June 8, 201412 yr Unfortunately he'll likely be remembered most for his playoffs performance in 2009 and 2010. Very sad to think what might have been if not for that freakish knee injury. Not by me. I'll remember the slam.
June 8, 201412 yr I think Chicken Parm is the clear answer for demotion. Hicks is improving, and even with Fuld, I don't think you can lose Hicks. His BA is just a couple ticks below Pinto going into today...I think the plan is to option Hicks. Fuld and Santana can handle center, Hicks can work on facing right handers and maybe he'll be ready if Santana or Escobar fades.
June 8, 201412 yr You're probably right, Hicks probably gets sent to AAA, but I don't think that's the right move. There's plenty of other dead weight on this team. Hicks needs to see major league caliber breaking pitches, and there are probably more of those at AA than AAA. Keep him in the big show, and run him out there 5+ days a week.
June 8, 201412 yr http://m.mlb.com/video/v8059633/minnyy-kubel-blasts-a-grand-slam-in-the-eighth/?query=kubel+grand+slam Thanks for posting, Seth. I actually have never seen that, as I was listening to that particular game on a radio in upstate NY. I always assumed that Mariano missed his spot, but he actually put it right where he wanted to...that same cutter running in on the fists that got out so many hitters over the years. Just a great job of hitting by Kubes in his greatest moment. He was terrible this year and this move had to be made, but he was one of the good guys and I will always remember him favorably.
June 8, 201412 yr http://m.mlb.com/video/v8059633/minnyy-kubel-blasts-a-grand-slam-in-the-eighth/?query=kubel+grand+slam I'm partial to this one...
June 8, 201412 yr http://m.mlb.com/video/v8059633/minnyy-kubel-blasts-a-grand-slam-in-the-eighth/?query=kubel+grand+slam It seems like Kubel was good for at least one clutch grand slam a season. Lots of good memories.
June 8, 201412 yr Does anyone wanna take a stab at Gardy's speech when he informed Kubel that he was designated for assignment? My best guess (starting at :50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM1OUPPiduI
June 8, 201412 yr My best guess (starting at :50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM1OUPPiduI "How do you think *I* feel? Kubes, you're my favorite ballplayer of all time." - R. Clyde Gardenhire, June 2014
June 9, 201412 yr "How do you think *I* feel? Kubes, you're my favorite ballplayer of all time." - R. Clyde Gardenhire, June 2014 "My friend Scotty offered me a Nicky Punto and a Matty Guerrier card for you and I wouldn't do it!"
June 9, 201412 yr I don't think we've seen the last of Kubel. The Twins have got to be among the best teams at retaining a relationship with their past players. Coaching, advising or broadcasting, it seems the team will always find room for an ex player if the player is interested in sticking with baseball.
June 9, 201412 yr Ryan did the stand up thing: Phil Miller @MillerStrib 16m Ryan said telling Kubel he's being released was hard -- "He's made a lot of big contributions here." He & Kubel go back more than a decade. I obviously feel the worst for Kubel - but that has to be an incredibly tough part of the job to tell someone they are being let go - knowing that often there is a good chance they are basically done for good - esp. when you have a long history with that person and they have done a lot for you in the past. It is one thing to let someone go from a regular company where you know they have a better chance of finding something else, but in these cases a lot of time you are telling the player there is a good chance their dream is over and they may never play at this level again.
June 9, 201412 yr How could they do this????? He's tied for the team lead in triples! Also tied for fewest Caught Stealing. Call up the Commissioner's Office, Terry, and tell them there's been a terrible clerical error.
June 9, 201412 yr It's the right business decision- but it's always a bummer when a player isn't able to end their season on their own terms. Good luck to Kubel in whatever comes next!
June 9, 201412 yr Always liked Jason Kubel. Unfortunately, pro baseball with few exceptions is a game for guys in their 20's, and you have be lucky enough to stay fairly healthy even to stick around to 30. Kubel did an amazing job coming back from a really bad knee injury in the minors, and managed to have a pretty good run in the bigs. I will remember his home run against Mariano Rivera, when he put one of those vicious cutters into the right field bleachers. Kubel swung the bat like he was trying to knock off his own big toe!
June 9, 201412 yr I'm partial to this one... I was at that game, sitting in the upper deck behind home plate. The grand slam was the punchline to the joke set up in the previous at bat. Second and third, Morneau up, and they intentionally walk him to load the bases for Kubel. I'm thinking to myself, "Are the Angels watching the same game I am? Kubel's a beast today. This is not going to end well for them."
June 9, 201412 yr It's hard to see someone who had so much success in a Twins uniform for a long time end up with this fate. It's more annoying to read and hear commenters bashing someone who has done so much for the organization over the years. There was considerable "bashing" of Kubel? Must have missed most of that. My recollection was that most posters felt the time had come to part ways with him, and much of that was prefaced with a 'thanks for the memories' acknowledgement. Just my impression. If there was widespread bashing going on, it seems to me it was the front office being questioned for placing him on the opening day roster. That was compounded by the FO bringing Bartlett and Guerrier north as well, giving the appearance that the Twins were assembling a nostalgia trip instead of rebuilding toward contention. At any rate, the Twins made the right call, unpleasant though it was. But even if it was late in coming, it shouldn't affect the future much, and the impact on 2014 may be more than made up for with the KM signing. As for Kubel, he will be remembered for his role on the contending teams in the latter half of the previous decade. He was a South Dakota kid who had a fine career despite a knee injury so devastating his baseball future appeared to be in jeopardy. And at age 32, if he walks away from the game, he does so with over 30 million well-deserved dollars in his pocket. Also, as others have mentioned, if he is inclined to transition from player to another role in baseball, he couldn't have spent the majority of his playing career with a better organization than the Twins. So overall, it seems to me that pretty much everyone would agree that the story of Jason Kubel's playing career with the Twins has, regardless of 2014, a happy ending for the fans, the franchise, and Jason. Edited June 9, 201412 yr by LaBombo
June 9, 201412 yr I will remember his home run against Mariano Rivera, when he put one of those vicious cutters into the right field bleachers. Kubel swung the bat like he was trying to knock off his own big toe! I remember listening to that game. Too bad it didn't happen in the playoffs! My Kubel memory will be the 2006 walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox, followed the next day by a Twins win featuring the bat boy tacking an on-field interloper. I'm sure some day I will conflate the two memories, and Kubel will become the tackler (or the interloper).
June 9, 201412 yr Also tied for fewest Caught Stealing. Call up the Commissioner's Office, Terry, and tell them there's been a terrible clerical error. It's okay -- Kubel asked Rob Antony to sleep on it, so nothing is official yet.
June 9, 201412 yr It's hard to see someone who had so much success in a Twins uniform for a long time end up with this fate. It's more annoying to read and hear commenters bashing someone who has done so much for the organization over the years. I certainly won't defend any commenters that personally bash anyone, and I don't think that's been happening here. And I hope for his sake that he finds opportunity elsewhere if he so desires. But to put some things in perspective: according to B-Ref, even before his disastrous 2014, Kubel had 4.8 WAR in a Twins uniform (less than that in Fangraphs WAR), in the equivalent of about 5 full seasons worth of games. Jason Bartlett had more than that in his short tenure with the Twins. Nick Blackburn exceeded that total in just his first 2 seasons too. "Twins Great" Dan Gladden has him beat in fewer games as well. (Factor in 2014, and Kubel drops to 3.6 WAR, around the same level as ~2 season Twins Rick Reed and Luis Castillo.) He was part of some fun teams, and I loved his knack for memorable grand slams, but in terms on on-field Twins success, he should slot in behind the above guys, and ahead of mostly Delmon Young disappointment types. He wasn't much of a defender, and outside of 2009 never really hit enough to be a plus DH either.
June 10, 201412 yr Another great Kubes memory that I haven't seen mentioned here: he hit the first home run in Target Field history. Though I did love that grand slam off Rivera too!
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