Week 20 MSSSMRMoW -



Dusty and Kevin's  match up is week 20's Mike Shaw
Subaru Super Mo Replay Matchup of the Week.

With the playoffs coming up, I wanted to feature a match that had playoff implications, but was also a tight game and had lots of different things that I could focus on.  Huckleberries match up with the Dust Bunnies checks off all of those boxes (the playoff implications one needs to be stretched a little, but Dusty is fighting for the final playoff spot, so...Judges?   YES!  It qualifies!).  As a 5-4 final score implies, it was a very tight game, and as you'll see when we play bottom 5/top 5, there were plenty of things to focus on.

Team	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	W	K	ERA	WHIP	QS	SV+H	Score
Dusty's Team	31	25	2	0.238	0.311	0.419	4	41	4.20	1.33	3	6	4
TBD	30	36	2	0.328	0.379	0.515	2	41	2.70	1.36	3	5	5

Before we get started, the Shaw this week was very nearly a sonnet devoted to the excellence or David Ortiz because, damn, that slash line would impregnate women everywhere if slash lines could impregnate women (its like the Antonio Cromartie of slash lines).  I found this, so I have to put it up somewhere.  Antonio was a busy busy man in 2010 and 2011, fathering 7 children by 6 different women in those 2 years alone.  The final tally (well...to date tally might be a better description) - 10 children by 8 different woman in 6 different states in 7 years.

Anyways, back to bottom 5, top 5.

Bottom 5-
5- Kurt Suzuki - C - Huckleberries - 095/174/095 0R 2RBI 0SB
Suzuki has been solid all year for the Twinks and for Kevin as his 295/357/384 slash line shows.  A bump in the road will happen from time to time, especially in this weekly format and especially for a catcher towards the end of the season.  Suzuki is on pace to catch more innings than he has since he was Oakland's starting catcher back from 2008 through 2011.
4- Chris Davis - 1b - Dust Bunnies - 091/130/136 1R 2RBI 0SB
It actually does get worse from here, though I am not sure how.  Unlike Suzuki, Davis has not been solid all year for the Orioles.  In fact, I cannot believe that Davis and his 189/289/385 slash line havent been demoted to bench duty for long stretches of the season.  Now with Manny Machado out, Davis is manning the hot corner and has become a pivotal piece of Baltimore's playoff hopes.  Sorry Baltimore, that playoff dream might be as realistic as Dusty's.
3- Rex Brothers - RP - Dust Bunnies - 1 inning. 3ER, 4 baserunners 2 Ks (27.00/4.00)
Brothers through 1 inning across 2 appearances, so he isnt higher because his impact wasnt that great  on the team's ratios.  And...hes a relief pitcher named Rex Brothers.  For some reason, when I hear his name I always think that he is like a lost member of the Walker Bros. Pancake House Empire, even through it makes absolutely no sense.
2- Tiny Tim Lincecum - SP - Dust Bunnies - 2.2 innings 4ER, 10 baserunners 2Ks (13.50/3.75)
Lincecum's Jeckyl and Hyde season continues.  Its just another bump in the road on Timmy's journey from multiple Cy Young award winner to closer whose stats most resemble Brad Lidge's after Albert Pujols murdered his confidence.
1- Francisco Liriano - SP - Dust Bunnies - 4 innings 7ER, 13 baserunners 4Ks (15.75/3.25)
Somehow, Liriano continues to be employed to try to get people out in professional baseball games. Actually...he might be more Jeckyl and Hyde than Lincecum, as Liriano had turned in 5 straight quality starts (and the start before that went 5 shutout innings) striking out as many as 11 in a single game.   His season record is now at 3-10 though he probably isnt that bad, and he is still striking out more than a batter an inning.  Even still, I wouldnt want to pin my playoff hopes on both Liriano and Lincecum, but, we all know that Dusty fears changing his team.

Top 5-
5- Josh Hamilton - OF - Huckleberries - 316/360/737 5R 8RBI
Last night Jim texted me to ask how it is possible that Josh Hamilton is both so awesome and so terrible at the same time.  Thats all I need to write about that.
4- Ian Kinsler - 2b - Dust Bunnies - 281/324/469 9R 5RBI 2 SB
Volume of runs over quality of AVG and OBP.
3- Adrian Beltre - 3b - Huckleberries - 526/571/684 3R 2RBI
2- Victor Martinez - 1b - Huckleberries - 357/455/607 6R 11RBI
Has there been a better pickup this year than VMart?  I think we would be hard pressed to find one as Martinez has hit 322/401/518 with 41R and 50RBI in 245 ABs since joining the Kilmers.
1- Danny Santana - 2b/ss/OF - Huckleberries - 378/410/622 7R 6RBI 1 SB
Is there a better story for Twins fans in this lost season than Danny Santana?  At the beginning of the year he wasnt even an afterthought (a never-thought?) and he has come on to show the Twinks that he could be a viable centerfielder or backup SS (I am not sure you want him starting at SS over an entire season...maybe, but I would need to see more than what I have seen from him) on a winning team.  With Aaron Hicks flopping for a second straight year and Byron Buxton's arrival likely delayed by spending most of the year on the DL (and losing precious at bats), having a player like Santana step up gives the Twins organization and fans something to take away from what has otherwise been a lost year (I will also give Phil Hughes a hat tip here.  He has been great as well and should be a decent rotation piece for the next couple of years...if he isnt traded for prospects at some point.)