Kuzul

 Twitter told not only a tale of carnage and misery for Nick Blackburn of the Minnesota Twins in the first inning of Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, but also of how Dr. Andy saved the day.

Phil Mackey (ESPN 1500) commented on the first hit:

The first pitch was at 6:11. The first hit off Nick Blackburn was also at 6:11.

— Phil Mackey (@PMac21) August 11, 2012

Following that first hit, a Desmond Jennings single up the middle, B.J. Upton hit back-to-back home runs.

“I knew Jennings was going to swing on the first pitch, no doubt in my mind,” said Blackburn.

“To start off a game I was going to go with my strength obviously,” he continued, referring to his sinker. “Just didn’t get it there. Same thing with Upton and Joyce.”

John Shipley of the Pioneer Press commented:

BREAKING: Rays now cutting in line to move up in batting order.

— John Shipley (@shipleykid) August 11, 2012

Of all people, it was Evan Longoria who struck out that inning, but Ben Zobrist would single down the right field line and Blackburn would walk Carlos Pena.

FOX Sports’ Tyler Mason had this to say about Anderson going to visit the mound, 24 pitches in:

First mound visit of the game, and we’re only one out into this thing. Blackburn is at 24 pitches, 3 R, 4 H, 1 BB. #MNTwins down 3-0.

— Tyler Mason (@FSNtylermason) August 11, 2012

The bleeding was awful; it was Mortal Kombat, Kill Bill and Monty Python rolled into one.

But then something happened.

With men on first and second, Jeff Keppinger hit a ball to Jamey Carroll, who turned a double play!

Mason again:

The mound visit worked. Blackburn gets Keppinger to hit into an inning-ending double play to stop the bleeding. #Rays 3, #MNTwins 0.

— Tyler Mason (@FSNtylermason) August 11, 2012

Dr. Andy clotted the bleeding and all was well.

Well, kind of…

Bollinger on Upton’s second solo shot:

Blackburn settled down after the first but just gave up a solo shot to Upton. #MNTwins down 4-1 in the fifth

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) August 12, 2012

Just a flesh wound, just a flesh wound.

Blackburn would leave the game in the seventh after giving up back-to-back singles to Roberts and Molina.

The score was 4-2.

The StarTribune’s Michael Rand offered a fake Ron Gardenhire quote as Blackburn left the field:

“Blackie didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled.” — #futuregardy

— RandBall (@RandBall) August 12, 2012

“A night kinda like last night,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, “they jumped on us the first inning and after that Blackie settled in nice.

“That’s the story of the game: first inning, three runs and there you have it.” 

All quotes were obtained first-hand.

Tom Schreier writes a weekly column for TheFanManifesto.com.

Follow him on Twitter @tschreier3.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Internet is a wonderful thing. It’s the only way you’re reading this right now.

The Internet has provided the masses so much information that it’s almost unthinkable. Everyday something new appears on the World Wide Web, and currently most of that happens to be coming from the social media site Twitter.

Twitter’s micro-blogging format is supposed to give us an inside look at the lives of our favorite people. Actors, singers, politicians, athletes, news reporters and friends alike all can be found on the site. A lot can be said in 140 characters, just ask the Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune and 1500 ESPN.

During Friday night’s Minnesota Vikings preseason game, the long-time columnist and radio host sent out the following tweet:

Whoever these announcers are on Vikings game … they would meet homer standard for FSN duties.

— Patrick Reusse (@1500ESPN_Reusse) August 11, 2012

Those announcers were rival radio station KFAN’s Paul Allen and Pete Bercich, whom, if you listen to any of their broadcasts, one would gather that they are a very biased duo. Allen has a tendency to refer to the Vikings in the first person: “We have to do this. We have a tough schedule.”

I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but it is definitely within the realm of being a “homer,” as Reusse stated in his tweet.

By the same token, the FSN duties Reusse is referring to are the Minnesota Twins announcers Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven.

On their telecasts the homerism isn’t as blatant, but it’s still there. The two most always shine a positive light on the Twins—a team that hasn’t had much light to shine on to them the past two seasons.

Twitter exploded when Bert Blyleven made strong negative statements about struggling second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka. This kind of thing is unheard of from the FSN North booth.

That being said, Blyleven seemed to take offense to Reusse’s tweet last night. So much that Blyleven couldn’t fit it all in 140 characters. It took three tweets mentioning Reusse:

“@1500ESPN_Reusse Very interesting that a guy like you can consistently criticize others when you played what sport? You are Mr. Negative!”

“@1500ESPN_Reusse For years you have been a writer that always looks for the negative. Keep up the good work because you are good at it!”

“@1500ESPN_Reusse I believe weather baseball, football or whatever sport, fans want to hear positive. The ones that don’t, listen to YOU!”

It was a highly unexpected exchange—Blyleven is usually very soft spoken. Here’s the Reusse rebuttal:

“Missed Bert’s blasts until just now. Was it Twitter-only? P.S.: If I had to do it over, I’d still vote for him for Hall of Fame every year.”

Later he responded to a fan’s tweet directed at him about the Blyleven situation:

“One-sided battle. I’m not mad at anybody. RT @chazily: does this mean I have to choose sides in great battle with @BertBlyleven28 ?”

So by the looks of it, Reusse isn’t mad at anybody, but Blyleven does not seem too happy with Reusse. Blyleven had additional tweets mentioning other Twitter users saying that Reusse is a know- it-all and that Reusse should run for president for that reason.

Well, Bert get over it. You’re making a fool of yourself. You made my point in your second tweet blasting Reusse. Patrick Reusse is a writer; in fact, he is a sports columnist for a well-respected newspaper in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He is paid for his opinion on sports, in two different mediums.

Yes, Reusse is a negative guy, but that’s how you get readers or listeners. You have to go against the grain, and then people listen to you. Reusse is a self-proclaimed curmudgeon and he won’t back down.

Whenever you are in the public eye, you are putting yourself out there to be criticized, even when what you’re saying isn’t that much of a criticism.

I’m not much of a soldier, but I’m behind Patrick Reusse on this one. To steal a segment from ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike In the Morning…Bert Blyleven, just shut up.

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If there’s one thing Minnesota Twins fans can take solace in this season, it’s that this team can hit the ball and will continue to hit the ball well for the foreseeable future.

The Twins rank in the top half of the league in many offensive categories.

Minnesota has the sixth most hits in baseball (963), 14th most RBI (448), runs (466), OPS (.732), 10th best batting average (.264), 10th most walks (340), fifth most stolen bases (86) and the sixth best on base percentage (.331).

Josh Willingham has 80 RBI (third best in baseball), 27 homers (seventh most in baseball), a .378 on base percentage (21st best in baseball), a .549 slugging percentage (16th best in baseball) and a .979 OPS (14th best).

He’s locked up for another two years, and is fully healthy.

Joe Mauer, for all of his problems with power, is the top-singles hitter in baseball. He boasts baseball’s 11th best batting average (.321) and the fourth best on base percentage (.417). Mauer is under contract through 2018.

Trevor Plouffe has come out of nowhere to be second on the team in homers (19), and his power appears to be genuine. He’s pre-arbitration eligible this offseason, which means Minnesota will pay him at least 80 percent of his 2012 compensation ($485,000) and cannot go beneath the league minimum. He’s arbitration eligible after the 2013 season.

Ben Revere is hitting .319 with 25 stolen bases. His contract status is the exact same as Plouffe’s.

Denard Span, despite my demands that the front office deal him, is a talented leadoff hitter with a contract keeping him in the Twin Cities through the 2014 season, with a club option for 2015. He’s hitting .291 with 12 stolen bases and a .354 on base percentage.

Ryan Doumit has been a pleasant surprise for Minnesota. He’s been so well-received that the franchise gave him a two-year extension for $7 million total. He’s hitting .285 with 10 homers and 50 RBI, with the ability to play catcher, first base and outfield.

On top of those six big-league players, Minnesota has a plethora of hitting prospects stewing in the minors. Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario, Oswaldo Arcia, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano all could be MLB-ready by 2014.

Sano projects as a prototypical power-hitting third baseman, meaning he’ll strikeout his fair share but also bash many baseballs into the Target Field seats.

Hicks and Buxton are basically the same players: fast, defensive outfielders with the ability to hit for a high average and steal some bases with a little power. Buxton has more upside as a power hitter because his body isn’t as filled out at 18 as Hicks’s is at 22-years-old.

Arcia and Rosario project as line-drive hitters with the ability to hit 15 homers per season (maybe more) and hit for a relatively high batting average.

With those players on the rise, it would appear the Twins would need just a few pitchers in the minor league system to step up to the plate. The problem is the two most likely candidates are recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Minnesota’s 2010 first round pick Alex Wimmers underwent the procedure in the last week and Kyle Gibson, Minnesota’s 2009 first round pick, is currently recovering from the procedure.

Beyond those two, the pitching cupboard is bare in Minnesota’s farm system.

The big-league team has one healthy pitcher worthy of a spot in any other teams’ rotation: Scott Diamond (9-5, 2.93 ERA, 1.17 WHIP).

Sam Deduno has shown glimpses of fulfilling his promise as Baseball America’s No. 11 prospect with the Colorado Rockies prior to the 2009 campaign, but still has plenty of rust to shake off.

The Twins may or may not re-sign Scott Baker this offseason (it may or may not be worth it depending on how his elbow recovers).

Minnesota’s starting rotation for 2013 shapes up as: Diamond, Deduno, Nick Blackburn, Anthony Swarzak and Brian Duensing. It doesn’t exactly get the people going.

Twins fans need to face a simple fact: The next few years aren’t likely to be your Twins of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.

These Twins will win and lose games on their ability to score more runs than the opposition. And not by playing small ball, but by hitting the crap out of the ball and making the opposition pay for pitches left over the plate.

Get ready Minnesota. A new era is coming.

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As Minnesota Twins fans eagerly checked Twitter to see if general manager Terry Ryan would make a move at the Major League Baseball trade deadline, one had to wonder what would happen if this scene was set in the film Major League II.

In the film, the Cleveland Indians acquire a player from Japan by the name of Isuro “Kamakasi” Tanaka, who constantly questions Pedro Cerrano’s manhood by repeatedly screaming at him “You have no marbles!”

Mr. Tanaka may have a role waiting for him in the Twins’ organization after Tuesday, where Ryan failed to make a move to bolster his incredibly weak farm system.

In all honesty, nobody should be surprised by Ryan pumping the breaks. However, this trade deadline has a much different feel for the franchise because instead of adding a key piece (which Ryan had hesitated to do over his previous tenure as GM), the Twins almost needed to make a deal to make the future brighter.

It takes two to tango, but Ryan had to have a sense of urgency after seeing a team continuing a downward spiral since the Twins were swept by the New York Yankees in the 2010 American League Divisional Series.

The Twins probably wanted to hold onto Josh Willingham, who is in the first year of his three-year deal. They probably didn’t get a package good enough to ship Justin Morneau (who has one year left after 2012) either. Those scenarios are understandable.

However, with the Twins reluctant to deal Denard Span, the Twins continued a trend that was stated by Joe Christensen in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Tuesday morning: The Twins never sell high.

Span is having a great year for the Twins in the leadoff spot. He’s ranking toward the top of many categories among American League leadoff hitters (outside of power numbers), but he also had several years under the Twins’ control.

But with the emergence of Ben Revere and the opportunity for clearing a spot to give more major league at-bats to prospect Chris Parmelee, it might have been best to ship Span for some help in the Twins’ awful pitching rotation.

Pitching has been the one thing that has held this team back this season and instead of learning from the mistakes of former general manager Bill Smith, Ryan decided to hold back and hope for better value during the offseason (or worse, not at all).

It’s a mistake that has cost the Twins in previous years, and will continue to do so until Ryan can find some assets and turn them into players who can help the team in the future.

Meanwhile, Smith takes a lot of heat from Twins fans for running the team into the ground…but at least he took a risk. That’s what Ryan needed to do this year by following the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros lead by stripping down to the studs and building toward the future.

Perhaps Ryan didn’t see anything he liked, but he needed to do something. Of course, with Target Field continuing to rank 12th in attendance (at 88.7 percent capacity), maybe the Twins didn’t feel any pressure to make a move with their pocket books.

Either way, the Twins train to a quick turnaround has just left the station. Twins fans now need to hope that the conductor knows what he’s doing.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s official.

Minus the minuscule Francisco Liriano deal, in which Minnesota acquired two fringe prospects, the Twins waved hello to the trade deadline and quickly waved goodbye without making a follow-up move.

In some respects, this should be taken as a positive. The Twins could have made a move merely for the sake of making a move and done something foolish.

What they should have done was find a way to deal Justin Morneau or Denard Span. In both cases the Twins have a younger player waiting in the wing to take his spot.

Morneau will cost Minnesota $14 million next season. That’s a large sum of cash to pay to an injury-prone, aging player.

Yes, Morneau has shown signs of life over the previous month batting .326 with three homers and 12 RBI. Over that same stretch, he posted a .370 on base and .500 slugging percentage.

For the year he’s hit a disappointing 13 homers with 46 RBI and a .263 batting average. He also boasts a .324 on base and .458 slugging percentage.

But given his reoccurring problems with concussions, they still affected him early this season, as likely did his his age (31, he’ll turn 32 in May). His value may have peaked, given his recent performance.

He could finish the year playing the way he has and prove the Twins were smart for holding onto the 2006 AL MVP. He could find his former self and become an All-Star caliber first baseman.

Or he could collide with a wall, a teammate or smack his head on the ground while sliding into second base and be done with baseball.

Don’t forget that prior to this season, Morneau said if his concussion problems continued that he would hang up his cleats and call it a career, according to the Star Tribune. One more setback and that state of mind could return.

Denard Span is a Twin I’ve called for the club to trade as early as last season. The rumor was that Minnesota could have obtained Drew Storen, Washington’s closer, for Span last season (at the very least Tyler Clippard), according to NBC Sports. That would have given Minnesota its closer of the future and allowed the club to let Matt Capps walk in free agency.

Fast forward one year and that looks like a smart move. Storen missed the first half of the season with an elbow injury.

But the fact remains that Span does exactly what Ben Revere could do but at a higher cost. Span’s contract is reasonable ($4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014 and $9 million club option in 2015 with $500,000 buyout) but still more expensive than Revere.

Moving either Span or Morneau would have opened up a lineup spot for Chris Parmelee.

Parmelee was Minnesota’s first-round pick, 20th overall, in 2006. The Twins drafted Parmelee out of high school, so he’s only 24 years old with six years of professional baseball experience.

In 35 games with the Rochester Red Wings this year, Parmelee hit .341 (42-for-123) with seven homers and 27 RBI. He posted a .577 slugging percentage and .467 on base percentage.

He has little left to prove in the minors and needs time to adjust to the big leagues. With the Twins in 2012, he’s hitting a lowly .204 with two homers and six RBI. He’s posted a .283 on base and .323 slugging percentage.

Those numbers don’t warrant handing Parmelee a starting spot, but his draft status does. The only way to find out if he belongs in the big leagues is to open up a spot for him.

Span’s departure could have put Parmelee in left or right field (wherever Josh Willingham wasn’t) and Morneau’s would have given him first base.

The Twins aren’t in a position to win in 2012 and they won’t be in a position to win in 2013. Now should be about finding out who can help the club down the road, like Parmelee, while building the farm system for the future.

We don’t know exactly what Minnesota was offered for Span or Morneau, but the club missed out on an opportunity to build for the future while shedding 2013 salaries.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The. Swag. Is. Back.

Danny Valencia returned on Saturday night.

The gregarious South Beach sensation has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester to fill in for the injured Trevor Plouffe at the hot corner for the Minnesota Twins.

There is some question of whether or not this will be a brief visit to the Twin Cities until Plouffe gets off the DL or if Danny V is here to stay. The third baseman had a .250 average with only seven home runs in 69 games in Western New York.

“Baseball is progressive,” said manger Ron Gardenhire before Saturday’s game when asked if Valencia will outperform the numbers he put up in the minors, “you’re supposed to get better the more at-bats you [have].”

Supposed to is the key phrase here.

After bursting onto the scene in 2010, he hit .311/.351/.448 in 299 at-bats (1.9 WAR), he leveled out at .246/.294/.383 in 564 at-bats last season (-0.6 WAR) before dropping below the Mendoza Line in his 100 at-bats this season (-1.0 WAR).

In layman’s terms: In 2010 he kicked ass. In 2011 he played like a subpar player that made too many fielding errors (18). And this year he struggled at the plate.

“He got sent down because he wasn’t swinging well,” Gardenhire stated simply.

“There’s going to be lows: there’s going to be times where you struggle and you have to make some adjustments,” continued the manager, addressing the question about Valencia outperforming his numbers in Rochester, which was originally posed by StarTribune writer Joe Christensen.

“Your writing, I’ve seen you write good stories and I’ve seen you write horses**t ones, so you’ve got to make adjustments in your writings so you get better.

“Same thing in baseball.”

One of Christensen’s particularly strong pieces was, in fact, a profile on Mr. Valencia before he was sent down to Triple-A this season.

In the profile, Christensen writes that although Valencia comes off as brash, he’s actually a good person that avoids drinking excessively and has a humbling story.

Valencia was not heavily scouted out of Spanish River High School in his hometown of Boca Raton, which is an hour north of Miami, and ended up going to the University of Carolina-Greensboro.

As a freshman he was named Southern Conference Player of the Year and garnered attention from bigger programs.

“I felt that wasn’t the place to get the most exposure,” he said in an interview I had with him last year, “so I spoke to some contacts down in South Florida, spoke to the head coach I played for in the summer ball league I played in after my senior year of high school and he said ‘Look, UM definitely wants you.’”

Valencia had trouble transferring from UNC-Greensboro. According to Omar Kelly of the Florida Sun-Sentinel, the school initially offered to release him from his scholarship but later refused to do so. He appealed to a university committee, which eventually granted him his release.

After gaining admittance to The U, Valencia still had to battle for scholarship money. The school only covered his books his first year.

Undrafted out of high school, he played first base while some guy named Ryan Braun manned the hot corner, but during his junior season Braun left for the minors and Valencia became the team’s third baseman. He hit .324/.382/.475 with nine homers and 61 RBI that year and was drafted in the 19th round by the Twins.

And if you hear him tell it, things didn’t get much better.

“When you’re a late-round draft pick and you don’t perform it’s easy for them to say ‘He can’t play here’ and they get rid of you,” he said in the interview last year. “It’s a shame to say it because I’ve seen a lot of good players get drafted late and you don’t get the opportunity some players get that are drafted higher.

“As a late-round pick you have to go battle, work hard and you’ve got to perform.

“Your performance trumps all.”

The grind doesn’t go away in the majors.

Valencia hits .311 and he’s named to the Rookie All-Star Team.

He hits .246 and makes 18 errors in the field and he’s a liability.

He hits below the Mendoza Line and he’s back in the Rochester.

“It’s tough down there,” said Gardenhire of the minors. “It’s tough to motivate yourself. When you’ve been up here playing in front of 40,000 fans and you go back to the minor leagues and you’re playing in front of five to seven thousand fans you have to dig deep to motivate yourself.”

Valencia has and an injury to Plouffe has given him an opportunity to play with the big boys. The question is whether he’ll be up for a week or he’ll stick around for good.

His presence certainly hasn’t been lost here at Target Field.

Around the park, No. 19 and 22 jerseys can be seen on the backs of loyal fans. The number switch was made this season, which left a few fans disgruntled. Valencia wore 22 in high school and college.

Valencia had to make a decision early in the game today. In the first inning he grounded a ball with men on second and third, took a look at home and threw across to first, allowing the runner to score.

Starter Sam Deduno and the Twins got out of the inning with the score 1-0, things could have been worse, but it’s possible that Minnesota could have gotten out of the inning with the score tied.

In Valencia’s first at-bat he struck out, swinging at the first three pitches…and the third was far outside the strike zone.

In his second at-bat he advanced on a throwing error by Minnesota-native Jack Hannahan.

A throwing error by a third baseman: how ironic.

At that point he’s still 0-for-27.

Casilla’s bases-clearing triple brought him and Dozier home.

In his third at-bat Valencia grounded into a fielder’s choice, but reached first safely. His walk up song for that at-bat, according to Shazam on my iPhone, was “F*ck Em’” by Rick Ross Feat. 2 Chainz & Wale.

In his fourth at-bat, Valencia singled to left-center, snapping his 0-for-28 skid.

Then, with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth…

Well…

Jose Lopez hits it right at him and…his throwing error extends the inning and allows a runner to score. The pitcher at the time, Luis Perdomo, walked the next guy, Jason Kipnis, in to make it 12-5. Casey Fien would come in and close out the game.

Safe to say, there were highs and lows.

It’s one game. It’s too early to judge him.

The Valencia jerseys, both the 19s and the 22s, remain in the stands, but the question still lingers:

Is the swag there and, if so, how long will it last?

All quotes were obtained first-hand.

Tom Schreier writes a weekly column for TheFanManifesto.com.

Follow him on Twitter @tschreier3.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

On Tuesday, Minnesota Twins closer Matt Capps was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of irritation in his rotator cuff. Capps is back on the disabled list just four days after being reinstated.

This latest injury could not have come at a worse time for the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota is 15 games under .500 (37-52) and 12 games back of the first place Chicago White Sox. The Twins plan to be sellers come the July 31 trade deadline.

Capps was a piece Minnesota hoped to dangle in front of teams looking for bullpen help as a way to replenish its pitching depth.

On the season Capps owns a 3.81 ERA, 1.06 WHIP with 18 strikeouts and 14 saves in 28 1/3 innings pitched.

Now, Capps isn’t the best relief pitcher on the market. He doesn’t strike out many batters and can be erratic at times. No team would want to acquire him to be its closer, but he can be a difference-maker for a contending team as a set-up man.

If the Twins had struck a deal for Capps prior to the trade deadline, the team wouldn’t have received top-tier prospects. It could expect to receive average prospects, but that’s not a problem. The team needs all the pitching help it can get.

Minnesota doesn’t need Capps to be its closer either. The team is at least another full season away from competing—more likely two or three years.

Additionally, Capps’ contract is up at the end of this season, and given the state of the Minnesota Twins, many do not expect him to be brought back.

Capps is eligible to come off the disabled list on Aug. 1.

Look for the Twins to orchestrate a trade of Capps over the waiver wire between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In front of a sellout crowd, the Twins’ sixth this year, Camilo Pascual joined pitchers Jim Perry, Brad Radke and Rick Aguilera when he was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame at the beginning of game two against the Oakland A’s.

More pertinently, however, was that with Scott Diamond shut down for an extended period of time and Francisco Liriano allegedly on the trading block, Eden Prairie, MN native Cole De Vries had an opportunity to solidify a spot next to them in the rotation in his sixth start of the season.

Safe to say he didn’t do any favors for himself Saturday night.

De Vries went five innings, giving up six hits and seven runs in a 9-3 loss.

Things did not go his way early.

He produced two quick outs in the first, but gave up a double to Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes that scored Josh Reddick, hit Brandon (not Randy) Moss with a pitch and gave up a homer to Chris (not Cris) Carter.

“I just didn’t’ feel very good out there tonight,” he said. “I felt real weak.

“For the first inning or two I just felt overly hot and I knew my ball was up the whole night.”

He steadied himself after an early beating, getting the next four batters out, but had trouble with the heart of the A’s lineup again, giving up a single to Reddick and a home run to Josh Reddick in the third.

Dozier gave him a little support in the bottom half of the inning with a solo shot, but the team was already down 6-1 at that point.

“We actually swung the bats pretty good,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, who’s team outhit their opponent 14-12, but left nine men on base.

Things didn’t get any better as the game went on either. Seth Smith took him deep on the first pitch he faced in the fifth inning.

“Cole was up,” said the skipper. “Everything he threw was up.

“You could see even the pitches they were swinging through were belt-high, across the plate and [De Vries] was never able to make any adjustments.”

The Twins baserunning hurt the team today as both Span, now a repeat offender, and Doumit were put out at second in consecutive innings trying to stretch a single into something more.

“Silly outs on basepaths a few times,” continued Gardenhire. “Span’s was aggressive—the guy made a hell of a throw on him.

“Doumit just got around the bag and didn’t pick up the ball.”

De Vries would leave the game after the fifth inning, turning the ball over to long reliever Anthony Swarzak, who gave up a homer to the first hitter he faced, Moss. He said he wasn’t worried about how one poor start would affect his status with the team.

“I really tried not putting anything into that because that’s going to put so much added pressure on myself,” he said.

“It’s just one of those things: I’ve had good outings in my last ones and this is just one of those outings that wasn’t very good.”

Tom Schreier writes a weekly column for TheFanManifesto.com.

Follow him on Twitter @tschreier3.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

For the Minnesota Twins, their Jekyll-and-Hyde starter, Francisco Liriano, is once again throwing like a pitcher that knows what he’s doing. The timing is almost perfect as the non-waiver trading deadline approaches, and teams are looking for help to make a push in the second half of the season.

The credit for his turnaround has to be given to Scott Diamond.

This season has been a microcosm of Liriano’s career since having Tommy John surgery that ended his 2006 season and caused him to miss the entire 2007 season. In the even years of 2008 and 2010, Liriano had a 20-14 record with a decent 3.70 ERA. In the odd seasons of 2009 and 2011, he went 14-23 with a 5.45 ERA.

That certainly meant that heading into the 2012 season Liriano would have a better season than the 9-10 record with a 5.09 ERA he had in 2011. Of course, that has not been the case.

After opening the season 1-5 with a 9.45 ERA in six starts, the Twins moved him to the bullpen after his May 7th loss to the Angles.

The day after Liriano’s fifth loss, left-hander Diamond would make his first start of the season.

While watching from the bullpen, Liriano saw Diamond lead the Twins in May with a 3-1 record in four starts with a 2.27 ERA. 

Liriano was promoted back to the starting rotation on May 30th. Since then he has a 3-2 record in eight starts with a 2.74 ERA.

Perhaps all he needed was someone to show by example what it takes to win.

It would explain the results in 2006. Liriano joined the Twins rotation midway through the season. That year, another left-hander, Johan Santana, earned his second American League Cy Young award with a 19-6 record and a league-leading 2.77 ERA.

Liriano was 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 28 games and 16 starts. It was in August that he started having problems with his elbow that would eventually end his season, leading to the Tommy John surgery.

By the time he returned to the Twins rotation in 2008, Santana was in New York pitching for the Mets. Liriano had lost his mentor, leaving the likes of Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn to show him the way. While two of the three have been serviceable starters, none were ever anywhere close to dominating hitters like Santana. 

Now, with Diamond dominating on the mound for the Twins, Liriano once again has another left-hander to show him how to win.

Just in time to turn around his 2012 season and allow the Twins get some value in a trade for him. 

Hopefully, wherever he lands there will be another dominating left-hander. Perhaps the Twins could package Liriano and Denard Span in a deal to Washington. Gio Gonzalez currently leads the Nationals with an 11-3 record and a 3.01 ERA, and he is left-handed.

If the Twins can get something in return for Liriano they should give all the credit to Diamond.

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Joe Mauer is a terrific hitter for the Minnesota Twins, but despite his smooth stroke, he still gets a lot of criticism for his lack of power. Some argue that a team’s best hitter should have a slugging percentage higher than Mauer’s .423 this year. His career numbers align with Wade Boggs. That’s not so bad, is it?

For 2012, Mauer is ninth in the AL in batting average (.307), second in on-base percentage (.411) and sixth in walks (37). It’s not like he’s out there stranding runners left and right. He does lead the AL in double plays grounded into with 14, but that’s really the only negative statistic to see.

During Boggs’ best years, he hit in the .360s with on-base percentages in the .450s. He walked much more than he struck out and even led the league in grounding into double plays.

It’s not like Mauer doesn’t hit well with runners on base

With runners in scoring position, Mauer hits .368 with a .500 on-base percentage. He’s walked 15 times and struck out just eight in 72 plate appearances. He’s only hit one home run, but can’t singles and doubles be strung together as well?

The double plays that he’s hit into have almost exclusively come in the same situation. With a man on first only, he hits just .231 and has grounded into 12 of his 14 double plays.

Couldn’t coach Ron Gardenhire put the runner in motion more often in that situation? Shouldn’t he take some of the criticism in that situation?

Mauer is extremely important but can he really be blamed?

As Mauer goes, so do the Twins. In their wins, he hits a remarkable .418 with a .545 on-base percentage and a .620 slugging percentage. In losses, he hits just .243 with a .309 slugging percentage.

It makes sense that the best player on the team would be so instrumental to his club, but what doesn’t make sense is how the rest of the team seems to go to sleep when Mauer isn’t performing. They deserve and should share the blame.

The only thing that needs changing is the players around him

Denard Span and Ben Revere have done a reasonably good job getting on base in front of Mauer. They have .351 and .349 on-base percentages, respectively. The concern for me comes from the players behind Mauer.

While Trevor Plouffe is crushing the ball right now, he’s still only hitting .240 with a .315 on-base percentage. That’s better than former MVP Justin Morneau, who’s hitting .240 with a .311 on-base percentage.

Baseball is a team game. Yes, Mauer makes a ridiculous amount of money and is expected to produce more than anyone else on the roster. Could you imagine how prolific Mauer would be on a team like the Texas Rangers?

It’s not Mauer’s fault. He’s playing a great brand of baseball and shouldn’t change a thing. Hopefully, management can work hard to develop players to play behind Mauer who can hold up their end of the bargain.

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