| Leslie Monteiro. 14th August, 2006 - 2:45 pm
 The Minnesota Twins did not make the big trade to get Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Lee to improve their lineup. The only trade they made was acquiring Zach Ward, a pitching prospect from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Kyle Lohse on the final day of the trade deadline. Lohse was traded because he wore out his welcome with the ball club for his behavior and his ineffective pitching and he will be more known for that when Twins fans look back on his tenure with their team. It was time for both parties to part ways after four and a half miserable years together.
Lohse was projected as a starter who had potential to do great things, like the ability to win 15 games every season. He could throw strikes and get groundouts like Brad Radke, but unfortunately, he never accomplished any of those things with the Twins. He did some good things at times like he did in the last three months of the season last year, but he never sustained it this season. He never went past the fourth inning and gave up home runs in most of his starts. He always has one bad inning that would put his team out of the game for good and was a simply a train wreck to watch.
His performance this year is disappointing in so many ways because everyone thought that this was the year that he would have figured it out. The Twins likened him to White Sox starter Jon Garland on the basis that Garland figured it out after going through ups and downs like most young pitchers in baseball. It just never happened for him and he finally wore out his welcome with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson on the night of May 16th against the Tigers at Detroit. He was scared to pitch as he had to conference several times with his catcher, Joe Mauer about what to pitch and how to approach that batter with the bases loaded. It was clear that he did not want to pitch based on his body language. It wasn’t bad enough that he could not get the last out in the third inning against the Tigers as he imploded with the bases loaded which gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead on the way to a 7-4 Tigers’ victory, but he also compounded his problem by screaming at Michael Cuddyer for not catching the ball to get the last out, never mind that he could not have caught it since the ball was hit well.
He also decided to go to the locker room and pout instead of rooting for his team which turned his manager and his pitching coach off and resulted in him being sent to the minors the next day as a punishment for his actions. The ball club was going to let him rot in the minors till they found a trade partner for him. They decided to call him up on June 9th when Twins reliever Matt Guerrier was in the disabled list with a fractured thumb. He was rarely used, with spot appearances in blowout games and it became clear that he was biding his time till he got traded.
It says something that they had no interest in inserting him back in the starting rotation considering how bad Scott Baker and Boof Bonser were and he had so many chances to prove himself, but he never made the most of it. He pitched like he was way over his head and never trusted his stuff. He also never listened to anything that his teammates and his pitching coach had to say to him about pitching, as well as showing a lack of focus when he is in jams. He does not look like he has what it takes to succeed, which is a fearless factor when on the mound. He simply does not have what it takes to be a starter, which is why the team felt that he was not the answer as the fifth starter.
Lohse’s behavior left a lot to be desired. He acted like a child and always pouted especially when he fell behind. He always blamed his teammates for his problems and whined about lack of run support or he would whine about his fielders not fielding the ball well. It was a joke that he never blamed anyone but himself for his problems when he was the one not making quality pitches and the one that was gutless on the mound. He also whined about how Gardenhire pulled the plug on him quickly, but what does he expect when you are pitching horrible? The manager had every right to take him out if he is in ineffective. He showed his petulant behavior when he slammed the door at the manager’s office on the night he got pulled against the Texas Rangers in a game last season on September 6th. He was frustrated for being taken out early so he used his bat to slam the door. He should have been suspended the rest of the year for that and he should have been released in the off-season. His attitude is why he never had friends on his team.
Most pitchers should be able to figure it out by the fourth year, but Lohse never could. It was a joke that Twins GM Terry Ryan wanted him over Francisco Liriano in the rotation because he felt Liriano was not ready. Can Liriano be any worse than Lohse? What had Lohse done to earn Ryan’s faith even if he had potential? He simply did not deserve it. The Twins may not have had a rough start had he not been in the starting rotation.
It is good to see that he will not be able to blow any more games or show his antics with the Twins anymore. Maybe he can reinvent himself in Cincinnati, but before he can do that, he has to look in the mirror and change his attitude. He has to learn how to listen and create a better work ethic. He needs to do so many things and at some point, he has to change or else he will be not being pitching in the majors for long. He is probably better off as a reliever since he is not a guy that can go deep in the game and he is so good for the first few innings yet he becomes bad after the fifth inning. It will be interesting how he does and how much he grows up, but the Reds should not get their hopes up on him reaching his potential. He does not have what it takes to succeed.
If fans want to give any feedback or comment on this article, email Leslie Monteiro at monteiro_07024@yahoo.com |
