JUNE 5, 2009 -- MINNESOTA 2, SEATTLE 1 (10 innings)

Talk about pure cheese. The Twins win in the tenth inning Friday compliments of an error by Seattle left fielder Wladimir Balentien, who misplayed Matt Tolbert's line drive into a game-winner. Balentien no doubt reminded Twins fans of a certain Seldom Delmon Young by letting the outfield play him. Though the victory was no doubt cheesy, and mistakes in the game were rife, it's a win, and the Twins should be grateful to win a game started by Felix Hernandez, who looked pretty sharp for the M's. On a positive note, Francisco Liriano turned in a fine pitching performance, a rarity this year. Sure, the lineup that he faced featured an over-the-hill Mike Sweeney batting clean-up -- definitely not Murderer's Row. But Liriano needed this start badly, as maybe he can gain some confidence from his six-inning performance.

For the first time this season, the bottom of the lineup outperformed the top half, as the combo of Brendan Harris, Brian Buscher, Carlos Gomez, and Alexi Casilla combined to go 7 for 16. When it mattered, the bottom of the order choked, of course, and Matt Tolbert -- what can I say about this pathetic excuse for a major league player? He entered the game in the eighth inning pinch running for Joe Crede. Tolbert did end up stealing a base in the inning, and then Tolbert and third base coach/idiot Scott Ullger conspired to run themselves out of the inning. Buscher's infield single to second base was apparently enough for Ullger to send Tolbert home on the play, who was out by ten feet at the plate. Obviously Ullger had flashbacks to last Saturday, when he failed to send Joe Crede on an overthrow in which Crede likely would have scored. The batter on deck that day was Alexi Casilla, and Casilla would have been the next batter on Friday night, so it's not like I disagree with the decision -- Casilla sucks, and for him to get two hits in a game (much less two hits in a week) is a miracle in itself, so you can't bet on him getting a third hit, especially one in a clutch situation.

Then there's Tolbert's at-bat in the tenth inning. With the game on the line, Ron Gardenhire had apparently no move in which to pinch-hit for Tolbert -- which is a shining example of how thin this bench is at this point. If Michael Cuddyer can't pinch hit in this spot, you might as well put him on the disabled list. Cuddyer's terrible, too, of course, but anybody in the building is a better option that Matt Tolbert. Dare I say Seldom Young would have presented a better chance to get the run home? With runners on first and third and one out, Tolbert was at the dish because of Ron Gardenhire's insanity, and even Gardenhire is apparently aware of Tolbert's lack of skill, as he called for the suicide squeeze. Considering Tolbert's role model appears to be Nick Punto (his stats reflect a certain Puntoesque Patheticness), I think everyone in the park thought that the only way Tolbert was going to get the job done was with a bunt. With the worst hitter on the current 25-man roster at the plate (basically a pitcher batting), the element of surprise isn't there -- it's not like Joe Mauer was at the plate or somebody halfway decent. Tolbert squared to bunt, and the pitch was way outside, though not too far off the plate for Tolbert to at least make contact with. Because he failed to foul the ball off, Mauer was hung out to dry coming home, and the Twins were bailed out by the Seattle defense on the next play. It just emphasizes a major point -- this team is under the belief that they can win the division and they're putting guys like Matt Tolbert and Alexi Casilla and Carlos Gomez and Seldom Young and Nick Punto and Brian Buscher and Mike Redmond into the lineup on a consistent basis. If your team is asking Matt Tolbert to drive home game-winning runs in extra innings, competing for a pennant should be the last thing from your mind.

Well, the Twins got a win in Seattle, which I thought would be a tough challenge. Now they get their ace Nick Blackburn on the mound this afternoon against Jerrod Washburn, a guy with mediocre stuff that the Twins have never really figured out. Washburn, by the way, is the pride of Webster, Wisconsin -- an area that I spend parts of my summers in. Blackburn goes for win #6 on the year today.