When the Twins drafted Alex Wimmers out of Ohio State, his was suppose to be a quick ascent to the big leagues. He wasn’t a top-of-the-rotation kind of guy, but his combination of command and polish was suppose to get him to Minneapolis quick. Turns out the only thing that seems to be in a hurry right now are how quickly that assessment could be changing.
The events behind Wimmers start in Ft Myers are still murky. But they’re still frightening. 28 pitches. Six walks. Four pitches that sailed to the backstop. He said knowing the Strib link would be gone in a few weeks. I’d love to see video of the start, because I can’t shake the feeling that this may be another Ryan Mills/Shooter Hunt/Adam Johnson where the team tampered with a first-round pick’s delivery too soon. Wimmers’ delivery looked like a torn labrum waiting to happen, mind you, and it would seem like who’s delivery the Twins would like to change. But until I see actual hard proof, it’s hard to make that accusation. All you can do is hope Wimmers rights himself in the meantime. But at the same time, there are only two things that can cause that kind of sudden loss of control--Steve Blass disease and new mechanics--and both of them are akin to a hard crash.
Although I’d love to sit in the stands with Ryan Mills and have him breakdown Wimmers’ next start with me.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Jeopardy style questions
.554
Jeopardy A: What is the Twins OPS?
1.134
Jeopardy A: What was Doug Mientciewicz’s OPS in April 2001.
The way the Twins have been hitting the ball leaves a lot to be desired. But I’ll write the panic stricken blog if things are still headed this way on May 30.
Jeopardy A: What is the Twins OPS?
1.134
Jeopardy A: What was Doug Mientciewicz’s OPS in April 2001.
The way the Twins have been hitting the ball leaves a lot to be desired. But I’ll write the panic stricken blog if things are still headed this way on May 30.
Friday, April 08, 2011
Six thoughts after game six
- The Twins called up Luke Hughes to replace Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who will be out who knows long with a broken leg. It’s not an end of the world thing, but Hughes is essentially the same thing as Trevor Plouffe at the plate, and Plouffe is far and away better with the leather. We’ll see how long this lasts.
- It was a clean slide by Nick Swisher that broke Nishioka’s leg. Let’s hope he heals quickly.
- Ironically, J.J. Hardy missed his first start for Baltimore because of injury last night.
- Anthony Swarzak opened up his minor league season with 7 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. While most people would cringe if he makes another start for the Twins, I’m starting to wonder what kind of reliever he’d make at the major league level.
- Aaron Hicks’ night last night. Five plate appearances. Two walks. One triple. Let’s hope this marks his transformation into the next Carlos Beltran. But be wary that it’s far too early to say that yet.
- Am I alone in wanting a Richmond Flying Squirrels hat?
- It was a clean slide by Nick Swisher that broke Nishioka’s leg. Let’s hope he heals quickly.
- Ironically, J.J. Hardy missed his first start for Baltimore because of injury last night.
- Anthony Swarzak opened up his minor league season with 7 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. While most people would cringe if he makes another start for the Twins, I’m starting to wonder what kind of reliever he’d make at the major league level.
- Aaron Hicks’ night last night. Five plate appearances. Two walks. One triple. Let’s hope this marks his transformation into the next Carlos Beltran. But be wary that it’s far too early to say that yet.
- Am I alone in wanting a Richmond Flying Squirrels hat?
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
Pitch by Pitch: Joe Nathan
Am I alone in asking who that pitcher was who took the mound for the Twins in the 9th inning? The name on the back of the jersey read Joe Nathan. But the Joe Nathan I choose to remember had a fastball and two hammer pitches dubbed his curveball and his slider.
Here’s a pitch-by-pitch look at Joe Nathan’s outing yesterday.
Batter: Travis Snider
#1 Fastball. 90 mph. High and away. Ball 1.
#2 Fastball. 91. High. Swing and a Miss. Strike 1.
#3 Curveball. 80. Called Strike. 1-2.
#4 Fastball. 92. High. Fouled off. 1-2.
#5 Slider. 87. Low. Ball 2. 2-2.
#6 Fastball. 91. High. Fouled off. 2-2.
#7 Slider. 88. Low in the zone. 3-2.
#8 Fastball. 90. Infield single.
Analysis: This at-bat starts out vintage Joe Nathan. He gets in front of Snider, getting him to miss on a high fastball and take a low curveball for a strike. Nathan then reverts to his classic strikeout techniques: high fastball and slider out of the zone. Snider fights off both fastballs, and sees both sliders coming a mile away, laying off. With the count at 3-2, the fastball is the obvious pitch. Snider doesn’t hit it hard, but places it well. Tsuyoshi Nishioka gets leather on it, but doesn’t have a play.
Batter: J.P. Arencibia
#9 Slider. 87. In the dirt. Ball.
#10 Slider. 86. Down Broadway. Long, long, out.
Analysis: Both pitches to Arencibia are nearly disaster. On the first one, Butera makes one hell of a play to avert a wild pitch. Nathan hangs the second slider in the zone. Arencibia hits hit hard but doesn’t quite get all of it. The end result, the ball dies at the warning track. There’s a bit of luck to this at-bat that favors Nathan. Throw that second pitch to Arencibia again, and it’s a 4-4 game.
Batter: Mike McCoy
#11 Fastball. 89. Called Strike.
#12 Curveball. NG. Ball 1-1.
#13 Slider. 86. Ball 2. 2-1.
#14 Fastball. 90. Outside edge of the plate. Double.
Analysis: Again, not a particularly hard hit ball, but well placed. McCoy should’ve had an easier double than he ended up with, but Repko makes a great ball to almost gun him down at second.
Batter: Yuniel Escobar
#15 Slider. 86. Low. 1-0.
#16 Fastball. 91. Low. 2-0.
#17 Fastball. 88. Right in the wheel house. Loud out. Run scores.
Analysis: Nathan falls behind to Escobar. On his 2-0 offering, he grooves a fastball. Escobar obliges by sending a hard hit ball into the gap. Span makes a great defensive play to make the catch. But there’s not much he can do about the runners tagging.
Batter: Juan Rivera
#18 Curveball. 81. 1-0.
#19 Fastball. 90. Fouled off. 1-1.
#20 Fastball. 88. In the dirt. 2-1.
#21 Curveball. NG. Ball. 3-1
#22 Fastball. 91. High. Ball four.
Analysis: Nathan falls behind early, and seems to be losing his command.
Batter: Jose Bautista
#23 Curveball. 82. Swinging strike.
#24 Curveball. 82. Called strike.
#25 Slider. 86. In the dirt. 1-2
#26 Slider. 86. Low. 2-2
#27 Fastball. 90. High. 3-2.
#28. Curveball. 82. High. Fouled off.
#29 Changeup. Fouled off.
#30 Slider. Ball four.
Analysis: This at-bat for all intents and purposes is like the Snider one. Nathan gets up early in the count, and tries everything in his repertoire to get strike three. But Batista lays off the sliders out of the zone and fouls off the fastball and the odd changeup thrown by Nathan. Pitch 31 is a curveball that Adam Lind swings at and grounds to Morneau to end the game. But let’s not deny that Nathan is operating in the danger zone right now, and if I were Gardenhire, I’d probably turn the next save opportunity over to Matt Capps.
People are getting hung up on velocity right now, and that’s fair enough to an extent. But it’s also overlooking the real problem—Nathan’s breaking pitches are dragging behind his fastball. All totaled up, he got one swing and miss on his breaking stuff (to Nathan’s credit, Lind’s soft hit ball was the result of him chasing a curveball as well) and outside of that everyone laid off. This isn’t a good combination.
Here’s a pitch-by-pitch look at Joe Nathan’s outing yesterday.
Batter: Travis Snider
#1 Fastball. 90 mph. High and away. Ball 1.
#2 Fastball. 91. High. Swing and a Miss. Strike 1.
#3 Curveball. 80. Called Strike. 1-2.
#4 Fastball. 92. High. Fouled off. 1-2.
#5 Slider. 87. Low. Ball 2. 2-2.
#6 Fastball. 91. High. Fouled off. 2-2.
#7 Slider. 88. Low in the zone. 3-2.
#8 Fastball. 90. Infield single.
Analysis: This at-bat starts out vintage Joe Nathan. He gets in front of Snider, getting him to miss on a high fastball and take a low curveball for a strike. Nathan then reverts to his classic strikeout techniques: high fastball and slider out of the zone. Snider fights off both fastballs, and sees both sliders coming a mile away, laying off. With the count at 3-2, the fastball is the obvious pitch. Snider doesn’t hit it hard, but places it well. Tsuyoshi Nishioka gets leather on it, but doesn’t have a play.
Batter: J.P. Arencibia
#9 Slider. 87. In the dirt. Ball.
#10 Slider. 86. Down Broadway. Long, long, out.
Analysis: Both pitches to Arencibia are nearly disaster. On the first one, Butera makes one hell of a play to avert a wild pitch. Nathan hangs the second slider in the zone. Arencibia hits hit hard but doesn’t quite get all of it. The end result, the ball dies at the warning track. There’s a bit of luck to this at-bat that favors Nathan. Throw that second pitch to Arencibia again, and it’s a 4-4 game.
Batter: Mike McCoy
#11 Fastball. 89. Called Strike.
#12 Curveball. NG. Ball 1-1.
#13 Slider. 86. Ball 2. 2-1.
#14 Fastball. 90. Outside edge of the plate. Double.
Analysis: Again, not a particularly hard hit ball, but well placed. McCoy should’ve had an easier double than he ended up with, but Repko makes a great ball to almost gun him down at second.
Batter: Yuniel Escobar
#15 Slider. 86. Low. 1-0.
#16 Fastball. 91. Low. 2-0.
#17 Fastball. 88. Right in the wheel house. Loud out. Run scores.
Analysis: Nathan falls behind to Escobar. On his 2-0 offering, he grooves a fastball. Escobar obliges by sending a hard hit ball into the gap. Span makes a great defensive play to make the catch. But there’s not much he can do about the runners tagging.
Batter: Juan Rivera
#18 Curveball. 81. 1-0.
#19 Fastball. 90. Fouled off. 1-1.
#20 Fastball. 88. In the dirt. 2-1.
#21 Curveball. NG. Ball. 3-1
#22 Fastball. 91. High. Ball four.
Analysis: Nathan falls behind early, and seems to be losing his command.
Batter: Jose Bautista
#23 Curveball. 82. Swinging strike.
#24 Curveball. 82. Called strike.
#25 Slider. 86. In the dirt. 1-2
#26 Slider. 86. Low. 2-2
#27 Fastball. 90. High. 3-2.
#28. Curveball. 82. High. Fouled off.
#29 Changeup. Fouled off.
#30 Slider. Ball four.
Analysis: This at-bat for all intents and purposes is like the Snider one. Nathan gets up early in the count, and tries everything in his repertoire to get strike three. But Batista lays off the sliders out of the zone and fouls off the fastball and the odd changeup thrown by Nathan. Pitch 31 is a curveball that Adam Lind swings at and grounds to Morneau to end the game. But let’s not deny that Nathan is operating in the danger zone right now, and if I were Gardenhire, I’d probably turn the next save opportunity over to Matt Capps.
People are getting hung up on velocity right now, and that’s fair enough to an extent. But it’s also overlooking the real problem—Nathan’s breaking pitches are dragging behind his fastball. All totaled up, he got one swing and miss on his breaking stuff (to Nathan’s credit, Lind’s soft hit ball was the result of him chasing a curveball as well) and outside of that everyone laid off. This isn’t a good combination.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Early Questions
Two days into the season have produced two really hard to watch games. It’s easy to say that it’s just two games. But here are some questions I feel comfortable asking so far.
Just how up to speed is Justin Morneau? While one can very easily see that Justin Morneau is swinging his usual maple bat, one wouldn’t be too far off base for questioning if it was made of rust. His swing looks a little slow and a lot out of sync. Nothing has been hit hard yet, but let’s give a guy who’s been away from baseball for 9 months a little time to get back to speed.
The thing I’m waiting for most? A tough chance to test Alexi Casilla at short. He made a bad throw in the first inning of Friday’s game. Everything since has been fairly routine and he’s converted. I still can’t shake the feeling that this is a team without a real shortstop.
Liriano’s velocity: worrisome or one start? Since he was a lot faster in Spring Training, I’ll take a guess at the later. But one more start of dialing it up to 91 is going to scare me. There are players in rookie ball who’d have launched the one he left over the plate to Jayson Nix.
Did anyone hear the Blue Jays fan who yelled “Overrated” at the top of his lungs when Joe Mauer came up to the plate the first two games? I’m going to guess that’s not the guy you want to get into a WAR discussion with.
Just how up to speed is Justin Morneau? While one can very easily see that Justin Morneau is swinging his usual maple bat, one wouldn’t be too far off base for questioning if it was made of rust. His swing looks a little slow and a lot out of sync. Nothing has been hit hard yet, but let’s give a guy who’s been away from baseball for 9 months a little time to get back to speed.
The thing I’m waiting for most? A tough chance to test Alexi Casilla at short. He made a bad throw in the first inning of Friday’s game. Everything since has been fairly routine and he’s converted. I still can’t shake the feeling that this is a team without a real shortstop.
Liriano’s velocity: worrisome or one start? Since he was a lot faster in Spring Training, I’ll take a guess at the later. But one more start of dialing it up to 91 is going to scare me. There are players in rookie ball who’d have launched the one he left over the plate to Jayson Nix.
Did anyone hear the Blue Jays fan who yelled “Overrated” at the top of his lungs when Joe Mauer came up to the plate the first two games? I’m going to guess that’s not the guy you want to get into a WAR discussion with.
Friday, April 01, 2011
The Word of the Day is Optimism
If there’s one thing I’ve learned going back through some of my old blogs, it’s that I sure am wrong a lot. So today, as the Twins play their first game of the year, it seems a good time for optimism. It seems like a good moment to look past the uncertainty of the bullpen and the shortstop situation.
It’s time to concentrate on the positive things, like Justin Morneau’s return to the regular season lineup. Or that Joe Mauer may or may not be 162 games away from another batting title. That Francisco Liriano seems healthy. That Tsuyoshi Nishioka has Yoshi in his first name and hails from Japan, and how can that be a bad thing? That it looks like the Yankees forgot to buy a 3 through 5 starter in the offseason.
Can this be the year? Right now, it can be anything.
It’s time to concentrate on the positive things, like Justin Morneau’s return to the regular season lineup. Or that Joe Mauer may or may not be 162 games away from another batting title. That Francisco Liriano seems healthy. That Tsuyoshi Nishioka has Yoshi in his first name and hails from Japan, and how can that be a bad thing? That it looks like the Yankees forgot to buy a 3 through 5 starter in the offseason.
Can this be the year? Right now, it can be anything.
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