Same As It Ever Was

This would have been more appropriate when the Twins were officially eliminated from playoff contention, but I was busy.

This blog will be going on its semi-annual semi-hiatus, which is another way of saying that posting will be pretty infrequent around here until the semester ends.  I am now working almost full-time while going to school full time, and frankly I have neither the time nor the energy to try to put together coherent thoughts on a last-place baseball team.  The things I really want to address, like whether Bill Smith should be fired or if the Twins really need to rebuild, are best examined once the season is over.  I don't think the answer to either question is as obvious as it seems right now. 

I'll keep updating the 'Race to the Bottom' standings in the sidebar, and I hope to do a post about the Twins' options for the 2012 draft once the season is over.  For now, though, this is pretty much it.

No Perfecto For You

It is a little surprising that Zach Stewart nearly tossed a perfect game against the Twins.  Not so much because he is such a terrible pitcher (he's okay), nor because this is such a powerhouse of an offense; it's because this lineup likes to hack away at the plate.  The Twins swing away at 43.9% of all pitches, including 28.8% of those outside the strike zone, and they are very good at making contact at both pitches inside (89.0%) and outside the strike zone (70.8%).  Lineups that tend to make contact a lot are difficult to no-hit, since it is inevitable that at least some of the balls they put in play will fall in.  Of course, lineups like this are usually terrible at actual run production, since they don't have the plate discipline to wait for a good pitch to hit, or at least work a walk if they don't get one.

Haters Gon' Hate

Joe Mauer has been hurt a lot this season.  Unfortunately, even when he's been healthy his production has still been well below his typical Mauerian standards. He is the highest-paid player on the roster, and he will make bazillions more in endorsements, even though he has been worth only about $6.4 million according to Fangraphs.  People are frustrated and disappointed, and understandably so.  Still, it makes no sense for the front office to force a player who is owed $23 million a season over the next seven seasons to play through injuries now, when they have nothing left to play for but a top-five pick in next year's draft.  If they wish to gamble with the long-term health of someone like Michael Cuddyer, who might not even be a Twin beyond this season, well, that's their prerogative.