1st to 3rd

Okay, in fairness, we're actually tied for 2nd place right now, but this is not where we belong. Our guys started out so strong. I keep thinking about who's to blame for the downfall. We went from being 4.5 games up on Detroit on June 1st to being 2.5 games back of Chicago and tied with Detroit today. This isn't right.

Who is to blame? I'm not entirely sure. J. Mauer certainly isn't producing the way we'd all hoped for. J. Morneau is on the DL. Our pitching staff is inconsistent (or, some may say consistently bad). There's not really one person to blame right now. We win as a team, and we lose as a team (I say "we," because I am clearly the 10th (wo)man on the field).

The best news is that we still have quite a few games to go before it'll come down to that inevitable 163rd game this year. Oy vey. I don't know if I can handle that again.

Positives of this year so far:

#1. Target Field is amazing

#2. Delmon Young seems to be living up to his potential

DATE	OPP	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
07/07/2010	@TOR	4	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	.306
07/08/2010	@TOR	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.306
07/09/2010	@DET	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	.305
07/10/2010	@DET	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.302
07/11/2010	@DET	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	.305
07/15/2010	CWS	5	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	.306
07/16/2010	CWS	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.303
07/17/2010	CWS	3	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	.307
07/18/2010	CWS	5	1	2	1	3	0	2	0	.308
07/19/2010	CLE	5	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	.313
TOTALS		39	5	14	2	8	1	3	1	.359

#3. Nicest Guy in Baseball

#4. Cuddles can fill in at 1st

#5. I still love these guys

Negatives:

#1. J. Nathan is out & while J. Rauch has done more than a respectable job- our bullpen is hurting sorely.

#2. Tied for 2nd is not the same as 4.5 games ahead in 1st

#3. Nick Punto walks to the plate with Phil Collins playing "In the Air Tonight"

#4. I guess some view this facial hair as a positive. The jury's out at my place.

It's time for a 2nd 1/2 rally. While the Twins have done a great job of keeping it interesting by going to game 163 two consecutive years, I'd really prefer just being alone in 1st place on October 3rd this year.

Hate It Or Love It

From Chicago to Minnesota, please welcome Joe Crede.

What will this mean for our favorite "tiny superhero" Nick Punto? I'm nervous just thinking about it. Meanwhile, this is pushing aside Brian Buscher and Brendon Harris. Is that really what we want? I'll be the first to admit that Crede spent a limited amount of time on my fantasy baseball roster last year, but I still didn't really cheer for him, I just needed someone to replace Chipper Jones when he wasn't playing. AND! Not only will Harris's and Buscher's playing be stunted, but I thought we were a team about developing new players, not signing former White Sox players. They take our cast-offs (see: A.J.).

Maybe this will be a good move, but honestly, I have serious doubts about how fast Crede jerseys will be flying off the shelves. Gardy seems hopeful about the one year deal. It comes with a $2.5 million base salary and the possibility of $7 million. To learn more, click here.

We'll see what happens. Our first official Spring Training game is in less than 4 days.

T-Minus 8 Days

I just checked the Twins' website and was informed that in exactly 8 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training. All is right with the world.

Recent News:

M. Guerrier and the club constructed a one-year, $1.475 million contract and avoided arbitration. I know last season was a rough one for Matty and his fans, but I have a feeling that things will be better this year.

A little less recent:
J. Morneau got married last month to Krista Martin. Congratulations to the newlyweds! Good luck getting her to add you as a friend on her MySpace page. I have to fight the urge to request her friendship because I know it would be a complete conflict of interest. I would likely spend much too much time eStalking her. In reality, the most likely outcome would be that she would not accept a friend request from me. Her loss.

As we go forth toward this 2009 MLB season, let's consider all of the unanswered questions that many of us have about the Minnesota Twins ballclub:

1. Who will take control of the finances of this team and what will be the implications?
2. What is up at 3rd base?
3. How will the marriage of J. Morneau impact his relationship with J. Mauer, and how will this affect the team? (The saga continues. . .)
4. What is our pitching going to look like this year?

Unknown to me is who will be on the mound for the Twins on Opening Day, but I have a strong feeling it will be S. Baker. I can get behind that decision. We've already discussed the ups and downs of M. Guerrier, but what do we expect from B. Bonser? Do we even expect anything? I won't be surprised by anything that comes from him this season; good or bad. Scratch that: I will be surprised by anything great that comes from him. So long as his ego hasn't gotten the best of him, I have a pretty good feeling about F. Liriano.

2009 World Series winners = Minnesota Twins. The best part will be watching it unfold.

R.I.P. Carl Pohlad

Carl Pohlad passed away today at age 93. The obvious question now is, "Who will take over where he left off?" And perhaps, the question after that is, "Will this person be as big of a penny pincher on payroll as C. Pohlad was?

My thoughts and prayers are with the Pohlad family.

Read more

The Pohlad family's statement

Happenings

What's going on with the team? Well, here's a look:

Promises: I'm definitely looking forward to TwinsFest 2009. Here are a few gems from the last several years: (faces changed to protect the innocent)Jason Bartlett & Hot Chick

Nick Punto and Hot Chick

Torii Hunter and Hot Chick

Joe Nathan and Hot Chick

And some real classics:



This man was adamant in telling me that he was not, in fact, Nick Punto. Coulda fooled me.

Sometimes you decorate a cookie to look like Nick Punto, you take a picture of it, and then he autographs it for you.




I can only wonder who went home with this. What a treat!

Now, the Big Plans: Along with inviting former players back throughout the season, the Twins will be donning throwback jerseys when they play at home on Saturdays. What a baseball-ish thing to do. The next stat you'll see on the Twins' web page will about about a player's batting average on Saturdays at home vs. Saturdays away. What sort of impact will these uniforms have?

Justin Morneau is excited about the jerseys:

"I'm a big throwback, vintage kind of guy," Morneau said. "I like most of the old uniforms, and these are pretty sweet."

Let's talk, Justin. Remember this? Is this what you call vintage? Throwback to the days of getting dressed in the dark? Okay, okay. I'm not being fair. I shouldn't talk this way about someone I love. I'm sorry.

Things are becoming more and more intense as we get nearer to the new stadium. Let me just get this out there: I hate Target Field. No, not the stadium. I hate the name. Do we not have a Target Center just down the street? Is this state not filled to the brim with Target? Don't get me wrong, because as a young woman, I am completely enamored with the Target stores. Am I the only one who wishes this ballpark would be named "Twins Field" or "Twins Park" or even a tribute to 34 with "Puckett Park"? Even "Target Park" would be better. Target Field sounds so . . . stupid. I just don't like it.

Along the same lines, how is everyone feeling about helping to pay for the Mets' stadium? Citi Field. Citi promised $40 million for naming rights. Now that we have decided upon using our tax money to help out Citi, I suggest changing the name to Taxpayer Field. Just an idea. . .

Behind the Diamond, Matt Guerrier

(Consistent?)

Matt Guerrier. . . what can I say? I don't have words. Here are the facts:

Matthew Olson Guerrier
DOB: 8/2/1978
Birthplace: Cleveland, OH
Height: 6'3'
Weight: 195
Bats/Throws: R/R
MLB Debut: 6/17/2004
2005-2007:

Year	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2005	MIN	0	3	3.39	43	0	0	0	0	0	71.2	71	29	27	6	24	46
2006	MIN	1	0	3.36	39	1	0	0	1	1	69.2	78	29	26	9	21	37
2007	MIN	2	4	2.35	73	0	0	0	1	4	88.0	71	23	23	9	21	68

2008:

	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2008	6	9	5.19	76	0	0	0	1	5	76.1	84	47	44	12	37	59

Positive: Well, you looked cute for whatever that's worth.

Negative: Your numbers are looking horrible, Matty. Your ERA more than doubled from '07 to '08. Your runs doubled, your BB went up, your strikeouts went down.

If I am recalling correctly, you were a starter for a very brief amount of time. In your career with the Twins, you have started 3 games. For an even briefer amount of time, I thought maybe you could be a starter again. Maybe I'm wrong. One thing that's true is that I am disappointed. I had really learned to trust you. Over the years I would look over to the bullpen and see the options: Jesse Crain? No thanks. Juan Rincon? We might as well give up if we're putting him in. Matt Guerrier? Bring it on. 2008 was a different story, though. I don't know what happened. I mean, I know what happened, but I don't know what caused it. Something has to change. Neshek is going to be out in 2009, and you know I still don't trust J. Crain (even though I really want to). So, here's the plan; next year, do what you did in 2006 and 2007. I wish I could say more, but the truth is that it just hurts too much to look at those numbers any longer.


Positive: Taking responsibility as a teammate

Negative: Don't forget deodorant next time.

I expect a comeback in 2009, Matty.

Behind the Diamond, Francisco Liriano

(Fire Power)

Once upon a time the Minnesota Twins ball club had a pitcher named Johan Santana. He was a man of Venezuelan descent who had a mean slider and a lot of Ks after his name. J. Santana was a man I used to love.

"I still love you, Johan, but I'm not in love with you anymore," I say.

"Sí," says Johan. "Yo entiendo, mi amor. Soy un traidor."

"I'm so glad you see things my way," I tell him. I'll allow you to fill in the rest of this dream on your own.

Meanwhile, Johan left me. He left us all, but in a far worse manner than T. Hunter. I thought for a while that perhaps, just perhaps, C. Pohlad would offer Johan a reasonable contract and we might have a 1-2 punch with Santana/Liriano in our lineup. That punch ended up being more of a bitch slap, and some of that slap was in our faces.

Johan dissed us and we got C. Gomez, this guy, this guy and this guy. Liriano started his year like this:

So, we sent him down to AAA with an exponential ERA. And he got antsy. He got antsy and angry. So his agent got antsy and angry with him, and we brought him back up and he did this:

That's what I'm talkin' about, Frankie! Let's expand:

Francisco Liriano

DOB: 10/26/1983

Birthplace: San Cristobal, Dominican Republic

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 225

Bats/Throws: L/L

MLB Debut: 9/5/2005

Straight to the facts:

2005-2007 stats:

Year	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2005	MIN	1	2	5.70	6	4	0	0	0	0	23.2	19	15	15	4	7	33
2006	MIN	12	3	2.16	28	16	0	0	1	1	121.0	89	31	29	9	32	144
2007	No Major League Stats

2008 stats:

	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2008	6	4	3.91	14	14	0	0	0	0	76.0	74	40	33	7	32	67

Positive: You're BACK! It may have taken you some time to get back into form and you might have had to head back to AAA before you got the hang of The Show again, but you made it. I'm so proud of you. Also, after presenting the Twins' fan base with an ERA of 11.32 after 3 starts, you came back in August and changed it to a 3.91 ERA. You were still able to end the season with more wins than losses. I cannot wait to see what you bring in your arsenal for 2009. Here's to hoping Carl "Cheap Ass" Pohlad keeps you around a little longer.

Negative: What was up in April, Frank? Yikes. You were on my fantasy baseball team with Cuddles and I have to say that my heart sank during one inning in April. I may or may not have shed a tear on the outside, but I was bawling on the inside. First my 1 punch was gone and now the 2 was gone as well. This was the moment of the bitch slap to my face. Here's a tip: don't ever allow 6 earned runs in .2 innings again. As a fan, I have bounced back from your season, but I doubt the rest of Twins Territory will be as forgiving the next time. Our resiliency is limited.

Positive: F-Bomb, indeed

Negative: I can only hope you've learned your lesson. I would not care for a repeat of this

You will be on my fantasy baseball team next year for sure.