Posts Tagged ‘Justin Morneau’
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Return to NormalcyApril 24th, 2008
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About a week ago, I wrote an article on the Twins’ failings in the bullpen. But a lot changed in a week, and that angle had to be ditched– well, not completely. I’m still going to bring up what happened, but we now have light at the end of the tunnel.
Things were looking scary for the Twins when, in the span of one week, the Twins’ mighty setup men managed to blow three big divisional games. The culprits: Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain.
Neshek began the mess by giving up a grand slam to Joe Crede in the opening game against the Chicago White Sox on April 7 to spoil a 4-3 lead in the seventh. The Twins went on to lose 7-4. Guerrier started the inning by loading up the bases for Neshek, so we can’t give Neshek all the blame, but he did give up the shot to bring them all in.
Then on the following Monday, Guerrier and Neshek managed to blow a five-run lead and eventually, the game, to the slumping Detroit Tigers 11-9.
Crain followed suit the very next night, spoiling a solid start by Scott Baker by giving up a rocketing two-run homer to Detroit’s Magglio Ordonez in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 6-5 win and two-game series sweep.
The result of rough week for the setup corps was a combined nine runs given up and three losses in just 3 1/3 innings pitched, ballooning their combined ERA to 8.95 on the season to go along with their 0-3 record.
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Leadoff ThreatApril 9th, 2008
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After a decade of searching, the Twins first true leadoff man since Chuck Knoblauch has seemingly arrived in Minnesota.
The emergence of the Twins’ new speedy table-setter and center fielder Carlos Gomez has been the biggest ray of hope for the young team this season. He has opened a lot of eyes with his ridiculous speed and great abilities, at the plate, in the field and most obviously on the base-paths.
Gomez currently leads the Twins in hits, bunt singles, stolen bases, runs, and on-base percentage, much like he did throughout spring training.
In my first post I talked about how he is the fastest man in MLB, but insiders worried if he was going to be able to get on base enough to utilize that speed.
Well, in the first week of the season he has shown he can in fact arrive at first base and thus wreak havoc on the base paths for opposing teams. Though the extra base hits (just two doubles) may not be there yet, he has shown an uncanny ability to bunt his way on and wheel his way around to score. Read more
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The Problem with PredictionsApril 7th, 2008
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Every year, sports broadcasters - regardless of the sport - begin that particular sports’ season with a series of predictions. These predictions range from individual player predictions and team predictions, to division predictions and even championship predictions… you name it, they’re already thinking about it before the professionals step on the court/field/rink/whatever. Broadcasters will proceed to tell you, with their own mystic authority, exactly who will be good, who will be a waste of paycheck, who will be undervalued, who will be the best and worst teams, and which two teams will make the championships. Many will even go as far as to claim, with conviction and fervor, that they “know” who is going to win it this year (despite the team’s hundred year dry spell, and all those curses that have been plaguing that team for decades). Read more