Twins-Athletics: Tuesday (oops) Pre-game
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 – 7:20 PMBy La Velle
What a town.
I was waiting on my floor for the elevator today when someone came storming out of a room complaining that it’s Earth Day and the hotel should be embarrassed that it still leaves newspapers at the door of each hotel room.
I grabbed one of those papers to take to lunch, when I was drawn to a headline in the local news section: “Most Stores Out Of Matzo For Passover.” The reporter called around to a bunch of stores in town and found out that there was a Matzo drought. I mean, that’s gotta be a lot of missing Matzo, right?
While walking back from lunch to the hotel, I was on a rather busy street where a man was urinating into a corner of a building. Not down an alley. On a street with a lot of people walking by. Everyone else seemed to have blinders on.
I’m at the park now, where it’s overcast and in the 50’s. We may even get a sprinkle of rain during the game, but nothing that’s expected to slow up the game.
Craig Monroe is 7 for 11 against Joe Blanton and is the designated hitter tonight. Gardy said he needs to get Span and Tolbert into a game, so it sounds like they’ll play tomorrow.
Michael Cuddyer is on track to return to the club on Friday. He’s down at extended spring training in Fort Myers, Fla. and is expected to play Wednesday or Thursday - or in both games.
Adam Everett had a second cortisone shot in his shoulder yesterday. The Twins are confident they’re got the problem identified now.
Lineups
Twins (9-10): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 2. Brendan Harris, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Delmon Young, LF. 6. Jason Kubel, RF. 7. Craig Monroe, DH. 8. Mike Lamb, 3B. 9. Nick Punto, SS. Pitching: Livan Hernandez.
Oakland (12-8): 1. Kurt Suzuki, C. 2. Daric Barton, 1B. 3. Mark Ellis, 2B. 4. Jack Cust, DH. 5. Emil Brown, LF. 6. Ryan Sweeney, CF. 7. Bobby Crosby, SS. 8. Travis Buck, RF. 9. Jack Hannahan, 3B. Pitching: Joe Blanton.
Late lineup change: Travis Buck has shin splints. Chris Denorfia is batting eighth and playing in left, with Emil Brown moves to right.
There is NOBODY here.
And, only in California can a team play a tape of a saxophone version of the National Anthem..
256 Responses to "Twins-Athletics: Tuesday (oops) Pre-game"
thanks len …glad to see craig back in the lineup…i really want to see his bat take off, as well as the rest of this teams bats…
what has tolbert done to get into bad graces punto is a horrible hitter i just dont get it
I thought with Everett out, this would be a perfect time for Tolbert to win the shortstop job. But Gaurdy loves Punto, and i love his defense too… but is a canadate to be the every day SS in 2009 or 2010? No. Tolbert might be and this i thought would be a great opportunity to see how he fairs
whatsa matter len..you coulda made a citizens arrest on that gentleman relieving himself in public…i believe its called disorderly conduct, at least it was in my day…lol…
Tuesday.
as much as i too want to see tolbert in the lineup, its pretty hard to take a guy like punto out, as well as he has been playing both in the field and getting his good share of hits…i too think its important to keep some cohesion with harris at 2nd base, rather than shuffling different shortstops in day after day, but tolbert will get his in due time…..
uhh, if you haven’t been paying attention, tolbert fouled a ball of his foot the other day and is not 100%, so punto is starting. punto is a defensive wizard and has been getting hits lately…what’s the matter with him hitting 9th?
anyone know why thurs game is not televised
Frankie
if u haven’t been been paying attention people foul balls off their feet all the time, and unless it breaks something they can usually come back 4 days later. But it does make a convinent excuss to tell fans. I’m betting Tolbert would rather be playing while he’s swinging a hot bat then sitting the bench for 4 days
Ok, the Punto Pissing has begun…
Dustin F — Tolbert has the flu bug, and is apparently allergic to the preferred medications that the Twins’ staff use. But, maybe that only matters if we’re paying attention…
People, don’t fall in love with Tolbert just yet. You’re acting like they’ve got Cal Ripken on the bench.
Tolbert is not a candidate for a starting job, now or in the future.
When does Punto and his defense arrive in Mientkiewicz territory? Dougie’s glove saved a 1000 runs a year plus fought off drunken fans from attacking Jerry White at first base. Does Punto and his glove save 1500 runs and keep Scotty Ulger safe so Ulger can wave guys home to be gunned down by 10 feet?
Hey guys,
Sane was engaged in an interesting conversation about Vavra on the blog. Since I think Tolbert should be playing, Punto’s defense is overrated and ALL of it a tired topic, wanted to post my thoughts on the conversation. Sane was defending (in my words and impression) that the average fan doesn’t see what Vavra does, his approach, etc. Here’s my thoughts:
Lets not assume Vavra is still here because of his performance. As a Twins fan WE KNOW how loyal this organiztion is. While it is complimentary on many levels it is a very painful situation if the employee is of lesser quality (euphamism for he/they blow). The Twins are loyal to a fault. We’ve seen that with coaches like Ulger. We’ve seen it with players, like Punto. And IMO if this team doesn’t hit better than last year when you’ve traded a top prize pitcher for a top prize hitter. Added Harris. And sacrificed defense for hitting (Lamb). Plus gotten rid of a lot of dead weight (Tyner, Ford, Rodriguez). Given time to Kubel. THEN you have to question Vavra regardless of the job he does. If there is not significant improvement this year, then he has to go.
What do you all think?
Were people smelling their own farts too? And that overcast is because of the Smug from all the Hybrid drivers out there.
I don’t understand why we are going with Punto over Tolbert. Is he sick, or was Punto working the Gardenhire bathroom caulk to get in the lineup again?
i wish one of these reporters would ask gardy what role vavra has in this teams hitting successes and failures…i would like to hear his spin on that situation…maybe len3 would do that for us…would you len, please…it would be very interesting because unless things change, we are all going to be very tired of talking and writing about joe vavra…..
i have to disagree with you, jp. since when have we judged our coaching staff on such a short time frame? are we forgetting that vavra has only been in the position 2 years and one of them, was a 2006 season in which nearly every starter (including our friend LNP) had breakout years?? he guided a batting champ, an mvp, a career year from torii, etc. granted there will be few years like 2006, but let’s give the guy some credit. calling for his head after a single bad season is a little premature. he’ll make a believer out of me if he can coax some patience out of delmon and gomez
Trav
I think last years offensive performance was so bad that it created a situation where they thought drastic changes were needed, trade pitching for hitting, defense for hitting. And when as an organization have we ever done that? I didn’t and am not calling for his head right now. I’m saying with all those changes, if things don’t improve this year, I think we should make a get a new hitting coach.
Thanks for your opinion and input. Appreciated.
Agreed mj1. Len could you ask Gardy?
GBG, is it true Tolbert has the flu?
Dylan, is it true that Tolbert turned into a .300 hitter at AAA and has had a bunch of good AB’s with the Twins this year?
Kevin, is it true that White was coaching 1st base while Dougie was playing 1st base?
JP, is it true that the jury is still out concerning Vavra and we’re waiting to see how the new Twins such as Young, Monroe, Tolbert, Harris, and Everett do under his coaching?
LaVelle, thanks for not getting into a pissing match with that street dude…..just like you don’t get into a pissing match here on this blog!
I’m glad punto is getting some time out there. And I don’t get why you guys get your panties in a wad about it. Last time I checked he’s been doing pretty good.
When are people going to start whining about Mike Lamb? Seriously.
Pregame interview with Young. He seems pretty young and self-conscious.
I hope he’s not suppressing his competitiveness in the name of proving he’s nice non-tempermental human being.
I was on here the other night defending Vavra for getting too much blame without the players getting any. I would agree that if there isn’t improvement he should be replaced at end of year. But for early in the year I decided to look at how each player is doing compared to what was expected(At least in my opinion). Giving a score of +1 for above expectations and -1 for below expectations and 0 for as expected I’d give the Twins offense a -2 right now as a team, not good, but not horrible either.
Young-Below(Expected to be great)
Gomez-At(Expected to be streaky)
Cuddyer-Below(Inconclusive)
Monroe-At(Based on last year)
Kubel(Above)
Morneau-At(Past slow start)
Harris-At
Punto-Above(Not much expected)
Tolbert-Above(Not much expected)
Everett-Below(Not much was expected)
Lamb-Below
Mauer-At(Past slow start)
Redmond-Below(Limited AB’s)
romer & BC Beneke –
Read: http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/17991589.html
It’s from today’s newspaper, so I’m pretty sure it’s relevant.
ROMER:
Didn’t see pre-game but he didn’t impress Sid and Dave Sunday morning. They called his interview Randy Moss-like. Hopefully he can help get Twins to .500 against the Oakland “Triple A’s”
Buck isn’t starting tonight for the A’s.
Romer,
Great Post! I was hoping one would notice that Dougie Baseball and JW would not be on the field together.
Vavra is fine…though he could work on Bunting with the Gobot…
Dylan, I do not understand why Tolbert is not a candidate for SS…He may be no Greg Gagne or Pat Mears 
the 300 hitter in AAA is showing that he can do it up here…I dislike Punto and Everet I he is ahead of Alexi…
I really like the team this year and they are going to improve…Pitching looks nice..
Mauer is boring, but go Twins!
romer — is it true that Tolbert had three months in the minors when he’s hit above .300, and has a total of 35 at bats in the majors? Might that not mean that it’s a wee bit too early to anoint him the 2010 starter?
Actually Dougie’s glove was so powerful it keeps all first base coaches safe.
And how can Vavra be blamed?
Young was a hacker his entire life, Gomez too. The fact Young and Gomez are out machines shouldn’t surprise anyone. The two “great” acquisitions were flawed when they got here.
Romer. Is it true I never asked for Vavra to be canned right now? Is it true I’ve indicated that he should be judged on the entire years performance? Is it true that I’m asking too many is it true questions and sound like an idiot?
Zwief. I agree almost 100% on your assessment. I think Kubels OBP and walks in comparison to his SO are low, but I think he’ll improve. I’m a huge fan of Kubels. I guess I would expect both Gomez and Young to make strides. And that would be a big determinant of Vavra’s performance. Fair or not. Thats why he gets paid the big bucks.
I love seeing Punto in on every pitching conference.
I really do!
Kevin
Both Young and Gomez are incredibly talented and VERY young. Both bring flaws and I would say that brings Vavra’s job much more in the spotlight. All young pitchers bring flaws to the bigs, its Anderson’s job to improve them. As is Vavra’s with the young hitters.
Oh fuhppp, just missed the HR!
Bah top of the fence. Coulda been out!!!
Ahhh. remember when half the folks on these pages were mourning the Twins not signing Jack Cust? I remember that as I watch him add to to league-leading strikeout totals. And that .154 average….that makes me nostalgic, too…
GBG - I hate to back up another poster, but Romer never annoited him the 2010 starter…he simply insinuated that he deserves a shot…
Nice work Young…Joe V is now the #1 hitting coach ever.
How about Harris…he has looked very good….Livan is looking good…We have made some nice moves.
There’s that flawed hacker, Delmon Young!
Kubel hits a 385 foot out. He smacked it.
When will Monroe shine?
Vavre can’t get Young and Gomez to learn plate discipline. Torii Hunter never did, he still gets by on natural talent to just hit the ball.
Can Young and Gomez someday not suck at swinging at everything? Maybe, until they do they’ll get themselves out as much as the opposing pitcher.
hahaha
Kubel gave that a ride. Good AB, laid of three tough change ups and drilled the fourth pitch. Man if he can ever learn to hit where the fielders aint!
Nice job Monroe on the basehit. Don’t even mind you getting thrown out at second, good hustle and aggression. Even if you were out by a mile.
krismop — agreed, but romer blasted Dylan for questioning that Romer was the 2010 starter, but yes, I should have asked Dustin F to also answer the question.
Ahhh. remember when half the folks on these pages were mourning the Twins not signing Jack Cust? I remember that as I watch him add to to league-leading strikeout totals. And that .154 average….that makes me nostalgic, too…
You’re joking right? Cust batting .154 is a better offensive player than Young, Kubel, Mauer and almost every Twin not named Morneau.
Span? please no.
Kevin,
We’ll have to disagree on this one. Hunter has developed a much more patient approach the last three years compared to before that. And if Vavra can’t help Gomez and Young learn pitch selection/recognition and develop then he definately should not be hitting coach. Young is a second year player and Gomez is basically a rook!
OK, I’m not sure if romer can play ball or not, much less if he should play SS for the 2010 Twins. Obviously, my mind is distracted, but to clarify for those who can’t follow me, the question on the table is why Tolbert isn’t playing tonight, since it’s been proposed on this page that he may be our 2010 starter.
So romer, you got game??
no idea
Kevin,
We’ll have to disagree on this one. Hunter has developed a much more patient approach the last three years compared to before that. And if Vavra can’t help Gomez and Young learn pitch selection/recognition and develop then he definately should not be hitting coach. Young is a second year player and Gomez is basically a rook!
No he hasn’t, Hunter is still a hacker. Hunter had 40BB last year, and 10 were intentional. He’s averaged around 40BB his entire career. He has never learned any plate discipline. You can’t teach patience, the player has to want to learn.
Interesting article on Moneyball at CNNSI or ESPN, I forget. Cust in 56% of his ABs either walks, strikes out, or hits a homerun. By far tops for players compared. He tried to do historical comparisons, but the expert writers opinion was that Cust wouldn’t be around long enough. Bascially, to paraphrase, is because he sucks too much. I wouldn’t take Cust over Young, Kubel, Mauer, Harris, or Cuddy. Guess we get to disagree on something else there kevin.
Thanks for the flu update, GBG.
But the Vavra thing got blogged to death this afternoon. I was hoping to talk about the game or something else.
Yeah, krismop, I thought Dylan at 7:59 was being ridiculous and boring.
But Kevin wasn’t being boring…..so who minds a little gaffe here or there.
yeah go hernandy (cy young 2008 (32-0))
livan must be feeling too strong with the extra day rest… fastball at 85 and curve ball at 75. C’mon Livan, relax a little. You got a lot of innings left.
lol
Kevin,
If you want to argue about Hunter you are wasting your time. The point is that Gomez and Young have talent. They both have flaws but that is the responsibility of the hitting coach to help them and correct those flaws.
I wouldn’t take Cust over Young, Kubel, Mauer, Harris, or Cuddy. Guess we get to disagree on something else there kevin.
Cust makes less outs than almost every Twin, hits for power, and oh yeah, doesn’t make outs at a high rate. Things Young, Gomez, Morneau and Kubel don’t do. This season he would be the best or 2nd best offensive player on the Twins. Who cares how he makes the outs, strikeouts are outs.
another funny thing is they showed how few walks the twins pitchers have had, but what does liriano have like 10 of em.
Cust makes outs at the same clip as Nick Punto this year. Nuff said.
Name one famous hitting coach who is credited with developing a great hitter.
Young and Gomez are hackers. We can only hope that they become a little less hacktastic and actually develop something resembling power.
I can’t believe that Vavra hasn’t taught them Wade Boggs’ plate discipline in the last two months.
Livan now hits 87 on his FB. HE’s got game.
Me? Not really….just calling out on ridiculous stuff. It keeps my underwear clean (see Karlee at 8:43).
There you have it, non-elitists.
Mauer swings at the first pitch.
Cust’s career OPS is .841 and Mornaeu’s is .839. Young and Gomez both are 22 years old. A little too early in their careers don’t you think? In the long run I think Kubel will be a better and have a more productive career. My opinion. Again we can agree to disagree.
Drunkenwilddude Twin’s starting pitchers have 25 walks and Liriano has 10.
Well at least Mauer hasn’t grounded out to second yet. lol
Hitting coaches are virtually meaningless. They are confidence builders/repairers. Nothing more, nothing less.
Unless they are horrible, like Scott Ulger.
Cust makes outs at the same clip as Nick Punto this year. Nuff said.
It’s a few weeks into the season, isn’t that what is being said about Young? In all probability Cust will end the season with an OBP and OPS that would be one of the highest on the Twins. Factor that plus his salary is cheap and how can anyone say he sucks?
And Young and Gomez are just like Hunter, athletes who have no friggin clue what a strike is. Blame Vavra all you want.
Young was not expected to be great this year. He was below average offensively last year, any expectation of greatness was insane.
JP — technically true on Cust’s OPS, but he’s had only one season with more than 73 ABs. So, the question is — was that a flash in the pan? Given his fade last year and his poor start this year, I’d say yes. It’s not different than people who dismiss Punto’s ‘06 stats by deriding it as a “career year”. Cust had six major league seasons before that where he didn’t do anything.
Now watch, because I’ve said this, he’ll knock one out in his next at bat…
I think Young actually has a clue what a strike is. But he just feels like he has to swing at every single one, regardless of whether it is a good pitch to hit.
I’m glad Punto and his golden glove is in the lineup tonight.
too early for pickin on the young guys. let them adapt a lil longer to their new settings and find out down the road. boooooo punto
Livan looking a little too relaxed right now. He lost Ellis.
Oops, Punto wasn’t quite set. Maybe anticipating the DP.
I thought Punto was a “tremendous” fielder? I guess not…
See…I told you I was glad.
Kevin
Getting bored with the conversation. Haven’t read anywhere someone putting blame on Vavra for Young and Gomez. All I’ve said is Vavra’s responsibility is to help Gomez and Young reach their potential. If they don’t, his role will have to be judged. Just like if they do develop he deserves credit.
Don’t think Cust is a bad player. He is cheap. However, there is something to be said about advancing runners, putting pressure on defenses instead of just hitting homeruns, walking or strike outs. Disregard that. I’m not going there.
Error Punto. Made up by his double play!!
tolbert would of made both those dp’s lol
Livan looking a little too relaxed right now. He lost Ellis.
Is this a serious statement?
GBG
I 100% agree. I wasn’t promoting Cust. Just comparing apples to apples. Like I listed, there are several Twins I would take over him. Among them are players that don’t statistically match up yet with Cust (and his small sample size). But those are my opinions. I’ll share them, but not with the attitude that I know more than anyone else.
Only on this board would a 21 year old hitting .288/.316/.408 be considered “below average”.
Only on this board would a 21 year old hitting .288/.316/.408 be considered “below average”.Any player with an OBP hovering around 300 is “below average” no matter age.
Why is Scott Ullger still a major league coach?
GBG, you are evidently unfamiliar with OPS+.
That’s a great call by the umpire.
Lamb SMASHES a ball!
JP — I hear you…just building on your point.
But I do have to say, in response to your statement “But those are my opinions. I’ll share them, but not with the attitude that I know more than anyone else.” Didn’t anyone share the rules with you??? That attitude is NOT optional!!
Primer on OPS+
100 = Average
91 = Delmon Young in 2007
100>91
nice plays by kubel monroe and bloop lamb
Do our players think they are track stars? My gosh, unhook the plow.
LOL. I’ll work on that GBG. I’ve got plenty of people to learn from.
Good inning Twins!
93 RBIs at 21 dont lie.
GBG, you are evidently unfamiliar with OPS+.
Aren’t most from the Star Trib community?
93 RBIs at 21 dont lie.
Yes.
RBI’s are all that matter!
Now that Livan has a three run lead, you know he’ll give a couple back.
Yes. They do. They lie alot.
under 20 walks in over 650 plate appearances don’t lie either.
okay I lied - Delmon walked 26 times.
“Only on this board would a 21 year old hitting .288/.316/.408 be considered “below average”.Any player with an OBP hovering around 300 is “below average” no matter age.”
Well, you have to admit that it’s different than a 32 year old putting up those numbers.
He’s young–give him time. That was his first year in the majors.
Kevin & Shores. You are apparently unfamiliar with the meaning of “21 years old”. The original statement was “any expectation of greatness was insane”. I would submit that anyone putting up those numbers in the major leagues at age 21 would not induce insanity in someone who raised an eyebrow with a positive slant.
Yes, you have to put his numbers in context of his age. That doesn’t make a below average season something more than that. It just means you hope it gets better.
Nicky would have had both the ground balls at 3rd and 2nd and it would still be 3-0. We need to clone nicky.
“Aren’t most from the Star Trib community?”
Get over yourself–a lot of people here know what OPS+ is. The kid is 21 years old–chances are he’ll get better.
It’s not a great line. It’s a pretty good line for a 21 year old.
You are assuming Young will get better because he gets older. I’m saying there’s no guarantee that he’ll develop anything resembling plate discipline just because he sees more pitches.
It’s a mentality. Joe Mauer works the count. He did when he was 21. He does now. Young surely didn’t last year when he swung at more pitches than just about anyone ever.
Young will get better. The question is whether he’ll ever be the great hitter he was billed as. With his current approach, he will never be a great hitter. Good, maybe.
Did you guys see Kubel come into the picture backing up Gomez on that play? I’ve really been impressed by the hustle of our outfielders.
Good interview by Baker. I admit, I was one of those idiots thinking he should have been traded last year. He has improved dramatically as a pitcher. No small thing that the Twins trade the hurler (Garza) and keep the pitcher.
Whew we are out of the inning.
Shores. How many Twins hitters last year had a OPS+ of less than 100 last year? I would think Young’s below average year (in his rookie season) would be an improvement.
Lets take a look at toriis numbers at 21.
.231/.301/.338
In 471 ABs he hit 10 HRs
However he did that at what level…AA not the bigs.
Get off the kids back his power hasnt developed into homeruns yet and he still hasnt gained recognition of breaking balls.
Young is an improvement. For the Twins. What does that have to do with anything I’ve said?
Shores — I will not argue with your 10:24 question (although I’d LOVE to be as certain about everything as you are…), but I’d definitely say it’s a far cry from someone being “insane!!!!” to predict great things from the kid.
Tonight’s attendance: 10,267. Wow.
I actually like Delmon Young, but RIGHT NOW he’s not that good. RIGHT NOW. Someday, he COULD be great. NOW he isn’t. He’s got a Jason Tyner-like batting line as a corner outfielder hitting fifth.
In fairness though Shores, Young could turn into a hitter comparable to Vlad Guerrero though…. Not likely, but there’s a chance.
that is a surprising attendance must be global warming.
Only on this board would a 21 year old hitting .288/.316/.408 be considered “below average”
No, I think their are a lot of places where a player with an OPS below the league average would be considered below average. As far as him being 21, he’s certainly young and should hopefully get better, but as long as he’s in a major league lineup his performance should be evaluated by major league standards regardless of age. If he’s not ready he should still be in the minors.
93 RBIs at 21 dont lie.
RBIs certainly can lie as far as looking at how good a player is. RBI isn’t a great stat for looking at how good a player is, a player isn’t necessarily better or worse for having more runners on base in their at bats. Stats like OPS and RC/27 are better because they look at what a player did independent of those around him.
I’m putting it into context. Its all relative. Twins score the fewest runs in the league. Trade for a young talented hitter with potential. And when you make statements he’s not that good right now or he had a below average season, its important to put it in context. I hear what you’re saying. I agree so hopefully we can move on.
Be great if we can get one more inning from hernandez. Walk to cust.
Joe, DY could be Vlad. If he’s going to be a great hitter with his current approach, that would be the comparable. But how many hitters are successful with Vlad’s approach? About two–Puckett and Vlad. And, has Young really shown the ability to make consistently solid contact on all sorts of pitches? Not yet.
He’d better learn to be more selective.
Ouch.
Young isn’t even a good hitter right now, he’s actually really bad. Like worse than Jason Tyner bad. Being 22 or not doesn’t change the fact that players like Young don’t miraculously start walking a 1:1 K:BB ratio. It doesn’t happen.
Joe, You gotta be kidding. Jason Tyner? Come on man
Shores does Vlad have great pitch selection? Nahhh….. I’m just making argument. I, and probably you, have seen the clip of Vlad taking an NL pitcher yard on a pitch that bounced when he played with the Expos. Vlad is a freak. If Young can be 1/2 as productive as Vlad in his career he will have a successful disappointing career.
Young, Cuddy, and Kubel all produced RBI’s at about the same rate last year. Cuddy had 81 RBI’s last year in 547 AB’s.
Young isn’t having a very good year so far.
Yes. Jason Tyner bad. Just because young has all the potential in the world, doesn’t mean he can’t be as bad as Jason Tyner for 25 games.
Guys/Gals - Its April
i retract my previous statement about cy young for hernandy but regive it to silva 32-0
DJB,
DY: .236/.267/.292 IsoP .054
Tyner (career): .275/.314/.324 IsoP .049
Seems pretty similar at the moment.
Lamb makes a good play.
Harris made a terrific play on the DP a couple innings ago.
Monroe!! God blesss the kid!!!!!!!1
OK, he needs a triple, I know. But just hold him at first, no more base running errors!
CRAIG!!!!!!!!!!
very nice game by monroe
wow, based on tonights performance, monroe has certainly been worth the bag of balls the twins traded to the cubs for him.
Shores,
Talk to me in July, when Tyner is still in Buffalo
Good call on Monroe tonight. I’ll bet Blanton intentionally passes him every AB he faces him the rest of his career!
drunkenwilddude… bring that cy young back. livan is off the hook. but, i think it will be 30-0, not 32-0.
Oh ya one more thing
Punto sucks!!!!!!
Not surprised your from byto…. what a joke that site is
monroe’s trade value just went up for whoever plays a’s in the playoffs if they make it lol.
Now Carlos Gomez might be similar to Jason Tyner…
Gomez has absolutely zero clue at the plate.
Monroe is a good hitter, doesnt he typically start out slow? The question is if Gardy will get him the at bats to be relevant.. I sure hope so.
Yeah, it’s weird when someone actually takes the time to look something up.
DJB - soooooooo if Young continues hitting like Jason Tyner, you don’t think he should be in AAA? You know Adam Everett will probably be a starter for the Twins does that mean he’s better than every AAA or AA player?
Monroe now 10 for 14 vs. Blanton!
Good one AKDanimal!
LMAO!
The game ain’t fun anymore for GoGo.
Gomez when he falls behind should be given the take sign!! They throw three three breaking balls in the exact same spot: at the ankels and about a foot off the plate. Always the same result. Take for a ball. Foul ball. Miss by a mile. Time to adjust buddy. Make em throw a strike. I would love to see a called strike out in fact.
Yeah Craig Monroe is an amazing hitter……………..
Rincon is effectively the 12th pitcher (since Bass is doing well).
So naturally after an off day, he’s the first relief pitcher Gardy picks.
lol
JP - His first strikeout of the night was a backwards k. And seriously, what the hell are you talking about?????
I dont think Delmon Young will continue to struggle, thats my point. I see your point with your numbers and all that, but sometimes numbers do not tell the whole story. Is Matt Tolbert really a .400 hitter?
Vavra needs to get a clue and teach something to Gomez.
Joe, Who do you like on the Twins?
does anyone else miss T?
The numbers say that DY has been bad this year so far. Really bad. Jason Tyner bad.
He’ll probably get better. Maybe he’ll get more than 1 XBH per week.
I bet DJB loved Gomez after Game 1.
maybe gomez needs to bat 9th to take pressure off him.
I haven’t been a Gomez all year, but whatever you say.
Maybe Gomez should stop swinging at everything. The pitches look the same in the nine hole.
YEAHHHHH VIKINGS GOT ALLEN!!!!!! EAT SHITE GREEN BAY
Gomez won at least 2 games for the twins already… game 1 and sunday’s game. sheesh you are boring… start another topic please.
Matt Tolbert has what? 30 AB’s in a MLB season? Tolbert is probably a .270 career hitter throughout his MLB career.
It’s called a sample size, when the value is much larger, you can take things seriously just a tad more. Like Delmon Young only walking 26 times in 650 at bats, or that he has walked less in his career than Jack Cust did all of last year.
Kubel, Mauer, Morneau, Gomez, Young, Guerrier, Nathan, Redmond, Harris….. and so on. Are all of them good? No. do some have more potential than others? Yes. Are Gomez and Young absolutely terrible right now? Yes.
and I highly doubt Gomez will go down to AAA just from the Twins perspective on a marketing standpoint, gotta have someone on the big club from the trade
Yes, Gomez actually won those games by himself. He pitched and played all eight other positions. Plus he’s been a force at the plate.
Ha-ha, the ump sucks. He calls it a K. We’ll take it. He called it on Punto too.
A “rain-delay” call……like he was trying to move the game along.
Ha-ha.
Rincon looked damned okay.
Your missing my point, I agree with you, but my point is (for the 10th time) that I do not think Young will struggle the whole year, they are 20 games in. Its called a sample size.
Almost 700 plate appearances in 2007 is a pretty big sample size that tells me that Young swings way, way too much.
To many know-it-alls on here, Everyone should just agree with them so they will shut up
shores… it’s been said and re-said and re-said; we get it; you hate everybody and you have the stats to back it up
Well since you asked so nicely Joe. The called SO of Gomez in the first in my opinion was a pitch I thought was off the plate. BUT in i’d say 90% of Gomez’s strike outs the pattern is the same. Gets behind 0-2, 1-2. Then sliders in the exact same spot until he strikes out.
I’ll try and be more clear for you next time.
You’re arguing that Young hasn’t been as bad as Jason Tyner, which he clearly has.
Most, like you, feel he will get better. But expecting him to turn into a 40+hr monster is foolish until/if he can learn to take some pitches and walk. that is all shores, kevin, and I are saying.
Come on MVP. Cream it!
Who said he would hit 40? 15 if your lucky
As Joe pointed out, can’t I like players but actually recognize their limitations? DY has alot of ability that needs to be realized before he’s valuable. Gomez needs to learn how to take a major league at bat.
Or I could just view everything through rose colored glasses and apologize for attempting to view the Twins with a critical eye.
JP - it’s called plate discipline. It’s been what myself, shores, and DJB have been arguing about. To be a good hitter, you have to have some recollection of the strike zone.
Something Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young have no idea about right now. Coincidence?
Pinch hit Harris for Kubel? It would be gutsy, so……
Nah!
Joe why aren’t you the hitting coach for the Twins? it sounds like you know everything
Just to add something about Young, if you check his fly chart, he doesn’t pull the ball. Take it for what you will, but I haven’t seen too many deep opposite field line drives from him either…..
Bert needs to stop saying, “dropped the head of the bat”. He says it all of the time.
Good work twinsfan32. Adds alot to the conversation.
Why aren’t you the debate team coach at your high school? Sounds like you know everything.
haha shores….
nice kubes
Kubel must have “just dropped the head of the bat”.
the debate team coach? wow that was good one shores. And also i don’t think i asked you anything so why are you writing?
Yeah JP, the called K on Gomez in the 1st was a ball outside. But it’s like it messed up his mind for the rest of the game.
Because I hate stupid comments, and I can’t resist replying to them–whether they were addressed to me or not.
TRI-PLE, TRI-PLE, TRI-PLE, TRI-PLE…
Anybody want Nathan to pitch 2 innings?
why was that a stupid comment? i wanted to know why Joe isn’t the hitting coach? he sure talks like he is or he wants to be. just face it man we are all just fans, were not professional baseball players or coaches. we shouldn’t act like we know more than the Twins coaches, because we don’t.
Sorry, neither Joe nor I will suggest again that a guy who walked on his own merit 19 times in 650 at bats last year should be more patient. We don’t know more than the Twins coaches, so we should stick to cheering the team in Dick Bremer fashion.
Joe
You’re an idiot. The whole point of my comment(s) was that Gomez needs some discipline. Hence the enforced take sign on two strikes. Its called hyperbole.
Was I really throwing out tips on how to make Young a more effective hitter? No. I was saying he’s been as terrible as Jason Tyner, because he refuses to be selective. Same goes for Gomez.
Clearly I want to be the Twins hitting coach and know more about baseball than every major league manager/player ever.
Thanks romer for backing me up on the first inning AB by Gomez.
There it is….someone called someone an idiot. Get out the LaBatt’s.
lamb two bloops and a line drive; maybe it’s what he needs to get on a little streak.
JP… I think you’re trying to say that Gomez needs to stop swing at curveballs in the dirt for strike 3. I’m not going to comment on giving a player a take sign with 2 strikes.
Anybody ever play “Over the Line” Thats what this game is reminding me of. LOL. Dink. Doink. Bloop.
Lets see if Punto can get the bunt down. If they give him the sign to.
Gomez did his job and got Punto to 2nd.
Right Jimmy Jam, Kubel put a full swing on his bloop hit —- he didn’t drop the head of the bat at all.
And if you think Dick/Bert are bad, listen to Gordo/Gladdy some time. They make up a ton of stuff.
Darn it!! Punto slaps one through the hole and buys himself another 5-6 more starts in a row.
ARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!
Joe.
Now you’re an ignorant, arrogant, idiot. But at least we’re getting closer. I was saying that Gomez should lay off the same pitch that has been killing him and striking him out. See the definition of insanity. And like I said, hyperbole. Def- exaggeration. But thanks for not commenting on it.
Great hit and run.
Well folks hope the Twins win. Tired of grinding conversation. Catch you all later.
nicky getting the job done with the perfectly placed hit and run. squeeze play?
Gomez loves outside breaking balls.
I would much rather listen to gordon than dick. dick is horrible!
Man, I’m watching this on MLB Gameday and even I can tell that Gomez looked bad on that last K. Congrats on the Golden Sombrero, Go-Go.
I think gordo would be a great tv announcer. don’t like him so much on radio… seems like several pitches go by before he gets back to the game as he is chatting about something else… radio requires regular baseball reporting.
Good time for Mauer to get his first tater!
How does one apply for broadcasting jobs? With the exception of Blyleven, the FSN crew is putrid. Did anyone se Telly Hughes early in the game? It was uncomfortable to watch. He is ridculously bad. Lapanta, Bremer, Gellner - brutal, brutal, brutal. Coom Dog and Blyleven are OK in my book because they actually played the game and know what they’re talking about.
Span to play Centerfield tomorrow? Gomez looks tired, and they said they wanted to get Span some more at-bats. so tomorrow might be a good day to rest him, because i’d rather keep Kubel in right and apparently Monroe likes to hit in Oakland
ok… kinda liken my squeeze play call now that we had 3 weak at bats in a row.
Like I said, Mauer should change his number to 43….
…as in 4-3
I am beginning to believe that sending Gomez down to AAA is a good idea.
Of course if I bet the law of averages, I’d have said GO to 2nd…….crap!
You mean Telly “Prompter” Hughes? Terrible.
I would bet the farm that Span plays DF tomorrow and go-go gets a day off to clear his head. 4 K’s in a game happens. Just can’t dwell on it.
ya sometimes when you listen to the game on the radio you miss about a few pitches every half inning because gordon and the dazzle man are talking about nothing. I like to watch the dodgers on MLB.tv because you get to hear Vin Scully. that guy is great
Twins don’t deserve this win, so let Nathan be the wicked saver.
having Span in for everything other than a pinch runner is not a good idea
What ever happened to Clay Matvig? Or is it Matvick? Either way, I thought he was good.
Walk Sweeney
Matvick does stuff for ESPN. I’ve seen him do mostly b-ball for ESPNU.
Same thing…….
twinsfan32
love vin scully also. it would be nice to have some classic announcers.
grew up in CA; dodgers were my team there; looking for an eventual dodger-twins w.s. like 65… that would be sweet.
leaving those runs on base last inning might be costly
DSpan=Late inning defensive replacement????
time for gomez to go to AAA i think, or start to listen to people…im wondering if he doesnt just think because he is so talented he just goes about his business, because i dont see any change in his approach at the plate at all….i do believe he has an attitude that we are going to start hearing about soon…seems like gardy has babied him along thus far, but i see that changing soon…these kind of at bats are going to start causing us games…we may have gotten lucky tonite as it looks like nathan is going to lock the door, hopefully…..
.500 ball, folks.
Game and a half out of 1st.
It won’t matter who’s playing in the OF if Barton just drops the head of the bat.
joe doin the job again tonight. yeah!
Picaso painting the corners!!!
.500 baby
see you guys tomorrow night…
Whew!
Good job Joe!
good job….great job by monroe, and now i hope his season has just started….his bat can be so big, as it was tonite, but this is exactly what we need from him, and hopefully gardy will keep getting him in there….maybe play him in center a bit too-until gomez gets his act together
mj1, Gomez is in purgatory right now. Looked to me like he was trying to hold back some tonight, but he still can’t lay off the outside slider. He has Hunter-itis.
But I think he’s trying. No crazy bunts. No stylin’ at the plate.
this spring and all those who wanted to trade nathan…whew…so glad the twins signed him rather….this team can do good things…
i hope this is the start of Monroe getting more at bats and him producing like he did tonight
i hope so romer, but he still swings so damn hard its unreal…if nothing else he will go on dl with back problems from swinging that hard…lol…..still i think he needs to sit down a few games and watch from the dugout at least…maybe not AAA yet
Great win tonight, nice to see Monroe have a breakout night with what…3RBI? He should be with Telly right now, not Kubes.
Let’s hope that it wasn’t a fluke and Monroe can start warming up. Maybe it’ll make Gardy’s decision much much easier when Cuddyer comes back.
As far as Punto in again today…wonder if Gardy’s giving him some play time now so he can then use him off the bench and cut Everett once he’s off the DL (sorry Everett, but man…)
Hopefully Monroe can turn it around now and we can have that 2-headed DH like we were hoping to this season.
wow i just found out now the vikes finally got allen….costly tho…
Under the radar, Young did okay at the plate tonight too.
monroe is very impressive…talks like he knows exactly what hes doing…i really hope he can stay on top of his game now, because he really can do some damage…what a bump he would give this offense…
ya mj1 that allen guy is pretty good, but a first and third rounder? that is pretty costly
Well mj1, we’ll only see Monroe about every fourth game at DH….unless he replaces Young from time to time. But it’s hard to pull Young out because of his good defense.
Meantime, Livan was a little better than his previous start. But not much.
He had a period or two of command problems. Twins were lucky to pull off a win tonight. Livan has to keep on improving.
Fan, thats a 1 and two 3’s! Still worth it tho’. Good win Twins! Another quality start by the “old man”.
No, it wasn’t a quality start tonight for Livan.
And the Vikes deal isn’t official yet.
Romer, please define “quality start”. Six innings and left w/ a tie game.
ESPN has him heading to the airport to fly to Mpls. ??
Hmmmm, the Tigers used 5 pitchers to beat Texas 10-2 tonight.
Romer, I see the Strib pulled the Allen story off their site…could John Clayton have jumped the gun? A cruel Hoax…?
The definition of a QS is 6 innings with 3 or less ER’s. So he was close, and he’s doing okay.
Livan’s outing tonight was a great improvment, considering only one ball left the park comparred to 3 or so (I think that was his start)
I’ve said thus far Livan only has to be a replacement for Silva. And he’s served that role remarkably.
Good, glad to see the Vikings keep wasting money on guys
Anyway, back to baseball. Didn’t watch the game last night but nice to see Monroe unleash his fury finally.
Get well Tolbert! We miss the bat!
I was reading the earlier comments and Jerry White has been the twins first base coach since 1998. Not to nitpick.
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=min&coachorstaffid=2410314537
When the top hitters last night are three who were struggling (Monroe, Lamb and Young), its a great morning after!
For all you guys out there whining and wanting to send Gomes to AAA, remember this, if it was not for Gomez defense we would have not won that game against the Indians, NO ONE ELSE IN BASEBALL would have caught that ball except Gomez.
Besides his speed and great ability to cover ground in CF, he has one of the best arms out there. By the way doesn’t he lead the leauge in steals. SO WHY DO YOU WANT TO SEND HIM DOWN??
Punto plays we win! He hit some screaming laser ground balls around the infield, bad call on the so and a maybe worst bad hop ever on the error sould have been ruled a hit it was such a bad hop. Sits by Gardy on the bench plays just like Gardy did, gets after it, plays the right way. Best player on the team, should win multiple gold gloves.
Howards blog sucks taco sauce
this might just be me but i still want Gomez up here and i still see him as the CF for a long time rember he is only 22 i think he will hit around .260 this year with that improving next year
IP H R ER BB K HR
Rainville,(L, 1-2) 3.2 13 10 10 0 1 2
Jay Rainville’s pitching line last night at New Britain.
What manager leaves a 22-yr-old kid in the game to take a beating like that?
Was Rainville trying to date his daughter?
Gardy wants to get Span into a game. Monroe has to play tonight after his
3-4 and Oakland has a lefty going tomorrow. I see Monroe D-H’ing tonight and Thursday and Span in CF tonight and leading off to give Gomez a night off to clear his head.
jp, i agree with you, this has been a radical shift of philosophy and i really enjoy it. for so long we protected every single one of our pitchers, and did a poor job of drafting high impact bats. think of who we could’ve gotten at the trade deadline if we would’ve dealt a garza-type to a team looking to offload. i know we went after blalock and soriano…with the bill smith mentality, we might’ve snagged a guy like that. paying him, now that’s a totally different issue. vavra does need to perform though, no question about that…
he has one of the best arms out there
To play Devil’s Advocate: Gomez’s arm is currently like a bazooka without a crosshair. A LOT of bang, but absolutely no means of ensuring it gets where you’re pointing.
Howards blog sucks taco sauce
Whoops, jimmy bee. I bet you meant to post that as Ric Flair.
T- Thanks I forgot to do that. Whoooooooow
OK. If you gotta send Gomez down for taking embarrassing at bats, you better find room for some company: 6 or 7 of them after tonight.
I sure hope I ain’t gonna hear a bunch of crap from Gardenhire about what a brilliant pitcher Gaudin is.
