Jeff A

I agree with the overall premise of this article. There can be quibbling over the merits of individual moves, but the individual moves aren't the issue. The issue is that when you look at the totality of the moves, there's no evidence that the Twins have an overall plan for how they intend to build a winning team. This has been true for years now, really. All we can do now is wait and see if the new GM and/or director of baseball operations will change that.

Thank you.

This afternoon Josh Whetzel mentioned that Byungho Park is done for the year. What happened to him?

Is Dominic Blanco any relation to Henry Blanco?

I pretty much agree with what's said above. I don't know how Berrios will do in the majors, but he's learned all he can in AAA. At some point, the only way you learn how to get major league batters out is to pitch against major league batters. Let's get Berrios started doing that.

I note that Elizabethton used Robert Molina (1-for-33) as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. I'm sure there must have been a reason, but I'm curious as to what it might have been.

If the main requirement for the new GM is that he be lovable, I'd like to suggest T. C. Bear.

Is the Joe Cronin who plays for the GCL Twins any relation to THE Joe Cronin?

Any idea why Jorge was left in the game so long?

Sorry if you mentioned this and I missed it, but I see LaMonte Wade hasn't played much lately. Is he injured?

Why hasn't Luis Arraez been playing the last couple of days? Thanks.

Is something up with Nick Gordon or was he just given a day off?

In the Red Wings game story on milb.com, Andrew Albers is said to be tonight's starter.

Thanks, Seth.

Why did Cutura come out after two innings?

Maybe it's nobody's business, but is there anything more to the Alex Swim story? He hit .311 in Cedar Rapids in 2014 and did it again in Fort Myers in 2015. Granted that it was with few walks and little power, but still, .311 is .311.

Sorry if I missed this, but why hasn't LaMonte Wade been playing? Is he hurt?

Bill James apparently believes that, while strikeout pitchers are more effective than non-strikeout pitchers, strikeout batters are not less effective than non-strikeout batters. I don't have a subscription, so I can't read the article, but here's an article that references it: https://www.baseballmusings.com/?p=84350.

Download attachment: Morneau_uspw_6519778_600_321.jpg Scott Watkins (1970) Justin Morneau (1981) Brian Dozier (1987) Left-hander Scott Allen Watkins pitched for the Twins for about two months in 1995. He was born in Tulsa, went to high school in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1992. A reliever throughout his minor-league career, his numbers were not particularly impressive until 1995, when he posted a 2.80 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 20 saves, and 57 strikeouts in 54.2 innings (45 games) for AAA Salt Lake. [/hr] He was often used as a LOOGY; in nearly half of his 27 appearances, he faced only one or two batters. He was not particularly successful in that role, as in a small sample size left-handers hit him nearly as well as right-handers. For the last two months of 1995, Watkins had no decisions with an ERA of 5.40 and a WHIP of 1.52. He pitched 21.2 innings spread over 27 games. Watkins was back in AAA in 1996, but could not duplicate his success of the prior season. From there, he started moving around. He was in the minor league systems of Colorado and Kansas City in 1997, in the Texas organization in 1998, in the Cubs chain in 1999, and at AAA with Colorado again from 2000-2001. He had varying degrees of success, but did not make it back to the majors. His playing career ended after the 2001 season. It appears that Scott Watkins has gone back to his home town of Sand Springs, and is a high school teacher and assistant baseball coach there. ~~~ Also posted in wgom.org ~~~ First baseman Justin Morneau has been with the Twins since 2003. He was born and raised in New Westminster, British Columbia and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1999. He hit well throughout the minors, hitting over .300 in his first three professional seasons, but the Twins took their time with him: Morneau was in rookie ball for two years, was in Class A for all but ten games in 2001, and was in AA all of 2002. He began 2003 in AA, but was advanced to AAA after 20 games. He got his first chance at the majors in 2003 spelling Doug Mientkiewicz, which is not an easy thing to do. He was in the majors about half the season. He started 2004 in Rochester, but after he hit .306 with 22 home runs in half a season, Mientkiewicz was traded and Morneau became the Twins’ regular first baseman, a job he retains to this day. He struggled in 2005, but played well from 2006-2010. He was playing extremely well in 2010, hitting .345 with an OPS of 1.055, when he suffered a concussion in mid-July and missed the rest of the season. He struggled in 2011 due to a combination of a wrist injury and lingering concussion problems. He did better in 2012, but was still not the Justin Morneau of old. He is not off to a particularly good start in 2013, either. His best season to date is 2006, when he hit .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs, winning the Most Valuable Player award. He received MVP consideration the next two years as well, finishing second to Dustin Pedroia in 2008. He made the all-star team every year from 2007-2010 and has won two Silver Slugger awards. Justin Morneau turns 32 today. He may well have some productive seasons left in him, but it also may well be that his best years are behind him. ~~~ Infielder James Brian Dozier has been an infielder for the Twins since 2012. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, attended the University of Southern Mississippi, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 2009. He spent most of 2009 in Elizabethton, most of 2010 in Fort Myers, and most of 2011 in New Britain. He started to develop a little power in 2011, hitting 33 doubles, 12 triples, and 9 home runs. He split 2012 between Rochester and Minnesota, not batting particularly well in either place. He drew a decent number of walks in the lower minors, leading to solid on-base percentages. In 1,405 minor league at-bats, he hit .298/.370/.409, but in 200 plate appearances in AAA he hit .232/.286/.337. He had primarily been a shortstop until 2013, when the Twins moved him to second base. Dozier is twenty-six today, so while he still may improve he’s not exactly a kid. He may become a big league hitter, or he may have topped out at AA; time will tell. The Twins don’t have a lot of middle infield options, so it appears that Brian Dozier is going to get a good, long chance to show he can play in the major leagues. Click here to view the article

Why is Brett Lee still in Fort Myers? He's dominating there. I know he doesn't strike out a lot of guys, but I don't see how staying in Fort Myers is going to help him learn to do that. It's time to move him up and see how he does in New Britain.

Download attachment: Harmon_Killebrew_AP6303011347_620x350.jpg Harmon Killebrew (1936) Trey Hodges (1978) Dusty Hughes (1982) An original Twin, Harmon Clayton Killebrew was with the Twins through the 1974 season. Born and raised in Payette, Idaho, he was signed by Washington in 1954 under the “bonus baby” rules, which required him to be on the major league roster for two full years. While he obviously overcame it, one has to think that slowed his development, as he got only 93 at bats in his first two major league seasons. He got 34 more at bats through June of 1956, then his two years finally expired and he got regular playing time in the minors, coming back as a September call-up. He hit around .280 in the minors in 1957 and 1958, hitting a total of 48 home runs, and got brief time in the majors both years.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~ Also posted at wgom.org ~~~ Finally, in 1959, Killebrew reached the majors to stay. He had been exclusively a third baseman in the minors, and he was the regular third baseman for Washington in 1959. He responded by hitting 42 home runs, driving in 105 runs, making his first of eleven all-star teams, and finished fifteenth in MVP voting. He played both first and third in 1960, had another fine year, and came to Minnesota with the team in 1961 as its first star player. He played mostly first base in 1961, then moved to the outfield for 1962-1964. He kept hitting, belting between 45 and 49 homers each season, posting an OPS over .900 every year, finishing in the top eleven in MVP voting, and making the all-star team every year except 1962 (an odd omission, since he led the league in homers and RBI that year). He was injured part of 1965, when he was moved back to the infield, but still finished fifteenth in MVP balloting as he helped lead the Twins to the World Series. He bounced back to play in every game in 1966 and 1967, playing primarily at third in 1966 and almost exclusively at first in 1967. He hit a total of 83 homers with 234 walks in those seasons and finishing in the top four in MVP voting each year. In 1968, Killebrew was having a bad year when he was famously injured in the all-star game, not coming back until September. It was a bad year for Harmon, but he came back to play in every game in 1969, mostly at third but a substantial number at first, and leading the league in homers, RBIs, walks, and OBP and winning his only MVP award. He remained at third in 1970 and had another fine year. Shifted to first in 1971, Killebrew continued to play well, but signs of decline began to show; his OPS that season was the lowest of his career to that point other than in 1968. He slipped a little more in 1972 and became a part-time player after that. Killebrew became a free agent after the 1974 season. The Twins thought he was finished, but he thought he wasn’t, so he signed with Kansas City. Unfortunately, the Twins were right: Killebrew hit only .199 with fourteen homers as a Royal, and his playing career came to an end. It was a tremendous career, though. As a Twin/Senator, he hit .258/.278/.514, with 559 homers, giving him a total of 573 home runs for his career. He made eleven all-star teams, including nine in a row from 1963-1971. He was in the top ten in MVP voting seven times and in the top fifteen ten times. Harmon Killebrew was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984, the first Twin to be so honored. Also, despite denials from major league baseball, Killebrew is widely thought to be the model for the MLB logo. He was a television broadcaster for the Twins from 1976-1978, with Oakland from 1979-1982, with California in 1983, and back with the Twins from 1984-1988. Harmon Killebrew retired to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was the chair of the Harmon Killebrew Foundation, which is dedicated to enriching the quality of life by promoting positive and healthy participation in sports. He also founded the Danny Thompson memorial golf tournament, which has raised millions of dollars for leukemia research. Sadly, Harmon Killebrew passed away from esophageal cancer on May 17, 2011. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Izquierdo_Hank.jpg Catcher Enrique Roberto (Valdes) "Hank" Izquierdo was a reserve catcher for the Twins for only two months in 1967. But he stands out in the distinct path he took to the major leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~Also posted at wgom.org~~~ Born and raised in Matanzas, Cuba, he started playing in organized baseball in 1951. He spent three years playing for the Galveston White Caps, and independent team in the Class B Gulf Coast League. He went to independent Winston-Salem in 1954 before going to the Cleveland organization with Class B Keokuk in 1955. He hit .302 that year, his fifth in Class B, and also played at least one game at each position that season. When he moved higher, unfortunately, his hitting ability could not keep up. Minor league transaction records from the 1950s are not good, but Izquierdo moved to the Baltimore organization sometime in 1956 and to the Cincinnati organization in 1957. He spent five years in AAA for Cincinnati, playing in Havana and Jersey City. He hit .190 in 998 at-bats over that five-year period. He retired after the 1961 season to become the bullpen coach for Cleveland, but in 1963, he made a comeback with in the Twins' organization. He hit .297 playing in Class A at age 32. He spent the next two years at AA before once again reaching AAA at age 35 in 1966. Finally, Izquierdo got his turn. He was hitting .300 in 1967 at AAA Denver when, at age 36, Hank Izquierdo made his major league debut. Used as a reserve, he went 7-for-26 with two doubles and two RBIs in the major leagues. That would be the extent of his major league career, but not the end of his an interesting story. Izquierdo moved to the Houston organization, playing in AAA through 1969. After the 1968 season, he was driving a taxi in Miami during the off-season and was shot in the stomach during a robbery, nearly dying. His playing career ending in 1969 when he got into a fight with Ted Simmons in a AAA game and swung a bat at him, fortunately missing. After his playing career, Izquierdo managed in the Mexican League for several years and was a scout for the Twins in the 1980s. At last report, Hank Izquierdo was living in West Palm Beach, Florida. Click here to view the article

Thanks again. I appreciate the information.

Thanks, but of course that leads to the next question. Why such a small pitch limit?

Why does Meyer keep getting pulled so early? Yeah, 78 pitches is a lot for three innings, but it's not like he should be gassed at that point. Is something going on here?