Maybe there still is some magic in those ‘ol hats. For those who may not be aware, the Twins have played their last six games wearing the old “M” style hat from the 90’s. It’s the same hat the team wore during their 1987 and 1991 World Series titles. Since they’ve donned that cap on May 28th, they have gone 5-1 and played very solid baseball throughout. The team won’t commit to believing in the “M hat mojo”, the players dodge the question and Manager Ron Gardenhire gives a gruff “I don’t care, I just wear them” response. The point can’t be denied, however, the players have not worn a different cap since May 28th and the team has looked better than they have all year.
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| MAGIC! |
Okay, so better pitching, clutch hitting and solid defense help the cause too – but it’s gotta be the caps!
The Twins return home today after a solid 5-1 outing over their past six games. They managed to keep Oakland’s ice cold bats frosty at Target Field, with Francisco Liriano even pitching in to throw his first quality game of the season. The offense went through a few rough patches against the A’s, but managed to do just enough to back up solid starting pitching. Here’s a quick recap of the Oakland series:
5/28: Twins 5 – Oakland 4
Scott Diamond 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 9H, 1BB, 4K
- Diamond continued to be the best pitcher in the Twins rotation. Even with an “off’ game, Diamond kept the game within grasp for the offense.
Joe Mauer: 2/3, 2R, 1BB
- It may be safe to call Joe Mauer “back” at this point in the season. He continues to see the ball well and have quality at bats. This game was just the tip of what would become a very solid weekend for Mauer.
5/29: Twins 3 – Oakland 2
Cole DeVries: 5.0 IP, 0ER, 2H, 5BB, 1K
- DeVries continues to be infuriating to watch. He has the potential to be a reliable pitcher, but he won’t attack the zone when he’s ahead in the can’t (either he won’t or he lacks the control to do so consistently) While DeVries’ final line looks great, he turned in a shaky performance at best (Oakland was batting around .200 collectively – there is no reason why you should issue 5 walks!) Even DeVries’ worst stuff was better than Jason Marquis and Liam Hendriks’ early season efforts though.
Josh Willingham: 1/4, 1H, 1R, 3RBI, 1BB
- This was shaping up to be a horrible Twins loss (runners stranded, pitching gives the win away) before Willingham stepped up to the plate with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth. Games like this are why baseball is great. The Twins looked terrible and didn’t deserve to win – then with one swing, Willingham brought home the “W”.
5/30: Twins 4 – Oakland 0
Francisco Liriano: 6.0 IP, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 9K
- Liriano turned in not only his best start of the season (that’s not saying much given the sample so far) but one of the better starts the entire Twins staff has been able to muster. Seemingly out of nowhere, Liriano found his “stuff” and completely mowed down the Oakland batters. While he did get behind in a few counts, Liriano simply kept pounding the zone and let the poor Oakland batters swing themselves back to the bench. It’s too early to say Liriano is back (after all, this outing could simply be great due to the team he was facing) but the Twins are finally seeing SOMETHING promising from Liriano – that’s a great sign.
Josh Willingham: 2/4, 1R, 3RBI
- Willingham continued to be the Twins best hitter, driving in 3 of the 4 Twins runs for the afternoon. While he’s not likely to be a Twin for the whole season, it’s nice to see the Twins have a valuable commodity that other teams will chase at the trade deadline.
6/1: Twins 1 – Cleveland 7
Carl Pavano: 3.2 IP, 6ER, 9H, 1BB, 2K
- Pavano has been fighting shoulder soreness over his past three starts. During that span he’s gone 0-2, given up 24 hits and 14 earned runs. While it’s great that Pavano wants to fight through his maladies to keep the pitching staff strong, this injury is clearly hurting Pavano to the point that he is doing more harm to the team than good. The Twins front office indicated late Sunday afternoon that Pavano would likely be placed on the DL. More on that in a moment.
Brian Dozier: 1/3, 1 H, 1 RBI
- When you score the only run of the game, you get to be the offensive MVP.
6/2: Twins 7 – Cleveland 4
PJ Walters: 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 K
- This game had all the markings of Twins blowout as they jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning. Unfortunately, Walters didn’t seem to have solid command of his pitches throughout the game and he allowed the Indians to claw their way back into the game, tying it in the 5th inning. Walters may have injured himself on a pickoff attempt in the 5th – which could have facilitated his early exit from the game. There hasn’t been any official injury announcement on Walters, so it could have just been a strain or he was simply pulled for inefficiency. This was Walters’ worst start of the season – that being said; he still managed to keep the game tied.
Joe Mauer: 3/5, 1R, 3RBI
- Mauer’s two run home run in the 7th proved to be simply extra padding, but at the time it felt like the death blow to Cleveland’s comeback. In the 6th, Trevor Plouffe’s solo home run put the Twins back out in front after the Indians mounted a 5 inning comeback. Even with that new lead, you could “feel” the Indians still had the momentum. When Mauer crushed the ball to right center, the momentum was fully on the Twins’ side.
6/3: Twins 6 – Indians 3
Scott Diamond: 7 IP, 0ER, 7H, 0BB, 2K
- Diamond did allow 2 runs across, but they were unearned (Brain Dozier’s error allowed both to score). Diamond continues to be the ace of the staff. He throws strikes, controls the ball well and doesn’t allow the “big inning”. After back to back short starts from Pavano and Walters, the bullpen needed the starter to go deep, and Diamond did just that.
Brian Dozier / Trevor Plouffe
- Dozier had a poor defensive game, but he backed it up with 2/3, 1R game. Plouffe continues to warm up with each game – improving his plate discipline and hitting the ball much better than he had been early in the season. His 8th inning leadoff double turned triple (after a throwing error) proved to be the catalyst for the “nail in the coffin” inning the Twins were looking for.
Trending Up:
Ben Revere: This isn’t last season’s Ben Revere. The 2012 edition has greatly improved plate discipline and overall hitting. He no longer sends the ball dribbling along the ground, hoping for a ground ball single. (Okay that still happens, but it happens at a much lower frequency than it used to). Instead, he’s been able to put the ball into the outfield and get on base, where is speed and base running ability make him a great offensive weapon. Through 20 games, Revere is hitting .286, with 2 doubles and 1 triple. He’s also stolen 5 bases on 6 attempts. Revere was always a good defensive outfielder (in terms of range – not arm strength) but if his bat can come stay at this level for a complete season, he’s going to be the next Twins outfield star.
Trending Down:
Carl Pavano’s trade value: Pavano is operating on a one year contract with a team that is not going to contend for a playoff spot. In that scenario, Pavano becomes a prime trade candidate. At his best, Pavano is a solid innings eater who can give teams a 7 inning, 3 earned run start on a consistent basis. For a contending team, that makes Pavano a nice #5 starter to shore up the rotation for a playoff push. Unfortunately for the Twins, Pavano has been wildly inconsistent this season. While he’s shown signs of being that dominate innings eater the Twins were hoping for, he’s had more instances of horrid outings and being utterly hittable. Now with his shoulder injury, Pavano’s value has fallen to zero. Hopefully his injury proves to be somewhat minor and Pavano can come back and put together another 3 to 4 quality starts by the trade deadline. Much like Liriano, Pavano’s value to the Twins at this point in time is as a trade commodity and nothing more.
Pavano Down: Manship Up?
With Pavano being placed on the DL as early as today, the Twins will have to turn to their 10th different starter on this young season. Jeff Manship, who had been starting in AAA Rochester, is likely to be the next man to step into the rotation. Manship has put up good numbers this season (4-1, 3.08 ERA) in the minors and could just be the next minor league pitcher to succeed in the Twins rotation. Manship has had multiple call-ups over the past 3 years, and each time he has struggled at the major league level. It will be hard to pitch worse than Pavano has been, however.
UPDATE: The Twins have activated Nick Blackburn and he will start in Pavano's place on Wednesday. That, Twins fans, is what we like to call a "lateral move".
Just for fun, the 10 Twins starters have been:
- Carl Pavano
- Anthony Swarzak
- Francisco Liriano
- Liam Hendriks
- Jason Marquis
- Scott Diamond
- PJ Walters
- Cole DeVries
- Nick Blackburn
- Jeff Manship (If he earns a start)
53 games in, and the Twins have/will have used 10 different starters. Ouch.
Looking Forward:
The Twins are 3 games back of Kansas City for 4th place in the division. They open up a home stand against the Royals tonight. At this point, not being last is about the best “race” that Twins fans can hope for this season. If the team plays .700 ball this month, and carries that momentum into July, they may find themselves at .500 and contending for the division – they hit that spot last season, climbing within reach of the division by the All-Star break. As such, the team decided not to sell at the deadline and subsequently fell apart, losing an opportunity to refill the minor league depth. I’d rather see the Twins be sellers at the deadline and move their older assets (Willingham, Pavano, Carroll, Morneau) for younger pitching and infielders. Wins are great, but hopefully the front office doesn’t let a mid season run ruin their plan like they did last season.
Draft Thoughts:
The MLB draft is today as well. The Twins are picking 2nd overall (a position which they have greatly struggled with in their past, as highlighted in Friday’s post). The popular train of thought is that the Twins will take the best player available, Byron Buxton – a HS outfielder who is being dubbed as the best talent in the draft. While he’s likely a few years from the majors, if Buxton’s upside proves to be true he has the markings of a legitimate 5 tool player and a true all star in the outfield. When those players come along, you have to take a shot at them.
Some Twins fans are stuck with the notion that the team needs pitching and should chase one of the college arms. I maintain that pitching is a dangerous pick (every pick has risk, but pitchers seem to be more of a challenge. Injuries are more common and can ruin careers before they begin). I like teams that draft position players and pick up known quantities at pitcher (free agency, trades – etc.) The Twins have drafted high quality college hurlers in the past few drafts (Kyle Gibson, Alex Wimmers) and both have already had major arm injuries before even reaching the major leagues. Injuries happen to both sides – pitchers and hitters, and players flame out in the minors regardless of their position, but batters come with a lower risk than pitchers – when you’re rebuilding a team, you don’t want risk, you want quality and quantity.
With so many needs, it’s hard to pick “wrong” this early in a draft – but with a talent like Buxton likely to be available, the Twins have to take him.
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