Catching Up

Okay, I'm a lot calmer now. Sleep helps. And I haven't finished my first cup of coffee, so the depth of ire I can muster up is limited.

Aside from my boy Bartlett being sent down (which totally ruined the whole series-win buzz, thanks, guys) and the ass-whoopin' Santana and the Twins endured on Tuesday, it was a great series.

On Wednesday, Kyle Lohse actually pitched like a big-league starter. It's true! He only allowed 2 runs in 6 innings. And even though Cuddyer played the whole game at third, not once did I feel the need to say "Corey would've had that". Cuddy actually hit the ball, too, which still stuns me even though he's had these hot streaks before. Just not this season.

Jesse Crain polished his sparkly 0.00 ERA with a hitless inning of work, and my darling Juan Rincón put the past behind him and did likewise. (P.S: Jesse, sweetheart, whatever that thing on your chin is, shave it off. There's a good boy.) Joe Nathan capped off the relief trio with a 1-2-3 save in the ninth. The Twins won 3-2.

Thursday's afternoon matinee game saw the return of the 2001 All-Star Edition Joe Mays. "Joltin'" Joe threw a complete game shutout on just 93 pitches. Yes, 93. This is amazing in two respects: first, how often do you see a complete game pitched in under 100 pitches? And second, when was the last time Joe hit the 80-pitch mark and didn't immediately proceed to do his very best Rick Ankiel impression?

Meanwhile, Cuddy hit the ball again, and so did backup catcher Mike Redmond and utility guy Juan Castro (no, he is not our shortstop, our shortstop is, um...temporarily indisposed) Those two aren't exactly on the team for their batting prowess, if you know what I mean, so it was nice to see them have good games. Besides, the rest of the lineup was pretty uniformly 1-for-4, so we needed multiple-hit games from our 7, 8 and 9 hitters.

Speaking of the rest of the lineup, Jones and Morneau are slumping a little the last week or so. Okay, they're slumping a lot. It's just a few days, but I thought I'd mention it. It bears watching; we rely on those guys. Lew Ford's on a much more even keel lately, after a slow start to the season. Good to see him flying stiff-backed around the bases again! Mauer remains creepily good, and I hear that Nick Punto, who was on a bit of a tear offensively, could be back in the lineup tonight after straining a calf muscle and missing several games.

This is Border Battle Weekend, with the Twins hosting the Milwaukee Brewers, and (in what is sure to be a special thrill for Cubs and Twins fan Fourth Pew Center) the Cubs host the Whine Sox.