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I'm not getting too giddy about the past weekend; the Twins went 4-3 in the past week, but they were playing Cleveland and Baltimore, and 4-3 playing those teams is a disappointment, even though they've gained ground on their rivals.
Being in a glass-half-empty mood this morning, I'll note that Nick Blackburn gave no indication that whatever's wrong with him has been fixed. The Twins seem to believe the problems are from the neck up. I think the problem is deeper than that, that he's failing as a pitcher because (a) he's not good enough to get outs without a lot of help and (b) this team is too slow afield, especially in the outfield, to supply that help.
Blackburn gave up three runs in two innings mopping up Sunday's win and now has a devilish ERA of 6.66.
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Contrary to my speculation earlier in the day, the Twins filled Orlando Hudson's roster spot with a catcher, Jose Morales.
The implications: We may be seeing more of Joe Mauer as DH with Drew Butera catching, at least until either Hudson or Justin Morneau returns. There's not a lot of other reason to carry three catchers, and despite the report that Morales has been taking grounders at first base in recent days, I have difficulty imagining him getting playing time there other than in an emergency.
actually they went 4-3 this week.
ReplyDeleteYou're right; I somehow managed to forget that they lost twice to Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteThe Twins have won eight of 12 games with Justin Morneau hurt. The reason to get excited is that no starting pitcher allowed more than two runs this last time through the rotation.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they didn't add another pitcher. And I'm wondering if another bat suggests that Morneau is still a couple weeks from joining the club.
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