Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Yep, another try for me at a dynasty. This time with the 2010 Twins.

I won't bother boring you with league details, this is going to be pretty standard. I'll keep an eye out to make sure the league doesn't get outta control and to make sure teams aren't making stupid trades/signings/etc.

Off we go....

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Well, i for one know that I keep trying and failing to write dynasties so this will be interesting to read.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins Opening Day Roster

Lineup:

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Name B P AVG HR SB R RBI OBA D. Span L CF .311 8 23 97 68 .392 O. Hudson S 2B .283 9 8 74 62 .357 J. Morneau L 1B .274 30 0 85 100 .363 J. Mauer L C .365 28 4 94 96 .444 J. Kubel L LF .300 28 1 73 103 .369 J. Thome L DH .249 23 0 55 77 .366 M. Cuddyer R RF .276 32 6 93 94 .342 J. Hardy R SS .229 11 0 53 47 .302 N. Punto S 3B .228 1 16 56 38 .337

Pretty solid from top to bottom. Shortstop and third base are areas I'll probably look to upgrade at.

Bench:

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Name B P AVG HR SB R RBI OBA J. Repko R OF .000 0 1 1 1 .143 D. Butera R C .000 0 0 0 0 .000 D. Young R RF .284 12 2 50 60 .308 B. Harris R IF .261 6 0 44 37 .310 A. Casilla S 2B .202 0 11 25 17 .280

Young and Harris are good reserves at their respective positions. Nothing spectacular otherwise.

Starting Rotation:

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Name T ERA IP K W L SV S. Baker R 4.37 200.0 162 15 9 0 K. Slowey R 4.86 90.2 75 10 3 0 N. Blackburn R 4.03 205.2 98 11 11 0 C. Pavano R 5.10 199.1 147 14 12 0 F. Liriano L 5.80 136.2 122 5 13 0

It's not bad. Liriano, Pavano, and Slowey should all put up better ERA figures this year than they did last year. It may be an area I have to upgrade at some point, though.

Bullpen:

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Name T ERA IP K W L SV J. Rauch R 3.60 70.0 49 7 3 2 J. Crain R 4.70 51.2 43 7 4 0 M. Guerrier R 2.36 76.1 47 5 1 1 J. Mijares L 2.34 61.2 55 2 2 0 P. Neshek R 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 0 B. Duensing L 3.64 84.0 53 5 2 0

Pretty good. It's too bad Nathan is out for the year, otherwise it'd be even better.

Overall we look pretty good. We've got two recent AL MVP's at the heart of the line-up, and one of the better young outfielders in the game at lead-off, along with a solid top-to-bottom pitching staff. We should definitely battle for the AL Central crown this season.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

That has high points and low.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Opening Day Special

We played an excellent game to start our 2010 season. We scored one run in each of the first, second, and ninth innings and shutout the Twins to earn the 3-0 opening day win. Scott Baker was the clear cut player of the game, hurling a complete game shutout, while allowing just four hits, walking one, and striking out eight. Denard Span and Orlando "O-Dawg" Hudson were the big contributors on offense. Span went 3-4 with a run and a steal, while Hudson went 2-5 with two RBI.

HTML Code:

Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels April 5, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 12 0 Angels (LAA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 4 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .750 Orlando Hudson (2B) 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .400 Justin Morneau (1B) 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 Joe Mauer (C) 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .667 Jason Kubel (LF) 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .333 Jim Thome (DH) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 Michael Cuddyer (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J.J. Hardy (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Nick Punto (3B) 4 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 .750 TOTALS 36 12 2 3 0 3 5 1 2B: Jason Kubel (1) GDP: Justin Morneau, Jim Thome MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Scott Baker 9.0 4 1 0 0 0 8 118 0.00 TOTALS 9.0 4 1 0 0 0 8 118 LOS ANGELES ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Erick Aybar (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Bobby Abreu (DH) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 .000 Howie Kendrick (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Kendry Morales (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250 Mike Napoli (C) 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .000 Juan Rivera (RF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hideki Matsui (LF) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Torii Hunter (CF) 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 Brandon Wood (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 TOTALS 31 4 1 0 0 0 8 2 2B: Torii Hunter (1) DP: Kendry Morales 2, Howie Kendrick 2, Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar E: Hideki Matsui LOS ANGELES ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Jered Weaver 4.0 8 1 0 2 2 1 89 4.50 Jason Bulger 2.0 0 1 0 0 0 2 29 0.00 Scot Shields 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 1 13 0.00 Brian Stokes 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 17 0.00 Brian Fuentes 1.0 2 0 0 1 1 0 15 9.00 TOTALS 9.0 12 2 0 3 3 5 163 WP: Scott Baker (1-0) LP: Jered Weaver (0-1)

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

April 6, 2010

Twins 2 - Angels 3

Matt Guerrier lets up runs in the ninth and tenth to squander a beautiful performance by Kevin Slowey (7 IP, 5 H, BB, ER, K), and send the Angels home with the 3-2 win.

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 5 H, BB, ER, K

April 7, 2010

Twins 5 - Angels 3

Nick Blackburn pitches seven innings of one run ball to get the victory. Mauer hit his first home run of the year, and Morneau drives in three runs.

POTG - J. Morneau 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI

April 8, 2010

Twins 7 - Angels 4

We got to Ervin Santana early to win this game. Santana lasted only 3.1 innings before giving up six runs on five hits and two walks. Kubel homered, while Cuddyer and Morneau drove in two runs apiece.

POTG - J. Morneau 2-5, 2 RBI, 2B

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

April 9, 2010

Twins 7 - White Sox 5

We were able to win in spite of an outing by Liriano in which he gave up five runs in 5.1 innings. J.J. Hardy helped out by hitting his first home run of the year, and the White Sox helped out by committing two errors.

POTG - C. Quentin 3-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI

April 10, 2010

Twins 0 - White Sox 5

Danks basically owned us. He went eight innings without allowing a run and striking out five.

POTG - J. Danks 8 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 5 K

April 11, 2010

Twins 16 - White Sox 5

Just a bad day for the White Sox. Slowey only pitched 1.2 innings before getting pulled after allowing four runs, but Brian Duensing came in and shut 'em down the rest of the way, allowing one run over the final 7.1 innings. We hit six homers in this game. Jim Thome hit one, J.J. Hardy hit two, Michael Cuddyer hit two, and Denard Span hit one.

POTG - J. Hardy 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

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

Twins 5-2, leading AL Central by 1 game over the Cleveland Indians

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

April 12, 2010

Red Sox 10 - Twins 5

We blew multiple leads in this game, including in the ninth innings when the Red Sox put six runs up six runs on Jon Rauch when we had held a 5-4 lead. Orlando Hudson, Joe Mauer, and Jason Kubel homered in the loss.

POTG - D. Pedroia 2-5 GS, 4 RBI

April 14, 2010

Red Sox 13 - Twins 3

The Red Sox homered four times to beat us, including a two-homer, six-RBI game from David Ortiz.

POTG - D. Ortiz 3-5 2 HR, 6 RBI

April 15, 2010

Red Sox 2 - Twins 1

Liriano pitched a wonderful game (7 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 7 K), but it still was not enough for us to avoid the sweep.

POTG - C. Buchholz 7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, ER, 6 K

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

Twins 5-5, trail AL Central lead by 1 game

April 16, 2010

Royals 0 - Twins 10

We got back on track against the Royals. Scott Baker threw another complete game shutout, and Justin Morneau reached base in all five of his plate appearance and scored four times.

POTG - S. Baker 9 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 8 K

April 17, 2010

Royals 2 - Twins 3

Joe Mauer powered us to the win by belting his fourth and fifth home runs of the season.

POTG - J. Mauer 2-4 2 HR, 2 RBI

April 18, 2010

Royals 4 - Twins 11

We complete a sweep of the Royals with a small rout. Bannister allowed six runs before being pulled after 4.2 innings. Joe Mauer hit a three-run homer for his only hit of the game.

POTG - J. Mauer 1-4, 3-R HR

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

Twins 8-5, leading AL Central by .5 game over the Cleveland Indians

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Doing good.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

April 20, 2010

Indians 2 - Twins 3

Nick Blackburn hurled a complete game and allowed just the two runs while striking out eight. At the plate, Denard Span slugged two-run home run.

POTG - N. Blackburn 9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 8 K

April 21, 2010

Indians 5 - Twins 8

Michael Cuddyer homered twice and drove in three runs. David Huff, the opposing starter, lasted just 2.1 innings before allowing six runs and getting pulled out of the game.

POTG - M. Cuddyer 3-3 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI

April 22, 2010

Indians 2 - Twins 3

Orlando Hudson singled to left with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th innings to help us complete the sweep over our division rival, and our biggest competition thus far in the season. Scott Baker also pitched another wonderful game, going 8.2 innings and allowing just two runs.

POTG - O. Hudson 4-5, GW RBI 1B in the 11th inning

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

Twins 11-5, lead AL Central by two games over the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

April 23, 2010

Twins 7 - Royals 4

Gil Meche last only 2.2 innings before allowing four runs. Jason Kubel hit a two-run homerun to help the offense.

POTG - D. Span 3-4, BB, 3 R, 2 SB

April 24, 2010

Twins 7 - Royals 2

Brian Duensing pitched a masterpiece, going seven innings and allowing two runs on no walks and eight hits. Joe Mauer also hit his seventh home run of the season, good for second in the AL behind Vlad Guerrero and tied with a variety of other players.

POTG - B. Duensing 7 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

April 25, 2010

Twins 7 - Royals 3

Joe Mauer had himself a ballgame, going 3-5 with a home run, and four RBI's, en route to our sweep of the Royals.

POTG - J. Mauer 3-5 R, HR, 4 RBI

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

Twins 14-5, lead AL Central by four games over the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers

April 27, 2010

Twins 14 - Tigers 1

Offense was all over the place in this game. Everyone collected at least one hit and scored once. Kubel was the star, however, as he went 3-6 with two home runs and four RBI's. Not to be outdone Scott Baker went 7.1 innings and allowed only one run to lower his ERA to 1.59.

POTG - J. Kubel 3-6 2 HR, 4 RBI

April 28, 2010

Twins 7 - Tigers 9

Scott Sizemore destoyed us, going 2-6 with two homeruns and seven RBI.

POTG - S. Sizemore 2-6 2 HR, 7 RBI

April 29, 2010

Twins 3 - Tigers 4

We fell just short. Miguel Cabrera drove in all four Tigers runs on a pair of home runs, whilst Jeremy Bonderman allowed just three runs on five hits over seven innings.

POTG - M. Cabrera 2-4 2 HR, 4 RBI

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

Twins 15-7, lead AL Central by 3.5 games over Detroit Tigers

April 30, 2010

Twins 4 - Indians 1

Carl Pavano turned in an excellent start, allowing just one run over seven innings without issuing a walk. Meanwhile Aaron Laffey, the opposing starter, lasted just 2 innings before giving up four runs and being pulled out of the game. All four runs were scored off of the bat of Michael Cuddyer.

POTG - C. Pavano 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 3 K

May 1, 2010

Twins 2 - Indians 3

We just happened to come out on the wrong end of a great pitcher's duel. Liriano allowed just three runs over 6.2 innings, and Fausto Carmona allowed just two runs over 7 innings.

POTG - F. Carmona 7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 2 K

May 2, 2010

Twins 4 - Indians 3

Scott Baker turned in another good start, giving up only two runs over five innings. However Jim Thome proved instrumental on offense driving in two of our four runs.

POTG - J. Thome 1-5 R, 2 RBI

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

Twins 17-8, lead AL Central by 5.5 games over Detroit Tigers

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

End of April

Team Leaders

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ERA S. Baker 1.81 Wins C. Pavano 4 Saves J. Rauch 3 AVG M. Cuddyer .344 HR J. Mauer 8 SB D. Span 7

Thoughts

Very good start to the season, a lot better than I had anticipated. It's good to get out of the gate hot. We trail the Red Sox for the best record in baseball by four games. Hopefully we can keep it up in spite of a few minor injuries to Morneau and Kubel.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Mauer, Joe MIN 95 23 8 21 .242 .363 .516 1 0 Morneau, Justin MIN 67 24 3 15 .358 .411 .597 0 0 Hudson, Orlando MIN 109 34 1 12 .312 .356 .440 2 0 Punto, Nick MIN 88 26 0 12 .295 .374 .341 3 0 Hardy, J.J. MIN 95 22 3 8 .232 .288 .368 0 1 Kubel, Jason MIN 95 24 7 18 .253 .301 .516 0 1 Span, Denard MIN 106 35 4 12 .330 .415 .519 7 2 Cuddyer, M. MIN 96 33 5 21 .344 .411 .542 0 0 Thome, Jim MIN 94 20 3 10 .213 .303 .362 0 0 Repko, Jason MIN 8 1 0 1 .125 .125 .125 0 0 Butera, Drew MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Young, Delmon MIN 18 9 0 2 .500 .500 .611 0 0 Harris, Brendan MIN 13 3 0 1 .231 .231 .231 0 0 Casilla, Alexi MIN 10 2 0 1 .200 .200 .200 0 0 Baker, Scott MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Slowey, Kevin MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Pavano, Carl MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Liriano, F. MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Rauch, Jon 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 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Duensing, Brian 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 Baker, Scott MIN 6 3 1 1.81 44.2 32 0 2 .194 Slowey, Kevin MIN 5 1 0 4.94 27.1 13 0 0 .273 Blackburn, Nick MIN 3 2 1 2.21 20.1 12 0 1 .269 Pavano, Carl MIN 5 4 0 3.51 33.1 17 0 0 .248 Liriano, F. MIN 3 1 2 4.74 19.0 19 0 0 .296 Rauch, Jon MIN 0 0 1 9.00 10.0 9 3 0 .262 Crain, Jesse MIN 0 1 1 5.23 10.1 7 2 0 .286 Guerrier, Matt MIN 0 1 1 9.72 8.1 7 0 0 .368 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 1 0 0.00 15.0 9 1 0 .189 Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 0 2.45 11.0 9 1 0 .262 Duensing, Brian MIN 3 3 1 4.50 28.0 14 0 0 .313

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

May 3, 2010

Tigers 4 - Twins 3

Yet another gorgeous start by Kevin Slowey goes to waste. Porcello didn't make it out of the fifth inning, but luckily for the Tigers the bullpen picked up the slack.

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 5 H, BB, 3 ER, 5 K

May 4, 2010

Tigers 5 - Twins 3

The combination of Jeremy Bonderman and Brad Thomas was too much for us to overcome. They combined to pitch all nine innings while allowing only two earned runs.

POTG - J. Bonderman + B. Thomas 9 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

May 5, 2010

Tigers 5 - Twins 4

We were unable to avoid being swept despite our best efforts. Carl Pavano allowed just one run over seven innings on four hits and a single walk.

POTG - C. Pavano 7 IP, 4 H, BB, ER, K

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

Twins 17-11, lead AL Central by 2.5 games over the Detroit Tigers

May 6, 2010

Orioles 1 - Twins 0

Our losing streak continues. Brian Matusz completely dominated us, going 8.2 innings without allowing a run and striking out 11 batters.

POTG - B. Matusz 8.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 11 K

May 7, 2010

Orioles 1 - Twins 6

Scott Baker showed why he's the ace by stopping our four-game losing streak. Baker went seven innings and allowed just one run while striking out six. Jim Thome hit his fifth home run of the year and drove in three runs.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, ER, 6 K

May 8, 2010

Orioles 5 - Twins 4

Delmon Young homers in the tough loss.

POTG - J. Guthrie 7 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

May 9, 2010

Orioles 3 - Twins 4

Justin Morneau returns from injury in style, homering twice and driving in all four of our runs.

POTG - J. Morneau 3-3 BB, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

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

Twins 19-13, lead AL Central by 2.0 games over Detroit Tigers

May 11, 2010

White Sox 3 - Twins 5

Mauer and Thome combine to homer twice and drive in five of our runs.

POTG - J. Mauer + J. Thome 3-7, BB, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI

May 12, 2010

White Sox 1 - Twins 4

Scott Baker continues to keep hitters off balance. This time out going seven innings and allowing just one run on eight hits and one walk.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 7 H, BB, ER, 4 K

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

Twins 21-13, lead AL Central by 2.5 games over Detroit Tigers

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

J.J. Hardy re-signs with Minnesota for three years

Today I was able to re-sign my starting shortstop J.J. Hardy through the 2012 season. Hardy isn't much of a hitter, only .213/.268/.323 so far this season, but the potential is definitely there for him to be an average major league hitter. But the main reason I chose to re-sign him is his stellar defense. He's made only one error in 309 innings at shortstop this season, and he's averaging more than three assists per game.

The contract is for 5.4 million dollars per season through 2012, only 300K more than he was making before he signed the contract.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ob59hsRaFU

Don't mean to derail anything, couldn't help but think of this song when I saw the title.

Good work so far. :)

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

May 14, 2010

Twins 0 - Yankees 1

Kevin Slowey turned in a great start, but the offense was nowhere to be found.

POTG - K. Slowey 8.2 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, ER, 5 K

May 15, 2010

Twins 2 - Yankees 4

Again we get no offense as both of our runs were unearned, meaning no one in our lineup had an RBI.

POTG - A. Burnett 7 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 4 K

May 16, 2010

Twins 3 - Yankees 5

Jim Thome reached base in all three of his plate appearances, including hitting a two-run homer in the sixth, but it still wasn't enough to avoid being swept.

POTG - P. Hughes + A. Aceves + M. Rivera 9 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, 3 ER, 8 K

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

Twins 21-16, lead AL Central by 2.0 games over the Detroit Tigers

May 17, 2010

Twins 3 - Blue Jays 6

Our losing streak is extended to four, due in large part to Neshek allowing three runs to the Jays in the eighth inning.

POTG - B. Morrow 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, ER, 3 K

May 18, 2010

Twins 0 - Blue Jays 2

Marc Rzepczynski shut us down, hurling a complete game shutout and striking out seven.

POTG - M. Rzepczynski 9 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

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

Twins 21-18, lead AL Central by 1.0 games over Detroit Tigers

May 19, 2010

Twins 1 - Red Sox 4

Our losing streak is extended to six games. We couldn't get anything off Jon Lester, who allowed just one run over 7.2 innings while striking out eight.

POTG - J. Lester 7.2 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 8 K

May 20, 2010

Twins 5 - Red Sox 4

Our losing streak finally comes to an end. Kubel and Thome each went 3-5 with a home run and two RBI to power us to this win.

POTG - J. Kubel + Jim Thome 3-5, HR, 2 RBI each

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

Twins 22-19, tied with Detroit Tigers for AL Central lead

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

In almost every 2010 sim of mine, Justin Morneau wins MVP. Just sayin.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francoeurstein

In almost every 2010 sim of mine, Justin Morneau wins MVP. Just sayin.

He's been hitting well for me. But the problem is he's missed almost half my team's games.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

I dun messed up. My computer was being funky today so I had to restart it. I didn't realize I hadn't saved my dynasty since April 19th until just now when I loaded it up. So I'm just gonna sim up to the point I was at, mid-May or so, and continue on as before.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

So after my screw up my record is still 22-19 and I'm 2.0 games ahead of the Tigers for first place in the AL Central

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

May 21, 2010

Brewers 4 - Twins 0

Doug Davis shut us down, allowing no runs on seven hits over the course of eight innings. Mauer collected two hits to raise his batting average to an impressive .342.

POTG - D. Davis 8 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

May 22, 2010

Brewers 6 - Twins 5

Scott Baker gave us a solid six innings of two run ball, but bullpen trouble derailed us of a win.

POTG - Y. Gallardo 7 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

May 23, 2010

Brewers 4 - Twins 6

We manage to pull out a win and avoid the sweep, in spite of an 0-4, four strikeout game from Mauer.

POTG - J. Repko 2-3 HR, 3 RBI

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

Twins 23-21, lead AL Central by 3.0 games over the Detroit Tigers

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

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

May 25, 2010

Yankees 3 - Twins 2

We lose the game in spite of a solid effort by Nick Blackburn and two home run game from Michael Cuddyer.

POTG - M. Cuddyer 2 HR

May 26, 2010

Yankees 6 - Twins 5

The loss pulls us back to .500, but we maintain our two game lead over the Tigers in spite of that.

POTG - M. Cuddyer 2 HR, 4 RBI

May 27, 2010

Yankees 1 - Twins 7

Carl Pavano earns his third win of the season with a brilliant outing. He went seven, allowed only one run, and struck out five.

POTG - C. Pavano 7 IP, 8 H, BB, ER, 5 K

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

Twins 24-23, lead AL Central by 2.0 games over the Detroit Tigers

May 28, 2010

Rangers 3 - Twins 4

Scott Baker put forth an excellent effort in a game in which our offense was scarce.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

May 29, 2010

Rangers 3 - Twins 4

Jim Thome homers for the second game in a row as we win the second game of the three-gamer against the Rangers.

POTG - J. Thome 1-3, HR, 2 RBI

May 30, 2010

Rangers 8 - Twins 1

Rangers starter Scott Feldman prevented us from completing the sweep, going 7.2 IP without allowing an earned run.

POTG - S. Feldman 7.2 IP, 9 H, BB, 0 ER (1 R), 2 K

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

Twins 26-24, lead AL Central by 2.0 games over the Detroit Tigers

May 31, 2010

Twins 1 - Mariners 2 (14 innings)

This was a great pitcher's duel that we just so happened to come out on the wrong end of. Liriano went the first nine innings and allowed just one run on six hits and struck out eight, and Cliff Lee went seven and allowed just one run on five hits and struck out six.

POTG - F. Liriano 9 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 8 K

June 1, 2010

Twins 5 - Mariners 6 (18 innings)

Another extra innings thriller that we happened to come out on the wrong end of. Pavano went nine and allowed only two runs, but Brian Duensing let up three runs in the 18th to send Seattle home a winner.

POTG - C. Pavano 9 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

June 2, 2010

Twins 3 - Mariners 4

The loss drops us to 26-27, .5 games back of the Tigers in the AL Central.

POTG - F. Gutierrez 4-5 HR, 2 RBI

June 3, 2010

Twins 1 - Mariners 6

Ian Snell goes seven shutout innings to give the Mariners a four game sweep over us, and drop us to an even game under the Tigers for the Central lead.

POTG - I. Snell 7 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 0 ER, 4 K

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

Twins 26-28, trail AL Central by 1.0 games behind the Detroit Tigers

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

End of May

Team Leaders

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ERA S. Baker 3.73 Wins B. Duensing 5 Saves J. Rauch 6 AVG M. Cuddyer .318 HR J. Mauer 12 SB N. Punto 7

Thoughts

May was not very kind to us. Fortunately the rest of the division is struggling just as badly so we're not nearly out of it.

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Morneau, Justin MIN 220 60 6 33 .273 .343 .405 0 0 Thome, Jim MIN 210 48 12 31 .229 .300 .433 1 0 Mauer, Joe MIN 207 65 12 31 .314 .389 .531 4 1 Cuddyer, Michael MIN 198 63 10 35 .318 .382 .535 2 1 Hardy, J.J. MIN 189 47 10 21 .249 .311 .434 0 0 Kubel, Jason MIN 183 49 8 23 .268 .327 .432 0 1 Punto, Nick MIN 176 46 0 13 .261 .332 .284 7 1 Casilla, Alexi MIN 115 24 1 9 .209 .266 .287 3 0 Repko, Jason MIN 112 20 1 6 .179 .238 .232 4 2 Hudson, Orlando MIN 105 26 1 11 .248 .301 .314 3 0 Span, Denard MIN 100 30 3 9 .300 .385 .430 3 2 Young, Delmon MIN 51 12 1 6 .235 .250 .333 1 0 Harris, Brendan MIN 24 9 1 5 .375 .433 .542 0 0 Butera, Drew MIN 9 0 0 0 .000 .182 .000 0 0 Duensing, Brian MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Guerrier, Matt MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Crain, Jesse MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Rauch, Jon MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Liriano, Francisco MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Pavano, Carl MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Slowey, Kevin MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Baker, Scott 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 Duensing, Brian MIN 2 5 2 5.66 47.2 20 0 0 .335 Neshek, Pat MIN 0 0 2 3.09 43.2 37 3 0 .264 Mijares, Jose MIN 1 3 2 3.86 39.2 32 1 0 .255 Guerrier, Matt MIN 1 2 3 5.89 36.2 24 1 0 .327 Crain, Jesse MIN 0 1 1 6.30 10.0 9 0 0 .326 Rauch, Jon MIN 0 0 3 8.27 20.2 20 6 0 .303 Liriano, Francisco MIN 6 4 1 3.79 40.1 38 0 0 .242 Pavano, Carl MIN 10 3 2 3.96 61.1 51 0 0 .252 Blackburn, Nick MIN 11 3 6 4.13 61.0 37 0 1 .306 Slowey, Kevin MIN 12 1 4 4.60 62.2 38 0 0 .276 Baker, Scott MIN 11 4 2 3.73 72.1 62 0 2 .236

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins 2010 Draft Review

Round #1 - SP Efrain Solando (49/89)
Round #2 - 3B Jason McDaniell (54/86)
Round #3 - SS Alex Zalapa (60/76)
Round #4 - SP Pat Huggett (48/83)
Round #5 - CF Americo Vargro (55/73)
Round #6 - 2B Allan Bierig (54/71)

Gotta say, I'm pretty happy with this draft. I addressed two major holes in the organization by getting some solid pitching prospects and a legitimate third base prospect. None of the prospects have any injury history, which is something I always try to avoid in my draftees, and they all look like they could be very solid major league players.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

June 4, 2010

Twins 3 - A's 4

Oakland starter Dallas Braden didn't last too long, but the A's bullpen shut us out for the final 5 2/3 innings of the game and got the A's the win.

POTG - A's Bullpen 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

June 5, 2010

Twins 6 - A's 9

Neither starter fared particularly well, both allowing six runs in the game, but the A's 'pen was again able to bail them out.

POTG - A's Bullpen 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 0 ER, K

June 6, 2010

Twins 7 - A's 5

Mauer, Hardy, and Cuddyer all homer to help us finally end out losing streak.

POTG - B. Duensing 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 6 K

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

Twins 27-30, trail AL Central by 2.0 games behind the Detroit Tigers

June 8, 2010

Royals 4 - Twins 1

Brian Bannister shuts us down and allows only one run over seven innings.

POTG - B. Bannister 7 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, ER, 5 K

June 9, 2010

Royals 10 - Twins 1

Rick Ankiel drove home six runs with two home runs, and Zack Grienke pitched seven innings of one run ball.

POTG - R. Ankiel 3-4 BB, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI

June 10, 2010

Royals 7 - Twins 16

In a game in which offense was abundant, Justin Morneau managed to stand out by driving home five runs on three hits and homering once.

POTG - J. Morneau 3-5 BB, 2 R, HR, 5 RBI

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

Twins 28-32, trail AL Central by 2.0 games behind the Detroit Tigers

June 11, 2010

Braves 6 - Twins 7 (10 innings)

Denard Span hits the walk off homer in the bottom of the tenth inning to send us home a winner.

POTG - D. Span 2-5 walk-off homerun

June 12, 2010

Braves 2 - Twins 10

Morneau drove in four runs with two homers in support of Scott Baker, who went seven innings and allowed only two runs.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

June 13, 2010

Braves 6 - Twins 3

We were unable to complete the sweep, but Morneau did continue his hot hitting by hitting his fifth home run in the last ten games.

POTG - E. Hinske 1-2 2 BB, 3-R HR

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

Twins 30-33, trail AL Central by 2.0 games behind the Detroit Tigers

June 15, 2010

Rockies 3 - Twins 6

Mauer hit his team-leading 16th home run of the season as we defeated the Rockies at home.

POTG - J. Mauer 3-4 HR, 3 RBI

June 16, 2010

Rockies 5 - Twins 9

Jorge de la Rosa failed to make it out of the seventh inning by giving up seven runs on three hits and five walks.

POTG - J. Morneau 2-3 BB, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI

June 17, 2010

Rockies 9 - Twins 1

We are again unable to complete the sweep. Jason Hammel shut us out over the first eight innings, we were only able to score once Huston Street was brought into the game in the ninth.

POTG - J. Hammel 8 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 0 ER, 5 K

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

Twins 32-34, two-way tie in AL Central for first place with Detroit Tigers

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

June 18, 2010

Twins 8 - Phillies 6

Morneau and Hardy smack their 13th homeruns of the year in the series-opener against the Phils.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 5 K

June 19, 2010

Twins 8 - Phillies 9

Rough game pitching for us. Slowey allowed four runs in 3.2 innings, and then the 'pen allowed another five of their own. J.J. Hardy homered and drove in four runs in a losing effort.

POTG - S. Victorino 4-5, HR, 3 RBI

June 20, 2010

Twins 2 - Phillies 3

Liriano allowed only one run over seven innings, but Jon Rauch blew it in the ninth and gave up a walk-off pinch hit two-run homer to John Mayberry.

POTG - J. Mayberry walk-off HR

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

Twins 33-36, lead AL Central by .5 games over the Cleveland Indians

June 22, 2010

Twins 1 - Brewers 6

Yovani Gallardo shut us down, allowing only one run over seven innings while striking out 11. Joe Mauer provided our lone run when he homered in the fifth inning.

POTG - Y. Gallardo 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, ER, 11 K

June 23, 2010

Twins 6 - Brewers 5

Hardy, Kubel, Repko, and Cuddyer all homered to help us pull to within three games of .500.

POTG - R. Weeks 5-5, HR shy of cycle

June 24, 2010

Twins 3 - Brewers 2

Kevin Slowey was doing it all this time out. Not only did he pitch seven innings of two run baseball, but he also went 1-1 and drove in two runs on his own!

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 K; 1-1, 2 RBI

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

Twins 35-37, lead AL Central by 1.0 games over the Cleveland Indians

June 25, 2010

Twins 4 - Mets 7

Nick Blackburn allowed five runs over five innings, while conversely Ollie Perez allowed just two over seven.

POTG - O. Perez 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 8 K

June 26, 2010

Twins 5 - Mets 7

Pat Neshek coughed it up in the ninth to hand the Mets the second win of the series.

POTG - J. Thome 3-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI

June 27, 2010

Twins 0 - Mets 7

Johan Santana absolutely dominated us, throwing a complete game shutout and allowing only four hits while striking out nine.

POTG - J. Santana 9 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 9 K

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

Twins 35-40, lead AL Central by .5 games over the Cleveland Indians

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

June 28, 2010

Tigers 6 - Twins 8

Mauer comes up big by homering twice and driving in six in this critical mid-season match-up against the Tigers.

POTG - J. Mauer 2-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI

June 29, 2010

Tigers 2 - Twins 5

Slowey allowed just two runs over seven innings, while Jon Rauch notched his 10th save of the year.

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 K

June 30, 2010

Tigers 6 - Twins 3

We were unable to complete the sweep in spite of a strong effort by Nick Blackburn.

POTG - N. Blackburn 7 IP, 3 ER, 2 K

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

Twins 37-41 two-way tie for first place in AL Central with Cleveland Indians

End of June

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ERA S. Baker 4.04 Wins S. Baker 6 Saves J. Rauch 10 AVG J. Kubel .291 HR J. Mauer 19 SB N. Punto 8

Thoughts

Another unkind month. I can't really say we have any gaping holes or massive issues, it's basically just been a run of bad luck. At the deadline I'll probably look to add pitching, both starting and relieving, as that's the one place where we've been consistently inconsistent.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Morneau, Justin MIN 318 89 14 56 .280 .352 .472 0 0 Mauer, Joe MIN 298 86 19 44 .289 .370 .513 4 1 Thome, Jim MIN 292 79 18 46 .271 .352 .493 1 0 Cuddyer, Michael MIN 278 78 15 49 .281 .368 .496 3 1 Kubel, Jason MIN 275 80 11 37 .291 .353 .451 1 1 Hardy, J.J. MIN 273 66 15 36 .242 .311 .432 0 1 Punto, Nick MIN 225 61 1 21 .271 .332 .316 8 1 Hudson, Orlando MIN 205 52 1 17 .254 .326 .317 4 0 Repko, Jason MIN 164 28 2 7 .171 .239 .244 7 2 Span, Denard MIN 149 45 4 15 .302 .380 .423 3 3 Casilla, Alexi MIN 115 24 1 9 .209 .266 .287 3 0 Young, Delmon MIN 57 13 1 6 .228 .241 .316 1 0 Harris, Brendan MIN 41 13 1 9 .317 .388 .439 0 0 Morales, Jose MIN 5 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Baker, Scott MIN 5 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Slowey, Kevin MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 0 0 Pavano, Carl MIN 5 1 0 0 .200 .200 .200 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 Duensing, Brian 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

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Player Name Team Starts W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA Baker, Scott MIN 17 6 4 4.04 104.2 89 0 2 .258 Slowey, Kevin MIN 17 3 5 4.72 89.2 60 0 0 .292 Pavano, Carl MIN 14 3 4 5.15 80.1 59 0 0 .270 Liriano, Francisco MIN 8 4 2 3.99 49.2 44 0 0 .245 Blackburn, Nick MIN 16 5 9 5.08 88.2 49 0 1 .307 Rauch, Jon MIN 0 2 4 6.53 30.1 25 10 0 .280 Duensing, Brian MIN 3 6 3 5.11 79.1 35 1 0 .321 Mijares, Jose MIN 1 5 2 3.94 59.1 48 2 0 .270 Neshek, Pat MIN 1 0 3 3.90 60.0 49 3 0 .271 Crain, Jesse MIN 0 1 1 6.30 10.0 9 0 0 .326 Guerrier, Matt MIN 1 2 4 5.89 55.0 40 1 0 .326

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

July 1, 2010

Rays 8 - Twins 3

Our only three runs came on a Justin Morneau three run homer, and Brian Duensing failed to make it out of the third before giving up seven runs.

POTG - B. Upton 3-5, HR, 3 RBI

July 2, 2010

Rays 2 - Twins 3

Offense was scarce, but Liriano makes up for it by going seven and allowing only two runs.

POTG - F. Liriano 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 6 K

July 3, 2010

Rays 0 - Twins 4

The win grants us at least a series split in this four-gamer with the Rays. Crain makes the spot start and surprisingly goes five shutout innings.

POTG - J. Crain 5 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 0 ER, 2 K

July 4, 2010

Rays 8 - Twins 5

We were unable to win the series, due in large part to a fantastic game by Ben Zobrist.

POTG - B. Zobrist 3-5, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI

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

Twins 39-43 two-way tie for first place in AL Central with Cleveland Indians

July 6, 2010

Twins 8 - Blue Jays 3

Shutout into the seventh inning we scored seven in the inning, and tacked on another for good measure in the eighth, to secure the road win.

POTG - J. Rauch 2.2 IP, H, BB, 0 ER

July 7, 2010

Twins 5 - Blue Jays 4

We managed to win, despite Carl Pavano allowing ten hits in just five innings of work. Jason Kubel had himself quite a game, hitting a homer and tripling, as well as committing an error.

POTG - J. Kubel 2-6, HR, 2 RBI

July 8, 2010

Twins 1 - Blue Jays 5

Brian Duensing performs poorly and denies us a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays. Although it may not have mattered as opposing starter Marc Rzepczynski went seven and allowed just one run.

POTG - M. Rzepczynski 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, ER, 5 K

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

Twins 41-44 1.5 game lead in AL Central over Cleveland Indians

July 9, 2010

Twins 7 - Tigers 2

Great way to open up a big divisional series, as the Tigers sit only four games back of us for first place.

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, H, BB, 2 ER, 8 K

July 10, 2010

Twins 5 - Tigers 1

Nick Blackburn gave by far his best start of the season. We'll be going for the sweep in our last game before the All-Star Break!

POTG - N. Blackburn CG, 4 H, BB, ER, 5 K

July 11, 2010

Twins 4 - Tigers 5

We fell frustratingly short of a sweep again. No matter though, we're going into the All-Star break hot, and the rest can only do us good!

POTG - J. Mauer 3-5, HR (22), 3 RBI

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

Twins 43-45 2.0 game lead in AL Central over Chicago White Sox

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins First-Half Review

High points

Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau having excellent seasons.

Joe Mauer - .286/.359/.512, 22 HR, 56 RBI in 85 games
Justin Morneau - .281/.358/.466, 15 HR, 66 RBI in 88 games

Surprise contributions from Jim Thome.

Jim Thome - .259/.341/.467, 19 HR, 49 RBI in 88 games
Offense as a whole performing beyond my expectations.

111 HR second in AL
.262 AVG fifth in AL
First place!

Low points

Inconsistent, particularly with pitching staff.
Pitching staff not performing up to par.

Matt Guerrier and Brian Duensing both have ERA's above 5.00 out of bullpen.
Carl Pavano's ERA is ~5.50
Francisco Liriano is only starter with an ERA under 4.00
Sub-.500 record

Thoughts

I can't really be disappointed with the fact that we're in first place. I can, however, be disappointed in the fact that we haven't played like a first place team. The offense has been great pretty much all season, and surprisingly so, but the same can't be said about the pitching. Only recently have they started to turn it around, and it's showing in the W-L record. Before that, just about every pitcher on the team had their ERA above 5.00 at some point during the season. We did play very well going into the break though, and hopefully some time off will only help us.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

League-Wide Standings at the Half

American League
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8...enhunter1m.jpg

National League
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5...enhunter2f.jpg

Wild Card
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/958/screenhunter3x.jpg

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

American League Wins All-Star Game AGAIN!

The American League won yet another All-Star game, making it a whole bunch in a row (I can't remember the exact count). Our lone All-Star representative, Joe Mauer, did not appear in the game.

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National League National League at American League American League July 13, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E National League (NL) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 10 0 American League (AL) 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 x 6 13 0 NATIONAL LEAGUE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Chase Utley (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350 Danny Haren (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Adam Wainwright (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Danny Haren (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Jonathan Broxton (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Danys Baez (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Matt Holliday (RF) 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .289 Ryan Braun (CF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .292 Albert Pujols (1B) 4 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .329 Aramis Ramirez (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .313 Manny Ramirez (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .260 David Wright (DH) 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316 Troy Tulowitzki (SS) 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .347 Chipper Jones (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .291 Geovany Soto (C) 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275 Brian McCann (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .307 Jay Bruce (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302 TOTALS 34 10 1 2 2 2 5 0 2B: Chase Utley HR: Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday HBP: Ryan Braun GDP: Geovany Soto, Brian McCann CS: David Wright DP: Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Troy Tulowitzki ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Tim Lincecum 1.1 6 1 1 3 3 1 49 1.71 Danny Haren 3.2 1 1 0 0 0 0 34 2.97 Adam Wainwright 1.0 3 1 0 2 2 0 23 2.04 Jonathan Broxton 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 1 15 1.47 Danys Baez 1.0 2 1 0 1 1 1 21 3.07 TOTALS 8.0 13 5 1 6 6 3 142 AMERICAN LEAGUE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Jacoby Ellsbury (CF) 5 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 .330 Ben Sheets (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Rafael Soriano (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Andrew Bailey (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Dustin Pedroia (2B) 4 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .338 Nick Markakis (RF) 3 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 .307 Alex Rodriguez (DH) 5 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 .264 Kendry Morales (1B) 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .350 Vladimir Guerrero (LF) 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .334 Miguel Cabrera (P) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .339 Adrian Beltre (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .323 Victor Martinez (C) 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .339 Erick Aybar (SS) 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .320 TOTALS 34 13 5 6 1 6 3 0 2B: Kendry Morales HR: Jacoby Ellsbury GDP: Alex Rodriguez CS: Erick Aybar DP: Kendry Morales, Dustin Pedroia 2, Adrian Beltre, Erick Aybar, Ben Sheets ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Josh Beckett 5.0 5 0 1 1 1 2 84 3.24 Ben Sheets 2.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 26 2.94 Rafael Soriano 1.1 3 0 0 0 0 2 25 1.41 Andrew Bailey 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 1.76 TOTALS 9.0 10 1 2 2 2 5 144 WP: Josh Beckett LP: Tim Lincecum SV: Andrew Bailey Temperature: 77F Wind: 4 MPH (in from center) Attendance: 45,050 Time: 2:52

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Final Record
Twins 86-76 10 game lead over Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians