July 2
St. Paul Pioneer Press
columnist Charley Walters
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Jesse Crain wore jersey No. 28 for the Twins. But now that the relief pitcher has been dispatched to the minor league Rochester Red Wings, it would seem a perfect opportunity for the Twins to retire that number, which was prominently worn by Bert Blyleven during his 11 seasons pitching for Minnesota. Retiring Blyleven's No. 28 could help remind voters that Bert belongs in baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Other retired Twins jerseys are those of hall of famers Harmon Killebrew (No. 3), Rod Carew (No. 29) and Kirby Puckett (No. 34), as well as Tony Oliva (No. 6), Kent Hrbek (No. 14) and Tom Kelly (No. 10). Happy birthday: Killebrew turned 73 on Monday. Crain, by the way, in ..."
June 28
St. Paul Pioneer Press
columnist Charley Walters
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Before I graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota 33 years ago, I pitched professionally for seven years in the organizations of the Twins, Washington Senators and Texas Rangers. More than a month of that insignificant baseball career was spent in the major leagues with the Twins, pitching for Billy Martin in 1969. So sometimes these days, I perch in the press box at the Metrodome and wonder, when Joe Mauer comes to bat, "How would I pitch to this guy?" I also sometimes ponder the same, before Twins games, when standing immediately behind the batting cage and watching Mauer practice his strokes. That swing. It is a beautiful sight to behold. I once asked Sam ..."
June 26
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The first start by someone other than the original five didn't go so well. The Milwaukee Brewers were one of two teams in the major leagues to have used only five starters this season, with the San Francisco Giants being the other. That was until the demotion of Manny Parra and injury to Dave Bush forced the Brewers to find fill-ins. Right-hander Mike Burns was first up, and after the Minnesota Twins got their first looks at him, trouble followed. The Twins touched up Burns for four runs in 5 2/3 on their way to a 6-4 victory Thursday afternoon at Miller Park. The victory gave the Twins the three-game series and left the Brewers with 11 losses in their last 15 games. The Brewers finished ..."
June 25
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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It had been more than three weeks since "Hells Bells" played over the audio system at Miller Park. That's how rough things had been going for the Milwaukee Brewers. Watching the game turn in a flash in the bottom of the eighth inning on Jason Kendall's double and a couple of Minnesota errors, the Brewers used one of the toughest saves of Trevor Hoffman's season to finally beat the Twins, 4-3, Wednesday night. "Much like they capitalized on our mistakes yesterday, we capitalized on their mistakes tonight," said Brewers manager Ken Macha, much more pleased with his club's intensity level after a sloppy defeat the previous evening. After dominating the Brewers by a combined score of 30-11 in ..."
June 25
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Right-hander Mike Burns always wondered what would happen if given the opportunity to start in the major leagues. He'll find out Thursday afternoon at Miller Park. Burns, who has bounced around to five organizations over the last five years, will start for the Brewers in the interleague series finale against the Minnesota Twins. He was summoned from Class AAA Nashville when right-hander Dave Bush went on the disabled list with a micro-tear in the triceps of his pitching arm. Burns was successful as a starter for Nashville, going 7-2 with a 2.55 earned-run average in 12 appearances. But his experience in the majors has come solely as a reliever, with 46 appearances for Houston, Cincinnati, ..."