By The Jazzy One, on July 30th, 2010
I was just listening to 1500 ESPN online, and they were interviewing Ron Gardenhire.
A couple news tidbits, he mentioned that Nick Punto’s injury is more than just a cramp in his leg, and he’ll likely have to go to the DL.
Gardy also mentioned that he thinks Nick Blackburn needs to be getting some starts, so he will likely be sent down to AAA to pitch for a while.
The Punto news comes at a bad time. Valencia is playing well as an infielder for the Twins, but Punto will be the third Twins infielder out because of an injury, joining Justin Morneau and Orlando Hudson. That leaves Cuddyer, Cassilla, Hardy, and Valencia to play the infield, but the Twins will probably have to promote someone else as well.
As for the Blackburn news, I’ve been saying that he needs to be in AAA for a while now. It’s good to hear that the Twins are finally going to do it.
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By The Jazzy One, on July 30th, 2010
The Minnesota Twins traded catching prospect Wilson Ramos and minor league pitcher Joe Testa for All Star closer Matt Capps from the Washington Nationals.
I’ll be honest, I’m a little torn with my opinion on this one.
On one had it seems that it’s a good trade for the next couple of months. Jon Rauch has been doing a decent job as a closer, but most people agree that Matt Capps is a step up from Rauch. That will give the Twins the freedom to move Rauch to a setup role, which might be helpful since Matt Guerrier has had some less-than-stellar outings lately. It also gives the Twins an extra bullpen option since they recently had to move Brian Duensing into a starting role, and no one is sure how stable Nick Blackburn will be when it comes to relief pitching.
On the other hand, what about next year? The Twins will have control of Capps’ contract through 2011, but assuming Joe Nathan comes back healthy and effective next season, the Twins will find themselves with two All Star closers. I suppose it would work to put one of them into a setup role, but are either of them going to be happy in that position? Would the Twins end up trading one of them? If so, that puts them in a rough spot… do they keep Joe Nathan, who has been valuable for years to the Twins, a regular in the All Star game, is closing in on the Twins all time saves record, and probably at this point plans to close out his career in Minnesota? Or do they keep Capps, who is also an All Star, and is quite a bit younger than Nathan, but will become a free agent after 2011 (which means if he’s good, the Twins will have to worry about the bigger market teams swooping in)?
Wilson Ramos might not have as much value to the Twins as he could since they just locked up Joe Mauer for the next 8 years, but if he’s really as promising as many people around the web seem to think he is, was it really worth trading him for a pitcher (that will fill a role that was already filled fairly well) for a couple months of baseball? It just seems that they could’ve went after someone to fill a bigger need.. like making more of a push for Lee or Oswalt when they were available.
I really don’t know which way I lean.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
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By The Jazzy One, on July 30th, 2010
Minnesota Twins Fact of the Day
A little piece of Minnesota Twins history every week day
Kirby Puckett hit for the cycle for the Twins on August 1, 1986
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By The Jazzy One, on July 29th, 2010
Minnesota Twins Baseball Card of the Day
Looking at baseball cards can bring a lot of nostalgia to some fans, and for others it provides a fun look at stats and other historical information. Every week day there will be a new baseball card on Twins Dugout for you to check out!
Today’s Card: Roy Smith 1990 Topps
 
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By The Jazzy One, on July 29th, 2010
Here are some recent articles and blog posts from around the web that you are probably going to want to read.
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By The Jazzy One, on July 29th, 2010
Twins Beat Royals 6-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 0 | | Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
W: Duensing (4-1)
L: Bannister
S: Rauch (21)
Boxscore
SWEEP! Wednesday afternoon the Twins completed the sweep of the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City.
Brian Duensing looks to be settling into his role as a starter again this year. He gave the Twins a quality start on Wednesday afternoon, going 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 8 hits and a walk.
Jon Rauch got his first save since before the All Star break… mainly because it was the first time the Twins were in a save situation since the All Star Break. He pitched well in the 9th, giving up 1 hit but ultimately getting out of the inning with only 12 pitches.
What is the world coming to, though, when Jesse Crain is a more reliable reliever than Matt Guerrier. Crain pitched an inning and once again looked great doing it. He faced 3 batters, threw 12 pitches, and got 3 men out. No hits, no walks. Guerrier came in after him in the 8th and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk while only able to get 2 outs. Jose Mijares finished up the inning for Guerrier.
At the plate it looked like the Twins might have another runaway game. They had 14 hits, and after 4 innings they already had 5 runs, but the Royals bullpen held them to only one more run in the final 5 innings. After Duensing gave up his 2 runs in the 5th and Guerrier gave up 2 more in the 8th, it looked like the Twins might be on the verge of blowing the game. An insurance run by the Twins in the 9th and solid pitching by Rauch to close the game assured the win, though.
Delmon Young hit another home run. He got a 3 run shot for his 14th dinger of the year. Jason Repko also hit another homer. It was his second of the year. Span and Kubel also added RBIs.
Joe Mauer is continuing to make his batting average climb, going 2 for 4. His average now sits at .310 Danny Valencia went 0 for 3 in the game, but his average this year still sits at .387.
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By The Jazzy One, on July 29th, 2010
Minnesota Twins Fact of the Day
A little piece of Minnesota Twins history every week day
Cesar Tovar hit for the cycle for the Twins on September 19, 1972.
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By The Jazzy One, on July 28th, 2010
Minnesota Twins Baseball Card of the Day
Looking at baseball cards can bring a lot of nostalgia to some fans, and for others it provides a fun look at stats and other historical information. Every week day there will be a new baseball card on Twins Dugout for you to check out!
Today’s Card: Pedro Munoz 1992 UpperDeck
 
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By The Jazzy One, on July 28th, 2010
The Twins Have Had An Offensive Awakening
In the last four games, the Minnesota Twins offense has been on fire. It has been incredible! In the last two games of the Baltimore Orioles series and the first two games of the Kansas City Royals series, the Twins have scored 47 runs off of 72 hits. They have also taken a total of 19 walks in those four games.
During that time they’ve went 25 for 60 with runners in scoring position, which is a batting average of .417 in that situation.
Overall as a team they’ve went 72 for 171 in those four games, which results in a team batting average of .421
Coming into Saturday’s game, the Twins had a team batting average of .275. After the last four games, they’ve raised that average to .282. That is a huge jump for an entire team’s average after only 4 days.
And they’ve done all of this without their best hitter of the season, Justin Morneau.
Saturday, July 24 – Twins vs Orioles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | | Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Boxscore
Saturday’s game against the Orioles seemed like an offensive explosion, but it would prove to be the smallest part of the next four days. The Twins ended the game with 7 runs from 14 hits and 5 walks.
Sunday, July 25 – Twins vs Orioles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 0 | | Baltimore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
Boxscore
The Twins started revving the engine a bit hotter on Saturday, getting 10 runs from 19 hits and 4 walks… and they did it without Morneau OR Joe Mauer.
Monday, July 26 – Twins vs Royals
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 20 | 0 | | Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Boxscore
This is where the Twins hit their peak for the 4 games. 19 runs off of 20 hits and 6 walks.
Tuesday, July 27 – Twins vs Royals
The Twins kept up their momentum on the hitting end, scoring 11 runs from 19 hits and 4 walks. It was the Twins third straight day of getting at least 19 hits in a game.
Of course it’s unlikely that the Twins can keep this up for very long, but the surge of offense as well as the great pitching the Twins have gotten in the last few games have put the Twins right back into the heat of the division race. They’re 1 game back from Chicago at the moment, while Detroit has fallen to 4 games behind.
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By The Jazzy One, on July 28th, 2010
Twins Beat Royals 11-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Minnesota | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 19 | 0 | | Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
W: Pavano (13-6)
L: Chen
Boxscore
For the second straight night the Twins have dominated the Kansas City Royals with amazing pitching and stellar hitting.
Carl Pavano pitched only 5 innings, but he gave up only 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks. The 3 walks were a bit high for him, but it was nothing to worry about as he handled Kansas City very easily. He came out after 5 because of a high pitch count.
Again the Twins were sharp at the plate as well. JJ Hardy hit his 4th home run of the year. He added another RBI as well. Danny Valencia had 3 more RBIs on 4 more hits. Cuddyer and Mauer each added 2 RBIs, and Repko and Young each had one as well.
Nick Punto was the only starter to not get a hit. He did reach first by taking a walk, though.
The Twins were 8 for 16 with runners in scoring position.
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