Recap 5/29/2007 Twins 9, White Sux 2

I could complain. I could point out that the Twins once again struggled at times to drive in runners in scoring position as I've stated all year. They weren't terrible, going 5-14, but especially in the later innings missed out on multiple looks with the bases loaded. Nick Punto in particular choked, going 0-3 with runners in scoring position.

That said, the Twins still drubbed the White Sux 9-2, and once again, it was a total team effort. The big guys, Cuddy, Justin, and T. Hunt went 6-10 with three doubles, a homerun, four walks, four runs and four steaks. Not bad. The little guys, Luis, LNP (who Batgirl fans will know is 'lil Nicky Punto), and Bartlett went 6-15 (and yes, they were again all singles) with a couple walks and two steals. And of course there are the in-between guys, Red Dog, Q-Ball (Thanks Nelson), and Cirillo who went 4-12 with a double, a homerun, three runs, three steaks, and a walk. It should be noted that Q-Ball also had about his fifth 380 foot out. The only guy who didn't have a hit was Lewwww Ford. He was 0-1 as a late game defensive replacement. All told, the Twins pumped out 16 hits and drew 7 walks.

Worth noting, Morneau (who I was calling More-not at one point this season) is now hitting .293, with his average steadily climbing over the past two weeks, along with his overall performance. Being that I'm lazy, perhaps someone would look up his stats before and after May 15th, it would be interesting to see if he's always been a 'late-bloomer' like Santana with a stick. It also suggests that perhaps his .320+ average last year wasn't as big of a fluke as I thought and that the Twins may have cost themselves a few million per year more by not getting him signed long-term right away.

Also worth noting, Cuddybear has seen a similar spike in his productiveness over the past couple weeks, with his average rising from the .270 range to .298. He hasn't hit with quite as much power as Morneau, but he's doing a great job bring the boys home. It's hardly without coincidence that their surges in offensive production have coincided with the teams recent winning ways. It also highlights how, despite the people who laid so much of the blame of the top and bottom of the order, the real lynch-pins of this offense are the guys in the middle. When they hit, we win. Obviously it's sad that we don't have anyone else who can pick the team up besides the four guys in the middle (I'm counting Mauer) but such is the life of a middle to low budget team.

The other obvious highlight, other than the offensive drubbing that got laid down, was yet another solid effort from The Boof. Coming into this season I was quite skeptical about Bonser, having seen him live plenty last year I questioned whether or not his stuff would be enough to get him by. But the Boof I see this year is one who is much more aggressive, especially over the last month. He's using his fastball to get ahead and has really developed his curveball into a true out-pitch. His bases loaded strikeout of notorious Twins killer Jim Thome late in the game was huge. Had Thome managed to drive a ball into a gap or heaven forbid, the seats above the baggie, things would have suddenly gotten far too interesting. Instead Boof went right at him, challenging him down in the zone and making him miss. The only real downer I have about The Boof tonight was his bases loaded walk of Jermaine Dye. falling behind 3-0 is just not acceptable in that situation.

Tomorrow night Scott Baker and the Boys go for the sweep against Jon Garland, a woman I have a particular distaste for on a personal level. Nothing serious or anything, I just hope his kids are born premie and die. Just kidding?