Can we get some things explained?
Posted on May 11th, 2009 – 9:55 AMBy Howard
Dick Bremer, the TV guy whose work I like and respect, said something Sunday afternoon about how Craig Breslow “thinks he’s figured out why his control has been an issue this year — 10 walks in 9 2/3 innings. He needs to prove that here…”
Dick, unfortunately, never explained what Breslow had figured out. And now Breslow really needs to figure out how to stop serving up home runs that make bleak situations even bleaker, which Breslow did on Sunday for the second straight time. He can only hope that whatever he found works better than Boof Bonser’s weight loss in 2008.
And while we’re in explaining mode, we need to visit what happened Sunday when Gardy decided that Nick Blackburn had pitched enough — 99 pitches in seven innings without allowing a run. Blackburn allowed five hits and walked only one batter despite home plate umpire Tim McClelland’s minimal (but consistent) strike zone. (Eric Bedard walked five in 4 2/3 innings after coming into the game having walked only six batters all season for Seattle.)
Something was said after the game about how the Twins wanted Blackburn to leave on a positive note, which is at odds with the notion that the young starters are expected to do more for themselves this year. Blackburn was barely challenged by the Mariners in his final two innings, so no argument can be made about him weakening and needing a bailout. Besides, no matter how you cut up small samples, the bullpen’s stimulus package hasn’t qute worked out as planned.
And speaking of help, I think we can say without much reservation that the Twins better find some for the bullpen. Jesse Crain showed in two outings last week that he can come in and pitch a scoreless inning in lopsided games — and then he melted down with the game on the line Sunday. Single-single-wild pitch-double, see ya. That came after Jose Mijares, the young lefty people want to believe in, managed to walk to Jose Lopez on four pitches right before Ken Griffey Jr.’s game-tying home run. For Lopez, that was his 95th walk in a career of 2,289 at-bats. By comparison, Joe Mauer has 89 walks in 569 at-bats this season and last. You have to work hard to walk Lopez, no matter who’s calling the balls and strikes.
I was among those at the start of the season saying that if the bullpen was the Twins’ major problem, it would be up to management to act. I’m assuming a search party has been convened on Kirby Puckett Place.
Even some of the things that didn’t hurt the Twins could use some explaining. Like who’s going to teach our beloved Carlos Gomez how to run a good route to a fly ball instead of making like Randy Moss running an out pattern. Yes, the catch he made in the ninth inning looked snazzy, but it didn’t have to be that tough. It’s happened before and I hate to think that the things Gomez does extraordinarily well are suffering because on his inactivity — a whole different discussion. Running good routes is one more thing that he could work on during a trip to Rochester, where he could play every day instead of making his current guest appearances in the outfield. (The only real way for Carlos to learn in the majors is for him to be in the lineup almost every day, an argument that Aaron Gleeman’s blog takes on in a Carlos vs. Delmon discussion.)
Am I the only one who wants to know why Nick Punto stole second base after leading off with a single in the bottom of the ninth with the Twins down by three? Yes, he was safe, but not by much. “That’s a stolen base you better make down by three runs!” Bert Blyleven noted afterward, presumably after his jaw had rebounded off the table in the broadcast booth. So what was the point?
Right now, both Brendan Harris and Punto are in 2-for-19 funks. Punto’s hits both came Sunday — a blooper that got lost against the roof and a single off the shortstop’s glove; Harris’ included the three-run homer that broke open the game Friday. I hope when the Twins reconvene on Tuesday, they give Harris a run of at least a few more days at shortstop and Punto a few more days on the bench so he can remember what the little things are and how to do them right. (Remember, kids, this is from someone who has generally advocated Punto over Harris at shortstop. In the moment, however, I don’t think that’s a wise way to go.)
Hey, did you notice who’s second on the team in RBIs, fourth in slugging percentage and has drawn more walks than anyone else?
As long as I’m using the Twins broadcast team as props and foils (Where’s Telly when you need him?, let’s close with the words of Jim Rich, the Ch. 29 guy who roves the stands during Sunday games. Quite thoughtfully, major league baseball introduced pink into its motif on Mother’s Day as a symbol of support for Breast Cancer Awareness Day. There were pink bats and pink sweatbands and Justin Morneau’s funky black-and-pink baseball spikes — and a mention from Jim about Morneau’s participation in “breast awareness day.”
Missing words: broadcasting’s version of doing the little things right.
336 Responses to "Can we get some things explained?"
Good stuff Howard! I don’t like when you take shots at Humber and Boof but I guess it’s just your style. I was also one of the people who thought our BP would be a problem. If Mijares isn’t mentally ready and needs to go back down at some point and Breslow continues to flounder what then? Can Slama pitch at this level? I’ve never seen him pitch but his numbers tell me that his control isn’t good enough yet. From what I seen from Delaney in ST I wouldn’t want him in the Twins BP anymore than I’d want Rincon back! My point is that this situation is becoming dire in a hurry. What is up with Crain? Anyone got any thoughts on that?
I cannot believe that Blackburn was taken out of the game only up by 2 runs. I guess Gardy still hasn’t lost faith in the bullpen, but I sure have. Who’s available to bring up from the minors? I would rather take my chances with [insert minor league pitcher here] than with Crain, Breslow, Mijares or Guerrier.
Great point about Gomez. The catch he made was incredible though…
Can someone explain to me who’s running the cameras over at FSN? I can’t tell you how many times they are zoomed in on some random fan, and by the time they cut back to the game, there was a double down the line. Or, whenever there’s a throw to first to catch the runner, the camera just sits on the pitcher and you’re left wondering the fate of the throw. Also, I don’t want to watch the game from behind the batter. Oh - and its also annoying when you come back from a commercial break and there’s already 1 out, or someone jacked a homerun.
The biggest problem is there is not a lot out there to cure the bullpen, which makes the decision not to sign Juan Cruz even more troubling. Maybe they can get Street from Colorado but they need to come up with something.
As a man of 30 years, I can attest there is really no need to create a holiday for “Breast Awareness Day”. Most men are pretty aware.
Okay, so this is one of Howard’s best posts of the year. The bullpen situation was extremely frustrating and let’s hope outings by Mijares and Crain were just a bump in the road (especially Mijares, who’s shown much promise so far but has regressed in his last two outings). That said, the offense squandered many chances in this game and you had the feeling it might come back to bite them. It certainly did.
Secondly, Howard elluded to Aaron Gleeman’s “Free Carlos Gomez” piece on his blog. Unlike “Free Jason Kubel”, which I took issue with last year and Gardy never adopted (until this year), I think AG is on to something this time. Howard did sort of waffle on the issue (not giving us a definitive opinion on where he stands), but I for one would like to see a lot more Go-Go (whether it be substituting for Young or–gasp–Cuddyer).
On the topic of Cuddyer, his 18 RBI are very nice to see after finishing April with just 6. That having been said, I still don’t think we’re seeing much from him and would have no problem whatsoever if he became a platoon player with Young and Go-Go (using Young in RF when Cuddy sits, of course). We all know this is a pipe dream since Gardy is not even close to on-board, apparently. He’s not the only one: Dick Bremer, who Howard referenced at the outset, also tried delusioning fans into believing that Cuddy is having a “hot May” and provides a lot of help in protecting Justin Morneau. I got news for you, Dick: Morneau doesn’t need protecting. He was on fire in April when Cuddy was nowhere to be found (hitting in front or behind him) and he’s been on fire in May as well now that Cuddy has come out of the shadows. Like I said, I’m glad Cuddy is picking up more RBI, but I still don’t see an irreplaceable, everyday player. He strikes out too much and has very little power. 55 ABs is not enough for Go-Go…Young AND Cuddy should have to share the wealth.
Which brings us to the last straw (i.e. the 9-hitter): I concur with Howard’s point about Harris starting over Punto for all the reasons he cited. Joe Crede will return to the lineup on Tuesday, so presumably it will be either Punto or Harris at short, with the other seated on the bench next to Joe Vavra. I don’t think it’s any coincidence the Twins scored 20 runs in the two games without Punto over the weekend. You would think that would be enough to tip the scales on this one, but after listening to his Sunday morning radio show, I think Gardy has tipped his hand and I would be surprised if Punto wasn’t back at short Tuesday night. So the beat goes on…
We were at the game on Sunday and questioned why Gardy would take out Blackburn since he was basically on cruise mode. Our worst fears were realized when Mijares walked Lopez and served up a giant cookie to Griffey. I put this loss on Gardy and the Bullpen (again) and it makes me mad. Good point about Punto stealing second - another bonehead move since we needed three runs at the time. Why wasn’t Tollbert covering 2nd when we had the runner trapped between 2nd and 3rd base. I saw him over by first base but he should have definitely been backing up second - metal mistake again. Those two “hits” of Punto’s were basically errors or luck and we shouldn’t really count them as him breaking out of his slump. I noticed that with Harris at shortstop we win two games in a row; with Punto at shortstop we lose another one - just coincidence - I think not.
Let me clarify my point above about Cuddy’s “hot May”. Cuddy is hitting .371 in May, so you might argue I’m blind (which is fine, it’s been argued before lol).
The fact is Cuddy had a hot May 2-4, where he was 6-for-10 with 6 RBI. The rest of the month he is 7-for-25, with 5 RBI. That’s pretty impressive next to Delmon Young’s run production, I’m afraid, but I don’t call that “hot”.
Howard:
From where shall come the bullpen calvary? Rochester or trade?
Spot-on point about pulling Blackburn. Whatever happened to honor in this game? A guy has shutout going, he should get the chance to finish it. Just more proof that baseball ideologues are ruining the game. Common-sense intelligence is just as valid as theories and statistics.
Jason: 7 for 25 with 5 RBI isn’t too shabby either. That would be roughly his pace of 2006, with a .280 average. I think everybody would be thrilled if Cuddy hit .280 with 100rbi, regardless of how many HR he hit.
I didn’t have a huge problem with pulling Blackburn. That turned out to be one of those “hindsight is 20/20″ moments. The situation dictated that a set-up man and lock-down closer enter the game. Sadly, it didn’t work out.
I know Gardy has been on record this year saying he’s going to let the starters work longer into games (paying less attention to pitch count), but I guess I didn’t think yesterday’s game was a glaring example of that.
In hindsight, I would’ve kept Blackburn in, of course 
Matt Guerrier > Jesse Crain.
agreed lefty, but I don’t think he’s been “hot” lately (6-for-21 in last 5 games). It’s better than April, though.
no doubt on .280 and 100 RBI. But then, $8 mil should get you that.
Jason,
I made my position clear beyond a doubt a couple weeks back. Play Gomez or send him down. I try not to beat people over the head with the same point made over and over and over.
shazel,
I try to limit “shots” to criticism based on substance or as a method of comparison. I prefer scalpels to sawed-off shotguns. I really think that other people were using Boof’s weight loss last year more than he was. Pitchers can be all shapes — from Sabathian to studly — and still be effective (or not). And Blackburn WAS Humberesque at Detroit. Yesterday, he was Blylevian.
I’m just glad that stars like Morneau go out of their way for breast awareness!
The rest of the month he is 7-for-25, with 5 RBI.
“If you ignore the times he does anything good…he’s actually pretty terrible.”
Okay Jason.
——–
That said, I don’t find fault with taking Blackburn out of the game. Mijares/Nathan are supposed to be “the guys” that shorten the game.
If Gardy had gone with Ayala or Breslow to start the 8th we could talk, but 2-runs up in the 8th inning? That’s why the Twins have a bullpen.
I’d rather lose the game because the right guys fell short than losing the game with our two “finishers” on the bench.
Good call, Howard. I stand corrected (but didn’t know if you were still on board with Gardy to Rochester).
Patrick Reusse suggested last night on TV that Gomez spend all of this year and maybe even part of next year in Rochester. Interesting take, there.
Yes, I’m aware we tend to go over the same points day after day (guilty as charged, Your Honor)…but I guess frustration is part of the reason they invented keyboards.
I noticed that with Harris at shortstop we win two games in a row; with Punto at shortstop we lose another one - just coincidence - I think not.
Other players who were in the lineup Sunday that were not in the games Friday/Saturday.
Mike Redmond (C)
Carlos Gomez (CF)
Just saying.
Instead of mocking my point, I wish someone would come out and argue the counterpoint:
“I think Cuddy is a consistent performer and should play everyday at the expense the other outfielders on the team”
I’m waiting for someone other than Gardy to take this stance, I guess.
The story of the game is not how the Twins bullpen blew the game, it is why was Blackburn taken out? and how does an offense manage to walk nine times in one game and only score three runs? One clutch hit in the first, second, thrid, fifth and ninth and the game is out of reach.
While we are all worked up about Crain and Mijares losing YESTERDAYS game and everyone is calling for relief help did anyone stop to realize that only 1 of our starters(Perkins) has an OBA below .300.
We’re really in trouble. Our pitching has TERRIBLE on every level. It really all goes back to the Santana trade. Humber+Mulvey+Guerra= nothing
Now GoGo doesn’t play! What did we get for Santana? Plus, Santana’s having the best start to a season he’s ever had this year! Just a little extra salt in the wound. If Santana goes for 20 wins and 300 K’s and wins his 3rd CY then will people stop saying that the twins did the right thing by not matching or at least coming close to NY’s contract offer?
The Dodgers have about 7 good starting pitchers they are trying to find a place in their rotation. They recently lost their marquee player to a 50 game suspension. The Twins have 4 OF they are trying to fit it. The one who should be the odd man out is heating up. Trade situation made in heaven.
We need Pedro Martinez! Move Liriano to the BP.
“I think Cuddy is a consistent performer and should play everyday at the expense the other outfielders on the team”
What more counterpoint do you need? Both Cuddyer and Gomez were getting consistent playing time. Gomez hit his way out, and Young hit his way in.
Cuddyer struggled, but since May started has put up good numbers. And no, we’re not going to start throwing out games to try and get the numbers back down to what they wish we were so we could have an argument.
We need Pedro Martinez
I’ve always been a big proponent of the Twins signing Pedro Martinez, but at this point he is about one month away before he gets in pitching shape.
thrylos: Would Pedro be an improvement in the ROTATION? Because I don’t think he’d ever accept a bullpen role.
Delmon Young for Clayton Kershaw
“Cuddyer struggled, but since May started has put up good numbers.”
I agree.
But I’m still asking someone to rubber stamp Cuddy’s everyday presence in the lineup, I guess. I don’t even hear you doing that…all you’re doing is taking issue with my supposed clever twisting of statistics.
If you want Cuddy in RF everyday, just say so. I think a platoon would be in order. What a nice bat to have on the bench, right?
Yeah, absolutely no reason they should have taken Blackburn out of that game after the 7th with him cruising like that. Not that the starters have been very good overall, but the bullpen is much worse. If they clearly have no reliable bridge to Nathan they should be letting any remotely effective starter go to 120 pitches. I know Bert would be a big fan of that move. If the Twins don’t have one reliable arm in the bullpen other than Nathan, they should stop pretending like they do with the unwaivering devotion to the sexy, espn-friendly Red Sox/Yankees (not that they have a bullpen either) system with the 7 inning start, set-up man in the 8th, closer in the 9th routine. Same problem as last year and I still have the same complaints. Start stretching out your few effective pitchers and stop using the ones that aren’t until absolutely necessary. That whole rotation is full of soft-tossers so don’t tell me you can’t ask them to throw an extra 20-30 pitches a game and don’t tell me you can’t go to Nathan for two innings a night in close games.
Would Pedro be an improvement in the ROTATION?
Yes. And here is my thinking: He will move a starter (Perkins, Baker, whomever continues to struggle) into a late game role. As a matter of fact, give him another month or so and Swarzak might be an improvement in the rotation.
Delmon Young for Clayton Kershaw
I am talking about Cuddyer as the odd man out, not Young.
Jason,,,,,,,,I think you are the only one that can relate to the hindsight is 20/20 theory. Well, maybe my brother, since we argued both Blackburn being yanked and the stealing second episode. So for me and many of the others that posted here agreeing with me, it was a case of foresight is 20/20. Your “dictating the set-up man” theory is one of the most foolish changes this game has incurred in recent memory. First of all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There was no absolutely no indication from Blackburn’s that justified yanking him out for even the best set-up man. Not to mention our currernt crew of middle relief. Screw the set-up man and turn the ball over to the closer.
Thrylos98
What about if in 1 monthes time the Twins rotation is still boasting 4 guys with a OBA over .300 then would Pedro be ready and WILLING to sign here? I thought he was set on pitching in the NL if at all?
But I’m still asking someone to rubber stamp Cuddy’s everyday presence in the lineup, I guess.
How about the fact that he’s producing better than Gomez, who had regular starts until he was replaced by Young. (Who was originally the odd man out)
You even agree he’s having a good May. Wouldn’t it be best to keep with the guy having a good month? Yes, he was struggling, just like Gomez. But if both players break out of their struggles, Gomez is basically going to be hitting 9th and being used as a speed type player vs. Cuddy who if he breaks out of his funk is a 5th-7th type guy with power potential.
thrylos98
I would love to see Cuddy be the one to go as well but Gardy is literally in love with Punto and Cuddyer. Those two guys team together to form the Twins’ version of T-Jack! As both of us have said before hopefully there will be repercussions for the coaching staff if this ship sinks.
Cuddyer gets into streaks…
in 22 games in May of 2007 he hit .317/.430/.524 with 5 HR and drove in 20
for the season he hit .276/.356/.433 and only 11 more HRs.
in 24 games in June of last season he hit .291/.385/.481 (he finished the season hitting .249/.330/.369)
he has about a good month a year then he falls into his baseline that has been lower year by year. When he has that good month or so (right now) is the time to trade him.
Besides the bullpen letting one slip away again, the Twins should have had a bigger lead than 2-0. Too many men left on base against Bedard, and Morneau’s base running gaffe after his RBI double took us out of a possible nice rally. The Twins have continued to run the bases poorly again this season. Also yesterday, why wasn’t Gardy running with a speedy runner on 1st and Mauer in a 2-2 count? He ends up grounding into a force play, so its one out and a runner on 1st, instead of on 2nd.
Yeah, absolutely no reason they should have taken Blackburn out of that game after the 7th with him cruising like that.
After watching Baker go from 6 inning no-hitter to 7th inning meltdown, I think asking your supposed Set-Up Man and Closer to pitch two innings and wrap up a 2-run lead to be completely within the realm of reality.
Otherwise why the heck are they on the team?
peteandroger,
I will say it was one of those moments that drives a manager nuts. It becomes very instructive…whereas it might take a month’s worth of 0-fers from Punto to sit him on the bench, it only takes one blown close game by Mijares yesterday to make the manager re-think allowing his starter to go longer next time out.
As I said, I wasn’t jumping up and down about the move to pull Blackburn when it happened, so I can’t be critical of it now. I, like Gardy, was wrong. We don’t know what would’ve happened with Blackie in the 8th, but we sure saw what Mijares and Crain did.
in 24 games in June of last season he hit .291/.385/.481 (he finished the season hitting .249/.330/.369)
You can’t use 2008 with any kind of fair assessment, considering he came off a hand injury and then a foot injury.
Jason, I will go there. Cuddyer is a more consistent basebally player than Carlos Gomez. Gomez is not a major leaguer and should not be playing at Cuddyer’s expense.
Delmon and Cuddyer are basically the same player - big guys who look like they should hit for power but don’t, strike out too much, lack defensive range but have strong throwing arms. They both will knock in about 85 runs this year, and, hopefully, hit about .280.
“Who” is also leading the team in KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKs. Not impressed.
I understand the comeback, T…the relievers are on the team when “relief” is necessary. The question is was there an indication that relief was necessary for Blackburn? That’s what Gardy and Anderson have to decide…I think there is an argument to be made that no relief was necessary when you add everything up, but like I said, I was okay with the move.
Undoubtedly, Mijares and Crain will not be given the benefit of that situation if it occurs again in the near future.
T,
I would agree that it would be preferable to have at least one other reliable arm in the bullpen they can go to in close games, but they don’t. So until management decides enough is enough and brings in somebody who can pitch, I say you don’t take out effective pitchers for ineffective ones in close games solely because of the pitch count. Most of the games they have played have been lopsided one way or the other. We’re talking maybe a couple games a week that are close enough to warrant stretching a guy out.
thanks Steve. I disagree, but you’ve identified the trade-off…do others agree?
“Those two guys team together to form the Twins’ version of T-Jack!”
I love the creativity, shazel, but I think the analogy is off…T Jack, you will recall, was benched after two weeks!
Cuddy - .270/.354/.432
Delmon - .288/.333/.338
I’d say there’s a significant difference.
And T,
You’re basically saying, we should pitch these guys just because they’re there. That seems to be the same thing Gardy was thinking yesterday. I say don’t mess with a good thing on the rare occasion you have one going and let the stiffs prove themselves when games aren’t on the line.
“Otherwise why the heck are they on the team?”
To relieve when the starter is either fried, or is starting to stagger.
Otherwise, they can rest until tomorrow when they are actually needed.
For Lopez, that was his 95th walk in a career of 2,289 at-bats. By comparison, Joe Mauer has 89 walks in 569 at-bats this season and last. You have to work hard to walk Lopez, no matter who’s calling the balls and strikes.
I assume Lopez doesn’t walk much because he swings at nearly everything. Maybe Mijares knew this and was surprised as anyone when Lopez took those pitches for the walk.
Steve, if you consider Young and Cuddyer the same player, I would rather have Young playing everyday and give Gomez the chance to work out of his slump. Young is a higher BA player than Cuddyer. Young is still young, and we know what Cuddyer is. I like Cuddy, but at the same time, he is an $8 million dollar replica of a Young, but with less potential. If you can find a sucker for young, take it. Then you can bring up Pridie or another OF from the minors and use that player to spell the outfielders if they need it. Give Gomez the chance, work with him, and use his energy to spark this team.
Howard, I think you are over simplifying Cuddy’s numbers. He is getting more playing time and at bats then more people. Plus he is placed in the heart of the lineup, where he is going to get many more opportunities to drive in runs versus someone in the 7 or 8 hole like Young. Kubel is nearly as good as Cuddy, except he has played less and walked less. Cuddy has been suprisingly good at drawing walks this year, but I don’t think it will last.
thrylos…you’re learned enough to know that Cuddyer cannot be traded for anything valuable due to his contract. In this economy, no team would be willing to take on his $8 mil/year deal.
He’s an average right fielder (at best), getting paid as an elite right fielder. If we were desperate to get rid of him, WE’D have to be the team throwing in prospects, just to get the other team interested.
Maybe we could trade him for someone with an equally horrible contract, but don’t go thinking we can get anything of value for him - every team in the majors would rather not have Cuddyer (and his contract) than have him.
Why did Morneau round second on his “double” and head for third and get thrown out? Was he given go-ahead or a mental mistake?
Delmon is a lot like Cuddy except with less power and much less plate discipline.
My thoughts on Cuddy is that I like him as a player, but they need to move him. He is the eldest of our OF’s and is inhibiting their playing time on a consistent basis. Trade him for what ever we can get so we don’t have to pay his salary, and then we can go and get some bullpen help. Everybody wins (cuddy to because he gets to play everyday too, just not in MN).
Cuddy’s walk rate is up this year but it’s not up a ton. Something like one additional walk every two weeks. So maybe it’s not so suprising and maybe it can last.
I would agree that it would be preferable to have at least one other reliable arm in the bullpen they can go to in close games, but they don’t.
With the exception of last night, hasn’t Mijares been just that?
T, Mijares also blew the game in Baltimore on Thursday.
Thanks Ben: I missed that game Thursday night.
Thry,
I love the idea of shipping Cuddyer off to the Dodgers for some pitching help and contrary to what Gladman says, I think the Dodgers would go with him. It’s certainly worth checking into by BS and friends. I would like to see the outfield be Young, Gomez and Span and let’s see how the youngsters do when give the chance.
Our HOLE pitching staff looks lack luster at this point. Pedro Martinez is unsigned. This should be a no-brain er. At least kick the tires make an inquiry or something!
Young Span and Gomez got a chance last year and did well. The team played its best ball with Cuddy on the DL.
Why not just let Nathan pitch more than one inning for a save. He has not pitched much this year, and last pitched on Friday. Also, with the off day the next day he would of been rested for the Detroit series.
Henn, Slama and Duensing up. Crain, Breslow and Ayala gone. While the season hasn’t imploded yet, it might be worth a shot.
So am I correct that steve is the only one among us so far who believes that Cuddy should be playing everyday?
Punto’s 9th inning steal — the only reason I can think of is to stay out of the double play, which may have happened when Span grounded out in the next AB. That game was a tough one to lose — they had many opportunities to blow them out and then couldn’t come up with the key hit in the 9th. Shake it off and drive on.
Howard,
Nice job. Thanks, I always like to read your take.
Bout the Gomez route. I disagree, he started the right direction and adjusted as he gaged the velocity/spin of the ball. I see no fault in this particular play. Unless you want to fault his eyesight. But we were “spoiled” by Hunter’s ability to pick the ball up off the bat so soon. That’s kinda rare from where I sit.
IMHO the big problem is 4 OFers who all should start. Cuddyer is a known. Span appears to be for real and a known also. Young and Gomez are both projects. BOTH need to play. If the team wants to keep Young, (lotsa talk bout his “tude”) great. If they don’t, trade him. I think Gomez is my favorite reason to watch the Twins. He brings an excitement to the team. He’s gifted. Some metrics point to the fact that he’s the best CFer in the game NOW. He knows it. Good luck selling him on the fact that he should languish in AAA with 3 OFers ahead of him on the depth chart. We risk “losing” this kid. As much as I wanna see him as the Twins CF, a lesser risk would be to trade him. I think a lot of teams would see his value.
So am I correct that steve is the only one among us so far who believes that Cuddy should be playing everyday?
*eyeroll*
I’ve already said I do, I dunno how I can make it anymore clear.
brian: Nathan pitched the save in Saturday’s game.
As a resident SoCal, IMO the Dodgers have ZERO interest in Cuddyer.
Juan Pierre is a highly paid temp who is filling Manny’s shoes by batting .424 with .481/.511/.991 and can backpedal faster than Cuddyer can run.
The Dodgers need Cuddyer, like LaSorda needs canoles.
funoka…my take on the Punto steal is he just thought he would get a defensive indifference (there would be no throw). It was a really silly move…Bert was all over that one. The bright side is it added 1 point to whoever had him in “Pick to Stick”.
Span would not have been doubled up had Punto not stolen second…the ball was bobbled by the pitcher.
So Jason, you keep insisting that someone step forward and embrace Cuddyer as the everyday RF. Can I choose Markakis or Ludwick instead? Or are my other choices Gomez and Young? Frankly, I don’t like any of the three right now as an everyday player, so pick your poison.
So it’s “no coincidence” that Punto was in the lineup Sunday when the Twins lost, but I guess it WAS purely coincidence that Gomez was, as well?
Punto goes 2 for 3, plus a walk and Gomez 1 for 4… with a K.
Look… I’m all on board with Harris deserving more starts at SS with Crede returning, while Punto gets more pine time. But for some of you to deride Gardy’s supposed “love affair” with Punto while you ignore your own man-crushes on Gomez is remarkable.
That you go on to continue arguing that Gomez should be getting Cuddyer’s ABs even now that Cuddyer is actually producing at the plate just makes me shake my head.
The supposed unfounded “love” Gardy has for Punto and Cuddyer is nothing compared to what some of you have for a guy who’s done virtually nothing to warrant even the occasional plate appearances he’s getting now. Yes, Gomez should be playing every day… in a Red Wings jersey.
The Gardy Empire is starting to fall. His decisions have always been questionable, but now they are just plain stupid.
birdofprey….that’s a non-answer to my question…I realize Young and Go-Go are not setting the world on fire.
I am insisting that Gardy begin platooning Cuddy…just as he’s been platooning Young and Go-Go.
No one seems to disagree with me except steve (and Gardy).
How in the world does Bill Smith keep his job? You would expect that someone, ANYONE, in ownership would look at all the horrible trades and terrible acquistions he has made and get the pink slip ready. We basically traded Santana for a guy hitting .200 with no power but who is exciting but not fundamentally sound and have added the likes of Breslow (averaging a walk an inning), Guardado, Morillo (with a 7.00 ERA at Rochester), Ayala (worst reliever from the worst team in the majors) to the bullpen under his watch. He suns himself at the winter meetings and lets all the available good relievers go to other teams, etc. In less than 2 years he has let this team stagnate and get worse and he still has a job? He is absolutely incompetent and I am tired of all the “Pohlad is cheap” excuses. He is clueless and needs to be fired. Will 75-87 do it? What will it take? Sheesh…
how about Breslow and Ayala gone and Slama and Henn up.
I don’t sense a Go-Go love affair here, JimCrikket. I sense folks are mad that someone with the supposed potential of Go-Go has just 55 ABs while Cuddyer has 111. Go-Go is 4-for-14 in May…is it really fair to judge him yet?
Yes, I disagree, Jason. Absolutely.
Yes, Cuddyer is streaky (like a lot of guys in MLB). But he’s seeing the ball well right now and hitting the ball hard. You ride the hot hand until it’s not hot any more. Sitting him now, when he’s hot (and replacing him with a guy who is about as un-hot at the plate as you can get) would be beyond foolish.
Bob,
“Morillo (with a 7.00 ERA at Rochester)”
Morillo has a 3.38 ERA with 10 K and 4 BB in 8 IP, AND HE COST NOTHING!
Were there any other “facts” that needed correcting in your post.
So Jim, would you say that Young deserves playing time more than Gomez too?
Cuddyer is going to start regardless of whether he is on a hot streak or not until he either gets hurt or gets traded. Let’s hope he stays hot.
The ‘Gardy empire’ will never fall, I’m fairly certain. No way the Twins ever fire him.
LOL he’s not hot right now. How many times do I have to say that. Sure, he blasted a 3-run HR to Timbucktoo on Saturday night, but yesterday he was 1-for-4 with 2 K’s and a Texas-League dunk RBI single to right. I say give him a start on Tues. and Wed. and if he ends up 2-for-8, let Go-Go play Thurs. afternoon. Fair enough? All I’m asking for is a little leeway here…
This isn’t September in a year when you’re 20 games out of 1st place, Jason. You don’t give ABs to someone with “supposed potential” over a guy who’s actually… you know… hitting the friggin ball!
T is absolutely right. Gomez played himself out of the line up. Now he either goes to Rochester or he sits until he starts taking advantage of the few opportunities he gets and someone else gets cold.
Suggesting it should be otherwise is just as, if not more, illogical as any “bias” Gardy has shown.
No one seems to disagree with me except steve (and Gardy).
Plenty disagree. You (in typical fashion) ignore them.
just as he’s been platooning Young and Go-Go.
Young hasn’t been platooning with Gomez since about Mid April: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2009-lineups.shtml
The last time Gomez got more than one start in a row was the Boston series, ever since then it’s been Young with Gomez getting a play day from time to time.
“birdofprey….that’s a non-answer to my question”
It’s really a non-question. A bunch of us think Cuddyer’s likely to help win more games right now. Some think Young can. Others think Gomez should play and maybe don’t really factor wins into the equation at this time, who knows? Others think Gomez should spot-start, with Young getting a majority of the AB’s and Cuddyer should stay in the clubhouse doing card tricks and helpimg with the luggage.
You’re asking for a simple answer to a really simple question, and there is no simple answer available for you. Which is why the discussion continues, right?
but yesterday he was 1-for-4 with 2 K’s and a Texas-League dunk RBI single to right
“There’s no way in heck we should keep the guy after one good game…but we sure as heck should bench him after one!”
Morillo (with a 7.00 ERA at Rochester)
foul
Morillo has a 3.38 ERA, struck out 10 and walked 4, in 8 and 2/3 IP, in 5 games, in Rochester. He had one bad outing when he gave all his runs. Other than that he has been lights out.
The Cuddyer argument is beyond goofy. How anyone can watch Cuddy and Young play and come away with the idea that they’re basically the same player is a real head-scratcher.
Cuddyer hustles after every ball. He takes extra bases. He makes smart throws. Ichiro, of all people, doesn’t test him. He works counts and is getting walks (a bit of a new trick, to be sure, a function of the guys behind him being less scary,I’d bet) He’s Third on the team in OBP, Slugging, Extra base hits and leads in walks. He’s putting up.
Meanwhile, Delmon has 2 extra base hits. I can not for a second figure out how Cuddy is expendable in this lineup, but I can see how a poor fielding singles hitter might be.
Ayala doesn’t look like it was a good move now, but he actually had put up decent numbers with New York, and he didn’t cost much. I don’t think you can fault Smith for giving that a shot. Now if they wanted to go out and spend some real money for once, that would be another story…
Any thoughts that the death of Carl Pohlad makes firing people more likely?
I’m not sure why you’d bench a guy who goes 2 for 8 the next two games in order to play someone who’s not even likely to hit that well, but sure… why not? I’ll sign on for agreeing to let Gomez get Cuddyer’s start on Thursday if Cudder goes 2 for 8 Tue and Wed… if you’ll agree to Gomez NOT getting it if Cuddyer does better than 2 for 3… and for not suggesting it again for at least a week if Gomez gets a collar hung on him if he DOES get a start!
“No one seems to disagree with me except steve (and Gardy).”
Unless you count those who have no interest in your “argument” and choose to ignore you, until we are accused of agreeing with you.
sane,
Thanks for this. “can backpedal faster than Cuddyer can run” You made my lunch break.
so we’ve got steve, JimCrikket, and Dood so far…
thrylos: That looks like promising info about Morillo. Hopefully he can get it figured out and be back up here.
sure why not sy…i’ll count the no-interest folks too
MC Dyer needs to stay in the line-up, he’s seeing the ball well. Punto is a moron, not to mention a bad hitter, so he needs to sit. You never, EVER steal second down by 2 runs unless they are giving it to you by not holding you on. Of course the Twins were down by 3, so maybe Punto thought the game was over and he just wanted to pad his stats. That’s the only reason I can think of why he stole second. Either that or his baseball IQ is 0. Yes, Span did hit a grounder that could have been a DP the next at-bat, but saying Punto was right is like the dumbass that hits on 16 with the dealer showing a 6. An absolutely unnecessary risk.
*should have been “… if Cuddyer does better than 2 for 8…” (rather than “2 for 3″)
so we’ve got steve, JimCrikket, and Dood so far…
Obvious troll is obvious.
Jason,
EVERYONE (may) disagree with you, but are too apathetic to post on a such a boring subject which has been over-discussed beyond nausea.
I agree that you have to play Cuddyer now… but I don’t see what it is that Young is doing that justifies keeping Gomez on the bench.
Jason,
Given the current situation Cuddy shpould start. Also, managers fall “in love” with players for a reason. Maybe there’s something you and I don’t see.
How is discovering a way to make our outfield better, which has a combined HR total of 5 (not including Kubel), a boring subject?
I think we can all agree that Cuddyer is doing a far better job for the Twins than Jason is for this chatboard.
How is discovering a way to make our outfield better, which has a combined HR total of 5 (not including Kubel), a boring subject?
Because the argument you’re making is that “Gomez makes the OF better.” Which MANY disagree with.
Not to mention dropping Gomez in there instead of Cuddy drops the OF HR total to 2.
And since HR are your “Magical Stat of the Day” for today, that would make the OF worse.
“How is discovering a way to make our outfield better, which has a combined HR total of 5 (not including Kubel), a boring subject?”
When there are no NEW ideas presented since Cuddyer regained his health after the 2008 season.
Mind-numbing repetition is boring.
Okay, I give up for today….new topic
Yes, I will be back with this same discussion on Thursday when the situation hasn’t improved
(That’s the whole point of this, by the way, to recognize a situation and take steps to rectify it before it spirals out of control–the organization has struggled with this in recent years, which is why we now have a $4 mil shortstop batting .207).
I’ll gladly accept the Gomez Mad Hacks at batting slot 9 and the Carlos Routes of Silliness since it leaves up with very respectable defense in the outfield.
I also support trading Delmon, as the guy clearly is worth more in potential than he is in practice. I’m guessing the Dodgers would be able to come up with a good bullpen arm for us in exchange for him.
“Yes, I will be back with this same discussion on Thursday when the situation hasn’t improved”
Mind-numbing repetition is boring.
but I don’t see what it is that Young is doing that justifies keeping Gomez on the bench.
The question goes both ways. What has Gomez shown in the time he plays that has earned his way back into the lineup
T, I’ll go with the easy answer - defense.
Gomez improves the CF defense over Span, Span improves the LF defense over Young, Cuddy doesn’t have to cover as much ground, and the flyball-pitchers perform better.
That’s the whole point of this, by the way, to recognize a situation and take steps to rectify it before it spirals out of control
I hate to break it to you Jason, but unless your name is Ron Gardenhire or Bill Smith it already is out of your control.
Yes, I will be back with this same discussion on Thursday when the situation hasn’t improved
Nah, you’ll be back here regardless of what the situation is, pushing the same thing…regardless of what either player is doing/not doing.
T, I’ll go with the easy answer - defense.
Why does that argument work for Gomez when he’s not hitting, but heaven forbid anybody brings up Punto’s defense when he’s not hitting?
“Also, managers fall “in love” with players for a reason. Maybe there’s something you and I don’t see.”
Oh, no you don’t, Paul! THIS manager falls in love with players strictly for reasons unrelated to the merits. Gardy doesn’t prefer people, he favors people, because he’s an idiot and a liar.
BenW: “So Jim, would you say that Young deserves playing time more than Gomez too?”
For a team that has been struggling to put up enough offense to win games, yes… absolutely. As I’ve said countless times before, Gomez lost his job by not producing. Barring injury, he doesn’t get it back until he DOES produce in whatever opportunities he gets and one of the other guys doesn’t.
Such has it ever been in virtually every sport. Such as it ever shall be… no matter how much “excitement” someone might feel he provides.
“Mind-numbing repetition is boring.”
And feel free to repeat your repetition.
But please don’t assume that everyone who is not “moved” to join the argument must agree with you by default.
Bill Smith’s biggest mistake was giving Punto $4/year for two years. How many other more productive players got less than that or equal? Not another team would have paid him that let alone for two years. What a joke.
Thought:
- For the short term, and maybe the long term, Gardy needs to reassess his usage of Nathan.
Nathan:
1. doesn’t throw a pitch in a one run loss Thursday in Baltimore–a game that was tied going into the bottom of the 8th
2. Then “needs work” in an 11-0 game Friday.
3. Then is used to close out a 3 run game Saturday
4. Then watches the bullpen melt down in the 8th with a 2 run lead Sunday, and ends up never throwing a pitch.
Perhaps Gardy should start considering using Nathan a bit more aggressively, and wisely.
- Sane is right (as usual)…I can’t imagine the Dodgers trading for Cuddyer. Actually, I can’t imagine ANYone trading for Cuddyer.
- I would prefer a Span-Gomez-Young outfield, but I can understand arguments to the contrary. The real problem is this: if the regular outfield isn’t going to include Gomez, he needs to be getting regular ABs in Rochester. Having someone that young and that physically gifted rotting on the bench is criminal.
- I have pretty consistently defended Gardy, and I’m not a Punto hater, but if Crede is ready to go Tuesday, and Punto is starting over Harris, then something is wrong. Way wrong.
- The bullpen situation should not be a surprise to anybody, least of all Bill Smith. He f’d up badly last summer, compounded his mistake this winter, and is getting exactly what he should have expected. I don’t blame the starters struggles on him (and I think the starting pitching will end up a strength) but the bullpen is all on him. Stupid GM’ing. Incredibly stupid. Juan Cruz, Takashi Saito, and Orlando Hudson would go a long ways to patching some holes on this team, no? Screw the draftpicks. And please don’t tell me the Twins can’t afford them. They can.
Punto’s defense is better than Harris’s, but the difference isn’t greater than the difference in offensive value between the two.
The difference in outfield defense between Span/Gomez/Cuddyer and Young/Span/Cuddyer is much greater than the difference in offensive value between Young and Gomez.
BOP,
I think I know you well enough to recognize your humor. I hope.
As I’ve said countless times before, Gomez lost his job by not producing. Barring injury, he doesn’t get it back until he DOES produce in whatever opportunities he gets and one of the other guys doesn’t.
This here. Harris has started 4 of the last 5 games (2x 3B and 2x SS) because he is actively hitting when given the opportunity.
As such, he was given the start over the healthy Punto TWICE over the weekend, and then moved to 3B (over the healthy Buscher) even with Punto back in the lineup)
great post, USAF.
Although you can’t fault Gardy for not going to Nathan yesterday, unless you wanted Nathan to start the 8th inning or for him to enter the game at the very first sign of trouble, which is unrealistic and sends a bad message to Mijares.
How about we trade Cuddy for ManRam?
I can and do fault Gardy for almost NEVER using Nathan for more than one inning, which resulted over the past four days in Nathan pitching in 11 and 3 run victories, and NOT pitching in 1 and 2 runs losses, both of which were lost by the pen.
I agree totally USAF….but yesterday wasn’t Exhibit A.
“How about we trade Cuddy for ManRam?”
The Dodgers will not respond to extortion!
Or were you serious?
Why trade for ManRam when you can pick up B.Bonds off the scrap heap?
Perhaps Gardy should start considering using Nathan a bit more aggressively, and wisely.
Somebody made this argument last year, and I tried to track down the stats…but it’d be interesting to see where closers rank in average innings per appearance.
Nathan’s currently 1:1, but even the “top” closer (Codereo who’s 9 for 9) is only 1:1.
Other noteables:
Jenks: 1:1 (7 for 7)
Papelbon: 13 Games/14 innings (8 for 
Rivera: 13 games/ 12.1 innings (6 for 7)
I didn’t really see anybody that had more than a few extra innings per game pitched (though that may spread out as the season progresses)
I only looked at those closers with 5 or more saves. It’s somewhat arbitraty, but I couldn’t find a better place to do the eyeballing than mlb.com
On the one hand, I don’t want my closer’s arm tired in September, but on the other, if I keep losing close games, it won’t matter if it’s tired or not in September.
If they really don’t want him working more than one inning, I’d be satisfied with just starting to make use of him in the MOST IMPORTANT inning, not just the 9th. Use him to stop the bleeding when there IS bleeding or when the toughest hitters are coming up in a situation where they could do real damage… whether that’s the 7th, 8th or 9th.
About the relative value of defense vs. offense etc. of Punto, Gomez, & Harris: there is a measurement that combines offense and defense that is called runs above replacement (RAR) This calculates the value of a player express in runs he contributed to the team over a potential warm AAA body replacement.
so far in 2009
Punto: 1.2 RAR
Gomez: 0.8 RAR
Harris: 3.8 RAR
the stat is cumulative (i.e. the more a player plays the more he contributes). If we were to normalize per 100 PA then we have:
Harris: 5.5 RAR/100 PA
Gomez: 1.4 RAR/100 PA
Punto: 1.2 RAR/100 PA
some other notables:
Mauer: 26.3 RAR/100 PA
Crede: 9.0 RAR/100 PA
Morales: 8.0 RAR/100 PA
Morneau: 7.4 RAR/100 PA
Span: 4.0 RAR/100 PA
Kubel: 3.5 RAR/100 PA
Cuddyer: 2.4 RAR/100 PA
Redmond: 1.6 RAR/100 PA
whether that’s the 7th, 8th or 9th.
That to me isn’t Nathan’s role. I could see him being asked to step in if the set-up guy runs into trouble getting out of a tight jam in the 8th inning, but if you’re asking him to come in for the 7th that means at best he gets through that and some of the 8th…meaning you still rely on somebody else to try and get that last inning (if Nathan does his job and gets out of the high leverage situation).
Which means the problem wraps back around not to when to use Nathan, but who to use ALONG WITH Nathan to close out the game.
Anybody know if Nathan asked to pitch Friday, or did Gardy or Andy just decide he needed an inning?
[…] A Fan’s View – […]
Good stat thrylos: Though it’s a bit deceptive to include Gomez between Harris and Punto (since Gomez wouldn’t be played in place of either of them)
I would be interested in seeing Young’s adjusted RAR.
DEFENSE - you are all forgetting defense. Young is terrible in LF, and Gomez is great in CF. Go look at gleeman’s blog for the numbers. Young hits like a SS, and fields like me. That’s not an acceptable combination for a corner OF. He should be in RF, or on the bench right now.
I would be interested in seeing Young’s adjusted RAR.
below 0 (as is Tolbert’s and Casillas)
Why are so many people clamoring for Anthony Slama to be called up right now? Is it how he, at age 24, dominated A ball? Or is it his 1.50 WHIP in AA?
Just guessing here, BUT:
1) On the night before the Manny Ramirez announcement, no one in the Dodgers’ FO said to themselves, “No problemo, we can always get Cuddyer to replace Manny while he is gone.
and
2) No one in the Dodgers’ FO could pick Cuddyer out of a police line-up.
Seth, right or wrong, it is disgust with the guys we’ve seen that causes the clamor for someone else. Not for me, necessarily, but for the ‘us’. Too bad Slama was held down for no reason last year, we’d have a better handle on him already this year if he had been in AA, like he should have been.
Isn’t it funny that after Moneyball came out, SABRmetricians felt that OBP was all that mattered, and defense (guys like Scott Hatteberg) was irrelevent. Then the A’s and guru-Beane went to speed being the cheap thing. And now SABRmetricians suddenly find defense to be important again, despite the fact that the defensive numbers are still fairly new and not completely accepted and fool-proof.
Believe me, I’m a big fan of people being able to play defense. That was just a thought on the continuing changes in stat availability and confidence. Now, anyone can find a stat to say about anything.
Howard,
Is it possible that the reason Dick didn’t mention what Breslow had “figured out” is because he didn’t actually talk to Breslow , rather getting that nugget from the Tribune’s coverage as the rest of did a few days ago?
Dick was once very good but like many older players, longtime broadcasters can tend to get into the “mail it in” mode. Just ask Bert who every time we get a replay tells us only what exactly we all can see instead of providing us some personal insight he has into pitching or some insight about that particular pitcher that he has gleaned from talking to them or the Twins coaching staff.
How about a little “what would you do here Bert” before a play happens or play manager along with the rest of us watching the game. That’s half the fun of sports and makes for good on air debate. First guess not second guess.
Their not the worst duo in the majors but having the ability to circle people with your telestrater (?) pen and Getting really excited on a big play does not make you good broadcasters. Just one trick ponies.
On another note, couldn’t agree more with your take on Go-Go & the bullpen. Crain’s days in a meaningful role should be over. He can have the 7th at best. At least the offense has a chance to recover from that.
I still think that Young’s field issues with the huge LF in the dome contribute to his offensive problems.
So far this season on the road he is hitting .333/.389/.455 (10 games) and at home he is hitting .255/.294/.255 (14 games). Given that Cuddyer is not going away as long as Gardy is the manager, it might make sense for home games to keep mostly a Span LF/Gomez CF/Cuddyer RF and for the road games mostly a Young LF/Span CF/Cuddyer RF situation. That would play on the strengths of all players and provide the best defensive OF at home.
I don’t blame the starters struggles on him (and I think the starting pitching will end up a strength) but the bullpen is all on him.
Chief, I think Smith assumed as you do that starting pitch is—or will wind up—a strength, making the bullpen less vital.
The OF and bullpen are diversions, but this team is all about the starting rotation. The Twins will go as far (or not) as the starters take them.
Why did Punto attempt a steal? There can only be one explanation: He’s brain dead. If he had been caught (and he very nearly was caught oversliding the bag), would that warrant an extended trip to the bench? I doubt it. Two Punto-less games and Gardy starts Jonesing for a little entertainment Punto style–sliding into first, bunting pop ups, striking out on three pitches down the middle–very entertaining stuff.
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/green/index.shtml?cm_re=masthead-_-business-_-green
Because they haven’t looked at his stats in a couple of weeks. He started off pitching six innings with two base runners and 12 strikeouts. Since then, he’s struggled.
Quickly to expound upon my point about our OFs HR production…I know it’s not the only stat of importance, but I think we found out over the weekend that HRs produce wins. (Minnesota on Fri. / Sat., Seattle on Sunday)
So yes, I’d like to see Young / Cuddy / Span / Go-Go (or at least one of the four) hit the ball over the fence more often.
Oops, something happened to my copy/paste. Meant to be a response to Seth, ended up a plug form my content. Oops.
“Why are so many people clamoring for Anthony Slama to be called up right now?”
Why?
1)Ayala
2)Crain
3)Breslow
4)Dickey
5)Mijares
6)Guerrier
“Breast awareness” day. When he said that during the broadcast me and my family all cracked up. I said “everyday is breast awareness day!”.
Why are so many people clamoring for Anthony Slama to be called up right now?
I don’t know about Slama, but there might be a case for Swarzak (2.03 ERA, .935 WHIP) to replace Dickey within the month if he continues going. Also, I’d like to see Gutierrez in AA sooner than later (1.50 ERA, .73 WHIP in Ft. Myers) and Delaney at AAA sooner than later (3.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 10.20 K/9, 8 K/BB) because they do not have much to prove where they are right now and might be able to help the Twins down the road. Slama needs a month or so to get it going, esp. as far as his control is concerned…
So yes, I’d like to see Young / Cuddy / Span / Go-Go (or at least one of the four) hit the ball over the fence more often.
So the bad choice at that point would be to sit the guy who’s actually hit the most HR (and hit them most recently) in Cuddyer and replace him with the one guy who hasn’t hit any.
seth,
“Why are so many people clamoring for Anthony Slama to be called up right now?”
Gardy asked about him last weekend.
I guess he forgot to ask you first.
Just ask Bert who every time we get a replay tells us only what exactly we all can see instead of providing us some personal insight
I know I probably don’t speak for most of hte people on the Strib, but when Bert starts discussing arm angles, getting on top of the ball, and other elements such as that…I bet the common baseball fan wouldn’t have thought about that if it wasn’t pointed out to them.
T, the point is none of them have hit any.
Cuddy is on pace for what, 13 HR this year? And that’s the leader in the clubhouse? Heck, Harris would hit 13 HR if you stuck him in the outfield…as would Pridie, I bet.
Cuddy is on pace for what, 13 HR this year?
And Gomez is on track to hit 0. What’s your point?
The point is none of these guys deserves to play everday, except Span, who gives you a quality lead-off hitter.
I miss breast awareness, I watched Seattle’s feed in HD, MY29’s feed is aweful.
T98,
What’s Young’s RAR/100PA
And now I have to ask what was the point of this:
And that’s the leader in the clubhouse?
See, this is what you do. You make one argument (in this case homers). And then when that’s counterpointed you suddenly move the goalposts and add some other random factor.
This time it’s “club leadership” apparently.
And yes, Cuddyer is ONE of the clubhouse leaders. The other two (or three) would be Mauer, Morneau, and Nathan.
And I would wager that Mauer/Morneau probably fill that role moreso than Nathan.
Good baseball humor:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/royals_unable_to_find?utm_source=onion_rss_daily
To illustrate my point, Lew Ford (who Souhan couldn’t resist cheap-shotting again Sun. morning during Gardy’s radio show) had 3 HR in 130 ABs in 2007. Cuddy has 3 HR in 111 ABs this year.
Lew Ford played about 1.5 games per week in 2007.
by leader in the clubhouse I meant (ahead as of now), which is a golf term.
sorry to confuse the baseball folks.
The point is none of these guys deserves to play everday, except Span, who gives you a quality lead-off hitter.
Now you’re changing your argument. It went from Cuddyer not being worthy of play time over Gomez (which was disproven) to the much more open and harder to pin down “Nobody but Span!”
Frankly, if “nobody” deserves to be playing everday…than the two that SHOULD be playing everyday are the two best options. Cuddyer is producing better than Gomez, which leaves Young vs. Gomez.
Jason,
there is a simple rule to follow in life: never listen to Souhan! he is terrible
“And that’s the leader in the clubhouse?”
I took that as a golf analogy, meaning the leader before the completion of the round.
My bad, maybe.
Souhan reminds me of Reusse. When things are good, they’re terrible. When they’re terrible, they’re worse.
T–
I’m not changing my argument. Only Span deserves to play everyday. Yes.
As is, Span and Cuddy are playing everyday.
Thus, I think Cuddy should be platooned.
How is that not consistent?
Reusse is an old curmudgeon and he is ok with people knowing it. Souhan thinks he is smart and funny and, he tries so hard to show how smart and funny he thinks he is.
Jason, you’re definition of “platoon” is waaaay to wide. As in, if a guy sits once a week it’s considered platooning.
I hate to break it to you, but Gomez and Young haven’t platoon since the middle of April. I already showed you the defensive alignments as proof.
If you want a guy getting platooned. That’s HARRIS right now. Buscher’s not even platooned. He’s a spot starter (like Gomez).
Gomez should play more. Some for Young, a little for Cuddyer. If not, he should play everyday in AAA.
So you are suggesting that Young should sit more to get Go-Go ABs?
Or are you suggesting that Go-Go simply not get any more ABs than he is getting?
Whether you call it “platoon” or “spot start”, I am suggesting that Cuddy share in Young’s occasional benching in order to give Go-Go more ABs.
By thew way, sorry for going back on my word to give up this topic for today, folks.
Sane - quick question, how do you think those six that you mentioned would perform in AA?
To repeat my previous point regarding the supposed “platoon” of Young/Gomez.
Since April 22nd, Young has not played LF in 4 games for the Twins. In one of those games, he was the DH.
That’s 3 “benchings” in 17 games. I repeat: What platoon?
And, to be fair, I’m not certain Breslow would do real well at AA.
Just for the record, the common definition of ‘platoon’ in baseball is to have a RH and LH hitting option at a position, and chose that day’s player based on which hand the opposing starter throws with.
Jason: What I’m suggestingis two fold:
1) Your definition of platoon is misapplied in this situation. HARRIS is being platooned, as he’s seeing regular starts, but at this point it’s shuffled between 2B, SS, and 3B. Neither Gomez or Buscher are platoon players at the moment. They are backups.
In the first 15 games of the season, Young played the field in 8 and DH’d in 1.
By comparison Young has had 3 benchings in the 17 games sinec and one DH appearance.
The OF was a platoon for the first 15 games or so. But since then, Gardy has settled on Young/Span/Cuddyer and has given Gomez occasional play time.
2) Gomez needs to take the ABs he’s currently given and show that he’s capable of hitting when asked to.
But with how things are going at the moment, he should not be getting ABs just because “He may turn it around”.
What’s Young’s RAR/100PA
-7.35
Sane - quick question, how do you think those six that you mentioned would perform in AA?
I’m not sane, but IMO if Dickey were in AA he’d have been released by now.
Thanks Chief: I think we shouldn’t be discussing the p-word at this point…but perhaps looking at who is in what role.
Starters:
Mauer (C)
Morneau (1B)
Crede (3B)
Young (LF)
Span (CF/OF)
Cuddyer (RF)
Tolbert (2B)
Bench:
Buscher
Gomez
With the arrival of Tolbert, I think the roles in the MIF is somewhat in flux. We need Crede to get back to full health to see what they consider to be the MIF. Right now it looks like they want to use Tolbert at 2B on a regular basis. So that basically leaves Harris/Punto at SS.
Your definition of platoon is misapplied in this situation. HARRIS is being platooned, as he’s seeing regular starts, but at this point it’s shuffled between 2B, SS, and 3B.
“Platoon.”
(Channeling Inyego Montoya): I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
I agree with your reset of how Gardy has worked the outfield, T.
I disagree with his decision to play Cuddy everyday (as I’ve gone over at nauseam).
So whether you call it “platoon” or “spot start”, I just think Cuddy needs to be included in the rotation that allows for Go-Go to get more ABs.
Put another way, I’d like to see an OF of Span / Go-Go / Young at least once in a while to see if it works…
Chief,
Could you please be less vague about your feelings on Dickey?
Seth,
“Sane - quick question, how do you think those six that you mentioned would perform in AA?”
In the short term (as with Slama) they may do well if they are on a roll, or they may do poorly if they are in a temporary funk.
In the long term, I believe they would all do well at AA as will Slama.
The problem is criticizing Slama for being over-age for his level.
If you look at his numbers, that is not his fault. He didn’t get promotions in a timely manner, despite his stats.
No player (or employee) can promote himself, if the Organization is going to minimize his accomplishments.
Chief: I thanked you and corrected myself in the post just above that.
Bill Smith traded Johan Santana for a pinch runner.
I’m not certain Breslow would do real well at AA.
that’s a bit unfair he was excellent with Pawtucket in 06 and 07. The thing with Breslow is that his down fall is walks. The only season he did not walk too many people was last season with the Twins. This season he is walking 8.4 per 9 IP. You cannot survive for long like this in the majors.
and it gets a bit worse:
here is the BABIP of Twins’ relievers:
Ayala .408
Dickey .352
Mijares .333
Crain .261
Breslow .231
Nathan .214
Guerrier .200
the ones in bold will likely get worse and the others will likely improve…
not a pretty picture.
“Bill Smith traded Johan Santana for a pinch runner.”
Best post of the day. Wow.
Bill Smith traded Johan Santana for a pinch runner.
At least they took a chance…vs. just letting him walk and taking two draft picks who’s names we probably wouldn’t even remember a week later.
Bob Keppel ERA’s at AAA in last three years.
5.67
5.48
5.99
Is he more deserving of being a AAA pitcher than Slama, who is 3-0, 2.35 at AA, 26K, 10 BB, after being the Twins minor league pitcher of the year at High-A last year?
“At least they took a chance…vs. just letting him walk and taking two draft picks who’s names we probably wouldn’t even remember a week later.”
Of course they could’ve used the $33 million they ended up spending on Cuddyer and Punto to make the pot sweeter for Johan…
In a hurry and don’t have time to chat. But…..
“During the six games before Sunday, the Twins bullpen had given up only three runs in 16.1 innings for a 1.65 ERA, allowing 13 hits and two walks and striking out 12. Their 37 walks issued were second lowest in the American League to Kansas City, which had allowed 33.”
And you’d think the sky is falling when reading some of the posts.
Also, it’s hard to see the ball in the Dome. So I’m not so crabby when analyzing Gomez’s routes yesterday.
Bunting Twins be fair…he is also a nice late-inning defensive replacement.
Of course they could’ve used the $33 million they ended up spending on Cuddyer and Punto to make the pot sweeter for Johan…
Punto’s contract was signed a full year after Santana was already gone. Unless you want to make this evening’s pointless argument about if the Twins would’ve kept Punto or not had Santana been with the team (which is pretty much arguging assumptions on top of assumptions)
Jason Bartlett: 114 at bat 4 home runs 7 stolen bases .390 .509 .351
Punto is okay at shortstop, but this guy is much better. I’ll bet the Twins would like to have him back.
Chief: I thanked you and corrected myself in the post just above that.
Saw that too late. My bad. It was meant to be a joke, anyway.
Could you please be less vague about your feelings on Dickey?
I can’t imagine how, but if you got any good ideas, I’m all ears.
By the way, I’m dead serious about Dickey. I doubt he’d be putting up much better numbers in AA, and if he were 25, coming up, and put up those numbers in AA, he’d have been released by now.
“Punto’s contract was signed a full year after Santana was already gone.”
Exactly. So they used money they saved by not re-signing Johan (or Hunter) to pay Punto.
Exactly. So they used money they saved by not re-signing Johan (or Hunter) to pay Punto.
They also used it on Nathan, Morneau, Crede, Kubel, and Baker.
seth,
BTW, I am not advocating Slama’s immediate promotion to MLB.
I was just answering the question:
“Why are so many people clamoring for..?”
The answer is:
They are clamoring because
“the Twins current bullpen is…..”
which is the same reason that Gardy asked about Slama last weekend.
I just hope that he reaches MLB
1) AFTER he is ready, and
2) BEFORE he has atrophied.
I bet the Giants would love to have Nathan and Liriano back too but they traded them for AJ. It is very easy to second guess any trades that are made. Some work out great and some not.
To add to my 3:15 post…
The Twins this season are going to be under a LOT of scrutiny when it comes to salary.
They’re going to have 4-5 young starters, a few relievers, and a handful of position players that will be looking for decisions regarding “Am I part of the answer or not”
I’m not advocating pay raises for the sake of upping payroll. But if Span continues to do what he’s done this season, and some of the young pitchers can settle down and find their groove, I would think the Twins may look at making some proactive signings to make sure they don’t get TOO expensive too quickly.
And of course, Mauer needs a new contract as soon as possible. Frankly I don’t care if we don’t hear about it all season just as long as at some point between now and 2010 we hear that it’s happened.
yea second guessing is easy. Truth be told, I’m not bothered by the Johan trade. It was sad to lose him, but I understood. They took a flier….who knows, maybe it will work out in the end.
I’m also not second-guessing signing Punto to big money. That remains a first guess for me.
The Twins paid 8.5 million for Punto. Some people say he should have been offered 0.
I don’t know who is right. If you had only two choices, 8.5 million or 0, which would you have chosen?
Span has some arbitration years left, right?
A couple of the starters will be in for big raises, yes…but hey, we’ll have all that Target Field revenue to fall back on.
Mauer will get whatever he demands to stay in Minnesota. He better, at least.
0
trades might take some time to pan out. If you remember, the season the Twins traded another reigning Cy Young award winner to the Mets finished 5th in the AL West (1989) and the next season dead last (1990). The players who received panned out 2 seasons later in 1991. I don’t know whether you remember the fan’s reaction of the Viola trade in 1989 and 1990, esp. since West and Savage and Drummond (to a lesser degree) bombed… Give it some time.
“I’ll bet the Twins would like to have him back.”
And Santana, Hunter, Papi, Lohse, Garza.
And every other team has their little list also.
MOST PLAYERS ON EVERY TEAM CAME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE!
Some damn team gave up Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Babe Freaking Ruth, A-Rod, Junior, Bonds, Manny, etc., etc., etc..
But feel free to torture yourself to an early death.
I won’t.
Jason,
“Cuddy is on pace for what, 13 HR this year? And that’s the leader in the clubhouse? Heck, Harris would hit 13 HR if you stuck him in the outfield…as would Pridie, I bet.”
Pridie? Pridie? Bringing this player’s name into the equation destroys your credibility almost as much as your campaign for Mientkiewicz as some sort of solution to a problem.
And I’d buy into your Cudd chewing a lot more if you stayed away from projecting homeruns and instead cited how stupid he often looks at the plate. Almost as stupid as Young and Gomez at times. Exactly, the other two alternatives embarrass my entire family at times….
Bill Smith traded Johan Santana for a pinch runner.
If that’s the case, blame Johan. He is responsible for limiting the trade market with his demand for a mega-bucks long-term deal.
Only the desperate Mets would give him that and it was his selfishness and greed that painted the Twins into a corner.
Pridie?
btw, Pridie has a .601 OPS in Rochester…
8.5m for 2 years is cheap for a veteran starting shortstop.
The Twins got Johan in Rule V draft..
They received four players for him after mining him for several great years.
A fantastic profit!!!!!
T said:
I know I probably don’t speak for most of hte people on the Strib, but when Bert starts discussing arm angles, getting on top of the ball, and other elements such as that…I bet the common baseball fan wouldn’t have thought about that if it wasn’t pointed out to them.
Problem with “T” is that he’s not saying this during replays. What he says during replays is ” So & So with the hit to left, Delmon with the throw but it’s to late and So & so scores”. Instead of pointing out that one of the reason the guys got the hit is that the catcher was setting up outside and the pitcher misses the target by 2-3 feet.
I’m sure Bert has stumbled across a decent observation here or there but we can’t always wait throughout 162 games to hear just one or two good one’s.
The silence is deafening between these two. Sometimes it seems as if there has been no pre-game prep, no in game thoughts of where to go and sometimes little interest in being at the game. There is more work put into “circle me Bert”, the lottery give away or telling us where certain towns in the viewing area are located. I don’t mind a little of this but but how about playing along the game with the rest of us watching? How about talking to players and coaches to give us insight instead of regurgitating what the Strib and others have reported and the Dick read that morning before coming to the park. How about an original point of view? Is that two much to ask?
Don’t think so.
lol birdofprey, love the personality there…
Where’s Garrett Jones when you need him?
My bad for invoking Pridie…
Since the season’s not over yet, I’m not going to assume who I think the Twins should extend going into 2009. (Not counting Mauer)
They definately won’t be able to get to all of them, but it’ll be interesting to see where priorities lie.
FranTheMan…
How dare Johan seek market value for his services, huh? He really should’ve manned-up and given the Pohlads a good deal out of the goodness of his heart.
The Twins got Johan in Rule V draft.
I can’t remember which team it was that let him go. Houston….Florida? I bet they’re kicking themselves in the a** on that one.
I hope Johan bought Cueller some nice steaks or a case of wine when he signed his Mets deal.
How dare Johan seek market value for his services, huh?
“Fair market value” was the larget contract in the history pitching…was it not?
Houston let him go to Florida, who traded him to the Twins.
Wow…so both teams can kick themselves in the butt on that one.
“I’m sure Bert has stumbled across a decent observation here or there…”
Yes, the best one was when Dick was going on a soliloquy on how A. Casilla was hitting the ball and using his speed and what a great hitter he is while Bert was giving him the “uh huh, uh huh” like he does. And then Dick tried to set Bert up and asked if he thought Casilla would win batting titles…even Bert wouldn’t dive in that homer pile and quickly said “No.”
He really should’ve manned-up and given the Pohlads a good deal out of the goodness of his heart.
He could’ve at least understood that his record breaking contract would likely have made it significantly harder for the Twins to keep the rest of the team (including Mauer, Morneau, and Nathan) around.
If the Twins had kept Johan they would have gotten draft picks for him when he left as a free agent. They may have gotten another Kirby Pucket. Maybe they would have gotten another BJ Garbe. Who knows?
Ryan wanted to keep Johan for another year. Smith instead traded him to get some players right away. No one will ever know for sure what was the best choice. The Twins may have won the division in 2008 with Santana, but no one knows that for sure either.
I said Bill Smith traded Gomez for a pinch runner to be funny. I think he made the best trade he could.
Johan was bad in 2000, but since the team was bad they could hold onto him. Then send him down in 01. I think something like this is a 1 in 100,000 type deal. It takes the right team and some luck too, besides some talent.
I mean Bill Smith trade Santana….
Shawn: It’d be interesting to wonder what happens to Johan if the Twins are competitive in 2000 and couldn’t keep him on the roster…
“I said Bill Smith traded Gomez for a pinch runner to be funny. I think he made the best trade he could.”
And I took it to be exactly that…very funny. Trades are not predictable, but ones that do not work out over time will cost a GM his job and Bill Smith appears to be 2-for-2 at this point. We’ll wait and see, of course.
But to bring this back to an earlier discussion…how are we ever going to find out if Santana was traded for a pinch runner if Go-Go doesn’t get some at-bats…55 ABs for a non-injured player (minus a couple days of daddy duty) doesn’t tell us much. Even Tom Kelly said wait 100 ABs before you start making wholesale changes.
I got ya, Bunting. Although trading Gomez for a pinch runner is a thought.
T,
he could have languished forever in Houston. I don’t often think players owe their teams but i think the Twins helped Johann become a very rich man.
Ah…thanks Wikipedia:
“After the 1999 major league season, he was left unprotected by the Houston Astros and eligible in the Rule 5 draft. The Twins had the first pick that year, the Marlins the second. The Twins made a deal with the Marlins: the Twins would draft Jared Camp with their first pick and the Marlins would draft Santana. The teams would exchange the two players with the Twins receiving $500,000 to cover their pick.”
“How dare Johan seek market value for his services, huh?”
Yeah, and how dare the Twins refuse to be so stupid as to avoid plundering the future by signing ill-advised contracts to Santana, Hunter, and Silva? They’re so greedy. Why don’t they just sign these players?
Even Tom Kelly said wait 100 ABs before you start making wholesale changes.
Going into 2009, the Twins had 4 OFs with legitimate reasons why they should be in the starting OF.
It’s not like It was Span/Gomez/Cuddyer set in stone. Young was going to get more regular playtime than just “spot starts”.
Young improved, Gomez struggled. Young replaced Gomez.
Wait…now I have a question: The Twins didn’t draft Johan, the Marlins did. Then they traded him.
So if a guy is drafted from the Rule 5, and then dealt, I’m assuming the recieving team is still required to keep him on the roster correct?
It makes sense, since teams could then basically collude to trade players to one another to get around that.
Another amusing note from that bit of history. The Twins got Santana AND $500k.
I bet the Twins doing that would get the Tweety Birds out (”cheap cheap”)
Terry Ryan made some bad trades when he first started out. Real bad trades. Then he got better. Smith should get better also.
Ryan let players go as free agents to get draft picks. Ryan was a big believer in the Twins player development. I think Smith wants to trade instead, before the players walk. He wants players who are closer to the majors. Different approach.
you can argue whether the Twins are cheap right now, but its hard to argue that they weren’t cheap 1998-2000 timeframe.
i wonder if this is the year the Twins should look at drafting an impact college position player.
The Twins got $500k to boot?
If they would have invested that in mutual funds they could have earned enough to pay Santana AND Hunter!
(that’s what my 401K guy told me.)
I’m willing to wait more years to judge the Johan trade, if people telling me I have to are willing to admit that SO FAR it looks like they traded one of the best hitters in baseball for:
one guy that can’t hit (hopefully, there is yet there),
one guy that can’t pitch,
one guy that is years away from adding any value at all,
and one guy that might be a reliever this year.
That’s just not much in return for Santana.
So far, they’ve also lost the Garza deal (not even I thought Young could be this bad), the Breslow signing and Ayala signing, and the Crede and Punto deals (though I was all for the Crede signing, once they’d passed on all other outside options).
sane says:
May 11th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
The Twins got Johan in Rule V draft..
They received four players for him after mining him for several great years.
A fantastic profit!!!!!
Thanks for reminding me of that stupid mistake….
What to do with Go-Go….
wow, what a headache…
If you take Howard’s approach and send him to Rochester, who do you bring up?
If you continue to play him once a week, it completely stunts his development and next year he’ll become an outfield version of L Rod.
Of course, if you adopt my approach and carousel Young / Cuddy / Go-Go for the next couple of weeks, you risk losing the magic man’s dignity. Oh, what’s a manager to do?
Better yet, what’s Go-Go to do…if he only comes up with a 1-for-4 in that one game a week he plays, he continues to be subjected to T’s “you haven’t earned your spot” routine. I guess we may just have to wait three weeks until Go-Go gives us a 3-hit game.
I wonder if Cuddy will have done the same by then having played everyday?
What makes anyone think he’ll play everyday in Rochester? Morales has caught about half of the games since he went down there. There are other catchers, just as there are other OFers, in AAA.
So if a guy is drafted from the Rule 5, and then dealt, I’m assuming the recieving team is still required to keep him on the roster correct?
correct. In principle, his rights are still with the team that was drafted from unless he is kept on the 25 man roster (or the DL) the whole season, no matter how many times he changes hands.
I agree that signing Johan to a contract like the Mets signed him to, was never an option for the Twins.
They were burned bad on the Joe Mays signing. It hurt the team for years to carry that contract and get nothing out of it.
Signing Johan was too risky for a team with a very limited budget. Johan didn’t ask for too much. The Twins just couldn’t risk that much money.
If you take Howard’s approach and send him to Rochester, who do you bring up?
the only potential effective replacements are Jason Huber and Luke Hughes.
I thought Luke Hughes was an infielder?
Did the Colorado Rockies release Lew Ford from his minor league deal?
Seriously, we need an outfielder with some pop in his bat…
Luke Hughes is a utility guy, not quite good enough at any position for it to be his position. He plays infield and outfield.
Something else of note in the Harris v. Punto debate is that while both are in 2-15 slumps (i just searched the last week’s stats) is that Harris has also worked 3 walks whereas Punto has only 1. And if memory serves me correctly some of those walks by Harris were ones to start a rally (like the one yesterday that I think Span ended up erasing him on a tapper to Beltre). Just my two cents on the stats, I will let the stats police have their fun
“I thought Luke Hughes was an infielder?”
Word has it that right now, Luke Hughes is still pretty much a nonfielder.
Out of the 3 pitchers we got for Santana how many will be successful major league starters? Will Gomez ever be a big league starter again?
Um, Dustin Martin? He’s got a .370 OBP going. Unlike Hughes and Huber, he can play all three outfield spots. For that matter, I’d rather have Pridie than either Huber or Hughes. We need guys who can play defense.
I remember how GREAT Pridies D was last year!
The NL is hitting a mere .229 off Johan.
Young can’t field and Gomez can’t hit. Supposedly, that is what many think. Young can become a better fielder and Gomez a better hitter if they work at it. Both need to play to get better.
Gomez is too young to sit. He should start in the majors, but if they don’t want to do that, he should start for awhile at Rochester. I agree with those who have expressed that idea.
Gomez and Alexi Casilla could still have a big positive impact this season. The Twins have to help them become better players. At times last season they were both sensational. The ability is there.
Garza’s WHIP is 1.04
Jason,
I think Lew Ford is with the Long Island Ducks. I believe that is an independent league team, not affiliated with a major league team.
lol well it was a joke, Bunting. But thanks for the input…
Power arms have all been abandon by the Twins because K’s cost money! Keep all the soft tossing “control artists” because nobody else wants them! Twins always cheap out. They’ll end up keeping Mauer and losing Morneau because just like K’s HR’s cost money. Someone is going to offer Morneau HUGE money and he’ll be gone. El Cheapo
On mlb.com Gardy said Delmon Young goes back on the ball well, but “waddles” when he comes in on a ball.
Perhaps a future Long Island Duck.
Power arms have all been abandon by the Twins because K’s cost money!
I think that this was the Terry Ryan MO. Now things are hopefully changing. The signing of one of the hardest throwers out there (Morillo) is an excellent sign (no pun intended)
Bunting Twin…
lol you must post the link.
thrylos98
but Terry Ryan was responsible for bringing Liriano, Santana, Garza, Balfour, Nathan and I’m sure there’s others to the Twins. Morillo doesn’t really compare.
Jason,
I thought you were probably joking.
Lew has fallen hard. Too many late nights playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Not so much as a player, but as a person, I really enjoyed Lew. One of baseball’s true eccentrics.
Pridie made one error in the Dome last year. But he’s an excellent outfielder overall. Hughes and Huber are poor outfielders. How do you think they’ll do in the Dome?
Well, 220 regulars know full well how I feel about Lew. He brought character and excitement to a playoff year (2004) and backed it up with a mediocre year (2005). Then he fell hard in 2006-2008. The fact that he’s stuck with baseball long enough to play in Japan and now, apparently, for the Long Island Ducks, when he has an engineering degree, tells me Lew wasn’t in it for the money. He didn’t get the big money deal like Cuddyer did after his two decent years, but then maybe that has something to do with the fact that he ironed a shirt while he was wearing it or met up with internet friends on road trips in California.
Who knows. Good luck with the Ducks, Lew.
Bunting Twins says:
May 11th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I agree that signing Johan to a contract like the Mets signed him to, was never an option for the Twins.
They were burned bad on the Joe Mays signing. It hurt the team for years to carry that contract and get nothing out of it.
Signing Johan was too risky for a team with a very limited budget. Johan didn’t ask for too much. The Twins just couldn’t risk that much money.
I’ll agree that signing Santana was probably too rich for the Twinks to pull off, but please, you’re comparing signing a two-time (should have been 3) Cy Young award winner to overpaying for a flash in the pan.
They’ll end up keeping Mauer and losing Morneau because just like K’s HR’s cost money. Someone is going to offer Morneau HUGE money and he’ll be gone. El Cheapo
Morneau is signed through 2013.
What makes anyone think he’ll play everyday in Rochester?
I can’t speak for “anyone,” but my guess is…’because the manager at Rochestor wants to keep his job.’
I think thrylos is correct about some things changing. I don’t believe Terry Ryan would have much time for a Juan Morillo.
Juan will never be mistaken for a control pitcher, but if he ever gets that big fastball under some control he could be something. Right now, Juan’s fastball has so much movement no one knows where it’s going. Especially Juan.
Mauer will look dandy in pinstripes…
Mauer will look dandy in pinstripes…
he already looks great in pinstripes
“I’ll agree that signing Santana was probably too rich for the Twinks to pull off, but please, you’re comparing signing a two-time (should have been 3) Cy Young award winner to overpaying for a flash in the pan.”
When I brought up Joe Mays, I was trying to make the point that the Twins really suffered when they had to carry his salary while he was out injured. It hurt them for many years. They were on a tight budget and couldn’t afford to bring in better players. Mays salary was at the time a large pct. of the total team salary.
Carrying a contract as huge as Santana’s would have possibly devastated the team if he would have had a major injury.
You are very correct that Mays was not in Santana’s class as a pitcher. I wasn’t trying to compare the two talent wise.
20.8% of all balls put in play against Johan Santana this season have been infield flies! Doesn’t really matter if it’s Harris or Punto at SS they both have the same fielding% on pop flies!
Doesn’t really matter if it’s Harris or Punto at SS they both have the same fielding% on pop flies!
or Buscher, or Young or everyone else for that matter
Jason,
Lew was treated bad in the press. Some people really hated him. Souhan still has a vendetta going against him for some reason. Gladden was shamefully biased against him.
All accounts say Lew was a really nice man. Never said anything bad about anyone. He may have not stood up for himself real well. He sure got kicked around.
The Twins have had many much worse players than Lew Ford. Not a superstar, but he was a pretty good ball player.
Sweet lew….those were good old days….wait we’re talking about 2004 sweeet lew right? Because he was terrible after that!
Gladden was shamefully biased against him.
Gladden is one of the most over-rated Twins of all time.
Career lines:
Lew Ford: .272/.349/.402
Dan Gladden: .270/.324/.382
yeap
Morneau is signed through 2013 but will be an elite player until 2016+
thrylos98,
That is an interesting comparison.
Gladden often bristled when asked about his low on-base-pct in the leadoff spot. He didn’t have a great arm either. Over-rated? I don’t know. He played quite a bit of baseball. Maybe more than he deserved to.
He hit better than Gagne. Of course Gagne was shortstop and Gladden was a left fielder.
Carlos Gomez fans should take note of a player named Michael Bourn. Bourn in many ways is a player similar to Gomez. Low on base average, loads of strikeouts, extremely fast etc. Bourn seems to have really improved his game this season. Gomez could do the same. Check out Michael Bourn if you have a chance.
Bunting Twins,
do you want another comparison, I think that it might be even a bit more interesting:
career numbers:
Dan Gladden: .270/.324/.382
Delmon Young: .292/.327/.409
and at Young’s age this season, Gladden was playing for the Shreveport Captains of the Texas League…
he has a bigger mouth than production.
Bourn seems to have really improved his game this season. Gomez could do the same.
Gomez is a better player than Bourn. Bourn is 26 now… Gomez will get better as he gets older. I had a chance to watch a lot of Bourn when he was in the minors in the Phillies’ system. There is no comparison. Bourn is a little fast guy and Gomez has a bigger frame and will be able to hit for power some time. His time will come.
thrylos,
You are right. In some ways Gomez and Bourn are different. I thought there were enough similarities that Bourn’s name was worth mentioning. My point was that players with skills similar to Gomez can improve. If Michael Bourn can improve, so can Carlos Gomez. Some people may be giving up on Gomez. That’s premature. He’s still quite young, as you pointed out.
I haven’t noticed anyone “giving up” on Gomez. There’s a big difference between giving up on a guy and simply pointing out the obvious… that he’s not hitting as well as the 3 guys in the Twins’ OF right now.
If someone decides he needs to play every day to improve AND that it’s in the Twins’ best interest that having him gain that improvement right now, then he should go to Rochester. I’m just not sure that’s in the Twins’ best interest right now.
People are seemingly always quick to criticize the Twins for always “playing for next year”. Well it could very well be that Gomez IS playing a critical role right now to help THIS YEAR’S ballclub. Specifically, he’s got the speed and defense to be a very good late inning PR and OF replacement.
Bottom line is that if he is indeed the best “fourth” outfielder in the organization, then so long as the Twins are in the race, he should probably remain with the big club.
Good points, JimCrikket.
“”"”"Bottom line is that if he is indeed the best “fourth” outfielder in the organization, then so long as the Twins are in the race, he should probably remain with the big club.”"”"”
JimC….That is the main point of what people think should be GoGo’s playing time. He should stay, I am in total agreement with you.
Bottom line is that if he is indeed the best “fourth” outfielder in the organization, then so long as the Twins are in the race, he should probably remain with the big club.
well said, and unless you look down to New Britain for someone like Brandon Roberts (ha), he is the 4th best (or 5th if you count Kubel) OF in the organization
And I might add, JimC….I the Twins do fall out of the race, then play him everyday, period.
Great point, as always, Jim.
I don’t find comparisons to Gladden’s production all that compelling. Gladden sucked. Contrary to popular belief, he was more of a drag on the team than a contributor. Don’t believe me? Here are his OPS+ numbers over his tenure with the Twins:
1987: 76
1988: 101
1989: 103
1990: 88
1991: 80
He had two years above the water line–replacement level. He was below replacement level for three of his five years with the Twins. If being worthy of everyday play is in comparison to Gladden, we have bigger problems than I thought.
Of course, offense is only half of the conversation. Gladden at least could play some defense. Young cannot. Both by numbers and scouting, Young is the worst left fielder in the game. Contrast that to the best center fielder in the game and Gomez could be a complete 0-fer for the year and still be a better choice than Young.
cmath,
a couple of points there:
a. OPS+ does not indicate replacement level, it indicates league average; but still Gladden was below league average
b. Young is a right fielder. In 2007 when they were both full time right fielders, with any defense measure you want to use, Young was better than Cuddyer. I just wish that Cuddyer plays a single game in LF in the dome so people would see what he is like…
side note to thrylo98… A sincere thank you, and only a few of us know what for. Thanks again, and good input on the posts tonight. Doc.
“”"”" I just wish that Cuddyer plays a single game in LF in the dome so people would see what he is like…”"”"”
That would truly be interesting. Now, some one made a comparison to DY in left when games on the road versus home games. Is it possible that DY will find a home in LF in the new stadium?
DrDon,
it’s all cool, man…
y’ know…
“”"”"thrylos98 says:
May 11th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
I still think that Young’s field issues with the huge LF in the dome contribute to his offensive problems.
So far this season on the road he is hitting .333/.389/.455 (10 games) and at home he is hitting .255/.294/.255 (14 games). Given that Cuddyer is not going away as long as Gardy is the manager, it might make sense for home games to keep mostly a Span LF/Gomez CF/Cuddyer RF and for the road games mostly a Young LF/Span CF/Cuddyer RF situation. That would play on the strengths of all players and provide the best defensive OF at home.”"”"”
There I found your reference, Thry…. took me awhile…….
Thry: I believe replacement level for those years was around 90 OPS+ in left field. So he was below replacement level in three of those years. League average for left fielders was something like 110. So he was somewhere between replacement level and league average for the two years when he was above 100. Remember, left field is traditionally an offensive position filled with guys like Mike Greenwell (159), Pat Sheridan (111), Tony Armas (112), and Ricky Henderson (124) (1988 numbers).
If you want to point to a good left fielder in Metrodome history, look at Shane Mack:
1990: 132
1991: 140
1992: 138
1993: 100
1994: 147
He was the best left fielder in the league four out of five years. If Young were putting up those kinds of numbers, nobody would question using him as an everyday player.
I would be in favor of Young moving to right field. But you would think he’d learn how to track a ball in left by now. He’s played, what, 180 games there since coming to the Twins? And there’s no way he unseats Cuddy in right. Not that Cuddy is anything special. But he’s clearly our best right-handed bat and he does have the best arm on the team outside of Gomez. Yeah, Cuddy might struggle in left, especially with being deaf in his left ear. So what? Young is a bad left fielder and he’s not better than Cuddy in right. So what’s the solution? Move Span to left. Put Gomez in center and have Young platoon with Kubel at DH. Over the course of a year, you’re talking about a net gain of 30 runs or so with that alignment over what Gardy has settled on.
cmath,
I get you Shane Mack example (and btw, he’s got my vote for the all Dome OF), but:
Shane Mack began his career with the Twins at age 26. That is 3 years older than Young is now. And if you don’t think that fielding is something that can be learned, here are two words: Corey Koskie
Don’t get me wrong. I think Young will learn. But should he learn at the expense of the team winning right now or at the expense of the move talented player sitting on the bench? I’m not so sure. The alignment I suggest can serve until Cuddy is trade worthy. If Cuddy keeps hitting like he has in the last month or so, he will have suitors come July 1. Then you trade him, move Young to right, insert Span in left and make Gomez a fixture in center.
And here is another point semi-addendum to the previous
this is a very young team of players. The youngest in the AL. Younger than the Rays… do you think that the Gardy/Andy/Vavra/Liddle (with his 3 ring binder)/Ullger/White regime cut it any more in dealing with and communicating to young players?
Cmath, I hear you in all those respects. But the facts are that Young has not played a single inning (real game or spring training game at RF, thanks to the masterminds). And, yes, Gomez needs to be the CF out there every day. But I think that (unfortunately) the Twins’ FO are invested on and supporting the cuddly Lutefisk and Swedish meatball white guy with the big mouth and the magic tricks over the black kid from Montgomery Alabama…
Can’t believe I’ve slogged through the entire day’s posts but even with all the repeats they were interesting (plus Twins aren’t playing tonight anyway). Just hope everyone hasn’t turned in for the night! (LOL)
As much as I’m a big Go-Go fan, I’m resigned to sending him to Rochester for his own good. Credit him for keeping up a good front despite being treated as nothing more than late innings defense only. His eyes don’t look too sparkling these days when they show him out in CF. It would be a shame if the Twins org. succeed in snuffing out both talent and energy due to lack of coaching and opportunity.
I agree that he has not made enough contact with the ball to warrant a spot in the everyday lineup…all the more reason to let him join his bud Lexi so they can both work on their hitting. Both are already darn good with their D. Lexi of course has to work on focus also.
I don’t agree with replacing Gomez with another OF from Rochester. We need pitching more than anything right now so I’d be willing to give Morillo another go. Even if an OF should get hurt, the Twins could mix and match with Kubel (or even Punto if they needed a CF) long enough for Gomez to hop a plane to the TC. Speaking of Kubel, they should put him out in LF from time to time. He has gotten cold at the plate lately.
“this is a very young team of players. The youngest in the AL.”
And you have to think that this fact has been tempering any and all of BS’s temptations to trade and sign FA’s since day 1 of his regime. And rightly so.
And it’s also why he won’t trade Cuddy. A veteran, such as he is, is too just too valuable.
And I said “rightly so” above because of this:
We optimistically — and probably naively — expected the young starting staff to come of age and move up a step this season. It’s looking like this might not happen.
This might not be the Twins year for viable post-season consequence.
That was last year.
If Punto, Crede, Crain, and the starting staff step up, things would be different.
“But I think that (unfortunately) the Twins’ FO are invested on and supporting the cuddly Lutefisk and Swedish meatball white guy with the big mouth and the magic tricks over the black kid from Montgomery Alabama…”
thrylos, thrylos, thrylos…
This is wrong on so many levels. But let’s ignore the mean-spirited, inflammatory, hateful and nonsensical rant and discuss cmath’s points, shall we?
One thing you and I agree on is that the writers, particularly LaVelle and Joe, fail to ask very obvious questions. Why does Young play exclusively in LF? Have you heard an explanation from the Twins?
Experienced evaluators don’t need numbers to know that Delmon Young is now and forever will be a worse right fielder than even Cuddyer. I’m hopeful that Cuddyer gets dangled at the deadline, but I sure wouldn’t be upset if Young was dangled, too. May the best offer win. Both are limited players. Neither can learn their way out of their inherent shortcomings.
And being resigned that this isn’t the Twins’ year, it also means Gomez should play every day — namely, at Roch. He has to get ready for next year.
So I agree with you, Beisbol.
He is still chomping at the bit too much. Him sitting on the bench here just won’t work — no matter how much they work with him and teach him. It just doesn’t sink in for him unless he is playing out all the things he is learning.
He’s too young to be the wise, studious type.
But they’re gonna keep him around until and unless it becomes clear that this isn’t the Twins’ year.
romer,
if this isn’t the Twins’ year, Gardy and his puppets gotta go.
Experienced evaluators don’t need numbers to know that Delmon Young is now and forever will be a worse right fielder than even Cuddyer
BOP
by any single defensive measurement known to humanity when they both were full time right fielders in 2007 Young was a better than Cuddyer. That’s that. The Twins have invested a lot of money on Cuddyer and they want to build him up. It’s ok, unless it hurts the team.
Anybody that blames the players and the coach for any of the Twins problems has his or hers eyes closed.
Fact:
The owner has done nothing extra ordinary $$$$ Which in this case shows greed on his sons part becasue they are running things not Carl (OBVIOUSSLY) They made a great profit every year and they are lucky they have Gardy… Those are the facts and if you deny them your in denial
“…so I’d be willing to give Morillo another go.”
Nah.
The performance of Crain and Majares yesterday is exactly what we expect from Morillo — and what we don’t expect from them.
I don’t think Boof or Morillo will be effective in MLB much anymore. (And who knows about Crain and Neshek.)
Morillo has to learn to pitch. He may well do that, but it’ll take a couple months at AAA to prove it.
The measurements are flawed then, thrylos. Find me a single professional scout or field person that thinks Young is a better right fielder, and I will pay off your mortgage. It’s a ludicrous notion to contend otherwise short-term numbers extracted from two distinct environments notwithstanding.
They want to build Cuddyer up? What does that mean, and how do you know what anyone wants to do, thrylos? Maybe, just maybe, Cuddyer is a better ballplayer right now than Young. That’s that.
Cuddyer last 28 days:
.268/.362/.463 3 2B 2 3B 3 HR
Young last 28 days:
.328/.382/.344 1 2B 0 3B 0 HR
I don’t see Cuddyer hurting the team relative to Young. Or, if you move Young to right, Span to left and insert Gomez in center, I still don’t see Cuddyer hurting the team relative to Gomez. Who would you rather have protecting Morneau and Kubel in the line-up: Young, Gomez or Cuddyer? Cuddyer. Now who would you most want in the outfield, Young, Gomez or Cuddyer? I’d take Gomez. If you can only take two of the three, who do you leave out? Young. DH him against lefties and have him on the bench in case the other manager wants to throw a lefty at us late in the game. That should be his role right now. Will it be more in the future? Yes. He’s young. He’ll do great things in the future. Just not so much now.
Who would you rather have protecting Morneau and Kubel in the line-up
Crede
“if this isn’t the Twins’ year, Gardy and his puppets gotta go.”
You seem to be blaming Gardy for the fact that the Twins are the youngest team in the league.
Gardy would be a “better manager” if he had Boof the way he was pitching last Sept, and Neshek the way he pitched for those two years, and Mijares this ST the way he pitched last Sept.
And if Cuddy and Crede hadn’t had their lames starts this year.
And Baker (the staff ace)….
And Mauer being out…..
So, how can ya fire him for that?
Amd you’d dump him later this year or in the off[-season just as this young team is moving into their new stadium?
and supporting the cuddly Lutefisk and Swedish meatball white guy with the big mouth and the magic tricks over the black kid from Montgomery Alabama…
1) Show me evidence that Cuddy’s “Big Mouth” is some kind of actual problem in the clubhouse vs. just you having a bone to pick with him because apparently he kicked over your sandcastle last summer.
2) Racism? Seriously? Do you have proof regarding this claim? Or are you ignoring where the Twins traded two young white boys (Garza/Bartlett) for the young black boy (Young)?
Unless you were joking, or being sarcastic, you’ve officially gone off the friggin’ deep end here.
Complete agreement here, cmath. And thrylos, are you serious about Crede over Cuddyer right now in terms of the ability to protect Morneau? Neither is optimal, but if I’m managing, we’re pitching damn carefully to Morneau, nothing within four inches of the plate.
romer, you offered a nice litany of challenges Gardy has faced. But that won’t stop the furor from thrylos, trust me. Because, you see, about two weeks ago, Gardy took the advice of his pitching coach, as managers do, and he inserted Crain, thereby wasting him for the next game (note: this is an extremely simplistic re-enactment because it fits the purpose of illustrating in thrylos’ view the profound stupidity of the man). This transgression, which thrylos has done us all the favor of repeating incessantly, overshadows all else except the next transgression, this in accordance with the blogger of the millenium.
While you’re at it, thrylos, please regale us with all your examples of how poorly Gardy and “his puppets” (your insult) do in communicating with the younger players. Prove your accusation. None of your typical stuff, please, like “Gomez threw a fit” or “Casilla would have stayed focused if he had a bench manager with a laptop, like me.”
Also meant to add that not playing his pevious position, RF, maybe is adding to his disappointing offense.
BITS AND PIECES:
D. Young is producing RBIs (RBI/AB) at the same rate as Kubel.
M. Cuddyer is producing RBIs at the same rate as Kubel.
If Kubel is having a good year at the plate, so are Young and Cuddyer.
AND, Kubel is producing RBIs at his normal rate (97 RBI/600 AB).
Next, conventional wisdom concludes Punto his having a bad year at the plate:
Even so, his OBP is only 20 points behind Harris and Young. And his RBI rate is just about the same as Harris’s.
The stiff (literally*) is Crede. Of the starting lineup, he is last in RBI rate and OBP.
(The leader in RBI rate — and HR rate — of course is Mauer. But of course the sample size is too small.)
* his hammie and back are stiff
Thy-
You obviously do not know baseball. Delmon and Cuddy are both slow with bug arms. Gomez needs to go down, because he needs to learn fundamentals like ball players do. The Puppets you speak about is an interesting term, what would happen if we got rid of him, who would you bring in? Who is out there to take over? Go to the farm? A possibilty but would have to be done at the end of the year. However, we do need to go back to TK’s style, because (in my opinion) the “Twins” way is not around and the basics do not seem to be taught or executed.
The Twins have substantial depth at the OF, 3B, SS, 2B and C positions. Not stars in every case, but certainly depth. I would think they have something another team finds useful in exchange for an arm, but I would put odds on a call-up of Slama or Delaney.
I supported playing Gomez and Delmon over Cuddyer based on their defensive excellence/offensive upside, but at this point I think the best thing for the 2009 team and best way to get a return on the Santana deal (and the impact on the 2009 team FAR outweighs trade returns) is to send Gomez down and let the guy play every day. Call up Pridie; he can play all the OF spots and hold his own with the bat and on the bases. An ideal 5th OF. Gomez needs playing time, period, and Cuddyer’s patience at the plate (laying off the sliders from RHP) is starting to pay off.
“Or are you ignoring where the Twins traded two young white boys (Garza/Bartlett) for the young black boy (Young)?”
I hate to break this to you T, since you are such a knowledgable blogger here(not really), but Garza isn’t white, and Bartlett isn’t really white either.
But that’s as far as is probably appropriate for a newspaper blog.
Next, conventional wisdom concludes Punto his having a bad year at the plate
As does unconventional wisdom…Punto is ‘hitting’ .207/.313/.232
I don’t care what sort of silly ‘rbi rate’ you concoct, that’s not just a bad, that’s putrid. Worse than what Punto “hit” in 2007.
thrylos98 says:
May 11th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
“Who would you rather have protecting Morneau and Kubel in the line-up
Crede”
romer says:
May 11th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
“M. Cuddyer is producing RBIs at the same rate as Kubel.”
“The stiff (literally*) is Crede. Of the starting lineup, he is last in RBI rate and OBP.”
thry, you could be right about Crede — but you’re thinking from the seat of your pants.
:)>
PITCHING BITS AND PIECES:
Blackburn and Perkins with a combined 4.03 ERA as opposed to Liriano and Slowey with a combined 5.64.
Even so, Liriano/Slowey are 6-5 as opposed to Blackburn/Perkins at 3-4.
Hard to figure out this starting staff. But when you consider Baker’s contribution at 6.83, it gets easier to figure it ou.
Twins starters are averaging about 5-2/3 innings this year. We’ve needed them to pitch at least a dozen-or-two more innings.
That problem along with their dismal ERA has put too much pressure on the BP and is the reason for the Twins unsuccess this year.
TK is still right — it all starts from and goes back to starting pitching.
“As does unconventional wisdom…”
Don’t know what that means, Chief, but I meant to convey that I agree with the conventional wisdom re Punto being dismal this year.
That being the case, Harris isn’t really doing that much better is the point. And….
“I don’t care what sort of silly ‘rbi rate’ you concoct…”
You sound like some medieval serf who was just told the world is not flat but is round.
Punto’s RBI rate record:
‘06 - 46 RBIs/472 AB’s
‘07 - 25 RBIs/472 AB’s
‘08 - 29 RBIs/472 AB’s
‘09 - 46 RBIs/472 AB’s
An RBI rate is one of those new-fangled math things called a RATIO. It’s a success-rate measure. And it shows that Punto is knocking in runs some this year.
But he isn’t scoring runs at a good rate.
But his OBP of .313, which is 22 points higher than his horrible year of 2007, is low but it isn’t putrid.
What’s unfortunate is Harris’s offensive record isn’t much better than Punto’s — if their job is to get on base and knock in and score runs.
And the comparisons are the same so far when considering Tolbert v. Casilla.
And Crede compares poorly v. Cuddy/Young/ and/or Kubel.
BITS AND PIECES CONCLUSION:
The Twins need a lot more out of their starting staff, and they need a lot more offensive production from 3B, 2B, and SS.
If they get this improvement in these two areas with all other areas being equal (I’m assuming an automatic improvement in the BP as a result of an improved starting staff), they should be okay this year.
I’m optimistic about the pitching, but not about 3B/SS/2B.
Another LBM (Loss by manager) on Sunday. You score 10 runs in two games and then you play the baseball percentages because a guy is pitching left handed. Ride the streak. This team is going to make me rich in Vegas. Harris at SS and I bet the farm on Friday and saturday. Once I hear about the line-up on Sunday, bet against the team and thank you again Ceasar’s Sports Book.
Does anyone else watch this team only to see how LNP does? The favoritism is such a joke! There is no other reason.
Need his grit I bet in Detroit
The following players were also in the lineup Sunday after not playing Friday or Saturday:
1) Carlos Gomez
2) Mike Redmond
But you’re right. It’s all Punto’s fault.
Also, be careful Pipeline…if you suggest the Twins send down Gomez and call up Pridie thrylos will come by and call you racist.
RBI are driven by the number of runners on when you come up, as well as your own hitting. It’s as silly a stat as w-l record is for pitchers, it does not help predict how you will do in your next appearance.
Punto stinks this year.
someone said they had depth. They more like have breadth - lots of mediocre guys, not so many great, very good, good and average guys.
Yeah, mike, as much as I appreciate romer’s RBI rate numbers, I really don’t think you need a scientist to tell us Harris is a better option than Punto.
Once you saw that ball fly over the baggie Friday night, it should have been clear in everyone’s mind who should play the bulk of the games at SS.
That said, look for you-know-who to be back at short tonight.
Looking at the lineup now, I would say the following players are “excellent”, they can just keep doing what they are doing.
Span, Mauer, Morneau
The following are “good”. They’re helping, but you would like to see them pick up in some aspect (be it fielding, power)
Harris, Kubel, Young, Cuddyer, Crede
The following are “there”. They’re available to play, but I wouldn’t exactly count on them consistantly.
Tolbert, Punto, Gomez, Redmond
Tolbert mostly because he just got here, so has to show he’s “good”.
I realize this is entirely subjective and hope it doesn’t spiral into another all day debate. Kubel is just on the verge of going from “good” to “excellent” in my eyes. Crede is on the verge of becoming “there” if he doesn’t start producing consistently.
“Kubel is just on the verge of going from “good” to “excellent” in my eyes.”
Except he’s had 0 HR and just 2 RBI since April 25.
But I desparately do not want to be anti-Kubel this year…we need him to be a solid fixture for our lineup.
IF, however, he sinks back to inconsistent, I would strongly urge Gardy establish a Kubel / Cuddyer platoon at the DH spot. That seems like a good idea to me. Heck, then you get to give Cuddy the pleasure of batting 5th when he plays!
I have a gut-feeling here, just personal opinion. For our outfield I would like to see DY in left, GoGo center, SpanMan in right, with Jason’s suggestion that Cuddy/Kubel DH, plus the other of those two is availabe later in the game for PH as dictated by the game situation. But, what do I know???
So much to talk about. Everyone here is very knowledgeable (though some of you can’t spell). My two cents… Send Go-Go to AAA with Lexi. Let him play every day and get some offensive confidence. BUT, when he comes back up, he’s in the lineup EVERYDAY. Play Delmon and Cuddy everyday (obviously, with Go-Go in the minors). I think knowing the situation has been resolved would lessen the stress level on those involved. Punto should never have been signed. Tolbert can do what he does for a lot less money. But, now that Nick is with us for another couple of years, he needs to be the backup, pinch-runner type. Start Harris at short, Tolbert at 2nd and Crede at 3rd (with Buscher giving him the occassional day off). The relief corps is terrible, with not ONE guy being someone you feel confident in. It sucks for Gardy. He lets Baker get crushed a week ago and blow the game, so he yanks Blackburn before the kid can lose it, and then the sucka** bullpen gets torched. Slowey and Baker are just pitching BP this year. Anytime our starters go up against a real lineup (Toronto, Boston, etc.), they get lit up. Could be a REAL long year. I’m glad to see Cuddy get a couple of clutch hits. I was tired of calling him by his nickname that he’s earned in the last couple of seasons: “Rally-Killer Cuddyer”. Kubel aslo needs to get back in the groove. Just when it seems he’s ready to take off, he poops out. Don’t get it. Anyway, I’m also a fan, but certainly don’t like mediocrity.
