Nightly Notes: Game #110
Things are starting to get awfully interesting . . . nice win for the Twins today. Here are a few notes:
1.) Scott Baker -- unbelievable. It's just about time for me to throw in the towel and admit I was wrong on Baker; I thought that he was never going to establish himself as a Major League pitcher. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying he's arrived, necessarily. This start could be followed by a meatball like he threw out against the White Sox a few starts ago. Honestly, though, he's really making a case for a spot in the rotation next year, and the Twins seem pretty interested in keeping him around. Again, I didn't expect this to happen, but I'm certainly happy that it is happening.
2.) Speaking of things I didn't expect to happen, how about those Tigers and Indians? Just when it seemed that the Twins were going to wash out of the race for the AL Central, Detroit and Cleveland decided to turn around and make things interesting. The Twins couldn't possibly come back again, could they? I'm starting to think the answer might be yes, because the starting pitching has, for the most part, been so very good. Once again, the Twins will rely on young players if they're going to make a run -- Baker, Garza, and Bonser, yes -- but Alexi Casilla and Brian Buscher will need to pull their weight as well if things are going to come up aces for the Twins.
3.) Mike Piazza has supposedly cleared waivers, and the Twins have been mentioned as a possible destination for him. Piazza may not be that interested in playing in Minnesota, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't welcome trade that would send him to the Twins for just a couple of months. I would welcome his addition to the club, because I think he could help. He's hitting .290 with a .738 OPS on the season -- not great numbers, but I believe that he's a better hitter at this stage than Jeff Cirillo is, for instance, and that he would be a useful piece. I won't be crushed if we don't pick him (or anyone else) up, but I can certainly see the upside of doing so, and I'll be hoping a bit that a deal is done.
4.) Nice day for Jason Kubel, who went 2-for-2 with 2 walks. It would be great if he could get his batting average up to, let's say, .260 by the time the season ends.
5.) Sorry to hear about Chris Heintz's broken wrist, which will keep him out at least a month and may end his season. If the Twins do need to call up a catcher, every source says it will be Jose Morales, which makes sense -- the guy has been hitting like crazy for Rochester this year. The Twins 40-man roster currently stands at just 38 players, so the Twins could add him to the roster relatively easily if they needed to. Incidentally, this may also be a good chance to add Matt Tolbert to the roster. I fully expect him to be up in September, anyway -- but the sooner the better. I know that a number of people, including Seth, believe that Tolbert doesn't belong up right now because he wouldn't get enough playing time, but I think that he could get semi-regular at-bats at 2B and 3B -- certainly enough to warrant a call-up. And anything that would get Luis Rodriguez off the roster would make me happy.
1.) Scott Baker -- unbelievable. It's just about time for me to throw in the towel and admit I was wrong on Baker; I thought that he was never going to establish himself as a Major League pitcher. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying he's arrived, necessarily. This start could be followed by a meatball like he threw out against the White Sox a few starts ago. Honestly, though, he's really making a case for a spot in the rotation next year, and the Twins seem pretty interested in keeping him around. Again, I didn't expect this to happen, but I'm certainly happy that it is happening.
2.) Speaking of things I didn't expect to happen, how about those Tigers and Indians? Just when it seemed that the Twins were going to wash out of the race for the AL Central, Detroit and Cleveland decided to turn around and make things interesting. The Twins couldn't possibly come back again, could they? I'm starting to think the answer might be yes, because the starting pitching has, for the most part, been so very good. Once again, the Twins will rely on young players if they're going to make a run -- Baker, Garza, and Bonser, yes -- but Alexi Casilla and Brian Buscher will need to pull their weight as well if things are going to come up aces for the Twins.
3.) Mike Piazza has supposedly cleared waivers, and the Twins have been mentioned as a possible destination for him. Piazza may not be that interested in playing in Minnesota, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't welcome trade that would send him to the Twins for just a couple of months. I would welcome his addition to the club, because I think he could help. He's hitting .290 with a .738 OPS on the season -- not great numbers, but I believe that he's a better hitter at this stage than Jeff Cirillo is, for instance, and that he would be a useful piece. I won't be crushed if we don't pick him (or anyone else) up, but I can certainly see the upside of doing so, and I'll be hoping a bit that a deal is done.
4.) Nice day for Jason Kubel, who went 2-for-2 with 2 walks. It would be great if he could get his batting average up to, let's say, .260 by the time the season ends.
5.) Sorry to hear about Chris Heintz's broken wrist, which will keep him out at least a month and may end his season. If the Twins do need to call up a catcher, every source says it will be Jose Morales, which makes sense -- the guy has been hitting like crazy for Rochester this year. The Twins 40-man roster currently stands at just 38 players, so the Twins could add him to the roster relatively easily if they needed to. Incidentally, this may also be a good chance to add Matt Tolbert to the roster. I fully expect him to be up in September, anyway -- but the sooner the better. I know that a number of people, including Seth, believe that Tolbert doesn't belong up right now because he wouldn't get enough playing time, but I think that he could get semi-regular at-bats at 2B and 3B -- certainly enough to warrant a call-up. And anything that would get Luis Rodriguez off the roster would make me happy.
Labels: Nightly Notes
posted by JST @ Sunday, August 05, 2007
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