Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Treading Water

Seems like we were in the same place last week... oh, wait -- we are. Still 1.5 games behind Chicago, the Twins are doing their best to stay afloat. We said 90 games would win the division - looks like a certainty now with only 12 games left. In fact, the division winner might not even reach that mark. Since I last wrote, the Twins have gone 2-2 and the White Sox have gone 2-2. The problem is that we can't just keep pace... we need a surge - however small - forward. Winning these next two games in Cleveland would be an excellent start, especially with the seemingly unbeatable Francisco Liriano (Since Aug. 1: 5-0, 1.57 ERA) and better-late-than-never Scott Baker (Last Five: 2-1, 2.38 ERA) going Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The Tampa Bay series later this week is looming large, and will have a HUGE effect on playoff match ups and playoff berths. I said it before, and I'll say it again - a 5-5 road trip is necessary to even have a chance at the playoffs. They've already got two wins, and I wouldn't bank on more than two at Tampa Bay. The time to get some wins is NOW. 

I thought it'd be fun to but out a little "who's hot?/who's not?" for today...

HOT List

Delmon Young - Young has batted 8-for-23 over his past six appearances, scoring five runs. Unfortunately, he hasn't been especially "clutch", as he's only driven in one run in the past week despite +.300 batting averages for both Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel.

Justin Morneau - The MVP candidate continues to do his thing, totaling 15 bases over his past seven games, including a home run and seven RBI.

Denard Span - Span blasted two homers on Saturday, his 5th and 6th of the year. Unfortunately, our leadoff man has gone 0-for-9 since then. 

Liriano (see above)

Brian Buscher - Despite only playing in five of the past seven games, Buscher has been killing the ball, going 6-for-14 (.429) over that span.

Dennys Reyes - Looks like Reyes is in one of his "hot streaks" again... he hasn't allowed a run in his past four appearances, though he did give up a game-winning hit vs. Kansas City last week.

Craig Breslow - He's been the best reliever outside Joe Nathan (who hasn't pitched since 9/11), as he's on a current eight-appearance scoreless streak (8 IP).

Cold List

Nick Blackburn - Seems like Blackburn was fine until Sunday in Baltimore, when he got ripped for six runs and nine hits in just four innings of work. He'll try to right the ship this weekend in Tampa Bay.

Glen Perkins - It's possible that Perkins is breaking down, and you can rest assured that he'd be the guy going to the bullpen if the Twins make the playoffs. Perk is a deceiving 1-1 over his past four outings, but has a 7.40 ERA and 1.645 WHIP over those starts. 

Joe Mauer - He'll probably bounce back in short order, but Mauer is experiencing a mini-slump... batting just .217 over his past six games.

Alexi Casilla - Last, Casilla has been just as lifeless as Mauer these days, with just one hit in his past 15 at bats.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Game Time is 6:10 tonight!

2 comments:

Noni said...

Excuse me...Joe Mauer should ALWAYS be on the hot list...

blaine_fridley said...

do you have the number for the twins territory mental health hotline? the bullpen is chipping away at my will to live.

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