mickey

It's good to see the Twins win a game when they make unforced errors. It seems to me that for a healthy portion of the season, in close games, errors have cost them. I can think of several games which they lost by 1 or only 2 runs, in which bad errors played a critical role. One could even say, the errors cost them the game. Someone who knows how to look into statistics would have to check this out, but ever since their big lead over the Indians has begun to shrink and disappear, the Twins have made a lot of errors, and those games are often close. Earlier in the year, it seemed like baserunning blunders were a big part of their game. Luckily, they were winning by large margins and those mistakes didn't cost them too many games, if any. For the most part, they've cleaned that up. (Maybe because they stopped attempting steals altogether...) But, coming down the stretch, it would be helpful if they could eliminate the errors from being a factor in the final decision. Now that it's a dogfight, it may just come down to that.

It’s getting really tired for Twins fans to hear about Byron Buxton and his ridiculous self-inflicted injuries. It’s just not that important to make a spectacular catch in the 4th inning of game 102 of the season. Every time he goes out, the Twins managers and teammates claim that he’s the most important part of their offense and defense. (even when that’s clearly untrue) So from just a team morale standpoint, it only makes sense to keep him in the game at all costs. You’d think that someone within the Twins organization would have sat him down and explained the difference between playing hard and playing smart. And that with 400 games in the big leagues, he would’ve figured that out by now. Especially since that’s 400 out of a possible 700. Meaning, he’s missed almost as many games as he’s played. Superlatives such as absurd, ludicrous, and ridiculous come to mind. Imagine if you were a Tom Cruise style bartender, and you cut yourself throwing liquor bottles around the bar 50% of the time you showed off. Yeah, when you do the behind the head catch and pour, it wows the crowd, but when the bottle breaks over your head, and you’re out for 3 1/2 weeks it kind of defeats the point. Just catch the ball when it’s catchable. Your already fast enough to get to a lot of balls that might otherwise fall in play. Work on taking walks, and getting on base more, and focus on your stealing bases. (especially third base) Worry about making incredible game saving plays when you get into the postseason. Or maybe not even then, maybe just in game 6 or 7 of the World Series since that’s the only time the payoff is ever worth the risk. Or is all that too obvious to make sense…?

Because Rocco made such a mistake using Dyson before he was ready, the smart move for the manager would be to step and publicly take the blame for that obvious blunder. Then, he should allow the player to get his footing with his new team and teammates before asking politely, if he's ready to show his stuff. (it won't take long...a couple of days to learn the signs, learn the opponents and learn his way around the facility in order to get into a comfortable routine...that's all...) Instead, Rocco as much as blamed Dyson for not being ready, and then, after burning him in Miami, he threw him right back into the frying pan. Dyson couldn't possibly have had an intelligent gameplan for Kansas City players he's never faced before. He hasn't been getting ready for Kansas City for 10 games so far this season like the rest of the team. He's coming off of a life-changing trade, 2 airplane flights, an embarrassing outing which was more like a practical joke than a legitimate appearance. (all in less than 48 hours...) Who he's talking to and who's talking to him has all changed drastically. Pitchers are creatures of habit and process. Their ability to pitch is a function of mechanical comfort. Much like golfers. Whatever his normal procedure has been, he's not going through it now. We need this guy, and to shock his system this way could easily have detrimental effects throughout the remainder of the season. The Twins aren't desperate for his services. Why not give him the same chance the Twins gave Romo, allow him to get comfortable and then, when he's ready, he'll shine.

It makes absolutely no sense to bring a guy in to the game, who only a few hours earlier, arrived in the American league. The guy hadn't met all the players on the team yet. There's no way he could've prepared for any of the Marlin's hitters. To bring him into a save situation, in a critical game was asinine. If the Twins had been winning by 13 runs, that would be a different story. If the Twins had no other bullpen choices, that would be a different situation. But it was a legitimate save opportunity. Up by just 3, and coming off of a grand slam in the 9th inning the night before, you'd think the Twins would have cared about winning first and foremost. At least more than whatever it was that was going through their mind that allowed them to insert this brand new arrival directly into the lineup. His uniform probably didn't fit. He may have still had his street socks on. It's not like Taylor Rogers was unavailable. He came into the game anyways. On one hand, Baldelli acts like the game is meaningless, then on the other hand, he's willing to use all players in an effort to win. Now, rather than having an easy 3 game sweep, a rested bullpen, and a very positive feeling, he's got a loss, a tired bullpen and a bad vibe for everyone, going into the next series against a team that was resting all day today. There's not even enough room in this forum to properly detail all the giant mistakes that Baldelli made in just innings 7-9. He's not an unfit manager, he just doesn't know what he's doing. When the Twins are winning big, it won't matter much, but when they're losing, or it's a close game, his inexperience and bad judgment will come to the forefront.