Wow
That title just about covers how I feel: wow. As everyone knows by now, the Twins won the American League Central Pennant last night by beating the Detroit Tigers in 12 innings. Almost everyone came up big for the Twins, considering they used 12 position players and eight pitchers.
Scott Baker survived his trademark big inning to turn in a quality start; Jon Rauch continued to impress me with his late inning performances; Bobby Keppel is my new hero; Alexi Casilla (or Sexi Lexi, as I lovingly call him) was clutch for us AGAIN; GoGo made things happen; O-Cab came up big with a go ahead homer and a game saving double play; Punto took great at-bats and got himself on base; Kubel’s moon shot (or Kubes Shot, as I call it); Tolbert’s clutch game tying hit; Nathans fireman work; Mahay’s ownage of Granderson; Cuddy’s good at bats and good defense (for a right fielder, he’s pretty good at getting the tag down when he’s pulled up off the bag); Mauer being Mauer; Delmon scaring them into walking him; Crain, though he gave up a run, pitched well and had great stuff; oh man, I could keep going.
One thing that leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth was the game had by home plate umpire Randy Marsh. He squeezed Matty G and Baker BAD: I counted 4-5 pitches that came in just below the waist and broke to about 3 inches above the knees, right in the center of the dish, called balls. Porcello was getting those, and Rodney’s pitches (even lower, I might add) were called strikes. I do have to say, though, Nathan did get a LOT of favorable calls which helped us greatly. However, the real source of the sourness was the missed “hit by pitch” call on Inge. Now, it just grazed his jersey and the bases were loaded: the umpire could have totally decided he wasn’t going to let the winning run score that way and that it was so close he could claim he missed it. I’m not saying that’s right, but it could have happened. More likely: it was so loud in the ‘Dome, he just couldn’t hear the hit. It happens, umps miss things like that, but I’m sure Tigers fans are still groaning about it today. And rightfully so.
Time to face the Yanks! With zero time to rest, the Comeback Twins must now find the energy to take on the monster that is the New York All-Star Tea… er.. Yankees. Sure, the Twins are 0-7 against them this year. Sure, the Yanks have the best offense money can buy. Sure, they also bought the two best pitchers available last winter. Who cares? This Twins team has been written off so many times, I can’t put anything past them anymore.
That being said, the pitching match-up isn’t very favorable: Duensing vs. Sabathia. We can only hope that Duensing can be craft enough to fool Yankees hitters who haven’t seen much of him and that Sabathia will continue to struggle in the playoffs. His TERRIBLE final start of the season either means he will have corrected his flaw and be tuned up for the post season, or that he’s fatigued and the Twins might be able to jump all over him. He has wrecked the Twins in the past, so we will have to see.
The Line-up for tonight’s game:
Span CF
Cabrera SS
Mauer C
Cuddyer 1B
Kubel RF
Young LF
Harris DH
Tolbert 3B
Punto 2B
I only have one problem with it: no Carlos Gomez. Jose Morales was schooled by Porcello last night (I think he swung and missed six times, striking out twice) so Harris will get the start instead. While that move by itself is rational and understandable, I would have rather seen Gomez in center, Span in left, Young in right and Kubel DHing. In my opinion, the benefit of having Gomez and Span in the outfield far outweighs the offensive bump obtained by having Harris DH. I shudder every time I think of Kubel and Young gimping and bumbling around at the corners. Gardy’s decisions have works so far, so LETS DO THIS!
I have to admit, it feels really weird to be here without Morneau in the line-up. It makes me a feel a little guilty: its pretty sad to see him sitting on the bench, unable to help his team. If the ‘Dome is going to crack the spine of our MVPs, maybe a couple rain outs will be tolerable after all.
Getting Ready for 2010: Catcher
Even though the Tigers and White Sox are nice enough (or cruel enough) to let the Twins’ playoff dreams linger, there is no way this club is a playoff caliber team. Say the Sox and Tigers tank the rest of the season: what are the pitching match-ups for the ALDS? Baker vs. Sabathia, Pavano vs. Burnett, Blackburn vs. Chamberlain? No thanks. I could talk about this season’s playoff chase, or how the Twins can improve themselves this year, but I think talking about next season would be a better use of energy. The only thing really worth blogging about in 2009 is Joe Mauer, but I’m going to wait a little longer before writing my blog entry that will crown him Albert Pujols Jr.
The 2010 season will be an interesting one for the Twins; they are opening a new ballpark and will need to decide what to do with the best catcher in the league. Oh yeah, they also need to decide who is going to accompany Justin Morneau in the infield. Right now the only ‘locks’ are Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla (typing that just caused chills down my spine) with third base being a question mark. And they currently have 17 outfielders that need consistent playing time. I’m going to go through each position and see if I can piece together a roster that sucks a little less than the 2009 Twins.
Catcher:
Starter: Joe Mauer
I’m going to start with an easy one. Joe Mauer. Done.
Assuming he doesn’t come down with another freaky injury, Joe Mauer will be the starting Catcher for the Minnesota Twins in 2010. Does anyone else get excited thinking about Joe winning four straight batting titles? Or two straight MVPs? Even if he doesn’t have a season as incredible as 2009, he will still be one of the best hitting catchers in the league. We can safely say that the Twins do not have a hole at this position for 2010.
Back-up: Jose Morales
Sorry Mike Redmond but you’re done. I really like Redmond but I don’t think he can cut it anymore. If he did manage get his average back over .300, he’d still be a defensive liability because of his age. Morales is young and still learning the position, with room for improvement. He’s also a switch hitter that can hit for average: no need to worry about match-ups when Joe needs a day off. He seemed to do okay with inconsistent playing time so he’ll probably be fine in a back-up role. However, the Twins could also think outside the box and trade him to a team that needs a young starting catcher and sign a veteran backstop instead. (Someone a little younger than Redmond maybe?) I like the kid though, so I say we keep him. If he really is a .300-ish hitter, he’d be good insurance if Mauer ever goes down (knock on wood!!).
My next entry will cover first base. Another tough one!