Category Archives: MLB

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 65: Rangers at Red Wings

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No, this isn't the Stanley Cup Finals. This is a baseball game. And it is an opportunity for the Twins to win their third straight series. I would have to say I would be satisfied with a split giving the minor league nature of the lineup, but a win would sure be sweet.

The mound matchup is Matt Harrison vs. Francisco Liriano. So, another lefty to pitch against the Twins, the third in the series. Probably a good time for Justin Morneau to get a few days off, if there is such a thing. Harrison had little margin for error with a below-average K rate and he doesn't help himself much by walking more than average. His groundball rate is only average, but despite all this he has a shiny 122 ERA+. His stats show that he has gotten a ton of popups and double plays and has allowed few line drives, so it looks like he has had pretty good command despite the excessive walks. FWIW, the Twins have hit him well, but most of those in the lineup today weren't in the lineup the last time he pitched against the Twins. Harrison also has been trying to pass a kidney stone, so don't be surprised if he collapses in pain during the game.

Liriano was solid in his last start and hasn't allowed more than two runs in his previous three starts. Hopefully, he's getting ready to start dominating again. For the Twins to continue this run of good play, the starters will have to lead the way. It's difficult to imagine that this lineup will continue to score runs like they have of late. However, I've got to say, Ben Revere is quickly moving up my list of favorite players. GO WINGS!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 64: Red Wings 8, Rangers 1

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Something amazing has been going on in the Upper Midwest.

The Minnesota Red Wings are starting to makes some noise. They were originally the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, until they were promoted en masse earlier this season to replace the original big leaguers due to injuries, bad attitudes and general suckitude.

"We just figured we would give some other guys an opportunity and see what happens. It's not like they could be much worse," said Wings manager Ron Gardenhire, who's team at one point had dropped to 20 games below .500 and had allowed the most runs and scored the fewest in the American league.

The Wings have cut a 16 1/2-game deficit down to 10 games in a little over a week as they have won eight of 10 games just as the red-hot Cleveland Indians finally started to cool off. The Wings are surprising many with their surge in the mediocre AL Central, but Jim Mandelaro, a baseball writer and blogger for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, is not one of them.

"We joke in the press box about how players do BETTER in Minnesota than Rochester, but it’s true. I’ll never know why, but it’s true," Mandelero wrote in his blog.

The Wings still have a long ways to go to give their fans real hope of pulling off a comeback to trump all the comebacks of recent years that their parent club has pulled off, but they at least are showing that they are capable of playing a much better brand of baseball, the kind of play that might just allow them to earn their Twins name back.

Minnesota Twins, MLB

Is a return in sight?

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From Joe C:

Meanwhile, at Class A Fort Myers, Joe Mauer is back in the lineup at catcher tonight after catching eight innings last night, according to the Miracle's broadcaster, Alex Margulies (via Twitter).

Mauer isn't eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list until Sunday. The Twins are off Monday, but there is growing speculation that he'll be back at Target Field on Tuesday to face the White Sox.

Can you imagine the excitement if the Twins win the series with Texas and then Mauer returns Tuesday? And don't forget Kubel and Nishi should be back pretty soon. Glen Perkins and Joe Nathan have been starting to throw as well, although it sounds like Nathan is a lot further away. Haven't heard much on Jim Thome.

Anyways, the Twins play 30 of their next 40 at home and Interleague is coming up. Sounds like a good time to get healthy and make a run to get back in this thing. It would be a record comeback, but the schedule is in their favor, now they just need to get real major league bodies back in the lineup and bullpen.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 58: Twins at Royals

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Brian Duensing vs. Jeff Francis

This is the Twins' fourth three-game winning streak of the season and they do not have a four-game winning streak. So, the Twins are due, right? This will be the third time that Duensing is the starter as the Twins go for a fourth consecutive victory.

The Twins have followed the three previous three-game win streaks with six-, nine- and four-game losing streaks, so the Twins need to find a way to keep this going, but the current health of their roster is likely to make this difficult. With a lefty on the mound, I wouldn't be surprised if both Justin Morneau and Denard Span get an extra day off to help with their minor injuries.

Duensing is 0-5 in his last six starts. This bad stretch started in Kansas City, so hopefully coming full circle will help Duensing put an end to it.

Alexi Casilla is now hitting .301/.370/.390 in his last 34 games (119 PAs).  The Twins desperately need some production and consistent defense from a middle infielder, so this is a good sign. GO TWINS!!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 57: Twins 7, Royals 2

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Twins manager Ron Gardenhire rubbed the champagne out of his eyes as he reflected on the wild ride of the past five months that had concluded with the franchise's third world championship following another epic seven-game World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I've never had as much fun managing a team as I have these past five months," Gardenhire said. "But I've never been as miserable managing a team as I was the first two months."

So, what keyed the turnaround?

"No. 1 was getting healthy," Gardenhire said. "It was ridiculous there for awhile. They should have just called us the Red Wings. I'd never seen anything like it. Once we got our horses back, we started to play like we expected to. Then we started to get our bullpen straightened out as well as healthy. Chuck James was just a godsend. He gave us three strong lefties along with Glen Perkins and Jose Mijares. Then we could match up Slama with righties, who have a real tough time with his motion. Of course, just getting Joe Nathan healthy enough to resume his closer role was big so Cappy could go back to setting up.

"But what I think really helped us turn it up to a high level was getting back to Twins-brand baseball."

Was there any point in the season to point to that began the turnaround?

"That series in Kansas City in the beginning of June," Gardenhire said. "We had almost the entire starting lineup on the DL or on the bench with injuries, so we had almost no power at all in the lineup, so we talked to the guys about just being more aggressive with the small ball. Taking extra bases, hitting-and-running, bunting, that sort of thing.

"Lexi (Casilla) and Benny (Revere) really took to it.  It was fun to watch."

That series was during Casilla's resurgence. Casilla had nearly played himself off the roster with his terrible hitting and inconsistent defense the first six weeks of the season, but Casilla turned it around and became a key member of the Twins and formed an exciting double-play combo with Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Revere, of course, took advantage of the injuries and played so well he eventually displaced Delmon Young as the starting left fielder.

With Revere and then Nishioka added to the lineup along with Casilla and Denard Span, Piranhas II: The Comeback was born.

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 51: LAAAAAAA at Twins

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Dan Haren vs. Pavano.

Of the 53 pitchers in the AL that qualified for the ERA title, Pavano is dead last with a 75 (through Friday's games). Haren is sixth in the AL at 174, so this could very well be a worse matchup than Saturday's game. Of course, the Twins won that game.

But who cares? Chuck James is here!!! OK, I doubt he'll be anything close to dominant, but his numbers certainly warrant him being called up before this. Who knows, maybe he can get the save. Matt Capps was battling a sore arm and pitched last night, so who knows about his availability in a day game after a night game. Also, no Jim Thome most likely as he was expected to get a cortisone shot in his shoulder last night. But I hear Jim Hoey is available!!

So, once again the Twins have an opportunity to win a three-game series for the first time this season. They can't lose them all, can they?

The good news is the Twins are now .500 against the AL West (6-6). Of course, that means they are 11-27 against everyone else.

They're due, right? Go, TWINS!!!

2011 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 50: Twins 1, Angels 0

Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in!

In all seriousness, this is why I love this sport. Moments like these. This is a historically bad baseball team right now and yet we still will have great memories from this season. You have Sizzlepop's amazing spot start that ends with a walkoff win Saturday night and then Francisco Liriano's no-hitter. Plus ... hmm ... well, that's all I can think of at the moment, but you get the idea.

What really made Saturday fun was Snapcracklepop seems like a guy that is really easy to root for. Pitchers are really taught to not show any emotion on the mound, but Swivelhips let it show through on occasion and you could really feel for him. You could tell he knew he got away with a bad pitch to the FOTF when he jerked his head around to see where it went (easy catch to Span) and then he let out a big sigh of relief when Cuddyer caught a ball on the warning track. He even showed a little frustration when the no-hitter was broken up on a hanging breaking ball. I feel for you, Slamdance!

I think it was fitting that he was filling in for Liriano, who had his no-hitter earlier this month. The Twins  now have four extra-inning wins and Danny Valencia has walk-off hits in two of them. He also had a go-ahead RBI hit in an extra-inning game, but the bullpen blew it (shocking, I know). Valencia is quickly becoming one of my favorite Twins, probably because Gardy seems to love to bag on him plus he's exceeded my original expectations for the most part. Plus, he's active on Twitter making himself more accessible to fans.

It was pretty ingenious of the Twins to figure out a way to win without forcing the bullpen to protect a lead. The bullpen has lost the last four games it has been given a lead to protect. The last Twins win before this one was Nick Blackburn's complete game.

But, for a night, it was fun to forget all about that and enjoy a well-played game and an exciting win.

Minnesota Twins, MLB

Kevin’s Saga

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Kevin grabbed his Treat Ticket from Ronnie, the Team Mom, and ran with his Little League teammates toward the snack bar. He already knew what he was going to get. It was what he always got and what he loved: a Twix bar.

Kevin got in line behind some of his teammates and peered in the snack bar. Twix is a popular item at the snack bar, and he could see that only a few were left. He counted five in the box on the shelf and then looked to see how many were in front of him in line.

Carl was first in line. He was the oldest player on the team and always got in line first. Frankie was next. He was big and fast, so he usually wound up near the front of the line.

Then came Nicky. He was slow and uncoordinated, but he was Ronnie's favorite and could usually sweet talk his way to getting his Treat Ticket first.

Finally, it was Scott, Kevin's closest friend on the team. The two of them had played on the same team together several times. Scott was a little older and a little faster and could usually stay ahead of Kevin, but he didn't mind. Today, Kevin was just happy to know that there was just enough Twix to guarantee him his favorite treat.

Kevin finally got to the front of the line and saw that there was exactly one Twix left. He ordered his favorite treat and held it triumphantly as he started to look for his mom.

Brian also was in line, just behind Kevin. Brian was a little younger and a little slower than Kevin, but he was Ronnie's son, which provided him with extra privileges. Brian also wanted a Twix bar and ordered one at the snack bar. He was disappointed to find out none were available, but he told the lady at the snack bar, "OK. Give me a Mr. Goodbar, then."

Ronnie was with Brian and saw that Kevin had taken the last Twix. She marched over to Kevin and snatched it from him and gave Kevin the Mr. Goodbar.

"That's mine!" Kevin said.

"Not anymore, it's not," Ronnie retorted.

"It's OK. He can have the Twix. I like Mr. Goodbar, too," Brian said.

"No son of mine is going without a Twix!" Ronnie said.

"But it was mine first and he said he's fine with it!" Kevin pleaded.

"You're lucky you get any candy at all," Ronnie said. "This is why nobody likes you!"

Ronnie stormed off with Brian in tow. Kevin looked down at the Mr. Goodbar. He had a taste of one before, and it was fine. But it wasn't a Twix. He opened the wrapper and took a small bite. A peanut made his tooth hurt and the chocolate turned bitter in his mouth after the anticipation of that sweet Twix bar. He tossed the Mr. Goodbar in the nearest trash can and looked for his mom.

Kevin told his mom what happened.

"Don't worry about it Kevin," his mom said as they pulled out of the parking lot. "There are plenty of stores that sell Twix. We'll go get you one. Maybe even a giant size bar."

Minnesota Twins, MLB

Brainstorm

48 Comments

Do the Twins ever trade players who both have a few years ahead of them and are not supposedly difficult to manage? Off the top of my head, I can think of the following players who have been traded and had value:

(J.J. Hardy? were there personality issues there? -- 0.3 fWAR and counting)
Carlos Gomez -- 2.0 fWAR and counting
Jason Bartlett -- 7.7 fWAR and counting
Matt Garza -- 10.2 fWAR and counting
Kyle Lohse -- 9.8 fWAR and counting
A.J. Pierzynski -- 12.9 fWAR and counting

Going back further, I suppose you could even add Chuck Knoblauch (6.9 fWAR) and Todd Walker (11.1 fWAR) to that list. Castillo was traded not that long ago, but his knees barely worked and I don't think anyone expected him to have a lot of productive seasons ahead of him. If Jim Mandelero is to be believed, Ramos was hard to manage and didn't get along with his teammates. The Twins arguably got along well enough with Pierzynski, but I can't help but think that if he had Michael Cuddyer's personality, Joe Mauer's road to the majors would have involved additional minor league stops.

Excepting J.J. Hardy perhaps (I'm not sure what the Twins thought of his personality) I think maybe the last guy the Twins traded away with much potential for a future but no personality issues was Bobby Kielty. At least, I don't remember any run-ins with management, and I do remember being peeved that the Twins traded him for Shannon Stewart. Kielty went on to do essentially nothing, and Stewart had a great 750 PA with the Twins until 2005 hit and he ran out of gas.

Anyway, this was motivated because this Slowey situation is a dead ringer for Lohse's 2006 Twins exit. In terms of age and value over the three seasons prior to their trade, it practically couldn't be closer:

Slowey, trade pending, age 27, last three seasons fWAR: 2.2, 1.4, 3.0
Lohse, traded age 27, last three seasons fWAR: 2.2, 1.8, 3.3

I can't really argue that most of these guys were easy to get along with. Bartlett and Garza didn't last in Tampa all that long, Lohse pitched well for the Reds and they let him go, the Giants lost their minds and let AJP go for nothing in return. For all I know, I couldn't stand being in the same room with them. Yet, personality is a really frustrating motivation for a trade from where this fan sits. I can't tell you anything with any degree of certainty about any Twins' personality. I'm sure there are some legitimately good guys, and I'm sure there are some pricks. But I don't feel I can rely on the media to make those judgements, so I generally don't. And at that point, I'm left looking at a move where the Twins traded away a useful player, sometimes a player I was pretty excited about.

Anyway, am I missing someone big here? Or is just about the only way to get out of the Twins' organization to become a free agent or get on someone's nerves?

And this invites the question, are the Twins building a team of nice guys, and as nice guys are they indeed destined to finish last?

2011 Twins Game Logs, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 46: Twins at Diamondbacks

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The Twins narrowly averted another tragedy late Saturday night when Hall of Fame inductee Bert Blyleven was hit in the head by a baseball thrown by Scott Baker but not seriously hurt. The motive behind the throw was not entirely clear, but Baker was heard to yell "Is that enough attitude for ya?" after the throw.

The baseball glanced off the top of Blyleven's head and knocked him to the ground. He did not lose consciousness and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. An emergency room physician was concerned that Blyleven was showing signs of a serious concussion before fellow television announcer Dick Bremer told the doctor, "No, that's the way he always talks." The doctor immediately admitted Blyleven into the hospital for observation and referred him to a specialist in dementia.

Baker was demoted to Triple-A Rochester immediately after the incident. The Twins did not say whether the demotion was a punishment for the incident or if the incident was just the last straw in their disappointment in Baker's inability to get the ball down.

The incident was just another bad moment in a season full of them for the Twins. However, they finally seem to have found their offense despite the absence of Joe Mauer and Jim Thome and have an opportunity to salvage a winning road trip with a victory today.

The Twins will send Francisco Liriano to the mound. He pitched the Twins to a 2-1 victory in his last start that ended a nine-game losing streak and will probably be asked to go as deep as possible in this one. The Diamondbacks will be sending former White Sox prospect Daniel Hudson, who has won four of his last five starts after losing his first four.