Sometimes it’s a good thing there are distractions
Posted on April 27th, 2008 – 11:38 PMBy Howard
First of all, let me refer back to my last post for a moment and let everyone know how happy I am that the Twins didn’t use Joe Nathan on Friday so he’d be available to close out the remaining games of the Texas series. I’m sure glad he got to pitch the eighth inning Sunday and I’m sure the Rangers felt good knowing they increased their lead from 9-0 to 10-0 off him.
For the Twins, it was a good weekend for many of us to be distracted by the NFL draft so that much of the baseball they played was conducted pretty much below radar. I mean, how much anguish can you feel toward a baseball game when the Vikings, of all teams, are drafting a quarterback and people call to ask whether the headlines in the next day’s edition will be something like “Vikings (of all teams!) grab Booty” and making Booty call jokes and your newspaper’s octogenarian sports columnist is thug-walking around the office pretending to be Bubba Sparkxxx.*
So this is probably a good time for a day off. When the next one comes around on Thursday, after a couple of games against the White Sox, I hope we won’t need it so bad.
other people are here too
(*That thing about Sid, I made it up.)
53 Responses to "Sometimes it’s a good thing there are distractions"
I’m glad to hear you made that part about Sid up, because, if true, that would have been TERRIFYING.
I’m sure that T will come in here and correct me and tell me how it’s never anyone’s fault but all 12 hitters, but Joe Vavra needs to be fired, and they need to take a pile of bats, and some gasoline with Vavra’s jersey, and sacrifice it at home plate to the baseball gods so that this team can learn how to hit. We need an offensive shake up of biblical proportions.
Personally, as crazy as it sounds… next line up would look like this just to get my point across to the players how they needed to get their heads right.
ss Tolbert
ca Mauer
lf Young
1b Morneau
rf Cuddyer
dh Kubel
2b Harris
3b Buscher
cf Gomez
I would replace Vavra with someone from outside the organization, and even though it might rub some people the wrong way… It would be a clear sign that the team realizes the problem, and it could be used as a motivational tool.
I still like the idea of bringing in someone who either knows about hitting for power, or better yet someone who understands how to draw a walk.
There is no other way to win in the majors than to have a great OB%. Teams that have players on base constantly especially through walks can score cuns in bunches without homers, and the Twins haven’t much power so it’s the only way that they would succeed Right now Tolbert and Mauer are the only two that have shown a great eye at the plate while Morneau has improved his plate coverage something fierce, he still needs to keep working on using left center field, and not trying to pull off speed pitches that are low and outside.
But Vavra is Dutch Elm Disease, just like Dick Such was worse than a torn rotator cuff for the pitching staff in the Kelly years.
It is no coincidence that the Twins started winning once Such was gone… they just might start hitting once Vavra is gone… no more of this Tony Oliva philosophy… it worked good for him, but it’s a lousy way to approach the game when pitchers are on a pitch count… make them use up all their pitches… wear them out… it’s the only way to be successful. Hell I never played minor league ball… I am qualified to be the next hitting instructor with the team guys… come on hire me. At least I have a background in phsychology, medical, and training… and hate me all they want I don’t think anyone can argue that I know the game and love the game.
Ah the football draft. Wasn’t too exciting on this end because the Vikings didn’t have any pics until the 2nd and 5th rounds.
But man, to think of the kind of money they blow on that second day. I mean, to tune into the draft at 10 in the morning on Sunday, and hear Mel Kiper (what does he do the other 364 days outta the year) and some other talking head arguing about the validity of picking a tight end over a safety at Pick #123…there’s something so wrong about that.
And good ol’ Kiper. It doesn’t matter how deep into the draft they’ve gotten, he’s still put together his “10 Best Available”.
You gotta wonder at what point in the day does he start pulling names from the hat to fill out his board.
One good thing to come out of all this football news…the Vikings aquire Booty.
It almost makes up for the loss of Dickey by the Twins.
That’s strickly on name-value. I really don’t know much about him ability wise.
I posted this thought on LaVelle’s blog last night, but I’m going back to the well on it this morning…
We had the Frank Thomas debate last week, and it’s water under the dam obviously (and yes, I get it, the Hurt is off to a slow start this year). If you look at Frank’s career numbers and his 06-07 seasons, there can be no argument that he wouldn’t have helped this lineup.
Ok, that setup to get to this–where is Aaron Gleeman’s “Free Jason Kubel” campaign standing now?
What we have now, through nearly a month, is the same Jason Kubel we’ve always had–a .247 hitter on pace for about 18 HR. That will find your way into a major league lineup, but it’s not the type of player we need to move Heaven and Earth to make room for…
As far as the other problems the Twins have currently; they are so vast and were so exposed over the weekend that I don’t even know where to start…
Gladden and John Gordon spent oodles of time on-air yesterday slicing and dicing the Texas Rangers, including Padilla, all while the Rangers were mopping the floor with the Twins while our supposed “Ace” was on the mound…the down and out Twinkies couldn’t even manage to spoil a shutout and take some late inning offensive pride back home with them.
Lesson: Perhaps before we take countless cheap shots at others and pat ourselves on the back for how great the “Twins way” is, we maybe should take a step back and see where we could improve.
Jason, I don’t think anybody ever considered Livan the Twins’ ace.
His role as Opening Day starter means nothing in that regards either. I don’t think Livan was handed opening day until after Baker went down.
His role is to pitch deep into games and take pressure off the bullpen (his success at that is a different discussion). He’s struggled in his last two outings, and depending on how he continues to perform (and depending on if our rotation can stay healthy…or in the case of Liriano get healthy), then he’ll likely be thanked for his time and shown the door by the end of June.
My concern at the moment is with Baker hurt again, Liriano struggling, and Slowey still on the DL (or is he eligible/ready to come back?)…the pressure may be back on the bullpen even if Livan can go 7 innings every start.
As far as your Thomas argument Jason, at the beginning of the year I wouldn’t have argued with picking him up to put a veteran pressence in the lineup. But as it stands now, Kubel is hitting better than Thomas
Yes, Thomas was a better hitter in the past, but so was White…so was Monroe. But a sturggling offense shouldn’t go and sign a guy who’s hitting below .200 just because he hit well before.
Because isn’t that essentially the “lightning in a bottle” mentality that got the team into its current mess?
T you lose ALL credibility when you compare Frank Thomas to Rondell White or Craig Monroe….check the numbers…I know it’s a lot easier to make woefully distant and unrelated comparisons off the top of your head, but I urge you to actually take a look at what I am talking about:
Thomas in ‘07:
.277 / 26 HR / 95 RBI
Thomas in ‘06:
.270 / 39 HR / 114 RBI
And bear in mind, he had both of these season AFTER the White Sox tried to convince everyone that he was ALREADY washed up…to put Rondell White and Craig Monroe in his category is an insult to the future HOF’er…
And the Twins’ problems go a lot deeper than Jason Kubel, obviously, but I am simply pointing out that it, once again, appears that Gardy handled him the right way and it is no great tragedy that he hasn’t been in there everyday, as we have the same stuff we’ve always had
Jason
Thomas’ ‘07 numbers aren’t THAT much better than we can hope for from Kubel, especially if he continues to decline like he did from ‘06 to ‘07.
Maybe Kubel isn’t good for 30 dingers, but lets see how the post-roids era plays out before we get too excited. 18 HRs won’t get him any MVP votes, but it is decent production for a DH who can also play in the field.
T you lose ALL credibility when you compare Frank Thomas to Rondell White or Craig Monroe…
The comparison I’m making in those cases is a player that was showing signs of decline that the Twins aquired, and then didn’t do anything but struggle.
This team needs a bigger change offensively than just going out and getting Thomas. If one is of the opinion that this team is once again “Just a bat away”, would it be worth it to take a chance on a guy who’s hitting below .200 at the moment? When the Jays released him, would it have been worth it to sign the guy and hang your offensive hopes on his shoulders?
And yes, Oakland must have seen some value because they went and signed him. However, the Rangers went out and signed Ponson for some reason…a guy the Twins dumped like a sack of bricks.
We had this discussion when contracts were being signed in the offseason. Just because a guy gets a certain contract doesn’t mean it he was worth the contract. It just means the one team valued him more than the other 31.
Heck, there was a time I felt the Twins would benefit (offensively) from signing Bonds, though they may take a hit in the media.
But now that he’s got prison time hanging over his head (and the fact he hasn’t played ball since last season), I think it’d be again too risky to put your offensive hopes on the shoulder’s of a guy who could wind up in jail.
I was being distracted by a Guinness Steak Boxty and several Smithwicks at O’Dowd’s in Kansas City… can’t say I’m terribly sorry I missed the game. Sure glad I didn’t pass on the trip to the pub just to stay in my hotel room and watch that fiasco.
That TX game Sunday was painful. Still the Twins are in 3rd, 3.5 games from the lead.
The one positive thing about this season is that the Twins are much better in division games (which with the unbalanced schedule are a key to division titles.)
This team can turn it around and compete. Frankly, I can live with 10-0 blowouts every third day, if they win the other 2 games. I think that this is a pivotal season for some of the young players (Kubel, Bonser, Crain) which will determine whether they should fit in the long term plans of the club.
Should be a pivotal season for the manager and coaching staff also. There have been a series of managing mistakes, from not having a consistent line-up (Mauer bats 2nd or 3rd?), to keeping pitchers in for too long, to falling in love with the hit and run, even thought the batter in the box is a strikeout thread (Harris, Kubel, Young), starting overmatched batters ,while better players are warming the bench, etc etc etc.
T–
First, I wasn’t born yesterday…I understand the pros and cons of picking up a guy late in his career versus developing younger players…the Twins have had their share of both scenarios through the years…
But in addressing Frank Thomas specifically, your argument fails when you throw out names like R. White, C. Monroe, and now the laughably unrelated case of Sidney Ponson…again, we know there are risks involved, but Thomas’ 19-year track record was pretty solid and yes, 26 HR and 95 RBI is something I would be very interested in, considering Kubel only went yard 13 times last year….Thomas also takes a ton of walks…
It is much less frustrating to lose 10-0 to the Rangers now that it would have been in 2007. Or 2005.
Jason, I don’t want Frank Thomas on the Twins because 1) he is a malcontent, (which could theoretically influence impressionable young players like Gómez and Young), and 2) this isn’t the year to shore up weak spots with hopes of contending. No matter what the standings, the Twins are not contenders this year, and they should be using those at bats to see what Kubel, et al. can do before poor performance can really hurt title hopes.
Perhaps Kubel is as bad as you make him out to be, perhaps he is as good as his pre-injury minor league stats projected him to be. We STILL don’t know his ceiling. Either way, I think it is wise for the Twins to find out before wasting at-bats on someone who won’t be around for the new stadium.
I think we should all be a little bit more concerned about Liriano. Questions about his focus, dedication, and work ethic are all a lot scarier than not locating his fastball, in my opinion.
Or we could talk about firing Joe Vavra some more.
I agree, this is no season to sign guys that have a year or two left in them. They need to see what some of these younger players can/cannot do.
Thomas may or may not help them this year, but they just aren’t real contenders, so why get 3-5 more wins by signing him (if that many), when you could see what Kubel really has in him (so you can know if you need to go get another DH or not).
None of this really matters until they have a functional 3B, SS, LF, CF anyway.
Who’s offense is worse, that led by TJack and Bevell, or that led by Gomez and Gardy?
Whiteness…
The malcontent thing…I’m not even going there…we can’t pretend like every personality we bring into the clubhouse is a choir boy…
As for Kubel, he’s one of our best hitters as is at the moment (sadly), but for the love of God, when are we going to stop citing his minor league, pre-knee surgery stats, as an indication of future performance…that’s like saying we have to bring back Lew Ford because he hit .299 in 2004.
All I’m saying is it’s funny how the more time passes, the more things stay the same, and this “Free Jason Kubel” nonsense may have been much ado about nothing. We’ve freed him; he’s a .247 hitter with marginal power at best…perfect in the 7 hole in any MLB lineup, except the Twins, where he ought to be batting 3rd (instead of a 6′5 singles hitter)
Plus, do I hear everyone right…are we giving up on this season, already?
Only in baseball can you be 3 games out of first in the first month of the season and the fan base declare the season is over…
he’s a .247 hitter with marginal power at best…perfect in the 7 hole in any MLB lineup, except the Twins, where he ought to be batting 3rd (instead of a 6?5 singles hitter)”
A .247 hitter should be in the 3-hole instead of a .347 hitter (in 2006).
Hell, its only 100 points!
I guess the “marginal power” is the perk I am overlooking.
sid…another guy who wants to live in the past…
Mauer’s avg. hasn’t been .347 since September 2006
But we don’t dare shift our 7 HR, 60 RBI Golden Boy from the mighty throne of the 3-hole in the lineup, now do we?
Jason
Check out that link in JoeC’s latest blog entry. There were some interesting comments from scouts about Thomas’ bat speed.
Booty has the right attitude to be a great QB for the Vikes.
You want your QB to be “cheeky”.
Sorry, that was awful!
Geez, I give you all a link to Bubba Sparkxxx and all you do is wanna take about baseball.
Jason,
Forget the past.
Mauer is over .300 today!!
Kubel is .247 today!!
Kubel is below .273 forever!!
Kubel is .263 lifetime!!
Mauer is .313 lifetime!!
Whats 50 points?
There must be some .213 hitter somewhere that can replace Kubel.
…that’s like saying we have to bring back Lew Ford because he hit .299 in 2004.
Weren’t you the same Jason who last year who regularily complained that Ford wasn’t getting enough play time?
Geez, I give you all a link to Bubba Sparkxxx and all you do is wanna take about baseball.
I’d love to talk about Sparxxx, but I’m worried all those X’s might fire off some red-alert here at the office.
I should add that I’d have no similiar concerns discussing the comparitive value of Dickey vs. Booty.
…
Can the Wild pick up Finger and Foote from the Avs while we’re at it?
Jason,
I wasn’t saying that Kubel will turn into David Ortiz. But I’m not saying he is a bust either. It is important he has the opportunity to show what he can do before the Twins make a decision on his future. That is the point.
And it is somewhat disingenuous to call Kubel a .247 hitter with marginal power at the one-month-into-the-season mark. He has had some lows (post-Red Sox grand slam 2006) and some highs (last two months of last season), and he has the possibility of being an important cog in the Twins still squeaky machine.
I’m more worried about Delmon Young and Carlos Gómez’ development… and Alexi Casilla, who has dropped off the face of the earth. Let’s hope Casilla doesn’t turn into Luis Rivas the Redux, because a (focused) 1-2 of Gómez and Casilla would be RIDICULOUS at the top of the lineup.
im not nor have i ever been all that jacked up on kubel…he has always been overrated as far as im concerned and should probably be traded away as he is just a poor mans mauer, much poorer….we already have one too many that grounds out to 2nd if and when he hits it to the rt side of the ballpark ..the weakest 300 hitter ive ever seen - weak, dink flares to left field…..come on joe…get up and hit the damn ball…make grandpa proud….
you’re right, Whiteness…
Kubel is a .263 career hitter with 26 HR in 787 career ABs…
but I guess I would rather have him than a future HOF’er…
Plus, who said the Oakland A’s were destined to contend this year? Weren’t they supposed to be in rebuilding mode, too…yet they seemed to think it would be a good idea to add something to their lineup.
Kubel could be as good as Ortiz
This week-ends draft gave me some reprieve from the debacle that is the 08 twins
The Vikes looked like they were headed in the right direction finally!!!
Then I remembered Childress is our coaqch and THE NEXT THING I HEAR IS THAT HE PASSED ON HENNE AND BROHM THEN DRAFTED BOOTY…….BOOTY IS WHAT HIS NAME SAYS HE IS BOOTY!
WORST QUARTERBACK SINCE RYAN LEIF
“Kubel could be as good as Ortiz”
shameless…you and Gleeman need to sit in a room with a Coors Light and “vent”
i would replace kubel with a mike sweeney in a heartbeat and with josh hamilton in less than a heartbeat….those 2 are professional hitters…
What’s your point on the Ford thing, T?
I stand by everything I ever wrote about the guy….it wouldn’t have been an issue (getting him playing time), had Kubel / Rondell White / Jason Tyner done anything remotely close to what they were supposed to do last year….
Of that magical left field platoon, we have Tyner back in the minors, we have Ford struggling in Japan, we have R. White weakly sinking into retirement, fresh off his Mitchell Report outing, and we have Kubel, who many of you still think is going to be an All-Star based on nothing more than what he did in the minor leagues 5 years and major knee-surgery ago…
But that has nothing to do with our Golden Boy, who should NOT be batting third…is that obvious to everyone but Gardy, or am I the one not getting it?
They started the year with him in the 2-hole and he moved to 3 when Cuddy got hurt…now Cuddy and his mediocrity is back…why doesn’t he reassume the 3-hole…personally, I’m not seeing anything out of Brendan Harris which tells me he needs to be up near the top of the lineup…
Well, I take that back on Harris…he does lead the team with a .360 OBP….and he’s hitting over .300….
Still, Mauer is not a 3-hitter…
But that has nothing to do with our Golden Boy, who should NOT be batting third…is that obvious to everyone but Gardy, or am I the one not getting it?
I liked Mauer 2nd, but I was also in the camp that felt Young should hit third. I’d hate to think how this offense may have stuggled considering Young’s current troubles at the plate.
I don’t know why Cuddyer’s not back in the 3-hole. But it’d be nice to see Mauer get back into the 2nd spot. It seemed to be working for the week or so before Cuddy went down.
By the end of the year I’d like to hope that Young’s hitting well enough to take over #3 permanently. Cuddyer will do just fine behind Morneau.
brendan harris seems to be the best hitter we have right now …the most consistent….mauer should be hitting down in the 6,7,8 slot somewhere….
gomez cf
harris 2b
cuddy rf
morny 1b
yooung lf
kubel dh monroe
mauer c
lamb 3b
tolbert ss
“our Golden Boy, who should NOT be batting third…is that obvious to everyone but Gardy, or am I the one not getting it?”
Jason, its YOU not getting it.
On a team with a legit#3, Mauer would bat #2.
On the Twins, with no other options at #3, and with Harris doing well at #2, Mauer has to be #3.
If you still don’t get it, Gardy is smarter than you. (at least on this subject)
keep dreaming mj1…
Mauer isn’t going to be anywere but 1-2-3…heck, he could bat lead-off; that would be fine…Mauer and Harris do lead us in OBP….just not 3…
He was up in RBI spots again Sat. and Sun. and couldn’t get the job done…it’s time to scratch the idea of Mauer as a 3, until he can prove that he is an RBI threat and an extra base threat….
“Mauer has to be #3″?
How do you figure, sid?
Jason Kubel (who I’ve been mocking all day) is a much better run producer than Mauer…thus, he should bat third over Mauer…and if not him, it should be Cuddy or Young…
Though I don’t agree with Mauer batting that low, it’d be interseting to see Gardy shake up the lineup a bit.
Perhaps drop Gomez in the bottom third and move Harris leadoff. Mauer 2nd, Young/Cuddy 3rd and Morneau in 4th.
Just try something different and see what happens.
I should add that moving Young to 3rd ahead of Morneau would likely improve the pitches he sees. Or at least one would hope that’s the case.
mj1,
How many .230-.260 hitters do you want to get more AB than Mauer, a .305 hitter?
Gomez,Cuddy,Young and Kubel.
Murderers Row.
What makes you think that Mauer is not a good run producer? I always assumed that his lack of RBI’s probably had more to do with out machines being ahead of him in the lineup than anything he was doing wrong.
What the hell were we thinking?
What is absolutely crucial and irreplacable for a kick-ASS offense?
BOOTY!!!!!
You can’t do without it.
How could we not see this coming?
mauer’s lack of rbi production may be more, or may not be his ability to hit into double plays. last yr he hit into 11 about 3% of his ab’s this yr he already has 6 and is 2nd in the league. may not mean anything but could be because of our hitting ground balls coaching style.
brendan harris seems to be the best hitter we have right now
there are a couple of issues with Harris in the 2 spot:
a. he is slow, thus prone to the DP
b. he strikes out a lot, thus prone to a strikeout when Gardy calls those hit and runs (and he seems to do that a lot with Harris up there lately)
Harris is a fine hitter… but he should probably bat 7th in this lineup.
I agree with sane.
…BOOTY!
How many Booty calls will happen in the 3rd quarter next season? (I hope not many)
If you want to talk football, I think that the steal of the draft for the Vikes this season will be a guy who they didn’t even drafted, but signed as a free agent: Darius Reynaud out of West Virginia. He could be a great kick/punt returner and could do some things in the 4 receiver scheme.
thrylos98,
I think you may be right.
Every game when T-Jack starts with a couple of incomplete passes, the fans will start the Booty-calls.
If he doesn’t get hot by the second quarter, everyone in the stands will be making Booty-calls at halftime.
By the fourth quarter, everyone in the Dome will be screaming “We want BOOTY!!”
Thats a lot of pressure for T-Jack to deal with.
Not good for the Vikings.
By the fourth quarter, everyone in the Dome will be screaming “We want BOOTY!!”
Best. Chant. Ever.
T,
That chant is so uplifting that the Dome will be rocking with “WE WANT BOOTY!!”, even if T-Jack is 20 for 20 with six touchdowns!
T,
I want to invest in the “I WANT BOOTY”
t-shirt business in Minnesota.
Whoever starts that enterprise will become a rich man!
If you wear an “I WANT BOOTY” t-shirt, no one will know whether you are a Viking fan or just horny.
I’m waiting for the first headline that reads: “Exhausted Booty Out of Gas”
… had Kubel / Rondell White / Jason Tyner done anything remotely close to what they were supposed to do last year….
Jason, I would just like to point out that Tyner hit .286 for us last year and only one error - also let’s not forget his beautiful homerun… What more, exactly, were you expecting of him?
In honor of future Viking’s starting QB John David Booty I quote the classic movie “The adventure’s of Ford Fairlane”
“Booty Time, Booty Time across the USA.
Booty Time, Booty Time hey hey hey…………….
