Twins' Season Recap: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The Twins are 5 series into the 2010 season and here is a brief, short attention span bullet list of my random thoughts about young Twins' season, Spaghetti Western Style:



The Good:

• The Twins are 11-5 so far; if they continue at this rate, they will win 111 games


• The Twins have won every single series so far; if they continue at this rate, they will be World Champions


• Only one error in the season


• Five Twins hitters have equal or more walks than strikeouts


• Jon Rauch has been as effective as Joe Nathan in converting save opportunities


• The best uniforms in baseball (Saturday home and everyday road)


• The best outdoor park in the majors (Did I mention OUTDOOR?)


• Kevin Slowey and Fransisco Liriano solidifying the top 2 spots in the rotation


• 114 Team OPS+, 117 Team ERA+, easily translating to 81-56 Run Differential


• .357/.493/.554: Justin Morneau's slash line


• .310/.368/.519: Twins' team slash line, the second time they face an opposing starting pitcher


• .242/.292/.395: Twins' opponents' slash line with Runners In Scoring Position

The Bad:

• 4-4: The Twins' record in day games


• Injuries (Condrey, Blackburn, Neshek, Mijares, Punto)


• 20 out of 40: times runners at 3rd with less than 2 outs scored


• .228/.290/.351: J.J. Hardy's slashline vs. .262/.311/.452: Carlos Gomez' slashline with Milwaukee

The Ugly:

• Drew Butera's game calling (Twins' pichers have 1.11 K/BB and .779 Opponent OPS when Butera is catching vs 3.32 K/BB and .702 Opponent OPS when Mauer is catching)


• Cuddyer playing the bounces off the OF walls at Target Field


• The alternative home uniforms


• .180/.317/.320: Jason Kubel's slashline


• 40-man roster management

Lots of Good and much fewer Bad and Ugly. What are your thoughts about the Twins' season so far?

Who is Hot in the Twins' Minors: Version 1

The minor league seasons (other than the short season Rookie leagues) are well under way, so it's about time for the first version of the who is hot in the minors feature. I will be updating the list every week to ten days. Without further ado:

Catchers:


Infielders:
Paul Kelly (RHB, 23, A+) .400/.478/.450 0 HR, 1 RBI, 23 PA
Yangervis Solarte (SHB, 22, A+) .371/.436/.457 0 HR, 3 RBI, 39 PA
Drew Thompson (LHB, 23, A+) .314/.368/.486 1 HR, 4 RBI, 38 PA
Brian Dozier (RHB, 23, A) .357/.426/.429 0 HR, 3 RBI, 48 PA

Outfielders:

Dustin Martin (LHB, 26, AAA) .407/.484/.815 3 HR, 8 RBI, 31 PA
Jacque Jones (LHB, 35, AAA) .308/.400/.538 1 HR, 2 RBI, 30 PA
Rene Tosoni (LHB, 23, AA) .390/.444/.585 1 HR, 3 RBI, 46 PA


1st basemen/DH:


RH Starters:

David Bromberg (22,AA) 0.82 ERA, 0.727 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 2.67 K/BB
Bobby Lanigan (23, A+) 0.84 ERA, 0.656 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 4.50 K/BB
Kyle Gibson (22, A+) 2.70 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 6.00 K/BB
Liam Hendricks (21, A) 0.00 ERA, 0.412 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, 20.0 K/BB
Tom Stuifbergen (21, A) 0.00 ERA, 0.923 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 7.50 K/BB
Brad Stillings (22, A) 0.93 ERA, 1.034 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 1.67 K/BB

LH Starters:

Tyler Robertson (22, AA) 3.09 ERA, 1.286 WHIP, 4.6 K/9, 3.00 K/BB

RH Relievers:

Matt Fox (27, AAA) 2.25 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, 2.00 K/BB
Anthony Slama (26, AAA) 2.25 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 14.6 K/9, 2.60 K/BB
Kyle Waldrop (24, AAA) 1.12 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 3.4 K/9, 3.00 K/BB
Rob Delaney (25, AAA) 2.84 ERA, 0.947 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 2.33 K/BB
Matthew Williams (23, A+) 0.00 ERA, 1.154 WHIP, 12.5 K/9, 6.00 K/BB
Kane Holbrooks (23, A) 0.00 ERA, 1.179 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 5.00 K/BB
Dakota Watts (22, A) 2.79 ERA, 1.241 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 1.80 K/BB

LH Relievers:

Spencer Steedley (25, AA) 1.80 ERA, 0.700 WHIP, 12.6 K/9, 4.67 K/BB