Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

The first win of Hanson's Twins career is a big One!

Hanson made the first win of his Twins career a big one. Hanson went seven innings, allowed only two runs, and struck out five Yankee hitters en route to the win. Conversely, Jeremy Bleich lasted only four innings before giving up five runs to our offense.

Jason Kubel and Joe Mauer shouldered the load offensively. Kubel hit his 17th home-run of the season and drove in three runs, while Mauer drove in two runs on two hits in four AB's.

Sergio Romo pitched two innings and allowed just one hit to end the game.

In game three of the series we'll turn to Scott Baker to try to guarantee ourselves at least a series win, with the chance at a four-game sweep over the Wild Card leading Yank's.

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Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees July 23, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 6 10 1 Yankees (NYY) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 5 2 0 2 0 0 1 2 .303 Jemile Weeks (2B) 3 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 .299 Joe Mauer (C) 4 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 .311 Thomas Neal (LF) 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .296 Jason Kubel (DH) 4 2 1 2 1 3 0 0 .301 Adrian Beltre (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249 Hunter Pence (RF) 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .264 J.J. Hardy (SS) 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .265 Aubrey Huff (1B) 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .266 TOTALS 35 10 6 6 1 6 6 3 HR: Jason Kubel (17) GDP: Adrian Beltre, Jason Kubel E: Adrian Beltre MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Tommy Hanson 7.0 5 1 0 2 2 5 109 3.10 Sergio Romo 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 22 4.58 TOTALS 9.0 6 1 0 2 2 6 131 NEW YORK ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Brett Gardner (LF) 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .228 Curtis Granderson (CF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .202 Alex Rodriguez (3B) 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 .286 Mark Teixeira (1B) 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .285 Jesus Montero (DH) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267 Nick Swisher (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .201 Jeff Baker (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .279 Francisco Cervelli (C) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .229 Ramiro Pena (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248 TOTALS 34 6 1 2 0 2 6 1 2B: Mark Teixeira (20), Alex Rodriguez (22) 3B: Brett Gardner (5) HBP: Jeff Baker DP: Mark Teixeira 2, Jeff Baker 2, Ramiro Pena 2 NEW YORK ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Jeremy Bleich 4.0 7 2 0 5 5 1 83 4.19 Mark Melancon 1.1 1 1 1 1 1 0 21 2.31 Royce Ring 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 2 23 5.09 David Robertson 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 2.85 Joe Nathan 0.1 0 3 0 0 0 1 20 4.45 Ivan Nova 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2.70 TOTALS 9.0 10 6 1 6 6 6 162 WP: Tommy Hanson (8-4) LP: Jeremy Bleich (4-3) Temperature: 61F Wind: 6 MPH (out to center) Attendance: 52,325 Time: 3:08

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Nail-biter in New York ends with Twins on Top!

This game came down to the ninth inning. It was tied 5-5 going into the top of the ninth. The inning did not start very promising, with Jason Kubel striking out, but the wheels came off pretty quickly after that. Royce Ring plunked Adrian Beltre for the next batter, and then Hunter Pence capitalized on Ring's error by tearing a triple to the left-field gap to plate Beltre. We were stymied after that, but fortunately we didn't need any more than what we got!

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Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees July 24, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 6 5 0 Yankees (NYY) 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 5 8 0 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 .303 Jemile Weeks (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 .292 Joe Mauer (C) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .306 Thomas Neal (LF) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .293 Jason Kubel (DH) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .297 Adrian Beltre (3B) 3 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 .250 Hunter Pence (RF) 4 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 .264 J.J. Hardy (SS) 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 .266 Aubrey Huff (1B) 4 1 0 1 1 3 0 0 .265 TOTALS 31 5 2 6 2 6 9 2 3B: J.J. Hardy (2), Hunter Pence (1) HR: Aubrey Huff (12), Adrian Beltre (15) HBP: Adrian Beltre, Denard Span MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Scott Baker 4.2 5 2 2 4 4 5 94 3.70 Pat Neshek 2.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 30 4.40 Will Ohman 0.1 2 1 0 1 1 0 16 5.94 Sergio Romo 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 4.55 Jesse Crain 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3.14 Jose Mijares 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13 3.64 TOTALS 9.0 8 3 2 5 5 9 167 NEW YORK ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Brett Gardner (LF) 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .225 Curtis Granderson (CF) 5 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 .202 Alex Rodriguez (3B) 3 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 .289 Mark Teixeira (1B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .283 Jesus Montero (C) 4 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 .276 Nick Swisher (RF) 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .206 Jeff Baker (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .274 Jorge Posada (DH) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .238 Ramiro Pena (SS) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .248 TOTALS 35 8 3 5 2 5 9 0 2B: Ramiro Pena (16), Curtis Granderson (15) HR: Alex Rodriguez (21), Jesus Montero (4) NEW YORK ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Andrew Brackman 6.1 4 2 2 5 5 7 111 5.51 Royce Ring 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 2 30 5.06 Brandon Lyon 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4.28 TOTALS 9.0 5 2 2 6 6 9 152 WP: Jesse Crain (3-3) LP: Royce Ring (1-3) SV: Jose Mijares (12) Temperature: 79F Wind: 8 MPH (in from left) Attendance: 52,325 Time: 3:37

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Yankees salvage game four win in otherwise forgettable Series

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to complete the four-game sweep and take control of the Wild Card. Liriano turned in a brilliant start, going 7.2 innings and allowing just one run on two hits while striking out nine, but we were unable to touch Zach McAllister. McAllister went eight shutout innings and struck out four, and Brandon Lyon pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to lock-down his 21st save of the season.

In spite of the loss we sit six games back of the reeling Tigers for the division, and we knocked the Yankees out of first place in the Wild Card and now sit three games back of our division rival Indians for that distinction.

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Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees July 25, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 Yankees (NYY) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 1 2 0 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .302 Jemile Weeks (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291 Joe Mauer (C) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .303 Thomas Neal (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .289 Jason Kubel (DH) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297 Adrian Beltre (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .247 Hunter Pence (RF) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265 J.J. Hardy (SS) 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .267 Aubrey Huff (1B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .263 TOTALS 31 5 2 0 0 0 6 0 CS: Hunter Pence MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Francisco Liriano 7.2 2 2 1 1 1 9 110 4.73 Will Ohman 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 5.88 TOTALS 8.0 2 2 1 1 1 9 116 NEW YORK ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Brett Gardner (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222 Curtis Granderson (CF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .201 Alex Rodriguez (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .287 Mark Teixeira (1B) 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .281 Jesus Montero (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269 Nick Swisher (RF) 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .207 Jeff Baker (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .270 David Adams (DH) 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 .333 Eduardo Nunez (SS) 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 .297 TOTALS 26 2 2 1 1 1 9 0 HR: Nick Swisher (13) NEW YORK ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Zach McAllister 8.0 5 2 0 0 0 4 120 3.07 Brandon Lyon 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 14 4.15 TOTALS 9.0 5 2 0 0 0 6 134 WP: Zach McAllister (6-2) LP: Francisco Liriano (8-9) SV: Brandon Lyon (21) Temperature: 70F Wind: Calm Attendance: 52,325 Time: 2:43

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

July 26, 2011

Royals 2 - Twins 3

Nick Blackburn puts forth another 7 inning, 1 run performance, and drops his ERA to a measly 3.63 in the process. More than adequate for the man whose been our #5 starter all year.

POTG - N. Blackburn 7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, ER, K

July 27, 2011

Royals 1 - Twins 5

Greinke nearly pitched his fourth complete game shutout of the season, but that was ended when Gabe Gross homered in the top of the ninth. As it was Greinke went all nine innings, allowed only three hits, two walks, and just the one run while striking out seven. Neal provided the fatal blow, launching a Noel Arguelles offering into the stands for a three-run homer in the sixth.

POTG - Z. Greinke CG, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K

July 28, 2011

Royals 0 - Twins 8

Hanson threw a complete game, 3-hit, shutout in just his third start with the Twins, striking out seven in the process. Beltre tied Kubel for the team-lead in homers by hitting his 17th of the season, while Hardy knocked home three runs.

POTG - T. Hanson CG, SHO, 3 H, BB, 7 K

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Minnesota Twins 54-47
6.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
Tied with Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 29, 2011

Rays 1 - Twins 2

The hot streak continues! Baker pitches seven innings of one-run ball for his 9th win of the season. Both the runs came from the bottom of the lineup, with Hardy and Huff driving in a run each.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, ER, 8 K

July 30, 2011

Rays 3 - Twins 5

Liriano evens up his record at 9-9 with this start. He went only five innings, but allowed only two runs despite giving up nine hits. J.J. Hardy cracked his 15th homer of the season and drove in two runs and scored two runs.

POTG - P. Neshek 3 IP, H, 4 K

July 31, 2011

Rays 7 - Twins 10

Blackburn allowed five runs in the first five innings, but fortunately the bullpen was able to stop the bleeding and we were able to push across enough runs to win the game! Neal, Huff, and Denard Span all hit two-run homers to supply most of the offense.

POTG - T. Neal 4-4, BB, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI

August 1, 2011

Rays 4 - Twins 5

Nieve makes the spot start and allows only two runs over five innings. Weeks and Huff drove in a pair of runs each, and Neal went hitless but walked three times in four PA's.

POTG - J. Weeks 2-4, 2 RBI

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Minnesota Twins 58-47
4.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
2.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Woo-hoo! We posted a 20-5 mark in July, got ourselves back in the division race with the struggling Tigers, and took control of the Wild Card lead! The additions of Tommy Hanson and Hunter Pence definitely helped greatly, but I, for one, think that a run like this was inevitable for us. The team could not be playing better right now. Everyone is picking each other up, and that is what is really making this hot streak happen.

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ERA Z. Greinke 2.05 Wins Z. Greinke 12 Saves J. Mijares 15 AVG T. Neal .303 HR 2 tied 17 SB D. Span 20

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Beltre, Adrian MIN 422 104 17 59 .246 .299 .412 3 1 Span, Denard MIN 417 126 6 39 .302 .370 .427 20 4 Huff, Aubrey MIN 382 102 15 56 .267 .316 .437 0 2 Kubel, Jason MIN 363 105 17 71 .289 .349 .482 1 0 Neal, Thomas MIN 333 101 13 54 .303 .444 .480 1 1 Hardy, J.J. MIN 330 87 15 47 .264 .330 .461 1 0 Pence, Hunter MIN 328 86 11 48 .262 .306 .436 3 5 Mauer, Joe MIN 309 89 10 51 .288 .393 .453 2 0 Weeks, Jemile MIN 160 48 1 19 .300 .360 .394 5 0 Morales, Jose MIN 100 26 2 9 .260 .327 .360 1 0 Hanson, Tommy MIN 38 7 0 1 .184 .244 .184 0 0 Thome, Jim MIN 30 5 1 3 .167 .286 .300 0 0 Punto, Nick MIN 26 7 0 4 .269 .387 .346 3 0 Harris, Brendan MIN 25 7 0 2 .280 .357 .360 0 0 Parmelee, Chris MIN 22 6 0 3 .273 .360 .364 0 0 Greinke, Zack MIN 6 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Baker, Scott MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Liriano, Francisco MIN 1 1 0 1 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .500 .000 0 0 Neshek, Pat MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Ohman, Will MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Nieve, Fernando MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Crain, Jesse 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 Hanson, Tommy MIN 22 9 4 2.90 142.2 145 0 1 .200 Greinke, Zack MIN 21 12 5 2.05 153.1 146 0 4 .209 Baker, Scott MIN 21 9 4 3.57 131.0 105 0 3 .249 Liriano, Francisco MIN 21 9 9 4.69 121.0 104 0 0 .268 Blackburn, Nick MIN 16 6 6 3.90 101.2 44 0 0 .272 Neshek, Pat MIN 3 3 2 4.38 61.2 49 0 0 .257 Ohman, Will MIN 2 2 2 5.59 38.2 37 1 0 .295 Nieve, Fernando MIN 1 2 1 4.98 59.2 47 2 0 .301 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 3 3 3.72 46.0 28 15 0 .260 Romo, Sergio MIN 1 3 5 4.45 58.2 67 3 0 .236 Crain, Jesse MIN 1 3 3 3.07 58.2 34 4 0 .225

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Holy cow, what a run! Keep it up... and stay tuned to my dynasty!

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

NICELY DONE, sir! Your Twins might have pulled it off!

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

your on fire!!!! I also like the dynasty ;)

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

I love this dynasty, on a side note I would be ecstatic if the Royals actually made that trade for Greinke. You gave up alot but it looks to be worth it

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francoeurstein

Holy cow, what a run! Keep it up... and stay tuned to my dynasty!

Thanks, and I have been ;).

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

NICELY DONE, sir! Your Twins might have pulled it off!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewing6

your on fire!!!! I also like the dynasty ;)

Thanks guys :). I definitely expected this team to make a run (it's just too talented to play .480-.500 ball all season), but I don't know that I expected anything quite like what I've seen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by titanqb3

I love this dynasty, on a side note I would be ecstatic if the Royals actually made that trade for Greinke. You gave up alot but it looks to be worth it

The Royals are definitely reaping the benefits of the trade too - Kyle Gibson has turned out quite nicely for them. Next season, on the anniversary of the trade, I'm planning on doing a small article to see how it came out for both sides. I almost did it this season, but I decided to put it off a season since it's still a little early to see what Gibson is really gonna do, and because Hicks should be in the majors by next season to give an idea of the type of player he's gonna be. Wilson Ramos also hasn't gotten the playing time to showcase his skills yet.

I don't want to say too much about the players the Royals got until I do the article I'm planning for next season, but I will say this: this trade is looking like it's going to end up coming out very even, which is saying quite a bit when Greinke is posting numbers the likes of which we haven't seen since Pedro was dominating the AL with the Red Sox in the late-90's and early-2000's.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

August 2, 2011

Twins 6 - Angels 4 (in extras)

Some late-inning drama was necessary for us to eke out the win in this game. We tied the game in the ninth on Jason Kubel's RBI triple, and then we won it in extras when Thomas Neal deposited a Fernando Rodney change-up into the seats for a three-run home-run.

POTG - T. Neal 2-4, BB, 2 R, GW 3-R HR

August 3, 2011

Twins 7 - Angels 2

Neal handled every pitcher the Angels threw at him, going 3-5 with a home-run and three RBI. On the mound, Scott Baker and one of his typical starts. He went seven innings, allowed just two runs, and struck out three.

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

August 4, 2011

Twins 10 - Angels 2

Denard Span, Joe Mauer, and Thomas Neal put on an offensive clinic all on their own in this game. Each one of them hit two home-runs and drove home three runs. Mauer also drew two walks and scored three times, while Span and Neal scored only twice each.

POTG - D. Span + J. Mauer + T. Neal 2 HR, 3 RBI each

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Minnesota Twins 61-47
3.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
3.5 GA of Seattle Mariners for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

I can't believe how well we're playing. We're 18-2 in our last 20 games and we're riding a 10-game winning streak. And it's not like we're beating up on helpless teams either. The Rays are leading the AL East, the Yankees are in the Wild Card and division hunt, and the Mariners are right on our tail in the Wild Card chase. The best part of this is that it's not one player that's carrying us right now, everyone is just doing their job and the results are finally showing in the W-L column

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

August 6, 2011

Twins 12 - Rangers 3

Jason Kubel and Adrian Beltre put on a show. They combined to go 6-8 with two walks, six runs, three homers, and 10 RBI.

POTG - A. Beltre 4-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI

August 7, 2011

Twins 1 - Rangers 5

The winning streak is finally snapped at 11 games. Feldman shut us down, allowing only one run over seven innings. Meanwhile Hanson struggled for the first time as a Twin, allowing three runs in 3.2 innings on six hits and three walks. Our lone run came off a Jason Kubel single to score Thomas Neal.

POTG - S. Feldman 7 IP, 7 H, BB, ER, 2 K

August 8, 2011

Twins 1 - Rangers 5

The 11-game winning streak quickly turns into a two-game losing streak. The Rangers homered four times, three of starter Scott Baker alone, en route to the win. Tanner Scheppers pitched seven innings of one-run ball, while allowing only three hits and three walks to us.

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

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Minnesota Twins 62-49
3.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
3.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

August 9, 2011

Twins 5 - Mariners 2

A close game all the way until the end. Joe Mauer launched a three-run homer in the ninth with the game tied at two to give us the win.

POTG - J. Mauer 2-4, 4 RBI, game-winning 3-R home-run in top of ninth inning

August 10, 2011

Twins 1 - Mariners 5

A pretty impressive pitcher's duel that we were unfortunate enough to come out on the losing end of. Blackburn and Cliff Lee both went seven innings, but Lee allowed a single run to Blackburn's three.

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

August 11, 2011

Twins 1 - Mariners 8

The first three pitchers of the game, Nieve, Ohman, and Neshek, allowed eight runs combined over just five innings. Although Jesse Crain was able to get the game under control for the final three innings, our offense couldn't come up with anything, save a solo home-run by J.J. Hardy in the 8th inning.

POTG - R. Rowland-Smith 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, ER, 2 K

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Minnesota Twins 63-51
5.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
1.5 GA of New York Yankees for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We've definitely cooled off, but that was bound to happen eventually. It would've been completely unreasonable to expect my team to play .900 baseball for the final two months of the season. However, we still have the Wild Card lead and we're still well within striking distance of the Tigers. We just need to stop winning one of three, like we have the past two series against the Rangers and Mariners, and start winning two of three and getting a sweep every now and again. The second half of August is gonna be big for us. We play the Tigers for six games, the Yankees for four, and the Indians for three. We really need to play those series well to stay in this thing and make up some ground.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

August 12, 2011

Yankees 2 - Twins 15

What a smokeshow! The big inning was the fifth, during which we scored 9 of our 15 runs. Pence delivered a three-run blast in the inning, and Morales, Beltre, Span, and Weeks all contributed with RBI hits.

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

August 13, 2011

Yankees 11 - Twins 7

Brett Gardner tripled to lead off the game, and it was all downhill from there. Tommy Hanson failed to record an out in the game, before getting pulled after allowing six runs capped off by a grand slam to Nick Swisher. The bullpen was able to stop the bleeding for the most part, and a sixth inning grand slam by Adrian Beltre made it close. But the performance, or lack thereof, by Hanson was too much to overcome.

POTG - N. Swisher 2-3, BB, R, HR, 5 RBI

August 14, 2011

Yankees 7 - Twins 8 (in extras)

The game started off a little rocky, as we allowed six runs in the first four innings, but we were able to come back and win it in the end. Adrian Beltre was the hero, crushing a David Robertson offering into the left-field stands in the bottom of the 11th for the walk-off homer.

POTG - A. Beltre 2-6, walk-off homer in 11th

August 15, 2011

Yankees 3 - Twins 4 (in extras)

Another extra-inning squeaker. Aubrey Huff grounded into a double play with a man on third in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and send it to extras. Then we scored the winning run in the 10th on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Hunter Pence.

POTG - H. Pence 1-4, game-winning bases-loaded walk in 10th inning

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Minnesota Twins 66-52
4.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
2.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We were able to retain our Wild Card lead and stay in good shape to make a run at the division by handling our business against the Yankees. Six of our next 12 games are against the Tigers, so we've got a big two weeks coming up. Fortunately, though, it should work out so that Greinke and Hanson pitch in each of the series against the Tigers. (

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

August 17, 2011

Tigers 3 - Twins 14

Greinke pitched a solid game for his 14th win of the season, going six innings and allowing only three runs while striking out eight. With Greinke on the mound, Joe Mauer was the designated hitter, and hit he did. Mauer had three hits in five at bats, drew a walk, scored twice, and drove in four runs.

POTG - J. Mauer 3-5, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI

August 18, 2011

Tigers 0 - Twins 2

For some reason my manager (the AI) decided it would be a good idea to have Greinke start two games in a row, but luckily it worked out. Greinke collected his 15th win by going eight innings, giving up two hits and no runs, while striking out eight. The only two runs of the game came on a 4th inning two-run jack by Thomas Neal.

POTG - Z. Greinke 8 IP, 2 H, BB, 0 ER, 8 K

August 19, 2011

Tigers 4 - Twins 5

We pulled off the sweep! Hanson went six innings and allowed three runs, while Mauer and Neal both hit home-runs and drove in two runs. The win pulls us to just one game back of the Tigers for first place!

POTG - MIN bullpen W. Ohman + J. Crain + S. Romo + J. Mijares 4 IP, H, 3 BB, ER, 3 K

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Minnesota Twins 69-52
1.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
4.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

August 20, 2011

White Sox 0 - Twins 8

Jemile Weeks homered and drove in three runs in support of Scott Baker. Baker pitched the shutout, giving up eight hits and a walk while striking out eight over all nine innings.

POTG - S. Baker CG, SHO, 8 H, BB, 8 K

August 21, 2011

White Sox 9 - Twins 0

Liriano and Nieve combined to allow seven runs before the end of the fourth inning. Opposite them was Daniel Hudson, who went 8.1 shutout innings before coming out of the game for the White Sox.

POTG - D. Hudson 8.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 4 K

August 22, 2011

White Sox 1 - Twins 5

Huff, Pence, and Kubel all homered in the win. Pence's homer was his sixth in 36 games since joining us in a trade from the Red Sox, which is only two less than he hit in 62 games with them.

POTG - N. Blackburn CG, 6 H, BB, ER, 5 K

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Minnesota Twins 71-53
2.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
5.0 GA of Toronto Blue Jays for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

August 23, 2011

Twins 5 - Indians 2

Greinke pitched 7.1 innings of two-run ball with 7 K's. The win pulls us back to within a game of first place for the AL Central lead.

POTG - Z. Greinke 7.1 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 7 K

August 24, 2011

Twins 0 - Indians 5

Hagadone continues to baffle anyone of my batters who steps to the plate against him. He pitched eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts. Everytime we had an opportunity against him, he just buckled down and got the job done, much to my annoyance.

POTG - N. Hagadone 8 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 8 K

August 25, 2011

Twins 2 - Indians 8

Baker allowed six runs in just five innings for his sixth loss of the season. After winning the series the Indians remain five games back of me in the Wild Card hunt.

POTG - R. Theriot 1-3, 3-R HR

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Minnesota Twins 72-55
2.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
4.0 GA of Toronto Blue Jays for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

August 27, 2011

Twins 4 - Tigers 9

We got off to a fast start with a three-run first inning. But Liriano gave up a grand slam in the third and it was all over after that.

POTG - W. Ramirez 3-4, BB, R, HR, 4 RBI

August 28, 2011

Twins 2 - Tigers 3

Greinke pitched very well, allowing only two earned runs over seven innings and striking out eight. However, an Adrian Beltre error proved costly and led to an unearned run for our ace and made the difference in the game.

POTG - J. Turner 7 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 6 K

August 29, 2011

Twins 7 - Tigers 2

We managed to avoid the sweep with a lot of home-runs from out hitters, and a lot of strikeouts by Tommy Hanson. Hanson went 6.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs on five hits and four walks, striking out a season-high 12 batters in the process. At the plate, we got homers from Huff, Beltre, Neal, and Kubel.

POTG - T. Hanson 6.2 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 ER, 12 K

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Minnesota Twins 73-57
4.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
4.5 GA of Boston Red Sox for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Well we didn't play the Tigers well the second time around. But we've still got plenty of time to overtake them in the division. We play them seven more times before the season ends on September 3rd. Our schedule for the last month of the season looks to be pretty rough. We have games against the division leading A's, the WC contending Indians, the Tigers who we are of course chasing, and the Blue Jays who are chasing us.

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ERA Z. Greinke 2.12 Wins Z. Greinke 16 Saves J. Mijares 20 AVG T. Neal .312 HR A. Beltre 22 SB D. Span 23

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Span, Denard MIN 519 157 10 50 .303 .378 .434 23 7 Beltre, Adrian MIN 509 127 22 78 .250 .299 .428 5 1 Huff, Aubrey MIN 472 119 18 63 .252 .305 .411 0 2 Kubel, Jason MIN 463 129 20 89 .279 .341 .460 1 0 Neal, Thomas MIN 423 132 20 74 .312 .446 .511 1 1 Hardy, J.J. MIN 420 102 19 57 .243 .315 .433 1 0 Pence, Hunter MIN 420 114 14 62 .271 .325 .440 5 6 Mauer, Joe MIN 399 112 15 69 .281 .380 .459 3 0 Weeks, Jemile MIN 264 83 2 27 .314 .380 .402 7 0 Morales, Jose MIN 121 30 2 10 .248 .311 .331 1 0 Thome, Jim MIN 48 8 1 4 .167 .298 .250 0 0 Hanson, Tommy MIN 38 7 0 1 .184 .244 .184 0 0 Harris, Brendan MIN 27 9 0 3 .333 .400 .407 0 0 Punto, Nick MIN 26 7 0 4 .269 .387 .346 3 0 Parmelee, Chris MIN 22 6 0 3 .273 .360 .364 0 0 Greinke, Zack MIN 6 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Baker, Scott MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Liriano, Francisco MIN 1 1 0 1 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .500 .000 0 0 Neshek, Pat MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Ohman, Will MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Nieve, Fernando MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Crain, Jesse 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 Hanson, Tommy MIN 28 10 7 3.57 169.0 178 0 1 .218 Greinke, Zack MIN 26 16 6 2.12 187.0 184 0 4 .210 Baker, Scott MIN 26 11 6 3.89 159.2 126 0 4 .258 Liriano, Francisco MIN 26 10 11 5.02 143.1 118 0 0 .275 Blackburn, Nick MIN 19 8 7 3.66 123.0 52 0 1 .270 Neshek, Pat MIN 3 4 2 4.02 78.1 62 1 0 .244 Ohman, Will MIN 2 2 2 4.45 64.2 51 2 0 .259 Nieve, Fernando MIN 2 2 2 5.38 73.2 56 2 0 .321 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 3 3 3.88 53.1 33 20 0 .252 Romo, Sergio MIN 1 7 5 4.29 71.1 77 3 0 .232 Crain, Jesse MIN 1 3 3 2.93 70.2 44 4 0 .224

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

August 31, 2011

A's 4 - Twins 12

The 9-4 hitters of Huff, Span, Weeks, Mauer, and Neal drove in two runs each. Thomas Neal also hit his 21st home-run of the season, one behind Beltre for the team lead.

POTG - T. Neal 3-3, 2 BB, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI

September 1, 2011

A's 12 - Twins 7

We scored four in the bottom of the ninth to make the game somewhat interesting, but ultimately it was just not meant to be.

POTG - T. Neal 3-4, BB, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

September 2, 2011

A's 2 - Twins 10

We had the A's starter, Fautino De Los Santos, out of the game before he even managed to record an out. As for us, Blackburn pitched seven innings of one-run ball and dropped his ERA to 3.53 - pretty impressive for a fifth starter.

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

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Minnesota Twins 75-58
2.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
4.5 GA of Boston Red Sox for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

September 3, 2011

Indians 3 - Twins 9

We had opposing starter Alex White out after just 2.0 innings and six runs. Meanwhile, Greinke earned his 17th win of the season, tying him for the AL-lead with Tigers starter Max Scherzer. Thomas Neal also took over the team-lead in homers by belting his 23rd four-bagger of the season.

POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 4 H, BB, ER, 8 K

September 4, 2011

Indians 7 - Twins 1

Tommy Hanson pitched a solid seven innings of two-run ball, but unfortunately the bullpen failed me and allowed five runs over the final two innings of the game.

POTG - J. Kipnis 1-5, HR, 4 RBI

September 5, 2011

Indians 1 - Twins 5

The win pulls us to within a half game of first place for the division! Baker pitched 6.2 innings of one-run ball to help us to the win, and Aubrey Huff hit his 19th homer of the year.

POTG - S. Baker 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, ER, K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 77-59
0.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
4.5 GA of Boston Red Sox for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

September 6, 2011

Twins 3 - Royals 0

Yes! The win gives us a .5 game lead in the division! Liriano pitches a complete game, four-hit, shutout with four strikeouts, and Neal drives home two runs.

POTG - F. Liriano CG, SGO, 4 H, BB, 4 K

September 7, 2011

Twins 5 - Royals 2

Joe Mauer and Nick Blackburn carried us to victory. Mauer doubled and tripled to drive in two runs, while Blackburn pitched 6.2 innings of two-run baseball for his 10th win of the season.

POTG - N. Blackburn 6.2 IP, 10 H, BB, 2 ER, 4 K

September 8, 2011

Twins 5 - Royals 4

Greinke just missed out on his 18th win of the season due to a minor bullpen meltdown. But we still managed to pull it out in the end and complete the sweep over the Royals and extend our lead in the division to a full game.

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 80-59
1.5 GA of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

It's awesome to finally have first place in the palm of my hand, even if it is by the slimmest of margins. Hopefully we can build and maintain the lead and get into the playoffs as the division leader.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

September 10, 2011

Twins 1 - White Sox 6

Hanson gave us a solid six innings of three-run baseball, but the offense didn't show up to support him and the bullpen had a lapse as well.

POTG - J. Peavy 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, ER, 4 K

September 11, 2011

Twins 2 - White Sox 5

We lose inspite of a good start again. Baker gave us seven solid innings, but it came down to a battle of bullpens, which we will lose 90% of the time, and which we lost again this time.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

September 12, 2011

Twins 2 - White Sox 4

Our bats were just never able to get going in the series. Nevin Griffith pitched seven innings and allowed only two runs to get the win, his 5th of the season.

POTG - N. Griffith 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 0 K

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Minnesota Twins 80-61
1.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
5.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

September 13, 2011

Angels 8 - Twins 6

Blackburn lasted only 3.1 innings before allowing five runs on eight hits and getting pulled out of the game. Weeks homered in the loss.

POTG - K. Morales 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI

September 14, 2011

Angels 1 - Twins 2

A great pitcher's duel to end our four-game losing streak. Both starters (Zack Greinke and Fabio Martinez) went seven innings and allowed only one run, and neither allowed more than four hits or three walks. But it was tied when they left the game, and for once our bullpen was able to hold down the fort and get a win. Brian Stokes gave up the winning run in the 8th when he gave up an RBI single to Adrian Beltre.

POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 4 H, BB, ER, 10 K

September 15, 2011

Angels 6 - Twins 12

The offense slugged it's way to victory. Jemile Weeks and Jason Kubel drove in three runs each, while Weeks hit two home-runs on his way to doing so. Huff hit his 20th homer of the year, and Thomas Neal was the only one not to get a hit, though he did walk three times.

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 82-63
1.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
5.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

September 17, 2011

Tigers 3 - Twins 9

Baker pitched very well, in what is our biggest series of the year to date. He allowed only three runs in seven innings en route to his 14th win of the year. At the same time, Thomas Neal went 2-4 with a homer and drove in a pair of runs while also scoring a pair of runs.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 ER, 5 K

September 18, 2011

Tigers 9 - Twins 3

Verlander completely shut us down. The only run he allowed was a lead-off homer to Denard Span to start the game, and after that it was smooth sailing for him. He went seven, allowed just the one run, and struck out six, and at the same time Liriano couldn't even make it through five before allowing six runs and getting pulled out of the game.

POTG - J. Verlander 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, ER, 6 K

September 19, 2011

Tigers 3 - Twins 2

Blackburn allowed only three runs, all on solo home-runs, in seven innings. But in spite of getting ten hits we struggle to score and ultimately lose the game.

POTG - R. Porcello 6.2 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 83-65
2.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
3.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We're not playing very well right now, and now is not a good time to not be playing well. We're only 3.5 up in the Wild Card, on the eve of a three-game series against the Indians in Cleveland. If we can sweep them or even take 2 of 3 we might just be able to guarantee ourselves at least the Wild Card. After that, we're in Detroit for four games, which figures to be our biggest series of the year.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

September 20, 2011

Twins 2 - Indians 3

We got homers out of Beltre and Pence, and an excellent start out of Greinke, but our bullpen (typically) let us down in the ninth. We allowed them to score in the 8th to tie it, and then again in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off with the win.

POTG - N. Hagadone 6 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, ER, 12 K

September 21, 2011

Twins 2 - Indians 1

We bounce back from the tough loss with a good win. Hanson went 7.1 innings, allowed just one run on six hits, and struck out seven. Harang also gave them a great start, throwing seven innings of one-run ball himself, but the closer, Perez, let the game get away in the ninth. He plunked Jemile Weeks with one out. Weeks then proceeded to steal second and third, before finally scoring on a sac fly by Neal.

POTG - T. Hanson 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, ER, 7 K

September 22, 2011

Twins 4 - Indians 11

Well, at least we avoided getting swept by winning game two. Baker allowed seven runs in four innings of work, six of which came in the fifth inning. Masterson didn't pitch much better (4 R in 4 IP), but the Indians bullpen was able to shut us out over the final four innings of the game, unlike our bullpen who gave up four runs in the final four innings of the game.

POTG - W. Hodges 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 84-67
4.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
2.5 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Oh man, is there a lot riding on this series with the Tigers. If we're realistically gonna win the division we probably have to sweep, and at the very least we need to win 3 of 4. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that Liriano and Blackburn are pitching the first two games of the series, but it is what it is and at least Greinke and Hanson will be making starts in the series.

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September 23, 2011

Twins 4 - Tigers 5

Thomas Neal homered to start the scoring in the second, his 25th of the season, and with the way Liriano pitched we shouldn't have needed much more. But the bullpen came back to bite us in the ass again. Will Ohman gave up a grand slam to Alex Avila after Liriano left the game and we couldn't come back from it.

POTG - F. Liriano 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, ER, 8 K

September 24, 2011

Twins 3 - Tigers 4

Ohman proves his ineptitude, allowing the Tigers to come back from a deficit for the second night in a row, despite a great outing by the starter. And again, we fail to come back from it. With the game tied 3-3 in 14th, pinch-hitter Gustavo Nunez whacked a double to left-field with Alex Avila on second-base, to score the winning run.

POTG - R. Porcello 7 IP, 5 H, BB, 0 ER (2 R), 5 K

September 25, 2011

Twins 7 - Tigers 6

Greinke was as good as ever, recording six punch-outs through the first three innings, and finishing the game with a line of 6.1 innings pitched, 6 hits, two walks, 3 earned runs, and 7 K's. The big difference in the game, however, was Jason Kubel and his sixth inning three-run blast off of Dan Schlereth. Brian Duensing gave me a heart attack in the ninth inning when he gave up a three-run bomb to Clete Thomas, but he settled in and got the outs after that.

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

September 26, 2011

Twins 7 - Tigers 6

With Hanson unable to start due to a minor case of shoulder bursitis, we were faced with the frightening prospect of Brian Duensing starting one of the biggest games of our season. But Duensing surprised us and went out and pitched five innings and gave up one earned run, in spite of nine hits and three walks. He didn't do it on his own, though; Joe Mauer hit a critical three-run homer in the 4th inning, and Will Ohman pitched three shutout innings out of the bullpen.

POTG - W. Ohman 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 0 ER, K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 86-69
4.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
2.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

September 27, 2011

Royals 5 - Twins 7

Hunter Pence led us back from an early 4-1 deficit. Pence started the rally in the third by ripping an RBI double to left field, and then picked it up again in the fifth when he cracked a two-run jack off Kyle Davies.

POTG - H. Pence 3-5, HR, 3 RBI

September 28, 2011

Royals 6 - Twins 3

Liriano was going strong, right up until the fifth inning. He allowed five runs in the inning, after allowing only one up to that point in the game. The 'pen kept us in the game, but we couldn't make the comeback.

POTG - G. Meche 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 3 ER, 5 K

September 29, 2011

Royals 0 - Twins 4

This win all but guarantees us a playoff spot, as we lead the Indians 4.0 games in the Wild Card with four to play. Greinke may well have locked-up the Cy Young for himself, as well. He pitched his 4th shutout of the season, striking out eight in the process.

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 88-70
5.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
4.0 GA of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Wild Card
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

September 30, 2011

Blue Jays 7 - Twins 11

The Minnesota Twins are going to the playoffs for the second season in a row! We had control for most of the game, but the killing blow came in the 8th inning when Jemile Weeks hit a three-run home-run off Casey Janssen to seal the win.

POTG - J. Weeks 3-5, HR, 4 RBI

Blue Jays 1 - Twins 7
Blue Jays 3 - Twins 7
Blue Jays 3 - Twins 8

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 92-70
CLINCHED WILD CARD BERTH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Season review coming up before playoffs.....

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

at least the Tigers didn't choke in this world :)

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Minnesota Twins 2011 Season Review

Thoughts

Well, not exactly how I thought the season would go. I thought we easily had the best team in the division going into the season, and would runaway with the Central. But the Tigers and Indians both surprised me and provided very formidable competition, with the Tigers obviously winning the division and the Indians staying on our tail until the very last series of the year. Regardless, 30 teams started the season with the hopes of being one of eight teams at the end with a shot at the World Series, and we're one of those eight, and you can never be disappointed with that.

One thing we definitely saw this season, is that this team has a very bright future ahead of it. Thomas Neal should be a lock for the AL Rookie of the Year award (given I don't know who else in the league was a rookie this year). He hit .313/.447/.523 with 27 homers and 99 RBI's as a rookie. I don't think I can stress that enough. If he's putting up those kind of numbers as a 23-year old rookie, then I can't wait to see what he's gonna do with a few seasons under his belt. Second baseman Jemile Weeks has also shown a lot of potential since we acquired him from the A's. Rated roughly 80/86 at the time of the trade, his rating shot up to 92/95 a few weeks after the trade. He posted a line of .315/.383/.443 with 8 homers, 49 RBI, and 12 steals in 95 games. Combine that with the veterans we have like Span, Mauer, Greinke, Hanson, Pence, and others, and this team should be great moving forward.

The deadline move in which we acquired Hanson for prospects didn't turn out to be quite as shrewd as we had hoped/thought it would be at first. After posting a sub-1.00 ERA in his first three starts with the team, he finished at 5-5 with a 3.64 ERA as a Twin, and he did win some big games down the stretch for us. Him and Greinke should provide a great 1-2 punch in the playoffs and in future seasons.

Speaking of Greinke, if he doesn't win the AL Cy Young I'm personally demanding that Clay re-write the logic that determines award winners. Greinke posted some of the best numbers we've seen from a pitcher in recent memory. He finished the season at 19-6 with a 2.03 ERA. He logged 231 strikeouts to only 45 walks in 230.1 innings, with a subatomic .206 BAA, and a league-leading 4 shutouts. He finished second in wins to Max Scherzer's 21, first in ERA (Felix Hernandez finished second with a 2.70 mark, yeah, not even close), second in K's to strikeout prodigy Nick Hagadone of Cleveland, and first in innings pitched.

Team Leaders

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ERA Z. Greinke 2.03 Wins Z. Greinke 19 Saves J. Mijares 26 AVG T. Neal .313 HR T. Neal 27 SB D. Span 30

Stats

Batting

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Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS Span, Denard MIN 653 197 12 58 .302 .377 .426 30 7 Beltre, Adrian MIN 640 159 24 94 .248 .300 .408 7 2 Kubel, Jason MIN 592 166 24 116 .280 .340 .456 1 0 Huff, Aubrey MIN 574 142 21 74 .247 .301 .402 0 2 Pence, Hunter MIN 544 146 19 76 .268 .324 .438 6 7 Hardy, J.J. MIN 540 135 23 70 .250 .315 .431 1 0 Neal, Thomas MIN 537 168 27 99 .313 .447 .523 1 1 Mauer, Joe MIN 494 149 20 90 .302 .401 .484 3 1 Weeks, Jemile MIN 400 126 8 49 .315 .383 .443 12 1 Morales, Jose MIN 151 35 2 11 .232 .293 .305 1 0 Thome, Jim MIN 48 8 1 4 .167 .298 .250 0 0 Parmelee, Chris MIN 38 13 1 6 .342 .432 .500 0 0 Hanson, Tommy MIN 38 7 0 1 .184 .244 .184 0 0 Punto, Nick MIN 27 8 0 4 .296 .406 .370 3 0 Harris, Brendan MIN 27 9 0 3 .333 .400 .407 0 0 Greinke, Zack MIN 6 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Baker, Scott MIN 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Blackburn, Nick MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .500 .000 0 0 Liriano, Francisco MIN 1 1 0 1 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 Neshek, Pat MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Ohman, Will MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Nieve, Fernando MIN 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Romo, Sergio MIN 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 Crain, Jesse 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 Hanson, Tommy MIN 33 12 9 3.47 202.1 207 0 1 .213 Greinke, Zack MIN 32 19 6 2.03 230.1 231 0 5 .206 Baker, Scott MIN 33 16 7 4.00 202.1 150 0 4 .258 Blackburn, Nick MIN 25 11 8 3.63 161.0 69 0 1 .272 Liriano, Francisco MIN 33 12 14 4.88 186.1 152 0 1 .267 Neshek, Pat MIN 3 4 4 5.53 86.1 67 1 0 .272 Ohman, Will MIN 2 3 4 5.08 88.2 66 2 0 .282 Nieve, Fernando MIN 2 2 2 5.05 87.1 64 2 0 .307 Mijares, Jose MIN 0 4 3 3.17 65.1 39 26 0 .238 Romo, Sergio MIN 1 8 5 4.65 81.1 87 3 0 .244 Crain, Jesse MIN 1 3 5 3.24 77.2 51 5 0 .236

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Quote:

Originally Posted by jshaw

at least the Tigers didn't choke in this world :)

I wish they had, haha.

They're definitely gonna be tough competition for me in coming seasons, though. They had Wilkin Ramirez break-out and hit 39 homers with an OPS of .963, Miguel hitting like a machine (as always), and four ace-quality pitchers in Verlander, Jered Weaver, Rick Porcello, and Max Scherzer.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

American League Leaders

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Wins M. Scherzer (DET) 21 Z. Greinke (MIN) 19 B. Anderson (OAK) 17 C. Lee (SEA) 17 ERA Z. Greinke (MIN) 2.03 M. Scherzer (DET) 2.70 F. Hernandez (SEA) 2.76 Strikeouts N. Hagadone (CLE) 239 Z. Greinke (MIN) 231 C. Sabathia (NYY) 210 Innings Pitched Z. Greinke (MIN) 230.1 F. Hernandez (SEA) 224.2 J. Beckett (BOS) 222.0 Batting Average J. Ellsbury (BOS) .317 W. Ramirez (DET) .316 D. Pedroia (BOS) .314 Home-runs C. Davis (TEX) 47 M. Teixeira (NYY) 43 M. LaPorta (CLE) 39 RBI C. Davis (TEX) 132 M. LaPorta (CLE) 125 M. Teixiera (NYY) 123 Steals P. Bourjos (LAA) 80 J. Ellsbury (BOS) 71 J. Pierre (CHW) 69

National League Leaders

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Wins T. Lincecum (SFG) 22 A. Wainwright (STL) 19 M. Garza (CHC) 16 C. Carpenter (STL) 16 ERA T. Lincecum (SFG) 2.38 C. Carpenter (STL) 2.43 A. Miller (LAD) 2.65 Strikeouts T. Lincecum (SFG) 271 J. Sanchez (SFG) 247 Y. Gallardo (MIL) 237 Innings Pitched A. Miller (LAD) 227.2 T. Lincecum (SFG) 227.0 J. Garland (SDP) 222.0 Batting Average S. Schumaker (STL) .361 A. Pujols (STL) .352 J. Votto (CIN) .332 Home-runs A. Pujols (STL) 47 M. Reynolds (ARI) 41 A. Dunn (LAD) 40 RBI A. Pujols (STL) 130 I. Stewart (COL) 118 R. Howard (PHI) 115 Steals M. Bourn (HOU) 65 C. Gomez (MIL) 61 J. Reyes (NYM) 59

American League Standings

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1...eenhunter4.jpg

National League Standings

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6...enhunter5u.jpg

Thoughts

A really good AL East race this season. In spite of my Boston fan-dom, I was pulling for the Blue Jays, just because I always like to see non-traditional playoff teams in the playoffs when I play Mogul. It's also good to see some teams that fit that bill in the playoffs on the NL side, in Washington and Pittsburgh.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

With washington in first how did strasburg come along, and nice dynasty and congrats again

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Playoff Match-ups

Oakland A's (96-66) vs. Minnesota Twins (92-70)

Thoughts:

I think we should win this series. They have better individual hitters, but I think we have better hitters from top-to-bottom, and I definitely think we have the better pitching staff.

Detroit Tigers (95-67) vs. Boston Red Sox (86-76)

Thoughts:

It's hard to go against the defending champ's, but that's what I'm gonna do. The Tigers have a really good team and edge the Red Sox in just about every facet.

Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (90-72)

Thoughts:

Going with the Dodgers in a landslide. The Dodgers had three pitchers with ERA's under 3.00 for the season, and although their line-up isn't as balanced as the Pirates, it's still a force to be reckoned with.

St. Louis Cardinals (98-64) vs. Washington Nationals (87-75)

Thoughts:

It's close, but I think I'll take the Nat's. The Nationals have a better rotation 1-5, and I think that will overcome the fact that the Cardinals have a considerably better hitting ball-club.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewing6

With washington in first how did strasburg come along, and nice dynasty and congrats again

Strasburg has come along nicely so far. He's rated at 88/96 with solid all-around vitals. This year, in his first full-season, he went 14-5 in 32 starts with a 3.80 ERA, 213 K's and 62 BB's in 213 innings, and a BAA of .227.

And thanks :).

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Twins lose Game 1 in ten Innings

Greinke started the game a little shaky, allowing a run in the first, but settled down from there. He won the battle of the starters, going 7 innings allowing just one run and striking out eight. Unfortunately the (mothereffing) bullpen blew it again. Romo allowed a game-tying home-run immediately after Greinke came out of the game, and then Mijares gave up the walk-off homer to Travis Buck to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning.

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Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics October 5, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 1 Athletics (OAK) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 6 0 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 5 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .302 Adrian Beltre (3B) 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 .248 Jemile Weeks (2B) 5 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .315 Thomas Neal (LF) 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .313 Hunter Pence (RF) 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .268 Joe Mauer (C) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302 Aubrey Huff (1B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .247 J.J. Hardy (SS) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 Jose Morales (C) 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .232 TOTALS 36 8 5 2 2 2 6 0 2B: Joe Mauer HR: Adrian Beltre, Denard Span CS: Jemile Weeks DP: Aubrey Huff, J.J. Hardy, Zack Greinke E: Aubrey Huff MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Zack Greinke 7.0 4 2 0 1 1 8 100 2.03 Sergio Romo 2.0 1 0 1 1 1 3 23 4.65 Jose Mijares 0.0 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 3.17 TOTALS 9.0 6 2 2 3 3 11 126 OAKLAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Grant Green (SS) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .300 Ryan Sweeney (RF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .289 Michael Taylor (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284 Chris Carter (1B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 .297 Corey Brown (CF) 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .278 Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .253 Travis Buck (DH) 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .240 Aaron Hill (2B) 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .289 Kurt Suzuki (C) 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .306 TOTALS 32 6 2 3 2 3 11 0 2B: Corey Brown HR: Kurt Suzuki, Travis Buck GDP: Kurt Suzuki CS: Aaron Hill DP: Kurt Suzuki, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Corey Brown OAKLAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Brett Anderson 6.0 6 3 2 2 2 3 103 3.39 Joey Devine 2.0 0 1 0 0 0 2 33 3.43 Andrew Bailey 2.0 2 1 0 0 0 1 35 3.39 TOTALS 10.0 8 5 2 2 2 6 171 WP: Andrew Bailey LP: Jose Mijares Temperature: 51F Wind: 5 MPH (in from left) Attendance: 35,067 Time: 3:00

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

A's go up 2-0 on Sheets Masterpiece

We just couldn't figure Ben Sheets out in Game 2. He held us hitless into the sixth inning and finished the game with a line of 8 innings, three hits, two walks, no runs allowed, and six K's. We managed to get two runs in the top of the ninth when Kubel hit a single to left-field with a man on second, and then another on a sac-fly by Adrian Beltre that was nearly the game-tying home-run.

So much for my perception of us as the favorite. We're really against the ropes now.

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Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics October 6, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 0 Athletics (OAK) 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 x 4 9 0 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302 Jemile Weeks (2B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .315 Joe Mauer (C) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .302 Thomas Neal (LF) 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 .313 Jason Kubel (DH) 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .280 Adrian Beltre (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .248 Hunter Pence (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .268 J.J. Hardy (SS) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Chris Parmelee (1B) 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .342 TOTALS 30 5 3 2 0 2 6 0 GDP: Hunter Pence MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Tommy Hanson 6.0 8 0 2 4 4 6 98 3.47 Jesse Crain 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 3 30 3.24 TOTALS 8.0 9 0 2 4 4 9 128 OAKLAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Grant Green (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .300 Ryan Sweeney (RF) 4 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 .289 Michael Taylor (LF) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .284 Chris Carter (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 .297 Corey Brown (CF) 4 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 .278 Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B) 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .253 Travis Buck (DH) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .240 Aaron Hill (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289 Kurt Suzuki (C) 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .306 TOTALS 33 9 0 4 2 4 9 0 2B: Corey Brown, Ryan Sweeney HR: Kevin Kouzmanoff, Ryan Sweeney DP: Chris Carter, Aaron Hill, Kevin Kouzmanoff OAKLAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Ben Sheets 8.0 3 2 0 0 0 6 136 4.22 Michael Wuertz 1.0 2 1 0 2 2 0 22 4.75 TOTALS 9.0 5 3 0 2 2 6 158 WP: Ben Sheets LP: Tommy Hanson Temperature: 59F Wind: 3 MPH (left to right) Attendance: 35,067 Time: 3:07

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Baker keeps Twins alive with Game Three Shutout

Neal got the scoring started with a two-run bomb off Braden in the fourth inning. With the way Baker was going, that was all we needed. Baker pitched a complete game, 4-hit shutout, striking out seven in the process.

I'm currently undecided on whose gonna pitch Game Four at this point. It's either gonna be Blackburn or Liriano, and it's probably gonna come down to who, if either, has pitched better against them this season.

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Oakland Athletics at Minnesota Twins October 8, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Athletics (OAK) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 Twins (MIN) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 x 2 6 0 OAKLAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Grant Green (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .300 Ryan Sweeney (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .289 Michael Taylor (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .284 Chris Carter (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297 Corey Brown (CF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278 Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .253 Travis Buck (DH) 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 .240 Aaron Hill (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .289 Kurt Suzuki (C) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306 TOTALS 31 4 0 0 0 0 7 0 E: Aaron Hill OAKLAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Dallas Braden 7.0 5 0 1 2 1 2 116 3.58 Michael Wuertz 0.2 1 1 0 0 0 0 17 4.75 Fautino De Los Santos 0.1 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 6.38 TOTALS 8.0 6 2 1 2 1 2 139 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302 Jemile Weeks (2B) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .315 Joe Mauer (C) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302 Thomas Neal (LF) 3 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 .313 Jason Kubel (DH) 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .280 Adrian Beltre (3B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .248 Hunter Pence (RF) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .268 J.J. Hardy (SS) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Aubrey Huff (1B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247 TOTALS 31 6 2 2 1 2 2 0 2B: Jemile Weeks HR: Thomas Neal MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Scott Baker 9.0 4 0 0 0 0 7 105 4.00 TOTALS 9.0 4 0 0 0 0 7 105 WP: Scott Baker LP: Dallas Braden Temperature: 43F Wind: 4 MPH (left to right) Attendance: 48,362 Time: 2:26

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

my gut is telling me liriano.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Twins force decisive Game 5!

Blackburn started the game due to good numbers against the A's this season, holding them to a .259/.259/.296 line during the regular season. He started a little shaky, allowing two runs on two homers in the second inning, but settled down from there and finished the game going seven innings and allowing just the two runs.

The bats were definitely the difference in this game, though. Jemile Weeks broke our offense open with a two-run bomb in the third, which Neal followed up with a homer of his own the next inning.

We're turning to the obvious ace of the team Zack Greinke in Game 5. I don't think there's a pitcher in the league anyone would take over Greinke in a game like this.

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Oakland Athletics at Minnesota Twins October 9, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Athletics (OAK) 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0 Twins (MIN) 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 x 6 10 1 OAKLAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Grant Green (SS) 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 Ryan Sweeney (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289 Michael Taylor (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284 Chris Carter (1B) 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .297 Corey Brown (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 .278 Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B) 4 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 .253 Travis Buck (DH) 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .240 Aaron Hill (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289 Kurt Suzuki (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .306 TOTALS 35 10 0 2 2 2 5 0 2B: Grant Green 2 HR: Chris Carter, Kevin Kouzmanoff GDP: Aaron Hill, Travis Buck OAKLAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Trevor Cahill 4.0 6 1 1 4 4 2 81 3.81 Brad Ziegler 1.1 2 1 1 2 2 0 26 2.70 Fautino De Los Santos 2.2 2 2 0 0 0 2 54 6.38 TOTALS 8.0 10 4 2 6 6 4 161 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .302 Jemile Weeks (2B) 3 1 2 2 1 2 0 1 .315 Joe Mauer (C) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .302 Thomas Neal (LF) 4 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 .313 Jason Kubel (DH) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .280 Adrian Beltre (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248 Hunter Pence (RF) 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 .268 J.J. Hardy (SS) 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Aubrey Huff (1B) 4 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .247 TOTALS 34 10 4 6 2 6 4 2 2B: Thomas Neal HR: Jemile Weeks, Thomas Neal DP: Aubrey Huff 2, Jemile Weeks 2, J.J. Hardy, Nick Blackburn E: Thomas Neal MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Nick Blackburn 7.0 10 0 2 2 2 3 103 3.63 Sergio Romo 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 4.65 TOTALS 9.0 10 0 2 2 2 5 125 WP: Nick Blackburn LP: Trevor Cahill Temperature: 41F Wind: 4 MPH (out to right) Attendance: 48,678 Time: 2:49

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Twins fall despite Greinke's Gem

Wow. If we had gotten any smidgen of offense we'd be going to the ALCS. I literally could not have asked for a better start out of Greinke. He pitched 11 innings, allowed just one run, seven hits, one walk, and struck out 10 batters. But he was over 140 pitches and I couldn't bring myself to leave him out there any longer. I brought in the normally reliable Jesse Crain, and on the first pitch after Greinke's departure from the game Crain allowed Travis Buck to hit his second walk-off home-run of the series.

Better luck next season, I guess :(.....

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Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics October 11, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Twins (MIN) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 Athletics (OAK) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 8 0 MINNESOTA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Denard Span (CF) 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302 Jemile Weeks (2B) 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .315 Joe Mauer (C) 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .302 Thomas Neal (LF) 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .313 Hunter Pence (RF) 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 .268 J.J. Hardy (SS) 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Adrian Beltre (3B) 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .248 Brendan Harris (1B) 5 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .333 Jose Morales (C) 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .232 TOTALS 40 7 5 1 0 1 7 0 2B: J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris GDP: Denard Span CS: J.J. Hardy E: Jose Morales MINNESOTA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Zack Greinke 11.0 7 1 0 1 1 10 145 2.03 Jesse Crain 0.0 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 3.24 TOTALS 11.0 8 1 1 2 2 10 148 OAKLAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Nyjer Morgan (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .285 Ryan Sweeney (RF) 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .289 Michael Taylor (LF) 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284 Chris Carter (1B) 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 .297 Grant Green (SS) 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B) 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 .253 Travis Buck (DH) 5 1 0 1 1 1 3 0 .240 Aaron Hill (2B) 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .289 Kurt Suzuki (C) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306 TOTALS 41 8 1 2 1 2 10 0 2B: Aaron Hill, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Michael Taylor, Ryan Sweeney HR: Travis Buck DP: Chris Carter, Aaron Hill, Kevin Kouzmanoff OAKLAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Brett Anderson 6.0 6 3 0 1 1 2 114 3.39 Joey Devine 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 1 13 3.43 Michael Wuertz 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 33 4.75 Andrew Bailey 2.0 0 1 0 0 0 3 35 3.39 Brad Ziegler 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 2.70 TOTALS 12.0 7 5 0 1 1 7 210 WP: Brad Ziegler LP: Jesse Crain Temperature: 58F Wind: 2 MPH (out to center) Attendance: 35,067 Time: 3:35

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

A's win World Series in seven Games!

http://images.dailyme.com/assets/2010050900001762.jpg

The A's clinched the World Series title with their Game 7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Title is the 10th in their franchise history.

It was not an easy road to for the A's, as the Twins took them to 5 games in the ALDS, and the Tigers took them to six in the LCS. They then had to win games six and seven against the Cardinals on the road.

Dallas Braden gave the A's a great start, going five innings and allowing only one run.

OOC: At least we lost to the eventual World Series champs.....again.

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Oakland Athletics at St. Louis Cardinals November 2, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Athletics (OAK) 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 8 9 0 Cardinals (STL) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 2 OAKLAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Nyjer Morgan (CF) 5 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .285 Ryan Sweeney (RF) 5 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 .289 Michael Taylor (LF) 5 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 .284 Chris Carter (1B) 3 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 .297 Grant Green (SS) 4 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 .300 Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B) 4 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 .253 Aaron Hill (2B) 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 .289 Kurt Suzuki (C) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .306 Dallas Braden (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 Henry Rodriguez (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Travis Buck (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .240 Josh Outman (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 TOTALS 35 9 2 8 1 8 9 0 2B: Kevin Kouzmanoff, Michael Taylor 2, Nyjer Morgan HR: Chris Carter HBP: Kurt Suzuki, Aaron Hill GDP: Chris Carter CS: Nyjer Morgan DP: Chris Carter 2, Aaron Hill 3, Grant Green OAKLAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Dallas Braden 5.0 8 4 0 1 1 4 96 3.58 Henry Rodriguez 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 4.18 Josh Outman 3.0 0 4 0 0 0 2 49 4.09 TOTALS 9.0 8 8 0 1 1 7 155 ST. LOUIS ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Erick Aybar (SS) 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .261 Skip Schumaker (2B) 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .361 Matt Holliday (LF) 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 .294 Albert Pujols (1B) 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 .352 David Freese (3B) 5 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 .282 Colby Rasmus (CF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .280 Jeff Francoeur (RF) 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295 Yadier Molina (C) 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291 Lance Lynn (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .132 Corey Hart (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .284 Carlos Marmol (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Blake Hawksworth (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 Tyler Greene (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .236 TOTALS 32 8 8 1 0 1 7 0 2B: Matt Holliday 2 GDP: Yadier Molina, David Freese DP: Albert Pujols, Skip Schumaker, Erick Aybar E: David Freese, Jeff Francoeur ST. LOUIS ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Lance Lynn 6.0 5 2 0 3 3 2 79 3.92 Carlos Marmol 1.0 3 0 1 5 5 3 30 2.95 Blake Hawksworth 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 4 30 3.31 TOTALS 9.0 9 2 1 8 8 9 139 WP: Dallas Braden LP: Lance Lynn SV: Josh Outman Temperature: 33F Wind: 3 MPH (in from left) Attendance: 43,975 Time: 3:02

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

darn man, tough luck again, BTW is chris carter like a 98, because he jumps like a monster from limited sims I've seen.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewing6

darn man, tough luck again, BTW is chris carter like a 98, because he jumps like a monster from limited sims I've seen.

Yeah, he is. He actually played like crap in the series against us. But he won the AL MVP.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Off-season - First Edition

The first order of business with the off-season was to deal with re-signings. Here's how we came out (notable contracts only):

1B Aubrey Huff - Released
INF Alexi Casilla - Awarded 1 mil for one year
CL Jose Mijares - Awarded 2.5 mil for one year
RP Sergio Romo - Awarded 3 mil for one year
RP Pat Neshek - Awarded 900 K for one year

Huff had good counting stats for us, but his rate stats were horrendous. He finished the year with an OPS barely above .700, which, taking into account position, is God-awful. The rest is pretty much cut and dry. We kept the two most talented bullpen pitchers we have at a reasonable price, and another couple role players.

Next up, we went right to work at getting a new deal for Greinke, as his was due to expire at the end of 2012. I wasn't so sure we were gonna be able to do it, as he was asking for nearly 30 million per year for five years to start, but we managed to talk him down and keep him. His new contract is worth 23 million dollars per year over five years, and includes a team option for a sixth year at 29 million. I'm not sure where that ranks among deals for pitchers, but I'd imagine it's right up there.

Now we have to look at what we want to bring in. First base is an obvious hole, but Chris Parmelee experience a sudden and dramatic ratings boost near the end of last season, and is now rated as an 86/92. Ryan Howard is also on the market, but by comparing their vitals and ratings, I think we'd get basically the same production from Parmelee that we would from Howard, and at a very small fraction of the cost. Regardless, Howard does remain an option. After first base, I'm not really sure what we need.

Kubel isn't that highly rated, but he's been extremely productive. But it still couldn't hurt to bring in some insurance in case his ratings start to catch up with him.

Other than him, Beltre may be the one hole on offense. He hit 24 home-runs and played Gold Glove defense, but he managed only a .708 OPS. Only problem is, there aren't any third baseman available in free agency, and I doubt I could get anyone to take his contract and still be able to acquire an upgrade. Maybe Hardy could play 3B and I could sign Alexei Ramirez or Jimmy Rollins to play short? Only problem is I'm hesitant to do that for a few reasons. First off, Hardy is a fantastic defender at shortstop; secondly, after giving Greinke that massive contract, I'm not sure I can afford to bring in any impact free agents without unloading another contract; and lastly, I'd rather allocate any money I can use to improve the bullpen and starting rotation.

That brings me to the next point - the pitching. Our top three starters are good, great if you ask me, but after that there's a drop off. Liriano can be great, but he's inconsistent, and I doubt Blackburn can replicate the success he had this season. I'd like to pick up at least one starter via signing/trade. Lincecum is on the free agent market, but I don't think there's a chance in hell we'll be able to afford him, as he's gonna be looking for at least what Greinke is making, and probably more. I'm definitely gonna try to cut a good deal of payroll to make a run at Lincecum, however. If for no other reason than to drive up the price on the Tigers, who appear to be a heavy suitor at this early stage of the game. Other names we could pursue are:

Cole Hamels 88 - 9-11 W-L, 3.73 ERA, 217.1 IP, 47 BB, 192 K, .233 BAA w/ Phillies in 2011
Aaron Cook 77 - 7-15 W-L, 5.87 ERA, 141 IP, 51 BB, 52 K, .302 BAA w/ Rockies in 2011
Mark Buehrle 76 - 4-17 W-L, 5.42, 176 IP, 57 BB, 91 K, .287 BAA w/ White Sox in 2011

Yeah, the pitching market is bare. However, I think Buehrle and Cook could still do something if they were playing on a good team with an above-average defense, which (surprise!) we have.

The bullpen is another area of concern, but there are plenty of arms on the market for that. We could go after Joakim Soria 90, Ryan Madson 84, Manny Corpas 80, Nick Masset 78, and Mike Gonzalez 76, among others on that front.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

With eyes set on Lincecum, Twins make pair of trades to free up Payroll

With the intention of making a serious run at Tim Lincecum, we made a pair of trades to free up some payroll space, dealing Beltre, Kubel, and Liriano away.

The first trade will send LF Jason Kubel and SP Francisco Liriano to San Diego. In exchange we pick up third baseman Chase Headley. The trade makes sense for both us because it gives us a replacement for Beltre, and it clears about $10 million in payroll. It makes sense for the Padres because they had no need for Headley with James Darnell 96/100 on the roster, and it gives them a solid innings eater and a good outfield bat.

The second brings in Jamie Hoffman from the Dodgers, for Adrian Beltre, Adrian Salcedo, and a small amount of cash. We were not gonna be able to make a serious run at Lincecum if we didn't unload Beltre's contract, so we packaged a decent prospect (Salcedo) to LA for some payroll flexibility, and a guy who should be able to step into the DH role and put up some okay numbers.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Twins make splash of the off-season by signing Tim Lincecum

If this doesn't give us the best rotation in baseball, I don't know what will. The deal extends through 2016 and is worth a cool 24.16 million dollars per season. We had to get into a nasty bidding-war with the Tigers before we could close the deal, but there is no way I was gonna let Lincecum pitch for another team in the AL Central.

We basically have no money left to play with to address the bullpen, but I think the addition of a 27 year-old pitcher whose already won 3 Cy Young awards and made the All-Star team every year he's been in the majors is worth it.

Guilty conscience side note: The original deal was worth $73,550,000 per year for five years, but after I re-calculated contracts, as I do regularly throughout every off-season (so teams don't get hamstrung with wildly overpaid contracts that can result from the new FA-bidding system), it reduced his contract to the above amount. What do you guys think, should I increase his contract some to compensate for the fact that the Tigers were willing to pay him more than what he got after I recalc'd salaries? Or no, since he would've ended up making the same, even if he had signed with the Tigers?

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

2011 Award Rundown

American League

Cy Young Award - MIN SP Zack Greinke 32 GS, 19-6 W-L, 2.03 ERA, 230.1 IP, 45 BB, 231 K, .206 BAA, 5 CG, 4 SHO
MVP Award - OAK 1B Chris Carter 157 G, .297/.452/.580, 35 HR, 119 RBI
Rookie of the Year - MIN LF Thomas Neal 150 G, .313/.447/.523, 27 HR, 99 RBI
Gold Gloves - MIN P Zack Greinke, OAK C Kurt Suzuki, BOS 1B Kevin Youkilis, OAK 2B Aaron Hill, SEA 3B Chone Figgins, CHW SS Alexei Ramirez, OAK OF Ryan Sweeney, MIN OF Hunter Pence, BAL OF Nick Markakis

National League

Cy Young Award - SFG SP Tim Lincecum 34 GS, 22-5 W-L, 2.38 ERA, 227.0 IP, 67 BB, 271 K, .198 BAA, 3 CG, 3 SHO
MVP Award - STL 1B Albert Pujols 162 G, .352/.486/.664, 47 HR, 130 RBI
Rookie of the Year - NYM 2B Reese Havens 127 G, .262/.374/.478, 23 HR, 81 RBI
Gold Gloves - LAD P Aaron Miller, STL C Yadier Molina, STL 1B Albert Pujols, WSN 2B Orlando Hudson, WSN 3B Ryan Zimmerman, ARI SS Stephen Drew, NYM OF Jason Bay, SDP OF Will Venable, MIL OF Ryan Braun

Same Faces, New Places

1B Ryan Howard - $10.2 million per year for 4 years with Chicago White Sox
RF J.D. Drew - $7.2 million per year for 2 years with Washington Nationals
CF Carlos Beltran - $4.1 million per year for 3 years with Atlanta Braves
SP Cole Hamels - $8.5 million per year for 4 years with Oakland A's
CL Joakim Soria - $7.3 million per year for 3 years with Detroit Tigers
SS Alexei Ramirez - $9.5 million per year for 3 years with Chicago Cubs
2B Robinson Cano - $2.65 million per year for 4 years with Florida Marlins

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Mauer trade on Horizon?

I've made a large number of impact trades and/or signings since taking over the Twins and starting this dynasty, and I still don't have my team quite the way I want it. Trading Joe Mauer could be the answer to that. He's due 16.4 all the way through until 2018, and with almost 50 million invested in the combination of Greinke and Lincecum, I don't relish the idea of having another 16 million tied up in one player, especially for six more years. His offense is valuable at catchers, but he may be approaching that age, at 28 years old, where the toll of catching starts to catch up with him and a position switch to first base is in order. The problem, however, is replacing his defense behind the plate. He's a Gold Glove caliber defensive catcher, and those aren't exactly a dime a dozen. I'd like to swing Mauer for a young, cheap, talented first or third baseman. I'd then flip Parmelee for a catcher.

For Mauer, I've had Toronto offer me 25 year old first baseman David Cooper. Cooper is making the minimum 420K until 2014, and is an excellent player both offensively and defensively at first base. He's got 90 contact, 87 power, 87 eye, 85 arm, 96 range, 81 fielding ratings, and I feel like he could replace Mauer's production. But the only decent catcher I've been offered for Parmelee is Hank Conger, who is not what I'm looking for defensively. I'm gonna look into swinging a deal, for Yadier Molina, though. If I can get Molina off the Cardinals and send Mauer to the Blue Jays for Cooper, consider this a done deal.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

you should give Tim to the Tigers :)

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Quote:

Originally Posted by jshaw

you should give Tim to the Tigers :)

No thanks, lol. I was not willing to have him on a division foe.

Re: Minnesota - The Mauer Years

Twins send fan favorite Mauer to Blue Jays

After giving Greinke and Lincecum two of the richest deals even given to pitchers in Major League Baseball, I immediately started exploring ways to unload Mauer's enormous contract. With Mauer on the team, I had over half my payroll tied up in three players (Greinke, Lincecum, and Mauer combined for almost 70 million dollars in payroll). I could see that Neal was the future of the team as a hitter, and I wanted to make sure I would have space to re-sign him when he undoubtedly asks for a massive contract after his arbitration years are up in a couple years.

After some painstaking finagling and getting shot down on multiple other offers, this is what I came up with. I will send Joe Mauer 96 to the Blue Jays in return for first baseman David Cooper 89 and reliever Daniel Farquhar 76, and I then send Jamie Hoffman 78 and Jesse Crain 81 to the A's for Gold Glove catcher Kurt Suzuki 79.

I felt like Cooper could probably replace Joe's production on his own, and even if he couldn't the continued maturation of Thomas Neal should more than make up for Joe's departure. As such, my main concern with dealing Mauer was acquiring a capable defensive catcher, and who better than the reigning AL Gold Glove winner at catcher. The A's get a reliable bullpen arm and a good depth outfielder/DH for the sure-handed Suzuki. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays get one of the best players in the game, and almost assuredly the best catcher in the game, for an All-Star level first baseman.