Justin Morneau's three-run home run capped a five-run fifth inning that provided all the offense that the Twins needed to beat the Red Sox 5-2. Nick Blackburn struggled through seven innings but limited the damage to two runs. In a shocking turn of events, Nick Punto came through with a big hit in the fifth inning that scored the first run for the Twins. Some will say that, hey, maybe Punto's turning it around, but no no no no no. Pitchers in the National League sometimes do get hits, and it just so happened that Punto's one key hit per month was due. Remember when Jim Abbott pitched for the Brewers at the end of his career? Abbott got two hits and three RBIs when he was in the National League -- and the guy has one freaking arm. Considering Punto has two arms, he's at least good for that much. At least, in theory, he should be.It's time to address Seldom Delmon Young's continued run of patheticness. I should have mentioned in yesterday's post that The Brain chose to let Seldom h
it at the end of the game, and he ended up making the final out of a one-run ballgame. This was the same game in which Young looked pitiful against Brad Penny, being totally unable to catch up to a 93-MPH fastball. I'm sorry, but if you can't hit a major-league fastball, you've got some serious problems. Since coming off the family emergency list, Young has gone 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts, and they've pretty much all been on straight fastballs that Young hasn't came close to touching. I know the guy hadn't played in a while and he's going through the death of his mother. Obviously he's bringing this baggage to the plate, because he looks plain out of it. The manager's job, then, is to make sure that Young is in the right frame of mind to be playing baseball. We all know what he can do in the outfield (i.e., turn bloop singles into inside-the-park home runs) and lapses like this at the plate and in the field can cost your team dearly. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you might as well put Carlos Gomez in the outfield -- at least he can play defense and, though he is plenty worse than Young offensively (which is hard to do), he at least looks like he has fun sucking at the plate.
it at the end of the game, and he ended up making the final out of a one-run ballgame. This was the same game in which Young looked pitiful against Brad Penny, being totally unable to catch up to a 93-MPH fastball. I'm sorry, but if you can't hit a major-league fastball, you've got some serious problems. Since coming off the family emergency list, Young has gone 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts, and they've pretty much all been on straight fastballs that Young hasn't came close to touching. I know the guy hadn't played in a while and he's going through the death of his mother. Obviously he's bringing this baggage to the plate, because he looks plain out of it. The manager's job, then, is to make sure that Young is in the right frame of mind to be playing baseball. We all know what he can do in the outfield (i.e., turn bloop singles into inside-the-park home runs) and lapses like this at the plate and in the field can cost your team dearly. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you might as well put Carlos Gomez in the outfield -- at least he can play defense and, though he is plenty worse than Young offensively (which is hard to do), he at least looks like he has fun sucking at the plate.Speaking of Gomez, there has been a lot of talk recently regarding Bill Smith's two splendid 
trades since he has assumed the general manager post in late 2007. Gomez was the "blue chip" prospect that the Twins received from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade, and right now Omar Minaya and Met fans alike must be chortling loudly for that lopsided trade. Phil Humber was so bad that he cleared waivers, which meant that any team could have picked him up for nothing and every team passed. Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey are toiling away in the minors, and they don't appear to be much of a blip on the radar screen in terms of the team's top prospects. Meanwhile, the Twins reportedly could have gotten Jon Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury (plus Jed Lowrie and/or Justin Masterson, also important cogs for the Red Sox) from Boston or Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera from the Yankees. At this point, had the Twins traded Santana straight up for Justin Masterson, the trade would be better than what actually transpired. In the poker game that was played that winter in which Bill Smith held the biggest card in the deck, he simply got played. And it may be that the embarrassment of that trade may be forcing the Twins to keep Gomez on this roster, to show fans that they got something for Santana. The only role that Gomez has the ability to fill for the Twins right now is bat boy, and he may actually be underqualified for that.
trades since he has assumed the general manager post in late 2007. Gomez was the "blue chip" prospect that the Twins received from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade, and right now Omar Minaya and Met fans alike must be chortling loudly for that lopsided trade. Phil Humber was so bad that he cleared waivers, which meant that any team could have picked him up for nothing and every team passed. Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey are toiling away in the minors, and they don't appear to be much of a blip on the radar screen in terms of the team's top prospects. Meanwhile, the Twins reportedly could have gotten Jon Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury (plus Jed Lowrie and/or Justin Masterson, also important cogs for the Red Sox) from Boston or Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera from the Yankees. At this point, had the Twins traded Santana straight up for Justin Masterson, the trade would be better than what actually transpired. In the poker game that was played that winter in which Bill Smith held the biggest card in the deck, he simply got played. And it may be that the embarrassment of that trade may be forcing the Twins to keep Gomez on this roster, to show fans that they got something for Santana. The only role that Gomez has the ability to fill for the Twins right now is bat boy, and he may actually be underqualified for that.The other trade that Smith made, of course, was the trade for Seldom Young. The "throw-in" in the trade, Brendan Harris, has more value for the Twins at this point. Oh, and Jason Bartlett is second in the league in hitting (.373) and reigning ALCS MVP Matt Garza is sixth in the league in strikeouts and has an opponents batting average of .200. Garza would be the far-and-away ace of the staff if he was on the Twins, and he's probably the best pitcher on the Rays right now. It is the failure of these two moves that will forever doom Smith, who will probably now retract into Terry Ryan mode and not do anything to improve the team via trade. He'll be scared to pull the trigger because every move that he's made thus far has badly backfired.
Kevin Slowey goes for win #7 on the year tonight, but he is facing Daisuke Matzusaka, who has the stuff that Twins hitters just wilt at the knees against. Don't worry about Matzusaka's horrid numbers this year -- he'll pitch a gem tonight.
1 comment:
Minnesota Twins should be always competitive enough to keep pace with the others. I really like them; they’ve always been my favourite teams in MLB. Just read about them here:
http://www.twinsportal.com
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