When Target Field first opened in 2010, something unexpected quickly became evident. Although the park's dimensions were somewhat modeled after the Metrodome, and the intent of Target Field was to be a ballpark that evenly favored both hitter and pitcher, everyone noticed that Target Field had seemingly become Petco Park Midwest. You didn't need ESPN's Park Factors to know that it was extremely difficult to hit the ball over the fence at 1 Twins Way, though Park Factors did confirm what we could
As the July 31st trade deadline approaches, the Twins are judging which players should be dealt. Denard Span and Francisco Liriano are atop that list, but perhaps the most valuable player Minnesota possesses will likely remain here into August. Josh Willingham, who has been even better than I think anyone expected, is oddly not being shopped around, according to 1500 ESPN.
Willingham currently has a .271/.384/.551 triple slash this year, and that doesn’t even include his 2 HR
The Scene
Alexi Casilla on 3B, Jamey Carroll on 2B. Denard Span hits a grounder to Eric Hosmer at first base. Hosmer fires home to Salvador Perez, who chases Casilla all the way back to 3B. However, Carroll also advances to 3B, while Span hustles around and makes it to 2B. Casilla, upon seeing the other two baserunners safe, deliberately runs past 3B. Perez gives up chasing Casilla as he's now out of the baseline, and he tags Carroll, hoping for a double play. However, after some hesitation,
By now, you’ve probably heard about the dominant stretch R.A. Dickey has put together over his last few starts. He’s thrown back-to-back 1 hitters, and here’s his stat line from those two games combined: 18 IP, 1 R (unearned), 2 H, 2 BB, 25 K. In particular, look at that K/BB ratio. From a knuckleballer! Now how about his last 6 starts?: 48.2 IP, 21 H, 2 R (1 ER), 5 BB, 63 K, 3 complete games.
As a Twins fan, it may be a bit bittersweet to see this from Dickey, because he was
Coming in to the 2012 season, it seemed like Alex Burnett had no shot of making the roster. A 6.97 ERA and over two baserunners per inning was not indicative of a pitcher worthy of a place in any team's bullpen, but due to the injuries to Joel Zumaya, Scott Baker, Kyle Waldrop, and Jason Marquis' daughter, Burnett found himself in the exact same place as he had been the past two years: on the Twins' Opening Day roster.
Now, you can't take away very much from spring training statistics,
This seems to agree with what I've been told by Dave St. Peter... the Twins believe they are middle of the road when it comes to advanced statistics. One thing I had St. Peter tell me is that the...
Liked On: 01-02-2013, 12:04 PM
This seems to agree with what I've been told by Dave St. Peter... the Twins believe they are middle of the road when it comes to advanced statistics. One thing I had St. Peter tell me is that the...
Liked On: 01-02-2013, 11:28 AM