Saturday, May 19, 2012

Relax people...it was 3 games

Twins_Blue_Jays_2011
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

In typical early season fashion, Twins fans of all sorts are voicing concern over what happened to our favorite ball club this past weekend in Toronto. This happens every year to teams and fans across the country...so lets all do an exercise together to regroup:

Count with me while taking a deep breathe....2...3....4.....5....aaaannnnd release........2....3....4....5....

Now that we're all calm and collected...it's time to stop freaking out. I'm not going to dive in to excuses or theories about how difficult it can be to open on the road in...in Canada...in a "baseball stadium" that's indoors...versus a team that swings as hard as it can every time the bat comes of their shoulders. No, I won't do that.

What I will do is point out some things that, well, just happen in baseball. For example, Carl Pavano got drilled by Toronto last year as well (though Pavano did beat them in his final start of 2010). It's possible to "have a guys number" in baseball. It's also possible Pavano just didn't have his top stuff. But that's ok...he still ate up some innings, and he'll continue to do that. The Blue Jays hit a lot of home runs...and will probably hit more than they did last year in 2011. That doesn't bode well for a team that relies on off speed pitches. I don't know what the Twins pitching staff was telling Nick Blackburn and co. during Sunday's game, but it seemed that the Blue Jays were swinging at the first pitch as hard as they could EVERY SINGLE TIME. Not a bad approach vs a team that throws strikes...but that can get a pitcher off his rocker a little.

With that said, the Twins needed to adjust. It's not the end of the world to lose two of three on the road to open the season. Of course it doesn't make it easier having to travel to New York to play the Yankees for four games either...but it's a HUGE test to a team that SHOULD be able to handle it. Will they sweep the Yankees? No...probably not. But if they can be respectable and head back to Target Field with their heads up, we'll be fine. Detroit took care of business in New York yesterday, and there's no reason the Twins can't steal two games as well.

One little nugget on the offense for the Twins against Toronto: The Twins, like a lot of teams in baseball, go through "funks". The Twins are notorious for making young pitchers (Kyle Drabek) look good the first time they see them. Ricky Romero is a REALLY GOOD PITCHER...so you have to expect to NOT come out on top every time versus a lefty who has good stuff. Justin Morneau will take some time, though he was blistering the ball pretty well all weekend. Joe Mauer had a shorter spring training, Yoshi needs to get comfortable...etc etc. Better to lose two of three on the road than to lose them at home to open the season...right?

As for Francisco Liriano, yes...he wasn't great. That would have been a great statement game for him...but he walked far too many betters, had bad control, and his velocity was down. Again...he had a short spring training, so let's give him 3 or 4 starts (and a start or two at Target Field) before we start to criticise. He faces the Yankees next...and against that lineup, you can't expect 7 IP with 2 or less ERs. Could he do that? For sure...and lets hope he does. But for now...just enjoy the fact that baseball is back and that the Twins are a team that SHOULD be competitive all season, rather than deal with what fans in Pittsburgh and Seattle are dealing with.