Maybe I’d feel differently if Frank Thomas had signed with the Twins last season, but I couldn’t get too excited over his 500th home run. His well-known clubhouse cantankerousness with the White Sox and the fact that he’s basically a lard-legged DH separates him from other 500 home-run greats. It was fitting that Thomas decided to get himself kicked out of the game after striking out in the ninth inning and carrying on in the dugout afterward.

AJ Burnett also put on a classy show, if you didn’t see it — tossing his glove into the stands and yanking off his jersey after being yanked form the game in the fifth. Obviously he wanted to get through five innings so he could qualify for the win, even though he was struggling mightily. It looked like a(nother) case of a player putting his perceived entitlement before the needs of his team. Burnett’s held in such high regard through the majors that he tied for third in a Sports Illustrated players’ poll of players who do the least with the most talent. (Wily Mo Pena and JD Drew of the Red Sox finished first and second.) Funny thing was that Jack Morris, on the radio, jumped Burnett for showing up his manager while, on TV, Bert tried to make a case that AJ was only mad at himself.

People have rightfully jumped Carlos Silva about his toughness in the past, but that was a manly outing. He hung in after yeilding four runs in the first and was at his toughest after the twins tied the game and took the lead. By going seven innings, which I’m sure made some people cringe, he took pressure off a bullpen that had been asked to pitch 12 innings in the previous three games. Gardy talks about the need for starters to go deeper. That’s what he was talkin’ about. That’s why he was hoping for and didn’t get Wednesday night from Bonser.

I hope Juan Rincon has found his mojo.

The Twins have decided that Matt Garza is the best candidate for expanding the pitching staff to 12 and to take the ball for one of the games of next Friday’s doubleheader at Chicago. His presence may also put some heat on the three other newbies (Bonser, Baker and Slowey) to keep from becoming the surplus starter on the staff. The call-up was a lot better than Gardy opting to give Ortiz another shot. Garza can chew up a few innings of relief if that’s needed in the coming days.

It looks like the Mauer-batting-second experiment is over, which won’t be a bad thing if Jason Bartlett continues getting on base and stealing them. The guy is 15-for-15 in stolen bases and has a nine-game hitting streak during which his on-base percentage has climbed to .340. A good goal would be for him to come close to the .367 OBP he had last season. Punto’s .215 average isn’t as annoying in the ninth hole, either.

Johan vs. Verlander in the opener of the Tigers series. That’s worth making plans to watch. As good as Verlander’s been this season, don’t forget what happened the first time he faced the Twins this season.

Here’s a Johan issue to be pondered: His next start will come Wednesday (July 4) against the Yankees. Then the Twins go to Chicago just before the All-Star break. Gardy’s going to have to decide whether to give Santana more than a week off or pitch him a week from Sunday (the last game before the break) on three days of rest instead of four. I’m curious to see how that plays out. And what do Gardy and Johan say if Jim Leyland wants Santana to be the All-Star Game starter?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2007 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.