MIL 6, MIN 5: Oh, That Rodney Experience

The comments conclude this game accurately. I'd say it was an (all-too typical) Twins loss. If there was anything atypical, it was Grossman's grand slam. Otherwise, base-running bloopers, fielding errors (and what's with Eddie Rosario overrunning or bobbling balls, which he's done several times in the past week), poor Bobby Wilson still swinging a bat (although credit to Bobby for stretching out with his foot on the plate for a critical tag), our man Gibby looking like all-too typical Gibby in the 5th, another blown save from the , Pantomime Archer, and running an untried and apparently overmatched rookie onto the hill in the 10th and leaving him in there to dangle. If there was a highlight, it was four guys from the bullpen managing a couple innings of scoreless relief. Atypically, that included Additive Reed. Anything we missed?

Fun stats:  over the last seven games the highest BAs w/at least 10 ABs have been Garver (.545), Astudillo (.455), Adrianza (.429), and Cave (.300).

 

Escobar is at .111, Morrison is at .176, and Dozier is at .222.

 

And of course we can't leave Wilson who is a robust .000.

 

Mauer has the most RBIs (9).

C'mon, I mean, sure, B-Wil was 4 for June, but he also had a 6-6 K-BB rate. #littlemiracles

Right now, there is not one facet of baseball that this team excels in. Not one. I know some of the players currently here were never in the plans to be here. I'm sure nobody expected or wanted bobby wilson to catch as many games or have someone like willians a. at third base, or have someone like littell on the mound in extra innings.

 

All that being said, if you aren't going to bring a lot of talent, you'd better at least be somewhat solid in fundamentals. This team isn't, at all. And it's not just the new guys or the emergency roster spot takers. It's everyone. Just from last night's game you had:

 

-dozier falling for the oldest trick in the book, a runner at first trying to get into a rundown to avoid a DP

-2nd and 3rd nobody out, and 3 awful at bats by rosario, dozier and grossman. dozier should have been called out before his grounder

-wilson being unable to get down a bunt and for some mind blowing reason, he was still allowed to swing away in the 9th

-escobar's base running blunder in the 9th

-on the tying sacrifice fly, kepler threw home with zero chance to get the runner, allowing the winning run to advance to third

 

This is a team obviously low on talent, but it's also poorly coached. Someone mentioned a lack of "fire", the team hasn't show any for an extended period after that stretch of postponements in early april. They are (poorly) going through the motions, vets rookies and coaching alike. Baseball has been played for over 150 years and the teams that end up with bad records all have the same characteristics this team is showing.

I think you've forgotten about how they excel at making other teams feel really good about themselves. So, I mean, they might be a really bad baseball team, but they're contributing to the mental well-being of their opponents.

You can't put a value on the happiness of others.

I know the WNBA allows sponsors on the jerseys, MLS might, too.

Any chance Chico's Bail Bonds would like to slap their name on this band of ragtag scamps?

Perhaps the money could go toward paying the rest of Lomo's contract and they wouldn't feel the need to hang on any longer.

Right after they signed Rodney I swore that I would turn off the TV whenever he came in. It was a good decision. Life's too short to watch him pitch. He's a heart attack waiting to happen.

Look, Fernando had a couple bad outings. Big deal. It happens. He is a seasoned veteran that has seen his better days. He was never going to be Jeff or Rick or Eddy, or a Ron Peranoski.

. 

We all know that he is a stop gap this year. So, when you rely on a 41 year old stop gap, you have to know that he is going to get lit up now and then. 

And he did.... and I cringed along with the rest of you. 

But he is a Twin, and I love the guy. 

Look, Fernando had a couple bad outings. Big deal. It happens. He is a seasoned veteran that has seen his better days. He was never going to be Jeff or Rick or Eddy, or a Ron Peranoski.

. 

We all know that he is a stop gap this year. So, when you rely on a 41 year old stop gap, you have to know that he is going to get lit up now and then. 

 

And he did.... and I cringed along with the rest of you. 

 

But he is a Twin, and I love the guy. 

And I disagree. He is not a Twin. He is a tourist. A visitor. A Rental for a year, or hopefully, half a year. He is bought and sold on the marketplace. And his shtick is tired and trite, and I have never liked the guy. No need for me to like him, much less love him now, just because some GM that never was a Twins fan signed him and made me have to watch him in critical moments of games. 5 blown saves leads the majors. Yes, it is a big deal.

And I disagree. He is not a Twin. He is a tourist. A visitor. A Rental for a year, or hopefully, half a year. He is bought and sold on the marketplace. And his shtick is tired and trite, and I have never liked the guy. No need for me to like him, much less love him now, just because some GM that never was a Twins fan signed him and made me have to watch him in critical moments of games. 5 blown saves leads the majors. Yes, 

no bias there.........

no bias there.........

 Geez...... I guess I didn't make myself clear enough. 

Look, Fernando had a couple bad outings. Big deal. It happens. He is a seasoned veteran that has seen his better days. He was never going to be Jeff or Rick or Eddy, or a Ron Peranoski.

 

Seems to me he is an Eddy. Always/usually a couple hits and a walk, or a hit and a couple walks, at least, always thinking he can just throw something down the pipe and get away with it. Yup. Definitely an Eddy, who I was also so glad to see go, especially with LaTroy in his prime being foolishly wasted as a setup man to the EGE, and Eddy doesn't seem to be much of a coach, either, when you look at the performance of the bullpen he is responsible for.

Not going to be a Nathan, either, who topped all of those referenced. 

Seems to me he is an Eddy. Always/usually a couple hits and a walk, or a hit and a couple walks, at least, always thinking he can just throw something down the pipe and get away with it. Yup. Definitely an Eddy, who I was also so glad to see go, especially with LaTroy in his prime being foolishly wasted as a setup man to the EGE, and Eddy doesn't seem to be much of a coach, either, when you look at the performance of the bullpen he is responsible for.

 

Not going to be a Nathan, either, who topped all of those referenced. 

don't have much good to say about anybody, eh?

don't have much good to say about anybody, eh?

Sure I do. Just not Rodney and Eddie. And I think I just did about Nathan and Hawkins, no? And Joe, the best reliever the Twins ever had. I think his line will support that. The others you mentioned, Jeff and Rick (I love the first name basis), right up there in the top tier. And even though the Twins only were able to call on Ron Perranoski for 3 2/3 years after his 7 with the Dodgers (and 1971, the last, was really not pretty and the beginning of the end and they flipped him to the Tigers at the deadline, but man, '68-'70 and pitching 87, 119.2, and 111 innings in relief and finishing games! - pretty amazing), I consider him an All-Star Twin for sure. I see that we are the same age. There have been a lot of players to like since the arrival in the Twin Cities in 1961, and we probably agree on a ton of them, if you have been following the team like I have. Stay tuned. There will be more. Rodney and the FRE? No. But Eddie, definitely a Twin, just never one of my favs, though I know many did embrace the EGE (or maybe it should be the EDEE - ha - Every Day Eddie Experience), which was a whole lot, just about every outing, like the FRE.

Do I have to like them all? I hope not.