Time: 1:10 CDT
TV: FSN mlb.tv
Radio: TRN, XM 178
Starting Pitchers: Glen Perkins (3-4, 4.70 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) vs.
Gil "Ga" Meche (4-7, 4.27, 1.42)
The quest for two games over .500 continues. The Twins are 0-7 when attempting to improve to two games over .500 this season, including two of their three losses on this road trip. Today is attempt No. 8.
A win today could be one of those turning points in a season. Just one game shy of the midway point of the season, the Twins would not only have their best record of the season, they would finish a road trip at 6-3 and win their fourth consecutive road series (On June 8, the Twins were 6-19 on the road. They are 9-5 since.) They would also continue their trend of shaking off their day game blues. The Twins are 10-18 in day games, but have won five of their last eight day games.
With the Twins being on the road for a while, I've been busy enough lately that I've had to listen on my XM radio instead of Dick-n-Bert on my computer. This has meant listening to a lot of opposing announcers. So, of course I've heard a lot of how the Twins "play the game the right way," and "do the little things right," etc., etc. You know, the kind of things that make Twins fans roll their eyes or press the mute button if they can.
I'm no different, except that I noticed this stat last night: the Twins lead the AL in defensive efficiency. This means there has been no AL team better at turning balls put into play into outs. Now, there isn't much difference from top to bottom (about 20 points as opposed to about 45-point difference in top to bottom in on-base average), so there could be a certain amount of luck involved here, but that still is pretty stunning given the perceived range problems of this team at first, shortstop, and the corner outfielders other than Span. So, the broadcasters are right when they talk about the Twins' good defense. This also goes a long ways to explain the success of Nick Blackburn this season. What's really odd is that the two worst teams in this category are the Angels and the Red Sox.
So, how about other little things? Well, the Twins once again lead the AL in sacrifice flies and Michael Cuddyer's sac fly last night was the difference in the 2-1 game. Last year, the Twins led the AL in sac flies and had 10 more than the second-best team, the Red Sox. The Twins are also third in the AL with sacrifice bunts, so the broadcasters do have numbers to back up statements about the Twins doing the little things right. Throwing strikes goes along with this I would think, and the Twins of course are leading the AL in fewest walks allowed once again. They also lead the AL in K/BB ratio.
The most encouraging stat to me is the Twins are third in the AL in OPS+ at 107 and they are far ahead of their division in this category. Unfortunately, the Twins are way down in ERA+ at 94, only good enough for 11th. So, apparently the Twins have been playing in a lot of pitcher's ballparks because they have allowed the third fewest runs per game in the AL.
Anyways, back to today's game. Meche has been struggling lately and there is concern about a dead arm. Hopefully, it won't be resurrected today. The Twins need to get back on the winning track vs. the Royals. Scoring more than two runs should help that. The Twins were 11-4 vs. the Royals last year going into the final series of the season needing to just win the series to clinch the division title, but the Twins lost that series and are 2-3 this year vs. the Royals. The last time the Twins lost a season series to the Royals was 2003. Since then, the Twins are 60-39 against KC.
So, is it too much to ask to go 6-3 on the road trip and win all three series? I don't think so. GO TWINS!!
Interesting stuff here, Cal.
At first I thought you said the Twins hadn't lost any series to the Royals since 2003, and I was thinking: no way have they won 32 straight series against the same team. I wonder what that record is, though. Probably Dodgers over Phillies in the '40s or something...or Red Sox/White Sox/Yankees over Browns/Senators/Athletics (the latter after they lost all their good players in the late '10s).
For most of us, the "little things" chatter doesn't torque us because we think the defense is bad; for me, it's only that the defense is close enough to the pack that I wonder why the Twins get to hang their hats on being elite defensemen every year. My theory: good defense in a small market means doing the little things; good defense in a big market means strong pitching.
I'm torn on whether the Sac Fly should count as a "little thing." Surely, the batter was hoping a Big Thing would result, assuming he's not your Little Nicky, your Boom-Boom or your Vanilla Midget David Eckstein.
I think little things are just that, little things. If you do big things well, like pitch, get on base, and hit for power, you are going to be just fine.
I just wonder where the "you need to do the little things to win" mentality comes from. In the dead ball era? Yeah, sure as hell. But for over 90 years now, big things have been winning far more games than little things. That's why they're not called "little things."
I suppose it's probably something that coaches pound into you throughout the course of the season when they know only a few players on the team are truly capable of big things, so it gets ingrained over the course of 162 pregame pep talks.
I think it comes from lower levels of baseball. When all of the other teams in your league are bad (essentially, no one in your league really does the big things well) then you can win by doing the little things. Of course, "the little things" is so ill-defined that I think it often encompasses big things. Almost any play in the field, for instance, that isn't a total web gem will at some point be referred to as one of "the little things." Over the weekend, one of my softball teams decimated the opposition essentially by not making any errors the entire game while the other team was dropping pop-ups left and right. Our hitting was somewhat better than theirs, but not so much that we should have scored 20 runs to their 0 runs and not advancing any runners past first base.
In grad school, our IM softball team made a deep playoff run one year and won a title a second year (against undergrads) by pursuing exactly that strategy -- make no more throws than were absolutely necessary.
well, that and lots of placement on offense
I find myself yelling "hold it! hold it!" a lot and things almost always go wrong when people don't heed my warning.
Yes, but big things are difficult to do, which is why doing the little things are encouraged because they are easier to do if you put the effort into it. It is also why I get much more torqued when the Twins fail to do the little things than when they struggle with the big things, at least in small samples. I don't expect players to get hits with RISP, but I do expect them to get the runner home from third with less than two outs.
I just wish the Twins wouldn't sacrifice the big things so much in favor of "ensuring" the little things get done (i.e. sacrifice bunts, especially with a runner at second base and even more especially with a LH hitter at the plate. Just have him pull the #$%^ ball and he might actually get a hit!).
I can endorse this. Truly, a failed Nick Punto bunt is ever-so-much more frustrating than a Justin Morneau warning track out.
I just wish the Twins wouldn't sacrifice the big things so much in favor of "ensuring" the little things get done
I think this, more than anything, is the source of angst among Twins fans. That and listening to some dude from a little town in West Central Minnesota (Bremer) advocating for just that every g--d---ed night.
Excuse me. He's from Staples, I think, which is more accurately described as just Central Minnesota.
+one button, Stick.
I think this, more than anything, is the source of angst among Twins fans.
I agree
Back in the first half of 2006, the Twins' defensive efficiency was epically bad. Then, the Twins traded out the Cuban dictators for Punto and Bartlett and that defensive efficiency began to improve dramatically. So did the total in the "W" column. There's more to it than that, of course. Liriano started pitching. Cuddyer started ripping the snot out of the ball. Rondelle was sent to the minors on a "rehab assignment". But, I think that defensive efficiency is a real, valid number to track. Of course, if your pitchers are giving up line drives 50% of the time, that might impact that number.
It was also surprising to see the Twins third best in runs allowed despite being average in ERA and near the bottom in ERA+. So, the Twins' lack of errors (or lack of errors awarded at the Metrodome) help out those numbers.
Come on Twins!
Ack. Tolbert batting 2nd.
Mauer-- doing the little things like walking.
I just installed IE8 and I must say the WGOM seems much snappier than with the previous version. I still prefer Firefox, but IE is the standard for work.
Four batters in the first inning. Each saw at least five pitches in their at bat. Little things!
Tolbert had no business chasing that ball. Cuddy had it if that 'lil munchkin doesn't screw it up.
Perkins thankfully taking over the defense to end the inning. Position players need a cup of coffee, methinks.
Leaded or unleaded?
Move Perkins to SS!
He might be the only guy in the league who could make Punto look like Albert Pujols by comparison.
Cuddy go BOOM!
Cuddy go BOOM!
Since you both posted the same thing at the same time, I am guessing alphabetic order put Twayn's comment first.
Or maybe they're the same person... have you ever seen them in the same place at the same time?
BOOM!
Four guys take a bunch of pitches and don't do much of anything. Cuddy hits first ball into seats.
Big things >> Little Things.
Of course, some would argue that the four guys taking all of those pitches helped Cuddyer get the HR.
Some would argue that the single bullet theory proves Oswald acted alone.
Some would argue many things.
The Mauer-not-catching lineups are pretty underwhelming. Having Redmond, Gomez, Punto, and Tolbert come up in 4 of the 5 spots before Mauer probably isn't going to help his RBI total much.
If underwhelming=brutal, I'm with you.
When you walk Gomez and Punto, you deserve to be scored upon.
Yeah, it's like walking the pitcher twice in an inning. (I saw that Santana wound up walking the pitcher last night in a key situation, but it also looked like he was getting squeezed and playing in front of a little league defense.)
Okay, 45 pitches through 2 innings. Nice! And Gomez with an eight pitch at bat. I like how this is trending.
44 pitches for Meche through 2 innings. It'd be pretty sweet if we could knock him out of the game before the end of the 5th.
Um yeah, 44. I had Gomez at 8 -- it was 7.
Note: I wasn't trying to correct you, I was just thinking the same thing as you.
I know. The trend continues in the third. At this rate, we'll get four innings of Royal bullpen goodness.
Even with version 8 installed, IE refuses to open MLB Gameday in a tab and insists it must have its own browser window. Stupid IE8.
That is very silly.
I can do a manual workaround, opening the second window, copying the URL and pasting into a tab in the first window, but I really shouldn't have to.
Let's play "how bad are those lineups?!" By ZiPS-projected wOBA:
Span -- .324
DeJesus -- .334
Cuddyer -- .352
Bloomquist* -- .310
*In right field? Really? I think this is a true sign that you have failed roster management 101, sort of like when Jason Tyner winds up making appearances at DH.
Gomez -- .295
Maier -- .312
Now for the infield:
Redmond -- .295
Pena -- .313
Morneau -- .394
Butler -- .341
TolBot -- .281
Callaspo -- .333
Punto -- .296
Hernandez -- .238 (!!!!!)
Crede -- .315
Teahen -- .347
Mauer -- .397
Guillen -- .334
So I count 5 brutal hitters in the game today, 9 'meh' hitters, and 4 good hitters.
Is Meche having control issues, or is he getting squeezed? Hard to tell my the radio account.
Hasn't seemed to me like he's getting squeezed.
Yay for unearned runs! Against the Royals, apparently we need 'em.
the scrappiest version of a run, cause you force the defense to rush things and make boneheaded plays
or so i've been told
The Royals are two-out hitting machines.
Through three innings, Perkins has missed 0 bats.
BRINNG ON ANTHONY SWARMSAX BACK FROM ROCHESTER!!!111!!!1
That's depressing.
That's 16 swings and contact made each time so far.
At least they haven't come with RISP
Welcome aboard, always22.
thanks
I wish I was always 22. 1999 was an awesome drunken orgy. I partied as if it were the year that it actually was.
haha I think getting stuck at 22 would get annoying... at some point you'd want to get older
I suppose I probably wouldn't have survived much more than a year of 22, given how I spent it. Heh.
Well, when I was 22, the Twins won the World Series. So, I wouldn't mind being 22 again.
McHale's a goner, Stick, maybe you should change the default Avatar to David Khan making that wide-eyed googly face he does when he's trying to emphasize a point.
Might I suggest:
Wow...I'm actually a tiny bit scared.
how do I even change it?
There's a link under the Cup of Coffee heading at the top right. Pretty easy from there.
Register at gravatar.com and upload a pic of your choice. Make sure to use the same email address you used to sign up for this site.
It's hard to break away from that McHale avatar. If I do, it's going to be Bud Selig.
An equal enemy of Minnesota.
Oi oi oi! Wot's all this then? Does Perkins really have 9 groundouts and zero flyouts?
That's the less depressing part, ubes. Everything on the ground.
Somewhat less depressing, but mitigated by the fact that we're playing the Royals. I still don't understand what the big deal was supposed to be with Perkins. His stuff sucks and he's a back-of-the-rotation guy if there ever was one. A left-handed, Minnesotan Boof Bonser.
But...but....but he's not afraid to pitch inside!
I think Boof has better stuff. Maybe not between the ears, though.
But Boof is fat! Fatty fat fat! Perkins is thin. Thinny thin thin!
Yet Perkins has about 3 chins.
Oh. my. goodness. Nick Punto drops a pop up and gets praised for it as it is better for the Twins because Guillen is slower.
That Punto is a crafty one.
Haha and it counts as a groundout.
I love it.
And is Jose Guillen really slower than Billy Butler these days?
Mark Teahen with a sahwiiiiiiiiiiing and a miss!
Royals announcer says "the one thing the Twins emphasize to the pitchers is, everything down in the zone: down, down, down."
The dudes know us. Or at least they knew Bert.
The Royals guys are fans of the Twins carrying three catchers, because it gives Mauer the chance to play nearly every day. Of course, they might not know that Gardy would probably like to keep 3+ catchers regardless of how good the best one was.
If only we could get Corky Miller back and have a fourth catcher!
Well, at least Bloomquist hits a ton.
If Redmond really is such a great leader with all his intangibles, etc., shouldn't they just go ahead and make him a coach now and have him retire and end the charade of him still being a player?
I wouldn't mind that. They could even make him bullpen catcher if he really wanted to squat every now and then.
He could conduct meetings to go over tomorrow's pitcher in the nude!
Why do we have Morales on the roster if Redmond is gonna bat against a tough right hander?
Gardy made it sound like an ego thing with Redmond. Basically Red's the number 2 catcher, so he plays these games. Maybe not an issue with Redmond, but with Gardy's perception of how things should be.
If I had to guess, it probably has something to do with Perkins wanting to throw to Redmond or Gardy wanting Perkins to throw to Redmond, being worried about passed balls or stolen bases or something with Morales behind the plate.
Redmond fixed that for you.
Did you see Posnanski's article about how all the moves the Royals have made the last 2 years to build a better offense have backfired? They were 13 of 14 in runs scored in 07 and they're on a pace to score more than 50 runs fewer this year. Interesting analysis about how smart people making seemingly smart decisions can backfire.
http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2009/06/30/2-2/
I did read that, and I was thinking about it, and I think that the main thing is that an average GM (or even a good GM without some luck) isn't going to magically transform a bad offense into a good offense without help from the farm system or a $100M+ budget. Hell, look at the Twins these days--all of their above-average hitters are from their farm system.
And that's not necessarily GMDM's fault at this point--he's had, what, three drafts that he's presided over?
The Guillen contract was dumb, but I also thought the Meche contract was dumb, so those in some sense cancel out in my mind. Everything else that GMDM's done, from my perspective, falls under the category of tinkering. Moving bad players for other bad players and signing bad free agents to 1-year or even 2-year contracts isn't going to do much for your franchise one way or the other. The Royals have an organizational lack of talent and until they get more talent coming up through the minors to either plug into the major league team or trade away for other good talent, they are going to be in trouble regardless of who is at the helm.
I thought the article was kind of odd. Several of the moves that Poz talked about he criticized at the time, especially the ones this year with the signings of Coco Crisp and Jacobs. So characterizing them as seemingly good moves that backfired is kind of contradictory to his previous stance.
I also thought the Meche contract was way out of proportion to his talent, but it's turning out pretty well for them so far.
Much like the swaps the Natinals and Pirates made this week.
One of those "change of scenery" things, I guess.
Yep.
Although our favorite Eric Hinske lover has spent a lot of words already this week talking about that bad players-for-bad players swap.
Well, that's not how I wanted Morales to get on the lineup card : (
What happened to Redmond?
I was away from my office for a bit. Why is Red Dog out of the game?
I think he took a ball off of his arm pretty hard.
By not bunting there Punto gave the confidence to Hillman to keep Meche in the game and get to the top of the order. Bravo.
Surprised to see Meche out for the 6th with a "tired arm"
Somewhere at home, Bert is ranting about pitch counts and how Meche was allowed to start that inning because he had 99 pitches and not 100.
its sad how true that statement is...they always talk about the same things over and over again
You could sense that run coming. If you have a "tired arm", have thrown 110+ pitches, and have just walked Matt Tolbert, then you probably should not be pitching to Joe Mauer.
Baby Jeebus makes a hit.
Joe Mauer 3 for 3 and still fails to overthrow the mighty Gilgameche.
And Meche gets DisMountie. The guy hasn't hit a home run since yesterday ferchrissakes.
Trade the bum.
Carlos Gomez has 13 XBH now for this year and Delmon has 7. I'm thinking maybe Gomez could have a career like Crede's. Some pop, not a lot of on-base skills, but very good defense at a position where defense is even more valuable than third base.
And, like Crede, he could have a lifetime of opposing announcers ignoring his stellar defense and power while simply calling him a clutchy gamer. The Royals guys have done so already.
I agree-- they just need to find a way to trade Young...
And I just need to convince Jessica Alba to be my lover and get my wife's approval for that.
The key is to get the wife's approval up front, before she realizes you aren't just being hypothetical. But of course, that's the low hanging fruit in your scenario.
Who says that I don't have Alba calling my cell phone day and night???
Dazzle: "Mauer with two hits his last time up."
Me: "He's that frigging good."
Royals guys: "Glen Perkins isn't afraid to throw inside" and "jam the opposition." I'm thinking their entire preparation for the Twins games is "talk to Bert and Dazzle."
The play-by-play guy, Ryan Lefebvre, used to be one of Twins broadcasters. He had a role like Rob Incmakowski or however you spell that. So he's well steeped in the Twins mythology.
I hadn't caught the names yet...that makes so much sense now. I couldn't believe how hard he was parroting the company line.
Ugh. Look at that stupid placement.
6th Inning Perkins sux.
Tolbert bends over to make sure his mentor Punto is okay.
One of these days on a play like that, Tolbert's going to shiv Punto and say, "
OzThis team ain't big enough for both of us."Did anyone else see the Orioles' biggest comeback in history last night? What a great experience. I can't get over it.
Having attended some Orioles-Red Sox games in Camden Yards, I can only imagine how great that was during the final 3 innings as 80% of the crowd watched their team fall apart.
That was exactly the deal, yeah. I've seen loud away crowds, but holy hell.
Red Sux hung four on the O's in the ninth today to tie it up.
Anybody else nervous about this game? I suppose we get to the ninth and we'll be okay. I'm not comfy, though, even though we've only given up one run.
With this bullpen, I never settle down between the time the starter begins to tire and Nathan comes in, so yeah, I'm with you. Although that out helped.
Nope. Confidence Breeds Success or something like that. Aka Delusional Perceptions.
Perkins is really trying to mess with the league leading defensive efficiency.
The one who's not Lefebvre says that Harris is the Twins' version of Willie Bloomquist.
And Bloomquist aspires to be a success story like Punto!
Tolbert with the green light?!
And he converts?!
...something's up with the TolBot.
If wrong means getting hits, plz don't fix.
Intentionally walking Mauer to get to Morneau.
When did Morny change his name to Brian Buscher??
Ah, there was a substitution last inning. Got that past me.
Cust with a two-run homer...for the moment, the Tigers are down. Of course, they've got like seventy-twelve late comebacks this year.
Aww, Bale with the BOSO.
Bale came in to walk Buscher and Cuddyer. That's not a career high for him.
Okay, I'm not nervous anymore.
Twins baseball!!! Walking tall!
Cuddy go little boom?
Heh... the Royals.
The announcer reminds me that it all started with two outs and nobody on. Oh, to be a Royals fan...
Always love the bases loaded walk.
Now coming in, Colon.
Gardy whips out his Dickey again.
I'm not sure I like Dickey in close proximity to Colon.
Kauffman has the karaoke disc up to "Friends in Low Places" on their big screen so everyone can sing along. I don't know if there's any situation that could force me to leave a Twins game early, but...
They've certainly played that song during the stretch at Twins games. Maybe not directly after an inning like that.
Meat, is that you? I'm confused.
Huh. I guess I've never been to one where they've played it, which is odd, given the number of Twins games I've been to.
I've heard it at least once. Most of the other times it was Sweet Caroline.
Now that one I've run into a lot.
I'm pretty sure its been played at every game I've gone to--which isn't really that many but still
Current pitching matchup: Dickey v. Colon. I can really be sophomoric.
I noticed that too, just too lazy to think of anything funny to say about it.
It sort of writes itself. It's like when we played the Blue Jays and they had back-to-back relievers that showed up in the boxscore as "Bush/League" and there was really nothing to add to it.
How about... Dickey vs. Colon -- the new DVD release from Vivid Entertainment.
And that's ruled a hit. Not an error.
Sweet, looks like we saved Senor Queso an appearance with a couple of funny runs.
The Royals no longer have any players with an OPS above .800. Yeesh.
Free Kila Kaaihue.
1.085 OPS with 37 homers at AA/AAA last year. .909 OPS with 12 homers this year.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=kaaihu001mic
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/07/pirates-release-craig-monroe.html
Yeah, they DFA'ed him last week. He's only good when playing against us.
MMm Boulevard Beer. That does look tasty.
Hey spookymilk, can you do humanity a favor and grant Sean Forman's request somehow: http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/goldstein_sonys_amy_pascal_speaks_out_about_moneyball/
Forman, if you aren't aware, is the man behind Baseball-Reference.com which is probably the greatest thing created by man in the last 200 years.
Would that I could. At this point, it's in the hands of producers with money, and if they can't do it their own way (even if they have little or no knowledge of the subject), they just take their ball and go home. I thought a project so ballsy was doomed the moment I heard about it...I just hoped otherwise.
Just pointing you in that direction so you can store it in the back of your brain for when the time is right.
If I get the chance, I'll pounce.
God, sometimes I hate what the save stat has done to baseball.
Good thing it isn't a made up statistic, like OPS.
I blame this guy.
+83
Padding the stats with the gimme save.
I don't seem to remember Nathan getting so many cheap saves in previous years.
Dickey couldn't finish. Damn.
I hate it when that happens. Not that it ever happens to me, mind you.
My fantasy team says: "Thanks Gardy for the extra points from that pointless Nathan save."
My MLB.tv hiccuped and stopped for the first time all year, right before the pitch that produced the final out. Hilarious.
Still, the Twins are two games above .500!
A few years ago I was watching The Cincinnati Kid, and just before Edward G. Robinson showed his hand at the end of the big game, the cable went out. I went totally apoplectic.
Oh boy. That beats mine. I can't think of a time when a movie's moment of catharsis was ruined for me like that.
+1 Heidi
one run on 12 hits for the Royals? ouch.
So, we're two games over .500, but at what price?
TWINS FIRST BASEMAN JUSTIN MORNEAU LEFT THE GAME IN THE SEVENTH INNING DUE TO AN INJURED GROIN.
TWINS SHORTSTOP NICK PUNTO LEFT THE GAME IN THE SEVENTH INNING DUE TO AN INJURED BACK.
TWINS CATCHER MIKE REDMOND LEFT THE GAME IN THE FIFTH INNING DUE TO A HAND/WRIST INJURY.
The guy currently pitching for the Tigers is named Fu-Te Ni. That is an awesome name.
Stupid day games. The fiancee threw in "NIghts in Rodanthe" and I was all prepared to totally ignore it and stare at Gameday, but no, it had to be a day game.
But hell, at least, "ZOMG! Twins are two games above .500!" So that's good.
Found this in the game story at the Strib. Interesting handle on this one....
The Twins announcers got on
Gomez too. Musta been bad for Gordo to speak up. This Twins team needs a guy like Gladden to get in some peoples faces.
posted by brians on Jul. 1, 09 at 7:04 PM |
4 of 4 people liked this comment.
goddamn identity thieves! Not this brianS.
I was hoping the capital 'S' was a staple to your name, and that you didn't actually, truly, believe a "guy like Gladden" could do anything for the Twins.
brianS™
going back to an earlier point stick made about Perkins not missing bats. I crunched the numbers from todays games and here is the breakdown:
called: 18
foul: 15
miss: 2
in play: 27
total strikes: 62 (92 total pitches for a 67.4% strike rate)
how did a pitcher go 7 innings and miss only 2 bats?
in his ML career to date, he's had about a 6.3 pct swinging strike rate.
bb-ref has him at 11% (swinging strikes)/(all strikes) with the MLB average at 15%. Silva was at 8%, so I guess it could be worse.
And Bonser was at about league average for swinging strikes per total strikes.