A fun night, but (again) more difficult than it shoulda been
Posted on August 8th, 2008 – 11:32 PMBy Howard
You know that you’re playing a struggling team when four guys come to the game with “COME” painted on their chests…
…and “BACK” painted on their backs.
In Kansas City, that’s apparently a surefire way to get on the ginormous scoreboard in center field. (I’m making a leap of faith here than the foursome didn’t visit the body art stand after the Twins took the early lead.)
This one should have been easier than it was. There should have been no need for the bases-loaded, two-out drama in the bottom of the ninth before David DeJesus grounded out for close the 4-1 victory.
As has been recent habit, the Twins didn’t come through in too many key situations. Carlos Gomez’s week proved to have little in common with Raul Ibanez’s week when Gomez struck out with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning and again with the bases loaded and two outs in the third.
The encore whiff came after the Twins had taken a 3-0 lead, largely because the Royals starter couldn’t throw strikes and their shortstop launched a double-play relay closer to the first-base dugout than to the first baseman.
The Twins batted around but only scored 3 in the third. With the bases loaded and one out, Adam Everett did his best to break the game open but his line drive was caught with a dive by Esteban German, the Royals’ second baseman.
Then, the Twins veered between going out meekly and wasting more chances. Nick Punto grounded out to the pitcher with runners at second and third in the sixth and, after Justin Morneau got an intentional walk in the ninth, Jason Kubel grounded into a double play that killed off a chance for the Twins to score a bunch of runs and maybe rest Joe Nathan for the night.
The final tally was 11 men left on base, seven of ‘em in scoring position.
Other than the needless drama, it was a fine night to be a Twins fan in Kansas City’s sweet ballpark, which is in the midst of an extensive makeover. Lots of Twins jerseys in the house — including Doug and Cristian and Bradke and Killebrew and even a Tony Fiore, as well as the current guys. Given last weekend’s punchout between the Royals and White Sox, it looked like nobody was silly enough to wear an AJ jersey. (Note to people with Santana jerseys: Keep ‘em in the closet, especially on the road.)
The Royals stayed close enough that their fans were loud, and the Twins presence wasn’t as overwhelming as it usually seems on TV when the y play here. But there was a fair amount of horn-honking in the parking lot afterward and the general consensus seems to be that reinforcements will be in town tomorrow.
You ought to make this trip sometime.
20 Responses to "A fun night, but (again) more difficult than it shoulda been"
Hey Howard, you got a nice mention on Bleacher Report this week:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/45693-a-night-in-halsey-hall
Cool story!
Howard, agreed on the needless drama. To me, it shouts out a few key points about our beloved team down the stretch:
(1) We hunger to get Casilla back in the lineup. He has a great eye, great bat control with the new swing, and takes pitchers deep into the count usually twice per game. Invaluable.
(2) Gardy should’ve dropped Gomez to #9 sooner. All told, it might’ve cost us a game to be stubborn about protecting the rookie when Denard is slashing balls all over the place. Obviously, delighted with the switch with bloggers were begging for. Gomez is a great fielding outfielder, but he needs to be told that the length of his MLB career will rely quite a bit on his ability to draw walks.
(3) The front office hurt us by not making a move for bullpen help before the trade deadline. I think we could’ve dealt a quality minor league outfielder plus Boof for Crain-like talent. We are too lean in the pen to be considered serious contenders versus the Rays, Redsox, Yanks, and Angels. If (when!) we make the playoffs, we’ll probably having hanging arms in the pen. (No disrespect mean, but I am not convinced that Bill Smith is ready for primetime).
(4) I’d like to close with a prediction. I guarantee a Twins loss in any game that Brian Bass and Adam Everett both make an appearance in. I don’t mean to be nasty. I just mean to be numerical.
I think we’re going to win 90 games this year. We have a 50-50 shot at the playoffs. If we can get a decent arm and get Bass back to the minors, the odds go to 55-45. If Casilla comes back in the form he’s been all season, it goes to 65-35. Had we brought Liriano up five games earlier and bailed on Hernandez then, it would’ve been 85-15.
T-Mouse, lovin’ our Twins
Everett and Go-Go in the line-up against a righty instead of Buscher and Lamb? Perhaps I missed something. Or, perhaps Gardy is both too arrogant and too ignorant to EVER be an effective manager. Pulling Go-Go, dropping Kubel in right, moving Harris to SS, Buscher to 3B, and slotting Lamb at DH would’ve been a much wiser line-up. Yeah, we got a win. But we got a lucky win–the type you won’t get from New York this week. Against New York, you actually have to manage intelligently!
Then again, perhaps I missed something. Did Buscher and Lamb break legs on the flight to KC?
The Twins are right where I projected them in January. Regardless of who does or does not come back, they will win 90.
You have to be aware by now that this is a team that will soon dominate everyone.
If people do not grasp what is happening with the Twins, perhaps they should look closer…or wake up.
For the next ten years or so, this is a dominant team with world series titles written all over it.
Good morning all:
Thanks for the report Howard. Can’t make it to KC, but trust we are well represented even without me.
The old saying goes most baseball games are lost, not won. I suppose you could make the argument the worst team lost the game last night. KC had chances, and didnt make plays. A DB turns into 2 runs, and that was the difference. That’s the glass half-emty perspective on things. True enough a wins a win. Take all of those you can get. But the Twins are clearly out of sorts right now, as is the case when they are on the road. They rd/hm dilemma is a strange one afflicting just about every team this season, except Anaheim.
Maybe they turn in a grand performance tonight, and will not need KC misfires to pull it out. Prediction for the day: Tiwns win, CWS lose big, and Twins are #1 in AL Central once again.
KC is an awesome stadium. This and Coors field will be the only ones I visit this year. Too bad that the Twins have to play in the dome. Nothing even comes close to the experience of baseball played outside. Beautiful day, beautiful night. Fireworks, the whole shebang. Anyway, gotta love what the Royals are doing to their stadium, and I truly hope to see as many good natured Twins fans here today and Sunday as I ran into last night.
Howard is right, lots and lots of Twins jerseys, and yes, Punto was alive in the Stands again.
BTW, people, KC is playing very good right now. Look at how they have played the last week before calling them a bad team.
I grew up going to games in KC. It’s still a beautiful place, but it’s disorienting to see all the advertising there now. I know that’s a feature in every park today, but it’s different when you see it happen gradually in the same park, vs. going back to the park of your youth.
Still, a beautiful park, remarkable considering it was built in ‘73. The only way it could be better is if it was a little closer to the downtown areas.
Tony Fiore? He was in KC? Is he still pitching? Even if he isn’t, give him a ball and let’s see what he can do. Can’t be any worse than the knuckleheads we have in the pen right now, save Nathan. Sign him to a minor league deal and see what he can do. He won quite a few games for us a few years back.
Hew, I love your prediction and hope it comes true, but ten years of dominance? I don’t know about that. I’d settle for five years.
Regarding the advertising, normally I agree that it can be distracting and disorienting — try listening to a Twins broadcast, for example, as they routinely miss pitches while Gordo tries to cram in another live spot or sponsor mention.
However, I don’t mind seeing billboards on the outfield walls at baseball parks, mainly because it’s such a tradition in baseball. Look at old photos from MLB games in the 20s and 30s and you’ll see lots of parks with advertising signs all over the outfield fences. Heck, the Green Monster used to be one giant billboard! And you’ll see the same thing at minor-league and small-town ballparks throughout the country.
So, the signs on the outfield walls kind of bring me back to the glory days of the game. Now, the rotating billboards behind home plate … don’t get me started!
Will the twins bring up Luke Hughes and Machado to help the infield? Both are hitting over 300 at AAA and could provide extra hitting for the twins infield that has some nonhitters in it. Hughes has homerun power. These guys can play multiple infield positions, just like Gardy likes!
A win is a win is a win. Who cares hbow they get it as long as they get?
Regarding the failure to score more runs, and before I read Howard’s blog entry….
You know what people say when a team gets blown out 15-2. “It was just one of those games. We’re just gonna ignore it and move on like it didn’t happen.”
Well, that’s how I feel about this game. Don’t worry, the whole team knows they should have performed better. I never have any lack of confidence in this team as far as effort goes.
Every team has its energy ups-and-downs.
Paid $160 bucks for my Santana jersey. I think I can get another year or two out of it…
What? It’s vintage. Come on people, it’s a classic! Ok fine I’ll stop wearing it…
Looks like Cuddy and Neshek are pretty much lost for the season.
This team’s chances just might hinge on Boof. Here’s to hoping that he has a few snappy appearances from the pen a-comin’.
He’s on the learning curve coming out of the pen and all, so it just might happen.
And leity, count me as a big Machado fan too. I’m thinking he’ll be at 2B next year with Casilla at SS. That would be pretty damned exciting.
Machado’s small-sample 2008 numbers are nowhere near sustainable and badly skewed by a 10 game hot streak: 25% LD rate (35% in august) and .407 BABIP? It’s good to see him hitting the ball this well, but he’s so playing SO far above anything he’s done since high A ball in 2004 it looks flukey and I don’t see how he comes up at this critical time. I’d rather see them take a chance on Luke Hughes, although I emphasize “take a CHANCE”. They really can’t continue to carry/give at-bats to both Punto and Everett. They simply cannot get this done with two bats that bad.
Isn’t it a little early to expect MLB production out of Hughes? He’s had about 10 days of AAA experience. Can he play defense? And I agree with Toby that it’s probably wise to temper expectations for Machado. Nobody had either Hughes or Machado listed among the Twin’s top 50 prospects before the season started. It might be wishful thinking to anticipate either contributing this year, let alone projecting stardom in the future.
It is too early to expect anything out of Hughes. However, it COULD happen, and we KNOW it won’t with Adam Everett, don’t we? Bottom line: it’s a durn good thing Casilla’s coming back. Assuming he can play soon there is absolutely no reason to even contemplate bringing up Hughes. The ONLY reason you do it is if Casilla’s miraculous recovery falls apart. Then I really would think about it, although I’d probably lean Macri. When is Tolbert coming back, anyway?
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