Friday August 27, 2004
One quick note - I will be heading out of town today at 2:00 for the weekend. I will then be traveling from the tip of the state (and country) down to the Twins Cities. Tomorrow (Saturday), my brother's amateur baseball team, the Wolf Lake Wolfpack, will be playing in Jordan, MN, in the 2nd round of the Minnesota State Baseball Tournament. In their first game last weekend, Wolf Lake defeated St. Francis 12-3. My brother had a bases-clearing double to open up the game. Should they win tomorrow, they will play again on Sunday at 11.
POSTSEASON ROSTER THOUGHTS
Good morning! Today is Friday and that is a GREAT thing. It has been a long week. Today at work is Food Friday, a day when we get to wear jeans and bring food to work! It happens the last Friday of every month. I even baked... or cooked... or, put a bunch of stuff into a bowl and stirred it up and called it good! But this is also indicates the end of the fiscal month. That pretty much just means that next week, I have to start all over on my month-end reports.
The end of August means one thing in baseball circles, at least for teams with a shot at the playoffs. Players not on the major league 25-man roster on August 31 are not eligible for postseason play. Obviously, there are loopholes to this rule (involving players on the Disabled List) that are hard to explain, but essentially, if a player is not on the roster August 31, he can't play in the playoffs.
The Twins have certainly put themselves in a position to be in the playoffs for the third consecutive season. So, let's take just a real quick look at who will be on the Twins postseason roster:
The SURE-THINGS
OF - Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Shannon Stewart, Lew Ford
IF - Justin Morneau, Luis Rivas, Cristian Guzman, Corey Koskie, Michael Cuddyer
C - Henry Blanco, Matthew LeCroy
SP - Johan Santana, Brad Radke, Carlos Silva, Terry Mulholland, Kyle Lohse
RP - Joe Nathan, Juan Rincon, JC Romero, Grant Balfour
There are 20 players (11 hitters, 9 pitchers), so we need to add 5 more players to the roster. My assumption is that the team will go with 14 hitters and 11 pitchers, as that is what they have done in past years. Also, with TV schedules and fewer starters being used, one or two of the starters can be used in the bullpen.
With that in mind, I need to add three hitters and two pitchers to my list. Before making those decisions, let's take a quick look at who might even be considered:
HITTERS
Rob Bowen - So much depends on the status of Joe Mauer in another month. It is clear that the Twins brass and staff have finally realized that Matthew LeCroy should not be a catcher (seriously, he makes Mike Piazza and Brian Harper look like adequate defenders!), so they would really hesitate to use him in the playoffs. If Mauer can't go, you have to assume they will have Bowen on the roster as the #2 catcher.
Jose Offerman - I think he is pretty close to a lock. He has continually shown why he was brought in to be a pinch-hitter. And, in the playoffs, that is exactly what he will be. He's a good veteran, who is also a switch-hitter, which makes him a good bench weapon late in games.
Jason Kubel - The organization's top hitting prospect (by far) now that Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are in The Show. Kubel wouldn't jump into the starting lineup because the four OF will comprise the three OF positions as well as the DH. So, Kubel would be just a pinch hitter in the playoffs. But hitting is what he does. The fact that he is left-handed should help his cause. Also, because of all four OF playing, the team needs another OF in case of injury (although Michael Cuddyer could play out there too).
Michael Ryan - Ryan was added to the roster last August and played well enough down the stretch to get a lot of playing time and take up a bench spot as a left-handed pinch hitter. Based on last year, I fear that Ryan may get that role again despite battling to stay above the Mendoza Line at Rochester.
Michael Restovich - I still don't understand how Resto did not get traded at the trade deadline. I continue to feel bad for him as he is going backward with another year at Rochester. He needs a chance to play! His role on a playoff roster would be limited to pinch-hitting or pinch-running.
Augie Ojeda or Alex Prieto - Michael Cuddyer can be a back up at 3B and 2B, but I would think the team would want someone on the roster who can back up Cristian Guzman at SS. Ojeda is on the current roster. Prieto has had a couple of stints with the team already this year. Neither would really play, just be insurance at SS. This may not be necessary if by some incredible, miraculous way Nick Punto is able to comeback for the playoffs. (note - this is highly unlikely)
PITCHERS
Joe Roa - Roa has done everything asked of him all season. It would be very unfortunate if he were not on the post-season roster. He has such an inglorious role with the team that he could be overlooked.
Jesse Crain - Definitely has the stuff to make a Francisco Rodriguez-like playoffs for the Twins. It may simply be a numbers game for him at this point though.
Aaron Fultz - Since being sent down to Rochester last month, Fultz has not given up an earned run. He may be poised to make the post-season roster as that second lefty in the bullpen the team likes to have. However, if Terry Mulholland is not in the starting rotation, then Fultz would not be necessary.
JD Durbin - The Real Deal could get a long look-see in September. His next start (this weekend) at Rochester may determine if he will be on the playoff roster or just a September call up. Because of his earlier arm surgery, I would hesitate to throw him into this type of situation.
David Gassner - The lefty leads the international league in Wins this year so far, with 14. I'm sure that he would fall behind Mulholland and Fultz at this point, but he has pitched well enough to get some token consideration.
Matt Guerrier or Seth Griesinger - Uhhh... NO! Just seeing if you're paying attention!
So, I need to add three hitters and two pitchers to my Sure-Thing List. Here are my choices:
Hitters - Jose Offerman, Jason Kubel and Augie Ojeda.
Pitchers - Joe Roa, Jesse Crain
I think Offerman is a given, and I'm going with Ojeda over Prieto just because he is on the current roster and his speed and range. I do think that Jason Kubel should be on the roster as well to hit. I think that Bowen will be left off the roster at this point, but if Mauer can not play, he will certainly be on it. I think Crain is a given, and I think that Roa simply deserves the roster spot, even if it is in a role where he would only pitch in a blowout situation to eat up innings.
So, all told, here is what would be my Twins postseason roster:
OF - Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Shannon Stewart, Lew Ford, Jason Kubel
IF - Justin Morneau, Luis Rivas, Cristian Guzman, Corey Koskie, Michael Cuddyer, Augie Ojeda
C - Henry Blanco, Matthew LeCroy
PH - Matthew LeCroy, Jose Offerman
SP - Johan Santana, Brad Radke, Carlos Silva, Terry Mulholland, Kyle Lohse
RP - Joe Nathan, Juan Rincon, JC Romero, Grant Balfour
What do you think? Does this 25 man roster make sense? Can this team compete with the other playoff-possible teams? Could the Twins still make a trade? Any thoughts on the Twins? E-mail me.
TWINS FALL IN FINALE WITH TEXAS
Here are just a couple of thoughts on last night's Twins game. I have to admit that I watched very little of it, but I still have a few thoughts just based on the box score. The White Sox beat the Indians 14-9 last night, so the Twins lead on both teams is now 8 games.
Twins 3, Rangers 8
Terry Mulholland got shelled. 3+ innings, 7 earned runs on nine hits and a walk. I suppose a lot of Twins fans will forget exactly what he has done for this team in the last few weeks and start talking about how he should be replace in the rotation. He's done enough to warrant a rough outing!
Jesse Crain pitched two more shutout innings. In the Twins past 11 games, Crain has pitched just one other time, and that was in the latter innings on a Twins 8-1 win over Cleveland. With how tired the likes of Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan must be, and the arm problems of Grant Balfour, I have to wonder why Crain isn't pitching more.
Michael Cuddyer didn't play the first three games of this series and again did not start last night. He got three plate appearances in the game after pinch hitting for Torii Hunter. He was 0-1 and walked twice. That is pretty impressive to me. To not play for that long and then to still show that kind of patience says a lot! I know I would have been up there hacking!
The Rangers finally showed the offensive juggernaut that they are. They collected 15 hits. Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock (along with Brian Jordan and Gary Matthews) each had two hits (Rod Barajas had three). OK, how sweet is the swing of Hank Blalock. I could watch him hit all day. Yeah, he takes a huge cut, but does it in a way that isn't offensive, like Ryan Klesko's swing is.
The Twins now head to the Magic Kingdom to take on another of the AL West leaders, the Anaheim Angels. This should be another good series. The Angels have been playing great, and their big free agent pitchers are really pitching well of late. The really big pitcher, Bartolo Colon is just 13-9 with a 5.30 ERA on the year. However, since the All-Star break, he is 7-1 with a 3.19 ERA. Kelvim Escobar has been better throughout the year (8-9, 4.11 ERA), but in August, he is 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA. And Aaron Sele just has cast a spell against the Twins his whole career. Vlad Guerrero is a MVP candidate and Jose Guillen has continued to hit the ball hard. They are also coming off a 21 run game on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals in which Jeff DaVanon hit for the cycle.
The Angels are a good team with a tough lineup. Vlad Guerrero is hitting .329 with 28 homers and 100 RBI. Jose Guillen is hitting .309 with 26 homers and 99 RBI. Darin Erstad is hitting .319. Garrett Anderson is hitting .312. Jeff DaVanon is hitting .301. Chone Figgins is hitting .292 with 35 extra-base hits and 27 stolen bases.
The Angels are for real, so it will take some strong Twins pitching to win this series. But the Twins have it set up so that they will throw their Twin Aces. Here are the pitching matchups for the series.:
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Friday - 9:05 - Brad Radke (9-6, 3.41, 1.14, .265) vs Aaron Sele (7-1, 4.43, 1.50, .290)
Saturday - 3:05 - Johan Santana (14-6, 3.13, 0.98, .202) vs Kelvim Escobar (8-9, 4.11, 1.36, .253)
Sunday - 3:05 - Carlos Silva (10-8, 4.71, 1.48, .318) vs Bartolo Colon (13-9, 5.30, 1.41, .268)
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ROCHESTER REDWINGS
REDWINGS 0, Buffalo 9 - Matt Guerrier had a rough outing. In 5 innings, he allowed five runs (3 earned) on 8 hits and two walks. Even with the loss dropping his record to 5-10, it has to be noted that his ERA is just 3.19. Brent Schoening and Kevin Hodge had identical 3 hit, 2 run, no walk, two strikeout innings. Aaron Fultz did pitch another scoreless inning. The offense only created four hits, and a Terry Tiffee double was the only extra-base hit.
NEW BRITAIN ROCKCATS
ROCKCATS 4, Trenton 5 (12) - Erik Lohse started and went five innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk, striking out four. Victor Moreno pitched three shutout innings. So did Kevin Cameron. Unfortunately Cameron allowed a run in the 12th inning that ended the game. Ryan Owens led the team with going 2-5 with his 5th homer. James Tomlin and Jake Mauer each had two hits.
FT MYERS MIRACLE
Game 1 - MIRACLE 0, Tampa 4 - A Doug Deeds double was the only hit the Miracle were able to muster in game 1 of the twin-bill. Josh Gray fell to 2-10 with another loss. He gave up two runs in the first three innings on two hits and three walks. He struck out five. Josh Hill gave up a run in hit two innings. JC Contreras gave up a run in one inning.
Game 2 - MIRACLE 13, Tampa 12 - The bats showed up in game two!
SWING OF THE QUAD CITIES
SWING 9, Peoria 3 - Scott Tyler improved to 6-4 (2.74 ERA) with six innings of two run ball. He gave up four hits and walked four, but struck out another six batters. Tristan Crawford got the save by pitching the final three innings. He gave up a run. Kyle Phillips went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Denard Span and Kyle Geiger each had a double.
ELIZABETHTON TWINS
E-TWINS 3, Pulaski 4 - Chris Marini pitched another solid game. He went the first six innings and gave up three runs (just one earned) on four hits and no walks. He struck out seven. Jonathon Martinez pitched the next three innings without giving up a run. But in the 10th, he gave up one and got the loss. The offense was led by Landon Burt who went 3-5. Jeremy Pickrel and Javier Lopez each had two hits. C Timothy Lahey had just one hit, but it was his third home of the year.
DREAM TEAM - Well, Team USA won a hard-fought game against Spain 5-0 to advance to a semi-finals game against Manu Ginobili and Argentina today in what should be another tough matchup. The winner will advance to the Gold Medal game.
Pao Gasol led Spain with 29 points. Stephon Marbury, of all people, led Team USA with a record 31 points. He made 6-9 three-point attempts and 10-15 overall from the field. Allen Iverson added 16 points including three 3-pointers. Team USA will have to continue to hit open three-pointers to advance.
OK, on that note, I am going to call it a day and a week, and a month!
As always, if you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.