Midseason Report Card - Pitchers

Report card continued

Matt

STARTERS (Overall grade - B-)
Livan Hernandez - D
I don't care about nine wins. This guy is throwing batting practice,
and there's no reason to believe that will change. He's taking up a
rotation spot that should be going to Liriano, whose lights-out
pitching in AAA is being wasted. And I really should give Livan and
his 5.44/1.62 (ERA/WHIP) a lower grade than that.

Scott Baker - A-
Missed a big chunk of time, but who is going to argue with 3.32/1.18?
I was never a big believer in Baker, but am happy to be wrong.

Nick Blackburn - A-
His numbers aren't quite the equal of Baker's, but who expected this
much out of the rookie? 3.72/1.28 is okay in my book.

Kevin Slowey - C+
Jeckyll & Hyde. He'll be lights-out one game and rotten the next. He
was supposed to be the better prospect (compared to Blackburn) but has
yet to show why.

Glen Perkins - C
Perkins has been playing with fire. The 4.27 ERA isn't bad, but the
WHIP of 1.48 is almost Livanesque. It's too high, and eventually
Perkins will pay the price. He belongs in the bullpen in favor of
Liriano right now (well Hernandez belongs on the waiver wire in favor
of Liriano, but ...)

Boof Bonser (as a starter) - F
Boof was a disaster as a starter. ERA of 5.97 as a starter.

BULLPEN (Overall grade - C+)
Joe Nathan - A+
Dude's filthy. 1.19/0.96. That's fantastic. It won't happen, but he
should at least get into the Cy Young discussion.

Matt Guerrier - B
He probably had an A- going until the other night, though he did
bounce back nicely. You can't argue with the ERA of 3.42, though the
WHIP of 1.36 is cause for concern

Jesse Crain - B+
He seems to do best when he starts an inning. Doesn't look to have
quite the stuff he did before his injury, but he's getting the job
done at 2.61/1.37.

Dennys Reyes - A-
He gets the job done. He's got a role and he fills it well. 2.81/1.17.

Brian Bass - D+
5.27/1.60 - yikes. This guy doesn't cut it, and Gardy seems to be the
only one who hasn't heard the news.

Craig Breslow - A-
This guy has been a nice pickup. Only 20 and 2/3rds innings since
coming over, but the numbers are good - 2.18/1.26

Boof Bonser (as a reliever) - F-
ERA as a reliever, 8.80. Yeah, F doesn't quite cover it.

Pat Neshek - INCOMPLETE
Neshek's numbers are hardly worth looking at with just 13 innings and
him on the shelf for the year. But the Twins do miss him, there can be
no doubt about that.

On Jul 12, 1:35�am, Matt <AcesWi... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> Report card continued
>
> Matt
>
> STARTERS (Overall grade - B-)
> Livan Hernandez - D
> I don't care about nine wins. This guy is throwing batting practice,
> and there's no reason to believe that will change. He's taking up a
> rotation spot that should be going to Liriano, whose lights-out
> pitching in AAA is being wasted. And I really should give Livan and
> his 5.44/1.62 (ERA/WHIP) a lower grade than that.
>
> Scott Baker - A-
> Missed a big chunk of time, but who is going to argue with 3.32/1.18?
> I was never a big believer in Baker, but am happy to be wrong.
>
> Nick Blackburn - A-
> His numbers aren't quite the equal of Baker's, but who expected this
> much out of the rookie? 3.72/1.28 is okay in my book.
>
> Kevin Slowey - C+
> Jeckyll & Hyde. He'll be lights-out one game and rotten the next. He
> was supposed to be the better prospect (compared to Blackburn) but has
> yet to show why.
>
> Glen Perkins - C
> Perkins has been playing with fire. The 4.27 ERA isn't bad, but the
> WHIP of 1.48 is almost Livanesque. It's too high, and eventually
> Perkins will pay the price. He belongs in the bullpen in favor of
> Liriano right now (well Hernandez belongs on the waiver wire in favor
> of Liriano, but ...)
>
> Boof Bonser (as a starter) - F
> Boof was a disaster as a starter. ERA of 5.97 as a starter.
>
> BULLPEN (Overall grade - C+)
> Joe Nathan - A+
> Dude's filthy. 1.19/0.96. That's fantastic. It won't happen, but he
> should at least get into the Cy Young discussion.
>
> Matt Guerrier - B
> He probably had an A- going until the other night, though he did
> bounce back nicely. You can't argue with the ERA of 3.42, though the
> WHIP of 1.36 is cause for concern
>
> Jesse Crain - B+
> He seems to do best when he starts an inning. Doesn't look to have
> quite the stuff he did before his injury, but he's getting the job
> done at 2.61/1.37.
>
> Dennys Reyes - A-
> He gets the job done. He's got a role and he fills it well. 2.81/1.17.
>
> Brian Bass - D+
> 5.27/1.60 - yikes. This guy doesn't cut it, and Gardy seems to be the
> only one who hasn't heard the news.
>
> Craig Breslow - A-
> This guy has been a nice pickup. Only 20 and 2/3rds innings since
> coming over, but the numbers are good - 2.18/1.26
>
> Boof Bonser (as a reliever) - F-
> ERA as a reliever, 8.80. Yeah, F doesn't quite cover it.
>
> Pat Neshek - INCOMPLETE
> Neshek's numbers are hardly worth looking at with just 13 innings and
> him on the shelf for the year. But the Twins do miss him, there can be
> no doubt about that.

Hey Matt,

That's a good rundown of the first half pitching. I hope you are right
about Liriano. I hope he comes back in the second half of the season
and stays healthy. He is so much fun to watch when he is healthy and
pitching well.

David