Tag: Minnesota Twins (Page 5 of 11)

      MLB Roundup: Red-hot Renteria, Lee’s bad news & the BoSox’s early woes

      April 10, 2010 /

      Giants 5, Braves 4
      Quick, name the team with the best record in baseball. The Yankees? Sorry – they’re currently only .500. The answer would be the Giants, who have begun the year 4-0 after coming from behind to the beat the Braves 5-4 in 13 innings on Friday. Quick, name the hottest hitter in the league right now. If you said Albert Pujols, then punch yourself in the ear because you’re wrong. If you said Edgar Renteria, you’re right, but you probably only said that to be a wiseass – so the jokes on you. Renteria is batting an astonishing .688 to start the year after going 3-for-5 with a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, which helped San Fran erase a 4-2 deficit. I don’t know how Pablo Sandoval slimmed down and stole Renteria’s jersey without anyone seeing, but there’s no way that’s the real Edgar Renteria.

      Rangers 6, Mariners 2
      Nelson Cruz abused the Mariners on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the Rangers’ 6-2 victory. Seattle is hitting .199 as a team and was 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. It was the club’s fourth straight loss and making matters worse, it was revealed that Cliff Lee might not come off the disabled list until May now.

      Royals 4, Red Sox 3
      It’s early, but you know things are bad in Boston when they’re losing to Kansas City. Rick Ankiel (yes, that Rick Ankiel) hit a go-ahead two-run single off Daniel Bard in the eighth inning of the Royals’ 4-3 win over the BoSox on Friday night. It was the fourth hit of the night for Ankiel, who also hit a solo home run and drove in three runs. Not a bad night for the newcomer, who helped sent Boston spiraling to a 1-3 start.

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      MLB Opening Week: 10 Things to Watch

      April 5, 2010 /

      While nothing beats the opening weekend in football, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the start of a new baseball season. With a sense of a new beginning, the opening week of baseball brings hope and excitement to fans across the country.

      Then you realize that you’re favorite team is the Pirates, Royals or Nationals and all that hope gets crushed. It’s an ugly realization, but it is what it is.

      As baseball is set to kick off a new season, here are 10 things to keep an eye on this week.

      1. Roy Halladay makes his Philles debut
      Fans will have to wait until next weekend to see Halladay make his Philadelphia debut, but they probably won’t have to wait long to see him dominate in red and white. Halladay will start against the Nationals on Opening Day and then at Houston five days later, which means he gets tune ups against two of the weaker teams in the National League. He shouldn’t have any issues making the early-season transition to the NL – outside of hitting, of course. Unless he succumbs to the pressure of pitching in Philadelphia, Halladay will likely have plenty of success throughout the entire season.

      2. Jason Heyward’s MLB debut
      The top position player prospect in baseball will enter the 2010 season as the Braves’ starting right fielder. The former 2007 first round pick hit .323 with 17 homers and 63 RBI between three stops in the minor leagues last season and might be the difference between the Braves finishing in the middle of the pack in the National League, or securing a postseason berth. Heyward doesn’t have one breakout skill, but he’s a five-tool player who takes a patient approach to the plate and exhibits good bat speed. He’s also a solid defender, with above-average speed and can play multiple outfield positions. If Heyward turns out to be the real deal, then so too will the Braves.

      3. Can Jon Rauch fill Joe Nathan’s shoes?
      After Nathan decided to have Tommy John surgery and therefore miss the entire 2010 season, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that the club would employ a closer-by-committee situation with their bullpen. But Gardenhire quickly went back on that decision, instead choosing to go with Rauch as his full-time closer. The question now becomes: Will Rauch be the same reliable pitcher he was last year in Minnesota or the one that struggled in Arizona in the first half? Rauch isn’t the long-term solution, but he doesn’t have to be either. He just has to be dependable this season to help bridge the gap until Nathan returns to full health in 2011.

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      Denard Span hits own mother with line drive

      March 31, 2010 /

      Twins’ outfielder Denard Span better get his mom a decent Mother’s Day gift this year after this incident (from ESPN.com):

      Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span hit a foul ball that struck his mother in the chest in the first inning of Wednesday’s spring training game against the New York Yankees.

      Wanda Wilson was wearing a Span jersey and sitting with about 20 family members and friends near the third-base dugout. Span, batting leadoff, took a defensive swing against Yankees starter Phil Hughes in the first inning and hit a liner right at her in the box seats.

      A stunned Span sprinted from the batters’ box to the stands and stayed with his mother while paramedics treated her. The split-squad game was delayed for a few minutes as she was taken to first aid, and the Twins said she was sore but OK.

      Span returned to the plate with the count 3-2 and struck out looking on the next pitch. The Twins originally said Span would leave the game, but his mother was sitting in a different seat by the bottom of the first inning and he went to center field.

      She was treated by paramedics and back in the stands minutes later, but eventually went to a hospital after being convinced by medical personnel at the stadium.

      What are the freaking odds?

      Hopefully Denard’s mother is okay and has a full recovery.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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      2010 MLB Preview: AL Central

      March 23, 2010 /

      In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

      All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

      Next up is the AL Central.

      1. Chicago White Sox (9)
      Some folks will think that this is too high for the White Sox – that they should be behind the Twins and out of the top 10 in terms of the overall power rankings. Some folks will say that Jake Peavy won’t be healthy all season and that the Chi Sox will once again falter as they try to live station to station on offense. Well, I say the folks that disagree with my opinion are friggin idiots. Harsh? Yeah, but it also needed to be said. I realize that I’m taking a risk by moving the Sox to the head of the AL Central, but really, it’s hard to argue that this division isn’t a crapshoot anyway. Every team has question marks heading into the season but at the end of the day, pitching makes or breaks a team. I realize Peavy missed all of last year due to injury, but the Sox were second in the AL in pitching last season with a 4.14 ERA without him. If he stays healthy, Peavy will only add to Chicago’s solid rotation (which also features Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddy Garcia) and the addition of J.J. Putz should bolster the bullpen as well. Outside of injuries, the only thing that could potentially hold Chicago back this year is its offense. What do you mean that’s kind of a big deal? I’m banking that youngster Gordon Beckham develops quickly and that Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios return to form. I also think the Sox will get key contributions from the additions GM Kenny Williams made this offseason in Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre and Mark Teahen. I’m not expecting the Sox to magically transform into the Yankees of the AL Central, but I do believe they have enough offense to get by while their pitching carries them to a playoff berth.

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      Will Mauer’s deal come back to haunt the Twins?

      March 22, 2010 /

      Whenever a team shells out the kind of money that the Twins just gave catcher Joe Mauer ($184 million for eight years), they have fully come to grips with the notion that they’re sailing into uncharted waters. But the hope is that the ends will justify the means and in the case of Mauer, they probably will.

      Mauer hit .365 with 28 home runs last year and drove in 96 RBI. At only 26, the Twins are banking that Mauer won’t get injured and he’ll be able to keep his production high for most of his contract. And while he may need to eventually switch positions (with the nightly toll that the game takes on catchers, they tend to break down faster than other position players) to keep his offensive numbers high, there’s a good chance that Minnesota will get what they paid for.

      Another key factor is that Mauer is a hometown hero – a local product that grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and was drafted right out of high school. If the Twins were to spend big on any player, it might as well be Mauer, who is not only a fantastic player but who also is beloved by fans. He’s the face of their franchise and while the Twins are often reluctant to open their checkbooks, they had to ensure that Mauer would finish his career in the “Twin Cities.”

      Is $184 million a lot of money to spend on one player? Of course it is and the Twins are well aware of the risk. But they had to pony up and I’m sure fans are glad they did.

      On a related note, I find it ironic that the Twins bypassed (in part) Mark Prior on draft day in 2001 because they were afraid of how much they’d have to fork over for his signing bonus. Then they wind up signing Mauer for $184 million. It just goes to show you that if a player develops, a team will inevitably have to pay at some point.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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