Liriano pitches well against Durham
Posted on June 11th, 2008 – 7:51 AMBy Joe Christensen
CLEVELAND — Not a whole lot more you can say about Tuesday’s 1-0 loss. For the Twins, at least it was a good night for Class AAA Rochester.
Francisco Liriano held Durham to one run on six hits over six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. He is 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA now, and the rising strikeout total is a good sign.
Brian Buscher also hit a three-run homer in that 14-2 victory. He’s apparently the leading candidate for a promotion when the Twins trim back to 12 pitchers for the Milwaukee series.
The question was whether Buscher’s knee was healthy enough to play the field, and he handled third base without an error in this game.
In Jim Mandelaro’s game story, there is also word that Philip Humber will miss tonight’s start because of a sore elbow.
166 Responses to "Liriano pitches well against Durham"
well, lets bring up buscher, release rincon for starters, and hopefully the f.o. will continue to be looking for some long term help for this team, as we dont have enough bats in our farm system, thats
for sure.
mj1 We will never spend the $$$ to get the bats into our lineup that are needed. We have a cheeeeeeeap owner who would rather have a losing season then spend the money to bring in some number producing players. This will just be a losing season with a sub .500 team. We will have a crappy summer of overcast and rain to go with our crappy 08 team.
Heavy rain and flooding today on the way can’t wait for that outdoor stadium
I hope they keep Liriano down at least untill after the AS break he’s finally starting to get things going again so i hope they don’t rush him back.
jimmybee forget the stadium you may want to build another arc.
BC funny you should say. I was inspired by Bruce Almighty and have already begun my building.
rained real hard down here in sw minny so it’s on it’s way. jimmy nice to hear you’re having a nice day today cheerful as usual.
i’m happy baker hit a batter, highlight of the night. didn’t look like cc had any trouble throwing inside did it?
Mariners have already fired their hitting coach to shake up the team.. it’s time something was done by Billy Smith to wake up this club.. once again fundamental mistakes by a supposed team that “does all the little things right” Twins have 2nd most errors in AL.. I thought the team would struggle to be .500 this year I just didn’t think it would regress in “playing the game the right way” Grady has clearly slipped and has lost this team.. time for a new manager
I normally have little respect for the Cleveland announcers, but yesterday they were extremely impressed with Baker (as was I, to be honest). They really couldn’t compliment him enough. Quote of the game (from my wife): “They’re both pitching well, but Baker looks like he’s twelve and Sabathia looks hungry for a Baker-sized snack.”
Good news on Liriano. We have been waiting for the strikeouts to start rising, and this might be the start of that. However, I really don’t want to see him until August 1st at the earliest. Get him to the All-Star Break, re-evaluate, then have him pitch more in AAA to keep building confidence in that slider. Until he gets that nasty slider working and/or improves his command and velocity on his other pitchers, he is an average pitcher.
On the other hand, I’d settle for an average pitcher in the rotation right now. Any average pitchers out there that their teams would trade for a (maybe) ace whose name starts with L and ends with -ivan?
GGG sorry I will try to be more possitve. I hope you don’t get any more flooding down there. Two words of the day Pitch Inside.
Good ideas, mj1, but I’m guessing Bass will be the one to go because he’s more likely to accept a minor league assignment after clearing waivers. (Come on, FO, prove me wrong.) Rincon sucked last year and they still brought him back for more.
Is it just me or does Baker remind anyone of a young David Cone?
I hope they don’t do anything with Bass. He has been valuable this year. Rincon has to be the one on the block. Maybe he will have a phantom injury and will need to rehab for a while in Ft. Myers…………
FIRE VAVRA & GARDY!!!! says:
June 11th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Mariners have already fired their hitting coach to shake up the team.. it’s time something was done by Billy Smith to wake up this club.. once again fundamental mistakes by a supposed team that “does all the little things right” Twins have 2nd most errors in AL.. I thought the team would struggle to be .500 this year I just didn’t think it would regress in “playing the game the right way” Grady has clearly slipped and has lost this team.. time for a new manager
Really?! First, there is no comparison b/w the Mariners and the Twins this season. The Mariners have one of the largest payrolls in baseball and, on paper, one of the most impressive lineups, and they are now languishing in the basement of the AL West. Quite a way to fall for what was largely considered to be a WS contender this year.
On the other hand, the Twins are in a huge re-building year. Santana, Silva, and Hunter all left. The team made a major trade that restructured the diamond. Of the starters, on any given day 4 or 5 were not with the team last year. The Twins were never expected to contend, and they really haven’t. What we are all missing is that, while the Twins have been doing ok, it is the sheer crappiness of the rest of the division that allowed the Twins to get where they have been.
It is so easy for the baseball equivalent of a Monday morning quarterback (a sofa manager, as Gramps used to call it) to blame a hitting coach or a pitching coach, or a manager. But what that overlooks is that the best manager can’t MAKE a batter walk more, or have better at-bats. The BEST pitching coach can’t MAKE a pitcher keep his cool at all times and not overthrow. The best manager can’t MAKE a lineup produce, keep an infielder from committing errors, or MAKE the catcher block the plate better. In the end, this skid is on the players, and, trust me, they feel it.
trade rumor has a nice thing on possible trade bait. funny 28 relief pitcher and no rincon, guess he is untouchable or untradeable.
this was on there last week any thoughts?
“What would Minnesota be looking for if they traded Boof Bonser? My guess would be a ML ready hitter? I think the Braves should look into that for sure… Maybe Lillibridge and Brandon Jones? I know Minnesota needs a true young shortstop, then B Jones thrown in to seal the deal?”
ggg We can’t trade Bean Ball Bonzer without throwing Kubel into the deal can we ggg?
i’d give them another prospect, reyes or whoever to get a top ss prospect and jones could replace cuddy, trade him for kouzmanoff. new 3b and ss with harris utility guy works for me. makes us younger and with better future. dream on………………
ggg $$$ no no no
Jonas.. I agree the Twins were not expected to contend this year.. that still doesn’t mean we should expect as fans the team not to show any signs of improvement in hitting and playing “smart baseball” 2 areas we should expect this team to improvement upon or at the very least not badly regress in.. Twins have not had a decent offense since 1995 check the stats for runs scored .. MN fans continually let Pohlad and Twin’s org off the hook - “the little engine that could” “small market team scrappying with the big boys!!” Gardy’s playoff record is 6 - 21 winning only 1 playoff series!!! when do we demand more???
“Is it just me or does Baker remind anyone of a young David Cone?”
David Cone was a stud we can only hope he ends up that good. I like Baker and I still think he’s the best starter we have but I think the early comparisons to Bradke are more accurate.
BC I think your right about Baker. Heat up the oven cause the Baker is coming
How fast does Baker throw? Whenever I see a pic of him at his release point it looks as though the skin on his face is about to fly off his skull
looks like he tops out at 93 - 94 he has a dandy curveball and has been pitching down in the zone better so he is not allowing as many GOPHER balls
I know bill hall cant play 3rd but i think he would be a good addition we could send a package of lambchops and rincon for him and bring buscher up and have a platoon at 3rd base but then of course the f.o. would send buscher down when adam everetts ready why dont they just cut his shitty bat his defense aint that special
and be realistic on the trade talk to
“Whenever I see a pic of him at his release point it looks as though the skin on his face is about to fly off his skull”
Once in awhile, a face just goes flying off a skull. That’s just part of life, jimmy.
The Twins still owe Lamb over 5 million. Absolutely no team will take that contract. There is no demand in the baseball marketplace for a 33 year old ballplayer, who can’t field, hit, throw, or run, and is paid that kind of money. The Twins absolutely will not release him, and eat a contract that big. The Twins and Mike Lamb, are married through 2009. Get used to him, he’s here to stay for awhile.
FIRE VAVRA,
“the team not to show any signs of improvement in hitting”
The Twins are obviously showing improvement in hitting.
Otherwise, you would have been posting every day in late May and June (as you did in April and early May), instead of waiting anxiously for the next Twins shutout.
“and have a platoon at 3rd base”
Why do you think Bill Hall would like to platoon at 3B for the Twins when he has publicly complained about the same situation for the Brewers?
FIRE ~
I agree that Gardy has a pretty crappy playoff record, but lets remember, it’s not like we have the same sort of streak as the Cubs here. Let’s talk to the Royals about the last time they were within smelling distance of the playoffs. I know a lot of people are pretty peeved with the Twins organization right now, but the bottom line is that Gardy is working with a deck that is stacked against him, and he has shown that he can at least get to the postseason when it isn’t.
My irritation is focused at the person who deserves it: Bill Smith. This 13-pitcher nonsense? Smith’s fault for not wanting to let go of or risk a player in waivers. The lack of defense? Smith’s fault for trading away/letting go of good players (defensively) and replacing them with the likes of Lamb and Harris. Lack of offense? Smith’s fault, in part for the Young trade. However, the other part is Gardy’s fault, since he controls the Injury Gods and decides which of his players get hurt when. As for the rest of the lack of offense? Cuddy had a slump, which he is breaking out of. Power numbers are low, but when haven’t they been?
You can blame this all on Vavra and Gardy, but it is just a knee-jerk reaction. When you think about it, Gardy is being forced to deal with a series of crappy circumstances.
That said, Gardy’s lineups don’t always make sense, and his pinch-hitting doesn’t either. Criticize him for that, not for things beyond his control.
P.S. I didn’t think I would ever write a post defending Gardy, but there you go.
But sane it’s easier to criticize the Twins hitting after they get shutout by a former Cy Young winner who just happens to own the Twins. Sabathia didn’t pitch a great game it was obviously all Vavras and Gardy’s fault.
Sane I try to post as often as I can but I have a day job which prevents me from spending hours of time on the blogs (apparently other rubes have alot of time on their hands) it is silly to say that because someone of us don’t drink “Twin’s koolaid” everyday and actually expect better performance and don’t remind Rube Nation every single day of this that somehow we are “cherry picking” when we respond.. it only proves that Pohlad will continue to “milk” Twin rubes for as much profit as he can carry while not putting a quality team on the field…
BC,
Amen!
I must be in the wrong place. I came to give a comment on Liriano and I get weather reports.
For those interested in baseball rather than the weather, I liked Cliburn’s statement. “He keeps getting better and better.” At some point, he has to be better than a couple of our current starters who got creamed in Chicago. I would say the time is now for Livan. Start hitting your spots or hit the road.
FIRE,
OK, then please take one minute from your day job to explain to this rube what you mean by “the team not to show any signs of improvement in hitting”
The Twins are obviously showing improvement in hitting.
thursday will be livans last start for the twins, my prediction. like any good hitter i’m only wrong 70% of the time!
Maybe Gardy is just utilizing Rincon’s skills incorrectly. Sometimes a pitcher like for an example in Nathan’ Case began his career as a starter and then was moved into the closer position where he has flourished. What Rincon needs is a change in where we use him. we should try Rincon as a starter
Jonas makes some excellent points.
By the way, Gardy has made it abundantly clear he doesn’t see this as a rebuilding year. Smith as said much the same.
A team doesn’t sign older veterans like, Lamb, Everett, Hernandez, Monroe, Nathan, if they are rebuilding. Cuddyer, Redmond, Reyes, Rincon, Punto, Guerrier, are also older vets that are still around. They have a few more youngsters this year, than in years past, but not many.
sane I’m interested in your take on Livans value to this rotation. I disagree with all these people who want to git rid of him i think he’s needed all year unless he completely falls apart.
Twins have scored 3 runs or less 28 out of 65 games has also been shutout 5 times already.. Sane please provide proof that this team has improved?
Wow. Good to know that I am a “Twins koolaid”-addicted rube. Never mind the fact that I am a lawyer in the Washington DC area. Thanks for stereotyping us all, FIRE.
And people wonder why more fans don’t post here.
BC,
I think that Livan must be replaced in the rotation as soon as a replacement (Duensing?) is available.
If there is no trade market for him, then he and Bonser can pitch long relief which has been required almost daily during the losing streak.
If Rincon and Bass are waived simultaneously, maybe one will slip through unclaimed because of a flooded waiver wire.
Jonas that was obvious slander or libel on the part of FIRE if you need a witness to testify against i’m available because i’m an unemployed and uneducated rube.
livan:
last 7 days, era 15.75, 4 ip, 8 h, 7 r.
last 14 days, era 10.12, 16 ip, 34 h, 20 r.
last 28 days, era 8.16, 28.2 ip, 52 h, 29 r.
need i say more?
Jonas read my posting again.. where do you see the word - EVERYONE.. if you feel that label fits you that’s your decision not mine.. only you can best judge whether that is true.. from your reaction I sense you protest too much..
thanks sane i know he’s not in our long term plans but don’t you think the fact that he’s a veteran presence helps this young pitching staff?
FIRE VAVRA & GARDY!!!!
So the Tigers with all of their increidble offensive talent have scored 3 runs or less 31 times this year and been shut out 9 times. The should fire Varve and Gardy from their team too.
FIRE,
“please provide proof that this team has improved”
After struggling out of the gate (for proof, review your April posts), the Twins NOW have a team BA of .269, BEST IN THE DIVISION, 4th best in the AL and 7th best in MLB.
Joe c’s post pertained to Lirano pitching well,he then asked for reponses,I haven’t seen one reponse pertaining to Lirano.Who does Joe think he is,having control of his own site.We all know who is in charge.
I think alot of people are on the hot seat in Tigger land right now…… but let’s try to stay on point. we are talking about the Twin’s lack of hitting improvment not compared to anyone other club’s performance
jimmy bee, I know you can help me with this project. You other young guys can help old Craig with this, also. I want to put together a Twins, worthless, washed up, scrap heap, veteran team. All guys have to have been acquired this decade. None can have contributed much of anything. Here goes:
C - Henry Blanco (sorry Henry, you weren’t that bad).
1B - Phil Nevin
2B - Brett Boone
3B - Tony Batista w/ Mike lamb as backup
SS - Juan Castro w/ Adam Everett, backup
LF - Rondell White
CF - Craig Monroe
RF - Ruben Sierra
SP - Livan Hernandez, Sidney Ponson, Ramon Ortiz….. (???)
RP - Terry Mulholand…… (???)
There have to be more pitchers. Can’t think of any off hand.
FIRE VAVRA & GARDY!!!!
I think staying on point would be to talk about Liriano since that is what the post is about.
Sane until MLB changes the rules and starts counting hits and batting average as a way to determine who wins baseball games.. the good old batting average argument is worthless.. the game is won by scoring RUNS.. not how many 2 hoppers hit into the hole or Texas league bloops a team can amass without hitting anything more then a single
Isn’t it obvious that this is all David Sterns fault? he obviously doesn’t want the Twins or Tigers to win so he tells the umps to call more strikes against them.
Geno and Charlie what more can be said about Liriano he pitched well but he has a ways to go yet and i don’t think we’ll see him for at least another month or until he can go more then 6 innings in a game.
Could put Lamber at 1B and DH Phil: Here’s the lineup:
Castro
Boone
White
Monroe
Sierra
Batista
Lamb
Nevin
Blanco
FIRE VAVRA & GARDY!!!!
The Twins are 7th in the AL in Runs scored.
I appreciate the fact that Joe takes the time to post something other than lets just open things up to complain about Vavre, Gardy, Punto or (insert today goat)
Joe took the time to give people an update on how Liriano did, what the coaches had to say about it, an update about Buscher, and letting us know that Humber was missing a start. How many people took the time to read that and didn’t just jump right in with the same stuff that they complained about yesterday.
The New and Improved Craig Terry Tiffee Lecroy. Corky Miller. Henry Blanco. Jose Offerman. Pat Borders. Joe Roa. Dennis Hocking. Rick Reed. Mike Fetters. Jesse Orozco. Quinton Mccracken
Jonas, um, isn’t this really Terry Ryan’s fault? did you expect Smith to fix the entirety of the problems in one year? The cupboard was completely barren when he took the job. No CF, LF, 3B, or 2B. He traded for two of those (giving up his SS in the process) and the DH has not worked out. I’m not sure how anyone can hold Smith accountable for all of the problems. Unlike Ryan he at least tried to fix them. So far, those fixes have not worked out, but, as much as I don’t like Young, it is a tad early to judge all of his moves as unsuccessful.
let’s say that young and Gomez work out. That means that in 1 year he fixed two problems. If he can fix 3B (either from w/in or out) and/or DH, this team should be fine hitting wise.
I see no way to blame Smith for this mess. This mess is the result of a weak minor league system - a system the Twins themselves admitted has not produced enough impact players.
Blanco filled his role capably….
I ask this question? What was your favorite Ruben Sierra Twins moment?
hitting the HR against Rincon doesn’t count
FIRE,
The argument is about IMPROVEMENT, not about whether the Twins are better hitters than the RSox,the WSox, the Tigers, the Yanks or the Indians.
If you are saying that the Twins are NOT hitting better than early in the season, then you are denying the obvious.
And I am wasting my time trying to move someone who refuses to open his mind.
Lets add Dave Winfield to that list shall we. His bat was so slow when he was with the Twins i could strike him out with a softball.
Don Baylor was so old when he was here that you had to hit him with a fastball just to wake him up at the plate
Who did Carew go in the HOF with. Also does anyone know if Don Sutton is in the Hall
Craig,
here is my take on a 2000’s all washed up acquisition roster for the Twins:
Pat Borders/Tom Prince C
Phil Nevin 1B
Brent Abernathy/Augie Ojeda 2B
Juan Castro/Jason Maxwell SS
Tony Batista/Chris Gomez 3B
Rondell White LF
Quinton McCracken CF
Midre Cummings/Ruben Sierra RF
Jeff Cirillo/Matt LeCroy/ DH
SP
Sean Bergman
James Baldwin
Seth Greisinger
Sidney Ponson
Ramon Ortiz
RP
Mike Jackson
Mike Trombley 2.0
Tony Fiore
Jesse Orosco
Joe Roa
Terry Mulholland
back to point (liriano) if you can get a good ss or 3b prospect for boof+ (he has more trade value than livan) do it. trade livan for whatever you can get bring liriano up to fill livans spot. rest of the yr;
baker
perkins
blackburn
liriano
slowey
they all have enough talent to pitch in the majors and spending more time in aaa isn’t going to do them much good. then you know where you are at for a staff going into next yr. and where you need to improve.
Don Sutton is in the Hall
jimmy bee,
I knew you were the man.
Shawn,
You are correct. Blanco did a good job. He doesn’t belong with these guys. I just couldn’t think of anyone for the catcher spot. jimmy has helped out by mentioning Pat Borders, Corky Miller and Matthew LeCroy. Add Borders delete Blanco. Corky Miller as the backup.
I love it, BC. Since this thread seems to be degenerating into chaos, I’ll post on the topic that Joe asked for posts on.
I am excited about Liriano’s growing success. Seven strikeouts is very encouraging. However, he is still walking too many (on average, not last night). I still don’t want to see him until well after the All-Star break. I don’t care how well or how poorly the Twins are playing, Liriano cannot be rushed. If we want him to be a long-term solution, we need to be patient until he has long-term success at AAA.
Otherwise, we’ll get a AAA or worse starter, much like the one we saw at the beginning of the year. We need to handle Liriano with the kid gloves.
Also, bad news about Humber. I was expecting him to appear this year, possibly in a relief capacity. Let’s hope he doesn’t have something more serious than soreness.
thrylos98,
My cup runneth over.
Sorry, jimmy bee, you are no longer the man. thrylos 98 is the man.
gobble,
the Twins have 2 very good 3B prospects (Hughes, Valencia) a good SS prospect (Plouffe) and a very good middle infielder prospect who has played SS (Tolleson). All of them are 1-3 years away from the bigs.
I am afraid that Boof cannot bring anything better.
thrylos, wasn’t Cirillo more of a 3b guy? I know with his bad knee (?) he didn’t play much. I remember being really excited about him last year…
Jonas says:
June 11th, 2008 at 10:39 am
“Never mind the fact that I am a lawyer in the Washington DC area.”
Who gives a f^ck. I can chew up punks like DC lawyers, and spit them out, any day of the week.
The New and Improved Craig I want an amphibuous car and a perm like Don Sutton. Also I want to trade Dick in for Bob Ueker. That duo of Ueker and Bert would just be great. Here is an Awesome Bert link
Cirillo with the Twins played DH 21, 3B 15, 1B 8 games. He probably does not belong in that list, because he was actually not that horrible (he batted .261/.327/.386 which is better than Cuddyer’s record so far this year)
Never mind the fact that I am a lawyer in the Washington DC area
I don’t care what anyone does for a living. This is a baseball blog not an occupation blog
mike wants wins ~
Okay, I’ll eat some humble pie on the Terry Ryan thing. He really caused all the problems that persist to date. My point is more along the lines that Bill Smith hasn’t really done much to help. The Santana trade, to me, is pretty neutral, and the Young trade is, at this point, a net negative. I hope both of those work out better in the long run, as it is too soon to judge them.
However, I think Smith’s inability to handle the day-to-day is much more telling. I mean, 13 pitchers? Come on. People say we have needed them, but we really haven’t. Rincon pitched almost half of the bullpen’s innings last wknd. Smith may have tried to make a difference in the offseason, but to me he is rather inept at the day-to-day management of the team.
Augie Ojeda and Chris Gomez must not have been washed up since both are still playing well in their roles for their respective teams.
Sorry, jimmy bee. I got irritated and the sarcasm came out. I’ll try to watch that next time.
Try not to hold it against me.
thrylos - I would add that Plouffe has played some 3B. Tolleson is vastly underrated. Hughes, right now, is probably vastly overrated, but really playing well… when healthy. I would say that Deibinson Romero is another quality 3B prospect as is recent 2nd round pick Tyler Ladendorf. Also, remember that Casilla is younger than several of them.
Wow. This is one hell of a thread for midday.
The claws are out…
Augie Ojeda vanished in the minors for 3 years after he left the Twins before he surfaced with the Dbacks last year (similar to what Rivas did). Gomez has been jumping around mediocre teams for a while. I am not sure what “playing well” is, but I think that it is highly subjective. Just semantics 
Punto is playing better than either and I don’t think that he “is playing well”… Maybe they do not belong in that list
“Who gives a f^ck. I can chew up punks like DC lawyers, and spit them out, any day of the week.” I am a cannibal in the Minneapolis area.
Seth,
agreed. My original point is that Boof cannot bring anything better that what the Twins have currently in the organization at 3B/SS.
Casilla really won me this year. I consider him in the same boat as Young and Gomez (a current young ML with a high ceiling) and not a prospect.
jon,
“I am a cannibal in the Minneapolis area.”
So am I!
ok all this negativity sucks lets look at some of the best Twins FA pickups.
I think the best ever was Chili Davis.
No prob Jonas you seem like another baseball fan just like the rest of us
BC Dennis Reyes so far. But he only pitches to like 2 people a week. Shannon Stewart was good
New and Improved Craig, Your blog at 11:44 was out of character and, frankly, classless! You can do better and I am sure you will in the future.
Byrd against Blackburn is going to be a great game. I always wanted the Twins to pick up Byrd. Does anyone think during the ALCS when Boston was going to lose and then all of a sudden something slipped out and Byrd was linked to HGH seem a little fishy.
Here’s some more Molitor, Castillo, Morris.
Shannon Steward was a trade and Chili Davis is ancient history
The Twins just do not pick up a lot of free agents and esp. not expensive ones
I think that the only good FA pickup in the 2000s was Kenny Rogers and
Dennys Reyes, Aaron Fultz, Tony Fiore and Bob Wells were better than average.
BC how bout Don Sutton interviewing Anthony LaPanta
“BC of ND says:
June 11th, 2008 at 9:21 am
‘Is it just me or does Baker remind anyone of a young David Cone?’
David Cone was a stud we can only hope he ends up that good. I like Baker and I still think he’s the best starter we have but I think the early comparisons to Bradke are more accurate.”
I think Baker has more velocity than Radke did…just my opinion though.
Daniel1966 says:
“New and Improved Craig, Your blog at 11:44 was out of character and, frankly, classless!”
I apologize for the Effenheimer. Like that fine attorney in DC, from the past, Richard Milhouse Nixon, I only swear on rare occasions, and only for emphasis.
thyrols the point is that the Twins have not always failed at picking up FA it’s just that it’s easier to point out there failings then there successes.
I like that jimmy how about adding Kruk to the mix for an all hair booth.
“I think Baker has more velocity than Radke did…just my opinion though.”
I agree Todd now if he could just develop the same type of changeup.
I see Roy Smalley in the skyways on occasion; 1.) he’s a really nice guy; and 2.) he has fine hair as well, as gray as it is…
It seems like a lifetime since Radke gave up three runs in the first inning then settle down for the subsequent six/seven.
jon says:
June 11th, 2008 at 11:54 am
“I am a cannibal in the Minneapolis area.”
Hannibal Lechter, MD says:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
“So am I!”
Chewing and spitting, is one thing. Swallowing is quite another. You guys are really sick.
What the hell has this blog devolved into????
“It seems like a lifetime since Radke gave up three runs in the first inning then settle down for the subsequent six/seven.”
I agree i’ve always liked Radke and i think he’s still young enough to make a comeback if his arm is fully healed.
I wonder how healthy is…he’s what? 33-34? Something like that????
Radke will be 36 this year.. his fastball would be Livian - like..
why would Radke come back? He made $62 mil in his career and now is having fun watching his kids grow? Not much incentive for him to play again
i’ll go back to baseball, the point i’m making about boof is he has possible trade value. you look at our infield and only morneau came up in the twins system and macri and casilla are recent returns on pitchers less valuable than boof. there may be several guys (many were named) that “may” become big league talents. none of those guys has proved anything yet and the more quality chances you have the more likely one or 2 will work out. we’ve had a lot of good prospect who washed out after seeing big league pitching for a while.
seth would know how many of the top 10 prospects on his list are infielders?
Livian is only 33.. 3 years younger then Radke
Todd Anthony says:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
“What the hell has this blog devolved into????”
This is a Minnesota Twins baseball blog. It is extremely serious and somber. As we all know, baseball is very serious. It is not a stupid, child’s game, played by arrogant, over-paid, prima donnas. We need to remember that, and we need to stay focused and serious. Very serious.
Craig,
“Chewing and spitting, is one thing. Swallowing is quite another.”
I no longer swallow.
I have become a vegetarian.
“I agree i’ve always liked Radke and i think he’s still young enough to make a comeback if his arm is fully healed.”
I don’t think it CAN fully heal. From what it sounded like that shoulder was pretty much gone by the end of ‘06.
As far as Buscher goes, while I’d love to see him get some seriously time at 3B…if he’s not healthy enough to play the field he won’t do much to help the Twins as far as lineup options go.
He’d still be available as a bench option, which is better than…well….nobody. But the Twins biggest problem right now is an everyday 3B with consistent power. Lamb can sit on the bench and wait to get the call just as easily as Buscher.
The New and Improved Craig says:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Todd Anthony says:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
“What the hell has this blog devolved into????”
I want an amphibous car and hair like Don Sutton. BC Don Sutton, Kruk and LaPanta in a booth with Smalley doing on field interviews would be quite great and it would inspire me to watch more Baseball. What do you think of the idea of a Bert and Ueker show.
thrylos:
Until recently, the Hernandez signing looked to turn out pretty well. If they can swing him for some more youthful (though immediate) help it will be a wash.
Heck, Ramon Ortiz turned into Matt Macri. 
“13 pitchers? Come on.”
I thought we were over 13 pitchers in the short term? The FO is trying DESPERATELY to move Rincon for ANYTHING at the moment. Because they COULD just realease him…and probably want to. But at this point if they could just get a body in exchange they’d love to try.
If the 13 pitcher’s thing isn’t resolved by the Brewers series this weekend then you can start wondering where Smith’s heads at.
“This is a Minnesota Twins baseball blog. It is extremely serious and somber. As we all know, baseball is very serious. It is not a stupid, child’s game, played by arrogant, over-paid, prima donnas. We need to remember that, and we need to stay focused and serious. Very serious.”
Your absolutely right Craig.
Jimmy i love the idea of Bert and Ueker he needs a smart ass to keep him on edge i wish they could have like an R-rated broadcast for adults so bert could unload some really good stuff.
T do you think Dontrell Willis would be obtainable and also do you think Anderson could get him back to his old form if we acquired him
BC how bout for an adult broadcast line up we have “The Amazing Jonathan” Bert and Ueker.
jimmy didn’t the tigers give him a big contract extension this spring? where did they send to a or aa?
T.
I agree with you about that. Whether it was exceedingly poor managing to get into a 13-pitcher staff in the first place is open for debate at this point.
Just like on the ESPN and BYTO boards, this one has a h*rd-on for Anderson too. What the h*ll has he done to earn so much praise?
jimmy i like it we should pitch this to MLB maybe they could start with radio broadcasts via an outlet like serius where people are paying for the broadcast then there would be no sensorship. Then you could ask guys like Fire joe vavra and BC Bienke about there favorite Twins moments and they could really go off.
“What the h*ll has he done to earn so much praise?”
That is a very fair question!
ggg Willis was sent down all the way to A ball. Offer Rincon for him and see what they say you could add Everett, Boof or Kubel to the mix if needed.
They sent him to a, after signing him to 29 mil three-year extension.
Maybe we could work out a trade to get both Willis and Zito then this blog would really explode.
Mike Jackson doesn’t belong on the bad FA list…he gave the Twins exactly what they needed at the time in 2002: A viable set up man until they made damn sure they had LaTroy straightened out mentally after his disasterous stint as a closer in 2001. He had a pretty good first half of 2002, which as I said, was exactly what was needed.
The Twins are going to stumble and fall in the standings regardless of who is brought up from the minor to pitch because they are a Manager who loses games for them by not putting the best lineup possible on the field every day and a pitching coach who is over-rated and has the habit of trying to always tinker with the pitchers.
Syrius radio would be an excellent idea. Beneke on there would be great. My fave would be to have Craig on there as well he is friggin hillarious
Gardy and his coaches are doing a good job with what they have to work with. The team’s W-L record is probably well above their talent level. All the anemic, pathetic teams in the AL Central have helped the Twins to over-achieve.
I still like the team, for the most part. Considering the budget, they are about what you could reasonably hope for.
Once the Twins leave the dome, they will lose that extreme home-field advantage. It could be a decade before the Twins crack .500 again.
Who knows, considering the tiny town, small market, and the cheap, fickle fans, the Twins may never play over .500 again.
I agree that the Twins need a better manager and pitching coach. The fans are finally starting to wake up to the fact that the team could excell under better leadership. But I’m not sure the writers have caught on because they are more caught up in providing fans with what they think the fans want to hear rather than what is best for the Twins team and the fans.
I think Seth and T are hilarious. they are my favorite comedians.
The Twins are stuck with a lousy manager because they signed him to a very long term contract. The Twins will be handicapped by his mistakes for many years to come.
The dome is so much of an advantage for the Twins to always be playing in it is a really huge advantage. When we move outside to Penny Pincher Park our team will lose the home town advantage. I really think when teams come here they really don’t know how to play in the dome
The New and Improved Craig says:
June 11th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I think Seth and T are hilarious. they are my favorite comedians.
what about jama also
Someone earlier mentioned Don Baylor as a flop acquisition. What I remember most about Don was his HR in the ‘87 Series and how his mere presence precluded another team from getting too aggressive inside against the Twins for fear of a bench clearing brawl. You want studs, how about bruisers like Hrbek, Brunansky, Laudner, Gaetti, Puckett, Gagne, Baylor sitting across from you in late ‘87? MN vs STL, a case of men against Whitey’s mighty mites (Jack Clark or no Jack Clark).
Once Punto gets back things will get better and we can make a run.
I hope the suggestion to get Willis is just a joke. He had only 1 good (phenomenal actually) year (2005) in the majors. His last 3 years are similar to Boof’s last 3 years as far as quality of pitching goes (plus he is due $10 mil in ‘09 and $12mil in ‘10)
sid, cal and herb,
What you suffer from is called Multiple Personality Disorder. Its a mental disease. Just because you use different names to post the same crap, doesn’t mean you are a consensus. It just means that you need therapy before one of your personalities commits murder and another of the personalities rats him out.
Daniel1966 Yes other teams feared that Don Baylor would charge the mound so much that they actually would hit him everytime he was up. They feared Baylor running up to the mound at half the speed of a snails fart.
jimy lets book sy for the show he’s very funny.
Laudner and Gagne, bruisers in ‘87? Hardly… but the ‘87 team ranked 3rd in league in SLG%, the ‘88 1st, the ‘89 2nd, the ‘91 2nd. Then it’s all history and with the new management regime (TR etc) and ‘back to the fundamentals’ focus of this organization, the best ranking as far as SLG% was 8th in the league in 2006. Unless there is a philosophical turnaround about batter selection and development (and I am not saying becoming Tigers and defocusing on pitching) this team is not going very far…
new craig seems to be getting back the “edge” he had last winter that got him in trouble. back on the meds craig you were doing really good!
BC sy would be great but which of his personallities would we get
When is Punto coming back so we can start getting after it and battling again, so we can win some games.
Dr gobble the psychotic meds you gave me have helped but i still have an urge to run around the building naked.
jimmy sy is not the holy trinity it’s sid,herb and cal all the same guy posting very funny.
Does anyone think that Willis would be a good cheap fit for the Twins to look at. Or would the D-Train get D-Railed
John Kruk’s hair = Bio Diesel
jimmy i’m with Thyrols on that one Willis is a one hit wonder.
Jonas:
The bullpen ran into trouble over the last week when starters decided they didn’t want to go more than 5 innings.
That’s why (despite taking the loss), Baker’s start last night was HUGE. He went what…7 innings? It was the first time in a while I’ve looked at the offense to blame vs. the staff.
jb:
For what the Tigers gave up to get Willis, I don’t think they’d be willing to give up on him so soon. Nor do I think the Twins should try for him. This all started with injury troubles if I’m not mistaken. The Twins have good young pitching, they just need the starters they’ve got to average 6 innings for a while.
A healthy Neshek and a farewell to Rincon wouldn’t hurt either…
If you think the Twins comments can get ugly…can you imagine the hand-wringing going on in the Tiger’s fanbase? They gave up 6 guys (most of which were good young pitchers) to get Cabrera and Willis. And that team’s struggling to stay out of the cellar at the moment.
Nobody’s going to give the Twins squat, especially take the $$ off their hands, for Boof, Rincon and Lamb. Other front offices aren’t the ingnorant.
Penny pinching is what we’ll have to expect when the Twins move into their new digs.
Can you imagine how many games would have been raisned out or snow out already this year (if we had the new stadium open)? The Twins threatened to leave because of bad attendance and poor weathe rath the old Met. Stadium. Also, the Metrodome is only 27 years old.
I love all Minnesota sports, but if I ever hear a team threatening to move again, I’ll say syinara!!!!!!
What Rincon needs is a change in where we use him. we should try Rincon as a starter
LOL. Why is this a bad idea? He can’t get out of the first inning when he pitches. Why do you think he’d be able to go six? Why is it a good idea? Well, at least he won’t let inherited runners score.
He has inherited nine runners this year. They all have scored. If those were his runners, he would have an ERA around 10. Face it, he’s done.
Oh, and GENO, I did post about how I thought Livan had maybe one more chance and then Liriano gets his job. I would say the same thing about Slowey.
Does anyone think that Willis would be a good cheap fit for the Twins to look at. Or would the D-Train get D-Railed
It just keeps getting worse for you jimmie bee. We know he’s not good. And he’s not cheap either. He is signed to a three-year extension for $19 million. As bad as that trade looks now, it’s even worse that Dumb-rowsky signed Willis to a long-term deal.
cmathewson Rincon must pay for the juice he has taken. Hang him out to dry as a starter and then maybe we can get rid of him. Gomez has been thown out a few times lately does anyone think he is tipping
“Penny pinching is what we’ll have to expect when the Twins move into their new digs.”
Yeah. Those cheap jerks had the audacity to sign Morneau, Cuddyer, and Nathan to extended contracts.
Oh wait…
And why is Boof on the trade market? He’s going to get a shot as a reliever before that happens.
T says:
June 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
And why is Boof on the trade market? He’s going to get a shot as a reliever before that happens.
He gives up to many early inning runs and a reliever is of no use if he gives up runs right away and then settles down. Get rid of him before he has no trade value.
t you’ve been on your game lately.
sense we’re looking at willis and his 7m, why not zito @ 14.5m, gagne @10m and silva @ 10m and piles of $’s on the ends of these contracts and we complain about dead weight. these big dollor long term contracts for pitching do not look like a real smart idea.
T: that is true. Apparently they used the savings from Sytanna, Silva, and Hunter to give them bonus money. What do you suppose they’ll do with that $15+MM next year?
mike wants wins says:
June 11th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
T: that is true. Apparently they used the savings from Sytanna, Silva, and Hunter to give them bonus money. What do you suppose they’ll do with that $15+MM next year?
Sod and chairs for Penny Pincher Park
Having watched baseball in person for over 50 years, I think that Baylor was the finest physical specimen i.e. strongest guy I ever saw. He got hit a lot because he leaned over the plate, fearlessly, without an elbow guard. And, the next time up, he did the same thing. Having met and shaken hands with all of my previous listees, my list of bruisers (including Laudner and Gagne) remains unchanged. Baseball is not just stats. Those teams (’87 and ‘91)were extroverts and aggressive in attitude and play. They had fun and attacked the game.
Post of the day goes to……Craig @ 9:58AM. Now that was funny.
Daniel1966 what about Bo Jackson.
“He gives up to many early inning runs and a reliever is of no use if he gives up runs right away and then settles down.”
A reliever does not have to pace himself like a starter must. Boof may be a better pitcher when he is throwing max effort as a reliever. Many failed starters end up in the bullpen for EXACTLY THAT REASON!
. Hang him out to dry as a starter and then maybe we can get rid of him.
That’s what Gardy has been doing with him, except as a reliever. He used him four times last week when he was almost unable to get outs. His ERA went from 4 to 6, he let four inherited runners to score, and he didn’t finish a full inning in any of his appearences.
Jimmy bee, Sorry to say that I never saw Bo in person. I had tickets for a game in KC one afternoon and couldn’t free myself to attend. Damnable business stuff. My loss. He was a bull of a man whose career was too short. That being said, I saw Baylor many times while he was an Oriole and Angel and he was some specimen and seemed absolutely fearless.
Bring up Buscher, Spann, Liriano, I would get rid of Lamb, Monroe, and trade livian. You eat Lamb, and Monroes salary, that is a small sacrifice in big league salaries now days.
I am in the “fire Vavra and Gardy “camp. Those who say that a hitting coach isn’t important, only look to Tiger Woods who has a hitting coach, etc. Coaches don’t do the hitting, but give advice, alternatives, and encouragement. Vavra seems to be hiding. Look at the shut-outs and low scoring games. Now and then the team explodes, but most of the time it is low scoring. It is time for an overhaul starting at the top, taking Rincon, trading Boof, maybe Cuddy. THere will be no playoff this year or next.
ortiz
hunter
morneau
and that catcher from St Paul
Silva
Santanna
retractable roof.
If baseball s a sport and not a business how can the people of Minnesota run the Poorlads out of town?
