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Just call 'em the Blue "Jayson Kidds", because they're dishing some sweet assists of late. Toronto knocked off our rival White Sox not once, but twice Tuesday to help bring our beloved Twins closer to the mountain top. First, A.J. Burnett baffled the ChiSox for seven innings before Scott Downs and B.J. Ryan closed out Game 1. The second battle featured young righty Jesse Litsch (who shutout the Twins last week), who proceeded to perplex and disable the Pale Sox bats for seven innings in the 8-2 nightcap win. And tomorrow, Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay pitches against the Sox as the Blue Jays try for their season-high 11th win in a row.

In addition, Chicago's Paul Konerko (batting .356/.473/.632 with 6 HRs since August) left the game with what looked like an awful knee injury. And while I'll never revel in someone else's pain, I won't deny that Konerko's departure from the lineup makes things easier on Minnesota.

Oh yeah, and the Twins won too. And if you didn't see it, the whole thing was glorious.

Nick Blackburn tossed seven innings, giving up just two runs and six hits while striking out three. What's more, Dennys Reyes and Jesse Crain combined to pitch two shutout frames (a rarity in relief these days...) as the team won 8-2.

Justin Morneau bombed his 23rd home run of the season, along with driving in his 119th RBI of the year. As a matter of fact, Joe Mauer - the team's top hitter - was the only guy without a hit on the night.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. The team made up 1.5 games in the standings like it was nothing... and nothing has come easy lately. One more thing... looks like Michael Cuddyer might be of assistance in the season's final week, according to Joe Christensen.

So enjoy your day, Twins fans. We can exhale a bit... we can afford ourselves a smile... we're in this thing.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Remember... there's a LIVE BLOG THURSDAY!!!

A Bunch of Dogs.

P.M. Update: Carlos Quentin may be done for the year!

On a night when I couldn't have cared less whether the Twins won or lost, they played so poorly that it ruined the NFL's opening night for me. And that's hard to do, considering I have Brandon Jacobs (21 car., 116 yards) and Plaxico Burress (10 rec., 133 yards) on a few fantasy teams, and they played pretty well. What a bunch of quitters. We'll need more fight than this to overtake the White Sox, who are now 1.5 games up on our beloved baseball club.

Quick stats:

1. Minnesota pitchers tossed just 2/3 of an inning that didn't scare me.
2. Twins batters combined for just four hits against Jesse Litsch, who has a season WHIP of nearly 1.300. That means we should of at least gotten 6-8 hits over nine innings, because our hitters are relative underachievers. Four hits? Barf.
   
3. The team scored 4.71 runs per night during the 14-game road trip, but scored zero runs yesterday.
4. After notching runs vs. such prominent pitchers as John Lackey, AJ Burnett and Ervin Santana, the Twins allowed Litsch to baffle them. Unbelievable.
5. Justin Morneau and Alexi Casilla both left a total of three men on base.
   

Here's how it happened: Kevin Slowey gave up 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out three. He only gave up three runs, which - in theory - gives the team a chance to win, especially after Craig Breslow (good 1/3 inning) struck out Toronto's Joe Inglett to end the inning. Thing is, Slowey was ineffective. Ten baserunners in less than six innings? That means he got lucky, folks. But with the way he's been pitching lately, I can't be all that mad. Of course, Jesse Crain came in and gave up a homer - that's 5 ER in his past 3 2/3 IP (uh, oh). Then came the other solid 1/3 of an inning from Dennys Reyes, who got Adam Lind to ground out. From there, Bobby Korecky (3H, 1BB, 4 ER, 1/3 IP) and Phil Humber (3H, 1 ER, 2/3 IP) brought us home with an abysmal five-run eighth inning to give Toronto a comfortable 9-0 lead. Hopefully that wasn't as frustrating to read as it was to write.

Of the Twins' four hits, Denard Span accounted for half of them, including a leadoff single that was completely wasted by Casilla's follow-up double-play ball. The team didn't even manage a baserunner after the fifth inning. That's right, Jesse-freaking-Litsch retired the final 13 batters.

And with that, the 5-9 road trip comes to an end. A bitter, trying end. And the Twins return home with their tails between their legs, beaten to a pulp by a middle-of-the-road team.

But the great thing about baseball is that you move on to the next day, the next team, the next series. The team needs a clean slate and some familiar scenery. Maybe the Metrodome will cure what ails. Minnesota faces Armando Galarraga (12-4, 3.17 ERA) Friday, Justin Verlander (10-15, 4.74 ERA) Saturday and Chris Lambert (0-1, 6.75 ERA) Sunday. For the Twins, Francisco Liriano (4-3, 3.45 ERA), Scott Baker (8-4, 3.66 ERA) and Glen Perkins (12-3, 4.08 ERA) will try and keep the Tigers at bay until the bullpen collapses in eventual Twins losses. Please guys - Joe Nathan, Crain, Reyes, Bonser, Breslow, etc. - prove me wrong.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice weekend! I'll try to write once, but it's no guarantee with the first Sunday of the NFL season + another college football Saturday coming up. I'm pretty much comatose from 11 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Monday every week.

Everything is Terrible, Thanks

There are some losses that you can get over, and then some you just can't. The Twins' loss last night falls under category #2, if only because they're completely unreliable lately. It's obvious that Toronto is a good team in one of baseball's better divisions, but blowing a 5-1 lead after four innings is pretty awful. Our pitching is good enough to put away middling teams, and they didn't deliver last night. Glen Perkins didn't help himself at all, giving up four runs in five innings and demanding that the bullpen pitch the rest of the game, but still... you've got to keep it together for 5-6 innings to have a chance. Boof Bonser and Matt Guerrier took steps backward, Bonser giving up the go-ahead two-run shot in the sixth inning, while Guerrier let in an insurance run later in the game. The worst part is that the White Sox lost to the Indians again and are doing the best they can to hand us the division lead. Minnesota continues in its stern refusal. (If you're getting this blog in your email, it's going to cut off here... simply click this link and read the rest!)

The hitting was pretty decent... I mean, they put up five runs, which is generally enough to win. No fault there - everyone except Randy Ruiz and the struggling 3B platoon got a hit, and you can't really ask for much more. Clamoring for increased scoring is just greed and grasping for straws.

The most alarming thing about this outing is that Perkins, who has a season BAA vs. righties of .272 vs a .349 mark vs. righties, allowed a righty-dominated lineup to tune him up. Perkins gave up 10 hits and a walk in just five innings. What's worse, he allowed SEVEN line drive hits, which ties his highest mark of the year. People were smoking the ball last night, and Perkins didn't have a chance. Good news though - Perkins' season stats don't support this horrible trip to the mound, so hopefully it's just a bad game, not fatigue.

Tonight, Toronto's A.J. Burnett will try to dazzle Minnesota hitters while Nick Blackburn tries to hold off a hot Toronto lineup. I'll trudge my way over to the television yet again, and I'm hoping for better things...

Other Stuff: Alex Rios broke out of a slump by pounding a home run as part of a two-hit night for Toronto... Twins slugger Justin Morneau is quickly closing on Texas OF Josh Hamilton for the RBI lead. Hamilton has 121 while Morneauzie has 109 - Hamilton led by over 30 at the all-star break. Is the MVP a possibility?... After throwing a scoreless inning in his first game with the Twins, reliever Eddie Guardado has given up four earned runs in 1 1/3 innings since. Yikes.

Thanks for reading... Go TWINS!!!

"Must NOT-see TV"

I played basketball last night, so I was feeling a little tired around 8:45 and thought I might go to sleep after a couple innings of the game. But nooooo, I had to call a friend and go to his place and watch the entire 3-2 Twins loss in HD. I really could have used that few extra hours, too. Instead, I witnessed an offensively sluggish team struggle to hit vs. lefty Dana Eveland. Seemed like J-Morneau was hitting the ball hard, but right at people every time. So annoying. And Brendan Harris looks lost at the dish right now. And that Jason Kubel at bat in the ninth inning... good lord. Horrid. Take a pitch, buddy. I wish there were some easy answers, but I can't think of anything aside from getting new players. This Athletics ARE who we THOUGHT THEY WERE, and we LET 'EM OFF THE HOOK!!

The good news, however, is that Nick Blackburn - 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER - managed a nice bounce-back outing after getting beaten up a bit this past weekend by Anaheim (10 hits, 2 BB in 4 2/3 IP). The bullpen even looked OK until the ninth when left a pitch up for Kurt Suzuki, who deposited it into the left field gap for the game-winning hit. Boof Bonser kept up the resurgent month with a scoreless 1 1/3 inning outing - he's got a 2.92 ERA in 12 August innings after racking up a 8.73 ERA in 22 2/3 combined June/July innings.

And if you get a chance, on SportCenter or otherwise, try to get a peek at the Casilla-to-Punto double play from last night. One of the most incredible plays I've seen in awhile. I'll try to find the link.

Here's hoping for better things tonight - it's Kevin Slowey vs. Dan L. Meyer. I always feel better about a matchup where the opposing pitcher regularly uses his middle initial in print. What a tool. Only authors and politicians can get away with that.

That's all for now!

Minor League Notes:

• New Britain got some SWEET pitching last night. Starter Jeff Manship went six scoreless innings, allowing just five baserunners while striking out seven. Ben Julianiel pitched 1 1/3 innings to record save number 25.
• Beloit (Low-A) Starter Mike McCardell baffled Kane County for seven innings, striking out four batters while allowing six men to reach base. Aside from his horrible outing late last week (5 ER in 6 2/3 IP), McCardell has looked ready for a promotion.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

George Michael

I watched the Minnesota Twins take two games out of three versus the New York Yankees today without sending either Scott Baker or Francisco Liriano to the mound even once. Let me tell you, it's a good feeling when your favorite team comes through. Kevin Slowey (9-8, 3.97 ERA) got his season ERA under 4.00 for the first time in a month-and-a-half and the Twins won 4-2 on the strength of Delmon Young's second straight game with a three-run homer.

I'll be the first to say that I thought Young was a life-draining leech the first two months of the season. He came in on a white horse as the Twins' hitting messiah, and we all thought he'd be an adequate replacement for Torii Hunter. Not the same, mind you, but maybe one or two steps below our beloved center fielder. When he decided to go 230 at bats without a home run, and hit a very pedestrian .264/.323/.337 through May, I was sounding the "2007 bust alert" siren. Then something happened - the weather warmed up, and so did he. And now, two months later, he's one of the most productive bats in a lineup that sorely needed a boost. "DY" went 5-for-12 in the series with two home runs and six RBI, and we're all hoping and praying that he's going to make up for 60 days of spring malfeasance with a scorching end to the summer. I guess George Michael and Limp Bizkit were right... you really do "gotta have faith".



Adam Everett didn't play yesterday, but if he would have, he surely would have gotten a hit off Rasner. On my "official" scorecard, I gave him a hit just for showing up to the ball park. I'm sure he hit something out of the infield in pre-game batting practice.

The M&M boys did precious little damage this series... Joe Mauer went a respectable 3-for-7 with an RBI, but Justin Morneau hit just 1-for-11 with only one runner driven in. As a matter of fact, Morneau has been terrible in August, hitting a frigid .154/.314/.205 in 39 at bats since the Cleveland series on August 1. He hasn't homered over that stretch either. Of course, all this means is that he's incredibly due for a hot streak, and if it's all the same to him, I'd like if he saved it for the 14-game road trip starting next weekend in Anaheim.

It's an off day tomorrow, but the action cranks up again Friday night at the Dome when Francisco Liriano takes on former Twin Carlos Silva. I'm predicting a 23-2 Twins win, but I'll probably re-think that by game time.

By the way, the White Sox won again tonight, which - for the first time since last Saturday - meant there would be no daily lead change in the division. The Sox play at 1:10 p.m. vs. Kansas City tomorrow.

Last, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com wrote that Raul Ibanez (Mariners) was claimed off waivers tonight. No word on who got him, but with the news that Cuddyer is going to be out for the balance of the regular season, he'd be a nice addition. Plus, Ibanez is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, so there's no commitment to him past September/October.

A few more random Twins notes to end the night: Joe Nathan, among closers who meet my not-so-strict criteria of 40 IP and 15 saves, has the best ERA in the majors this season. Only Jonathan Papelbon (BOS), Mariano Rivera (NYY) and Joakim Soria (KC) have better WHIP numbers than the Twins' stopper... Kevin Slowey allowed a first-inning run today for the first time this season... Carlos Gomez is now among the top 10 strikeout kings in the MLB this season with 112. Adam Dunn, in contrast, has 123. I still can't believe this guy was leading off into mid-July. Excuse me while I go throw up.

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Minor League Notes (truncated):

• Rochester Red Wings CF Jason Pridie extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a single tonight vs. Syracuse. 2B/DH Alejandro Machado, however, was unable to extend his 21-gamer, going 0-for-4 on the night. 3B Luke Hughes (3-for-3) and 2B Matt Macri (3-for-3, 2 HRs)provided the fireworks though in the team's 5-3 win.
• Both 2B Brian Dinkelman and SS Steven Tolleson tore the cover off the ball tonight. Dinkelman went 3-for-5 with a double and three runs while Tolleson shellacked a homer and two doubles to go a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI. On top of that, Tolleson stole his twelfth base of the season.
• After allowing 14 runs in his July 28 and August 2 starts (14.54 ERA), Beloit pitcher David Bromberg has bounced back with a vengeance. In his past two starts, Bromberg hasn't given up a run in 12 innings, and won both decisions. Last night, he went seven scoreless and struck out 10 while allowing just three hits (five baserunners - 2BB) for the Snappers.
  

Enjoy the Twins' off day! See ya tomorrow!