I Can't Wait

Despite being in the middle of a very exciting season for the Twins where a young club that was counted out by all experts is in the thick of a playoff race, I can't help but think about 2010.

I attended Wednesday's day game against the Yankees and was pleasantly surprised when they pulled off the 100 games sign until the new ballpark opens. We're now in double digits with 99 games remaining. Outdoor baseball is in sight!

To get more excited look no further than the Twins roster. Yeah we have our starts Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, and Cuddyer locked up through the opening of the new park, but also think about the Twins starting pitching. A solid core of young pitchers with lots of potential all under the age of 26. I've even heard some comparisons to the core of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz of the Braves from the early 90's. Who knows... but a core of Liriano, Baker, and Slowey looks pretty good right now with other good arms like Perkins and Blackburn.

If you're not excited take the virtual tour below... I can't wait!

Twins playing waiver games

The Twins were reportedly playing the game of cat and mouse also known as the waiver wire this week. ESPN's Buster Olney had heard a report saying the Twins claimed Seattle outfielder Raul Ibanez off revocable waivers from the Mariners. If this is true, the two clubs would have 48 hours to reach a deal.

The move would be great for the Twins considering Ibanez is a right handed bat hitting .292 with 19 homeruns and 82 RBIs. He would more than make up for the absence of Michael Cuddyer and be big presence in the middle of the Twins lineup; however, don't get too excited about the actual possibility of this deal. Waiver deals seldomly happen and Ibanez is playing well enough this year that he may classify as a Type A free agent. Which means if he leaves Seattle this offseason the Mariners would receive two draft picks as compensation. I'm not sure the Twins will be willing to pay the equivalent price of two picks.

Olney also reported the Twins may have put a waiver request on Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn. The move was believed to be a strategic act to block the division rival White Sox from making a deal for the pitcher.

We won't have to wait long to see if these moves happen or not, but it's interesting to see GM Bill Smith play the waiver game.

Twins take down the evil empire

The Twins showed some grit, some heart, and some fight this week taking two of three against the New York Yankees. Yeah, the Twins were playing at home and yeah, the Yanks are struggling right now, but... I'm still taking this series as a positive note.

Typically when the Twins play the Yankees they look like Little Leaguers playing against the pros, but in all three of these games (even the loss) the Twins were forced to come back from a deficit, grind out runs across the plate, and play tight ballgames.

Twins playoff teams of the past have had good records, play solid baseball, and seem to have the right makeup. However, when the playoff role around we have poor at bats, shaky starting pitching, and no clutch hitting. Let's hope this series could be a preview to early October!

I leave you with this incredibly random video. Can't believe I missed this, but happened a few weeks ago. Watch the bat in the upper left corner... incredible!

Injuries affecting playoff races

Glen Perkins had a huge game Monday throwing eight shutout innings against the Yankees. The win coupled with a White Sox loss to the hand of Boston's Josh Beckett, puts the Twins back into first place. The Twins are playing the Yankees at a perfect time right now as they are spiraling downward. We must take two of the three from the Bronx Bombers and a sweep would be wonderful. With Seattle coming to town this weekend a huge homestand could be helpful as the Twins prepare for their mega-roadtrip due to the looming Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

I was thinking about the playoff races yesterday and realizing how recent injuries are currently playing their role on many contending clubs:

In the American League...

The Twins have missed Alexi Casilla and just when they were ready to add their big right handed bat, Michael Cuddyer goes down with a freak injury.
The Yankees have been missing their starting pitching, but Joba Chamberlain is set to begin throwing this Friday.
The Rays have been hit the hardest as rookie phenom Evan Longoria just joined Carl Crawford on the DL with a broken wrist.

In the National League...

The Cardinals just got Rick Ankiel back on the field and then lost former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter after just his third start back from the DL.
The Phillies' Brad Lidge has been complaining of a sore shoulder which could be deadly for Philadelphia.
The Mets are already realizing the pain of an injured closer losing another late inning game with the absence of Billy Wagner.
The Diamondbacks put Orlando Hudson down for the season to join his fallen teammate Eric Brynes. However, the D-Backs did make noise yesterday in a surprise move acquiring Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds. The move counters the Dodgers trade for Manny Ramirez and in my opinion makes Arizona the favorite in the NL West thanks to their pitching.

With only seven weeks left in the season, injuries can play a huge role in shaping the outlook of October baseball. Little time remains for key players to rehab and come back and contribute, but there is always September callups looking to make a name for themselves. Get ready folks, it's going to get interesting!

Where for art thou Neshek?

Adam Evertt has been hurt for nearly the entire year, Alexi Casilla suffered an untimely finger injury but should be back in two weeks, Michael Cuddyer has been on and off the DL continually, but no injury has hurt the Twins this season more than the loss of setup man Pat Neshek.

In fact, I would argue the Twins would be in first place with roughly a four or five game lead on the Chicago White Sox if Pat Neshek was healthy today.

Need any proof simply look to yesterday's loss to Kansas City. Another example of a Twins starting pitcher having a great outing through the seventh inning. The Twins have a small lead but know if they can get into the 9th inning Joe Nathan will be there to shut the door. No big deal right??? Three short outs in the 8th inning and pick up the victory!

Manager Ron Gardenhire has given every pitcher in the bullpen the opportunity to collect those three outs. First it was Jesse Crain, then Matt Guerrier, sometimes Dennys Reyes, and all too often Brian Bass. The Twins cannot find anyone to bridge that cap from the starting pitching to Nathan in the 9th... and it's currently killing them.

We started the season thinking our bullpen would be our strength and our starting pitching would our weakness, but it seems the tables have turned. All the young starters continue to put up solid outings and more importantly are giving their team a chance to win. Only to see their W's fade into no-decisions as the bullpen blows the lead.

Maybe I'm just sitting here venting some of my frustrations right now and the bullpen situation isn't that big of a deal, but if October rolls around and the Twins miss the playoffs by five games or less, I will be wondering Where for art thou Neshek?

Patience is a Virtue

For the first time since May 13 the Twins are in sole possession of first place!

As the calendar turns to August we've reached the time known in baseball as the dog days of summer. The weather is hot, the players are tired, and the long season becomes a grind. But the dog days are when the contenders truly separate themselves from the pack. Today on August 3rd, the Twins proved themselves to the rest of the baseball world that they too are contenders!

It seemed fitting that on the day the Twins took over first place with a victory over Cleveland their young phenom lefthander, Francisco Liriano, was on the mound to pick up the W. Liriano's last win came against the Indian's on July 23, of 2006. It has certainly been a long and winding road back to the majors for Liriano but today he reached his goal.

"He looked more like the old Liriano, like the one before," catcher Mike Redmond said. "It's only going to get better. He's only going to get stronger."

On this big day for Liriano and the Twins, the Chicago White Sox had a big day of their own. They had an ugly 12-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals that became even uglier as a bench clearing brawl lead to Ozzie Guillen and multiple players getting ejected. The Sox are just 3-9 in their last 12 games and maybe this will be the start of a downward slide.

Denard Span, who hit his second career homerun today, admitted to watching the scoreboard out in rightfield today, "I was watching [the scoreboard] -- from like the fifth inning. I saw it was 8-0, then all of a sudden 10-0, and I was like, 'Uh-oh!,' then 12-2," Span said. "I knew Kansas City was taking care of business, and it feels good. It feels good to finally say we're in first place, for at least a day. We can't sneak up on anybody anymore this year. Everybody knows we are for real this year."

Patience turly is a virtue.

Twins Complete Huge Late Deadline Deal

Well.... kinda, but the point is the Twins roster move today is the equivalent to a big deadline deal.

Yes of course there was no trade involving a Manny or a Junior, but the Twins FINALLY called up the "Franchise" Francisco Liriano today and released both pitcher Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe.

Liriano and his 10-2 record with a 3.28 ERA in AAA Rochester will join the rotation Sunday against Cleveland. Along with the move, AAA first baseman Randy Ruiz will join the big league club taking Monroe's role on the bench. Ruiz was batting .320 with 17 homeruns and 68 RBIs through 111 games in Rochester.

This move is a huge boost to the Twins. Not very often can a playoff contending club get rid of veterans in favor of a youth movement and still improve their team. Just like the past two years the Twins signed Hernandez and Monroe for a combined $8.5 million thinking they would be bargain veterans that provide leadership and experience. I'm sure these two players added their experience to the Twins clubhouse, but for Liriano and Ruiz the time is now.

I truly think Liriano could be the difference maker in determining the AL Central race. The White Sox may have made their move for Ken Griffey Jr. and I believe Griffey will be rejuvenated by playing for a playoff contending club and be a bigger addition then people believe, but Liriano can make a huge impact for the Twins. If Liriano continues to pitch like he has at AAA, he'll get to pitch the months of August and September that we never saw in amazing rookie year of 2006. The difference in 2008, Liriano is not the rookie phenomenon, but a potential staff ace returning from Tommy John surgery.

Reporters have criticized and will continue to ask why Liriano wasn't called up earlier; however, despite the poor performance of Hernandez the past two months, the decision to call up Liriano could not be rushed. Francisco now clearly has his confidence, his velocity, his command, and his motivation of being the difference maker in a tight playoff race.

The most exciting thing to me in this entire situation, not only do we have Liriano ready to dominate down the stretch but the Twins current 2008 rotation looks like the following: Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, Nick Blackburn, and Francisco Liriano.... all legitimate young pitchers under the age of 26. The future is bright for the Minnesota Twins!