Wow. That is the only word I can think of to describe the latest loss of my Minnesota Twins. Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn pitched another great game for the Twins only to see his outing stolen and ripped to pieces by a ratty bullpen.
The bullpen, given a 3 run lead, was unable to get THREE outs in one inning, the eighth, without giving up 4 runs. I think if the Twins had brought in Bert Blyleven in from the booth to pitch the 8th inning the Twins would have still won the game. All the bullpen needed was THREE outs to get to Joe Nathan and the promised land, but no that would be doing your job and helping your team take the season series against the Boston Red Sox was not enough motivation for them to get three outs in one inning without giving up 3 runs.
Instead the bullpen decided to give another game away to the Red Sox. It seems that if the Twins starting rotation wants to get a win nowadays, it better pitch 9 innings or else the big bad blowpen will be sent out in full force. Twins general manager Bill Smith said the Twins didn't have any major holes to fill by the trade deadline. I beg to differ.
It happened to Scott Baker again. Almost a month since Scott Baker lost a game 1-0 against CC Sabathia, the Minnesota Twins' offense fell asleep at the wheel again. In the first inning, the Twins were able to load the bases with two outs against Dice K.
Up comes Delmon Young for the Twins. Dice K throws a first pitch high and tight fastball which Young promptly grounds out on. Inning over. Dice K had the Twins eating out of his hand after he got out of his bases loaded jam.
In the eight inning, the Red Sox pitcher was replaced by Hideki Okajima after he allowed two base runners with one out. Hideki Okajima then walked Justin Morneau to load the bases with still only one out. Minnesota's manager decided to PH Craig Monroe, who had a good previous series against the Cleveland Indians. Craig Monroe flied out in foul territory to set up the Delmon Young at bat.
Young, not known for his plate discipline, grounded it out weakly on the first pitch again to the Red Sox and bailing the Red Sox out of another bases loaded jam. The Sox, who were held down by a superb performance by Scott Baker, pounced on incoming Twins relief pitcher Brian Bass to record the only run of the contest.
Carlos Gomez can run with the best of them. After 5 games with the Twins, Go-Gomez has stolen 4 bases, scored 4 runs, and has 9 hits in 20 at bats. In Friday's game against the Royals, the Twins and starter Scott Baker were set back 2 runs in the top of the first inning. Gomez, the Twins lead-off hitter, got on base with a bunt hit, stole second, and scored on a Joe Mauer single to cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the first. After the game, Manager Ron Gardenhire said Gomez provided a much needed spark in the Twins clubhouse. As a Twins fan, I always pay attention when Carlos is at-bat or at first base just to see if he will do anything spectacular. I don't think he could have a better five games in his Twins debut.
Francisco Liriano looked good yesterday when he pitched four no-hit innings against the O's while giving up two walks. Pitching four no-hit innings could be a sign that the promising pitcher is heading in the right direction. But then again he did it against the O's, a team that lost some key components of last years team which gave up a no-hitter and 30 runs in a game. Liriano has one more start this spring, and depending on how he does, he could start the season in the Twins rotation.
I think that unless he is unbelievable in his next spring start, he should start the year in AAA. The Twins have no reason to rush him into the rotation as they have plenty of young arms willing to take his place at the moment. Liriano missed nine days of spring training due to his visa situation so I'm not sure if he is ready to begin the year up in the bigs. Again, if he shows he is ready in his next start he should be in the rotation to start the year. If he does start the season with the Twins, he will get more time with Rick Anderson, which is always a plus.
Here is the list of Minnesota Twins players named in the Mitchell Report:
1. Rondell White
Quotes from Mitchell Report:
"Rondell White is an outfielder who has played for seven teams in Major League Baseball from 1993 to the present, the Montreal Expos (8 seasons), Chicago Cubs (parts of 2 seasons), New York Yankees (1 season), Kansas City Royals (part of 1 season), San Diego Padres (part of 1 season), Detroit Tigers (2 seasons), and Minnesota Twins (2 seasons)."
"According to [Kirk] Radomski, White started buying performance enhancing substances from him in 2000. White bought both human growth hormone and Deca-Durabolin."
Here is one of the seven checks that was used in the report as evidence of a connection between Kirk Randomski and Rondell White.
2. Chuck Knoblauch
Quotes from Mitchell Report:
"Chuck Knoblauch played as an infielder for three teams in Major League Baseball from 1991 to 2002, the Minnesota Twins (7 seasons), New York Yankees (4 seasons), and Kansas City Royals (1 season)."
"Knoblauch played for the Yankees during 2000 and 2001, the two years when [Brian] McNamee served as the Yankees’ assistant strength coach. McNamee provided personal training services to Knoblauch."
3. Denny Neagle
Quotes from Mitchell Report:
"Denny Neagle pitched for six teams in Major League Baseball between 1991 and 2003, the Minnesota Twins (1 season), Pittsburgh Pirates (5 seasons), Atlanta Braves (3 seasons), Cincinnati Reds (2 seasons), New York Yankees (part of 1 season), and Colorado Rockies (3 seasons)."
"[Kirk] Radomski said he met Neagle at a club in New York City in 2000 when Neagle played for the Yankees. After they met, Neagle called Radomski 'looking for HGH.' "
4. Chad Allen
Quotes from Mitchell Report:
"Chad Allen is an outfielder who played with four teams in Major League Baseball between 1999 and 2005, the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, and Texas Rangers."
"Radomski believed he made between three and five sales to Allen involving Winstrol, testosterone, and Deca-Durabolin."
5. Daniel Naulty
Quotes from mitchell Report:
"Daniel Naulty pitched for two teams in Major League Baseball from 1996 to 1999, the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees."
"We contacted Naulty as part of our effort to interview former players. During his telephone interview, Naulty admitted to using steroids, on and off, for seven years, and human growth hormone for one year."
"Naulty said that he went 'from an A-ball pitcher to a major league prospect in a matter of two years.' "
Other Twins references in the Mitchell Report:
"In 2000 or 2001, a visiting clubhouse manager working for the Minnesota Twins found a used syringe on top of a trash can in the visitors’ clubhouse. He brought the incident to the attention of the Twins manager, Tom Kelly, who told him to dispose of the syringe and to be careful doing so. Kelly confirmed the incident and said that he did not report the incident to anyone because he felt it “wasn’t any of [his] business” and that it was the other team’s issue to address."
"Judge Larry M. Boyle, wrote a letter to Commissioner Selig...According to the letter, [Greg] Anderson told Boyle that Sheffield’s team was playing the Twins that week and Anderson had “come to work with him.”...Anderson confirmed to Boyle that his “best client” was Barry Bonds."
Misc:
Juan Rincon was not named in the report but he did test positive for prohibited substances in 2005 and served a ten game suspension.
'Amazingly' all but, Chad Allen played for the New York Yankees, probably because Kirk Radomski was employed by the NYM, and Brian McNamee worked with the NYY. These two seem to be the two main sources in the report. Without these two, this report would be awfully thin.
lmost a month since Scott Baker lost a game 1-0 against CC Sabathia, the Minnesota Twins' offense fell asleep at the wheel again. In the first inning, the Twins were able to load the bases with two outs against Dice K. 
A look back at Minnesota Twins statistics from the last couple of years with 28 games played.
Carlos Gomez can run with the best of them. After 5 games with the Twins, Go-Gomez has stolen 4 bases, scored 4 runs, and has 9 hits in 20 at bats. In Friday's game against the Royals, the Twins and starter Scott Baker were set back 2 runs in the top of the first inning. Gomez, the Twins lead-off hitter, got on base with a bunt hit, stole second, and scored on a Joe Mauer single to cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the first. After the game, Manager Ron Gardenhire said Gomez provided a much needed spark in the Twins clubhouse. As a Twins fan, I always pay attention when Carlos is at-bat or at first base just to see if he will do anything spectacular. I don't think he could have a better five games in his Twins debut.
Francisco Liriano looked good yesterday when he pitched four no-hit innings against the O's while giving up two walks. Pitching four no-hit innings could be a sign that the promising pitcher is heading in the right direction. But then again he did it against the O's, a team that lost some key components of last years team which gave up a no-hitter and 30 runs in a game. Liriano has one more start this spring, and depending on how he does, he could start the season in the Twins rotation.
