Twins vs. Cleveland News And Notes

The title of this post was very nearly "Herpes vs. Syphilis News And Notes."

Schedule (all games FSN, to FSN's chagrin)

• Friday: 7:10pm, Liam Hendriks vs. Jeanmar Gomez
  
• Saturday: 6:10pm, Cole De Vries vs. Zach McAllister
  
• Sunday: 1:10pm, Esmerling Vasquez vs. Justin Masterson
  
• Monday: 7:10pm, Samuel Deduno vs. Corey Kluber

Indians Notes

• Let us not mince words: The Indians stink. Cleveland just recently endured a stretch of fifteen losses in sixteen games, and is 7-20 in its last 27 games. And the Indians are STILL two games ahead of the Twins.
  
• The big news in Cleveland is closer Chris Perez, who isn't happy that the Indians don't seem interested in spending any money. Among other things, Perez said, "Josh Willingham would look great in this lineup." We should take a moment to credit the Twins' front office; it seems like every fan base right now is wondering why they didn't sign Willingham, so kudos to the Twins for getting it done.
• For more on walking controversy Chris Perez, we hand it over to Let's Go Tribe, who has put together this handy reference.
  
• The Indians' September callups included a guy named Vinny Rottino, whose name I really like saying, because he sounds like an Italian mobster in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
• In other notes: hey, at least something at Progressive Field is overachieving!

Twins Notes

• Josh Willingham is still on the ropes - he missed starting two of three games in the Chicago series with an injured hamstring. The team is hoping he starts tonight, however.
  
• In other health news, Matt Capps is throwing off flat ground, and Denard Span is improving and hoping to perhaps return in mid-September, and heck let's be honest we're not going to see either one of these guys for the rest of the season. (And given that the Twins have a glut of outfielders and Capps is a free agent, you have to wonder if we'll see either in a Twins uniform again.)
• According to MLB.com, the Twins have four of the top 100 prospects in baseball - Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Aaron Hicks, and Eddie Rosario. This is good for 14th-best in the league.
• The Twins need seven more wins in their final 25 games to avoid losing 100 for the year. They have seven left with Cleveland, three with Toronto, and three with Kansas City, but also have to play three against Chicago, six against Detroit, and three with New York. In a way, then, this series with Cleveland is important. If only to avoid (more) embarassment.