Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins Offseason Review

Twins re-sign Mijares and Romo

We were able to re-sign our two best relievers to excellent deals. Mijares agreed to a 3-year contract extension worth 3.3 million dollars per year, while we agreed to pay Sergio Romo 9 million dollars for this season through arbitration. Mijares is coming of a 40 save, 3.42 ERA season, and Romo posted a 1.69 ERA in 85.1 innings out of the 'pen last season.

Weeks sent to division rival Chicago for Pitching

With this off-season's free agent market almost completely barren of pitching talent, we went 2B Jemile Weeks 86 to the Chicago White Sox for one Jake Peavy 84. Although Peavy is coming off a poor season in which he went 8-15 with an ERA over 5, his vitals are still solid, and he's only making 4.2 million dollars a year through 2015. I see this as a low-risk, potentially high-reward move.

Twins address 'pen, sign pair of Righties

The Twins were finally able to address a weakness that has plagued them for the past several seasons this offseason - the bullpen. They came to terms with former Padre Luke Gregerson 80 on a 2-year deal worth 6.35 million dollars a year, and with Neftali Feliz 79 on a 2-year deal worth 3.9 million dollars per year.

Twins send Punto, Zubiri to Toronto for Chad Christopher

Lacking a fifth starter, we sent Nick Punto 72 and Victor Zubiri 62/81 to the Toronto Blue Jays for 23-year old Chad Christopher 77. Christopher isn't exactly the greatest pitcher, but he does have good control, along with an excellent fastball and knucklecurve, and he should provide us with a consistent 5th starter.

Twins sign former Mariner Jose Lopez

In need of a new second baseman, we signed Mariners third baseman Jose Lopez and converted him to second base. Lopez has a solid reputation with both the glove and the bat, and should at least be able to replicate Weeks' production from the past couple of years.

Zack Grienke wins 2nd consecutive Cy Young Award

Zack Greinke won his second consecutive Cy Young Award, and his 3rd in the past 4 years. Greinke lead the league in ERA with a 2.89 mark, wins with 18, and finished in the top 10 in K's again.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins 2013 Season Preview

Can you tell I have sleeping problems?

Anyways, 2012 was a disappointing season for us. We went into the season with expectations sky-high, and we crashed and burned like the Challenger space shuttle. I even used the phrase "World Series or bust" and we couldn't even make the playoffs, for the first time since I took over at the start of the 2010 season. Hopefully this season will be another story.

Pitching

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SP#1 Zack Greinke - 18-7 2.89 ERA 218.0 IP 227 K SP#2 Tim Lincecum - 14-9 3.41 ERA 222.0 IP 238 K SP#3 Jake Peavy - 8-15 5.64 ERA 169.0 IP 138 K SP#4 Nick Blackburn - 9-15 4.73 ERA 158.0 IP 58 K SP#5 Chad Christopher - 1-3 3.99 ERA 29.1 IP 19 K

The top two speak for themselves. They have a combined 6 Cy Young Awards and 9 All-Star Game appearances between them, and they're both under 30 years old. It gets a little hazy after that though. Peavy still has the stuff to be good, and with a solid defense behind him like the one here in Minnesota I think he will be. He played on a pretty bad Chicago team last season, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Blackburn is usually a good bet for 10-12 wins and an ERA in the mid-4.00 range, so I'm not too worried about what I'll get from him. C.C., as I've gotten used to calling him, is a real wild card here. He's got pretty solid vitals from top to bottom, especially his control, but he's a bit of an injury risk. If he is able to pitch well as the #5 we should do just fine.

Overall, I see this as a strength.

Bullpen

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CL Jose Mijares - 2-8 3.42 ERA 68.1 IP 51 K 40 SV SU Sergio Romo - 9-1 1.69 ERA 85.1 IP 94 K 2 SV MR Alex Burnett - 10-3 2.90 ERA 90.0 IP 62 K 0 SV MR Luke Gregerson - 4-4 3.48 ERA 64.2 IP 55 K 3 SV MR Neftali Feliz - 1-2 4.14 ERA 100.0 IP 89 K 4 SV LR Daniel Farquhar - 2-1 4.30 ERA 92.0 IP 73 K 2 SV

Mijares, Romo, and Burnett all had excellent seasons for us out of the 'pen last year, and Farquhar wasn't too shabby either. Then I went out and spent a lot of money improving it even more in the off-season. At the very least, this shouldn't be as much of a weakness as it has been in recent years.

Starting Line-up

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CF Denard Span - .250/.331/.347 10 HR 51 RBI 23 SB SS Pete Kozma - .277/.363/.425 8 HR 36 RBI 4 SB RF Hunter Pence - .300/.356/.491 25 HR 95 RBI 11 SB LF Thomas Neal - .293/.401/.529 33 HR 83 RBI 2 SB 3B Chase Headley - .316/.378/.551 28 HR 108 RBI 2 SB DH Chris Parmelee - .254/.379/.449 20 HR 75 RBI 3 SB 1B David Cooper - .286/.366/.462 24 HR 106 RBI 0 SB 2B Jose Lopez - .278/.305/.454 13 HR 64 RBI 2 SB C Kurt Suzuki - .239/.288/.366 11 HR 56 RBI 4 SB

I think our line-up should be great. Thomas Neal has had two very, very good seasons to start his career, and he should be just about ready for a really big, breakout season. The rest of the line-up around him is very good as well. Pence and Headley are coming off career-years, Parmelee should get better following a good rookie campaign, as should Cooper, and Span has shown in the past that he can put up an .800 OPS and hopefully he'll do it again this season.

Definite strength of the team.

Bench

OF Oscar Salazar
C Jose Morales
OF Cody Ross
IF Alexi Casilla
IF Trevor Plouffe

No stats because most of them don't have much to speak of for stats. I think we have pretty solid depth. Salazar will DH in place of Parmelee against lefties, and Morales will continue to be Greinke's personal catcher.

Season Expectations

Detroit took some serious steps back this off-season, as they lost Ryan Raburn, Wilkin Ramirez, and Max Scherzer, so I wouldn't expect another high-90 win season out of them. Cleveland probably stayed about the same. Chicago has a good hitting ball-club, but they lack pitching and they're very, very young. Kansas City is definitely a possible contender this year, though. They have some good young pitching, along with a solid core of position players. I think they'll give me a run for my money. I (again) think I have the best team in the division, but this time I actually looked around at the other teams in my division, and I don't see a team that's as well balanced as I am. I've got a great line-up from top to bottom, solid depth, a great 1-2 punch of Greinke and Lincecum with solid arms behind them, and a potentially great bullpen.

Projected W-L for AL Central Division

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Minnesota Twins 96-66 Cleveland Indians 85-77 Kansas City Royals 81-81 Detroit Tigers 79-83 Chicago White Sox 65-97

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

April 5, 2013

Twins 3 - White Sox 10
WP - G. Floyd (1-0), LP - Z. Greinke (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (1), CHW J. Phegley 2 (2), R. Howard (1), J. Weeks (1)

Gavin Floyd had it working tonight. He no-hit us through the first four innings of the game, and finished the game with a line of 8.1 IP, 5 H, BB, 2 ER, and 6 K. Of course, it helped that their offense had a field day too, but that is neither here nor there.

POTG - CHW Gavin Floyd 8.1 IP, 5 H, BB, 2 ER, 6 K

April 7, 2013

Twins 6 - White Sox 7
WP - T. Pena (1-0), LP - J. Mijares (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN D. Span (1)

Okay, Mijares, whose paying your salary? Me or the White Sox? Because I could've sworn it was me, but the way you just blew that save makes me think it's the White Sox.

POTG - CHW R. Howard 2-4, walk-off double

April 8, 2013

Twins 5 - White Sox 11
WP - S. Rodriguez (1-0), LP - J. Peavy (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - CHW S. Santos (1), D. Viciedo 3 (3), A. Rios (1)

Well the first few innings of the first episode of 'The Jake Peavy Experiment' went well, but it kinda got outta control after Dayan Viciedo started smacking homers left and right. Peavy pitched 4.1 innings and allowed five runs on two homers. Viciedo hit three homers and drove in 7 runs for the opposition.

POTG - CHW D. Viciedo 3-4, 3 HR, 7 RBI

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Minnesota Twins 0-3
3.0 GB of Chicago White Sox for first place in AL Central
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April 9, 2013

Royals 3 - Twins 8
WP - N. Blackburn (1-0), LP - T. Melville (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Blackburn had one of those starts where he's just untouchable, as he went 8.1 innings and allowed only three runs. Pence, Neal, and Headley combined to drive in all 8 of the team's runs.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn 8.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 ER, 4 K

April 10, 2013

Royals 3 - Twins 13
WP - C. Christopher (1-0), LP - K. Gibson (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN H. Pence (1), KCR B. Butler 2 (4)

The Chad Christopher era got off to a nice start, with C.C. pitching seven innings of two-run ball. The offense was firing on all cylinders as well. Everyone but Jose Lopez got a hit. Neal and Headley each had three hits and 4 RBI, while Kozma and Pence each had 4 hits and 4 runs.

POTG - MIN T. Neal 3-4, 2 2B, R, 4 RBI

April 11, 2013

Royals 1 - Twins 4
WP - Z. Greinke (1-1), LP - D. Duffy (0-1), SV - J. Mijares (1)
HR - N/A

Greinke showed why he's the two time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, going 7.2 innings and allowing only one run on three hits while striking out eight.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, ER, 8 K

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Minnesota Twins 3-3
2.0 GB of Chicago White Sox for first place in AL Central
1.0 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
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April 12, 2013

White Sox 1 - Twins 9
WP - T. Lincecum (1-0), LP - N. Griffith (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN H. Pence (2)

Lincecum fell an out short of a complete game, but still struck out 12 batters. Pence provided most of the game's offense, doubling and hitting a homer on his way to 3 RBI.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 8.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, ER, 12 K

April 13, 2013

White Sox 2 - Twins 3
WP - J. Peavy (1-1), LP - W. Font (0-1), SV - J. Mijares (2)
HR - CHW R. Howard (3), D. Viciedo (6)

Peavy pitched 7 innings of one run ball against his former team for his first Twins win. Interestingly, both his starts this season have come against his former team, the White Sox.

POTG - MIN J. Peavy 7 IP, 8 H, BB, ER, 4 K

April 14, 2013

White Sox 0 - Twins 9
WP - N. Blackburn (2-0), LP - D. Hudson (1-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN D. Cooper (1)

Blackburn goes the distance for a complete game shutout, dropping his ERA through the first two starts of the season to 1.56. Another great game for the offense, too, as we collect 12 hits and score 9 times.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn CG, SHO, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 6-3
1.0 GA of Chicago White Sox for first place in AL Central (tied with Cleveland Indians)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Awesome start to the season. Only a week and a half in, but still very encouraging. I like what I'm seeing from the offense - a lot of high average and OBP numbers. The power is lacking a bit so far, but that's okay. The pitching has been phenomenal as well.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Wow, Dayan Viciedo 6 home runs in 5 games!

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Francouerstein - The White Sox are actually leading all of baseball in homers by a long-shot with 45. No one else has more than 33.

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April 16, 2013

Twins 2 - Angels 0
WP - Z. Greinke (2-1), LP - W. Smith (1-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN T. Neal (1)

I think Greinke wants another Cy Young. He threw his first shutout of the season, his 11th in 3 1/2 seasons as a Twin. Neal hit his first home-run of the season in the 4th off Will Smith for the only runs of the game.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke CG, SHO, 4 H, 10 K

April 17, 2013

Twins 5 - Angels 3
WP - T. Lincecum (2-0), LP - A. Oliver (0-3), SV - J. Mijares (3)
HR - MIN T. Neal (2), J. Lopez 2 (2)

Jose Lopez hit the first home-runs in his Twins career, going 2-4 with 2 homers and two RBI.

POTG - MIN J. Lopez 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI

April 18, 2013

Twins 13 - Angels 1
WP - J. Peavy (2-1), LP - M. Scherzer (1-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN D. Cooper (2), H. Pence (3)

We complete the sweep over the Angels with a blowout win. Everyone in the line-up got at least one hit, and everyone but Suzuki and Parmelee drove in a run.

POTG - MIN J. Peavy 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 8 K

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Minnesota Twins 9-3
2.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 19, 2013

Twins 6 - A's 3
WP - N. Blackburn (3-0), LP - F. De Los Santos (1-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (2), T. Neal (3), OAK C. Brown (1)

Blackburn continued his ridiculous start to the season, pitching seven innings of two-run ball and striking out six. Thomas Neal hit his third homer of the year; he appears to be on course for a break-out season and possibly his first All-Star appearance.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn 7 IP, 7 H, BB, 2 ER, 6 K

April 20, 2013

Twins 7 - A's 4
WP - N. Feliz (1-0), LP - J. Devine (0-3), SV - N/A
HR - MIN D. Cooper (3)

CC had a rough start, lasting only 4.1 innings. But a 7 run sixth inning, capped off by David Cooper's grandslam, gets him off the hook and extends our winning streak to 11.

POTG - MIN D. Cooper 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 5 RBI

April 21, 2013

Twins 2 - A's 4
WP - T. Cahill (1-1), LP - Z. Greinke (2-2), SV - J. Crain (6)
HR - OAK C. Carter (2)

Our winning streak comes to an end at the hands of Trevor Cahill and the A's.

POTG - OAK T. Cahill 7 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

April 22, 2013

Twins 7 - A's 3
WP - T. Lincecum (3-0), LP - C. Hamles (1-2), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Headley drives in three runs on two hits. Lincecum wins his third game in 4 starts this season.

POTG - MIN H. Pence 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI

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Minnesota Twins 12-4
3.5 GA of Kansas City Royals for first place in AL Central
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April 23, 2013

Twins 10 - Rangers 0
WP - J. Peavy (3-1), LP - T. Scheppers (2-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN D. Cooper (4), C. Headley (3), J. Lopez (3)

Jake Peavy is proving to be a great off-season pickup so far. He threw 8.1 innings and allowed no runs this time out. He's 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA and 21 K's in 26.2 innings (4 starts).

POTG - MIN J. Peavy 8.1 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 0 ER, 4 K

April 24, 2013

Twins 2 - Rangers 5
WP - R. Ross (1-2), LP - N. Feliz (1-1), SV - M. Corpas (4)
HR - N/A

Justin Smoak ripped a three-run double in the 7th to end the 2-2 tie. The runs proved to be the difference.

POTG - TEX J. Smoak 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI

April 25, 2013

Twins 4 - Rangers 3
WP - C. Christopher (2-0), LP - D. Holland (0-3), SV - J. Mijares (4)
HR - MIN H. Pence 2 (5), C. Ross (1), TEX T. Mendonca (2), C. Young (5)

Christopher continues the trend of excellent pitching set by the rest of our starters. Our team ERA is a miniscule 3.46, with no starter sporting an ERA over CC's 3.66.

POTG - MIN C. Christopher 8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 3 K

April 26, 2013

Twins 1 - Rangers 3
WP - K. Kiker (2-0), LP - Z. Greinke (2-3), SV - M. Corpas (5)
HR - N/A

The Rangers manage to earn the split with us on the strength of Kasey Kiker's eight inning masterpiece.

POTG - TEX K. Kiker 8 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 0 ER (1 R), 6 K

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Minnesota Twins 14-6
2.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 27, 2013

Tigers 2 - Twins 6
WP - D. Farquhar (1-0), LP - J. Verlander (1-2), SV - J. Mijares (5)
HR - DET M. Cabrera (5)

Farquhar filled in amicably for Tim Lincecum, who sat out with a bruised hand.

POTG - MIN K. Suzuki 2-2, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI

April 28, 2013

Tigers 7 - Twins 2
WP - R. Porcello (3-1), LP - J. Peavy (3-2), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Errors by Chase Headley and Jose Lopez led to five unearned runs scored by the Tigers.

POTG - DET S. Sizemore 2-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI

April 29, 2013

Tigers 8 - Twins 0
WP - J. Turner (1-2), LP - N. Blackburn (3-1), SV - N/A
HR - DET R. Doumit (4), B. Hall (6)

I hate the Tigers. I don't even care that I'm 3.5 up on them in the division and that I still lead the division by 2.5 games, I just always want to beat the Tigers. Okay, the part about me not caring about my division lead isn't true, but you get the picture.

POTG - DET J. Turner CG, SHO, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K

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Minnesota Twins 15-8
2.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

15-8 is a great way to start the season. Hopefully we can keep it up this time around, unlike last season. On another note, Hunter Pence's contract expires at the end of the season, and his performance up to this point in this season combined with his performance last season is making it look like I won't be able to keep him. His current contract demands are 4 years at 33 million per year with a NTC, which I am simply not willing to give anyone, let alone a 30 year-old outfielder. I don't think I'd bring him back for anymore than 8-9 million a year.

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ERA J. Peavy 2.20 Wins T. Lincecum 3 Saves J. Mijares 5 AVG H. Pence .371 HR H. Pence 5 SB D. Span 4

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Span, Denard MIN 98 28 1 7 .286 .346 .378 4 3 Kozma, Pete MIN 98 30 0 4 .306 .370 .347 1 0 Pence, Hunter MIN 97 36 5 24 .371 .398 .639 1 0 Lopez, Jose MIN 91 18 3 11 .198 .240 .341 0 0 Headley, Chase MIN 84 28 3 23 .333 .408 .536 0 2 Cooper, David MIN 83 24 4 16 .289 .388 .494 0 0 Neal, Thomas MIN 75 22 3 18 .293 .407 .507 0 0 Suzuki, Kurt MIN 66 17 0 8 .258 .324 .318 0 0 Parmelee, Chris MIN 50 13 0 4 .260 .367 .300 0 0 Salazar, Oscar MIN 31 7 0 4 .226 .242 .226 0 0 Morales, Jose MIN 16 4 0 0 .250 .250 .313 0 0 Ross, Cody MIN 8 4 1 1 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 Farquhar, Daniel MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Feliz, Neftali MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Gregerson, Luke MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Burnett, Alex MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Christopher, Chad MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Peavy, Jake MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Lincecum, Tim MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Greinke, Zack MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Plouffe, Trevor MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Casilla, Alexi MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0

Pitching

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Player Name Team Starts W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA Greinke, Zack MIN 5 2 3 3.34 35.0 42 0 1 .211 Peavy, Jake MIN 5 3 2 2.20 32.2 23 0 0 .222 Blackburn, Nick MIN 5 3 1 3.34 32.1 17 0 1 .259 Lincecum, Tim MIN 4 3 0 3.10 29.0 37 0 0 .170 Christopher, Chad MIN 3 2 0 3.66 19.2 14 0 0 .250 Feliz, Neftali MIN 0 1 1 5.82 17.0 18 0 0 .250 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 3.38 10.2 10 0 0 .214 Farquhar, Daniel MIN 1 1 0 6.75 9.1 7 0 0 .316 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 1 4.50 6.0 8 5 0 .269 Burnett, Alex MIN 0 0 0 1.80 5.0 2 0 0 .167 Gregerson, Luke MIN 0 0 0 3.86 4.2 4 0 0 .364

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

April 30, 2013

A's 10 - Twins 6
WP - B. Anderson (2-1), LP - C. Christopher (2-1), SV - A. Bailey (3)
HR - OAK C. Carter (4), K. Kouzmanoff (3), R. Sweeney (3)

CC and Farquhar combined to allow six runs in the second inning, and dig us into a hole that was too deep to climb out of.

POTG - OAK R. Sweeney 2-5, HR, 3 RBI

May 1, 2013

A's 1 - Twins 2
WP - Z. Greinke (3-3), LP - T. Cahill (1-3), SV - J. Mijares (6)
HR - N/A

The A's scored their only run on an error by Zack Greinke, whom aside from the error was brilliant.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 7 IP, 4 H, BB, 0 ER (1 R), 7 K

May 2, 2013

A's 3 - Twins 4
WP - A. Burnett (1-0), LP - A. Bailey (0-2), SV - N/A
HR - MIN J. Lopez (4)

We were trailing 2-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, but Jose Lopez came through with a man on base and hit a walk-off home-run to give us the series win.

POTG - MIN J. Lopez 2-4, walk-off home-run

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Minnesota Twins 17-9
3.0 GA of Kansas City Royals for first place in AL Central
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May 3, 2013

Twins 0 - Tigers 5
WP - R. Porcello (4-1), LP - J. Peavy (3-3), SV - N/A
HR - DET S. Sizemore (3)

I hate the Tigers. I hate, hate, HATE the Tigers.

POTG - DET R. Porcello CG, SHO, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K

May 4, 2013

Twins 2 - Tigers 0
WP - N. Blackburn (4-1), LP - J. Turner (1-3), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (1)

Both starters pitched complete game, but Blackburn pitched just a little bit better and got the shutout. The shutout is Blackburn's second of the season; prior to the start of the season, Blackburn had three in the first six years of his career.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn CG, SHO, 7 H, 5 K

May 5, 2013

Twins 6 - Tigers 5
WP - A. Burnett (2-0), LP - J. Soria (1-3), SV - J. Mijares (7)
HR - MIN K. Suzuki (1), T. Neal (4), C. Parmelee (2), DET M. Cabrera (7), G. Nunez (4)

Chad Christopher didn't have the greatest start of his life, but it was good enough for us to get revenge for the Tigers taking 2 of 3 from us at home last month.

POTG - MIN D. Span 2-3, 2 BB, SB

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Minnesota Twins 19-10
2.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
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May 7, 2013

Twins 2 - Royals 0
WP - Z. Greinke (4-3), LP - K. Gibson (2-3), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (3)

Parmelee hit his third homer in as many games to support Greinke in his second complete game shutout of the season.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke CG, SHO, 6 H, BB, 8 K

May 8, 2013

Twins 2 - Royals 3
WP - A. Reifer (2-0), LP - S. Romo (0-1), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Aaron Hicks sac-fly in the ninth send the Royals home the winner.

POTG - KCR A. Hicks GW sac-fly

May 9, 2013

Twins 3 - Royals 2
WP - J. Peavy (4-3), LP - N. Arguelles (1-4), SV - J. Mijares (8)
HR - MIN T. Neal (5), H. Pence (6), KCR M. Moustakas (2)

This series may have shown that KC's time is not quite here yet, but they're definitely a force to be reckoned with and they'll be a serious contender in coming seasons.

POTG - MIN T. Neal 3-4, 2B, HR, RBI

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Minnesota Twins 21-11
3.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We're still playing well. I wish we could have put some more ground between ourselves and the rest of the division, though. I'd rather not have a nail-biter going through the season like I did a couple seasons ago.

The draft is coming up in a couple weeks and we'll be picking the highest we've picked under my reign at #19. It'll be a welcome change of pace. Unfortunately, though, This draft is probably one of the weakest I've seen since taking over. There are only three players peaked above 90, and the draft is plagued with injury-prone players. Regardless, some of the guys I have my eye on now are:

1B Chuck Standish 67/87 21 years old - Massive power potential
SS Franky Haughey 66/88 19 years old - Good all-around player
1B Dave Dommett 65/86 20 years old - Big power and excellent glove

That list is sure to change by draft day, but that's where we stand right now.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

May 10, 2013

Red Sox 2 - Twins 3
WP - N. Blackburn (5-1), LP - J. Lester (1-3), SV - J. Mijares (9)
HR - N/A

Not that I mind, but I think Nick Blackburn forgot who he is, because he's been pitching like Cy Young all season. Probably has something to do with the expiring contract.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn 7 IP, 3 H, BB, ER, 3 K

May 11, 2013

Red Sox 4 - Twins 5
WP - A. Burnett (3-0), LP - J. Beckett (1-4), SV - J. Mijares (10)
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (4), K. Suzuki (2)

Parmelee's 433-foot moonshot in the second inning marked his 4th bomb of the season. Alex Burnett struck out four of the five batters he faced out of the 'pen, en route to getting his third win of the season in relief of CC.

POTG - MIN A. Burnett 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K

May 12, 2013

Red Sox 8 - Twins 13
WP - Z. Greinke (5-3), LP - K. Slowey (3-2), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (4), C. Parmelee (5), BOS J. Lowrie (5), J. Gaston (6)

Well, Greinke's performance certainly wasn't record-breaking (6.1 IP, 5 ER), but the offense showed up to play and helped him get his fifth win of the season in spite of the poor performance.

POTG - MIN C. Parmelee 3-5, BB, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI

May 13, 2013

Red Sox 4 - Twins 1
WP - C. Buchholz (3-2), LP - T. Lincecum (3-1), SV - J. Papelbon (7)
HR - N/A

Thanks to a good effort by Buchholz, we were unable to complete the four-game sweep over our cross-division rival Boston Red Sox.

POTG - BOS C. Buchholz 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, ER, K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 24-12
5.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 14, 2013

Blue Jays 1 - Twins 7
WP - D. Farquhar (2-0), LP - B. Mills (2-2), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (5), TOR B. Wallace (3)

Peavy missed his start with a strained back, but Farquhar made a solid start in place of him, going five innings and allowing only one run. Headley helped out greatly, going 3-4 with a double, a home-run, and 4 RBI.

POTG - MIN 3B C. Headley 3-4, 2 R, HR, 2B, 4 RBI

May 15, 2013

Blue Jays 2 - Twins 7
WP - N. Blackburn (6-1), LP - H. Alvarez (3-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (6), H. Pence (7), J. Lopez (5), C. Parmelee (6)

Four home-runs out of the offense, along with Blackburn's on-going case of mistaken identity, power us to our second win in a row.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn 8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, K

May 16, 2013

Blue Jays 6 - Twins 3
WP - A. Cashner (4-3), LP - C. Christopher (2-2), SV - C. Meredith (2)
HR - N/A

Cashner must love pitching against us, as he always seems to kill us, preventing us from completing the sweep.

POTG - TOR A. Cashner 7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 26-13
4.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 17, 2013

Indians 6 - Twins 1
WP - N. Hagadone (4-0), LP - Z. Greinke (5-4), SV - N/A
HR - CLE G. Sizemore 2 (5)

A Trevor Plouffe error led to four unearned runs being scored off Greinke and to Greinke being pulled after only 3.2 innings. Neftali Feliz pitched well in relief, shutting out the Indians for the final 5.1 innings, but Cleveland starter Nick Hagadone shut us down, like he always does.

POTG - CLE N. Hagadone 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 ER (1 R), 8 K

May 18, 2013

Indians 2 - Twins 3
WP - T. Lincecum (4-1), LP - H. Rondon (2-4), SV - J. Mijares (11)
HR - MIN D. Span (2), CLE N. Weglarz (7)

We're able to earn a split in this two-game series against the Indians, thanks to a strong performance by Lincecum and the 'pen combo of Romo and Mijares.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 7 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 27-14
4.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 19, 2013

Twins 10 - Mariners 3
WP - J. Peavy (5-3), LP - R. Rowland-Smith (1-8), SV - L. Gregerson (1)
HR - MIN D. Cooper (5), D. Span (3), O. Salazar (1)

A six run sixth inning, that included home-runs off the bats of Cooper, Span, and Salazar, highlighted the scoring in this game. Denard Span also fell a double short of hitting for the cycle.

POTG - MIN O. Salazar 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI

May 20, 2013

Twins 0 - Mariners 5
WP - M. Pineda (4-2), LP - N. Blackburn (6-2), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Mariners ace Mike Pineda pitched the shutout, and Blackburn seemed to remember who he is (for this start anyways), as he lasted only two innings before giving up five runs.

POTG - SEA M. Pineda CG, SHO, 5 H, 7 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 28-15
5.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 21, 2013

Twins 1 - D'Backs 2
WP - M. Belfiore (3-3), LP - N. Feliz (1-2), SV - C. Zavada (4)
HR - N/A

Feliz made the spot-start in place of the injured CC. CC's injury is not expected to cause him to miss anymore starts.

POTG - ARI M. Belfiore 7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 0 ER (1 R), 2 K

May 22, 2013

Twins 4 - D'Backs 3
WP - L. Gregerson (1-0), LP - M. Atkinson (1-2), SV - J. Mijares (12)
HR - MIN H. Pence (8), ARI J. Upton (12)

Both starters (Zack Greinke and Martin Perez) went 6+ innings and allowed two earned runs, but it came down to the bullpens. Without revamped bullpen, we were finally able to win a bullpen battle, and should be able to do so on a consistent basis this season.

POTG - MIN bullpen (L. Gregerson + S. Romo + J. Mijares) 3 IP, 4 H, BB, ER, 6 K, W, SV

May 23, 2013

Twins 4 - D'Backs 0
WP - T. Lincecum (5-1), LP - J. Parker (0-4), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Lincecum had the best start since signing with us last off-season. He allowed only two hits and two walks to the Diamondbacks over this complete game shutout, while also striking out 14 batters.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum CG, SHO, 2 H, 2 BB, 14 K

Injury notice: After this game it was revealed that one of our free agent acquisitions of this off-season, Neftali Feliz, is going to miss 28 days with a broken wrist. Feliz had a 4.86 ERA with a 1-2 record in 13 games and 33.1 innings. He had logged 31 K's to only seven walks out of the 'pen in that timeframe as well. We signed Kerry Wood to a one-year deal to take his place on the roster until he's healthy again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 30-16
5.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 25, 2013

Twins 4 - Angels 5
WP - N. Masset (2-3), LP - K. Wood (0-1), SV - H. Bell (7)
HR - MIN H. Pence (9)

Kerry Wood made his presence felt in his first game after being signed. He went 2.2 innings out of the 'pen and allowed only one run, but unfortunately that run was the game deciding run.

POTG - LAA bullpen (J. Bachanov + N. Masset + H. Bell) 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 0 ER, 2 K, W, SV

May 26, 2013

Twins 3 - Angels 2
WP - N. Blackburn (7-2), LP - A. Oliver (0-9), SV - N/A
HR - MIN T. Neal (6), LAA D. DeJesus (5)

Blackburn wins his seventh game of the season with another Cy Young performance. Right now Blackburn is asking for a 2-year deal with 14+ million per season, and I can't say I blame him with the way he's pitching, but the chances of him getting that kind of money from me are about the same as winning the lottery.

POTG - MIN N. Blackburn CG, 3 H, BB, 2 ER, 3 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 31-17
6.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Stupid 10K limit....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 28, 2013

Mariners 3 - Twins 1
WP - M. Robles (3-4), LP - S. Romo (0-2), SV - M. Lowe (1)
HR - N/A

Zack Greinke went seven innings and allowed only one run while striking out 12, but Sergio Romo gave up runs on back-to-back bases loaded hits by Brandon Allen and Greg Halman.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 7 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, ER, 12 K

May 29, 2013

Mariners 9 - Twins 10 (in extras)
WP - S. Romo (1-2), LP - B. League (1-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (7), T. Neal (7), SEA G. Halman (8)

Lincecum had what I can only assume is the shortest start of his career, as he lasted only 0.1 innings before getting pulled after giving up five runs on six hits. The bullpen held it together pretty well after that and allowed us to get into extras and win the game. We are gonna need a long effort by Peavy tomorrow, though, as we were forced to use every bullpen arm available to us.

POTG - MIN H. Pence 3-6, BB, R, 4 RBI

Injury notice: The next one to go down is another off-season FA acquisition - Luke Gregerson. His injury is to the rotator cuff and will keep him out for roughly one month. In 16 innings Gregerson had an ERA of just 1.13. We signed former Orioles closer Jorge Julio to come up in his place.

May 30, 2013

Mariners 10 - Twins 5
WP - R. Rowland-Smith (2-9), LP - J. Peavy (5-4), SV - D. Cortes (1)
HR - MIN C. Headley (8)

Peavy did not give us that long start we needed, lasting only 3.1 innings. Defense was spotty in this one, as 5 of the 10 runs the Mariners scored were unearned.

POTG - SEA A. Liddi 3-5, R, 4 RBI

May 31, 2013

Mariners 5 - Twins 6
WP - J. Mijares (1-1), LP - N. Hill (1-3), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (7)

Chris Parmelee picked a good time for his 7th homer of the season, hitting the walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied at 5-5.

POTG - MIN C. Parmelee 2-2, 3 BB, walk-off HR

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 33-19
6.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We finished May with an 18-10 record and managed to put some ground between us and the rest of the division. The lack of power, but abundance of balance in my line-up right now is intriguing. The team-leader in home-runs is Pence with 9, but aside from Suzuki (2), Span (3), and Kozma (0) everyone has at least 5.

HTML Code:

ERA Z. Greinke 2.80 Wins N. Blackburn 7 Saves J. Mijares 12 AVG C. Headley .325 HR H. Pence 9 SB D. Span 8

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Span, Denard MIN 217 62 3 15 .286 .346 .392 8 7 Pence, Hunter MIN 217 67 9 40 .309 .348 .521 1 1 Kozma, Pete MIN 212 54 0 12 .255 .339 .288 1 0 Headley, Chase MIN 191 62 8 44 .325 .377 .545 0 2 Lopez, Jose MIN 187 36 5 21 .193 .221 .321 1 0 Cooper, David MIN 183 47 5 29 .257 .355 .410 0 0 Neal, Thomas MIN 175 55 7 30 .314 .437 .509 1 0 Suzuki, Kurt MIN 147 36 2 14 .245 .298 .340 2 0 Parmelee, Chris MIN 103 32 7 15 .311 .392 .553 0 0 Salazar, Oscar MIN 77 18 1 9 .234 .247 .338 0 0 Morales, Jose MIN 37 11 0 1 .297 .316 .405 0 0 Ross, Cody MIN 13 5 1 2 .385 .385 .769 0 0 Casilla, Alexi MIN 11 3 0 1 .273 .333 .273 0 0 Lincecum, Tim MIN 3 2 0 1 .667 .667 .667 0 0 Greinke, Zack MIN 2 1 0 0 .500 .500 .500 0 0 Green, Taylor MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Peavy, Jake MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Christopher, Chad MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Burnett, Alex MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Julio, Jorge MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Wood, Kerry MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Farquhar, Daniel MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0

Pitching

HTML Code:

Player Name Team Starts W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA Lincecum, Tim MIN 10 5 1 3.11 66.2 78 0 1 .185 Greinke, Zack MIN 11 5 4 2.80 74.0 87 0 2 .217 Peavy, Jake MIN 10 5 4 4.20 55.2 40 0 0 .278 Blackburn, Nick MIN 11 7 2 3.21 73.0 32 0 3 .241 Christopher, Chad MIN 7 2 2 5.87 38.1 27 0 0 .286 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 1 1 3.32 19.0 18 12 0 .276 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 1 2 2.70 26.2 29 0 0 .219 Burnett, Alex MIN 0 3 0 0.71 25.1 18 0 0 .148 Julio, Jorge MIN 0 0 0 3.00 3.0 2 0 0 .222 Wood, Kerry MIN 0 0 1 9.82 3.2 4 0 0 .333 Farquhar, Daniel MIN 2 2 0 3.81 26.0 23 0 0 .242

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins 2013 Draft Review

Round #1 - SP Ralph Leclaire (51/92), 17 years old - Major upside. Only good season in high school was senior year (2.89 ERA), prior to that never posted a sub-4.00 ERA.

Round #2 - 2B Luis Feliciano (62/79), 19 years old - Healthy. Well-rounded offensive game, especially for a second baseman.

Round #3 - 3B Angel Rodriguez (61/76), 21 years old - Big power. Poor eye.

Round #4 - LF Victor Llull (57/74), 17 years old - Good glove. Fast. Well balanced offensively. Switch hitter.

Round #5 - RP Ivan Vargos (52/77), 20 years old - Consistent throughout college and high school. Healthy.

Round #6 - RP Will Vereen (47/77), 21 years old - Behind developmentally. If pitching doesn't work out could convert to position player due to strong bat, ala Matt Bush and Rick Ankiel.

Well, none of the guys I mentioned as targets were left at my pick in the first, so I just went with the highest peak available. Leclaire could be very good in the future, but the fact that he only had one season of above-average pitching in high school concerns me. Prior to his senior year of a 2.89 ERA he posted ERA's of 5.11 his freshman year, 4.42 sophomore, and 4.09 junior year. Though I suppose it is equally encouraging that he improved every year. The rest of the draft went pretty well. We got some hitters with good/great potential, and some relievers with good potential as well.

In next year's draft we should have more picks, as I plan on instituting a rudimentary FA compensation system with my dynasty, and with Pence and Blackburn's contracts expiring and both having excellent seasons, they should get me a couple good picks.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Retirements

This season has seen the retirements of a number of players that were great in their prime, players we are all familiar with. Let's do a rundown.

3B/1B/DH Jim Thome

Jim Thome played 21 seasons with the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, and ended his career with the Twins. He fell just two homers shy of the 600 club and finished with a line of .276/.400/.548, 2302 hits, 1575 runs, 1664 RBI. A sure-fire Hall of Famer to say the least.

OF Johnny Damon

Damon played 18 seasons with the Royals, A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and Indians, meaning that the only AL Central team he didn't play for was the Twins. Known best for being the "cave man" that helped the Red Sox win their first championship in 86 years in 2004, before defecting to the rival New York Yankees after the 2005 season. He was also well known for his complete lack of a throwing arm, drawing comparisons to the mothers and grandmothers of millions of baseball fans the world over. The mothers and grandmothers were likely offended by this notion. Damon finished his career with 2510 hits, 218 homers, 387 steals, and a .788 OPS.

SS Orlando Cabrera

Also known for his contributions to Boston's 2004 World Championship team, Cabrera played 16 MLB seasons. Cabrera won Gold Gloves in 2001 and 2007 and finished his career with 2121 hits, 1005 runs, a .704 OPS, and 217 stolen bases. Cabrera played for the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals), Boston Red Sox, LA Angels, White Sox, A's, Minnesota Twins, and Reds, before finally finishing his career by playing two more seasons with the Angels.

SP Chris Young

Formerly of the Rangers, Padres, and Orioles. Young is best known for his time in San Diego. He pitched five seasons for the Padres, winning 43 games and posting an ERA of 3.20. For his career he compiled a 59-47 record, posted a 3.87 ERA, struck out 804, had a BAA of .218, and pitched 936.1 innings.

SP Bronson Arroyo

Arroyo pitched 12 seasons, six with Cincy, three with Boston, and three with Pittsburgh. Although the majority of his career was with the Reds, he is probably best known for his time with the Red Sox. He too contributed to the 2004 championship team, going 10-9 with a 4.03 ERA in '04. He won 108 games to 105 losses in his career, had a 4.28 ERA, pitched 1769.1 innings, and struck out 1199 batters.

OF Ryan Ludwick

Ludwick didn't start playing like he actually belonged in the majors until he was almost 30. His best season came in '08 with the Cardinals when he 37 homers, drove in 113 runs, and posted an OPS of .966. He retires with 113 career home-runs, 408 RBI, 616 hits, and an .802 OPS.

1B Carlos Pena

Pena played 12 seasons with the Rangers, A's, Tigers, Red Sox, Rays, and Mets. Pena was part of the Rays teams that stormed the league at the end of decade, hitting over 100 of his 219 career homers in his four seasons with them. He was a staple in their line-up for four years before signing with the Mets following the 2010 season. He finishes his career with 219 homers, 849 hits, a line of .242/.350/.490/.840, and 637 RBI.

SP Roy Oswalt

Oswalt pitched 12 seasons in the Major Leagues, 10 of which came with the Houston Astros. Oswalt was the ace of the great Astros teams of the mid-2000's. He finishes his career with a legitimate shot at the Hall of Fame, with 166 wins, 92 losses, a 3.40 ERA, 2249.0 innings pitched, 1800 K's, and only 530 walks.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

June 1, 2013

Royals 4 - Twins 0
WP - K. Davies (2-1), LP - C. Christopher (2-3), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

As sloppy as we played this game, I'm surprised we didn't lose 14-0. We committed four errors, including two errors by CC.

POTG - KCR K. Davies 8.1 IP, 6 H, BB, 0 ER, 4 K

June 2, 2013

Royals 2 - Twins 3
WP - Z. Greinke (6-4), LP - K. Gibson (3-6), SV - J. Mijares (13)
HR - KCR B. Butler (11), E. Hosmer (5)

Kyle Gibson and Zack Greinke, two pitchers that were traded for each other three seasons ago, faced off in this game. Greinke got the better of Gibson, but not by much. Greinke went seven innings and allowed only two runs, while Gibson went 6.1 and allowed three runs.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

June 3, 2013

Royals 2 - Twins 5
WP - T. Lincecum (6-1), LP - A. Crow (5-4), SV - J. Mijares (14)
HR - MIN C. Headley (9), H. Pence (10), J. Lopez (6)

Jose Lopez hit his sixth homer of the season to help us win the game. With the home-runs and doubles and RBI's he's getting, you'd have no idea he's actually in the midst a horrible season and is pushing the Mendoza line.

POTG - T. Lincecum 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 35-20
7.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 4, 2013

Twins 1 - White Sox 4
WP - D. Hudson (2-6), LP - J. Peavy (5-5), SV - M. Thornton (9)
HR - CHW R. Howard (19), D. Viciedo (16)

The White Sox continue to hit home-runs at an alarming rate, As they're now at 82 homers on the season. Only four other teams in the league have even broken 70. They are the Reds (71), Tigers (71), A's (73), and Yankees (70). Interestingly, none of those teams are division leaders and only one (the A's) is a realistic playoff contender.

POTG - CHW D. Hudson 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 ER (1 R), 6 K

June 5, 2013

Twins 6 - White Sox 10
WP - C. Torres (1-1), LP - A. Burnett (3-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN H. Pence (11), CHW J. Phegley 2 (19), R. Howard (20), J. Weeks (3), J. Mitchell (9)

Yeah, those homers. I've been pretty good at keeping the opposing team in the yard this season, and they're still hitting them out left and right.

POTG - CHW J. Phegley 4-5, 4 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

June 6, 2013

Twins 11 - White Sox 0
WP - C. Christopher (3-3), LP - K. Heckathorn (3-5), SV - N/A
HR - MIN D. Span (4), J. Lopez (7), C. Parmelee 2 (9)

CC had his best start of the season, going 8.2 innings of shutout ball, before getting pulled for Jorge Julio. Julio, by the way, has been awesome in limited time since we signed him to fill in for injuries. He's got a 1.29 ERA in 7 innings of work.

POTG - MIN C. Parmelee 3-4, BB, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 36-22
6.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 8, 2013

Twins 4 - Indians 3
WP - S. Romo (2-2), LP - J. Smith (1-3), SV - J. Mijares (15)
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (10)

Greinke had a phenomenal start in the first game of this three-gamer with the Indians. It couldn't get him the win, but the bullpen was able to keep the game locked down and we were able to pull out the win.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke 7 Ip, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 ER (3 R), 7 K

June 9, 2013

Twins 4 - Indians 5
WP - A. White (3-4), LP - T. Lincecum (6-2), SV - C. Perez (12)
HR - MIN H. Pence (12), CLE J. Hamilton (8)

The Indians even up the series by beating Lincecum and getting four RBI off the bat of LF Josh Hamilton.

POTG - CLE J. Hamilton 3-3, BB, HR, 4 RBI

June 10, 2013

Twins 1 - Indians 3
WP - N. Hagadone (5-5), LP - J. Peavy (5-6), SV - C. Perez (13)
HR - MIN T. Neal (8), CLE J. Kipnis (4)

Nick-effing-Hagadone. He always seems to decide to pitch like Randy Johnson against us. This time he went seven innings, allowed just one earned run, and struck out nine. Meanwhile the Indians scored all three of their runs on Jason Kipnis' three-run homer in the first inning.

POTG - CLE N. Hagadone 7 IP, 3 H, 6 BB, ER, 9 K + CLE J. Kipnis 1-4, GW 3-R HR

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 37-24
4.5 GA of Kansas City Royals for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 11, 2013

[I]Pirates 8 - Twins 6 (in extras)[I]
WP - J. Ascanio (3-0), LP - J. Mijares (1-2), SV - J. Frasor (10)
HR - MIN T. Neal 9, PIT P. Alvarez 2 (11)

I think it's safe to say that Blackburn's case of mistaken identity is solved and he remembers who he is, unfortunately for me. In his last three starts he's gone only 15.0 innings and allowed 15 earned runs. It wasn't his fault we lost this game, however. It was the defense's. Pete Kozma committed an error that allowed two runs to score in the top of the 11th inning.

POTG - PIT P. Alvarez 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI

June 12, 2013

Pirates 1 - Twins 2 (in extras)
WP - J. Mijares (2-2), LP - J. Frason (4-3), SV - N/A
HR - MIN J. Lopez (8)

Another extra-inning squeaker. Jose Lopez provided the highlight of the night, crushing the walk-off homer to lead off the 10th inning.

POTG - MIN J. Lopez 2-4, walk-off HR

June 13, 2013

Pirates 3 - Twins 6
WP - Z. Greinke (7-4), LP - P. Maholm (8-5), SV - N/A
HR - PIT A. Iwamura (1), C. D'Arnaud (4)

Chase Headley is building off his break-out season from last season. Although he's slightly off his home-run pace from last season, he already has 22 doubles this season, 51 RBI, a .336 BA (1st on the team and 5th in the AL), and is matching his OPS from last season with a .929 mark.

POTG - MIN C. Headley 4-5, R, RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 39-25
5.5 GA of Kansas City Royals for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 15, 2013

Braves 1 - Twins 4
WP - T. Lincecum (7-2), LP - D. Delgado (6-3), SV - J. Mijares (16)
HR - MIN J. Lopez (9)

Although the offense only scored four runs, I think it was a good at the plate for the team. We got 10 hits, including three doubles, a triple, and a homer, drew four walks, and everyone but Neal and Salazar got a hit.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 7 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, ER, 6 K

June 16, 2013

Braves 0 - Twins 2
WP - J. Peavy (6-6), LP - J. Hoover (1-9), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (11)

Peavy hasn't looked this good since he was in San Diego! He pitched the 4th shutout of his career, his first since he pitched 3 in '05 and made the All-Star team.

POTG - MIN J. Peavy CG, SHO, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K

June 17, 2013

Braves 9 - Twins 6
WP - J. Teheran (7-2), LP - N. Blackburn (7-3), SV - K. Medlen (15)
HR - MIN C. Headley (10), ATL B. McCann (12)

Okay, Blackburn didn't pitch well (3 ER in 4 IP), but I'm putting this loss on the bullpen. In five innings they allowed six runs, including a five run seventh inning. Alex Burnett, who had an ERA of half a run a week or two ago, allowed four earned runs in just 0.2 innings of work.

POTG - ATL B. McCann 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 41-26
6.5 GA of Kansas City Royals for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We keep winning, despite getting bombarded with injuries. Fortunately we've avoided major injuries to our big contributors like Pence, Neal, Headley, etc., but just about every one in the line-up had missed a few games with minor nics and scratches.

I'm about to officially put an end to the Kurt Suzuki experiment in Minnesota. He's making almost 4 million dollars a year and putting up an OPS under .600. I'm gonna shop him with a couple mid-level prospects and try to get a young, cheap guy with a good glove. I am a little worried about messing with my team while it's playing so well, though.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Twins swap prospects, catchers with Giants

We were able to agree to a trade that sends C Kurt Suzuki 79, along with prospects SS Miguel Sano 63/86, and 1B Kevin Watson 68/80 to San Fran'. In exchange we get former #12 overall pick C Ezra Ravina 81/86.

With Buster Posey entrenched as the Giants backstop for the foreseeable future, the Giants had a great trade chip in Ravina, and we couldn't help but bite with Suzuki's performance since coming to the Twins from Oakland. Ravina is far superior to Suzuki as an offensive catcher, and is roughly equal, maybe even better, defensively. I had very little confidence in Sano and Watson's ability to develop into major league players. This is a relatively low-risk reward for the Giants due to Posey's presence, and potentially high-reward due to the possibility of Sano and Watson becoming solid major league ball players.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

June 18, 2013

Giants 10 - Twins 8
WP - W. Joaquin (3-2), LP - D. Farquhar (2-1), SV - N/A
HR - MIN E. Ravina (1), C. Headley (11), H. Pence (13), SFG J. Bowker (10), C. Dominguez (1), C. Quentin (7)

Ezra Ravina got off to a fast start with us, going 3-5 with a homer, a double, two runs scored, and three RBI in his first game as a Twin. Unfortunately it still wasn't enough for a win.

POTG - MIN E. Ravina 3-5, 2 R, HR, 2B, 3 RBI

June 19, 2013

Giants 1 - Twins 3
WP - Z. Greinke (8-4), LP - Z. Wheeler (3-4), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Headley (12)

Another gem in the books for Zack Greinke. Zack Wheeler put up a decent fight as the opposing starter, but it's hard to beat the best.

POTG - MIN Z. Greinke CG, 3 H, 0 BB, ER, 5 K

June 20, 2013

Giants 7 - Twins 5
WP - E. Surkamp (7-3), LP - T. Lincecum (7-3), SV - B. Wilson (13)
HR - SFG B. Crawford (8)

Lincecum had another sub-par start, surrenduring five runs in three innings. The offense was pretty stagnant as well.

POTG - SFG E. Surkamp 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 ER, 6 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 42-28
5.5 GA of Kansas City Royals for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 22, 2013

Twins 8 - Nationals 3
WP - J. Peavy (7-6), LP - B. Morrow (5-6), SV - N/A
HR - MIN P. Kozma (1)

We get Neftali Feliz back following this win. Kerry Wood goes down for him. Luke Gregerson is almost healthy again as well, and when he comes back Julio will be going down.

POTG - MIN J. Peavy 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, ER (3 R), 5 K

June 23, 2013

Twins 3 - Nationals 4
WP - J. Carlson (2-4), LP - J. Mijares (2-3), SV - N/A
HR - WAS C. Marrero 2 (9), R. Zimmerman (10)

After we were able to rally for two runs in the top of the ninth to tie it, Jose Mijares gives it right back when Marrero hit his second homer of the game.

POTG - WAS C. Marrero 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, walk-off HR in 9th

June 24, 2013

Twins 0 - Nationals 1
WP - G. Hicks (5-4), LP - Z. Greinke (8-5), SV - N/A
HR - WAS M. Burgess (5)

Graham beat Greinke on this day, pitching a six-hit, complete game shutout.

POTG - WAS G. Hicks CG, SHO, 6 H, BB, 4 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 43-30
5.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 25, 2013

Twins 2 - Marlins 0
WP - T. Lincecum (8-3), LP - C. Volstad (6-6), SV - J. Mijares (17)
HR - MIN T. Neal (10)

Lincecum confounds me. One game he can't even make it through four innings, and then the next he pitches 8.2 innings of shutout baseball and strikes out 12.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 8.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 12 K

June 26, 2013

Twins 6 - Marlins 3
WP - J. Peavy (8-6), LP - R. Nolasco (4-6), SV - J. Mijares (18)
HR - MIN J. Lopez (10), H. Pence (14)

Hunter Pence is continuing to hit like a machine this season. He went 2-4 with a home-run in this game, and brings him to .298/.340/.502 with 14 HR, 55 RBI, and 91 hits on the season.

POTG - MIN H. Pence 2-4, HR, 2 RBI

June 27, 2013

Twins 0 - Marlins 6
WP - B. Maddux (5-2), LP - N. Blackburn (7-4), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

I can only assume based on his performance in this game that Basil Maddux is in someway related to former Brave/Cub great Greg Maddux.

POTG - FLA B. Maddux CG, SHO, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 45-31
5.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 28, 2013

Twins 3 - Tigers 8
WP - J. Verlander (5-7), LP - C. Christopher (3-4), SV - N/A
HR - DET R. Doumit (12), B. Hall (8), R. Streiby (7), L. Spell (1)

The Tigers smacked us around pretty well in this one, hitting four homers off us. CC actually didn't pitch that badly all things considered, he allowed only four runs over six innings despite giving up three homers.

POTG - DET B. Hall 2-3, BB, 2 R, HR, 2B, 3 RBI

June 29, 2013

Twins 4 - Tigers 5
WP - J. Weaver (2-1), LP - N. Feliz (1-3), SV - J. Soria (14)
HR - DET R. Strieby (8)

After getting Turner out before he recorded an out in the third inning, we couldn't touch Jered Weaver. He pitched six shutout innings of relief, and allowed only three hits and three walks.

POTG - DET J. Weaver 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 2 K

June 30, 2013

Twins 5 - Tigers 0
WP - T. Lincecum (9-3), LP - B. Villarreal (4-5), SV - N/A
HR - MIN T. Neal (11)

Lincecum seems to be making a run at Greinke's vicegrip on the AL Cy Young over the past two seasons. Lincecum went 8.1 innings, allowed zero runs, and struck out eight this time out. On the season Lincecum is 9-3 in 16 starts, with a 3.05 ERA, a BAA of only .188, 119 K's and 36 walks in 106.1 innings, and has surrendered only three home-runs.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 8.1 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 0 ER, 8 K

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Minnesota Twins 46-33
4.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Well, June definitely wasn't a great month for us, but it could have been worse. It marked our first month of the season of sub-.500 ball, as we went 13-14 (compared to 18-10 in May and 15-9 in April) and we lost a series for the first time in what seems like centuries. Regardless, though, we still hold a healthy lead over the Indians for the division. We have a relatively easy schedule before the break. We play the Angels (34-43), Tigers (36-42), and Yankees (33-44) for three games a piece, all at home.

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ERA Z. Greinke 2.76 Wins T. Lincecum 9 Saves J. Mijares 18 AVG D. Spam .312 HR H. Pence 14 SB D. Span 10

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Span, Denard MIN 324 101 4 24 .312 .375 .423 10 12 Pence, Hunter MIN 320 94 14 56 .294 .338 .494 4 3 Kozma, Pete MIN 309 77 1 25 .249 .329 .301 1 1 Headley, Chase MIN 294 91 12 57 .310 .372 .514 0 2 Lopez, Jose MIN 290 60 10 34 .207 .231 .355 2 0 Neal, Thomas MIN 273 76 11 43 .278 .396 .458 1 0 Cooper, David MIN 257 64 5 35 .249 .348 .377 0 0 Parmelee, Chris MIN 175 49 11 27 .280 .368 .503 0 0 Salazar, Oscar MIN 100 21 1 9 .210 .257 .290 0 0 Ravina, Ezra MIN 87 21 1 10 .241 .287 .356 1 0 Morales, Jose MIN 56 14 0 1 .250 .288 .321 0 0 Casilla, Alexi MIN 24 7 0 2 .292 .333 .417 0 1 Ross, Cody MIN 20 7 1 4 .350 .381 .600 0 0 Lincecum, Tim MIN 6 2 0 1 .333 .333 .333 0 0 Peavy, Jake MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0 Greinke, Zack MIN 4 1 0 0 .250 .250 .250 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Feliz, Neftali MIN 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 De Los Santos, Estarlin MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Christopher, Chad MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Burnett, Alex MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Gregerson, Luke MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Farquhar, Daniel MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0

Pitching

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Player Name Team Starts W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA Lincecum, Tim MIN 16 9 3 3.05 106.1 119 0 1 .188 Peavy, Jake MIN 15 8 6 3.45 88.2 66 0 1 .248 Greinke, Zack MIN 17 8 5 2.76 114.1 116 0 3 .210 Blackburn, Nick MIN 16 7 4 4.47 98.2 42 0 3 .269 Feliz, Neftali MIN 1 1 3 4.75 36.0 32 0 0 .286 Christopher, Chad MIN 12 3 4 4.59 68.2 47 0 0 .276 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 2 3 2.89 28.0 28 18 0 .248 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 2 2 2.53 42.2 50 0 0 .219 Burnett, Alex MIN 0 3 1 3.12 34.2 24 0 0 .223 Gregerson, Luke MIN 0 1 0 1.13 16.0 15 1 0 .219 Farquhar, Daniel MIN 2 2 1 3.93 36.2 31 0 0 .252

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

July 2, 2013

Angels 5 - Twins 9
WP - J. Peavy (9-6), LP - F. Liriano (2-4), SV - N. Feliz (1)
HR - LAA M. Izturis (1), F. Sandoval (5)

Liriano makes his return to Minnesota, and gets appropriately applauded... before allowing six runs in 2.2 innings.

POTG - MIN T. Neal 2-4, BB, R, 2B, 4 RBI

July 3, 2013

Angels 3 - Twins 9
WP - N. Blackburn (8-4), LP - F. Francisco (2-2), SV - S. Romo (1)
HR - LAA F. Sandoval (6), L. Nix (21)

Denard Span continues the recent trend of hitting like it's going out of style. He doubled and tripled, walked once and scored three times. In his last ten games he is now hitting .381/.422/.571/.993, which has raised his season line to .316/.379/.437. That puts him on pace for arguably the best season of his career.

POTG - MIN D. Span 2-3, BB, 3 R, 2B, 3B

July 4, 2013

Angels 3 - Twins 4 (in extras)
WP - S. Romo (3-2), LP - H. Bell (2-2), SV - N/A
HR - LAA L. Nix (22)

CC pitched seven innings of three run ball (two earned), but the offense couldn't do any better than to keep the game tied while he was in there. Fortunately for us, we have one of the premier relievers in game in Sergio Romo and he was able to hold back the Angels and help us complete the three-game sweep.

POTG - MIN S. Romo 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K, W

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 49-33
6.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 5, 2013

Yankees 1 - Twins 0
WP - C. Sabathia (7-8), LP - Z. Greinke (8-6), SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Sabathia actually showed why the Yankees gave him that enormous contract several seasons ago, a contract I'm sure the Yankees and their boss, Robot Steinbrenner, severly regret now.

POTG - NYY C. Sabathia CG, SHO, 7 H, 0 BB, 10 K

July 6, 2013

Yankees 3 - Twins 5
WP - T. Lincecum (10-3), LP - A. Brackman (3-9), SV - J. Mijares (19)
HR - MIN H. Pence (15)

Our 50th win of the season. I don't think we won our 50th game last season until August.

POTG - MIN T. Lincecum 7 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 7 K

July 7, 2013

Yankees 5 - Twins 9
WP - J. Peavy (10-6), LP - P. Hughes (2-2), SV - J. Mijares (20)
HR - MIN E. Ravina (2), T. Neal 2 (13), C. Ross (2), NYY A. Rodriguez (13; 704 career), E. Beskas 2 (16)

We bounce back from losing the first game to take the last two of the series. Our last opponent before the All-Star break will be Detroit. Hopefully we can kick the Tigers ass and go into the break on a high note.

POTG - MIN T. Neal 3-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI

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Minnesota Twins 51-34
5.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 9, 2013

Tigers 0 - Twins 10
WP - N. Blackburn (9-4), LP - J. Turner (3-8), SV - N/A
HR - MIN C. Parmelee (12)

Denard Span returns from a hip pointer with a big game. He went 4-5 with his 9th triple of the season, scored two runs, and drove in four more.

POTG - MIN D. Span 4-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 3B

July 10, 2013

Tigers 5 - Twins 6
WP - A. Burnett (4-1), LP - C. Satterwhite (3-2), SV - J. Mijares (21)
HR - N/A

We win a game started by Greinke for the first time since June 19th against the Giants. Over that timeframe Greinke allowed more than one earned run in a start only once, when he allowed four to these same Tigers on the 29th in Detroit.

POTG - MIN T. Neal 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI

July 11, 2013

Tigers 7 - Twins 5
WP - J. Sborz (1-0), LP - D. Farquhar (2-2), SV - J. Soria (17)
HR - DET M. Cabrera (17), L. Spell (3)

We couldn't complete the sweep, but we still manage to go into the break on a high-note by taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers, and winning 7 of our first nine games in the month of July.

POTG - DET bullpen (J. Sborz + E. Gonzalez + J. Soria) 6 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, ER, 4 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 53-35
5.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins ASB Review

Thoughts

I don't think I could realistically be happier with the team at this point. We've got a healthy lead in the division, we've managed to avoid any serious injuries, and basically everyone on my team is performing at, or above, my expectations. As long as we can carry this into the second half of the season we should coast into the post-season, and possibly go in as World Series favorites.

High Points

The line-up has been pretty consistent up and down.

Jose Lopez is the only player in the starting line-up with a BA below .270 (that has spent the majority of the season in the line-up).
Lopez, Kozma, and Cooper are the only players in the line-up with an OPS below .800.
Our pitching has been fan-freaking-tastic.

Our 3.42 ERA is the lowest in the AL, and second lowest in all of baseball.
The highest ERA in the starting rotation belongs to CC with a respectable 4.40 mark.
The highest ERA in the bullpen belongs to Neftali Feliz at 4.83.
We've even managed to restock the farm system quite a bit.

We have 2 prospects at or above a 90 peak.
We have 3 prospects between an 84 and 89 peak.
We have 5 prospects between an 80 and 83 peak.

Low Points

The only real low point we've had have been minor injuries. Players missing a game or two or three every now and then. Otherwise, I have nothing to complain about.