Thoughts after a busy weekend
Posted on January 26th, 2009 – 1:06 PMBy La Velle
All it takes is a couple banquets and TwinsFest to get a scribe fired up for spring training on sun-drenched fields in Florida.
Some thoughts coming off last week:
We raised $263,000 on Thursday for neurologial research at the U of M, which is less than last year but still an impressive number. In four years, the Diamond Awards banquet has raied just over $2 million for those causes.
It was also a great night to talk baseball, as Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and other Twins receieved awards from last season and gave some really good speeches.
As Joe C. pointed out, Morneau took a good-natured shot at me about my MVP vote. I was prepared to take a shot from him, but what I didn’t expect was for MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier to twist the knife. While presenting Morneau’s award, she pointed out that Morneau beat Sidney Crosby out for the Canadian athlete of the year award. “When you beat Sidney Crosby, you had a good season, an MVP SEASON…”
Needless to say, Thesier is on my list…..
Poor Anthony Slama. Players were supposed to accept their awards and engage Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven in a Q and A and NOT deliever a speech. But Slama,“saw a podium and went for it.’ So Slama delievered a speech after receiving his minor league pitcher of the year award THEN did the Q and A. Now, every player felt on the spot to say something witty, which a couple of the veteran award winners weren’t thrilled about. (It also lengthened the banquet by about 30 minutes).
That, in addition to calling Twins GM Bill Smith, `Jim.’ set Slama up for a weekend of ribbing….
The annual Hot Stove Banquet on Saturday attracted a more hard core, rowdy crowd. It was a great time and it’s always great to see Mike Samelson. `Sammy.’ has survived three kidney transplants and had his left arm amputated last year but his spirit and love of the Twins remains unchanged.
It was great to hear speeches by Twins president Dave St. Peter and MLB umpire Tim Tschida. And former Twin Corey Koskie knocked it out of the park as the main speaker, telling funny stories from his playing days - including the day he put peanut butter in David Ortiz’s underwear and watched Ortiz nearly walk out of the clubhouse before someone suggested he check his shorts.
Saw Seth Stohs during the banquet. I quickly grabbed the microphone in front of me and fired at him, `You scooped me on the Russ Springer story, you Son of a ….!!” Which drew a lot of laughs.
St. Peter offered up Target Field as a possible location for next year’s banquet. That would be impressive.
Delmon Young looked in great shape, and Justin Morneau looks as powerful as ever.
Ben Revere couldn’t stop smiling.
Jesse Crain was adamant about the Twins bullpen being able to get the job done. He pointed out how careful the Twins were with him early last season as he came off of surgery and how that won’t be the case this year. so he’ll have a chance to get off to a fast start.
It will be interesting to see how Boof Bonser does this year. I sense that while he’s in the bullpen for now, he views himself as a starter. He could be an X-factor in the bullpen this year if he fully embraces the role. He did tell me he hit 97-98 on the gun his first year in pro ball and hopes he can consistently throw in the mid-9o’s this season.
Springer looks headed to Oakland. Brando Lyon is headed to Detroit. A Twins official told me over the weekend they still have options to land a reliever. Other than Eric Gagne, I’d like to know how many options they really have.
77 Responses to "Thoughts after a busy weekend"
Well. No news on Crede, and i hope there are more options then Gagne.
Anything new on Crede?
LaVelle–Have you ever heard the FO mention any free agent starting pitchers other than Kawakami? It seems like at the currently reported pricetag (2 years, $8mm/yr) Ben Sheets would be a huge bargain, with either Perkins or Blackburn going to the pen (preferably Perkins) and serving as a 6th starter in case of injury.
“Which drew a lot of laughs.”
Including from me… just so people know… that was a fun night!
Lavelle, you did a great job at the banquet on Saturday and you’re right, it really was a hilarious evening - although I’m pretty sure Corey didn’t want you to report the stories he told… *laugh*
It was great to see Koskie in such high spirits and we’ll just have to wait and see if St. Peter’s offer is enough for them to bring back the banquet.
I loved seeing all the really long lines for our young Twins guys at TwinsFest and I’m sure that the work that Seth and others do to promote our prospects and the whole Twins system is at the center of their popularity!
Now I just can’t wait for Spring Training and to see what the guys put together.
Note to Kelly Thesier: MVPs don’t bat .243 with 2 home runs in September when their teams are in pennant races.
I had a comment from a co-worker that was shocked I wasn’t up there for Twinsfest. Sounds like a good time though.
Something I have always wanted to do, but kinda time consuming on the drive plus I need the days off for my wedding!
LENIII: If you want to pay back Thieser, all you need to do is publish a count of the number of adverbs and other modifiers she uses in a typical lede. (Any number higher than about “two” is too many. She can’t even type her byline without exceeding that limit.)
[…] Twins Insider – […]
Hurry Spring!! Can’t wait for Twins baseball!!
I sat in La Velle’s chair in the press box on Saturday!
thirteen minutes of silence from bloggers dreaming about having La Velle’s job. dougie d you lucky duck!
Why should we give guys like Crain, Guerrier and Bonser the benefit of the doubt after what transpired last season??? Reward them by not going out gettiing a solid back inning option/set-up type guy for what exactly??
It’s sad that this team has passed on several options, dating back to last July, and now they are stuck with the Eric Gagnes of the world.
savvyspy says:
January 26th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Note to Kelly Thesier: MVPs don’t bat .243 with 2 home runs in September when their teams are in pennant races.
Most MVP’s don’t worry about their 2B Casilla and 3B Buscher misplaying every ball hit to their positions. So of course he gonna hit worse all his energy was spend on defense
from mlbtraderumors:
“The AP says the A’s are “close to finalizing” the Springer deal, with the physical the final step remaining. Not sure why they didn’t say an agreement has been reached, then.”
jasdkl;fjsdklafjkdljfkjsdklfsdjklajfsdkljfklsdfjklasdjfklsjklfjaskldjfklasjfksldjfkljasdklfjsdklfjadklsfjaklsdjdfkljkdjk
Go white SOX!!!!!!
dasojdkasjdklsajkldjsklsjkdsjklsjdkdlajkld
Go Tribe!!!!!!!!!
Well, Justin M… we’ll see how you feel about adding no one when we are 15 games out of first. Man, I can’t stand company brownnosers…
Dougie_D says:
January 26th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I sat in La Velle’s chair in the press box on Saturday!
How old are you? 6?
jfklsdjklsdfajkdajfklsjdklfjsjfklsdjfajkls
Go Royals????????????
I never thought of that, Andy. I thought it was some kind of open house deal where you get to look around.
Someone care to translate 3:32 and 3:34?
dating back to last July
Are you referring to LaTroy Hawkins? Pretty sure nobody here was expecting him to do anything worth while?
Heck, you should see the posts when they got Eddie. A lot of people thought that he would return to save the day (I actually saved that link for a while because I totally ripped the move and everybody treated me like I was crazy)
If you’re referring to Lyon…he turned down a multi-year offer to go close in Detroit.
Someone care to translate 3:32 and 3:34?
*ahem*
“I am a troll.”
I think I got the syntax right.
jkahfjashfasjkhjaskdhasdfjkhas
Andy says:
January 26th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Dougie_D says:
January 26th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I sat in La Velle’s chair in the press box on Saturday!
How old are you? 6?
Better to be 6 than a party pooper like you Andy!!!!! As a famous character said once “Why so serious???”
I like what I’m hearing about Crain and Bonser. JUST SAY NO TO GAGNE.
But I do think it’s worth giving Crede a shot!
t-
What about Bradford back in July?? What about guys like Nelson, Affeldt, Howry, Saito….They all seemed to sign reasonable contracts elsewhere. I just don’t get it.
I know I don’t know the “inner workings” of these things, but it seems to me that if they really wanted to make a sincere attempt at upgrading this ‘pen after realizing the Neshek situation (for ‘09) they have had opportunities.
So…to sum up…How is it that the Rays, a fellow “small market” team were able to land bullpen help like Bradford and Nelson, and the Twins are stuck with the Eric Gagnes of the world. That’s the question.
La Velle, thank you for the new post. Spring training can’t come too soon.
Could Koskie cure our 3B problem?
jkucenic-
Great point on Bradford. He might have pitched us into the “real” playoffs instead of the “one game playoff.” However, in Crain’s defense, he was coming off shoulder surgery, Boof was definitely improved at the end of the season when he settled into the bullpen role, and Guerrier…well, he pitched a lot of innings? Not a very good excuse for him, but the other two should be better.
Just to be clear, I’m not mad at Kelly T. I just want to justify my payback in the not-to-distant future. 
jkucenic–in answer to yours …thats what makes the twins the twins…this is not rocket science…you get used to it after a few years…still hate it, but i am getting used to it…always the last one to the dance…it gets old…
[…] bookmarks tagged famous Comment on Thoughts after a busy weekend by sdjkfh… saved by 1 others Sagnik788 bookmarked on 01/26/09 | […]
Free Agent relief signings are never a good idea. Most relievers have a pretty short shelf life, unless they are the best of the best. I’m glad the FO is being cautious about signing anyone. A guy like Bonser, or someone else currently in the minors could step in and do a good job. Let’s not forget this YOUNG team was a solo home run short of the playoffs last year.
Sounds like everyone had a great time this weekend. I really wish I could have made the trip up to attend the banquets and Twinsfest… maybe next year (especially if the Hot Stove is at Target Field!).
Oh… and pardon the plug for John Bonnes’ TwinsGeek site but I just read his post from yesterday where he draws a parallel between Bill Smith’s search for bullpen help and a third baseman to a guy checking out the ‘talent’ at a singles bar as closing time nears. (Not that I would have any idea what that’s like, of course.)
Funny stuff.
Juan Cruz for a below market 3 year might be worth the first round pick- but the Twins don’t operate that way… And maybe we shouldnt with some bullpen talent that should push their way to the big leagues in the next 3 years
Wow JimCrikket…I just went over and read that TwinsGeek blurb. Great, funny stuff. Funny because it’s true.
“So…to sum up…How is it that the Rays, a fellow “small market” team were able to land bullpen help like Bradford and Nelson, and the Twins are stuck with the Eric Gagnes of the world. That’s the question.”
Because no one else wanted Bradford. The Rays claimed him off waivers. At the time they selected him, the Rays had the 2nd best record in the American League - meaning every other team except the Angels passed on picking him up.
I would assume that most teams in the AL didn’t feel like paying Chad Bradford $3.5 million this upcoming season. And looking at his stats, I wouldn’t like paying it either. In 19 innings with the Rays, Bradford had a 1.37 WHIP with 4 strike outs and 8 walks. Over the course of the entire year he had 17 strike outs and 15 walks in 59 and 1/3 innings pitched. He wasn’t very effective the year before, either.
The Twins instead decided to take a chance on a pitcher they knew something about, and had actually had a better season than Bradford. Plus, he was only signed through the rest of the year.
As for Joe Nelson - he had a career year at the age of 33 last year, after missing the entire year before that. He’s actually older than Eric Gagne. Perhaps the Twins don’t like his odd of staying healthy for the entire season?
There are very legit reasons for not getting either one of those two players.
I maintain that if the Twins picked up Bradford, then this team plays October baseball. Guardado wasn’t even an option out of the ‘pen those last couple of weeks of the season.
And according to your logic, this team shouldn’t acquire Gagne either, due to his injury risk.
thanks for the tip on Twins Geek column..very hilarious
“I maintain that if the Twins picked up Bradford, then this team plays October baseball. Guardado wasn’t even an option out of the ‘pen those last couple of weeks of the season. ”
There are about 1 billion things that could have happened ‘right’ for the Twins and they could have been playing October baseball. Liriano could beat a bad Royals team. Morneau could decide to play the last month of the season. Joe Nathan blows one fewer save. Saying the season hinged on a Chad Bradford trade seems a bit extreme.
“And according to your logic, this team shouldn’t acquire Gagne either, due to his injury risk.”
I didn’t say they should pick up Gagne. But I like Gagne at least as much as I like Joe Nelson.
There were also at least a billion things that had to go right for the team to get where they wound up last year. Some people will never see the glass as half full.
[…] Another thank you to LaVelle for verifying my story from the Hot Stove Banquet. He’s got several thoughts from the Twins Fest […]
Levelle, for the love of god will you dig up something on the Crede situation. When this week will the teams watch him? What are our odds? Will Smith be there in person?
We heard reports that DY had taken on a workout regimen,LEN3 saw the results of that firsthand.He also came to Twins Fest when he was sick.He seems to have developed mental discipline,which might help him realize his potential.For a team that’s always late to the trade table,the Twins sure have won alot of division titles this decade.
I maintain that if the Twins picked up Bradford, then this team plays October baseball.
If Justin Morneau gets a base hit in at least one of his ABs Saturday against the Royals, the Twins play October baseball.
Instead of making up situations, might as well evaluate the situations that were actually played out.
La Velle
If the Twins do not sign Gagne, what are the odds we offer a 1 year contract to Reyes?
Could he be the other option?
Played for us, was effective for us..
would give us 3 lefties. probably a better chance of him returning then us signing someone like gagne..
ha
If Alexi Casilla doesn’t homer or Adam Everett doesn’t hit his “butchie boy” double in the final series against the Sox, Twins don’t even make the one-game playoff with the White Sox. Lots of games were won that probably shouldn’t have been. Five or six of Livan’s starts for example.
ya know, if the white sox would have lost one more game then the twins would be in the playoffs!
Jarardo,
“the Crede situation. When this week will the teams watch him? What are our odds? Will Smith be there in person?”
Bill Smith’s forte is NOT player evaluation.
Real Twins scouts need to be at the workout. Or maybe a chiropractor.
If Bill Smith attends, they are wasting his time and the Twins money.
If Justin Morneau gets a base hit in at least one of his ABs Saturday against the Royals, the Twins play October baseball.
Instead of making up situations, might as well evaluate the situations that were actually played out.
The difference, of course, is that the Twins front office had no control over whether or not Justin Morneau gets a hit against the Royals. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Morneau’s cold finish was unfortunate, and certainly contributed to the team’s demise, but one cannot hold that against the front office.
On the other hand, the Twins front office had ONE HUNDRED PERCENT control over whether or not they added a reliable reliever last summer. COMPLETE, TOTAL control.
One can, and IMO should, absolutely hold “no bullpen help” against the front office. Anyone interested in honestly assessing the facts can see the difference between that and Morneau’s slump.
One was forseeable and preventable.
“the Twins front office had ONE HUNDRED PERCENT control over whether or not they added a reliable reliever last summer.”
They added a reliable Rangers reliever (Guardado) who became an unreliable Twins reliever.
Maybe it was just 99% control of the outcome of that situation.
One was forseeable and preventable.
…and based entirely on speculation and hypothesis. We assume that Chad Bradford rides in on his white horse and saves the poor Twins from missing the postseason.
Meanwhile the rest of us look at situaitons that actually happened and recognize how they contributed.
If the FO hadn’t rushed Liriano back at the beginning of the season, he wouldn’t have gotten shelled. There’s at least 3 losses there.
How many games did the Twins lose because a pitcher couldn’t make a half-decent throw to third base? I can think of one game in Oakland for starters.
I’ll fault the FO for not getting rid of guys sooner. But when your BP “upgrade” options are Hawkins, Bradford, and Guardado…*pfft* I don’t buy for a second that had the FO gotten any of those guys to start the season (or at the deadline) that there would be people here applauding the move. No wait, I take back Guardado. I still don’t get how that move was celebrated when the Twins turned it.
I’ll fault the FO for not giving Buscher a better chance at 3B. I did so openly when they signed Lamb.
And one last thing:
On the other hand, the Twins front office had ONE HUNDRED PERCENT control over whether or not they added a reliable reliever last summer. COMPLETE, TOTAL control.
Only in the sense that they could remove players from their roster. But no team has 100% control over their ability to add talent. Because players still have to agree to contracts, and other teams have to agree to trades.
As we saw with attempts to get Washburn and Beltre, and as we saw in attempts to get Blake.
They added a reliable Rangers reliever (Guardado)
Sane, please, Guardado..reliable? You’re better than that.
But no team has 100% control over their ability to add talent.
I disagree in general (you can always slightly overpay and get something resembling what you want/need); and I disagree in specific–the Twins had 100 percent control over whether or not they acquired Bradford.
In any case, the point still stands–treating Morneau’s slump and the front office’s ineptitude as similar reasons for the Twins ultimate failure to make the postseason makes for some shoddy and inaccurate analysis.
Sorry if someone already covered this. I didn’t read every post but Bradford was brutal for the Rays. If the twins would have aquired him he would be the equivilant of a 3.5 million dollar pitching machine. 79 MPH dosen’t get MLB hitters out no matter how goofy your motion is.
“Sane, please, Guardado..reliable? You’re better than that. ”
Guardado before the Twins picked him up -
49 1/3 innings pitched, 1.115 WHIP, 28 SO, 17 BB, 38 hits allowed.
Bradford before the Rays picked him up -
40 1/3 innings pitched, 1.190 WHIP, 13 SO, 7 BB, 41 hits allowed.
Hawkins before the Astros picked him up -
41 innings pitched, 1.439 WHIP, 23 SO, 17 BB, 42 hits allowed.
I don’t remember any other relief pitchers that moved at the deadline - I’m sure someone will remind me of a name I missed. But given the familiarity with Guardado, the fact that they wouldn’t owe him any money this year, and the year he was having, Guardado was probably the best move to make. It just didn’t work out. It happens.
PeteD,
Jon Rauch was traded to the DBacks on July 22 (which I think was post-Neshek)for prospect 2nd baseman.
He was under contract for this year as well. That was one that I wish we had pursued, especially since he was under control for another year.
Chief,
Guardado with Rangers last year:
W-L 3-3
ERA 3.65
Four for four in saves per save opportunity
55 Appearances
28 K 17 BB
I know that doesn’t help your pre-conceived position, so feel free to ignore the information if you like.
similar reasons for the Twins ultimate failure to make the postseason makes for some shoddy and inaccurate analysis.
Well yeah, if you want to compare what COULD’VE happened with what actually did.
Except the problem is what “COULD” have happened has absolutely no basis in reality except for the assumption that it COULD have happened.
Meanwhile everybody else is discussing facts, and what DID happen.
“Jon Rauch was traded to the DBacks on July 22 (which I think was post-Neshek)for prospect 2nd baseman.
He was under contract for this year as well. That was one that I wish we had pursued, especially since he was under control for another year.”
According to Baseball America, Emilio Bonifacio was the 6th highest prospect in the Diamondbacks’ system in 2008. For comparison, the Twins 6th highest prospect in 2008 according to Baseball America was Ben Revere.
Trading someone like that for a Jon Rauch seems like a high price to pay. But maybe it would have been worth it.
Don’t trade anybody. Keep the team intact. The other teams are willing to trade with Twins, however, they only want our young pitching. Sorry, no dice.
If Bonser was hitting mid 90s on the gun back then it is definitely possible he could have a live arm in the bullpen. The only problem is that guys like Daniel Cabrera also throw really hard. Guys like Daniel Cabrera aren’t very good.
Mark,
Its possible to add command and other pitches to existing velocity.
Its harder to add velocity, to existing command and a weak arm.
LEN3, it’s beautiful here. Looked like Joe’s car in the lot, and Derek Lowe is throwing some, with Tommy W and a few others hitting on field 5. Ahhh, it won’t be long now.
But, nothing like last year where I didn’t recognize half the guys. I want a new face or two!
Oh, the new scoreboard for Hammond is supposed to arrive thursday. It’s a mini of the new scoreboard at the new stadium!
Let’s cut to the chase and address the elephant in the room: Should the Twins sign Manny?
sane-pre-conceived positions.You pretty well described most of the posters on this board.
Play ball!
GENO,
“sane-pre-conceived positions.You pretty well described most of the posters on this board.
Many of the pre-conceived positions on this board cannot be categorized as sane.
Of course they should vikestrike. But they never will. So that takes care of that.
Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreau are two other guys out there who’d be nice pick-ups. But at this point, I don’t know where you’d play them.
Sheets won’t be 2/$16m, but even at 2/$20m he’s a deal and then we can trade a youngster for a 3b/ss/rp or put Perkins back in the pen.
I still think Span won’t be nearly as good as he was in 08 and should be moved for a 3b. I think ATL could still use a CF; is Kelly Johnson too poor a fielder to put at 3b?
I see Carl is still pulling the strings from the grave in the Gagne deal. Gagne’s agent calls Smith’s bluff and agrees to the Twins offer and Smith pulls it off the table. What a clown… The front office is a joke.
The stunning thing about this free-agent market isn’t that there are still about 100 players without jobs, it’s that at least a dozen of the unemployed are excellent players in their prime.
It isn’t just patient all-time great Manny Ramirez who’s available, but enough All-Stars and stars to form their own very good team.
A dynamic lineup could be constructed with outfielders Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn and Garret Anderson, second baseman Orlando Hudson, shortstop Orlando Cabrera, third baseman Joe Crede and catcher Jason Varitek joining Ramirez. A very solid rotation would be formed with Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland (EDITOR’S NOTE: Garland agreed to a deal with Arizona after press time) and Braden Looper. And Juan Cruz, one of the best set-up men in baseball, remains available, as well. If you play Dunn at first, all that’s missing are a center fielder and a closer.
Beyond all the current stars, there are several Hall-of-Famers-to-be with their hands out. Some think Jeff Kent’s retirement was hastened by this awful market. Kenny Rogers looks likely to call it quits, and others might, too.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of action on all-time great Ken Griffey Jr., or for that matter, sure Hall of Famer Frank Thomas. Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Moises Alou, Ivan Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra are among other former greats still available. It’s like a Who’s Who of 1990s baseball out there.
But it’s not only aging players who are wondering where their next paycheck is coming from. Plenty of players in their prime and even a few coming off 40-homer, 100-RBI or 14-win seasons are still seeking employment.
It looks like the Rangers are scouting Crede as well. If they happen to sign him, then Michael Young will absolutely be available. LEN III, any chance the Twins are still interested in trading for Young? If so, what would it take - the Rangers need bullpen help and that isn’t exactly our deep spot right now. And further, does that do anything for us since we’d still have a need at 3B (yes, I know Punto would be handed the keys at 3B).
LEN III (or anyone)?
Sorry if someone already posted this, but I thought it was an interesting perspective on locking up Kubel:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3866726&name=Neyer_Rob
Also, a little surprised Hinske never entered the Twins 3B radar. From the sound of it here in Pittsburgh, the Pirates have high hopes for him backing up LaRoche.
