New life in Quadruple A

A few added reasons to believe that the National League just isn't nearly as tough as the AL:

John Smoltz (left) with Boston (30 innings): 8.33 ERA

John Smoltz with St. Louis (22 innings): 3.27 ERA

Brad Penny with Boston (131 2/3 innings): 5.61 ERA

Brad Penny with San Francisco (15 innings): 1.20 ERA

Jose Contreras with Chicago AL (114 2/3 innings): 5.42 ERA

Jose Contreras with Colorado (9 2/3 innings): 1.86 ERA

OK, so there are sample size issues. Fact remains that all three veteran right-handers consistently stunk in the American League this year; two of them were flat out released; none has had a lousy outing since landing in Quadruple A — I mean, the National League.

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I wrote the previous entry before reading the LaVelle Neal III gamer for the Star Tribune. He too focused on the bunts. The wrong end of the bunts, the execution of them, not the dubiousness of the decision to sac bunt when behind.

The point is: Even if Span and Punto had moved their runners up, the bunts were bad percentage baseball.

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Check out the final entry in Craig Calcaterra's daily roundup of the baseball action: Probably worth noting that this west coast game ended before the eastern time Steelers-Titans game did. Even better, it didn't end with the losing team not having a chance to play offense. I'd list all the other reasons why it was superior to football, but I'm going on a trip next week and therefore won't have the time to get to them all.

Agreed.

No Penny, no Harden, no nothing

After all that speculation, the Twins didn't make a deal for Rich Harden and didn't put in a claim on Brad Penny, who became a free agent and is almost certainly headed to the easier National League.

This leaves the Twins with a rotation of Scott Baker (good), Carl Pavano (less good), Nick Blackburn (mediocre), Brian Duensing (effective beyond reason so far) and a grab bag of minor leaguers, bullpen arms and perhaps injury returnees. Last week the grab bag meant Armando Gabino; on Tuesday, it means Jeff Manship. Next week, who knows?

And you know what? I'm not broken hearted over this. Penny has a 5.61 ERA with the Red Sox for a reason, and it follows a 6.28 ERA last year for the Dodgers. He may not be any real improvement over Gabino or Manship.

Harden's a much better pitcher, but the question with him isn't if he'll get hurt, it's when. He's had seven DL stints since 2005. A pitcher acquired now figures to make six regular season starts, max; Harden, even assuming he makes all six starts, would hardly have meant six guaranteed wins, any more than the grab bag approach means six guaranteed losses. (The Twins did, after all, win Gabino's one start.)

We don't know exactly what the Cubs wanted for Harden, but it was always assumed to be a steep asking price, and thus always seemed a long shot to happen. The Twins at this moment — after the Tigers' Monday loss, before the start of the Twins-White Sox game — are four games out. That's a big margin to overcome on the basis of one rotation slot's six starts. Had the Twins won a couple more of those eminently winnable games since the All-Star break, giving up key prospects for Harden trade have been justifiable.

If the Twins are going to make up those four games on the Tigers, they're going to need somebody to step up the way Baker and Duensing have. Tonight is Blackburn's next chance to start being that somebody.

Collecting B(r)ad Penny

I don't know which is the more daunting:

* The prospect of facing the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs with a rotation of Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Brian Duensing; or

* The projected starters for Minnesota in next week's series against the Chicago White Sox: TBA on Monday, Blackburn on Tuesday, Duensing on Wednesday.

As the postseason roster deadline draws steadily nearer — a player has to be on the 40-man roster before Sept. 1 to be eligible — the Twins are said to be scrambling for pitching help.

And the machinations are fascinating. Brad Penny — shown above — no longer fits on the Red Sox roster, and is on release waivers. The Twins appear to be in prime position to claim him, and the 5.61 ERA doesn't accurately reflect how well he's pitched. His walk to strikeout ratio is fine, the strikeout rate is good enough. He's no star, but he can help.

ESPN's report is focused on National League teams, with Buster Olney suggesting that there will be little interest in assuming the remainder of Penny's contract. It would probably cost the Twins about $200,000 per start to claim Penny, but the general consensus is that Penny's more interested in returning to the easier National league, so if the Twins want him, they'll have to pay.

Still, there's a notion that Penny assured the Red Sox he won't sign with an AL contender, and despite Joe Christensen's suggestion (the first link) that Penny won't want to walk away from his current deal, there's no guarantee he'll accept an AL waiver claim.

Another rumor concerns the Twins and Rich Harden of the Chicago Cubs. A Harden deal will be tougher to pull off for two reasons:

1) National League teams have priority on him in trade waivers, and Harden is said to have been claimed by at least one NL club. In which case, the Twins can't get him, period.

2) Harden is a Type A free agent-to-be, meaning that the Cubs might be unwilling to move him for less than the equivalent of the draft picks they could get if he signs elsewhere this winter. (It's also possible the Cubs just want to shed the remainder of his salary; they are, after all, in bankruptcy court, even if that's largely a formality to clear the decks for the pending franchise sale.)

My guesses: If Harden goes anywhere, it will be to the Colorado Rockies. And the Twins will ante up for Penny. But by the time we know on the last, the White Sox series will be under way.