We've now made it through the rotation twice and the Twins are looking pretty good.
1. Johan Santana is looking like he's got Cy Yong form again. He went 6 innings on opening day, allowing 4 runs and striking out 6. Then he shut out the White Sox over 7 innings while striking out 9. He'll take the hill on Friday night against the Devil Rays - a team he owns (2-0, 15 Ks in 13 innings last season).
2. Boof Bonser looked good in his first outing against Baltimore but struggled a little against the Yankees, giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings, but hey, its the Yankees. He'll start Saturday against the Rays with a follow up coming next Thursday in Seattle.
3. The most pleasant surprise of the season has been Ramon Ortiz. He gave up 2 runs over 7 innings against the Orioles and followed that up by pitching 8 strong innings against the Yankees, only giving up 1 run and helping the Twins avoid the sweep at the hands of the Pinstripes.
4. Carlos Silva has looked good as well. In his first outing he was the victim of no run support, losing to the White Sox but pitching innings and allowing only 1 run. Tonight he looked even better. Silva went 6 2/3 and shut out the Rays.
5. In the fifth spot, Sidney Ponson was a unmitigated disaster in his first outing, getting shelled by the Yankees for 8 runs in 5 2/3 innings. Fortunately, the Twins have a couple young arms waiting in the wings. Glen Perkins had no record over one game and six innings, giving up 1 run at Rochester and earned a call-up on Thursday. Matt Garza also had no record in 1 game, 3 1/3 IP, and 0 earned runs at Rochester after going 3-6 with a 5.76 ERA with the Twins in last year's second half.
Pitching and defense win championships so the Twins better make space for a third World Series trophy.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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