Is this guy for real? When was the last time a catcher led the league in hitting? The Twinkies were given some crap for taking him as a high schooler over the more proven Mark Prior, and he was also the Jimmy Clausen of his year in football. He was supposed to go to FSU and play QB for St. Bobbah, bet he says a prayer every night that he didn't do that! Terry
Francisco Liriano is also a great looking young pitcher for the Twins, he's only 22 and he really looked great last night vs the Astros. I've never heard of him before, but I have now. He's got somewhat of a whippy delivery and I don't know if that is the kind of unorthodox delivery that will hurt him in the long run or make him more effective.
:cry: Dodgers visited the Twins today for the first time in 41 years, only this time, we didn't have Koufax or Drysdale. We had a nice boy who's two weeks out of Triple-A and it showed. The Twins also tried to take extra bases on our 21 year-old outfielders. I was afraid of this. Our two great structural weaknesses are beginning to show against the better teams: not enough starting pitchers and too many rookies... re: Mauer :shock: We got our first look at Joe Mauer tonight. Holy sheep-dip! He went 4 for 5 with a triple and 5 RBIs. Except for that, he didn't do much. He's 6'4" with a cannon for an arm, cat-like quickness behind the plate and the tag of "The New Johnny Bench" on his reputation. Wowza... The Twins have a very good young team and they have a chance to upset everyone's applecart. Because I don't follow the American League, I honestly didn't realize how good they were until tonight. They're good, they're young and Mauer just may be the best catcher who doesn't play in Detroit in that league... .........................DD
If you see Liriano in this series with the Twinkies, I'd be curious as to your take on him and his delivery. Terry
Liriano beat the Dodgers 9-2 on a six-hitter. He made two mistakes: one which Garciaparra hit in the bleachers and another that Kent hit higher up the same grandstand. The rookies didn't have much chance against him. He looked fabulous and went all the way. Meanwhile, Joe Mauer went 5 for 5 today, which makes him 9 for 10 in the first two games and raised his league-leading batting average to .390. Except for that, we have him at our mercy... Our plan at this point, is to get the hell out of Minnesota faster than you say "1965." ..........DD
8) This is a Garciaparra that no one has ever seen before. He's home now. He's not just leading the National League with a .362 BA, he's batting over .400 at Dodger Stadium, over .450 with men on base and he's batting over .800 with runners in scoring position after the 6th inning. He's reached safely in nearly every game that he's played and he's currently hit in 12 straight. At first base, he's made one error all year and he adds a new dimension to the defense. As a former shortstop, he makes plays that other 1st basemen simply can't do. His wife and family are in the stands every night, cheering for him like it was Little League. He's home...