Monday, May 15, 2006
Twins Take First Step
The Twins have finally made a move that makes sense- pulling Silva from the rotation, and inserting Francisco Liriano. Of course, Gardenhire let Silva give up eight more friggin runs before pulling him last night! Hey, Gardy- just because he has low pitch counts doesn't mean you should leave him out there to be slaughtered every start. That's 74 hits allowed in 46 innings, including a league-high 15 gopher balls. In the games that count (in other words, ignoring his game vs the Royals), he's given up the following run totals: 6, 5, 8, 7, 9, 5, 8.
The worst-case scenario for this team would be to stay within striking distance of the playoffs all season long, before reality finally hits down the stretch. I have a feeling that's exactly what is going to happen, though. With Hunter hitting and fielding very well right now, I can't imagine his trade value is going to ever be higher. I would move him immediately. Of course, if I was running things, Jason Bartlett wouldn't be in AAA, and Juan Castro and Tony Batista would not be Twins.
I watched the failed bunt which resulted in a triple play last night, and it was one of the worst baseball plays I've ever seen. First you have Luis Castillo, who has easily been the best hitter on the team so far, pop up a bunt attempt. Then, you have both Nick Punto and Shannon Stewart totally misread the play, thinking Konerko's not going to get to the ball before it hit the ground. To make matters even worse, once Punto realized he screwed up, he just walked off the field, toward the dugout (he had already made it to third base). This was way before he was actually doubled off of second. Definitely not the "Twins baseball" Gardenhire preaches.
The worst-case scenario for this team would be to stay within striking distance of the playoffs all season long, before reality finally hits down the stretch. I have a feeling that's exactly what is going to happen, though. With Hunter hitting and fielding very well right now, I can't imagine his trade value is going to ever be higher. I would move him immediately. Of course, if I was running things, Jason Bartlett wouldn't be in AAA, and Juan Castro and Tony Batista would not be Twins.
I watched the failed bunt which resulted in a triple play last night, and it was one of the worst baseball plays I've ever seen. First you have Luis Castillo, who has easily been the best hitter on the team so far, pop up a bunt attempt. Then, you have both Nick Punto and Shannon Stewart totally misread the play, thinking Konerko's not going to get to the ball before it hit the ground. To make matters even worse, once Punto realized he screwed up, he just walked off the field, toward the dugout (he had already made it to third base). This was way before he was actually doubled off of second. Definitely not the "Twins baseball" Gardenhire preaches.
