What to Trade

Yesterday I wrote up a post entitled "What Not to Trade," in which I noted my opposition to any trade that would force the Twins to part with one of their five young rotation members unless the return was significant. Today I'll talk a little bit about some pieces that I could see the Twins reasonably parting with this offseason if they wish to bring in some outside talent via trade.

As most are aware, the Twins have a bit of an outfield glut. In Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, the Twins have five players who probably should be starting regularly but can only fill four spots (unless Cuddyer were to move back to third base, which seems highly unlikely). Each of these players is expendable in his own way, but at the same time, now seems like a poor time to move any of them.

I explained on Monday why this is the wrong time to give up on Kubel. Gomez is a fan favorite and trading him could cause the team to take a huge PR hit, which makes such a move unlikely. Some might argue that Span's value will never be higher, but his solid plate approach makes me believe that he can continue to have success, and he profiles as the only legitimate leadoff option on the roster right now. Trading Young at this point might be selling low, since he failed to show any progress from 2007 to 2008 but figures to (perhaps drastically) improve within the next couple seasons. Cuddyer appears to be the odd man out, but with his hefty new contract and the poor injury-riddled season he just finished up, he's hardly a hot commodity around the league.

One area where the Twins do have some depth is in the low minors, and this actually may play to their benefit in negotiating with a team like the Mariners. Seattle will no doubt covet the Twins' major-league ready pitching, but quite frankly the M's are deluding themselves if they think they'll be competing any time soon, so it might be in the organization's best interest to bring in some promising prospects that may be able to help out three or four years down the line.

Ben Revere is one name I would consider giving up in a Beltre trade. That's likely not a popular idea, since Revere flirted with .400 for much of the season while playing for Low-A Beloit and has some impressive physical tools. But there's a decent chance Revere will take a step back in the higher levels of the minors if he can't add some power and patience, so his value might be at an all-time high right now. More importantly, the Twins have a younger player in Aaron Hicks who performed extremely well in the Gulf Coast League this season after being drafted in the first round of June's amateur entry draft, and there's a fairly good chance he could supplant Revere as the organization's top outfield prospect within a year. With three players under the age of 25 currently populating their outfield and another talented young player in Jason Pridie standing by in Triple-A, the Twins are in no hurry to usher in new outfield help, so dealing Revere and patiently waiting for Hicks would make some sense.

Catcher Wilson Ramos is another talented player who had a strong season in the low minors, hitting .288/.346/.434 with 13 home runs and 78 RBI as a 20-year-old in High-A ball, and the Twins might be willing to consider parting with him since they've got that Joe Mauer guy locked in at the catcher position. However, scouts rave about Ramos and he is quietly rising to the top of this organization's prospect list, so he might be moving into that "untouchable" territory unless another club could offer up something truly tantalizing.

Tyler Robertson, Alex Burnett, Deolis Guerra and Mike McCardell are all quality arms in the low minors who the Twins should consider putting on the table in trade talks. Furthermore, any of the team's hurlers in the high minors (Anthony Swarzak, Kevin Mulvey, Jeff Manship, Zach Ward) would be attractive pieces in a package offer to any team looking to rebuild and add quality pitching depth. As much as I'm against trading any member of The Fab 5, the Twins do have a number of solid (if unspectacular) pitching prospects throughout the organization who are pretty much all expendable at the right price.

My personal feeling is that the Twins would be best served trying to address their problems via free agency rather than through trades this offseason. That's an area where I'm in stark opposition to some other bloggers, such as Aaron Gleeman. But, as much as I make note of this organization's past failures in free agency in past years, they are significantly under budget. I don't think the climate is right for the team to make a major trade. Pulling a starter out of their rotation would only create another hole to fill, and despite the fact that they feature something of an outfield glut, no member of that corps seems like an obvious trade candidate.

With all that being said, if the Twins do decide to make a trade to upgrade their big-league roster during the offseason, they have plenty of pieces littered throughout their minor-league system that could be used toward that end.

What Not to Trade

As the Twins seek to improve their ballclub during this offseason, one thing that you will hear discussed extensively is the possibility of one or more trades. After all, Bill Smith showed no aversion to blockbuster swaps during his first winter at the helm, swinging deals that shook up the very core of the Twins' organization and sent key players like Johan Santana, Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett elsewhere in return for unproven talent.

Over the next few months, you'll see numerous names floated around in connection with the Twins -- be it through blogs, newspapers, or sites like MLBtraderumors.com. These names will most likely be those of reportedly available players who could potentially fill a position of need for the Twins. We'll see left-side infielders such as Adrian Beltre, Garrett Atkins and J.J. Hardy mentioned, and probably also a number of relief pitchers. Inevitably, these rumors will suggest that the Twins part with pitching in order to acquire a player of this ilk.

The Twins featured a stable of five young starting pitchers this year, and these pitchers will likely be attractive to teams like the Brewers and the Mariners who could use some reliable young arms in their rotations. But the commonly held mindset that the Twins have an abundant wealth of young, major-league pitching from which they can deal is an outdated one. To me, it seems that many fans and analysts are still viewing the Twins as they did a few years ago, when the organization boasted a collection of impressive arms that included Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Glen Perkins, among others. Yet, times have changed. Many of the pitchers mentioned in that group are gone, and much of the organization's high-level starting pitching depth no longer exists. The Twins have a group of five starting pitchers who performed well above expecations during this season (a group that shall henceforth be referred to as "The Fab 5"), but they don't have the depth behind these five that would make any member of the group expendable. In fact, the Twins' success next season may be dependent on their ability to keep this group intact.

Some people assume too easily that the Twins could simply replace the contributions of a Nick Blackburn or a Perkins by calling up a player from the minors or tabbing a short-term free agent. This simply isn't a good bet. We've already seen what happens when this club gambles on bargain free agent pitchers (which, realistically, is all they can afford) and relying on minor-league hurlers who lack any big-league experience is a flimsy plan. As an example, think about Garza and Slowey. Both were elite prospects who absolutely rolled through the minor leagues, but both struggled in their first taste of the big leagues. That's something that most young pitchers experience, as the transition from the minors to majors is a daunting one. This makes the success experienced this year by Blackburn and Perkins -- neither of whom had started a major-league game in the past -- all the more impressive. For both players to step in and perform at an above-average level for the majority of the season qualifies as a fantastic feat, but a rare one which cannot be counted on from lesser arms.

And lesser arms are what the Twins currently feature in Triple-A. In Philip Humber, Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing and Kevin Mulvey, the Twins have a group of prospects who may eventually turn into useful major-league pitchers, but who all have significant flaws and lack the top-prospect polish of Blackburn and Perkins, much less Garza and Slowey. To trade away a member of The Fab 5 and count on any of those four to fill the open spot would be a dangerous venture, especially considering that injuries and regression to any of the remaining rotation members could cause further complications and widdle away at the already weakened depth.

That last point is a crucially important one. It is incredibly rare for an entire rotation of make it through a full season without seeing at least one of its members miss significant time due to injury. The Twins were fortunate this year in that only minor injuries affected their starters and no one missed a large chunk of the season, but that can hardly be expected next season -- particularly considering the questions that still surround Liriano's arm and Perkins' history of shoulder problems. Even if they enter next season with The Fab 5 intact, the Twins will still likely have to delve into that Triple-A depth at some point due to injury or ineffectiveness at the top level, and by opening up a hole in the rotation the organization is forced to dig more and more into that uncertain group of minor-league maybes. This could spell disaster.

The Twins are in an enviable position with their rotation. They have five young pitchers who have all proven themselves capable of pitching at the major-league level and who are all under team control for at least another three years at relatively modest prices. The value of this situation is clear when you take a quick look around the league and see pitchers like Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva inking $40 million contracts. It is important that the Twins maintain this advantage and hold together their reasonably priced stable of talented young arms. I wouldn't completely rule out the idea of trading a player like Blackburn or Perkins, but it would have to be for significant value. Giving up a member of this rotation for, say, one expensive season of Beltre just doesn't make sense from a fiscal or competitive standpoint.

Jason Kubel: The Next David Ortiz?

When around fans of certain teams, simply saying a particular name aloud can cause a visible cringe or an audible groan. For Red Sox fans, "Bill Buckner" or "Bucky Dent" can get the job done. For Cubs fans, "Steve Bartman." For Giants fans, "A.J. Pierzynski." And the name that will always hit home for Twins fans is David Ortiz.

We all know the story. Ortiz was an under-performing slugger who the Twins elected to release after the 2002 season. Ortiz signed with the Red Sox and exploded. He developed into a perennial MVP candidate and perhaps the best designated hitter in the game. In six years since leaving the Twins, Ortiz has hit .297 while averaging 38 home runs and 121 RBI while helping the Sox to two World Championships and gaining a reputation as baseball's best clutch hitter. Meanwhile, the Twins have run out an assortment of failed designated hitter options -- from Matt LeCroy to Jose Offerman to Rondell White -- while never having any player come particularly close to Ortiz's average home run output.

Finally, for the first time since Ortiz's departure, the Twins look to have a legitimate DH option in Jason Kubel. It has taken the former star prospect some time to find his stroke after losing a year to a knee injury, but this season he finally started to show what he's capable of this year by hitting 20 homers, driving in 78 runs and slugging .471. Yet, for whatever reason, some fans feel that the team can't get rid of Kubel soon enough.

I have perused several message boards and blogs where fans have suggested that the Twins trade Kubel this offseason or hold off on offering him a long-term contract. Have these people learned nothing from the Ortiz fiasco? If comparing the two seems like a stretch, look more closely.

Both Kubel and Ortiz showed signs of being very good hitters while with the Twins, but both struggled with injuries and inconsistency, which caused the front office (and some fans) to sour on them. Take a look at the numbers Ortiz put up in 2002, his last season with the Twins, as a 25-year-old:

412 AB, .272/.339/.500, 20 HR, 75 RBI

Now compare those numbers to the ones Kubel posted this year as a 26-year-old:

463 AB, .272/.335/.471, 20 HR, 78 RBI

After being released by the Twins, Ortiz signed on with the Red Sox and hit .288/.369/.592 with 31 homers and 101 RBI. The following year he hit .301/.380/.603 with 41 homers and 139 RBI. And so forth.

I'm not saying that anyone should expect Kubel to turn into that type of hitter. But I cannot for the life of me understand why such a large faction of the fanbase has it in for him. This is a guy who hit 20 home runs on a team that ranked last in the league in long balls. He's a guy who hit two homers and a triple in the first game of that magnficent and hugely important series against the White Sox at the Metrodome late in the season. And he's a guy that still can improve. Kubel hit .320 in the minor leagues, there is plenty of reason to believe he can raise that average and his OBP and SLG along with it.

As Ortiz taught us, it's important to be patient with young hitters, which is why some people should rethink their eagerness in suggesting that the Twins trade Kubel or Delmon Young this offseason. I am very satisfied with the year that Kubel had and I don't feel that he's necessarily done growing as a hitter, which is why I strongly advocate that the Twins explore signing him to a three-year deal this offseason, thus locking up his remaining years of arbitration as well as his first year of free agency.

This organization doesn't produce hitters of Kubel's caliber often. It's important that the Twins do everything they can to make sure they don't let another one slip away.

My Postseason Awards

Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to throw my hat into the ring with regards to the MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year discussions. It's only one man's opinion, and I'm sure many will take issue with some of these selections, but ultimately it's all just fuel for the fire.

AL MVP

Joe Mauer: .328/.413/.451, 9 HR, 85 RBI, 98 R

This was a tough pick as no one stands out too much among a field of strong contenders for the award. Grady Sizemore and Kevin Youkilis are guys who should be in the running, but to me this race comes down to Mauer and Dustin Pedroia, a pair of great hitters at valuable defensive positions who helped propel their teams toward the postseason (although the Twins came up just short). Both players have their strong points, with Mauer holding a slight edge in batting average and a large edge in on-base percentage while Pedroia holds advantages in power and stolen bases. In the end, I lean toward Mauer because he plays superior defense at a more crucial defensive position. And because I'm a Twins fan. What of it?

NL MVP

Albert Pujols: .357/.462/.653, 37 HR, 116 RBI, 100 R

You'll hear a lot of talk about Ryan Howard, who led the league in home runs and RBI for the NL East champion Phillies. You'll hear some talk about Manny Ramirez, whose arrival in Los Angeles at the trade deadline gave the Dodgers the necessary jolt to reach the playoffs. You'll hear talk about Carlos Delgado, Ryan Braun, maybe even C.C. Sabathia. All this talk is misguided. Pujols was the most valuable player in the National League this year, and in my mind it's not even close. Look at those numbers. Pujols reached triple digits in RBI, runs and walks, he batted .357, and his OPS+ was 190. 190!!! That's a career high for a guy who has had a pretty unbelievable career. He also played some pretty solid defense at first base. The Cards finished fourth in the NL Central, but that has nothing to do with Pujols. There is no player in major-league baseball I'd rather build my team around. That's the definition of an MVP.

AL Cy Young

Cliff Lee: 223.3 IP, 22-3, 2.54 ERA, 170/34 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP

There's an argument to be made for Roy Halladay. He threw more innings, posted a better WHIP and strikeout rate, was a 20-game winner and faced tougher teams. But I think Lee edges him by a hair. He won 22 games and led the league in ERA, and the Indians went 24-7 in his starts.

NL Cy Young

Brad Lidge: 69.1 IP, 41 SV, 1.95 ERA, 92/35 K/BB, 1.23 WHIP

I suspect plenty of people will disagree with this selection. Tim Lincecum and Johan Santana are both very deserving candidates and I would have no problem with either winning the award. But I just can't get over the season Lidge had. He was perfect in save opportunities, converting 41-of-41, and posted a 1.95 ERA while allowing just two home runs in nearly 70 innings despite calling a very hitter-friendly stadium home. It's rare that a closer is deserving of Cy Young honors in a year where starting pitchers contributed 200-plus innings of outstanding work, but this seems like one such occasion.

AL Rookie of the Year

Evan Longoria: .272/.343/.531, 27 HR, 85 RBI, 67 R

No contest. In another year, Denard Span may have merited consideration. This year, Longoria was the class of the rookie crop. Had he avoided injury, he may have been a legit MVP candidate.

NL Rookie of the Year

Geovany Soto: .285/.364/.504, 23 HR, 86 RBI, 66 R

Not much doubt about this one in my mind. For a catcher to put up these types of numbers in his first big-league season is really impressive.

A Blessing and a Curse

As I wrote in the wake of the Twins' disappointing 1-0 loss in a one-game playoff against the White Sox last week, this was a pretty incredible season for the hometown nine. They did just about everything short of making the playoffs to delivery a memorable campaign to the fans. The team engaged in a season-long tight playoff race, featured multiple MVP candidates, got a couple out-of-nowhere performances from young players, and pulled off some unbelievable comeback victories. As the sting of the season's final game wears off, fans are realizing more and more what a tremendously fun year this was.

But this success may come with some negatives going forward.

I'm sure you all remember the 2006 season. A couple months into the season, the Twins found themselves deep in a hole, and many passed off the season as lost. Yet, surprisingly, the team rebounded and went on an incredible mid-season run thanks in large part to MVP-caliber contributions from Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, as well as a trio of starting pitchers in Johan Santana, Francisco Liriano and Brad Radke that was seemingly unbeatable for a period of time. The Twins captured the division on the last day of the season, and despite their early playoff exit the season was viewed as a huge success, and one that had fans feeling good going forward.

Unfortunately, this success made the front office complacent. Terry Ryan's outside additions over the following offseason amounted to Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson and Jeff Cirillo, a group of washed-out vets who all failed to make it through the entire season in Minnesota. Because of the strong results the team got in 2006, Ryan was content to count on Nick Punto to deliver again as a starting third baseman despite the fact that his '06 campaign was an unprecedented career year. Ryan made no legitimate effort to fill the void left in the rotation by Liriano's season-long Tommy John rehab (unless you count Ortiz and Ponson). Ryan brought back Rondell White, apparently hoping that the aging and ailing hitter could magically bounce back from a truly horrific first season with the Twins.

The result of all this non-action was a highly disappointing 2007 season in which the Twins posted a losing record for the first time since the turn of the millenium. Punto was a disaster at third base. White continued to provide nothing with his bat. Both Ortiz and Ponson were predictably as bad as they'd been in the preceding years. Luis Castillo wore down. Jason Bartlett regressed. Heck, nearly everyone regressed. The Twins probably wouldn't have made the playoffs even with a proactive approach in '07, given that Mauer and Morneau both had relative down years and Johan Santana was not his usual transcendent self. But had Ryan shown a little more foresight rather than sitting on his laurels, the season could have been much more than it was.

As disappointing as that 2007 campaign was, it did prompt action. Ryan resigned from his post near season's end, and Bill Smith took over the reigns as general manager. Realizing that fans were displeased with a poor season and the impending departure of popular players like Santana and Torii Hunter, Smith went to work and made some aggressive moves. He traded Bartlett and Matt Garza -- fixtures during the prior season -- for Delmon Young and Brendan Harris. He traded Johan Santana for a package of of prospects. He signed Adam Everett and Mike Lamb, who the team viewed as legitimate starters rather than the role players this organization typically spends its limited funds on each winter.

Not all of these moves worked out -- in fact, you can argue that none of them worked out -- but nevertheless they went against the organization's historically conservative nature and revved up fan interest. For fans that had grown used to watching winters pass by with no move more meaningful than the signing of a backup third baseman or a washed up veteran pitcher, it was exciting to see this team populating the headlines on news Web sites with blockbuster trades and recognizable free agent signings.

In spite of the fact that many of those moves had an adverse affect on the team this year, the Twins were still a surprisingly strong team, and fan interest rose to unprecedented levels. Fox Sports Net set record highs for viewership. Carlos Gomez jerseys flew off the shelves in pro shops. I could barely glance in any direction in public without spying Twins caps adorning people of all genders, ages and ethnicities.

The concern, now, is that this success will put the Twins' front office back into that mode of complacency that we saw following the 2006 season. That can't happen, or a repeat of 2007 could very well be ahead of us. There is almost no question that this division is going to improve next year. I don't necessarily buy that the improvement is going to be as vast as some others believe*, but I have little doubt that it will take more than 89 victories to claim make the playoffs out of the AL Central next season.

* Aaron Gleeman guessed in his live chat yesterday that 89 wins would be good for third place in the division next year... come on. The Indians will be better but they'll be without C.C. Sabathia, and the Tigers' pitching staff has a long ways to go before they're even decent. And once again I've stolen Joe Posnanski's asterisk style. Hey, imitation is the highest form of flattery.

The Twins almost certainly will not score 800-plus runs next year with the same type of offensive performance; they were fortunate that many of their hits happened to come with runners in scoring position which superficially inflated their scoring. Moreover, some players are likely due to regress. Some are likely to get injured. This team lacks stable situations on the left side of the infield and can hardly count on all five starting pitchers to repeat the performances they did this season. Smith must be proactive if he wishes to keep his club as legitimate contenders. Whether that means putting the team's budget surplus to use by bringing in some legitimate free agents (as I've discussed the past three days) or making a trade to bolster an area of weakness (as I'll discuss next week), Smith needs to show the same type of risk-taking ability that he did in his first winter at the helm.

Casey at the Bat

I've spent the last two days discussing the pros and cons relating to a couple of potential offseason free agent targets for the Twins. Today I will discuss one more, and it's a name that most fans around here should be familiar with: Casey Blake. He's spent the majority of his career in the AL Central, and even spent some time with in the Twins organization back around the turn of the century. Like Orlando Hudson and unlike Orlando Cabrera, I think that Blake would a logical target for the Twins this offseason if they choose to address their infield holes via free agency.

Blake got his major-league career off to a late start, which is why he's just now entering free agency for the first time at the age of 35. His age might set off some red flags for some, as players reaching their mid-30s often experience rapid decline (see: White, Rondell), but it also might play to the Twins' benefit in that he may be willing to ink a shorter deal, which is exactly what the Twins should be looking for at third base.

Investing in a long-term deal for a player like Hudson would make sense, since the Twins' system is bereft of legitimate middle-infield prospects at this juncture. This isn't true of third base. Danny Valencia, who was this blog's Prospect of the Month in May and again in July this year, has emerged as a legitimate major-league third base candidate. He hit .336/.402/.518 in 60 games at Ft. Myers this year before moving up to Class-AA New Britain and finishing the season with a .289/.334/.485 line in 69 games there. It bears noting that there are concerns surrounding Valencia's attitude and contact rate (he struck out 70 times with just 18 walks in 69 games after being promoted to New Britain this year), and he's not particularly young, but he has reportedly made significant strides defensively and most scouts agree that he has the tools to play third base in the big leagues. He's also got legitimate power from the right side, a rare quality in this organization. Another third base prospect worth keeping an eye on is Luke Hughes, a 25-year-old who posted a stellar .309/.369/.524 between Double-A and Triple-A this year, though some wonder whether his offensive outburst this year is real and third base is not his natural position.

Both Valencia and Hughes are far from sure things and neither is likely to be ready to step in at the outset of the 2009 season, but both are promising enough that the Twins should be concentrating more on finding a short-term filler at third base rather than spending a lot in money or prospects to bring in a long-term solution. If neither of those two prospects pans out, the Twins can always look to address the position more permanently somewhere down the line.

So now, let's get back to Blake. As I mentioned, he seems like a good candidate for that filler role. As a 35-year-old, he can't really command a lengthy contract, so he might be open to something like a two-year deal with an option for a third year. He has history with this organization, and I've heard rumblings that he and his family would like to return to the midwest. His glove is decent at third base, and he can also adequately fill in at first base and the corner outfield spots. That versatility would be valuable on this team, which saw right fielder Michael Cuddyer miss much of the season while first baseman Justin Morneau started every single game.

Despite his age, Blake really has shown no signs of wear offensively. Since becoming a full-time player back in 2003, he has been very steady, consistently posting a hitting line right around his career average of .264/.334/.447. He has posted an 823 career OPS against left-handed pitching, which obviously makes him a good fit in the Twins' lefty-heavy lineup.

As much as I might dream of an Orlando Hudson signing this winter, Blake is probably a much more realistic possibility, given this organization's historical opposition to signing free agents to long-term contracts. Blake, who is currently in the NLCS with the Dodgers, made $6.1 million this season in his final year of arbitration. In free agency, he could probably net a deal averaging $7-8 million. That's something the Twins can afford over the next couple years. If the team feels that neither Brian Buscher nor Brendan Harris is the answer at the hot corner and elects not to address the issue with a trade (something I'll delve into next week), then Blake seems like a prime candidate to fill this team's need.

O-Dog, Go!

Yesterday's post examined Orlando Cabrera as a potential free agent target for the Twins this offseason, and I concluded that he wouldn't be a very wise investment. Today I'll take a look at another Orlando, one who I think the Twins would be much wiser in targeting this winter. I'm talking about second baseman Orlando Hudson.

Hudson, 30, just finished up his last year of arbitration and becomes eligible for free agency this offseason. He's not expected to re-sign with the Diamondbacks, meaning he will hit the open market. He's a disciplined switch-hitter with a .282/.346/.433 career line, and he's also an elite defender who collected Gold Gloves in three consecutive seasons (and might make that four this year). With his speed, hustle and proficiency with the glove, Hudson falls very much into the Twins organization mold, but he also possesses solid power for a middle infielder which is something we haven't seen around here in some time.

Many seem to view shortstop and third base as the positions where the Twins need to upgrade this offseason, but to me, second and short are somewhat interchangeable in the Twins' situation. I'm hardly sold on Alexi Casilla as a permanent answer at second base -- his numbers over the past two seasons have been pretty ugly except for that three-month tear he went on this year after being called up to the majors. If the Twins have an opportunity to bring in an outstanding second baseman like Hudson, it would make plenty of sense to slide Casilla over to his natural position, shortstop, and have him compete with Nick Punto for playing time. I think the Twins are in some trouble if they enter next season counting on both Casilla and Punto to start at the middle-infield spots, but I'm much more confident that one of two could perform satisfactorily as the starting shortstop. Both are solid defensively and could combine with Hudson to form a very nice keystone combo.

Of course, the big question with Hudson is price. He's amidst his prime and coming off a season in which he hit for a career-high .305 batting average, so Hudson will likely be looking for a lengthy deal with a high salary. There will be numerous teams interested in Hudson -- the Mets and White Sox have been mentioned, among others -- and this could drive up his price. I've seen some guesses that Hudson could command as much as $15 million annually, but that seems unlikely. If the Twins could tab him to a 3-4 year deal in the $30-40 million range, I think it would definitely be something worth considering. They'll have the money to spend next year and to a lesser degree the year after; things might become a little crunched in the following seasons, but the hope is that payroll increases from new stadium revenue would help soften that blow.

Year in and year out, the Twins waste millions of dollars on poor free agent signings, many of whom fail to even finish the season in a Minnesota uniform. This winter, if they want to take advantage of their budget surplus and make a splash, Hudson would be a smart choice.

Orlando Cabrera: Just Say No

I wrote in this space on Saturday that Joe Christensen had mentioned White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera as a player the Twins have identified as "someone they might pursue on the free agent market this offseason." I noted then that I felt this was a bad idea, and today I'll break down the reasons why.

Christensen guessed in his post that Cabrera could probably get a three-year deal worth around $30 million. That sounds about right. He's currently finishing up a four-year, $32 million contract that he originally signed with the Angels back in January of 2005 and he'll turn 34 in a little under a month.

So would such a signing be worthwhile for the Twins? Well, they do enter the offseason significantly under-budget and they do have a hole at shortstop. Adam Everett will certainly not be back, and while Nick Punto did a solid job there this year most would agree that he's stretched as an everyday starter. The closest prospect the Twins have at shortstop is probably Trevor Plouffe, and he has yet to post an OPS higher than 735 at any level of the minors.

Cabrera has his strong points. He's durable, experienced and possesses a solid glove. He's played at least 141 games in each of the past eight years, and at least 153 in seven of those. He won a Gold Glove in 2001 and another one in 2007.

But this guy is just not a good hitter. His career line is .274/.322/.399, and this year in Chicago he hit .281/.335/.371. For comparison, Punto hit .284/.344/.382 this season. Punto also is three years younger than Cabrera, at least an equal defender, and considerably less expensive. One can point to Punto's 2007 season as a sign that you just don't know what to expect from him, but I think it's a safe bet that he can post offensive numbers somewhat close to Cabrera's. It doesn't make sense to put significant money toward a player who is not a clear upgrade over what the team currently has.

The Twins could afford to put $10 million towards a mediocre player like Cabrera next year, but that commitment becomes significantly more worrisome in the following seasons. Jason Kubel, Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker will be arbitration eligible soon, and Joe Mauer's contract is up in 2010. I'm not opposed to the idea of trying to tab a free agent to fill a need during this offseason, but Cabrera is just not the right guy to target.

I'll discuss some options that I find more palatable in the coming days.

Keith Law, Redmond, Redactions, Etc.

Happy Saturday everyone. I haven't put up a weekend post in a while, but I figured I'd touch on a few topics while they're still fresh.

Yesterday, I posted about a message that I sent to ESPN columnist Keith Law regarding what I viewed as an unfair bias against the Twins that was almost constantly present in his writing. Law actually wrote me back, and we went on to have a steady back-and-forth via e-mail on the topic, but he asked that our correspondence remain confidential and off the record, and so I will respect his wishes by not discussing it much here.

Suffice to say that Law steadfastly denies any bias against the Twins, and as evidence he made note of some instances in which he has endorsed and promoted the team's players and prospects. We continued to disagree on his assessment of Ron Gardenhire as a perhaps bottom five manager in the league and of the Twins organization as an overly aggressive promoter of prospects (Joe Mauer remains a terrible, terrible evidentiary example).

All in all though, I came away impressed by the amount of effort and thought he put into defending against my charge. Also, I feel obligated to point out a few errors in yesterday's post. I picked up the question from "Clint (Grand Island NY)" and its subsequent answer from Keith from another fan complaining about Law's Twins bias, and it appears that that particular question was fabricated (oh, Mack). Also, the question regarding Gardenhire's manager of the year candidacy was drawn from a previous Q & A session and not the one I linked. Sorry for misleading, folks.

To put the subject to rest, I'll buy Law's argument that he doesn't have a specific bias against the Twins, but I maintain that his assessments of the team seem to be overly negative for the most part and some of his viewpoints are pretty questionable -- most notably the ones I mentioned above.

On another note, Joe Christensen wrote this week that it is "all but assured" that the Twins will pick up the $950K 2009 option on Mike Redmond's contract. This makes sense, of course. Redmond has been a steady backup for this club and is a perfect complement to Mauer. The question is what the team will do following next year. Entering the 2010 season, Redmond will be on the verge of turning 39 and probably ready to retire. The Twins lack major-league prospects in the high minors at the catcher position. It will be interesting to see how far along Wilson Ramos (an excellent catching prospect who spent the year in Ft. Myers) can come next season. If Law's assessment of the organization's handling of minor-leaguers is accurate, perhaps we can expect to see Ramos in a Twins uniform by the All-Star break.

Christensen also noted yesterday that the Twins "have identified White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera as someone they might pursue on the free agent market this offseason." This is a bad idea for a number of reasons, but I just don't have the energy to delve into it today. Maybe Monday...

Nick Nelson vs. Keith Law

Those who follow Keith Law, an employee of Scouts Inc. and contributor to ESPN.com, are probably well-aware by this point that the columnist holds a bizarre grudge against the Twins organization. Why? Hard to say. But there's too much evidence supporting this idea to believe otherwise.

If you don't believe me, check out his answers to some Twins-related questions from a chat that took place on ESPN.com yesterday...

Jon (Mass): Hi Keith, What do you think of the idea of Joe Mauer for MVP... he was great at the plate this year, played a much more physically demanding position than Pedroia, and handled a very young pitching staff well.

Keith Law: I wouldn't have any real criticism of any of the following players if they won the AL MVP: Mauer, Pedroia, Sizemore, Youkilis, Lee. It's a pretty open race. Bad choices would include Morneau or K-Rod.

Ben (Charlotte): What is the ETA for Ben Revere?

Keith Law: 2011, although the Twins promote very (too?) aggressively and a good 2009 between high-A and AA could put him in the majors sooner. I hope that they see Carlos Gomez' struggles and decide to be more conservative with Revere, who, like Gomez, doesn't draw a ton of walks and hasn't shown power yet.

Clint (Grand Island NE): With one year of additional experience under there belts, where do you see the Twins finishing next year? AL pennant?

Keith Law: I see them finishing somewhere between 5th and last place in there division next year. Look for regression across the board from everyone except Mauer. If I were the Twins I would be inquiring about Crede ASAP

Allan (TX): Woah, From what I have read...people say the Twins promote a little slow...Besides Gomez, give an example. Not sure where you came up with that one. Ha, I act like you will respond!

Keith Law: Joe Mauer had less than a half-season in AA when he was called up. Zing!

Mary (Okoboji, IA): Ron Gardenhire for Manager of the year? If he doesnt win, he definitely should get top 3, right?

Keith Law: If luck was a coachable trait then he would run away with it. Unfortunately for Ron, luck is not coachable. Any manager who benches there 3rd best hitter (Cuddyer) during the most important week of the season deserves to be run out of town. Win? No. Top 3? No. Top 25? Maybe.

This guy cannot answer any question related to the Minnesota Twins without including some vieled (or not-so-vieled) insult toward the organization, many of which are ridiculous and totally baseless. This is unfortunate, because Law is a pretty intelligent baseball mind. But his opinions when it comes to the Twins are not even worth taking seriously.


Normally I wouldn't care much what some talking head at ESPN.com thinks, but reading his chat yesterday got to be too much for me. So I sent him an e-mail, which reads as follows:


"Mr. Law,


My name is Nick Nelson and I blog about the Twins. As I and many others have noticed over the course of the year (and years past), you seem to harbor some sort of grudge against the Twins franchise. We get it, they were lucky to score as often as they did this year due to a high batting average with runners in scoring position. But why do you feel the need to insult the organization just about every time you answer a question relating to them?


Your chat today was just too much to take. It's fine to claim that the team's offensive production this year was buoyed by unsustainably high numbers with RISP, but some of your criticisms are totally baseless and come off as sheer contempt for the ballclub. Ron Gardenhire is a bad manager because he benched the team's "3rd best hitter" in Michael Cuddyer? Do you have any clue what you're talking about? Cuddyer isn't the team's third-best hitter when he's healthy (Jason Kubel is), and he is certainly not anywhere close to being the third-best hitter when he's hampered by a foot injury and hasn't played regularly in months, as was the case during the timespan you referred to. Then you insinuate that the team promotes prospects too aggressively (an absurd notion) and use as evidence the rare instance in which they promoted can't-miss prospect Joe Mauer straight to the majors from Triple-A. Yeah, that didn't work out for them at all, did it?


I don't know where this disdain for the Twins organization comes from, but how about you show some professionalism rather than turning every one of your chats into a hatchet job against the team? It's impossible to take your analysis seriously when you show such an obvious bias against a particular club. That's unfortunate, because I do appreciate the way you judge players and break down the game. You're writing for one of the most trusted and respected sports media outlets in the world. Act like it."


We'll see if he responds. Somehow I doubt he will. And really, I don't care.

A Sad End to a Spectacular Ride

People will be compelled to focus on the negatives here in the aftermath of the Twins' 2008 season. And that's understandable. Just two wins at home against the Royals in the final series of the regular season and they'd currently be gearing up for the postseason. Just one less blown lead from the bullpen during the summer months and they'd be on their way to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays. Just two runs against John Danks on Monday night and they'd have vanquished their hated AL Central foes. The Twins came so close, but came up just short. It's tough to take as a fan.

But certainly, it's not as tough to take as the 2007 season, where the team had given up hope on a playoff berth around the All-Star break, and made that clear by making salary-dump moves around the trade deadline. Nor is it as tough to take as the 2005 season, where the team's miserable offense robbed them of any chance at being legitimate contenders in the division, and also robbed Johan Santana of a Cy Young Award he so clearly deserved.

In spite of its deflating finish, this 2008 season was an incredible one. The Twins carried roundly low expectations, having entered the season with a rotation filled with inexperienced pitchers that lacked legitimate big-league experience and a patchwork offense that would seemingly need some time to gel. They exceeded all of those expectations by hanging near the top of the division for the entire year, and ultimately forcing the first one-game playoff in franchise history. And while they came up on the short end of that contest, they played hard and gave their fans something to be proud of. Nick Blackburn, who has struggled on the road and against the Sox this year, gave a valiant effort, taking a shutout into the seventh inning before making one mistake to Jim Thome that ended up deciding the game. Michael Cuddyer, playing on a bad ankle, charged home on a fly ball to short center and railed A.J. Pierzynski when Ken Griffey Jr.'s throw beat him to the plate. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both failed to reach base in the game -- the first time all year that has happened -- but considering all they had done all year to get the Twins to that 163rd game, it's difficult to harbor resentment.

The playoffs are a lot of fun, and it's unfortunate that we fans won't be able to cheer our favorite team on during these dramatic weeks. But this season presented plenty of excitement for fans. Blackburn's impressive rookie campaign has quickly turned him from a middling prospect into a legitimate big-league starter and a building block for this rotation down the line. Francisco Liriano's strong performance down the stretch after returning to the minors in August gives hope that he can return somewhere close to the level he reached back in 2006 and be an ace for this club. Justin Morneau delivered tons of huge hits, carried the team through rough stretches, won the Home Run Derby and scored the winning run in the All-Star game. Joe Mauer won another batting title. Denard Span put together a brilliant campaign and cemented himself in the team's plans going forward.

There are a lot of negatives clouding our vision right now in the wake of a hugely disappointing final five days of this 2008 season. But once those dark clouds start to dissipate, the light will shine on what was an excellent overall year and on the promise that lies ahead. These five young starters all finish the year healthy and will all be relatively inexpensive for years to come. The bullpen, cause of so much frustration during the summer months, finished strong and shows beams of light in the form of Jose Mijares and in the potential return of Pat Neshek. Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez and Michael Cuddyer -- among others -- can only be expected to improve upon what were decidedly disappointing offensive seasons. And this team enters the offseason considerably under budget. A solid core is in place, and Bill Smith has the means to build around that core and put an even better team back on the field in 2009.

When previewing the American League back in March, I predicted that the Twins would finish third in the Central, and summed up my capsule on the team by stating, "The Twins can compete if a number of things go right, but realistically this is probably about a .500 team." Over the course of the season, a number of things did go right. But in the end, a few too many things went wrong. Right now, that stings. Eventually, it'll be easier to look on the bright side.

No Substantive Post Today

For I must sulk. Sorry.

South-Side Showdown

Baseball is a crazy game. Over the course of a nine-inning (or more) contest, just about anything can happen. A good pitcher can lack his best stuff and get knocked around by a weak lineup. A dominating cleanup hitter can go 0-for-4 and strand seven runners on base. A typically reliable bullpen can blow a five-run lead in the late innings. In any given game, it is not always the case that the best team wins.

That's why playoff contenders are sorted out over a long 162-game season. And it's why the road to the World Series is made up of five-game and seven-game series rather than single-elimination matches. Heck, sometimes even this system fails to produce a champion that could widely be considered the best team in the league. But this is the way baseball is designed; like panning for gold, this sport's regular season and postseason act as a methodical process of sorting out the top teams over the course of many games.

That won't be the case tonight. Tonight, the Twins and White Sox face off in a single play-in game that will decide the fate of each team's season. Win and you're in. Lose and go home. It goes against everything that baseball represents, but somehow, it seems oddly fitting for these two teams in this season.

As I wrote prior to the series at the Metrodome last week, the Twins and White Sox are in many ways mirror images of one another. Looking past the fact that the Sox are one of the most prolific home run hitting teams in the league while the Twins are one of the least, we find some almost eery similarities. With 162 games in the books, the teams are both 88-74. Both are 53-28 at home and 35-46 on the road. Both teams have a Pythagorean win/loss record of 89-73, indicating that neither team has been more "lucky" than the other. Both teams posted a 43-29 record against AL Central opponents. Minnesota scored an average of 5.1 runs per game while allowing an average of 4.9; Chicago scored an average of 5.0 runs per game while allowing an average of 4.8.

The Twins have won 10 of 18 head-to-head match-ups, but both teams have had their high and low points. I'm guessing you all remember the dominating four-game sweep that the White Sox laid on the Twins in their homepark back in June, and I'm quite positive you all remember the exhilarating three-game sweep the Twins pulled off when the Sox came to the Dome last week. It has been a season-long, back-and-forth slugfest, with neither team proving itself superior and neither team ever building much of a lead in the standings. I'm reminded of a moment late in The Dark Knight (a movie I've seen something like five times now), when the Joker -- hanging upside down and grinning psychotically -- tells Batman, "I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

Well, no more. Tonight's game is decisive. Whichever team wins this single game claims definitive victory in this riveting AL Central race. And, to be honest, I don't like the Twins' chances tonight. The game is being played in Chicago thanks to an arbitrary coin flip, and the Twins will be sending out Nick Blackburn, who is 3-7 with a 5.20 ERA on the road this year. The Sox, meanwhile, will start a tough left-hander in John Danks, though it's worth noting that he's going on three days' rest.

Tonight's game is going to be intense. To say it is like a playoff game is underselling it, because the majority of playoff games are not literally "must-win," as tonight's game is for both teams. As much as the realist in me says a major uphill struggle for the Twins, another part of me will focus on the fact that anything can happen. We've been reminded of that fact again and again this season.

As Good As It Gets

Sure, it would have been nice if the Twins could have taken care of business at home against the Royals over the weekend and locked up a playoff spot. But by dropping a pair of games while the Indians took two of three at U.S. Cellular, the Twins remained a half-game ahead of the White Sox and set up some serious late-season drama.

Today the Sox will play a makeup game against the Tigers in Chicago. If they lose, the Twins will capture their fifth AL Central title of in seven years. A win would force a one-game playoff between the Twins and White Sox in Chicago to decide which team will move on to face the Rays in the ALDS.

There are a number of ways to put a negative spin on the current situation. With the Indians helping out in Chicago, all the Twins needed to do to seal up a playoff spot was win two games from the lowly Royals at home. Now they have to count on the Tigers to beat the Sox in a game that is only meaningful to one team. And if that doesn't happen, the Twins will be forced to go into Chicago -- where they are 2-7 this year -- and throw Nick Blackburn in a decisive play-in game. It'd be tough to like the Twins' odds in such a match-up. And if they do find their way into postseason play, the Twins would be a supreme underdog against any opponent they face, having won only 88 games and sputtered here in the final month of season (with the very notable exception of that series against the White Sox).

But, you know what? I can't help but love the way things are playing out. Following the game between the White Sox and Tigers today is going to be extremely exciting, and if things don't work out we'll have a whopper of a game on our hands for tomorrow night. And while the Twins would certainly be the underdog in a first-round series against the Rays, I'd take the a three-man rotation of Baker/Liriano/Slowey (if healthy) against Tampa Bay or any other playoff opponent. And we can't forget that the Twins are the third-highest scoring team in the American League. And that bullpen? It's been downright solid over the past week or so.

I'll be cheering wholeheartedly for the Tigers today, but the game won't be nearly as nerve-racking as it would be if the Twins were a half-game behind the Sox and facing elimination. If Detroit can step up and play spoiler and push the South-Siders out of the picture, great. If not, the Twins will have their chance on Tuesday.

One Half Game

In this season, who would have ever thought that a victory as big as last night's would come down to an exceptional performance from the bullpen, highlighted by a guy with a 5.96 ERA and a 23-year-old with six innings of major-league experience? Maybe it shouldn't be that surprising. After all, this has been a year of unexpected contributions for the Twins. But now this crazy season has led the Twins here: half a game out of first place with four left to play, and in position to overtake the division lead with a win tomorrow night.

Bouncing back from a pair of rough starts (which, it should be noted, both came on the road against solid offenses), Blackburn tossed five innings of two-run ball in the biggest game of his career. He was hardly dazzling, as indicated by the eight hits and two walks allowed, but he squirmed out of some sticky situations and handed a lead over to the bullpen.

And there we stood. In what amounted to a must-win game, the Twins were looking to their bullpen -- a unit that has been the bane of every fan's existence all year -- to protect a one-run lead for four innings.

Ron Gardenhire hardly went the conventional route. No Matt Guerrier. No Jesse Crain. No Dennys Reyes. Instead, he called upon Craig Breslow, Boof Bonser and Jose Mijares to bridge the gap to Joe Nathan. And you know what? The plan worked splendidly. The four relievers combined for four innings of one-hit, shutout ball, fending off the Sox and carrying the Twins to victory despite the offense's inability to add any insurance runs.

Gardenhire deserves signficant credit for the way he's managed in this series. He went against his better judgment in Game 1, playing Jason Kubel over Michael Cuddyer despite Cuddyer's far superior career numbers against Javier Vazquez. That move played huge dividends, as Kubel went on to have a monster night and lead a power attack from the Twins offense. Last night, Gardy went with an unconventional cast of relievers -- three guys who weren't members of the bullpen at the onset of the season -- to pitch perhaps the three most important innings of the season up to this point. And all three came through in flying colors.

The play of the game, though, came in the ninth inning after all three of those hurlers had put in their work. With Nathan on the hill trying to slam the door, A.J. Pierzynski ripped a line drive into the left-center field gap. Off the bat, this ball seemed unquestionable destined to fall in for at least a double. But as the camera flashed to that outfield, Carlos Gomez came streaking across the screen. Somehow, someway, Gomez reached up and snagged the liner in full stride. Considering the significance and the degree of difficulty, I can say without hyperbole that it was one of the very greatest catches I have ever seen.

Which is funny, because just about an hour earlier, I'd been a guest on Seth Stohs live podcast (which you can listen to here, if you're so inclined) and in response to a question about Gomez and his 2009 outlook, I made an emphatic point that a great deal of the center fielder's value was tied up in his phenomenal defense. It seems like poetic justice that just a few innings later he reinforced my point by making such a fantastic, perhaps season-saving catch.

Just an awesome game. And tonight the Twins can finish their improbable rise to first place by completing the sweep. They'll get a much more favorable match-up with Kevin Slowey squaring off against Gavin Floyd. And, in a devastating example of poetic injustice, I won't be able to watch it. Nor any of what figures to be a colossally important series against the Royals this weekend. For this morning at 6:10 am I will be boarding a plane and, as the Dropkick Murphys would say, "shipping up to Boston." It figures that when the four most exciting regular-season games in my memory take place, I'll be thousands of miles away on a trip I planned long ago. But I'll be keeping a watchful eye from the East Coast, and I'll be back with a full report on everything come Monday morning.

The Twins have muscled their way right back into the thick of the race with a couple magical games at the Metrodome over the past two days. But the journey is far from over, and now is not the time for complacency to set in. They need to maintain the fire that they've shown over the past two games, both tonight and over the weekend.

I will return from Boston on Sunday evening. I sure hope there will be some more Twins baseball for me to watch.

One Down, Two To Go...

The Twins finished the first step in their mission to overcome the White Sox last night, and in rather convincing fashion. Scott Baker tossed seven innings of one-run ball in perhaps the biggest game of his entire career while Jason Kubel bashed two homers and a triple as the Twins pounded the South-Siders 9-3 in their series opener.

It was a promising start to this crucial series, but tonight the Twins face a much more difficult challenge with Nick Blackburn facing off against Mark Buehrle. Blackburn has struggled in his last two starts and holds a 6.14 ERA in four starts against the Sox this year, but he has pitched quite well at home. Hopefully the latter trend holds up and the Twins can find a way to get to Buehrle, who has historically pitched well against them.

Round 2, tonight, 7 p.m.

Twins/White Sox: The Big Series

The time is upon us. A series that many had circled on their schedules at the beginning of the season is here, and the implications are huge. Win zero, season over. Win one, season (almost certainly) over. Win two, decent chance. Win three, driver's seat. It's as simple as that.

And now, for your reading pleasure, here are some excerpts from this series' Twins Dugout Splinters, which I wrote up for GameDay Magazine yesterday. Please pick up a copy of the (cheap!) program if you get out to a game this week!

***

Chasing the Same Thing

Entering the season, this is exactly the type of scenario a team asks for. It’s late September, and the Twins control their own destiny. They have a shot at the postseason, and if they truly want it they can take it.

OK, the situation is not ideal. They trail the White Sox by 2.5 games, and even if the Twins win all six remaining games on their schedule, they could still miss the playoffs. (The White Sox could sweep the Indians in their final series, then beat the Tigers in a makeup game, then force a one-game playoff against the Twins to determine the division winner.) Still, the Twins will be in decent shape if they can take two of three in this series – that would put them 1.5 games out going into their final series against the Royals. They’d be in very good shape if they can sweep this series, as that would put them a half-game in front and would put pressure on the White Sox to keep pace despite having a tougher match-up (Cleveland) in the season’s final series.

Asking for a sweep, or even a series victory, against the White Sox is a tall order. They are a good baseball team, and the three starters who the Twins are throwing in this series have not performed well versus the South-Siders this year. Against the Sox, Scott Baker is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts, Nick Blackburn is 1-2 with a 6.14 ERA in four starts, and Kevin Slowey is 1-2 with a 5.82 ERA in three starts. Yet, all three of these hurlers have pitched exceedingly well at home (Baker: 3.28 ERA, Blackburn: 2.92 ERA, Slowey: 3.08 ERA) and these Twins in general have just played good ball at the Metrodome, with a 49-26 record here.

For all their differences, the Twins and White Sox really aren’t all that different. Obviously, their overall records are very similar. Their home/road splits are nearly identical. The Twins rank third in the AL in runs scored; the White Sox rank fifth. The Twins rank seventh in team ERA; the Sox rank sixth. Both teams rely on strong starting pitching, and both have dealt with some serious bullpen issues. In 13 head-to-head games this year, the Twins have won seven and the White Sox have won eight. These two clubs are about as evenly matched as they come, and that’s what makes this series truly intriguing.

What’s Working

The Twins’ chase of the White Sox in the AL Central will not be the only exciting race for Minnesota baseball fans to follow over the final week of the season. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are working on capturing their own individual titles, and unlike the Twins in the quest for the division crown, these two enter the last week as frontrunners in their respective races.

Entering play on Monday, Mauer led the American League in batting average at .330, with a relatively sizable lead over his nearest challengers, Dustin Pedroia (.324) and Magglio Ordonez (.323). Mauer won’t lead the major leagues in batting like he did in 2006 (Chipper Jones of the Braves entered the week hitting .362), but for a 25-year-old catcher to own two AL batting titles would be pretty amazing.

Meanwhile, Morneau may be on his way to becoming the AL RBI king, as his total of 128 leads Miguel Cabrera (125) Josh Hamilton (124). It seemed for much of the season that Hamilton would run away with this honor – he had driven in 103 runs through his first 100 games – but his pace has slowed considerably and Morneau has been a run-producing machine since the All-Star break.

The Twins haven’t been playing particularly well as of late, but the M&M boys have been doing everything within their power to carry the load. In the month of September, Mauer is hitting .391 and Morneau has knocked in 20 runs in 19 games. With the season winding down, the Twins are locked in a tight race for the division title while one of their stars aims for the batting title and another has legitimate MVP aspirations. Something about all this seems vaguely familiar…

What’s Not Working

That the Twins find themselves with a realistic shot at a playoff berth can be attributed in no small part to the offense, which has been the highest-scoring unit to grace the Metrodome since 1996. But this success has also had a lot to do with the unexpectedly strong contributions from the young and inexperienced pitching rotation. All five of the team’s current starters entered this season as relatively unknown quantities, and all five have proven themselves to be quality major-league pitchers.

But here, late in the season, this pitching staff is starting to crumble. Twins’ pitchers have posted a 6.19 ERA over the team’s past six contests entering the Chicago series, and this normally consistent rotation had gone five consecutive games without a Quality Start prior to Francisco Liriano’s outstanding performance on Sunday.

It’s possible that this group is going through a rough stretch. We’ve seen that before; remember the four-game series in Chicago back in June? But it’s also possible these guys are worn down. That’d be understandable, given that not one had put together a full season at the major-league level prior to this year, but if that’s the case it doesn’t bode well for the team going into this final week – or into the playoffs.

For All the Marbles

On Thursday, I wrote that the Twins would have to keep pace with the White Sox over the weekend in order to have a shot at capturing the division during the final week of the season. I guessed that this would mean taking three of four from the Rays, and while the Twins weren't able to do that, a series split got the job done with the Sox dropping their final game against the Yankees on Thursday night and then losing once in Kansas City over the weekend. And now it all comes down to this.

This late-September Twins/White Sox series is one we've been eyeing for much of the season. Tomorrow, it begins. And the Twins, trailing by 2.5 games in the AL Central, cannot afford to simply win this series. Going into the final series of the season with a 1.5-game deficit forces them to rely on way too many lucky events falling into place. If the Twins want to make the playoffs, they need to sweep the White Sox and take over first place. That's a tall task, especially considering that they won't have Francisco Liriano going in the series, but they do have one major factor playing into their favor.

The Twins will be playing at home, in front of large enthusiastic crowds. This is when we've seen this team at its best this season. They can put their road woes behind them because all six remaining games will be played in the comfort of their own park.

It's go time. Buckle up.

On the Line

The Twins had their 2-5 hitters go 8-for-15. The offense managed to scrape together four runs on 10 hits and three walks against Cy Young shoe-in Cliff Lee. Justin Morneau drove in runs in the clutch. The Twins battled back from a two-run deficit to tie the game in the seventh. All of this, and they still couldn't find a way to win. For as soon as the Twins had tied the game, the Indians rallied right back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to bury them.

There were a multitude of ugly aspects to last night's game. The offense went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners. Scott Baker continued a trend of starting pitchers coming up short when needed most. Matt Guerrier once again looked horrible and utterly overmatched by every hitter he faced. (Seriously, when is Ron Gardenhire going to get the picture that Guerrier CANNOT be counted on to get people out in tight situations?) Joe Mauer threw a ball clear into right field when trying to throw out a runner at second, and Denard Span compounded the error by failing to scoop the ball as it slowly rolled toward him.

As much as I'd love to go off on an angry rant about this team choking away the season by inventing new ways to lose on a nightly basis, I find myself speechless. Really, I'm more disheartened than angry as I watch these games slip away night after night.

Now, let's not get carried away here. Even after losing last night, the Twins remain 2.5 games behind the White Sox, who lost to the Yankees. The Twins now head to Tampa Bay for four games against the Rays, while the Sox finish up one more game against the Yankees and then head to Kansas City for three games against the Royals. I'm going to go ahead and say that in order to have a shot at the postseason, the Twins must not lose any ground in the race before their series against the White Sox before the two teams face off in the Metrodome starting next Tuesday. And in order for that to happen, I think they need to win at least three of four in Tampa Bay. The Rays are a great team and they've been damn near unbeatable at home, so taking it to them at Tropicana Field is a tall task to say the least. But the Twins could prove a lot by finding it within themselves to take this series.

The Twins aren't out of it yet. The playoffs are still very realistically within reach. But if this team intends on playing in October, now is the time to prove they want it. It's time for these kids to grow up.

Out of Gas

Last night's was a game the Twins needed to win. They'd lost the first game in Cleveland, the pitching match-up favored them heavily, and the next games will present a brutal challenge, as the Twins face perhaps baseball's best starter in Cliff Lee tonight and then head to Tampa Bay for four games against a playoff team.

Despite getting an awful outing from Francisco Liriano, the Twins managed to put themselves in position to win last night, rallying back from an 8-1 deficit to take a 9-8 lead in the eighth inning. But, as has been the case so often late in this season, the Twins couldn't finish off an opponent that they had on the ropes, and ended up losing in heartbreaking fashion as Eddie Guardado sent the game to extra innings by surrendering a homer in the eighth and Joe Nathan ended up giving up a walk-off three-run bomb to Victor Martinez in the 11th. In combination with a White Sox victory, the loss pushed the Twins 2.5 games out of first place with 11 left to play as they enter a stretch of five games they'll have a hard time winning. It's very possible -- perhaps even probable -- that by the time the White Sox come to Minnesota for a three-game series in six days, the Twins will be nearly eliminated from postseason contention.

As much as we want to tell ourselves that this team wasn't even expected to compete, and this season has been an unexpected treat up to this point, seeing the Twins slide into obscurity here during the final stretch is awfully tough to watch. Last night's comeback was fun to watch, but it almost seemed inevitable that they'd end up taking a loss.

The Twins were a great story this year -- an upstart group of inexperienced youngsters defying the odds and outplaying high-priced division rivals. But now they seem to be running out of gas down the stretch, unable to close out the amazing wins that watermarked the middle months of their season. Perhaps it's something we should have seen coming.

Blind Loyalty

When Michael Cuddyer suffered a fractured foot after being hit with a line drive during a rehab stint in the minors in early August, it seemed time to chalk 2008 up as a lost season for the right fielder. The best-case scenario had Cuddyer returning with just a few weeks left of the season, and with no minor-league seasons still going on, he wouldn't be able to get back up to speed at a lower level before joining the team. The success experienced by Denard Span after replacing Cuddyer in right field made it seem all the more likely that Cuddyer was done contributing this season.

Yet, for whatever reason, the Twins have been aggressively pushing to get Cuddyer back into action here in the final weeks of the season. He came on as a pinch-hitter in games on Saturday and Sunday, and just a day after saying that Cuddyer was not an option to start because he couldn't run on his foot, Ron Gardenhire inserted him as the starting designated hitter last night. My question is, why?

Prior to his pinch-hit appearance in Saturday's game, Cuddyer had not taken a major-league at-bat since late June. As aforementioned, he wasn't able to go on a minor-league rehab stint before returning to the team this time, so he hasn't experienced live game action since he hurt his foot. He's gone 1-for-5 and hasn't looked good at the plate. He can't run well because his foot is still bothering him. Furthermore, Span has done an excellent job of filling in in right field while Randy Ruiz has been solid as a right-handed bat off the bench. There is essentially no reason to be giving at-bats to Cuddyer at this point other than blind loyalty and commitment to his newly minted contract. With the Twins a game out of first place with 12 games left to play, their priorities should be arranged a bit differently.

Still Slipping

Yesterday's game was the type that is truly painful to watch. The Twins get another very strong outing from their starting pitcher, only to have the offense blow repeated opportunities to score against bad pitchers and then to have the game slip away at the hands of the bullpen in extra innings.

Francisco Liriano recovered from some early struggles to turn in some a very good outing, going eight innings and allowing just two runs. (If you're interested, you can read a lot more of my thoughts on Liriano's outing, as well as the dilemma over how to use him down the stretch, at my Daily Dose column at Rotoworld today.) But the Twins offense could not take advantage, going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and scoring just twice in five innings against starter Brandon Duckworth, who entered the game with a 6.50 ERA, 1.93 WHIP and 5-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 15 innings on the season.

Justin Morneau delivered a clutch two-out hit with a runner on third in the first inning to bring home the Twins' first run, but from that point forward, watching the offense struggle mightily at home against a bad team was a frustrating practice.

In the second, the Twins put runners on second and third with one out. Carlos Gomez drove in a run with a single to right field, tallying the Twins' second run of the game and setting up a possible rally with runners on the corners and just one out. Unfortunately, the rally quickly fizzled when Gomez was picked off at first and Denard Span struck out to strand Brian Buscher at third. In the sixth, Joe Mauer hit a leadoff single and Morneau followed with a single of his own, putting runners on first and second with nobody out, but a Jason Kubel struck out and Mike Redmond grounded into a double play to end the inning. The next inning, the Twins put a pair of runners on with two outs, but again failed to capitalize when Alexi Casilla (who has been making horrible contact much of time) fouled out to third base. In the eighth, Mauer reached second on a two-base error to lead off the inning, but the Twins' 4-5-6 hitters failed to bring him home.

And with the offense fledgling, the bullpen let another game slip away. After Joe Nathan tossed a 1-2-3 ninth, the rest of the relief corps could not contribute even one scoreless inning against this Royals offense. Matt Guerrier gave up two straight singles, and on came Dennys Reyes with the task of retiring lefty David DeJesus, which he failed to do as DeJesus delivered a go-ahead RBI single to right. That was plenty for Joakim Soria, who set the Twins' suddenly punchless hitters down in order in the bottom of the inning.

Let's have no illusions: this loss should be blamed almost completely on a hideous offensive performance against a pitcher they should have had a field day against. But the bullpen is what has me feeling the most despair. I just don't see how it's possible that the Twins can make the postseason, much less succeed there, when the non-Nathan sector of the bullpen is so incapable of finding even a modicum of effectiveness. We keep waiting for these guys to turn it around, but it's not happening. No one has been able to work into a sustained groove. Guerrier can't get people out. Opponents are OPS-ing over 900 against Reyes since mid-August. Jesse Crain has a 6.75 ERA over his past 14 appearances. Boof Bonser alternates between looking utterly dominant and giving up long home runs, and can hardly be counted on. Craig Breslow has been the bullpen's most effective non-Nathan reliever, but Ron Gardenhire for some reason seems extremely hesitant to go to him in high-leverage spots.

If the bullpen can't pull it together during the 10-game road trip that opens tonight in Baltimore, the Twins could be toast by the time they return to the Metrodome. That's a scary proposition.

Taking Care of Business

With Kevin Slowey tossing seven innings of one-run ball while Jason Kubel and Alexi Casilla chipped in with solid contributions on offense, the Twins easily coasted to a 7-1 victory over Kyle Davies and the Royals last night.

The Twins have now won consecutive games for the first time since they beat the Angels twice in a row to start their 14-game road trip. It's been a brutal stretch, but the Twins are back to playing good baseball and seem to be regaining confidence. This comes at a good time, as the White Sox seem to be losing steam thanks to injuries and tough competition. The Sox finally snapped Toronto's lengthy winning streak last night to remain a game ahead in the division, but had to fend off a late Jays rally that nearly tied the game.

The Twins' play as of late has been quite frustrating, but they've stayed very close in the race and are poised for a very exciting final three-week stretch. A sweep-clinching victory this afternoon with Francisco Liriano would be huge, because the Twins are preparing to embark on another extruciating road trip. All we can hope is that they take care of business on that trip a little better than they did on the last one.

A Good Day

Well, yesterday went about as well as it possibly could have. The Twins defeated the Royals convincingly in their series opener at the Metrodome, while the White Sox lost both games of a double-header and also probably lost Paul Konerko for the season. Two months ago, losing Konerko wouldn't have been a particularly big deal, but he had really turned it on lately with a .356/.474/.656 line since the beginning of August. With Carlos Quentin and Joe Crede both already likely out for the season, this offense could pack a lot less punch down the stretch. You never want to celebrate injuries like this, but there's no denying that the Twins have a much better shot at the postseason with those three unavailable to the Sox.

The Twins took care of business yesterday, and need to do so once again tonight with Kevin Slowey facing off against Kyle Davies. If all goes well, the Twins could find themselves tied for first place at the end of the day. That'd be a pretty nice 48-hour turnaround.

I love meaningful September baseball.

Crunch Time

As many of you have probably noticed, posting has been a bit thin around here as of late. Mr. Mosvick has been dealing with interviews and all sorts of other law school related stuff down in Virginia. Meanwhile, I've been handling a move into a new place (which left me without Internet for a while) and have also been dealing with a heavier workload than ever over at Rotoworld as many of the site's baseball writers switch over to football coverage. Things have been hectic.

Of course, the Twins' play has not exactly inspired me to go out of my way and write about them. After a poor road trip in which the team blew lead after lead and failed to gain ground on the White Sox, the Twins dropped two more winnable games at home against the Tigers this weekend, losing another game in the standings and falling to 2.5 games out with 19 left to play.

They Twins have their work cut out for them. They're not closing out games and the White Sox keep pulling off these improbable victories (thank you K-Rod, for choosing such an appropriate time to blow a save on Saturday). Yet, all is not terribly grim. The Twins open a three-game series against the Royals tonight, while the White Sox battle through a four-game set in Toronto against a hot Blue Jays team. The Twins MUST take care of business in this series against KC, because afterward they launch another difficult road trip -- this time a 10-gamer that will take them through Baltimore, Cleveland and Tampa Bay -- and if things don't go well during this stretch the much-hyped series against the White Sox on September 23-25 might not end up carrying a whole lot of meaning.

Here are some notes as we enter this intense final stretch...

* For a second consecutive start on Sunday, Glen Perkins was staked a relatively comfortable lead only to watch it disappear in the middle innings. In his previous start, Perkins allowed the Blue Jays to close a four-run gap to one by surrendering back-to-back homers in the fifth inning. On Sunday, he coughed up a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning by allowing the Tigers to go homer-double-single-double-flyout-walk before being removed with one out and the go-ahead run on second. Craig Breslow entered and immediately allowed that runner from second to score, giving the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.

We have long expressed concern on this blog that Perkins seemed like the most likely among the Twins' group of young starters to see some regression as the season went on. He has now surrendered four-plus earned runs in six of his past nine appearances (though he has sprinkled a pair of eight-inning shutout performances in there), and has given up 11 home runs during that span. His issues seem especially prominent in the later innings. This may be a result of opposing lineups adjusting to Perkins the second or third time through the order, or it may be a result of Perkins wearing down as the game goes on. The latter explanation wouldn't be terribly surprising, since Perkins has now totaled 175 2/3 innings between Triple-A and the majors this year, which is foreign territory as he's never come anywhere close to throwing that many innings in a pro season before.

* Bobby Korecky, Philip Humber and Jose Mijares are up to help the Twins bullpen, but they haven't been called on much up to this point. Korecky and Humber have each made on appearance (and neither were impressive) while Mijares has yet to take the hill for the Twins.

With nearly every reliever in the Twins' bullpen struggling, one might suggest that the team might as well hand the ball to these inexperienced hurlers, each of whom finished strong in their respective minor-league campaigns. Yet, as Korecky and Humber displayed when they were both shelled in Thursday night's game against the Blue Jays, these guys are just as capable of getting knocked around as any of the veterans in the pen. What this team needs is for Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain and Dennys Reyes to buckle down and start reliably getting some outs.

* American League MVP candidates have been dropping like flies. With potential front-runners Ian Kinsler and now Carlos Quentin likely to miss the rest of the season, Justin Morneau's chances at capturing the award for a second time in three seasons greatly improve. While his home run total isn't terribly impressive, Morneau is hitting for a very good average and has been a run-producing machine, as indicated by the three four-RBI efforts in his past seven games. If the Twins can rally and win the division while Morneau continues to do his thing over the final three weeks of the season, I think Morneau's chances of winning the MVP are very, very good. Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton have both had a tremendous offensive seasons but may see their consideration wane due to the Rangers' unimpressive placement in the standings. Dustin Pedroia, who leads the league in hitting, should also be a top contender. Cliff Lee, a shoe-in for the Cy Young, should also get some MVP votes. The fact that the Indians have been disappointing certainly has nothing to do with him.

* On a final note, I'll mention that last Thursday's column was the 1,000th post on this blog. Hooray us!

You Ain't Got No Alibi, You Ugly

Childish chants are the only thing I can conjure up to direct at the Twins right now.

I hate to take an overly negative tone, but this past set of games with the Blue Jays was, without a doubt, the worst series I have seen from the Twins all year. On Tuesday, they took a big early lead, only to throw it away by giving up a bunch of home runs. On Wednesday, they played perhaps their worst defensive game of the season and blew two late leads. And last night, they got out-and-out demolished in a game they barely showed up to play.

Is this really the type of play we can expect from this team during a playoff race? I'm glad the Twins have performed well enough to put themselves in this position, but they are playing some horrible, horrible baseball right now. They're truly lucky to still be within a game and a half of first place in the division.

The Twins return to the Metrodome tonight, and they are really going to need to kick their play up a notch to revive some faith among the fanbase. This road trip was as ugly as many feared it would be, but thanks to some uninspiring play from the White Sox the Twins remain in the thick of the AL Central race. If they can't pick up the pace in their home stadium, this fortuitous opportunity will go to waste.

Another opportunity lost

There was some mystery to the Twins offense last night. Whats the mystery here? The mystery is discovering how the Twins offense managed to score five runs against the Blue Jays last night, in a loss nonetheless, without a single extra-base hit. One run can across on a wild pitch, another on a sacrifice fly, and one more on a two-out single by Delmon Young. In total, though, the Twins had nine singles and two walks, but still seemed lucky to get the five runs they did, even though their two stolen bases also helped them.

Of course, while the offense didn't pack too much punch in providing a solid amount of run support, the pitching staff's failure may be the bigger story of the loss. In a game in which a win would have given the Twins the lead in the AL central, the pitching staff was the true culprit, allowing 17 hits and three walks for a total of 20 baserunners while giving up seven runs. Therefore, the pitching staff was also somewhat lucky in that they didn't manage to give up more runs, helped by the Blue Jays offense leaving seven baserunners in scoring position with two outs.

Five of the Blue Jays hits went for extra-bases, including three home runs, two off of starter Glen Perkins, who did not look very good at all. Perkins' line is quite ugly: 5 innings, 10 hits, 4 earned runs, one walk, and one strikeout. In other words, Perkins was constantly putting on baserunners, getting hit hard, and was not showing any dominance at all. This may be somewhat closer to the real Perkins fans should expect, since his season stats are anything but impressive.

Sure, Perkins has a 12-3 record, but anyone reading this site knows that we do not consider a win-loss record to be that helpful in evaluate a pitcher's success, his future potential, or his efficiency. In 136 2/3 innings, Perkins has given up 160 hits, 20 home runs, and 62 earned runs (for a 4.08 ERA) while striking out 64 and walking 34. The walk rate is fine and above average, but a strikeout rate of 4.31/9 is terrible and a 1.39 WHIP is bad as well.

Fans should note that Perkins' xFIP (expected Fielding Independent Pitching) is 4.94, well above his current ERA, which that Perkins has certainly be lucky and regression towards the mean should not be surprising. In fact, if there is one young pitcher he seems bound to disappoint fans, at least somewhat, its Perkins, because he has the worst peripherals of anyone in the rotation and stats like xFIP suggest that fans should lower their expectations. Unfortunately, it comes at a bad time, as the Twins have often been in close games like yesterday's lately that they have lost.

Of course, I cannot put the blame purely on Perkins' woeful starting pitching. Boof Bonser also gave up a two-run home run in relief and Matt Guerrier continued to get beaten around, giving up three hits and a run in just 2/3 innings. (In fairness, he had 5 1/3 scoreless innings before last night, so he hasn't been utterly hittable of late, but his second half regression is hardly a secret) But the remedies to continue winning are simple and hard at the same time: the Twins need more consistent punch and the offense isn't going to win many games without hitting extra-base hits, but the pitching staff also needs to do its job more consistently. Its too bad, then, that it still appears that in some instances, fans may need to lower expectations and face some stubborn realities.

Holding Their Own

On August 4, the Twins built an early six-run lead against the Mariners, only to watch their opponents score 10 times in the seventh inning to take an 11-6 lead, which ended up being the final score in a disappointing loss. Since that game, the Twins have gone 15-10. That's pretty good. A lot of those wins have been lopsided, but that certainly has not seemed to be the case with the losses, has it?

Let's take a closer look at each of those 10 losses...

Aug. 5: 8-7 loss to Mariners
The Twins led 7-6 entering the bottom of the eighth inning before the Mariners rallied for a pair of runs against Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan to take the lead.

Aug. 10: 5-4 loss to Royals
The Twins led 4-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning before the Royals rallied for a pair of runs against Guerrier and Dennys Reyes to tie the game. The Royals eventually won in the 12th inning on a Tony Pena RBI single off Craig Breslow.

Aug. 12: 9-6 loss to Yankees
Twins trail late, but get a big three-run homer from Delmon Young in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Eventually the Yankees to Guerrier in the 12th inning with a pair of homers.

Aug. 18: 3-2 loss to Athletics
Twins trail 3-0 in the eighth inning, but cut the deficit down to one when Joe Mauer hits an RBI triple and scores on a throwing error. Unfortunately the Twins' rally ends there and they come up a run short.

Aug. 23: 7-5 loss to Angels
Twins fall behind 6-1 early on, but battle back with a four-run fifth inning to close the gap to one. Once again, their rally comes short and the Angels add another run to claim a two-run victory.

Aug. 24: 5-3 loss to Angels
Twins claim early 3-0 lead, but the Angels score five unanswered runs over their final three innings, three of those against the Twins' bullpen.

Aug. 25: 4-2 loss to Mariners
Twins lead 2-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, but the Mariners rally for a run against Joe Nathan to tie the game and eventually win on Adrian Beltre's 11th-inning two-run homer off Jesse Crain.

Aug. 26: 3-2 loss to Mariners
Twins fall behind by two runs early on, but battle back to tie the game in the sixth, only to have Scott Baker give away the lead in the next half inning. Mariners hold on to win by a run.

Aug. 28: 3-2 loss to Athletics
Game is tied at 2-2 entering bottom of the ninth, but the A's are able to manufacture a game-winning run against Breslow and Crain.

Aug. 30: 3-2 loss to Athletics
Twins lead 2-1 entering bottom of the ninth, but the A's put a pair of runners on against Nathan with no outs. When Ryan Sweeney tries to bunt the runners over, Nathan attempts a throw to third that sails into left field, allowing both runs to score and giving the A's a win.

So what do these losses tell us? Well, obviously, we see that the bullpen has a lost a LOT of games for the Twins this month. If the relievers had done a remotely decent job of protecting slim leads, the Twins could have easily won several more games, which would perhaps put them in the driver's seat in the AL Central.

But let's look past the negatives. Without exception, each of these losses has come in an exceptionally close game. That's a 25-game stretch -- nearly a full month -- without ONE SINGLE decisive loss. While the competition hasn't usually been great, the Twins have not been totally outplayed on a single occasion since August 4. That's truly impressive.

What we also see is that even when the Twins have lost, they have been receiving great performances from their starting pitchers. In only two of these 10 games did a starting pitcher receive a loss, and in both instances that pitcher still delivered a Quality Start.

The bullpen is obviously a big issue, and if the past 25 games are any indication, it's really the only thing holding the Twins back from being an unstoppable winning machine. Hopefully the addition of September call-ups Philip Humber, Bobby Korecky and Jose Mijares can ease the load for this relief corps and make the Twins' bullpen more effective overall. If that happens, and the rest of the team can play the same way in September that they did in August, there's no way the White Sox will be able to keep pace.

Meet the September Call-Ups

Each year, as the calendar rolls forward to September, each team receives additional roster spots which are generally used to bring up prospects and add depth for the final month of the season. This year, the Twins have elected to bring up pitchers Bobby Korecky, Philip Humber, Jose Mijares; infielders Matt Tolbert and Matt Macri, outfielder Jason Pridie and catcher Ryan Jorgensen.

Some of these names aren't terribly exciting. We're all pretty familiar with Tolbert and Macri since they both have spent time with the club this year. Jorgensen is a light-hitting catcher and minor-league veteran brought up to provide depth behind Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond. Jason Pridie, the center field prospect acquired as part of the Matt Garza trade, got off to a terrible start in Rochester but has rebounded and should be interesting to watch when he manages to get into the lineup, which likely won't be often with the Twins' already crowded outfield situation.

But the three pitchers being brought up should prove the most useful. It's no secret that the Twins' bullpen has been stretched thin in recent weeks, so any help is obviously welcome. Korecky spent time with the team earlier this year and posted very good numbers in Triple-A. He could be an instant upgrade over Jesse Crain, who has really struggled lately. Humber was horrible during the first half, but seems to have flipped a switch since around the All-Star break. It will be interesting to see his highly touted curveball in action.

The lefty Mijares may be the most intriguing of the bunch. He has electric stuff but has frequently struggled with his control and missed much of this season after fracturing his elbow in a spring car accident. He has pitched only 8 2/3 innings above Double-A, so this is going to be very new territory. We'll see how he handles it.

The Twins have been needing some help lately, and finally it's here, albeit in the form of a group of unproven and inexperienced youngsters. This team has counted on surprise contributions to get to where they are at this point, so why not a few more?