New Britain, near no-no, Blackburn, Span, Repko, even a Pavano shirt!

The New Britain Rock Cats are in town and tomorrow I am attending New Britain vs. Binghamton. I will have a post and pictures after the series. Is there anything or any player I should pay particular attention to? I look forward to seeing Joe Benson play again.

The Twins were almost no-hit by Rich Harden and the Rangers last night, losing the game 4-0. Joe Mauer had a single with one out in the 9th to prevent the no-hitter. Harden was pulled after 6.2 innings and 111 pitches. This was similar to when Kevin Slowey was pulled after 7 no-hit innings and there has been some grumbling about this. Just like the Twins with Slowey, Texas made the right decision. Harden just got off the disabled list and it is more important for the Rangers to win games and try to stay healthy than to pursue a milestone so far from completion. Carl Pavano attempts to get the Twins back on track tonight. Lost in Texas's near no-no was Nick Blackburn's performance. Blackburn went 7 innings, giving up 8 hits and 3 runs while striking out 5. Nick pitched well and he and Harden benefited from a very generous strike zone. Hopefully Nick can keep it up, In fact, Nick Nelson has A Plea for Nick Blackburn.

There has been a lot of Denard Span discussion recently. I posted Sunday, that the Twins should bench Denard Span! The negativity surrounding Span, especially on Twitter, has resulted in Seth Stohs In Defense of Denard. The main case for benching Denard, is Jason Repko. I feel Repko is a capable, short term replacement. Andrew Bryz-Gornia has written a nice piece on Repko.

What are your concerns for the Twins in this playoff push? I'd like the Twins to get a lefty reliever if possible. Parker Hageman analyzes a couple available in this post. Any other thoughts?

What are the concerns for the Twins in 2011. Should they re-sign Thome?

I'm still looking for feedback on my double-play OPS stat and I plan to follow up the post after further discussion and feedback.

Finally, If you are need of a Carl Pavano T-shirt for his next start. Order it here! I have one, it is sweet!

Check this out! An article from Will Carroll in 2007 using stadium affects to pick a true HR champion.

Any feedback is welcome!