Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals make ASB Blockbuster!
http://mopupduty.com/wp-content/uplo...1_greinke2.jpg
Today, we agreed to a massive deal with the Kansas City Royals. We acquired ace starter Zack Grienke in exchange for Delmon Young, and prospects Kyle Gibson, Carlos Gutierrez, Wilson Ramos, and Aaron Hicks.
We had been actively looking for a starter due to the troubles of our starting rotation. This deal with push Carl Pavano to the bullpen, and Brian Duensing to AAA, and the new pitching order will look as follows:
1. Zack Grienke
2. Francisco Liriano
3. Kevin Slowey
4. Scott Baker
5. Nick Blackburn
Grienke, at the time of the trade, is 8-5 with a 2.69 ERA and 118 K's in 120.1 innings pitched, and is coming off his second straight All-Star berth.
Although we are getting an ace, we are giving up a lot as well. Gibson, Hicks, and Ramos were all very highly touted prospected, and among the top five prospects in the organization. Young has been disappointing since coming over from Tampa in a trade two years ago, but he is still very young and very talented. And although Gutierrez isn't as highly regarded as the other three prospects going to KC, he is still a very legitimate prospect.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Royals get:
OF Delmon Young 84/89 (2.6 million dollars through the end of the current season)
CF Aaron Hicks 71/96, 20 years old
SP Carlos Guttierez 74/87, 23 years old
SP Kyle Gibson 67/95, 22 years old
C Wilson Ramos 74/92, 22 years old
Minnesota Twins get:
SP Zack Grienke (95)
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
July 15, 2010
White Sox 9 - Twins 8
Grienke lasted only 3.1 innings before giving up 5 runs in his first Twins start, and gets saddled with the loss.
POTG - J. Mauer 2-3, 2 BB, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI
July 16, 2010
White Sox 2 - Twins 4
The game came down to a battle of bullpens, which ours ultimately won with Crain and Rauch combining to shut out the White Sox over the final 3.1 innings.
POTG - J. Thome GW 2-R HR in 8th inning
July 17, 2010
White Sox 8 - Twins 5
Neither starter fared particularly well, both allowing five runs over the course of their short starts, but the White Sox would win this battle of the 'pens.
POTG - White Sox bullpen 3.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 4 K
July 18, 2010
White Sox 5 - Twins 3
There was no reason we should have lost this game, but we managed to anyways.
POTG - C. Quentin 2-4, 2 RBI
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 44-48 two-way tie for first place in AL Central with Chicago White Sox
July 19, 2010
Indians 4 - Twins 8
Nick Blackburn earns his seventh win of the season with help from Jason Kubel and Denard Span, who both homered and drove in multiple runs.
POTG - N. Blackburn 6.2 IP, 7 H, BB, 4 ER, 2 K
July 20, 2010
Indians 4 - Twins 1
Grienke didn't manage to make it through the fifth inning again, while the opposing starter Nick Hagadone allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out nine.
POTG - N. Hagadone 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, ER, 9 K
July 21, 2010
Indians 2 - Twins 6
Liriano turned in a start reminiscent of his pre-Tommy John, breakout rookie season, going seven innings and allowing only one and striking out eight. And he did so all on just 102 pitches.
POTG - F. Liriano 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, ER, 8 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 46-49 two-way tie for first place in AL Central with Chicago White Sox
July 22, 2010
Twins 2 - Orioles 5
Brian Roberts fell just a single short of the cycle, and we lost to a starting pitcher in Kevin Millwood who has an ERA over 8.00.
POTG - B. Roberts 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI
July 23, 2010
Twins 4 - Orioles 3
Scott Baker returns from injury and allowed just two runs over 6.2 innings while striking out nine Oriole batters.
POTG - S. Baker 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 9 K
July 24, 2010
Twins 4 - Orioles 3
We scored all four of our runs within the first two innings off opposing starter Brad Bergensen.
POTG - J. Morneau 1-4, 2-R HR
July 25, 2010
Twins 4 - Orioles 8
Greinke falls on his face again, going only 3.2 innings before giving up four runs (though only one was earned). In his first three starts with us he is 0-3 with an ERA north of 7!
POTG - J. Morneau 1-4, 2-R HR
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 48-51 .5 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
July 26, 2010
Twins 4 - Royals 2
Liriano continued the pitching tear he's been on, allowing just two earned runs over 6.2 innings this time out. Over his last ten starts he's failed to go more than five innings just once, and he's allowed three or more runs just three times in that time span.
POTG - F. Liriano 6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 5 K
July 27, 2010
Twins 9 - Royals 3
Joe Mauer hit his 26th jack of the season, while also driving in four runs. If we manage to complete the sweep of the Royals in our next game, we will claw to .500 for the first time since May.
POTG - J. Mauer 4-5, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI
July 28, 2010
Twins 2 - Royals 1
And there it is boys and girls! Scott Baker goes eight shutout innings to get his 8th win of the season and bring us up to an even .500 winning percentage! J.J. Hardy also hit his 18th home run of the season, which is oddly more than Justin Morneau has. If only his OPS wasn't a putrid .739.
POTG - S. Baker 8 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 4 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 51-51 1.5 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox
July 30, 2010
Mariners 0 - Twins 1
Greinke finally has a Grienke start! Did he ever impress in his first win as a Twin. He went the distance pitching a complete game shutout while allowing only two hits and one walk, and striking out ten!
POTG - Z. Greinke CG, 2 H, BB, 0 ER, 10 K
July 31, 2010
Mariners 13 - Twins 5
Liriano pitched well again, allowing only one earned run over 6.2 innings, but unfortunately the defense failed him as errors led to four more unearned runs (for a total of five runs allowed). Gutierrez, Ichiro, Bradley, Kata, and Griffey Jr. all homered for the Mariners in this shellacking.
POTG - Ichiro 1-5, HR, 4 RBI
August 1, 2010
Mariners 5 - Twins 2
King Felix did what he does to everyone and made us look foolish. Felix went seven, allowed just one earned run, and struck out six.
POTG - F. Hernandez 7 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 6 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 52-53 2.0 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox
End of July
HTML Code:
ERA Z. Greinke 2.88
Wins Z. Greinke 9
Saves J. Rauch 11
AVG J. Mauer .308
HR J. Mauer 26
SB N. Punto 11
Thoughts
July was a big turnaround month for us! We had our first over-.500 month since April and managed to hit .500 or higher for the first time since early May! And, to no one's surprise, it all started happening once our pitchers remembered how to throw the ball!
Stats
Batting
HTML Code:
Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS
Morneau, Justin MIN 411 114 17 74 .277 .361 .460 1 0
Mauer, Joe MIN 389 120 26 73 .308 .378 .550 4 2
Thome, Jim MIN 378 98 22 56 .259 .350 .468 1 0
Hardy, J.J. MIN 368 92 18 44 .250 .320 .424 0 1
Kubel, Jason MIN 368 105 14 44 .285 .344 .446 1 1
Cuddyer, Michael MIN 355 93 16 56 .262 .352 .448 3 1
Hudson, Orlando MIN 318 79 1 27 .248 .318 .305 6 1
Punto, Nick MIN 309 82 1 24 .265 .341 .301 11 3
Span, Denard MIN 255 78 6 24 .306 .393 .412 9 5
Repko, Jason MIN 200 40 3 11 .200 .255 .280 9 2
Casilla, Alexi MIN 115 24 1 9 .209 .266 .287 3 0
Harris, Brendan MIN 58 17 1 10 .293 .368 .397 0 0
Morales, Jose MIN 35 7 0 3 .200 .216 .200 0 0
Valencia, Danny MIN 10 2 0 0 .200 .273 .200 0 1
Slowey, Kevin MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0
Baker, Scott MIN 5 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Pavano, Carl MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0
Greinke, Zack MIN 3 1 0 1 .333 .333 .667 0 0
Liriano, Francisco MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Blackburn, Nick MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Rauch, Jon MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Crain, Jesse MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Guerrier, Matt 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
Greinke, Zack MIN 23 9 8 2.88 140.2 140 0 1 .228
Slowey, Kevin MIN 23 5 8 4.87 122.0 92 0 0 .289
Baker, Scott MIN 19 8 4 3.70 119.1 102 0 2 .256
Blackburn, Nick MIN 20 8 9 4.79 114.2 57 0 2 .303
Pavano, Carl MIN 17 3 5 5.29 100.1 67 0 0 .283
Liriano, Francisco MIN 13 6 3 3.27 82.2 73 0 0 .247
Neshek, Pat MIN 1 0 3 3.80 68.2 55 5 0 .262
Guerrier, Matt MIN 1 2 4 4.87 68.1 49 1 0 .291
Mijares, Jose MIN 1 5 2 4.04 64.2 50 4 0 .272
Rauch, Jon MIN 0 6 4 4.55 55.1 36 11 0 .229
Crain, Jesse MIN 1 2 3 4.20 40.2 37 1 0 .265
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
August 2, 2010
Twins 4 - Rays 5
We allowed four runs between the seventh and ninth inning, and that was clearly the difference in the game.
POTG - O. Hudson 5-5, 3 RBI
August 3, 2010
Twins 7 - Rays 10
Blackburn allows seven runs over just 3.1 innings, and then Jose Mijares blows a tie in the ninth inning. Oye ve.
POTG - J. Bartless 4-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI
August 4, 2010
Twins 4 - Rays 5 (12 innings)
Greinke allowed just three runs over seven innings. However the bullpen blew it.....again, allowing them to tie the game in the eighth and then win it in extras.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 8 K
August 5, 2010
Twins 3 - Rays 6
Oh man.... Just when I thought we were getting it together we get swept in a four-game series by the Rays. And we're still a game up in the division. We blew an awesome chance to put some ground between ourselves and the rest of the pack.
POTG - S. Rodriguez 1-4, 3-R HR
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 52-57 1.5 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox
August 6, 2010
Twins 12 - Indians 8
Kevin Slowey allows eight runs and still manages to get his sixth win of the season, and he has Morneau, Mauer, Kubel, and Thome to thank for it! All four of them drove in multiple runs, and Kubel topped the list with five RBI.
POTG - J. Kubel 2-5, HR, 5 RBI
August 7, 2010
Twins 8 - Indians 2
Scott Baker allowed just one earned run over 7.1 innings, on his way to his ninth win of the season. Opposite him was Fausto Carmona who allowed six runs in just 2.1 innings pitched.
POTG - S. Baker 7.1 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, ER, 5 K
August 8, 2010
Twins 5 - Indians 1
Blackburn allowed just one earned run over seven innings. However, the story of this game had to be Orlando Hudson, who hit his second and third home runs of the season and drive in three of our five runs.
POTG - O. Hudson 3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 55-57 2.5 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox
August 10, 2010
Twins 3 - White Sox 2
Greinke did exactly what we brought him into do - win big games. Over seven innings he allowed just one run and struck out 11 White Sox batters.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 5 H, BB, ER, 11 K
August 11, 2010
Twins 5 - White Sox 4
We win the first two games of the series and guarantee ourselves a series win and that we leave Chicago with at least a four game lead in the division!
POTG - J. Mauer 4-5, BB, HR, 3 RBI
August 12, 2010
Twins 5 - White Sox 4
We win the game all thanks to a three run rally in the top of the ninth to give us the lead! We're now riding a six game winning streak out of Chicago and we're sitting pretty at five games above in the division!
POTG - K. Slowey 5.1 IP, 10 H, 0 BB, 3 ER, 5 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 58-57 5.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
August 13, 2010
A's 5 - Twins 4
So I'm beginning to think I should've addressed the bullpen before the July 31st trade deadline as well. Yet another late-inning meltdown cost us a win, and this time it was Guerrier serving up a two-run homer to Eric Patterson in the eighth.
POTG - E. Patterson 1-4, GW 2-R HR in 8th inning
August 14, 2010
A's 0 - Twins 6
Nickie B throws eight innings of shutout baseball to secure his 10th win of the season, while Jim Thome drives home three runs.
POTG - N. Blackburn 8 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 5 K
August 15, 2010
A's 12 - Twins 3
A's starter Dallas Braden held us to just two runs over seven innings, while our own starter, Greinke, didn't even make it out of the first inning.
POTG - D. Braden 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 6 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 59-59 3.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
August 17, 2010
White Sox 7 - Twins 2
Liriano gets the loss. He failed to make it through the fifth inning before he let up five runs on four hits and four walks.
POTG - A. Rios 2-5, HR, 4 RBI
August 18, 2010
White Sox 3 - Twins 7
Slowey gives us seven solid innings of three run baseball, and J.J. Hardy and Jason Kubel homer in support of him.
POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 K
August 19, 2010
White Sox 3 - Twins 6
Scott Baker improves his record to 10-4 with this start against the White Sox. Jason Kubel supplied the offense by going 3-4 with a double and three runs driven in.
POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 5 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 61-60 4.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
August 20, 2010
Angels 1 - Twins 2
Blackburn goes 6.2 innings and allows just one run for his 11th win of the year. Opposite him was Scott Kazmir who allowed two over seven innings and striking out eight, making this game quite the pitcher's duel.
POTG - N. Blackburn 6.2 IP, 6 H, 5 BB, ER, 0 K
August 21, 2010
Angels 0 - Twins 8
Greinke throws another complete game shutout, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out seven this time. We turn to Liriano as we look for the sweep in the final game of this 9-game homestand.
POTG - Z. Greinke CG SHO, H, BB, 7 K
August 22, 2010
Angels 4 - Twins 2
Joe Saunders dominated us, allowing just two runs and six hits over seven innings.
POTG - J. Saunders 7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 4 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 63-61 3.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
August 23, 2010
Twins 9 - Rangers 1
Slowey goes all nine innings and allows just the one run. Meanwhile, at the plate, Mauer drives in three runs and Hardy goes 4-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
POTG - K. Slowey CG, ER, 6 K
August 24, 2010
Twins 9 - Rangers 5
Michael Cuddyer homers twice and drives in four runs in the second game of the four-game set.
POTG - M. Cuddyer 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
August 25, 2010
Twins 5 - Rangers 4
Mauer and Kubel drive in two runs each to help Blackburn earn his team-leading 12th win of the season.
POTG - J. Mauer 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI
August 26, 2010
Twins 5 - Rangers 4
We rallied for three runs in the top of the 8th to take the lead, and didn't let it go after that.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 5 H, BB, 3 ER, 6 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 67-61 5.5 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
August 27, 2010
Twins 1 - Mariners 8
We had the unfortunate luck of running into a red-hot Cliff Lee on this night. Lee allowed just one run over seven innings to improve his W-L to 14-5 and his ERA to 2.61.
POTG - C. Lee 7 IP, 4 H, BB, ER, 3 K
August 28, 2010
Twins 1 - Mariners 2
An error by Alexi Casilla cost us dearly, forcing us to surrender an unearned run, which proved to be the difference in the game.
POTG - E. Bedard 7 IP, 2 H, ER, 6 K
August 27, 2010
Twins 2 - Mariners 5
Jesse Crain implodes and allows three runs in the eighth to give the Mariners the lead, the win, and the series sweep.
POTG - R. Rowland-Smith 6 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 2 ER, 5 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 67-64 3.5 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
August 31, 2010
Tigers 2 - Twins 3
Greinke goes 7+ innings of shutout baseball, with Jim Thome supplying the game-winning two-run homerun, his 27th of the season.
POTG - J. Thome 2-3, GW 2-R HR
September 1, 2010
Tigers 10 - Twins 3
We weren't able to complete the sweep. However, we hold a six game lead heading into the final month of the season, so with some luck we'll be able to wrap it up pretty quickly and get our guys some rest for the postseason. We do play the Indians six times this month, so it gives us an excellent opportunity to put the division away and minimize any chance of late-season drama/tension.
POTG - J. Thome 3-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 69-65 6.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
End of August
HTML Code:
ERA Z. Greinke 2.87
Wins Z. Greinke 12
Saves J. Rauch 11
AVG J. Mauer .317
HR J. Thome 29
SB N. Punto 16
Thoughts
Another good month pushes us further above .500 and gives us a six game lead in the division. Greinke has been everything I had hoped for since coming over from KC, posting a 3.22 ERA and a BAA of only .236. Mauer has fallen off a bit in recent weeks, but fortunately for us Jim Thome has picked up the slack. We have six games against the Indians and three against the White Sox in the final month of the season, and if we do well in those games we should be able to wrap things up early!
Stats
Batting
HTML Code:
Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS
Morneau, Justin MIN 504 140 20 92 .278 .357 .446 1 0
Thome, Jim MIN 488 128 29 80 .262 .345 .473 1 0
Mauer, Joe MIN 470 149 27 87 .317 .382 .538 4 2
Hardy, J.J. MIN 470 119 20 49 .253 .318 .413 0 1
Kubel, Jason MIN 470 134 18 68 .285 .344 .464 1 1
Cuddyer, Michael MIN 430 114 21 66 .265 .352 .460 4 1
Hudson, Orlando MIN 426 113 3 40 .265 .340 .345 10 1
Punto, Nick MIN 416 106 1 34 .255 .327 .291 16 9
Span, Denard MIN 371 110 6 40 .296 .384 .391 12 7
Repko, Jason MIN 229 45 3 11 .197 .257 .279 10 2
Casilla, Alexi MIN 130 29 1 9 .223 .284 .292 5 0
Harris, Brendan MIN 84 25 1 12 .298 .351 .440 0 0
Morales, Jose MIN 67 16 0 6 .239 .297 .254 1 1
Valencia, Danny MIN 31 7 0 0 .226 .294 .290 0 1
Butera, Drew MIN 9 0 0 0 .000 .182 .000 0 0
Slowey, Kevin MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0
Baker, Scott MIN 5 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Pavano, Carl MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0
Greinke, Zack MIN 3 1 0 1 .333 .333 .667 0 0
Liriano, Francisco MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Blackburn, Nick MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Rauch, Jon MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Nieve, Fernando MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Duensing, Brian MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Tolbert, Matt MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Plouffe, Trevor MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Dinkelman, Brian MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Hughes, Luke MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Parmelee, Chris MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
De Los Santos, Estarlin MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Tosoni, Rene MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Revere, Ben MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Crain, Jesse MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Guerrier, Matt MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Perkins, Glen MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Slama, Anthony MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Manship, Jeff MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Swarzak, Anthony 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
Slowey, Kevin MIN 29 8 10 4.89 158.1 121 0 1 .291
Baker, Scott MIN 24 11 4 3.64 150.2 124 0 2 .259
Pavano, Carl MIN 18 3 5 5.11 116.1 76 1 0 .279
Greinke, Zack MIN 29 12 9 2.87 179.0 181 0 2 .223
Liriano, Francisco MIN 19 7 7 4.53 109.1 99 0 0 .266
Blackburn, Nick MIN 25 12 9 4.54 144.2 67 0 2 .300
Rauch, Jon MIN 0 7 6 4.27 71.2 48 11 0 .235
Nieve, Fernando MIN 0 0 0 5.06 16.0 9 1 0 .273
Duensing, Brian MIN 5 6 5 5.77 92.0 42 1 0 .323
Mijares, Jose MIN 1 5 3 4.06 75.1 57 10 0 .260
Neshek, Pat MIN 1 1 3 3.64 81.2 71 7 0 .259
Crain, Jesse MIN 1 3 4 3.80 66.1 51 1 0 .254
Guerrier, Matt MIN 1 2 5 4.46 80.2 59 1 0 .278
Perkins, Glen MIN 0 0 0 22.50 2.0 0 0 0 .615
Slama, Anthony MIN 0 0 0 3.86 2.1 1 0 0 .400
Manship, Jeff MIN 0 0 0 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 .000
Swarzak, Anthony MIN 0 0 0 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 .000
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
September 3, 2010
Rangers 3 - Twins 7
Orlando Hudson drove home three on two hits in support of Scott Baker. Baker went seven and allowed just one earned run.
POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, ER, 6 K
September 4, 2010
Rangers 3 - Twins 8
Jim Thome hit his 30th home run of the year, and with six more he'll join the 600 club.
POTG - N. Blackburn 8.2 IP, 7 H, BB, 3 ER, 6 K
September 5, 2010
Rangers 2 - Twins 8
Greinke wins again, going seven and allowing just two earned runs. With this performance he lowers his ERA since joining the Twins to a microscopic 3.15.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 2 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 72-65 8.5 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox
September 6, 2010
Royals 2 - Twins 10
Joe Mauer fell just a homerun short of hitting for the cycle. Meanwhile, Jason Kubel homered and doubled twice on his way to driving in three runs, while Hardy went 4-4 and drove in three runs of his own.
POTG - F. Nieve 7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 2 K
September 7, 2010
Royals 2 - Twins 3
Kevin Slowey pitched a complete game and didn't allow a run until Delmon Young hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning.
POTG - K. Slowey CG, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 2 K
September 8, 2010
Royals 6 - Twins 2
Kyle Gibson (who you'll remember I sent to KC in the Greinke trade) went seven innings allowing only six hits and two runs to get his fifth win and prevent us from getting another sweep at home.
POTG - K. Gibson 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 7 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 74-66 10.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
Looks like the rest of the AL Central fell apart in the last month or so. The division's yours. I'd say picking up Zack Greinke might have really been the turning point for this year.
I also really like your style. Very straight forward and easy to read.
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CatKnight
Looks like the rest of the AL Central fell apart in the last month or so. The division's yours. I'd say picking up Zack Greinke might have really been the turning point for this year.
I also really like your style. Very straight forward and easy to read.
They didn't so much fall apart, as I just started playing like a team that belongs in the playoffs, haha. Getting Greinke definitely didn't hurt. Liriano was going really strong at the time of the trade, but Greinke has been an absolute beast since coming over, especially in games I needed to win.
Thanks :). I like it too because it's really easy to write in. Sometimes I feel like my writing is a little recycled or predictable, for lack of a better term, but I try to shake it up a little to keep that from happening too much.
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
September 10, 2010
Twins 4 - Indians 3
Glen Perkins pitched three beautiful innings of relief to get the win, while Greinke's personal catcher, Jose Morales, hit his first home run of the season.
POTG - G. Perkins 3 IP, H, 0 ER, 3 K
September 11, 2010
Twins 1 - Indians 4
Carmona shut us down, allowing just one run in seven innings of work.
POTG - F. Carmona 7 IP, 7 H, BB, ER, 4 K
September 12, 2010
Twins 0 - Indians 8
Nick Hagadone owned us, as he has made a habit of doing in his short major league career, pitching eight innings of shutout baseball with 8 K's.
POTG - N. Hagadone 8 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 8 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 75-68 10.0 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians
September 14, 2010
Twins 10 - White Sox 7
A bullpen meltdown nearly cost us the game, and would have if not for some insurance runs we scored in the top of the ninth.
POTG - J. Morneau 3-4, HR, 2 RBI
September 15, 2010
Twins 4 - White Sox 5
A three run eighth inning for the White Sox cost us a win here.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 7 K
September 16, 2010
Twins 7 - White Sox 4
We win the series, and all but eliminate the White Sox from the playoff race in the process.
POTG - O. Hudson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 77-69 10.0 game lead in AL Central over Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians
September 17, 2010
A's 8 - Twins 5
Definitely should have addressed the bullpen at the deadline. We lose another game thanks to the incompetence of the bullpen.
POTG - R. Sweeney 4-5, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI
September 18, 2010
A's 7 - Twins 2
Brett Anderson gives up only one run to us, on a Michael Cuddyer solo homer, over his seven innings of work.
POTG - B. Anderson 7 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 5 K
September 19, 2010
A's 2 - Twins 11
Greinke goes seven and allows only one run, while Thome hits his 31st homer of the year, bringing him one closer to the hallowed halls of the 600 club.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, ER, 4 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 78-71 8.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
September 20, 2010
Indians 7 - Twins 3
Liriano allowed just one run over seven innings, but a crucial error in the ninth allowed four unearned runs to be put on the board and ultimately cost us a big win.
POTG - F. Liriano 7 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, ER, 5 K
September 21, 2010
Indians 4 - Twins 14
An offensive explosion helps us make up for the loss in the previous game. Kubel led the way with three RBI.
POTG - J. Kubel 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI
September 22, 2010
Indians 2 - Twins 4
Orlando Hudson makes his fifth home run of the season a big one, whacking a three run shot in the third inning to make the difference in the game.
POTG - C. Pavano 7 IP, 3 H, BB, 0 ER, 3 K
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twins 80-72 9.0 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians
September 24, 2010
Twins 7 - Tigers 8
Scott Baker put forth an excellent start (one earned run over seven innings), but the bullpen blew it yet again.
POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 3 H, BB, ER, 8 K
September 25, 2010
Twins 12 - Tigers 2
With this win we clinch the AL Central division title! And who but Zack Greinke, the man who may very well have turned our season around, to get the win! Greinke went seven innings, allowed just two runs, and struck out six batters.
POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 8 H, BB, 2 ER, 6 K
Due to clinching the division I am simply going to post final scores for my remaining few games
Twins 3 - Tigers 6
Twins 7 - Royals 2
Twins 10 - Royals 8
Twins 2 - Royals 3
Blue Jays 1 - Twins 9
Blue Jays 4 - Twins 3
Blue Jays 6 - Twins 8
Blue Jays 1 - Twins 5
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Final Record
Twins 86-76 10 game lead over Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
End of Season
HTML Code:
ERA Z. Greinke 2.97
Wins Z. Greinke 16
Saves J. Mijares 15
AVG J. Mauer .326
HR J. Thome 33
SB N. Punto 20
Thoughts
It's always a good season when you're one of the eight teams vying for a World Series championship at the end of the year! We've got a big hill to climb, however, as we'll be facing off against the 109-53 Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. Hopefully our crappy bullpen won't come back to bite us in the ass as badly as it did late in the season. With a better bullpen we probably would have won 90 games.
Stats
Batting
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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS
Morneau, Justin MIN 595 170 25 109 .286 .360 .466 1 0
Thome, Jim MIN 591 156 33 95 .264 .353 .464 1 0
Kubel, Jason MIN 573 171 25 96 .298 .353 .501 1 1
Hardy, J.J. MIN 570 151 22 64 .265 .326 .418 0 1
Hudson, Orlando MIN 549 145 5 62 .264 .337 .357 12 1
Mauer, Joe MIN 537 175 29 100 .326 .397 .555 4 2
Cuddyer, Michael MIN 515 144 25 82 .280 .359 .478 5 1
Punto, Nick MIN 507 132 2 43 .260 .342 .310 20 10
Span, Denard MIN 499 150 7 49 .301 .376 .389 19 7
Repko, Jason MIN 250 48 3 13 .192 .251 .272 10 2
Casilla, Alexi MIN 130 29 1 9 .223 .284 .292 5 0
Harris, Brendan MIN 92 27 1 14 .293 .350 .424 1 0
Morales, Jose MIN 91 26 2 14 .286 .323 .374 1 1
Valencia, Danny MIN 47 11 0 2 .234 .280 .298 0 1
Parmelee, Chris MIN 28 11 1 4 .393 .414 .571 0 0
Butera, Drew MIN 24 2 0 1 .083 .214 .125 0 0
Dinkelman, Brian MIN 12 2 0 1 .167 .313 .167 0 0
Slowey, Kevin MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0
Baker, Scott MIN 5 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Pavano, Carl MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0
Tosoni, Rene MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Greinke, Zack MIN 3 1 0 1 .333 .333 .667 0 0
Liriano, Francisco MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Hughes, Luke MIN 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Blackburn, Nick MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Rauch, Jon MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Nieve, Fernando MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Duensing, Brian MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Tolbert, Matt MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Plouffe, Trevor MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
De Los Santos, Estarlin MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Revere, Ben MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Crain, Jesse MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Guerrier, Matt MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Perkins, Glen MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Slama, Anthony MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Manship, Jeff MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Swarzak, Anthony 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
Slowey, Kevin MIN 35 11 12 4.86 196.1 140 0 2 .287
Baker, Scott MIN 30 14 5 3.66 187.0 159 0 3 .257
Pavano, Carl MIN 18 4 5 4.85 131.2 84 1 0 .273
Greinke, Zack MIN 35 16 9 2.79 219.0 208 0 2 .229
Liriano, Francisco MIN 22 7 7 4.14 130.1 119 0 0 .253
Blackburn, Nick MIN 27 13 9 4.30 161.0 75 0 2 .293
Rauch, Jon MIN 0 7 6 3.99 88.0 57 12 0 .228
Nieve, Fernando MIN 3 1 2 4.68 32.2 17 1 0 .248
Duensing, Brian MIN 5 6 6 6.00 93.0 42 1 0 .325
Mijares, Jose MIN 1 6 5 4.80 84.1 62 15 0 .271
Neshek, Pat MIN 1 1 3 3.54 86.1 76 7 0 .257
Crain, Jesse MIN 1 3 5 4.00 74.1 53 1 0 .258
Guerrier, Matt MIN 1 3 6 4.43 87.1 65 1 0 .275
Perkins, Glen MIN 0 2 1 7.94 22.2 8 0 0 .350
Slama, Anthony MIN 2 0 0 9.00 4.0 1 0 0 .389
Manship, Jeff MIN 0 0 0 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 .000
Swarzak, Anthony MIN 0 0 0 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 .000
Team MVP
Gotta be Joe Mauer. He really carrier us all season. Broke 100 RBI's for the first time in his career, hit a career high 29 homers, and hit to the tune of a .326/.397/.555 line. All while playing solid defense behind the plate. You have to think he has a shot at league MVP as well.
Team Cy Young
I'm disqualifying Greinke since he started the season with KC and made more starts with them than he did with us. In which case I'm giving it to Scott Baker. Baker posted a 14-5 win-loss record along with a very respectable ERA of 3.66 in 187 innings pitched. He walked only 29 batters all year (he made 30 starts) and struck out 159.
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
In a dynasty I played, Cleveland's Nick Hagadone turned into a god and was a real strikeout king. It'll be interesting to see how he does as one of your competitors.
Congrats on winning the division! It was certainly ugly for awhile, but in the end 86-76 is pretty respectable. I think you're going to have a great deal of trouble with the BoSox however.
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
Playoff Match-ups
American League
Boston Red Sox (109-53) vs. Minnesota Twins (86-76)
Hitting Edge: Boston
Pitching Edge: Minnesota
Fielding Edge: Boston
Overall Edge: Boston
Seattle Mariners (88-74) vs. New York Yankees (95-68)
Hitting Edge: New York
Pitching Edge: Seattle
Fielding Edge: Seattle
Overall Edge: New York
National League
St. Louis Cardinals (90-73) vs. New York Mets (90-72)
Hitting Edge: New York
Pitching Edge: St. Louis
Fielding Edge: St. Louis
Overall Edge: St. Louis
Philadelphia Phillies (110-52) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (85-77)
Hitting Edge: Philadelphia
Pitching Edge: Philadelphia
Fielding Edge: Philadelphia
Overall Edge: Philadelphia
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CatKnight
In a dynasty I played, Cleveland's Nick Hagadone turned into a god and was a real strikeout king. It'll be interesting to see how he does as one of your competitors.
Congrats on winning the division! It was certainly ugly for awhile, but in the end 86-76 is pretty respectable. I think you're going to have a great deal of trouble with the BoSox however.
Yeah, Hagadone is looking like a future stud for the Indians right now. 86/95 rating. In his rookie season he was 7-10 with a 3.99 ERA and 177 K's in 155.2 innings :eek:. Not looking forward to seeing how good he gets in a few seasons.
Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years
Twins blow Game One in Ninth
Red Sox lead ALDS 1-0
The bullpen issues continued into the postseason. We were leading 5-3 going into the ninth with Jose Mijares coming in to close out the game. He got the first two outs without much problem, but then the Red Sox started stringing hits together, and it was all capped off with a walk-off double by Adrian Beltre, who had homered earlier in the game.
We can't afford to lose games like this. Greinke outpitched the likely Cy Young winner Beckett and we still lost. We got to Beckett for five runs and had him out of the game by the end of the fifth inning, while Greinke pitched six innings and allowed only one run.
Player of the Game - Adrian Beltre 3-5, HR, walk-off double in the bottom of the 9th inning
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Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox
October 7, 2010
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Twins (MIN) 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 9 0
Red Sox (BOS) 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 6 14 1
MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
Nick Punto (3B) 4 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 .260
Orlando Hudson (2B) 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .264
Denard Span (CF) 4 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 .301
Justin Morneau (1B) 3 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 .286
Jason Kubel (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .298
Michael Cuddyer (RF) 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .280
J.J. Hardy (SS) 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 .265
Jim Thome (DH) 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .264
Jose Morales (C) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .286
TOTALS 33 9 4 5 0 5 7 1
2B: Justin Morneau, Orlando Hudson, Jim Thome
HBP: Jose Morales
GDP: Justin Morneau, Jim Thome, Nick Punto
DP: Justin Morneau, Orlando Hudson, J.J. Hardy
MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
Zack Greinke 6.0 7 2 0 2 2 4 119 2.79
Jesse Crain 0.2 1 1 0 0 0 0 11 4.00
Matt Guerrier 1.1 1 0 1 1 1 1 19 4.43
Jose Mijares 0.2 5 0 0 3 3 1 20 4.80
TOTALS 8.2 14 3 1 6 6 6 169
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
Jacoby Ellsbury (LF) 5 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 .310
J.D. Drew (RF) 2 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 .307
Dustin Pedroia (2B) 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .339
Kevin Youkilis (1B) 4 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .303
David Ortiz (DH) 5 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .232
Victor Martinez (C) 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .303
Adrian Beltre (3B) 5 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 .299
Mike Cameron (CF) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .268
Marco Scutaro (SS) 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .291
TOTALS 39 14 3 6 1 6 6 2
2B: Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, J.D. Drew, David Ortiz
HR: Adrian Beltre
HBP: J.D. Drew
GDP: Mike Cameron
DP: Kevin Youkilis 2, Dustin Pedroia 3, Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro 2, Hideki Okajima
E: Dustin Pedroia
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
Josh Beckett 4.1 6 2 0 5 4 3 79 2.96
Manny Delcarmen 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 4.62
Hideki Okajima 2.0 1 1 0 0 0 1 26 4.16
Daniel Bard 0.2 1 1 0 0 0 2 15 2.49
Boof Bonser 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 15 6.73
TOTALS 9.0 9 4 0 5 4 7 144
WP: Boof Bonser
LP: Jose Mijares
Temperature: 52F
Wind: Calm
Attendance: 37,400
Time: 3:21
