Good News/Bad News Kind of Day

The day started out with some bad (but expected) news about Nate. He has decided to go ahead with the Tommy John surgery, which means the hunt is on for a closer that can handle the pressure. I still believe Matty G to be a wonderful candidate for that role, but after listening to yesterday game and hearing Anthony Slama in the 9th, I think he could also be a great candidate for that role. It will be interesting to see in the next two weeks who Gardy and the rest of the coaching staff keep an eye on.

But despite the sad news about our Nate, everyone in Twins Territory finally got the news we've been waiting all off season for. Joe Mauer will be a Twin for another 8 years! Not excited at all if you can't tell. ;-) It will be nice to have one of the hometown boys around for another 8 years. The longer the talks went, the more concerned I became with the whole situation. There was a part of me that was starting to think he may go someplace else if they didn't get something done soon.

But thankfully, all I have to say is, take that Yankees. We got what you wanted and you can't have him :-)

Twinsfest: The 2010 Edition

So in all the years that I have watched and supported the Twins, I was never able to attend Twinsfest until this year. I went yesterday along with my nephew, Betsy (For Love of The Game), and a few other friends. I had a wonderful time getting to see and meet some of the players. We were also lucky enough to run into the wonderful K-Bro (k-bro's baseball blog) and Topper from Curve For a Strike.

It was a wonderful experience and even though we were unable to go through any of the autographs lines 1) I was not paying those prices and 2) the lines were WAY too long, we were still able to meet some of the players or get pictures of most of them as you will see.

First we were able to make it through Cuddy's photo line and he was just as nice as always. Everyone should love Cuddyer, hands down the friendliest person on the team. Photo lines this year were $2 per player (they were free last year). According to the sign, all proceeds from that line were going to be sent to Haiti for the earthquake relief fund.

We were also able to meet Justin Morneau, Carl Pavano and Kevin Slowey (even though he didn't have a photo line on Saturday). As you'll be able to tell from the pictures it was a good time had by all and well worth the money.

My nephew Skyler and Cuddy

Denard Span

Jason Kubel and Matt Guerrier

Brian Duensing

JJ Hardy, pretty sure he's going to give Mauer a run in the looks department :)

This is as close to Mauer as you could get

Myself and Justin

Betsy had asked Justin to puff up his cheeks like he does when he bats, cause as you can see, Skyler does it too

Myself and Kevin Slowey :)

Skyler and Carl Pavano

Jon Rauch and Pat Neshek

Credit for this one goes to Betsy, but it's by far my favorite picture from Twinsfest :)

As post will be coming in the next couple of days with my thoughts on the two newest members of the Twins family, JJ Hardy and Jim Thome.

Another winning road series...

I was hoping we'd be able to get the sweep, but with Frankie pitching I knew that was going to be tough and with Kinsler getting a lead off home run, I knew we were really going to have to fight. I was talking with Erin during the game about how we needed a new pitcher and she told me that the Pirates are interested in him. My comment, they can have him. I'll go for a trade so we can get Garrett back.

I want Frankie gone or at least to the bullpen. He does fine for a couple innings but then it all seems to go to shit and he forgets what he's supposed to do. It's time something is done with him because we're not going to get far without having all 5 of our starters doing what they are supposed to be doing.


LNP had to have been the top player of the game tonight. First with his home run (amazing!) and then his unassisted double play in the sixth inning. This is the parahna I like to see. He did so well tonight. I hope we continue to see this from him again and again.

I'm sad that Dunesing got the loss tonight, I really thought he had a strong outting especially going 1-2-3 in his first inning out there. He has so much potential and I hope he's up here for the rest of the season that's for sure.

Oh and Mauer and I are officially fighting...this 0 for 6 crap needs to come to a sudden hault. What happened to the Joe from June? I miss him.

Champs yet again

Post derby celebration? Or pre-all star game celebration?

Even though Joe was knocked out of the home run derby in the first round it looked like he still had fun it with and I thought it was really nice of him to ask Jimmy O'Neil to do the pitching for him. Once Joe was out, I was personally pulling for Cruz, but I knew going up against Fielder it was going to be tough.

Joe, didn't your mother teach you it's not nice to stick your tongue out at people?

I will admit that I was a little concerned going into tonight's All Star game considering who the National League had in their lineup, but once I found out that our Joe Nathan was getting the 8th and Mariano Rivera was getting the 9th, I knew if we could manage to make it to the 8th with a lead we stood a really good chance of taking yet another All Star game away from the National League.

Congrats to our three all star guys, Joe, Joe, and Justin for a well played game along with the entire American league team! It was nice to see Jason and Justin on the field at the same time again playing together. I miss Barty. I wish he was still here.

I'm giving Carl Crawford a gold star for that catch he made in the 7th inning. That right there was a game saver and he totally deserved MVP for that.


I had to laugh though when Buehrle was out for his inning and they said it was a typical inning for him, when I saw him on Sunday, he was anything but typical!

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Since we're at the half way point in the season, I know a few people (my bosses and my dad) are counting the Twins out of the post season already. I, being the true fan I am, say bullshit. There is still a lot of season left and I strongly think with the right attitude and the right motivation (Justin and Joe, take note in this) this team can be so much more than a .500 team, we came so close last year and I, personally, would love to see the Dome go out in style and what a better way to do that than with another division title and a trip to the World Series (plus I'm saving some vacation time for a reason guys).

Just little minor things from the weekend I forgot:

~ Alexi Casilla will be rejoining the team for our trip to Texas meaning we had to say goodbye to someone. Matty Tolbert got the "kick in the pants" as my brother puts it. I personally like Matty better then Alexi, but I'm willing to give him one more try to prove he can put all these little mental mistakes past him.

~ Gardy has also said the team will have a 12-man pitching staff when they go to Texas this weekend. Now my question is, who gets sent back to Rochester or do they put Boof on the 60-day DL and open a spot on the roster? Really the only person we have that can go down is Jose Morales and I may just cry if he gets sent back. We need him up here!

Enjoy the rest of your time off guys and bring your A-game when we get to Texas on Friday!

Back at .500

Yet again the "American Idol" graces the cover of this weeks Sports Illustrated. According to the Star Tribune the guy has a bowling alley in his house. I wish, how about a bowling party at Joe's? I'm also going with the theory that since he was on the cover in 2006 and won the batting title, he can do that again this year. I could be totally wrong, but that's what I like to stick to.

At this point, I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Frankie. He got the win tonight which is great, hopefully it will boost his confidence, but I'm still concerned with how he's pitching. And now with all this new information coming out about Ayala, the idea of sending Henn back to Rochester, sending Frankie to the bullpen, and bringing Swarzy up to start sounds better and better. Once Frankie gets it all under control then bring him back as a starter.

Overall I was happy with the way the game came out, especially since we are 4 for 4 against the Brewers this season and that Matty hit one of their players (I was secretly hoping that we would get redemption for them hitting Joe and Joe when they were here).

Random thoughts

I was so looking forward to a sweep this weekend, but I suppose since we were playing in the friendly confines of Wrigley we should let them win one, it's the Minnesota nice thing to do after all.

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There really is no theme to this series post, so here are some random thoughts that I have on the weekend:

* We said goodbye to Alexi (again) & Swarzy and hello to LNP & Jose (again). Alexi going back to AAA didn't surprise me, but after his performance on Saturday, saying goodbye to Swarzy is tougher then I thought. He has proven he can pitch against the best of them and I'm already set to welcome him back when we get extra roster spots in the fall (if not sooner).
* Joey's power and performance this season still amazes me. I'm not sure where it's all coming from (not that I'm complaining). I did have to laugh in Friday's game when they were talking about the garage door and the next thing I know I'm seeing Joey's ball go right over the garage door.
* I was impressed with all our starters for this series and our relief pitching had actually picked up a bit.

Now the guys get to come home for a week, they are all probably ready to sleep in their own beds, I know I would be!

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Random funny item for the weekend, I purchased the 2009 Official Team Yearbook today at the Pro Shop while out shopping and was reading Ernie's page (Justin) and he said his biggest fear was flying. I wonder how that works out for him?

Thoughts?

This is going be a shorter post, but I have been trying to catch up on my Twins news and articles from the weekend since I was MIA for most of it (Monday came way too quick for my liking), but the articles are turning up again about Mauer, his contract and his chance at MVP.

Apparently Bill Smith has said Joe's contract will end up being more like Justin and Nathan's and nothing like a certain Twins player who used to wear number 57.

I know myself and the Twins fans on Twitter have talked about this in the past, but I want to know what everyone's thoughts are on Mauer's contract status and what you think will happen? And what your thoughts are on Joe's chance of being MVP this year?

Thanks for your support

It's a little odd doing this before the series is over, but tomorrow night will be spent packing for the wedding I have to attend this weekend (I'm in the wedding so I really have to go). Twitter girls...I'll be tweeting on and off via my cell so I'll be checking in for game updates Friday and Saturday!

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At least tonight's game wasn't a shut out, we got that going for us. This game was depressing to say the least.

~ Slowey's performance from last night was amazing as usual (even with the walk and runs). Swarzy tonight, poor Swarzy. So many people that I have talked to since his first start have been expecting that every game since. He's young, he's still learning. I still love him even though he had an off day today. It happens to the best of them, he can learn from this and move on to his next start against Oakland on Monday.

~ I'm not sure how much more of Ayala I can take and I really hope to God when Papa Perk comes off the DL, Ayala goes back to Rochester. I do agree with K-Bro, I miss the days when we had the best bullpen in the league. What happened to that team?

~ Homerun number 12 for the baseball boyfriend last night. I do love watching him hit those homers! I also love that I get a phone call from my nephew after each and every one going "Auntie Katie! Did you see Joe hit that one?!" Skyler wants to be Joe Mauer when he gets older, I think it's adorable.

~ Carlos Gomez, you are the honorary baseball boyfriend of the series. One with that catch you made on Tuesday. That was a work of art, simply priceless! Second for getting into it with the cocky Cliff Lee tonight (I really do hate that guy). You really should have just smacked him and I would have chipped in to help pay the fine. But also for getting that single off him the next time you saw him. Take that Cliff Lee.

~ Oh and I remember tonight why we sent Little Lexi down to AAA.

Overall tonight's game, we had no offense, no defense, no bullpen. It's like they just forgot to show up.

Boys a suggestion for you all...

Go home tonight and sleep. Actually remember to show up tomorrow, go out there and at least win the series.

Say goodbye to Tampa Bay...

At least this road series wasn't a sweep, which I was expecting. But I did think that with Tampa having 9 players on the DL we would have stood a better chance of winning more then one game. But hey, that's the Twinkie way right?

As a rule, I like/"love" all the guys on the team, but after his performance yesterday, I am not very happy with Frankie. I realize he really hasn't been himself since he had the Tommy John's surgery a couple years ago, but to openly admit that you don't know what you are doing, that you don't know what pitches to throw, to me that say's you've lost it and to Triple A you should go. It's the catchers job to call the game, don't shake off the pitches he signals. I'm pretty sure Joe and Mike know what they are doing.

But Gardy and Andy both think he can still handle it, so here is where he stays. I think he needs to go back to Triple A and Swarzy should stay in as a starter. He has been so impressive his first two starts and at only 23, he has a lot of potential in the big leagues :) Today's performance by Blackie made up for the lack luster performance last night so that's a plus.

I would love it if we could make it through a game without someone getting dinged up! Today was Cuddy, out with a sprained right index finger, yesterday was Crede, and I guess you could also say was Mauer after the beating he took behind the plate. Apparently he has bruises all up and down the inside of his thighs, one on his rib cage and one on his right leg where he fouled a pitch off it. How that man manges to win batting titles after getting beat up really says something about his performance.

And to end today on a lighter note. Kevin Slowey during yesterdays game and Denard Span's mom had to be the highlights of the weekend. Listening to Kevin yesterday while talking to Perkins was the best thing during the game. "I feel like I'm at a rave, not a baseball game." Denard's mom, she's so cute! You can tell she's so proud of her boy.

Now come on home guys, the "dome magic" is waiting for you.

Beating Boston...Finally

First off, because I'll admit I'm bias, congrats to Joe Mauer on being honored with the A.L. Player of the week. With a batting average of .458 and 4 home runs in the last week, it's hard to not honor him with something. The power he is putting up is amazing.

Now I'm not saying this to be cruel because it's not nice to wish anyone end up hurt, but Ryan Braun was pulled from Milwaukee's game tonight after being hit by a pitch. Now doesn't that sound familiar? I guess what goes around comes around, yes?

It was nice to see the Twins get back to the small ball tonight (with a little long ball thrown in for good measure, thank you Justin). Stealing bases, bunting, etc. LNP amazing performance tonight as well. I think this team has surprised quite a few people this year with the number of home runs they have been hitting, so it was a nice reminder that we can play small ball too.

Blackie. His performance tonight was a beautiful thing, or perhaps it was just him that was beautiful, anyway. It's nice to see our starting pitchers start to find their way again and make it 7 or 8 innings before we have to make the call to the bull pen.

Now for the real reason of tonight's post, Delmon Young. He is a young man with tremendous talent, I'm just beginning to wonder where that talent has gone this year offensive-wise. He made an incredible defensive play tonight so I'm not knocking him there and I know he's had a lot going on with the death of his mother. I know in time it will all come rushing back and he'll be hitting that ball like there is no tomorrow. Part of me just hopes it comes sooner rather then later.

First off, Happy Birthday Jason Kubel.

Secondly, I might be bias since Joe Mauer is what all my friends consider to be my baseball boyfriend, but is it just me or does this team seem to have a different attitude to it when Mauer's in the line up? Long ball, after long ball, after long ball and today it just seemed like we hit a all. Leaving too many RISP.

Prime example... 2-run homer as a pinch hitter. This goes to prove we need Mauer in the lineup. I know Gardy wants to give him a day off, but let him DH. He doesn't have to catch every single game, just like Justin doesn't have to play first every game, but at least let him DH.

Thirdly, I've been thinking about our pitching situation for when Papa Perk comes off the DL. With the way Swarzy pitched Saturday night, he's proved he's ready for the majors. Sean Henn has done really well since being called up, so has Dickey. Now really that only leaves Crain, Matty, and Ayala left to get rid of. Crain knows what to do and Matty has been amazing this season. My thought is, Ayala's got to go back to Triple A. He hasn't proven much this season.

That's my take, it may not mean much, but then again, this blog is just my thoughts.

So I decided I needed to redo this blog and use it for baseball related stuff since I'm pretty sure all my friend on LiveJournal are tired of all the baseball stuff.

So if anyone wants to see my pictures from the game last night let me know and I'll post them here too!

I never, NEVER, wanna see Joe cringe like that during a game again. My heart was in my toes.

For the love of God, we were already down Crede for getting hit in the hand by a pitch and then they hit Joe. Not cool Milwaukee!

And all I have to say is, Joe Mauer for the 2009 Batting Champ! A 437 foot homerun to right field, upper deck no less. This coming from a guy who always hits his homers to left.

And then after hitting Joe, with bases loaded, Justin with the game winning grand slam. And Scotty going 8 1/3 innings. Best outing all season.

This is the team I love, this is the team I've missed. I will never give up on this team.