Post by The Vermont Bombers on Jun 5, 2015 21:12:07 GMT -5
Everybody Calm Down
Why this season isn't reason to panic in Minnesota
by Cornelius Moore
Baseball Writer
The Sporting News
Everybody calm down.
Put away the pitchforks, extinguish the torches and take a deep breath. Yes, we’re 102 games into the season and the Twins are barely over .500. Yes, the offense has a couple of very deep holes in it, most noticeably at Second Base, Shortstop and Left Field. Yes, All Star Third Baseman Harmon Killebrew is having difficulty hitting right handed pitching, yes, the Starting Rotation is showing its relative inexperience and yes, the back end of the Bullpen has been a bit shaky in the first half of the season.
Fine. These things happen.
Try to keep in mind that this is still a young team.
The Starting Rotation is led by 34 year old Don Larsen, followed by 30 year old Camile Pascual. From there the rotation age drops, with the next three in the rotation being 25 (Pappas), 23 (Tiante) and 22 (Stottlemyre). While Larsen and Pascual have been in the league for a while, remember that Pappas has a total of 85 Major League starts under his belt (in 186 appearances) and Stottlemyre and Tiante have a combined total of 29 Major League starts between them. Also keep in mind that while Pappas may be dealing now, and may also be the arguable ace of the staff, that his first two seasons as a starter were nothing to write home about. Don’t remember ? How’s this stat line for you ?
20-37, 4.76 ERA. 417.2 IP.
Remember him ?
That’s a far cry from the Milt Pappas that we’re seeing this year, the Milt Pappas with the 15-5 record and the 3.21 ERA. Keep in mind that the Milt Pappas that the fan base has been thrilled to see get re-signed to a three year, 9 million dollar extension this year is the same Milt Pappas that most fans wanted to hang from the mezzanine of Metropolitan Stadium by his pinkie toe last year.
Perspective is important.
Let’s take a look at “Exhibit B”, Mel Stottlemyre.
Stott, as his teammates call him, was taken 2nd overall in the 1961 draft. He started at Double A Charlotte and after five games and a 2.83 ERA was promoted to Triple A Vancouver. Fans were thrilled to see what he would do against nearly Major League competition. What they expected to see was domination. What they got was a 20 year old who was being challenged for the first time. Lest we forget, Stottlemyre put together a very pedestrian first season at Vancouver. He made 18 starts and compiled a losing record of 6-8 with an ERA of 4.57 in 130 innings. On the bright side he threw seven complete games and one shut out and at times he looked outright dominating. At other times he looked like a slightly nervous yet determined 20 year old with slight control issues. Keep in mind that he walked more than he struck out during his first year in Vancouver, posting 78 walks to only 60 strikeouts.
Those numbers don’t exactly scream out “Ace”, do they ?
His second season wasn’t much better. Stottlemyre was putting in the hard work but not getting the results and many fans wondered not only why the Twins had drafted him so high, but why they resolutely refused to trade him. By the end of his second season in Vancouver, he had shown some improvement. He jumped from 130 innings to almost 190, he’d improved his control and although it was still a little iffy at times he struck out more than he walked, punching out 127 while walking 103. He still showed the durability as he tossed 5 complete games.
In spite of this some fans were still concerned.
Finally in his third and final season in Vancouver he put it all together and earned the call to Minnesota. He ended the 1963 season by making four starts for the Twins, where he posted a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 4.45. Again the naysayers started squawking.
The squawking stopped when he opened the 1964 season with a record of 4-0 and an ERA of 3.15. He looked like the promising, potential young Ace that Minnesota saw him as. Then May happened. May was ugly. May was the month where the league adjusted to Sottlemyre and he had to learn to adjust back to them. His May was brutal. He went 2-4 with an ERA of 7.56 and the professional noise makers starting jawing again.
Since then, Stottlemyre has been the second best starter on the staff, posting a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 1.63. He’s won his last four starts, all of them absolute gems in which he pitched a total of 66.1 innings, surrendered a measly 12 earned runs and walked 10 while striking out 15. He’s also thrown two complete games, two shut outs and one four-hitter.
What I’m saying is that if you’re one of those fans that looks at Louis Tiant’s 5.90 ERA and freaks out please do us all a favor.
Calm down.
He’s made five Major League starts and he already has a complete game with nine strike outs on his resume. Everyone just relax. He’ll be fine.
So will this team.
If you need another example, look no further than fan favorite Third Baseman Harmon Killebrew.
Killebrew was drafted by the Twins back in 1954 when they were still the Senators. He has the distinction of being the first player ever selected by the Twins in the Amateur Draft. He began at Double A Charlotte and showed flashes of his prodigious talent. Although he only played 31 games in 1954, many people were salivating over his numbers. It seems that most fans find it easier to assume greatness out of a .307/5/13 stat line than they can out of the equivalent in pitching statistics. Is this because most fans understand that pitching is inherently more difficult, or is it because they find a 450 foot home run easier to relate to than they do a strike out that’s been induced by a 98 mile per hour fastball ?
I’ll leave that up to you do decide.
The point is, that even Killebrew ran into some tough times while he was in the minors. The team promoted him to Triple A after those 31 games and, much like with Stottlemyre, this is where the learning started. Killebrew’s first 100 games in Triple A weren’t exactly “eye popping”. By the end of the season he had created a stat line of .240/11/48 with 105 strikeouts. In spite of this no one was calling for the team to trade him. It seems that a stat line of .255/16/61 was easier to stomach for most fans.
His next two years in Triple A rewarded the team’s patience, as Killebrew hit tape measure blasts and drove in a lot of runs. He was so good that the team decided to promote him to the Major League team with 9 games remaining in the 1956 season. I could be grasping at straws, but I’m guessing that his combined stat line of .328/43/209 over those two seasons had a lot to do with that.
His first nine games in the Major Leagues were no kinder to him than his early trips through the minors had been. Of course it was only nine games so his slash line of .192/0/1 wasn’t held against him. His 1957 season wasn’t any easier. While he showed improvement, it was a little here and a little there and it was rarely consistent. He finished his rookie season with a stat line of .249/10/42. In spite of this, any fan would have been aghast at the thought of trading him.
That patience was rewarded, but it wouldn’t be fully rewarded until last season, 1963. Yes, Killebrew had put up a few very good seasons before then. He hit 20 plus home runs three times and hit 25 or more in two of those seasons. He drove in 80 or more RBI three times and hit .270 or better every year starting in 1958. In truth Harmon looked like a very good player, but not quite the dominating world buster that everyone was expecting him to be.
That season happened last season.
Last season Killebrew put up an MVP type of season.
It only took him seven full seasons to get there.
So if you’re one of those fans that’s panicking because this team is 52-50 and the kids aren’t world beaters yet, I have three words for you.
Just calm down.
Why this season isn't reason to panic in Minnesota
by Cornelius Moore
Baseball Writer
The Sporting News
Everybody calm down.
Put away the pitchforks, extinguish the torches and take a deep breath. Yes, we’re 102 games into the season and the Twins are barely over .500. Yes, the offense has a couple of very deep holes in it, most noticeably at Second Base, Shortstop and Left Field. Yes, All Star Third Baseman Harmon Killebrew is having difficulty hitting right handed pitching, yes, the Starting Rotation is showing its relative inexperience and yes, the back end of the Bullpen has been a bit shaky in the first half of the season.
Fine. These things happen.
Try to keep in mind that this is still a young team.
The Starting Rotation is led by 34 year old Don Larsen, followed by 30 year old Camile Pascual. From there the rotation age drops, with the next three in the rotation being 25 (Pappas), 23 (Tiante) and 22 (Stottlemyre). While Larsen and Pascual have been in the league for a while, remember that Pappas has a total of 85 Major League starts under his belt (in 186 appearances) and Stottlemyre and Tiante have a combined total of 29 Major League starts between them. Also keep in mind that while Pappas may be dealing now, and may also be the arguable ace of the staff, that his first two seasons as a starter were nothing to write home about. Don’t remember ? How’s this stat line for you ?
20-37, 4.76 ERA. 417.2 IP.
Remember him ?
That’s a far cry from the Milt Pappas that we’re seeing this year, the Milt Pappas with the 15-5 record and the 3.21 ERA. Keep in mind that the Milt Pappas that the fan base has been thrilled to see get re-signed to a three year, 9 million dollar extension this year is the same Milt Pappas that most fans wanted to hang from the mezzanine of Metropolitan Stadium by his pinkie toe last year.
Perspective is important.
Let’s take a look at “Exhibit B”, Mel Stottlemyre.
Stott, as his teammates call him, was taken 2nd overall in the 1961 draft. He started at Double A Charlotte and after five games and a 2.83 ERA was promoted to Triple A Vancouver. Fans were thrilled to see what he would do against nearly Major League competition. What they expected to see was domination. What they got was a 20 year old who was being challenged for the first time. Lest we forget, Stottlemyre put together a very pedestrian first season at Vancouver. He made 18 starts and compiled a losing record of 6-8 with an ERA of 4.57 in 130 innings. On the bright side he threw seven complete games and one shut out and at times he looked outright dominating. At other times he looked like a slightly nervous yet determined 20 year old with slight control issues. Keep in mind that he walked more than he struck out during his first year in Vancouver, posting 78 walks to only 60 strikeouts.
Those numbers don’t exactly scream out “Ace”, do they ?
His second season wasn’t much better. Stottlemyre was putting in the hard work but not getting the results and many fans wondered not only why the Twins had drafted him so high, but why they resolutely refused to trade him. By the end of his second season in Vancouver, he had shown some improvement. He jumped from 130 innings to almost 190, he’d improved his control and although it was still a little iffy at times he struck out more than he walked, punching out 127 while walking 103. He still showed the durability as he tossed 5 complete games.
In spite of this some fans were still concerned.
Finally in his third and final season in Vancouver he put it all together and earned the call to Minnesota. He ended the 1963 season by making four starts for the Twins, where he posted a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 4.45. Again the naysayers started squawking.
The squawking stopped when he opened the 1964 season with a record of 4-0 and an ERA of 3.15. He looked like the promising, potential young Ace that Minnesota saw him as. Then May happened. May was ugly. May was the month where the league adjusted to Sottlemyre and he had to learn to adjust back to them. His May was brutal. He went 2-4 with an ERA of 7.56 and the professional noise makers starting jawing again.
Since then, Stottlemyre has been the second best starter on the staff, posting a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 1.63. He’s won his last four starts, all of them absolute gems in which he pitched a total of 66.1 innings, surrendered a measly 12 earned runs and walked 10 while striking out 15. He’s also thrown two complete games, two shut outs and one four-hitter.
What I’m saying is that if you’re one of those fans that looks at Louis Tiant’s 5.90 ERA and freaks out please do us all a favor.
Calm down.
He’s made five Major League starts and he already has a complete game with nine strike outs on his resume. Everyone just relax. He’ll be fine.
So will this team.
If you need another example, look no further than fan favorite Third Baseman Harmon Killebrew.
Killebrew was drafted by the Twins back in 1954 when they were still the Senators. He has the distinction of being the first player ever selected by the Twins in the Amateur Draft. He began at Double A Charlotte and showed flashes of his prodigious talent. Although he only played 31 games in 1954, many people were salivating over his numbers. It seems that most fans find it easier to assume greatness out of a .307/5/13 stat line than they can out of the equivalent in pitching statistics. Is this because most fans understand that pitching is inherently more difficult, or is it because they find a 450 foot home run easier to relate to than they do a strike out that’s been induced by a 98 mile per hour fastball ?
I’ll leave that up to you do decide.
The point is, that even Killebrew ran into some tough times while he was in the minors. The team promoted him to Triple A after those 31 games and, much like with Stottlemyre, this is where the learning started. Killebrew’s first 100 games in Triple A weren’t exactly “eye popping”. By the end of the season he had created a stat line of .240/11/48 with 105 strikeouts. In spite of this no one was calling for the team to trade him. It seems that a stat line of .255/16/61 was easier to stomach for most fans.
His next two years in Triple A rewarded the team’s patience, as Killebrew hit tape measure blasts and drove in a lot of runs. He was so good that the team decided to promote him to the Major League team with 9 games remaining in the 1956 season. I could be grasping at straws, but I’m guessing that his combined stat line of .328/43/209 over those two seasons had a lot to do with that.
His first nine games in the Major Leagues were no kinder to him than his early trips through the minors had been. Of course it was only nine games so his slash line of .192/0/1 wasn’t held against him. His 1957 season wasn’t any easier. While he showed improvement, it was a little here and a little there and it was rarely consistent. He finished his rookie season with a stat line of .249/10/42. In spite of this, any fan would have been aghast at the thought of trading him.
That patience was rewarded, but it wouldn’t be fully rewarded until last season, 1963. Yes, Killebrew had put up a few very good seasons before then. He hit 20 plus home runs three times and hit 25 or more in two of those seasons. He drove in 80 or more RBI three times and hit .270 or better every year starting in 1958. In truth Harmon looked like a very good player, but not quite the dominating world buster that everyone was expecting him to be.
That season happened last season.
Last season Killebrew put up an MVP type of season.
It only took him seven full seasons to get there.
So if you’re one of those fans that’s panicking because this team is 52-50 and the kids aren’t world beaters yet, I have three words for you.
Just calm down.
