Back when it was a novelty to win the division
Posted on June 8th, 2007 – 8:58 AMBy Howard
The Twins open a three-game series tonight against Washington and shortstop Cristian Guzman will return to the Metrodome — batting .319 with a .365 on-base percentage in 29 games. In the churning world of player movement, it’s already easy to forget that Guzman was the team’s shortstop who bridged the end of the troubled years and the beginning of the more successful ones (1999-2004). In the field, he was a spectacular play waiting to happen (and sometimes an easy one waiting to be missed) but overall he provided much more good than bad for the Twins in his six seasons in Minnesota.
Guzman signed a four-year contract with Washington after the 2004 season and was terrible in 2005, with a .219 average that made his detractors smirk. He missed all of last season with a shoulder injury but seems to have healed. Last week, he got the 1,000th hit of his career.
Look around the AL Central and see the inconsistencies that other teams have at shortstop (Detroit excluded) — where expectations are understandably high — and Guzman’s years with the Twins should be all the more appreciated. For further proof, look at the struggles of the 2005 Twins, where the unholy trinity of Juan Castro, struggling rookie Jason Bartlett and then-utility player Nick Punto played the position in that season-without-a-postseason.
Sure, Guzman sometimes looked like he was giving less than 100 percent and the Twins never got a fix on the shoulder troubles that seemed to dog him from time to time after his All-Star appearance in 2001. But not every shortstop can bring the perceived flawlessness of Jeter or Ripken to the position — and Ozzie Smith kind of made it tougher for everyone with his magic.
I’m looking forward to seeing Guzman return and hope he’s greeted with the affection of a long-lost friend.
22 Responses to "Back when it was a novelty to win the division"
Why not play Mauer in Left Field? That is less demanding physcially, but he is still ” moving around” during the game and we add a 300 hitter back into the line up in Redmond? Too proud to play in left?
Howard, what about Tony Batista? He’s coming back this weekend too. (LOL)
I bet Guzie hits a triple and Batista goes deep.
Do you think the current PA announcer will give him the “Christian Gooooooozman” treatment? That’d be fun.
Ryan said in a recent interview, “Jason Bartlett makes plays that Cristian Guzman wouldn’t dream of making.” I guess it’s all relative, and compared to Pat Meares and Juan Castro, Guzzy has good range. But I won’t miss his running just fast enough to get his glove within six inches of balls as they dribble into center field.
cmath:
Guzman’s range factor per nine innings in 2004: 4.65
Bartlett’s in 2006: 4.39
Bartlett’s in 2007: 4.55
Guzman’s 2007 RF/9 is 3.65, but I’m doing a then-and-now comparison. In 2007, I’d rather have Bartlett at shortstop than Guzman. I think TR is lovin’ the one he’s with instead of entertaining wistful memories of what used to be.
Ryan said in a recent interview, “Jason Bartlett makes plays that Cristian Guzman wouldn’t dream of making.”
He really said that? I like Bartlett and all, but I think Guzman was the superior fielder before the shoulder injury. He made a lot of very difficult plays look very easy with his speed and slick glove. Bartlett makes the difficult plays look difficult, but he’s not getting to more balls.
I’m not sure there’s enough difference between the two for it to really matter which one you’ve got in the field. They both are capable of making (and do make) some very difficult plays at SS… and they’re both capable of booting too many routine plays.
Where there is no contest between the two is in the paycheck. I don’t have salary figures at my fingertips, but I’m sure it’s not difficult to look them up, then tell me whether you’d rather have Bartlett at his pricetag or Guzman at his.
JC,
This season, Bartlett is handling about one more chance per game. That’s statistically significant.
Guzman is making $4.2 million this year; Bartlett $410,000.
The Twins can write this season off. The only way they could have repeated was if the rest of the division and league did nothing to improve. Unfortunately, everyone else improved.
Third place and ten games over .500 will be an accomplishment.
Bartlett is a bust, in the field, at the plate, and in his head. Punto needs to learn there’s no designated fielder position, where you don’t have to bat. There’s no reason to waste more precious time (Santana’s contract and career) on these two.
They should play the boys, Casillo and Rodriguez, for development, if not to give everyone hope and make ballgames fun.
I’m tired of watching this team struggle because of a sub-mediocre shortstop and third baseman, two of the worst infielders in MLB.
Wow, Tim. So the two guys who were a main part of what saved the season last year are the reason we’re bad? Are you sure?
It was Punto and Bartlett who made our infield one of the best in the game last year. Sure, they’re not going to give us the offense that Jeter/A-Rod or Guillen/Inge do, but they’ll prevent a lot of runs from scoring.
Maybe the reason they’re struggling is because they believe the fans who seem to think they’re terrible and need to be different players in order to make any kind of contribution.
Just give these guys a break, let them play, and have some fun. As most baseball players will say, they’re getting paid to play a GAME. What’s not to love about that? And from the perspective of a fan, it is still a GAME. No need to get all worked up about it; it’s supposed to be fun.
Yes, Sean, I agree somewhat. They were two very good supporting players (not a main part) in 2006. But 2006 may have been a “career year” for each of them. Bartlett and Punto have had breaks all season, and have been allowed to play, despite slumps.
Pitchers like Santana come along once, maybe twice each generation. Do you really think he’ll re-sign with an organization backing him up with no offense, a defensive gap at shortstop (of all places) and little chance at getting World Series champion rings?
What about Morneau and Mauer? Are their career prospects any better with Barteltt and Punto as regulars?
I’d like to see the younger players brought in. Give them the opportunity these two have had. They’re exciting young players with excellent, team oriented attitudes. And I belive Punto and Castillo would be great influences on them.
I have no concept of how anyone can say Bartlett is a liability at SS. He is playing his first full year in the majors and a few errors don’t mean he should be cut. I am always amazed at how negative some Twins fans are at their own team.
If you don’t like it go watch the Yankees, oh wait, they are no better. Maybe you can pretend to be a fan of whichever team has the best record at any given week. I hear Boston always welcomes band wagon jumpers.
Twins fans should have nothing but found memories of the entire group of departed players who brought the organization back from the dead which includes Guzman, Rivas (yes, Luis too), Koskie, Dougie Baseball, Jacque, Mays, etc… Does anyone remember how much of a joke the Twins used to be (in what we’ll call the contraction era)?
Thanks for providing the comparative salary figures, Howard. So it’s really just a matter of a decimal point. No big deal, eh? I won’t contest what you feel is or isn’t statistically significant on their comparative fielding chances… I was just saying that purely from observation of Bartlett and my memory of Guzman, they seemed to be pretty comparable defensively.
As for Tim’s comments… wow… what a difference a year makes. Last year everyone was beating up Gardy and Ryan for making Bartlett cool his heels in Rochester and now he’s washed up. Tough crowd. And with regard to whether Santana will resign with Minnesota, I’m just guessing here, but he might look around and figure his chances of getting that Championship Ring might be better with an organization that has consistently made the playoffs and has a couple of the brightest young offensive stars in the league, not to mention potentially one of the best young pitching staffs. If he leaves, it won’t be because Bartlett is his shortstop.
You want to see “younger players brought in” and given the opportunity Bartlett and Punto have had? They’ve had their “jobs” at SS and 3B for exactly one year… and if you honestly don’t think they were a main part of the 2006 turnaround, you REALLY weren’t paying attention to what was going on at SS and 3B in April and May last year. Morneau gets all the credit for jumpstarting the Twins, and he deserves much of it, but Bartlett and Punto’s insertion in to the lineup WERE critical and the Twins don’t make the playoffs last year, no matter HOW good Morneau was, if the left side of the infield hadn’t changed hands… literally.
Yes, this team could use another bat with some power. But suggesting we have young players ready to move up to replace Punto and Bartlett is just wrong.
Howard: You are probably right. I was surprised when I heard Ryan say that (on Gordo’s Sunday GM call-in show the Sunday before Memorial Day). I think Bartlett has more range up the middle and Guzy was a little better in the hole. But his arm was damaged goods and his price tag was about to jump, so it was a good move, except Bartlett broke through a year and a half later than Ryan expected. The transition with Castro was painful.
TFT: It’s tough to say a guy had a career year when it wasn’t even his first full year in the majors. He has struggled with the routine play, but he’s a very good fielding shortstop overall. And he leads the league in line drive percentage, which means he has hit a lot of balls hard right at people. Give him a full year in the majors before you pronounce him a bust.
I can’t see how people are ready to write off Bartlett. This is only his second year in the majors, his first full season. SS is not our biggest problem, and I don’t think there is any reason to give up on Bartlett (or Kubel). Punto and Tyner and Ford, otoh….
Valid points by everyone, so I’ll lighten up and apologise for blowing steam during a frustrating season thus far.
An improvement over the earlier situation, but no one can deny the lack of offense from SS (& 3rd) and the poor defense at SS in 2007.
We can only see how Bartlett performs the rest of the season, and whether last year’s performance at bat and in the field was long-term.
There are only a handful of shortstops in either league that put up high offensive numbers, as baseball history shows any offensive production form the middle infield positions is a bonus, if you are looking for offensive upgades by position then you need to look at DH,3B and a liitle bit at LF although
Kubel seems to be coming around. The Twins have neglected the DH since Chili Davis played in 91 and 3B since Koskie left SS is not 1 of our offensive concerns nor should it be. The Twins should go after D.Young or S.Sosa or W.M. Pena to play DH, because finding a 3B will be hard to do unless the could pry pedro Filiec from San Fransico.
Bartlett was in a bit of a mental slump, and asked Castillo for advice. Last year, he needed some MLB time off before he “found himself” completely.
But he cares, and is trying.
He also LEADS THE MAJOR LEAGUES in line-drive average, but is hitting ‘em at people.
Patience, people…….
As for Punto, we’ve had the discussion already. Punto was in the top 10 in the AL for cumulative season totals last August and the first half of September in OBP.
He’s had his slump this year, and now is getting better. More adjustment to come. It’s all part of the 6-month process we call the MLB season.
Kubel recently made his adjustment, getting a new bat. He’s looking better.
All this inane bitching is useless….
EXCEPT, we still don’t have a DH; and Ford is still on the team.
I love Loooooooo, but I’m afraid he’s out of bright ideas. No adjustment possible this year.
I have a soft spot for Guzman. I love seeing triples, and he so many of them. Remember in 2000 when he was threatening to shatter the modern day triple mark, and ended up with the franchise best 20 three baggers
Guzman was a great player during his heyday here. No one was more exciting. Anyone else remember the inside the park home run he “hit,” I believe against the White Sox, by bunting one down the third-base line and having the 3B throw it away? Most exciting play I’ve ever seen. Things work out how they work out and I’d rather have Bartlett for sure. But I hope Guzzy, who helped bring this team back from (literally) extinction, gets a nice ovation tonight.
To Joe Twins: Our current PA announcer doesn’t get very excited when the Twins bat, so I don’t think Guzy will get the old Guuuuz…man. I wish Bob Casey’s son Mike would have taken the PA job.
The new guy Aaron sucks.
