Minnesota - The Mauer Years

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Twins get roughed up 12-2, trail series 2-0

Red Sox lead series 2-0

Absolutely nothing went right in this game. Liriano was out after 3.1 innings and giving up five runs, and Pavano did nothing to stem the tide by coming in and pitching an inning and letting up six runs. Meanwhile we had all we could do to get runners on base against John Lackey, who went six innings and allowed just two runs on five hits and three walks.

Things are definitely not looking good. We're really gonna have to pull something out if we're gonna get back in this series. Fortunately the series is now headed back to Minnesota for the next two games.

Player of the Game - Jacoby Ellsbury 3-5, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI

Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox
October 8, 2010

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
         Twins (MIN) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0    2 10  1
       Red Sox (BOS) 1 1 0 3 6 0 0 1 x   12 17  0

MINNESOTA                    ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Denard Span (CF)              3  2  2  0  0  0  0  0    .301
Orlando Hudson (2B)           5  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .264
Justin Morneau (1B)           5  1  0  1  0  0  0  0    .286
Joe Mauer (C)                 5  2  0  1  0  0  0  0    .326
Jason Kubel (LF)              4  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .298
Jim Thome (DH)                3  1  1  0  0  0  1  0    .264
Michael Cuddyer (RF)          3  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .280
J.J. Hardy (SS)               4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .265
Nick Punto (3B)               4  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .260
TOTALS                       36 10  3  2  0  2  5  0

   2B:  Joe Mauer, Nick Punto

   DP:  Joe Mauer, Nick Punto, Denard Span
   E:  Jason Kubel

               MINNESOTA   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       Francisco Liriano  3.1  8  2  2  5  5  2  74   4.14
             Carl Pavano  1.0  6  0  0  6  6  1  42   4.85
          Nick Blackburn  3.2  3  0  0  1  1  3  53   4.30
                  TOTALS  8.0 17  2  2 12 12  6 169

BOSTON                       ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Jacoby Ellsbury (LF)          5  3  0  3  1  3  1  0    .310
Hunter Pence (RF)             4  3  0  1  0  1  0  0    .273
Dustin Pedroia (2B)           5  2  0  1  0  1  1  0    .339
Kevin Youkilis (1B)           2  1  2  0  0  1  0  0    .303
Victor Martinez (C)           5  3  0  1  0  2  1  0    .303
Adrian Beltre (3B)            3  0  0  1  0  1  1  0    .299
J.D. Drew (DH)                5  2  0  1  0  0  1  0    .307
Mike Cameron (CF)             5  1  0  2  1  1  1  0    .268
Marco Scutaro (SS)            4  2  0  2  0  2  0  1    .291
TOTALS                       38 17  2 12  2 12  6  1

   2B:  Victor Martinez 2, Jacoby Ellsbury, Hunter Pence
   HR:  Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron
   HBP:  Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre, Hunter Pence
   CS:  Hunter Pence

                  BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
             John Lackey  6.0  5  3  0  2  2  4 110   4.71
             Boof Bonser  3.0  5  0  0  0  0  1  52   6.73
                  TOTALS  9.0 10  3  0  2  2  5 162

     WP: John Lackey
     LP: Francisco Liriano
     SV: Boof Bonser

     Temperature: 42F
     Wind: Calm
     Attendance: 37,400
     Time: 3:23

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Red Sox sweep Twins, advance to ALCS

Red Sox win series 3-0

We started the game strong, going up 3-0 in the second inning. But it all fell apart in the fourth when Scott Baker suddenly lost the strike zone and allowed four runs in the inning. Jon Lester managed to settle in after his rough second inning and allowed just the three runs over six innings of work while striking out six.

Our season comes to a premature end. Now it's time for us to start looking toward the off-season and figuring out what we're gonna do. It shouldn't take much for us to get over the hump and put together a serious championship contender. We do have some big free agents up this season, namely Liriano and Hardy, so we'll have to get them locked up and go from there.

Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins
October 10, 2010

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0    6  7  0
         Twins (MIN) 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0    3  6  0

BOSTON                       ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Jacoby Ellsbury (LF)          5  2  0  1  0  0  1  0    .310
J.D. Drew (RF)                3  0  1  2  0  0  0  1    .307
Dustin Pedroia (2B)           5  1  0  1  0  1  1  0    .339
Kevin Youkilis (1B)           5  2  0  2  1  2  2  0    .303
David Ortiz (DH)              4  2  0  0  0  1  0  0    .232
Victor Martinez (C)           2  0  2  0  0  0  2  0    .303
Adrian Beltre (3B)            3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .299
Mike Cameron (CF)             3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .268
Marco Scutaro (SS)            3  0  1  0  0  1  1  0    .291
TOTALS                       33  7  6  6  1  5  9  1

   HR:  Kevin Youkilis
   HBP:  J.D. Drew
   GDP:  J.D. Drew

                  BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
              Jon Lester  6.0  6  2  1  3  3  6 108   5.03
          Hideki Okajima  2.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  21   4.16
       Jonathan Papelbon  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  3  12   2.69
                  TOTALS  9.0  6  2  1  3  3 10 141

MINNESOTA                    ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Denard Span (CF)              4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .301
Orlando Hudson (2B)           4  3  0  0  0  2  0  0    .264
Justin Morneau (1B)           4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .286
Joe Mauer (C)                 4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .326
Jason Kubel (LF)              4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .298
Jim Thome (DH)                4  1  0  1  1  1  2  0    .264
Michael Cuddyer (RF)          3  1  1  1  0  0  1  0    .280
J.J. Hardy (SS)               4  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .265
Nick Punto (3B)               2  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .260
TOTALS                       33  6  2  3  1  3 10  0

   2B:  J.J. Hardy
   HR:  Jim Thome

   DP:  Justin Morneau, Orlando Hudson, J.J. Hardy

               MINNESOTA   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
             Scott Baker  3.2  5  3  0  4  4  3  80   3.66
               Jon Rauch  1.1  1  2  0  0  0  2  37   3.99
             Jesse Crain  2.0  1  1  1  2  2  3  30   4.00
              Pat Neshek  2.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  28   3.54
                  TOTALS  9.0  7  6  1  6  6  9 175

     WP: Jon Lester
     LP: Scott Baker
     SV: Jonathan Papelbon

     Temperature: 37F
     Wind: 5 MPH (right to left)
     Attendance: 48,678
     Time: 3:17

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Red Sox win third World Series in seven Years!

It came down to an '04 World Series rematch, which the Sox again won. The Cardinals had control of the series on multiple occasions, but just couldn't get that final fourth win.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

The Offseason

Resignings

2B Orlando Hudson - Released
DH Jim Thome - Released
SS J.J. Hardy - Signed 4-year extension at 6,000,000 per year (24 million total)
LF Jason Kubel - Signed a 3-year extension at 6,550,000 per year (19.65 million total)
CF Jason Repko - Awarded 1,250,000 for one year in arbitration
UTIL Nick Punto - Signed a 3-year extension at 2,700,000 per year (8.1 million total)
SP Francisco Liriano - Signed a 2-year extension at 3,500,000 per year (7 million total)
RP Pat Neshek - Awarded 1,700,000 for one year in arbitration
RP Jesse Crain - Signed a 3-year extension at 2,500,000 per year (7.5 million total)
RP Matt Guerrier - Signed a 2-year extension at 2,750,000 per year (5.5 million total)
RP Jon Rauch - Released
RP Clay Condrey - Released

Thoughts

I'm pretty happy with the way re-signings went. The one guy I wish I could have kept but just couldn't was Thome. He was asking for too many years and too much money for a guy in his 40's. I'll definitely look to re-sign him for cheaper on the free agent market, however. Most of the lower-tier, role player type guys (Punto, Crain, etc.) were willing to take paycuts or only very small raises, which helped greatly. I thought about re-signing Hudson, but I was too turned off by his sub-.700 OPS, and I decided to see what else might be out there for second baseman. If worst should come to worst I'll bring him back off the open market.

Holes to fill

Third base - Definitely a major hole on this team. Nick Punto is simply not capable of being a starting third basemen in this league. There isn't really anyone on the free agent market, so I'll have to approach this via trade. My first thought would be to swap Morneau for an equally valuable third baseman, perhaps Ryan Zimmerman. Since offensively talented first basemen in this league are a dime a dozen I should be able to find one fairly cheap on the free agent market, and it could ultimately save me some money. This is definitely a deal to look for.

Second base - There are some really good players on the free agent market at this position. The natural second basemen that pop out at me are Howie Kendrick and Rickie Weeks, but I get the feeling that they may be a little too rich for my blood. I'm also not a fan of Kendrick's lack of plate discipline and Weeks defensive ineptitude. So from there I may look at getting a guy like Ryan Theriot and moving him to second base. Other options include Dan Uggla, Derek Jeter, and Jason Bartlett.

Bullpen - The bullpen was an absolute nightmare last season and it's definitely something that needs to be addressed. There are a lot of solid bullpens arm on the market this off-season, so this shouldn't be too hard to fix. Manny Delcarmen is definitely an eye-catcher, as are Brian Fuentes, George Sherrill, and Mariano Rivera.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Twins strike series of Moves

Today we struck a series of moves that not improve our team now and for the future, but also give us a greater deal of payroll flexibility to help us make a run at a World Series next year.

The first move we made was to sign Adrian Beltre to a four-year, forty million dollar contract. Beltre is coming off a superb season in which he hit 21 home runs and drove in over 100 runs with the Boston Red Sox, while also posting an .842 OPS and playing Gold Glove defense.

After the Beltre signing we then agreed to send first baseman Justin Morneau, along with a few prospects, to San Francisco for top young left fielder Thomas Neal and reliever Sergio Romo. This trade gives us a great deal more payroll flexibility so that not only can we address our second base hole, but also use some money to bring in some relievers, and a first baseman should we so choose. However we may not have to, as we could decide to turn first base over to Chris Parmelee. Should we decide to make a signing, however, a likely target would be former Ray Carlos Pena or former Marlin Jorge Cantu.

San Francisco Giants get:

1B Justin Morneau 88 (14 million dollars per year through 2013)
CF Ben Revere 79/91
RP David Bromberg 72/87
RP Billy Bullock 71/86

Minnesota Twins get:

LF Thomas Neal 81/96
RP Sergio Romo 86

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Twins fill out roster with Hill and Huff

After losing out on a number of free agents we coveted more highly, we were able to fill our holes at first and second base via a signing and a trade.

At first base we signed Aubrey Huff to a one-year deal worth 4,650,000, which includes a team option for a second year. We chose to go for Huff after being unable to come to terms with Jorge Cantu, and passing over Carlos Pena due to his sub-.200 batting average. Huff spent last year with the Giants, hitting .278/.347/.473 for the year.

After losing out on a number of second base free agents (Uggla, Theriot, and Weeks), I started poking around on the trading block, and ultimately came to a deal to acquire Toronto's Aaron Hill for two mid-level prospects. Hill is coming off a 26 home run, .800 OPS campaign, and will be a welcome addition to the line-up, and for far less than what we would have had to pay anyone on the Free Agent market.

The two of them should combine to replace what we lost in the Morneau trade, and then some.

We were also able to bring back Jim Thome on a one-year deal worth 5,400,000. He will most likely split with Jason Kubel as the team's designated hitter.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

2010 Award Winners

American League

Cy Young: BOS SP Josh Beckett 22-4, 2.96 ERA, 225 IP, 50 BB, 203 K
MVP: BOS 2B Dustin Pedroia .339/.404/.505, 17 HR, 141 RBI, 219 H, 126 R
RotY: DET 2B Scott Sizemore .266/.347/.383, 11 HR, 48 RBI, 144 H, 72 R
Gold Gloves: BOS P Josh Beckett, MIN C Joe Mauer, DET 1B Miguel Cabrera, SEA 2B Matt Kata, DET 3B Brandon Inge, LAA SS Erick Aybar, NYY OF Brett Gardner, NYY OF Curtis Granderson, MIN OF Michael Cuddyer

National League

Cy Young: PHI SP Roy Halladay 17-6, 2.30 ERA, 250.2 IP, 38 BB, 199 K
MVP: PHI 1B Ryan Howard .279/.355/.571, 44 HR, 131 RBI, 166 H, 109 R
RotY: STL 3B David Freese .254/.327/.379, 12 HR, 78 RBI, 134 H, 67 R
Gold Gloves: PHI P Roy Halladay, PIT C Ryan Doumit, ATL 1B J.R. House, PIT 2B Akinori Iwamura, COL 3B Ian Stewart, PIT SS Ronny Cedeno, NYM OF Jeff Francoeur, CHC OF Kosuke Fukudome, MIL OF Ryan Braun

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Minnesota Twins Opening Day Roster


Lineup:

Name         B   P    AVG HR SB R   RBI  OBA
D. Span      L   CF  .301 7  19 87  49  .376
A. Beltre    R   3B  .299 21 8  105 104 .359
N. Thomas    R   LF  .355 0  0  2   8   .444
J. Mauer     L   C   .326 29 4  95  100 .397
J. Kubel     L   DH  .298 25 1  79  96  .353
M. Cuddyer   R   RF  .280 25 5  72  82  .359
A. Hill      R   2B  .283 26 5  83  89  .334
A. Huff      L   1B  .278 19 1  69  72  .347
J. Hardy     R   SS  .265 22 0  69  64  .326

Looks pretty good to me. There's a good balance here, good balance of power vs. contact, and of lefties vs. righties. The one thing we do lack to a great deal is speed. Span is a good basestealer and could have his first 30 steal season, but besides him we don't have anyone who can steal a base in a pinch. We should be able to make up for it with the raw hitting ability of the rest of the line-up, though.

Bench:

Name         B   P    AVG HR SB R  RBI  OBA
J. Repko     R   OF  .192 3  10 28 13  .251
J. Morales   S   C   .286 2  1  8  14  .323
N. Punto     S   IF  .260 2  20 61 43  .342
B. Harris    R   IF  .293 1  1  11 14  .350
J. Thome     L   DH  .264 33 1  84 95  .353

We're much deeper to start the year than we were last year. Punto had a good season as a starter last year, but he's much better suited to come off the bench as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. Morales will continue to be Greinke's personal catcher, and Thome gives us a great pinch-hit, bench bat.

Starting Rotation:

Name         T    ERA   IP     K    W   L   SV
Z. Greinke   R    2.79  219.0  208  16  9   0
S. Baker     R    3.66  187.0  159  14  5   0
K. Slowey    R    4.86  196.1  140  11  12  0
F. Liriano   L    4.14  130.1  119  7   7   0
N. Blackburn R    4.30  161.0  75   13  9   0

We have a very, very good starting rotation. There aren't many pitchers in the league as talented or more talented than Greinke, making him a premier #1 pitcher. The rest of the staff behind him is all very good as well. This should definitely be a strength of ours.

Bullpen:

Name         T    ERA   IP     K    W   L   SV
S. Romo      R    4.27  92.2   92   2   6   2
J. Nathan    R    0.00   0.0   0    0   0   0
J. Mijares   L    4.80  84.1   62   6   5   15
J. Crain     R    4.00  74.1   53   3   5   1
F. Nieve     R    4.68  32.2   17   1   2   1
P. Neshek    R    3.54  86.1   76   1   3   7

The addition of Romo and the return of Nathan are great improvements over last year and should make at least the eighth and ninth innings tough on opposing offenses. After them, we look okay. This shouldn't be a weakness, at least.

Overall, I think we've got a very, very good team. I don't think we're a lock for the division, Cleveland looks like a good team on paper, but I think we're definitely the favorite.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

2011 Opening Day Special

Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
April 5, 2011

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Indians (CLE) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3  5  6  0
         Twins (MIN) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2 12  0

Tough opening day loss. We came back to tie it in the bottom of the ninth with a Beltre RBI single, but the bullpen (surprise) lost it for us in the 10th.

Greinke picked right up where he left off last season, pitching eight innings, allowing just two runs, and striking out eight. Adrian Beltre made his presence known in his first at-bat as a Twin, homering in the top of the first inning, and then did so again when he drove in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth. Overall he went 3-5 with two RBI's and a homer. Thomas Neal also had a good start to his Twins career, going 2-5.

CLEVELAND                    ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Michael Brantley (LF)         5  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .200
Grady Sizemore (CF)           3  1  2  0  0  1  0  0    .333
Shin-Soo Choo (RF)            5  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
Matt LaPorta (1B)             3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
Carlos Santana (C)            4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
Andy Marte (3B)               4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
Asdrubal Cabrera (2B)         4  2  0  2  0  0  2  1    .500
Lou Marson (DH)               3  0  1  1  0  0  2  0    .000
Ryan Theriot (SS)             4  2  0  2  1  3  0  0    .500
TOTALS                       35  6  3  5  1  4  9  1

   2B:  Michael Brantley (1)
   HR:  Ryan Theriot (1)
   HBP:  Matt LaPorta
   GDP:  Matt LaPorta

   DP:  Matt LaPorta, Ryan Theriot, Joe Smith

               CLEVELAND   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
           Nick Hagadone  6.0  8  3  1  1  1  4 115   1.50
               Joe Smith  2.2  4  0  0  1  1  1  44   3.38
               Tony Sipp  1.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  15   0.00
                  TOTALS 10.0 12  3  1  2  2  6 174

MINNESOTA                    ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Denard Span (CF)              4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .250
Adrian Beltre (3B)            5  3  0  1  1  2  0  0    .600
Thomas Neal (LF)              5  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .400
Joe Mauer (C)                 4  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
Michael Cuddyer (RF)          5  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .400
Aaron Hill (2B)               5  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
Aubrey Huff (1B)              4  0  1  0  0  0  2  0    .000
J.J. Hardy (SS)               3  1  1  0  0  0  0  0    .333
Jose Morales (C)              4  3  0  0  0  0  0  0    .750
 Jason Repko (P)              0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0    .000
 Nick Punto (P)               0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS                       39 12  3  2  1  2  6  0

   HR:  Adrian Beltre (1)
   GDP:  Adrian Beltre
   CS:  Aubrey Huff

   DP:  Aubrey Huff, Aaron Hill, Adrian Beltre

               MINNESOTA   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
            Zack Greinke  8.0  3  2  1  2  2  8 123   2.25
             Sergio Romo  1.1  2  1  0  3  3  1  38  20.25
            Jose Mijares  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  0  12   0.00
                  TOTALS 10.0  6  3  1  5  5  9 173

     WP: Tony Sipp (1-0)
     LP: Sergio Romo (0-1)

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

April 7, 2011

Indians 3 - Twins 14

Hopefully the offense can do this all season. Span drove in five runs on two homers, Thomas Neal hit the first home-run of his Major League career, and Joe Mauer hit a home run of his own while driving in three runs.

POTG - D. Span 4-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI

April 8, 2011

Indians 3 - Twins 0

Fausto Carmona was absolutely dominant. He pitches the complete game shutout while allowing only two hits and one walk, all of which belonged to Adrian Beltre. Slowey was good as well (7 innings, two earned runs) but he wasn't good enough.

POTG - F. Carmona CG, SHO, 2 H, BB, K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 1-2
1.0 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

April 9, 2011

Red Sox 2 - Twins 5

Our first game against the Red Sox since getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round last year went well. Liriano pitched seven inning of two-run ball, and the 9-4 hitters drive in a run each.

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

April 10, 2011

Red Sox 9 - Twins 5

We got to Beckett for four runs, but the pitching just wasn't there for us. Marco Scutaro drove in four runs out of the nine hole for the Sox, and Aubrey Huff drove in two out of the eight spot for us.

POTG - M. Scutaro 3-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

April 11, 2011

Red Sox 2 - Twins 1

Greinke goes seven and only gives up two, but still gets pegged with a loss because we couldn't push anything across the plate.

POTG - J. Lackey 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, ER, 5 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 2-4
3.0 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 12, 2011

Twins 4 - Indians 5

This is not the way I was looking to start the season. Mijares allows the winning run to plate in the bottom of the seventh, and we can't touch Cleveland closer Tony Sipp, who goes two innings for his second save of the season.

POTG - T. Sipp 2 IP, 0 H, BB, SV

April 13, 2011

Twins 7 - Indians 5 (15 innings)

It took us 15 innings, but we were able to get the win. Blackburn pitched four innings out of the 'pen and got the win, but unfortunately he was due to start tomorrow. Uh oh.

POTG - J. Mauer 3-7, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI

April 14, 2011

Twins 0 - Indians 1

Liriano and Carmona each pitched eight shutout innings and sent the game into extras. However, the bullpen continues to be an achilles heel for me, and Sergio Romo gave up a walk-off RBI double to Andy Marte to score Shin-Soo Choo to plate the winning run in the first extra frame.

POTG - A. Marte 2-5, walk-off double in 10th inning

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 3-6
4.0 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 16, 2011

Twins 5 - Royals 9

Greinke gets roughed up by his former team, allowing six runs (four earned) over 4.2 innings. Brayan Pena and Jody Gerut drive in three runs a piece. Meanwhile I smack my head off a brick wall.

POTG - B. Pena 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI

April 17, 2011

Twins 4 - Royals 6

Why does my bullpen seem to only do well when we're behind in games? Baker fails to make it out of the second innings after giving up four runs in the inning, but we manage to hold them to one run the rest of the game. It obviously didn't matter, though, since my offense was nowhere to be found.

POTG - B. Butler 3-R HR

April 18, 2011

Twins 2 - Royals 11

I did not picture a 3-9 start for this team, but that's where we are. Slowey didn't make it out of the fourth inning and Fernando Nieve allowed five runs in one-third of an inning later in the game.

POTG - K. Davies 7 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 0 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 3-9
6.0 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 19, 2011

Twins 5 - Orioles 3

Holy cow, a win! Liriano gets his second win of the season by going six innings and holding the Orioles to three runs. Sergio Romo gets his second save, and Aaron Hill hits his second home-run - a two-run shot in the sixth.

POTG - MIN bullpen (J. Crain + J. Mijares + S. Romo) 3 IP, 0 H, BB, 0 ER, 4 K

April 20, 2011

Twins 10 - Orioles 1

Blackburn pitched eight innings of one-run ball, and the offense was firing on all cylinders. Beltre homered twice, while Hill, Mauer, and Span each homered once.

POTG - A. Beltre 2-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI

September 22, 2010

Twins 15 - Orioles 0

The bats definitely got going against the O's in these last two games. Greinke pitched 8.2 innings of shutout ball before getting pulled for Crain. Everyone contributed on offense. Aubrey Huff and Cuddyer each homered twice, while Kubel and Thomas Neal each homered once. Neal, Kubel, and Cuddyer all drove in three runs.

POTG - Z. Greinke 8.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 8 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 6-9
3.0 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

First couple series were rough but we appeared to pick it up against the Orioles. Liriano and Greinke are both pitching like studs, with sub-3.00 ERA's in over 20 innings of work each. Our star rookie and centerpiece of the Morneau trade Thomas Neal is also hitting well after somewhat of a rough start. In 56 AB's he sports a line of .268/.369/.429 with 3 home-runs and nine RBI's.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

April 23, 2011

Royals 4 - Twins 10

Beltre hit his 4th home run of the year and drove in four runs to lead the offense.

POTG - A. Beltre 2-5, HR, 4 RBI

April 24, 2011

Royals 6 - Twins 5

Five of the 11 runs scored in this game were scored in the ninth inning. Unfortunately our rally fell one run short and our four-game winning streak came to an end.

POTG - K. Davies 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, K

April 25, 2011

Royals 8 - Twins 5

How do we keep losing to the Royals!? The Royals! Their starting shortstop is Yunieski Betancourt, and he's the only one in the line-up hitting over .300!

POTG - J. Gerut 3-R HR

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 7-11
3.5 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 26, 2011

Rangers 16 - Twins 3

Our only three runs come on three separate three-run homers. One by Aubrey Huff, one by J.J. Hardy, and one by Jose Morales.

POTG - D. Gutierrez 7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

April 27, 2011

Rangers 7 - Twins 11

Jim Thome hit his first home-run of the year and now sits two homers away from entering the prestigious 600 club.

POTG - Z. Greinke 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 8 K

April 28, 2011

Rangers 2 - Twins 3

Mauer had one of the strangest games I've ever seen. He went 1-1 with four walks and an RBI, and that RBI came from a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to send us home with the win.

POTG - J. Mauer 1-1, 4 BB, game-winning RBI walk

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 9-12
3.5 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 29, 2011

Twins 5 - Blue Jays 9

Two words. Bullpen. Problems.

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

April 30, 2011

Twins 5 - Blue Jays 7

Liriano allows four runs in four innings and sends his ERA up to 3.99. The bullpen continues to cost me wins. I can't afford to let the bullpen continue to kill me like this. I need to make a move ASAP.

POTG - B. Wallace 3-R HR

May 1, 2011

Twins 3 - Blue Jays 6

Pat Neshek gives up three runs in the eighth inning to prevent a chance for us to win in extras. Ridiculous. My bullpen should not be this bad. There is actually talent in there.

POTG - A. Pierzynski game-winning 3-R home-run in 8th inning

May 2, 2011

Twins 1 - Blue Jays 4

Anibal Sanchez pitched eight shutout innings, and we were only able to score once he came out of the game for the ninth.

POTG - A. Sanchez 8 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 9-16
4.5 GB of Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

I can't believe how the beginning of this season has gone. We were supposed to win 100 games according to the projected W-L before the season started. It's now May and we haven't even broken double-digit wins. Zack Greinke is 1-3 despite a 3.24 ERA. We just can't put anything together at once. If our offense is there, the pitching isn't. If the starters are on and we get some runs, the bullpen falls apart. Fortunately the rest of the division is still struggling so we're still in it.

End of April

ERA    Z. Greinke  3.24
Wins   S. Baker    2
Saves  S. Romo     2
AVG    D. Span     .344
HR     A. Hill     5
SB     D. Span     5

Stats

Batting

Player Name	Team	AB	H	HR	RBI	Avg	OBP	SLG	SB	CS
Beltre, Adrian	MIN	111	31	4	12	.279	.331	.414	0	0
Kubel, Jason	MIN	99	31	2	16	.313	.343	.434	1	0
Span, Denard	MIN	96	33	3	13	.344	.409	.490	5	1
Huff, Aubrey	MIN	92	24	4	12	.261	.320	.457	0	2
Cuddyer, Michael	MIN	91	24	3	8	.264	.330	.440	1	1
Neal, Thomas	MIN	91	21	3	11	.231	.346	.352	1	1
Hill, Aaron	MIN	89	21	5	13	.236	.278	.472	1	0
Hardy, J.J.	MIN	84	23	5	13	.274	.358	.476	0	0
Mauer, Joe	MIN	70	24	3	18	.343	.466	.571	1	0
Repko, Jason	MIN	27	5	0	1	.185	.214	.259	0	0
Morales, Jose	MIN	26	9	1	1	.346	.370	.538	0	0
Punto, Nick	MIN	8	3	0	1	.375	.375	.625	0	0
Harris, Brendan	MIN	4	3	0	0	.750	.750	1.000	0	0
Thome, Jim	MIN	2	1	1	3	.500	.667	2.000	0	0
Greinke, Zack	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	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
Liriano, Francisco	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Blackburn, Nick	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Romo, Sergio	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Nathan, Joe	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Mijares, Jose	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Crain, Jesse	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Neshek, Pat	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Nieve, Fernando	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0

Pitching

Player Name	Team	Starts	W	L	ERA	IP	K	SV	CG	OBA
Greinke, Zack	MIN	6	1	3	3.24	41.2	40	0	0	.218
Baker, Scott	MIN	5	2	1	5.06	26.2	20	0	0	.300
Slowey, Kevin	MIN	2	0	2	4.22	10.2	5	0	0	.318
Liriano, Francisco	MIN	5	2	1	3.99	29.1	23	0	0	.298
Blackburn, Nick	MIN	4	2	2	4.82	28.0	14	0	0	.286
Romo, Sergio	MIN	0	0	2	9.00	9.0	8	2	0	.278
Nathan, Joe	MIN	0	1	0	8.68	9.1	8	0	0	.372
Mijares, Jose	MIN	0	0	1	5.00	18.0	9	0	0	.278
Crain, Jesse	MIN	1	0	1	2.70	16.2	7	1	0	.180
Neshek, Pat	MIN	2	1	2	7.16	16.1	10	0	0	.303
Nieve, Fernando	MIN	0	0	1	7.11	19.0	12	0	0	.284

[CatKnight]

Maybe you're getting your struggles out of the way early.

Nonetheless, if there's anything you can do to save your bullpen, it has to be now or give up on 2011.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Maybe you're getting your struggles out of the way early.

Nonetheless, if there's anything you can do to save your bullpen, it has to be now or give up on 2011.

I'm wondering if this is just becoming a second-half team. I struggled pretty badly in the first half last year too, and the team is mostly the same (most of the pitching staff, Mauer, Kubel, Hardy, Cuddyer, Span, are all back from last year), and then came back pretty strong post-ASB. Either way, I'm gonna have to swing something for a reliever or two.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Prior to our game on May 3rd we were able to make a couple moves to help out our bullpen. The first move we made was to sign Chad Cordero (69) out of free agency. He's gonna start out in AAA, but if he puts up good numbers down there he's definitely gonna get a chance with the big club. Next, we sent AAA 3B Danny Valencia (76/78) to Baltimore in exchange for reliever Will Ohman. Ohman is making just 1.85 million through the 2012 season and is currently the owner of a 2.77 ERA in 13 games.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 3, 2011

Twins 1 - White Sox 5

Beltre is making me look like an absolute genius for signing him. He hit his fifth home-run of the year in this game, and on the season he's hitting .278/.328/.435 with five home-runs and 13 RBI's, while playing premier defense. Unfortunately, however, it isn't translating to wins on the field.

POTG - J. Peavy 7 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, ER, 6 K

May 4, 2011

Twins 4 - White Sox 1

Kubel fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle, and our bullpen managed to pitch two scoreless innings.

POTG - F. Liriano 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, ER, 6 K

May 5, 2011

Twins 1 - White Sox 5

Nevin Griffith allowed only one run over seven innings, and Rios helped him out by driving in three runs on two hits.

POTG - N. Griffith 7 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, ER, 4 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 10-18
4.5 GB of Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 6, 2011

Twins 0 - A's 2

Jeff Manship pitched 6.1 innings of two run ball, but we couldn't get to Brett Anderson for anything to help Manship out.

POTG - B. Anderson 7.2 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

May 7, 2011

Twins 0 - A's 5

Greinke get's outdueled by Trevor Cahill, who goes all nine innings for the shutout.

POTG - T. Cahill CG, SHO, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K

May 8, 2011

Twins 1 - A's 2

We got the short end of the stick on a great pitcher's duel between Scott Baker and Ben Sheets.

POTG - B. Sheets 7 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, ER, 6 K

May 9, 2011

Twins 4 - A's 11

At this point I really think I might be playing for a next year's draft. The first three pitchers we ran out there, Liriano, Nathan, and Crain, combined to go 2.1 innings and allow all 11 of the A's runs.

POTG - D. Braden 7 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, ER, 5 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 10-22
8.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 11, 2011

Tigers 5 - Twins 3

Our offense actually manages to get some runners on the board in the same game that our starter is able to keep us in the game, and then the bullpen allows runs in the 8th inning.

POTG - T. Neal 3-4, 2 RBI

May 12, 2011

Tigers 1 - Twins 4

We finally snap our losing streak at six or seven games.

POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, ER, 7 K

May 13, 2011

Tigers 4 - Twins 5

A winning streak!? Preposterous! I'm not exactly sure how we did it, since Scott Baker couldn't make it through the third inning, but somehow we did.

POTG - MIN bullpen (J. Nathan + P. Neshek + S. Romo + J. Crain) 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 12-23
7.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

Well we were able to win two of three against the team leading our division, which is always good. Unfortunately we're still 11 games below .500, last place in the division, and 3.5 games back of FOURTH place. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but I don't think this year is gonna turn out the way I had hoped before the season started.

[Francoeurstein]

Quality dynasty, Yeah Dawg.