Conclusions

The 2010 Twins were measurably better than the 2009 version, virtually across the board. They had a stronger rotation, a more even lineup, and a deeper bullpen. Those improvements showed up in 8 more regular season wins, and home field advantage in the ALDS against their nemesis, the Yankees.

It all meant nothing. If anything, the 2010 Twins gave a worse effort against a weaker opponent than the 2009 World Series champs were. They managed to play even for the first 6 innings of Games 1 & 2, but showed little life once they fell behind in the 7th. They hardly showed up for Game 3. New faces, new places, but still the same result. The Twins were swept again, running their postseason series losing streak to 6, home losing streak to 10, and overall losing streak to 12.

They should have been able to do what the Rangers did. After dropping Game 1 of the ALCS in similar fashion, Texas came back to win the next 3. Perhaps the Twins' pitchers couldn't have been expected to shut down the Yankee hitters as effectively as the Rangers' starters did. But the offense should have been able to do just as much damage to the lesser members of the NY rotation. Instead, they were utterly shut down by Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. Michael Cuddyer fired all his bullets in Game 1. Jim Thome and Jason Kubel did essentially nothing.

So what's the lesson here? Did the Twins lose because their pitchers don't miss enough bats? Should they be trying to trade for Zach Greinke or Jonathan Sanchez or some other strikeout machine? I don't think so. Anybody could have lost with the offense producing like that. That series was about the Twins failing to hit with RISP. Bad luck? Mental block? Just one of those slumps you can get into over any given 3-game stretch?

Whatever it was, it's nothing to panic about. A 94-win team that won its division conclusively does not need to be retooled. Especially when it was competitive against the 5 other playoff teams it encountered during the regular season:

vs. Yankees: 2-4

vs. Rays: 3-5

vs. Rangers: 7-3

vs. Braves: 1-2

vs. Phillies: 2-1

Total: 15-15

Had the Twins drawn the Rays in the 1st round, it might have been a different story. Who knows? I'm not one to give more weight to 3 games against one particular team in October than I do to 162 games against a diverse schedule over 6 months. I'm proud of the 2010 Twins. They accomplished a lot, and with 2 of their elite, All-Star players unavailable for all but half a season.

Many players won't be coming back for 2011, but the core will. I would be very deliberate about breaking that group up with any trades. The payroll will be a challenge, but it's surmountable with patience and creativity. I hope to have more time to post my specific ideas about how to do that in the coming days. In the meantime, my advice to the front office is simply this:

Hold your cards.

Leverage

I have to admit, having a newborn and a 2 year old does put a bit of a damper on the blogging. It doesn't stop me from keeping a close eye on the Twins, though...

Twins 4, Tigers 3

Twins 2, Tigers 1 (10 innings)

Twins 9, Tigers 10 (13 innings)

The crappy hitting from the road trip lingered into the first 2 games of this series. Luckily, Brian Duensing and Francisco Liriano each pitched into the 7th inning, and neither allowed any ER. The Twins still ended up using at least 4 relievers in each game, including Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Matt Capps in both.

The offense got plenty of help from the Detroit bullpen on Tuesday, with 2 BB and 2 HBP contributing to the winning rally. One of the HBP knocked Jason Kubel out for the next 4 games, however. That certainly made things tougher in Wednesday's contest. Thanks to other nagging injuries, the Twins were also without Orlando Hudson and Jim Thome. Danny Valencia delivered a couple more big hits in the middle of the two scoring rallies, and the Twins managed to win a game in which they only had 8 baserunners in 10 innings.

The Thursday night fiasco was as much a result of catastrophic mismanagement of the roster as anything that happened on the field. On Wednesday, the Twins had the opportunity to call up as many warm bodies from AAA as they had on the 40-man roster. They cavalierly elected to bring up only 2 position players, Trevor Plouffe and Jose Morales. No pitchers, even though Brian Fuentes was ailing and 3 of their righties should have been considered unavailable for Thursday. The bullpen effectively consisted of Jon Rauch, Randy Flores and Jeff Manship.

Manship was called into service almost immediately, as Scott Baker was removed with elbow soreness after 2 laborious and ineffective IP. Manship held the Tigers to 1 R on 4 H over 4 IP, and Rauch pitched a scoreless 7th. Meanwhile, the offense finally broke out, scoring 7 R on 12 H, with the help of a BB and a couple of Tiger errors. With the score 7-3 heading to the 8th, the Twins looked as though they would match the White Sox' 3-game sweep of the Indians. Once Flores allowed a 1-out HR, fill-in manager Scott Ullger (Gardy had been tossed during the previous inning for correctly arguing a call) decided to go to the 'pen for... the exhausted Guerrier. Whoops. Guerrier gave up 3 H and left with the score tied, though the last 2 R of the frame came on yet another too-low throw from JJ Hardy which Michael Cuddyer couldn't dig out.

The Twins scratched another run in the bottom half, but let the Tigers tie it again when Crain allowed his first HR in ages. He was available, but Capps wasn't? Anyway, Crain labored through 2 IP. Then Duensing came in for 2 IP, forcing the Twins to push back his Sunday start. Then Nick Blackburn came in, forcing the Twins to scratch him from Friday's start. This was a game to give the White Sox hope, as the Twins fumbled a 4-R lead late, then decimated their rotation in a drawn out losing effort.

Still, it was a series win, and it lowered the magic number to 26.

Twins 4, Rangers 3

Twins 12, Rangers 4

Twins 6, Rangers 5

The Twins were forced to add Matt Fox to the 40-man roster to start Friday's game. He had a terrific MLB debut: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB. That kept the Twins in the game long enough to string a few hits together and take a 4-3 lead after 7 innings. Capps came in for a 5-out save after Flores failed to retire the lefty he was brought in to face.

After 6 straight 1-run games, it was nice to finally win one comfortably. The Twins annihilated Rangers starter Colby Lewis (on my fantasy team - making the result ever so slightly bittersweet) for 9 ER in 3.2 IP. Thome put an exclamation point on the day with 2 HR, moving him into sole possession of 9th on the all-time HR list. Carl Pavano delivered another 8-inning QS. Ian Kinsler soured the afternoon by homering off Rob Delaney in his MLB debut.

The Twins led most of the way in the finale. Blackburn delivered another 7-inning QS. The Twins broke the game open by taking advantage of a bunch of BB in the 6th. Rauch tried to finish up the last 2 innings, but gave up an RBI 2B with 2 out in the 9th. In came Matt Capps, who proceeded to allow all four batters he faced to reach. The final IF hit resulted in the last out when the 3B ump ruled that baserunner Michael Young had made contact with the third base coach. Whatever. I'll take it. That was frighteningly close to being a repeat of Thursday night. Instead, it was another Twins' sweep, making them 6-0 vs. the Rangers at home.

The White Sox swept the Red Sox in Fenway, once again getting away with a late rally. No help there. But the 3 Twins wins lowered the magic number to 23.

Twins 5, Royals 4

Twins 10, Royals 3

Twins 4, Royals 3

Almost a repeat of the Texas series. The Twins got just enough offense to win on Monday night. Flores again allowed the only lefty he faced to reach. But a more rested Guerrier came on to bail him out.

The middle game was a comfy blowout, capped by another loud blast from Thome, a moonshot into the stars of the American Flag in Target Plaza estimated at 480 feet. Another Rochester guy, Pat Neshek this time, was given a rude welcome to the big leagues while mopping up in the 9th.

The Twins beat Zach Greinke again in the finale, waiting until the middle innings to string some hits together. Duensing was stellar for 8 IP. Capps almost let the game get away in the 9th.

This time, the White Sox faltered, finishing their 10-game road trip with 3 straight losses in Detroit. That, combined with another Twins sweep, elevated the Twins' lead in the division to a season-high 6 games, and dropped the magic number to 17 with 22 games to play.

An 8-1 home stand. And had the Twins gotten a good throw from Hardy in that critical 8th inning against the Tigers, it could have been 9-0. Not a lot of hitting, but it was timely. Very strong pitching. And some nice breaks, too. Everything is going the Twins' way as they head into the final 3 1/2 weeks of the season.

Missed Trip

Last Monday morning, I took my wife to the hospital for an induction - our OB was going on vacation on Wednesday, and you don't want to go the distance with one guy just to have his sub handle the most important part at the end. There was Wi-Fi in the Labor and Delivery ward, but somehow I never really got around to it.

Our son, Daniel, was born just after lunch on Tuesday. He was 10 pounds even. My wife pushed him out in 5 minutes with no drugs. She is Wonder Woman. Daniel has huge hands and a long frame. Scouts are already buzzing about how projectable he is. Fingers crossed that he turns out to be left handed.

There were Twins games. I only read the box scores and the write-ups. In short:

Twins 0, Rangers 4

Great job by Nick Blackburn: 7 IP, 8 H, 0 BB 5 K. 3 of the H didn't make it out of the IF, and he allowed only one XBH. That's the guy we all know and love.

And least it wasn't a no-hitter.

Twins 3, Rangers 4

Not enough hitting, though still a game the Twins should have won - another ball dropped between OF, extending an inning in which the Rangers scored 2 with 2 out. A microcosm of Denard Span's difficult season: that OF miscue, plus an 0-4 that included a liner to the pitcher and a diving grab of a liner in CF. Not enough balls fall in when he's hitting, too many fall in when he's fielding.

Twins 3, Rangers 4

Needed a big hit from Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young or Jason Repko. Brian Duensing had a rare game in which he couldn't keep the ball in the yard.

Twins 6, Rangers 4

Ah, there were the big hits from Cuddyer and Young. Superb start from Francisco Liriano: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Matt Guerrier still looks a little shaky.

Twins 6, Mariners 3

Everybody hits! (Except Drew Butera.) Another QS from Scott Baker.

Twins 1, Mariners 0

Nobody hits! But neither do the Mariners, as Nick Blackburn comes within 1 out of a 2 H CG shutout. That was 8.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K. I could get used to that. Newly acquired LHP Brian Fuentes gets the save instead of Matt Capps.

Twins 1, Mariners 2

Nobody hits! This time the Mariners bunch 3 of their 5 H together around some shaky defense by the Twins. Another very good start from Pavano wasted.

The Twins scored just 20 R in the 7 games of this trip. Like their week in the AL West in early June, they left their bats at home, yet still came back with 3 wins. Not too bad, considering.

The White Sox finished the week 3-3, meaning that the Twins gave back half a game in the standings, but reduced their magic number by 6 to 28 with 31 games to play.

Mess with Texas

Twins 2, Texas 1

This was a bit of a replay of the 2 games the Twins lost on Wednesday. They got 13 men on base, but only managed to get 2 of them home. In a moment that encapsulated the first 2 months of the season, they loaded the bases for Joe Mauer with no one out in the 5th, only to see him ground into a DP. A run scored on the play, however, and that turned out to be the difference.

Kevin Slowey pitched into the 7th inning! And he would have finished it if he hadn't given his only free pass of the game with 2 out and 2 on in the inning. Oh well - baby steps. Thank goodness Jose Mijares was able to retire PH Nelson Cruz in what turned out to be his only PA of the series. The Twins were very fortunate to be facing Texas at a time when Cruz couldn't be in the everyday lineup.

Twins 8, Texas 3

For a while it looked as though the Twins were going to stick Carl Pavano with yet another hard-luck loss. They could muster only 1 H off CJ Wilson through the first 2 times through the order. Then, a 2-out single by Denard Span followed by a 2-run HR from Orlando Hudson began a stretch in which 7 of eight batters reached and scored. The big blow came when Delmon Young raked a 2-run double into the LF corner with the bases loaded and none out. In my last post, I predicted that the Twins would get 5 RBI H with the bases loaded over the next 16 games. One down.

After batting around in the 7th, the Twins momentarily forgot how to play defense in the 8th, committing 2 errors in the inning. That's 20% of the errors they had committed in the first 48 games. Jesse Crain did a nice job pitching around it and allowing just the 1 unearned run. Carl Pavano had a Blackburn-esque performance, allowing just 2 ER on 7 H with 1 BB and only 1 K. That makes it 7 of his 10 GS in which he's gone 7 or more IP.

Twins 6, Rangers 3

Last night was my anniversary, so I didn't get a chance to watch this game. It looks like it was a relatively shaky game from Scott Baker, though he still hung in there for a QS. The bullpen did a terrific job, allowing just 2 H over the final 3 IP.

Everything that happened in this game was overshadowed by the collision between Span and Hudson on the game's final play. Luckily, Span was OK - the Twins don't have a great backup plan if something happens to him. Hudson is headed for some radiology on his left hand, which hopefully will come back negative. The Twins can patch 2B for a little while, but Hudson has performed as advertised this season, and the drop-off from him to the next guy on the depth chart is pretty significant.

It was tough to drop the Yankees series, but the Twins bounced back strong, sweeping a Rangers team that started the weekend in 1st place in the AL West. The Rangers are usually a pretty good offensive team, but the Twins held them to 7 R in the 3 days, with 0 HR allowed. I can't remember the last time the Twins played Texas without giving up a HR. Whatever anyone might like to say about the Twins in comparison to the leaders of the AL East, they showed this weekend that they belong in the conversation about the best teams in the league.

Grievances

Twins 6, Rangers 0
Twins 14, Rangers 2
Rangers 1, Twins 0

Oh, so tired.

Baby crying. All night crying. Why is she crying?

Is she hungry? Does she need change? Is she gassy?

Or maybe she's upset that the Twins outscored the #1 offensive team in the Majors 20-3 over three games (allowing just 11 hits!), yet failed to earn a sweep. That certainly upset her daddy. You know I have a hard time losing well-pitched games, but when it's a first-rate pitcher like CC Sabathia or Dice-K, I can swallow it. For me, Vicente Padilla does not qualify, yet he's shut out the Twins twice this season. Argh!

Poor Scott Baker. Yesterday was the 3rd time in his last 8 starts that he went 7 or more IP allowing 1 or fewer runs and the Twins didn't win. With even a pittance of run support, his record could be 9-1 right now. What a drag to lose your perfect game/no-hitter/shutout all at once to a kid who's only been called up for the weekend. Still, what a marvelous season Baker's having: ERA of 3.26, WHIP of 1.09, 5 K for every BB. I guessed before the season began that he would prove to be the Twins' ace, and he's certainly filling that role (until an antsy LHP is recalled from AAA, anyway).

Little things matter so much in 1-0 games. The play that really bugged me (other than letting the count get to 3-2 on Taylor Teagarden) came in the bottom of the 6th. Denard Span led off with a walk, and Carlos Gomez was, sensibly, asked to bunt him over to 2nd. He popped the bunt up to the catcher, and Alexi Casilla followed with a sharp grounder right on the first base line that was fielded at the bag to start an inning-ending DP. Had Gomez successfully sacrificed, I suspect the first baseman would have been playing in (protecting against a possible bunt from Casilla), but a few steps off the line. With that defensive positioning, the exact same ground ball from Casilla likely would have found its way into the RF corner, easily scoring Span to tie the game and putting Casilla in scoring position for Mauer and Morneau.

My agent was about to file a grievance with the blogger's union to investigate the irrational continued use of Livan Hernandez in the rotation, Brian Bass in the bullpen and Gomez at the top of the lineup. Then Saturday night came along and turned my world upside down. Livan had allowed 12 ER on 19 H and 3 BB in just 8 IP over his first 2 starts vs. the Rangers, but he shut them down this weekend, allowing just 2 ER on 5 H and 1 BB in 7 IP. I couldn't have asked any more from Francisco Liriano (except quite a few more strikeouts, perhaps). Bass relieved him and had a 1-2-3 8th inning with a strikeout. And Gomez went 2-4 with a walk, using his amazing wheels to turn a slow chopper off the third baseman's glove into a double.

All of that is just one game. Unfortunately, the folks who set the roster and the lineup will use it as evidence that everything is hunky-dory as is. It seems like one good game can overrule 5 bad ones. But the team is winning, for now. Hopefully, Blackburn and Slowey will pick up the baton from Baker and shut down the Yankees. And I hope the Rangers, on their way to Chicago, will remember that they are awesome at scoring runs and blow the White Sox to bits.

Bad Breaks

Twins 11, Rangers 4
Rangers 10, Twins 1
Rangers 8, Twins 7 (10 innings)

Ugh. Another potential winning homestand thrown away by poor defense. Just as giving away base runners proved fatal against a good pitching team like the Blue Jays, giving extra outs is fatal against a good hitting team like the Rangers. The Twins gave Texas 10 unearned runs over the 4 games. Had they played solid defense, they would have won 3 of 4 (without having to go to extra innings), and might have kept Wednesday's game close.

Twins pitchers repeatedly failed to pick up their defenders. Bonser, Perkins and Blackburn were all cruising for 5-6 IP, but once their fielders let a play slip, they were all quickly chased from the game. They need to learn to bear down and keep the ball out of the middle of the plate when they get into tough situations.

Alexi Casilla had a terrific series at the plate (.333/.412/.600, HR, 6 RBI, 5 R)while Brendan Harris sat in the dog house, but his 2 errors led to 7 of the unearned runs.

Delmon Young kept the XBH parade going for the first couple games of the series, but he had a brutal afternoon on Thursday, going 0-5 and stranding 7 base-runners. He hit into 2 DPs, including one with the bases loaded in the 1st.

I'm not sure why Craig Monroe (0-4, 2 K) got the start today. The Twins will be facing 2 lefties over the weekend in Detroit, so he'll most likely get 2 starts there. I'm also not sure why Justin Morneau got the day off from the field, with a scheduled off day coming on Monday. Michael Cuddyer made a costly error at 1st in his place, and also gave up an infield hit in the 6th (which led to a run) which an actual first baseman might have had an easier time fielding.

The Rangers are a stupendous hitting team, so I don't blame any of the pitchers for giving up hits (the back-door slider Hamilton hit out for the game-winner today was a little up, but it's ridiculous how far he hit it to the opposit field), but the Twins generally had a good approach against their atrocious pitching staff, drawing 20 walks during the 4 games. It's weird to say it, but the piece of the Twins' game that has been the most lacking this month has been defense.

Span vs. Gomez

Gomez had, in my view, his best all-around game of the season today, going 4-5 with a HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, and a sweet diving catch in CF for the 2nd straight game. For the series, he went .467/.529/.867, reaching base in each game, raising his season line to .286/.318/.440.

I've realized that my problem with Gomez isn't so much his approach at the plate (which still needs a lot of work), but the fact that that approach is so glaringly wrong for the leadoff spot. He's drawn 4 more walks (+ 2 HBP) in May than April, but he'll need to show that kind of improvement every month before his isolated discipline is anywhere near where it needs to be to justify getting the most PA of anyone on the team. However, if he took his exact numbers to the bottom of the lineup (anywhere 7-9), I couldn't complain, particularly when he continues to outhit Young.

Span is unquestionably the better leadoff hitter right now. Despite falling off his absurd pace of the past week with an 0-14 over his last 3 games (including 6 K), his AAA line is still a terrific .327/.431/.471. Unfortunately, he's out of the picture for 3-4 weeks, thanks to a broken finger he suffered while attempting a bunt on Tuesday night. That leaves all my eggs precariously in Go-Go's basket.

How exciting (gulp)!

Rochester to the Rescue

Twins 7, Rangers 6 (12 innings)

What game of firsts! Alexi Casilla hit his first HR, a 3-run shot, and has more homers than Delmon Young or Joe Mauer. Bobby Korecky got his first W and, because Gardy threw the kitchen sink at the Rangers in the 9th, his first hit. And new call-up Howie Clark delivered the game-winning hit. Three guys who weren't on the team a few weeks ago came in to clean up a big mess. It feels good now, but this game would have been agonizing to lose.

Boof Bonser recovered from 3 straight shaky starts to get the Twins into the 7th inning with just 2 R allowed on 3 H with 5 K. All 3 hits were for extra bases, including 2 HR, but they were solo shots, and the Twins were leading 5-2. After allowing 2 singles to put runners at 1st and 2nd with one out in the 7th, Rick Anderson came out to talk to Boof. He promptly got the come-backer he needed to start an inning-ending double-play. Unfortunately, he made a terrible throw, and everyone was safe. The next pitch was drilled into left-center for a 2-run single, and the Rangers were back in the game, and Boof was out. Had the Twins lost, they could have once again blamed a failure to execute a fundamental play.

The relief pitching was at turns brilliant and ugly. Obviously, Korecky was magnificent, rescuing Juan Rincon from a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 11th. Rincon allowed a double and a walk, and after starting the next hitter with a ball, Anderson went out to remind him that this was not the time to be tentative. When the next pitch missed, Gardy was so ticked that he tried to take Rincon out mid-batter - which is not allowed; once the coach visits, the pitcher has to finish that AB (you learn something new every day!). Guerrier was terrific in saving Bonser from a jam in the 7th, but then he and Dennys Reyes got knocked around for 2 runs. Joe Nathan needed just 5 pitches to get through the 10th. I guess you don't want to use up your closer in the first game of a series, but I doubt he was tired, and could have come out for the 11th.

Oh well, it all worked out.

The Real Livan Hernandez

Twins 12, Rangers 6
Rangers 10, Twins 0

I knew he was lurking around the clubhouse somewhere. It was only a question of where he would show up. Answer: in the West. In his two starts on this road trip, Livan Hernandez went just 8.2 IP, allowing 11 ER, 16 H, 3 BB, 5 K. His season ERA stands at 5.05, his WHIP at 1.46, his BAA at .310.

And April is his "good" month.

If only someone had wanted to trade for him after three starts. Now, he'll probably have to be ignominiously released sometime next month once the team is comfortable promoting Kevin Mulvey, Brian Duensing or Francisco Liriano. Livan's been better than Liriano, and with Kevin Slowey injured, it was good to have him around, I guess. But I think that once he's released after 10-12 starts for a younger pitcher who performs consistently better, we'll be asking ourselves the same thing we asked about Ponson, Ortiz and Batista: why was it necessary to suffer through two months of mediocrity/incompetence when better prospects were available in the system? I hope this is the year the Twins finally learn their lesson.

As for the offensive side of things, it was great to see everything click on Saturday, especially a HR from Cuddyer in just his second game back. I preferred Mauer in the #2 slot, but Harris has been having good enough ABs that he's a good choice for that spot as well. At least Mauer will be hitting behind somebody with an OBP north of .300. Moving Delmon Young down in the lineup is also a good move at this point - until he starts popping doubles and homers, he's not much protection for Morneau. Good to see Lamb starting to heat up.

On Sunday, maybe Livan's lugubrious suckitude took everybody out of the game mentally, but it was disheartening to see the offense let Vicente Padilla pitch a CG shutout against them. Particularly upsetting was the fact that they forced him to throw 23 pitches in the first inning, but just 98 pitches over the next 8. Jason Kubel is largely to blame, flying out on the first pitch of the 2nd to set up a 6-pitch inning. I love Kubel, but he hacks at the first pitch way too often in situations where a little grinding patience would serve the team better.

Kevin Slowey was excellent in his second start in Fort Myers, allowing only a walk in 5 IP. Clearly, he's too good for Single-A: in 8 IP he allowed just 1 ER on 1 H and 1 BB. He's on target to start Thursday for Rochester, and if he looks good there, he'll be in line to start in Chicago the following week. That will be a big lift for the Twins' battered rotation.

One Bad Inning

Rangers 6, Twins 5 (10 innings)

Tough loss last night, though I'm not really that upset about it. The season is young, yet the Twins have already managed to lose every type of close game:

Great pitching, no offense (1-0 to the Angels). These really upset me.

Terrible pitching, tons of offense (11-9 to the Tigers). These upset me almost as much.

Decent pitching, decent offense (last night). Ho hum.

The Twins put together 2 early rallies, each started by bunt singles from Carlos Gomez. My goodness, he's a terror when he actually puts those in play. Joe Mauer drew walks in each case, and Justing Morneau finished them off with RBI hits. His first was a terrific 2-strike liner past the shortstop on a curveball down and away - great piece of hitting. The second was a first pitch laser shot over the right-field wall for a grand slam.

That was about it for the night. Brendan Harris was pitched extremely tough - his 3 K all came on filthy pitches. Jason Kubel had three well-hit shots to the outfield that were tracked down. Punto lined into a double play the one time in four ABs he hit the ball hard.

On the pitching side, Blackburn looked pretty good, once again. As fortunate as he was to have everything hit right at somebody for a DP in his last start, he was unlucky last night to have them find holes. The pitches to Hamilton and Blalock in the 3rd inning were up - everything else was just out of the reach of the fielders. Botts just went down and got the curveball he lined off the RF wall to start the DP. (Let that be a lesson to everyone - don't run on Cuddyer, even the day after he comes back from a finger injury.) A pitcher like Blackburn, who throws strikes and invites contact, is going to run into a bad inning like that every now and then. Nothing to be concerned about.

The bullpen did just fine, allowing 1 R in 3.2 innings. Rincon wasn't helped by the situation he was in in the 10th: the OF was playing a little shallower than they would have been to try and give themselves a better shot at getting the winning run at the plate.

The Rangers are a pretty good hitting team, and they'd been shut down the day before, so a breakout like they had wasn't unexpected. Tonight, they'll be sending our old friend Sidney Ponson out there. If the Twins lose to him, I think I will be upset.