Wednesday tidbits: Duensing, Slowey, Humber
Posted on August 13th, 2008 – 2:00 PMBy Joe Christensen
A few tidbits here, with the Twins leading the Yankees 3-1 in the seventh inning:
(*) Twins prospect Brian Duensing pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in Team USA’s 8-7 loss to South Korea, opening the Olympic baseball competition. Team USA plays the Netherlands tonight at 9:30 p.m. See Duensing’s blog here.
(*) Couple in-game notes on Kevin Slowey: The first-inning run he allowed was his first in 19 starts this season, snapping his Twins record. He also went 94 batters without allowing a walk before Bobby Abreu drew his free pass in the sixth.
(*) Class AAA Rochester righthander Phil Humber is 8-7 after a 1-5 start, Jim Mandelaro notes in today’s Democrat & Chronicle. Humber took a line drive off his calf in the first inning Tuesday and wound up striking out 11 in 7 1/3 innings. Alejandro Machado has a 21-game hitting streak and Jason Pridie has a 19-game hitting streak.
(*) Today’s attendance is 35,187 — the 15th consecutive crowd of 30,000 or more for the Twins, matching the longest such streak in franchise history. (They also did it in 1992.)
(*) The White Sox will send Mark Buehrle (9-10, 3.94 ERA) to the mound tonight, opposite Kansas City’s Luke Hochevar (6-10, 5.54). Javier Vazquez was terrific last night for the White Sox, but their ERA since the All-Star break is 5.44, compared to 3.60 before the break.
52 Responses to "Wednesday tidbits: Duensing, Slowey, Humber"
Woo-hoo! First comment!
interesting - we put a claim on Alan Embree but the A’s pulled him back. At least Billy Boy is sniffing around…
Oh yeah. Alan Embree. Great work Billy. Tubby’s idea of improving the club is claiming a over the hill with a 5.40 ERA. Briliant!
35,000 in an afternoon game is pretty impressive. I figured that Monday and Tuesdays games would have been more.
Why would the A’s pull him back, that’s the question. What do they need him around for at this point? You’d think they’d be trying to unload every veteran they got.
Wow, now, someone is complaining that he is sniffing around a bullpen pitcher. Guess Billy just can’t win.
There is no silver bullet out there guys, if there is a bullpen pitcher, it will either be a poorly performing highly paid guy, or an “over-the-hill” guy with a bad ERA. No matter what, someone will bitch and moan about anything that he does or doesn’t do.
JCB
Embre has a club option left on his contract so the A’s can use him in the bullpen again next year. You don’t just dump players to dump players, there has to be a reason to it. The A’s probably were hoping he would make it through waivers and try to get a bidding war going for him
Me Too says:
August 13th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Wow, now, someone is complaining that he is sniffing around a bullpen pitcher. Guess Billy just can’t win.
—–
If Billy is only going to pursue shi**y relievers, he might as well sit on his fat ass and do nothing.
Thanks for the update on Deunsing. I was trying to find a box score.
Have you ever seen a professional baseball player with an arm as inaccurate as Gomez? His throws are no where near the bases. Other teams know he cannot throw accurately and have been assuming an exta base. I was watching the game last night and he threw a ball from center to second base that was about 20 feet off the base. He also threw one to third base that was not only 30 feet to the left field side of the base but also 15 feet over the third baseman’s head. How can a major league baseball player be such a poor thrower? Apparently the Twins do not do much to coach or teach the players at the major league level because they continue to make stupid plays. For example, players diving into bases head first when it gives them no advantage to do so. It has accounted for five serious injuries already in the season and alot of time lost. Joe Vavra spends alot of time messing with hitter head to the point that they cannot hit up to their potential. The rest of them seem to be on the roster for just the ride as well. I think the Twins should scrap the entire coaching staff and fire the manager and call up the coaches from Rochester. The team would certainly have much better results.
Good day to one and all alike:
Wow, I couldnt see the game but the summary looks great. I’m just having a hard time believing some of the negative comments going on here. All the Twins have done is overachieve to the point of being tied for 1st on Aug 13th. With an undermanned, overinjured positional roster, and with a middle bullpen that is hanging by a thread. How does the fact that they have accomplished a 1st place tie somehow qualify the managers termination? I wonder what the quality of this blog would be like if the Twins were 15 games out and playing exhibition games the rest of the way? Come on guys, they continue to surprise and win games in ways that are not expected. You do not know how long that will continue, but at least try to enjoy it while it lasts!
Evan, have you always been a mean little snot? What a little putz.
Bert,
Are you joking or are you for real? There was a hint of sarcasim in your post. I guess I was just wondering. Because if you were serious your not the sharpest knife in the tree. Fire Gardy because Gomez can’t throw?!?!?! WTF man. We’re in first place…almost.
P.S. Sliding head first is the fastest way to a base other than first base.
I’m with you, rayreiner. It wasn’t that long ago that the team cycled from at best watchable and at worst an embarrassment. And with a desolate farm system. This team will probably at the very best make it to, but not out of the first round of the playoffs this season. Well beyond any expert’s expectations. And the future is so bright. Look at the standings of their four farm teams below AA. Very encouraging.
Anyone else see that Washburn and Ibanez were both claimed off waivers. I sure would be nice if Ibanez was not in the lineup for Seattle this weekend.
Yeah but Jama,
He’s been a TERRIBLE, old reliever. Why wouldn’t the A’s use his innings to audition a younger guy during the end of a season that doesn’t matter?
The Twins putting in a claim on Embree could be Bill trying to grab an arm.
Then again, it could *also* be Bill making sure that someone else can’t complete a waiver trade.
Let’s see now: What other American League team(s) ahead of us in the standings are currently coughing up hairballs in their bullpens? Two teams with the word “Sox” in their nickname, perhaps?
(Remember: watching the August waiver wire is as much about blocking others’ moves as it is making your own.)
but if nobody blocked Bradford, why would anybody care about Embree?
Bert that is a really very, ah … interesting post. Hate to see your reaction if the Twins lost today.
Do the A’s get draft picks if we walks? I don’t know, seems strange.
*he*
With fans like Evan and Bert, who needs enemies? Probably complained when the Twins took seven whole games to win the Series in ‘87 and ‘91. I’ll bet watching a game with them is totally enjoyable.
Embree is a lefty, thats why people care about him Justin.
Well I hope Gardy, Andy, all the pitchers and catchers have a confab, decide on a secret sign so that the next time a pitcher is in a real jam and no one is warmed up in the pen, they can do it the Yankees way and claim a medical emergency. What a joke. At least I got a chuckle out of DickB’s comment about the Yankees pitcher limping off due to his shoulder injury.
Twins need to search out JD Durbin. I watched the real deal a lot in spring training. He did ok. The Twins tried to keep him under the radar, but someone picked him off waivers. I’m not sure he would do any worse than some we have. To put Boof into a game sends chills up my spine and runs up for the bad guys.
bert…really fire the coaching staff with 600 wins and the second highest winning percentage among coaches with 600 wins (behind Bobby Cox)? If we were stupid enough to fire him, he’d have a job immediately with another team. Twins fans just like to complain…we’re in first place people. Even if the glass is 7/8ths full we say it’s 1/8th empty!
“I think the Twins should scrap the entire coaching staff and fire the manager and call up the coaches from Rochester. The team would certainly have much better results.”
Bert, you are so right on! And, no one–I mean NO ONE–hates to teach as much as Gardy.
This is no longer TK’s model of discipline and fundamentals. The coaches incessantly talk the talk, but they numbers, under Gardy and staff, have continued to plummet year after year (especially defense) during his reign.
Can the staff (except for Scotty, who would make a great manager himself), and call up the Cliburns’ staff plus Bobby Cuellar as the pitching coach.
Bert, there’s no doubt in my mind that this team, with it’s wonderful system beneath it, could do much better on a daily basis under coaches that could mentor rather than simply capitalize.
JD Durbin? Last I saw, about a week ago, he was 0-7 with an ERA over 11.00…at AAA!
Brian, you should look into the system beneath Gardy. You should learn what kind of talent this organization employs on the coach staff.
You want to know how worthless Gardy really is? Let’s hand him the Royals or Pirates and see what he can do.
It’s the system. Gardy is clueless, and nothing makes a real baseball man more pissed than to hear the media and fan base go on and on about how great he is.
Like Gladden said back in May, after Gardy had pissed away to sure wins in Detroit with terrible bullpen moves: “Managers NEVER win games; they can only lose games. The players win.”
Exactly.
Could the Twins have claimed Ibanez? Maybe they’re trying to work out a trade. Maybe Gomez and Humber. I am just speculating.
can’t trade Gomez or Humber w/o taking em off the 40 and/or passing them thru waivers
LaLa,
How’d your prediction of a Yankee sweep work out?
LaLa,
I suspect Gardy would do better with the Royals and Pirates, than Francona would do with the Twins.
Francona and Torre have a history of underperformance when NOT supported by TOP 2/3 payrolls.
Regards,
Players play, managers manage, owners own & fans whine, complain & bit**. We are the true multi-taskers.
Francona and Torre have a history of underperformance when NOT supported by TOP 2/3 payrolls.
Absolutely, The best way to get the managers job for the Yankees and Red Sox is to have a history of being a poor manager…
Including the Dodgers, Torre is 954-1062 when not managing the NYY, 1173-767 managing NYY. Francona was 285-363 @ Phi, 444-324 @ Bos.
Trade Gomez and Humber for a month and a half of Raul Ibanez?
Talk about the worst trade in Twins history…
By the way, Gardy is 600-490 as Twins manager.
601 after today.
Exactly.
That’s how the Yankees and Sox do it. They went out and tried to find managers with the worst records they could find, because they don’t really care about winning anyway. Or maybe, if you look deeper than W-L record you would find they were both respected and successful managers before they went to BOS and NY respectively.
By the way, TK’s managerial record was 1140-1244 and I would take him over Gardy every day of the week and twice in game seven.
I think TK would have won a World Series every year if he had the caliber of players the Yankees and Red Sox did, for that matter, so could you or I. Torre & Francona are player’s managers, but having a big payroll really helps.
kmack,
G. stated Gardy couldn’t manage Royals & Pirates. When presented that Francona did poorly at Phila, and Torre did poorly at Mets & St. Louis. Did do decent at Atl, I am not sure if that was during Ted Turners spending phase, so I won’t attribute that lone success to MONEY.
Apparently G. has the same fever that visits this site from time to time. Losses are better than wins 
Why would anyone criticize Francona? He knows his players better than we do. He knows more about baseball than we do. What right do any of you have to question his ability relative to anyone else?
Sound familiar?
I think Ibanez has another year on his contract.
Twins.
Some of us got ripped for saying that Delmon and Go-Go might improve after age 22.Delmon has seemed to find his power stroke to the right side.Now if someone like Molly at the next spring training can teach Delmon at age 23,to look to hit the outside pitch to right with power and be quick enough to kill the inside pitch when jammed,we might have the complete player to justify being chosen #1 in the draft!
Jay,
Ibanez is a free agent after this season
TK is probably one of the best managers in baseball history, regardless of his poor record. I think anyone who knows anything about baseball realizes that.
I do like Gardy, but I have also noticed the decline of defense. Since the coaches haven’t changed much, maybe it’s the players that aren’t as good? Oh nevermind, just fire Gardy, it’s easier.
Mike,
Regarding your 8:25 post.
I agree, AND I was not criticizing Francona & Torre, moreso pointing out that, statistically, they earned fame and fortune once the payroll and quallity of the line-ups they managed increased exponentially.
I have great respect for Torre because I think his best managing was NOT on the field, rather dealing with a wierd clubhouse and the pressure of the expectations of playing for the Yankees.
Regards,
WHo is this Jared guy using ZZZZZ’s in his name?
“birdofprey says:
August 13th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Evan, have you always been a mean little snot? What a little putz.”
Haha, I thought the same thing. So, as some “informed” reader dubbed a few days ago, “Sit Still Bill” can’t win for trying. He gets hammered for not making a move, so he puts a claim in on a VETERAN reliever (a guy with a halfway decent track of bullpen proficiency), and “marks” such as Evan lambaste him. Furthermore, “marks” such as Evan admonish Smith for going after someone like Embree. Evan: it’s POST-trading deadline. The idea of getting premier bullpen pitcher is almost laughable, as any good pitcher that would be placed on waivers would be claimed by just about any team.
