy? I think just about any contender in the league would take that (except for possibly the Athletics). The problem is, Silva is actually our third best starter right now. In an ideal world, Kyle Lohse would not be one of the worst starting pitchers in the league and pitching like Rich Robertson reincarnate; Silva would slip perfectly into the bullpen when playoffs roll around and everything would be hunky-dory. Unfortunately, right now Carlos Silva would be in line to start game #3 of the ALDS and I simply don't think he would stand a chance against a good hitting team come crunchtime. The Yankees will not strand 19 men on base, as the Angels did last night. And the Yankees will most certainly not go an entire game without and extra-base hit.

But for today, let us bask with Mr. Silva in the warm glow of his first career shutout (although perhaps in our celebrating we can leave out the throwing of baseballs into the upper deck). We'll worry about the playoffs when the time comes.


Carlos Silva throws a pitch during his 11-hit shutout of the Angels on Monday

Dealing Mientkiewicz: A Second Opinion

We all knew it was inevitable, but when it actually happened, it all seemed so surreal.

The news was released early last week. We said our goodbyes on Monday. We waited for the news, some of us refreshing the sports wire every so five minutes to see if it had happened yet.

But when Saturday's 3 p.m. deadline came and went with no definitive news either way, most Twins fans either braced for the backlash or let out a sigh of relief. However, they didn't hold their breath for long.

Approximately 40 minutes later, it was official: Doug Mientkiewicz had been traded to the Boston Red Sox in a four-team trade that saw the Twins land Chicago Cubs' prospect Justin Jones.

Doug was forced to make the same 12 foot journey that Rick Aguilera made nine years ago, and received a very nice standing ovation from the home crowd when he came to bat against longtime teammate Brad Radke. No matter what your feelings on Mientkiewicz, Carl Pohlad, Ron Gardenhire, or Terry Ryan are, if you didn't feel anything during that moment, you aren't a true Twins fan.

However, what's done is done. Despite the fact that numerous people were critical of this trade (including Sir Sidney, who came off as particularly ignorant in Sunday's paper), I actually think that Terry Ryan made the most of what was a very precarious situation. First of all, let's get this straight: if you don't think Justin Morneau absolutely NEEDS to play every day on this team, you are a fool. The guy is a pure power threat, exactly what this team has been lacking for the past three and a half years. He has some obvious deficiencies, to be certain: he will probably never win a Gold Glove at first, his plate discipline isn't as developed as it could be, and he strikes out too much for my taste. But make no mistake, the kid can mash, and the Twins are in desperate need of a masher. Second of all, Doug was not going to be happy as a backup. He was becoming a distraction in the media, and did not hide his displeasure for his potential new role. After the Benson trade went down on Friday night, one veteran Twin went so far as to say, "Does this mean Dougie is stuck here?" This isn't exactly conducive to the argument that Mientkiewicz was an invaluable part of the team's "clubhouse chemistry", is it?

Last, but certainly not least, was the fact that Mint and Gardy were not seeing eye to eye. Now I think both parties deserve some blame here. Gardenhire probably should have used his better judgment and not told Dougie that he would probably be traded, and Mientkiewicz probably should have handled the news a little more professionally and not turned it into a potential distraction. Either way, the issue is currently moot and both parties (the Twins and Doug) can move on. Justin Morneau gets to play every day, an opportunity he probably deserved as early as last year. Dougie gets to play almost every day for a contender, one where he even has at least one good friend (Ortiz). As an added bonus, the Twins received a very promising young pitching prospect from the Cubs. Justin Jones was ranked the second best prospect in what is a strong Chicago farm system before the season began, according to Baseball America. He is young (19), throws hard (89-94 mph), and is lefthanded. What more can you ask for? Here's what Baseball America had to say about Jones in their minor league prospect issue earlier this year:


Background: Jones looked like a possible first-round pick early in 2002 but didn’t pitch well in front of crosscheckers, so the Cubs were able to grab him in the second. They planned on pitching him at short-season Boise in 2003 before injuries created an opening at low Class A Lansing. Jones excelled as one of the youngest pitchers in the Midwest League.

Strengths: Jones' 89-94 mph fastball and his curveball are both plus pitches. With his age and frame, he projects to add velocity. His changeup is advanced for his age, as is most of his package. He also throws an occasional splitter. Lefties went 5-for-58 (.086) with no extra-base hits against him in 2003.

Weaknesses: Like several of Chicago's top pitching prospects, Jones didn't make it through the full season. He was shut down twice with a tired arm and didn't pitch after Aug. 5. He didn't need surgery but needs to get stronger. His command can get better.

The Future: The Cubs have sought a good lefty starter for years, and Jones will race Andy Sisco and Luke Hagerty to Wrigley Field. Jones should be 100 percent for spring training and will spend 2004 at high Class A Daytona.

	W-L	ERA	IP	H	ER	BB	SO
2003	3-5	2.28	71	59	18	32	87
2004	3-3	3.78	64.1	62	27	22	59

Those numbers are drawn from a smaller sample size than would be expected due to the fact that Jones didn't join his single A team in 2004 until May, simply because the Cubs were being very cautious with their prized lefty. He has struggled with some tendinitis this season, but I heard Terry Ryan say on Sunday that the club had Jones take an MRI and he was deemed healthy. It might be two or three or four years, but Justin Jones sounds like he will become an impact pitcher in the major leagues someday.

Meanwhile, your Minnesota Twins extended their recent run of solid play by taking two of three from the visiting Red Sox this weekend, including two nice come-from-behind victories on Saturday and Sunday. Not only was I encouraged by the Twins' performance over the weekend (Kyle Lohse's lackluster outing on Friday notwithstanding), but I was extremely pleased with the attendance figures. The Twins drew crowds of 34,263, 40,283, and 38,751 for the three game series, the highest total for any three game set since August of 2002. I was at Friday's game and it was great to see such large crowds, despite the omnipresent traffic headaches. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. At the very least, the Twins' front office can stop complaining about sagging attendance figures for the time being.

I realize that was a mouthful, but I appreciate that you took the time to stop by Twins Chatter for today. The Twins have an impressive five game lead in the division, but there is always room for improvement. Later this week, I'll take a in-depth look at the current 25-man roster, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and possible moves. After all, it is my sworn duty as a Twins blogger to do everything within my power to help the team succeed, even if that contribution is merely presenting opinions that the real front office will never see. Good night everyone.

Trading Deadline Passes and Twins Win

Somebody needs to wake me up. The last several days have been a wild ride for any baseball fan but especially Twins fans. As the weather has heated up so have the Twins. They began the week by sweeping the division rival White Sox and have carried their momentum on through a storm of trade rumors and 1 very big deal that actually happened. Along the way they also happened to take 2 out of 3 from the team with the second highest payroll in the major leagues in thrilling fashion. Now as the team has built a 5 game lead in division there is more speculation that the deals did not end with Saturday's deadline. The Twins have all of us on the edge of our seats as we continue to wait to see what transpires next.

They did not play well Friday night. They got yet another bad start out of the enigma that is becoming Kyle Lohse. They also had the added tension of not knowing whether one of their most popular players of the last 4 seasons was going to stick around or be traded in the coming hours. The news broke Saturday afternoon that Doug Mientkiewicz would be walking across the hall to the Boston clubhouse. The first reports had the Twins getting Derek Lowe in the deal but later would have to settle on a class A lefthanded pitcher named Justin Jones.

Doug's time was up with the team. It had been apparent for nearly a week and should have been much prior to that. There were several scenarios in which Doug could have stayed and been a helpful cog down the stretch but none of them played out. Doug wanted out of town, by all reports his manager wanted him out and somewhere along the line someone made the mistake of talking about it. Add it all together and it makes for a very sticky clubhouse situation for a core of players that came up playing together and have in the past been touchy when it comes to a chemistry excuse.

Had Doug stayed he could have been a valuable piece, pitch hitting, coming in as a defensive replacement and providing insurance for team that has suffered myriad injuries already this year. Doug would have been the kind of player contending teams carry. As it turns out he did not share this belief. Doug Mientkiewicz did not enjoy being Wally Pipped by the best hitting prospect in the organization, Justin Morneau. To Doug it was a matter of respect and not performance. Nevermind that Morneau had already accomplished all there was to accomplish in the minor leagues and provided a much needed spark to a big club that was getting no production out of an offensive position. Dougie Baseball had not played the way he had in previous years to warrant the 2 year extension he signed in the off-season. That extension owed him 4 million dollars next year, a luxury that small market teams cannot afford. Enter Terry Ryan and the need for the trade.

The Twins got the best deal available to them in the market. Doug is an over priced defensive first baseman in a the league that rarely values skill at his position. It would have been nice to have added another starter for the rotation but Doug was not the piece that was going to bring that to the team. The Pirates had already said no to the Twins and the Red Sox needed to get a starter back in any deal where they traded Derek Lowe. So Terry Ryan was in the position of trying to find the most talented player available rather then just give Mientkiewicz away for free.

Ryan has had the most success in his career at finding that class A diamond and watching him develop into a prize prospect. Examples include David Ortiz, Joe Mays, Jason Bartlett and Kyle Lohse. His track record with major league talent is a little more hit and miss. No one had heard of Justin Jones before Saturday but one thing he seems to have is potential. He can throw in the mid 90's and some publications rate him quite high. He has had some arm trouble and there are some other reviews that consider him a mediocre prospect at best. He was also drafted 1 spot behind Jesse Crain. He looks like the type of pitcher who is a risk but could pay off big. What Terry Ryan did was get a guy with a high upside when he might otherwise have been stuck with nothing.

Trading Doug Mientkiewicz has also freed up salary both this year and next creating payroll flexibility. Now the Twins are in the position to make a deal in August for a guy they might not otherwise have been able to afford. The long term effects may enable them to keep Brad Radke or Corey Koskie instead of having Doug stuck on the bench next year. Justin Morneau's time is now. He possesses skills that Mientkiewicz never had. He has the ability to fill the void that has been the cleanup spot. He also forces opposing teams to fear his power while creating a level of excitement in every at bat. He deserves the chance to succeed, he has been the real deal and it wouldn't be fair for the organization to hold him back any longer. Now he can go out and play without the pressure of someone being ready to take his spot the moment he falters as has happened to other top prospects in the past couple of seasons.

Ominous reports came in on Joe Mauer's knee this weekend and it could be awhile before he plays again. This news is a big set back for the organization and they may have to acquire another catcher. Matt LeCroy can't field or more importantly throw and Henry Blanco despite occasionally being possessed by unnatural forces, can't hit. For those fans who are upset that the Twins did not add anybody to the major league roster more deals are on the way. More teams are going to drop out of the race as the summer progresses and more players will be available that could fit the team better. There is no doubt this team needs at least 1 more starter.

The good news is that Mientkiewicz's spot on the roster was filled by Jesse Crain. It might be too much to put all the pressure of a pennant race upon him right away but young pitchers with nasty stuff seem to generally fair well in that situation(K-Rod). Crain helps to further solidify the pen and if nothing else is a better option then Joe Roa who like Jose Offerman is playing on borrowed time. If he is able to have some success he will lesson the workloads of Juan Rincon and the consistently inconsistent JC Romero, giving the Twins a much needed second option for the middle innings while giving up nothing to get it.

Crain was up in the bullpen on Sunday but never had a chance of entering the game. Lately when Johan Santana pitches most of the relievers can expect to have the day off. Sunday was no different, as he continued his dominance. In the last 2 months he has catapulted himself to the top of major league starters. On the way he has erased doubts that last season was a fluke. He has held up under pressure while continuing to throw 2 very unhittable pitches and a third almost as devastating. He alone gives the Twins a shot in any playoff series.

He continues to get stronger as the season progresses. Some of his stats have been unreal. He is virtually unhittable, yesterday allowing just 2 hits in 8 innings of work. The only way other teams score off of him are solo homeruns or on errors. He leads the American League with 173 strikeouts and easily outshone the guy behind him, Pedro Martinez yesterday. Even his wins are starting to come around as the team finally came through and helped him pick up number 10.

It was an amazing game to watch. Both pitchers were dominating and matched each other pitch for pitch. The Red Sox would hit a homerun and the Twins would get a big hit to tie it up. The difference in the game was the Twins aggressive baserunning. Billy Beane may believe that the stolen base has no place in baseball but on Sunday afternoon the Twins used it to win the game. The double steal in the 8th was a gutsy play and if Cristian Guzman had been thrown out it would have been highly criticized. He wasn't thrown out though. Instead it set up Justin Morneau to come to the plate with the chance to tie the game again. Morneau did his job and the Boston defense did the rest giving back the unearned run from the inning previous and putting the Twins up for good.

The Twins continue to play like they deserve to be champions. They are finally beginning to gain the respect they deserve as the White Sox fall further and further in the standings. Everything has gone right as they have put pressure on their opponents. There remains a lot of baseball to be played and they are bound to cool off at some point. No matter what they need to keep their swagger and avoid the offensive struggles they suffered through earlier in the season. The additions of Shannon Stewart and Morneau to the lineup make this more likely while making the lineup respectable. They proved during the last week that they can go out and beat good playoff teams and they can carry that into October with their top two pitchers who match up with anybody else's out there.

It was a wild weekend as the Twins continued to make believers out of even themselves. They said good bye to a former keystone but seem to have found the ingredients needed to win ballgames. The team takes it to the opponents with strong defense, devastating pitching and a little bit of late inning heroics. The pieces continue to fall into place as the summer progresses and the Twins try to transform themselves into more then just a playoff team. This weekend they looked capable of beating anybody while holding onto their best parts for making that possible for the next 5 years.

John
john.betzler@mnsu.edu

NOTE FROM RYAN: I also wrote a piece describing my thoughts and reactions to the Mientkiewicz trade, Justin Jones, and the Twins' weekend series against Boston, but I have decided to hold it off until tomorrow because there won't be a game to write about (the Twins are off). Although it may be considered "old news" by then, I hope you all will check this space tomorrow for another take on the monumental events that took place over the weekend.

A Clean Sweep

Talk about making a statement.  Your Minnesota Twins marched down to the South Side of Chicago this week with a negligible 1/2 game lead over the Sox, and marched right back out a mere two and a half days later with a 3 1/2 game lead in the division.  Today's game was very exciting to watch, for those of you who had the opportunity, and I think that it captured the fundamental differences between these two teams beautifully.  Let me count the ways:

-The Sox committed two key errors that lead to two Minnesota runs, including the game winning run in the tenth.  Even though the Sox defense may look better than the Twins'  on paper, let's face it: it isn't, and it probably will not be for quite a while.  The fact that the White Sox have to play Jose Valentin at shortstop is proof positive that this team has never placed the correct amount of emphasis on defense, and it killed them today.  Even without Dougie Baseball, the Twins have a better defensive player than the White Sox at almost every spot on the diamond.  Hunter's catch in the bottom of the tenth only puts an exclamation point on that statement.

-The Twins ran wild on the White Sox this weekend, and that doesn't include Torii's (clean) collision at the plate on Monday.  The Twins stole five bases in the three game series, a pretty big total for a team that had stolen 70 in the 98 games previous.  If I remember correctly, two or three of those steals didn't even warrant an attempt from the White Sox catchers.  Ben Davis was particularly inept, as the Twins were 4-4 in stolen base attempts off the new acquired backstop.  On the other side of the spectrum, the White Sox managed to run themselves out of a potentially big seventh inning yesterday when the had two runners caught stealing, one of them on a particularly bone-headed play by Valentin.

-Without Mags and Thomas, the ChiSox offense is very unbalanced.  Sure, they still have the power threats of Lee, Valentin, and Konerko, but unless someone gets on base ahead of those guys, this team will struggle to score that many runs.  Uribe is in a deep slump right now, and Wille Harris and/or Timo Perez are not very good options for the top of the lineup either.  The White Sox hit six homers in this series, but all of them were solo shots.  As we've heard Bert Blyleven say countless times, there isn' much harm in giving up homers as long as they're solo homers.

All told, it was a very impressive three-game sweep for the Twins.  As deflating as getting swept by the Sox at home was at the end of June, this sweep has finally erased any doubts I had about the quality of the 2004 Twins.  The team we have seen over the past 10 days is the team that we were all so excited about this spring.  The rotation has been solid, with Radke and Johan on lead vocals.  The offense has been scoring runs in bunches, even manufacturing runs against tough competition.  And the bullpen has almost fulfilled its full potential, with Nathan, Rincon, Balfour, and Romero (today's outing notwithstanding) emerging as solid contributors.  The Twins are surging.  The Sox are bumbling.  The galaxy's natural balance has once again been restored.

Some other thoughts
The trade market is very slow right now, but there have been a few new developments from a Twins perspective.  Doug Mientkiewicz was originally scheduled to be in the starting lineup for Tuesday's (and possibly Wednesday's) games against Chicago, but was scratched after meeting with Gardenhire.  I realize that Dougie is distraught over the fact that he will probably be traded, but come on!  You are still a professional baseball player on a major league baseball team and getting paid.  If the team wants you to play, you play!  Handle the rumors like a professional and just go about your business.  I see absolutely no way that the Twins could NOT trade Mientkiewicz now, despite the fact that he might actually serve a purpose as an (albeit overpriced) defensive replacement/pinch hitter for the final two months of the season.  However, Pittsburgh recently eliminated themselves, understandably, as a possible destination for Mientkiewicz on Tuesday.  They are in no need of a relatively expensive veteran first baseman, as one of the reasons they are sellers in the trade market is to dump salary.

One proposed deal in the Strib today would have the Red Sox sending Kevin Youkillis to the Pirates, Mientkiewicz going to Boston, and Kris Benson coming here.  An interesting proposal, no doubt, but I think that Youkillis is a steep price to pay for Mientkiewicz.  Dave Littlefield is also said to be asking for Jason Kubel in a trade, which I hope TR is not seriously considering (I strongly doubt he is).  It has always been the Twins mantra never to mortgage the future for the present, and I wholeheartedly agree with that philosophy right here.  A Benson rental is worth nowhere near a top prospect like Kubel; Littlefield needs to go get his head examined if he thinks the Twins are that stupid.  The franchise didn't climb out from the depths of ineptitude by making shortsighted trades.  Such tactics are better left to the dregs of major league baseball.  A certain team in Pennsylvania that has endured 12 (almost 13) straight losing seasons comes immediately to mind.

Gaining momentum

With all the trade speculation circulating this week much attention has been drawn away from one of the biggest series of the year.  Everyone wants to know where Doug is going and we grow impatient for Kris Benson to finally be in a Twins uniform.  In the meantime the Twins have  come out punching against their rivals, the White Sox.  The way the Twins have played the first two games it almost appears that no moves are  needed.  They have played with a fire that was lacking in previous meetings.

Last night Johan Santana continued to pitch like a man from another planet and for awhile it looked like it wouldn't be enough.  Then in the fifth inning the Twins came alive with a big two out rally.  Things are generally going in the right direction when a team is scoring with two outs in clutch situations.  The Bitch(copyright Batgirl) Sox were not ready to concede the game and finally made Santana look human in the 7th inning with a Carlos Lee homer, a walk and a hit batter.  For the first time in 10 starts Santana looked tired before the 8th inning.  Never fear, Juan Rincon came in and conquered his previous demons to get the Twins out of the jam.  It was all business after that with the Twins winning 7-3. 

This series has been huge for the team.   They are finally sending a message that they aren't going to back down to the White Sox.  It's no longer good enough for them to just stick around, they are now in a position to surge ahead in the division.   Suddenly, even the national media is back on the bandwagon.  The Twins have shown that there is life in their bats and that their top two starters are above and beyond that of the White Sox.  They don't have to make the big deals that the White Sox made because they can call up guys like Justin Morneau who make a big impact.  The return of Shannon Stewart to the lineup has also helped.  The Twins are showing why they have won the last two years and should have been favored all along this year.

Meanwhile, the Sox have already fired all their bullets.  They have made their big trades and now must face the reality of playing without two of their best hitters.   Ozzie Guillen has closed the gap but all that means is that the final standing will be closer.   Granted, the Twins have only won the last two games and could very well lose tonight but the White Sox had the chance to put them away a long time ago.  Now that task is getting harder by the day and the Twins seem to only be getting stronger.

A major trade should go down between now and the deadline.  Rumors circulated all day about Kris Benson coming to the Twins in exchange for Doug Mientkiewicz and a prospect(Restovich).  Still three days have passed since we learned Doug was to be traded and no deal has transpired.  Twins official have started hedging their bets and backing off their statement.  They say there is a chance he isn't going anywhere which might have been the best decision all along.  Meanwhile Doug sits in limbo on the bench not contributing.

The Twins need to be leery of making a deal just to make one.   Kris Benson has been very good for about 10 starts.  The rest of his career has been inconsistent with nothing that should lead anyone to think he is ready to pitch in big games.  There is an argument circulating that Doug and Resto need to be traded.  That it is the right thing to do so that they can play.  Of course they deserve to be in a situation where they play every day but that is no reason to not get full value for them. 

Last year the Shannon Stewart deal was questioned.  People believed the Twins gave up too much potential in Bobby Kielty.  No one has mentioned anything to that effect in a long time about that deal.  Kris Benson is no Shannon Stewart though.  He is not going to come in and change the attitude of the team.  He is more of a Rick Reed.  The good news is that neither Doug or Resto are likely to make the Twins regret giving up on them.  They are not David Ortiz.  Both will probably go on to be solid players and will most certainly be a part of any deal the Twins make before the deadline. 

It is a great time of year to be a Twins fan.  Since the Twins were built from within and so many of their prospects had to pan out for them to be where they are today, it is only natural for us to be leery of trading them away.  We have grown attached to players who came up through the organization especially when they have succeeded at the major league level.  To win the big one risks need to be taken.  Many of the best prospects don't pan out, the well dries up and the window of opportunity closes.  Unless you win it all during those years, you are left with nothing.   Nobody will care that the Twins paid too much for a third starter if they win it all. 

The situation with Doug Mientkiewicz seems to be getting wierder.  Yesterday reports had him all but traded to the Pirates.  Then last night he was penciled into the lineup before later being taken out, normally the sign of a trade.  Then it seemed momentum started to shift in the other direction.  Reports of the Pirates lack of interest in Doug and his salary began to surface and Doug apparently did not play for another reason.  Right now there seems to be too much speculation and not enough actual knowledge.  Both teams are trying to swing the very best deal possible and it appears the deal is not done yet.  It is too bad that in the meanwhile everyone is left holding their breath.  Twins Chatter will continue to follow the situation tomorrow and right up until something goes down.  We will continue to update the situation.