Damaso Marte's inherited runners

Marte's in, start the merry-go-round

Going into last night’s game, a quick glance at Damaso Marte’s numbers would make most fans think he was having a reasonably good year for a Lefty specialist. 7 IP, 3.86 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. But fans who watch the games closely and remember his contributions will have a different impression of those same outings. A relievers job is to get outs and strand runners on base. Marte had 7 Inherited Runners going into last night’s game, 3 of whom have come around to score. By contrast, last year he inherited 21 runners, only 3 scored for the entire season. Last night he came into the game with Denard Span on 2nd base and allowed him to score on a Mauer single. Mauer’s a great player, no real shame in that. He then allowed his own runner to score on a double by Morneau. Morneau’s a terrific player too, but you have to get somebody out. So for the 2010 season, he has now entered games with 8 inherited runners, half of whom have scored, which needless to say is abysmal.

That’s why some fans have been calling for either his head, or for his leash to be much, much shorter. That being said, I really didn’t disagree with Girardi’s moves last night. The Twins lineup is very Lefty-heavy in the middle of the order, after the M&M boys you have the dangerous Jason Kubel batting 6th. I’m also not all that excited at the prospect of seeing Boone Logan, who hasn’t been much better (1.74 WHIP). Damaso job is to get those batters out, and he simply hasn’t been doing it.