Monday Thoughts

-I'm kind of upset the Twins missed a chance to sweep the Rangers in Arlington last night, but for the most part it was a good series for Minnesota. The starting pitching was solid in all three games, especially Scott Baker in the second game. Keep winning series and we'll be in the mix to win the division.

-With that being said, the Twins blew a golden opportunity last night to sweep. Francisco Liriano should have been pulled after six innings. The warning signs were there. He was losing his control, walking batters, and he had hit a wall. Rick Anderson had already made two mound visits. If Nick Punto hadn't turned a lucky double play to end the sixth inning, Liriano may have been removed even earlier. He threw 11 pitches in the sixth, only 3 of which were strikes. The control was gone. Gardy cost us the game by leaving Frankie in. He had three pitchers (Keppel, Guerrier, and Mijares) for the seventh and eighth innings. No excuses for not pulling Liriano.

-Gardy made another very questionable pitching decision by electing to use R.A. Dickey to face Ian Kinsler in the 12th inning with the winning run on second. As I've said previously, I think Dickey is on the verge of implosion. His career ERA coming into this year was over 5.00 and he has already started to show why. His track record is not a good one. The Twins got lucky that he posted a 3.30 ERA in the first half and didn't realize that he might be a fluke. Dickey is fine as a long reliever, but his role should only be in that capacity! Gardy has been using him in critical late game situations over the past few weeks and he has failed nearly every time. Joe Nathan should have been brought in to face Kinsler last night. I don't care if it wasn't a save situation. The game was on the line. Nathan is your best pitcher. So, you use your best pitcher in the biggest spot of the game instead of saving him for a situation that may never present itself later in the game. It was inexplicable to use Dickey over Nathan in that spot. We ended up losing a game and our best pitcher never got into the frickin game. Unbelievable.

-The Twins signed Mark Grudzielanek to a minor league deal over the weekend. Could he be the answer at second base? Maybe. He is a solid .290 career hitter and an above average fielder. One thing for sure is that he's an upgrade over Alexi Casilla. I can't stand how Casilla is back in the two hole right now. He is a weak hitting, powerless second baseman who doesn't get on base enough to be a number two hitter. He's supposed to set the table for the middle of the order, but he hasn't shown any ability whatsoever to do so this season. The Twins caught lightning in a bottle last year with Casilla, but he even started to tail off at the end of last year and it carried into this year. I'm not in favor of moving Joe Mauer to the two hole because I think your best hitter should hit third. Until Grudzielanek comes up or a trade is made, however, Mauer may need to move to the two hole. There are no other guys on this team that can bat in that spot.

-I say the Twins should deal for Freddy Sanchez, but I have little to no confidence that they will do so. I heard a couple rumored deals over the weekend. One had Liriano for Sanchez straight up. Another had Casilla and Swarzak for Sanchez and John Grabow. I would do either deal, especially the second, in a heartbeat. I don't want to trade Liriano, but what's the best he is going to be for you? A second or third starter? Sanchez is a former batting champion who fills the number two hole and the second base void immediately. He would help our team immensely. The second deal is even better because you get much needed bullpen help as well in Grabow. Bill Smith needs to pull the trigger. You have Mauer, Morneau, and Nathan, who are the best players at their positions in the AL. When you have that kind of talent, you can't wait. The time to win is now. We have a wealth of minor league prospects, so we can afford to give up a few. Plus, making a deal would show players like the afformentioned super stars that you are committed to winning, therefore increasing the likelihood that they will stay here long term.

-We have been pitiful against non-descript left handed pitchers this year and it's getting annoying. We should have scored more runs last night against the Texas starter. I'm not really sure why this is a problem for the Twins. Hopefully, they can hit lefty Gio Gonzalez hard tonight, but I'm not optimistic. At least Nick Blackburn is on the hill for us, so we should at least be in the game.

-Congrats to Nick Punto on his first home run. That is something I never thought I would see come this season.

-There's nothing wrong with Joe Mauer, so don't start panicking. Every player goes through slumps, including Baby Jesus himself. When Mauer snaps out of it, the rest of the league will pay.

-Carlos Gomez is really starting to look better at the plate. It seems like we win when whenever he plays well, so hopefully he can be a spark plug in the second half. He's an extremely exciting player to watch and Gardy will try to keep his hot bat in the lineup as much as possible.

-Twins must take at least two of three from Oakland. They are a terrible team and no one comes to their games. Take care of business, please.

-Brett Favre will reportedly make his decision by Friday on whether or not to join the Vikings this season. If, as expected, the answer is yes, the circus will begin. I can't wait. It's Mission Miami from the moment he arrives. Training camp will be awesome.

-Wolves traded Telfair, Madsen, and Craig Smith to the Clippers today for Quentin Richardson. Not much to say about this trade. We cleared up some roster space (hopefully for Ricky Rubio) and got rid of players who would rarely see the court in the future anyway. I like Craig Smith, but it was hard to find time for him with Al Jefferson and Kevin Love already on the team. Madsen is an awesome guy too and I'm glad he gets to go back to L.A. Richardson should fill a need at the 2 guard this season, but will probably only be around for one year because his contract expires after this season. Busy summer for Q, who has already been traded three times within a few months.

-Terrell Owens and Shaq are both starting reality shows, which I think is hilarious. I'm banking on Shaq's to be better.

-Sad to see Tom Watson miss out on a chance to make major history at the Open Championship over the weekend. I was really pulling for the guy that kind of looks like an older version of Tim Floyd. He made a lackluster put on 18, but the shot that killed him was his second when he knocked it past the green. He chose to use the putter on the third shot, which was questionable too. I'm not a great golfing mind, by any means, but I had fun watching the old guy over the weekend, even though Tiger missed the cut.