Twins Win Convincingly With White Leading the Way
Simply put, I wouldn't want to be a manager waiting to face the Minnesota Twins these days. I've been saying that for at least a month, when the Twins went on a 18-1 winning streak. Now I've got company, this time from a heavyweight like Sports Illustrated.
Wednesday night, the Twins won their sixth straight behind Brad Radke's strong outing. Radke went 7 innings, giving up only 4 hits. Greg Norton & Johnny Gomes hit solo homeruns, in the second and sixth respectively, accounting for all of Tampa's scoring for the night.
Meanwhile, Rondell White has made certain that the Twins wouldn't miss Torii Hunter's and Shannon Stewart's bats while they were on the DL. White provided the Twins with all the offense they needed tonight, going 3 for 4, with two rocket-shot homers and a double, scoring three times and driving in two.
White was a big free agent signing this offseason but got off to a feeble start because his shoulder hadn't healed. The Twins put him on the DL, too, then sent him to Rochester for a rehab assignment. He was due to come off the DL Today but that got moved up when Hunter and Stewart went on the DL Sunday morning. The Twins called him up early and he's been hitting the ball hard since.
Meanwhile, Brad Radke has been pitching well the last month. He's 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA. More importantly, he's pitching like vintage Brad Radke, highlighting pinpoint control of his fastball, mixing in some nice changeups that seem to have a little late break to them. Most importantly, he's consistently getting ahead in the count.
Meanwhile, the guy with the booming bat and seldom-heard voice, aka Joe Mauer, just keeps hitting the ball hard. I'm not going way out on a limb by predicting Joe winning the AL batting title because he's leading Ichiro by 33 points. One of the things that no one's talking about is Mauer's influence on other hitters, especially Justin Morneau. Mauer got 2 hits again tonight, the third straight such performance. In those 3 games, he's 6 for 11 with a nifty little .545 batting average.
As I told a friend tonight, this team is starting to feel like the '87 Twins to me. That year's team wasn't supposed to be a contender either. That year's team had a pair of ace-of-the-staff types in Frankie Viola and Bert Blyleven. They had a solid defense. And they had some mashers in Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky. And they had a great closer in Jeff Reardon.
That year, I remember talking with a co-worker named Chris Wicklund about the Twins. Chris and I were bigtime sports fanatics. Around the All Star break, I told him I thought the Twins could win the division. He looked at me like I should be fitted for a white-sleeved shirt and a padded cell. A couple weeks later, he approached me and asked "Do you really think they can beat Kansas City?" I told him then that I thought they could beat the AL East-leading Tigers. "Seriously?" "Uh huh." He shook his head and asked why I thought that. I told him the Twins were a great hitting team that didn't beat themselves.
This year, the Twins have two ace-of-the-staff types named Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana. This year, their defense is solid. This year, they don't beat themselves. They've replenished their supply of mashers, though I can't put Mauer, Morneau, Kubel and Cuddyer in the Bruno, Gaetti, Kirby and Herbie class yet. And they've got a dynamite bullpen with closer Joe Nathan having another great year, though not great by his standards statswise.
Two months ago, most fans had written the team off. Then they put Liriano in the rotation, they traded shortstop Juan Castro and released third baseman Tony Batista. They replaced Castro and Batista with Jason Bartlett and Nick Punto, who are much better athletes with much better range defensively. Suddenly, the infield isn't the trouble spot defensively that it was earlier. Morneau started hitting like Harmon Killebrew, except for a much higher average, and Mauer started hitting like the 1977 Rod Carew. Punto excelled in the second spot in the batting order. Luis Castillo started igniting rallies as the leadoff hitter. Bartlett started playing consistent defense at shortstop. And people realized the foolishness of running on Michael Cuddyer's arm in right field.
Suddenly, the team's starters were producing quality starts, especially this year's Cy Young favorite, Francisco Liriano. Showing off a 97 mph fastball, 91 mph nasty slider and a changeup that keeps hitters honest and a little more, Liriano is fast becoming the last pitcher great hitters want to face. I think back to Jim Thome's appearance against him in the Metrodome when Liriano was still in the bullpen. Liriano threw a couple 97 mph fastballs that painted the outside corner, then finished him off with a 91 mph slider. Thome looks towards the Twins dugout before returning to the White Sox dugout and said to whoever would listen "How do they expect somebody to hit that pitch"? Players are finding out that "they don't expect" anyone to hit that pitch.
Here's a little of what Sports Illustrated said about the Twins:
We'll soon see how well this team measures up against the White Sox and Tigers. After finishing up their homestand against Tampa, they hit the road for series with the Indians and White Sox before returning home to face the Tigers. If the Twins make up ground before they face the Tigers, this could get very intense.
Don't be surprised if this Twins team exceeds expectations. They're that good.
Posted Thursday, July 20, 2006 3:31 AM
June 2006 Posts
No comments.
Wednesday night, the Twins won their sixth straight behind Brad Radke's strong outing. Radke went 7 innings, giving up only 4 hits. Greg Norton & Johnny Gomes hit solo homeruns, in the second and sixth respectively, accounting for all of Tampa's scoring for the night.
Meanwhile, Rondell White has made certain that the Twins wouldn't miss Torii Hunter's and Shannon Stewart's bats while they were on the DL. White provided the Twins with all the offense they needed tonight, going 3 for 4, with two rocket-shot homers and a double, scoring three times and driving in two.
White was a big free agent signing this offseason but got off to a feeble start because his shoulder hadn't healed. The Twins put him on the DL, too, then sent him to Rochester for a rehab assignment. He was due to come off the DL Today but that got moved up when Hunter and Stewart went on the DL Sunday morning. The Twins called him up early and he's been hitting the ball hard since.
Meanwhile, Brad Radke has been pitching well the last month. He's 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA. More importantly, he's pitching like vintage Brad Radke, highlighting pinpoint control of his fastball, mixing in some nice changeups that seem to have a little late break to them. Most importantly, he's consistently getting ahead in the count.
Meanwhile, the guy with the booming bat and seldom-heard voice, aka Joe Mauer, just keeps hitting the ball hard. I'm not going way out on a limb by predicting Joe winning the AL batting title because he's leading Ichiro by 33 points. One of the things that no one's talking about is Mauer's influence on other hitters, especially Justin Morneau. Mauer got 2 hits again tonight, the third straight such performance. In those 3 games, he's 6 for 11 with a nifty little .545 batting average.
As I told a friend tonight, this team is starting to feel like the '87 Twins to me. That year's team wasn't supposed to be a contender either. That year's team had a pair of ace-of-the-staff types in Frankie Viola and Bert Blyleven. They had a solid defense. And they had some mashers in Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky. And they had a great closer in Jeff Reardon.
That year, I remember talking with a co-worker named Chris Wicklund about the Twins. Chris and I were bigtime sports fanatics. Around the All Star break, I told him I thought the Twins could win the division. He looked at me like I should be fitted for a white-sleeved shirt and a padded cell. A couple weeks later, he approached me and asked "Do you really think they can beat Kansas City?" I told him then that I thought they could beat the AL East-leading Tigers. "Seriously?" "Uh huh." He shook his head and asked why I thought that. I told him the Twins were a great hitting team that didn't beat themselves.
This year, the Twins have two ace-of-the-staff types named Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana. This year, their defense is solid. This year, they don't beat themselves. They've replenished their supply of mashers, though I can't put Mauer, Morneau, Kubel and Cuddyer in the Bruno, Gaetti, Kirby and Herbie class yet. And they've got a dynamite bullpen with closer Joe Nathan having another great year, though not great by his standards statswise.
Two months ago, most fans had written the team off. Then they put Liriano in the rotation, they traded shortstop Juan Castro and released third baseman Tony Batista. They replaced Castro and Batista with Jason Bartlett and Nick Punto, who are much better athletes with much better range defensively. Suddenly, the infield isn't the trouble spot defensively that it was earlier. Morneau started hitting like Harmon Killebrew, except for a much higher average, and Mauer started hitting like the 1977 Rod Carew. Punto excelled in the second spot in the batting order. Luis Castillo started igniting rallies as the leadoff hitter. Bartlett started playing consistent defense at shortstop. And people realized the foolishness of running on Michael Cuddyer's arm in right field.
Suddenly, the team's starters were producing quality starts, especially this year's Cy Young favorite, Francisco Liriano. Showing off a 97 mph fastball, 91 mph nasty slider and a changeup that keeps hitters honest and a little more, Liriano is fast becoming the last pitcher great hitters want to face. I think back to Jim Thome's appearance against him in the Metrodome when Liriano was still in the bullpen. Liriano threw a couple 97 mph fastballs that painted the outside corner, then finished him off with a 91 mph slider. Thome looks towards the Twins dugout before returning to the White Sox dugout and said to whoever would listen "How do they expect somebody to hit that pitch"? Players are finding out that "they don't expect" anyone to hit that pitch.
Here's a little of what Sports Illustrated said about the Twins:
Baseball's scariest teamYes, you'd definitely be foolish to not say the Twins.
Nobody wants to face the Twins in the postseason
Here are the Minnesota Twins, armed with baseball's most devastating starting duo, a sound defense, an All-Star closer and an offense that has been among the best in the American League over the last two months, marching toward the White Sox in the wild-card standings.
"The Twins are dangerous. Think about it: Who would you rather not have to face twice in a playoff series?" asks an American League executive. " Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano ? Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander ? Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina ? Jose Contreras and Mark Buehrle ? Barry Zito and Dan Haren ? Or Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett ? A lot of those guys are having bad years. If you look at how ridiculously dominant Santana and Liriano have been over the last couple months, you'd be dumb not to say the Twins."
You'd also be dumb not to consider Liriano, the league ERA leader, as a favorite to win the Cy Young in his virtuoso rookie season.Not to mention AL Rookie of the Year and possibly AL MVP, too.
We'll soon see how well this team measures up against the White Sox and Tigers. After finishing up their homestand against Tampa, they hit the road for series with the Indians and White Sox before returning home to face the Tigers. If the Twins make up ground before they face the Tigers, this could get very intense.
Don't be surprised if this Twins team exceeds expectations. They're that good.
Posted Thursday, July 20, 2006 3:31 AM
June 2006 Posts
No comments.
