Rich Martin's Minnesota Twins fan blog

Let's face it: There is such a thing as luck. And the Vikings, after a rough beginning, are getting the benefit of some questionable referees' calls.

No one on the Minnesota sidelines can be proud of a 12-10 win over the winless Detroit Lions at the Metrodome. That's a game the Vikes should've won by three touchdowns.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Every game Minnesota has played has gone down to the wire. How curious.

When you look at the statistics, the Vikings appeared to dominate the game. They had almost 400 yards total offense. Gus Frerotte had a good game, with nearly 300 yards passing. Adrian Peterson rushed for more than 100 yards.

But Peterson fumbled twice; Frerotte tossed an interception; and the Lions blocked a field goal.

A couple of borderline referees' calls helped decide this one, which is the definition of winning ugly. A call on the Lions at the end of the game gave the Vikings the ball in field-goal territory, and Ryan Longwell cashed in.

Continue reading "Vikings better than lucky than good, part 2"

It was one of the kookiest games of all time.

Two punt returns for touchdowns, both by Reggie Bush. A blocked field-goal attempt that went right to Antoine Winfield, who ran it in for a TD. A back, Chester Taylor, throwing at TD pass for the Vikes. Tons of penalties and four turnovers by the Saints.

You could say the Vikings were lucky. That's true. You could say they didn't "deserve" to win.

I object to the use of that word. No one ever gets what they "deserve." The fact is that the Vikings were resilient and played well enough in some areas to win.

The Saints must feel as if they're cursed -- back in the old days when the team was the Aints. They showed flashes of brilliance yet self-destructed, ending with a missed field goal. They were unlucky, with a strange call on an apparent Adrian Peterson fumble and a missed facemask penalty.

Continue reading "Better lucky than good"

The Dodgers look like the team that won more games than any other in the National League, not the Cubs.

It was Chad Billingsley, not Carlos Zambrano, who looked like the dominant pitcher who had a no-hitter at the end of the season.

But the Cubs appeared to be the same old Cubs.

On Wednesday the Cubs couldn't hit or pitch. On Thursday they couldn't field or hit.

It wasn't Zambrano who self-destructed -- it was the Cubs infield. And at the worst possible time.

In the second, the first two Dodgers got hits. Then Mark DeRosa messed up a potential double-play ball. Then Derrek Lee fumbled a ball hit right at him.

Russell Martin hit a bases-clearing double and the Dodgers were on their way. Four of the five runs scored in the second were unearned.

Continue reading "Cubs flub"

You have to say the Phillies have been very impressive so far, especially after their playoff debacle of last year.

They're this year's version of the Rockies, going hot down the stretch and riding a couple of hot pitchers.

They've made short work of the Brewers, beating up on ace C.C. Sabathia.

The Phillies seem to have all the ingredients to go a long, long way. Two very good starters, Cole Hamels and Brett Meyers. A great stopper, Brad Lidge. And a formidable lineup that's filled with long-ball threats.

You need depth to win a lot of games during the year. The formula's quite different during the postseason. You need dominant players -- in particular, three great pitchers, two starters and a closer. That's especially true if your starters pitch late into the game. Hamels pitched eight innings in the 3-1 win in the first game.

Continue reading "Phillies looking great in playoffs"

The TBS announcers described the Chicago crowd at the end of this game as "stunned."

Maybe they were, but this should not have come as a shock. A mild surprise at most.

Derek Lowe pitched very well down the stretch, and the Dodgers were a good team after getting Manny Ramirez.

This was a crucial game for the Dodgers. The Cubs' best pitcher, Carlos Zambrano, is on the mound in the second game. You'd have to favor him against Chad Billingsley. This was very close to a must-win game for the Dodgers.

Ryan Dempster was a journeyman pitcher for most of his tenure with the Cubs. He was great this year -- until Wednesday.

Seven walks proved to be Dempster's undoing. I couldn't tell whether he just wasn't sharp or if he wasn't challenging hitters.

He got away with it until the fifth, when James Loney hit a 3-2 pitch out of the ballpark. Manny Ramirez hit a solo shot in that inning, too -- and that one was way out.

Continue reading "Cubs chew on tough Wrigley loss"

It was a close game throughout. Nick Blackburn pitched well for the Twins, John Denks was a little bit better for the White Sox.

Blackburn made one mistake, and Jim Thome made him pay with a homer. The Sox had only five hits, the Twins  two.

The Twins had one shot. Michael Cuddyer hit a double to lead off the fifth and went to third on a sacrifice. He tried to go home on a ball to short center, and Ken Griffey threw a one-hopper to home plate.

Cuddyer crashed into A.J. Pierzynski, who held onto the ball. It was the Twins' only chance to score.

Blackburn was great, and so was the bullpen. But you don't win when you don't score. It was the fifth time the Twins lost 1-0 this year.

The Twins had a good record against Denks, but couldn't hit him Tuesday. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau did nothing. Morneau might have won the MVP if he had done something down the stretch, but he was one for his final 20. No MVP for him.

Continue reading "Twins done"

It didn't look good early. The White Sox scored all six of their runs in the fourth, and were up 6-1. I thought we were going to lose.

But as Jayson Stark said on ESPN tonight, whatever the odds are, never count out the Twins.

They fought back, nickel-and-diming. They scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie it up.

The White Sox brought their closer Bobby Jenks in the eighth, and he was still pitching in the 10th when Nick Punto walked with one out. He went to second on a groundout, and Alexi Casilla knocked him in. Casilla had two hits.

Denard Span went three for four with three RBIs and a run; Joe Mauer went three for four with an RBI; and Carlos Gomez went four for five with three runs and two RBIs.

In other words, except for Mauer, it was the greenhorns who came through. Justin Morneau didn't have a hit.  Neither did Delmon Young.

Continue reading "Twins win, in first place"

The Twins had to win this first game in the series against the White Sox, and they did, 9-3.

You have to spotlight three players. First Scott Baker, who allowed five hits and a run in seven innings to improve his record to 10-4. He's our No. 2 pitcher behind Francisco Liriano, and he pitched as well Tuesday as Liriano did Sunday against the Rays.

But then you look past the usual suspects, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Oh, Morneau had an RBI to raise his league-leading total to 129.

Think a minute. Many teams don't want to give Morneau anything to hit. He and Mauer both get tons of walks.

Mauer bats third, Morneau fourth. The fifth and sixth batters in the lineup have to come through. They did Tuesday.

Jason Kubel had one of his best games of the year, going three for four with two homers, a triple, three runs and three RBIs. Batting right behind him, Delmon Young went three for three with two runs and two RBIs.

Continue reading "Baker cooks up fine start, win for Twins"

Whew. I don't know about you, but I was really nervous that the Vikings would go 0-3. But their defense came through, dominating the Panthers, and Gus Frerotte had a decent second half as the team won 20-10.

Frerotte, the replacement for the woeful Tarvaris Jackson, went 16 for 28 for 204 yards. Those are better figures than Jackson had, and it was Frerotte's first game.

Adrian Peterson played hurt, and his rushing numbers show it. He ran 17 times for 77 yards, and his long run was only 14 yards. Chester Taylor rushed 11 times for 44 yards.

The real story was the defense. The Vikes allowed only 204 yards against a previously unbeaten Panthers team that should have been better with the addition of star receiver Steve Smith.

The D also got two sacks -- yes, one by Jared Allen -- and forced two fumbles, one of which Antoine Winfield returned for a TD. He also had a sack. (It was in the same play he forced the fumble.

Continue reading "Vikes beat Panthers to avoid 0-3 hole"

You wouldn't want to head to Vegas and put down a bet on the Twins. But at least they're alive.

Francisco Liriano, 6-0 since being called up, pitched seven strong innings against the playoff-bound Rays. This was a must-win-situation against a good team. The Twins couldn't count on any help from the Royals, who managed to win only one game against the White Sox.

The Twins are two and a half games back with a series coming up against the Sox at the Baggie Dome. They need to win at least two of three -- and probably all three.

Both teams are off Monday, and the series begins Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Joe Mauer was the hitting star for the Twins, hitting a double and triple. He has an 11-game hitting streak and went eight for 15 in the series. He's hitting .330.

Continue reading "Liriano keeps Twins' hopes alive"