tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post9122399390111722448..comments2023-12-19T20:25:36.069-06:00Comments on Nick's Twins Blog: Position Analysis: Relief PitcherNick N.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00848574337121154690noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-71888040680176635742011-03-30T00:00:32.483-05:002011-03-30T00:00:32.483-05:00Hughes has been sharp this spring. The team did pa...Hughes has been sharp this spring. The team did part ways with a nice prospect for Diamond, so they must have faith in him too. To me, if Nathan pitches well the `pen will be ok.J.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13607145736975736677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-87774355162653759352011-03-29T22:36:20.251-05:002011-03-29T22:36:20.251-05:00@ Matt;
Good thing there's no limitation to p...@ Matt;<br /><br />Good thing there's no limitation to pouring beers after the 7th inning watching from home! lol<br /><br />I think the bullpen will do fine, a lot of veteran leadership and the championship aura of the twins will allow these guys to really succeed. I see these guys playing out of their minds because of expectation. Hopefully I'm right! Great analysis!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-80674786699944963342011-03-29T21:06:04.005-05:002011-03-29T21:06:04.005-05:00I don't agree that starting pitching is such a...I don't agree that starting pitching is such a position of strength on this team. Yes they have depth, but not a lot of quality. I think with Capps/Nathan the back end of the pen is fine. Mijares and Slowey will be a nice combo in the 7th/8th inning and Kyle Gibson will be in the rotation by Memorial Day which will allow Brian Duensing to move the BP where he belongs and take care of the 6th and 7th innings.<br /> My biggest concern is the middle infield. Casillas is not reliable and they have no depth behind their starters. This is going to be a problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-37759789197283973472011-03-29T12:53:01.942-05:002011-03-29T12:53:01.942-05:00What were Capps' American League stats?
One t...What were Capps' American League stats?<br /><br />One thing that remains understated in these conversations about the Twins' bullpen is that Twins starters, because they so consistently pitch with control and to contact, often go pretty deep. It's not unusual at all to see a Twins starter go 7IP. Granted, they were only in the middle of the pack last year in terms of quality starts (but that includes plenty of Blackburn's dogshit starts). <br /><br />If the Twins starters - a moderate strength of the team, most people agree - can pull off quality starts more consistently this year, I become far less concerned with the bullpen.Haplohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12528577211646493799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-83412408001035165512011-03-29T11:45:57.190-05:002011-03-29T11:45:57.190-05:00My biggest problem with the bullpen is that there&...My biggest problem with the bullpen is that there's 7 of these guys, costing us a position player who might be able to hit a little on the bench.<br /><br />The back-end looks pretty solid, assuming Nathan is ready to go. The Twins seem to think so, the numbers suggest maybe not...but if he is, Nathan, Capps, & Mijares is a nice crew to close out games. <br /><br />Perkins is probably the mop-up long man, right? The just need to figure out which RH is going to be the guy who would pitch in innings 5-7, with Hughes looking like the LH answer. If Manship is that guy, Slowey could be the long man and making Perkins completely irrelevant. I'm betting that it's going to be Slowey, though. I suspect he'll end up being the guy who gets the call when the starter wobbles through 5 innings, but has too high a pitch count to start the 6th (Frankie Liriano, are your ears burning?) and they'll try to run him for 2 innings to get to Capps/Mijares/Nathan.Joshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-6957737258261187202011-03-29T10:59:35.456-05:002011-03-29T10:59:35.456-05:00I like your "interesting to see how Gardenhir...I like your "interesting to see how Gardenhire utilizes them" line.<br /><br />Unfortunately, he doens't look to have much to utilize.<br /><br />Expect them to call some guys up and take some chances, possibly early, if the situation is real bad.<br /><br />Good thing they stop pouring beer after the 7th inning stretch!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10984504525577892812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11215059.post-45914901579684612802011-03-29T01:24:16.474-05:002011-03-29T01:24:16.474-05:00I can't remember where exactly I read this, bu...I can't remember where exactly I read this, but I recall seeing some numbers on how Slowey performs in the first couple innings of his starts, and that those numbers were fairly decent. Would that success translate into how well he does in a bullpen role or are the two situations substantially different?Trevorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17445713759520212986noreply@blogger.com