Ozzie Guillen – http://blogs.suntimes.com/whitesox/2010/05/are_the_sox_good_enough_even_i.html

In the first two games Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn came through and gave the Twins a chance to win by keeping the Sox off-balanced and largely off the base paths.  After they were out of the game, the Twin’s bullpen held together and maintained the leads.  This combination was effective in enabling the Twins to win the first two games.  But this is a three game series and the game left to go may prove to be the most important of the series.

The final game lands in Kevin Slowey’s lap.  K-Slow has been very good this year, and I hope that he will continue the trend that Baker and Blackburn started.  The Twins will need to continue to stay aggressive on the bases as they are facing Gavin Floyd, whom they’ve had some trouble against this season.  They’ll need to manufacture as many runs as they can.  But most of the pressure is on the White Sox, who have to view this game as a must win.  Here’s hoping they play tight tonight.

The game tonight is for all of the marbles.  A Twins win will give them a half game lead in the AL Central with three games to go, and  therefore a very good chance to make the post season.  This will be a great game to watch and I’m sure the Metrodome will be packed. If you go make sure to bring a broom, or at least a picture of a broom.

It has been a good week to be a Twins fan. I hope next week will be another good week to be a Twins fan.

Go Twins!  Finish the sweep of the Pale Hose from southern Chicago.

The big series starts tonight. Go Twins!

Probable Pitchers

Scott Baker for the Twins versus Javier Vazquez for the White Sox.

Both teams need to win this series, so it should be an interesting showdown.

Go Twins!

“Both teams play solid, fundamental baseball and one thing is for sure. Neither team will be a quick out in the postseason.”

Neither teams fundamental baseball skills are exactly impressive this year, at least when considering that they are skilled Major Leaguer players. The Twins have certainly taken a step backwards in this department with Delmon Young, Harris, and Busher in the lineup instead of Bartlett, Castillo and Punto. Defensively, not offensively.

“The addition of Francisco Liriano has boosted an already motivated Twins squad that is proving their elite status even though every baseball forecaster picked them for last place before the year began.”

I know that in the preseason the Royals were threatening to place above the Twins, but to my recollection most “baseball forecasters²” picked the Twins to finish fourth out of five teams. But I don’t really want to do the work to prove it, even if proving it were possible. Either way, the Twins are exceeding the expectations that most fans and experts had for them this season.

“This race is going to be tight until the end and may not be decided until the two teams play in Minneapolis’ Metrodome in the final week of the [regular season].”

I certainly agree with that statement. Those late season games will prove to be pivotal. Here’s to an exciting September.

Map of South Monroe, IL

It’s too bad that the Twin’s middle infielder’s cannot stay healthy.  The rash of hand injuries on the Twins is also alarming, but calling for the Twins to stop sliding head-first is ill conceived and merely reactionary.  The Twins will miss Alexi Casilla while he is on the DL, but by no means does this mean the Twins are much worse off than they were before the injury.  They still have a good chance to make the playoffs if their pitching can sustain their current level of play.

On note related to the Twins/White Sox series: I love Ozzie being the White Sox’s Manager.  Case in point: Ozzie ripped for Twins love from the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Lets get to Gavin Floyd early and often tonight¹.  Lets make this three in a row against the White Sox.  Twins 2 – White Sox 0.

Update: I just realized I wore my new Harmon Clayton Killebrew throwback jersey for the first time during last nights game. I now will have to keep wearing it until the Twins stop winning. Or at least I will have to wear it for each of K-Slow’s starts. Great game last night. Oh and the Dodger can have Everett, the Twins just don’t currently have the roster space.

I just finished watching Kevin Slowey (K-Slow) baffle the White Sox while breaking their bats.  That’s why he is the lumberjack.

It was a great game for the Twins coming into their four game series with the AL Central Leading Chicago White Sox.  The Twins needed to send the message that this series in Minnesota will not be like the Twinkie slaughter that took place in Chicago last month¹.  Slowey pitched the Sox inside the entire night, resulting in quite a few broken bats.  If the Twins are going to be successful against home run hitting teams, they are going to need to continue threatening batter with inside pitches.  Slowey knows it, Rick Anderson knows it, the White Sox know it, and hopefully the rest of the Twins’ pitching staff was paying attention.  In sum, this game was a gem for Kevin Slowey.  Congratulations on your second complete game shut-out K-Slow.

Oh, yeah.  DSPAN and Morneau each hit two-run homers in the third inning ruining Mark Buehrle’s night.  It made for great television. Its late and I’m tired, so this is all I’ve got left: Twins 1 – White Sox 0.  Three games to go.

The Twin really could use a pitcher with more than two years service time, and in my opinion Fogg seems to be the best available option. Let’s glance at Fogg’s statistics:

Looking at Fogg’s stats, two main things stand out. First, he doesn’t miss time due to injury. Some commentators have stated that Fogg’s greatest attribute is that he is good for around 30 starts each year. (Forgive me, but I can’t remember where I read that, if someone comes across it email me or leave a comment and I’ll make sure to cite the source.) Fogg has made at least 26 starts since 2002. A proven injury free starter would be a great addition to the Twins. Second, he is a fourth or fifth starter. Fogg does not strike out many batters and has a career era of 4.90 which further relegate him to the bottom of the rotation. But while his statistics are by no means spectacular, they are not terrible, and are certainly consistent.

The Twins are not looking for a staff Ace in Josh Fogg. They are looking for someone with experience in the Bigs, and Fogg certainly has that. His statistics while not great are good enough for him to step right into the Twins rotation. In fact, Fogg’s statistics remind me of Carlos Silva’s line. Take a look at the similarities. If the Twins are looking to approximately replace Silva’s innings with a veteran starter, Fogg seems like the perfect match. Granted, Silva’s career era of 4.31 is somewhat lower, but he is also being paid $12 million dollars a year by the Seattle Mariners. So how much would Josh Fogg cost the Twins? Fogg’s salary history is as follows:

• 2002 – $203,000
  
• 2003 – $322,000
  
• 2004 – $342,000
  
• 2005 – $2,150,000
  
• 2006 – $850,000
  
• 2007 – $3,625,000
  

Fogg is probably due a pay increase. But because there has been little to no interest in him outside of Colorado (note: unsubstantiated claim), I can’t imagine that pay increase being large. A deal in the range of 4.5-6.5 million dollars seems about right (After taking into this year’s free agent signings). Whether Fogg would accept a one year deal might be a deal breaker for the Twins, but they are desperate for experience and could sign Fogg for two years as a stopgap, giving their young starters as much time as possible to mature.

The Twins should pull the trigger on this deal if Fogg will sign for under 6.5 Million Dollars per year. The Twins have money to spend. They lack consistency in their rotation. They lack a true veteran presence in their rotation. Their main goal is to be competitive in 2010. Josh Fogg seems to fit this situation perfectly. He’s cheap. He’s consistent. He’s a veteran. He probably won’t be around Minnesota all that long. Plus the other options on the free agent aren’t much better anyway; the only ‘better’ option would be Kyle Lohse and it would have to be a cold day in hell for the Twins offer Lohse a deal. (For those of you who don’t know, read this story about Lohse’s history with the Twins)

Fogg, himself, could also benefit from this signing; from Rick Anderson’s coaching; and a league switch. Rich Anderson is a great coach who is credited with helping Santana, Silva and many of the other Twins pitchers develop. Maybe Anderson would have some adjustments for Fogg to make that would improve his game. Also Fogg spent the majority of his career in the National League, and maybe a change of venues would help him as well. IF Fogg is successful in the American League, or is able to improve his statistics, he could be in line for a deal of Silva’s type (4 years, $48 million dollars). Both sides have the incentive to get this deal done, but what do you think? Should the Twins go after Josh Fogg? If so, for how long and for how much money should the Twins sign him for? Comment with your opinions and Vote in the Left Sidebar Poll.