The Minnesota Twins are evidence of Murphy’s Law taking effect this season. Whatever could have gone wrong certainly has for the ball club. That is why it is time for pitching coach Rick Anderson to take his approach and turn it upside down. Some say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This staff is busted into a million little pieces right now.
Glen Perkins has been one of the few hurlers to post a winning record, but it is with such a small sample size that it is hard to get very excited about it. Jim Thome has recently lifted the spirits of those around the team by attaining his 600th home run. It is especially welcome, because he is the antithesis of Barry Bonds. Everyone has nothing but well wishes to pass along to him to commemorate the tremendous accomplishment.
Rick Anderson should throw pitch counts and innings pitched out the window for the remainder of the season. What he should be looking for is effectiveness no matter for what the duration is. Some of the staff may be attempting to pace themselves to keep some energy in the tank for later innings. Going for broke makes sense at this time because nothing else is working. Having the same approach will only attain similar results.
Heading to a four or six man rotation could do the trick. Either way, players will be taken out of their comfort zone. Being comfortable is fine if everything is matriculating as expected, but it is the last place a pitcher should have refuge if it’s not. The lesser of the two options makes a little more sense because then the squad could be rid of the weakest link. Then this person could still get the normal amount of work done by pitching simulated games. It would make more sense to do this than give him a traditional bullpen role, especially if he is seen as a starter for years to come.
The organization has always had a philosophy of pitching to contact. That shouldn’t be the case any longer because the collective earned run average of the staff is through the roof. Going for strikeouts should take priority now because then they don’t have to pitch out of the stretch and have their focus deviated from the batter. There are many players out of position defensively for the team. This means that the likelihood of getting great plays to bail them out of tenuous situations is slim.
Calling up Zack Greinke of the Milwaukee Brewers would not be a bad idea. He has done a one eighty on his season and could provide a few tips for success. It could be simple things such as diet and a workout regimen. A different game day routine could even make a profound difference in future results attained. Greinke does have a tremendous amount of run support from one of the top two line-ups in the National League, but he has still held up his end of the bargain.