The genius behind Nick Punto Day, Andrew Kneeland, has declared May 12 to be Delmon Young day. Ok. I'll never turn down an opportunity for someone to give me an idea to write about.
However, of all the players on the Twins squad he could have chosen, he picked the one I have the least amount of passion for - positive or negative. I hate to say it, but the only reason I have any opinion whatsoever about Delmon (other than basic human-kindness kind of stuff) has to do with the fact that he wears a Twins uniform -- obviously I want him to play well because it helps the team when he does. I must say this is a fairly recent development; he used to drive me nuts quite regularly. Now, either his drive-me-nuts qualities have changed, or I stopped caring -- I'm not really sure.
It's a good thing I write manuals for a living; I'm very used to passionless writing. (I'm also very used to writing stuff that nobody reads, but that's not my point right now.) So I'll find the angle I am passionate about, and go from there.
Hmm... Ooh, I know! Pitching. I'm passionate about pitching. And since I've never seen Delmon pitch (the visual of that kind of makes me giggle), I'll see how he matches up with the pitchers he faces. I know, I know, that requires me to actually research and talk about stats. Just because I don't like to, it doesn't mean I can't. (Louie would be so proud of me.)
Granted, he's only been in the majors 4 years, so these findings are merely samples and one can't predict trends. In fact, he hasn't even faced any one pitcher more than 25 times. So this list is "adjusted" to include pitchers he's faced 14 times or more.
Some of these kind of surprised me.
Pitcher he's faced most:
Mark Buerhle - 24ab, 8h, 2hr, 2rbi, 2bb, 3k, .333ba
Pitcher he's struck out most against:
Cliff Lee - 21ab, 3h, 0hr, 1rbi, 2bb, 9k, .143ba
Pitcher he's walked most against:
Nate Robertson - 19ab, 5h, 0hr, 0rbi, 4bb, 4k, .263ba
Pitcher he "owns":
Andy Pettite - 14ab, 9h, 0hr, 3rbi, 0bb, 0k, .643ba
Pitcher who "owns" him:
Gil Meche - 23ab, 2h, 0hr, 2rbi, 1bb, 4k, .087ba
Granted, the Andy Pettitte stat is kind of a small sample size, so that should ... what's that phrase that all the stat-heads use? ... regress to the mean? But the thought of any Twins owning any Yankee amuses me. And the Gil Meche thing surprises me too; he's not that great of a pitcher. The walking thing doesn't surprise me at all -- 4bb's of 19pa's isn't all that impressive.
But all this really shows is that he's not great, and he's not horrible. Delmon is what he is. I still believe that he'll eventually start hitting for the power we were all promised when we traded for him. But this "eventually" is getting drawn out more than I'd like. If this lack-of-generating-passion performance he's been giving me continues, he'll go back to driving me nuts. This is his year. It had better be; we're all tired of waiting.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Few Off-Day Notes
Delmon Young Day
The genius behind Nick Punto Day, Andrew Kneeland, has declared May 12 to be Delmon Young day. So, look forward to that. If you're a blogger, get writing. If you're a reader, be prepared for a day of Delmonpalooza. (Although, you'd think he'd say something on Twitter reminding everyone or something...)
~~~
TwinsCentric Party
Be sure to set aside Saturday, May 15 for another TwinsCentric Viewing party, this time at Major's in Bloomington.
Here's the info.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to go (unless my plans change, but I doubt they will). But you should go because they're always a good time.
~~~
On a personal note...
A great co-worker and friend of mine, Tim, passed away recently. He was a great Twins fan and always knew just the right thing to say to start terrific baseball conversations. He was a friend and supporter of this blog in its early days. He also nobly attempted to help me with my golf stroke -- a losing endeavor to be sure as I'm a natural-born golf-hack (plus it didn't help that he was left-handed and I'm right-handed). He was probably the most mannerly person I knew, but I he also had a tremendous sense of humor. I'll miss him greatly. My prayers go to his family, whom I know he loved very much -- I could always hear the pride in his voice whenever he spoke of them.
The genius behind Nick Punto Day, Andrew Kneeland, has declared May 12 to be Delmon Young day. So, look forward to that. If you're a blogger, get writing. If you're a reader, be prepared for a day of Delmonpalooza. (Although, you'd think he'd say something on Twitter reminding everyone or something...)
~~~
TwinsCentric Party
Be sure to set aside Saturday, May 15 for another TwinsCentric Viewing party, this time at Major's in Bloomington.
Here's the info.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to go (unless my plans change, but I doubt they will). But you should go because they're always a good time.
~~~
On a personal note...
A great co-worker and friend of mine, Tim, passed away recently. He was a great Twins fan and always knew just the right thing to say to start terrific baseball conversations. He was a friend and supporter of this blog in its early days. He also nobly attempted to help me with my golf stroke -- a losing endeavor to be sure as I'm a natural-born golf-hack (plus it didn't help that he was left-handed and I'm right-handed). He was probably the most mannerly person I knew, but I he also had a tremendous sense of humor. I'll miss him greatly. My prayers go to his family, whom I know he loved very much -- I could always hear the pride in his voice whenever he spoke of them.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Orioles at Twins -- It All Evens Out
Recap:
Thursday -- Orioles 2 - Twins 0
Saturday 1 -- Orioles 7 - Twins 3
Saturday 2 -- Orioles 1 - Twins 6
Sunday -- Orioles 0 - Twins 6
Twins split series 2-2
Record: 21-11
~~~
So, even though the Twins probably should have won more than just two of these, we all know it could've been much worse. All the bad finally got evened out with some good.
Thursday's was a snore-fest, made even worse by the fact that I was there (in a happy stroke of luck, I was sitting under the canopy really close to the heat lamps, so at least I wasn't uncomfortable). Pavano pitched well, but then the bats forgot to show up -- they must've been afraid of the cold. But, it did mark the television debut of the Target Field Fair Pole Kestrel. Which is more a sad commentary of the state of the game than it is a happy event for the bird. At least the bird got dinner.
Friday's of course was called due to crappy rain-slush-snow-blech. And, no, I still don't want a roof on the ballpark. Why is that when rain or cold hit Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, or anywhere else, no one says a peep about putting a roof on those ball parks? But, lo, if a Minnesota game gets called, all the wimps (and for some reason, the national media) come out of the woodwork and whine about the lousy weather. Get this all you weather-babies: 1) rain-outs are part of baseball; dealing with the weather is, and should be, part of the game; and 2) if there was a retractable roof on Target Field, it would block that lovely cityscape view (I've been to Miller Park -- you have to look straight up to see the sky).
Saturday's first game was another meh. Liriano pitched kind of ishy, but only a little. It was more of a case of the Orioles' hits just finding gaps and holes -- and a little bit (or maybe quite a bit) of defensive sluggishness. Not the best-played game of the year. At least it was over quickly.
But then, between those games, somewhere in the fancy-schmancy clubhouse/workout room/palace, the defense, the bats, and the pitchers woke up and decided to have some fun. They probably also realized that it would be embarrassing to lose any more games.
They carried their newly re-found good attitude to Sunday's game. And Mother Nature celebrated Mother's Day by evening things out with the weather. It was a lovely day at the park, and a lovely performance by the Twins. It was made extra-special because I got to spend the day with my mom (Hi Mom!), my hubby (Hi Hon!), and my kids (Hi Guys!). It was a perfect day. And it certainly made up for the mind-numbing game on Thursday.
See? It all evened out.
~~~
Speaking of perfect days and things evening out...
I'd like to buy a beer for...
Dallas Braden
If complete games are hot, and complete game shut-outs are hotter, ... etc., perfect games are...well, perfection. It's the single most beautiful thing a baseball player can do. It's baseball rapture. It's a gift directly from the baseball gods. And the scene of him and his grandmother embracing after the game brought me to sniffles.
This particular performance evened out the disturbance in the baseball karma that occurred when A-Rod ran across Braden's pitching mound a few weeks ago -- a violation of baseball's unwritten rules. When Braden protested in the papers, the ever-egotistical Yankee players rallied and replied with comments questioning his importance to the game (and thereby solidifying their own self-important pompousness). Well, who's important now?
And the evening goes a little bit the other way, too. Braden went too far with his grievances with A-Rod. So this defeat of the Rays winds up helping the Yankees.
This does make me feel bad for the Rays, though. They were also the victims of Mark Buehrle's perfect game last season. That's just not fair. Hopefully this wrinkle gets evened out sometime soon.
Oh, and by the way...I know this is the third beer I've awarded in a week, but this is an anomaly. This is really meant to be for special occasions. If this keeps up, I'll drain my virtual beer budget in a hurry.
Thursday -- Orioles 2 - Twins 0
Saturday 1 -- Orioles 7 - Twins 3
Saturday 2 -- Orioles 1 - Twins 6
Sunday -- Orioles 0 - Twins 6
Twins split series 2-2
Record: 21-11
~~~
So, even though the Twins probably should have won more than just two of these, we all know it could've been much worse. All the bad finally got evened out with some good.
Thursday's was a snore-fest, made even worse by the fact that I was there (in a happy stroke of luck, I was sitting under the canopy really close to the heat lamps, so at least I wasn't uncomfortable). Pavano pitched well, but then the bats forgot to show up -- they must've been afraid of the cold. But, it did mark the television debut of the Target Field Fair Pole Kestrel. Which is more a sad commentary of the state of the game than it is a happy event for the bird. At least the bird got dinner.
Friday's of course was called due to crappy rain-slush-snow-blech. And, no, I still don't want a roof on the ballpark. Why is that when rain or cold hit Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, or anywhere else, no one says a peep about putting a roof on those ball parks? But, lo, if a Minnesota game gets called, all the wimps (and for some reason, the national media) come out of the woodwork and whine about the lousy weather. Get this all you weather-babies: 1) rain-outs are part of baseball; dealing with the weather is, and should be, part of the game; and 2) if there was a retractable roof on Target Field, it would block that lovely cityscape view (I've been to Miller Park -- you have to look straight up to see the sky).
Saturday's first game was another meh. Liriano pitched kind of ishy, but only a little. It was more of a case of the Orioles' hits just finding gaps and holes -- and a little bit (or maybe quite a bit) of defensive sluggishness. Not the best-played game of the year. At least it was over quickly.
But then, between those games, somewhere in the fancy-schmancy clubhouse/workout room/palace, the defense, the bats, and the pitchers woke up and decided to have some fun. They probably also realized that it would be embarrassing to lose any more games.
They carried their newly re-found good attitude to Sunday's game. And Mother Nature celebrated Mother's Day by evening things out with the weather. It was a lovely day at the park, and a lovely performance by the Twins. It was made extra-special because I got to spend the day with my mom (Hi Mom!), my hubby (Hi Hon!), and my kids (Hi Guys!). It was a perfect day. And it certainly made up for the mind-numbing game on Thursday.
See? It all evened out.
~~~
Speaking of perfect days and things evening out...
I'd like to buy a beer for...
Dallas Braden
If complete games are hot, and complete game shut-outs are hotter, ... etc., perfect games are...well, perfection. It's the single most beautiful thing a baseball player can do. It's baseball rapture. It's a gift directly from the baseball gods. And the scene of him and his grandmother embracing after the game brought me to sniffles.
This particular performance evened out the disturbance in the baseball karma that occurred when A-Rod ran across Braden's pitching mound a few weeks ago -- a violation of baseball's unwritten rules. When Braden protested in the papers, the ever-egotistical Yankee players rallied and replied with comments questioning his importance to the game (and thereby solidifying their own self-important pompousness). Well, who's important now?
And the evening goes a little bit the other way, too. Braden went too far with his grievances with A-Rod. So this defeat of the Rays winds up helping the Yankees.
This does make me feel bad for the Rays, though. They were also the victims of Mark Buehrle's perfect game last season. That's just not fair. Hopefully this wrinkle gets evened out sometime soon.
Oh, and by the way...I know this is the third beer I've awarded in a week, but this is an anomaly. This is really meant to be for special occasions. If this keeps up, I'll drain my virtual beer budget in a hurry.
Friday, May 7, 2010
I'd Like to Buy a Beer For
Jamie Moyer
Complete games are hot. Complete game wins are hotter. Complete game shutouts are smokin'. Complete game shutouts by 47 year old guys are ... ooh la la. ::pant pant::
Here's to you Jamie. I love the old guys. Man, I hope you pitch forever.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tigers at Twins -- Sweeping Up Around Here
Recap:
Monday: Tigers 4 - Twins 10
Tuesday: Tigers 3 - Twins 4
Wednesday: Tigers 4 - Twins 5
Twins sweep the 3-game series
Record: 19 - 9
~~~
Like my bedazzled, blinged-out, glitzy broom with the golden bristles and silver handle? Isn't it nice? Yes, you may have seen it before, but it's been a while. But, finally, I get to show it off. Those silly Tigers can leave such a dusty mess -- we don't want them to crud up the brand new stadium. It was nice that the Twins took care of the housecleaning and swept the Tigers right on out of there.
~~~
I gotta say that even though I like Wilson Ramos and all, I really can't wait to see Joey back in the lineup. His foot isn't too badly hurt, so it shouldn't be too much longer. And Wilson was great -- for his first three games. Then I think everyone figured out how to pitch to him. So now he's the one who has to adjust. But, fine, he probably will and be all great and everything because he really is a good player.
But, there will be a lot hand-wringing and Twitter-debating (Twibating?) about what to do with him once Pat-Pat is ready to come off the DL. Do they keep him up and let him ride the pine most of the time while getting to learn major league pitching? Do they send him down and give him lots of plate appearances so he can work on his hitting? Do they trade him for lots of wonderful talent? Does it even really matter?
Not in my opinion. For what that's worth.
~~~
I gotta say that even though JJ Hardy pretty much single-handedly won the game on Tuesday and all, but...wait a sec, there's not a "but" here. JJ is amazing. I love his defense. His bat's pretty good. He seems like a nice guy in the interviews. Oh, and he's pretty nice to look at. I'm glad he's here.
I never really bought the whole "change of scenery" theory before -- it always seemed like something the front office would say to the fans when it acquired a crappy player ... "he'll be a great player; he just needs a change of scenery." But, in JJ's case, it might be true. I think he's a better Twin than he was a Brewer. It probably also makes a difference that he was hurt a lot last year. But this year...wait...last week he had turf toe, and Tuesday he suffered a sore wrist from sliding (feet first by the way -- who knows how that happens)...hmm.
JJ, stay healthy please.
~~~
Monday: Tigers 4 - Twins 10
Tuesday: Tigers 3 - Twins 4
Wednesday: Tigers 4 - Twins 5
Twins sweep the 3-game series
Record: 19 - 9
~~~
Like my bedazzled, blinged-out, glitzy broom with the golden bristles and silver handle? Isn't it nice? Yes, you may have seen it before, but it's been a while. But, finally, I get to show it off. Those silly Tigers can leave such a dusty mess -- we don't want them to crud up the brand new stadium. It was nice that the Twins took care of the housecleaning and swept the Tigers right on out of there.
~~~
I gotta say that even though I like Wilson Ramos and all, I really can't wait to see Joey back in the lineup. His foot isn't too badly hurt, so it shouldn't be too much longer. And Wilson was great -- for his first three games. Then I think everyone figured out how to pitch to him. So now he's the one who has to adjust. But, fine, he probably will and be all great and everything because he really is a good player.
But, there will be a lot hand-wringing and Twitter-debating (Twibating?) about what to do with him once Pat-Pat is ready to come off the DL. Do they keep him up and let him ride the pine most of the time while getting to learn major league pitching? Do they send him down and give him lots of plate appearances so he can work on his hitting? Do they trade him for lots of wonderful talent? Does it even really matter?
Not in my opinion. For what that's worth.
~~~
I gotta say that even though JJ Hardy pretty much single-handedly won the game on Tuesday and all, but...wait a sec, there's not a "but" here. JJ is amazing. I love his defense. His bat's pretty good. He seems like a nice guy in the interviews. Oh, and he's pretty nice to look at. I'm glad he's here.
I never really bought the whole "change of scenery" theory before -- it always seemed like something the front office would say to the fans when it acquired a crappy player ... "he'll be a great player; he just needs a change of scenery." But, in JJ's case, it might be true. I think he's a better Twin than he was a Brewer. It probably also makes a difference that he was hurt a lot last year. But this year...wait...last week he had turf toe, and Tuesday he suffered a sore wrist from sliding (feet first by the way -- who knows how that happens)...hmm.
JJ, stay healthy please.
~~~
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A Happy and Sad Note
I'd like to buy a beer for ...
Nick Blackburn
Complete games are hot! Complete game wins are hotter! Well, even though JJ Hardy saved the game so that Blackie could get the win, Blackie had a great game. It looks like the sink is back in his sinker -- it was nice to see him getting so many ground-ball outs. And I hope that the family emergency he needed to tend to has been satisfactorily resolved.
Here's to you, Nick!
~~~
I was saddened to learn that long-time Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away Tuesday. I didn't get much chance to listen to his calls, but those I did hear, I loved. His voice and tempo were so smooth, and he just seemed so classy. My sincere condolences to his family and to Tigers' fans who enjoyed listening to him.
Nick Blackburn
Complete games are hot! Complete game wins are hotter! Well, even though JJ Hardy saved the game so that Blackie could get the win, Blackie had a great game. It looks like the sink is back in his sinker -- it was nice to see him getting so many ground-ball outs. And I hope that the family emergency he needed to tend to has been satisfactorily resolved.
Here's to you, Nick!
~~~
I was saddened to learn that long-time Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away Tuesday. I didn't get much chance to listen to his calls, but those I did hear, I loved. His voice and tempo were so smooth, and he just seemed so classy. My sincere condolences to his family and to Tigers' fans who enjoyed listening to him.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Twins at Indians - Juggling
Recap:
Friday -- Twins 9 - Indians 3
Saturday -- Twins 4 - Indians 5 (11)
Sunday -- Twins 8 - Indians 3
Twins take series 2-1
Record 16-9
~~~
When Joe Mauer gets hurt, the entire baseball world takes notice. ESPN almost made it sound like the apocalypse in Minnesota. Ok, so I exaggerate.
Joe's injury, which I've read as either a bone bruise or stone bruise (doesn't really matter which) of his heel, that he suffered on Friday sounds pretty series and awfully painful. It'll take rest and ice to heal, but it doesn't sound like it's going to be quick. This after suffering a swollen toe (that needed to be drained by drilling a hole in the nail - ick). Someone get some steel-toed boots for our favorite catcher.
So, while we wait to see if Joe's problem is DL-worthy, poor Gardy has to do some roster-juggling.
On Saturday, the Twins were essentially left with one catcher - Drew Butera. It turned out fine, but there was a scary moment in the 10th when Butera was leveled at the plate by Lou Marson (nice play, by the way, by both Span and Butera).
Well, we all know that if Gardy had his druthers, he'd have like five catchers on the bench. Obviously, having only one wouldn't do. So up comes Wilson Ramos.
But who to send down? Well, Neshek struggled. Once. His last time out. So let's send him down. (Yeah, nevermind the fact that -- ahem -- other members of the bullpen have struggled too.)
Oh, but wait. Neshek says his finger still hurts. Really? Even though he reported that it was a-ok? Fine. To the DL with him. (I guess that's one way to avoid AAA.)
And how about Wilson Ramos? I guess he wants to prove some kind of point about staying in the bigs, huh? Four hits in his major league debut. The last Twin to do that was Kirby Puckett in 1984.
Seems like if Wilson had his druthers, he'd force Gardy to do more juggling when Joe comes back.
Friday -- Twins 9 - Indians 3
Saturday -- Twins 4 - Indians 5 (11)
Sunday -- Twins 8 - Indians 3
Twins take series 2-1
Record 16-9
~~~
Joe's injury, which I've read as either a bone bruise or stone bruise (doesn't really matter which) of his heel, that he suffered on Friday sounds pretty series and awfully painful. It'll take rest and ice to heal, but it doesn't sound like it's going to be quick. This after suffering a swollen toe (that needed to be drained by drilling a hole in the nail - ick). Someone get some steel-toed boots for our favorite catcher.
So, while we wait to see if Joe's problem is DL-worthy, poor Gardy has to do some roster-juggling.
On Saturday, the Twins were essentially left with one catcher - Drew Butera. It turned out fine, but there was a scary moment in the 10th when Butera was leveled at the plate by Lou Marson (nice play, by the way, by both Span and Butera).
Well, we all know that if Gardy had his druthers, he'd have like five catchers on the bench. Obviously, having only one wouldn't do. So up comes Wilson Ramos.
But who to send down? Well, Neshek struggled. Once. His last time out. So let's send him down. (Yeah, nevermind the fact that -- ahem -- other members of the bullpen have struggled too.)
Oh, but wait. Neshek says his finger still hurts. Really? Even though he reported that it was a-ok? Fine. To the DL with him. (I guess that's one way to avoid AAA.)
And how about Wilson Ramos? I guess he wants to prove some kind of point about staying in the bigs, huh? Four hits in his major league debut. The last Twin to do that was Kirby Puckett in 1984.
Seems like if Wilson had his druthers, he'd force Gardy to do more juggling when Joe comes back.
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