Special thread for Greg, Ozzie fans, Ozzie's wife, agent, dentist

[caulfield12]

The homers got all excited early this season about their twinkies with the new staduim in place. But little did they realize the dome was their main weapon in staying competitive for the last decade. Without the dome Joe Mauer is a puch and judy singles hitter. Cuddyer, Kubel, and others won't put up the numbers they did in the past with the notable exception of Young. The pitching on the road is horrendous and not much better at home. The Sox manager was right withou the dome the twinks are dead.

 

Teams emulate their managers

When the guy in the dugout has no fire do you really expect the team to play with passion. Ozzie Guillen can be a jerk but he has the ability to get his club going. Losing is one thing but losing do to lack of effort is not the Twins way and its time Gardy shows some leadership. Too many of our guys look like baseball is just a job.

 

I love my team, but even I have taken to calling them the Two-Single Twins.

 

Twins are done

And why does it seem like Mauer gets a day off every other day? On second thought, that might be a good thing. Have you seen his batting average lately? Ouch.

 

I'm assuming

that Mauer will have tomorrow off too. We can look forward to Punto, Butera, pitcher. That will strike fear into Santana. He probably won't get much sleep tonight thinking about it.

 

Both Mauer and Moreau, and especially Morneau, need to assess their roles and stand up and take some real leadership. Actually, they should both watch the Mets telecasting of the game and listen to the New York announcers about their lack of good play.

 

The sun will come out tomorrow.

I remember when the Twins' manager used to, you know, like, say stuff or do things. Now all we get is some head-scratching and a shoulder-shrug

 

Guaranteed contract?

Is Mauer's contract guaranteed? For 8 years? At 23 million a year? That is a better con job on Bill Smith than Newman and Redford pulled on Robert Shaw in the sting. Only not as entertaining.

 

Lethargic? Listless? Lazy? Quitters!

Gardenfire has allowed his lethargic, listless, lazy approach to take root. Now, sad to say, they've become quitters.

 

Prediction

Twins in third place by July 4. Gardy goes bowling.

 

Twins

Not worth commenting on anymore. Gardy is regressing

 

Did you see

how the Mets hit and ran and pitched and caught the ball? I think the Twins used to do that.

 

Joe (Souhan), (La)Velle (Neal), and Howard (Star Trib writers)

Spring Training was fun and entertaining, but here's where you guys are really going to have to earn your money. The Ft.Myers restaurant thing was entertaining. Maybe it's time to do best bars to commiserate with fellow Twins fans. Hopefully things get back on track for your sakes as well as those of us who take this stuff seriously, (sometimes possibly too serious)

 

So when will Gardy

stop making excuses, admit his mistake and make some changes? Maybe he needs to pull an Ozzy... look what happened to the White Sox after that move?!

 

Pitching On A Hope And A Prayer

With no "Ace" and a staff of mediocre starters, the Twins tired arms may deliver the team right into third place by the time they return to Target Field. Everybody in baseball (even Souhan) is practically screaming for the Twins to trade for Cliff Lee, as he would be a great fit and would, by example, raise the level of everyone else on the pitching staff. Seattle wants to deal him (and his contract). Watch the Twins sit and watch Detroit go after him.

 

 

 

 

What's with the lack of energy?

Posted by Howard Sinker (www.startribune.com/sports)

 

Last update: June 25, 2010 - 9:16 AM

 

 

 

The Twins put together a stunning comeback on Saturday and take out one of the best pitchers in baseball on Sunday and then go to Milwaukee -- playing a team they have pretty much owned in recent years -- and play like the Baltimore Orioles. Thursday's performance, which most of us I'm guessing had the good fortune to miss for one reason or another, was marked by a dismal enough showing for Justin Morneau to express concern about a lack of energy.

 

The Twins didn't exactly get after it in Milwaukee, much less do the little things rights ... or battle their tails off ... or even do the things that fans have a right to expect of them (and that players should expect from themselves).

 

Playing without energy, or whatever, makes the current group look like spoiled children who expect others to do more and more for them while they do less and less.

 

I had been pondering the energy issue a couple of weeks back, and again after the Nick Blackburn puker in Philadelphia last Friday. I was starting to wonder if the Twins, for all of their talent, were missing Orlando Cabrera.

 

It was Cabrera who gave the Twins a dugout presence last season when he arrived from Oakland. And while I tend to minimize that sort of fire in favor of production -- Cabrera had a .313 on-base percentage batting in the No. 2 spot and was inconsistent in the field (11 errors in 57 games) -- when a star player like Morneau starts talking "energy," it makes me wonder.

 

This is the part of the season -- interleague play -- that the Twins typically own. They will need to beat the Mets 2 out of 3 to finish this year's version at .500. That will be followed by a stretch against the Tigers, Rays, Jays and White Sox during which the kind of play current on display, if continued, could easily land them in third place in their winnable division.

 

The Twins are a team that have been doted on by their management and fans -- new ballpark with fabulous facilities, an upgraded roster and daily capacity crowds. In addition, they are playing in a division that doesn't feature the three best teams in baseball. (And they are finished with the Yankees and Red Sox, at least until October.)

 

The Twins shouldn't need a flawed cheerleader like Cabrera to make them right.

 

For "energy" to even be an issue is lame.

**

 

A few weekend-starting thoughts:

 

If you like the idea of Michael Cuddyer at third base to get more offense, you'll have to live with balls he can't get to. There were two balls hit in Wednesday's game that I would have bet on a more skilled third baseman handling. And I'm not putting a failed double-play turn that night on him as much as Orlando Hudson's slow turn at second. Cuddyer wasn't a good third baseman back when he played the position regularly and he's no better at the position now. And as much of a Cuddyer fan as I am, there would be no harm in sitting him now and again with Delmon in left and Jason Kubel in right.

 

The fifth spot update: Cuddyer is batting .229 with runners in scoring position with a .302 on-base percentage and a .337 slugging percentage. Delmon is batting .379 in those situations with a .397 OBP and .576 slugging percentage. Delmon's OPS with runners in scoring position is 333 points higher than Cuddyer's. Delmon has 47 RBI in 241 plate appearances; Cuddyer has 33 in 294.

 

Perhaps moving the player with the team's second highest OPS up in the batting order would impart some, ummmmmmm, energy into the lineup.

Edited June 26, 2010 by caulfield12

[greg775]

I liked the post.

Seems to me you could check any team in baseball not hot right now and their manager would be getting put on the skillet.

 

I have tried to say on here that you can second guess any manager in every loss and it's a cliche to do so.

The key is for the manager to know the game (Ozzie knows the game; he's been in the game forever) and be passionate and cares about his players and winning. If you watch Ozzie when a guy excels (the hugs, the throwing up of the arms on Paulie's bombs) you see the passion.

The nickle and dime problems some have with his lineups/in game decisions. You could b**** about any manager the same way.

Thanks for the excellent post.

[beautox]

if i have learned anything about the central it is this; never count out the twins. ever. they're 4-6 over their last ten but all three teams in this race in the central have glaring flaws.

[greg775]

That's true. Hopefully the new stadium has foiled their mojo, however.

They were annually unstoppable in the baggie-dome.

[JohnCangelosi]

That's true. Hopefully the new stadium has foiled their mojo, however.

They were annually unstoppable in the baggie-dome.

They're 23-13 at home and 17-20 on the road this year. So far they've been better at Target field than at the rollerdome, albeit a real small sample size...

[greg775]

Hopefully they'll come down to earth at home. Before long we're going to have to start playing AL teams again.

[Quin]

Funnily enough, I met an assistant to Ozzie's dentist when I went to camp early this summer, he was my counselor.

 

He too, said Oney is an ass.

[chw42]

Overreaction much? Jeez.

[elrockinMT]

It's along season and it's great when you are wimnning. We need to stay on an even keel and play hard. I have no doubt that will happen. The Twinkies are a good team as are the Tigers, but we are just as good. I am guessing we will have a a great summer baseball race