Young gets a day off
Posted on May 29th, 2008 – 3:53 PMBy Joe Christensen
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Delmon Young is not in the starting lineup for the Twins tonight.
His streak of 217 consecutive games played, the longest active streak in the majors, could come to an end, unless he is used off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Royals have optioned Billy Butler back to Class AAA Omaha.
Updates to come…
Update (6:20 p.m.): Manager Ron Gardenhire indicated Young’s break might last longer than one day.
“The other guy [Craig Monroe] did pretty good, so we’ll see,” Gardenhire said. “We’ll see what Monroe can do and go from there. We’ll give [Jason] Kubel a chance to go out in the outfield, once or twice, and we’ll see whatever happens here, I don’t know. Today? Tomorrow? I don’t know. We’ll see how he reacts today and go from there. See how his reaction is.”
Young, who has yet to hit a home run for the Twins, is in a 1-for-23 skid at the plate that has dropped his average from .286 to .258. Defensively, he had misplays in each of the past two games.
“There comes a time when you have to say he might need a little bit of a mental break. He’s fighting it pretty hard defensively. So, give the other guy a chance to see if he can get a swing out there. Watch a game sometimes. It helps every once in a while.”
Young was unavailable for pregame interviews, declining two requests.
Twins (27-25)
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Jason Kubel, LF
7. Craig Monroe, DH
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Brendan Harris, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Kevin Slowey
Royals (21-32)
1. David DeJesus, LF
2. Joey Gathright, CF
3. Alex Gordon, 3B
4. Jose Guillen, DH
5. Miguel Olivo, C
6. Mark Teahen, RF
7. Alberto Callaspo, 2B
8. Ross Gload, 1B
9. Mike Aviles, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Luke Hochevar.
Kauffman Stadium. First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
231 Responses to "Young gets a day off"
I thought a player needed at least one official at bat to add to a consecutive games played streak.
maybe Gardy will PH him
Happy days are hear again this lineup would be perfect if you flipped cuddy with monroe.
Considering that Gardy won’t budge off Cuddyer in the 5-spot and Mauer in the 3-hole, I like tonight’s line-up.
Jack i’m not sure you need one at bat didn’t Ripken only play 1/2 an inning once without hitting to keep the “streak” alive?
Hopefully the Twins can finally get a win on a Thursday.
They are currently 0-6 on Thursdays this year.
If Young’s streak ends, I think Morneau would move up to 1st or 2nd.
has young ever said this was a big deal or is it blog mania? i would hope all these guys would want to play every day.
clap clap clap clap clap clap thank you Gardy!!!!
Wow, Billy Butler has definitely not lived up to the hype. The Royals are a mess. They remind me of the Rays of a few years ago. I wonder if they can stockpile talent, then trade/release a couple of guys and just turn it around like the Rays?
I wonder what everyone is going to say when Monroe goes 0-4?
Young definately needed a day off, but Monroe wasn’t exactly killing the ball before last nights homer. I think he was 1-24 or something to that effect, so the upgrade isn’t all that noticable.
Wow… Guess that’ll teach you to make 3 errors in 2 days…
Funny how similar Butlers hitting stats are to our boy Delmon.
mike wants wins says:
Wow, Billy Butler has definitely not lived up to the hyp.
I always find it interesting when a 22 year old player has already been written off. I have a feeling Twins fans will learn to hate Billy Butler in a couple of years.
Slider away, slider away, slider away, slider away ….
MLB’s rule: “A consecutive game playing streak shall be extended if the player plays one half inning on defense, or if he completes a time at bat by reaching base or being put out. A pinch running appearance only shall not extend the streak. If a player is ejected from a game by an umpire before he can comply with the requirements of this rule, his streak shall continue.”
the amazing thing is they throw anything other than a slider away to cuddy.
Carrying out his personal tradition, Cal Ripken will be popping champagne tonight.
Its about time! Watching his pathetic effort is worse than watching paint dry. Delmon is an embarrassment to the club and has earned his spot in the bench tonight and should be there for a while.
Re-post from previous Joe C blog entry… (didn’t want all my heavy thinking to be missed by you all)
2010 lineup continued…
SP:
Frankie
Baker
Blackburn
Perkins
Guerra (wishful) /Slowey/ Humber / Mulvey
Pen anchors:
Crain, Neshek, Korecky, Reyes, Nathan
C:
Mauer
IF:
Morneau, Casilla, Tolbert, Harris/Plouffe/Hughes
OF:
Gomez, DY/Cuddy/Revere
DH:
Kubel/Revere
Miss anybody?
Looks like World Series to me.
I always wondered why pitchers would throw Hunter anything other than a high and tight fastball.
I see that Gardy finally started to read the Strib blogs. How long before he does everything we say?
because they were striking him out with a low and away slider.
When he was swinging bad, Jaques Jones was the worst at swinging at bad pitches. I still remember those horrible AB’s against the Angels in the playoffs. I swear there were times he was swinging at the pitch coming out of the pitcher’s hand. “Gee, I hope they throw it where I am swinging”. [And, I liked Jones]
glad to see the f.o. is active and watching waivers etc. - picking up breslow, good or bad, makes me believe they are serious about winning this year- lets get delmon settled in, teach gomez how to bunt without running at the damn thing, and how to hold his swing a bit to keep from killing himself, or braking a leg falling down, get baker back, get boof to throw well for 2-3 innings from the bullpen, send rincon away, leave casilla and harris working together, and sit down cuddy for awhile like delmon and keep up the good starting pitching and you never know, there may be a playoff in this picture after all…we just need to keep cleveland and detroit falling away each day and leave this thing to us and chicago and we will take care of them……
True. Hunter looked equally silly with both.
makes me wonder what gomez thinks when he sees his teammates lay down decent bunts, either sac or for base hits…cant he see the difference in how pathetic he is in his approach…..i know they have video in the clubhouse…what the hell does he watch and why with such poor results in bunting yet, why would he continue with 2 strikes….you only do that if youre a true professional at bunting….
“the amazing thing is they throw anything other than a slider away to cuddy.”
Because there are ways to cheat if you are 100% certain you are getting that (or any) pitch.
Cuddyer can hit that pitch oppo-zone-hitting and “diving at the outside edge”.
Occasionally whistling a fastball under his chin reminds him that a baseball is harder than his skull and puts a stop to the cheating.
for those that were mad we didn’t resign hunter and hate kubal:
hunter 193 ab, 6 hr, 25 rbi, .275 ave.
kubal 155 ab, 6 hr, 26 rbi, .252 ave.
i can’t say hunters #’s warrent the money he’s getting.
Carlos G-
Where is Guerrier? He has been one of the most solid from the pen and is still young enough.
i cant remember watching anyone slide as fast and furious into turmoil as fast as cuddy…what the hell has happened to him? i dont want to think contract and all that crap, but damn he looks terrible, and i said last week i thought his defense had even slipped- i couldnt have been more right- he just looks awful and i wish gardy would set him down along with delmon –its just too damn bad span is hurt, because he really had shown some maturity last time he was up and would have brought even more speed to this lineup….c’mon cuddy …enough of this shit, as we need you now……delmon will come along soon, but we cant have cuddy down also…..go monroe
Yeah, Span would really have made a difference. Another corner outfielder with little plate discipline and absolutley no power. Let’s try and pickup Tyner off the scrap heap while we are at it.
gobbledygookguy says:
May 29th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
“for those that were mad we didn’t resign hunter and hate kubal:
hunter 193 ab, 6 hr, 25 rbi, .275 ave.
kubal 155 ab, 6 hr, 26 rbi, .252 ave.
i can’t say hunters #’s warrent the money he’s getting.”
Nice comparison. Guess I’m not so mad at Kubel, looking at the numbers, he’s not doing so bad…
Rochester update:
Rochester beat Charlotte 4-3.
Mulvey got the win pitching 7 innings, allowing 3 ERs with 0 BB and 9 Ks. His season ERA is 4.07. From the position players McDonald and Jones both hit HRs (the 5th for each for the season); McDonald had 2 RBIs, pushing his year total to 32 (he is batting .312/.372/.560)
BRUNO-reading your pathetic post is worse than watching paint dry!
SP1 Liriano
SP2 Guerra
SP3 Robertson
SP4 Baker/Manship/Humber/Mulvey
SP5 Perkins/Duensing
RHRP Korecky/Pino/Van Mil
RHRP Blackburn/Slowey
LHRP Breslow/Gomez/Mijares/Mullins
SU Crain/Lahey
SU Neshek
CL Nathan
C1 Mauer
C2 Marales/Ramos/Butera
1B Morneau
2B Casilla
3B Valencia
SS Harris/Plouffe
LF Young
CF Gomez
RF Span
IF Tolbert/Huhges
OF Revere/Martin
OF Pridie/Roberts
DH Kubel/Lis/Winfree
cj2151,
“Yeah, Span would really have made a difference. Another corner outfielder with little plate discipline and absolutley no power.”
Thats a perfect description of Span-2007.
Span-2008 is FAR BETTER.
He had a .324 OBP with the Twins after an impressive ST.
In AAA he is hitting .327 BA with OBP .431; SLG .471; OPS .902; and 3 HR in 104 AB.
An amazing improvement in one year.
If he was healthy, the blogs would have released Cuddy, Kubel and Monroe daily.
Geno,
Are you saying Delmon has played well?
I don’t know what’s wrong with Cuddyer, but slumps happen to every ballplayer. Perhaps the idea of a big contract and so called “clubhouse leader” tag is causing him to press at the plate.
Sane,
A .324 OBP is pretty much terrible.
The numbers don’t lie.
Span’s career minor league numbers after 6 seasons and more than 2000 AB’s.
Ba. OnBase Sluggin OPS.
.285 .355 .354 709
He’s no longer a legit prospect and will be nothing more than a bit player in the Bigs.
Well said cj2151
Another thing worth mentioning about tonight’s game is that this is the first time any Twins’ hitters will be facing Luke Hochevar in any lever of professional ball (including spring training)
cj2151,
a .324 OBP might not be such a bad thing, if it is accompanied by a .550+ slugging (but this is not the case here). OBP is fairly overrated as a stat…
cj2151,
Numbers DO lie.
Especially OLD numbers.
Otherwise Blackburn should have been released after 2006.
When someone corrects an existing problem, previous numbers are crap.
When someone loses his skills, previous numbers are crap.
Regarding his prospect status and future in MLB, your opinion is your opinion.
“OBP is fairly overrated as a stat…”
I wrote something like that in January and the Bill James cult ran me off the blogs.
Best of luck to you, thrylos98.
cj2151-no,i’m saying that Delmon is only 22 years old and was taken 1st in the draft.Look what Josh Hamilton is finally doing.Actually my biggest complaint is when someone who can’t chew gum and walk at the same time should not bad mouth a professional player,that’s all.
“A .324 OBP is pretty much terrible.”
Of players that have hit in more than one or two games (so not counting Hernandez, Korecky, Macri, etc) a .324 OBP is 5th on the team.
The worst part of all this is that now us bloggers will think we matter.
How long before he does everything we say?
If he did that, Craig Monroe would be hitting third and benched at the same time.
sane,
no need for luck, I got numbers 
like:
Gary Gaetti’s career OBP was .308; in 1987 it was .303. Dan Gladden’s career OBP was .324 and .312 in ‘87 and .308 in ‘91.
And just for fun, let’s look away from the Twins and into Cooperstown, Gary Carter’s career OBP was .335, Ozzie Smith’s .377, Cal Ripken’s .340, Carlton Fisk’s & Tony Perez’ .341, Robin Yount’s & Johnny Bench’s .342, Lou Brock’s .343, Ryne Sandberg’s .344…
shall I go any further?
gw,
No question.
Gardy decided to give Young the day off after carefully reading the blogs.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA..CHOKE, GASP, HACK, HACK, HAAAACK!
BORKA BORKA WEEEEZE
that was supposed to be .337 for Ozzie
cj2151 says:
May 29th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Sane,
A .324 OBP is pretty much terrible.
Gosh, does that mean that everything I read here may NOT be true?
thrylos,
Your examples do absolutely nothing to support your point. You’ve either failed to consider the relative OBP’s of the era, the relative OBP’s of the position the players played at, or both.
so snepp, Gaetti’s .308 OBP for a 3B and Gladden’s .324 OBP for a left fielder were “ok”, right?
i would trade delmon, boof, and livian for a right handed power hitter, mourneau needs some protection in the line up. when spann is healthy call him up. i think you should trade them before there value decreases even more.even throw a prospect in
But we’ll keep Mike Lamb in the lineup? What the hell?
i don’t get it I can see giving Young a day off but give me a break sounds like he is getting benched. He is too talented to be given up on He will be fine if given the opprotunity.
Delmon Young is starting to remind me of Butch Huskey.
who cares about his streak, he simply should be in triple a, he is league wise bottom feeding, bad trade for the twins, he’ll be like dmitri in a couple of years. if that is the twins future, looks like i’ll be spending more time gardening. go twins
Travis Aune,
“He is too talented to be given up on”
I would like to say that “NO ONE IS GIVING UP ON DELMON”, but I’m sure there are blog posters out there in the darkness who HAVE given up on him.
Let’s just say that no one with authority has given up on him.
Sane,
If Gardy and the team actually read our comments on here how many times do you think I’d have mysteriously been beaten with in an inch of my life by Boof Bonser or Nick Punto?
The idea of any of them paying attention to us whining is pretty laughable. It’s also a horrible decision by them to enter a blogosphere where being critical even to the point of mean (which I do)… is just bad for their psyches.
Hyper crytical of the bad, over joyous about the good… It’s like reality TV… surreal. Not a the best place in the world to get unbias reports.
It’s like people asking their mother in law to write their bio.
“if that is the twins future, looks like i’ll be spending more time gardening”
Best of luck to your flowers.
BC,
It’s like people asking their mother in law to write their bio.
Great line!
thank you
It’s about time they sat young.
delmon…we know cal ripken and you are no cal ripken….sorry bout the streak, but who cares
The streak isn’t over until the handshakes.
I didn’t write Butler off. Where did I say that anywhere in my statement? I said he hasn’t lived up to the hype. He was projected to contribute in a big way this year. He was just sent down.
Where did I say he wouldn’t eventually be good?
Seriously, people on this blog really tend to put words in other people’s mouths and exaggerate their position a lot. Why is that?
ill be damned, finally a real nice bunt…maybe he is learning…atta boy
Gomez was out.
AKDanimal - I simply forgot Guerrier. Yep, he is one of the pen guys in 2010.
Took a perfect throw to get him.
Mauer looked pooped last night. Let’s see if he got a good night’s sleep…..
romer says:
May 29th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Gomez was out.
why are you complaying about a call when it goes are way why
OK, a steal attempt, now a hit and run.
This off a guy with control problems.
I don’t get the strategy.
I wasn’t complaining.
And it WAS a perfect bunt.
It was hard to tell if out or safe at first. I called out; wife called safe. I let her have this one.
Not a BAD call by the ump, because it was so close. Replay showed he was out.
Hopefully the offense adjusts it’s strategy now that the guy’s shown some control problems.
Morneau definitely not showing patience.
Looked like Gardy was in a hurry to score a run too.
cuddy sure has that 5-3 stuff down pat- hes the master at that one
when will Cuddyer learn to take some pitches i think the past two days the second he will swing at and hit on the ground
I missed Cuddy’s AB. How did he look?
looked like a man struggling
romer,
cuddy looked like punto at his AB
Delmon hanging out way down at the end on loser’s row with the Boof.
Slowey is cruising with 19 pitches after 2 innings
Foggy and slippery on the field tonight? Slowey just slipped backwards off the rubber.
Did anyone say the infield dirt was soft?
My thanks to the three of you who answered my Cuddy question. Two of you didn’t even need the prompting of my question, which answers the question by itself.
That’s under ninety over 9. Too bad he seems to tire after 70.
reading through the posts so far…the fact that there was actually a debate on how Delmon’s “streak” could be continued is kind of laughable to me…this team has more to worry about right now than Delmon’s “streak”
looks humid. game temp is 86 degrees. not sure about slippery but the infielders seem to have pretty good grip
awesome play
Slowey 27 pitches, 3 innings. Nifty play by Casilla
81 over 9, he’s getting closer to his limit.
So I guess Mauer is flirting with the idea of growing a beard. It’s all trimmed up. So fly.
way to go Ullger
Cuddy’s got his whiskers all trimmed up too. Poster boys.
If anyone on the roster should sport a beard, it should be the big Canadian.
Ha! MVP would look like a goat with a beard.
Lamb sort of looks like Joan Cusack. Not a slam…..
Crap! Was looking for the big inning there.
i dont think that mvp could grow a beard 
Why Kubel in LF and Monroe at DH? Kubel hits like crap when he is in the field, he cannot run and throws like Jacque Jones.
So Monroe is good enough to play CF for Go-Go, but not LF over the lumbering Kubel?
I don’t get it.
Shifting to the finale of LOST fo the next few hours. Best of luck to the boys.
Just like that, a ball land in front of Kubel.
hey i’m goming to be like dick and Bert i have a call Gomez hits a homerun top of the 5th
Does this mean T is lost?
4 innings 40 pitches for Slowey
But admit it Dano, you weren’t expecting an inside the parker.
Man that was so close to being a dinger for Joe.
How much fun would THAT have been if Gomez’ double got beyond the right fielder for a HR and Mauer had gotten his first HR.
Close on each hit.
I would rather see Cuddy watching that pitch with the bat on his shoulder than those feeble swinging K’s.
way to go Cuddy…
Why is Cuddy still in the lineup…..that guy swings at everything….
Top of the 7th, the White Sox are leading at the Rays 4-1
love what we’re seeing so far but we should be up more than 2-0….Slowey very impressive!
for those who were whining about Young’s mistake a couple days ago, just look at what Kubel did tonight… Gomez bailed him out.
after 5 Slowey has 50 pitches
Not much of a challenge there on that DP, but Casilla and Harris DO work together will, don’t they.
And Lamb’s defense has been up to par and he’s hitting like .300 the last 3 weeks.
Could it be the only hole in the lineup is LF?
romer
i was just hopping he would hit a home run
Yeah! Lamb!!
Lamb and Harris playing fundamentally sound the last couple weeks.
romer,
RF is a bigger hole than LF…
how ’bout that bunt single by Lamb?
that’s one huge advantage of acquiring a National League guy in the offseason..80 percent of our team wouldn’t be able to get a bunt like that down!
what about Punto? ha aha ahaha ahahaha…..
for those who were whining about Young’s mistake a couple days ago, just look at what Kubel did tonight… Gomez bailed him out.
There’s no comparison.
2 more…GO GO GOMEZ….
go gomez!
Sorry, I don’t understand any of the Kubel complaints re his defense tonight.
He knew Gomez was backing him up.
On the play a couple innings ago (re Gamer’s at 8:08) Gomez wasn’t backing him up, so he played it conservative and held it to a single (with Baker pitching).
Dick and Bert or Gordo and Gladden?
Wow the Royals are really bad.
OK, Olivo has proved his point Gomez. He has a pretty good arm.
For as much as I like Gomez, that was just plain stupid baserunning.
finally.
delmon young is SITTING.
praise gardy. now.
Yeah you’re right about RF, thrylos98.
And it’s a good question as to why Monroe isn’t in LF? Didn’t he have some leg problems about 2 weeks ago?
What a bad time to try to steal with the best hitter up to bat and Gomez was already in scoring position.
Let me explain about the similarities of Kubel’s play tonight and Young’s play 2 days ago:
Ball hit on the air at the left field
Young dives (the other day), doesn’t get it
Kubel dives today, doesn’t get it
today Gomez happens to back up Kubel, grabbing the ball and throwing it in, keeping it to a single. That didn’t happen 2 days ago, but the left fielder’s behavior is the same… be it Kubel or Young
Cuddy has had a bad month after a pretty bad finger injury so now he is awful when the past 2 years he has been an above league average hitter and led the league in outfield assists? Interesting.
Kubel KNEW gomez was there!!!!! Young should not have even risked going for it because it was him all by his lonesome and to make it worse he didn’t hussle to get to the ball. completely different scenarios. Kubel did everything he could right and Young did just about everything he could do wrong.
Agreed Toby.
Plus bottom of the 9th 3 run lead and two runners on is a world of difference than what Kubel did.
World of Difference.
Ball hit on the air at the left field
The similarities start and end there. You’re making yourself look silly here.
Slowey 64 pitches, 6 innings.
Don’t bring the gum to the graduation, Gardy…
Twins could really use that CG tonight, young Mr. Slowey.
Slowey 76 pitches, 7 innings.
Royals call him “Shake” Yabuta…
Gomez is such a stud.
If Slowey needs relief in the 9th, I predict it is the pitcher who will be leaving us tomorrow.
Royals call him “Shake” Yabuta…
I admit, I just chuckled a bit.
Gomez is looking strong and competent in all situations at the plate.
I think it’s contagious onto Casilla. He hasn’t had a bad AB for a long, long time.
Anyone get a Larry Craig “Bobblefoot” doll at the St. Paul Saints game on sunday?
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0522081saints1.html
It is about time Delmon sits. This game has been way less frustrating to watch so far.
When they both put the ball in play and have good at bats they are so dangerous.
Unless slowey runs into trouble gardy better let slowey go for the CG considering boof and livan will be facing the yankees in the next four days and the bullpen could get a real workout.
I hope that Gardy doesn’t bring Rincon in…
Oh, that reminds me RyanW……
Pat Mahomes, with the Sioux Falls Canaries, got nailed for a DUI a day or two ago. He got nailed last year too, but they reduced the charges —- him being an all star and all.
Yea, I think Slowey gets a shot at a CG. But, if we see someone else, I think it will be the pitcher leaving us, so that everyone else is fresh.
Situation: 100 pitches (cause that’s the modern day magic number) and two guys on in the 9th. I think Slowey would come out.
Growing up near Sioux Falls (actually playing a few games in the “Bird Cage,” the Canaries stadium) I will back up my man Pat Mahomes. There isnt much to do in Sioux Falls. Go to Shaninagans have a few, drive to Bucks have a few more… next thing you know you are over the limit.
Yep, Dick, brilliant is a good word for Slowey’s night.
Alright,
Slowey 8 innings 87 pitches…
Go to Shaninagans have a few, drive to Bucks have a few more… next thing you know you are over the limit.
And then you call a cab, not rocket science.
I live in Sioux Falls, there’s plenty to do here!
btw, white sox won tonight…
Shenanigans will give you a free ride home now so anyone that drives home from there fully deserves to have the book thrown at them (and hopefully a heavy one at that).
“And then you call a cab, not rocket science.”
In Sioux Falls? The cab driver only works 9-5.
No, I am teasing. I actually love the town- have family that still lives there.
Have leaders of the Sioux tribe raised a fuss over the use of the Sioux name in Sioux Falls?
methinks that Gardy should have ph Delmon for Kubel against the left hander at that point… Give a message to the kid, whatever, but show him that you care also…
No, because it is named after a geographical feature.
And it is not horribly demeaning (see Washington Redskins).
“Have leaders of the Sioux tribe raised a fuss over the use of the Sioux name in Sioux Falls?”
Not yet, we’re hoping that T. Denny Sanford will shell out some more money for us, then we can just rename the town “Sanford Falls” and won’t have to worry about it
thrylos- I think pinch hitting with a 5 run lead in the 9th inning is bad sportsmanship.
Yeah, I was just joking. So if UND didn’t have the word “Fighting” in their nickname, would that change anything?
Sad thing is I wish I lived closer to SF. Wouldn’t hang at Shenanigans though.
BTW, Mahomes looks like a VERY old man now.
Gomez approaching .300 batting average! and they said it couldnt be done….
AVG OBP SLG OPS
April .253 .260 .354 .614
May .297 .354 .462 .815
Also, 1 BB in April but 6 BB in May so far.
i’m getting excited……..
Bert jinxing Slowey by talking about the shutout……
Rob-
Your man T. Denny would love that, anyway to get his name out there. Still sad I cant go to Sanford Stadium to watch the Gophs next year. TCF is so corperate. They should just name it after the richest individual they can find.
But I wont complain too much, he is paying for my free Sheryl Crow concert next weekend.
Gomez has looked like a completely different player the past few weeks.
Thanks Bertie…….
Nice game Kevin.
Beautiful.
Nice game Slowey. Nice sweep Twins. Thanks for the early night and the lack of drama tonight.
5 of 6 road trip. Very nice.
Carlos G, gonna put Slowey on your 2010 team now?
romer,
lol.
He is on my team as a possible #5. We got some tough competition.
danimals-
It fits his pattern. He was actually hitting around .300 in July for the Mets last season before he hurt his hand. Before that he would start slow, but improve. In fact his OBP gradually improved as he moved through the minors.
I think he will is more like Torii Hunter (raw- improved as he got older) than Cristian Guzman (peaked) as far as where he is at age 22 in comparison to where he will end up.
Carlos G,
Slowey has actually the highest upside of all Twins’ pitchers, Liriano included…
On another note, can anyone guess the current AL win streak leading team?
sure, thurs night game ends early
So, it’s Slowey now, not (Slowey).
I’ve been thinking that Slowey is as good as Baker. And actually, BETTER, because I think Baker will have injury trouble in the coming years.
there’s a lot of reason to be excited about this club right now (although as usual, I stand by my assertion that Mauer isn’t a 3 hitter and Cuddy should be removed from 5)….
Think of it this way, remember how feeble our offense was last year? The offense alone in ‘08 is reason enough to be twice as pumped about this club.
And Gomez IS a difference maker.
Carlos G-
New here, could you post your 2010 team and rotation? Thanks!
Ryan W,
have you checked Guzman’s stats lately?
Harris is the a bit of an upgrade at the 9 spot.
lol yes RyanW….I still argue Harris should be our 5 hitter right now!!!
thrylos-
I have. He is having a nice season. In the last year of his deal, will probably be dealt at the deadline.
Lets see, if the Twins are in it at the deadline… and Everett is not cutting it… hmmm…
Half the commentors had Slowey leaving the team a couple of weeks ago. I like him. Not sure I agree with the “highest upside” of any Twins pitcher. His FB has been topping out in very low 90’s. Not sure he has a real good out pitch yet.
Liriano had it. we’ll see if he can get it back.
Baker had it. Got hurt. We’ll see about his durability.
Guerra is an unknown but has tremendous arm and potential. could be nothing special. could be super star.
Slowey did well tonight, but this isn’t the Red Sox.
And it wasn’t (Slowey), it was
Guerra (wishful) /Slowey/ Humber / Mulvey
Let’s see if we can string a few good outings together.
RyanW,
I think the injury last year really affected him when he came back for the Mets and probably undervalued him. It looks like his instincts make him go full-tilt all the time, even when it would be wiser to slow it down, but we have to admit, his on the job learning has been pretty awesome. he’s a major reason we’ve been this good (DESPITE DY AND CUDDY CREATING POWER VACUUMS FOR THE REST OF THE OUTFIELD). His raw talent + experienc will = better overall game than Hunter.
I think Gomez will produce way more in his first 5 years than Hunter did, making this trade great.
I think we can leave Humber off future lists of potential starters.
He looks like he is cooked. He is a bullpen possibilty.
Gomez sounds like Billy Crystal doing Marlon Brando.
Carlos G,
Slowey is just in his 4th year of pro ball (Baker in his 6th, Liriano in his 8th, Blackburn in his 7th… etc)
get my point?
romer,
Hilarious!
thrylos98, yes. And this is Guerra’s first year. How much will Slowey’s FB improve in 2 or 4 years?
I think he could be a Brad Radke. Liriano and Guerra can be Santana.
See what I mean?
Ryan
I would not bet my money on Humber being “cooked”. He is still young, and each day past TJ will make him a better pitcher. He had a six inning shut out two or three nights ago. I am definetley not giving up on him. It is starting to look like the Twins got the better end of the Santana deal so far.
danimals-
I generally agree with you. I am not sure he will develop the power of Hunter, but he will make up for SLG by stealing bases. I think he will hit for a higher average and get on base more (probably even walk more).
I am not sure he has the instincts in the field (but who does) and he can improve on his decision making (especially on his throws).
But as a center fielder, I will take a 22 year old Gomez over a 32 year old Hunter… or Jacoby Ellsbury or Melkey Cabrera for that matter.
Twins fans should give Bill Smith a pat on the back for NOT resigning Hunter and Santana at any cost. Gomez is arguably better than Hunter this year, and who do you think will be better the next 4 years?
Carlos G,
This is actually Guerra’s 3rd year in pro ball… I kind of agree with the comparison, but I’d put it in a different way: Slowey could be Greg Maddux. Liriano could be Johan Santana & Guerra could be ??
It’s always hard to figure out pitchers, even if your good at analyzing their arsenal. I remember Radke wasnt always all that highly valued … then something happened where he was consistent for several years and next thing you know he’s retired and all the commentators are comparing our current staff to Radke and saying stuff like “he could be the next Radke” … um … what???
if i had to make a list of who’ll be our top 5 in 2 yrs:
1)Liriano
2)Guerra (based on reports…never seen him pitch)
3)Blackburn
4)Baker vs. Slowey
5) somebody who was as unexpected as Blackburn this year
Also what is Gomez making? I guarantee it was not in the top ten like Hunter and Santana. If we were to sign those two to for big bucks,do you think the Twins would have enough money to sign our young stud pitchers, and the likes of: Mauer,Nathan,Mornea,Kubel,Monroe,Gomez,Delmon Young and others in the future.
I dont think so
Gomez is already more exciting at the plate (and on the base paths)than Hunter ever was.
Hunter is better defensively of coarse.
danimals, ya just gotta love him. Such a kid!
BTW, there’s a cutsie story about Gomez at the PioneerPress site, twincities.com.
Is everybody writing Perkins off as a starter?
Jason,
I was reading the paper yesterday and was surprised that for all the changes in the offeseason, the Twins had the same record as last year.
So that too is a good sign. This team is young, and making mistakes, but they’re at least matching last year’s squad in the W column.
Think how it’ll go as they develope.
And even if Mauer doesn’t belong in the #3 hole, I have a feeling Young will get his head outta his rear and be that role player by the end of 08.
Cuddy? I do not know. I’d like to see him turn it around and stick as the #5 guy in the lineup….
And now the Twins take on the Yanks. When was the last time these two matched up with the TWINS being the “better” team?
Two big series, but don’t go into the series like they did against Toronto. That lineup can HIT.
Tyler-
He is 25- so he is getting to the point where he should produce.
We have a lot of young pitching. Humber is 1-5 with a 5.89 ERA in AAA (worst starting ERA on the team). And he has as many walks as strikouts.
He had TJ surgery in 2005.
I will allow him to change my mind, but Lirano, Brian Duensing and Kevin Mulvey have to be considered before he is. And AA is LOADED with pitching talent. He has some competition.
thrylos98,
Yes, I will agree to that. Would be nice to see the potential phenom Guerra. Maybe next spring.
How about Guerra = Pedro?
So, potentially we have Maddux, Santana, and Pedro in the starting lineup. Ah, that would be nice. Dreaming good thoughts tonight.
About the Radke comparisons:
here is Radke’s career numbers:
W-L 148-139, ERA: 4.22, WHIP 1.26, ERA+ 112
ok numbers, but not great. Compared to the rest of the Twins’ starters when he was pitching he was way much better; but he is not like the holy grail of Twins pitching or anything…
Gamer, Perkins is in my starting lineup. See post at 4:24 or so.
Carlos G,
I give you that Pedro thought
wouldn’t that be nice…
(but his WHIP is still way too high 1.4something for my liking)
well T lately the Twins have handled the Yanks in the regular season even as the underdog so I don’t put too much stock in who supposedly the better team is going in
RyanW,
I read an interesting article in I think Aarron Gleeman’s blog a month ago, where either he analyzed or linked to an assesment of an interesting way of grading OF’s. THey figured out how much an OF prevented runners from advancing bases and also how much territory they covered. it was surprising b/c although Hunter always got on Sportscente with his dives, it turns out his throws made his overall OF coverage pretty bad (i think second to last). Gomez is clearly faster and has better arm. Hunter could time his jumps.
on a different point, Hunter totally pissed me off last year talking about his contract and how could be happy in Chicago, then TX, then NY, then maybe/maybe not Boston. ass.
One last note:
If I’m Gardy, I’m VERY pleased with my club after tonight’s game.
They had two UGLY wins on Tuesday and Wednesday…and I didn’t see the whole thing (LOST finale, I have my priorities people…), but judging by the boxscore it was a nice clean and worry-free win.
A great way to wipe the slate clean before heading home for New York.
Guerra is big. Like 6′5. I saw him pitch a little in ST.
Right handed. Good fastball, pretty good changup. Intimidating on the mound.
He could turn out to be a good player, very good, but pitchers are hard to predict.
Gamer
Haha good point! It is easy to forget about one of our dominating new pitchers! This is a exiting time to be a Twins fan. Our supposed “weak” farm system is really producing excellent young pitchers. As I have been saying all along, if our young pitching continues to prosper, the Twins will have to trade some pitching to pick up some offense. As far as I am concerned we have no future 3B,or SS/2b. I think Casilla can handle one of those positions, but the Twins still need to infield positions.
FSN showing top 50 baseball plays. THey lead off with a 538 ft. moon shot by McGuire.
From when he was with Oakland…
My guess at his ceiling:
Guerra = (RH) C.C. Sabathia?
Alright,
here is a question:
Who is the best pitcher ever to wear a Twins uniform career-wise?
Santana
thyrlos98,
1.Santana
2.Blyleven
3.Viola
4.Jerry Koosman
5.BlackJack Morris (not enough yrs to qualify)
agreed on the #1 (by far Santana is the best Twins’ pitcher ever) but you gotta remember the few games that Steve Carlton pitched for the Twins in ‘87 and that Jack Morris was in the team in ‘91 and how about Kaat…
jim perry and camilo pascual weren’t too shabby on the list of best twins pitchers…
Way to go Twins!!!How about that one two show at the top.
If those 2 keep it up, and the young starters hold up [I know a lot of if’s],
but some real hope for a very bright future for our favorite team.
It’s just amazing the way things can turn.
I wanted them to sign Hunter, sign Santana, but now I see the other side of the thinking. Those dollars were insane, and where would we be?
There have been so many really good young players coming in to the majors, maybe trading your favorite vets for prospects is currently the smarter way to go. [Only time will tell on the Santana deal, but right now it looks like——-] You fill in the speculation.
One last thing, if Delmon takes this like a man and a team player, then I hope they all rally round and pump him up. It could be just what he needs to really get all that talent going in the right direction.
HAVE FUN!!! GO TWINS!!!
Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat
and Santana of course
forget… certainly Jim Kaat (loved him as a broadcaster too)
forgot… certainly Jim Kaat (loved him as a broadcaster too)
looks like noone is here, but this is what i was referencing from aaron gleeman’s site from before:
http://www.aarongleeman.com/2008_01_06_baseballblog_archive.html
“…and it’ll surely shock most fans to learn that Torii Hunter had one of the least effective arms among center fielders. Teams ran more on Hunter than the average center fielder and he managed about half as many kills as would have been expected from an average arm.”
Good night! (falling asleep to happy thoughts)
