Just a quick note for you guys, the Rangers just signed their 15th round pick Jared Eickhoff from Olney Central College in Indiana.  I know it's a minor concern from the standpoint of this blog, but from this Twins fan who also broadcasts for summer league baseball, you guys are signing up a talented and quality kid in Eickhoff.  He throws a nice fastball with a wicked slider, and has improved his command greatly in just a few months.  He'll be one to watch in your system, I think.

Pat Neshek just announced on Twitter that he is now a Padre.  More to come...

From @PatNeshek at 11:50 CDT

I just got news that I am now a member of the San Diego Padres, packing up & heading west.

No other confirmation of the news yet...

Update 12:00 CDT

MLB Trade rumors reports as well.  So far, the only news is from Neshek's Twitter feed, via the tweet above.  No news on if the transaction was some sort of trade, or what the Twins might have gotten in return.  No doubt the Twins beat reporter's Twitters will be the place to watch for the next few minutes...

Update 2

Multiple other sources are reporting on this as well.  It hasn't been confirmed officially yet, but all reports say the move was a straight waiver acquisition by the Padres.  Certainly, the bullpen situation is far clearer now.

Carl Pavano returns for 2 Years, 16.5 million.  Joe Christensen reported on his twitter (in an apparently now redacted tweet) that it's 8 milion this year, 8.5 next year, with some kind of currently unknown vesting option for 2012.

Certainly more details here soon, but for now, welcome back, Pavstache!

Edit:  The vesting option in 2012 would merely give Pavano an extra $500,000, NOT trigger a third year, according to Joe C...

Joe Christensen has a couple new developments for us via his blog at StarTribune.com:

Joe Nathan is heading to the Twins cities today to have an MRI done on his surgically repaired right elbow.  While this certainly represents a new level in the seriousness of the medical attention the elbow is receiving, there may yet be reason to keep the concern somewhere below full fledged panic:

"We're going to get some pictures just for some piece of mind," Nathan said.

Nathan said he would have taken a couple days off from throwing anyway, so he'll get the elbow looked at, comparing this MRI exam with one that he had before undergoing surgery.

We will all, certainly, be anxiously awaiting the results of this test.

Second, the Twins have signed a young player to a long term contract - no, not that one.  Nick Blackburn has signed a 4-year 14 million dollar extension with the club.  This contract also includes an 8 million dollar option for 2014.  This deal is a bit of a surprise as it comes a year before Blackburn is eligible for arbitration, and deals such as this are risky for young pitchers, but it gives the Twins cost certainty and allows the team to keep Blackburn at a modest price for his first year of free agency if they so choose.

Edit - There has been some confusion about this in the comments section:  Blackburn's deal covers this year, his final year of serfdom, and his three years of arbitration.  The option year would be his first year of free agency.

Details remain unconfirmed and hazy, but Im recieving secondhand reports that KFAN is reporting, as I type, that Joe Mauer will sign an 8 year contract with the Twins on Sunday. The deal is reported to be be worth an average of 22 million per year with options for potential 9th and 10th years.

More to come...

Story via the Star Tribune

The Oakland Athletics on Monday claimed infielder Steven Tolleson off waivers from the Twins. The Twins tried to get Tolleson through waivers to clear space on their 40-man roster to add desiginated hitter Jim Thome, who could officially sign as soon as Tuesday.

Hitting .270 with 6 homers as a 26 year old in AAA, while simultaneously moving more to the outfield from the infield made Tolleson expendable.

The deadline just passed over an hour ago, and man sources have now confirmed no additional deals have been made by the Twins.  The AL Central was extremely active today, as all thee contenders got a piece for the stretch run and the Indians traded Victor Martinez to the Red Sox for a pair or talented young pitchers.

The Tigers got lefty Jarrod Washburn this morning, who will provide solid inning-eating for their rotation.

The Twins then jumped in and got Orlando Cabrera, a moderate upgrade in the middle infield who hits like Brendan Harris, but fields more like Nick Punto.  Cabrera isn't a huge upgrade, but combined with a resurgent Mark Grudzielanik could add a win or two to the Twins' final total.

Then, at the last minute, and seemingly without warning, the White Sox made good on a season of innuendos and finally grabbing Jake Peavy from the Padres for a large package of prospects.  Peavy might not affect the division race heavily this season, he's on the DL with ankle problems for as much as another month, but he's signed through 2012 with a club option for 2013.  Peavy/Buerhle will be a tough 1-2 for the Twins to face for years to come.

Thoughts?  With all three teams within 2.5 games of the division crown, who's the new favorite in the Central?

1:15pm CDT, updates by AdamOnFirst

A little more on Ladendorf:

Here at TwinkieTown, we voted Ladendof the #30 prospect for the Twins before this season.  Seth Stohs did not list Ladendorf in the Twins top 40 prospects.  This was before Ladendorf lit up Rookie ball this year, but remember, Ladendorf is 21 this year with two years of college ball under his belt, so lighting up rookie ball in his second time through isn't so impressive.  Ladendorf's main calling card is his 16 HR's and 65 (!) SB's his final season at Howard college.  He has been very good stealing bases professionally, he's 15 for 17 while stealing as a Twin farmhand.

This is Seth Stoh's take on Ladendorf before the 2009 season, taken from his 2009 Minnesota twins Prospect Handbook (you can still go buy this for only a couple bucks):

The Twins 2nd round pick in 2008 had a very disappointing professional debut with the GCL Twins. He hit just .204/.308/.293 with eight doubles and a homer. However, when you see his 2008 college numbers, and the tools he has, you still see a guy with a lot of potential.
At Howard College this year, he hit 16 home runs and stole a nation-leading 65 bases. He had signed a scholarship to play baseball at Oklahoma State but instead signed with the Twins. Once he adjusts to the pro game, he could develop quickly.

My personal take on Ladendorf is he isn't a major price to pay, but we're already short on middle infield prospects, and he MIGHT have a lot of upside.  I wouldn't put much stock in any professional success until he hits in low and high A-ball though.

12:55pm CDT, updated by Jesse:

My initial take on getting O-Cab is quite simple:  it's going to be hard for him to be much worse than what we've already had playing in the middle infield.  Do I think it'll be a shame to lose plate appearances for Brendan Harris?  Yes.  Is he the best option on the market?  No.  But that's the only negative spin on this deal.  Oakland is sending Minnesota some cash, the Twins won't feel like they have to offer Cabrera arbitration for the pair of draft picks thanks to some genius clause in his contract (note from AdamOnFirst: Cabrera's contract forbids his team from offering him arbitration, so that team cannot receive any draft picks for him.) , and he really hasn't been worse than the guys we've been running out there on a nightly basis.

Only Cabrera has been hitting lately, and hell, maybe he stays hot the rest of the season.  He also has a bit of playoff experience, for whatever you think that's worth.

Tyler Ladendorf is a 21-year old shortstop just getting his first taste of post-rookie league professional ball.  He was Minnesota's second round draft pick in 2008, and in his first season hit .204/.308/.293 with the Gulf Coast Twins.  This year he started in Elizabethton, the Twins' other rookie league, and in 61 at-bats impressed with a triple slash of .410/.500/.721.  Since his promotion to Beloit the numbers have dropped back to earth, and he's hit just .222/.288/.241 in his first 54 at-bats.  But it's early.

Here's what the scouting report said on Ladendorf when we drafted him last June:

Height:  5'11"    Weight:  190 lbs
Bats/Throws:  Right/Right

From MLB.com's Draft Central scouting report:

---

Just broken by Tim Brown of Yahoo sports and confirmed by LaVelle E Neil and Kelly Theiser, the Twins have acquired Orlando Cabrera from the Athletics for Low-A shortstop Tyler Ladendorf.

LEN III also reports the Twins are self reportedly, "wheeling and dealing."

More updates here soon...

Adam Seidel, AP
Washington - Joe Mauer, catcher for the Minnesota Twins, was recently estimated to be valued over 900 billion dollars by the congressional budget office.  This estimate was reached by comparing Joe Mauer's economic value to the recently passed economic stimulus package, which cost almost 800 billion dollars.  According to President Obama, this package would create or save approximately 600,000 jobs.  The CBO estimated that Joe Mauer is responsible for the creation of about 125,000 jobs annually, causing a permanent increase in employment by about 720,000 jobs.

Because of this, the CBO has passed unusual legislative recommendations along to congress and the Obama administration.

CBO director Douglas W. Elmendorf said on Monday, "if the Obama administration wishes to consider a second stimulus package, they should seriously consider eschewing all public spending programs and infrastructure improvements, and really focus on America's greatest asset, Joe Mauer."  The CBO has estimated that the US government could clone Joe Mauer at a cost of about 20 billion per Joe after an up front investment of about 80 billion dollars over two years.

Republican House Minority leader John Boener responded immediately to the findings.  "While the Republican party generally opposes genetic experimentation and all forms of human cloning, based on the evidence here, we would have to fully support such a plan.  As a party standing for family values and wholesome morals, we could not find a more admirable American than Joe Mauer.  We believe anyone standing against adding additional Joe Mauer's into the economy to be un-American."

Continue reading this post »

The Twins were finally able to shake the monkey off their backs tonight, breaking over .500 for the first time since May 14.  Since then, the Twins won a game to get to .500 mark, but then lost the next game 4 times, losing to the Pirates, the Cubs, the Mariners, and the Red Sox.  Perhaps fittingly, the Twins victory over the Astros that did the job last night was about as far off script as we could guess.

If before last night's game you were told Kevin Slowey would walk 4 and Roy Oswalt would throw a perfect game, you would not have foreseen a Twins win.  But Slowey was tough, working his way through 6 innings surrendering only 3 hits and one lone run while recording six strikeouts.  Slowey was able to wriggle out of jams for most of the evening thanks to frequent help from the Twins' defense.  Mauer caught a leadoff walk stealing in the first, Punto and Harris turned a double play to end the 4th, and Mauer threw out another baserunner to end the 5th.  Slowey was quick to close the door in innings too, retiring his first two-out hitter with a strikeout in each of the first three innings.

We found out in the 6th that Slowey was battling side pain the whole game.  He was visited during that inning by Twins coaches, but elected to stay in the game and finish the frame.  Team quotes after the game don't indicate any likelihood of a DL stay, but we'll have to watch for Slowey's name as more news comes out over the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, the Twins offense was scraping up enough to keep just ahead of the Astros.  Justin Morneau was able to deliver a sacrifice fly in the first to give the Twins an early 1-0 lead, and Nick Punto was able to put the Twins back on top 2-1 in the 5th when he perfectly executed a squeeze bunt with Delmon Young charging home.  That's the second time in a week Punto has scored a runner from third with the bunt as he did the same on Sunday in Chicago.  Punto isn't the first guy I would have expected to be doing this for the Twins as he's had trouble executing bunts over the years, despite his "little things right" reputation.  Anything the bottom of the order can do to help put up runs will go a long way for the Twins, and might help them win a few cloe ones when the team's best hitters are having a slow day.

In the sixth, Oswalt hung a slow 0-2 curveball over the plate to Michael Cuddyer, who bounced it down the line to plate Morneau, bringing the score to 3-1 for the Twins, but Oswalt was able to escape further damage when Delmon Young ground into a double play with the bases loaded.  Delmon Young struck back later in the 8th when his hard liner right at left fielder Jason Michaels was lost in a light bank and went to the wall for a 2-run double.

The Twins bullpen was effective enough to get the last nine outs for Kevin Slowey without exploding.  The only damage came when Jose Mijares surrendred a two-out solo bomb to left to Jeff Keppinger in the 8th, but Joe Nathan was quickly brought into the one-run game to shut the door, and he quickly ended the inning on three pitches, striking out Miguel Tejada on a high fastball.  A 1-2-3 ninth gave the Nathan his 16th save and the Twins their 35th win.

The win gave the Twins their 8th win in 10 tries this year against an NL opponent and surely left them licking their chops at the prospect of over a week more of interleauge games.

Time: 9:10 PM

Broadcasts: FSN, Twins Radio Network

Know Thine Enemy: Lookout Landing

This is the third matchup of these two young talents this year.  Felix one the first one, the Twins' home opener with 8 dominating one run innings.  Liriano hasn't pitched that well against the Mariners in either contest (or much all year), giving up 9 ER in 12 IP against Seattle so far this year, but was able to pick up the win over Kindg Felix back on May 9 when the Twins lit Felix up for 6 runs in 4 innings.  Both M&M boys went deep against Felix in that game.

The Twins have gotten the best of 26-28 Seattle so far this year, holding a 4-3 advantage on the season.  All those games, though, were in the Metrodome, and the Twins have notoriously struggled this season on the road with a 6-16 record outside the Dome.

King Felix has been notably worse in pitcher-friendly Safeco than on the road this season, with an ERA almost a full 2 runs higher at home.  It could very easily be simple statistical noise, but we'll see if the Twins can jump on his again and continue his home struggles.

As for Liriano?  Well, same old thing.  Can he control his fastball?  When he can he shows flashes of brilliance where he's shutdown effective, if not totally untouchable, but he has failed to do so most of the year.  There is still plenty of time for Liriano to figure it out, but for the Twins in 2009 we'd like to see it start to happen soon.

For a really great closer look at some finer points of the series, Jesse did a really awesome write-up on some things to look for over the weekend, it's just below.

GO TWINS!

As I said in the game thread, this Twins Lineup was top heavy.  WIth Jason Kubel being scratched pregame with a swollen knee, Michael Cuddyer was asked to step up into the cleanup spot.  After him was a paltry collection of .700 OPS and .500 OPS hitters.

But the top of the lineup delivered, with hitters 1-4 delivering 10 RBI between them.

Oh, and right, maybe you heard, Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle.

We as bloggers like to complain when "traditional" media derides us for whatever, but there are times when skill and training help.  And we are blessed to have a man capable of such covering in La Velle E Niel III

Majesty

No time to talk today, but the first series with interleague rival Milwaukee starts tongiht.  The Twins put that masive 20 spot up on the White Sox last night after shifting the lineup order up, but even after that, Gardenhire said this:

Manager Ron Gardenhire said he'll "try it again [tonight] and see what happens," but he prefers Mauer batting third.

"I would really like to have a guy [in the two-spot] that handles the bat -- a guy that can bunt, a guy that can run, all those things," Gardenhire said. "That's the way it's supposed to be in the lineup.

I always thought "hitting well" was preferable to "handling the bat," but hey, I'm not a major league manager.

Looks like Gardenhire's biting the bullet and going with Mauer, who apparently can't "handle the bat well," or whatever, second again.

This is a very top heavy lineup for the Twins though.  You've got Span setting the table with his high OBP, the Mauer and Morneau both with OPS's over 1.000, then Cuddyer with an OPS right at .900, then Jrede and Harris right about .700 each, then Gomez, TOlbert, and Punto around .500.  The top needs to be good everyday to score much like this.

I ate a Bratwurst today, was that an unintentional act of cheering for the Brewers?  Oh God...

GO TWINS!

First Pitch:  1:05 CDT

TV:  FS-N

Radio:  Twins Radio Network 1500

A week ago, the Twins were just polishing off a sweep of the Detroit Tigers.  The sweep was putting the Twins in a three way tie atop the Central division.  The Twins were tied with two team expected to finish last as the season started, so the Twins chances of outlasting their competition seemed. good.

Since then, little has gone right for the Twins.  Now sitting 5.5 games back of Detroit in the division, the Twins are looking to steal the final game against the White Sox and dodge their second straight road series sweep and a total state of free fall.

Ok, as a Twins fan, I can deal with these shenanigans against the Yankees.  I'm used to it against those guys, whatever it is, they just kill us.

But I will NOT tolerate losing to the White Sox like this.  There is nothing I love more as a Twins fan than beating these guys.  I have dreams about AJ Pierzynski punched in the face, I don't need my team taking it on the chops like this.

The good news for the Twins:  I never reevaluate my preseason opinions of teams until around June 1st, which with the late start to the season this year is really around June 7th.  Even then, I'll likely only moderately change my opinion on a surprise team's chances.  From that perspective, I do not have faith in the Tigers or Royals ability to hold on all year and record a division championship.  The Twins sit tied with the White Sox (and well above the dreadful Indians), so they're still well poised to win the division

Pitching Matchup

After Yankee's series where we surprisingly managed to get several very quality starting pitching performances and still lost, the wheels have started to wobble on the rotation's wagon.  Yet to put together a solid couple trips through the order, Minnesota's young starters, expected to be the backbone of the team, have been probably the most troubling aspect of the young season.  Blackburn has been on the dependable side, his only truly bad start when he gave up 6 ER in under 4 IP against Detroit on May 5.  The simple formula for Blackburn will be even more accentuated in US Cellular Field.  If he isn't getting grounders, the White Sox will find a way to get some fly balls out of the Cell's compact outfield.

The Twins fought, scraped and clawed their way through 8 at Yankee stadium.  Francisco Liriano walked 6 Yankees in 6 innings yet somehow managed to only allow a single run.  Jesse Crain and Jose Mijares got themselves in a whole heap of trouble but managed to avoid a complete implosion.  The offense squandered several decent opportunities, but three home runs from the M&M boys and the Yankee's new bread box of a stadium got enough on the board.

Then the strangest of things happened.  The Twins got the game to Joe Nathan, and they did not win.  Nathan struggled with control of his own, and pitching on his fourth straight day, would finally allow a bases loaded, two out bloop single to Melky Cabrera to lose it for the Twins, 5-4.  I literally briefly popped my shoulder out of place by throwing my jacket across the room.

Disheartening for the Twins to lose on this way.  It was already an oddity for the Twins to be up after all that went the Yankees' way, including a bad hop inside the park home run around Denard Span that almost opened the floodgates for New York.  Even stranger was how the Twins managed to walk 10 hitters while Heath Bell was giving out extremely generous calls off the plate all night (Nathan worked Alex Rodriguez a full 6 inches inside once he realized he was getting the call).

All around, a very strange one with a stinker of an ending that I'd just as soon forget about quickly.  The good news is tomorrow's game is a noon start, so we won't have to wait long.

Note:  Matt Tolbert, hitting second again, was 0-5 and is now hitting .171.  When is Gardenhire going to stop being stubborn and take the easy out away from the middle of his best hitters, all 4 above .300?

Stars of the Game

The M&M boys.  2 dingers for Justin and 1 for Joe.

Duds of the Day

Matt Tolbert.  0-5, had a couple chances to add rund for the Twins, made a poor effort on a ball up the middle in the 9th that I thought should have been an out.

Joe Nathan.  3-run blown save in fourth straight day pitching.  Probably needs a rest.

• First Pitch:  6:05 CST
• TV: FSN North, MLB.tv
• RADIO: Twins Radio Network

At 18-17, the tied-for-first Twins are headed to New York for 3 with the 17-17 Yankees.

Starting Pitchers

It's an intriguing pitching matchup tonight between two highly talented but struggling young pitches.  Both of these guys are expected to be aces for their team for many years to come, but it's been a rough 2009 so far.

Phil Hughes started the year in AAA but was called up to replace the "injured" Chien-Ming Wang.  He excelled in his first start against the Tigers, blanking the Tigers through six full while striking out 6, but has been blasted his last two starts, totaling only 5.2 innings with 11 ER allowed.  Hughes has given up a lot of fly balls in those starts, and that may give him problems against the Twins lefties aiming at that ridiculously short porch in right at the new stadium.

Meanwhile, Francisco Liriano still has yet to get in stride following Tommy John surgery.  Liriano is easy as pie to read though.  In the first 3 innings, what is his pitch selection like?  If he's throwing lots of fastballs and hitting his spots with them, he's in for a good day.  If his fastball is missing and he has to start relying on his slider and changeup very heavily before the fifth inning, watch out when the Yankees come up through the order the third time.  His slider is still very good, but it isn't good enough that he can throw it all day without the fastball and not have guys figure it out eventually.

Carlos Gomez will be out in center field for a few days with Delmon Young on the inactive list due to family emergency (Jose Morales was called back up to replace Young).  Hopefully Gomez will make some nice plays in the field and Gardy will remember how much he loves that Span-Gomez defense.  One key to impressing Gardy for Gomez will be keeping his emotions in check.  We're going to see Gomez fail plenty for quite awhile, but will he lose his cool or take it calmly and go grab his glove?

Another nice thing for the Twins in this series might be the HR happy nature of the park.  According to ESPN, the new stadium is the third most HR inducing in the game, and reports have said lefties have a particularly easy time whacking dingers out to right.  Short dimensions plus something funny about the way the ball is flying out in right should leave an enticing target for the lefty-heavy heart of the Twins' batting order.

The Twins managed to pull a .500 record in April despite shoddy pitching and the absence of possibly their best player.  That player's return was lauded as the moment that would reignite the Twins offense and unleash the playoff caliber play we expected out of the Twins all season.

He didn't disappoint.

After watching the first two pitches of his season go by, Joe Mauer was ready to go and launched the third into the May Teflon Sky for a solo home run over the left field wall.

Welcome back Joe.  By the time Justin Morneau launched a go-ahead two run blast in the fifth, driving in hat would prove to be the winning runs, the M&M boys had combined to go 4-4 with 2 home runs and 2 walks.

Starter Kevin Slowey struggled again, giving up 5 singles and 3 doubles in five innings of work, allowing 5 Royals to cross the plate.  But the bullpen had an uncharacteristically dominant outing, pitching 4 scoreless, 2 hit innings in relief of Slowey to seal the 7-5 win.  Jose Mijares in particular looked dominant again, striking out the side in the 8th.  Matt Guerrier revived a rol he once found great success in: long relief, as he pitched a pair of perfect innings in the seventh and eighth.  Lots of fans have been very hard on Guerrier since his struggles last season, and most have written him off as no longer a valuable bullpen commodity.  But it's important to remember that before he fell apart last year, it was clear he was being wildly overused by Ron Gardenhire following Pat Neshek's injury and his arm was clearly tiring.

Gardenhire wore his strength down finally, and Guerrier inploded down the stretch, but there's no reason to think he can't go back to his previous several seasons of low 3-ERA's with more moderate usage.

Other Twins made smaller contributions with the bat, like Brenden Harris's two hit night or Nick Punto's big 2-out, 2- RBI  linedrive single up the middle, but the hero of the day was clearly the returning Joe Mauer and his silky smooth, St Paul grown swing.

The win pulled the Twins into a tie with the Royals in the division, but the winning White Sox pulled into first and now lead both in the Central by half a game.

Game Time:  6:05 PM CDT

TV:  FS-N, MLBtv

Audio:  TSN

"Big" matchup tonight of two teams who have disappointed.

The Twins come into today's game 7-9 while the Indians come in 6-10.  Both teams had pre-season aspirations of a division title and are looking to get back on the right track.  Fortunately for both, the division leading three headed monster in Chicago, Detroit, and Kansas City are only a lukewarm 8-7, leaving plenty of opportunity for anyone to take the reigns in the division as April ends.

Nick Blackburn goes tonight for the Twins.  He's been alright for the team this year, and I'm convinced he's pitched better than his ERA in a couple of his starts, but he's still getting more air outs than ground outs and sporting a walk rate almost doubled from last year.  That is not a recipe for success for a pitcher like Blackburn, and like many starters on the Twins young staff, he needs to turn things around quick and start killing worms if this team is going to take off.

Meanwhile, Fausto Carmona has had a rough time this year and all the back to his sizzling breakout 2007 campaign.  Carmona has also bit the walk bug, with a BB/9 over 5 the last two years.  Almost nobody can be successful with that kind of a control problem, and Carmona isn't one of the rare arms that can survive giving that many free passes.

If you see lots of ground balls in the first few innings, we may in line for a pitchers dual from two very capable young pitchers.  If we start to see a few walks or too many fly balls, this one could become a shootout quickly.

Nick Blackburn

#53 / Pitcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-4

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 24, 1982

 

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	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Nick Blackburn	0-1	3	3	0	0	0	0	17.1	22	12	11	1	6	5	5.71	1.62

---

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Fausto Carmona

#55 / Pitcher / Cleveland Indians

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 07, 1983

 

---

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Fausto Carmona	1-2	3	3	0	0	0	0	16.0	18	14	14	4	10	8	7.88	1.75

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What a difference an inning makes.

In the top of the 8th inning, the Twins were staring straight in the face of another bad home loss and a 4-8 start to 2009.  The Twins had led for much of the early part of the game.  The Twins jumped out right off the bat in the first when Morneau, a paragon of hustle this year, scored from first (a new trick in his bag) on a Jason Kubel double.  It wouldn’t be the Kubel’s last time for heroics on the night.  Brendon Harris added a home run in the third to push the lead to 2-0.  Later in the inning, Cuddyer almost got an RBI double, but Kubel, who’d singled on the previous at bat, was gunned down at the plate by right fielder Bobby Abreu.

The Angels finally struck back with four straight singles in the fifth and took a 3-2 lead.  But the Twins fought back to tie the game in the sixth when Joe Crede knocked in Jason Kubel, who’d tripled to right earlier in the inning (starting to see the trend?).

Nick Blackburn had pitched serviceably, though not great, getting through one out in the top of the seventh before being lifted for his relievers.  Unfortunately, Blackburn’s bullpen was as bad as Fransisco Liriano’s bullpen last night and blew the game open in the seventh.  Blackburn left Chone Figgans on third for Jesse Crain, who scored followed by four more Angels.  With a commanding 8-3 lead, it looked like the bullpen had sealed another big loss for the Twins.  The Twins made a push in the seventh, but a great defensive play in center by Torii Hunter kept the inning from getting big and the twins went into the 9th down 8-4.  A Matt Guerrier wild pitch and a Torii Hunter sac fly got the Angels that run right back in the top of the 8th.

But the Twins came alive in the bottom half.  Cuddyer singled, Crede walked, Redmond singled, Punto walked, and Span doubled against a depleated Angels bullpen.  Angels manager Mike Scioscia had pulled his starter in the 4th, and was running out of bullpen options.  So with two men on, two outs, and lefties Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel coming to the plate, Socia had a decision to make.  He could leave in young reliever Jason Bulger, or go to tough lefty closer Brian Fuentes.  In a move that will likely leave Angels fans angry for some time, Socia decided to stick with the book, avoid bringing in his closer before the ninth inning, and stick with the righty.

Bulger would walk Justion Morneau intentionally to load the bases for Jason Kubel, who needed only a home run to complete the cycle.  On the second pitch of the at bat, Kubel provided by far the most dramatic moment of the season to this point.

Kubel’s grand slam sent the home crowd, which booed a few innings earlier, into an uproar.  Joe Nathan came in and pitched a Nathan-esque 1-2-3 ninth to seal the exciting 11-9 win.

It’s just one game, and it’s so early in the year, but today might have been just what the doctor ordered for the stumbling Twins.  If the Twins needed a spark to light a fire under the team, Jason Kubel stepped up and provided it today.

Note:  Check out the story below as Jon Marthaler put together a cool writeup of facts about Twins cycles.

Glen Perkins?  Seriously?  The guy who I thought was a 3-run home run machine waiting to happen?  YOUR ERA is under 2 this year?  You just went 8 against the hot hitting Jays, only giving up 2?

What is going on.  Really.

Anyways, I'll take it.  The Twins offense was cold again.  The Twins gave away chances all night, capped by an atrocious base-loaded no-outs situation in the sixth.  Big 5-6 hitters coming up?  No runs.  Grr.

Well guess what, Justin Morneau is just so sad his friend Joe Mauer still isn't with the team, but he's hitting anyway.  Maybe to commemorate him.

Yes, the Twins pitching was stout, what we'd expect, tonight, and even with stupid, evil Kevin Miller stealing a game-winning-RBI bid from Carlos Gomez in the 10th, Joe Crede finally came through and drove in Justin Morneau in the 11th.  The White Sux were idle today, so we're only a game back from them now.

What?  What's that you say?!  The Sox aren't leading the division, it's the Royals?

Not to worry.  I love the cute little guys, but don't worry about them.  Until we play them.  Then they just might beat'ya.  They can now.

Anyways, after a big extra-inning win, enjoy some highlight video.

And as Dan gladden would say, perhaps your favorite cold beverage

Friends, I know there is nothing we love more than a dominant win over the White Sox, and on the first head-to-head game of the season, the Twins delivered such a beating.

The wind was blowing hard all day (heck, all MONTH) here in Chicago, and R.A, Dickey's knuckleball was dipping and dancing all about the place.  Sure, he gave up a few runs, but altogether an excellent performance from our improvisational fifth starter (Baker pitched well in Fort Meyers today, by the way, so Dickey may not be holding that fort for much longer at all).

The real show came from the bats.  Joe Crede got a wonderful ovation from the homerish Sox faithful and promptly thanked them for their warm reception... via a baseball souvenir for someone in the left field seats.  The Sox would fight back and even take the lead for a time, but it was the Twins bats who would answer big.

With a narrow one run lead into the top of the seventh, Dr. Morneau hit a one run dinger and the Twins offense didn't stop afterwords.  By the time Morneau hit again, it was 11-3 Twins and there were still no outs in the seventh.

Listening from Chicago, it was absolutely, DELIGHTFUL to hear the resignation in the voice of the loathsome Hawk Harrelson as the Twins piled on hit after hit.

Altogether, a very solid showing by Dickey and a wonderful job by the Twins to steal a win with the backup pitcher on the mound.  Now, we get a great Sisco Kid vs. Blue Whale (sorry, Bartolo Colon, hard to tell the difference these days) matchup.  Viva la Twins.

A golden baseball quote, courtesy of LEN III's blog:

Mike Redmond and his pulled groin muscle was going to hobble out to the field to catch the tenth if the game had been tied. And get this: Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had told R.A. Dickey to get ready to play in the field if an emergency situation.

“Gardy told me to get my spikes on.” Dickey said. “I was going to go out there and Babe Ruth it. Yesterday, I was the bullpen coach (in place of the ill Rick Stelmaszek). Today I was going to be the right fielder (if needed). This is a heck of an organization.”

Not the Twins, but look!  Phillies v. Braves!  It's BASEBALL!

Greetings from... well, somewhere over Georgia by now.  As I promised last week, I just spent my spring break down in Florida and I made a few spring games.  Seeing the defending champion Phillies play the Pirates was fun and a short drive, but taking two sneak peaks at the Twins was the real treat.

Last week, I asked you for any big questions you had you wanted me to pay special attention to, and I tried to answer as many of those questions as I could, but mostly, I just have a collection of scribbles from my notepad to translate into coherent thoughts for your consumption.  And so, with nothing better to do as I fly back towards snow from balmier weather...

Continue reading this post »

I'm headed to the Twins spring games on THursday and Friday.  What kind of stuff does everyone most want to know about?  I'm going to be taking notes throught the day...

Not too much is going on for the Twins these days.  Every year we seem to come into the offseason with some modest free agent hope, something to really get us going here in the frozen north, only to ultimately have our hopes dashed and reminded of how the Twins do bussiness.

Furcal went to the Dodgers and the Yunel Escobar talk died, reports have indicated the Twins are doubtful they'll find the right price in the Ty Wiggington sweepstakes, the Brewers and the Twins haven't seemed to click much over JJ Hardy.

There are a couple small things for Twins fans to mull over though.  Let's start with the intriguing:  the Twins have been reportadly interested in pursuing Japaneese pitchers  Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara.  Kawakami had a 2.30 ERA last year and, according to LEN III, would make the Twins confident enough to trade one of their young starts.  Uehara would probably be a reliever for the Twins.  Before you get too excited about fancy imports though, the market for these guys is rapidly expanding (San Fransisco, Atlanta, Boston, Anaheim, and Baltimore have all been reported involved) after the Yankees snatched up Captain Cheesburger and AJ Burnett and we're probably likely to read those " years and dollars might be a little bit of a stretch" words Twins fans are so accustomed to.  It seems to me like with the attention Kawakami is receiving at the moment, unless the Twins really like Kawakami enough to beat out his other suitors, which the probably don't, the Twins should aggressively pursue Uehara while he's still overshadowed by Kawakami.

Now for the horrifying.  Another pitcher the Twins have recently been linked to is Brett Tomko.  That's right, while we're sitting on a staff of 5 up and coming young hurlers, all of whom had success last year, with several good prospects in the high minors nipping at their heels, the Twins are thinking about filling out their rotation with a guy that got cut from not one, but two teams in the last year.  Tomko's 4.68 career ERA (mostly compiled in the NL) is lukewarm enough, now consider that he'll turn 36 before his second start of the season, and has a 5.42 ERA over the last three years.  He's spent time in the rotation and the pen, but hasn't been much different in either, and his 5.26 ERA in the bullpen over that time does nothing to indicate he could be the bullpen help the Twins need.

Then again, since paying a high price for Delmon Young, signing Livan Hernandez and Mike Lamb, and letting several cheap bullpen options go by, Bill Smith hasn't done anything for me to demonstrate he's any kind of competent, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the one rumor that ends up with legs.

I tried to find a write up on Kawakami to offer some reading for those more interested, but I couldn't come up with much of anything.  If anyone finds, or has, anything going into detail on what kind of a pitcher Kawakami is, please post it in the comments section.  For now, all I know is he has a great cutter but scouts aren't sure if his flat, 90 MPH fastball is good enough when his cutter isn't working.

And because he's a great writer, he's been doing it for free for so long, and I'd like him to shameless plug for me if I ever write a book someday, check out Seth Stohs's Twins prospect book.  It details 200 Twins prospects, has a foreward by Pat Neshek, and is available for only 8 bucks by download or $12.95 for an oldschool paperback copy.  I've downloaded in myself, and it's a great read.  Pat Neshek calls it "deeper than anything ever published on the Twins Minor League System."  The best part about learning about these guys is they actually might play for the Twins someday, unlike the free agents in the news the Twins are reportedly "pursuing."

Dustin Pedroia came out the big winner today, a BWAA decision I actually can't argue with, but the Twins had a nice showing themselves.  Morneau recieved 257 votes, behind Pedroia's 317 to take second place in the AL, and, perhaps even more hearteningly, Mauer took fourth place with 188 votes.

It's nice to see Mauer get some recognition in that list.  it's been long speculated in the corners of the internet that Mauer has bene maybe more deserving of the national accolade mroe focused on Morneau, and its good to see Mauer's truely one in a generation talent get a little more national play.

Interestingly enough, with Kevin Youkilis finishing 3rd in the voting, the top four spots were horded by Red Sox and Twins.

Also, Jason Bartlett got one 5th place vote good for 6 points.  I know he's a good defender and an nice overall player but really, what's this world coming to.

According to baseball-reference.com, and as reported by Joe Christensen, the Twins' stadium ended the year tied with Kaufmann Stadium for the best place for pitchers in the AL.

There is a lot of legitimate speculation about the accuracy of park factors and how much the players on the team affect the outcome. Just taking a glance at the results seems to add some legitimacy. Noted hitters parks like Fenway, Coors, Minute Maid, and Bank One appear near the top of the lists and stadiums like Petco, PNC, and the Coliseum show near the bottom. Some teams who finished the year as pitching heavy teams, such as the (Devil) Rays also show with hitting friendly parks, providing evidence against the metric being determined by players.

It might be worth thinking about this since our new ballpark is going to be a bit smaller which may badly affect our fly ball heavy pitchers.

These findings are in line with a strange three year trend for the Metrodome. The Dome has been ranked on the pitcher's side of the list to an ever greater degree each of the last three years after finishing above average for hitters in all but one one of its previous dozen years. The Twins have had plenty of good years with good pitchers in those years, so maybe there isn't so much to worry about with the new stadium.

At any rate, it's interesting fodder for discussion. I'm at a total loss for theories as to why the Metrodome has become such a pitcher's park so suddenly after being a moderate hitters park for so long. There hasn't been a sudden glut of hitters parks opening to skew the average. They haven't made any sudden changes to the dome that I can say I'm aware of. Actually, this trend lines up with the change to the speaker ground rules, but that affects maybe 2 plays a year and should make the park better for hitters anyway. Any theories?

As random as this award is, it's nice to see Joe get some recognition he truely deserves.  He has been one of the top defensive catchers in the game for a few years now, and it's good to see him get some recognition.  Hopefully, this will put the final nail in the "move Joe to third base" coffin.

So, let me get this straight, Joe has won two batting titles, something no AL catcher has ever done even once, including leading all of baseball in batting average, something no catcher anywhere has ever done, twice finished in the top three in OBP in the AL, AND now won a gold glove.

The only thing Joe has to do now is turn 26.  What an amazing player.  Way to go Joe!