Pathetic Performances, Vol. I

And, with last night's abortion of an outing, I decided to begin a running series called "Pathetic Performances". Whenever the Twins leave me speechless after a mind-numbing comedy of errors, I'll write about it the next day. Deal? Deal.

You've probably heard a lot of really bad reactions to the Twins' 14-13 loss last night. The pitching was bad. The hitting, after the first three innings, was bad. The play at the plate was bad. All in all, a disgusting way to finish what was supposed to be a fun night for Twins fans to relax and enjoy the ball-bashing 3-4-5 combo of Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel. They're fun. :)

So let's dive in and find out how bad Monday's game really was.

Pitching

1. Twins pitchers faced 48 batters and struck out zero. ZERO.
2. Starter Nick Blackburn, despite getting spotted an 12-2 lead, kept trying to get ground balls and - unfortunately - kept missing spots and leaving the ball up in the strike zone. Altogether, he gave up 13 hits and 7 earned runs, and they weren't dribbling grounders. The Athletics were SMOKING the ball all over the place.
3. The previously untouchable Bobby Keppel gave up three earned runs, and didn't even have the decency to record an out.

Batting

1. Granted, there's a lot less to talk about here, but there were still some really bad spots. Like Denard Span and Nick Punto (last night's no. 1 and no. 2) going 1-for-10. They scored a combined TWO runs on a night where the 3-4-5 guys went 10-for-13. Unacceptable, and another reason to continue the search for an offensive threat who can bat no. 2.
2. Alexi Casilla went 0-for-3, and is 1-for-17 since his return to the majors. He clearly has one foot out the door already.
3. In Denard Span's six at bats, he saw just 19 pitches. That's BARELY three per plate appearance. Inexcusable for leadoff man to go up there hacking.

Alright I'm done.

Another game tonight, with - hopefully - a better result.