Twins Rubes

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2013-04-30T16:13:00.001-05:00

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2013-01-17T15:04:00.001-06:00

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2013-01-07T17:30:00.000-06:00

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Miguel Sano: The Next...

2013-01-07T17:24:00.000-06:00

In Baseball America's list of Top 100 Prospects, Twins minor leaguer Miguel Sano climbed from #94 in 2010, to #60 in 2011, and finally to #18 in 2012. Sano, the 19 year old kid that makes most Twins fans daydream of 2014, undoubtedly holds the distinction of the top prospect in the Twins organization. Sano regularly draws comparisons to superstars like Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins. While there's never a "sure thing" when it comes to prospects, the young Twins third baseman certainly tip-toes that line. I've never seen Miguel play in person, but in my mind I dream of three different players that I imagine Sano growing up to become: Giancarlo Stanton, Albert Pujols, or Miguel Cabrera. I don't mind setting lofty expectations, as I am only a fan. As a fan (which originates from the word "fanatic"), I am allowed to think big!

Miguel Sano - courtesy mlb.com

Offensively, Sano blew the Midwest League out of the water in 2012, leading the league in home runs and RBI's. Sano's defense needs the most improvement, making 42 errors last season at third base. In three seasons in the minor leagues, he has made 90 errors and holds a career fielding percentage of .885. The pop in his bat somewhat makes up for his defensive struggles, however. His .893 OPS would place him .003 points ahead of Josh Willingham in 2012.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
2012	19	Beloit	MIDW	A	MIN	129	457	75	118	28	4	28	100	8	3	80	144	.258	.373	.521	.893	238

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 1/7/2013.

Giancarlo Stanton played a half a season at High-A and a half in Double-A as a 19 year old in the Marlins organization. Like Sano, Stanton had played 2 previous seasons in the organization. Stanton's power numbers translate very closely to Sano's, hitting 28 home runs and driving in 92. They even struck out exactly the same amount in nearly the same number of at bats. The two real significant differences lie in Sano's more frequent walks, but Stanton playing at a higher level of baseball. Defensively, Stanton played in the outfield, which is a much easier position to master defensively than third base. Baseball America ranked Giancarlo Stanton the 16th best prospect in the MLB before the 2009 season.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
2009	19	2 Teams	2 Lgs	AA-A+	FLA	129	479	76	122	24	5	28	92	3	3	59	144	.255	.341	.501	.842	240
2009	19	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	50	180	27	53	9	3	12	39	2	2	28	45	.294	.390	.578	.968	104
2009	19	Jacksonville	SOUL	AA	FLA	79	299	49	69	15	2	16	53	1	1	31	99	.231	.311	.455	.766	136

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 1/7/2013.

Albert Pujols got his start in the minor leagues at the age of 20 playing a majority of the season in Low-A ball for the Cardinals organization, eventually making 3 appearances in AAA that season. Pujols hit for higher average, struck out much less frequently, but otherwise finished with similar numbers to those of 19 year old Sano and Stanton. He spent nearly all of his time, like Sano, at third base, ending the season with 22 errors and a .950 fielding percentage. Baseball America ranked Albert Pujols the 42nd best prospect in the MLB before the 2001 season. Pujols was un-ranked in 2000.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
2000	20	3 Teams	3 Lgs	A-A+-AAA	STL	133	490	74	154	41	7	19	96	4	5	46	47	.314	.378	.543	.920	266
2000	20	Peoria	MIDW	A	STL	109	395	62	128	32	6	17	84	2	4	38	37	.324	.389	.565	.953	223
2000	20	Potomac	CARL	A+	STL	21	81	11	23	8	1	2	10	1	1	7	8	.284	.341	.481	.822	39
2000	20	Memphis	PCL	AAA	STL	3	14	1	3	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	2	.214	.267	.286	.552	4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 1/7/2013.

Miguel Cabrera followed a similar track to that of Stanton and Sano, playing his third professional season at the High-A level as a 19 year old. Cabrera's power statistics were significantly lower than the other three at this age. Although he hit 43 doubles, only 9 balls landed in the cheap seats. Cabrera rarely walked, but also didn't strike out at the alarming rates of Sano and Stanton. He made 16 errors that season playing third base, and finished with a .936 fielding percentage - not as bad as Sano, but still not great. The 2012 AL MVP, according to the statistics, probably had the least successful season at Sano's current age of the four. Baseball America ranked Miguel Cabrera the 38th best prospect in the MLB before the 2002 season.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
2002	19	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	124	489	77	134	43	1	9	75	10	1	38	85	.274	.333	.421	.754	206
4 Seasons						368	1428	225	409	103	10	28	228	23	5	131	262	.286	.350	.431	.782	616

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 1/7/2013.

Although the numbers in each comparison are close in many areas, the similarities between Sano and Stanton's career path seem almost identical. Stanton may have been a hair ahead in progression at Sano's current age, but in any event he eventually made his big league debut at the age of 20 for the Florida Marlins. In his first three seasons with the Marlins, Stanton hit .270 with 93 homers and 232 RBI. He even led the NL in slugging percentage in 2012. Stanton still struggles to put the ball in play, striking out 432 times in 1324 at bats (32.6%), which can be somewhat expected from such a raw power hitter.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	Awards
2010	20	FLA	NL	100	359	45	93	21	1	22	59	5	2	34	123	.259	.326	.507	.833	118	182
2011	21	FLA	NL	150	516	79	135	30	5	34	87	5	5	70	166	.262	.356	.537	.893	141	277	MVP-23
2012	22	MIA	NL	123	449	75	130	30	1	37	86	6	2	46	143	.290	.361	*.608*	.969	158	273	AS,MVP-24
3 Yrs				373	1324	199	358	81	7	93	232	16	9	150	432	.270	.350	.553	.903	140	732

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/7/2013.

If Miguel Sano does indeed follow a similar career path as Giancarlo Stanton, the power numbers sure do look appealing. The two biggest factors to his success will be his abilities to cut down on strikeouts and sharpen his defensive skills. It will be interesting to see if Sano changes positions by the time he reaches the majors, possibly either to first base (depending on Chris Parmalee's progress) or to a corner outfield spot. Stanton's track would place Sano with the Twins either late this season or hopefully ready by 2014. No matter when he arrives, there's no question he has the potential to rejuvenate a fan base that quickly diminished after two near-100 loss seasons. Miguel Sano may just become the next Giancarlo Stanton.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

More International Interest

2013-01-06T13:42:00.000-06:00

Twins scouts were in Mexico yesterday, according to Darren Wolfson, to see Cuban prospects Aledmys Diaz and Dariel Alvarez. Diaz, a 22 year old shortstop, is "known for his ability to hit for power and average", and "is considered an average runner with an above-average arm" writes Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Sanchez says Alvarez can play all three outfield positions and owns an above-average arm. There's no word yet on how the two prospects looked, but the Twins history of international scouting and signing makes this significant. Most recently they have brought in players like Miguel Sano, Liam Hendriks, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Luke Hughes, and Oswaldo Arcia.

Zoilo Versalles, 1965

The 1965 AL Champion Twins roster included four players hailing from Cuba: Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versalles, Camilo Pascual, and Sandy Valdespino. There are currently 24 players from Cuba in the big leagues, the biggest names being Alexei Ramirez, Yunel Escobar, Aroldis Chapman, Yuniesky Betancourt, and last season's runner-up Rookie of the Year Yoenis Cespedes.

The Twins have somewhat of a need at both the shortstop and outfield positions right now, especially with the trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere this winter. However, Diaz projects to be the most major league ready of the two prospects, while outfielder Alvarez would debut in another year or two. Knowing Aaron Hicks improved last season to the point where he is only a year or less away, and prospects like Byron Buxton and Arcia fill future needs; I doubt the Twins showed as much interest in Alvarez as they did Diaz. With the lack of depth in the middle infield right now, Diaz would fill a much bigger need as a long term solution up the middle.

With a suspected $10M to $15M left in the budget, we assume the Twins are still in the market for one more starting pitcher. Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Vance Worley will definitely help shore up a rotation that includes Scott Diamond, possibly Brian Duensing, and a hopeful debut of Kyle Gibson. Although more intriguing than the 2012 rotation, Pelfrey and Gibson's health remain a concern. Correia's ability to pitch in the American League is an unknown as well. We should see in the next few weeks one more signing to add a little extra depth to the staff, so how much cash that would leave to sign a shortstop like Diaz or another middle infielder of value is a mystery.

If scouts liked what they saw yesterday, the addition of a player like Diaz sure would be interesting. As I've talked about before, a roster that features Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon, Jamey Carroll, and Eduardo Escobar as the only real options up the middle isn't too promising from what we've seen. The farm system includes few prospects that could be part the future for the Twins. Eddie Rosario had a solid season in Single A ball last season as a 20-year old playing second base. Daniel Santana is the potential shortstop of the future, but he played last season at age 21 in High A Fort Myers. Both are more than likely another year or two away at the very least.

If the Twins front office truly is serious about not giving up on 2013, a splash signing like Diaz - again, assuming he's a solid player - sure would give Twins fans a little more confidence and hope for 2013 and beyond. There's never a guarantee with any prospect, and international prospects are even more of a high risk/high reward opportunity. Who knows how much of a chance the Twins have of signing Diaz, and who knows how that would even turn out? For every Zoilo Versalles, there's and handful of less than successful players like George Lauzerique.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Sorting Out the Middle Infield

2013-01-04T11:59:00.000-06:00

With the free agent departure of Alexi Casilla, the Twins are left with 5 middle infielders on the 40 man roster: Brian Dozier, Jamey Carroll, Eduardo Escobar, and Pedro Florimon. Trevor Plouffe and Darin Mastroianni also have some experience up the middle, but will more than likely fill the 3B and CF roles, respectively. 22 year old shortstop Daniel Santana holds a roster spot as well, but it would seem highly unlikely that he would be a factor in the major leagues this season. Santana played the entire 2012 season at High A Fort Myers. I could certainly see another rotation of middle infielders happening, but I think the organization would love to see one guy step up in spring training and take the reigns at each spot.

Brian Dozier became the starting shortstop for the Twins on May 7th last season, and held the job until mid-August. Dozier was then optioned to Rochester and didn't see a big league stadium the rest of the season. Dozier made 15 errors in only 84 games with the Twins, 9 of those being throwing errors. His offensive and defensive WAR were both 0.5 last season, which isn't terrible, but definitely not starting shortstop levels. He is definitely a below average defender when it comes to his range and overall defensive abilities. Dozier hit .234 last season, showing a little pop in his bat from time to time; but he also struck out every 5.4 at bats. His minor league history shows that he is a more solid defender at 2B, which may end up being a better fit for him if he can get his bat going. Dozier is a career .298/.370/.409 hitter in 4 seasons throughout the minor leagues, so there is hope that this can translate into a solid major league career.

Jamey Carroll is the wily veteran of the group. Carroll will turn 39 in February and is 5 years older than the 2nd oldest player on the roster, Josh Willingham. He struggled at the plate somewhat in his first season with the Twins, hitting .268, his lowest batting average since 2007. Carroll is maybe the most solid defender in the group, only committing 26 errors in his entire major league career (11 seasons). Carroll did end 2012 with a career best 3.2 WAR, which is a solid starter quality player, in 138 games. According to Fangraphs Carroll has above-average range at 2B, SS, and 3B; and his range definitely did not diminish, but improved last year over previous years.

23 year old Eduardo Escobar was sent to the Twins in the Francisco Liriano trade with the White Sox last July. Escobar hit only ..214 in 131 at bats in 2012 with his two clubs, but showed some potential defensively. He committed only 2 errors last season, playing 2B, 3B, and SS. According to Fangraphs, Escobar has above average range at SS and 3B, but struggles a little more on the right side of the infield. He has spent 7 seasons in the minors, never really putting together a solid offensive season (career .267 hitter in the minors), but does have speed and some defensive ability.

26 year old Pedro Florimon was claimed off of waivers in December of 2011 from the Baltimore Orioles. He replaced Dozier on the roster in mid-August and ended up playing 43 games for the Twins at shortstop. Florimon, like Dozier and Escobar, struggled mightily at the plate. He finished 2012 hitting just .219. He is a career (7 seasons) .249 hitter in the minors, so the hope of him becoming a force offensively is somewhat slim. Although he made 7 errors in those 43 appearances with the Twins in 2012, his upside is his flash with the glove. He has fantastic range at shortstop, and in my opinion is by far the best infielder on the squad.

Of these 4 middle infielders, what I could see is Florimon playing the everyday shortstop role. That would mean Dozier would become the everyday second baseman, with the veteran Carroll playing the role of utility infielder. Depending on whether Terry Ryan signs another 3B to compete with Plouffe, Carroll could potentially play 4-5 days a week filling in at 2B, 3B, and SS; much like we have seen from Nick Punto in the past. I like what Florimon's defense brings to the table, and Dozier's potential offensively could make a great fit at 2B. Carroll's versatility and overall solid abilities would make him a perfect utility man to give the other guys a break every few days. This leaves out Escobar, who at only 23, certainly could become part of the mix after showing improvement in Rochester.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Twins Center Fielders: A Gap-to-Gap Legacy

2013-01-01T14:25:00.001-06:00

The 2012 Minnesota Twins really only had one position of depth. That position was center field, whom they boasted of Denard Span, Ben Revere, and a pretty solid third option in Darin Mastroianni. By the time the winter meetings were over, one of Twins' fans biggest question quickly became "Who is going to play center field?" Overall, the position still has good depth, with Mastroianni, Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson, and young Byron Buxton still in the organization. Out of those five guys, however, a major league-ready center fielder seems to be missing.

With the exception of a five year span between 1994-1998, the position has been held by some of the best center fielders in the game since 1984 when Kirby Puckett took over. Torii Hunter took over in 1999, and more recently Carlos Gomez, Denard Span, and Ben Revere held down the fort until 2013. Gold Gloves and all-star type production offensively have become the expectation out of that position, and it has really become somewhat of a legacy of center fielders within the organization. Puckett won 6 Gold Gloves; Hunter won 7 in his time with the Twins; and Gomez, Span, and Revere certainly didn't disappoint us in the 5 years since #48. Offensively, Puckett hit .318 in his career with the Twins, Hunter hit .271, Span .284, and Revere .278.

Needless to say, 2013 is setting up to be somewhat of a let-down for Twins fans who are used to the CF position being one of absolute strength on this roster. Although most of us are at least somewhat excited for the future arrival of Aaron Hicks, it doesn't seem he will be quite ready for Opening Day when the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers visit Target Field. Hicks struggled mightily in 2011 at High A Fort Myers, hitting .242/.354/.368. As you can see below, the young center fielder really struggled to put the ball in play consistently, striking out 338 times in the last 3 years. Only a 23 year old, Hicks made significant strides last season at AA New Britain, increasing his hitting, power, and baserunning numbers. The future is bright for Aaron Hicks, but again, that future with the Twins wouldn't seem like it will start Opening Day 2013.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2010	20	Beloit	MIDW	A	MIN	115	423	86	118	27	6	8	49	21	11	88	112	.279	.401	.428	.829
2011	21	Fort Myers	FLOR	A+	MIN	122	443	79	107	31	5	5	38	17	9	78	110	.242	.354	.368	.722
2012	22	New Britain	EL	AA	MIN	129	472	100	135	21	11	13	61	32	11	79	116	.286	.384	.460	.844

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 1/1/2013.

Opening Day 2013 will most likely feature 27 year old Darin Mastroianni roaming the gaps of Target Field. Before last season, Mastroianni had made only one appearance in the majors with Toronto, making 3 plate appearances. In 77 games with the Twins last season, after starting in AA New Britain and working his way up to the bigs, he proved to be a solid fill-in to give Span and Revere a break.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2011	25	TOR	AL	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
2012	26	MIN	AL	77	163	22	41	3	2	3	17	21	3	18	45	.252	.328	.350	.678

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 1/1/2013.

Mastroianni plays solid defense, has a little pop in his bat, and is a serious threat on the base paths. Surprisingly, although a pretty small sample size, his RngR as a CF last season was a little better than Revere's last season (1.3 in 32.1 innings, to -1.2 in 309 innings for Revere), while somewhat comparible to Span (8.7 in 1073.1 innings). While both Revere and Span sport below average arms, according to Fangraphs, Mastroianni's career ARM is an above average 2.0 in 406.1 career MLB innings.

The elephant in the room when it comes to Darin Mastroianni is that he has never been a starter or played a full season in the big leagues. Although he has some obvious downfalls, his ability to be a nuisance on the bases will be a breath of fresh air in 2013. According to the statistics, although difficult to fathom, he may even be somewhat of an upgrade defensively over Revere and Span. If nothing else, I think we could say that he will hold his own. I think the biggest thing we will miss will be the grinding at bats and highlight reel defensive gems we loved to see out of Span and Revere, respectively.

We'll find out soon how long the Twins wait to introduce Aaron Hicks to Target Field, but I can think of worse band-aids to throw out in center field temporarily than Darin Mastroianni. It's safe to say he'll probably never be the staple that Puckett, Hunter, and Span became; but don't think it will be as big of a drop off as you would expect after trading away the two best center fielders on the roster this winter.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

New Kid on the Blauch

2012-12-31T12:15:00.002-06:00

This weekend I caught the end of a debate on who would be the next former Twin to be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. Currently there are 24 members, which include players like Killebrew, Carew, Puckett, and Versalles. It also includes 7 non-players - guys like Calvin Griffith and Bob Casey. This week is the last week of voting on the Twins website for the 2013 Class, which you can vote for via Twitter. Currently Dan Gladden is in the lead, followed by the kid you see in the picture below.

Chuck Knoblauch broke into the big leagues in 1991 after just 2 years in the minor leagues. He was drafted as the 25th pick in the 1st Round of the 1989 draft out of Texas A&M University. Knoblauch never even made it to AAA before becoming the starting second baseman at the beginning of the 1991 season. He would go on to hit .281 with 25/30 steals, 24 doubles, and a 51/40 BB/SO ratio in 636 plate appearances. Knoblauch would receive 26 out of 28 votes for Rookie of the Year (beating out Juan Guzman and Ivan Rodriguez), and help lead the Twins to their second World Series Title in 5 years.

I turned 8 years old the summer of Knoblauch's rookie season, and the scrappy second baseman quickly became my childhood hero. In fact the poster you see above hung on my bedroom door for many years as a kid. Chuck got on base, stole bases, hit for average, and - before being traded to the Yankees in 1998 - was a much better than average defender (56 Fielding Runs Above Average in 7 seasons with the Twins).

From 1991-1997 in a Twins uniform, Chuck Knoblauch hit .304 with 210 doubles, 51 triples, 276 stolen bases, 1197 hits, and scored 713 runs. Knoblauch was a 4-time All-Star, 2-time Silver Slugger award winner, and won a Gold Glove in 1997. Oh, and he got hit by pitches 74 times as a Twin also. His Twins career offensive WAR was an astonishing 31.1 (7.3 in 1996), and his defensive WAR was 8.2 in those 7 seasons. From 1993-1997 he lead the Twins in WAR, and his 1996 WAR of 8.2 is 4th in Twins history (Carew - 9.5 - 1977, Blyleven - 9.4 - 1973, and Santana - 8.5 - 2004).

In the 1991 playoff run as a rookie, Knoblauch hit .326, stole 6 bases, and scored 8 runs in 12 games.

Obviously, not all is positive when we look at Knoblauch's career. His time in New York and Kansas City was no better than awful. His return to the Metrodome brought Tom Kelly out of the dugout one night to get the fans to stop throwing change and nachos at him. More recently his name has come up in the steroid debate, and he has battled legal troubles involving assault on his wife. Knoblauch even admitted to using HGH during his time with the Yankees, which, looking back definitely did not enhance his performance.

All of that said, if you are still upset that Knoblauch demanded a trade to a contender back in 1998, I think it's time to get over it. Chuck did an awful lot for this organization in his 7 seasons as a Twin, and by the statistics is literally one of the best players to put on a Twins uniform - ever. No matter what has happened in his life, how he disappeared from baseball so quickly, or how his baseball career came to a crashing halt; Knoblauch deserves to be included with the likes of Gagne, Puckett, Hrbek, Blyleven, and Battey in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

A Fresh Look for BP

2012-12-28T19:43:00.001-06:00

There was some big news from ESPN's Uni Watch yesterday. If you're like me, when you get a chance to go to any baseball game, when the gates open is the time you step foot in the park. I love getting the opportunity to watch batting practice, get some food, and enjoy the sights and sounds of America's Pastime. My wife, on the other hand, would rather get in the gates, grab some nachos, and sit down just in time to watch Kyle Gibson throw his first pitch. If you're one that likes to watch batting practice, every team will have fresh new caps this year. Here are the new Twins BP caps. The home is white in the front, blue in the back; while the road cap (bottom) is red in the front.

As you can probably tell by now, this really isn't that big of news. I thought this was a cool change to the existing caps though. These caps will also be used in Spring Training this year, for those of you going down to Fort Myers in March. Personally, I really like classic look of the white cap. I almost wish we could see both of these caps in game action more often. It has that same cool look of the old batting helmets guys like Rod Carew used to wear.

What do you think of the new look? Which Twins cap/uni is most appealing to your eye?

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

25 Years Ago: The '87 World Series

2012-12-28T12:53:00.000-06:00

25 years, 2 months, and 11 days ago; Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola through out the first pitch of the 1987 World Series, featuring the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals. I've heard of people that have memories from when they were 3 years old or something crazy like that, but I'm pretty sure my memory starts at age 5 or 6. I was 4 years old in October of 1987, and therefore don't remember much at all about this series. In reality I remember nothing of this series. This Christmas, my wife was kind enough to give me the complete DVD set of both the '87 and '91 World Series'. Imagine my excitement when I opened up the box to see that I would finally have the chance, 25 years later, to sit down and watch the Twins' first championship play out - and actually be able to recall the events this time!

So far, I have watched Game 1 and a good portion of Game 2, so let me take a few moments to make note of some things I have noticed up to this point. If you recall, the Twins won both games, 10-1 and 8-4, behind the arms of Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven. Here are a few things that have jumped out at me so far:

The Twins have been C-L-U-T-C-H these first two games. With runners in scoring position, the Twins were 8-18 (.444 Avg.) in the first two games at the Metrodome. Watching it through in real time, it seemed that every time we needed that one hit, someone came through. It was Gladden, Laudner, Lombardozzi, everyone seemed to come through in the clutch. 4 of the 8 Game 2 runs were scored with two outs.
Twins pitchers walked 1 batter in those first two games. One. Blyleven and Viola got ahead of hitters, they worked quickly, kept the defense on their toes, and didn't let anyone on base without working for it. The two starters combined for 15 innings, and only gave up 3 runs to start the series.
With the exception of the 2B and C positions, the lineup for the home team was filled with absolute studs - top 10 players at their position in the league in most cases. Gladden, Puckett, Brunansky, Gaetti, Gagne, Hrbek, Baylor, Viola, Blyleven, and Reardon were some of the names on the roster. Then you look at 2B and C, and Lombardozzi hit .412 for the entire series, and Laudner hit .318 for the series.
The "Buck Ninety Fan Club" was in full force. This was a group of fans whose name came from Laudner's season batting average - .191.
Gary Gaetti apparently led the league in GIDP in '87, with 25. To compare, Mauer hit into 23 in 2012.
This team wasn't just full of stars, it was packed with what the experts would call "Gamers". Just in these first two games, I saw Dan Gladden (who hit 8 HR's and drove in 38 runs) hit a grand slam to blow open Game 1; and then proceed to sprint around the bases looking like he was going to burst through my TV and beat me up. Then, in Game 2, Randy Bush slid head-first around Tony Pena's tag scoring from 2nd on a Laudner single in the 4th inning to make it 4-0 with 2 outs. He kept the inning alive and the Twins went on to score 3 more runs that inning to go up 7-0 and seal the deal.
On both sides, it seemed like pitchers were throwing wicked curve after wicked curve. We don't see as much of the big curve as we did 25 years ago. Blyleven's, obviously, was especially nasty, and had Cardinal hitters on their heals for 7 innings. I remember growing up that us kids always wanted to throw that big curve. Looking back, I wish I had learned how to throw a good change-up, which I never really did master. The problem with the big curve, was that a guy like Dan Gladden could take a hanging curve from a guy like Bob Forsch, and deposit it in the LF seats for a grand slam pretty easily.
I know Kirby was a free swinger, and I didn't count, but I'm sure Puckett only saw about 15 pitches in his 9 at-bats those first two games. He seemed to swing at the first pitch no matter where it was. Fun to watch as a fan, but had to be frustrating at times for the rookie manager.
Lastly, Twins hitters pulverized the Cardinals starting pitching, wearing them down to the tune of 10 walks and only 7 strike-outs in Games 1&2. Cardinals starters were constantly pitching into deep counts, and lasted only a combined 6.2 innings. Up and down the lineup - with the exception of Kirby - the at-bats kept going deeper and deeper.

Many of you probably have much more clear memories of where you were, what you did, and how great it was to see the Twins win their first World Series in Minnesota. What do you remember? What stands out to you when you think back?

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Thank You Denard Span

2012-12-27T19:58:00.001-06:00

On November 29th, 2012 - nearly a full month ago - the Twins made a move that needed to be made. One of my favorite Twins in my lifetime was sent to the Washington Nationals for a young pitcher named Alex Meyer. This ended a five year man-crush I had on Denard Span, but it didn't necessarily crush my spirits like it would have years ago.

Back in about 2004, the Twins had resurged back into baseball existence and rejuvenated this fan base for the first time in about 10 years. I remember my uncle telling me one day at the Metrodome about this kid named Span that was going to take over for Torii Hunter someday. At the time I couldn't imagine what the outfield would even look like without #48 roaming the gaps and robbing home runs.

Little did I know that 4 years later, I would again walk into the Metrodome and ultimately leave that day with a baseball crush on #2 - Denard Span. He was young, fast, fresh, and had a great glove. As soon as I saw him I recalled the conversation with my uncle 4 years earlier, and immediately became fixated on the kid.

Over the next 5 years, that kid accumulated 669 hits, 90 stolen bases, 254 walks, 105 doubles, 36 triples, and 360 runs; all while hitting .284. Span became the staple leadoff hitter, center fielder, leader, media charmer, and all-around good guy in the organization. If not for concussion and other medical issues in 2011, he became an ever-present force in the Twins lineup day after day.

I'll never forget the leaping catches, 10+ pitch at-bats, and the doubles that Span stretched into triples. He never was the next Kirby Puckett, or the next Torii Hunter, but he brought baseball joy to my life - ok that sounds a little weird. I'm sure going to miss seeing Denard in the Twins uniform every day, but it helps to know that a kid like Aaron Hicks might be that next guy to make his way through the system and take over center field.

I'm also pretty excited about the type of pitching prospect the Twins received in return in Alex Meyer. The 2012 pitching staff posted the 7th worst team ERA in Twins history, and the farm system wasn't about to change that trend around - outside of the arrival of Kyle Gibson. So, when all is said and done, I'm thankful for the five years Span wore the TC on his cap; however, he has a real good chance to play in his prime for a contending team now. It sure will be fun to see him play with the W on his cap from now on.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Francisco Liriano = Justin Timberlake

2012-03-08T12:53:00.001-06:00

Liriano mowed down the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon, pitching 3 innings, striking out 5, and only allowing 1 hit. I'd compare him to Justin Timberlake...

Is Nick Punto a "Winner"?

2012-03-07T19:49:00.000-06:00

The following is dedicated specifically to baakre's mother-in-law, a.k.a. Nick Punto's #1 Fan. Having taken the winter off from even thinking much about the Twins after last season's 99-loss performance; I am just now getting around to racking my brain to figure out what happened between 2010 and 2011. This morning, the solution came to me: the Twins lost Nick Punto! Could it be? Is Punto a "winner"? Was he a significant piece of this roster for all those years and all those Central Division titles, so much so that it caused a first-to-worst debacle? Let me see if I can prove this idea true...or even close.

First of all, the Twins with Nick Punto on the roster from 2004-2010 were 619-517 (.545 win percentage). During those 7 seasons, the Twins won 4 division titles. It's pretty hard to argue with that. Without Nick Punto last season, the Twins were 62-99 (.389), losing the 2nd most games in Twins history. That was good for last place in the division. Punto, meanwhile, played 63 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 while battling a few injuries. If you remember, the Cardinals did pretty decent last season.

Punto hit a solid .278 in 166 plate appearances last season, with an impressive OPS of .809. He struck out only 21 times, drawing 25 walks, and posting a .388 OBP. Punto made only 3 errors in the field posting a .984 fielding percentage. If not for multiple injuries, which tend to be a pretty consistent issue for Punto, he was headed for a pretty solid season with the World Champs. Punto has played only 4 seasons where he appeared in more than 100 games. 2 of those 4 seasons were Central Division championship seasons for the Twins.

Punto's replacements in the middle infield last year were mainly Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, and Trevor Plouffe. The combination of those 4 players hit for a .234 average (243/1037), with an on-base percentage under .300. Thanks for that Nishioka. They also combined for 41 errors and a fielding percentage of .963.

This is about as extensive of research I needed to do to realize I was wasting my time trying to prove Nick Punto's worth. I never was a Punto-basher, but I wouldn't say I was a fan. I did appreciate him, though. I actually enjoyed watching him dive for ground balls, line drives, and 1st base. I always wanted him to be that player that every good team needs - a jack-of-all-trades 110% kind of player. The fact is, Nick Punto's absence was not the reason for 63-99. I wish I could have uncovered something here, but there just isn't that much difference between the guys we had and Punto. It's hard to compare statistics with Nick's lack of playing time last season. Could the Twins have used Punto last season? Absolutely. Would the Twins have won even 70 games with Punto? Probably not. I do miss Nick Punto a little, though.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

The Corner Outfield

2012-03-03T08:53:00.000-06:00

With the departures of Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jason Repko; the corner outfield positions are going to have a significantly different look in 2012. With the addition of Josh Willingham, the 3 outfield positions will most likely consist of some combination of Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Ben Revere, and Trevor Plouffe. Last week, we determined that it might be best defensively for Revere to play in center, moving Span to one of the corners. The question now becomes: Is Ben Revere even one of our best 3 outfielders? Span and Willingham are without a doubt the two best outfielders on the roster, so let's break down the competition between Plouffe and Revere for that last spot.

Both Plouffe and Revere spent a small portion of 2010 with the Twins, as well as most of 2011. This will make for good comparison offensively. However, Plouffe has played only 91 innings in the outfield in his career, all coming last season. Revere has obviously played all 995 innings of his MLB career in the outfield, making the defensive comparison much more difficult to comprehend.

Plouffe is a career .226 hitter in 327 at-bats. Plouffe has shown a little pop in his bat with 10 home runs and 19 doubles during that time for a slugging percentage of .382 (a career OPS of .668). At AAA Rochestor last season, Plouffe tore up the league for 15 home runs in only 192 at-bats for a slugging percentage of .635. He struggled to put the ball in play consistently last season striking out 71 times (compared to 25 walks) in only 81 games - 320 plate appearances.

Revere has 478 career at-bats at the major league level, posting a career batting average of .262 - 36 points higher than Plouffe. Revere's power numbers are significantly weaker than Plouffe's, obviously, posting a career slugging percentage of .301 (81 points lower than Plouffe), and a career OPS at .606 (62 points lower than Plouffe). Revere only has 14 career extra base hits in 511 plate appearances, which to me is very disappointing considering his speed. Despite his lack of power, Revere can usually turn a single into a double by causing havoc on the basepaths stealing 34 bases in 43 attempts. Plouffe is a 3 for 6 career base-stealer. Revere has also been much more successful putting the ball in play so far in his short career (28 walks, 48 strikeouts, 511 plate appearances).

Without too much experience in the outfield, it's pretty difficult to determine how good of an outfielder Trevor Plouffe will turn out to be. In 91 innings, 72 of them in right field, Plouffe has posted a -34.9 UZR/150, compared to Revere's 13.6 career UZR/150 (995 innings). Plouffe has shown an above average arm in the outfield (0.8 ARM) which is expectedly better than Revere's career -3.8 ARM. Plouffe's RngR is -3.6, while Revere has posted a solid career 15.9.

This will be a fun competition to watch in spring training as Plouffe gets more and more experience consistently in the corner outfield spots. I like Revere's ability to put pressure on the defense on the base paths, but Plouffe is obviously more explosive in the batter's box. Another factor to consider is that Plouffe really struggled in the infield last year, which could have affected his ability to hit the way he hit in AAA. Taking some of the pressure off in the field by putting him out in RF or LF could very possibly loosen him up at the plate.

No matter who wins the third outfielder spot between Plouffe and Revere, I still believe Willingham needs to be our left-fielder, that being virtually the only position he has played his entire career. That would create two possible lineups assuming everyone is healthy: from left to right, Willingham/Span/Plouffe, or Willingham/Revere/Span. This is going to be a tough decision for Gardenhire, but I think the addition of Willingham's power, I think Revere will be the more likely choice for Gardy. Revere is a "Twins-Way" type of player who causes distress both in the field and on the bases. It will be interesting to see what happens if Plouffe has a hot spring, here, starting today!

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Our Stadium Adventures: Safeco Field

2012-02-29T13:35:00.002-06:00

My wife's sister and her family lived in Seattle for a few years up until this past summer, so we have had the opportunity to take in a couple of Mariners games as well as a tour of Safeco Field. First of all, if you've never been to Seattle, put it on your list of future vacation sites. I haven't been to that many different cities in the US, but Seattle is definitely one of my favorites so far. From Pike's Market, to the Space Needle, to the original Starbucks, and Underground Seattle, there are so many cool aspects of Seattle that I would go back again even without family there anymore.

As you can see, Safeco Field sits right next to Qwest Field - home of the Seattle Sounders and the Seattle Seahawks. It's right down by the pier, just down the hill from Pike's Market near downtown Seattle. My family lived in Bremerton, which was an hour fairy ride from the pier - which was only blocks from Safeco Field. It was perfect for a baseball fan!

An absolute must at Safeco Field is their famous garlic fries. Make sure you bring some gum or mints, though, you can see how much garlic is on those fries! My wife also had a this stick with chocolate covered strawberries on it that was pretty amazing. In fact, it was probably the main reason she actually enjoyed the game that day.

Much like the halls of Target Field, Safeco was filled with history, artwork, and everything was high class. The tour guides in Seattle were also very entertaining and knew every little piece of history on the team. The tour would be highly recommended if you ever find yourself in Seattle on a non-gameday.

Above is the main entrance to Safeco Field. I made this picture a little larger so you could see the fixture that hangs from the ceiling in the middle here. That light fixture is made entirely of baseball bats painted white. I believe that fixture had more significance than just looking really cool, but we actually went on this tour 2 or 3 years ago, so I can't remember exactly.

This is the "view" from the visitor's dugout the day of our tour. There was no game that day, and the Mariners were on a 10 day road trip. So, who do you think was renting out Safeco Field that day? You guessed it: Microsoft. They were having an annual conference there or something that weekend. Unfortunately, this prevented us from being able to walk out on the field, but we did get to go in the clubhouse and the dugouts.

Here's a shot of part of the Seattle looking north. Much like they did at Target Field, the stadium was designed to open up the one side of the stadium that looks out to the city. Again, you can see Qwest Field immediately north of Safeco Field, with downtown Seattle behind it. If I remember right, the Space Needle was just off to the left of this picture. These were our seats for the Mariners/Rays game last summer. The scalpers on the street that day were obnoxious, and I called them out on their prices which made my wife really proud. We ended up getting cheap tickets from the ticket box just to spite the scalpers. Dang scalpers.

Here's the view from the opposite side of the stadium, where we sat for a game between the Orioles and Mariners a few days before. Overall, I thought Safeco Field was pretty amazing. The atmosphere was great at the games, even though the M's weren't playing very well, the food was spectacular, and the city itself is one of my favorites.

Walking back toward the pier after one of the games, we noticed this store - Ebbets Field Flannels. If you've never seen their stuff, you should really check them out here. It was pretty funny because I had spent hours and hours on their website before this drooling over their authentic Negro League and other Minor League vintage jerseys, caps, and jackets. I had no idea the actual store was right in Seattle, so naturally, I spent the next hour or so in the store wishing I was 50 times more wealthy than I am. My wife realized my excitement and made my trip to Ebbest Field Flannels my birthday present.

On our way back to Bremerton the day we took the Safeco Field tour, a man saw the Twins shirt I was wearing as I walked by on the street and made a comment to me. I wasn't sure what to think so we all laughed awkwardly and continued walking. When we got on the fairy later, I saw the same man and we struck up a conversation. That man turned out to be Ed Cain, who called games on the radio from time to time for the Twins, Vikings, and New York Islanders back in the 1960's and 70's. What a thrill to listen to him tell stories about athletes that I never got to see play a single game. I remember asking him who some of his favorite players were to cover, and as you can expect, the name Harmon Killebrew was the first to come up.

I'd highly recommend, as I mentioned, making it a point to get out to Seattle someday if you've never been there. It's a great city with nice weather (even when it's raining), many attractions, and one fantastic ballpark.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Our Stadium Adventures: Target Field

2012-02-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

My wife and I (mostly me) have this lifetime goal of being able to visit all 30 baseball stadiums - or at least one from each city/team. One of my favorite parts about the game of baseball, the thing that separates baseball from many other sports, is that each stadium is special and unique. Each stadium has its own history, sights, smells, and quirks. We have been married now almost 3 years, and we have had the privilege of watching at least one game at 8 different stadiums so far: Metrodome, Target Field, Miller Park, US Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, Comerica Park, Rogers Centre, and Safeco Field. I thought it would be cool just to share a few pictures and stories from our experiences at each ballpark.

In addition to going to a game, we've also had the opportunity to take two ballpark tours - one at Target Field, and one at Safeco Field. Since this is, after all, a site dedicated to the Twins, let's start out with our newest gem: Target Field. Last season we took in the Friday night game against the White Sox on 1991 World Series Reunion Weekend, followed by a Target Field Tour Saturday morning.

As you can imagine from a new stadium, everything in the entire building was done up perfectly. Every room was filled with Twins history, and it seemed like every material had Minnesotan significance.

Kirby Puckett wall and Puckett's 1991 World Series ring.

This is a laser burned wood carving of Kirby, which stands about 25 feet tall in the Kirby Puckett Atrium. This room also is home to many articles of Kirby Puckett memorabilia, which the Puckett family allowed the Twins to showcase after his death.

This is just a cool shot that my wife took of the left field foul pole from the Budweiser Roof Deck. What a view!

Above is a warehouse building across the tracks north of Target Field, again taken from the Budweiser Roof Deck. At the time, back in August, there was talk of the Twins using part of that building to renovate and turn into a Twins Hall of Fame.

1987 WS Trophy

1991 WS Trophy

The Champions Club behind home plate was obviously pretty impressive, as we got a close-up of the World Series and ALCS trophies.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was all the artwork throughout the entire stadium. This is a picture of Billy Martin, who managed the club for only one season in 1969. I think this picture is a pretty good illustration of what it was like to play for Martin that one season. The Twins won the division that year, but Martin was fired after getting in a fight with Dave Boswell, apparently. Sounds a lot like Gardenhire, doesn't it? Martin would go on to manage, among a few other teams, the Yankees - 5 different times.

For all of you who are not married yet, but headed in that direction: I would strongly consider using the Metropolitan Club down the right field line for your reception. I don't know how much it would cost - I forget what the guide told us - but it would be worth it. Look at that place! Just do it.

This is the view from the Metropolitan Club.

While on the Target Field Tour, we spent some time talking with a couple from Chicago - White Sox fans - that was on the same mission as we were. The only difference was that they only had one or two stadiums remaining to complete their adventure. The wife was even more into it than the husband! Anyway, I asked what their favorite stadiums had been over the course of their journey. What do you think they said? Kansas City was #2, but Target Field quickly became their favorite stadium of them all. That's pretty impressive coming from a Sox fan.

The Book on Jamey Carroll

2012-02-23T17:03:00.000-06:00

Newcomers are always a little intriguing around this time of the year - especially after a disappointing season like 2011. This year Josh Willingham, Joel Zumaya, Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis, and Jamey Carroll bear the newcomer flag into Target Field. With the shortstop position being such a desperate need after the fail that was Tsuyoshi Nishioka last season, Carroll is the one the Twins chose to jump out of the free agent pile and save the day this spring. Not knowing a whole lot about our new shortstop, I decided to dive in and see who exactly we are getting to shore up the 2012 middle infield.

First of all, Jamey Carroll is old. He was probably entering his sophomore or junior year in high school by the time I learned how to tie my own shoes! Carroll was drafted by the Montreal Expos (remember them?) in the 14th round of the 1996 draft. He spent nearly 7 full seasons in the minors before finally getting his shot with the Expos in 2002 at the age of 28. He just turned 38, actually, last Saturday, and will be starting his 10th full season in the big leagues when the season opener comes around this April.

Carroll is a career .278 hitter, and has hit under .250 only one season in his career. Back in 2007, he hit a Nishi-like .225 in 227 at bats with the Rockies. In 2010 and 2011 with the Dodgers he hit a solid .291 and .290 respectively playing nearly every day. Carroll has only hit 12 home runs in his entire career, so the bullpen catchers need not worry about flying objects at Target Field. The one batting statistic that really stands out is his on-base percentage, which has consistently been in the .350 range his entire career. In addition to a solid OBP, Carroll walks nearly as much as he strikes out. In the past two seasons with the Dodgers, Carroll has struck out only once every 7.57 plate appearances - ideal for that #2 hitter the Twins so desperately need. For getting on base 180 times in 2011, however, Carroll only scored 52 runs. This is a bit concerning, but I don't know whether this is because of a lack of speed, or lack of clutch hitting behind him in the Dodger order. Knowing Matt Kemp put up MVP numbers last year and Carroll's age, I would tend to lean more toward a lack of baserunning ability.

In the field Carroll has spent more than half of his time at 2B in his career, but in the 2 years with the Dodgers he played a majority at SS. In 135 games at SS in the last 2 years, Carroll made only 8 errors (4 throwing and 4 fielding) for a fielding percentage of .984; however, he also sported at RngR rating of -2.9 at SS during those seasons as well. I would expect his range to only continue declining at his age (sorry to keep picking on his age). Overall I would expect him to be solid, consistent, but not spectacular in the field.

In fact solid, consistent, but not spectacular, and not flashy is what I expect from Carroll all around this season. Assuming no injuries, the shortstop position will be solidified with the acquisition of Jamey Carroll. As much as I would like to see Nishioka get a chance to play regularly and redeem himself from his performance last season, this was a good move by the Twins, and maybe Carroll can instill some consistency into Alexi Casilla's game over at 2B too.

Starting in CF for the Minnesota Twins...

2012-02-22T16:26:00.001-06:00

Two of my favorite current Minnesota Twins are Denard Span and Ben Revere. I've been a huge fan of Span since the day he stepped onto that Metrodome turf, and what's not to like about Revere? With the departures of Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jason Repko; the addition of Josh Willingham; and the seemingly complete return to health of Denard Span this spring; there has obviously been an enormous shake-up across the entire outfield looking ahead to 2012. Manager Ron Gardenhire has basically already named Denard Span his starting center fielder for opening day, but I like I'm sure many of you Twins fans would question that move if he indeed is in CF against the Orioles April 6th.

Denard Span is the obvious "veteran" of the two, having started a total of 306 games out in CF over the last 4 years. 151 of those starts came in 2010, and every game Span has played in the last 2 years has been in center. Ben Revere, on the other hand, made his Twins debut in 2010, and has started 92 of his 117 career major league appearances in CF - 88 of those coming last year while Span was on the disabled list. These factors alone give Span the upper hand when it comes down to decision time for Gardenhire. Advantage: Span.

From a visual standpoint, I think would be stating the obvious in saying that Revere is faster than Span - but not by a whole lot. At the same time, Span has a better arm than Revere - again, maybe not really by that much either. Basically, the two center fielders are the exact opposite of Vladamir Guerrero when it comes to running and throwing. Span, at times, can be more tentative than Revere out in CF, which I believe is Span's biggest downfall and biggest frustration out in the field. It's not too often we see Revere pull up for a fly ball in the gap, expecting the RF or LF to make the catch. It probably relates directly to Span's concussion issues, but maybe even a little before the concussion, we would see Span pull up when he starts running toward a teammate or the wall. Advantage: Revere.

Now, forgive me if I interpret any of the following incorrectly, as I am still opening up to these stats you baseball junkies call "sabremetrics". According to Fangraphs, let's look at the last 2 seasons' worth of fielding metrics, 2010 and 2011.

Player Innings ARM RngR ErrR UZR UZR/150
Span 1,935 -5.7 18.9 0.2 13.5 8.9
Revere 995 -3.8 15.9 -1.9 10.2 13.6

As we can see here, Span has the advantage with his arm (if you doubled Revere's innings his ARM would be -7.6). Revere holds a big advantage in his range (again, double Revere's innings and his RngR would be 31.8). Span looks to be a little better with the glove, but when you combine everything, Revere is a significantly better defender according to the stats (13.6 UZR/150 to 8.9). The main reason is because his range is so great. Advantage: Revere.

When you think about a defensive center fielder, what's the first thing you think of? I want my CF to cover ground and take charge of the outfield. Revere's legs and personality seem to do that better than Span's do. Span has started 100 games in RF and 45 in LF in his career, so I don't think it would be a major adjustment to move him to one of the corners - I would put him in RF mainly because Josh Willingham has spent more than 95% of his time in the big leagues in LF. Let Revere run around like a crazy man in center, and this would maybe even take some pressure of Span all around as he fights through his comeback from his concussion. I think the Twins will be ok no matter what combination they use in the outfield, but I'd like to see it go: Willingham/Revere/Span, left to right. What do you think?

Who is Jared Burton?

2012-02-16T10:39:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, in LEN3's live chat, he answered a question about right handed relievers. He mentioned the usual guys, Carlos Gutierrez, Alex Burnett, Joel Zumaya; but then he finished his answer by saying, "Watch out for Burton." Maybe I missed something this off-season while I was stressing over the 3-13 Vikings, the drowning-by-the-day Wild, or the injury plagued Team Tubby. Maybe I missed something this off-season while obsessing over my new favorite point guard throwing alley-oops to whoever will go get them down at Target Center. When I read that answer, I said to myself, "self, who the heck is Burton?"

After doing about 2 minutes of research, I realized why I probably missed this. Jared Burton was signed as a free agent on November, 11, 2011. My wife's birthday. Forgive me.

Jared Burton is a 30 year old right-hander that has spent his entire major league career with the Cincinatti Reds - another reason I didn't know who this guy was. The Reds drafted him from the Oakland A's in the 2006 Rule 5 draft. He made 164 appearances, all out of the bullpen, in the last 5 years for the Reds; however, he only pitched a total of 8 innings in the majors in the last 2 seasons. Most of his 2010 season was spent in AAA, while 2011 was a season plagued by inflammation in his right shoulder. His rehab assignment started July 28th of last year back at AAA Louisville, where he pitched a total of 13 innings last year.

Burton throws a low-90's cutter, a mid-80's slider, a low 80's change up, and a low-90's fastball. He has a really good career ERA of 3.41, with an average of 3.9 walks and 7.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. Without too much major league experience since 2009, it's hard to know what to expect out of Jared Burton; especially coming off a right shoulder injury. What we do know is that when he has been in the bigs, he has been pretty effective. I don't expect his cutter to look like Rivera, but if he is healthy, this was a solid pick-up for the Twins. So...

Watch out for Burton.

Twins Rubes Single-Handedly Brought Willingham to Minnesota

2011-12-14T11:08:00.001-06:00

I realize it has been a loooooonnnnnnngggg time since we've come out of the pitch-black cave that is Twins depression. So, these last few days and weeks of winter meetings and free agent signings have started to get the juices flowing again for Spring Training 2012. Last night on my way home, I was listening to Bumper to Bumper on KFAN (they were asking sarcastically if Willingham knew how hard it was to hit home runs at Target Field) and suddenly realized how much of an impact Twins Rubes may have on the future of the Twins organization! Here's how Twins Rubes brought Josh Willingham to Minnesota.

Last April, there was a bachelor party weekend in Minneapolis involving some Twins Rubes. I believe it was the Saturday night game against Oakland, we had front row seats directly behind the left-fielder, who happened to be Josh Willingham that night. So, like a bunch of immature boys trying to relive their junior high days, we were giving Willingham a hard time all night. In the middle innings, Willingham came up to bat and hit an absolute moon shot into the upper deck in left field right over our heads. As he ran back out to the field the next inning, we got his attention and pointed, yelled, and congratulated him on his monster homer. He proceeded to smile at us and give us the head nod saying "thanks you wierdos".

So, I propose that the Twins Rubes singlehandedly brought Josh Willingham to Minnesota - assuming that this deal actually does go through and the Twins are indeed not just using this as a last-ditch effort to get Cuddy to sign. Willingham realized that night last April how great Twins fans (specifically us) are, and all off-season he has now been dreaming of playing for such a great team with such spectacular fans. You're welcome Terry Ryan.

Is it Opening Day tomorrow?

2011-08-11T11:19:00.004-05:00

With the exception of Scott Baker's recent trip the DL, the 2011 Minnesota Twins as of tomorrow will be at "full strength" as far as the 25 man roster is concerned - basically for the first time all year! This morning on KFAN, P.A. had Seth Stohs on talking about how potentially potent this lineup could be with everyone back. Currently 9.5 games behind division leading Detroit with 45 games to play, I am not quite ready to relinquish hope of a comeback just yet. Once again, we have 9 games left with Detroit, 9 with Cleveland, and 6 with the White Sox. On Friday our lineup will quickly turn from a lineup filled with Repko, Butera, Hughes, Plouffe, and Dinkleman; to a lineup that is truly "stacked" on paper. Let's take a look at the possibilities!

First of all, let's look at facing an opposing right-hander. Here's the way I would stack this lineup.
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Alexi Casilla - SS
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Justin Morneau - 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer - 2B
6. Jason Kubel - RF
7. Jim Thome - DH
8. Danny Valencia - 3B
9. Ben Revere - LF

If you throw Delmon out in LF here, Valencia can hit 9th with Young 8th, and now our lineup is even more explosive. Revere in LF gives him a good matchup against a righty, his speed puts pressure on the defenses, and he is a better defender than Delmon. Delmon, although his splits against righties and lefties are pretty close, he strikes out every 5.07 at-bats vs. RH, as opposed to every 6.85 at bats vs LH. I'll take speed, defense, and the ability to put the ball in play against the right-handers.

Although Nishioka has struggled more against the right-handers this year, he looks much more comfortable hitting from the right side, so I'll take Cuddy's lack of defense and Thome's bat over Nishioka against the RH - not every day - but on a regular basis.

When the Twins face the lefty, let's go this way:
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Alexi Casilla - 2B
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Michael Cuddyer - RF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Delmon Young - LF
7. Jason Kubel - DH
8. Danny Valencia - 3B
9. Tsuyoshi Nishioka - SS

We now have Revere and Thome coming off the bench for pinch-hitting, speed, and defense. Nishioka gets to hit from the right side so he's not pulling himself off every pitch. Delmon gets in there to mash on left-handed pitching. Cuddyer can go back into the outfield where he's obviously more comfortable.

Tolbert and Butera will also be around for defensive replacements and to give guys a day off. If Butera catches, Mauer and Cuddyer can move around to give other guys days off as well.

These lineups look pretty solid to me, with options off the bench in both cases. A lot of our ability to make a run will depend on how well Blackburn, Slowey, Duensing, Liriano, and Pavano throw on any given night; but hopefully a lineup that is finally at full strength will help make up for a few less-than-quality starts and buy us some extra wins down the stretch.

What do you think about who to sit, who to start, where to put guys in the lineup?

Side note: Congratulations to Joe Nathan on becoming the Twins record-holder for career saves last night. I'm glad he could do it in front of the home crowd. Next up: Jim Thome #600.

Looking for a winner: Justin Morneau

2011-08-10T11:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I wondered if we had anyone on our roster that you could call a "gamer", a winner, a guy that will do whatever it takes to break up a double play, a guy that will run over the catcher to score the tying run, a guy that will make the great play in the field to turn a double play to get out of a bases loaded jam. I'm not sure who that guy would be right now. The obvious idea would be to look to a guy like Joe Mauer (MVP winner, hometown hero, batting champ, etc) to have a Kirby Puckett-esque game to get this team back on track, but Mauer just isn't that personality.

Last night, http://www.twinsbaseball.com/ writer @rhettbollinger tweeted this: "Morneau texted #Twins GM Bill Smith to say he wants to face Lester tomorrow. Smith texted back 'We'll see you in Detroit' according to Gardy." Now that's a little disappointing/frustrating to me. We have a guy that is itching to get back and face one of the toughest pitchers in baseball to try to help get this team back on track, and Morneau gets shot down. Morneau is 9-22 on his current rehab stint in Rochester, including 4 doubles and 5 RBI in his 5 games. I realize the Twins probably want him to get 15-20 more at-bats before returning to the Twins, but when you're team is struggling all the way around as much as it is, will it really matter to Morneau's health whether he is playing in Rochester or in Minnesota? This is the shot in the arm this team needs as the season slips through their fingertips, and our "gamer" gets shot down. That's disappointing.

2011 Twins: What are we good at?

2011-08-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

As the 2011 season quickly fades away, and the Twins slowly disappear in Detroit's rear view mirror; I woke up this morning wondering this: What are the 2011 Twins good at? We have a roster filled with names. We have former MVP's, future Hall of Famer's, 1st round picks, and former top prospects; yet we can't seem to win a baseball game. Our lineup consists of guys like Span, Mauer, Kubel, Thome, Cuddyer, Young, and Nishioka; but we can't win a baseball game. With the roster the Twins have, we must be good at something, right? Right. We are good at 2 things.

First, offensively, we are really good at not striking out. Currently the Twins are 4th in the American League in least amount of strike-outs as a team. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you look at the teams we are ahead of, that list includes teams like: the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, Blue Jays, Rays, and Indians. That's pretty good company, right?

Second, defensively, we are really good at throwing runners out trying to steal. Right now the Twins sit 3rd in the AL in opponents stolen base percentage, throwing out over 32% of all potential base-stealers. That puts us just behind the likes of Baltimore and Texas. You'd think we would win more games when 3 out of 10 base-stealers turn into outs, right?

This quick research this morning was very depressing. In almost every team statistical category, the Twins sit in the bottom 3 or 4 of the American League. My conclusion was that we aren't very good at anything as a team right now. Our "pitching and defense", the two things the Twins are "known for", are near dead last in every category.

A friend of mine asked me last night as the lead diminished, "Do you think it was worth it to give Joe Mauer that big contract?" I wanted to say "absolutely" so bad, and I want it to be worth it so bad. I love having Joe Mauer, Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, Nick Blackburn, Joe Nathan, Jason Kubel, Jim Thome and Co. on my favorite team. I want so bad for these guys to be as good as they should be. But when I thought about that question last night, what came to my mind was that we don't have a real competitor. We don't have guys that are going to make the amazing play to win a ball game. We don't have any Ty Cobb's that will create runs from pure effort. We don't have Brett Gardner, Pete Rose, Derek Jeter, or Dustin Pedroia. We don't have Orlando Cabrera - a winner. That is why the two things we are good at are making contact and throwing base-stealers out.

The Twins Desperately Need...Alexi Casilla?

2011-08-08T15:15:00.001-05:00

Alexi Casilla last saw the field on July 27th when he pulled up legging out a double. Since that day, the Twins have gone 2-8 and quickly lost 4 crucial games in the standings to the Tigers. We have been without many key players this season losing guys like Mauer, Morneau, Span, and Kubel to significant injuries; but out of all of those injuries, the spark has been gone without Alexi Casilla the lineup. It feels a little weird even saying that, but for the first time in my life I sit here today counting down the days until Alexi Casilla gets off the DL!

With Casilla in the lineup in the month of July, the Twins went 15-10. This isn't anything to get too excited about, but remember we are 2-8 since losing Alexi. During this 15-10 stretch, Casilla hit .326 hitting in the #2 spot every game. Even more impressive was the fact that 11 of his 28 hits were extra base hits (10 doubles, 1 triple). He was running around the bases like the "piranhas" of old. Casilla touched home plate 20 times in July, with the Twins winning 10 out of the 15 games he scored in. He was the offensive spark plug we've been missing desperately the last week and a half.

These last 10 games, hitting in the #2 spot we have seen Nishioka, Plouffe, Mauer, Revere, and Tolbert all give it a try to be that spark at the top. So far together they have hit .232 in 43 at bats, scoring only 5 times (all of those runs coming in 2 games) during that span. In fact, 5 of those 10 games, the #2 hitter produced a hitless game. With Casilla in the lineup in July, as a team the Twins scored 4.9 runs per game. With Casilla on the shelf, we have scored 3.3 runs per game. Even these numbers are a little skewed by the 11-spot we put up on the Angels last week.

We need Alexi back in the lineup like we have never needed him before. He's a spark, he gets on base, and he's no Cuddyer/Plouffe/Tolbert at 2B either. I'm sure our Japanese shortstop would love to have him back in the middle of the infield right now too. Casilla can come off the DL on Friday, just in time for 6 straight divisional battles with Cleveland and Detroit - all on the road. We have 9 games left with the Tigers - 3 at home and 6 on the road, sitting 10 games back. It's not impossible, so if we can steal 6 or 7 of those games with Detroit and win one series at a time, we'll have a chance to make a run in September with Morneau coming back. We can't expect anything worse from Span as he gets back to full health, and the Twins are always good for a late season run. We need Alexi back. It will be quite a struggle these next 3 nights against a really strong Boston team. The Twins desperately need 2 out of 3 to stay above water.

The Case For Nishi

2011-08-07T09:27:00.000-05:00

My wife and I went to the Twins/Sox game on Friday night (thanks Carlos Quentin for ruining the day) - it was my wife's first game at Target Field! Buerhle was on the hill for the White Sox, so naturally we were driving out of the parking ramp 2.5 hours after the first pitch. As usual we sat one row in front of the father/son or grandfather/son who knew everything about baseball. You know who I'm talking about. It was the grandpa/dad who was there to teach this 15 year old everything there was to know about baseball because he had seen in all in his lifetime. Normally this isn't a big deal to me, but this guy 2nd guessed everything! The guy hated everything that was Twins baseball - Butera squared too early on a sacrifice bunt, Gardy didn't put Perkins in in the 4th inning, Valencia didn't do anything right. What a good way to ruin the Target Field experience for everyone around them.

Their biggest disgust came from our shortstop, however. In fact, the entire section we were in were disgusted by Nishioka. I'll admit, I have been pretty disappointed myself this year with the play of our Japanese sensation; but let's not give up on the guy yet. He made a play in the middle innings with one out and the bases loaded, purposely dropping a popup near the mound to try to turn the double play (the ump called "infield fly" and nothing came of it). The whole stadium booed Nishi for not catching the ball, but in my head I thought "this guy is a genious!" Yes, it didn't matter that he did what he did, but he made a decision in the second or two the ball was in the air to try to make something happen. Should he have known the infield fly rule was in effect? I'm sure he did, but why not take a shot and see if you can make a play? Shame on you Twins fans for booing a guy for trying something that Michael Cuddyer would never try.

Nishi also made a diving stop on a ball up the middle with the bases loaded, but the flip to Tolbert at 2nd was off and everyone was safe with a run scoring. This drew more booes from some ignorant fans who would later try to start the wave in the 8th inning when we were trying to make a comeback. What they didn't understand is that by Nishioka ranging 40 feet to his left and making a clean stop with the dive, he saved the run who could have scored easily from 2nd had the ball gotten through or bounced off his glove. Even though he didn't get the out, he saved a run with his range and his glove. Watching Nishioka play shortstop is a treat that I hope we all learn to appreciate over the next few years. He has great hands, he is flashy (which is why he offends all those Pat Meares/JJ Hardy/Adam Everett fans out there), and he is smart. Give the guy a chance!

I understand that Nishi has really struggled at the plate this year (hitting .213, 4 2Bs), and he doesn't have the strongest arm out of all the shortstops in the league, but give this guy a chance. He still has less than 200 plate appearances in the big leagues, he broke his fibula in the first week of playing in another country where they speak a completely different language, he is facing pitchers with different pitching styles than he has ever seen before, playing in stadiums he's never played in before, dealing with umpires whose strike zones might be a little different than those in Japan, with TV broadcasts going back to his home country for no other reason than the fact that he's playing, and playing a position where communication is maybe the most important thing. I can't imagine the pressure, frustration, and anxiety that he is going through this summer. Has Nishi been much less than what I thought he would be? Absolutely. After watching him play in person, do I have a new respect for Nishi as a player? Absolutely.

I don't know what his plans are for this offseason, but I really hope he spends some time in the US getting to know more of the culture and the language here. I know he can play baseball, but imagining being in his shoes right now scares me; and I'm guessing I have no idea what he goes through outside of being on that field. I'm certain he misses life as a "speed-o-star" in Japan, but I doubt that he is ready to give up this opportunity to play in the US because of his rough start. I liken his situation to a high school superstar who was the best player in his class since he was born. He goes to college and all of the sudden everyone is good and no one cares that he hit .738 for his high school career. It may take a year for Nishi to get acclamated. I know it's hard to have patience, but he's still only 27 years old. Let's see what he can do these last two months of 2011 and into year #2. Give the guy a chance!