The Twins went 4-2 last week as they scored 32 runs and allowed 32 runs.  The Twins got timely hitting last week and that’s why they won those 4 games last week.  The Twins entered this week with a 24-25 record which had them in 4th place in the American League Central, 7.5 games behind the Indians.

The Twins finally woke up and smelled the coffee.  They should have went with the kids out of Spring Training instead of wasting money on Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson.  Kevin Slowey has been awesome in the minors so far this season.  In 9 starts this season, Slowey has 3 complete games, a 6-2 record with a 1.54 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP!  In 64.1 innings, he only has allowed 47 hits and 5 walks while whiffing 57!  He looks like a clone of Brad Radke and that would be good enough for the Twins.  Ramon Ortiz has been awful this season.  In 10 starts he is 3-4 with a 5.75 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  In 56.1 innings, he has allowed 68 hits, 9 homers, has hit 5 batters, walked 11 and struck out 24.  Ortiz will move to the bullpen where he will be the new long man for the Twins.

The Minnesota Twins have placed lefty reliever Dennys Reyes on the 15-day disabled list with imflammation in his left shouler.  In 21 games this season, Reyes is 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP!  Those numbers are way off from last year’s numbers that Reyes put up.  Hopefully for the Twins the bad pitching was caused by his shoulder hurting as he hasn’t looked near the pitcher he was last season.

23 year old righty starter Matt Garza was upset when the Twins passed him and called up Scott Baker to replace Sidney Ponson in the rotation.  Garza is ranked as the Twins best prospect by Baseball America.  In his first 9 starts in AAA ball this season, he is 2-4 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  In 49 innings, Garza has allowed 48 hits and has walked 18 batters while whiffing 46.  Truth be told, both Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey were pitching better than Garza when the Twins decided to get rid of Sidney Ponson. 

Ramon Ortiz started the season well for the Twins, but he’s been awful lately and could be the next starting pitcher that the Twins get rid of if he doesn’t start pitching better soon.  In 9 starts this season, Ortiz is 3-4 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  Ortiz has a good arm but the results just haven’t been there this season.  In 50.1 innings, Ortiz has allowed 58 hits, 6 homers, hit 5 batters, walked 10 batters and whiffed 20.  With Kevin Slowey and Matt Garza pitching well in AAA ball, Ortiz better get his act together soon or he’ll be sitting at home like Sidney Ponson.

What took the Twins so long to pull the plug on Sidney Ponson?  That’s the question many Twins fans were asking after watching Scott Baker dominate the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.  Baker earned the win by pitching 8.1 innings and allowing only six hits, 2 earned runs and not walking a batter.  If Baker can keep pitching like he did in his first start, he will stay in the Twins rotation for a long time.

The Twins were only 2-4 last week as they were outscored 33-26 by their opponents.  The Twins wasted some decent hitting with awful pitching last week.  The Twins entered this week with a 20-23 record which is good for 4th place in the American League Central, 7 games behind the Tigers and Indians.

The Twins have placed lefty reliever Glen Perkins on the 15-day disabled list with a mild muscle strain in the back of his left shoulder.  In 12 games this season, Perkins is 0-0 with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  The Twins have recalled lefty Carmen Cali to replace Perkins in the bullpen.  In 12 games in AAA, Cali was 2-0 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.

Nick Punto is the weakest hitting starting thirdbaseman in all of major league baseball.  In 39 games this season, Punto is 34 for 141 (.241 avg, .628 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  If Punto doesn’t pick up the pace with the bat look for veteran Jeff Cirillo to start stealing at bats from Punto.

Jesse Crain was originally put on the 15-day disabled list with what was thought to be right shoulder inflammation.  A closer look by the doctors revealed a torn rotator cuff and labrum.  This will injury will likely require surgery and cause Crain to miss the remainder of the season.  In 18 games this season, Crain was 1-2 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  In 16.1 innings, Crain allowed 19 hits and 4 homers.  The Twins have recalled Julio DePaula from the minors to replace Crain in the bullpen.  He just made his major league debut last night and he threw a scoreless inning while recording his first major league strikeout.