Twins-Red Sox: Postgame
Posted on May 26th, 2009 – 11:28 PMBy La Velle
X-Rays on Joe Crede’s right hand showed only a bruise. He’ll try to grip a bat tomorrow.
Nick Blackburn looked headed for a short night after throwing 44 pitches over the first two innings. But he threw five pitches in the third and seemed to settle in after that. He set a career high with seven strikeouts.
“I thought that was huge,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “After that, he settled into a groove. His sinker was really good. He worked hard in and used his breaking ball and used his change up. I think it was just a matter of he didn’t give into them. He started pounding the strike zone and locating really good after he had that quick inning.”
Blackburn walked two batters - the first walk issued by the Twins in 18 innings.
Brendan Harris ended a 0-for-11 skid with his single in the fifth.
Nick Punto’s single in the fifth ended a 0-for-13 skid. He came back with a double in the seventh off of Josh Bard. So Punto gets a hit off of the 97-mile an hour throwing Bard while Joe Mauer strikes out against him. You can never have this game figured out.
The Twins have hit 38 homers in 24 May games after hitting 16 homers in April.
Joe C. is in the driver’s seat tomrrow while I work ahead on a couple things. I will try to post some minor league notes tomorrow, but I also will be at Brit’s to watch the Champions League final. The local Manchester United supporters group wants me to watch the match with them at The Local - but I’m pulling for Barcelona.
131 Responses to "Twins-Red Sox: Postgame"
Glory, glory, Man United
As the Reds go marching on, on, on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5HKzm-OUW4
Rock on, Red!!
great news on crede…heal soon, you are needed
Just a heads up… the Sox flame throwing reliever is Daniel Bard not Josh who is a catcher.
Harris has reliable D and is crafty at the plate here and there. Don’t need Crede to push things.
How good is Harris’s D at 1st? Can he spell Morneau on his DH days?
And at Rochester, Casilla is hitting RH pitching well with a .400 OBP vs. them. Also good with RISP.
More Harris/Casilla, less Punto/Tolbert.
Lost in the shuffle (Mauer) —
Morneau on track for 48 HR’s and over 150 RBI’s so far.
40/140 ain’t an unreasonable prediction.
He’s an awfully steady producer.
I like Man Utd…don’t get me wrong. But in this UCL Final it’s time for Spain.
Souhan’s article about Ortiz was interesting,but I think the same rumors could be made about Nick Punto. I mean if you look at Nick’s power numbers they are off the chart. One could easily speculate with the power and precision that he drives the baseball that he is using some enhancement performing drugs. I think Nick Punto is on the bubble. go twins!
Even without a hit last night, Mauer was productive. He must have seen 15-20 pitches in his at-bats, and of course had the walk to help set up the homer. Great to have you back, Joe.
I’m disappointed in Mauer. Its obvious that he needed to be on the bench w/ Crede after getting hit on the hand. I terrible throw early in the game to 2nd and then hit into a double play and went hitless. He is babying his hand.
He should be on the bench.
Rocky-I’m taking your post as sarcasm…it would be moronically stupid if it were anything less!
Delmon is 0-11 with 7K’s since coming back. Other than the shot he hit to right center that Elsbury made a great catch on, he has looked awful at the plate. Sit him and let Go-Go play for awhile.
Baseball really must be nothing more than a job for La Velle…his true love is obviously soccer.
Rocky, you haven’t been watching the same games as I have if you think Mauer should be on the bench - I’ll just chalk that up to attempted sarcasm.
Baseball is alot like golf in that it seems like it’s hard to get all parts of your game clicking at the same time. Last night was great to see good pitching, to see the bottom of the order contributing with base hits and then to see our power guys take care of business. Just an excellent game to watch and let’s do it again tonight.
Bring up Casilla and Morales. Send down Tolbert and Buscher. Could then DH Morales or Mauer, play Kubel in left. Would have a lot more potent lineup. Casilla can start at 2nd, Harris/Punto at short.
Bring up Casilla? Are you kidding me? Less than two months in the minors doesn’t fix his lack of hustling and his many mental mistakes.
Yea Duane, a .190 guy that hustles is a lot more valuable than a potential .300 guy that makes mistakes…..you are smart.
I meant send down 2/3 out of Tolbert Buscher and Young. I prefer to send down Young (I don’t like him as a baseball player).
So going to the bar qualifies as ‘catching up on a few things’ these days?
I’m starting to feel that Gomez is not much worse at the plate then Young, but plays much better defense and has much better speed on the bases. I have not been part of the “trade Delmon” crowd in the past but it may be time now. Start Span, Cuddy, and Gomez in the outfield, with Kubel filling in once a week or so. Admit the trade was bad with the D-Rays, and try to trade Young for a good middle- reliever or another young prospect. Young seems uninspired and undisciplined.
Still too soon to trade DY, in my opinion. Some times the light doesn’t go on til a player is 23 - 25!
Young is an empty .280+ hitter. Always has been in the bigs. Until he develops plate discipline that won’t change. Gomez is the one showing improvement at the plate, not Young. I am amazed at how people will blast GoGo for his bat, but not Young.
Romer:
If they spell Morneau once in a while so his legs stay fresh down the stretch I think your prediction will come true. In the past Morneau has worn down a bit but they seem more determined to rest him once in awhile this year so I’m expecting big things.
And Gomez is an empty 250 hitter. Without plate discipline. If you want to pimp GoGo,that’s fine. I just don;t think bashing DY, who is essentially the same age, makes your agruement any more credible.
I would say they both can (and will) improve.
Rat_Face_Kubel,
Gomez is developing his plate discipline if you are paying attention. Gomez also has pop in his bat. check out overthebaggy for a great post comparing Young and Gomez and the improvement Gomez is showing at the plate. He is not seeing huge results yet in numbers, but the improvement is clear.
Gomez has 7 extra base hits, 8 walks and 20 strikeouts in 89 at-bats.
Young has 2 extra base hits, 4 walks and 30 strikeouts in 95 at-bats.
Hear Hear AaronK. Agree with you 100%. Young seems to be regressing, as Gomez seems to be progressing (albeit slowly). Gomez’s defense is solid, he saves us runs (maybe .5 a game?) and Young’s defense costs us runs (maybe .25 runs a game). So Young’s offense has to create almost a run more to make up the differential in defense. And he definately does not.
Small sample sizes. DY has shown to be a second half hitter so far. He is too darn young to be written off. That’s all I’m saying.
Again, I said Young will be an empty .280+ hitter until he develops plate discipline. He is not progressing in that area. Even when he hits for a better ave in the 2nd half, it won’t include walks or any extra base power.
Until he steps back and realizes he needs to be smarter at the plate. At this moment he is not showing signs of improvement in that area and GO GO is. Gomez should be playing more than Young and I don’t see any argument against that.
regardless, span is by far the best we have…i can live with him leading off for a long time..its gotten fun to actually watch him work the pitcher when he leads off the game-to see how many pitches he can get that pitcher to make, while waiting for his pitch-the game inside the game…
mj1,
Span has proven to be the best all around OF we have. He has pleasantly surprised me this year. Cuddy has also surprised me by proving to be the best hitting OF we have so far. While Gomez continues to be the best we have defensively.
I like that OF personally a lot. Young and Kubel make a nice platoon at DH.
AaronK says:May 27th, 2009 at 9:15 am
“Young is an empty .280+ hitter. Always has been in the bigs. Until he develops plate discipline that won’t change. Gomez is the one showing improvement at the plate, not Young. I am amazed at how people will blast GoGo for his bat, but not Young.”
Interesting, not long ago, one could find a whole lot of comments that Joe Mauer was an empty .330 hitter.
But I guess consistancy is a virtue.
Regards,
Dragon,
Nothing empty about Mauer even before the power came. The numbers tell the truth. A career .400+ OBP and .878 OPS is far from empty. Mauer’s career numbers trump anything either one of these guys have ever dreamed.
I may be wrong (and often am) but I don’t think Kubel is going to be in a platoon anymore. Given the financial commitment and Gardy’s apparent increase in trust in him, even against some lefties, I think Kubel will be in the lineup at least 75% of the games.
It appears that Gomez and Young are, in essence, in a very extended battle from spring training to earn one spot. Who knows how that will turn out?
young needs help- he is the most talented kid and not showing anything…i dont know if i will ever understand it…maybe he needs to get away from joe vavra…seems to me there is some kind of breakdown there..maybe they are asking him to do things that he just cant do -if he were mine i would just cut him loose and tell him to go up and hit the hell out of the ball somewhere, anywhere-hit it the way he wants to hit it-my guess is the results would be much better than they are now…jmho
Gomez and Young should, at the very least, start to platoon in the OF. I agree that it is tough to give up on Young at the age of 23, but we have to put the most productive players on the field most of the time. I also agree there is a good upside to both players, but as of now it seems that Gomez is more enthusiastic, more teachable, and has more all–around productivity.
Fredo,
It appears like Gardy has given Kubel some chances to not platoon but he has not been successful. It does appear like he is giving Kubel lots of days off against lefties. We shall see what they do as the year goes on, but Kubel hasn’t hit his way out of the platoon yet.
We are all hoping he will, the kid can kill RHP.
Aaron,
I don’t disagree with you, yet there were many posts to the contrary.
I don’t know how long of institutional memory on this blog, yet Young was starting to get going JUST before his mother died. BUT I know it was just empty anyway, and not helpful to the team.
Personally, I will take an empty .280-.300 hitter rather than a .220-.240 power hitter with predominately solo home runs, doesn’t make me right.
Also, Mauer’s career numbers do trump Young, probably because he played a couple of months more. IF you look at Mauers & Youngs numbers after their 1st 2 full years in MLB (plus small piece of year before). While there was a difference in K/BB ratio, thus BA, EVERY other stat is almost identical (within 5%). That’s with Young being 1 year younger at similar point.
Does that mean Young will be Mauer? I doubt it, BUT I would wager a pretty good sum, he’ll get 85%-90% there. That would make him a useful benchwarmer.
Regards,
Hey mj1
I think Young’s problem is not the coaching but his own head. Young already does what he wants – swings at bad pitches, never works a count, rarely has a productive out, rarely walks, etc. Young should start to listen to the coaches more, not less.
Looking at the numbers, the Twins OF is obvious: Span, Gomez, and Cuddyer. Span has great UZR numbers in LF, below average elsewhere. Gomez is now walking 8% of the time, and plays great defense. Cuddyer, as I said at the end of April, will look like Span with better SLG and worse defense. Aside from Span’s 15 point BA difference, that’s right. They both are walking 12% of the time (as is Morneau; it’s nice to see that coming up.
DY is what he appears to be–a bad defender who can’t draw a walk and can’t hit for power. Pride over the trade is what is keeping him his job. Time to cut bait…and view Span as the player we were hoping DY would turn into.
Is there any chance DY plus another player could turn into Matt Cain?
The week before his knee injury Kubel started agains Colon (RH), Danks (LH) and Petitte (LH). His first shot after being injured was starting against Lester last night. I will stand by my belief that Gardy thinks he is an everyday player. If he rests it will undoubtedly be against a lefty, but going into his injury it wasn’t clear to me that he was resting against lefties.
As we know, Gardy doesn’t manage by stats (see Punto, Little Nickie) so what you say is probably true about Kubel’s effectiveness. But I really think in his mind Gardy considers Kubel a regular, not a platoon player.
Whether he should be is another debate.
Big Pappi is turning into big slappy. Seems that is all that he is doing these days. Slapping the ball if he can even catch up to a pitch anymore. Juicy story huh. No one can figure out where all his power went or came from.
By the way, a while ago we were debating why players field different OF positions better or worse. My theory–Span plays LF better because he sees the ball into his glove hand towards the corners…this would also explain why DY is better suited to RF defensively, as us Cuddyer.
As for the Cuddyer - DY comparisons–Cuddyer is better in OBP, SLG, and UZR (he’s average, compared to DY, who is bad). BA might be a push or slight edge DY. This comparison currently doesn’t look close.
I’m sorry about DY’s mother, and he might have some upside…but it sure doesn’t look like it right now. He’s not helping our team.
Yes Ortiz is struggling. I was going to call him Grand Pappi until I saw him leg out that double hit to Cuddyer last night. He moves pretty good.
This was discussed last night during the game thread, but in a perfect world Gomez and Young would be side by side in the outfield honing their craft. That they haven’t and aren’t is not their fault but those who make roster decisions. Venom should be deservedly aimed that way.
Unfortunately, as cmathewson pointed out last night, there is no option of being sent down for Young and now the field brass is in an almost impossible position…sit them and they learn nothing/play them and they and the team suffer.
I would have no problem with both being in the minors and an outfield of Kubel/Span/Cuddyer backed up by Pridie. But that ain’t going to happen and Smith is going to have to decide what is the right thing for the Twins and Delmon’s career. Perhaps a trade to a team where they are building and have no designs on a divisional championship (Giants? Padres?) would make the most sense.
While it is important to do what’s best for the team you also have to have a player’s best interests in mind. I really don’t think DY is best served right now by being on the Twins. It’s a shame but the Twins are trying to win a division supposedly.
Oh, I meant to say in the outfield in Rochester honing their craft.
Also, Mauer’s career numbers do trump Young, probably because he played a couple of months more. IF you look at Mauers & Youngs numbers after their 1st 2 full years in MLB (plus small piece of year before). While there was a difference in K/BB ratio, thus BA, EVERY other stat is almost identical (within 5%). That’s with Young being 1 year younger at similar point.
You’re absolutely right, Mauer’s .870 OPS and Young’s .739 OPS after their first 2+ seasons is “almost identical”.
Perhaps it’s time to stop trying to provide “analysis”?
I hear ya, Fredo. I badly want those three to be the best young outfield in baseball. If we win the division, even better! Each individual pushing the other, developing their skills to someday get that BIG payday! I would buy more tickets because they are fun to watch and fans give them more leeway because they are young. It’s still not too late for them to get their spot, settle in, and see what happens. Not a big fan of musical chairs.
Seriously, comparing Mauer to Young is senseless. When Young’s approach starts looking anything like Mauer then we have reason to be excited. He will become a great hitter if that ever happens. That is the only thing holding him back, imo.
DY is what he appears to be–a bad defender who can’t draw a walk and can’t hit for power…….Is there any chance DY plus another player could turn into Matt Cain?”
Huh?
He’s awful, he’s horrible, he’s terrible, but he may be valuable?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Agree, Aaron. But he needs to be penciled in everyday, play through the mistakes, and the coaches need to keep on him, just like that one guy did to him in the video “We Are Young”.
Forgot the opening quotation marks.
“DY is what he appears to be–a bad defender who can’t draw a walk and can’t hit for power…….Is there any chance DY plus another player could turn into Matt Cain?”
Huh?
He’s awful, he’s horrible, he’s terrible, but he may be valuable?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
DY is what he appears to be–a bad defender who can’t draw a walk and can’t hit for power…….Is there any chance DY plus another player could turn into Matt Cain?”
Huh?
He’s awful, he’s horrible, he’s terrible, but he may be valuable?
I agree 100 percent with you sane
I see no reason at all to keep Delmon Young. Having followed the Twins for 48 years now, he’s the worst outfielder I’ve seen in a Twins uniform.
jb,
I’m not sure that you do agree with me.
My point was:
How can Young be considered both worthless AND a desirable trade piece?
It just doesn’t seem likely to me.
Aging takes time. Young can’t go from 22 to 26 overnight.
Why do people think the Pridie deserves a big league spot? He’s fast, versatile, has no power, and strikes out a lot. Sounds like Punto.
“Time to cut bait…and view Span as the player we were hoping DY would turn into.”
When span was 22 he had a so-so year in AA, 2 hr, 45 rbi, .285/.340/.349.
when he was 23 he had a so-so year in AAA and most people on these blogs were writing him off as a bust!
last year dy had a so-so year in the majors at age 22, 10 hr, 69 rbi, .290/.336/.405 actually a better offensive year in the majors than span had at age 22 in AA.
compare apples to apples, comparing a 23 yr old to a 30 yr old (cuddy) is not realistic. by rigths dy should have spent another year or more in the minors as should gomez but that was not his decision. he still has a long way to go but it’s probably good we didn’t give up on span when most people thought he was a 23 yr old minor league bust.
sane, jimmy bee–There are an awful lot of people around these parts who think DY is just about to turn into a great player. Going into his third year now, i’ve stopped believing it. But all we need is one GM to buy into this reasoning. Brian Sabean might be the guy.
I also said “is there any chance?” …meaning I didn’t find it likely.
Span radically improved his plate discipline, thanks in large part to lasic (note that Cuddyer and Morneau are both walking at career-best rates after having lasic). He also is a stellar defender, and I presume he was at age 22 and 23 as well. DY has proven to be a very below average defender, which won’t change. He will undoubtedly get better offensively, but at this point, it would be hard to argue he will develop produgous power or plate discipline. That he has so many ardent defenders proves that there might be a trade to be made. Whether he can be traded and whether he is actually a valuable player are different from whether he has trade value.
*prodigious
The only way I would give up on Young is if we could get something of value for him in a trade. Another team may have the optimism about him as some posters do here, that he is young and has potential. Those teams may trade for him with some value. Otherwise, keep him for another couple years and see what happens. With that said, Young should not get a free ride to 500 at bats this year like last year. He has to earn it this year. Otherwise, get him 300 at bats or so by splitting time with Gomez. If either starts to excel, the other sits more.
Let me be clear about something. While I have been hard on Delmon Young, that doesn’t mean I think he is a total waste and will never become good. As has been pointed out, he is very young still. Span was a bad minor league player at this point.
My point is Delmon needs to show he is improving. That is where my concern is. Also, Gomez is outplaying him and needs more ABs.
I still see lots of potential for Delmon if he realizes his shortcomings and does something about it.
AM,
How many 22-23 yr-old hitters have outstanding plate discipline despite having perfect vision.
Span and Cuddyer developed it after (?) number of years, but “it would be hard to argue he (Delmon) will develop …plate discipline”?
When did Cuddyer’s swing (even in April 2009) make him a better possibility to develop plate discipline than Delmon.
Wait a couple years or prematurely ship him?
That’s the choice.
Patience for (Matt Moses and) Cuddyer, but none for Delmon makes little sense to me.
Are there a lot of historical examples of free-swinging, light-hitting corner outfield types who got to the bigs at an early age and then:
1)developed power
2)developed plate discipline
3)developed defensively?
I’m all for optimism here, but are we talking Vlad, Puckett, Franceouer? What are we hoping for, and what is realistic?
Here are a couple (although they were CFs):
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/puckeki01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hunteto01.shtml
“My point is Delmon needs to show he is improving.”
The equation:
improvement rate = (current performance minus past performance) / time
is fictional.
It’s not linear nor continuous and certainly not smooth.
Improvement could kick in suddenly for Delmon as it did for Span, Morneau and a thousand other players.
Or it may NEVER come as it didn’t for a million other players. (including yours truly)
Hello? Are my comments getting through?
sane–you know a ton more about baseball than I ever will, and you are earning your moniker by talking sense into me. However, I’ve always thought that plate discipline and control of the strike zone is a relatively stable skill. Am I wrong? Do the majority of players improve their plate discipline as they get older? Sluggers get pitched around more as they gain more respect.
If, as AaronK says, DY were showing progress in plate discipline, we could have optimism about him also developing power.
Is Justin Upton a comp for DY?
Right on Lavalle! Barca Campeones!!! Messi will school that pretty-boy Ronaldo!
“are we talking Vlad, Puckett, Franceouer?”
I’d say no, but if that is our minimum requirement for keeping a hitter, the fire sale should start immediately.
AM,
Yes.
Plate discipline usually (not always)is a function of experience.
Morneau hit 20 hrs his first half season with the Twins. I am not so sure he suddenly got better. Span started playing well when he joined the Twins. In Span’s case he may just be more focused under the big stage. He was awful in spring again this year.
Results may appear sudden, but underlining changes are happening to make those results happen imo. We are looking for signs of change and to this point are not seeing them.
sane you’ll always be an all star to us!
Cool behind-the-scenes look at Twins Dugout:
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/generic/video/sod/Sports_On_Demand_Archive
Someone needs to start a rumor that the Twins are close to acquiring Miguel Tejada. We’ll offer Perkins and Ramos. They would jump at that. Plus, I think Tejada would be good for one year (free agent after 09). I just want his name to get into Twins dialogue. Maybe we can have them throw in The Hawk.
I just read from a reliable source that the Twins are close to acquiring Miguel Tejada. We’ll offer Perkins and Ramos.
Yes!!!
Tedge, I also heard from a reliable source that the Twins are working on a trade with the Yankees. Details to be released as soon as I can dream something up.
It must be reliable - I read it on the internet. I’m gonna go update the Wikipedia entry right now.
I meant just bench Mauer for the game. Rest his baby hand. Not forever. If players don’t perform they should be taken out right then.
Visca Barça!!! Looking forward to having Crede back
Someone needs to start a rumor that the Twins are close to acquiring Miguel Tejada.They’re offering Glen Perkins and Wilson Ramos. The deal is contingent on Perkins passing his physical. The Astros should jump at that. Plus, I think Tejada would be good for one year (free agent after 09). I just want his name to get into Twins dialogue. Maybe we can have them throw in The Hawk.
P.S. I’m going to repost from time to time until it actually happens.
Sorry La Velle
ggg,
“sane you’ll always be an all star to us!”
Thanks for that!
I have never had that kind of support except from my mother. (who ALSO NEVER saw me play)
“Rocky Simon says:
May 27th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I meant just bench Mauer for the game. Rest his baby hand. Not forever. If players don’t perform they should be taken out right then.”
I think you are being too lenient on these players. I would bench a batter after the first strike! Why wait if they are underperforming?
“Yes.
Plate discipline usually (not always) is a function of experience.”
Vlady is a prime example why the “not always” qualification was necessary.
My theory is that plate discipline will not be acquired by batters, unless they experience sufficient failure due to the LACK OF plate discipline.
That’s why hitters like Vlady, Clemente and Yogi never became disciplined hitters.
Insufficient failure doing it “their way”.
Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kirby Pucket, had terrible plate discipline at times, they just hit the hell out of the ball…. “Watch zee ball hit zee bat, ball go bzzzzzzz somewhere”.
“Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kirby Pucket, had terrible plate discipline at times”
Carew?
Don’t think so.
So Rocky every time a player makes an out he should be taken out of the game? Remember that Mauer hit his homer off of Papelbon with his baby hand!
I was wondering if anyone would catch Carew’s inclusion, sane. You were Johnny on the spot.
sane, I remember being at the old Met, when Carew hit a gapper, I followed the ball, by the time I looked from where the ball was back to Carew, he was already on his way to 3rd. That man was fast.
Everyone needs to lighten up on Delmon-
he’s 23 guys! If I remember right, everyone was asking why DY had no power
and hit everything to right field.
Didn’t he end up around .280+, with 10
HR’s in the second half?
The point is the kid must have enough
talent to be playing, or the brain trust
of Gardie/TK would be looking in another
direction. Right now, the M&M boys,
Cuddy, and Kubel have been carrying the
team. I wouldn’t be surprised in a
couple of months if everyone was saying
“I was with DY all along!”
The Twins have the 5th most HR’s in MLB,
4th most in the AL.
Would someone please revisit the alleged “Twins Organizational Slap-hitting Philosophy Conspiracy” for me again?
I don’t remember the details and the evidence any more.
I think people forget that Casilla was flirting with the mendoza line at the time of his demotion, his mental lapses were tolerable last season because he was producing, but when you don’t produce and you don’t do the little things, then you’re not going to stick around, Tolbert was solid last year before he gt hurt, he was a good hitter in the minors as well, by no means is he the next Rod Carew, but I think he has the ability to pick up the slack, Busher had a good year last year and I think as the season progreses and he gets more Ab’s he will provide depth off the bench, Casilla will be back, but not until he gets his head out of the sand
sane, just how fast did Justin’s HR get to the RF bleachers over the baggy on that line drive. Holy balls that was smoked.
Look at DY’s rookie year. He hit .288, 13 HR, 93 RBI. He had 26 BB and 127 K. He’s still doing that now, except a lower average, fewer HR and fewer RBI.
Vavra’s coaching has not helped DY. He is still the same player, except not as good. Maybe Vavra’s coaching will just take time to sink in for DY. Maybe DY is getting the wrong coaching, or maybe it is the right coaching but he is not listening.
DY is 23. If he is working hard, give him time. He will get there.
“just how fast did Justin’s HR get to the RF bleachers over the baggy on that line drive. Holy balls that was smoked.”
What I saw there…..was a failure to slap properly.
Hardest ball I’ve ever seen hit. Line drive HR bout 15 ft inside of the LF foul pole. Dave Winfield. Bet that ball didn’t get more than 40 ft off the ground. Dang near got whiplash.
“What I saw there…..was a failure to slap properly.”
Now that there’s funny!
“I think people forget that Casilla was flirting with the mendoza line at the time of his demotion”
Mendoza would start at 2B if he was a Twins player.
sane,
You’re on fire dood.
Gomez has made strides.
Last year he hit .258 with an OBP of .296 and slugging of .360.
This year he’s hitting .225, OBP .293, and slugging of .326.
Despite hitting for a noticeably lower average, his OBP and slugging are almost where they were last year.
Last year, Gomez struck out about once out of every 4 at-bats (142 out of 577).
This year, Gomez is striking out once out of every 4.45 at-bats (20 out of 89).
Meanwhile, Gomez’s fielding continues to progress. At age 23, Carlos Gomez is already starting to show he is capable of becoming a really good baseball player.
xahstar,
“Gomez has made strides.
Last year he hit .258 with an OBP of .296 and slugging of .360.
This year he’s hitting .225, OBP .293, and slugging of .326.
Despite hitting for a noticeably lower average, his OBP and slugging are almost where they were last year.”
I love the kid, but I think you are spinning the hell out of those numbers.
I was wondering when “The Hawk’s” name might surface on these sites. He is pitching well for the ‘Stros, but can his NL success translate back to the AL? (career 2.92 NL ERA vs. 5.04 in the AL). That said, Hawkins and C. Guzman would make this Twins roster look ALOT stronger…
One can dream - right!?!?
Thoughts on this season.
The home record currently stands at 18-10. That is something to continue and to build upon.
The Twins are 5-14 on the road so far this year. That has to turn around. When it does, the possibility opens up of a divisional crown and playoffs/World Series run.
Against the AL East this year, the Twins are 4-13. I believe the Twins have not taken any series as yet against an AL East opponent this year.
The series with the Red Sox is tied at 1-1 with two games to play. The Twins are in the middle of a streak of playing every day from May 12 to June 14. There are still enough games before the All-Star Break for the Twins to start a run. The opportunity is there right now for the taking. Play well at home and on the road, against any team from any division, win, and get in control of the AL Central.
sane, I think you are markedly wrong about plate discipline being a function of experience.
still an All-Star, though.
gotta admit, sane is a legend in his own mind.
xahstar,
My take on Gomez. I love the kid like sane. Not because of the numbers you cite, but my eyes tell me he’s workin hard on pitch recogniton and is having some success. Evidenced by his walk rate. I would expect his BA to suffer slightly as I believe he is moving away from what has led him to the state he’s in. Namely his free swingin thing.
As far as his D. He’d be my startin CF. I think he’s among the best playing at this time.
I think the Twins are doing a disservice to him and Delmon. They’re both projects. They both should start. I’m a firm believer both will far surpass Span and Cuddy. But right now. No. I kinda think they should trade one of em. If they ask me I’ll tell em Delmon Should go.
AM,
“sane, I think you are markedly wrong about plate discipline being a function of experience.
still an All-Star, though.”
I disagree with both statements.
xahstar,
They would never schedule 33 consecutive games. The Twins have an offday on Monday (June 1).
“The point is the kid must have enough
talent to be playing, or the brain trust
of Gardie/TK would be looking in another
direction.”
How does that explain Nick Punto’s continued presence in the lineup?
Paul, yes, it’s tough to have two project outfielders starting at the same time, unless you admit you are in a rebuilding year. Span is a keeper. He’s our left field guy. Cuddyer is our right field guy. Centerfield is Gomez’s spot if he keeps working hard and improving.
That leaves Delmon Young. He should really be considered the back-up right fielder and a DH option. His arm strength suggests he play in right. Kubel is our back-up left fielder and our main DH option.
Keep Delmon Young on the bench for the most part and have him work on his game intensively in practice. Or send him to the AAA squad if that’s possible. Don’t trade him or anything. Delmon has potential.
SweetOne - thanks. I missed that. (Need to schedule eye exam… (it helped Span)).
speaking of all stars where has the blog monitor been?
Jason,
“How does that explain Nick Punto’s continued presence in the lineup?”
The explanation is:
That is the primary strategy within the Twins plan to gnaw at your mental health.
sane,
Oh yea. I agree 100% with plate discipline being a function of experience. It’s a learned thing. I think it sometimes gets confused with a natural ability because some guys see so good they can recognize after seeing only a few. Other guys need to see thousands.
I like Punto
I want to kiss Nick Punto
Paul,
Our best plate discipline drill is to stand-in when a pitcher is throwing a bullpen, just to look at as many pitches as possible.
The batter and the bullpen catcher both call ball-strike-location and that way the batter gets immediate feedback on his strike-zone recognition.
Plate discipline is a skill that can be improved with experience. Just like many other skills can be polished and improved with more practice.
Mauer is an example of someone with natural ability to see and read pitches quickly with limited experience. He is still getting even better, which is amazing.
Young and Gomez don’t have as much natural ability, but they are working hard at the skill to improve it.
Trying to label it as one or the other is silly. Skill can be developed, but you can only go so far with limited ability.
My point (which I forgot to state) is that strike-zone recognition helps plate discipline and both are enhanced by the number of pitches tracked. (experience)
Sane - my mother only saw me play rarely; said it made her nervous to watch. Have always wished my wife could have seen me in the old days, though. And you’re right, plate discipline IS a function of experience. Saw it too many times to even doubt it, for a second. Morneau’s homer - as we used to say, “you coulda hung laundry on it.”
AaronK….”"”"”but you can only go so far with limited ability.”"”"”
Trust me, Aaron, my ability is extremely limited.
Transplanted,
If I had been a serial killer, my mother would have blamed all the victims.
So her high opinion of my (unseen) baseball skills may not have been objective.
sane,
We did that too. But we ran out of arms. They used to let me pitch this and batting practice. I used to be able to hump it up there pretty good with movement. But no command. Not sure the word command even registered back then. I’m not sure this was such a good thing for our guys. The sadist buried deep within me liked the looks of terror I could generate. Boy I wish I could have a do over with what I know now.
Right on Romer. Dump Punto. Play Casilla and Harris. Keep Tolbert as the backup.
Unfortunately, I had a too high opinion of my own skills, for my mother and me, put together. And then some. Big fish, small pond = no humility. Learned some, eventually, but I wouldn’t have wanted anyone who knows me now, to know me then. Maybe if I had it all on film? Ah, for one brief, shining moment! Better stop talking about it, or T will think I’m looking for - what did he call it - self esteem?
Some of you are unbelievable.Justin hit a blast that is probably still bouncing if not for that stupid dome and all you are posting is negative stuff.I wonder what are(the Twins i mean,at least i’m a fan)record is when the bottom of our lineup hits like last night.Can the distance of that blast be measured by the time it took to reach the seats?Next year,with a good bounce off the pavement,that ball might have stopped rolling at White Sox park!
Glad we have him out there for his defense. Terrible, PUNTO!
Just a long out.
Joe can get another RBI here and it wouldn’t hurt a thing.
