What to say...

I always wondered how coaches feel when they walk into a locker room or clubhouse after a loss that ends the season. I thought, what do they say, how do they say it, or is there even anything to say? I still don't know!

What a tough loss for the Twins last night. It's easy to quickly think about all the games that we could have won to have avoided last night's situation. It's also easy to say well we weren't supposed to be there anyway, but I don't except that. The Twins simply didn't take care of business last night. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau struggled going 0-6 with three strikeouts agains a pitcher they usually dominate. Plus, if these two guys only get six at bats in a game that simply is not enough. The whole offense did not show up to play.

I said before the game that I thought Nick Blackburn would be the key to the game. He did more than I could have expected and I actually thought this game would be a 7-5 type ballgame. Unfortunately, the White Sox beat us and our own game. Which is evident by the fact that this was the Twins' 5th 1-0 loss this year (tied for the most in MLB) and the White Sox 1st 1-0 win. That's tough to swallow.

If there is any silver lining to this, Joe Mauer did when his second batting title in three years. He now has two titles by the age of 25 and is still the only AL catcher to win the title.

That's it for now, much more to come later but we all need time to let this digest. Thanks to everyone who stopped by during the Live Blogcast, it was truly a fun time. Please continue to come back to Twins MVB with many exciting changes expected in the future. For the next three weeks, I'm the biggest Tampa Bay Rays fan out there!

Baseball Tonight Previews Tigers/White Sox

Here's a good video to prepare you for this afternoon's makeup game between the Tigers and the White Sox. The BBTN boys give their predictions...



Also, the Twins announced Nick Blackburn would take the hill on Tuesday night if a tiebreaker game is necessary. He would face off against John Danks in Chicago with a 6:37 pm CT start. Odd starting time, but no worries if you are working should be able to catch this game.

Round 2...FIGHT!

What a win last night! The Twins not only took the most important game 1 of the series but made a big statement in doing so.

Jason Kubel was the star of the game smacking two homeruns, hitting a triple, and picking up three RBIs. After a homer in his first at-bat and a triple in his second at bat, Kubel had me thinking cycle, but he chose to hit another homerun instead! Here Thor Nystrom of MLB.com writes, Kubel nearly didn't even start.

Delmon Young used the energy from the crowd and from Kubel's homerun immediately after to go back-to-back with a homerun of his own. Scott Baker pitched a very solid seven innings with one earned run and Justin Morneau set a new Twins record with his 47 double of the season while receiving incessant MVP chants from the crowd everytime he stepped up to the plate.

Last night's game one win was huge keeping the chances alive for a potential sweep and giving the Twins a good chance to win the essential two out of three. Tonight's matchups may be the toughest with Twin Killer Mark Buerhle (14-11) going against Nick Blackburn (10-10) who is 1-2 with a 7.58 ERA in four September starts. Blackburn has looked tired as of late, but hopefully the Metrodome crowd will pump him up to pitch a gem like Baker.

10 Wins for the rotation

So the Twins are able to salvage at least one game from the lowly Mariners yesterday in Seattle. I feel generous even using the word salvage as the series can be described by nothing other than a disappointment. That being said, it's great to see a little bite and retaliation by the young Twins ballclub. This will be needed down the stretch and especially if the team makes the playoffs.

Thanks to Baltimore clubbing the White Sox the Twins sit just a game behind first place in the Central. With Chicago off today and the Twins starting a 4-game series, the Twins have an opportunity to pick up a 1/2 game this evening.


Tonight Nick Blackburn takes the hill looking for 10th win of the season. Blackburn is 9-8 this season and has actually pitched better than his records displays. He was a victim of poor run support early in the season and like every pitcher in the rotation has lost a few of his potential wins due to a bullpen blowup.

The thought of Blacky grabbing his 10th win made me think about this young rotation. If Blackburn can get number 10 he'll join Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and the departed Livan Hernandez as Twin starting pitchers with at least 10 victories this season. Scott Baker, who has arguably been the best starting pitcher this year, boasts a record of just 7-4 but also has been a victim of poor run support and bullpen blowups.

Baker still has enough time to grab 10 victories while Francisco Liriano will simply not have enough starts since being called up to claim 10 wins (but if you consider his domination in AAA the lefty currently has 14 victories in 2008). The unexpected success of the Twins this year makes me excited, but the thought of an entire rotation at or below the age of 26 and all with 10 wins makes me REALLY excited!

Make your voice heard and check out the starting pitchers poll on the right sidebar!

Finally a win... Liriano on the way?

The Twins grabbed a very badly needed win last night agains the Cleveland Indians. The offense came to life scoring six runs with a big five run third inning. Jason Kubel smashed his 8th homerun of the season and Justin Morneau had a solid game driving in three runs.

Nick Blackburn returned to form allowing just two runs over seven innings and striking out five. Blackburn struggled in his first start after being hit in the face off of the bat of Bobby Abreu in the Yankees series. All and all it was good win, the bullpen still looked exhausted and allowed three runs to make the game close in the 7th inning, but Joe Nathan came in and shut the door for his 17th save of the season.

Livan Hernandez takes the mound tonight and hopefully the Twins can win a series on the road in Cleveland.

In other Twins news...

Kelly Theiser of MLB.com reported that Francisco Liriano could soon be called up from AAA Rochester to join the big league club. Liriano allowed only one run over six innings striking out seven batters. The lefty has been regaining both his control and his confidence. In his past three starts, the former All-Star has gone 2-0 posting a 2.45 ERA.

Manager Ron Gardenhire stated that if Liriano returns it will certainly be in the rotation and not in the bullpend under any circumstance. The timing of Liriano's return could be nearly perfect. The rotation has been struggling a bit lately and if the Liriano of old returns and claims the role of staff ace it would be a huge addition for this team. Since the departure of Johan Santana the Twins have lacked that shut down starter to help stop losing streaks like the six-game streak the Twins just suffered.

Despite Thesier's report, I would forecast about two more weeks before Liriano's return. It would be great to see him by the end of the month, and if not I would certainly expect to see him after the All-Star break. Here's to hoping....

Twins taste the Rockies

For the first time in franchise history the Twins head to Coors Field in Denver to start a three game interleague series against the Rockies.

The Rockies have been one of the biggest disappointments in MLB this year and are currently on a five game losing streak. The Twins are coming off of a disappointing three game sweep against Toronto at home. After a big, emotional series against Boston where the Twins took three of four, I thought they played without that same fire against the Blue Jays. The season is 162 games long and it is impossible to be emotionally hyped for every game, but this young club needs to learn to bring their best every game.

Hopefully, the thrill of heading to Coors Field for the first time and the pitchers who are eager to grab the bats can get this team going. The Twins need a big series in Colorado and Nick Blackburn takes the hill tonight facing off against Ubaldo Jimenez.

Off Day Thoughts

One week ago today I wrote about Opening Day and the start of the baseball season. Seven days later the Twins are 3-5 with some questions as well as some answers. All in all, I'd say 3-5 is about expected with opening series against the Angels, Royals, and a game against the White Sox.

QUESTIONS

Is Livan Hernandez for real? The ancient righty is off to a 2-0 start with a 3.86 ERA. He's providing stability and leadership to a young rotation. Hope it continues!

When will Jason Kubel become full time? Kubel's batting .221 and slugging .409, not great, but he's younger, has more potential, is a better hitter, and Craig Monroe is batting .091 and slugging .182.

How will the Twins replace Michael Cuddyer? Denard Span was called up when Cuddy went on the DL. A surprise move in my opinion. Span slides into the #2 spot in the lineup which makes a lefty/lefty duo of Mauer and Morneau batting 3rd and 4th. I think the Twins lineup will have even more trouble scoring runs now and I think Delmon Young should be batting between the M&M boys. At least this may give Kubel more at bats.

Will Francisco Liriano make an impact in the rotation? I sure hope so. He struggled in his first minor league start and will make his AAA start today with Rochester. Word has it that he make return to the big leagues on Sunday.

ANSWERS

Joe Nathan is a stud. The Twins signing of Nathan was a sign of commitment to winning and it kept a shutdown closer in the bullpen. At least we know that if we're winning going into the 9th inning, we'll get the win. Nathan's current line: 3 SV, 3 SV opportunities, 3 IP, and 3 SO.

Nick Blackburn is for real. In 2 starts and 12 IP, Blackburn has a 2.25 ERA with 12 SO and only 3 BB. He owns an 0-1 record due to poor run support, but this kid will be very important this season and may never lose his rotation spot that he won this spring.

The American League is deep. Baltimore is in first place, Oakland is not just rebuilding, Kansas City is so much better, and this leaves Boston, Seattle, and Detroit in last place. These three teams will not be in last place for long, but it doesn't matter who the Twins play because the American League is good.

Carlos Gomez is really fast. The kid has stolen 5 bases already which has prompted the MVB to start a Carlos Gomez stolen base count in the sidebar. But he's not just fast, Gomez is batting .333 and has scored 5 runs in 8 games. If he can continue to get on base, Mauer, Morneau, and Young will be very happy.

We'll see what questions and answers emerge in week 2 of the season...

YOUR OPINION: What questions do you see so far concerning the Twins?

Guest Blogging, Boof, and Blackburn

An exciting Twins MVB first: I was asked by Kansas City Royals Blogger, Jeff Parker, to be a guest blogger and do a team preview for the 2008 season on his blog. To read my thoughts on 2008 Royals and a very good blog check out the link. Parker's Royally Speaking can also be found in the MVB sidebar.

So after a thrilling opening day things for the Twins have come back to reality. Tuesday night Boof Bonser got hit hard and looked confused at times. The Twins managed just six hits against the Angels Jon Garland and suffered a 9-1 defeat.

Wednesday night, pitcher Nick Blackburn made his first Major League start and definitely rose to the occasion. The rookie allowed 1 run on 5 hits over 7 innings. However, the Angels Joe Saunders did just a little bit more allowing no runs on just 4 hits through his 8 innings as the Twins fell 1-0. The pro was seeing a great performance from the young Blackburn who won the final rotation spot with a good spring and was called a "sleeper pick" for rookie of the year by ESPN expert Peter Gammons. The con was the slow offensive start this season. Justin Morneau is still looking for his first hit and the bottom half of the order is not delivering. I'm not in panic mode yet about Morneau's hitless start of year, but just slightly concerned. This young Twins team needs to have a strong April to have a good season, and to have a strong April they need their MVP to deliver.

Kevin Slowey takes the mound today for the Twins in their afternoon game. Let's hope for the bats to catch fire and the Twins to end the series at 2-2 against a very good Angels ballclub.