Last year, Mike Ryan had two hits in his first two Major League at bats - both in the first inning against the Tigers. Sadly, the game was called due to rain before five innings were completed so Ryan's Major League hit total dropped all the way back to zero. At the conclusion of the season, he had just one hit in an official game. It was quite unfortunate that he lost two hits as his batting average would have been .230 rather than the hideous .091 he actually possessed.
This season, Ryan returned to Triple A (although it was to a different city) and stunk up the place. His average fell and his strikeouts rose as he displayed absolutely no promise. Then, the Twins decided to promoted him in early August when they grew dissatisfied with Michael Restovich's insistance on being patient and productive at the plate. The transaction made absolutely no sense because the Twins claimed they needed a left-handed bat off of the bench despite the fact that Todd Sears had been up and unused for the previous month. Anyway, I must admit that I was skeptical about its impact on the team.
Well, all Mike Ryan has done is turn into Dustan Mohr ca. May 2003. He has parlayed a really hot bat into consistent playing time and may have become the front runner for starts in rightfield during the playoffs if Jacque's groin limits him to designated hitter. I'm very unsure about what to make of this production. First, I am ecstatic that Ryan has been such a bonus to the team and provided a very hot lefthanded bat. However, I am extremely worried that he will soon turn into a pumpkin as his deal with the devil may expire at any point. When that happens, I have absolutely no confidence in Ron Gardenhire to recognize that he needs out of the lineup. Hopefully, he will stay hot and productive until November. We shall see. For a more in depth look at how improbably Ryan's recent success has been, I highly suggest reading Ben Jacobs' post on his Universal Baseball Blog, Inc..
One final note: is it just me or do Mike Ryan and Juan Rincon look a lot alike?
