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The Minnesota Twins are going through a rough patch, and everyone is up in arms. Let’s just pump the breaks.
COVID-19, injuries and newcomers have all played a role in this current 2-12 stretch.
Take a deep breath and think back to 2006. In early June, the piranha-filled team was sub-.500. By the end of July they were still 8+ back from the AL Central-leading Tigers. The Twins won the division that year.
It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. It was a fun season.
Fast forward to 2021, I want to talk about closer Alex Colomé. He is probably the biggest topic of discussion. Yikes.
Alexander Colomé's current -2.1 Win Probability Added is the worst in the history of baseball for a reliever's first eight appearances with a team.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 27, 2021
No other reliever has ever cracked -2.0 WPA in their first eight appearances with a team.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s been rough. In 8 innings Colomé has managed to give up 13 runs. He has three losses on the year in this early season, something you don’t want to see from a guy who is supposed to come in and pitch no more than one inning a game. He has two saves in five opportunities.
It’s concerning to say the least, but it’s also confusing. He was pretty good with Chicago. In last year’s short season he managed 12 saves and only gave up 3 runs all year. He had a sub-1 ERA, and only gave up 13 hits all season for Pete’s sake. The season before, he had 30 saves and 3 blown. Interestingly, he had 5 losses on the season with no holds. That is a crucial stat.
But you have to feel bad for the guy and instead of disdain, feel optimistic when he takes the mound. He does have a history of okay outings. He had 47 saves one year with the Rays. Things can only go up.
Numbers are numbers. There are good and bad times. It’s not how you start, but how you finish, and hopefully moving forward Colomé can find success. Look at golf. You could go bogey, bogey, double then turn around and TOTALLY REDEEM yourself with a few good holes on the back. How you finish.
Look back to that 2006 Twins team. After a rough start they went on an 11-game win streak right before the All-Star break, not long after they won another 8 in a row. How you finish.
We can’t give up on the 2016 All-Star just yet. It will be interesting to see the moves Rocco makes in the days ahead. We saw one game last week when Rogers closed the door. It was nice, and maybe that’s the route to go.