tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post777056591412337852..comments2023-12-19T20:25:36.069-06:00Comments on Nick's Twins Blog: If the Playoffs Started Today...Nick N.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-38456317094385619902010-08-20T11:03:17.297-05:002010-08-20T11:03:17.297-05:00baker can pitch mop up duty until he pulls his hea...baker can pitch mop up duty until he pulls his head out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-35803007075310660502010-08-19T11:29:32.028-05:002010-08-19T11:29:32.028-05:00I am going Pavano, Liriano, Duensing and then Slow...I am going Pavano, Liriano, Duensing and then Slowey. No question in my mind really. Pavano first because he has the best chance of going deep. <br /><br />Liriano 2nd because he has the most eletric stuff out of all the starters and can get out of jams. To the guy saying that Liriano has had three straight starts that aren't quality you need to reassess your definition of a quality start (baseballs is lacking because 6 IP and 3ER is really not all that great). His start against the Chi Sox at Cellular field didn't make six inning mark but he didn't give up any runs. I'd rather get 5 innings and some change and no ER than 6 inning and 3 ER.<br /><br />Duensing is a good example of stats meaning nothing sometimes. He gets the job done even if he gives up hits. Getting it done is all that matters and that is what he has done a well as giving decent inning counts. <br /><br />Slowey at least has stopped throwing BP unlike Baker who is afraid of giving a quality pitch with an 0-2 count. I don't trust Baker at all.thanatoschristouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438666802764113995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-30183880312459725262010-08-19T11:25:56.776-05:002010-08-19T11:25:56.776-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.thanatoschristouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438666802764113995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-39343324799371588632010-08-19T10:22:16.928-05:002010-08-19T10:22:16.928-05:00What "next round"?What "next round"?Lord Manshipnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-14340011928490923692010-08-19T10:00:13.069-05:002010-08-19T10:00:13.069-05:00Game #1: Pavano
Game #2: Liriano
Game #3: Baker
Ga...Game #1: Pavano<br />Game #2: Liriano<br />Game #3: Baker<br />Game #4: Pavano<br />Game #5: Liriano<br /><br />Why wouldn't you use Pavano and Liriano twice? Baker might be on his game and you wouldn't need that 5th game, making Liriano your Game #1 starter for the next round.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17915504387375208114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-87139582264350880342010-08-19T09:56:28.689-05:002010-08-19T09:56:28.689-05:00Ha the TB game wasnt MC's fault b/c Delmon mad...Ha the TB game wasnt MC's fault b/c Delmon made a error? Was it a 4-base error? Nope MC followed that up by giving up a rocket hit to score the run. Was that delmon's fault too? Whose fault was the terrible HR pitch on Tues or the 2 hits last nite? Give it up man MC has been bad, not just average but bad. You say he's so much better than Rauch, why b/c he throws harder? hilarious. people "claim he's worse than results indicate", how? I guess if you dont watch the games and only look @ era you might think hes great, otherwise the results have been a lot of hard hit balls, blows saves, few k's, just overall bad pitching. probably hes better than results indicate. But results are results man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-61861387358492596282010-08-19T07:47:19.416-05:002010-08-19T07:47:19.416-05:00Nick,
If by "reactionary whining" you m...Nick,<br /><br />If by "reactionary whining" you mean "looking at the uninspiring way Capps has performed and being concerned" then sure, guilty as charged. I'll react a little more by saying his outing last night was again less than impressive. 6 baserunners in 2 innings vs. the Sox. Not good.Ed Bastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-28203500057528834562010-08-18T23:45:28.190-05:002010-08-18T23:45:28.190-05:00Yes we should be concerned about capps because hes...Yes we should be concerned about capps because hes not a very good pitcher. Nathans whip was very low for a closer because he was one of the 2 best relief pitchers in baseball. Capps had a pretty high 1.3 whip for the nats and its above 1.5 with the twins which is terrible. Very hittable. <br /><br />Dick, bert and gardy all agree with you nick that capps did a great job last night allowing 4 baserunners in an inning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-57937368811340788722010-08-18T22:47:17.396-05:002010-08-18T22:47:17.396-05:00Should we be concerned about Capps? Or have the pa...Should we be concerned about Capps? Or have the past two shaky performaces against the ChiSox been a minor bump in the road? His WHIP is extremely high for a closer isn't it? I don't recall Nathan ever having a WHIP as high as Capps' is.Landonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317608633112978891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-15595811757114266192010-08-18T20:52:23.994-05:002010-08-18T20:52:23.994-05:00Liriano so much better than all the other twins pi...Liriano so much better than all the other twins pitchers and its not close at all. Thats why.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-82235228772493857642010-08-18T20:46:53.682-05:002010-08-18T20:46:53.682-05:00Who says Liriano should be a shoe-in? Tonight was ...Who says Liriano should be a shoe-in? Tonight was his third straight non quality start. He appears to be choking under the pressure.Landonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317608633112978891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-90470075732898142722010-08-18T17:10:06.222-05:002010-08-18T17:10:06.222-05:00ERA is worthless in general but quoting an 11 inni...<i>ERA is worthless in general but quoting an 11 inning era as a sign of success is deceptive and irrelevant.</i><br /><br />It's not a sign of success, it's just a sign that he hasn't failed. His only other blown save was not his fault; Delmon Young turned an out into a double against the Rays and that runner ended up scoring. Outside of that outing, he hadn't given up an earned run prior to last night. <br /><br />It's too early to label the trade a success or failure, but what I heard last night was a lot of reactionary whining. You can claim he's much worse than his results indicate (though a 3.42 career ERA would suggest he's a pretty good pitcher), but the fact of the matter is that he hasn't let many runs cross the plate.Nick N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-49279756109325528402010-08-18T16:41:02.943-05:002010-08-18T16:41:02.943-05:00"Capps has the same stuff as Crain and Guerri..."Capps has the same stuff as Crain and Guerrier? He throws harder than both of them do. " Capps fastball velocity - 93.7 crain fastball - 94.6. Capps doesnt throw harder but is his fastball is more effective. That being said Crain >>>>>> Capps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-68051865551052282372010-08-18T16:35:31.786-05:002010-08-18T16:35:31.786-05:00"How a guy who has posted a 1.80 ERA since co..."How a guy who has posted a 1.80 ERA since coming to the Twins can be viewed as a "downgrade" is beyond me." ERA is worthless in general but quoting an 11 inning era as a sign of success is deceptive and irrelevant. He gave up 3 hits, a walk and a hr last night and gave up 1 ER, I dont think 1 run is the typical result of that performance. I could quote an increase whip, increased walk rate, decreased GB rate, increase LD rate since becoming twin but all that is meaningless in such a small sample set. Just watching him pitch, if you really think hes been good for the twins youre delusional. Hes given up a lot of baserunners, and a lot of well hit balls. <br /><br />"the Twins deserve credit for acting early on his implosion, which continues." Im not arguing that the twins were wrong for trying to upgrade the bullpen but that absolutely does not mean that trading ramos for capps was a good trade. The twins overvalued capps because he was a closer(which they thought they needed), and undersold their their asset because he was blocked and having a bad season. <br /><br /> And just because capps has been better than rauch doesnt mean capps has been good either. They've both been bad, rauch has been terrible. Crain has been a lot better than capps. Guerrier has probably been better. Does that mean the trade was bad? No. I know you were pro trade nick, which was a contrarian POV and you are probably tired of hearing people whine when capps has sucked. But dont bring these worthless deceptive stats, and nonsense about rauch's struggles making it an even better trade, and have confidence in your assessment. But if you really think capps has been good you havent been watching him pitch. Dude gives up shots. Very little weak contact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-62423230926417582772010-08-18T15:47:53.321-05:002010-08-18T15:47:53.321-05:00Capps has the same stuff as Crain and Guerrier? H...Capps has the same stuff as Crain and Guerrier? He throws harder than both of them do. I think he'd be fine just sticking with his fastball. That homer last night came off a breaking ball; he and Mauer should have stuck with the heater.<br />We can beat dead horses all day long, but I'd still rather have Capps out there in October than Rauch. Power really matters in the playoffs - especially late in games - and with Capps' 95+ mph heater compared to Rauch's maximum 92 mph, I'll take Capps.<br />This is all a moot point with out good starting pitching, though.<br />Pavano <br />Liriano<br />Slowey <br />Baker/Duensing (one goes to BP, the one who's better at the time gets the start).<br />That's my rotation.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10984504525577892812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-47288728731601020532010-08-18T15:21:22.454-05:002010-08-18T15:21:22.454-05:00After Crain's wretched start, who would have t...After Crain's wretched start, who would have thought that he'd be our most reliable reliever in July and August?cy1timenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-37880290657748591262010-08-18T12:00:04.020-05:002010-08-18T12:00:04.020-05:00Baker hasn't backed up quality starts since ju...Baker hasn't backed up quality starts since june. Why would we assume he would suddenly be able to do so in the playoffs? He's never seemed to have any fire or mental fortitude to get through rough patches during games. In a playoff situation where any pitcher has to battle his ass off to get through 6or 7 innings Baker would be my odd man out to slowey. At least slowey seems to be peaking, Baker certainly is not.<br /><br />As for the Capps trade, it made the bullpen better but not so much the closer's role. I have marginally more confidence in capps than rouch. I gaurentee all of you that Capps will struggle mightily to close games out in the playoffs and most likely be a huge liability but he's the best we have so hope for the best.<br /><br />col. fletcher proutyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-82874284692199357292010-08-18T11:53:51.248-05:002010-08-18T11:53:51.248-05:00Well, if you want to play that game, Crain and Gue...Well, if you want to play that game, Crain and Guerrier looked pretty darn good last night, they have pretty much identical stuff as Capps, and wouldn't have cost us our top trade asset in the process, one who could have been used to possibly solve the Playoff Rotation Quandary cited in your post. <br /><br />Again, you say Capps is better than Rauch; I say when you compare the two as closers (too early to do this, I admit), Capps hasn't been as successful at doing his job. I'm not sure you can even argue that; 4-for-6 vs. 21-for-24. Time will tell, of course. But from what I've seen Capps inspires very little confidence.Ed Bastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-35195663137872311232010-08-18T10:53:45.866-05:002010-08-18T10:53:45.866-05:00Capps' job is to save games, not put up a dece...<i>Capps' job is to save games, not put up a decent ERA (which as you know is a near-meaningless stat for a reliever). He's had two save opportunities against playoff contending teams, and he's blown both of them. Look at all the numbers you want, but Rauch blew, what, 3 saves in 4 months?</i><br /><br />Yeah, you're right. Rauch looked much better last night.<br /><br />If Rauch's confidence is shattered to the point that he's utterly incompetent because he's being asked to fill the role that he was originally brought to this team for, he's not the type of guy I want out there for the ninth inning down the stretch.<br /><br />Capps isn't Nathan, but he's sure as hell better than Rauch.Nick N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-26289289362878767042010-08-18T10:43:20.181-05:002010-08-18T10:43:20.181-05:00Capps' job is to save games, not put up a dece...Capps' job is to save games, not put up a decent ERA (which as you know is a near-meaningless stat for a reliever). He's had two save opportunities against playoff contending teams, and he's blown both of them. Look at all the numbers you want, but Rauch blew, what, 3 saves in 4 months?Ed Bastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-17107807879562428152010-08-18T10:29:39.538-05:002010-08-18T10:29:39.538-05:00i haven't forgotten about his 2 good games in ...i haven't forgotten about his 2 good games in the past 5 outings. i also haven't forgotten that he couldn't make it out of the 4th inning last night, couldn't make it out of the 5th against the mariners, and was unimpressive in win against chicago on august 10th. chicago was hitting him hard last night. kubel and young made nice plays to save him, valencia caught a hard liner and perkins and hudson saved him by getting him out of a bases loaded jam. <br /><br />baker's biggest problem has been consistency. 3 bad starts out of 5 = inconsistent. i would say there has been a minimal improvement in his pitching, i wouldn't say he has stepped up his game.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-26434884824433750942010-08-18T10:14:15.872-05:002010-08-18T10:14:15.872-05:00how can you say baker has stepped up his game? he ...<i>how can you say baker has stepped up his game? he has 2 quality starts in his last 7 outings. look at his last 7 outings. </i><br /><br />Even including last night's game, Baker has a 3.77 ERA over his past five starts and the Twins have gone 5-0 in those games. If that's the dumbest statement I've ever made I think I'm doing pretty good.<br /><br />Boy, people have short memories. Have we forgotten that three starts ago, Baker tossed eight shutout innings against the Rays in Tampa? To me, that's more impressive than Slowey's seven no-hit innings against the A's at home this weekend.<br /><br /><i>Another concern I'd have about the playoffs is that the Capps trade appears (at least right now) to have simultaneously downgraded us at closer and destroyed the confidence of the old closer to an extent such that he can't be trusted in near any situation anymore.</i><br /><br />I'd argue that Rauch's implosion has little to do with his changed role and more to do with his mediocre control and hittability catching up with him. In my opinion, the Twins deserve credit for acting early on his implosion, which continues.<br /><br />How a guy who has posted a 1.80 ERA since coming to the Twins can be viewed as a "downgrade" is beyond me.Nick N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-15343541454175091622010-08-18T08:56:11.862-05:002010-08-18T08:56:11.862-05:00Pavano game one because he's simply earned it....Pavano game one because he's simply earned it. Gutty performances and you can expect him to pitch his butt off.<br />Liriano game two. He has the best stuff but I think we'd agree he's been the second best pitcher (by a close margin) in the starting rotation.<br />If you run Slowey out there for game three, your bullpen better be well rested; we might need to bring someone in as early as the sixth inning.<br />Baker starts game four. I know he's been roughed up and the last two starts, his biggest, have been flops. But, he has great pure stuff and if he's on, he gives you as good a chance to win as Pavano and Liriano do.<br />Duensing should be used to get tough lefties out later in games. Mijares isn't trustworthy in big spots; he tends to walk too many guys. Mahay only gives you a little bit, plus Duensing could be used in long relief to put some zeros on the board if things get out of hand for whatever reason.<br /><br />Ed, I would argue that Rauch's confidence was shot before any deal for Capps was made. I would have liked to see he and Mauer stick with the fastball last night; he had no chance to catch up, yet they went with a breaking ball and it was a tie game...Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10984504525577892812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-7079835939308999082010-08-18T08:53:40.518-05:002010-08-18T08:53:40.518-05:00how can you say baker has stepped up his game? he...how can you say baker has stepped up his game? he has 2 quality starts in his last 7 outings. look at his last 7 outings. <br /><br />i read this blog all the time, but that has to be the dumbest statement you have ever made.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-36574086139756068402010-08-18T08:37:52.707-05:002010-08-18T08:37:52.707-05:00How about a 3-man rotation of Liriano, Pavano, and...How about a 3-man rotation of Liriano, Pavano, and Cliff Lee? Ah, it's fun to joke. <br /><br />Well if we play the Yankees there's no way we're going to win the series if any combo of Slowey/Baker/Duensing has to pitch 2 games. So I'd go Pavano-Liriano-Duensing there. Good luck.<br /><br />If we luck out and play the Rays, we might be able to get away with a 4-man rotation. In which case Baker is the odd man out, because he just doesn't appear to have the mental makeup for playoff baseball. (His club gives him a 4-0 lead in the biggest series of the year and what does he do with it?...) <br /><br />Another concern I'd have about the playoffs is that the Capps trade appears (at least right now) to have simultaneously downgraded us at closer and destroyed the confidence of the old closer to an extent such that he can't be trusted in near any situation anymore.Ed Bastnoreply@blogger.com