Ah, those pesky Twins. Let's get this one over with.
Minnesota Twins
Record: 94-68 (AL Central Champions, six games ahead of Chicago)
Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Joe Mauer (.327)
Home Runs: Jim Thome (25)
RBIs: Delmon Young (112)
On-base Percentage: Joe Mauer (.402)
Pitching Leaders
Wins: Carl Pavano (17)
Strikeouts: Francisco Liriano (201)
Innings Pitched: Carl Pavano (221)
ERA: Francisco Liriano (3.62). Bullpen- Brian Duensing (1.80).
WHIP: Carl Pavano (1.19). Bullpen- Matt Guerrier (1.10).
Saves: Jon Rauch (21)
Highlight of the Year: On September 21, the Minnesota Twins clinched their sixth division title in nine years with a 6-4 victory over the Indians at home. The White Sox held up their end of the bargain, losing their game in Oakland 7-2 for the Twins to win the division outright instead of playing another one-game playoff.
Lowlight of the Year: Another year, another sweep at the hands of the Yankees, as Minnesota could not hold off the Bronx Bombers in the division series. They lost the third and final game of the series 6-1 in New York to wrap up their ninth straight postseason loss to the Yankees, and their 12th straight loss in the postseason overall dating back to 2004.
The Lowdown:
Playing their unique brand of baseball, the Minnesota Twins were able to outlast Detroit and Chicago once again for their sixth division championship since 2002. They really are a model of efficiency for small-to-mid-market teams to follow, as the Twins, even when faced with the prospect of crippling injuries, are able to plug in their holes time and again. It happened once again this year, as the Twins were missing two of their key pieces for the majority of the season. All-star closer Joe Nathan missed the entire season last year following Tommy John Surgery, and first-baseman Justin Morneau missed a significant amount of time during the second half of the season following a concussion. However, Minnesota persevered with a deep bullpen and a very consistent lineup. They were also able to maintain steady play throughout the season, as the team did not get into a really bad slump for an extended period of time. Plus, they were able to weather a furious charge by Chicago during the season, and their phenomenal head-to-head record against the Sox was one of the many reasons why the Twinkies ended up on top again.
Offense:
Minny's offense ran like a well-oiled machine once again, finishing sixth in MLB in runs (781), third in batting average (.273), second in on-base percentage (.341) and seventh in slugging (.422). Their consistency with driving runners in easily made up for their lack of home runs, as the team finished 19th in MLB with just 142.
The one player who personifies the consistency and relentlessness of their lineup has to be Joe Mauer, who put together another great season at the plate. While Mauer's power dwindled significantly (he fell to just nine home runs last year from 28 in 2009), he was still raking average-wise, finishing with a team-high clip of .327.
While the Twins weren't phenomenal in the home run department, they still had some players capable of busting the ball out of the park in a hurry. Delmon Young appears to finally be emerging as a force in the lineup, hitting a solid .298 with 21 home runs and a team-high 112 RBIs. Also, Jason Kubel still provided a touch of power, hitting 21 home runs as well.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of them all in the Twins lineup had to be the intimidating Jim Thome. The thing that was surprising about his season last year was the fact that he continued to be a threat at the plate power-wise, as he received more playing time once Justin Morneau went down with a concussion. Thome practically put the team on his back during August and September, as he went on a tear power-wise that saw him finish the season with a team-high 25 home runs. Thome stepping up to fill the void left by Morneau was huge, considering Morneau had a .345 average with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in just 81 games. What could have been a potentially dire situation for the Twins turned into just a minor setback once Thome came through.
Overall, this is one of the best lineups in baseball, and it's quite surprising that they don't receive more credit than they do.
Final Grade: A+
Pitching:
Once again, the Twins didn't feature a lights-out number one starter, but they did feature a stable of capable starters to keep them in ballgames more often than not. The best performance out of their rotation actually came from another unlikely source, as Carl Pavano had a renaissance year on the mound last year. Pavano finished with a 17-11 record with a 3.75 ERA in 221 innings, by far his best totals since 2004.
Backing Pavano up was another pitcher who had a renaissance year in 2010, as Francisco Liriano finally settled back down to be the pitcher many thought he would be when he burst onto the scene in 2006. Liriano finished 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA and a team-high of 201 strikeouts in 191 innings, great numbers from someone who people wondered if he would ever regain the form he featured during his rookie season.
While the rest of the starting rotation was merely average, their bullpen was anything but average, finishing eighth in MLB in ERA at 3.49. Even though they were missing Joe Nathan during the season, they received great performances from just about everybody else, as a whopping seven relievers finished with ERAs below 3.50. The team largely used two closers during the season, as Jon Rauch and Matt Capps each alternated duties, finishing with 21 and 16 saves respectively. Minnesota also received great performances in the set-up role from Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain, as each appeared in over 70 games and finished with ERAs of 3.17 and 3.04 respectively. The trio of lefties in Jose Mijares, Ron Mahay and Brian Duensing were also reliable, as Mijares and Mahay would finish with ERAs of 3.31 and 3.44 respectively, while Duensing was great as both a reliever and spot starter, finishing with a 1.80 ERA out of the bullpen.
The Twins would end up finishing 11th in MLB in ERA (3.95), eighth in WHIP (1.29), 16th in quality starts (86), 24th in "batting average against" (.266) and 12th in home runs allowed (155). While those stats aren't exactly outstanding, they aren't that bad, either.
Final Grade: B-
Wild Card: Delmon Young
At age 25, it finally seems as if Delmon Young is beginning to emerge as the player many thought he would be when he first came up with Tampa Bay in 2006. His .298 average with 21 home runs and 112 RBIs would all be career-highs, along with recording a career-low 81 strikeouts. After a great season like that at such a young age, I think Young is here to stay.
Final Grade: A-
Overall:
Minnesota had another great season, but they are really going to have to find a way to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Their poor showing in the first round is what will keep me from giving them an A+. Now that I'm finished praising the Twins, I can finally go wash my mouth out with soap.
Final Grade: A
Check back soon for the report card on the New York Yankees!
No comments:
Post a Comment