June 26, 2008
Buscher of Runs
The Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to eight games, defeating the San Diego Padres Wednesday night 9-3. They're rolling through Cy Young award winners:
Randy Johnson. Brandon Webb. Jake Peavy. Greg Maddux.
When it comes to National League pitching, that's Mount Rushmore.
Between them, they've won 11 Cy Young Awards. But in a span of five games, the Twins have handled all four, without taking a loss.
Brian Buscher bats against the Padres on 6/25/2008.
Photo: Icon SMI
One reason for the Twins surge is the play of Brian Buscher. The veteran minor leaguer started playing regularly on June 14, and posted excellent numbers since. He's turned an offensive hole at third base into a positive:
Twins Third Basemen, 2008
| Stat | All Twins 3B | Buscher as 3B |
| Batting Average | .273 | .405 |
| On-Base Average | .307 | .415 |
| Slugging Percentage | .369 | .541 |
It's a very small sample size for Buscher, but his recent years in the minors show a big upturn in his OBA numbers. If he does nothing else but put up an above average OBA the rest of the season, that will be a big boost to the Twins offense. He scored three runs last night, and ten in eight games since being recalled. Overall for 2008, Minnesota is 9-3 when Buscher plays.
Posted by David Pinto at
07:25 AM
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The Twins are benefiting from the Sox' underuse of their +71 run diff. So a very average Minnesota team (run diff +6) is staying close.
Does Gardenhire's steady-as-she-goes approach pay off more consistently than Guillen's sturm und drang? I'll let you decide. But if Gardenhire drags this so-so team to the postseason, he's manager of the year.