The WGOM

Kevin Slowey last 5 starts = 29 K and 1 BB... wow! I know people want to compare him to BRadke, but I think he will transcend Brad's performance ceiling and will post a few years worthy of a Greg Maddux comparison. (NO... not a full Greg Maddux-like career, but a few seasons in that range). When I watch Slowey pitch, he has similar command and is so smart, calm and collected on the mound.

Reading through the game logs now that I am back in town, there seems to be some 4 alarm reactions with some of the fan base. I am thinking "one game out this late in the season? With all that has gone wrong? Wow!"

The key is this: our bullpen needs to find it's stride again. Eddie was a great pickup. Someone out in the pen other than Nathan who can tell the youngsters "so you blew up last night? Big deal. Today's a new day." I think he will help settle the boys down and we will make a run at the hated ChiSox. Our starting pitching right now is the best in the division (IMHO). We can score enough runs to win with our starting pitching. We just need to hold our leads and we will be fine.

Double Wow! Cleveland passed Detroit into meaningless 3rd place in the division with a 10-0 L10. The fans in Cleveland have to be wondering what would have happened if they didn't choke the first third of the season away.

Since this section is more about random posts, I thought I would put this bit of information out there... I am doing the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 day walk in the Twin Cities in September. I need to raise at least $2200 for this walk. I'm really close to meeting that goal (by really close i mean less than $1000 left). In an effort to raise money my walking team is having an online silent auction. You can find the items and information about the auction at onepinksprinkle.blogspot.com. If you don't want to bid on an item, but would still like to support the Susan G. Komen fund, please click on the "Donate here" link on the above listed website. Thanks!!!

The Twins have had two other losing streaks of 4+ games this season. After a six-game losing streak in mid-June, the Twins responded by winning 13 of their next 15 games, which put them in a tie for first place. After a five-game losing streak just after the All-Star break, the Twins responded by winning 6 of their next 7 games, which also put them into a tie for first. These games in Oakland are very winnable. Hopefully, the Twins can respond to the end of the latest losing streak with another hot streak.

Also, the Twins have clinched another winning month. They're only losing month was April (12-14). They are 15-10 in August with this four-game series finishing off the month. If the Twins win 3 of 4, that will give them four consecutive months with a .600+ winning percentage.

Apparently, Johan is having some urgency problems. Never mind that he has the best ERA of any starter on any contending team. Never mind that his ERA in the second half is almost a half a run better, and never mind that he had a 16-inning shutout streak going before giving up all of three earned runs on two HRs to the NL's leading HR team in their tiny bandbox of a ballpark. Apparently, Pedro is embracing the role of stopper, which is good news for Mets fans after he allowed five ER in five innings to the Phillies in the game before, which is the reason why the Mets wanted more urgency from Johan.

We should have never made that trade. Then the Twins would have started the season with Denard leading off and playing CF and the Twins would not have signed Livan. They also might not have signed Lamb and would have started the season with Buscher at third, at least against righties. And they might not have traded for Craig Monroe, instead opting for cheaper options, like Emil Brown or even just going with Randy Ruiz. Can you imagine a playoff rotation of Johan, Baker, Liriano, and Slowey?

The corruption of Theo Epstein is complete. He was quoted this morning as saying new acquisition Mark Kotsay is a "gamer." Grindiness is only a heartbeat away.

So, here's a conversation I had with Liz last night whilst watching Bones: Who's the best looking?
1) Bones/Emily Deschanel
2) Angela/Michaela Conlin
3) Cam/Tamara Taylor

Liz went 3,2,1 and I went 2,3,1. Your thoughts?

According to Sid's column today, Delmon Young swings at the first pitch some 47 percent of the time, second in the majors. Christ I thought he swung at the first pitch 75 percent of the time. I'm shocked it's under 50 percent.

Please, oh please, oh please:

Out like a Lamb: We're hearing that Mike Lamb, just designated for assignment by the Twins, has told his old buddies in Houston he'd love to play in Philadelphia. And with the Phillies still hunting for a left-handed bat off the bench, they clearly would be interested. One big question is whether the Phillies (or anyone else) would try to trade for Lamb or just wait until the Twins release him. He can't be released until next week, meaning he wouldn't be eligible for postseason play. But because he already has cleared trade waivers, he could be dealt at any time.

Yep, I realize this is pure speculation, but a girl can dream.

question: do crickets sleep?
if they do, I must have some mutant strain of crickets that live outside my window. All they have been doing for the last 2 weeks is chirp. Its really getting annoying.
I'm almost to the point of praying for a snowfall

Ryan Redmond, 7, was in the Twins’ clubhouse after the game, breaking down one of the more exciting plays of the season.
....
“Dad, way to tackle that guy,” Ryan said.
“I would have [tackled him],” Redmond told reporters. “I was fully ready for him to blow me up [with a collision], but it ended up working out.”

From JoeC's blog last night

I forgot to post this last week
An Ode to Rondell White

The best part of that ode is the picture