Bullpen Woes Continue, Twins Unbeatable, yada, yada, yada

by Wayne Nordhagen on Aug 16, 2010 3:46 PM CDT

I’ve had it with these monkey-fightin’ snakes (Twins) on this Monday thru Friday plane (schedule)!!!

-Samuel L. Jackson’s character on the FX version of Snakes on a Plane

While the White Sox bullpen completely unraveled over the weekend without “balky-backed” Bobby Jenks at the back end of the saddle, the Twins continued to win every game on their schedule. It seems as though they’ve won every non-Perkins/Blackburn start since the All-Star break.

Even when they’re tripled up in the hits column (Friday), they’re finding a way to win. Brian Duensing is a young Mark Buehrle and it sickens me to no end that he’s in the Twins organization.

Jim Thome continues to rake making Justin Morneau’s delayed return completely insignificant.

So is it even possible in a fantasy world to expect the Sox to somehow reverse course this week in the Twins’ spacious new backyard?

Sure it is, but several things need to happen.

The first requirement is outstanding starting pitching. The non-Freddy Garcia starting pitching has been great pretty much every time out over the last two months. But I don’t know if great will be good enough considering the current bullpen disaster. Eight solid innings are required, nine would be preferred.

The second requirement is solid defense behind that pitching. No Gordon Beckham barehand attempts on choppers up the middle. No cases of Alexei Ramirez not covering second base on a Jim Thome shift. And I don’t want to see Andruw Jones anywhere near centerfield. I don’t care how many gold gloves he has won there in the past. Mark Teahan, welcome back but don’t come anywhere near third base.

The third thing would be to score some early runs. Historically against the Twins, they’ve had a fighting chance when they’ve gotten out to an early lead. Take some life out of the sell-out crowds and let the starting pitching do the rest.

And lastly and most importantly, play with a sense of urgency. Ozzie and the Sox need to approach this series like a best-of-three game playoff series. After all, if the Sox don’t win at least two out of three here they’ll leave town as postseason longshots rather than contenders.

Worry about the monkey-fightin’ Royals when the Monday thru Friday plane lands there!

SouthSideSox is a community driven site. As such, users are able to express their thoughts and opinions in a FanPost, such as this one, which represents the views of this particular fan, but not necessarily the entire community or SouthSideSox editors.

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I keep up with the Twins score on a daily basis now, and they seem to score in the first inning almost every game. I think if the Sox keep them scoreless in the first, it could slow down their offense quite a bit.

(By the way, “Mark Teahan” didn’t convert to link because it’s Teahen)

Today's lesson in Guillenese: "Da Chicaja Juaiso."

by mikecws91 on Aug 17, 2010 11:42 AM CDT reply actions

It's happened 5 out of the last 14 games.

"I became an optimist when I discovered that I wasn't going to win any more games by being anything else."
Earl Weaver

by Chiburb on Aug 17, 2010 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions

because I can:

Mark Buehrle in his youth (through age 27): 1428 IP, 27.1 WAR (a WS ring, a Gold Glove and few All-Star appearances)

Brian Duensing in his youth (through age 27): 160 IP, 2.1 WAR

by Andronicus on Aug 17, 2010 12:52 PM CDT reply actions

thanks for doing that research

All I know is the Duensing at 27 reminds me a ton of Buehrle at 22. A lot of that difference in experience is due to how the Twins don’t rush their prospects through the system the way the Sox do on occasion (Chris Sale).

I’m no expert at WAR by any means, but I would think if you took his WAR through 160 IP and assumed he kept up that pace for 1428 IP, he’d have a WAR in the neighborhood of 20. Is that correct? Plus, he has a lot fewer big league miles on his arm than Buehrle’s did at 27.

by Wayne Nordhagen on Aug 17, 2010 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions