Gardy and Anderson Need To Pick the Right Starters
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by user Leslie Monteiro
Most baseball experts and baseball fans do not think the Twins will do well this season because of their starting rotation. Twins phenom Francisco Liriano is not going to pitch this year due to an arm injury so everyone has all of a sudden wrote them out. It is a fair point because outside of Johan Santana, which pitcher is reliable. They got rookies, a second-year pitcher, a failed starter from last year, and couple of failures in past years in the rotation. The question is which pitcher will be selected by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson.
Santana, Boof Bonser, Sidney Ponson, Carlos Silva, and Ramon Ortiz are projeced starters. Santana and Bonser are guys that can be trusted, but the rest are question marks.
Gardenhire already said that Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz will start the season while the young pitchers get seasoning in the minors. Is this the right idea? Let’s say that those two struggle badly in spring training while the young guys go out and outpitch them. Should they be in the rotation? Just because those two are veterans does not mean that they should start. The kids should be in the rotation if they earned it. Gardy talks about how young pitchers will go up and down. What harm will it do if they struggle that way? If they win their games, this is all it matters.
Ponson and Ortiz actually have done well so far in their spring training outings. This should be encouraging. It is up to them to keep it up. The best scenario would be for them to do well so that way the young pitchers do not have to rush right away and step up. It would be nice if they do very well from now till October. Those two guys are a big if. Rick Anderson has been known as a pitching coach that gets the most out of his pitchers so Twins GM Terry Ryan is banking on him to make those two pitchers legit. As good as Rick is, he is not perfect. Those two pitchers have to listen and apply to it. It is not as simple as it looks. We will see if those two are up to the task.
Carlos Silva should be under the gun right now. He was horrible last year. He did not get off to a great start in his first outing of Spring Training last week as the Yankees starters just was feasting on his pitches. He has to wonder about his situation based on several incidents last season. He turned the team off by quitting on them for a tummyache against the Devil Rays. Then, he told his manager and his pitching coach that he was too tired to pitch an inning against the Astros and the Rangers. He knows that he needed to start off well in spring training for him to be in the rotation.
The question is can he recover. It seems everyone has figure out how to hit off him. He throws one pitch, which is the sinker. If his sinker goes really down, then he is unstoppable, but if he does not, well then he is throwing batting practice. The problem with sinkers is that it can be up and down. He needs to come up with assortment of pitches like a changeup, forkball, or screwball. He can just be predictable with one pitches. This will likely be his downfall. People question Ponson and Ortiz, but at least those two got other pitches to throw. Carlos’s other problem is that he lets his frustration get the best out of him. He gives in easily when teams start to hit him or if he is behind the count often.
It will be interesting if he can recover. He has this spring training to get it going. If he makes the rotation, then he should be judged on a monthly basis until he has proven that he has it. If he fails at any time, Gardenhire can not be loyal to him like he was last year.
If there is something to watch for this season, look out at the young pitchers in this organization. Matt Garza and Glen Perkins will be garnering headlines. If they can step up and be very productive, they can be in the rotation this year.
Garza did a good job when he was called up in emergency. Liriano went down with an injury so the team called him up. This is pretty impressive when one notice that he was in Single A just two years ago. It could not have been easy for him to make the jump. He had his ups and downs, but looking back at it, how could anyone be down on him. He has had a good shot to make the rotation when the team leaves Fort Myers. If he pitches well, how could he not make it?
Perkins could either be in the bullpen or be in the rotation. He should be in the team in some capacity. It would be nice if he contributes in the rotation this year. He is projected to be very good. He did a good job pitching for the Gophers when he was in college. He was a strikeout pitcher back then. He has that aura and cockiness that make him successful. It is a good trait to have.
The one guy that will not make the rotation is Scott Baker. He has been horrendous so far. It is very sad to see him pitch like this. He made his major league debut couple of years ago at Anaheim. He was very good in his debut. He threw strikes and he made quick work for the Angels. He was bound to have a very good year last year when he made it look easy against a very good Yankee lineup in April at the Metrodome. It seems that he has not recovered since. His confidence is shot. He expects to fail when he is on the mound. He has control problems too. For whatever reason, he just can not keep the ball down. The team has to wonder if he lost confidence in his ability to pitch. He has to move on to a different league or elsewhere for him to get that confidence back. It is just sad to see him fail like this because he has the talent and the stuff to do well.
It will be interesting how this will all sort out and how this will work out in the regular season. Everyone is on a trial from start to finish. These guys control their own fate in the rotation.
Let’s just hope those guys get in the rotation by earning it rather than being there for their status.
If Sidney and Ramon wants to make a huge impression to the team and the fans, they can start by beating the White Sox in the first weekend of the season. That will come a long way. I really hope they do well because as much as I want to see the kids pitch, I don't think it will be good if they rush themselves in the fire.
BTW, I would love to see you post at Lavelle's blog at the Strib site.