TWINS - Yesterday afternoon, the Twins beat the A’s 6-5. Doug Mientkiewicz led the way going 3-4 and a 3-run homer. Joe Mays struggled again, but still got the Win. The bullpen bent but didn’t break, and Eddie G closed the door again. The Twins have now won 4 out of 5 games against the A’s this year. Interestingly, those 4 wins all came in games that the A’s started a left-handed pitcher! Granted, none of those starts were by Mark Mulder.
With Mientkiewicz back, and healthy again, the Twins were able to send Todd Sears back down to the minors and called up OF Lew Ford, which they did today. This creates a lot of interesting things.
1.) Justin Morneau won’t/can’t/shouldn’t be sent back down to AA New Britain (he’s got 9 HRs in AAA in less than a month), so how will Rochester manager Phil Roof handle having both Morneau and Todd Sears there? My guess, they’ll switch between 1B and DH basically every day.
2.) It was Lew Ford, and not Michael Cuddyer, that was recalled. I’m a huge Michael Cuddyer fan, but I think for the team right now, this is the proper move. Cuddyer is hitting almost .400 in AAA. Ford was hitting well over .300. With Bobby Kielty still unable to play the field and Torii Hunter aching, they need another OF on the roster, and Lew Ford can play all 3 OF positions. The clincher is that he is left handed and provides that left-handed bat off the bench when he’s not in the lineup. Cuddyer, Restovich and Ryan can get all those OF at bats in Rochester again. (For those who don’t know, Lew Ford was the Twins Organization Minor League Player of the Year last year. He tore up both AA and AAA after he was called up late in the year.)
3.) I’ve said all along that I thought Michael Cuddyer should have been the Twins every day right fielder, even with his struggles. I still believe that he will someday be a star, and I still hope it is with the Twins. However, Dustan Mohr has more than proven that he deserves to be the Twins every day right fielder.
4.) I’ve also said that Bobby Kielty should be the Twins every day DH. I still believe that. He has more than proven this year that he is the Twins best overall hitter. His plate discipline, his power, and his numbers… and just a visual observation, he just looks like he has a good idea every single time he goes to the plate. Problem - Matthew Lecroy also is now hitting over .300 and deserves the playing time. It just shouldn’t be at the expense of Kielty.
Tonight starts a 4 game set against the Seattle Mariners. The Twins won 2 out of 3 in Seattle last weekend. Tomorrow, Brad Radke needs to step up and start pitching well. Gil Meche may be the best pitcher you’ve never heard of (as his 6-2, 2.86 ERA would attest to). He’s now back from major arm surgery and really pitching well.
Basketball - The Mavs somehow overcame the Dirk Nowitki not playing and a 19 point 3rd quarter deficit to force a Game 6 against the Spurs. But, don’t worry, the Spurs will finish the job in Game 6 and end the series. I’ll get in to this more next week, but the Nets will win the NBA Championship. I’ll tell you why.
Can you imagine? NBA head coaches, successful head coaches are leaving their jobs… For the chance to become the never head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers! Last week, we were hearing that Jeff Van Gundy and Paul Silas were being considered for the Cavs coaching vacancy, but in the past few days, Rudy Tomjanovich has left the Rockets and Larry Brown has left the 76ers. And, yes, my guess is that Larry Brown will be the next head coach of the Cavs.
Hey, it’s a great job for someone with patience who is willing to do the job. A potential starting lineup of Dejuan Wagner, Lebron James, Ricky Davis, someone at the 4, and Vitaly Potapenko at center, with Darius Miles off the bench, could become good once the maturity catches up to their potential.
TV – Hey, tonight is a 90-minute premiere episode of The Amazing Race, one of my favorite shows. This is the third installment of the show where teams of two race each other around the world, performing tasks. This year, I read that there is a team of clowns and a bunch of models, so it should be good! I can’t wait. Check your local CBS channel at 7:00 CDT tonight (Thursday).
OK, that’s enough for today, I hope you’ve enjoyed it and will come back frequently!