The Little Engine that…
After the Twins lost a 10-5 decision to the
Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon, all I could think about is The
Little Engine that Could. “I think I can. I think I can.” Toot! Toot!
I have to be honest. There are days and times
when I really, really miss the Twins being the little engine that could. I know
many Twins fans would be frustrated back then with all of those “pitching and
defense” philosophies. I got annoyed with the “One Game at a Time” theory. I
know that we always hated that the Twins would need two or even three hits
bunched together to score a run while other teams just sat back and scored two
or three with one swing of the bat.
Although we said we didn’t like the “Small
Market” moniker, we took some pride in it. We may not have the big names and
the big contracts, but you know what, we’ll out work you and out hustle you.
(We’re… Scrappy!) We are going to have players that
“do the little things right,” and make some things happen. We have a team that
may not have the big name pitchers, but our defense will make all of the plays
behind them, including some that will be spectacular! Remember how often Nick Punto and the Twins made appearances on Web Gems? Phrases
like “Battled their tails off” seemed to represent the team so accurately.
Yes, there are days, like today, that I miss
those teams. However, now the Twins are not a small market team. They’re not
even a mid-market team. They are the team with the stars, the big name players
with big-money contracts. The Twins 2011 payroll comes in at a robust
$113,237,000. The team that outplayed and out-scrapped, and did more little
things right today was the Kansas City Royals, a team whose payroll comes in at
just $38,176,000. Have the Twins become too big for their britches?
The Royals are expected to lose 95 or more
games this year, yet they are currently 7-4 while the Twins are 4-7. They have
a lot of guys that other teams either gave up on or simply didn’t want. They
came to the Royals because they will be given a chance to play. They likely
know they are stopgaps while the organization waits for the likes of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Wil Myers, John Lamb, Mike Montgomery, Cristian
Colon, Chris Dwyer, Danny Duffy and several more to develop. In fact, Royals
fans can’t wait for that group of prospects to arrive.
Guys like Melky
Cabrera and Jeff Francoer, Wilson Betemit,
Bruce Chen and Jeff Francis, are playing for their careers beyond 2011. Alex
Gordon is playing for a chance to show he can play big league baseball. This
team is not real high on talent (although Gordon, Butler and Soria may argue that), but they have a guys who are playing
for their careers. That means something.
At the same time, we are also seeing the first
wave of those highly regarded and discussed prospects. The Royals bullpen
contains hard-throwers Aaron Crow, “Tiny” Tim Collins and Jeremy Jeffress (one of the players they acquired for Zach Grienke). In this two game series, Twins fans go to see
what kind of talent these guys have. Crow is the only one of those three to
crack Baseball America’s top 10 Royals prospect list, at #9. Those
guys are pitching to show that they belong.
The Royals have two players on long-term
contracts (not counting Jason Kendall’s weird two year, $6 million deal). Billy
Butler signed a 4 year, $30 million deal in the offseason. Joakim
Soria’s contract guaranteed him $8.75 million from
2009 through the 2011 season, but it also contains three very team-friendly
options.
Meanwhile, the Twins have plenty of players
on multi-year deals for huge dollars. Joe Mauer is
signed and will get $23 million a year through 2018. Justin Morneau
will get $14 million a year through 2014. Carl Pavano
will get $8.5 these next two years. Denard Span is
signed through 2014. Nick Blackburn and Tsuyoshi Nishioka
are signed through 2013.
That’s not to say that the Twins don’t have
players who are playing for something. Mauer is
likely trying to prove that he’s worth the money. Morneau
is trying to come back from his concussion. Pavano is
trying to show that his year-and-a-half with the Twins has not been a fluke.
Span and Blackburn are trying to show that their 2010 seasons were the anomaly.
Also, Joe Nathan is a.) trying to prove he is back
from Tommy John surgery, and b.) playing for his 2012
option or for some other team to pay him in 2012. Jason Kubel,
Michael Cuddyer and Matt Capps are free agents after
this season. Delmon Young and Francisco Liriano are playing for either a big final arbitration day
pay raise or a multi-year contract. Nishioka is
trying to prove that he can play in the big leagues. The same is probably true
for Alexi Casilla. Brian Duensing
is trying to prove he can be a starter for a full season. Danny Valencia is
playing to avoid a sophomore slump. Luke Hughes is trying to prove he belongs.
And frankly, Ron Gardenhire
is a tremendous manager and has proven himself over and over again. Some of his
best work was motivating those young players and the second (or third, or
fourth) tier talent players to play together, and in the end, to win. When
expectations are low, the Twins have consistently come through. The question
has become can he again find a way to motivate a lot of veteran ball players
that should not need any motivation. I
always laugh when people say that part of a manager’s job is to motivate his
players. Again, if a player is in the big leagues and can’t be motivated, it
says a lot more to me about the player than the manager. All reports are that
while Gardy will back his players all day on the
field and to the media, behind closed doors, he can tell it like it is. That’s
a good thing.
So, a lot of Twins fans, myself
included, are a little frustrated by the play of the Twins through their first
11 games. The offense hasn’t consistently hit. There are a lot of players who
are off to slow starts. We see the Royals and Indians near the top of the
division and wonder why the Twins aren’t playing better. Many are questioning
the effort of this Twins team. As much as there are times when this team can
look lethargic and play poorly, I think it’s pretty dangerous to question a
person’s effort.
I don’t think the effort should be questioned
unless you have some sort of proof that a player is not giving their best. That
said, a staple of those Twins teams last decade was
always defense. And when you trot out a lineup that has Jason Kubel in right, Delmon Young in
LF, Michael Cuddyer at 2B, and few (if any) guys that
have above average range, there are going to be days like today. Days when a bunch of hits trickle through the infield “just passed”
an infielder. Days when the outfielder comes up just
short and the ball drops in.
It’s not about effort. I am a Michael Cuddyer apologist, and I won’t apologize for it. But I do
get annoyed when I hear or read people bashing Michael Cuddyer
for his defense at 2B. First of all, it is absolutely commendable that he is
willing to do whatever is asked of him. Second, his effort level at the plate
and at 2B is very high. And finally, and maybe most importantly, He is Not a
Second Baseman. So, bashing him for not being as good as we would hope at a
position he simply isn’t, makes no sense to me. Or, you can question his range
in right field when he doesn’t get to balls that other right fielders might,
but that isn’t about effort. Same with Jason Kubel.
People can and do question Joe Mauer’s intensity level. Occasionally, I even spend time
annoyed when I see more weak ground balls to second base and not blocking
pitches in the dirt. People want him to be more demonstrative on the field,
want him to be more vocal in the media and say something more controversial.
Would that make him a better player? Would that make him a better teammate?
And, we don’t know what happens, what he says, when the media isn’t around.
Maybe he is a terrific, but quiet leader. He is who he is, and what that has
been is a great baseball player, which is all that he is paid to be. Forcing
him to be something he isn’t, is not the best thing.
The funny thing is that the same people that
complain about the Twins defense, also complain when Jason Repko
or Drew Butera are in the lineup.
As this team is comprised right now, it is no
longer a scrappy, hard-nosed team. They are now a highly paid, veteran roster.
They don’t have players that take the extra base and force the other teams to
make plays. They won’t have any Gold Glovers (other than Joe Mauer who has been based on reputation). But, they really
didn’t have those guys last year either. And last year’s team was tremendous, won
a lot of games.
Bringing in another children’s story, there
is the tortoise and the hare. The Royals are out to a faster start than the
Twins. So is Cleveland. The Twins are off to a slow start. Does that change my
thoughts of what the standings will look like at the end of this season? Of
course not! The Royals are going to lose 95 to 100 games. Cleveland is going to
lose 88-94 games. The Twins are going to win 88 to 94 games. Why?
Here’s a little secret that people forget
sometimes... Those “little engine that could”, small market Minnesota Twins
teams that surprised a lot of people and won division titles… They also had
more talent than the higher-paid teams that they beat. Likewise, the now big
market, high salary Minnesota Twins team has so much more talent than those
teams. In the end of a 162 game season, that all plays out. The White Sox have
had big ups and downs already this young season. The Tigers
too.
In the end, talent (along with health and a
bit of luck) is what wins over time. They’re not what they once were. They are
no longer that scrappy team, and that team that does all the little things
right, anymore. This Twins team has talent. They’re off to a slow start. That
is all!
Tuesday
Night’S Podcast – The Twins game ended with about a minute left in the SethSpeaks.net
Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. It was great to catch up with New
Britain starter David Bromberg for a
fun 15 minute discussion. Check out the podcast. The next will be Twins Minor League Weekly on
Thursday night at 10.
MINOR
LEAGUE UPDATES
SethSpeaks.net Minor League Hitter of
the Day – Daniel Santana, Beloit Snappers.
Seth Speaks.net Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Deolis Guerra,
New Britain Rock Cats
Red Wings Ramblings
Wednesday
– Red Wings, Lehigh Valley – Rained
out on Wednesday. Double-header scheduled for Thursday. Anthony Slama is in Rochester and will be activated before those
games. Eric Hacker will start Game 1. Kyle Gibson gets the nod in Game 2.
Rock Cats Report
Wednesday
– Rock Cats 10, Harrisburg 4 – In his
first three at bats of the game, Yangervis Solarte hit a single, a double and a triple. He lined up to
centerfield and then grounded out to 2B in this next two at bats. He also stole
his first base. Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson were
each 2-5. Benson stole his third base. Danny Lehmann went 2-3 with a walk. Deolis Guerra improve to 2-0. In
five innings, he gave up two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out
five. The two runs each came on solo homers. Liam Hendriks
pitched the next 1.2 innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out two. Spencer
Steedley then got the next four outs, two of them on
strikeouts. Tyler Robertson came into the game for the 9th. He gave
up a solo homer, but held on for the save.
Steve Lombardozzi
started the season for Harrisburg by going 0-17. Tonight, he was 2-4 with his
first doubles and first home run. Yes, he is a 2B, and he is the son of the
former Twins 2B.
On Thursday, Bobby Lanigan
will start against Portland in the Rock Cats home opener.
Miracle Matters
Wednesday
– Miracle 3, St. Lucie 5 – As
mentioned, Dan Osterbrock returned to the Miracle
after starting the season on the DL. The lefty went 2.1 innings and gave up two
runs on four this. He did not walk any and struck out two. He was relieved by
St. Thomas grad, Matt Schuld, who went the next three
innings. He was not charged with any runs (although he came into the game and
allowed one inherited runner to score), on three hits and two walks. He struck
out three. Andrew Albers then came in and gave up one run on three hits. He
struck out two. Despite throwing three guys who joined the team before the game
(so terrific job by them!), the game went to the 9th inning tied at
three. Dakota Watts came in and gave up two runs on two hits to take the loss.
The bats had a hard time getting going. Jeurys Familia made the start. He gave up one run on one hit in
six innings. He walked two and struck out six. Through his first two starts,
the 21 year old right-hander has allowed two hits, two walks and one run in 13
innings. Danny Rams had two of the team’s four hits. He had a double and a
triple along with a walk. The other two hits were from Anderson Hidalgo, and
one of those was a double.
On Thursday, Tom Stuifbergen
will start against Bradenton.
Snappers Bites
Wednesday
– Snappers 1, Clinton 0 – BJ Hermsen started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on nine
hits and two walks in six innings. Jose Gonzalez pitched two scoreless innings,
striking out four. Michael Tonkin struckout
two in a scoreless ninth. Daniel Santana led off the 1st for
the Snappers with his first home run. He went 3-4 with a walk and the homer. Oswaldo Arcia gave the Twins and
early lead with a bases-clearing double. Later in the game, Josmil
Pinto also cleared the bases with a double. He was 2-3 with a walk. Michael
Gonzales went 2-4 with a walk. Reggie Williams was 2-4, and so was Andy Leer.
Feel free to leave
your thoughts, questions or comments.
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