You would think that with less than one and a half months left in the season, a major league manager would have figured out how best to use the personnel available to him. However, oft-praised Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is still clue-less as to how to manage his bullpen. The Twins bullpen, the nearly un-hittable group of pitchers in years past that allowed the Twins to compete with a modest payroll and a light-hitting lineup, has completely fallen apart this season. It would be a miracle if this Minnesota Twins team with its inconsistent bullpen managed to make a deep post-season run.
Throughout the season many things have become obvious to Twins fans regarding the bullpen, however Ron Gardenhire continues to throw the same pitchers out there in the same situations night after night like a broken record, and expects the result to somehow be different from the night before.
Lets examine the Twins current pitching predicament:
The Starters: The Twins have a very promising starting staff which is poised to be successful for years to come. The downside, is that the Twins starting staff is young and inexperienced. Following the dismissal of Livan Hernandez, no pitcher on the Twins staff has more than 9 wins. More troubling is the fact that in recent weeks the Twins starting staff has shown significant difficulty in pitching past the 6th inning, taxing an already weak bullpen.
The Bullpen: Where to start? The Twins bullpen is a complete mess.
Brian Bass - Rookie Twins right handed long-reliever who demonstrated promise coming out of spring training. Bass is out of options, and would likely be claimed by another team if the Twins were to attempt send him down to the minors. While Bass was a hard throwing pitcher with a good slider who attacked hitters early in the season, Gardenhire demoralized Bass by continuing to throw the rookie into pressure packed situations, in which he inevitabily surrendered runs. In the last few months Bass has been horrendous, he is garunteed to surrender multiple hits and more than likely at least one run any time he appears in a ball game.
Boof Bonser - The once promising young Twins right handed starter has had a terrible year. Control issues and an incredibly hittable fastball got Bonser demoted to the Bullpen. He was briefly given an audition as the setup man, which he promptly failed at. Like Bass, Bonser has become a sparingly used long reliever who is guaranteed to give up multiple hits and at least one run when he appears. The Twins attempted to trade Bonser at the deadline, but couldn’t find a deal that worked for them. No doubt they hope that his age and upside convince someone to part with prospects in the off-season, or that they can somehow fix Bonser. Bonser’s features an excellent sweeping 12-6 curveball, which makes you wonder why he never throws it.
Matt Guerrier - Right hand Matt Guerrier was once a dependable long-reliever for the Twins. In recent years he has proved tremendously useful for the Twins pitching in a variety of a situation. Unfortunately, like former Twins reliever Juan Rincon, everything has fallen apart for Guerrier this year. Following the injury to setup man Pat Neshek, Guerrier has been Gardenhire’s primary choice in the 8th inning. The problem is that Guerrier has neither the physical ability nor the mental fortitude to be a setup man. Guerrier has battled control issues throughout the second half of the season and has surrendered multiple Twins leads so far. One reason for Guerrier’s dramatic decline may be the loss of 2MPH off of his fastball. While Guerrier was never an over powering pitcher, he was able to locate his fastball which topped out at 94MPH while mixing in an excellent curveball. This year Guerrier’s fastball has topped out at 92PMH and has either been thrown right over the middle of the plate, or no where near it. Furthermore, Guerrier seems to have lost all confidence in his on-time strikeout pitch, his curveball. I think everyone in Twins Territory realizes that Guerrier is fried, at least for this season, and should be reserved for blowouts, and other non-pressure situations. Yet, once again Gardenhire brought in Guerrier in the 8th inning today. He promptly walked two and allowed 2 ER.
Jesse Crain - Right-hander Jesse Crain was once thought to be the heir apparent for Twins’ closer Joe Nathan. Following shoulder surgery last season, the emergence of Pat Neshek, and Joe Nathan’s contract extension, Twins fans will settle for Crain becoming a middle relief pitcher. In the early half of the season Crain struggled mightily while trying to come back from season-ending shoulder surgery. As the season has progressed, Crain has re-gained his velocity, and once again tops out around 94-96MPH. Like many Twins relievers, Crain possesses an excellent 12-6 curveball which along with his slider is his strikeout pitch. In the second half of the season Crain has been one of the more reliable Twins relievers, only struggling mightily in approximately half of his appearances. Crain is plagued by lack of control caused by his attempts to overthrow his fastball. If crain can calm down and locate his fast ball while mixing in a healthy dose of his curveball, Crain could become an effective temporary replacement for Pat Neshek.
Dennys Reyes - Big Sweat is a willy veteran who has found a role with the Twins has a left-handed specialist. He features a NASTY slider which is his primary strikeout pitch. If you look at Reyes’ numbers this season, you may be convinced that he is having a dominant season. Incorrect. Reyes’ stats are skewed by the fact that he is often brought in to face just one batter. Nevertheless, Reyes is one of the more reliable relievers the Twins have. Unfortunately, several problems have popped up in the second half of this season, which may in part be due to overuse (Reyes is tied for 2nd most appearances of any AL reliever). The first knock against Reyes is that he can’t seem to get lefties out anymore. Once brought in exclusively to get the Twins out of a jam against lefties, Reyes has been extremely hittable for Lefties since the All-Star break. The second problem with Reyes is that his nasty slider is…well, TOO nasty. Reyes is often brought in with runners on in scoring position, and asked to get the Twins out of a mess(usually created by Matt Guerrier, Boof Bonser, or Brian Bass). Unfortunately, Reyes’ out pitch, the Slider almost always ends up getting away from Catcher Joe Mauer, and either allows the runners to advance, or allows a run to score. Gardenhire needs to re-evaluate his use of Reyes, including the possibility of bringing Reyes in during the 7th or 8th inning with a clean slate, and being allowed to pitch to lefties and righties.
Craig Breslow - Craig Breslow has been a pleasant surprise for the Twins. The left-handed reliever was claimed off of waivers earlier in the season from Cleveland, and features a career ERA under 3.00. Breslow has been one of the best Twins relievers so far this year, however Gardenhire’s use of him has been terrible. Earlier in the season as Guerrier and other struggled mightily Gardenhire refused to use Breslow, and then suddenly do the fatigue that has plagued the bullpen, Gardenhire has begun throwing Breslow into impossible situations. For his part, the Yale graduate has done pretty well. While Breslow has allowed the majority of inherited runners to score, when he is allowed to start an inning with a clean slate he has been very effective. Breslow is most effective when he mixes in a healthy does of off-speed pitches. The Twins should consider using Breslow as their setup man if no other solution presents itself.
Joe Nathan – Finally, ‘the horse’, Joe Nathan has been amazing this season. Twins GM Bill Smith clearly made a terrific decision is signing Nathan to a 4-year extension this off-season. Nathan is having perhaps the best season of his career this year, with 33 Saves and an ERA just over 1.00. The only problem for the Twins has been getting the ball into Joe Nathan’s hand with a save situation intact. While it is important that the Twins do not over-use Nathan, they have to consider the possibility pitching him for more than one inning in order to safeguard close leads during the crucial run of games. Nathan was once a starting pitcher, and is being paid too much to be used only twice a week. Like Breslow and Reyes, Nathan seems to struggle when he is brought in with runners in scoring position. As a result, if the Twins are going to ask Nathan to come in during the 8th inning, the damn well better do it to start the inning, and not after one of the other relievers has already created a mess.
The Twins deperately need a reliever other than Joe Nathan to step-up and demonstrate the ability and willingness to attack hitters int he 8th inning. If the Twins bullpen continues to be used by Gardy the way he has been doing, I garuntee you that even if they make the playoffs (which is a BIG IF), they will be bounced in the first round.
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