Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Don't Bury the Twins Yet

We as a blog haven't talked about the Twins much lately. I think the reason, in part, is that a good chunk of the contributors here don't give two shits about the Twins, and the better chunk of the contributors who do care have been sitting back, rocking on their heels, scared shitless that any praise or condemnation could be the final stumbling block to an over-achieving team.

We haven't called out the bullpen for being the most experienced, and yet, least reliable part of the squad (Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier, we are talking about you!). We were tempted to point out to folks who happily waved Livan Hernandez bye-bye that the starting rotation as a whole has suffered since he left. Lots of tired arms in the starting staff, and no one pitcher looking the stopper the Twins needed coming into tonight's first game in a 3 game series against the White Sox, who lead the Twinkies by 2 1/2 games.

Or they did, before tonight's game, which the Twins won easily, 9-3. Lots of talk in the AP article about how Javier Vazquez failed the Sox (the headline is Vazquez Flops Again)--it could just as easily been a headline about how Jason Kubel is becoming the hitter the Twins thought he would--he's now at 20 HR's, including his 2 tonight, and a triple besides. It could have been about how White Sox reliever Boone Logan came in, got one out, and gave up back-to-back homers that really put the game out of reach.

Or it could have been about Scotty Baker's quality start--7 innings pitched, 5 hits, One Run Earned. It makes the inevitable bullpen (this time around, Matt Guerrier) homerun more acceptable.

we say this with bated breath, crossed fingers, and a bit of hesitation: we think the Twins will sweep the Sox this week, and never relent the lead in the AL Central.

3 comments:

The Black Freighter said...

Oh sweet Jesus... you just had to add that last sentence! We're doomed now!

And quit harping on the Livan Hernandez front. He was hot to start the year and tailed off terribly. The innings he was giving us were putrid and he predictably got trashed in Colorado. 31 earned runs in 33 1/3 innings... yummy indeed! At the time he was dismissed, all members of the Twins pitching staff were dealing AND they had Liriano chilling in AAA.

Are you honestly saying that you'd prefer to trot out an experienced turd with a 5.50 ERA over rookies Blackburn and Perkins? Your logic that he was an innings eater isn't even true anymore... he made it to the 6th inning just 5 times out of 12 from July on. Blackburn was 9/15 and Perkins was 10/14 with that same meaningful statistic.

Jess said...

I swear, if you've jinxed my beloved Twins, Big Blue Monkey ...

Jess said...

I am so motherfucking sorry for ever having doubted you.

PS: I heart Telly Hughes.