Thursday, September 1, 2005
Happy September
Good morning! I kept tabs on the Twins game throughout the afternoon today, and I don't know that I have ever been so frustrated. 13 hits, a reach on error, two walks, and a hit batter... and no runs. Not one! On multiple occasions, the Twins got runners in scoring position and seemingly found new ways to not drive in runs. Honestly, I don't want to even talk about the Twins offense any more. It seems like every day we talk about how bad they are. Every single day! No one wants to read negativity all the time. So, I'm not going to write much. I posted this on the Dickie Thon Twins Fan Forum's Game Discussion (I then added some brief thoughts after a couple of them to prove them):
A couple of quick things:
1.) Just go back to the box score, and take a look at the batting averages of the guys in the lineup. Should we really be surprised? This is a bad offense with the exception of Mauer and Redmond. That's just the way it is.
(Seth Note - Here are the end-game batting averages of the nine starters - .245, .242, .305, .355, .260, .239, .210, .294, .274)
2.) I may have thrown a bunch of statistics out today to show that Shannon Stewart is not the instigator that everyone wants to think. However, if he comes up with a runner on third and less than 2 outs, he'll at least score the run!
(Seth Note - stats may not show it, but Mauer and Stewart have an ability to generally put together professional at bats.)
3.) I disagree a lot with some of Gardy's decisions, but for the most part, his hands are tied. he's got no options. There isn't much he can do with the players he has to really affect anything.
(Seth Note - is it time to start blaming Terry Ryan for the position that the offense is in? Obviously what he has done with the pitching staff is great, and pitching wins most of the time... but there usually has to be at least one run scored too.)
4.) In our frustration with the offense, let's not forget how impressive Kyle Lohse was again today!(Seth Note - Seven innings, three hits, one walk, no runs. No decision!)
And that is enough on the game, right?! The team now has an off day to travel home for a weekend series against the Cleveland Indians.
My article on Shannon Stewart is still at the bottom of this page, if you haven't read it yet. I also posted a link to it on the Dickie Thon site to get some discussion, and there are some great points on there for you to check out.
I will also update the minor league results for both Wednesday and Thursday's games tomorrow. But I wanted to comment that the Twins Gulf Coast League season is complete, however, a couple of their top picks season's will continue. The team sent second round pick Paul Kelly to Beloit. The shortstop drafted out of high school came on toward the end of their season. Drew Thompson, another high school shortstop taken in the third round, is the son of Robby Thompson. He was is currently playing with the Ft. Myers Miracle.
Check out the Baseball Analysts today. They have an article on the pitching prospects down in the Arizona Fall League. There is a paragraph on both Glen Perkins and Travis Bowyer that are honest and interesting.
I read that the Twins will sign current Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks rookie outfielder Brent Krausse after the Northern League season is complete. Krausse is hitting .327 with 27 doubles, 13 homers, 46 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 85 games, making him a leading contender for the league's Rookie of the Year. He is from Anoka, MN, who played college ball at Jamestown (ND) College.
For those of you who follow college football, here are a number of great articles on Minnesota Gophers Heisman Trophy candidate Laurence Maroney. He is in articles naming him a Top Heisman candidate and a Name to Know. Maroney is incredible and with Marion Barber in the Cowboys camp now (going through a lot of issues), he could seriously challenge the 2,000 yard plateau. But his Heisman candidacy will likely be hurt by the Gophers likely average season results. FoxSports.com also ranks the Gophers offense 6th best in the country. Unfortunately, they rank their defense 74th. Their first game is tonight (Thursday) at Tulsa.
And with that, I am going to call it a day. I am exhausted and hope to sleep. However, I am really hoping that I will have a very exciting Question and Answer tomorrow or Saturday, so please check back. As always, if you have any thoughts, concerns, questions or opinions, please feel free to share them with me via an e-mail.