Results tagged ‘ Glen Perkins ’
Zzzzzz…..
Sunday’s series finale against the Astros was essentially two hours of my life that I will never get back. I think I passed out fell asleep on the couch around the fifth inning or so. The Twins had to go with their C-squad lineup since Justin Morneau was out, Jason Kubel got sick in the middle of the game, and Denard Span won’t be back at least until Thursday. I guess one run on two hits is about all that can be expected of a lineup comprised of all the worst hitters on the team. Glen Perkins didn’t have a terrible outing, the Astros got a bunch of lucky breaks in the first inning that scored three runs, but he also walked as many batters as he struck out and benefited from some run-saving catches by Carlos Gomez. So, I guess I should be glad that one of the most boring 4-1 losses I’ve ever witnessed could have easily been more like the most boring 5-or-6-to-1 loss I’ve ever seen.
In an effort to make moves for the sake of making moves address the bullpen issue, the Twins have called up Bobby Keppel and DFA’d Luis Ayala. Yes, cycling through replacement-level relief pitchers is exactly the sort of bold vision and creative thinking from the front office that will bring us straight to the top of the division.
By the way, it’s been almost a year since Bill Smith said about the dumbest f***ing thing I’ve ever heard a GM in baseball say. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the man in charge of your Minnesota Twins.
Yeah, Harold Reynolds said something dumb about OPS or something, too. I think he was just trying to point out that OPS isn’t perfect and shouldn’t be the decisive factor in determining a player’s worth, albeit in a semi-literate way. He’s actually right about that. I dunno. I guess it doesn’t bother me that much when analysts don’t seem to have a basic knowledge of stats and how they work because HAROLD REYNOLDS ISN’T RUNNING MY FAVORITE BASEBALL TEAM.
Brother, can you spare Brad Pitt $50 million to finance the Moneyball movie? Columbia has suspended production on the project, citing problems with the script. It’s probably just as well. I can’t imagine that a film based on the use of advanced metrics to identify undervalued skills (like drawing walks) and help a small-market team remain competitive in the era of free agency would be compelling to anyone other than baseball nerds.
Don Fehr is stepping down after more than 20 years as president of the MLBPA. I actually have kind of mixed feelings about this. He did play a central role in the whole steroids mess by resisting PED testing for years (and then failing to have the results of the 2003 tests destroyed, as he was supposed to). However, I don’t think there has ever been a stronger advocate for the rights of players, and without his leadership the MLBPA would now be about as powerful as the NFLPA. It was, after all, Fehr who successfully took on the borderline criminal tactics employed by the owners to screw players out of their money, and I’m sure guys like Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabbathia are grateful for that. Unfortunately, it was probably his unwavering opposition to MLB and the owners that kept him from having those initial test results destroyed, and the ensuing PR nightmare has ultimately screwed over the very players he fought so hard to protect.
Oddest Game Ever
- Twins ground into five double plays, still beat Pirates 8-2
Well, not really. But this was a statistically strange game for the Twins. I mean, how in the hell do you ground into five double plays and still manage to score eight runs? Obviously a good number of those came with a runner on third and nobody out. I guess if you’re going to ground into a lot of double-plays, it should always be with less than one out. And a runner on third. While it’s certainly an unusual occurrence, it isn’t unheard of and isn’t any kind of record or anything. The Tigers also grounded into 5 double plays on the way to a 13-8 victory over the Blue Jays on April 16, 1996.
Joe Mauer went 4-for-4 with an RBI double, but no home runs. Slacker. Although, he was robbed of his last chance to hit one when Brendan Harris grounded into an inning-ending double play in the eighth. Right now, Mauer is batting .429/.497/.756 with 13 home runs. While it’s unlikely that Mauer will finish the season batting over .400 (he is a catcher, after all), he will most certainly be in contention for his third batting title as long as he remains healthy. Which is important because the Twins are probably going to try to sign him to a long-term deal, and obviously his numbers are going to have a significant effect on his value. The front office is obviously aware of the PR nightmare that would ensue if they failed to re-sign their native son, not to mention that they can’t seriously expect to contend for a World Series title if they keep letting their top talent go.
Glen Perkins was pretty effective, if not exactly dominant, in his first start since coming off the DL with elbow inflammation. He surrendered seven hits, but only two runs, and struck out four through six innings. His one mistake was to Nyjer Morgan, who blasted a two-run homer that cut the Twins’ lead in half. Paul Maholm wasn’t exactly sharp, but he also got a lot of tough breaks. Delwyn Young lost a Joe Crede fly ball in the lights for a Dome double that scored a run. And then there was that bizarre stikezone.
One of the things I hate the most about the Twins’ broadcast team (both radio and tv) is their obsession with pitch counts. Well, that and their inability to pronounce Muhollam Mahalo Maholm’s name correctly. Obviously they had to bring it up last night, since Perk was on a relatively short leash. This has been the subject of heated debate for years, and Rob Neyer wrote an interesting piece that sort of defends the concept behind the pitch count. I actually agree that pitch counts are unnecessary, but not for the same reasons as Bert Blyleven. Yes, they’re arbitrary and probably don’t really help prevent injury (it’s a lot more important to avoid a dramatic increase in workload, but that’s for another post), but they’re also, well, arbitrary. That is, unless they’re dealing with a rookie, most managers don’t really adhere to them too strictly and tend to let the starter pitch as long as he feels comfortable. If it’s the eighth inning and a starter is near 100 pitches, he’ll probably be allowed to go over that limit as long as he doesn’t feel fatigued. If it’s the fifth inning and a starter is near 100 pitches, then he’s probably laboring and should be taken out anyway. So the furor over pitch counts is a little overblown.
- Speaking of injures
Denard Span was placed on the 15-day DL. He has vestibular neuritis, which if I understand correctly, is essentially inflammation of a nerve in the middle ear caused by some sort of infection. Apparently it isn’t serious and he is expected to make a full recovery, but he’ll need to be out at least the next few games. In the meantime, Jason Pridie has been recalled from AAA and there’s a pretty good scouting report on him here. Most Twins fans probably remember Pridie as the guy who blew the save for Joe Nathan against Toronto last year, when he misplayed a single into a triple. Pridie came over as part of the Delmon Young trade, and doesn’t project to be anything more than a fourth outfielder at best. It isn’t likely that he’ll see much playing time, and will probably just be used as a defensive substitute in later innings.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Jesse Crain has been optioned to AAA Rochester. He hasn’t pitched in the minor leagues in nearly five years, and was obviously stunned by the news. Crain hasn’t even been marginally effective since May and the Twins really couldn’t afford to wait and hope he would work through his issues any longer. It was either that or release him, and obviously the organization isn’t ready to give up on him just yet. The Twins will go with only eleven pitchers for now, since they need to carry extra bench players at least as long as Denard Span is on the DL. The starters have been averaging about six innings per start this season, so it might not be necessary to carry more than six relievers. The only real issue is that Matt Guerrier, who’s already overworked, might have to carry an even heavier workload with fewer relievers in the ‘pen. However, it isn’t as though Crain was taking a lot of work away from Matty G. in the first place and the Twins may decide to call up another pitcher once Span is activated.
Because Other People Write Better Than I Do: Link Dump
The Twins open a four-game series against the A’s tonight in Fremont Oakland. There’s a pretty good scouting report on the White Elephants here. I’d like to believe the Twins will take the series (really I do), but the way things have been going lately, they’ll probably be lucky to avoid being swept.
It’s no secret that the Twinkies have had trouble scoring runs outside the teflon confines of the Metrodome. At least now we know why.
Tom Glavine isn’t happy that the Braves released him, and is considering suing to recover the $1 million signing bonus he would have received if he made the active roster. I guess it’s understandable that Atlanta would rather give its most prized pitching prospect a job instead of a 43-year-old with arm problems (especially since his performance has been less-than-stellar the past couple of seasons), but one has to wonder why they even bothered to re-sign Glavine in the first place.
Glen Perkins was roughed up in his first rehab start, surrendering five runs on six hits, including a couple of home runs, in four innings. So he’s basically picking right up where he left off before going on the DL. Um. so how healthy is Glavine, then?
The Nats are planning shell out big bucks to sign this year’s can’t-miss pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg in the first round. Will Strasburg be the one to save the franchise from itself? Of course not, this is the Nats. They can’t do anything right. Not even fireworks.
Speaking of can’t-miss prospects, Alan Schwarz notes that there really is no such thing. At least not where pitching prospects are concerned.
I am a huge hockey fan. I should be excited about the Stanley Cup Finals. But watching Detroit (probably) win its second consecutive cup, and 12th in team history, is just sort of anticlimactic. At least we get some good Jersey Fouls out of it.
Crisitunity
Normally I would be upset when the Twins lose five games in a row, especially when they blow about a million chances to win. But not this time. No, I think getting swept in Yankee Stadium, and now getting blown out by the White Sox, is actually a good thing. Yes I do. Because now the front office has been forced to confront the fact that this team just isn’t going to contend the way it is currently constructed. And um, I was going to post a rant about the failure of the front office to upgrade both the bullpen and the middle infield during the off-season, and how they like to wait until it’s too late to try to make any improvements, but they’ve just made a big move that changes everything ok, that’s a bit hyperbolic, but it is a change that makes me rewrite what I was going to write in the first place.
While the Twins might not actually have the worst bullpen in the league, this group of relievers is still pretty bad. In particular, the relief corpse has been terrible at allowing inherited runners to score. And apparently the FO has gotten sick of it too, because lefty Craig Breslow has been claimed off waivers by Oakland to clear space on the roster for Anthony Swarzak (more on Swarzak in a minute). While it’s no secret that Breslow has been struggling this year, the move is still a bit surprising. I thought the Twins would give him more time to turn things around, especially considering how well he pitched last year, but Breslow evidently became expendable once Sean Henn was called up right after Perkins was placed on the 15-day DL. Henn was once a promising prospect for the Yankees who’s never managed to stick in the major leagues, and he probably won’t serve as anything more than a LOOGY at this point. Still, the Twins haven’t even had an effective LOOGY since losing Dennys Reyes to free agency. At any rate, pitchers like Breslow are always available on the waiver wire, so it isn’t a huge loss even if Henn doesn’t exactly work out either (and after giving up a couple of runs to the Pale Hosers last night, this is entirely possible).
Swapping Henn for Breslow doesn’t exactly solve the problem, though, as the Twins are essentially trading one soft-tossing lefty with control issues for another. But more help might be on the way, perhaps in the form of Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak has been called up from Rochester to replace Glen Perkins in the rotation, and he’s been one of the most intriguing pitching prospects in the organization (there’s are a couple of good articles about Swarzak here and here). Through his first seven starts for the Red Wings this season, he’s posted a 2.25 ERA with a 32/11 K/BB ratio and 1.159 WHIP. If he impresses during his stint with the major league club, it’s possible he might be kept in the bullpen once Perkins returns from the DL.
By the way, Perkins’ elbow has apparently been bothering him for sometime and is likely the cause of his struggles after his first three starts. He had been hiding the injury in hopes that he could simply pitch through the pain. Obviously this is never a good idea (just ask Francisco Liriano). At the very least his stubbornness and pride has cost the team wins, and he’s lucky to have avoided the worst-case scenario so far. Gosh, with three of his teammates (Liriano, Bonser, Neshek) having faced surgery and serious questions about ever pitching again, you would think Perk would be smarter than that.
A Soggy Mess in Bawlmer
- Twins drop first game of series against O’s, 4-1
Ron Gardenhire was visibly angry when the game was finally called off after the fifth inning, and rightfully so. There were no less than four rain delays totaling nearly four hours, and the radar had predicted no larger than a 15-minute window in which to play. Why this game wasn’t called after the first rain delay in the third is a mystery. I’m not blaming the weather for the Twins’ poor performance, the rain had nothing to do with the pitching staff surrendering a couple of home runs and the offense making Brian Bass look like Mariano Rivera, but it was obvious that the weather wasn’t going to clear up long enough to play nine innings and the game should have been called much earlier.
At least Craig Breslow didn’t walk anybody! He did surrender a solo homer to Luke Scott on the first pitch, but then allowed only one other hit during his two innings of relief. This is a vast improvement for a guy who had walked nine batters in a little over six innings, but he’s going to have to do better than that if he wants to keep his job in the ‘pen. Sean Henn and Mike Gosling are viewed as possible replacements, but since both have walked an awful lot of batters so far this year, neither one is likely to get the call anytime soon.
I actually expect the Twins to get swept tonight. Glen Perkins is on the mound, and while he’s been one of the most reliable starters in the rotation, he’s also been pitching a lot like the old Glen Perkins more recently. However, I don’t expect him to get much run support either. The Twins will be facing a pitcher they have never seen before, and thus the offense will struggle to do much of anything against him. It really doesn’t matter how effectively or terribly Brad Bergesen pitches tonight, the Twins’ aggressive bats will continually let him off the hook. And if Perkins allows as much as one run, it will probably be enough to secure a Baltimore win.
If you haven’t already, please check out the latest installment of Timeout at the Plate on Tom Walsh’s blog. If you like lots of whining (or schadenfreude, if you happen to be a Chicago sports fan), then you’re in for a treat!
The Bears get Jay Cutler and the Vikings get Brett Farve, that sounds about right. Drew Magary has perfectly summarized how I feel about that.
Between Manny on drugs and the Brett Favre saga, I will have absolutely no reason to watch ESPN for the next couple of months. Of course, as a Twins fan (and hockey fan), it’s not like I had much reason to watch tWWL in the first place.
SI recently ranked all 30 closers in the league, and look who came out on top. They did a great piece on him, too.
Nice try, Dave, but I don’t think Bill Smith is that dumb. At least I hope not.
Also, I added a new Red Wings blog to my blogroll. Besides the official website and Jim Mandelaro’s blog, there isn’t much out there in terms of Wings coverage and this one is pretty good. It’s also got video from some of the games.
Glen Perkins and the Art of Pitching Hard Inside?
Rob Neyer wrote an interesting blog post about pitching high and tight, and whether or not such pitches truly have the desired effect (Rob Nelson had some interesting thoughts on the subject, too). It is often argued that pitching high and tight brushes hitters off the plate, that it makes them uncomfortable and keeps them from leaning out over the plate too far. Theoretically, this should open up the other half of the plate for the starter to work. However, there isn’t a great deal of empirical evidence (at least not that I’m aware of) to suggest that this is the case. Good hitters will forget about the last pitch, and guys who can’t do that simply won’t make it in the major leagues. Carlos Quentin for example, leans quite far out over the plate. He also subsequently gets beaned a lot, and yet has never changed his approach at the plate. So, at worst the intent pitch starts a beanball contest, and at best it is simply a wasted pitch.
On a somewhat related note, starter Glen Perkins is often praised by the broadcast team, and the media in general, for his ability to pitch hard and inside, and that this has been the key to his success so far this season. I don’t mean to suggest that pitching inside is necessarily the same as throwing at hitters; since Perk can get his fastball on the inside corner over for strikes, they don’t really count as intent balls (although he isn’t afraid to throw those, either). But it gets repeated so often that pitching inside generally makes hitters uncomfortable, and that it opens up the outer half of the plate since they are then less likely to lean out over it. As I said before, I’m not sure if that’s true. I think that good hitters will make adjustments if you continually bust them inside, and I think Perkins himself is a very good example. After all, he pitched hard and inside a lot last year, with very different results. In fact, it appears as though he relied on his fastball a little too much, throwing it about 70% of the time, and always whenever he was behind in the count. Actually, Perk’s success this season seems to have little to do with throwing hard and inside and everything to do with making adjustments. Through his first three starts, when he’s gone eight innings and given up only three earned runs, he did a very good job of changing speeds. His hard and inside fastball gets a lot of press, but he’s also got a very good changeup, and, though it still needs a little work, has been throwing the slider that he developed last season instead of his very-hittable curveball. In his last start against the Indians, however, things were very different. Perk gave up four runs in five innings, including a three-run third, in which he once again relied heavily on his fastball and failed to mix in his other pitches. It’s pretty clear that it doesn’t matter where you throw them, if you feed big league pitchers a steady diet of fastballs, they will have a feast.
Somebody else already posted a link to this video, but because I feel a little bad about beating the poor Indians twice, I would like to extend an olive branch to the good people of Cleveland. So, here is a tourism video promoting their beautiful city:
Good luck trying to get that song out of your head.
The Streak is Over
No, I’m not talking about the 3-game losing streak, though thankfully that is over now, too. No, I’m talking about the Blue Jays’ ten-game winning streak against the Twins, which was the second longest of its kind in the league (the Brewers currently hold a 12-game streak over the Pirates). The Twins defeated the Blue Jays 3-2 in eleven innings last night, the first time they have done so since July 23, 2007. They were swept twice last year, and lost a horrorshow of a game on Monday night that they really should have won anyway. Glen Perkins pitched another gem, though he did run into some trouble in the eighth. Joe Nathan and Jesse Crain also managed to pitch competently in relief. And Joe Crede was the big hero of the game (although he was the goat, earlier, more on that in a second) driving in the winning run on a walk off double.
Although it was good to see the Twins pull out a win last night, I do have a bone to pick with the offense. Quite frankly, there was absolutely no reason for this game to go into extra innings. While rookie pitcher Ricky Romero was pitching a gem of his own, the Twins did have an opportunity to break the game open (or at least tack on one more run) in the sixth and failed to capitalize on it. With the bases loaded with nobody out, Michael Cuddyer struck out swinging on four pitches, and then Joe Crede grounded into an inning-ending double play. This certainly isn’t the first time the Twins have failed to capitalize on scoring chances this year. They left runners stranded at third with no outs twice in Monday night’s ballgame, and failed to capitalize on bases-loaded opportunities several times during the series with the Mariners. Worse yet, forcing the game into extra innings means that Jesse Crain had to pitch two innings in relief and likely won’t be available for tonight’s game if needed. Considering that he’s one of the few pitchers in the bullpen (or on the entire staff, really) who has been able to pitch effectively, this could be a problem.
The good news, however, is that Joe Mauer has been running without pain and is scheduled to start some extended spring-training games in the GCL next week. While there is no timetable for his return, he is attempting to make it back to the lineup by the end of the month. Mauer can’t carry the entire offense by himself, but at least he won’t strand so many runners in scoring position. His return will also provide a bit of stability to the lineup, since Gardy has had to juggle things a bit in his absence (well, he’s had to find playing time for all of the outfielders, too). Morneau will likely move back to the clean-up spot, where he is most accustomed, with maybe Crede or Cuddyer/Jason Kubel then hitting behind him. Having a regular spot in the lineup should help the rest of the batters get more comfortable at the plate.
By the way, apparently Wild players Colton Gillies, James Sheppard, Cal Clutterbuck, and maybe even Josh Harding are supposed to stop by the FSN booth and help out with the analysis after tonight’s game. If that’s not a reason to watch the silly post-game show, then I don’t know what is.
Real Baseball Starts Monday
- The end of an era
Monday is Opening Night and Francisco Liriano is scheduled to pitch against the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez. This will be the final home opener at the Metrodome (yay!). The Twins are having all kinds of promotions to celebrate the final season at the Dump Dome. There will also be new (alternate) home unis, which are throwbacks to the inaugural 1982 season:
I really like these a lot. I actually kind of wish they would make these the permanent home unis. They’re so much nicer than the grey pinstripes:
Or these hideous vests:
I haven’t decided if I want to write a tribute to the old Dump Dome. It’s not as though I’m really going to miss it. It has to be the ugliest ballpark in history:
But then again it has been host to some of the greatest moments in Minnesota sports history. I guess I could write about that. Or I could just be lazy and put up links to other writers who have already done the work for me. Maybe I’ll do both!
- In other news:
Justin Morneau might miss the opener, too. Is anybody going to be healthy enough to play on Monday night?
The Twins finalized the 25-man roster today by reassigning Matt Tolbert to Rochester. If the injury bug keeps biting the team though, he probably won’t be down there very long.
The Twins certainly aren’t the only ones facing injury issues. Carlos Silva is going to love that.
Carl Pohlad was often a ruthless businessman, but he was also a decent human being.
Will Gary Sheffield hit his 500th home run as a Met? At least he won’t be able to accuse Jerry Manuel of being racist.
Seth Stohs has a good interview with Glen Perkins. Kevin Slowey had a Q&A session with Tim Dierks at mlbtraderumors.com
Eric Belanger was not amused at this April Fool’s Day prank. There is a good picture of it here.
I love Cal Clutterbuck. He’s cute.
Dammit. Oh, and you’re welcome, Bears fans.
At least Mikko Koivu always makes me happy:
Things That Will Go Right This Year
Okay, okay, so I might have come across as sounding a tad negative in my previous post (it’s called being realistic about your team’s chances, people). I do think the Twins have a good team. Not a great team, and maybe not even good enough to win the division, but a competitive one nonetheless. And while there are certainly some things to be worried about, there are also a lot of good things that will happen:
- Kevin Slowey is the new Brad Radke: The soft-tossing righty is having a great spring so far, posting a 1.93 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 9.1 innings pitched. Better yet, he’s been striking out batters at a rate of about once per inning. His command has been absolutely spot on, with a perfect 10.00 K/BB ratio. There are some who think that Slowey might turn in a Cy-Young-worthy performance this year, and at this point I would have to agree.
The only real cause for concern with Slowey is that, like fellow fly-ball pitcher Scott Baker, he tends to give up the gopher ball. However, he hasn’t given up any so far this spring and has limited opposing hitters to a tidy .303 slugging percentage. I am a little concerned that the outfield defense might have a negative effect on his ERA, but at the rate he’s been striking out hitters it doesn’t look like that will be much of a problem.
- Francisco Liriano will emerge as the staff ace: Frankie is still a little wild, but has been striking out hitters at decent clip of 7.71 K/9. Even though he’s given up six walks in 16.1 innings, he’s held opposing batters to a paltry .172/.254/.259 and hasn’t given up very many extra base hits. When he’s been on top of his game, he’s been absolutely dominant. However, even at his worst (as he was in his first appearance against the Yankees and in his last start against the Pirates) Frankie gave up a mere three earned runs on six hits in six innings. He’s been working on a changeup since his Tommy-John-surgically-repaired arm can’t withstand throwing so many sliders, and it’s been absolutely filthy.
- Jason Kubel and Delmon Young are poised to have breakout seasons: Last year, Jason Kubel started to show flashes of the hitter the Twins thought they were getting when they drafted him in 2000. It looks as though he’s finally managed to put his knee problems behind him and has settled in as the everyday DH. Kubel’s been putting up some good numbers so far this year, batting .367/.424/.500 in 30 ABs (though he’s only hit one home run). Kubel is going to have to improve on last seasons’ 118 OPS+ to be worth keeping in the DH spot, but I think that with an increase in playing time the numbers will come.
Delmon Young will probably never be the power right-handed bat the Twins are looking for, but he looks as though he’s going to rebound from his disappointing 2008 season. He’s been having a pretty good spring so far, posting a .351/.385/.595 line with 2 homers and 6 RBI in 37 plate appearances (although he did ground into four double plays against the Pirates on Wednesday, which would have been a record if it were a regular season game). Delmon, like Carlos Gomez, has a tendency to swing at the first pitch a lot, so I would really like to see him show more patience at the plate.
- Jesse Crain will be dominant: Jesse Crain hasn’t allowed a run in his six appearances this spring, or even in his brief stint with Team Canada in the WBC (he struck out all four batters he faced). His stuff has been electric, and he’s recorded four strikeouts while giving up one hit. The velocity on his fastball has been back up to 94-95 mph and has had good movement on it, too. This is fantastic news for a bullpen that has been lacking a dominant set-up man since Pat Neshek went down with an elbow injury in June of last year.
- Glen Perkins might not be that bad, either: Perkins is arguably the weakest link in the rotation. But he’s been pretty good so far, allowing a mere 5 earned runs in twenty innings. However, I doubt this success will carry over into the regular season. Perk has been very hittable in his spring training starts, having given up 20 hits so far, while only striking out seven. Which means he’s had a lot of runners on base, something that isn’t good for a guy who (like Baker and Slowey) tends to give up the long ball.
Lest you think I’m being negative again, I will say that Perk could make a decent back-of-the-rotation starter (and I’m pretty much the only person who thinks he even belongs on a major-league roster, so that’s saying a lot). However, I also think that if he puts up decent numbers this year, the front office would be smart to consider trading him. He doesn’t throw all that hard and lacks pinpoint command, but could be valuable trade bait for teams that are desperate for left-handed starting pitching. The Twins have another lefty in Brian Duensing, who has better stuff and should be ready to start next season. The Twins generally like to hang onto their pitching talent, though, so I would be surprised if they actually move Perk. Most likely a demotion to the bullpen is in his future.
I know I lit into the front office for being such skinflints in my previous post, and I stand by that assessment. However, there are some indications that the Pohlad family will be willing to increase payroll once the new ballpark opens next year. They have given Bill Smith the greenlight to lock up some of their key players into long-term contracts (most notably Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan), and have expressed a desire to sign their All-Star catcher to a long-term deal even though it will cost them somewhere in the $140 million range to do so. I am still a little skeptical on the spending front, though, since Jim Pohlad has handled most of the day-to-day baseball activities since 2003 and hasn’t increased payroll much in that time. And I am also a bit skeptical that Bill Smith knows how to put a championship-caliber team together.
- Okay, now they’re dead
Perhaps they are officially still in the Western Conference playoff race, but after last night’s awful effort against the Devils, the Wild Mild look like they’re done. Just when I think they couldn’t possibly play any worse, they go out and prove me horribly, horribly wrong. This time Marek Zidlicky was the goat of the game, with two crucial mistakes that led to New Jersey goals. One was a no-look clearing pass intended for Martin Skoula that ended up right on the tape of Patrik Elias’s stick.
Ugh, I don’t need to tell you where that one ended up. The other was a failed attempt to strip Zach Parise of the puck at the blue line, setting up an odd-man rush with Brian Gionta, who buried his 18th goal of the season. Meanwhile, Martin Broduer showed why he is the best goaltender in the league (and maybe of his generation), stopping all 35 shots and earning his 101st career shutout.
The money quote came from coach Jacques Lemaire. When asked how his team could put forth such a lackadaisical effort when so much is on the line, he responded: “I like that question. Hold onto it and take it in [to the locker room]. Ask them, and if you get an answer, tell me.” Of course, the simple answer is that this team just isn’t very good. And the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
Worse yet, the Star Tribune had an interview with former Wild Captain, and current Devils center Brian Rolston, who admitted that he probably would’ve stayed in Minnesota had the front office approached him about a contract extension prior to the 2007-2008 season. The Wild could really use his 96 goals and 202 points in three seasons right now. But thanks for pointing out that one of the Wild’s top scorers and most beloved players would’ve re-signed with the team if the front office hadn’t screwed it up. I feel so much better now.
- Corey Koskie has decided to retire
According to this article on the Twins’ website, former Twins third baseman Corey Koskie has announced his retirement from baseball. It’s not really a surprise, and while I was pulling for him to make a comeback, I also knew his chances of doing so were pretty remote. Koskie was concerned about suffering another concussion, especially after diving for a ball during an exhibition game on Thursday. In the end, he decided it was best to retire than spend the rest of the season wondering if every strange sensation he felt was a recurrence of his symptoms. Considering all he’s been through in the past 2 1/2 years, the fact that he could even participate in any baseball-related activities is a miracle in and of itself. I wish him the best in whatever it is he decides to do from now on.
Well, It Was a Good Ride While It Lasted
- Dutch eliminated in WBC, 9-3
Team Hollandaise was sent packing in spectacular fashion by the heavy-hitting American team last night. The USA pounded the Dutch pitchers for nine runs on twelve hits, including a two-run homer by Jimmy Rollins and a solo shot by Adam Dunn. The Dutch, on the other hand, eked out a mere three runs (though they also had twelve hits). Things got a little chippy in the eighth, when Bryan Englehardt spent a little too much time admiring his solo shot (the Dutch were down 8-1 at this point) off of reliever Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom proceeded to throw behind Vince Rooi, and both benches were warned. That was about as close to any actual fighting as the two sides got, and the Dutch would score one more run on a sac fly before the US put the game away in the bottom of the inning.
As I’ve said before, the Americans had a lot more on the line in this game than the Dutch. The US was absolutely embarrassed in the 2006 WBC when they failed to make it past the first round. They had already been humiliated by the Puerto Ricans, and a loss by the underwhelming Netherlands team would have struck a blow to the already-flagging interest in the tournament on the part of American baseball fans. The Dutch, on the other hand, weren’t even expected to win a game in the WBC, let alone knock off a Dominican team that was loaded with major-league talent. Losing to the Americans will do nothing to diminish interest in baseball or the WBC in the Netherlands, considering that there wasn’t much to begin with.
There is some bad news for Team USA (and the Marlins): Matt Lindstrom has a strained rotator cuff and will be unable to pitch for at least 10 days. This isn’t the first time the Americans have suffered injuries in the WBC, Chipper Jones, Ryan Braun, and Dustin Pedroia have all suffered injuries of varying seriousness. While none of these guys are likely miss any of the season, fans and baseball executives alike are all nervous about their favorite players suffering devastating injury in a tournament that isn’t very important to them. This is one of the major criticisms of the WBC: that it is held during spring training, when guys aren’t quite in game-shape and are much more injury-prone. It has gotten so bad that Team USA manager Davy Johnson has threatened to forfeit the tournament if anyone else gets hurt.
- Twins fall to Yankees 5-1
I’m not going to harp on the lack of offensive production in Sunday’s game at Steinbrenner field, considering that the lineup was full of guys who have no chance to make the team this year (though the few regulars who were in did pretty well, except for Denard Span). I’m also not going to rake anyone over the coals for the piss-poor defense, either. While no Twins players were actually charged with any errors, those of us who actually saw the game know better. There were some defensive miscues by the infield, and a dropped pop fly by SS Trevor Plouffe that led to some not-so-earned Yankee runs. While Glen Perkins officially gave up three earned runs on five hits, in truth he probably gave up one earned run on three hits. Other than that, the pitching was really good (aside from Bobby Keppel, but he’s probably going to start the season in AAA). Nick Blackburn pitched two spotless innings in relief, and gave up only one hit while recording a strikeout. Blackburn is scheduled to make his next start on Tuesday, as the soreness in his knee is apparently gone now. Philip Humber will start in his place today against Baltimore.
By the way, Perk is apparently fine after getting hit in the calf by Hideki Matsui’s broken bat (he even got Matsui to sign it). He wanted to come back out and pitch the fourth, but the team decided not to take any chances on the projected fourth starter for a spring exhibition game and put in Nick Blackburn instead. He should make his next start against the Yankees on Friday.
Andy Pettite looked really sharp on the mound for the Yanks, shutting out the Twins for three innings. More importantly, though, Jorge Posada caught three innings without experiencing any pain in his shoulder. He also went 2-for-2 and plated a pair of runs. That is very good news for Yankee fans who already have enough to worry about as it is.
- Twins vs O’s
The Twins were hitting! And not stranding that many runners for once! Most importantly,
Denard Span went 2-for-3 with a triple, which is his first extra-base hit of the season I believe. Span has been struggling at the plate so far, and it appeared in yesterday’s game against the Yankees as though his timing was off. It was pretty clear that he was seeing the ball well, as he was taking a lot of pitches and was working some deep counts. However, he would end up either grounding out or popping out, and it appeared he was a little in front of the ball. Hopefully Span has finally found his swing. Joe Crede hit a two-run homer in the third with two outs, that put the Twins on top for good. Crede hasn’t been having a good spring, either, but considering that he only played in 91 games last year because of his back, and that he tends to be a bit of a slow starter, it’s a little too early to panic just yet.
And Philip Humber pitched well, giving up no hits and no runs while striking out two in his two innings of work. Actually, the only runs given up by Twins pitchers were by guys who will most likely spend the season in Rochester: Armando Gabino (leadoff homer to Aubrey Huff) and Sean Henn (another leadoff homer to catcher Guillermo Rodriguez). Oh, and Rule 5 draft pick Jason Jones gave up one run on four hits in two innings. I’m not sure if Jones is going to remain on the roster or not. Although the Twins will have to offer him back to the Yankees if they choose to send him down, it doesn’t sound like the Yanks are too interested in him so some sort of deal might be worked out.
- Still No Mauer News
the Star Tribune, he was in the clubhouse this morning and seemed to be in a good mood, so maybe there isn’t anything seriously wrong. While it would be nice to know what, if anything, is going on, I doubt it is serious otherwise there would have been some sort of announcement by now. At least that’s what I keep telling myself, anyway.
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