Nightly Notes: Game #11
It was nice to see the Twins put up a crooked number tonight in coming up with their seventh win of the season. After my one night hiatus, here are tonight's notes:
1.) It wasn't pretty, but Sidney Ponson got the job done tonight. I don't think this is going to save him too much, however -- the presence of Glen Perkins on the roster leaves the Twins with an option that they could utilize as soon as Ponson struggled, so while he bought himself another start, I don't think he's earned himself much leeway. Ponson's next two starts will probably come against the Royals, which means he will have another opportunity to face a mediocre ballclub. He needs to take advantage of the opportunity to try to buy himself some room in case he struggles down the line, as most of us expect. Bad starts against the Royals could be enough to get him removed from the roster, so if you're a Perkins or Garza fan, you should be rooting for a couple of 11-10 Twin wins in which Ponson struggles.
2.) It's a little strange to see Juan Rincon come into the game in the 6th inning, but it worked pretty effectively. I'd say that his previous stumbles aren't going to be chronic, and I'll be quite comfortable the next time he trots out there in the 8th inning to try to get a hold.
3.) Man, I was hoping that Jason Tyner drive would go over the wall -- that would have been quite the celebration . . .
4.) Jason Bartlett appeared to be much more patient at the plate today, and displayed a little bit of the defensive ability that he most definitely wasn't demonstrating when he was making a bunch of errors in the first 10 days of the season. Today was an important day for him, because with Alexi Casilla on the team, he at least should feel a little pressure. This was a good start to convincing the Twins that there is no reason to deviate from the plan to have Alexi playing at 2B on a regular basis.
5.) I hate to admit it, but I might have been wrong about Nick Punto keeping his job as 3B this season. It's still very early, and a hot couple of games would make this question go away in a hurry, but right now Punto isn't getting good at bats at all. Normally, I would say that the Jeff Cirillo injury would foreclose discussion of this topic, because there isn't really anybody to replace Punto in the lineup. However, if Luis Rodriguez keeps playing like he did today, that might change. This may be Rodriguez's chance to prove himself -- if Punto continues to struggle, and Rodriguez keeps getting good at-bats (off the bench, as the DH, and as the backup 3B), then Gardy will at least have to consider giving him more chances to start. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't know if that would be such a bad thing.
6.) Torii Hunter already has eight doubles this year, amongst 11 total hits. When you factor in his homer, that means he's singled just twice. Somewhat ridiculous numbers. Those doubles are largely coming because he's been so effective at taking the ball the other way and shooting it to the right-center field gap. He looks very comfortable at the plate when he goes with the ball, and I expect to see him do this all season. His career high in doubles is 37 -- needless to say, he's got a very good chance to challenging that number this year.
7.) You probably heard this on the game, or read about it somewhere during the day, but J.D. Durbin is on the move again after being claimed by the Phillies. That means Durbin has been with the Twins, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, and Phillies already this season, and he might not be done moving just yet. It sounds like the plan is for Durbin to have a tryout in front of some Phillies scouts sometime in the next couple of days, and they'll make a decision at that point whether to assign him to the major league club or try to force him through waivers. If they decide to go the waiver route, there's a good chance that another team will, yet again, make a claim. At some point, of course, this will end with Durbin either making a Major League club and sticking around, or clearing waivers and ending up in AAA. I feel bad for the guy -- his head has to be just absolutely spinning.
1.) It wasn't pretty, but Sidney Ponson got the job done tonight. I don't think this is going to save him too much, however -- the presence of Glen Perkins on the roster leaves the Twins with an option that they could utilize as soon as Ponson struggled, so while he bought himself another start, I don't think he's earned himself much leeway. Ponson's next two starts will probably come against the Royals, which means he will have another opportunity to face a mediocre ballclub. He needs to take advantage of the opportunity to try to buy himself some room in case he struggles down the line, as most of us expect. Bad starts against the Royals could be enough to get him removed from the roster, so if you're a Perkins or Garza fan, you should be rooting for a couple of 11-10 Twin wins in which Ponson struggles.
2.) It's a little strange to see Juan Rincon come into the game in the 6th inning, but it worked pretty effectively. I'd say that his previous stumbles aren't going to be chronic, and I'll be quite comfortable the next time he trots out there in the 8th inning to try to get a hold.
3.) Man, I was hoping that Jason Tyner drive would go over the wall -- that would have been quite the celebration . . .
4.) Jason Bartlett appeared to be much more patient at the plate today, and displayed a little bit of the defensive ability that he most definitely wasn't demonstrating when he was making a bunch of errors in the first 10 days of the season. Today was an important day for him, because with Alexi Casilla on the team, he at least should feel a little pressure. This was a good start to convincing the Twins that there is no reason to deviate from the plan to have Alexi playing at 2B on a regular basis.
5.) I hate to admit it, but I might have been wrong about Nick Punto keeping his job as 3B this season. It's still very early, and a hot couple of games would make this question go away in a hurry, but right now Punto isn't getting good at bats at all. Normally, I would say that the Jeff Cirillo injury would foreclose discussion of this topic, because there isn't really anybody to replace Punto in the lineup. However, if Luis Rodriguez keeps playing like he did today, that might change. This may be Rodriguez's chance to prove himself -- if Punto continues to struggle, and Rodriguez keeps getting good at-bats (off the bench, as the DH, and as the backup 3B), then Gardy will at least have to consider giving him more chances to start. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't know if that would be such a bad thing.
6.) Torii Hunter already has eight doubles this year, amongst 11 total hits. When you factor in his homer, that means he's singled just twice. Somewhat ridiculous numbers. Those doubles are largely coming because he's been so effective at taking the ball the other way and shooting it to the right-center field gap. He looks very comfortable at the plate when he goes with the ball, and I expect to see him do this all season. His career high in doubles is 37 -- needless to say, he's got a very good chance to challenging that number this year.
7.) You probably heard this on the game, or read about it somewhere during the day, but J.D. Durbin is on the move again after being claimed by the Phillies. That means Durbin has been with the Twins, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, and Phillies already this season, and he might not be done moving just yet. It sounds like the plan is for Durbin to have a tryout in front of some Phillies scouts sometime in the next couple of days, and they'll make a decision at that point whether to assign him to the major league club or try to force him through waivers. If they decide to go the waiver route, there's a good chance that another team will, yet again, make a claim. At some point, of course, this will end with Durbin either making a Major League club and sticking around, or clearing waivers and ending up in AAA. I feel bad for the guy -- his head has to be just absolutely spinning.
Labels: Nightly Notes
posted by JST @ Saturday, April 14, 2007
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