Twins fall 5-2 to @TampaBay_Ra…
Posted by John on May 30, 2009 under John | 
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Twins fall 5-2 to @TampaBay_Rays. Liriano just isn’t the pitcher we’d thought he’d be this year.
The MVB Tackles Topps
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Joe Mauer has 11 HR and 32 RBI…
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Joe Mauer has 11 HR and 32 RBI this month – first time in #Twins history a player has 11 HR and 30 RBI in same month (via @mlbCoz)
They’re calling him the next @…
Posted by John on May 29, 2009 under John | Be the First to Comment
They’re calling him the next @JoeMauer. I’m not convinced yet, but Matt Wieters debuts tonight. http://bit.ly/rmDA4 #wietersfacts
Fan Friday: Aaron Nyquist
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This week’s Fan Friday comes from Mr. Aaron Nyquist. Aaron is a life long Twins fan from Farmington, MN. You can read more of Aaron’s work at his blog, The Dune Sea.
In my incessant search for new construction photos of Target Field, I recently came across a shot of a wooden mural of Kirby Puckett, towering over his very own atrium. And it looks fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Like so many other impressionable Minnesota boys growing up in the 90’s, Kirby was my idol. I can vaguely remember that glorious home run in ’91, I can certainly remember Bob Casey’s iconic “Kirrrrrbbeeeeee!” call. And of course, my prized Twins possession continues to be the signed card (actually signed!) I got when my mom took me to Puck’s number retirement ceremony in 1997.
Point being, deep as my love for number 34 goes, it has to be realized that we are fortunate to be living in a new golden age for the hometown squad. And when someone asks me who my favorite Twin is, for the first time in a long time, I have to think before automatically answering “Kirby.” Justin Morneau may not have quite have received Puck’s smile, but I’ll take some Canadian stoicism in return for some moonshots to right. And of course, who can forget Minnesota’s pride and joy, Joe Mauer? If there was ever a man to carry on Puck’s legacy, here he is folks, and it’s not just because of those seriously insane numbers. Some columnist from the Strib, I can’t quite remember who, made the point that no other player in baseball is as invaluable to their team and city as Mauer. I’m hoping the Twins realize this, because should the unfortunate situation ever arise where Mauer was not in a Twins uniform, there might be some sort of Waco-style standoff at the Metrodome. Or come to think of it, Target Field!
Sure, this team has a few dodgy spots, say Nick Punto’s bat and Delmon Young’s incredible propensity for striking out. But a few tinkerings here and there, and this is the real deal. I think Kirby would be proud.
Off the TePoel: Day Games Equal Suckage
Posted by Dain on May 28, 2009 under Dain | 4 Comments to Read
Excuse the teen in me.
Day games just aren’t good for the Twins. My unofficial count is 4-11 this season.
Combine the day game woes with road nightmares and AL East opponents and it’s a recipe for Disaster.
With that, I’ll take the Twins to win 2 of 3 this weekend in the Trop.
643 MVB Radio: Red Sox Nation, who cares?
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Find this 643 MVB Radio on Blip.tv
Another solid win for Twins ov…
Posted by John on May 27, 2009 under John | Be the First to Comment
Another solid win for Twins over Red Sox. A 4-2 win for Twins brings the club to .500.
Off the TePoel: My what a May for Mauer
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Joe Mauer has been on some kind of run. Mr. Souhan did some digging and apparently found that Mauer’s first 21 games to start a season, and the numbers he put up in terms of batting average, homeruns, rbi, and runs scored, can only be placed in the same category as Willie Mays’ start to the 1954 season.
Mind you, we aren’t talking about any 21 games, we’re talking the first 21 games of a season. Sure, players have been on these kinds of streaks before at various points of the season. Last night I did catch a glimpse on Baseball Tonight where they showed the best months of May of all time, and it included some greats like Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, but also some other guys whose names aren’t memorable at all.
Mauer will likely fall somewhere in between those two spectrums, but of course, if he keeps this up, he will be well to the side that includes the Hall of Famers in which his breath is mentioned now. And not one of them played Catcher.
Of course, Mauer’s statistics when hitting as a DH won’t contribute to his overall Catcher batting numbers, but he will (and already is, with his two batting titles) be considered one of the greatest catchers to ever play this game.
And Morneau is absolutely ridiculous by the way. Still. No matter how great he does, when Mauer is healthy and playing well, Morneau will always take a back seat in the media and in everyday conversation.
These guys need to be inseparable. They love each other. They used to live together. I’ve been hearing some say it’s inevitable they will break up. How awful that would be. And although we’ve heard it before with Hunter and Santana not wanting to leave, maybe the M&M boys will stay in M(n), just like Hrbie and Kirby did. Because they want to, and they want to win…here. Sure, they might have better odds winning it all elsewhere, but their careers and their homes, and maybe their pride, is here in Minnesota. So even just the chance to do it all here, is what it’s all about. That’s what made baseball great in the first place – hometown teams, in their cities, passed down from generation to generation, nestled in the neighborhoods of the eastern cities.
Sure times have changed and baseball is more suburban than urban and faces on teams change as much as well, people change their own jobs. But if these two guys are paid what they deserve, maybe even just a little less because it’s what this market can afford, they’ll stay. And this whole happy affair will continue.
Are the odds in the fan’s favor that we will see both these guys in MN uniforms till 2020? Probably not, but we can hope. We can hope Joe stays healthy long enough to be a catcher, so that Justin can stay a first basemen. Because once people say Joe has to play first and Justin becomes a DH, I don’t like where that takes this team. And Justin is an excellent fielder to go with his MVP offensive credentials.
Sit back and enjoy, because while both these guys will slump eventually, and the nay sayers will return, they are wrong. Whether they’re slumping or sweet-swinging, they are Minnesota’s growing heroes and when do you boo a hero?
Late inning heroics with Mauer…
Posted by John on May 25, 2009 under John | Be the First to Comment
Late inning heroics with Mauer’s pinch hit homerun, but Twins fall 6-5. Joe has 11 homeruns in the month of May alone.
