I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed that, prior to Tuesday's game, none of the pitchers expected to be on the Twins' staff had so much as given up a single earned run. So, how crazy-good are that group's stats at this ridiculously early point? And how is our projected lineup doing?
The answer is: pretty darn crazy-good. The group consisting of Baker, Slowey, Blackburn, Pavano, Liriano, Guerrier, Neshek, Rauch, Crain, Mijares, and Condrey have a combined 0.84 ERA and 0.84 WHIP (coincidentally), with 21 K and 7 BB in 32 innings. Only Pavano has given up any ER.
Meanwhile, the lineup of Span, Hudson, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel, Hardy, Young, and Punto are not too shabby themselves, with a combined slash-line of .295/.364/.462.
Ah, the joys of small sample sizes and inferior opponents...