Here are three thoughts following the Twins' 4-3 loss to the White Sox
1. PELFREY A PUZZLE: Mike Pelfrey hit 94 on the gun several times on Tuesday, but he struggled to throw strikes and put away hitters, and that's something the Twins might take into consideration when talk about bringing him back next season. And Pelfrey's pace...ugh. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said it comes down to throwing strikes, getting ahead and using all his pitches. Pelfrey has now thrown 146.2 innings this season and is 3.1 innings away from getting a $100,000 bonus for pitching 150 innings. Pelfrey said after the game that he's getting at least one more start, so he should be able to reach that mark. And it reflects how he's stayed healthy this season after Tommy John surgery early in 2012. That is an achievement. The Twins must figure out how much better Pelfrey can be next year before deciding to sign him.
2. RELAY ROUNDUP: I thought the Twins had a chance to throw Alejandro De Aza out at home plate in the fifth inning when he scored on Alexei Ramirez's double. Josh Willingham tracked down the ball and fired to Pedro Florimon for the relay home. But Florimon double-clutched his throw, allowing De Aza to slide home safely. Gardy thought they had a chance to get De Aza if Florimon doesn't double-clutch. ``It probably would have been a nice play to go to third,'' Gardenhire said. ``We could have gotten at least one out.''
3. THAT'S IT: No third thought tonight. Only that I think I'll go to bed and get ready for the afternoon game tomorrow. Toodles.....
La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
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