Damn, I love Sidney Ponson. I’ve always been a fan of the big man, and nobody was happier than I was to see the Twins swoop in and snag one of the huge Hot Stove League bargains, but after today’s stellar start (and –yeah, yeah– the Real Deal had to come in and blow up … Read more
Carlos Silva’s performance against Pittsburgh today (3.1 IP, 11 hits, nine earned runs) should make Ron Gardenhire’s decision a whole lot easier. The Twins love Silva, and he’s a first-rate clubhouse character, but given the way he’s pitched this spring, and the way he pitched in what was clearly a make-or-break game for him this … Read more
Although it goes against the organization’s general philosophy, it sure seems like Alexi Casilla, the kid the Twins nabbed from the Angels in exchange for J.C. Romero, deserves a spot on the roster when the team breaks camp at the end of the month. As much as Terry Ryan and company might want Casilla to … Read more
It has been called to my attention that another baseball season is almost upon us and it has been more than five months since I updated this site. Shame on me. Shame, shame, shame on me. Here I am, though, and here I will be –I swear on the Baseball Encyclopedia— on a regular basis … Read more
Holy Moses, this Liriano kid looks like he might be for real. I’m going to be out of commission for a stretch, and I intend to spend some time during this hiatus trying to uncover another team in recent (or ancient memory) that had two such dominant lefties in its rotation. Ordinarily a handful of … Read more
For the last several weeks I’d been staring at decidedly long odds and almost liking what I saw. The math didn’t look very good, but it was starting to look like there was at least a possibility that it actually might eventually add up. The Twins had played an unreal stretch of baseball. The pitching … Read more
There have been so many amazing and gratifying things about the performance of the Twins over the last month. Most of them have been plenty well documented, but it’s still pretty mindblowing (and mindboggling) all the same. The truth, of course, is that the Twins really should have five All Stars –Francisco Liriano, Justin Morneau, … Read more
Johan Santana had a 6.35 earned run average after the season opener, and then proceeded to lower his ERA in nine straight starts. From May 17-28 he suffered a little hiccup –during that span he went from an ERA of 3.23 to 3.47– but since then he has lowered it again in six consecutive starts. … Read more
Jim Souhan pretty much nailed it. And you know all of this, but it bears repeating nonetheless: The Twins have now won fourteen out of fifteen, and six straight. Nine straight wins at home. Six straight series wins. 12-2 in interleague play. Francisco Liriano is 8-1, with four straight wins. Joe Mauer’s five hits last … Read more
The Hidden Ball trick (from the fabulous Retrosheet), via The Hardball Times. Check out Frank Crosetti’s impressive run from 1936 to 1940. The Twins, by the way, have been victimized three times.