I hope Richard Griffin and Ken Fidlin, who each wrote about how the Jays should do things 'the Twins way' in the past week, were watching the Twins/Yankee game tonight.
The each made a big deal about how the Twins win with fundamentals, they don't make mistakes and how they can win with a low payroll. Well for the second time in three games a stupid base running mistake cost them a chance at a game. In the 8th inning tonight, Twins down by a run, Nick Punto leads off with a double. Denard Span gets an infield single to Derek Jeter, but Jeter, noticing Span rounded third hard, threw home, Jorge Posada threw to ARod at third and Punto was tagged out. A stupid base running mistake.
But, of course, the Twins wouldn't do something like that, just the Jays.
Yes folks, fundamentals are important, but all teams drill them into their minor leaguers, unfortunately sometimes people do make mistakes, all teams do, not just our Jays.
And what Griffin and Fidlin won't tell you is that the Jays play the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays 18 times each a season while the Twins play them 6 or 7 times a year. The Twins were 2-4 vs. the Red Sox, 2-3 vs. the Orioles, 0-7 vs. the Yankees, 3-3 vs. the Rays and 3-5 against the Jays for a 10-23 record against the teams the Jays play the most. Do these guys really think the Twins would be in the playoffs if they were in the AL East.
While the Jays against the AL Central, where the Twins get to play most of their games were 6-1 vs. the White Sox, 4-4 vs. the Indians, 5-3 vs. the Tigers, 3-4 vs. the Royals and 5-3 vs. the Twins for a 23-15 record against the AL Central.
Which one is the better team?
But we should copy them. This is a plan. I think the thing we really should copy from the Twins is to play in the AL Central.