Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Rondell White!!!!!

It's only been a couple of games, but Rondell White has been so much better that it's hard not to think he may have finally straightened himself out.
I'll be the first to admit that I figured he was done as a big-leaguer and that the Twins were wasting both his and their time by not releasing him.
All of a sudden, he's hitting like the guy who was supposed to be the cleanup hitter this year.
And if there's anything more amazing than Rondell's sudden turn-around, it's the play of Nick Punto.
Punto was putting up decent numbers as a utility guy, but most (especially me) figured that if he got more playing time the numbers would quickly fall off.
Instead they've gone through the roof.
Hitting .322 with a .402 OBP and doing a nice job defensively, Punto is playing at a near All-Star level.
It's been almost generally assumed that Punto was just plugging a hole in the ship until the Twins could find another 3B, but if he turns out to be for real, he might end up being the answer.
Or he could end up being Luis Castillo's replacement at 2B. If you've watched Castillo gimp around much at all lately, you know that he's literally on his last legs.
*Sound like both Torii Hunter and Jason Kubel will be okay. Hunter all but guaranteed he'd be ready to come off the DL in time, and Kubel is back in the lineup - albeit as the DH.
*Brad Radke has been pitching like an ace for the last two months. 1-3 the Twins rotation is the best in baseball. Silva and Baker both pitched well in their last outings, but I'm still crossing my fingers every time they take the hill.
*Justin Morneau is almost a lock for 40 homers this year. And with his average up to .310, he's suddenly challenging Mauer as the team's best hitter. For years fans have waited for the Twins to have a guy in their lineup who could do both - hit for average and power - a Larry Walker, Manny Ramirez type hitter.
And Morneau might be that guy. He could be up to .330 by the end of the year if this keeps up.
*Jesse Crain has also got his shit together, and this could end up being his best season. The numbers are skewed by his terrible start, but he's becoming a more complete pitcher, able to get a big strikeout when needed, while also showing better command and more variety in his pitch selection.
*Dennys Reyes has been lights-out as the lefty specialist. Far better than JC Romero or Terry Mulholland. And the only reason the Twins have him is because he accepted a minor-league assignment back in March (he could've refused it and become a free-agent - lucky for the Twins).
*Fun trivia - Joe Nathan hit his first major league homer off Reyes back when he was a Giant and Reyes was a Dodger.

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