Boof Bonser on my radar

When looking through my Minnesota Twins blog, I can see I wrote a number of posts about Twins pitcher Boof Bonser, either I loved him or I loathed him. He was on my fantasy team last year and it helped me a few times because he was a bit of a dark horse and he had a few solid showings, but overall the season was not stellar for Bonser. This year will probably be no different…in regards to my articles, I mean, and my fantasy team, but I would expect Boof Bonser to be a better and more consistent pitcher.

Bonser has lost 20 pounds, and better to look at is always just better in this Minnesota Twins fan book, and he seems more mature and dedicated to his career. He is setting goals of pitching 7 or 8 innings instead of just 4 or 5. I guess time will tell, but I am glad to have Boof Bonser on my team!

Twins vs. Athletics Game Review

The Minnesota Twins definitely looked like baseball superstars this weekend vs. the Oakland Athletics. Thursday night the Twins stomped the A’s winning 6 to 2. Pitcher Scott Baker had a strong outing in winning his fourth game this year and the boys played excellent offense as well. Michael Cuddyer, Jason Barlett, Luis Castillo, and Justin Morneau each had an RBI and Torii Hunter had two. Friday night, ace Twins pitcher Johan Santana took the mound and proved to all of the Metrodome fans why he’s an All-Star. Santana pitched seven shutout innings with a eight big strikeouts and a mere four hits. The Twins bats were armed and ready to support the star pitcher as the Twins pulled off a 5 to 3 victory.

Saturday was a close game and the Athletics were desperately hoping for a win, but Twins pitcher Carlos Silva was solid for over six innings as he held Oakland to three runs on just two hits. The Twins got just enough offensive strength from Michael Cuddyer, Jason Tyner and Joe Mauer who all batted in a total of four runs to win the game. Sunday was a real nail biter as the Athletics didn’t want to end the four game series with a Twins sweep. Mighty Mo’ (momentum) was definitely on the Twins side and they pulled off another 4 to 3 victory putting the Twins at a season-high six games above .500. Starting pitcher Boof Bonser had probably his best outing of the season allowing just three earned runs and struck out six Athletics batters. This Twins fan was a little nervous about Torii Hunter being out of the lineup due to a sore left hamstring, but Luis Castillo with his bum knee and all looked like he could play forever. He hit his second triple in just two days and came around to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Morneau came through for the Twins ballclub as well when he pummeled his 25th home run of the season 406 feet into the upper deck.

Next up is the dangerous Detroit Tigers. The Detroit series will really show Minnesota what the Twins are made of. Let’s hope the momentum of sweeping the Athletics will allow the Twins to win the Detroit series at the Metrodome. Twins Tickets are hot right now so get out and see a game!

Twins vs Nationals Series Overview

The Minnesota Twins vs. the Washington Nationals series at the Minneapolis Metrodome was definitely an odd weekend baseball series. The Twins have a better record than the Nationals and at the “Homerdome,” it should have been an easy series sweep for the Twins. Starting pitcher Carlos Silva couldn’t get his act together Friday night as the Twins lost 5-8. The righty allowed seven runs on nine hits in three-plus innings. Joe Mauer returned to the line-up after his release from the injured list and hit a triple in his third at-bat, but it wasn’t enough to get the Twins a victory.

Saturday was a rare loss for Twins star pitcher Johan Santana as the Twins fell 1-3. Santana gave up a three-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman in the third inning that proved costly in the Twins' loss to the Nationals. Justin Morneau hit a solo shot to center field in the second inning for the Twins' only run.

Sunday was a definite must win situation and the Twins pulled it off 6-3. Boof Bonser was on the mound and threw more pitches in the first few innings than a major league starter ever should. Bonser spent so much time on the mound that manager Ron Gardenhire thought it was actually detrimental to the offense. "Today, honestly, I felt that our offense was clicking and he took us out of our offense by having too many long innings out there," Gardenhire said. "We really had to battle through it." And battle, they did. In fact, five of the six runs the Twins earned were driven in by singles!

Next up for the Twins is a week long home stand. The Atlanta Braves come to town for 3 games starting on Tuesday and then the border battle between the Minnesota Twins and the first place NL Central Milwaukee Brewers really heats up over Fathers Day weekend. Get your dad and head to the Metrodome for a weekend of excellent baseball. There are still great Twins vs. Brewers tickets available! Go Twins!

Sidney Ponson gets the Win

This Minnesota Twins Fan was starting to think Sidney Ponson was not a good fit for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins signed Ponson to bring a veteran presence to the rotation and to fill the void left by Brad Radke and Francisco Liriano. Yesterday was the first time that Ponson showed why the Twins took a chance on him, tossing seven strong innings in a 9-1 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The strong showing was a do or die situation for Ponson and the win very well might have saved his job. The embattled veteran pitcher now has two victories this season, both coming against Tampa Bay. I am a big Matt Garza fan and I was half expecting him to switch out with Ponson in the next few weeks, but if Ponson can continue to prove himself, Matty may have to wait.

The pitching wasn’t only thing that looked great yesterday. The Minnesota Twins bats were swinging and the base running was solid. I am sure many Twins fans saw the Michael Cuddyer gymnastics roll as he caught a toe running to the base, but all in all the Twins looked like a very solid ball club getting a victory on the road. Torii Hunter's seventh-inning double extended his career-high hitting streak to 16 games and I know Torii will be gunning for another hit tonight when the Minnesota Twins face off against the Devil Rays again. St. Petersburg native Boof Bonser will be on the mound for the Twins as he tries to pitch his way to another Twins victory.

TWINS LOSE FOUR IN A ROW

The word is out; the Minnesota Twins are in their first slump since last June! Losing the last four games has been hard on the ball club, but I think Twins fans will start to see some changes pretty soon and not just with the pitching.

At the plate, the Twins have really been struggling. The big sluggers of the team, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, didn’t manage one single hit last night against the Royals! Manager Ron Gardenhire believes the team has been pressing a bit too much and rather than making the young pitchers they've faced work deep into the counts, the Twins have been chasing pitches. Hitting coach Joe Vavra has got to tell the boys to be more patient and make the pitchers work a little harder. The Twins need to wait for the pitchers to make mistakes and they will, but the Twins batters have got to be ready to capitalize on them.

The Twins finish up a four game home stand today with an afternoon game at the Metrodome vs. the Kansas City Royals. On the mound for the Twins is Boof Bonser. Boof has been average this season, but let’s hope he can keep the Royals bats quiet long enough for the Twins to slam some of their own balls over the fence. Go Twins!