Nightly Notes: Game #75
Now that's a ballgame! I kind of figured that the Twins would end up winning this thing -- it just felt that way throughout. Maybe it's because the Twins outhit the Blue Jays 9-4 -- but several of those hits came in the bottom of the 12th, so that can't be too much of it. Whatever it was, the Twins did indeed pull it out, winning 2-1. Here are the notes:
1.) The enigma that is Scott Baker continues to deliver incredible stories. Two starts ago, I was willing to throw in the towel on Baker. I thought that he was going to have more terrible starts than he would have good starts. He still might -- but he's now managed to do more than just stave off the inevitable loss of his spot to Matt Garza; instead, he's given himself a bit of a margin for error. If he comes out the next time and struggles mightily, the Twins almost certainly will pat him on the back, say "that's OK," and slot him for another start. That's not something that could be said for the last 10 days -- so he's accomplished something. Regardless, today was impressive -- he was missing bats left-and-right tonight (as evidenced by his 9 K's!). All in all, a great performance that shows why a lot of people still haven't given up on him. I'm not yet convinced, but for the first time in a while, I want to believe that he can stick around.
2.) One night after the bullpen struggled, they had an awesome, awesome performance. Five perfect innings with 6 K's. Unbelievable. Even Juan Rincon pitched in with a fine 12th inning, picking up his 3rd win of the year. Awesome performance, guys!
3.) The Mike Redmond at-bat in the 12th was filled with strategy, but the thing that got my head spinning the most involved Lew Ford's "steal" of 2nd. Had he not taken the base, I presume that the Blue Jays would have pitched to Redmond (since they started off by pitching to him). Once Ford stole the base, they walked Redmond. That was the right play, because it kept the option open of getting outs at every base -- but if that's what the Blue Jays wanted in the first place, why not walk Redmond immediately? Or did they like the matchup, but only so long as Ford was on first and there was a possibility of getting outs at 1st or 2nd? I continued thinking in this vein for awhile, and finally just settled on the idea that they decided not to pitch to Redmond after the first pitch to him was a ball. It's easier on my brain that way.
4.) Jeff Cirillo -- hero of the night. Pretty good for a guy who didn't start the game AND who pretty much just announced his retirement (effective at the end of the season)!
5.) The Twins had nine hits tonight -- and not a single player had a multi-hit game. Weird.
6.) How about Michael Cuddyer at 1B? He looked alright there, but I sure would rather have him in RF with Justin Morneau at 1B. Still, this was a much more effective solution, in my mind, than putting Mike Redmond there.
7.) So Justin Morneau expects to be back soon. I've said all along that one week was the magic cut-off point for me -- and it sounds like he'll be back inside of a week for the original injury, so I agree with the decision not to disable him.
1.) The enigma that is Scott Baker continues to deliver incredible stories. Two starts ago, I was willing to throw in the towel on Baker. I thought that he was going to have more terrible starts than he would have good starts. He still might -- but he's now managed to do more than just stave off the inevitable loss of his spot to Matt Garza; instead, he's given himself a bit of a margin for error. If he comes out the next time and struggles mightily, the Twins almost certainly will pat him on the back, say "that's OK," and slot him for another start. That's not something that could be said for the last 10 days -- so he's accomplished something. Regardless, today was impressive -- he was missing bats left-and-right tonight (as evidenced by his 9 K's!). All in all, a great performance that shows why a lot of people still haven't given up on him. I'm not yet convinced, but for the first time in a while, I want to believe that he can stick around.
2.) One night after the bullpen struggled, they had an awesome, awesome performance. Five perfect innings with 6 K's. Unbelievable. Even Juan Rincon pitched in with a fine 12th inning, picking up his 3rd win of the year. Awesome performance, guys!
3.) The Mike Redmond at-bat in the 12th was filled with strategy, but the thing that got my head spinning the most involved Lew Ford's "steal" of 2nd. Had he not taken the base, I presume that the Blue Jays would have pitched to Redmond (since they started off by pitching to him). Once Ford stole the base, they walked Redmond. That was the right play, because it kept the option open of getting outs at every base -- but if that's what the Blue Jays wanted in the first place, why not walk Redmond immediately? Or did they like the matchup, but only so long as Ford was on first and there was a possibility of getting outs at 1st or 2nd? I continued thinking in this vein for awhile, and finally just settled on the idea that they decided not to pitch to Redmond after the first pitch to him was a ball. It's easier on my brain that way.
4.) Jeff Cirillo -- hero of the night. Pretty good for a guy who didn't start the game AND who pretty much just announced his retirement (effective at the end of the season)!
5.) The Twins had nine hits tonight -- and not a single player had a multi-hit game. Weird.
6.) How about Michael Cuddyer at 1B? He looked alright there, but I sure would rather have him in RF with Justin Morneau at 1B. Still, this was a much more effective solution, in my mind, than putting Mike Redmond there.
7.) So Justin Morneau expects to be back soon. I've said all along that one week was the magic cut-off point for me -- and it sounds like he'll be back inside of a week for the original injury, so I agree with the decision not to disable him.
Labels: Nightly Notes
posted by JST @ Tuesday, June 26, 2007
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