Game 120: Yanks vs. Twins
Posted by ubelmann on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Rasner vs. Slowey
I have become comfortably numb? Not sure if it's still shell shock from that 10-run inning, but I'm having trouble caring much right now about the team or finding anything worthwhile to say about the team. All of these guys were with the team in spring training. My opinion of two or three of them has significantly changed since then, but it surely hasn't changed in the last two weeks, so I don't know that I really have anything to add here.
5.3 K/G, 2.7 BB/G, 39.8% GB% -- Rasner
4.5 K/G, 2.3 BB/G, 39.5% GB% -- Perkins
So in terms of peripherals, Rasner has been essentially just like Perkins this year. Slowey is Slowey.
SBG says: In case you were wondering what has happened, the host company disabled the comments in my SQL Server file because we were in danger of taking down their entire server. I also have to eliminate the SBG Nation Citizens plugin, because hitting that thing over and over was causing tremendous strain on their server. Sorry folks!
So if Rasner is just like Perkins, and Perkins is like a young Washburn, does that mean the Yanks don't need another Washburn?
Washburn would likely be an upgrade over Ponson...but for the amount of salary they would have to take on, I would say that the Yankees are better off letting the Mariners deal with their own problem.
Mauer is back in the lineup. It would be so great to start the homestand with a series win over the Yanks. Plus, when you play a series at home against a team that two of their starters are Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner, you really need to win that series.
Opposing teams are more than the starters they put on the mound.
I don't know if I can bring myself to follow this game too closely...
Pretty decent lineup today, and, yay Mauer.
I hope Mauer's neck is okay. It would seem like it would be difficult to bat or to play catcher with a stiff neck.
Slowey better be pitching really well today--he's not getting any help from his defense. Span, Punto, and Mauer are the only guys out there who are even average defenders, and Mauer has a neck problem and doesn't get to field many balls-in-play.
Add to that the fact that the bullpen is just beat from two 12-inning games in three days and this one could be a recipe for disaster unless Slowey really gets locked in.
As worrisome as it seems, with the workload of the bullpen, and the recent tired arm struggles of Guerrier (seriously, he looks like he's got absolutely nothing left from the moment he walks out there), I think we'll be seeing Bass take on a bigger and bigger role as the season goes on.
You'd think so, but I really believe that Gardenhire has lost faith in Bass. One of the Strib guys speculated this a while back, and I believe Bass had gone like eight days without benig used prior to being the last one out of the pen in last night's game.
I think it's more likely we see Korecky called up than Bass given a larger role. Which is good.
I would absolutely be in favor of that
Last night I was almost convinced Baker was going to come in before Bass. I think that would've been the moment I would've made some unkind comments about leaving him in the bullpen.
I'll say it again:
We Want Rob Delaney
We Want Rob Delaney
We Want Rob Delaney
Of course, at this point, I'll take Bobby Korecky over the possibility of Bass being more than a mopup man.
Don't forget Anthony Slama-lama-ding-dong.
Now that is a great nick name.
No Jeter? Are they still allowed to play? And if so, what's the point?
At least it's a better start than last night.
Shhhhhh! Not out of the first yet.
You were saying?
Well, it was.
How does anyone ever got Rodriguez out?
They have Tony Pena Jr. pitch to him
lol, wrong Rodriguez
About two seconds before A-Rod's homer last night, Dick: "A-Rod is 0-for-5 tonight!"
The guy is an inner circle HOFer. He's a counting stats monster.
He's not that great. He's just a compiler.
Certainly not dreamy.
Twins: $57M
Yankees: $209M
It seems rather limitless the things that the Twins could do with an extra $152M. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking maybe:
Beltran > Gomez
Hunter > Delmon
Bartlett > Harris/Everett
A-Rod > Lamb/Buscher
Santana > Livan/Guerra
Garza > Humber/Mulvey
$18.5M, $16M, $0M, $23.5M, $14M, $0M...so that's an extra $72M. Maybe add in Billy Wagner and Brad Lidge for some bullpen help? It might be tough to get them with just $80M left to spend, but I think the Twins could manage.
It's always amusing to hear New York media guys try to tell us about how the differences in money don't lead to any problems in competitive balance. Sure, you can compete without spending lots of money, and you can spend lots of money and still lose. But it's obviously a lot easier when you have lots of money to spend than when you don't. Not only can you acquire more players, but you can also correct your mistakes when something doesn't work out.
Amusing would be one word for it. I might use different words.
Some bats on the bench might be nice.
Hmmm...maybe something like Casey Blake and Milton Bradley? (You just know the media would have a field day with the Hunter/Bradley angle. I'm sure it would be all about Torii taking Milton under his wing and calming him down. And actually, the way that Bradley has been hitting, he would be the starting DH with Kubel as a bench bat.) Probably more like Casey Blake and maybe X-Nady.
End of streak.
The baggy saved us a run right there.
Last night and today I've tried watching the TV broadcast while listening to the radio broadcast. While it can be a little disconcerting at times, because the radio is a little ahead of the TV, it's kind of interesting to see how the game Gordo and Dazzle are broadcasting differs from the game that's actually being played.
I used to do that all the time, but only because Herb Carneal was so much better than the TV guys.
Here, here.
I've always thought they may well be very different.
My friend and I used to listen to our radios while we were at the game (she still does, and I occasionally do). We noted oftentimes that John and Dan weren't watching the same game we were.
It did come in handy for close calls at the plate, injuries, etc., to get their word on what really happened.
What I've always suspected, but now can confirm, is that there are a number of pitches that they simply don't bother to tell you about. What's annoying about that is that they are there for only one reason--to tell us what's going on in the game. And they don't do it.
hardware problem.
Right through the webbing. That happened to Morneau earlier this year, too.
I suppose you have to score it that way, but it's pretty tough to be charged with an error because your glove broke.
That's a time where they should go with a team error, much like when a guy loses a ball in the lights or the roof. Give the team an error, but don't give it to an individual. That way, no one is credited with a hit they don't deserve, but if the runner ends up scoring, an earned run isn't charged to the pitcher either.
Hitters get credit for hits they don't "deserve" quite often on plays where there is no error. Deserve's got nothin' to do with it.
Betemit == rocket arm. That would never happen with Everett at SS.
David Pinto noted that, since they have A-Rod and I-Rod, the Yankees should next try to acquire E-Rod, O-Rod, U-Rod, and Sometimes Y-Rod.
Edgardo, Omar, Ugeth, and Yadier?
Nice inning
About time for Kubes to have himself a good offensive game.
Is Rasner's middle name Jeremy by any chance?
With Slowey's control, imagine what he could have done with last night's supersized strike zone.
3 IP, 42 pitches. So far so good Kevin. Getting Abreu out was big, as it keeps runners off the bases for A-Rod's next AB.
That sure is a nice BA that Ruiz is sporting.
Not so good a baserunner, though... Feet first slide??
Let the 2-out hitting commence.
Feet first slide... into first.
That will be the image I have of Ruiz forever.
I guess that's one plus to watching on gameday
Trust me, it was as ugly as you can possibly imagine. I was dumbfounded.
Ick
Dude, we are getting a Dell-MON
I can honestly say that I never even saw that in little leagues. 8 year olds have better baserunning skills, it would seem.
Yankees announcers on YES just said Punto is "one of the sparkplugs for the Twins' offense."
That's their little way of saying "aww... so the little leaguers want to play with the yankees... that's so cute"
I was hoping the sparkplug would break a finger, when he slid headfirst last night.
-1 spark.
And that Ruiz's baserunning was unusual for a "always fundamentally sound Twins team."
And now Ruiz doubled off of first on a fly ball to the centerfielder? Oy vey.
Anybody watching the game? Was that a legit runner interference call on Harris?
The call was bogus for a number of reasons.
1. He was on 1st base when the ball hit him.
2. If he runs in foul territory, he'll run straight into Giambi since Giambi was (for some reason) on the foul side of the base.
Plus, it looked like it hit him in the right arm, so if he's running where he's "supposed" to run, it hits him in the left arm anyways.
I don't think he was on first base yet when the ball hit him, although he was close. It's been a while since I saw the replay, though.
Giambi's positioning seems like a chicken/egg thing: was Harris running on the inside of the line because Giambi was on the foul side, or was Giambi on the foul side because Harris was running on the inside of the line? I don't know.
Whether he's would have been hit if he was running where he was supposed to run is irrelevant.
My understanding of the rule is that if a throw hits you and you're running on the fair side of that line, you're out. Whether that's a good rule is debatable, but if that's the rule, the umpires made a good call.
What did Harris do wrong there? Is the umpire punishing him for not doing a headfirst slide?
Unfortunately, I have to say I think the umpires got the call right on Harris.
Okay. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, I guess.
I disagree. Giambi was blocking the base line and forced Harris to run outside of the baseline. Plus, he beat the throw anyway.
Just realized that run was the first allowed in the first inning all season by Slowey.