Scattered thoughts leading up to a day game
Posted on June 19th, 2008 – 8:18 AMBy Howard
*The Twins are in a section of their schedule where they should be able to get to the right side of .500. After finishing off with Washington today, the Twins play Arizona, San Diego, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland. All of those are series that the Twins can win. Yes, Arizona is in first place, but that’s mostly from a torrid opening stretch. In the last month, the D-backs have won only one series. It’ll be interesting to see how Brandon Webb does on Sunday. Yes, he’s the first 11-game winner and a totally dominant pitcher — and he got knocked around by Oakland in his last start on Tuesday. Webb is pitching against Senor Smoke Free, who will be pitching against his second former team in a row. This is a good time to show that the Twins of June are better than the Twins of April.
*Tim McClelland is one of baseball’s best umpires, and he made the right call on the Twins’ almost triple play last night. (Click here for the video.) At first, it appeared that Alexi Casilla had dragged his foot across the base while taking a wide throw from Brian Buscher. And in real time, it looked like the wrong call. But in slow motion, it was pretty clear that the ball was never in Casilla’s glove at the same time his foot was on the base. The runner had veered out of the way, so there was no reason (as if there should ever be any) for the “neighborhood” call to be made. Good work, even if it cost the Twins web gem time. Speaking of web gems, did anyone else see what came in as No. 1 on ESPN’s list of gems so far this season? It was Punto’s sprawling throw from third base after making a barehanded stop on the run back in April.
*In this series, the Nationals have fielded the ball like they’re waiting for it to explode. Their left fielder took an awful route on a double that was given to Mauer on Tuesday and they made three errors last night. In my opinion — as an official scorer in retirement — there could have been four. On a grounder in the second inning, first baseman Paul LoDuca missed a backhand stop, the ball glancing off his glove and into right field. If LoDuca hadn’t tried for the ball, Washington’s second baseman would have had a clear shot and should have been able to throw to the pitcher covering. It was one of those plays that make you appreciate the frustrated goaltender who plays first base for the Twins, and some of the guys who played the position before him.
*Not that I want him back, but it’s been nice the last couple of years to see Cristian Guzman return to the Dome. He was an important part of the Twins teams that started to raise our expectations and I’m glad he’s conquered his injuries and is playing well.
“On the subject of shortstops, I wonder how often the Twins will say that Adam Everett “is a long way from returning.” For hindsight fans, If Bill Smith could take back one move…
*Lots of interesting thoughts about pitching and rules changes (or a plea for none) in yesterday’s post. If you didn’t read ‘em, the comments are worth going through.
*Check out Reusse’s interesting column about Ben Revere, which he reported while on his trip to Miller Park last weekend.
*Day game today. Find an excuse.
other people are here too
48 Responses to "Scattered thoughts leading up to a day game"
Nice to see Brendan Harris hit the ball hard a couple times last night. We need some more of that.
Actually, I think the Adam Everett signing was the least-offensive (no pun intended) move Bill Smith made this offseason. We traded last year’s starter and didn’t have a youngster who was clearly ready to take over. The guy got hurt. It happens.
Lamb is the one that upsets me, because he’s basically the same player as Brian Buscher, only several years older and ten times more expensive. Some combination of Buscher, Macri, and Tolbert could’ve covered third just fine, but instead we’re stuck with Lamb until the end of ‘09.
Reusse’s weak attempt to deflect blame from Twins org on taking Revere 2 rounds too early and signing him for half what a real prospect should have received in money.. Reusse says - “The Twins immediately were accused of making the choice in order to save money. Revere was the first of the 2007 first-rounders to sign and for a below-market bonus of $750,000.”
DUHHHH!!! of course it is the Pohlad way - Twin would never pay proper slot value let alone go over slot to draft real talent.. Revere is hitting over .400 with 1 HR and is described as fast with a weak outfield arm… wow what a great # 1 pick…
LoDuca has no business playing first base. It’s one of the things about the NL that I don’t care for. It seems every single team in the NL has a guy playing out of position because bats are at such a premium.
I was initially critical of that draft. But I’m not now. Several reports indicate that if they didn’t take him in that slot, he would have been gone before the Twin’s next selection. It’s easy to say he was a “third-round” pick. But he was rated in the sandwich round by several draft experts. If they failed to get him when they had the chance, I’m sure their would be more criticism of them now.
“failed to get him” that’s like saying it’s too bad PUNTO didn’t sign with the Twins when they originally drafted him!! Revere is another “little fish” a small fast player with no pop and can’t even play DEF because of his terrible throwing arm.. yes plenty of fans would have put up a fuss for a player that none of us every heard of until Twins drafted him
One of our local columnists has been keeping track of Webb lately (since he’s a graduate of the U of KY). According to him, “After such a great start to his season, Brandon Webb has indeed fallen on hard times.” He only pitched 3 1/3 innings in his last outing and gave up 9 hits and 7 earned runs. So, right now, the Twins actually might have a chance against him.
The Twins will be fine against Webb. It’s the below-average, no-name pitchers that we make look like Cy Young.
here’s a wild idea, trade boof to the reds for ryan freel (he is being shopped). he hits for a twins type ave, around .275-.280 and doesn’t hit any homeruns so he’d fit in perfect. he can also play several positions unlike monroe who has reverted to his 07 very bad form.
the best part would be we’d have another player to complain about not hitting homeruns and i hope we never run out of those. lucky punto’s coming back that will stir up the masses!
does anyone else think that the casto guy in lf looks like a tyner twin?
Our pitching sucks!!
Sure we can win against teams lke the brewers and nationals but our starters could never be trusted in the play-offs against real hitting line-ups.
Our whole rotation is a bunch of guys who make good 3rd or 4th starters in a rotation….no dominant stuff…..the article abput Liriano “learning how to pitch” wasn’t very promising either. His velocity isn’t back…he’s still probably throwing that weak slurve and telling people that he’s locating his slider….I haven’t seen a slider yet!!
A Liriano slider is supposed to come in 84-91 with nasty movement not a looping 79-83…..pathetic!!!
We have no hope for this year….hope Mulvey and Guerra end up major league pitchers that can fill the void in the top of our rotation!
both gleeman and sikels have had reports this week that guerra has been less than expected and not pitching as well as he did last yr. he is, however, only 19.
FIRE,
I have asked this question and will continue to ask…WHO should the Twins have picked instead of Revere? One name only, please.
Also, life as a Major League Scout must be great, I guess you get a Summer vacation after the draft. Wish I could get a job as a scout like you have.
Regards,
I find it interesting that we are bashing the Revere pick because it was out of position, but he is tearing up Beloit.
Let’s let him fizzle out in the minors before we tear up that pick. Currently I’m impressed by him. Not sure where he will fit on the roster, but impressed nontheless.
I think it’s being a bit harsh to say the Twins’ pitching sucks. It’s a young staff by any standards and I think pretty much everyone knew, going in to the season, that there were going to be some growing pains.
I’m not sure there’s a legitimate potential ace on the current staff, either. But there are a lot of teams that would gladly take some of these young pitchers off the Twins’ hands, I’m sure. The silver lining is that the Twins pitchers lead the league in terms of fewest walks. That’s critical if you’re going to give up more than your share of hits.
Todd Frazier or Jon Gilmore or anyone in the sandwich round
FIRE,
“that’s like saying it’s too bad PUNTO didn’t sign with the Twins when they originally drafted him”
The Twins NEVER drafted Punto. They traded Eric Milton to the Phillies who DID draft him.
“Twin would never pay proper slot value”
The Twins just paid slot value for Aaron Hicks.
Do you plan to mix in some facts, soon?
Revere might be an o.k. player someday BUT he never should have been picked with the Twin’s #1 pick plenty of so called experts blasted the pick and said it was because of cheapness.. and wow!! Revere signs right away for far less then slot!!! until rubes stop drinking “Twins koolaid” this organization will continue to operate on the cheap.. I have not attended a regular season game at the DOME since 1991.. I still see no reason to give $ to Pohlad for this…
That’s good to know FIRE. I’ll continue to purchase the seats you refuse to get. We don’t need fans like you (ones that hold arbitrary grudges) there anyway. As long as they are fielding a team, I’ll “drink the kool-aid.”
Arguing about drafting high school baseball players is pretty much the most pointless exercise in all of sports. The fact that some scouts projected Revere in the third round means very little. So does the fact that he’s ripping up low A-ball right now. He’s still developing as a player, and he has a long way to go before we know what we have. I have zero problem with the Twins being cautious about handing millions of dollars to 18-year-old kids whose bodies are still growing.
sy check your facts PUNTO was drafted by the Twins originally in 1997.. he NEVER signed with them and went back in the draft next year..
so Twins finally paid slot for a #1 pick and then took Gutierrez again way early so they can sign him on the cheap and save money.. put down the koolaid and come back to reality… and next time research your facts before trying to call me out.. I HAVE!!
judging from attendance being way down from last year plenty of people agree with me…
FIRE,
You haven’t used the “rubes drinking Twins koolaid” reference since yesterday, the day before, the day before that, the day before that, the day before that, the day before that, the day before that……..
no draft picks are a sure thing, all you can do is wait and see how they develop.
interesting that adam everett was taken #11 in the first round and jason tyner # 21 in the first round the same year punto was taken by the phillies in the 21 st round.
who knew?
good points Peter.. but hard to argue with Revere’s skill set he won’t suddenly develop a stronger arm or grow 5 inches(only Mauer does that)
my point is Twins has guys like Jon Gilmore and other that went in the sandwich round right after pick of Revere that already had better skill sets plus they were infielders.. and aren’t we still trying to find a real answer at 3rd and SS ??
No sense letting facts get in the way of a good rant, right?
Oh… and would that Jon Gilmore be the same Jon Gilmore who hit a total of 1 HR in his time in the GCL last season and is hitting .169 in his 24 minor league games this year? Yeah… nobody would be complaining about that pick.
“PUNTO was drafted by the Twins originally in 1997″
Got me!
nice comeback sy please go away with your tail between your legs… if you are going to call people out have facts.. lesson learned I hope.. and if I am full of it on a subject or rant and someone calls me out using facts and good points I hope I will graciously acknowledge it. alot of you folks are passionate Twin fans and have alot of insight that I appreciate.. thank you to all!!
FIRE,
“if someone calls me out using facts and good points I hope I will graciously acknowledge it”
Aaron Hicks paid slot value.
You said “Twin would never pay proper slot value”
Take your best shot at “gracious”.
I don’t think you can pull that one off.
FIRE,
I humbly admit my ignorant mistake regarding the Nick Punto drafting by the Twins.
Use that as a model!
On unrelated news, Ponson signed with the Yankees last night. The comparison of Revere ( http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/R/Ben-Revere.shtml) with Puckett (http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/Kirby-Puckett.shtml)
is a very valid one and does not stop at the physical built similarities. Indeed, Revere is ahead of Puckett at similar age. I hope that the Twins fast track him at this point.
Crickett - I saw he had bad numbers so far and really my point isn’t about results right now when these kids are 18/19 years old - they will develop BUT
Revere already has a known skill set
he’s fast, decent bad speed, terrible throw arm…. there were prospect on the board that had needed skils - power, infielders!! wait I already said that…. Twins have said they loved Revere so much they even knew they took him early. but didn’t want to miss out on him.. so maybe he will turn out to be decent.. but really this franchise needs to start drafting more Morneau’s not Spans and Revere’s
a mix is what I am saying
sy yes I already said Twins paid Hick slot value but with their other #1 they will pay on the cheap again.. in the interest of fairness I should have given Twin’s credit for taking Hick and Hunt they seem to be better prospects then they usually sign - granted again it is way too early.. but it’s a start
FIRE,
Fair enough.
Maybe next time, we can both be 2-for-2.
“On unrelated news, Ponson signed with the Yankees last night.”
Oh yeah, that’ll replace Wang…
“sy yes I already said Twins paid Hick slot value but with their other #1 they will pay on the cheap again..”
Typical backtracking.
“Oh yeah…they totally proved me wrong. But don’t worry, they’ll just do that other thing I was claiming again.”
i find this interesting because crawford is considered by many a superstar and young has been blistered on here as being a failure.
crawford: 271ab, .266 ave, .312 obp, .369 slg, 4 hr and 33 rbi.
young: 261ab, .276 ave, .326 obp, .368 slg, 1 hr and 24 rbi.
not much difference compared to the maedia and fan perception.
gobble,
you got to add that Crawford is 4 years older, too…
Howard,
A couple more scattered thoughts for you. Justin Morneau is now tied for second in the AL in RBI, despite his relatively low HR total. Joe Mauer is now tied for first in the AL in batting average (and he’s been an on-base machine). These guys need All-Star votes. Jesse Crain is pitching very, very well so far this month and should probably be our top guy setting up Nathan at this point. Also, the umpire got the call right on the triple play attempt last night. But after what we saw from Runge and Reliford in Milwaukee over the weekend, the quality of MLB umpiring is not a topic I can discuss rationally for a few more days.
Add two teams to the AL.
Eliminate the wild card.
Move to 4 divisions of 4.
Play a balanced schedule:
Division games 18*3=54
League games 7*12=84 (maybe a bit of a fudge here with 4/3 series but should be able to get close, certainly much closer than what we’ve got now)
Inter-league games 6*4=24 (your rival plus each of your division opponent’s rivals)
Eliminate the DH, add a roster spot to keep the union happy.
Personally, I think the Twins are wasting their breath trying to convince Twins fans to cast enough votes for Mauer and Morneau to get elected to the AS team. What they need to be doing is flooding the NYC airwaves with commercials pointing out that Yankee fans should start voting for Mauer and Morneau if they don’t want to see Veritek and Youkalis elected.
Of course, they may still be holding some grudges out there concerning Mauer and Morneau taking batting/MVP titles from Jeter a couple of years ago. But I still think the best chance M&M have of getting elected is by voters in other cities that might not want all those Red Sox on the team.
And twayn, if we all waited until we could rationally discuss a topic here, the comment sections would be pretty empty!
Calling my shot - Perkins’ no hitter
plenty of fans would have put up a fuss for a player that none of us every heard of until Twins drafted him
When a kid has vaulted to the number 1 prospect position in his draft class after a year of playing professional ball, people notice. It’s is beyond ridiculous that you would criticize the Twins for drafting the best kid with the 27th overall choice in the draft.
I seem to recall a post by you criticizing the Twins for not drafting Hughes, Kennedy, Bucholz, Ellsbury, or Masterson when they had the chance. You can’t have it both ways.
Better yet, bisonaudit (at 12:28), get rid of the divisions — top 4 teams make the playoffs.
Justice.
And how about back to the 154 game schedule. 9 games against everybody, and 19 interleague ones.
And yeah, 26-man teams.
For those who suggested holding Johan until the Trading Deadline, it now appears that CC Sabathia AND Erik Bedard will also be on the market at that same time due to the Cleveland Indians’ and Seattle Mariners’ meltdowns.
“Of course, they may still be holding some grudges out there concerning Mauer and Morneau taking batting/MVP titles from Jeter a couple of years ago…”
Which is why I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Youkilis’ current lead over Morneau is being padded by the agitated votes of the New York fanbase.
HOWARD:
What are your thoughts on tonight’s lineup against the Big Eunuch?
Garbage time for bench players? Game experience for left handed batters?
This seems to be a game no one expects to win.
sane, I wasn’t really advocating for keeping Santana around, but I do think it would have been interesting if it had played out that way. Certainly the Twins wouldn’t be any further back than they are now, and likely would have been neck and neck with Chicago. Would they have had the nerve to trade him in the middle of a race where they would be near the top of the standings? Not likely. But given the problems the Yankees are having and the fact that the Cubs are looking for more pitching (not to mention that the Mets would certainly have still been interested), it would have been interesting to see what might have been offered. Certainly would have drawn better offers than Cleveland and Seattle will get.
Mudcat, remember, this is not your father’s Randy Johnson. He’s been far from unhittable. Pretty much the regular lineup, outside of Cuddyer not being in the lineup for a couple of days. Might mean Kubel in the OF and maybe Lamb DHing?
Jim
The Yankees would certainly be fairly desperate, but part of that is due to their not having more than one healthy young pitcher right now. Who would they offer for Santana? It’s possible the Mets would up their offer given all the problems they are having, but Santana might refuse the trade since the Mets would be even a bigger mess if the trade hadn’t happened. The BoSox are sitting pretty and likely wouldn’t even be a factor.
The Cubs would be a good fit, but Smith would likely find himself in the same position he was in during the offseason: only one trading partner.
Plus, the Cubs minor league system is considered pretty barren by BA and ESPN. They’ve been commenting on how the Cubs want to get a pitcher, but don’t have much to offer.
If the Red Sox deal was real, it looks like they should have taken Ellsbury and a pitcher. But, I’ll admit at the time, I wanted the yankees, Sox, mets offers in that order….
I still think trading him was the right move.
saam,
“The Yankees would certainly be fairly desperate, but part of that is due to their not having more than one healthy young pitcher right now. Who would they offer for Santana?”
Exactly!
How does the offer of Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy look now?
Their durability (and ability) is now questionable and no one trades for injured prospects.
The Red Sox are doing fine without Johan, thank you.
Do the number of legitimate bidders equal the number of sellers? (Twins, Mariners and Indians)
