Changing the Twins

(pre-post aside: check out some recent game stories at http://www.mississaugatwins.ca/gamenotes.htm)

I’ve tried about four different times to write an intro paragraph to this post, and it just isn’t working. I was going for something that would encapsulate the recent direction of the team – sort of like how my posts after the Barrie/Toronto blow outs were hugely negative, and my post after the Oshawa W was more positive.

Truth is, it’s tough to know what to say anymore – they were beaten handily, although nowhere near as bad as last time, by the Leafs again right after the Oshawa win offered a flicker of hope. But then, somehow, they played Barrie really tight, losing 3-2 on the road. The most remarkable part? Derek Gordon pitched a complete game for the Twins – which was only his second appearance of the year as a pitcher, and his first as a starter.

The biggest news out of the past week, though? A slew of roster moves. To boot:

Joining the Twins: Adam Banski; Jeff Skelhorne-Gross; Zach Dickson; Jeff MacLeod; Tyler Moe

Leaving the Twins: Matt Calcagni; Luis Castillo; Sean Pisraki; Scott Wells.

Banski had Tommy John surgery almost exactly a year ago after making seven starts for the Baycats. He worked in relief in the Oshawa win, and I certainly think it’s encouraging that he had been expected to contribute to a team as good as Barrie pre-injury. Skelhorne-Gross was released by Barrie; time will tell what his contribution will be. Dickson, as I understand, was in the States until recently – although I need to look into the details, and I think he could be an impact player. MacLeod was released by Brantford on the same day he was signed by the Twins; Lord knows a Brantford cast-off will be able to help the at least the back end of the Twins’ staff. I can’t account for Moe, although I will get on it.

Calcagni – the coach’s son – simply didn’t work out after the Twins picked him up following his release for an independent league out west. He struggled to hit .150 and he hasn’t been around recently, so I think in reality he had left the team a while ago.

Castillo goes to the Northwoods League – they play in parts of the northern States (Wisconsin and Minnesota, primarily) and have a team in Thunder Bay. While I’m sure no one on the Twins was happy to see him leave, it is certainly a step up the baseball ladder for him and that’s what happens to the better talents in the IBL, sometimes. I’m not entirely sure why Pisarski was let go – it could just be performance, since he didn’t get a ton of playing time and didn’t tear it up when he did see action. Wells hasn’t been around much, and I’m thinking his release was a formality after being a de facto reality for a while.

I’m planning on doing a feature about these changes shortly – I need to contact GM Kelcher and go over a few of these guys in a bit more detail. I’ll let you all know when it’s up, though!

Anyways, I’ll skim over the long-term prognosis stuff for now, I think. The basic narrative is the same as it has been for the past month or so: the Twins are a lot better than they’ve been playing; they can be a lot more competitive than they have been lately; there would be no better time for that to happen than the playoffs; they might well be sacrificial lambs offered up on the altar of the Baycats in the first round, unless they can find a way to slip out of that eighth place spot (but not into ninth, obviously); the close 3-2 loss could offer reason to doubt the previous statement.

The Twins, at present, find themselves both three games ahead of Hamilton for the final playoff spot and three games behind Kitchener for that seventh spot. The risk of them finding a way to miss the playoffs seems to have mostly passed – they play Hamilton on Saturday (I’ll be in Alberta, though) at home, and if they can beat them and push that gap to four games, I think we can call it with certainty. If Hamilton beats them, well, it’ll be a tight finish with only a two game sized breathing space, but I still think it will be hugely difficult for Hamilton to pick up even two games.

They host Oshawa at home on Friday, and I’ll be there – as always, check back for my post-game blogging!