Struggles In the 9th

The Twins had to replace closing pitcher Joe Nathan, who is second on their all time list for saves, only trailing Rick Aquilera by 5 saves for the club record. Nathan who blew 2 consecutive saves against the Rays this past weekend, was replaced by Matt Capps. Capps was the closer for the Washington Nationals before becoming a Twin last year. Nathan has moved to the set up position for now, where he will be working on his pitches and trying to get back to his all star form. Nathan missed all of last season because of elbow surgery. In Capps first two save opportunities he was successful on both of them. This will be a situation to watch throughout the year.

Twins Slide into 5th Place in Division

The first 17 games of the year have passed and the Twins are not looking impressive. After a rough start for Twins star catcher Joe Mauer, he has been placed on the disabled list because of "bilateral leg weakness". They split a 2 game series against the Kansas City Royals, and lost 3 of 4 games in Tampa Bay. They began a 4 game series with Baltimore on Monday and won the first game. Things were looking up, the twins had won 2 games in a row and are playing a weaker opponent in the Orioles...Until Tuesday when they lost to the Orioles 11-0. A deflating loss that reminds players and fans that a lot may need to change in order to right the ship. The Twins are now 6-11 on the season and are already 6 games back of the leader in the Central Division.

Twins update through First 8 Games

The Twins started their season with a 3 game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays took the series 2 games to 1. The Twins continued their east coast road trip going to Yankee stadium for a 4 game series. After splitting the first 2 games with the Yankees the 3rd game was rained out. The season hit the first of many bumps in the road when (second Basemen) Tyuyoshi Niskioka broke his leg after Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher slid into second trying to break up a double play. After losing 2 of 3 to the Yankees, the Twins were excited to come home to Minnesota and open their home stand against the Oakland Athletics. They Twins won the first game after a 8th inning base hit by Joe Mauer. After the exciting win on Friday against the athletics, the twins were shut out 1-0 on Saturday and it evened the series up 1-1. The twins are playing at 1 on Sunday to take the series with the A's. Through the first 8 games the Twins have a losing record at 3-5 and looking to get back above .500 this next week against the Kansas City Royals, and Tampa Bay Rays.

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The Minnesota Twins have started their 2011Spring Training. After losing valued members of their bullpen to free agency, they are looking to be AL Central Division champs for the 3rd consecutive year. With Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau expected to start the season healthy, and their newly acquired 2nd baseman (Tsuyoshi Nishioka), and another year of experience with their starting pitching their chances are looking good.