Sports Rantings

13 pitchers??

2008-06-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Whoops, so its been a while since I've posted on here. I've been a little busy with studying for (and passing) my insurance license exam.

So what the hell has happened to Bill Smith??? 13 pitchers? Kevin Slowey pinch running? What's next, Livan at DH? I realize we're struggling with some injuries right now (note to Nicky Punto, HEAL UP, then run full speed.....see you in a month) but to have only 3 bench players is ridiculous. Gardy is up there trying to figure out which pitcher to pinch run, he has to pull his DH because they are out of position players....this is sad. We've seen some patchwork rosters in our days as Twins fans, but this is a little out of hand. Maybe in Livan's next start, we can just ask for permission to skip the DH thing altogether, and give ourselves an extra option off the bench just in case. What are they expecting to happen when we go to Milwaukee next weekend??

My solution? Easy. Goodbye Juan Rincon. Patrick Reusse wrote a great article in the Star Tribune the other day about why they haven't gotten rid of him yet, and it all boils down to money. At this point, would you rather pay him to pitch for your team, or not pitch for your team. Every smart business owner knows when its time to eat money. The Twins need to learn this. For all of the strengths and successes, this is the one phase of baseball roster management that they have struggled with for years, and it appears that won't be changing anytime soon. If I'm Gardy, I'm pleading with the GM to get me another position player, to drop Rincon and Bass, and bring back Korecky. Bobby did a great job while he was up here. He doesn't have dominating stuff, but had a great changeup and spotted his fastball well. Plus, he's hitting 1.000 this year. Maybe we can bring him back as an emergency PH??

On the bright side, since my last post, Joe Mauer has homered not once, but TWICE! Interesting how the guy waits and waits for the perfect pitch, but drills two homeruns in one week on pitches that 3-4 inches off the plate inside. If I'm a lefthanded (and breathing) pitcher, I would now probably refrain from throwing Joe and inside fastball, unless it's going to catch the plate, or hit him.

That's all I've got for now. More insurance work to do. Yay.....

Boof.....barf, whatever....

2008-05-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Wow.

19-3.

Really?

Did that really happen yesterday?

Wow. Not even sure what to say about this game. Does anyone else think it may be time for Boof to take a step back? When he throws strikes.....they get hammered all over the park. So then he stops throwing strikes, and it takes him 90-100 pitches to get through 5 innings. No one is struggling more than this guy right now, and I think maybe it's time to let Boof either get down to the minors and work his stuff out, or get out in the bullpen. This team cannot survive constantly trying to come back from 4-6 runs down when this guy pitches.

With the way Perkins pitched today, the only logical candidate to pull from the rotation when Baker comes back is Bonser. Slowey hasn't been great, but he's been able to keep the ball in the park and keep his team in the game. That's the main objective of a starting pitcher, and that's where Bonser is failing the team right now.

Go away Juan......

2008-05-22T14:22:00.001-07:00

Flash back to 2004. It's the top of the 8th, Twins are up by a run. Nathan is starting to crank up in the bullpen, but we need someone to get us through the 8th and hand it over. Who does Ron Gardenhire call on? Juan Rincon. And with good reason. I'm not going to look up the exact stats at this point, but suffice it to say that Juan was a pretty good set up man.

Let's jump ahead. It's now 2008. Can someone tell me the last time Juan Rincon went through an inning without giving up at least 1-2 baserunners. It seems like he can't (or won't) throw strikes anymore. This guy is the poster child for performance enhancing drugs that no one talks about. Ever since he got busted "taking a tainted supplement" he has not been remotely close to the pitcher he was before that. I know Gardy keeps saying he's "going to run him out there, and give him plenty of chances" but how many chances can we give the guy. He was terrible last year, and he's been worse this year. In last night's game, if not for a tremendous catch by Carlos Gomez, and a boneheaded baserunning error by David Murphy, who knows how many runs Juan gives up. I realize Neshek is out for the year, so other guys need to step up. But Rincon is not that guy anymore. It is time for the Twins to cut their losses, and give guys like Brian Bass and Bobby Korecky their shot.

On a related note, its also time to send Adam Everett packing. This guy was known for his defense, and he can't be relied on to make a throw from shortstop to first base. His arm is terrible right now. I see that today the Twins put him on the DL, which is great. Leave him there. Punto was actually swinging the bat half decent, and Brendan Harris is a natural shortstop, or a terrible second baseman, however you want to look at it. For now, Harris at short and Casilla at second will have to do. I just don't think Harris has the footwork to play second base on a regular basis. When Matt Tolbert's thumb heals up, I think they need to give him a shot. As long as he promises not to dive headfirst into the first base bag anymore.

For the record, not all of my posts will be negative. There are some positives about the Twins season. Carlos Gomez is a game changer. Not always for the best, but he is definitely entertaining to watch. Tolbert was a nice surprise before getting injured. The starting pitching has been surprisingly strong, and Nathan has been lights out once again. Delmon Young will hit eventually, and someday Joe Mauer will learn to drive the ball instead of a being a 6'6" slap hitter.

Please feel free to leave comments, opinions, etc.....I look forward to reading them!

Post #1

2008-05-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

This is my first blog, and it probably won't be very good. So bear with me as I figure out what I am going to do with this. Thanks!

For those who know me, they know that I'm a huge sports fan. Football, baseball, basketball, even the occasional hockey game (though that's usually only at playoff time) seem to take up a lot of my time. My girlfriend would attest to this as well, though I'm slowly converting her into a sports nut. Since I am such a big sports fan, this blog will be dedicated mostly to sports. With it now being baseball season, most of these posts will be baseball related, with a few football/basketball droplets in here and there. So happy reading!