Twins DFA Ayala; Keppel promoted; Morneau, Punto updates
Posted on June 22nd, 2009 – 2:23 PMBy Joe Christensen
The Twins just announced that reliever Luis Ayala has been designated for assignment, making room on the roster for righthander Bobby Keppel, who has been promoted from Class AAA Rochester.
Keppel, 27, was 3-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 23 appearances for Rochester, including three starts. He had a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to become a free agent if he wasn’t added to the major league roster by July 1.
Ayala, 31, posted a 4.18 ERA for the Twins in 28 appearances after signing a one-year, $1.3 million contract on Feb. 9. The Twins had grown increasingly frustrated with Ayala’s inconsistency with his sinker.
They spared lefthander Sean Henn, who has posted a 7.36 ERA in 13 appearances.
“We don’t want to give up on [Henn],” Twins General Manager Bill Smith said. “He’s lefthanded and he’s got velocity. He’s another one who’s been inconsistent, but he’s got upside. We felt that Keppel was a good fit for us right now, and unfortunately it cost Ayala a spot.”
Keppel, 27, last pitched in the majors for Colorado in 2007, when he had an 11.25 ERA in four relief appearances. He had an 0-4 record for the Royals in 2006 with a 5.50 ERA in eight games, including six starts.
Keppel was the 36th player drafted in the 2000 amateur draft, signing with the Mets, who released him in 2005. Last season, pitching for Class AAA Albuquerque, he had a 9-11 record and 5.99 ERA in 28 games, including 27 starts.
Update: Smith said the team remains hopeful that Justin Morneau will return to the lineup Tuesday after missing Sunday’s game with general soreness. Also, Nick Punto (bruised ribs) did not have an MRI exam today, suggesting he could be close to returning, as well.
155 Responses to "Twins DFA Ayala; Keppel promoted; Morneau, Punto updates"
First?
And probably the right choice.
Morillo for Henn, too, please.
Don’t spare Henn - get him out and bring up Morillo.
Henn has to go as well. his outing on saturday was the last straw as far as I’m concerned. Call up Duensing.
It’s just a matter of time for Henn…it’ll come.
Ship him away and bring in Valverde
What about Henn. He was spared? When can they feel confident to use him again?
Didn’t we address this as a problem area over the Winter?
I’m coming to Minnesota soon for the first time ever and to the Dome……
Has to be cooler that the hot weather here in FLA.
Duensing is more hittable than Henn. Not the answer for a lefty in the bullpen.
Morillo? Has he improved his control? Man that guy could hurl…but did he fix his targeting?
Swarzak for Henn & put either Liriano or Perkins in the pen.
Please send down Henn….I don’t care, reinstate Neshek and have him throw under-hand if need be. Couldn’t be any worse.
JDW…
That is a move I wish they would make…sooner than later.
Thank god we dumped that bum Breslow for Henn! Since Breslow left he’s given up 4 earned runs in 11 innings while Henn has coughed up 9 in the same 11 innings.
Designated for assignment? Does that mean Ayala is going to AAA indefinately? Or does he have an option to be released?
T: Morillo has been better. I see no reason why he shouldn’t get a shot over Henn. I guess Ayala getting cut enforces the doctrine. Listen to Andy, or else…
As bad as he was he’s a much better pitcher than Henn.
JDW,
They may be waiting for Liriano’s outing tomorrow to make that assessment.
Keep in mind that Perkin’s probably be available to pitch in the pen until Thursday and Liriano until Saturday.
Listen to Andy, or else…
Well, it makes sense in a way. If a pitcher is struggling, and then continues to struggle while ignoring advice from coaches, then what’s the point of keeping him around?
I know it sounds like I’m asking a player to drink the Kool-Aid, but in reality isn’t that how any job is?
If you do poorly on a job review, and then don’t take your bosses advice and struggle AGAIN…then how much do you really care about improving?
Maybe they’ll try to work out for a trade Ayala. They got a few days now.
If he’s on the DFA list…doesn’t that mean another team can just claim him without having to trade anything?
I agree with those calling for Swarzak to rejoin the starting rotation. And I think Liriano should be moved to a set-up role in the bullpen.
And if the Twins are a little worried about Swarzak, skip him in the rotation when there’s an off-day. Why do the Twins never skip their 5th starter when get a day off? I’d rather see guys like Blackburn and Slowey get more starts than our 5th guy.
And for the record, none of the relief options are any good. It doesn’t matter if its Keppel, Henn, Morillo, Crain, Ayala, they’re all terrible. Billy Smith should be fired for not doing something to improve his bullpen during the offseason besides signing the worthless Luis Ayala.
Anybody else not sold on this Keppel guy?
Not exactly amazing numbers…. Hope he is actually better than Ayala?
Yeah, T that can be true, but if boss is ignored and one’s performance is still superior than one’s peer the choice between them is not so easy. Stats aren’t the only thing by which to make a judgment and their may be good reasons (likely?), but from the information available, I’m scratching my head.
OB, who in the world is going to trade for Luis Ayala? If there’s a GM out there who’s willing to part with anything (including a bucket of balls or a few bats), then I want him in my fantasy football league this fall!
I think DFA (wikipedia for a source) means a team gets a week or so to either place a player on waivers or trade him. He is off the 40 man roster as a result.
I don’t know who Hightower, but no reason not to find out.
T,
Yes, a team can simply claim him. A trade could come into play if more than one team claims him. The team with the better record might give up something to get him.
Keep in mind that this is purely an academic explanation of the DFA thing. Hard to imagine someone wanting Ayala so bad as to trade for him.
Give Swarzak a few more starts and if he does OK put Frank Larry in the pen.
Lots of teams looking for bullpen help, an NL team could take a flyer on Ayala, though I’m not sure what value the Twins would really expect to get back (bucket of balls; bats).
So how does this work as far as his remaining options go? This guy put up decent numbers before last year so its not unreasonable to think he could be back up again - and back down. When would he have to go on waivers first?
oh nevermind, so he is claimable now on the DFA list. Well, somebody might. He could end up back in the NL, but if you can’t cut it with the Nationals….
more than likely if he is claimed it is for cash considerations (more than likely to equal out the rest of his pay minus the base pay) or a PTBNL which would be a low A ball player. He had been coming around, so a team more than likely will pick him up, they just might wait the ten days especially if Ayala refuses the assignment.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that by the end of the year, come playoff time, our bullpen will be pretty solid! I think that by the end, our bullpen will consist of Dickey, Guerrier, Mijares, Nathan, Delaney, Slama, and either we will have traded for a guy, (hopefully Hawkins, Velverde or Street, etc) or from within like Swarzak, Mulvey or Duensing. I dont see them putting either Liriano or Perkins into the pen. I think they are going to give them enough time to figure it out, or maybe Perkins will be part of one of those trades for a setup man.
Yeah, I’d say that’s the likely case scenario LMS.
Duensing, Henn, Morillo, Keppel… all are trash. Morillo has upside but his control still needs a lot of work. Keppel and Duensing have no stuff at all… pure batting practice. Henn has OK stuff but poor control.
Swarzak and Delaney might be worth looks, but a trade is the only real option. Expect Bill Smith to fail in improving the pen.
You can add Crain and Morillo to the list from within…
If Juan Rincon can get another ML shot (activated by the Rockies this weekend), there surely is room somewhere for Ayala.
Moms, Dads, 2 things: make sure your son throws a baseball, and throws as a lefty(see Sean Henn).
Crain will be back SOON………
And about that Ayala slider. The wSL (wins above league average)=5.8 this year. His changeup is what is awful and should be scrapped. Perhaps another FO will notice?
Well he had all of his success in the NL and when he “couldn’t cut it with the Nationals” it was because he was coming back from a major injury so he will have another shot, more than likely in the NL and from what it seems Gardy is one of those managers that once he has an impression of you as a player it is really really really hard to break that impression.
A trade could come into play if more than one team claims him. The team with the better record might give up something to get him.
But then doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the waiver wire? Or does that only come into play after the July 31st deadline?
LMS: If Ayala can get better over the next few years….then good for Ayala.
But I think the Twins are looking for a little more immediacy in their bullpen solution.
I like the draft. Reading Seth brightens my day. I’m not gonna think about this transaction no more today, off to shoot some hoops.
and keeping Henn is better for the immediacy? I believe most of these guys have what they need to pitch or hit to make it in the league but right now Ayala is more of the answer than Henn is, if one of those two guys are even part of the equation.
HOW ARE THE RIBS???? IS LNP OK? HAS GARDY FIGURED OUT A WAY TO STOP THIS ANTIC?
Let’s address some real concerns.
As “Coom” would say, boy is he giving us some great at-bats. The best one is the golf club ground out swing to 2nd.!
A trade could come into play if more than one team claims him. The team with the better record might give up something to get him.
This couldn’t happen for a couple of reasons. First, the waiver wire is secret. The League doesn’t reveal all of the teams that place a claim on a player, it only reveals which team was granted the claim. Second, after a player is claimed the team that put him on waivers only has 3 options: Let him go, pull him back, or try to negotiate a trade with the team that claimed him.
Henn is a lefty, and unless they end up putting Liriano or Perk in the pen then he will likely stay. Gardy likes having a 2nd left in the pen because Mijares is used as a setup guy.
Typical Twins FO move.
It’s interesting that when our bully was strong they would nickle & dime us with everyday fill-in scrubs that were other teams castaways-
see White,Bastilla, Castro,Lamb,Everett, etc.
Now that we have a somewhat solid 1-9 lineup we get the likes of Ayala,Breslow,Henn,and Keppel in our bully.
I would much rather see if Swarzak,Slama or Delaney could do the job “at the major league level”.
It appears that the FO is more concerned about losing options than winning games…
So sad about Ayala…just to think, after the second game of the year, he was on pace to win 81 games this year out of the bullpen. What a shame he didn’t realize his potential… 
Homer Hanky! says:
Not exactly amazing numbers…. Hope he is actually better than Ayala?
—
Couldn’t be much worse.
Perhaps Henn or Keppel moves into long-relief role in place of R.A. Dickey? Dickey deserves a chance to setup in tight games.
I also like the idea of moving Liriano to the pen. He started his MLB career as a reliever - maybe he could re-discover his form as a reliever?
I guess Bill Smith didn’t do anything at all to improve the bullpen……..was R.A. Dickey a Twin last year?……Is R.A. in the bullpen? Wow, Bill Smith should be fired! Also, the better bullpen option from free agency this past off-season (Juan Cruz) has an ERA of 5.46 in 28 innings pitched.
Bullpen issues seem to be a common theme in the MLB this year, and there’s no easy answer to it, but it seems like Bill Smith is a complete failure according to everyone posting here.
“Designated for Assignment:”
Designated for assignment is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball. When a player is designated for assignment, he is immediately removed from the club’s 40-man roster. This gives the club 10 days to decide what to do with the player while freeing up a roster spot for another transaction, if needed. After designating a player for assignment, the club must make one of the following contractual moves:
-Place the player on waivers (which can only be done within the first 7 days of the 10-day period) NOTE: Typically a player is placed on waivers after being designated for assignment for the purpose of outrighting him to one of the club’s minor league teams. A player who is outrighted to the minors is removed from the 40-man roster but is still paid according to the terms of his guaranteed contract
-Trade the player
NOTE: Sometimes, DFA’ing the player can increase trade value. Someone with mild interest who is near the bottom of the waiver claim priority may wish to offer something in return so as to prevent another team from getting the player via waivers.
Release the player
JDW’s right. Swap Swarzak for Henn, Liriano to the pen.
Right now Liriano has a chance to be a good middle reliever, but he doesn’t have the accuracy, stamina or deception to be a starter. In the bullpen Francisco may learn how to pitch, but if Gardy continues to start him this year, he’s just going to lose and lose.
In contrast, Swarzak may have his rookie up’s and down’s, but everything I’ve seen points to a solid starting pitcher that’s getting better. A simple, repeatable delivery, quick to the plate, finishes ready to field, tenacious, keeps a cool demeanor.
As for Henn, he’s now showing why the Yankees gave up on him. Under pressure, the guy starts throwing batting practice. Maybe he’s got good potential, but he’s got to learn to keep his cool.
Good explanation, Chief… All of expert bloggers think all we have to do is fire their butts, hire someone else, and all is well. More to it than that. Thanks Again!!!!!!!!! Doc
Flush twice.
Bring Swarzak up even if we use him in the bullpen. He’s got good velocity, stuff and control.
This was an inane move. Totally inane. I hope the Twins don’t get hurt by it.
Cody -
I don’t think many of us are asking for Bill Smith to be fired. His job as a GM is to improve the team. This teams biggest weakness was the bullpen last year and we didn’t win the division because of it. R.A. Dickey was a good signing but he is a middle reliever and has done an awesome job as one. We needed a setup guy and he signed Luis Ayala. That is not cutting it and this team needed better. There were plenty of options out there. Just think if this team had Reyes as its lefty specialist still. That means no Sean Henn. Not much you can do on Crain but I do believe Bill Smith could have and should have done better than Ayala. I wasn’t one asking to give up a pick to sign Juan Cruz either.
For the record, that definition came directly from Wikipedia.
thry, like they haven’t been hurt by some of their other inane moves?
NY Yankees….Sabathia $161M over 7 years??? and he left yesterday’s game in the 2nd inning with tightness in his left biceps, his pitching arm?? That, my friend, is inane.
GW,
One thing I noticed with Swarzak was that his control seemed to suffer when he went to the stretch. I’m not sure that that’s quickly correctable. IMHO it’s a rhythm/balance point thing. He is young. Could be just nerves.
Keppel’s just as bad as Henn and Ayala, if not worse. He can’t strike out people in the minors, doesn’t get groundballs, and walks an average amount. He’s terrible; both his minor and major league record evidence this.
Delaney’s doing well in AAA - he should have been up by now. And Slama, with his awesome numbers, is for some reason wasting away in AA.
Inane \In*ane”\, a. [L. inanis.]
Without contents; empty; void of sense or intelligence;
purposeless; pointless; characterless; useless. “Vague and
inane instincts.” –I. Taylor. — In*ane”ly, adv.
[1913 Webster]
Based on that definition, I can’t agree. Ayala had improved slightly, but he still wasn’t reliable. Pitchers do get beat sometimes, but Ayala and Henn have been beating themselves with BP stuff and inopportune inaccuracy. Inane would have been to sit pat on a losing situation. Gardy did the logical thing, which was to give a shot to the best relief prospect available in AAA.
Thanks Chief. So the DFA and the waiver-wire aren’t the same thing. That makes more sense now.
jimbo,
You think that there is any possibility that Keppel will be any better than Ayala? The odds are as good as for Henn being better than Breslow. There is a reason Keppel and Henn have been career minor league journey men with horrible records in the few occasions they made it to the bigs
“T says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Thanks Chief. …”
I just hurt myself when I fell outa my chair.
to give a shot to the best relief prospect available in AAA.
That’s not correct. There are 3 other pitchers in Rochester who are having better numbers than Keppel: Delaney, Morillo and Gabino.
jimbo: Inane….”"”"”void of sense or intelligence…”"”"”
Which is exactly what I called the Jankees for signing Sabathia to a 7 year, $161M contract.
I just hurt myself when I fell outa my chair.
To clear up any misunderstandings…while T and I sometimes (ok, usually) have disagreements, which can sometimes (ok, usually) become somewhat, um, strenuous (ok, downright nasty), T makes his fair share of good points, and has always been fair about recognizing the contributions of others.
I have no problem with T, and I hope he feels the same. I’ll call him out when I think he’s wrong, and vice versa. As it should be.
I think I even awarded T a ‘PoD’ once. 
DrDon,
The Yankees singing of Sabathia and his 300 lbs to a seven year contract was not inane; it was borderline retarded.
keppel’s numbers are just as good/better than anyone else at AAA right now. he is deserving of a shot.
Chief: I remember that day. I think I just about fell out of my own chair!
thrylos: 
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chief,
Thanks. Sorry for the implication.
T,
My apologies.
I know. I had to type the PoD post from my backside, on the floor.
“…seemed to suffer when he went to the stretch.”
Then Swarzak sure shouldn’t go to the pen, should he.
And again…. Liriano’s ERA in last 3 starts is 3.79. What’s Swarzak’s? 5?
So, Liriano should go to the pen?
keppel’s numbers are just as good/better than anyone else at AAA right now
Alrighty, here we go: (2009 Rochester)
Gabino: 3.12 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.29 K/BB
Keppel: 2.44 ERA, 1.157 WHIP, 4.6 K/9, 2.15 K/BB
Morillo: 3.08 ERA, 1.215 WHIP, 12.6 K/9, 2.31 K/BB
Delaney: 3.75 ERA, 0.917 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 2.50 K/BB
Do you still believe that?
Liriano isn’t leaving the rotation this year. he is too good to not be given every chance imaginable.
“”"”"thrylos98 says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
DrDon,
The Yankees singing of Sabathia and his 300 lbs to a seven year contract was not inane; it was borderline retarded.”"”"”
Big difference, thrylos98…..retarded or borderline is an inherited trait… inane is by choice… Big Difference. I can live with the former, the latter????? fill in the blank.
Thanks Romer, I was looking for that stat myself for Liriano. He’s been pitching like his job was (and is) on the line. For good reason, but right now you have to keep him in the starting five.
romer,
That’s my opinion. But I’m not sure Liriano goin there would be worth the short term damage to his psyche/spirit.
Some major psychology going on Gardy/Smith’s part. Henn has an upside? Wishful thinking……..
And I hope it works.
But it sure looks like they’re in denial as they use Henn for the continuing justification to let Breslow go.
And there may be some psychological interplay involved re Dennis Reyes too.
morillo is a head case who can’t throw strikes consistently (AAA stats will not change my mind on that one). delaney has a small sample size. gabino’s numbers are comparable to keppel’s…. keppel must have better mound presence or something like that.
read the article and/or comments…keppels contract calls for a call up or become a free agent. More goes on than we know.
that too, DrDon
Henn has an upside? Wishful thinking……..
Henn:
a) throws with his left hand, and
b) throws with some velocity.
That combination is generally valuable and in fairly short supply, ergo ‘upside,’ ergo he’ll get repeated opportunities, from somebody, until one of a) or b) disappears.
“That’s my opinion.”
And it my very well be correct, Paul. Swarzak ain’t a professional BP guy.
The whole key is this…. MLB should make ALL umpires expand the strike zone and let pitchers pitch, the hitters be real hitters. HMMMMMMM are MLB umpires to blame??????
On another subject: the club ‘remains hopeful’ that Morneau will return to the lineup Tuesday?
Is it just me, or does that not sound like ‘general soreness?’
Chief…..‘general soreness?’
Lot’s of that going on in this day and age.
Here is another way to look at this (and I am not going to give names for a while this time) :
If you had to get rid of a major league pitcher, who would you say is the worse and who is the keeper and who is in-between.
Pitcher 1: 4.87 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, 7.88 K/9, 1.94 K/BB, .275 BABIP
Pitcher 2: 4.39 FIP, 1.42 WHIP, 5.85 K/9, 2.23 K/BB, .326 BABIP
Pitcher 3: 4.72 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 1.93 K/BB, .273 BABIP
Pitcher 4: 5.88 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 6.55 K/9, 1.33 K/BB, .233 BABIP
?
Geez, take off the rose colored glasses on Liriano. You are too young to remember Herb Score who was the best lefthanded pitcher in the AL until an injury. When he came back, he was never the same. Ditto Liriano. You are going to keep trotting him out game after game until he breaks Pedro Ramos’ record for most losses by a Twins starting pitcher, 20. Liriano should hit 10 by the halway mark.
There are guys at beloit and New Britain who are better than Henn right now. Henn is a left handed Rincon.
I’m not going to read through 90 postings, but you all realize that Henn is lefthanded and throws well over 90 mph? His last two performances were poor, but before that, his ERA was 3.60. Henn left ‘em on and Ayala let ‘em in on the 17th and he gave up a pinch double and a homer on the 20th. The sample size is small.
I understand that Henn’s history and his trend lines aren’t good, but he has some assets that Ayala doesn’t have.
What do you guys think of this trade for Freddy Sanchez?
Jose Morales-the Twins don’t really need him since Ramos will be ready in a year or two, and the Pirates need a starting C for a couple years until their 1st Rd pick from this year is ready
Kevin Mulvey- having a decent year at AAA, but I don’t think he has much of a chance of ever starting for the Twins
Matt Fox (SP) and Whitney Robbins (1B)- both tearing up AA
The Twins could then pick up his option for next year ($8M) and sign him for another 2 years (2011-2012)
Flatblade- Jessie Crain throws 94 mph. Your point?
“…ALL umpires expand the strike zone…”
By that, I take it you mean call the strike zone as stated in the rules — letter-high pitches are strikes.
And this is an issue stuck in my craw for years now, DocDon. And the results of an “expanded” strike zone would be:
A) More fireballers
B) Longer starts for starters
C) Less need for the BP and 11- 12- and — can you believe it — 13-man staffs
D) Fewer arm injuries
E) More specialists for the offense
F) Therefore more in-game strategy possibility for managers
G) More laughers
H) More interesting games (for different sorts of people) because of A) and F)
A trade for Sanchez would be fantastic. First you have to find a GM who will do it. We currently do not have a GM.
dmoen21,
Morales+Mulvey+Fox+Robbins would probably get Danny Harren not Sanchez
that would be way overpaying. BTW, Morales is needed as the backup catcher in 2010 and maybe 2011.
I think that Casilla + Humber +(insert warm body’s name) would probably be good enough for Sanchez.
With due respect thry, I dunno how to respond to your 6:18.
How do you impute for the Jack Morris factor?
:)>
And ERA and/or save percentage is useful. Not to mention how accumulatively extensive are the stats, and whether they’re minor league or MLB stats.
But I’ll try to consider all 5 categories of your stats and their theoretical ramifications……and then play your game. Should be fun — if I have time.
romer,
there is no Jack Morris factor (nor Doyle Alexander factor for that matter).
I used FIP instead of ERA; you can regard FIP as ERA; they are both bad to judge relievers but ERA is worse. They are not closers so save percentage is not necessary. Assume that they have not saved a game.
Have fun
“How do you impute for the Jack Morris factor?”
I think I should have said how do you compute for the Jack Morris factor or the lack thereof when you use only stats?
Well, maybe it is overpaying a little, but you need to give up something to get something. And remember, none of those players are considered top prospects or have had any success in the bigs except for Morales……..I think Ramos could be ready by 2011……..I don’t think the Pirates would accept a trade of Casilla + Humber + player, but I would certainly take that as a Twins fan
Heads up:
If you have baseball withdrawal in an off day, the Twins’ 10th round pick Blake Dean is playing at the College World Series against Texas as we speak. Game 1. Televised by ESPN
.I don’t think the Pirates would accept a trade of Casilla + Humber + player, but I would certainly take that as a Twins fan
You got to put things into perspective and look at salaries involved, years of player control and similar trades in the past. In 2007 the Twins traded Luis Castillo to the Mets. I’d say that they are comparable. The Twins’ got back Dustin Martin. Casilla + Humber +? is more than Dustin Martin
Thanks, thrylos….Go LSU!!!!!!!!!!
Nobody on the trish blog, no trish?????
I totally understand that, and I wasn’t happy about that trade at the time. I just think his bat in the 2 hole behind Span and in front of Mauer would be great for the Twins lineup. It would also solve the 2B problem for a few years until DMC or Hughes or some other prospect is ready to start in the majors. I just want the Twins to get this trade done
holy crappola, thrylos, that TX team do hit da baw!!!!!!
dmoen21, I hear you, but it’s got to be a realistic trade.
DrD,
how do you like the doing of them alumimum bats?
can Keppel bring heat?
“”"”"thrylos98 says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
DrD,
how do you like the doing of them alumimum bats?”"”"
Wish we “wood” have had them when I was a pup.
can Keppel bring heat?
Sure. More than Livan and Dickey, less than Slowey. Draw your own conclusions. He is a junk baller. Throws his “heat” about half the time and the rest different off speed and breaking stuff that might be on the zone and fool minor leaguers…
The Twins are a .500 team right now and that’s it. Unless they make some substantial movies these Twinkies will finish 8 games out of first place at the end of the year.
gatty…what movies will they make???Major League?
Unless they make some substantial movies these Twinkies will finish 8 games out of first place at the end of the year.
what kind of movies?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh knock it off…. they were 2 games out of first place on Friday and they’re only 4 games out now. This is going to be back and forth all year. The Tigers have plenty of their own problems. I don’t have a lot of faith in Keppel either, but lets try to keep things in perspective here.
GREAT news about Punto. Now the Twins can get back to winning w/ the team MVP back in the line-up.
Why do the Twins always pick up DFAs and ‘has been’ free agents yet expect them to excel all of a sudden with the Twins when they have failed repeatedly elsewhere?
Why do the Twins always pick up DFAs and ‘has been’ free agents yet expect them to excel all of a sudden with the Twins when they have failed repeatedly elsewhere?
Are you talking about the slew of minor league free agents that Jim Rantz is signing every year (like Keppel, Henn, Gosling, Hendrickson, Pignatello this year) and puts them at AAA?
How can Henn still be on the roster and Swarzak be in the minors? Makes no sense.
send henn down call up swarzack put hin in rotation and put liriano in bullpen for a lefty replacing henn please i cant stand watching henn come in and give up a run every time
And i think it would be good for liriano to go to the bullpen he just dont have wat it takes to be in the rotation any more remember swarzack in chicago vs cubs
Been watching the CWS and what a ballgame. Game 1 of the best of three finals and it’s heading to the 11th inning. I’m not a big fan of college baseball but this is fun to watch.
Bill Smith and Terry Ryan were unwilling or unable to put out the money it would take to put on a bigger name/better likelihood of a better game free agent Thrylos.
I am pretty sure he’s talking about the Mike Lambs, Sidney Ponson’s, Ayala, and players of that calibur… not the minor league free agents…
Minnesota has been the home of retreads for a long time. We did a good job with Greg Swindell, and Dennys Reyes, but overall until this team wins a world series or at least competes for a world series the GMs and Owners are going to get taken to task for being cheap.
Had we looked at Izturus that signed with Baltimore for less than half of Punto…
Izturus - 45 150 16 39 5 1 1 13 49 5 12 9 0 .293 .327 .260
Those numbers aren’t great, but his defense is as good, and his base running is outstanding.
We didn’t need Orlando Hudson to play 2nd base,
69 278 46 86 21 2 5 37 126 34 47 5 0 .382 .453 .309
While he hasn’t done really well with KC… I still think they should have gone after Juan Cruz as well.
That all being said… the team is poised to take this division as long as they play consistant ball.
JC,
that is a good game if you can stand the sound of the metal bat hitting the ball
Expression451,
How different is that from calling up the Keppels and the Henns of the world? I somewhat agree with you:
The Ryan Twins did not sign quality free agents. I give you that.
The McPhail Twins did (Chili Davis and that radio broadcaster are the posterboys). Smith signed Crede. That is an improvement compared to Ryan. And last time I checked, Everett now that he is healthy is doing ok with the Tiggers. Yes he re-signed Punto (but, really, how much did Gardy have to do with that?) The Twins will not go out and spend $20mil a year for a free agent (and it is a good thing).
That said, they should not try to get these Henns and Keppels to the majors and gamble with the results
flatblade’s 6:28 is very good — it cuts through some of the static….gives me a more realistic view of Henn.
As for thry’s 6:18, I’m still not comfortable with my analytical conclusion as per thry’s “rules” for this exercise.
But, at least initially, I’d say Pitcher 4 is the definitely worst.
Pitcher 2 is the best. And Pitchers 1 and 3 are in between.
So, may we please have the parameters of the stats and the players’ names, thry?
BTW, thry (and others), The Tigers’ Ordonez is hitting .300 the last 30 days…..but without much power.
Looks like both he and Mauer entered and took control of the other’s body!
And Everett is at .255 now after hanging above .300 for quite some time.
Hopefully he and Punto did the same thing……..
Please, Professor Thrylos?
:)>
Wow, those MLB numbers for Keppel really excite me. I think all our bullpen worries are a distant memory!!
Same here, Lala. We downgraded from Breslow to Hen, now maybe the same thing from Ayala to Kopple. The “couldn’t be any worse” argument makes me nervous.
Bill Smith and Terry Ryan were unwilling or unable to put out the money it would take to put on a bigger name/better likelihood of a better game free agent Thrylos.
Joe Crede says hi.
ergo he’ll get repeated opportunities, from somebody, until one of a) or b) disappears.
As horrifying as it sounds, I can’t possibly be only person curious to see somebody’s left-hand disappear.
If (when) Keppel stinks up the joint, how many games will he be allowed to throw away?
Henn’s already thrown away a couple too many, but we’re keeping him around.
“Unfortunately, Luis had some stretches that were good, and he had some inconsistent periods, and we just felt that we were better off to go in this direction.” Billy Smith
The inconsistent periods were in april/may. The good stretch has been this month. Gut feelings should not dictate roster moves. Something doesn’t add up.
But, at least initially, I’d say Pitcher 4 is the definitely worst.
Pitcher 2 is the best. And Pitchers 1 and 3 are in between.
romer: 4= Henn, 2 = Ayala, 1 = Mijares, 3 = Dickey
that move really made sense, didn’t it?
Breslow, where are you? Twins pulled the trigger to fast on that one…….
“First batters hit .346 against Ayala” - JoeC
For one thing, 28 PAs is quite the small sample size to throw stats like that around. But I’ll play along, they also had a .409 BABIP. And of the nine hits recorded, eight were singles with one double (The BABIP is not up because the ball is being smoked). I’m not convinced.
Right, OB-wan. It seems like they are hoping to get lucky with minor leaguers like in the past. Maybe we will. They’ll try harder and listen to the coaches better.
So wait…now suddenly the prevailing notion is that Ayala belongs on the team? Not but a week ago it seemed like people wanted him shot out of the same cannon as Punto.
T, I don’t think anybody’s arguing that Ayala is good or deserves a spot in the bullpen. The question is whether they’ve improved by replacing him with Keppel, who’s basically organizational filler. And also if they would have been better off replacing Henn instead.
SIDE NOTE:
Interesting quick article on Charlie Walters:
Yeah, Benny, that’s my point. Big picture, it’s just the back end of the bullpen. Not that big of a deal. What is aggravating to me is getting rid of a guy who seems to be rounding into shape and whose numbers aren’t bad, and replacing him with a guy with a horrible track record. Unless Keppel has drastically improved his sinker in the Twins organization, his ceiling is probably about where Ayala is now.
Ayala has certainly had his moments of struggle, but I thought he was doing better as of late.
ANOTHER SIDE NOTE:
Not that this matters when it comes to performing on the field, but when my family was at Spring Training in April, Ayala was one of the guys who went out of his way with the fans and seemed to enjoy signing autographs and chatting with everyone (although there were a couple morons handing him baseballs to sign and asking “Who is this?”…classy).
Nonetheless, I wish things would have turned around quicker for him before this decision and I wish him the best.
Quality side notes ES. I didn’t know Charley Walters attended my alma mater.
OB says:
“The inconsistent periods were in april/may. The good stretch has been this month. Gut feelings should not dictate roster moves. Something doesn’t add up.”
What are you talking about? He gave up four earned runs in his last six appearances. That is hardly a “good stretch”.
Joe Crede says hi.
Casey Blake offers a ‘right backatcha.’
I tried the link, Eddie, and all it said was “Otis”. I think he was the town drunk on the Andy Griffith show but I don’t want to start another Andy Griffith blog so I looked up Eddie Shore. I nearly forgot about the Boston Bruin Hockey legend. This is funny:
“At home matches the other Bruins would take the ice first before bringing Shore out last to the accompaniment of ”Hail to the Chief.” Shore would skate onto the ice in a matador’s cloak, which would then be removed, Gorgeous George-style, by a valet.”
Fair enough ES16, I was looking at the stats from the past 28 days. In that period, he’s got a 3.09 ERA in 10 games: 11.2 IP 8 Ks 1 BB. From what I gather, he’s given up 4 runs in his last six appearances, but only 2 were earned.
My bad ES16, you’re right about the earned runs.
I tried the link, Eddie, and all it said was “Otis”
Not sure why the link didn’t work for you but it was Charlie Walter’s article this morning on the Pioneer Press online.
Regarding Eddie Shore… “Old time hockey!”
OB,
No all four were earned. Not to mention he had a 12.46 ERA and .355 opponent batting average with RISP, hardly clutch. In late and close situations, batters were hitting .421 off of him…
Maybe Charlie can still throw. Finally found the column, really interesting and couldn’t quit reading it. I stopped when I read ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8′ stars say they plan to divorce. Not sure who they are, but I feel bad for the kids, LOL!
