SethSpeaks.net Top 10 Twins Highlights of 2010

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At 9:20 on Thursday morning, I will be on KFAN and KFAN.com to talk about the Twins. PA is away, so I’ll be talking with Judd Zulgad which should be a lot of fun!

Earlier in the week, we took a look at the Twins MVP candidates, Pitcher of the Year and their Rookie of the Year. With just four games remaining in the regular season, and the playoffs beginning in less than a week, it’s time to take a look back at the 2010 regular season and recap some of the highlights that stood out at the top of my mind. I’m certain I missed some moments, and I’m sure for each of you have some memories that stand out as highlights to you, maybe even some personal stories and highlights. So, after looking at my list, but sure to discuss your favorite moments from the 2010 Twins season in the comments section.

#10 – Butera Homers in Philadelphia

We held a monthly TwinsCentric Viewing Party. On this particular day, it was held at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park. It was a great opportunity to talk to a lot of the Twins fans and bloggers that were there because the Twins fell way behind early against the Philadelphia Phillies. But slowly the team came back. Late in the game, Joe Mauer hit a home run and somehow the Twins were tied. However, with a pitcher due up, there was only one pinch hitting option on the bench, Drew Butera. I recall Andrew Bryz-Gornia yelling, “Why is Butera batting?” One pitch later, Butera gave the Twins a lead by drilling a long, solo home run into the left field bleachers. Jon Rauch gave back the lead in the bottom of the inning, but the Twins went on to win one of the more exciting games of the season.

#9 – Ramos Makes Great First Impression

So he’s no longer with the organization… The debut of Wilson Ramos on May 2^nd in Cleveland was quite impressive. In his first game with the Twins, he went 4-5, putting his name with Kirby Puckett as the only Twins with four hits in their big league debut. In an attempt to prove that he was more than just a one-game wonder, Ramos had three more hits in his second game. Sure, he really struggled following those two games and had a very disappointing 2010 AAA season before being dealt to the Nationals in the Matt Capps deal.

#8 – Welcome Back, Jacque

The Twins came to Target Field for two exhibition games against the St. Louis Cardinals in early April in preparation for the inaugural season at the new stadium. It was a great evening that saw Denard Span get a triple and a home run. But the highlight of those two games was the incredible, amazing and emotional standing ovation given both days to Jacque Jones. It was a tremendous gesture of gratitude by the fans to a member of the Twins family who was such a big part of the Twins return to prominence at the turn of the century. Jones was clearly embarrassed and moved by the moment. I know I had goose bumps.

#7 – Have a (Souvenir) Ball!

Maybe it’s the minor league follower that I am, but there are few things in baseball that I find greater than the first big league hit for players. When you think of the amount of work that the player put in during their amateur careers and then the journey through the minor league ranks, getting that first big league hit kind of makes it all real, official. This year, the Twins had first big league hits from six players. On April 22^nd, Drew Butera singled to left field off of Cleveland’s Mitch Talbot. On May 2^nd, Wilson Ramos singled to left against Cleveland’s David Huff. On May 21, Trevor Plouffe singled in his first at bat, driving in a run against Dave Bush of the Brewers. On June 3^rd, Danny Valencia hit an infield single off of Felix Hernandez. On September 19^th, Ben Revere singled up the middle off of Oakland’s Bobby Cramer.

#6 – Hughes Homers in First At Bat

You were probably wondering if I had forgotten that first Major League hit for infielder Luke Hughes. He was called up to the Twins in late April, primarily as a right-handed bat off the bench. On April 28^th, he was given his first start in a game against the Detroit Tigers. His first plate appearance ended prematurely when Delmon Young was caught stealing. So, Hughes led off the 3^rd inning and hit a long opposite field home run off of Max Scherzer. He became just the fifth Minnesota Twins player to hit a home run in his first at bat.

#5 – Speaking of First Home Runs

Danny Valencia started the 2010 season in Rochester. He had no home runs when he was promoted to the Twins in the first days of June. He remained homerless on the season until July 26^th when, in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals, he hit a grand slam off of reigning Cy Young Award winner Zach Greinke. He became the first Twins player in team history to hit a grand slam for his first home run. Since that time, Valencia has added six more home runs and maintains a batting average well over .320 on the season.

#4 – Crain Closes Case in Chicago

Two weeks ago, the Twins went into Chicago for a three game series with a six game lead in the AL Central. Popular belief was that the White Sox needed to sweep the series if they were to have any shot at catching the Twins. In the first game of the series, the Twins were holding on to a slim one-run lead. In the 7^th inning, Matt Guerrier let the first two batters on. Jesse Crain was summoned from the bullpen. He recorded the first out on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk to load the bases, Crain shut the door by striking out the Sox best hitter Paul Konerko, and their big-name acquisition Manny Ramirez. The Twins held on to win that game and swept the White Sox, leaving Chicago with a nine game lead. Maybe it is overstating it to say that that performance by Crain ended the Sox season. We don’t know what might have happened later in the game if Crain had given up a run or two. We don’t know what would have happened in subsequent days. We do know that after those strikeouts, the Sox quit and it was easy to see on the field. That’s why this is such a highlight for me.

#3 – Kubel Grand Slam Tops Yankees

The Yankees have had the Twins number in recent years. I don’t think anyone can deny that. When the Twins went to Yankees Stadium in mid-May, they lost the first two games to the Yankees. Nick Blackburn pitched well in the third game of the series, but found his team losing 3-1. But in the 8^th inning, the Twins loaded the bases against Joba Chamberlain. Joe Girardi went to Mariano Rivera looking for a four-out save. Rivera walked Jim Thome to bring in a run and cut the lead to 3-2. Jason Kubel came to the plate and hit a line drive down the right field line that found itself landing just over the fence for a grand slam. The Twins held on for the win. Does it mean that the Twins had overcome whatever ailed them against the Yankees and in New York? I don’t know about that, but that was as exciting as it gets!!

#2 – Opening Day at Target Field

The Twins won their first game at Target Field 5-2 over the Boston Red Sox. The game seemed to be almost an afterthought. It was an incredible event. FSN started broadcasting before 6:00 in the morning. They told a bunch of stories. They showed batting practice. The pregame festivities were terrific. There was a fly over. Sure, Marco Scutaro tallied the first hit in Target Field history. Orlando Hudson had the first Twins hit. Michael Cuddyer drove in Denard Span for the first run in the stadium. Joe Mauer recorded the first extra base hit, a double. And Jason Kubel made a lot of people right when he was the first player to hit a home run at Target Field. It was just a tremendous day to be a Twins fan, the history coming together with the present, looking to an exciting future.

#1 – Thome Walks Off Against the White Sox

On August 17^th, the Twins jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning. By the fourth inning, Scott Baker had given the lead back. In the fifth inning, Delmon Young hit a solo homer to give the Twins a 5-4 lead, a lead they would hold until the top of the 9^th. Matt Capps came in and gave up a solo home run to Alexei Ramirez. In the top of the 10^th, Ramirez singled in another run to give the Sox a 6-5 lead. It had the potential to be a very difficult loss for the team at the time. Matt Thornton came out to pitch the 10^th for the White Sox. He had already recorded four outs for the team. Young led off with a single which brought up Thome. On the first pitch, Thornton threw a slider that Thome missed by a foot. One the next pitch, he tried to sneak a fastball past his former teammate, and Thome didn’t miss it. Thome drilled a long blast well beyond the right field wall. A major celebration ensued. I was there, and I got a high-five from Khalid El-Amin. It was one of the most exciting games I have ever been at.

Just Missed The List:

Being at the first exhibition game and making my FSN debut, eating some nachos as Bert Blyleven noted that I was “stuffing my face.” That was terrific. The Long-Awaited Debut of Anthony Slama finally happened and he struck out two in his first inning. The night the Twins clinched the division was pretty cool too. It would have been better if the Twins would have been able to celebrate after their own win as opposed to waiting for the White Sox to lose (again) to the A’s in Oakland just a few minutes before midnight. But champagne celebrations certainly seem fun! Even if it is just celebrating being the best out of five teams.

And I’m certain that there are many more memories from the 2010 regular season that you will remind me of in the comment section. And hopefully, there will be plenty more playoff memories coming as well.

Share your favorite memories here.

Benson/Gibson Win Minors Awards

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On Monday, the Twins announced the recipients of their minor league award winners. Kyle Gibson was named the Jim Rantz Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award Winner. Joe Benson was named the winner of the Sherry Robertson Award as top Minor League hitter. Both Gibson and Benson will be guests on tonight’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast which begins at 10:00 central time.

From the Twins Official Press Release:

Benson, 22, began the season at Double-A New Britain and batted .251 (94-for-274) with 20 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs, 49 rbi, 65 runs scored, 14 steals and 39 walks in 102 games with the Rock Cats. He was transferred to Single-A Ft. Myers on May 17 and batted .294 (25-for-85) with 11 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 13 rbi, 16 runs scored, five steals and eight walks in 21 games with the Miracle, before being promoted back to New Britain on June 16. He combined to bat .259 (119-for-459) with 31 doubles, eight triples, 27 home runs and 62 rbi in 123 games this season.

The 6-foot-1, 211-pounder was the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for May 15-21, batting .423 (11-for-26) with three doubles, three home runs and six rbi in seven games. He was also named Twins Minor League Player of the Month for June, batting .312 (29-for-93) with 10 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 14 rbi in 26 combined games between Ft. Myers and New Britain. Benson was the Twins second round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Joliet Catholic Academy High School in Illinois.

Gibson, 22, combined to go 11-6, 2.96 ERA (152.0 ip, 50 er) with 39 walks and 126 strikeouts in 26 starts between Single-A Ft. Myers, Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester this season. He held opponents to a .242 (136-for-563) batting average. The right-hander went 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA (39.2 ip, 7 er) with 35 strikeouts in May and was named the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Month. Gibson was also named the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Week for April 24-May 1, after going 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA (14.0, 1 ip), including a complete-game one-hitter on April 29 at Jupiter.

The 6-foot-6, 210-pounder was named Florida State League Player of the Week for May 2 and was also named to the 2010 Eastern League All-Star team. Coming into the 2010 season, Gibson was rated as the top pitching prospect (third best prospect overall) and as having the best slider in the Twins organization by Baseball America. He was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (22nd overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player draft out of the University of Missouri.

The Sherry Robertson Award, named in honor of the Twins first farm director, was established in 1970 to recognize the Twins top minor league performer each season. Beginning in 2002, the award began recognizing the Twins Minor League Player of the Year while an additional award was created to recognize the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year. This award was named in honor of current Twins Minor League Director and Twins Hall of Famer, Jim Rantz. Past winners of the Sherry Robertson Award include Butch Wynegar (1974), Kent Hrbek (1981), Gene Larkin (1986), Paul Sorrento (1989), Denny Neagle (1990), Marty Cordova (1992), LaTroy Hawkins (1993 and ’94), Todd Walker (1996), David Ortiz (1997), Doug Mientkiewicz (1998), Michael Restovich (1999), Michael Cuddyer (2001), Lew Ford (2002), Joe Mauer (2003), Jason Kubel (2004), Alexi Casilla (2006) and Brian Buscher (2007), while J.D. Durbin (2002), Jesse Crain (2003), Scott Baker (2004), Francisco Liriano (2005), Matt Garza (2006) and Kevin Slowey (2007) have won the Jim Rantz Award.

Both Benson and Gibson, along with the Twins other 2010 award winners, will be recognized at the Sixth Annual Diamond Awards dinner, which will be held on Thursday, January 27, 2010, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Target Field.

Congratulations to both very deserving winners. Tuesday night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast will begin at 10:00 central time, so be sure to tune in. There will be plenty of talk on the 2010 Twins, the playoffs and more. As always, we welcome your questions or comments in the chat room, or call in at 347-202-0548.  

Any thoughts on the Twins’ choices, or any questions you would want me to ask either player? Leave comments here, or feel free to e-mail me.

Twins Award Series: Twins MVP

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About ten days ago, I sent an e-mail to many of your favorite Twins bloggers, and several members of the media, and asked them three question and asked for their rankings. First, I asked them to send me their “vote” for the Twins MVP, ranking the top eight choices. Next, I asked for their choice for Twins Pitcher of the Year, with them able to rank up to five pitchers. Finally, I asked for them to pick the Twins Rookie of the Year, and they could rank as many as three.

To this point, I have received as impressive 22 responses. A huge Thank You to those who contributed to this:

• Paul Allen is likely best known for his role as the Voice of the Vikings for KFAN, but he does terrific work on his nine to noon radio show at KFAN and KFAN.com.  He also is the track announcer at Canterbury Downs.
• Darren “Doogie” Wolfson works for KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities as well as co-hosts Twins Wrap on 1500espn. He also writes a Your Voices blog for StarTribune.com.
• Phil Mackey is on-air from 12-2 each weekday with Patrick Reusse and writes extensively on the Twins at 1500espn.com.
• Howard Sinker was a Twins beat writer for the Star Tribune, and now he does a great job with startribune.com and blogs A Fans View from Section 219.
• Phil Miller was the Twins beat writer for the Pioneer Press for a couple of years. He did help the Startribune.com Twins coverage some this season, worked for FSNorth.com, Baseball America and now covers Gophers football for the Star Tribune.
• Dan Hammer is the host of The Dan Hammer Show on am740 in Fargo, an affiliate of KFAN.
• Judd Spicer writes about sports for the City Pages.
• Twins Bloggers:
  • Andrew Bryz-Gornia – Off the Mark
  • Topper Anton – Curve for a Strike
  • Nick Nelson – TwinsCentric and Nick’s Twins Blog
  • Parker Hageman – TwinsCentric and OverTheBaggy
  • Betsy Bissen – For the Love of the Game
  • John Meyer – Twins MVB
  • Andrew Kneeland – Twins Target
  • Shawn Berg – On the Road with Shawn…
  • John Bonnes – TwinsCentric and TwinsGeek.com.
  • Kirsten Brown – K-Bro Baseball Blog
  • Cody Christie – North Dakota Twins Fan
  • Josh Johnson – Josh’s Thoughts
  • Eric Johnson – Undomed
  • Dan Wade – Baseball Daily Digest, among others.

Today I will discuss the results of the Minnesota Twins Most Valuable Player. Tomorrow, I’ll be back with the Twins Pitcher of the Year.

This year’s SethSpeaks.net Twins Bloggers/Writers/Media Types (SSTBWMT?) Minnesota Twins Most Valuable Player is:

 JOE MAUER.

In an honor that I’m sure will mean as much to him as his 2009 American League MVP from the BBWA, Mauer racked up 14 of the 24 first-place votes among our panel. The smooth-swinging left-handed catcher is having another very solid campaign in 2010. In 133 games so far, he is hitting .331/.407/.473 with a career-high 42 doubles. His home run total has dropped from 28 in 2009 to just nine in 2010, but it appears much of that can be blamed on the move to Target Field as little has changed in Mauer’s approach at the plate. Much of Mauer’s value comes from his defense as well, where he has won two Gold Glove Awards in the last two years.

Delmon Young broke out in 2010 and showed more of the potential that fans have been waiting for since the Twins acquired him before the 2008 season. He finished second in the vote and with four first-place votes. Young was terrific from May through July when he kept the team a float. Defense is obviously a question mark in his game, but he is sitting at .298 with 19 home runs and 107 RBI including many big two-out, clutch hits.

Jim Thome came to the Twins on a one year, $1.5 million contract with the understanding that the Twins would limit his playing time in an effort to help him through the season. The Twins limited his playing time appropriately and the now-40 year old Thome has provided far more than anyone could have hoped for, on the field and off. In 105 games, he has hit .280/.412/.631. In 335 at bats, he has 16 doubles, an incredible (for him) two triples and a remarkable 25 home runs. His 1.043 OPS would be his best since 2002. He’s been everything the Twins hoped for, and more. He received two first-place votes.

Pitching is the name of the game, and in the fourth and fifth spots are the Twins co-aces. Francisco Liriano received three first place votes and put together numbers that resembled what he had shown in his ill-fated 2006 season. Carl Pavano provided an incredible consistency for the pitching staff. Through much of the season, he could be counted on for innings and quality starts. He led the pitching staff in innings and complete games, and had a pretty cool mustache.

Despite not playing since that fateful July 7^th game, Justin Morneau finished sixth in the voting. He was a leading contender for AL MVP at the time of his concussion. The manager’s choice, Michael Cuddyer finished seventh in our voting. His versatility and willingness to play anywhere when needed was vital to the team. Danny Valencia was promoted in June when Cuddyer was put on the bereavement list. He was expected to be sent back to Rochester three or four days later, but another injury provided him an extended opportunity, and he has been a huge spark plug for the Twins ever since, playing well both offensively and defensively.

Brian Duensing got the remaining first-place vote but still finished ninth. Duensing made the team as a second left-handed reliever, but did so well in that role that he started getting more crucial assignments and he came through. Then around the midway point in the season, the Twins needed an arm in the rotation, and Duensing responded by going 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA.

It was a tough year to crack the Top 10 in this Twins vote. Jesse Crain and his remarkable bullpen work finished out the top 10. Orlando Hudson filled a Twins need in the #2 spot in the batting order and at 2^nd base. He played as expected (well) and finished 11^th. Jason Kubel hit another 20 home runs and finished 12^th.

Seth’s Top Ten Vote:

1. Joe Mauer – Just so good, so valuable, offensively and defensively. At the end of the day, the numbers are just remarkable.
2. Delmon Young – Carried the team following Morneau’s injury. Hit great with RISP. Defense is scary, but offensive production more than makes up for it.
3. Carl Pavano – The term ‘veteran starter’ certainly fit Pavano this year. His consistently quality starting was huge for the team, particularly when they were struggling.
4. Francisco Liriano – Most dominant pitcher on the team, pitched terrific in the second half.
5. Brian Duensing – provided tremendous work as a late-inning reliever and as a starter in the 2^nd half.
6. Jim Thome – power production was incredible. Plate discipline was terrific. Everything team could have hoped for.
7. Justin Morneau – Was tremendous again until the concussion.
8. Michael Cuddyer – versatility, all about team. Can’t ask for more from a teammate.

The Ballots

Go to www.SethSpeaks.net are all of the ballots.

Friday Links and Thinks

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Good morning everyone! Sorry the Friday blog is a little tardy. I’m taking a four day weekend, so I was driving last night from about 5:30 until about 10, and at that point, went to sleep. So, it’s up early on Friday, figuring out a plan for the day and a quick blog posting. The football picks will be posted later. Having 43 people in the panel makes it a little more difficult! It should be a fun weekend. We will be heading to the Twin Cities a little later today, and this weekend I’ll be at the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday and at the Gophers football game at TCF Field on Saturday night. You will definitely want to check back here on Monday when I post a special Twins awards blog where I contacted many Twins bloggers/writers/radio types on the Twins MVP, Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year. So, hopefully you find the results interesting. I know that in the responses I have to this point, No fewer than five (maybe six) Twins players have received at least one first-place vote for team MVP.

By the way, I think it needs to be pointed out that the Minnesota Twins have the best record in baseball going into play on Friday!

With that, below you will find the question of the week, a look at this weekend’s Twins/Tigers series, lots of links to more great Twins blogs, podcasts and more. Have a great weekend!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What are your thoughts on the new Twins theme song, Don’t Call Them Twinkies?! I do know that it is way better than that Prince attempt at a Vikings song.

WEEKEND AHEAD

The Twins have already clinched the AL Central title, so at this point it is all about getting ready for the playoffs. Will they play Yankees? Will they play the Rays? Well, they can’t worry about that because they can’t do anything about it. But the team is trying to get healthy, and they are trying to set up their postseason roster. As you can see, the Detroit Tigers will get to see the Twins top three starters this weekend. Each will make one more start next week before the ALDS starts the following week. I’ll make an assumption, based on very little, that we won’t see Joe Mauer this weekend. After his MRI yesterday, I would think that Denard Span will get a couple more games off as well.

Here are the pitching matchups:

• Friday night – Francisco Liriano (14-8, 3.44, 1.25, .250) vs Justin Verlander (17-8, 3.46, 1.19, .231)
• Saturday night – Carl Pavano (17-11, 3.60, 1.16, .259) vs Jeremy Bonderman (8-9, 4.92, 1.39, .270)
• Sunday afternoon – Brian Duensing (10-2, 2.19, 1.13, .243 vs. Rick Porcello (9-11, 5.22, 1.41, .289)

TWINS BLOGS

Here is a look around the Twins blogosphere. A good site to find 66 Twins blogs is Newsbobber’s Minnesota Baseball Blog site., but you can also look on the left side of this page for many. I’ve only included blogs that have been updated in the last few days (let me know if I’m missing any sites that I should add):

• Aaron Gleeman posted his weekly Link-O-Rama.
• Nick Nelson wrote of Francisco Liriano and BABIP.
• Here are a bunch of great blogs with their thoughts on the Twins winning the division championship.

1.  
   1. Twinkie Talk wrote some thoughts on the 2010 Division Champions
   2. Knuckleballs posted Part 2 of a How Did We Get Here series.
   3. K-Bro Baseball wrote various thoughts on the celebration, including her dislike for Hawk Harrelson.
   4. Fanatic Jack wrote Twins Clinch Division, and then referenced Mr. Gardenhire’s postseason record, just for fun.
   5. Lipgloss and Baseball remembers a great night and some other Twins notes.
   6. I posted this the other day, but it’s really good, so if you missed it, check it out. For the Love of the Game was at Target Field through the postgame celebration. Here she has pictures of the night.
   7. Peanuts from Heaven posts some Reactions to a Division Title.  

• Take a look at Game 158 of the 1961 thanks to Coffeyville Whirlwind.
• Off the Mark notes a Day he waits for is finally here.
• There’s just a ton of cool stuff at the That’s Twins Baseball blog, so check it out, and be sure to get your Viva La Stache t-shirt.
• OMG MN Twins posted Cat Names for several Twins players. (don’t ask, just check it out)
• On the Road with Shawn, he looks at Estarlin de Los Santos and calls him The 40 Man Roster Pariah.
• The North Dakota Twins Fan posts a History of the Homer Hanky.

TWINSCENTRIC STUFF

Here are the links to the StarTribune.com TwinsCentric blog postings for this week:

• Tuesday – Seth Stohs – Catching up on the playoff roster
• Wednesday – Nick Nelson – The Minnesota Twins, Your 2010 AL Central Champs
• Thursday – John Bonnes –  Who is the MVP?
• Friday – Parker Hageman – Celebrating Brian Duensing

 

• John Bonnes is on The Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN Tuesdays and Friday’s during the 7:00 hour. (Podcasts available here.) I am on KFAN with Paul Allen each Thursday morning at about 9:20. If you would like to listen, the podcast is available here.

PODCASTS AND MORE

• On Tuesday Night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast, I was joined by Cody Christie (NoDak Twins Fan) throughout the show and covered a ton of Twins topics. We were also joined by Brad Hand, a highly-regarded left-handed pitcher in the Florida Marlins farm system (their 2^nd round pick in 2008) who is from Chaska, Minnnesota.
• On Wednesday night, I was a guest on Fanatic Jack’s podcast.

 Any thoughts on the Twins or the Twins blogosphere? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

SethSpeaks.net Minor League Pitcher of the Year

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• At 9:20 this morning, I will be on the Nine to Noon Show with Paul Allen on KFAN (am1130 in the Twin Cities), its affiliates around the region and at www.KFAN.com.
• At 10:05, I’ll be on The Jack Michaels Show on espn710 in Bismarck, ND, also talking about the Twins for a few minutes.
• For the Love of the Game’s Betsy was at the game on Tuesday night and stayed around Target Field by the dugout for the Twins celebration. She said it was Just Like 163, Only Better. Check out the pictures, she was really close! And she even got some TV time on FSN, although she quickly darted out of sight!

The Twins have clinched. The team has played remarkably. Now, they are tied with the Yankees for the best record in all of baseball. I would say that the starters earned their day off on Wednesday afternoon, and the whole team will benefit from another day off today. As a minor league guy, I enjoyed the Wednesday lineup that included only Denard Span and Jason Kubel among regular starters.

Following this team through a pennant race is exhausting and it feels like we have covered just about every possible topic as it relates to the 2010 Twins and the push toward the post season.

So today, I’m going to jump back into one of my favorite topics, Twins minor league baseball. Today, I’m going to give you my top five choices for Twins Pitcher of the Year and select the 2010 SethSpeaks.net Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Despite some disappointing team records through the minor league ranks, there were some very good pitching performances that deserve to be recognized. When it comes to my choice for Pitcher of the Year, that is different than a prospect ranking. Of the eight players that I will mention below, it is likely that three of them will be in my top ten Twins prospects list later this fall. It is possible that a couple of them won’t even be in the top fifty prospect list, but still had terrific seasons. Last year’s pitcher of the year, David Bromberg, quietly had another very strong season as he moves up the Twins organizational ladder. Let’s get to the list:

#5 – Anthony Slama – Rochester Red Wings – 26 years old – RHP

Anthony Slama finally got his opportunity to help the Twins at the big league level. He pitched in five games for the Twins. He again spent most of his season in Triple A Rochester. While there, he went 2-2 with 17 saves and a 2.20 ERA in 54 games. In 65.1 innings, he walked 32 and struck out 74. Opponents hit just .170 against him all year. Slama will turn 27 years old during the offseason and the Twins really need to just give him an opportunity in 2011 and see what he can do.

#4 – Kyle Gibson – Ft. Myers/New Britain/Rochester – 22 years old – RHP

Gibson made his much-anticipated official pro debut in 2010. He signed late after being the Twins top pick in 2009 and pitched some in the Instructional League. But he played his first official games this year, starting with Ft. Myers. There, he was 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA in 43.1 innings. He moved up to Double-A New Britain and went 7-5 with a 3.68 ERA. He was finally summoned to Triple-A Rochester where he was 0-0 with a 1.72 ERA before being shut down for the season. Overall, he went 11-6 with a 2.96 ERA. In 152 innings, he gave up 136 hits, walked 39 and struck out 126. Opponents hit a combined .242 against him. Gibson definitely fits the mold of a Twins pitcher. Throws strikes, mixes pitches, pitches to contact. We could see him at Target Field by the end of June.

#3 – Dan Osterbrock – Beloit/Ft. Myers – 23 years old – LHP

After being named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in 2008, Osterbrock struggled in Beloit in 2009. He returned to the Midwest League to start the 2010 season. He made five starts, was twice the Pitcher of the Week and threw a no-hitter. And then he was promoted to Ft. Myers. There, he went 7-8, but had just a 2.73 ERA. Overall, he went 9-9 with a 2.65 ERA. In 139.1 innings, he walked just 28 and struck out 106. He does not throw very hard, so his .236 opponent batting average against is even more impressive. Just a tremendous bounce-back season for the lefty from the University of Cincinnati.

#2 – Kane Holbrooks – Beloit/Ft. Myers/New Britain – 23 years old – RHP

Holbrooks was a 2^nd team All American in 2009 yet he fell to the Twins in the 21^st round of the draft. He pitched solely out of the bullpen at Elizabethton after signing with the Twins. He began 2010 in the Beloit Snappers bullpen where he dominated before getting two starts. In Beloit, he was 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA and nine saves. In 54 inning, he walked 13 and struck out 71! He moved up to Ft. Myers and made seven starts. He was 3-3 with a 2.27 ERA. At the end of the year, he was moved up to New Britain where he made one start and gave up three runs in five innings. Overall, Holbrooks went 8-6 with a 2.10 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He made 32 appearances out of the bullpen and ten starts. In 102.2 combined innings, he gave up 90 hits, walked 29 and struck out 120. Opponents hit just .231 off of him.

The SethSpeaks.net Twins Minor League  Pitcher of the Year is…

Liam Hendriks – Beloit/Ft. Myers – 21 years old – RHP

Hendriks missed just over a month of the season because of an emergency appendectomy and yet his numbers are so incredible that he is still my choice for Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Week. He began the season at Beloit where he went 2-1 with a 1.32 ERA. In 34 innings, he gave up just 16 hits, walked four and struck out 39 while batters hit just .138 against him. He moved up to Ft. Myers where he went 6-3 with a 1.93 ERA. In 74.2 innings, he gave up 63 hits, walked eight and struck out 66. Overall, he went 8-4 with a 1.74 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. In 108.2 innings, he gave up just 79 hits, walked just 12 and struck out 105 while limiting batters to a .199 average.

Honorable Mention –

• David Bromberg – New Britain/Rochester – 23 years old – RHP (6-9. 3.75 ERA, 151.1 innings, 152 H, 48 BB, 112 K)
• Kyle Waldrop – Rochester Red Wings – 24 years old – RHP (59 G, 5-3, 2.57 ERA, 2 saves, 87.2 innings, 89 H, 20 BB, 60 K)
• Dakota Watts – Beloit/Ft. Myers/New Britain – 23 years old – RHP (6-3, 3.10 ERA, 8 saves, 81.1 innings, 61 H, 44 BB, 89 K)

What do you think? Who would get your vote? Remember, this is now a vote for the best prospect, but the Pitcher of the Year. I think it’s pretty easy to say that Kyle Gibson is the Twins best prospect, although Bromberg and Hendriks certainly have to be in the discussion. Where would your vote go?

Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Achieving Junior Ortiz Status; Twins Win AL Central Title

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It was a great night to be a Twins fan. The game didn’t start out well. Fausto Carmona again did a great job of controlling the Twins offense. But the Twins made him throw a lot of pitches, and after he left the game, the Twins offense showed up. In a big bottom of the 8^th inning, the Twins got big hits from Delmon Young, Danny Valencia, Denard Span and Orlando Hudson. They got a sacrifice fly from Jose Morales as a pinch hitter for Drew Butera, who was 2-3 in the game. The Twins won 6-4. Scott Baker returned and pitched five solid innings. Jon Rauch did a nice job in relief. Matt Capps shut the door to save a win for Glen Perkins.

It was a great day for the Twins. Joe Mauer’s MRI on his knee reveals some inflammation but no concerns. Jason Kubel returned to the lineup. Ron Gardenhire won his 800^th career game as the Twins manager. Jim Thome is on a very cool Sports Illustrated cover this week, and he delivered his 25^th home run of the season. The Yankees won, but the Twins win meant that they remained just one game behind in the race for best overall record. The Twins are now 1.5 games ahead of the Rays in that race.

By about 10:15, the Twins clinched a tie with the White Sox in the AL Central with nine games to go. In order to clinch the division title outright, the Twins needed a little more help from the Oakland A’s. Trevor Cahill provided it. The A’s righty gave up just two runs. The A’s bats were able to score four early runs off of Mark Buehrle. They added three more later in the game. Craig Breslow got Paul Konerko to ground out for the final out of a 7-2 A’s win.

That’s right Twins fans. As I have been posting pictures of players with the uniform number of current and former Twins players corresponding with the Twins Magic Number, the whole time, the goal was to be able to announce that the Magic Number would correspond with…

 

There you have it… a photo/card of Junior Ortiz, the only player in Twins history to wear the number Zero. He wore that number for the Twins in 1990 and 1991. Is there any irony that 1991 was the Twins last World Series championship? The Twins magic number is now zero, meaning that even if the Twins lost the rest of their games and the White Sox won the rest of their games, the Twins would still win the division.

Any thoughts on the season, the game, or looking forward. No matter what you think of Gardy, the coaching staff, some of the players, the GM, etc., tonight should be all about giving the Minnesota Twins team and organization the respect that it deserves. They have a ton of talent that have come together thanks to Gardy and Bill Smith, and they have the second best record in all of baseball. This team is fun to watch, and frankly, they are really good. Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Boof, Breslow and A’s Beat the White Sox

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Gio Gonzalez threw six shutout innings. He left a tie game. Former Twins pitcher Boof Bonser pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the A’s. Tony Pena threw six shutout innings out of the White Sox bullpen due to the Gavin Floyd injury after just seven pitches. He left the game, and Scott Linebrink pitched the bottom of the 7^th for the White Sox. He gave up three runs, and just one of them was earned in the inning. Austin, Minnesota native, Michael Wuertz pitched a scoreless top of the 8^th for the A’s. And another former Twins pitcher, Craig Breslow, came in and got the final three outs for the save. That’s right… Winning Pitcher Boof Bonser. Save goes to Craig Breslow.

The White Sox lost for the 7^th straight time. It may almost be fair to say that the White Sox season came to an end with the Jesse Crain strikeouts of Paul Konerko and Manny Ramirez. I don’t think at the time we could have even imagine how quickly the White Sox would shut down.

And with that, the Twins Magic Number falls to…

TWO. That means, that if the Twins win tomorrow night, they clinch at least a tie. If the White Sox lose in Oakland late tomorrow night, the division will be over. Part of me wants the Twins to win on Tuesday, the White Sox to win on Tuesday, and the Twins to win on Wednesday afternoon and celebrate another tremendous season.

Any thoughts? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Twins Win… Wait…

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The Twins got nine runs en route to making Brian Duensing a ten game winner. The Twins got much-needed offense from a  bunch of guys. JJ Hardy went 3-4 and scored three runs. Michael Cuddyer went 2-4 with a walk, his 14^th homer, three runs scored, two runs batted in and his seventh stolen base. Delmon Young went 2-4 with his 41^st double and two more RBI. Denard Span was 2-5 with his 10^th triple and two RBI. Danny Valencia gave the Twins a 2-1 lead with his third home run in the last four games.

Duensing was certainly not at his best. He gave up six hits and four walks in six innings, but he kept the damage to a minimum and had a quality start, giving up just three runs. Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Glen Perkins got a no-look double play from Alexi Casilla and a grounder to shortstop to end the game.

That means… the Twins Magic Number to win the AL Central is reduced to…

(Yes, Harmon Killebrew is the only Twins player to wear the Number 3 in their 50 years.)

That’s right, the Twins magic number to clinch the AL Central Division Title is just three games. The White Sox are out in Oakland taking on Gio Gonzalez and the A’s. Gavin Floyd started for the White Sox but after just seven pitches, he had to leave the game due to a hip injury. He was replaced by Tony Pena. It’s possible that I will need to post another Magic Number update later tonight. Hopefully!

Until then, here is a quick look at the standings in the race for top record in the American League. The Yankees beat the Rays 8-6 tonight.

New York Yankees      91-59

Minnesota Twins          90-60

Tampa Bay Rays           89-60 

Any thoughts? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here. 

Twins/Sox Lose, Magic Number Falls

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The Twins lost 6-2 to the A’s yesterday to lose a home series for the first time in a long time. The Twins were without Denard Span, Orlando Hudson, and Jason Kubel at the start of the game, and Joe Mauer left with a jammed knee later in the game. Bobby Cramer did a nice job of throwing curveballs and slow and slower pitches to keep the Twins hitters off balance. Ben Revere notched the first two hits of his big league career, and Michael Cuddyer and Jim Thome homered for the Twins.

The White Sox and Tigers were the national game of the week on Sunday night. The two teams aren’t playing well, but they did provide an exciting game. Down 7-3, the White Sox rallied to send the game to extra frames. But the Tigers scored two in the 11th inning and held on. That means… the Twins Magic Number to win the AL Central is reduced to…
FOUR!

The Twins start a three game series tonight against Cleveland. Brian Duensing will take the mound against Jeanmar Gomez.

Here is a quick look at the standings in the race for top record in the American League:

New York Yankees 90-59
Tampa Bay Rays 89-59
Minnesota Twins 89-60
Texas Rangers 83-65

So the Twins are one game back of the Yankees for top record as the Yankees and Rays begin a four game series in the Bronx. I know a lot of people who are upset at some of the lineups that the Twins threw out there against the A’s this past weekend. I kind of think it’s a little silly. Denard Span jarred his shoulder. He can’t swing. Yet people are upset at Gardy for having him out of the lineup. Jason Kubel had another MRI on his wrist. He was not available to pinch hit, yet some are upset that he was not in the lineup. Drew Butera caught the first two games of the series, so there were many that were upset. Based on Joe Mauer’s knee injury, maybe it would have been good for him to sit out completely for a game or two.

I would love for the Twins to have home field advantage as much as anyone. I also happen to believe that going into the playoffs with full health is way more important. So I am glad they have the lead that they have so that they can afford to sit some guys. Gardy and the Twins went all out in the series last week in Chicago, and they cut six games off of the Magic Number. Those were important games in putting the division title concerns to rest. With the Magic Number now at four games, the Twins can focus on getting people healthy. But what I don’t understand is when fans seem to think that when two or three Twins starters are out of the lineup, it means they are throwing the game away. When Span and Kubel were out of the lineup, the team still had Hudson, Mauer, Cuddyer, Young, Hardy and Valencia. I’ll take my chances with that group any day. Add in that Ben Revere can hit a little bit and they want to see him play, and there is no negative there. Add the defense and arm of Jason Repko and the overall defense is improved. The starting pitchers have done well. I guess I don’t understand people being up in arms about a few lineup decisions. They are not NOT trying to win home field. They are still giving everything to win these games, but they are doing it with intentions of getting some key people healthy too.

The hope would be that by this weekend, or certainly by early next week, the team could be at full strength and have everybody ready to go by the playoffs. But maybe I’m just too positive and optimistic and I should choose to be more negative. Oh well.

Any thoughts? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Verlander/Tigers Top Sox, Twins Magic Number Drops Again

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Rookie 2B Will Rhymes had gone 2-3 with a walk against the White Sox on Saturday. However, when Ozzie Guillen went to Chris Sale with the game tied at three in the top of the 8^th inning, Jim Leyland countered by having Scott Sizemore pinch hit for Rhymes. Sizemore responded with a long, three-run homer that gave the Tigers a 6-3 lead. A lead they would hold onto the rest of the way.

Justin Verlander went the distance for the Tigers. He threw 123 pitches for the Win. The win pushes the Tigers back to .500 at 74-74. The loss pushes the Twins lead to 10 games in the AL Central and it drops the Magic Number to …

 

Any thoughts? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.