For us at Cold Omaha, one of the most frustrating aspects of being a Twins fan this year is all the negativity that comes from the self-proclaimed experts on the internet. Bloggers (this blogger included no doubt) have become an irritating bunch this season, whining about roster moves, call-ups, the bullpen, and Nick Punto.One of our biggest frustrations is the constant complaining about Matt Capps. Sure, Capps isn't Mariano Rivera in his prime, but compared to the rest of the healthy options in the Twins bullpen, he is far and away the best closer on the staff. Brian Fuentes is hurt. Jesse Crain is not trustworthy. Joe Nathan ain't walking through that door. John Rauch has all the same issues Matt Capps has, multiplied by fifty.
Capps has pitched in 19 games for the Twins this year. He has 14 K's, 11 saves, and an ERA below 2.o. Sure, his WHIP is a bloated 1.47 and he pitches to contact, but we knew what we were getting with him and no matter how often people try to tell us differently -- he was worth Wilson Ramos during a potential World Series season. Most of those people complaining about trading for Capps are the same people who were clamoring for Anthony Slama earlier this year. How did that work out?
The point is, Capps is the best option the Twins have at the back-end of the bullpen. And even though the experts think they know Capps will implode in the post-season, nobody really has a clue. We would be very happy to send him out there against the Yankees with 1-run lead in the 9th inning. He's probably going to get that shot - if he blows it, then you can complain.
Until then, enough already. Thanks.
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2 comments:
Yeah, I agree. Matt Capps is probably the best option in the pen. And I definitely prefer him over Rauch.
But I would like to see Matt Capps work on a better "out pitch." He seems to be suffering a bit of "Baker-itis," where he gets 2 strikes on a batter, then the batter fouls off 147 pitches. When that happens, it's hard to avoid making a mistake. It's not so bad if a starter does it; it can hurt if a closer does.
But, if he can work on that and finish guys off, he'll be just fine.
While I agree there's too much complaining about Capps (due perhaps to how spoiled Twins fans have been by Nathan), I actually find it refreshing this year that all of blogdom has spread their negativity around a bit, compared to years past.
They complain about Capps, Cuddyer, Mauer, Butera, Tolbert, Rauch, Guerrier, Hardy, and most of the starting rotation. There's at least some variety in there, as opposed to the daily game of "how can we turn every Twins post in to a Punto bashing?"
If I have to read negativity, I prefer some variety in it.
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