Manny Ramirez Topic Page

-- It was definitely one of the better All-Star games in recent memory. Jose Reyes lived up to his billing as one of the most exciting players in baseball, A-Rod was thrown out at home Scotty Ulger style, Ichiro hit the first inside the park home run of All-Star game history and the NL made things interesting in the ninth against two of the AL's best closers this year. And also, FOX made complete asses of themselves throughout coverage of the game. Example 1 - Example 2 - Example 3.

The Twins failed to score a run against Tim Wakefield and the Boston bullpen of J.C. Romero, Brendan Donnelly and Jonathon Papelbon. The story Friday night wasn't so much about missed opportunities as it was lack of hits. The Twins managed just four hits on the night and additionally had three batters reach on walks.

The Twins have had an up-and-down past couple of weeks. They struggled against KC and Cleveland before looking pretty good last weekend against Detroit. They went on to lose the final two games of the series against Tampa Bay. The toughest stretch of their schedule so far begins this weekend against the Red Sox. Boston comes to the dome with the best record in the AL at 18-9.

Nobody could've guessed that the Twins would sweep the Red Sox, but they pulled it off Thursday night as they continue to play their best baseball of the season. The sweep was a crushing blow to the Sox who came into the series neck-and-neck with the Yankees. This week has by far been the biggest week of the season for the Twins. They have not only won 4 straight and 6 of their last 7, but they've also ridded themselves of Tony Batista and Juan Castro. Juan Castro was traded Thursday to the Cincinatti Reds for a low-end prospect. Also, young players like Jason Kubel, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have shined and Jason Bartlett is now getting his chance.