Minnesota - The Mauer Years

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Quality dynasty, Yeah Dawg.

Thanks, dude .

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

May 14, 2011

White Sox 7 - Twins 5

Yet another loss. However, on the positive side, Thomas Neal seems to be coming into his own a little bit. He went 2-4 with a home run in this game, and in his last ten he's hitting .316/.381/.421. If we can get him going we should be able to start stringing some wins together.

POTG - T. Flowers 2-4, HR, 2 RBI

May 15, 2011

White Sox 2 - Twins 7

Mauer went 4-5 with two doubles and an RBI to raise his batting average to a team-leading .321. Thomas Neal had his second consecutive multi-hit game.

POTG - J. Mauer 4-5, 2 2B, RBI

May 16, 2011

White Sox 1 - Twins 11

Beltre walloped his team-leading 7th homer of the season and drove in five. On the mound, Greinke won his second consecutive start, going seven and allowing just one run while striking out four.

POTG - A. Beltre 1-3, HR, 5 RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 14-24
6.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 17, 2011

Twins 2 - Rays 4

Kevin Slowey was just flatout out-pitched. Slowey allowed three runs over seven innings, but his counterpart Wade Davis held us to two runs over the same time frame.

POTG - W. Davis 7 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

May 18, 2011

Twins 4 - Rays 0

Baker hurls a complete game shutout while notching 7 K's, and Aaron Hill ties Beltre for the team-lead in homers with 7.

POTG - S. Baker CG, SHO, 4 H, BB, 7 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 15-25
7.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 19, 2011

Twins 7 - Tigers 5

Liriano stymied the Tigers offense all night. Over seven innings he allowed just two runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out an impressive nine batters. He received a great deal of help from Kubel, who went 4-4 with three runs, a homer, and four RBI.

POTG - J. Kubel 4-4, 3 R, HR, 4 RBI

May 20, 2011

Twins 3 - Tigers 5

The Detroit bullpen was able to shut us out for four innings and prevent us from mounting any sort of rally.

POTG - DET bullpen (D. Schlereth + R. Perry + J. Valverde) 4 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 16-26
7.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 21, 2011

D'Backs 0 - Twins 5

Greinke goes 8.1 innings of shutout ball, striking out 11 D'Back hitters in the process. Neal goes 2-2 with two doubles and two walks to raise his season line to .276/.384/.423.

POTG - Z. Greinke 8.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 11 K

May 22, 2011

D'Backs 7 - Twins 5

A couple unearned runs scattered throughout the game cost us a chance of at least taking the game to extra innings.

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

May 23, 2011

D'Backs 2 - Twins 5

Baker very nearly threw his second complete game shutout in a row. But as it was he allowed a run to plate with two outs in the ninth inning and instead went 8.2 innings, allowed one run, and struck out nine. Kubel cracked two homers to tie him with Aaron Hill and Adrian Beltre for the team-lead with seven.

POTG - S. Baker 8.2 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, ER, 9 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 18-27
7.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 25, 2011

A's 6 - Twins 0

Braden pitched a complete game shutout against us, with Michael Cuddyer being our only batter to reach base multiple times.

POTG - D. Braden CG, SHO, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K

May 26, 2011

A's 3 - Twins 4

For once it was the other team's bullpen failing them. We were able to score two in the ninth to tie it, and then walked-off with the win in the 10th when Adrian Beltre hit an RBI-infield-single to third with two outs.

POTG - A. Beltre 2-5, game-winning RBI infield 1B in 10th inning

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 19-28
8.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We're on a pretty good run lately. We've taken at least a split in every series we've played since being swept by the A's in Oakland from 5/6 to 5/9. If Detroit wasn't 8-2 in their last ten and 14-6 in their last 20 games we might have actually made up some ground. I think a lot of it has to do with Neal adjusting to the majors. He started the season rough, but in his last ten games he's hitting .387/.548/.710 with two homers and five RBI's.

[CatKnight]

I agree with Franc. Quality dynasty - I came home tonight looking forward to seeing how your team was doing.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I agree with Franc. Quality dynasty - I came home tonight looking forward to seeing how your team was doing.

Thanks . Hope I'm not going too fast for you guys, I just can't help it, haha.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

May 27, 2011

Twins 5 - Red Sox 4

Slowey pitched seven innings of two-run ball while striking out nine.

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 ER, 9 K

May 28, 2011

Twins 6 - Red Sox 1

Scott Baker throws another complete game. He didn't allow the Red Sox to score until J.D. Drew hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth. Neal cracked his 7th homer of the year, tying him with Aaron Hill, Adrian Beltre, and Jason Kubel for the team lead.

POTG - S. Baker CG, 3 H, 0 BB, ER, 7 K

May 29, 2011

Twins 7 - Red Sox 3

We rallied to win by scoring all seven of our runs between the 7th and 9th innings. From the leadoff spot, Span went 3-5 with three runs, two RBI, and a steal, to lead the offense.

POTG - D. Span 3-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, SB

May 30, 2011

Twins 1 - Red Sox 3

The killing blow was Mike Cameron's three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to start, and for all purposes, end the scoring by either team.

POTG - M. Cameron 1-3, game-winning 3-R HR in 8th inning

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 22-29
8.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 31, 2011

Mariners 6 - Twins 3

Zack Greinke missed his start due to some strained ribs, so Will Ohman started in his place, and he did not fare too well. He lasted just two innings and gave up two runs, and the next two relievers, Nieve and Neshek, were equally inept, allowing a combined four runs over four innings.

POTG - F. Hernandez 6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

June 1, 2011

Mariners 0 - Twins 3

Thank God for Zack Greinke. He made the start against Cliff Lee and was able to outperform him. Lee went seven and allowed just two earned runs, but Greinke did an even better job of holding the offense at bay by throwing a complete game shutout.

POTG - Z. Greinke CG, SHO, 5 H, BB, 9 K

June 2, 2011

Mariners 8 - Twins 5

Slowey allowed five runs to plate in just two innings of work. The bullpen was able to hold it together reasonably well, but we just weren't able to make up for Slowey's poor start.

POTG - J. Vargas 7 IP, 2 H, 6 BB, ER, K

June 3, 2011

Mariners 5 - Twins 4

Despite a strong effort by Scott Baker (7 IP, 3 ER), we were not able to secure a tie of the series.

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 4 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 23-32
8.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

It would've been nice to come away with at least a series split from the Mariners. Despite playing reasonably well lately we have made up virtually no ground on the Detroit Tigers. That tells me that if we're gonna make a serious run at this we need to go on a massive tear.

ERA    Z. Greinke  2.55
Wins   Z. Greinke  5
Saves  J. Mijares  4
AVG    D. Span     .311
HR     3 tied      7
SB     D. Span     10

Stats

Batting

Player Name	Team	AB	H	HR	RBI	Avg	OBP	SLG	SB	CS
Span, Denard	MIN	225	70	3	20	.311	.372	.436	10	3
Beltre, Adrian	MIN	221	56	7	29	.253	.311	.385	3	1
Hill, Aaron	MIN	202	51	7	21	.252	.285	.441	2	0
Cuddyer, Michael	MIN	201	54	4	19	.269	.333	.388	4	1
Huff, Aubrey	MIN	200	50	6	25	.250	.302	.405	0	2
Kubel, Jason	MIN	192	57	7	33	.297	.344	.448	1	0
Neal, Thomas	MIN	186	51	7	23	.274	.391	.430	1	1
Mauer, Joe	MIN	161	48	5	28	.298	.401	.466	1	0
Hardy, J.J.	MIN	150	33	6	17	.220	.300	.380	0	0
Morales, Jose	MIN	54	20	1	5	.370	.424	.481	0	0
Repko, Jason	MIN	36	6	0	1	.167	.250	.222	1	0
Thome, Jim	MIN	24	3	1	3	.125	.192	.250	0	0
Harris, Brendan	MIN	22	5	0	2	.227	.292	.273	0	0
Punto, Nick	MIN	21	4	0	2	.190	.346	.286	3	0
Greinke, Zack	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Slowey, Kevin	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Baker, Scott	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Liriano, Francisco	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Blackburn, Nick	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Mijares, Jose	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
Romo, Sergio	MIN	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0	0
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
Ohman, Will	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	12	5	4	2.55	84.2	82	0	1	.210
Slowey, Kevin	MIN	6	1	4	4.68	32.2	27	0	0	.281
Baker, Scott	MIN	12	5	3	3.63	74.1	58	0	2	.249
Liriano, Francisco	MIN	11	4	4	5.06	58.2	46	0	0	.298
Blackburn, Nick	MIN	9	3	5	4.66	58.0	22	0	0	.276
Mijares, Jose	MIN	0	1	1	4.38	24.2	11	4	0	.276
Romo, Sergio	MIN	0	0	3	4.55	27.2	29	2	0	.269
Crain, Jesse	MIN	1	2	3	2.67	33.2	20	1	0	.217
Neshek, Pat	MIN	2	1	2	6.19	32.0	25	0	0	.273
Nieve, Fernando	MIN	0	0	1	5.50	36.0	26	0	0	.301
Ohman, Will	MIN	1	1	1	3.57	17.2	15	1	0	.225

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

2011 Minnesota Twins Draft Review

Round #1 - 1B Kevin Watson (65/85) - Strong bat, low health risk
Round #2 - CF Alex Dixon (63/79) - Unexpected power for a CF
Round #3 - SP Victor Zubiri (56/77) - Great fastball, good control of his pitches, low health risk
Round #4 - SP Juan Lizardi (57/76) - Being switched to RF due to solid potential with bat
Round #5 - C Derek Coelker (53/75) - Projects as an excellent defensive catcher
Round #6 - RP Peter Skernswell (47/71) - Very healthy, gyroball specialist

Another solid draft for us. We brought in some potentially very good bats and some solid arms. I think Watson could be ready by next season, and I'm really not sold on Parmelee as the first baseman of the future (he's 23 years old and in AA). He had very good numbers in his last two years of high school and his one year of college. I'm very, very excited about what he could become.

[Josh123123123]

Good Job so far

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

June 4, 2011

Indians 6 - Twins 2

Fausto Carmona continued his habit of being completely abhorrent against us, or just making us look silly. This time he made us look silly, allowing one run over seven innings on five hits.

POTG - F. Carmona 7 IP, 5 H, BB, ER, K

June 5, 2011

Indians 1 - Twins 6

Kubel hit two jacks in the game. Meanwhile Nick Blackburn was masterful, allowing just one run over seven innings while striking out six.

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

June 6, 2011

Indians 1 - Twins 7

Greinke pitched seven innings of one-run ball and earned his sixth win of the season.

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 25-33
7.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 8, 2011

Twins 10 - Royals 8

Neal collected three hits in four at-bats in the game, including a home-run, to raise his season batting average to .278. He has to be the leading candidate for AL RotY right now!

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

June 9, 2011

Twins 5 - Royals 4

Baker allows just two earned runs (as well as an additional unearned run) over seven innings while striking out eight. We were able to rally in the top of the ninth for three runs to earn the win!

POTG - S. Baker 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 8 K

June 10, 2011

Twins 2 - Royals 16

This was just an ugly game - plain and simple. Every one of our pitchers who appeared in this game, save Sergio Romo, allowed at least three runs. The first two to appear, starter Liriano and long-reliever Nieve, allowed five runs each. Coupled with the fact that the offense was absent and this was a bad, bad loss.

POTG - A. Gordon 2-4, BB, 3 R, HR, 5 RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 27-34
8.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 11, 2011

Twins 5 - Cubs 6 (in extras)

Romo allowed four runs in the bottom of the eighth to allow the Cubs to tie the game, which they would eventually go on to win in extras, via a Delmon Young bases-loaded single.

POTG - D. Young 4-5, BB, R, 2 RBI, game-winning hit in 10th inning

June 12, 2011

Twins 0 - White Sox 3

Greinke got his fifth loss of the season, in spite of allowing only one run over seven innings while striking out a season-high 11 batters. We were held to three hits over the entire game by the tandem of Matt Garza and Mariano Rivera.

POTG - M. Garza 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K

June 13, 2011

Twins 6 - Cubs 3

We avoided the sweep by scoring four of our six runs between the 7th and 9th innings. Mauer and Beltre each homered and drove in two runs, and the bullpen turned in four shutout innings.

POTG - MIN bullpen (P. Neshek, S. Romo, J. Mijares) 4 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 28-36
9.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

I've really been playing pretty well lately. Unfortunately so have the teams I've been playing, so I've actually lost ground in the division standings despite going 11-9 in my last 20 games. My projected W-L is still at 87-75, and if all teams finished according to their projected W-L that would place me in the Wild Card spot in the playoffs, even still.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

With my second draft in the books and the amount of trades I've made moving prospects around, I figured now might be a good time to do a prospects list! This list is based on my personal opinions/feeling of the players in question, not so much their ratings or anything like that. Anyways, the top 5 Minnesota Twins prospects!

Minnesota Twins Top 5 Prospects

#1 - SP Efrain Solando (64/92)

Solando was my #1 pick in the 2010 draft, drafted at #21 overall. The 17 year-old righty has improved quite a bit since being drafted just over one year ago. His overall/peak has gone from 54/89 or so on draft day to 62/94. All his pitching vitals (control, power, movement) sit in the low 60's, with his endurance at an even 80. He is virtually no injury risk whatsoever, with his health rating at 86, and sports three nasty pitches - a fastball rated at 60 and clocked in the low 90's, a slider rated at 58, and a sinker at 64. This season in rookie ball he has made 7 starts and has a 2-4 record and a 3.79 ERA.

#2 - SP Victor Zubiri (67/85)

Drafted just a couple weeks ago in the third round at #82 overall Zubiri is already showing plenty of promise in the minor leagues. In two rookie league starts he is 0-0, but has a very impressive 1.35 ERA. Although he sports good power and movement (65 and 66 ratings respectively), his control and endurance are what makes him great, as his endurance is rated at 87 and his control already a ML-quality 77. He already has two ML-caliber pitches in his fastball and his two-seamer, rated at 80 and 75. His other two pitches, a curve and a foshball are works in progress, but should come along as good secondary pitches.

#3 - 1B Kevin Watson (65/85)

Watson, our first pick at #22 overall in the draft a couple weeks ago, is a guy I am extremely high on. He looks like he's capable of developing into a player very similar to that of former Twin star Justin Morneau. He lacks the fielding aptitude of Justin, but the hitting capability is definitely there. His batting ratings are: 68 contact, 71 power, 65 speed, and 69 eye. All of those but speed should develop nicely and I think he'll become something around the likes of a .300/.400/.550 guy with 25-30 homers and 100 RBI's. In two games of rookie ball he is 2-7 with a double, two RBI, and a walk, for a line of .286/.375/.429.

#4 - SS Miguel Sano (59/90)

The 17 year-old Sano possesses loads of potential in a way very similar to that of Hanley Ramirez when he was in the minors. Great offensive potential (63 contact, 70 power, 73 speed, 63 eye), especially in the power and speed department, but sub-par defense (67 arm, 59 range, 72 fielding). As a 16 year old in rookie-ball last season he only posted a .666 OPS, and so far this season he has been even worse and has posted just a .601 OPS, and that, along with injury concerns, is why his stock has dropped to me and why he is not higher on this list.

#5 - 1B Chris Parmelee (79/86)

Not really sure Parmelee can be considered a prospect anymore at 23 years old, and that is the main reason he's at the bottom of this list. He's put up excellent numbers in the minors the past couple seasons, posting a line of .347/.438/.571 with 18 homers and 93 RBI's in A-ball last season, and prior to being promoted to AAA was hitting at .385/.486/.706 in AA this season. However, due to a lack of contact ability (73 rating in contact), I fear he may ultimately become a quad-A and/or TTO player, not that there's anything wrong with that. He is also a liability defensively and a chronic health risk, and I'd be fairly surprised if he reached his 86 peak at this point. Obviously I'm not too high on this guy.

Other notable prospects

RF Oswaldo Arcia (65/83)
CF Max Kepler (62/83)
3B Jason McDaniell (54/81)
SP Adrian Salcedo (68/79)
RP Alex Burnett (73/78)

[onemoretime]

Enjoying this, good team to build with in a competitive division.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

June 15, 2011

Pirates 9 - Twins 8 (in extras)

We had to put together a six-run ninth just to get the game into extras, but unfortunately we were not able to capitalize on that rally and still lost the game.

POTG - B. Lincoln 7 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 ER, 8 K

June 16, 2011

Pirates 2 - Twins 12

We were able to avenge our extra-inning loss with a big win in game two of the series. Liriano allowed just two runs over seven innings and struck out 10, while Mauer homered and drove in four runs on three hits, and Thomas Neal walked five times in five AB's.

POTG - F. Liriano 7 IP, 2 ER, 10 K

June 17, 2011

Pirates 0 - Twins 11

Aubrey Huff homered and drove in six runs in the game, while on the mound Greinke had one of his typical starts. Complete game shut-out, eight hits, walk, six K's.

POTG - A. Huff 5-5, 2 R, HR, 6 RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 30-37
10.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We continue to play well, but unfortunately so are the Tigers, and we just keep falling further and further behind in spite of the wins we're getting.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Twins trade Nathan and Hill, trim almost 16 mil in Payroll

Today we were able to agree to two separate trades. The first sends 2B Aaron Hill and 3B Jason McDaniell to the A's in exchange for young second baseman Jemile Weeks. The second will send Joe Nathan to New York for $750,000.

Although Hill had hit nine home runs for us, which is impressive as a second baseman, his OPS was hovering around the .720 mark and he was simply not getting on-base at an acceptable rate. Weeks is rated at 80/86 at 24 years old and has more of what we look for in a second baseman. Contact, speed, eye, solid defense, and as mentioned before, this frees up a lot of money. The move makes sense for the A's, too. They're 42-24 and five games up in the AL West and could use a proven, veteran guy at second base, as opposed to a younger, untested guy like Weeks.

Nathan was languishing in AAA due to his 8.10 ERA in 13 innings in the majors. This was something I could simply not deal with when he was one of the highest paid players on the team (11.25 million through the end of the year), so I decided to get what I could for him, and the cash was the best offer I could get for him.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

June 18, 2011

Twins 14 - Phillies 1

The bats seem to be coming to life this month. Jemile Weeks went 2-6 with three runs scored in his Twins and Major League debut. Mauer and Hardy each hit their eighth home run of the year, and Thomas Neal continues to display excellent plate discipline by drawing three walks in this game, along with two hits.

POTG - K. Slowey 7 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 7 K

June 19, 2011

Twins 11 - Phillies 10

The Phillies mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring seven runs in the inning, but they fell just short. Thomas Neal completely carried the offense, going 3-5 with three runs, two homers, and an astounding eight runs driven in. Baker also pitched a solid game, allowing three earned runs over seven innings of work.

POTG - T. Neal 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI

June 20, 2011

Twins 5 - Phillies 8

Jemile scratched out three hits and an RBI in his 3rd major league game, but unfortunately our pitchers didn't show up to play today. Liriano allowed five runs in six innings, while Ohman allowed three runs in 1.1 innings of relief.

POTG - R. Oswalt 7 IP, 8 H, BB, 3 ER, K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 32-38
11.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 21, 2010

Twins 5 - Marlins 7

We allowed six runs in the first five innings of the game. We managed to mount a small rally in the last few innings, but were unable to make up the early hole we dug ourselves into.

POTG - H. Ramirez 2-4, BB, R, HR, 3 RBI

June 22, 2011

Twins 9 - Marlins 0

Greinke throws his third complete game shutout of the season, striking out eight in the process, and lowering his ERA to an MLB-best 2.01. Huff, Beltre, and Span all homered in support of Greinke.

POTG - Z. Greinke CG, SHO, 7 H, BB, 8 K

June 23, 2010

Twins 2 - Marlins 7

Our only two runs came on a J.J. Hardy two-run homer in the top of the 6th inning. Meanwhile their line-up was getting hits left and right, amassing a total of 11 in the game. Which included two homeruns for Cameron Maybin, a triple for Hanley Ramirez, and doubles by Brian Barden, Bryan Peterson, and Hector Luna.

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 33-40
12.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 25, 2011

Cardinals 2 - Twins 8

Aubrey Huff was able to give us three hits and three RBI out of the nine hole, while Nieve made the spot start and allowed just one run over 5.2 IP.

POTG - A. Huff 3-4, 3 RBI

June 26, 2011

Cardinals 6 - Twins 5

Wainwright shut us down pretty well, allowing only two runs over seven innings, while striking out seven. We still managed to have the lead going into the ninth inning, however, but an error led to three unearned runs and another mark in the loss column for us.

POTG - A. Wainwright 7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 7 K

June 27, 2011

Cardinals 3 - Twins 6

Liriano pitched a solid game in earning his sixth win of the season. He allowed three runs over six innings while notching five strikeouts.

POTG - J. Mauer 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R, HR, RBI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 35-41
12.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 28, 2011

White Sox 4 - Twins 3 (in extras)

Slowey pitched very well, allowing only three runs over seven innings. Unfortunately he got virtually no run support and we lost in extras.

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

June 29, 2011

White Sox 3 - Twins 5

I'm not exactly sure how we won this game, but we did. Our starter lasted only five innings, and we actually got fewer hits than the White Sox, but we still managed to eke it out.

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

June 30, 2011

White Sox 0 - Twins 3

It was Scott Baker's turn to pitch a complete game shutout this time. In his shutout Baker gave up only four hits, walked one, and struck out eight.

POTG - S. Baker CG, SHO, 4 H, BB, 8 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 37-42
12.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

That month was basically completely frustrating. We played our best month at 15-12, but due to the Tigers playing absurbly well and going 20-8 we actually lost several games in the standings. Our pythagorean W-L tells us we should be 44-35 instead of 37-42, which, while incredibly frustrating, is also encouraging. The bats finally seem to be coming alive lately, and the pitchers are starting to pitch like I expected them to at the start of the season. Although there is still the matter of that troublesome bullpen....

ERA    Z. Greinke  2.01
Wins   S. Baker    8
Saves  J. Mijares  8
AVG    D. Span     .306
HR     J. Kubel    12
SB     D. Span     11

Stats

Batting

Player Name	Team	AB	H	HR	RBI	Avg	OBP	SLG	SB	CS
Beltre, Adrian	MIN	322	81	11	48	.252	.302	.407	3	1
Span, Denard	MIN	307	94	5	32	.306	.375	.443	11	3
Huff, Aubrey	MIN	297	80	10	43	.269	.310	.428	0	2
Cuddyer, Michael	MIN	275	76	4	27	.276	.339	.375	4	1
Kubel, Jason	MIN	264	80	12	51	.303	.356	.504	1	0
Neal, Thomas	MIN	254	76	10	40	.299	.432	.476	1	1
Mauer, Joe	MIN	242	72	10	44	.298	.403	.492	1	0
Hardy, J.J.	MIN	236	60	9	32	.254	.332	.403	1	0
Morales, Jose	MIN	69	22	1	5	.319	.382	.406	0	0
Weeks, Jemile	MIN	54	11	0	3	.204	.283	.259	1	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	22	5	0	2	.227	.292	.273	0	0
Parmelee, Chris	MIN	15	2	0	1	.133	.188	.200	0	0
Slowey, Kevin	MIN	8	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	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

Player Name	Team	Starts	W	L	ERA	IP	K	SV	CG	OBA
Slowey, Kevin	MIN	12	4	5	5.21	65.2	48	0	0	.281
Greinke, Zack	MIN	16	8	5	2.01	116.2	114	0	3	.210
Baker, Scott	MIN	17	7	3	3.54	106.2	85	0	3	.241
Liriano, Francisco	MIN	16	6	7	5.36	87.1	70	0	0	.281
Blackburn, Nick	MIN	12	4	6	4.16	75.2	33	0	0	.269
Neshek, Pat	MIN	2	2	2	5.06	48.0	35	0	0	.268
Ohman, Will	MIN	2	1	2	5.13	26.1	24	1	0	.277
Nieve, Fernando	MIN	0	1	1	5.44	48.0	38	0	0	.315
Mijares, Jose	MIN	0	1	3	3.57	35.1	17	8	0	.255
Romo, Sergio	MIN	0	1	4	5.10	42.1	45	3	0	.258
Crain, Jesse	MIN	1	2	3	2.76	45.2	27	1	0	.225

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

July 2, 2011

Twins 1 - Mariners 0

An incredibly well pitched game on both sides. Felix Hernandez's one mistake was giving up a solo homer to Aubrey Huff in the 5th inning. Liriano pitched eight innings of shutout ball before turning it over to Jose Mijares for Mijares' 9th save of the season.

POTG - F. Liriano 8 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

July 3, 2011

Twins 3 - Mariners 4

Mauer fell a home-run short of hitting for the cycle in the loss. Nick Blackburn pitched seven innings of three run ball, but the ever-unreliable Romo blew it in the ninth (again).

POTG - N. Blackburn 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 K

July 4, 2011

Twins 9 - Mariners 4

We weren't able to put the game away until we scored five runs in the ninth inning, but Greinke still secured his 9th win of the season anyways. Greinke pitched seven innings, allowed only two runs, and struck out five.

POTG - Z. Greinke 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 5 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 39-43
14.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 5, 2011

Twins 8 - Rangers 7

Slowey lasted only 3.2 innings before giving up six runs and getting pulled, but fortunately Ohman and Nieve were able to shut down the Rangers the rest of the game and hold them to just one run over the final 5.1 innings.

POTG - F. Nieve 4 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, ER, 3 K

July 6, 2011

Twins 9 - Rangers 4

It appears as if Michael Cuddyer is finally starting to hit for some power. Over his last ten games he has a .500 slugging percent, which is good for 108 points better than his season slugging percent. I've been toying with the idea of selling off some expiring contracts at the deadline, and if Cuddyer keeps this up he could net me a good player or two.

POTG - M. Cuddyer 3-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2B

July 7, 2011

Twins 9 - Rangers 6

Holy hell - a sweep! I think this might be our first sweep all season! Neal continued his stellar rookie season, going 2-3 with a homer, two RBI, three walks, and two runs scored. Sergio Romo actually made the start in this game and pitched five scoreless innings, gave up only three hits, no walks, and struck out seven. Maybe a switch to the rotation is in order for Mr. Romo....

POTG - S. Romo 5 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 7 K

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 42-43
12.0 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 9, 2011

Twins 4 - White Sox 2

Greinke drops his ERA to an even 2.00 with this seven inning, one-run performance. He also earned his 10th win of the season. Michael Cuddyer also hit his second home-run in the last three games, and raised his OPS to .751.

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

July 10, 2011

Twins 3 - White Sox 6

Kevin Slowey continues to struggle, this time allowing six runs in 5.1 innings. His ERA balloons to 6.03 after this start. If we're gonna stay in this at all, Slowey either needs to start throwing the ball like he can, or we need to get him out of town.

POTG - J. Peavy 7 IP, 6 H, BB, 2 ER, 5 K

July 11, 2011

Twins 2 - White Sox 4

Scott Baker allowed four runs over 6.2 innings, but that was not nearly enough when running into a red-hot Nevin Griffith. Griffith went seven innings, gave up five hits and one walk, and allowed just a single run.

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Minnesota Twins 43-45
11.5 GB of Detroit Tigers for first place in AL Central
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thoughts

We've started July off very well with a 6-3 record. We've managed to shave a couple games off the Tigers lead, and hopefully we're beginning a run and we'll at least be able to get in the race for the division. It's awesome to see Cuddyer's bat start to come alive. It's highly likely that I shop him and other expiring contracts (Kevin Slowey, Aubrey Huff, namely) and see what I can get in return, and the fact that he's starting to hit for some power will greatly improve what I can get in return for him.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

AL extends All-Star Game winning Streak

The AL just keeps tacking on wins to their All-Star Game winning streak. All of the AL's runs came in the fourth inning, with Tigers OF Wilkin Ramirez, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, and ChiSox second baseman getting the RBI's. Joe Mauer started at catcher for the AL and got a hit, a walk, and scored a run. Greinke was the starting pitcher for the AL and went 2 innings, gave up two hits, a run, and struck out two on 37 pitches.

American League American League at National League National League
July 13, 2011

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
American League (AL) 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0    3  6  1
National League (NL) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1    2  8  1

AMERICAN LEAGUE              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Ryan Sweeney (CF)             4  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .366
Milton Bradley (RF)           4  1  0  0  0  0  3  0    .279
Wilkin Ramirez (LF)           3  2  0  1  0  1  0  0    .321
 Elijah Dukes (P)             1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .298
Joe Mauer (C)                 3  1  1  1  0  0  2  0    .306
Mark Teixeira (1B)            3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .286
Alex Rodriguez (3B)           3  0  0  0  0  1  1  0    .290
Gordon Beckham (2B)           3  0  0  0  0  1  0  0    .268
Alexei Ramirez (SS)           4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .284
Zack Greinke (P)              0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Chris Carter (P)             1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .294
 Jordan Walden (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Nick Markakis (P)            1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .272
 Felix Hernandez (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .250
 Kevin Youkilis (P)           1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .280
 Dan Wheeler (P)              0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Matt Thornton (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Chris Davis (P)              1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .283
 Rafael Soriano (P)           0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS                       32  6  2  3  0  3 12  0

   HBP:  Alex Rodriguez
   GDP:  Alex Rodriguez

   DP:  Mark Teixeira, Gordon Beckham, Alex Rodriguez
   E:  Milton Bradley

                           ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
            Zack Greinke  2.0  2  0  0  1  1  2  37   2.00
           Jordan Walden  2.0  2  1  0  0  0  1  31   3.81
         Felix Hernandez  2.0  1  1  0  0  0  1  34   2.83
             Dan Wheeler  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  0  14   1.13
           Matt Thornton  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  1  17   2.08
          Rafael Soriano  1.0  2  0  0  1  1  2  23   2.48
                  TOTALS  9.0  8  2  0  2  2  7 156

NATIONAL LEAGUE              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Dexter Fowler (CF)            4  3  0  1  0  0  1  0    .324
Hanley Ramirez (SS)           2  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .326
 Adrian Gonzalez (P)          0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .289
 Mark Reynolds (P)            1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .253
Ryan Zimmerman (3B)           4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .352
Albert Pujols (1B)            4  0  0  0  0  1  1  0    .332
Brian McCann (C)              4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .295
Jay Bruce (RF)                3  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .279
Matt Holliday (LF)            4  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .329
Todd Frazier (2B)             4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .286
Tim Lincecum (P)              0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .250
 Joey Votto (P)               1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .345
 Chris Carpenter (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .026
 Aaron Miller (P)             0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .207
 David Wright (P)             1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .312
 Matt Garza (P)               0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .212
 Lance Berkman (P)            1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .254
 James McDonald (P)           0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Jesse Carlson (P)            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 Andrew McCutchen (P)         1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .277
TOTALS                       34  8  2  2  0  2  7  0

   2B:  Brian McCann
   GDP:  Matt Holliday

   DP:  Albert Pujols, Todd Frazier, Ryan Zimmerman
   E:  Brian McCann

                           ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
            Tim Lincecum  3.0  0  0  0  0  0  5  37   3.06
         Chris Carpenter  1.0  4  0  0  3  3  0  33   2.39
            Aaron Miller  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  2  12   2.65
              Matt Garza  2.0  1  1  0  0  0  2  29   3.64
          James McDonald  1.2  1  1  0  0  0  2  29   2.20
           Jesse Carlson  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1   6   2.63
                  TOTALS  9.0  6  2  0  3  3 12 146

     WP: Jordan Walden
     LP: Chris Carpenter
     SV: Rafael Soriano

     Temperature: 82F
     Wind: Calm
     Attendance: 48,500
     Time: 2:59