Puckett's Pond » 2011 Playoffs

Kyle Lohse and Little Nicky Punto Take on the Rangers

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:40:09 +0000

It’s official: Kyle Lohse, Nick Punto, and 23 other players that nobody cares about will represent the National League and the City of Saint Louis in the World Series. The only thing standing between these former Twins and a title is a ragtag group of Texans led by another Twin of yesteryear, Ron Washington.

After what seemed like six decades of battling his tail off for the Twins, Punto slid headfirst into free agency last offseason, and he landed safely in St. Louis. Some Twins fans were amused by his energy and kamikaze style of play, but his pitiful hitting prowess earned him as many detractors as supporters. For the 2011 Cards, Punto managed a .278/.388/.421 line that puts Tsuyoshi Nishioka‘s .226/.278/.249 to shame. And as usual, Punto was well above average in the field, sporting a 14.2 UZR/150 at second base and a 10.1 mark at shortstop. Perhaps the Twins would have been better off keeping him around. Then again, he missed a large portion of the season due to injury, so perhaps he was already with the 2011 Twins in spirit. (more…)

Delmon Young is on Fire!

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 13:00:11 +0000

The name sound familiar, but the uniform and the plethora of home runs are brand new. We all know Delmon Young, but who doesn’t find it incredibly strange to see him starring in the postseason for the Detroit Tigers?

Young has played in eight of the Tigers’ 10 playoff games (he missed a couple games of the ALCS due to an oblique injury). He has eight hits this postseason, but five of those are home runs. That gives him a lopsided .267/.313/.767 slash line. Young homered three times in the ALDS, including two in Game 4. He repeated the multi-homer performance on Thursday night against Texas. With the Tigers facing elimination, Young provided a clutch performance to send the ALCS back to Texas.

Five homers in eight playoff games? Young played more than 10 times that many games for the Twins this year (84), and from April through August he managed only four homers. His line with Minnesota in 2011 was a weak .266/.305/.357. It was a major disappointment, especially following his breakout 2010 campaign in which he went .298/.333/.493 with 21 round-trippers. But the power came back the second he left the team (perhaps proving that the 2011 Twins were cursed). His first game with Detroit was against the Twins, and he went deep off Francisco Liriano. He went on to hit seven more for Detroit in 40 games down the stretch. (more…)

Should You Root for the Milwaukee Brewers?

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:00:07 +0000

Still not sure who to root for this October? If you weren’t convinced by our articles on Arizona, Atlanta, Boston, or Detroit, perhaps you might want to consider the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lou Olsen will definitely be cheering on the Brew Crew this fall. He’s the Lead Writer for Reviewing the Brew, Fansided’s Milwaukee Brewer website. He very helpfully provided some reasons for Twins fans to join the Brewer Bandwagon:

Why should Twins fans root for the Brewers? Because Brewers fans have rooted for the Twins in the playoffs every year for the past decade. Brewers fans would much rather watch a small market team like the Twins win, as oppossed to the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Cubs, Angels, Dodgers, and so on. We are not talking about football here (I will never, I repeat never, root for the Vikings). The Twins and Brewers are allies. They play two friendly series each season and there is never any bad blood. Plus, we are neighbors. (more…)