Comments by jafo
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Posted on May 29 at 12:54 p.m.
Agreed. The Twins teach contact first. If you sit on an inside pitch, looking to pull it... you are going to look bad on the outside offspeed stuff. Hitting then becomes a guessing game. The Twin's approach is to stay back, and drive the ball where it is pitched. Morneau can do this, and still get his homeruns... hence the decent average, and HR numbers. He is so strong, has solid mechanics, and is quick on the inside pitch. Now, if you watch Young and Cuddyer, they're looking to cover the plate, but when a pitch gets in on them, they are handcuffed. They don't seem quick enough to react on the inside pitch, so, to be ready for that inside pitch, they would have to "guess", and commit early to getting that bat head out there. Of course, then they look horrible on that slider on the outside corner... then they get chewed on by the manager...etc, etc.
My opinion is, for some players, you just have to tell them it's OK if you look bad sometimes, and strikeouts are OK too... just look for that pitch, and yank it. Ortiz is a great example... it was obvious that he had tremendous power when he was here... even though he was oft-injured. But, you could see that he was told to "go with the pitch".
So, the question remains... hit for average, or hit for power. Very few can do both. A choice has to be made, and the Twin's choose average. It would be fun if they would pick at least one guy on the team, and say "hey, let 'er rip, and let's see what happens."
Posted on May 28 at 6:53 a.m.
I think the problem that many people have with this is the fact that, in this time of economic slowdown, oil companies have been making record, if not obscene, profits. Prices have risen drastically, and yet, there is no evidence of shortage. When was the last time you saw a gas station that had no product? We take it in the shorts, paying for something necessary for our daily routine, with little or no options. I'm all in favor of the open market/competition way of things... but when a few have so much control, is it truly "open"? Maybe when companies get too big and powerful, that's when our government needs to step in with some from of regulation. ??? There is not an endless supply of oil, and our leadership has dropped the ball as far as alternative energy... instead of tax breaks, how about real incentives? Some tout nuclear power... and that may be where we go eventually... it's a sure fire way to create energy... but, there is NO safe way to dispose of nuclear waste, and the risks to our planet are/would be huge. Imagine 200 years from now, hundreds, if not thousands of old nuclear power plants, and thousands of spent rods hiding in some supposedly "safe" place. Not a good scenario. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, why are we not pursuing a safe way to harness it? There have been a number of small companies that have made progress... care to guess what has happened to many of them? They have been bought up by... oil companies. There are two reasons for this. One, eliminate the competition. And two, when the oil era does finally come to an end, guess who will be in position to control the next great source of energy??? It's all about control, and money. Control the energy, and you control the wealth. I don't really blame them, it's good business. The problem is again, perception. The perception is that we are being bent over, while the oil companies get filthy rich. I don't think anyone would want to deny a company the right to make a decent profit, but when it becomes excessive, AND there are no real alternatives, AND your government is doing little or nothing to help... it's not difficult to understand why people are upset.
Posted on May 27 at 11:10 p.m.
I think that most teams are rebuilding, to some extent, every year. Players just don't stay long in one place any more. We got Lamb, Everett, and Monroe because they were relatively cheap, and they can play OK. Not great... but OK. That's what you get when you don't have the $$$ to spend. Supposedly, the new stadium, and the revenue it will create, will allow the Twins to keep talent, and sign the bigger name FAs. I agree about Cabrera... maybe we'll see him on "The Biggest Loser" in a few years. ;-)
Just finished a nice extra inning win over KC. It's now the last week in May... I'm still optimistic about this year. Our outfield is as good as it gets, I think. Morneau and Mauer are All-Stars. Casilla really looks like a different player this year. Harris' BA stinks right now, but I like his ABs... and his D looks good, as well. Lamb is OK at third, but is inconsistent at the plate... but they say he has a good head for the game... whatever that's worth. ;-)
It's going to come down to starting pitching, as usual, and if Blackburn is for real, and if this is the Glen Perkins that we have been waiting for, and if Liriano can contribute in the second half... it could be good.
Posted on May 20 at 8:35 p.m.
LOL.. dead on!
Personally, I think they're doing great. Gomez is the spark plug that I knew he would be. Morneau is starting to swing the bat like he can, and is looking more and more(neau) like a lock for a Gold Glove. Delmon Young can hit, and will hit, look for him to get hot in second half. The infield has been nicked up so far this year, and because of that, hasn't looked as sharp as they could. They will be fine. The pitching has been better than I expected at this point, 'cept for Boof. He needs something, not sure what, split-finger maybe, cutter, something... his pitches are too easy to see coming... fastball.... curveball... that's it...neither are terrific. Blackburn and Hernandez have done very well. Slowey is, well Slowey... again, not sure how far you can go with just great control. Perkins has looked good again, but we've seen that before. He needs to stay aggressive. Rincon and Crain should be able to get to Nathan in Neshek's absence. They can be very good, and very bad... like most relievers... they're only as good as their last outing. Nathan... light's out, as usual. We have been soooo spoiled as far as closers go... it's going to be a real kick in the pants when we don't have one someday.
Joe Mauer is a great hitter... right now, he is NOT a homerun hitter. Maybe he never will be. I think he could be if he wanted to go that route. People said that Rod Carew could've hit 30+ homers a year, too. But, swinging harder, and trying to pull more would have affected his batting average. He chose not to go for the homers. Joe takes some grief for it because of his size, he's a big kid... yes, kid. Give him a few years, and I think he'll get 20 or so per year.
Posted on May 20 at 8:13 p.m.
Lamb did the right thing. The hit-and-run (run-and-hit) was on. It is the batter's responsibility to protect the runner by putting the ball in play, even if he doesn't get a good pitch to hit... in this case, a pitch out. I didn't see any frustration at all, he was just doing what he was supposed to, the best (only) way he could.
Posted on May 15 at 6:37 p.m.
Yup, it should be Devorak Drive.
Posted on May 6 at 7:50 a.m.
I suppose it's possible the atmosphere has changed out there, if so, then maybe if it were more affordable... more people would join, and the money problems would be gone.
FYI, I can hit the ball OK, and I can get around the course pretty quick. You may be assuming too much. ;-)
Posted on May 6 at 12:32 a.m.
I agree...if PLGC would drop their membership rates... more people would join. I too, and many others that I know, go to Tipsinah. Like TomTom said, it costs half as much for a membership... and the course is just as nice... if not nicer!
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Posted on June 5 at 10:01 a.m.
In 1987, the Twins were "lucky" to get in with a barely over .500 regular season record. They then went on to beat the supposedly more powerful Tigers and Cards.
Point is, for any team to win it all, you have to be both good, and lucky.
I think this team will hang around til the end. I'm not sure if Hernandez can keep fooling hitters with the 52 mph curveball all season long. I like Blackburn, Perkins, Baker, and Slowey. The key will be, IF Liriano can come in for the second half, and be successful. IF he can, not only will he provide quality innings himself, but provide a much needed different look and approach, for a staff of mainly control-type pitchers.
On The Twins: Good or Lucky