Twins beat Santana

Quick thoughts on a Saturday afternoon in New York:

-The Twins got pretty much nothing in return for Johan Santana. Saturday, that didn't look like such a bad deal.

Santana's stuff just isnt' that good right now. He says it's because of last year's elbow surgery, but I don't know. I thought when the Twins traded him that he would have a couple of dominant years before started fading.

When you stand next to Johan, you realize he's probably about 5-11, 180 pounds. There just isn't a lot of mass behind his pitches, so I figured he would eventually lose velocity, and that his elbow wouldn't be able to handle the tremendous torque his changeup puts on those ligaments.

He's 5-5 with a 3.55 ERA while pitching in the National League. Not impressive. By laying off his changeup on Saturday, the Twins scored four runs in the first before Santana settled down. I just wasn't impressed with Santana. I wrote about him and his woes for the Sunday paper.

-I was joking with Joe Mauer about his big Saturday night in New York, and he laughed and said, ``You know me."

Me: So you'll be asleep in two hours?

-I asked Morneau if he's pretty comfortable seeing Carl Pavano on the mound. ``Almost as comfortable," Morneau said, ``as seeing him in the batter's box."

Pavano went 2-for-3 while pitching a shutout. He's also become a very good quote for we in the media. Heckuva move by the Twins, trading for him last year and re-signing him this winter.

-Santana said Jason Kubel's first-inning double was the key to the game.

-So David Kahn is admitting publicly that he's going to trade Al Jefferson.

Let me say it again: Big mistake. Why would you trade your best player when he's still young and while his trade value is at its lowest point?

-Can we really take American soccer seriously when we lost to Ghana? After barely beating Algeria? Who were we going to face next, Grenada? Antartica?

-Got this sad note from Molly Mulvehill Steinke of Nemer Feger, who works with Harmon Killebrew on his charitable efforts:

``Hello,

Harmon Killebrew's granddaughter, Caitlyn May White, was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy with WPW Syndrom just two weeks before her 9th birthday. (Mid-April)

Caitlyn now has to wear an AED vest all day, every day, in case her little heart stops. If the medications don't work, she will need a heart transplant. Because of her "severe" condition, her cardiologist immediately put her on the heart transplant list and began what he called "long-shot" immediate medication treatment to try and shrink her heart.

Harmon is asking his friends and fans to help raise money for Caitlyn's care and medical treatment.

He is hosting a golf tournament in Arizona on Wednesday, June 30.

They are also setting up an online auction. Nita and Harmon are first asking for everyone's prayers and secondly, asking for any auction items, prize or cash donations.

All proceeds will go into a care and medical treatment trust account for Caitlyn set up at Wells Fargo Bank.

For more information, could you please send your readers, listeners and viewers to www.harmonkillebrewfoundation.org <http://www.harmonkillebrewfoundation.org/> ?

Direct monetary donations can be made to: The Caitlyn May White Trust, c/o Megan Aubrey, Trustee, 6748 N. Double Eagle Lane, Meridian, ID 83646."

-My twitter name is Souhanstrib.