Runners left on base by the Twins: 11.
The Twins have prided themselves on delivering with runners on base and in scoring position the last several seasons, but in the early going of 2010 that has not been the case. I'm not being nit-picky; that's tough to do given their 9-4 record. However, leaving this many ducks on the pond is borderline alarming and the issue has become an early-season trend that bears mentioning.
Consider how well the Twins have done with runners on base the last two seasons. Here are their totals from 2008 and 2009:
2008The Twins hit .298 with runners on base (second in the league).
The Twins scored 773 runs withe runners on base (second in the league).
The Twins hit .305 with runners in scoring position (first in the league).
The Twins scored 684 runs with runners in scoring position (second in the league).
2009
The Twins hit .266 with runners on base (18th in the league).
The Twins scored 711 runs withe runners on base (fourth in the league).
The Twins hit .278 with runners in scoring position (fourth in the league).
The Twins scored 639 runs with runners in scoring position (third in the league).
Now, compare that with how poorly they have done this season (through Tuesday):
2010
The Twins are hitting .265 with runners on base (11th in the league).
The Twins have scored 63 runs with runners on base (5th in the league).
The Twins are hitting .248 with runners in scoring position (18th in the league).
The Twins have scored 49 runs with runners in scoring position (12th in the league).
What's really troubling is how poorly the Twins bats have performed with the bases loaded this season. So far they have had 19 at bats with the bases juiced and have produced just three hits for a .159 batting average. Case in point, Twins cleanup hitter Justin Morneau, who is supposed to be their best run producer, has been up a team-high four times with the bases loaded and has yet to collect his first hit.
So the Twins have the third best record in baseball and are winning at nearly a .700 clip despite their abysmal performance with ducks on the pond. It makes you wonder how many runs they might start scoring once they get the bats going with RISP. Denard Span and Orlando Hudson have started doing their part by setting the table after both got off to slow starts. Now it's time for the meat of the order (with the exception of Joe Mauer, who is hitting well in every situation) to come through.
Full Twins stats with RISP, courtesy of ESPN.com.
Happened again yesterday. Granted they scroed runs with the bases yesterday, but it was on the wild pitch.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what your saying, but it's just another reason for optimism. It's so tough to get really high and excited about a start like this, but when we can point out these types of situations, it only makes the optimism that much easier to find. If they do in fact start coming through in these situations, they will be even better. Just hope they can keep up the solid starting pitching....
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