June 30, 2004
Game 1 To Chicago
Not much to say about this one. Carlos Silva didn't pitch all that poorly, giving up three runs through six innings, before nearly going the distance and finishing with 8.2 innings pitched and six runs allowed.
However, it didn't much matter what type of pitching they got, because the Twins' offense continued to stink. Mark Buehrle and Shingo Takatsu combined for eight strikeouts and no walks, and the Twins managed just three extra-base hits. Meanwhile, the Chicago offense did what it usually does, hitting two homers and four doubles, while striking out just twice.
I just don't know what to say. I know this is going to anger a lot of Twins fans, but I'm getting very close to the point of just believing that the White Sox have the better team. There are a lot of people who thought this in the past two years, but I haven't been among them ... until now.
Incidentally, Mark Buehrle came into the game with a 7.71 ERA in his last four starts, having given up 24 runs in 28 innings against Philadelphia, Atlanta, Montreal and Cleveland. He carved up the Twins yesterday without so much as breaking a sweat.
This is a key point in the season for the Twins. I have a feeling they are about to fall behind the White Sox and, unlike in the past, I'm just not sure they have the guns to catch up this time. Well, let me rephrase that: I think they might have the guns, but I don't think they are willing to use them. We'll see, I guess.
They need to escape this series without getting swept and, considering Johan Santana gave up seven runs in three innings against the White Sox earlier in the year, avoiding a sweep might be on the shoulders of Brad Radke. Of course, the story of Radke's season is that the team hasn't scored him any runs, so it could be more of the same today.
You can talk about "pitching and defense" as much as you want, and you can certainly win with pitching and defense. To be honest though, I don't think the Twins' pitching or defense are all that great. They're going to have to do something to improve this offense, because right now it just sucks.
Speaking of guys who can't hit, I have a brand new, Gleeman-length article over at The Hardball Times ...
The Hardball Times: The Bizarro World All-Stars
Today's picks:
Montreal (Day) +135 over Philadelphia (Abbott)
New York (Glavine) -120 over Cincinnati (Lidle)
Chicago (Garcia) -110 over Minnesota (Radke)
Texas (Rogers) -125 over Seattle (Nageotte)
Total to date: -$2,210
W/L record: 117-150 (2-1 yesterday for +210.)
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