June 29, 2003
Al: Funny, the Crew had Loretta, Young, Jose Hernandez, Ronnie Belliard and Tyler Houston last year, and Lenny Harris still got a ton of ABs. Harris is the worst player in the game.
Aaron: I think Lenny Harris somehow acquires pictures of his managers in "compromising" situations.
Al: That may well be the case. Lenny has a career sub .700 OPS and he hasn't been able to play middle IF in a decade. I don't get it.
[BOTTOM OF THE FIRST, JACQUE JONES LEADS OFF AGAINST KINNEY]
Aaron: So what do you think of Kinney so far this year?
Al: Matt has looked solid. I saw him pitch for the Twins some the last couple seasons, and I always liked him. Only weakness is he tends to give up a few HR's.
Aaron: Yeah, he seems to have periods when his mind just lapses and he pitches stupidly.
Aaron: When he's on and concentrating, I always thought he could pitch.
Al: He has had a bad start or two in a row. Hope that ends tonight.
[JONES SINGLES, CRISTIAN GUZMAN COMES TO THE PLATE]
Al: Do you think Guzman is injured? He doesn't look the same as he used to.
Aaron: Yeah, I think he's been injured since he came back from the all-star game in 2001.
Aaron: Although, his triples are back way up this year, so it's weird.
Aaron: He's on pace for 19 doubles, 19 triples and 0 homers in 612 ABs. That's pretty pathetic.
[GUZMAN TAKES A CALLED THIRD STRIKE]
Aaron: I am really hoping Corey Koskie makes the all-star team, he has been great -.311/.408/.502 with nice defense at 3B.
Al: Koskie's having a good year, for sure. Always liked him. .400 OBP, can't beat that.
Aaron: Blyleven just said Koskie's hitting .439 over his last 23 games.
Al: Maybe he's do for a cool streak.
Aaron: Close pitch.
Al: I thought it was strike 3...too close to take.
Aaron: Jones was running on 3-2...I can't tell you how many times we have had a strikeout/throwout to end an inning this year.
[KOSKIE POPS OUT TO LEFT, JUSTIN MORNEAU COMES TO THE PLATE]
Al: Here's the kid.
Aaron: Did you see his HR in Milwaukee last week?
Al: I did not, but the TV guys are talking about it.
Aaron: It dented the scoreboard!
Al: Hit the scoreboard, that's quite a poke.
Aaron: 460 feet I think. It knocked a light bulb out.
[MORNEAU HITS A CHECK-SWING GROUNDER BACK TO KINNEY FOR THE THIRD OUT]
Aaron: Well, so much for that. I start talking up his power and he hit one 3 feet.
Al: Boston got 14 in the 1st. One touchdown pass and Florida's right back in it!
Aaron: I just heard that ties an AL-record for the 1st inning.
[TOP OF THE SECOND, JOHN VANDER WAL AT THE PLATE]
Al: John Vander Wal was a dandy pickup. $700K and he's mediocre. Nice spot filler.
Aaron: Does he platoon or play against lefties too?
Al: Platoons with Brady Clark, another cheap guy who can hit a tad. Nice 5th OF, Clark is.
Al: Brady does everything well except hit for power, plays all 3 spots, good defender.
Aaron: The Brewers have made some nice low-cost pickups. I like Keith Ginter too.
Al: I love Keith Ginter. I love anyone who gets on 35% of the time, but especially when they play middle IF.
Al: That's why I'd like to move EY, I think Ginter's younger and better in the field and at the plate.
[VANDER WAL WALKS]
Aaron: Did you see Eric Young's kid got drafted? He must've had him while he was in high school.
Al: Yep, he's 36 and his son's 18. Eric Jr. is going to college however.
Aaron: Speaking of kids, the Brewers drafted Anthony Gwynn, right?
Al: Yep, just activated him today. Started him in low A-ball. He sounds like a slap hitter with OBP skills.
[WES HELMS GROUNDS INTO A DOUBLE-PLAY TO END THE INNING]
Al: Wes Helms has the 9th best OPS for 3B in MLB. Didn't get a chance to get that in. 🙂
Aaron: Yeah, Helms was a nice low-cost pickup too.
[BOTTOM OF THE SECOND, DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ AT THE PLATE]
Aaron: When he doesn't pull everything, Doug is a great hitter. He gets in trouble when he starts pulling grounders to 1B and 2B.
[MIENTKIEWICZ SINGLES TO LEFT]
Aaron: Right on cue.
Al: Do you think the Twins would be better with Doug at 2B and one of their bench bats at 1B? He played there in AAA the year he was in Tom Kelly's doghouse.
Aaron: Yeah, if Doug could handle 2B defensively, they'd obviously be much better off.
Aaron: Morneau could play 1B, LeCroy could DH...it would solve all kinds of problems (goodbye Rivas!).
Al: I doubt if he'd have great range, but his hands are as good as anyone's.
Aaron: I get a ton of emails from Twins fans saying they think Doug should play 2B. I'm just not sure he could handle it.
