Twins 2012 season

by **magoose** » Fri 4/06/12 1:08 pm

Welcome to the start of Twins season circa 2012.

Come on Boys, lets make a run for a 100 wins this season. I promise it will be far more fun then the race to reach 100 loses.

by **gopherguy06** » Fri 4/06/12 2:03 pm

Opening Day.. who's excited?

Opening Day Lineup:
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Jamey Carroll, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, DH
5. Josh Willingham, LF
6. Ryan Doumit, RF
7. Danny Valencia, 3B
8. Chris Parmelee, 1B
9. Alexi Casilla, 2B

Starting pitcher: RH Carl Pavano

by **ScoobyDoo** » Fri 4/06/12 2:05 pm

Why is Alexi Casilla still here?

by **gopherguy06** » Fri 4/06/12 2:06 pm

Hoping to see another good season from Valencia at 3B and excited to see what the rookie can do at 1B.

by **sunbone** » Fri 4/06/12 2:15 pm

ScoobyDoo wrote:Why is Alexi Casilla still here?

He isn't hurt yet. Give it a week.

by **ScoobyDoo** » Fri 4/06/12 2:22 pm

Joe Mauer's first at bat of the season and he grounds into a double play.

Contrast that with the Orioles getting a two run bomb off Pavano in their bottom half of the first inning.

It's going to be a long season.

by **Beauner** » Fri 4/06/12 2:36 pm

ScoobyDoo wrote:Joe Mauer's first at bat of the season and he grounds into a double play.

Contrast that with the Orioles getting a two run bomb off Pavano in their bottom half of the first inning.

It's going to be a long season.

My buddy's facebook status before the game: "Hoping my Mauer cell phone can dial more than just 4-6-3 this season!" so I let him know he added a 1 to his repertoire.

by **Beauner** » Fri 4/06/12 3:07 pm

Scott Baker, by the way, was pulled after 11 pitches in a rehab start yesterday. Getting an MRI today, and will be out for the season by next week.

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Fri 4/06/12 3:32 pm

It only took Bremer 5 innings to run with the meme that Benjy Revere is going to bunt Cabrera/Fielder to death this year.

by **sunbone** » Fri 4/06/12 3:38 pm

Bushwood Gopher wrote:It only took Bremer 5 innings to run with the meme that Benjy Revere is going to bunt Cabrera/Fielder to death this year.

He didn't mention that Fielder could go from first to 3rd on a single hit to Ben in short center?

by **gopherguy13** » Fri 4/06/12 3:40 pm

Hopefully the concrete at Target Field has settled so we can start bombing some HR's this year!! :dup:

by **Jaykay3** » Fri 4/06/12 4:09 pm

Good to see that potent Twins offense making Jake Arrieta look like Bob Gibson :roll:

by **h8red** » Fri 4/06/12 4:13 pm

ScoobyDoo wrote:Joe Mauer's first at bat of the season and he grounds into a double play.

Contrast that with the Orioles getting a two run bomb off Pavano in their bottom half of the first inning.

It's going to be a long season.

The Twins will be pretty sad all year...mostly b/c the pitching staff is bad & will only get much worse.
Could be 100 losses.. Not joking.

by **Bash Brother** » Fri 4/06/12 4:15 pm

Will be 100 losses

by **dryfly** » Fri 4/06/12 4:21 pm

How often does a team lose the opener and then never get back above 500 the rest of the year? Play the whole year underwater. That happen often?

Just askin'...

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Fri 4/06/12 4:25 pm

sunbone wrote:
Bushwood Gopher wrote:It only took Bremer 5 innings to run with the meme that Benjy Revere is going to bunt Cabrera/Fielder to death this year.

He didn't mention that Fielder could go from first to 3rd on a single hit to Ben in short center?

No oddly enough he didn't, nor that either of them could park a ball 80 feet over his head at any one of their at bats.

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Fri 4/06/12 4:28 pm

h8red wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:Joe Mauer's first at bat of the season and he grounds into a double play.

Contrast that with the Orioles getting a two run bomb off Pavano in their bottom half of the first inning.

It's going to be a long season.

The Twins will be pretty sad all year...mostly b/c the pitching staff is bad & will only get much worse.
Could be 100 losses.. Not joking.

Mark Rosen??? Is that you???

I was waiting for someone to mention the starting pitching in a game where we don't score a run nor advance a guy as far as 3rd base.

by **gopherguy13** » Fri 4/06/12 4:28 pm

The thing I hate about baseball teams being so terrible, is that the draft seems like such a crapshoot. I feel like with any other sport, if you are terrible and get a top 5 draft pick, you will almost always get someone good out of it. Someone who can step in immediately and at least provide somewhat of a spark.

In baseball it seems like it takes 14 years for a draft pick to actually make it up to the big club.

by **Beauner** » Fri 4/06/12 4:34 pm

gopherguy13 wrote:The thing I hate about baseball teams being so terrible, is that the draft seems like such a crapshoot. I feel like with any other sport, if you are terrible and get a top 5 draft pick, you will almost always get someone good out of it. Someone who can step in immediately and at least provide somewhat of a spark.

In baseball it seems like it takes 14 years for a draft pick to actually make it up to the big club.

It does when you're the Twins. :oops:

by **dryfly** » Fri 4/06/12 4:34 pm

gopherguy13 wrote:In baseball it seems like it takes 14 years for a draft pick to actually make it up to the big club.

They draft too many - too young - for the good of the sport and the players.

Okay I said it - again - just like the NHL. Now go ahead and spank me - I'm still unrepentant even on Good Friday.

by **Beauner** » Fri 4/06/12 4:43 pm

That Willingham HR was spanked

by **h8red** » Sat 4/07/12 9:23 am

Bushwood Gopher wrote:
h8red wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:Joe Mauer's first at bat of the season and he grounds into a double play.

Contrast that with the Orioles getting a two run bomb off Pavano in their bottom half of the first inning.

It's going to be a long season.

The Twins will be pretty sad all year...mostly b/c the pitching staff is bad & will only get much worse.
Could be 100 losses.. Not joking.

Mark Rosen??? Is that you???

I was waiting for someone to mention the starting pitching in a game where we don't score a run nor advance a guy as far as 3rd base.

My comment about the pitching is a prediction for the whole year and not just for one game. Sally Baker should be taken out of the starting rotation & sent away to cry about his sore elbow so we don't have to hear about it.

by **h8red** » Sat 4/07/12 9:27 am

sunbone wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:Why is Alexi Casilla still here?

He isn't hurt yet. Give it a week.

It doesn't matter if he's hurt or not...he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable), Valencia, etc... I shouldn't need to explain any further than that.

by **streakygopher** » Sat 4/07/12 10:49 am

h8red wrote:
sunbone wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:Why is Alexi Casilla still here?

He isn't hurt yet. Give it a week.

It doesn't matter if he's hurt or not...he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable), Valencia, etc... I shouldn't need to explain any further than that.

Look at the bright side, there will be nice weather and lots of tickets available this summer for a pleasant downtown experience...and there will be a game going on in the background.

by **Dolphin275** » Sat 4/07/12 11:21 am

streakygopher wrote:
h8red wrote:
sunbone wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:Why is Alexi Casilla still here?

He isn't hurt yet. Give it a week.

It doesn't matter if he's hurt or not...he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable), Valencia, etc... I shouldn't need to explain any further than that.

Look at the bright side, there will be nice weather and lots of tickets available this summer for a pleasant downtown experience...and there will be a game going on in the background.

Hey, another thing to consider, were only 1 game back for a tie for first place.. :biggrin2:

by **Bash Brother** » Sat 4/07/12 11:28 am

As close as they will be to first place all season.

by **Six Hole** » Sat 4/07/12 12:50 pm

h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

by **rowshkex** » Sat 4/07/12 12:55 pm

Six Hole wrote:
h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

Maybe h8red is incredibly offended by the amount of times he says "you know" in an interview...?

by **Six Hole** » Sat 4/07/12 12:58 pm

rowshkex wrote:
Six Hole wrote:
h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

Maybe h8red is incredibly offended by the amount of times he says "you know" in an interview...?

Dude did hit his mom with a foul ball. What a prick.

by **Beauner** » Sat 4/07/12 1:37 pm

Six Hole wrote:
h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

Glad somebody mentioned this. I don't think I would have been so calm.

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Sat 4/07/12 1:47 pm

I think he was referring to Alexi Casilla with that statement but it was hard to tell with how the sentence was worded.

by **Beauner** » Sat 4/07/12 1:49 pm

Bushwood Gopher wrote:I think he was referring to Alexi Casilla with that statement but it was hard to tell with how the sentence was worded.

I was more concerned with him saying Span isn't good.

by **gopherguy13** » Sat 4/07/12 7:28 pm

Should we make the 2012-2013 Offseason Thread now, or just wait until May?

by **Greyeagle** » Sat 4/07/12 7:36 pm

Painful.

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Sat 4/07/12 7:38 pm

gopherguy13 wrote:Should we make the 2012-2013 Offseason Thread now, or just wait until May?

Hey don't you worry. We'll be fine as soon as we can play the Tigers and Ben Revere can bunt every at bat. :wink:

I want it on the record that there were people who were miffed beyond expression as to how the Tigers would fit Cabrera and Fielder into the same lineup. It was even posed as a serious question by some here in the MLB thread. Turns out when you have two guys with 40HR capability each it doesn't matter where they play so long as they are playing. Who knew?

by **Alby22** » Sat 4/07/12 7:56 pm

More feeble team relative to their sport, Twins? Wild? Vikings?

by **psych** » Sat 4/07/12 8:12 pm

At least the Orioles are to MLB as BC is to college hockey...wait...

by **Bash Brother** » Sat 4/07/12 8:21 pm

The Twins are now mathematically eliminated.

by **Beauner** » Sat 4/07/12 8:26 pm

The Mole wrote:The Twins are now mathematically eliminated.

I can't believe they battled and made it a race this long! Alas, they came up short.

by **psych** » Sat 4/07/12 8:46 pm

Beauner wrote:
The Mole wrote:The Twins are now mathematically eliminated.

I can't believe they battled and made it a race this long! Alas, they came up short.

Can we start a "THANK YOU JASON MARQUIS FOR EVERYTHING" thread? The guy had a good season. Didn't give up a hit, much less a run.

by **sec 16 row16 seat 16 17** » Sat 4/07/12 9:08 pm

BRUTAL

by **dryfly** » Sat 4/07/12 10:14 pm

I asked above - how often do teams lose right out of the shoot and never get a sniff of .500 the rest of the season? Rarely? Ten percent of the time? More often?

We did last year didn't we? Lose right out of the shoot and never get above .500 the rest of the season. Closest we got was 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 during the first week ... but even as bad as last year was we had TWO WHOLE MONTHS where we played better than 500 ball [for the month - the aggregate was still below 500] ... June (17-9 for .654) and July (16-13 for .552) ... By July 17th after beating KC 4-3 we were back withing 5 games of .500 at 44-49 (.473) and again on July 20th after beating CLE 7-5 46-51 (.474) ... after that they went down like a submarine.

Sooooo... as bad as last year was it could be a lot WORSE. Something to be watching for as the 'L's start adding up this season.

Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2011.shtml

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Sat 4/07/12 11:17 pm

dryfly wrote:I asked above - how often do teams lose right out of the shoot and never get a sniff of .500 the rest of the season? Rarely? Ten percent of the time? More often?

We did last year didn't we? Lose right out of the shoot and never get above .500 the rest of the season. Closest we got was 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 during the first week ... but even as bad as last year was we had TWO WHOLE MONTHS where we played better than 500 ball [for the month - the aggregate was still below 500] ... June (17-9 for .654) and July (16-13 for .552) ... By July 17th after beating KC 4-3 we were back withing 5 games of .500 at 44-49 (.473) and again on July 20th after beating CLE 7-5 46-51 (.474) ... after that they went down like a submarine.

Sooooo... as bad as last year was it could be a lot WORSE. Something to be watching for as the 'L's start adding up this season.

Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2011.shtml

Not sure how often historically but there were two teams last year who did, us and the Houston Astros. In 2010 only one team did, the Baltimore Orioles and that season the Pirates lost 105 games and even they still managed to hit .500 or better three weeks into the season. My guess is this does not happen very often--maybe one team on average per year if even that.

Having said that, we could be a candidate to do it back-to-back given how brutal our schedule is through the month of April.

by **dryfly** » Sat 4/07/12 11:38 pm

Bushwood Gopher wrote:
dryfly wrote:I asked above - how often do teams lose right out of the shoot and never get a sniff of .500 the rest of the season? Rarely? Ten percent of the time? More often?

We did last year didn't we? Lose right out of the shoot and never get above .500 the rest of the season. Closest we got was 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 during the first week ... but even as bad as last year was we had TWO WHOLE MONTHS where we played better than 500 ball [for the month - the aggregate was still below 500] ... June (17-9 for .654) and July (16-13 for .552) ... By July 17th after beating KC 4-3 we were back withing 5 games of .500 at 44-49 (.473) and again on July 20th after beating CLE 7-5 46-51 (.474) ... after that they went down like a submarine.

Sooooo... as bad as last year was it could be a lot WORSE. Something to be watching for as the 'L's start adding up this season.

Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2011.shtml

Not sure how often historically but there were two teams last year who did, us and the Houston Astros. In 2010 only one team did, the Baltimore Orioles and that season the Pirates lost 105 games and even they still managed to hit .500 or better three weeks into the season. My guess is this does not happen very often--maybe one team on average per year if even that.

Having said that, we could be a candidate to do it back-to-back given how brutal our schedule is through the month of April.

A reason to watch - possibly in awe.

by **Ben** » Sun 4/08/12 7:50 am

Let's give the team some credit: At least they started 0-2 against a team expected to do great things. The Orioles were on fire after losing to a community college and their AAA affiliate last week on consecutive days.

by **gator** » Sun 4/08/12 11:27 am

Keeping my hopes up... this "could" be a long season of vending at Target Field.

by **theskillz** » Sun 4/08/12 6:13 pm

Two hits?

by **ScoobyDoo** » Sun 4/08/12 6:44 pm

theskillz wrote:Two hits?

That's pretty good. I thought it was one.

by **psych** » Sun 4/08/12 6:45 pm

theskillz wrote:Two hits?

Better than 0...I feel bad for Mauer though. He didn't have many chances to increase his GIDP total.

by **Beauner** » Sun 4/08/12 6:49 pm

psych wrote:
theskillz wrote:Two hits?

Better than 0...I feel bad for Mauer though. He didn't have many chances to increase his GDP total.

He's gotta pace himself though so it's probably for his own good.

by **JWG** » Sun 4/08/12 8:00 pm

So.... the Twinkies... how long until football?!

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Sun 4/08/12 8:58 pm

"Our pitching sucks."
-Mark Rosen undoubtedly on KFAN tomorrow morning.

by **dryfly** » Sun 4/08/12 9:59 pm

JWG wrote:So.... the Twinkies... how long until football?!

Vikings? Probably 2014 at the soonest.

by **HockeyBum** » Mon 4/09/12 7:23 am

0-7 against the Orioles going back to last year. Can't hit, pitch, or field. One of the worst teams in baseball has made us their bitch. Good thing our next 16 games are against pushovers like the Angels, Rangers, Yankees, Devil Rays, and Red Sox, or we'd really be in trouble.

by **sec 16 row16 seat 16 17** » Mon 4/09/12 7:52 am

could we be eliminated in april

by **gopher wes** » Mon 4/09/12 8:25 am

I have to say that I was only able to watch about and inning and a half of the Twins this weekend before I start. Thankfully I didn't miss anything. How long does this go on before Gardy starts feeling his butt getting a little warm? Obviously it is VERY early, but if they have a terrible skid to start the year....yeah.......

by **h8red** » Mon 4/09/12 8:29 am

Beauner wrote:
Six Hole wrote:
h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

Glad somebody mentioned this. I don't think I would have been so calm.

Yes. I meant what I said about Span. I have heard him in multiple interviews complaining about one thing or another...for example talking about Target Field outfield being too big & makes his job so much harder, the grass being too tall in the infield preventing more of his hits getting through, comparing the feeling of leaving for spring training and the long baseball season like he's going off to war in Afghanastan and Iraq. As far as I know he has never been enlisted in any part of the military let alone actually gone off to war. Who does he think he is? Typical cry-baby athlete who thinks of no-one else but himself & making excuses for why he sucks. I'm sorry if any of you have a man-crush on Denard Span but next time you see him see how approachable he is when you ask to spoon with him.

by **Beauner** » Mon 4/09/12 12:10 pm

h8red wrote:
Beauner wrote:
Six Hole wrote:
h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

Glad somebody mentioned this. I don't think I would have been so calm.

Yes. I meant what I said about Span. I have heard him in multiple interviews complaining about one thing or another...for example talking about Target Field outfield being too big & makes his job so much harder, the grass being too tall in the infield preventing more of his hits getting through, comparing the feeling of leaving for spring training and the long baseball season like he's going off to war in Afghanastan and Iraq. As far as I know he has never been enlisted in any part of the military let alone actually gone off to war. Who does he think he is? Typical cry-baby athlete who thinks of no-one else but himself & making excuses for why he sucks. I'm sorry if any of you have a man-crush on Denard Span but next time you see him see how approachable he is when you ask to spoon with him.

A career .284/.360 hitter in the leadoff spot with good outfield defense sure sucks. :roll:

Did he say a stupid thing with the Afghanistan/Iraq war? Yeah. But put a microphone in front of any athlete and you're going to hear stupid crap. Just like if you put a microphone in front of anybody else you're going to hear stupid crap.

As far as Span making comments about the outfield being too big or the grass being too long... Which Twins players HAVEN'T complained about Target Field? They complained about the trees in center. They complained about the dimensions. They complained about the big wall. They complained about it being too cold.

I've never heard Span complaining about Target Field realistically. The part about making his job harder is a simple fact. He's got more ground to cover than he did at the dome. It wasn't a complaint. He just said that Target Field's size makes playing CF more difficult. I didn't hear him make any excuses.

Get over yourself.

by **Six Hole** » Mon 4/09/12 2:32 pm

Apparently Joe can't catch an afternoon game when he played 1B the afternoon before.

by **Lars Sauve** » Mon 4/09/12 2:44 pm

From La Velle's blog:

Lineup note: It makes sense to sit Chris Parmelee against lefty C.J. Wilson. Ryan Doumit is behind the plate, Gardy said, because he hasn't played right field at Target Field yet and wanted him a day to get used to the park. Doumit was expected to get pre-game work in the outfield. "My thought was to just go ahead and catch Doums (Doumz? Dooms?) again, let Joe (play first) again and give Dooms a chance to run around in the outfield before I put him out there. I know the wind is going to be blowing. I know the sun could pop up out there. That might be a little much to ask him to do that right away. Let me give him a day out there.''

It gives (Trevor) Plouffe to get out there against this lefty, to."

by **Six Hole** » Mon 4/09/12 2:47 pm

Perfect Gardy-type of explanation.

by **h8red** » Mon 4/09/12 3:12 pm

Beauner wrote:
h8red wrote:
Beauner wrote:
Six Hole wrote:
h8red wrote: he's just not that good, neither is Span (besides, he's very smug & simply unlikeable).

Forget the part where you said Span isn't good: are you saying Span is smug and unlikable? Denard Span, CF for the Twins? That same one?

Glad somebody mentioned this. I don't think I would have been so calm.

Yes. I meant what I said about Span. I have heard him in multiple interviews complaining about one thing or another...for example talking about Target Field outfield being too big & makes his job so much harder, the grass being too tall in the infield preventing more of his hits getting through, comparing the feeling of leaving for spring training and the long baseball season like he's going off to war in Afghanastan and Iraq. As far as I know he has never been enlisted in any part of the military let alone actually gone off to war. Who does he think he is? Typical cry-baby athlete who thinks of no-one else but himself & making excuses for why he sucks. I'm sorry if any of you have a man-crush on Denard Span but next time you see him see how approachable he is when you ask to spoon with him.

A career .284/.360 hitter in the leadoff spot with good outfield defense sure sucks.
Did he say a stupid thing with the Afghanistan/Iraq war? Yeah. But put a microphone in front of any athlete and you're going to hear stupid crap. Just like if you put a microphone in front of anybody else you're going to hear stupid crap.

As far as Span making comments about the outfield being too big or the grass being too long... Which Twins players HAVEN'T complained about Target Field? They complained about the trees in center. They complained about the dimensions. They complained about the big wall. They complained about it being too cold.

I've never heard Span complaining about Target Field realistically. The part about making his job harder is a simple fact. He's got more ground to cover than he did at the dome. It wasn't a complaint. He just said that Target Field's size makes playing CF more difficult. I didn't hear him make any excuses.

Get over yourself.

I don't have a problem with myself so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to "get over". You can like the guy if you want. I don't really care one way or the other. If every Twin is complaining about Target Field maybe that's why they lost 99 games last year and have started 0-3 against a lowly Orioles squad. Just because you didn't hear him make any excuses doesn't mean he hasn't. So tell me, what's really the matter with you & why are you so upset that I'm not impressed with Denard Span as a player or my impression of him?

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Mon 4/09/12 3:39 pm

Six Hole wrote:Perfect Gardy-type of explanation.

Isn't that the truth.

Captain Coddler apparently thinks sun and wind are phenomena unique to Target Field. Of course, like many Gardyisms real world realities run completely counter to his rationale. Ryan Doumit has 54 career right field starts to Trevor Plouffe's nine. Leading one to logically question which of the two has more experience to combat those pesky right field weather advisories...

by **JWG** » Mon 4/09/12 3:54 pm

Didn't take the Twins long to fall behind today. Hard to start the year 4+ under .500. Though, with no improvements in the bullpen, closing position or starting rotation (or, frankly, anywhere) - I guess I didn't expect this team would be better.

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Mon 4/09/12 4:28 pm

JWG wrote:Didn't take the Twins long to fall behind today. Hard to start the year 4+ under .500. Though, with no improvements in the bullpen, closing position or starting rotation (or, frankly, anywhere) - I guess I didn't expect this team would be better.

It's a hitting league. You have to score runs. We don't score runs. Didn't all of last year. Haven't to start this year either.

I'm going to need a strait jacket listening to people talk about pitching after we keep losing games 3 - 1, 2 - 1, 2 - 0, 1- 0 all year long...

by **sunbone** » Mon 4/09/12 4:35 pm

Bushwood Gopher wrote:
JWG wrote:Didn't take the Twins long to fall behind today. Hard to start the year 4+ under .500. Though, with no improvements in the bullpen, closing position or starting rotation (or, frankly, anywhere) - I guess I didn't expect this team would be better.

It's a hitting league. You have to score runs. We don't score runs. Didn't all of last year. Haven't to start this year either.

I'm going to need a strait jacket listening to people talk about pitching after we keep losing games 3 - 1, 2 - 1, 2 - 0, 1- 0 all year long...

Do you expect this team to be as poor offensively as last year? If they stay healthy I don't think that at all. I'm not thinking '27 Yanks but about an average offense. And the pitching does suck. Want me to tighten the arms on that thing? :wink:

by **ScoobyDoo** » Mon 4/09/12 4:37 pm

I think they'll be worse offensively this year. And given the electric offense so far I may be right.

by **sunbone** » Mon 4/09/12 4:49 pm

ScoobyDoo wrote:I think they'll be worse offensively this year. And given the electric offense so far I may be right.

I wouldn't expect you to feel any other way, Scooby. :lol:

by **ScoobyDoo** » Mon 4/09/12 4:52 pm

sunbone wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:I think they'll be worse offensively this year. And given the electric offense so far I may be right.

I wouldn't expect you to feel any other way, Scooby.

Defense will be worse as well.

by **Alby22** » Mon 4/09/12 4:54 pm

sunbone wrote:
Bushwood Gopher wrote:
JWG wrote:Didn't take the Twins long to fall behind today. Hard to start the year 4+ under .500. Though, with no improvements in the bullpen, closing position or starting rotation (or, frankly, anywhere) - I guess I didn't expect this team would be better.

It's a hitting league. You have to score runs. We don't score runs. Didn't all of last year. Haven't to start this year either.

I'm going to need a strait jacket listening to people talk about pitching after we keep losing games 3 - 1, 2 - 1, 2 - 0, 1- 0 all year long...

Do you expect this team to be as poor offensively as last year? If they stay healthy I don't think that at all. I'm not thinking '27 Yanks but about an average offense. And the pitching does suck. Want me to tighten the arms on that thing?

I see them being worse. They will have atleast 4-5 guys in the lineup everyday that cant hit it too the warning track (Span, Carroll, Casilla, Mauer,Revere) on top of maybe 1-2 guys over 20 homers. When it takes 4 hits to get a run that makes it difficult. The outfield playing at 225 feet will steal plenty of hits from our pesky piranhas.

by **h8red** » Mon 4/09/12 4:55 pm

ScoobyDoo wrote:
sunbone wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:I think they'll be worse offensively this year. And given the electric offense so far I may be right.

I wouldn't expect you to feel any other way, Scooby.

Defense will be worse as well.

The defense started to fall apart once they lost Punto. Wait a minute, so did the offense. Maybe Punto is the key. He went to the Cardinals and they won it all. Let's get Punto back and everything will be fine!

by **ScoobyDoo** » Mon 4/09/12 4:58 pm

They have no identity. That's for sure. It was fun at least when it was the Piranha's. Now it's just poor pitching, poor hitting, and poor fielding.

by **sunbone** » Mon 4/09/12 5:02 pm

ScoobyDoo wrote:
sunbone wrote:
ScoobyDoo wrote:I think they'll be worse offensively this year. And given the electric offense so far I may be right.

I wouldn't expect you to feel any other way, Scooby.

Defense will be worse as well.

If Mauer, Morneau and Span stay healthy I don't see how the offense does not improve. I know those are big ifs, but just saying. I think the outfield defense could be worse, but by sending Nishi down the infield defense improved by leaps and bounds. We'll see. Don't think this is a good team by any means. Think they are about a .500 club. But I guess they better win a game soon if they are going to get there!

by **ScoobyDoo** » Mon 4/09/12 5:04 pm

And my response to that is Alexi Casilla.

Just this game both Carrol sp? and Casilla have errors.

by **Bushwood Gopher** » Mon 4/09/12 5:06 pm

sunbone wrote:
Bushwood Gopher wrote:
JWG wrote:Didn't take the Twins long to fall behind today. Hard to start the year 4+ under .500. Though, with no improvements in the bullpen, closing position or starting rotation (or, frankly, anywhere) - I guess I didn't expect this team would be better.

It's a hitting league. You have to score runs. We don't score runs. Didn't all of last year. Haven't to start this year either.

I'm going to need a strait jacket listening to people talk about pitching after we keep losing games 3 - 1, 2 - 1, 2 - 0, 1- 0 all year long...

Do you expect this team to be as poor offensively as last year? If they stay healthy I don't think that at all. I'm not thinking '27 Yanks but about an average offense. And the pitching does suck. Want me to tighten the arms on that thing?

Yeah, I think there's a good chance they are as bad offensively this year as they were last year, and a decent chance they're worse. They lost Kubel, Cuddy and Delmon--all guys that could hit for extra bases and drive in runs (please no Delmon jokes :wink:

). They added Josh Willingham, Ryan Doumit and Jamey Carroll. Who on this roster should we look to for extra base hitting ability besides Willingham? Maybe Morneau if he gets most of the way back but I view that as iffy. Mauer is what he is. The rest of the lineup looks like single hitters to me. Offensively we have no identity. Not a power hitting team. Not a speed/running team. I honestly don't even know how to describe them on offense besides just being bad.

The pitching isn't great by any means but it would still be functional enough (with a healthy Baker) to contend for the division if they could score runs like some of the other top teams.

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