No support for Perkins

I’m disappointed today. Disappointed that the Twins could squander a Glen Perkins gem. Disappointed that Delmon Young has only seven at bats in four games, and – even worse – zero hits. Disappointed that our supposed eighth-inning guy Luis Ayala has already given up two runs in three outings. And I’m disappointed that, after absolutely crushing the competition with runners on base in 2008, we left FOURTEEN (14, yup) guys on the basepaths to end an inning. Worst of all, we did it against Jarrod Washed-Up (Washburn). Makes me cry bitter tears.

I’ll tell you what – writing about this stuff really does help though. I get frustrated listening to/watching games, and this is how I blow off the steam. So thanks for making it a worthwhile venture by reading my opinions every once in awhile. ☺

Anyway, there’s more to be ticked-off about, namely that our no. 1 (Span), no. 2 (Casilla) and no. 3 hitters (Cuddyer) combined to hit 0-for-11, but thankfully Cuddyer drew a walk to save the crew from getting skunked. Against Washburn, a guy who sported a 4.70 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and went 5-14 in 2008. I don’t get it. Except for the fact that Washburn, that bum, has a career 2.76 ERA at the Dome. Maybe we should have tried to sign him.

The news wasn’t all bad yesterday, no matter how much I try to spin it that way. Glen Perkins really did a masterful job against everyone but Adrian Beltre, who ended up hitting 6-for-13 this series with two walks in the win. Perkins gave up just one early run and managed to keep the baserunners to a minimum after an excruciatingly eventful first frame. Gotta respect the guy’s will to battle back after a rough start. Maybe it’s Perkins, not Kevin Slowey, who finds a little extra mojo this season and becomes our reliable no. 3 arm in the rotation.

Now it’s off to Chicago, the site of Twins despair (2-8) last season. We’ll run R.A. Dickey out to the mound tonight against Jose Contreres, then watch Francisco Liriano do battle versus Bartolo Colón Saturday. On Sunday, Nick Blackburn matches up against Mark Buehrle in the third game of the series. I’m glad to miss Danks and Floyd, but we’ll get a couple doses of them later this year.

Notes:

• The Rochester Red Wings got underway Thursday and saw Luke Hughes, Dustin Martin, Trevor Plouffe and David Winfree smack homers in the opener. Nothin’ like a few fireworks!
• Left-fielder Matt Moses bashed a bomb for the Double-A Rock Cats Thursday in the team’s second game of the season, and it’s good to see him get rolling right away. In addition, Anthony Slama (one of my favorites) struck out three batters in a relief appearance yesterday, and remains one of the top bullpen arms in the minor leagues. Hopefully he’ll get more pub this season.
  

Twins play tonight at 7:11 p.m. vs. Chicago… beat those pale hose down!

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.

Oh, and please do remember that you can subscribe by simply clicking here and entering your email address. Thanks!

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!

Guerrier Gone Wild

Just a quick bit of housekeeping before I move it along: You can subscribe to this blog and get it in your email every day by clicking Here! Thanks...

I hope I never have to use Matt Guerrer in a headline again, but the way he's pitching right now is downright infuriating. I mentioned he had a disgusting 17.38 ERA in his past seven outings on yesterday's post... it's now up to 19.08 in his past 5 2/3 innings - eight outings - after allowing Alex Rodriguez and Xavier Nady to pop homers off him in the top of the 12th inning last night. It'd be one thing if Guerrier was allowing runs at an alarming rate in a mop-up role, but he's pitching important innings for the Twins and blowing games left and right. It wasn't just Guerrier last night though - Blackburn (6 hits, 3 BB, 4 ER) gave up a leadoff homer to Johnny Damon and struggled through 4 2/3 innnings, Bonser let in a run, and Jesse Crain coughed up one as well. An ugly, but still winnable game.

Joe Mauer was a late scratch last night with a stiff neck. No one seems to know how it happened, but he's questionable for the game today. The Twins missed his bat in key spots last night - the team left 10 men on base. Justin Morneau went 0-for-4 with a walk, and his similarly absent bat didn't help.

I'll try to focus on something more positive though. Delmon Young (3-for-5, 3 RBI) is waking up... when you hit a three-run shot off Marino Rivera, something is going right. That's two homers in his past four games and a .311/.351/.461 with six home runs and 30 battitng line since June 1 (51 games). Hopefully he can keep it going, because Michael Cuddyer ain't walkin' through the door anytime soon. And if he does, he'll be wearing an air cast on his right foot, so it won't help the team anyway. By the way, Adam Everett (1-for-4) got a hit again!

The Twins run it back vs. New York today in the rubber match. It's Kevin Slowey (8-8, 4.07 ERA) vs. Darrell Rasner (5-8, 5.28 ERA). Let's hope we catch the Yanks sleeping and win our second series in a row before welcoming Seattle back into town this weekend.

Minor League Notes:

• They're still going... CF Jason Pridie (3-for-6) and 2B Alejandro Machado (1-for-5) kept their respective 19 and 21-game hitting streaks intact.
• Phil Humber is finally in a groove for Triple-A Rochester, pitching like we thought he would at this level. Last night, Humber struck out 11 batters over 7 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits in the outing. Since coming back from a three-week bullpen stint, Humber has a 3.16 ERA, 1.245 WHIP and 36 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings.
  
• Fort Myers reliever Anthony Slama continues to dominate High-A competition, as he boasts a sub-1.00 ERA and 13.92 K/9 IP. He's got a tidy little 0.953 WHIP as well.
• On a current six-game hitting streak, 1B Rene Leveret is now hitting 10-for-24 (.416) with two home runs and 14 RBI. Oh yeah, and he went 2-for-5 with a homer and five RBI last night.
  
• SP Mike McCardell of the Beloit Snappers kept the mojo going once again, striking out 10 batters over eight dominant innings to pick up his second win in a row and move to 9-3 on the year. He gave up just three hits and two runs - all in the first inning - before shutting down the Peoria bats. McCardell has a 1.86 ERA over his past four outings.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the noon game today!

Sick to My Stomach

Aren't you just ill today? I know I am. Last Monday too. These Matt Guerrier-fueled losses are doing real damage to my psyche and ability to function as a normal human being. Last night, I couldn't even eat dinner, and that's a problem. Over his past seven outings, Matty-G has a 17.38 ERA. Folks, that's absolutely untenable. There's no way he should be in that eighth inning slot the way he's going, and really, we have the same problem we had before Liriano came up - a gap in the bridge to Nathan. 

Now, I'm not going to say Crain or Reyes or others might do much better - I have VERY little faith in Jesse Crain - but how could they do worse? Guerrier was pitching decent, then he lost it. Against Seattle and Kansas City, no less! Possible solutions could be to bring up Bobby Korecky from the Rochester, but they'll probably do that in September anyway. They could also juggle the bullpen or pitch Nathan more in the eighth inning (last night would have been a perfect opportunity to do so). Chances are that they were saving Nathan for the Yankee series unless it was a one-inning save situation, but you've gotta make hay against poor teams. The Twins couldn't do that this week, and find themselves inexplicably behind the White Sox in the standings. 

Saturday and Sunday went pretty well for our starters - Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker combined to throw 12 2/3 innings, and gave up a total of five runs (3.55 ERA) and 13 hits (16 baserunners - 1.263 WHIP) in their outings. Baker struck out seven batters and Liriano got five men out on strikes... two solid performances from guys we'll need high-quality production from the rest of the year. 

The bats got the job done for the most part as well, putting up 11 runs in the final two games of the series in support of their starters. Delmon Young blasted his fifth homer of the year, and is batting .309 with five home runs, 31 RBI and three steals since June. He had zero homers and 15 RBI in April/May. We expected more power, but his bat has given Jason Kubel and Justin Morneau a bit of relief.  

Today, the Twins get New York in a pivotal three-game series where they'll face Sidney Ponson (2.55 career ERA vs. Minnesota) tonight, 16-game winner Mike Mussina Tuesday and young gun Dan Giese in Wednesday's noon game. Minnesota will counter with Glen Perkins tonight, Nick Blackburn Tuesday and Kevin Slowey Wednesday. Should be an enjoyable series, and I'll be there on Wednesday... maybe I'll ya'll there. 

Minor League Notes:  

• The major offensive threats for Rochester have kept at it, as Luke Hughes (2-for-4) bombed his second home run in four games last night for the Red Wings. Alejandro Machado singled in four at bats and now has a 19-game hit steak, while Jason Pridie continues to streak in August - he's batting .462 this month.
• In two games over the weekend, New Britain 2B Brian Dinkelman scorched five hits in eight at bats to raise his average to .288 in 32 games as a Rock Cat. He batted .293 in 63 games at Fort Myers earlier this season, so it's an encouraging sign that he's handling the next level just as well. 
• Elizabethton CF Evan Bigley went 4-for-5 yesterday with two RBI, and raised his average to .316 on the year. Teammate SP Curtis Leavitt struck out 10 batters over six innings, but did not factor into the decision.  

Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Enjoy the Yankees vs. Twins tonight! 

Fresh Bake(r)d Victory

On a day when the Twins absolutely needed it, Scott Baker came through. Pitching five solid innings, Baker allowed the Twins bats enough time to amass a 9-3 lead and get him his seventh victory of the season. Too bad the team couldn't have gotten anything going in his two 1-0 defeats over the past couple of weeks.


And it can't be overstated that the bullpen did a pretty nice job in closing it out. Brian Bass and Craig Breslow pitched scoreless innings before giving way to Jessie Crain, who in typical Jessie Crain fashion, allowed the Indians to plate a runner. Of course, the score was 11-4 at that time, so the run didn't matter. Still, Crain has now given up runs in three of his past four outings. Thankfully, Matt Guerrier closed out the win with a scoreless ninth.

Aside from Baker's streak-busting performance and bullpen efficiency, Brian Buscher gave the Twins' brass pause in their search for a new 3B-man. Buscher went 3-for-5 with his third round-tripper of the season, and drove in a career-high five runs. While it wasn't spotlighted in any of the game summary articles, it has to be mentioned that Delmon Young also had a three-hit night with two RBI. Young's batting average is up to .297, good for fourth on the team. Going further, he's batting .342/.364/.479 in July and is becoming a rock-solid no. 6 bat for Minnesota.

Carlos Gomez worked out in a pool yesterday, and is feeling better, according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune.

In other Twins-related news, Francisco Liriano is pitching today vs. Scranton/Wllkes-Burre. Listen here at 5:05 CST today! Wilkes-Burre is a considerably more patient team than Toledo, Liriano's previous opponent, as they rank second in the International league in walks. The call-up could come any day now...

Minor League Notes:

• Double-A third baseman Daniel Valencia ripped two more hits last night for his third multi-hit performance in a row. He's now 7-for-11 (.636) in his past three games.
  
• Fellow Rock Cat Dustin Martin also banged out two hits to raise his average up to .292 on the season. In fact, Martin now has seven home runs and 18 stolen bases (T-5th in Eastern League) on the season.
• Garrett Olsen hammered a homer last night for Single-A Fort Myers, snapping an ugly 1-for-18 skid. Since moving up to A+ ball in June, Olsen has struggled quite a bit, hitting just .172 in 32 games.
• After his recent call-up from the Elizabethton Rookie League team where he allowed just one earned run in 19 innings while striking out 34 batters, 21-year-old Steven "Shooter" Hunt had an excellent debut for Beloit, striking out nine men in five innings of work. Hunt allowed a run and walked two batters, but all-in-all, the Tulane graduate is still golden. Certainly an arm to keep an eye on.
• Last, Elizabethton first baseman Jonathan Waltenbury has pounded out four multi-hit games in a row, and has nine hits in his past 20 at bats (.450 BA). He's just 20 years old, and could soon be ready for a call-up to Beloit as he's batting .326/.388/.545 in 35 games this season.
  

Thanks for reading... have a great day!