Not "Burned" This Time

I'll say it: I thought Blackburn was going to destroy our chances at the playoffs, but after his mediocre-but-entirely-necessary five-inning performance last night, I'm convinced it's Glen Perkins who should be shut down for the year. Or at least till 2009... he's got very little - possibly nothing - left. 

It's going to be a short entry today, but I just wanted to review the top 10 list of "Reasons the Twins Can Sweep" I came up with Monday... 

1. Bullpen - Aside from the obligatory Matt Guerrier explosion, our 'pen has tossed five scoreless innings so far this series. Fortunately, it seems as though Gardy has given up on "Matty G" in pressure situations, and Jose Mijares has been a godsend. 
2. Joe Nathan - Made things a little interesting last night, but saved the game. Chances are they'll need him again tonight... Gavin Floyd awaits.
3. Scott Baker pitching the opener - Baker was dominant in the series opener, and set the tone for what has been a HUGE performance by the team.
4. Morneau's recent slump - He's 2-for-6 with a walk and one RBI, and the team needs him to come up big tonight. 
5. Joe Mauer- The backstop extended his hitting streak to 12 games Tuesday before going 0-for-4 last night. It's telling that the team has been able to score runs without their no. 3 and no. 4 hitters producing. They're due.
6. The Span Spark- It seems that Span may have slipped into regression mode... he's 1-for-8 in this series with two strikeouts, and his average has dropped 15 points since the Baltimore series.
7. Home Advantage - Still lookin' good... the team is 7-1 vs. CWS in Minnesota this year.
8. Casilla's home splits - Apparently, Casilla didn't get the memo that he's supposed to hit at home. Also 1-for-8 during this series.
9. Vazquez and Buehrle's vs. MN woes in 2008 - The top two CWS pitchers (in name only...) combined for a 6.54 ERA and 1.818 WHIP in 11 innings over Games 1 and 2. We all know that Buehrle was markedly better, but he didn't help himself in allowing 12 baserunners.
10. Dye Slumping - Turns out Dye has faltered in a big way this series, going 0-for-8 so far. He's been horrible the entire month, sitting at  .222/.284/.296 with 15 strikeouts in 81 at bats. His absence is killing the Sox.

Alright, I'm done now... another post coming tomorrow, regardless of the outcome.