Aw shucks.  Joe’s under .400 for the first time this year.  We all knew it couldn’t last, right?  But we sure hoped.  And who knows… with a little bit of a hot streak maybe he could get himself back up and over for the All-Star break.  That was really my hope, just for the All-Star break.

Of course he had to go and end up under .400 the same week his Sports Illustrated cover comes out.  Classic SI Jinx.

I wanted to say though that I’ve notice myself stopping to listen to Mauer at-bat with a special attention lately.  If I’m doing something else while listening – like cooking dinner for example – I’ll stop whenever Joe comes up.  And if I’m following the game live I’m pretty much always aware of where the Twins are in the lineup by reference to number of ABs until Mauer bats again.

I don’t remember following any one player’s at-bats with this much attention since the Sosa-McGwire homer battle (which we all now know was a crock).  Not even for Bonds’ chase of Aaron (which we knew then was a crock).  That’s how much fun Mauer’s .400 watch has been for me.  I doubt I’ll keep following with the same intensity if he drops below .390, but I’m sure to keep checking the stats every day.  And if nothing else, this was a heck of a ride over the last two months.  That’s part of the beauty of baseball – even the unlikely happens now and then, and there’s nothing better than watching it evolve.

Part of being a H.O.W. is taking advantage of opportunities, making the other team pay for their mistakes.  And nobody did that better tonight than Joe Crede, with his first-inning double after Cuddyer’s strikeout ended up not being an out at all.  And so for that clutch hit Crede gets tonight’s Hero Of the Win.

Season total: Mauer 7, Crede 4, Blackburn 3, Kubel 3, Morneau 3, Nathan 3, Cuddy 2, Slowey 2, Casilla 1, Gomez 1, Harris 1, Perkins 1, Span 1, Swarzak 1, Tolbert 1, Young, Gardy 1

Gosh, I’ve got a few more of these things to do, don’t I?

Blackburn’s complete game gem gives him Thursday’s Hero.  And I keep debating between two people for Friday’s game.  It’s been nice to see Delmon continue to develop towards a respectable player (he’s still not there), so I’d like to reward that.  But the single most heroic aspect of the game was Nathan’s gritty 4-out save.  So as much as I want to encourage Delmon along with a little taste, I’ve got to acknowledge that the real hero was Joe Nathan.

Season total: Mauer 7, Blackburn 3, Crede 3, Kubel 3, Morneau 3, Nathan 3, Cuddy 2, Slowey 2, Casilla 1, Gomez 1, Harris 1, Perkins 1, Span 1, Swarzak 1, Tolbert 1, Young, Gardy 1

For Friday the 12th the hero is Joe Mauer.
For Saturday the 13th the hero is Anthony Swarzak.
And for Tuesday the 16th the Hero is Carlos Gomez. 

“Gomez?” you ask.
“Yes Gomez,” I reply.
“But didn’t Joe Mauer go 4-for-4?” You seem almost perplexed.
“Yes, Joe had an exceptional game,” I respond, “But there’s more to what makes a Hero than performance. And besides, none of Joe’s hits were particularly remarkable or heroic in nature.”
“That’s true,” you say, “But if not Joe, then why Gomez? What did he do that was heroic?”
“Let me tell you a story,” I say.
“Sure, I’ve got a minute,” you say, and you sit down to hear my tale.

“Just this past weekend I was in the wonderful land of Minnesota, visiting friend and family alike.  Among my favorite people to visit was my little nephew, who only recently turned two.  He’s a super cute kid.  I’m obligated to say that as an uncle, but that doesn’t make it any less of an objective truth.
“Well, my father managed to get his hands on some free tickets to the Twins game on Tuesday night. He first offered them to me, but since I unfortunately was flying back to D.C., he ended up taking my sister and my nephew to the game. They had fantastic seats, just two rows up, right next to the Twins’ dugout.
“Prior to the game, when the Twins were warming up, a bunch of people in their section were trying to get the attention of Carlos Gomez. Rather than acknowledge any of the full grown adults, Carlos walked right over to my nephew and began to talk with him. Apparently they had quite the little chat, and my sister was impressed by how personable and thoughtful Carlos was. He even promised to give my nephew a ball before the game was done. At the start of the 9th inning, on his way out to the field, Carlos stopped by their section again, ball in hand, and made good on his promise. My nephew’s face just lit up.

“Wow,” you say.
“Yup.” I say, “You feel like you see it often enough, the players tossing balls in to the little kids in the stands, but it’s still really cool. And this was even more than that. Carlos picked my nephew out of the crowd, spent some time talking to him, made him a promise, and delivered on that. He could have just walked right by to the dugout before the game, but he stopped and took that opportunity to make a kid’s day. And his mother’s day, and his grandfather’s day, and even his uncle’s day.”

“That’s what baseball is about,” you say.

“That’s what being a hero is about,” I say.

See, cute, right?

Season total: Mauer 7, Crede 3, Kubel 3, Morneau 3, Blackburn 2, Cuddy 2, Nathan 2, Slowey 2, Casilla 1, Gomez 1, Harris 1, Perkins 1, Span 1, Swarzak 1, Tolbert 1, Young, Gardy 1

DCTF will be on a short break over the next week or so.  I’ll actually be leaving D.C. and headed for good ol’ Minny itself.  Unfortunately the Twins won’t be in town too.  It’s looking more and more like I won’t be able to catch one final game in the Dome.

Part of me is okay with that.

We’ll be back in a week, and we’ll update the H.O.W.’s too.  See you then!

Kubel is clutch, therefore Kubel is the H.O.W.  Because really, pinch hit homers to tie the game and wonderful insurance runs are really what being a hero is all about.

Season total: Mauer 6, Crede 3, Kubel 3, Morneau 3, Blackburn 2, Cuddy 2, Nathan 2, Slowey 2, Casilla 1, Harris 1, Perkins 1, Span 1, Tolbert 1, Young, Gardy 1

I have to confess, with these late games finishing after midnight on the East Coast I’m tempted to say that the H.O.W. is the Hero for the next calendar day.  But that might lead to problems.  Of course, so could the Twins winning both games of a double-header.  I think we’ll just worry about that problem when we get to it.  For now, I’m going to recognize Delmon Young as tonight’s Hero Of the Win.  Because it feels good to see a number-one overall draft pick come through on draft day.  And Mauer just didn’t do enough to earn it tonight.  (Seriously, I know Delmon hasn’t lived up to expectations, but how cool is it to see two number-one picks batting in the same order?  I’ve looked, and haven’t ever seen another lineup where that has happened.  Maybe it has, but not that I’ve been able to find.).

Season total: Mauer 6, Crede 3, Morneau 3, Blackburn 2, Cuddy 2, Kubel 2, Nathan 2, Slowey 2, Casilla 1, Harris 1, Perkins 1, Span 1, Tolbert 1, Young, Gardy 1

It’s not much of a confession, but I love drafts.  Baseball, fantasy sports, a nice ale on a hot day, etc.  They’re just so full of potential.  Every player is looked at for what they could be, and you can almost feel the possibilities descend around you. 

I don’t have to many thoughts about the Twins’ picks.  4 pitchers in the first three rounds.  It looks like Gibson’s injuries aren’t too serious, as some feared.  I’m inclined to be a bit apprehensive, but that’s just my natural risk-aversion showing through.  Of course, even if the injuries are more severe and surgery is required, there’s nothing saying he couldn’t come back from that surgery just as strong or stronger.  We Twins fans are a bit frightened by pitchers having surgery (especially Tommy John), but that’s to be expected after seeing Liriano go from that to this.  But there’s nothing that says every pitcher will have the same results, and so I’m optimistic about Gibson.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t talk a little bit about the number one pick: Stephen Strasburg.  He went to my “backup” team, the Washington Nationals.  Having seen the Nats in person, let me just confirm for everyone that ohboydidtheyneedabigpick.  This is not a good team.  Jim Bowden simply destroyed any hope this franchise had, and they’re pretty much building from the ground up.  Supposedly they have some good pieces, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen them.  Even Zimmerman hasn’t really gripped me as an amazing player.  He’s good, yeah, but I can name a whole bunch of guys I’d rather have than him.  He could be a star, but not a super-star.

So getting the number one pick, in a year where there was a consensus number one pick to be had, is a big deal.  I remember back when the Twins drafted Mauer, how excited I was because I knew just how good he could be.  (Or so I thought… he’s even better than I anticipated).  And that year there wasn’t even a consensus number one.  And the Twins were already on a big upswing.  If Mauer meant that much to the Twins, imagine how big this feels for folks in D.C.  The Nats are at the very bottom right now, and they’re a ways away from building to anything.   But this pick should give them an amazing cornerstone, a consistent 20-game winner.  For a franchise that’s looking at 60 wins, that’s a huge pick-me-up.  We loved the Mauer pick because he was the hometown guy and the piece that we needed to solidify where the franchise was going.  The Nats love the Strasburg pick because it’s a big first step in the right direction.

Wow.  What a game.  And if you folks in the central thought you had to stay up late, just think how us East Coasters feel. 

Totally worth it though. 

It really was an amazing game.  Both starting pitchers were amazing, and it felt awful good to have Liriano pitch out of those jams.  Just when we started to dread the implosion he put it together and shut the door.  Let’s hope this is a sign that he’s turned the corner.  I would, of course, refer you to my last post too, where I specifically asked for Liriano to start pitching well.  Check.

The bullpen held up, and there was some exciting stuff at the end.  Almost all of it involving Matt Tolbert.  The rock’em sock’em robots play at the plate, the suicide squeeze that revealed the reason behind the name (how great was it that Tolbert did everything he could to still put it in play and protect Mauer.  Exactly what you’re supposed to do, but really a valiant effort), and the clutch two-out hit following that out.  The man was everywhere at the end of the game, playing his little Matt Tolbert guts out.  And for that he gets an E for Effort and the Hero Of the Win.

Season total: Mauer 6, Crede 3, Morneau 3, Blackburn 2, Cuddy 2, Kubel 2, Nathan 2, Slowey 2, Casilla 1, Harris 1, Perkins 1, Span 1, Tolbert 1, Gardy 1

When the Twins win day games it makes everything better. 

A crazy client comes in for help?  No problem, the Twins won today!
Metro is running late?  That’s ok, they hit 4 home runs.
The toilet flooded? No biggie, Joe Mauer is batting .436!

I had a post a while back about the day games that just feel like automatic losses, the ones where the team and the game both seem kind of lethargic. Where the opposition scores a couple of runs in the first or second inning and then all of the sudden it’s the bottom of the ninth and the Twins haven’t done anything all day.

Since I put up that post I don’t know if they’ve lost a day game. That’s not true, I know they have. But I haven’t felt like there’s been a lethargic auto-loss since then. I’ve been listening to the Twins for years and years, and over the past 4 seasons I’ve probably caught at least three quarters of the games, including most of their day games. I became well versed with those auto-losses. But ever since I complained about them, they seemed to have gone away. It’s almost as if the team is responding my critiques…

So, without further ado:

Liranio needs to pitch better.
Our middle infielders need to hit better.
Cuddyer needs to stop being injured.
Carlos Gomez needs to hit better.
The Fox affiliate in D.C. needs to stop picking alternative games to show when the Twins are one of the marquis match ups on Fox Saturday baseball.
Delmon Young needs to start doing anything right. I’m not picky. It can be on the defensive side of the game. It can be on the offensive side of the game. It can even be in the talent-scouting part of the game. If Delmon manages to get the Twins an amazing pick in the draft next week, that’d at least be something. Just seriously Delmon, pick something and be good at it.

Ok, let’s see if the “Twins want to accommodate DCTF” theory works. Go team!