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A quick note that I've got an article over at Ballhype discussing many of the free agent signings of last off season, so please check it out and hype it up, if you deem it worthy. It is the first of what I expect to become regular baseball columns at Ballhype. It gives me a good opportunity to expand my focus beyond the Twins once every week or so.

The Twins offense exploded for a combined 32 runs in the two games in Chicago on Friday. That one day accounts for nearly 7.5% of the Twins' runs scored so far through 86 games. Things were going so well that even Nick Punto had 3 hits on the day.

The series has been cut short due to cold weather and wind on Friday, but it appears that the next two games will go on as scheduled. Sidney Ponson will be shuffled to Monday leaving Carlos Silva to get the start on Saturday afternoon and Johan Santana to pitch on Sunday. The White Sox will stick with their original rotation plan by having Javier Vasquez pushed back to Saturday and left handed rookie John Danks face off against Santana on Sunday.

The Twins offense had been lackluster in the run department the past few games, but it returned to form against the Orioles on Thursday night. Michael Cuddyer was 4-4 with 4 RBI, Joe Mauer was 3-4 with 4 RBI and Justin Morneau hit his 32nd homer of the season. Torii Hunter also hit his 4th homerun in the last six games to push his season total to 19. It was the 3,4,5 and 6 hitters that provided all of the Twins' 11 RBI in the game—something I wouldn't mind seeing a lot of in the final month of the season.

The Twins got off to a slow start on Monday night in Chicago. Despite having baserunners in scoring position in the 3rd and 4th innings, Javier Vasquez managed to hold the Twins scoreless through five innings. In the meantime Brad Radke had given up a homerun in each of the 4th and 5th innings. However, they were both solo homers, so the damage was minimal. The Twins matched the White Sox in power on Monday night; the difference was the Twins had more baserunners on when the balls left the park.

This past week was similar to week one -- a record of 1-5 and not many good things to talk about. Let's jump right into the discussion of the players this week and cross our fingers that next week goes a lot better.

Making the lineup card for Saturday night's game wasn't an easy task for Ron Gardenhire. Shannon Stewart is still away with his wife who just gave birth to their first child. Luis Castillo is still hobbled with the knee injury from Thursday's game, and Ruben Sierra is a bit sore from fouling a ball off the ankle. All this meant Rondell White, the usual DH was playing in Left field, Luis Rodgriguez was playing at second, Joe Mauer was the DH, and Mike Redmond was behind the plate.

This game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. As predicted, the Mark Buehrle and Johan Santana matchup turned out to be a pitchers duel--until the 8th inning.

I posted some live commentary and a game recap over in the scoreboard section, so check that out for details of the game. From time-to-time over the course of the season I'll keep a running live commentary on games, so be sure to stop by during games and leave comments as well.

In Baseball, you'd rather be playing well in the month of September than in April, so you have some momentum going into the playoffs. However, when it comes to making the playoffs, April games count just as much as those in September. The first few weeks of the Twins' season could prove to be pretty important when it comes to how the season is going to turn out. Let's take a look at the tough matchups they'll be facing right away.