Game 51: Minnesota Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays
by Jesse on May 30, 2009 3:40 PM EDT
in Game Threads
147 comments
Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays, May 30, 2009 4:10 PM EDT
First Pitch: 3:10pm CDT
TV: FOX
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: DRays Bay
Starting Pitchers
One start for the phenom price, and it was definitely anticlimactic. Which pretty much means he's due to blow the Twins out of the water. The man is a prodigy, with a fastball in the upper-90's and a slider in the upper-80's. In his minor league career, here are his vitals: 2.69 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 0.8 HR/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.18 WHIP. Being a fan of the Twins is great, but if you're a fan of baseball in general you're in for a treat tonight.
After bleeding to death in the fourth inning of his last start, Liriano needs to find a way to mesh his abilty to send hitters down on strikes in waves with some control. It just needs to happen, because all the talent in the world doesn't mean anything if you give up runs like Liriano has this season. The Twins need him to step up and be the ace he's always been meant to be, and I'm sincerely hoping he can do that this afternoon.
Unfortunately Jason Kubel is out of the lineup tonight, but on the plus side Carlos Gomez is getting another night in center field. Alexi Casilla gets a start at second base after getting recalled after Friday night's game, and I know I'll be watching to see if there are any signs he's learned something by getting sent down.
0 recs |
147 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
I don't think it's come to that quite yet.
But no question, it’ll happen eventually if he doesn’t start to show improvement.
I think he has some more time, but he for sure needs to start improving. I think he still has some great stuff, he just needs to change from trying to be an overpowering pitcher to a control type pitcher that uses the nasty pitches to get strikeouts.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions
It'd be nice if he could develop a fourth pitch.
Or at least he needs to be able to throw all three pitches in any count.
For strikes.
And...
..I think one thing that really hurts him is his composure. He’s done really well at times, but in tough situations or after a few hits in row, he loses himself.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder if
it frustrates him that he can’t just sling it and K people now.
Pitching is so much of mental thing as well as the physical.
IDK
That pitch to Pena looked good. This ump has been tight both ways; basically he sucks.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I really hope...
…that he’ll be the bottom-of-the-order hitter that the team has been missing.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions
More than anything...
…I just don’t want to see him start for a while. I can’t take it right now. The team can’t win on the road, and he doesn’t help that.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Good inning for Liriano!
Not a bad two innings, a little help from the DP in the first and a good second. Solid start!
Finally Span gets his first hit in his hometown. Great bunt, and great backup by the Rays to save him from going to second or even third.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 4:50 PM EDT reply actions
Weak bouncing grounder for Morneau,
but enough to score Span. Good trade right there.
Mauer advanced to third, he should score on a sac fly.
I don't mind if it's swinging...
…but he and Cuddyer look at A LOT of pitches.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions
At .241 with 9 homeruns and 22 RBI, Crede has been pretty good. He’s a career .250 hitter, so it’s what we should expect. He and Cuddyer are strikeout prone however.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 4:57 PM EDT reply actions
glad they are facing Price of 09' instead of 08'
although 08’ would have been in the post season… well you guys know what I mean
A) This ump has a very small zone. B) Here we go again…
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:00 PM EDT reply actions
I hope not.
He needs to show some focus, right now.
Between him and Baker, they need to start minimizing these big innings.
two things
1. Crede should have scored on Price’s error.
2. Not to beat a dead horse, but we need to start hitting with RISP.
I don't think it's a big issue...
…at home. They seem to do pretty well when at the Dome for the most part, but when they’re on the road they can’t get a hit with RSIP to save their lives. They went 4-38 in the New York series.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions
well considering how many road games they have ahead of them
I’d say that is a big issue regardless of how they’ve done at the Dome
And yes...
…Ullger cost the Twins a run by not sending Crede.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
I’m watching on TV with Gameday up too. On that last at-bat, there was a ball overlapped on the previous pitched which was called a strike.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Nicky is going to hit 40 homers
Now there is some positive thinking.
Founding member of the Dick Jauron Fan Club.
I'd say...
…it’s safe to say that this is the same Liriano as we saw last time. Something needs to change; they cannot get to the playoffs like this.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:06 PM EDT reply actions
This is a huge inning for Franky.
A) He limits the damage, gets out of the jam and our offense has a chance to get that one back. or
B) He blows up and the Twins are in an even bigger hole, with an inept looking offense.
It'll need to be very limited...
…I’m not sure we’re scoring a lot today.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions
He's already done that for the day...
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions
He picks off Crawford and then he still loses Longoria.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:16 PM EDT reply actions
Watching Liriano pitch is frustrating.
They need to place him on the DL with some made-up injury and let him make some starts in the minors.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:21 PM EDT reply actions
Like they did with Punto? haha I always wonder how much of that goes on.
by hitormiss1414 on May 30, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know if that's a good answer for him anymore.
He CAN do it, he just needs to get his head in the right place, maybe check some mechanics. I wouldn’t mind sending him to the bullpen when Perkins comes back, but for right now I’m not on board with the minors idea.
My frustration toward Liriano's outing
is only amplified by the sinking feeling that our offense will not even be able to score two more runs.
I agree...
I don’t think they will score. We can win all the games we want at home, but we won’t be close in the end if we can’t win on the road. We are THE WORST team on the road this season. That’s pretty brutal.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Leave him in
let him see how far away he is from being the pitch he was.
This isn’t a little league game.
That inning really sucked.
I am getting sick of watching the Twins get owned a) on the road and b) by the AL East.
They're awesome...
..to watch at home. But everytime they head on the road it gets frustrating to watch them go on losing streak. A loss today would send them to 5-16.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
What a horrible inning.
His last time out in the fourth, the Red Sox got lucky before the big blast. This time, Liriano just shot himself in the foot over and over. And over. And over. And over.
I don’t know if it’s his head or his mechanics or both…but right now Liriano is absolutely coming undone.
Only one other starter in ALL of baseball has a worse ERA than Liriano.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:29 PM EDT reply actions
Is it just me or...
..do you only feel confident that the Twins can get hits until after Crede hits?
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:32 PM EDT reply actions
From Harris through Casilla (until he proves he’s back) I don’t ever have confidence that the Twins will get on base.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions
sometimes it just feels like this team rolls over after an inning like the last
but they are only down by 3… plenty of time boys!
He's good...
..but the Twins are making him look much better than he is IMO. They have a very strikeout-prone lineup with guys like Gomez and Young and he’s capitalizing.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Crede playing
once every four days is pretty annoying.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions
They really needed to take advantage of all those home games to start the season
and they FAIL’d in that regard. Now they are going to have be road warriors and they just don’t have it in them
Crede pulled a muscle...
I’m guessing DL for him.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions
Its been said before, but when Perkins returns to the rotation..
.. Liriano needs to go to the bullpen. Startrek can move into the rotation full time.
Yeah
He sounded a little pissed about it. I would be too if I had to deal with a guy that leaves a few times each week with a muscle injury.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
To me
he seems like he’s really “soft”. I’m guessing guys like Morneau and Mauer play through similar things all the time.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm not sure about that, either. He's spent a lot of time on the DL.
And when one thing is hurt, you compensate by using other parts of your body. If Crede’s back is healthy, he may have worn out his legs during the process. Who really knows. He just doesn’t strike me as the soft type.
Upton: K'd
Much better inning for Liriano. Nice of the defense to turn that ground ball into two out for him, instead of letting it bleed through.
It sounds like Crede fouled a ball off his knee. Not anything with his muscle. He’s getting x-rays.
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 6:02 PM EDT reply actions
can we just release him?
@ the end of this season the Twins may have to just admit, Delmon is just not going to find success in MN.
The Twins have struck out 12 times today…
by Twins Territory on May 30, 2009 6:16 PM EDT reply actions
Man it's tough to get a read on this team from game to game.
Which, naturally, is a sign that the Twins are extraordinarily mediocre right now.
Great hustle by Cuddyer down the line, but Zobrist makes a nice throw across his body to get him at 1st.
Things continue to not look good.
southern vamps coming out to society wanting their rights
southern christians all pissy b/c they’re dead and lots of naughty bits all over the TV
Nice line drive by Gomez, Harris to third.
One more base hit and the tying run can come to the dish. We need to get to the top of the order.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Padres just scratch their heads as losing streak reaches 10
- The Juice: Marlins get off the deck, stun Braves in extras
- Papelbon's implosion, comment, make Red Sox want to scream
- Rangers fall after Young gets touchy feely with third base coach
- Tony La Russa vs. Colby Rasmus: Who ya throwing overboard?
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
