With Joe Mauer hurt, the offense only very slowly getting going, and two debacles from Capps and Nathan, these past few days were pretty miserable for Twins fans.
The Manager of the Year trotted out a ridiculous lineup headed by Matt Tolbert and Alexi Casilla but somehow the Twins won. I am convinced that Gardenhire somehow does not understand that where one bats in the lineup affects how many plate appearances one will get. All things being equal, a lineup should be stacked according to OBP. The first inning may be the only time your "leadoff" hitter actually leads off and your "cleanup" man may be leading off just as much throughout a game.
Brian Duensing came through with a solid outing. That kind of solid outing is becoming a bit more common for the Twins these days, so I am not all that concerned about this 5-10 start. The offense can only improve.
Speaking of, Steve Holm and Jason Repko had two hits apiece. Indeed. Sometimes a team will win games with people like that contributing in big ways. A Twins lineup without Span, Nishioka (or the projection of him), Mauer, and Morneau looks totally ridiculous on paper and I hope Gardenhire never chances this again when everyone is healthy.
I feel bad for Alexi Casilla. I always liked him and thought he deserved a final chance. The time is fading though, especially with what's developing down on the farm. But that is for the next post.
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