GameChat – Twins @ Tigers #2, Fox, 3:10 pm

Come on Twins, you have a bunch of hometown fans that have roadtripped in with TwinsTrain to see you play.  Can we please give them a better performance than they got to see yesterday???? 

And Morneau is still not up to par – his participation in the AS Game is looking particularly questionable.  I don’t really care about that though as long as he can get back into OUR lineup.  Justin, feel better soon.

Minnesota @ Detroit
Span, CF   Jackson, A, CF
Hudson, O, 2B   Damon, DH
Mauer, C   Ordonez, RF
Thome, DH   Cabrera, M, 1B
Kubel, RF   Boesch, LF
Cuddyer, 1B   Guillen, C, 2B
Young, D, LF   Inge, 3B
Hardy, SS   Avila, C
Punto, 3B   Santiago, SS
  Blackburn, P     Bonderman, P

 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 6 0
Detroit 2 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 x 7 8 0

 

It’s official.  Twins fans are frustrated.  Not sure what the solution will turn out to be but I sure hope that they figure out what is going wrong for them.  The list of problems is VERY long.

Also on the list of things that are official, Justin Morneau will skip the AS Game.  His doctor has recommended rest because he’s still struggling with concussion symptoms.  He’s been through this too many times before to play games with it.  No one wants him to risk coming back too early – including former teammate, Corey Koskie, who knows the problem intimately.  I hope he heals up soon and can come back and join the solution after the break when the Twins magically start playing well again!

GameChat – Twins @ Tigers, 6:05

I gotta tell you, I don’t hate that Lee is with the Rangers.  *laugh*  I do think it will mean that the Twins will work a little harder to nail down one of the other pitchers that are available – because there are several – and I don’t think they will be pressured to overpay for one of them the way that it seems everyone else was willing to do for Lee.  That being said, I am ECSTATIC that one 24 hour period as seen an end to both the speculation regarding Lee AND LeBron.  THANK GOD!  I don’t mind trade rumors, fact is, I believe I mentioned being a trade rumor addict during the off-season.  BUT the sheer level of the ridiculous that was attached to these players due to current, or impending, free agency was mind-numbing.  So, I wonder who the Twins are turning their attention to?  I don’t hate Roy Oswalt and I love Dan Haren…  hmmm… 😉

Now to focus on tonight’s game – how about we try WINNING on the road and, especially, let’s beat the Tigers!  Not sure what it is about the Twins but they seem to do better when they they are fighting to catch up rather than being in the lead.  Well, then get your butts in gear and fight to catch up because you are in 3rd place in the division, boys!  Since this is our last series before the AS break, I think it would be a good time to win and go on the break with that motivation.

Justin Morneau is still battling headaches so he is not only not in the lineup but Gardy says he’s not available, period.  There are some questions whether or not he’ll even be able to play the AS Game.  It kind of sucks if he managed to get voted into that starting spot and then has to give it up to yet another Yankee if he can’t play.  But no, I don’t want him to play at all if he has any lingering effects period.  It’s just not worth it.

In order to lift everyone’s mood before the start of the game, I’m sharing this tweet from Seth Stohs who is in Detroit with the folk on TwinsTrain“Right now in BP, Cuddy at 1B, Gardy at 2B, Mauer at SS. Ha!” GREAT mental image!

Minnesota @ Detroit
Span, CF   Jackson, A, CF
Hudson, O, 2B   Raburn, LF
Mauer, C   Ordonez, DH
Thome, DH   Cabrera, M, 1B
Kubel, RF   Boesch, RF
Cuddyer, 1B   Guillen, C, 2B
Young, D, LF   Inge, 3B
Hardy, SS   Laird, C
Punto, 3B   Worth, SS
  Liriano, P     Verlander, P

 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 11 0
Detroit 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 7 11 1

 

Is it the all-star break yet?  No???  Crap.  *sigh*

So, What’s Next?

UPDATE: OK so maybe I was premature in handing Lee to the Yankees, since NY Post reporter Joel Sherman is now (at 2:44 pm) tweeting that the Ms are going in “another direction.” the Rangers have acquired Lee from the Mariners in a deal that is somewhat puzzling, but sure looks to me they paid a VERY high price. Nevertheless, while my comments about the Yankees below are now virtually irrelevant, my views about the Twins needing to just get busy and move on to other targets remain as strong as ever. – JC

UPDATE #2: Interesting stuff. Seems the Yankees are pissed off. This is interesting, in that the Yankees were frustrated with the Ms just a year ago when they were trying to trade for Jarrod Washburn. The Ms did get two of the Rangers top 20 prospects in addition to two lesser minor leaguers, one of which (2B Josh Lueke) has some past “character issues” (to say the least). -JC

I’ve always been a big fan of TV’s “West Wing” series. Throughout the seven seasons that Martin Sheen portrayed the fictional President Bartlet in that series, I’m pretty sure he uttered the question, “What’s next?” more than any other phrase. It virtually became a catch phrase. In one episode, he expounded on the phrase in a terse admonition to his staff. “When I ask, ‘What’s next?’, it means that I’m ready to move on to other things. So, what’s next?”

I’m not sure I can describe my feelings about the impending Cliff Lee to the Yankees trade much better than that.

Yes, I was all in favor of making a deal to bring Lee to the Twins, even if it meant overpaying in prospects a bit. But Cliff Lee is going to be a Yankee. OK, fine. I’m ready to move on to other things. So, what’s next?

There are a couple of things you can do when you don’t get what you want. You can whine and cast blame on those who made the decision to deprive you of getting what you want (we’ll call this the Dan Gilbert approach, named for the Cleveland Cavaliers owner who pretty much provided a prime example of it with his reaction to being jilted by his prize free agent player last night). You can also throw a tantrum and set things on fire.

I’m just not sure those approaches are altogether productive and, fortunately, I can’t quite envision Twins GM Bill Smith going with those options either.

I prefer the “What’s next?” approach because, let’s be honest, the Twins need some help and the sooner, the better. So if Lee is not coming to town to help former team mate Carl Pavano deliver us all to the Promised Land (which, in this case, would be the World Series), then let’s focus on other options to get us there.

I know we’ve said a few times that it would be nice to have another option at 3B, but like it or not, I think Michael Cuddyer has become that “other option”. I’m not thrilled, but if it means we get more 420 foot HRs out of Jim Thome’s bat in the lineup, I’ll try to live with it. Frankly, the available 3B options on the market right now don’t exactly excite me anyway. So do your best out there, Cuddy, and try not to hurt yourself.

But for goodness sake, someone please find us some pitching. A top of the rotation starting pitcher like Dan Haren or Roy Oswalt? Terrific! The Cubs are supposedly about ready to start selling off spare parts, so let’s give them a call about Ted Lilly. He’s a rung below these other guys, but on this team, he’d be a marked improvement (but then, the list of pitchers that would constitute marked improvement over what we’ve seen on the mound lately wouldn’t be a short one).

Maybe we shouldn’t be content to settle for just getting one of those guys because, as long as we’re being honest, I think we have to admit we have more than one starting pitcher who isn’t exactly giving his team a great chance to win very often lately. And while we’re in a shopping mood, maybe we should think about a little bullpen help, too.

Is that asking for too much? I don’t think so! A year ago, there was a great deal of debate (and considerable skepticism) concerning whether Smith would make any deals significant enough to really be difference makers. In the end, he brought in Jon Rauch, Ron Mahay, Orlando Cabrera and Carl Pavano. While we could quibble about each player’s ultimate contribution to the Twins winning the Central Division title, there can be no questioning that the Twins were uncharacteristically active in their effort to strengthen their roster for the late season push.

I fully expect Bill Smith to be even more aggressive this month. The Twins can still contend for their Championship rings this season and if you take the time to really look at what their payroll and roster could look like next year and beyond, you recognize that this opportunity could be the best it’s going to get for a couple of years.

“But what about the F’ing Yankees?”, you ask, “Haven’t they wrapped up the World Series by trading for Cliff Lee?”

No. In my mind, they’ve not increased their chances of advancing in the playoffs much at all. What they HAVE done is increase their chances of reaching the playoffs. But wasn’t that pretty darn good anyway? Adding Lee to a rotation that already includes Sabbathia, Pettitte, and Hughes will make them tougher competition for the Rays and Red Sox over the second half of the season, but really what they did was save themselves a first round draft pick which they would have lost to Seattle (or whatever other team Lee ended this season with) by signing Lee in the offseason instead of trading for him now. Bully for them.

But once in the playoffs, they were going to have a tough starting pitcher every game, with or without Lee. It’s not like they were going to be trotting Javier Vasquez out there to start any games, anyway.

So frankly, if the Twins weren’t going to get Lee, I can’t think of many places (at least in the AL) where he would have a less problematic effect on the Twins than with the Yankees. The Twins are done playing the Yankees during the regular season and he’s not going to result in nearly the kind of upgrade to their rotation that he would have to the Rays, Rangers or, God forbid, the White Sox or Tigers.

So the proper response to this turn of events is not to wail about how the Yankees always get what they want (though they do) or to cast aspersions toward the Mariners for getting the Yankees to overpay in prospects even more than the Twins would have (though they did).

Instead, let’s fix our gaze toward Bill Smith and simply ask, “So, what’s next?”  -JC


GameChat – Twins @ Blue Jays #3, 6:07 pm

Per MLB’s announcement today, the winner of the AL Final Vote was Nick Swisher.  Not that that is any big surprise or anything.  He did get serious competition from Youk but still…  Why don’t they just put the entire Yankees team out there and then just play whoever else has time?

Anyway, about REAL baseball, Morneau is out after taking a knee to the head last night – yes, he does have a concussion, again.  They are calling him day-to-day.  You really have to feel bad for the guy.  And kind of makes you feel a little bad for Cuddy too – yet more musical fielding positions for him.

Minnesota @ Toronto
Repko, CF   Lewis, F, LF
Hudson, O, 2B   Gonzalez, A, SS
Mauer, DH   Bautista, J, RF
Cuddyer, 1B   Wells, V, CF
Young, D, LF   Lind, DH
Kubel, RF   Hill, A, 2B
Valencia, 3B   Overbay, 1B
Hardy, SS   Encarnacion, 3B
Butera, C   Molina, J, C
  Baker, S, P     Cecil, P

 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
Toronto 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 x 8 10 0

 

Ouch.

Here’s the Last Day to Vote for Delmon – this year.

 

I find it a bit entertaining that I’m doing anything to further encourage the All-Star game.  I don’t HATE it, mind you.  I just have huge isues with something that is purely a popularity contest and then pretends that it can somehow “represent” all teams and set itself up as important to baseball.  And I felt this way BEFORE Justin Morneau was treated so shamefully during his HR derby win.

But all that being said, it IS a popularity contest.  It isn’t about skill or we wouldn’t have forced representation from teams and we wouldn’t have Omar Infante on any AS team – although I’m sure he’s a nice guy.  We also wouldn’t be having a discussion about Strasburg participating.  Whatever your feelings about whether it should or shouldn’t be this way or how players are chosen, it is what it is.

And what it is is a reflection on Twins fans.  Delmon Young is finally having a season we have been waiting for.  One where we actually get excited when he comes up to bat – one where we don’t hide our head in our hands everytime a fly is hit to LF – one where there are blogger arguments about how he should be higher in the batting order!!!  Come ON, Twins fans!  This is our boy on the ballot. 

WE CAN DO BETTER THAN 5TH PLACE!

Let’s get out there and click submit – we have until 3 pm Central today to vote.

 

Again, click the button above and it will take you to the ballot!

GameChat – Twins @ Blue Jays #2, 6:07 pm

Kind of glad that the Twins are on a roadtrip given our recent weather.  Somehow it seems that summer is fully upon us complete with high heat, tropical humidity and mid-day thunder.  Gotta love it!  I even froze some nectarines this afternoon!  All that aside, it’s a good thing they are in Toronto – where they can close the roof if necessary.  Although, given the way the balls were flying yesterday, I don’t really mind the heat and humidity.  Let’s just hope that Kevin Slowey remembers what that does.

Oh yeah, and Cuddy is back in RF!!!!!

Minnesota @ Toronto
Span, CF   Lewis, F, LF
Hudson, O, 2B   Gonzalez, A, SS
Mauer, C   Bautista, J, RF
Morneau, 1B   Wells, V, CF
Cuddyer, RF   Lind, DH
Kubel, DH   Buck, J, C
Young, D, LF   Overbay, 1B
Valencia, 3B   Encarnacion, 3B
Hardy, SS   McDonald, Jo, 2B
  Slowey, P     Rzepczynski, P

 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 5 11 1
Toronto 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 x 6 10 0

 

Well that was a most unsatisfactory ending to a seesaw of a game.  I was really hoping that Orlando would be able to come up with a double to finish the cycle – not to mention getting the lead again and the win.  It was a well-fought game though and Slowey pitched WELL despite getting tagged with 5 runs.  We’ll go back after them again tomorrow.

[EDIT] post game info per Kelly Thesier: Morneau did take knee to head and had a headache after game. Young strained his left wrist slightly. Both players are day-to-day.

GameChat – Twins @ Blue Jays, 6:07

For those of you who AREN’T connected to the Twittersphere to follow your favorite baseball team, you likely slept well and missed the explosion of Cliff Lee rumors that a deal was near to completion that would send Ramos & Hicks to Seattle.  Kbro was wise enough to point out that perhaps rumors that originate in DETROIT aren’t likely to be solid when they involve the Twins.  That being said, Twins officials when questioned seemed to downplay the immediacy of any deal completion, nor does it appear that those two players are being considered – at least not together. 

I will be glad when the next three weeks are OVER.

The All-Star Game balloting for the final position in each league continues until 3:00 pm on Thursday.  Delmon Young was in 5th place in the AL this morning and Nick Swisher was in the lead…  Frankly, in what is merely a popularity contest, I know which of the two I would rather see in the limited attention I will likely give the events in Anaheim.  It was also announced today that Justin Morneau officially declined an invitation to participate in the Homerun Derby – after snubs he received the year he won, one can hardly blame him.  I’ve also heard that Mauer has also expressed that he has no interest in participating.  Good for them both.

Now let’s hope that the Twins can actually get their road game together while across the border.

Minnesota @ Toronto
Span, CF   Lewis, F, LF
Hudson, O, 2B   Wise, CF
Mauer, C   Gonzalez, A, SS
Morneau, 1B   Bautista, J, RF
Kubel, RF   Lind, DH
Cuddyer, 3B   Buck, J, C
Thome, DH   Overbay, 1B
Young, D, LF   Encarnacion, 3B
Punto, SS   Green, N, 2B
  Pavano, P     Litsch, P

 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 7 10 0
Toronto 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 6 9 1

 

I figured out why the lefties all decided to start hitting homeruns tonight – it was the only way they could keep DeWayne Wise from CATCHING the ball.  Sheesh, that guy is good.  I figure that the hot, humid weather also contributed since there were three homeruns for each team – the ball was definitely flying well.  And there was so much hitting in general that there was serious discussion about assigning a TEAM-WIDE BOD tonight.  I think it’s mostly just excitement about what was a nail-biter game but a win at a time when road wins have been fewer and further between than we would like.  With some further discussion, Co-BOD’s were assigned to Delmon for being monstrously everywhere (3/3 and winning run) and Spanky for great catches and timely hitting = 2 RBI (including the winning one).  However, a truckload of pastries will be delivered to the lockerroom just in time for the guys to get out of the showers.  Great win!

All-Star Game – Who’s on First? I Don’t Know. He’s on Third and I Don’t Give a Darn. (Do You?)

Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine is not only the funniest comedy bit ever done about baseball, it also seems to just about perfectly describe my feelings about the MLB All-Star Game.

It’s a bit sad, really, because (“Because” plays CF) I used to love this game. I got so excited when I found out I got 2 tickets to the 1985 All-Star Game in the Metrodome that I swung a pool cue around and broke 3 beer bottles sitting on a nearby table (the game itself was a bit of a yawner as the National League won 6-1, but I didn’t care). I also remember watching Pete Rose slam in to Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse on television and a number of other great All-Star moments over the years. I never missed the game unless I was playing ball myself.

I don’t really even know why (“Why’s” the left fielder) my feelings changed. It may have been the infamous tie game and the sight of Bud Selig’s “What can I do?” shrug (“What” is on second) that ended the 2002 All-Star Game in a tie. That event led to Selig declaring that home field advantage in the World Series would go to the team representing the League that wins the All-Star Game. I never quite understood how that prevents teams from running out of pitchers in extra-inning All-Star Games, but on the list of Selig decisions I don’t understand, this one probably barely cracks the top 10.

It just feels to me like, for all the bluster about the game, even Major League Baseball doesn’t exactly know whether to take it seriously or not, so why (“Why” is still in LF) should I?

It is refreshing that many of the players still care about it… and I’m willing to give most of them the benefit of the doubt and believe it’s for reasons that go beyond the ASG bonus that many of their agents have had included in their contracts. I feel good for guys like the D’Backs Chris Young, who (“Who” is at 1B) clearly is excited about going to Anaheim for his first ASG. And while I guess I was ambivalent about the whole “Should Steven Strasburg be an All-Star?” question, hearing that a poll of 50 current players resulted in a unanimous 50-0 “NO” vote told me that these guys do care about who (“Who” is on FIRST!) represents them.

Of course, as a Twins fan, it feels good to see two of our guys voted in as starters for the first time since Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew in 1968. That was two years before starting rosters were turned back over to fan voting, by the way. I think a lot of Twins fans have begun to take Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau for granted, but this not only serves as a reminder that we are watching two potential Hall of Famers on the field together daily (not to mention shoe-in HOFer, Jim Thome this season), but also demonstrates that the Twins have gotten the attention and appreciation of baseball fans all over the country. Together, Mauer & Morneau have made Twins baseball relevant.

I think it’s great that Delmon Young is included in the “final 5” vote, even though his chances of winning are slim & none (and you should definitely go vote for him… I did). It’s not that he isn’t deserving, but Kevin Youkilis is such an obvious omission from the AL roster, that I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t double the votes of any other name on the list. To be honest, I thought Francisco Liriano probably deserved as much consideration as Young, if not more.

I don’t know (“I Don’t Know”… third base!) yet which reserves were voted in by the players/managers/coaches as a whole and which were chosen specifically by the ASG managers (the Yankees’ Joe Girardi and Phillies Charlie Manuel), but if it turns out that they chose ARoid over Youk and Ryan Howard over Joey Votto, I think it’s time to take the right to pick ANY pitchers/reserves away from the respective managers.

And don’t be surprised if Girardi replaces CC Sabathia (can’t pitch in the ASG ‘cuz he’ll be pitching Sunday) with Andy Pettite instead of Jared Weaver, who (“Who” is the guy on 1B) not only is more deserving, but the game is being played in his home ballpark. As it stands, only Torii Hunter will represent the Halos. But then an All-Star Game with only FIVE Yankees playing really wouldn’t be an All-Star Game, would it? (UPDATE: Girardi didn’t wait long… he’s named Pettitte to replace the injured Clay Buchholz.)

As for Manuel, if he’s the one responsible for picking Omar Infante over… well… just about everyone else in a National League starting lineup, I think someone needs to require Charlie to undergo a thorough mental health evaluation. That choice is flat out bizarre.

Finally, on the subject of All-Star Games, it really is unfortunate that Twins prospect Liam Hendriks will miss the All-Star Futures Game. (New Britain’s Ben Revere is also representing the Twins organization.) This game gives some of the top prospects in minor league baseball an opportunity to showcase their talents and compete against many of the other top prospects, in addition to giving fans across the country an opportunity to see future stars in action. Hendriks had an emergency appendectomy on Sunday and will be out of action for a month or more. The Aussie has been very impressive (1.76 ERA and 0.845 WHIP) in 16 starts this season, split between Beloit and Ft. Myers. I saw him shut down Cedar Rapids early in the year (7 Ks in 5 shutout innings)  and was looking forward to seeing him match up against the other minor league stars. Get well soon, Liam.

So, am I alone in my general indifference to the All-Star Game and who (for the last time, “Who” is on first!) participates? We don’t have a Twins game to look forward to until tomorrow (“Tomorrow” is our pitcher) night, so let’s do a poll, shall we? I’ll cast the first vote… and I don’t give a darn (Oh, he’s our shortstop!). – JC

Final Vote for All-Star Game 2010

Well, I think the Twins will be well-represented at the All-Star Game in Anaheim this year thanks to the M&M boys doing so well in the voting.  Isn’t it amazing what a little commercial time can do to a couple guys in flyover country?

Here’s the list of currently selected players:

2010 All-Stars

AL starters
C: J. Mauer, MIN
1B: J. Morneau, MIN
2B: R. Cano, NYY
SS: D. Jeter, NYY
3B: E. Longoria, TB
OF: J. Hamilton, TEX
OF: I. Suzuki, SEA
OF: C. Crawford, TB
DH: V. Guerrero, TEX

NL starters
C: Y. Molina, STL
1B: A. Pujols, STL
2B: C. Utley, PHI
SS: H. Ramirez, FLA
3B: D. Wright, NYM
OF: R. Braun, MIL
OF: A. Ethier, LA
OF: J. Heyward, ATL

Full All-Star rosters

BUT!!  We, as fans, aren’t done yet!  We have a chance to continue voting for the player to be added to the roster.  Here in Twins Territory, one of our favorite debates over the last couple years has been whether or not Delmon Young would ever live up to his potential.  We get frequent reminders – which we need because we frequently forget – that Delmon Young is still a very young man and still developing the necessary maturity as a player.  However, this year we’re finally seeing some of that development take place.  And due to what is really becoming a great season for him, he has been included in the list of 5 men that the fans can choose to add to each league roster. 

Twins fans should really take advantage of this!  So go vote for Delmon!

 

 

If you click on the button – it will take you to the All-Star Balloting!  You have until 3:00 pm on Thursday.

GameChat – Rays @ Twins #4, 1:10, Happy 4th of July!, WFTC29 & am1500

 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Independance Day and has had time to spend with friends and family to celebrate the holiday. I’m quickly inbetween the military appreciation services I did this morning and a barbeque this afternoon. So, I’m not going to be in the chat in the beginning but I hope that some of you may have the time in your day to watch a little baseball!

Tampa Bay @ Minnesota
Zobrist, RF   Span, CF
Crawford, LF   Hudson, O, 2B
Longoria, 3B   Mauer, C
Aybar, W, DH   Morneau, 1B
Rodriguez, S, 2B   Kubel, RF
Pena, C, 1B   Cuddyer, 3B
Shoppach, C   Thome, DH
Upton, B, CF   Young, D, LF
Bartlett, SS   Hardy, SS
  Shields, J, P     Blackburn, P

 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 7 13 0
Minnesota 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 10 1

 

This afternoon just didn’t quite pan out the way I wanted.  After a very full weekend where I haven’t even gotten the chance to see much baseball, I looked forward to finally getting an opportunity to sit down and watch the later innings of today’s game.  Funny how that didn’t quite turn out to be the opportunity I thought it would be – I fell asleep!!  Of course, the Twins also took that opportunity to lose their first series ever in Target Field.  I’m sure that also wasn’t quite how they had anticipated this weekend going.

I think we are all going to really need the off-day tomorrow.