Bassit v. Odorizzi.

There's a part of me that, all season long, just hasn't bought into Odorizzi. For some reason, I feel like he's been doing it with smoke and mirrors. But his last outing, against Cleveland, felt like something different. He didn't have many K's (2), and he still only lasted 5.1 innings, but... it was an important game. A win in that middle game of the series would deny the Indians a chance to gain ground in a home series against the Twins. And limiting the Tribe to just 3 hits felt like something notable. It wasn't about whether Odorizzi is truly an all-star pitcher, and was every bit about the team, and doing what he could to contribute.

Meanwhile, last night's game felt much the same way. It was a hero off the bench who provided the, uh, heroics. Walks were drawn, pressures were kept up, etc. Down 3-1, it was starting to feel like another loss. And then suddenly it wasn't, and it seemed like the whole team was clicking again.

This is one of the things I love most about baseball. It is so much more a team sport than most others. And this is one of the things I've been loving about this iteration of the Twins: it feels like a team. A really well-rounded team.

Speaking of the A's, this phenomena reminds me a bit of Moneyball. One of the great things about Moneyball, and probably something that isn't emphasized all the time, was the focus on the team aspects. Beane said "we don't need you to hit 40 HR, we need you to hit 20, and we'll get the other 20 from X, Y, and Z" (or somesuch. I can't be bothered to look this up.).

Anyway, that's how this Twins team feels to me. And I like it.

Now let's get us another win!