Johan Santana did a lot things right in last night's close victory over the Cleveland Indians. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, he struck out 12 in seven innings of work, and his only real mistake was allowing a two-run home run to Travis Hafner. All things considered, he should have been lined up for the victory, but Twins fans by now have probably learned just how hard Santana has to work to avoid a loss, let alone get a victory, with the pathetic Twins offense.
Based on basic numbers, the Twins' 7-9 hitters going 2-for-11 wouldn't seem out of the ordinary, but rather keeping with their inability to do anything since the break. However, there was one big surprise that Twins fans have been seemingly waiting for since 2005: Jason Tyner hit what was likely his only home run of his career, just getting it over the wall and forever embarrassing Jake Westbrook, a pitcher whom the Twins should have knocked around anyway. Not surprisngly, Tyner's power display (he had a double as well) accounted for most of the Twins offense, as they managed a total of five hits, with Justin Morneau picking up an RBI single, Jason Bartlett going 1-for-4, and Torii Hunter getting a double in the ninth that set up Brian Buscher's game-winning RBI groundout.
Outside of that, the Twins offense was its usual awful self, picking up three walks, but doing little to nothing to support yet another pitching gem from Santana. It's very sad that Santana is on pace for a 17-12 record, considering his 2.92 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 156 Ks (to 35 walks), and .212 BAA. The eight losses are already a career-high for Santana and the only way he won't set a career-high in home runs will be if he allows only one home run the rest of the season. It's feeling a lot more like 2005, when Santana pitched well, but ended up with only 16 wins and saw his rightful Cy Young end up in the hands of the now washed up Bartolo Colon. That year the Twins offense couldn't do much against terrible pitchers like Westbrook, just like they can't now.
The Twins did pull out a win, but it simply wasn't a very convincing one, as it depended wholly on the Twins pitching combined with a power streak that will never return. I'd like to hope that luck is in their favor today as well, but C.C. Sabathia is a significantly better pitcher than Westbrook and he's also had a fair amount of success against the Twins. Here's to Matt Garza pitching another gem and improving that 1-2 record that covers up a sparkling 1.33 ERA. Sound familiar?
Showing posts with label tyner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tyner. Show all posts
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Jason Tyner: DH Savior?
In last night's game, one of the heroes in 9-1 Twins victory over the Devil Rays was Jason Tyner, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. I admit, I'm not a very big fan of Tyner. I think there is good reason for that. He has a career .318 "slugging" percentage to go with patience Jacque Jones would be jealous of, with a .310 OBP. For a hitter with no power and no patience, he doesn't steal very many bases either, with just 56 over a span of 1100 at-bats, with 31 of those coming in his 2001 season.
He's also been a .319 hitter in 326 Minnesota at-bats. This year, he's been pretty solid, with a .346/.382/.442 line. Obviously it's quite unlikely that he'll keep up the average, but he has hit as many doubles this year (5) as he did all of last year. He also needs to show some more speed, as he has only stolen nine bases in his time in Minnesota.
However, if he continues to produce at a similar rate, he'll remain a good backup and even a decent option at DH. Consider the alternatives: right now, it's Jeff Cirillo, who has been hurt, and Josh Rabe, who has also has no power and does not hit anywhere near .300. If Jason Kubel isn't in the outfield, he remains a superior option and when Rondell White comes back, he'd remain the better option despite his overall poor numbers with the Twins.
Of course, Tyner wasn't the only story of last night, as Sidney Ponson had his best game in a Twins uniform. Ponson had a quality start, going seven innings, allowing only five hits, one run, and two walks while striking out five. However, the run he gave up was a home run to Delmon Young and Ponson gave up plenty of deep fly balls, allowing several warning track outs and posting a GB/FB ratio of 7/8. Getting lucky doesn't make me feel much better about Ponson and now he gets a longer lease in the rotation, as manager Ron Gardenhire was ecstatic about Ponson's start.
Gardenhire told reporters that, "As the game went along, (Ponson) made an adjustment. We talked to him about getting on top of the ball a little more and his last couple innings the ball was really diving. We were excited about that, his adjustment during the game more than anything else." I don't know that his ball was really diving that much if he gave up so many deep fly balls, but obviously Gardenhire is more than ready to put him out there again. Ponson's next start will come against the potent Boston offense and I have to imagine that isn't going to be too pretty.
The best news, though, is that the offense came out against the hapless Devil Ray pitching staff, as they scored nine runs on 17 hits, with Tyner, Luis Castillo and Joe Mauer collecting three hits apiece. Hopefully, the Twins can use this series against the Rays to heat up their bats before their weekend series against the Red Sox. However, the Twins did get some bad news, as Michael Cuddyer hurt himself on a baserunning tumble and now has a bruised back. Let's hope he gets back soon. If he misses a game, I'm all for Justin Morneau moving into the cleanup spot, as if that wasn't the obvious move.
Tonight, the Twins face the terrible Jae Seo and his 9.51 ERA. If the Twins play their cards right, maybe they can raise Seo's ERA to a Jeff Weaver level.
He's also been a .319 hitter in 326 Minnesota at-bats. This year, he's been pretty solid, with a .346/.382/.442 line. Obviously it's quite unlikely that he'll keep up the average, but he has hit as many doubles this year (5) as he did all of last year. He also needs to show some more speed, as he has only stolen nine bases in his time in Minnesota.
However, if he continues to produce at a similar rate, he'll remain a good backup and even a decent option at DH. Consider the alternatives: right now, it's Jeff Cirillo, who has been hurt, and Josh Rabe, who has also has no power and does not hit anywhere near .300. If Jason Kubel isn't in the outfield, he remains a superior option and when Rondell White comes back, he'd remain the better option despite his overall poor numbers with the Twins.
Of course, Tyner wasn't the only story of last night, as Sidney Ponson had his best game in a Twins uniform. Ponson had a quality start, going seven innings, allowing only five hits, one run, and two walks while striking out five. However, the run he gave up was a home run to Delmon Young and Ponson gave up plenty of deep fly balls, allowing several warning track outs and posting a GB/FB ratio of 7/8. Getting lucky doesn't make me feel much better about Ponson and now he gets a longer lease in the rotation, as manager Ron Gardenhire was ecstatic about Ponson's start.
Gardenhire told reporters that, "As the game went along, (Ponson) made an adjustment. We talked to him about getting on top of the ball a little more and his last couple innings the ball was really diving. We were excited about that, his adjustment during the game more than anything else." I don't know that his ball was really diving that much if he gave up so many deep fly balls, but obviously Gardenhire is more than ready to put him out there again. Ponson's next start will come against the potent Boston offense and I have to imagine that isn't going to be too pretty.
The best news, though, is that the offense came out against the hapless Devil Ray pitching staff, as they scored nine runs on 17 hits, with Tyner, Luis Castillo and Joe Mauer collecting three hits apiece. Hopefully, the Twins can use this series against the Rays to heat up their bats before their weekend series against the Red Sox. However, the Twins did get some bad news, as Michael Cuddyer hurt himself on a baserunning tumble and now has a bruised back. Let's hope he gets back soon. If he misses a game, I'm all for Justin Morneau moving into the cleanup spot, as if that wasn't the obvious move.
Tonight, the Twins face the terrible Jae Seo and his 9.51 ERA. If the Twins play their cards right, maybe they can raise Seo's ERA to a Jeff Weaver level.
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