Minnesota Sports Forum

has not been very good the first 7 games. Only Gibson and Pelfrey (until he blew up in the 6th) looked good at all. But I'm not too worried. Nolasco has never really pitched in cold weather, and even though it looked beautiful in Minny today, it was cold for him. I thought he really seemed like he had figured things out at the end of last year with the Dodgers, and I look for him to have a good year. Kind of a surly guy though in his interviews.

You guys know how I feel about Pelfrey, and I also have high hopes for the other guy still getting stronger after TJ surgery...Gibson. I'm not as sold on Hughes yet, but by the end of the year, I think I'll be happy with him as a 4th or 5th starter (yes, I think Gibby and Pelf will both outperform him this year, and that's a good thing.). Correia looked today like I expect him to look, and I think Deduno will replace him after a few more poor starts. Sammy has struggled with his balks this year, but if anything, his stuff looks even more unhittable to me. If he's healthy, I see him posting an ERA in the low 3's.

Meyer was pretty solid in his first start in Rochester Sunday. If he keeps it up, jester could be right with his prediction of a promotion by July1. Personally I think it will take an injury or trade of one of our 6 (including Deduno) to get Meyer to the show this summer.

Anybody worried about Perkins? His fastball didn't look nearly as quick as it did last year. I know this thread is on SPs, but I thought I'd ask.

Camden wrote:Anybody worried about Perkins? His fastball didn't look nearly as quick as it did last year. I know this thread is on SPs, but I thought I'd ask.

You're right, cam, he was in the low 90s his first outing in Chicago when he blew the save. He still had ice movement and really didn't get hit very hard. I didn't see him after his first outing, but I heard he still didn't have his normal velocity. I'm not worried...I chalk it up to early season and cold weather. It will be in the 70s in Mpls Thursday, and hopefully he gets to come in and get the save for Hughsie.

Nice to see great back-to-back outings for Gibby and Nolasco, albeit against the offensively struggling Royals. Now if we can get the other three guys going...

I was hitting in my favorite batting cages in south LA this morning at first pitch time, and afterward driving north on Crenshaw I (unwisely) tried to check Gamecast on my phone to see how the boys were doing. Since I was concentrating a little on my driving as I passed through the hood, I inadvertently punched up the wrong game. Seeing the home team down 3-0 in the first, I began swearing at Nolasco out loud and preparing in my mind an angry post suggesting we send him down (like Worley last year) until he could figure it out. I was delighted, but a little sheepish, when I saw what was really going on in the game. Nice outing for Ricky...sorry for doubting you,man!

You guys know I like both Pelfrey and Hughes, but it's not too early to tighten the leash a little for both of these guys. They have each had three disappointing starts, and we have Sammy completely miscast in the bullpen and ready to start like he did last year...and Meyer close in the minors. I know we all were hoping that Hughes would step up once he got out of HR-happy Yankee stadium, but if you look at his stats after the All-Star break last year, it wasn't HRs that led to his horrible season. This guy hasn't won a game since last July, and isn't showing me any signs of improvement. And Pelf was good the second half of last year, but has regressed to the way he looked at the beginning of last year...not good.


So when do the Twins send one or both of them down to figure out what they're doing wrong? I think we can look at how they handled Vanimal last year for a clue. Like Hughes, he had a good season 2-3 years ago and the Twins were hopeful, but he couldn't get it down. They gave him 10 starts to prove he could do it, and then pulled the plug. I think the leash is much shorter this year because we have much better options ready to step in. I'm guessing they won't let either of these guys go longer than six starts pitching like they are now, which means they are each halfway to demotion.

With an improved lineup (Colabello, Kubel and Pinto, with Arcia almost ready to contribute his big bat again) and options available, the Twins can't afford to let starters not give them a chance to win. I'm saying 2-3 more starts max for these two guys, and if they haven't improved, replace them with Deduno and Meyer in that order.

longstrangetrip wrote:You guys know I like both Pelfrey and Hughes, but it's not too early to tighten the leash a little for both of these guys. They have each had three disappointing starts, and we have Sammy completely miscast in the bullpen and ready to start like he did last year...and Meyer close in the minors. I know we all were hoping that Hughes would step up once he got out of HR-happy Yankee stadium, but if you look at his stats after the All-Star break last year, it wasn't HRs that led to his horrible season. This guy hasn't won a game since last July, and isn't showing me any signs of improvement. And Pelf was good the second half of last year, but has regressed to the way he looked at the beginning of last year...not good.


So when do the Twins send one or both of them down to figure out what they're doing wrong? I think we can look at how they handled Vanimal last year for a clue. Like Hughes, he had a good season 2-3 years ago and the Twins were hopeful, but he couldn't get it down. They gave him 10 starts to prove he could do it, and then pulled the plug. I think the leash is much shorter this year because we have much better options ready to step in. I'm guessing they won't let either of these guys go longer than six starts pitching like they are now, which means they are each halfway to demotion.

With an improved lineup (Colabello, Kubel and Pinto, with Arcia almost ready to contribute his big bat again) and options available, the Twins can't afford to let starters not give them a chance to win. I'm saying 2-3 more starts max for these two guys, and if they haven't improved, replace them with Deduno and Meyer in that order.

To be fair to Hughes his last start he put 5 innings that were really good and if I'm correct you didn't see the game? I saw the glimpse of old Hughes then he had a bad inning but it's not like Tonkin came in and helped him out of the jam. I believe when he left the game the score was just tied.

Also not saying it's excuse but Hughes couldn't throw his curveball in the 5th or 6th because of a cut fingernail.

I agree that Deduno needs to be in the rotation but Pelfrey has to be the first one to go how many chances do you get? I get he pitched two months of good ball but one of those months were against September call up guys.

My prediction is I think they give 10 starts to both just like vanimal. I believe pelf will get sent down and Deduno will replace him. I believe Kevin correa pitches well enough were the twins will trade him after July 2 for mid/low level prospect and Alex Meyer will get his cup of coffee in the big leagues. I still think Hughes figured it out.

I'm also taking Kyle Gibson credit :)

I think the scenario you paint is pretty realistic, jester, except I can't believe they'll let either Pelf or Hughes go 10 starts...not with Deduno waiting in the wings. I agree with you that the leash will likely be a little shorter for Pelfrey than Hughes, mainly because we spent more money on Hughes.

You're right that I didn't see the last start for Hughes, but I did notice in the boxscore that he pitched well early and then had the bad inning. Just like Pelfrey's first start where he was dominant for 5 innings and then fell apart in the 6th. I'm worried about his curve ball, because I think it's a bigger problem than just a blister. I don't think he has commanded it for some time, and when he came up, it was supposed to be his best pitch. He needs to find it.

And yes, good call on Gibson. I'll admit I was not as optimistic, mainly because of his poor performance last year and his inability to get his fastball above 92. But everyone is raving about his movement and downward plane. I watched his last start, and it was very Deduno-like with much better control...a lot of weak grounders like Sammy always gets.

Let's get another good start from Nolasco tonight!

Good things happening in Rochester tonight. Meyer leaves in the 7th after 100 pitches...no runs, three hits and 10 K's!

Edit: Make that 11 K's

longstrangetrip wrote:Good things happening in Rochester tonight. Meyer leaves in the 7th after 100 pitches...no runs, three hits and 10 K's!

Edit: Make that 11 K's

That's ace worthy if I do say so myself! Just checked Trevor May's stats. Not bad at all. Good to see he hasn't regressed any.

Berrios had a rough outing last week. 2 IP, 7 Rs (2 earned). Previous to that he had two quality starts, though. Hope he bounces back. Hasn't had the strikeouts that I thought he would in his three starts.

The good news tonight is the Twins got Correia off the field before he got hurt...I was worried about him with all those shots he was giving up.

The bad news is here are the ERAs of our 5 starters.

Gibson 3.63
Hughes 6.43
Nolasco 6.67
Pelfrey 7.32
Correia 7.33

Four starters over 6, and Hughes is our second best starter at 6.43. Another great season for Rick Anderson.