One Bad Baseball Team
I think the time has come that even I have to
just admit that this Minnesota Twins team is a bad baseball team. Always an
optimist, it takes me a long time to give up on a person/player, or on a team.
The Twins have been tremendous after the calendar turns to August in recent
years, and that tends to keep some level of optimism. However, this is not the
same type of team as those Twins teams of years past.
This team is not a good offensive team. Yes,
I will agree that injuries are not only an excuse but the reality. Denard Span, Alexi Casilla, Jason
Kubel, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Delmon Young, Jim Thome, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Each of
these starters has spent an extended amount of time on the Disabled List this
year. To not acknowledge that is completely unfair.
But at the end of the day, this team will
score more than 150 less runs than they did a year ago. That is definitely
significant. When healthy, Denard Span and Jason Kubel were really good. Michael Cuddyer
has been tremendous since May. Alexi Casilla has been
pretty solid since May. But others have definitely been disappointing. Injury has
played a huge part in that. In most cases, reserves or unready minor leaguers
have had to step in. For three months of the season, anywhere from three to
five regulars were out of lineup. Yes, an excuse, but also the reality. I didn’t
have hope for Tsuyoshi Nishioka, but I figured
.270/.340/.360 might be a solid rookie season. He looks like he might struggle
in AA.
This team does not have good starting
pitching. The Twins have five to seven starters who are good pitchers, but they
don’t have guys that intimidate an opponent. Scott Baker has been incredible most
of the year. However, it is impossible
to understand how Francisco Liriano has become this
bad. I agreed with those who said he was a head case, but his 2011 has been
ridiculously bad even considering his no-hitter against the White Sox. Carl Pavano has been nowhere near what he had been the previous season
and a half with the Twins. He has had his moments, but he has not been
good. Brian Duensing
has been solid as a starter despite right-handed hitters crushing him. Nick
Blackburn was pretty good until his last five or six starts, when he has been
absolutely crushed. Anthony Swarzak has been solid in
long relief and spot starts, but you could actually make an argument that he
has been the Twins second-best starter… which says a lot about how bad the
pitching has been.
The team does not have a good bullpen. This
is probably a huge understatement. Glen Perkins has been incredible all year
(except for his 3
week stint on the DL). Joe Nathan has been very good since he came back from
the DL. Matt Capps has been good at times, but his blown saves have been very
frustrating. His inability to record any strikeouts finally caught up to him.
Jose Mijares has been a disaster. Alex Burnett
continues to show that he could be very good, but he’s not there yet. As I
said, Swarzak has been good. Jim Hoey,
Chuck James, Phil Dumatrait… the Twins have tried any
number of pitchers and roles to try to make it work. Little has worked.
The team does not play good defense. Denard Span and Ben Revere have both done a good job
in centerfield. Other than that, who
has been good? We knew that Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young and Jason Kubel
would not be good outfielders. And they haven’t been. You have to commend Cuddyer for his willingness to play anywhere, but he
struggles with the glove and range. Joe Mauer has
done a good job at 1B, but the intricate details of being a 1B are new to him. In
general, the defense has been really bad this year.
The manager has made his share of mistakes,
but because of the lineups he has had at his disposal, he didn’t have a lot of options. Often, he may have been too
aggressive, but I understand wanting to help out by trying to make things
happen.
It was a rough one for the front office. Have
there been any moves that have worked for the Twins? Re-signing Capps? Trading
JJ Hardy? Bringing in Nishioka? The best move that
the front office did was
not signing Francisco Liriano to a long-term contract.
It has been another horrible year for the
Twins training staff. More questionable decisions, and although I realize that
most injuries are pretty flukish, how did one team
have so many injuries?
The Twins are now 51-60 and they are eight
games out of first place with three teams to pass in their final 51 games.
Considering again that this Twins team
has bad hitting, bad starting pitching, bad relief pitching and bad
defense, it is hard to see this team coming back. As much as I probably thought
the Twins should have sold at the trade deadline, one week ago, the Twins had a
chance to be just 4 games out of first place. So, I understand not selling. But
now, I would hope that the Twins would have all of their players on waivers and
see wh0 does or doesn’t get claimed. Veterans and others that are unlikely to
be back should be considered as trade options. I’m not saying to just give
everyone away. The other team has to be fair, but trades and selling should be
strongly considered.
Admitting it is often the problem…The Twins
are a bad baseball team. I think I can
admit it. I think!
Any thoughts?? E-mail me, or leave
some Comments.