A Win AND Sidney Ponson gets DFA!

With 4 straight losses coming into the game, it had been a long weekend for the Twins.

But on Sunday, good things happened on and off the field. On the field, the bats finally exploded. Hampered greatly ever since Mauer went to the DL, the Twins erupted for 16 runs and 4 HR, something sorely lacking for the offense this year.

Torii Hunter led the way, with 2 HR and a career high 7 RBI. He had lots of help, as the Twins eventually had 16 runs and 22 hits. Luis Castillo had 3 hits. Mike Redmond hit a HR. Mike Cuddyer had 3 hits (including a HR) and 4 RBI. Justin Morneau had 3 hits. Jason Kubel had 3 hits. And on and on.

Bottom line, it was a great hitting performance for the Twins, and something that they sorely needed.

Off the field, after another poor start for Sidney Ponson, the Twins finally have seen enough, as they designated him for assignment. Later this week the Twins will recall a pitcher to start on Saturday, leaving Glen Perkins in the pen. They didn't say who, but my guess would be Scott Baker, who has some experience, is pitching great in AAA, and I believe is already on the 40-man roster. That would make the most sense to me.

Either way, I'm at least happy to see the Twins recognized that Ponson just wasn't working out.

2 out of 3 ain't bad

Coming into the series, the Twins were really struggling, and that was with those games coming at home. So to go to Detroit and take 2 of 3 (and be in the 3rd game), well, gotta like that.

Torii Hunter continued his great hitting, showing no ill effects from the ball in the face via Zack Greinke. After hitting his 5th HR Sunday (to go along with the 13 doubles), he is now slugging over .650. That's really, really good.

Also a great series for Jason Kubel, who is playing everyday and starting to be more consistent in showing some of that great potential. He's batting .333 over the last 6 games with 3 doubles, and had a really big hit Friday. More ABs for Jason Kubel and less for Jason Tyner is something I can support.

But it wasn't all good... once again, Jesse Crain struggled, giving up the walkoff HR Sunday. Crain's ERA is now at 6.30, and he only has 5 strikeouts through 10 innings. It's early obviously, but does anyone have any confidence when he enters a game? I know that I just do not at this point.

Twins take on the Devil Rays Tuesday... could it be Sidney Ponson's last start? If he struggles again, I don't see how they can justify keeping him up.

It must be the 2nd half of the season

How do I know? Well, besides looking at a calendar, I can just tell by the way Johan is pitching. The past of seasons he's been an unstoppable rebel force in the 2nd half of the year, and this isn't a bad start this time around. 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 K, and his 10th win of the year.

The big contributor on offense was once again Justin Morneau. 3/4 and a solo HR (#24 on the year). Wasn't it just last year that Morneau couldn't hit lefties to save his life? Good to see that Batting Average climb back over .300.

But besides Morneau and Santana, it wasn't just the usual suspects for the Twins contributing to this win. Nick Punto hit a big double early in the game. Jason Tyner had a couple more hits. Mike Redmond drove Punto in with a Sac Fly. Denys Reyes continued to mow down hitters with a scoreless 9th. It was a team effort here.

Unfortunately, some of that team may not be in the best of shape at the moment. Jason Kubel's still got sore knees, Lew Ford just went on the DL, and Shannon Stewart and Torii Hunter left the game early on Saturday. So uh, does anyone have a spare outfielder? Twins Without Spin made an interesting suggestion - maybe a little bit of Denard Span if Torii Hunter is forced to go to the DL. Sure, Span's in AA, but it might be interesting. One thing we do know is that Rondell White will be back. Let's hope he's gotten past the mysterious awfulness that plagued him earlier this year.

On another good note, the Yankees beat the White Sox again, putting the Twins just 7.5 games back of the Wildcard. So there's still a light at the end of the tunnel, however dim it may be.

How do you spell S-W-E-E-P?

Well that's a nice surprise. After another Kubel HR, the first good outing of the year for Carlos Silva, and Joe Nathan getting the Twins out of some late trouble, the Twins earned the sweep over the Boston Red Sox with a 5-3 victory Thursday.

The most encouraging thing about the game, by far, was a sign that maybe Carlos Silva is ready to get back into the form that made him so effective last year. His 6 scoreless innings lowered his ERA from 7.73 to 7.07. Granted, 7.07 still isn't good, but it's a heck of a lot better than 7.73. He gave up 7 hits and struck out 2, but again, true to last year's form, didn't walk anyone.

Grady's been criticized by me and others in the past, so it's only proper to give him credit when credit is due. I love the fact that he brought in Nathan in the 8th when the bases were loaded. Sure, it wasn't a conventional save situation in which Nathan is usually saved for, but regardless of inning, it was the most important part of the game, with the bases loaded, no out, and the 4-5-6 hitters coming up. Bravo to Gardy for bringing Nathan in there, which eventually resulted in Nathan's 8th save.

Also congrats to Jason Kubel, who homered in his 3rd straight game. He's now batting .291 with a .321 OBP and .506 SLG in 79 AB. He could stand to take a couple more walks, but it's great to see a little bit of power from him. Once again, I beg you Gardy, leave him in LF when Stewart comes back!

Anyway, the sweep puts their record at 31-34, 11 games behind the Tigers. They now head to Pittsburgh for a 3-game set.

As an added note, I'll be gone for the weekend, so I apologize to both of my readers when I say that the blog won't be update until Sunday or Monday! Maybe this will bring the Twins more good luck!

These Grand Slams can be contagious

We had a couple of grand slams from Cuddyer last week, then Jason Kubel hit the walkoff Grand Slam last night, and now it seems Justin Morneau wants to get in on the action. With the score at 4-1 in the 6th, Morneau's Grand Slam broke the game open. And the best part about it, as AG mentions, he hit it to the opposite field, which he seems to be doing a lot more of this year, and that's a big reason by he's on pace for 35 HR and 130 RBI. Just a thing of beauty to see him get ahold of one. As NBA Jam would say, he's on fire!

And another encouraging thing was that Brad Radke is finding his groove. I think most pitchers will take 6 innings and 1 run against that potent Red Sox offense, especially a guy that's been struggling this year. The game lowered his ERA to 5.83, which still isn't good, but he's finally put together a few good outings in a row. If he can get it going after Santana and Liriano, the Twins pitching could be back. Now let's just hope Carlos Silva can give up less than 5 HR in the series finale.

One negative about tonight was Torii Hunter doing what he does best - making a mental mistake at the plate. In the 3rd inning, Matt Clement managed to walk the bases full (with Mauer, Cuddyer, and Morneau). Then Hunter steps up to the plate. Everyone and their mother knows you take a strike in this situation. Instead, Torii goes up, swings on the first pitch, and promply GIDP. As Third Base Line writes on Bat-Girl, the new rule is that with runners on and less than 2 out, we need to pinch-hit for Hunter no matter the innings.

But let's focus on the positive. Like Jason Kubel hitting another HR. Or Jason Bartlett going 2/4 in his first game back. Or the Twins winning the series against Boston. After an 8-1 win, I guess I don't have to look far.

Now hopefully they can get the sweep!

Santana great; Kubel saves the day

First off, I kinda feel like a prophet, because I just wrote about Kubel Monday, and about how he was hitting the ball better and looking more comfortable at the plate. So what does he do Tuesday? Well, nothing but hit a walkoff GS in the bottom of the 12th inning, his 3rd HR of the year, after working the count to 3-2. Not too bad.

Of course, this was made possible by Julian Tavarez, my new favorite opposing pitcher. He managed to bean Mike Cuddyer, serve a meatball to Morneau for a ground-rule double, intentionally walk Hunter, and then give up the 3-2 GS to Kubel. So thanks Julian!

In the spirit of the blog, I have to mention that Joe Nathan pitched another shutout inning. It wasn't his prettiest outing of the year, as he gave up a hit and a BB in his one inning of work, but hey, he extended the game, lowering his ERA to 1.87. His fellow reliever, Juan Rincon pitched 2 great innings to lower his ERA to 1.60.

One good thing is that unlike last time, the Twins actually used their best relievers before they brought the junk (AKA Jesse Crain) into the game. Of course, Crain promptly broke the tie in the 12th, but he recovered for his first win of the year. Congrats Jesse! (note sarcasm)

As for great performances, I have to tip my cap to both starting pitchers. It was really a great battle between two great pitchers. But let's focus on Johan. 8 innings, 13 strikeouts, and only mistake (the HR to Varitek). Johan finally got the ERA under 3 now at 2.99 for the year, which puts him at #4 in the AL. This coming on the heels of Johan's last two years, which, according to Stick and Ball Guy's analysis which were the 5th best and best seasons ever in Twins pitching history.

And you can add on maybe the best Twins news of the day - Bartlett up, Batista out. It's about time the Twins got Bartlett up to the Majors and got Batista out. Quite frankly, Batista was a pretty bad signing from the get-go. Maybe the Twins will actually commit fully to the youth movement and get Kubel and Bartlett starts all year, which will only help for the future. I can hope.

Jason Kubel

If there's an upside to Shannon Stewart being injured (I mean, other than getting his defense out of LF), it's that Jason Kubel is finally getting a chance to play everyday out there, and his bat is starting to come around.

Kubel, if you'll remember, was pretty much God in AAA a couple years ago, but then blew out his knee and missed all of last year. So ABs are obviously important at this point, and when he wasn't getting consistent ABs earlier this year, he predictably was not hitting all that well. However, now that he's playing everyday, he's picking it up. Case in point:

6/10: 3/5, 1 2B
6/9: 2/4
6/8: 1/5
6/7: 1/6
6/6: 3/5, 1 HR

Not great numbers, but not too bad for a guy just getting his first consistent playing time in the MLB. As an example of the little work he's gotten, his batting average raises 70 points a week.

But beyond the numbers, as Seth points out, he just looks more comfortable at the plate. He's having better AB, being more patient, and it's starting to show up in the numbers.

As of now, his line isn't terribly impressive at this point - .306 OBP/.397 SLG, but things are starting to come around. In his last 7 games he's batting .400 and slugging .560. If he sticks around all year, I honestly think he has a decent chance to hit .300. He's just a good overall hitter.

So why do I have the sinking feeling that once Stewart gets off the DL they'll start him and either relegate Kubel to the bench or to AAA? Becuase these are the Twins, and Ron Gardenhire still manages the club. But watching Kubel mature over the past few weeks gives me more confidence for the future - With Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, and Cuddyer all in the lineup and only one of them arguably in their prime (Cuddyer), the Twins offense has a chance to be real solid over the next few years. Hopefully they just get the time to develop.


Also, special congrats to Aaron Gleeman, who's approaching (or may have passed by the time you read this) the 2,000,000 visitor mark. In my opinion, Aaron's the premier Twins blogger out in the blogosphere - heck, maybe the premier Twins writer anywhere. So anyway, if you happen to read this Aaron, congratulations, and keep up the fantastic and entertaining work.

Can Johan Santana or Francisco Liriano start every game?

Can't blame the Twins offense. Behind a 7th inning Michael Cuddyer Grand Slam, 3 hits each from Jason Kubel and Justin Morneau, along with Joe Mauer reaching base 4 out of 5 times, the Twins managed to put up 7 runs tonight. I'll take that any day of the week.

Unfortunately, behind the pitching of Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse, they gave up 9 runs, resulting in a 9-7 loss to the Orioles.

In the first inning, Carlos Silva gave up 3 runs while recording 1 out (on a sac bunt). In the 7th, Kyle Lohse gave up 3 runs before getting any outs. Overall, Silva gave up 5 ER on 10 hits and a BB in 6 innings, while Kyle Lohse gave up 4 runs in 2.2 innings. So much for showcasing him for a trade. At this point, Kyle Lohse stinks.

Another factor in the loss was the so-called "face of the franchise", Torii Hunter. In front of Hunter in the lineup were Mauer and Kubel, who combined to reach base 7 times in 10 combined AB. Behind them, in the cleanup spot, Torii Hunter went 0/3 with 2 BB, and 8 LOB. To make things worse, he's not hitting a paltry .192 in May, with a SLG of .269. He's been bad with RISP and even worse with RISP and 2 out. Maybe it's time to try Cuddyer in the cleanup spot.

The 3rd and final game of the series features Francisco Liriano (4-1, 2.44 ERA) facing Erik Bedard (5-5, 5.84 ERA). Let's hope the youngsters can keep delivering and maybe get the Twins to .500 by the AS break, and after that anything can happen. But maybe that's just hopeful thinking.

Francisco Liriano is human after all

Technically, it was a quality start. 6 innings, 3 ER. That's not a bad outing by any means. The significant part is that that was his worst start of the year. Not too shabby.

In his rematch with Felix Hernandez, Felix and the Mariners pulled out a 4-2 victory on Tuesday. As mentioned, Liriano pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs, striking out 3 and walking 2. But hey, if that's your worst start to date, that's not too shabby.

Unfortunately, Twins hitters not named Joe Mauer or Jason Kubel didn't help him out much. Mauer was 4/4, while Kubel was 3/5. As Nick mentions, Mauer now leads the Majors with his .368 batting average. (and as Bat-Girl says, vote for Joe, the best catcher in the AL. Besides, we don't want something like this do we?).

Maybe with games like this, Gardenhire will actually leave Kubel in the lineup everyday. With the Twins not really gaining any ground, there's no sense in starting Lew Ford or Shannon Stewart over Kubel, unless you want to showcase Stewart for a trade.

Anyway, as you may know, the first part of the draft took place Tuesday, with the Twins taking high schooler Chris Parmalee. For more in depth draft coverage, go here or here for the good stuff. For a look at the Farm System, Seth posted his May Minor League report, which is full of lots and lots of great info.

Boof on the mound tomorrow to face Jamie Moyer on the M's. I don't suppose a couple of runs is too much to ask for, is it?