Go Joe....Go Johan....Go Twins!

As of 9:00 tomorrow night, I will officially be headed off to San Antonio. I had a difficult time deciding what my last blog would be about before I left, but seeing as the All-Star Break begins on Monday, I figured I should blog about my beloved Minnesota Twins. More specifically, I wanted to blog about what I love about them right now.

1. Johan Santana
The man is a machine. He currently has a 2.76 ERA with a record of 9-4. Santana also currently leads the Major Leagues in strikeouts (131). He was a great choice to be voted onto the AL All-Star team, and I hope he does well. I've been very happy with his pitching, and I have yet to see a game where he disappoints me beyond belief.

2. Francisco Liriano
How can you not be happy with the young-blood. Tonight alone he pitched 7 shutout innings with only 4 hits, 3 walks, and 95 pitches thrown. He also racked up 8 strikeouts. After tonight his record improved to 10-1, and his ERA dropped to 1.83, making it the lowest of Major League starters (Santana is 5th). So why didn't he get the last AL vote for the All-Star game? I have no clue. I honestly wanted to "Punch A.J.", as the campaign stated, when I heard Pierzynski was voted in. Liriano deserved it, and if he continues to pitch how he has, the Twins would be stupid not to keep him in the starting lineup.

3. Joe Nathan
After getting 15 saves in 16 opportunities so far this year, Joe Nathan has been showing just as much skill as he has in the past. I started liking Nathan during his amazing season last year. After closing out tonight's game, he has thrown 52 strikeouts in 36 innings. Nathan also has a 5-0 record this season with a very nice 1.75 ERA. My favorite thing about him? His characteristic exhale. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch him pitch.

4. Joe Mauer
Young-blood. Hometown Hero. The should-be AL starting catcher in this year's All-Star Game. But why isn't he? Because the popularity contest that is All-Star voting came up with Ivan Rodriguez. Do I agree with this? Of course not! Mauer has a batting average of .383, the best in the Major Leagues. His defense is also unparalleled. Out of 496 chances, he has made 467 putouts. He also has only 3 passed balls and 2 errors. Personally, if I were Ozzie Guillen coaching this year's AL team, I would kick Rodriguez to the curb and let Mauer show everyone what Minnesota blood can do.

5. Justin Morneau
At the beginning of the season, Morneau was in a slump like no other. At the start of June, his average was just .244, and it is now up to an astounding .301. He also has 23 home runs and 73 RBIs (the most of any AL first baseman) this season. If Morneau continues his method of swinging less and waiting for his pitch to come, I believe he will become more of a key player for the Twins than he already is.

6. Current Standings
After tonight's game, the Twins are 11 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central race for the playoffs. If they continue to play as they have been, the Twins can make up some of that ground. If we don't get closer, we can still gain on the White Sox in the Wild Card race, where we're only 8 games behind (following a White Sox loss tonight).

All I can say is: Go Twins!


That's the last of my blogs until I come home on the 17th. First person to give me an update of how Twins players do in the All-Star game gets a free penny.


Random quote del día: "You're tellin' me that suck is not a number?" -- Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs


Quick update on my mom:
She's doing great, and she's having the right attitude about everything. She really wants to get treatment started as soon as possible. Hopefully she'll be starting on Friday.