The Twins starters just went through two month-long periods that produced very different results. From June 18th to July 19th, a span of 28 games, Twins starters posted a 6.57 ERA. Note that their strikes were okay at 6.4 per nine and their walks incredible at 1.7 per nine. The whole pitching staff was Greg Maddux at his best in those two areas. They allowed a ton of hits, however, many of them home runs, 33.9 per 200 innings. It struck me that they might have taken not walking batters too far. Batters were just waiting for the pitch in the strike zone and killed it.

Since then, in 24 games, Twins starters posted a 2.53 ERA, including Saturday night’s shutout by Brian Duensing. Their strikeouts are up a little, to 6.7 per nine, and their home runs allowed are nearly non-existent, 7.7 per 200 innings. Their walks rose to 2.5 per nine. More walks, fewer hits, fewer home runs.

If pitchers are going to issue walks at a Greg Maddux like rate, then they his ability to get strikes on the corner. Players like Joe Mauer and Jim Thome walk a lot, because the penalty for throwing a 3-1 pitch down the middle of the plate is high. If the Twins pitchers became so obsessed with not walking batters that started putting everything over the plate, I hope they learned their lesson. Two and a half walks per nine is a fantastic rate for a starting staff. Given their success at that point, there’s no need to drive it lower.