In 2006, when the Twins did enough “little things” well that they were able to overcome a tendency to swing their way out of potentially big innings, their starting pitchers made only two errors all season.

In 2007, a season so far marked by breakdowns of all sorts, Twins starting pitchers have made three errors in the last five games. All contributed to opponents’ multiple-run rallies. Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson messed up double-play grounders with wild throws to second base and, Tuesday night, Boof Bonser threw terribly toward third base after a just-as-terrible White Sox bunt. That was the inning when the struggling White Sox turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 lead. Those first two errors contributed hugely to losses; Boof’s came close to doing the same.

On a team that had less margin for error than most from season’s start because of its offensive construction — and even less because of the injuries that have taken Castillo, Mauer, Cuddyer, Cirillo, White and Bartlett from the lineup for stretches of the first five weeks — such defensive breakdowns are a ticket to fourth place.

Making a throw from mound to base is one of those fundamentals that gets stressed during spring training during what’s known as PFP — pitchers’ fielding practice. The drills are monotonous, maybe more so than anything else in the practice regimen, but vital. This nonsense has to stop.

I was happy to hear Gardy say after the game, “We’re going to work on that tomorrow — and I know the pitchers are going to love it.” If you want to see suffering and sweating, sneak into the Dome a few hours before game time.

I also hope that the coaching staff drags Jason Kubel onto the field for lots of extra bunting practice. That effort in the 10th, after Castillo’s leadoff double, was totaly pathetic.

And furthermore, a pitcher with Boof Bonser’s talent absolutely, totally, without a doubt needs to get more comfortable pitching inside. The second time through the White Sox batting order Tuesday, Boof was getting ahead in the count and using off-speed pitches to strike out four batters in a row.

The White Sox may be slumping but they’re not stupid. Next time through the order, three of the batters who’d struck out — AJ, Iguchi and Crede — were love-seat comfy at the plate and smacked singles that finished off a three-run inning. They were waiting for breaking stuff and slapped their way into the lead.

Boof can throw the total crap out of the ball, which he demonstrated during his two-month run at the end of last season that pretty much earned him designation as the No. 2 starter going into ‘07. But he needs to better master the mental part of the game. Rick Anderson, the pitching coach, owns the wisdom to teach the lessons.

The challenge is on Boof to listen and learn.

Give Boof credit for being around the plate last night, striking out seven and walking one in his seven innings. That’s stark improvement over the 11 walks in 11 innings in his previous two starts, wildness that may have been making him a candidate for the Rochester shuttle by testing Gardy’s patience.

When Boof starts knocking guys off the plate, his breaking pitches should paralyze an opponent for more than just a few innings. (That’s been the secret to the early-season success of the much-mocked Ramon Ortiz.) Boof has so much potential that it makes his mound meltdowns that much more frustrating. 

Why the tough love here? I really believe Bonser has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher, not just a prospect with a funny name.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 at 11:28 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.