What have we learned so far?
Posted on April 13th, 2009 – 9:55 AMBy Howard
Going 3-4 through the first week of the season isn’t as good as 6-1 or 5-2, but neither is it much cause for concern. There’s been good and bad in these first two series. Given the state of the division, I allowed myself the fleeting thought after Friday’s victory in Chicago that it would be great to get off to a really hot start because it looks like every team in the division has reason to stumble and bumble. So much for that. Conventional wisdom is that it takes a couple of months to figure out whether the alarms from training camp are real or false, and whether the good news is really that good. Think back to 2008 for a moment and how the notion of a slimmed-down Boof Bonser was prevalent, a modest hallelujah in a season that wasn’t expected to go much of anywhere. Instead, Boof underperformed again and the Twins took the season into an extra game. I’d make that trade again.
That being said, a few things are on my mind with 155 games remaining.
*I wish the Twins had been more aggressive about finding an eighth-inning reliever. I’m not oozing positives about the current crew and, in fact, the pitcher in that bunch who has looked best in the first week is Matt Guerrier, who showed nothing in spring training camp to make me think that would be the case. I’m not good with seeing Juan Cruz coming in for Kansas City or Brandon Lyon in the Detroit bullpen. My concern here could prove to be unfounded, but I’m not holding my breath.
*Philip Humber hung curveballs and left fast balls up all weekend. When the Twins have to make a move at midweek to activate Scott Baker, I don’t think management should worry that Humber is out of options. I’d rather have R.A. Dickey and the second lefty, Brian Duensing, in the bullpen for long relief — and remove one impediment from the minor-league pitchers in the system who are looking to advance.
*Not just anyone can play first base. In 290 major-league innings at first base, Michael Cuddyer has made five errors. In 1,363 innings at first base last season, Justin Morneau made four errors. If theTwins want to give Morneau a break from time to time — which is a good thing — I’d opt for Brendan Harris. At least he has the instincts of an infielder. Cuddyer made just about every mistake possible on Sunday’s double-error, including almost killing Nick Blackburn when he went to cover first.
*I’ll try not to worry in the future when Denard Span has bad numbers in spring training.
*Columnist Jim Souhan mentioned Sunday morning on the radio that he and Delmon Young don’t get along. Reporters and some players are always going to have conflicts, and Souhan said on KSTP that when he visited with Delmon during spring training, he got a bunch of one-word answers except for when Souhan asked if Delmon wanted to explain his new approach at the plate. Souhan reported that he got three words: “Not with you.” Delmon, I’d be glad to turn the blog over to you if you’d like to explain it here. In return, I’d only ask that you lay off sliders in the dirt and not have at-bats like those last two on Sunday — a strikeout called from the sofa and the game-ending double play.
*Did anyone else laugh when Nick Punto appeared to almost tweak a muscle when he didn’t dive into first base running out a ground ball Sunday?
*I thought Liriano really got squeezed by the home plate umpire during Saturday afternoon’s game. He had wicked moving stuff on a sun-to-shade field, which also made things difficult for Mike Redmond. Speaking of catchers, I was glad to see that Gardy didn’t start Redmond when Dickey pitched on Friday. Asking him to catch a knuckleball simply in his current state would not have been fair.
*Overall, the pitching has been good enough. The Twins have been shut out or scored one run in their four losses. That will change for the better, and Glen Perkins was the only starter who can’t be expected to improve on his work the first 1 1/2 times through the rotation.
*Starting next year, the Twins will have to figure out ways to own “cold ball” in April and September/October the way they are perceived to have such an advantage playing in the Dome.
*A lotta little things aren’t being done right.
*Housekeeping notes: We’ve added a cool comprehensive and sortable MLB stats package to the web site’s Twins page. You can find it here. Also, Joe C. will be doing a live chat at noon, which you can get to here. Someone asked last week if we were planning to do live chats during Twins games. I suspect that we won’t. Instead, I can see trying one after a day game that’s on TV. Someone also asked a few weeks back if I was going to use my Twitter page to ‘tweet’ during games. After thinking it over, I’m not planning to. I’d rather react to the end result instead of playing along with the action on the field. And do you really need to know that “Section 220 is having a beer.”
67 Responses to "What have we learned so far?"
It’s a long season. Some teams start fast and some start slow. The Twins have done both in the past. I am not encouraged by the lack of offense, though. “Same punchless Twins” has run through my head in 5 out of 7 games so far. Two shutouts in the first week! Ouch! Perkins definitely deserved better. The offense seemed improved during spring training, but has quickly reverted to form to start the year. I still wonder about their philosophical approach to hitting, regardless of how many runs they scored last year. And the pitching results might look different if the offense was averaging at least another run better per game. Getting ahead by more than a tenuous run early in the game makes for a different pitching approach, right?
Let’s hope they find their bats at home this week. And get better pitching to boot!
3-4 is not the end of the world (obviously), but it is unacceptable. We start off with a 4-game series at home against a mediocre opponent and we only win 2. Unacceptable. Then we go on the road to face our arch rivals, blast them on Friday night with our No. 5* starter on the mound (the * meaning it might be his only start in a while) and back that up with two complete duds. Unacceptable.
Nope, 3-4 isn’t the end of the world, especially when you consider Cleveland is 1-5 and KC and Chicago are barely .500. That said, it’s unacceptable. And here’s why:
-We shall not accept Michael Cuddyer playing 1B when Brian Buscher took all of the back-up 1B action in Spring Training.
-We shall not accept this line from yesterday’s boxscore:
FIELDING
E: Punto (1, fielding), Cuddyer 2 (2, fielding, throw).
-We shall not accept Saturday’s fielding moments either (Crede and Casilla both failing to get balls that might well have kept that game close)
-We shall not accept being shutout twice in six games. My wife commented Fri. night as I’m sure many of you did as the Twins were piling up runs: “Watch, they’ll get shutout tomorrow”.
-We shall not accept excuses; We need minimum a 5-2 week. This is “mike wants wins” week. 17 of our first 25 are at home; Time to act like the Dome provides the advantage we all know it does.
[…] A Fan’s View – […]
Good observations Howard.I’m not to worried about the starters either,but the bullpen has scared me from the first day of spring training.Duensing looked usable and shouldn’t be sent down just to make the Santana trade(and Humber)more palatable.The Twins survived losing Brian Bass to waivers last year,and I suspect that they will suurvive losing Humber in the same manor.But I suspect if the Twins are going to be a factor,the bullpen will need to be shored up.
One thing is crystal clear.Dispite what Gardenhire says,the Outfield situation is not going to be handled fairly.Yes DY looked pretty bad in his last two at bats,and yes he misplayed the ball in left,but Cuddys performance so far has been less than stellar also,and he has played every game.His play doesn’t warrant that IMO.
On a lighter note,the Twins need to do away with the Elmer Fudd cold weather caps!Simply ridiculous.
speaking of the Johan trade did anyone notice he lost 2 - 1 yesterday with both runs unearned for the 1st time since late last June!!
Howard -
Thanks for the observations. I think you’ve stuck what I’m feeling pretty well here: subtle optimism with a strong undercurrent of worry.
I was hoping to see your thoughts on the new uniform idea. What’s your take?
On the broadcasting side, does anyone know if there’s an FS North HD schedule available for Twins games?
I guess I was hoping to see the Twins on HD more than we have so far…not having Tues. night’s game (first FS North broadcast of the year) in HD was very disappointing.
As for the Souhan / Young thing…we’ve seen this come up before in certain situations. Let me first point out that pretty much the only way grudges like these are brought to anyone’s attention is through the reporter. (In this case, Souhan called attention to it Sun. morning on KSTP). Reporters certainly can go that route if they want, but it does come off as begging for sympathy and almost their sword against a subject who isn’t giving them fair access or treating them fairly. This, by the way, is a time-honored practice amongst many pro athletes, sadly.
To me, as a professional, Souhan should only shed light on such grudges if it’s truly relevant. In this case, I think he’s just fishing for sympathy among Twins fans. Hrbek and Reusse didn’t get along for years, I believe, but I don’t remember Pat playing a me vs. him game in the media over the ordeal (probably because he knew he would lose; I suspect Souhan’s revelation coming at a time when D Young is apparently in the doghouse and struggling was no coincidence).
So I guess my point is unless D Young’s grudge goes beyond his dislike for Souhan and is a more accurate reflection of his overall character as it relates to baseball, I find it irrelevant.
he and Delmon Young don’t get along.
I wonder why…
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/18993624.html?page=1&c=y
I agree with you Jason that Souhan should keep his grudge match to himself since I think it’s immature for him to be garnering sympathy via his column. I also would second the notion to sit Cuddyer and play DY and certainly play Buscher at 1st when Morneau is not in the game - Cuddyer wasn’t too good!
thry,
In Souhan’s defense that column was written in May and I think by the end of the season DY has shown that he is a good hitter and will only get better. I know he has work to do on his defensive skills but I believe he should be in RF to begin with. That being said, Souhan should get off his high horse and talk to DY and apologize to him if he must - sometimes you have to swallow your ego for the good of everyone.
i like the new stats. Good news - releasing Brian Bass was a good decision.
5 HR in 5.1 innings…. ouch
Cat,
I agree. The best possible OF combination for this team is Young RF, Gomez CF and Span LF. Unfortunately, the manager of the millennium did not play Young in his best position (RF) for a single inning since he joined the Twins.
I don’t care about the Souhan bit and I am not sure that in the big schema of things the humanity (or the Twins for that matter) will be better if Young is starting to speak to Souhan. I suspect that Young is not speaking to Hartman and Walters, either. No big deal.
What’s funny is my recollection was Reusse was the bigger D Young critic in 2008.
I also have to fully disclose my bias on this issue: I have expressed my frustration with Souhan in the past for making a comic writing game with a certain favorite player of mine (who made less than $1 million per season and will remain nameless), while, at the same time, failing to rip the high-paid stars on the team.
Hmmm, DY doesn’t like Souhan, I’m with you Jason, I really couldn’t care less. Souhan comes across as smug as Childress, to me, and I don’t care for him or his articles. Will he report that?
Howard, more important to the Twins, is how important Joe Mauer behind the plate is to the pitchers. I don’t think the pitchers will improve all that much until he returns. I disagree with your statement that the pitching has been good enough. In only one game have they given up less than 5 runs.
Gomez, Crede & Cuddyer are 5th and tied for 9th in Ks, and the team is hitting .233. Mauer’s typical .300 average is missed here as well.
DeRosa & Casey Blake lead the majors in Ks, I guess all the Twins 3B options for this year are struggling.
I hope the Twins can solve the Blue Jays this week, because they couldn’t last year. California/Los Angeles of Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels & the Red Sox follow. There are a lot of home games, but this schedule is tough.
Thrylos, perhaps an ominous foreshadowing of this Blue Jays series is the headline under the picture of Young. The Jays had just swept the Twins.
Delmon doesn’t like Souhan? Neither do I. Therefore I like Delmon more.
“There are a lot of home games, but this schedule is tough.”
I’m going to take issue with that statement. I know it’s early, but if you consider that 23 of our first 36 games are at home, I would prefer to be in First Place by mid-May. Yes, I know we have two games with Boston, three games with the Angels, and three with the defending AL Champions, but we also have 7 home games against the Mariners, 3 against the Royals, and 2 road games against Baltimore….add it all up and we should take advantage of all the Metrodome games, even without Mauer.
Howard, I totally agree with you about Humber. But I fully expect the Twins to send down Dickey or Duensing because that’s how they roll.
Jason you are expecting that the team’s offense troubles and bullpen implosions of last year are over? I am not convinced yet..
One bad weekend is enough to convince you that Humber, a 26-year-old former top prospect, should be released; while one mediocre (if that) start is enough to convince you that Dickey, a 34-year-old junk-baller who’s never posted an ERA below 5 in a season, should be retained at his expense?
There is no downside to demoting Dickey. The choice is clear.
Nick, Humber may have been a top prospect, but even in the minors he was never very good. The only reason he’s on the team is by default because he’s out of options. That’s not a good way to run a railroad.
Nick,
This weekend + last season’s call-up + inability to hold a place in Rochester’s rotation + nothing special this spring = My conclusion.
This weekend was just confirmation.
Ben W and Nick N–bottom line is we don’t really have a good enough sample size on either of these guys to make a well-informed decision at this point, so even as I agree with Howard’s analysis, I think you do have to send Duensing or Dickey down because Humber is out of options.
It’s funny how the media treats different players. DY has gotten a bad rap from most of the local columnists since before he ever played a single game. Span walks around like he owns the place and he has been a ten year veteran and noone ever says anything. Span gives good quotes, though, and that is all that really matters. Souhan would also never critize Hunter, but had no problem bashing Mauer in order to make Hunter look better. One of the reasons I love Sid is because he is the only honest sports writer in this market. He isn’t pretending to be Edward R Murrow.
But wasn’t Humber part of the Santana deal? That means we’d be two more weeks of Go-go hitting .130 away from conceding that two of the pieces of that trade are not MLB-ready here in 2009.
Humber was the 4th best player the Twins picked up in the Santana deal, and they knew it then.
I think you do have to send Duensing or Dickey down because Humber is out of options.
I am not sure whether Dickey can be send down without risk: as a player under a split contract with more than 5 years MLB experience, once in the majors, he has to accept the assignment to the minors (no options involved with split contracts and he has none, anyways.) If he does not accept, the contract is void (ie. the Twins do not have to pay for him, unlike someone who is waived), he is a free agent able to sign anywhere. And at this point, he will have more suitors than Humber.
This weekend + last season’s call-up + inability to hold a place in Rochester’s rotation + nothing special this spring = My conclusion.
Humber has been working back from Tommy John surgery, and had a very good second half in Rochester last year after returning to the rotation. He’s totaled only 14.1 total innings in the majors between his call-up last year and this year, so I don’t think you can base much on that sample. We’ve got about a decade’s worth of solid evidence that Dickey is not a very good pitcher, however.
The only reason he’s on the team is by default because he’s out of options.
The reason he’s on the team is because the Twins aren’t likely to win or lose many ballgames based on who’s holding that final bullpen spot, so they might as well give it to the guy who has a chance to develop into something useful. When Humber is commanding his fastball and has his curveball working, he’s a very good pitcher. Those things don’t always happen in the first couple weeks of the season.
I am not sure whether Dickey can be send down without risk: as a player under a split contract with more than 5 years MLB experience, once in the majors, he has to accept the assignment to the minors (no options involved with split contracts and he has none, anyways.) If he does not accept, the contract is void (ie. the Twins do not have to pay for him, unlike someone who is waived), he is a free agent able to sign anywhere. And at this point, he will have more suitors than Humber.
He signed a minor-league deal. The Twins can send him down without voiding his contract.
Good insights, Howard. I have been an ardent Humber apologist, but I’m starting to agree with you. It’s time for a change of scenery. Any chance we can bundle him and DY together and get a shortstop who knows how to run to first base? Punto killed a rally in a key spot at the Dome with a head-first dive. But it’s obviously such a habit that he has to run stooped over for the last five steps when he does run through the bag.
I’m glad Red and the team got behind Liriano on Saturday. That was one of the worst umpiring jobs I’ve ever seen. It reminded me of the time Latroy Hawkins had his famous meltdoun in the Dome, when he three three straight fastballs right down the middle and the ump refused to call any of them strikes, resulting in him walking in a run. Gardy had to tackle him to keep him from assaulting the ump that night. I wonder if that was Barrett… I can only hope the new system will help hold these hose heads accountable when they decide that they can’t be bothered to put up their right arms.
Humber is not a major league pitcher.
As to his being out of options and being part of the Santana trade–either he is a major league pitcher or not.
He’s not and he shouldn’t be taking up a roster spot for somebody who is.
“I’m glad Red and the team got behind Liriano on Saturday. That was one of the worst umpiring jobs I’ve ever seen.”
It was bad, but not as bad as Brian Runge of a year ago.
He signed a minor-league deal. The Twins can send him down without voiding his contract.
Nick,
unlike the retreads (Keppel, Henn, Gosling and co) who all signed minor league contracts, Dickey signed a split major league/minor league contract. These are different beasts, not only because unlike the retreads’, Dickey’s contract call for more than a minimum salary while in the bigs, but because of the provision I indicated above.
Nick,
I disagree with you, but your perspective is the stuff of good baseball debate. I appreciate that you’re standing by the guy.
Responding to some others:
DC: I’ve always been a uniform guy. I’m holding off until I have a good options, but I’m in favor of a new look for 2010.
Pro From Dover: Me ‘n’ Ms. Baseball were hoping to score a couple of those “Elmer Fudd” hats for next season. I suspect we’ll look like refugees from the cast of Fargo, y’know.
On the Delmon/journalist issue: It’s funny. The question I used to get asked more often was about the players I got along with best/least. I did my best to offer up non-answers, much to some people’s consternation, because it really didn’t matter. But if you really want to know, my list includes (redacted), (redacted), (redacted) and (redacted).
Howard,
In other words, you weren’t calling out players you didn’t get along with on MPR? That’s called being a professional.
Howard,
I think that it is of a slightly different importance for a beat writer (like you back then or Joe or La Velle) to get along with Twins’ players than a columnist who covers everything from golf to table tennis to occasional baseball (with the same amount of insight)
Humber is not a major league pitcher.
And Dickey is?
“Humber is not a major league pitcher.”
“And Dickey is?”
Both are.
I checked.
“Dickey” is a jean brand name…
Humber seems to be pressing, to me. I suppose knowing you may be one more bad outing from being waived can get to you. I like having Dickey and Duensing around, but to be honest, the fortunes of this team are not going to be determined by which of those three guys isn’t in the bullpen when Baker is activated. I’m not going to get my shorts in a bunch over whatever decision is made.
Cuddyer at 1B was a curious move. I suppose the idea was to try to keep Morneau and as many RH hitting options as possible in the batting order while giving Doc a day off from playing defense. But I’d highly recommend doing so against RH pitchers in the future and letting Buscher play 1B.
I want one of the “Elmer Fudd” caps. I also have no issues with players wearing them. Whatever it takes to make a guy more comfortable while in the field, I’m good with. I’ll take functionality over appearance any day.
I’m of the group that thinks Humber isn’t going anywhere. I just don’t see the Twins letting one of the pieces they got for Santana get away for nothing on waivers. Humber will get every chance he can this year ala Bass last year before they do anything.
Now, they could try and send him down, and maybe nobody would claim him, but I’m pretty sure someone would. If that were to happen, they could then pull him back and try to work out a trade. But I just don’t see them doin that and going through the hassle when they want the guy to be successful so the Trade of Santana doesn’t come off as one of the worst ever.
I’m thinking Duensing, in his first option year of 3, is the odd man out. Pretty sure Rochester could use another starter right now as well…
JC,
“the fortunes of this team are not going to be determined by which of those three guys isn’t in the bullpen”
Do you not think that the “Perils of Bass” (Rincon) affected the fortunes of Twins2008?
“Dickey” is a jean brand name…
nope. they are Dickies and are work clothes. No relation to R.A. 
Howard i like the stats page but it was hard to find i think it should be on the top of the Twins page and there should be a link on it that takes you back to the Twins home page.
Some Dickeys are Dickies.
But not all Dickeys are Dickies.
And not all Dickies are Dickeys.
Clear?
Seven games into the season and the Twins pitching staff has given up less than 5 runs ONCE. That isn’t “good enough to win.” Especially when you have also scored less than 2 runs four times.
sane - what a Richard…
Howard, too funny! I knew it was those four guys…
Yes, sane, I know that when you end up in a tie for the Division championship, there are a lot of individual players and plays that you can point back to and say, “that was the difference in the season.”
But it’s pretty rare that your last two arms in the bullpen are going to be used in situations that are potentially game-changing, so in this particular area, I’m willing to just let the front office, scouting department, and field management guys make a decision without me getting too worked up over whether they made the right one.
it’s pretty rare that your last two arms in the bullpen are going to be used in situations that are potentially game-changing
not with Gardy. It’s nor rate. See: Rincon, Juanie and Bassie, Brian.
not rare?
I have a prediction to make: the Twins are about to start a winning streak. I think a substantial one, too…like 5, 6, or 7 in a row.
I base this prediction on the fact that they haven’t really clicked yet and hopefully a long stretch at the Dome will provide them the opportunity to settle in and get in a groove.
Hope I’m right about this one…
at this point in the season i think it’s pretty up in the air who the best and worst arms are down in the Twins pen.
I like the optimism Jason but consider this:Tonights starting pitcher for the Jays,Litsch, is 3-0 against the Twins life time with a 2.08 ERA.Romero,the young stud,is going to be new to them.Halladay is 7-0 lifetime with a 2.92 ERA against Minnesota.
I hope you are too, Jason. But I don’t see any cohesion yet on offense. There’s still a minimum of four players who don’t know from day to day what their roles are. The other five would have to get hot and carry the team. Haven’t seen that happen this year or last.
wow chili dog is so right. Hard to argue those points. But a hunch is a hunch…I’m banking on Metrodome advantage here…
does anyone actually WANT delmon young meandering out in the outfield on a daily basis? (not to mention his 4-5 awesome plate appearances that come with that package). or would twins fans opt for jason tyner as long as it meant cuddyer was in the dugout? i have yet to hear a legitimate argument that could lead anyone to believe delmon young is anything but the 5th best outfielder on this Twins team.
Casey,
“i have yet to hear a legitimate argument”
I’ll get back to you, after you back off on the “legitimate” requirement.
haha. fair enough.
I think DY will do better when he gets to the dome where there is no wind and cold and lights in his eyes and doesn’t have to wear a scuba diving suit and faces a pitcher he’s seen before and doesn’t have to talk to Souchery and………….prolly not gonna happen, is it.
Right now the biggest concern is that the rotation (with the exception of Perk) hasn’t looked too confident in themeselves.
Take away how many runs the Twins scored, and you’ve got opponents with 6, 5, 5, 2, 5, 8, 6…
You can’t ask your offense to go out and put 6-7 runs on the board every night and expect to put together a winning season.
Let’s not forget that last years team was under .500 most of the first two months before they pulled off that ridiculous stretch where they won like 18 of 22 or something like that. One stretch like that (without an equally long losing streak) can turn an otherwise .500 team into a contender (a la ‘06). I’m not saying I wouldn’t rather see consistently solid play for six months, but with the way this team can feed off of each other and get hot, .500 could be ok for awhile, especially until batting champ gets back.
I still don’t understand all the hate toward DY. Were you all really that big of homers that you thought he was gonna hit .320 with 30 HRs right away for us? He is only 23 after all. I would ask how many 23 year olds you know of in MLB who have a career .290 average? or have drivin in 93 in a season already? (which is pretty damn good if you ask me). Joe Mauer is the only other guy I can think of right now who has accomplished something like that in recent memory, and Delmon aint no Joe Mauer (but do you understand the comparison?). Quit judging him based on what you WANT him to be, and judge him based on what he IS at this point in his career. And if you do that, realize that if you don’t come to the ‘OK, he’s a pretty good young player who is still ahead of the curve’ conclusion, realize you are incorrect and represent what is wrong with the ‘average joe’ fan.
Ya, I’d like to see him change his approach, I know it would help him realize all that potential, but I also don’t think he has played even close to the level of disrespect he is given on this blog…If you want more stats to back up my thoughts on Delmon and his development just ask, I am more than willing to lecture you on this topic…anyway, enough ranting…
This OF rotation crap is what is hurting the offense right now. It will pick up when Mauer gets back, but RIGHT NOW, the problem is the day-to-day changes. In the first 7 games, Gardy used a different lineup every time, that is not condusive to a consistent offensive output.
If it were up to me, Gomez would be sitting on the bench 5 out of the 7 days of the week already, and the OF would be Young in LF, Span in CF, and Cuddyer in RF.
I wonder if the cold affected Humber’s curveball. I know you need a really good grip on the baseball to snap a good curve off. Maybe Bert can give him some pointers on how to throw the curve in adverse conditions: “101 ways to get pine tar on the ball without being detected.”
Twinsnote, I don’t think anybody expected a whole lot more, but it’s the drive and desire that is shown which is making people come to a realization. Not so much hating on anybody, just realizing what type of player we’re seeing.
thrylos98,
The funny think about you posting the link to Souhan’s original story is that you should go back and read it. I would like to hear what you see as being such a problem. To that point Delmon had been disappointing to everyone from fans to Twins management and probably Delmon himself. The numbers support Young had lacked power and was going the other way quite a bit. Souhan does not attack Delmon’s inability to take coaching (whether it was a right or wrong perception by many).
You may have been in the “give him time, he’s just 22 camp” at the time but the fact to that point were the facts.
Even Delmon’s biggest “haters” in Twins nation still want him succeed if for no other reason than it mean our favorite team will have a better chance to win. But the stats (both offensive & defensive) and the attitude of his employers towards him are the facts. Yours is based on hope, youth and your personal affection for Delmon.
Of course it is Delmon’s (and your) right to hold a grudge against Souhan. it’s also your right to not even like his work as a columnist as a whole. But what can’t be debated is his story (at the time) was factually correct at the time. Further support is the way the rest of the season and winter played out, as well as what both player and Twins management has stated publicly are Young’s goals for improvement this year.
Here’s hoping Delmon has a big year in a Twins uniform and that your able to not your bias for him get in the way the sound analysis you bring to so many other players and topics not related to Young.
“…but neither is it much cause for concern.”
Now that we’re 3-5, I’m concerned. Having any two of Humber/Ayala/Duensing makes for a weak BP, especially for a team which is supposed to be contending.
And the catcher position looks very insecure. The whole strategy for the year at catcher presumes Mauer will completely heal (because they’re not ensuring that Redmond will heal with their decision to place him on the DL). The problems with that are.
1. Why has it taken so long to heal Mauer so far?
2. Redmond could be in danger of retaining a nagging injury for the rest of the season.
If the complete-heal Mauer plan runs into snags, then the fallback plan for Red might not work.
Might as well heal both Red and Mauer at the same time, and write off the beginning of the season by giving it to Morales (which they’re practically doing anyway) and Butera.
I don’t see the problem as being the cather not being Mauer. Yea not having Mauer hurts the team both on D and on offense. But the real problem so far is the starting pitching is horrid at best. Too many pitches left up in the zone makes for a very bad day. BUT it is early and they’re young so give them time to settle in it WILL get better
