Spring Training Game #1
Earlier today, I promised some post-game reaction to today's game against the Reds. I also said it would be short and sweet -- and indeed that's exactly what it will be. If you want the "professional" recap from the Twins website, head here. Now, my thoughts:
1.) The Twins centerfield battle got off to a sputtering start, with both Carlos Gomez and Jason Pridie going 0-for-2. It sounds like Gomez made a nice defensive play to compensate for the uninspiring offense, but he also supposedly looked pretty bad at the plate overall. As I said earlier, though, poor offensive performances early on aren't particularly troublesome -- let's see how he's hitting in three weeks.
2.) Brendan Harris made a poor defensive play in failing to turn a double play today. My response -- big deal. The Twins now that Harris is not the defensive player that Nick Punto is, and if they decide to go with him at 2B, they're accepting the fact that they'll have more defensive mistakes made than they would with Punto. The argument for going with Harris is based on his better offense, not on his defense -- unless he turns into an absolute butcher at the position. One bad throw isn't going to earn him the reputation of a butcher, and going 0-for-2 isn't going to cost him his reputation as a better hitter than Punto either. Nonetheless, it's undoubtedly not the start that fans who want to see Punto ousted from the starting lineup were hoping to see.
3.) Glen Perkins and Ricky Barrett both got rocked today, with Gardy saying it was because they left the ball up. This hurts Barrett a lot more than Perkins -- Barrett's only chance to make the team (and it was extremely slim) was to have an undeniably fantastic spring. For him, a performance like this could be the end of whatever slim chances he had. Perkins, however, has demonstrated that he's a pretty good pitcher -- and the Twins will give him opportunities to return to form.
4.) Nice performance overall from a lot of guys, although most of them didn't really need to do much but get some work in. Baker, Neshek, and Guerrier aren't fighting for spots -- they have spots sewn up. For Julio DePaula and Casey Daigle, though, every little bit helps -- even a one inning performance in the first spring game of the year.
1.) The Twins centerfield battle got off to a sputtering start, with both Carlos Gomez and Jason Pridie going 0-for-2. It sounds like Gomez made a nice defensive play to compensate for the uninspiring offense, but he also supposedly looked pretty bad at the plate overall. As I said earlier, though, poor offensive performances early on aren't particularly troublesome -- let's see how he's hitting in three weeks.
2.) Brendan Harris made a poor defensive play in failing to turn a double play today. My response -- big deal. The Twins now that Harris is not the defensive player that Nick Punto is, and if they decide to go with him at 2B, they're accepting the fact that they'll have more defensive mistakes made than they would with Punto. The argument for going with Harris is based on his better offense, not on his defense -- unless he turns into an absolute butcher at the position. One bad throw isn't going to earn him the reputation of a butcher, and going 0-for-2 isn't going to cost him his reputation as a better hitter than Punto either. Nonetheless, it's undoubtedly not the start that fans who want to see Punto ousted from the starting lineup were hoping to see.
3.) Glen Perkins and Ricky Barrett both got rocked today, with Gardy saying it was because they left the ball up. This hurts Barrett a lot more than Perkins -- Barrett's only chance to make the team (and it was extremely slim) was to have an undeniably fantastic spring. For him, a performance like this could be the end of whatever slim chances he had. Perkins, however, has demonstrated that he's a pretty good pitcher -- and the Twins will give him opportunities to return to form.
4.) Nice performance overall from a lot of guys, although most of them didn't really need to do much but get some work in. Baker, Neshek, and Guerrier aren't fighting for spots -- they have spots sewn up. For Julio DePaula and Casey Daigle, though, every little bit helps -- even a one inning performance in the first spring game of the year.
Labels: Spring Game Recaps, Spring Training 2008
posted by JST @ Thursday, February 28, 2008
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