Wednesday, April 05, 2006

13-4!!!!!!!

Things that did not surprise me in the Twins first two games:
Johan Santana looking fairly crappy.
Brad Radke giving up three runs in the first inning.
Joe Mauer rapping hits to the opposite field.
Jesse Crain giving up a key homerun that cost the Twins a chance to win the opener.
Tony Batista hitting a long homerun.
Things that did surprise me:
Shannon Stewart making like Rickey Henderson in the leadoff spot.
Justin Morneau making the same mistakes at the plate that made him a .239 hitter last year.
Juan Rincon looking great in his first action since last year.
Torii Hunter getting 4 hits and 6 ribs.
Luis Rodriguez going deep oppo!
Francisco Liriano dominating for two innings.
Gardy showing a strong willingness to use his bench.

In summary, the Twins 6-3 loss was a bummer but no shock, considering Johan never pitches well till June and that Roy Halladay owns the Twins.
Their 13-4 win was fun to watch, and at the very least, gives hope that this lineup might not be terrible.
If Shannon Stewart ends up having a big year, that will greatly, greatly improve the Twins chances. It's easy to forget what a huge impact he had on the team in 2003, when he was a .320 hitter.
I'm really encouraged that Gardy has used his bench early and often, and the fact that Torii's hits on Wednesday were to center and right field is a very good sign. At age 30, he could be primed for a career year.
Tonight the Jays will send Ted Lilly, a lefty, to the mound, so expect Michael Cuddyer to get his first start, and possibly Mike Redmond as well.
The 13-4 win doesn't mean much more than the 6-3 loss, but it still made me happy for one night.

1 comment:

Newt said...

What are your thoughts on the 4 losses?