Friday, June 18, 2004

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

Just a short post from us today, First we would like to direct your attention to Seth Speaks today. Dr. Buck Ford, father of Twins outfielder (and Official Player of this blog) Lew Ford was kind enough to write a piece about Lew for the occasion of Father's Day (which is this Sunday). It's a very good read, and We strongly encourage you all to check it out.

The Twins won last night 6-4. Matt Guerrier made his major league debut and his numbers were not that impressive. He allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 3 and walking 1 in 4 innings of work. What stuck out from last night was how the bullpen picked the team up yet again. It has gotten so that it is expected that they will just shut the other team down.

The one exception was Grant Balfour. He was coming off of 6 appearances without allowing a run entering the game. Last night was his first real opportunity in a pressure situation. Juan Rincon had pitched 2 innings the night before and so Balfour had a chance to prove himself. He failed miserably, allowing a run and leaving the game with two more in scoring position. Luckily, out came Joe Nathan to save the day. It's amazing how effectively he and Rincon have used the strikeout in recent outings.

Also of note was Doug Mientkiewicz's homerun. Stuck in an extended slump it was a good sign to see Doug finally get ahold of one. He has been taking the lineup down as of late and needs to pick it up. He needs to be the steadying force in the lineup. Torii Hunter, on the other hand, is horribly inconsistent. It's so frustrating to watch him flail away at pitches so obviously out of the strike zone then come up with a big double such as he did last night. His defense is what keeps most of the criticism off of him.

That is all for today, be sure and stop by Twins Chatter first thing next week for a brand spankin' new post. In the meantime, have a great weekend, don't forget to spend some time with dad and let's go Twins!

-Ryan and John
twinsfan21@msn.com, johnbetzler@hotmail.com