An Ugly Loss

Well, things didn't start the way we wanted them to. At all. Brad Radke didn't throw seven sharp innings. Instead, he hung two breaking balls to Richie Sexson that were crushed for home runs, amounted to five runs for the Seattle Mariners. Both were bad pitches and it was too bad Brad couldn't start us out on the right foot.

However, worse was the anemic offensive output. The Twins hitters looked paralyzed through the first few innings against ancient Jamie Moyer, who gave up an AL-high 44 HRs last year. They managed only five hits off Moyer and none off a weak Seattle bullpen. Thats not the effort I would expect from playoff hopefuls like the Twins. Both Justin Monreau and Torii, our four and five hitters respectively, went 0 for 4. That's just not acceptable.

But the defense looked great. Joe Mauer gunned down Ichiro, the fastest runner in the league, on a ball in the dirt. Those are the kind of hustle plays that make Mauer so valuable. Its not just his offense. His defense is spectacular and he showed that. But Mauer was not the only one making great plays. Jacque Jones made a great play in an otherwise not-so-good first inning when he made a great diving catch. And even Luis Rivas joined in, making a great play to his right and saving the only defensive lapse in the game, made by Radke in the first inning before Sexson's home run.

But tommorow holds much hope as reigning Cy Young winner Johan Santana takes the mound. Santana should have no problem pitching a fine game, as he's had a great spring and of course, a Koufax-like end to his season last year. I'm still excited and I know things will be better tommorow.