Jim Crikket

Great write-up, as usual. One note though... Beloit has one more game left in their series in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.

The following article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com While the Twins were winning the opening game of their series with the Reds Friday night, I was spending just about a perfect night watching minor league baseball. The Beloit Snappers (the Twins’ Midwest League affiliate) opened the second half of their season here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ScoutsJune2012b.jpg Close to 20 scouts were easy to spot behind home plate The temperature was right about 80 degrees with a slight breeze and there was a sizable crowd of a bit over 3,000 people in Memorial Stadium for the game. Among that crowd, I counted at least 18 scouts perched in seats directly behind home plate. It’s not at all unusual to see scouts at a MWL game, but I typically see 6-8 with their notebooks and radar guns, so seeing so many scouts in attendance is a bit unusual. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanJune2012a.jpg Terry Ryan (in the cap and white shirt) Among that group was one familiar face, as well. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan was pretty easy to spot as he shook hands with a scout wearing a shirt with a Yankees logo and sat in a nearby seat. The game itself was never at all competitive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting to watch. The Snappers scored a run in the first inning off of Kernels starting pitcher Cam Bedrosian (son of former MLB/Twins pitcher Steve Bedrosian). In fact, they scored a run off of Bedrosian in each of the first three innings and three more runs in the fourth inning. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/HurlbutJune2012b.jpg Pitcher David Hurlbut and first baseman Steven Liddle Snappers starting pitcher David Hurlbut gave up a single to the second Kernels batter he faced in the first inning… and that would turn out to be the final hit that a Snapper pitcher would give up all night. Hurlbut threw seven shutout innings, walked three hitters and struck out four. Tim Atherton and Corey Williams each added an inning of relief without giving up a hit, as well. Snappers hitters, on the other hand, racked up 11 hits on their way to a 7-0 win to start off the second half of their MWL season. The only extra base hits for the Snappers on the night were RBI doubles by Nate Hanson, Steve Liddle and Tyler Grimes. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano had a single in four ABs, with one walk and one strikeout on the night. In fact, the Snapper lineup avoided getting even their first strikeout through six innings. We’ll try to disregard the fact that once the first K got recorded, Kernel relief pitcher Carmine Giardina sat down five Snappers in just the 7th and 8th innings, alone. A sizable number of the fans in attendance were wearing Twins gear, as is usually the case when the Snappers come to town. I’m still holding out some hope that the Twins will strike an affiliate deal with the local ballclub starting next year. I continue to hear from pretty reliable local sources that there is some level of mutual interest, so we’ll see how that works out after the season. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanAutographScorecard.jpg Yes, I really did ask Terry Ryan for his autograph After the game, I did approach Terry Ryan just to have him sign the scorecard I’d been keeping of the game. I expected him to either decline or reluctantly sign and walk away, but instead he not only signed my scorecard but initiated a short conversation. He asked if I lived in Cedar Rapids and how I came to be a Twins fan. I told him about having grown up the son of a HS baseball coach in Albert Lea and that my picture is hanging in the Albert Lea Applebees restaurant to prove it. He laughed and said he’d have to stop there some time and check it out. It was just a brief chat, but he couldn’t have been more gracious. The Snappers will be back at it here on Saturday night and I’ll likely be there taking in the game, as well. The two teams were even accommodating enough to schedule an afternoon game on Sunday so I have a chance to watch that game, too, before I have to catch a flight to Florida Sunday evening. I’ll add a few more pictures I took at the game below, for your viewing pleasure. (Fellow bloggers, feel free to pilfer them to post in your blogs, as you may find cause to do.) - JC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/BryantJune2012a.jpg Second baseman Adam Bryant http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/GrimesJune2012a.jpg Shortstop Tyler Grimes http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/KochJune2012a.jpg Catcher Matt Koch http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LiddleJune2012a.jpg First baseman Steven Liddle http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LinJune2012a.jpg Rightfielder Wang-Wei Lin http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/RobertsJune2012b.jpg Leftfielder Nate Roberts http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/SanoJune2012b.jpg Third baseman Miguel Sano

The following article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com While the Twins were winning the opening game of their series with the Reds Friday night, I was spending just about a perfect night watching minor league baseball. The Beloit Snappers (the Twins’ Midwest League affiliate) opened the second half of their season here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ScoutsJune2012b.jpg Close to 20 scouts were easy to spot behind home plate The temperature was right about 80 degrees with a slight breeze and there was a sizable crowd of a bit over 3,000 people in Memorial Stadium for the game. Among that crowd, I counted at least 18 scouts perched in seats directly behind home plate. It’s not at all unusual to see scouts at a MWL game, but I typically see 6-8 with their notebooks and radar guns, so seeing so many scouts in attendance is a bit unusual. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanJune2012a.jpg Terry Ryan (in the cap and white shirt) Among that group was one familiar face, as well. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan was pretty easy to spot as he shook hands with a scout wearing a shirt with a Yankees logo and sat in a nearby seat. The game itself was never at all competitive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting to watch. The Snappers scored a run in the first inning off of Kernels starting pitcher Cam Bedrosian (son of former MLB/Twins pitcher Steve Bedrosian). In fact, they scored a run off of Bedrosian in each of the first three innings and three more runs in the fourth inning. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/HurlbutJune2012b.jpg Pitcher David Hurlbut and first baseman Steven Liddle Snappers starting pitcher David Hurlbut gave up a single to the second Kernels batter he faced in the first inning… and that would turn out to be the final hit that a Snapper pitcher would give up all night. Hurlbut threw seven shutout innings, walked three hitters and struck out four. Tim Atherton and Corey Williams each added an inning of relief without giving up a hit, as well. Snappers hitters, on the other hand, racked up 11 hits on their way to a 7-0 win to start off the second half of their MWL season. The only extra base hits for the Snappers on the night were RBI doubles by Nate Hanson, Steve Liddle and Tyler Grimes. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano had a single in four ABs, with one walk and one strikeout on the night. In fact, the Snapper lineup avoided getting even their first strikeout through six innings. We’ll try to disregard the fact that once the first K got recorded, Kernel relief pitcher Carmine Giardina sat down five Snappers in just the 7th and 8th innings, alone. A sizable number of the fans in attendance were wearing Twins gear, as is usually the case when the Snappers come to town. I’m still holding out some hope that the Twins will strike an affiliate deal with the local ballclub starting next year. I continue to hear from pretty reliable local sources that there is some level of mutual interest, so we’ll see how that works out after the season. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanAutographScorecard.jpg Yes, I really did ask Terry Ryan for his autograph After the game, I did approach Terry Ryan just to have him sign the scorecard I’d been keeping of the game. I expected him to either decline or reluctantly sign and walk away, but instead he not only signed my scorecard but initiated a short conversation. He asked if I lived in Cedar Rapids and how I came to be a Twins fan. I told him about having grown up the son of a HS baseball coach in Albert Lea and that my picture is hanging in the Albert Lea Applebees restaurant to prove it. He laughed and said he’d have to stop there some time and check it out. It was just a brief chat, but he couldn’t have been more gracious. The Snappers will be back at it here on Saturday night and I’ll likely be there taking in the game, as well. The two teams were even accommodating enough to schedule an afternoon game on Sunday so I have a chance to watch that game, too, before I have to catch a flight to Florida Sunday evening. I’ll add a few more pictures I took at the game below, for your viewing pleasure. (Fellow bloggers, feel free to pilfer them to post in your blogs, as you may find cause to do.) - JC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/BryantJune2012a.jpg Second baseman Adam Bryant http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/GrimesJune2012a.jpg Shortstop Tyler Grimes http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/KochJune2012a.jpg Catcher Matt Koch http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LiddleJune2012a.jpg First baseman Steven Liddle http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LinJune2012a.jpg Rightfielder Wang-Wei Lin http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/RobertsJune2012b.jpg Leftfielder Nate Roberts http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/SanoJune2012b.jpg Third baseman Miguel Sano

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I’m kinda confused. I am getting the overwhelming sense that far too many so-called Twins “fans” are actually rooting against the team right now. Why? Because they’re apparently afraid that if the Twins continue to win games at their recent rate, they’ll pull themselves up out of the AL Central Division cellar and perhaps even within shouting distance of whatever sorry excuse for a Division Leader happens to be sitting atop the Division as July nears. These “fans” think that might cause General Manager Terry Ryan to exercise undue restraint when other GMs come calling to inquire about the availability of current Twins players on the trade market. Yes, that’s right… a significant segment of the fanbase doesn’t want to see the Twins win TOO much because they think the Twins can get significantly better in 2013 or 2014 by trading veterans for prospects this summer and they don’t give a damn how bad the resulting product on the field is for the rest of 2012. My goodness, how things have changed in Twinsville. I could have sworn we all (both fans and Twins players, themselves) spent most of the early to middle part of the past decade complaining that the front office was always looking toward “next year” when it came to making mid-season deals. Does anyone else remember the reaction from fans and the clubhouse when Luis Castillo was dealt to the Mets in 2007 with the Twins only a handful of games out of the Division lead? The players and many fans believed Torii and Johan and the others still had another run in them, but Terry Ryan dealt the team’s leadoff hitter anyway. Many people felt Hunter and Santana eventually left via Free Agency after that season in part because they didn’t believe the Twins would ever play for “now.” With the limited revenue that the Twins’ Metrodome lease allowed, Terry Ryan always had to have one eye on the bottom line as he crafted his roster from one season to the next, but the promise of a new ballpark and the additional revenue streams that would come with it changed that perception. Finally, the Twins would be able to afford to pay for enough talent to make a run whenever they were on the edge of contention at mid-season. So here we are, mid-way through the third season in that new ballpark and fans want Terry Ryan to hold a fire sale? There are two reasons for teams to trade away veteran ballplayers at midseason. One is because someone who needs instant help this year is willing to give up prospects that the selling team believes will play key roles when they’re finally able to turn things around and contend themselves. The other is to shed payroll, which is often necessary because a bad team is not generating attendance and other revenue streams as had been hoped when the roster was built in the spring. I hope we can all agree that the latter simply is not an acceptable reason for the Twins to trade anyone. There’s no shortage of cash in the Twins checking account right now. They did their payroll slashing before the season even started and that economizing, rather than paying to bring on better starting pitching, is the main reason this team isn’t living up to hopes this season. That leaves the only reason for “selling” being to bring in high upside prospects that can play critical roles later. But how realistic is that, really? I’m afraid some of these people clamoring for the Twins to sell off parts are significantly overestimating what Ryan can get for those parts. Remember the return he got for what was still a very productive leadoff hitter and second baseman in 2007? Castillo was batting .304 with 9 stolen bases, 54 runs and a .356 on-base percentage when he was traded to the Mets… for Dustin Martin and Drew Butera. How do you think people are going to feel if THAT’S the kind of return the Twins get for Denard Span? I, for one, will be pissed! The Twins’ primary need, in their efforts to rebuild a competitive team, is starting pitching. Their hitting is fine. Their defense could be better, but it’s improved over last year. Their bullpen has been surprisingly solid. They need good starting pitching. Does anyone really believe there are contending teams out there with such a surplus of good starting pitchers that they’re going to be willing to trade one of them for a Denard Span, a Ryan Doumit, or even a Justin Morneau? I don’t believe it for a heartbeat. I also believe people are underestimating how competitive this team could be over the next year and a half. The biggest need is for better starting pitching and, unfortunately, that’s something that’s just not easy to come by. It’s certainly unlikely to be something acquired in a mid-season trade with a team looking to improve their ability to contend this season. That being the case, I simply do not believe that you tear down other areas of your roster when you’re unlikely to improve the area most in need of help… not when there’s no economic reason to do so. If there’s a GM out there willing to part with a high-ceiling starting pitcher that’s likely to contribute to the Twins at the Major League level in 2013 or at least by 2014, fine… see what it takes to get that player. But I don’t think it’s likely. More likely, potential trade partners will be offering up more of the Dustin Martin/Drew Butera level of prospect or simply offering to take on contracts without giving up any kind of prospects at all. If that’s the best Terry Ryan can do, I’d rather just keep watching the guys wearing Twins uniforms right now for the rest of the season and see what they can do if a couple of these young pitchers keep getting hitters out the way they have been lately. I know many fans disagree. But for those who are prevailing on the Twins to trade their veterans over the coming weeks , I have just a small bit of advice. Be careful what you wish for. Based on Terry Ryan’s history, you may just get it. - JC

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I’m kinda confused. I am getting the overwhelming sense that far too many so-called Twins “fans” are actually rooting against the team right now. Why? Because they’re apparently afraid that if the Twins continue to win games at their recent rate, they’ll pull themselves up out of the AL Central Division cellar and perhaps even within shouting distance of whatever sorry excuse for a Division Leader happens to be sitting atop the Division as July nears. These “fans” think that might cause General Manager Terry Ryan to exercise undue restraint when other GMs come calling to inquire about the availability of current Twins players on the trade market. Yes, that’s right… a significant segment of the fanbase doesn’t want to see the Twins win TOO much because they think the Twins can get significantly better in 2013 or 2014 by trading veterans for prospects this summer and they don’t give a damn how bad the resulting product on the field is for the rest of 2012. My goodness, how things have changed in Twinsville. I could have sworn we all (both fans and Twins players, themselves) spent most of the early to middle part of the past decade complaining that the front office was always looking toward “next year” when it came to making mid-season deals. Does anyone else remember the reaction from fans and the clubhouse when Luis Castillo was dealt to the Mets in 2007 with the Twins only a handful of games out of the Division lead? The players and many fans believed Torii and Johan and the others still had another run in them, but Terry Ryan dealt the team’s leadoff hitter anyway. Many people felt Hunter and Santana eventually left via Free Agency after that season in part because they didn’t believe the Twins would ever play for “now.” With the limited revenue that the Twins’ Metrodome lease allowed, Terry Ryan always had to have one eye on the bottom line as he crafted his roster from one season to the next, but the promise of a new ballpark and the additional revenue streams that would come with it changed that perception. Finally, the Twins would be able to afford to pay for enough talent to make a run whenever they were on the edge of contention at mid-season. So here we are, mid-way through the third season in that new ballpark and fans want Terry Ryan to hold a fire sale? There are two reasons for teams to trade away veteran ballplayers at midseason. One is because someone who needs instant help this year is willing to give up prospects that the selling team believes will play key roles when they’re finally able to turn things around and contend themselves. The other is to shed payroll, which is often necessary because a bad team is not generating attendance and other revenue streams as had been hoped when the roster was built in the spring. I hope we can all agree that the latter simply is not an acceptable reason for the Twins to trade anyone. There’s no shortage of cash in the Twins checking account right now. They did their payroll slashing before the season even started and that economizing, rather than paying to bring on better starting pitching, is the main reason this team isn’t living up to hopes this season. That leaves the only reason for “selling” being to bring in high upside prospects that can play critical roles later. But how realistic is that, really? I’m afraid some of these people clamoring for the Twins to sell off parts are significantly overestimating what Ryan can get for those parts. Remember the return he got for what was still a very productive leadoff hitter and second baseman in 2007? Castillo was batting .304 with 9 stolen bases, 54 runs and a .356 on-base percentage when he was traded to the Mets… for Dustin Martin and Drew Butera. How do you think people are going to feel if THAT’S the kind of return the Twins get for Denard Span? I, for one, will be pissed! The Twins’ primary need, in their efforts to rebuild a competitive team, is starting pitching. Their hitting is fine. Their defense could be better, but it’s improved over last year. Their bullpen has been surprisingly solid. They need good starting pitching. Does anyone really believe there are contending teams out there with such a surplus of good starting pitchers that they’re going to be willing to trade one of them for a Denard Span, a Ryan Doumit, or even a Justin Morneau? I don’t believe it for a heartbeat. I also believe people are underestimating how competitive this team could be over the next year and a half. The biggest need is for better starting pitching and, unfortunately, that’s something that’s just not easy to come by. It’s certainly unlikely to be something acquired in a mid-season trade with a team looking to improve their ability to contend this season. That being the case, I simply do not believe that you tear down other areas of your roster when you’re unlikely to improve the area most in need of help… not when there’s no economic reason to do so. If there’s a GM out there willing to part with a high-ceiling starting pitcher that’s likely to contribute to the Twins at the Major League level in 2013 or at least by 2014, fine… see what it takes to get that player. But I don’t think it’s likely. More likely, potential trade partners will be offering up more of the Dustin Martin/Drew Butera level of prospect or simply offering to take on contracts without giving up any kind of prospects at all. If that’s the best Terry Ryan can do, I’d rather just keep watching the guys wearing Twins uniforms right now for the rest of the season and see what they can do if a couple of these young pitchers keep getting hitters out the way they have been lately. I know many fans disagree. But for those who are prevailing on the Twins to trade their veterans over the coming weeks , I have just a small bit of advice. Be careful what you wish for. Based on Terry Ryan’s history, you may just get it. - JC

This article originally was posted on May 30 at Knuckleballsblog.com. I know Twins fans aren’t quite accustomed to dealing with having their team be uncompetitive right out of the gate, but that’s no excuse for being rediculously stupid. It seems like some folks just don’t know how to enjoy the rare good performance when they see one. No, it has to be immediately followed by, “Let’s trade him!” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/MorneauST11h-221x300.jpg Justin Morneau Justin Morneau’s wrist is feeling good and he’s hitting the ball well! Let’s trade him NOW! Ryan Doumit’s had some clutch hits! He should be traded while he’s hot! Denard Span is getting on base and playing a decent center field! Trade him for a boatload of pitchers, right now! Josh Willingham hit a walkoff home run! It’s time to trade him, NOW! Listen carefully, please… May 30 is never “the time” for a non-contending team to trade productive veteran players for prospects. Why? Because Major League GMs are not idiots… in May. They aren’t going to see one home run in May and think, “Wow. I want that guy and I’ll trade away my best pitching prospect to get him!” At least not for another several weeks. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/DoumitST2012c-224x300.jpg Ryan Doumit Should Twins General Manager Terry Ryan be listening to offers for most of his productive veterans? Absolutely. There’s nobody on this roster that should be “off limits” right now. Some of the contracts may make certain players (that would be you, Mr. Mauer) untradeable for all practical purposes, but that doesn’t mean Ryan shouldn’t listen if a fellow GM thinks he has an idea that would work. But May 30 is for listening… for determining which teams might have interest in certain players… but not for trading. Frankly, nobody is desperate (read: stupid) enough to give enough in return, yet. The Red Sox, Tigers and Angels are off to slow starts, but they are far from being desperate… yet. The Indians and Orioles, although finding themselves in better positions than they perhaps expected heading in to the season, still have some holes to fill. But they are far from desperate… yet. It’s desperation that makes for unequal trades and we all know that fans… Twins fans in particular, it seems… tend to overvalue their players and thus expect more for them in return for a trade than other teams are likely to be willing to give up. There is simply no trade Ryan could make on May 30 that would make anyone in Twinsville happy, unless it happened to involve a player that a particular fan has some screwy personal grudge against. First, you have to at least get past the upcoming draft. Until then, neither the Twins nor potential trading partners know for sure what their respective organizatinal needs are, nor where they have sufficient depth to afford the luxury of trading away a decent prospect or two. Perhaps more than any other professional draft, the MLB draft is a crapshoot. Players can’t be counted on to make an immediate impact at the Major League level and, in fact, they can’t really be counted on to ever play Big League ball. So, despite all the fan chatter about how teams need to draft pitching or power hitting or speed because of the perception that the organization’s current MLB roster is short on that particular talent, teams almost always draft what they believe is the “best player available” when their turn comes around. You simply don’t know with any level of certainty what your organization’s needs will be by the time a particular kid is ready to play Big League baseball. As a result, it’s only after the draft is over that you can judge with any precision what kind of talents you should be targeting in the trade market… and it’s only after the draft is over that you or potential trade partners can accurately judge which talents they may have a surplus of and can thus afford to send off in a trade. That’s when phone lines between GMs start to warm up. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SpanAutographsST11a-252x300.jpg Denard Span Even then, real interest doesn’t often reveal itself until July rolls around and desperation doesn’t kick in until later that month. That’s when teams convince themselves that they need a toolsy lead-off hitting center fielder or a versatile switch-hitting back up catcher with a little pop, especially if they’ve got team-friendly contracts. For guys with big contracts, the “time” to trade them might not come around until August, after the non-waiver deadline passes. That’s when desperation really sets in and teams become willing to take on big contracts and overpay in prospects, if they think the guy could help them bring home some sort of championship this year. I think we all understand the reality of 2012. Every GM in baseball will have Terry Ryan on speed dial and Ryan is going to make some deals. I don’t especially like that, but it’s the reality that comes with being an underperforming last place team. But that doesn’t mean I want him giving away every veteran on the ballclub without getting guys who are pretty damn close to being Major League ready in return. Some people may be willing and even eager to ship current players off for a couple of “organization players” who will never be more than roster fillers for Rochester or New Britain (or whoever next year’s AAA and AA Twins affiliates are). I am not one of those people. I want… I expect… to see a much better product on the field next season and if Ryan can’t get players in trade that should be expected to contribute to this team being more competitive in 2013, then I’d just as soon see the Spans, Doumits, Morneaus and Willinghams still wearing Twins uniforms next year. And nobody is offering that level of talent, especially the potential top of the rotation pitching talent the team desperately needs most, on May 30. So how about we just stop with the, “Twins need to trade so-and-so right now,” crap? No, they don’t. - JC (All photos: Jim Crikket, Knuckleballs)

This article originally was posted on May 30 at Knuckleballsblog.com. I know Twins fans aren’t quite accustomed to dealing with having their team be uncompetitive right out of the gate, but that’s no excuse for being rediculously stupid. It seems like some folks just don’t know how to enjoy the rare good performance when they see one. No, it has to be immediately followed by, “Let’s trade him!” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/MorneauST11h-221x300.jpg Justin Morneau Justin Morneau’s wrist is feeling good and he’s hitting the ball well! Let’s trade him NOW! Ryan Doumit’s had some clutch hits! He should be traded while he’s hot! Denard Span is getting on base and playing a decent center field! Trade him for a boatload of pitchers, right now! Josh Willingham hit a walkoff home run! It’s time to trade him, NOW! Listen carefully, please… May 30 is never “the time” for a non-contending team to trade productive veteran players for prospects. Why? Because Major League GMs are not idiots… in May. They aren’t going to see one home run in May and think, “Wow. I want that guy and I’ll trade away my best pitching prospect to get him!” At least not for another several weeks. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/DoumitST2012c-224x300.jpg Ryan Doumit Should Twins General Manager Terry Ryan be listening to offers for most of his productive veterans? Absolutely. There’s nobody on this roster that should be “off limits” right now. Some of the contracts may make certain players (that would be you, Mr. Mauer) untradeable for all practical purposes, but that doesn’t mean Ryan shouldn’t listen if a fellow GM thinks he has an idea that would work. But May 30 is for listening… for determining which teams might have interest in certain players… but not for trading. Frankly, nobody is desperate (read: stupid) enough to give enough in return, yet. The Red Sox, Tigers and Angels are off to slow starts, but they are far from being desperate… yet. The Indians and Orioles, although finding themselves in better positions than they perhaps expected heading in to the season, still have some holes to fill. But they are far from desperate… yet. It’s desperation that makes for unequal trades and we all know that fans… Twins fans in particular, it seems… tend to overvalue their players and thus expect more for them in return for a trade than other teams are likely to be willing to give up. There is simply no trade Ryan could make on May 30 that would make anyone in Twinsville happy, unless it happened to involve a player that a particular fan has some screwy personal grudge against. First, you have to at least get past the upcoming draft. Until then, neither the Twins nor potential trading partners know for sure what their respective organizatinal needs are, nor where they have sufficient depth to afford the luxury of trading away a decent prospect or two. Perhaps more than any other professional draft, the MLB draft is a crapshoot. Players can’t be counted on to make an immediate impact at the Major League level and, in fact, they can’t really be counted on to ever play Big League ball. So, despite all the fan chatter about how teams need to draft pitching or power hitting or speed because of the perception that the organization’s current MLB roster is short on that particular talent, teams almost always draft what they believe is the “best player available” when their turn comes around. You simply don’t know with any level of certainty what your organization’s needs will be by the time a particular kid is ready to play Big League baseball. As a result, it’s only after the draft is over that you can judge with any precision what kind of talents you should be targeting in the trade market… and it’s only after the draft is over that you or potential trade partners can accurately judge which talents they may have a surplus of and can thus afford to send off in a trade. That’s when phone lines between GMs start to warm up. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SpanAutographsST11a-252x300.jpg Denard Span Even then, real interest doesn’t often reveal itself until July rolls around and desperation doesn’t kick in until later that month. That’s when teams convince themselves that they need a toolsy lead-off hitting center fielder or a versatile switch-hitting back up catcher with a little pop, especially if they’ve got team-friendly contracts. For guys with big contracts, the “time” to trade them might not come around until August, after the non-waiver deadline passes. That’s when desperation really sets in and teams become willing to take on big contracts and overpay in prospects, if they think the guy could help them bring home some sort of championship this year. I think we all understand the reality of 2012. Every GM in baseball will have Terry Ryan on speed dial and Ryan is going to make some deals. I don’t especially like that, but it’s the reality that comes with being an underperforming last place team. But that doesn’t mean I want him giving away every veteran on the ballclub without getting guys who are pretty damn close to being Major League ready in return. Some people may be willing and even eager to ship current players off for a couple of “organization players” who will never be more than roster fillers for Rochester or New Britain (or whoever next year’s AAA and AA Twins affiliates are). I am not one of those people. I want… I expect… to see a much better product on the field next season and if Ryan can’t get players in trade that should be expected to contribute to this team being more competitive in 2013, then I’d just as soon see the Spans, Doumits, Morneaus and Willinghams still wearing Twins uniforms next year. And nobody is offering that level of talent, especially the potential top of the rotation pitching talent the team desperately needs most, on May 30. So how about we just stop with the, “Twins need to trade so-and-so right now,” crap? No, they don’t. - JC (All photos: Jim Crikket, Knuckleballs)

I hadn't thought about it ending up looking like a preseason game... all the more reason for Gardy to try it. Pre-season is the last time the Twins were winning games with any regularity.

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. With the dismissal of Jason Marquis and subsequent promotion of Cole DeVries, the Twins’ rotation is down to one member of the original group projected to come out of Spring Training. Only Carl Pavano remains (and his balky shoulder makes you wonder how much longer he’ll last). And we haven’t reached Memorial Day yet. So, with the rotation situation as it is, I’m going to put myself in Ron Gardenhire’s and Rick Anderson’s shoes for a moment, today. The season is off to an absolutely abysmal start, to the point where your team has pretty much been eliminated from any shot at contending with only about 25% of the schedule behind you. The pitching… in particular the starting pitching… has been a disaster. And our grips on our jobs… manager and pitching coach of the Minnesota Twins… is growing just a bit tenuous. So what do we do? If ever there was a situation that called for trying unconventional pitching strategies, this is it. After all, what is there to lose? If the weird approaches work, we’re geniuses. If they don’t work, well, at least we get credit for recognizing the status quo had failed and we were willing to try something… anything… to get things turned around. But what to do? What kind of changes could we make that would be so unheard of among our peers that we’d get credit for trying something totally new AND at least have some remote chance of not blowing up in our faces and costing us whatever little bit of credibility we might otherwise retain at the end of this season? Ron… Andy… please allow me to introduce you to Joe Posnanski. This week, Poz wrote one of his “Curiously Long Posts” about one of those off-the-cuff sort of truisms that broadcasters and other baseball “experts” tend to spout off without really checking to see if they’re the least bit true. There are a lot of those, of course, but in this instance it was the cliché that, “the last three outs are the toughest outs to get in baseball.” Of course, for a variety of reasons, that’s not the least bit true. Statistically, in fact, ninth inning outs turn out to be the easiest three outs to get in baseball. The actual toughest three outs are the first three outs. Yes, hitters have the best stat lines in the first inning and pitchers have their worst stat lines in the first inning. More runs are scored in the first inning than any other single inning. Posnanski hypothesizes that this may be because it’s the one inning when the opposing manager can actually set his batting order the way he wants it. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it, but it sounds as good as anything, I guess. He credits, “a couple of radical thinkers inside the game,” with proposing that teams might be better off to have official game “starters” rather than “closers”… guys who start games every other night or so and go just one or two innings, before turning the game over to another pitcher geared up to pitch several innings. The idea, of course, is to use a hard throwing pitcher with, perhaps, a limited arsenal of pitches to get through that dangerous first inning or so when, statistically, more runs are historically scored than any other single inning. Think about that in terms of the current Twins for a moment. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/LirianoST11-300x220.jpg Francisco Liriano, "designated starter"? What if Francisco Liriano and, say, Jared Burton, were designated the team’s two “starters”? One lefty and one righty, they would start every other game and pitch just the first inning… maybe two if the first inning turned out to be easy enough. How many starts this year did Liriano breeze through the first inning, only to cough up runs in the second? Wouldn’t it have been great to let him get through that first inning, then immediately turn the game over to Carl Pavano or another “starting pitcher,” who could then face the bottom of the opposing team’s order in his first inning of work? Wouldn’t it have been much more likely that the “starting pitcher” in that situation would be able to get through the 7th inning before hitting the magic 100-pitch mark, allowing Glen Perkins and Matt Capps to close things out? Why not give it a whirl, guys? What are you afraid of? Is it that the national baseball media would howl? Would it just be too weird to see the same two guys listed the starting pitcher for the Twins on the schedule every other day? Or are you afraid that the managers and players on the other teams will laugh at you? Let’s hope that isn’t what stops you, guys. If it is, I’ve got news for you… they’re already laughing at you, because doing things the way they’ve always been done sure isn’t working. You might as well try something really new. - JC

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. With the dismissal of Jason Marquis and subsequent promotion of Cole DeVries, the Twins’ rotation is down to one member of the original group projected to come out of Spring Training. Only Carl Pavano remains (and his balky shoulder makes you wonder how much longer he’ll last). And we haven’t reached Memorial Day yet. So, with the rotation situation as it is, I’m going to put myself in Ron Gardenhire’s and Rick Anderson’s shoes for a moment, today. The season is off to an absolutely abysmal start, to the point where your team has pretty much been eliminated from any shot at contending with only about 25% of the schedule behind you. The pitching… in particular the starting pitching… has been a disaster. And our grips on our jobs… manager and pitching coach of the Minnesota Twins… is growing just a bit tenuous. So what do we do? If ever there was a situation that called for trying unconventional pitching strategies, this is it. After all, what is there to lose? If the weird approaches work, we’re geniuses. If they don’t work, well, at least we get credit for recognizing the status quo had failed and we were willing to try something… anything… to get things turned around. But what to do? What kind of changes could we make that would be so unheard of among our peers that we’d get credit for trying something totally new AND at least have some remote chance of not blowing up in our faces and costing us whatever little bit of credibility we might otherwise retain at the end of this season? Ron… Andy… please allow me to introduce you to Joe Posnanski. This week, Poz wrote one of his “Curiously Long Posts” about one of those off-the-cuff sort of truisms that broadcasters and other baseball “experts” tend to spout off without really checking to see if they’re the least bit true. There are a lot of those, of course, but in this instance it was the cliché that, “the last three outs are the toughest outs to get in baseball.” Of course, for a variety of reasons, that’s not the least bit true. Statistically, in fact, ninth inning outs turn out to be the easiest three outs to get in baseball. The actual toughest three outs are the first three outs. Yes, hitters have the best stat lines in the first inning and pitchers have their worst stat lines in the first inning. More runs are scored in the first inning than any other single inning. Posnanski hypothesizes that this may be because it’s the one inning when the opposing manager can actually set his batting order the way he wants it. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it, but it sounds as good as anything, I guess. He credits, “a couple of radical thinkers inside the game,” with proposing that teams might be better off to have official game “starters” rather than “closers”… guys who start games every other night or so and go just one or two innings, before turning the game over to another pitcher geared up to pitch several innings. The idea, of course, is to use a hard throwing pitcher with, perhaps, a limited arsenal of pitches to get through that dangerous first inning or so when, statistically, more runs are historically scored than any other single inning. Think about that in terms of the current Twins for a moment. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/LirianoST11-300x220.jpg Francisco Liriano, "designated starter"? What if Francisco Liriano and, say, Jared Burton, were designated the team’s two “starters”? One lefty and one righty, they would start every other game and pitch just the first inning… maybe two if the first inning turned out to be easy enough. How many starts this year did Liriano breeze through the first inning, only to cough up runs in the second? Wouldn’t it have been great to let him get through that first inning, then immediately turn the game over to Carl Pavano or another “starting pitcher,” who could then face the bottom of the opposing team’s order in his first inning of work? Wouldn’t it have been much more likely that the “starting pitcher” in that situation would be able to get through the 7th inning before hitting the magic 100-pitch mark, allowing Glen Perkins and Matt Capps to close things out? Why not give it a whirl, guys? What are you afraid of? Is it that the national baseball media would howl? Would it just be too weird to see the same two guys listed the starting pitcher for the Twins on the schedule every other day? Or are you afraid that the managers and players on the other teams will laugh at you? Let’s hope that isn’t what stops you, guys. If it is, I’ve got news for you… they’re already laughing at you, because doing things the way they’ve always been done sure isn’t working. You might as well try something really new. - JC

Thanks for the compliments, shs... sorry it took me so long to respond. I'm actually holding out some hope that the Twins might change their MWL affiliation to Cedar Rapids next season. I know it won't help you out where you're at, but I know where I'd be spending about 70 nights every summer!

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. Baseball is a great game. Almost every game has some sort of unique situation arise, allowing fans to try to get in to the minds of the players and managers. Is the starting pitcher beginning to lose his stuff or can he go another inning? Is the centerfielder cheating a bit by playing shallow to keep a runner from advancing or to cut off a short line drive and will the hitter be able to get something past him in to the gap? Yes, almost every game provides opportunities to wonder what’s going on in the minds of those on the field and in the dugouts. Even 16-4 games where the outcome was never in doubt past the second inning. I didn’t see that mess of a game the Twins lost to the Brewers on Sunday, but from what I’ve read, there was at least one such, “what were they thinking?” moment. It came in the top of the 9th inning when Brewer relief pitcher Tim Dillard threw one pitch low and inside at Jamey Carroll and, having failed to hit him, threw his next pitch behind the Twins infielder. Dillard was immediately ejected by umpire Hunter Wendelstead. Carroll indicated that he asked Brewer catcher Jonathan Lucroy what it was all about and Lucroy told him the purpose pitch was in retaliation for Jeff Gray plunking Nyjer Morgan. Let me just say that I admit I’m pretty much “old school” on the subject of Purpose Pitches. In this case, that means I believe there is a time and place for purpose pitches. Yes, while I know others disagree, I believe there are times and places when a pitcher should… maybe even MUST… intentionally throw a ball with the intent of hitting the batter… or at least knocking him down. I started hitting batters intentionally when I was 13 years old. The “recreational” league I played in had time limits. You couldn’t start a new inning after the game had gone 90 minutes or something along those lines. This meant that there were times when the home team was at bat with a lead and, with the time limit approaching, some hitters got pretty deliberate about getting in to the batters box. When I was pitching in such a situation, that batter got one fastball in the ribs and next hitter got a stare that dared him to screw around. I seldom had to throw a second purpose pitch. Of course, the more common “purpose” behind throwing at a hitter, especially in professional ball, is in retaliation for something deemed unsportsmanlike or for your own hitters getting hit intentionally. Of course, a guy like Bob Gibson didn’t need a “purpose”. A bad cup of coffee with breakfast might have been enough for Gibby to knock three opposing hitters on their butts. But here’s where pitchers today lose me. If the guy you’re throwing at has to ask the catcher what the purpose of that “purpose pitch” was, you have to question the decision. In the situation Sunday, frankly, I can understand the Brewers getting a bit irritated with the situation. Twins pitchers hit not one… not two… but THREE Brewers hitters in that game. Did any of those HBPs occur because the Twins thought the Brewers were “piling on”? I have no idea, but that’s one “purpose” I’ve never seen as being a legitimate reason to throw at a hitter. If you don’t want the opposition to keep scoring runs, you should do something about getting more outs and giving up fewer hits. Anyway, as I said, I didn’t see the game. I don’t know what the circumstances were behind the Twins hitting three Brewers batters. But I do know that the last of those three occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning. That means the Brewers had plenty of opportunities in the top of the eighth inning to send the message to the Twins that they didn’t appreciate what had been going on. But they didn’t do that. They waited until Carroll came up to lead off the ninth inning… knowing full well there would be no “bottom of the ninth” where a Brewers hitter might risk getting “purposed” himself. That’s chicken****. I hope the Twins will have memories long enough to make that point to the Brewers when Milwaukee visits Target Field next month, but I doubt it. That’s simply not the “Twins Way” (gag). Since this got me reminiscing about my days as a 13 year old pitcher, there was another event on Sunday that brought back a memory of those days. My dad used to catch me in the back yard as he was schooling me on the finer points of the art and science of pitching. As 13 year olds and their fathers tend to do at times, there were occasions when the schooling led to… shall we say… differences. Yes, I would, at times, get angry with my father during those sessions. When I got angry, I would wind up and try to throw every pitch right through him. Of course, I never succeeded in doing anything except motivating him to remind me that he could throw a ball much, much harder than I could. Invariably, I ended up with a very bruised glove hand to go along with my bruised ego. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ButeraST11-251x300.jpg Drew Butera All of which is my long way of pondering this question. Now that we know catcher Drew Butera is capable of throwing a baseball accurately at a speed in excess of 94 mph, how tempting must it be for him, at times, to rifle a ball back to one of the Twins pitchers, as a way of saying, “is that weak-assed 87 mph crap all you got?” - JC

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. Baseball is a great game. Almost every game has some sort of unique situation arise, allowing fans to try to get in to the minds of the players and managers. Is the starting pitcher beginning to lose his stuff or can he go another inning? Is the centerfielder cheating a bit by playing shallow to keep a runner from advancing or to cut off a short line drive and will the hitter be able to get something past him in to the gap? Yes, almost every game provides opportunities to wonder what’s going on in the minds of those on the field and in the dugouts. Even 16-4 games where the outcome was never in doubt past the second inning. I didn’t see that mess of a game the Twins lost to the Brewers on Sunday, but from what I’ve read, there was at least one such, “what were they thinking?” moment. It came in the top of the 9th inning when Brewer relief pitcher Tim Dillard threw one pitch low and inside at Jamey Carroll and, having failed to hit him, threw his next pitch behind the Twins infielder. Dillard was immediately ejected by umpire Hunter Wendelstead. Carroll indicated that he asked Brewer catcher Jonathan Lucroy what it was all about and Lucroy told him the purpose pitch was in retaliation for Jeff Gray plunking Nyjer Morgan. Let me just say that I admit I’m pretty much “old school” on the subject of Purpose Pitches. In this case, that means I believe there is a time and place for purpose pitches. Yes, while I know others disagree, I believe there are times and places when a pitcher should… maybe even MUST… intentionally throw a ball with the intent of hitting the batter… or at least knocking him down. I started hitting batters intentionally when I was 13 years old. The “recreational” league I played in had time limits. You couldn’t start a new inning after the game had gone 90 minutes or something along those lines. This meant that there were times when the home team was at bat with a lead and, with the time limit approaching, some hitters got pretty deliberate about getting in to the batters box. When I was pitching in such a situation, that batter got one fastball in the ribs and next hitter got a stare that dared him to screw around. I seldom had to throw a second purpose pitch. Of course, the more common “purpose” behind throwing at a hitter, especially in professional ball, is in retaliation for something deemed unsportsmanlike or for your own hitters getting hit intentionally. Of course, a guy like Bob Gibson didn’t need a “purpose”. A bad cup of coffee with breakfast might have been enough for Gibby to knock three opposing hitters on their butts. But here’s where pitchers today lose me. If the guy you’re throwing at has to ask the catcher what the purpose of that “purpose pitch” was, you have to question the decision. In the situation Sunday, frankly, I can understand the Brewers getting a bit irritated with the situation. Twins pitchers hit not one… not two… but THREE Brewers hitters in that game. Did any of those HBPs occur because the Twins thought the Brewers were “piling on”? I have no idea, but that’s one “purpose” I’ve never seen as being a legitimate reason to throw at a hitter. If you don’t want the opposition to keep scoring runs, you should do something about getting more outs and giving up fewer hits. Anyway, as I said, I didn’t see the game. I don’t know what the circumstances were behind the Twins hitting three Brewers batters. But I do know that the last of those three occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning. That means the Brewers had plenty of opportunities in the top of the eighth inning to send the message to the Twins that they didn’t appreciate what had been going on. But they didn’t do that. They waited until Carroll came up to lead off the ninth inning… knowing full well there would be no “bottom of the ninth” where a Brewers hitter might risk getting “purposed” himself. That’s chicken****. I hope the Twins will have memories long enough to make that point to the Brewers when Milwaukee visits Target Field next month, but I doubt it. That’s simply not the “Twins Way” (gag). Since this got me reminiscing about my days as a 13 year old pitcher, there was another event on Sunday that brought back a memory of those days. My dad used to catch me in the back yard as he was schooling me on the finer points of the art and science of pitching. As 13 year olds and their fathers tend to do at times, there were occasions when the schooling led to… shall we say… differences. Yes, I would, at times, get angry with my father during those sessions. When I got angry, I would wind up and try to throw every pitch right through him. Of course, I never succeeded in doing anything except motivating him to remind me that he could throw a ball much, much harder than I could. Invariably, I ended up with a very bruised glove hand to go along with my bruised ego. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ButeraST11-251x300.jpg Drew Butera All of which is my long way of pondering this question. Now that we know catcher Drew Butera is capable of throwing a baseball accurately at a speed in excess of 94 mph, how tempting must it be for him, at times, to rifle a ball back to one of the Twins pitchers, as a way of saying, “is that weak-assed 87 mph crap all you got?” - JC

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. After a rather ugly game Wednesday night and Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers and Kernels put on a good show on Friday in Cedar Rapids. In the completion of Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers got a home run from newcomer Drew Leachman and Miguel Sano hit his 7th home run of the season immediately after an AJ Petterson double in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Kernels topped Beloit 9-6. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SanoHR2012-801x1024.jpgMiguel Sano's home run stroke in the first of two dingers on the night (Photo: Jim Crikket) The nightcap was a different story, with the Snappers breaking a 3-3 tie in the top of the 9th inning when Sano followed a JD Williams walk with his 8th home run of the year. The Kernels thought Sano spent a bit too long admiring the blast and getting around the bases and their catcher, Abel Baker, let Sano know about it as he crossed home plate. The two exchanged words and that led to both benches emptying. The 5-3 lead held up and the Snappers left town having won two of three games from the Kernels. There were plenty of good performances among the Snappers in the series finale as starting pitcher Steven Gruver retired the first six hitters he faced and threw five decent innings. Michael Tonkin gave up a run in his 1 1/3 innings of work, but struck out four Kernels, and Clint Dempster finished up with 2 2/3 strong shutout innings, without giving up a hit, to notch the Win. On the offensive side, Sano, Eddie Rosario, Wang-Wei Lin and Matthew Koch all had two hits and JD Williams & Tyler Grimes added doubles. But the story of this series was Sano. In the three games in Cedar Rapids, he was 7 for 13 plus one walk. He had two doubles to go with his two home runs. He scored five runs and drove in seven RBI. He did strike out once on Friday, stranding runners at 2nd and 3rd base, so I guess he’s human. Still, in a post-game interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Kernels manager Jamie Burke called Sano, “unbelievable” and, “the best player I’ve seen here – by far.” Personally, I still believe Mike Trout is the best player I’ve ever seen in the Midwest League, because he literally showed no weaknesses in his game during his time with the Kernels. But Sano’s performance this week was the most impressive offensive series I’ve witnessed. I know the Twins organization is reluctant to push their position players up the ladder quickly. Selfishly, I hope he’s still with Beloit in mid June when the Snappers return to Cedar Rapids again. But as a Twins fan, I can’t imagine what more he needs to demonstrate in the Midwest League that he can’t just as easily work on in Fort Myers. There’s absolutely no doubt that Sano has work to do with the glove before he’s ready for prime time, but does it really make that much difference whether he works on his defense in Beloit or Fort Myers? I’m convinced he’s more than ready to face better pitching. Kernels pitchers were feeding him almost nothing but breaking balls and other off-speed pitches. When they did throw a fastball, it wasn’t often anywhere near the strike zone. ************* I leave you with the following picture. As is the case at many ballparks, the Kernels give some lucky kids the opportunity to stand next to Kernels players on the field during the National Anthem and they give the kids t-shirts to wear. Very large t-shirts. I call this picture “Angels in the Infield.” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AngelsInTheInfield-1024x758.jpgAngels In The Infield (Photo: Jim Crikket)

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. After a rather ugly game Wednesday night and Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers and Kernels put on a good show on Friday in Cedar Rapids. In the completion of Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers got a home run from newcomer Drew Leachman and Miguel Sano hit his 7th home run of the season immediately after an AJ Petterson double in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Kernels topped Beloit 9-6. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SanoHR2012-801x1024.jpgMiguel Sano's home run stroke in the first of two dingers on the night (Photo: Jim Crikket) The nightcap was a different story, with the Snappers breaking a 3-3 tie in the top of the 9th inning when Sano followed a JD Williams walk with his 8th home run of the year. The Kernels thought Sano spent a bit too long admiring the blast and getting around the bases and their catcher, Abel Baker, let Sano know about it as he crossed home plate. The two exchanged words and that led to both benches emptying. The 5-3 lead held up and the Snappers left town having won two of three games from the Kernels. There were plenty of good performances among the Snappers in the series finale as starting pitcher Steven Gruver retired the first six hitters he faced and threw five decent innings. Michael Tonkin gave up a run in his 1 1/3 innings of work, but struck out four Kernels, and Clint Dempster finished up with 2 2/3 strong shutout innings, without giving up a hit, to notch the Win. On the offensive side, Sano, Eddie Rosario, Wang-Wei Lin and Matthew Koch all had two hits and JD Williams & Tyler Grimes added doubles. But the story of this series was Sano. In the three games in Cedar Rapids, he was 7 for 13 plus one walk. He had two doubles to go with his two home runs. He scored five runs and drove in seven RBI. He did strike out once on Friday, stranding runners at 2nd and 3rd base, so I guess he’s human. Still, in a post-game interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Kernels manager Jamie Burke called Sano, “unbelievable” and, “the best player I’ve seen here – by far.” Personally, I still believe Mike Trout is the best player I’ve ever seen in the Midwest League, because he literally showed no weaknesses in his game during his time with the Kernels. But Sano’s performance this week was the most impressive offensive series I’ve witnessed. I know the Twins organization is reluctant to push their position players up the ladder quickly. Selfishly, I hope he’s still with Beloit in mid June when the Snappers return to Cedar Rapids again. But as a Twins fan, I can’t imagine what more he needs to demonstrate in the Midwest League that he can’t just as easily work on in Fort Myers. There’s absolutely no doubt that Sano has work to do with the glove before he’s ready for prime time, but does it really make that much difference whether he works on his defense in Beloit or Fort Myers? I’m convinced he’s more than ready to face better pitching. Kernels pitchers were feeding him almost nothing but breaking balls and other off-speed pitches. When they did throw a fastball, it wasn’t often anywhere near the strike zone. ************* I leave you with the following picture. As is the case at many ballparks, the Kernels give some lucky kids the opportunity to stand next to Kernels players on the field during the National Anthem and they give the kids t-shirts to wear. Very large t-shirts. I call this picture “Angels in the Infield.” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AngelsInTheInfield-1024x758.jpgAngels In The Infield (Photo: Jim Crikket)

After a rather ugly game Wednesday night and Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers and Kernels put on a good show on Friday in Cedar Rapids. In the completion of Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers got a home run from newcomer Drew Leachman and Miguel Sano hit his 7th home run of the season immediately after an AJ Petterson double in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Kernels topped Beloit 9-6. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SanoHR2012-801x1024.jpgMigeul Sano's home run stroke in the first of two dingers on the night (Photo: Jim Crikket) The nightcap was a different story, with the Snappers breaking a 3-3 tie in the top of the 9th inning when Sano followed a JD Williams walk with his 8th home run of the year. The Kernels thought Sano spent a bit too long admiring the blast and getting around the bases and their catcher, Abel Baker, let Sano know about it as he crossed home plate. The two exchanged words and that led to both benches emptying. The 5-3 lead held up and the Snappers left town having won two of three games from the Kernels. There were plenty of good performances among the Snappers in the series finale as starting pitcher Steven Gruver retired the first six hitters he faced and threw five decent innings. Michael Tonkin gave up a run in his 1 1/3 innings of work, but struck out four Kernels, and Clint Dempster finished up with 2 2/3 strong shutout innings, without giving up a hit, to notch the Win. On the offensive side, Sano, Eddie Rosario, Wang-Wei Lin and Matthew Koch all had two hits and JD Williams & Tyler Grimes added doubles. But the story of this series was Sano. In the three games in Cedar Rapids, he was 7 for 13 plus one walk. He had two doubles to go with his two home runs. He scored five runs and drove in seven RBI. He did strike out once on Friday, stranding runners at 2nd and 3rd base, so I guess he’s human. Still, in a post-game interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Kernels manager Jamie Burke called Sano, “unbelievable” and, “the best player I’ve seen here – by far.” Personally, I still believe Mike Trout is the best player I’ve ever seen in the Midwest League, because he literally showed no weaknesses in his game during his time with the Kernels. But Sano’s performance this week was the most impressive offensive series I’ve witnessed. I know the Twins organization is reluctant to push their position players up the ladder quickly. Selfishly, I hope he’s still with Beloit in mid June when the Snappers return to Cedar Rapids again. But as a Twins fan, I can’t imagine what more he needs to demonstrate in the Midwest League that he can’t just as easily work on in Fort Myers. There’s absolutely no doubt that Sano has work to do with the glove before he’s ready for prime time, but does it really make that much difference whether he works on his defense in Beloit or Fort Myers? I’m convinced he’s more than ready to face better pitching. Kernels pitchers were feeding him almost nothing but breaking balls and other off-speed pitches. When they did throw a fastball, it wasn’t often anywhere near the strike zone. ************* I leave you with the following picture. As is the case at many ballparks, the Kernels give some lucky kids the opportunity to stand next to Kernels players on the field during the National Anthem and they give the kids t-shirts to wear. Very large t-shirts. I call this picture “Angels in the Infield.” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AngelsInTheInfield-1024x758.jpgAngels In The Infield (Photo: Jim Crikket)

After a rather ugly game Wednesday night and Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers and Kernels put on a good show on Friday in Cedar Rapids. In the completion of Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers got a home run from newcomer Drew Leachman and Miguel Sano hit his 7th home run of the season immediately after an AJ Petterson double in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Kernels topped Beloit 9-6. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SanoHR2012-801x1024.jpgMigeul Sano's home run stroke in the first of two dingers on the night (Photo: Jim Crikket) The nightcap was a different story, with the Snappers breaking a 3-3 tie in the top of the 9th inning when Sano followed a JD Williams walk with his 8th home run of the year. The Kernels thought Sano spent a bit too long admiring the blast and getting around the bases and their catcher, Abel Baker, let Sano know about it as he crossed home plate. The two exchanged words and that led to both benches emptying. The 5-3 lead held up and the Snappers left town having won two of three games from the Kernels. There were plenty of good performances among the Snappers in the series finale as starting pitcher Steven Gruver retired the first six hitters he faced and threw five decent innings. Michael Tonkin gave up a run in his 1 1/3 innings of work, but struck out four Kernels, and Clint Dempster finished up with 2 2/3 strong shutout innings, without giving up a hit, to notch the Win. On the offensive side, Sano, Eddie Rosario, Wang-Wei Lin and Matthew Koch all had two hits and JD Williams & Tyler Grimes added doubles. But the story of this series was Sano. In the three games in Cedar Rapids, he was 7 for 13 plus one walk. He had two doubles to go with his two home runs. He scored five runs and drove in seven RBI. He did strike out once on Friday, stranding runners at 2nd and 3rd base, so I guess he’s human. Still, in a post-game interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Kernels manager Jamie Burke called Sano, “unbelievable” and, “the best player I’ve seen here – by far.” Personally, I still believe Mike Trout is the best player I’ve ever seen in the Midwest League, because he literally showed no weaknesses in his game during his time with the Kernels. But Sano’s performance this week was the most impressive offensive series I’ve witnessed. I know the Twins organization is reluctant to push their position players up the ladder quickly. Selfishly, I hope he’s still with Beloit in mid June when the Snappers return to Cedar Rapids again. But as a Twins fan, I can’t imagine what more he needs to demonstrate in the Midwest League that he can’t just as easily work on in Fort Myers. There’s absolutely no doubt that Sano has work to do with the glove before he’s ready for prime time, but does it really make that much difference whether he works on his defense in Beloit or Fort Myers? I’m convinced he’s more than ready to face better pitching. Kernels pitchers were feeding him almost nothing but breaking balls and other off-speed pitches. When they did throw a fastball, it wasn’t often anywhere near the strike zone. ************* I leave you with the following picture. As is the case at many ballparks, the Kernels give some lucky kids the opportunity to stand next to Kernels players on the field during the National Anthem and they give the kids t-shirts to wear. Very large t-shirts. I call this picture “Angels in the Infield.” http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AngelsInTheInfield-1024x758.jpgAngels In The Infield (Photo: Jim Crikket)

This article originally was posted at Knuckleballsblog.com If you follow me on Twitter (@JimCrikket), you know that the Twins’ low-A affiliate, the Beloit Snappers, are making their first trip to Cedar Rapids this week and that I’ve spent the past couple of evenings at the ballpark watching them take on the Kernels (the Angels’ Midwest League affiliate). They’ve played 1+ games in the series so far (Thursday’s game was suspended by thunderstorms in the 3rd inning and will be resumed at 5:00 today, prior to the scheduled series finale), so I thought I’d put up a quick post with my initial impressions. The guys who are getting all the attention for the Snappers are infielders Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. Sano is the consensus #1 ranked prospect in the Twins organization and Rosario is most often listed as either #2 or #3, so they both have some game. They aren’t the only guys on the team with some talent, though. Wednesday night, I had arranged use of the suite that my company has out at Memorial Stadium, so I hosted a number of my coworkers and their significant others as we watched what started out as a pretty ugly display of baseball, frankly. To give you an idea of how ugly, the Snappers won the game 6-5, but the teams each scored only two earned runs on the night. That’s not pretty. After two innings, the teams were tied 2-2 in the runs column, but the Snappers “led” 3-2 in errors. Two of those Snapper errors were charged to Rosario and Sano and they both were the kind that made you cringe. The conventional wisdom is that both players have work to do on defense with Sano’s size perhaps making staying at 3B a challenge and Rosario trying to learn a new position at 2B, after being an outfielder throughout his career. The conventional wisdom may be pretty accurate in this case. But let’s face it, if Sano and Rosario are fixtures in the Twins 2015 lineup, it won’t be because they’re gold glovers, it will be because they’re capable of hitting the crap out of the baseball. Rosario had a tough night at the plate, going 0-4 (no Ks though) before being lifted after hitting in the 7th inning. Sano fared much better, with three hits in 5 at-bats, including a rocket double down the left field line that Kernel 3B Caleb Cowart managed to get a little leather on. As I mentioned, though, Sano and Rosario aren’t the only players with some baseball talent. Relief pitcher Corey Williams came in to finish off the final two innings and slammed the door on the Kernels, walking one and striking out two hitters, without giving up a hit, to earn his fourth save on the year. Shortstop Tyler Grimes has only played four innings so far this series, but he’s made a couple of pretty impressive plays in the field. Finally, 1B Rory Rhodes may be struggling to get his BA up over the Mendoza line, but he hit a HR Wednesday night that was a monster. It cleared the fence. It cleared the picnic area beyond the fence. From my vantage point, it appeared to clear the street beyond the picnic area. I’m not 100% sure it’s come down yet. Eddie Rosario was lifted in the 7th inning Wednesday night, for what I assumed was defensive purposes, but when I arrived at the stadium Thursday night, I saw he wasn’t in the lineup for the Snappers. It made me wonder if he was hurt or, perhaps, had been bumped up to Ft. Myers. But he was in uniform warming up with the rest of the Snappers in LF before the game, so the latter clearly wasn’t the case. I’ll be interested to see if he plays tonight. Here’s another thing I really liked seeing… Sano and Rosario seemed to be enjoying themselves before and during the games. They were loose and smiling during warm-ups and both were generous with their time signing autographs for fans along the wall by the Snappers dugout before the games. That’s not always the case, especially with visiting teams’ “top prospects.” Then again, there was no shortage of fans in Twins caps and shirts at the ballpark this week. It’s always a bit of a “split crowd” when the Twins’ affiliate comes to Cedar Rapids, so the Snappers get plenty of support. With that, I’ll wrap up with a few pictures from last night’s abbreviated trip to the ballpark. (Apologies for the size of the photos... Haven't figured out how to make them smaller in this place, but obviously it doesn't work just to copy the smaller versions from our Knuckleballs blog. - JC) http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Sano2012c-1024x767.jpg Miguel Sano signing a few autographs for fans http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rosario2012c-765x1024.jpg Eddie Rosario warming up before the game... he's changed positions once already, but could he really be thinking about pitching? http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Roario2012b-1024x767.jpg ... or catching? Say it ain't so, Eddie! http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Snappers2012-1024x659.jpg The Snappers loosen up with that time-honored tradition of a game of "Pepper" http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Tomshaw2012a-767x1024.jpg Thursday's starting pitcher, Matthew Tomshaw, is off to a nice start for the Snappers, but wouldn't get much of an opportunity to pitch before the rains came http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rhodes2012a-767x1024.jpg OK, this was a swing and a miss by Rory Rhodes Thursday night... but on Wednesday, he launched a ball about as far as I've seen one hit at Memorial Stadium in recent years http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Grimes2012a-1024x767.jpg Tyler Grimes at shortstop for the Snappers in the sunshine... obviously prior to the thunderstorm that was to soon arrive http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/RainDelay.jpg The thunderstorm may have caused the game to be suspended in the 3rd inning, but the crowd didn't let a little thing like that keep them from enjoying "$1.50 beer night"

This article originally was posted at Knuckleballsblog.com If you follow me on Twitter (@JimCrikket), you know that the Twins’ low-A affiliate, the Beloit Snappers, are making their first trip to Cedar Rapids this week and that I’ve spent the past couple of evenings at the ballpark watching them take on the Kernels (the Angels’ Midwest League affiliate). They’ve played 1+ games in the series so far (Thursday’s game was suspended by thunderstorms in the 3rd inning and will be resumed at 5:00 today, prior to the scheduled series finale), so I thought I’d put up a quick post with my initial impressions. The guys who are getting all the attention for the Snappers are infielders Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. Sano is the consensus #1 ranked prospect in the Twins organization and Rosario is most often listed as either #2 or #3, so they both have some game. They aren’t the only guys on the team with some talent, though. Wednesday night, I had arranged use of the suite that my company has out at Memorial Stadium, so I hosted a number of my coworkers and their significant others as we watched what started out as a pretty ugly display of baseball, frankly. To give you an idea of how ugly, the Snappers won the game 6-5, but the teams each scored only two earned runs on the night. That’s not pretty. After two innings, the teams were tied 2-2 in the runs column, but the Snappers “led” 3-2 in errors. Two of those Snapper errors were charged to Rosario and Sano and they both were the kind that made you cringe. The conventional wisdom is that both players have work to do on defense with Sano’s size perhaps making staying at 3B a challenge and Rosario trying to learn a new position at 2B, after being an outfielder throughout his career. The conventional wisdom may be pretty accurate in this case. But let’s face it, if Sano and Rosario are fixtures in the Twins 2015 lineup, it won’t be because they’re gold glovers, it will be because they’re capable of hitting the crap out of the baseball. Rosario had a tough night at the plate, going 0-4 (no Ks though) before being lifted after hitting in the 7th inning. Sano fared much better, with three hits in 5 at-bats, including a rocket double down the left field line that Kernel 3B Caleb Cowart managed to get a little leather on. As I mentioned, though, Sano and Rosario aren’t the only players with some baseball talent. Relief pitcher Corey Williams came in to finish off the final two innings and slammed the door on the Kernels, walking one and striking out two hitters, without giving up a hit, to earn his fourth save on the year. Shortstop Tyler Grimes has only played four innings so far this series, but he’s made a couple of pretty impressive plays in the field. Finally, 1B Rory Rhodes may be struggling to get his BA up over the Mendoza line, but he hit a HR Wednesday night that was a monster. It cleared the fence. It cleared the picnic area beyond the fence. From my vantage point, it appeared to clear the street beyond the picnic area. I’m not 100% sure it’s come down yet. Eddie Rosario was lifted in the 7th inning Wednesday night, for what I assumed was defensive purposes, but when I arrived at the stadium Thursday night, I saw he wasn’t in the lineup for the Snappers. It made me wonder if he was hurt or, perhaps, had been bumped up to Ft. Myers. But he was in uniform warming up with the rest of the Snappers in LF before the game, so the latter clearly wasn’t the case. I’ll be interested to see if he plays tonight. Here’s another thing I really liked seeing… Sano and Rosario seemed to be enjoying themselves before and during the games. They were loose and smiling during warm-ups and both were generous with their time signing autographs for fans along the wall by the Snappers dugout before the games. That’s not always the case, especially with visiting teams’ “top prospects.” Then again, there was no shortage of fans in Twins caps and shirts at the ballpark this week. It’s always a bit of a “split crowd” when the Twins’ affiliate comes to Cedar Rapids, so the Snappers get plenty of support. With that, I’ll wrap up with a few pictures from last night’s abbreviated trip to the ballpark. (Apologies for the size of the photos... Haven't figured out how to make them smaller in this place, but obviously it doesn't work just to copy the smaller versions from our Knuckleballs blog. - JC) http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Sano2012c-1024x767.jpg Miguel Sano signing a few autographs for fans http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rosario2012c-765x1024.jpg Eddie Rosario warming up before the game... he's changed positions once already, but could he really be thinking about pitching? http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Roario2012b-1024x767.jpg ... or catching? Say it ain't so, Eddie! http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Snappers2012-1024x659.jpg The Snappers loosen up with that time-honored tradition of a game of "Pepper" http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Tomshaw2012a-767x1024.jpg Thursday's starting pitcher, Matthew Tomshaw, is off to a nice start for the Snappers, but wouldn't get much of an opportunity to pitch before the rains came http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rhodes2012a-767x1024.jpg OK, this was a swing and a miss by Rory Rhodes Thursday night... but on Wednesday, he launched a ball about as far as I've seen one hit at Memorial Stadium in recent years http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Grimes2012a-1024x767.jpg Tyler Grimes at shortstop for the Snappers in the sunshine... obviously prior to the thunderstorm that was to soon arrive http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/RainDelay.jpg The thunderstorm may have caused the game to be suspended in the 3rd inning, but the crowd didn't let a little thing like that keep them from enjoying "$1.50 beer night"

"He was so ready to get out of town that he caught a red-eye flight the night of the sweep and rushed reporters out off his office to make the flight. Before the blood even dried. Before he could have a single team meeting." Just for the record and not that it will change your opinion anyway, but it turns out the manager DID have a team meeting after the game Wednesday night. Details are available at the 1500ESPN site, from Phil Mackey's post there.

I intentionally didn't do a write-up of the Wednesday night game. The Snappers won 6-5 and Sano went 3 for 5 with a double and Rosario was hitless. But the reason I'm holding off on writing is that... man... did they look BAD in the field. I'm hoping things go better tonight and Friday. Rosario had a ground ball go right under him and Sano launched a throw in to right field that was supposed to go somewhere close to 2B. He also got the error when he and Petterson, the SS, bumped in to one another and ended up letting a pop fly in shallow LF drop to the ground. Taking the camera to the game tonight so I'll probably be posting something at Knuckleballs tonight or tomorrow... certainly by Saturday.

Again, another rather absurd conclusion. So are you saying that any of us who take vacations or any time off from work should conclude that if our employers/jobs can get by without us for 3 days, then they can just as easily get by without us for 10 days, 40 days, 1 year? Of course not. To suggest that missing one series is no different than 20 series just makes the whole point you're trying to make even more bizarre.

I get that you hate Gardenhire and all that, but when you go to this extreme, it doesn't help your cause at all. It just shows that you'll stop at very little when it comes to bashing the guy. You do realize flights,both private and commercial, get delayed or even cancelled, right? Rule one of travel is that you NEVER leave yourself without contingency options if you've got a critical event to attend. One big thunderhead over the Rockies and he misses his daughter's graduation. As someone who's traveled a fair amount for work and gone to some pretty questionable extremes at times to avoid missing my kids' events, big and small, I'll just say that if anyone suggested I do what you're suggesting Gardy should have done, I'd tell them exactly what they could do with their suggestion... and it probably wouldn't be anatomically possible. Questioning strategic decisions, baseball smarts, control of the clubhouse... all are legitimate nits to pick if you're so inclined. But questioning a guy making damn sure he's there and able to enjoy his daughter's graduation is out of line, in my opinion.

Perhaps, based on recent results, his progression was a bit too quick. It might do him some good to see some AAA hitters for a bit and then try again. He's still pretty young. Thank you all for your comments on the post. I appreciate it.