The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Related Content

• Around the Horn: Rookie Road-bump
• Around the Horn: Summer Has Arrived
• Around the Horn: Road Woes Continue
• Around the Horn: A First Impression
• Around the Horn: Twins 11, Brewers 3

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Season Record: 18-19

Up Next: Yankees (12:05 CT, 5/17)

1. Working with Walks

In the first game of a four game series with the New York Yankees, lefty Francisco Liriano took the mound. Liriano, a pitcher now two years removed from Tommy John Surgery, has pitched very inconsistently early on in the '09 season. At times the once dominant pitcher has looked like an ace, and at other times he has struggled to compose himself.

Liriano's eighth start of the season, and his first in the new Yankee Stadium, was one of the good games. Liriano allowed only four hits and one earned run to give the Twins a good shot at a victory to kick off the battle. The overall result of the outing was somewhat surprising given the total number of walks - six - that Liriano allowed. The still up-and-coming lefty struggled mightily with his control over the course of his six innings, but time and time again worked through jams and escaped without damage.

A total of 101 pitches were thrown by Liriano, and with at least four pitches being used toward six different plate appearances due to the high walk total, Liriano could have saved 24 pitches, and likely many more, had he had no walks or just a few; definitely enough for another inning of work. 

2. Mauer Power (Oh, and Morneau)

It took Joe Mauer well over 300 plate appearances to hit four homeruns last season. Earlier this past week the All-Star catcher reached the total in less than 40 at-bats. His arrival in New York hasn't slowed down the power surge, and in the past two games Mauer has homered to help move his season total to six homeruns; only three fewer than his total from all of last season.

The reason for the power surge is questionable. Mauer has never been a power hitter, and he's never been a guy who looks to drive the ball over the fence. His approach at the plate is simple: work the count, see the ball, and drive it anywhere on the field. The first four homeruns all came at the Metrodome and were in a radius of about ten feet in the left field stands. His recent two have been driven over 408 feet and past the centerfield wall in Yankee Stadium. Mauer is still driving the ball to the gaps and hitting for a solid average, and the homeruns are plus.

While Mauer has turned up the power, so has his good friend, Justin Morneau. Morneau last season didn't hit homerun number 11 until June 17th. With his multi-homerun game on Friday night, Morneau reached that total on March 15th, an entire month earlier. Morneau homered again in game two of the four-game series, and his 12 homeruns put him in second behind only Carlos Pena (13) in the homerun category. 

3. Who Stays? Who Goes?

The Twins have some decisions to make. The bullpen has been the reason for at least a handful of losses this season, and because of it, the Twins are sitting below the .500 mark. Joe Nathan has struggled at times, but he along with Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares have been the team's three most reliable pitchers. 

Aside from the small group of three, the rest of the bullpen has been difficult to figure out, and they've all struggled mightily. R.A. Dickey hasn't been able to get many outs, and his knuckle has been crushed around the field, Craig Breslow has surrendered quite a few homeruns and struggled with control, Luis Ayala has allowed leadoff runners on in nearly every outing and payed because of it, and Jesse Crain has thrown hard but been hammered in each appearance. 

The Twins need to bring someone up or make some sort of move. Whether the move works or not isn't necessarily the most relevant part; the team needs a new face in the bullpen that maybe, just maybe, can help them through the late innings and get them back over .500.