Tough one to lose last night. Any time you get an outing like that from Scott Baker you have to find a way to win. The offense that leads the league in average with RISP by thirty points couldn’t get it done tonight. You really can’t point fingers but I’m going to point a finger of frustration to Delmon Young. You have your ups and downs during the season and it’s not a big deal to fail to deliver with the bases loaded twice in one game. What’s frustrating is watching Delmon swing at the first pitch on both occasions against pitchers that have had trouble finding the zone in that particular inning. His inability or unwillingness to work the count and get a good pitch is maddening. Clearly some bright points. Scott Baker was solid on the national stage and its nice to see him get some well deserved publicity. Denard Span made a couple of nice plays in right.
It would have been nice to get the series off with a victory on national television. Now they have their work cut out for them if they want to keep their series streak alive. They have a tough lefty in Jon Lester today and Josh Beckett on Wednesday.
Sweep! The difference between this month’s Twins team and May’s team was evident yesterday. Back in April the team was 2 hit by Cliff Lee. Yesterday’s game was headed down the same path, but somehow, some way the club stuck with it and authored yet another come from behind victory. Good outing by Glen Perkins to keep them in the game and then the bullpen shut things down at the end. Sixteen of eighteen in the win column.
The next four series have to be looked at as the litmus test for this team. They have seven on the road prior to the all-star break, three in Boston and four in Detroit. They come back from the break for a short three-game home stand against Texas and then head off again to New York and Cleveland, a stretch of thirteen of sixteen away from the Metrodome. If they come out in the position they’re in now they should be in good shape for both the division and the wild card run. One big positive in regards to this stretch of games is that once completed they’ll have their season series with Boston complete, won’t have to return to New York, and will have only one three game home series remaining with Detroit.
Boston Series Preview: The Sox have lost five of six and are just a half game ahead of the Twins in the wild card standing. They’re 3-7 in their last ten and have fallen five games behind the (gulp) Rays in the AL East standings. Yesterday Jonathon Papelbon was unable to protect the lead and they lost the game and the series to the Yankees. The Twins have their work cut out for them as they face the Sox top three starters, who all were at least considered for the all-star game— Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett. It’ll be interesting to see how Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn perform under the pressure of Fenway Park. The Sox may miss the bat of David Ortiz, but Dustin Pedroia and JD Drew have been on fire of late. Clearly two out of three would be fantastic. Heck, one out of three would be tolerable provided they don’t lose any momentum heading into Detroit. National TV tonight on ESPN.
Thoughts on Sabathia Trade: Don’t get me wrong, I love Gomez (In my best Jerry Burns voice). But considering who the Indians got for Sabathia, Matt Laporta, would it have been wise to hang onto Johan and trade him now? Or with the Twins making their run would he have been more willing to re-up in Minnesota? I know (cliche #1) begger’s can’t be choosers and (cliche #2) hindsight is 20/20, but with what Cleveland was able to get for CC maybe it may have been wise to wait a bit longer. The question for those who analyze the stats if how many more wins Johan would have been worth to the Twins? Any?
Some All Star Thoughts:
-With the players picking the teams a selection like Jason Varitek is unavoidable. Clearly the players value his leadership and presence. Would it be nice for him to bow out and let a younger player take the spot? Not really, since there really isn’t anybody. With Joe Mauer and Dioner Navarro already on the team the only other reasonable pick at catcher would be AJ Pierzynski. Gee, I can’t believe the players didn’t select AJ.
- I don’t have the time to look back but I can’t imagine there’s been many all-star teams with the closing options of the AL. You can talk all you want about the seven closers, but if you want home field advantage, as Boston does, it’s a novel way to accomplish it. Take the lead into the sixth and then run out a Jonathon Papelbon, K-Rod, Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera. Yikes. I’d like to see the Long Island guy Joe Nathan pitch the 8th and then have Mr. Rivera come out to close the last all-star game at Yankee Stadium.
- Nice to see Brad Lidge come all the way back and make the NL all star team. With an ERA of 1.00 and 19 saves he’s been one of the underplayed stories of the year.
- I’m glad Ryan Braun passed Ken Griffey Jr. in the fan voting. I understand the fans voting just one name recognition, but how long has it been since Ken Griffey Jr. has had name recognition. He hasn’t driven in 100 runs in eight years.
I was listening to the Twins on the XM today as they jumped out on top of the Indians 2-0 as the (Craig) Monroe Doctrine doubled deep to right center. As we stopped at a road side part to admire Lake Superior the Kevin Slowey was taking the mound for the second inning and I was bragging him up to my dad who’s a Yankee fan and doesn’t live in Twins Territory. Naturally after some rock skipping and a few pics of the kids we jumped back in the car and noticed the score was 5-2 Indians. I had the typical “dammit Slowey” reaction but then made the immediate boastful claim that the the Twins will come back to win the game and they’ll put up double digits on the Tribe. They didn’t quite hit the ten run mark but Slowey settled down and the offense ignited once again to lead them to a runaway victory. More on the offense in a bit, here’s a little on Kevin Slowey.
What Slowey did tonight was perhaps as impressive as some of his dominant starts of late. He got a little wild in the second inning and Grady Sizemore, the only Indians offensive threat, made him pay. In veteran-like fashion Slowey recovered to retire fourteen of the last fifteen batters he faced. The Twins offensive juggernaut did the rest, putting nine runs on the Indians before they could register a run off of Boof Bonser in the seventh. The Twins are now up to 5.4 runs per game in their last 30 days, to go along with a .300 average and a .351 team on base percentage. What seemed like it may have been a fluke in the second half of May turned into a trend in June and has blossomed even more in July. I’m far from Bill James so I can’t really make head or tails of the whole thing. They don’t hit many home runs at all, are in the middle of the pack in doubles, near last in walks and are pretty average when it comes to on base percentage. With all of that against them they have somehow managed to score more runs than some of the most feared offenses in baseball.
Here’s some key statistics:
- 4th best team batting average in all of major league baseball, .278
- 5th in the the majors in runs scored with 432, leading the Yankees, Tigers, Brewers and White Sox
- Leading all of major league baseball with a .315 average with runners in scoring position.
Amazingly:
- 29th out of 30 in home runs
- 16th in doubles
- 27th in walks
- 13th in on base percentage
From a sheer statistical percentage their path to excellence is a bit strange. But when you follow this team on a day to day basis it all seems to add up. They just seem to come up with clutch hit after clutch hit. Brendan Harris, Craig Monroe and Alexi Casilla joined Joe Mauer again tonight. Speaking of Alexi Casilla. Remember the Shawon Dunston “Shawon-o-meter”? It’s about time to pull out the “Alexi-o-Meter”. Can he possibly be more clutch at this point? If someone would have told me at the beginning of the year that I would eagerly anticipate every Alexi Casilla at bat I would have…you know the rest.
A couple of more points-
The Monroe Doctrine: Like many I’ve been all over the map on Craig Monroe. Yes, from a sheer plate discipline and stat perspective he falls short of the contract the team gave him. And yes, he has the tendency to be all or nothing and strikes out a lot. I can’t remember a player with such a brutal average (.222) and on base percentage (.282) who’s seemingly come up with more big hits this year than Craig Monroe. He has only 30 hits on the year but has driven in 28 runs. He’s hitting a home run every sixteen at bats which isn’t so shabby for a team with no power. A quick look at his game log showed why he seems to be producing more than the stats show. He’s driven in a run in 12 games this year for the club. In those 9 of those 12 games he’s had at least two RBI’s. Say what you want and the statistics kind of show he’s producing just like the experts said he would— he’s turned out to be a solid fifth outfielder/pinch hitter/part time DH.
Denard Span: I scoffed at the idea when a co-worker brought it up next week, but the Twins really do have to find a way to keep Denard Span in this lineup as much as possible the remainder of the year. Clearly from what he’s shown at Rochester and in the bigs he’s a different player than what he showed the last two years. Like I wrote about Casilla above I can’t believe I’m even getting excited to see Denard Span come up to the plate. With Span out of options after this year would it be realistic to ask Michael Cuddyer to move back to third base? I acknowledge he’s become a standout right fielder, but what Span has provided in his limited time in the nine whole has really changed the look of the club. They’re the Piranhas again, but this time with players who may have some legit staying power. Cuddyer at third would help the club and also help justify his large contract.
Has anyone been paying attention to what Torii isn’t doing in Anaheim?
From Sid’s column the other day:
Torii Hunter, through 80 games with the Angels, is hitting .271 with nine home runs and 37 RBI. After 80 games in 2007 while still with the Twins, Hunter hit .302 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI.
He has on on base percentage of .325 to go along with a .271 average. His slugging average is .452 over fifty points below last year and below his career average. He’ll turn 33 later this month. He’s making $16.5 million this year. He has nine stolen bases and an OPS of .777. For the year he’s only on pace to hit 19 long balls and drive in 73 runs, or $226,000 per RBI.
Carlos Gomez is 22 years old. He’s making $395,000 dollars this year or less than Torii Hunter likely makes on a bi-weekly basis. His numbers aren’t quite Torii’s but he does have a .270 average to go along with five home runs and 29 RBI’s. He’s sparked the team at the lead-off position and has played a near flawless center field. It’s clear that with time and more plate discipline Gomez has the potential to be equal to the player that Hunter was in recent years and perhaps even surpass him. The fact they’re getting near similar production at 1/41st of the cost is an added bonus.
Can we warm up the broom? Time for Cliff Lee to come down to earth.
I’m spending my 4th of July in god’s country, the beautiful UP of Michigan. As we were leaving a family gathering today and scrolled over to the Twins game and quickly noticed the 12-3 score. I didn’t catch the name of the batter but heard Gordo say they were 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBI. A few moments later I heard Mr. Gordon say here’s the 0-2 delivery to Young. Expecting Morneau, Casilla or even Punto it was a pleasant surprise to hear Young’s name called. How hot are the Twins? Nick Punto also drove in four runs. Between Punto’s first inning bomb and the one hit by Young in the third the Twins rolled to yet another easy victory. Nice to see Delmon do it in front of the home crowd, showing the pop the Twins picked him up for. This winning thing doesn’t get old. The Twins have now won 17 of 21. They’ve outscored their opponents 131 to 69 in that span. More importantly following a tough opening series loss to Detroit they’ve roared back for three consecutive victories by a 25-7 margin. Another solid Livan-like outing today. Even with his tendency to give up the long ball and get knocked out of the occasional game early Livan is 9-5 on the year and has won three out of his last four decisions.
More positives Delmon: Clearly he’s started July with a bang but is coming off a June in which he hit .321 and had an OPS of .817. In fact in the last thirty days he’s hitting at a .358 clip with an OPS of .883. Prior to tonight’s game he was hitting a paltry .059 versus Cleveland so it was nice to see him break out against the Tribe. He hasn’t hit bunches of home runs but he was sitting on zero not that long ago. A strong second half could put his numbers back to respectable and quiet some of the critics. Like many I still get frustrated by his lack of bases on balls. He had a big uptick with 11 walks in May, unfortunately that was followed by only three in June. His good June average gave him a decent June on base percentage of .341— still more plate discipline will mean better pitches and more power– or at least it should.
Poor Johan: The Mets have now lost Johan Santana’s last seven starts. In that span they’ve only scored 18 runs for him. He’s 7-7 on the year. Like I wrote a week ago I’m hoping there’s a little bit of regret he didn’t take the home town discount. While the Twins continue their hot streak it gets uglier and uglier at Shea.
The local nine has the once (a year ago) vaunted Cleveland Indians coming into town for a three game series. Say what you want about the up and down season the Detroit Tigers have had, but at least their playing .500 baseball. The change of fortune in Cleveland is incredible. For a team that seemed so young and so full of promise in nearly reaching the World Series last year it’s startling how far they’ve fallen and how murky their future now looks. Last fall as his team was about to dispatch Boston and go to the World Series you’d have to believe Eric Wedge was feeling pretty confident about the future of the Tribe. With Grady Sizemore in center and the duo of Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner in the middle of the lineup the offense was solid. Add to that a good young shortstop in Jhonny Peralta, a slugging first baseman Ryan Garko and two young solid prospects in Frankin Guitierrez and Asdrubal Cabrera. The starting rotation was led by perhaps the top duo in the game, CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook provided solid depth.
What a difference a year makes…
Grady Sizemore is still a superstar in center but Victor Martinez has been nicked up and has an amazing zero home runs in nearly 200 at bats with just 21 RBI. He has an OPS of only .665. Travis Hafner has gone from one of the most feared power hitters in the game to a liability in the middle of the lineup. His struggles of last year are nothing compared to his gargantuan struggles of this year. In the 46 games he’s played he has only 4 home runs and 22 RBI to go along with a .217 average. Jhonny Peralta has had good power numbers but is hitting only .253 with an on base percentage of .303. That young exciting depth has struggled at the plate. Ryan Garko is hitting .242 and has only 6 home runs. Franklin Guitierrez and Asdrubal Cabrera, two surprises from last year have been a disaster this year. Guitierrez is hitting only .222 with 3 home runs and an on base percentage of .274. Cabrera has been even worse managing a dreadful .184 average in fifty-two games.
The starting rotation has been hit or miss. What looked like the most dynamic one-two pitching combo in baseball has had its ups and downs this year. CC Sabathia started the season in brutal fashion but has been solid over the past two months and now has an ERA of 3.83. Fausto Carmona has regressed this year. His stuff is still absolutely filthy but the issue is his ability to throw strikes. He’s walked thirty-eight batters in fifty-eight innings pitched. Paul Byrd went from one of the feel good stories of the post season to a 3-11 record and some ink in The Mitchell Report. If not for Cliff Lee the Indians would be in even more dire of a position. Lee is 11-1 this year and has accounted for nearly a third of the teams wins.
It just goes to show how fleeting success can be in this game. A team that many picked to win the division and go to the World Series will have difficulty finishing higher than fourth. Earlier in the week it looked like the Twins would avoid both Sabathia and Cliff Lee. They’ll avoid CC but will get Cliff Lee on Sunday. Tonight it’s the pitching duel of Livan Hernandez and Paul Byrd, so look for some offense to be scored, at least from the Twins side. Saturday night is one of those matchups that concerns you as they’ll face Aaron Laffey the kind of left hander who’s hurt the team in the past. The Twins will counter with their ace of late, Kevin Slowey. Sunday gives us Cliff Lee who dominated the Twins on April 18th giving up only two hits.
Two out of three ain’t bad again?
It’s unlikely but crazy to think at the same time. Alexi Casilla, who didn’t come up until May, deserves consideration as a reserve for the All-Star game. Ian Kinsler is the deserving choice and may yet win the fan voting over Dustin Pedroia. When the reserves are picked Alexi Casilla deserves consideration for the game at Yankee Stadium in a couple of weeks. Here’s how the candidates break down:
Based on sheer statistics just about all the additional candidates are neck and neck. Dustin Pedroia sticks out a bit and will be a popular choice. Jose Lopez, solid statistics and all, won’t likely be chosen due to the fact he plays on the worst team in the league and Ichiro will be voted in by the fans. Beyond the top two you can make the argument that Alexi Casilla is potentially the third most deserving candidate. He has the highest batting average and on base percentage of the remaining candidates and has driven in runs at a high clip since his call-up. His defense has also been outstanding. It’s amazing to think but Casilla is about my favorite Twin to watch right now— an incredible rise to the top this year. let’s hope this half-season turns into a trend.
On to tonight’s game: Nice to even the series with Detroit although the number of runner’s left on base and the number of double plays they Twins hit into turned what very well should have been a blowout into a close game. With fourteen hits combined with six walks you’d expect more than six runs scored. The trio of Mike Redmond, Delmon Young and Brendan Harris left a combined fourteen runners on base with Redmond grounding into two double plays. As I was driving to Iowa and listening to the game it got to the point that I decided to listen to a book on tape rather than the game which seemed to be played at a snail’s pace. In fact John Gordon and Dan Gladden mused multiple times on how the Tigers sure didn’t look like a team on a six-game winning streak.
Baker: Good outing by Baker although the Tigers made him work. As usual he had pinpoint control which reduced the potential for some big innings. Another quality start for the club against a tough lineup. In fact, the Twins have had quality starts in 7 of their 10 games versus Detroit this year. Baker runs his record to 5-2 on the year with an outstanding 57-12 strike out to walk ratio. Combined this year Baker and Kevin Slowey have struck out 111 and only walked 21.
Mike Redmond: I’m as big a fan as Mike Redmond as anybody and I’m not one of those fans who complains when Mauer gets a day off. That being said, why does Gardy find it necessary to bat Mike Redmond third when he fills in for Mauer? It’s not like the lineup is that vaunted that you don’t want to move anybody else out of there spot. He did drive in two but also left five on base and grounded into two double plays.
Matt Garza: As I was telling a co-worker today I’d sure like Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza right about now. Garza continues his dominance of late holding the Red Sox scoreless over seven innings. The Rays have the top record in baseball and beat the Sox again. Not only did Garza get the win, Grant Balfour got the Rays out of trouble in the 8th, enticing a bases loaded ground out by Mike Lowell to (who else) Jason Bartlett. Lot’s of Twins playing a factor for the Rays tonight. As they should ESPN is playing up the Rays angle big. I’m surprised as anybody, but should we really be? The team has drafted at the top forever. It’s nice to be able to draft players like BJ Upton and Evan Longoria year after year.
Tomorrow: Nick Blackburn takes the hill and the Twins get to face journeyman Eddie Bonine. Even with Monday’s frustrating loss it’s nice opportunity to take the series versus the Tigers.
Two days back I wrote a piece praising the Twins bullpen for their form of late. Naturally two days later they blow a three run seventh inning lead. Even worse was the fact that it came against the suddenly hot Tigers on a night when the White Sox crush another opponent. Late in the game FSN displayed a stat that showed Detroit was second in the league in come from behind victories with (now) 25. In the Twins four losses this year against Detroit the Tigers have come back in three of the games. All three of the games has seen the bullpen implode. This Tigers team reminds me of the Yankees and Red Sox of recent years and the Indians of the late 90’s. They seem to strike fear in the opponents bullpen and make them tighten up a bit. Amateur psychology on my part? Who knows.
Even if he was a bit skittish at times Glen Perkins did leave after 6 1/3 with a runner on base and up by three runs. It’s unfortunate he and the club couldn’t finish the game out. After yet another comeback Detroit has more confidence and is now two games over .500. Tonight the Twins have to face Nate Robertson who has given the club fits over the years. With the Twins top starter on the mound, Scott Baker, I’m hoping we’re in good shape— you never know with Detroit.
One criticism for the Twins coaching staff and Ron Gardenhire. I realize Gardy was tossed in the third inning but I’m still assuming he’s making bullpen decisions from the clubhouse. I don’t understand why Craig Breslow wasn’t up throwing so he was an option to face Matt Joyce or Curtis Granderson. I realize he has had back issues and was on the shelf for a few days, but he got up and started throwing right after Granderson put Detroit on top, so he had to be available. With Joyce pinch hitting for Raburn and then Granderson on deck it would have been a perfect time to bring in Breslow. It’s even possible that the Tigers didn’t bring up Joyce to hit if Breslow as an option. Either way the Twins could have been better off with a left handed specialist who’s been lights out this year. Matt Joyce has only had two at bats versus a left hander this year without a hit. If the Tigers didn’t bring up Joyce because of the option of Breslow they could have had Guerrier to face Raburn who hits only .182 versus right handers. Either way Breslow warmed up would have given them more options. Once Joyce tripled it was inexcusable not to have Breslow ready to face Granderson with the game on the line. Granderson hits much better against righties with a .250 average versus left handers this year. One thing is clear, it’s games against teams like Detroit that really make you miss Pat Neshek.
There’s another game tonight. I’ll catch it on the XM as I drive down to Iowa. It’s not even the all-star break yet but tonight’s game may be the most important one yet for the Twins. It would be nice to try to catch Chicago without the Tigers breathing down your neck.
As the great Marvin Lee Aday once said, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” A run like the Twins are on of late is probably something appreciated by Mr. Aday aka “Meatloaf” longtime fantasy baseball and Red Sox fan. In taking four of six from the slugging Brewers the Twins finished with a MLB best 14-4 interleague record. The AL Central, scoffed at by many early on, finished with the top three interleague teams, Minnesota, Detroit (13-5) and Kansas City (13-5).
Kevin Slowey continued his fine form of late with his first career complete game shutout, giving up only three hits while walking nobody and striking out eight. The long awaited new wave of Twins arms is now clearly upon us with the recent form of Slowey and Baker and the solid season thus far of Perkins and Blackburn. Slowey in particular has been a gem for the Twins this year. Take away one negative start in Chicago (8 earned runs) and Slowey has an ERA near two for June to go along with a 2.87 ERA for May. On the season is ERA is now 3.47 with 66 hits given up in 72 innings and an outstanding 54-9 strike out to walk ratio. Perhaps even more impressive for a young pitcher he’s only given up more than three earned runs in two of his twelve starts. Slowey has often been compared to Brad Radke but it looks like he may have the talent to surpass Radke. As he demonstrated in the minors he does have a tendency to miss more bats than Radke with the same splendid control.
I’ve been ripping the Tigers on a regular basis this year mainly because it’s fun to rip a team with such lofty expectations and a lofty payroll to go with it. Lo and behold Detroit has ripped off fifteen of eighteen and now head into the Metrodome one game above .500. The upcoming three game series may be the Twins biggest one yet. A series victory or even a sweep has to be taken as an indicator that this year’s Twins club is here to stay, youth and all. The Twins will avoid Verlander and the suddenly hot Kenny Rogers in the series as they’ll face Armando Gallaraga, Nate Robertson and Eddie Bonine.
Denard Span is on his way from Rochester to replace Michael Cuddyer still troubled by a hand injury. The club will clearly miss his defense in right. It’ll be interesting to see how Gardy plays it. Will Jason Kubel move into right and given Craig Monroe time at DH or will it be Span making the majority of the starts in the outfield? Say what you want about Cuddyer this year, lack of power etc, but he has been a decent RBI guy over the past six weeks. Replacing his bat with Span is clearly a downgrade offensively and defensively. Hopefully Span/Monroe/Kubel can patch it up until the All-Star Break.
Coming to an American League park near you to serve up some batting practice is former Twin Carlos Silva. It was quite a roller coaster ride we enjoyed with Carlos over the last few years. Fortunately for the Twins he now pitches for the Mariners because this year the roller coaster has been replaced by a straight descent into oblivion. I remember telling people last year that due to the state of pitching in the AL that Carlos would command several million dollars per year on the free agent market. They typically scoffed and rolled their eyes indicating that no one could be that stupid. I’m not saying the Mariners are stupid but they are about the worst team in baseball and are paying Mr. Silva over 8 million this year.
What have they received for that 8 million? So far a 3-9 record with a 5.92 ERA with 122 hits given up in 92 innings. The most amazing stat of all? Silva went 3-0 with 2.79 ERA in April. He hasn’t won since with an ERA nearly nine during that span. Opponents are hitting .320 off Carlos. The Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees in particular have feasted off of Silva. In four innings pitched versus Detroit Silva has given up 16 hits and 14 Earned Runs with an opponents average of .552. The Yankees have pounded Silva for 22 hits in nine innings for a .449 batting average and scored 13 earned runs. It looks like a wise move to not hold onto Carlos Silva. You know something that’s even more amazing about the Mariners staff? They’re paying Miquel Batista 9.5 million this year to be worse. He has the same number of wins than Silva, one more loss, and an ERA of 6.53. That’s over 17 million dollars to two pitchers with a combined record of 6-19. If I were Brian Sabean I’d call the Mariners and see what they want for Barry Zito.
So if you know somebody who constantly complains that there’s not enough offense in baseball and you live in the Pacific Northwest, look up the Seattle Mariners schedule and find out the next time Carlos Silva is pitching. If it’s against the Yankees or the Tigers make sure to bring your glove and/or a hard hat to the game.
It’s funny how certain places or people trigger memories. Often when I’m driving up highway 100 about to get on 694 I remember I was at that very spot when I heard on the radio that the Twins were officially one of the two teams slated for contraction. It’s amazing to think that less than six years later the Twins have won three division titles, rebuilt once again, and are now contenders with the youngest team in baseball. With the Brewers in town it also reminds me of just how lucky Bud Selig is. To take the league through this contraction nonsense and the steroid era it’s incredible how Bud keeps coming up roses.
Ho hum, another Twins comeback victory. Ten in a row. Joe Mauer not only comes up big but drives the ball the entire game with authority. Buscher, Casilla, Kubel, and Morneau are all producing. Delmon gets three hits. For the first time in the streak they get a tough outing by a starting pitcher (Blackburn) but the bullpen holds the Brew Crew scoreless for the last four innings and Joe Nathan comes in to shut the door after Mauer’s walk-off heroics. Good to see Alexi Casilla will be back quickly to keep his hot streak going. Who would have thought that the Twins second base problems would turn into such an strength? His OPS is near .800 and he’s now projecting for 90 RBI’s. There’s probably more than a few fantasy owner’s out there that were lucky to pull him off the waiver wire, my brother included. He ain’t Uggla but I’ll take him.
If the Twins win tonight they’ll be on pace for 90 wins at the midway point. I think it’s safe to say very few people predicted that at the beginning of the year. I envisioned them as a better team than most but reading all the naysayer’s in the preseason changed my outlook. Livan is on the mound today, let’s hope he continues the form he’s shown in his last two starts. With all that Milwaukee power he’ll have to keep them off balance. He didn’t face Milwaukee in the last series; I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.
Let’s give some love the the Twins bullpen. Here’s a few stats from June.
Jesse Crain: It looks like he’s all the way back to his old form. Crain now has an ERA under 3.00 and in thirteen June innings has an ERA of 1.34. He’s helped fill a big gap with the loss of Pat Neshek.
Matt Guerrier: Matty G has a 2.11 ERA in June with an opposing average around the Mendoza line.
Craig Breslow: What more can Breslow due. Sure he doesn’t get the activity the other main setup people get but Breslow is a second great left hand option out of the pen and hasn’t given up an earned run in ten innings since the Twins picked him up from Cleveland.
Brian Bass: The 26-year old Bass has been a innings work horse for the club in relief and in eighteen June innings has an ERA of 2.50. Another solid pickup by Bill Smith.
Joe Nathan: You can’t forget the far from ordinary Joe. The Twins greatest ever close has a Nathan-like ERA of .90 with seven saves in the month.
The Best Stat Yet: You think the above bullpen stats are solid? We forget the White Sox series and how it impacted those ERA’s. In the Twins ten game win streak the bullpen has given up one measly earned run in 24 1/3 innings. The one earned run was given up by Boof Bonser in the ninth inning of their 11-2 blowout.
Nine in a row. The Twins have given up a total of 19 runs during the streak for an average of just over 2 runs per game. They haven’t given up more than three runs in any of the games. They’ve outscored their opponents 56 to 19 in the three series sweeps. During the streak they’ve beat Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, Trevor Hoffman and Greg Maddux, a 300 game winner, the all time save leader and a near 300 game winner. If you add Jake Peavy they’ve faced four former Cy Young winners in the past six games and won them all.
Timely hitting + solid pitching = .5 games out of first place and closing hard.
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
The Padres are swept
Bring on Milwaukee
Brendan Harris, BOOM!
Brian Buscher, BOOM!
Trevor Hoffman implodes again. As a fellow University of Arizona grad it’s tough to see one of the all time greats struggle. On the other side Joe Nathan comes in to once again seal the deal in smooth fashion. The Twins have now won back to back games against the NL’s top two pitchers in Brandon Webb and Jake Peavy. Of course they didn’t get much going against Peavy today. Nice outing by Kevin Slowey, it’s too bad he didn’t see the seventh inning. Alexi Casilla got a mini write up in today’s USA Today. If the young pitching staff keeps throwing out quality starts they’ll be getting some more national attention as well.
In other news the Miami Heat may actually decide not to take Michael Beasley, according to ESPN and Andy Katz. Here’s hoping the Heat take Mayo and the Wolves get a nice little Christmas present in the Kansas State phenom. Even Kevin McHale can’t screw up this decision.
Or can he?
I’m hoping Johan Santana misses the Dome somewhere in the back of his mind. Probably not every other Friday when he cashes a ridiculous check that’s more money than the majority of people will see in a decade. It hasn’t been as the Mets would have scripted things over in Queens this year. Nearly half the season is gone and the Mets sit one game under .500 and are dealing with the fallout of the botched dismissal of Willie Randolph. The Mets offense, full of post and potentially present all-stars, has given Johan very little run support of late. His record sits at 7-6 after three consecutive losses, two of which he only surrendered one earned run. Who knows, he may be glancing longingly at the run support the Twins have given their starters of late, averaging over five runs per game since the beginning of May. Perhaps Johan, as he’s edging along the Long Island Expressway on the way to Shea Stadium wonders what it would have been like to take the hometown discount. Visions of Justin and Joe and the boys. Somewhere, in my minds eye, I’m hoping that’s the case.
For those of you who missed it here’s Felix Hernandez becoming the first AL pitcher in 37 years to hit a grand slam. With thel loss to Seattle Johan is now 22-19 over the past two years. In that span he’s given up a Radke-ish 47 home runs.
I’ve been trying to get a Lew Ford update not using the regular channels. Of course the regular channel is perusing Sid’s column which I typically don’t do on a weekly basis. Of course maybe part of me doesn’t want to get a Lew Ford update due to his potential lack of success over there. I had this picture in my head of the immense popularity of Ford-san in Japan, complete with his own video game sponsorships and guest spots on various Japanese game shows. After navigating the Hanshin Tigers website, which is beautiful but unfortunately mostly in Japanese I have gleaned the following.
It looks like he’s batting .220. He’s also 183 cm tall and weighs 91 kg. A very scrappy height and weight indeed. It’s amazing to think that he nearly made the all-star game four years ago. Remember the web voting campaign for the 30th roster spot?
Of course in Hanshin they’re not saying “boo” they’re saying “Lew”
For Ethel in Fargo here’s a picture of Lew in his Tigers uniform.
And since we’re on the subject of gritty banjo hitting former Twins outfielders, let’s get up to date on the scrappy part time DH Jason Tyner. After less than a week in Cleveland Tyner continues to tear it up at AAA Buffalo, hitting a resounding .232 with one epic home run and 9 RBI’s. He’s managed an un-Bondslike .606 OPS.
Remember when we used to DH this guy?
I think I need to be on vacation more. I took off on a week long vacation and the Twins proceeded to rip of eight of nine victories against the National League. Take away the woeful Nationals and they took five of six from two the the NL’s supposed strongest clubs, the Brewers and the Diamondbacks. Today the club continued Brandon Webb’s recent slide with a five run fifth the take the lead and make it hold up. Nothing better than to check the scores on the cell phone upon arrival from Dallas and see a 5-3 victory.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see if Livan Hernandez is a fan of the Halloween movie franchise due to the fact that you can’t seem to keep him down. Just when I was ready to write him off for the third or fourth time this year he’s rolled out two solid starts and two victories. While Livan is keepin’ on what can you say about Brian Buscher and Alexi Casilla. It’s probably safe to say the Twins have found their second baseman of the future, how about their third baseman of the future? Here’s a stat for you: combined Casilla and Buscher have drive in 39 runts in 46 games played. Buscher is quickly turning Mike Lamb into Wally Pipp. The Twins have now scored at least four runs in an inning for five consecutive games.
On to San Diego for a three game series. I love the west coast swings and the chance it affords to watch the club around a busy schedule. Considering how they’ve dominated the NL they should have some confidence going into the series. There’s some nice pitching matchups as they get reigning Cy Young winner Jake Peavy tomorrow and all-timer Greg Maddux on Wednesday. A nice contrast of young and old with Scott Baker going against Maddux.
The Cubs have the White Sox on the road again. Considering how the White Sox utterly dismantled the Twins about ten days ago it’s almost unfathomable to think our club may only be a game and a half out come tomorrow’s paper.
I’m going to just come out and say it. There Baltimore/Cleveland/Chicago fiasco aside, the Twins are contenders. They may no twin the division and likely won’t contend for a wild card but they’re going to be in contention into the second half. Most importantly the future looks awful bright in the next several years. The young staff has shown over the last handful of games how solid they can be and hopefully have put the above mentioned stretch of disaster behind them. Here’s a statistic that has become more than a trend: The Twins have averaged 5.3 runs per game since the beginning of May. It’s clear that the offense is much improved and the clutch hitting continues. The emergence of Alexi Casilla has made the top of the lineup much more formidable and the depth of not outstanding but solid bats at the bottom of the lineup has given the club more consistency.
Anyone who knows me realizes I can be a bit too optimistic in life and with the Twins. It’s entirely possible they can go into a tailspin but the longer this team hangs around and the more confident the club gets anything can happen. But let’s not talk about this year. Let’s dream ahead to next year and the year after. How about some visions of this team over the next few years?
How bright is the Twins future? Let’s compare them to the rest of the division (minus Kansas City) over the next few years.
Detroit: Even with the club’s recent run the Tigers have some questions marks if you look down the line. As I’ve posted multiple times they have an aging roster. The club traded away their two top prospects (Andrew Miller/Cameron Maybin) in acquiring Miquel Cabrera. The presence of Cabrera, Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez, along with the other veterans guarantees a solid lineup for the next few years. Unfortunately once you get past Justin Verlander (who should right the ship) the depth in the rotation and strength of the bullpen is sorely lacking. If you contrast the Twins youthful pitching staff and top young offensive players, combined with a usually consistent defense, the Twins future looks a bit brighter than the Tigers.
Cleveland: It all hinges on Sabathia and then Carmona. Can the Tribe keep them in the fold? If not Cleveland becomes awful ordinary awful fast (if they haven’t already). Travis Hafner’s days of production are clearly behind him and will the Victor Martinez struggles become a trend. On paper the Tribe’s offense has never jumped out at you and this year they are simply underwhelming. Top to bottom, if you take away Sabathia or not, I’ll take the Twins young roster of talent into the future.
Chicago: You never know with the White Sox. Sure the offense is solid but aging, but a surprise pickup like Carlos Quentin is another keen move by Ken Williams. The White Sox pitching staff and bullpen is also consistent with youth sprinkled in. As this year will attest one thing you never can do is to give up on the Sox (as I did early on). A few more effective acquisitions and they’ll continue to contend the next couple of years.
I see a landscape change in the division quicker than most people anticipated. Next year may see continued growing pains but the Twins are uniquely positioned to be division leaders once again then TCP Park opens the season after next.
World Series contenders?
I’ve been a bit busy the last couple of days doing the tourist thing in San Antonio. Right around the time Shamu was soaking the family the Twins completed their sweep of the Washington Nationals, in impressive fashion. The Topsy Turvy runs continues. Just when you’re ready to tune out for a few days the club comes raging back, wins four of five in interleague and is now once again above .500. This weekend’s series against the D-Backs will be a test but I like the club’s chances at home in the Dome. It’s a rare chance to see Randy Johnson in what may be his final season as he faces up against the Twins ace Scott Baker. It’s imperative the Twins get off to a quick start in the series as they get Brandon Webb on Sunday in an unfavorable matchup with Livan.
Since I didn’t watch the game here’s some random thoughts on Texas:
1) The 10 Commandments is proudly displayed outside the State Capitol in Austin which was perfect for the cliche gag pic my wife took of me pointing to the “Thou Shall Not Committ Adultery.” With all the controversy about the 10 Commandments being torn down in Duluth a couple of years back I’m thinking the same thing won’t be happening in Texas.
2) Every time I visit Sea World or Busch Gardens I’m pleasantly reminded of a couple of things. First they have cold Budweiser beer for sale about ever 100 yards. Second, you can never forget the presence of the brilliant Budweiser Hospitality building where they have free beer on tap. What a country.
3) There has to be fifteen IHOP restaurants in the 80 miles between Austin and San Antonio and I’m not exaggerating in any way.
4) Texas nice is the real deal compared to Minnesota “nice” which is now hard to find at times.
5) In the post 9/11 era someone was actually able to scale the fence outside the Texas governor’s mansion last week, throw a lit object onto the porch and start a massive blaze that will take millions to repair.
6) Dr. Pepper Park, home of the Frisco Roughriders is the best minor league park I’ve ever seen. If anyone is ever in the growing suburb of Frisco I strongly recommend.
7) My new favorite reality TV show is “Black Gold” on TruTV
Finally, More proof Youtube is ruling the world. The new lead singer for Journey is a guy from the Phillipines who was discovered on Youtube singing Journey cover songs and sounding exactly like Steve Perry. As if they can’t get any cheesier than the “Separate Ways” video they now kick it up a notch here. You’re Journey, you’re a decent band with enough popularity to run the casino tour or even play the occasionally semi-large arena in the hinterlands. Why do you feel the need to get a singer who mimics your original singer? More importantly, why do I even care about this?
For anyone who cares, he sounds just like Perry. Not kidding. Here you go.
What a country
Nice two day stretch in Milwaukee from our club. It’s good to see the bats wake up. Friday night as I watched Gomez and Casilla hit back to back bunt singles I had visions of a dynamic one-two punch at the top of the order for years to come. I can’t say it enough but this club has the chance to be pretty formidable next year and in the new park in two years. I wish the naysayers would see the forest from the tree in that regard. Slowely/Perkins/Baker/Blackburn and “hopefully” Liriano has the chance to be a much admired rotation. Even with stretches like the Baltimore/Chicago/Cleveland bit the Twins future still looks bright.
Someone who’s future is not bright is Juan Rincon. As expected he refused his assignment to Rochester. As a veteran he surely has the right and will probably hook on with someone else due to some past success. There will be a pitching coach somewhere who feels he can get Juan turned around. As Aaron Gleeman pointed out a month back the drop in his velocity is notable and troubling. As someone who tested positive for steroids and served a suspension it’s easy to put two and two together and come up with a potential cause. Here’s a player who clearly has lost his velocity, almost overnight, while still at a prime age in his career. The Twins would never do it but I wonder if we’ll ever see a time where a team goes after a player for a signing bonus or some wages due to decreased performance after being caught using steriods.
The Twins go for a sweep today in Milwaukee. It would be a nice conclusion to a challenging road trip. Scott Baker is on the mound and he is their ace. Hopefully the club can sweep the Brew Crew out of the way and then bring on the Washington Nationals for some home cookin’.
I could write about the Twins but what can you say? I think Bobby Abreu and A Rod are on base again. Nice to have back to back to back $15 million a year guys stroll up to the dish. Tough outing for Glen Perkins.
I just came across Gretchen Wilson’s remarkable ability to channel Nancy Wilson and Heart as I’m watching the benefit for the Station Night Club Fire five-year anniversary on VH1. To say she sounds like Nancy Wilson would be an understatement. Are there any rock and roll females that rock like this currently? By the way, I own this song on Guitar Hero.
I have to run, Winger just took the stage to sing “Seventeen”. I think I’m seventeen again.
Here’s the Wilson performance of Heart’s “Straight On”. Phenomenal.
I listened to the Twins/Royals game from Tuesday night on the XM while I was driving down to Iowa for work. Naturally it was great to listen to Blackburn turn in such a stellar performance. As Mark Teahen (Twins killer) hit his improbable three-run inside the park homer I was driving down a stretch of highway outside of Cedar Falls where the tornado that destroyed Parkersburg, Iowa had clearly passed over in its diminished form. There was an RV park on the side of the road where massive thirty to forty foot camper trailers where strewn about on their side, on top of each other, etc. It was really an extraordinary and humbling sight to see.
That’s why it was difficult to get upset at Delmon and the club for letting the lead slip away, in the grand scheme of things. I have a work colleague who had a beautiful house in Parkersburg that was completely destroyed. He truly loved that house, and had a story for every mounted deer, moose, painting on the wall, picture, etc. His house along with 220 other homes in the town were completely leveled with seven people losing their lives. Parkersburg, known for having four current NFL football players from a town of 2,000, will now unfortunately be known for a category 5 tornado. How do you rebuild? The town has no high school, lost most of its businesses, lost virtually every tree.
Very humbling.
As far as the Twins, one heck of a comeback last night. If you’re a fan of the Red Sox, Yankees, etc such ferocious comebacks happen from time to time. Red Sox fans probably don’t turn the TV off with a five run deficit like Twins fans (this fan) do. It’s the rarity of the comeback that made the win so sweet, even with Delmon’s defensive misadventures and a subpar performance by Livan. Most importantly it’s nice to have Craig Monroe stride up there as a pitch hitter versus the options Gardy’s had in the past.
As far as Delmon goes, is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Listening to the end of the Rays game yesterday and the strong Matt Garza performance combined with the idea of Jason Bartlett at shortstop was a bit frustrating. Needless to say I’ll take that deal back.
One more thing. I know this will never happen but what about moving Carlos Gomez down in the order, maybe sixth? He’s proven to have power and be an RBI guy and looks like a future middle of the order hitter. His plate discipline has improved as well. It’s possible the Twins could be better served to put him in a position to drive in more runs. Will Gardy ever consider batting Mauer leadoff? I don’t want to get into the argument of Mauer’s lack of power and how he overproduces at the catcher position. Yes, he does overproduce at catcher, as Aaron Gleeman has pointed out. BUT, he underproduces at the three hole.
Back to studying for my IT certification exam. I’m working on a couple of guest posters that can write while I prepare for my exam. Stay tuned.
Add Frank Catalonatto to the list of players who always seems to kill the Twins. Josh Hamilton will soon be on that list as he gets more at bats I’m sure. I’m not the Elias Sports bureau but the combination of Frank Catalanotto followed by Jarrod Saltalamacchia has to be the major league record for longest names of consecutive batters on one team. That’s twenty-five letters among the two hitters.
Where’s Jayson Stark when you need him?
Watching the Twins lately is like watching a slow motion train wreck. As I’m sitting here watching Juan Rincon pitch in the 11th I’ve decided to turn the TV off.
I’ll check out the box score in the morning. Who wants to go to bed annoyed?
7:15 AM Tuesday: Alright, they came back and won. Nice to check the score in the morning and see a victory. Let’s hope they recapture that home magic.
One more thing. Texas was able to get Josh Hamilton for Edison Volquez, a young pitcher. Matt Garza was as highly regarded as Volquez. Since Wayne Krivsky was the GM in Cincy at the time I’m wondering if the Twins were ever a candidate for Hamilton?
I think it’s time to start the Mauer/Delmon/Lamb home run watch. As each day goes by the fact that none of these guys have gone deep becomes more and more amazing. The three 0-migos have gone 420 combined at bats without hitting a home run this season.
Here’s the profile of our hefty non-sluggers.
Delmon Young: Checking in at 6’3” and 205 lbs Delmon Young looks like a guy who could “occasionally” knock the ball out of the park. Unfortunately this year he seems to rarely even hit the ball hard. I’ve watched a good number of Twins games this year, more than half, and have only seen Delmon even come close to hitting a home run once, a near miss a month ago in Oakland. For someone touted as a future middle of the order power hitter its more than a little concerning.
Career home runs per at bat (prior to 2008): 1 every 48 at bats.
Home runs Delmon should have: 3 (seems like it should be more)
Mike Lamb: At 6’1” and 195 lbs Mike Lamb isn’t large by MLB standards, but has shown the propensity to knock the ball out of the park in the past. Although he’s been solid on multiple occasions in the clutch, Lamb has been sorely lacking in the one big area they picked him up to provide—power. At this point he’s provided about the same offense that Nick Punto gave the club last year, with substandard defense. I keep saying he’s going to break out and knock one out of the yard any day. The only problem is I’ve been saying it for a month.
Career home runs per at bat (prior to 2008): 1 every 35 at bats.
Home runs Lamb should have: 4
Joe Mauer: At 6’5” and 220 lbs Joe Mauer is a big guy. Like many Twins fans I’ve come to accept the idea that he’ll never hit for power. As I’ve noted before it would be nice to occasionally see such a sweet swinger turn on a ball and knock it over the baggy. In some weird strange way I have this conspiracy theory that Mauer is the ultimate contrarian devoted to demonstrating how it’s more difficult to hit the ball perfectly to the second baseman on the ground 3 times out of 10 then it is to hit home runs.
Career home runs per at bat (prior to 2008): 1 every 43 at bats.
Home runs Mauer should have: 3
The Twins have shown flashes of brilliance but have struggled at times. They’re hanging on as a contender but need to avoid the bad offensive stretches like they’re in right now. Ten home runs may not seem like a lot but considering the number of close losses and low scoring games the club has had this year a few extra home runs to get away from station to station ball could be the difference of a few wins. The lack of power of these three players so far this year is even more striking for those who’ve watched them play. They’re not “just missing” balls. These guys literally haven’t even come close to hitting home runs.
Good analysis over at Aaron Gleeman’s site on the average fastball velocity of the Twin’s starters. With the 12th highest average fastball in the AL Jesse Crain looks to be fully back and may not make the club miss Pat Neshek as much. As I wrote a couple days ago I was also impressed with the velocity Glen Perkins showed on Saturday. The lovable Livan is topping out at 84 MPH.
One thing that caught my eye, and I can’t be alone, was Juan Rincon. Rincon’s fastball has consistently lost velocity since 2005. We all know what happened to Juan in 2005. Since then his average fastball has dropped from 94 MPH to 91.5 MPH.
I’m not saying, I’m just saying…
Earlier this year I faulted the Twins for getting dominated by the trio of Cliff Lee, Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana, calling them to “middle of the road” MLB starters. Some other pundits made the same comparison while the Twins offense was struggling. Well, the offense has warmed up in May (over six runs a game), but the three starters haven’t cooled off. In fact, they’ve been nothing sort of remarkable.
Remarkable may not be strong enough to describe what Cliff Lee has done this year. Stupendous, ridiculous, insane, and amazing may not even be strong enough. Tonight against Toronto Lee pitched nine shutout innings and got a no decision due to zero run support. This start followed up seven shutout innings against the Yankees last week. In fact Lee has only given up an earned run in two of his seven starts this season. He’s 6-0 on the season with an absurd ERA of 0.67. He has 44 strike outs and has yielded only 4 walks for an Eckersley like K to walk ration of 11-1. In 53 innings Lee has given up only 32 hits. To say the man is on fire would be an understatement. The Twins may be in first place but the Cleveland rotation has the potential to be downright nightmarish. With CC Sabathia getting back to normal and Fausto Carmona unhittable (if he can throw strike) the Indians have the potential to go deep in the playoffs.
Not as dominant as Lee but stellar nonetheless has been the Angels combo of Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders who are a combined 12-1. I faulted the Twins early for struggling against these two, but the rest of the league has followed suit. They sport ERA’s of2.63 and 2.48 respectively. What shocked me about Santana is the fact he’s only 25. He’s like the Mateen Cleeves of baseball— it seems like he’s been around forever.
Other Pitching News: Livan Hernandez keeps on keepin’ on. With all the dominant young arms out there it’s a joy to watch wily old Livan pitch. I eagerly watch every Livan start— kind of like how I used to eagerly anticipate each Johan start, for completely different reasons. Reusse wrote a solid column on the contrast between Buchholz and Livan this evening. Livan struggled early but true to this season’s form finished with yet another quality start and his third consecutive victory.
The Blue Jays and their vaunted pitching staff is up next. Stay hot Minnesota (bats).
A couple of interesting tidbits on two of the more maligned Twins players over the past couple of years, the lovable Lew Ford and the scrappy Jason Tyner. It seems as if Lew’s career in Japan hasn’t taken off like his first season in Minnesota. He was demoted to the Japanese minor leagues on May 2nd. The Ford signing kind of struck me as odd for a Japanese club anyway. I had the perception that when Japanese clubs signed American players they looked for guys that could swing the bat and preferably hit home runs. Since Lew isn’t much of a power hitter his signing did seem a bit unusual. According to the Joe Christensen article Lew was “dropped for readjustment”. There’s humor in that statement somewhere.
I know the Ford demotion has nothing to do with the below quote, but thinking of Lew Ford playing in Japan reminds me of the Tom Selleck movie Mr. Baseball and my favorite quote from the movie.
Jack Eliot: I’m a World Series MVP!
Skip: That was four years ago, Jack. Last season, you hit .235.
Jack Eliot: LAST SEASON, I led this team in ninth-inning doubles in the month of August!
In other former Twins banjo-type hitter news the Indians have called up Jason Tyner. Tyner has been on a tear of late, hitting .370 in May. He’s also continued his slugging ways hitting his first career minor league home run this year, to go along with his first big league HR last year. His one home run would be kind of funny if its wasn’t more home runs than Joe Mauer, Mike Lamb and Delmon Young have hit this year in well over 300 at bats– combined.
Tyner hit his only MLB homer against the Tribe last year, so they’ve seen how he can utterly destroy a baseball. If you’re interested in walking down memory lane, here’s a link to his home run.