tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post3538685908514981359..comments2023-12-19T20:25:36.069-06:00Comments on Nick's Twins Blog: No. 163 (Again)Nick N.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-17784113514975336112010-01-16T08:46:05.811-06:002010-01-16T08:46:05.811-06:00It was very interesting for me to read the article...It was very interesting for me to read the article. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything connected to this matter. BTW, try to add some images :).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-71078931982776777632009-10-07T18:11:19.105-05:002009-10-07T18:11:19.105-05:00I couldnt stop laughing when the Twins player was ...I couldnt stop laughing when the Twins player was celebrating and poured champagne on the interviewers head...lol...good times..constant ginahttp://www.vacationrentalsad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-12215460020775678812009-10-06T15:16:01.157-05:002009-10-06T15:16:01.157-05:00If KM says the Tigers will win, then it will be so...If KM says the Tigers will win, then it will be so. He's a master of all things Tigers, including predictions.<br /><br />Nice blog Nick. First time visitor here, and I'll definitely be back--hopefully to get your breakdown after a Tigers win today, and not a preview of a Twin/Yankee series.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16006373452430055164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-31296872240471261282009-10-06T14:26:48.627-05:002009-10-06T14:26:48.627-05:00True Nick. But if you have your team in a big game...True Nick. But if you have your team in a big game, you'd rather have it facing a guy it has had success against than a guy it hasn't. <br /><br />I'll share more on the choke/no choke with you now, anyway.<br /><br />The reason I find it hard to call a complete choke is the team truly remained consistent throughout. This wasn't a squad playing .600 ball for 5 months and then .400 ball the final month. It wasn't a team with hitting success that suddenly couldn't cross home plate. <br /><br />No, this is a team that couldn't score runs all season and continued not to score runs when it counted. It was a team that was a handful of games over 500 when it ended September and it played 2 games above 500 in September. <br /><br />And it's a team most people picked to finish fourth or fifth. <br /><br />They are who we thought they were: decent, not great. If Minnesota doesn't suddenly play .800 ball and beat every team not wearing the old english D, we're not having this conversation. <br /><br />And yes, the Twins beat the White Sox and Royals when it counted, and the Tigers didn't. But it's fair to look closer. Minnesota missed Jake Peavy completely, Detroit saw him twice, once when Ozzie Guillen pushed his starting date back specifically to face the Tigers. Detroit saw Freddy Garcia twice. He had quality starts in all but one of his seven games since returning the major leagues. Minnesota missed him completely, too. <br /><br />Detroit faced the rotation of Peavy, Garcia and Danks in the final weekend of the season. Those are far from gimmes no matter what field the games are played at. And like you said, you guys are really high on Baker, a bit higher than the rest of the nation I would say. <br /><br />So sure, the Tigers didn't get it done, but you've got to say it wasn't exactly an easy row to hoe either. Had they blown it against Hochevar (who they clobbered in the only meeting this season), I think you could call it a choke.<br /><br />But I find it unrealistic to ask the Tigers do things in September they haven't done the first five months either and then call them chokers for not doing it. <br /><br />You want to say they coughed it up? Well, yeah, did, and I'm certainly mad at them for not beating the Royals when Greinke wasn't on the mound. <br /><br />But when you look at it in context, I'm happy they managed to win 86 games still.Kurthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14639100291880626067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-57109247293151248292009-10-06T13:45:28.696-05:002009-10-06T13:45:28.696-05:00Pavano really does own the Tigers. Blackburn has h...<i>Pavano really does own the Tigers. Blackburn has handled them quite well too. So we have Baker.</i><br /><br />Well, Pavano <i>owned</i> the Tigers, but he's faced them six (seven?) times this year and it showed in his last outing against them. Blackburn has been huge late in the season but he walks a thin line with his pitch-to-contact approach combined with mediocre GB rate, so he's a candidate to blow up if he's even slightly off.<br /><br />Baker has tremendous command, a fastball that he can throw right past people and good secondary stuff. His FB tendencies and elevated HR rate do scare me a bit, but generally he's not going to give up many baserunners which just makes him a safer bet than someone like Blackburn who is quite hittable. <br /><br />I realize that the Tigers lineup has had some historical success against Baker, but that doesn't mean all that much once the game has started. If Baker is locked in, he can shut that lineup down. He's been locked in quite frequently over the past five months or so.Nick N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-15282525114270670592009-10-06T13:15:27.525-05:002009-10-06T13:15:27.525-05:00Well i'll explain the thinking a bit more to y...Well i'll explain the thinking a bit more to you.<br /><br />Realistically, Manship/Liriano/Duensing were probably not options. The Twins have Pavano, Baker and Blackburn, an an extra day off, so at the worst one of those three goes on three days rest. <br /><br />Pavano really does own the Tigers. Blackburn has handled them quite well too. So we have Baker.<br /><br />Tigers lineup, with their career OPS against him:<br /><br />Granderson cf -- .811<br />Polanco 2b -- .455<br />Ordonez rf -- 1.219<br />Cabrera 1b -- .864<br />Guillen dh -- 1.133<br />Raburn lf -- never faced<br />Inge 3b -- .358<br />Laird c -- 1.100 (only 5 at bats)<br />Santiago ss -- .937 <br /><br />Meanwhile, yes, I want the ace on the mound for the Tigers. He's not available. Edwin Jackson hit the wall. The rest of the guys, uhm, no. Porcello is the second best starter Detroit has, 20 years old or not.<br /><br />Realistically, what matchup do you think works best for the Tigers?Kurthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14639100291880626067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-7183709490704126332009-10-06T12:20:16.546-05:002009-10-06T12:20:16.546-05:00Congrats on the SweetSpot props, and I like the Q&...<i>Congrats on the SweetSpot props, and I like the Q&A with KM. Any chance of making that a semi-regular feature?</i><br /><br />Thanks! I'm certainly open to doing Q&A stuff like this with bloggers for opposing teams more often. I always enjoy putting the articles together because it's interesting to get an inside viewpoint from the other side. I was somewhat surprised, for instance, that Kurt downplayed the magnitude to Detroit's collapse. I have to imagine that if I were a Tigers fan, the team's inability to take care of business over teams like the Royals and White Sox over the past few weeks would have driven me nuts.<br /><br /><i>I do say, I completely disagree about Baker.</i><br /><br />I'm with you there. If I could pick any Twins starter to pitch in this game, it would be Scott Baker. With that being said, though, I do think that Baker is somewhat underrated outside of Minnesota, mainly because his rough start has saddled him with a mediocre ERA overall.<br /><br /><i>ESPN!? This has been my favorite blog for the past three years or so and it's good to see you finally getting some accolades.</i><br /><br />Thanks a bunch, Matt!Nick N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-6748567671015351402009-10-06T12:03:36.270-05:002009-10-06T12:03:36.270-05:00ESPN!? This has been my favorite blog for the pas...ESPN!? This has been my favorite blog for the past three years or so and it's good to see you finally getting some accolades. Big game today; I have a funny feeling we won't be left wanting after this one. It's tough to see the Twins doing much against the bombers though, but that's why they play the games. Congrats again.Matt Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-29729829865294791222009-10-06T11:50:36.836-05:002009-10-06T11:50:36.836-05:00Nick, thanks for posting the Q and A. Also, congr...Nick, thanks for posting the Q and A. Also, congrats on going "big time." It's great to hear from a level headed person on the opposing squad. <br /><br />I do say, I completely disagree about Baker. He actually said that he'd rather face him than ANY of the twins other pitchers? I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. Using statistics from a handfull of games and ignoring all the rest is a great way to make an otherwise level headed analysis look homerific. Baker is our best pitcher. Porcello is not theirs. We're playing at home. I'm not saying we will definitely win, but picking the tigers today is just insane.Steven Ellingsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03023063969965767482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-88201522875457994422009-10-06T11:15:59.986-05:002009-10-06T11:15:59.986-05:00Congrats on the SweetSpot props, and I like the Q&...Congrats on the SweetSpot props, and I like the Q&A with KM. Any chance of making that a semi-regular feature?CAnoreply@blogger.com