If the Twins overtake the White Sox, Adam Everett’s double last night will become known as the $2.8 million hit. That’s a lot to shell out for a double off the wall, but it’s Carl’s money.

And, while I don’t want to keep arguing about whether the closer is the most overrated position in baseball, but I bet the Rays wish they had Joe Nathan pitching the ninth for them last night. Or maybe Mariano Rivera, because the Yankees didn’t need him while doing then local nine a favor. Having an excellent, reliable closer is more than a little bit like having the field-goal kicker who’s automatic from inside the 40 in the game’s final seconds.

OK, enough of that.

Once upon a time, during the Ray Miller era of managing the Twins, the loquacious-but-losing skipper liked to talk about having the infield be abuzz with activity in the face on a bunt attempt. His favorite was the wheel-play variation in which the second baseman covers first and the shortstop covers third — and I seem to remember the ball being slapped up the middle for a hit every time his Twins tried it.

It may have happened only once or twice, but it seems in retrospect like every time.

I do know that every time I’ve seen the Rays turn their infield into a Canadian football backfield (you know, unlimited motion behind the line of scrimmage, eh), the Twins have made ‘em pay for it. That’s 1-for-1, with a .203 hitter doing the dirty.

That being said, in these final nine games, I hope the Twins can temper their enthusiasm for the sacrifice. If Everett had bunted in that situation, that would have been fine. But here’s my deal: In the first inning, with a runner on first and a pitching staff prone toward giving up boatloads of runs, playing for one run seems foolhardy. Yet the Twins did it again last night, and were foiled in that micro-ball strategy only because Jason Kubel opted for a three-run homer with two outs instead of slapping an RBI single. Playing for a 1-0 lead in the first inning is fine if you have Bob Gibson or Jenny Finch on the mound, but that’s about it.

It was even more maddening in the seventh when the Twins, trailing by three, asked Alexi Casilla to bunt for a second time. I know Casilla is a very, very good bunter and is an OK bet to bunt for a hit. But that was a time when the Twins needed to string together runs, not just play for the two that were on base. I grumbled s’more about that when Evan Longoria led off the bottom of the inning with his third home run to put the Rays back up by 2.

When the Twins play like that, it makes them look like a bunch of tentative Little Leaguers with too-big uniforms hanging off their shoulders instead of the confident broad-shouldered team they were for much of the first five months of the season, even in the face of adversity.

Speaking of Longoria, WILL SOMEBODY PITCH HIM INSIDE PLEASE!!! At the letters. Knock him on his Rookie of the Year a$$. Thanks, in advance, for doing so.

Speaking of Rookie of the Year, the FSN brainiac who put up the ROY graphic midway through the game with Longoria, Span and Glen Perkins on it should be demoted to burger-runner. (In this economy, I’m not in favor of firings.) That’s ridiculous and disrespectful.

Speaking of Perkins, I’m glad Gardy came out and said he’s skipping Perkins’ next turn in the rotation. That puts Baker, Blackburn and Slowey in position to pitch against the White Sox, and leaves the final two games of the regular season — against Kansas City — for Gardy to decide about, based on the situation at the time. He can decide whether to start Baker on short rest Saturday… give Perkins another shot with all hands on board… or maybe send out Blyleven (without a pitch count, of course).

That also leaves Slowey in position to pitch on Tuesday in Chicago if a one-game playoff is necessary.

Yeah, I know it feels funny to be talking about the final week rotation after all of this week’s understandable and well-placed angst. But if the Twins have to think about it, we might as well be thinking about it too.  I’d rather be pondering the postseason than 2009 right now.

One more playoff note: Take a look at the playoff schedules at mlb.com. I’m thinking it would be good if the Twins get placed in “Series B,” which would allow them (because of off days) to get through the first round with a three-man rotation working on four days of rest, whether or not there’s a playoff game on Tuesday.

And finally: If Joe Mauer wins the batting title by a one-hit difference in average, remember that “double” he was given in the ninth inning. E-8 all the way.

Rest up. It could still get wild.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 9:25 am 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.