April 8, 2004
At least no one got hurt
Well, the good news is that the Twins (as far as I know) didn't have to put anyone on the disabled list following yesterday afternoon's loss to the unbeaten, first-place Detroit Tigers (yeah, you heard me).
This a very dangerous stretch of games for the Twins. They are the walking wounded, yet they are playing a relatively easy portion of their schedule. If they find themselves dropping these games for the rest of the month -- something that is understandable with all the injuries -- they are really going to be in trouble once they get to the tougher stretches in May.
Today's day off comes at a great time, as the bullpen is quite clearly just worn out. They need Brad Radke to step up with a big game on Saturday and they need Johan Santana to make it through Sunday's game healthy and effective.
UPDATE: On Thursday, I said:
Any of the other 29 teams can claim [Mike] Nakamura off waivers, and I expect that to happen, as his minor league numbers are extremely impressive. In fact, I'll be shocked if the Twins don't lose him (getting even more specific, I'd say there's a 50/50 chance the Blue Jays are the team that claims him).
And today, the Blue Jays did indeed claim Nakamura. I hate it when I'm right. Now, in addition to all the injuries, the Twins just lost a perfectly good relief pitcher for no good reason.
Hopefully you guys have all been heading over to The Hardball Times every day to read my stuff. In case you haven't (why not?!) here are my articles from this week:
Monday: THT Staff Predictions
Wednesday: Hardball Questions: Kevin Cattoor
Thursday: Magic Closer Dust
Friday: Taking A Walk
Today's picks:
Chicago (Garland) +200 over New York (Contreras)
Baltimore (Ponson) -140 over Tampa Bay (Hendrickson)
Oakland (Redman) -125 over Seattle (Franklin)
Total to date: $525
W/L record: 9-8 (1-1 yesterday for +60 with one "no action," thanks to Scott Erickson missing his start for the Mets.)
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