Twins update: Slowey, Mulvey, Morales
Posted on July 15th, 2009 – 3:47 PMBy Joe Christensen
Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey tested his strained right wrist in a throwing session today and felt better, General Manager Bill Smith said.
“It’s encouraging,” Smith said. “That’s what we were hoping.”
Slowey, who is 10-3 with a 4.86 ERA, is scheduled to have another throwing session Friday in Texas.
ROSTER MOVE
I also spoke with Smith about today’s roster move, which La Velle discussed earlier. The Twins promoted RHP Kevin Mulvey to the big leagues and sent C Jose Morales back to Class AAA Rochester.
Smith said Mulvey will pitch in long-relief.
“We’re still counting on Jesse Crain coming back and helping us down the stretch, but this is a long-relief role, which is not Jesse’s forte. Mulvey is better-suited to do this role right now.
“We want to get Jesse back on track. He’s got work to do. He’s working hard at it. We need to get him back on track to come up and help us in the middle to late innings.”
As for Morales, who has been sent back to Rochester three times already this season, Smith said, “Morales has done everything we’ve asked. He had a big pinch hit the other day. … He’s the third catcher, and that’s a little bit of a luxury. It’s a little more critical when we’re playing interleague games. Now we need the extra pitcher.”
The Twins will return from the All-Star break Friday with 12 pitchers on their 25-man roster. We’ll have more on this for tonight’s first editions. Remember, you can follow us on Twitter @JoeCStarTribune, @LaVelleNeal.
97 Responses to "Twins update: Slowey, Mulvey, Morales"
Trade Slowey for a bag of baseballs
Does Buscher have options left? He rarely gets to play and Punto or Harris could play 3B if Crede needs a day off. Morales has been one of the Twins best bats off the bench and Gardy has said all along he likes the flexibility of having 3 catchers. I think Buscher should have been the one sent down.
Uh, aren’t the Twins stacked with long relievers?
Ask Billy if Morales is the backup in 2010. I think he is. Although I respect Redmond plenty, it’s time to make the switch.
Good work Joe
To clarify, I’m saying Morales should be the backup next year. He needs the opportunity, and Redmond’s contract is up after this season.
Sigh…bill smith being the nice guy once again. The comments about Crain suggest that he’ll give Crain every chance to come up despite his extremely poor major league track record over the past two seasons. If I was Delaney or Gabino I’d be seriously pissed.
ossieO: I would be real suprised if Billy answered that.
When are the Twins going to trade for another late inning power arm?
I think Smith is doing the right thing by calling Morales a Third Catcher instead of a catcher. Rather than force the issue of Redmond’s relevance as they open the second half, he chooses clubhouse unity over a pinch hitter. A couple years ago they traded Castillo and ticked off everyone down there for little gain. I think Smith is going to keep things smooth in that regard in case he can’t pull off a trade, and then he’ll still have a replacement for Red as his “Same as a trade” fallback.
I think a young player in an org like MIN has to know that waiting for your turn and staying in your role are important to the bosses. And it was probably pretty clearly laid out for him when he hit town: “When we need another pitcher you’re the guy going to Rochester. Have fun, help out, don’t rent an apartment.” If only they’d had that chat with everyone around here…
In Jesse Crain Billy Smith Trusts? OMG!
Somebody get Pat Kessler to give him a Reality Check!
Smith said, “Blah, blah, blah-blah-blah.”*
*(Translated): “We don’t have any real plans to help the team, but we’re calling up Alexi Casilla and another long reliever in an attempt to disguise that fact. I’ll talk to you again on August 1st, when I’ll remind you that just because the trade deadline has passed, there’s still the waiver wire.”
BS has really mastered the art suggested by his initials. If I learned anything from this update its that the Twins needed a 4th long reliever (Dickey, Keppel, Duensing, and now Mulvey) to bolster their pen. Really?
What I think you hope for is that Redmond retires don’t get me wrong Red Dogs a good guy but its getting time to put the pads on the shelf and help the twins as a hitting instructor at Spring Training and have Morales be backup.
Uh, aren’t the Twins stacked with long relievers?
now they have 4:
Mulvey
Keppel
Duensing
Dickey
Gardy will have to use some of them in the 7th inning of a close game and court with disaster…
They needed another long reliever as much as they need another starting catcher or first baseman…
I have read that Buscher has one option left. Take it with a grain of salt. I don’t recall where I read it. I don’t think the Twins would have any plans to send him down anyway. Though he hasn’t performed all that well this season, he sure did last. I think they expect him to hit better in the second half.
I think what Smith was saying is that having a third catcher is a luxury. Another pitcher was a necessity. Morales is obviously the third catcher. Redmond is solid, and has many years of experience. Morales has about 70 major league at bats.
I have read that Buscher has one option left.
yes, he does. He can be shuffled to Rochester unlimited times this season.
As La Velle noted, management recognizes that they have no bullpen help in the minors. Nonetheless, I can understand why another arm was needed. I’d bet that all involved KNOW that a trade is necessary if the Twins are to be a serious WS threat. No guarantee (likelihood?) that they will, though.
Billy Smith has been burned bad, both on trades and signing free agents. I don’t think he will rush into a trade. He’s more cautious now. Lots of talent was swept out of Minnesota, and not much came in. I think Billy is a little shell-shocked. Post traumatic stress, or something like that.
“He can be shuffled to Rochester unlimited times this season.”
Or next season, but not both.
If that is true, BT, than BS is not fit for the job. I won’t get mad ’til July 31st passes w/o an upgrade.
People had long given up this spring with regard to Crede, if I recall, so patience is not altogether unwarranted.
I think patience is fine. Just don’t ask me to seriously expect, or even hope, for something significant to happen on the trade front.
As interesting as it can be to discuss who could help out from among those names generally considered available, it’s not realistic, based on this organization’s past history, to expect a bold move.
Bill Smith, quoted in this article
As for Morales… He’s the third catcher, and that’s a little bit of a luxury.
Bunting Twins
I think what Smith was saying is that having a third catcher is a luxury
Sharp as a tack, that BT.
“”Sharp as a tack, that BT.”"
And twice as flat headed, Chief. 
“He’s the third catcher, and that’s a little bit of a luxury. It’s a little more critical when we’re playing interleague games. Now we need the extra pitcher.”
This is single-handedly the most retarded statement ever uttered by a Twins official. You DIDN’T need 3 catchers while you were doing interleage, because there was no DH spot for Mauer to possibly occupy! Now that it is all american league games from here on out is when you need the three catchers, so Mauer can DH, and you still have a back up catcher on the bench. Utter nonsense from Bill Smiths mouth. I’m completely disgusted with this transaction. I’m sure glad our pinch hitting options late in the game are Buscher (.210), Nick Punto (.201) and Mike Redmond (.236) and Carlos Gomez (.235). What a joke.
USAF Chief,
Your Smith quote regarding Morales is incorrect. You are mixing story and quote and expressing it as a Bill Smith quote.
The actual Smith quote was a little ambiguous. It could have been interpreted as saying that Morales personally in the role of a third catcher was a luxury. I interpreted it as a third catcher in and of itself as being a luxury. That is why I wrote what I did.
As far as your derogatory and snide remark goes, I don’t engage in your kind of pettiness, so don’t expect a tit for tat response. I notice that you direct such comments frequently toward others posting here. Try engaging the issue rather than attacking the person.
Been a Twins fan more than 25 years, but I must admit…this is not their year. Their most claring need…they don’t have a legit #1 starter. They have a bunch of #2 or #3 type pitchers, but no shut down #1.
Tigers have Verlander, White Sox have Beurhle, Twins have Slowey or Blackburn.
Unless Bill Smith grows a pair in the next two weeks, the roster will remain the same. Good, but not good enough.
It seems to me, that the Twins front office likes it that way. Spend just enough to compete, but not enough to win a title.
Nice article by Sid Hartman about Nick Punto. Gardy sure appreciates Nick’s fielding skills. Gardy raves about him.
The article points out how Punto’s fielding saves runs. Keeping out runs is just as important as knocking them in or scoring them. Maybe more important when you consider the psychological impact on the Twins’ pitcher on the mound at the time.
Harris has done a respectable job, but I think Gardy wants Punto back at shortstop. He has not come right out and said his shortstop will be Punto, but you can kind of read between the lines. Harris could be useful platooning with Kubel. Harris has hit left hand pitchers fairly well in the past.
Thus far in 2009, Punto’s fielding at SS has not saved runs. Perhaps it will in the future, but even if that were the case it won’t be enough to offset what would be lost at the plate if he were to replace Harris.
White Sox have Beurhle
I’d take Slowey or Baker any day before Buehrle. He led the AL in hits allowing in 2005, 2006, and 2008. This year he has 1.186 WHIP, 5.0 K/9 and 2.54 K/BB (and all that with a .269 BABIP). On the other hand, Slowey has a 1.412 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 5.00 K/BB and a .349 BABIP while Baker has 1.214 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.90 K/BB and a .283 BABIP. Buehrle would have been a very expensive #3 or #4 starter in the Twins…
Nice article by Sid Hartman about Nick Punto. Gardy sure appreciates Nick’s fielding skills. Gardy raves about him.
hmmm… maybe Gardy is wrong/biased/blind?
pick the adjective of your choice…
Sure sounds like Gardy wants change but Billy is saying the only changes are coming fro within (i.e. “Crain is in our plans for relief help”). If they make a “big” trade I will be stunned.
Then again, given Billy’s trade history I’m not sure he’s qualified as the talent evaluator I want pulling a deal from the Twins.
So BS is damned if he does and damned if he don’t, huh, k91.
I think that people underestimate the influence/power that Gardenhire has in making changes and overestimate the influence/power that Smith has in making changes.
Smith is a GM with his hands tied. He inherited his field staff, his predecessor and everyone who has made decisions in this organization for 2 decades are there in a “consulting” role.
Gardy is on record saying that he “sent” certain players “back to the minors”.
This is a bad situation and unless Pohald Jr. lets Smith have free rein by removing the old guard under him, it would be unfair to judge
Have Morales trade his catcher’s mit in for a second baseman’s glove, for 2-weeks in the minors and bring him back.
He could be a valuable option at second, and it can’t be that big of a deal for someone who plays the toughest defensive position on the field to switch to the easiest. Where did he play before becoming a catcher?
Wasn’t Smith a member of the old guard prior to becoming GM?
“Thus far in 2009, Punto’s fielding at SS has not saved runs.”
I think it has. Quite a few.
Punto and Harris are getting on base at about the same rate, but Punto scores more runs per plate appearance. Punto’s speed probably accounts for this.
I think for the #9 hitter, you want a guy who can get around the bases and score.
Scoring runs, and keeping them out, Punto is a better choice than Harris. Punto also strikes out less, so he potentially can move runs along a little more frequently. His speed can also help him stay out of the double play.
Harris has more power, which is a plus, but he may have to hit bigger than he has to make up for his deficiencies. I think Gardy is leaning toward Punto at shortstop and it makes sense. He will probably use both, depending on the situation. Situational baseball is what it is all about.
Bunting Twin has it right…about BS not Punto. BS is shellshocked after all his moves have backfired so badly and cost us so many good ballplayers-Santana, Garza, Bartlett-with little or no return. Not to mention the free agent signings…Hernandez, the 3rd baseman and shortstop from Houston, Ayala. His only decent aquisition was Crede and that was a low risk deal. He’ll most likely be gone next year. I hope Smith is too.
Twins Fan…Morales is a converted 2B, couldn’t make the grade there.
Twins Fan…Following is from LaVelle’s Blog today:
“”Morales was originally a second baseman but couldn’t cut it and was moved to catcher. He still takes grounders and second, and sometimes at third, but would have been used in the field only if the Twins were in an emergency situation. If he could still play in the field I’m sure it would be easier to keep him.”"
Harris has 170 more SLG points than Punto. This more than makes up for his “defeciencies” to Punto. As for defense, one can argue that Punto’s performance thus far at SS (check the UZR or RZR) may be an anomaly. One cannot argue that thus far Punto has saved runs at SS.
“I think that people underestimate the influence/power that Gardenhire has in making changes and overestimate the influence/power that Smith has in making changes.”
I think that is a very true statement.
“One cannot argue that thus far Punto has saved runs at SS.”
Why not? On any given play, one cannot know how both players would have responded, since only one player is in the field, at that position, at that point in time.
However, if we determine one player has superior range and fielding skills, it is reasonable to assume that some balls would be outside the lesser players range, but would be fielded by the player with superior range.
It seems reasonable to conclude that after a half a season, this would have occurred often enough that runs would have been saved in the process.
“Harris has 170 more SLG points than Punto. This more than makes up for his ‘defeciencies’ to Punto.”
I don’t think so, but it’s open to opinion. It get’s down to conjecture on what kind of value should be placed on particular stats. Since there is no agreeable scientific methodology to determine what values those should be, we are left to our own individual theories and extrapolations.
Gardy has often been quoted as saying “When Punto plays, good things happen.” That comes from observing the game over many decades. It may not be exact science, but probably just as scientific as most any other way of making an evaluation of a player.
Bunting Twin, have you charted every Twins play, and kept track of plays you think Harris wouldn’t make, but Punto would? Because if you haven’t, it’s likely your opinion suffers from recency, halo, and other memory issues, as compared to stats, that are determined by people that CHART EVERY PLAY IN MLB. I trust those over anecdotal memory of me or any other fan who probably watches 100-130 games a year, and never writes down how players play.
Many of these assumptions need not be made. In fact, when assumptions are made based upon past seasons rather than present play, error in evaluation is introduced. When one evaluates the amount of balls that are in the SS zone and sees what percentage of those were converted to outs, a decent measure of range can be calculated. Thus far in 2009, Harris has displayed superior range to Punto at SS, hence, Punto has not saved more runs at SS. Check out the link BT.
I don’t get the long relief comment. It’s like he thinks he can just say stuff, and people will believe it. If he thinks they need four long relievers, he may want to re-think his rotation….
I agree. Obviously no one is going to have crazy expectations for Mulvey. But if BS expects fans to swallow the need for another long man it is borderline insulting. Not Jesse’s forte… no $hit.
I understand the long relief thing. Keppel is moving up to be the 7th inning guy with Dickey the way I see it. Leaves Mulvey in long relief, and Duensing as the….well, as the guy who only has a job because he throws with his left hand.
God, I hope my 13 month old continues to show signs of being lefthanded….
Buscher is Morneau and to some degree, Crede insurance. The Twins don’t really have any one else to play 1st base if Morneau goes down. Harris now can play some 3rd base but I think they basically have promised Punto that he will play SS or, if needed, 2nd base. So Buscher is there because no one else can play 1st after Morneau. (Unless you call Cuddy’s play there of MLB standards.)
Buscher will hit better in the 2nd half of the season. He’s adjusted now to his role of bench player.
I think Morneau said it pretty clearly, this team is good enough to not lose, but not good enough to win. Translation=Smith had been make some moves to bolster this team either at this year’s trade deadline or during the offseason… otherwise, we’ll continue to lose frontline players like Mauer in the future.
I used to listen to Terry Ryan’s weekly GM show on Sunday’s because he brought insight and honesty to us. Smith is all double-speak and telling us what we already know. I have not been impressed with him from Day 1. Listen to his show some Sunday and tell me you or I couldn’t tell us what he does.
Pffft!
That’d be my read too lefty although it’s less than inspiring. Here’s hoping that Keppel’s power sinker is not a mirage. G’night all.
The Mulvey call-up feels like they are showcasing an arm. I smell a trade no matter how pessimistic the trade waters may feel.
My feeling is the FO is cycling thru any and all option for relief pitching from the minors before the trade deadline, hoping something sticks. I’m doubting anything will happen with another team tradewise. Keppel seems decent so far….we’ll see.
If they traded for an upgrade at 2B, my bet is punto starts at SS and harris sits.
i like harris cuz he hits doubles and is pretty good at sac fly RBIs. punto pops up in foul territory too much in those situations…
Lately the BP hasnt been blowing leads left and right. The key is strong starting rotation, and thats starting to look shakier.
Oh hell, 2nd half cant start soon enough!
Gardy is on record saying that he “sent” certain players “back to the minors”.
T98 — I’m certain you are referring to the Souhan article (June 19) and Gardenhire’s remarks about sending Casilla down.
Here is a juicy tidbit from this
quoting:”Casilla? “He’s an enigma to me,” Gardenhire said. “I don’t know where he’s at mentally. When I sent him down”… When I sent him down. So Gardenhire has a lot of say on who is on the roster. Thanks, Jim, that was a good thing to get out of him –Thrylos98
My response then applies now as well:
“When I sent him down. So Gardenhire has a lot of say on who is on the roster…” Not necessarily. It was most likely Gardenhire’s responsibility to inform Alexi at the time of demotion and there was certain to be conversation. The GM isn’t going to stroll down to the locker room to give Casilla the news. Quit trying to decipher press interviews. The GM surely looks for Gardenhire’s thoughts on personnel matters, but (I believe) Bill Smith has the final say of who’s here and who’s not.
Maybe you’re right…who knows. The fact is that none of us are in the clubhouse, manager’s office, or a part of any of the front office discussions and you’re using this “tidbit” as your lockdown reference that Gardenhire makes these decisions…and I think you’re just looking for any way you can to find more fault in the skipper than there may actually be…as usual.
Jackson: “the twins don’t have a number one starter.” So Blackburn at #5 in ERA in the league doesnt count?
excuse me i meant majors.
“He’s the third catcher, and that’s a little bit of a luxury. It’s a little more critical when we’re playing interleague games. Now we need the extra pitcher.”
Sorry, Billy. Not buying it.
I wouldn’t call having a reliable bat off the bench a “luxury”. For a playoff team, I’d call that a must.
Another Stupid Move by Gardy:
On the Twins website they have the probable pitchers posted to start the 2nd half. You would think that with the 4 days off, they would readjust the rotation and have their best pitcher (Blackburn) start out. Instead they are essentially skipping Blackburn’s turn in the rotation. He won’t pitch until Monday (10 days since his last start).
They have Perkins (6 days rest), Baker (6 days) & Liriano (10 days) scheduled to go against Texas.
So Perkins and Baker will have started the last 4 games.
hrylos98 says:
July 15th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
White Sox have Beurhle
I’d take Slowey or Baker any day before Buehrle. He led the AL in hits allowing in 2005, 2006, and 2008. This year he has 1.186 WHIP, 5.0 K/9 and 2.54 K/BB (and all that with a .269 BABIP). On the other hand, Slowey has a 1.412 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 5.00 K/BB and a .349 BABIP while Baker has 1.214 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.90 K/BB and a .283 BABIP. Buehrle would have been a very expensive #3 or #4 starter in the Twins…
Slowey or Baker over Buehrle??? Are you kidding me???
thrylos98 is allowing his biases to get in the way remembering how an organization actually works.
(and then of course he somehow thinks that Smith WANTS to fire Gardy but can’t - with nothing to back that up)
Of course gardy sent him down at the behest of his boss. But its not his decision. All gardy can do is decide who plays.
Hey Joe
When you are talking to Bill Smith please ask him what is it about Slama that keeps him in AA.
It sure would be nice to know why he is not in the Twin’s plans
They’d rather Slama just waste away his prime years in AA for some reason. I don’t get it, I don’t get it at all.
All the Terry Ryan defenders need to remember that this is his team, BS has had the job for 18 months, and you don’t fix a MLB in 18 months (unless you are willing to sign expensive FAs, which no Twins’ GM has ever done).
hmmm… maybe Gardy is wrong/biased/blind?
That’s an ironic thing for you to say.
Here’s my big beef with Punto’s at-bats: For a guy with no power he flies out way too often. If your argument is that he moves runners around to score, that’s ridiculous. At least Harris can drive in some runs, where Punto’s lazy pop flies do nothing. We all know we’re going to see lots of Punto the rest of the year, so I wish he would get better at lining the ball through the infield.
As for the rotation, putting Blackburn at the back of the order seems odd. Maybe they think he needed a break with all the innings he’s racked up? Hopefully not something like a sore arm that he’s resting. Because there really is no reason to put Perkins out as your first guy after the break.
grubah-Why not Perkins?Because they are all young,they are inconsistent!
Any reason as to why Rene Tosoni is listed on the Active Roster of the Arizona Diamondbacks?
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=ari
Last I heard he was playing for us in New Britain.
True, Baker and especially Liriano haven’t shown themselves to be any better than Perk, but Blackburn should definitely be going out there first.
Hey you guys! Quit picking on thrylos.
Your Smith quote regarding Morales is incorrect. You are mixing story and quote and expressing it as a Bill Smith quote.
For the record, BT, the quote comes directly from Bill Smith. It was prefaced with ‘Smith said,’ and was inside “quotation marks” in the blog article.
And it was a joke. Lighten up.
grubah-To take it one step further,Gardy and Anderson are kind of between a rock and a hard place.They are in the race so they should not be experimenting with the rotation,yet it’s hard to tell who will be consistent.Maybe’picking up a veteran starter cheap is the answer!
For the Punto back at SS clan… here is a take from “Over the Baggy” blog… letting you know just how bad he’s been on defense at SS this year…
Defensively, Punto’s been atrocious. This is the troublesome part considering his extension was based around his glove-work. At minus-7 runs, his shortstop abilities rank 30th among his MLB counterparts. After posting 40.3 and 42.2 UZR/150 in 2006 and 2007, his rating slipped to 17.9 in 2008 as he approached his age-30 season. A lot of players see decline in their 30’s put at age-31, Punto slipped to -1.8 UZR/150 this year, an indication that he is not defensively suitable for a demanding position like short. His subsequent relocation to second base has been a big improvement, posting a UZR/150 of 13.
Also a good read from Nick’s blog about Punto and Gardy’s obsession with the no-talent middle infielder…
“Hey you guys! Quit picking on thrylos.”
This IS an ironic blog today.
The Twins need to remember that they owe nothing to Jesse Crain. They owe no explanation. It is what it is. Results speak. Get your results — and movement on your fastball — right, and you’ll be coming up. Until then, we are looking to win.
Win, win, win. Not explain, explain, explain.
Our pitching staff is really pathetic. Doesn’t look like we got anyone coming up that’s very good either. I thought this organization was ALL about pitching? The worst part is we don’t have the kind of prospects that you can trade for quality pitchers. They should really try and move Cuddy. Maybe Cuddy Blackburn and Revere for the “Doc”??
Joe C, any truth to the rumor that the Twins have traded Rene Tosoni to the Diamondbacks?
Because there really is no reason to put Perkins out as your first guy after the break.
What three starters would have to pitch where to lineup with the Sox series? I know it’s a ways out, but it could be the idea is to get Blackburn in a position where his natural rotation gets him up against the Sox without having to screw around with skipping days or extra days off.
Also, I think at this point Morales is actually wasted as a backup for the Twins. If he’s as good as people make him out to be, then why not deal him NOW as part of something to get more neccesary help (like a starting 2B or bullpen pitcher)
Sure Morales is worth more of the bench than Redmond. But wouldn’t a regular starting 2B or strong relief pitcher be worth even more than that?
Benny: LEN3 brought this up in his chat. There has been NO trade to the D-Backs, just some odd updates to their website.
He is still in the Twins system at this time.
Someone did something to give us bloggers things to talk about as we recover from withdrawel. But, never fear, Twins startup is near.
Any chance the Twins start up talks with the Mariners again? I know they were interested in Washburn both last July and this past offseason. What about a deal that would bring in both Washburn and Mark Lowe or Sean White for some package of 2 starters: Mulvey/Perkins/Liriano, and 1 minor league outfielder: Winfree/Portes/Tosoni or Delmon.
Twins rotation would look like this:
Washburn, Blackburn, Baker, Slowey, Swarzak/Perkins/Liriano
Seattle is as much in the playoff hunt as the Twins, why would they make that deal? If anything, if they add a good bat, they have a real shot at that division.
mww and matt…Interesting AP article on Strib Sports page about the Mariners:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/50930997.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUqCP:iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
Bartlett isn’t as bad a loss as people think. he’s solid in the field, but espn makes him out to be god because the rays use to be historicly bad in the field and he wins team mvp because he was the first Rays SS to not suck. His defense is okay by Twins standards but when you go to a team that’s been really bad average can look great.
delmon would look real good in a mariners uniform.
Seattle got burned in the Bedard trade with Baltimore (Adam Jones looking awfully good in that Orioles uniform) and is not a likely trade partner.
If nothing else, if Casilla can hold onto 2nd and play the position well enough to stay on the field in late/close games, then Punto can slide in as a defensive replacement at SS where it as an obvious improvement, and there is no question in my mind that leaving Harris out there late/close will eventually cost the Twins an out, a base, a run, and probably even a game or two. Harris might make that up with his stick, but if ahead late, Casilla can help on defense even more by making it possible to get Harris off of the field in those situations.
Hart: “leaving Harris out there late/close will eventually cost the Twins an out, a base, a run, and probably even a game or two.”
My question back to you, then, is how many outs, bases, runs would Harris possibly have cost us in the earlier part of the game?
Harris has made most of the plays!
Harris is a statistically better SS than Punto this year. Is that a fluke, or has Punto started to lose range, like happens to all guys when they get in thier 30’s?
very frustrating wishing for a trade to improve this club but assuming it will not happen. I really wish Mauer would send a shot across the bow and make ownership and the FO accountable for making them improve this team or risk losing him.
he wins team mvp because he was the first Rays SS to not suck
Bartlett winning Team MVP is a joke when he’s not even 40 feet from one of the REAL Team MVPs in Evan Longoria.
“Harris is a statistically better SS than Punto this year. Is that a fluke, or has Punto started to lose range, like happens to all guys when they get in thier 30’s?”
Small sample size. It could be either one.
Seems like the White Sox are making a serious run at Roy Halladay. I certainly hope they don’t land him.
I do not think the White Sox have enough in their farm system to make a run for Halladay.
Bunting Twins -
Your “logic” involving Punto is flawed for a few reasons.
1.) Punto is overrated defensively. He’s hardly superior to Harris, at least according to the stats. LNP just does a much better job of flopping around out there, being a drama queen with every routine catch. He’s so into the theatre of it all, much like Gomez.
2.) Punto can’t hit when he plays everday; Harris can’t hit if he DOESN’T play everyday.
3.) The call up of Casilla was a message to Gardy from the too-nice-to-say-it-out-loud Billy Smith: put Punto on the bench!
4.) To a sensible man, there’s no WAY Punto’s glove “saves more runs” than Harris’ bat creates and his glove save. Only a fool would make that comparison.
5.) Truth be told, Harris has been a much steadier player day in, day out than Punto. He doesn’t get caught napping at first base. He doesn’t get caught napping in the field TWICE during one of those “off days” for LNP.
There’s no way LNP is a better SS than Harris when all is said and done. That’s pure Gardy rhetoric.
Baseball is a multi-faceted sport, my friend, and if you are horrible in one area, it means you’re not a complete player.
