Twins need to put White Sox behind them

The Twins vs. White Sox series is always one of my favorite of the season. The teams are big rivals and the Sox always give the Twins a run for the money. This weeks’ series at the Metrodome was no exception. The White Sox caught the Twins sleeping at home. The White Sox won the series 2-1. It was a good thing the Twins won the first game or it would have been an easy White Sox sweep.

The first game on Tuesday May 8th went into overtime and after hitting a solo homer early in the game, Justin Morneau blasted a three-run walk-off homer to beat the White Sox in the 10th inning. Good thing my boy Justin was ready to go the extra mile to win a game for the Twins. Other stars of the game included Jason Bartlett, Luis Castillo and Torii Hunter as they led a three-run eighth inning that dug the Twins out of a three-run hole and forced the overtime innings. The Twins ended the game with a 7-4 victory.

On Wednesday night, the Twins couldn’t dig out of the hole set by pitcher Ramon Ortiz when he allowed four runs on four hits and two walks, including one with the bases loaded, in just the first inning! Ortiz dropped his third straight game and is now 3-3 for the season. Besides Torii Hunter extending his hitting streak to 23 games, the Minnesota Twins just couldn’t get moving offensively and lost the game 3-6.

Last night was a real downer when the Twins didn’t even get a run losing the game 0-3. The Twins weren’t even tackling baseball fundamentals with their usual prowess. Their hitting was terrible and the White Sox pitcher looked like he was on fire and hardly had to do any work. Poor baserunning caused an unnecessary out, an inability to lay down a bunt to move a runner over looked pathetic and the Twins made mistakes when trying to get an out on a steal attempt. "It was a frustrating game today," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We made too many mistakes. We talked about this in our little meeting. You talk about being fundamentally sound, and doing this right and playing the game -- well, you have to do it out on the field. You can't just do it talking about it and talking about it in the press; we have to do it out on the field. Obviously we're making too many mistakes out there."

I have a message for my Minnesota Twins, put the White Sox series behind you and get back on track. I am sure if the Twins could just get one big hit or a super strong pitching performance they could get back to the kind of Minnesota Twins baseball us fans love and have to come to expect.

Santana is pitching on the mound tonight vs. the Detroit Tigers, maybe our ace can inspire the team to win the big ballgame! I try to get to as many Twins baseball games as I can and I especially like to go on Santana pitching nights! There are still great Twins Tickets out there for fans that want to make the trip to the Metrodome and if you go to the Dome on Mothers Day you get to see some Twins players using pink bats to support the breast cancer cause! 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.

I heart Justin Morneau

Have I mentioned that I love Justin Morneau? Oh yeah about a dozen times! Check out this cool Justin Morneau site: http://www.justinmorneau.com/



I am going to buy my I heart 33 t-shirt today!

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!

Joe Nathan Loses the Game

I was shocked to see Joe Nathan fold under the pressure of yesterdays Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays game. Do you suppose Mr. Nathan isn’t getting as much rest as he needs on this big home stand? He does have a newborn baby to tend to and perhaps the long sleepless nights finally caught up to our star closer. It was Joe Nathans first loss since September 6th, 2005. The loss allowed Tampa Bay to split the four-game series. I have to say this Minnesota Twins fan was wrong on her prediction that the Twins would only lose one of the games. More upsetting than my prediction being wrong was that Twins third baseman, Nick Punto, sprained his ankle and is out until further notice leaving the Twins without an experienced player at that position.

The Minnesota Twins now begin a six game road trip to play the Seattle Mariners and the Kansas City Royals. Let’s hope our hometown boys can remain healthy and strong and win a few baseball games!

Twins Early Season Home Stand

The Minnesota Twins took a few knocks on knees from the New York Yankess. Losing the first game 2-8 and the second game 1-10. It was nice to see the Twins pull a win out last night conquering the Yankees 5-1.

Next up on this week long home stand, is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Twins should be able to win 3 of the 4 games for sure as long they don’t get caught with a Yankee hangover. My boy Justin Morneau says he is up for the Devil Rays series. He said, "They are dangerous. They have a lot of good young hitters and good young pitchers. If we don't come in ready to play and focused on this series, they can definitely beat you."

The task at hand in Game 1 of the series is to face left-hander Casey Fossum, who hasn't been seen very often by most of the Twins lineup. Fossum has a good breaking ball pitch and a few others that could sting the Twins. I know Torii Hunter can hit a few of those breaking balls let’s just hope they can make it over the fence.

Game 1 of the series is tonight and the pitching match-up looks like this:

MIN: RHP Carlos Silva (0-1, 1.80 ERA)
The concern regarding Silva in his first start was if the pitcher could get his sinker to do just that -- sink. But the big right-hander proved that he could shut down a strong White Sox lineup. In cold conditions, Silva held Chicago to just one run over five innings as he allowed five hits. Still, there will be lots of eyes watching Silva to see if that same motion can stay in his next outing against the Devil Rays. Silva is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three career games against Tampa Bay.

TB: LHP Casey Fossum (0-1, 17.18)
Fossum experienced a rough outing in his first start of the season Saturday night against the Blue Jays, surrendering seven runs on eight hits, a walk and a hit batter in 3 2/3 innings. The big blow was a grand slam by Frank Thomas. Fossum has an 0-0 record with a 4.91 ERA in three career appearances against the Twins. He is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA in one start at the Metrodome.

Game 2 is on Friday with Devil Rays (LHP Scott Kazmir, 0-1, 6.75) at Twins (LHP Johan Santana, 2-0, 2.77), 7:10 p.m.

Game 3 is on Saturday with Devil Rays (RHP Edwin Jackson, 0-1, 6.35) at Twins (RHP Sidney Ponson, 0-1, 12.71), 6:10 p.m.

Game 4 is on Sunday with Devil Rays (RHP Jae Seo, 0-1, 9.64) at Twins (RHP Boof Bonser, 0-1, 6.97), 1:10 p.m.

There are still great Twins Tickets out there so don’t just stay home this weekend, get out and see a good ball game.

Twin vs. Yankees

With the Chicago White Sox in the rear view mirror, the Minnesota Twins will set their sights on beating the New York Yankees at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Twins managed to split a short two game series with the White Sox last weekend. I saw the Sunday game and the Twins looked great. Pitcher Johan Santana was totally on his game and the bats swung just enough times to get the Twins another victory. My boy Justin looked great as ever and the defense pulled in some tough hits to make them look like easy outs.

Let’s hope I can use the same “another victory” term in the next few days as the Twins face the Yankees. The Twins are 17-30 against the Yankees over the past six seasons, but the Yankees will be missing one of their stars for the entire three-game series. Left fielder Hideki Matsui will be sitting the series out after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a strained left hamstring. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that you never want to see a player get hurt, but he admitted that missing out on Matsui for the series wasn't exactly bad news for him.

Still, Gardenhire said that the task of trying to beat the famed club won't be made any easier in Matsui's absence. With a lineup that includes plenty of power in Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi as well as consistent hitting in Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano, the Yankees have their fair share of talent to throw the Twins way. Let’s go Twins and let’s try to shut out those Yankees and prove that the Minnesota Twins ballclub can stack up against quality competition.

Twins Orioles Opening Series

The Minnesota Twins' first game of the season resulted in a fabulous 7-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles thanks to a great display of power from the Twins talented young lineup. Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Nick Punto and all of the Twins key players were in high fashion and swung the bats when they needed to. The big opener win was just what the Twins needed to get the season started.

In the second game vs. the Orioles, it was all about speed. Orioles’ right-hander Daniel Cabrera threw extremely well and the Minnesota Twins had a hard time connecting, but the Twins proved there is more than one way to win a major league baseball game. The Twins focused on their ability to run. The Twins recorded a total of five stolen bases in the contest. The most entertaining of those five steals came as part of the Twins' game-winning run sequence in the seventh inning. Rondell White led off the inning with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Jason Tyner. After a strikeout by Jason Kubel, Tyner moved into scoring position by stealing second during Jason Bartlett's at-bat. It wasn't the prettiest of steals, as Tyner stumbled on a seam in the field turf during his run and had to crawl to the base to beat out the throw from O's catcher Alberto Castillo. The steal paid off, as Bartlett then delivered a broken-bat shot to left field, scoring Tyner and making it a 3-2 game.

It is so exciting to see the Minnesota Twins making big plays to score victories. Whether it’s the stellar pitching by Johan Santana, the strong bat of Justin Morneau or the fast legs of young Jason Tyner, the Minnesota Twins have weapons to win games and should be able to draw fans into the Metrodome to see the big games.

The Twins face the Orioles again tonight and there are still great tickets available for cheap prices! There are Minnesota Twins Tickets for as cheap as $24 to sit lower level by the Twins bullpen. That is cheaper than the Twins season ticket holders pay! Go Twins!