Before I get started on this post, I have to share my thoughts on Glen Perkins. After a poor showing yesterday, I would not be surprised to never see him again in a Twins uniform. The guy struggled mightily in 2009, apparently did not communicate properly about any injuries he had last season, and then filed a grievance against the Twins, all before he started throwing batting practice at AAA this year. Now he finally got another opportunity with Minnesota, and not only does he predictably piece together an awful start, he hit Carlos Quentin twice, presumably on purpose. The last time a Twins pitcher purposefully threw at an opposing hitter, he was verbally attacked by a very angry Delmon Young, and the rest of the team backed Young up, including Ron Gardenhire. I just don't see how all of that adds up to Perkins getting another game in a Twins uniform, even if he is a homegrown product.
On the other hand, the latest news that Jose Mijares is headed to the DL means he may stick around a little longer. I have to agree with Nick Nelson on this one, as Perkins has no business on a big-league roster.
--------------------------------------
To continue yesterday's theme of completing posts that have been in my queue for far too long, I wanted to write about our family's annual hot dog-eating competition. It was started in 2008, and we've now done each of the last 3 years on 4th of July weekend. This year, with July 4th being a Sunday, we did on Independence Day itself, although it was expanded to include friends since most of the family was in Spain.
The Family & Friends Hebrew National Hot Dog Eating Contest is different from the official competition you see on ESPN. For one, we use Hebrew National hot dogs rather than Nathan's, simply because they are the most delicious. The more significant change is that we only have four minutes to eat as many was we can, since none of us are professional eaters and thus do not want to subject ourselves to ten minutes of torture. Otherwise, though, the rules are the same. Competitors are allowed an unlimited amount of the drink of their choice, but dunking the buns is HIGHLY discouraged. This is because Non-Twin #1 (our little sister) used that strategy in the inaugural competition, proceeded to almost vomit, and cost everyone about a full minute of eating due to the hilarity of the situation.
To the results, though:
1. Twin #1 - 6 hot dogs and buns
2. Twin #2 - 4 hot dogs and buns
3. J.A. Canada - 3 hot dogs and buns
4. Dallas E. - 1 hot dog and bun
As much as I would like to revel in my victory, I must admit that none of the other contenders took it seriously this year. On the other hand, I did still break the record (which previously was 5 1/2) and had to stop because we ran out of hot dogs, due to the number the six spectators ate. Not that I could have eaten another six, but I easily could have downed another half a hot dog and maybe a whole one. We do measure down to 1/8 inch preciseness--it just so happened no one ate a partial hot dog.
Yet again it was a fun event and I hope it continues to be an annual tradition.
Showing posts with label glen perkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glen perkins. Show all posts
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Pitching woes
If you've been paying any sort of attention to the Twins, you know that their pitching is in complete disarray. Carl Pavano put together a very good start in his debut, but other than that the pitching staff has been allowing baserunners at a rate not seen since Livan Hernandez was released last July. In their latest attempt to patch up the situation, the Twins called up Jeff Manship and put Glen Perkins on the DL with a shoulder injury. Manship was pitching pretty well for Rochester since his midseason call-up, but his peripheral numbers don't suggest he's going to have too much success at the big league level. The Twins don't have much to choose from, though, and he is the most deserving starter in AAA if that's the route they wished to take.
All in all, this move seems like it will remind us of Sean Henn, Bobby Keppel, Kevin Mulvey, and Brian Duensing all too much. I have nothing against Manship, and will certainly be rooting for him to make me eat my words, but I've grown weary of the Twins' poor attempts to patch up their pitching troubles. I can't say I have a be-all-end-all answer, but they could start by trying Rob Delaney or Anthony Slama instead of Keppel and Duensing (or both).
With that, I'll just leave you with some statistics to highlight what has become of a once-proud pitching staff.
Since July 31st, the Twins have allowed 10+ runs five times in just 10 games, and 8+ runs seven times. They've allowed 78 runs in that span (7.8 per game if you need the help) and 130 hits to go with them (in just 88 innings). The Twins have surrendered more than 15 hits (!!) in six of those games! In no particular order, the stats for some pitchers over that period:
Nick Blackburn: 14.2 IP, 12 R, 25 H, 4 BB, 6 K
Francisco Liriano: 5 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Glen Perkins: 5 IP, 9 R, 13 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Anthony Swarzak: 4 IP, 13 R, 17 H, 0 BB, 2 K
R.A. Dickey: 4.1 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Jesse Crain: 5 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Brian Duensing: 9.1 IP, 7 R, 9 H, 6 BB, 9 K
Bobby Keppel: 10 IP, 10 R, 18 H, 4 BB, 5 K
When 7 of your 13 pitchers (I included both Pavano and Dickey) have a WHIP over 2.00 (Blackburn is at like 1.98 so I included him), it's tough to win ballgames. When 4 pitchers who have made starts for you have combined to allow 63 hits in only 28 2/3 innings, it's virtually impossible to win.
All in all, this move seems like it will remind us of Sean Henn, Bobby Keppel, Kevin Mulvey, and Brian Duensing all too much. I have nothing against Manship, and will certainly be rooting for him to make me eat my words, but I've grown weary of the Twins' poor attempts to patch up their pitching troubles. I can't say I have a be-all-end-all answer, but they could start by trying Rob Delaney or Anthony Slama instead of Keppel and Duensing (or both).
With that, I'll just leave you with some statistics to highlight what has become of a once-proud pitching staff.
Since July 31st, the Twins have allowed 10+ runs five times in just 10 games, and 8+ runs seven times. They've allowed 78 runs in that span (7.8 per game if you need the help) and 130 hits to go with them (in just 88 innings). The Twins have surrendered more than 15 hits (!!) in six of those games! In no particular order, the stats for some pitchers over that period:
Nick Blackburn: 14.2 IP, 12 R, 25 H, 4 BB, 6 K
Francisco Liriano: 5 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Glen Perkins: 5 IP, 9 R, 13 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Anthony Swarzak: 4 IP, 13 R, 17 H, 0 BB, 2 K
R.A. Dickey: 4.1 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Jesse Crain: 5 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Brian Duensing: 9.1 IP, 7 R, 9 H, 6 BB, 9 K
Bobby Keppel: 10 IP, 10 R, 18 H, 4 BB, 5 K
When 7 of your 13 pitchers (I included both Pavano and Dickey) have a WHIP over 2.00 (Blackburn is at like 1.98 so I included him), it's tough to win ballgames. When 4 pitchers who have made starts for you have combined to allow 63 hits in only 28 2/3 innings, it's virtually impossible to win.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Notes from the last few days
Well, I've been absent from blogging for a few days in a row for no reason other than laziness. To get back in the swing of things, I wanted to just jot down some thoughts from the last few days.
==>Since I've started actually watching the games, I've noticed something that has nothing to do with the game play itself: how opposing announcers talk about Joe Mauer. When I'm watching road games (and thus listening to the opposing team's announcers), the announcers consistently gush about Mauer, as they should. But beyond that, they seem to always speak with trepidation any time Mauer is coming up. If he's coming up fourth in an inning, they'll start talking about how important it is to go 1-2-3 as soon as the inning starts; if he's due up third, they'll talk about how vital it is to get the first two guys out; if he's leading off, they'll talk about how important it is that he's batting with no one on base. To know that he's putting the opposing so much on edge every time he comes up is pretty cool.
==>I enjoy watching interleague play for two reasons. The first one is obvious: I get to watch teams I don't see. The second, however, may be a reason other people dislike it: I love watching pitchers hit. Now, normally, they look pretty bad, and no Twins pitcher has a hit yet, but that doesn't take away from the excitement. If someone hits a double, it certainly is cause for happiness, but an extra base hit for a pitcher would result in total exuberance. And what if they hit a home run? Of course, those are very unlikely--but that's what makes it so exciting when it does happen.
On a related note, the more I think about, the sillier I think it is that pitchers hit year round in the NL. It's cool to watch a few times a year, but to have guys you're paying millions of dollars (to pitch) to be chancing getting hit by a pitch or pulling a groin or jamming something in a slide just seems to be tempting fate.
==>Two roster moves were made since I last posted: Jesse Crain was sent to AAA following his most recent implosion in order to make room for returning starter Glen Perkins. Jason Pridie was called up from AAA for his second cup of coffee to replace Denard Span, who was placed on the Disabled List. Pridie likely won't be up very long, but hopefully he'll be able to notch his first career hit (he was 0-4 in his brief stint last year).
==>Speaking of Perkins, he had a solid return outing on Tuesday night against the Pirates. He threw six innings of two-run ball and thus picked up a quality start. In addition, he struck out four against just one walk.
==>Why is Jose Morales with the Twins if he is not going to play at all? I can understand it if they want to get him some playing time over Mike Redmond, but obviously don't want to get rid of Redmond; that's not the case though. He seems to literally be nothing more than insurance for days when Joe Mauer is DHing. I know it would have been helpful once (when Redmond was ejected) and almost helpful another time (when Redmond got hit on the hand and looked like he might have to leave), but it is really a very rare situation, and it's not worth taking up a roster spot for that possibility.
==>After Mauer's 4-4 showing to start the series with the Pirates, he had a double in four at bats Wednesday before sitting out today's game. His average is now at .425 (58-160). What that means is that he could go 0 for his next sixty-seven and still be hitting over .300. It also means he could go 0-30 and 0-34 and still be leading the Majors and the AL, respectively, in batting average (assuming of course that the leaders stay where they are). And I recently learned that he also technically leads the batting title race despite the fact that he doesn't qualify yet.
==>The Twins took 2 of 3 from the Pirates, but they are going to have to take more advantage of their opportunities against teams not as bad as Pittsburgh if they expect to keep winning. Consider this: in game 1, they hit into 5 double plays (and had a runner thrown out at home) and still scored 8 runs. In game 2, they had 1 hit in 10 at bats with runners in scoring position, but followed that up by hitting even worse with RISP in game 3 (1-11). And Michael Cuddyer got thrown out again at home plate on an infield grounder.
==>And last, but most definitely not least, I wanted to bring up Nick Blackburn's sparkling outing earlier today. He came within one out of a complete game shutout, but still managed to go the distance, give up one run, and allow only six hits. He's now pitched six straight quality starts, and has gone at least seven innings in all but one of them. In that span he's lowered his ERA from 3.83 to 3.09, despite only having more strikeouts than walks in two of the six outings. Total, he walked 11 with just 16 strikeouts, but, as he's done all year, was very successful. I don't know if he can keep it up with this smoke and mirrors approach, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
==>Since I've started actually watching the games, I've noticed something that has nothing to do with the game play itself: how opposing announcers talk about Joe Mauer. When I'm watching road games (and thus listening to the opposing team's announcers), the announcers consistently gush about Mauer, as they should. But beyond that, they seem to always speak with trepidation any time Mauer is coming up. If he's coming up fourth in an inning, they'll start talking about how important it is to go 1-2-3 as soon as the inning starts; if he's due up third, they'll talk about how vital it is to get the first two guys out; if he's leading off, they'll talk about how important it is that he's batting with no one on base. To know that he's putting the opposing so much on edge every time he comes up is pretty cool.
==>I enjoy watching interleague play for two reasons. The first one is obvious: I get to watch teams I don't see. The second, however, may be a reason other people dislike it: I love watching pitchers hit. Now, normally, they look pretty bad, and no Twins pitcher has a hit yet, but that doesn't take away from the excitement. If someone hits a double, it certainly is cause for happiness, but an extra base hit for a pitcher would result in total exuberance. And what if they hit a home run? Of course, those are very unlikely--but that's what makes it so exciting when it does happen.
On a related note, the more I think about, the sillier I think it is that pitchers hit year round in the NL. It's cool to watch a few times a year, but to have guys you're paying millions of dollars (to pitch) to be chancing getting hit by a pitch or pulling a groin or jamming something in a slide just seems to be tempting fate.
==>Two roster moves were made since I last posted: Jesse Crain was sent to AAA following his most recent implosion in order to make room for returning starter Glen Perkins. Jason Pridie was called up from AAA for his second cup of coffee to replace Denard Span, who was placed on the Disabled List. Pridie likely won't be up very long, but hopefully he'll be able to notch his first career hit (he was 0-4 in his brief stint last year).
==>Speaking of Perkins, he had a solid return outing on Tuesday night against the Pirates. He threw six innings of two-run ball and thus picked up a quality start. In addition, he struck out four against just one walk.
==>Why is Jose Morales with the Twins if he is not going to play at all? I can understand it if they want to get him some playing time over Mike Redmond, but obviously don't want to get rid of Redmond; that's not the case though. He seems to literally be nothing more than insurance for days when Joe Mauer is DHing. I know it would have been helpful once (when Redmond was ejected) and almost helpful another time (when Redmond got hit on the hand and looked like he might have to leave), but it is really a very rare situation, and it's not worth taking up a roster spot for that possibility.
==>After Mauer's 4-4 showing to start the series with the Pirates, he had a double in four at bats Wednesday before sitting out today's game. His average is now at .425 (58-160). What that means is that he could go 0 for his next sixty-seven and still be hitting over .300. It also means he could go 0-30 and 0-34 and still be leading the Majors and the AL, respectively, in batting average (assuming of course that the leaders stay where they are). And I recently learned that he also technically leads the batting title race despite the fact that he doesn't qualify yet.
==>The Twins took 2 of 3 from the Pirates, but they are going to have to take more advantage of their opportunities against teams not as bad as Pittsburgh if they expect to keep winning. Consider this: in game 1, they hit into 5 double plays (and had a runner thrown out at home) and still scored 8 runs. In game 2, they had 1 hit in 10 at bats with runners in scoring position, but followed that up by hitting even worse with RISP in game 3 (1-11). And Michael Cuddyer got thrown out again at home plate on an infield grounder.
==>And last, but most definitely not least, I wanted to bring up Nick Blackburn's sparkling outing earlier today. He came within one out of a complete game shutout, but still managed to go the distance, give up one run, and allow only six hits. He's now pitched six straight quality starts, and has gone at least seven innings in all but one of them. In that span he's lowered his ERA from 3.83 to 3.09, despite only having more strikeouts than walks in two of the six outings. Total, he walked 11 with just 16 strikeouts, but, as he's done all year, was very successful. I don't know if he can keep it up with this smoke and mirrors approach, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Early Afternoon Twins Notes
A few things of consequence came up just since last night's game...
==>Glen Perkins has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Since his first three starts, he's allowed 24 earned runs in 23 innings, and has given up at least 4 in every start while pitching no more than 6 innings. In those first three starts, he went 8 innings in each and didn't allow more than 2 runs. R.A. Dickey will presumably start in place of Perkins while he's out, but the Twins aren't committing to anyone just yet.
==>The Twins called up Sean Henn from AAA-Rochester to take his spot on the roster. The lefty has had a good year there, sporting a 1.12 ERA and striking out 32 in 24 innings. However, he's been in the Majors before and holds a 7.56 career ERA and 2.04 career WHIP. He's also walked more batters than he's struck out in the Majors, allowing free passes at a rate of 7 per nine innings.
==>Delmon Young will not return to the team for their series with the Chicago White Sox. The way I understand it, he'll have to be back on the 25-man roster starting on Saturday, so Jose Morales (or someone else) would have to be sent down then, even if Young wasn't ready to play.
==>Justin Morneau believes that the AL Central is the toughest division, saying "everybody has a pretty good team." I don't agree with him, and neither do most of the other people asked; 8 of 12 chose the AL East, just as I would. The 3 votes for the AL Central came from Morneau, Aaron Laffey of the Indians, and Bobby Seay of the Tigers. Coincidence? I think not.
==>Oh, and the Twins are now 4-12 on the road, the worst such record in the Majors. Please, let's start turning that around tonight!
==>Glen Perkins has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Since his first three starts, he's allowed 24 earned runs in 23 innings, and has given up at least 4 in every start while pitching no more than 6 innings. In those first three starts, he went 8 innings in each and didn't allow more than 2 runs. R.A. Dickey will presumably start in place of Perkins while he's out, but the Twins aren't committing to anyone just yet.
==>The Twins called up Sean Henn from AAA-Rochester to take his spot on the roster. The lefty has had a good year there, sporting a 1.12 ERA and striking out 32 in 24 innings. However, he's been in the Majors before and holds a 7.56 career ERA and 2.04 career WHIP. He's also walked more batters than he's struck out in the Majors, allowing free passes at a rate of 7 per nine innings.
==>Delmon Young will not return to the team for their series with the Chicago White Sox. The way I understand it, he'll have to be back on the 25-man roster starting on Saturday, so Jose Morales (or someone else) would have to be sent down then, even if Young wasn't ready to play.
==>Justin Morneau believes that the AL Central is the toughest division, saying "everybody has a pretty good team." I don't agree with him, and neither do most of the other people asked; 8 of 12 chose the AL East, just as I would. The 3 votes for the AL Central came from Morneau, Aaron Laffey of the Indians, and Bobby Seay of the Tigers. Coincidence? I think not.
==>Oh, and the Twins are now 4-12 on the road, the worst such record in the Majors. Please, let's start turning that around tonight!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
April in Review
Be sure to scroll down and check out the monthly Minor League summary too!
April 2009 was a month without Joe Mauer, a month in which the pitching struggled to find its way, and a month in which the Twins wholly outperformed their Pythagorean win-loss record. But most importantly, it was the start of a new baseball season! Without further ado, let's run down the statistics from the month.
Record: 11-11
Best record at any point (games above .500): 3-2
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 4-7
Days in first (and biggest lead): 3 (0.5 games)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (2.5 games)
Longest win streak: 3
Longest losing streak: 3
Runs scored/runs against: 93/116
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 12/12
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/2
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 11 innings
Hitter of the month: Jason Kubel (76 AB, 11 R, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .303)
It was a toss-up between Morneau and Kubel, with Denard Span an easy third. But I decided to reward Kubel because his April showed a bigger improvement over his career performance than Morneau's April, and he is typically a slow starter. Over the last two years, Kubel has hit .261/.288/.348 and .229/.250/.365 through the month of April, compared to his overall line for those two years of .272/.335/.461. Clearly, I don't think he's going to have a similar improvement the rest of the year as compared to his first month, but hopefully he'll be able to finish the year with much better stats because he didn't have a slow start holding him down.
Three more up
Justin Morneau (88 AB, 16 R, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, .318)
Denard Span (81 AB, 10 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 SB, .321)
Brendan Harris (40 AB, 7 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, .350)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Alexi Casilla (69 AB, 6 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .174)
With Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer's struggles (among others), you wouldn't have thought this decision would have been so easy... but it was. Casilla has been so much worse than any of them, it's just plain shocking. Casilla's OPS thus far is .447. That's almost a full 100 points lower than Gomez's, who has the second-lowest OPS on the team. That's also well over 100 points worse than Kubel's (or Morneau's) slugging percentage! Out of 198 qualified batters, he ranks 193rd in average, 194th in OBP SLG, and 197th in OPS. Now you know why it was an easy decision.
Pitcher of the month: Glen Perkins (29 IP, 2.48, 1.00, 6 BB, 16 K)
While all of the other, more-heralded starters struggled, Perkins put up three consecutive 8-inning outings before getting knocked around a little in his fourth (and most recent) start. All in all, though, Perkins finished the month with the lowest ERA of any of the starters by a full run and a half, and only Jose Mijares and his 3 scoreless innings had a lower ERA among the relievers. He also maintained a WHIP of 1.00 and allowed zero home runs. What is most telling about the pitching this month is that, despite their poor starts, Slowey and Blackburn were both able to rebound and get listed below.
Three more up
Nick Blackburn (31.1 IP, 4.02, 1.37, 7 BB, 12 K)
Joe Nathan (7 IP, 2.57, 1.00, 2 BB, 7 K)
Kevin Slowey (26.1 IP, 4.44, 1.44, 2 BB, 19 K)
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Scott Baker (14.2 IP, 9.82, 1.70, 4 BB, 12 K)
Baker missed his first start due to an injury, but his return was not as sweet as a Twins fan would have hoped for. He gave up seven home runs total and six runs in each of his two starts, and not coincidentally did not make it out of the fifth inning in either. His last start was decent and most likely indicates those horrible times are behind him, though it wasn't enough to keep him from this unfortunate honor.
April 2009 was a month without Joe Mauer, a month in which the pitching struggled to find its way, and a month in which the Twins wholly outperformed their Pythagorean win-loss record. But most importantly, it was the start of a new baseball season! Without further ado, let's run down the statistics from the month.
Record: 11-11
Best record at any point (games above .500): 3-2
Worst record at any point (games below .500): 4-7
Days in first (and biggest lead): 3 (0.5 games)
Days in last (and furthest out of first): 0 (2.5 games)
Longest win streak: 3
Longest losing streak: 3
Runs scored/runs against: 93/116
Most runs scored/most runs allowed: 12/12
Shutouts/times shut out: 0/2
Extra inning games: 1
Longest game: 11 innings
Hitter of the month: Jason Kubel (76 AB, 11 R, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .303)
It was a toss-up between Morneau and Kubel, with Denard Span an easy third. But I decided to reward Kubel because his April showed a bigger improvement over his career performance than Morneau's April, and he is typically a slow starter. Over the last two years, Kubel has hit .261/.288/.348 and .229/.250/.365 through the month of April, compared to his overall line for those two years of .272/.335/.461. Clearly, I don't think he's going to have a similar improvement the rest of the year as compared to his first month, but hopefully he'll be able to finish the year with much better stats because he didn't have a slow start holding him down.
Three more up
Justin Morneau (88 AB, 16 R, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, .318)
Denard Span (81 AB, 10 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 SB, .321)
Brendan Harris (40 AB, 7 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, .350)
Bizarro World hitter of the month: Alexi Casilla (69 AB, 6 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, .174)
With Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer's struggles (among others), you wouldn't have thought this decision would have been so easy... but it was. Casilla has been so much worse than any of them, it's just plain shocking. Casilla's OPS thus far is .447. That's almost a full 100 points lower than Gomez's, who has the second-lowest OPS on the team. That's also well over 100 points worse than Kubel's (or Morneau's) slugging percentage! Out of 198 qualified batters, he ranks 193rd in average, 194th in OBP SLG, and 197th in OPS. Now you know why it was an easy decision.
Pitcher of the month: Glen Perkins (29 IP, 2.48, 1.00, 6 BB, 16 K)
While all of the other, more-heralded starters struggled, Perkins put up three consecutive 8-inning outings before getting knocked around a little in his fourth (and most recent) start. All in all, though, Perkins finished the month with the lowest ERA of any of the starters by a full run and a half, and only Jose Mijares and his 3 scoreless innings had a lower ERA among the relievers. He also maintained a WHIP of 1.00 and allowed zero home runs. What is most telling about the pitching this month is that, despite their poor starts, Slowey and Blackburn were both able to rebound and get listed below.
Three more up
Nick Blackburn (31.1 IP, 4.02, 1.37, 7 BB, 12 K)
Joe Nathan (7 IP, 2.57, 1.00, 2 BB, 7 K)
Kevin Slowey (26.1 IP, 4.44, 1.44, 2 BB, 19 K)
Bizarro World pitcher of the month: Scott Baker (14.2 IP, 9.82, 1.70, 4 BB, 12 K)
Baker missed his first start due to an injury, but his return was not as sweet as a Twins fan would have hoped for. He gave up seven home runs total and six runs in each of his two starts, and not coincidentally did not make it out of the fifth inning in either. His last start was decent and most likely indicates those horrible times are behind him, though it wasn't enough to keep him from this unfortunate honor.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Twins Sweep Angels!
Granted, the Angels have had a tough go of it to start the season, with their top three starters on the DL, and the tragic death of another, Nick Adenhart, but a sweep by the Twins still is very encouraging. In this one, Glen Perkins, for the third consecutive start, went eight innings and gave up two runs or fewer (one). He threw only 84 pitches and allowed just five baserunners. The pitcher we worried about most before the season started, Perkins has been far and away the best to this point. And he improved his groundball ratio, inducing 11 versus 9 flyballs, as I thought he might need to.
And this time the offense showed up enough, albeit not by much, to get him his first victory of 2009. Carlos Gomez had three hits and is hitting an even .200, but now Alexi Casilla has plummeted beneath the Mendoza Line after going 0-4. With Casilla and Joe Crede's struggles, the infield is now being shuffled just as often as the outfield, with Casilla, Crede, Nick Punto, Brian Buscher, and Brendan Harris all getting some starts. And Delmon Young even had another walk!
As Jose Morales picked up his first career RBI in the game, news broke that there is now a timetable for Joe Mauer's return. He'll likely start playing in games this week and continue next week to prove that he's healthy; if he does, he's slated to return on May 1st. Obviously, his return would be advantageous for the Twins, but its biggest effect may, surprisingly, be on defense. Mike Redmond and Morales have combined to go 2-18 in throwing out runners, allow two passed balls, and make one error. At the start of the day, the 15 stolen bases allowed (now 16) was tied for the lead in the Majors.
Tomorrow, the Twins will have their first off-day of the season before heading to Boston, so I'll finally be able to watch them on TV!
And this time the offense showed up enough, albeit not by much, to get him his first victory of 2009. Carlos Gomez had three hits and is hitting an even .200, but now Alexi Casilla has plummeted beneath the Mendoza Line after going 0-4. With Casilla and Joe Crede's struggles, the infield is now being shuffled just as often as the outfield, with Casilla, Crede, Nick Punto, Brian Buscher, and Brendan Harris all getting some starts. And Delmon Young even had another walk!
As Jose Morales picked up his first career RBI in the game, news broke that there is now a timetable for Joe Mauer's return. He'll likely start playing in games this week and continue next week to prove that he's healthy; if he does, he's slated to return on May 1st. Obviously, his return would be advantageous for the Twins, but its biggest effect may, surprisingly, be on defense. Mike Redmond and Morales have combined to go 2-18 in throwing out runners, allow two passed balls, and make one error. At the start of the day, the 15 stolen bases allowed (now 16) was tied for the lead in the Majors.
Tomorrow, the Twins will have their first off-day of the season before heading to Boston, so I'll finally be able to watch them on TV!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Perkins Delivers
Yet again, after two of the Twins much more-heralded starters had particularly bad outings, Glen Perkins came through with a great performance but did not earn the win. This time, at least, the Twins claimed victory, though only after working a little overtime. Perkins brought a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning but he allowed the tying run which pushed his season ERA to 1.69. However, his GB% (62 to 56, MLB average is 76) has dropped from last year through these two starts, while he has yet to allow a home run. This trend is unlikely to continue, so Perkins will need to start inducing more ground balls or he'll probably see a large rise in his ERA.
After writing about using Joe Nathan more in non-save situations, it seems as if Ron Gardenhire has listened. Nathan pitched the ninth inning yesterday, despite the fact that the game was tied at two, and he therefore had no opportunity for a save. Of course, I still feel like he should have also pitched the tenth since he threw only twelve pitches--I'll refrain from quibbling, though, seeing as how it was a very encouraging move.
The 11 innings may not ever have been necessary had the Twins been able to push across a run or few in a golden opportunity in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Twins plated zero runs due to a Michael Cuddyer strikeout and Joe Crede double play. Crede would later make amends with the game-winning double, but Cuddyer finished the game 0-5.
And I can't write a post about this game without mentioning Jesse Crain's performance. He pitched both extra innings and allowed no baserunners, while striking out two. The second strikeout, of Adam Lind, was an epic 12-pitch at bat that ended the eleventh inning. It's too bad Perkins was so good today, because Crain (as a reliever) doesn't have many chances to snatch a game ball and this would have earned it on a number of days.
After writing about using Joe Nathan more in non-save situations, it seems as if Ron Gardenhire has listened. Nathan pitched the ninth inning yesterday, despite the fact that the game was tied at two, and he therefore had no opportunity for a save. Of course, I still feel like he should have also pitched the tenth since he threw only twelve pitches--I'll refrain from quibbling, though, seeing as how it was a very encouraging move.
The 11 innings may not ever have been necessary had the Twins been able to push across a run or few in a golden opportunity in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Twins plated zero runs due to a Michael Cuddyer strikeout and Joe Crede double play. Crede would later make amends with the game-winning double, but Cuddyer finished the game 0-5.
And I can't write a post about this game without mentioning Jesse Crain's performance. He pitched both extra innings and allowed no baserunners, while striking out two. The second strikeout, of Adam Lind, was an epic 12-pitch at bat that ended the eleventh inning. It's too bad Perkins was so good today, because Crain (as a reliever) doesn't have many chances to snatch a game ball and this would have earned it on a number of days.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Twins Shutout Tigers
It was a good game for the Twins, resulting in a 2-0 win at Comerica Park, their first shutout since August 31st against the Royals and eighth of the season. If the Twins win tomorrow, they will officially eliminate the Tigers from the playoff race, but that is all but a formality at this point. Still, it would add a little something to a victory tomorrow. Carlos Silva had a brilliant start, giving up just six hits and no runs in 7 2/3 innings, his fourth time this season not allowing a single run. Silva has now allowed three earned runs or less in ten of his last eleven outings, although in one of them he left after three innings. Other than those two starts, though, he has pitched at least six innings in all of those games. Obviously, his performance has an effect on his market price and the ability and/or willingness of the Twins to re-sign him. He has one start left this season, presumably coming on September 29th against the Boston Red Sox.
Afterwards, Glen Perkins came in in relief of Silva to get the last out of the eighth with a man on second. Yet again, Perkins was successful, meaning he has not allowed a run or any inherited runners to score in his five appearances since his recent call-up. To be fair, that selection of time is very small (3 2/3 innings), but he has come into some tough situations, and I think his performance is very promising. I definitely look at him as clearly a better solution than either Dennys Reyes or Carmen Cali in the bullpen or even possibly as a starter sometime in the future.
Joe Nathan picked up his 35th save in the game, which brings him within one of last year's total of 36. It was also his 7th save of the month, bringing him within one of his monthly high this season. The offense was not good in the game, but being as the pitching was so good, I'm willing to look past that at this point of the season. I know the Twins don't really have any other options, but having Matthew LeCroy in the lineup is a disappointment. And I also know he is apparently a great guy, but he just isn't a major league caliber player anymore. When Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau singled, and Michael Cuddyer walked in the third inning with two outs, it seemed like something big could happen. But then I became aware of the fact that LeCroy was coming up next, and subsequently lost hope very quickly. Not to my surprise, he popped out to end the inning. The Tigers also took advantage of his poor defense, stealing four bases, something that almost certainly wouldn't have happened had Joe Mauer or Mike Redmond been healthy enough to play. Or probably even if Chris Heintz were playing.
On a note completely unrelated to the Twins, I want to make sure everyone heard what happened to Milton Bradley, when he suffered one of the strangest injuries I have ever heard of. First base umpire Mike Winters apparently said something that really didn't sit well with Bradley, and a heated argument ensued. Padres manager Bud Black then ran out to hold him back. As Bradley struggled with Black, he fell to the ground clutching his knee. Later, he learned he had a torn ACL, and will be out for the season with the Padres sitting a 1/2 game ahead in the National League Wild Card. For the complete story, click here.
In tomorrow's game, Matt Garza (4-6, 3.72) will face righthander Yorman Bazardo (1-1, 3.24). This is the second time in less than a week the Twins are up against the rookie Bazardo, who has now pitched 18 1/3 big league innings, and has made just the one start. In that start, he did not pitch terribly, but also did not stay in for the requisite five innings needed to pick up the win. Although lefties have had only 32 at bats against him and righties just 31, there is a very distinct difference in his numbers to each side. Righthanded batters have hit a paltry .097/.194/.161, while lefthanded batters have hit .313/.333/.594. Again, the sample size is small, but a difference that big indicates that, although the gap will close, lefties hit Bazardo much better. This will definately help Gardy, as he is incapable of looking at splits, and these splits go along with the traditional logic of playing lefthanded batters versus righthanded pitchers.
Afterwards, Glen Perkins came in in relief of Silva to get the last out of the eighth with a man on second. Yet again, Perkins was successful, meaning he has not allowed a run or any inherited runners to score in his five appearances since his recent call-up. To be fair, that selection of time is very small (3 2/3 innings), but he has come into some tough situations, and I think his performance is very promising. I definitely look at him as clearly a better solution than either Dennys Reyes or Carmen Cali in the bullpen or even possibly as a starter sometime in the future.
Joe Nathan picked up his 35th save in the game, which brings him within one of last year's total of 36. It was also his 7th save of the month, bringing him within one of his monthly high this season. The offense was not good in the game, but being as the pitching was so good, I'm willing to look past that at this point of the season. I know the Twins don't really have any other options, but having Matthew LeCroy in the lineup is a disappointment. And I also know he is apparently a great guy, but he just isn't a major league caliber player anymore. When Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau singled, and Michael Cuddyer walked in the third inning with two outs, it seemed like something big could happen. But then I became aware of the fact that LeCroy was coming up next, and subsequently lost hope very quickly. Not to my surprise, he popped out to end the inning. The Tigers also took advantage of his poor defense, stealing four bases, something that almost certainly wouldn't have happened had Joe Mauer or Mike Redmond been healthy enough to play. Or probably even if Chris Heintz were playing.
On a note completely unrelated to the Twins, I want to make sure everyone heard what happened to Milton Bradley, when he suffered one of the strangest injuries I have ever heard of. First base umpire Mike Winters apparently said something that really didn't sit well with Bradley, and a heated argument ensued. Padres manager Bud Black then ran out to hold him back. As Bradley struggled with Black, he fell to the ground clutching his knee. Later, he learned he had a torn ACL, and will be out for the season with the Padres sitting a 1/2 game ahead in the National League Wild Card. For the complete story, click here.
In tomorrow's game, Matt Garza (4-6, 3.72) will face righthander Yorman Bazardo (1-1, 3.24). This is the second time in less than a week the Twins are up against the rookie Bazardo, who has now pitched 18 1/3 big league innings, and has made just the one start. In that start, he did not pitch terribly, but also did not stay in for the requisite five innings needed to pick up the win. Although lefties have had only 32 at bats against him and righties just 31, there is a very distinct difference in his numbers to each side. Righthanded batters have hit a paltry .097/.194/.161, while lefthanded batters have hit .313/.333/.594. Again, the sample size is small, but a difference that big indicates that, although the gap will close, lefties hit Bazardo much better. This will definately help Gardy, as he is incapable of looking at splits, and these splits go along with the traditional logic of playing lefthanded batters versus righthanded pitchers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
