Same As It Ever Was

Nice ballgame, very nice. But enough is enough; when do I get a look at this Corky Miller character? I’m getting anxious, and the Corkster’s not doing the club any good sitting on his kiester sucking sunflower seeds. I don’t understand it, quite honestly. Ron Gardenhire’s usually pretty good about keeping his lads sharp, and if a hotshot prospect like Miller’s not gonna get any at bats with the big club he should be out in Rochester playing every day and keeping his mojo in tune. Better yet, trade the young man to a team that can make the proper use of his services.

That quibble aside, the Twins made a nice little comeback from Monday’s disappointing opener, and it was good to see them rally last night to pick-up their ace. Tonight’s game showed the strength of this team and the priorities of the organization. Carlos Silva looked stronger and sharper than last year, and seems to have gained both a bit of velocity, and confidence. Particularly encouraging was his efficiency. You expect him to get the ground ball outs and the double plays, but the fact that he needed just 68 pitches (49 of them for strikes) to get through his seven innings (and didn’t walk anyone) was most impressive. Composure was not a word anyone would have associated with last year’s version of Silva, but he really looked relaxed and in command out there today. The guy is also an absolute horse, and a ferocious competitor, which are pretty good qualities to have in a third starter.

Equally impressive was the defensive performance of Minnesota’s B-squad line-up. They got an opportunity to flash the leather and demonstrate their versatility. Juan Castro made at least two plays at short that I know Cristian Guzman wouldn’t have made, and Castro made them look easy.

The bottom line is that the Twins took two of three from a much-improved Seattle team, and they did so in both characteristic and uncharacteristic fashion. The bullpen and defense were outstanding. Jason Bartlett showed that, at least for now, the Twins made the right decision. The team got off to a slow start of one sort or another in all three games but hung in there and kept chipping away. They won the series despite lackluster performances from their top two starters –and granted, Santana wasn’t horrific, but his start was still his worst since what seems like the All Star break last year. And Torii Hunter, Lew Ford, Michael Cuddyer, and Shannon Stewart didn’t do much of anything with the bats, but the rest of the team slapped together enough offense to get the job done.

It was just three games, of course, but it certainly looks like it’s pretty much business as usual in Twins Territory. This team’s going to win games with pitching, defense, and fundamentals, and if Gardie can find some key at bats for Corky and the offense manages to get truly untracked they could be pretty special.