Friday pregame: Twins designate Rincon for assignment
Posted on June 13th, 2008 – 5:56 PMBy Joe Christensen
MILWAUKEE — Sorry this is late. It’s been a tough day of travel. I had two flights canceled and if it weren’t for the good folks at Midwest Express, I would have missed this game entirely.
Not complaining, though. A buddy of mine said it took him eight hours to drive here from Faribault today because of the road closures. Carol Gardenhire was half-way into her drive when she had to turn around for home.
Brian Buscher had all kinds of travel delays from Rochester, but he made it in time for batting practice. Otherwise, not much news.
As you’ve probably heard by now, the Twins signed their top draft pick, high school outfielder Aaron Hicks. They have also signed second rounder Tyler Ladendorf, third rounder Bobby Lanigan, fourth rounder Daniel Ortiz. All told, they’ve already signed 11 of the 52 players they drafted.
Shortstop Trevor Plouffe was among the reinforcements sent to Rochester today from Class AA New Britain.
Delmon Young is not in the lineup again tonight. Gardy explained it by stressing how well Jason Kubel is swinging, and there is no DH in the National League ballpark.
Gardy also called this the worst road trip he can remember, considering the team is 1-6 and five of the losses have been blowouts.
I was driving to the ballpark, talking to my wife, when she gave me the news Tim Russert had died. Just terrible.
An important note: The comments Livan Hernandez heard in the clubhouse last night actually came from the Cleveland radio feed. It was lead broadcaster Tom Hamilton, one of the classiest men you’ll meet. I spoke to Hamilton today and will have more on that in the notebook.
Update (6:20 p.m.): Juan Rincon turned down the Twins’ offer to assign him outright to Class AAA Rochester, so they officially designated him for assignment. They now have 10 days to either trade him or release him.
Twins (32-25)
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. Brendan Harris, 2B
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Kevin Slowey, P
Brewers (35-31)
1. Corey Hart, RF
2. Craig Counsell, SS
3. Ryan Braun, LF
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Russell Branyan, 3B
6. Mike Cameron, CF
7. Bill Hall, 2B
8. Jason Kendall, C
9. Dave Bush, P
Miller Park. First pitch: 7:05 p.m. (Central)
110 Responses to "Friday pregame: Twins designate Rincon for assignment"
Delmon Young is not in the lineup again tonight. Gardy explained it by stressing how well Jason Kubel is swinging
I am glad that Gardy is thinking that Kubel at a .249/.302 rate is swinging better than Young at a .265/.314 rate and he disregards the fact that yesterday Kubel looked like a deer at the headlights on every fly ball to the left field. Kubel’s fielding percentage this year at LF is .857, Young’s is .966 and his range and arms are light years ahead of Kubel. It is simple (and nothing against Kubel). Gardy doesn’t care for young people and does not know how to develop them or even value them. I hope Gardy follows “Juannie” soon…
Kubel has been hitting the ball on the screws the past few games while young has not been.
Toby,
Kubel was 0-4 yesterday with 1 K and an error
in june he is hitting-
.296/.424/.630
compared to young’s
.270/.459/.263
switch slugging and obp
Look at Kubels RBI and HR stats compared to Young. We need some pop in the lineup especially with a pitcher in the lineup
I can’t see letting Delmon Young rot on the bench. Gotta be a way to work these guys into more playing time. I got it.
Delmon Young’s arms are light years ahead of some players, so he could pitch. OK! Delmon “Cy” Young.
It sounds crazy but it just might work.
Alright,
let’s assume for the sake of argument that Kubel should play over Young. Shouldn’t Young play over Cuddyer? His numbers are better across the board. If one of them had to sit it should have been Cuddyer
Once again Cuddyer is swinging a hotter bat in june-
.283/.327/.457
You and I know Cuddyer will never sit the bench with Gardy as manager. Gardy has a hardcore boy crush for Cuddy and Rincon. Gardy shed a tear and wrote a country song when Rincon left. Can you imagine what he would do if Cuddyer was benched?
Lumpy,
“Delmon Young’s arms are light years ahead of some players, so he could pitch.”
Delmon pitched in HS.
Not close to MLB-possible.
Or were you not serious?
lets just hope the brewers hit alot of ground balls as kubels defense is a bit suspect, but in the grand scheme of things that is not the #1 problem with this ballclub…i know some people are gardy haters etc and want nothing but the worst, but ive always been a big admirer and fan of his, but i have to admit, this year i am beginning to wonder about gardy, as he has me very confused, as to me he seems to be all over the managerial map. i cant pin him down as to what he wants, whats acceptable, whats not, why things are going so rough, etc and then just his wide range of decision making, just in lineups alone…oh well, theres not enough space or time to explain all this b.s. but it comes down to simply this…this year sucks so far, and yet we could have some fun, if they just find a way to win some of these games, and i believe they can in spite of themselves and gardy too………hello, front office..what have you done today??? help would be appreciated….
sorry to hear about tim russert…way too young…
Cuddyer hits .348 with risp while young hits .246.
pedro,
that’s the problem:
Gardy as manager
Kubel actually takes better routes to fly balls than Young (granted, that’s not saying much).
Oh, and… fielding percentage one step above useless for assessing the defensive ability of players, especially outfielders.
Not saying Kubel’s great, just saying Delmon is actually worse from a fundamentals perspective.
Also, to my knowledge, Kubel has never played doubles into game-tying inside the park home runs.
Just trying to dispel the myth that Delmon is a better defender.
SANE:
Our pitching staff has struggled so much of late, I, myself, would try anything. Now I am scared that we should have kept Rincon. Reminds of the Chicago Bears. They released their regular running back and a few days later their other running back had to have emergency surgery.
Freez,
“Kubel actually takes better routes to fly balls than Young”
When you are slow, you have more time to plan your routes. (From personal experience)
Freez,
FYI - Delmon young has made 28 plays out of the standard zone and has a zone rating of .867 which is 3rd highest in the entire AL for LF. FOr someone who takes such terrible routes and is so bad at defending the numbers disagree.
nice one Telly
How about Young in left, Kubel in right & Cuddy AT THIRD BASE. Cuddy has matured since he last started at 3rd. He could be our best option at 3rd. Late innings with a lead, put a defensive player at 3rd & shift Cuddy to right. Thinking outside the box, hope Gardy can do the same. 
coco,
I’ve been practically yelling about Cuddy at 3 in the preseason. There are 2 problems with that: 1. Cuddy is a crybaby when he plays third and 2. Gardy is too bullheaded to make him do it…
good to have Kubel in the lineup, eh?
how many times will bert call him cecil?
Yeah thrylos…there’s also that thing where Cuddy sucks at 3B.
To AaronK:
Yeah, he’s right up there with defensive luminaries like Manny Ramirez, Raul Ibanez and Johnny Damon. Not exactly stellar competition, there. Guess who’s ahead of him if you look up both leagues… Carlos Lee. Something tells me home ballpark configuration, the total number of balls hit to you “OOZ”, pre-play positioning and the range of your center fielder have a lot more to do with being able to make plays OOZ than your actual ability.
RZR (and balls OOZ) is interesting, but like all stats, only meaningful when put in the proper context.
Nice cherry-picking job, there.
gogomez!
Well, those of you who wanted Cuddy to sit got your wish. Happy?
Nice play by Gomez there. Can’t tell if Lamb was out of position or playing it that way to make sure he could field the ball.
down in the farm
Mulvey 4 IP 1 H 0R 1 BB 7K
Jonas,
not happy, ecstatic
Freez, Please read how those stats are gathered. Yes pre-play positioning is part of the stat as it should be. It simply shows Young gets to more balls then most LF’s.
He is stiff and doesn’t look fluid. However, he has great speed and gets to more balls. Eyes can be deceiving as he just isn’t smooth.
So, should we all hate Morneau? He’s been struggling lately (not looking at numbers, just in general it seems)
Anyone cares to compare Young’s AB vs Kubel’s 2 or Cuddy’s I-nicked-my-pinkie one?
thrylos, while I disagree with you on principle, I can’t deny that you had some kind of foresight…
Good on you. Credit where credit is due.
so how about Slowey today? (although I realize that the second and third time through the lineup will be telling, but so far so good)
“so how about Slowey today?”
0 for 2!!! Bench him!!!
I am not gonna jinx Slowey
but here is an interesting tidbit:
Plouffe, the supposedly SS of the future for the Twins goes up to Rochester and starts at 3B tonight… yikes…
“0 for 2!!! Bench him!!!”
No kidding! Yet anothe game where that idiot Gardy forfiets the DH!
…
Gomez outruns Fielder, winds up in dugout.
New strategy, just bunt the rest of the game.
There we go Morneau!
Nice night for Morneau.
Better night for Young 
How ’bout that bum Young?
Did you see the look on Fielder’s face after Casilla’s bunt? He reminded me of Verlander and the way he got all pissy after Gomez and Casilla bunted on him four times.
Maybe tonight’s Young’s chance to earn a shot at more regular time in the 5spot?
Lamb needs a homer
Kubel vs Young
Yawn…..wake me when they’re both off the team.
Jonas,
that was precious… I think we’ll see that look a few more times this series
I like innings like those. Took a potential DP and turned it into 3 runs.
Delmon and his sliding…Delmon…pal.
Speaking of broken bats…I was watching clips from the Sox games following the Twins series.
That Alexi Rameriz guy who plays 2b for the Sox breaks a LOT of bats…
I swear he broke at least one a game, and then in the following game highlights he broke at least on more.
Oy.
I know what RZR is and how it’s calculated.
Dig a little more into how they calculate “zone” to begin with.
Any stat you use to tell me how much range Delmon Young has that says Carlos Lee is just as good, says to me you’re either using the wrong stat, misunderstanding the stat, or are just plain wrong.
Looks like it’s moot because we’ve got both of ‘em in the game now.
Hope Cuddy’s OK. Nice to see us get Slowey a lead to work with. Hope he can close this inning out.
SLOWEY!!!!!!!!!!!!
was that Slowey? I thought it was Mauer
Wow. That was quite the pop for a pitcher.
“Wow. That was quite the pop for a pitcher.”
T, I feared this was going to read “That was quite the pop for a Twin.”
well, Gomez just filled his K quota for the game. Maybe he can do better next time.
Well that sucks for Mauer…
Well, hate to say it. But. Man on aecond no outs Gomez should have bunted… That’s on Gardy
Thrust of Brewers’ announcers’ discussion Re: Mauer:
“Does he have power?”
“No.”
“But he hits in front of Morneau, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Yep.
I have never really been a fan of the Lefty-Lefty arrangement of the M&M boys, but I will grudgingly admit that it has worked really well this year.
It seems I have to grudgingly acknowledge a lot of things tonight.
Seth, I think Slowey read your blog the other day and this is his way of saying “Thanks.”
thrylos, I dunno if that’s a situation you put your pitcher in. MAYBE if it’s an NL team and the guy has some experience…but there are a LOT of things that could happen that might end poorly for Slowey.
That Young is such a bum…
T,
I thought the the genius (Gardy) already established that Slowey is a great (pinch) runner…
well we dont want bill hall to be playing the infield for us do we???
mj1,
I’d rather have Hrbek come out of retirement to play second base than Bill Hall, fish lures and all
Man, as good as Slowey’s been pitching…do you pull him here for a guy who might be able to do some damage?
thrylos, Slowey was the best running option Gardy had.
That’s a LOT different than saying “He’s a good runner.”
That’s the first walk to a guy hitting .226 I’ve ever seen. Even Punto, when he got the IBB earlier this season, was hitting about .245 .
You’re the pitcher. TAKE!
And that was a BALL!
SLOWEY!!!!!!
You have GOT to be friggin’ Kidding.
Slowey is a stud!
Do you hear that!
They’re chanting “SLOW-EY, SLOW-EY!”
SLOWEY!!
Slowey is player of the game. Getting it done on the mound and at the plate.
slowey for president… good for him. god knows we need a good night from a pitcher and a pitcher who can also hit…who knows maybe this is a turnaround game for minnesota….its been that kind of season….time will tell i guess…lets hope…
Adam Everett is sitting in the dugout crying as he watches his last shred of hope at getting some play time shatter.
When people said Bill Hall could help the Twins, I thought they were nuts. I guess they were right.
Torri who?
It’s a good thing that the Twins scored 5 runs or else this would be VERY scary right now.
How could the Brewers walk Lamb to get to Slowey? Everyone knows Slowey is the better hitter.
Mauer respectfully disagrees with that call.
great arm Kubes…
one word for prince fielder…slob….with all of todays $$$ and personal trainers, team physicians, etc why would anyone that young have to look like that…every year this kids going to get bigger and bigger….l l
Fielder would be OUT if Mauer would BLOCK THE PLATE!
Craig, I know it makes sense with the pitcher behind, but still… .226…
“great arm Kubes…”
No doubt!! I always wonder what people are talking about when they say he doesn’t have an arm. He’s got a rocket. I went to one of his first games when he first came up, before the injury. In fact, he got his first big league hit in the game. It was against the Royals. There was a runner on 3B and 1 out in a close game. There was a high fly ball to the warning track in LF. He played it perfectly and threw a one-hopper to the catcher for the final out of that inning. It was incredible. He’s made several throws like that in his limited outfield time.
“Fielder would be OUT if Mauer would BLOCK THE PLATE!”
No he wouldn’t have been because he wouldn’t have been able to catch the ball, which is kind of the most important piece of that whole equation.
Secondly, Prince Fielder charging toward me, I don’t think I would block it too much either!! (Not in a 9-1 game, for sure!)
“Fielder would be OUT if Mauer would BLOCK THE PLATE!”
No. I’m pretty sure in that situatin it would be Mauer who wound up out.
Kubes sneaking up on Morneau in the HR category. Doc better pick it up.
Need More Kubel
He was out without mauer blocking the plate. Watch the replay again on gameday.
Not to mention when you’re up by 8 you really don’t want to lose your catcher on a play that’d only score 1…
Do they let Slowey go back out to try for the CG?
See now this I don’t agree with, unless they figure he’s done a lot, why risk an injury?
No way you let Slowey go out there. There’s no reason to.
Also, kind of a petty thing, and it obviously doesn’t matter in a 10-2 game, but why woudln’t they have Buscher bat for Slowey? Righty-lefty. Get the new guy in. Why Monroe?
Aright,
just for the fun of it… a couple weeks ago Seth was arguing that Slowey will win 150 games in the majors. I upped the ante to 200. We were both heckled (I think it was in Howard’s blog). Any takers now?
I’ll stick by 150… thanks!
I do like getting Guerrier in here. Gives him a chance to get some confidence back on a low-presser situation.
Sorry, that was supposed to be “pressure.”
Ok, I’d take 150 (Radke had 148) but, what the hey is Gardy thinking to pitch Guerrier in this spot? Isn’t that what Bass and Bosner supposed to be all about in the pen?
Braun just struck out after an inside pitch on 2-2. Maybe the Twins are learning and the worm has turned?
Guerrier ha that rough outing in chicago so you want him to get soe work in and find himself again.
btw, the Rochester game just resumed after a 3 hour rain delay. Cali in to pitch
OK, here’s the deal. Three questions answered tonight.
1)How to get Young and Kubel playing time. (5for9) Bench Cuddy.
2) Who can pinch run AND pinch hit when the bench is thin? Kevin Slower (2for4)
3)I forgot the third question.
thrylos98. I agree that Gardy should have run out someone else besides Guerrier.
Nice game for Kubel though eh?
3hr delay and they didn’t cancel?
Isn’t it like 11 there?
White Sux lucked out. Rockies left the tying run on third to end the game.
Nice to see Kubel get another meaningless HR. He’s got the knack. Padded stats, always help out at contract time. Good job, young man.
