Fire Gardy

Last night, Baker returned to action after a brief stint on the DL. My theory at the time was that he wasn’t really hurt, the team just thought he wasn’t ready and wanted to give him an extra week or so of extended spring training.

Well, either he was hurt (and still is), or he’s still not ready. He gave up 6 runs in 4 innings, while giving up four home runs. That’s not the first time in his career he’s given up four homers, despite Blyleven’s apparent claim* that Baker isn’t known for giving up home runs.**

* I didn’t have the sound on. FunBobby alerted me to the fact that Bert said this.

** Also, in what universe is “20 HR in 28 G” not a lot of home runs? I think Bert’s having an “I’m great, nobody else can be as good as me” moment with regards to giving up home runs. Has he ever mentioned that he led the league in home runs once? And that it doesn’t mean he’s a bad pitcher? I feel like he might have mentioned it.

Well, those four homers erased an early 2-0 Twins lead “earned” in the bottom of the first. Neither run was driven in via a hit. And there wasn’t much hitting afterwards, because once we lost the lead the hitters became demoralized and stopped hoping for a comeback. Just like they do every game.

After taking that lead, the Twins were at about 75% to win the game. Let’s look at the chart.

As soon as Baker took the field, we dropped back down to 50% on Rolen’s 2 run shot. I probably jumped the gun a little bit when I immediately shouted “game over,” but it really didn’t take long. We dropped below 25% in the third, and hit 0-1% in the 6th. This was simply another disaster of a game, which has become far too common early in the season.

I realize that it’s still a little too early to say “It’s not really that early any more.” We’re only 6% of the way into the season. We don’t have Mauer. Et cetera.

But at some point, the players are going to have to play well. They’re going to have to play well when Mauer returns, or we’re still going to get blown out on a regular basis. The pitchers continue to serve up batting practice meatballs and miss their spots (and get knocked out early). The relievers can’t find the strike zone and are giving up line drives all over the field. The hitters seem to be competing for the Most Pathetic Plate Appearance trophy (that is, those hitters that can actually see the ball, which it is apparent that Morneau, Cuddyer, and Casilla simply cannot do). The fielders look scared of the ball.

These things all have to change, and they have to change soon. We finish up the four game set against the Jays tonight. Are we going to beat them before late 2011? We play the Angels this weekend. Will it be the 4th consecutive series we face multiple Cy Young candidates and the top offense in baseball?