Mulholland Failes

Its just that simple. Terry Mulholland is a useless pitcher and I cannot for the life of me figure out why this guy is on a team that is trying to get into the playoffs. He has nothing! Sure, he has a few tricks up his sleeves, some good breaking stuff, but no fastball. He might hit 86 on a good night and he isn't Jamie Moyer or Greg Maddox, folks. Maybe he can do his little routine on a team that isn't going anywhere, like Colorado or Tampa, but Minnesota? Come on guys, save that spot for someone more deserving. Like, say, call up Travis Bowyer, who is considered a top relief prospect for the Twins. What happens when Mulholland comes on in a close, tight came and needs to make a good pitch? He makes one and it goes over the fence. Pathetic. He is NOT a big-game pitcher anymore. He cannot handle it. Why wasn't Romero or Nathan in there? We are out in Los Angelos and we are trying to gain on the White Sox, who are still at it. We cannot afford to lose games like this at all. Especially not ones where we throw old man out there in the 9th against Eric Gagne to try and keep a game alive. Plain and simple. He needs to be out. Give the Mariners their dollar back, cause that wasn't a dollar well spent.

In other notes:

* Joe Mays didn't have a great start, but two of the five runs he allowed were unearned, caused by a terrible defensive effort by the Twins. Some of our best defenders made critical mistakes, including Jacque Jones, Joe Mauer, and Juan Castro. As much as Mulholland's lack of pitching irks me, so does the defensive effort that has not been consistent when it needs to be.

* For the third straight game, Jacque Jones had a homer. However, he only went 1 for 4 and he did have an ugly bobble in the outfield.

* Joe Mauer did collect two hits, as did Shannon Stewart, who had two doubles. Those are two key hitters who have been a little cold lately, so hopefully that will heat up their bats at the opportune moment.

* To his credit, Joe Mays went 1 for 3 went a single. Twins pitchers have done good hitting so far, as Radke had a solid bunt and Mays and Santana got solid hits.

* However, this should have been the Twins' game. The knocked up Dodgers starter Brad Penny for five runs in six innings and lost this game for two reasons: Bad defense and Terry Mulholland. Both of these items need to be remedied quickly.