With all the losing that's been going on lately, the fact that we're doing this has slipped my mind a little bit. But that's no excuse for us to not celebrate when we have the opportunity! And after a nice win over the White Sox last night, this is one of those (increasingly rare) chances.

Here are last night's contenders for Player of the Game.

Ben Revere: Revere went 2-for-4 on the evening with a stolen base (his 26th and first since August 28th) and a run scored (his 48th in 99 games this season).

Luke Hughes: Hughes had another big day for the Twins, going 2-for-3 with a walk, double, run scored and a stolen base. He's now played in 81 games this year, and in spite of some inconsistency shows flashes of a player who could be a decent contributor off the bench next season. Oh yeah, he had a nice diving play at second tonight, too.

Danny Valencia: His two-run double put the Twins up 2-0. It was his only hit of the game, but it was in a big situation and gave a kick start to a Minnesota offense that sorely needed it.

Chris Parmelee: Parmelee, later in the four-run third, smashed a line drive double over Alex Rios' head in center field. His first extra-base hit of his big league career scored two more runs, giving the Twins a 4-0 lead.

Jose Mijares: I could include a couple of relievers on this list, but nobody's out was bigger that Jose's. With one out and runners on second and third, Alex Burnett picked up a big second out before intentionally walking Paul Konerko. With the lead trimmed to 4-3 and the bases loaded with two away, Gardy went to Mijares to get A.J. Pierzynski. Mijares did his job, got his one out, and was done for the evening. But it was a big out.

Last night was just one of those games where it's impossible to pick just one guy and lift him above the rest. Because let's be honest, no game is ever about just one player, no matter how overwhelming of a performance they may have given. On Wednesday night the Twins had a number of heroes, so we'll ask the hard question: who was your favorite?

Michael Cuddyer: His grand slam in the top of the fifth broke a 4-4 tie and seemingly destroyed any momentum the Angels may have built by overcoming Minnesota's early 3-0 lead. But Cuddles would pick up two hits in the game, and his second would also be a homer. That solo blast in the ninth was, considering how badly this season has gone for the Twins, some satisfying dirt in the opposition's wound. We've experienced more than enough of that this year.

Anthony Swarzak: When Scott Baker struggled to get through three innings, Swarzak stepped in and more than did his job. Taking the hill in the top of the fourth with the Twins trailing 4-3, he owned the Angels batters for five innings. No runs allowed, just one hit and a walk: that's big time. Especially considering he had to pick up Baker.

Delmon Young: Young's two-run homer in the second put the Twins up 3-0, and his solo shot in the fourth tied the game immediately after the Angels decimated Baker in the bottom of the third. Cuddyer's shot put the Twins up for good, Swarzak kept them there, but it was Delmon who kept the Twins in it early.

Last night the Twins won convincingly. And you'll forgive me if I firmly believe that it was awesome. In celebration we're bringing back our Player of the Game vote, since we haven't been able to do one in what seems like forever. Here are your candidates for last night's victory over the Rangers!

Brian Duensing: A lot of people have been waiting for Duensing to move back to the bullpen so the Twins could give Kevin Slowey another chance at the Major League rotation, but as usual Duensing answered a bit of unease with a solid performance. He was relieved with two outs in the seventh, having surrendered just one run to the big-time Ranger offense on seven hits and a walk. Duesning struck out six.

Joe Mauer: His first homer of the year, another multi-hit game, a walk, a pair of runs batted in...and three runs scored. Somewhere, Mauer haters are lurking and waiting for a bad week so they can bring themselves back out of the woodwork.

Michael Cuddyer: Minnesota's offensive MVP delivered again, with his own home run, his own multi-hit game, his own pair of runs batted in...and two runs scored.

Jason Kubel: It's so good to have a legitimate middle of the order again. Kubel landed a trio of hits and a trio of runs batted in; one of his hits was his 15th double of the season.

So, Twins fans. Who's your horse today?

There isn't much better in baseball than beating the White Sox in Chicago. Unless it's beating them at Target Field. I suppose beating the Yankees in the playoffs might be better, but it's been so long I can't remember what that feels like. Anyway: positivity. Here are your nominees for last night's Player of the Game.

Carl Pavano: Make no mistake, the White Sox have an offense that can score some runs, even if some of their players are suffering from the same virus as a few Twins hitters, commonly known as assbatitis. But Pavano was good, allowing six hits and just two runs over seven innings of work. It's easier to pitch with a 6-0 lead, but you still have to get it done.

Joe Mauer: Playing out of position and playing that position well, while collecting a trio of hits and a pair of runs batted in. Yeah, I think that'll get the job done.

Ben Revere: Another big game for Revere, as the other Twins batter to collect three hits in the game. He drove in two runs as well, and picked up a stolen base. We can overlook the one where Pierzynski threw him out.

Top o' the mornin', Twins fans. Hopefully you all had an explosion-ful, safe July 4th. Here are the nominees for yesterday afternoon's Player of the Game!

Brian Duensing: The Duenslinger went the distance, blanking the Rays with nine solid innings. He walked four but struck out seven, and picked up all 27 outs on 119 pitches. With the Minnesota bullpen unavailable (see: Glen Perkins was unavailable due to pitching in four of the last five games), keeping the relievers in the 'pen was huge. Not allowing a single run to a talented Rays squad was huger. Yes, huger.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka: A bases-loaded double in the second inning scored two runs, and gave Duensing all the support he would need. Great to see Nishioka coming through in a big situation.

Danny Valencia: His three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth put the proverbial nail in the game's proverbial coffin, pushing the Twins' lead to 7-0. Danny now has 9 RBI in the last four games, and three homers in the last ten games.

Happy 4th of July everyone! We've got some afternoon baseball coming up today, so enjoy your day off. Be safe, drink and light stuff on fire responsibly, all that stuff. Here are your nominees to this weekend's player of the game.

Francisco Liriano: 7 innings, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks and 2 runs helped Liriano lead the Twins to a Friday night win over the Brewers.

Joe Mauer: 5-for-11 in the series, with two walks and four runs scored.

Jim Thome: 2-for-7, but both hits were homers and helped him drive in four. Added a pair of walks and scored four times in the series.

Michael Cuddyer: 5-for-11 with a homer, four runs batted in, four runs scored, and a walk.

Danny Valencia: 6-for-13 with a homer, double, six runs batted in and a pair of runs scored.

That's a tough one...

If it feels like it's been forever since we've had this vote, it's because it's felt like forever. Losing does that to you. But we're back! And if you're curious to see who our past winners have been, be sure to check out our Player of the Game 2011 page.

This series didn't start out too well. Hell, after that 15-0 drubbing where Twins pitchers allowed 25 hits in the process, I would have been happy for Minnesota to salvage one game of this series. Yet they showed some fortitude, once again, and shook off one of the worst defeats I can remember as a Twins fan to come back and take two of three from the Dodgers. With that, here are your series nominees.

Scott Baker: 7.1 innings, no runs, nine strikeouts in what would be a 1-0 Twins win. He needed some help from his offense, not to mention 1.2 innings of brilliant help from his bullpen, but Baker was undoubtedly huge again.

Ben Revere: 4-for-10 (with two walks) in the series, which is great. But all of those on-base opportunities came after going 0-for-4 in that 15-0 stomping. Exceptional in games two and three. He also scored three runs and stole three bases.

Joe Mauer: Joe was the only Twins player to collect a hit in all three games this series, finishing the three-game set with a 3-for-10 mark, including a walk, double, and RBI. Not a standout performance like Revere in game two, but steady.

Luke Hughes: An o-fer in game one, but his two-run blast was the deciding blow in game two, and he'd add another hit in game three. Just 2-for-11 in the series, but one of those hits was massive.

This was a great series, largely because it consisted of three pretty good games. Also because the Twins came out on top of all three. As badly as those first few weeks of the season were, it seems like the last three weeks have been just as impressive. Although, impressive in a good way.

For me there's one performance that really stands out from this weekend's weep of the Padres, and a couple others that you could call critical performances at critical times. Let's see what you think, as I introduce this weekend's nominees.

Scott Baker: Baker's 8-inning, 10-strikeout performance on Saturday was brilliant. It's hard to say enough good things about how really, seriously, awesomely good he's been recently, and this performance was easily one of his strongest performances in what's been a very good season to date.

Danny Valencia: 2-for-7, 2 HR, 4 RBI. Before being removed from Saturday night's game with a tight bicep/tricep, Valencia had delivered twice. His first was a three-run homer in the five-run first inning outburst during Friday night's contest, which ended up being a critical moment as the Padres fought back to make it just a one-run game. His other moment was arguably even more critical, as his solo homer in the second inning on Saturday night was the difference in support of Baker's game. It was the only run in a 1-0 contest.

Rene Tosoni: Tosoni was 2-for-5 in the series, with his biggest hit being a clutch two-out double down the first base line to tie Sunday's game at three.

Matt Tolbert: Tolbert was 1-for-1 yesterday, delivering a big double into the gap to score Tosoni for the go-ahead run in Sunday's game.

Drew Butera: Butera's lone plate appearance delivered yesterday's game-winning run.