Twins Fever at a Mid-Season High

It has been a long time since I have been able to sit down and put my thoughts together on the Twins. I have been encouraged with their play over the last 5 weeks. The Twins are 24-11 since June 1st and have made up 10 games in the standings, (although they've only made up 4.5 games on Detroit over that span). Strangely enough, this stretch included a six-game losing streak. I'm not exactly sure what happened there. Anyway, the run to the 2011 pennant is in full swing.

The following list of things has me very excited about the final 73 games of the season:

• The starting pitching has been getting deeper into games. Pavano and Baker have now raised their season average above 6.5 innings per start. Swarzak has saved the team in the spot starts he has made. Duensing and Liriano have both thrown complete game shutouts, and although Blackburn has really struggled in his last 3 starts, the Twins still managed to win 2 of them.
• The innings logged by the starters has reduced the amount that the bullpen needs to be relied upon. My feeling on the bullpen this year can be summed up with "Less Is More." Yet, I still feel pretty good about the bullpen getting through 3 innings if needed.
• The Twins have been clutch at the plate which has led to an increase in run production. Prior to June 2, the Twins averaged 3.5 runs per game, since June 2 their runs per game average has increased to 4.5. The team has to be clutch when they don't hit it out of the park.
• Casilla, Nishioka, and Revere have been making terrific plays in the field. Although the Twins are low in the fielding rankings and still have trouble at times completing double plays, they are now making plays that they didn't make earlier in the season. Revere has outstanding range, and Casilla and Nishioka seem to be figuring out how to work together now that they have switched between shortstop and second base.

The next 11 games out of the All-Star break are against Kansas City, Detroit and Cleveland. The Twins need to continue the climb again the division and really put the pressure on the division leaders as the season stretches into August and September. Chicago and Detroit have proven in the past that they have the ability to crumble down the stretch. Cleveland has been ravaged by injuries so much in the past that they haven't been in this situation since 2007. Most people thought they would have folded by now and they haven't, so I believe they will be around until the end.

6.5 games out of the lead at the All-Star break is not too much for this team to overcome. The Twins have done it in the past and can do it again. Sometimes it has taken 163 games, but the Twins will not give up until the final out has been made.

Sunday Sermons

The Twins are 81 games into the season - the half way point - and we are stuck at 35 wins, 9 games behind the Central Division leading Cleveland Indians.  Not to beat a dead horse, but how are the Indians still leading this division?  Wait, the fact that the Indians are still leading the division is the biggest thing that continues to give me hope that this division is still in reach.  An extremely young team leads the division, and 2 teams notorious for 2nd half collapses are the other obstacles in our way.  There are a few frustrations I have, apart from the revolving door at the DL, that need to be addressed this 2nd half.

I'm trying not to act on just emotion from last night here when I suggest the possibility of giving Glen Perkins a little more responsibility out of that bullpen.  This makes sense in my head for a number of reasons.  Matt Capps, although he has the closer experience, has struggled greatly this year.  Capps has 13 saves, but has blown 6 saves already!  Capps has a 4.67 ERA, and has been the opposite of dominating the way you would like to see a closer do so.  To me, Glen Perkins has the mental make-up to be the guy in these pressure situations.  The guy looks like he doesn't even know that he's playing in the big leagues.  If you watch him run around during batting practice, you would wonder if he is the bat boy with his child-like attitude.  Nothing seems to rile this guy up.  In 29.1 innings so far, Perk has yet to give up a home run, and seems to have more movement on his fastball than Capps, making it difficult for guys like Nyjer Morgan to get the barrel on the ball.  I like the Capps pounds the strike zone and rarely walks anyone (4 walks so far), but man do I get nervous when he takes the hill!

Here's another question: Why does it seem so impossible for the Twins to steal any bases?  It was beyond frustrating last night to see Nishioka and Repko (and Hughes if you want to include the broken double steal) get thrown out - by a mile - by a catcher in Lucroy who had only thrown out 4 baserunners all year before that.  Stealing bases is definitely not all about just pure speed.  There is a skill to it, and it takes work to get really good at it.  If it was only about speed, I think Nishioka, Span, Repko, Casilla, and Revere would have no problem taking bags at will.  There is a young man in Fargo right now by the name of Maury Wills that has a little experience stealing bases (104 SB in 1964, led NL in SB 6 straight years from 1960-65).  I wonder what it would take to get him out of the F-M Redhawks radio booth and down to Target Field to work with some of these guys every day to learn how to better read pitchers, get better jumps, and successfully put a little more pressure on defenses.  We have the team speed to do it, but none of these guys seem like natural base stealers.

Let me leave you with this: Joe Mauer has a 7 game hitting streak going right now.  Our lineup consisting of Repko, Butera, Nishioka and Company broke out for 14 hits last night despite the loss.  If Blackburn leads us to a win this afternoon, that will give us 7 series wins out of 9 since the beginning of June.  We've been playing much better baseball, and we have 15 of our next 19 games at Target Field - 16 of those games against our 4 division rivals.  The Twins are playing as good of baseball as they have all year (I know, not saying much) and July will be the month to make another push toward .500 and the Central division lead.

Congratulations, Michael Cuddyer, on your first All-Star selection.  As much as even Twins fans are going to question this selection, Cuddy definitely deserves it - even as a lifetime achievement award.  Good work Cuddy!

Perkins is Workin!

At the beginning of this year, I know some Twins Rubes (myself) that were down on Glen Perkins. But what a pleasant surprise he has turned out to be this season. The Twins have always believed that their 2004 1st-round pick has the stuff to be a really good pitcher in this league. And things looked great in 2008 when Perkins pitched 151 innings in 26 starts, striking out 74 while posting a 4.41 ERA. But since then Perkins had a fallout with Gardy and a couple below average seasons bouncing between AAA and Minnesota. So maybe it was for good reason that I didn't expect Perkins to accept a role in the bullpen, let alone excel at it. But he has!

Perkins touched 95 mph today while striking out arguably the 2 best Dodgers hitters in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp - who by the way is putting up MVP numbers (.331/.415/.628 with 22 HR and 22 SB) this season. Perkins has now stuck out 29 batters in 29 innings while posting an ERA of 1.93. But beyond the numbers, Perkins has been the most reliable pitcher out of the 'pen this year and has blossomed in his new set-up role. When Perkins takes the mound in crucial situations, I am confident that he's going to get people out. And today's performance, striking out Ethier and Kemp, is trend and not mirage.

Although I wasn't confident in Perkins to begin 2011, I am very excited about what he's doing. I remember going to a game in 2009 at the Metrodome with a bunch of friends and we commented on how loose and easy going Perkins was. He looked like enjoyed playing baseball! At the time when he was struggling, it looked more like he didn't really care about his job. But now I feel like I can say that Perkins loves what he does, and I love watching him. And I'm happy for him. A Minnesota kid who has battled adversity, matured right in front of our eyes, and become a staple in the bullpen for Our Favorite 9!

Starting at 1B...Joe Mauer?

Over 2 months ago, I wrote about how frustrating it was to see Joe Mauer go on the DL with "bi-lateral leg weakness."  At the time in my rage, I would have done anything to see Mauer come back to play at a different position that catcher, as it only seems to bring more days off for #7.  Now I hear that Morneau is going to have surgery on his neck to take care of that nerve problem he has been dealing with, and Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune says that Gardy brought up the possibility of Mauer playing some 1B.

Looking back, this was not the scenario I envisioned of Mauer making a position switch, nor was it the scenario I would have picked if I had my choice.  It's definitely discouraging to see Morneau go down again.  Out of all the guys on this roster, Morneau is the guy you root for to stay healthy.  It just seems like it never happens with the big Canadian.

While it's a major bummer to see #33 go down, it's nice to know that the Twins seem to excel down the stretch without arguably our best hitter.  Not only that, but it will hopefully give Mauer a chance to stay in the lineup, and ensure roster spots for some of our hot-hitting young kids (see: Luuuuuuuuuuuuuke).  We also know that Cuddyer has gotten a head start on his late season run over the last week or two; so if we can get Delmon going like last season, get Thome and Kubel back in the lineup, and watch Nishioka continue to get comfortable, it's going to be a great 2nd half ride Twins fans!  Maybe this year, September will be the month that Morneau actually gets to play!

Fanatics Unite!

The term "fan" stems from the word "fanatic", which is defined by www.dictionary.com as "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal."  It's been hard this season to be uncritical, but that positivity is finally paying off!  Our favorite club has made up something like 8.5 games in the last 19 days to pull within 8 games of the division-leading Cleveland Indians - wait, the Indians still lead the division?  If you saw any highlights from this afternoon, you know why they are still leading the division: Asdrubal Cabrera.  This guy made an unbelievable bare-handed play today that you have to see.

That's enough about the Indians, though.  How the heck did we make up so much ground so fast?  The obvious answer is that we keep winning.  The Twins are 14-3 now in June after sweeping the Padres (on Father's Day, naturally) for their seventh straight win.  My answer is: this team is good enough for this run to be relatively normal.  Starting pitching has been no less than solid 1-5, guys are running the bases and creating runs, and our backup catcher is getting walk-off hits.  I hate to beat a dead horse, but we still have Morneau, Span, Kubel, Nathan, and Thome getting ready to come off the DL, with Nishioka and Mauer just getting back into the full swing of things.  Positivity is at an all time high!

Now, I have to confess that I haven't seen much of the Twins these last 2 weeks due to some weddings/family vacations/chasing after my slow-pitch softball dreams.  Maybe I should continue to rely on my ESPN alerts via text message a little longer and see if we can sustain this run!

Let me offer just a little more positivity moving forward to assure you that this run will be sustained.  The upcoming schedule includes 3 games in San Francisco, who has lost 4 in a row - getting swept by Oakland this weekend.  After that we have 3 in Milwaukee - if you are scared of any team from Wisconsin, there's a problem that we can address later.  Then we're back home with series' against the Dodgers, Brewers again, and the Rays.  Once we get through that little run, the middle of July will be move-making time in the Central Division as we have 4 game series' against the Sox, Royals, Indians, and Detroit.  Only the White Sox series is on the road, and we all know that we own the Sox no matter where the game is played.  There is 9 straight opponents where it is realistic to think we have a very good shot to win nearly all of those series'.

The hardest part about being a Twins fan for the next month will be watching some guys get sent down that have been a big part of the run we are on.  Hopefully Billy Smith can find a way to keep Revere and Hughes up here.  Those two guys have quickly become two of my favorites this year.  No matter what the roster looks like, this is going to be an exciting summer as a "fanatic".  Whatever you do, pay close attention to the little things that happen - I have a good feeling this is going to be one of those seasons that you will want to tell your kids and grandkids about someday.

So Many Choices

I need your help!  I was in Seattle last week and went to my new favorite store in the world: Ebbets Field Flannels.  You should check them out here!  My wife was excited enough to let me buy 3 new hats, and I need your help to decide which one I should wear for my slow-pitch softball game this Thursday night.  Here they are...

The one on the left is from the 1944 Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League.  In the middle is the 1942 Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League.  Lastly on the right is the 1941 Utica Braves of the Canadian-American League.

This is very important so please submit your vote in the poll on the right side of the page.  We play our biggest rivals this Thursday, so your feedback is needed and appreciated!

Hope Is More Fun Than Logic

I read this comment ("Hope is more fun than logic.") from a reader of a Star Tribune article this morning, and it made me understand why it's so fun to be a baseball fan - specifically a Twins fan.  I love football, but the reason I love baseball even more is that every day is a new day.  If the Vikings lose, it ruins my week.  If the Twins lose, I have only hours to dwell on the loss before the next game.  The fact that the season is 162 gives the baseball fan a reason to think that anything is possible.  Logic makes everything black and white and eliminates possibilities, dreams, and a reason to be a fan.  Hope is fun and is the reason a baseball fan watches their last place team play every night, trying to figure out what would need to happen to still win the division.