Bonus Resolution 2 - Get Back Into Baseball - Season Wrap-Up

Right now baseball is in the midst of the postseason. Unfortunately the Twins are not in it. They had a disastrous year finishing 66-96, which was 27 game behind first place in their division. I had a heck of a year keeping up with them though. I managed to keep track of every game they played this season thanks to the handy MLB At Bat app on my phone and kept up with daily stats and game write ups. They had a promising first several weeks of the season when they managing to hover around the .500 mark until they hit a few slumps they were unable to battle out of. I think their best part of the season was the first two and a half to three weeks after the all-star break where I think they only lost just a few games during that stretch.

For the most part, I managed to stick with my goal and catch at least one Twins game a week on television whether it be at a restaurant or sports bar, or watching cable at a friend's or family member's house. There were probably a few weeks where I missed a game, but there were also at least a few weeks to make up for it where I caught two games that week. And when I thought it was not going to happen, I finally made it out to Target Field once this year to catch a Twins game. It just happened to take place on September 30, the final game of the regular season against the Indians. As luck would have it, I was going down to the Twin Cities that weekend with a couple friends to catch the Nine Inch Nails concert the night before. The concert was a blast by the way, and NIN did not disappoint! I checked the schedule and was ecstatic to find their last game of the season was going on at home the next day.

I did not think my two friends were going to go since they are not sports fans and was planning on going to the game alone since I drove down met up with them separately. But when I brought up I was going they said they would go along with me to my surprise. I probably should have went alone because one friend kept making fun of the game while we were there and kept getting under my skin throughout the game. Oh well, I still managed to have a semi-decent time out there, and for being a late September game, we had some lucky weather with clear bright skies and temps in the low 70s. Since I was there I had to get a overpriced beer and hot dog too! Target Field is still as magnificent as I remember from two years ago. A five star facility all around. Unfortunately the Twins lost 5-1, but I did get to see my favorite reliever Casey Fien, get an inning of action, and I was glad to see Scott Diamond get a September call up start and for the most part had a quality start, minus a trio of fielding errors in the 6th which ultimately cost the game for the Twinkies. It was also special to see All-Star closer, Glen Perkins give a big speech in front of the team before the game essentially apologizing for the lackluster season and promised to make up for it next season.

I do have some final season thoughts, just keep in mind I still do not consider myself a baseball stat junkie but am just going by my observations throughout the year and what I have read on the daily game recaps. I was bummed to see Justin Morneau traded, I understand he may not be as powerful as he once was, but he was their next best player this year behind Mauer. At least we got a decent player from the Pirates in return in Presly, and I guess I will be rooting for Morneau in the postseason with the Pirates as they are currently up 2-1. I hope Mauer makes a full recovery and does not have any unfortunate long lasting effects from his season ending concussion. I kept hearing how Morneau was never the same after his 2010 concussion, and that would be terrible if the same happens to Mauer.

I want Aaron Hicks to be given another chance in 2014 and hope he plays all next year in the Majors. He was probably called up a year too early as he really struggled in the first several weeks of the season. I believe he finished with around a .198 average, but minus his atrocious first several weeks and I bet he was probably batting right around .230ish until he got called down in July. I believe the only main regular starters that lasted all season were Ryan Doumit and Brian Dozier. Doumit had a couple of hot streaks during the year, but the last month or two of the season he appeared to be in a slump, and during the game I was at he kept striking out. Dozier had a real strong last few months and came through with some clutch homers and a lot of big hits.

I hope the Twins keep Florimon as my underdog pick. I cannot explain it, but I feel there is something there and he can be at least somewhat reliable for getting on base once a game. As far as pitching goes, my vote for best/least worst starter goes to Kevin Correia. I saw him pitch his way out of a few nasty jams, and have at least several strong performances this year. Reading some of his post game interviews got me on his side too where he owned up to his mistakes but had at least in my view justifiable explanations for them. I hope Diamond sticks in the rotation too all of next season. He just kept getting bad breaks this year after a standout rookie season. The games I saw him pitch he usually looked strong through the 4th, but would usually collapse in the 5th or 6th. I hope Worley gets his act together too, the Twins were really banking on him after they acquired him from Philly, but he whiffed big time. It sounded like he had a strong second half of the season in the minors until he got hurt, so maybe that got him a reality check and he will have a decent 2014 start. The Twins have an awesome bullpen and I absolutely hope they stick with at least Duensing, Burton and especially Fien and Perkins.

That does it for this baseball season. I will still keep up with the Pirates in the post season and root for Morneau, but I am glad I managed to stick with the Twins all year, and am looking forward to doing it again next season!