The Twins lost both ends of a doubleheader on Wednesday to the Red Sox in Fenway Park. They were outscored in the 2 games 17-4, and it was their starting pitching that looked terrible. A bunch of Boston no-names, replacing injured starters, attacked Twins pitching all day. David Ortiz, Boston’s fabled slugger and former (not-so-talented) Twin, still doesn’t have a home run on the season, and the Red Sox are still scored double digit runs in games against us. Jeff Bailey hit a 3-run homer for the BoSox in what had to have been one of his first major league starts, and journeyman Nick Green also had a homer. Where is Boston finding these guys?

Scott Baker looked downright dreadful in the game. I’ve not only lost all faith in his ability to start, but I’ve dropped him from my fantasy baseball team. Please send money in lieu of flowers. The Twins are now below .500 and looking up in the AL Central.

Tags: baseball, david ortiz, fenway park, jeff bailey, minnesota twins, red sox, scott baker

The Twins are slowly looking like the team that will end up taking the AL Central crown this year, even though their record still stands at 4-5 after a 3-2 extra inning win over the Blue Jays in a battle of the domed teams on Tuesday. How is it that the Twins have already played 9 games when everyone else has played only 7 or 8? Anyway, we got a great performance last night from starter Glen Perkins, and also 3 perfect innings of relief from Joe Nathan and Jesse Crain. Justin Morneau had a 3 for 5 night and Denard Span picked up his third stolen base of the season.

Tags: baseball, denard span, glen perkins, jesse crain, joe nathan, justin morneau, minnesota twins, toronto blue jays

It’s a common fallacy in baseball circles that a knuckleball pitcher needs wind to be effective. As it turns out, most knuckleballers have more success pitching in climate controlled domes. While wind can cause the knuckleball to drift unexpectedly, most of the movement from the pitch comes from the seams of the ball pushing against the air flowing over it. The Twins picked up knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in the offseason from the Mariners with the hope that he’ll become more accurate with his signature pitch in their final year at the Metrodome. Walks have been a problem with Dickey in the past, but the lack of wind and the “heavy” air in the Met could really help him when pitching at home. He’s been suffering from a sore shoulder lately, but he’s expected to start on Friday at the Chicago White Sox. I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer to see how things work out for Dickey’s flutterball in the dome.

Because MLB won’t let people share videos on YouTube, here’s a look at Dickey in MLB ‘09, the video game:

Tags: knuckleball, metrodome, minnesota twins, RA Dickey

Down by 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth, it didn’t look like the Twins had a chance to win tonight. They got some help from Mariners reliever Brandon Morrow, who walked the bases loaded before being relieved himself by Miguel Batista. Denard Span used his speed to leg out an infield single that scored a run to make it 5-4. Alexi Casilla then singled in the tying and winning runs on his only hit of the game.

Nick Blackburn started the game for the Twins but did not pitch well. He gave up 4 earned runs in just 5 innings, giving up a total of 11 hits and walks. The one Twins pitcher who did look good tonight was Matt Guerrier, who pitched 2 hitless innings in relief but did not factor into the decision.

Tags: alexi casilla, brandon morrow, denard span, miguel batista, minnesota twins, nick blackburn

Ken Griffey Jr. was in old form with a home run for his old team as the Mariners beat up on the Twins, 6 to 1 on opening day. Felix Hernandez scattered 6 hits over 8 innings for the win. Francisco Liriano gave up 4 runs over 7 innings, 3 of those runs coming from home runs. Liriano struck out just 3 batters in those 7 innings.

Twins leadoff hitter Denard Span managed to go 0 for 1, collecting 2 walks and a sacrifice. That’s the kind of thing the Twins are looking for in a leadoff hitter. Michael Cuddyer had the Twins only RBI, but he also struck out 3 times in 4 at bats.

The Twins will bring out Nick Blackburn to face Erik Bedard tomorrow at 8:10pm EST.
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Tags: denard span, erik bedard, felix hernandez, francisco liriano, ken griffey jr, minnesota twins, nick blackburn, opening day, seattle mariners

As the 2009 season is about to begin, the Twins are hungry after falling one do-or-die playoff game short of making the postseason last year. Sports Illustrated and other experts are predicting the Twins will take the AL Central division this season behind the bats of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and last year’s breakout hit, Denard Span. Span will bat leadoff for the Twins and provide speed and some surprising power. Too bad it only took him 7 years to develop from a top prospect to an everyday player in the big leagues.

Tags: al central, baseball, denard span, joe mauer, justin morneau, minnesota twins