You know it’s been a long night and lopsided game when Twins outfielder Matt Wallner makes arguably the best pitching appearance of the contest.
Perhaps he wasn’t as good as reliever Cole Sands, but he certainly was in the running after the Twins were bombed 15-2 by the New York Mets on Monday.
Starter Simeon Woods Richardson turned in his first real stinker of the season, allowing six runs across three-plus innings, but the bullpen wasn’t much better. Josh Staumont got rocked for five runs and Brock Stewart, who was so good before his injury, served up four more. Manager Rocco Baldelli finally called on Wallner, who allowed only two hits across four outs.
David Festa, the “Slim Reaper,” gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
-Call it blowout Monday. In addition to the Twins, the Phillies lost 14-4 to the New York Yankees and the M’s were blasted by the Red Sox, 14-7.
-The trade deadline is almost here, and although the Twins have been connected to certain starting pitchers — Frankie Montas (now unavailable) and Cal Quantrill, to name two — I’m wondering if their real need isn’t in the bullpen. Recent appearances by Steven Okert, Caleb Thielbar and Stewart have me worried.
-Prior to the trade deadline in 1987, the Twins traded a player to be named later for aging veteran and future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, who was pitching for the Cleveland Indians.
The (Minneapolis) Star and Tribune:
“There are no illusions. The Twins are well aware that he is not the Steve Carlton of years past.
“He is the aging lefthander who in 1986 was released by Philadelphia and San Francisco and allowed to become a free agent by the Chicago White Sox. He is the pitcher who failed a training camp tryout with the Phillies this spring before catching on with Cleveland.
“But it is a sign of the times that on Friday the Twins turned to Carlton, 42, in hopes of stabilizing their beleaguered pitching staff. Excluding Frank Viola, Twins starters are 2-8 in the past 20 games (the team is 8-12) with a 6.46 ERA.”
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer story, under a headline that reads: “From the wigwam to the Homerdome.”
“Steve Carlton, the walking record book, left the Indians yesterday the same way he arrived — quietly and in a rush.
“The Indians traded Carlton, 42, to the Minnesota Twins for the infamous player to be named later. The Twins hope Carlton, by force of his considerable will, if nothing else, can keep them on top in the American League West pennant race for the last two months of the season with some pressure pitching.”
The Plain Dealer story gets even funnier:
“Spotted by a reporter outside the Westin Hotel in Toronto yesterday, Carlton said the obvious, “I’ve been traded to the Twins.”
“When asked how he felt about going to the Twins and pitching in the Metrodome, a sweet place for home run hitters, but a bitter park for pitchers, Carlton uttered a totally Carlton-like statement.
“It’s all subjective,” said the man who has won 328 games in his 22 big-league seasons.”
And how did Lefty do in Minnesota in 1987? He produced an underwhelming record of 1-5 with a 6.70 ERA.
Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com