Nightly Notes: Game #48
Tonight looked for awhile like it just might end in tragedy, but ultimately the Twins ended up with a comfortable victory. Here's a fairly short notes post:
1.) Kevin Slowey's scoreless six inning performance was very welcome, as it finally gets him out of the winless rut. I still believe that Slowey and Glen Perkins are on the bubble -- one of them is going to have to go down when Scott Baker returns (unless the Twins get creative and move Boof Bonser to the bullpen, or something similar). Tonight's start undoubtedly helped Slowey's cause. I suspect that Slowey has the edge in this battle, but since Perkins is the only lefty in the Twins rotation, you never know what might happen. It was particularly nice to see Slowey avoid giving up a homer, since he's been doing a lot of that lately.
2.) The bullpen continues to disappoint. Dennys Reyes, who had a great start to his season, saw his ERA balloon to 3.55 after his horrific 7th inning. In case you missed it, Reyes failed to record an out while allowing 3 hits and 3 earned runs. Jesse Crain was a bit better, allowing just 1 earned run on Sheffield's homer. At least Matt Guerrier buckled down to record a scoreless inning (albeit with a walk allowed), and new bullpen hero Bobby Korecky closed out the 5-run win with a reasonable 9th inning performance. You have to think this inning was just as important as what he did the other night for Korecky, since in some sense he showed that wasn't a fluke. I'm starting to believe in his ability to get guys out a little bit.
3.) It was nice to see Mike Lamb break out of the "zero homers" club, but I don't think he's the guy any fans are really all that concerned about. Come on, Delmon and Joe!
4.) Think there's a chance that Matt Macri could make his big league debut tomorrow? I personally would like to see it, and it doesn't seem all that unusual for guys to get a start on their second day in the big leagues. I have no idea whether we'll see this or not tomorrow, but I'm hopeful. UPDATE: Looks like I'll get my wish. The Twins Notes column in the Strib suggests that Macri is expected to get the start at 3B tomorrow.
5.) I didn't watch all that closely, but the talk of Brendan Harris seeming smoother and more comfortable at shortstop seemed legit on the plays I saw him make tonight. Meanwhile, I'm 99% certain Harris would have had no shot at the ball that Casilla robbed tonight (I forget the inning). Since absolutely no one has been happy with the performance of Adam Everett, is there any possibility that the Twins decide to keep Harris around as the starting shortstop and wave goodbye to Everett? I wouldn't be all that disappointed by such a move, and I doubt many of you would either. Unfortunately, the Twins are probably unlikely to make such a move.
6.) Barry Zito got a win tonight for the Giants, and I guess I'm happy for him -- but I have to admit that a very cruel part of me was rooting for him to just keep losing. It's the same part of me that wants to see Andruw Jones hit under .200 for the season. Schadenfreude is alive and well in Taylor-land.
7.) Believe it or not, relievers are now ranked and I'm just in the process of finishing writing the post. I'm no longer promising a delivery date, because I've failed to deliver for about three months. Nonetheless, progress is being made! Expect a Good, Bad, Ugly post on the Miracle either tomorrow or Sunday, and Nightly Notes posts on both days barring unexpected developments.
1.) Kevin Slowey's scoreless six inning performance was very welcome, as it finally gets him out of the winless rut. I still believe that Slowey and Glen Perkins are on the bubble -- one of them is going to have to go down when Scott Baker returns (unless the Twins get creative and move Boof Bonser to the bullpen, or something similar). Tonight's start undoubtedly helped Slowey's cause. I suspect that Slowey has the edge in this battle, but since Perkins is the only lefty in the Twins rotation, you never know what might happen. It was particularly nice to see Slowey avoid giving up a homer, since he's been doing a lot of that lately.
2.) The bullpen continues to disappoint. Dennys Reyes, who had a great start to his season, saw his ERA balloon to 3.55 after his horrific 7th inning. In case you missed it, Reyes failed to record an out while allowing 3 hits and 3 earned runs. Jesse Crain was a bit better, allowing just 1 earned run on Sheffield's homer. At least Matt Guerrier buckled down to record a scoreless inning (albeit with a walk allowed), and new bullpen hero Bobby Korecky closed out the 5-run win with a reasonable 9th inning performance. You have to think this inning was just as important as what he did the other night for Korecky, since in some sense he showed that wasn't a fluke. I'm starting to believe in his ability to get guys out a little bit.
3.) It was nice to see Mike Lamb break out of the "zero homers" club, but I don't think he's the guy any fans are really all that concerned about. Come on, Delmon and Joe!
4.) Think there's a chance that Matt Macri could make his big league debut tomorrow? I personally would like to see it, and it doesn't seem all that unusual for guys to get a start on their second day in the big leagues. I have no idea whether we'll see this or not tomorrow, but I'm hopeful. UPDATE: Looks like I'll get my wish. The Twins Notes column in the Strib suggests that Macri is expected to get the start at 3B tomorrow.
5.) I didn't watch all that closely, but the talk of Brendan Harris seeming smoother and more comfortable at shortstop seemed legit on the plays I saw him make tonight. Meanwhile, I'm 99% certain Harris would have had no shot at the ball that Casilla robbed tonight (I forget the inning). Since absolutely no one has been happy with the performance of Adam Everett, is there any possibility that the Twins decide to keep Harris around as the starting shortstop and wave goodbye to Everett? I wouldn't be all that disappointed by such a move, and I doubt many of you would either. Unfortunately, the Twins are probably unlikely to make such a move.
6.) Barry Zito got a win tonight for the Giants, and I guess I'm happy for him -- but I have to admit that a very cruel part of me was rooting for him to just keep losing. It's the same part of me that wants to see Andruw Jones hit under .200 for the season. Schadenfreude is alive and well in Taylor-land.
7.) Believe it or not, relievers are now ranked and I'm just in the process of finishing writing the post. I'm no longer promising a delivery date, because I've failed to deliver for about three months. Nonetheless, progress is being made! Expect a Good, Bad, Ugly post on the Miracle either tomorrow or Sunday, and Nightly Notes posts on both days barring unexpected developments.
Labels: Nightly Notes
posted by JST @ Friday, May 23, 2008
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