The Twins did something they haven't been doing a lot of lately on Monday night, actually losing a game for once, to drop their record to a paltry 16-3 in their last 19 games. Now, you would think that a 1-0 loss to the Red Sox would send the organization into a panic.
After all, they fell from a game behind the Chicago White Sox to a full game and a half. That's a lot of ground to make up, and doing so won't be easy. Still, that doesn't mean the Twins are going to be buyers come deadline time.
"You're always looking to make your team better, and we'll continue to do that," Twins General Manager Bill Smith said before Monday's game against the Red Sox. "At the same time, you don't want to tinker too much with something that's not broken.
"There's a fine line there. We have gotten tremendous starting pitching over the last month. We've gotten quality bullpen work. Our offense is clicking, and Gardy's got enough flexibility right now that we're able to match up against good pitchers. And we're on a good run."
Smith's logic seems sound here, as the team has performed well in all aspects of the game, but it's not like they're perfect. They're third in the AL in both hitting and runs scored, but are dead last in home runs with only 60, and their team ERA is middle of the road.
Frankly, I think that if the Twins are going to hang around all season and win their division, they could probably use another starting pitcher. Just whom they could get, and who they would have to give up to get him I'm not sure, but for Smith to rule out the idea completely doesn't seem smart to me. Just because it isn't broken doesn't mean it couldn't use a tune up.
The 2008 season has been a great one for Cliff Lee, despite the fact that just about everything else has gone wrong when it comes to the Indians team he plays for. Lee has rebounded from a horrible 2007 campaign to go 11-2 with a 2.43 ERA this season, and was just named the AL starter in the All Star Game. So you would think that he'd probably be in a pretty good mood, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Apparently the success and newfound fame has gone to Cliff's head, because he doesn't think he should have to move around or field the ball anymore. That can be the only reason why he got mad at the Twins' Carlos Gomez on Sunday after Gomez laid down a bunt in the first inning.
Gomez attempted to bunt on an 0-2 pitch in the first inning but pushed the ball too close to the mound. Lee fielded the ball, threw him out, then said something to Gomez after the play.
Lee and Gomez then jawed at each other after Gomez reached on an infield single in the third.
"I was just trying to do my job and he ... jumped on me,'' Gomez said after the Twins won 4-3. "He say, 'Stop bunting.' But not like that. With bad language.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.
New York Yankees (43-37) at New York Mets (39-40) - 3:55 PM ET
Now that the dual stadium doubleheader is done, the Yankees and Mets can go back to the normal over-hype that the Subway Series entails, and not have to worry about the added pressure of police escorts between stadiums and such. But here's some worry: Johan Santana, who matches up with Andy Pettitte today, is 7-6 with a batting average against of .249, and a WHIP of 1.22. Not bad. But consider that Santana has never had a half a season, whether it be before the all-star break or after it, where his BAA and WHIP have been nearly that high. So even by Santana's first half standards, it's been an off half-year for Johan. Stuck near .500 after 79 games, the Mets could use the second half Santana to make an appearance at Shea today.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Chicago Cubs (49-30) vs. Chicago White Sox (43-35) - 4:05 PM ET
The final weekend of interleague play for the season kicks off in the Bronx at 2 but the most meaningful game is in Chicago. The two Chicago clubs are in first, just as they were last week, but the White Sox can't afford another sweep at the hands of their crosstown rivals. The Twins are hard on their tail, a half-game back as play begins today, and there's that whole bragging rights thing to worry about too.
They'll need to do a better job against Ryan Dempster (9-2, 2.63) this time around. He held the Sox to one run in eight innings to win Sunday's finale at Wrigley Field. Dempster's won his last four decisions in what's turned out to be a very successful conversion from bullpen to rotation. They'll also need a better outing from their own starter. Jose Contreras (6-6, 3.96) got thrashed for 10 hits and nine runs in three and a third innings.
It seems that no matter how many times we see it, baseball fans just never learn. Every spring baseball fans and experts alike say that this is the year that the Minnesota Twins are going to finish below .500 and at the bottom of the AL Central. Then summer comes along a few months later, and there they are. Sitting on top, or near the top of the division while the rest of us scratch their heads.
Though it happens every season, it still catches us all by surprise, but this season has been the most baffling of all. There is just no way that the Twins should be sitting at 40-36, only a game and a half behind the first place White Sox. The obvious reasons for this are that the team said goodbye to both Johan Santana and Torii Hunter during the offseason, and that Francisco Liriano has spent his time on the disabled list.
Still, it's not exactly a new phenomenon that teams carry on and continue playing well after saying goodbye to their stars. The Athletics have been doing it for years along with the Twins, so we know it can be done. The difference between these Twins, though, and the Twins and Athletics teams of the past is how they're doing it.
The guys who were supposed to replace what was lost have been horrible so far, yet they're still winning.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.
Cincinnati Reds (35-41) at New York Yankees (40-35) - 1:05 PM ET
A friend of mine ... a Yankee fan no less ... said to me on Friday afternoon that he fully expected the Reds to win two out of three in this series in the Bronx against his Yankees. A pretty amazing statement from a fan of a team who had just won seven in a row. That's how impressed he was of the young pitching the Reds had. Although I think he expected the two wins to be against Edinson Vólquez on Friday, and Johnny Cueto today, and not against minor league call-up Daryl Thompson on Saturday. Instead, the Reds have a chance to sweep the Yankees in the Bronx (just like the Series in '76), ensuring that the Yankees last win over the Reds at Yankee Stadium will forever be Game 1 of the 1961 World Series, before The House That Ruth Built (and The House That Griffey Hates) comes down for good.
Livan Hernandez swears this actually happened. He was sitting in bed, watching TV, when the remote control suddenly hung in midair next to him, and turned off the set. "What you have to do," he explained matter-of-factly, "is get (the remote) back and put it back in the same place and turn on the TV. Then it will go away."
[...] "If you wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes you can feel something in bed with you," Hernandez said. "You can touch it. But if you open your eyes, there's nothing there."
It's not clear whether Hernandez is telling the truth or simply doing his best to scare coach Jerry White, who was so spooked he couldn't fall asleep all night, or the impressionable rookie Carlos Gomez, who claims to have experienced some of Pfister's spookiness first-hand on Friday. Gomez said his iPod repeatedly turned itself on and started vibrating on a table in his room, which scared him so much that he bolted from his room and arrived at Miller Park hours earlier than he needed to simply to avoid being alone. (Yeah, I know, it sounds like someone was simply calling his iPhone, but I'm guessing he ruled that out.)
A couple of days after taking a Bobby Abreuline-drive to the face, Minnesota Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn had to be feeling pretty lucky. Oh sure, there was still an imprint from the seam of the ball still visible on his swollen upper lip, and there was that nasty headache, but Blackburn was feeling fine and looking forward to getting back to work..
"It feels way better than I thought it possibly could," Blackburn said.
The Twins said Blackburn will throw his regularly scheduled bullpen session on Tuesday and is still slotted to make his next start on Friday against the Chicago White Sox.
It's important for the Twins that Blackburn does make his next start, because manager Ron Gardenhire fully intended to remove Boof Bonser from the starting rotation when Scott Baker comes back from the disabled list on Thursday. Had Blackburn been forced to miss any time, the move wouldn't have been possible.
Never let it be said that President Bush isn't able to find ways to use his love for baseball to help flag his dismal approval ratings. While this has gone unreported elsewhere in the press, perhaps because I'm drawing on my own imagination, I believe he has a hand in a new promotion coming your way via the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins, ostensibly trying to make up for a shortfall in attendance, are offering a discounted ticket price pegged to the average price of a gallon of gasoline around the country.
For example, if the average price for a gallon of gas is $3.93 it will result in the reduction of the price of any single game ticket in the specified seating areas by $3.93. As the cost of a gallon of gas rises so does the savings on a Twins ticket.
So, among Twins fans the steward of our nation's energy policy gets a hearty thank you for assuring high gas prices and his approval ratings soar. By the time his party gets there for the convention on September 1, who knows how many voters will have been converted thanks to cut-rate tickets to watch the Twins.
The only flaw in the plan could be if the Twins fall out of contention between now and then. If not, though, expect a hearty "You're doing a heckuva job, Gardy!" from the White House.
And that lesson is: Don't do it. Nick Blackburn is more aware of this now than ever before.
Seriously, it never works. If your face was meant to catch things, there would be a hand on it, and that would probably hurt your chances because it would no doubt get in your line of sight. So while you would finally be able to catch a ball with your face, you wouldn't be able to see it coming, so you'd just drop it and look stupid.
The good news is that Nick is fine. He didn't even suffer a broken nose, and though his face is a little swollen and he's going to be sore for a few days, that's really the extent of the damage.
The Twins did something they haven't been doing a lot of lately on Monday night, actually losing a game for once, to drop their record to a paltry 16-3 in their last 19 games. Now, you would think that a 1-0 loss to the Red Sox would send the organization into a panic.
The 2008 season has been a great one for 
It seems that no matter how many times we see it, baseball fans just never learn. Every spring baseball fans and experts alike say that this is the year that the Minnesota Twins are going to finish below .500 and at the bottom of the AL Central. Then summer comes along a few months later, and there they are. Sitting on top, or near the top of the division while the rest of us scratch their heads.
The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee has long been rumored to be haunted. 
A couple of days after taking a 
Never let it be said that President Bush isn't able to find ways to use his love for baseball to help flag his dismal approval ratings. While this has gone unreported elsewhere in the press, perhaps because I'm drawing on my own imagination, I believe he has a hand in a new promotion coming your way via the Minnesota Twins. 
