Twins 34-34 on 6/18

[Irishmans Shanty]

The left and the right columns once again are finally balanced, I could look it up but I've got to believe it was mid April when it last occured. Congratulations to all who have followed the roller coaster on a daily basis thus far. Like me, I hope you are rejoicing but not yet satisfied.
The question now is...Where do they go from here? To answer that, you have to answer how did they get here? I believe the credit thus far goes to Santana, Liriano, Cuddyer, Morneau, Kubel, Mauer and the bullpen. The preceeding will need help and they will need to be picked up in the coming weeks. Where this club eventually lands sits in the hands of Radke, Silva, Hunter, Castillo, and Stewart and how they compete against the Tigers, Sox, and Indians. If this collection of veterans can re-fire their engines and mesh with the future of the franchise then it could be a fun summer.

[EREmpireStrikesBack]

If they can win the games they should win and get some games from the Tigers & ChiSox that will be huge. The Tigers will slow down, no teams stay this hot throughout the entire year and we have so many games left against the division that within 2 weeks we could go from 4th to the top. As long as we continue to try and win every series, that will be the key to success for the rest of the season and maybe even that P word.

[packerboy]

What do you do when Stewart is ready? Who sits?

[Irishmans Shanty]

Cuddyer goes to 3B, Punto's role diminishes. Who knows, maybe Andy McFail has some ideas. Sounds like by the time the Cubs roll in on the Weekend he's going to be looking for a job, maybe he wants his old one with the Twins back.

[jimjackjohnmmmm]

Jesus, I totally forgot Stewart was even on the team anymore, when does he come back? He'll be key if he can come back strong and get some leadoff hits and mauer some RBIs.

[packerboy]

Does Stewart become the DH full time? Kubel?

You cant sit Kubels bat.

It might cut into Redmond's time the most.

[boblee]

you guys are stupid. when stewart comes back, he is the DH. they release or trade Rondell White (for pitching). Everything else will stay the same.

[Irishmans Shanty]

Jerry Glanville used to send black roses to people that were dead to him. I have a black rose for Stewart simply because I don't think he will consistently stay in the lineup from here on out. The plantar faciaiatiaoidtiuuis that he is battling has been going on for 2.5 years and I don't know if it ever goes away, especially at his age. Stewart has been a fantastic bat his entire time with the Twins but I think he has finally broken down. DH may be the extent of his services, thus, rendering Rondell "Homerless" White obsolete. If Stewart prooves me wrong and stays healthy, his .300 stick at the top suddenly makes an improving lineup that much better.

[EREmpireStrikesBack]

Cuddyer won't move to 3B. Gardy said that he is a RF now and that won't change. You put Stewart @ DH because his arm blows. Lineup for the rest of year:

C- Mauer
1B- Morneau
2B- Castillo
3B- Punto/Rodriguez
SS- Bartlett
LF- Kubel
CF- Hunter
RF- Cuddyer
DH- Stewart (Ford/Redmond when Stewart gets traded)

[gabT]

i think that it will be a slow comeback for stewart. My guess is that he plays a few games to start but with redmond batting over .300 it is hard to keep him out of the lineup. but if stewart starts to hit the ball like he has for the twins then you can take redmond out of the lineup

[jimjackjohnmmmm]

Well, they finally dropped one. Had to happen but damnit, get rid of lohse.

[sterfry9]

lohse needs to stay in the minors or find another team he doesnt seem to get outs when they matter...things are going great and you send lohse out there...reyes did fine the 1st 2 batters...i dont know about the match ups and what not but im sure he coulda done better then lohse....its nice to finally see silva finally get things worked out for himself hopefully he can keep it up through the rest of the season...good luck with the rocket twins

[packerboy]

Lohse was bad but Rincon wasnt that good either.

When you only score 3 you roll the dice. Good streak, lets go out and win 6 out of the next 10. I think that will be important. They cant go and lose 4 out of their next 5 now. They need to build from here.

[Irishmans Shanty]

I no longer acknowledge any offensive numbers put up by Astros. Minute Park can't not hold anything hit in the air to left. It's like Fenway without the Monster. Lance Berkman, if he is smart will never leave Houston, he has clearly learned how to put up stats in that park. Look for him to go oppo again tonight.

[goldy313]

On Tuesday night Nathan made a good pitch, up and away out of the strike zone, it gets knocked out down the right field line on a late half swing where it looked more like the hitter was just trying to stay alive than drive the ball. I sure hope the new Twins park is built better than that.

[goldy313]

Just as I'm getting all excited about the Twins recent success I learn that the stinking Royals also took 5 of 6 from Houston and Pittsburgh. How bad is the National League Central?

Liriano looked awfully good tonight again, that kid can flat out pitch.

[Irishmans Shanty]

Maybe the AL Central this year is the World Cup of Soccer's equivalent to el grupo de le meurta (group of death). Royals and Twins taking 5 of 6 from Pit and Hou, how 'bout the pounding the Cards just got from the Sox. Tigers putting up double digits in Milwaukee. The Twins are playing better ball now, but maybe those early woes had something to do with those five series with Detroit and Chicago. I don't see Det or Chi slowing down at all this year, waiting for them to stumble isn't realistic.

Liriano, your the man, it's not just that he wins, but he absolutely steps on the other team's throat, it is trully a thing of beauty. Great to see Liriano perform on Clemens' most recent coming out of retirement night .

[Blue Breeze]

I waited for Chicago to stumble all last year, and it didn't happen. I think the same will happen for the Tigers. It's apparent the Twins are out of the race, but they are still giving us reason to watch. Liriano, Santana, Mauer, Morneau, etc. Hopefully we can lock up guys like Morneau and Mauer for a longtime. This team can have a good future.

[Irishmans Shanty]

On Thurs. June 8 the Twins quietly salvaged the finale of a three game set with the Seattle Blue Jackets bringing an end to a disasterous, season ending, left coast road trip. That win on June 8 seemed meaningless as it got the Twins to within 11.5 games of the division leading Tigers. Who could predict that the meaningless win at Safeco that day would start a scorching stretch where the Twins would go 14-2 over the next two and a half weeks. In the standings, the Twins are still 11 games behind the Tigers. Some things just aren't fair.

I'm not watching the standings these days, nor have I since mid-April. These days, I'm enjoying the Twins for what they are and what they are doing.

[packerboy]

People talk about whether an area is a 'baseball town' or not.

I think the Twin Cities are a Vikings town and not a baseball town but it might be getting better.

There is no way they can make the playoffs but the crowds have been good and the interest high. If this team continues to play well and looks like it will win 88-92 ball games, we should enjoy it regardless of whether they make the playoffs.

If the Vikings open training camp and interest wanes, then its too bad.

Why are we so in love with a franchise that has never won a championship and hasnt been to the Super Bowl for 30 flippin years?

I dont get it but keep the home fires burnin IS. I ll be watching the Twins for the duration.

[Irishmans Shanty]

I can't speak for every market in America but I can speak for those I've been to or lived in and football is king. Baseball is popular but nothing matches the passion that the masses have for pro football. To many, the baseball schedule is too long, the importance of a result gets diluted over a 162 game marathon. Passionate baseball people know better, every game matters, the season is declared dead with a blown save tonight and it is resusitated the next night with a come from behind win. I find it funny that pro baseball considers a four game deficit in mid-September insurmountable, but a three game deficit in week 11 of the NFL a team is still considered in the "playoff picture".

Ohhhhhhh Nooooooo! Italy's Metarazi draws a red card, Azzuri fans are beside themselves. Could this free kick lead to an Aussie Goal. Now that's a discussion for another day.

[packerboy]

There is no denying football and its explosion in popularity in the last 35 years.

But in 'baseball towns' like NY, Boston, Chicago, Philly and a few others, they leave plenty of room for baseball.

Here, it seems like its the Vikings first and then the Twins, if they are doing well. If the Twins are out of it in July, lets talk about the Vikings 6th round draft pick showing up in Mankato.

It seems like people are as interested in the Vikings when they are doing poorly(which has been typical lately) as when they are doing well.

[Irishmans Shanty]

Chicago is just like Minneapolis. It is a Bear town..period, that's the only thing that Sox and Cub fans can agree on. The Sox are as good as it gets, the Cubs are as bad as it gets, therefore there is no shortage of fodder to throw around. Yet, come late July, the news from Bourbanais, (Bear training camp) will push the Sox or Cubs to the back burner. It happended last year even though the Sox were on their way to the World Series championship. Bear talk is already starting, the impending battle between Thomas Jones and last year's number one pick, Cedrik Benson, is already heating up. The Sox title is already an afterthought, but the '85 Bears and Ditka are still the toast of the town twenty plus years later. Heck, one of the sports radio stations has a large inflatable Ditka head that they take on remotes.

I can't speak for NY or Boston, but I think that the Cardinals still own St. Louis, that could be the last of the Mohicans when it comes to baseball running the show.

[goldy313]

To a large extent football is "king" because it fits into our attention span which isn't very long. In most major American cities baseball is still king, New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and St. Louis to name a few. Football just has the desired demographic, 18-40 year old males, that makes it even more attractive to TV. 60 minutes is still one of the most popular tv programs, but you don't see it advertised or hyped up a ton because of its demographic vs. what Survivor gets.

I think Minnesota is still a baseball state, though the Vikings fans are more vocal. Again it's the wanted demographic, young males. The Metrodome gets loud on it's own for baseball games when its full, no need for pumped in music or artificial noise that the Vikings seem to rely on. I'm biased, I can't watch pro football anymore it's just not football; you can't touch the QB, they've turned pass defense into basketball. Any game where they have to consistantly change the rules to keep the ratings up reminds me more of the movie "Rollerball" with James Caan than a sport.

Baseball is the same as always has been, aside from the DH. Baseball is timeless and like Cubs fans say "There's always next year." I watched the WGN telecasts this weekend to get another perspective of the Twins and it was a nice change, those guys savaged the Cubs yesterday, deservedly so. They had a nice debate on Joe Mauer vs. Mark Prior, saying both teams got the guys they wanted and both were right, though time will tell who's better. Some talk about how the Twins turned it around, more about how good the Twins pitching staff is and glad they don't have to see these guys again.

Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, and KC went 34-6 against NL Central teams this past 10 days.

This year reminds me of 1987, the Twins are so dominant at home but struggle on the road. Of course they won the AL West with about 88 wins that year but that would put them 10-15 out this year.

[packerboy]

Another solid win last night.

Maybe its because I am not too familiar with these teams but the lineups that the Astros, Cubs and Dodgers throw at you dont really impress me.

As much as we whine about the Twins lineup, Id take ours over any of the NL teams we have played.

Maybe the reason the Twins got off to such a bad start is they had to play the Sox and Tigers a lot.