Twins News

Half of package for Santana now has been traded
Comment
November 7
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Friday's trade for Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy altered the legacy of the Twins' 2008 trade of Johan Santana to the Mets. The Santana deal originally brought center fielder Carlos Gomez and three starting pitching prospects: Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The Twins shipped Gomez to the Brewers for Hardy after trading Mulvey to the Diamondbacks in August for reliever Jon Rauch, who is under contract for another season. Humber spent most of the past two seasons in the minors, posting a 6.10 ERA in 13 appearances for the Twins. At age 20, Guerra remains more promising, as he went 6-3 with a 5.17 ERA after a midseason promotion to Class AA New Britain. "I don't want to spend too ..."
Twins' trade fixes two areas
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November 7
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Two days into baseball's offseason, Twins general manager Bill Smith made one move to address two of his team's needs. By sending center fielder Carlos Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers for former all-star shortstop J.J. Hardy, Smith filled a significant hole in the infield and cleared up the outfield clutter that manager Ron Gardenhire lamented near the end of the 2009 season. Smith also sent away one more reminder of the increasingly disappointing Johan Santana trade. Of the four players the Twins acquired in that deal, only Deolis Guerra remains, with Gomez and Kevin Mulvey traded away and Philip Humber a minor league free agent. In a conference call Friday, Smith focused on the positives ..."
Clueless Gomez a bigger risk than slumping Hardy
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November 7
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 columnist Tom Powers
"The Twins have traded a toolbox without a key for a mystery. Carlos Gomez has talent, the greatest of which is raw speed. He also has the baseball instincts of an Icelandic grade-schooler. As wonderful as he was to watch play center field, Gomez was a disaster everywhere else. He was clueless in the batter's box. And he was prone to base-running gaffes, one of which probably cost the Twins a playoff game against the Yankees. If nothing else, his departure to the Milwaukee Brewers will add years to the life of Twins first-base coach Jerry White. Poor Jerry had the unenviable task of trying to keep Go-Go from getting picked off. That was tough sledding. J.J. Hardy either is an all-star or a ..."
Twins sale: Letting go, moving on
Comment
November 6
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Kirby Puckett's famous Seat 27 won't be available. Neither will the infamous "baggie" that hung in right field, nor the two World Series trophies the Minnesota Twins won in 1987 and 1991. But when the Twins hold the mother of all moving sales Saturday at the Metrodome, there will be 20,000 programs from Kirby Puckett memorial night in 2006, a couple of signed Nick Punto jerseys and a bunch of bobbleheads. "There will be literally tens of thousands of items," Patrick Klinger, the Twins' vice president for marketing, said Thursday. "After 28 years of playing baseball in the Metrodome, we've accumulated a vast array of items." The team played its last game at the Dome on Oct. 11 and almost ..."
Cuddyer option is first order of business for Twins
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November 6
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"When the World Series ended Wednesday, the clock began ticking on some key offseason decisions for the Twins. They have until Monday to decide whether to pick up right fielder Michael Cuddyer's $10.5 million option for 2011 or pay him a $1 million buyout. They also have an exclusive negotiating window through Nov. 19 with pending free agents Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Ron Mahay, Carl Pavano and Mike Redmond. "We have to address those five one way or the other," Twins General Manager Bill Smith said Thursday, leaving open the possibility one or more could be retained. The free-agent market officially opens Nov. 20, which is also the deadline for teams to reset their 40-man rosters. While ..."
Twins cut Buscher from 40-man roster
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November 4
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"The Twins have cut infielder Brian Buscher from their 40-man roster, outrighting him to Class AAA Rochester. He can become a minor-league free agent 16 days after the World Series. Buscher, 28, batted .235 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 61 games for the Twins this season, posting a .360 on-base percentage and a .316 slugging percentage."
Mauer says he's feeling good as hip flexor pain subsides
Comment
November 4
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"After the painstaking offseason Joe Mauer had last year, Twins General Manager Bill Smith seemed thrilled to report Tuesday that Mauer is expecting some normalcy this winter. Mauer went to Baltimore last week for a follow-up on the lower-back injury that befuddled the All-Star catcher last winter, forcing him to miss all of spring training and the season's first month. Though Mauer, 26, reported no setbacks with his inflamed sacroiliac joint, he had hip flexor pain during the Division Series against the Yankees. Those concerns have since subsided. "He's doing very well," Smith said. "We've gotten all good reports. I think he's pleased and looking forward to a fairly normal offseason and ..."
Mauer honored by his peers, named AL Outstanding Player
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October 30
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Joe Mauer's American League MVP chances hinge on a vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Two writers from each AL market cast their votes after the regular season, with an announcement coming Nov. 23. On Thursday, the Twins catcher received a similar award in a vote cast by his peers. Mauer, 26, was given the Players Choice Award for AL Outstanding Player by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Albert Pujols received National League honors for the seventh time. The union conducted its annual balloting in September, and Mauer became the first Twins player to win the honor, which has been awarded each year since 1993. In 2006, when Twins first baseman Justin Morneau ..."
Mauer is the Twins MVP; Cuddyer is most improved
Comment
October 27
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Joe Mauer was named the Twins' Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career Monday by the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Mauer also is a strong candidate for American League MVP honors, an announcement the BBWAA will unveil Nov. 23. Mauer, 26, won his third career batting title, hitting .365, and led the AL in on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587). He also set career highs in home runs (28) and RBI (96). Besides Twins MVP, the local BBWAA chapter also handed Mauer his third Dick Siebert Award, as Upper Midwest Player of the Year."
Minnesota Twins' Joe Nathan won't use elbow as excuse
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October 24
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 columnist Charley Walters
"Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan, who had two bone chips and some other particles removed from his right elbow by noted orthopedist James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., this week, said this morning that the tender elbow didn't affect his pitching late in the season. "Not at all; no chance of that," Nathan said. "You talk to any pitcher and ask them if they ever feel 100 percent, and if they tell you they do, they're definitely lying. "To me, it was just another day at the office out there. And even if (the arm) didn't feel great, you go through that during the course of 162 games, when you're not going to feel great sometimes. "Shoot, that last run we had (to win the division) was one of ..."
Nathan has bone chips removed from elbow
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October 23
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Twins closer Joe Nathan turns 35 next month. He's coming off a season in which he saved 47 games but, for now, is remembered more for the save opportunity he blew Oct. 9 during Game 2 of the ALDS to the Yankees. On Tuesday, Nathan had surgery to remove two bone chips from his right elbow, acknowledging that he pitched a chunk of the season not at his fittest. "This is definitely something I'm not going to use as an excuse," Nathan said from his home in Knoxville, Tenn. Nathan had the surgery in Birmingham, Ala., at the offices of Dr. James Andrews, and is expected to be ready in time for the start of spring training. Nathan said he iced his elbow more this year than in any previous season, ..."
Twins' Sano gets visa, will start in Fort Myers
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October 22
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"The Twins' pursuit of top prospect Miguel Angel Sano has officially paid off. The club learned this week that he's been granted a work visa to play in the United States next year. Sano, 16, a power-hitting shortstop who's expected to wind up at third base or the outfield, will now receive a $3.15 million bonus that was contingent upon obtaining the visa. It's the second-highest bonus ever for a Latin American prospect, not counting Cuban-born players. Instead of spending a year or two at the Twins' academy in the Dominican Republic with other prospects from the area, Sano is expected to begin his career at Fort Myers, Fla., next year as part of the organization's rookie team in the Gulf ..."
Twins have a long to-do list this offseason
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October 13
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"While the Twins rallied to win the American League Central division, their soft spots were adequately hidden. But they were exposed in a sweep by the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. So once again, this team has work to do this offseason. General manager Bill Smith has openings at shortstop, third base and probably second base. He also could use a reliable veteran to help anchor a promising, young pitching staff. And this is to say nothing about catcher Joe Mauer, who probably ought to be signed to an extension this winter or spring. "We got a taste of defeat (Sunday) night and we're going to be better because of it," leadoff hitter Denard Span said Monday as he and some of ..."
Twins' top priority in offseason: re-sign Joe Mauer
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October 13
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"At about 11 a.m. Monday, a sleepy, sore, bespectacled Joe Mauer ambled into the Twins clubhouse to do some packing, say some goodbyes and, to his chagrin, field a stream of questions about his hours-old offseason. With the end of the 2009 season, the Twins begin what promises to be one of the franchise's most interesting offseasons. With the Twins moving from the Metrodome to Target Field, GM Bill Smith should have leeway to spend more in free agency than he's had in the past, but the prevailing topic hovering around this year's hot stove season will be Mauer. Like Johan Santana after the 2007 season, Mauer is entering the final year of his contract, a four-year, $33 million deal with ..."
Mauer in no rush to settle contract
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October 13
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"The Twins' season is over, but that didn't stop the M"
Don't count on any big changes for Twins
Comment
October 13
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson sang Carl Pavano's praises after Sunday's season-ending 4-1 loss to the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. "He's a great pickup," Anderson said. "Hopefully he's back here next year." Pavano is one of the main offseason question marks, being one of five pending free agents the Twins could lose before opening Target Field next April. The list also includes Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Ron Mahay and Mike Redmond. The Twins entered their offseason Monday facing new questions, as fans on various message boards began scribbling wish lists. A sampling: 1) Sign Joe Mauer to a lifetime extension; 2) sign Angels pitcher John Lackey and third ..."
Trading Nathan, demoting Gomez should be on to-do list
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October 13
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 columnist Patrick Reusse
"There are facts to remember before comparing the Twins' four consecutive first-round dismissals in the playoffs with the string of early exits by the Kevin Garnett-led Timberwolves and a pair of one-and-dones for Jacques Lemaire's Wild: A baseball team already has reached the final eight in a 30-team league when it starts the postseason. An NBA or an NHL squad must win a first-round series to gain the final eight of those 30-team leagues. That's the last qualifier to be offered in dissecting another failure to advance by Ron Gardenhire's Twins. They were 4-2 in postseason play when this all started back in 2002, and since then have gone 0-4 against the Angels, 0-3 against Oakland and 2-9 ..."
Who would have thought it would be Punto this time?
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October 12
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 columnist Patrick Reusse
"The Twins had last played in the Metrodome on Tuesday. They had outlasted the Detroit Tigers 6-5 in 12 innings to win an American League Central tiebreaker. The most heads-up moment in this marathon came in the top of the 12th, when it was 5-5 and the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out. Brandon Inge hit a chopper over the mound, second baseman Nick Punto charged and on the fly made a throw to the plate for a forceout. The Tigers failed to score, and the Twins won it in the bottom of the inning. "People wonder why I play Nick Punto all the time," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "That's why I play him. Because he's always in the game, always ready to make the right play. That kid -- that ..."
Twins go three and out as Yankees complete first-round sweep
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October 12
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"The disheartened crowd was filing up the stairs to the Metrodome's exits, and the public-address announcer was urging fans to buy their Target Field season tickets for 2010 when Joe Nathan, not quite finished with 2009, emerged from the Twins' dugout. He walked alone past the ALDS logo painted on the turf, stepped across the foul line, bent down at the edge of the pitcher's mound and scooped up a handful of the dirt he stood atop for so much ninth-inning salvation. His head down, he carried the dirt to the clubhouse and dropped it into a Ziploc bag. "I knew I wanted to bring a little piece of this place over to the new one," Nathan said. The fistful of memories will have to suffice. The ..."
Nick Punto wasn't Twins' only goat in this series
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October 12
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"When you're playing the New York Yankees, you can't afford many mistakes. The Twins made more than their share in the American League Division Series, and a few were doozies. That's why the Twins were swept out of the postseason on Sunday night. Nick Punto is the goat this morning, but he had company. "I'm sure everybody in this room can go back to one situation and say, 'Man, I wish I could have done something different,' " said closer Joe Nathan, who had problems of his own. "But that's baseball, and everybody has those moments." Punto represented the tying run in the eighth inning when he made the first out at third, a cardinal sin in baseball. That he ran through coach Scott Ullger's ..."
Yankes a well-oiled machine
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October 12
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"It has been nine years since the New York Yankees won their 26th world championship. Only four current players were among those who vanquished the Mets in the 2000 Subway Series, though none of them are rusted remnants. In Sunday's Game 3 of their American League Division Series, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera bluntly reminded the overmatched Twins why they are among the most prolific postseason performers of their generation. From Jorge Posada's go-ahead home run off Carl Pavano in the seventh inning to Jeter's clutch play in the field to expose Nick Punto's baserunning blunder in the eighth, Pettitte's shutdown pitching and Rivera's familiar finish, the ..."
Twins give Jose Morales another chance
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October 12
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Asked before Sunday's game if his sore right hip flexor was feeling any better Joe Mauer said, "No. We're at where we're at." Still, Mauer went 1 for 4 and drove in a run on Sunday that put the Twins up 1-0. After the game, the catcher said he's hopeful that his hip injury is minor and will be remedied by rest, but he also said he'd have it looked at to be sure there's nothing more worrisome. Mauer strained his right hip flexor when he fell after rounding first base during Game 163 against Detroit last week. "I hope that's all that it was, but the next couple days, figure things out, see the doctors and if anything was going on, get it taken care of right away," Mauer said. "I think I ..."
Ho-hum, big guys beat little guys once again
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October 12
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 columnist Tom Powers
"Exxon Mobil flattens Barney's Filling Station. Aunt Edna's garage sale is overwhelmed by the Wal-Mart down the block. And the New York Yankees sweep the Minnesota Twins. Once again the little guys are denied even a moment in the sun, or the frigid Minnesota evening as the case may be. The working stiffs with the lunchboxes were run over by a fleet of limos as they waited for the light to change. Viva capitalism. The Yankees closed it out, 4-1 on Sunday. The best team that money can buy didn't even break a sweat celebrating. The Yanks have bigger fish to fry as they gear for their next foe, the Los Angeles Angels. As for the Twins, well, they weren't thrilled with the outcome but they ..."
Yankees just too good for banged-up Twins
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October 12
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 columnist Sid Hartman
"Years of circumstantial evidence suggests that the ALDS is partially rigged to favor a ALCS which involves very large market teams. … read more In 2004, Joe Nathan entered a game against the Yankees in the 10th inning where, try as he might, he could not throw a strike. This year, an umpire 30 feet away, staring directly at the play, inexplicably blows a call which no one has any interest in disputing or overturning. If any of this is actually on the level, there will be changes next year, at least in the playoff series, to allow for egregious "errors" to be overturned and review. MLB's tolerance of "shenanigans" has helped to get it tossed out of the Olympics, and if it continues, it will ..."
A-Rod proves he's a worthy adversary
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October 12
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"It was not the way Twins fans wanted to see the Metrodome go out, but it was perhaps fitting that Alex Rodriguez helped end major league baseball here after 28 seasons in a building known for complaints and great memories in almost equal measure. Of the opponents to torment the Twins in the Dome over the years, A-Rod is among the most devastating. In regular-season play, he was a career .367 hitter under the Teflon sky, with 21 homers and 54 RBI in just 237 at bats. On Sunday, it was more of the same. With the Twins clinging to a 1-0 lead while Carl Pavano pitched brilliantly against his old team, Rodriguez came to the plate with one out in the seventh. After falling behind 0-2, Rodriguez ..."
Lights out for Twins
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October 12
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Nostalgia crept in after the New York Yankees brought the Metrodome era to a close for the Twins. Closer Joe Nathan says he'll carry a handful of Dome dirt to Target Field's mound. After the Yankees left the field and before workers arrived to dig up home plate late Sunday night, Twins closer Joe Nathan walked, head down, from the dugout and swiped two handfuls of dirt from the Metrodome mound. He didn't expect to hear cheers, not after his failures helped the Yankees sweep the Twins in three games in their first-round playoff series. He had hoped to "slip in and slip out," but most of a crowd of 54,735 had stayed to look around on the last night of baseball in the big blue room, and they ..."
Yankees end Twins' playoff hopes
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October 12
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Carl Pavano matched Andy Pettitte in a surprising pitcher's duel, and Joe Mauer gave the Twins a sixth-inning lead, but Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada homered off Pavano in the seventh, and the Yankees pulled away for a Division Series clinching 4-1 victory. Only five days earlier in the same building, the Twins were celebrating as unlikely division champions, looking like a team determined to defy all expiration dates. They had outlasted Detroit in an epic, 12-inning tiebreaker and embraced their underdog role against the Yankees. But Sunday night, the Twins' long goodbye to the Metrodome finally ended. Carl Pavano matched Andy Pettitte in a surprising pitcher's duel, and Joe Mauer gave ..."
Breath of err dooms Pavano
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October 12
New York Post
 
"Carl Pavano's Hall of Shame plaque won't include a line mentioning his work for the 2009 Twins. With his team's season on the line last night, Pavano showed guts -- an MRI exam taken on him when he pitched for the Yankees displayed a hollow abdominal cavity -- and a live fastball. His big misfortune was facing Andy Pettitte on a night the left-hander worked his own magic. The 33-year-old righty allowed two earned runs on five hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts and took the loss in the Yankees' 4-1 victory in Game 3 of the ALDS. "[Pavano] pitched wonderful," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He gave us a great opportunity to win the ballgame." It's perhaps a different game if ..."
Yanks know halos will be tough test
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October 12
New York Post
 
"Bring on the Angels. Unlike last week, when the Yankees didn't learn of their ALDS opponent until 20 hours before the first pitch, the ALCS already is set. Several players watched on TV in the visitor's clubhouse at the Metrodome yesterday as the Angels completed their ALDS sweep of the Red Sox with a 7-6 comeback victory at Fenway Park. It made it a good day for the Big Apple even before the Yankees completed their sweep of the Twins. "Boston is still a very good team," Johnny Damon said before the Yankees' 4-1 victory. "I guess it was just the Angels' time against them." So much for the possibility of a third Yankees-Red Sox ALCS in seven years. The Yankees and Angels have never met in ..."
Heads-up play in 8th preserves lead for bombers
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October 12
New York Post
 
"Derek Jeter's instincts strike again. This time the Yankees captain managed to catch a glimpse of Nick Punto motoring around third base in last night's eighth inning. Jeter had just snared Denard Span's grounder through the middle and realized he had no play at first base. So he threw home. By the time Punto hit the brakes, between third and home, it was too late. Jorge Posada's throw to Alex Rodriguez nailed Punto, and the tying run was removed from scoring position. "It's great to have a smart guy in the middle of the infield," manager Joe Girardi said, referring to Jeter, following the Yankees' 4-1 victory over the Twins in Game 3 of the ALDS. Even if this defensive gem didn't rate ..."
Mo overpowers Mauer when it counts
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October 12
New York Post
 
"Cy Young got the best of MVP. You certainly can make a case for Mariano Rivera and Joe Mauer to win those respective awards in the American League. Here they were in last night's eighth inning going head-to-head with Game 3 of the ALDS hanging in the balance. The Yankees led 2-1, with the potential tying run -- Denard Span -- standing at first base. Rivera replaced Phil Hughes and got Mauer on a broken-bat grounder to Mark Teixeira, ending the inning. "I know Joe Mauer is a great hitter, but Mo is more experienced in that situation," manager Joe Girardi said after the Yankees beat the Twins 4-1. "That's why I didn't [hesitate]. He has been doing it since 1996. When I saw him burst on the ..."
Old guard glory never grows old
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October 12
New York Post
 columnist Mike Vaccaro
"The celebration on the field was muted and reserved, the nine men in road grays honoring the old directive to act like they had been here before. Derek Jeter fielded the ball, fired to first, pumped his fist in postgame delight the same way he has been doing it since Opening Day in Cleveland in 1996. Mariano Rivera was stoic as always, cracking a thin smile as the Metrodome quieted for the final time in its baseball life, this 4-1 Yankees victory over, this 3-0 ALDS sweep complete. He shook hands with Jorge Posada, then let it morph into a hug, a most familiar postgame ritual. Andy Pettitte? "I just couldn't stop smiling," Pettitte said. "It's always so . . ." He smiled, looking for the ..."
Bombers end ALCS drought
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October 12
New York Post
 
"Alex Rodriguez wrapped his dock rope of a left arm around Derek Jeter's neck and let out a howl right before the best player in pinstripes showered the smartest in champagne. A 4-1 victory over the pesky Twins in Game 3 of the ALDS had propelled the Yankees into the ALCS that starts Friday night in The Bronx against the Angels. Shortly after the sweep, bedlam broke out in the clubhouse, which is barely bigger than a suburban two-car garage. Though some Yankees fans believe it's their birth right to win the World Series every year, the players understand the difficulty of winning and advancing. And a big reason was Rodriguez, who supported a pitching gem by Andy Pettitte with an ..."
Twins' Nick Punto to be remembered by Game 3 baserunning blooper
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October 12
New York Daily News
 
"Nick Punto, welcome to the wrong side of baseball playoff lore. The sparkplug second baseman cost the Twins three cracks at getting the tying run home from third in the eighth inning of Sunday night's Game 3 of the AL division series, and the Yankees went on to a 4-1 win and a sweep. After doubling off Phil Hughes to open the inning, Punto overran third base on Denard Span's infield single and was thrown out going back to the bag for the first out. "I'm really upset. I wanted to dig a hole and crawl inside of it. That's embarrassing and can't happen in that situation," said Punto, who will be remembered in the framework of the series for that play, rather than his .444 average out of the ..."
Metrodome to rock as Yankees meet Twins for last time indoors in ALDS
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October 12
New York Daily News
 
"The Yankees have twice sprayed champagne all over each other at the Metrodome, celebrating division series wins in 2003 and 2004. Hideki Matsui enjoyed two of his finest moments as a Yankee here, David Cone his first. Tony Pena remembers catching a popup in the 1987 World Series with a unique Metrodome twist - it had ricocheted off a speaker hanging from the roof. CC Sabathia relishes tales told by his former pitching coach, Carl Willis, a member of the Twins' 1991 championship team who wowed Sabathia with this tidbit - it gets so loud there that sometimes you can't hear the bullpen phone ring. Whatever happens in Game 3 Sunday night, the Yankees will not play in the Metrodome beyond this ..."
Carl Pavano strikes out nine, but can't hold it together to keep Twins in ALDS
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October 12
New York Daily News
 
"Carl Pavano was anything but a bust Sunday night. It still wasn't enough to extend the season to another game for the Twins. The former Yankee acquitted himself better than he ever did during four injury-prone and controversy-riddled seasons in New York. But solo homers in the seventh inning by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada were enough to leave Pavano on the wrong side of a sterling duel with Andy Pettitte in the Yankees' 4-1 series-clinching victory at the Metrodome. "You know what you're getting when Andy goes out there. I know he has an unbelievable record during the postseason, but that's my job to go out and keep us in the game and I thought I did that," said Pavano, who allowed ..."
Minnesota Twins' gaffes on bases bail out Joe Girardi and New York Yankees
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October 12
New York Daily News
 
"For the first six innings, Carl Pavano continued to haunt Brian Cashman, and then it was Joe Girardi's turn, giving Yankee legions cause for angst in his incessant urge to go to his bullpen at the first opportunity. But in the end, the Minnesota Twins made it all moot, thanks to another disastrous baserunning gaffe along with the inability of their closer Joe Nathan to again get crucial ninth-inning outs Sunday night and, so, the Yankees now move on to the ALCS for the first time since 2004, when they were last seen blowing a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox. They should only hope the L.A. Angels will be as obliging as the Twins. Here was Pavano, Cashman's $39.9 million boondoggle, setting the ..."
Yankees beat Minnesota Twins to sweep ALDS
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October 12
New York Daily News
 
"Goodbye Metrodome, hello Rally Monkey. The Yankees polished off their sweep of the Twins in the final game ever to be played inside the dome, getting clutch home runs by Alex Rodriguez - who else? - and Jorge Posada to give the Bombers a 4-1 victory and their first playoff series win in five years. "This is what we set out to do," Joe Girardi said, champagne bottle in hand after winning his first postseason series as a manager. "I told the guys, 'This is goal No.2, and we'll attack goal No.3 at the end of next week.'" Actually, it's this week. The three-game sweep puts the Yankees in the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2004, as they'll begin a best-of-seven ..."
Yankees Close Door on Twins, Advance to ALCS
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October 12
Washington Post
 
"On Sunday night, after the Twins lost for the final time in a baseball stadium never quite designed to be a baseball stadium, the Metrodome didn't go cold right away. Even after the Twins fell to the Yankees, 4-1, sending New York to the American League Championship Series and 54,735 Minnesotans into the 37-degree outdoors, the Metrodome still had the fever of its last memories, of its final innings. Even after the place emptied, nothing but a few scattered hankies left in the aisles, the Metrodome still had the shape of a quasi-ballyard, not yet reconverted for Brett Favre or monster trucks. The mound still had its bump, and the infield still had its pawprint of dirt, and a baggy outfield ..."
Twins Say Farewell to Season and Dome
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October 12
New York Times
 
"The caricatures of two Twins players are on a 46-foot-high sign shaped like Minnesota that hovers above center field at Target Field. When a real Twin blasts a homer next season, the sign will light up and the gigantic Twins will shake hands. On some nights, it will probably seem as if they should be wearing winter gloves. The next regular-season game the Twins play here will be played outdoors. After the sloppy Twins lost to the Yankees, 4-1, to end their season on Sunday night, they will leave their drab dome behind and move 12 blocks away to a charming $420 million ballpark. The new place does not have a retractable roof. The Twins spent 28 seasons playing their games under a dingy ..."
Base-Running Gaffes Help Bring Twins' Season to Bitter Close
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October 12
New York Times
 
"Like every other team, the Minnesota Twins position a coach near third base to direct runners. But at a critical juncture in Game 3 of Minnesota's American League Division series, Nick Punto decided that the third-base coach, Scott Ullger, was superfluous, and instead took an erroneous cue from the boisterous Metrodome crowd of 54,735. With the Twins down by a run to the Yankees and running out of chances, Punto - who had doubled leading off the eighth inning - sprinted for third on Denard Span's slow grounder up the middle. Hearing the crowd roar, Punto presumed that the ball had dribbled into center field, and tore around third as if escaping a fire. He never looked for Ullger until he ..."
Yankees Sweep Twins to Advance to A.L.C.S.
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October 12
New York Times
 
"It took five years of wandering, five years of wild spending and first-round heartbreak and changes both awkward and grand. But the Yankees are back in the American League Championship Series, back where it all went off course in 2004, back with the World Series in reach. They got there by sweeping the Minnesota Twins in the division series with a 4-1 victory in Game 3 on Sunday, closing the Metrodome for baseball. Alex Rodriguez, as dangerous now as he was lost in past Octobers, slammed a tying home run for the second game in a row, driving in six runs while batting .455 in the sweep. "It's just a better team," General Manager Brian Cashman said. "We've got a deeper pitching staff, we're ..."
With two game lead over Twins in ALDS, Yankees know it's not over
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October 11
New York Daily News
 
"The Yankees have beaten the Twins all nine times they've played this year, including the last two to move within a game of moving on to the ALCS. But if the Bombers learned anything from their own experiences with the Red Sox this year, it's that things can change in a hurry. After losing the first eight games against Boston in the first half of the season, the Yankees rattled off nine wins in 10 games against their rivals after the All-Star break, splitting the season series. The Twins may be winless against the Yankees, but given that four of those wins have been walk-offs - including Mark Teixiera's leadoff homer in the 11th inning of Friday's Game 2 - the Bombers know things could ..."
Minnesota Twins feel walked on in New York Yankees' walk-off ALDS win
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October 11
New York Daily News
 columnist Mike Lupica
"This was one of the very best October nights in such a long time for the Yankees, even if it felt like one of those games in the NCAA basketball tournament when a 16-seed makes a run at a No.1 before losing at the end. This was Alex Rodriguez's tying shot in the bottom of the ninth and Mark Teixeira's winning shot in the bottom of the 11th and a kid pitcher named David Robertson somehow getting out of bases loaded and nobody out in between. In a week in baseball that started with the Twins and Tigers playing that magnificent tiebreaker game, we got Game2 between the Twins and Yankees Friday night, maybe the best game of baseball the Yankees have played at this time of year since Aaron ..."
After loss to Yankees in game 2 of ALDS, Twins must get over the Up
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October 11
New York Daily News
 
"The Twins are trying to blot out thoughts about an umpire's blown call that might have cost them Game 2 of their division series against the Yankees, preaching that they had their opportunities afterward and didn't convert. But they will get a reminder of the bitter moment tonight when the umpires are introduced for Game 3. That's because the same crew - including Phil Cuzzi, the umpire who ruled that Joe Mauer's drive down the left-field line was foul when television replays clearly showed it was fair - is working the game at the Metrodome. Asked if that were an issue, Mauer smiled and said, "We don't have a choice, really. We're not too concerned with that. We had chances to win. ..."
Yankees are only team that could survive Carl Pavano as they look to sweep Twins
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October 11
New York Daily News
 columnist Filip Bondy
"You can look at Carl Pavano tonight, jeer at the television screen, and see him as one of the Yankees' most abysmal failures. The guy was a walking, limping disaster area in New York, a contributing factor to the franchise's recent, persistent malaise. Saturday, back in Minneapolis, Pavano called his four years in the Bronx "a black period in my career." It was even worse for the Bronx. But you can view Pavano another way: He is a symbol of why the Yankees are where they are today, up two games against the Twins, on the cusp of the AL Championship Series. Because unlike other franchises, ownership had the resources and nerve to follow up this huge mistake with yet more big-money ..."
Mauer won't rest despite his hip pain
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October 11
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"After Friday's Game 2 loss to the Yankees, Twins catcher Joe Mauer acknowledged that he had been sore and had not been running well since Tuesday's tiebreaker victory over the Tigers. "I think it's a hip flexor," manager Ron Gardenhire said Saturday. "I think when he spun out around first base [Tuesday], he tweaked it a little bit. But as he told me before I left the clubhouse just now, 'I am a catcher, no matter what you say.' "He said, 'I played with it for this many days, and I will continue to play with it.' But he is a little sore, yeah, just from a lot of 12-inning games, a lot of stress, a lot of baseball." Buscher in for Tolbert The Twins replaced third baseman Matt Tolbert on ..."
Twins pitcher Carl Pavano can quiet the critics in must-win situation in Game 3 against Yankees
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October 10
New York Daily News
 
"Believe it or not, Carl Pavano still has his defenders in Yankee Land. People like general manager Brian Cashman, who lured the big-ticket free agent to the Bronx with a $40 million contract over four years, only to watch disaster unfold. Or young Yankee guns Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, both of whom spent time rehabbing injuries in Tampa where Pavano was practically a permanent guest. Or Billy Connors, the long-time Yankee pitching guru and VP of player personnel in Tampa, who winces over the phone when recalling the derogatory nicknames Pavano was called. "I wish people knew the Carl Pavano I know," says Cashman, who has no regrets about the Pavano bust. "There was a great deal of ..."
Carl Pavano doubly pleased to be a Twin
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October 10
USA Today
 
"Carl Pavano, standing by his locker in the Minnesota Twins clubhouse swarming with news reporters, broke into a wide smile and laughed."I feel like I'm in New York again," Pavano says. "Wow. The atmosphere. The electricity here. It's amazing. "I didn't know whether I'd experience anything like this again." Pavano, traded by the Cleveland Indians in August, found himself in the middle of the American League Central pennant race with the Twins. Pavano pitched the Twins into a one-game division playoff Sunday with a 13-4 victory against the Kansas City Royals. ALDS MATCHUP: Yankees-Twins (Yankees lead 2-0) It was the Twins' 16th victory in 20 games, setting up a tiebreaking game Oct. 6 ..."