Scott "Light Rail" Baker vs. Kelvim Escobar
Escobar is very good, but good in a pretty generic way. Solid across the board, but not really spectacular in strikeouts, walks, or ground balls.
Baker's GB% is back down to 33% right now, and that concerns me because it looks like he's been lucky on home runs lately.
I think the Twins are delusional for thinking that running around in the outfield will somehow help out Rondell White. It seems clear to me that what helped him hit last year was being healthy, not running around in the field.
Last year against RHP, in total, Rondell hit .235/.264/.357. This year against RHP, Jason Tyner has hit .280/.322/.363, after hitting .325/.363/.380 against righties last year. We all know Rondell did better after the All-Star break last year, but I see no reason to believe that he's healthy again. It's gotten to the point where Jason Tyner is legitimately the best option at either LF or DH (wherever Kubel isn't) on this team against right-handed pitchers.
The Insanity's contract is a sunk cost and the Twins would do well to start treating it as such.
tonight's lineup has:
7. Kubel at DH
8. White at LF
9. Punto at 3B
awesome
It seems that whenever most of Scotty Baker's outs are scarily deep on the warning track, that's when he's doing his best. Seems that balls hit low (either grounders or low line drives -- through the infield rather than over) against him are a lot more likely to become hits. That makes no sense to me vs what I've learned from Gleeman and Ubelmann, but whatever, it's what I've noticed. Just don't send him to the GAB or Coors.
I've been watching the Braves/Phillies game on TBS whilst doing other things (Burning CDs of Sileni EPs and working on my actuarial education, if you must know). JC Romero came in to pitch for the Phillies. I never heard of that trade. Anyways, all the malcontent pitchers from Minnesota Twins recent memory have ended up there: JD Durbin, JC Romero, and Kyle Lohse. Just for fun, let's trade Gardy for Charlie Manuel. (You can trade managers, right?)
Who is Sileni?
And are these EP's on 12" vinyl?
Sileni - Some US Drum n Bass producer who's still sticking with the genre after nearly everyone else has left it. Lots of it sounds kindof machinic, reminds me a bit of Richard D. James Album - era Aphex Twin.
I steal lots of 12" only music via P2P networking. I've been sitting on these files for a while and needed to move them.
Charlie Manuel has already done time with the locals: As a player - pinch-hitter, mainly - back in the late '60's-early '70's.
Yanquis just beat the Cleveland Subcontinentals. I don't know if that's good for the Twins. I know it doesn't make me happy. Berting Yanqs.
well, since both teams are above the twins in the standing, a tie for all 3 games would of been awesome
I think that the Division title needs to be the goal. So, I'll grit my teeth and say that's a good result.
If anyone is interested, the Royals have done a very poor job of getting on base tonight (hosting the Jays). Might be worth watching...
Never Mind, Billy Butler breaks up the Shawn Marcum no hitter with an infield single in the 7th.
And immediately afterwards, Marcum leaves the game with an injured leg.
If he were on the Twins, he'd proabably be looking for a loss, what with leaving a runner on first with two outs in the seventh.
Worf says: Nice left fielder.
Hey, everyone, I was tired and fell asleep. Ready for an offensive explosion?
1 run?
Go back to sleep, sir, Nothing to see here.
I'm a glutton for punishment, and I'll have mine meted out once again tonight, thank you very much.
As you wish, pally ;)
No drive-in tonight?
Too tired earlier. We went out with the neighbors for dinner and I came home and fell asleep.
if you were a real glutton for punishment, you'd be live-blogging the Vikings game
I am proud to not have known that was happening.
I almost want to ask about Brad Johnson, but I can resist.
His QBing of the team last season helped me distance myself from the team . . . they were so boring!
That isn't punishment, that's torture.
My call - Rondell costs the team a run tonight, either with his arm or poor fielding
My Call - Rondell gets either 2 hits or a homer (blind Squirrel), further reinforcing the "Needs to play OF to Hit" meme.
I say Nick Punto is going to hit a homer
I say both of you are drunk.
its that old demon alcohol
Then carry on, mate.
no driving...
And another call - Twins do not get Swept this weekend. They always get to .500 or close to .500, but never slip under it.
Checking in from the Kearney, NE Ramada...go Twins!
Bring back the Chairman of the Board, Banjo. Not the Chairman of the Bored.
Im praying to ya...
Yeah, the Sinatra avatar was gold.
McQueen will do, sir.
It is a small thing, but Casilla's ability to draw a walk will be essential to be a successful type hitter at the major league level
Hey, I was talking to Seth Stohs today and I'm kicking around the idea of an SBG outing on September 22 at the dome. It's a Saturday morning special. Seth says he might be able to make it.
I can't guarantee a win, but I am 2-0 this year.
I got 6 and possibly 8 vouchers for the cheap seats....
You gotta come, Banjo.
I'm in..
Moss might be interested in taking Moss Jr. for that game...
Man, these all-red uniforms of the Angels are brutal.
For improved illegibility, beats out the new D<>Backs Black-on-rust.
improved illegibility an important consideration.
What's this? Three baserunners? Is that allowed?
nope
Yeah, but no runs.
The glitch was fixed.
Apparently not.
::sigh::
BB #758 off Matt Morris.
they were team mates 2 weeks ago
crazy
No doubt aided by his elbow brace, steroids, HGH, a power transmitter in his can of Skoal, Satan's angels and/or a stiff wind blowing out to right.
When did his son start sitting in the dugout? Perhaps his son is telekinetic...
Holy crap! Russ Ortiz is pitching that game for the Giants.
How did the Twins outbid them on Ramon Ortiz and Sid P?
I didnt think Russ Ortiz was still in the league
Let's go, Baker. You're Light Rail. Not the monorail at Disneyland.
yeesh
Dick: White delivers a strong throw to Punto. Um no. Accurate, but one hop from there? Sorry.
Gordo, "Nice throw by RonDL. Just a little short."
That's sweet. Can't get it to third from short left field.
Next from Gordo:
"Long drive by Punto, but just a little short as Cabrera hauls it in behind second base"
I've said it before, I'll say it again: Gordo can't see sh^t.
we have to overcome 2 runs now
I dont know if our offense is up to that task
I'm counting that as Rondell costing the team a run, Figgins doesn't take third on anyone but Rondell or Shannon Stewart on Cabrera's hit to left.
remember: strong throw.
Dick was watching the Little League World Series coverage earlier tonight, and in fairness, Rondell's arm is at least average in that league.
That's what I was trying to say about hits through the infield (Cabrera's). Ugh. C'mon Scotty, a 0-2 loss is a moral victory.
And then, Mr.Anderson hits one 10 feet short of a Homer. Good (scary) Baker.
Seattle and Detroit both lost.
ShocKing result for Rondell.
I better start muting the TV whenever White or Punto are up. It is better for my sanity that way.
Or shutting the damn thing off...
Bert mentioned Jim Abbott, I had forgotten about him. As a kid he was my favorite pitcher and I always kept any baseball cards of his. Talk about an inspiring figure, everyone on my little league teams were in awe of his glove-switching ability.
Another great fielding play by Morneau there.
Abbott is arguably the most inspirational player in MLB history. I loved that cat, too.
Ankiel could give him competition if he sticks.
And then there's always Jeter.
And then there’s always Jeter.
When he's not driving up the sales of Valtrex among starlets.
Abbott's no-hitter is about the only time I can remember being thrilled about someone on the Yankees doing something extraordinary.
That was a helluva catch by Vlad to rob Torii last inning. I swear to God that Vlad's knees don't bend, though.
Punt. Oh.
Top Jimmy was filling in on KSTP at night, after the day game - he said the other players confided in him that they are pissed/demoralized when they see Punto is in the line-up.
You are yanking my chain!
No..it was a great segment and he did say it.
Not surprising that players would feel that way... but surprising that TJ would say it.
I was just thinking we might want to think of Mauer as 3B just to make up for Punto.
Bert: "He threw as hard as Nolan Ryan...maybe not velocity-wise"
Huh?
Probably something like Volts vs Watts vs Amps that I could never understand...
Laddie caught leaning.
kids are running wild
WTF! Dick: not enough doubles and homers.
Think he desperately wanted to add "or sacrifice bunt attempts" to the list?
And Vlad obviously felt bad about robbing Torii earlier.
I'm looking for some data. Does anyone know where a guy can find the frequency at which a particular number of runs are scored in an inning?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/inning_summary.cgi?year_game=2007&team_id=MIN
???
Excellent. Thanks, dw!
That's interesting data...the Twins are, on average, approximately tied after three innings, and ahead after four. However, they appear to be losing lots of games in the 5th-6th innings.
That throw from Mauer was almost as strong as Rondell's!
Minus a hop or two...
Mauer gunned down "OF Version of Eckstein" easily at third. What a fantastic throw.
Mauer 15 of 29 throwing out baserunners. Wow.
Trade 'em. Some times you just gotta be ahead of the curve. That's what great GM's do.
The World According to Dan Barriero
well, he was only 1 of 2 on that play. Can't throw out both runners...
The second guy doesn't get a stolen base.
That makes sense, never really thought about it...
Hunter with a single. Makes me thing of "Major League," he really knocked the crap out of that one!
C'mon KUBELLL!
4 hits in 6 innings
ahead of last games pace of 4 hits in 9 innings!
Okay RoWhite. Earn your keep.
*checks to see if the world is on fire*
Rondell White - mark him down in LF the rest of the year if he's healthy!
He is healthy! How dare you suggest otherwise! Rondell White has always
been at war with Eurasiabeen healthy!Kubel 1-2 with a walk as DH, so it's obvious that fielding distracts his hitting...
Huzzah!
How about that! The Insanity goes crazy!
Scoring runs? That's insane!
BB leads the majors in OPS.
He should obviously retire after this season, he's old and slowing down...
Sometimes, I dream about Pohlad deciding to buy a championship before he dies.
Some big bucks could fill the holes at DH and 3B... BB and ARod?
Two good brew pubs today...
Lincoln, NE (lunch) Laslow's - did not have the beer due to the drive, but above average food and very inventive kids menu.
Kearney, NE (dinner/snack) -Thunderbolt - very good pale ale. Plus: two beers, root beer, giant homemade pretzel with spicy mustard and baked Parmesan potato wedges.. $13..
bases loaded twice in the game
boy when was the last time that happened!
I know it happened in the Denny Hocking game (0-1 loss to the Royals a few years back...)
Im guessing it happened during that Chicago Doubleheader a month ago
4 straight men on base? Sounds like one run!
GreekHouse -- check your email.
Awesome...Thanks SBG!
Ugh, Wincone sighting.
Oh, good lord.
Light Rail is off the tracks.
Gotta keep the ball down...
(Shit, 3 more years of that line...)
If a two-run deficit is insurmountable, what is a five-run deficit?
Game over.
I got two tickets to a Brave New Workshop show tomorrow night, and it looks like my wife can't make it.
Anyone wanna come? It's not like you're gonna wanna watch the Twins tomorrow...
7:30 show starts. The Show is "Rise of the Celebretards" or something like that.
I have to pack and so forth for our move or I'd take you up on it.
Have fun. I just saw some ex-Brave-News at the Fringe tonight.
Wife may be free now. As I've had no takers, I rescind my offer.
Well, might be nice for El Gardinero to have him pitch against his old team...
maybe the Angels will melt down in the late innings
Unfortunately, their bullpen does not have Aardsma, Sisco, and Meikeljohn MacDougal.
darn
I'm 12 hours later than usual, but the series preview is up on the main page. Don't worry, I tried not to include too many spoilers.
Nice work, Big Mak. The stadium vermin problem stuff is -- gross.
So boxing out the baserunner is an allowed strategy for pitchers going to first base now? What a joke.
Juan Rincon cant seem to throw strikes anymore
That brings an emotear to my eye
5 batters, 3 walks for Rincon? That's not confidence-inspiring.
On days like this, I hate this team.
Did you read Neyer today, ubes? Or do you not have insider?
I don't have Insider. Did he write about the Twins?
Nope.
Why do you ask?
You know what makes zero sense to me? That Roger Clemens would get suspended for throwing at Alex Rios once and that the Blue Jays wouldn't get punished whatsoever for not once, but twice throwing at the best player in the American League. I mean, seriously, WTF?
did the ball hit Rios? I cant remember
Oh yeah, right between the blades.
That is a good point. But, Alex yelled boo at their 3Ber. Kudos to Clemens for drilling Rios, by the way, not that he needs much of an excuse to drill someone.
oh, I agree with the kudos to Clemens. He did what he had to. The Blue Jays were being a bit silly after a while with this A-Rod thing.
Now, Barry Bonds. If I were a pitcher, I would of drilled him after he hit #757. he hit the ball and raised his hands striaght in the air and stood there. Thats a bit disrespectful. I can understand hitt the record tying or record breaking home run and posing for the cameras, but he was past that, and I would drill him in a place that has no body armor
on a side note, that game is getting out of hand :/
I only wish that one of those pitches would have hit Biggio.
Yeah, but everyone hates the Yankees. And Roger Clemens. And He's always been surly with the media, so he's picked out as the Public Enemy #1, and punished for the sins of many, and his accomplishments are downplayed. Or, uhm, what were we talking about?
Vlad scores despite a very strong throw from White.
Get that man out of left field. End this charade now.
Rondelle has the best arm out there since Shannon.
El Jardinero!
Okay, this game is out of control, so let's just beat a dead horse. Why not run on White there?
This game certainly makes me feel like beating something...might as well be a dead horse.
Why did they hold Kotchman at third base? Is this like in beer league softball where you get a big lead and try not to embarass the other team?
yeah, I think the Angles are holding up the horses here. They know as much as we know, the Twins are not going to score 10 runs in 2 innings
Or 2 runs in 10 innings.
touche
Sad, but the Twins are doing nothing to show otherwise. If Rick Ankiel can re-mold himself into an outfielder, why not have Santana DH on his off days? He's at least as athletic.
What was that thing that Cuddyer just did in right field? It looked kind of similar to what White was trying to do, but Cuddyer seemed to be successful at it.
If this were curling, they'd be shaking hands and drinking beer right now.
I think Rincon, Cali, and Ortiz got a head start on the beer drinking part.
who do you think would be the best curler on the Twins?
Probably Santana. If Venezuela had ice.
ERA's on the pitching staff are being hurt tonight
Rondelle White is the nice guy making $3 million in Minnesota for basically doing nothing this year.
for $300,000 , I can swing at pitches 10 inches outside the strike zone!
maybe with the savings, we can afford a decent thirdbaseman
I think he has done enough damage to be lumped in with the class of Nick Punto's and Ramon Ortiz's for hurting the team while making millions of dollars.
Tommy Watkins alert! Over/Under on number of pitches it takes to strike out?
hit on the 5th pitch
He's hanging tough!
Weak grounder to second. Watkins, you proved me wrong.
There's going to be a Tommy Watkins sighting. Perfect spot for him. #61!
WATKINS IS TAKING AT BATS FROM KUBEL???? This game just got worse. What a @#$@#$ joke.
he is not mentally ready to play defense
Oh god. I can't believe I made a snarky comment when pure rage was deserved. Effin Ridiculous.
Eh, not a big deal. One at bat in a blowout. If he starts even once in front of Kubel, however, I'll scream bloody murder.
Not a big deal but he could have easily been inserted next inning for Punto or White who are sucking far worse than Kubel right now.
Mostly symbolic of the pathetic way this team has been assembled and ran this year. Feel good stories over production all year.
I mean, honestly, Kubel's not going anywhere, if you're not going to let him get at-bats in when your team is down by nine runs, when are you going to let him get some at-bats in. Put Watkins in for Punto. He's the one who sucks.
Well, there's that.
Or 'delle, who's due up next inning.
Who you're trying to keep healthy, apparently. (Unless Gardy really wants him gone and getting him in the OF is just a clever way of getting him on the DL again.)
SBG and the rest of the Twins blogging community should really start a movement for bloggers to get press passes solely for the ability to ask questions like "How does removing Jason Kubel for a career minor leaguer improve the chances of winning a game?" or "How does Punto continue to see a place in the lineup?"
Side note: Dick, a weak grounder to second is never a good at bat unless it takes 10-15 pitches.
That'd be great just for the comedy when ScruFi blows a gasket and cuts the presser short.
Then the rest of the press would be pissed that they couldn't ask their lame softball questions to Gardy. How would we ever get work in this town again? Oh, right, this is just a hobby.
Ron Gardenhire does a Sunday morning call in show on 1500. Maybe try that
Maybe, MAYBE if it's a tie game, guy on 2nd, no outs. Even then it's just a good result, not a good at-bat.
Way to make that an adventure Rondelle.
I think that alternate spelling is gonna stick.
I'm a fan already.
Hey, you are the BMOC over at Gleeman today. Three links!
Yeah, that was pretty cool of Aaron to do. I'm glad he likes my stuff. I try to stick to writing just because I like to talk about the Twins, but it's definitely rewarding when it is complimented by others.
And, he didn't link to your best post of the day -- the Great Moments in Enhanced Gameday History. I busted a gut on that one.
I might make that an occasionally recurring feature. I sort of liked how that turned out. Hopefully we can get some positive moments in the mix eventually.
The pitching probably has some good screen shots.
Its midnight
do you know where your offense is?
It's all Casilla's fault!
It's all Casilla's and Kubel's fault.
Fixed that for you.
I wonder if the Twins hitters are secretly happy that they didn't lose 2-1 or 3-1 today so the loss isn't completely their fault for the fifth time this week?
I think that's why Scotty threw that pitch for the GS. Was tired of having his hopes dashed once he left the field, wanted to know that he was the instigator, the source of the troubles. To be without hope, the relief of just watching the game play out without having to worry about the outcome. The sweet release of death.
Nice effort by the Twins tonight.
Oooh, the paper bag. Classy.
28 runs in the last 10 games, including the 11 run outburst. Hol-ee shite.
Top Jimmy in the postgame: Nick Punto in the lineup is demoralizing to his teammates. Just what Banjo reported before.
How much you wanna bet that Hunter is the guy that fed that to TJ?
wait, who is Top Jimmy?
Jim Shouhan. Star Tribune Columnist.
oh. I usualy turn the channel when he is on
Good thinking.
the LA Dodgers have had 23 runs in their last 10 games (including 3 straight shutouts)
so things could be worse
That's bad, but they have a pitcher batting every ninth batter.
at least NL pitchers can generally put down a sac bunt, unlike our 3B
That begs the question: How does Nick Punto compare to the average NL pitcher batting this year?
I dont have a subscription to all those cool baseball statistic websites
Im sure someone has an answer though
NL pitchers: .144/.177/.184
Punto: .210/.299/.274
Rondelle: .156/.250/.188
Thanks SBG.
Does anyone find it strange that all of the FSN post-game interviews are coming from people associated with the Angels?
A couple of possibilities:
1. No one on the Twins was talking.
2. No one at FSN wanted to talk to the Twins.
Number 1 or 2?
maybe a closed door meeting after the game
Option 3.
FSN really needs to stop using the phrase "Breaking the seal" in reference to situational batting. I mean now.
at least they are not clubbing a seal
What the offense needs is to face Odalis Perez every game for the rest of the year
If pitchers could pitch every day, and could face teh same team, I think Odie could figure these Twins out and win about 2/3s of the time.
Holy Cripes. FSN is making a scapegoat out of Casilla.
Casilla would not have scored on the ball Guerrero dropped. He would have stayed near first and maybe made it to third since Vlad has a ridiculous arm. The pick off was stupid on his part but that is an absolutely ridiculous assumption to make.
I don't blame Casilla for laying off the pitch that struck him out with the bases loaded. It looked like a ball and if it was a strike it absolutely painted the bottom corner of the strike zone. Great pitch if it was a strike.
They did it during the broadcast, too. That's why I wrote, "It's all Casilla's fault." Same ol' same ol'.
boy, that's not cool at all
Casilla is the only one who seems to be getting on base during this offense slump
Kubel's OBP is nearing .500 this month. His power has been gone but he isn't causing outs at least.
When Punto gets picked off, it hardly gets mentioned. Sigh.