Minnesota Twins Talk

Jeff Gray was the only pitcher tonight who didn't give up a run. He inherited two runners, neither of which scored. He looked a lot better out there than Liriano or Swarzak (I missed Perkins since I was at the game tonight and the little one hit her breaking point in the bottom of the 8th) Also, while Plouffe's two walks were nice, his avg is now .103. .103!!!!! Why the hell did we keep him over Hughes, Burroughs, Thomas, and Revere? And now somebody is yelling we should send Parmelee back to AAA? Right now, Butera is more valuable to have then Plouffe, because at least he has one thing he is good at.

Tonight, a day after getting 9 runs and 15 hits against the hitless Twins, the Angels got shut out (and only 3 hits) against Toronto. The Angels have had a terrible season, except against the Twins. And it was agonizing last night waiting for the first hit of the game, which never came. Meanwhile, the Angels were racking up 15 hits. Do we have much of a chance against decent teams? Would the Twins current roster be in first place if they all played together on a AAA team?

Since I am not of the mind that the Twins should trade Span for starting pitching prospects but should find one (JUST ONE!) top notch or next-to-top notch starting pitcher on the free agent market next year, I think it might be good to start looking at the 2013 SP market. Here are 10 names: Cole Hamels Joe Blanton Zach Greinke Anibal Sanchez Jonathan Sanchez Ryan Dempster Edwin Jackson Colby Lewis Shaun Marcum Joe Saunders There are more, but it seems like these might be the best ten. Keep in mind that, in theory, the money saved by not resigning Pavano, Liriano, and Baker for next year could be close to enough to sign TWO of these guys.

Details to follow

Lucas Giolito, one of the top prospects the Twins were examining for the number two pick in June's MLB Draft, is out for the rest of his high school season with an elbow injury. It is a sprained UCL and won't require Tommy John surgery but his stock will most certainly drop. This injury will cost the young man millions of dollars and he might be forced to go to college for a few seasons to prove he can be healthy. This is a tough break for the Twins in a draft that doesn't have a ton of talent at the top for them to pick from with the number two selection.

I am glad that we'll finally get a look at the much-hyped prospect in the majors. If his position teeters on Morneau's health, it is fairly likely that he will be with the club for a good amount of time. What are are your predictions for Dozier following his callup? After a month, I think his slash line will be about .245/.305/.380 with a pair of dingers and 3 or 4 SB. Quite a few errors also seem likely given his pretty unflattering fielding percentages as a minor league shortstop.

This day, May 7th, 28 years ago, Kirby Puckett made his debut with the Twins. He had 4 hits in 5 PAs. Note: During Spring Training Dozier wore uniform number 77. Today he was assigned number 20, recently worn by Twins' greats Matt Tolbert and Lew Ford.

Of the 13 pitchers used by the Twins this year, Matt Capps has been used in the fewest innings (10.0). Alex Burnett has the most innings (15.2), presumably because he's the only guy of the pure relievers that can go for more than one inning. I post this fact not to suggest that the bullpen has been the "reason" for the Twins struggles (it hasn't, the SP has), but only to point out the absurdity of closers and especially PAYING for closers. Matt Capps, along with Glen Perkins, were considered the "best" Twins relievers heading into this season. Whether you agree with that assessment or not, it is at least a fair assessment based on track record, etc. in an otherwise v…

Since opening day, the Twins have had a total of 31 guys spend time on the 25 man roster. Anybody know what the highest number of guys they've had on the 25 man in the first month of the season? What's our record for a whole season? I have no idea, I'm just curious. Trying to distract myself with random Twins trivia so I don't think too much about how bad we've been playing.

...with the first overall draft pick in 2013?

I was just having a look at the performance of the Twins' affiliates and their collective numbers. Something interesting popped up. In this organization, from Beloit to the Twins, each teams' record is a reflection of the team's pitching and not of its hitting. And more specifically WHIP. Hitting helps (and that is what mainly separates the Snappers from the Red Wings) but pitching is the main driver (and WHIP correlates more with Ws than any other simple pitching measure) ... Thought I'd share [TABLE=width: 276] TEAM RECORD WHIP OPS Rock Cats 18 W 12 L 1.168 0.662 Snappers 17 W 13 L 1.294 0.736 Red Wings 12 W 16 L 1.303 0.651 Miracle 11 W…

Here's a question that I haven't really heard lately: At what point does the coaching staff go "on the hot seat?" I know that there are bigger issues with this team, but we've often seen a coaching staff get the blame and are relieved of their duties. If things continue the way they have been, do you see the front office of the Twins making a change?

Why all the hate? I keep seeing people talking about dumping him, but by the numbers he's actually been one of our best pitchers this season. Yes, he's had a lot of walks but they haven't been coming around to score. So what am I missing?

From Jayson Stark's new Rumblings and Grumblings article, there was a nugget regarding Valencia potentially being available:

The big question mark for the Twins to start 2012 was pitching. The first 26 games have done nothing to change that opinion. There was a serious lack of talent in both the starters and relievers at the major league level and I think most would agree the cupboard is bare of young arms in the system. We are currently looking forward to the promotion another teams cast off (Diamond) that already had a chance last year and failed. Is there a solution in sight? The only way to bring quality arms into the organization is to draft (they all end up needing Tommy John surgery), trade (Capps) or through the signing of free agents (Burton, Malony, Marquis and Gray). It's not w…

The Twins rotation seems hopeless. Can they find anyone who can claim a spot next year? Diamond is the next one who gets a chance. Pitchers are so hard to evaluate based on data. The sample size for any relief pitcher is so small (even over a year). The sample size for all pitchers is so small after a month of a season. How do the Twins react to the poor or encouraging results over one month? One reaction is to send Hendrick to AAA and give Diamond a shot. Very reasonable given Hendricks age. Is Diamond the correct choice for the spot? Hard to know. Below is the minors league numbers for Maloney, Diamond, Blackburn and Swarzak. All have significant innings over sev…

Reports state the Cubs dfa'd Blake DeWitt to add Travis Wood to the roster today. DeWitt is a 26 year old left handed batting 2B-3B. His career OPS is essentially a match for Valencia, although Valencia's is shaded by his very high BABIP his rookie year. His defense at 3B was respectable in his rookie season with the Dodgers. Since then he has seen much more time at 2B. He is a year younger than Valencia. I am not sure if it is an upgrade but it might be worth a shot. I guess he could profile as a Luke Hughes type. His experience at 3B and his left handed bat may give him more value than Hughes to a bench. Platoon option? Who would he replace? Do we really need …

Reusse, on Twitter this morning, says the "Twins are trying to move Danny Valencia". I don't really see MLB teams lining up for his services. But I was more troubled when I read this (courtesy of the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo): Denard Span, CF, Twins - He remains on Washington’s radar, but with Nationals closer Drew Storen on the DL, a deal is on hold for a while. Seriously? Am I missing something? Is what's best for the future of the Minnesota Twins to trade for a closer? The Nats have a very good farm system, yet the Twins are holding out for their closer?

It sounds like the Twins will put Justin Morneau on the Disabled List on Monday. No word on who would be called up. Remember there is still room on the 40 man roster, so who do you think it will be? My vote is Ray Chang because I think the team needs a backup infielder who can play all three positions. He's also hitting about .300. Brian Dozier could get the call, but again, that would need to be in a full time role. Could be Darin Mastroianni, who has hit well with the Red Wings, but the Twins have outfielders. Aaron Bates hasn't hit a lot yet, but he had a solid big league camp and has big league time if the team feels the need to have a RH 1B to play along…

Just out of curiosity, are there any stats that measure the impact catchers have on pitchers? Is it even possible? Do you think there is any difference in how our staff pitches when they are pitching to Doumit or Butera instead of Mauer? If every time Butera caught a starter this year and it was a QS and a win, would people be willing to give him any credit for it, and accept him as a valuable catcher despite his wiffle bat?

I was really impressed by the performance of the bullpen last night. Duensing, Perkins and Capps were lights out.. I got the feeling all three of them went into that game and just said "f**k this" we're not letting this get away. It may sound corny but they had the game faces on, especially Perkins, he was throwing some serious heat and his slider was back to old form. Say what you like about Capps but if he gets that split finger to work like that one he threw last night, he'll get a lot more batters out.

I got to get this off my chest. I'm still trying to walk this one off. To many it's a small issue in the face of many large issues with the 2012 Twins. To Me... It's a big picture large philisophical issue. To be very clear... I don't care about Hughes and Burroughs. I harbored no illusions that these two were going to perform like Andrew McCutchen or even McGehee for that matter. My problem that I struggle with is this: Burroughs had 17 at bats... Hughes had 10 at bats. Meanwhile the starting lineup features thus far: Carroll .213 Velencia .232 Doumit .230 Morneau .230 Parmelee .222 Shaking things up means cutting the guys who didn't pla…

According to 1500espn, Drew Butera is headed to Los Angeles to join the Twins. Right now, he is a possible addition to the Rochester roster, pending what they learn about the wrist of Justin Morneau. Of the players on the 40 man roster, Butera makes the most sense. Joe Mauer will likely get more time at 1B with Ryan Doumit doing the catching. Of course, this doesn't bode well for Chris Parmelee who needs to play. Of the three catchers that went to camp with the Twins and started the season in Rochester, Butera has far-and-away been playing the best.

According to Joe Christensen, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will not be with the team this weekend in Seattle. He will be attending his daughter's college graduation. Congratulations to his daughter, Tara, and the family. I certainly hope that he's able to put the Angels' series out of his mind and enjoy the time with his family. Scott Ullger will manage the team.

Gardy had an interview on ESPN 1500 today. He even hinted at some changes: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Gardenhire_hints_at_possible_changes_We_cant_continue_like_this050412

Check out this article by John George of Lakes Area Sports regarding that Twins. What happened and thoughts on what should be done. What do you think? http://www.lakesareasports.com/johnscorner.php

The assumption is that he will be promoted to be in the Twins rotation. Have to assume that Hendriks would be optioned to Rochester.

Lot's of chatter about how Mike Zunino is a possibility at #2 overall to the Twins in the draft. As much as I would like a top flight starting pitcher, I'm starting to think this guy might be the best pick, particularly as there doesn't seem to be much consensus on who the top pitcher would be. It sounds like Zunino's defense is fairly strong, but his bat is even better. Hopefully he would be advanced enough that within a year or two, he could be ready to play in the bigs. By that time, Mauer might be ready to move away from catcher on a more regular basis. Regardless, I hope the Twins take whoever they feel has the highest upside in the draft, whether it's a pitcher, …

Was anyone else surprised that Morneau didn't play tonight? I wasn't, and it doesn't seem like they're sure on when he'll return. With an already short bench thanks mostly to 13 pitchers, it won't be much longer until refusing to place Morneau on the DL will be another questionable roster move. Maybe it's simply due to the fact that I'm get so much information about the Twins, but I've been extremely disappointed with their judgement at the margins this season, both in terms of management and talent evaluation (use of relatively poor information even more than inability to find players). I know some would argue those margins (last couple of active roster spots) do…

The Twins claimed 24 year old OF Erik Komatsu and Designated Clete Thomas for Assignment. Also, Sean Burroughs cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Rochester. He was the Cardinals' Rule 5 pick and made the opening day roster. However, he has just four hits in 19 at bats. No surprise considering he played in AA last year with the Brewers and then the Nationals (after being traded in a deadline deal). He will need to remain on the Twins roster or be offered back to the Nationals. Clete Thomas made a strong first impression with the Twins, hitting a ball to the warning track in his first AB against Neftali Feliz and then homering to deep right field in his second…