Pulling A Blyleven

Friday: Twins 11, Detroit 1
Saturday: Twins 8, Detroit 6
Sunday: Detroit 1, Twins 0


RK's bum shoulder has him sympathizing with Jesse Crain but not typing so the weekend wrap-up is left to yours truly. Fox's lovely Game of the Week not being the Twins and not getting cable has prevented me from actually seeing the games, but if Nick Punto can get away with it, so can I, right?

Random thoughts:

1. Speaking of Nick Punto, is he like a forest fire that you just let burn out, at this point? I honestly heard John Gordon say during Sunday's broadcast that Punto's 0 for 14 stretch in this series was a bit of a "slump". Uh, John? When hasn't he been slumping this season? That's like asserting, "Tim McCarver's intelligence has been taking the weekend off".

2. Scott Baker is being haunted by the ghost of pre-cocaine Dwight Gooden, and I sure as hell am not going to call for an exorcism. Not Boof Bonser...not Matt Garza..not Kevin Slowey...not Kiko Liriano, nope, Rocket Bats is our most effective young starter at the moment, despite the loss.

3. If Jim Leyland can look past the infatuation with a pitcher's win/loss record and select Johan for the All Star Game, hopefully Cy Young voters can as well when he finishes the year 18 and 14 with a 2.50 ERA.

4. Good weekend to have a first name that rhymes with Johan, as Yohan Pino pitched a no-no for Class A Fr. Myers. Just wonderful, the last thing we needed was another promising young pitcher. How about going to an 8 man rotation in 2009? Or..ahem..acquiring a decent 3rd baseman.

5. The Twins' AAA affiliate, Rochester, went up against Buffalo yesterday, who, despite all attempts to resist his offensive futility, started Luis Rivas at 2nd base. Luis, naturally, went 0 for 6. ¡VIVA RIVAS!

6. After being confined to the radio feed, I'm now determined to drive around the Metrodome parking lot without a seatbelt talking on my cell phone until Bert Blyleven, Traffic Safety Private Eye deducts my presence and gets on my case.


--WV