Sunday, September 10, 2006
Objects In Mirror
The Twins are now just two games behind the Tigers for the AL Central and 1 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox after this weekend. Winning 3 out of 4 against the Tigers is pretty awesome. I was honestly expecting a 2-2 split. Barring a total collapse over the next month Johan sealed his Cy Young award.
Liriano pitched 4 scoreless innings on Saturday night in his latest rehab start. He walked one, struck out 4 and didn't give up a hit. He get's his first start back on Wednesday afternoon against the A's at the dome. His pitch count will be limited to 60.
Matt Guerrier will get his first start of the season on Tuesday against the A's. He's replacing Scott Baker in the rotation.
Things are looking up again. With Liriano's awesome 4 innings in Rochester on Saturday, here's hoping he can go back to the July Liriano and if the Twins can keep hitting and we can slip in to the playoffs.
Buster Olney writes on his ESPN Insider blog that Johan Santana is deserving of the MVP.
But he also says if the Twins don't make the playoffs he probably wouldn't vote for him.
Liriano pitched 4 scoreless innings on Saturday night in his latest rehab start. He walked one, struck out 4 and didn't give up a hit. He get's his first start back on Wednesday afternoon against the A's at the dome. His pitch count will be limited to 60.
Matt Guerrier will get his first start of the season on Tuesday against the A's. He's replacing Scott Baker in the rotation.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said this week that he's holding "tryouts" to see who would occupy the third and probably final spot in the postseason rotation behind all-stars Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano, provided he stays healthy. Rookie Boof Bonser is the front-runner after another solid outing Saturday.
Things are looking up again. With Liriano's awesome 4 innings in Rochester on Saturday, here's hoping he can go back to the July Liriano and if the Twins can keep hitting and we can slip in to the playoffs.
Buster Olney writes on his ESPN Insider blog that Johan Santana is deserving of the MVP.
The Minnesota Twins are 81-59, the wildcard entrant if the playoffs started today. They are 22 games over .500.
Johan Santana has made 30 starts this year, and in those games, the Twins are 25-5. He's 17-5 himself, and Minnesota has won every game in which Santana got a no-decision; if he hasn't won, he's given them a chance to win.
Let's review. When Santana starts, the Twins are 20 games over .500. When anybody else starts, they are 56-54, basically a .500 team.
When Santana starts, the Twins are as unbeatable as the '27 Yankees. When anybody else starts, they are a non-playoff team.
But he also says if the Twins don't make the playoffs he probably wouldn't vote for him.
The Twins are 3-1 when he has started against the White Sox, 3-1 when he has started against Detroit. His record in the second half of the season is 8-0; the Twins are 11-0 in his starts since the All-Star break. Francisco Liriano went down and since then, Santana has hoisted the rotation onto his shoulders. He's got four starts left, in all likelihood, and it's conceivable that the Twins will have a perfect record in the games he starts in the second half.¶ 7:53 PM
Without Santana pitching as well as he has, the Twins aren't even part of the playoff conversation.
If the Twins don't make the playoffs, I wouldn't vote for Santana; there are good candidates -- no slam-dunk candidates -- with other teams. Jermaine Dye with the White Sox, the Yankees' Derek Jeter, Travis Hafner and David Ortiz. Justin Morneau has had an incredible season, getting a huge hit in the Twins' high-pressure victory last night. You can make a good case for Joe Mauer.
