In their third game pitching head to head this year, Francisco Liriano and Felix Hernandez battled for six and seven innings respectively in a 1-1 ballgame. After a couple solid bullpen innings from both clubs the 10th inning was nothing close to solid.
The top of the 10th got off to a good start with a Joe Mauer double and then an intentional walk to Justin Morneau. I thought the game would soon be over when Jason Kubel ripped a pitch slicing toward the left-center wall when Franklin Gutierrez made a spectacular play to rob Kubel of a possible homerun. After an incredibly futile attempt at a suicide squeeze from Matt Tolbert, Joe Mauer was forced into a rundown and all of a sudden the Twins had two outs with a runner on second base.
DY21 releases some steam over the Twins recent 4 game skid…
The Seattle Mariners are 49-82. I repeat the Seattle Mariners are 49-82. I can’t help but shudder as a Twins fan when I read that stat because it exemplifies the opportunity the Twins are missing currently. Everyone knew the current 14 game road trip the Twins are playing wouldn’t be easy, but for a potential playoff squad this may be the point in the season where we see if the young, fun Twins are mentally tough enough to buckle down and win big games. It started out golden with the Twins taking two games from the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Angles. From there it went downhill as the Twins dropped the next two games, both of which turned out to be winable.
I still was not worried about the two losses against the Angels, for a split with the best team in baseball isn’t bad at all an now the Twins would surely bounce back against the lowly Mariners. But unfortunately for the Twins, Safeco Field seems to be a tougher place to play then a World Series Game 7 in Yankee Stadium. Earlier in August the Twins dropped 2 of 3 in Seattle and the worst part was they held leads in all 3 games. Then last night’s game everything seemed to be going just fine. The Twins took a 2-1 lead after Delmon Young’s big RBI single in the eighth inning. Newly acquired Eddie Guardado pitched as clean of an inning as possible, so that was left was the usual Joe Nathan shut down ninth. What could go wrong?
Well, a leadoff double and a very rare Nick Punto error forced the Twins to play extra baseball, and forced me as a Twins fan to say, “Here we go again.” After Adrian Beltre’s two run blast in the 11th the Twins once again blew a huge opportunity against one of the worst teams in the league and started digging a deeper hole in catching Chicago for the division.
Once again I believe this is the make or break part of the Twins schedule. The Twins still have 9 games left against the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Athletics on this road trip. To me anything less than 6 wins against these teams will be a dissappointment. I just don’t know how many of these young inexperienced Twins will deal with the pressure if they start slumping against these lowly teams, while the White Sox keep winning. Once again, it’s make or break time.
Yesterday’s firing of Seattle GM Bill Bavasi got me thinking… the Mariners, with the worst record in baseball, are entering rebuilding mode. Virtually anyone on the roster not named Ichiro is for the taking. Maybe it’s because I’m sick of watching Mike Lamb take horrible at bats, maybe it’s because I think it’s because I belive this 2008 Twins roster is only a player or two from winning the division, but I think trading for Mariner thirdbaseman Adrian Beltre would be a risky, yet potentially rewarding move that could be a difference maker in the central division.
Now I’ll try to convince you. In 2004, Adrian Beltre had his career year for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a contract year and the young slugger hit .334 with 48 homeruns and 121 RBIs finishing 2nd in the MVP race behind Barry Bonds. It was a classic example of a fluke season in a contract year and the Seattle Mariners fell victim. That offseason the Mariners signed Beltre to an awful, 5-year $64 million deal. Beltre has never matched his ‘04 numbers or even come close.
So you may be asking, why would the Twins want a player like this? Well, for starters Seattle would be willing to give Beltre for roughly 30 cents on the dollar. They want to unload him, get rid of his bad contract, and start over. Yes I admit, the reason this deal will never happen is because the Twins won’t want to take the $6.5 million Beltre is owed for the rest of the season and the $13 million he is owed next year, but what if they took chance. What if, we trade our own bad thirdbasmen Mike Lamb and his 2-year $6.6 million deal and a AA prospect. I truly belive that’s all it would take to pry Beltre away from the Mariners. The remaining year and a half on Lamb’s contract off the books would cover what the Twins would owe Beltre for 2008, and then we’d be taking a chance on his $13 million in 2009. I think Seattle would be so willing to part with Beltre we could even get them to pay part of Beltre’s contract.
Besides the money, do I want the Twins to pull the trigger on some big named player with one good season? Well, although his ‘04 number were a fluke/performance enhanced, Beltre has alwasy been a pretty solid player. This year his batting average is suffering at .225 but he does have 14 HRs, 30 RBIs, and 34 runs scored. His homerun total would be leading the Twins and his offensive production would greatly outweigh that of Mike Lamb or any other Twins thirdbaseman. Beltre also brings a Gold Glove which he won last year at 3B. Despite his poor batting average this year, Beltre is a lifetime .269 hitter who has hit .276, .268, and .255 over the past three seasons since joining the Seattle Mariners. Over those same three seasons Beltre hit 26 HRs with 99 RBIs in ‘07, 25 HRs with 89 RBIs in ‘06, and 19 HRs with 87 RBIs. Beltre’s current homerun pace would actually eclipse his past numbers as he is on pace for 33 homeruns.
Certainly, Beltre isn’t as big of a player as his contract is, but I see this acquistion as a high risk/very high reward situation. I know this is the last type of deal the Minnesota Twins make, but part of me seems like it makes sense. This trade doesn’t fit into the Twins 2010 projected plans, but Beltre’s contract would be off the books after the ‘09 season. Plus, it’s not like Lamb was the long-term solution at 3B either. The Twins have no forseeable quick solution at 3B in the minor leagues and I think Beltre could fill a huge void this year at 3B and in the lineup. Also, as hard as it is to believe since Beltre has been in the majors since 1998, the man is only 29 years old. Next year, he’ll be 30 years old and in his contract year. He’ll certainly never get a deal again like he did from the Mariners, but he will be hungry and looking to prove himself… who knows what type of numbers he could put up for Minnesota after leaving a pitcher’s park in Seattle to the hitter friendly Metrodome.
I’m pretty confident that this random thought of a deal that came to my head last night will never happen, or even cross GM Bill Smith’s mind, but it certainly makes me wonder what if… don’t you???
Last night the Seattle Mariners officially signed former Twins starting pitcher Carlos Silva. Silva agreed to a massive 4-year $48 million deal. My first thought to Seattle fans…. thank you!
Not to come down on Silva who pitched four very solid seasons for the Twins, but the pitcher has always appeared temperamental on the mound and inconsistent in his performances. He certainly is a pitcher who will eat innings and fill a spot in your team’s rotation, but the next time I spend 48 million dollars on anything I hope it will buy me a little something more.
Silva went 13-14 last year with 4.19 ERA in 202 IP. He has a lifetime record of 55-46 with a career 4.31 ERA. To Silva’s credit, he picked a great place to move to. He now gets to pitch in the very spacious Safeco Field with one of the best defenses behind him. A sinkerball pitcher who was known for quick grown ball outs and forcing many double plays will benefit greatly with Seattle’s skilled defense.
My fondest memory of Silva, was during his 2005 campaign. That year Silva posted historic numbers walking ONLY nine batters in 180 innings. He threw strikes and let the Twins get outs. I wish him the best in Seattle and I think he may surprise me with his performance. But I’m not sad to see him go and hope the Twins can better spend $48 million.
Check out the poll in the sidebar and let me hear your feelings on Silva’s departure.
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