MIN 4, CWS 1: Gibson Great, Twins Hit 3 More Homers

I didn't mind the bunt that much.    Almost made it a hit and advanced Mauer to third.   Three scenarios.   1.   What did happen   2.  Mauer advances to third by the 2nd batter making an out,  Rosario hits a medium deep fly ball and Mauer scores a big run.  3.. Polanco doesn't advance Mauer, Rosario hits medium deep fly ball that now doesn't advance or score Mauer and third guy makes an out.     #3 happens a lot so I was happy to see the runs score and Rosario scoring also was frosting on the cake.   I would not have been disappointed if Polanco had swung away but their 3rd base man made a great play to keep Polanco from getting a hit and Mauer advances.   I'm ok with that.   i think Lombardozzi hit 3 dingers in 3 games once.  Didn't make him a power hitter.

Gibson's doing this just to piss me off. Every time I'm ready to throw in the towel for him, he comes out and pitches like Cy Young. Okay Gibson, I'm throwing in the towel for the rest of the season on you. Prove me wrong some more!

Great game by Gibson but what it should have done is give him one more game.    Even before tonight he has done better against the White Sox than any other team and even more so at Chicago where he is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA before tonight.   I hope he does well next time but he should still be on a short leash.

Gibson...what the heck was that??  I think winning Powerball was more likely than getting out of the second and third with no runs.

 I argued to DFA him during his last start.  Now we should trade him, right now, I mean by noon.  Pretend we're throwing in the towel, say we're cutting next year's payroll, do whatever it takes.  Get something now before Bad Gibby takes the mound again.

Good thing I didn't order that Melville jersey.  Now a Curtiss jersey...

Last year the Twins hit 200 home runs (and a lot of good they did), the first time they hit that mark since 1964 (and the only other year was 1963).  The 1987 team hit 196 and the 2004 version got 191.

This year they are on pace to hit 195, but since I'm guessing September gets more homers than April, they ought to be able to do it.  If the pace of the last week keeps up they might get there by Labor Day.

The franchise low was 4 HRs, done a couple of times.  In 1917, the team had 4 HRs and 70 triples.  The home field was National Stadium, later Griffith Stadium, where the left field corner was over 400 feet from home plate.  

I think we saw Gibson benefit from facing a young White Sox team that hasn't learned to lay off of breaking balls. Innings 1 and 2 were the Gibson we've come to expect - but then the White Sox's young bats got over eager and started chasing anything and everything near the zone. 

Thankfully, this Twins team has become one of those teams you don't want to let hang around in a game. The White Sox could have (should have), put this game away by the end of the 2nd. They didn't - and the Twins' bats made them pay for it. It's nice to be on the other side of that equation for a change. 

Last year the Twins hit 200 home runs (and a lot of good they did), the first time they hit that mark since 1964 (and the only other year was 1963).  The 1987 team hit 196 and the 2004 version got 191.

 

This year they are on pace to hit 195, but since I'm guessing September gets more homers than April, they ought to be able to do it.  If the pace of the last week keeps up they might get there by Labor Day.

 

The franchise low was 4 HRs, done a couple of times.  In 1917, the team had 4 HRs and 70 triples.  The home field was National Stadium, later Griffith Stadium, where the left field corner was over 400 feet from home plate.  

OBP is .332 vs .316 last year.    We are on pace to score 53 more runs than last year.   Once year Twins hit 111 home runs, had an OBP of .340 and scored 829 runs.     Home runs are great but they are better with guys on base.

Great to see Trevor Hildenberger getting higher leverage opportunities and succeeding.  The Twins need him to be another solid option late in games.

Is that a 9-man bullpen now?

Gibson's ERA now under 6. Another three or four starts like last night and he'll cross the pitcher's Mendoza line under 5.

Nope, Gee has graduated to the rotation.

 

I just went back and re-watched it. I still think that was a sacrifice called by the manager, but who knows.

 

Regardless of whose idea it was, I don't think a guy who is hitting .382/.417/.647 over his last 75 PAs and who homered off the guy on the mound earlier in the game should be laying down a bunt in that situation. It was beautifully executed though. 

I agree it was mostly done to get the base runner over or at least looked that way because if he had done it while starting out of the box he would have beat the throw easily.    If he had bunted just a little softer he would have beat it also.    Mauer's run just seemed very important to me at the time and getting him home from third with one out seemed at least as good a chance as getting him home from second with no outs.    I admit to hindsight and hypocrisy here.   The important thing to me on this play wasn't the strategy but the execution.    As you said, he laid down a really good bunt.   If he had bunted back to the pitcher and Mauer either got thrown out or did didn't advance, or Polanco popped out then I would probably have a whole different outlook on the play.   Lets also not just assume that if Polanco didn't bunt and had made an out and Mauer didn't advance that Rosario would still have hit the home run.

Gibby's off speed was stuff was crisp last night.

I agree.  His slider or curve ball that struck out Abreu was a thing of beauty.    Some games it seems like he hardly even uses his off speed stuff.

Twins played nine games in eight days and the bullpen is still in good shape. 

This was the White Sox. He's not the only guy they've made look like Smokey Joe Williams this season.

You're exactly right. The difference between one run and an early blowout for Chicago was two hits with bases loaded, instead of a bunch of K's and easy fly balls. Imagine what Houston would have done, or Detroit, or the freeeekin Dodgers. Gibson walked a tightrope against maybe the lamest offense in the league. Rookies and early experiments as the ChiSox start their rebuilding efforts. Remember, first he allowed hits and walks to load the bases multiple times. Then he pitched with desperate intensity to escape major jams in the first three innings. Is that great pitching? Great pitchers are supposed to avoid those jams in the first place. 

On the other hand, if Gibson could find that level of intensity BEFORE the bases were loaded, then he might actually become a great pitcher. He has three borderline plus pitches - sinker, slider, change up - that get lots of whiffs when he's in the right frame of mind. Even his flat four-seamer gets whiffs after they see enough sinkers, if he throws it up in the zone. Yesterday Gibson's slider was breaking harder than I've seen it in a long time. The spin rate must have been crazy fast. He's got the stuff to dominate, yet too often he goes out their playing Mister Nibbles. I'd rather see the angry Gibson every time.

Polanco is abso-smurfly on fire. Eddie Rosario is the best pure hitter on the team these days! When the Twins can get contributions for guys like that they're hard to beat. 

And hey, how 'bout that Kennys Vargas!?!?