Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:51 pm Posts: 1251 Location: St. Paul - Minneapolis Gender: Male
My favorite club is hella good this year, and after a 7-3 first place start I had to brag a little.
The daily line up is stacked. The Twins have scored the second most runs in the AL (one behind Detroit), and have the best run differential of +19 of any team in the AL.
Lineup: 1. CF Denard Span .340 OB% 2. 2B Orlando Hudson current 7 game hit streak 3. C Joe Mauer .353 AVG .463 OB% 1.052 OPS 4. 1B Justin Morneau .342 AVG .457 OB% 5. RF Michael Cuddyer .333 AVG 6. DH Jason Kubel .412 OB% .947 OPS 7. LF Delmon Young .346 AVG 1.033 OPS 8. SS J.J. Hardy 2HR 9. 3B Nick Punto 1.000 Fielding % with tons of range
Bench: Jim Thome Brendan Harris Alexi Casilla
Starting Pitching: SP1 Scott Baker 1-1 3.86ERA SP2 Nick Blackburn 1-1 5.02ERA SP3 Carl Pavano 2-0 1.38ERA 10K 13IP SP4 Kevin Slowey 1-1 3.48ERA SP5 Francisco Liriano 1-0 2.08ERA 11K 13IP 8Hits allowed
Bullpen: Jon Rauch 1.80ERA, 5 saves in 5 opp (leads MLB) Pat Neshek 0.00ERA Matt Guerrier 0.00ERA Jose Mijares Brian Duensing
The entire staff is pitching to an ERA of 2.88 while allowing an AL low 29 runs against (all while playing more games then all but two AL teams). That is pretty impressive when considering perennial All-Star closer Joe Nathan is out for the season.
On Defense, Minnesota has committed just one error all year (a throwing error by left fielder Delmon Young on a play at the plate where the ball bounced off the incoming base runners feet). This is a strong start for a team that many people have argued is weak on the defensive side of the ball.
This roster has led the Twins to three series wins (3-1 over the Angels, 2-1 over the White Sox, and 2-1 over the Red Sox) to start the season. An important note on the hot start is that the club has also accumulated a 5-2 mark on the road thus far. This is important because traditionally the Twins have been monsters at home while struggling greatly on the road.
This has all led the Twins to leading the AL in Wins and Win percentage. Not to shabby for my home town nine.
And just think, I just wrote all of that and didn't even mention the brand new ballpark...
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:07 am Posts: 1247 Location: Minnesota Gender: Male
There's more to defense than just not committing errors. Once this season's UZR data starts to come out, we'll get a better idea of how defensively strong this team is.
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:51 pm Posts: 1251 Location: St. Paul - Minneapolis Gender: Male
13-6. The Twins have won every series they have played thus far. Not too shabby. Liriano looks to be back. Big game tonight against the Tigers and Justin Verlander. Go Twins!
What's happening to this team? Their starting rotation has taken a huge dump in the last month.
you followed your question with the main culprit. baker, slowey, and blackburn have been awful. in addition, we're short on clutch hitting. this team is very likely to break the mlb record for hitting into double plays. mauer has been just average, span and cuddyer haven't been as good as last year, and though morneau has been great, he is now on the dl with concussion issues. hardy and hudson have already missed a lot of time. nathan has been severely missed as a closer. really, morneau, delmon young, and carl pavano are the only bright spots on the team. to their credit, the dirty fucking southsiders have been playing great baseball. detroit made the most of lesser opponents in interleague play, but i have a feeling they'll be coming back to earth. historically, the twins are better in the second half than the first, so i'm hoping the trend continues. unfortunately, they still are without the pitching necessary to make hay in the playoffs.
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:51 pm Posts: 1251 Location: St. Paul - Minneapolis Gender: Male
MY MN TWINS...are Damn good! As of tonight (Sept.22, 2010) they are tied for the best record in the major leagues at 92-60! I am so pumped for the post season, and possible home field advantage through the ALCS. Go Twins!
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