Three months is better than four. I just couldn't let tonight's results stand without regurgitating a combination of everyone else's opinions that I will call my own.
Officiating in sports will always be a hotbed issue. I can't keep track of how many times I've erred at my job, and that's without thousands of people watching in person, and millions more dissecting my every decision during and after the fact. On the other hand, if I could review all of my customer interactions on video I'd probably be a lot better at my job. And if my job actually mattered, they might force me to "watch the tape." But let's talk about the sucky job that you do care about.
It's been said many times that the best refs go unnoticed. That's where umpires differ. Whether ump makes a good call or not, you will notice him because he makes a call on every play. Football refs will do all kinds of things between and during plays, but unless they throw a flag or get in the way or dressed like an ice cold creamsicle you won't take note. They blow a whistle, but they don't make a noticeable decision on most plays. Every pitch, every batted ball, every wind-up can't be completed legally without the umpires' approval.
Which is probably why umpires do what they do. They not only get paid to interact with the game they (presumably) love, they get paid to control the game they (presumably) love. And they really do control the game. Their rule is final. In what other sport can a player be ejected for arguing with an official, without warning?
It's natural to resent their power. They may have to answer to some league official at some point, but during the game there is nothing anyone else can do to stop an umpire making a mistake, and refusing to believe they made a mistake. Implementing instant replay two seasons ago was a big deal, because it was the first time an ump could be wrong, and be told he was wrong, and have his wrongness corrected. But what's more important: the distinction between a home run and not a home run or the distinction between an out and not an out? The answer lies in another question: which came first, the out or the home run?
Consider the American League Central. Umpire mistakes robbed both of the primary contenders tonight.
By now most have heard about Jim Joyce's mugging of Armando Galarraga and the Detroit Tigers. Best described by the man himself: "I just cost that kid a perfect game." Joyce said this after viewing the instant replay of his terrible call.
The small consolation of Detroit's stolen perfect game: they still won. Jim Joyce denied us history, but he did not deny victory. The Tigers would rather have the latter right now.
The big consolation: Dale Scott's compensatory robbery of the Twins' chance at victory. No national outlet mentions it, but instant replay clearly shows that Josh Wilson was just as out as Jason Donald.
Galarraga loses his place in history, but Detroit gains a game in the standings. Next to each other, in that sentence, makes it sound pretty lopsided. Come September, however, we'll see whose prize was more valuable.
Showing posts with label Twins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twins. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hibernation
In what may be a recurring pattern, I stopped writing for four months. Besides sleeping with grizzly bears, I've been reading about sports and following sports, agonizing over how many mistakes the Wolves will make and continue to make, and how consistently inconsistent the Wild remain.
There is some good news though: The Twins have been killing it. And killing it. And really, really KILLING IT. The Twins' payroll this year is pushing $100 million, and with the insurance money from Joe Nathan's UCL, the Twins could sign a possible replacement.
Wait, I didn't mention Joe Nathan's impending surgery? Or the Twins complete lack of any other reliable strike-out relievers? Oh. Well I guess you probably know this, but throwing a baseball 93 miles an hour does not strengthen a human arm. It really is too bad that there's so much money in it, because throwing a baseball does not do a body good. Joe Nathan will know this soon enough, because regaining his previous strength and range of motion takes almost a year of painstaking physical therapy. Some twelve million dollars in guaranteed salary will ease pain. Didn't I say we should trade him?
Not that a closer would net a team much. They're important, but only to contenders. They're probably the most important role-player on a baseball team, but should role-players take up more than 10% of a team's payroll? There's bound to be some teams who would trade for an elite closer, and be dumb enough to give up at least one prospect with star-potential. That's too much to give up for a luxury.
That's what Joe Nathan was/is: a luxury. Baseball games have lasted nine innings for a hundred years without much trouble. The Twins have played without the ninth inning for awhile, but they can still win playing it old school. Which they will have to do, because a good replacement isn't going to fall into their lap. Teams will be asking for half the farm, because the Twins will not have enough options to get a favorable price.
So who will end up closing? Don't be surprised if it's Nick Punto.
So I guess that turned out a bit more negative than such great news merits. The Twins are going into this season with a new stadium and a new infield. They're going to be good, even if Nick Punto really does pitch in the ninth. At least his defense would be solid.
There is some good news though: The Twins have been killing it. And killing it. And really, really KILLING IT. The Twins' payroll this year is pushing $100 million, and with the insurance money from Joe Nathan's UCL, the Twins could sign a possible replacement.
Wait, I didn't mention Joe Nathan's impending surgery? Or the Twins complete lack of any other reliable strike-out relievers? Oh. Well I guess you probably know this, but throwing a baseball 93 miles an hour does not strengthen a human arm. It really is too bad that there's so much money in it, because throwing a baseball does not do a body good. Joe Nathan will know this soon enough, because regaining his previous strength and range of motion takes almost a year of painstaking physical therapy. Some twelve million dollars in guaranteed salary will ease pain. Didn't I say we should trade him?
Not that a closer would net a team much. They're important, but only to contenders. They're probably the most important role-player on a baseball team, but should role-players take up more than 10% of a team's payroll? There's bound to be some teams who would trade for an elite closer, and be dumb enough to give up at least one prospect with star-potential. That's too much to give up for a luxury.
That's what Joe Nathan was/is: a luxury. Baseball games have lasted nine innings for a hundred years without much trouble. The Twins have played without the ninth inning for awhile, but they can still win playing it old school. Which they will have to do, because a good replacement isn't going to fall into their lap. Teams will be asking for half the farm, because the Twins will not have enough options to get a favorable price.
So who will end up closing? Don't be surprised if it's Nick Punto.
So I guess that turned out a bit more negative than such great news merits. The Twins are going into this season with a new stadium and a new infield. They're going to be good, even if Nick Punto really does pitch in the ninth. At least his defense would be solid.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Go Go for JJ
In case you haven't heard, the Twins have traded Carlos Gomez for the Milwaukee Brewers' shortstop JJ Hardy. That's big enough news to make ESPN's front page. Which is impressive, as ESPN can be known to assume no one gives a crap about small market teams.
JJ Hardy had a terrible '09 season. After hitting 26 and 24 homers in the '07 and '08, he only hit 11 this year. His OPS of .659 was well below his career average of .751 and his career high of .821 in '08. It's hard to expect him to perform at his '08 level, especially while switching to the American League, but he won't have another year as disastrous as '09. That disastrous season by the way, which included a demotion to the minors (mostly to set back Hardy's free agent clock), was forty-six points better than Carlos Gomez' performance in terms of OPS. In 100 more at-bats, Hardy struck out only 12 more times. The only advantages Gomez has over Hardy are age, arbitration status, and stolen bases.
I didn't forget their defensive prowess either. Hardy and Gomez are both very good with the glove. FanGraphs is down right now, but the numbers are mostly the same, with Hardy possibly having a slight edge due to the importance of the short-stop position.
Could this trade backfire on the Twins? Sure, because Hardy will be paid a lot more than Gomez' league minimum, because Hardy's lost it at the plate, because Gomez will tear it up against inferior National League pitching, because Hardy lacks Go-Go's speed and energy, because Milwaukee's Best really isn't that good a beer. Any trade can backfire, especially when it's made by Bill Smith. You have to give Bill some credit though. He targeted a relatively young, formerly productive, slick-fielding shortstop when Hardy's value was at its lowest. All he had to give up was a very young, never productive, slick-fielding center fielder who had been replaced by Denard Span. He solved Gardy's outfield dilemma and short-stop dilemma in one move. That's a win in my book.
JJ Hardy had a terrible '09 season. After hitting 26 and 24 homers in the '07 and '08, he only hit 11 this year. His OPS of .659 was well below his career average of .751 and his career high of .821 in '08. It's hard to expect him to perform at his '08 level, especially while switching to the American League, but he won't have another year as disastrous as '09. That disastrous season by the way, which included a demotion to the minors (mostly to set back Hardy's free agent clock), was forty-six points better than Carlos Gomez' performance in terms of OPS. In 100 more at-bats, Hardy struck out only 12 more times. The only advantages Gomez has over Hardy are age, arbitration status, and stolen bases.
I didn't forget their defensive prowess either. Hardy and Gomez are both very good with the glove. FanGraphs is down right now, but the numbers are mostly the same, with Hardy possibly having a slight edge due to the importance of the short-stop position.
Could this trade backfire on the Twins? Sure, because Hardy will be paid a lot more than Gomez' league minimum, because Hardy's lost it at the plate, because Gomez will tear it up against inferior National League pitching, because Hardy lacks Go-Go's speed and energy, because Milwaukee's Best really isn't that good a beer. Any trade can backfire, especially when it's made by Bill Smith. You have to give Bill some credit though. He targeted a relatively young, formerly productive, slick-fielding shortstop when Hardy's value was at its lowest. All he had to give up was a very young, never productive, slick-fielding center fielder who had been replaced by Denard Span. He solved Gardy's outfield dilemma and short-stop dilemma in one move. That's a win in my book.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
And They're Off: Position Players
So now that we've had some time to remove the brooms from our stomachs, I'm going to take some time to review the status of various parts of the Twins major league club, and what I think needs to be done in order to not only win the division again, but also win at least one game in the playoffs.
First off, here's how the Twins most common line-up looked at the end of the season:
1. CF Denard Span .359
2. SS Orlando Cabrera* .321
3. C Joe Mauer .438
4. RF Jason Kubel .383
5. 1B Michael Cuddyer .370
6. LF Delmon Young .312
7. 3B Matt Tolbert .278
8. DH Jose Morales .334
9. 2B Nick Punto .295
Statheads are always trying to figure out one stat that can represent how good a hitter is, FanGraphs focuses on weighted On-Base Average (wOBA), which I've included in the list. In short combines all of the results of a batter's plate appearances, with different weights given to different results based on how effective they are (with a home-run carrying the most weight). It's not perfect by any means, but it gives a pretty good basis for comparison.
Looking at the Twins' line-up, you notice how top-heavy it is. Only Jose Morales comes the closest to the "Core" (Spantasm, Mighty Morphin Mauer Ranger, Cudds, and Kubes) in offensive performance, and by "close" I mean .25 less, which is a lot. That also doesn't consider Morales' late-season slump, where he seemed completely clueless at the plate. He just doesn't have enough major-league at-bats for us to know if he's this good of a hitter. The rest are incomplete hitters. You have the Nick Puntos and Matt Tolberts, who know how to draw walks but don't hit for average or power. Then you also have the Delmon Youngs and Orlando Cabreras, who hit for average, some power, and can't draw a walk to save their life. Not that you'd find complete hitters in the bottom of any Major League line-up, which is a perfect place for Nick Punto, but having Orlando Cabrera batting second, getting more at-bats than the three best hitters on the team, is a travesty.
There are two philosophies for one and two hitters. There's the old school, where speed and "bat skills" (like bunting) are the most important. Then there's the new school, where the name of the game is to work the count, take walks, and get on base to be driven in by the power hitters in the middle of the line-up. That's what makes Peter Span so fly: he gets on base well AND he can bunt AND he has good speed to take extra bases. Cabrera is fast but doesn't steal many bases, and is a contact hitter with "bat skills." He doesn't strike out a lot, but rarely walks, insisting on using his bat to get on-base, which just doesn't work. Look at it this way: Cabrera walked eleven times, and hit into nine double plays. That's not the way to follow Gerard Denardieu. Sometimes I think managers bat crappy hitters second so they can justify sac-bunting on a lead-off hit.
Criticism is all well and good, but who's going to replace all these bad hitters? Lucky for the Twins, they have a great one already signed with plenty of experience. Justin Morneau will return, most likely to the clean-up spot, allowing Gardy to remove at least one bad hitter from the line-up. The most likely candidate to lose a regular spot, however, is Jose Morales. He can't play any position besides catcher. So the worst hitters in this year's final line-up will remain in next year's. This assumes that the roster will remain the same, which it definitely will not.
Free agency has never been a fruitful venture for the Twins, and that won't change anytime soon, because the Twins choose to give big contracts to their own players rather than other teams'. No big contracts, no big players, though with the way the economy's going, there will be a few bargains out there.
A lot of decent or used-to-be-decent middle infielder's will be available. Some names that pop out to me are Orlando Hudson, Khalil Greene, Marco Scutaro, Akinori Iwamura, Felipe Lopez. They aren't a great bunch, but if you look at who the Twins' ran out there against the Yankees, they don't have to be great to improve the line-up. The Twins have already priced themselves into Nick Punto as an everyday player, so he can fill in at whatever position the Twins don't sign.
That still leaves third base open, which could be filled by another free-agent like Joe Crede, who played spectacular defense with pretty one-dimensional offense when he was healthy. I doubt the Twins would bring him back for a season that would most likely end in his fourth major back surgery. Perhaps they'll think the grass of Target Field will allow for better health. The ideal situation, however, would be for Danny Valencia, one of the Twins' top prospects, to take over the position. He regressed at the plate in his first year at AAA, and from what I've read he's been inconsistent defensively, but he couldn't be more inconsistent as Brendan Harris, and his bat troubles do not rival Matt Tolbert's lack of talent. It's too much to hope for Valencia to gain the trust of Gardy and his staff, but it'd save the Twins a lot of trouble at the consistently troubling hot corner.
So in an ideal world, next year's opening day line-up would look like this:
1. CF Denard Span .361
2. 2B Orlando Hudson .340
3. C Joe Mauer .384
4. 1B Justin Morneau .358
5. RF Michael Cuddyer .346
6. DH Jason Kubel .349
7. LF Delmon Young .319
8. 3B Danny Valencia >.300 (hopefully, though Twinkie Town thinks he's no better than Tolbert)
9. SS Nick Punto .294
I used career numbers for all of the hitters, which is why some of them seem low. I fully expect the big guns to outperform their career numbers. Regardless of what they actually hit, that's the making of a good line-up. There isn't an easy out until Delmon comes up (no, one hot streak does not a new hitter make, just look at how he did against the Yankees until his foul balls). You could easily substitute Gomez into center for defensive purposes, removing Delmon Young's dreadful leather from the outfield. If you believe FanGraphs' measure of total value, Gomez with his glove is better than Delmon's marginally better bat.
The Twins are unlikely to sign Hudson, as they would have to give a draft pick to the Dodgers (assuming LA offers him arbitration) if they do. They won't be high bidders, but like last year with Joe Crede, they'll try to find a bargain. There may be some good ones to find. It's nice to assume all this extra revenue from Target Field will go straight to payroll. Payroll will increase, but I bet Bill Smith will use that increase to pay Joe Mauer what he deserves, extend Michael Cuddyer, and start thinking about what happens when Denard Span hits arbitration. What will remain for anything but a cheap one-year deal? What major impact can a cheap one-year deal have? If you've actually read all of this, what do you think?
All answers pending.
Next Up: Starting Pitching.
First off, here's how the Twins most common line-up looked at the end of the season:
1. CF Denard Span .359
2. SS Orlando Cabrera* .321
3. C Joe Mauer .438
4. RF Jason Kubel .383
5. 1B Michael Cuddyer .370
6. LF Delmon Young .312
7. 3B Matt Tolbert .278
8. DH Jose Morales .334
9. 2B Nick Punto .295
Statheads are always trying to figure out one stat that can represent how good a hitter is, FanGraphs focuses on weighted On-Base Average (wOBA), which I've included in the list. In short combines all of the results of a batter's plate appearances, with different weights given to different results based on how effective they are (with a home-run carrying the most weight). It's not perfect by any means, but it gives a pretty good basis for comparison.
Looking at the Twins' line-up, you notice how top-heavy it is. Only Jose Morales comes the closest to the "Core" (Spantasm, Mighty Morphin Mauer Ranger, Cudds, and Kubes) in offensive performance, and by "close" I mean .25 less, which is a lot. That also doesn't consider Morales' late-season slump, where he seemed completely clueless at the plate. He just doesn't have enough major-league at-bats for us to know if he's this good of a hitter. The rest are incomplete hitters. You have the Nick Puntos and Matt Tolberts, who know how to draw walks but don't hit for average or power. Then you also have the Delmon Youngs and Orlando Cabreras, who hit for average, some power, and can't draw a walk to save their life. Not that you'd find complete hitters in the bottom of any Major League line-up, which is a perfect place for Nick Punto, but having Orlando Cabrera batting second, getting more at-bats than the three best hitters on the team, is a travesty.
There are two philosophies for one and two hitters. There's the old school, where speed and "bat skills" (like bunting) are the most important. Then there's the new school, where the name of the game is to work the count, take walks, and get on base to be driven in by the power hitters in the middle of the line-up. That's what makes Peter Span so fly: he gets on base well AND he can bunt AND he has good speed to take extra bases. Cabrera is fast but doesn't steal many bases, and is a contact hitter with "bat skills." He doesn't strike out a lot, but rarely walks, insisting on using his bat to get on-base, which just doesn't work. Look at it this way: Cabrera walked eleven times, and hit into nine double plays. That's not the way to follow Gerard Denardieu. Sometimes I think managers bat crappy hitters second so they can justify sac-bunting on a lead-off hit.
Criticism is all well and good, but who's going to replace all these bad hitters? Lucky for the Twins, they have a great one already signed with plenty of experience. Justin Morneau will return, most likely to the clean-up spot, allowing Gardy to remove at least one bad hitter from the line-up. The most likely candidate to lose a regular spot, however, is Jose Morales. He can't play any position besides catcher. So the worst hitters in this year's final line-up will remain in next year's. This assumes that the roster will remain the same, which it definitely will not.
Free agency has never been a fruitful venture for the Twins, and that won't change anytime soon, because the Twins choose to give big contracts to their own players rather than other teams'. No big contracts, no big players, though with the way the economy's going, there will be a few bargains out there.
A lot of decent or used-to-be-decent middle infielder's will be available. Some names that pop out to me are Orlando Hudson, Khalil Greene, Marco Scutaro, Akinori Iwamura, Felipe Lopez. They aren't a great bunch, but if you look at who the Twins' ran out there against the Yankees, they don't have to be great to improve the line-up. The Twins have already priced themselves into Nick Punto as an everyday player, so he can fill in at whatever position the Twins don't sign.
That still leaves third base open, which could be filled by another free-agent like Joe Crede, who played spectacular defense with pretty one-dimensional offense when he was healthy. I doubt the Twins would bring him back for a season that would most likely end in his fourth major back surgery. Perhaps they'll think the grass of Target Field will allow for better health. The ideal situation, however, would be for Danny Valencia, one of the Twins' top prospects, to take over the position. He regressed at the plate in his first year at AAA, and from what I've read he's been inconsistent defensively, but he couldn't be more inconsistent as Brendan Harris, and his bat troubles do not rival Matt Tolbert's lack of talent. It's too much to hope for Valencia to gain the trust of Gardy and his staff, but it'd save the Twins a lot of trouble at the consistently troubling hot corner.
So in an ideal world, next year's opening day line-up would look like this:
1. CF Denard Span .361
2. 2B Orlando Hudson .340
3. C Joe Mauer .384
4. 1B Justin Morneau .358
5. RF Michael Cuddyer .346
6. DH Jason Kubel .349
7. LF Delmon Young .319
8. 3B Danny Valencia >.300 (hopefully, though Twinkie Town thinks he's no better than Tolbert)
9. SS Nick Punto .294
I used career numbers for all of the hitters, which is why some of them seem low. I fully expect the big guns to outperform their career numbers. Regardless of what they actually hit, that's the making of a good line-up. There isn't an easy out until Delmon comes up (no, one hot streak does not a new hitter make, just look at how he did against the Yankees until his foul balls). You could easily substitute Gomez into center for defensive purposes, removing Delmon Young's dreadful leather from the outfield. If you believe FanGraphs' measure of total value, Gomez with his glove is better than Delmon's marginally better bat.
The Twins are unlikely to sign Hudson, as they would have to give a draft pick to the Dodgers (assuming LA offers him arbitration) if they do. They won't be high bidders, but like last year with Joe Crede, they'll try to find a bargain. There may be some good ones to find. It's nice to assume all this extra revenue from Target Field will go straight to payroll. Payroll will increase, but I bet Bill Smith will use that increase to pay Joe Mauer what he deserves, extend Michael Cuddyer, and start thinking about what happens when Denard Span hits arbitration. What will remain for anything but a cheap one-year deal? What major impact can a cheap one-year deal have? If you've actually read all of this, what do you think?
All answers pending.
Next Up: Starting Pitching.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Three and done
Carl Pavano was great... until he gave up two homers in one inning. One of which looked catch-able by Delmon Young, who is slow and unathletic. A drawback to leaving Carlos Gomez on the bench, though Young would have been in left regardless. It was a sad way to give up yet another lead the half-inning immediately after taking it. Matt Guerrier is the only Twins pitcher to not give up any runs in the series, while also having the only scoreless inning proceeding a go-ahead effort by the Twins offense. That's the killer. The Twins held the lead in all three games of this series. They maintained none of them. Two of them immediately after taking them.
It was the little things that cost the Twins these last two wins. Little things like not getting the ball out of the infield with the bases loaded and none, one out. Little things like making unnecessary outs on the basepaths, and not hitting with runners in scoring position. Let's face it though, the big things were missing too. The Twins did not hit a single homerun, no thanks to Jason Kubel's nine strikeouts and .071 batting average. No, he did not have any RBIs, runs, or walks. Delmon Young did all he could to make himself an automatic out, Orlando Cabrera did nothing, and the other horses the Twins rode into the postseason stayed in the stable. One single player is not to blame, the entire team failed to get the job done. Except for Matt Guerrier, who's awesome.
Honestly, the Twins never had a chance. The Twins' four best hitters (Span, Mauer, Kubel, Cuddyer) would be lucky to bat sixth in the Yankees' line-up. The Twins' starters performed admirably (except for Duensing), but there's no comparison between them and the Yankees' staff. The Twins' have one pitcher with a 95+ fastball, the Yankees have three in their bullpen alone. Two of these games were very winnable, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Our favorite team expended most of their energy just to get to the post-season, it was a stretch to expect anything besides this sweep, as humiliating as it is. The Twins had a good season, and I don't have any doubt that they'll put forth a season-long effort next year. Thank you Twins, you expanded the enjoyable part of the baseball season just a little bit longer, and given us hope that next year, you'll all be ready for a good playoff run. Have a good winter, and sign that extension Joe!
It was the little things that cost the Twins these last two wins. Little things like not getting the ball out of the infield with the bases loaded and none, one out. Little things like making unnecessary outs on the basepaths, and not hitting with runners in scoring position. Let's face it though, the big things were missing too. The Twins did not hit a single homerun, no thanks to Jason Kubel's nine strikeouts and .071 batting average. No, he did not have any RBIs, runs, or walks. Delmon Young did all he could to make himself an automatic out, Orlando Cabrera did nothing, and the other horses the Twins rode into the postseason stayed in the stable. One single player is not to blame, the entire team failed to get the job done. Except for Matt Guerrier, who's awesome.
Honestly, the Twins never had a chance. The Twins' four best hitters (Span, Mauer, Kubel, Cuddyer) would be lucky to bat sixth in the Yankees' line-up. The Twins' starters performed admirably (except for Duensing), but there's no comparison between them and the Yankees' staff. The Twins' have one pitcher with a 95+ fastball, the Yankees have three in their bullpen alone. Two of these games were very winnable, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Our favorite team expended most of their energy just to get to the post-season, it was a stretch to expect anything besides this sweep, as humiliating as it is. The Twins had a good season, and I don't have any doubt that they'll put forth a season-long effort next year. Thank you Twins, you expanded the enjoyable part of the baseball season just a little bit longer, and given us hope that next year, you'll all be ready for a good playoff run. Have a good winter, and sign that extension Joe!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Big-name players need to be big-game players
And Joe Nathan is the second biggest name the Twins have. You know what his post-season ERA is? 7.50. Six walks and eight strikeouts. That's before tonight's disaster. Until he shows he can get good hitters out in close games, he's not a good pitcher. He gave up the lead-off single to Tex-message-break-up (he looks like he would, doesn't he?), and Joe let it get to him. Instead of throwing a first pitch strike to A-Roid, he nibbled on the corners like a coward. He decided on a two-strike approach before the at-bat began, and then he decides to challenge the guy, in a hitters count, with a cookie so delicious Franciso Liriano immediately asked for the recipe. A-Hole did not miss, and then the "real" Nathan decided to show up to preserve the tie.
If it was possible to get worse, Nathan did in the next inning. He showed the type of nerves that closers typically feed on, with a pick-off throw that wouldn't have been close even if it had not sailed into the outfield to advance the runner (who, by the way, had very easily stolen second not too long before). No choice then but to walk Derek Cheater. Runners at the corners, one out, and Gardy pulls Joe Nathan for Jose Mijares to face the lefty hitter, Johnny Daemon. Jesus turned Satan sent the ball for what looked like the winning hit, but Orlando Cabrera was playing in, as well as towards second to make a double play. He got a different one than he was playing for, as the Yankee runner on third didn't wait for the ball to drop, and was easily picked off after O-Cab caught the line drive. Nathan got bailed out, just like he did in Tuesday's ninth inning, but by a different pitcher.
Joe Mauer led off immediately after with a double, and consecutive hits from Kubel and Cuddyer sent him home with what should have been the winning run. Delmon Young jumped on the first pitch, hitting it straight to Texas omelette, who also threw out Joe Mauer for the force at home on Go-Go-Out's unforgivably weak grounder. "Wait, Mauer already scored!" you say. I guess I left out the part where left field umpire Phil Cuzzi called Joe's double a foul ball. No, his view was not obstructed. No, he was standing twenty feet away from the ball as it landed fair after being touched by the left fielder in fair territory. Yes the umpire had a New York hair cut, was born in New Jersey, and bore a strong resemblance to the one-armed murderer from The Fugitive. Maybe the Twins would have blown a lead-off double opportunity instead of the bases-loaded-no-out opportunity instead, but I doubt it. The game should have at worst been tied on the shortest home-run ever, but Cuzzi killed the Twins' opportunity, and framed Young and Gomez.
It never should have come to the second paragraph though. Joe Nathan now has more blown saves than saves in the post-season. Granted the sample size is small, but the Twins are never going to be a perennial playoff team like the Yankees. It was all they could do to make it this year. Nathan needs to cash in on the opportunities he's given. If he doesn't, what's the point of keeping him around? Will he magically stop blowing saves if the Twins had a more complete team? No. So I'm going to say something I hope I don't regret: trade Joe Nathan. Even with tonight's game, his value is as high as it will ever be. Plenty of would-be contenders need closers (hello Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins). The Twins could get at least one really good hitting or pitching prospect from these clubs for Nathan. The key is to wait until after you sign Joe Mauer, because he'll never stay if Nathan is traded beforehand.
Blerg, I can't believe I just wrote that, but I'm sticking to it. Maybe Nathan will get another opportunity, but with the way this series has gone, and with Carl Pavano owing the Yankees for four years of paid vacation, there probably won't be another save situation in this series. My heart is broken, not by the Yankees, but by Nathan's lip roll. Maybe that's what he choked on.
If it was possible to get worse, Nathan did in the next inning. He showed the type of nerves that closers typically feed on, with a pick-off throw that wouldn't have been close even if it had not sailed into the outfield to advance the runner (who, by the way, had very easily stolen second not too long before). No choice then but to walk Derek Cheater. Runners at the corners, one out, and Gardy pulls Joe Nathan for Jose Mijares to face the lefty hitter, Johnny Daemon. Jesus turned Satan sent the ball for what looked like the winning hit, but Orlando Cabrera was playing in, as well as towards second to make a double play. He got a different one than he was playing for, as the Yankee runner on third didn't wait for the ball to drop, and was easily picked off after O-Cab caught the line drive. Nathan got bailed out, just like he did in Tuesday's ninth inning, but by a different pitcher.
Joe Mauer led off immediately after with a double, and consecutive hits from Kubel and Cuddyer sent him home with what should have been the winning run. Delmon Young jumped on the first pitch, hitting it straight to Texas omelette, who also threw out Joe Mauer for the force at home on Go-Go-Out's unforgivably weak grounder. "Wait, Mauer already scored!" you say. I guess I left out the part where left field umpire Phil Cuzzi called Joe's double a foul ball. No, his view was not obstructed. No, he was standing twenty feet away from the ball as it landed fair after being touched by the left fielder in fair territory. Yes the umpire had a New York hair cut, was born in New Jersey, and bore a strong resemblance to the one-armed murderer from The Fugitive. Maybe the Twins would have blown a lead-off double opportunity instead of the bases-loaded-no-out opportunity instead, but I doubt it. The game should have at worst been tied on the shortest home-run ever, but Cuzzi killed the Twins' opportunity, and framed Young and Gomez.
It never should have come to the second paragraph though. Joe Nathan now has more blown saves than saves in the post-season. Granted the sample size is small, but the Twins are never going to be a perennial playoff team like the Yankees. It was all they could do to make it this year. Nathan needs to cash in on the opportunities he's given. If he doesn't, what's the point of keeping him around? Will he magically stop blowing saves if the Twins had a more complete team? No. So I'm going to say something I hope I don't regret: trade Joe Nathan. Even with tonight's game, his value is as high as it will ever be. Plenty of would-be contenders need closers (hello Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins). The Twins could get at least one really good hitting or pitching prospect from these clubs for Nathan. The key is to wait until after you sign Joe Mauer, because he'll never stay if Nathan is traded beforehand.
Blerg, I can't believe I just wrote that, but I'm sticking to it. Maybe Nathan will get another opportunity, but with the way this series has gone, and with Carl Pavano owing the Yankees for four years of paid vacation, there probably won't be another save situation in this series. My heart is broken, not by the Yankees, but by Nathan's lip roll. Maybe that's what he choked on.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Well what did you expect?
Duensing continued the slump, though his defense let him down in spots. Does anyone think Orlando Cabrera is a good defender? I hope Bill Smith doesn't, because bringing him back is the wrong move. Yes I'm already thinking about next season.
All the fancy shmancy baseball analysts tell us power pitching plays well in the post-season, and tonight was a good example of that. Duensing continued his slump (maybe his success wasn't really that meaningful), with his pitch-to-contact approach not working. When you can't get strikeouts with men on base, you're going to allow runners to score, via home-runs or not. Professional line-ups will string hits together, just like the Twins did in the third. Dominant pitchers are able to pitch around lead-off doubles by striking out great hitters like Joe Mauer. The Twins don't have a dominant pitcher, in the majors or in the minors. Until they obtain one through whatever means, they won't have a good shot of winning playoff games. Too many years of using high picks on Duensings instead of Lincecums have sapped the major league rotation of a true ace like Sabathia. Picks like Kyle Gibson may be the start of a new philosophy, but it doesn't help the Twins right now.
I don't want to talk about the actual game, because there were no surprises. The Yankees are just plain better than the Twins. The only shot the Twins have will be to win Friday with Nick Blackburn and the bullpen and position players fully rested from last night's marathon. The Twins got to their hotel at 4am last night, so that's the players' excuse. What's Gardy's for pitching to A-Rod with first base open? I don't like Brendan Harris or the recently slumping Jose Morales playing DH either. What Gomez gives up with his smelly bat he makes up for with his superb glove, which would also put Span in right, who would have snagged A-Rod's single for an out. Kubel's a DH, let him play his natural position. Kubel only became a force when he got regular playing time. The same with Delmon Young (though maybe that was the same as Duensing's mirage). Maybe Gomez could actually get some confidence if he, you know, played?
It's such a let-down after last night's magic, but I'm not giving up, and I'm sure the Twins aren't either.
All the fancy shmancy baseball analysts tell us power pitching plays well in the post-season, and tonight was a good example of that. Duensing continued his slump (maybe his success wasn't really that meaningful), with his pitch-to-contact approach not working. When you can't get strikeouts with men on base, you're going to allow runners to score, via home-runs or not. Professional line-ups will string hits together, just like the Twins did in the third. Dominant pitchers are able to pitch around lead-off doubles by striking out great hitters like Joe Mauer. The Twins don't have a dominant pitcher, in the majors or in the minors. Until they obtain one through whatever means, they won't have a good shot of winning playoff games. Too many years of using high picks on Duensings instead of Lincecums have sapped the major league rotation of a true ace like Sabathia. Picks like Kyle Gibson may be the start of a new philosophy, but it doesn't help the Twins right now.
I don't want to talk about the actual game, because there were no surprises. The Yankees are just plain better than the Twins. The only shot the Twins have will be to win Friday with Nick Blackburn and the bullpen and position players fully rested from last night's marathon. The Twins got to their hotel at 4am last night, so that's the players' excuse. What's Gardy's for pitching to A-Rod with first base open? I don't like Brendan Harris or the recently slumping Jose Morales playing DH either. What Gomez gives up with his smelly bat he makes up for with his superb glove, which would also put Span in right, who would have snagged A-Rod's single for an out. Kubel's a DH, let him play his natural position. Kubel only became a force when he got regular playing time. The same with Delmon Young (though maybe that was the same as Duensing's mirage). Maybe Gomez could actually get some confidence if he, you know, played?
It's such a let-down after last night's magic, but I'm not giving up, and I'm sure the Twins aren't either.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
An unlikely combination
What a game. I'll refrain from yelling, as my voice has suffered enough tonight, but WHAT A GAME.
You could hear a pin drop when Drank His Average silenced the chants of "Al-co-ho-lic! Clap clap clapclapclap" with his home run. He most likely imagined the ball as his wife's face. No I'm not apologizing. I liked that chant. Baker didn't pitch that badly though. A quality start, with only a double and some Domestic Abuse in one inning as his mistakes. He settled down, and gave the Twins a great effort.
There was a strange dichotomy between Gardy and Leyland's bullpen strategy. Jimmy stretch-Armstronged each of his relief pitchers, especially Fernando Rodney, who pitched 3+ innings while blowing the save and losing the game. Good for Jim, though the rest of his bullpen's incompetence left him little choice. The Twins meanwhile, cycled through their entire bullpen save Francisco Liriano (Jeff Manship was warming up in the top of the 12th). The reasonable workload for Rauch, Mahay, and (suddenly gulp) Mijares probably means we'll see them tomorrow, where they'll be needed badly (Brian "Slumping" Duensing is slated to start). I hope Gardy took the right approach.
The voice is shot, as are the emotions. The sober Cabrera's home run could not be believed. There's just no way he took the lead like that. There's no way an aging, swing happy, stone-handed shortstop hit the biggest home run of the season. There's no way an aging, overpaid, Hugo Chavez supporter tied it immediately from what I assume was another fresh home-baked cookie by Matt Guerrier. I guess we can call it even, though Guerrier's recent performances, few as they were, are alarming.
Back and forth, forth and back, the Twins and Tigers trade wasted threats after the eighth. They even trade successful threats as pretty likable Brandon Inge doubles home a man from first, before Cuddly Jesus hits a huge lead-off triple, running home on a similarly huge single by Nick Punto. I mean Matt Tolbert. Then Nick Punto's sac-line-drive is not enough for Alexi "Head in The Game" Casilla's late tag to score. Scoreless eleventh, flat-line. Kepp Kepp throw sinker, Tigers catch up to sinker, except Gerald Laird, who miss scouting report on Kepp Kepp. Gomez has the audacity to hit a leadoff single while I'm in the rest room. Cuddyer advances him on what I swear is a foul ball. Delmon Young is inexplicably, intentionally induced into first base. Casilla provides explanation, but comes up with ANOTHER huge hit, and the crowd can finally celebrate.
I hope I didn't catch swing flu from all of the strangers' high fives. Strange women's elation tempted me to seize them for a makeout session. I'm sure I could have gotten away with it. Everyone was so happy. I'm so happy. Bring on a sweep from the Yanks, I don't care. That experience at the Metrodome tonight was something we can all cherish forever. Except for Tigers fans, who can go to hell.
You could hear a pin drop when Drank His Average silenced the chants of "Al-co-ho-lic! Clap clap clapclapclap" with his home run. He most likely imagined the ball as his wife's face. No I'm not apologizing. I liked that chant. Baker didn't pitch that badly though. A quality start, with only a double and some Domestic Abuse in one inning as his mistakes. He settled down, and gave the Twins a great effort.
There was a strange dichotomy between Gardy and Leyland's bullpen strategy. Jimmy stretch-Armstronged each of his relief pitchers, especially Fernando Rodney, who pitched 3+ innings while blowing the save and losing the game. Good for Jim, though the rest of his bullpen's incompetence left him little choice. The Twins meanwhile, cycled through their entire bullpen save Francisco Liriano (Jeff Manship was warming up in the top of the 12th). The reasonable workload for Rauch, Mahay, and (suddenly gulp) Mijares probably means we'll see them tomorrow, where they'll be needed badly (Brian "Slumping" Duensing is slated to start). I hope Gardy took the right approach.
The voice is shot, as are the emotions. The sober Cabrera's home run could not be believed. There's just no way he took the lead like that. There's no way an aging, swing happy, stone-handed shortstop hit the biggest home run of the season. There's no way an aging, overpaid, Hugo Chavez supporter tied it immediately from what I assume was another fresh home-baked cookie by Matt Guerrier. I guess we can call it even, though Guerrier's recent performances, few as they were, are alarming.
Back and forth, forth and back, the Twins and Tigers trade wasted threats after the eighth. They even trade successful threats as pretty likable Brandon Inge doubles home a man from first, before Cuddly Jesus hits a huge lead-off triple, running home on a similarly huge single by Nick Punto. I mean Matt Tolbert. Then Nick Punto's sac-line-drive is not enough for Alexi "Head in The Game" Casilla's late tag to score. Scoreless eleventh, flat-line. Kepp Kepp throw sinker, Tigers catch up to sinker, except Gerald Laird, who miss scouting report on Kepp Kepp. Gomez has the audacity to hit a leadoff single while I'm in the rest room. Cuddyer advances him on what I swear is a foul ball. Delmon Young is inexplicably, intentionally induced into first base. Casilla provides explanation, but comes up with ANOTHER huge hit, and the crowd can finally celebrate.
I hope I didn't catch swing flu from all of the strangers' high fives. Strange women's elation tempted me to seize them for a makeout session. I'm sure I could have gotten away with it. Everyone was so happy. I'm so happy. Bring on a sweep from the Yanks, I don't care. That experience at the Metrodome tonight was something we can all cherish forever. Except for Tigers fans, who can go to hell.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Two years in a row
The White Sox did all they could for the Twins, even a failed rally against Verlander in the eighth after being shut-out until that moment. Leyland didn't make the same mistake again, and put in the closer to finish things off.
The Twins did what they had to do, though yet again a Twins starter didn't make it out of the sixth inning. The bullpen was flawless though, and the Twins cruised to an easy victory, with two Twins hitting multiple homeruns. Cuddyer continued his heroics, but it was Delmon Young who hit two solo shots, and Jason Kubel with two three-run taters, providing the winning runs before the fourth inning. Everything after that was just gravy, and making sure Joe Nathan got two days off before the big game on Tuesday.
It's incredible that the Twins will play 163 games two years in a row. This time though, a coin flip didn't screw the Twins out of the home field advantage they deserve. They clobbered the Tigers in the season series, and they're going to clobber them again in a couple days.
The Twins did what they had to do, though yet again a Twins starter didn't make it out of the sixth inning. The bullpen was flawless though, and the Twins cruised to an easy victory, with two Twins hitting multiple homeruns. Cuddyer continued his heroics, but it was Delmon Young who hit two solo shots, and Jason Kubel with two three-run taters, providing the winning runs before the fourth inning. Everything after that was just gravy, and making sure Joe Nathan got two days off before the big game on Tuesday.
It's incredible that the Twins will play 163 games two years in a row. This time though, a coin flip didn't screw the Twins out of the home field advantage they deserve. They clobbered the Tigers in the season series, and they're going to clobber them again in a couple days.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Twins still COMPLETELY IN IT
The Twins have played so well the past few weeks, the lead-off double in the eighth didn't dampen my spirits. The (too) early hook from Gardenhire, Mijares' pitiful performance and Jon Rauch's inability to clean up the mess left them tied... but I still felt good about their chances. The Royals bullpen is terrible, and their manager is worse, as Santa Claus came down the Metrodome's chimney, and gave Michael Cuddyer a left-handed pitcher to hit, and hit hard. He did not miss his chance, and he gave back the lead that the Twins never should have lost. Cuddly.
I felt bad for Greinke. To come back from all those anxiety issues, dominate all year, and leave his worst outing of the month for the last day of the season. He missed more pitches than I expected him to, and once Joe Batman broke the scoring dam, they might as well have ended it right there. Of course they didn't, and Delmon Young's second bases-clearing hit of the weekend became absolutely necessary.
Nick Blackburn out-pitched the Cy Young favorite, striking out just as many batters, walking fewer, and doing it all on less pitches. You could catch swordfish with the sinker he had today. Unfortunately he stuck with it a little too much, as Jacobs keyed in on it, catching up to a good one that caught the inside corner. Sometimes, good pitches get hit. Same with the ground-rule double that got him the hook. It sunk out of the zone, but was down the middle, allowing whats-his-name to sweet-spot it to the gap. I wouldn't have pulled Bob Black (his first name is Robert? Awesome). He had everything working nicely, and only used eighty-eight pitches to that point. You want to protect a relatively young arm on three-day's rest, but who do you have to turn to? Rauch would have worked straight out. Mijares was shot from pitching the previous two games and whatever revenge Delmon Young took. Gardy protected his starter, but at the expense of throwing a younger, more fatigued arm out there. Look what happened. I felt so bad for him, hating himself in the dugout. It wasn't right.
All's well that ends well though, and the Twins have been tied. Through their own perseverance yes, but mostly through the Tigers' epic choke job. Who cares about them though. Beat them Royals, and the Metrodome lives on for at least one more game.
I felt bad for Greinke. To come back from all those anxiety issues, dominate all year, and leave his worst outing of the month for the last day of the season. He missed more pitches than I expected him to, and once Joe Batman broke the scoring dam, they might as well have ended it right there. Of course they didn't, and Delmon Young's second bases-clearing hit of the weekend became absolutely necessary.
Nick Blackburn out-pitched the Cy Young favorite, striking out just as many batters, walking fewer, and doing it all on less pitches. You could catch swordfish with the sinker he had today. Unfortunately he stuck with it a little too much, as Jacobs keyed in on it, catching up to a good one that caught the inside corner. Sometimes, good pitches get hit. Same with the ground-rule double that got him the hook. It sunk out of the zone, but was down the middle, allowing whats-his-name to sweet-spot it to the gap. I wouldn't have pulled Bob Black (his first name is Robert? Awesome). He had everything working nicely, and only used eighty-eight pitches to that point. You want to protect a relatively young arm on three-day's rest, but who do you have to turn to? Rauch would have worked straight out. Mijares was shot from pitching the previous two games and whatever revenge Delmon Young took. Gardy protected his starter, but at the expense of throwing a younger, more fatigued arm out there. Look what happened. I felt so bad for him, hating himself in the dugout. It wasn't right.
All's well that ends well though, and the Twins have been tied. Through their own perseverance yes, but mostly through the Tigers' epic choke job. Who cares about them though. Beat them Royals, and the Metrodome lives on for at least one more game.
On pitch-tipping
For those unfamiliar, Joe Mauer has been accused of tipping pitches during Tuesday's double-header. Via YouTube. By a so-called "Twins fan."
Here's a quick interview of the guy who made and posted the video. Here's the Twins' reaction.
I'm a real Twins fan, so naturally I'm buying the "it shouldn't have been that obvious" explanation that Gardenhire gives. Also I think Mauer is the kind-of guy who would admit to it if he was actually caught, and since he denies it, I'm going to believe him.
The Tigers could have easily prevented it by switching signs (MLB teams have a second set of more complicated signs for when a runner's on second). The video claims they did switch signs, but the resolution doesn't really allow for an accurate assessment of this. On the first pitch (a change-up) Mauer gives the same "signal" he does for the curveball later. Assuming Joe can tell the difference between three Tigers' signals, why wouldn't he have three different signals of his own? Additionally, Mauer touches his helmet, and THEN his face around the 2:33 mark, yet the maker of the video ignores this different signal for the same pitch. I think these "signals" are what Mauer's teammates are saying. Nervous habits, which happen to exhibit themselves every time the pitcher gets set.
The video just seems to be made with the same type of sensationalist style of "Loose Change" (a 9/11 conspiracy movie, no link for that crap):
-The "quick glance towards Mauer"... except there's no way to tell if Kubel's looking at Mauer or Verlander
-The "everyone in the game knows it" part. How, exactly, is knowledge viewable in one's body language? Does Verlander look any different than he normally does? Does Leyland look silently aware of the mind games going on between Laird, Verlander, Kubel and Mauer? Or does it just look like they're all intense, because they're playing in a very significant baseball game?
Not that pitch-tipping is cheating, or an irregular occurrence in baseball. This just isn't a case of it. The video-maker got obsessed with this notion of Joe tipping pitches, and ignored irregularities in order to support it.
Here's a quick interview of the guy who made and posted the video. Here's the Twins' reaction.
I'm a real Twins fan, so naturally I'm buying the "it shouldn't have been that obvious" explanation that Gardenhire gives. Also I think Mauer is the kind-of guy who would admit to it if he was actually caught, and since he denies it, I'm going to believe him.
The Tigers could have easily prevented it by switching signs (MLB teams have a second set of more complicated signs for when a runner's on second). The video claims they did switch signs, but the resolution doesn't really allow for an accurate assessment of this. On the first pitch (a change-up) Mauer gives the same "signal" he does for the curveball later. Assuming Joe can tell the difference between three Tigers' signals, why wouldn't he have three different signals of his own? Additionally, Mauer touches his helmet, and THEN his face around the 2:33 mark, yet the maker of the video ignores this different signal for the same pitch. I think these "signals" are what Mauer's teammates are saying. Nervous habits, which happen to exhibit themselves every time the pitcher gets set.
The video just seems to be made with the same type of sensationalist style of "Loose Change" (a 9/11 conspiracy movie, no link for that crap):
-The "quick glance towards Mauer"... except there's no way to tell if Kubel's looking at Mauer or Verlander
-The "everyone in the game knows it" part. How, exactly, is knowledge viewable in one's body language? Does Verlander look any different than he normally does? Does Leyland look silently aware of the mind games going on between Laird, Verlander, Kubel and Mauer? Or does it just look like they're all intense, because they're playing in a very significant baseball game?
Not that pitch-tipping is cheating, or an irregular occurrence in baseball. This just isn't a case of it. The video-maker got obsessed with this notion of Joe tipping pitches, and ignored irregularities in order to support it.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Twins still half in it.
Did they lose? Because it felt like lost. Baker's pitches were all over the place. He couldn't put the ball where he wanted, but luckily the Tigers couldn't either. An effectively wild day, which is good, but an effectively short day as well, which is bad. It's a miracle he made it through the fifth, his pitch count stood at seventy five after three innings. That's ridiculous. The Twins' starters pitched a total of twenty one and a third innings. That's not going to get it done. The starting pitchers' failure to go further into the games has left the bullpen depleted going into this weekend's series against the Royals. Jeff Manship will kick things off against KC, and he's going to need some long relief help. His longest start? Five innings one month ago today.
The offense recovered quite well from last night's brain freeze, with the scrubs and stars contributing equally. An explosion like this always makes you wish they hadn't saved it for a blowout, but such is baseball. The same can be said of all extracurricular activity from Marcus Thames, Jose Mijares, and Jeremy Bonderman. Don't think less of me: I ducked out to go to the gym after the bottom of the eighth, so I missed most of the fun. It's kind of surprising that Mijares had the command to graze Everett's back, but there it was. He probably heard O-Cab complaining about Thames' slide (I don't think Jose speaks English very well, lending Orlando a greater influence over him), and decided to take care of it... to a different batter. I'd have loved nothing more than to have Thames himself plunked, but Adam "Shoulderitis" Everett didn't deserve it. Bad call, Jose, which is exactly what Delmon Young thought when he suffered for it. I hope Gardy was able to heal the emotional as well as physical wounds Mijares caused. A rift in the locker room, between a US and South American player, could have larger consequences than a sore calf.
They're still alive, and tomorrow remains the biggest day of the season. The Tigers could easily lose two of three to the Sox at home, but sweeping the Royals will be tough, mostly because Zach Greinke's pitching on Saturday. Best of luck, Twins.
The offense recovered quite well from last night's brain freeze, with the scrubs and stars contributing equally. An explosion like this always makes you wish they hadn't saved it for a blowout, but such is baseball. The same can be said of all extracurricular activity from Marcus Thames, Jose Mijares, and Jeremy Bonderman. Don't think less of me: I ducked out to go to the gym after the bottom of the eighth, so I missed most of the fun. It's kind of surprising that Mijares had the command to graze Everett's back, but there it was. He probably heard O-Cab complaining about Thames' slide (I don't think Jose speaks English very well, lending Orlando a greater influence over him), and decided to take care of it... to a different batter. I'd have loved nothing more than to have Thames himself plunked, but Adam "Shoulderitis" Everett didn't deserve it. Bad call, Jose, which is exactly what Delmon Young thought when he suffered for it. I hope Gardy was able to heal the emotional as well as physical wounds Mijares caused. A rift in the locker room, between a US and South American player, could have larger consequences than a sore calf.
They're still alive, and tomorrow remains the biggest day of the season. The Tigers could easily lose two of three to the Sox at home, but sweeping the Royals will be tough, mostly because Zach Greinke's pitching on Saturday. Best of luck, Twins.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
(not) Playing the Match-ups
Ugh.
Duensing's magic has worn off, as he struggled through 4.2, giving up five. Of course the last two were not let in by him. Gardy chose to pull him for Mr. Bobby Keppel, who admittedly is better against right-handers, but when a pitcher isn't good, the match-ups don't matter. Keppel is a pitch-to-contact sinker-baller that walks his fair share of hitters, without striking out his fair share of hitters. In other words, his method of pitching (sinker, sinker, sinker) is not conducive to a bases-loaded situation. Anything can happen when a bat meets a ball, and rather than risking an error or hit, why not send in a guy who pitches righties more effectively (.215 vs .258 avg against), and can make batters miss? That's right, I'm endorsing Jesse Crain, at least to have pitched instead of Kepp Kepp. His skill-set matched the situation. Bob's did not match this or any situation.
It almost broke even in the end, as Jim Leyland failed to learn from his previous eighth inning against the Twins with Verlander on the mound. Already at 110 pitches on the night, Jim left his ace in there again, and the Twins rallied, again. Verlander lost his command, and the Twins started catching up to his fastball. It makes one wonder if the Twins could just take batting practice at his speed to adjust before the eighth inning. It was disappointing that Mr. "Chewie" Cuddyer couldn't continue his hot September, but Leyland turning over management duties to his pitcher let the Twins get close.
With much less drama, the Tigers' regained a crucial two-run cushion. Curtis Granderson is a case where the match-up makes all the difference. Grandstand bats one-seventy-eight against left-handers. He's hit two home runs against left-handers. If you ever throw a LOOGY (Lefty One Out GuY) at a batter, you throw it at Granderson. Gardy had his reasons I guess. Matty G hadn't pitched in awhile, and Mijares had already pitched in the afternoon game. Of course, those are superficial reasons. When you have a chance to keep a division-lead tying game within one run, you throw out all the stops. Mijares had warmed up in a previous inning. USE HIM. He only needs to get one guy, then Matt can clean up the rest.
Yet again though, Detroit gave back all that they took. Punto's deep line drive froze Granderson (much like a Mijares slider could have), allowing it to drop for an rbi double. The tying run was in scoring position and Denard Span came up to the plate. Unfortunately, Fernando "All But One" Rodney rarely allows the tying run, and Span's poke-fly ended the Twins' chances of a sweep.
But it did not end the season: Tomorrow Carl "Tiger Hunter" Pavano takes on E. "What's the 'E' stand for?" Bonine. Thursday is Scott "Surely Comerica Park is too big for him to give up a homer" Baker against Nate "85 mph" Robertson. Yes it's the rematch, and yes I'm banking on the Twins to do something against that bowling-ball fastball.
It's a moral victory, but of course, there are no moral victories at this point. Bonine better suck as much as he should.
Duensing's magic has worn off, as he struggled through 4.2, giving up five. Of course the last two were not let in by him. Gardy chose to pull him for Mr. Bobby Keppel, who admittedly is better against right-handers, but when a pitcher isn't good, the match-ups don't matter. Keppel is a pitch-to-contact sinker-baller that walks his fair share of hitters, without striking out his fair share of hitters. In other words, his method of pitching (sinker, sinker, sinker) is not conducive to a bases-loaded situation. Anything can happen when a bat meets a ball, and rather than risking an error or hit, why not send in a guy who pitches righties more effectively (.215 vs .258 avg against), and can make batters miss? That's right, I'm endorsing Jesse Crain, at least to have pitched instead of Kepp Kepp. His skill-set matched the situation. Bob's did not match this or any situation.
It almost broke even in the end, as Jim Leyland failed to learn from his previous eighth inning against the Twins with Verlander on the mound. Already at 110 pitches on the night, Jim left his ace in there again, and the Twins rallied, again. Verlander lost his command, and the Twins started catching up to his fastball. It makes one wonder if the Twins could just take batting practice at his speed to adjust before the eighth inning. It was disappointing that Mr. "Chewie" Cuddyer couldn't continue his hot September, but Leyland turning over management duties to his pitcher let the Twins get close.
With much less drama, the Tigers' regained a crucial two-run cushion. Curtis Granderson is a case where the match-up makes all the difference. Grandstand bats one-seventy-eight against left-handers. He's hit two home runs against left-handers. If you ever throw a LOOGY (Lefty One Out GuY) at a batter, you throw it at Granderson. Gardy had his reasons I guess. Matty G hadn't pitched in awhile, and Mijares had already pitched in the afternoon game. Of course, those are superficial reasons. When you have a chance to keep a division-lead tying game within one run, you throw out all the stops. Mijares had warmed up in a previous inning. USE HIM. He only needs to get one guy, then Matt can clean up the rest.
Yet again though, Detroit gave back all that they took. Punto's deep line drive froze Granderson (much like a Mijares slider could have), allowing it to drop for an rbi double. The tying run was in scoring position and Denard Span came up to the plate. Unfortunately, Fernando "All But One" Rodney rarely allows the tying run, and Span's poke-fly ended the Twins' chances of a sweep.
But it did not end the season: Tomorrow Carl "Tiger Hunter" Pavano takes on E. "What's the 'E' stand for?" Bonine. Thursday is Scott "Surely Comerica Park is too big for him to give up a homer" Baker against Nate "85 mph" Robertson. Yes it's the rematch, and yes I'm banking on the Twins to do something against that bowling-ball fastball.
It's a moral victory, but of course, there are no moral victories at this point. Bonine better suck as much as he should.
Wires Crossed
What's better than playoff baseball? Good playoff baseball.
This was a great game to watch. A "pitcher's duel" where neither pitcher looked entirely dominant, there were plenty of baserunners in seemingly every inning. Both Blackburn and Porcello are the types to allow hits, and lucky for both Detroit and Minnesota they got the outs they needed (both teams were a combined 3/21 with runners in scoring position). The Twins' bullpen is better on paper, and it was better on the field today.
Both offenses struggled where it counted. The Twins had some good sacrifices, but the suicide-squeeze in the top of the ninth was gut-wrenching. It was a calculated risk, with the hope to surprise, but a head-high fastball is nigh-impossible to get down. Unlucky, but I don't think it would have been too hard for Punto to intentionally push it foul, and live for another pitch. It appeared to be a huge swing in momentum, as with a lead off walk and sacrifice the Tigers had the winning run in scoring position. Yet the Twins kept to their horses, and Rauch pitched to hard contact, with Captain Jean-Luc Denard of the Starship Range running it down to preserve the tie.
The Twins tried to manufacture runs all day, rendering it ironic when Brandon Lyon's wild pitches gave them the lead in the tenth. O-Cab came through with his first hit of the game to create another threat after following through on the prior. A sacrifice-on-walk sandwich, and Delmon Young ate the leftover sacrifice for a what proved to be crucial two-run lead. Joe Nathan seemed to give up a home-run on everything in play after that Curtis Granderson pop, but they weren't, and Miguel Cabrera wasted his chance to play hero. After a long outing, Rauch probably won't be pitching tonight, but Nathan's pitch-to-contact save used only twelve pitches, few enough that he'll be able to go again tonight. Let's hope that's a good thing.
This was a great game to watch. A "pitcher's duel" where neither pitcher looked entirely dominant, there were plenty of baserunners in seemingly every inning. Both Blackburn and Porcello are the types to allow hits, and lucky for both Detroit and Minnesota they got the outs they needed (both teams were a combined 3/21 with runners in scoring position). The Twins' bullpen is better on paper, and it was better on the field today.
Both offenses struggled where it counted. The Twins had some good sacrifices, but the suicide-squeeze in the top of the ninth was gut-wrenching. It was a calculated risk, with the hope to surprise, but a head-high fastball is nigh-impossible to get down. Unlucky, but I don't think it would have been too hard for Punto to intentionally push it foul, and live for another pitch. It appeared to be a huge swing in momentum, as with a lead off walk and sacrifice the Tigers had the winning run in scoring position. Yet the Twins kept to their horses, and Rauch pitched to hard contact, with Captain Jean-Luc Denard of the Starship Range running it down to preserve the tie.
The Twins tried to manufacture runs all day, rendering it ironic when Brandon Lyon's wild pitches gave them the lead in the tenth. O-Cab came through with his first hit of the game to create another threat after following through on the prior. A sacrifice-on-walk sandwich, and Delmon Young ate the leftover sacrifice for a what proved to be crucial two-run lead. Joe Nathan seemed to give up a home-run on everything in play after that Curtis Granderson pop, but they weren't, and Miguel Cabrera wasted his chance to play hero. After a long outing, Rauch probably won't be pitching tonight, but Nathan's pitch-to-contact save used only twelve pitches, few enough that he'll be able to go again tonight. Let's hope that's a good thing.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
That was expected
Greinke's really good, Liriano is awful, and it was impressive that the bullpen even allowed the opportunity for a late inning comeback. Of course, since KC has so little opportunities for their all-star closer, they send him out for a two inning save. Saving Greinke's win is more important to the Royals than keeping their closer ready on consecutive days.
Detroit lost, so this was a missed opportunity no doubt, but the Twins were going to have to take three of four in Motown regardless. It's not the end of the world. The end of either the Twins' and Detroit's will be coming in the next four days.
Detroit lost, so this was a missed opportunity no doubt, but the Twins were going to have to take three of four in Motown regardless. It's not the end of the world. The end of either the Twins' and Detroit's will be coming in the next four days.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Grand Spanyon
Forgot to write about this yesterday, but I always prefer my domedogs with Denard. Lots of it. He took last night to erode the hazy landscape with a couple of hits, a walk, stolen base, and run scored before EXPLODING tonight with the biggest RBI, go-ahead triple in America. Granted, the Twins already should have had the lead on what looked like Cuddy's 31st homer of the year. It wasn't, and Joe Mauer, being the cautious type, made sure it wasn't caught before dashing all the way into the tag at home. Not often that Mauer costs his team a run in any way, much less by too cautious. Just not a good read by Joe. Luckily, Yuniesky Betancourt is a terrible defender, scoring the Twins' first run on a high throw, which allowed Brendan Harris to tie the game with a sac-fly. Threat over? No. A couple of dinks to load the bases later, and Mr. Spantastic cleared the bases with his tenth triple of the year. Amazingly enough, that would not be enough.
Admittedly, I ducked out before the sixth to see The Informant. It's good, go check it out. Anyway, Bakes was inconsistent, giving up back to back home runs to a couple of nobodies before settling down until the seventh, where Scott allowed a double which I assume was a pitch up, which is always the problem with him. The bullpen cleaned up well for the most part, but Spantasm's SIX RBI were really what shut the game up (get it? don't speak? no doubt?).
As everyone kept saying, this was a big game to win, bigger than usual. The Tigers won, and the Twins face Greinke tomorrow. They send out "Franchise," which will be a roller coaster. Here's hoping Ozzie Guillen's latest shameless moment inspires his team. Something tells me the real "Franchise" will not let his franchise be swept.
Admittedly, I ducked out before the sixth to see The Informant. It's good, go check it out. Anyway, Bakes was inconsistent, giving up back to back home runs to a couple of nobodies before settling down until the seventh, where Scott allowed a double which I assume was a pitch up, which is always the problem with him. The bullpen cleaned up well for the most part, but Spantasm's SIX RBI were really what shut the game up (get it? don't speak? no doubt?).
As everyone kept saying, this was a big game to win, bigger than usual. The Tigers won, and the Twins face Greinke tomorrow. They send out "Franchise," which will be a roller coaster. Here's hoping Ozzie Guillen's latest shameless moment inspires his team. Something tells me the real "Franchise" will not let his franchise be swept.
Friday, September 25, 2009
WhoaMG
Pavano continued to prove his worth by shutting down 8/9 Royals. Too bad they fielded all nine players, as Billy Butler continues to add another finger to the hand of good Kansas City players. Carl did his usual routine, allowing a few singles but limiting walks and mistakes. Except for two. 4 ER in 6 IP is not a good line, but aside from the high-caliber BB gun, the Royals didn't score a run. Carlvano kept the Twins in the game and deserved the win.
Tejada had good stuff. He struck out three and held the Twins to two hits. Yet the Twins strolled to six runs off of him. It was a rare show of patience from the Twins, as every single one of them seemed to have the plan to force Tejada to throw strikes, and he lost that ability in the fifth. I wish the Twins had that plan every night, regardless of the pitcher. Not every pitcher is as wild as Tejada, who is a reliever forced into starting duties, but as exemplified by Nick Punto's offensive turnaround, drawing walks can be a crucial skill. Bert spoke tonight of Nick's new-found ability to foul off tough pitches, forcing the pitcher into something a bit more hittable. It's a skill that could help more than a few players in the Twins' line-up (yes, even Michael Cuddyer), and if Nick Punto at an age 31 can learn it (or rediscover), Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, and the rest of the Twins can learn it too.
Of course, guys like Cuddy don't need to rely on walks, because he has the power to drive himself home instead of relying on the top of the lineup to do it. The Twins' offense, with the recent hot streaks of Punto, Tolbert, and Young, has become very balanced: able to get on base with the bat or the eye, able to turn singles into doubles on the basepaths, and able to hit homeruns. Delmon pulled the ball for a homerun for what seemed like the first time this year (can anyone confirm this? I can't find such stats). I view that as good progress. I hope his hot streak continues. Of course, drawing a walk would be nice as well.
Two back, and the Twins face "DiNardo" tomorrow. No, Trey Hillman hasn't heard of him either.
Tejada had good stuff. He struck out three and held the Twins to two hits. Yet the Twins strolled to six runs off of him. It was a rare show of patience from the Twins, as every single one of them seemed to have the plan to force Tejada to throw strikes, and he lost that ability in the fifth. I wish the Twins had that plan every night, regardless of the pitcher. Not every pitcher is as wild as Tejada, who is a reliever forced into starting duties, but as exemplified by Nick Punto's offensive turnaround, drawing walks can be a crucial skill. Bert spoke tonight of Nick's new-found ability to foul off tough pitches, forcing the pitcher into something a bit more hittable. It's a skill that could help more than a few players in the Twins' line-up (yes, even Michael Cuddyer), and if Nick Punto at an age 31 can learn it (or rediscover), Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, and the rest of the Twins can learn it too.
Of course, guys like Cuddy don't need to rely on walks, because he has the power to drive himself home instead of relying on the top of the lineup to do it. The Twins' offense, with the recent hot streaks of Punto, Tolbert, and Young, has become very balanced: able to get on base with the bat or the eye, able to turn singles into doubles on the basepaths, and able to hit homeruns. Delmon pulled the ball for a homerun for what seemed like the first time this year (can anyone confirm this? I can't find such stats). I view that as good progress. I hope his hot streak continues. Of course, drawing a walk would be nice as well.
Two back, and the Twins face "DiNardo" tomorrow. No, Trey Hillman hasn't heard of him either.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Whew
Don't you wish they were all this exciting?
Joe Nathan earned another tough save, putting all of us on the edge of our seats with repressed memories of his last blown save. Against the White Sox. Joe must have recovered his own repression, because he sandwiched Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko onto the bases around AJ "Trade Bait" Pierzynski's strikeout to give the Sox a threat. Luckily, Alexei Ramirez sucks and got himself out quite handily. To be honest though, I almost enjoy these close, tough victories and saves than the blowout wins. I hadn't felt that tightness in the back of my throat for a while. I missed it. Almost.
Duensing looked on his way to an easy win, though it could have been worse. The Sox were hitting the ball hard... right into Twins' gloves. Brian's been pitching well, but he's also been getting lucky. Luck in this case means hard hit, blind balls that can't see a piece of leather right in front of them. All pitchers give up hits, because MLB hitters are the best. The timing of those hits represents the luck of a pitcher, which is why strikeouts are so important to advanced statistics. Outs on balls put into play have the risk of the falling to the ground, strikeouts lack that quality. Strikeouts with men on base/in scoring position are even more important. Because they avoid the risk that the ball will send those men home. Duensing didn't strike many out tonight, and the hits that he's bound to give up sooner or later, he gave them up at the wrong time. Especially that home run.
But the Twins kept swinging hot bats, so Duensing never surrendered the generous lead given to him. He came close, but managed to go long enough to spare at least part of the bullpen, which was bound to be tired from the night before. Thank heaven for off days, which will give the bullpen and Denard Span time to recuperate and the Tigers time to start losing. I continue to go against my better morals in saying Jermaine Dye's two home run night might be a good thing. If he heats up, the Sox have a much better chance of knocking off the division leaders. Because Cleveland doesn't really seem up to it.
Joe Nathan earned another tough save, putting all of us on the edge of our seats with repressed memories of his last blown save. Against the White Sox. Joe must have recovered his own repression, because he sandwiched Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko onto the bases around AJ "Trade Bait" Pierzynski's strikeout to give the Sox a threat. Luckily, Alexei Ramirez sucks and got himself out quite handily. To be honest though, I almost enjoy these close, tough victories and saves than the blowout wins. I hadn't felt that tightness in the back of my throat for a while. I missed it. Almost.
Duensing looked on his way to an easy win, though it could have been worse. The Sox were hitting the ball hard... right into Twins' gloves. Brian's been pitching well, but he's also been getting lucky. Luck in this case means hard hit, blind balls that can't see a piece of leather right in front of them. All pitchers give up hits, because MLB hitters are the best. The timing of those hits represents the luck of a pitcher, which is why strikeouts are so important to advanced statistics. Outs on balls put into play have the risk of the falling to the ground, strikeouts lack that quality. Strikeouts with men on base/in scoring position are even more important. Because they avoid the risk that the ball will send those men home. Duensing didn't strike many out tonight, and the hits that he's bound to give up sooner or later, he gave them up at the wrong time. Especially that home run.
But the Twins kept swinging hot bats, so Duensing never surrendered the generous lead given to him. He came close, but managed to go long enough to spare at least part of the bullpen, which was bound to be tired from the night before. Thank heaven for off days, which will give the bullpen and Denard Span time to recuperate and the Tigers time to start losing. I continue to go against my better morals in saying Jermaine Dye's two home run night might be a good thing. If he heats up, the Sox have a much better chance of knocking off the division leaders. Because Cleveland doesn't really seem up to it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Minnesota wins 3 of 4
Jim Leyland's wisdom on the non-existence of pitching momentum held true, as Scott Baker couldn't build on Duensing and Pavano's success nor on his own personal run of effective pitching. He cruised through four innings, with an rbi double that Jason Kubel played into a triple marking Baker's only mistake. Until the fifth that is. The lead-off walk to Gerald Laird is what really hurt Scott. All the hits didn't help either. There was no doubt about any of those hits. Whatever the Tigers did to adjust, Baker was unable to respond.
I tried as hard as I could to avoid any Vikings updates, but wearing my AD jersey to the Twins game undid me, as everyone who saw it thought it best to spoil whatever surprise awaited in the DVR. You can imagine how I felt overhearing "10-7 Lions" and "Adrian Peterson fumble" from the loudmouths behind me.
The Twins batters responded as long as they could, but Nate Robertson (NATE ROBERTSON) stumped them with his 86 mph fastball. It was all they could do to scratch out a single run in separate innings. I had a feeling that Washburn being scratched would be a bad thing, and I think I was right. I can't imagine such a Cuddfire, Kubel noodle, and Spaneurysm all on the same day. I hope it doesn't happen in Chicago.
The tide turned after halftime, eerily similar to last week, as HalfDay found some daylight for the go ahead touchdown. The question still remains though: will the defense come up with those key turnovers against a quality offense? The 49ers aren't a powerhouse, but their running game exploded against the Seahawks. Maybe the Lions and Browns have underrated O-lines/RBs. I doubt it. For whatever reason, the Vikes' vaunted run defense just surrendered 129 yards rushing to THE LIONS. The Niners will be a real test for the entire team. We'll see if they're up for it.
Francisco Liriano plays the voodoo doll of the Twins season. As his (never good) fastball was crushed and the walks piled up, the Twins struggled in mediocrity. Then in August he really hit the wall, before falling off the map to the disabled list. Well he's back, just like the Twins' season. And just like their early season struggles, he gave the Tigers the breathing room to avoid the late inning heroics of the prior nights. The winning streak is over, but just as the Twins lost "momentum," they can gain it right back just as quickly.
I tried as hard as I could to avoid any Vikings updates, but wearing my AD jersey to the Twins game undid me, as everyone who saw it thought it best to spoil whatever surprise awaited in the DVR. You can imagine how I felt overhearing "10-7 Lions" and "Adrian Peterson fumble" from the loudmouths behind me.
The Twins batters responded as long as they could, but Nate Robertson (NATE ROBERTSON) stumped them with his 86 mph fastball. It was all they could do to scratch out a single run in separate innings. I had a feeling that Washburn being scratched would be a bad thing, and I think I was right. I can't imagine such a Cuddfire, Kubel noodle, and Spaneurysm all on the same day. I hope it doesn't happen in Chicago.
The tide turned after halftime, eerily similar to last week, as HalfDay found some daylight for the go ahead touchdown. The question still remains though: will the defense come up with those key turnovers against a quality offense? The 49ers aren't a powerhouse, but their running game exploded against the Seahawks. Maybe the Lions and Browns have underrated O-lines/RBs. I doubt it. For whatever reason, the Vikes' vaunted run defense just surrendered 129 yards rushing to THE LIONS. The Niners will be a real test for the entire team. We'll see if they're up for it.
Francisco Liriano plays the voodoo doll of the Twins season. As his (never good) fastball was crushed and the walks piled up, the Twins struggled in mediocrity. Then in August he really hit the wall, before falling off the map to the disabled list. Well he's back, just like the Twins' season. And just like their early season struggles, he gave the Tigers the breathing room to avoid the late inning heroics of the prior nights. The winning streak is over, but just as the Twins lost "momentum," they can gain it right back just as quickly.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Getting warmer
The XCel was kind enough to have the Twins game on a few monitors in the concourse, but that's not why you go to a hockey game. So I missed most of the exciting parts. And there were plenty after the fifth as well.
Like Jose Mijares cleaning up yet another mess. It seems to come too easy for that guy. He's been nigh-unhittable for a few weeks now. It's good that he's heating up, because let's be honest: Joe Nathan needs a break. He hasn't blown a save since the Disaster-that-shall-not-be-named, but he's allowed baserunners, a homerun, and lots of high blood pressure in saving seven straight chances. Most of the trouble has come with two outs as well. You know what that suggests? Fatigue. He lost his command after getting two quick outs, and then he hit a wall, falling behind and walking Alex Avila, before leaving a fat one for Curtis Granderson to smack into the baggie. He recovered to jam Aubrey Huff into the game-winning soft liner, but the concerns remain. His velocity is down, he's walking more batters, and it's driving us up the wall. I'm going to start balding if he goes in for a consecutive day tomorrow.
I'm just being a mizer though. Tonight was a great win, a necessary win. The Twins are stepping up and seizing the Tigers by the tail.
Like Jose Mijares cleaning up yet another mess. It seems to come too easy for that guy. He's been nigh-unhittable for a few weeks now. It's good that he's heating up, because let's be honest: Joe Nathan needs a break. He hasn't blown a save since the Disaster-that-shall-not-be-named, but he's allowed baserunners, a homerun, and lots of high blood pressure in saving seven straight chances. Most of the trouble has come with two outs as well. You know what that suggests? Fatigue. He lost his command after getting two quick outs, and then he hit a wall, falling behind and walking Alex Avila, before leaving a fat one for Curtis Granderson to smack into the baggie. He recovered to jam Aubrey Huff into the game-winning soft liner, but the concerns remain. His velocity is down, he's walking more batters, and it's driving us up the wall. I'm going to start balding if he goes in for a consecutive day tomorrow.
I'm just being a mizer though. Tonight was a great win, a necessary win. The Twins are stepping up and seizing the Tigers by the tail.
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