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Morneau Makes #5 of the Best First Basemen of 2010

homerunheyer — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:14:05 +0000

First Base is the strongest offensive position by far in 2010. Three out of the five players that were on the list in early June have made it back this time around. The number one first basemen may also be MVP this season.

5. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins: Morneau barely made it back on the list this time around falling from number two to number five. The Twins are in a tight race in their division with the Tigers and the White Sox. Currently the Twins are one game out of first behind the White Sox and one game ahead of the Tigers. The AL Central is the closest division in baseball right now.
Morneau has been the Twins biggest offensive threat this season, but no one else is stepping up to pull them ahead of the White Sox. Morneau can’t do it all by himself, Delmon Young is helping in a big way this season also, but it still isn’t enough. Morneau is leading his team in average- .345, home runs- 18 and is in second in RBI’s with 56 behind Young. Morneau always seems to have a solid season as long as he stays healthy. If Joe Mauer has a strong final two months in the season the Twins will probably win the division, but with the way Morneau is carrying the team with Young right now is not enough.

Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

Mauer Falls to #5 of the Best Catchers of 2010

homerunheyer — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:02:32 +0000

Only two catchers’ from the June top five list have remained into July. One of them moved up to number one and the other is almost off the list falling to number five. The three new entries come as a little bit of a surprise since one of them is just filling in for an injured starter. I’m sure by next month this list will change once again.

5. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: Previously I said Mauer will probably bounce back and have another MVP like year. Now, I think that time passed. Mauer is having a dissappointing year for his standards along with the rest of his Twins team. The Twins were the clear favorite to win their division once again. As of now the Twins are tied with the Tigers for second place with a paltry four games over .500. Saying all of that Mauer is still the fifth best catcher this year with four home runs, 44 RBI’s, and a .297 average. The only reason why he made the top five is because of his average. Most of the other catchers in the league have low averages. If the Twins want to turn things around, they need Mauer to give them even more. The Twins know Mauer is capable of hitting for more power and a higher average and they will need that from him if they want to be in the post-season.

Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

Joe Mauer Makes #4 of the Best Catchers of 2010

homerunheyer — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:29:19 +0000

There aren’t many big name catchers in the majors anymore, there are only a handful that come to mind as top tier catchers in the league.

4. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: Relax everyone, Mauer I’m sure will be at the number one spot by the end of the season, but right now he has been in a little bit of a slide after starting off the season on fire. Mauer’s average has dropped from the .360’s to .311, which is still respectable. The power numbers is the stunning stat with only two home runs and 24 RBI’s, which is a huge drop off from last year so far. Was last year a fluke? I doubt it, some of Mauer’s home run power loss can be due to their huge stadium that yields one of the lowest home run rates in all of baseball. I think Mauer will turn it around and start hitting for a higher average, but it is questionable whether the power will come back.

Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

Justin Morneau Makes #2 of the Best First Baseman of 2010

homerunheyer — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:03:53 +0000

Four out of the top five (first baseman) come from the American League. There is only one slight surprise on the list, the rest have been mainstays over the past few years. This may be the only position where the top five will remain the top five all season. The number one and two guys should be there all season barring injuries.

2. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins: With a healthy Morneau, the Twins are rolling in first place this season. Morneau is again having a solid season and he always seems like he is in contention for Most Valuable Player every year. Morneau is carrying the Twins on his back leading his team in almost every hitting category. Morneau is leading the majors in on base percentage -.475. Morneau is basically on base for half of his at bats! With Mauer not having his best year so far this season, Morneau has picked up the slack. Along with his majors leading OBP, Morneau is also leading the league in slugging- .673 and is in second with average batting- .362. The only stats Morneau isn’t leading on his team is triples, he even leads the team in strikeouts-44, which isn’t a good thing, but I think the Twins can live with it.

Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network

Father’s Day Is Coming

David — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:50:13 +0000

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Same Old Twins

David — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:51:29 +0000

It is 2010, and the Twins are at it again. Although they were able to lock up Joe Mauer to a long-term deal, the Twins have had a hefty number of departs over the years. It even seems like former ace Johan Santana never played in Minnesota. But it is in the middle of May 2010, and the Twins are at the top of the Central Division. It will never stop amazing baseball fans how the Twins get it done. Fans always seem to associate the Athletics with being able to build up a farm system and win, partially due to the book “Money Ball”.

But the Twins are a team that should not be overlooked in this regard at all. With a limited amount of payroll and resources, they continue to find a way to win. Too bad the Yankees spend more money on their infield than the Twins do on their entire time, because if that wasn’t the case, maybe the Twins would be able to go further. The season is still early, but the Twins look like how they do every year. They are ready to contend, but the lack of money will probably not allow them to.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Twins Fans Have Lots Of Reasons To Be Optimistic

jmw24 — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:43:37 +0000

If you are a Minnesota Twins fan these days, you ought to be pretty happy. Nearly everything you could have hoped for going into the season has happened. The new Target Field has gotten rave reviews, the club locked up hometown hero Joe Mauer to a long term deal, and the Twins are off to one of the best starts in baseball. All of the worry about Joe Nathan’s season ending elbow injury has seem to simmer for now, as Jon Rauch has been fantastic thus far in Nathan’s absence. Rauch has only given up 1 earned run and walked only 1 batter in 6 appearances thus far. If Rauch does begin to struggle as the games get more important into the summer, it seems as if the Twins are willing and able to spend money and go out and acquire a proven closer to finish off games for them. Usually in the bottom thrid in terms of payroll, this years Twins opened the season with a payroll approaching 100million dollars, putting them up there with typically big spending teams like the Giants, Mariners, and Dodgers.

While the Twins fast start has to have fans excited, prehaps the biggest and best news surrounding the Twins in recent weeks was the 8 year, $185 million dollar extension that Minnesota native Joe Mauer signed just before the season. As soon as Mauer signed the dotted line, you have to think that big market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox let out a collective scream, as they anxiously awaited Mauer hitting the open market. The fact is, Mauer remaining with the Twins, the team he grew up cheering for, is good for baseball. While he still got big time money, he certainly took at least a little bit of a hometown discount. Had he left the Twin Cities, where he is by far the most popular athlete, it would have been a crushing blow to the Twins franchise, especially as they try to sell seats and luxury boxes in their new stadium. Keeping Mauer ensures that the fans will remain happy and more than likely, that the team will remain contenders in the American League.

by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Twins’ rebirth on Target

GameSetMatch — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:36:46 +0000

Except for the early morning, when sunlight bakes the place like a greenhouse, Jerry Bell’s office down the left-field line at Target Field offers a comfortable and spectacular view inside the Minnesota Twins new ballpark. On the highest shelf behind his desk, Bell keeps three souvenirs of his 23 years as the club’s top executive.

Two are obvious: small replicas of the Twins’ 1987 and 1991 world championship trophies. In between, however, is an inside joke: a model of the Titanic.

That, Bell says, was a Christmas gift from his two daughters, late in the club’s 11-year pursuit of financing for a new stadium. At times, Bell thought the Twins’ effort was as doomed as the ocean liner that sank on its maiden voyage in 1912.

“I’m going through the Legislature. It’s not going well. The next thing I know, they buy me the Titanic,” Bell says. “It was pretty funny.”

Nine years after Twins owner Carl Pohlad offered the club to Major League Baseball for contraction because it couldn’t make enough money in the Metrodome, the Twins will play their first regular-season game Monday in a $545 million open-air downtown stadium.

Click here to read the full article – By PAT BORZI of USA Today

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Nathan has torn elbow ligament

GameSetMatch — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:02:04 +0000

Minnesota Twins reliever Joe Nathan has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow, leaving the team without a proven closer less than a month from Opening Day.

Nathan has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will decide whether to have surgery within two weeks, the team said. The Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported the injury.

The team announced Nathan has a “significant tear,” but will not immediately opt for surgery. He will rest and rehab the elbow over the next one to two weeks, then determine whether he can pitch with the injury.

Nathan may get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, the surgeon who operated on his elbow last October to remove bone chips.

Surgery would likely cost Nathan all of the 2010 season — a potentially devastating turn of events for a team expected to contend in the AL Central Division. Injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament have led to season-ending Tommy John surgery for other pitchers.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

Twins put the ball in Blackburn’s hand for Game 2

rsanrel — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:02:47 +0000

If pitching in a Game 163 is like being the playoffs, maybe Twins righthander Nick Blackburn is one up on Yankees righthander A.J. Burnett. Blackburn has the benefit of pitching in a game with the season on the line, while Burnett will be pitching in a playoff game for the first time.

Game 163 last year ended in a 1-0 defeat at Chicago, but the Twins and Blackburn came away from that game believing that the 27-year-old righthander learned just how good he could be.

He’s also pitched well when the Twins needed him the most this season, going 3-2 with a 3.07 ERA in his past seven starts.

“Even in big games like that, I still go out there and stick to my game plan and see where it goes. I can’t say why I go out and have good games. Last year was still a loss in that game, so can’t look at it as a great game.”

Blackburn, on May 16, gave up four earned runs over 723 innings in a 6-4, 11-inning loss at Yankee Stadium. Mark Teixeira hit a three run homer off him in the third inning and is 6-for-6 against Blackburn with five RBI. Derek Jeter is 4-for-7 against Blackburn with three walks.

Blackburn must prove tonight that he won’t be affected by the atmosphere or the big moment. He needs to have his good sinking fastball and use all his other pitches, especially his curveball to lefthanded hitters.

“Yes, it’s definitely a tough lineup, you know,” he said. “but each guy has their own weakness. You just have to find a way to expose them.”

Click here to read the full article – By By La Velle E. Neal III of PostBulletin.com

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