Parker Hageman

Injuring what was one of his hottest in the month of June to what could have been an avoidable play by Indians’ catcher Yan Gomes is not lost on manager Ron Gardenhire. Ryan Doumit had been hitting .278/.345/.481 with three home runs, five doubles and a triple in June prior to suffering a sprained ankle in Cleveland on June 23. Since the incident, Doumit has sat out three games and has gone 5-for-20 (.250) without any extra base hits in his 21 plate appearances. Doumit, who was coming into score on Oswaldo Arcia’s double, was forced to stutter step around home plate as Gomes swings left leg across the plate area for a brief moment. From his vantage point, Gardenhire’s contends that this move was an intentional attempt to divert Doumit’s current path. "We had a great view from the dugout and the catcher didn't have the ball and at the last second he stuck his foot back on top of home plate," Gardenhire said on his 1500ESPN radio show. "Just kind of reached out behind him and stuck his foot there before the ball got home. That's kind of one of those not good plays in baseball. (Doumit) ends up spraining his ankle and we were pretty upset about that.” Here is a clip of the offending play: http://i.imgur.com/rBHPRO2.gif From the advantage of the replay, we can see that the play was all but over when Doumit arrive to the plate. The ball was both late and offline. Ignoring Gomes for a moment. The interesting thing here is that Doumit does not slide. Certainly this does not change the fact that Gomes was in a place he shouldn’t be, but a slide would have made for a safe and injury-free arrival to home plate. Just three days prior when the Twins were taking on the White Sox, Doumit was thrown out at the plate on a close play (video here). Notice that Doumit does not slide at this play either – despite the fact that Justin Morneau was clearly waving for him to hit the deck. This play had just as much likelihood of Doumit injuring himself as did the Gomes play. Someone teach this man to slide. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4675[/ATTACH] Gomes could have been thinking for a split-second that he may have an opportunity to block a slide (which Doumit should have been doing) and apply a quick tag. That notion likely disappeared quickly as the chances of the ball beating Doumit to the plate vanished. Also, judging from the flight of the ball, he may have had intentions of trying to reposition himself to receive it but thought better of it as Doumit approached. The fact is it is hard to say if what Gomes did had malicious intent. Going by the book, Gomes had no right to be positioned in the place that he was. In fact, simply being there is against the rules. According to the MLB rulebook, Rule 7.06 states that: This rule has rarely, if ever, been enforced by umpires. On the other hand, baseball’s unwritten rules state that Gomes’ behavior was a huge no-no and could, ultimately, warrant retaliation. "In that play, the plate was open, the ball wasn't going to be there and the next thing you know the guy sticks his leg out," Gardenhire said on his show. "(That) is not a good thing in baseball. It's kind of one of those unwritten rules that blocking the plate without the ball or trying to trip somebody ... (you look for) payback." Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Catcher for a catcher. Mostly due to the injuries to San Francisco’s Buster Posey or St. Louis’s Yadier Molina because of collisions at the plate, MLB’s rule has been debated at length over the past several years. It could prove to be a difficult act to completely abolish mostly because it is an event that takes two to tango: One, the runners barreling in and two, with the catchers walling off home plate. In most cases catchers are portrayed as innocent victims, catchers have their own methods which can force the runner into a full-out offensive – be it a hard slide or a lowered shoulder. While MLB could suspend those runners who turn their bodies into projectiles, there still exists the practice of teaching catchers how to block home plate from the incoming runner which exposes the catchers to a variety of injuries. Ryan Doumit is no stranger to this education process considering in 2008 while he was in camp with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then-manager John Russell, a former catcher himself, gave Doumit additional attention showing him techniques to “blocking home plate”. These lessons obviously were handy when Doumit suffered an ankle sprain in 2011 after the Cubs’ Carlos Pena wiped out his left ankle in a slide at home plate (of which Doumit was blocking like a solar eclipse). Had Doumit remained inside of the baseline and not attempted to block Pena with his leg, he would have had an easy sweep tag and a healthy ankle. The Oakland Athletics -- those damn nerdy book-types -- took note of what happened to the franchise backstop across the Bay in 2011 and made an edict from the top to keep their catchers out of harm’s way. Then-A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki said that Billy Beane told him specifically to give the runner the right-of-way to avoid contact at the plate. Likewise, the New York Mets had this conversation broached in spring training when manager Terry Collins ordered catcher Travis d’Arnaud to avoid blocking the plate with his left leg because of the prior knee injuries. Mets GM Sandy Alderson – and chairman of the rules committee, by the way – responded to Collins’ request to his catcher shortly after, suggesting that the organization needs to look at their policy on the subject of plate-blocking. “Whether that will be permanent with him or permanent with all of our catching prospects of something [Mets catcher] John Buck will adopt, or the spike tag will becomes standard for catchers in the big leagues- I don’t know,” Alderson told a group of Mets bloggers. “But I think it’s an issue we have to address globally, rather than just in the case of Travis d’Arnaud. And to some extent we have an obligation to treat everyone the same way.” Then there are instances that make you question whether certain teams are going the extra mile to instill in their catchers to protect the plate at all costs; that they are the last line of defense between one more run. As mentioned above, Pittsburgh took time to instill plate-blocking techniques. While it could all be coincidental, Cleveland has had a recent string of catchers taking some beatings at home plate. In 2010, rookie catcher Carlos Santana had his knee ligaments rearranged while Boston’s Ryan Kalish bulled into his lower half that was straddling the baseline before the ball’s arrival. That was not even Santana’s first run-in at the dish that year. In his third game of his career, the White Sox’s Adam Dunn tried to separate him from his equipment for standing directly in front of home (and the throw was cut-off by the first baseman). Meanwhile, this April, Indians catcher Lou Marson was blown up at the plate by the Rays’ Desmond Jennings after a bang-bang play when Jennings tried to score from third on an infield grounder to the third baseman. Marson was up the line and consuming the entire route home. Afterwards, Marson provided insight on his technique in that situation, which is to get the runner to hesitate before the collision. "I'm trying to block the plate and make you make a decision,” said the catcher. “Are you going to slide, or are you going to try to blow me up? I feel like that split second they have to decide kind of slows them down, at least a little bit." Gomes, who is new to the Indians organization in 2013, may have been preparing to do something similar to what Marson described on the play. Block the plate and brace for contact. From Gomes’ perspective, there could have been a play at the plate forthcoming. It was not as if the ball was heading for a cut-off man. And it was not as if Ryan Doumit was running like a bat out of hell either. Plus there was the added caveat of the throw being outside the third base line while Gomes was set up inside the line. With a runner on base, Gomes may have been beginning to maneuver to corral the throw which was now heading behind the scampering Doumit. Of course, superseding what was going on inside Gomes’ head is the fact that both MLB’s rules and baseball’s code – the unwritten rules of the game – both explicitly say that the catcher shouldn’t be anywhere near the base without the ball. Had Doumit been a different kind of individual, he may have leveled Gomes like Dunn did to Santana and would have been completely vindicated in the baseball world. Doumit didn’t and suffered a sprained ankle for his troubles. Even Gomes’ own manager, Terry Francona, would have likely condoned Doumit running into Gomes as a “baseball play”. "If you don't want to have a collision, instruct your catcher to move. That's really easy, but you can't make a rule,” Francona said not long after his catcher Lou Marson was removed from his spikes. “The rule is the catcher can't block the plate until he has the ball. For the very most part, that's when you see guys get hit. They're the gritty guys, but they try to block the plate before they have the ball, and there's a bobble, or they get in late, and they can't brace themselves. That's where you see the problems.” Will the Twins retaliate when the Indians come to town in a little over a week? The fireworks will be on display on July 4 but if Ron Gardenhire makes good on his promises, there may be a second show later this month.

Injuring what was one of his hottest in the month of June to what could have been an avoidable play by Indians’ catcher Yan Gomes is not lost on manager Ron Gardenhire. Ryan Doumit had been hitting .278/.345/.481 with three home runs, five doubles and a triple in June prior to suffering a sprained ankle in Cleveland on June 23. Since the incident, Doumit has sat out three games and has gone 5-for-20 (.250) without any extra base hits in his 21 plate appearances. Doumit, who was coming into score on Oswaldo Arcia’s double, was forced to stutter step around home plate as Gomes swings left leg across the plate area for a brief moment. From his vantage point, Gardenhire’s contends that this move was an intentional attempt to divert Doumit’s current path. "We had a great view from the dugout and the catcher didn't have the ball and at the last second he stuck his foot back on top of home plate," Gardenhire said on his 1500ESPN radio show. "Just kind of reached out behind him and stuck his foot there before the ball got home. That's kind of one of those not good plays in baseball. (Doumit) ends up spraining his ankle and we were pretty upset about that.” Here is a clip of the offending play: http://i.imgur.com/rBHPRO2.gif From the advantage of the replay, we can see that the play was all but over when Doumit arrive to the plate. The ball was both late and offline. Ignoring Gomes for a moment. The interesting thing here is that Doumit does not slide. Certainly this does not change the fact that Gomes was in a place he shouldn’t be, but a slide would have made for a safe and injury-free arrival to home plate. Just three days prior when the Twins were taking on the White Sox, Doumit was thrown out at the plate on a close play (video here). Notice that Doumit does not slide at this play either – despite the fact that Justin Morneau was clearly waving for him to hit the deck. This play had just as much likelihood of Doumit injuring himself as did the Gomes play. Someone teach this man to slide. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4675[/ATTACH] Gomes could have been thinking for a split-second that he may have an opportunity to block a slide (which Doumit should have been doing) and apply a quick tag. That notion likely disappeared quickly as the chances of the ball beating Doumit to the plate vanished. Also, judging from the flight of the ball, he may have had intentions of trying to reposition himself to receive it but thought better of it as Doumit approached. The fact is it is hard to say if what Gomes did had malicious intent. Going by the book, Gomes had no right to be positioned in the place that he was. In fact, simply being there is against the rules. According to the MLB rulebook, Rule 7.06 states that: This rule has rarely, if ever, been enforced by umpires. On the other hand, baseball’s unwritten rules state that Gomes’ behavior was a huge no-no and could, ultimately, warrant retaliation. "In that play, the plate was open, the ball wasn't going to be there and the next thing you know the guy sticks his leg out," Gardenhire said on his show. "(That) is not a good thing in baseball. It's kind of one of those unwritten rules that blocking the plate without the ball or trying to trip somebody ... (you look for) payback." Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Catcher for a catcher. Mostly due to the injuries to San Francisco’s Buster Posey or St. Louis’s Yadier Molina because of collisions at the plate, MLB’s rule has been debated at length over the past several years. It could prove to be a difficult act to completely abolish mostly because it is an event that takes two to tango: One, the runners barreling in and two, with the catchers walling off home plate. In most cases catchers are portrayed as innocent victims, catchers have their own methods which can force the runner into a full-out offensive – be it a hard slide or a lowered shoulder. While MLB could suspend those runners who turn their bodies into projectiles, there still exists the practice of teaching catchers how to block home plate from the incoming runner which exposes the catchers to a variety of injuries. Ryan Doumit is no stranger to this education process considering in 2008 while he was in camp with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then-manager John Russell, a former catcher himself, gave Doumit additional attention showing him techniques to “blocking home plate”. These lessons obviously were handy when Doumit suffered an ankle sprain in 2011 after the Cubs’ Carlos Pena wiped out his left ankle in a slide at home plate (of which Doumit was blocking like a solar eclipse). Had Doumit remained inside of the baseline and not attempted to block Pena with his leg, he would have had an easy sweep tag and a healthy ankle. The Oakland Athletics -- those damn nerdy book-types -- took note of what happened to the franchise backstop across the Bay in 2011 and made an edict from the top to keep their catchers out of harm’s way. Then-A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki said that Billy Beane told him specifically to give the runner the right-of-way to avoid contact at the plate. Likewise, the New York Mets had this conversation broached in spring training when manager Terry Collins ordered catcher Travis d’Arnaud to avoid blocking the plate with his left leg because of the prior knee injuries. Mets GM Sandy Alderson – and chairman of the rules committee, by the way – responded to Collins’ request to his catcher shortly after, suggesting that the organization needs to look at their policy on the subject of plate-blocking. “Whether that will be permanent with him or permanent with all of our catching prospects of something [Mets catcher] John Buck will adopt, or the spike tag will becomes standard for catchers in the big leagues- I don’t know,” Alderson told a group of Mets bloggers. “But I think it’s an issue we have to address globally, rather than just in the case of Travis d’Arnaud. And to some extent we have an obligation to treat everyone the same way.” Then there are instances that make you question whether certain teams are going the extra mile to instill in their catchers to protect the plate at all costs; that they are the last line of defense between one more run. As mentioned above, Pittsburgh took time to instill plate-blocking techniques. While it could all be coincidental, Cleveland has had a recent string of catchers taking some beatings at home plate. In 2010, rookie catcher Carlos Santana had his knee ligaments rearranged while Boston’s Ryan Kalish bulled into his lower half that was straddling the baseline before the ball’s arrival. That was not even Santana’s first run-in at the dish that year. In his third game of his career, the White Sox’s Adam Dunn tried to separate him from his equipment for standing directly in front of home (and the throw was cut-off by the first baseman). Meanwhile, this April, Indians catcher Lou Marson was blown up at the plate by the Rays’ Desmond Jennings after a bang-bang play when Jennings tried to score from third on an infield grounder to the third baseman. Marson was up the line and consuming the entire route home. Afterwards, Marson provided insight on his technique in that situation, which is to get the runner to hesitate before the collision. "I'm trying to block the plate and make you make a decision,” said the catcher. “Are you going to slide, or are you going to try to blow me up? I feel like that split second they have to decide kind of slows them down, at least a little bit." Gomes, who is new to the Indians organization in 2013, may have been preparing to do something similar to what Marson described on the play. Block the plate and brace for contact. From Gomes’ perspective, there could have been a play at the plate forthcoming. It was not as if the ball was heading for a cut-off man. And it was not as if Ryan Doumit was running like a bat out of hell either. Plus there was the added caveat of the throw being outside the third base line while Gomes was set up inside the line. With a runner on base, Gomes may have been beginning to maneuver to corral the throw which was now heading behind the scampering Doumit. Of course, superseding what was going on inside Gomes’ head is the fact that both MLB’s rules and baseball’s code – the unwritten rules of the game – both explicitly say that the catcher shouldn’t be anywhere near the base without the ball. Had Doumit been a different kind of individual, he may have leveled Gomes like Dunn did to Santana and would have been completely vindicated in the baseball world. Doumit didn’t and suffered a sprained ankle for his troubles. Even Gomes’ own manager, Terry Francona, would have likely condoned Doumit running into Gomes as a “baseball play”. "If you don't want to have a collision, instruct your catcher to move. That's really easy, but you can't make a rule,” Francona said not long after his catcher Lou Marson was removed from his spikes. “The rule is the catcher can't block the plate until he has the ball. For the very most part, that's when you see guys get hit. They're the gritty guys, but they try to block the plate before they have the ball, and there's a bobble, or they get in late, and they can't brace themselves. That's where you see the problems.” Will the Twins retaliate when the Indians come to town in a little over a week? The fireworks will be on display on July 4 but if Ron Gardenhire makes good on his promises, there may be a second show later this month.

Injuring what was one of his hottest in the month of June to what could have been an avoidable play by Indians’ catcher Yan Gomes is not lost on manager Ron Gardenhire. Ryan Doumit had been hitting .278/.345/.481 with three home runs, five doubles and a triple in June prior to suffering a sprained ankle in Cleveland on June 23. Since the incident, Doumit has sat out three games and has gone 5-for-20 (.250) without any extra base hits in his 21 plate appearances. Doumit, who was coming into score on Oswaldo Arcia’s double, was forced to stutter step around home plate as Gomes swings left leg across the plate area for a brief moment. From his vantage point, Gardenhire’s contends that this move was an intentional attempt to divert Doumit’s current path. "We had a great view from the dugout and the catcher didn't have the ball and at the last second he stuck his foot back on top of home plate," Gardenhire said on his 1500ESPN radio show. "Just kind of reached out behind him and stuck his foot there before the ball got home. That's kind of one of those not good plays in baseball. (Doumit) ends up spraining his ankle and we were pretty upset about that.” Here is a clip of the offending play: http://i.imgur.com/rBHPRO2.gif From the advantage of the replay, we can see that the play was all but over when Doumit arrive to the plate. The ball was both late and offline. Ignoring Gomes for a moment. The interesting thing here is that Doumit does not slide. Certainly this does not change the fact that Gomes was in a place he shouldn’t be, but a slide would have made for a safe and injury-free arrival to home plate. Just three days prior when the Twins were taking on the White Sox, Doumit was thrown out at the plate on a close play (video here). Notice that Doumit does not slide at this play either – despite the fact that Justin Morneau was clearly waving for him to hit the deck. This play had just as much likelihood of Doumit injuring himself as did the Gomes play. Someone teach this man to slide. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4675[/ATTACH] Gomes could have been thinking for a split-second that he may have an opportunity to block a slide (which Doumit should have been doing) and apply a quick tag. That notion likely disappeared quickly as the chances of the ball beating Doumit to the plate vanished. Also, judging from the flight of the ball, he may have had intentions of trying to reposition himself to receive it but thought better of it as Doumit approached. The fact is it is hard to say if what Gomes did had malicious intent. Going by the book, Gomes had no right to be positioned in the place that he was. In fact, simply being there is against the rules. According to the MLB rulebook, Rule 7.06 states that: This rule has rarely, if ever, been enforced by umpires. On the other hand, baseball’s unwritten rules state that Gomes’ behavior was a huge no-no and could, ultimately, warrant retaliation. "In that play, the plate was open, the ball wasn't going to be there and the next thing you know the guy sticks his leg out," Gardenhire said on his show. "(That) is not a good thing in baseball. It's kind of one of those unwritten rules that blocking the plate without the ball or trying to trip somebody ... (you look for) payback." Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Catcher for a catcher. Mostly due to the injuries to San Francisco’s Buster Posey or St. Louis’s Yadier Molina because of collisions at the plate, MLB’s rule has been debated at length over the past several years. It could prove to be a difficult act to completely abolish mostly because it is an event that takes two to tango: One, the runners barreling in and two, with the catchers walling off home plate. In most cases catchers are portrayed as innocent victims, catchers have their own methods which can force the runner into a full-out offensive – be it a hard slide or a lowered shoulder. While MLB could suspend those runners who turn their bodies into projectiles, there still exists the practice of teaching catchers how to block home plate from the incoming runner which exposes the catchers to a variety of injuries. Ryan Doumit is no stranger to this education process considering in 2008 while he was in camp with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then-manager John Russell, a former catcher himself, gave Doumit additional attention showing him techniques to “blocking home plate”. These lessons obviously were handy when Doumit suffered an ankle sprain in 2011 after the Cubs’ Carlos Pena wiped out his left ankle in a slide at home plate (of which Doumit was blocking like a solar eclipse). Had Doumit remained inside of the baseline and not attempted to block Pena with his leg, he would have had an easy sweep tag and a healthy ankle. The Oakland Athletics -- those damn nerdy book-types -- took note of what happened to the franchise backstop across the Bay in 2011 and made an edict from the top to keep their catchers out of harm’s way. Then-A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki said that Billy Beane told him specifically to give the runner the right-of-way to avoid contact at the plate. Likewise, the New York Mets had this conversation broached in spring training when manager Terry Collins ordered catcher Travis d’Arnaud to avoid blocking the plate with his left leg because of the prior knee injuries. Mets GM Sandy Alderson – and chairman of the rules committee, by the way – responded to Collins’ request to his catcher shortly after, suggesting that the organization needs to look at their policy on the subject of plate-blocking. “Whether that will be permanent with him or permanent with all of our catching prospects of something [Mets catcher] John Buck will adopt, or the spike tag will becomes standard for catchers in the big leagues- I don’t know,” Alderson told a group of Mets bloggers. “But I think it’s an issue we have to address globally, rather than just in the case of Travis d’Arnaud. And to some extent we have an obligation to treat everyone the same way.” Then there are instances that make you question whether certain teams are going the extra mile to instill in their catchers to protect the plate at all costs; that they are the last line of defense between one more run. As mentioned above, Pittsburgh took time to instill plate-blocking techniques. While it could all be coincidental, Cleveland has had a recent string of catchers taking some beatings at home plate. In 2010, rookie catcher Carlos Santana had his knee ligaments rearranged while Boston’s Ryan Kalish bulled into his lower half that was straddling the baseline before the ball’s arrival. That was not even Santana’s first run-in at the dish that year. In his third game of his career, the White Sox’s Adam Dunn tried to separate him from his equipment for standing directly in front of home (and the throw was cut-off by the first baseman). Meanwhile, this April, Indians catcher Lou Marson was blown up at the plate by the Rays’ Desmond Jennings after a bang-bang play when Jennings tried to score from third on an infield grounder to the third baseman. Marson was up the line and consuming the entire route home. Afterwards, Marson provided insight on his technique in that situation, which is to get the runner to hesitate before the collision. "I'm trying to block the plate and make you make a decision,” said the catcher. “Are you going to slide, or are you going to try to blow me up? I feel like that split second they have to decide kind of slows them down, at least a little bit." Gomes, who is new to the Indians organization in 2013, may have been preparing to do something similar to what Marson described on the play. Block the plate and brace for contact. From Gomes’ perspective, there could have been a play at the plate forthcoming. It was not as if the ball was heading for a cut-off man. And it was not as if Ryan Doumit was running like a bat out of hell either. Plus there was the added caveat of the throw being outside the third base line while Gomes was set up inside the line. With a runner on base, Gomes may have been beginning to maneuver to corral the throw which was now heading behind the scampering Doumit. Of course, superseding what was going on inside Gomes’ head is the fact that both MLB’s rules and baseball’s code – the unwritten rules of the game – both explicitly say that the catcher shouldn’t be anywhere near the base without the ball. Had Doumit been a different kind of individual, he may have leveled Gomes like Dunn did to Santana and would have been completely vindicated in the baseball world. Doumit didn’t and suffered a sprained ankle for his troubles. Even Gomes’ own manager, Terry Francona, would have likely condoned Doumit running into Gomes as a “baseball play”. "If you don't want to have a collision, instruct your catcher to move. That's really easy, but you can't make a rule,” Francona said not long after his catcher Lou Marson was removed from his spikes. “The rule is the catcher can't block the plate until he has the ball. For the very most part, that's when you see guys get hit. They're the gritty guys, but they try to block the plate before they have the ball, and there's a bobble, or they get in late, and they can't brace themselves. That's where you see the problems.” Will the Twins retaliate when the Indians come to town in a little over a week? The fireworks will be on display on July 4 but if Ron Gardenhire makes good on his promises, there may be a second show later this month.

Samuel Deduno likes to refer to his fastball as “crazy”, hinting that the pitch has a mind of its own. As opponents haplessly attempt to put wood on it, Deduno’s fastball also confuses the Pitchf/x computer system. Deduno’s movement – the diving, the darting, the running, et cetera -- tricks the system into believe he has multiple variations of a fastball. Plenty of those offerings are bucketed as a cut fastball. However, when asked about his fastball last year, catcher Joe Mauer confirmed that it is the same four-seam fastball with unpredictable movement. The movement is not only unpredictable but it is extraordinary as well. The sink action on his fastball has been one of the best in the game. According to BaseballProspectus.com’s Pitchf/x leaderboard, Deduno’s sink on his fastball (2.88) is head and shoulders above (or is it below?) any other pitchers dating back to the installment of the Pitchf/x cameras. In fact, the next closest in terms of movement is Cleveland’s sinkerballer Justin Masterson (4.36). Deduno’s fastball’s vertical movement more closely resembles a splitter than it does a standard fastball. Not surprising, because of the pitch’s action, Deduno has been able to get nearly 70% of all fastballs put into play to be beaten into the ground. The next closest pitcher in that category is St Louis’s Jaime Garcia (55%). Of course, the downside to Deduno’s heat is that he exhibits little control over its final destination. He throws his fastball in the zone less than 50% of the time. Mauer said that his approach is to sit down the middle and let the natural movement take over. Watch the action of his fastball at the :23 second mark of this video. Mauer sets up down the middle and the ball runs across the zone and the left-handed hitting Alex Gordon is unable to make contact. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the movement of this fastball. The whipping action at the release will make the ball dance. Another reason for the movement is his fastball grip. Consider what Stephen Strasburg demonstrates as his four-seam fastball grip: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4600[/ATTACH] Note the thumb positioning on the seam. Pitchers have variations on this placement, like putting their finger on the leather rather than the seam or curling their thumb in as well. Deduno takes the latter to the extreme. Take a look at the way he holds his fastball: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4599[/ATTACH] Deduno’s thumb is essentially at a right angle when he holds the ball. In the example above, the thumb is placed in a position to provide stability and improve command. Meanwhile, Deduno’s grip exchanges control for movement. Rather than the pad of the thumb making contact with the ball, the side of Deduno’s thumb is finessing the ball. This is better highlighted in a comparison of rotation-mate Kevin Correia’s grip. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4598[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]4597[/ATTACH] To be sure, Deduno’s grip is not exclusive to him. In just the Twins stable of pitchers alone, Jared Burton and Scott Diamond both have similar grips on their fastballs, both of which have had decent success with the pitch as well. Deduno’s impressive if not erratic fastball has been one of his keys for success in 2013. While we may not understand how he flirts with disaster with his inability to target the strike zone consistently, we can see that what he hurls at home plate is very difficult to hit and the reason why he has a 3.32 ERA through seven starts.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4548[/ATTACH]What Clete Thomas experienced last year at the major league level was complete the oppositions’ complete ownership of the airspace in and around the strike zone. He was, as the internet kids say, pwned. In 29 plate appearances in 2012, he struck out 16 times and did not draw a walk. What the data tells us, but does not need to, in that small sampling is that Thomas was a complete free-swinger. Not only that, he was chasing after anything that moved in the general vicinity of the stadium. This resulted in a quick and much needed demotion to Rochester. The whiffing did not stop while playing in The Flower City (Author’s note: it’s a thing, look it up) either. He was thrown a chair a whopping 109 times in 426 plate appearances. After parting ways briefly in November, the Twins re-enlisted Thomas in December for outfield depth. He would be instructed to tone down his swing and improve his contact. The idea of retooling a players’ swing or pitching mechanics fascinates me – particularly for guys on the fringe. You know that thing you have complete muscle memory for and are comfortable with? Change it. If it doesn't work? Oh well, you may be out of baseball. Pat on the butt and best of luck. Plenty of struggling players are asked to rework this or tinker with that and the vast majority of them seem to stay at or near the level of production they had before the overhaul. That said, there are a few notable players who have turned their careers around by changing things up, like Roy Halladay or Jose Bautista. But Halladay and Bautista are the exception, not the rule. Locally, Twins hitters like Trevor Plouffe made improvements to his swing and that turned into one of the most potent 30-day power binges this state has ever seen. Although the third baseman has had trouble at third and staying healthy, he has shown signs of an ability to drive the ball better since his re-education. On the other hand, players like Delmon Young and Luke Hughes also made some adjustments that helped fuel brief hot stretches but never really made much progress long-term. On the recent FSN broadcasts, Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven lauded Thomas’s task of improving his contact rates helped to produce a fantastic start with Rochester in 2013. True, Thomas’s strikeout rate stayed the same with the Red Wings but it was not due to a wild swing. This edict not only incited changes in Thomas’s approach (i.e. plate discipline, pitch selection) but also in his mechanics to ensure a greater rate of contact. He improved his walk rate from 6% to 12% and with it came an increase in strikeouts looking. When he did put the bat on the ball, it packed punch. He raised his slugging percentage from .405 to .576 thanks to nine home runs in 36 games after hitting 12 in 109 last year. Thomas’s changes started with the set. In 2012 (right) he stood more upright, holding his hands higher and kept his front foot opened. Comparatively, this year, Thomas has brought the front leg inward, lowered his hand level and a more compacted stance. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4549[/ATTACH] The side-by-side differences are evident but how did it affect his swing? http://i.imgur.com/MU0bepq.gif Thomas has had a long, looping swing that has generated some power but far more empty swings – as evidence by his 23% strikeout rate in the minors and a 25% rate in the majors. With an opened and upright stance, Thomas exhibited a sizable load with his hands prior to bringing the bat through the zone. During his swing, his head would change planes, likely causing some hand-eye issues and resulting in the hefty in-zone swinging strike rates. Though many hitters have open-stances like pre-2013 Thomas has, those players typically have a toe-tap or timing mechanics (not unlike former Twin Jason Kubel) to keep their weight back and evenly distributed. In Thomas’s case, the front side is all drifting away from the plate leaving him susceptible to pitches away. http://i.imgur.com/Wrl1O56.gif?1 The most noticeable change is how muted his hand-load is. Instead of drawing back his hands as far as he did in 2012, he has a smaller loading point which quickens his hands and bat through the zone. With bat speed being one key to power, this alteration is part of the reason for the increase in power. Second, with the compacted stance, his head does not change planes as much which leads to added vision. If a hitter’s eye level is changed during the swing the hitter will have added difficulty squaring up on the ball. Last, with the more closed stance, his weight stays centered at the middle of the field rather than pulling open, giving him better plate coverage. Dating back to his tenure with the Detroit Tigers and within their minor league organization, Thomas always had high levels of whiffability but also displayed enough power and speed to continue to be a considered a fourth outfielder candidate to be stashed away in Triple-A. However, once at the major league level, pitchers would exploit his deficiencies and render him uses at the plate. His work ethic of being able to revamp his approach and swing has made him a useful component to the organization. Thomas’s stay with the Twins may be short-lived once Aaron Hicks proves ready to return, nevertheless, credit him for being willing and able to make adjustments late in his career to provide value.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4471[/ATTACH]Stop me if you have heard this already but Bryon Buxton is doing stupid good stuff on the baseball field. Already Buxton has proven that he is far and above the competition level in the Midwest League. He is leading the league in on-base percentage (.431), slugging (.561), runs scored (65) and weighted on-base average (.422). More conventionally, he is second in batting average (.344) and triples (8), and third in walks (40). That does not even begin to scratch the surface of his defense capabilities and baserunning prowess. Buxton is having the best performance by an outfielder in Iowa since Shoeless Joe Jackson came waltzing through the cornfield (or at least since Mike Trout anyways). During Fox Sports North’s road trip to Cedar Rapids last week, the televisions in the big city were able to tune in and see what amounts to one of the at any level this year. In case the video clip does not allow you to fully appreciate the difficulty of this catch, please follow along Buxton’s route in order to kill what was most assuredly an extra base hit coming off the bat. From mid-center field, Buxton races to gap, hooking at the end of the route, and makes a leaping dive just before the warning track to send the hitter back to the dugout shaking his head in dismay. This play would have netted him 15,000 UZRs in my book. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4472[/ATTACH] In fact, thanks to his performance, Buxton has put Cedar Rapids back on the map since, well, since the time someone actually penciled Cedar Rapids on a map. Buxton has more speed than the entire Fast & Furious franchise. He has more tools than Home Depot. His future is so bright that we will excuse him when he wears sunglasses indoors even though that is the douchiest move ever. The Twins and scouts will tell you that they knew this would his path from day one. From the moment they laid eyes on kicking up dust rounding the bases in the Georgia clay they knew he was special. When it comes to drafting players, Terry Ryan said that the scouts will be looking for the skills rather than the results. Buxton, said Ryan, had all the skills. Not some: All the skills. It would only be a matter of time before this kid turns into a full-blown super-duper-star. Of course, that’s not the case. It takes plenty of conditioning throughout the minor leagues to develop any player into major-league ready contributor. Rarely can a player simply advance without the necessary prep time. While Buxton came to the Twins organization teeming with talent, there are some adjustments the 19-year-old has made – particularly to his approach at the plate. Prior to his draft Buxton was on the radars of all the prospect hounds. In this , we see Buxton, a few months away from his national selection, putting on a display in front of scouts: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4486[/ATTACH] Look at the length of that stride. With an upright and open stance, Buxton has a significant leg lift and then brings it in. This generates power but leaves him susceptible to more polished pitching. Now, compare that approach to his current model, a little over a year later in this clip supplied by Heinitz Photography: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4487[/ATTACH] Buxton now exhibits a widened base with little stride in his swing. Mechanically speaking, this reduces the potential head movement and should improve contact -- which is very important for someone with his speed. He will soon be the Florida State League’s problem – whose pitchers are just recovering from the destruction left behind by Hurricane Sano – but Buxton’s ability to make large scale adjustments to improve his long-term effectiveness bodes well. While the scouts get a lot of adulation for finding and signing Buxton, credit goes to the Twins instructors and coaches as well for refining what could be a once-in-a-lifetime-type talent.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4428[/ATTACH]On Tuesday night the Minnesota Twins were mounting an assault in the eighth inning on Phillies reliever Mike Adams. Having just relinquished the tying run the half-inning prior, the Twins had runners on the corners and one out. The Outfield’s “Your Love” blasted over Target Field’s sound system indicating that Josh Willingham would be arriving to the plate. Adams, however, was able to get Willingham to pop out in foul territory for the inning’s second out. This brought Justin Morneau to the plate with two down. The Phillies countered with the left-handed Antonio Bastardo. Morneau fouled off four tough pitches before he laced a line drive to center to score Jamey Carroll, giving the Twins the lead which would later be preserved by Glen Perkins in the ninth. In a nutshell, this is the major difference between the team’s two more prominent bats in the middle of the lineup. Willingham, who leads the team with 10 home runs, has seen his overall batting average slip to .214 and has hit .212 in 65 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Morneau, who has not homered since April 28, has been able to find other ways to drive in runs when needed and has provided a .359 batting average in his 78 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Willingham’s power has still been a major factor for the lineup but his inability to keep the ball on the playing surface and reach safely has decreased his potency. His pop out to third base on Tuesday was a prime example of his struggles. Equipped with a significant upper-cut swing which helped him take to the skies and jack 35 home runs last year, this same method has been a detriment to him this year. According to Fangraphs.com, Willingham has hit 70 fly balls and 17 of those have not left the infield. That 24.3% infield fly ball rate is second in all of baseball -- behind only Atlanta’s BJ Upton (who is currently impressing his new team with a .161 average) -- and well above his career rate of 13%. This is the main reason his batting average on balls in play has dropped to a career-low .258. Willingham recently told the Star Tribune’s Sid Hartman that: Judging by his splits, Willingham is actually performing better in counts in which he is ahead in the count this year in comparison to last year. This year, he’s batting .273/.500/.545 compared to .244/.473/.494. Where he is experiencing the most decline is in even counts (first pitch, 1-1, 2-2). In 2011, he hit a robust .284/.308/.607 with 17 of his 35 home runs. This year it’s down to .227/.292/.485 and 5 dingers. A cursory search at TexasLeaguers.com’s PitchF/X tool shows that Willingham has seen some of the cherry pitches disappear from a year ago as opponents adjust. In the 1-1 count last year, Willingham saw 40% fastballs. It is down to 30% this year. In 2-2 counts, his slider percentage when up from 20% to 28%. This shows that teams are approaching Willingham slightly different and may be the cause of his high percentage of infield flies. While Willingham is having problems lofting fly balls out of the infield, Morneau is unable to lose them over the fence. Like Willingham, Morneau has also hit 70 fly balls this season yet only two have had enough distance to them so he could jog around all the bases. Morneau’s home runs-to-fly balls rate is at a career-low 2.9%. To put that into context, the 2.9% rate is the 11th-lowest in the majors, squeezing the one-time slugger in between such power threats as Juan Pierre (2.3%) and Marco Scutero (3.3%). Morneau seems flummoxed by this development. In his conversation with Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan Morneau said that he’s doing everything he had in past years but the results are not showing. But will they turn into homers? There could be dozens of factors playing into Morneau’s lack of home runs. Mechanics, injury and age could all be contributors. Mechanically, he’s flying open more than he had in past seasons, which may limit his able to drive the ball down in the zone that he once had demolished regularly. Take a look as his home runs by location since 2008: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4429[/ATTACH] He was able to launch plenty of home runs on pitches right down the middle and middle-low. If a hitter is flying open, that pitch becomes increasingly difficult to drive. Now, the only two home runs he has hit this year have come on pitches inside and out of the zone – a spot easier to drive if a hitter is flying open: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4430[/ATTACH] Beyond that, Morneau’s average distance on his fly balls are down considerably too. According to BaseballHeatMaps.com, from 2010 to 2012, he averaged 278 feet per fly ball. That’s down to 260 this year. Additionally, the speed in which the ball leaves his bat is also down. The extremely small sample size notwithstanding, HitTrackerOnline.com says Morneau’s two home runs averaged an exit speed of 101.4 miles per hour whereas it was 104.4 in 2012, 102.4 in 2011 and 104.9 in 2010. At this rate, if the average speed off of the bat decline is any indication, it seems difficult to believe that Morneau is “just missing” and that there is something else behind his power outage. The Twins tandem in the heart of the order are both having down years for separate reasons. Both, too, are potential trade candidates at the deadline. However, at this pace, the return for either would be quite underwhelming unless they are able to increase their production soon.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4406[/ATTACH]With the exception of one seasons in the early 1980s, Dick Bremer’s rich, jovial voice has been the definite sound of summer for Minnesota Twins fans in the Upper Midwest since 1983. His professionalism, knowledge and ability to entertain a wide audience for many years are the reason the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame recently selected him for induction. This honor, without question, was well deserved. It is interesting to think how people watch and understand the game of baseball has changed radically from his first days on the job. Back then the bulk of statistical analysis was being done covertly using computers the size and weight of a Kenmore dishwasher (and presumably in mom’s basement). In the same year Bremer began his Twins broadcasts, Bill James released the 1983 Baseball Abstract. In it he summarized the understanding of the game by writing that the walk was greatly undervalued as an offensive weapon and that it was viewed as a “random result of being at bat when a pitcher is stricken with control trouble” rather than a skill. In that same book, James wondered why baseball fans at that time focused too much on the results. Like wins and losses for pitchers, the RBI instead of the men who got on base to create the opportunity, and so on. “If the food is good,” wrote James, “you tip the waitress. Sabermetricians are an odd lot. We always want to know what the recipe was.” That’s the best definition I have ever heard for statistical analysis. Statistical analysis of baseball is wanting to know the recipe. Since then the publication of Moneyball and the rise of websites like Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs have given a broader appeal and understanding to baseball fans regarding the concepts that influence the game, like the importance of walks and beyond. The knowledge of what goes in the recipe has grown tenfold as well as the access to those ingredients too. On the mainstream side, thirty years have passed and baseball’s broadcasters are still wrestling with how – of even if – they should communicate these findings to their audience. While there are some markets who have included some of the principles in their broadcasts, Minnesota has not been one of them. The Twins’ radio broadcaster Cory Provus suggested that his medium is not designed to be able to properly inform without the visuals to drive it home. How about television? Dick Bremer shares his thoughts: How do you see advanced stats as it relates to broadcast today? “Stats have mushroomed into a completely different stratosphere. They call it “broadcasting” because you have to include as many people as you can. I think the new math in baseball tends to exclude a lot of people because a lot of people don’t comprehend it…yet. As we move forward, it will become more and more a part of the lexicon of baseball and it will be incorporated more into the broadcast.” Should broadcasters discuss some of the statistical analysis and advanced metrics most teams use in some capacity for roster-building? “I think it is getting to that point, I don’t know if it is quite there yet because I don’t know if our average viewer knows what WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is. When it gets to that point, then I think that our broadcast and other broadcasts will find it more mainstream subject matter to talk about. I just don’t think it is there yet. If we came on with Batting Average On Balls In Play, for instance, I think our audience – a significant portion of it – still would be, well, what’s that mean as opposed to batting average? Batting average is easy to explain though it is not the ideal stat to determine a hitter’s value in a lineup, but that’s something that everyone can comprehend. We still are in the business of trying to include people and not exclude them." How have the numbers, stats and analysis changed in over your career in the broadcast booth? “When I started this each team produced one sheet, front and back, for their press box. Now it’s five and you get the stat pack which is twenty-some pages and that doesn’t even begin to tell you the numbers you are speaking of, you know, what a player’s Wins Above Replacement is. That doesn’t even touch that and that is still so much more numerical information then we can give in a broadcast.” Television is a medium that gives the opportunity to put visuals of stats on the screen. “When we started giving more and more on the screen, the internal debate among play-by-play guys was now do we still need to give the count? Or do we mention that there are two outs? Or can people see the two dots on the screen? I think the consensus among most play-by-play guys is that we still need to do it because people are doing other things and they’re not locked in on the screen studying everything like some people are but most people are not so you still have to do the basics. Now, if information is given on the screen, the question is maybe the announcer should give other information then what we have to watch for is it becoming a mass of numbers. Even before sabermetricians became more common in baseball that was our great concern: What are we doing on television? We can do some things on TV that they cannot do radio. But are we giving people too many numbers? If you put up a screen full of numbers then you need to leave it on the screen so people can go ‘Ok, alright, ok I get it, this is what they are trying to say’ well then you are not watching the game.” Len Kasper and the Chicago Cubs WGN broadcasts do a regular Stats Sunday feature to discuss the concepts to the fans. Could you see FSN doing something similar? “Absolutely, to educate people, which is what we try to do and is one of our functions - to educate people about how the game is played and how decisions are made by people in the front office – absolutely I can see that happening. It hasn’t happened yet and maybe it is something that, to Len’s point, we should be adapting to or including in our broadcast. Anything that adds to or enhances the enjoyment of the game, that’s our job.” You’ve been broadcasting with the Twins since before the Moneyball area. Have you noticed many changes in the game? “Since then, you’ve seen it everywhere; you’ve seen it in the Twins organization. People are far more aggressive in analyzing the game mathematically. I think most baseball executives still need the new math to pass the eye test – what they see on the field. Are there numbers that support this? One thing that I saw years ago was that Wins Above Replacement was suggesting that Alexi Casilla was a really good middle infielder. I don’t know if anyone who saw him play the game believed that but yet you can find numbers out there that supported that. There’s been a change in that direction, there’s no question, and where it will lead I don’t know, but you still need scouts’ eyes and general managers’ eyes to see what the numbers might support." How about having an analyst dedicated to talking about the statistical side of the game in the broadcast? “If baseball’s new math becomes more mainstream, yeah, and it might very well be heading in that direction. What we have to do as broadcasters though is not talk over the heads of too many people and to the extent that most of our audience does not want to or can’t comprehend baseball’s new math, how much time would we spend trying to educate them over the course of an evening’s broadcast? What is Wins Above Replacement? I hate to keep using that one but that’s actually one of the more elementary ones in terms of explaining what it means. We’re still wondering once or twice a year if we should explain the Infield Fly Rule.”

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4379[/ATTACH]The Minnesota Twins made a significant move today in the farm system, moving third base prospect Miguel Sano from Fort Myers (A+) to New Britain (AA) reported CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman and was confirmed by 1500ESPN’s Darren Wolfson. Sano was posting remarkable numbers in the Florida State League. Prior to today’s Miracle game – in which Sano belted his 15th and 16th home runs of the year – Sano’s .629 slugging percentage was leading the league. That power output looks even better in comparison to the rest of the FSL, a notoriously pitcher-friendly league, where the average slugging percentage is .378. Over the last few seasons, Sano had made some progress at the plate and has quieted his pre-swing movement resulting in his best season to date in his professional career. Insiders have made comments saying that Sano is not necessarily a candidate for relocation away from third. After a season with 42 errors, Sano has trimmed that down to a more manageable 11 gaffs so far this year. Miracle manager told 1500 that he would be hesitant to moving him from the position and also said that roving instructor Paul Molitor has been working hard with improving his defense. What can Sano expect from Double-A? At 20 years old, Sano will join just two other hitters in the Eastern League (Jose Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts) who cannot legally purchase beer. Competition and strategy increases significantly over the lower levels as well. The talent is greater and the pitching is more polished. Sano is now one level closer to making good on his promise to reach the major leagues this season. If he is able to rip apart Eastern League pitching like he did to the Florida State League, it would be difficult to keep him down.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4366[/ATTACH]Since 2010 the Minnesota Twins starting rotation has averaged a velocity of 90 miles per hour, which has been the lowest velocity in the American League. In that time, they have struck out the fewest amount of hitters (14.8%), had the third-highest ERA (4.76) and second-highest contact rate (83.6%). In efforts to improve in these areas the Twins selected Kohl Stewart, a fireballer out of a Houston prep school whose skill set are projected to eventually help the rotation out of the lowly doldrums. Armed with a mid-90s fastball that touches 97, Stewart, a Texas A&M recruited quarterback, has mowed down Texas hitters for several years and has jumped up on scouts’ radars as of late. With a decent frame to grow into, the 18-year-old right-hander grabbed the Twins’ attention enough to make him their fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft. Stewart knows that his mid-90s fastball is his centerpiece in his burgeoning repertoire. All pitchers know that they need to key everything off of their fastballs. Some have better fastballs than others. Stewart, however, is not the others. His fastball reaches 97 miles per hour – a velocity only a few arms are ever blessed with reaching. For the Twins, that’s just Glen Perkins who is capable of reaching that speed. “There are days where you’re not going to have that pitch, but my fastball is a very comfortable pitch for me,” Stewart told reporters on his post-draft conference call. “I like to use both sides of the plate and work off my fastball. My slider is probably my second best pitch, with my curveball and changeup. I’m really comfortable throwing any pitch at any count.” Of course, velocity means nothing without movement or location but Stewart is working on that. Although Stewart says he feels comfortable throwing his fastball regularly and in any situation, it is the success of his secondary pitches that will help him become a starter in the major leagues. After all, two-pitch pitchers wind up in the bullpen – not the intended destination of a fourth overall selection. A starter needs three or more offerings in order to thrive. Currently, Stewart is a two pitch pitcher. Stewart has his plus-plus fastball and his plus-slider but he has also worked on developing a slower curve as well as a change-up. He has also tinkered with a sinker, something that keeps right-handers off-balanced. “My slider is more effective right now, just ‘cause I started throwing my curveball just this year. My changeup has definitely come around. I’ve thrown that a lot more in the last year. And, I even have a little bit of a sinker just to give me something else to go hard in on righties. The sinker has kind of come to fruition, just in the last couple of weeks -- just throwing bullpens and messing around with some things.” Overall, Stewart has clean and effortless mechanics. He does not possess any herky-jerky movement or any red flags like an inverted W arm action or any wasted lower-half motion that would put added stress on his suddenly valuable appendage. The mechanics, velocity and make-up are things that can be built upon. Stewart, however, admits that there is plenty he needs to work on in order to become a successful major league starter. His slider, for one, is an area of his game he would like to improve upon. Scouts have called it a “wipeout” slider – one that has a ton of glove-side run for him – but ultimately does not look that appetizing to right-handed hitters as it disappears over the left-handed batter’s box. “There’s a lot of things I need to develop. I need to work on throwing my slider inside to righties. Sometimes I let it get away, throw it too hard and it will go away to righties.” No doubt that Stewart has a ton of promise but the fact he is a high school arm does mean he will produce the kind of return on investment like the collegiate counterparts like Mark Appel and Jonathan Gray do. A 2010 study in the Wall Street Journal found that high school pitchers taken in the first round tended to command more of a bonus than the college brethren, who were also able to realize their potential much swiftly. That doesn’t mean Stewart has anymore likelihood of becoming Todd Van Poppel or Dylan Bundy as it does anymore than a found quarter on the ground coming up heads over tails. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan made it clear what they are looking for when they make a selection, and it has little to do with the current status or statistics. The scouts are looking for the skills, tools, body, competitiveness and attention that will project well for the draftee when they are 22 or 23 years old. The scouting department loves Stewart’s makeup and his athleticism. Those two qualities mean more long-term than his current talent alone. The Twins are investing in the long-term future with their number one pick. Stewart can potentially give them a front of the rotation arm that can miss bats which has been desperately needed in Minnesota for a long time. http://apps.startribune.com/most_popular/?cmd=inc&type=view&section=/sports/twins/blogs&story_id=210525781