Thursday (playoff pitching) edition: Wha’ Happened?
Posted on August 28th, 2008 – 8:42 AMBy Michael Rand
Lest you think all it takes is a one-game winning streak — one salvaged in Seattle by Denard Span’s defense and bat, in eerily similar fashion to the series in Sea-town just a few weeks back — for us to think about the Twins in the playoffs again, rest assured this is something we’ve been thinking about for a good week or two now. Take a look at the Twins’ starting rotation: the ERAs of Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins range from 3.74 to 3.96 — incredibly similar. Indeed, unlike past seasons, we can never remember who is pitching for the Twins on a given night because, in many cases, they seem interchangeable.
The question is: if the playoffs started today (which they don’t) and the Twins were in them (which they would not be), who would be the odd pitcher out of what would presumably be a four-man playoff rotation? Obviously a lot can happen between now and the start of October — including this being a moot point because of a failure to make the playoffs or four starters really carrying the load while one falters down the stretch — so if you want, think of this as a way to unofficially rank the strengths of the staff members as the pitchers stand now at the end of August.
For our money: Liriano is obviously in the playoff mix at this point because his ERA was inflated by his early-season stint and because he has the greatest ability to throw goose eggs on the board. Beyond that, it’s kind of a matchup crapshoot. Perkins has been very good and has the best record of the bunch but gives up a fair number of hits compared to Baker and Slowey. Blackburn also has given up a lot of hits, but he also has kept the ball in the park better than the other three.
Bottom line, of course, is that the young starters have greatly exceeded expectations and are one of the main reasons we can even have this hypothetical conversation. That said, who would be the odd man out if you had to pick right now?
Fasola-link! The myth of multi-tasking.
(And those of you who don’t like the political talk can thank us for not delving into Joe Biden’s speech or Norm Coleman’s TV ads).
18 Responses to "Thursday (playoff pitching) edition: Wha’ Happened?"
One could ask the question backwards: which of the five amigos would be the best seventh inning/eighth inning shutdown reliever, to build the bridge to Everyday Eddie and Super Joe?
Blackburn to the ‘pen. He and Perkins are the worst of the starters (though they’ve both been excellent), but we’ve already got two capable lefties in relief. Need a righty. Need Blackie.
(Random advice: steer clear of the chocolate-covered bacon at the Fair.)
I think Blackburn would be the best out of the pen from those 5. I don’t know that it means that he should be the odd man out, but I think he’d be the best relief option.
Rand, it’s your blog, you can talk politics if you want. I just know that it’s not what I come here for, whether I agree with you (or other commenters) or not.
It’s nice to have a politics-free zone sometimes, you know?
Since Brandon is dispensing fair-food advice, I will give this:
- I’m psyched that they have Summit Oktoberfest at the Fair this year
- I was disappointed that Surly’s only offering was their wheat beer (CynicAle)
- The cheese curds at the Hotdish on a Stick stand are awesome with their Lingonberry dipping sauce
- They have improved the deep-fried pickles this year, much crispier. I suggest the Cajun variety.
- My buddy had the Rueben on a Stick from the O-Gara’s booth (looked cool with the dark rye batter), said it was good, but could have used more sauerkraut.
Then i wont get into Madonna’s concert video presentations. That being said Blackburn is odd man out and goes to the pen.
Brandon-
Is the bacon nasty, or are there negative impacts from eating it?
Oh, as far as on topic stuffs.
I’m in agreement that Blackburn should go to the pen. I think he provides the best option out of the pen, and is probably the most questionable starter. I wouldn’t be too upset if it was Perkins, though. Seems like he struggles after he’s gone through the lineup a few times. (Did no research to back this up.)
In the first round of the playoffs you generally only need 3 pitchers, so this question in really assuming the Twins make the 2nd round of the playoffs which we all know they tend to try to avoid doing. If I were the manager of GM my rotation for the playoffs would be as follows.
1 and 2. Liriano and Baker are ahead of the other three. Depending on the matchup one would start game 1 and the other game 2. I’m leaning towards Baker as #1 right now because Franky still lacks control.
3. Slowey- Lack of walks in playoffs is important
4. Perkins- 2 Lefties is Right.
5. Blackburn- He’s been good but not great. He also has experience in the bullpen.
If we’re going to get into a fair food topic, I would like Stu’s take on the food on a stick. He wants it at the new stadium and I’m not opposed. I would just like to know what Stu’s top 5 foods on a stick are?
The Hootie:
1. You are right about Perkins - opponents are hitting ~.750 OPS the first two times through the order, and .850 the third and beyond. Good call.
2. Just nast, that’s it. Bitter chocolate, soggy bacon. Cloud Cult and Gnarls made up for it though.
Taking jama’s question further, and pulling us COMPLETELY off topic, what are peopleseses 5 favorite foods at the fair?
My must haves are:
1- Turkey Sammich- In hand 2 minutes after walking through the gate.
2- Roasted corn on the cob.
3- Cheese Curds with 1919 to wash them down.
4- Nitro Cream
5- Sweet Martha’s Cookies.
All this talk about food is making me hungry.
Things not to do at the fair: eat a deep-fried candy bar and a bunch of cookies back-to-back. I had to sit down and move as little as possible for about two hours after that one; the whole time, I wanted desperately to lay down on the sidewalk for a nap.
1. Beer. I love the Fair, but there is no way I’m walking around that place sober.
2. Pronto Pup
3. Crocodile nuggets
4. Sweet Martha’s cookies
5. Leave me alone, I’m full.
deep fried oreos are tasty
PLAYOFFS?!?!?! Don’t talk about PLAYOFFS! Ya kiddin’ me….PLAYOFFS?!?! I just hope we can win a game!
Is it time for “They were who we thought they were” yet?
Or maybe we can combine them:
PLAYOFFS?! Are we or are we not who you thought we were? Don’t even talk about playoffs, when you’re busy letting us off the hook! PLAYOFFS?!?! We are who you thought we are!
That didn’t turn out as expected.
Get with the program. It’s a far bigger political world than a baseball diamond considering a fraction of the slobs here even play just watch with a beer on their gut. Maybe if and when Iran brings millions of troops over the border into Iraq, you can ask the weak sister Obama or the war monger McCain to do something about it but to to say you’re doing us a favor not “delving” into politics, istead working over something more “important” Mauer’s Tshirt sales is asine. It’s possible to do both you know, sports and the wider more imp. world, but that hasn’t generally occurred to sports guys. That is, in fact, why they are sports guys. Yet, the best writers could walk that line. I’ll leave it there..
