Doing the Little Things...Well...maybe not
by Skippy tastes better than Jiff on Sep 8, 2008 11:56 PM EDT
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In this season of ups and downs, I have realized that the Twins have quite a talented team. I have to give a half-bow to the Twins organization because the Twins have put together a team that can actually get hits on certain occasions, which had been one of my pet peeves over the years. On their acquistions, I will give them a B+.
On the other hand, teams like the Twins who do not rely on raw power to drub opponents into submission, do the little things well. That's the Twins's signature, isn't it? The answer is of course, "No way."
The recent meltdowns are a point in case. In a one-week span the Twins lost three games simply due to miscues in the field. On another occasion, not walking a batter and then falling behind the next batter so that you have to toss a waste-high watermelon on the inside portion of the plate, are considered as a part of doing the little things well. These problems have less to do about talent and more about preparedness and being ready to be in such situations, IMHO. Earlier in the year, when on the road against the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Twins played absolutely bizarro baseball. Four Twins' runners were gunned down on various miscues iduring one game.
Are the players to blame for this lack of readiness? That is the question that I put before you all.
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Well the players play the games...
…so I don’t see how you could blame anyone else
Blaming Gardenhire does no good, I’ve believed he should be fired since the end of 2003, at least blaming the players might lead to positive change.
by MNPundit on Sep 10, 2008 12:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Punto
It continues to puzzle me that Punto is supposed to be some kind of poster child of little ball for this club. AS I have said numerous times, he is the most fundamentally unsound player on the team, and one of the most fundamentally unsound players since Disco Dan Ford. If you take away all of his errors and “creative” plays that went horribly wrong, this team would be pretty good at doing the little things. My sense is that Punto is so bad at this that it makes the whole team look worse at it than it really is.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
by cmathewson on Sep 10, 2008 9:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
next year
Do you think the team will retain Punto?
I would imagine that group consensus (among us) is that they shouldn’t. But his stats from this year are pretty good and Gardy might threaten to quit if they don’t bring him back.
Still, he’s probably going to command at least $2m per year, for 2-3 years. Tolbert/Macri/Hughes should be able to do that role much more cheaply, and possibly provide an improved bat.
by snolls on Sep 10, 2008 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I just don't see how they bring Punto back
You listed the 3 players that could do what he does for this team.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be a parade down Nicollet Ave for him when he goes. It’ll be so sad to see Gardy cry that day
by caluofmn on Sep 10, 2008 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hope not
My hope is the Twins go out and get a real middle infielder, like Guzman or Hudson (moving Casilla to short). And I see Tolbert as the long-term utility guy. I don’t think you can afford $6-$8 million over three years for a utility player and Punto is not a championship caliber everyday player at any position.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
by cmathewson on Sep 10, 2008 10:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I'd love to see Hudson
in our middle infield, but it’s looking like he’ll be a Type A free agent. Would you be willing to give up the first rounder?
No thanks on Guzman, been there, done that.
by Adam Peterson on Sep 12, 2008 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
One thing they don't do well
is convert balls in play into outs. They are toward the bottom of the majors in this stat—otherwise known as defensive efficiency. This has something to do with the players acquired—Lamb, Young, Harris—as well as some of the alternatives they have turned to—notably Buscher.
by Eric in Madison on Sep 10, 2008 12:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Other announcers
The Twins reputation of “doing the little things” is not just a product of the Twin City media hype machine and Dickn’Bert. If you get a chance to listen to the other team’s announcers they will say the same things. Hawk and DJ have man-crushes on the Twins. LaFeev and Split gushed about the Twins’ hustle last night, while noting that they were not as good defensively this year.
The Twins have not executed like in years past, but here they are: one game out in September. They must be doing some things right and it is a major improvement over other clubs (Royals, for instance) who do very little “right.”
by wcooley on Sep 10, 2008 12:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The great mystery that is the Twins
Every year, the analysts look at the Twins roster and see a 75 win team tops. Often the Twins exceed those expectations by as many as 20 games. How do they do it? Well, it can’t be talent. So it must be that they do the little things right. When the national analysts refuse to say is that it is talent. This team continues to reload with unknown talent from the minors and wins despite not doing the little things right.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
by cmathewson on Sep 10, 2008 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A lot of talent is unknown
at the national level, plus we don’t ht many home runs. What are 90% of the highlights on SportsCenter? Yes, home runs. It also helps that our pitchers fly under the radar.
by Adam Peterson on Sep 12, 2008 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Narratives
It’s the same thing you see in political campaigns. For years and years and years, the Twins have been, in the eyes of the national sports media, the team that does the little things well. You know how lazy many sportswriters are — here, let me give you a paint-by-numbers column that runs in any national newspaper:
Twins winning?
— Small ball! Little things! Fundamentals! FieldTurf! Speed! Pitching! Chemistry!
Twins losing?
— No power! Small market! Free agent losses!
Lord knows that mainstream sports media is years behind the developments in just about every sport (exceptions like Jonah Keri or genuinely insightful folks like Peter Gammons excluded), and their “takes” on the Twins are no exception.
Hey, Sun-Times, where’s my million-dollar contract?
formerly known in these parts as adamb
by ravenfly on Sep 12, 2008 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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