Run down

The best part of Friday's game
as far as the Twins were concerned.

Well, that was sure ugly.

Earlier on Friday I heard Pat Reusse and Phil Mackey discuss which Twins player would have the biggest falloff in 2011. Reusse picked Francisco Liriano, Mackey Danny Valencia. I was telling the radio: Carl Pavano.

Pavano got the Opening Day start in tribute to his veteranness, but he was part of the first inning jitters-bug himself. Vin Scully used a phrase frequently when broadcasting for NBC (and probably still does): Beaten to death by an angry moth, and that was the first inning for Pavano. An infield hit, a botched pickoff, a ground ball single, double steal, walk, hit-by-pitch, two sac flies, an error, a balk ... Ugly.

Pavano had a stellar 2010 in part because he was very good at limiting the damage. In the first inning of Friday's game, he put gasoline on the fire. Had they gotten the out on that pickoff, it's a one-run inning, but it turned into four runs. Then he started feeding his gopher.

Ah well. There will be better days.