Coming home: Evolution of the lineup
Posted on June 16th, 2008 – 6:56 AMBy Howard
Somehow the Twins managed to lose seven of the 10 games they played on their road trip and return home only 4 1/2 games out of first place — even though they were swept by the team ahead of them, the White Sox, to open their time away. Cleveland and Detroit have used recent days to squeeze the middle of the division together, and they now trail the Twins by 1 and 2 games respectively.
Meanwhile, you get the feeling that significant changes are being made and that the Twins of the final 92 games will be pretty different from the team that opened the season. Three-quarters of the infield — everyone except Morneau, obviously — seems on the way to be made over. (Not to be confused with the three-quarters of the infield that was made over between the end of ‘07 and the start of ‘08.) I know that Gardy says that Mike Lamb is “in the mix” at third base, but when the younger players have the chance to outperform him and be part of the team’s future, there’s little logical reason — sudden hot streak aside — for him to play instead of Buscher, Macri, Harris (if Everett returns to shortstop) and Tolbert (when he gets healthy). I’m not hearing anyone asking breathlessly when Everett is going to return, and I think the Twins (and quite possibly Everett) would be more than happy to keep him on the disabled list — with a wink and a nod — until he’s 200 percent healthy.
Whether Casilla is the long-tern answer at shortstop or second base, I don’t know and I’m not going to debate right now. Suffice to say that Harris, despite his limited range, seems more comfortable at shortstop. I’d be interested to see what he looks like at third because I think he’s a better hitter than he’s shown and I think he could be a valuable utility player/part-time starter down the road.
If I could make everyone healthy right now, the six infielders I’d choose are Morneau, Casilla, Harris, Buscher, Lamb and Punto.
Tolbert and Macri could stand to hone their skills more at Rochester. I know that everyone loves Tolbert, but the Twins aren’t going to release Lamb and he should offer a hint of power on the bench. I’d rather have Tolbert and Macri play every day in the minors. Punto would own the needed late-inning glove on the bench.
For the record, last year I was responding to the late-season excitement about Buscher by pointing out that he’s defense was suspect in the minors and he looked absolutely terrible during his major-league time at third. He made four errors in only 52 chances last season and didn’t get to other balls that seemed reachable.
The numbers this season are too minimal for any kind of comparison. But buzz during spring training was about how hard he’d been working on his defensive skills, something that I heard echoed during a trip to the Metrodome a couple weeks back. The talk reminded me of Corey Koskie, who went from being a defensive liability in his early days to a solid third baseman. Whether that talk is cheap — yes, I remember what “they” were saying about Liriano’s off-season workouts in the Dominican Republic — I don’t know. But I’d rather see him out there and find out than continue the Lamb thing for now.
One other thing I’m wondering about is the Delmon Young situation. Gardy didn’t start him in four of the 10 road-trip games. Gardy can talk all he wants about giving Kubel and Monroe more at-bats, but (without any inside knowledge whatsoever — remember this is a “fan blog”) it seems like a decision of some sort has been made about the best way to bring Delmon along. And automatically sticking him in the lineup has become a thing of the past.
My baseball watching was minimal over the weekend and the box scores say that Delmon got six hits in the Friday and Saturday games at Milwaukee. By the time I started watching Saturday, he was done hitting for the night, so this remains an unconfirmed rumor in my world. (I did see his unfortunate at-bat in the 12th inning Saturday, when he feebly grounded out on the first pitch after the previous two batters had walked.) Whatever the case, I’m interested to see how that one shakes out, all the more considering that Kubel has hit a homer run in every other game he’s played lately, has 23 percent of the Twins’ home-run total for the season and is second on the team in RBI.
Note that I haven’t said a word about the pitching. Suffice to say that inconsistency seems to be the hobgoblin of young, promising arms and Livan simply needs to get his numbers looking better than a beer league softballer’s. If I start turning over that issue right now, I’ll be late for work.
other people are here too
143 Responses to "Coming home: Evolution of the lineup"
Your opening thought is one of the beacons that can be found in this road trip. How handy that Chicago could rip the Twins apart and then fall flat on their face immediately following. They had a chance to knock the Twins down then give them a few swift kicks, but instead they’ve let them cut the lead in half (despite the Twins winning all of three games on the trip)
Lamb gives hints of power, very true…but he’s yet to show that. And while he’s still a better bench option then last year’s lot, I don’t think many big league pitchers at this point would dread seeing him at the plate.
I agree that Punto still has some value. He’s responded fairly well to limited play time vs. his full time responsibilities last year, and Everett has shown he can’t really do much of anyhting at his age (most unfortunate).
Consistently inconsistent. If anything can describe the Twins this year, that would seem an appropriate phrase. Pitching, hitting, defense…there is just no pattern. Strong starts by young pitchers followed by awful starts from those same pitchers. The bullpen is sensational one night and then blows a lead the next. Great glovework at one moment followed by stupid errors the next (both mental and actual). And the bats? They can string a bunch of singles together to score a lot of runs one day and then get almost completely shut down by some unknown the next. I know that the team approach seems to be to talk up contact and eschew the homerun. But you can look at the recent Baltimore series and then the entire road trip and see that when OTHER teams hit homeruns it actually CAN help to win games.
I don’t know. I’m just a fan and, win or lose, I love the Twins. I’m all for stability in an organization, and I think the Twins should be respected for only having two managers over the last 21 years. But I feel a change in the approach is necessary, and if that can only be gained by replacing the coaching staff, so be it. I’d like to see what someone else could do with this supposedly talented team.
Of course, maybe the players just aren’t as good as we would like to believe. Maybe NO ONE could inspire them to better stats and more wins. Maybe 2006 was an aberration after all.
But wouldn’t it be interesting to find out?
“Of course, maybe the players just aren’t as good as we would like to believe.”
The inconsistencies come from inexperience. You can see it in Gomez, who despite maturing at the plate in most situations will start to regress to his old self the more men you get on base for him.
Young is in his sophomore slump, which is why I’m not panicking at the moment (Morneau and Mauer has the same thing happen going into 06 and especially after they made a name for themselves by becoming MVP and batting champ respectively)
My biggest concerns are Kubel and Cuddyer. I don’t know how much of Cuddyer’s problems stem from his finger injury (I’ve never tried swinging a bat after ripping open my finger, so I dunno how long that takes to readjust), and how much come from being figured out in 06 and being unable to adjust.
Casilla seems to have responded well where he’s at, Kubel has picked up HR production, but apparently at the cost of AVG (a more drastic example of what would happen to Mauer methinks).
Buscher the last few days has stepped it up, but time will tell if he’s just hot right now or ready to play everyday.
If I’m Gardy, I go with Morneau, Casilla, Harris, Buscher in the infield. Young/Monroe/Kubel rotate time in LF (moreso Young/Kubel) while Monroe starts getting more ABs in the DH spot (they need to figure out if they can count on him beyond being a bench option).
Gomez stays in center (he and Morneau are the only guys that haven’t been moved from their spot in the lineup), and Cuddyer gets his playing time in RF (he’s being played too much to not play if he’s healthy).
Who knows, maybe they can use a four-man platoon in the OF of Cuddyer/Young/Kubel/Monroe while Cuddy’s hand heals. It could give each an opportunity to get a few days in DH focusing on their swing.
The left side of the infield is a total cluster right now, but the Twins need to be thinking about ‘09 and beyond.
Mike Lamb has been a complete disaster. He isn’t part of the team’s future, so let him sit unless we need a pinch hitter against a RHP or someone gets hurt.
Harris isn’t an ideal shortstop, but I agree with Howard that he’s a better hitter than what we’ve seen so far. If he gets his bat going, I’m OK with leaving him and bringing in Punto or Tolbert as a defensive replacement as needed.
There’s already a crowd at 3B, which is why I’d be hesitant to add Harris to the mix there. Let Macri and Buscher battle it out.
As for Delmon Young, who knows. I hated the trade when it was made, and hate it even more right now.
My only problem with your approach involves keeping both Lamb and Buscher. They really represent the exact same player- LH bat with some pop, average at best defense at third, and can’t play the middle infield spots…….. and this really limits the options Gardy has later in the game. If Buscher were healthy I’d encourage seeing if you could move Lamb in a trade. A Buscher/Macri platoon seems like a better solution now, and helps you better understand what you have to build on in the future.
The main reason Young didn’t start in four games was that three of them were in the NL. Kubel is ahead of him and so he’s the odd man out when pitchers hit.
Monroe hasn’t hit at all since his dramatic homer in KC. Here are his splits:
Last 7 days:
10 PAs .000/.000/.000/000
Last 14 days:
20 PAs .105/.150/.105/255
Last 28 days:
35 PAs .125/.200/.219/.419
Season:
.214.270/.402/.672
And you’re going to reward this with more playing time? If I’m the Twins, I would say they can’t count on him with more playing time. Should Span return to form coming off of injury, I say get rid of Monroe and bring Span up. He can play all three outfield spots competently (unlike Monroe) and sub for all three regular outfielders when they don’t match up well against certain righties. He’s a much better fourth outfielder than Monroe.
This offseason is looking like another money waster for the Twins. They’re already paying $2.5 million to not play Rincon. By keeping Everett on the DL (wink), they paying him $2 million to not play. Monroe and his $3 million might be the next DFA candidate. Then there’s Livan, who is working on a streak of non-quality starts that is about to match the streak of quality starts he started the season with. That’s another $5 million we’ll have to eat before the All-Star break. And Lamb, who will not be DFAed, will be nonetheless paid $3.6 million to ride the pine and pinch hit.
There are some homerun hitters out there in MLB who can actually hit for a high average, too. The .300 hitter with 40-50 homeruns has not become extinct. In fact, there are a feww on major league rosters right now. I always read Mauer (and now Kubel?) will have to sacrifice average if he wants to hit for power. Does that mean we just don’t have anyone, aside from Morneau, who could even attempt or have the talent to do both?
That subject aside, I think T is right in giving Cuddyer a bit of healing time while giving Monroe some more at bats. It would be good to see if he can be more helpful.
Lenny,
On Buscher/Lamb: I don’t mind having Lamb on the bench as a pinch-hitter and backup. I figure Harris and Punto are backups at second base. My feeling is that you don’t want to get in a situation like happened last year where Gardy looks for a pinch-hitter and sees…LUIS RODRIGUEZ. I don’t think Lamb can be traded right now and I don’t see the Twins swallowing that contract. I also have a bit of confidence in him, even if it’s not as a regular.
Howard,
I was suprised you didn’t mention anything about Brian Runge (HP umpire from yesterday). This guy absolutely should be sent back to the minors as an exercise in humility.
That’s twice this year we’ve been treated to a horrendously inconsistent strike zone courtesy of Brian Runge, but yesterday he punctuated it with a most cowardly act of arrogance when he failed to grant Brendan Harris time out and subsequently rung him up while Harris was adjusting his grip on the bat. Aside from having a complete and utter lack of concern for player safety, that move was the ultimate act of chest thumping by an umpire. I’m glad Gardy got tossed (many of Gardy’s ejections are unnecessary acts of frustration, but yesterday definitely called for a blow up–I think even T.K. wouldn’t have stood for that garbage). I hope MLB sanctions Runge for that nonsense. Runge went on to ring up Matt Macri on what I thought was a low fastball.
The Boston Celtics’ players and coaches praised NBA officials for not calling a foul on Kobe Bryant on his steal late in the game last night, saying that it was good for them to let the players decide the outcome. Well, in the 8th inning of a one-run game, way to take matters into your own hands, Mr. Runge.
What a jerk.
Jason, I left that one to Mr. Reusse, who handled it quite well. Also, you’ll remember that I dissected a previous Brian Runge performance a couple of weeks back.
Nice point about the Celtics players, although I wonder if they’d be so magnanimous if that had happened in Game 7.
And by the way, Lew Ford, who’s being used as a utility outfielder for Hanshin (Japan), hit a pinch-hit homerun over the weekend…he now has more HRs than Joe Mauer. Hanshin is leading their division by 7.5 games. I know all of you are interested in this stuff 
I hate it when umpires get in the way of the game. The best umps are invisible. Runge and the whole Reliford crew act like disciples of Ken Kaiser by strutting around and trying to bully players, coaches and managers. In so doing, they get in the way of the game. As bad as the Harris play was, what the Saturday home plate ump said to Gomez is inexcusable. You don’t get in a player’s face and intimidate him when he’s just stepping into the batters box in his first at bat. That was uncalled for.
More than instant replay, umps need accountability. There should be a supervisor in the booth who can intercede on behalf of the game when these jerks act like silver backs towards players and managers. I’d like to see an umpire ejected or even suspended by the supervisor once in a while. These guys need public accountability.
I agree, cmathewson…and here’s an easy place where it should start: Allow in-stadium instant replays on all plays!
This cowardly act of sheltering umps by not allowing close plays to be replayed in-stadium has gone on long enough…how thin of skin must these guys have? Let the fans who paid the ticket price see the replay on every play, who cares if the umps are subjected to loud booing. Baseball is the only sport that babies its officials that way.
I don’t get the “let the players decide” comments at all. If it is a foul, then they should call a foul. Otherwise, they aren’t even playing by the rules. Players aren’t deciding it, they are “cheating” and it isn’t being called. A foul is a foul is a foul. Otherwise, the D can do whatever it wanst, and the O is not being allowed to decide the game. This is the #1 reason i don’t watch the NBA. It is why I also gave up baseball for awhile (Glavine’s strikezone, and other stars, got calls they should not have received. If the game isn’t played by the same rules for everyone, it is not a fair contest, and it is rigged {which is different than fixed}).
As to the other points:
Monroe should not be rewarded with anything other than his walking papers. He does nothing for this team this year, or in the future. I’d much rather see Span get a chance when he’s healthy (I never thought I’d type “Span get a chance” in my life).
I was not a fan of the Young trade when it happened, and I’m less of a fan every day as the season goes on. They traded for a head case, and a head case is what they got (only with less talent than we thought). Now, he’s only 22 (I said it….), and the Twins should not give up on him. But, I still think a demotion would do him good. He needs some tough love.
I agree with Howard’s infield, but I don’t need Punto on the team. However, he is signed, so I’d keep him around. Next year someone else gets a shot. Harris and Buscher should get the starts at 3B. I think this is Harris’ second year in the majors, and I’d like to see if he can come out of this slump. If not, then Buscher, Hughes and maybe Plouffe hold the spot until Valencia is ready in 2 years.
One thing I don’t understand with the lineup musical chairs by Gardy, is that despite the perception/reality that several players are not hitting, this team is actually scoring runs at a decent rate. The lineup is actually working ok, no need to mess it up. If an outfielder should sit at an NL park so Kubel can play, based on performance, it should be Cuddyer and not Young.
Pitching is where the focus should be, both on the talent side and on usage. Too many relievers are used with no rest and the substitutions are suspect. An example: Breslow has been successful this year. He had 2 days rest before yesterday’s game. Why pull him after 11 pitches (2 batters faced, 1K, 1 flyout) for Bonser? This year righties are hitting .194/.275/.222 (40PA) and lefties .250/.308/.375 (26PA) off Breslow (and his career split is .685 OPS for RHB and .682 OPS for LHP with more RHB than LHB faced), so by no means he should be treaded as a situational lefty…
As far as who the future is and who should play, it is still mid June and the team is just 4.5 games off the division lead. In a month, if the team has dropped off the race, a youth movement might be necessary. But that should mean that players at or past their primes, like Cuddyer and Nathan should also go
A solution to the umpiring situation might be to break down the ‘crews’ every so often (hopefully every series). Create a schedule at the beginning of a season and randomly assign 4 umpires per series (taking into consideration travel, location/time of previous game etc.) A computer can do this very easily…
Well I still think we have reason to be optimistic as I fully suspect we are going to continue to dominate in this stretch of games against the NL. Now that 40 games in 41 days is over, we can relax more and Gardy doesn’t have to manage with a panic button when it comes to the pitchers.
As for the lineup, I agree with what thyrlos said, it has been producing for the most part.
I do want to point out something about Justin Morneau…we hear so much on these blogs that we should just be happy with Mauer’s average and how he delivers hits to all fields and that we should accept that and be more than happy to sacrifice power / run production as a result…what we’re seeing out of Morneau is a guy who can do the exact same thing as Mauer in terms of getting on base, driving singles the other way, etc., except he also manages to have 10 HR and 50 RBI….this is why it is Morneau, not Mauer, who is by far our best hitter.
Either way, as long as Gogo becomes more patient with his ABs, I think we’re in pretty good shape lineup-wise…
Jason,
While I agree with you on Morneau’s value as a hitter, how much of that do you think is the difference between playing first base and catching? As a first baseman in my younger days, I never thought of defense taking any kind of toll. If it had cost me 30 or 40 points in my batting average, I would have been pretty close to minus figures, of course.
Howard,
I guess if you want to make that excuse, you can, but I did a little research and here’s the short list of other MLB catchers who lead Mauer in either RBI or HR….most of them also have very good avergages:
B. Molina (SF) .311 / 6 HR / 43 RBI
Soto (CHC) .288 / 11/ 42
McCann (ATL) .304 / 12/ 39
Martin (LAD) .311 / 6 / 31
Pierzynski (CWS) .301 / 4 / 26
Navarro (TB) .327 / 3 / 27
Y. Molina (STL) .295 / 3 / 24
Snyder (AZ) .244 / 7 / 31
Doumit (PIT) .346 / 9 / 22 (limited ABs)
So I guess when you look at that list and compare it to Mauer’s .324 / 2 / 27, it’s hard to make the claim that Mauer is redefining the position of catcher.
Jason,
Some of the catchers that you cited are not allowing defense to take ANY kind of toll from their offense.
That is because their defense is not close to Mauer’s defense, in efficiency or effort.
And we know that offensively that HR/RBI comparisons don’t favor Mauer, whose strengths are OBP, K/BB ratio and BA.
Brian Harper a fan fav as Twin’s catcher has career 162 game average of 10 HR 69 RBI .295
Mauer’s career 162 game average is 13 HR 82 RBI .315
do those stats make Mauer a “revolutional hall of fame” catcher?
Pudge’s career 162 game average is 22 HR 88 RBI .302 maybe Mauer is among the “elite”
FIRE,
Gotta love Harper as a hitter and a tough SOB who I saw go head first down the dugout steps chasing a foul popup.
That said, he was a below average defensive catcher who can’t be compared to Mauer in that category.
FIRE,
Pudge is (was?) one of the best ever.
Mauer can become great and still not become Pudge.
If the Twins EVER have a team where their biggest problem is Mauer, they will have a hell of a team.
But that situation will NEVER happen.
You guys have to bypass SO MANY MORE SERIOUS (possibly unsolvable) Twins problems to bitch about Mauer being an undeserving HOF candidate.
I’m just trying to gauge where Mauer is/will be when his career is done.
1)DEF is very good 420 games at catcher - 14 errors 15 passed balls
thrown out 41.5% career base stealers
Harper in 688 games catching - 58 errors & 55 passed balls threw out 31%
so clearly Mauer is the best catcher Twin’s ever had?? I still find myself believing he has been “overhyped” but stats show he is close to elite..perhaps the fact he is a #2 hitter in the 3 spot plays a part and that his DEF this year has been more average - only thrown out 34% of base stealers
your right sane there are alot more problems on this team then whether Mauer is a HOFer and always will be
It is unfair to throw Monroe out the door. How many games has he played in a row? Tough to get in a groove when you don’t play everyday. He won two games for us in very limited duty.
sane…we’ve been over this already, so again, where does this ‘excellent defense’ come into play here in 2008?
Mauer is throwing out runners at a low percentage…and is sixth in overall fielding percentage (behind Soto, Martin, and McCann listed above)…
you can call this a Mauer-whining rant if you want, but I’m not…I’m only responding to Howard’s remarks; and this is reality. He’s a good player…a very good player in fact, but to say his offense is somehow offset by how he’s a Superman defensively; it’s another excuse that you can flush right down the toilet as being exactly that–an excuse. His fielding is no different than the slightly above average catcher…
Fire, do you have his OBP also? What were his defensive skills? Cannon or popgun?
I remember Brian Harper, and his offense was his strong suite, definitely not his defense.
FIRE,
Thanks for reminding me of Harper.
That head-first slide down the dugout steps was a classic!
We should be talking about DFA Boof. What are we hoping for with him? Looks like the next Rincon.
One other thought…if Howard’s theory is correct (and I take it his theory is that if Mauer were playing another position he would have significantly higher power / run production numbers), why wouldn’t the Twins find another catcher and put Mauer at 3B or something? His defense can’t be THAT much of a difference…
I submit the answer is because Howard’s theory is incorrect…I doubt Mauer would magically turn into a better hitter if you put him at 3B as opposed to catcher, but that’s only my guess.
“he’s a Superman defensively; ….His fielding is no different than the slightly above average catcher…”
Superman defensively? NO!
slightly above average catcher? NO, not close!
Excellent defensive catcher who was a once (and future?) AL batting champ? YES!
“I doubt Mauer would magically turn into a better hitter if you put him at 3B as opposed to catcher”
I agree 100%.
He would be a below average 3B and thats not going to help him hit better.
I don’t think defensive failure contributes to hitting success.
Maybe Howard means that if Mauer had been an OF his entire career and could think about hitting while day-dreaming in the OF (think Manny, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, etc) THAT might have made him a better hitter.
Actually it was a Mauer-Morneau comparison.
After five innings of catching, there is little doubt that Mauer’s legs will not drive his hip-rotation as will Morneau’s legs after five innings of playing 1B. Fatigued hip rotation will result in power loss.
I think that may have been Howard’s point.
Howard did a lot of daydreaming at first base, so much that we couldn’t try pickoff throws during games. And did it help his offense? Let’s just say he was Mientkiewicz with a .1xx instead of a .3xx.
I am glad that Howard was never caught daydreaming at 1B with Ryan Howard batting.
He may have become the star of a National Geographic special “When Baseballs Attack!”
Here’s a look at some of the possibles to replace Hernandez,Boof and anybody else that faulters.
Last 5 starts for Rochester.
Liriano
32.1 IP
25 H
7 BB
30 K
2 HR
13 ER
3.62 ERA
0.99 WHIP
Duensing
30.2 IP
30 H
2 BB
24 K
4 HR
14 ER
4.11 ERA
1.04 WHIP
Mulvey
27.1 IP
24 H
7 BB
25 K
1 HR
9 ER
2.96 ERA
1.13 WHIP
Lirano’s looking better and better with every start.
Duensing has had tremendous control.For the year he has induced GB/FB at a 1.73 rate.Although his homeruns allowed of late have been elevated.
Mulvey has improved a great deal over his last 5 starts.His innings pitched would be higher if it were not for a rain shortened stint in his last start.
He has been more of a flyball pitcher with a .90 GB/FB this year, where last year he was more of a groundball pitcher at AA? Though his strikeout rate has improved from last year to 8.15/9 IP…higher than Liriano’s 7.02 for the year, but both are about equal in the 8+ range of late.
All of them need to work on consistently pitching into the 7th inning.Also, I believe Duensing and Mulvey are not on the 40 man roster, but atleast their both showing some promise.
I believe it is both legs and hands that tend to get beat up later in games and later in the season for catchers.
Hard to say if this theory of later in the game hitting is displayed in these numbers, as other factors (like late inning pitching specialists and closers) come in to play…
Mauer: BA OBP SLG OPS
Innings 1-3 .295 .369 .422 .791
Innings 4-6 .348 .421 .500 .921
Innings 7-9 .305 .393 .451 .844
It does appear that general fatigue over the season does come into play for Joe:
April/March .328 .416 .439 .856
May .343 .416 .454 .869
June .315 .385 .521 .906
July .315 .398 .464 .862
August .290 .383 .420 .803
Sep/Oct .290 .374 .406 .780
Hey Howard… sorry, haven’t checked in much lately. We’ve had this little water issue down in Cedar Rapids. Maybe you’ve read about it.
Anyway… some good points, I think.
Count me in the group that’s had it “up to here” with MLB umpires. If there’s a more arrogant group, I can’t imagine what it is. I’m not sure how you do it, but some sort of lessen in humility and accountability is well past due.
I’m still amazed how much criticism Mauer gets from the local fan base. I guess it’s true that if there’s one thing people like to do more than building up star, it’s tearing one down. Probably would have been better for his career to play somewhere other than his home town.
A month or so ago, all the stat-heads loved pointing out how the Twins weren’t scoring many runs, despite havin a decent team BA. Now, they’re scoring more runs than many of the teams built around power and the complaining remains.
I’m trying to keep from getting too giddy over Liriano’s improvement in Rochester the past few weeks. It sure would be great to have him come back up and be effective, but after how poorly he performed when he was rushed up before, I’m willing to be a bit more patient.
Oh, and as a former firstbaseman/pitcher, who had to catch a couple of times in “emergency” situations (we didn’t have anyone else and my dad was the coach, so I was “it”), I can definitely relate to Howard’s “defense not taking any kind of toll” at 1B. That’s sort of how I played the bag, too.
FYI, without reproducing the numbers here, a graphical display of Pudge’s numbers by inning and by month would show a curve remarkably similar to Joe’s.
it’s hard to believe that there is the mauer talk every week when he is the twins 3rd least of worry, behind morneau and nathan.
what do they do now with livan? i’ve said for weeks they needed to trade him while he was worth something but, it was said, we need his veteran presence and innings eating. when you’re this close to the div. lead how can you keep throwing his games away? boof is young enough has some talent and is out of options he may be worth something or are we forced to live with him?
sane, where is the “fatigued hip rotation” and its effect on the other catchers I cited?
Other catchers seem to hit for power…that’s my point.
I think Mauer is both over and under rated in this town. The marketing and hype that he gets fromt the team and from the national media (Mauer and the Twins take on…..) is how he is overhyped. He’s a great player, but he’s not going to carry the team to greatness by himself. He won’t put the team on his back and throw a game like a great pitcher, obviously. He also won’t put the team on his back and hit 2 HRs to win a game. However,
he’s also under rated. Just because he won’t single handedly carry the team does not make him not great. He’s clearly a very, very talented hitter. That is multiplied by playing catcher.
I think the chatter comes up because there is that fine line between what he is, and how he is marketed.
And, it is not too early to throw Monroe under the bus. This is how he played last year, and every year in his career except 1 year. If he was so great, Gardy would be playing him and using him at DH and PH….
Here’s what I’d do about the umpires:
- Require the crew chief to face the media after each and every game, just like the managers do. Make them answer questions about their performance and the performance of their crew. No more of this “call the league” B.S.
- Show replays of every play - close or not - in the stadium. There’s no reason they should be coddled and protected when they blow a call.
- Assemble a review board consisting of former umpires, players, and managers, and have them grade the performance of each umpire. Track their tendencies on calling the strike zone and plays at the bag to determine if they’re consistently missing calls. Make the results public.
Professional umpiring is a fiercely competitive field. Much like being a professional player, there are far more people willing and able to do the job than there are available positions. So raise the bar and keep only those who perform.
The Twin’s offensive numbers have been aided by a recent surge scoring 6 runs per game in the last 5(THANK YOU BREWERS!!) also per game average is 4.64 runs per game which over a season come to 752 runs slightly more then 718 last year which ranked 12th and little less then 801 runs scored in 2006 which was 8th ranked.. 1 good series with Brewers to inflate the numbers does not prove this offense is better yet..
well said Mike!!
The infield debate is a little depressing because it lacks the name of anyone who hints at being able to play above average for an extended time in future years. The Tolbert-Macri-Buscher three-headed monster is fortunate to be getting a big-league taste at all. If they weren’t playing for a franchise that has combined a stunningly poor crop of organizational infield talent with a stretch of injuries, they’d all be regarded as potential major-league utility guys and nothing more. They are all potentially signature “Gardy” guys with the accompanying great attitude and lack of ability.
I love Peter’s thoughts regarding the umpires…
As for mike’s analysis on Mauer, I think he had it right on the overrated part, but not on the underrated part…I’m sorry, I won’t agree with “he’s cleary a very, very talented hitter”. He’s not a five-tooler, folks. He’s just not. That fact is not recognized, much less accepted in this town. A very, very talented hitter is the one that finishes the year .315 / 28 HR / 100 RBI. And I realize there’s the on-base percentage factor that works in his favor, as well, but at the end of the day, there are plenty of on-base guys in MLB…that doesn’t make you a “very, very talented hitter.”
Now that having been said, I will fully admit Mauer is a great hitter…the second best on our club, and a guy you can count on to consistently give you good at-bats, which is something our squad lacks generally. So to that end, we really couldn’t do without him.
I hope the distinction between what he is and what other Twins “greats” are (Puckett, Carew, Oliva), in terms of hitting, are obvious. Mauer is in the conversation with the second tier, given the quality of AB you’re going to get, but he’s not in the first tier; at least not yet.
But, as we found out with Herbie (number retiring), when you’re a Minnesota boy, the media and fans will gladly put you in the first tier, prematurely.
One distinction with Herbie though–I’ll put Herbie in the first tier as well for the simple fact that the man helped anchor two championship teams, which is something that truly goes beyond statistical analysis (in spite of the fact that Herbie’s postseason stats were generally pretty ugly).
Casilla can be the answer at 2nd base(he seems most comfortable there) I thought Trevor Plouffe is the future SS and Chris Parmelee was the future 3rd baseman? does anyone follow the minor leagues close enough to know how these players are doing?
Jason,
“Other catchers seem to hit for power…”
Yes, and our catcher is excellent defensively and hits for BA, OBP and BB/K ratio.
If that doesn’t satisfy you, maybe complaining about it will change him into one of the “other catchers”.
Good luck with that project!
The only problem with assessing whether Mauer belongs among the “Twins’ greats” or whether of not he is a hall of famer is that he is only 25 and played 4 full seasons in the majors. Let’s table that discussion until after 5-6 years
FIRE,
Parmelee throws (and hits) left-handed. His choices are OF and 1B.
He is not hitting well enough to deserve promotion from Low-A Beloit.
Plouffe was just promoted to AAA, more because of need than performance. He is range-challenged and may end up at 3B, or stay at SS if the Twins will accept his lack of quickness.
IMO, Casilla is the only SS prospect anywhere close to MLB-level.
I would move him to SS (his original position) and leave 2B to Dinkelman, Luke Hughes, Tolleson, Punto and and Everett.
Plouffe just got promoted to Rochester where (for a reason beyond comprehension) he is playing 3B. In AA he hit .269/.325/.410, which means that unless next year he lights it up in Rochester, he is 2-3 years away
Parmelee is hitting .234/.388/.488 in A ball, playing 1B and RF (and not too well). If he has any future with the Twins, most likely will be at DH
Luke Hughes and Danny Valencia are the best organizational prospects at AA and A
“A very, very talented hitter is the one that finishes the year .315 / 28 HR / 100 RBI”
That would make Tony Gwynn, Pete Rose and Rod Carew several “very’s” short.
for the last time, this isn’t about “satisfying me”…this is about calling it what it is. I’m perfectly satisfied.
hitting for BA, OBP, and BB/K ratio is important and impressive…but it doesn’t make you a feared hitter. Is there a rule that says you can’t combine that with a few GW RBIs, as well? Maybe we’ll get that eventually…so it’s not fair for me to say that it will never happen, and I certainly hope it does!
The point is so much of the hype surrounding Mauer seems to be based on potential and what we hope is going to happen. It’s a simple question of whether or not he can take his God-given talent to the next level by providing some clutch RBIs to will this team to victory a bunch of times down the stretch and capture our 5th division title in the Gardenhire era.
this year Mauer has been only average defensively and still has no power! maybe all his trying for bloop singles and 3 hoppers in the hole for a high(er) average is catching up with him?
sane,
I hope that the FO understands that there are better options than Punto and Everett next year and neither of them is re-signed. That said, it is still hard to predict future position players based on MiLB stats. I would bet that even Casilla himself did not think that he would be that productive this year. That said, SS is a tougher defensive position and should be taken care before 2B.
thrylos98,
“That said, SS is a tougher defensive position and should be taken care before 2B.”
Absolutely!
The fact that Mauer is getting attention, is that he is the first catcher to win a batting title, since Alaska and Hawaii became states…
wow sorry I asked about the minor league front!!! 
is there any hope in the minor leagues? we can’t possible be renting terrible washed up vets at 3rd and SS for the next 5 years can we?? Parmelee was the #1 pick from 2006 he is only 20 so maybe some help there if he can play betetr DEF somewhere? Cuddy’s spot in 2011?
FIRE,
“maybe all his trying for bloop singles and 3 hoppers in the hole for a high(er) average is catching up with him?”
I don’t think anyone “tries for bloop singles and 3 hoppers in the hole”.
That’s the result of UNINTENTIONALLY failing to hit the ball solidly.
If you were being sarcastic, then I just got fooled.
Before we start doling out end-of-career accolades on Mauer, let’s remember that he’s only 25 years old (or one year YOUNGER than Matt Tolbert, for example).
Still a lot of career left in that boy, and probably a number of changes in his stats still to come.
Cuddy’s spot in 2011?
Revere, is probably in line before Parmalee (with Revere at LF/CF, Gomez CF/LF and Young at RF in 3 years) If Cuddy’s spot is needed hopefully before 2011, and if Revere is not ready, someone like Lis or Span can fill in…
The Twins have ok/good prospects at AA, great prospects at A+ and A and nothing at AAA… that’s the problem
sane just sarcasm buddy… we can drop the “Mauer talk” I am bored (yawnnnnnnn) with it. I am more interested in some indepth Twin’s minor league prospect talk, IMO the only way this team can be a contender in 2010 is to develop some infield players, maybe Casilla fills a need at SS or 2nd but what then happens with Harris?
FIRE,
Harris and Tolbert would be bench players. Still 2 infield positions are not set for the intermediate term (2010): 2B and whichever of SS/2B is not occupied by Casilla. There is a group of players in the organization (Macri, Tolleson, Hughes, Valencia, Plouffe) who might stop into 2 of these positions, but other than Macri, they have collectively played 3 games above AA.
FIRE,
I think Harris is suited for 3B, as are many range-challenged SS.
He is a much-better fielder than Lamb and has a good arm.
sane, the problem with Harris at 3B is his lack of production. He is producing at a Punto like rate (but he is 2 years younger than Punto). Putting Harris at 3B would be a repeat of 2007…
thrylos,
Plouffe might be playing 3B at AAA because he may not have enough range at SS. I have watched him play a handful of games and was not impressed with his range
Shawn,
Plouffe’s fielding % and range at SS is atrocious, but I an not sure that he has the bat to be a 3B. The reason that I am curious with him @ 3B at AAA, is that it automatically blocks Hughes…
thrylos98,
Harris has good minor league batting stats and a good hitting year last year with the Rays. He is a much better CAREER hitter than Punto (MLB and minors) This year, with a new team at a new position (including position switches) may have taken him out of a comfort zone. I think that hitters EVENTUALLY hit and I think that Harris is a hitter.
I suppose putting Cuddy back at 3rd would further destroy his sudden lack of hitting.. I guess in short term the only way Twins improve the infield is to trade pitching for veterans? I am struggling to see the way out of the “box” Twins infield is in..
“Plouffe’s fielding % and range at SS is atrocious, but I an not sure that he has the bat to be a 3B.”
You have just pinpointed Plouffe’s dilemma which may become career ending.
But he is still young and could grow into a gap-hittig doubles and triples hitter. Getting quicker to play SS is not an option IMO.
a week or so ago trade rumor had the braves looking at boof for brent lillibridge a top ss prospect. he is blocked at the ml level and it would look like a good trade to me. imo boof has pitched his way out of any value however.
imo any trade that would bring infield prospect depth would be a positive.
where would we be without macri and casilla now?
Gotta go “work” at a summer baseball camp. Can’t believe I called it work. I should apologize to my parents.
Later.
interesting looking at Harris’s fielding numbers he is BEST at 2nd .982 only .974 at SS playing 114 games at SS and 106 at 2nd
I always enjoys these comments.
Mauer is the ONLY catcher among the AL leaders in EQA (9th) and among the leaders in EQR (19th). He leads AL catchers in VORP by a country mile over second-place AJ. By the boring old conventional measures, he’s hitting 324/408/431, compared to AJ’s 301/344/437.
Is anyone screaming about AJ’s lack of power?
The average AL catcher is hitting 267/328/391 with 72 HRs in 3539 ABs (1 every 49.1 ABs). Move Joe to 3b! He sux rox!
the mauer is “turrable”
Why is it that those who claim Mauer is the best do so using baseball acrynms that no one understands: EQA? EQR? VORP?
Tell me you made those up, brian. Or did a computer geek turned baseball expert provide you with those?
And let’s not forget…second place A.J. already helped lead his team to a World Championship…trails Mauer by only 1 RBI and has two more HRs
Jason you can’t argue with “Twins koolaid” drinkers.. it’s best just to move on..
Also…for what it’s worth, “second place AJ” was 5-for-14 (2RBI) versus the Twins in their recent four-game thumping of us…Mauer was 3-for-14 (1 RBI)…not a huge difference…but the difference on the scoreboard sure was!
Mauer was 4-or-13 (1 RBI); my apologies, fans. Still a higher avg. and RBI total for AJ (and his pitching staff performed slightly better, I would say)…plus, didn’t he throw out Go-go a couple times?
so… what have we decided on Mauer?
Great?
Good?
Average?
Terrible?
most think he is either great or terrible.
Why is it that those who claim Mauer is the best do so using baseball acrynms that no one understands: EQA? EQR? VORP?
Tell me you made those up, brian. Or did a computer geek turned baseball expert provide you with those?
You being ignorant doesn’t make them “made up” or any less relevant, it just makes you look like a fool.
But go ahead and bury your head in the sand a little deeper, that’ll make your short-sighted and uneducated opinion of what you don’t understand more right.
lol snepp. I’ll take you up on that.
can we move on.. honestly the “MAUER MAN CRUSH” train can go to the next station. let’s all agree “Mauer is a good player” this horse has been beaten enough the horse is now dead and is glue and dog food…
yes sir, FIRE…I totally agree…
Joe Mauer is by far, the best catcher in the 47 year history of the Minnesota Twins, and nobody likes him! Twins blog participants, are a tough crowd to please.
Gardy said he wanted to bring up Howie Clark instead of Buscher, but could not, because Howie’s ribs were hurting. Gardy wants 4 players who can play the middle infield spots. He almost always has 4 for the middle. The Twins are so shorthanded, that they had no other real choice, but to bring up Buscher.
When Punto returns, Buscher will go back to Rochester. Buscher might be better than Lamb, but Lamb has the contract, so Buscher goes. Because neither can play in the middle, a team with both Lamb and Buscher on it, is not to Gardy’s liking.
just to get the real picture mauer has been getting beaten up all day what would his ave, hr, bb, so, rbi have to be to make the blogers happy?
when the skippers little buddy gets back things will be otay!
“Joe Mauer is by far, the best catcher in the 47 year history of the Minnesota Twins, and nobody likes him!”
Both statements are inaccurate, Craig. First, I can’t recall anyone saying they don’t like Joe Mauer…
secondly, let’s compare Mauer’s 4+ seasons with the Twins with Harper’s 5+ seasons with the Twins, shall we:
Mauer: .315 avg. / 37 HR / 243 RBI / 0 WS titles (1,748 at-bats)
Harper: .305 avg. / 52 HR / 326 RBI / 1 WS title (2,503 at-bats)
HR and RBI per at-bat nearly identical…now granted, I didn’t break down EQA, EQR, or VORP, or AFLAC for that matter, but funny, baseball reference doesn’t list those statistics…
Mauer is an historically good catcher. And he’ll have a banner in the new ballpark someday. But he is still learning the game and is not immune to bad habits.
An example of how he’s learning is recognizing an inside delivery and opening up to turn on it.
Another example is failing to recognize the pitch down and away and rolling over it to the second baseman rather than lacing it into left field.
An example of falling into bad habits is on the catch-and-tag play. I used to think he was the best I’ve ever seen at this. He typically would wait for the throw right on home plate and just block the plate beautifully to make the tag. But lately he’s been catching the ball in front of the plate and needing to lunge back to tag the runner.
Another example is on the throws to second. He used to hit the bag almost every time. Now most of his throws are sailing on him. That just means he’s rushing his throws rather than finishing them with that last little snap of the wrist.
Jason, Harper was one of the worst defensive catchers of his era. He was the worst I’ve ever seen at the pop-up play and the catch-and-tag play, and he was near the bottom every year in throwing out runners. Like Mauer, he did call a good game, however.
Gardy wants 4 players who can play the middle infield spots
With Busher up he has exactly as many players who could play the middle infield spots as he had with Buscher down and 13 man pitching staff. Buscher never started a pro game in 2B or SS.
Joe Mauer has recently stated that, how many HR he hits, is something other people talk about. He said he doesn’t care about that at all.
Joe Mauer is so advanced in his ability to play and understand the game, it’s incredible. His instincts for the game are at the highest level.
In my opinion, Joe already ranks among the top five non-pitcher ballplayers, who have ever walked on to the field for the Twins. Some people simply cannot recognize and appreciate greatness.
thrylos98,
You don’t understand. Gardy was already playing shorthanded before Buscher was called up. Buscher wasn’t the guy Gardy wanted. He wanted another middle infielder.
Craig I’m assuming that Punto would be one of the five?
That’s certainly true, cmathewson, but Harper has a WS ring and played on teams that won 91 games (1988), 95 games (1991), and 90 games (1992)….
Mauer has played on one playoff team in his 5 years (2006) and that team got swept in three games by Oakland.
So while I agree that Mauer is defensively superior, I do not agree that at this moment in time he is by far the franchise’s best catcher.
cmath,
That’s a fair and accurate evaluation of both Mauer and Harper.
this is neither here nor there but i bought and watched game 5 of the 2002 ALDS on Itunes the other day. Watching AJs 9th inning HR. I wish the team had both AJ and Mauer.
Craig,
if he did not want Buscher up, why a. didn’t he call McDonald or Ruiz (who would probably be a better fit, since this team cannot hit LHP now) and b. why has he started him every day since he’s up? (Even if he passively aggressively wants to make a statement with Lamb, Macri would have been a better choice…)
Thank you, Shawn. Another fantastic point: were it not for that bomb by AJ, Gardy would be 0-for-5 in playoff series for his career.
make that 0-for-4….but you get the point.
well Ajs bomb gave Eddie a buffer, which he needed.
And AJ was rounding the bases mouthing off to Billy Koch. Classy!
yeah AJ has a little bit of a class issue
People who don’t think that 4 players who can play in the middle infield is important, don’t understand Gardy. It may or may not be important to some, but it is VERY important to Gardy.
Look at the history of Gardy’s teams. He may not always have 4 really great middle infielders, but he will almost always have 4 guys, athletic enough to play there.
Read what Gardy said when they brought up Buscher. He didn’t want Buscher, because he wanted a 4th player capable of playing middle infield. Right now, he only has Casilla, Harris, and Macri who can play there. In Gardy’s mind, he’s a man short.
Jason, it takes a whole team to win a World Series. Hank Aaron never won a World Series, but he was a better player than Steve Lombardozzi, who won a World Series. Winning a World Series is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to being a good player.
AJ is probably the biggest jerk to wear a Twins’ uniform (Offerman and Ponson are arquably worse but they were saints while with the Twins)
Ernie Banks and Ron Santo were horrible players, they never even made the playoffs.
Craig,
Gardy’s mind is an abyss…
and he actually has 4 players who can play middle infield. With the ‘can’ being the operative word, Cuddyer has started 60 games as a 2B in the majors and was drafted as a SS…
the mariners fired their gm and could be ready to release richie sexson. i’d trade sexson for monroe. except for 2 gms monroe hasn’t done anything and he looks lost when he does play.
sexson for lamb?
thrylos,
When was the last time Cuddy played 2B? 2004? Maybe one game after that. Gardy isn’t going to risk an injury to Cuddy by putting him at 2nd. He would stick Lamb or Buscher at 2B, in an emergency, before he would use Cuddyer there.
“Hank Aaron never won a World Series, but he was a better player than Steve Lombardozzi”
You’re going out a limb there, cmath. Let’s compare those two closely, just to make sure. Ha-ha.
Craig,
Without Cuddy he has 3 people for 2 spots. That should be fine. Speaking of Cuddy, his VORP this year is -3.2 (worse than Everett, Monroe, Macri, Buscher, Clark etc) so a potential injury is more of a perceived risk for club performance (look what happened in Milwaukee when he hit his pinky with a pitch and Young came in…) Cuddyer is just bad this year (the year after he signed coincidentally a multi-year multi-million dollar deal)
Mauer would be at .360 if he hit against the twins staff rather than Chicago.
Harper with a World Serires ring _ were there other players of note besides HOF Puckett? How about 3B, pitching? Who were those other guys?
“Without Cuddy he has 3 people for 2 spots. That should be fine.”
Fine with you, and maybe fine with me, but not fine with Gardy.
Craig,
I really don’t care about what’s “fine with Gardy”. If it makes baseball sense, it’s fine with me. I think that Gardy just doesn’t cut it and it’s getting worse by the day.
Interesting that someone brought up Herbie. Many, many people say Mattingly should be in the Hall, but how many say that about Herbie? Their numbers are very close, and Herbie was a key player on two WS championships, and I think Mattingly has, um, how many?
Craig, maybe one reason they’ve never won in the playoffs if Gardy’s instance on having 4 players like him on the roster, instead, of, say, a great DH (though I think that is not his fault)….but, if that is what he wants….
On a different note, Plouffe is starting at SS in Rochester tonight (Santos @ 3B) and DePaula is the starting pitcher…
Why is it that those who claim Mauer is the best do so using baseball acrynms that no one understands: EQA? EQR? VORP?
Brilliant!
Did I mention that the average AL catcher is hitting is hitting 267/328/391, compared to Joe’s 324/408/431? Those are “BA”, “OBP” and “SLG”. I think baseball-reference might mention them, obscure “acrynms” though they may be, Jason.
Joe isn’t Babe Ruth. Duh-uh. He’s just the best-hitting catcher in the AL who, historically, has played superior defense.
Fire, what does stating facts have to do with drinking Kool-Aid?
what does stating facts have to do with drinking Kool-Aid?
Of drinking Kool-Aid leads to stating more facts, I’ll take more Kool-Aid please. And hold the Vodka.
“Mauer has played on one playoff team in his 5 years (2006) and that team got swept in three games by Oakland.”
David Eckstien has a World Series ring. And I believe a World Series MVP. I’m surprised the Twins didn’t jump to add a player of such playoff renown.
Heck, Mike Redmond has a World Series ring. Guess that makes him a better option at catcher than Mauer.
Gotta love Jason’s new “Titles” stat. Even if in some cases those titles came with a different team (Leyland) or are now…what…three years since with not a playoff appearance to show for it (Guillen)
Punto 3rd Tolbert 2nd Casilla short if all were healthy.
Punto’s time with the Twins is drawing to a close. He’ll serve the team just fine in limited duty off the bench, but if the Twins want to do what’s best for the long term they need to take this opportunity to assess Buscher once and for all.
Otherwise the Twins go into the 08 offseason with Mike Lamb as their “best” option at 3B.
T–
I don’t know about you, but winning championships is important to me…i realize it’s not the end-all, but it is a factor…if it wasn’t a factor, Kent Hrbek’s banner wouldn’t be hanging on a big white curtain at the Metrodome.
My point is A.J., love him or hate him, is a proven winner.
Livan Hernandez: Proven Winner.
How about Earl Battey for top Twins catcher?
1960-67 990 games, .274 B.A., 3228 at bats, 91 HR, 1965 A.L. Champions.
Traded to Senators with Don Mincher and $150K for Earl Sievers.
“Why is it that those who claim Mauer is the best do so using baseball acrynms that no one understands: EQA? EQR? VORP?”
Why is it that those who claim AJ is better than Mauer do so using baseball acrynms like CROCKASHIT which stands for the number of titles won.
That stat makes Trent Dilfer a better QB than Fran Tarkenton or Dan Marino.
People who use the CROCKASHIT as the determining stat are categorized by another acronym. They belong to a group called SHIT4BRAINS.
AJ? Forget him. What Bill Smith needs to do is get out there and sign Doug Mirabelli. He’s TWICE the “proven winner” that AJ is! And he’s not even on a team right now, so it should be a piece of cake. Make it happen, Billy Boy! Mirabelli’s Proven Winner Factor can crush that girlie-man Mauer 8 days a week.
I think it’s close right now between Battey and Mauer. In a couple of years, it won’t be. It was never close between Harper and Mauer.
BTW, that Battey, Mincher trade was one of the worst in team history. Right up there with selling Jim Kaat to the White Sox for $500 just before Kaat won 20 games two consecutive years for our chief rivals.
“My point is A.J., love him or hate him, is a proven winner.”
As were the other 24 guys, 3-4 coaches, and manager that made up the Championship White Sox.
That’s why I used both David Eckstien and Mike Redmond as examples of why a championship is anything BUT a measure of a single player’s skill/success.
And since it’s Day 1 of a three game homestand with the Nats…with Delmon Young and Dmitri Young playing against each other:
Which do you think there will be more of:
A) Hits in the series.
B) “We got the wrong Young” comment.
Howard,
I hope you have sobered up now. You want Tolbert and Macri down to AAA. Keeping Lamb, Punto, Harris, Everett in our infield, thank God you dont make the lineups.
Delmon hit .340/.333/511 with a homer and 7 RBI in the first half of June. Not worth giving up Bartlett and Garza for, but not bad.
Ben,
Where do you find Everett on my list of infielders? Feel free to disagree with me and other people here, but be careful with that sober thing, OK?
Ok Howard Sorry,
I will gladley disagree! this is a sad looking infield, if this is your best it will be a long season.
Casilla, Buscher, Lamb, Punto, Morneau and Harris.
I would go with Tolbert, Morneau, Casilla, Macri, Plouffe, Harris, but your the expert not me.
IMO- 3 of ur 6 infielders wont even be Twins in 2010
“Not worth giving up Bartlett and Garza for, but not bad.”
How has Bartlett been for the Rays? I don’t hear nearly as much about him as I do Garza…
Bartlett has been playing very poorly on the plate (Everett has a higher OPS) .249/.291/.275 and league average defense
“Not worth giving up Bartlett and Garza for, but not bad.”
Talk to me in two years, by which time Garza’s arm (or his head) may have exploded.
