Archive for April, 2009

The Twins finished the third week of the season with a 2-3 record putting them at 9-10 on the season. They are currently 4th place in the division. Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA WHIP Scott Baker 4.2 10 6 6 1 2 3 92 11.56 2.36 Francisco Liriano 4.0 4 7 7 4 6 1 74 15.75 2.00 Nick Blackburn 7.0 6 1 1 0 4 0 99 1.29 0.86 Kevin Slowey 8.0 8 1 1 0 7 0 114 1.13 1.00 Glen Perkins 5.0 7 4 4 2 4 0 92 7.20 1.80 Totals: [...]

The Twins won two of the three games in their series against the Cleveland Indians. Minnesota is now 9-10 and remains in 4th place in the division. Friday 4/24 Matchup: Fausto Carmona vs. Nick Blackburn The Twins needed an excellent start after Wednesday’s doubleheader debacle against the Red Sox.  Nick Blackburn was up to the task on Friday going 7.0 innings allowing 6 hits, 0 walks and only 1 earned run.  Justin Morneau hit his 4th home run of the season while Span and Morales chipped in with multi-hit games. Saturday 4/25 Matchup: Carl Pavano vs. Kevin Slowey Slowey bettered [...]

The Twins lost both games of the two game series against the Boston Red Sox.  Minnesota is now 7-9 and remains in 4th place in the division. Tuesday 4/21 Game postponed until Wednesday due to weather. Wednesday 4/22 (Game 1) Matchup: Tim Wakefield vs. Scott Baker Baker was again brutal.  He gave up 10 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 2.  He has now given up 7 HR in 8.2 innings pitched this season.  The bullpen gave up 4 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks in their 2.2 innings of work.  Most of the damage [...]

Joe Mauer quick hits: On Monday in Fort Myers, Mauer went 1-3 with a double and 2 walks during a simulated game. Yesterday Mauer went 2-6 in an extended spring training game. Tomorrow he will play in the 1st of his 6 games with the Hi-A Fort Myers Miracle. He remains on track to return to the Twins roster on May 1st. In other news:  Tuesday RHP Philip Humber cleared waivers and was sent to Triple-A Rochester to join the rotation.  Designating Humber for assignment last Friday to claim Juan Morillo was a good move in itself.  Since the end result is that the Twins [...]

Now that I’ve broken down and ranked the individual components of each team in the division, it is time to tally the rankings, examine the teams as a whole, and think about what needs to go right for each team this season. Rankings Recap:   MIN KC CWS DET CLE C 1 5 3 4 2 1B 2 5 3 1 4 2B 4 2 5 1 3 3B 3 1 4 5 2 SS 4 1 2 5 3 OF 2 3 1 4 5 DH 2 3 4 1 5 Starters 1 3 2 4 5 Closer 1 [...]

Part 2 of my AL Central preview focuses on the pitching staffs, benches and managers of each team. The staffs were broken down and ranked by starting rotation, closers, and the rest of the bullpen. I ranked them 1-5 with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst. For my 2009 stats I used an average of the projections from Baseball Prospectus, Bill James and CBS Sports.com with my own judgment sprinkled in. Age listed in parenthesis is the player’s age on opening day. Rotations:       2008 2009 Projection       SO/9 WHIP ERA SO/9 WHIP [...]

The Twins finished the second week of the season with a 4-3 record putting them at 7-7 on the season.  They are currently 4th place in the division 1.0 game behind the Tigers, White Sox and Royals. Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA WHIP Scott Baker 4.0 5 6 6 2 3 4 61 13.50 1.75 Francisco Liriano 6.0 7 2 1 1 5 0 104 1.50 1.33 Nick Blackburn 6.1 8 4 4 2 3 0 106 5.69 1.58 Kevin Slowey 5.1 13 5 5 1 2 2 88       7.0 6 2 [...]

On Monday, Jesse Crain was placed on the 15-day DL due to inflammation in his right shoulder.  The move was made retroactive to April 18th, making Crain eligible to come off of the DL on May 3rd.  The good news for Crain and the Twins is that his MRI did not reveal any structural damage. To take Crain’s place on the active roster, the Twins recalled Jose Mijares from Triple-A.  Jose will rejoin the team after being optioned to Rochester at the end of spring training on March 31st.  Mijares reported to spring training out of shape, struggled with his [...]

The Twins swept the 3 game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  Minnesota is now 7-7 and in 4th place in the division. Friday 4/17 Matchup: Dustin Moseley vs. Nick Blackburn Blackburn pitched admirably for 6.1 innings giving up 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks and struck out 3.  The bullpen was dreadful again giving up 4 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks while striking out 3 in 2.2 innings of work.  Fortunately the offense showed up hitting .371 with 6 extra base hits and 5 walks.  The Twins rallied from a 9-4 deficit with a magical 8th inning [...]

On Friday the Minnesota Twins designated RHP-Philip Humber for assignment and claimed RHP-Juan Morillo off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. Philip Humber (12/21/82) Humber struggled in spring training for the Twins, but was out of options and made the major league roster.  In spring training he pitched 14.1 innings giving up 19 hits, 12 earned runs, 2 walks and struck out 9.  Unfortunately, his regular season results were even worse than his spring results.  This season he pitched 4.1 innings giving up 11 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks and struck out four.  Humber has never been able to recapture [...]