Lemonade, Anyone?
Posted by SBG on Wednesday, August 25th, 2004 at 11:38 am
No doubt that last night's 5-4 loss yielded some lemons. Joe Nathan, previously untouchable, now has allowed six earnies in his last 2 1/3 innings pitched. He's blown his last two save opportunities, both of them coming after the Twins had just taken the lead. These two losses were tough for the Twins - and I'm sure especially Mr. Nathan - to stomach.
However, I don't think last night is all that bad. The Twins still have an 8-game lead and I think Nathan will be all right. Some positives did occur. Let me elaborate.
1. Carlos Silva shut down a potent Texas lineup for six innings. True, he struck out just one, but he induced 11 ground balls and walked just one. He seemed to tire in the seventh and allowed two runs, but if Silva can give them six good innings, that is cause for celebration. He pitched a decent game and deserved a better fate.
2. The Twins continued to hit the ball over the fence. Both Corey Koskie and Torii Hunter went deep. The Twins now have hit 145 home runs in 125 games, good for seventh in the AL. I mean, stop the presses. They are on pace for 188 home runs. Last year, they hit just 155 and in 2002, they hit 167. 188 home runs would be the most since the Twins hit 196 in both 1986 and 1987 and sixth best in the franchise's Minnesota (and probably overall) history. With Morneau in the lineup, they could maybe reach that 196 total and trail only the mashing teams of 1962-64, when the Twins hit over 200 HRs every year.
3. Justin Morneau delivered a pinch hit, RBI double in the ninth. This is really good news for two reasons. First, the kid is apparently okay after being hit on the hand by C.C. Sabathia on Sunday. Second, Justin Morneau came up and delivered in a clutch situation. I know that it's gonna be fun watching this guy for years to come.
Yes, last night was a disappointment. The Twins should have gotten to the starting pitcher more often (just seven hits last night). Yes, Nathan's recent outings might be a cause for concern. But, there are some good things to take away from this game.
For the month of August, the Twins are now 12-10. They are scoring 5.0 runs/game, good for sixth in the AL. Their OPS is .788, also good for sixth. They have hit 32 home runs, good for third in the AL, three behind the Yankees. Their ERA for the month is 3.60, second to Oakland's 3.58. Considering that the Twins are playing their toughest schedule so far this year, I'd say they are having an excellent month.
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