MN Sports Blog

The Good:

.434: Batting average for Delmon Young in the month of July. Young had 12 doubles, a triple and 6 home runs with 30 RBIs in that span. He has been on absolute fire with no sign of slowing down. He pushed his batting average all the way up to .335 and ranks fourth in the Majors behind Josh Hamilton, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Morneau. He is also tied for fourth in RBIs with the Phillies’ Ryan Howard at 81.

.453:  Batting average for Danny Valencia for July. Valencia played in just 16 games in July but he made them count. He had 24 hits in just 53 at bats with 6 doubles a homer and 11 runs driven in. The Twins haven’t had a productive third basemen in a few years so Valencia could be just what they’re looking for.

4-0: Carl Pavano’s record for the month. Pavano was outstanding for the Twins this month as he was undefeated while posting a 2.91 ERA 24 strikeouts and just 7 walks. Pavano was tied for third in the month of July for most innings pitched with 43.1 behind only Felix Hernandez of the Mariners and Johan Santana of the Mets.

33: The team-leading number of strikeouts for Francisco Liriano. Liriano went 3-1 in July and improved to 10-7 on the year while posting a 2.97 ERA in July.

.311: Team batting AVG – 1st in MLB

60: Number of doubles – 1st in MLB

143: Team RBIs – 3rd in MLB

15-11: record in July riding a 7 game winning streak

13: wins by starters

The Bad:

.232: Jason Kubel’s average for July. Kubel had a very streaky month of July where it seemed to be feast or famine. Kubel struck out 27 times in July which by far led the team with the next closest being Michael Cuddyer with 14. On the season Kubel is hitting .259 but he does have 61 RBIs and 12 dingers.

.245: Average for Denard Span in July. Span was on fire in May hitting .353 but he hit just .264 in June and now down to .245 in July.

8.00: ERA for the usually dependable Matt Guerrier. Guerrier was 0-3 in July giving up 8 earned runs in just 9 innings while giving up 12 hits and 4 walks.

Team Leaders for May

Batting Average:

1. Danny Valencia: .453
2. Delmon Young: .434
3. J.J. Hardy: .351

Runs Batted In:

1. Delmon Young: 30
2. Joe Mauer: 19
3. Jason Kubel: 15

Wins

1. Carl Pavano: 4
2. Francisco Liriano: 3
3. Scott Baker: 3

Strikeouts

1. Francisco Liriano: 33
2. Carl Pavano: 24
3. Scott Baker: 23

ERA

1. Jesse Crain: 0.00 (11.2 IP)
2. Brian Duensing: 1.83 (19.2 IP)
3. Carl Pavano: 2.91 (43.1 IP)

The Twins continued their absolute tear tonight against the Kansas City Royals as they pounded out twenty hits scoring nineteen runs. They even managed to do so against former Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke. Greinke lasted just four innings giving up eight earned runs on eight hits while somehow managing to strike out seven. Francisco Liriano on the other hand returned to form giving up just three hits in seven innings with six strike outs. Liriano improved to 9-7 on the season and lowered his season ERA to 3.35.

Offensively the Twins were absolutely unstoppable. They filled the stat shit early and often as five Twins hitters had at least two hits with Thome being the only starter without one. Joe Mauer made up for some lost time going 5-for-5 driving in 7 RBIs. Mauer hit his sixth homer of the year and falling just a triple shy of the cycle.

Danny Valencia was matching Mauer’s cycle attempt as he needed just a triple for the cycle. Valencia was 4-for-4 with his first career grand slam, four RBIs and two doubles. Delmon Young went 4-for-6 with an RBI and a pair of doubles as he continues his torrid pace. Delmon is hitting .410 in the month of July with five home runs, 23 RBIs and nine doubles. Young has pushed his average all the way up to .324 compared to .263 two months ago.

The Twins are in a much needed easy part of their schedule as they took three out of four from the Orioles, three against the Royals and then three against the struggling Mariners. The Twins are starting to do what they were supposed to do and really need to do which is beat the teams they’re supposed to beat. The month of August is a little more difficult for the Twins as they’ll face off with the White Sox for six, the Angels, the red hot Texas Rangers, and the Tampa Bay Rays.

In semi unrelated news Matt Garza, who was part of the trade that brought Delmon Young to the Twins from the Rays, no-hit the Detroit Tigers for the first time in franchise history.

In an absolute slug fest that started off with the Twins taking a three-run lead in the first quickly turned into what looked like a lopsided loss for the Twins. The Phillies matched the Twins three runs in the bottom half of the first then added four more in the second and another in the third.

When it seemed all was lost and the Twins were destined to lose the series in blowout fashion that scraped together five runs in the ninth to tie the game at nine. Drew Butera gave the Twins the lead in the tenth inning with his first career home run but the celebration was short lives as Ross Gload homered with two outs in the bottom of the tenth.

But in the eleventh the Twins would seal the deal scoring three runs thanks to an infield single by Delmon Young and a two-run scoring double by Matt Tolbert. Jon Rauch pitched two innings for the first time this year picking up the win and he also laid down a sacrifice in the eleventh that put the Twins in position to take the lead.

This marked the second time in two games a Twins starter lasted just an 1 and 2/3 innings. Slowey allowed seven runs on seven hits inflating his ERA to 4.58. On Friday Nick Blackburn gave up eight runs on six hits in his 1 and 2/3 innings.

There were nine home runs in today’s game including homers by Jim Thome (6), Joe Mauer (3), Justin Morneau (14), and Drew Butera (1).

Up Next: Carl Pavano (7-6, 3.92 ERA) takes the hill as the Twins looks to win the series with the Phillies at 12:10 PM but will face the daunting task of doing so against Roy Halladay (8-5, 2.36 ERA).

The Good:

Justin Morneau: Morneau has been on an absolute tear this season and even more so in the month of May: .400 AVG/ 6 HR/ 19 RBI .496 OBP. Morneau currently leads the league in hitting with a .377 AVG overall.

Denard Span: Span didn’t get off to the start most had hoped for but he has been turning it on as of late with a .353 AVG in May with 10 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Span was hitting just .211 in April with 9 RBI and 6 stolen bases. He also improved his on base percentage to .403 from .339 in April.

Nick Blackburn: After a brutal start in April (1-1 with a 6.85 ERA) he has been on fire in the month of May going 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA.

Team batting AVG: .283 – 4th in MLB

63 doubles – T-1st in MLB

12 Errors – Fewest in MLB

16-12 in May with a current five game win streak

15 wins by starters

The Bad:

Joe Mauer – Mauer is hitting “just” .293 in May with 1 HR and 11 RBI versus .414 in May of ’09 with 11 HR and 32 RBI.

Jim Thome – .217 AVG in May with just 7 RBI and 1 HR. Although he lacks the plate appearances and opportunities he is still disappointing so far this year in the power and run production.

Francisco Liriano – Liriano was the AL Pitcher of the Month in April going 3-0 with a microscopic .93 ERA in April but is 2-3 with a 5.15 ERA in May.

Jon Rauch – 7-for-8 saves with a 4.09 ERA in May vs. 1.80 ERA in April going 6-for-7 in saves. Rauch was fantastic in April but the saves have gotten a little more nerve racking ever since.

Read more…

The moment has finally come when the Twins secured their future, as well as their fan base. Today the Minnesota Twins and Joe Mauer agreed to terms on an eight-year deal worth $184 million with a full no trade clause.  This deal is so important not only to the Twins, Mauer and the fans but to the game itself. The fact that a small market organization can sign a hometown player instead of the Yankees or Red Sox is huge.

Not much really needs to be said about Mauer’s skills as a player anymore nor how important he is to the team and the community. This is a great day for the sport of baseball as a whole. The fact that this all happened in Minnesota just sweetens the deal.

Minnesota Sports Blog

Multiple reports, first by WCCO’s Mark Rosen, are suggesting that Minnesota Twins fans can stop holding their collective breath…for a long time. The rumor mill says the potential deal for Joe Mauer is for 10 years valued around $220 million. Mauer will enter the 2010 season in the final year of his contract receiving around $12.5 million.

We all know Joe’s importance to not only the team but the community as well. The Twins organization would face tremendous backlash if they were to let the St. Paul native, MVP, batting champ, Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger, All Star, you get the idea, get away. Although the initial reports aren’t being confirmed by the Twins organization or Mauer, it should only be a matter of time before an official deal is made/

In other Twins news, SS Orlando Cabrera signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Cincinatti Reds. The Twins decided not to bring back the veteran after the trade of Carlos Gomez to the Brewers brought JJ Hardy to be the future at Short Stop.

Minnesota Sports Blog

It was announced just last week that all eight of the Twins’ arbitration-eligible players filed for arbitration and now the Twins announced they have signed all eight. For some unknown reason the Twins have decided to once again bring back Jesse Crain and his sterling relief effort. You can’t just let that kind of talent and reliability test the market. Crain gave up 27 earned runs in ’09 in just 51 and 2/3 innings posting a 4.70 ERA.

Pat Neshek is set to give the Twins’ bullpen some much needed help after missing the entire ’09 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Neshek was huge for the Twins in ’06/’07 posting a 2.19 ERA in ’06 and a 2.94 in ’07 with 127 strikeouts in 107 and 1/3 innings.

The list of eight includes:

• Relievers Jesse Crain ($2 million), Matt Guerrier ($3.15 M), and Pat Neshek ($625,000)
• Starters Francisco Liriano ($1.6 M) and Carl Pavano ($7 M)
• Infielders JJ Hardy ($5.1 M) and Brendan Harris (2-yr/$3.2 M)
• Outfielder Delmon Young ($2.6 M)

The list of eight cost the Minnesota Twins $25.33 million while still trying to figure out how to sign Joe Mauer. Mauer is owed $12.5 million for the 2010 season after which he can become a free agent if the Twins fail to get a deal done.

Minnesota Sports Blog

Joe Mauer was a near-unanimous choice for the American League Most Valuable Player. Mauer received 27 of 28 first place votes leaving him with 327 points with Mark Teixeira next in line with 225 points. Mauer is only the second catcher in the last 33 years to win the MVP. This follows in impressive run by the Twin lefties after Justin Morneau brought the award home in 2006.

Mauer continues to set the bar extremely high for himself in terms of success by having a career year with the Twins. Mauer smashed his previous home run record of 13 in 2006 with 28 in ’09. He finished with career bests in RBIs with 96, slugging % with .587, and hits with 191 all while missing an entire month of the season.

The Minnesota Twins know they have to lock up Mauer long term but they also know this further cements the notion that he will command one of the biggest contracts in baseball. The 2010 season will mark the final year of Mauer’s current four-year $33 million deal. Both sides have obviously expressed interest in a long term deal but the talks have been relatively quiet thus far.

Mauer would command huge money on the free agent market with the obvious, unfortunate interested parties of course being the Yankees/ Red Sox type. Mauer is a St. Paul native and has expressed that he is much more interested in winning rather than the biggest paycheck. Hopefully the Twins can grow a pair and sign him to a 50-year $whatever-he-wants-million deal.

Minnesota Sports Blog

While former Twin Torii Hunter won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove, Joe Mauer did his best to start a streak of his own winning his second Gold Glove. Joe made just three errors in 758 chances. This backs up Mauer’s incredibly impressive 2009 campaign considering he didn’t play the first month of the season and didn’t play in Spring Training. Mauer has always taken great pride in his defensive skills and this gives him the recognition for it that I’m sure he’s been working for.

Mauer will also add to his hardware collection with his third batting title and is also in consideration for the American League’s Most Valuable Player award. The MVP announcement will be made on November 23rd.

Update 11/13/09

Joe Mauer added yet another piece to his hardware collection winning the Silver Slugger award for the catching position in the American League. The Silver Slugger award is given to the best offensive player in each league at each position and are chosen by managers and coaches who cannot vote for players on their own team.

Mauer hit for an AL best .356 average, .587 slugging %, 96 RBIs and a career best 28 home runs in his shortened version of the 2009 season.

Minnesota Sports Blog