Parker Hageman

Would you mind calling my wife and telling her that?

Off the field, pitcher Trevor May likes to create music and spin tracks. However, while on the mound with the Twins this season, this DJ has been unable to find the right rhythm.After an impressive season in Triple-A -- where he had his lowest walk rate since 2010 -- May was called up to the Twins in August. May’s minor league success did not transfer to the major league level. So far, starting in six of his seven appearances, May has pitched 29.2 innings while turning in a 24/19 K/BB ratio to go along with 41 hits to which have cumulated in a rotund 8.38 ERA. His biggest foe, besides people who do not enjoy his sick beats, has been pitching with runners on base. To this point in his major league career, ESPN/Trumedia says he has thrown 279 pitches in both the windup and the stretch. With the bases empty, he has kept opponents to a passable .269 average with a 17/9 K/BB ratio but when he puts a runner on, opponents have lambasted him to the tune of .479 with a disheartening 7/13 K/BB ratio. To be fair, a sizable number of those walks occurred during his debut in Oakland (6 walks from the stretch), but his performance has been shakiest when the bases are clogged. An American League scout who had observed May told the Star Tribune’s LaVelle Neal that May’s “got the ammo. He needs to locate it. And his fastball is pretty flat.” May has a four-pitch mix but has yet to show he can locate his fastball consistently enough to make the other pitches effective. For most of May’s tenure in professional baseball, his ability to repeat his mechanics has been questioned as his release point will occasionally vary and his arm slot will drop. This keeps his pitches up in the zone where they can flatten out and it seems to happen to him more often from the stretch. Overall, May’s fastball has been turned into hits at a high rate from both the windup and stretch. The biggest difference is the type of contact hitters are making. Consider this: When runners are on, opponents have posted a 46% line drive rate with a .276 hard-hit average compared to a 20% line drive rate and a .135 hard-hit average from his full windup. This makes sense when you consider the locations of his fastballs when in the windup (top) versus the stretch (bottom): Download attachment: May_FB.png Getting strike one while working in the stretch has been an on-going struggle for May as he has hit the zone with fewer than half of his first-pitch pitches (46%), a far cry from when there are no baserunners (63%). What’s more, hitters have become more conservative once May is pitching from the stretch, chasing far fewer pitches out of the zone (16%) than when he is in the windup (35%). That puts the 24-year-old at quite the disadvantage. Broadcasters and media-types often talk about things “snowballing” for pitchers. Each of May’s outings so far has been more avalanche than snowball once runners step on to the bases. Every pitcher has some discrepancy between the windup and the stretch, but May’s splits are more pronounced than most thus far in his small sample size. Obviously, the stats will normalize over time as his .404 batting average on balls in play is sure to come down and he is able to corral that grotesque walk rate. Look for improvements out of May in his next start on Sunday in Chicago. Click here to view the article

The Star Tribune's LaVelle Neal has a story on the Twins working with Oswaldo Arcia and it has some interesting quotes from the coaching staff: Manager Ron Gardenhire -- From hitting coach Tom Brunansky --

Thanks for watching/listening. This, of course, was a trial run. Going forward, the video will likely be smaller segments/bits rather than the entire show. The only reason we did not release the audio separately is because we wanted people to watch/listen to the video in order to get some feedback/ideas. Once again, thanks for listening!

The No Juice Podcast takes a different route in this week’s episode, unleashing the first No Juice Vidcast to address all of the #HotTopics in the Twins Daily forum section. In this video, Parker Hageman and Dan Anderson answer questions regarding Ron Washington vs Ron Gardenhire, the Minnesota Twins’ email survey, the magic of Tom Brunansky, Tommy Milone, Kyle Gibson and pitcher handling and surprising Twins minor leaguers. Click play on the video to have all of your baseball dreams come true: Please share any and all feedback in the comments section below or follow us on Twitter (@nojuicepodcast). We would love to hear what you think about the show, Parker’s stupid #SoberBeard or Dan’s constant head-bobbing. To hear the podcast which tackles the Minnesota Vikings, sinking pontoons, stealing other podcast’s mailbag questions and the music of 1996, listen below, on iTunes or on Stitcher: THE NO JUICE PODCAST, EPISODE #20: VIKINGS OPENER Click here to view the article

Yeah, that is an on-going problem that the Twins have been trying to fix. http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/oswaldo-arcia-is-very-good-but-hes-not-quite-there-yet-r2724

If it feels like I have dedicated a lot of words in this space to Oswaldo Arcia’s approach at the plate, it is because he remains a work-in-progress and the Minnesota Twins realize this. Arcia has impressed in stretches (like hitting seven home runs in August) but then regresses into a mess as pitchers tie him in knots. With the focus shifting toward 2015, the Twins are doing all they can to mold Arcia into a complete hitter.Early in the season, Fox Sports North’s Roy Smalley pointed out that the Twins were attempting to get Arcia to adjust his hands during the swing to avoid being eaten up by fastballs up in the zone. That is still a project as Arcia has gone 3-for-45 on fastballs in the upper third or higher this year while missing on 48% of his cuts (compared to the 21% league average). More recently, prior to Wednesday’s game Fox Sports North has shown Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky attempting to break Arcia from the habit of dropping his shoulder and remaining closed in order to handle being pitched away more. Once again, Arcia is hitting a paltry .182 on the outer-half (one of the lowest in the league) while pulling a significant number of those pitches. These areas of his game need to improve. The Twins are also trying to get him to understand how pitchers are attacking him. According to a tweet from the Star Tribune’s La Velle E Neal, manager Ron Gardenhire said the team is having Arcia watch more video to absorb what teams are doing with him. Heat maps from ESPN/TruMedia reveal the simple formula: Fastballs up in the zone, breaking stuff/offspeed down and away. Download attachment: Arcia_Heat Maps.png It is relatively easy to understand why opposing teams apply this treatment. Because he has such strength combined with a pull-happy tendency, Arcia has detonated pitches middle-in: Download attachment: strike-zone (51).png Another factor that is involved in his streaky hitting is his pitch selection. In terms of breaking and offspeed pitches, Arcia has chased 44% of those pitches out of the zone compared to the 33% MLB average. The coaching staff obviously has the best insight on how to move forward with Arcia but it is possible that resurrecting a method from his past might help his future. Watching him now, it may be easy to credit Arcia’s aggressive leg kick as a big source for his power generation. True, it does help cultivate power, but Arcia has been as strong as they come with or without that stage in his swing. The model that Arcia uses today had its inception in 2013 while with the Rochester Red Wings. Prior to that, he displayed the muted toe tap stride while in Double-A. http://i.imgur.com/AoaBdR0.gif Compare that to the current model: http://i.imgur.com/4IOzAsG.gif This is not an intent to discuss the merits of the toe tap versus the leg kick, but you can notice the difference in just the head movement when he strides. In 2012, his head stays on the plane whereas with the current version, the head has noticeable movement and changes planes. Beyond that, because of the timing mechanism in the leg lift, there is less time for pitch recognition before committing to swing, which may explain why he is so susceptible to slower and breaking stuff out of the zone. To be sure, there is little difference in Arcia’s power numbers and strikeout/walk rates from 2012 to now. He had plenty of pop and struck out in a very high proportion of his at-bats in both Double-A and in the majors. Admittedly, major league pitchers are much better at locating their secondary pitches than their Double-A counterparts but Arcia’s previous swing seems to give him more balance, which could translate to handling being pitched away better, and greater opportunity for pitch recognition. When Kennys Vargas came up to the Twins this year, he initially had a big leg kick that was quickly trashed for the muted toe tap. Despite the change, this has not seemed to have stymied Vargas’ power in the least while allowing him to better combat the assortment of secondary offerings of major league pitching. This might be a good opportunity to see if Arcia would be interested in trying the same. The 23-year-old Venezuelan is plenty talented and gifted in the power department. With the team firmly out of any postseason contention, now is the time to make adjustments and improve for next year. There is no need to pull every pitch into the IDS, mostly because every pitch should not be pulled. As the season winds down, the goal is to reduce the number of pitches chased out of the zone and drive some of those away pitches back up the middle and the other way. Click here to view the article

By listening to this week’s episode of the No Juice Podcast, you will subject yourself to a variety of baseball topics including, but not limited to, the Minnesota Twins and September, the Houston Astros and EXTREME MONEYBALL, Jesus Montero and the Ice Cream Sandwich Incident, Bill Murray and ticket-taking and thoughts on Midway Stadium in general.But wait! That’s not all! If you act now, you will also receive non-baseball talk which includes Parker Hageman’s Health Issues, Dan Anderson’s State Fair Visit, the Minnesota Vikings and much, much more! Listen below, on iTunes or on Stitcher: THE NO JUICE PODCAST, EPISODE #19: AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER Click here to view the article

On this week's episode of The No Juice Podcast, Dan Anderson and Parker Hageman wake up super early after spending the day helping everyone enjoy the Twins Daily's Touch 'Em All Pub Crawl.Joining the pair was a live studio audience of Tim Rollwagon and Jordan Johnson who helped piece together the previous day's events. Other non-pub crawl related topics included the latest with the Minnesota Twins, the preseason happenings of the Minnesota Vikings and going to Kid Rock concerts at the State Fair. Download attachment: TD Masons.jpg (BONUS LINK! Here is a GIF of Dan Anderson falling really hard while rounding second base during a recent softball game.) Listen below, on iTunes or on Stitcher: THE NO JUICE PODCAST, EPISODE #18: TOUCH 'EM ALL PUB CRAWL Click here to view the article

This is definitely an area of his game that has improved these past two and a half weeks. On "soft" pitches (breaking balls and changeups), he has gone 9-for-25 (.360) with three home runs when he has gone just 20-for-105 and one home run prior to August 1. Staying back and staying in helps a lot on those offspeed offerings.

And that goes back to the low hand point that hurts him in getting to those higher fastballs. He's a work in progress, no doubt but seeing some good signs.

Since the beginning of August, Minnesota Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has been one of the crushiest crushers who ever crushed. Within the small sample universe, Arcia has been murdering baseballs all over the field. Baseballs. Murdered. Dead. In that time, Arcia has jacked six home runs -- the second most in the American League, behind only Houston’s Chris Carter, who has suddenly become Casey from Mudville (pre-poem) since the beginning of July. But it is not just wind-aided fly balls that have drifted beyond the outfield wall that has propelled Arcia’s August. According to ESPN/trumedia his hard-hit average is .241, the ninth-best in the league over the last 21 days. He is crushing it to the core.Oh, and one of those home runs? Yeah, that hit Target Field’s flag pole just like former Twins bruiser Jim Thome. It has been his ability to drive the ball with total disregard for human life that has made his plate appearances “must see” events, as far as “must see” events go this season, anyway. At the same time, it has been his inability to make contact with the ball for the bulk of the season that has come at a heavy price to his overall numbers. While he has deposited a ball in the seats in every 20 at-bats, he’s whiffed once in just under every three at-bats. Arcia’s strength has been prevalent throughout his professional career. In the minors he displayed a more balanced approached at the plate with less of a leg-lift stride that allowed him to use all fields. Of course, Arcia has eschewed this style for his prefered all-or-nothing pull approach at the major league level that has paid off well as of late. Take a look at his follow through earlier this season: Download attachment: Arcia_Opens Up.png His front side opens far too much -- particularly on a pitch that was middle-in in the example above. This pitch was an off-speed that Arcia did not stay back on and flew open in a failed attempt to yank it on to Nicollet Mall. If he continued to do this, he would see a reduced coverage on the outer-half of the plate (which he did) and this is something that can been seen throughout his at-bats early in the season. As I pointed out in June, because Arcia drops his hands, he has already shown a weakness to fastballs up in the zone and the Twins were trying to fix that issue as well. By the end of July, he was hitting a paltry .219/.299/.383. Needless to say, here was a lot to work on for the talented young slugger and, if his August numbers have anything to say about it, he appears to have turned a corner. While Arcia’s focus may be on pulling the ball with ferocity, manager Ron Gardenhire has said he would like the outfielder to temper his swing instead of trying to hit the ball “8,000 miles”. Though some may interpret that as an attempt to convert Arcia from a power hitter into a punch-and-judy slapper, the reality is the Twins were looking for him to stay in on the pitch in order to drive the ball. Since August 1, this message apparently has resonated with Arcia and he has remained closed instead of flying open: Download attachment: Arcia_Closed.png This practice should be enable him to handle left-handed pitchers, who up to this point have been the bane of his existence. The 23-year-old Arcia is making progress at the plate and it could spell more offense for the Twins in 2015. Twins beat Cleveland on Thursday afternoon, so Friday you can get 50% off a L or XL pizza at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

I wrote about this the other week but someone has already gotten to Vargas to alter his swing: http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/kennys-vargas-is-one-reason-to-keep-watching-r2950 I'm hoping one of the beat writers will address this.

With The Geek gallivanting around the country, Twins Daily's Parker Hageman subbed in for John Bonnes and joined Aaron Gleeman in a rousing discussion over the latest from the Minnesota Twins. Topics include the recent trade of Josh Willingham to the Royals, Byron Buxton’s incredibly scary injury, what to expect from Ricky Nolasco, where Danny Santana should be playing in the field, what to make of Oswaldo Arcia through one full season, appreciating Phil Hughes’ excellence, the launch of Vikings Journal, and whether or not to freak out about hair in your food.You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click below. GLEEMAN & THE GEEK, EPISODE 158: JUST A CONCUSSION AND THE PURGE Click here to view the article

On this week’s episode of the No Juice Podcast, Dan Anderson and Parker Hageman return to Minneapolis after their field trip to Mankato and discuss the recent Kevin Correia trade, what other roster moves to anticipate the Twins making as well as the debut of pitcher Trevor May.They also talk about status of the Minnesota Vikings quarterback situation after one practice and one meaningless preseason game and drinking the world’s worst alcoholic beverage, . BONUS: Dan took his Mom to the recent Paul McCartney concert. They sang the na-na-na-na portion of "Hey Jude" together. Dan's Mom video'd it. Spoiler: Dan is not blessed with a good singing voice. . Listen below, on iTunes or on Stitcher: THE NO JUICE PODCAST, EPISODE #17: TWINS ROSTER MOVES Thanks to the Twins first win against the Oakland A’s in nearly two years on Sunday, on Monday you can get 50% off a Large or Extra Large pizza for the fourth straight day (on Monday) when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

Following Saturday night's game, the Minnesota Twins announced that they have traded starting pitcher Kevin Correia to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Twins signed Correia to a two-year, $10 million contract heading into the 2013 season and, while his numbers were mediocre overall, the right-hander was able to provide innings where a significant share of the staff could not.In 54 starts, Correia finishes his Twins career with a 14-26 record and a 4.49 ERA which was a product of his high-contact/low-bat miss abilities. According to Fangraphs.com, over the past two years Correia had the highest contact rate (80%) and the lowest swinging strike percentage (5.7%). "I enjoyed every minute of it," Correia told reporters in the clubhouse after the game and being told the news. "The guys on the team, the coaching staff, everything was great. I wish we would have won more games, obviously. Besides that, I couldn't have enjoyed the time any more in Minnesota and this organization." To fill Correia's roster spot, the Twins recall left-handed pitcher, Tommy Milone, who they received in the Sam Fuld trade with Oakland. Milone will start on Monday. Click here to view the article