Duensing among unlikely September stars

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

The crises come daily in the pennant races, and all the stuff that really matters at the outset of spring training -- pedigree, salary, past statistics -- really doesn't matter in September. If you show that you can be part of the solution, managers will keep giving you the ball to pitch or keep giving you at-bats.

Brian Duensing wasn't part of the master plan for the Minnesota Twins. He wasn't projected to be part of Ron Gardenhire's rotation. Pitching for Triple-A Rochester this season, Duensing -- a former college teammate of Alex Gordon and Joba Chamberlain at the University of Nebraska -- posted a 4.66 ERA in 13 starts. He made one relief appearance for the Twins in April, was sent down, and then was brought back to pitch out of the Minnesota bullpen; in his first nine outings out of the bullpen, Duensing's ERA was 5.50.

For Buster's Cy Young and MVP picks, a landing spot for Milton Bradley, issues with Joba, and much more, you must be an ESPN Insider. Insider  
 

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

Links

Subscribe

RSS RSS Feed

Recent Updates

Archive

More