JUNE 9, 2009 -- MINNESOTA 10, OAKLAND 5

If ever there is a team that needs to sweat through a game in which they led by ten runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning, it's Ron Gardenhire's Minnesota Twins. Four pitchers later, Joe Nathan was in the game for a save situation, and did the job with two quick strikeouts. The pathetic ninth inning sort of ruined what was a stellar ballgame up to that point, as it featured some of the most shocking developments that have occurred all season long. Carlos Gomez had a big two-run double. Seldom Young had two hits, three RBIs and ZERO strikeouts, ending that pathetic streak at a mere thirteen games. Scott Baker didn't implode until the ninth inning, and the ten-run cushion made the bullpen's equal patheticness not matter as much. Bert Blyleven seemed to ascribe Baker's inability to get the shutout was the fact that his demeanor expressed no desire to be on the mound. This can be chalked up to Ron Gardenhire and the coaching staff's philosophy of "give me seven innings and you've done your job." The eighth and especially ninth innings are foreign territory for Twins starters, thanks to the "gameplan" instilled by the coaches. They don't want to be out there because they've been told that they shouldn't be out there -- it's as if they've been told a horror story about the ninth inning, that there are monsters and aliens out on the field in the ninth inning and only the bullpen can take care of it. Baker needs to grow a pair and get out there and shut the door and make his team get in the clubhouse and enjoy a much-needed win. Instead, the A's perhaps gained some momentum for Wednesday's game.


The only reason Joe Nathan had a save opportunity in the ninth inning to begin with was because of two misplays by Alexi Casilla, and judging on the reaction of Ron Gardenhire, I'm pretty sure I know who's being sent down on Friday when Nick "Superman" Punto is activated from the disabled list. Casilla's hit the ball a little bit better than when he was first with the club this season (it's not difficult to do better than .167, however) but the thing that has always infuriated Gardenhire is defensive lapses like the ones Casilla showed in the ninth. On both plays, Casilla was looking to turn a double play when the team just needed one out; he received an error on the second play but not the first. The funny thing is, Casilla was put into the game after Joe Crede was hit by a pitch -- he was mainly in there to give Crede a rest and to play defense. We know that Casilla's offense is not the reason for him to be sent down, as Ron Gardenhire has a fascination for letting guys hitting under the Mendoza Line bat second in his lineup (see Tolbert, Matt). But when the defense betrays you, and you have zero skills to offer a major league club, even Ron Gardenhire has no place for you on a ballclub.


I'd just like to comment on the fact that the Casilla error in the ninth was the only error given the entire night for both sides. Whoever was the official scorer in Tuesday's game needs to get their head examined, as Casilla deserved two errors in the ninth inning, and the Twins were given plenty of runs by shoddy Oakland defense. Seldom Young's first hit in the game was a gift, as Orlando Cabrera misplayed what would have been an inning-ending double play; Young got a hit on the play. The key play in the ballgame was compliments of an Adam Kennedy misplay in the sixth inning. The play was more of a mental error than a physical error, as Kennedy fielded a Michael Cuddyer ground ball and started to chase Jason Kubel back to first base. He did his job, but then did not throw to first base in time to get Cuddyer, and only got one out on the play. Had Kennedy thrown to first in time to get Cuddyer, they would have easily had Kubel hung out to dry and gotten the double play to get out of the inning (the Twins were only leading 2-0 at the time). Three straight hits later and the Twins were up 5-0. Contrary to Dick Bremer saying that Michael Cuddyer going from first to third on a hit in the second inning was the "key" play in the game (I know -- what??!), Kennedy's miscue, though it did not show up in the boxscore, directly led to three runs scoring. Compound that mental mistake with Kennedy's boot in the seventh inning which was inexplicably ruled a single for Justin Morneau -- the next batter, Jason Kubel, hit a game-sealing three-run home run. That's four runs that Kennedy let score because of his defense.


It's just too bad that the Twins had to make the game close in the ninth inning, because the Twins really needed a blowout win for their on-the-road mentality if nothing else. They've been struggling mightily with the bats on the road and they need to use all the momentum they can get at this point. Oakland ace Dallas Braden pitches tonight against Francisco Liriano, who turned in a pretty good pitching performance on Friday against Seattle. The Twins get another youngster, Trevor Cahill, in the series finale on Thursday afternoon, and then get to face a couple of tough Cubs hurlers at Wrigley Field this weekend, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly. Wins are going to be at a premium on the road all season for the Twins, and they'll be needing to beat some good pitchers as well as some young, inexperienced pitchers whom the Twins always seem to struggle against.