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The Twins have an off-day today for the first time after eight games against three different teams. After eighth games, the Twins are 3-5, and have had their share or ups and downs in just over a week. The offense has been pretty quiet, but has shown some signs of breaking out. Overall, the pitching has been better than expected.
I thought it'd be good to take a look at some things going on after eight days of play.
He's a Game Changer:
Carlos Gomez has had some rough spots so far. Most notably striking out more than he would like. But overall, he has been good, and may have single handedly won two of the team's three games.
After eight starts in center, Gomez is hitting .333 with five stolen bases. His fielding has been what we expected, he has tracked down some tough balls with his speed, and his arm has for the most part kept people from taking an extra base.
In two of the team's three wins, Gomez collected multiple hits and stole two bases. The Twins went on to win both of these games by one and two runs. Gomez was the key to each win, putting himself into scoring position with his speed.
If Go-Go can hit around .300 this season, he'll be a big part of the offense and should be able to score quite a few runs.
They're Young, So What:
Coming into the season, the biggest question was the team's young pitching staff. While it has been just two games, and might be a little early to judge the staff, if what we've seen so far is an indication of things to come, age won't be a problem this year.
Through eight games, the Twins have gotten at least six innings from their starter in six games. In five of those six, the starter went seven innings. The only two games in which the starter didn't go at least six innings were Slowey's first start when he was injured after just over three innings, and Blackburn's second start when he pitched five innings allowing two runs.
If the Twins can continue to get long outings from the staff, they'll be able to go to eleven pitchers and get another hitter on the bench.
Tolbert Playing Well:
Matt Tolbert may have been the twenty-fifth man, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the way he has played thus far. With family issues for Everett and sickness to Harris, Tolbert has already received nearly a handful of starts just eight games in.
So far, he is making the most of his chances. Tolbert has made multiple spectacular plays in the field, and at the plate has looked even better. He has collected hits in every game but his pinch hit performance, and has collected more than one hit multiple times. If he keeps up his effort, Tolbert could be a starter at short or second by season's end.
Bullpen Pretty Sharp:
After eight games, the bullpen has looked very good with the exception of just one game. Joe Nathan has been brilliant, locking up three saves in three chances. Other than one poor outing, Neshek has looked very good in the tight jams that he has faced. And guys like Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain have looked pretty good too.
The one guy that still hasn’t found his way, and might never regain it again is Juan Rincon. It wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t make it through the whole season, and it’s already clear that he won’t be used unless the Twins are down or up by a lot.
If the bullpen can continue pitching well, the Twins should be able to win most games if they have the lead after seven.
Congrats Gardy:
A final thought after eight games is about Ron Gardenhire. Gardy has surprised us fans so far this season, using Nick Punto the only time he should be used -- late game defense. Punto has received just one start, but other than that has only entered the game as a pinch-runner and to play late-game defense at third.
Gardenhire has also managed the catching position well so far, starting Mauer in seven of the team’s games and managing his time so that he could even play in a day game followed by a night game.
Lets hope his early trends continue with Go-Go starting in center for ever game over Span while Cuddyer is out.
I plan on having some sort of notes on Liriano’s outing tonight. Tomorrow there will be a game posting for tomorrow night’s game against the White Sox.
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