Blackburn is 0-4.
Ryan Doumit hit 2 home runs. They accounted for the only 2 runs and, with his 4th inning single, he accounted for 60% of the Twins' hits in the game. EDIT - He also walked.
Mountie to the DL.
Dozier & Diamond up from Rochester tomorrow.
Butters on a major league club is beyond ssstupid.
That is all.
I lied, that is not all. I don't like having to work at watching baseball...but I'm almost there and we're only 27 games in.
| Dude | TZ | DRS | UZR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauer (C) | -2 | -1 | N/A |
| Doumit (C) | 1 | -1 | N/A |
| Parmelee (1B) | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Mauer (1B) | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| Morneau (1B) | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Casilla | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Valencia | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| Carroll | -1 | 3 | 2 |
| Willingham | 2 | -3 | -5 |
| Span | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Plouffe | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| Doumit (RF) | -2 | -1 | -1 |
| Total | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Overall, I would say most have been roughly average. Casilla, Carroll, and Span have all been good at their respective positions. Willingham has been not so good in left and Doumit questionable in right. This is all what we expected though.
Valencia I think needs more time before we determine if last year's -18/-13/-6 is his talent level or if it was an off year. All three liked him in 2010 (+3/+5/+6), so there's some hope there.
Mauer's numbers at catcher are almost entirely because of stolen bases. If one or two runners were instead thrown out, I think he would be rated as average.
Finally, I think it bears mentioning that all three divorce position from how good the player is at the position. Mostly, this is okay. However, it is an issue with B-R's 'dWAR' rating, which I do not like. It makes it easy to forget that a -10 shortstop (say, Plouffe) is equivalent to a +5 corner outfielder. Not exactly equal, but pretty close in fielding value.
Finally, I get to write a recap about a TWINS WIN! Willingham was a homerun short of the cycle with 2 RBI and Danny V was 3 for 4 with a triple, 2 singles and 2 RBI. Doumit added 2 RBI of his own and the Twins had 5 extra base hits altogether. Jason Marquis had a "quality start" going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. Burton and Perkins each pitched a scoreless (though nail-biting) inning and Dicus gave up 1 run on 2 hits and a walk before securing the win.
fangraphs (roller coaster of suck)
mlb recap
yet another game i was unable to watch or hear. this made me particularly upset as i've been able to hear about 2% of TK's broadcasts, and i already love them. i was able to "follow" along on gameday, and was able to "watch" in "real time" as capps does what he does. i'm not going to say it, so you guys can. also, while you're saying stuff, please think up some arguments for me to take to the boss on how getting mlb.tv is essential towards our quality of life.
i wanted to embed the JC/plouffe! play to give us some measure of happiness, but i came up short. sounds about right.
I had a full day planned so I recorded todays tilt on the old DVR. Maybe my technology has a heart because when I went to review the game this evening, it hadn’t been recorded after all. At first I was annoyed, but then I checked out the box score… yuck. After committing 3 errors in last night’s ballgame, the Twins cleaned it up today and didn’t commit a single one. That’s about the only positive thing I saw. Continue reading Game 16 Recap: Minnesota 2, Tampa Bay 6
I used a random number generator to pick a season from the past with the idea that I would quickly highlight the Twins history that occurred today in that year. The generator sent me to the year 2004.
Detroit 6, Twins 5 (10 innings) - BR boxscore
The Tigers won the rubber-match of a three game series to improve to 5-1 on the early season defeating the Twins in 10 innings (after ending the previous season with just 43 wins). The Twins rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game 5-5 before losing. The Twins stranded at least two runners in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Henry Blanco tied the game in the eighth inning with an RBI double, but he was thrown out easily trying to reach third base. Gleeman wrote, "The throw beat Blanco to the bag by about 10 feet and Blanco went 'sliding' into third with some sort of belly flow/somersault combination." The following batter, Cristian Guzman, doubled but was stranded when Nick Punto struck out to end the inning.
Asked about his aggressive baserunning after the game, Blanco explained, "I was out of gas. . . . I was trying to see what could happen. Nothing happened." He added, "Seems like every time you make a mistake on the bases, the next guy gets a hit and you pay for it." Ron Gardenhire did not criticize Blanco's decision. "The play's in front of him, and he's trying to play the game," Gardenhire said. "We don't knock guys for trying to be aggressive."
In perhaps the least surprising quote in the history of quotes, Ron Gardenhire lamented, "We didn't get it done. We were battling. We were getting after it. They were getting after it." [ed. note: I swear on my life this is a verbatim quote from the Strib.]
The Tigers scored their first run when Craig Monroe scored all the way from first base when Lew Ford misplayed a Carlos Pena single. Later, they scored the winning run when Joe Roa issued a one-out walk to Rondell White (aka The Insanity). White was removed for pinch-runner Andres Torres who stole second base and then scored on Monroe's game-winning single. "A game-winning single like that -- I can't describe how good it felt," Monroe said. "I'd never done anything like that before up here."
Joe Nathan did not pitch in the game, but he had pitched in four of the first five games of the season. In fact, through the sixth game, Nathan, Roa, J.C. Romero, and Carlos Pulido had each appeared four times and Juan Rincon and Aaron Fultz had made five appearances.
Johan Santana lasted just five innings (and had thrown only nine innings in his first two starts). He allowed a homerun to Pena in the fourth inning - his first homerun allowed to a left-handed batter in 70.1 innings dating back to the previous season. Santana struggled to retire hitters once he reached two strikes. In fact, Gleeman documented that Santana threw 32 pitches in his five innings after already having two strikes on the opposing batter.
Other Twins notes: The Twins signed Joe Beimel to a minor-league contract that day and assigned him to Rochester. Beimel had a pathetic cup-of-coffee with the Twins in September, but then put together some pretty decent years after leaving the organization. The loss was the team's third of the season. In all three games, they had scored at least four runs.
A front-page story focused on the likely inability of the Twins and Vikings to contribute more than 25% to the cost of their new stadiums. The Twins explained that paying for a large-chunk of the cost "could impair the club's ability to field a competitive team." A stadium bill working its way through the legislature at the time would require the Twins to contribute one-third of the cost - an estimated $150 million - to the final stadium.
GM Terry Ryan expressed some concern that Joe Mays, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, was trying to rush his rehab. "We've got to slow him down some," Ryan said.
Blanco was playing because Mauer had been attacked by the warning track behind the plate in the Metrodome and Matthew LeCroy strained his oblique. Through his first fifteen plate appearances, Blanco somehow had hit 267/467/733.
Boy…I’m glad I didn’t get to catch much of this game live. Even in fast-forward, I caught myself grimacing with each passing inning. Hardy led off the scoring for Baltimore by belting a solo home run to left-center (while playing solid defense throughout the series. I know it's stupid, but I still can't figure out what they were thinking when they traded him). For a while, it looked like that single run might be all the O’s would need. Something called Jason Hammel no-hit the Twins through 7 innings. Even where they picked up a base runner via walks, Doumit and Willingham graciously helped him out of the jam by hitting into double plays. Jason Hammel came to Baltimore in a deal that sent Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado. The Twins hitters seemed to sense the connection. Continue reading Game 3 Recap: Baltimore 3, Minnesota 1
Because they shouldn't.
That's the best reason for hope, because history shows that the Twins under Gardy have been at their best when the prognostications are at their worst. Under Gardy, the Twins have won the division every year the consensus was that they would be lucky to be .500 except for 2008, and that season the Twins lost in a one-game playoff after another improbable comeback. Other than that, the Twins were big underdogs in 2002 and 2006 and they probably had their best two seasons under Gardy other than 2010.
I think Gardy loves to play up the "Us against Them" mentality and is able to get everyone to buy into the team concept when there is little pressure on the team. That also goes for the late-season comebacks in 2003 and 2009.
If I was to give an honest prediction, I would say that it is going to be very hard to make the playoffs in the AL. The Rangers, Angels, Yankees, Rays, Red Sox and Tigers are all going to be very tough and are all probably better than anyone in the NL. Still, every time we try to count the Twins out, they surprise us with another fantastic season. After last year, this better be a doozy of a season.
We just have to remember that a .500 season would be an 18-game improvement, which is outstanding. If the Twins can get close to that and give me hope for the future, such as a healthy season from Mauer and signs of future success from Parmelee, Revere, Hendricks, Dozier and Benson, and an emergence of a reliever or two, I'll consider it a very successful season.
Here are your 2012 Minnesota Twins
Catchers: Joe Mauer. Ryan Doumit
Infielders: Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee, Alexi Casilla, Jamey Carroll, Danny Valencia, Luke Hughes, Sean Burroughs
Outfielders: Josh Willingham, Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe, Ben Revere
Starters: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Liam Hendriks, Nick Blackburn
Relievers: Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing. Matt Maloney, Alex Burnett, Jeff Gray, Anthony Swarzak
There was a discussion the other day on the upcoming Twins seasons and the mood was cautious at best. While certainly a 99-loss season leaves plenty of reason for pessimism, this is still the time for hope for better things for our favorite team. Of course, just getting back to .500 would be a large improvement. So, I thought I would look at what the Twins have done to improve and how this team is looking to start the season.
First off, here's a look at least season's primary starting 9 vs. who we expect to be the starting nine guys in the lineup for Opening Day this year.
C: Drew Butera Joe Mauer
1B: Justin Morneau Chris Parmelee
2B: Alexi Casilla Alexi Casilla
SS: Tsuyoshi Nishioka Jamey Carroll
3B: Danny Valencia Danny Valencia
LF: Delmon Young Josh Willingham
CF: Ben Revere Denard Span
RF: Michael Cuddyer Ryan Doumit
DH: Jim Thome Justin Morneau
Replacing Butera and Nishi with actual major league players are both big steps forward and I feel like the Twins adequately replaced any real losses from last year, essentially replacing Cuddyer and Thome with Willingham and Doumit, who give the Twins better roster flexibility. That lineup looks very deep and could provide a lot of big innings. Now here's the expected bench:
Revere
Hughes
Plouffe
Burroughs
This may be the best bench the Twins have had in quite some time. It is the first time I can remember the Twins have gone without a quintessential utility infielder (ala Denny Hocking or Nick Punto). Of course, it could be argued that the Twins start two utility infielders in their middle infield, but that is why it is a good idea to go with more offense on the bench. Revere will be an ideal pinch runner/defensive replacement for both Willingham and Doumit (or other possible RFs, such as Plouffe or Parmelee). Hughes and Plouffe provide right-handed pop off the bench for a team with a lefty-heavy starting lineup. Burroughs provides an experienced left-handed pinch hitter for Carroll or even Casilla or Valencia and a left-handed backup to Valencia. The lineup provides some great options for when facing pitchers with large platoon splits:
vs. Lefty vs. Righty
Span CF Span CF
Carroll SS Carroll SS
Mauer C Mauer C
Willingham LF Mourneau DH
Doumit DH Doumit RF
Valencia 3B Parmelee 1B
Plouffe RF Burroughs 3B
Hughes 1B Casilla 2B
Casilla 2B Revere LF
I think there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about the offense, with the key being the health of Span, Mauer and Morneau, but I think the biggest concern for Twins fans are about the pitching staff. But I think there is reason to be optimistic there. First of all, the starting staff is primarily unchanged from the 94-win 2010 team, with Jason Marquis replacing Kevin Slowey. The key will be Liriano getting back to 2010 form and Scott Baker staying healthy. Liriano has been brilliant this spring with excellent control and more strikeouts than innings pitched. Baker had a sore elbow slow him and will start the season on the DL for a week or so, but he did the same in 2010 and ended up pitching over 170 innings. If Liriano is your No. 1 and Baker is No. 2 and you have innings eaters like Pavano and Marquis at the back of the rotation then you should do pretty well, especially if you have an offense to support them.
The bullpen was unquestionably the biggest problem in 2011. The good news is that only Glen Perkins, one of the few highlights for the Twins, Matt Capps and the durable and flexible Anthony Swarzak return. Alex Burnett might return as well, but that is looking less and less likely (thankfully). Duensing has returned to the role he excelled in in 2010, so the Twins have an experienced (and hopefully reliable) closer and a top setup man along with a solid lefty and swing man. The questions remain with the rest, but Matt Maloney has been great this spring and Jared Burton has been solid and both have major league experience. The best reason for optimism is the Twins have specialized in making a good bullpen out of a lot of question marks. Hopefully, they'll continue to evaluate bullpen options on results instead of radar guns.
With so many health questions, the Plan Bs for each position is very important for this team. The biggest improvement in this area was signing Doumit to be Mauer's backup, giving the Twins a guy who would not only be far better than Butera, but better than the average catcher. J.R. Towles has hit well this spring and the former top prospect could be a solid backup catcher if needed. Morneau is another big question. The Twins already have Parmelee at first, and of course anyone can DH. If Morneau does go down, Doumit can be the primary DH, which is what he originally was signed to be, and Plouffe and Revere can share time in RF. Span is another concern, but Revere has shown himself to be a brilliant CF and Joe Benson is another option in AAA. The middle infield depth another health concern since Carroll is 38 and Casilla has never lasted through an entire season as a starter, but Brian Dozier has had a great spring and most reports have him the Twins' best defensive shortstop right now. My guess is he would be the starter for the Twins if Terry Ryan hadn't already promised that job to Carroll when he signed him this offseason. If either starter in the middle infield goes down, the other would play second and Dozier would most likely be called up to play shortstop. Luke Hughes is another option to play second base with the other starter playing shortstop. Even if Valencia goes down, the Twins could platoon Burroughs and Hughes there.
The pitching depth is more of a concern, but Liam Hendricks looks ready to be a solid major league starter and may even be an improvement over Marquis or Blackburn. Anthony Swarzak also could be a decent fifth starter if needed. Kyle Waldrop and Carlos Gutierrez provide hope for bullpen help this summer, although Waldrop will start the season on the DL with arm problems. Of course, the Twins provded in 2010 that its not difficult to find middle relief help during the season.
The reality is, the Twins won't be able to replace Mauer or Morneau, so a lot of the team's success hinges on their health. But the good news is both appear to be healthy at this point. Mauer is playing like pretty much every other year but 2011 and Morneau is finally hitting after an awful start to spring training. I think both are as healthy as they are going to get. I don't think they'll wear down, however the concern with Morneau is how much of a hit or jolt can he take before his concussion symptoms return. If he can play at least two-thirds of the season for the first time in three seasons, the Twins chances for a return to respectability will be greatly improved.