Un Con Troll Able
07-02-2006, 03:30 PM
The link I provide at the bottom of this page is merely the recap summary to baseball game. But I wanted to tell you a little about my team -- the Minnesota Twins. With their victory today, the Twins have won 20 of their last 22 games. Eight games below .500 a little more than three weeks ago, they are now ten games above .500 (45-35). And yet, during that span, they have picked up only one and half games on first-place Detroit -- remaining ten games behind.
I don't know what will happen to my Twins over the rest of the season. They haven't had a player hit 30 or more home runs in 19 years. That is a light-hitting team. But, to their credit, they have won two World Series in the span (1987 and 1991).
They also have a problem with their starting pitchers rotation -- with two exceptions, to wit:
Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. Remember those names, baseball fans. I can promise you that your team will remember them after they face them.
Santana is the Prince of Darkness, a true ace who won the Cy Young in 2004 and should have received it in 2005 as well. He has an excellent fastball, a daunting slider, and a mind-blowing changup that looks exactly like his fastball but comes in 20 miles per hour slower. Santana does not merely get people out, he makes them look foolish. I once saw him deliver a changeup where he bled so much energy off the pitch that it bounced six feet in front of home plate -- and the batter swung at it. Santana leads the America league in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and he is near the top in opponents batting average. In June, he had six starts and went 5-0 with an ERA of 1.07. Today he was named AL Pitcher of the Month. Santana is only 27 years old.
Liriano is only 22 years old. He started out in the bullpen because the Twins didn't want to rush him. Since being promoted to the Twins starting rotation, he is 9-1 with an ERA of 1.99. In his outing today, he went eight shutout innings, gave up three hits and struck out 12. His stuff has been called "filthy" by opponents.
These same people call Santana's stuff "wicked."
And Liriano was AL Rookie of the Month for June. He has an excellent shot at Rookie of the Year and perhaps even the Cy Young.
Combined, Santana and Lirano are 19-2 in their last 21 decisions -- with a sub-2.00 ERA.
No team can truly say they have two aces on their staff -- although some can truthfully claim to have an overall superior pitching staff -- but, as of today, my Twins can say it.
Remember, you can't spell Twins without "win."
Oh, Santana pitches tomorrow.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260702109
I don't know what will happen to my Twins over the rest of the season. They haven't had a player hit 30 or more home runs in 19 years. That is a light-hitting team. But, to their credit, they have won two World Series in the span (1987 and 1991).
They also have a problem with their starting pitchers rotation -- with two exceptions, to wit:
Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. Remember those names, baseball fans. I can promise you that your team will remember them after they face them.
Santana is the Prince of Darkness, a true ace who won the Cy Young in 2004 and should have received it in 2005 as well. He has an excellent fastball, a daunting slider, and a mind-blowing changup that looks exactly like his fastball but comes in 20 miles per hour slower. Santana does not merely get people out, he makes them look foolish. I once saw him deliver a changeup where he bled so much energy off the pitch that it bounced six feet in front of home plate -- and the batter swung at it. Santana leads the America league in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and he is near the top in opponents batting average. In June, he had six starts and went 5-0 with an ERA of 1.07. Today he was named AL Pitcher of the Month. Santana is only 27 years old.
Liriano is only 22 years old. He started out in the bullpen because the Twins didn't want to rush him. Since being promoted to the Twins starting rotation, he is 9-1 with an ERA of 1.99. In his outing today, he went eight shutout innings, gave up three hits and struck out 12. His stuff has been called "filthy" by opponents.
These same people call Santana's stuff "wicked."
And Liriano was AL Rookie of the Month for June. He has an excellent shot at Rookie of the Year and perhaps even the Cy Young.
Combined, Santana and Lirano are 19-2 in their last 21 decisions -- with a sub-2.00 ERA.
No team can truly say they have two aces on their staff -- although some can truthfully claim to have an overall superior pitching staff -- but, as of today, my Twins can say it.
Remember, you can't spell Twins without "win."
Oh, Santana pitches tomorrow.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260702109