Twins shut down by a rookie Twins 3 at Orioles 6 August 22nd, 2006 at 9:37 pm
It’s become a common story for the Twins in 2006: shut down by a mediocre pitcher. Adam Loewen entered the Baltimore rotation on June 3rd and has never managed to complete 7 innings. He came into the game with a 3-4 record, a 6.12 ERA and a .369 opponent batting average. The Twins managed just four hits and one run through 8 innings against Loewen, but managed to tack on two runs against Latroy Hawkins in the ninth.
If you’re gonna give up homeruns, it’s best to make the solo homers. Carlos Silva did a good job with that, but unfortunately gave up five of them. Nick Markakis alone hit three homers (and no, don’t feel bad if you don’t know who he is). Silva got through 5 1/3 innings and Willie Eyre did a good job finishing out the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Game Notes
- Joe Mauer, who got two straight days of rest, was 2-4 with a 9th inning RBI triple.
- Luis Castillo, Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter were the only other Twins to get hits.
- Just a few weeks ago I thought Willie Eyre was destined to go back to AAA. Since then he’s managed to work his ERA down to 5.77 from 7.84 on July 22nd.
This was one of those deflating games. Twins fans were pretty optimistic coming off a series victory against Chicago. Detroit had beat Chicago on Monday night and the Twins were just a win and a Chicago loss away from leading in the wildcard race again. Detroit beat Chicago, but the Twins fell flat again. This is a series the Twins shouldn’t lose, so they’ll need Matt Garza to get them on track Wednesday. Of course, some offense would be nice too.
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Stephan Ellsworth wrote: August 23rd, 2006 at 4:34 am
So, what the hell is happening? Minor league pitching for major league prices? I thought there was a play-off run underway….
OK…Reality check…
According to Forbes Magazine, I understand that The Minnesota Twins are owned by one of the wealthiest men in America. I also understand that the stadium he insisted to be built ‘or he’d move to North Carolina’ or beyond, is partially paid for by public money that was never put to the people for a vote.
The loyal fans of Twins baseball even survived ‘contraction’ a few years ago and showed un-wavering support season after season, even when it appeared everything was lost.
For nearly fifty years we have been conditioned to accept that the Twins are a small market club… Sure, back then, the old Metropolitan Stadium where the Twins first played, practically sat next to rural farms… Times have changed. Now, a sparkling new, state of the art, baseball-only, outdoor ballpark is on the horizon.
Finally, Carl and our Twins have their own place to call home, and it seems those ‘small market’ folks have made yet another big time investment.
Yet, sadly the Twins year after year find themselves in the same predictable spot: a) Trying to win on a shoestring b) Hoping teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, etc., all get the injury bug
Baseball is a big time business nowadays. Markets and marketing all boil down to one thing: Exposure. People can only buy what they know or what they see.
It is time Carl moves the Twins onto the national stage, and up-markets this team. Let’s see some solid veteran talent brought in to support the farm-raised crop… Or let go of Johan, Joe and Justin, so at least they have a legitimate chance at a World Series Title. The stadium wasn’t a small market investment, and the Twins aren’t a small market club anymore. The Twins represent Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, even Nebraska and Manitoba, and beyond. I live in Holland, and my wife and I are massive Twins fans…
It is time for Carl to put his money where his mouth is. He is an extremely wealthy, successful businessman, he ought to know what makes this world go ‘round…