Thrown for Looper

So Joe Nathan is hurt and could possibly miss the 2010 season?

Isn't that a fine "Good Morning" for Twins fans every where. Nathan has given the Twins 7 terrific seasons, but closers (with the exception of the Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffmans of the world) tend to flame out after... well... 7 or 8 years.

You can look it up.

So here are the Twins, going into their new park and hoping to sign Joe Mauer to an extension and win another Division Title with their highest payroll in franchise history... and $11 million of their payroll might be in the trainers room.

Sure they have Jesse Crain, Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier in their bullpen... and who knows? Maybe one of them can take over the 9th the same way Nathan replaced Everyday Eddie Guardado.

But why not sign Braden Looper?

He is supposedly close to resigning to the Brewers... but he hasn't yet. And he's still available and at THIS point, he probably isn't going to be that expensive.

I am sure he wants to be a starter and he went 14-7 last year with Milwaukee.

But he also led the league in earned runs, home runs and had a nice fat 5.22 ERA to show for his troubles.

He has some closer experience, has a pair of World Series rings and I am sure wouldn't mind pitching for a contender in 2010.

It makes sense to me... which is probably why it won't happen.

Hope for the Twins

OK admit it Red Sox fans… when the Twins were up 2-0 in Game 1, you were thinking “Holy Cow! What if the Twins win this?”

I did… but alas in the end it was men versus boys. 

So the Twins are dead, right? 

I mean I had written for weeks that the only way the Yankees could POSSIBLY be eliminated in the Division Series would be if the Tigers won the Division and Justin Verlander won his two starts and either AJ Burnett or Andy Pettite blow their starts.

That’s over right?

Well I give Ron Gardenhire credit for his strange pitching strategy for game 1. 

Obviously the team was exhausted after the wild end of the season and the amazing one game playoff… and it looked like Gardy basically said “We aren’t winning against Sabathia.”

So did you see what he did? He used his junior varsity pitching staff.

Seriously, did you know who Brian Duensing was? I mean other than members of the Duensing family.

If you answered yes, I might have to go all Joe Wilson on you and say YOU LIE!

Yes he had 4 solid starts down the stretch… but they threw in a guy with 84 career big league innings to start game 1 of the playoffs in Yankee Stadium. And for about 4 innings he held his own…

But when the roof caved in, who did Gardy bring in?

Did Matt Guerrier or Jose Mijares or Jesse Crain or Joe Nathan come in?

Nope. In came Francisco Liriano, who threw batting practice to Hideki Matsui and mop up man Ron Mahay.

Jon Rauch came in and threw 9 pitches.

So the two teams have a day off today and will resume tomorrow.
And when they do, Nathan will be on 2 days rest… as will Guerrier, Mijares, Crain…

And the Twins will be throwing Nick Blackburn, who save for one bad game against Oakland, has been outstanding since the last day of August.

And the Yankees will be starting AJ Burnett, a classic “Who knows what you are getting?” pitcher. If the Twins win that game, they go back to the Metrodome, where they could split the series and send it back to the Bronx for a do or die finale of which the Twins will have nothing to lose and the Yankees will be tight… and possibly pull off one of the great upsets in baseball history.

Oh who am I kidding, the Twins are getting swept and they know it.

10 year veterans in search of their first World Series ring

The Sully Baseball “Who Might Get A Ring” obsession continues with a look at which veterans have a shot at a ring after 10+ seasons.

Which ever team wins in any year, there is inevitably a veteran who put in long years who finally won the big one… and it is hard to not smile when you see them win.

I remember being thrilled for former Red Sox hero Don Baylor when he got his ring in 1987 with the Twins.

It’s hard not to have goose bumps when you see Dave Winfield drive in the World Series winning runs in 1992… or Paul Molitor score on the Joe Carter homer… and even though he was hurt and not available, the White Sox win in 2005 must have been especially sweet for Frank Thomas.

And it isn’t always for the superstars. All time journeyman Mike Morgan finally got his ring in 2001.

And last year Jamie Moyer and Matt Stairs won it all with the Phillies.

Who will get the sentimental attention when the champagne pops this year?

Which player who made their debut at least 10 seasons ago will really cherish the final out, all the while looking at the rookie on the roster and think “You have no idea how lucky you are!”?

My criteria for this list is the following:

The players had to make their Major League debut in 2000 or sooner. (Sorry Hideki Matsui and Takashi Saito… I’m not counting the Japanese Leagues.)

If they missed some time due to injury, that’s fine, as long as their debut was 2000 or sooner. Rick Ankiel is on the list even though he had to go back to the farm to become an outfielder (and find an extra boost.)

They need to be in the organization now, even if they are hurt or won’t play. Lest we forget, Matt Clement and Royce Clayton got World Series rings in 2007 even though Clement played in as many games as I did that year and Royce Clayton’s only contribution was the funny “I didn’t get my taco” exchange with Coco Crisp.

There are four fomer MVPs and no shortage of former All Stars. The Dodgers have the most… the Twins have the fewest.

So let’s see who the sentimental favorites will be…

ATLANTA BRAVES

Tim Hudson – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Greg Norton – 13 seasons (Debut in 1996)
Javier Vazquez – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)

BOSTON RED SOX

Paul Byrd – 14 seasons (Debut 1995)
Billy Wagner – 15 seasons (Debut in 1995)
Chris Woodward - 10 seasons (Debut in 1999)

COLORADO ROCKIES

Jason Giambi – 15 seasons (Debut in 1995)
Todd Helton – 13 seasons (Debut in 1997)
Matt Herges – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)

DETROIT TIGERS

Carlos Guillen – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)
Aubrey Huff – 10 seasons (Debut in 2000)
Magglio Ordonez – 13 seasons (Debut in 1997)
Placido Polanco – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM

Bobby Abreu – 14 seasons (Debut in 1996)
Kelvim Escobar – 12 seasons (Debut 1997)
Vladimir Guerrero – 14 seasons (Debut in 1996)
Torii Hunter – 13 seasons (Debut in 1997)
Gary Matthews Jr – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Darren Oliver – 16 seasons (Debut in 1993)
Justin Speier – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Brad Ausmus – 17 seasons (Debut in 1993)

Casey Blake - 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Juan Castro – 15 seasons (Debut in 1995)
Rafael Furcal – 10 seasons (Debut in 2000)
Mark Loretta – 15 seasons (Debut in 1995)
Eric Milton – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)
Guillermo Mota – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Vicente Padilla – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Jason Schmidt – 14 seasons (Debut in 1995)
Jim Thome – 19 seasons (Debut in 1991)
Randy Wolf – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)

MINNESOTA TWINS

Ron Mahay – 14 seasons (Debut in 1995)
Joe Nathan – 10 seasons (Debut in 1999)

NEW YORK YANKEES

A. J. Burnett – 11 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Jerry Hairston, Jr. – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)
Alex Rodriguez – 16 seasons (Debut in 1994)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Paul Bako – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)
Raul Ibanez – 14 seasons (Debut in 1996)
Chan Ho Park – 16 seasons (Debut in 1994)

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Rick Ankiel – 7 seasons (Debut in 1999)*
Mark DeRosa – 12 seasons (Debut in 1998)
Ryan Franklin – 10 seasons (Debut in 1999)
Trever Miller – 11 seasons (Debut in 1996)
Joel Pineiro – 10 seasons (Debut in 2000)
Dennys Reyes – 13 seasons (Debut in 1997)

*Ankiel missed the 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 MLB seasons.

Worst loss of the night...

Man alive, I am glad I am not a Twins fan tonight!

If the pitching was even mediocre... you'd have a critical win.
The Twins came all the way back from an 8-1 deficit... it was about to be single biggest emotional win and keep the pressure on the White Sox...

Boom, homer from Sizemore ties it.
Boom, homer from Martinez beats them.

Hey Twins... you've only got 11 games left to make up 3 in the loss column.
Do yourself a favor... don't lose too many games like that.