Gardy, Gomez and the New Piranhas
Posted on May 8th, 2008 – 12:47 AMBy Joe Christensen
OK, that was a total deadline scramble with the rain delay and Carlos Gomez making history, so hopefully the two game stories I filed made some sense. Emptying the notebook here before heading to the hotel for some quick sleep with the day game tomorrow:
(*) After flight delays leaving Tulsa, Okla., Manager Ron Gardenhire landed in Chicago during the seventh inning and didn’t come to the ballpark. He will be at the helm for Thursday’s series finale.
(*) As for Gomez, where to begin? I guess it’s fair to say Twins fans are quickly forgiving management for the Johan Santana trade.
“He’s special,” Twins third base coach Scott Ullger said. “Don’t blink, he’s that fast. I mean, total package. And he’s just learning the game, too. He’s learning how to hit, he can bunt, steal, he can throw, he can play center field. He reminds me of Torii Hunter out there in center field.”
Gomez said he’s keeping as many mementos from the game as he can: a ball, bat, etc. I told him the Hall of Fame might be calling, asking him to send something to Cooperstown.
“No, not Cooperstown, my home,” he said, flashing a big smile. “I don’t know. It’s mine. I work hard for this.”
Asked him about that lightning fast home run trot, and he said, “The game today started too late. I say, ‘Let me run the bases quick so the game goes fast.’ ”
Yes, he is becoming a sports writer’s dream.
The cycle is the perfect achievement for Gomez, who aims to be a complete player who can beat teams in so many ways.
“Everybody knows I can hit a home run,” he said. “But no, it’s not my time right now. I try to put something different on this team. They don’t pay me to hit home runs. They pay me to score some runs and defense. And that’s what we try to do every day.”
OK, for more on his cycle, please check out the game story.
(*) But something else struck me late tonight. Ullger seemed very pleased with the lineup after using Matt Tolbert to replace Mike Lamb at third base and Nick Punto to replace Adam Everett at shortstop. Tolbert and Punto batted eighth and ninth in the lineup, respectively.
“I thought one of the key at-bats in the game was whenMatt Tolbert came up and walked before Nicky Punto [in the five-run sixth],” Ullger said, unprompted.
Asked specifically about the contributions Tolbert and Punto made, Ullger said, “They prepare themselves. Nicky’s a good player. I’ve said it before I think he’s way too good to be a role player. And Matt’s going to be a great player. He does nothing but work hard.”
Lamb is batting .209. Everett .162.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
I get the feeling those two former Houston players need to start producing soon or the Twins will be inserting Punto (.265) and Tolbert (.298) into the lineup on a regular basis, hoping for the same kind of spark they got from the original Piranhas in 2006.
146 Responses to "Gardy, Gomez and the New Piranhas"
That was a LOT of fun. Thanks for the info Joe.
Got to love sports writers. always flip flopping.
one minute they want a guy sent down the next there writing history about them. i do agree that Gomez needs to learn better plate discipline but remember he is only 22years old. A few years batting with the M&M boys in the cages will get this guy better. When all is said he will be an elite player with many records to his name. If all things go good and he stays healthy that is.
Question:
Are the Who brothers really brothers?
Are Jacoby Who, Melky Who, Coco Who and FMart Who related to each other?
Its funny how Mr. Christensen omitted any reference to his assessment of Gomez as posted in his blog for April 23, a portion of which is quoted below:
“Gomez looks dangerously overmatched
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
The Twins have to be patient with Carlos Gomez. The rest of us don’t.
From the time I first saw him in spring training, I wondered when I’d reach a point where I’d recommend a different course of action with him. That time has come.
Watching him go 0-for-5 with four strikeouts Tuesday was my final straw….”
wow, give Joe C. a break…what is he supposed to apologize to his readers for making a bold statement that he may or may not be wrong about? he has looked overmatched a LOT this season…Joe calls it like he sees it, and he deserves our thanks for that.
mr.H- Joe C. is just speaking reality and has no hidden agenda against Go-Go. besides, Gomez HAS looked overmatched AFTER the Apr.23rd quote from your post. he will be awesome one night and brutal the next. be patient and quit being so paranoid that JC is ripping the Twins players un-warranted.
“enjoy the season.”
The twins are for real this year and for those of you skeptics . . . Just wait. Once their pitching and hitting come together which they have on many occasions such as last nights game - they are going to be a force to reckon with. Go Twins!
Twinsfan.
As long as Joe Vavra is the hitting coach, and Gardy is back to bring in Juan Rincon and Jesse Crain in Key situations I am not going to get my hopes up. 1 hit vs a mediocre pitcher is not made up for by 13 runs the next night. blowouts skew statistics… the reality is that this team doesn’t hit well, and Vavra needs to be fired.
I will be a skeptic until I see something that consistatly proves me wrong. So for the forseeable future I think I will just refer to Vavra s Dutch Elm Disease… he kills the wood…
The ‘Blur’ makes history. WOW!!!
What are you bitching about Joe C for? Here’s what he said:
“Gomez needs a one-game break, at the very least. The Twins should even consider sending him, and not Denard Span, back to the minors…”
Perfect analysis. Perfect advice. Perfect results!
BTW, Span is doing very decent at Rochester.
Does this mean I can take a day off from defending Vavra?
I actually have opinions on other subjects that no one wants to read.
Congrats to Gomez! I really wished I had been able to watch the game last night.
Twinsfan,
I wish I could be as optimistic, but until the Twins can have more consistent hitting (going from 1 hit to 16 hits the next night is not consistent, it’s extreme) the Twins are going to continue to be a rollercoaster.
That being said, the AL Central for now appears to be wide open. The White Sox radio guys were talking about this last night before the game and were talking about in the division if 1 team could just reel off a nice winning streak or 2 it could make them the favorite. Of course they meant the White Sox but the same holds true for everyone else. The White Sox and Twins pretty much so far have the best pitching in the division, so it’s a question of consistent offense. Problem with the Sox is that they seem to have to rely on the longball too much. Indians have pretty solid pitching too, and a the kind of offense that when it gets going, watch out.
Anyway, it’s May but it should be a fun ride. I hope the Twins are in the race come September.
bc-I see Vavra scored 13 runs last night(opps the Twins,but of course it’s all about Vavra).As i posted yesterday you blasted Vavra for being one hit by a mediocre pitcher, Gavin Floyd(do you want to revisit that remark in three years when Floyd is a star)If the Twins score 13 runs the next ten games you still be chirping about being one hit by Floyd.By the way who is this Gomez dude that hit for the cycle last night?That’s right,he was part of that terrible Johan trade.Young players like Gomez and Floyd get better as they get later into their twenties!I think i will ask you to predict games and then call the bookie and go the other way! I’ll be Bill Gates in little time! Please, give credit when it’s due!
I’m not sure, but I think I noticed Vavra in the dugout attempting to put some type of hex on Punto just before he hit the bases clearing double. I couldn’t read his lips, but it looked like he was saying “dutch elm, dutch elm”! Sorry BC, a little attempt at humor at your expense. My mantra for 2008 Twins remains the same. I think they’ll be a .500 team or a little better unless their stating pitching continues to exceed expectations like it has thus far. I’m prepared for some ups and downs (witness the past two nights)but I think they will be fun to watch more often than not.
“1 hit vs a mediocre pitcher is not made up for by 13 runs the next night. blowouts skew statistics…”
You try to hard BC. You’d have been better off just fading into a corner somewhere until the next shutout before spewing more of the same “Blah blah blah…whine whine whine…”
I took a look at the Twins final scores, and my counts could be off…but here’s what I came up with.
After 32 games:
Shutouts:
* The Twins have been shut out 4 times. (12%)
* The Twins pitched a shut out 3 times. (9%)
Blowouts:
* The Twins have scored 10 or more runs 4 times. (Won them all). (12%)
* The Twins have given up 10 or more runs 3 times (Lost them all. Including one 11-9). (9%)
Overall:
* The Twins have scored 5 or more runs 11 times (lost three of them). (34%)/(9%)
* The Twins have held a team to 4 or fewer runs 17 times. (lost four of them) (53%)/(12%)
I believe the “Quality Start” is 3 runs over 6 innings. So I figure a good pitching performance is a quality start, plus some wiggle room (so like the bullpen maybe gives up one).
And naturally, since a baseball game can’t end in a tie…I used 5 runs for the offense to show they provided enough runs to give a pitching staff the chance to win with a quality game.
The pitching has done its job, and provided the Twins with a real chance to win in more than half the games. And of those, only 4 resulted in a loss. I should see how many games were won when the Twins scored four runs or fewer, but I think I’m getting my point across.
But I can’t imagine that’ll mean anything to you. You’ll call it an aberation for a week, and then finally pop up after a shut out and cry “I told you so” for another week.
Nicky’s a good player. I’ve said it before I think he’s way too good to be a role player
I think that Ullger is ‘way too good’ to be a major league coach and talent evaluator
Joe
Does Gomez use an interpreter at all? I would imagine he would be more of a sports writers dream if you could understand him. He had a great game but what language was he speaking in the interviews afterwards?
Ullger is half right, Tolbert is your new starting shortstop.
Somebody needs to explain to GoBot what Cooperstown is all about. He’s the most exciting player the Twins have had since Kirby.
“I actually have opinions on other subjects that no one wants to read.”
I’d be interested to talk about something other than Vavra for once. If BC will allow it.
For starters…Livan? This was a highly contested point during the offseason, and I have to admit that I didn’t expect the kind of performance he’s had so far this season.
He’s had one UGLY outing, and one not so good…but otherwise I have to admit he’s consistently given this team a chance to win.
I think the Ponson/Ortiz situation last year has us all still nervous about when the other shoe is finally going to drop.
Livan was brought in to eat innings, and he’s not only done that, but pitched incredibly well (I think he’s 5-0 in divisional games)
And in most cases, you can’t even argue that it’s the offense bailing him out. He’s had 3-2 against LAA, 11-1 against Detroit, and now 13-1 against Chicago. He’s held teams to just a few runs regardless of the offensive output.
He’s taken over Silva’s spot in the rotation and then some, very glad.
As far as Gomez goes, what more can one say. He was struggling, got benched, and appears to have responded positively to it. Couple of homers, the cycle, and man does he have a good head on his shoulders when it comes to interviews. Sense of humor, healthy bit of ego.
You can tell he’s a positive influence on the rest of the morale on the team. Glad to see he can bring the bat to back it up.
I still miss Santana, but having a leadoff guy like Gomez has been too fun.
Another not from last night. Punto! Couple of UGLY bunts, and you could see him getting frustrated. That double, and later the triple, must’ve felt good for him. The guy had a crap year, and is the cause of much hand-wringing and in-fighting amoung bloggers. It was a great feeling to see him break the game open with the double. This is why I still think there’s value in Punto off the bench…at least to finish out this year.
Don’t know if I agree with Tolbert/Punto on the left side. We know how Punto does as the everyday player, and he’s responded to limited play fairly well.
I’d rather the Twins go out and get a good young 3B slugger, and get Tolbert comfortable at SS. Tolbert doesn’t strike me as a slugger…
werbelik- it’s fine. If I were completely unrattled by people disagreeing with me, or ripping me do you think I’d still be here? More importantly do you think the people ripping me would still be here?
I liked the comment by “sane says”(see above). Go-go is fun!
I am looking forward to seeing how well the Twins will play once the offense starts to hit on all eight cylinders. They have had their moments like last night, but if Delmon and who ever is playing on the left side of the infield can start providing a little more on a consistent basis it will be fun.
BC, I try to make my comments in good-natured fun. One of my favorite statements of yours from a few days ago, and I’m paraphrasing, was when you said that wins cover up a teams short-comings. Sorry I did not take the time to look it up, but that one cracked me up. And I could not agree with you more!
are there still people here who want to send gomez down to save service time?
vavra was a genius last night!
to this point i was wrong about livan. i do admit when i’m wrong.
clearly punto will get an extension soon, common practice to make judgements based on a few games.
there are some very bad bullpens in the central.
gomez sure is fun to watch, most nights.
was ulger around last yr when punto played everyday?
More importantly do you think the people ripping me would still be here?
Stop flattering yourself BC.
bc-Come on now,we have had this dialogue for some time now! We both,i thought,agreed it was not personal!
Anyone want to play a game. Here lets try “get the plastic bag off your head game”. What does that Idiot take us for
I sense tension in the “blog world” between BC and T. This should be a good matchup. Both frequent contributors, both fighting for control of this blog. Who will win this fight? Only time will tell my friends… Only time will tell.
plastic bag over the head game time!!!!!
Anyone see how there was a RAIN DELAY YESTERDAY. Wait till the Twins get 1/3 of there games rained out. I sure will love that. See we usualy get a nice jet stream that goes through Canada and into Minnesota which they do not get in Chicago. I can not wait to see Go GO gomez running even faster as hail and lightning try to come after him
Here’s what I like about BC: he has an opinion, that does not waver game to game. He feels that the Twins have some weaknesses that need to be fixed. That opinion is not changed based on a good game, or a bad game.
And, does anyone disagree that there are still holes in the lineup? 3B, SS, and LF are gaping holes so far this season (and DH has been really disappointing as well).
Some people are offended when a fan points out weaknesses on their favorite team. I’m not really sure why, but they are.
Of course, some of you bring it on yourself. Before BC even posts, you are egging him on and begging him to post his thoughts. Again, not sure why.
As for the game, I missed it last night. Too bad, I would have enjoyed hearing GoGomez’s game. Also, I continue to be amazed at Livan’s success. So far, I’ve been quite wrong about that signing.
Bc
Please wait until the twins have a bad offensive game to start crying about Vavra and how the twins cant hit. It looks kind of silly after a game like last night. Find something else to bitch about like Jimmy bee and how he doesnt want to get rained on in the new stadium.
I’m proud to say that I’ve stuck by Nick Punto, even through his last year’s rough time. Why?? Because he’s a defense deity, that’s why! And now, he’s hitting like a star, too–it amuses me to read the sportswriters’ back-pedaling from their “Punto must go” stance. Well, I’m no betting expert, but early on I predicted that Everett and Lamb would not pass muster. I’d rather they just give ME the $5 mil, if they are going to waste money. 
Twins fans are used to players with quick moves. Everett takes forever to get the ball into play. [I know, I know–most regular players catch and release like Everett and Lamb, but still–can’t they get the lead out?!] GET NICKY BACK IN THE REGULAR LINEUP. Thank you
Regarding Gomez Howard and some of Gardy’s tardys wanted to send him down just a week and a half ago. I said NOOOOOOO!!!! Oh well I still see that inbreed Kubel is in the lineup.
Lets not forget Everett was brought in for his glove and not his bat. We knew what we were getting coming in.
BC you can complain about how Minnesota flash floods are going to sweep Go Go Gomez into the mississippi river. Try this one imagine as Kubel gets hit in the head by giant softball sized hail stones. Maybe this one as Boof Boozer gets struck by sky to ground lighning in a lightning show. Baby Jesus gets sucked into the sky by a level 3 funnel cloud
I was at the game last night, and I gotta say, with White Sox fans being among the most obnoxious I’ve ever seen, it was truly glorious to be one of a pretty decent number of twins fans in attendance making the only noise in the place. Go Twins, baby!
I have no problem talking about other things, but I am not going to stop voicing my opinion just because others don’t want to hear it. The twins have scored 4.3 runs per game, and are giving up 4.3 runs per game. We have two more wins than losses. That shows good pitching, and what happens when this team scores more than 4 runs per game.
How many other teams have been shutout 4 times this year?
Comparing that to the 3 we’ve thrown is comparing a good young pitching staff (better than I think most people thought myself included) especially if you subtract the Liriano starts out. If you look at this offense without the blowouts however the team is avereging less than 3.5 runs per game. A team that has to manufacture runs that doesn’t utilize the walk, and the hit and run is dysfunctional. This team could be 10 times better than I expect MR. NEGATIVE that I am, but they won’t be because the team doesn’t know how to work counts, work out walks they won’t avoid slumps like the elite teams like Boston, NY & Detroit (til this year), and the Angels. This philosophy is paying off huge for Oakland right now.
T and Geno
I was kidding, I too can make fun of myself. I’m not so arrogant that I don’t see how much of a blowhard I can be. It was not meant to be anything more than poking fun of how self important I can come across. My ego isn’t nearly as big as it seems.
BC I see you also like Pittsburgh Pirates. I actually am friends with John Grabow’ brother. I hope they do good over there this year. Come on and sing it “We are family ala 1970’s
From Howards 220:
One more thing: I’ll be hosting a live blog during today’s game on startribune.com. You’ll be able to go to startribune.com/twins and join in after 12:15 or so. If you’re working (and not the boss) it’ll be a good idea to spend part of the morning working on the footstep drill. You know, quickly minimizing your web browser when someone walks by.
Jimmybee. I don’t understand a word of that comment. I try not to ever do drugs, and I haven’t drank this early since I was in college the first time (cartoon keggers on saturday mornings pre-cartoon network). So I am afraid I’m not in an altered state so I don’t get it.
JimmyBee, that one I understood, lol.
the baby jesus comment thing was too weird for me.
Making fun of my negativity I’m guessing. It’s cool.
I understand as much as anyone no one likes a complainer… but I’ve also been on both sides where we got rid of a complainer when I worked for ADC Telecommunications, and after they were gone we found out they were right.
As for my love of Pittsburgh. I’m wearing my 1970 Yellow Pirates cap right now with a Suber Bowl XL champions T-shirt, and black shorts. I’m a poster child for all things pittsburgh right now. I would love to see that team do well, but the owner there makes Carl Pohlad look foolhardy with his money, and makes the GMs here look like Christ and Buddha respectively. Pittsburgh has been a mess since Leyland left.
Super Bowl, not Suber Bowl.
Believe it or not, I don’t drink, lol.
BC Beneke says:
May 8th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Jimmybee. I don’t understand a word of that comment. I try not to ever do drugs, and I haven’t drank this early since I was in college the first time (cartoon keggers on saturday mornings pre-cartoon network). So I am afraid I’m not in an altered state so I don’t get it.
It is me trying to be funny about the notion of the Twins actually getting an outdoor stadium. The weather is so lousy around here that those are events I can see happening during the time of the game. How about just one more. Everett getting blown into left field during a day of 80 mph straight line winds
bc-Kidding, of course.But on a serious note, i think your obessions can be hazardous to your health.You can’t be a great father from the great beyond!
Seems Punto does better as a role player than a starter. All we need to do is look at 2007 for the truth about him as a regular. Give him an occasional spot start, but leave him on the bench for defensive purposes.
BC come on and join me in ripping the notion of an outdoor stadium. This actually helps. Instead of ripping the Twins and there CHEEEEEEEEAP ways you could laugh at the idea of an outdoor stadium and bad weather effecting the outcome of a game
Yes Kick Everett out of the lineup! and Lamb maybe right behind him
As for Gomez… Joe C said that he was looking overmatched a couple weeks ago… and i said NO this is how Gomez is as a hitter right now… really high highs and really low lows. I just hope everyone remembers that… cause he will get into anothe low low… and don’t panic! the high high is coming
BC, you can’t ignore the blowouts and then factor in shutouts. You’re selectively picking your stats.
You’ve either got to factor it all in, or start coming up with some reasonable exclusions on both ends of the spectrum.
That’s why I pointed out the Twins have been shut out as often as they’ve blown out.
Gomez reminds Ullger of Torii Hunter?? That’s almost an insult. He’s twice as fast, three times as fun, and .01% of the whiner Torii was. I guess they both strike out a lot, but that wouldn’t really be something you’d say after a game like this.
C’mon! He hit for the cycle, Scotty! Say it with me, “He reminds me of Kirby Puckett out there.”
Anyone who makes the argument that the Twins don’t have a terrible offense obviously isn’t paying enough attention. Sure, they score runs some games, but they don’t have any power, don’t hit for great average, and are last in walks by a huge margin. I fully expect Kubel, Delmon, and Lamb to be MUCH better the rest of the season - the offense will be better than it has been, but still there are some major deficiencies (plate discipline and power).
Lamb and Everett are “Gardy’s boys.” Could be that the best thing to happen to the Twins lineup was for Ullger to manage it for a few days. I think we all learned something about the lineup and the players that were picked up this offseason. Now let’s hope Gardy isn’t the only person in the universe who can’t see what everyone else can.
mike wants wins, good post. I totally agree.
I wish there had not been a rain delay last night as I certainly would have liked to have seen Gomez’ incredible performance.
Punto as a bench player, good - he seems to do well in this role. Punto an every day starter, bad, bad idea. I am also concerned that with Gardy back Tolbert is going to be relegated once again to collecting butt splinters.
I don’t see a “gaping hole” in LF. Young is doing ok. His bat has been improving and hopefully will continue to improve. After all, he is learning from the the Great Vavra. How could he fail?
I’ve been reading Strib articles and blog postings today looking for some reference to Nick Punto’s MASSIVE physical and mental melt-down on his bunt attempt. If a player like Nick Punto cannot execute an important sacrifice and then fails to run out his miserable attempt, there is no place for him in the major leagues. He cost us at least one run and could have been more (if not for Gomez clutching up). I recognize he came through with a bases loaded double later in the game but that combo physical/mental mistake simply cannot happen. The Twins like to say how they play the game the right way. This was one of the worst plays I have EVER seen in MLB. Does this offend anyone else (especially coming from a “pirhana” ie no talent hack at the plate)?!?
It’s about time some people are seeing Punto needs to play every day. Great hitter/rbi guy, best fielder in the league would win a gold glove maybe at 2 positions if he played every day. Disappointing thing about his great game last night was he didn’t slide into first. Oh and the ump screwed him on the bunt. He’ll be the team MVP if they let him play!
what the …. says I like Punto to and I love the enthusiasm
Lamb is hitting .306 in his last 10 games. He just started out so poorly, his overall numbers look bad, but he’s doing fine lately. Everett has played in all of three games since coming back healthy, which is hardly enough time to evaluate him.
chris-great post! Vavra can’t swing the bat for these guys,but he can plate discipline.
BC Benke - ” How many other teams have been shutout 4 times this year? ”
Two. The Royals and the Washington Nationals. The Tigers have been shutout 5 times this year. Florida, San Diego, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and the White Sox have all been shut out 3 times this year. 19 teams have been shut out at least twice.
opps can teach plate discipline.
SoCalTwinsfan
I’ll agree with you on Lamb…. but Everett isn’t a major league baseball player anymore. he obviously can’t hit, even in his prime he couldn’t.
But his defense is what is scary. watch his lack of range… he’s certainly lost a step or two. and his arm strength… we he throws a ball it’s a weak lob that fast players can beat out. When Punto/Tolbert throw it, it’s on a line and sharp. given 100 groundballs to short there is probably 7-10 outs that Punto could get that Everett cannot
I think they should be playing Tolbert and Craig Monroe more regularly. Giving Delmon Young some time off would be good, so that he can get his rhythm back. Having Lamb and Punto platoon at 3rd would be good. You can’t expect perfection right now. Over the course of 162 games, you do find out the combinations that work.
When it’s all said it done, it’s about winning. You have to put the best product out there to get it done. If that means using Joe Nathan more often, so be it. Sometimes management protects their managers too much. Right now, Gardy will need to time to grieve the lost of his brother. It could be something the Twins rally around. Teams that rally around a cause can be really dangerous.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Twins pick up another solid starter come the trade deadline in case they are in the playoff hunt. This could be the year that the Twins are like the Angels. Maybe Brad Radke would want to come out of retirement for a couple of months. Otherwise, the Twins will trade with somebody from the NL. Maybe the Atlanta Braves.
Funny that someone previous used the rain delay in CHICAGO to de-justify an outdoor stadium in MINNESOTA…At game time last night, it was clear, 60, the sunset was spectacular in Minneapolis. Your argument there is about as ludicris as blasting vavra after a 13 run night.
Vavra was a genius last night telling Gomez to hit a leadoff HR, and the to go for the cycle. Give the man the raise he so richly deserves.
Their hitting coach should be sent back to the minors. It would send a statement.
jakegait
U must not follow the twins much. You dont have much of an argument if your bashing Punto on his effort. The only player on the team that works harder than him is Tolbert.
Does everyone really want punto to be a starter? I think puntos better success at the plate is because of the fact he has not been a starter. Remember last year - pitchers constantly threw him fastballs in, and he could never turn on it. Most of his hits this year have been out over the plate…its almost like since he is not a starter they don’t scout him. Horrible idea to give up on Lamb/Everett…..But I do like the idea of Buscher playing there in the future, and I was hoping for casilla at short by years end but he is doing absolutely horrible in the minors. By the way, why do hitters get offended when Livan throws that 60 mph curve? Its really funny
I hope Lamb and Everett are not starting today.
My biggest concern with Everett is his range. I didn’t expect him to hit. But I expected him to get to more balls. I think he lost at least one step when he broke his leg last year. I wonder if he’ll ever get it back.
JJ
I watch my fair share and am very passionate. I recognize that Punto USUALLY plays hard. However, he is not an everyday player (especially, not a 3rd basemen). And, a role player / utility infielder HAS to get sacrifice bunts down when given a chance. And, he MUST hustle EVERY play to have a job. I’ll give him one &^*%-up because of track record but he better have apologized to teammates and management after that play. It was embarrassing.
Outdoor baseball ha ha ha ha. In Minnesota ha ha ha ha. Worst weather in the country ha ha ha ha. Ploy for Pohlad to move the team and sell the stadium to Wilf for proffit ha ha ha ha.
So this so called “gret range” that Everett has is it because he’s qucicker to the ball or is it because he picks up the ball of the bat faster? The reason i ask is because i doubt his feet are quicker than Puntos.
Cut Everett and just keep Punto.
Anyone else hear Span shouting “DAMMIT!” when Gomez completed the cycle? I swore I did, but I’m here in DC, and he’s in Rochester, so I’m closer than most of y’all…
i would guess that if anyone else on the team didn’t run out the failed bunt but punto they would have been on the bench. but he gets after it, plays the game the right way, slides into first (great hustle) although stupid actually takes longer than running past. gardy loves him so he’ll keep playing, will be getting an extension soon and will be on the team when the new stadium opens, get used to it.
jimmy bee You are either on to something or on something as the saying goes!Please don’t give Carl any ideas.I’m sure he has already thought of it however.
Two. The Royals and the Washington Nationals. The Tigers have been shutout 5 times this year. Florida, San Diego, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and the White Sox have all been shut out 3 times this year. 19 teams have been shut out at least twice.
Thanks for looking that up Pete D. Especially when you consider that’s everybody in the Central with at least three.
And Detroit, Cleveland, and the White Sox are supposedly the high powered offenses the Twins can only dream of being.
It goes to show that solely using shutouts is an invalid measure.
GENO says:
May 8th, 2008 at 10:40 am
jimmy bee You are either on to something or on something as the saying goes!Please don’t give Carl any ideas.I’m sure he has already thought of it however.
Here it is Geno. Carl is building the stadium outdoors so allot of games will be rained or hailed out. Here is where the plan goes into effect. In order to complete a certain # of games part of the games will have to be moved to another location leaving the new stadium behind and sold to Wilf for an outdoor football stadium. Thus selling the Twins to a new Las Vegas location.
By the way, why do hitters get offended when Livan throws that 60 mph curve? Its really funny
I think they’re more digusted at themselves for not being able to hit a softball pitch.
That 60MPH floater always makes me nervous…because you’d think over 9 innings SOMEBODY would finally figure out how to hit that.
I think Dye and Anderson (Brian) both made solid contact on that pitch late in the game (Dye popped WAY up to Young on it to end that late inning threat).
Geno rule #1 never trust CP he tried already 1 time to contract the Twins
Rule #2 ignore everything and anything that jimmy bee says!
jakegait
I Have bashed the Hell out of Punto on his hitting and Gardy playing him to much and it was a stupid play by him not to run. I dont think he should be starting either. I think Tolbert should be playing alot more. Everett and Lamb have been nothing but a disappointment so far.
I want whoever is producing to be in the lineup.
jimmy bee who shot JFK?
jimmy
You ain’t seriously concerned about rainouts in the new stadium; are you?
rule #3 anything jama says will be negative and by the way only what everyone else has said over and over and over and over ………….. Well you get the point
BC of ND says:
May 8th, 2008 at 10:54 am
jimmy bee who shot JFK?
jama
Bombo says:
May 8th, 2008 at 10:55 am
jimmy
You ain’t seriously concerned about rainouts in the new stadium; are you?
yes an outdoor stadium is a stupid idea
For one of the very few times in my life, I have to agree with jakegalt - Punto is a bench player (and a pretty good one at that).
How about Garrett Atkins for 3B since the Rockies are coming back down to earth?
Can everyone pitch in and buy Jimmy bee a fancy umbrella so he want get rained on in the new stadium.
jimmy bee- His late wife is going to kick his butt when he gets to great beyond for trying to contract her Twins.That talk might not take place,Carl might be headed in the opposite direction if you get my drift!
Ben D says:
May 8th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Can everyone pitch in and buy Jimmy bee a fancy umbrella so he wont get rained on in the new stadium.
No worries, I changed your spelling. Also I would like a giant black Golf umbrella please (check Costco)
jimmy bee
You are in these blogs all the time, why do you just ignore the facts about the amount of historical rainouts at the old Met? Or does it rain more downtown than in Bloomington?
I’m not sure if Jama is old enough but i heard that he does have mob ties. At least we know it wasn’t LNP he can’t hit anything. I know how you feel about the stadium but bringing it up every day is pointless there not going to stop building it now.
jakegalt
You blogging from the home office today?
Lonnie
jimmy,
The Twins played outdoors for 20yrs prior to moving into the Dome.
So far this year if we would be outdoors, at most 2 games would’ve been postponed.
We haven’t had rain after July 1 for about 5 years.
So quit blowing smoke out of your a$$ about the outdoor stadium. Also the Twins stadium is way too small (in size and capacity) for football.
BC you are the most possitive person on this blog. I will change the subject and be more like jama. Punto stinks. No Punto is good. No send Gomez down. No keep Gomez up. Keep Span up no send Span down. Everett is great, no send Everett down. Whatever most people say I will agree with cause that is me im am now jimmy be is more like jama
Joe, you need to add one selection to your poll:
Tolbert at short, Lamb at third.
I can’t in good conscience vote for Punto as an everyday player. Been there, done that.
Geno,
IIRC, Eloise was still alive during the contraction talk.
Contraction was back in 2001-2002.
Eloise passed late 2003.
U got it Jimmy! Anything if your next post doesnt have the word stadium, lightning or rain out in it.
Ben D u got it.
jimmy, you really have to stop whining about outdoor baseball. The game last night was delayed for nearly two hours, but they still played it. I was in Baltimore last August to watch the Twins and the Saturday game was also delayed nearly two hours by a thunder/lightning storm that was as powerful as any I’ve ever seen, but they still played the game.
In both cases, the weather after the rain was cool and (obviously) wet, but I’d take cool, wet, later-than-planned baseball outside over what happened when I was in Milwaukee last year. There was a little drizzle one night and it probably wasn’t enough to even cause a postponement, but to be safe they closed the roof. If you think the Teflon sky here is ugly (and many do), looking up and seeing gigantic steel beams and a black/green roof is even worse.
Look at it this way: rain delays = more time to hang out in a baseball stadium instead of sitting at work or on a sofa or in your car or do whatever it is you do when you’re not in a baseball stadium. Call me crazy, but there are far worse places to spend rainy weather.
My option for the vote is not available. I would like to see Tolbert at SS and keep Lambo at 3B. Punto has proven so far to be valuable and productive off of the bench. Everett will probably get a little time to prove himself now that he’s healthy, but I just think Tolbert’s better all around than Everett. We have a young core, and Tolbert is young, let him start at short everyday and see what happens.
how long do we have gogo til free agency? if he keeps it up, it may be smart to try and lock him in evan longoria style.
same with blackburn and boof.
jimmy your a funny guy we don’t need more of the same stuffy old bloggers just be yourself thats cool with me. I just don’t think the new stadium is an issue any more. Think about this the Punto haters will be in ecstasy when they realize his game won’t work on natural grass and the Twins release him.
Derek C-good point about Garrett Atkins!We have to address the hole at 3b eventually! A Garza for Young type of trade should do it.We have to address the inbalance of the good pitchers vs lousy position players in our minor system.
Will Lamb and Everett start today?
Joel i grew up in Los Angeles and weather was not an issue. I never even read the weather section and never watched the weather station. I always knew it was going to be warm. Since moving here my ways have changed and I am a very busy person. I sometimes do not have days to drive clear over to a ballpark only to have it rained out and rescheduled. The dome is great because knowing that i have a ticket there is NOOOOOO chance it will be cancelled on me. This is great for me. I do agree that an outdoor stadium is better but in the great state of Minnesota weather is Horse Shi_
Jimmy everyone just joking. It’s funny thinking of the wind blowing Everett into the Mississippi river and lightning stricking Gomez in the A**.
BC I agree with you completely. Punto will be gone and Everett will be gone. Can we package them with Boof and Kubel and trade them for a good bat boy
Thank you Ben D it takes more work to come up with this stuff then just saying Joe Vavra stinks and get rid of Punto everyday
lol Ben D can you imagine how fast Gomez would fly if he did get hit with lightning? Wait i’m being silly now lightning couldn’t cath him.
Jimmy i think they just need to change there strategy with Boof and bring in a reliever for the first inning and let him pitch the rest of the game. With Kubel they just need to let him read Aaron Gleemans blog every day so he realizes how great he is.
rebeldream- I am happy to say I wasn’t even thinking of Flush Span… (yeah my cruel nickname). But I like your style.
GENO - Point taken. I need a massage, and to relax a little, but believe it or not if I’m not talking about sports or politics… I’m pretty mild mannered. Ok, well I did go off on a horrible survey that they had on myspace about “are you hotter than miley cyrus” but I felt I was protecting my children, and I was offended by myspace allowing a company to exploit a 15 year old (then 2 weeks later the idiot has her topless covershoot). But seriously, I did standup for a while back in the 90’s when everyone thought they were funny. I found out I was a father and didn’t want a career without benefits, and away from my family… Sports and politics are my frustration vents. Can’t scream when a child misspells a word for the 7th time, but I sure as hell will rip Joe Vavra for being a lousy hitting coach. He and the guy in San Diego, and in Chicago… they all need to be fired. So it’s easy for me to VENT on sports… so it might not be as healthy as my situps for me, but baseball is so engrained in me, and doing things the right way to me is winning baseball, but it’s not ignoring the problems that winning covers up. Everything can improve. And the Twins can improve without Vavra.
Kubel is lousy. He is one of those players I can’t just say get rid of. I wish I could without being hunted down on the blog and slowly tortured
Did you see how fast Gomez ran the bases on his Hr. Is he the fastest player in the mlb?
T- That is a good point. You are right. I shouldn’t take out the blowouts. How about if I rephrase it to say in games where the team scores less than 4 runs?
Not to mention the games where they have 10 or more 1 pitch atbats?
How about the lack of onbase percentage that this team has displayed since Molitor, Winfield, and Knoblauch were all here? This team has had a lack of a hitting philosphy for a long long time.
I think the lineup right now (how I’d do it)
Tolbert SS
Harris 2B
Mauer CA
Young LF
Morneau 1B
Cuddyer RF
Monroe DH
Busher 3B
Gomez CF
Now I don’t have a horrible problem with Gomez in the leadoff spot because he needs a lot of atbats, and he’s exciting as hell, but I want as many people on base for Morneau as possible, and I think Young would see better pitches if he was protected between Mauer and Morneau.
Ben D. The popular belief has been that Reyes from the Mets is the fastest player in baseball, and Reyes says that Gomez is faster than he is.
I’m not GOD (no matter what people think I think about myself, lol) but I’ve been watching baseball for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anyone as fast, and Gomez has that electric star feel that Puckett had
Ben you know what i would like to see is a skills challenge during all star weekend similar to what the NBA does instead of those lame softball games. They could have a base running contest or fielding contest anything to show that baseball is about more than just hitting Hr’s
Ben D. Though I would say Eric Davis his 1st few years in the league before his knee injuries and back injury… he may have been faster. If you want to see something that is mind blowing look up his stats sometime. 80 steals, 29 homers in 451 atbats one year. Gomez has that kind of ability though he may never look as graceful at anything as Eric Davis did.
BC I have another quick previous old school player with lighning quick sppeed. Otis Nixon
BC of ND
That would be awesome. They use to do that. I remember watching a bunting contest where there were circles on the field, and the ball players were given points to where the bunt went. And I read about an all star game in the late 50s with Mantle and Clemente showing off their arms before the all star game with Mays and Aaron, Aaron once bounced the left field fence, Mays threw it over the Left field fence, Mantle’s ball rolled to the fence and Clemente just threw it over the centerfield fence and walked in the dugout.
JimmyBee… Otis Nixon the guy that looked like he died in 1979 and someone forgot to tell him? yeah he was hysterically fast, but I assumed he was just snorting coke, and thinking of the police after him while he ran.
oh well, I have a business lunch today at 1 at the Lion’s Tap so I have to get my butt in gear… that’s about 40 minutes from here. I will be back whining later…
Oh and one thing I will give Ulger credit for, and say that Gardy has improved this year so far over last year… is the substitution patterns. Gardy gave away damn near every Thursday and Sunday game last year due to his need to play every bench player at the same time. The rotation of the bench players this year has been brilliant compared to the previous seasons… and that’s including little Nicky Punterrible.
BC Beneke ha ha ha ha ha ha lololololol. Did he still have teeth when he played or did he switch to dentures in the 1960’s
I also wanted to vote for Tolbert SS and Lamb or Buscher at 3rd.
Howard has a nice blog about Gomez today. That “exuberance,” the way he picks the team up, the way he roams center field, the fact that he’s not a whiner - I have not seen that on the Twins since, dare I say it, Kirby. I hope he doesn’t lose the sense of wonder he brings to the game.
The skills challange would be awesome. I keep forgetting Gomez is 6′4 too. He will be an MVP one day
Are the lineups out yet?
Kay Howard a week and a half ago said Gomez should go go down to the AAA team. Howard is full of it
it is time to let little lamb lye(down that is) and give severance to everett, punto will be enough of a hitter and play sterling defense, do it,and short gardy and why not give tolbert his shot at third, again good defense and plenty of speed on the base paths delmon young can only get better as the year progresses and i think this is their best team
jimmy bee loves Howard. I’m also voting for Gomez as MVP today but after todays game i might want to send him down again so don’t call me wishy washy ok.
T, you’re misusing stats. You can’t make up your own version of quality start, etc. They’re not statistically validated over time. Here’s the stats that matter in this discussion: In how many games are we scoring 3 or fewer runs, vs. how many games scoring 4 or more, and what’s our respective record in those games, and how do they reflect in our overall record and predict our eventual W/L record over the season. So, here goes:
Games with 3 or fewer runs scored? 15
Record in those games? 5 - 10
Games with 4/more runs scored? 17
Record in those games? 12 - 5
This is a normative statistic in baseball. When a team scores 4 or more runs in a game, they WILL win more often than they lose. You can calculate the opposite for yourself.
So, 15 of our 32 games we’ve had 3 or fewer runs - just short of 50%. If we continue on that pace we’ll predictably have a season VERY similar to last. Right now we’ve been hot and our pitching has outperformed any expectations. We all know that won’t be the case for the entire season without luck entering the equation. Last year we wound up scoring 3 or fewer runs in 46% of our games. We finished the season 79 - 83, or at .488 win percentage. If we don’t perform better than that this year offensively, we simply cannot expect to outperform that by any significant margin.
Yes, we can hope and we can be lucky. I prefer to place our winning strategy on something more predictable than hope and luck.
People’s criticism’s of BC Beneke here are simply misplaced, often over the top. Neither he nor I are saying anything new or revolutionary, and certainly not anything different than baseball statistics “experts” are saying about the Twins and their chances to win.
That doesn’t make us “not fans” or “haters” or whatever label one might give, short of realists who base their opinions on statistically valid data. And while the “hot” team wins the world series with great frequency, over time the team who consistently scores 4 or more runs in 65% or more of their games WILL have more chances at a world series ring. Take a look at the historical facts - the Yankees, regardless of their financial situation, is a team that does just that more than any other team ever has. And guess who has more world series appearances and victories, by an overwhelming margin, than any other team ever in the history of the sport? You guessed it! It’s not their money that’s given them 26 world series victories in 39 appearances. Not even CLOSE!
And most simplistically, the team that scores the most runs in any game wins, right? Since we KNOW, based on statistics over time, that with 4 or more runs you’ll about always win more games than you lose, then shouldn’t that be the number to shoot for? And wouldn’t you want to perform better than 54% of all occasions?
This isn’t magic, folks. It’s simply math.
Please talk about baseball, not about each other.
Howards blog next week will be Punto should we get rid of him or Gomez should go down to AAA again. Just look at his pic for his blog and that is all I have to say…..
It’s time to send Gomez a message and send him down. Not just to AAA but over to Beloit. That ought to take the cockiness out of him. We don’t need any Manny Ramirez types.
BC Beneke, I don’t think when the year is through we’ll call Gavin Floyd a mediocre pitcher. Buehrle, Contreras and Vazquez are getting a little long in the tooth, but Floyd and Danks will be the 1-2 punch of the White Sox rotation.
Please don’t mess with Nick Punto by trying to make him an everday player. Keep him in the exact same role he seems to have gotten compfortable in.
jimmy bee, i will say it for ya, get rid of kubel, open a roster spot for buscher or span or reach out a pluck that one big bat from some team willing to give up something…..god i wish texas would part with hamilton…what other players might be available for the taking???
really could open up two spots as far as im concerned …kubel and everett
i like everett but i think we have that spot covered with tolbert, punto and harris
mj1 I totally agree with you regarding Kubel
Dean,
How do you think the Yankees put together those teams that had those amazing stats you cite? Money. Even in the old days, the Yankees could always afford to buy top players from the Browns or Senators.
other blogs…
JP, since we’re not going to do it with money (unless you’ve got an in with Carl), we have to find another way. There are other teams with similar budgets to us that hit better and score more than we do. Money isn’t the magic bullet or the top spender would win every year. We and every other team has the ability to do it. We’ve done it. We’re just not doing it. We HAVE TO hit better & score more if we want to compete at the top level with a better than average chance to win. Bottom line. If I had the money and owned the team, you can bet I’d spend more.
Make Nick Punto the catcher full time and put mauer at third and then put tolbert at shortstop and Kubel at second and then we will totally kick ass. Yes do it twins, go all the way to the super bowl and beat the packers , yes do it, get sidney ponson back from texas, and put Batista back at Dh and then we will have a kick ass offense ala coach chili lips
