Pull out the broom - A clean 4 game sweep!

The Twins just completed a 4 game home sweep of their 2006 playoff nemesis Oakland Athletics. While this helped the Twins pick up a couple of games on the Indians and Tigers, what differences did they show over the 4 game series? I saw a few things that were very impressive, and a few things that showed they still have things to work on.

I'll start with the problems I saw in the 4 game series-

• Our bullpen, while far and above better than the Indians and Tigers, still have a few weak spots. Juan Rincon has been awful of late, allowing 11 earned runs and 14 runs over his last 9 1/3 innings of worked, managing to blow Johan's shutout during this series. Maybe Rincon's lack of steroids are hurting him this year. Dennys Reyes has also had trouble recently, with hitters batting .317 against him (compared to .197 last season). We have 3 reliable arms out of the bullpen (Neshek, Guerrier, and Nathan), and the other guys need to pick up the slack.

• Nick Punto is creeping ever closer to the Mendoza Line. While he did have a 2-run triple in Sunday's game, he was 3 for 14 in the series. You know that you need to up your production when 3 for 14 actually RAISES your batting average. Punto has been spectacular in the field, but with Cirillo proving he deserves at bats, he will be out of a job within a couple weeks if he doesn't start hitting.

• While they won the 4 games, the Twins still didn't provide the scoring they are capable of. They averaged 4.75 runs per game in the series, but against other teams that won't be enough to cut it. They left a remarkable number of runners on base and they simply can't do that if they hope to win. The Twins left 65 runners on base over the 4 game series, which is waaaaaaaaaay too high. ( Games 1-4: 15, 18, 15, 17)
• The Twins are starting Garza in the next series, virtually assuring that Kevin Slowey is to remain in the minors for the time being. With no game Monday, the Twins could have skipped their 5th starter, but instead are going with the Garza. They are also keeping Johan on 5 days rest, pushing Baker back to a Thursday start.
  

While those are all very fixable problems, since the Twins have shown they can hit, and Reyes and Rincon have pitched well in the past, I'm most concerned about Nick Punto. He hasn't shown any signs of turning his hitting around, and they simply can't keep playing him if he is hitting that poorly. My solution? Utilize his speed. He has tried to bunt for singles less and less frequently as the season has gone on, instead choosing to hit away. He needs something to spark his batting average, and he sure loves diving head first into first base. Maybe a few bunt singles will help. Also, using Nick Punto as a late inning glove and base stealing threat may prove to be a more useful role for him on this Twins roster.

There were also many things that looked extremely positive during the series:

• Well, obviously, the Twins won all 4 games in the series. This is the kind of run they needed, especially since they haven't been particularly amazing at home this year. They also were able to pick up 2 games on Detroit and 1 on Cleveland, and now face the Tigers with the chance to pick up 3 more games on them. The Twins will be trotting out Garza in his second start, then Santana, and Baker.

• Luis Castillo showed signs of life! Castillo, who is a good offensive and defensive player, rarely shows any emotion while on the field. The last time I recall seeing any emotion out of him (not including postgame celebrations) was when he committed his first error of the season, and you could see him yelling at himself. That was over a month ago, and he has been his usual self since then, trotting out to the field each day and doing his job. Much to my chagrin, Castillo actually showed that he cares on Sunday, with his 9th inning leadoff triple. Right when he hit the bag, he let out a scream of success and it sparked the Twins to their 4-3 win.

• They faced the only pitcher you could possibly place higher than Johan in the Cy Young race right now in Dan Haren, and beat him. Haren didn't get the loss thanks to Guerrier allowing 2 runners to score, but the Twins were able to score 2 runs off of him and make him look human. The Twins helped in upping Haren's era for the 7th consecutive start, while subsequently making Johan's credentials look better. Win-win-win situation!

Well, this is about as good of a start to the second half as one could have hoped! Let's just hope that Garza can continue the run on Tuesday against Nate Robertson and the Tigers at the Dome.

The Friday Run-down

• This weekend is the Twins final series before the All-Star break. The Twins are sending centerfielder Torii Hunter, first baseman Justin Morneau, and ace Johan Santana. Unfortunately, Pat Neshek's 32nd man bid couldn't beat the continent of Asia and the Boston faithful who got Hideki Okajima elected.

• It's nice to see a company taking responsibility for something they screwed up.

• After Kevin Slowey's start yesterday in New York, Slowey was sent back down to the minors for at least the All-Star break, if not longer. The Twins don't need a 5th starter until July 21st, which leads me to believe that this is only temporary, just to get Carmen Cali more innings at the major league level. Slowey more than likely will be brought back up at that point for the remainder of the season. Slowey was yanked rather quickly from the rotation, and while he is sporting an ERA above 5, his record is still 3-0. I have little doubt that Slowey will be starting against the Angels on July 21st.

• We all know that Mark Cuban has a HUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGE wallet. Too bad the NBA isn't like baseball, or Cuban would have already bought Garnett just like the Yankees bought Babe Ruth, and doomed the Timberwolves to 80+ years of failure. What this means is that Cuban would need to trade some players of value in return for Garnett. The only reported trade that could work is Josh Howard, Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop and Greg Buckner for KG. Cuban is in love with Howard and Harris, so there is virtually no way that KG will be wearing a Mavs jersey next year.

• It's amazing how a toy from the 80's could turn into the '07 summer's best movie.

• Jason Kubel, after hitting the go-ahead home run on Wednesday, was held out of the lineup on Thursday. Gardy knows what he is doing most times, but he has handled the Kubel/Tyner/Ford playing time horribly this year. Neither Ford nor Tyner deserve playing time unless it is forced upon Gardy, yet he inexplicably keeps trotting them out there for at least one start a series. Kubel then hit a pinch hit single in the 9th on Thursday, and in the first game of today's doubleheader Kubel hit a grand slam and is 2 for 2 with 5 RBI. I'm predicting that Gardy will sit Kubel for game 2 of the doubleheader for reasons that only make sense to himself.

• Corey Brewer, who wore #2 at Florida, is now wearing #22 with the Wolves. He had wanted to wear #2, but it is a retired number. The number belonged to the late, great Malik Sealy, who died much too young at the hands of a drunk driver who has already finished his prison sentence. This got me thinking back to the days of Sealy, and when the Wolves needed a clutch shot Sealy was ALWAYS there to deliver. I can't help but feel like the loss of Sealy was one the Wolves have never truly recovered from.

• How could one little prairie dog, in 5 seconds, create such a cult following.

• Ken Griffey, Jr and Barry Roids...excuse me...Bonds are both absent from this years Home Run Derby. I understand that they don't want to hurt themselves, but the fans voted them to the All-Star game, and the least they could do is compete in the Derby. In a summer where everyone is watching each home run that Bonds hits, he should be in the Derby. This year especially, since it could be his last, and its his home field. Griffey won two consecutive Derbys back in 1998 and 1999, but hasn't competed since 2000. In this, his year of resurgence, it would have been nice to see he and Bonds compete against the young guns like Justin Morneau, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and Miguel Cabrera. I'll watch the Derby anyway, but it won't be nearly as entertaining without Bonds and Griffey there.

• Halloween this early?

• The Twins have already waived their "no negotiating during season" for Santana this year, meaning that they are willing to bend the rules to keep him. Hopefully they are willing to bend the payroll a bit too, because he is going to be expensive. My thoughts? Sign Santana no matter what, let Nathan walk, make an attempt at Hunter, move Neshek to closer, and move Guerrier to setup man. The Twins are already planning on expanding their budget for the new stadium, so its best to start with re-signing the second coming of Nolan Ryan.

That's it for now, have a great weekend everyone!

Twins complete trade

While it is only a small trade, the Twins acquired OF Darnell McDonald, a 28 year-old career minor leaguer. McDonald was acquired from the Nationals for the rights to P Levale Speigner. Speigner was to be optioned to the minors, but as a rule-5 draft pick, had to be offered back to his original team first. The Twins could have accepted $25,000 but instead opted for the trade. McDonald was a first round selection for the Baltimore Orioles in 1997, and has a sub-.200 batting average in his few major league at-bats. McDonald was in class-AAA for the Nationals, and that doesn't say much about his potential if he can't make the Nationals roster. McDonald will join the Twins AAA-affiliate Rochester.

Justin Morneau Injured, Taken To Hospital

Justin Morneau was injured while scoring on a Jason Kubel double in the 8th inning against the Marlins. The Twins tied the game on the play. Morneau collided with catcher Miguel Olivo, who didn't catch the ball. Morneau, who looked like he hit his chin and sternum on the play, was apparently coughing up blood in the clubhouse after he was taken out. He was taken to the hospital for chest X-rays by stretcher.

This does not look good for the Twins. Morneau is a tough guy, and outweighed Olivo by 10 pounds, but he got stood-up on that play. He was visibly jarred on the field, and my first reaction was that he could have easily broken a rib or his collarbone. While a broken bone is one of the more serious injuries he could have sustained, coughing up blood is very serious. The Twins offense, already lacking WITH Morneau in the lineup, would be downright anemic without him in it. If Morneau needs to go on the DL, that could drop the Twins out of contention rather quickly. To make matters worse, after tying the game on the play and getting their MVP knocked out of the game, former setup man Juan Rincon allowed the go-ahead home run to '06 NL Rookie of the Year Hanley Ramirez, allowing the Marlins to win 5-4. Rincon couldn't manage to pick up the team after Morneau put his body on the line to score one run. This is a huge blow for the Twins if it proves to be a DL-worthy injury.

Update - Morneau has a bruised lung, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. CT scans were negative, and there were no broken bones. He is done for the rest of the weekend, but as for a DL stint, it is unknown so far. Let's hope for the best for MVP