Game 37 - Twins @ Detroit - 5/17/12

[scottyc35]

so many positives today! welcome back, Ben Revere! Let's keep him when Doumit is back, yes? but the thing that is making me laugh is Butera's current line of .350/.381/.450 !!! What planet is this??? gotta love it

[glunn]

This was an encouraging game. Now let's win the series against the Brewers.

[Shane Wahl]

Are we talking about the same Brayan Villarreal here? The guy with less than 20 major league innings under his belt, with a 1.9 WHIP, ERA over 6? The guy just recalled to Detriot today, when they went to 13 pitchers? That Brayan Villarreal?

 

I think you might be making my point for me.

Sorry, I should have said the quality of that fastball, maybe not the pitcher. That fastball was pretty wicked. I assume the approach was that if you try to pitch around Mauer, you are guaranteed to walk him and putting two guys on base is not what they wanted to do there.

 

Your generalization about the league and Mauer is laughable given the number of walks he draws.

[Guest USAFChief]

Sorry, I should have said the quality of that fastball, maybe not the pitcher. That fastball was pretty wicked. I assume the approach was that if you try to pitch around Mauer, you are guaranteed to walk him and putting two guys on base is not what they wanted to do there.

 

Your generalization about the league and Mauer is laughable given the number of walks he draws.

Putting Mauer on 1st, with a RH hitter on deck, was such obvious strategy there that it's quite noticable when Leyland didn't even consider it, and it wouldn't have happened in the recent past. It tells you a lot about what scouts are saying about Mauer as a hitter...they thought they could throw a fastball by him, and from a pretty inexperienced and nondescript pitcher to boot. Putting two guys on base wasn't the issue. It's the 9th inning. One run is huge, and was already in scoring position. A single plates a pretty big run, second and subsequent runs are decreasingly important at that point. Had the situation been reversed, and Cabrera been up against a LH pitcher, I'd bet a lot of money Gardy takes the bat out of his hand and elects to face Fielder.

 

I would also wager it was noticed in the Twins dugout. And I bet if you could somehow ask Mauer, he'd admit he was surprised and a bit embarrassed they pitched to him in that situation.

[twinsnorth49]

Yes. Yes there is. I'll do my best to point these things--things that baseball people notice--out to you.

 

I think that was more about the quality of reliever on the mound and not about Mauer.

 

 

Are we talking about the same Brayan Villarreal here? The guy with less than 20 major league innings under his belt, with a 1.9 WHIP, ERA over 6? The guy just recalled to Detriot today, when they went to 13 pitchers? That Brayan Villarreal?

 

I think you might be making my point for me.

Wow, I'm in the cyber company of real baseball people, ones I've never heard of but they say so.

 

You're way to full of yourself dude, just saying.

[Shane Wahl]

See now you're just saying stuff. Willingham's RH/LH splits are minimal. He still hits RH pitching very well. Unless you actually find out that in such situations Leyland more often than not elects to intentionally walk the guy, I think you are making WAY too much out of this, which is common for Mauer-bashers. I don't even want to list some possible explanations, but here you go:

 

One, Leyland knows that Willingham hits RH very well. And that he is hitting extremely well, generally this year.

Two, Villareal's fastball was damn good and it may not have mattered, at all, who was hitting. They were going to pitch to him. How often do flame-throwers intentionally walk anybody? I know it happens, but how often.

Three, maybe since Villareal was indeed just called up, Leyland wanted to see how he dealt with the challenge (of, you know, pitching to an excellent hitter) and to give someone who has struggled a jolt of confidence.

 

I am not going on. I doubt the Twins dugout gave a rat's ass about it.

[twinsnorth49]

See now you're just saying stuff. Willingham's RH/LH splits are minimal. He still hits RH pitching very well. Unless you actually find out that in such situations Leyland more often than not elects to intentionally walk the guy, I think you are making WAY too much out of this, which is common for Mauer-bashers. I don't even want to list some possible explanations, but here you go:

 

One, Leyland knows that Willingham hits RH very well. And that he is hitting extremely well, generally this year.

Two, Villareal's fastball was damn good and it may not have mattered, at all, who was hitting. They were going to pitch to him. How often do flame-throwers intentionally walk anybody? I know it happens, but how often.

Three, maybe since Villareal was indeed just called up, Leyland wanted to see how he dealt with the challenge (of, you know, pitching to an excellent hitter) and to give someone who has struggled a jolt of confidence.

 

I am not going on. I doubt the Twins dugout gave a rat's ass about it.

Fister was terrified of Willingham all afternoon, I assume Leyland was as well.