I remember how flabbergasted I was when Seattle offered a four-year, $48 million deal to Carlos Silva, who had some decent, if not great, years in Minnesota.
Somehow the Mariners became a popular pick to win the AL West, and I kept thinking, "Not if they're depending on Silva to be great."
Well, he's 4-14 and leads the majors in losses. He lasted just three and a third innings Friday, and allowed nine earned runs. That's right, nine. His ERA is 6.36, which means Seattle paid a whole lot of money for nothing.
The winner was Francisco Liriano, who's had three solid starts since being recalled from AAA. On Friday he allowed no earned runs in seven innings.
The Twins have to be concerned with their middle relief. I find it nearly unbelievable that Boof Bonser is still in the major leagues -- it's a measure of the Twins' desperate circumstances in the bullpen.
When the Twins win in a blowout, as they did Friday, they put in the B team from the bullpen. Bonser, with an ERA of 6.30, and Brian Bass, with an ERA of 5.02. Ouch. You wonder if either guy will be around next year, when Pat Neshek will be back.
Offensively it was the big inning for the Twins again. They scored seven times in the fourth inning, when 12 batters went up to the plate.
Jason Kubel struck the biggest blow, with a two-run homer, and was three for four with three RBIs. Denard Span, Nick Punto and Delmon Young had two hits apiece. Young has been on a hot streak and boosted his average to .292.
The Twins have rebounded from an awful series in Seattle when they blew two leads and lost two of three to the woeful Mariners. They're six of eight since then, including two of three against the Yankees.
They need to continue winning -- they can't count on the White Sox losing. Right now they're a half-game behind the Sox.
In the wild card, the Twins are two and a half games behind the Red Sox. But I think there's going to be a shakeup in the final six weeks of the season.
The Rays will suffer from injuries, and I think the Red Sox will win the division. I think the Twins, White Sox and Rays will fight for the wild card, with of course one of the two AL Central teams a virtual certainty to win the division. This might be the year two AL Central teams make the playoffs.
Detroit has fallen 10 games out in the AL Central, and appear nearly doomed. It's always possible they could put together a hot streak, but it doesn't help that they're chasing two teams, not just one.
The Twins have to be happy that they have two shots at making the playoffs, not just one. And they have to be pleased with their young players -- especially Liriano. He appears to be their No. pitcher now, and that would make them a much tougher team to face in the playoffs than if Livan Hernandez were still around.
On Saturday, Scott Baker starts against Ryan Rowland-Smith. After the Mariners leave town, the Athletics come in for a series. Then it's off for what shapes up as a tough series against the Angels.
