Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute
Starting Pitchers:
Here's what Jesse wrote prior to Santana's Sunday start against the Twins:
As talented as the 26-year old is, he's had a lot of trouble this year with his throwing arm (elbow, forearm and tricep injuries). As a result he's lost velocity on all of his pitches this season, including an average of three miles per hour off his fastball...the knee-breaking slider from last year is still good, just not as good.
Santana lived down to that analysis, giving up six earned runs and not getting out of the 4th as the Twins demolished the Angels, 10-1. Bravo, Jesse. Santana has had all week to lick his wounds, which is one of my favorite gross metaphors, and we'll see what he brings to the table this evening.
Hey, remember when Blackburn was the staff ace? I really enjoyed that.
Quite simply, if Blackburn doesn't return to form in a hurry, the Twins are going nowhere this year. His last two starts have been dreadful to the point where if you weren't paying attention, you'd swear it was Scott Klingenbeck out there.
As those of you who've been feverishly clicking Refresh and checking your Twittercraft already know, earlier today the Twins picked up Orlando Cabrera from Oakland for Class A infielder Tyler Landendorf, slammed down the phone, and said "Championship!" Or something like that. As the story notes, Cabrera won't be here until tomorrow, meaning tonight is probably your last chance to see Alexi Casilla until someone gets hurt again. So give or take a week, I suppose.
Lineups (courtesy Joe C.)
ANGELS (60-40)
1. Chone Figgins, 3B
2. Maicer Izturis, 2B
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Juan Rivera, DH
5. Kendry Morales, 1B
6. Mike Napoli, C
7. Erick Aybar, SS
8. Gary Matthews Jr., CF
9. Reggie Willits, LF
TWINS (52-50)
1. Denard Span, LF
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Justin Morneau, 1B
4. Jason Kubel, DH
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Joe Crede, 3B
7. Carlos Gomez, CF
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Alexi Casilla, 2B