Range of emotions

This time of year losses like last night hurt even worse. It's like not only did you get stabbed in the back, but the knife was twisted.

Sorry for that, probably the most graphic thing ever written on this blog. I apologize for this blog becoming my personal diary of frustrations lately. But any Twins fan could use a place to vent these past few weeks. After last night's loss the Twins fall to 5-8 on this road trip and are miraculously only 1 game back of the Chicago White Sox.

So last night I didn't get tuned into the game until the 9th inning. I turn on my tv just in time to see Brendan Harris bust his but down to 1st base and slide head first into the base just beating out the throw for the 3rd out which allows the go-ahead run to score. Twins lead 4-3.

Nathan comes in and I'm thinking no way this goes wrong again. Even before things get worse I'm watching Nathan thinking, "Man he looks more rattled than usual. He's breathing deeper, sweating more." I say to myself, "Self, we need to get Nathan this win. He's lost some of his confidence and we need this win because we need Joe down the stretch!" Although Nathan cleary didn't have his best stuff, I thought he had enough to get out of the jam. Then comes the Blue Jays single and the error by Jason Pridie which allows the tying run to score. Nathan blows his 3rd save of the roadtrip and the Twins lose in extra innings.

Talk about a range of emotions! To make it sting a bit more: 5 of the Twins 8 losses on this road trip have been walk off wins!

I don't really want to talk anymore about last night's game. Like I said, we're lucky to be where we are right now and apparently the Twins clubhouse isn't worried. Let's hope for a win tonight and get those guys home ASAP.

Come home to the dome!

All-Star Twins

As the all star game approaches I thought I would take the time to break down the mid summer festivities by reflecting on the game and also the 3 Twins who made the game. All in all I really do enjoy the MLB's All-Star Week, but it definitely has its ups and downs. A very heated debate over years past has been Bud Selig's decision that the winner of the all star game receives home field advantage in the World Series. I love this aspect of the game for it gives the game meaning and forces the players to play hard and take the game more seriously. I feel that the most over hyped aspect of all star week is the home run derby. The boo birds may come out for this statement but honestly I'm really only interested for the first 15 minutes and the next thing I know I'm watching reruns of Americas Next Top Model. I mean really how many times can we hear Chris Berman's "back, back, back, back, back, etc." in one night without going insane. Sure it's a fun event that the fans seem to adore, but I think it would be a lot better if it was tweaked to make it shorter and a little easier to watch.

Now onto the real important issue about All Star week, the Minnesota Twins that will represent one of the biggest surprises of the season. First I would love to tip my cap to Joe Mauer, for not only was he selected to the All Star game, he was also chosen to be a starter for the AL. This couldn't be more justified as he leads all catchers in runs and average and is also first in the AL in RBI's. It's also worth noting the job he has done in molding the young Twins pitching staff into one of the best staffs again this year. Another interesting thing I saw about Mauer came from the ESPN game last Monday verses the Red Sox (a heart breaker i know). During Mauer's last at bat Mauer was faced with a 3-1 count. Above the score on ESPN a statistic came up that said Mauer's average whenever the count as gotten to 3-1 is .480 on the season. That's right, Mauer gets a hit nearly 50% of the time if he gets ahead 3-1 in an at bat. I found this to be just an astounding figure and a true testament to the spectacular hitter Mauer has become .

The next Twin American League All Star is the punch to the Twins lineup. Cleanup hitter Justin Morneau was selected as a reserve at first base. This was another no brainer selection into the game for Morneau ranks 2nd among AL 1B in runs, and even better 1st in RBI's and Avg. Surprisingly so Justin Morneau is now battling aforementioned Joe Mauer for the batting champ not only on the Twins but also in the AL. Morneau has been a constant all year for the Twins and without him in the middle of the lineup the Twins probably would be sitting closer to where the Royals are now rather then 1 game and a half out of the division.

To anchor my article I decided to go to the anchor of the Twins rotation. Joe Nathan was probably the least likely of the three to make the All Star game coming into the year. No it wasn't because his skills had diminished or that he signed a lucrative deal, but rather because the Twins would be horrible and his save chances would be minuscule. But as it turns out the exact opposite has occurred as Nathan seems to have to close the door on a game at least once a series and almost always get the job done without giving my grandma any chance of having a heart attack (Something Latroy Hawkins and Eddie Guardado struggled with). When the Twins gave Nathan so much dough at the beginning of the year I questioned it thinking there wasn't a way closers were worth that kind of money. But Nathan has made me eat my words as he has been lights out in the 9th inning and is very deserving to be traveling to New York to pitch July 15th. - DY21

I certainly can agree with DY21 that Chris Berman's Home Run Derby commentary can be quite annoying, but with Twin Justin Morneau becoming a late addition to the derby I'll be watching tonight. Although Morneau has the least amount of homeruns of the 8 competitors, I think he an underdog candidate for tonight's competition. Morneau struggled last year in this same contest in San Franciso, but I believe he's learned from last time and will benefit from short right field porch in Yankee Stadium. Chris Singleton of Baseball Tonight predicted Justin Morneau as the winner. MVB's pick - Josh Hamilton. Enjoy the homers!

Bullpen, Twins lock up Nathan

Now that spring break is over and I have internet access, there is a lot to write about with only 3 days until the season opener!

First, I'd like to finish the 2008 Team Preview by taking a look at the bullpen. It was fitting that I hadn't written this post yet as the Twins made big news during the week regarding their star closer Joe Nathan. Monday, Nathan and the Twins agreed to a 4-year $47 million deal.

Across the blogosphere the deal seemed to come with mixed reviews. It is curious to see the Twins invest so much money in a player after seeing former stars Torii Hunter and Johan Santana leave this offesason, especially at a position like closer which is usually only considered a luxury. For a 33-year old closer to be the highest paid player on a team and be making $47 million is unique, but I'm not necessarily upset at this move. The deal certainly has its risk as Nathan could wear down and be grossly overpaid when he's 37, but it does provide stability at the end of the bullpen and is another sign from Twins management that they want to remain competitive.

Although $11.25 million per season is a lot for a close on a small market team that could have replaced Nathan with a cheap option like Pat Neshek, Nathan is a relative bargain compared to the mega-deals locked up my the Yankees Mariano Rivera and the Reds Francisco Cordero this offseason. Of all the closer is MLB, Nathan has proved to be on the of the most durable and efficient performers. Plus, I know Joe is incredibly happy in Minnesota and I'm happy to have him in the new ballpark.

This news allows me to segue into the bullpen team preview. We now know Joe Nathan will be closing many more games for the Twins and very likely become the team's all time saves leader by the time his new contract is over. This means submariner Pat Neshek is firmly planted in the setup role with the rest of the bullpen looking like Matt Guerrier, Juan Rincon, Dennys Reyes, Jesse Crain, and after recent spring training cuts Brian Bass.

Neshek had an amazing first half of 2007 putting him on the ballot for the All-Star Final Spot selection for the midsummer classic, but he seemed to tire down the stretch and ended with an average year. He worked on strengthening and conditioning during the offseason and does not have an earned run this spring. Look for Neshek to be a big contributor for the Twins in '08. I also expect Guerrier to have a big year for the Twins. Like Neshek, his first half numbers in 2007 were better than the second half, but he finished with a strong season and should see many innings in '08 due to the youth and inexperience in the Twins rotation.

Crain, Rincon, and Reyes all struggled with injuries last year and were unable to match the great seasons the trio had in 2006. Rincon certainly seems to be on a steady career decline but may still have a little gas left for the '08 campaign. Crain missed nearly the entire year last year pitching only 16 innings, yet the hard throwing righty has looked pretty good this spring. Look for him to perform well this year but expectations should be low after coming off of a big injury. Reyes will resume is roll as the lefty specialist and will also hope to bounce back from a disappointing '07. He should remain effective against lefthanded hitters but will most likely never match his insane '06 campaign.

Bass was a surprise to make the 25 man roster, but after Glen Perkins struggled all spring, Bass's numbers looked pretty good and he will take the bullpen role of long-reliever (aka mop-up man). I'm sure he will get plenty of innings with starters struggles and games get ugly.

All and all, the Twins bullpen is considered a strength of the team and should provide a solid backbone to the young starting rotation. If the starters can pitch solid games into the sixth inning there is a very good chance with a Guerrier/Neshek/Nathan combination that the Twins can pick up the win. The Twins will need the bullpen to be a source of consistency and health should be the only factor that could threaten this team strength. It'll be great to see Nathan coming in in the 9th for the clutch save, let's hope the Twins have plenty of leads going into the 9th inning.

The Domino Effect

Twins fans... be prepared.

Torii Hunter was a tough loss to swallow. The trade of Johan Santana can no longer be discussed as if, but when. But as I said, be prepared.

It appears that Hunter's signing for mega dollars with the Angels coupled with Santana declining the Twins 4-year $80 million dollar extension was the opening of the floodgates for what will most definitely be a crazy offseason for GM Bill Smith and the Twins.

SANTANA UPDATE

The list of suitors as of today appears to be the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Angels, and Dodgers. The Yankees have made the most headlines admitting they have had "preliminary discussions" with the Twins regarding Santana. Mets GM Omar Minaya has also stated they have talked to the Twins and is reported as saying he will "get creative" to try and acquire the All-Star lefty.

Names thrown around in talks with the Yankees include the big three of Yankee pitching prospects Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy as well as Yankee CF Melky Cabrera and 2B Robinson Cano. Any deal would certainly have to include one of the three pitching studs, one of the two Yankee starters, and one or two more minor league prospects. It has been reported that Chamberlain and Cano are nearly untouchable in any deal.

Minaya of the Mets loves to make a splash during the offseason and this season may actually need to after the Mets catastrophic collapse at the end of the season. One intriguing name quietly mentioned in talks about Santana is the Mets' electric shortstop Jose Reyes. To me, that may be the one player the Twins could acquire that would at least make up for Santana's presence and appease the fans. Reyes teamed with Mauer and Morneau could form an exciting young trio for years to come.

The Red Sox are reported as "actively pursuing" but seem to be very unwilling to part with young stars Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Bucholtz. A deal for Santana would seemingly have to include one of the two, but Boston must be mentioned because where the Yankees are the Sox are always close behind.

The Dodgers definitely have the young players to make a deal but may be unwilling to sign Santana to a large extension and the Angels just joined the fray with the intriguing possibility of Santana teaming up with new Angel and former Twin Hunter.

TRADE RUMORS

To keep a long blog short, the rumor mill is swirling and almost every bit of news seems to include the Twins. Names include the obvious Santana, young Twins pitcher Matt Garza, and All-Star stud closer Joe Nathan with names returning to the Twins such as the Red Sox Coco Crisp, the Rays rookie of year runner-up Delmon Young, the Diamondbacks young outfielder Carlos Quentin, and more. It appears that if Santana is (sorry when) he is traded, Nathan will follow him right out the door. Check out the Fox Sports trade rumors to read the MLB hot stove rumors concerning the Twins.

For more news on Santana along with the new Nathan rumors, Star Tribune writer, La Velle E. Neal III writes in his Twins blog.

Also, what's your opinion? Star Tribune poll asks which team will give the return in a trade for Santana?