| Detroit | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB |
| Granderson, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Inge, 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Shelton, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Thames, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pena, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Infante, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Wilson, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| McDonald, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Logan, CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 32 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 9 |
| Minnesota | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB |
| Tyner, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rodriguez, 3B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mauer, C | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| LeCroy, DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1-Punto, PR-DH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cuddyer, 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Morneau, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tyner, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ford, CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rivas, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bartlett, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Totals | 33 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| Detroit | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
| Robertson (L, 7-16) | 7.0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Rodney | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Minnesota | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
| Santana (W, 16-7) | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| Crain | 0.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rincon | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nathan (S, 43) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Yesterday I went to the last Twins game of the season. It was kind of a sad occasion. The Twins will be missing the playoffs for the first time in four years and it is quite clear that major changes will need to be made to the offense to see them have a legitimate chance at winning the division next season (I'd like to go on record and say that I hate the wild card - go ahead and bore me with your examples of the extra excitement in other cities because of the additional playoff spots. I don't care.).
So I went with anticipation of seeing Jacque Jones play in his final game as a Minnesota Twin. Jones (a.k.a. Kid Dyno-Mite), is my favorite player. Usually when you pick a favorite player, especially when they're not a star, the reasons are irrational and emotional. Maybe you saw him make a great play one-day and continued to take an interest in him. Maybe you got tired of hearing people say he was terrible and you wanted to root for the underdog. Whatever the reason, people seem to love their player, regardless of the slumps.
Jones is a player who can look sensational one inning by lacing a double to the gap and driving in two runs and then missing on a pitch in the dirt before grounding into another double play on his next at bat. Same thing in the field. I've seen him make a great catch and then double off the runner trying to advance another base, and I've seen him air mail a throw into the dugout. But he always seems to play with energy and there's little doubt he was giving full effort. So, he's been my favorite player since the 2001 season when he was platooning in left field. When Ron Gardenhire was hired before the 2002 season his said the first order of business was to make Jones his everyday left fielder. The Twins went on to win three consecutive division championships and my irrational mind says a lot of that came from that decision.
So I go to the game and as you can see from the box score above, Jones didn't play. Nate Robertson, the Tigers starting pitcher, is a left hander so Jones was held out of the lineup. Emotionally I think they should've given him the start anyway. The Twins weren't playing for anything other than their 83rd win. They were eliminated from a spot in the playoffs last week and had realistically been out of it for a few weeks before that. A winning season had been assured. Oh well. Maybe next year...
But most likely not. Jones is a free agent and while he would like to return to the Twins he also wants a multi-year deal. The Twins more than likely will not offer him such a deal as they have a very small budget and feel that they can another player within the system to do the same thing that Jones does for less money. In some ways they are probably right—Lew Ford, who makes lots of boneheaded plays, also makes a lot less money and can produce about the same results. Jason Kubel seems like a hot prospect coming out of the minors, but he did spend all of last season rehabbing a torn ACL. All of these factors add up to a farewell to Jones. I understand it, but I don't have to like it.
So what's going to happen next year? Rumors have circulated that Torii Hunter might be traded to clear his $10 million off of the payroll. That might happen, but I doubt it. Here's what I think the team's lineup might look like next year:
Stewart, LF
Punto, 2B
Mauer, C
Thome, DH (free agent signing)
Morneau, 1B
Mueller, 3B (free agent signing)
Hunter, CF
Cuddyer, RF
Bartlett, SS
Rotation:
Santana
Radke
Silva
Lohse
Baker/Liriano (I think Liriano needs a little more time in the minors)
I dream of seeing Alfonso Soriano in the lineup. I think it's a real possibility to trade for him in the off season. Play him at second, move Punto to third, forget about signing Mueller. Send Lohse in the trade and pick up a mediocre veteran to take his spot in the rotation, or throw Liriano in the mix.
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