I felt I would take some time and post today before tonight's game is actually played, because I can tell you right now, if the Twins lose 3-2 or 2-1 again tonight, I'm just not going to post about it. It would just be the same old story again and I'm tired of writing about how bad this offense is and how much some of these hitters are embarrassing themselves on the field (FOUR strikeouts for Torii Hunter last night??? The guy turned 30 yesterday but he bats like a 22 year-old rookie). Therefore, there's a good chance this will be the only post for today on this blog. If something interesting or worthwhile happens in the game tonight, then perhaps I will post about it.
There was some interesting stuff in LaVelle's column of the Star Trib today. He tossed out a new trade rumor that has the Boston Red Sox asking about JC Romero to try to shore up their bullpen, which has been horrible this year. They apparently have put third-baseman Bill Mueller on the table. I would absolutely LOVE for this trade to happen. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Mueller is really all that great of a player. After winning the AL Batting Title in 2003 with a .326 average, he has been pretty mediocre since (which is still an upgrade from Michael Cuddyer). The thing, is I cannot STAND watching Romero pitch anymore. His terrible lack of control and complete inability to hold inherited runners on base has grated on my nerves far too much. If the Twins can get a decent player at a major position of need in return for JC, I hope they will do it in a second.
It was also mentioned that hitting coach Scott Ullger has been looking back at some of the tapes of Bret Boone's outstanding 2003 season, and said that he thinks it is possible for him to recapture that success because he thinks Boone still has his bat speed. I disagree, I think Bret has lost his bat speed and that's why he is unable to hit anymore. He still has a very nice swing, but he can't get around on the pitches and as a result is striking out and hitting a lot foul balls and pop-ups. Whether this lost bat speed has to do with steroid suspicions or is simply a result of being 36 years old, I don't think it's coming back, so expecting much out of Boone for the rest of the year would probably be silly.
The Twins have come out of the break into a tough homestand, no doubt. The Angels are the best team in the AL in my opinion, and Baltimore is right up there with the BoSox and Bombers in the AL East. That said, the Twins have put themselves in a bad position by losing 4 of 5 of them already, because these are homes games and these are teams that the Twins could potentially be running with for a Wild Card (although I think it's safe to say the Halos are going to win the West). After finishing the homestand on Wednesday, the Twins will head straight to Detroit to play the Tigers 5 times in 4 days, with a double-header on Saturday. This tough stretch of games is one of the most important of the season for the Twins, and so far they have not done well. Hopefully they can clean it up.
I'll post again later tonight, maybe.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
It Never Ends
I feel alot like my associate tonight, writing the same post we have for a while now. The Twins can't score but they can pitch. They can't get big hits win they need them. Well tonight then even got a big hit when they needed to, but they could never break the game open and instead allowed another pitching gem to be wasted. They should win so many more games with such wonderful pitching perfomances and now the excuses are being laid out. The hitters have done extra, the team says. They are taking extra batting practice, Morneau is hitting off the tee to all fields. But practice isn't what they need. No they just need to figure out a few basic things and that means once again that Scotty Ulger needs to pack his bags. Sometimes its unfortunate, but Ulger needs to take the fall. Basically, its clear that the Twins hitters aren't doing any better with what he's tried or for that matter what he hasn't. They may need to hear the same advice but from a fresh face.
They cannot afford to lose when their pitching is this good. Silva threw nine innings and like Mays yesterday, really only made one mistake that resulted in a two-run home run, this time off the bat of aging slugger Sammy Sosa. He threw only 85 pitches in shutting down the potent Baltimore line-up and could have gone on longer. You can't blame Juan Rincon for the lost two much because for one, he gave up the the game-winning homer to MVP candidate Miguel Tejeda, and two, the offense didn't get things done with a good chance in the 10th. With Mauer on second and Morneau on first (why was he walked again? After ending a rally with a double play in the 8th, he didn't seem that dangerous to me), Hunter came up and struck out to end the rally. Of course, it was Torii's double and hustle that scored the tying run in the 9th when B.J. Ryan made a bad fielding play. And they looked more pathetic in the 11th against Jorge Julio, as they swung away and failed to make anything happen again.
The Twins look like they desperately need to do a few moves now. Fire Ulger, send some of the struggling players to the minors and if not that, makes some trades. Yes, Lohse is fair game, but the Twins should consider some of the other players as well. The Twins can't trade Morneau unless they get a first baseman in return, but Cuddyer should be considered. He still has upside, but his struggles are certainly not helping the Twins now. Regardless, enough has been said. We need to make some moves and quick if we have any hopes of making the postseason at all.
They cannot afford to lose when their pitching is this good. Silva threw nine innings and like Mays yesterday, really only made one mistake that resulted in a two-run home run, this time off the bat of aging slugger Sammy Sosa. He threw only 85 pitches in shutting down the potent Baltimore line-up and could have gone on longer. You can't blame Juan Rincon for the lost two much because for one, he gave up the the game-winning homer to MVP candidate Miguel Tejeda, and two, the offense didn't get things done with a good chance in the 10th. With Mauer on second and Morneau on first (why was he walked again? After ending a rally with a double play in the 8th, he didn't seem that dangerous to me), Hunter came up and struck out to end the rally. Of course, it was Torii's double and hustle that scored the tying run in the 9th when B.J. Ryan made a bad fielding play. And they looked more pathetic in the 11th against Jorge Julio, as they swung away and failed to make anything happen again.
The Twins look like they desperately need to do a few moves now. Fire Ulger, send some of the struggling players to the minors and if not that, makes some trades. Yes, Lohse is fair game, but the Twins should consider some of the other players as well. The Twins can't trade Morneau unless they get a first baseman in return, but Cuddyer should be considered. He still has upside, but his struggles are certainly not helping the Twins now. Regardless, enough has been said. We need to make some moves and quick if we have any hopes of making the postseason at all.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Offense Absent Again
What can I say that hasn't already been said? The Twins continue to get great pitching, but put it to waste by scoring no runs. Today's performance was one of the worst yet from the pitiful offense. John Lackey, who the Twins hammered in their last meeting, tore the hitters to shreds, going 7 innings and striking out 10 while allowing just 5 hits and one unearned run. Twins' pitcher Joe Mays looked terrific, going 7 innings and essentially shutting down the powerful Angels lineup aside from a 2-run homer by Jeff DaVanon in the second inning. The fact that he took the loss in this game is really just sad.
*Shannon Stewart hit in the third spot in the order for the second straight game today. I like this move. I don't know why Stewart has the tag of being a leadoff hitter, really... he's not that fast and he doesn't post amazing on-base percentages. He's just a good, consistent, solid hitter with a knack for coming through in the clutch. In my mind, those are the characteristics of a guy who should be hitting in the middle of the lineup. He did well there today, going 2 for 4.
*The guy who hit behind Stewart didn't have such a great day. Justin Morneau looked totally overmatched. He went 0/4 with 3 strikeouts and a groundout to the pitcher. It simply does not appear that Morneau is going to be able to get it done as a Major League hitter at this point. I don't know what the options are, but the Twins have GOT to start getting some kind of offense out of first-base.
*I like the Angels to win the AL pennant. Their bullpen is just phenomenal. If they are carrying a small lead into the 8th inning, the game is over. Scott Shields and Francisco Rodriguez are just unhittable.
*Aside from Morneau, Torii Hunter and Nick Punto both had miserable days at the plate as well. Both went 0/4 with 2 strikeouts. I'm not too worried about Hunter, because that's just typical for him, but Punto has regressed terribly since returning from injury. His batting average has dropped 40 points and he's been striking out more. He looked pretty good defensively at third base, but right now his hitting is no better than Michael Cuddyer's.
*Bret Boone showed a flash of what I'm hoping to see out of him. In his third at-bat, he drove the ball to center for a single (then reached second on an error by Steve Finley). That is the second consecutive day in which he has hit the ball hard to center field. Granted, 2 hits in 2 days is hardly impressive, but it is important to remember that the guy hadn't played in about 2 weeks upon joining the Twins. His initial rustiness is forgivable if he can turn it on and start hitting some line drives, which is what nobody in this lineup aside from Joe Mauer can seem to do.
*When is Jacque Jones going to stop constantly pulling grounders to the right side of the infield on bad pitches? Sounds like a coaching problem (cough cough).
If the Twins had come out of the gate strong in the second half, and the White Sox had continued with their slight skid that they rode into the break, then perhaps the possibility of a surge to overtake the division lead was realistic. But now, with the Twins dropping 3 of 4 to the Halos and the Sox decimating the Indians in a 4-game sweep, that possibility has almost completely faded away. The Twins are 12 games out of first place, the White Sox are for real, and it's time to start concentrating on keeping in Wild Card contention.
*Shannon Stewart hit in the third spot in the order for the second straight game today. I like this move. I don't know why Stewart has the tag of being a leadoff hitter, really... he's not that fast and he doesn't post amazing on-base percentages. He's just a good, consistent, solid hitter with a knack for coming through in the clutch. In my mind, those are the characteristics of a guy who should be hitting in the middle of the lineup. He did well there today, going 2 for 4.
*The guy who hit behind Stewart didn't have such a great day. Justin Morneau looked totally overmatched. He went 0/4 with 3 strikeouts and a groundout to the pitcher. It simply does not appear that Morneau is going to be able to get it done as a Major League hitter at this point. I don't know what the options are, but the Twins have GOT to start getting some kind of offense out of first-base.
*I like the Angels to win the AL pennant. Their bullpen is just phenomenal. If they are carrying a small lead into the 8th inning, the game is over. Scott Shields and Francisco Rodriguez are just unhittable.
*Aside from Morneau, Torii Hunter and Nick Punto both had miserable days at the plate as well. Both went 0/4 with 2 strikeouts. I'm not too worried about Hunter, because that's just typical for him, but Punto has regressed terribly since returning from injury. His batting average has dropped 40 points and he's been striking out more. He looked pretty good defensively at third base, but right now his hitting is no better than Michael Cuddyer's.
*Bret Boone showed a flash of what I'm hoping to see out of him. In his third at-bat, he drove the ball to center for a single (then reached second on an error by Steve Finley). That is the second consecutive day in which he has hit the ball hard to center field. Granted, 2 hits in 2 days is hardly impressive, but it is important to remember that the guy hadn't played in about 2 weeks upon joining the Twins. His initial rustiness is forgivable if he can turn it on and start hitting some line drives, which is what nobody in this lineup aside from Joe Mauer can seem to do.
*When is Jacque Jones going to stop constantly pulling grounders to the right side of the infield on bad pitches? Sounds like a coaching problem (cough cough).
If the Twins had come out of the gate strong in the second half, and the White Sox had continued with their slight skid that they rode into the break, then perhaps the possibility of a surge to overtake the division lead was realistic. But now, with the Twins dropping 3 of 4 to the Halos and the Sox decimating the Indians in a 4-game sweep, that possibility has almost completely faded away. The Twins are 12 games out of first place, the White Sox are for real, and it's time to start concentrating on keeping in Wild Card contention.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Rebound: Santana gets a win, Boone gets a hit
Johan ended his losing streak and Bret Boone finally got a hit in a Twins uniform and it had an impact. Finishing off the Twins' five-run fourth inning, Boone singled in Luis Rodriguez following Rodriguez's triple. The inning started with hits by Joe Mauer and Torii Hunter and then a RBI double by Jacque Jones. Justin Morneau followed with a sacrifice fly and the score was tied when Micheal Ryan hit a two-run homer into the Upper Deck off Angels starter Bartolo Colon. It was Ryan's first of the year for the recent call-up. He has hit .297 this year, being one of the more positive call-ups, along with Rodriguez.
Of course, the Twins offense had other chances. With no one out in the second, the Twins had runners on second and third, but Jones struck out, Morneau flied out and Rodriguez grounded out with the bases loaded. Mauer contineud to be the team's premier hitter, going 2 for 4 and bringing his average to .305. It doesn't look like a big breakout, as regulars like Morneau still look offensively handicap and Boone still has only one hit as a Twin, but its a win and hopefully something to build on.
The pitching was strong tonight, as Santana pitched seven innings, giving up four runs, but only one earned as errors by Morneau and Rodriguez helped the Angels put up a three spot in the first. However, the three Ks is somewhat disturbing as he wasn't terribly dominant, but the improvement is definitely a move in the right direction for last year's Cy Young. Rincon and Nathan proved to be a dynamic bullpen combo again, as Nathan picked up his AL-leading 26th save and Rincon pitched a scoreless eigth.
Overall, it was nice to see a breakout inning, but it was sadly not a convincing offensive breakout. Tommorow, Mays takes the ball against John Lackey. Lets hope the Twins don't look pathetic against Lackey as they did last time he pitched against us.
Of course, the Twins offense had other chances. With no one out in the second, the Twins had runners on second and third, but Jones struck out, Morneau flied out and Rodriguez grounded out with the bases loaded. Mauer contineud to be the team's premier hitter, going 2 for 4 and bringing his average to .305. It doesn't look like a big breakout, as regulars like Morneau still look offensively handicap and Boone still has only one hit as a Twin, but its a win and hopefully something to build on.
The pitching was strong tonight, as Santana pitched seven innings, giving up four runs, but only one earned as errors by Morneau and Rodriguez helped the Angels put up a three spot in the first. However, the three Ks is somewhat disturbing as he wasn't terribly dominant, but the improvement is definitely a move in the right direction for last year's Cy Young. Rincon and Nathan proved to be a dynamic bullpen combo again, as Nathan picked up his AL-leading 26th save and Rincon pitched a scoreless eigth.
Overall, it was nice to see a breakout inning, but it was sadly not a convincing offensive breakout. Tommorow, Mays takes the ball against John Lackey. Lets hope the Twins don't look pathetic against Lackey as they did last time he pitched against us.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Hopeless
It's time to face the facts I guess. The Twins have some serious problems and they extend far past anything that Bret Boone and perhaps any other single-player acquisition can fix. For the second consecutive night, the Twins lost 3-2, displaying a pathetic inability to hit yet again. I was hoping the team would work on some things over the break and come out ready to start smacking the ball a little better, but if anything they're worse. Jacque Jones is still pulling grounders to the right side in nearly every at bat, Justin Morneau is still looking clueless against outside pitches, and Boone is yet to reach base in 8 plate appearances in a Twins uniform. The Twins' 2-7 hitters went a combined 0 for 20. Are you kidding me? Is it just me, or does it seem like Joe Mauer is the only player on the team who consistently makes good contact with the ball? Literally, in our lineup of 9 starters, he is the only guy that is able to hit the ball well on a consistent basis. It shows in the stats. While he and Shannon Stewart are hitting .302 and .290, respectively, no other regular starter (aside from Luis Rodriguez, who I'm not quite ready to place in that group) is hitting above .270.
Brad Radke pitched very well tonight, going the complete game and allowing only 2 earned runs on 5 hits, but as usual, it wasn't enough for the Twins' despicable offense. Scott Ullger needs to go, no question. Even if it is not necessarily his fault, whatever he's doing is obviously not working so it couldn't hurt to bring in a fresh face and see if someone else could jump-start some of our slumbering bats.
Brad Radke pitched very well tonight, going the complete game and allowing only 2 earned runs on 5 hits, but as usual, it wasn't enough for the Twins' despicable offense. Scott Ullger needs to go, no question. Even if it is not necessarily his fault, whatever he's doing is obviously not working so it couldn't hurt to bring in a fresh face and see if someone else could jump-start some of our slumbering bats.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Boone's Not-So-Great Debut
Bret Boone's coming to the Twins was filled with suspense: What will happen? Will he produce? Will he the 2001-Boone or the old, falling apart Boone. Thursday night was his big debut and everyone, including me, was excited to see the results. But they weren't so great. Boone went 0 for 4 in the three spot, striking out in his first RBI situation. And the rest of the Twins followed suit for the most part. The offense once again didn't do very much against Jarred Washburn. Two runs, one on a sac fly from Lew Ford, and only one player, Jacque Jones, with two hits. But they were far worse against the Angels big bullpen combo of Donnelly, Shields, and K-Rod. In three bullpen innings, the Twins managed no hits and struck out four times, including Michael Ryan in the last at-bat.
The young Twins hitters just looked pathetic, like they had absolutely no chance against Rodriguez or Shields. Ryan's face said it all, as he tried in desperation to hit K-Rod's filthy slider. Its just a reminder of how little experience and direction these young hitters have. No one seems to be teaching them what they need to do in those situations, how they can control the strike zone, and how to lay off those pitches and more importantly, protect the strike zone in 0-2 and 1-2 situations, something Ryan didn't do and something plenty of Twins miss nightly.
As for our pitching, it wasn't horrible. Kyle Lohse had a quality start, going 6 and 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and three runs while walking three and striking out only two. The three walks are the most problematic stat, as Lohse continued again to get himself into jams. The bullpen did its job, but J.C. Romero continued to show the same control problems, walking two in 2/3 of an inning, while Jesse Crain and Juan Rincon pitched well in scoreless innings. Despite those problems, the pitchers can't be blamed, as they held the big bats of Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson silent and gave the Twins a good chance to win. It once again comes down to those same offensive wooes and the inability to drive in runs. Hopefully Bret Boone's sophmore effort is far better.
The young Twins hitters just looked pathetic, like they had absolutely no chance against Rodriguez or Shields. Ryan's face said it all, as he tried in desperation to hit K-Rod's filthy slider. Its just a reminder of how little experience and direction these young hitters have. No one seems to be teaching them what they need to do in those situations, how they can control the strike zone, and how to lay off those pitches and more importantly, protect the strike zone in 0-2 and 1-2 situations, something Ryan didn't do and something plenty of Twins miss nightly.
As for our pitching, it wasn't horrible. Kyle Lohse had a quality start, going 6 and 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and three runs while walking three and striking out only two. The three walks are the most problematic stat, as Lohse continued again to get himself into jams. The bullpen did its job, but J.C. Romero continued to show the same control problems, walking two in 2/3 of an inning, while Jesse Crain and Juan Rincon pitched well in scoreless innings. Despite those problems, the pitchers can't be blamed, as they held the big bats of Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson silent and gave the Twins a good chance to win. It once again comes down to those same offensive wooes and the inability to drive in runs. Hopefully Bret Boone's sophmore effort is far better.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Thoughts at the Break
Initially, I was planning on using this post to give mid-season awards for excellence and ineptitude, a la Jayson Stark. Then I came to the realization that my choices would pretty much all be the same as Stark's, so the article would be redundant. Therefore, I'm going to use this post to simply muse a little about things of interest going on around the league, as we prepare ourselves for the home half of the 2005 season, and for the Bret Boone era, which begins tomorrow. Alas, your random musings...
*I still sport my Cristian Guzman batting practice jersey, circa 2002, proudly at Twins games every now and then. Back in the early 2000 years, he would rack up triples, sprint around the bases, and routinely beat out infield grounders. That stands as the most entertaining individual performance I have ever enjoyed watching in baseball. That said, I can't believe what an utterly horrible player he has become. His line for the Nationals this year is absolutely laughable: .201/.239/.291. He's 3/7 on stolen base attempts. Twins fans really need to give Terry Ryan the utmost credit for dumping this guy and allowing Washington to throw $16 million at him. His lazy slap-ball style might have played well on the hard turf of old at the Metrodome, but I don't think there is a single stadium in the Majors anymore where Guzman could be successful. At age 27, I think it's sadly safe to say he is done... I just feel sorry for the Nats, who really blew it by giving him a 4-year deal.
*I realize I'm not saying anything new, but Derrek Lee has been absolutely monstrous for the Cubbies this year. I would know better than most, he's on my fantasy baseball team. I've enjoyed the nice little luxury of signing on every night and seeing amazing day after ridiculously amazing day. Triple Crown? Probably not, but it's going to be a season for the ages nonetheless. By the way, I also have Brian Roberts on my fantasy team. I sure can pick 'em.
*With all the buzz about how amazing the White Sox have been, I really haven't heard much about the class of the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals. I knew they were doing well this season, but when I looked at the standings yesterday, and they have only one less win than the Sox! Who's going to beat this team... Mark Mulder, their prized off-season acquisition and a Cy Young candidate for much of last year, is MAYBE their third-best starter.
*Sticking with the NL Central, you have got to give some credit to the Houston Astros. This team was the laughing stock of the league early in the season, when they seemed to be out of the race after just a few weeks. Their offense has been so listless, that Roger Clemens has won only 7 games despite an amazing 1.48 ERA. Regardless, they have crept back up over .500 and are very much in the NL Wild Card race.
*The Angels picked the right guy to build their offense around in Vladimir Guerrero. In just 70 games this year, he's raking at a rate of .335/.388/.584. He's hit 16 homers, driven in 51, and stolen 6 bases without being caught. Despite his free-swinging ways, he's struck out only 27 times. With all due respect to Bonds and Pujols, Vladie is the best all-around player in baseball for my money. And uh, by the way... he's on my fantasy team.
-Nick N.
*I still sport my Cristian Guzman batting practice jersey, circa 2002, proudly at Twins games every now and then. Back in the early 2000 years, he would rack up triples, sprint around the bases, and routinely beat out infield grounders. That stands as the most entertaining individual performance I have ever enjoyed watching in baseball. That said, I can't believe what an utterly horrible player he has become. His line for the Nationals this year is absolutely laughable: .201/.239/.291. He's 3/7 on stolen base attempts. Twins fans really need to give Terry Ryan the utmost credit for dumping this guy and allowing Washington to throw $16 million at him. His lazy slap-ball style might have played well on the hard turf of old at the Metrodome, but I don't think there is a single stadium in the Majors anymore where Guzman could be successful. At age 27, I think it's sadly safe to say he is done... I just feel sorry for the Nats, who really blew it by giving him a 4-year deal.
*I realize I'm not saying anything new, but Derrek Lee has been absolutely monstrous for the Cubbies this year. I would know better than most, he's on my fantasy baseball team. I've enjoyed the nice little luxury of signing on every night and seeing amazing day after ridiculously amazing day. Triple Crown? Probably not, but it's going to be a season for the ages nonetheless. By the way, I also have Brian Roberts on my fantasy team. I sure can pick 'em.
*With all the buzz about how amazing the White Sox have been, I really haven't heard much about the class of the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals. I knew they were doing well this season, but when I looked at the standings yesterday, and they have only one less win than the Sox! Who's going to beat this team... Mark Mulder, their prized off-season acquisition and a Cy Young candidate for much of last year, is MAYBE their third-best starter.
*Sticking with the NL Central, you have got to give some credit to the Houston Astros. This team was the laughing stock of the league early in the season, when they seemed to be out of the race after just a few weeks. Their offense has been so listless, that Roger Clemens has won only 7 games despite an amazing 1.48 ERA. Regardless, they have crept back up over .500 and are very much in the NL Wild Card race.
*The Angels picked the right guy to build their offense around in Vladimir Guerrero. In just 70 games this year, he's raking at a rate of .335/.388/.584. He's hit 16 homers, driven in 51, and stolen 6 bases without being caught. Despite his free-swinging ways, he's struck out only 27 times. With all due respect to Bonds and Pujols, Vladie is the best all-around player in baseball for my money. And uh, by the way... he's on my fantasy team.
-Nick N.
Midseason Awards
Ok its time to award hitters and pitchers for either greatness or mediocrity. Lets start with the good stuff.
AL Midseason Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
I'm sorry, but there is no disputing such a choice. Halladay has gone right back to the form he displayed when he won the AL Cy Young two years ago. Before getting hurt with a line drive just before the break, Halladay was leading the AL with a 2.41 ERA, second with a 12-4 record and a .225 OBA and first with a .96 WHIP, five complete games, and 141 and 2/3 innings pitched. Those are all signs of dominance, which Halladay certainly
has certainly done so far this year. As Twins fans, its hard to forget his two-hit shutout of the Twins this year in which our hitters could barely scrape a hard line-drive off of him. You can make an argument for Mark Buerhle or Jon Garland of the White Sox, but neither of those guys have dominated AL hitters the way Halladay has or have taken team pitching leadership like Halladay.
AL Midseason MVP: Miguel Tejeda, Baltimore Orioles
Vladimir Guerrero may well by the MVP at the end of the season and he certainly tore up the league upon his return in June, hitting .440 and helping the Angels secure a good five game lead in the AL West. However, since the Orioles have been such a big story as the have jumped into contention this season, its hard to ignore their two MVP candidates, Brian Roberts and Tejeda, for midseason awards. Roberts is a legitimate case, as he is second in the league with a 1.007 OPS and a .416 OBP, first with a .345 average, and third with a .591 slugging percentage. For a leadoff man, those are some phenomonal, Henderson-esque numbers. However, Tejeda is the natural team-leader and the team's producer. He is among league leaders in all categories, with a .329 average, 19 HRs, and 62 RBIs. He leads the league in slugging with a .604 percentage, but it is his leadership and great defense that puts him above. You have to give Tejeda a lot of credit for where the Orioles are now, with a 47-40 record and second place in the AL East with a legitimate shot at the division title or the wild card. For that reason, Tejeda is the midseason MVP.
NL Midseason Cy Young: Roger Clemens, Houston Astros
Ignore Clemens' 7-3 record completely and just imagine he pitches for the Cardinals. Its pretty much guaranteed his record would probably be 13-2 or so. The Astros have given him 3.91 runs a game, nothing exactly to jump about. Clemens has given up one run on the road this year and that was a solo home run at, you guessed it, Coors Field. His dominance has been matched by only two people in the last fifty years up to the half way point, both Hall of Famers in Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale. His 1.48 ERA is incredible considering he is a month from 43 and that isnt his only point of dominance. He also has 112 Ks and a amazing .95 WHIP and .188 opponent batting average. The Cy Young is awarded to the most dominant pitcher in the league and there is no way to pass up Clemens. What he has done so far is likely beyond most fans minds. Its just another step in one of the greatest pitching careers ever.
NL Midseason MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Yes, Derrek Lee has had an amazing first half in which he has almost lead in the all three Triple Crown categories. However, that does not make Lee the MVP. MVP usually goes to the best player who leads his team to the playoffs; in other words, to the leader of a good or great team. Lee is unfortunate to play for the Cubs who have been a huge flop this year. He may still get the vote depending on how he finishes, but Pujols deserves based on this year and his last few years in which he has had to take a backseat to Barry Bonds. Pujols is right behind Lee in those offensive categories. He has a .337 average, 22 HRs, 69 RBIs, 1.017 OPS, .423 OBP, .594 slugging, and only 36 strikeouts. Basically, he has continue to put up the same kinds of Hall-of-Fame numbers he has since entering the league in 2001 and having the best rookie season ever. Lee is a deserving guy, but he falls under the same category as a guy like Todd Helton in 2000 with his .372 average and plenty of homers and RBIs to boot. He is playing for a poor team and having a great year. A-Rod got the MVP doing that in 2003, so its hard to know what will happen, but for me, Pujols is the MVP.
And the bad awards:
AL Cy-Yuk: Jose Lima, Kansas City Royals
I believe we actually lost to this guy and that's rather embarrassing because he's been terrible this year. Take a breather Hideo Nomo; this guy is a little worse. With a 2-7 record and a hideous 7.33 ERA, Lima has looked an awful lot like he was in 2000, when he blew up with the Astros and allowed 44 HRs. This year has been much of the same, as Lima has allowed 20 HRs and 121 hits in 93 and 1/3 innings, which amounts to .311 opponent batting average. You'd like to give this to his teammate Zack Greinke, who has an 1-11 record, but you actually feel bad for Greinke because he is so young and has so much talent. Baltimore's Sidney Ponson may be worse too, but only because he was signed on to be a ace and he has been inconsistent and essentially a batting practice pitcher, as he has given up 145 hits in 107 innings.
AL LVP: Sammy Sosa, Baltimore Orioles
Aaron Boone has been pretty bad, but he didn't come in with the expectations that Sosa did. To be fair in the last discussion, Ponson was so bad last year how could you expect improvement? At least Lima had a decent year with the Dodgers. Anyways, Sosa came in to Baltimore via a trade and has since fallen in the batting order to sixth, as he has displayed none of the great ower he had throughout his career. He is hitting .225 with only 9 HRs and 27 RBIs. As good as Tejeda has been, Sosa is the opposite. He isn't getting on base, he isn't showing consistent power, and he has been more or less a deterrent to the success of the Orioles.
NL Cy Yuk: Eric Milton, Cincinnati Reds
Joe Kennedy has been pretty bad too, but Milton has been beyond a batting practice pitcher. He has made, as Jayson Stark put it, every NL hitter look like Albert Pujols. The 29 HRs he has allowed put him in line to give up 53 this year, which would break Bert Blyleven's 50 HR record and put him in that "exclusive" club of gopherball pitchers. Needless to say, after signing a nice contract in the offseason, the Reds almost got what they should have expected: A guy who gives up lots of home runs in a hitter's park probably will get only worse. And he's done that. A 6.92 ERA, 4-10 record, 138 hits in 106 and 2/3 innings, and of course the home runs are all part of Milton's terrible year so far. It just begs the question to all: Why Cincinnati?
NL LVP: Christian Guzman, Washington Nationals
Hmmm another former Twin, let go amid protest and what is the result? They only get worse. Of course, Rogers was a flop and should have been kept on, but Milton and Guzman and others, like LaTrouble Hawkins, haven't found much comfort outside of the Twin Cities. Amidst the National's great first half in which they have surprised everyone with 50 wins, much like the White Sox, Guzman has been an enigma. After signing a big four year contract, he has been the worst hitter in the majors. All his stats are well below .300. A .201 average, a horrendous .239 OBP, and a .291 slugging percentage. Guzman has had a total of 13 extra-base hits this year. Needless to say, a lot like with Rivas, I am wondering with Guzman still has a job? Granted he is hurt right now, but it seems he can only hold the Nationals back from a great opening season.
Those are the awards so far. Stay tuned for Nick Nelson's and of course, I hope for much feedback. Enjoy!
AL Midseason Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
I'm sorry, but there is no disputing such a choice. Halladay has gone right back to the form he displayed when he won the AL Cy Young two years ago. Before getting hurt with a line drive just before the break, Halladay was leading the AL with a 2.41 ERA, second with a 12-4 record and a .225 OBA and first with a .96 WHIP, five complete games, and 141 and 2/3 innings pitched. Those are all signs of dominance, which Halladay certainly
has certainly done so far this year. As Twins fans, its hard to forget his two-hit shutout of the Twins this year in which our hitters could barely scrape a hard line-drive off of him. You can make an argument for Mark Buerhle or Jon Garland of the White Sox, but neither of those guys have dominated AL hitters the way Halladay has or have taken team pitching leadership like Halladay.
AL Midseason MVP: Miguel Tejeda, Baltimore Orioles
Vladimir Guerrero may well by the MVP at the end of the season and he certainly tore up the league upon his return in June, hitting .440 and helping the Angels secure a good five game lead in the AL West. However, since the Orioles have been such a big story as the have jumped into contention this season, its hard to ignore their two MVP candidates, Brian Roberts and Tejeda, for midseason awards. Roberts is a legitimate case, as he is second in the league with a 1.007 OPS and a .416 OBP, first with a .345 average, and third with a .591 slugging percentage. For a leadoff man, those are some phenomonal, Henderson-esque numbers. However, Tejeda is the natural team-leader and the team's producer. He is among league leaders in all categories, with a .329 average, 19 HRs, and 62 RBIs. He leads the league in slugging with a .604 percentage, but it is his leadership and great defense that puts him above. You have to give Tejeda a lot of credit for where the Orioles are now, with a 47-40 record and second place in the AL East with a legitimate shot at the division title or the wild card. For that reason, Tejeda is the midseason MVP.
NL Midseason Cy Young: Roger Clemens, Houston Astros
Ignore Clemens' 7-3 record completely and just imagine he pitches for the Cardinals. Its pretty much guaranteed his record would probably be 13-2 or so. The Astros have given him 3.91 runs a game, nothing exactly to jump about. Clemens has given up one run on the road this year and that was a solo home run at, you guessed it, Coors Field. His dominance has been matched by only two people in the last fifty years up to the half way point, both Hall of Famers in Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale. His 1.48 ERA is incredible considering he is a month from 43 and that isnt his only point of dominance. He also has 112 Ks and a amazing .95 WHIP and .188 opponent batting average. The Cy Young is awarded to the most dominant pitcher in the league and there is no way to pass up Clemens. What he has done so far is likely beyond most fans minds. Its just another step in one of the greatest pitching careers ever.
NL Midseason MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Yes, Derrek Lee has had an amazing first half in which he has almost lead in the all three Triple Crown categories. However, that does not make Lee the MVP. MVP usually goes to the best player who leads his team to the playoffs; in other words, to the leader of a good or great team. Lee is unfortunate to play for the Cubs who have been a huge flop this year. He may still get the vote depending on how he finishes, but Pujols deserves based on this year and his last few years in which he has had to take a backseat to Barry Bonds. Pujols is right behind Lee in those offensive categories. He has a .337 average, 22 HRs, 69 RBIs, 1.017 OPS, .423 OBP, .594 slugging, and only 36 strikeouts. Basically, he has continue to put up the same kinds of Hall-of-Fame numbers he has since entering the league in 2001 and having the best rookie season ever. Lee is a deserving guy, but he falls under the same category as a guy like Todd Helton in 2000 with his .372 average and plenty of homers and RBIs to boot. He is playing for a poor team and having a great year. A-Rod got the MVP doing that in 2003, so its hard to know what will happen, but for me, Pujols is the MVP.
And the bad awards:
AL Cy-Yuk: Jose Lima, Kansas City Royals
I believe we actually lost to this guy and that's rather embarrassing because he's been terrible this year. Take a breather Hideo Nomo; this guy is a little worse. With a 2-7 record and a hideous 7.33 ERA, Lima has looked an awful lot like he was in 2000, when he blew up with the Astros and allowed 44 HRs. This year has been much of the same, as Lima has allowed 20 HRs and 121 hits in 93 and 1/3 innings, which amounts to .311 opponent batting average. You'd like to give this to his teammate Zack Greinke, who has an 1-11 record, but you actually feel bad for Greinke because he is so young and has so much talent. Baltimore's Sidney Ponson may be worse too, but only because he was signed on to be a ace and he has been inconsistent and essentially a batting practice pitcher, as he has given up 145 hits in 107 innings.
AL LVP: Sammy Sosa, Baltimore Orioles
Aaron Boone has been pretty bad, but he didn't come in with the expectations that Sosa did. To be fair in the last discussion, Ponson was so bad last year how could you expect improvement? At least Lima had a decent year with the Dodgers. Anyways, Sosa came in to Baltimore via a trade and has since fallen in the batting order to sixth, as he has displayed none of the great ower he had throughout his career. He is hitting .225 with only 9 HRs and 27 RBIs. As good as Tejeda has been, Sosa is the opposite. He isn't getting on base, he isn't showing consistent power, and he has been more or less a deterrent to the success of the Orioles.
NL Cy Yuk: Eric Milton, Cincinnati Reds
Joe Kennedy has been pretty bad too, but Milton has been beyond a batting practice pitcher. He has made, as Jayson Stark put it, every NL hitter look like Albert Pujols. The 29 HRs he has allowed put him in line to give up 53 this year, which would break Bert Blyleven's 50 HR record and put him in that "exclusive" club of gopherball pitchers. Needless to say, after signing a nice contract in the offseason, the Reds almost got what they should have expected: A guy who gives up lots of home runs in a hitter's park probably will get only worse. And he's done that. A 6.92 ERA, 4-10 record, 138 hits in 106 and 2/3 innings, and of course the home runs are all part of Milton's terrible year so far. It just begs the question to all: Why Cincinnati?
NL LVP: Christian Guzman, Washington Nationals
Hmmm another former Twin, let go amid protest and what is the result? They only get worse. Of course, Rogers was a flop and should have been kept on, but Milton and Guzman and others, like LaTrouble Hawkins, haven't found much comfort outside of the Twin Cities. Amidst the National's great first half in which they have surprised everyone with 50 wins, much like the White Sox, Guzman has been an enigma. After signing a big four year contract, he has been the worst hitter in the majors. All his stats are well below .300. A .201 average, a horrendous .239 OBP, and a .291 slugging percentage. Guzman has had a total of 13 extra-base hits this year. Needless to say, a lot like with Rivas, I am wondering with Guzman still has a job? Granted he is hurt right now, but it seems he can only hold the Nationals back from a great opening season.
Those are the awards so far. Stay tuned for Nick Nelson's and of course, I hope for much feedback. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
All-Star Mediocrity
The Twins two All-Stars didn't exactly have their best games tonight. Of course, they are facing some pretty good hitters, from Bobby Abreu (who hit an incredible record 41 home runs in the Home Run Derby) to Albert Pujols. Johan Santana hasn't been himself lately, and although he didn't give up a run, his inning of work wasn't exciting. Instead of striking out a great hitter, he gave up a hit and a walk. Nathan on the other hand did give up a run in the NL eight, allowing two hits and also not picking up any strikeouts. Compared to last year, where Nathan threw 97-98 managed to strike out Houston star Lance Berkman. This year, he looked mediocre, not showing the same intensity he showed last year. I just wish there was more excitement so more would notice the stars in Minnesota like Nathan. It was his and Santana's shot at a big spotlight and a chance to display their skills, so why not try to strike everyone out?
The AL won 7-5 on the back on two-run homers by MVP Miguel Tejeda and Texas slugger Mark Teixeira. Terry Francona brought in rival closer Mariano Rivera to get the last out and his second All-Star save. And Kenny Rogers, who's recent infamous incident has been all over ESPN, gave up two runs and was nearly booed off the field.
Tommorow, we will present our midseason awards, from Cy Young to MVP to the "Starkian" Cy Yuks and LVPs of the respective leagues.
The AL won 7-5 on the back on two-run homers by MVP Miguel Tejeda and Texas slugger Mark Teixeira. Terry Francona brought in rival closer Mariano Rivera to get the last out and his second All-Star save. And Kenny Rogers, who's recent infamous incident has been all over ESPN, gave up two runs and was nearly booed off the field.
Tommorow, we will present our midseason awards, from Cy Young to MVP to the "Starkian" Cy Yuks and LVPs of the respective leagues.
The Boonies
I've soaked the move in for a day now. I've come to the conclusion that I'm happy that Terry Ryan made the trade to bring in second baseman Bret Boone at minimal cost. Happy if only for the fact that it gives fans something fresh to be excited about... with new players come new possibilities. Luis Rodriguez and Nick Punto have both been fairly steady at second, but certainly nothing to get in a frenzy over. Bret is has been an All-Star, a Gold-Glove winner, and an MVP candidate... all multiple times. Nobody on the Twins roster right now has such a resume. Even with his poor statistics this year, Boone still has better run-production numbers than any of the Twins' 2B/SS/3B.
However, there is really no reason to think he's going to be a huge help to this lineup. Here's the important statistic, as I see it: .210. That's Boone's average against left-handed pitching this year. The Twins are a team that needs some help against southpaws, and bringing in a right-handed bat doesn't mean much when it's a guy who hits righties better than lefties. This season is not a statistical anomaly for Boone, he has always hit right-handers better than left-handers. In the seasons 2002-2005, Boone has hit .269 against LHPs while hitting .277 off right-handers.
Regardless, I remain happy that we picked the guy up. He wanted to be here, he's a veteran who knows how to hit, and there's always the chance that he will spark and be relatively productive. Even if not, it won't hurt us too much.
By the way... anyone notice any similarity?
However, there is really no reason to think he's going to be a huge help to this lineup. Here's the important statistic, as I see it: .210. That's Boone's average against left-handed pitching this year. The Twins are a team that needs some help against southpaws, and bringing in a right-handed bat doesn't mean much when it's a guy who hits righties better than lefties. This season is not a statistical anomaly for Boone, he has always hit right-handers better than left-handers. In the seasons 2002-2005, Boone has hit .269 against LHPs while hitting .277 off right-handers.
Regardless, I remain happy that we picked the guy up. He wanted to be here, he's a veteran who knows how to hit, and there's always the chance that he will spark and be relatively productive. Even if not, it won't hurt us too much.
By the way... anyone notice any similarity?
Monday, July 11, 2005
Trade Commentary
I think its about time to weigh in on the Twins trade today for Bret Boone. Although Boone's only hitting .231, he has 7 HRs and 34 RBIs, which is a lot more than what the Twins have gotten from their other options. Boone is a career .266 hitter and .271 at the Metrodome. Basically, none of the other options have worked well. Luis Rodriguez did good enough, but he's needed now to play third. Nick Punto is a good utility man and a great bench player, but I'm not sure he's an adept starter yet. And Luis Rivas should not be a major leaguer. Its a surprise to me he's played a game this year, even if he's been decent the last few games. (It was the Royals. Not that impressive really)
Realistically, Boone can only improve this team. He brings veteran leadership, a solid glove at second (four Gold Gloves) and of course, a bat that produced a .331, 37 HR, 141 RBI season. I dont think Boone will produce like that again, but he should be solid. He's hit a lot better on the road this year and of course, Seattle doesn't exactly play in a hitter's park like the Dome. I'd expect Boone to hit around .270 the reason of the season, with 10-15 HRs and 40 RBI. Anything above that would be a gift and if he doesnt produced that much, its not like Rivas or Punto would do any better. Basically, I think Twins fans should looked foward to this, and like Nick Nelson said, see that at least Terry Ryan is trying something. Lets just hope for visions of Shannon Stewart, a la 2003.
Realistically, Boone can only improve this team. He brings veteran leadership, a solid glove at second (four Gold Gloves) and of course, a bat that produced a .331, 37 HR, 141 RBI season. I dont think Boone will produce like that again, but he should be solid. He's hit a lot better on the road this year and of course, Seattle doesn't exactly play in a hitter's park like the Dome. I'd expect Boone to hit around .270 the reason of the season, with 10-15 HRs and 40 RBI. Anything above that would be a gift and if he doesnt produced that much, its not like Rivas or Punto would do any better. Basically, I think Twins fans should looked foward to this, and like Nick Nelson said, see that at least Terry Ryan is trying something. Lets just hope for visions of Shannon Stewart, a la 2003.
Twins Get Boone
Hot off ESPN.com:
"The Minnesota Twins made a bid to bolster their young infield Monday by acquiring former All-Star second baseman Bret Boone from the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners will also send cash to the Twins in exchange for a player to be named later. Boone, whose salary for this season is $8 million, was designated for assignment by Seattle earlier this month in a disappointing, tearful end to his career there."
I'm pretty surprised. I don't think Boone's got much value, so I'd be peeved if the Twins had given up anything of value for him... but it sounds like the M's are basically just handing him to us.
I'm just happy to see Terry Ryan recognizing that our infield is in shambles and I'm glad he's doing something about. Maybe we'll get lucky and Bret will rediscover his swing and provide some middle-of-the-offense presence. Unlikely, I suppose, but even the worst-case scenario isn't that bad. We couldn't do much worse at second base than we are right now. Expect plenty more analysis later.
"The Minnesota Twins made a bid to bolster their young infield Monday by acquiring former All-Star second baseman Bret Boone from the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners will also send cash to the Twins in exchange for a player to be named later. Boone, whose salary for this season is $8 million, was designated for assignment by Seattle earlier this month in a disappointing, tearful end to his career there."
I'm pretty surprised. I don't think Boone's got much value, so I'd be peeved if the Twins had given up anything of value for him... but it sounds like the M's are basically just handing him to us.
I'm just happy to see Terry Ryan recognizing that our infield is in shambles and I'm glad he's doing something about. Maybe we'll get lucky and Bret will rediscover his swing and provide some middle-of-the-offense presence. Unlikely, I suppose, but even the worst-case scenario isn't that bad. We couldn't do much worse at second base than we are right now. Expect plenty more analysis later.
Mid-Season Progress Report
Well, it's that time of the baseball season. The unofficial halfway point; the All-Star break. The time when the game's best gather to show their stuff on the national stage, and all the rest get to take a nice little three-game vacation. It's also a time when many fans and analysts get a chance to sit back and mull over the season to this point, and try and prognosticate where the rest of the season is headed.
I'm going to use today's post to think back to what the general expectations were for this team back in spring training, and see which ones were met and which were not.
5 THINGS WE EXPECTED
1. The Twins' record is slightly better than it was last year at this point.
The record this year stands at 48-38. Last year at the break it was 47-40. I think there was a general feeling amongst Twins' fans at the beginning of the season that this year's team was slightly better than last year's, so I think that a slightly improved record was expected.
2. Joe Mauer is hitting .300.
.305, to be exact. We knew this kid was a great hitter, and I don't think it was unreasonable to expect him to post an impressive batting average. He's also posting a .373 OBP. The power numbers are down a little bit from last year, as he's hit the same number of home runs (6) in over twice as many at-bats, but I don't think many expected him to come out and jack 30 homers in his first full season.
3. Shannon Stewart has been very steady.
This has been one of the streakiest lineups I can remember seeing, with Jacque Jones and Justin Morneau starting out great and then disappearing, Michael Cuddyer having a very hot couple weeks amid his pathetic season, and Torii Hunter continuing with his streaks and slumps. But the guy at the front of the order, Mr. Stewart, has been very consistent. His numbers aren't dazzling at .290/.339/.422, but the guy never seems to go on a big slump and that is very refreshing. Of course, that's what he's been doing since he got here, and that's why we've come to love him so. Surprisingly, he's also provided some flash with the glove this year, if only because he gets later jumps on the ball and has to make tougher plays.
4. Johan Santana and Joe Nathan are All-Stars.
After tearing up the league and winning the Cy Young award last year, it was a foregone conclusion that Johan would be an All-Star this year. He leads the Majors in strikeouts and finds himself on the AL All-Star roster for the time in his career. Nathan has been terrific in the closer spot for the Twins, and been about what Twins Nation was expecting. He's dominated with his fastball, racked up tons of strikeouts, and leads the league in saves. He hit a few bumpy spots and his ERA and walks are higher than one would like to see, but he has certainly protected his spot as one of the game's elite.
5. The Twins are among the AL leaders in ERA
The Twins' pitching staff has posted a 3.78 ERA to this point in the season, which puts them second in the AL behind the White Sox. Pretty much where most people expected them to be, I think, since their starting rotation and bullpen had both been vaunted as one of the best in the Majors.
5 THINGS WE DIDN'T EXPECT
1. The Twins are 9 games out of first place.
This is the doozy, the most obvious. Coming into the year, it looked like if the Twins had any competition in the AL Central, it would come from Cleveland. While Cleveland has been solid (despite a slow start), it has been the White Sox who have taken the league by storm, posting an MLB-best 57-29 record in the first half. This has come as a shock to many, I admittedly had the Sox pegged as one of the worst teams in the division before the season started. They'd lost their two most consistent power threats in Mag Ordonez and Carlos Lee, and didn't have an all-too impressive team on paper. However, their small-ball approach and out-of-nowhere performances from guys like Jon Garland, Dustin Hermanson, and Carl Everett have put them on top of the Central and in very good position to nab the division crown from the Twins.
2. The Cuddyer Disaster.
Michael Cuddyer was the Twins' hottest hitter in spring training, and seemed poised to pick up right where Corey Koskie left off at third base for the Twins. A guy who had long yearned for an opportunity to start on a regular basis, Cuddy was looking to post solid numbers that would round out the bottom part of the Twins' order very nicely. Instead, Cuddyer has been abysmal. The once-promising hitter has struggled mightily, hitting just .259 and showing pathetic power with a .384 slugging percentage. His defense at third base has been despicable. Now Cud finds himself on the DL going into the break, and there is a good chance he won't have a spot when he returns.
3. Mauer's been healthy.
This is actually a good thing that we weren't expecting. Mauer missed most of last season with a bad knee injury, and it flared up again in spring training. The team said he would be fine, but when Ron Gardenhire made the decision to keep a third catcher in Corky Miller at the expense of power-hitter Michael Restovich coming into the regular season, Twins fans everywhere got the idea that there was more wrong with Mauer's knee than the team was letting on. Surprisingly, Mauer has missed no time aside from the occasional precautionary day off, and he has been in fact the ONLY infielder who hasn't missed time due to injury. Who'da thunk it.
4. Santana has been hittable.
Johan's election to the All-Star team was really probably more due to his performance in the last half of the 2004 season than his performance so far this year. Not to say he doesn't have deserving statistics this year, leading the league in strikeouts is never something to scoff at, but the guy hasn't even been the best pitcher on this team, let alone one of the best in the league. He's gotten lit up, especially lately, and as a result has an ERA near 4.
5. Morneau has only 11 homers.
It's hard to be disappointed with that number out of a guy experiencing his first full year as a starter. Still, he's fallen short of pretty much everyone's expectations I think. And why shouldn't we have high expectations? I realize he's young and inexperienced, but the guy smacked 19 homers in just 280 at-bats last year. He's already had 237 this year, and he's hit 8 fewer dongs, indicating that he has regressed rather than improving. His OPS is nearly 70 points lower than what he finished with last year. What's most distressing is that after a torrid April in which he his .439, he hit .222 and .239 in May and June, indicating that the league seems to have figured him out. Featured as one of the up-and-coming premier power hitters in the league coming into this season, Justin has lost his spot as the team's cleanup hitter and been relegated to the number 7 spot in the order.
What has or hasn't surprised you?
I'm going to use today's post to think back to what the general expectations were for this team back in spring training, and see which ones were met and which were not.
5 THINGS WE EXPECTED
1. The Twins' record is slightly better than it was last year at this point.
The record this year stands at 48-38. Last year at the break it was 47-40. I think there was a general feeling amongst Twins' fans at the beginning of the season that this year's team was slightly better than last year's, so I think that a slightly improved record was expected.
2. Joe Mauer is hitting .300.
.305, to be exact. We knew this kid was a great hitter, and I don't think it was unreasonable to expect him to post an impressive batting average. He's also posting a .373 OBP. The power numbers are down a little bit from last year, as he's hit the same number of home runs (6) in over twice as many at-bats, but I don't think many expected him to come out and jack 30 homers in his first full season.
3. Shannon Stewart has been very steady.
This has been one of the streakiest lineups I can remember seeing, with Jacque Jones and Justin Morneau starting out great and then disappearing, Michael Cuddyer having a very hot couple weeks amid his pathetic season, and Torii Hunter continuing with his streaks and slumps. But the guy at the front of the order, Mr. Stewart, has been very consistent. His numbers aren't dazzling at .290/.339/.422, but the guy never seems to go on a big slump and that is very refreshing. Of course, that's what he's been doing since he got here, and that's why we've come to love him so. Surprisingly, he's also provided some flash with the glove this year, if only because he gets later jumps on the ball and has to make tougher plays.
4. Johan Santana and Joe Nathan are All-Stars.
After tearing up the league and winning the Cy Young award last year, it was a foregone conclusion that Johan would be an All-Star this year. He leads the Majors in strikeouts and finds himself on the AL All-Star roster for the time in his career. Nathan has been terrific in the closer spot for the Twins, and been about what Twins Nation was expecting. He's dominated with his fastball, racked up tons of strikeouts, and leads the league in saves. He hit a few bumpy spots and his ERA and walks are higher than one would like to see, but he has certainly protected his spot as one of the game's elite.
5. The Twins are among the AL leaders in ERA
The Twins' pitching staff has posted a 3.78 ERA to this point in the season, which puts them second in the AL behind the White Sox. Pretty much where most people expected them to be, I think, since their starting rotation and bullpen had both been vaunted as one of the best in the Majors.
5 THINGS WE DIDN'T EXPECT
1. The Twins are 9 games out of first place.
This is the doozy, the most obvious. Coming into the year, it looked like if the Twins had any competition in the AL Central, it would come from Cleveland. While Cleveland has been solid (despite a slow start), it has been the White Sox who have taken the league by storm, posting an MLB-best 57-29 record in the first half. This has come as a shock to many, I admittedly had the Sox pegged as one of the worst teams in the division before the season started. They'd lost their two most consistent power threats in Mag Ordonez and Carlos Lee, and didn't have an all-too impressive team on paper. However, their small-ball approach and out-of-nowhere performances from guys like Jon Garland, Dustin Hermanson, and Carl Everett have put them on top of the Central and in very good position to nab the division crown from the Twins.
2. The Cuddyer Disaster.
Michael Cuddyer was the Twins' hottest hitter in spring training, and seemed poised to pick up right where Corey Koskie left off at third base for the Twins. A guy who had long yearned for an opportunity to start on a regular basis, Cuddy was looking to post solid numbers that would round out the bottom part of the Twins' order very nicely. Instead, Cuddyer has been abysmal. The once-promising hitter has struggled mightily, hitting just .259 and showing pathetic power with a .384 slugging percentage. His defense at third base has been despicable. Now Cud finds himself on the DL going into the break, and there is a good chance he won't have a spot when he returns.
3. Mauer's been healthy.
This is actually a good thing that we weren't expecting. Mauer missed most of last season with a bad knee injury, and it flared up again in spring training. The team said he would be fine, but when Ron Gardenhire made the decision to keep a third catcher in Corky Miller at the expense of power-hitter Michael Restovich coming into the regular season, Twins fans everywhere got the idea that there was more wrong with Mauer's knee than the team was letting on. Surprisingly, Mauer has missed no time aside from the occasional precautionary day off, and he has been in fact the ONLY infielder who hasn't missed time due to injury. Who'da thunk it.
4. Santana has been hittable.
Johan's election to the All-Star team was really probably more due to his performance in the last half of the 2004 season than his performance so far this year. Not to say he doesn't have deserving statistics this year, leading the league in strikeouts is never something to scoff at, but the guy hasn't even been the best pitcher on this team, let alone one of the best in the league. He's gotten lit up, especially lately, and as a result has an ERA near 4.
5. Morneau has only 11 homers.
It's hard to be disappointed with that number out of a guy experiencing his first full year as a starter. Still, he's fallen short of pretty much everyone's expectations I think. And why shouldn't we have high expectations? I realize he's young and inexperienced, but the guy smacked 19 homers in just 280 at-bats last year. He's already had 237 this year, and he's hit 8 fewer dongs, indicating that he has regressed rather than improving. His OPS is nearly 70 points lower than what he finished with last year. What's most distressing is that after a torrid April in which he his .439, he hit .222 and .239 in May and June, indicating that the league seems to have figured him out. Featured as one of the up-and-coming premier power hitters in the league coming into this season, Justin has lost his spot as the team's cleanup hitter and been relegated to the number 7 spot in the order.
What has or hasn't surprised you?
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Close Victory
Of all in the bullpen, Joe Nathan should be expected to hold up the best. But, in the five innings the bullpen pitched today, Nathan gave up the only run on a home run to Mike Sweeney. Sweeney tore the Twins up in the series, going 11 for his last 15 and hitting two home runs to provide the only offense for the Royals. Its not to say Nathan did poorly, but at least Crain, Romero, and Rincon managed to throw scoreless innings. Nathan actually looked good, reaching 98 on the radar gun and throwing nasty sliders, picking up four Ks in his two innings. His battle with Sweeney that ended in a long home run is the only blotch on a good performance by the bullpen. Jesse Crain, who has been atrocious as of late, pitched a scoreless 12th to pick up the save.
Lost in the long game was Carlos Silva's good start. Silva pitched seven innings, while giving up five hits and one run while striking out three and once again walking none. That means Silva has walked only five in 114 and a third innings. Silva has, for all intensive purposes, been the ace of the staff at the break. With a 7-3 record and a 3.53 ERA, Silva was close to being an All-Star. I believe he'll continue to pitch well, but now he just needs Radke and Santana to follow and pick up the slack.
More importantly was the offensive failure over the game. Although they had 15 hits, they managed only three runs, one unearned. In order to win, they needed rookie third baseman Mark Teahan to make a major error with two outs in the 12th, on a Torii Hunter grounder, to allow Nick Punto to score. Otherwise, the team left eleven baserunners on. Against KC, that's just not acceptable. That's pathetic. The standouts were Joe Mauer, who went 2 for 5 and ends the first half with a .305 average, and the two Luis', who both went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Basically, its the same old story. The Twins can't hit well with men on and fail when it comes to strike zone judgement. More on this tommorow, as the All-Star break starts.
Lost in the long game was Carlos Silva's good start. Silva pitched seven innings, while giving up five hits and one run while striking out three and once again walking none. That means Silva has walked only five in 114 and a third innings. Silva has, for all intensive purposes, been the ace of the staff at the break. With a 7-3 record and a 3.53 ERA, Silva was close to being an All-Star. I believe he'll continue to pitch well, but now he just needs Radke and Santana to follow and pick up the slack.
More importantly was the offensive failure over the game. Although they had 15 hits, they managed only three runs, one unearned. In order to win, they needed rookie third baseman Mark Teahan to make a major error with two outs in the 12th, on a Torii Hunter grounder, to allow Nick Punto to score. Otherwise, the team left eleven baserunners on. Against KC, that's just not acceptable. That's pathetic. The standouts were Joe Mauer, who went 2 for 5 and ends the first half with a .305 average, and the two Luis', who both went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Basically, its the same old story. The Twins can't hit well with men on and fail when it comes to strike zone judgement. More on this tommorow, as the All-Star break starts.
Bumming Around
Following my associate's suggestion, I read the MPR blog, "The Bleacher Bums," to see what they had to say. Essentially, they are in complete agreement with things with brought up in the past, but with examples from years ago. Its important to remember that Scott Ulger has been the hitting coach since 1998 and that, as they point, had only a year of major league experience, in which he hit a Guzman-esque .190. So, looking at guys like Guzman, Rivas, Hunter, and others who have come up in the tend, a disturbing trend is seen: A complete lack of strike zone mastery. To anyone who watches the games, this is a little obvious, but seeing the stats makes it far worse. Since coming up, guys from Hunter to Guzman have not improved their strike zone judgement at all. What the site shows are a ratio of strikeouts per walks that border on ridiculous. Its true that it may not be Ulger's fault that these guys are essentially free-swingers, but that really doesn't matter. The need for a fresh-face is immediate because they don't respond to Ulger regardless, even if he gives good advice. Its essentially the same logic used when firing Flip Saunders last year (although that didn't really help, but besides the point). Changes are neccessary beyond getting a big bat in the line-up, but its far more important to get our new hitters (Mauer, Morneau, etc) to develop good strike zone judgement. Mauer has that in a way, but he still needs guidnace and molding just like any other major league player. Like Luis Rivas, despite his game last night, I wonder all the time how Ulger still has a job in the majors when he is clearly doing an awful job.
Also, Patrick Reusse (who does a radio show and writes in the Star Tribune) made some interesting points in an article today, suggesting the Twins are lucky to have the record they have now. Basically, what Reusse says is that the Twins plan from the beginning was faulty and has failed and its pathetic to hear the congratualatory messages from Gardenhire and others. I agree about the clubhouse humor thing. These guys need to get serious and win ball games. Yes, chemistry is important, but that doesn't matter much if you don't win games. And its interesting to see the argument about the Twins plan for the year. Its true that Mauer and Morneau havent been quite the run producers they've been touted to be, but then again, we can go right back to the top paragraph and look at the coaches. Mauer is catching up and doing fine for now and of course, he can improve, while Morneau really needs the help in learning the strike zone because of his nature as a power hitter. He needs to learn to take certain pitches and wait for something he can drive or he just ends up flailing pathetically at bad pitches. It is also true that our outfield hasn't quite lead the team to victory. Hunter has been what you'd expect from him and, yes, if he learned better strike zone judgement, he could be a perennial .275-30-100 player, but his production isn't terrible either. Its Jones who has fallen into bad habits, right back to his problems with the strike zone. After starting so promising and drawing lots of walks in April, Jones has been pretty terrible, hitting .261 with 10 HRs and 41 RBIs. The Twins really do need a lot more from. Stewart doesn't neccessarly need the coaching because he's a good hitter to begin with. I do completely agree, though, that Lew Ford and Matthew LeCroy have not worked out at all as DHs. LeCroy, as people have read on this blog often, cannot hit right-handers worth a damn. (There is another coaching situation, but I dont know that LeCroy is really worth the effort) After a productive rookie year, Ford has hit only .273 with 4 HRs and 34 RBIs. Thats just not enough.
However, Reusse's larger argument is that the injury situation is overblown and that the Twins have essentially had their starting 25 most of the year. 83 of the 86 starts have been made by the projected rotation. The infield situation is overstated because Cuddyer was never that valuable and the others who have gone down were from Triple-A. However, that's easy to disagree with since that hurts our depth, but I see his point. Cuddyer isn't that productive, Rivas didn't deserve his starting job anyways (we already knew that), and Punto, though important, was overblown because he almost didn't make the team out of spring training. The Twins may just need to wait for their next generation of hitters to come up, and hopefully by then, they've realized its time to get rid of Ulger.
Also, Patrick Reusse (who does a radio show and writes in the Star Tribune) made some interesting points in an article today, suggesting the Twins are lucky to have the record they have now. Basically, what Reusse says is that the Twins plan from the beginning was faulty and has failed and its pathetic to hear the congratualatory messages from Gardenhire and others. I agree about the clubhouse humor thing. These guys need to get serious and win ball games. Yes, chemistry is important, but that doesn't matter much if you don't win games. And its interesting to see the argument about the Twins plan for the year. Its true that Mauer and Morneau havent been quite the run producers they've been touted to be, but then again, we can go right back to the top paragraph and look at the coaches. Mauer is catching up and doing fine for now and of course, he can improve, while Morneau really needs the help in learning the strike zone because of his nature as a power hitter. He needs to learn to take certain pitches and wait for something he can drive or he just ends up flailing pathetically at bad pitches. It is also true that our outfield hasn't quite lead the team to victory. Hunter has been what you'd expect from him and, yes, if he learned better strike zone judgement, he could be a perennial .275-30-100 player, but his production isn't terrible either. Its Jones who has fallen into bad habits, right back to his problems with the strike zone. After starting so promising and drawing lots of walks in April, Jones has been pretty terrible, hitting .261 with 10 HRs and 41 RBIs. The Twins really do need a lot more from. Stewart doesn't neccessarly need the coaching because he's a good hitter to begin with. I do completely agree, though, that Lew Ford and Matthew LeCroy have not worked out at all as DHs. LeCroy, as people have read on this blog often, cannot hit right-handers worth a damn. (There is another coaching situation, but I dont know that LeCroy is really worth the effort) After a productive rookie year, Ford has hit only .273 with 4 HRs and 34 RBIs. Thats just not enough.
However, Reusse's larger argument is that the injury situation is overblown and that the Twins have essentially had their starting 25 most of the year. 83 of the 86 starts have been made by the projected rotation. The infield situation is overstated because Cuddyer was never that valuable and the others who have gone down were from Triple-A. However, that's easy to disagree with since that hurts our depth, but I see his point. Cuddyer isn't that productive, Rivas didn't deserve his starting job anyways (we already knew that), and Punto, though important, was overblown because he almost didn't make the team out of spring training. The Twins may just need to wait for their next generation of hitters to come up, and hopefully by then, they've realized its time to get rid of Ulger.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Out of Control
Earlier today, Terry Ryan was interviewed by KFAN's Chad Hartman on the radio (you can get a full synopsis of the interview at Twins Territory, where Twins Geek wrote an article on it). In the interview, Ryan was asked about potential trade options, and he said that he was of course looking for a powerful right-handed bat. Interestingly, he also mentioned that he has recently become worried about the pitching.
Then the Twins came out and played tonight, in a game that featured perhaps the most embarrassing pitching performance I can remember seeing from a Twins team. Joe Mays had to come out before he could even record an out in the third inning, and the bullpen got tagged for 8 runs. By the KANSAS CITY ROYALS, the worst team in baseball. Mays got shredded for 4 runs and 9 hits in just 2+ innings, and then Terry Mulholland, Jesse Crain, JC Romero, and Matt Guerrier combined to pitch 6 innings, walking 6 and allowing 12 hits and 7 earned runs. The most disturbing line comes from Crain, who was charged with FOUR earned runs while failing to record a single out. This caused his ERA to shoot up to 2.50, and basically removing the "elite" tag that he had collected through the season up to this point. He came in with 2 runners on, walked the bases loaded, and then allowed 3 straight singles, scoring 4 runs. He was then "relieved" by Romero, who of course allowed both of his inherited runners to score.
The performance was just absolutely pathetic. Enough of the goofing around and keeping in good spirits by running around the clubhouse naked (Torii), it's time this team got serious. The past three games have been utterly embarrassing, even though they squeaked by last night.
Then the Twins came out and played tonight, in a game that featured perhaps the most embarrassing pitching performance I can remember seeing from a Twins team. Joe Mays had to come out before he could even record an out in the third inning, and the bullpen got tagged for 8 runs. By the KANSAS CITY ROYALS, the worst team in baseball. Mays got shredded for 4 runs and 9 hits in just 2+ innings, and then Terry Mulholland, Jesse Crain, JC Romero, and Matt Guerrier combined to pitch 6 innings, walking 6 and allowing 12 hits and 7 earned runs. The most disturbing line comes from Crain, who was charged with FOUR earned runs while failing to record a single out. This caused his ERA to shoot up to 2.50, and basically removing the "elite" tag that he had collected through the season up to this point. He came in with 2 runners on, walked the bases loaded, and then allowed 3 straight singles, scoring 4 runs. He was then "relieved" by Romero, who of course allowed both of his inherited runners to score.
The performance was just absolutely pathetic. Enough of the goofing around and keeping in good spirits by running around the clubhouse naked (Torii), it's time this team got serious. The past three games have been utterly embarrassing, even though they squeaked by last night.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Mauer leads Twins to Victory
Joe Mauer has had two straight three-hit games in which he has displayed his great run-producing abilities. Tonight, he went 3 for 5 with an RBI in the Twins' 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Brad Radke wasn't too great in his, looking like Lohse last night by giving up four runs and nine hits in the six innings he pitched. Basically, it was more of a reverse of last night's terrible loss. They didn't dominate the Royals they way they should, but they got the win and showed a little more offense against Zack Greinke's and his cringe-worthy 1-11 record after he lost tonight.
It was a game in which some of the lesser-known Twins got the hits and therefore, the victory. Besides RBI hits by Torii Hunter and Lew Ford, Juan Castro and Luis Rodriguez each had two hits in four at-bats, Rodriguez driving in a run.
The only real highlight for pitching was Joe Nathan's ninth inning, in which he struck out two and picked up his AL-leading 25th save. Nathan, who had been inconsisent recently, looked very sharp and his fastball was clocked as high as 97 mph. He managed to get the last two hitters to strike out, both on nasty sliders. That resembles the Nathan of last year and the Twins should be really happy to see Nathan hitting his stride, even if it is against the hapless Royals lineup.
The other good news is that the Twins gain a game for once, as the White Sox lost to Oakland 4-2. Of course, thats not so great when the Twins are 10 games back, but they need to get on a run and build some confidence going into the game. Looks like Nathan and Mauer are getting there, now we just need Santana, Radke, and others to do the same.
It was a game in which some of the lesser-known Twins got the hits and therefore, the victory. Besides RBI hits by Torii Hunter and Lew Ford, Juan Castro and Luis Rodriguez each had two hits in four at-bats, Rodriguez driving in a run.
The only real highlight for pitching was Joe Nathan's ninth inning, in which he struck out two and picked up his AL-leading 25th save. Nathan, who had been inconsisent recently, looked very sharp and his fastball was clocked as high as 97 mph. He managed to get the last two hitters to strike out, both on nasty sliders. That resembles the Nathan of last year and the Twins should be really happy to see Nathan hitting his stride, even if it is against the hapless Royals lineup.
The other good news is that the Twins gain a game for once, as the White Sox lost to Oakland 4-2. Of course, thats not so great when the Twins are 10 games back, but they need to get on a run and build some confidence going into the game. Looks like Nathan and Mauer are getting there, now we just need Santana, Radke, and others to do the same.
The Bleacher Bums
I added a new site to our officially endorsed Twins links on the right side of the page. The Bleacher Bums is the Twins blog of Minnesota Public Radio, and one I had read sporadically in the past. Recently, however, I have started to come to the realization that these guys know their stuff, and make for an awfully good read. In the last couple days, they have written articles pinpointing hitting coach Scott Ullger as a possible source of the team's offensive problems (a subject this blog has brought up numerous times) and also bringing up the uncomfortable question of whether Johan Santana was just a one-year wonder. Good stuff, check 'em out if you're not already.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Disaster Zone
I'm not even going to pretend to be happy about any facet of tonight's game. To save everyone from having to read a relentless rant of immense frustration, I am going to keep this post short.
Despite having some success in his last couple starts (against bad offenses, mind you), Kyle Lohse looked terrible tonight. His pitches were not fooling ANYBODY, allowing a bad Kansas City offense to tag him for 4 run on 9 hits. That wasn't the worst of it though. I don't know what to think of Matt Guerrier. He came into the game with a solid ERA under 3, and in the first inning he pitched he looked great, striking out the first two batters he faced and dominating with his looping curveball. But then, as has been the case with Guerrier on numerous occasions this year, he fell apart in the second inning he pitched. Without recording an out, he walked the leadoff man, then gave up a single, then another single which scored a run. Enter JC Romero who, SURPRISE SURPRISE, allowed 2 inherited runners to score! Guerrier, Romero, and Jesse Crain pitched a combined 2 innings, and allowed only 3 hits, but walked FOUR and allowed 4 runs, putting the game out of reach for the Twins, who would rally in the ninth to get a couple runs but still falls short 8-5 to the Royals. It is their 3rd consecutive loss, essentially negating the nice little win streak they had put together.
The Twins got nice offensive performances out of a few players. Joe Mauer proved his great run-producing ability once again, going 3/5 with 3 RBI. Nick Punto, who had been slumping badly since his return from the DL, dropping his average 20 points, had a great night, going 4/5 including a first inning home run. Shannon Stewart also had a couple hits and a couple runs scored. HOWEVER, the 5-9 hitters (excluding Justin Morneau, who went 2/3), were a combined 0/14 (including the guys who pinch-hit for them)!! Absolutely abysmal. Matt LeCroy absolutely should NOT be starting against right-handed pitchers, he is just worthless against them.
Bad, bad game. 11 games out of first place. I'm just so disappointed.
Despite having some success in his last couple starts (against bad offenses, mind you), Kyle Lohse looked terrible tonight. His pitches were not fooling ANYBODY, allowing a bad Kansas City offense to tag him for 4 run on 9 hits. That wasn't the worst of it though. I don't know what to think of Matt Guerrier. He came into the game with a solid ERA under 3, and in the first inning he pitched he looked great, striking out the first two batters he faced and dominating with his looping curveball. But then, as has been the case with Guerrier on numerous occasions this year, he fell apart in the second inning he pitched. Without recording an out, he walked the leadoff man, then gave up a single, then another single which scored a run. Enter JC Romero who, SURPRISE SURPRISE, allowed 2 inherited runners to score! Guerrier, Romero, and Jesse Crain pitched a combined 2 innings, and allowed only 3 hits, but walked FOUR and allowed 4 runs, putting the game out of reach for the Twins, who would rally in the ninth to get a couple runs but still falls short 8-5 to the Royals. It is their 3rd consecutive loss, essentially negating the nice little win streak they had put together.
The Twins got nice offensive performances out of a few players. Joe Mauer proved his great run-producing ability once again, going 3/5 with 3 RBI. Nick Punto, who had been slumping badly since his return from the DL, dropping his average 20 points, had a great night, going 4/5 including a first inning home run. Shannon Stewart also had a couple hits and a couple runs scored. HOWEVER, the 5-9 hitters (excluding Justin Morneau, who went 2/3), were a combined 0/14 (including the guys who pinch-hit for them)!! Absolutely abysmal. Matt LeCroy absolutely should NOT be starting against right-handed pitchers, he is just worthless against them.
Bad, bad game. 11 games out of first place. I'm just so disappointed.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
All-Star?
Johan Santana looked nothing like an ALl-Star caliber pitcher. In fact, he looked pretty terrible. His ERA has bloated to 3.98, he's a mere 7-5, and he is walking too many, giving up too many hits, and striking out too few. This does not sound like the guy who dominated the league last year. No, something has to be wrong. Maybe he is tipping his pitches, but it would be far better to get rid of any adjustments and let Johan pitch the way he has before. I just can't understand why Rick Anderson or the Twins would want to adjust a strategy and pitching style that has been so successful. Don't they know that even if most hitters know the change-up is coming, it still tends to be very successful. Its like telling Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens to make some adjustments because they are tipping pitches. Let me tell you, even if hitters know Clemens is throwing his splitter, there is nothing they can do. They've known for years what he is doing, and yet, look at the results. Johan doesn't need to make any adjustments because it doesn't matter if hitters may know whats coming because his stuff is that good. Looking at his line today, its just ugly: 6 and 1/3 innings, 6 runs, 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 Ks. Something has to be done, because he's not just mortal, but he's been disguisting as of late. The worst of it is that the Twins offense was certainly alive today, scoring six runs.
* Mike Redmond broke out in a big fashion today, going 4 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBIs. Redmond, who is the Twins only backup catcher, wasn't hitting very well until late, when he has gotten extra starts against lefties and in day games. He now has his average up to .271, much closer to his career average. That offense shows that Redmond was indeed a good improvement over Henry Blanco.
* Torii Hunter continued to bat well, going 2 for 5 in his start today. In his last seven games, Hunter is hitting .350. However, he hasn't had any home runs in that time and his power still seems to be just as streaky as his overall hitting, though a .278 average is nothing to complain about.
* Lew Ford went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and Luis Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Ford, who seems to be in a different state this year, has been pretty inconsistent. The Twins need a lot more from him in the 5th or 6th spot; that is, more then singles. He needs to drive in runs against and show some of the power we saw last year.
* Bottom Line: Johan Santana needs to forget any adjustments he made and get back to his form. He has not looked like an All-Star at all, getting easily beaten and looking like a lackluster 5th starter. The result is that the Twins lost another game they should have won and they simply have no room for such mistakes. The Twins start a four game series at Kansas City tommorow and hopefully that will provide some needed relief and an easy sweep for the Twins.
In other news:
* Roy Oswalt was choosen to be the final man on the NL roster, as I had hoped and predicted. However, the AL was not as fair of a choice. Over Derek Jeter and our Torii Hunter, both good legitimate All-Star choices, the fans choose White Sox Scott Podsednik. What a terrible choice. This guy does only one thing: he steals bases. Sure, he does a good job, but defensively, he is not even close to Hunter. He has no home runs this year and only 17 RBIs. I just don't see the argument for this guy over someone deserving like Hunter, who is far more valuable to his team, or Jeter, the Yankee captain.
* Mike Redmond broke out in a big fashion today, going 4 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBIs. Redmond, who is the Twins only backup catcher, wasn't hitting very well until late, when he has gotten extra starts against lefties and in day games. He now has his average up to .271, much closer to his career average. That offense shows that Redmond was indeed a good improvement over Henry Blanco.
* Torii Hunter continued to bat well, going 2 for 5 in his start today. In his last seven games, Hunter is hitting .350. However, he hasn't had any home runs in that time and his power still seems to be just as streaky as his overall hitting, though a .278 average is nothing to complain about.
* Lew Ford went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and Luis Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Ford, who seems to be in a different state this year, has been pretty inconsistent. The Twins need a lot more from him in the 5th or 6th spot; that is, more then singles. He needs to drive in runs against and show some of the power we saw last year.
* Bottom Line: Johan Santana needs to forget any adjustments he made and get back to his form. He has not looked like an All-Star at all, getting easily beaten and looking like a lackluster 5th starter. The result is that the Twins lost another game they should have won and they simply have no room for such mistakes. The Twins start a four game series at Kansas City tommorow and hopefully that will provide some needed relief and an easy sweep for the Twins.
In other news:
* Roy Oswalt was choosen to be the final man on the NL roster, as I had hoped and predicted. However, the AL was not as fair of a choice. Over Derek Jeter and our Torii Hunter, both good legitimate All-Star choices, the fans choose White Sox Scott Podsednik. What a terrible choice. This guy does only one thing: he steals bases. Sure, he does a good job, but defensively, he is not even close to Hunter. He has no home runs this year and only 17 RBIs. I just don't see the argument for this guy over someone deserving like Hunter, who is far more valuable to his team, or Jeter, the Yankee captain.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
