This will be a short post, as there was none planned for today, but the Twins made a couple of moves that prompted it. To start, Lew Ford and Josh Rabe, as expected, opted for free agency rather than report to Rochester. In addition, Matt LeCroy was outrighted, and he chose free agency like Rabe and Ford. After making that room on the roster, the Twins removed Francisco Liriano, Jesse Crain, Jose Morales, and Alejandro Machado from the 60-day DL and reinstated the first 3 to the 40-man roster, while Machado accepted his assignment to AAA Rochester (meaning he is no longer on the 40-man roster). Finally, Dennys Reyes was taken off the 15-day DL and reinstated to the active roster.
As the title of this post suggested, I have been in agreement with all of Bill Smith's roster moves thus far. He has done a good job of removing much of the deadweight on the roster, though there are still some players (see my previous post) who need to be taken off. Also, the toughest part is still to come, as he has to search for better players to fill these spots. As I posted in my 40-man roster suggestions, I left a few spots open because I was not sure who should be added in those spots. Luckily for me, I don't actually have to find players to fill those spots, but Smith does, and I hope he does a good job improving the Twins' depth with the players he uses those spots for.
Showing posts with label matt lecroy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label matt lecroy. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Beckett Beaten, Kazmir K's 10
The Twins were able to get to the Red Sox's Josh Beckett, leading off each of the first five innings with a hit, and four times getting that runner to score. After the first inning, although a Jason Bartlett single followed by a Jason Kubel triple scored a run early, my hopes were not high, as the Twins lost Kubel at home and Torii Hunter on a strike-em-out throw-em-out. Those squandered opportunities looked bad when the Red Sox scored two off of Boof Bonser in the bottom of the inning. Bonser settled down enough to win the game, however, allowing just one more run on a David Ortiz solo home run. For the Twins, Kubel and Garrett Jones both had solo homers, Jones' being a bomb to straight-away centerfield.
Bonser's first inning would not have been as bad, though, if it were not for Matthew LeCroy. As I mentioned last time he played, he is simply not a capable Major Leaguer, no matter how nice or positive he is. On a third strike in the dirt to Dustin Pedroia, LeCroy threw the ball just far enough from the bag that Garrett Jones had to come off to make the catch, despite having plenty of time to throw. That was made even more disappointing by the fact that Bonser had thrown eight straight strikes to Pedroia, the last six being fouled off. LeCroy also allowed three stolen bases; yes, on two of them nobody covered, but I feel like it would have been played differently had someone else been behind the plate. And at the plate, LeCroy was no better. He looked foolish in all three of his strikeouts, getting way out in front of breaking pitches, and his fourth at bat resulted in a double play where Julio Lugo probably could have run from second to first and still gotten him out.
If you noticed in that paragraph, I mentioned that Garrett Jones was playing first base. At first I was surprised at this, but then I remembered that it was only this year that he started playing in the outfield consistently. In his previous five professional seasons, all in the minor leagues, he played first base in all but 34 games.
Joe Nathan had us all hanging on the edge of our seats after he induced a two-out pop-out from Dustin Pedroia in the eighth with two runners in scoring position. Following that, in the ninth, he loaded the bases with a double and two walks (one intentional) with just one out. Fortunately, he battled and struck out Jason Varitek along with a quick K of Kevin Youkilis to end the game. No matter how you slice it, Nathan had a gutsy four-out performance today. Said Red Sox manager Terry Francona, "He made some really good pitches when he had to."
The last note today is something that did not take place in the Twins game, but was still of great importance to me. If you've read the previous days' entries, you know that I am speaking of the strikeout race. Scott Kazmir set down ten Yankees with strikeouts to push himself ahead of Johan Santana for the league lead. Also of note, Jake Peavy is scheduled to make another start this Sunday on three days' rest, although presumably he would not if the Padres have clinched a playoff spot (or perhaps have been eliminated).
Bonser's first inning would not have been as bad, though, if it were not for Matthew LeCroy. As I mentioned last time he played, he is simply not a capable Major Leaguer, no matter how nice or positive he is. On a third strike in the dirt to Dustin Pedroia, LeCroy threw the ball just far enough from the bag that Garrett Jones had to come off to make the catch, despite having plenty of time to throw. That was made even more disappointing by the fact that Bonser had thrown eight straight strikes to Pedroia, the last six being fouled off. LeCroy also allowed three stolen bases; yes, on two of them nobody covered, but I feel like it would have been played differently had someone else been behind the plate. And at the plate, LeCroy was no better. He looked foolish in all three of his strikeouts, getting way out in front of breaking pitches, and his fourth at bat resulted in a double play where Julio Lugo probably could have run from second to first and still gotten him out.
If you noticed in that paragraph, I mentioned that Garrett Jones was playing first base. At first I was surprised at this, but then I remembered that it was only this year that he started playing in the outfield consistently. In his previous five professional seasons, all in the minor leagues, he played first base in all but 34 games.
Joe Nathan had us all hanging on the edge of our seats after he induced a two-out pop-out from Dustin Pedroia in the eighth with two runners in scoring position. Following that, in the ninth, he loaded the bases with a double and two walks (one intentional) with just one out. Fortunately, he battled and struck out Jason Varitek along with a quick K of Kevin Youkilis to end the game. No matter how you slice it, Nathan had a gutsy four-out performance today. Said Red Sox manager Terry Francona, "He made some really good pitches when he had to."
The last note today is something that did not take place in the Twins game, but was still of great importance to me. If you've read the previous days' entries, you know that I am speaking of the strikeout race. Scott Kazmir set down ten Yankees with strikeouts to push himself ahead of Johan Santana for the league lead. Also of note, Jake Peavy is scheduled to make another start this Sunday on three days' rest, although presumably he would not if the Padres have clinched a playoff spot (or perhaps have been eliminated).
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.
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