Wednesday night, rookie center fielder Carlos Gomez became the first Twin in 22 years to hit for the cycle.  Gomez hit a home run to lead off the game, struck out in the third inning, slapped an RBI triple in the fifth, drove in another run with a double in the sixth, then singled - off the pitcher's glove - in the ninth. He later struck out to end the Twins' six-run ninth inning, and the Twins won the game 13-1.  Nick Punto drove in five runs, and Livan Hernandez lost a shutout with one out in the ninth inning when Jermaine Dye went deep.

A few did-you-knows about cycles:

• The last Twin to hit for the cycle was Kirby Puckett, who accomplished the feat against Oakland on August 1, 1986 .
• Lyman Bostock (July 24, 1976) was the last Twin to complete his cycle with a single.
• Gomez is the first Twin to start his cycle with a home run.
• Bostock was also the last, and only, Twin to hit for the cycle against the White Sox.
• Bostock was the only Twin to go 4-4 to complete his cycle; he also walked and hit a sacrifice fly.  No Twin - and only one player in the majors since 1957 - has ever hit for the cycle in just four plate appearances.
• Gary Ward (September 18, 1980) was the only Twin to accomplish the feat in a loss.  He was also the last Twin to do it on the road.
• Rod Carew (May 20, 1970 ) was the first Twin to hit for the cycle.
• Cesar Tovar (September 19, 1972) completed his cycle with a walkoff, two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th.
• Larry Hisle (June 4, 1976 ) took until the 10th inning to complete his cycle, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the 10th, which turned out to be the game-winner.
• Mike Cubbage (July 27, 1978) was one of two Twins (Carew was the other) to do it from an infield position.
• Like Gomez's, three of the Twins's seven cycles have come from the leadoff spot in the batting order (Puckett, Ward, and Tovar.)
• Like Gomez, Puckett and Bostock were playing center field.  Ward, Hisle, and Tovar were all playing left field.
  
• Like Gomez, Puckett, Bostock, Hisle, and Tovar completed their cycles in the Twins' final at-bat of the game.
• The last cycle in the majors was completed last June 29th, by Baltimore's Aubrey Huff.
• Three teams - Tampa Bay, Florida, and San Diego - have never had a player hit for the cycle.
• There have been 277 cycles in the major leagues, since 1882.

After the jump, the full list of Twins cycles, with dates and play-by-play.

Continue reading this post »

Twins score four in bottom of the seventh, win fifth straight.

This game kicked off with one of those ominous half-innings, the ones that make you cringe as your team gets rocked.  Things that can go wrong do go wrong, and by the time that third out finally gets recorded you need a few minutes to shake the haze from your head.  Such was the top of the first inning, as Bonser combined bad location with bad luck, and following Curtis Granderson's leadoff homer the Tigers strung together five consecutive singles.  By the time the number seven hitter, Marcus Thames, popped out to Joe Mauer, it was five to nothing.  And the Twins hadn't even come to the plate.

A wild pitch by Bonser on a third strike allowed Ivan Rodriguez to reach, a throwing error by Mauer saw Edgar Renteria score, and when Granderson struck out in his second at-bat of the inning to end the top of the first Detroit was staked to a six-run lead.  But it's always darkest before the light.

Following the implosive first inning, Bonser found his groove.  It was a 45-pitch first inning, but the Tigers never found a way to get to Boof again as he followed up with pitch counts of five, 14, 10, 14 and 11.  His fastball looked good, the breaking balls snapped down and all the luck Detroit had (or was it bad luck on Minnesota's end?) in the first inning disappeared without a trace.  Boof Bonser could have collapsed, could have given in and thrown it away for lost after that nightmare of a first inning, but he didn't.  He came back strong, was effective, and he gave his offense a chance.

The offense didn't disappoint.

Justin Morneau singled following Mauer's double in the bottom of the fourth, making for the Twins first run.  The next inning, Nick Punto doubled in both Craig Monroe and Delmon Young to close the gap to three.  But it was with two outs in the bottom of the seventh that fireworks went off.

With Kenny Rogers still on the mound, Matt Tolbert took the seventh pitch of his plate appearance pulled a double into left field.  Nick Punto followed that up by rolling over on a changeup, but the Twins were getting all the bounces by this point.  Carlos Guillen, playing third base, let it get through his legs; runners at the corners, still two away.  The hiccup chased Rogers, who was replaced by Zach Miner.

Miner peppered leadoff man Carlos Gomez with four straight fastballs.  On the fourth offering, Gomez swung and chopped a high bouncer off the plate.  Edgar Renteria charged and snagged the ball on the first hop, but he never had a chance.  Gomez reached, Punto advanced to second, and Tolbert scored.  6-4, Detroit; momentum was swinging.
 
Hitless on the afternoon, Brendan Harris put a charge into a changeup from Miner.  He drove it deep into left field, past the outstretched arm of Jacque Jones, and it bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.  6-5, Detroit.

Then came Joe Mauer, with two runners in scoring position.  Bobby Seay had replaced Miner, but he couldn't stop the bleeding.  Mauer chopped a fastball up the middle, right over the mound.  Polanco and Renteria converged but the ball snuck through, and Mauer's seeing-eye single scored two.

It was a fantastic comeback for the Twins, and the victory keeps them in first place.  In the stretch of these five wins, Minnesota has outscored their opponents 29-12, and the bats have been more impressive than they've been most of the year.  The picture is far from perfect, but it's working for the moment, and it's one hell of a lot of fun to see.

Being pulled from Friday's game was a precautionary measure.

In the fifth inning of last night's game, Carlos Gomez was diving into second base for what would be his second steal of the night.  The throw from Ivan Rodriguez came in low and to the first base side of the bag, and caught Gomez in the left side of his head.  While the impact didn't knock him unconscious, Tiger shortstop Edgar Renteria told Gomez to "stay put".

Following an on-the-field assessment, physicians and staff sat Gomez up, put him on a cart and removed him from the game.  A brief evaluation by medical personnel deemed him fine, with a headache and a bruise the only things to show for getting hit by a baseball.  While it's likely the Twins may keep him out of tonight's game, Gomez had this to say about his availability:

"I'll see how I feel tomorrow. I did hit my head, so it's hard to tell if we play tomorrow or not."

Tonight's game kicks off just after 6pm, CST.

The game was at a reasonable time considering my six-hour time difference...and I didn't even see it.  Which is probably why we won.  And since when did I become so superstitious?

Checking the box scores and reading recaps is no way to live a life as a Twins blogger.  But it will have to suffice for tonight.  I'm more than happy to dish out the general specifics (oxymoron?), but I'm sure you can fill me in on the specific events.

Carlos Gomez had a huge game, going 3-for-4 and snagging his 11th base of the year.  After reaching on a bunt, Justin Morneau busted out a double that plated the speedster from third base, giving the Twins the go-ahead run.  From what I've read it looks like Gomez had tried earlier in the game to score from third on a mis-played ball, but was called out at the plate.  I'm wondering how they were able to throw the ball fast enough to over-take him on the relay home.

Thursday is an off-day before heading into the weekend series versus the Tigers.  I'll catch up with you sometime tomorrow.  Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday everyone.

Note: This feature appears in the May issue of GameDay, on which Jesse served as the guest editor.  My thanks to him for the opportunity, and for not complaining when I turned in my usual nonsensical drivel.

If you were alive and computer-literate during the mid-1980s, you might remember text adventure games.  These were designed to provide mild entertainment without using graphics, sounds, or indeed anything at all that might be in any way visually stimulating.  Instead, you read line after line of descriptions of the room you happened to be standing in, while typing incredibly repetitive commands like “look at rock” and “get potion” and “go west” to progress. 

Inevitably, the game would require you to run around picking up objects and rubbing them against other objects and so on and so forth until you either unlocked the random combination the game designers had set for you, or (more likely) gave up and wandered outside in search of any diversion that didn’t involve being made to feel stupid by a game that repeatedly said to you, “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that,” after you had typed something blindingly obvious like “dunk your stupid electronic head in a lake.”

Nowadays, of course, there are video games that simulate in realistic detail everything that happens on a baseball field - unhittable knuckleballs on a windy day, home runs off the facing of the upper deck, Prince Fielder’s ill-fitting uniform pants, etc.  But I find myself yearning for a simpler time - a time when graphics were non-existent and cheap laughs could be had by typing cuss words and watching a game admonish you to watch your mouth.  Which is why I’ve come up with the following simulated game - it’s the Minnesota Twins, in text adventure format.

Minnesota Twins - The Text Adventure

Greetings!  You are standing in a musty-smelling hallway, surrounded by concrete and outside a room marked "Home Locker Room."  Clearly, you're at the Metrodome.  As which Twin would you like to play the game?

> trade everyone immediately
I'm sorry, Mr. Smith - you’ve already completed this game. You may be looking for "Florida Marlins - The Text Adventure."

As which Twin would you like to play the game?

>nick punto
Congratulations!  You are Nick Punto!  Your advantages are speed, defense, and no reason to duck when returning to the dugout.  Your weaknesses include an aversion to first base.

Your first at-bat is upcoming.  You get a bat and head out into the batter’s box... and here’s the pitch! 

>swing
You have swung and missed. 

The set by the right-hander... and the pitch!

>swing
You have swung and missed again.  You step out of the batter’s box and briefly stare at the bat as if it is riddled with mysterious holes.  Some wag in the crowd behind you yells, “Don’t blame the bat for this!”

You have an 0-2 count.  The pitcher looks in for the sign, and delivers another pitch.

>close eyes and swing
Success!  You’ve actually made contact!  You’re running to first base... the shortstop is up with the ball... Looks like it’ll be a close play!

>run standing up through first base
I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that.

>run standing up through first base
I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that.

>sigh

>slide headfirst into first base
About time you figured this out... 

You slide headfirst into first base... and you’re out by three feet, yet again!  Luckily, you remain short and a middle infielder, so you’ll be staying on Ron Gardenhire’s roster.  But it might be best if you picked a different Twin as whom to play this game.

As which Twin would you like to play the game?

>alexi casilla
Try back when you’re older, bub.

As which Twin would you like to play the game?

>livan hernandez
Congratulations!  You are now Livan Hernandez!  Your strengths are - hey, is that a pie?  Mmm... pie...

It’s the fifth day, so you’ve taken the mound yet again - and worked into the seventh inning.  Unfortunately, there are now runners on the corners with two out - allow a hit here, and you’re sunk.  Better come up with a good pitch to throw to this guy.

>try to eat ball
No, Livan!  Throw it!

>throw fastball 95 mph
Ha!

>throw fastball 85 mph
Ha!

>throw curve 51 mph
You break off a pitch that curves some, but mostly is affected by gravity.  The ball approximates the trajectory of a pop fly.  Several players in the dugout wet themselves laughing.  The batter is laughing too hard to swing.  Luckily, the umpire is a more stolid soul, and manages to call strike three.  You’re out of the inning!

>go to Murray’s eat the big steak
You’ve been talking to Mr. Oliva, haven’t you?  Anyway, your turn in the rotation is over - it’d be best if you picked another Twin.

As which Twin would you like to play the game?

>carlos gomez
Congratulations!  You are Carlos Gomez!  You can run faster than anyone else on the team - even fast enough to outrun some of your mistakes.  As the leadoff hitter and center fielder, you must be disciplined... a word that, unfortunately, you have not yet learned.

It’s your first at-bat, and you have a 3-0 count.  Here’s the pitch... it’s looking to be a good two and a half feet outside...

>pull ball over left-field fence for super-awesome home run
You take a gigantic cut and miss strike one, which ends up going into the first-base dugout on the fly.  A glance into the home dugout shows that Joe Vavra is softly weeping.

The pitcher comes set again... and the pitch!

>sprint up line wildly while attempting to bunt
You get an early start - too early.  Not only do you step out of the batter’s box and miss the bunt, but the ball hits you in the butt and is declared strike two. 

You look into the dugout again.  Ron Gardenhire is holding a piece of cardboard that has “DO NOT BUNT” printed on it, in marker.  Scott Ullger, at third base, has given up on actual signs and is miming a swing.  You step back in... and here’s the pitch!

>bunt again
You lay down a perfect bunt.  You’re across first base before the third baseman can even pick up the ball.

Your rating is 5/5 - and you’ll have many more chances at this game.  Congratulations!

It's a good thing I'm not terribly supersticious, I'd never see another full Twins game this year.

I wouldn't call it ironic, because kicking the living crap out of the Ranger bullpen isn't unheard of or even unexpected, but the Twins didn't get to Sidney Ponson as early as I thought they would.  Ponson went five and a third, allowing five runs (just one earned), but he'd been surprisingly effective through five innings.  In the sixth, holding a 5-2 lead, things came unravelled.

Once he was staked to his lead, Ponson changed tactics and began to go after Twins hitters, not being afraid to throw over the plate instead of trying to get them to bite on fastballs dancing on the outside of the zone.  In the sixth inning this tactic began to backfire, and in the end forced Texas to put the fate of their game into their suspect relief corps.

Brendan Harris led off the Minnesota sixth, and again it looked like Ponson was approaching Twins hitters aggressively.  Three of his four pitches were right over the heart of the plate, and on a 2-1 count, Harris took Ponson's offering to center field for a double.

Still in control, Ponson attacked Mauer will three consecutive fastballs.  Joe took the first two for balls before taking his third pitch back to the pitcher.  Ponson threw the ball away, Harris scored, and when the dust settled Joe Mauer was standing on second base.  5-3 Rangers, but Ponson was shaken.

After Justin Morneau grounded out to first base, Michael Cuddyer reached base when Texas third baseman Ramon Vasquez was unable to come up clean on the ground ball.  With only one out and runners on first and second, it was Jason Kubel who chased Ponson.  His hard-hit liner to right scored Mauer from third.

Jamie Wright came on in relief, and quickly walked Delmon Young on five pitches.  The bases were loaded for Mike Lamb, who's had one of the roughest starts of any Twin so far this spring.  Lamb came through with a sacrifice fly, and the game was tied as Cuddyer crossed home plate.  It was the best inning I've been able to watch so far this year, and was an awesome way to wake up this morning, not gonna lie.

Another three-run inning in the seventh gave the Twins a healthy lead late, but it was Michael Cuddyer's three-run homer in the top of the eighth that put the nail in the proverbial coffin.  Following a 10-pitch plate appearance for Morneau, Cuddyer took Scott Feldman's first pitch and deposited it over the left field fence.  It capped 10 unanswered runs by the Minnesota offense.

Craig Monroe's start in center field didn't cost the Twins any runs in the end, and likely helped the offense in the absence of Carlos Gomez.  He went 2-for-5 with an RBI double, giving the Twins their first lead at 1-0.  I wouldn't want to pull that job more than a handful of times all season, but if it has to happen on a limited occasion, well...it's not going to alter the fortunes of the team one way or the other.

That was a great win for the Twins.  Let's shoot for a series victory this afternoon!

It's not easy.

Even though I do try to maintain a view of the larger picture, I can't deny it--I get caught up in the moment just as much as the next guy.  And in those moments it's easy to second-guess decisions, and all justifications of The Future can be lost to an emotion-fueled fret.

Carlos Gomez

When the Twins had the decision to make of whether to start him in Rochester or Minneapolis, it was pretty easy to justify going either way.  Once the choice had been made, there were some natural doubts but for the most part it seemed plausible enough that, in the long run, this was the best route to take in the development of Carlos Gomez.

Ten games in he was incredible.  Twenty games in he couldn't even get by on luck.  A bit of a panic settled in, to which I wasn't immune.  Questions starting popping into my mind:  What if this was the wrong decision? What if being this over-matched wreaks long-term damage on his development?  How long should the Twins allow him to suffer this punishment?

Again, the emotion-fueled fret destroyed my common sense.  Ten games isn't enough to judge anyone on.  Hell, a full season often isn't enough to judge what kind of player a guy can be.

Questions like the ones I was asking myself don't have to be asked now.  It's Major League Baseball, and here's a shocker:  there's a learning curve.  For a 22-year old it's not uncommon to be over-matched, and in the end I do believe that the experience he garners now will help him reach his ceiling much sooner than had he been sent to Rochester.  We probably won't see it this year, but the re-occurring theme here is Long Term.

Joe Mauer

Mauer's had a slow start, just like pretty much every other position player.  For good reason we're concerned with his production, because the Twins need him to be an offensive force.  After a 2-for-3 game on Friday, however, it's amazing how quickly things change.  One game, and suddenly the batting average and on-base percentage are significantly closer to where most of us think they should be.

Of course there's still work to be done.  Mauer is still only batting .301/.358/.384, which shows a disturbing lack of power--even for a guy who's home run ceiling this season will only be 10-15.  But, patience is a virtue; it's a very long season.  Players who hit .300 aren't getting exactly three hits in every 10 at-bats, and it's not going to happen with Joe, either.  While there's a time and a place to be concerned about Mauer's production, it isn't now.  Not yet.

Joe Mauer is, without a doubt, one of the most talented hitters this team has seen.  What is done with that talent is more important, but we've seen what he's capable of.  We can't ignore that he's just as much to blame for Minnesota's slow offensive start as some of the other guys out there, the difference is that he has what it takes to come around; there's plenty of time for him to return to the form we hope he can fill out.

Francisco Liriano

For some reason it seems like somewhere along the line, it was forgotten that Liriano really hasn't pitched that much in the last year and a half.  Tommy John is a major surgery, and it's mildly annoying that somewhere out there, there's a Twins fan who's infuriated by the fact that he's not pitching like he was in the summer of '06.

It was asked earlier on this site whether we thought Liriano was lazy.  It's a good question, but unfortunately isn't really a question we can answer in any way besides subjectively.

Essentially, from our perspective, it's incredibly easy to make judgements on those kind of questions and they make for great debate.  But it doesn't help us answer the real question, which is how long will it take for Liriano to regain his effectiveness?  This means everything from his mechanics, to his command, to velocity, to his mental state, and the answers range from never to it's hard to say.  We don't have any answers right now, and as a result of that frustration we look for something to blame it on.

When Kevin Slowey went down, the Twins took a gamble on Liriano in hopes that in the higher levels of competition would up his game.  They ignored what Rochester told them, that he wasn't ready, and threw him into the fire.

There were no surprises here.  What would have been surprising, would have been if he'd been able to be even half as effective as he'd been in 2006.  But instead, he's responded just like a pitcher who's still recovering from the effects of Tommy John surgery.

Time is the only answer we have.  It sucks, it's frustrating and it's not the answer we want because we want an answer right now.  At least I do, when I hit one of those emotion-induced frets.  Hopefully whenever one of them strikes I can come back and read this, and maybe regain some of my sanity.

 Justin's grand slam, 5 RBI over-shadowed.

A 5-0 lead in the top of the third was wiped out in the bottom, as Nick Blackburn was tagged for five consecutive singles to lead off the inning.  Hank Blalock follwed immediately with a double, before Jason Botts drove his own double to right field.  Blalock, who was trying to score from second, was thrown out at the plate.  Botts, in an attempt to turn his double into a triple, was consequently thrown out at third.  Seven consecutive hits plated five runs, but Blackburn was the benefactor of a slow runner and a bad base-running decision.  Frank Catalanotto was called out on strikes to end the Ranger third in the very next at-bat, but it could have been a whole lot worse.

Each team was kept scoreless until the bottom of the tenth, when Donny Murphy singled off of Juan Rincon to score German Duran.

Carlos Gomez rebounded for the second straight game, going 2-for-3 with two runs and his 10th stolen base of the year.  Joe Mauer also did his part, going 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.  After the criticism they've received here the last couple of days, it was good to see them come through.  Hopefully they can build off of Friday's successes at the plate.

Michael Cuddyer was 1-for-5 in his return, batting fifth.  He was followed by Jason Kubel and Delmon Young, whose hitless nights helped the three combine for a 1-for-14 evening.  They stranded 17 baserunners between them.

That's not a fun way to start your Saturday morning, no matter what country you're in.  I'll see you this afternoon.

Thursday afternoon's contest against the Athletics was discouraging for many involved.

Francisco Liriano failed to make it through the first inning yesterday, easily making it his worst start to date in his career with the Twins.  Only 43% of his pitches were for strikes, and when you're struggling for command with your fastball there's not too much you're going to be able to do to be effective.  He recorded two outs, allowing eight men to reach base; Liriano was charged with six runs.

After his night off, Carlos Gomez collected hits in his first two plate appearances on Thursday.  Leading off in the top of the first, he gave the Twins a 1-0 lead when he hit his first home run of the season.  Minnesota's only other run came off Brian Buscher, who knocked in Mike Redmond from second base following his double in the fifth.

With more than eight innings chewed up by four members of the bullpen, it's likely that only Guerrier, Neshek and Nathan will be available for Friday night's game.  While Rincon and Reyes only threw 15 pitches apiece, in today's game that means they'll only be used if absolutely necessary.

It was a disturbing thing to watch, from the bottom of the first innings through the rest of the game.  Francisco Liriano's immediate future with the Twins will likely be decided in the next 24 hours, when the Twins will decide whether to option him to Rochester to further develop his arm, or whether to give him one more shot at a start.

Span Optioned to Rochester; Cuddyer to Start Friday

Following the 11-2 defeat, the Twins sent Denard Span back to triple-A to make room for Michael Cuddyer's return on Friday.  Span was 1-for-1 in relief of Jason Kubel yesterday, and Ron Gardenhire believes the outfielder needs to be with the big league club:

"I know he needs playing time, but I'd like to have him here and off my bench too," Gardenhire said. "Maybe that is something I can work out over the next couple weeks or so. I'd like to use him in the big leagues a bit more. I like having him here."

Span's appearances didn't shock anyone, and he didn't do too much to make you notice whether he was there or not.  But by playing well in the field and limiting his mental mistakes, he's at the very least impressed his manager.  Span averaged 3.97 pitches per plate appearance in his first brief stint with the Twins, and managed a .324 OBP.

On Friday night, Michael Cuddyer will make his first appearance since leaving the game on April 4.  Reports on Cuddyer, and his hand, have been positive.  It will be interesting to see if he favors it during his at-bats tonight.

Eminem says:  Hip-hop The offense is in a state of 9-1-1.

I don't want to say I called it (actually, I don't mind), but I did:  Mike Sweeney hit his first home run of 2008 against the Twins on Wednesday.  While Oakland already had all the runs it would need to come away with the win, Sweeney's shot in the bottom of the eighth played through my visions like so many other of Sweeney's hits in his tenure with the Royals.  At 34 and seemingly a walking injury waiting to happen, he's still a good hitter.

After a disturbing start to the game, Boof Bonser ended up giving the Twins six quality innings.  Only 56% of his pitches went for strikes, and in the process he walked four.  Three hits allowed, none out of the park, kept the game close; when Bonser left Minnesota was only down 2-0.  He attributed his initial lack of effectiveness to "mechanical problems" and being "rusty", but also said the number of walks he issued were unnacceptable.

On the other side of the hill, Oakland starter Chad Gaudin completed seven innings in just 84 pitches, walking none and striking out four.  Allowing just four singles, his fourth start of the year was a far cry from the first pair, as each saw him lit up to the tune of eight earned runs in just 10 innings.  He'd also allowed 17 base runners between the two starts, but the man we saw on Wednesday night was an entirely different pitcher, and now has allowed just one run in his last 14 innings.  Against the Twins he executed superb command and a very good breaking ball, inducing a lot of ground-ball outs.

Offensively for the Twins, the only real threat of the night came on Kubel launching a ball deep into right field.  With Delmon Young on base it would have tied the game at 2-2, but it veered out of fair territory.  Craig Monroe would seal the inning's fate with a pop-up to strand runners on second and third.  Only Joe Mauer tallied an extra-base hit; a useless double in the top of the ninth.  His effort was wasted as again, Minnesota couldn't string together a series of hits.

Starting in center field on Wednesday was Denard Span, who went 1-for-3.  Carlos Gomez was given the night off, as going 1-for-18 in the last four games had indicated that his recent skid isn't just a slump, but that he's currently over-matched.  24 strikeouts and two walks in 87 at-bats is a miserable start, and since hitting .326/.356/.465 in his first ten games has hit .136/.136/.159 in his last ten.

How bad does it have to get, and for how long, before the Twins pull a u-turn on their plans for Carlos Gomez?  There's merit in just throwing a player into the fire, not just to see how he responds but to give him the experience necessary and to let him take his lumps.  But at certain junctures the philosophy can take on some negative qualities in regards to the player's development.

I'll get into that tonight.