Morning Doinks

Written by: Josh Johnson on 11th June 2009

Morning Doinks | read this item

The Twins beat the A’s last night, 6 to 3. They got great pitching from Francisco Liriano and their relievers as well as very timely hitting and production from the bottom of their order. They also benefited from a complete meltdown by A’s closer Andrew Bailey. Bailey allowed three earned runs on three hits, two walks and two wild pitches in his only inning of work. His ERA jumped .65 points in the loss.

Denard Span has been an extremely valuable player for the Twins this season. Span not only has been hitting great from the lead-off spot, he’s also been able to give the Twins versatility by playing any of the three outfield spots on a whim. That’s why the Twins are taking extra-precaution with Span who has been dealing with dizziness over the last month or so. After missing a few games in May, the Twins (and Span) thought that his thyroid problems (which is believed to be causing his dizziness problems) were behind him. Unfortunately, Span left Tuesday’s game after the dizziness reoccuured. Durring his last at-bat, Span claimed he coulding even see the pitch.

Nick Punto is set to come off the disabled list on Friday but who will be sent down in his place is the mystery. Joe Christensen speculates that Alexi Casilla’s absense from the lineup could be a “telling sign.” Matt Tolbert is starting to heat up at just the right time, something he did right before Punto landed on the D.L. in Triple-A. He hit .356 with two doubles and two triples with seven RBI in his last ten Triple-A games. Over his last three games, Tolbert is 3-10 with three runs scored, a double and two RBI. Although those numbers don’t stand out very much, Tolbert’s average has jumped .014 points while his OPS has jumped .044 points during that span. He’s also started all three games of the Oakland series while Casilla has only started in one.

The Twins have been selecting collegiate players at a very high level during the first two days of the draft, to see who they have taken, make sure to check here.

Joe Posnanski gave this little nugget on his site the other day:

Joe Mauer’s first 18 games this year: .397/..494/.750
Joe Mauer’s second 18 games this year: .435/.506/.806

Joe Mauer has been absolutely phenomenal this season and is hitting .415/.497/.763 with 22 extra-base hits including 12 home runs, 36 RBI and 24 walks in 135 at-bats.

Despite carrying a .244/.279/.282 hitting line on the season, Delmon Young is hitting .333 with three runs scored, a double and three RBI in his last five games. Obviously that’s a small sample size, and while he still continues to strike out a lot (5 K’s in that same span), he is still finding holes and having better at-bats.

Parker Hageman mentioned on Monday that the Twins could take a look at Houston Astro’s reliever LaTroy Hawkins at some point before the trade deadline. Charley Walters yesterday ‘reported’ that the Twins are supposedly interested in trading for the former Twin. Perhaps Parker should mention that the Twins should take a look at Freddy Sanchez or better yet Howie Kendrick who is now in the Angels doghouse. While Kendrick likely won’t be traded, Sancehz is a name being tossed around in the rumor mill and could help the Twins while not only filling in at second base but also the 2-hole in the lineup.