Early again, but I don't think I'll be up til noon tomorrow.

 

LET'S KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE! Going for 5!

 

HOME OPENER! KICK SOME TWIN ASS!

I'm gonna miss the home opener (work vacation over)..

 

Here's hoping for a win when I get back home in the evening.

Nick Blackburn? Anybody know anything about this guy? I see he pitched really well in his first start.

Ill be home in plenty of time to watch this game tomorrow, and I can not wait. Blackburn looks to be a great pitcher, but I hope we get the best of him and Javy bounces back.

 

Twins are a real jump on the first and second pitch type team, which is why Garland looked so good against them, but not so much against the Rangers.

 

5! 5! 5! 5! 5!

Nick Blackburn? Anybody know anything about this guy? I see he pitched really well in his first start.

Got good stuff and i dont think the sox have seen him which usually equals disaster for us. But here is to hoping this new team has a new approach. Keep the winning coming!!!

Hes a 26 year old pitcher whose first healty year was last season and he dominated. He had a horrible knee/leg injury that made him wear a brace when he pitched and really effected it.

 

He has great stuff and he is a pitcher that wont strike out a bunch of batters(just under 5 k's per 9 innings) but he wont let a lot of batters get on base.(under 1 whip)

 

 

twins #1 prospect this offseason according to Baseball America

1. Nick Blackburn, rhp Born: Feb. 24, 1982 • B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-4 • Wt: 205

Drafted: Seminole State (Okla.) JC, D/F 2001 (29th round) • Signed by: Gregg Miller

Nick BlackburnBackground: The Devil Rays drafted Blackburn in the 34th round out of Del City (Okla.) High in 2000, but failed to land him as a draft-and-follow after he spent a year at Seminole State (Okla.) JC. The Twins made him a 29th-rounder in 2001, and after he drew attention by throwing in the low 90s and flashing a plus slider, they signed Blackburn in May 2002. He repeated low Class A, high Class A and Double-A and has had two surgeries on his right knee to try to fix a cartilage problem. His knee problems limited Blackburn's ability to do conditioning drills, and as he added weight—at one point club officials estimate he was close to 260 pounds—his fastball lost its zip. He started to get healthier toward the end of 2006, regaining some velocity, and came to camp in the best shape of his career last spring. What followed was a revelation. Blackburn regained his amateur velocity, his secondary stuff improved and his career took off. He had a streak of 411⁄3 innings without giving up an earned run.

 

Strengths: Blackburn got better in every phase in 2007. With less weight to carry, he got stronger and was able to lengthen his stride, get better extension out front and improve the quality of his stuff. His two-seam fastball now sits at 90-91 mph, and as he has regained velocity, he has run his four-seamer as high as 95. Blackburn's cutter, which sits in the upper 80s and has real depth at times, helped him limit lefthanders to a .226 average in 261 minor league at-bats. Minnesota sent Blackburn to the Arizona Fall League to improve his offspeed pitches; mission accomplished. He now trusts his average curve and improved his feel for a changeup that scouts now grade as a plus pitch. Now that he's in better shape, Blackburn repeats his low-maintenance delivery and has average big league command, if not a tick above. His mound demeanor always has endeared him to club officials, who said he never stopped competing even when his stuff was short.

 

Weaknesses: Blackburn has to learn to pitch with above-average stuff. He's learning when to pitch to contact and when to go for strikeouts, and scouts say his curveball could become a strikeout pitch if he threw it more and relied less on the cutter. He doesn't have a truly outstanding pitch, which probably limits his ceiling to that of No. 3 starter. The Twins laud his durability and believe he's over his past knee troubles.

 

The Future: The Twins could have made Blackburn a fastball/cutter setup man. They stuck with him as a starter, however, and he rewarded them with a tremendous comeback season, finishing with a dominant turn in the AFL. The Twins will enter spring training with at least seven candidates for their rotation, and Blackburn's command and repertoire could give him a leg up for the No. 5 job.

Hes a 26 year old pitcher whose first healty year was last season and he dominated. He had a horrible knee/leg injury that made him wear a brace when he pitched and really effected it.

 

He has great stuff and he is a pitcher that wont strike out a bunch of batters(just under 5 k's per 9 innings) but he wont let a lot of batters get on base.(under 1 whip)

Is he a soft-tosser or a nasty flamethrower?

Thanks for the information guys. I'm already kinda worried tomorrow. lol.

Early again, but I don't think I'll be up til noon tomorrow.

 

LET'S KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE! Going for 5!

 

HOME OPENER! KICK SOME TWIN ASS!

Not up by noon! man i envy/hate you right now! lol

I really don't like the twins. Let's beat them please.

Never like facing a guy we've never seen before.

 

 

Javy has a good track history vs the Twinkies, so lets hope hot bats continue into tomorrow.

Is he a soft-tosser or a nasty flamethrower?

 

his fastball is in the 90's and has a lot of movement on it. I believe he throws a Curve and a Change along with it, but not sure. I am sure he has a 4th pitch too, but he throws that fastball alot. So i would go with Flamethrower if i had to pick one

the twins lineup is pretty bad right now...especially outside the heart of mauer morneau and young....cuddyer is on the DL...hopefully it will include adam everett who is maybe the worst offensive player in the game...looks like the weather should be good...if we score some runs we should be in good shape

his fastball is in the 90's and has a lot of movement on it. I believe he throws a Curve and a Change along with it, but not sure. I am sure he has a 4th pitch too, but he throws that fastball alot. So i would go with Flamethrower if i had to pick one

I see, the reason I ask is because we suck against the soft-tossing guys and we seem to shut down against them, while the guys with the electric stuff like Verlander we are prone to lighting up at any given time. It seems like Josh Fields is the only one that can hit those kinds of guys. Everyone else goes into home-run swing mode and ends up K'ing, GIDP, or hitting weak popups.

Edited April 7, 200818 yr by lostfan

Suppose to be like 58 tomorrow, partly cloudy.

 

Good Opener. Can not wait to see this game, and I'll go out on a limb here and say the same lineup tonight will go tomorrow(yeah im a daredevil)

I'm deciding between starting Jenks, Sherrill or this Twins SP tomorrow.

 

I think Blackburn will stay on my bench for this start.

See ya'll there tomorrow. Let's rock this kid.

I'm deciding between starting Jenks, Sherrill or this Twins SP tomorrow.

 

I think Blackburn will stay on my bench for this start.

You might want to start Blackburn. In the past several years... pitchers we've never seen before + any pitcher on the twins = horrible day offensively. God, watching us stink up in situations like that last year got me so pissed. hopefully that all changes.

Javy Vazquez will dominate tomorrow, making people all across the globe go, "Chris who?"

Edited April 7, 200818 yr by BearSox

Blackburn looked really good in his first start, I was there. He had good stuff and control, although his control started to lessen as the game went on. He completely dominated a decent Angels lineup though, so it could be a tough matchup for us.

As usual...

 

Give em Jell Javy!

Let's go out there and make is 5 in a row. I love the patience of our hitters this year, so much better than any other Sox team I can remember.

i saw Juan uribe go with the pitch today...something weird is in the water.

You might want to start Blackburn. In the past several years... pitchers we've never seen before + any pitcher on the twins = horrible day offensively. God, watching us stink up in situations like that last year got me so pissed. hopefully that all changes.

 

Since BS said it... you should probably sit him.