After stumbling to a horrendous 17-37 start, the Twins were able to turn things around and win 24 of 35 games leading up to the All-Star break. Amazingly, just six weeks after standing 16.5 games out of first place, they had put themselves in position to potentially overtake first place with an extremely successful homestand to open the second half.
Unfortunately, the 12-game stretch against division foes that came to a close yesterday could not be described as extremely or even moderately successful. It can only be viewed as a bitter disappointment. Given the opportunity to gain vital ground on two AL Central frontrunners while playing at Target Field -- where they'd gone 14-4 since the start of June -- the Twins failed to take advantage, despite sporting a roster that is as close to full-strength as it's been in months.
They won only six of the 12 games and went 3-5 against the division-leading Tigers and Indians.
By avoiding total catastrophe in the homestand (which seemed possible after they dropped their first two against both Cleveland and Detroit), the Twins remain fringe contenders, but this was a costly whiff. They now sit seven games out, with three teams in front of them and a rough 10-game road trip through the AL West on deck.
At this point it seems far more plausible that the Twins will consider themselves sellers by the time July 31st rolls around than that they'll be close enough to first place to justify the expense of valuable resources for a short-term upgrade.
That's a tough dose of reality, but the Twins have no one to look at but themselves. When you get past all the excuses, there's one number that really stands out as the reason they find themselves in their current position: a 1-8 record against the Tigers.
Showing posts with label series recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label series recap. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
Oh, Canada
The Twins don't match up very well against power-hitting teams in homer-friendly stadiums. This has been the case throughout recent years, and will likely remain true as long as they continue to emphasize pitching to contact and swinging for singles.
Last year the Twins went 3-6 against the Blue Jays, and over the offseason the front office only increased its emphasis on the aforementioned dynamics, so I hardly expected the team to fare well in its season-opening series against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Still, I don't think anyone was anticipating the sort of hideous effort the Twins put forth in their first two games of the season. After a winter full of bad news, things had finally started to come together at the end of spring training for this group. Everyone had finally gotten healthy just in the nick of time, and the majority of key players had looked extremely sharp in exhibition play.
It seemed as though this team was ready to jump out of the gates and take some people by surprise. Instead, the Twins were blown out 13-3 on Friday and held to one hit in a 6-1 defeat on Saturday. They looked stunningly bad in every aspect of the game: starters failed to complete even five innings, defenders blundered repeatedly, relievers allowed deficits to grow, and hitters looked totally clueless.
The Twins salvaged the series by squeaking by in a 4-3 win yesterday, but it's tough to be encouraged by much of what we saw on opening weekend. Some thoughts:
* The short-term reaction to yesterday's game is to be relieved that the Twins escaped Toronto with a win. The long-term reaction is to be perturbed by how shaky Joe Nathan looked in closing out the victory.
Nathan entered with a two-run lead after Denard Span homered in the top of the ninth to provide some extra breathing room. That insurance run would prove crucial, as Nathan labored through his first save chance since 2009, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while throwing 31 pitches (only 15 of them strikes). Two of the outs Nathan recorded were line drives tracked down by sprinting outfielders at the warning track.
Facing the Blue Jays in Toronto in his first official outing since Tommy John surgery is certainly a tough assignment so I'm tempted to cut Nathan some slack, but what's most worrisome is the actual quality of his pitches. His fastball, which regularly sat in the mid-90s prior to surgery, topped out at 91 mph and on occasion failed to even reach 90. His breaking pitches, snappy and precise prior to surgery, registered in the low 80s and bounced before reaching home plate multiple times.
Nathan is only 12 months removed from having a ligament replaced in his elbow, and for most pitchers it takes longer than that to fully regain velocity and command. If his work in spring training and Sunday's regular-season debut are any indication, those capacities haven't returned yet for Nathan. It's not clear whether he can be effective in the closer role -- or even a late-inning relief role -- without them.
* The Twins have shown a lot of confidence in Nathan throughout his recovery process.
During the offseason, they let Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch and Brian Fuentes all walk as free agents, trusting that the departures would be largely offset by Nathan's return.
After Nathan struggled through spring training, posting a 9.72 ERA with more walks than strikeouts, the Twins continued to show confidence in him by awarding him the closer role despite Capps' almost flawless performance in Grapefruit League play.
Yesterday came Ron Gardenhire's boldest vote of confidence yet. Nathan had loaded the bases and thrown over 30 pitches in the bottom of the ninth, and the Jays had left-hander Adam Lind stepping into the box. Dusty Hughes was warm in the bullpen, ready to relieve the beleaguered closer, but Gardenhire remained in the dugout, leaving Nathan on to face Lind.
That confidence paid off, as Nathan induced a weak grounder to first to end the game, but one is left asking: should Nathan continue to pitch this way, how long will Gardy's confidence remain intact?
* In his final plate appearance yesterday, Tsuyoshi Nishioka stood with the bat on his shoulder with two strikes and watched at least two pitches from Rauch clip the strike zone. Fortunately for him, home plate umpire Paul Schrieber was apparently feeling generous and Nishioka ended up on first base with a walk rather than in the dugout with his sixth strikeout in three games.
The Japanese import has looked out of his element against major-league pitching early on. At the plate, he's been tentative, seemingly unaware that umpires at this level will call strikes on the edge of the zone. Many of the balls he put in play over the weekend came on weak contact created by defensive swings.
Regardless of all the enthusiasm created by a superficial spring training hit streak, a slow start should be the expectation for Nishioka. As with any rookie playing in the majors for the first time, he must adjust to a learning curve, and the transition is made more difficult by a new culture and -- in many ways -- a new style of playing the game.
* As one of his most avid supporters, I take no pleasure in saying that Francisco Liriano looked dreadful in his season debut on Saturday. His results weren't quite as disastrous as Carl Pavano's dud on Opening Night, but Liriano was able to work through only 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits (two homers) and five walks while striking out three. Only 44 of the southpaw's 90 pitches met the strike zone. No one is going to be blaming this one on bad luck.
I'm not terribly concerned about Liriano's shoddy command; that's not uncommon for power pitchers early in the season (see Jon Lester's debut for the Red Sox). More alarming was the lack of bite on his pitches. His fastball sat several ticks lower than we typically saw it last season and was ineffective in setting up the slider, which itself was inconsistent in location and velocity.
When he's on top of his game, Liriano makes a living on mixing mid-90s heaters with biting sliders -- overpowering pitches that often miss the zone but induce a lot of whiffs. This style could be referred to as effectively wild. When the offerings are lacking as they were on Saturday afternoon, there's nothing effective about his wildness.
* Pavano was absolutely crushed on Friday night, but here's a fact to keep in mind. In his third start last year, the veteran righty allowed seven runs on 11 hits over 3 1/3 innings against the Royals (yes, the Royals). He followed that up with four straight quality starts in which he pitched at least seven innings. Pavano is susceptible to the occasional bombing, but he should be fine going forward.
* The Twins don't match up very well against power-hitting teams in homer-friendly stadiums. Have I said that before? Well it's a bitter truth as the club now heads to New York for a four-game series against the Yankees.
With no break in sight (the Twins don't have an off day until the 11th), the back end of Gardenhire's bullpen is worn down. The team's been very vocal about protecting Nathan's arm early in the season, and he threw a lot of pitches yesterday. Meanwhile, Jose Mijares and Matt Capps have appeared in consecutive games. It will be interesting to see how the manager deploys relievers over the next couple days, especially if he faces tight late-game situations.
Last year the Twins went 3-6 against the Blue Jays, and over the offseason the front office only increased its emphasis on the aforementioned dynamics, so I hardly expected the team to fare well in its season-opening series against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Still, I don't think anyone was anticipating the sort of hideous effort the Twins put forth in their first two games of the season. After a winter full of bad news, things had finally started to come together at the end of spring training for this group. Everyone had finally gotten healthy just in the nick of time, and the majority of key players had looked extremely sharp in exhibition play.
It seemed as though this team was ready to jump out of the gates and take some people by surprise. Instead, the Twins were blown out 13-3 on Friday and held to one hit in a 6-1 defeat on Saturday. They looked stunningly bad in every aspect of the game: starters failed to complete even five innings, defenders blundered repeatedly, relievers allowed deficits to grow, and hitters looked totally clueless.
The Twins salvaged the series by squeaking by in a 4-3 win yesterday, but it's tough to be encouraged by much of what we saw on opening weekend. Some thoughts:
* The short-term reaction to yesterday's game is to be relieved that the Twins escaped Toronto with a win. The long-term reaction is to be perturbed by how shaky Joe Nathan looked in closing out the victory.
Nathan entered with a two-run lead after Denard Span homered in the top of the ninth to provide some extra breathing room. That insurance run would prove crucial, as Nathan labored through his first save chance since 2009, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while throwing 31 pitches (only 15 of them strikes). Two of the outs Nathan recorded were line drives tracked down by sprinting outfielders at the warning track.
Facing the Blue Jays in Toronto in his first official outing since Tommy John surgery is certainly a tough assignment so I'm tempted to cut Nathan some slack, but what's most worrisome is the actual quality of his pitches. His fastball, which regularly sat in the mid-90s prior to surgery, topped out at 91 mph and on occasion failed to even reach 90. His breaking pitches, snappy and precise prior to surgery, registered in the low 80s and bounced before reaching home plate multiple times.
Nathan is only 12 months removed from having a ligament replaced in his elbow, and for most pitchers it takes longer than that to fully regain velocity and command. If his work in spring training and Sunday's regular-season debut are any indication, those capacities haven't returned yet for Nathan. It's not clear whether he can be effective in the closer role -- or even a late-inning relief role -- without them.
* The Twins have shown a lot of confidence in Nathan throughout his recovery process.
During the offseason, they let Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch and Brian Fuentes all walk as free agents, trusting that the departures would be largely offset by Nathan's return.
After Nathan struggled through spring training, posting a 9.72 ERA with more walks than strikeouts, the Twins continued to show confidence in him by awarding him the closer role despite Capps' almost flawless performance in Grapefruit League play.
Yesterday came Ron Gardenhire's boldest vote of confidence yet. Nathan had loaded the bases and thrown over 30 pitches in the bottom of the ninth, and the Jays had left-hander Adam Lind stepping into the box. Dusty Hughes was warm in the bullpen, ready to relieve the beleaguered closer, but Gardenhire remained in the dugout, leaving Nathan on to face Lind.
That confidence paid off, as Nathan induced a weak grounder to first to end the game, but one is left asking: should Nathan continue to pitch this way, how long will Gardy's confidence remain intact?
* In his final plate appearance yesterday, Tsuyoshi Nishioka stood with the bat on his shoulder with two strikes and watched at least two pitches from Rauch clip the strike zone. Fortunately for him, home plate umpire Paul Schrieber was apparently feeling generous and Nishioka ended up on first base with a walk rather than in the dugout with his sixth strikeout in three games.
The Japanese import has looked out of his element against major-league pitching early on. At the plate, he's been tentative, seemingly unaware that umpires at this level will call strikes on the edge of the zone. Many of the balls he put in play over the weekend came on weak contact created by defensive swings.
Regardless of all the enthusiasm created by a superficial spring training hit streak, a slow start should be the expectation for Nishioka. As with any rookie playing in the majors for the first time, he must adjust to a learning curve, and the transition is made more difficult by a new culture and -- in many ways -- a new style of playing the game.
* As one of his most avid supporters, I take no pleasure in saying that Francisco Liriano looked dreadful in his season debut on Saturday. His results weren't quite as disastrous as Carl Pavano's dud on Opening Night, but Liriano was able to work through only 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits (two homers) and five walks while striking out three. Only 44 of the southpaw's 90 pitches met the strike zone. No one is going to be blaming this one on bad luck.
I'm not terribly concerned about Liriano's shoddy command; that's not uncommon for power pitchers early in the season (see Jon Lester's debut for the Red Sox). More alarming was the lack of bite on his pitches. His fastball sat several ticks lower than we typically saw it last season and was ineffective in setting up the slider, which itself was inconsistent in location and velocity.
When he's on top of his game, Liriano makes a living on mixing mid-90s heaters with biting sliders -- overpowering pitches that often miss the zone but induce a lot of whiffs. This style could be referred to as effectively wild. When the offerings are lacking as they were on Saturday afternoon, there's nothing effective about his wildness.
* Pavano was absolutely crushed on Friday night, but here's a fact to keep in mind. In his third start last year, the veteran righty allowed seven runs on 11 hits over 3 1/3 innings against the Royals (yes, the Royals). He followed that up with four straight quality starts in which he pitched at least seven innings. Pavano is susceptible to the occasional bombing, but he should be fine going forward.
* The Twins don't match up very well against power-hitting teams in homer-friendly stadiums. Have I said that before? Well it's a bitter truth as the club now heads to New York for a four-game series against the Yankees.
With no break in sight (the Twins don't have an off day until the 11th), the back end of Gardenhire's bullpen is worn down. The team's been very vocal about protecting Nathan's arm early in the season, and he threw a lot of pitches yesterday. Meanwhile, Jose Mijares and Matt Capps have appeared in consecutive games. It will be interesting to see how the manager deploys relievers over the next couple days, especially if he faces tight late-game situations.
Monday, October 11, 2010
E-Z Passed
Many Twins fans took exception to the above headline, which appeared on the cover of the New York Daily News prior to the ALDS. The newspaper, known for being outrageous and controversial, was condescendingly declaring the Twins to be no challenge for the Yankees, a sentiment that seemed echo throughout the Big Apple.
As it would turn out, the arrogance was well warranted. The Twins brandished home field advantage and a $100 million payroll this time around, but the result was no different from past meetings with the Yankees: complete and utter failure.
In fact, this was Minnesota's most feeble postseason effort against the Bombers yet. In 2003 and 2004, the Twins at least managed to take a game. Last year, while they were swept, the Yankees needed extra-inning heroics and help from an umpire to win Game 2.
This year, the Yankees came into Minnesota and soundly defeated the Twins in a pair of games that held little drama. When the series went back to New York, the Yankees vanquished their dejected opponents with such ease and nonchalance that the result seemed predetermined.
We can spout off all we want about the Yankees' hex over the Twins or Ron Gardenhire's ineptitude in the postseason, but ultimately what this comes down to is a complete letdown by this team's players. These guys fought so hard all season to get to the big stage, and once they got there no one could step up and carry the load.
Francisco Liriano was among the league's most dominant starting pitchers this season. He certainly looked like it over the first five innings of Game 1. Somehow things spiraled so badly that when it was all said and done, Liriano -- who held lefty hitters to a .517 OPS this season -- was chased in the sixth inning by a two-run triple off the bat of a guy who has never hit southpaws.
Carl Pavano pitched so many brilliant games this season; he just couldn't do it when they needed him most.
Brian Duensing continually amazed us all summer long, but when push came to shove in Game 3, he was made to look like a player who did not belong in the major leagues. (Duensing threw 58 pitches in that outing; the Yankees did not swing and miss at one of them.)
Jesse Crain was, by any measure, one of the league's most dominant relievers this season, even accounting for his early-season struggles. Over the final four months, his tweaked slider was a pitch that rivaled Mariano Rivera's cutter in effectiveness. Yet, with a playoff game on the line and Mark Teixeira -- himself coming off an unremarkable season and battling wrist soreness -- at the plate, Crain left that slider hanging and it cost the Twins dearly.
Joe Mauer was a stud this season, shaking off a pedestrian first half to key the offenese with some monster production after the All-Star break. He contributed three singles in the series.
Delmon Young had a breakout campaign, becoming the chief run producer in the lineup after Justin Morneau went down in early July. He drove in 112 runs during the regular season. In this series, he drove in zero runs and managed zero extra-base hits.
Jim Thome was one of the league's most feared hitters this season. He came up with one single in 10 at-bats.
Jason Kubel has homered 69 times in the past three seasons and has delivered some of the team's biggest clutch hits during that span. He went 0-for-8 in the series and is now 2-for-29 lifetime in the postseason.
None of the role players did much of anything, but it wouldn't have made a whole lot of difference. When you get those kind of performances from your core players, you're not going to win a series against a team like New York.
I think it's hard to ignore the fact that almost none of the players mentioned above was playing at a high level as the season came to an end. Team momentum might be overrated, but when almost each and every one of your key players slumps into the end of the regular season, maybe you shouldn't be so surprised that they all come out ice cold in the playoffs.
The natural reaction for many fans is to blame the manager. After all, Gardenhire has been the one common thread among all these disappointing postseason teams. Yet, I find that almost lazy. He's proven his ability to win games, of both large and small magnitude, throughout his managerial tenure. I can't find fault much with the way he prepared the team for the playoffs nor the way he managed once they got there. It almost defies belief that so many of a good team's players can simultaneously shut down at the most important point in the season, and I'm sure Gardy's more baffled than anyone.
Maybe the visceral masses are correct. Maybe Gardenhire has a mental block when it comes to the Yankees and he lets it soak into his players. Maybe he made the wrong choice in giving Pavano a few extra days rest between his final regular-season and first postseason starts. Maybe he should have let banged up starters keep playing after the team clinched to keep them sharp. Maybe these 12 straight playoff losses really are on his shoulders.
But the manager can't go out there and complete six innings for Liriano. He can't stop Crain from leaving a high slider to Teixeira. He can't make the team's No. 3 hitter and reigning MVP deliver a danged extra-base hit in the postseason for once.
It's on the players. The teams that win in the postseason do so on the foundation of lights-out pitching performances and big hits, and in this series the Twins got neither of each, just like usual.
So ends the sixth season I've covered the Twins on my blog. During that span, I've watched the team make the playoffs three times and I still haven't had the chance to write about one single postseason victory. That's hard to swallow.
I'd say this one stings the most, but I don't know if that's true. Compared to 2006 and 2009, this club's regular season came to an anticlimactic end and the ALDS sweep by the Yankees was so quick and bereft of drama or memorable moments that it's almost like it didn't happen.
I feel a little robbed. Maybe that's why this one stings the most after all.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Credit Where It's Due
It's easy to be impressed by the results of the Twins' four-game series in Tampa Bay this week. They went on the road to face arguably the best team in baseball and came away with a split. They rebounded from tough losses in the first two games of the series to gain big victories in the final two, building momentum as they travel to Cleveland and Chicago for the final two legs of their current road trip.
It's less easy to be impressed by the way they achieved those results. On Wednesday night, the Twins let a one-run lead slip away in the ninth inning, wasting a brilliant start from Scott Baker and forcing a 13-inning marathon before finally managing to pull off the victory. Today, Kevin Slowey and the bullpen crumbled late in the game as the Rays erased a 6-0 deficit before the Twins, again, were able to scratch out a late victory.
It was tough to watch the Twins allow a pair of games they'd been in complete control of slip away late. But these are the types of games that are extremely difficult to win on the road, especially against a fantastic team like the Rays, and the Twins do deserve a lot of credit for managing to finish the job in both the final two contests in this series.
They probably won't experience the good fortune of having a routine pop-up hit off a cat walk and land in the middle of the infield to score the winning run if they face the Rays again in the playoffs, but the Twins did play neck and neck throughout this series with a team that is tied for the MLB lead in victories. The Twins received gritty pitching performances in the first two games, losing on both occasions only because their offense was stymied by a very good starter, and more importantly they received dominant performances on the road from Slowey and Baker in the final two games. Those two have struggled immensely when pitching outside of Target Field this season, so for both to step up against a great team in a statement series like this speaks volumes about how far they have come and helps legitimize their recent success against weaker lineups.
In the spirit of assigning credit (and blame) where it is due, here are some other notes on the series in Tampa:
* There was plenty of head-shaking after newly acquired Matt Capps coughed up his first big save situation for his new team on Wednesday, as he came in with a 1-0 ninth-inning lead and allowed the tying run to cross the plate, but anyone who watched the game can hardly hold Capps accountable for the blown save.
Evan Longoria led off the ninth inning by hitting a fly ball to left field. It was a ball that most left fielders around the league would have caught in the air, and at worst it should have been smothered for a single, but Delmon Young awkwardly slid into it and kicked it back toward the infield, allowing Longoria to move into scoring position as the tying run with no outs. He'd eventually score.
The muffed play by Young was just one of many miscues in a game that was easily the ugliest of the season from a defensive standpoint for the Twins outfield, as he and Denard Span failed to track down numerous catchable balls. Miraculously, the Twins still only allowed one run in 13 innings -- all the more reason to praise Baker and the bullpen for their outsanding work in the game -- but Wednesday night's contest spotlighted something that has been a subtle issue for this club all year long: poor outfield defense is costing the Twins' pitchers.
With his minimal range and terrible instincts in the outfield, Young seems destined to become a designated hitter within the next few years. He probably should be one already. Keep that in mind when this premature MVP talk starts bubbling up.
* I have to admit, I have taken quite a liking to Jason Repko. His stellar play in the outfield has been a breath of fresh air in light of the issues mentioned above, and it doesn't hurt that his bat has been red-hot when he's gotten into the lineup, racking up a .319/.385/.617 hitting line with three homers and five doubles in 55 plate appearances.
I've enjoyed Repko's play so much that on Wednesday night I jokingly started using a #Repko4MVP hashtag on Twitter, though the gag seemed a little less silly yesterday when Repko was a crucial contributor in the Twins' victory.
Obviously he won't continue to hit like this, but a solid .274/.336/.433 hitting line in the minors (including .289/.357/.461 in Triple-A) suggests that there's no reason he can't keep his bat afloat, and if he's able to do that while maintaining his rangy defense in the outfield, he figures to be a useful piece for the Twins down the stretch.
Just maybe not an MVP. Yet.
* Speaking of unsustainably hot recent performances, I'd be remiss not to mention the play of Drew Butera, who has now started five consecutive games at catcher with Joe Mauer's shoulder aching. In those five games, Butera has gone 4-for-15 with a homer and a double while performing well defensively.
The "hot streak" has raised Butera's overall hitting line .205/.237/.341, which borders on palatable for a defensive specialist in the majors. However, before anyone starts getting keen on the idea of keeping Butera in the lineup more regularly even after Mauer's shoulder has healed, keep in mind that the kid has a long (LONG) history of not hitting in the minors.
Soon enough, he'll go back to being a massive liability with the bat, and -- as the first two games of this series against the Rays helped illustrate -- that's something the Twins can ill afford against contending clubs with good pitching staffs.
* J.J. Hardy has been on a tear since the All-Star break, and after going 3-for-4 in yesterday's contest he's hitting .270/.310/.398 on the season. The average MLB shortstop has hit .264/.322/.371 this year, so Hardy's production is firmly above average for his position. When accounting for his spectacular defense, Hardy has been a very good contributor for the Twins this season in spite of his wrist issues; meanwhile, while his defense in the outfield is missed, Carlos Gomez has essentially made zero strides offensively in Milwaukee. Looking like a nice trade for Bill Smith.
* Has there been a more enigmatic player than Alexi Casilla over the past few years? An apparent breakout season in 2008, when he hit .281/.333/.374 as a 23-year-old while helping the Twins mount a late charge for the AL Central crown, was followed up by an absolutely abysmal season in '09. Casilla has spent much of this season on the shelf, but he's returned to fill in at second with Orlando Hudson on the shelf and has performed admirably, using a combination of plate discipline in speed produce solid offensive numbers much like he did in '08.
His defense has also looked spectacular at times, most notably on the play that ended today's game, when Casilla ran about 20 feet to his left to track down a grounder and threw to first while twirling in mid-air to retire the speedy Carl Crawford.
During his career in Minnesota, I have seen Casilla track down some seemingly unreachable ground balls, yet UZR pegs him as a very poor second baseman, with a -9.7 rating in close to 2,000 MLB innings at the position. It strikes me that, like with his offense, Casilla's inconsistency on defense is mostly mental. The kid clearly has enough talent to be playing in the big leagues, but seemingly has a tough time staying focused. Whatever he's doing right now, hopefully he is able to keep it up until Hudson returns and beyond.
It's less easy to be impressed by the way they achieved those results. On Wednesday night, the Twins let a one-run lead slip away in the ninth inning, wasting a brilliant start from Scott Baker and forcing a 13-inning marathon before finally managing to pull off the victory. Today, Kevin Slowey and the bullpen crumbled late in the game as the Rays erased a 6-0 deficit before the Twins, again, were able to scratch out a late victory.
It was tough to watch the Twins allow a pair of games they'd been in complete control of slip away late. But these are the types of games that are extremely difficult to win on the road, especially against a fantastic team like the Rays, and the Twins do deserve a lot of credit for managing to finish the job in both the final two contests in this series.
They probably won't experience the good fortune of having a routine pop-up hit off a cat walk and land in the middle of the infield to score the winning run if they face the Rays again in the playoffs, but the Twins did play neck and neck throughout this series with a team that is tied for the MLB lead in victories. The Twins received gritty pitching performances in the first two games, losing on both occasions only because their offense was stymied by a very good starter, and more importantly they received dominant performances on the road from Slowey and Baker in the final two games. Those two have struggled immensely when pitching outside of Target Field this season, so for both to step up against a great team in a statement series like this speaks volumes about how far they have come and helps legitimize their recent success against weaker lineups.
In the spirit of assigning credit (and blame) where it is due, here are some other notes on the series in Tampa:
* There was plenty of head-shaking after newly acquired Matt Capps coughed up his first big save situation for his new team on Wednesday, as he came in with a 1-0 ninth-inning lead and allowed the tying run to cross the plate, but anyone who watched the game can hardly hold Capps accountable for the blown save.
Evan Longoria led off the ninth inning by hitting a fly ball to left field. It was a ball that most left fielders around the league would have caught in the air, and at worst it should have been smothered for a single, but Delmon Young awkwardly slid into it and kicked it back toward the infield, allowing Longoria to move into scoring position as the tying run with no outs. He'd eventually score.
The muffed play by Young was just one of many miscues in a game that was easily the ugliest of the season from a defensive standpoint for the Twins outfield, as he and Denard Span failed to track down numerous catchable balls. Miraculously, the Twins still only allowed one run in 13 innings -- all the more reason to praise Baker and the bullpen for their outsanding work in the game -- but Wednesday night's contest spotlighted something that has been a subtle issue for this club all year long: poor outfield defense is costing the Twins' pitchers.
With his minimal range and terrible instincts in the outfield, Young seems destined to become a designated hitter within the next few years. He probably should be one already. Keep that in mind when this premature MVP talk starts bubbling up.
* I have to admit, I have taken quite a liking to Jason Repko. His stellar play in the outfield has been a breath of fresh air in light of the issues mentioned above, and it doesn't hurt that his bat has been red-hot when he's gotten into the lineup, racking up a .319/.385/.617 hitting line with three homers and five doubles in 55 plate appearances.
I've enjoyed Repko's play so much that on Wednesday night I jokingly started using a #Repko4MVP hashtag on Twitter, though the gag seemed a little less silly yesterday when Repko was a crucial contributor in the Twins' victory.
Obviously he won't continue to hit like this, but a solid .274/.336/.433 hitting line in the minors (including .289/.357/.461 in Triple-A) suggests that there's no reason he can't keep his bat afloat, and if he's able to do that while maintaining his rangy defense in the outfield, he figures to be a useful piece for the Twins down the stretch.
Just maybe not an MVP. Yet.
* Speaking of unsustainably hot recent performances, I'd be remiss not to mention the play of Drew Butera, who has now started five consecutive games at catcher with Joe Mauer's shoulder aching. In those five games, Butera has gone 4-for-15 with a homer and a double while performing well defensively.
The "hot streak" has raised Butera's overall hitting line .205/.237/.341, which borders on palatable for a defensive specialist in the majors. However, before anyone starts getting keen on the idea of keeping Butera in the lineup more regularly even after Mauer's shoulder has healed, keep in mind that the kid has a long (LONG) history of not hitting in the minors.
Soon enough, he'll go back to being a massive liability with the bat, and -- as the first two games of this series against the Rays helped illustrate -- that's something the Twins can ill afford against contending clubs with good pitching staffs.
* J.J. Hardy has been on a tear since the All-Star break, and after going 3-for-4 in yesterday's contest he's hitting .270/.310/.398 on the season. The average MLB shortstop has hit .264/.322/.371 this year, so Hardy's production is firmly above average for his position. When accounting for his spectacular defense, Hardy has been a very good contributor for the Twins this season in spite of his wrist issues; meanwhile, while his defense in the outfield is missed, Carlos Gomez has essentially made zero strides offensively in Milwaukee. Looking like a nice trade for Bill Smith.
* Has there been a more enigmatic player than Alexi Casilla over the past few years? An apparent breakout season in 2008, when he hit .281/.333/.374 as a 23-year-old while helping the Twins mount a late charge for the AL Central crown, was followed up by an absolutely abysmal season in '09. Casilla has spent much of this season on the shelf, but he's returned to fill in at second with Orlando Hudson on the shelf and has performed admirably, using a combination of plate discipline in speed produce solid offensive numbers much like he did in '08.
His defense has also looked spectacular at times, most notably on the play that ended today's game, when Casilla ran about 20 feet to his left to track down a grounder and threw to first while twirling in mid-air to retire the speedy Carl Crawford.
During his career in Minnesota, I have seen Casilla track down some seemingly unreachable ground balls, yet UZR pegs him as a very poor second baseman, with a -9.7 rating in close to 2,000 MLB innings at the position. It strikes me that, like with his offense, Casilla's inconsistency on defense is mostly mental. The kid clearly has enough talent to be playing in the big leagues, but seemingly has a tough time staying focused. Whatever he's doing right now, hopefully he is able to keep it up until Hudson returns and beyond.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Best Foot Forward
The Twins came out of the All-Star break badly needing a boost. It didn't come initially. On Thursday night, the Twins returned to play at Target Field, having just learned that their best hitter would be landing on the disabled list. Their first game out of the break featured more of the same: a starter getting clobbered, questionable fundamentals and missed offensive opportunities. The Twins fell to the division-leading White Sox 8-7, dropping them a distant 4 1/2 games out of first place (and four behind the idle Tigers). There was a lot of depression floating around Twins Territory on Friday afternoon.
My, how things have changed over the weekend.
The Twins took the final three games in their series against the Sox, wrapping things up with a thrilling ninth-inning comeback against Bobby Jenks on Sunday. Their two top starting pitchers dominated, and while Nick Blackburn struggled once again yesterday, his outing may finally make clear in the eyes of management something that has been clear in the minds of many for weeks: he needs to be removed from the rotation.
I wrote last Thursday about J.J. Hardy, suggesting that now that he's finally put his wrist issues behind him he could be primed for a big second half. I concluded the post by noting that the Twins "need a number of players to step up in the second half, and Hardy is at the top of that list." In the Twins' four-game series against the Sox, Hardy went 5-for-11 with two doubles and two RBI. Joe Mauer, whose name is obviously at the top of that aforementioned list right along with Hardy, also had an excellent series, finishing 7-for-18 with three doubles and five RBI.
The Twins, in general, did some impressive damage with the bats, running up a total of 24 runs on 52 hits over four games against a pitching staff that has been exceedingly hot.
Now, they've cut their deficit in the AL Central down to 1 1/2 games while leap-frogging the Tigers, who managed to lose four games over the weekend in Cleveland. Things get no easier for Detroit, who are looking at their schedule and seeing the following eight series lined up: Rangers, Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox, Angels, Rays, White Sox, Yankees. Meanwhile, the Twins are coming upon a much-needed soft spot in their schedule where they'll face the Indians, Royals, Orioles and Mariners in successive series.
My, how things have changed over the weekend.
The Twins took the final three games in their series against the Sox, wrapping things up with a thrilling ninth-inning comeback against Bobby Jenks on Sunday. Their two top starting pitchers dominated, and while Nick Blackburn struggled once again yesterday, his outing may finally make clear in the eyes of management something that has been clear in the minds of many for weeks: he needs to be removed from the rotation.
I wrote last Thursday about J.J. Hardy, suggesting that now that he's finally put his wrist issues behind him he could be primed for a big second half. I concluded the post by noting that the Twins "need a number of players to step up in the second half, and Hardy is at the top of that list." In the Twins' four-game series against the Sox, Hardy went 5-for-11 with two doubles and two RBI. Joe Mauer, whose name is obviously at the top of that aforementioned list right along with Hardy, also had an excellent series, finishing 7-for-18 with three doubles and five RBI.
The Twins, in general, did some impressive damage with the bats, running up a total of 24 runs on 52 hits over four games against a pitching staff that has been exceedingly hot.
Now, they've cut their deficit in the AL Central down to 1 1/2 games while leap-frogging the Tigers, who managed to lose four games over the weekend in Cleveland. Things get no easier for Detroit, who are looking at their schedule and seeing the following eight series lined up: Rangers, Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox, Angels, Rays, White Sox, Yankees. Meanwhile, the Twins are coming upon a much-needed soft spot in their schedule where they'll face the Indians, Royals, Orioles and Mariners in successive series.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Twins Still Unproven
Life has kept me away from they keyboard for much of the past week, so unfortunately I've been unable to comment much on the Twins' most recent home series against the Rays. I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
Without question, the weekend's four-game set with the Rays at Target Field (of which the Twins lost three) was the most disheartening of the season. We saw late leads slip away in soul-crushing fashion. We saw a typically reliable bullpen cough up nine earned runs and 19 hits over 12 1/3 innings. We saw a magnificent outing from Francisco Liriano go to absolute waste.
In the grand scheme of things, this series doesn't tell us much. The Twins are still just a a half-game out of first place in the division, the offense looks fine with J.J. Hardy back and hitting eighth/ninth, and they got three strong starting performances over the four-game set. The bullpen had a rough weekend, but they've been excellent for most of the season and there's no reason to think this hiccup will become a prevalent issue.
Nevertheless, there is a perception that the Twins aren't a legitimate contender capable of hanging with the well-built AL East clubs. They're doing nothing to dispel that notion. The Twins have a .500 record or worse against every club from the East this year (including the lowly Orioles) and this weekend they were thwarted in their own stadium by a Rays team that simply seemed to want it more.
Whether an actual energy lull or just another symptom of a lingering team-wide slump, this most recent series has once again shown the Twins incapable of grinding out big victories against quality clubs. There's no doubt that this roster is talented enough to make the playoffs and succeed once there, but too many players are underperforming right now and the team is failing to execute in too many big spots.
I imagine the Twins players are anxiously awaiting the All-Star break, which will afford them an opportunity to briefly recharge and start fresh, in an effort to break out of a stretch that has seen them fail to play consistently good ball for well over a month now. (They haven't won more than two consecutive games since the end of May.)
Unfortunately, the Twins will have to go through Toronto and Detroit before the break arrives. At this rate, they'll be lucky to make it in one piece.
TwinsCentric will be hosting another gathering at Park Tavern tomorrow night, where folks can get together over great specials and watch the Twins face off against the Jays. There will be all sorts of cool stuff going on at the event; Tim Laudner will be there from 5-6 to chat and sign autographs, and ESPN1500 will be hosting their pre-game show there. We'll also be releasing the latest TwinsCentric publication, which I'm pretty excited about.
Without question, the weekend's four-game set with the Rays at Target Field (of which the Twins lost three) was the most disheartening of the season. We saw late leads slip away in soul-crushing fashion. We saw a typically reliable bullpen cough up nine earned runs and 19 hits over 12 1/3 innings. We saw a magnificent outing from Francisco Liriano go to absolute waste.
In the grand scheme of things, this series doesn't tell us much. The Twins are still just a a half-game out of first place in the division, the offense looks fine with J.J. Hardy back and hitting eighth/ninth, and they got three strong starting performances over the four-game set. The bullpen had a rough weekend, but they've been excellent for most of the season and there's no reason to think this hiccup will become a prevalent issue.
Nevertheless, there is a perception that the Twins aren't a legitimate contender capable of hanging with the well-built AL East clubs. They're doing nothing to dispel that notion. The Twins have a .500 record or worse against every club from the East this year (including the lowly Orioles) and this weekend they were thwarted in their own stadium by a Rays team that simply seemed to want it more.
Whether an actual energy lull or just another symptom of a lingering team-wide slump, this most recent series has once again shown the Twins incapable of grinding out big victories against quality clubs. There's no doubt that this roster is talented enough to make the playoffs and succeed once there, but too many players are underperforming right now and the team is failing to execute in too many big spots.
I imagine the Twins players are anxiously awaiting the All-Star break, which will afford them an opportunity to briefly recharge and start fresh, in an effort to break out of a stretch that has seen them fail to play consistently good ball for well over a month now. (They haven't won more than two consecutive games since the end of May.)
Unfortunately, the Twins will have to go through Toronto and Detroit before the break arrives. At this rate, they'll be lucky to make it in one piece.
----
TwinsCentric will be hosting another gathering at Park Tavern tomorrow night, where folks can get together over great specials and watch the Twins face off against the Jays. There will be all sorts of cool stuff going on at the event; Tim Laudner will be there from 5-6 to chat and sign autographs, and ESPN1500 will be hosting their pre-game show there. We'll also be releasing the latest TwinsCentric publication, which I'm pretty excited about.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Still In It
I was off the grid this weekend while visiting a friend in San Diego, but returned home (very late) last night to find that the Twins had taken two of three from the Tigers this weekend to move within three games of the AL Central lead. That's obviously a surmountable deficit, but the Twins still have a very challenging path ahead of them as they now hit the road for six games against the White Sox and Royals before traveling to Detroit for what could very well be a decisive four-game series.
I still don't like the Twins chances very much, but they're certainly at the very least we seem headed toward a final few weeks of meaningful baseball, and that's about all I can ask for considering that the Twins looked ready to drop right out of the race just a couple weeks ago.
I'd love to get into greater depth, particularly considering how sparse the posting has been around here as of late, but I'm exhausted after the long weekend. If you're interested, feel free to check out my Daily Dose column at Rotoworld, where I filled in for Aaron Gleeman today.
I still don't like the Twins chances very much, but they're certainly at the very least we seem headed toward a final few weeks of meaningful baseball, and that's about all I can ask for considering that the Twins looked ready to drop right out of the race just a couple weeks ago.
I'd love to get into greater depth, particularly considering how sparse the posting has been around here as of late, but I'm exhausted after the long weekend. If you're interested, feel free to check out my Daily Dose column at Rotoworld, where I filled in for Aaron Gleeman today.
Monday, August 03, 2009
A Steep Hill to Climb
When I left town on Thursday, the Twins were riding a four-game winning streak and were involved in numerous trade rumors. There was a prevailing sense of optimism amongst fans; the Twins were closing the gap in the division and it seemed that with a wise move or two, Bill Smith might be able to give them the boost they'd need to overcome the Tigers and White Sox.
Four days later, things are very different indeed. The Twins' sole deadline acquisition came in the form of Orlando Cabrera, and the team responded to the trade by being absolutely thumped in a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels.
I'll address the Cabrera trade first. If you've read my post from last October about the possibility of signing Cabrera as a free agent or last Thursday's post that addressed the notion of trading for him at the deadline, you can probably guess that I'm not overly enthused about this trade. Cabrera isn't much of a hitter and it seems clear that his once-strong defensive skills have deteriorated as he's aged into his mid-30s. While Cabrera is a competent offensive player who is certainly capable of providing better production than Nick Punto, his playing time is likely to come more at the expense of Brendan Harris, who is a pretty similar hitter. All in all, Cabrera is likely to provide a marginal upgrade at best.
With that being said, I don't mind the move. My opposition to signing Cabrera during the offseason stemmed from the notion that he'd be able to land an expensive multi-year deal (which he didn't). My opposition to trading for him this past week stemmed from the notion that he'd command a valuable return -- after all, there were rumors that the A's were seeking Danny Valencia in return for their shortstop. Ultimately, Cabrera cost the Twins Tyler Ladendorf, a shortstop acquired in the second round of last year's draft. And while Ladendorf is an intriguing prospect whose absence cripples the organization's already thin minor-league middle-infield depth, he's a long ways away from contributing at the major-league level, and has enough flaws that there's a pretty good chance he never will.
Also, while Cabrera might be essentially equal to Harris from both an offensive and defensive standpoint at this juncture, Ron Gardenhire will actually play Cabrera. So he is an upgrade, even if the Twins have an in-house option who could seemingly make the same impact. Cabrera's arrival likely signals the end of the disastrous Punto/Casilla middle-infield combination that had been written into the starting lineup far too often as of late, and also slides Punto over to a position where I feel he is much stronger defensively. So, while I don't feel that Cabrera is a particularly good player at this stage, the domino effect from his acquisition should make the Twins a better club. But, as I said, only marginally so.
And unfortunately, the areas that Cabrera is impacting aren't the ones that were likely to prevent the Twins from being able to make the playoffs. As I suggested in Thursday's post, pitching is the area that has become a cardinal issue for the Twins, and that was made abundantly clear during this weekend's series in which the Twins allowed 35 runs over three games in a trio of blowout losses. At this point, it seems that no one other than Scott Baker can be remotely relied upon for a Quality Start. The bullpen continues to struggle with only three trustworthy late-inning arms, and Smith's inability to add an extra reliever with eighth-inning ability will likely force Gardenhire to once again lean too heavily on Matt Guerrier, with potentially terrible consequences.
I'm fine with Smith's addition of Cabrera, given the low cost and the fairly good chance that the move appeased some unrest within the clubhouse over this front office's lack of action. Yet, Cabrera's addition isn't likely to have a particularly large impact; certainly not as large as the additions made by the Twins' two competitors in this division. For better or for worse, the Twins will probably go forward with the pitching options that they currently have in their organization, and right now that's looking like a pretty glum path to tread.
If Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins can all get back on track to some degree while Jesse Crain emerges as a legitimate consistent late-innings option and at least one other reliever -- either on the current roster or in the minors -- can step in and make some key outs, the Twins might have a chance at taking this division and making a splash in the postseason. Short of all those things occurring, I really don't think they have much of a chance. I'm certainly not the type to declare a season over with two months remaining, but it's tough to be optimistic about the Twins' chances right now. Even with Orlando Cabrera.
Four days later, things are very different indeed. The Twins' sole deadline acquisition came in the form of Orlando Cabrera, and the team responded to the trade by being absolutely thumped in a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels.
I'll address the Cabrera trade first. If you've read my post from last October about the possibility of signing Cabrera as a free agent or last Thursday's post that addressed the notion of trading for him at the deadline, you can probably guess that I'm not overly enthused about this trade. Cabrera isn't much of a hitter and it seems clear that his once-strong defensive skills have deteriorated as he's aged into his mid-30s. While Cabrera is a competent offensive player who is certainly capable of providing better production than Nick Punto, his playing time is likely to come more at the expense of Brendan Harris, who is a pretty similar hitter. All in all, Cabrera is likely to provide a marginal upgrade at best.
With that being said, I don't mind the move. My opposition to signing Cabrera during the offseason stemmed from the notion that he'd be able to land an expensive multi-year deal (which he didn't). My opposition to trading for him this past week stemmed from the notion that he'd command a valuable return -- after all, there were rumors that the A's were seeking Danny Valencia in return for their shortstop. Ultimately, Cabrera cost the Twins Tyler Ladendorf, a shortstop acquired in the second round of last year's draft. And while Ladendorf is an intriguing prospect whose absence cripples the organization's already thin minor-league middle-infield depth, he's a long ways away from contributing at the major-league level, and has enough flaws that there's a pretty good chance he never will.
Also, while Cabrera might be essentially equal to Harris from both an offensive and defensive standpoint at this juncture, Ron Gardenhire will actually play Cabrera. So he is an upgrade, even if the Twins have an in-house option who could seemingly make the same impact. Cabrera's arrival likely signals the end of the disastrous Punto/Casilla middle-infield combination that had been written into the starting lineup far too often as of late, and also slides Punto over to a position where I feel he is much stronger defensively. So, while I don't feel that Cabrera is a particularly good player at this stage, the domino effect from his acquisition should make the Twins a better club. But, as I said, only marginally so.
And unfortunately, the areas that Cabrera is impacting aren't the ones that were likely to prevent the Twins from being able to make the playoffs. As I suggested in Thursday's post, pitching is the area that has become a cardinal issue for the Twins, and that was made abundantly clear during this weekend's series in which the Twins allowed 35 runs over three games in a trio of blowout losses. At this point, it seems that no one other than Scott Baker can be remotely relied upon for a Quality Start. The bullpen continues to struggle with only three trustworthy late-inning arms, and Smith's inability to add an extra reliever with eighth-inning ability will likely force Gardenhire to once again lean too heavily on Matt Guerrier, with potentially terrible consequences.
I'm fine with Smith's addition of Cabrera, given the low cost and the fairly good chance that the move appeased some unrest within the clubhouse over this front office's lack of action. Yet, Cabrera's addition isn't likely to have a particularly large impact; certainly not as large as the additions made by the Twins' two competitors in this division. For better or for worse, the Twins will probably go forward with the pitching options that they currently have in their organization, and right now that's looking like a pretty glum path to tread.
If Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins can all get back on track to some degree while Jesse Crain emerges as a legitimate consistent late-innings option and at least one other reliever -- either on the current roster or in the minors -- can step in and make some key outs, the Twins might have a chance at taking this division and making a splash in the postseason. Short of all those things occurring, I really don't think they have much of a chance. I'm certainly not the type to declare a season over with two months remaining, but it's tough to be optimistic about the Twins' chances right now. Even with Orlando Cabrera.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Holes Without Plugs
The Yankees completed their domination of the Twins yesterday, notching a 6-4 victory to complete a seven-game season sweep of the hometown nine. Most of the games played between these two teams have been close, so I don't know if I'm willing to buy into the notion that the Twins were cowering with fear, but it did seem clear over the span of these seven games that the Yankees were the better team and that the Twins have some clear weaknesses that any good team can exploit.
Somewhat surprisingly, one of those weaknesses was not the bullpen, and has not been for some time. If you take away Brian Duensing's dud performance in long relief during the first game of the series, Twins relievers allowed only one run in 11 1/3 innings this weekend. In general, the unit has been performing better than expected. So that's good.
What's not good is the state of the starting rotation. Francisco Liriano became the latest to be victimized by the Yankees yesterday, as he surrendered six runs (only three earned) over 5 1/3 innings before being forced out at 105 pitches. The Twins' rotation has been wildly inconsistent this year, and for the most part these starters have looked overmatched against quality lineups. Out of the five starters, only Nick Blackburn has really met or exceeded expectations (one could make an argument for Glen Perkins, but he's been hurt quite a bit). The rotation was expected by many to be this team's biggest strength and the one factor that would set them apart from their divisional rivals this season; instead, it has been a massive disappointment.
While the starters have struggled, it's not an area the Twins are likely to seek outside help as the deadline nears. The Twins are going to have to ride these guys down the stretch and hope that Liriano, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey can find some consistency and start stringing together quality starts. There's no star pitcher in the minors ready to step in and dominate, and looking for outside help would be costly and somewhat illogical.
One other glaring weakness that was on display this weekend can and should be addressed, though, and that's the No. 2 spot in this lineup. Brendan Harris went 1-for-8 in the spot on Friday and Saturday, and so yesterday Ron Gardenhire astonishingly elected to stick Matt Tolbert and his .183/.273/.230 hitting line in there. Tolbert unsurprisingly did not collect a hit in the spot.
Twins hitters in the two-hole not named Joe Mauer have hit .190/.235/.237 this season. That type of absolutely despicable production decreases the value of Denard Span's great on-base percentage and limits what the 3-5 hitters are able to do, and the fact that Gardenhire's answer to the issue is tossing Tolbert into the spot is incredibly frustrating. Something needs to be done.
Of course, moving Mauer back into the No. 2 spot would be a logical solution, but moving pieces around just creates more holes at the bottom of the lineup. Simply put, the Twins need to find a competent hitter to fill at least one of their middle infield positions. Whether that comes in the form of a prospect like Steve Tolleson or Luke Hughes, or in the form of an external acquisition, it needs to happen. This is becoming intolerable.
Now back at .500, the Twins will try to avoid limping into the All-Star break by putting something together this weekend against the White Sox.
Somewhat surprisingly, one of those weaknesses was not the bullpen, and has not been for some time. If you take away Brian Duensing's dud performance in long relief during the first game of the series, Twins relievers allowed only one run in 11 1/3 innings this weekend. In general, the unit has been performing better than expected. So that's good.
What's not good is the state of the starting rotation. Francisco Liriano became the latest to be victimized by the Yankees yesterday, as he surrendered six runs (only three earned) over 5 1/3 innings before being forced out at 105 pitches. The Twins' rotation has been wildly inconsistent this year, and for the most part these starters have looked overmatched against quality lineups. Out of the five starters, only Nick Blackburn has really met or exceeded expectations (one could make an argument for Glen Perkins, but he's been hurt quite a bit). The rotation was expected by many to be this team's biggest strength and the one factor that would set them apart from their divisional rivals this season; instead, it has been a massive disappointment.
While the starters have struggled, it's not an area the Twins are likely to seek outside help as the deadline nears. The Twins are going to have to ride these guys down the stretch and hope that Liriano, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey can find some consistency and start stringing together quality starts. There's no star pitcher in the minors ready to step in and dominate, and looking for outside help would be costly and somewhat illogical.
One other glaring weakness that was on display this weekend can and should be addressed, though, and that's the No. 2 spot in this lineup. Brendan Harris went 1-for-8 in the spot on Friday and Saturday, and so yesterday Ron Gardenhire astonishingly elected to stick Matt Tolbert and his .183/.273/.230 hitting line in there. Tolbert unsurprisingly did not collect a hit in the spot.
Twins hitters in the two-hole not named Joe Mauer have hit .190/.235/.237 this season. That type of absolutely despicable production decreases the value of Denard Span's great on-base percentage and limits what the 3-5 hitters are able to do, and the fact that Gardenhire's answer to the issue is tossing Tolbert into the spot is incredibly frustrating. Something needs to be done.
Of course, moving Mauer back into the No. 2 spot would be a logical solution, but moving pieces around just creates more holes at the bottom of the lineup. Simply put, the Twins need to find a competent hitter to fill at least one of their middle infield positions. Whether that comes in the form of a prospect like Steve Tolleson or Luke Hughes, or in the form of an external acquisition, it needs to happen. This is becoming intolerable.
Now back at .500, the Twins will try to avoid limping into the All-Star break by putting something together this weekend against the White Sox.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Streak Busted
The Twins' winning streak in games I've attended has unfortunately come to a screeching halt, as the Twins lost both games I attended on my road trip. On Saturday, the Twins fell to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium and on Monday night they lost to the Royals. Neither game could aptly be described as remotely good from the perspective of a Twins fan, as the Twins rarely led and managed only two run-scoring hits in the 18 innings I watched. Nevertheless, both stadiums were beautiful (the renovations to Kauffman are downright awesome -- what a scoreboard!) and the trip was a lot of fun. I also can't feel too bad about the losses since the Twins have won every other game in the past two series and can claim a fourth straight road series victory with a win over the Royals tonight.
Alas, I'm exhausted from all the time I've spent on the road over the past few days so I need to call it an early night. I'll have something more substantive tomorrow.
Alas, I'm exhausted from all the time I've spent on the road over the past few days so I need to call it an early night. I'll have something more substantive tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Lost Weekend
I spent the past weekend at a friend's cabin, disconnected from the world of Internet and cable TV, so I wasn't really able to follow any baseball. As it turns out, that wasn't such a bad thing. The Twins lost a home series against a mediocre club while seeing some frustrating bullpen issues reemerge, Justin Morneau sat out his first game in two years and Joe Mauer went 2-for-12 to lower his average to a paltry .407 (though he did add another home run, setting a new career high).
The Twins have had such a tough time on the road that winning games at home has become absolutely crucial. As such, a 3-3 homestand against the Pirates and Astros must be viewed as a rather substantial disappointment. With the Tigers continuing to play good ball, the Twins are going to take hold of their own destiny and start stringing together some wins if they want to make gains in this division. Heading into a daunting nine-game road trip, that's no easy task.
Seemingly frustrated with their continued bullpen woes, the Twins did make a roster move during yesterday's off day, calling up Triple-A reliever Bobby Keppel while designating Luis Ayala for assignment. Keppel, a 27-year-old right-hander, held a 2.43 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 55 2/3 innings in Rochester. Similar to Ayala, he doesn't strike many hitters out and rather tries to induce grounders -- he's been fairly successful in that regard with a solid ground ball rate and only one home run allowed on the season. Still, given his unimpressive peripherals and mediocre minor-league track record, my sense is that this is a lateral move at best. Nevertheless, I'm not disappointed to see Ayala go.
One might be surprised to see Ayala get the axe, given that he has posted a 2.40 ERA over his past 12 appearances to lower his ERA near 4. Yet, Ayala simply has not demonstrated that he can get hitters out consistently enough to fill the role the Twins have asked him to fill. He has allowed runs in four of his past six appearances and opponents are hitting .306/.358/.484 against him this season. The Twins signed Ayala hoping that he could rebound from a tough 2008 season and return to the form he showed earlier in his career. But, in terms of strikeouts, walks and hits, Ayala's performance has been nearly identical to last year, and his already weak ground ball rate has actually dropped.
Last season, Ayala shuttled between two teams, posted a 5.71 ERA and subsequently drawing very little interest in free agency before the Twins signed him to a relatively meager one-year contract. He's been basically exactly what they should have expected. Hopefully they properly scale their expectations for Keppel.
On a brighter note, top Twins prospect Aaron Hicks was finally moved up from Extended Spring Training last week, following the path of last year's first-round pick Ben Revere by heading straight to Low-A Beloit. Hicks made his debut for the Snappers over the weekend. In three games, the 19-year-old went 3-for-8 with a double, an RBI, three runs scored, two strikeouts and four walks. When I ranked Hicks as the organization's top prospect during the offseason, I noted that his combination of plate discipline, speed, power and defense made him an exciting and promising young player, and he displayed all of those skills while manning center field for the Snappers this weekend. He'll be a fun one to follow from here on out.
I also just learned as I'm writing this that Danny Valencia has been promoted to Rochester, but I'll touch on that more later this week... maybe tomorrow.
I also just learned as I'm writing this that Danny Valencia has been promoted to Rochester, but I'll touch on that more later this week... maybe tomorrow.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Weekend at Wrigley
It's after midnight on Sunday and I just got home after spending the weekend in Chicago. I'm dead tired, so I'll have to be brief, but I thought I'd share some thoughts about this past weekend's series with the Cubs.
I expressed some concern a earlier this month that the Twins' perfect record in games I've attended this season was going to come crashing down as I traveled to see them play on the road a few times. Fortunately, the team seems to have gotten its act together on the road just in time for the first of my road trips. After dropping two of three in Seattle to open the trip, they split with the Athletics in a four-game set earlier this week (narrowly missing a series victory) and then took two of three from the Cubs at Wrigley over the weekend.
I had the pleasure of attending Saturday's game, a 2-0 victory highlighted by seven shutout innings from Anthony Swarzak (who was rewarded by being demoted to the minors right after the game's conclusion). On Friday afternoon, the Twins had notched a sound 7-4 victory and yesterday they lost a tightly contested battle in the ninth inning when the bullpen experienced a classic Crain Wreck.
Despite losing the finale at Wrigley, the Twins went 5-5 on this latest road trip, which qualifies as a reasonably successful one considering the abysmal 6-16 road record they'd entered the series with. The Twins' lineup is currently riddled with injuries with Michael Cuddyer, Denard Span and Joe Crede all battling ailments. That's troubling, yet there are a bunch of reasons for optimism. The members of the rotationall seem to be settling in and the bullpen pitching is better for the most part. Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are continuing to cream the ball. Nick Punto and Carlos Gomez have started showing some signs of life at the plate. Brendan Harris is thriving in regular shortstop duty. If Cuddyer, Span and Crede can get back on the field, you've got to feel pretty good about this team's chances to make a mid-summer run.
Wrigley Field was as amazing as I remembered it and the Cubs fans were generally friendly and highly entertaining (particularly when making any reference to Milton Bradley). The Twins return home tomorrow for a six-game homestand and then take their show back on the road next weekend, first traveling to Milwaukee and then heading to St. Louis and Kansas City. I plan on attending games in both of the latter two cities, so hopefully the Twins can continue to improve their play on the road and keep their perfect winning percentage in games attended by me intact.
I expressed some concern a earlier this month that the Twins' perfect record in games I've attended this season was going to come crashing down as I traveled to see them play on the road a few times. Fortunately, the team seems to have gotten its act together on the road just in time for the first of my road trips. After dropping two of three in Seattle to open the trip, they split with the Athletics in a four-game set earlier this week (narrowly missing a series victory) and then took two of three from the Cubs at Wrigley over the weekend.
I had the pleasure of attending Saturday's game, a 2-0 victory highlighted by seven shutout innings from Anthony Swarzak (who was rewarded by being demoted to the minors right after the game's conclusion). On Friday afternoon, the Twins had notched a sound 7-4 victory and yesterday they lost a tightly contested battle in the ninth inning when the bullpen experienced a classic Crain Wreck.
Despite losing the finale at Wrigley, the Twins went 5-5 on this latest road trip, which qualifies as a reasonably successful one considering the abysmal 6-16 road record they'd entered the series with. The Twins' lineup is currently riddled with injuries with Michael Cuddyer, Denard Span and Joe Crede all battling ailments. That's troubling, yet there are a bunch of reasons for optimism. The members of the rotationall seem to be settling in and the bullpen pitching is better for the most part. Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are continuing to cream the ball. Nick Punto and Carlos Gomez have started showing some signs of life at the plate. Brendan Harris is thriving in regular shortstop duty. If Cuddyer, Span and Crede can get back on the field, you've got to feel pretty good about this team's chances to make a mid-summer run.
Wrigley Field was as amazing as I remembered it and the Cubs fans were generally friendly and highly entertaining (particularly when making any reference to Milton Bradley). The Twins return home tomorrow for a six-game homestand and then take their show back on the road next weekend, first traveling to Milwaukee and then heading to St. Louis and Kansas City. I plan on attending games in both of the latter two cities, so hopefully the Twins can continue to improve their play on the road and keep their perfect winning percentage in games attended by me intact.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Optimism
The Twins were lucky to finish the month of April with a .500 record after posting one of the worst run differentials in baseball thanks to numerous blowout losses. Even as of May 20, they'd been outscored by opponents 220-195, indicating that there was nothing particularly unlucky about their 18-23 record.
After outscoring the White Sox and Brewers 40-9 in their past four victories, the Twins are now actually under-performing their Pythagorean W/L record of 24-21. And while I certainly don't expect the Twins to continue averaging over 10 runs per game as they have over the past four, this offense is looking legitimate and giving plenty of reason for optimism.
Few lineups in baseball can boast a 1-5 as strong as the Twins. Denard Span has been a prototypical leadoff guy, hitting for a great average and a terrific OBP while chipping in some occasional power and stealing bases. Joe Mauer has been otherworldly. Justin Morneau is having an absolutely monstrous season. Michael Cuddyer looks locked in. Jason Kubel's breakout campaign is going somewhat unnoticed only because of what these other guys are doing.
Many of these players have inflated batting averages and will probably see their numbers come down in time. Morneau and Kubel are unlikely to maintain averages around .340, and Cuddyer is probably not a .290 hitter. Still, the power is real and these guys can hit. The Twins currently rank among the top half of AL teams in home runs, which is almost unheard of. The increase in power has allowed them to maintain a solid run-scoring rate despite a huge drop-off in production with runners in scoring position, which negates the arguments from those who claimed that this offense would drown once its lucky situational hitting came back to Earth (Keith Law, I'm looking in your direction). The fact of the matter is that the top half of this lineup features a bunch of great hitters that can hold up against any group in the league.
While there's certainly a drop-off in the bottom half of the lineup, the 6-9 hitters seem capable of at least holding their own. Joe Crede has been an OBP sinkhole, as expected, but he's shown enough pop to justify his spot in the lineup when his outstanding defense is taken into account. Carlos Gomez is still struggling but is taking better at-bats and has a .340 on-base percentage since the beginning of May. Brendan Harris is capable of providing solid offense for a middle-infield spot.
The lineup is in very good shape, so oddly the Twins find themselves in a position of worrying more about their pitching than their offense (how often have we said that over the past decade?). The starting pitching has been good over the past several days, and the two weakest links in the rotation thus far -- Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano -- are the guys who were viewed as the top two starters entering the season. Given their track records and talent levels, there's really not any reason to believe both of those pitchers won't drastically improve their performance going forward. Baker seemed to take the first step last night.
With a productive young offense and a rotation that seems likely to improve going forward, the Twins appear to be in awfully good shape going forward, even if their record still sits a game below .500 at present.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tough Pill to Swallow
That series against the Yankees was a tough one. Not just because the Twins went into New York and lost, as usual, but more so because I can't even really complain about it.
As a fan, I find it difficult to be enraged by the events that transpired during this series. The Twins were beaten in all four games against the Yankees, but you'd be hard-pressed to claim that they were completely outplayed or out-managed throughout the series. On Friday night, the Twins handed a ninth-inning lead to their usually reliable closer, only to see Joe Nathan lose the game. On Saturday and Sunday, the Twins battled into extra innings before ultimately succumbing to the Yankee power bats. Last night, the Twins fought back from a big early deficit but came up just short.
The fact of the matter is that the Twins battled hard all weekend and simply came up a little short four times. This wasn't a big-money East Coast team dominating the poor, cash-strapped midwest club; no, the Twins played neck-and-neck with the Yankees throughout the series. That the Twins came out on the wrong end of four excellent baseball games is bound to dim the excitement of fans up here in Minnesota, but these Twins do deserve credit for going into Yankee Stadium and playing some good, competitive baseball. They got great starting pitching, made some astounding defensive plays and hit the ball well, but unfortunately some bullpen lapses and a dreadful inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities sends them away from The Big Apple without a win. Them's the breaks.
I'm just satisfied that the Twins at least provided the fans with a bunch of very entertaining and closely fought losses over the past four days. Although these games may ultimately be more heartbreaking than blowout losses where the outcome is essentially decided early on (a type of game the Twins were on the wrong side of far too often over the first several weeks of the season), these games are far more compelling and entertaining.
A few notes on the bullpen and that bum the Twins keep trotting out at catcher...
* The Twins appear to be on the verge of making a move to upgrade their pitiful bullpen. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that either Anthony Slama or Rob Delaney -- the Twins' duo of outstanding right-handed relievers currently with Class-AA New Britain -- will be making the jump to the majors any time soon. Slama has made 17 appearances for the Rock Cats, posting a 1.69 ERA and 33-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing just 13 hits in 21 1/3 innings of work. He's rattled off five straight scoreless outings. Delaney, in his 20 appearances, has posted a 2.22 ERA and 31-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing 25 hits in 28 1/3 innings. He has also gone five straight outings without allowing a run. The two have combined to allow just two home runs in 49 2/3 innings, which sounds appealing after watching Twins relievers cough up walk-off homers in back-to-back games over the weekend.
In spite of the gaudy stats posted by these two relievers, the Twins (specifically Terry Ryan) don't seem to believe that they are "quite ready." It's tough to blame a scout for questioning whether either reliever is ready for a clean transition to the major leagues given that both are still in Double-A; of course, both should have started this season in Triple-A to begin with. The organization's astoundingly conservative handling of these prospects (neither of whom are particularly young) dating back to last year is really starting to haunt.
* Instead of Slama and Delaney, the Twins are apparently eyeing Sean Henn and Bobby Keppel, a pair of veteran relievers currently pitching for Class-AAA Rochester, as options for the big-league bullpen. While I think it's sad if the Twins actually view Keppel -- who the previously linked Star Tribune article refers to as a "hard-throwing righthander" in spite of the sub-90s fastball velocity he's shown during his time in the majors and his horrible minor-league strikeout rates -- as a guy who can legitimately help this bullpen, Henn is a bit more intriguing. While Keppel's 2.61 ERA in 13 appearances isn't buoyed by any remotely impressive peripheral numbers (he's walked more batters than he's struck out and he's allowed about a hit per inning), Henn has posted a 1.13 ERA and 32-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing only 17 hits in 24 innings.
Fans might be a little skeptical of Henn's ability to actually contribute given that he's already 28 and has posted a 7.56 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 47/52 K/BB ratio in 66 2/3 innings of major-league work over the course of his career. It's worth noting, though, that when the Twins brought in Dennys Reyes, he was a 28-year-old with a 4.80 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 474/305 K/BB ratio over 519 2/3 major-league innings. Henn's big-league stats are obviously worse than Reyes' were, but it's over a much smaller sample size, and the two had similar minor-league track records. That the Twins were able to squeeze three productive years out of Reyes should at least motivate people to give the team the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Henn.
Unfortunately, even if things go well, Henn doesn't appear capable of becoming anything more than a solid lefty specialist, in the same mold as Reyes. This bullpen needs more of a boost than he's likely to provide.
[UPDATE: Just after posting this I learned that the Twins have called up Henn to take the roster spot of Glen Perkins, who is headed to the disabled list with elbow inflammation.]
[UPDATE: Just after posting this I learned that the Twins have called up Henn to take the roster spot of Glen Perkins, who is headed to the disabled list with elbow inflammation.]
* The Twins have wasted little time in moving Joe Mauer back into regular duty. Since returning from the disabled list on May 1, Mauer has started all but two of the Twins' 17 games and appeared in all but one of them. That may not be ideal, given that he's working back from a troublesome injury, but his impact has been so significant that it's awfully hard for Ron Gardenhire to keep his name out of the lineup. Since returning, Mauer has gone 25-for-60 (.417) with six homers, three doubles, 17 RBI and a 7-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That's a pretty amazing hot streak, particularly from a guy who's shown so little power in the past. That the Twins have averaged 5.6 runs since Mauer's return after averaging just 4.4 runs during the month of April is hardly surprising.
Monday, April 20, 2009
A Good Weekend
This post is going up at about noon on Monday, and these mid-day postings might become a more common occurrance this season as I won't always have time to get something up before bed but would like to have new posts up on most days. So if you come by in the morning and there is nothing new, please consider checking back later in the day. Anyway, back to baseball...
The Twins seemingly got back on track this weekend, and all the jolt they needed was a two-out, cycle-completing, go-ahead grand slam. Who would've thought it'd be so easy?
After Jason Kubel's heroics highlighted a dramatic late comeback on Friday night, the Twins got a resurgent outing from Kevin Slowey in a dominant 9-2 victory on Saturday night and then received yet another eight-inning gem from Glen Perkins on the way to a 3-1 win yesterday to complete the series sweep. Finally the doomsday proclamations have calmed down as the Twins are back to .500 and a game out of first place. What a difference a weekend makes.
Of course, three straight wins don't make this team's problems go away. The bullpen looked absolutely awful on Friday night and remains a heavy concern. We still need to see Scott Baker get on track, which he can hopefully do tomorrow night in Boston. And several hitters in the lineup continue to struggle, including Alexi Casilla and Carlos Gomez.
But, for the time being, this was a good weekend. It must have felt good for the Twins to be on the other side of some tough outcomes they've suffered through this year: the bullpen implosion, the blowout loss, and coming up short in a low-scoring affair.
Now, the challenge becomes keeping it up and turning a good weekend into a good week. Next on the docket is a two-game series in Fenway Park. Let's hope it takes a little bit less to spark the team into action in this series than it did in the last one.
The Twins seemingly got back on track this weekend, and all the jolt they needed was a two-out, cycle-completing, go-ahead grand slam. Who would've thought it'd be so easy?
After Jason Kubel's heroics highlighted a dramatic late comeback on Friday night, the Twins got a resurgent outing from Kevin Slowey in a dominant 9-2 victory on Saturday night and then received yet another eight-inning gem from Glen Perkins on the way to a 3-1 win yesterday to complete the series sweep. Finally the doomsday proclamations have calmed down as the Twins are back to .500 and a game out of first place. What a difference a weekend makes.
Of course, three straight wins don't make this team's problems go away. The bullpen looked absolutely awful on Friday night and remains a heavy concern. We still need to see Scott Baker get on track, which he can hopefully do tomorrow night in Boston. And several hitters in the lineup continue to struggle, including Alexi Casilla and Carlos Gomez.
But, for the time being, this was a good weekend. It must have felt good for the Twins to be on the other side of some tough outcomes they've suffered through this year: the bullpen implosion, the blowout loss, and coming up short in a low-scoring affair.
Now, the challenge becomes keeping it up and turning a good weekend into a good week. Next on the docket is a two-game series in Fenway Park. Let's hope it takes a little bit less to spark the team into action in this series than it did in the last one.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thoughts on the Weekend Series
The Twins dropped two of three in Chicago this weekend, and aside from the win on Friday night in which they broke out for 12 runs, the offense really hasn't looked good so far in this young season. The Twins have been held to one or zero runs in four of the seven games they've played up to this point, and unsurprisingly have gone 0-4 in those contests. They'll need to get on track if they hope to succeed in their four-gamer against the 5-2 Blue Jays, who've averaged 6.6 runs per game.
Here are a few observations on the series against the Sox, and the rest of season up to this point...
* Francisco Liriano really struggled with his command on Saturday, issuing four walks -- two forcing in runs with the bases loaded -- while lasting just 4 2/3 innings in a blowout loss. Through two starts, Liriano is 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA and has had trouble hitting his spots in both starts. Let's not forget, though, that Liriano also experienced command struggles at the beginning of last season before bouncing back splendidly in Rochester and carrying those improvements forward to become one the American League's better second-half pitchers.
Watching Liriano has been a bit frustrating up to this point, but I don't think there's a ton of reason to worry yet.
* Joe Crede has started all seven games up to this point, and his back appears to be in fine shape. Defensively, Crede has looked very solid, flashing his range on a few impressive plays and handling almost everything sent his way. Offensively, he's looked like just the player I expected; he hasn't gotten many hits -- just four in 25 at-bats -- but when he has hit he's been able to do so with some power, as two of those hits have gone for extra bases.
Crede has looked fine thus far, but I would like to see Brian Buscher get a chance to start against a right-hander. He may get that opportunity tonight when the Twins face Jesse Litsch.
* For all the talking about his efforts to improve his plate discipline during the offseason in spring, Gomez has struck out nine times while drawing one walk in his first 23 plate appearances.
* The Twins' offensive struggles are understandable to some extent given that they've been playing without one of their best hitters in Joe Mauer, but the rest of the hitters in this lineup simply aren't pulling their weight right now. Gomez, Crede, Mike Redmond and Delmon Young are all hitting below .200 thus far. Michael Cuddyer is hitting .231 and Justin Morneau is hitting .259. The only Twins regular with a batting average over .300 thus far is Nick Punto. Go figure.
Here are a few observations on the series against the Sox, and the rest of season up to this point...
* Francisco Liriano really struggled with his command on Saturday, issuing four walks -- two forcing in runs with the bases loaded -- while lasting just 4 2/3 innings in a blowout loss. Through two starts, Liriano is 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA and has had trouble hitting his spots in both starts. Let's not forget, though, that Liriano also experienced command struggles at the beginning of last season before bouncing back splendidly in Rochester and carrying those improvements forward to become one the American League's better second-half pitchers.
Watching Liriano has been a bit frustrating up to this point, but I don't think there's a ton of reason to worry yet.
* Joe Crede has started all seven games up to this point, and his back appears to be in fine shape. Defensively, Crede has looked very solid, flashing his range on a few impressive plays and handling almost everything sent his way. Offensively, he's looked like just the player I expected; he hasn't gotten many hits -- just four in 25 at-bats -- but when he has hit he's been able to do so with some power, as two of those hits have gone for extra bases.
Crede has looked fine thus far, but I would like to see Brian Buscher get a chance to start against a right-hander. He may get that opportunity tonight when the Twins face Jesse Litsch.
* For all the talking about his efforts to improve his plate discipline during the offseason in spring, Gomez has struck out nine times while drawing one walk in his first 23 plate appearances.
* The Twins' offensive struggles are understandable to some extent given that they've been playing without one of their best hitters in Joe Mauer, but the rest of the hitters in this lineup simply aren't pulling their weight right now. Gomez, Crede, Mike Redmond and Delmon Young are all hitting below .200 thus far. Michael Cuddyer is hitting .231 and Justin Morneau is hitting .259. The only Twins regular with a batting average over .300 thus far is Nick Punto. Go figure.
Friday, September 05, 2008
You Ain't Got No Alibi, You Ugly
Childish chants are the only thing I can conjure up to direct at the Twins right now.
I hate to take an overly negative tone, but this past set of games with the Blue Jays was, without a doubt, the worst series I have seen from the Twins all year. On Tuesday, they took a big early lead, only to throw it away by giving up a bunch of home runs. On Wednesday, they played perhaps their worst defensive game of the season and blew two late leads. And last night, they got out-and-out demolished in a game they barely showed up to play.
Is this really the type of play we can expect from this team during a playoff race? I'm glad the Twins have performed well enough to put themselves in this position, but they are playing some horrible, horrible baseball right now. They're truly lucky to still be within a game and a half of first place in the division.
The Twins return to the Metrodome tonight, and they are really going to need to kick their play up a notch to revive some faith among the fanbase. This road trip was as ugly as many feared it would be, but thanks to some uninspiring play from the White Sox the Twins remain in the thick of the AL Central race. If they can't pick up the pace in their home stadium, this fortuitous opportunity will go to waste.
I hate to take an overly negative tone, but this past set of games with the Blue Jays was, without a doubt, the worst series I have seen from the Twins all year. On Tuesday, they took a big early lead, only to throw it away by giving up a bunch of home runs. On Wednesday, they played perhaps their worst defensive game of the season and blew two late leads. And last night, they got out-and-out demolished in a game they barely showed up to play.
Is this really the type of play we can expect from this team during a playoff race? I'm glad the Twins have performed well enough to put themselves in this position, but they are playing some horrible, horrible baseball right now. They're truly lucky to still be within a game and a half of first place in the division.
The Twins return to the Metrodome tonight, and they are really going to need to kick their play up a notch to revive some faith among the fanbase. This road trip was as ugly as many feared it would be, but thanks to some uninspiring play from the White Sox the Twins remain in the thick of the AL Central race. If they can't pick up the pace in their home stadium, this fortuitous opportunity will go to waste.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Satisfactory
Coming into this past four-game series on the road against the top team in the AL West, I'd have been satisfied if the Twins were to come out with a split. Naturally, that pill becomes a bit more difficult to swallow when you see your team when the first two games of the series and when you see them leading late in the finale with a chance to take three of four and start their difficult road trip on a very positive note.
The Twins weren't able to do that, as the bullpen once again blew a late lead in yesterday's game and eliminated the chance for a series victory against the Angels. Nevertheless, the Twins played relatively well throughout the four-game set and certainly did not look overmatched against a team they could possibly match up against in the playoffs, should things reach that point. In that, we should take some measure of comfort.
It's not so much annoying that the Twins lost two games in this series, but rather the way they lost those games. On Saturday night, shoddy defense was the culprit. Nick Blackburn pitched a decent game, but was really let down by some serious defensive miscues from Brian Buscher and Carlos Gomez, among others. Yesterday Nick Punto started at third base and turned in a sterling defensive performance, but even that wasn't enough to save the Twins bullpen from blowing a late lead and erasing a strong performance from Kevin Slowey. It's nice to see that when the Twins are losing, it's not necessarily because they're being completely outplayed. Yet it's unfortunate to see them unable to put away games that they quite easily could be winning.
Facing a first-place team in a hostile environment, the Twins took two of four games. It could have been a lot worse. But certainly, with the way things played out, it could have been a lot better.
The Twins weren't able to do that, as the bullpen once again blew a late lead in yesterday's game and eliminated the chance for a series victory against the Angels. Nevertheless, the Twins played relatively well throughout the four-game set and certainly did not look overmatched against a team they could possibly match up against in the playoffs, should things reach that point. In that, we should take some measure of comfort.
It's not so much annoying that the Twins lost two games in this series, but rather the way they lost those games. On Saturday night, shoddy defense was the culprit. Nick Blackburn pitched a decent game, but was really let down by some serious defensive miscues from Brian Buscher and Carlos Gomez, among others. Yesterday Nick Punto started at third base and turned in a sterling defensive performance, but even that wasn't enough to save the Twins bullpen from blowing a late lead and erasing a strong performance from Kevin Slowey. It's nice to see that when the Twins are losing, it's not necessarily because they're being completely outplayed. Yet it's unfortunate to see them unable to put away games that they quite easily could be winning.
Facing a first-place team in a hostile environment, the Twins took two of four games. It could have been a lot worse. But certainly, with the way things played out, it could have been a lot better.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
South Side Slug Fest
After being thoroughly pummeled in two straight games, the Twins finally took a lead in the fourth inning yesterday afternoon when Jason Kubel shot a line drive down the right field line to score Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau and break a 1-1 tie. Nick Swisher responded with a solo homer in the bottom half of the inning, but in the next frame, Mauer and Morneau scored again, this time on a Michael Cuddyer double. The Twins led 5-2. Light was creeping through the looming clouds that smothered U.S. Cellular Field. The glimpse of light was short-lived.
Glen Perkins walked Jim Thome on four pitches with one out in the bottom of the sixth. On came Jesse Crain, who surrendered a two-run homer to Swisher. 5-4. In the next inning, the Sox touched up Matt Guerrier for three more runs, capped by a two-run dinger off the bat of Paul Konerko. 7-5. The Twins threatened to come back against closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth when Carlos Gomez delivered a leadoff double and Alexi Casilla followed with a single, but the rally was foiled when Joe Mauer tapped into a double play and Justin Morneau grounded out to short.
Certainly, it's difficult to excuse the abysmal performance displayed by the Twins pitching staff during this past series. Nobody could get outs. Over four games, the Sox batted .400 and smashed an astonishing 23 extra-base hits -- including 11 homers -- for a .717 slugging percentage. Those numbers are downright ghastly. That is some bad, bad pitching. Yet, considering that nearly every pitcher on the staff took part in the clobbering this weekend, it's probably reasonable to chalk this one up largely to a red-hot offense playing in their home park. How the Twins pitchers respond in Cleveland over the next three days will be crucially important.
The Twins, scratching at first place just a week ago, now find themselves two games under .500 and very much in danger of being surpassed by Cleveland for second place in the division. The season is far from lost, but this weekend's slaughter in Chi-town was nothing less than humiliating. The Twins need to get back on track, and fast, before things truly spin out of control.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Reality Check
Between the intermittent rain showers, the belligerent screaming fans to my immediate left and the drubbing the Twins took at the hands of the White Sox, my first exposure to U.S. Cellular Field on Saturday night was not exactly ideal. Still, it was an opportunity to watch the Twins outdoors, and The Cell certainly has some interesting features.
I wouldn't say that the White Sox' stadium has a great deal of character, but it's a nice ballpark. It's industrial, it's straightforward, it's huge... essentially, it's very Chicago. The Sox fans were a bit mean-spirited, but for the most part in a good-natured way. Certainly not as amicable as the fans in Milwaukee or Kansas City, but better than Oakland.
The most humorous part of the experience was when the lady next to me, sitting alone and wearing a White Sox shirt, kept asking me questions about White Sox players. "Which one is Swisher?" ... "Which one is Thome?" ... "Who is No. 23?" I'm thinking to myself, You're lucky I'm a pretty big baseball fan so I actually know the answers to these questions, but do you really think a guy wearing a Twins jersey and a Twins cap is the best source for information on Chicago players? Eventually she started asking me questions about the White Sox base coaches, at which point I had to end the conversation.
As for the Twins, well... whew. Bad. They've been outscored 33-9 over three games against the White Sox, getting horrible pitching and mostly terrible offense. It's not over yet, but so far this has been the worst series I can remember since the one in Detroit back in early 2006 where the Twins were swept and outscored 33-1 over three games.
Indeed, the Twins are spiraling. But should we really be surprised? I'll admit that even I had gotten caught up in how well the team was playing, to the extent that I was overlooking how unsustainable that success was. With all the magical comebacks, gutsy pitching performances and big clutch hits, I had come to gleefully ignore the plain facts that were in front of my eyes. Guys like Livan Hernandez, Glen Perkins and Nick Blackburn were not pitching well enough to continue consistently getting the kinds of results they were getting, and the offense was overachieving thanks to some ridiculous numbers with runners in scoring position. It's unfortunate that everything has come crashing down simultaneously, and all during the team's biggest series of the season up to this point. Over these first three games in Chicago, the Twins have ruined an opportunity to move closer to first place in the division, and instead reminded people why they were widely picked to finish fourth or fifth in the division prior to the season.
To draw one positive from the weekend, I'll say this: I was one of a select few Twins fans who actually got to see Delmon's first Twins home run in person! Yay?
I wouldn't say that the White Sox' stadium has a great deal of character, but it's a nice ballpark. It's industrial, it's straightforward, it's huge... essentially, it's very Chicago. The Sox fans were a bit mean-spirited, but for the most part in a good-natured way. Certainly not as amicable as the fans in Milwaukee or Kansas City, but better than Oakland.
The most humorous part of the experience was when the lady next to me, sitting alone and wearing a White Sox shirt, kept asking me questions about White Sox players. "Which one is Swisher?" ... "Which one is Thome?" ... "Who is No. 23?" I'm thinking to myself, You're lucky I'm a pretty big baseball fan so I actually know the answers to these questions, but do you really think a guy wearing a Twins jersey and a Twins cap is the best source for information on Chicago players? Eventually she started asking me questions about the White Sox base coaches, at which point I had to end the conversation.
As for the Twins, well... whew. Bad. They've been outscored 33-9 over three games against the White Sox, getting horrible pitching and mostly terrible offense. It's not over yet, but so far this has been the worst series I can remember since the one in Detroit back in early 2006 where the Twins were swept and outscored 33-1 over three games.
Indeed, the Twins are spiraling. But should we really be surprised? I'll admit that even I had gotten caught up in how well the team was playing, to the extent that I was overlooking how unsustainable that success was. With all the magical comebacks, gutsy pitching performances and big clutch hits, I had come to gleefully ignore the plain facts that were in front of my eyes. Guys like Livan Hernandez, Glen Perkins and Nick Blackburn were not pitching well enough to continue consistently getting the kinds of results they were getting, and the offense was overachieving thanks to some ridiculous numbers with runners in scoring position. It's unfortunate that everything has come crashing down simultaneously, and all during the team's biggest series of the season up to this point. Over these first three games in Chicago, the Twins have ruined an opportunity to move closer to first place in the division, and instead reminded people why they were widely picked to finish fourth or fifth in the division prior to the season.
To draw one positive from the weekend, I'll say this: I was one of a select few Twins fans who actually got to see Delmon's first Twins home run in person! Yay?
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