Twins White Sox Recap

If you think the White Sox have a chance still, you are crazy. The Twins have nailed the coffin shut and they did not spare the nails while sweeping the Sox at US Cellular Field (9-3, 9-3, 8-5). The Sox played abysmal and the Twins made them pay. The Twins now hold a 9 game lead in the Central division and their magic number has reduced to 8. They could potentially clinch the division during the next homestand (If you do, please do it Wednesday when I'm there!), but I'll bet they do it in the series after at Detroit.

Back to this series, the Twins got very timely hitting off the Sox best starters. My Twins key player from Tuesday's post, Delmon Young went 4-9 with 2 HR and 4 RBI while scoring 5 runs. He was very key to this sweep. But this guy was better. Joe Mauer stepped up big going 8-14, with a HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, and a walk. His three run homer in last nights game definitely left no doubt that this race is over and the Twins now need to look ahead to securing homefield advantage in the ALDS and ALCS. The Twins are tied with the New York Yankees at 0.5 games behind Tampa Bay for the AL's best record. And the Rays and Yankees have 4 games with each other starting Monday in the Bronx. So if the Twins can keep their foot on the gas and let the Yanks and Rays rip each other apart, the Twins could easily walk away with the #1 seed.

This is all I have for right now as I am trying to stay awake while posting this. But I'll be back tomorrow with a Twins-A's series preview. I'll leave on this thought. When we see the Sox again, they could be without A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, and Ozzie Guillen. How weird would that be?

Series Preview-Twins/White Sox

PROBABLE STARTERS

TUE: FRANCISCO LIRIANO (13-7, 3.24 ERA) VS JOHN DANKS (13-10, 3.54 ERA)

WED: BRIAN DUENSING (8-2, 2.02 ERA) VS GAVIN FLOYD (10-12, 3.91 ERA)

THU: CARL PAVANO (16-11, 3.47 ERA) VS MARK BUHERLE(12-10, 3.99 ERA)

Happy Tuesday everyone. Today the Twins and White Sox kick off a crucial three game series on the south side tonight. And as Joe Christensen wrote yesterday, anything but a White Sox sweep, and the Twins can start putting champagne on ice.

Both teams have their ideal starting pitchers going in this series. So I'm not expecting to see much offense in this series. Buherle and Danks have started a combined 8 games vs Minnesota this year and have gone 4-2 with a 3.63 ERA. Meanwhile, gavin Floyd has been hit hard by the Twins as he is 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA against them this year. On the Twins side, Francisco Liriano has been one of baseball's best pitchers since the All Star break going 7-0 with a 2.22 ERA in 10 starts. Brian Duensing has made 9 starts since he was moved into the rotation and has gone 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA. And the Twins "Ace" (If you want to call him that), Carl Pavano has lost four of his past five starts, but has averaged 7.1 innings pitched during that stretch.

Twins' Key Player: Delmon Young: July was Delmon's month. The guy just raked the baseball, hitting .434, with 6 HR and 30 RBI. His OPS during that month was 1.191. To show how good that is, Albert Pujols' OPS for the season is .996. But since that incredible month, Young hit just .218 in August and is hitting .190 in September with a OPS during those months are .552 and .525 respectively. The Sox have two lefties pitching in this series (Buherle and Danks) and that really hamstrings the lefty power bats (Kubel and Thome). So the Twins need someone from the right side to step up and drive the ball. Delmon needs to be this guy. He is a career .349 hitter against the south siders and carries a .354 average at US Cellular Field. And if anyone is due to come up big for the Twins this week, its Delmon Young. Lets hope he finds that July stroke again.

White Sox Key Player: A.J. Pierzynski: In May, we were talking about A.J. as a potential player who could be wearing a different uniform, come September. But he is still on the south side. And he is getting big hits for the Sox as of late, driving in go ahead runs in the late innings. Overall in the past month he has been red hot, hitting .382 with 17 RBI. Thats pretty impressive for a catcher (Not named Mauer) this late in a season. This year against Minnesota, Pierzynski has only hit .245 with 8 RBI. And with him catching it is likely he will only play two games, so he has to make those ones count. The Sox are getting good production from the middle of their order and Pierzynski hits around the 5-6-7 area meaning he will have guys on when he comes up, and they need him to drive them, to not only win in this series, but catch the Twins in the standings too.

Prediction: To quote Bert Blyleven, "I love a good pitchers duel!" And thats exactly what were gonna see in this series at least twice. It will be interesting to see how many fans turn up at US Cellular this week as the last time the Twins were in town the average attendance as around 25,000. And that was when the Twins and Sox entered the series tied for first. But this time the Twins enter leading by 6 games with 19 games to play. The Sox need a sweep, but I don't see it with the starters Minnesota has going out there. If the Twins win game one tonight, I think the Sox kiss October goodbye and it becomes easier for the Twins to win the remaining two and nail the coffin shut. And I think thats what will happen. But I don't discredit the Sox, and they are able to win a game, but no more. Twins win 2 out of 3 and look ahead to getting home field advantage in the postseason after this series.

Schedule Comparison

Here we are again, watching the Twins and White Sox battle down the stretch for a division crown. Since New York and Tampa Bay are racing for 100 wins in the East, one can assume that the loser there would win the Wild Card, leaving the two central teams chasing for one playoff spot. The Twins have enjoyed a nice 6-1 homestand since last Tuesday, but have gained no ground since the White Sox have won 7 in a row. The Twins still stand 3.5 games ahead of the Sox with a three game series on the south side looming next week. Lets have a look at the remaining schedules for both teams:

CHW MIN
3 @ DET 2 vs KC
3 @ KC 3 @ CLE
3 vs MIN 3 @ CHW
3 vs DET 3 vs OAK
3 @ OAK 3 vs CLE
3 @ LAA 3 @ DET
4 vs BOS 3 @ KC
3 vs CLE 4 vs TOR

As you can see there are many similarities in schedules. The Sox have a bit tougher stretch with Oakland, Anaheim, and Boston before ending their season with Cleveland. The Twins schedule frightens me in those final 7 games with Kansas City and Toronto who will be no tough games. (For further reference on Kansas City as a spoiler look up the Royals from 2006 and their final three games in Detroit) But I fully know that if the Twins go into Chicago and win all three, those final seven games will probably mean nothing unless your name is Ben Revere, who would see massive playing time. Or could this come to another Twins White Sox Game 163 matchup? (If you are like me then you'd rather not have another 163 because blood pressure tends to spike during those games.)The Twins are the hottest team since the All Star Break. They have gone 35-15 in the second half, despite battling injuries to key players. The White Sox have been a very streaky team. Red hot for two weeks, ice cold for the next two weeks. And right now they ride a seven game win streak. But how long before this streak turns to ice? It could very well end during that three game series versus the Twins. And I hope it does.

The Time Had Come

It was time. Time to switch this up. From now on this blog has become a Minnesota Twins only blog. Its all I post about. Its the only sport I am this knowledgeable about to blog on. So thats why I made this change. Enjoy.

Twins Post-Hunter Returns

This season, we celebrate a new era of Twins baseball with the arrival of Target Field. There have been many people credited with getting this incredible ballpark built. Names like Pohlad, Bell, St. Peter, and some guy name Mauer are always thrown out into that discussion (For those going: "Mauer?" Go to TF on a given day and you can find a sign that says "The house that Mauer built"). But there is someone who has been widely uncredited this year, and you can find him playing center...er, I mean right field for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Torii Hunter has flown under the radar in that before mentioned conversation and should be right along side those before mentioned names as well. Hunter meant so much to the Twins and its fans that it would be a mistake to not credit him. And there should be no reason not to give him credit.

Hunter was the Twins first round pick in the 1993 draft out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He came fresh out of high school and learned to play center field in the shadows of the greatest Twin ever, Kirby Puckett. Hunter made his debut late in the 1997 season and had a couple of up and down seasons before breaking through in 2001 and became a superstar. Early in his career, Hunter was not swinging for a good average, but his defense made him the household name he is now (He has won 10 straight gold gloves). His sprawling catches on the Metrodome's carpet or his leaping catches to take home runs away. Hunter dazzled us and won over the heart of just about every Twins fan. His bat eventually came around and he became a great all around player and by 2007, was the face of the franchise and the team leader.

In that same '07 season, the Twins broke ground on Target Field, with Hunter most notably absent from this event. He was uncertain about his future in the Twin Cities past '07 and deemed it best to not participate in the event. There was an already growing concern that his days here were numbered due to the Twins' financial constraints from playing in the Dome. And that turned out to be the case. The Twins lost Hunter to the Angels the following offseason when he signed a 5 year/$90 million contract.

In his final game as a Twin, Torii was oulled from his center field position in the ninth inning by manager Ron Gardenhire. Torii jogged into the dugout and recieved an ovation that lasted nearly five minutes. There was no dry eye in the Dome that day. Everyone there, (myself included) knew they just saw the last time Torii Hunter would wear a Minnesota Twins uniform, and they showed him their appreciation for all he had done for the franchise.

But perhaps his greatest feat while here in Minnesota was being a big part of the Twins resurgence that led to the construction of Target Field. And when he arrived here this weekend, he recieved a huge ovation during Friday night's game and the Twins went as far as playing his 2007 walkup music as he stepped into the batters box for the first time. Throughout the weekend Hunter's comments have indicated (at least to me) that he misses playing here. And I think it's safe to say that the fans miss him too. And when his time in Anaheim ends, I'm certain the Twins would be willing to bring him back to his rightful home. Because Torii Hunter in a uniform not lettered with Twins on the front just isn't right.

MLB Power Rankings-7/26

This past week we saw some great baseball, and we saw Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Garvey immortalized in Baseball's Hall of Fame. I have yet to get out to Cooperstown, but I have heard it is nothing short of spectacular. Anyway, no change at the top spot this week. Although the top 10 did shuffle quite a bit. Right now I have Texas as number two, but with the way they are playing they could be making a trip to number one in no time. My comments this week are based around the upcoming trade deadline. Or at least most team's comments will be revolving around the trade deadline:

1. (1) Yankees 62-35: Lost Lee, lost Haren. Who's next?
2. (3) Rangers 58-41: A scaringly good team
3. (2) Rays 59-38: Can they afford to be buyers?
4. (5) Padres 58-39: Jayson Werth Darkhorse?
5. (4) Braves 57-41: NL East is pretty much theirs
6. (9) Reds 55-45: Joey Votto for MVP!
7. (6) Red Sox 55-44: Team Dr. makes his money
8. (8) Cardinals 55-44: Needs a 3rd or 4th starter
9. (10) Giants 56-43: Hello, Prince Fielder?
10. (11) White Sox 53-44: For sure buyers this week
11. (12) Twins 53-46: Seems poised to stand pat
12. (14) Angels 52-49: Dan Haren? Seriously?
13. (17) Dodgers 53-46: Hard to see them as buyers
14. (15) Phillies 52-46: Bye Bye Werth?
15. (18) Blue Jays 50-49: Bye Bye offense?
16. (7) Rockies 51-47: Awful week makes them buyers
17. (13) Tigers 51-46: Injuries really handcuff this team
18. (19) A's 50-48: Dallas Braden finally won a game
19. (16) Mets 50-49: Bye Bye Manuel?
20. (20) Marlins 49-49: Gaby Sanchez for ROY!
21. (21) Brewers 47-53: Bye Bye Prince?
22. (23) Cubs 45-54: Bye Bye Lou
23. (25) Indians 41-57: Bye Bye LeBron
24. (24) Royals 42-56: Bye Bye Greinke?
25. (22) Nationals 42-57: Bye Bye Dunn?
26. (27) Mariners 39-60: Chone Figgins stinks
27. (26) Astros 40-58: Last week with Oswalt?
28. (28) D-Backs 37-62: Bye Bye Haren
29. (29) Pirates 34-64: Entering tough stretch
30. (30) Orioles 31-67: Bye Bye decent birdies

Twins Post-Bullpen Overworked?

This season we have seen the Twins starting rotation (minus Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano) go through some issues, specifically since june 1st. Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker, and Nick Blackburn have been an abomination, and the Twins 6 game lead in the central evaporated and now they sit swapping between second and third. And I would like to raise the question, is our bullpen becoming overworked? My belief...Yes, they are. The lack of innings being thrown by the starters have caught up with them. Of the 95 games played by the Minnesota Twins this year, the starters have pitched through at least 6 innings in 62 of those. But since June 1st, the starters have pitched through the 6th just 28 out of 44 times. If you take away Pavano and Liriano since June 1st, starters have gotten 6 innings in just 13 out of 27 times. To compare, since June 1st, the New York Yankees starting 5 have pitched through 6 31 out of 41 times. And if you don't think these numbers are affecting the bullpen i tend to disagree. Since July 1st Matt Guerrier (1.93 ERA to 2.74), Jose Mijares (2.12 to 3.20), Alex Burnett (3.12 to 4.39), and Jon Rauch (2.61 to 3.31) have all seen their ERA's rise, and in the case of Burnett, it lead to his demotion. The only person out in the bullpen who seems to be thriving right now is Jesse Crain who's ERA has fallen down to 3.52 and has become Ron Gardenhire's most trusted reliever. The 'pen hasn't been so bad to where we need to push the panic button, but if the lack of innings being pitched continue, the Twins could find problems from the bullpen on top of the starters being inconsistent. The Twins did just call up Anthony Slama and they have Kyle Waldrop waiting for his shot, but Rochester's bullpen has been worked almost twice as much as the Twins 'pen has. So if anything these guys could be even better and not have their arms fall off. But fatigue could set in with them anytime now as well. Here is another sign that the front office needs to go after some arms that can pitch deeper into games. If not, third place looks great for the Twins.