Friday, June 27, 2008

They Just Keep Rolling

The Twins fell behind early yesterday as the Padres mounted a 3-0 lead against Scott Baker, but as has been the case for much of the past two weeks, the Minnesota offense was resilient and battled back to a lead as the Twins went on to a 4-3 victory to complete their third sweep in a row.

The Twins are on an unbelievable roll right now, one which brings back memories of that 2006 season in that the team can't seem to lose. Now, as I wrote earlier this week, this team isn't as stacked as that 2006 unit was and certainly has a ways to go before they match the magnificent 18-2 19-1 run that the '06 squad rattled off as June turned to July, but this team has been similarly dominant against AL competition and has shown the same unwillingness to lose. What's truly surprising is the absolutely fantastic starting pitching the Twins have gotten during this current stretch, and they've done without the luxury of that unbeatable trio of Johan Santana, Francisco Liriano and Brad Radke (a three-headed beast I dubbed Liriantanke), which buoyed the 2006 rotation during that amazing run. The Twins have held their opposition to four runs or less in each of the past 12 games, giving up an average of 2.4 runs per game during that span, and they've done it on the strength of guys like Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins.

The Twins are now 12-3 against National League competition this year, and 39-12 over the past three seasons. That's some pretty unbelievable domination, and with that in mind it's unfortunate that the Twins will be finishing up their interleague schedule with a series against the Brewers which kicks off at the Metrodome tonight. Here's hoping they can finish strong.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is incredible the drop off of the NL compared to the AL.

Even the Royals are dominating their National league opponents.

Anonymous said...

"18-2 run" in June-July of 2006? Come on, fellas, don't shortchange the Twins on that amazing *19-1* string they put together -- the best 20-game run in Twins history...

Nick N. said...

You're right. Sorry, my mind has just turned to mush over the course of this long and busy week.

Anonymous said...

they've done it on the strength of guys like Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins.

How is it that Hernandez and Slowey aren't on that list and Blackburn (with one start in those 12 games) is? They have been the best pitchers during that stretch. The Twins have given up 4 runs in Hernandez 2 starts and 5 runs in Slowey's three starts.

What is really encouraging about this team is that it is a lot younger than that 2006 team. In fact, by some measures, it may be the youngest team in baseball with only three regulars, Hernandez, Nathan and Cuddyer, older than 27. So its not unrealistic to see them continue to improve as the season moves along.

Anonymous said...

Back in 1991 the Twins were 19-1 as part of their 24-3 run (5/26 thru 6/25). Morris and Ericson each went 6-0 and Tapani and Anderson each went 3-1.

http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1991/VMIN01991.htm

Nick N. said...

How is it that Hernandez and Slowey aren't on that list and Blackburn (with one start in those 12 games) is? They have been the best pitchers during that stretch. The Twins have given up 4 runs in Hernandez 2 starts and 5 runs in Slowey's three starts.

I didn't mean to list those players because they've been the most integral, just because I think they are perhaps the most interesting. You've got Perkins, who barely pitched last year; Blackburn, who wasn't even really thought of as a prospect until last year; and Baker, who many were ready to give up on back in 2006 because he pitched so poorly with the Twins.

Hernandez's success during this stretch has been noteworthy, but really he's just the mediocre veteran free agent signing. And I've just never had much doubt about Slowey.

What is really encouraging about this team is that it is a lot younger than that 2006 team. In fact, by some measures, it may be the youngest team in baseball with only three regulars, Hernandez, Nathan and Cuddyer, older than 27. So its not unrealistic to see them continue to improve as the season moves along.

This is very true. I said frequently early in the season that the team's goal should just be to hang around .500 and that they had a decent chance of improving and making a run later in the year as the young and inexperienced group improved. Certainly that seems to be happening.