Wednesday -- Twins 2 - Red Sox 3
Thursday -- Twins 2 - Red Sox 6
Twins dustbunny series 0-2
Record: 24 -17
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We could have figured that the Twins would get swept in Fenway. Boston is a good team, especially at home. I'm not really upset about the losses; simply put, the Twins were beat by good pitching and good hitting.
But part of me wonders if the Twins would've had better pitching and better hitting if they could trust the strike zone. Both home plate umpires were not only inconsistent with the strike zone location, but they were also inconsistent with the pitchers. It really seemed like Sawx pitchers were getting calls that Twins pitchers weren't. It was worse Wednesday than Thursday, but I'd really prefer to never notice it.
So perhaps if Baker and Liriano didn't have to throw their pitches down the middle of plate, and if Morneau, Thome, and Cuddy didn't have to swing at absolutely every pitch, well ... who knows?
I'm not going to say that the umpiring was blatantly unfair. And I'm not going to say it cost the Twins the games. But everyone would just be happier with a consistent, fair, and predictable strike zone.
And maybe I'm just being cranky. In fact, that's entirely possible.
By the way, I think Youk has surpassed Manny as my least favorite player.
4 comments:
don't forget good Fielding! and I'm not sure who was a bigger pain in the butt - Youk or Pedroia. Hard to be mad when they played really well - but I still wish we'd played BETTER.
But yeah, you said it exactly like I was thinking...
A lot of teams actually keep a "book" on each umpire, just like they do opposing pitchers and hitters. I do wonder if the Twins are one of those teams. If not, they should be.
This particular crew has been problematic for the Twins for years. Frankly, they simply suck... regardless of whether the Twins win or lose games that they work.
Youk is annoying, but Manny should always and forever be everyone's least favorite player.
I always thought Youk was a "wear on you" sort of annoying. Odd to see so many visitors annoyed with him already.
Although, I agree. He's way worse than Manny ever was...annoying-wise.
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