Justin Verlander Just Kills the Twins

Poor Twins. The Twins had their best chance in the first inning when they had two runners on with one out. Verlander got out of the jam and looked to be in some trouble when he had already thrown 60 pitches through three innings Clearly, that wasn't the case. He buckled down and dominated the Twins lineup and they were toast from there. Manager Ron Gardenhire seemed to agree with my analysis.

"You saw us get dominated by Verlander over there," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He was pretty filthy."

Verlander has two wins in two starts against the Twins this season with a 1.15 ERA.

Jim Thome Hits 600th Home Run

Welcome to the 600 home run club, Jim Thome! Jim Thome hit his 600th home run Monday night against the Detroit Tigers.

Thome is the eighth player in major league history to hit 600 home runs in his career. The future Hall of Famer joins an elite group that includes Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.

Delmon Young Traded to Tigers

Delmon Young was traded to the Twins' AL Central rival Detroit Tigers on Monday and did not disappoint in his debut with his new team. In his first at bat against Francisco Liriano, Young hit a home run in his first at bat as a Tiger. It was only Young's 5th home run of the season and Young finished the night 2-4 with just the RBI from the home run.

Young was traded for a minor league pitcher in Class A who has an ERA just south of 5 and was a former 10th round pick. Some trade...

The Twins won the game 9-6 and Young was barely the story of the night. Jim Thome hit his 599th and 600th home runs last night to join the 600 home run club. Thome had not hit a home run since August 4th. The Detroit Tigers honored him by posting a congratulatory message on the scoreboard after he hit number 600. Thome also received a standing ovation from the Detroit Tigers fan as he rounded the bases.

Justin Morneau Set to Return Monday Night

Justin Morneau is hitting the stuffing out of the ball as of lately. Morneau has been rehabbing from his injured neck in Triple A and has been on a tear. He is 8-14 in his last three games and is getting really excited about coming back and playing for the Twins. He is expected to play Monday night against Detroit. Morneau wishes he was getting back sooner:

"Everybody who's come up here not ready hasn't helped us, so we're going to try to make sure he's ready," Gardenhire said. "I know he's champing at the bit. He texted [Bill Smith] that he's going to be here [Wednesday] to face Lester. Billy told him see you in Detroit [next Monday]."

I love it! I can't wait for Morneau to get back in the lineup. I know the Twins are pretty much out of it this year, but it will be good if Morneau can get back in the groove of baseball so that he is ready for next season. He hasn't played consistently for so long that it would be nice if he could just get his legs under him.

Denard Span Not at 100% Yet

Twins' Outfielder Denard Span only has one hit in his 24 at bats since returning from the disabled list so the Twins gave him the day off on Tuesday to get his head straight. Ben Revere started in his place and played really well for the team. Here were manager Ron Gardenhire's thoughts on Span's day off.

"[Span's] still coming back from that [concussion]," Gardenhire said. "It's not perfect. He still has his moments. I talk to him daily, and today was a good day. Seeing the ball -- he talked about not really seeing the spin real good yet ... We'll back him off and see where we go from there."

I would like to see Span get in a little bit of a groove before the season ends. It's pretty important that he plays well because Ben Revere has played well enough to challenge for playing time and the Twins have plenty of depth in the outfield.

Scott Baker Heads to Disabled List

Scott Baker has been placed on the disabled list and the Twins will call up Kevin Slowey from Triple A to start for the Twins this Sunday against the Cleveland Indians. Baker was placed on the disabled list because of a strained flexor muscle. This is the same injury that forced him to be on the disabled list in July. He won't throw a baseball until the Twins return from their next road trip on August 18th.

Slowey will be making his first major league start since September of 2010. Ron Gardenhire thought it would be better to have Slowey start than have Anthony Swarzak take Baker's place in the rotation.

"Honestly, when you've got a pitcher down there like Slowey, who's throwing the ball well and healthy ... this is the right thing," Gardenhire said. "Just bring Slowey up, slide him into the rotation, keep Swarzy where he's done really well."

Twins Commemorate '91 World Championship

The Minnesota Twins will be commemorating the '91 World Championship win over the Atlanta Braves. The team was led from last place in 1990 to first a year later by Kirby Puckett and jack Morris.

In honor of the 20th anniversary, the Twins will celebrate Friday through Sunday at Target Field while they host a series against the Chicago White Sox.

I think the Twins-White Sox series is the perfect series during which to commemorate the most recent Twins World Championship. Being crowd the world champion is about team dominance over all others in the league. With the White Sox quickly becoming the Twins' perpetual door mat, what could give a better correlation to that '91 championship?

I can't wait to see what the Twins ball club has in store for the celebrations!

Denard Span Abandons DL

The Minnesota Twins have activated Denard Span from the 15-day disabled list following their most recent loss against the Oakland Athletics.

Span has been the subject of several trade deadline rumors, but will join the Twins when they travel to Anaheim to open the Twins-Angels series on Tuesday. Monday is an off day/travel day for the Twins.

Span has been on the disabled list since June 9, when he was placed on the list because of a concussion. He has appeared in 56 games with the Twins, batting .294 with nine doubles, three triples, two home runs and 15 RBIs.

Luke Hughes has been sent down to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Span on the Twins 25-man roster.

It will be interesting to see how Gardenhire handles the playing time between Ben Revere and Denard Span!