2010 Season Update

With two months left in the 2010 regular season, the Minnesota Twins are finding themselves in a very comfortable spot in the AL Central. Although every team wishes to be in first place, the Twins find themselves one-half game back of the Chicago White Sox. This year has been a year of firsts and worsts for the Twins as they opened their new, outdoor ballpark, Target Field.

The Twins had to wait 28 years before outdoor baseball returned to the Twin Cities. They weren’t the only ones waiting, as the other 29 teams in the MLB were very excited that they never have to play at the Metrodome ever again. As with the Metrodome, the Twins have a good home record (33-20). They may have lost the noise factor from the Metrodome, but they still have the home field advantage.

Entering the 2010 season, there was a lot of hype about this team around the Twin Cities. With the additions of Jim Thome, Orlando Hudson, and J.J. Hardy, this was supposed to be one of the best lineups in recent years. Despite the offensive additions, there was angst within the fan base due to the lack of pitching upgrade. They were able to keep the rotation intact, but some felt that to get past the 1st round of the playoffs, they would have to upgrade their pitching.

April
That didn’t matter though as the Twins start the year by going 15-8 in April. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, referred to as the M&M boys, both had a good month of April. Both hit over .340 during the month, however Morneau really shined by hitting five home runs and driving in 17. The lack off leadoff hitting by Denard Span really hindered Mauer’s opportunity to drive in more runners.

The main question heading into April was, “Who will be the ace of this staff?”. With Scott Baker getting the Opening Day nod, some thought that he would be the ace. Francisco Liriano had a different idea. “How about me?”. Well, he sure as heck performed like the ace of this staff. In 4 April starts, he went 3-0, with an astonishing 0.93 ERA. He would go on to win the American League Pitcher of the Month for the month of April.

May
May was another good month for the Twins, as they would continue to hold onto first place in the A.L. Central. They entered May with a half game lead over the Detroit Tigers. The Twins offense would continue to produce runs at a steady pace, with Justin Morneau have another solid month by hitting .400 with six home runs and 19 runners driven in.

Twins top catching prospect, Wilson Ramos, would make his MLB debut due to Joe Mauer’s ailing left heel. Despite playing in only seven games, he would hit .296, but only drive in one run. No one expected him to stay up very long, which was the case as he was sent back to Triple-A Rochester once Mauer was healthy enough to resume his catching duties.

Jon Rauch would continue to be a solid fill in for Joe Nathan at the closer role, as he picked up 6 more saves during the month, bringing his season total to 13 saves. However, the real surprise of the pitching staff was Nick Blackburn. Nick was by far the best Twins pitcher in May as he went 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA in five starts. With the struggles of Francisco Liriano during May, the Twins really needed someone to step up and provide some consistent pitching. So, it was very cool to see Nick take the spot.

June
The Twins were feeling very good about themselves heading into June with a four and a half game lead over the Tigers and an eight and a half game lead over the White Sox heading into June. However, things would be very different at the end of June. The Twins had the worst month of the season thus far, thanks to very inconsistent pitching.

Delmon Young finally started to emerge as a threat for the Twins. He came into the 2010 season looking very different. Like 20-30 pounds lighter and really worked on his hitting in the off-season. There was question whether or not Delmon would be a good fit in Minnesota and whether he would show flashes of his offensive output like he did during his rookie season, when he won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He would go on to hit .320 with three home runs with 24 runs batted in.

The move the Twins made during June that I was a huge fan of was the call up of third base prospect, Danny Valencia. Danny has been groomed to be the next Twins third baseman and possibly the first true third baseman since Corey Koskie. There was some thought that Danny would be the Twins starting third baseman coming out of Spring Training, but the Twins thought he could use more work at the Triple-A level. He would start off by splitting time with Nick Punto at third and then go from there.

The one aspect that really caused the Twins problems during the month of June was the lack of consistent starting pitching. Unless your name is Carl Pavano. Carl would begin what would turn out to be a great streak of pitching for himself. As it turns out, it was a very smart move to re-sign Carl for the 2010 season. He would go 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts for the Twins in June. The rest of the Twins rotation would put up a record of 5-12, so Carl really came through in the clutch and allowed the Twins to finish June with a one game lead over Detroit and a two game lead over a streaking Chicago White Sox team.

July
The Twins were coming off a not so good June, where their starting pitching struggled and gave up quite a bit of ground in the AL Central. With the dog days of summer arriving, the fight for the AL Central crown was beginning to take shape. It’s going to be another battle to the end. Could we see another Game 163 this year? It may be too early to tell at this point, but sure looks like no one wants to keep control of an AL Central lead.

Delmon Young, aka Delmonster, continued to swing a hot bat and was the leader of the Twins offense during July as he would hit an amazing .434 with six home runs with 30 runs batted in. With the loss of Justin Morneau to a concussion and no idea of when he will return, someone had to really step up and be the offensive threat that Morneau usually is. Well it didn’t take Delmon long to adjust to that role. Despite it being a farfetched thought, Delmon could get a few votes for AL MVP come seasons end.

After a horrendous month of the June, the Twins starting pitching finally got their heads on straight. The starters went a combined 13-4 in the month of July. But that didn’t come with some change. After struggling quite a bit, manager Ron Gardenhire decide to move Nick Blackburn to the bullpen and give Brian Duensing a shot at starting. Carl Pavano continued to be the ace of the Twins staff after a little bit of a slow start. Through the end of July, Carl has a record of 13-6 with an ERA of 3.21 with 22 walks and 83 strikeouts. So without a doubt Carl Pavano is the ace of this staff with two months to go.

As the trade deadline approached, there was talk of the Twins possibly trying to acquire a starting pitcher, but GM Bill Smith had other plans. He traded catcher Wilson Ramos and LHP Joe Testa to the Washington Nationals for reliever Matt Capps. There was immediate confusion about why the Twins would trade one of their top prospects for a relief pitcher. The Twins must have felt that this was the best they could have gotten for Ramos. Capps will become the Twins closer, with Jon Rauch becoming the 8th inning set-up man for Capps.

Entering August, the Twins trail the White Sox by a half game, with Detroit in a free fall and now seven back of the White Sox. Anything can happen in the AL Central though, so this should be a very fun race to watch and we may even get to see a game 163 yet again. Will Justin Morneau be healthy enough to play at all down the stretch? How will the Twins starting pitching perform? These are just a few questions on Twins fans mind for the rest of the season.

Spring Training Surprises

(Kevin Slowey, Ben Revere, Juan Portes)

With Spring Training winding down and the Twins roster starting to take shape for Opening Day, there were some Twins players who opened some eyes and showed a glimpse of the future for the Minnesota Twins. When you think Spring Training 2010, the people that come to mind right away are likely Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan.

With the Mauer contraction situation coming to an end over the last few days, all Twins fans can finally take it easy and let their worrying turn to whether Nathan will be able to be the same pitcher once he returns from Tommy John surgery next year. But that is for another day. The names I want to talk about briefly today are Kevin Slowey, Ben Revere, and Juan Portes.

You may be wondering why Kevin Slowey is part of this small group and the fact that we all know how he did last year before injuring his wrist, which required some screws to be put in. That is the very reason he is part of this group. The fact that he had surgery that required some screws to be put in his wrist. Most people would expect him to take a little bit to get back into the groove of things and that it would be a while before he was the pitcher that we saw go 10-3. So far this spring, Slowey has made 4 starts going 3-0 with an astonishing 0.56 ERA with only three walks and 15 strikeouts. To come off wrist surgery and put those kind of numbers on the table is amazing. Now, yes it is only spring training, but it’s still a very good sign of what is to come from Kevin Slowey in 2010.

If Ben Revere is a sign of things to come for the Twins, then our outfield could be one of the fastest and most fun to watch in a year or two. No one expected Ben to play the way he has this Spring. He has actually had the most at bats of any Twins player this spring, appearing at the plate 40 times. With about a week left of Spring Training, he is batting .325 with four runs batted in and an on base percentage of .450. He is regarded as one of, if not, the Twins best prospect by many Twins fans and baseball analysts.

Last year playing with the Ft. Myers Miracle, the twins High-A affiliate, he hit .311 with 2 HR, 48 RBI. He had an OBP of .372 and stole 45 bases. So he appears to be a potential lead-off man or even a solid #2 hitter when he arrives in the Twin Cities. I expect him to start in New Britain (Double-A) and possibly even reach Rochester later in the season. But the fact he is still with the MLB club at Spring Training is a very good sign. He is a prospect you will want to keep an eye on all season.

The other player that caught my eye this spring was 24-year-old Juan Portes. Not many people are familiar with Juan. He is already at the Double-A level and is doing very well there. In 2009 he hit .297 with 6 HR and 40 RBI while having an on-base percentage of .366. He will probably start in the outfield for New Britain, but can also play third base, which is here he will likely end up this season.

He has had a very impressive spring training batting .346 with a team leading three home runs and eight runs batted in. To make it to this point of spring training as a up and coming prospect is a very good sign. He will likely start the season in New Britain and if he gets off to a fast start, he could very well find himself on the way to Rochester (Triple-A affiliate).

If these three players can continue to their current play throughout the 2010 season in the respective leagues, then the future for the Minnesota Twins looks to be very bright and bring lots of successful seasons for Twins fans.

Interview with Carlos Gutierrez

With the beginning of the 2010 Major League Baseball season nearing, I thought it would be good to hear from a Minnesota Twins prospect. So, I had the opportunity to ask Carlos Gutierrez some questions about his life and baseball career thus far. For those of you who don't know much about Carlos, he was drafted in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft with the 27th overall pick.

Kevin Lewis: Carlos, thank you for taking time to answer a few questions today.

Carlos Gutierrez: No problem, thanks for having me on.

KL: Carlos, before we dive into the specifics about your first two seasons as a member of the Minnesota Twins organization, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself. What made you decide to become a baseball athlete?

CG: I have been playing baseball since I was about four years old. My dad always signed us ( my brother David) up in different baseball and basketball leagues. Baseball was something we were both good at and we just kept playing.

KL: Growing up in Florida, more specifically, the Miami area, who were some of your baseball idols that you looked up to and followed? Do you have someone in your life that was by your side while becoming a baseball player?

CG: I never had one person in specific I followed, but I always loved going to the University of Miami baseball games. My dad would take us to a couple of games a week there and we became really big fans.

KL: You were drafted 27th overall in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Entry Draft. A lot of people were wondering why the Twins would pick a pitcher just coming off Tommy John surgery. When you talked to the Twins, what did they tell you about choosing you?

CG: They never told me anything about choosing me, talking with scouts before from all teams the main thing everyone wanted to know was how I felt. I told everyone it felt better then ever.

KL: You have had a pretty good career so far in the minor leagues. It appears as though you will be starting at New Britain, the Twins Double-A affiliate. What do you feel you will need to work on this season to appear ready to jump to the next level at Rochester?

CG: There is always something any player can work on to get better. Something I thought needed to be addressed in my case was better feel for a change-up. I have been working on it almost daily every time I play catch and in my pens. It is something that still needs work and should come the more I use it in games.

KL: Some people have you as a future set-up man for the Twins, while others have you as possibly becoming a starter down the road. Have the Twins talked to you on how they plan to utilize you as a pitcher once you reach the 25-man roster?

CG: I have not heard exactly what they want but again there is still work that needs to be done. Whenever they feel I am ready I will do whatever is asked of me, whether that be coming out of the pen or as a starter. The Twins have a pretty good track record with this type of thing so I'm not too worried.

KL: How did your off-season go? Did you participate in any winter leagues or train with any other Twins players?

CG: I did not go to any winter leagues this off-season. I am currently training at the University of Miami with Adan Severino (Twins outfielder).

KL: As an avid baseball fan, what is life like as a minor league player? What is the typical routine for you during a day?

CG: I enjoy what I do everyday. Doing what we do traveling around being away from home away from your family for so long is not easy. It is something that you really have to love in order to put yourself through that every year, which I do. Typical off-season day is pretty much working out, throwing, and cardio. Not in any specific order, just to make sure you are getting stuff done and staying in shape.

KL: Playing at the University of Miami (FL) must have been such a thrill for you. Not only because they are one of the biggest powerhouse teams in college baseball, but also because you were born and raised Miami. Tell us a little bit about your experience at the “U”. Do you still remain in touch with your teammates?

CG: Playing at the "U" was a dream come true right from the beginning. As I said earlier, I would always go to games with my family. To put on that uniform for the first time was a great feeling. Then to have my brother join me on the team for a few years was also a great experience. We had great teams while I was there. Many friendships were formed in my time at UM and yes we do keep in touch. We all check up on one another, making sure we are doing okay.

KL: If you aren’t working out or on the road, what do you like to do in your free time?

CG: I pretty much do anything and everything just to get out and do something. I like to stay active. But on my down time I'll play video games or watch a movie.

KL: For all the current baseball players who have a wish to play in the majors, let alone get drafted, what advice would you give them?

CG: I would say to put in the work. Hard work pays off.

KL: Carlos, thank you for taking time, especially as Spring Training nears, to answer a few questions about your career as a minor league player for the Minnesota Twins. Good luck this season and hope to see you in the Twin Cities in a year or two.

Thoughts on Off-Season Moves

With just one week until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, the Twins 2010 roster is looking as if they will be big time contenders this year. Not only for the A.L. Central crown, but possibly a deep run into late October. Going into this off-season, they needed to not only prove to their fans that they were going to improve their team heading into a new stadium, but they also needed to prove to Joe Mauer that they are committed to winning.

Entering the final year of his 4 year deal worth $33 million, Joe Mauer, reigning AL MVP, wanted to see what the Twins would do to try to improve the team and show him that they are committed to winning and ready to compete with the big guys (i.e. Yankees, Red Sox). Mauer should be very pleased with the off-season the Twins put together. Some people may think that the Twins may have had the best off-season of all 30 MLB clubs this year.

The Twins filled some holes that had been empty for a few years now and even increased their payroll to a new club high of 96 million dollars, 31 million more than last years Opening Day payroll of 65 million. The three biggest moves made this off-season for the Twins were the additions of Jim Thome, Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy.

To kick off the Twins off-season activity was the acquisition of J.J. Hardy from next door neighbor, Milwaukee. With Orlando Cabrera hitting the free agent market, the Twins were in need of an everyday shortstop. So on November 6th, the Twins traded outfielder, Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy. Although Hardy’s numbers slipped a bit during 2009, the Twins feel as though he can be a quality shortstop for the next two years and hopefully he remains a Twin for longer than that. With the departure of Gomez, this pretty much sets the outfield to look like Young-Span-Cuddyer.

The Twins were also looking to improve their bench by trying to sign a left handed hitter. Well they got their man in Jim Thome. After years of torturing us as a member of the Indians and White Sox, he will be playing for his 3rd AL Central team. Although Thome will be 39 years old come Opening Day. But don’t let his age make you not like this signing. Last year he hit .249 with 23 homeruns and 77 runs batted, so he still has some left in the tank. Look for him to take some of Kubel’s at-bats at the DH position, while also coming off the bench. Don’t forget he also plays first base, so Morneau won’t have the pressure to stay healthy all year and play all 162 games at first base.

The Twins finished off their activity with the signing of second baseman, Orlando Hudson. Hudson will not only fill a need the Twins have had for many years at second base, but he will also provide leadership in the clubhouse. Hudson will likely jump into the #2 spot between Denard Span and Joe Mauer. He fits the Twins mold as he is a career .282 hitter and last year had a career high with nine sacrifice hits. That is typical Twins baseball. With the addition of Hudson, Nick Punto will split time with Brendan Harris at third base.

If these three signings weren’t a sign of commitment, then I don’t know what is. This was a very exciting off-season for myself and I’m sure for many other Twins fans. I think this will make the Twins the pre-season favorites to win their 2nd straight AL Central Title. This should be a very exciting inaugural season at Target Field.

Twins Reach .500 Mark with Series Win

With Joe Mauer just a few days away from returning to the team, the Twins would be very fortunate if they were to be at the .500 mark come Friday. As we, the fans, have learned so far this season, no victory comes easy to the Twins. After taking two of three from Cleveland, the defending American League Champion, Tampa Bay Rays came to town for a three game set. After being the Cinderella story of the Majors last year, the Rays have started the 2009 season like previous season, near the bottom of the AL East. Although it is early, both teams need some victories to stay close in their respective divisional races.


After a few rough outings for Scott Baker, he should some improvement. He worked six innings, giving up four earned runs off six hits. He struck out seven batters and walked only one. You may be wondering where the homeruns are? Well, that’s the best part. He didn’t give up a homerun tonight. His pitch location was much better tonight, as he wasn’t leaving as many strikes up in the zone. Some fans were a little worried about Baker’s first couple starts, but I don’t think there needs to be any panic. It’s too early in the season to be saying if someone will have a bad year or not.

The Twins offense was only able to get five hits off the Tampa pitching. However, one of those hits was a Joe Crede homerun that came in the sixth inning of Jeff Niemann. That was really the only highlight of the Twins offense all night. The Twins 3-4-5 hitting (Morneau, Kubel, Crede) went 1-for-11 with the lone hit being Crede’s homerun. If these three guys aren’t hitting well in games, it will be very tough to win them.

Francisco Liriano is another Twins pitcher that has had early season struggles. If there is on pitcher that all eyes are on this year, it has to be Liriano. He is entering the 2nd year after having Tommy John Surgery and that is about the time when pitchers are close to being fully healed and back to their old self. Today Liriano looked like the pitcher of old. Although his stats weren’t stellar, he was able to keep the Rays in check. He would give up two earned runs off seven hits in six and two-thirds innings of work. After Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares were able to pitch 1⅓ scoreless innings, Nathan came in for the save attempt. This is more than usually a piece of cake. Well the very first pitch from Nathan to Ben Zobrist was not what we expect. Zobrist launched the pitch to right field for a homerun over the baggy. Nathan was able to get out of the 9th without anymore harm done.

With the blown save by Nathan, this forced the Twins offense to step up and get him the win. After hitting a first inning, two run homer, Justin Morneau was relatively quiet throughout the game. Well that all changed in the ninth inning. After two Twins hits and a wild pitch, the Twins were in position to win the game. With the bases loaded and one out, Justin stepped up to the plate looking for a game winning hit. As we the fans have seen so far this year, a base loaded situation with one out is no sure bet for a run.

The Rays actually brought Zobrist in from right field to be a fifth infielder. Well even that couldn’t stop Morneau from being the hero. Justin would hit a fastball right to Akinori Iwamura, who flipped it to Jason Bartlett at second. However, Akinori had trouble getting it out of his glove, which allowed Justin to reach first just before the ball got there. This allowed Jose Morales to score the winning run. So the Twins almost found a way to blow a perfect situation, but Lady Luck was on our side.


After a dramatic win last night, the Twins looked to carry the momentum into the rubber match of the series. With Scott Kazmir on the mound, it seemed like it might be tough to get some runs. Well, it was a totally different story. The Twins got to Kazmir early and often. The Twins scored four runs in the first inning, allowing them to bat around the order. The Twins would later tack on four more runs, before Kazmir was finally pulled from the game. The key to the Twins scoring was the top of their order. With Morneau hitting the 3rd spot, the 1-2-3 hitters went 9-for-14 with six runs scored and two RBI.

With early run support, Nick Blackburn was able to pitch without much worry. Looking for his second straight win, Blackburn pitched a very good game. Blackburn isn’t known as a big strikeout pitcher, which was evident in this game. He was able to force 11 groundouts and 7 flyouts. He was able to get three strikeouts on top of that and walked only one batter. Craig Breslow and Luis Ayala would later each pitch an inning. Ayala however did give up one run in the ninth, but by that point the game was out of reach.

The Twins will start a three game series against Kansas City on Friday night. The biggest news in the upcoming series will be the return of Twins catcher Joe Mauer. Twins fans are ecstatic about his anticipated return. He instantly will provide protection for Morneau and his leadership behind the plated so coveted by many around the league. The Twins, will however, have to decide who to send down to Triple-A or place on the disabled list. There has been talk of placing Mike Redmond on the DL with a sore shoulder, as Jose Morales has been playing very well. I will keep you updated on this as more information is revealed.