Monday, April 4, 2011

Early Test in the Bronx

PROBABLE STARTERS

MON: SCOTT BAKER (FIRST 2011 START) VS IVAN NOVA (FIRST 2011 START)
TUE: BRIAN DUENSING (FIRST 2011 START) VS CC SABATHIA (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
WED: CARL PAVANO (0-1, 15.75 ERA) VS FREDDY GARCIA (FIRST 2011 START)
THU: FRANCISCO LIRIANO (0-1, 8.31 ERA) VS AJ BURNETT (1-0, 5.40 ERA)

Well, its not exactly the best time for the Twins to be visiting the Bronx. They came out slow in Toronto. Their hitting was off and untimely. The pitching was just plain awful. And they were nothing like 2010 in terms of defense (Meaning: Not Good!). And now they roll into New York. A place they have won just once in the past two years, not at their best. They are going to play a team that just flat owns them. This could potentially be a long series for the Twins. Or, could they have a resurgence against the Yanks? No one expects it. But that's wishful thinking. Anyway, here are some things you should keep in mind for this series.

Twins Key Player: Joe Mauer-Mauer is coming off a 1 for 7 series against the Jays. He took the Sunday game off, so he should play in the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday games at the very least. Mauer doesn't have the best numbers against the Yankees themselves (.290 AVG in 37 G), but he hits very well in the Bombers new digs. Since the Yankees moved to the new Yankee Stadium, Mauer has hit .333 with 3 home runs and 6 runs batted in while posting a OPS of 1.137. In other words, he hits very well there. At a time when the players that he hits between (Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Justin Morneau) have their own obstacles to overcome, Mauer needs to catch fire in this series. Especially now since his new $23 million contract has kicked in. If the Mauer can add to his good numbers in the Bronx, he should give the Twins a good chance to win.

Yankees Key Player:
Mark Teixeira/Alex Rodriguez-I normally pick one player, but in this case I had to make an exception. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez absolutely rake against the Twins. Teixeira has a line of .374 with 16 home runs and 46 RBI while posting a .662 slugging percentage. Rodriguez, has hit .328 with 45 home runs and 115 RBI with a .662 slugging percentage against the Twins in his 15 year career. And many of those home runs have come in the clutch situations. The Twins must shut these two down. Pitchers must hit their spots and keep their mistakes to a minimum. If they can't it will be a long series. Because Teixeira and A-Rod live on mistakes.

Prediction:
The Twins and Yanks will play four before the Twins open their home schedule on Friday. And if the past series will carryover, it will be another long series. The Twins always find a way to get up early on the Yankees, but can never put them away. The Yankees then wait for a mistake and run with it. And the Yanks are always on top at games end. As much as I would like to see this trend come to a halt, I don't think it will. Somehow, someway, the damn Yankees find a way to win. The same things will happen and the Yankees will take three out of four from the Twins. It pains me to predict the Twins coming home with a 2-5 record. But look at who they are playing and you will understand why...

1 comment:

Scruffy Rube said...

I liked your tweet earlier tonight about burying the Yankees. It made me suddenly flash on Mortal Kombat and a resounding cry of: FINISH THEM!!

That's what we need more of in Twins Territory: go beyond "moral victories" and into one solid drubbing of the pinstriped nightmares.