It's getting fun to watch Carlos Silva pitch. Hit after hit after hit, yet very few runs. How the Angels didn't score 8 runs last night I still haven't figured out.
Silva doesn't seem comfortable until he's got two men on base. It reminds me a little of Brian Harper, who couldn't get a hit until he was down in the count 0-2.
But back to the game itself; there's really nothing more satisfying than winning a game you didn't deserve to win, so cheers to Morneau, Punto, etc.
There were a couple other interesting bits of news in Twins Town yesterday that could have an impact in the near future.
Just as I wrote the other day that Punto is about to supplant Rivas as the starting 2-sack, I think the chances of Kyle Lohse being moved to the bullpen took a significant leap yesterday when it was announced that Grant Balfour will miss the rest of the season after surgery.'
I know the Twins love Balfour, with his 99mph fastball, and variety of pitches that A-Rod once said, "have so much movement it isn't fair", but I think he's probably wearing out his welcome with the team by always being hurt.
They were really counting on him being another power arm in the pen this year, and they'll end up not getting a single inning from him. That means there is sort of an opening for a power arm in the bullpen now. Balfour's spot on the roster is currently being filled by righty Matt Guerrier, who I think only got the job because the Twins figured Balfour would be back soon enough. While Guerrier has actually looked decent in a few outings so far, I don't think the Twins will keep him on the roster all season, as they obviously don't trust him to pitch in any remotely important situations.
Which means, if the Twins do dump him eventually, that Scott Baker, JD Durbin, Dave Gassner, Boof Bonser, Fransisco Liriano or Travis Bowyer will be called up. Most of those names are starters, and the Twins seem fairly confident that Gassner and Baker are both Major League-ready right now.
That creates a scenario where one of those two is called up to take Guerrier's roster spot, moves into Lohse's spot in the rotation, and Lohse moves into Balfour's spot in the pen. With Lohse having a minor arm injury this week, the Twins even have sort of an excuse to try him there.
It makes pretty good sense to me.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Friday, April 29, 2005
Where's Victory Sports when you need it?
I'm sick of the Twins day game never being televised. Don't they know some of us are lazy bastards that don't go to work till 4? Or that some of us have TV's in our office that we'd love to distract us from our work?
Anyway I just remembered that last year they werent on at all for the first month of the season, so I guess we shouldn't bitch too much.
Twins get the Angels next, who just whipped the Yankees. It would be nice to see them get at least 4 wins, maybe 5, on their upcoming 6 game homestand.
Not a whole lot of divisional games in May, we'll see how they stack up against some other teams. They've had trouble in the past with teams like Tampa and Baltimore.
Anyway I just remembered that last year they werent on at all for the first month of the season, so I guess we shouldn't bitch too much.
Twins get the Angels next, who just whipped the Yankees. It would be nice to see them get at least 4 wins, maybe 5, on their upcoming 6 game homestand.
Not a whole lot of divisional games in May, we'll see how they stack up against some other teams. They've had trouble in the past with teams like Tampa and Baltimore.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Lil' Nicky vs. Luis
The Twins have won the first two in KC, which is no reason at all to be excited. In fact, if they don't complete the sweep Thursday, they should consider the series a failure. The Royals are that bad. And they are managed by Tony Pena. Tony Pena managing a major league baseball team is like Justin Timberlake teaching a song writing class. But I digress.
Anyway, you may have noticed Lil' Nicky Punto getting a lot of playing time at 2B. I think it's pretty clear that Gardy wants Punto to take the 2B job from Luis Rivas. Either that, or he hopes to light a fire under Rivas by threatening as much.
I have no problem with that I guess, but I think it's worth pointing out that Luis is possibly the best defensive 2B in baseball. Seriously, he's that good. He has terrific range, soft hands, a strong arm, great balance, and instincts that you usually only see in far more experienced players.
With three new starters at the other infield positions, I think it might be asking for trouble to throw another new guy in there. Punto and Bartlett as the keystone combination might be shaky. Don't get me wrong, Punto made some great plays tonight at second, and he is clearly a better hitter than Luis. I just think Luis' D is underappreciated.
But really this just brings me back to what I keep harping on: That Scott Ulger is not doing his job as the hitting coach. Luis has not only failed to improve since his solid rookie season, he has actually regressed. He's terrible right now. I know Rivas is one guy Ulger has actually worked with (seriously, he really tried to help him ), so maybe Luis is to blame more than Ulger. But I don't know.
Anyway, I don't think they'd trade Luis, he's too valuable off the bench as a defensive replacement (you may remember Cuddyer started at 2B in the playoffs last year and then Luis came off the bench.) I think it's pretty safe to say though, that unless Luis seriously turns it around, this is his last year with the team.
Anyway, you may have noticed Lil' Nicky Punto getting a lot of playing time at 2B. I think it's pretty clear that Gardy wants Punto to take the 2B job from Luis Rivas. Either that, or he hopes to light a fire under Rivas by threatening as much.
I have no problem with that I guess, but I think it's worth pointing out that Luis is possibly the best defensive 2B in baseball. Seriously, he's that good. He has terrific range, soft hands, a strong arm, great balance, and instincts that you usually only see in far more experienced players.
With three new starters at the other infield positions, I think it might be asking for trouble to throw another new guy in there. Punto and Bartlett as the keystone combination might be shaky. Don't get me wrong, Punto made some great plays tonight at second, and he is clearly a better hitter than Luis. I just think Luis' D is underappreciated.
But really this just brings me back to what I keep harping on: That Scott Ulger is not doing his job as the hitting coach. Luis has not only failed to improve since his solid rookie season, he has actually regressed. He's terrible right now. I know Rivas is one guy Ulger has actually worked with (seriously, he really tried to help him ), so maybe Luis is to blame more than Ulger. But I don't know.
Anyway, I don't think they'd trade Luis, he's too valuable off the bench as a defensive replacement (you may remember Cuddyer started at 2B in the playoffs last year and then Luis came off the bench.) I think it's pretty safe to say though, that unless Luis seriously turns it around, this is his last year with the team.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Gardy on my mind
So the Twins had their games Saturday and Sunday cancelled due to snow.
That gave me plenty of time to stew over their extra inning loss to the Kitties on Friday.
I have to admit, I continue to wonder if this team isn't in danger of having chances of a title lessened by their manager's stupid decisions.
Gardy, for his part, is a great manager in many ways, after all he's won 3 straight division titles.
But that is because his strenght lies in motivation, babysitting, the whole "team chemistry" thing.
And that's an underrated part of the job when you play a 162 game season.
After all, that's why they're called managers, not head coaches.
Tom Kelly was, in my opinion, the best in baseball when it came to running a game. Pitching changes, lineups, matchups, bunting, stealing, etc. - there was nobody better.
But TK struggled at times to get along with his players, so obviously both men have their strengths and weaknesses.
But Gardy is really making me nervous.
First there's the whole Corky Miller thing.
The Twins sent down Terry Tiffee, even though the guy can play 1st and 3rd, is a switch-hitter, and has proven that he can hit major league pitching.
Miller can play one position, catcher, where we already have 2 good catchers, (Mauer, Redmond) and an emergency catcher (LeCroy). That's all you need.
Not only does Miller play just one position, he is also not a viable bat off the bench, and has proven that he can NOT hit major league pitching.
He's 1 for his last 46. That's an average of .023. The average pitcher in the National Leauge hits .159. I checked.
Tiffee not only shouldn't be sent down, he should be pushing Michael Cuddyer for the 3rd base job right now. Cuddy is off to a poor start, and threatening to bench him in favor of Tiffee might be what it takes to wake him up.
Another thing starting to concern me is Shannon Stewart vs. Lew Ford. As in who should be in left and who should DH.
Now I know somedays LeCroy DH's, and since Stewie is arguably the team's most complete experienced hitter, he'll have to be in left on those days.
Fine.
But, as he showed on Friday, he has arguably the worst throwing arm in the league. Inge was still 3 miles from home when Stewie let go of the ball, and by the time the throw made it home, not only had INge scored but there was a pot of gold sitting where the throw landed.
Also Torii Hunter has suggested recently in interviews that Stewie is having a tough time getting a jump on balls in left at the Dome.
It has long been said by everyone from Kirby Puckett to Shane Mack to Danny Gladden that left field is the toughest place to play in the dome due to the lighting and the bullpen and etc in the corner.
Well if that's true, put Jacque back there, because he didn't have many problems when he was there. Then put Ford in right.
Stewie needs to be the DH. Not only is he a liability in the field but he's injury prone. DH'ing him probably gives him another 100 at-bats this year.
I could go on about Gardy leaving Mulholland in, or pulling Joe Mays last week after only 70 pitches, or a bunch of other things - like the lack of progress for so many young hitters, but the fact is the list of questionable decisions Gardy has made is getting long.
It kind of scarily reminds me of when Bob Brenly was managing Arizona. They won a World Series, based solely on what their players did.
The TV guys openly speculated on the air that Brenly was intimidated and overmatched by Joe Torre on a national stage, and even when Arizona won, an open debate took place on whether or not Brenly was baseball's worst manager. After he had beaten the Yankees in the World Series.
So, basiclly, just because he has 3 straight titles doesn't exactly make Gardy a modern day John McGraw.
That gave me plenty of time to stew over their extra inning loss to the Kitties on Friday.
I have to admit, I continue to wonder if this team isn't in danger of having chances of a title lessened by their manager's stupid decisions.
Gardy, for his part, is a great manager in many ways, after all he's won 3 straight division titles.
But that is because his strenght lies in motivation, babysitting, the whole "team chemistry" thing.
And that's an underrated part of the job when you play a 162 game season.
After all, that's why they're called managers, not head coaches.
Tom Kelly was, in my opinion, the best in baseball when it came to running a game. Pitching changes, lineups, matchups, bunting, stealing, etc. - there was nobody better.
But TK struggled at times to get along with his players, so obviously both men have their strengths and weaknesses.
But Gardy is really making me nervous.
First there's the whole Corky Miller thing.
The Twins sent down Terry Tiffee, even though the guy can play 1st and 3rd, is a switch-hitter, and has proven that he can hit major league pitching.
Miller can play one position, catcher, where we already have 2 good catchers, (Mauer, Redmond) and an emergency catcher (LeCroy). That's all you need.
Not only does Miller play just one position, he is also not a viable bat off the bench, and has proven that he can NOT hit major league pitching.
He's 1 for his last 46. That's an average of .023. The average pitcher in the National Leauge hits .159. I checked.
Tiffee not only shouldn't be sent down, he should be pushing Michael Cuddyer for the 3rd base job right now. Cuddy is off to a poor start, and threatening to bench him in favor of Tiffee might be what it takes to wake him up.
Another thing starting to concern me is Shannon Stewart vs. Lew Ford. As in who should be in left and who should DH.
Now I know somedays LeCroy DH's, and since Stewie is arguably the team's most complete experienced hitter, he'll have to be in left on those days.
Fine.
But, as he showed on Friday, he has arguably the worst throwing arm in the league. Inge was still 3 miles from home when Stewie let go of the ball, and by the time the throw made it home, not only had INge scored but there was a pot of gold sitting where the throw landed.
Also Torii Hunter has suggested recently in interviews that Stewie is having a tough time getting a jump on balls in left at the Dome.
It has long been said by everyone from Kirby Puckett to Shane Mack to Danny Gladden that left field is the toughest place to play in the dome due to the lighting and the bullpen and etc in the corner.
Well if that's true, put Jacque back there, because he didn't have many problems when he was there. Then put Ford in right.
Stewie needs to be the DH. Not only is he a liability in the field but he's injury prone. DH'ing him probably gives him another 100 at-bats this year.
I could go on about Gardy leaving Mulholland in, or pulling Joe Mays last week after only 70 pitches, or a bunch of other things - like the lack of progress for so many young hitters, but the fact is the list of questionable decisions Gardy has made is getting long.
It kind of scarily reminds me of when Bob Brenly was managing Arizona. They won a World Series, based solely on what their players did.
The TV guys openly speculated on the air that Brenly was intimidated and overmatched by Joe Torre on a national stage, and even when Arizona won, an open debate took place on whether or not Brenly was baseball's worst manager. After he had beaten the Yankees in the World Series.
So, basiclly, just because he has 3 straight titles doesn't exactly make Gardy a modern day John McGraw.
Friday, April 22, 2005
The Royals are not a real major league baseball team
The Twins swept two from KC.
Who cares?
The Royals are not a real major league baseball team.
Who cares?
The Royals are not a real major league baseball team.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
God Dammit
Ya know, watching the Twins lose to the White Sox on back to back nights, in which both games were completely winnable, is so damn frustrating that I don't really have it in me to piss and moan about their poor at-bats or pitch selection or coaching or managing or whatever.
They're 1-4 against the Sox this year, which sucks mainly because it give the Sox license, at least they think, to run their goddamn mouths.
The Sox are so inconsistent that they could probably win the season series from the Twins 13-6 and I still think the Twins would win the division. The Sox will lose too many games to the Royals, Tigers, Blue Jays, etc.
But man, 14 hits and 1 goddamn run. That hurts.
They're 1-4 against the Sox this year, which sucks mainly because it give the Sox license, at least they think, to run their goddamn mouths.
The Sox are so inconsistent that they could probably win the season series from the Twins 13-6 and I still think the Twins would win the division. The Sox will lose too many games to the Royals, Tigers, Blue Jays, etc.
But man, 14 hits and 1 goddamn run. That hurts.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Swing the Bat, Meat!
Man did this one piss me off.
I mean pissed me the hell off.
I don't know if I've ever yelled at the TV during a Twins game like I did on this night.
The White Sox played an absolutely disgraceful game and managed to beat the Twins anyway, 5-4.
I haven't read the Chicago Tribune story yet, but I bet Ozzie Guillen says something to the effect of, "Man we really played like burnt ass tonight. I can't believe we won."
The Sox made errors, balked in a run, walked batter after batter, and yet, when Kyle Lohse served up a fat one, as he tends to do quite regularly, the Sox did something funny.
They hit it.
As much as the 3 double-plays pissed me off, especially the two that came with the sacks juiced, what really made me mad was the sickening amount of cock-shots (that would be 88-mph fastballs right down the middle of the plate) Twins hitters watched pass by as though they were completely disinterested.
Shannon Stewart, who normally can be counted on for great at-bats, even if he doesn't get on, had the worst one in the 8th against journeyman Dustin Hermansen:
1st pitch - Fastball, right down the middle, taken for strike one.
2nd pitch - Another fastball, right down the middle, taken for strike two.
3rd pitch - Sinker in the dirt, swung on and missed strike three.
Nice goin' Stewie. The kids in the Tom Emanski videos are blushing.
But it wasn't just Stewie. They were all doing it. I was screaming at them: "SWING, YOU ASSHOLES, SWING!!!!! But no. All part of Scotty "Can't Believe I'm Gettin' Paid" Ullger's master plan, I'm sure.
Funny, Carl Everett's 450 foot homer to break the tie came on a first pitch fastball from Kyle Lohse. It's been said a million times. You often get only one good pitch to hit in an at-bat. Don't miss it.
Now I know I'm slightly contradicting myself, because in the past I've criticized this team for not being patient, swinging at everything and getting themselves out. Like they did on opening day against Jamie Moyer.
But come on, you can't go up there with your mind made up to not swing at the first pitch.
You are major league hitters. You should be somewhat capable of differentiating good (hittable) pitches from bad (pitcher's pitches) ones.
And I think you know which ones you're supposed to swing at.
I mean pissed me the hell off.
I don't know if I've ever yelled at the TV during a Twins game like I did on this night.
The White Sox played an absolutely disgraceful game and managed to beat the Twins anyway, 5-4.
I haven't read the Chicago Tribune story yet, but I bet Ozzie Guillen says something to the effect of, "Man we really played like burnt ass tonight. I can't believe we won."
The Sox made errors, balked in a run, walked batter after batter, and yet, when Kyle Lohse served up a fat one, as he tends to do quite regularly, the Sox did something funny.
They hit it.
As much as the 3 double-plays pissed me off, especially the two that came with the sacks juiced, what really made me mad was the sickening amount of cock-shots (that would be 88-mph fastballs right down the middle of the plate) Twins hitters watched pass by as though they were completely disinterested.
Shannon Stewart, who normally can be counted on for great at-bats, even if he doesn't get on, had the worst one in the 8th against journeyman Dustin Hermansen:
1st pitch - Fastball, right down the middle, taken for strike one.
2nd pitch - Another fastball, right down the middle, taken for strike two.
3rd pitch - Sinker in the dirt, swung on and missed strike three.
Nice goin' Stewie. The kids in the Tom Emanski videos are blushing.
But it wasn't just Stewie. They were all doing it. I was screaming at them: "SWING, YOU ASSHOLES, SWING!!!!! But no. All part of Scotty "Can't Believe I'm Gettin' Paid" Ullger's master plan, I'm sure.
Funny, Carl Everett's 450 foot homer to break the tie came on a first pitch fastball from Kyle Lohse. It's been said a million times. You often get only one good pitch to hit in an at-bat. Don't miss it.
Now I know I'm slightly contradicting myself, because in the past I've criticized this team for not being patient, swinging at everything and getting themselves out. Like they did on opening day against Jamie Moyer.
But come on, you can't go up there with your mind made up to not swing at the first pitch.
You are major league hitters. You should be somewhat capable of differentiating good (hittable) pitches from bad (pitcher's pitches) ones.
And I think you know which ones you're supposed to swing at.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Roooaaaad Trrrriiiiiiippppp!!!!
Well even though the Twins took 2 of 3 from the team many think is the primary threat to their 4th straight division title, I'm pissed off.
At JC Romero.
Yes, if Michael Cuddyer had made the play JC would have been out of the inning and, presumably the Twins could've turned it over to Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan and swept their second straight series and won their seventh straight game.
But he didn't.
And then JC showed why he is not in the same class as Rincon and Nathan by failing to pick up his teammate.
Guess what, Cuddy is going to make errors. In fact, he'll probably lead the team in that category this year. It happens.
Good pitchers pick up their teammates, or at least try to.
But it was readily apparent that JC was sulking, and felt that Cuddy's error had given him a built in excuse to go ahead and lose the game without blame.
Well, JC, I blame you, not Cuddy.
If Hafner had ripped a double off the wall, fine, you tried, you lost, good luck next time. But no, the Twins get the lefty-lefty matchup they want and JC....hits him. It wasn't even close. In fact, two pitches earlier he just barely missed him and I thought to myself: "I wouldn't be surprised if later in this at-bat JC hits Hafner to force in the winning run.
The fact that I was right doesn't make me clairvoyant, it makes JC predicable and still inconsistent.
I know I'm being too hard on the guy, cuz prior to that he's looked great this year. I'm just upset with the way he lost it. As the Twins folded up the tents against Bob Wickman in the ninth, the one word that kept popping in my head about JC's day was gutless. You need a guy with a little more cajones than that in October.
Having said that, we did manage to do two cool things in the first two games of the series: A) win on friday despite only 3 hits, and B) beat Kevin Milwood with Dave Gassner.
Gassner looked very good, very composed, and while I can't say I was surprised (the guy was 16-8 in AAA last year with an 86-mph fastball. It's just as hard to succeed in the minors without heat as it is in the majors so obviously the guy knows how to pitch.) but I'm not going to get all excited either. I look forward to his next start.
I will say that if Lohse continues to struggle, their is the possibility that he goes to the bullpen and Gassner takes his place. With Silva coming back (Thank God) and Mays coming off a terrific start on Sunday (Thank God again), Lohse could give the Twins yet another power arm in the pen, with Radke, Santana, Silva, Mays and Gassner in the ro'. But it's still too early to write off Lohse. But I bet Gardy and Terry Ryan have both already entertained the thought.
PS - I sat nex to Kyle Lohse's wife at a game once.
GOD DAMN! She's, uh, nice looking.
At JC Romero.
Yes, if Michael Cuddyer had made the play JC would have been out of the inning and, presumably the Twins could've turned it over to Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan and swept their second straight series and won their seventh straight game.
But he didn't.
And then JC showed why he is not in the same class as Rincon and Nathan by failing to pick up his teammate.
Guess what, Cuddy is going to make errors. In fact, he'll probably lead the team in that category this year. It happens.
Good pitchers pick up their teammates, or at least try to.
But it was readily apparent that JC was sulking, and felt that Cuddy's error had given him a built in excuse to go ahead and lose the game without blame.
Well, JC, I blame you, not Cuddy.
If Hafner had ripped a double off the wall, fine, you tried, you lost, good luck next time. But no, the Twins get the lefty-lefty matchup they want and JC....hits him. It wasn't even close. In fact, two pitches earlier he just barely missed him and I thought to myself: "I wouldn't be surprised if later in this at-bat JC hits Hafner to force in the winning run.
The fact that I was right doesn't make me clairvoyant, it makes JC predicable and still inconsistent.
I know I'm being too hard on the guy, cuz prior to that he's looked great this year. I'm just upset with the way he lost it. As the Twins folded up the tents against Bob Wickman in the ninth, the one word that kept popping in my head about JC's day was gutless. You need a guy with a little more cajones than that in October.
Having said that, we did manage to do two cool things in the first two games of the series: A) win on friday despite only 3 hits, and B) beat Kevin Milwood with Dave Gassner.
Gassner looked very good, very composed, and while I can't say I was surprised (the guy was 16-8 in AAA last year with an 86-mph fastball. It's just as hard to succeed in the minors without heat as it is in the majors so obviously the guy knows how to pitch.) but I'm not going to get all excited either. I look forward to his next start.
I will say that if Lohse continues to struggle, their is the possibility that he goes to the bullpen and Gassner takes his place. With Silva coming back (Thank God) and Mays coming off a terrific start on Sunday (Thank God again), Lohse could give the Twins yet another power arm in the pen, with Radke, Santana, Silva, Mays and Gassner in the ro'. But it's still too early to write off Lohse. But I bet Gardy and Terry Ryan have both already entertained the thought.
PS - I sat nex to Kyle Lohse's wife at a game once.
GOD DAMN! She's, uh, nice looking.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Still the Top Dog
Despite Dmitri Young's claims, the Twins are still the team to beat in the Central, which they proved by whipping the Kitties in three straight. Young himself cowered in defeat, saying, "they humbled us."
You'd think 3 straight division titles would earn a team respect, but the Central also-rans continue to run their mouth. When are they going to get it? It seems like every time some other team claims to be better than the Twins that just fires the Twins up and they end up running away with it.
To his credit, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen seems to have convinced his club that they aren't going to beat the TWins until they respect them. Which is probably why the Sox, despite many being down on them, are the team with the best shot to knock off the Twins.
But anyway it was a very strong series for the Twins. And things will only get better when everyone starts hitting.
No, you can't draw any real conclusions based on the first week or so of the season, but it IS fair to say that the Twins show signs of being one of the most complete teams in baseball.
If Carlos Silva can pitch through the knee problems, (he's coming off the DL next Friday) that would also be a boost to the Twins psyche, and a blow to the hopes of opponents.
You'd think 3 straight division titles would earn a team respect, but the Central also-rans continue to run their mouth. When are they going to get it? It seems like every time some other team claims to be better than the Twins that just fires the Twins up and they end up running away with it.
To his credit, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen seems to have convinced his club that they aren't going to beat the TWins until they respect them. Which is probably why the Sox, despite many being down on them, are the team with the best shot to knock off the Twins.
But anyway it was a very strong series for the Twins. And things will only get better when everyone starts hitting.
No, you can't draw any real conclusions based on the first week or so of the season, but it IS fair to say that the Twins show signs of being one of the most complete teams in baseball.
If Carlos Silva can pitch through the knee problems, (he's coming off the DL next Friday) that would also be a boost to the Twins psyche, and a blow to the hopes of opponents.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
The Dragon hath been slayeth
Troy F***ing Percival is officially in the twilight of his career.
After all, the Twins pounded him for a ninth inning win, one inning after Ugie Urbina put on an exhibition in blowing. In case you missed it, Percival had thrown 40 innings against the Twins w/o allowing an earned run before last night. Punto had a terrific at bat to get a walk, pushing Ford to second, then Stewie came up with the big hit.
The other big news of the day, I suppose, is Joe Mays' return to the rotation.
I wasn't impressed, as Joe walked too many guys to get away with, but considering what a head case he ususally is, I guess the fact that he made it through the game without his head imploding is a good thing.
Also JC Romero had a damn nasty slider, and looked real good. Rincon was also filthy. The Twins bullpen, in case you're retarted, is really, really, really good.
Cuddy hit a long homer, Bartlett homered, (though he looked like a girl on that rather embarrassing error), and the Twins are now 4-3 with four come from behind wins.
To be 4-3 without having really played very well, is, I think, something to be encouraged by.
It'd be nice to see a good outing from Kyle Lohse tonight.
After all, the Twins pounded him for a ninth inning win, one inning after Ugie Urbina put on an exhibition in blowing. In case you missed it, Percival had thrown 40 innings against the Twins w/o allowing an earned run before last night. Punto had a terrific at bat to get a walk, pushing Ford to second, then Stewie came up with the big hit.
The other big news of the day, I suppose, is Joe Mays' return to the rotation.
I wasn't impressed, as Joe walked too many guys to get away with, but considering what a head case he ususally is, I guess the fact that he made it through the game without his head imploding is a good thing.
Also JC Romero had a damn nasty slider, and looked real good. Rincon was also filthy. The Twins bullpen, in case you're retarted, is really, really, really good.
Cuddy hit a long homer, Bartlett homered, (though he looked like a girl on that rather embarrassing error), and the Twins are now 4-3 with four come from behind wins.
To be 4-3 without having really played very well, is, I think, something to be encouraged by.
It'd be nice to see a good outing from Kyle Lohse tonight.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Two Good Days
First off, the series finale against the Pale Hose was deserving of much rejoicing. Johan got in a nice groove.
It seems like the early scouting report on Johan was to attack him early in the count, to try to avoid having to try to hit the changeup, and it's nice to see that Johan is fighting back my making his own adjustments, not just by trying to overthrow or challenge everyone. People tend to forget that as great as his stuff is, his fastball never hits much higher than 93, which isn't terribly fast for a guy who had 265 K's last year.
It was also nice to see Torii Hunter have a terrific game. It's frustrating to see him have poor at-bats, because as he showed Sunday night he has the ability to be a major impact player. He hit a 3 run homer, stole two bases, and silenced the Sox baserunners with his arm in center. He truly can affect the game in so many ways. If he could just be a little more disciplined at the plate he would be, in my opinion, one of the top 10 or 15 players in the league.
And then of course was the terrific news Monday, that Silva may not be lost for as long as was originally thought. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because he could still end up being gone for a very long time, but if it turns out that he's only going to miss a few weeks (as Twins doctors are now suggesting) the Twins should consider themselves the luckiest team on the face of the earth.
In fact, if it works out that way, the injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
After all, with Silva on the sidelines, even for just a few weeks, the Twins will be able to give Joe Mays a true test to see if he can ever be close to the ace he was in 2001, and they also get a chance to see how David Gassner, one of their top prospects, fares in his debut against big league hitters.
As if that wasn't enough good news from an off-day, just when it was looking like Justin Morneau might have to go on the DL with some concussion like issues, he also got a positive diagnosis from doctors and may rejoin the lineup in a few days.
I hope the Twins beat the crap out of Detroit, because Dmitrit Young shot his mouth off this week about how Detroit and Cleveland are the only two teams in the Central race. Guess what asshole, youre on the losingest franchise in baseball.
Actually, I think he's right, the race is going to be between Detroit and Cleveland.
For third.
It seems like the early scouting report on Johan was to attack him early in the count, to try to avoid having to try to hit the changeup, and it's nice to see that Johan is fighting back my making his own adjustments, not just by trying to overthrow or challenge everyone. People tend to forget that as great as his stuff is, his fastball never hits much higher than 93, which isn't terribly fast for a guy who had 265 K's last year.
It was also nice to see Torii Hunter have a terrific game. It's frustrating to see him have poor at-bats, because as he showed Sunday night he has the ability to be a major impact player. He hit a 3 run homer, stole two bases, and silenced the Sox baserunners with his arm in center. He truly can affect the game in so many ways. If he could just be a little more disciplined at the plate he would be, in my opinion, one of the top 10 or 15 players in the league.
And then of course was the terrific news Monday, that Silva may not be lost for as long as was originally thought. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because he could still end up being gone for a very long time, but if it turns out that he's only going to miss a few weeks (as Twins doctors are now suggesting) the Twins should consider themselves the luckiest team on the face of the earth.
In fact, if it works out that way, the injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
After all, with Silva on the sidelines, even for just a few weeks, the Twins will be able to give Joe Mays a true test to see if he can ever be close to the ace he was in 2001, and they also get a chance to see how David Gassner, one of their top prospects, fares in his debut against big league hitters.
As if that wasn't enough good news from an off-day, just when it was looking like Justin Morneau might have to go on the DL with some concussion like issues, he also got a positive diagnosis from doctors and may rejoin the lineup in a few days.
I hope the Twins beat the crap out of Detroit, because Dmitrit Young shot his mouth off this week about how Detroit and Cleveland are the only two teams in the Central race. Guess what asshole, youre on the losingest franchise in baseball.
Actually, I think he's right, the race is going to be between Detroit and Cleveland.
For third.
Two Good Days
First off, the series finale against the Pale Hose was deserving of much rejoicing. Johan got in a nice groove.
It seems like the early scouting report on Johan was to attack him early in the count, to try to avoid having to try to hit the changeup, and it's nice to see that Johan is fighting back my making his own adjustments, not just by trying to overthrow or challenge everyone. People tend to forget that as great as his stuff is, his fastball never hits much higher than 93, which isn't terribly fast for a guy who had 265 K's last year.
It was also nice to see Torii Hunter have a terrific game. It's frustrating to see him have poor at-bats, because as he showed Sunday night he has the ability to be a major impact player. He hit a 3 run homer, stole two bases, and silenced the Sox baserunners with his arm in center. He truly can affect the game in so many ways. If he could just be a little more disciplined at the plate he would be, in my opinion, one of the top 10 or 15 players in the league.
And then of course was the terrific news Monday, that Silva may not be lost for as long as was originally thought. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because he could still end up being gone for a very long time, but if it turns out that he's only going to miss a few weeks (as Twins doctors are now suggesting) the Twins should consider themselves the luckiest team on the face of the earth.
In fact, if it works out that way, the injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
After all, with Silva on the sidelines, even for just a few weeks, the Twins will be able to give Joe Mays a true test to see if he can ever be close to the ace he was in 2001, and they also get a chance to see how David Gassner, one of their top prospects, fares in his debut against big league hitters.
As if that wasn't enough good news from an off-day, just when it was looking like Justin Morneau might have to go on the DL with some concussion like issues, he also got a positive diagnosis from doctors and may rejoin the lineup in a few days.
I hope the Twins beat the crap out of Detroit, because Dmitrit Young shot his mouth off this week about how Detroit and Cleveland are the only two teams in the Central race. Guess what asshole, youre on the losingest franchise in baseball.
Actually, I think he's right, the race is going to be between Detroit and Cleveland.
For third.
It seems like the early scouting report on Johan was to attack him early in the count, to try to avoid having to try to hit the changeup, and it's nice to see that Johan is fighting back my making his own adjustments, not just by trying to overthrow or challenge everyone. People tend to forget that as great as his stuff is, his fastball never hits much higher than 93, which isn't terribly fast for a guy who had 265 K's last year.
It was also nice to see Torii Hunter have a terrific game. It's frustrating to see him have poor at-bats, because as he showed Sunday night he has the ability to be a major impact player. He hit a 3 run homer, stole two bases, and silenced the Sox baserunners with his arm in center. He truly can affect the game in so many ways. If he could just be a little more disciplined at the plate he would be, in my opinion, one of the top 10 or 15 players in the league.
And then of course was the terrific news Monday, that Silva may not be lost for as long as was originally thought. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because he could still end up being gone for a very long time, but if it turns out that he's only going to miss a few weeks (as Twins doctors are now suggesting) the Twins should consider themselves the luckiest team on the face of the earth.
In fact, if it works out that way, the injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
After all, with Silva on the sidelines, even for just a few weeks, the Twins will be able to give Joe Mays a true test to see if he can ever be close to the ace he was in 2001, and they also get a chance to see how David Gassner, one of their top prospects, fares in his debut against big league hitters.
As if that wasn't enough good news from an off-day, just when it was looking like Justin Morneau might have to go on the DL with some concussion like issues, he also got a positive diagnosis from doctors and may rejoin the lineup in a few days.
I hope the Twins beat the crap out of Detroit, because Dmitrit Young shot his mouth off this week about how Detroit and Cleveland are the only two teams in the Central race. Guess what asshole, youre on the losingest franchise in baseball.
Actually, I think he's right, the race is going to be between Detroit and Cleveland.
For third.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
A Disastrous Day
90,000 Twins fans showed up for the first two home games, and the boys responded by getting on their knees for the South Siders.
Saturday Radke was average at best, while Cuddyer had maybe as much of a negative effect on the game as is possible for a 3rd baseman. It was a very poor defensive effort, which is an onimous sign. Lack of D is what kept Chicago from catching the Twins in recent seasons. If the Twins don't catch the ball this year they're in trouble, especially in light of the truly horrible news.......
Carlos Silva, who has shown signs of becoming a future All-Star, is likely out for the year. This is a tremendous blow for a team already crossing its fingers with Lohse and Mays.
Dave Gassner will take his place. Gassner is a sort of 27 year old Jamie MOyer, who was acquired in the Bobby Kielty, Shannon Stewart trade. A nice pickup by Terry Ryan, but one that is being put to the test early.
I don't like where this is headed.
Saturday Radke was average at best, while Cuddyer had maybe as much of a negative effect on the game as is possible for a 3rd baseman. It was a very poor defensive effort, which is an onimous sign. Lack of D is what kept Chicago from catching the Twins in recent seasons. If the Twins don't catch the ball this year they're in trouble, especially in light of the truly horrible news.......
Carlos Silva, who has shown signs of becoming a future All-Star, is likely out for the year. This is a tremendous blow for a team already crossing its fingers with Lohse and Mays.
Dave Gassner will take his place. Gassner is a sort of 27 year old Jamie MOyer, who was acquired in the Bobby Kielty, Shannon Stewart trade. A nice pickup by Terry Ryan, but one that is being put to the test early.
I don't like where this is headed.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
A Pathetic Effort
Friday's home opener made it all the more clear how important Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are going to be to this Twins lineup.
There are just too many night's when the Twins hitters, veteran hitters I might add, look lost against a mediocre pitcher.
As for Lohse, he was good for 5 innings, then a bad sixth. Didn't really learn anything from that start, in fact, it was vintage Lohse. Flashes of ability, ultimately dissapointing result. If Scott Baker, Dave Gassner or JD Durbin gets off to a good start in Rochester the Twins might consider Lohse for the bullpen, where his lack of good off-speed stuff would be less of an issue. He's got waaayy too good of stuff for the team to cut him loose.
But back to that crappy 5-1 loss.
The atmosphere surrounding the game was purely electric. Hell, Huberts was full by 2:30.
(Saw Fox Tv's Clay Matvick there. A former Sioux Falls dude, had some nice things to say about some SF peeps (Ovenden, Whitney). Nice guy, he seemed to appreciate being able to drink a beer before the game for once, as Fox didn't televise the game so he was off.)
And they respond by laying an egg against the Sox. It was a boring ass game as they took poor swings and dribbled wimpy grounders and pop ups inning after inning.
I'm certainly not going to start calling for a coach's head a week into the season, but I think there should be some pressure this year on Scott Ulger to get the lineup in gear. That statment isn't based on four games, it's based on Ulger's entire tenure as batting coach.
The pitching continues to get better under Rick Anderson. Question marks like Silva, Nathan, Rincon, Hawkins, Balfour, Mays, and a few others became quality, in some cases All-Star caliber pitchers under Anderson. But the offense continues to be in the bottom half of the league. Torii Hunter, Jacque JOnes, Cuddyer, LeCroy, Rivas, all these guys, have been status quo for a half-decade. Look at what Ortiz did when he left! They're not bad, they're just not getting better, and they keep making the same mistakes. Jones still waives at any breaking ball from a lefty. Hunter still tries to pull pitches a foot outside. And so on. You get the feeling it's up to Mauer and Morneau to get by on their ability alone, because you never hear anyone say, 'Just think how good those two will be when Ulger gets ahold of 'em.'
With the pitching and defense this team has, it is up to Ulger to carry his weight, especially when he only got the job because the Twins were too lazy to hire a batting coach from outside the organization.
You may remember he was hired as the 1st base coach, moved to 3rd when Gardy tore his ACL, and just kind of wound up with the hitting coach job when Gardy brought in his staff.
On another note, Twins fans booed lustily when AJ batted, and that's bush.
WIthouth AJ, the Twins do not win any of their division titles. (Yes I know he wasn't on the team last year, but where do you think Joe Nathan came from?)
He was one of the team's most clutch hitters, was a pretty good catcher, and one of the few guys the Twins have EVER had who actually approached the game with some swagger.
Plus its not like he left to take more money or demanded a trade to the Yankees.
THERE IS NOT ONE GOOD REASON TO BOO AJ PIEZYNSKI. IF YOU BOO AJ YOU ARE EITHER A JACKASS OR A RETARD. Or both.
There are just too many night's when the Twins hitters, veteran hitters I might add, look lost against a mediocre pitcher.
As for Lohse, he was good for 5 innings, then a bad sixth. Didn't really learn anything from that start, in fact, it was vintage Lohse. Flashes of ability, ultimately dissapointing result. If Scott Baker, Dave Gassner or JD Durbin gets off to a good start in Rochester the Twins might consider Lohse for the bullpen, where his lack of good off-speed stuff would be less of an issue. He's got waaayy too good of stuff for the team to cut him loose.
But back to that crappy 5-1 loss.
The atmosphere surrounding the game was purely electric. Hell, Huberts was full by 2:30.
(Saw Fox Tv's Clay Matvick there. A former Sioux Falls dude, had some nice things to say about some SF peeps (Ovenden, Whitney). Nice guy, he seemed to appreciate being able to drink a beer before the game for once, as Fox didn't televise the game so he was off.)
And they respond by laying an egg against the Sox. It was a boring ass game as they took poor swings and dribbled wimpy grounders and pop ups inning after inning.
I'm certainly not going to start calling for a coach's head a week into the season, but I think there should be some pressure this year on Scott Ulger to get the lineup in gear. That statment isn't based on four games, it's based on Ulger's entire tenure as batting coach.
The pitching continues to get better under Rick Anderson. Question marks like Silva, Nathan, Rincon, Hawkins, Balfour, Mays, and a few others became quality, in some cases All-Star caliber pitchers under Anderson. But the offense continues to be in the bottom half of the league. Torii Hunter, Jacque JOnes, Cuddyer, LeCroy, Rivas, all these guys, have been status quo for a half-decade. Look at what Ortiz did when he left! They're not bad, they're just not getting better, and they keep making the same mistakes. Jones still waives at any breaking ball from a lefty. Hunter still tries to pull pitches a foot outside. And so on. You get the feeling it's up to Mauer and Morneau to get by on their ability alone, because you never hear anyone say, 'Just think how good those two will be when Ulger gets ahold of 'em.'
With the pitching and defense this team has, it is up to Ulger to carry his weight, especially when he only got the job because the Twins were too lazy to hire a batting coach from outside the organization.
You may remember he was hired as the 1st base coach, moved to 3rd when Gardy tore his ACL, and just kind of wound up with the hitting coach job when Gardy brought in his staff.
On another note, Twins fans booed lustily when AJ batted, and that's bush.
WIthouth AJ, the Twins do not win any of their division titles. (Yes I know he wasn't on the team last year, but where do you think Joe Nathan came from?)
He was one of the team's most clutch hitters, was a pretty good catcher, and one of the few guys the Twins have EVER had who actually approached the game with some swagger.
Plus its not like he left to take more money or demanded a trade to the Yankees.
THERE IS NOT ONE GOOD REASON TO BOO AJ PIEZYNSKI. IF YOU BOO AJ YOU ARE EITHER A JACKASS OR A RETARD. Or both.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
T-Minus 25 hours (sort of)
In 25 hours, Kyle Lohse will be pitching to Juan Uribe, or whatever crappy guy the Sox are batting leadoff. By that time I'm sure I will have cossumed a decent amount of Anheiser Busch product.
Home openers are great, even at the Dome. Big crowd, a great atmosphere with a lot of positive energy. The worst one I've seen was when Radke gave up a homerun to Gerald Williams on the FIRST PITCH OF THE SEASON, en route to a 7-0 Devil Rays win in which the Twins managed 3 measley hits against venerable Steve Trachsel. Believe that was in '99.
In 2000 they beat Toronto 6-1 in a great game, then had practice on the field immediately after. That was cool.
Anyway, I'm psyched to be there, I have a good feeling the Twins are gonna score some runs this weekend.
Overall they looked pretty sharp against Seattle, things are going according to plan, I think.
BTW- AJ will be behind the dish for Chicago. It'll be interesting to see what kind of reaction he gets, but I for one will be cheering. AJ was a solid player and a great character. Had a knack for clutch hits, and while people deride him for his mouth, he backs it up.
When he hit that homer off Billy Koch in Game 5 of the '02 ALDS, and flipped his bat as if to say, "Suck on that, Koch," I decided he was the coolest Twin, maybe ever. I even heard he's a smoker.
I am not a smoker, yet I find it very cool and manly that a pro baseball player lights up some heaters after he kicks your ass.
I wonder how long before AJ calls Frank Thomas a big pussy. When he does it'll be overdue.
Home openers are great, even at the Dome. Big crowd, a great atmosphere with a lot of positive energy. The worst one I've seen was when Radke gave up a homerun to Gerald Williams on the FIRST PITCH OF THE SEASON, en route to a 7-0 Devil Rays win in which the Twins managed 3 measley hits against venerable Steve Trachsel. Believe that was in '99.
In 2000 they beat Toronto 6-1 in a great game, then had practice on the field immediately after. That was cool.
Anyway, I'm psyched to be there, I have a good feeling the Twins are gonna score some runs this weekend.
Overall they looked pretty sharp against Seattle, things are going according to plan, I think.
BTW- AJ will be behind the dish for Chicago. It'll be interesting to see what kind of reaction he gets, but I for one will be cheering. AJ was a solid player and a great character. Had a knack for clutch hits, and while people deride him for his mouth, he backs it up.
When he hit that homer off Billy Koch in Game 5 of the '02 ALDS, and flipped his bat as if to say, "Suck on that, Koch," I decided he was the coolest Twin, maybe ever. I even heard he's a smoker.
I am not a smoker, yet I find it very cool and manly that a pro baseball player lights up some heaters after he kicks your ass.
I wonder how long before AJ calls Frank Thomas a big pussy. When he does it'll be overdue.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Hey Richie Sexson-Suck on This!
Anybody for 2-1, back in first place?
Another win that couldn't have been drawn up better. As Earl Weaver always said, Pitching, defense and the three-run homer (like that's really brilliant stuff).
Silva looked great, only throwing 68 pitches in seven innings. Nathan has good enough stuff to overcome his velocity not coming around yet, and really, the Twins pitching overall was pretty good for three games.
The biggest thing, maybe, was that the four players subbed in to the lineup- LeCroy, Punto, Castro and Redmond, all had big games. LeCroy did what he should, punishing a poor pitch against a lefty, and that was the game.
2 out of 3 in Seattle is a great way to open the season. I'm stoked for the home opener.
And stoked that Cleveland choked one away today.
Another win that couldn't have been drawn up better. As Earl Weaver always said, Pitching, defense and the three-run homer (like that's really brilliant stuff).
Silva looked great, only throwing 68 pitches in seven innings. Nathan has good enough stuff to overcome his velocity not coming around yet, and really, the Twins pitching overall was pretty good for three games.
The biggest thing, maybe, was that the four players subbed in to the lineup- LeCroy, Punto, Castro and Redmond, all had big games. LeCroy did what he should, punishing a poor pitch against a lefty, and that was the game.
2 out of 3 in Seattle is a great way to open the season. I'm stoked for the home opener.
And stoked that Cleveland choked one away today.
Boo-Yah
Just the kind of game the Twins needed.
First off, let me say I don't give a crap if Santana and Radke struggle in their first couple of starts. I'm not worried about either of them.
What I'm looking for at this point in the season (I say it like I'm the F'ing Coach) is good at bats and improvement from the bullpen guys.
Tuesday night we saw:
Jacque Jones hit a laser for a dinger - AGAINST A LEFTY!
Torii Hunter have two great at bats leading to a walk and a hit
Luis Rivas have another strong game
Jason Bartlett have another strong game
Justin Morneau resist the tempation to swing for the fences and settle for 3 singles
Shannon Stewart start a rally, as is his primary job as leadoff man
Joe Mauer catch 18 straight innings w/o incident (Corky can go back to clipping his toenails)
and maybe the biggest thing....JC Romero look lights out for 1 2/3 innings to get the game to Nathan (though Nathan's velocity seemed way down, a minor concern)
Opening the season on the road against Seattle, a traditionally strong team at home, all the Twins really needed to do was get one game, and even if they didn't do that it doesn't really matter.
Through 2 games the starting pitching has looked like it should: solid with some kinks to work out, and the hitters rebounded from an overaggressive showing vs. Moyer with a patient, effective approach for a game 2 win.
Tonight I'll be paying attention to Carlos Silva's sinker, Mike Redmond's catching (and hitting) and what other changes Gardy considers for the lineup on getaway day. Punto and/or Castro perhaps? The guys throwing for the M"s is pretty good, we'll see what happens.
Anyway it was nice to take a 4-0 deficit and tell the M's to stick it.
1-1.
First off, let me say I don't give a crap if Santana and Radke struggle in their first couple of starts. I'm not worried about either of them.
What I'm looking for at this point in the season (I say it like I'm the F'ing Coach) is good at bats and improvement from the bullpen guys.
Tuesday night we saw:
Jacque Jones hit a laser for a dinger - AGAINST A LEFTY!
Torii Hunter have two great at bats leading to a walk and a hit
Luis Rivas have another strong game
Jason Bartlett have another strong game
Justin Morneau resist the tempation to swing for the fences and settle for 3 singles
Shannon Stewart start a rally, as is his primary job as leadoff man
Joe Mauer catch 18 straight innings w/o incident (Corky can go back to clipping his toenails)
and maybe the biggest thing....JC Romero look lights out for 1 2/3 innings to get the game to Nathan (though Nathan's velocity seemed way down, a minor concern)
Opening the season on the road against Seattle, a traditionally strong team at home, all the Twins really needed to do was get one game, and even if they didn't do that it doesn't really matter.
Through 2 games the starting pitching has looked like it should: solid with some kinks to work out, and the hitters rebounded from an overaggressive showing vs. Moyer with a patient, effective approach for a game 2 win.
Tonight I'll be paying attention to Carlos Silva's sinker, Mike Redmond's catching (and hitting) and what other changes Gardy considers for the lineup on getaway day. Punto and/or Castro perhaps? The guys throwing for the M"s is pretty good, we'll see what happens.
Anyway it was nice to take a 4-0 deficit and tell the M's to stick it.
1-1.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
So much for 162-0
Fixed some glitches, so this is short for now.
Format has been changed to allow for comments. I'm sure all three of you are thrilled.
6 Observations from the Opener:
1. The thing that stuck out to me the most was that Luis Rivas was brilliant at second base.
The play he made going into center and throwing back across his body; aside from Robby Alomar I can't think of many who make that play. Maybe it's a little early to start taking bets on when Punto becomes the starter at second. Luis even had a hit. Which is more than Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Lew Ford can say.
2. Radke was actually pretty good.
Two bad pitches. And apparently on the error, no one yelled at Radke which base to throw to. That's a big, big mental error by the infield. With Ichiro running he doesn't have time to look before he throws. An otherwise efficient day for Brad.
3. Guys like Jamie Moyer always kill the Twins.
They don't hit lefties well to begin with, and you've got a guy throwing 81 MPH with a bunch of youngsters jacked up for opening day swinging away at the plate. Hopefully having Santana on the mound tonight will get the team jacked for a better showing.
4. Richie Sexson has a "Do Not Throw It Here" zone about a mile wide.
Man, that guy can cover a lot of space with his swing.
5. "Occassional Eddie" (formerly Everyday Eddie) looked pretty good, too.
6. You can tell even watching just on TV that Safeco Park is an incredible place to take in a ball game.
Format has been changed to allow for comments. I'm sure all three of you are thrilled.
6 Observations from the Opener:
1. The thing that stuck out to me the most was that Luis Rivas was brilliant at second base.
The play he made going into center and throwing back across his body; aside from Robby Alomar I can't think of many who make that play. Maybe it's a little early to start taking bets on when Punto becomes the starter at second. Luis even had a hit. Which is more than Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Lew Ford can say.
2. Radke was actually pretty good.
Two bad pitches. And apparently on the error, no one yelled at Radke which base to throw to. That's a big, big mental error by the infield. With Ichiro running he doesn't have time to look before he throws. An otherwise efficient day for Brad.
3. Guys like Jamie Moyer always kill the Twins.
They don't hit lefties well to begin with, and you've got a guy throwing 81 MPH with a bunch of youngsters jacked up for opening day swinging away at the plate. Hopefully having Santana on the mound tonight will get the team jacked for a better showing.
4. Richie Sexson has a "Do Not Throw It Here" zone about a mile wide.
Man, that guy can cover a lot of space with his swing.
5. "Occassional Eddie" (formerly Everyday Eddie) looked pretty good, too.
6. You can tell even watching just on TV that Safeco Park is an incredible place to take in a ball game.
Cuddyer homers; Twins win 6-1
Such specific predictions are stupid but what the hell.
Santana vs. Gil Meche seems to be a mismatch, even though Meche is an underrated pitcher.
I'd like to see Torii Hunter not try to pull everything tonight, and I'd like to see someone pinch hit for Jacque Jones if he's facing Occasional Eddie (or any other lefty) late in the game.
It'd also be nice to see another strong game from Jason Bartlett. He's kind of reminding me of Chuck Knoblauch. Knobby won the 2B job in '91 spring training, had a hit in his first game, went on to a solid, if unspectacular rookie year. Bartlett could be a .280 with 10 homers kind of guy, which is about what Guzman gave ya for about 15 times the price.
9:05 start, that means it's gonna be a looong day tomorrow.
A few other opening day nuggets:
Time to test Dmitri Young for steroids, right?
Speaking of steroids, Brett Boone is under big-time suspicion. His numbers are down and he looks way slimmer. Either his big season a couple years ago came from Canseco milk shakes or he has since been married to the Atkins diet.
The Tigers could be pretty good. Trammell is a great manager, and Jeremy Bonderman is going to be an ace. They're definitely headed in the right direction.....
As opposed to Kansas City, who is sooooo bad. They are just dogs. If the Twins AAA team joined the Central they would win 10 more games than KC. At least.
Santana vs. Gil Meche seems to be a mismatch, even though Meche is an underrated pitcher.
I'd like to see Torii Hunter not try to pull everything tonight, and I'd like to see someone pinch hit for Jacque Jones if he's facing Occasional Eddie (or any other lefty) late in the game.
It'd also be nice to see another strong game from Jason Bartlett. He's kind of reminding me of Chuck Knoblauch. Knobby won the 2B job in '91 spring training, had a hit in his first game, went on to a solid, if unspectacular rookie year. Bartlett could be a .280 with 10 homers kind of guy, which is about what Guzman gave ya for about 15 times the price.
9:05 start, that means it's gonna be a looong day tomorrow.
A few other opening day nuggets:
Time to test Dmitri Young for steroids, right?
Speaking of steroids, Brett Boone is under big-time suspicion. His numbers are down and he looks way slimmer. Either his big season a couple years ago came from Canseco milk shakes or he has since been married to the Atkins diet.
The Tigers could be pretty good. Trammell is a great manager, and Jeremy Bonderman is going to be an ace. They're definitely headed in the right direction.....
As opposed to Kansas City, who is sooooo bad. They are just dogs. If the Twins AAA team joined the Central they would win 10 more games than KC. At least.
Cuddyer homers; Twins win 6-1
Such specific predictions are stupid but what the hell.
Santana vs. Gil Meche seems to be a mismatch, even though Meche is an underrated pitcher.
I'd like to see Torii Hunter not try to pull everything tonight, and I'd like to see someone pinch hit for Jacque Jones if he's facing Occasional Eddie (or any other lefty) late in the game.
It'd also be nice to see another strong game from Jason Bartlett. He's kind of reminding me of Chuck Knoblauch. Knobby won the 2B job in '91 spring training, had a hit in his first game, went on to a solid, if unspectacular rookie year. Bartlett could be a .280 with 10 homers kind of guy, which is about what Guzman gave ya for about 15 times the price.
9:05 start, that means it's gonna be a looong day tomorrow.
A few other opening day nuggets:
Time to test Dmitri Young for steroids, right?
Speaking of steroids, Brett Boone is under big-time suspicion. His numbers are down and he looks way slimmer. Either his big season a couple years ago came from Canseco milk shakes or he has since been married to the Atkins diet.
The Tigers could be pretty good. Trammell is a great manager, and Jeremy Bonderman is going to be an ace. They're definitely headed in the right direction.....
As opposed to Kansas City, who is sooooo bad. They are just dogs. If the Twins AAA team joined the Central they would win 10 more games than KC. At least.
Santana vs. Gil Meche seems to be a mismatch, even though Meche is an underrated pitcher.
I'd like to see Torii Hunter not try to pull everything tonight, and I'd like to see someone pinch hit for Jacque Jones if he's facing Occasional Eddie (or any other lefty) late in the game.
It'd also be nice to see another strong game from Jason Bartlett. He's kind of reminding me of Chuck Knoblauch. Knobby won the 2B job in '91 spring training, had a hit in his first game, went on to a solid, if unspectacular rookie year. Bartlett could be a .280 with 10 homers kind of guy, which is about what Guzman gave ya for about 15 times the price.
9:05 start, that means it's gonna be a looong day tomorrow.
A few other opening day nuggets:
Time to test Dmitri Young for steroids, right?
Speaking of steroids, Brett Boone is under big-time suspicion. His numbers are down and he looks way slimmer. Either his big season a couple years ago came from Canseco milk shakes or he has since been married to the Atkins diet.
The Tigers could be pretty good. Trammell is a great manager, and Jeremy Bonderman is going to be an ace. They're definitely headed in the right direction.....
As opposed to Kansas City, who is sooooo bad. They are just dogs. If the Twins AAA team joined the Central they would win 10 more games than KC. At least.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Its Time
Every year I'm pleasantly reminded of just how big a deal Opening Day in Major League Baseball is.
ESPN, newspapers, that's all you hear about. The NCAA championship is tonight and nobody gives a crap. (Nobody cool, anyway)
Today is a good day to not go to work. Today is a good day to watch baseball and eat hot dogs and drink beer.
Spent a good hour or so at work reading all the ESPN.com stuff, as the online guys (Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark, Rob Neyer, Buster Olney) are waaaaaayyyyyy better than TV and radio tools like Harold Reynolds, Rob Dibble, John Kruk, Kevin Kennedy, Jeff Brantley, Dan Patick, et al.
Gammons, Olney and Stark all picked the Twins to....... WIN THE FRICKIN WORLD SERIES!!!!
Wow, I almost don't feel right about that. The Twins as favorites?? That's never really been their M.O.
But at least Harold Reynolds has picked the Indians. That guarantees the Indians will be killed by injuries and underachievement and lose 90 games, because that's what happens to every team Harold Reynolds ever picks to win anything. Strib scribe Pat Reusse also picked the Indians. I like Reusse but he's wrong almost every year, too.
For some reason, though, people (nationally) really believe in this years Twins team. They kind of seem to be the chic pick, which isn't great, because teams that are hip to pick usually dissapoint.
But I picked Louisville to make the Final Four and I like the Twins, too, so, it's pretty much money.
Anyway......
The Twins will win the Central because they have by far the best pitching in the division, and their bullpen, if Crain and Balfour straighten out, is the best in all of baseball. Right now their bench stinks, but Gardy won't keep four catchers all year no matter what happens with Mauer's knee, so that will improve when either Mike Ryan or Terry Tiffee is called up. Their lineup, to use a phrase, is tits.
DH/LF Shannon Stewart
SS Jason Bartlett
C Joe Mauer
1B Justin Morneau
CF Torii Hunter
RF Jacque Jones
LF/DH Lew Ford
3B Michael Cuddyer
2B Luis Rivas
Mauer and Morneau make this lineup better than any they've had since 1987. If healthy, Morneau could hit 40 homers, and Mauer is a guy who could hit .340 with 25 homers someday. Not bad considering the teams best hitter last year was probably Torii (.271, 23 homers) or Ford (.299, 15 homers).
Chicago finally figured it out and started copying the Twins, but they're too much in start-over mode, and their pitching is way overrated.
Cleveland is dangerous, but not as good as they think they are. Sabathia is on the DL, so is Juan Gone, and they way overpaid for Kevin Milwood.
Detroit added Troy Percival and Magglio Ordonez. That isn't going to be enough to make up the 20 games back that they finished last year.
Kansas City.....sucks. Bad.
Can they win the World Series?
Yeah, because of Radke, Santana and Nathan. It's a long season. We'll see what happens.
How They'll Finish
AL EAST
New York
Boston
Baltimore
Tampa Bay
Toronto
AL CENTRAL
TWINS
Sox
Tribe
Tiggers
Sucky guys
AL WEST
Angels
Rangers
A's
M's
NL - Who really cares about the National League? I'll just pick the Marlins to be in the World Series and call it good.
ESPN, newspapers, that's all you hear about. The NCAA championship is tonight and nobody gives a crap. (Nobody cool, anyway)
Today is a good day to not go to work. Today is a good day to watch baseball and eat hot dogs and drink beer.
Spent a good hour or so at work reading all the ESPN.com stuff, as the online guys (Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark, Rob Neyer, Buster Olney) are waaaaaayyyyyy better than TV and radio tools like Harold Reynolds, Rob Dibble, John Kruk, Kevin Kennedy, Jeff Brantley, Dan Patick, et al.
Gammons, Olney and Stark all picked the Twins to....... WIN THE FRICKIN WORLD SERIES!!!!
Wow, I almost don't feel right about that. The Twins as favorites?? That's never really been their M.O.
But at least Harold Reynolds has picked the Indians. That guarantees the Indians will be killed by injuries and underachievement and lose 90 games, because that's what happens to every team Harold Reynolds ever picks to win anything. Strib scribe Pat Reusse also picked the Indians. I like Reusse but he's wrong almost every year, too.
For some reason, though, people (nationally) really believe in this years Twins team. They kind of seem to be the chic pick, which isn't great, because teams that are hip to pick usually dissapoint.
But I picked Louisville to make the Final Four and I like the Twins, too, so, it's pretty much money.
Anyway......
The Twins will win the Central because they have by far the best pitching in the division, and their bullpen, if Crain and Balfour straighten out, is the best in all of baseball. Right now their bench stinks, but Gardy won't keep four catchers all year no matter what happens with Mauer's knee, so that will improve when either Mike Ryan or Terry Tiffee is called up. Their lineup, to use a phrase, is tits.
DH/LF Shannon Stewart
SS Jason Bartlett
C Joe Mauer
1B Justin Morneau
CF Torii Hunter
RF Jacque Jones
LF/DH Lew Ford
3B Michael Cuddyer
2B Luis Rivas
Mauer and Morneau make this lineup better than any they've had since 1987. If healthy, Morneau could hit 40 homers, and Mauer is a guy who could hit .340 with 25 homers someday. Not bad considering the teams best hitter last year was probably Torii (.271, 23 homers) or Ford (.299, 15 homers).
Chicago finally figured it out and started copying the Twins, but they're too much in start-over mode, and their pitching is way overrated.
Cleveland is dangerous, but not as good as they think they are. Sabathia is on the DL, so is Juan Gone, and they way overpaid for Kevin Milwood.
Detroit added Troy Percival and Magglio Ordonez. That isn't going to be enough to make up the 20 games back that they finished last year.
Kansas City.....sucks. Bad.
Can they win the World Series?
Yeah, because of Radke, Santana and Nathan. It's a long season. We'll see what happens.
How They'll Finish
AL EAST
New York
Boston
Baltimore
Tampa Bay
Toronto
AL CENTRAL
TWINS
Sox
Tribe
Tiggers
Sucky guys
AL WEST
Angels
Rangers
A's
M's
NL - Who really cares about the National League? I'll just pick the Marlins to be in the World Series and call it good.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Twins the favorites
Got my Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue today, which is really the only reason I subsribe to the magazine in the first place.
They picked the Twins to win the Central, with Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and KC to follow. They ranked the Twins 5th overall in the power rankings.
World Series pick: Surprise! Yankees over Braves.
I just hope dumbass Harold Reynolds of ESPN doesn't pick the Twins, because that is just the curse they don't need. He's wrong about everything. Wasn't a bad infielder, though.
Anway, I'm sure the addition of Corky MIller makes it impossible for any publication worth its salt to pick against the Twins.
Go Corky.
They picked the Twins to win the Central, with Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and KC to follow. They ranked the Twins 5th overall in the power rankings.
World Series pick: Surprise! Yankees over Braves.
I just hope dumbass Harold Reynolds of ESPN doesn't pick the Twins, because that is just the curse they don't need. He's wrong about everything. Wasn't a bad infielder, though.
Anway, I'm sure the addition of Corky MIller makes it impossible for any publication worth its salt to pick against the Twins.
Go Corky.
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