Santana and the K

Well, this sucks, but because of the rain out tonight in Detroit, Johan's season is over. He does still have five more strikeouts then Tampa's Scott Kazmir, who faces the Yankees on Thursday. It will be a shame if Scott passes him and wins the race, but not much you can about it. And even so, Kazmir has thrown less innings, so he probably deserves it, but it would be nice for the Twins to win at least one award this year.

Santana Staying in MN

Well, according my cousin and ESPN, Johan is about to buy a multi million dollar home in the Twin Cities. Does this mean he is going to get a contract extension? Not definitely, but I like seeing that he is making a semi-permanent decision to remain here. Hopefully this means something good for the Twins.

Oh, and what does my cousin have to do with it? Johan's new house is a few houses down from his!

Hopefully I can meet Johan sometime so I can tell him about our trip to Colombia, and the Venezuelan band that we listed to at dinner one night. They noticed my Twins cap, told me that he wasn't a Minnesotan but from Venezuela, and Go Twins!

Minnesota (72-77) vs. Texas (70-79) (Who Cares)

Mon 7:10: E. Volquez (2-1, 4.24) vs K. Slowey (3-0, 5.44)
Tue 7:10: K. Millwood (9-12, 5.51) vs C. Silva (11-14, 4.44)
Wed 7:10: K. Gabbard (6-1, 4.65) vs M. Garza (3-6, 3.93)

I think the goal of this series should simply be to maintain a better record than Texas. Period.

Twins (72-74) vs Tigers (80-67)

Friday 7:10: Garza (3-5, 3.71) vs. Robertson (7-11. 5.04)
Saturday 6:10: Santana (15-11, 3.09) vs. Rogers (3-2, 4.50)
Sunday 1:10: Bonser (7-12, 4.91) vs. Jurrjens (2-1, 3.15)

Go Twins.

Though I do like the idea of Detroit coming back and making a race in the A.L. Central. Cleveland has been playing very well, but are there two better players in the division then Magglio Ordóñez and Curtis Granderson, who became the third player ever to have at least 20 stolen bases, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 home runs in the same season. That's amazing.

Individual Leaders:
     MINNESOTA              DETROIT
AVG  Hunter - .291          Ordóñez - .358
HR   Morneau - 29           Ordóñez - 27
RBI  Morneau - 105          Ordóñez - 132
R    Hunter - 87            Granderson - 113

A.L. Central Standings
Cleveland   85-61  --
Detroit     80-67  5.5
Minnesota   72-74  13.0
Kansas City 63-82  21.5
Chicago WS  62-84  23.0

Terry Ryan stepping down

It appears that Terry Ryan's tenure as the Twins' general manager is coming to an end today, leaving assistant GM Bill Smith in his stead. I'm not quite sure how to feel about this as it presents as many opportunities as obstacles. Maybe the philosophy in the front office will move away from the extreme conservatism it's shown and start taking some bigger risks. That's one thing I would hope for. But then again, maybe it's a step backward as TR has proved to be one of the shrewdest GMs in Baseball. It's difficult news, but I'm going to try and stay optimistic. Besides, it sounds like TR will stay on in some capacity, working with scouting perhaps. What are your thoughts/hopes for the future?

Twins (70-73) vs Royals (62-80)

Monday 7:10: Bonser (6-12, 4.95) vs Buckner (0-0, 5.40)
Tuesday 7:10: Baker (8-7, 4.14) vs Davies (6-12, 5.81)
Wednesday 1:10: Silva (11-13, 4.34) vs Mecha (7-12, 3.82)

The Twins are currently 11 games behind the Yankees in the Wild Card race, so if we are going to make our move, this is it. Just kidding. Our only point of playing these days is to get back to .500 by the end of the year. The Twins have lost 10 of its last 13 games and are tied for the majors' second-worst record since Aug. 27.

That's about all I have to say about this.

Team Stats (A.L. Rank):
     MINNESOTA              KANSAS CITY
HR   106 (13th)             93 (14rd)
R    649 (10th)             645 (13th)
AVG  .268 (9th)             .263 (10th)
SLG  .395 (13th)            .391 (14th)

Individual Leaders:
     MINNESOTA              KANSAS CITY
AVG  Hunter - .290          Teahen - .285
HR   Morneau - 29           Buck - 18
RBI  Morneau - 102          Brown - 57
R    Hunter - 84            DeJesus - 95

A.L. Central Standings
Cleveland   83-60  --
Detroit     77-66  6.0
Minnesota   70-73  13.0
Kansas City 62-80  20.5
Chicago WS  61-82  22.0

Twins (69-71) @ White Sox (59-81)

Friday 7:11: Silva (11-13, 4.34) vs. Vázquez (11-8, 3.91)
Saturday 2:55: Garza (3-5, 3.49) vs. Contreras (8-16, 5.86)
Sunday 1:05: Santana (14-11, 3.15) vs Garland (9-10, 4.75)

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse to be a Twins fan, they head to Chicago where we are reminded of the Bitch Sox, a team that has completely fallen apart this season. They are currently in last place (even below the Royals) and the Twins should want nothing more then to leave Chicago with that still true. The rivalry of the last few years as all but disappeared this season, with both teams failing to keep up with the Indians and the Tigers.

Though the amazing thing about the White Sox, is that they actually have a winning record against the division (28-25), which is second best. The Indians have an unheard of record of 39-21, while the Twins are back at 23-34. Back in 2004, the Twins went 46-30 against the A.L. Central to put that in perspective.

I really like our pitching match-ups this weekend, but then again, any weekend without Bonser pitching is a good think lately. Hopefully Santana can shut them down and get back on track.

Team Stats (A.L. Rank):
     MINNESOTA              CHICAGO WS
HR   102 (13th)             157 (3rd)
R    627 (13th)             581 (14th)
AVG  .267 (9th)             .243 (14th)
SLG  .393 (14th)            .394 (12th)

Individual Leaders:
     MINNESOTA              CHICAGO WS
AVG  Hunter - .291          Pierzynski - .266
HR   Morneau - 29           Konerko - 27
RBI  Morneau - 99           Konerko - 75
R    Hunter - 82            Dye - 63

A.L. Central Standings
Cleveland   81-59  --
Detroit     75-65  6.0
Minnesota   69-71  12.0
Kansas City 62-77  18.5
Chicago WS  59-81  22.0

I Just Want to Have Fun

I'm okay with not making the playoffs this year, most teams won't, even some of the really good teams. I'm fine with the horrible year Nick Punto has had batting, and the injuries to Mauer and everyone else this year. I don't mind losing games we should have won, because I understand how lucky you have to be in baseball. But what has really frustrated me this year is that it just hasn't been fun to watch. Everyone is depressed.

Hunter, who is having a great year, can't keep his mouth shut about playing for other teams, or contract BS, or ripping other players for not playing hurt. Mauer, who should be the face of the franchise, can't seem to ever smile or be somewhat excited. Morneau, the reigning MVP, doesn't seem to give a crap if he pops out to shallow left in key situations. Santana, the best pitcher in baseball would rather piss and moan about trading Castillo, rather then get excited about the young guy Casilla. And the piranhas aren't worth a crap if they aren't being fun to watch.

Last year's feel good stories, guys like Punto and Redmon, just haven't played as well. Last year ended up being one of the best years for Twins fans, with the "Smell Em" mentality, and the feeling that you just knew we would hold on to the games when winning, and would come back if we were losing. The piranhas would find a way. And if they couldn't, Santana would shut them down, or Mauer/Morneau/Hunter combo would get it done.

That just hasn't happened this year, and it's bringing everyone down. Twins fans kept hoping for the month long hot streak that would resurrect the season, and why not, it's happened before. But as the season winds down, we are left with nothing but questions and no answers as to why the season has sucked so much to watch.

We can all question Gardy and his decision to play Punto everyday while he's shown no promise at the plate. And we can be upset with Ryan for not making some move to upgrade the offense when we so desperately need it.

But for me, it all comes to entertainment, and this year just hasn't been entertaining. Everyday it's the same thing. Another failure to win a game we needed to win, and games we do win are followed by another disappointing loss.

I think this season is as bad as it gets for Twins fans. At least I hope it is, because this has been the most depressing season I've ever had as a fan. Changes need to be made for next year.

Twins (69-68) vs Indians (78-58)

Oh goodie, Cleveland is coming to town, just what we need. They are probably the hottest team in baseball and the team we just haven't been able to beat. I always hope that maybe this will be the beginning of what could be a month ending hot streak, but if we couldn't do it against KC, there is little chance against Cleveland.

Cleveland has continued to play well, winning 2 of 3 against Chicago, while Minnesota kept up with their .500 baseball by splitting the 4 games against Kansas City. The Twins are 4 games behind the second place Tigers.

The highlights of the series will at least be our pitching, with Santana facing Sabathia today in a rematch of last weeks game where Santana gave up 4 runs in the first inning. And on Wednesday, Scott Baker makes his first start after his outstanding 1 hitter and near perfect game last week.

In the second game, Kevin Slowey makes his return to the big leagues after winning the International League Pitcher of the Year Award. Kevin's record is 3-0 (4 no decisions), but he's given up 13 HR and 27 runs in just 37 innings so it hasn't been easy for him.

Joe Mauer continues to sit on the bench with a sore hamstring.

Match-Ups:
Monday: Santana (14-10, 3.06) vs Sabathia (15-7. 3.37)
Tuesday 7:10: Slowey (3-0, 5.84) vs Laffey (2-1, 5.01)
Wednesday 12:10: Baker (8-6, 4.09) vs Carmona (14-8, 3.31)

Individual Leaders
MINNESOTA
AVG - Hunter - .294
HR - Morneau - 29
RBI - Hunter - 96
R - Hunter - 81

CLEVELAND
AVG - Martínez - .304
HR - Sizemore - 23
RBI - Martínez - 96
R - Sizemore - 102

A.L. Central Standings

Cleveland   78-58  -- 
Detroit     73-64  5.5 
Minnesota   69-68  9.5 
Kansas City 61-75  17.0 
Chicago WS  58-79  20.5