A pathetic showing in a series finale at home against a second-division ballclub in the Houston Astros. Frankly the Twins are appearing to be second-division in their own right, especially on Sunday, when they were never in the game and never seemed even even attempting to participate in the game. They got two hits in the game -- two -- off Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez and the bullpen. That's not too surprising considering the pathetic lineup that Ron Gardenhire put on the field. Justin Morneau inexplicably sat out the game; for what reason I am still baffled. Carlos Gomez, he of the .219 batting average, batted leadoff, struck out twice in three at-bats and saw a grand total of nine pitches all afternoon -- absolutely unacceptable for a guy in the lead-off position, yet Ron Gardenhire thinks that Gomez can do the job. He's been going pretty good with Brendan Harris in the leadoff position, so what does he do? Changes things, and puts one of the worst players on the team in the lead-off spot. Here's to Denard Span coming back to the everyday lineup; though Harris did admirably in the lead-off spot, Ron Gardenhire apparently was not ready to use him there every day. With Span, there's no question where he's hitting in the lineup. It just makes that decision easier for Ron Gardenhire -- and we're talking about a guy who struggles making simple decisions like that.
Glen Perkins put forth a miserable start on Sunday. Before he got an out, Perkins had given up two runs, and considering the Twins' lineup, that was enough for the Astros, who added another in the first and one in the seventh. Looking at Perkins' line on Sunday doesn't indicate a terrible start, but giving up three runs in the top of the first inning to a poor ballclub like Houston is a punch in the stomach for your team, especially one that, because of your manager, was pretty much playing shorthanded voluntarily (Justin Morneau being on the bench for rest). And the defense sort of betrayed Perkins in the first, as Matt Tolbert did a terrible job covering first base on Michael Bourn's leadoff bunt single, and Jason Kubel lost Miguel Tejada's double in the roof. In all fairness, Kubel wasn't feeling 100% and had to be lifted in the fourth inning due to illness. The Twins lineup, hence, for the bulk of the game looked like this: Gomez, Harris, Mauer, Cuddyer, Buscher, Crede, Seldom, Redmond, and Tolbert. By far the worst lineup that has taken the field this season. Why are we giving Justin Morneau a day off, Gardenhire? I 
did state on this site yesterday that Morneau has struggled of late and needs to pick it up, but I didn't mean bench the guy. He had played in 319 straight games until Sunday, and you have a scheduled off day Monday. Why on earth would you bench a guy who's in the top ten in all three Triple Crown categories? See, this is the kind of insanity that separates Ron Gardenhire from the rest of the idiots. Most of the time Ron Gardenhire's insanity shines through during the game -- he did it Saturday with his mismanagement of the pitching staff, something he's done an umpteen amount of times. But on Sunday, Gardy's stupidity was secured even before the first pitch, accomplished when he sat down to write out the starting lineup. Why Justin Morneau was benched is absolutely beyond me. First off, you play baseball. A kid's game. Secondly, baseball players get paid oodles of millions of dollars to play said kid's game. There are people right now who are working seven days a week, ten hours a day who get paid peanuts and don't get a day off. Ron Gardenhire sits his second best player the day before a scheduled off day so he can get some "rest." That, my friends, is sheer insanity.
did state on this site yesterday that Morneau has struggled of late and needs to pick it up, but I didn't mean bench the guy. He had played in 319 straight games until Sunday, and you have a scheduled off day Monday. Why on earth would you bench a guy who's in the top ten in all three Triple Crown categories? See, this is the kind of insanity that separates Ron Gardenhire from the rest of the idiots. Most of the time Ron Gardenhire's insanity shines through during the game -- he did it Saturday with his mismanagement of the pitching staff, something he's done an umpteen amount of times. But on Sunday, Gardy's stupidity was secured even before the first pitch, accomplished when he sat down to write out the starting lineup. Why Justin Morneau was benched is absolutely beyond me. First off, you play baseball. A kid's game. Secondly, baseball players get paid oodles of millions of dollars to play said kid's game. There are people right now who are working seven days a week, ten hours a day who get paid peanuts and don't get a day off. Ron Gardenhire sits his second best player the day before a scheduled off day so he can get some "rest." That, my friends, is sheer insanity.So the Twins finish a six game home stand in which they faced a fifth-place team and a sixth-place team and they went 3-3. Now they get to go on the road to face a first-place team and a second place team in the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The road has not been kind to the Twins, and by them not taking any momentum into the road trip, this nine-gamer might spell doom for the Twins. The prospects for a winning road trip are bleak, especially considering the mediocrity that is so prized with Ron Gardenhire and the Twins. It's getting more and more apparent that Francisco Liriano belongs in the bullpen, which means that Ron Gardenhire will likely keep him in the rotation, and it's Liriano's turn to start the series opener in Milwaukee on Tuesday. He opposes Brewer veteran Jeff Suppan.
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