Bizarro
SethSpeaks
The Twins were just swept in a day-night
double headers by the Tampa Bay Rays. They were swept in the two day, three
game series by a combined score of 29-6. It was definitely not a good showing for
the hometown nine.
But I have been absolutely amazed by the
response by some Twins fans. My assumption (and hope) is that it is the loud
minority that has gone a little over the edge. However, I have never seen or
heard such irrationality in my eight years of blogging on the Twins. Was it
2006 or 2008 when the Twins went into Detroit early one season and were swept
in a three-game series by a combined score that resembled 42-donut (for you
Vikings fans out there, just to give you something to ponder today). As I
recall, the Twins turned things around soon after that and ended up winning
another division title that year.
Listen, I get that every game matters. Yes,
the Twins have been in two Game 163s. I know that games in April matter as much
as games in September when games are more under the microscope and scrutinized
with an even finer comb. Yikes!
I was asked yesterday on twitter why I’m so
calm through this rough patch for the Twins. Let me count the reasons. I love
baseball and I love the Minnesota Twins, but I have a lot of other stresses in
my life that actually do impact me. The Twins could go 1-161 and I would still
watch every game that I could, go to games, etc. I am entertained by the game.
I am entertained and amazed by the marathon that is a 162 game season. The peaks. The valleys. There are
injuries and illnesses and day-to-day events that have to be overcome. In the
last five or six years, no team has overcome that as much as the Twins.
Generally there are a few. This year, it is all piling up at once which is an
entirely different animal. I’m very curious if the Twins will overcome that.
But frankly, between work and family and bills and taxes and pets and travel
and gas prices and health and, well, I could go on and on, I do have enough other
things going on that I will be OK even if the Twins struggle. Think the people
in Alabama are too worried today about the Twins, or even the Tide? I hope that
all the Elizabethton Twins fans in that area are OK after they experienced some
devastating tornadoes in the past few days too. The biggest thing for me is
that no matter how much I were to stress about it, I
can’t do anything about it.
Is it frustrating? Of
course. I want them to succeed and be successful. I think we all do. I
say “I think” because I really think that there are some fans out there who
want certain players or coaches or the manager to fail. I guess I don’t
comprehend that.
I’ve also been asked if I really, truly
believe that Ron Gardenhire is a great manager. My
answer is now, as it was last year and the year before, that he is one of the
best. I don’t know how to measure that. I think Joe Maddon
is the best in my mind. Terry Francona is terrific.
Mike Scioscia is very good. Gardenhire
is clearly in the upper quarter of baseball managers. Sure, I don’t always like
his lineup construction. There is his willingness to stand behind some of his
‘favorites’ longer than we would like, which also has been a positive for the
Twins on several accounts. But I think that his style over 162 games is as good
as anyone in the game.
But I know that there are several out there
who seemingly want me to jump ship. They want me to call for the manager’s
head. Every coach should be fired. They want me to think that the players are
soft and that several should be released. So, here we go… here is a Bizarro SethSpeaks blog:
THE SKY IS FALLING
The Twins got crushed again on Thursday, not
once, but twice. They are terrible, and there is no chance for them to turn it
around. Sure, their top players, Joe Mauer and Delmon Young are on the DL. So what if the guys who missed
a ton of time in 2010 due to injury (Nathan and Morneau)
haven’t jumped back into their All-Star form in the first month of the 2011
season. Francisco Liriano is a terrible pitcher. They
should have traded him to the Yankees for some peanuts, and if they didn’t take
Brian Cashman’s offer of Ivan Nova and Ramiro Pena,
someone in the front office should be fired. There is no hope….
I’M BACK
No, I can’t do it. Hopefully you enjoyed my
brief walk on the dark side, but that’s not me. If people want to stop reading
my site because I’m too positive or not tough enough or won’t call for people’s
heads, that’s fine. But I’ve got to be me, and that’s going to be about staying positive and thinking
big picture.
Joe Mauer will be
back, and he will return to form. Justin Morneau may
not jump to MVP caliber overnight, but it won’t be long until he is back to
playing really well. Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be back
in a month or so and it will be fun to watch him develop. Jason Kubel and Denard Span have
started out well. They may not keep it up the full year, but they certainly
could. Delmon Young will be back in a week. Michael Cuddyer will continue to be solid and do whatever the team
asks of him. Shortstop will… well, OK, shortstop needs
a change for sure. Hopefully that will happen soon. Just a hunch, but Francisco
Liriano is not going to have a 9+ ERA for the full
season. Carl Pavano will be solid. Brian Duensing has been good. Matt Capps and Glen Perkins have
been very good. Jim Hoey might make people forget
Jesse Crain. There are guys in the minor leagues who
can help when needed. We’ve seen a bunch of them so far. Normally, they call up
one or two at a time to help the veterans. They’ve made moves with Rochester
like no season before. That’s not normal. Things will return to normal soon.
And that means that the Twins will play better ball. There is far too much
talent on this team to quit on them before May 1. If they’re playing sub-.400
ball in June 1, I’ll worry a little more. But not yet.
Minor
League Report
SethSpeaks.net Minor League Hitter of the Day– Steve
Singleton, New Britain Rock Cats
SethSpeaks.net Minor League Pitcher of the Day – BJ Hermsen, Beloit Snappers
Red Wings Ramblings
Thursday
– Red Wings 3, Buffalo 2 – Scott
Diamond recorded the win with a ve.
Rock Cats Report
Thursday
– Rock Cats 5, New Hampshire 11 – Deolis Guerra had a rough o
Miracle Matters
Thursday
– Miracle 4, Charlotte 3 – Matt Schuld went five innings in th
Snappers Bites
Thursday
– Snappers 10, Burlington 2 – BJ Hermsen picked up his firs
Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions or comments.
\