By TwinsWin83
*The Twins are 8-4 right now in Spring Training and are playing at a .667 clip. So the only way I can figure it is that level of play should automatically transfer over into the regular season, meaning the Twins will go 108-54 this year. Awesome.
*Kevin Slowey reminds me of Brad Radke more every time I see him pitch. Let’s just hope he
doesn’t end up serving up dingers to opposing hitters at record pace like Radke did throughout the second half of his career. You have to figure since the Twins no longer have Radke, Silva or Santana in their rotation the staff should give up quite a few less home runs this season. *A little less than three weeks to go before the season opener and we still don’t have a clue who will be starting in center come March 31st. Many think Carlos Gomez will get the gig but Denard Span seems to finally be playing up to his potential and according to Twins beat writer Kelly Thesier, Jason Pridie is the most consistent of all three on both the offensive and defensive end.
So what does it all mean? Well, the best I can guess is that they will give the opening day job to Gomez and everyone in the front office will be hoping and praying he takes the job and runs with it so that the average Twins fan doesn’t feel like the Johan trade was a complete wash when it came to the 2008 season. If Gomez can’t produce, look for one of the other two to jump in and get a chance to show what they can do at the Major League level.
*Phil Humber had a nice outing yesterday. I'm trying not to get too excited over a Spring Training outing but if Humber was able to grab that 4 or 5 spot in the rotation and pick up 12 or 13 wins this season that would not only be a huge boost to the team but it would also take some pressure off the rest of the young rotation. It would also make the Johan trade look a little less haunting.
*I was listening to Common Man yesterday and he was talking about how he felt if the Twins would have started Glen Perkins in Game 3 of the 2006 ALDS in Oakland instead of the ailing Brad Radke that Minnesota would have won the game and eventualy the series. He then stated such a win would have started a chain of events that would have led to the team winning the World Series that year and ultimately change the path of the organization forever. Now I know that Common is known for making ridiculous statements, most of which he knows just as well as his listeners are not serious, but this one had me thinking.
It's hard to say what would have happened had Perkins started Game 3, I mean the Twins were already down two games to none, but the 2006 squad was a streaky team and one win could have gotten the ball rolling. I firmly believe the 2006 squad was the best Twins team of my young lifetime, (yes I know that means they were better than the two World Championship teams) and they did have to potential to ride a hot streak right past the Tigers and Cardinals, who they would have met after the A’s that postseason.
If the Twins did win the World Series that year it could have changed the entire path of the organization as players like Hunter and Santana might have taken a discount price to remain a Twin and other big name free agents might have started to take a more serious look at coming to Minnesota. The financial windfall alone from winning a World Series would have provided the team with a bigger budget. I know these are all a lot of what if’s but I just thought Common raised an interesting discussion topic. What if Perkins had started in Game 3 instead of Radke? Where would the Twins as an organization be now, in the same place or somewhere completely different?
8 comments:
That's all very interesting. I'd never thought about the possibility of Glen Perkins starting game 3. Still, yuck. That "what if" game always makes me feel vaguely ill. You could second guess something like that forever.
Don't tell me that you think Perkins would have made that difference in the first place. He would have blown it worse than Radke did. If you would have had the option to say Santana, then and only then would there be an argument continuing into the possibilities of the aftermath.
I really hope Gomez can prove to us that he deserves that spot. He has such potential.
108-54 here we come!
Thats a good point Holmer. Im not sure Perkins would have made any kind of difference but he did start out his major league career in Sept. of 06' on a bit of an upswing and could has channeled his inexperience into a surprising win in the playoffs. You never know.
I think the bigger question is what if the Twins were to win Game 3 of that series. Would it have mattered in either the short or long run? A win in Game 3 means Santana back on the hill in Game 4. Its an interesting scenerio to ponder.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t end up serving up dingers to opposing hitters at record pace like Radke did throughout the second half of his career.
Uh... what? Radke never even led the AL in HR allowed during the second half of his career. Hardly a "record pace."
Most Home Runs allowed in Twins History
1. Brad Radke-326 in 378 games
2. Jim Kaat-279 in 484 games
3. Bert Blyleven- 243 in 348 games
I would say thats a record holder and a record pace giving up that many home runs in that many games.
Generally I agree with tricia - i don't like the What If game. Especially since what you/common were suggesting had no chance in hell of happening. Its simply not the Twins Way to hand a playoff start to a guy like Perkins. Kenny Rogers and Kyle Lohse have both been angry about not getting playoff starts. Now if you wanna get into the business of questioning the Twins Way of doing things, that's another sack of potatoes.
One what-if that I do like (mostly because it flies in the face of the whole Mauer As Golden Boy Savior mentality) is the one about Mauer Vs Prior. The argument is that we would have won the world series in 2003 if we had drafted Mark Prior.
it's PhilLIP Humber. He made sure to point that out the first day of camp. His new nickname is now, Phillip 'don't call me Phil' Humber.
I think Jason Pridie will start in CF on opening day. I don't know why I think that.
My biggest issue with the 2006 twins playoff was well, obviously the offense was poopy diapers, but I think our bullpen was worse than our starting pitching.
The turning point in the series for me was when they brought in Jesse Crain to face Frank Thomas instead of Neshek. I'm not an absolute crain hater, but I thought neshek was absolutely the right person to go in and take care of the big hurt. I remember earlier in that year when neshek made thomas look like an absolute child in 3 or 4 pitches.
By the time I realized that crain was going in instead of neshek...frank unloaded.
I love the "ifs" in sports.
Pridie has a very good chance of being that guy due to the fact that Gomez is hitting a dreadful .148 thus far.
On that note, I'm not counting out the tenacious Denard Span as an option a little further down the road. He has been waiting in the wings for this opportunity for a few years now. Ron likes these kinds of dreams to come true for guys who stick around and prove themselves.
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