Rich Martin's Minnesota Twins fan blog

As each new season begins, fondly do Viking fans hope, fervently do we pray, that this will be the year that all our dark memories will be erased. Each year, we tell ourselves, we start with a clean slate. THIS WILL BE THE YEAR.

My expectations got out of hand, as they always do, before they’re exposed as a fraud. Before I realize Joe Six Pack has a better chance to date Eva Longoria than the Vikings have to win the Super Bowl.

The Vikes played just well enough against the Packers to make it close. Then they showed their true colors.

They led the Colts, 15-0, before Peyton Manning led the Colts to a victory.

Sorry, fellow sufferers. A Super Bowl victory just ain’t gonna happen.

Let’s admit it: The Vikings are the most cursed team in sports, replacing the Red Sox. No other team is even close — the Cubs are just a bad franchise, not a cursed one. And they might even win the World Series this year.

Continue reading "Vikings curse is real"

Black Sunday followed a terrific Saturday.

The Twins lost to Baltimore, 7-3, and the White Sox swept the Tigers to go a game and a half ahead of the Twins.

Alarmingly, the starting pitching wasn't good during the series with the Orioles. Glen Perkins allowed six runs in three innings in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. Nick Blackburn gave up six runs in four innings against the Orioles on Sunday.

The bullpen's issues were troubling enough. The Twins can score runs, but they must rely on good pitching.

Tonight the Twins are behind the Indians, 3-0, and White Sox and Yankees are tied, 2-2. Gulp. The Twins really do not want to fall behind any further.

Continue reading "Twins hang on by their fingernails"

You have to win crucial games down the stretch on the road to reach the postseason.

The Twins did that, winning 12-2 and 12-6 over the Baltimore Orioles, who have been a welcome change from the Toronto Blue Jays, who have been beating everybody.

In the first game, Justin Morneau went four for five with two runs and two RBIs; Denard Span was two for five with four RBIs and two runs; Carlos Gomez was two for four with four RBIs and a run; and Scott Baker had a solid outing, allowing just one run in six innings.

In the second game, Span, Matt Tolbert and Brendan Harris each had two outs. Morneau drove in two more, improving to 124. (MVP anyone? At least if the Twins win the division, I think he'd be a great choice.)

It's a good thing the Twins bashed the ball in that second game -- Glen Perkins had a weak start, allowing six runs in three innnings. For once the bullpen was perfect. Bobby Korecky, Craig Breslow, Dennys Reyes and Philip Humber pitched six innings of scoreless relief.

Continue reading "Twin-bill win for Twins"

You can't put lipstick on this pig: The Twins' bullpen blew a fine effort by Francisco Liriano to lose at home to the woeful Kansas City Royals.

This one really hurts. Now the team is a game and a half behind the White Sox, with the Sox playing the Jays later tonight.

Liriano's the team's ace, and the Twins have to win his games. The bullpen is as wasted as frat boys at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning. They have nothing left.

Let's be unkind and point fingers: Matt Guerrier and Dennys Reyes blew this game.

But where was the hitting? Just two runs against the Royals at the Baggie Dome?

Hometown hero Joe Mauer made the last out. Jason Kubel, Brendan Harris, Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla went hitless.

No, the Twins aren't dead, though they've played some games recently where they didn't show much life. But the White Sox have not been playing well either.

Continue reading "Horrible loss for Twins"

What a difference a day makes.

On Monday the Twins were 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox. The Twins cruised over the Royals and the red-hot Blue Jays swept the Sox in Chicago. Now the gap is only a game.

The heroes included Justin Morneau, who hit his 23rd homer and knocked in two to up his RBI total to 119; Denard Span, who went three for five with two runs and an RBI; Brian Buscher, who went three for four with a run and an RBI; and starter Nick Blackburn, who allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.

Maybe it was the day off Monday. The Twins had a brutal road trip and probably just got tired. (And ran into a team that's put it all together at the end of the year, the Jays.)

The Twins have a decent shot. Injuries to Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko will hurt the White Sox. On the other side of the ledger, though, the Twins have bullpen issues. Matt Guerrier, in particular, has just pitched too many innings. There are some tired arms in the pen.

Continue reading "Twins back in the race"

It started so well, with back-to-back wins against the mighty Angels in Anaheim. It ended calamitously, with the Jays sweeping the Twins in Toronto, with the final game a 9-0 blowout.

The Twins finished the road trip 5-8 -- 2-2 against the Angels, 1-2 against the Mariners, 2-2 against the Athletics and 0-3 against the Jays, who won all six games against the Twins.

But the news isn't all bad. The White Sox also played poorly during that stretch, and are up only a game and a half. And the Sox must play without star -- and possible MVP -- Carlos Quentin indefinitely. He has a fractured wrist and must have surgery. He's probably out for the year.

What's more, the White Sox must play the Angels next. You might think they have little to play for, with the AL West title all but wrapped up. But the home-field advantage that goes to the team with the best record can come in mighty handy, and the Angels and Rays are fighting it out for that.

Continue reading "Twins out of gas as Road Trip from Hell ends"

Whew! That was nerve-racking.

Did the Twins win because they needed this one more? The team, a half-game behind the White Sox, faced an Angels club that is 15 games ahead.

Did it all hinge on one play -- Torii Hunter's misplay in center field, ruled a triple, that put Nick Punto on third?

Was it the Twins' bullpen, which didn't have to put in someone as woeful as Justin Speier in? The Twins' bullpen was great, with Joe Nathan getting the save after strong stints by Matt Guerrier and Jessie Crain.

Or should we credit Denard Span, who had two hits, knocked in the winning run and made a great catch in right field? The kid has been great. He's hitting over .300 and has been spectacular in the field.

I guess you could credit all these factors. But you have to start with the starters.

Continue reading "Span, Punto spark Twins' win"

The Twins, facing the toughest part of their schedule, had to win Wednesday. Facing the Athletics while the White Sox were beating up on the Mariners, the team did its part, beating the A's 3-1.

Francisco Liriano wasn't great, allowing five hits and three walks, but he was good enough against a weak-hitting Oakland lineup.

Why was this a must-win game? Look at the schedule, then at the standings. The Twins are already a game back of the White Sox and must play four games in Anaheim. They might very well get swept; splitting the series would be a great accomplishment against what appears to be the best team in baseball.

The road trip will be 14 games long. Yikes.

But enough worrying. The Twins swept the Mariners and took two out of three from Oakland at home. They've won 11 consecutive series in the Baggie Dome and are 30-9 there since June 1.

Continue reading "Twins beat A's, win series"

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.

Continue reading "Twins sink Mariners, 9-3"

After the way the Twins lost Tuesday, you had to wonder if they would end up demoralized against the Yankees, who have always manhandled them.

Nope. The Twins got a great start from Kevin Slowey, and Delmon Young's three-run jack was the difference in the team's 4-2 win.

Slowey allowed only three hits and one run in six innings, and the bullpen finished it off. Joe Nathan earned his 32nd save in 34 chances. Nathan, who has an ERA of 1.05.

Can that number be right? Yup. He's been the rock who's stabilized a shaky pen that was hard-hit by the season-ending injury of Pat Neshek a few months ago. The pen, undermanned without Neshek, has been overworked because of the young starters who usually go only about six innings.

Maybe the biggest story of this game is Young's resurgence. After starting slowly, he's finding his stroke. He hit a three-run homer Tuesday that tied the game in the ninth. He was two for four and boosted his RBI total to 52.

Continue reading "Twins take rubber game vs. Yanks"