Well, shoot.
There's not much I can tell you about this game that you don't know. Gibson wasn't terrible, but he wasn't particularly good, either. The offense did nothing other than Rosario's grand slam. Casey Fien came in and gave up the tying and go-ahead runs. And the Twins missed a chance at a sweep.
Due to various moves, the Twins ended the game with two infielders, Escobar and Santana, playing the outfield. Yes, I know they've both played there before, but it's still basically two infielders playing the outfield. It had no impact on the game--I just found it annoying. It's annoying any time, but especially in September, when the rules let you have basically as many bench players as you want. It just seems to me that there's no good reason a team should end up playing short-handed in September.
But then I went and looked at the forty-man roster. The Twins list eight outfielders, but for some reason they list Escobar as an outfielder, so it's really only seven. Hicks is still on a rehab assignment, so that cuts it to six. Robinson and Buxton were removed from the game, so that leaves four. Rosario was in the game, so that leaves three: Kepler, Arcia, and Hunter.
I can understand why they left Kepler in Chattanooga to continue to play and help the Lookouts in the Southern League playoffs. Arcia probably wouldn't be much if any improvement in the outfield over Santana and Escobar even if he was here. That leaves only Hunter, who wasn't used because a) Molitor thought he needed a full day off, b) Molitor was saving him for a pinch-hitting chance that never came, or c) Molitor thinks Santana and Escobar are better outfield options than Hunter. Take your pick.
So, I don't know what to think. On the one hand, it still seems to me that there's no good reason a team should end up playing short-handed in September. On the other hand, to have had extra outfielders, they'd have to have given a roster spot to people like Eric Farris, Danny Ortiz, or Xavier Avery, none of whom have shown they really deserve one.
At any rate, what's done is done, and we move on to Houston. Mike Pelfrey, who has pitched well sometimes, goes against Collin McHugh, who had a rough patch in May and the first part of June but has pitched really well since then. The Twins played well against Houston in Target Field. Can they do it again on the road? Of course they can! It's time to start our season-ending twenty-nine game winning streak! We'll just have to settle for 98-64!
One of the Sox radio guys, commenting on the total number SSs on the field, said something to the effect of, "[The Twins] want their guys to play all over the field, even though they can't."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
The Hicks cavalry was on the way, so it was only a short term situation
And if this was an isolated incident, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it. But we've been playing infielders in the outfield for two years now. Next year we'll have Buxton, Rosario, Hicks, and Kepler, so I hope we'll have seen the last of that.
Let's do our best to throw out last year. This is Moli's first year, and it hasn't happened much at all so far under his reign.
True. And as I said, given his options, I don't really blame Molitor for going that way. I just don't like the fact that those were his options. Next year, his options should be better.
And when we talk about next year's outfield, we shouldn't completely forget about Adam Brett Walker II. He's hit 30 homers and drawn 51 walks for Chattanooga. He's also struck out a ton (190 times), so I don't expect him to make the Twins out of spring training next year, but he'll be worth keeping an eye on.
Let's just say, between Kepler and Walker, they HAD BETTER NOT be falling back on infielders anymore.
With all those strikeouts, I don't think he will ever contribute at MLB level.
It's certainly a question. Sano strikes out a lot, but even he never struck out that much. Still, with that kind of power (a Chattanooga record for home runs in a season), it's worth working with him to see if he can make better contact while not losing too much power.
So, Sano : Walker II :: Frank Thomas : Kingman
If Walker II could have a Dave Kingman career, I'd take that. Even Kingman never struck out that many times, though.
I think you're thinking way too much about the late-game situation. When the team is trailing late, you put your best offensive options in the game and don't worry about defense so much. It's when those players actually start out there, then it's concerning. That hasn't happened in a long time, probably since Rosario was promoted. What I found interesting was Escobar was put in the outfield and Nunez at short even though Escobar was the starting shortstop and Nunez had started games in left field before. Usually, managers don't like moving starting players around to different positions, even if it means playing a guy in a position that isn't his strength.
You're probably right, although it's also sad that Santana was among our best offensive options. But when it comes to baseball, making big deals out of small things is kind of what I do.
*recalls multiple very long threads about small moves the Twins have made*
making big deals out of small things is kind of what
Iwe do.Fixed that for us.