Mediocrity resides in the Twins Outfield
Driving home from an appointment this afternoon had the game on the radio. Listened to Morneau take a walk in the bottom half of the 3rd inning putting a guy on second and 1st with two outs with Cuddyer coming up and immediately said "end of the inning." Cuddy follows suit and pops out. Can you say predictable - I knew you could. As we have discussed, our outfielders are treading water in a sea of retarded production. So I looked at some numbers to give me some insights into what in the wide world of sports is going on. Along with Gomez, Cuddy, and Young I lumped Kubel and Monroe into the mix to make it a 5 horse race; considering they all hit between .238 (Kubel) and .274 (Cuddy) it really ain't much of a horse race, feels more like a potato sack rack, but here is what I found:
1. Least suckiest - Gomez
Yes, he strikes out a ton (41 times 147 ABs) and his .272 batting average might make you think twice but he is this Twins team's All-Star outfielder at the plate. His speed has a lot to do with it but he holds a .709 OPS (.301 OBP), a .417 BA w/RISP (sure he has only 14 RBIs but at least when batters 7, 8, 9 get on base, he can get them home) and has an inspiring 16 stolen bases. I probably have the most confidence in him than any of the other 5 of making something happen when he is up. I can't understand most of what he says during the post game but it sounds like he is at least having fun.
2. Least suckiest but still rather sucky - Monroe
Long this blog's debate, I think Monroe has taken over Kubel in who you want at the plate so far this season. Yes, I love controversy. Monroe's .270 BA is crappy and like Gomez he likes to swing at most anything that comes his way (25 ks in 74 ABs) but he has shown some power with his 4 home runs (proves the point at how feeble this team is in power hitting that he is 3rd in home runs) and is .318 w/RISP. But Jan, 'what do we have in Craig Monroe' you might ask? I have no idea.
3. Middle sucker on a relatively short line of suckers - Cuddyer
Only by default is he number 3 on this list, if Young and Kubel weren't so much worse he would have been lower. I actually want him to be lower so I can bitch about it more. Can you tell that I am really down on him right now? Isn't he suppose to be good? Didn't we sign him to a long term deal because he was "good"? Overall, his numbers are 'fine'; he is hitting .274 which is leading this group (don't go patting yourself on the back quite yet Cuddy) and is the most patient at the plate (12 K's in 84 ABs) and is third in this group with an OPS .691. But we want more. We deserve more ("We" as in the royal "We.") What also kills me is that he ground into double plays 4 times, I know Mauer and Morneau have done it more but you aren't batting .330 and .302 so you don't get the benefit of the doubt plus because I don't trust you each time you do it it is magnified. I don't know, he plays uninspiring baseball if you ask me. Is that wrong of me to say?
4. Really sucking it up - Young
Delmon, Delmon, Delmon, stop asking your dad for advice at the plate and actually listen to your coaches cause you are brutal and NOT fun to watch or root for. I had high hopes for you D, really I did, but you lost me at your .270 BA, .250 w/RISP, and the fact that you ground out twice as much as you fly out (I don't know, I feel like you should be getting the ball out of the infield.) Oh, and stop watching film on Cuddy, you too have ground into double plays 4 times, it is unbecoming.
5. Just plane sucks - Kubel
The numbers once told us he was the best hitter on the team. Well, the numbers are now telling us the exact opposite. I get it, you are having a slump, we all have slumps but if I don't "carry the one" on a report that I do doesn't mean the same thing as going 0-15. You're hitting .238, sure you have 5 HRs and 21 RBIs, whoopee, your OBP of .252 is killing me. I want you to be good, I really do but this isn't the start of something beautiful, it's how you are going to find yourself in Rochester (again.)
Maybe it was the O'fer against the Blue Jays who hadn't scored in something like 31 innings straight at one point this season that is making me mad or that we just took 3 of 4 from the Red Sox and now can't buy a W or maybe I am just putting way too much into this but I think MCA is right this team feels more like they could put together a 9 game losing streak faster than they could a 9 game winning streak and it starts (or ends as the case may be) at the plate and these mooks have a lot to do with it all.
5 Comments:
Remember when we had too many outfielders? It was no big deal trading Lawton , we had like 6 guys waiting who could play the position. Heck, Buck Buchanon (sp) could crack into this line up. I gaurantee he would have better production than Cuddy at this point.
Cuddy gets my vote for most frustrating. I agree Jan, he is soooooo predictable. It is along the same lines of those early years when we were waiting for him to prosper. Delmon Young is second on my list of most frustrating. I had high hopes for this guy. Kubel would never even have registered with me had MCA not touted him.
May 16, 2008 at 7:55 AM
I think MCA is in a Kubel like slump. If you look at MCA's numbers (Duke undergrad, Michigan law) he should be the best blogger on this site. We all know he has had his moments and can go 4-4 with both his wit and dedication to grammar. It really is being able to sustain the output.
I could pitch to Cuddy and get him out. Next time you get the opportunity to watch him bat and he gets two strikes on him, dollars to doughnuts he gets a slider down and away (like way 'away' - outside the strike zone) that he lunges at in a Gomez-esque swipe to go down swinging.
May 16, 2008 at 9:56 AM
Guys, awesome work the last two days. I have been in NY for work, so am a bit behind, but everything I have read is insightful and awesome.
How do we get swept by the Jays after our bad-ass 3-of-4 vs. Boston?!?? BRUTAL. Also, does Matt Stairs totally kill us or what?!? He must bad .500 and slug 1.000 against us...seriously.
Great observations on the D this year...this was always our calling card, but it's been embarassing this year.
Gotta run...MCA, where are you?
May 16, 2008 at 2:19 PM
P.S. I like flip-flops. Maybe it's a CA thing, but they are perfect with jeans when the temp is in the 60s (which is much of the year here in SF). A little too cool for shorts, but a little too hot for shoes...so you do a little hybrid approach. Plus, as Jan points out, it's a nice chilled-out, but nice enough, look when going out or to a mellow dinner.
May 16, 2008 at 2:23 PM
Sorry, dudes. Operating on the average 4 hours of sleep I've been getting this week left me somewhat uninspired to jump into the engrossing and uniquely enriching discussion of the etiquette of flip-flops. For the record, they were commonly known as thongs until the mid- to late-'90s, they're acceptable with lightweight summer cotton or linen pants, are an indication of arrested development or inability to match weather-appropriate items if worn with jeans after age 26 (like shorts with a fleece), and should be replaced yearly. And the reason birkenstocks in winter looked ridiculous was the socks, not the birks.
I have two hours of work left to do this afternoon and have to leave the office in about two hours, and yet, my dedication is so thorough that I came to this blog to see what was up. And what do I get? Personal callouts and trash-talking. Nicely played, friends. Nicely played. (Cue a single tear rolling down my cheek). You guys are like Yankees fans. It's nice to know I'm considered on a par with the Twins outfield rotation, though.
Just kidding. Just please don't give up on us yet. Give it some time - there's talent there, and there's a history of decent production from all of us, other than Gomez. We'll heat up again. (Might be another week or so for me, though, and I'll be in Vegas next Monday and Tuesday).
I share the frustration on the Jays. Someone with time please look up our record against them the last 5 seasons. I'd bet it's about a .333 win percentage. They've replaced the Orioles as the team that inexplicably gives us a ton of trouble.
Can we discuss the Indians rotation? Who are these guys (other than CC and Fausto)? They've got two dudes I know nothing about with like sub-2.00 ERAs. The Central race could be over by June 1 (Detroit swept by Kansas City? AGAIN? That's not what legitimate contenders do). I'm sure Fox Sports is psyched about the upcoming Arizona/Cleveland World Series.
May 16, 2008 at 2:41 PM
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