...apparently Luis Ayala needs to look at some film of his past performances. It's being reported that he went into Gardy's office and gave an ultimatum akin to "make me the 8th inning setup man or trade me". Gardy's response, evidently, was to give him the 8th inning spot...in Rochester. I'm not sure what the hell he thinking in asking for the promotion. Anyone who has watched the Twins this season knows that he can't be trusted in ANY clutch position...second only to the recently departed Jesse Crain. It's like me going to President Obama and demanding that I be made Supreme Court Justice and threatening to transfer to the Wyoming Bar Association if it isn't done. But that isn't the most shocking thing to come out of this story. For that, we see that Pittsburgh is willing to make a TRADE for him. Which is only evidence that there ARE bullpens in worse shape than the Twins'.
Second, RA Dickey is really starting to grow on me. Our little knuckleballer has not allowed a run (earned or otherwise) in June while coming out of the bullpen. He warms up instantly, can throw 4 or 5 innings if need be (read "if Liriano starts") and throws his fastball hard enough to keep people off guard. The National League is absolutely befuddled by him and the American League is only slightly less so. At the beginning of the year I was wholeheartedly against having a knuckleballer come out of the pen. But I'll tell you what, I'm a little smitten with Tricky Dickey.
Joe Mauer has come back to earth a little bit...having slipped from around .429 earlier in the month, down to about .397 following last night's game. He had been scuffling a bit as of late, falling into his nasty habit of pulling and grounding out to second. However, last night he seemed to be on top of things. It will be interesting to see whether or not he's able to make another run and get the average back up.
MADS - Denard Span for coming off of the DL and having a great day at the plate. Little Denard was able to shake off the dizzies and play really well. Close second to Ron Gardenhire for moving Luis down. Conclusion - Gardy has balls. Bill Smith does not. He does not win, however, due to his incomprehensible lineup cards. MAUER IN THE TWO SPOT!! Dammit, he just won't learn.
CSMA - I can't choose Ayala because he's a Red Wing/Pirate. However, I can choose the dude who brought him to the team as a setup man despite his horrible numbers in the recent past and is now faced with having to pay at LEAST 700K for a guy who notched more home-runs against than he did games held. So Mr. Smith it is.
