Give Me A Break

Today was by far the most exhausting day I’ve had at Target Field since I started working for the Twins, and I’m not saying this because of my newfound “fame.” If you didn’t see on Facebook, I managed to make it on the FSN and YES telecasts, as well as the scoreboard during the 8-2 victory over the Yankees. I even have partial proof, thanks to Nick at “1,000,000 MINNESOTA TWINS FANS!!!”

Hint: I wasn’t the Yankee fan that took a bite out of her pork chop.

Edit: Go here to view the video since the one above has been removed by MLB.

Mahay Mayday?

As I walk down the winding path in the Twins area of the MLB Internet prairie, I have noticed a rapid change of opinion with reliever Ron Mahay. Two weeks ago, Mahay was sporting a 0.00 ERA with a 10/1 strikeout to walk ratio in 9 1/3 innings. However, it seems like his last three outings have erased that optimism. Seven earned runs and two home runs in 2 1/3 innings turned his excellent 0.00 ERA into a replacement-level 5.40 ERA. Because of this sudden change, I have seen several people on Twitter demand that he be designated for assignment. Is this really fair, though?

Ron Gardenhire’s Over-Managing

This has nothing to do with Ron Mahay or Jon Rauch, although I do believe that cries for removing Mahay from the roster are far premature. No, this has to do with the other half of the 9th inning from today’s game. Delmon Young had just hit a ground-rule double to tie the game at 7, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. The newest Twins rookie sensation, Trevor Plouffe, was due to hit, but instead Jim Thome was the man that came out of the dugout. I’m sure Ron Gardenhire was looking to end the game right there, but there were two huge flaws in his plan, thanks to the little man that was due up after Thome.

Nick Punto was due to hit after Thome, and first base was current unoccupied, so of course Ken Macha and the Brewers intentionally walked Thome to get to Punto, who struck out on just three pitches. Gardenhire was probably thinking about the win, but he forgot to think of the possible counterattacks from the Brewers, which disappointingly was one of the most obvious that any opposing manager would have made. This is being typed while the game is still being played, so we won’t know yet if it cost the Twins a win or if it delayed a victory, but regardless it was a mistake that a major league manager shouldn’t have made.

Contest Poll

You’ve probably heard about the First Ever Off The Mark Picture Contest, but that’s not going to stop me from advertising for it. You may also know that I’m not completely sure what the prize will be for first place. As you can see in the title, there’s a poll involved, and if you put everything together, of course there’s going to be a poll of what this prize should be.

The Effectiveness of Brian Duensing

Generally, the productivity of professional baseball players decreases as they move up the minor league system and eventually into the major leagues. However, there is one guy that has been defying this logic for 41 major league appearances now: Brian Duensing. Upon his promotion to Triple-A in 2007, Duensing posted a 3.24 ERA with good control in 116 2/3 innings. In 2008 and the beginning of 2009, he found himself in Rochester once again, but repeating the level wasn’t as kind to him, as he put up a 4.28 and 4.66 ERA, respectively, over an additional 214 innings. His walk rate didn’t change, but he had a drop in strikeouts from about 6.5 per 9 innings to 5 per 9 IP. Despite his perceived struggles (I’ll explained why it was “perceived” later), a rash of injuries to the Twins pitching staff in 2009 led to Duensing making his professional debut.

Notepad Scribbles, 5/19/10

If any of you follow @thrylos98 on Twitter, you probably know his favorite word.

Nepotism: Patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics (dictionary.com)

Now, are there any two players within the Twins organization that come to mind when you think of nepotism? Hint: One had his father play for the Twins in the past, the father of the other is the current Twins manager. That should be enough to figure out that we’re talking about Drew Butera and Toby Gardenhire. Plenty of people are already upset with Butera being on the roster, with some going so far as saying that Butera is on the roster because his father, Sal, played for the Twins in the past. I think that’s a bit of a stretch, considering that Butera is a far superior defensive catcher than Jose Morales, and although Wilson Ramos is more promising, he deserves to play every single day, something he would not do in the majors. Besides, Butera has only played in 8 games this year, and a handful of those were as a replacement for Joe Mauer in blowout games. Although many Twins fans have blamed Butera for a few losses this season, his impact on the team is not much considering how little he’s played this season.

Notepad Scribbles, 5/14/10

You. Me. Some other Twins bloggers. Majors. Saturday. Bloomington. Noon. Twins game. $2 pint beers. Twins prizes. Do it. Do it now. Er…Saturday.

Now that I’m done with my caveman-speak, if you’re hunting for me, I’ll be sporting the brand new Denard Span jersey. It was either that or wear the SAVE FERRIS shirt for a third time, and honestly, I think I look more presentable in Twins gear.

If you didn’t notice or were undecided, I encourage you to take part in the First Ever Off The Mark Picture Contest. Don’t have Photoshop skills? No problem! If you want to MS Paint a blimp onto the picture, that’s fine! You don’t need to be a graphic designer in order to have a chance at winning the prize (I still haven’t decided what it will be, though). I will be accepting submissions until 11:59 pm on May 31st, so you still have plenty of time to participate. There has been one entry so far, don’t let this person win by default!

Delmon Young Day

I’ve been wrong with my opinions several times this year. I was unhappy that Brian Duensing had been used in critical situations this year, and he’s promptly responded with a 1.38 ERA, 2.93 FIP, and a .197 opponents batting average. I didn’t like the Twins re-signing Ron Mahay early this season, and he’s been even better than Duensing: 0.00 ERA, 1.26 FIP, .160 opponents batting average, and a 9.6 K/9 rate. I thought that the Twins would be just fine with Drew Butera as the backup catcher, even with his hitting woes, but he exceeded (in the wrong direction) my low expectations by starting the season with a .118/.118/.118 hitting line.

First Ever Off The Mark Picture Contest

You know, I’ve had this picture for a few months now and didn’t quite get the response I was looking for from Facebook, so I’ve resurrected it for all of you. It is a 3-panel picture (think of the comics in the newspaper), but the middle panel is missing. It is your job to fill it in with whatever you want. A MS Paint doodle, a picture of Chester A. Arthur, Nick Punto’s body flying through the air, parallel to the ground, whatever. You can use whatever you want, but keep in mind that vulgarity will probably hurt you more than help.

Here are the rules.

1. As I just said, fill in the middle panel of the picture below. It does not have to be only one panel, either. As long as the pictures are cohesive, I will accept it.

2. When you are done, send an email with the picture to me (email listed in About Me page, found on the OTM main page).

3. I will judge the pictures myself, with perhaps some help from my girlfriend and roommate. I am looking for humor and/or cleverness.

4. The winner will win a prize that has not been determined yet. It may be a promotional item(s) from a Twins game (note: not a bobblehead), but to give you an idea of how good it could possibly be, we were given fishing lures after Saturday’s doubleheader. Maybe I’ll give away a pair of cheap* Twins tickets. Hell, I might even buy you a Juicy Lucy from the Town Ball Tavern.

* Who do you think I am, a Steinbrenner?

5. The last day I will accept entries is May 31st. That gives you a solid 3 weeks. The winner will be announced the week of the 31st.

6. I will only accept one entry per person. If you submit an entry, but then want to send in a different one, you may do so as long as you tell me which entry you want me to throw away.

7. You may also print out the picture, glue a magazine picture or drawing into the middle panel, use a camera to take a picture of your new piece of art, and then email it to me. Even if you printed the picture in black and white, I will still accept it.

Now that you know what to do, go wild. I will leave a link on the right column of the main page in case you want to revisit this post in the future. Our picture comes courtesy of pitcher Jose Valverde (click picture for full size version).

Role Reversal

When I first heard the Twins would not be putting a retractable roof on their new stadium, I had the same opinion as many people.

This was one of them.

This was the other.