A bit more drama in tonight’s game than was involved Monday night, but it seemed to take just about as long to get the game played. Nevertheless, the Twins came away with another win, 6-4 this time.
The bullpen came up big in this game, with Jeff Gray. Tyler Robertson, Alex Burnett, Glen Perkins and Jared Burton combining to throw 4 and 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Offensively, Denard Span, Jamey Carroll and Ryan Doumit all contributed two hits each with Doumit also racking up a pair of RBI.
But I’m awarding the BOD honors to Joe Mauer in recognition of his three hits, including one double and a RBI, not to mention a pretty nice diving catch of a foul ball in front of the dugout. – JC
“Help us Diamond Won Kinobi! You’re our only hope!”
Sadly, even Bert Blyleven agrees – he tweeted out earlier today: Twins need more innings out of their starting staff. Only Scott Diamond has given them the quality innings needed to save the bullpen.
Given the heat and humidity still existing in Minnesota, something tells me that the balls will be flying high & long if solid contact is made. So I’m REALLY hoping that Scotty is able to work a little newbie magic tonight.
It’s nice to see JJ Hardy though.. welcome back, just hope he doesn’t abuse the hospitality.
I’m not sure where that offensive outburst came from but it was certainly more fun than being on the receiving end of a butt-kicking. How odd was this game? Well, the Twins knocked the O’s starting pitcher out of the game before the end of the first inning despite the fact that he had given up just one earned run. (The six unearned runs were another matter altogether, I suppose.)
There were plenty of offensive stars from which to select a BOD tonight. Justin Morneau went 4-5 with a pair of doubles and Joe Mauer homered to RF. But tonight’s co-BODs are Denard Span and Ben Revere. Not only did they combine to go 7 for 11 with three doubles and 8 RBI, but they flashed plenty of leg & leather in the outfield, as well!
Our poll asked for people to pick their favorite title for a hypothetical biography of Jim Thome.
The winner came from AW with his submission: Jim Thome: Giant Among Men, Giant-Hearted Man.
He received twice as many votes as any other submission so I think that settles the question quite handily and means he wins his own copy of Ultimate Slugger!
AW – to get your prize, contact ERolfPleiss to make arrangements for it to be sent to you! CONGRATULATIONS!
I’m not going to lie. I’m tired of the losing. More than that, I’m tired of the looking bad while losing. It’s like there are two groups of players… those that have given up and are going through the motions and those that are trying so hard (maybe to impress other teams that might trade for them and thus rescue them from this quagmire and take them in to some semblance of a pennant race?) that they end up tripping over themselves (sometimes quite literally). Oh yeah, there’s a third group… Josh Willingham. Is he a pro or what? I really hope Terry Ryan doesn’t trade him away.
On the positive side, 1500ESPN’s Tom Pelissero Tweeted that Twins President Dave St. Peter has noticed that the Twins pitching sucks. They say the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem.
There’s just nothing encouraging to say about any of the baseball played this weekend by the Twins. No errors today, so I guess that’s a step in the right direction, but that’s not nearly enough to draw positives from. The Twins used SEVEN pitchers in this fiasco and only Tyler Robertson worked a clean inning. They say that at this point in the season, all players can do is play for pride. I sure hope that’s not the case, because if so, there are not many guys on this team showing any pride at all. – JC
So I’m going to end up missing most of tonight’s game because we have friends in town and a dinner event planned.. However, I am feeling good about Cole tonight. I’m making a call that he has a stellar outing. (it’s not like I have never been wrong..)
That being said, the offense still has to do its thing and I have no strong feeling on their behalf whatsoever.. *crosses fingers*
Additional note: the Twins are honoring Camilo Pascual tonight by inducting him into the Twins Hall of Fame. He was one of the ORIGINAL Twins who came up to MN on the Washington Senators’ roster as a righty pitcher along with other names you might recognize.. Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat.. you know, real nobodies.. *snort* I really do wish I’d been alive back then to see that lineup play baseball.
I confess… after that ugly first inning, I almost completely tuned out this game. It’s probably just as well. There were a lot of home runs hit, but only Josh Willingham’s was for our guys. I gather, however, that the Twins put it all together tonight. Bad pitching… bad hitting and baserunning… and bad defense. I’m not sure how you only score 3 runs on 14 hits, but if there’s a team that can pull it off, this is the one. Let’s see if they can salvage one game out of this series Sunday and avoid the sweep! – JC
It seems ridiculous at this point to suggest Twins fans need to be prepared for disappointment. We’ve been getting slapped in the face by disappointment for going on two years, after all, and we’re pretty much resigned to this team continuing to disappoint us at least through the rest of this season. A lot of fans are already accepting disappointment as a near-certainty in 2013.
How much more prepared for disappointment do we need to be?
A bit more, I believe, and soon.
Terry Ryan
Our collective eyes and ears are focused on Twins General Manager Terry Ryan, in anticipation of the deals he’s going to make to improve the future rosters of his team. Fans seem prepared, at this point, to part with pretty much anyone in a Twins uniform as they dream of the top prospects Ryan will extract from his fellow GMs in return. After all, if Ryan could get Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano (not to mention Boof Bonser) for AJ Pierzynski, just imagine the load he should pull in for Denard Span, right?
The Star Tribune put out a good piece a few days ago that gives some insight in to the mind of Terry Ryan. There’s a case to be made that with the extra wild card in each league this year, there should be plenty of interest in the players Ryan has to offer. But while it’s true that there are more teams that consider themselves contenders than there may have been in the past, there are also some factors working against the Twins.
The biggest problem for the Twins is that a lot of contending teams want the same thing they do… good starting pitching. Of course, the difference is that contenders are looking for arms that can help them immediately, while the Twins are happy to take on talent that isn’t quite ready for the big stage yet. Still, top shelf starting pitchers, whatever their age and level, are hoarded like gold by teams these days so it takes some combination of talented front line players and desperation on the part of the trading partner to extract that kind of talent in a trade.
The other thing working against the Twins now is the new collective bargaining agreement. In past years, a team could take on a half-year rental player who is going to be a free agent at the end of the season and, at the very least, the “buying” team might be able to get a draft pick or two in compensation when the player bolts after just a couple of months. Now, not only is it more difficult to get compensation picks, but those picks aren’t available at all unless the player wore your uniform all season.
This means that, for example, if the Twins don’t trade Francisco Liriano, they have to offer him something like $12 million on a one year deal in order to get a compensation pick for him if he turns them down. But if they trade Liriano, his new team doesn’t even have that option. So guys like Liriano and Matt Capps and anyone else not locked up beyond the end of this year are truly just rental players for any team acquiring them. That team is just getting their services for the rest of this season, where in the past they may have received those services PLUS compensation picks. Think about it… how much would YOU give up for 2-3 months of Liriano’s services?
That should temper fans’ expectations for the return that Ryan is likely to get for Liriano and Capps.
Denard Span
It demonstrates why Denard Span and Josh Willingham are likely much better trade chips. For that matter, the contract extension Ryan Doumit recently signed moved him from the “rental player” category and on to the list of players that could return something of more value.
But the Twins can’t just trade away everyone of value on the market. They need to put a team on the field next season and it needs to be a pretty good one.
I agree with Howard Sinker’s view that the Twins can’t just tear this team down and start over. Fans are not going to accept that and they shouldn’t. The everyday line up the Twins put on the field is close to being good enough to compete. What’s missing is exactly what everyone knew was missing last offseason… pitching. Specifically, at the top of the rotation. It should have been addressed last season and it MUST be addressed before Opening Day 2013. Being “penny wise” this off season won’t be “pound foolish”, that foolishness will be measured by the ton.
Since Target Field opened, the Twins have been the hottest ticket in town. For the past year or more, that’s been as much about the Vikings, T’wolves and Wild being less than highly competitive as it has been the quality of the product the Twins put on the field and the remaining luster of their new digs in the Warehouse District.
But that’s about to change. The Wild made blockbuster signings, the Vikings got their new stadium approved and even the Pups look like they may be getting more serious about fielding a real basketball team right next door to Target Field. If Terry Ryan and his bosses don’t want find out just how quickly the Twins can become an afterthought at the bottom of the area’s list of major entertainment options, they need to get this team turned around starting in 2013, not years beyond that.
Francisco Liriano
That process starts now. I believe Francisco Liriano has quite possibly pitched his last game in a Twins uniform. His value will likely not get any higher than it is right now after his 15 K performance Friday night. He won’t bring back anyone likely to be a top of the rotation guy next year, but he should fetch a role player that can improve the roster or a higher pitching prospect that perhaps is still down in the Class A ranks.
I would love to see Denard Span stay a Twin for years to come. I really like the way he goes about the game and he’s a quality individual. But he’s the one guy on this roster that offers the combination of the ability to bring immediate help to the rotation in the form of Big League ready starting pitching AND he plays a role with the team that they arguably have in-house replacements available to step in and play in his absence. Ben Revere can lead off and play centerfield. He’s not Denard Span, but maybe he’s close enough to do the job adequately.
Beyond that, if the Twins can get useful returns for Capps or anyone else not penciled in for a major role in 2013, fine. Just don’t expect to be overjoyed with the return coming back. Willingham and Doumit could get something of value, but they shouldn’t be dealt unless someone offers an absurdly one-sided deal. Justin Morneau isn’t going to be in great demand unless the Twins agree to eat pretty much all of his remaining contract and honestly, the Twins don’t have a replacement for him yet anyway. All three of these guys fill roles that you would just have to go back on the market to replace over the off season and I guarantee that replacing Willingham’s production and Doumit’s versatility will be more expensive this time.
Of course, if anyone wants any of the remaining pitchers on this roster bad enough to offer anything of real value in return, as unlikely as that may be, TR should probably make the deal before that other GM comes to his senses. There’s nobody on the pitching staff that can’t be replaced. Even Scott Diamond, who’s been incredibly successful, has to be available for the right price. I have a suspicion you might be selling high on him. As much as I like him, I’m still having trouble believing he’s going to maintain this kind of success over time.
Yes, trading season is upon us and it’s almost certain that Terry Ryan is going to be right in the middle of it. Just keep expectations in check. It’s not like he’s the chip leader at the table and the rules have changed enough this year to make everyone just a little less certain about how to play the game.
Last night’s game proved that the All Star break is done as we are back to Twins baseball as we know it. It was a very familiar outing..
However! To distract ourselves from less than enjoyable memories, we still have a BOOK to give away!! In contest Part I we asked for submissions for what to call a hypothetical memoir belonging to one Tater Mashin’ Jim Thome.
Part II means you get to vote on your favorite title submission – the person with the most votes, gets a free copy of the Steve Aschburner biography of Harmon Killebrew: Ultimate Slugger – courtesy of Triumph Books.
Here’s your choices:
I will release the results and announce the winner on Monday!
And we’re back to baseball!! err.. almost. Once again, it appears there may be a slight delay to the start of the game but it should go through fairly quickly and should be clear to go after that.. maybe.. it’s Minnesota so it could change..
News over the week is that Capps has been re-instated. Now that he’s off the DL, the Twins optioned Kyle Waldrop back down to AAA to make room. Reportedly, he’ll ease back into his full workload by doing setup work instead of closing for a bit. There’s also rumors out there that he might be moving to the Blue Jays but that’s not something I can substantiate for you right now.
Let’s hope that the boys are all ready to get back to baseball and are ready to up their game for the second half. That would be fun… I hope that we have the good Frankie tonight!
If rumors are to be believed (which is always a tenuous concept at best) Matt Capps is not the only Twins pitcher who may have a different uniform tomorrow morning. Word is that this may very well have been Liriano’s last game as a Twin. Boy did he make it a doozy. He made people ponder Santana’s single game strike out record and watch to see if he could get there. He didn’t but 15 k’s is NOTHING to sneeze at. Sadly, in what seems to be the eternal dichotomy of Franky’s performances, he gave up enough runs to get the loss anyway. Of course we’ll let you know if there is more news coming sooner or later but for the first game back, I was hoping for a little better.
Coming off a disappointing road trip before the All-Star Game in which the Twins lost of couple of heart breakers to the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Twins are likely to aggressively look for offers for many of their current players. While the Twins are “only” 11.0 games out of first place, they are still 13 games under .500 and would have to go 45-32, playing .582 baseball. Only the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and the Washington Nationals played .582 baseball or better before the All-Star Break, so the Twins are looking at a monumental climb just to get back to .500.
Sam Deduno David Goldman, Associated Press
Realistically the Twins would need to approach not just 81 wins to compete in the Central, but something more like 86 wins to win the division (assuming the White Sox Cleveland or Detroit do not play much better in the 2nd half), which would mean going 50-27 in their remaining games. That simply is not happening with the Twins’ current pitching staff. Even if the good Francisco Liriano shows up and Scott Diamond continues to impress, Cole De Vries and Samuel Dedunoare still in the starting rotation!
So what would a realistic record look like going down the stretch? The Twins are 18-17 since June 1, which is a lot closer to the mediocre team many thought the Twins would be heading into the season, than the 18-32 baseball the played before June. In their remaining 77 games, the Twins have 43 games against the AL Central and just 17 left against the AL East and the AL West. Even if the Twins’ front office trades off a couple of their more valuable players, the Twins should still have a decent opportunity to play within a game of .500 baseball against the AL Central teams, going 21-22 the rest of the way. Against the East and West the Twins played very poorly in the first half, posting a winning record only against the Oakland Athletics (3-0). I do not think they’ll be as bad as they were in the first half, and if they manage to go 15-19 against the rest of the AL I will not be surprised. Maybe that is a little bit of a rose colored prediction, but this team has shown in the past month+ that they are capable of putting together stretches of competitive baseball.
That would put the Twins at 36-41 in the second half, and a record of 72-90 to finish the season. That is only 9 games better than the 63-99 the Twins were a year ago, but if the front office is building towards future success, I will be willing to accept the lumps in 2012 in hopes of a brighter future ahead.
