SB Nation - Nick Blackburn

GM Meetings Day 2: Open Thread

Jesse — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:34:55 -0000

Check back periodically for updates...

4:00 pm: Afternoon updates from Joe C.

Congrats to Joe Mauer, who wins his second Gold Glove. Well deserved.
Apparently the GM's are expected to discuss intant replay? I had no idea. At any rate it hasn't been discussed yet.
Bonser, Neshek and Slowey have been reinstated from the 60-day DL.
Joe promises more tonight.

12:45 pm: Some news from around the league

It sounds like Jason Varitek will pick up his part of the option to stay with the Red Sox, which will be a favor to teams across the American League if he continues to hit like he has the last two seasons. Which he probably will. In related news, Tim Wakefield is never going to stop pitching. NEVER.
If the Twins want to put together a package for Roy Halladay to really make a run with an Ace in hand for 2010, it will have to be a package of "quality over quantity". Sorry, Cmath.
Lunch time trade question: would you trade Jesse Crain and Delmon Young to the Royals for David DeJesus? Is it a realistic scenario?

9:30 am: Catching up on the highlights from yesterday

• Carl Pavano wouldn’t mind sticking with the Twins as long as the money is right. Quotes from his agent, Tom O’Connell, imply that Pavano won’t settle for another contract asking for his client to re-establish himself. If he’d still be willing to take an incentive-laden contract at a reasonable price (say something like one year, $5 million with $500K for reaching 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 innings) with an option for a second year, I’d do that. He’s a Type-B free agent, but I’m not sure he’d make more than that taking the arbitration route (which the Twins are sure to offer).
• Twins General Manager Bill Smith has mentioned there will be interest in free agent starting pitchers during the off-season. I have to believe that only three spots (Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey) are locked down.
• It sounds like Ron Gardenhire wouldn’t mind bringin back Orlando Cabrera as the team’s second baseman next season, but it seems highly unlikely the front office would follow through on that.
• The Orioles claimed Armando Gabino off waivers.
• Justin Huber cleared waivers, paving the way for his possible return to Rochester (or the Twins) in 2010.
• Juan Morillo has been added to the 40-man roster, bringing the current tally to 33 (not including 60-day DL guys Boof Bonser, Pat Neshek and Kevin Slowey, or impending free agents Ron Mahay, Mike Redmond, Joe Crede, Pavano and Cabrera).
• Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors has posted his yearly series where he guesses where the top 50 free agents will end up. He thinks Adrian Beltre (number nine on his list) will end up in Minnesota.
• Before the Twins snapped up J.J. Hardy, a number of other teams had been in contact with the Brewers, including the Red Sox, Reds and Blue Jays.

The Bottom Line: Twins Struggle to Hold Leads VS Yankees

Jesse — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:04:47 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

about 1 month ago: Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano throws during the first inning of Game 3 of the American League division baseball series against the New York Yankees on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Twins 1, Yankees 4

Every game of this series saw the Twins take a lead. In game one it was 2-0. In game two it was 1-0...and then 3-1. Tonight it was 1-0, again. And with the exception of game one, which was all Yankees all the time after the top of the third inning, games two and three could have been won by the Twins if only they could lock it down.

Nick Blackburn pitched very well in game two. And back home, Carl Pavano pitched an absolute gem in game three. Pavano struck out nine Yankee hitters in seven innings, walked nobody and allowed just five hits. Sadly, two of those hits came in the top of the seventh, when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada each went deep.

Ron Mahay, Jon Rauch and Jose Mijares each walked a batter in the ninth, loading the bases for Joe Nathan with just one out. Nick Punto ignored a stop sign and was thrown out as he tried to dive back to third base. Jason Kubel upped his strikeout total to nine in the series. It's hard not to be a little bitter right now, to not have a sour taste in your mouth, but if you're looking to point a finger for the outcome of this series it can only be pointed at the team we love. And somehow, that makes it even worse.

It was a spectacular season. And that's all I'm going to say for tonight. No analysis, no name-calling, no wallowing in misery. The Minnesota Twins are the AL Central Division champions, and they played their tails off to earn that title. But the fact that I feel like I do only goes to show me how much this team means to me, and I already know that by tomorrow morning I'll be looking forward to the off-season, with the hope that next year...next year...might be the season we finally bring home the World Series trophy.

Congratulations to the New York Yankees, who advance to the ALCS. They made the plays they needed to make, and they took advantage of every single mistake the Twins made in this series. Which is exactly what you expect a championship-caliber team to do, big market or small markeet. Or mid-market, in Minnesota's case.

Thanks for a great season, everybody. I'll see you tomorrow.

Stars of the Game
Joe Mauer: Playing the role of MVP, Joe picked up the Twins' lone RBI of the night.
Denard Span: Two hits for the leadoff guy, along with a stolen base. Solid night.
Michael Cuddyer: A pair of hits for Cuddles, who also had a strong night.
Matt Guerrier: A big scoreless eighth inning.
Carl Pavano: Seven innings of fantastic ball, it was the best I've seen him all year. I definitely would like to see him back next season.

Tears
Nick Punto: After starting a rally with a leadoff double in the eighth, he ran through a stop sign from Scott Ulger on Span's chopper up the middle. It killed a rally the team desperately needed.
Brendan Harris: Hitless in big spots tonight.
Jose Morales: Looked overmatched at times; still looking forward to seeing him as Joe's backup next season.
Jason Kubel: Overmatched at all times. Nine strikeouts in the series with three more tonight. Extremely disappointing, sorry Patches.
Ron Mahay, Jon Rauch, Jose Mijares: Walking the bases loaded, with the team on the ropes. It doesn't get any worse than that, it really doesn't.

Respect
Alex Rodrigez: I hate the fact that you're such a great ballplayer. I liked him before he came to New York. Like a lot of players.
Andy Pettitte: Pitched a great game. One of the all-time great post-season pitchers.
Mariano Rivera: Continues to amaze, even at this point of his career. His buzz-saw of Mauer to end the Minnesota threat in the eighth was sick.

Poll

Where does your allegience lie for the ALCS?

New York Yankees

139 votes

Los Angeles Angels

274 votes

Actually, a team from the NL

92 votes

505 votes | Poll has closed

ALDS Pre-Game: Do Or Die...Again

Jesse — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:33:42 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

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A common theme, I feel.

Joe Mauer will be catching today, playing with a "hip flexor", which basically causes pain any time you try to flex a leg upward; kicking, lifting a knee, that kind of thing. So, really, not idea for your catcher. I'm thinking maybe DH'ing Mauer today, for his own good, would be for the best. With a four-man bench, two of them catchers, I feel it's a move that's pretty much made to order. This is also the kind of game where I'd trust Mike Redmond to come up with a big hit.
Montanatwinsfan noted this earlier, but with Matt Tolbert out due to an oblique strain Brian Buscher is taking his place of the playoff roster. Brendan Harris will get the nod at third base, and hopefully he can make a play or two like he did back in New York on Friday.
Jason Kubel needs to show up today. Four strikeouts in game two, which is just unacceptable by any measurement of success, showed exactly how overmatched he was. The bad news is that it's southpaw veteran Andy Pettitte on the mound, which means Kubel's contributions will be harder to come by. The good news is that pretty much any contribution is better than what he's given the Twins so far.
It's a good thing that Carl Pavano is getting a nod at home in the Dome. I can't imagine what kind of horrible reception he'd get had he started in New York. Not that he couldn't handle it, because I'm sure he could, but no doubt pitching in front of a crowd that's got your back will be much easier. Nick Blackburn managed to largely neutralize that great Yankee offense, and Carl will need to do the same.
It's hard to look at this series thinking "the Twins have to win three in a row" or "the Twins can't lose". You still have to take it one day at a time, because it's no use looking to tomorrow until you've won today. So that's how I'm looking at it: win today. Just win today. Then think about winning tomorrow. One game at a time.
Michael Cuddyer has homered off of Pettitte this year, in Minnesota's one shot at him. Carlos Gomez and Brendan Harris picked up multi-hit days. Justin Morneau went 4-for-4, but for some reason I think he's unavailable tonight.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have already seen Pavano twice this season, both times when he was with the Cleveland Indians. Mark Teixeira is the only Yankee with a homer off him, while Derek Jeter is the only Yankee with more than one hit off him.
I like what Bill Smith had to say in Sid Hartman's column today. No excuses, but with a real understanding of the situation:

"We like our team, we like our players. Any success we have is going to be through scouting and player development. We know we have a great manager and great major league coaching staff. We have a lot of good young players who have come through our system."

This could be the swan song for the Metrodome, but I'd like to play at least one more. Let's take down the Yankees tonight.

2009 MLB Playoffs: Day 3

Brendanukkah — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:14:55 -0000

Current Series

Yankees lead the series 1-0

Wed 10/07	WP: CC Sabathia (1 - 0) LP: Brian Duensing (0 - 1)	2 - 7 loss
Minnesota Twins Twinkie Town @ New York Yankees Pinstripe Alley Friday, Oct 9, 2009, 6:07 PM EDT Yankee Stadium Nick Blackburn vs A.J. Burnett Mostly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing from right to left field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage >
Sun 10/11		7:07 PM EDT

The MLB Postseason goes on, despite this judge's choice of Matt Holliday in "Man Getting Hit in Groin by Baseball" as most outstanding work this postseason. The scrappy Twins try to win their first game all year against the Yankees behind Nick Blackburn. The Yankees counter with third-biggest free agent acquisition A.J. Burnett, making his postseason debut. This season's statistics would indicate that New York is the favorite, but bear in mind that the Yankees have not been up 2 games to none in a division series since 1999. Twins in an upset, sez I!

Current Series

Angels lead the series 1-0

Thu 10/08	WP: John Lackey (1 - 0) LP: Jon Lester (0 - 1)	0 - 5 loss
Boston Red Sox @ Los Angeles Angels Over the Monster Halos Heaven Friday, Oct 9, 2009, 9:37 PM EDT Angel Stadium of Anaheim Josh Beckett vs Jered Weaver Mostly clear. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Complete Coverage >
Sun 10/11		12:07 PM EDT

The nightcap sees Big Game Pitcher Josh Beckett take on Regular Game Pitcher Jered Weaver. The Angels managed to do what cancer couldn't and beat Jon Lester in the first game, helping to get put all of Boston's postseason dominance over the lads from Los Angeles/Anaheim partially behind them. They can take a commanding two game lead with a win tonight. Beckett seems to shine when he's needed most, but the Sox offense looked mighty pedestrian against John Lackey. Weaver has shut down the Red Sox this year, posting an 0.66 ERA over 13 2/3 innings, and recording 12 strikeouts. Should be a good game, and I look for the Angels to put their boot on Boston's throat and keep them down while they're struggling.

Tuesday Rockpile: Bored Colorado Rockies force AL Central teams to battle for their amusement

RockiesMagicNumber — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:01:22 -0000

More photos » by Matt Rourke - AP

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As various Game 1's of the 2009 postseason draw near, Rockies fans find themselves in an interesting position: Watching 2 other teams have a play-in game for their playoff spot while already inside the gates of the postseason.

This is the second consecutive season where the Minnesota Twins have found themselves in a 1-game play in for the AL Central Division Title. Last season, Sox DH Jim Thome launched a solo shot off of Twins starter Nick Blackburn in the 7th inning which proved to be all the Sox needed, as starter John Danks pitched 8 innings of 2-hit ball, and closer Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless 9th.

2 years ago, I hardly need remind anybody on THIS website, but just in case, Colorado rallied off of Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to win the NL Wild Card for just the second playoff berth in franchise history.

Other famous tiebreaker play-in games include the 3-game series in 1962 where the 103-win Los Angeles Dodgers were defeated by Don Larsen and the 102-win San Francisco Giants en route to an eventual 7-game loss to the New York Yankees, and a 1978 game not easily forgotten in the annals of baseball history thanks to one Yankee shortstop with a censored nickname.

via www.insidesocal.com

Feel free to discuss nostalgic baseball games while we're waiting to continue making our own history.

Meanwhile, back at the Mountain Ranch Club:

Rockies closer Huston Street revels in playoff atmosphere - The Denver Post
Boy, howdy are we glad we're in our situation and not in Philadelphia's. We have a solid setup man, closer, and while Franklin Morales may not be earning our love and favor recently, but he could still be the closer, you know. I know a lot of Santa-Claus-Booing, Battery-Throwing, Cheesesteak eaters who would love to be in our shoes in terms of back-end bullpen headcases. (For any Philly fans reading, I'm totally kidding about all that back there. I know you only throw change.)

Rockies Mailbag: Bring on the Phillies - The Denver Post
Troy Renck answers a few of the Rockies' faithful's questions regarding postseason eligibility, Dan O'Dowd's contract status, Ian Stewart's tough season, Eric Young Jr. 's baserunning troubles, and Troy Tulowitzki for Comeback Player of the Year. Why anyone asked for it for Tulo, I'll never know, but Todd Helton was far more deserving of it if it were to to a Rockies' player.

Krieger: Tough calls pressing in on Tracy - The Denver Post
Dave Krieger takes some time to talk about the Jason Marquis' role in the rotation, how to set the lineups, and pretty much everything we've been discussing ad nauseam since late last week.

Rockies' young hitters get into swing - The Denver Post

Jim Armstrong discusses Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez, the bright future ahead of them, and how versatile their play has been in getting the Rockies where they are now.

This Rocktober squad better than 2007 version - The Denver Post
Patrick Saunders examines the 2009 Rockies as compared to their 2007 counterparts and points out what's good, better, and ugly. Ok not ugly.

Click past the jump for some other MLB capsules.

J.P. Ricciardi, Kevin Towers, Fredi

Baseball's employment rate took a hit this week with the unsurprising firing of embattled Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, the unexpected firing of Padres longtime GM Kevin Towers and the shocking development that Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez's job may not be completely safe.

Who Actually Had the Biggest Comeback in 2009? - Beyond the Box Score

BtBS busts out a little WAR loving to see whose 2 season swing merited them the Comeback Player of the Year award.

2009 Awards | FanGraphs Baseball

Not a lot of surprises as to who wins most of the awards here, but Fangraphs jumps the gun a bit and goes ahead and hands out their hardware before the postseason even begins.

The Giants had a few headlines today:

Giants exceeded expectations in '09 | SFGiants.com: News
The Giants' elimination from the postseason race, which became official Wednesday with Colorado's 10-5 victory over Milwaukee, did nothing to diminish the promise San Francisco showed while climbing into contention.

Free-agent-to-be Brad Penny enjoyed short stint with Giants - San Jose Mercury News
Penny enjoyed pitching on the West Coast again, and the Giants certainly enjoyed having him, despite not making the postseason.

Will Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean be retained next season? - San Jose Mercury News
I certainly hope so. I mean, I'd hate to see Tim Lincecum lose his arm to bad managing, but whatever, I want to keep winning, too.

Curtain call for best ever S.F. catcher?

Tricky article. John Shea cleverly dodges around Bengie Molina's godawful OBP while he makes a case for Bengie to be listed among all-time Giants great backstops.

Molina and the Giants need each other

Ray Rotto has some fond memories of the past 3 years of Bengie the Backstop, and ponders where the Giants could ever possibly find a studly offensive catcher to replace Bengie.....HMMMMM...

Full Count " The Market For Jason Bay

I always find it a bit tacky to discuss FAs before the postseason is over.

Mauer's MVP Beats Greinke's Cy Young, Twins Stave Off Comeback

Jesse — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:12:08 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

about 1 month ago: Minnesota Twins' Jason Kubel, left, Michael Cuddyer, center and Joe Mauer, right, celebrate after scoring on a three-run double by Delmon Young off Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke in the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, in Minneapolis. It was the final series in the Metrodome. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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Twins 5, Royals 4

There are no shortages of heroes in Minnesota tonight. A four-run sixth disappeared, but today the Twins weren't going to be denied.

For five and a half innings, Zack Greinke and Nick Blackburn traded zeros. The game's first hit didn't even come until Orlando Cabrera led off the bottom of the fourth, but for more than half of the contest it was a beautiful pitcher's duel. Stressful? Yes. But beautiful.

The Twins finally drew blood in the bottom of the sixth. Nick Punto drew an eight-pitch walk off Greinke to lead off the frame, before Denard "ideal leadoff guy" Span dropped down a made-to-order bunt on the first pitch he saw. With LNP standing on second base, Greinke's pitches began to sit high in the zone. He managed to get Cabrera to ground out to third base, but he wasn't able to keep Punto from advancing. With two out and the game still knotted at zero, up stepped Joe Mauer.

Greinke tried to bust Mauer up and in twice, with Joe taking atypical chances and taking cuts on them both and fouling them off. A pair of sliders just under the strike zone followed, leading to a 1-2 count before Greinke tried to come up and in with another fastball. This time, Joe did exactly what he meant to. He pulled it through the right side, and Punto finally scored to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

Then the Royals ace came off the rails, just a little bit. Jason Kubel took an outer-half fastball and shot it down the left field line, for a moment saving Greinke from a run as it hit the turf and then bounced over the fence, keeping Mauer on third base. Then he hit Michael Cuddyer with a 94-mph fastball. For the third time in two days, the Royals loaded the bases for Delmon Young.

Maybe Greinke was feeling confident. Maybe he just didn't locate the ball where he wanted it to go. Maybe he and Miguel Olivo were over-thinking their strategy. For whatever reason, Greinke served Delmon a 95-mph first-pitch fastball somewhere between the letters and the belly button, and as everyone's favorite play-by-play guy likes to say, he didn't miss it. Young went the other way, dropping the ball into right field, clearing the bases to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.

Kansas City stuck with their man, even after Jose Morales singled on the next pitch. Even Matt Tolbert swung at the first pitch he saw, and he hit it hard. But this time the ball was blind, and Minnesota's rally came to and end. So did Greinke's afternoon.

A Mike Jacobs homer in the top of the seventh put Kansas City on the board, but it was the eighth that, if you were watching or listening or at this game, should have put the fear of the baseball gods right into you. Olivo led it off with a double, signaling the end of Blackburn's night. Jose Mijares replaced him, and I'm starting to wonder if he's inside of his own head a bit after throwing at Adam Everett on Thursday. Alex Gordon took the third fastball he saw and deposited it over the right field fence, cutting Minnesota's lead to one. Another single saw Mijares get the hook for Jon Rauch, who did his job one batter too late.

Willie Bloomquist singled, moving something called Tug Hutlett to third with no outs in the inning. Rauch got Mitch Maier to roll into a double play, but it scored the tying run. The Metrodome fell silent, and if you weren't having images of whatever playoff hopes you had crashing down in your subconscious, then I envy you. For a game that looked so well in hand to fall apart so quickly, it didn't look good.

You know who didn't care? You know who said "Get on my back, I have broad shoulders and really big dimples and the bat of a hero"? Michael Cuddyer. The same guy who Greinke nailed two innings prior watched a pair of pitches miss the zone before he decided to take a chance. Dusty Hughes threw a changeup, as straight as it could possibly be, right over the plate at about Cuddyer's knees. Cuddles turned on it, and lauched it into the home run porch in left field. He breathed life back into the season, into the team, and into the fans.

Joe Nathan struck out a pair in a perfect ninth inning to pick up save number 47, and once again the Minnesota Twins have won. It's not over yet, kids. No matter what happens tonight, tomorrow matters. And if by some miracle the Tigers lose tonight, tomorrow matters even more.

Holy crap. Can they do this?

Stars of the Game
#3: Delmon Young (2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, .154 WPA)
#2: Nick Blackburn (7+ IP, 2 R, 5 K, 0 BB, .305 WPA)
#1: Michael Cuddyer (1-for-3, HR, RBI, 2 R, .245 WPA)

Now, It's Very Close: Twins 3, Tigers 2

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:45:07 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Gerald Laird demonstrates one way to get on base, by stepping in front of the baseball. Unfortunately for the Tigers, that didn't drive in a run.

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Only one game now separates first place from second in the AL Central, as the Minnesota Twins took the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, 3-2. You wanted a close race, baseball fans? The Tigers just accommodated you.

Do they have to be so accommodating? Maybe it's a Midwestern thing.

This one took on a familiar feeling of dread, as the Tigers just couldn't break through with some offense against Nick Blackburn. The squandering began from the very first inning, as no one could drive in Curtis Granderson after he hit a leadoff double. Detroit scored a run in the second, but really should've gotten more with two runners on and one out.

And on it went. In the third, the Tigers led off with runners on first and third, but couldn't drive either one in. In the fourth, they had a runner on second with one out, but couldn't put the ball in play. Those last two outs were part of 14 straight batters the Twins retired.

Minnesota finally broke through in the 10th inning against Brandon Lyon. Denard Span hit a leadoff single, and unfortunately for the Tigers, Lyon helped him around the bases with two wild pitches. With a runner on third and no outs, the Twins made sure they didn't blow the opportunity. Orlando Cabrera drove in Span with a single. Minnesota then manufactured its way to a second run with two walks (one intentional) and two sacrifices.

If only the Tigers could do that. It works so much better than ending an inning with a groundout.

With that, Detroit wasted a fantastic, playoff-worthy pitching performance from Rick Porcello. Kid Rick pitched into the seventh inning, giving up only one run and seven hits. He also only walked one batter. If anyone was wondering how the rookie would respond to some playoff-type of pressure, he answered affirmatively.

Unfortunately, the Tigers' lineup couldn't do the same. And how many times have we sang that tune this season?

Whimper:

Placido Polanco has had a fantastic September (.375/.422/.500 coming into today), so maybe his 0-for-5 this afternoon seems even more disappointing because of that. Polanco also left four men on base.

But really, you could close your eyes, point at anyone in Detroit's batting order, and probably find a player who didn't perform. Aubrey Huff, 0-for-3 (and three left on base). Carlos Guillen, 0-for-3. The opportunities were there to score runs, and Tigers batters didn't not seize them.

Purr:

The two guys who brought their bats to the park today were Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge, who hit a combined 4-for-9. Grandy also cut the Tigers' deficit to one in the ninth inning with a homer off Joe Nathan. His hot streak continues. Inge, meanwhile, broke an 0-for-13 slump with his performance today.

Comment of the Day:

are we sure Saturday even happened?

by MackAveKurt

Twins Win Nail-Biter In 10: Delmon Young's Insurance Run the Difference

Jesse — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:13:18 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

No, listen, Nick, it was just a high-5. It meant nothing, please don't be mad. You have my heart. Give me yours.

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F10: Twins 3, Tigers 2

To use the words of fischean: One. 1. Uno.

If you wanted intense, hard-fought baseball, you got it. If you wanted big moments, pivotal mistakes and a fantastic pitcher's duel, you got that, too. Did you want a Twins win? Granted.

Nick Blackburn struggled through the first four innings, allowing the leadoff hitter to reach three of the four innings with two of those hits being a double. Yet every time the Tigers pushed, Nick pushed back. Eight base runners through the first four innings garnered the home team just a solitary run, thanks to some nice defense (a diving Orlando Cabrera and a scoop by ~~Justin Morneau~~ Michael Cuddyer) and a great play (Cuddyer to home, Joe Mauer blocking the plate and applying the tag).

Once Nick escaped the fourth, he sent down all nine hitters through his final three innings. Blackburn settled in and turned into the big game pitcher we needed him to be.

Down 0-1 in the top of the fifth the Twins finally managed to even the score, which may have helped to take the pressure off Blackburn a little bit. Matt Tolbert led off the inning with a double, earning him his new monicker: Tol-Bear. It's French. Nick Punto then attempted his first bunt of the game, a beauty, advancing Tol-Bear to third and nearly running out the throw to first himself. Denard Span-crush then allowed Tol-Beart to tag from third to knot the score.

The Twins threatened again in the top of the ninth before managing to momentarily delay the win. Alexi Casilla doubled to lead off the inning before Tol-Bear dropped down a great bunt to move him to third base. Gardy then called up the ol' squeeze play, and with Casilla already in full sprint Punto was forced to attempt a first-pitch bunt on a ball almost over his head. Popped up, Casilla doubled off third, tear off clothes gnash teeth and generally implode all over the television set.

Enter Jon Rauch being awesome, Span getting a base hit to lead off the tenth. Cue Orlando Cabrera not ending an inning but in fact giving the Twins the lead after Span advances on a wild pitch. Twice. Joe Mauer walking, Carlos Gomez putting down another successful Minnesota bunt and Delmon Young, oh yes Delmon Young, launching a ball in a lofty nature designed to score a sacrifice run. 3-1, Twins.

Of course Joe Nathan managed to make in interesting, allowing Curtis Granderson to smash a bomb before recording an out. But he locked it down and recorded save number 45, tying Eddie Guardado for the team record.

It's all down to one, for just a few hours. Next game in just over three hours, so relax now. While you can.

Stars of the Game
#3: Orlando Cabrera (1-for-5, BIG RBI, .118 WPA)
#2: Alexi Casilla (1-for-2, BIG DOUBLE, .149 WPA)
#1: Nick Blackburn (7 IP, 4 K, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 R, .321 WPA)

Twins Have Won 10 of 11: Who's Hot?

Jesse — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:06:38 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

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Let's run it down.

Michael Cuddyer, of course: .391/.404/.848 (no, that's not his OPS, that's his slugging percentage) with six homers and 18 RBI. 18, I hear you ask? 18.
Delmon Young's been playing regularly, and has collected multi-hit days six times over these 11 games. He's batting .349/.370/.558. He's even walked twice!
Denard Span has missed a couple games, but returned last night and picked up a pair of hits and an intentional base-on-balls. His OBP in this span is .375, which is actually below his season line but still just find for a leadoff hitter.
Nick Punto continues to hit well with an average of .294 and an OBP of .429. With a season OBP of .332, he currently is on base at a higher rate than any other middle infielder on the team. By a significant margin.
Orlando Cabrera has started hitting again, picking up a pair of big home runs. He's hitting .295/.347/.523.
In spite of going hitless last night, Jose Morales continues to look good at the plate and has appeared in seven games, with a .300/.400/.400 triple slash.
Am I forgetting anyone? Any hitters? Any hitters who are about to win their third batting title in four year? Oh yeah, Joe Mauer and his .457/.596/.686 line! Joe's picked up 16 hits, including a pair of doubles and a pair of homers, as well as 12 (TWELVE) walks. Add to that four intentional base-on-balls. And one strikeout.
Nick Blackburn has contributed 13.1 innings of two-run ball.
Carl Pavano hasn't been great, but has been good enough over three starts: 19 IP, 4.26 ERA. Not great, but the Twins have still won all three contests.
The Twins have also won all three of Brian Duensing's starts. Two shutout starts where the opposition couldn't score over 13.1 innings, and then a third that wasn't nearly as impressive.
Jesse Crain has strung together six consecutive scoreless appearances (although it's now been over a month since Crain has been charged with a run).
Just one run against Jose Mijares in seven appearances.
Five innings and six appearances under Matt Guerrier's belt have garnered opponents just one run.
How about the big man, Jon Rauch? Five scoreless appearances.
Joe Nathan has retired nine on strikes over 6.2 innings, giving up one run.

Lots of contributors over the last string of days, and it's been mucho exciting. Tonight we get to see the boys do it all over again.

Minnesota Twins 2010 Roster & Payroll (Part II)

Jesse — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:48:55 -0000

Thanks for some fantastic coversation on Tuesday! Milt on Tilt, Eric In Madison, Seth Speaks, clutterheart, Fetch9, ajmargarine and everyone else who contributed made for a great discussion, helped clarify some things while running some good back-and-forth over dollars and stats.

We'll start where we left off, which was discussing how internal options would help flesh out the depth chart. All players who aren't either under contract or arbitration-eligible (serfs) will be in italics. Serfs, simply because of how much they're being paid, their options and their experience, are the easiest players to theoretically replace with free agents. Some players will be listed on the depth chart at more than one position, but we should see pretty quickly which positions have talent and depth, and which positions have flexibility but not necessarily reliability.

Catcher: Joe Mauer, Jose Morales
First Base: Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer
Second Base: Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, Steven Tolleson
Third Base: Brian Buscher, Brendan Harris, Matt Tolbert, Nick Punto, Daniel Valencia, Luke Hughes
Shortstop: Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, Matt Tolbert, Trevor Plouffe
Left Field: Denard Span, Delmon Young, Jason Kubel
Center Field: Carlos Gomez, Denard Span
Right Field: Michael Cuddyer, Denard Span, Jason Kubel
Designated Hitter: Jason Kubel

Starting Pitcher: Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Brian Duensing, Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, Anthony Swarzak, Boof Bonser
Relief Pitcher: Joe Nathan, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, Pat Neshek, Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano

You can make an argument for another player or two being on this list somewhere, but realistically if the Twins went into next season without picking up a single free agent, this would be the essential core of players. From this group you'd need to choose 25 players.

Before we get our estimated payroll figure for those 25, we have to update our estimates for what our nine arbitration-eligible players could be worth next year. 117 comments from Tuesday's post, and using a healthy cross-section of responses as guidelines we'll alter our estimates to the following.

Player	Original Estimate	Updated Estimate
Boof Bonser	$500,000	$900,000
Carlos Gomez	$600,000	$1,000,000
Brendan Harris	$600,000	$1,100,000
Francisco Liriano	$550,000	$1,500,000
Pat Neshek	$500,000	$700,000
Glen Perkins	$550,000	$900,000
Delmon Young	$1,750,000	$1,750,000
Jesse Crain	$2,300,000	$2,300,000
Matt Guerrier	$2,100,000	$2,600,000
Totals	$9,450,000	$12,750,000

We've added $3.3 million dollars in arbitration raises. Add this new total to the committed $62,267,000 and your contractual and arbitration players are making an estimated $75,017,000. Add another eight players at the major league minimum plus a little change, and right now I have to believe that without adding a single free agent the Twins will go to Opening Day with a minimum of $78.5 million dollars. We'll call it an even $80, just in case I've been too conservative in any estimates.

That would constitute a $15 million dollar bump from Opening Day 2009, and it's far and away a franchise record. But what will the front office's limit be for spending this off-season? Will they be allowed to add another $5 million? $10 million? Some on this site have speculated the organization could go so far as to raise payroll to $100,000, even before the team has played a game in its new stadium. I tend to this that's pretty high. I also think this team will be hesitant to reach to $90 million, if only because it's so far removed from any ceiling this club has ever seen.

For now, today, until we hear something different we'll just throw out the number of $87,000,000. Some will think that's too high and a lot will think it's too low, but it's a fair number.

One look at the above depth chart and it's pretty easy to point a finger, run it across a few names and say Okay, So This Is Where We Should Start. Those places, in no particular order, should be starting pitching, shortstop, third base and second base. Check here for a current list of potential free agents, but here's a list of players who could potentially cost $7 million or less per season.

Starting Pitchers: Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera, Doug Davis, Josh Fogg, Jason Marquis, Brett Myers, Vincente Padilla, Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Mark Prior, Jarrod Washburn, Randy Wolf

I purposely left a few names off this list, but this is still fairly exhaustive. Which one of these guys, if any, would constitute enough value for the Twins to shell out millions of dollars with the hope that their additional wins would be worth the value over in-house, cheaper, more familiar options? If you only have $7 million to spend, are you willing to blow it all on one veteran starter? Or maybe the gambling type, and would bring in Prior on a one-year, incentive laden deal? Hell, he'll only be 28.

Third Base: Adrian Beltre, Joe Crede, Bobby Crosby, Mark DeRosa, Nomar Garciaparra, Troy Glaus, Miguel Tejada, Juan Uribe

See anyone you like here? Crede likes it in Minneapolis, would he take another incentive-laden deal based on plate appearances or games played? Or does your gamber's mentality take you to Glaus?

Second Base: Ronnie Belliard, Jamey Carroll, Mark DeRosa, Jerry Hairston Jr, Adam Kennedy, Placido Polanco

Carroll is having a good season for a bad ballclub. Belliard is awful. Do you like DeRosa's versatility enough to pay your entire $7 million stipend? Because he'll come at a cost. Polanco's got a big head, so that's fun.

Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera, Alex Cora, Bobby Crosby, Adam Everett, Khalil Greene, Marco Scutaro, Miguel Tejada, Omar Vizquel

The reality is that no matter where you look in these four positional categories, a vast majority of what you see are either retreads trying to make a comeback, older guys hanging on, younger(ish) players who really aren't very good or other warts-ridden profiles. Keep in mind that this is a list of guys who could make $7 million or less per season, but even those who could make more than that aren't all that great. The few diamonds in the rough will be snatched up, quickly, and will likely be overpaid due to simple economics. So long, Jamey Carroll.

It's not a good free agent class, but in some ways this organization doesn't have a choice going into next season. Not signing a free agent will seem, to the masses (ignorant or not), like just another "stingy" move by a "stingy" front office, although there's been nothing stingy about this organization for years. It's a new stadium being filled with a handful of star players, and the public will expect the Twins to make a splash. Right or wrong.

How would you handle it? It's a complicated decision, and for a team that has more than its share of needs there won't be endless millions to throw around. Unless, of course, you want to make trades or cuts...but that's another story for another day.

I'll leave you to ponder for the time being, on the final off-day for the Twins as we head into the season's final trio of series. Let's enjoy some fall baseball tonight, cheer on the Indians, and I'll see you tomorrow.