Pavano pitched a pretty good game, though he owes at least half of his quality start to the efforts of Denard Span. Spantasm doesn't seem to make as many big plays in center, with both of his highlights coming from right field. His metrics agree, as he saves 13.9 runs above average per 150 games in left, and saves 5.2 runs below average in center. UZR needs large sample sizes to be accurate, but this is the second year in a row that Denard's been below average in center. Now if Span could teach Gomez how to hit, we'd be in business.
The other side of the ball was... frustrating for most of the game. The Twins have a few players with the right approach: work the count, foul off or don't swing at pitcher's pitches. The rest of them hack away. Gomez, Young, Cabrera, and even Cuddyer sometimes throw away at bats, and it loses games. Cuddyer actually connects sometimes, so he's forgiven. And Gomez and Young are, well, young and purportedly still learning. Cabrera is old, and I hope he never returns to Minnesota. Especially because he's become a mentor to Carlos Gomez. Gomez needs a plan at the plate, but Cabrera's seems out of date. Delmon Young has supposedly started listening to Joe Vavra, and maybe he would show it with some playing time. Who knows what's going on with Gomez now, because he struck out on an off-speed pitch a horse's tail wouldn't swing at. Something needs to change, whether it's the coach or the player. Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez need to future-proof the line up for when Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau grow too old or too frustrated to play here.
Lucky for the Twins and their fans, Chris Perez had a bad night, splitting the sweet spot on Cuddy's bat to tie the game. Unlucky for the Twins and their fans, the Tigers managed some similar heroics against the same Jays relievers that stymied the Twins' heart last week. Still up in the air is whether it's good or bad luck that Justin Morneau is gone for the season. He's always been a good soldier, but he's been hurting more than helping for awhile now, since just about the same time that his back pain started. It's another key injury to a season full of them; it's a feat that the Twins have stayed in the race for this long.
Tonight's win was great, and could be the start of a good streak. Of course, the Tigers might be starting a streak of their own.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Just as Expected
So after the first half, I'm sure there were other fans besides me that were not feeling it. Not angry or sad, just numb. All the hype about Favre, the defense, and the improved special teams had turned into trailing the Cleveland freakin' Browns without giving up an offensive touchdown.
Speaking of special teams, what was up with the opening kick? It's the kind of aggressive play that Childress hates, and he only looked like an idiot for it, because without it the Brown lumps wouldn't have scored on the opening drive, and the halftime result would have been half as dubious. It was the first of a few special teams gaffes. The return game was ok, with a big return from Darius "D-Reyne" Reynaud (say goodbye to Jaymar "Inactive" Johnson). Kicking was another story.
I don't like saying it, but Chris Kluwe isn't a good punter. Chris leg go boom, Cribbs get lot of room. Guitar Hero outkicked the coverage, and voila, touchdown. On his next punt, he kicked it away from Cribbs... about 27 yards net. Jeff Feagles of the Giants can't kick it nearly as far as Kluwe, but he's able to limit the returns using accurate directional kicking. You know, subtlety and strategy, something Kluwe lacks. He ruined a splendid effort on defense and specials coverage.
Of course, the offense did pick up after the break. Adrian "All Day with a Bleeding Arm" Peterson did the heavy lifting. He's awesome. Favre took some sacks that he might've avoided as a young man, but he held onto the ball. In fact, the Vikes did not turn over the ball, taking advantage of Brady Quinn's Cutler-esque fumble and interception. The Purple shook off their first-half jitters, and took care of business against a bad team. Let's hope they do the same next week.
*Things to Eat*
1. AD AD AD AD AD AD AD
2. Percy Harvin
3. Turnovers
*Things to Puke*
1. Chris Kluwe
2. 4.4 yds/ Brown rush
3. Sullivan got schooled by Shaun Rogers
Speaking of special teams, what was up with the opening kick? It's the kind of aggressive play that Childress hates, and he only looked like an idiot for it, because without it the Brown lumps wouldn't have scored on the opening drive, and the halftime result would have been half as dubious. It was the first of a few special teams gaffes. The return game was ok, with a big return from Darius "D-Reyne" Reynaud (say goodbye to Jaymar "Inactive" Johnson). Kicking was another story.
I don't like saying it, but Chris Kluwe isn't a good punter. Chris leg go boom, Cribbs get lot of room. Guitar Hero outkicked the coverage, and voila, touchdown. On his next punt, he kicked it away from Cribbs... about 27 yards net. Jeff Feagles of the Giants can't kick it nearly as far as Kluwe, but he's able to limit the returns using accurate directional kicking. You know, subtlety and strategy, something Kluwe lacks. He ruined a splendid effort on defense and specials coverage.
Of course, the offense did pick up after the break. Adrian "All Day with a Bleeding Arm" Peterson did the heavy lifting. He's awesome. Favre took some sacks that he might've avoided as a young man, but he held onto the ball. In fact, the Vikes did not turn over the ball, taking advantage of Brady Quinn's Cutler-esque fumble and interception. The Purple shook off their first-half jitters, and took care of business against a bad team. Let's hope they do the same next week.
*Things to Eat*
1. AD AD AD AD AD AD AD
2. Percy Harvin
3. Turnovers
*Things to Puke*
1. Chris Kluwe
2. 4.4 yds/ Brown rush
3. Sullivan got schooled by Shaun Rogers
Thoughts before Kickoff
This is going to be an interesting season, regardless of how the Vikes finish. It's an opportunity to see how AD has expanded his game, and whether the coaches trust his growth. It's an opportunity to see how so many young receivers (Rice, Harvin, Johnson, Reynaud) can make plays behind the primary veterans. It's an opportunity to see if the defense's point-prevention (13th in the NFL) can match their yard-reducing prowess (6th in the NFL). It's an opportunity to see if Childress still has any respect in his locker room. And yes, it's an opportunity to see Brett Favre continue to look strange in purple.
Brett's effect on locker room chemistry is debatable. His reported speech to the guys has helped in that regard, and I think the chemical problems stemming from Favre's signing have been overblown for the most part. Everybody seems to like Favre once they get to know him, but then again the problems were never with Favre. They were with Brad Childress. He played it coy throughout the summer, continued with the "QB competition" (which T-Jack won, makes you wonder...) but allowed Favre to finagle his way out of training camp, which I think a 39-year old needs more, physically, than younger veterans. The wounds from that seem to be bandaged, but how about Bobby Wade's release?
He's been the leader in receptions for two years, and always seemed to be the guy on third down. Wade wasn't great, but he was solid despite having a couple of younger guys who could fill his role. Not to mention that he was liked in the locker room, and by fans. So they release him, piss off the locker room, for Greg Lewis. No you've never heard of him. Apparently, he's more versatile and makes the team "better." We'll see how that works when Childress tells the team to get "fired up," and the team asks him, "like you fired Bobby?" What I'm wishing for, if a super bowl run doesn't happen? Childress fired, Leslie Frazier promoted.
Brett's effect on locker room chemistry is debatable. His reported speech to the guys has helped in that regard, and I think the chemical problems stemming from Favre's signing have been overblown for the most part. Everybody seems to like Favre once they get to know him, but then again the problems were never with Favre. They were with Brad Childress. He played it coy throughout the summer, continued with the "QB competition" (which T-Jack won, makes you wonder...) but allowed Favre to finagle his way out of training camp, which I think a 39-year old needs more, physically, than younger veterans. The wounds from that seem to be bandaged, but how about Bobby Wade's release?
He's been the leader in receptions for two years, and always seemed to be the guy on third down. Wade wasn't great, but he was solid despite having a couple of younger guys who could fill his role. Not to mention that he was liked in the locker room, and by fans. So they release him, piss off the locker room, for Greg Lewis. No you've never heard of him. Apparently, he's more versatile and makes the team "better." We'll see how that works when Childress tells the team to get "fired up," and the team asks him, "like you fired Bobby?" What I'm wishing for, if a super bowl run doesn't happen? Childress fired, Leslie Frazier promoted.
Friday, September 11, 2009
No Rubio, no problem
I guess I'm not surprised that Rubio said no. If I remember correctly, at age 19 I had a hard enough time leaving my parents' house let alone leaving the country. Of course, I didn't have the potential to make a living making no-look passes to teammates and foes alike for millions of dollars whether I stayed in Spain or mainly in the plain. Rubio never seemed interested in coming here. Big surprise. The only thing nationally interesting in Minnesota is how David Kahn screwed up. Because that's what Minnesota sports franchises do.
Longtime reader (thanks mom) already knows what I think about Johnny Flynn's smile, not to mention he looked pretty fly in summer league. He already has a reputation for toughness, and as TrueHoop writes about his performance:
"Flynn communicates to his team on every offensive possession. He choreographs, directs, goads, and encourages. When teammates need to move from the weak to the strong side for an entry pass, Flynn barks out an order -- and he's almost always right. Flynn coughed the ball up seven times on Sunday against seven assists, but his management skills are there."
That gets me excited. We'll have to see how Al responds to the rook barking out orders, but seriously, he's not in a position to direct things on the court.
So I'm not worried about the teenager from Spain. Kahn's already signed enough depth at the 1. I'm more worried about the wings.
Longtime reader (thanks mom) already knows what I think about Johnny Flynn's smile, not to mention he looked pretty fly in summer league. He already has a reputation for toughness, and as TrueHoop writes about his performance:
"Flynn communicates to his team on every offensive possession. He choreographs, directs, goads, and encourages. When teammates need to move from the weak to the strong side for an entry pass, Flynn barks out an order -- and he's almost always right. Flynn coughed the ball up seven times on Sunday against seven assists, but his management skills are there."
That gets me excited. We'll have to see how Al responds to the rook barking out orders, but seriously, he's not in a position to direct things on the court.
So I'm not worried about the teenager from Spain. Kahn's already signed enough depth at the 1. I'm more worried about the wings.
Long Time, Little Change
Sorry for the delay, I'm sure that I've lost all three of the readership in the blog's absence.
The Twins' stars/offense are still in a slump (no, one home run from Justin does not break a slump). Over their past ten games they've averaged 3.2 runs. Luckily, they've only given up 3 during that time, so the damage hasn't been too severe. The missed opportunities have though. The Tigers have been just as inconsistent as the Twins, sweeping the Rays only to get swept by the Royals.
Normally a split of a four game series is pretty good. Especially in Toronto, where the Twins have historically struggled. But to start the sentence, with so little time to make up such a hefty margin, every time the Tigers lose can't be written off as "at least they're not losing ground." That kind of talk is for mid season, not September. Of course, it's optimism that has us still talking about the Twins.
Not after the six run disaster inning on Tuesday, and not after M and M and K went 1-2-3 on SEVEN STINKING PITCHES in the eighth in a one-run game did I give up on the Twins. Even after watching Nick Blackburn's long-distance mail in, I still think they have a shot, and I'll keep paying attention. At least until Sunday.
The Twins' stars/offense are still in a slump (no, one home run from Justin does not break a slump). Over their past ten games they've averaged 3.2 runs. Luckily, they've only given up 3 during that time, so the damage hasn't been too severe. The missed opportunities have though. The Tigers have been just as inconsistent as the Twins, sweeping the Rays only to get swept by the Royals.
Normally a split of a four game series is pretty good. Especially in Toronto, where the Twins have historically struggled. But to start the sentence, with so little time to make up such a hefty margin, every time the Tigers lose can't be written off as "at least they're not losing ground." That kind of talk is for mid season, not September. Of course, it's optimism that has us still talking about the Twins.
Not after the six run disaster inning on Tuesday, and not after M and M and K went 1-2-3 on SEVEN STINKING PITCHES in the eighth in a one-run game did I give up on the Twins. Even after watching Nick Blackburn's long-distance mail in, I still think they have a shot, and I'll keep paying attention. At least until Sunday.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
All-Star Hurt
The Twins role players have been carrying them for the past couple weeks. During that time, Mauer's average has dropped more than 10 points, Morneau has two rbis, and Joe Nathan has now blown two saves, his ERA now above 2 for the first time all year. He's been visibly shaky his past few outings, but his last one on Monday gave a hint that maybe he'd found his control again. Guess not. For the first time this year, Gardy pulled Nathan in the ninth inning. Matt Guerrier, pitching for the third day in a row, gave up the game-winning hit, thanks to a short but accurate throw by Mr. Spantastic and a bobble by Marlboro Red (would another, more athletic catcher have made that play?).
The good thing to take away from this is Brian Duensing's performance. That's two starts in a row where he has struck out a batter per inning. With his stuff, he shouldn't be doing this, but he is anyway. Like today's opponent Mark Buehrle, Duensing is able to do less with more. White Sox hitters were constantly ahead or behind the ball. None of his seven strikeouts were looking. Generating swings-and-misses is a measure that advanced statistics measure pitchers by. Once he gets a few more starts, we'll see if these results are for real, but for now it's exciting to see what the D is doing. He deserved the win and then some.
Even the best of players have slumps, and Nathan has gotten out of plenty of jams in the past. Of course, he wasn't really in a jam in this situation. I'm not sure when the last time he gave up back to back homers was, but I'd bet money it was not with the Twins. Mauer came through with a double that allowed the Twins to take the lead, but Morneau has been stinking it up for most of August. Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel are doing their best to give the Twins runs, but if they're going to catch the Tigers, the M and M boys will have to start playing to their reputations. Not to mention Joe Nathan finding his command.
The good thing to take away from this is Brian Duensing's performance. That's two starts in a row where he has struck out a batter per inning. With his stuff, he shouldn't be doing this, but he is anyway. Like today's opponent Mark Buehrle, Duensing is able to do less with more. White Sox hitters were constantly ahead or behind the ball. None of his seven strikeouts were looking. Generating swings-and-misses is a measure that advanced statistics measure pitchers by. Once he gets a few more starts, we'll see if these results are for real, but for now it's exciting to see what the D is doing. He deserved the win and then some.
Even the best of players have slumps, and Nathan has gotten out of plenty of jams in the past. Of course, he wasn't really in a jam in this situation. I'm not sure when the last time he gave up back to back homers was, but I'd bet money it was not with the Twins. Mauer came through with a double that allowed the Twins to take the lead, but Morneau has been stinking it up for most of August. Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel are doing their best to give the Twins runs, but if they're going to catch the Tigers, the M and M boys will have to start playing to their reputations. Not to mention Joe Nathan finding his command.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Why'd they send him down?
Anyone else scare their sister by cursing loudly after Beckham's home run? Well me neither. It was the rare time where the Twins' setup platoon blew it. It was only their fourth blown save of the season, just as many as Joe Nathan, so they deserve some slack. Especially after both of them pitched yesterday. Gardy's bullpen decisions confuse me sometimes. Neither of them pitched a lot last night, but the amount that Ron uses these guys is frightening. He's had to, but now with Crain on the shallow end and the Rauch acquisition he doesn't. Jesse was sitting on twenty pitches, he could have feasibly pitched to another batter. Rauch could have come in earlier; could it really hurt to use a fresh setup-caliber pitcher as a setup man? Doesn't really sound like the Twins won tonight, does it?
But they did, thanks to a Brendan Harris hit, some sound baserunning by Nick Punto, a flailing Carlos Gomez, and Jose Morales. I can't pretend to know everything that separates an ok catcher from a good one. Defensively at least. With the bat though, Morales is Mike Redmond times five: better average, better power, and much younger. His lack of real power won't fly at other positions, but if he can stay behind the plate he could turn into a real good player. He already is in my book. Better than Redmond at least, but defense is something that's harder to quantify, so I may be wrong. At least we know that Morales can deliver a big hit, something Redmond cannot.
But they did, thanks to a Brendan Harris hit, some sound baserunning by Nick Punto, a flailing Carlos Gomez, and Jose Morales. I can't pretend to know everything that separates an ok catcher from a good one. Defensively at least. With the bat though, Morales is Mike Redmond times five: better average, better power, and much younger. His lack of real power won't fly at other positions, but if he can stay behind the plate he could turn into a real good player. He already is in my book. Better than Redmond at least, but defense is something that's harder to quantify, so I may be wrong. At least we know that Morales can deliver a big hit, something Redmond cannot.
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