Here are three thoughts following the Twins' 4-2, 11-inning win over Seattle:
NO SUBS: Twins manager Paul Molitor had Torii Hunter, Kurt Suzuki, Jordan Schafer and Kennys Vargas on the bench - and kept them there. Hunter stood behind Molitor during the late innings and lobbied to pinch hit. He was getting good reads on lefty Tyler Olson and was fired up. ``They were breathing on me," Molitor said. ``They were making their presence known." Molitor could have had Hunter, with a .308 average against Fernando Rodney, pinch hit for Shane Robinson in the ninth, but Molitor wanted to give Robinson a chance. And Robinson struck out. Then Hunter could have batted for Oswaldo Arcia in the 10th. Molitor said if there would have been a runner on base, Hunter would have batted there. But the bases were empty, so he decided to let Arcia take a shot. He flied out.
``They were ready," Molitor said. ``At the end of the day I didn't have to use them. It's not a bad thing, a day off."
ON MAUER: For one game, baseballs were flying off of Joe Mauer's bat like they did when he was winning batting titles. He was 3-for-5, and his two outs were hard hit too. I've been predicting that he's going to start hitting home runs but he has yet to hit one this season. And the Twins seem satisfied if he can just get back to being a .300-plus hitter. I keep wondering if Mauer should be moved to one of he corner outfield spots so the Twins can put a run producer at first. But if Mauer can drive in runs - at least 90, preferably over 100 - and hit a few home runs, then he can function at first. My other bit of reasoning for moving him is that he's fairly agile and can throw, and I think those skills are being wasted at first base. Mauer would throw out a ton of baserunners if he's in left or right , and that is sorely needed out there. I also think he would be a good third baseman. Back to offense. Let's see if Mauer can take the next step and power a few balls over the fence so my prediction does not become a preposterous statement.
BULLY FOR BULLPEN: The bullpen was a concern during spring training and I heard over the weekend that the club is still looking around for relief help. By the way, I doubt that Rafael Soriano is on their radar. Heard he would be too expensive and his high-strung personality might cause issues. And is he any good? Why is he still out of a job? Anyway, the bullpen pitched 9.2 innings over the last two games to finish off wins. Twins relievers had to go 5.2 innings on Saturday (giving up three runs) in relief of the injured Trevor May. On Sunday, Aaron Thompson came on in a big spot and got outs. Casey Fien threw two scoreless innings. And Perk was Perk in the 11th. For two days, the bullpen got it done, the Twins are two games under .500 and can club up the division ladder this week against Detroit and the White Sox.
