Delmon Young Traded To Tigers

The Twins were upset with their present team so they decided to trade for the future by dealing a 25 year old outfielder that is a year removed from a 21 home run season. They traded him away for 2 prospects, one prospects is Cole Nelson, a 6-7 lefthander who attended Edina High School and was pitching for Class A Lakeland of the Florida State League. The other is a player to be named later who is not expected to be a top prospect.



I guess this is an upgrade for the Tigers since Magglio Ordonez is on his deathbed and Delmon could inject some life into the line up. Delmon and his brother Dmitri Young now both played on the Tigers. (trust me, click on the picture, I guarantee you will laugh.



Also, I guess this must mean that the Twins really lost faith in the outfielder, figuring they invested so much in him (gave up Matt Garza in the deal with the Rays). I'm not a big fan of trading away young players, but whatever, it's the Twins.

Congrats Jim Thome

Jim Thome hit his 600th home run last night and he should really be celebrated for this. He reached the mark in 2nd fastest behind only Babe Ruth, and there is no reason he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. I could care less that he can't play defense or only has a .277 batting average, Jim Thome is the man. In these troubled times where guys like A-Rod, Mark McGwire, Rafeal Palmiero and Jose Canseco are all getting caught with using steroids it's refreshing to see someone make it, that there is only speculation from a few people reach the career mark.



After all, until 2002 the 600 club had a mere three members – Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Since then, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and now Thome have barged in. I think that's pretty good company. And if he doesn't make it 1st ballet, I'm going to punch someone.

Morneau Is Back: Too Little Too Late

Justin Morneau who has been on the disabled list since June 9, will complete a rehab assignment at Triple-A Rochester today and will be activated in time for a weekend series with the Indians. The problem is this season is likely already over for the Twins. They currently sit 9 1/2 games behind in the AL Central, and that is just too much to overcome this late in the season.



Here's an amazing stat that La Velle Neal of the Star Tribune pointed out... "Morneau and Mauer have played only nine games together since July 7, 2010". I'll give the Twins a buy for this year, it seemed like everyone on their team went down with an injury. Yet, I still have serious questions about this team's future. Liriano sucks and I don't think he will ever be the pitcher we once thought he was. Mauer seems to be hated by his team and he can't stay on the field. You never know what you are going to get from Delmon Young. Morneau never plays. So, there seems to be a lot of questions. Maybe they will stay healthy and be a good team next year, but I could also see them being once again on the bottom of the barrel just as easy.

5 Twins, 2 Sox

Ya know we can't come back from every game.



The Sox failed to win their 6th straight and sweep the Minnesota Twins. Jon Lester had a pretty bad game for him going 7.1 innings, giving up 8 hits, 4 runs, walking 5 and striking out 4.



I thought there was a chance for a comeback in the 7th when Scutaro drove in Aviles to bring the Sox within one. David Ortiz came through again, with a solo-homer in the 8th to bring the game to 2-2. However, Lester couldn't hold the lead and let up a run, and left a man on 2nd when Aceves came in. Aceves then let in 2 runs having the score get to 5-2 and that's where it ended.



Ortiz had himself a series and had .636 average (7-for-11) with 2 home runs.



The Yanks won, bringing them to a game and a half behind the Sox.

Red Sox @ Twins Preview

Red Sox are looking for their 5th win in a row, and on paper there looks like there is little chance they aren't going to get it. Nick Blackburn takes on Lester, and that could be bad news for the Twins.



Blackburn (7-9, 4.58 ERA) has posted an 11.68 ERA while losing his last three starts. His command has been way off in his last two, as he has 11 walks over 9 2/3 innings. That's bad news when you are going against a team like the Red Sox, who love to walk.



Meanwhile, Lester is 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA in three starts since coming off the DL. He is also 5-1 with a 1.76 ERA in his last six starts on the road.



Look for the Red Sox to finish off the series in a big way. Lester will cruise most likely pitching 7 or 8 innings, and the Red Sox to score at least 7 runs.



Red Sox win 8-2

Player of the Game: Lester

Game starts at 8:10pm

Red Sox 4 Twins 3

The Sox keep rolling and fans have to be happy with what they saw from Erik Bedard last night. Sure his stat line won't knock you off your seat, but if you watched the game you know he deserved better. Bedard gave up two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in five innings in his second start since coming to Boston in a trade with Seattle. Yet, if he wasn't squeezed so bad in the first inning I think we may have been watching something pretty special. Maybe, I am just a homer, but that's the way I saw it.



Anyways, Boston was down 2-0 till the 5th when McDonald hit a 2 run HR to left off Liriano. By the way I still stand by my statement that Liriano sucks. Seriously, fuck that guy.



Tek gave the Sox the lead in the 6th with an RBI single, but that was quickly erased when Nishioka doubled to deep right, which was inches from being a HR. Ortiz put the Red Sox up for good in the 7th reaching on an infield single, in which he joked he was "light stepping", so that the Twins "didn't know I was coming". Papelbon locked it down in the 9th with his 26th save of the season.



With the win the Red Sox are now 2 1/2 games up the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

Red Sox @ Twins Preview

Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz have crushed the Twins during their careers. Ortiz is hitting .327 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 42 games against his former team. Pedroia seems to love to play in Minnesota, where he has a .439 average with seven RBIs in 14 visits.



The same cn't be said for Liriano going against the Red Sox. He is a dreadful 1-3 with a 7.78 ERA, and to make matters worse is coming off one of his worst outings of the season going 5 innings allowing seven runs and a season-high 10 hits against the Angels. Liriano just isn't what he once was, and the Red Sox will take full advantage (especially Pedroia who is 6 for 10 against him).



Meanwhile the Sox will once again turn to Erik Bedard, who had a solid first outing for the Red Sox allowing three runs and seven hits with five strikeouts in five innings against the Indians. Bedard has won his last two starts against the Twins, allowing two runs in 11 innings.



The Twins are having a terrible season and are currently riding a 5 game losing steak, which will be 6 after tonight.



Red Sox win 11-4

Player of the Game: Dustin Pedroia

Game starts at 8:10pm

Red Sox 8, Twins 6

David Ortiz's 4 hits (including a homer and double) and 3 RBI propelled the Sox to victory last night. However, the game-winning run crossed the plate after Wakefield finished his outing, thwarting yet another bid for Wakefield's 200th career win.

Wake was, however, good enough to receive a 'W.' 7 innings, 3 earned runs, 5 runs total. He hasn't been great for the Sox this year, but his service has been invaluable, considering the alternative would be some AAA pitcher. Even though his ERA is 4.92, that's still pretty good for a 45 year old.

Another unsung hero of the season - Jarrod Saltalamacchia - had a good night. He hit a solo homerun (his 11th of the year), and an RBI double in the 9th. Guys such as him and Josh Reddick have kept the lineup solid from top to bottom. There are no easy innings for opposing pitchers.

Tonight, Bedard faces Francisco Liriano, who is 7-9 with a 5.03 ERA.

-The Commodore

Red Sox @ Twins Preview

Tim Wakefield will try again for career win No. 200, this time against the Twins. Wakefield is looking to become the 108th pitcher in major league history to reach the milestone. This could be a tough matchup for the Wake as he is 1-3 with an 8.38 ERA in his last four starts against the Twins, but the Twins are also not playing very well right now (2-8 in their last 10 games).



Scott Baker will be pitching for the Twins tonight, and he has had a pretty solid season going 8-6 with a 3.01 ERA. He has a 0.22 ERA in his past six home starts, walking four and striking out 40.



Boston gets Lowrie back tonight, which could provide a little bit more offense to the best offensive team in baseball. Although I worry about his defense Lowrie is certainly an upgrade at SS offensively over Scutaro.



Even with everything seemingly against them in this game, I think Boston's offense will be enough to squeak out a tough one.



Red Sox win 8-6

Player of the Game: Crawford

Game starts at 7:10pm

Red Sox Trading For A Right Fielder?

As we all know by now Mike Cameron has been let loose. We also know that JD Drew sucks, and won't give us anything (except good fielding). That leaves Reddick in RF when the playoffs come around. One would wonder if the Sox would make a move to bring one in. There have been a couple names that have been popping up on the rumor mill around the league that would seem to fit the Sox (Jeff Francoeur, and Michael Cuddyer).

If we are picking between these two I will go with Cuddyer everytime. Sure is isn't as good of a fielder as Drew or Francoeur, but he tends to talk more then Francoeur and man play a ton of different positions (LF, RF, 1st, and 2nd). That's a great type of player to have on your bench and would give the Sox a lot of options depending on matchups, injuries, ect.

This is just a thought, but I do think he would be a very good fit here for the Sox.

Joe Mauer to 1st, Rut Roh

The Twins signed the Minnesota Kid for a 8 year, bazillion dollar deal last year. They did it with the thoughts he would be the Twins starting catcher for the next 8 years, however, after tired legs and whatever injury he just returned from, Mauer is now taking balls at 1st base. The best thing about Mauer is that he had great production from a relatively weak offensive position. Now that he is moving to 1st the writing is on the wall that he won't be a catcher for his whole career. Also, that makes his value go down a lot if he eventually moves there permanently.

I want to give Mauer the benefit of doubt and say he will go back to being himself, however I have a bad feeling.