Twins Got A Loss Before They Started

Pitching is the key to winning in the playoffs - just look at the 2009 New York Yankees for a surefire example - but in this year's Yankees-Minnesota Twins division series it is the loss of an offensive player that could sway the series heavily in the Yankees' favor.

Twins 1st baseman Justin Morneau is one of the best hitters in baseball; a perennial 30-HR, 100-RBI guy who hits .300 to boot.

But there will be no Morneau in the ALDS or beyond. Morneau missed the remainder of the season after suffering a concussion July 7. At the time he was hitting .345 with 18 HR and 56 RBI in 80 games. The Twins hoped Morneau could be back at some point in the post-season, but that was ruled out as well after concussion symptoms returned this past Saturday.

The loss is devastating to a lineup which scratches out runs and is not laden with big boppers. Though they finished sixth in the major leagues in runs scored, the Twins rely heavily on the M duo of Morneau and Joe Mauer (I refuse to call them the M&M boys, there was only one set of them). The latter has also been banged up and returned to his pre-2009 power (when he banged out 28 dingers) of just 9 home runs.

Morneau's absence for the second straight post-season, he missed last year with a bad back, will certainly put more pressure on a Twins starting rotation that was not a model of consistency this year. Other than Francisco Liriano, who re-established his ace stuff, most of the remainder of the staff did not perform up to their usual ability and fell short of expectations.

The Twins will most certainly rely on small ball and their running ability to score runs against the Yankees. Teams have stolen with ease this year against the Yankees rotation and catching duo of Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli and the Twins should continue that trend. Delmon Young (.826 OPS 21 HR 112 RBI) could be an 'X' factor in the series after finally living up to the hype surrounding him while in Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

The Twins lost Joe Nathan to Tommy John surgery during spring training, but 6'11" Jon Rauch filled those big shoes as a steady closer. When he faltered, GM Bill Smith went out and got closer Matt Capps from the Washington Nationals to deepen the pen.

Finally, reading is fundamental and so are the Twins. The organization is the best at teaching the basics and no one has utilized those lessons in the majors better than old manager Tom Kelly and current skipper Ron Gardenhire.

Position Comparison

1B Mark Teixeira > Michael Cuddyer
Cuddyer was in RF until Morneau's injury; his production dropped off substantially from last year (32 HR - 14 HR .862 - .753 OPS). Teixeira struggled all season until Kevin Long straightened him out and he went on a second half tear. Though he slowed in September due to thumb and foot injuries, he still finished with an .846 OPS and 33 HR, 102 RBI.

2B Robinson Cano > Orlando Hudson
Cano should either win the AL MVP award or finish second to Texas' Josh Hamilton. He had 200 hits for the second straight season and posted career highs in HR (29), RBI (104) and OPS (.914). He also played gold glove 2nd base. Orlando Hudson is a solid defender, but doesn't have much of a stick.

SS Derek Jeter > J.J. Hardy
Jeter had the worst offensive seasons of his career, but still managed to score 111 runs and was solid defensively, with a career low six errors. He started to come on in September after working with Long, finishing with 25 hits in his last 72 at-bats (.347). Hardy has been a disappointment after breaking out in 2007-2008 while with Milwaukee. He was limited to 101 games by injury and posted just a .714 OPS.

3B Alex Rodriguez > Danny Valencia
A-Rod put up another 30-HR 100-RBI year despite playing in just 125 games (123 RBI). He was also solid defensively. Valencia is developing into a nice player- his rookie campaign consisted of a .799 OPS, .311 AVG, 7 HR, 40 RBI in 85 games.

LF Delmon Young > Brett Gardner
The two are on par defensively, but Young's offense had a much greater impact on his team's lineup, especially when Morneau went down. Young posted career highs in virtually every offensive category. Gardner's speed can be a difference maker, but he must be more aggressive on the bases.

CF Curtis Granderson > Denard Span
Granderson was having a miserable season until Long once again worked his magic in mid-August. The result was a much more productive and powerful Granderson. Span had a horribly disappointing season after hitting .311 in 2009. This year he posted a sub-.700 OPS.

RF Nick Swisher > Jason Kubel
It's not by a lot, but Swisher wins out. He was a secondary MVP to Cano on the Yankees for much of the season. Kubel has good power, is a clutch hitter, but is better at DH.

C Joe Mauer > Jorge Posada + Francisco Cervelli
Mauer's power may be down, but the hits keep on coming. The health of his left knee could play a factor, but just like Jeter, he'll downplay it. Posada and Cervelli have had mediocre years on both sides of the ball.

DH Marcus Thames/Lance Berkman - Jim Thome
It's a toss up. Thames has been hammering righties and lefties. Berkman has hit better from the left side since a DL stint in September. Thome is still mashing the long ball, though Gardenhire might use someone else against lefties Sabathia and Pettitte.

Yankees Starting Rotation > Twins Starting Rotation
CC Sabathia should win the Cy Young. Andy Pettitte is a rock if healthy and Phil Hughes had a breakout year with 18 wins. Liriano has ace stuff and has backed it up. Carl Pavano has been a revelation. But the Twins have to be worried about a game 4 match up of Sabathia vs. Nick Blackburn.

Yankees Bench > Twins Bench
Yankees have more pop potential when called upon.

Yankees Bullpen - Mariano Rivera, Kerry Wood & Company a little > Twins Bullpen Matt Capps, Jon Rauch & Company
Rivera's post-season work speaks for itself and Wood has put up amazing numbers since joining the Yankees.

Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire > Yankees Manager Joe Girardi
Girardi has the World Series ring, but Gardenhire is the better in game manager. But he still hasn't figured out how to beat the Yankees, especially in New York.

Prediction: Yankees in Five.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Before the season started, me and Mrs. Mantlemurcer bought tickets to a couple of games, one today and one in August. I half seriously said back in May that at the rate the Yankees were going they would be 15 games out by the time we went to a game. Unfortunately, I wasn't far off. With the Red Sox rolling over the Devil Rays and the Yankees losing to Johann Santana and the Twins on Wednesday, the Yankees entered today's action 12 games back in the AL East. Topping it off was the knowledge that, barring a rain out earlier in the week, Kei Igawa would be on the hill for the Yankees.

Igawa lived up to the negative hype, blowing a 5-2 lead and generally pitching like crap. Thankfully the Yankee bats and pen got him off the hook in a 7-6 win. What makes Igawa even more intolerable to watch is how slow he is between pitches. Between Igawa's struggles and the Yankees hitting, against Twins starter Kevin Slowey, the game was still in the bottom of the 2nd after an hour.

You can even see it in his body language as he walks, even slower than he pitches, off the mound between innings. The only time he ran to the dugout was after blowing the lead in the 4th. This guy needs to go back to the minors, or better yet, back to Japan for a refund.

Now back to the action:

Melky Cabrera's first home run in 112 at-bats, with two aboard, gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead after 2. In the 4th, Igawa allowed a lead off double to Jeff Cirillo before retiring the next two hitters. But Igawa's control problems continued when he walked Nick Punto.

Jason Bartlett hit frozen rope that hit the base of the wall in left for a 2-run double, cutting the lead to 5-4. Joe Mauer's line drive to center tied the game up before Igawa finally retired Michael Cuddyer, exiting the mound to a chorus of boos.

Luis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor, and Kyle Farnsworth (1-1) each tossed a scoreless inning of relief, giving the Yankees a chance to pull out a victory. The Bombers weren't able to solve Dennis Reyes or Matt Guerrier, but finally reached Pat Neshek in the 8th.

Neshek (3-1) who entered the game with 1.34 ERA and 49 Ks in 40.1 innings, started out strong, striking out Johnny Damon and Melky to start the inning. But Derek Jeter worked a walk, setting up a confrontation with Hidedi Matsui, who had looked bad in 3 earlier at-bats.

Neshek fell behind 3-0 and as expected Joe Torre gave Matsui the green light. The result was a tapper foul. The next pitch was a shot. Godzilla lived up to his nickname, driving a shot 10 rows back in the bleachers in right-center for a 7-5 lead. Needless to say the remaining fans (probably half of the original crowd) went crazy.

Then it was time for some Metallica and Mariano Rivera. Mo didn't get it done without walking the tightrope though. Luis Rodriguez and pinch-hitter Jason Kubel singled to put runners on the corners with none out. Mo struck out Bartlett, but pinch-runner Jason Tyner stole 2nd just ahead of Jorge Posada's throw. With the infield playing back to concede a run, Mauer grounded out to Jeter for the 2nd out and cut the lead to 7-6. Then it came down to Cuddyer, who had a good at-bat workind the count to 3-2. With a little help from 1st Base ump Wally Bell the Yankees pulled it out, as Bell ruled Cuddyer went around on Mo's next delivery. Mo's 11th save was the 424th of his career, tying him with John Franco for 3rd on the all-time list.

The Twins scored a pair of runs in the 1st, but could have had more if not for the arm of Cabrera. Cuddyer lined an RBI single to left, and tried to stretch it into a double. But Melky's throw to 2nd arrived well ahead of Cuddyer, who was eventually run down by Robinson Cano for the 1st out of the inning.

Cano's 5th HR of the season cut the Twins lead to 2-1 in the 2nd, before Miguel Cairo's double tied things up.

~~~

After a poor April and May, Melky hit .298 in June and is 10-22 (.455) to start July.

As expected, A-Rod sat out the game and went for an MRI. As reported by Peter Abraham of the Journal News, Joe Torre said in his post-game remarks that the MRI was negative.

Phil Hughes will making his 1st rehab start in Tampa on Monday. Hopefully he can come back and boot Igawa from the rotation.

Johnny Damon's caveman look has gone the opposite way- he's sporting a crew cut and no side burns.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Before the season started, me and Mrs. Mantlemurcer bought tickets to a couple of games, one today and one in August. I half seriously said back in May that at the rate the Yankees were going they would be 15 games out by the time we went to a game. Unfortunately, I wasn't far off. With the Red Sox rolling over the Devil Rays and the Yankees losing to Johann Santana and the Twins on Wednesday, the Yankees entered today's action 12 games back in the AL East. Topping it off was the knowledge that, barring a rain out earlier in the week, Kei Igawa would be on the hill for the Yankees.

Igawa lived up to the negative hype, blowing a 5-2 lead and generally pitching like crap. Thankfully the Yankee bats and pen got him off the hook in a 7-6 win. What makes Igawa even more intolerable to watch is how slow he is between pitches. Between Igawa's struggles and the Yankees hitting, against Twins starter Kevin Slowey, the game was still in the bottom of the 2nd after an hour.

You can even see it in his body language as he walks, even slower than he pitches, off the mound between innings. The only time he ran to the dugout was after blowing the lead in the 4th. This guy needs to go back to the minors, or better yet, back to Japan for a refund.

Now back to the action:

Melky Cabrera's first home run in 112 at-bats, with two aboard, gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead after 2. In the 4th, Igawa allowed a lead off double to Jeff Cirillo before retiring the next two hitters. But Igawa's control problems continued when he walked Nick Punto.

Jason Bartlett hit frozen rope that hit the base of the wall in left for a 2-run double, cutting the lead to 5-4. Joe Mauer's line drive to center tied the game up before Igawa finally retired Michael Cuddyer, exiting the mound to a chorus of boos.

Luis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor, and Kyle Farnsworth (1-1) each tossed a scoreless inning of relief, giving the Yankees a chance to pull out a victory. The Bombers weren't able to solve Dennis Reyes or Matt Guerrier, but finally reached Pat Neshek in the 8th.

Neshek (3-1) who entered the game with 1.34 ERA and 49 Ks in 40.1 innings, started out strong, striking out Johnny Damon and Melky to start the inning. But Derek Jeter worked a walk, setting up a confrontation with Hidedi Matsui, who had looked bad in 3 earlier at-bats.

Neshek fell behind 3-0 and as expected Joe Torre gave Matsui the green light. The result was a tapper foul. The next pitch was a shot. Godzilla lived up to his nickname, driving a shot 10 rows back in the bleachers in right-center for a 7-5 lead. Needless to say the remaining fans (probably half of the original crowd) went crazy.

Then it was time for some Metallica and Mariano Rivera. Mo didn't get it done without walking the tightrope though. Luis Rodriguez and pinch-hitter Jason Kubel singled to put runners on the corners with none out. Mo struck out Bartlett, but pinch-runner Jason Tyner stole 2nd just ahead of Jorge Posada's throw. With the infield playing back to concede a run, Mauer grounded out to Jeter for the 2nd out and cut the lead to 7-6. Then it came down to Cuddyer, who had a good at-bat workind the count to 3-2. With a little help from 1st Base ump Wally Bell the Yankees pulled it out, as Bell ruled Cuddyer went around on Mo's next delivery. Mo's 11th save was the 424th of his career, tying him with John Franco for 3rd on the all-time list.

The Twins scored a pair of runs in the 1st, but could have had more if not for the arm of Cabrera. Cuddyer lined an RBI single to left, and tried to stretch it into a double. But Melky's throw to 2nd arrived well ahead of Cuddyer, who was eventually run down by Robinson Cano for the 1st out of the inning.

Cano's 5th HR of the season cut the Twins lead to 2-1 in the 2nd, before Miguel Cairo's double tied things up.

~~~

After a poor April and May, Melky hit .298 in June and is 10-22 (.455) to start July.

As expected, A-Rod sat out the game and went for an MRI. As reported by Peter Abraham of the Journal News, Joe Torre said in his post-game remarks that the MRI was negative.

Phil Hughes will making his 1st rehab start in Tampa on Monday. Hopefully he can come back and boot Igawa from the rotation.

Johnny Damon's caveman look has gone the opposite way- he's sporting a crew cut and no side burns.

Today's Lineup (7/4)

Santana vs Mussina

and a pathetic lineup

Twins
J. Bartlett ss
J. Mauer dh
M. Cuddyer rf
J. Morneau 1b
T. Hunter cf
J. Kubel lf
M. Redmond c
L. Rodriguez 3b
N. Punto 2b

Yankees
M. Cabrera cf
M. Cairo 3b
D. Jeter ss
A. Rodriguez dh
H. Matsui lf
A. Phillips 1b
R. Cano 2b
K. Thompson rf
W. Nieves c

Today's Lineup (7/4)

Santana vs Mussina

and a pathetic lineup

Twins
J. Bartlett ss
J. Mauer dh
M. Cuddyer rf
J. Morneau 1b
T. Hunter cf
J. Kubel lf
M. Redmond c
L. Rodriguez 3b
N. Punto 2b

Yankees
M. Cabrera cf
M. Cairo 3b
D. Jeter ss
A. Rodriguez dh
H. Matsui lf
A. Phillips 1b
R. Cano 2b
K. Thompson rf
W. Nieves c

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Yankees pound Twins 8-0

It was a rare fun night at the ball park in the Bronx last night, as the Yankees rolled over the Twins 8-0. Chien-Ming Wang was far from his best, but still blanked the Twins for 7 innings. Bobby Abreu had 3 hits for the 2nd straight night and Robinson Cano hit his 1st home run since June 1st.

Wang struggled with his control, remarkably walking 3 straight hitters as the Twins mounted a threat in the 4th. But Jorge Posada erased the first walk, throwing out Jason Bartlett attempting to steal 2nd. Justin Morneau's one-out single loaded the bases for Torii Hunter. But Wang induced Hunter into hitting into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Twins' first base coach Jerry White argued that Andy Phillips was pulled off the bag and it was indeed questionable.

The Yankees jumped on the board in the first when Derek Jeter followed singles by Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera with an RBI ground out. In the 4th, Abreu reached on an infield single and Cano ended his HR drought with his 4th of the season off of starter and loser Carlos Silva.

A 5-run 6th busted the game wide open. Jorge Posada's line drive to center eluded Hunter for a lead off triple, and Silva's wild pitch brought Posada home with the 4th run. Hideki Matsui doubled to right and came home on Abreu's single. After Andy Phillips nearly hit one out of the park, Ron Gardenhire sent for Juan Rincon from the pen. Rincon would fare no better. After Abreu stole 2nd, Rincon hit Cano on the foot on a 3-2 pitch. Damon's ground out moved the runners up and Cabrera brought them home with a single to right. Jeter's single brought home the night's final run.

Then it was fun time- but first Joe Torre couldn't let Scott Proctor go 2 days without pitching- Edwar Ramirez made his MLB debut and lived up to his new nickname, K-Ram- striking out Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, and Lew Ford with a lively fastball and wicked changeup.

K-Ram's post-game interview.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Yankees pound Twins 8-0

It was a rare fun night at the ball park in the Bronx last night, as the Yankees rolled over the Twins 8-0. Chien-Ming Wang was far from his best, but still blanked the Twins for 7 innings. Bobby Abreu had 3 hits for the 2nd straight night and Robinson Cano hit his 1st home run since June 1st.

Wang struggled with his control, remarkably walking 3 straight hitters as the Twins mounted a threat in the 4th. But Jorge Posada erased the first walk, throwing out Jason Bartlett attempting to steal 2nd. Justin Morneau's one-out single loaded the bases for Torii Hunter. But Wang induced Hunter into hitting into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Twins' first base coach Jerry White argued that Andy Phillips was pulled off the bag and it was indeed questionable.

The Yankees jumped on the board in the first when Derek Jeter followed singles by Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera with an RBI ground out. In the 4th, Abreu reached on an infield single and Cano ended his HR drought with his 4th of the season off of starter and loser Carlos Silva.

A 5-run 6th busted the game wide open. Jorge Posada's line drive to center eluded Hunter for a lead off triple, and Silva's wild pitch brought Posada home with the 4th run. Hideki Matsui doubled to right and came home on Abreu's single. After Andy Phillips nearly hit one out of the park, Ron Gardenhire sent for Juan Rincon from the pen. Rincon would fare no better. After Abreu stole 2nd, Rincon hit Cano on the foot on a 3-2 pitch. Damon's ground out moved the runners up and Cabrera brought them home with a single to right. Jeter's single brought home the night's final run.

Then it was fun time- but first Joe Torre couldn't let Scott Proctor go 2 days without pitching- Edwar Ramirez made his MLB debut and lived up to his new nickname, K-Ram- striking out Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, and Lew Ford with a lively fastball and wicked changeup.

K-Ram's post-game interview.

Rocket Fires Up #350

The Yankees now even lose when they win. In the process of Roger Clemens picking up his 350th career victory, in a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, Alex Rodriguez had to leave the game with a strained hamstring.

With two men aboard in the 6th, A-Rod hit a double play grounder to third. In lunging to beat the throw from 2nd Baseman Luis Castillo to 1st, A-Rod hooked feet with Twins 1st Baseman Justin Morneau, sending both to the ground. Although he popped up immediately, it was obvious that A-Rod's hamstring was hurting. A-Rod tried to stay in the game, but after moving to 2nd on a base hit, told 3rd Base coach Larry Bowa that he didn't think he could score on a hit. That was enough for Bowa to signal for assistant trainer Steve Donahue and A-Rod's night was over. He'll be re-evaluated today and will most likely be out of action for at least a couple of days.

Clemens meanwhile looked like the vintage Rocket, dominating the Twins lineup. Clemens' fastball reached 93 mph as he limited the Twins to just 2 hits over 8 innings. He didn't allow a base runner after Joe Mauer's double to lead off the 4th, retiring the last 15 men he faced. Having thrown just 97 pitches, he could have gone out for the 9th, but Joe Torre wanted to give Mariano Rivera some work. Clemens became the 8th pitcher in major league history, the first since Warren Spahn in 1963 to reach 350 career wins.

As for the offense, Bobby Abreu snapped out of his slump, at least for one night with 3 hits. The biggest ignited a 4-run 6th inning when he blasted a shot about a third of the way up the upper deck in right. The Yankees then loaded the bases against Boof Bonser. Reliever Juan Rincon walked Melky Cabrera to force in a run. Derek Jeter's seeing eye grounder off Matt Guerrier eluded 3rd Baseman Jeff Cirillo and resulted in a 2-run single and a 5-1 lead.

~~~

Brian Cashman confirmed after the game that he spoke to both A-Rod and his wife Cynthia about her tastes in t-shirts. He would not go into specifics.

Rocket Fires Up #350

The Yankees now even lose when they win. In the process of Roger Clemens picking up his 350th career victory, in a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, Alex Rodriguez had to leave the game with a strained hamstring.

With two men aboard in the 6th, A-Rod hit a double play grounder to third. In lunging to beat the throw from 2nd Baseman Luis Castillo to 1st, A-Rod hooked feet with Twins 1st Baseman Justin Morneau, sending both to the ground. Although he popped up immediately, it was obvious that A-Rod's hamstring was hurting. A-Rod tried to stay in the game, but after moving to 2nd on a base hit, told 3rd Base coach Larry Bowa that he didn't think he could score on a hit. That was enough for Bowa to signal for assistant trainer Steve Donahue and A-Rod's night was over. He'll be re-evaluated today and will most likely be out of action for at least a couple of days.

Clemens meanwhile looked like the vintage Rocket, dominating the Twins lineup. Clemens' fastball reached 93 mph as he limited the Twins to just 2 hits over 8 innings. He didn't allow a base runner after Joe Mauer's double to lead off the 4th, retiring the last 15 men he faced. Having thrown just 97 pitches, he could have gone out for the 9th, but Joe Torre wanted to give Mariano Rivera some work. Clemens became the 8th pitcher in major league history, the first since Warren Spahn in 1963 to reach 350 career wins.

As for the offense, Bobby Abreu snapped out of his slump, at least for one night with 3 hits. The biggest ignited a 4-run 6th inning when he blasted a shot about a third of the way up the upper deck in right. The Yankees then loaded the bases against Boof Bonser. Reliever Juan Rincon walked Melky Cabrera to force in a run. Derek Jeter's seeing eye grounder off Matt Guerrier eluded 3rd Baseman Jeff Cirillo and resulted in a 2-run single and a 5-1 lead.

~~~

Brian Cashman confirmed after the game that he spoke to both A-Rod and his wife Cynthia about her tastes in t-shirts. He would not go into specifics.

Tonight's Lineups (7/2)

Bonser vs. Clemens

Twins

L. Castillo 2b
J. Bartlett ss
J. Mauer c
M. Cuddyer rf
J. Morneau 1b
T. Hunter cf
J. Kubel dh
J. Cirillo 3b
L. Ford lf

Yankees

J. Damon dh
M. Cabrera cf
D. Jeter ss
A. Rodriguez 3b
J. Posada c
H. Matsui lf
B. Abreu rf
A. Phillips 1b
R. Cano 2b

Tonight's Lineups (7/2)

Bonser vs. Clemens

Twins

L. Castillo 2b
J. Bartlett ss
J. Mauer c
M. Cuddyer rf
J. Morneau 1b
T. Hunter cf
J. Kubel dh
J. Cirillo 3b
L. Ford lf

Yankees

J. Damon dh
M. Cabrera cf
D. Jeter ss
A. Rodriguez 3b
J. Posada c
H. Matsui lf
B. Abreu rf
A. Phillips 1b
R. Cano 2b

Yankees vs. Twins Preview

The Yankees go up against the Minnesota Twins this week in a 4 game series. The teams met back in April in Minnesota, with the Yankees taking 2 of 3. Kyle Farnsworth, what a shock, gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning of the series finale, as the Twins salvaged the final game.

The Twins are 42-38, leaving them 6.5 games behind the AL Central leading Indians and 5 back of the Wild Card leaving Tigers.

Defending AL MVP, Justin Morneau is hitting .279 with 20 HR and 61 RBI. Free agent to be Torii Hunter is having a huge year, batting .302-17-63 and 11 steals. Catcher Joe Mauer missed considerable time with a quad injury. In 48 games, he's batting .298-4-30 with 34 runs scored.

Johann Santana is the leader in all pitching categories among the starters and Joe Nathan has been solid as usual in the closer's role.

Pitching Probables

Monday - Boof Bonser (5-4, 4.65) vs. Roger Clemens (1-3, 5.32)
Tuesday - Carlos Silva (6-8, 4.15) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (7-4, 3.86)
Wednesday - Johann Santana (9-6, 2.76 120 Ks) vs. Mike Mussina (4-5, 4.63)
Thursday - Kevin Slowey (3-0, 5.13) vs. Kei Igawa (2-2, 6.91)

Yankees vs. Twins Preview

The Yankees go up against the Minnesota Twins this week in a 4 game series. The teams met back in April in Minnesota, with the Yankees taking 2 of 3. Kyle Farnsworth, what a shock, gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning of the series finale, as the Twins salvaged the final game.

The Twins are 42-38, leaving them 6.5 games behind the AL Central leading Indians and 5 back of the Wild Card leaving Tigers.

Defending AL MVP, Justin Morneau is hitting .279 with 20 HR and 61 RBI. Free agent to be Torii Hunter is having a huge year, batting .302-17-63 and 11 steals. Catcher Joe Mauer missed considerable time with a quad injury. In 48 games, he's batting .298-4-30 with 34 runs scored.

Johann Santana is the leader in all pitching categories among the starters and Joe Nathan has been solid as usual in the closer's role.

Pitching Probables

Monday - Boof Bonser (5-4, 4.65) vs. Roger Clemens (1-3, 5.32)
Tuesday - Carlos Silva (6-8, 4.15) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (7-4, 3.86)
Wednesday - Johann Santana (9-6, 2.76 120 Ks) vs. Mike Mussina (4-5, 4.63)
Thursday - Kevin Slowey (3-0, 5.13) vs. Kei Igawa (2-2, 6.91)

Getting Hamstrung in Minny

Apparently a strained hamstring is this year's injury of choice for the Yankees. Mike Mussina's hammy went kablooey in last night's game with the Twins. Though he doesn't see a DL trip coming, Moose could soon be joining fellow hammy hurter, Chien Ming Wang, on the sidelines. He'll miss 1 start at the very least.

Kyle Farnsworth's hamstring was fine, but his arm was shit last night. A walk, 4 hits, and a wild pitch was Farnsworth's undoing in the 8th as the Twins turned a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 victory. Sean Henn had stepped up when Moose went down, allowing 1 run in 3 1-3 innings. That 1 run was an inherited runner allowed in by Scott Proctor, who has not yet looked like the '06 version of himself.

Meanwhile, the Yankees offense couldn't doing anything against Ramon Ortiz, save for an A-Rod sac fly (RBI #16) in the 4th. He allowed just 3 hits over 8 innings. The Yankees had 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in the 9th against closer Joe Nathan, but Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada both weakly flied out.

~~~

A-Rod's 9th inning double gave him a hit in all 8 games this year.

Johnny Damon continued his hot hand with 2 hits and a stolen base.

Yankees vs. Twins (4/12)

8:10 YES, WCBS-AM

Final game of the 3 game series



Mike Mussina 0-1, 13.50



vs.




Ramon Ortiz 1-0, 2.57




Moose is looking to bounce back from an awful outing in the cold against Baltimore. His fastball was only maxing out in the mid 80s. He's had a great career against the Twins though, going 20-5, 3.17, half those wins coming on the road.

Ramon Ortiz had moderate success against the Yankees when he was a member of the Angels, going 3-1, 4.73 in 9 starts and 3 relief appearances. He was in the NL the last 2 seasons with the Reds and Nats. Derek Jeter (.417), Jorge Posada (.348), A-Rod (.333 8 HRs), and Hideki Matsui (4-8) have all had good success against him.

Yankees vs. Twins Preview (4/10)

8:10 YES, WCBS-AM



Andy Pettitte 0-0, 3.60




vs.



Boof Bonser 0-0, 3.00





Pettitte is 7-5, 3.71 lifetime vs Twins; 4-4, 3.78 in the Metrodome

This is Bonser's 1st appearance against the Yankees. Doug Mientkiewicz (1-2) is the only current Yankee to have faced him.

Pavano Gets Some Respect

Yankees Cruise 8-2

Carl Pavano did what no Yankees starting pitcher had done so far this season- get past the 5th inning. Pavano was outstanding, throwing just 79 pitches in a 7 inning performance.

The Yankee bats gave Pavano plenty of support early. Jorge Posada's 2-run double highlighted a 3 run 1st inning. Then in the 2nd, Bobby Abreu smashed a long 2-run HR off of former Yankee (I cringe when I even think that he worn the pinstripes) Sidney Ponson. Abreu had 4 RBI on the night. Alex Rodriguez also kept his hot hand with a 2-run HR, increasing his major league leading totals to 5 HR and 13 RBI.

This was all about Pavano though. He was aggressive and it paid off with 1st pitch strikes. He gave up single runs in the 5th and 7th before turning things over to Brian Bruney and Kyle Farnsworth to finish it off. Pavano scattered 6 hits, while not walking a batter, and struck out two. The victory is also the 1st for a Yankees starter.

~~~

Robinson Cano's 18 game hitting streak, including 5 games this season, came to an end on an 0-4 night.

Derek Jeter went 3-5 and has reached base safely in all 6 games.

Johnny Damon was back in the starting lineup for the first time since Opening Day and had a pair of hits (4 straight carrying over from his at-bats on Sunday).

Baseball is Back

The Yankees season really kicks off today when the Bombers play host to the Minnesota Twins at Legends Field in the spring training opener. Chien-Ming Wang takes to the mound at 1:15 pm to start things off. He'll be followed by Philip Hughes, Ross Ohlendorf, Luiz Vizcaino, and Mike Myers. Carlos Silva gets the nod for the Twins.

Here are today's starting lineups:

Yankees
CF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
DH Jason Giambi
3B Alex Rodriguez
LF Hideki Matsui
C Jorge Posada
2B Robinson Cano
RF Melky Cabrera
1B Doug Mientkiewicz

Twins
CF Denard Span
3B Nick Punto
RF Michael Cuddyer
1B Justin Morneau
DH Matt LeCroy
LF Jason Kubel
C Mike Redmond
2B Luis Rodriguez
SS Alexi Casilla

The game will be televised on YES; there is no radio coverage.