A week ago, the Twins were coming off their fifth series victory in a row, at Texas. Though they dropped the finale game against the Rangers, things were looking up for the club as they kept improving on the road.
They also were staying consistently above the .500 mark, entering the series opener against Oakland with a record of 47-45. But unfortunately, after going 2-5 versus the A's and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they are now a game below even at 49-50.
The Twins were closing in slightly on the Detroit Tigers atop the AL Central, but have since slipped to third place. Right now it's a three-team race between the Twins, Tigers and Chicago White Sox.
A week to forget
Frustration seemed to reach its peak inside the clubhouse after Saturday's nationally-televised game in Anaheim. Losing two out of three to the worst offensive team in the majors, and then three in a row to the Angels, this could arguably be referred to as a huge low point in the Twins' season.
But it wasn't just the losses that were the problem. It was the way in which the team lost. Despite producing a fairly solid pitching rotation throughout the season, starters fell apart. This caused the usually reliable bullpen to be called upon too much. Then there were the poor fielding decisions costing bases, outs and runs.
Since it's pretty well-known that you win games with pitching, or at least you need pitching in order to have a chance, this factor seems to be the main plague of the Twins right now.
Surgery, walls and "injuries"
Kevin Slowey, who had been hurt and trying to rehab his way back to the ballclub, had a huge setback when a bone chip in his hand started hindering his ability to throw. He announced Monday that he will have surgery on his hand, putting him out for the rest of the season.
This is bad news for the rotation. Slowey was the team's ace with a 10-3 record and 4.86 ERA. He was also one of the first pitchers in the majors to reach the 10-win mark this year.
Nick Blackburn has been the other "lights out" pitcher on the staff. He has three complete games this year and was emerging as a great starting pitcher able to take the game into the later innings. But his last two starts have been very sub-par and abnormal for him. He was pounded by the Angels in his last start, as he was tagged for six runs and six hits throughout his 3 and 2/3 innings.
That start marked his shortest of the season. Let's hope he can find his form again, or this could spell big trouble.
Then there's Francisco Liriano. This superstar pitcher looked like he would be known as "Franchise" Liriano during his first season with the club. But his elbow injury and following surgery changed that plan. We're still waiting for the Liri of old to reappear on the scene, with no such luck.
He still has some bite, but his problems seem to be in his head, not in his arm. The key thing to remember with Liriano is this: he hits walls, metaphorically of course. He sails along fine for a few innings, and then, SCREECH! In the blink of an eye he loses his form for the night. Walks, missing his spots, base hits. Once he hits the wall, he needs to get off the mound.
Glen Perkins' story is probably the most head-scratching of them all, and it might make you lose a little respect for him, too. Not once, but twice now this season, he has spoken up after a horrible pitching performance and complained of an injury.
Once is acceptable, just please learn your lesson. But twice? Come on. A) If you're really hurt before the game, maybe it's a good idea to mention that so you can get checked out and not injure yourself further, and b) Like Ron Gardenhire suggested, at least wait a day after your pitching debacle before whining about an injury.
Perkins lasted just one inning in his start in Oakland. He's been decent this year, but this little ploy leaves him in question.
Scott Baker rounds out the regulars. It's always a toss up to try to predict the kind of outing he will have. I think that's just the way he is. He has been up and down (majors to minors, and back again) with this organization multiple times throughout the years. At times he's been dazzling, and others, a flop. He's no ace, but he isn't a write-off either.
Deadline drama
Everyone is still waiting on Twins General Manager Bill Smith to make that big move before the trade deadline. Although I think it's safe to say no one is holding his or her breath.
Even players are voicing their concerns about the team needing a boost, and the usual inability of the front office to provide that jump-start. All-Stars Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan and Joe Mauer all spoke out about wanting a move to be made.
Good for them. Let's hope Smith is listening to his players and comes up with something.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The turn at the break
The All-Star break can be a big turning point in the season for many MLB squads. A team that has been dominant in the first half may start heading toward a collapse after the break. While a sub-par, .500 team may turn a pivotal corner and make a run for the title.
The Twins have shown some good magic going down the stretch in the later depths of summer in other seasons. They've made runs to be on top of the AL Central before, most recently and notably in 2008.
What the team's front office hasn't done so well with: making that headline trade to spark its average lineup. As many sports journalists have pointed out recently, the last "big move" from the Twins came back in 2003, when they dealt outfielder Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart.
But this is 2009, and it looks as though no epic trade is in the works for General Manager Billy Smith. Not to worry, because staying true to Minnesota form, Smith was able to snag a minor-league deal with the 39-year-old veteran Mark Grudzielanek over the weekend.
Another veteran
The second-baseman went on the disabled list last August, and now hasn't played for the first half of the current season. Another brilliant move; if this doesn't give the Stewart trade a run for its money, I don't know what will.
This bit of news broke for me via Twitter, and then I read the story about it in the Star Tribune. I could not believe one particular quote from Smith, in regard to his new acquisition (source: Joe Christensen blog):
"He has a tremendous history over the last seven or eight years."
Of course he has a good history, but history means past. He now sees age 40 on the horizon.
Sure, the guy has a Gold Glove to his name, along with a .290 career average during his 14 major league seasons, but why are the Twins showing interest? Manager Ron Gardenhire's response seemed a little more realistic than Smith's. (source: AP)
"He can hit and he can play, but I don't know what he can do to help us. It's up to how he gets through all this."
Infield replacement
I think the plan would be to move Grudzielanek in at second, should Alexi Casilla flounder yet again this season. That's great, but inserting a 39 year old into your everyday lineup is not a permanent solution.
It sounds like Smith just wanted "another option," but Casilla will be the No. 1 guy for now. He is hoping Lexi can bring a "spark" to the lineup.
Casilla was recently called up again from the minors after being sent down (twice this season) to pretty much get his head on straight. He was originally sent down because of low production and a slight attitude problem. He couldn't fathom why he was being demoted... with his below .200 average. Even Gardy was scratching his head over that one.
Who knows what will happen with Casilla or Grudzielanek. Without another trade, acquiring Gruds might be the only highlight for the team. If Casilla continues his downslide, and/or returns to his frustrating ways, I wouldn't be surprised if we see the veteran up here after he gets his feet wet in Rochester.
That could be the big spark Smith is talking about. Or we may never see him up in the majors. There's no use playing the "what if?" game. I think the team will be watching both players closely to see what move, if any, would be the best to try and close in on first place in a mediocore division.
Other notes:
Mauer's human
Joe Mauer is slumping. Everybody gets into hitting slumps, but with Mauer I think things will be magnified because he seems so immortal.
If you're superstitious, his average dropped below .400 (and hasn't gone back) since about the same day as the Sports Illustrated issue came out featuring him as the cover story. And of course, his involvement in the All-Star Home Run Derby can be another scapegoat for his falling average.
He went 0-for-6 in the series finale at Texas, a career first. He also fell to second for the batting title lead. But come on, he's Joe Mauer. It's just a slump, and we all know he'll be back to smashing opposite field hits in no time.
Series opener at Oakland? Don't get me started
I didn't stay up to watch the whole game, but when I read the coverage the next morning, I was not happy. So many things did not go right in the 14-13 loss, a game in which the Twins blew a 10-run lead, tying a team record.
Plenty of offense, and no pitching. Career nights, grand slams and an apparent wrong-call to end the game at the plate.
In reading so many thoughts from players, to coaches, to fans, to writers, there seem to be two sides: a) "Yeah, the call at the end was bad, but they shouldn't have blown that lead and put themselves in that position," or b) "It doesn't matter what happened the rest of the game, they got screwed by a bad call that ultimately cost them the game."
I'm not sure where I stand on this one, especially since I didn't see the final play. I think I may be in the middle. I'm never afraid to pick on the officiating, especially when it is so obviously in the wrong, but how do you blow that big of a lead???
The Twins have shown some good magic going down the stretch in the later depths of summer in other seasons. They've made runs to be on top of the AL Central before, most recently and notably in 2008.
What the team's front office hasn't done so well with: making that headline trade to spark its average lineup. As many sports journalists have pointed out recently, the last "big move" from the Twins came back in 2003, when they dealt outfielder Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart.
But this is 2009, and it looks as though no epic trade is in the works for General Manager Billy Smith. Not to worry, because staying true to Minnesota form, Smith was able to snag a minor-league deal with the 39-year-old veteran Mark Grudzielanek over the weekend.
Another veteran
The second-baseman went on the disabled list last August, and now hasn't played for the first half of the current season. Another brilliant move; if this doesn't give the Stewart trade a run for its money, I don't know what will.
This bit of news broke for me via Twitter, and then I read the story about it in the Star Tribune. I could not believe one particular quote from Smith, in regard to his new acquisition (source: Joe Christensen blog):
"He has a tremendous history over the last seven or eight years."
Of course he has a good history, but history means past. He now sees age 40 on the horizon.
Sure, the guy has a Gold Glove to his name, along with a .290 career average during his 14 major league seasons, but why are the Twins showing interest? Manager Ron Gardenhire's response seemed a little more realistic than Smith's. (source: AP)
"He can hit and he can play, but I don't know what he can do to help us. It's up to how he gets through all this."
Infield replacement
I think the plan would be to move Grudzielanek in at second, should Alexi Casilla flounder yet again this season. That's great, but inserting a 39 year old into your everyday lineup is not a permanent solution.
It sounds like Smith just wanted "another option," but Casilla will be the No. 1 guy for now. He is hoping Lexi can bring a "spark" to the lineup.
Casilla was recently called up again from the minors after being sent down (twice this season) to pretty much get his head on straight. He was originally sent down because of low production and a slight attitude problem. He couldn't fathom why he was being demoted... with his below .200 average. Even Gardy was scratching his head over that one.
Who knows what will happen with Casilla or Grudzielanek. Without another trade, acquiring Gruds might be the only highlight for the team. If Casilla continues his downslide, and/or returns to his frustrating ways, I wouldn't be surprised if we see the veteran up here after he gets his feet wet in Rochester.
That could be the big spark Smith is talking about. Or we may never see him up in the majors. There's no use playing the "what if?" game. I think the team will be watching both players closely to see what move, if any, would be the best to try and close in on first place in a mediocore division.
Other notes:
Mauer's human
Joe Mauer is slumping. Everybody gets into hitting slumps, but with Mauer I think things will be magnified because he seems so immortal.
If you're superstitious, his average dropped below .400 (and hasn't gone back) since about the same day as the Sports Illustrated issue came out featuring him as the cover story. And of course, his involvement in the All-Star Home Run Derby can be another scapegoat for his falling average.
He went 0-for-6 in the series finale at Texas, a career first. He also fell to second for the batting title lead. But come on, he's Joe Mauer. It's just a slump, and we all know he'll be back to smashing opposite field hits in no time.
Series opener at Oakland? Don't get me started
I didn't stay up to watch the whole game, but when I read the coverage the next morning, I was not happy. So many things did not go right in the 14-13 loss, a game in which the Twins blew a 10-run lead, tying a team record.
Plenty of offense, and no pitching. Career nights, grand slams and an apparent wrong-call to end the game at the plate.
In reading so many thoughts from players, to coaches, to fans, to writers, there seem to be two sides: a) "Yeah, the call at the end was bad, but they shouldn't have blown that lead and put themselves in that position," or b) "It doesn't matter what happened the rest of the game, they got screwed by a bad call that ultimately cost them the game."
I'm not sure where I stand on this one, especially since I didn't see the final play. I think I may be in the middle. I'm never afraid to pick on the officiating, especially when it is so obviously in the wrong, but how do you blow that big of a lead???
Monday, July 13, 2009
3M Championship Day Three - July 12, 2009
I had planned to get to the course about noon or so as I had for the previous day. That way, I could watch a few of the last groups tee off, as I had done for the second round. The only problem was the tee times were moved up about an hour, so everyone was well on their way by about 12:30.
I didn’t realize this until I read the newspaper that morning. Oh well. Instead of camping out at the first tee, I watched a few groups play through the ninth green. It was another beautiful day for golf, and this time the winds weren’t as strong, which probably helped the birdies come alive.
The pin on nine was located on the far end of the green, behind the water. I saw a couple of good approach shots that landed within a good striking distance of the hole. Of course, there were a few players who played it safe in order to get to the green; not that I blame them.
Since I had a lot of good material for my story already written, including the quotes from Hollis Cavner’s interview the day before, most of the afternoon was pretty low-key on my end. I spent some quality time with my laptop in the media tent, while paying some attention to the Twins game on TV as they pounded the White Sox with 13 runs.
I went out to the final green a couple of times before the end, where the last few groups of leaders would be finishing up. It was a close race and there had been leaderboard shifts all day long. But with a sensational eagle chip-in on 18, Bernhard Langer snagged the victory by a stroke (finishing at 16 under) over Andy Bean.
I didn’t quite see the shot in its entirety, (I’m short and there were a lot of people down there for the end of the tourney) but I did see it go in the cup. That was the most energized I’d heard the crowd all weekend.
Langer has been quite the winner on this year’s tour, (the win marked his fourth this season) and I also found it interesting that Arnold Palmer’s team was victorious in the Greats of Golf Challenge. Chi Chi Rodriguez had been on the winning team each year previous. And even more coincidental was the fact the Langer and Palmer were the two featured faces on the front of the brochures listing the tee times.
I took part in some of the media interviews both off the green and inside the media tent, even though I wasn’t doing the recap-type story. The whole reporting experience was good practice for me.
Before I left for the day I also introduced myself to another notable sports columnist for the Strib – Jim Souhan. He was a very nice guy, and I was glad to meet him, being a big admirer of his work and all.
At the end of the weekend, I felt that I had worked hard and got another valuable experience under my belt in the journalism category. Even though it was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing, I was very glad I had the opportunity to go out to the tournament again.
I just hope that next year I’ll be in a position to attend again – as a member of the media.
I didn’t realize this until I read the newspaper that morning. Oh well. Instead of camping out at the first tee, I watched a few groups play through the ninth green. It was another beautiful day for golf, and this time the winds weren’t as strong, which probably helped the birdies come alive.
The pin on nine was located on the far end of the green, behind the water. I saw a couple of good approach shots that landed within a good striking distance of the hole. Of course, there were a few players who played it safe in order to get to the green; not that I blame them.
Since I had a lot of good material for my story already written, including the quotes from Hollis Cavner’s interview the day before, most of the afternoon was pretty low-key on my end. I spent some quality time with my laptop in the media tent, while paying some attention to the Twins game on TV as they pounded the White Sox with 13 runs.
I went out to the final green a couple of times before the end, where the last few groups of leaders would be finishing up. It was a close race and there had been leaderboard shifts all day long. But with a sensational eagle chip-in on 18, Bernhard Langer snagged the victory by a stroke (finishing at 16 under) over Andy Bean.
I didn’t quite see the shot in its entirety, (I’m short and there were a lot of people down there for the end of the tourney) but I did see it go in the cup. That was the most energized I’d heard the crowd all weekend.
Langer has been quite the winner on this year’s tour, (the win marked his fourth this season) and I also found it interesting that Arnold Palmer’s team was victorious in the Greats of Golf Challenge. Chi Chi Rodriguez had been on the winning team each year previous. And even more coincidental was the fact the Langer and Palmer were the two featured faces on the front of the brochures listing the tee times.
I took part in some of the media interviews both off the green and inside the media tent, even though I wasn’t doing the recap-type story. The whole reporting experience was good practice for me.
Before I left for the day I also introduced myself to another notable sports columnist for the Strib – Jim Souhan. He was a very nice guy, and I was glad to meet him, being a big admirer of his work and all.
At the end of the weekend, I felt that I had worked hard and got another valuable experience under my belt in the journalism category. Even though it was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing, I was very glad I had the opportunity to go out to the tournament again.
I just hope that next year I’ll be in a position to attend again – as a member of the media.
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