Jeff A

Pelfrey had zero strikeouts in his five innings. That makes me doubt that he's throwing anywhere near 95.

I've been hoping that this would be a rerun of the late 90s: get by with marginal vets until the young guys are ready. I'm just not sure I see it happening. As Nick points out, dumping Raley for Guerrier is not a move you make if you're trying to stockpile young talent. Trading Sulbaran for Nunez is not a move you make if you're trying to stockpile young talent. At this point, I agree with Nick. I don't know what the plan is, or even if there is one.

I have to wonder if he's pitching through an injury. Not that I think Diamond is anything great, but there's nothing in his record that suggests he should be this horrible in AAA.

Thanks, lightfoot. Not a traditional straight steal of home, then, but pretty impressive nonetheless.

I'm reading that John Murphy stole home for Fort Myers last night. Was it a straight steal, or did something happen there?

Bartlett is 34 and hasn't had a good year since 2009. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it's a waste of time. It takes away at-bats and practice time from guys who might, possibly, help. Meanwhile, everyone seems to have forgotten about Eduardo Escobar, but he hit .307 in two months in Rochester and is hitting very well in winter ball. He may or may not have figured something out, but he's done enough to have earned a chance to show that he has. He certainly has a better chance of being a productive player in 2014 than Bartlett has.

What's wrong with Zack Jones in the AFL? I know, small sample size, but he's been pretty bad. Any idea what's up there?

Escobar is hitting well so far after hitting well in two months at AAA. There's a chance this improvement could be real.

What? You're telling me the Twins' rotation was so incredibly awesome this year that there's absolutely no way they could've found starts for Hendriks? Come on.

I think the Twins would've been better served to put Hendriks in the rotation all year (assuming he wasn't hurt from the beginning) and see what happened, since they weren't going anywhere anyway. It appears to me, though, that the Twins have already decided that Hendriks is not going to be an effective big-league pitcher. Given that, I'd like to see them give him a chance to go elsewhere.

You may know something I don't, but I would be very surprised if Gardy is not back managing the Twins at the start of 2014.

Also posted at wgom.org Scotti Madison (1959) Keith Hughes (1963) Luis Castillo (1975) Sean Burroughs (1980) Carmen Pignatiello (1982) Catcher Charles Scott “Scotti” Madison did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, he was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 1980 draft out of Vanderbilt. Madison was started at AA Orlando and did not do well, batting only .230. Dropped down to Class A Visalia in 1981, he hit much better, and was traded to the Dodgers that offseason with Paul Voight in a trade that brought Bobby Castillo and Bobby Mitchell to the Twins. Madison slumped again when promoted to AA and AAA in 1982, but did better after that, batting over .300 in a 1983 split between AA San Antonio and AAA Albuquerque. He was purchased by the Tigers organization during 1984 spring training, and after a solid season at AA Birmingham and a good 1985 split between Birmingham and AAA Nashville, Madison was given a brief callup by the Tigers. He got another brief chance with the Tigers in 1986, but then became a free agent and signed with the Royals. He was named the most popular player on the Omaha Royals in 1987, and got to Kansas City briefly in both 1987 and 1988, and became a free agent again, signing with Cincinnati. In 1989, he played in 40 games with the Reds, his longest stint in the big leagues, getting 108 at-bats. He played third base for Cincinnati, despite not having played there much in the minors. Madison’s career ended after that year: he had a career batting average of .163 in 166 at-bats. Now living in Georgia, Scotti Madison is the founder of RAPHA Products Group, an international sourcing company focused on locating and delivering innovative, quality products to the U.S. marketplace and selected foreign countries. The company’s flagship product is the Triggerlite flashlight. Outfielder Keith Wills Hughes did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 1992. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1981. He hit .329 with 15 homers in Class A in 1983, and in mid-1984 was traded to the Yankees in a deal that involved Shane Rawley. He hit .307 for the Yankees in AA in 1986. Hughes was with the Yankees briefly in 1987 but was traded back to Philadelphia in early June in a deal involving Mike Easler. He was with the Phillies for about two months that season, then was traded to Baltimore. He was with the Orioles the majority of the 1988 season, used mostly as a reserve right fielder. He was back in the minors in 1989, and after that season he was traded once again, this time to the Mets. He hit .309 in AAA and earned a September call-up, but was released after the season. He signed back with the Yankees for 1991, spent the season in AAA, and signed with Minnesota for 1992. He was in AAA Portland all year, hitting .271/.344/.416 in 221 at-bats. A free agent again after that season, he signed with Cincinnati, again spending most of the year in AAA but getting four at-bats in the majors. He was out of baseball in 1994, came back in 1995 to spend the season in AAA with the Royals, and then his playing career was over for good. As a major league player, he hit .204/.286/.284 in 201 at-bats. Keith Hughes now lives in Philadelphia and is a regional manager for EBC Carpet Services, a company which provides customized carpet maintenance programs for commercial businesses. Second baseman Luis Antonio (Donato) Castillo played for the Twins in 2006-2007. He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, went to high school in Humacao, Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Florida Marlins as a free agent in 1992 at age 16. He had a high batting average, although with almost no power, throughout the minor leagues, posting a career minor-league average of .303. He came up to the Marlins in 1996 as a part-time player, and did not get a full-time major league job until 1999, He made the most of it, hitting .302 and stealing 50 bases. Castillo remained the starting second baseman for the Marlins through 2005, hitting over .300 five times, making three all-star appearances, winning three gold gloves, and playing on two world championship teams. In the 2005-06 off-season, he was traded to the Twins for Scott Tyler and Travis Bowyer. Castillo was the starting second baseman for the Twins in 2006 and the first four months of 2007, and continued to hit as he had, batting .299/.357/.363 as a Twin. At the end of July, 2007, he was traded to the Mets for Drew Butera and Dustin Martin. Castillo hit poorly during an injury-plagued 2008, bounced back to hit .302 in 2009, but again hit poorly in an injury-plagued 2010. The Mets released him in spring training; he signed with Philadelphia, but was released again nine days later, bringing his major league career to an end. At last report, Luis Castillo was living in Caldwell, New Jersey. The son of big leaguer Jeff Burroughs, third baseman Sean Patrick Burroughs appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2012. He was born in Atlanta and attended high school in Long Beach. Along the way, he became a hero for a Long Beach team that twice won the Little League World Series. He was drafted by San Diego in the first round in 1998 and played for the U. S. Olympic gold medal team in 2000. He did not hit for much power in the minors but posted high batting averages. He reached AAA in 2001 and was the starting third baseman for the Padres in 2002 at the age of only 21. He started well, but slumped badly in May and was sent back to AAA, returning as a September call-up. He was back as the starter in 2003-2004 and posted solid batting averages, but had no speed and no power. He lost the starting job again in 2005, this time for good, and was traded to Tampa Bay at the end of the season. He did little for the Devil Rays and was released in August. He moved on to Seattle for 2007 but was released again in mid-June. He was then out of baseball for four years, which he attributes to a drinking problem. In 2011, he attempted a comeback with Arizona. Still only thirty, he tore up the Pacific Coast League and was called up to the Diamondbacks in mid-May, where he did fairly well as a bench player. He signed with Minnesota for 2012 and started the season in the majors, but got only seventeen at-bats in April, going 2-for-17, and was sent to Rochester, where he was decent but nothing more. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Dodgers, but hit only .220 in 52 games of AA ball. Sean Burroughs turns thirty-three today. He played in winter ball last year. If he does so again, and if he does really well, it’s possible that someone will give him another shot, but it seems unlikely. Left-hander Carmen Peter Pignatiello did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA with them for about a month in 2009. He was born in Hammond, Indiana, went to high school in Lenox, Illinois, and was drafted by the Cubs in the twentieth round in 2000. He was a starter for much of his minor league career, but began switching to relief in 2005. He did pretty well in that role in 2006 and 2007, spending about three weeks in the majors with the Cubs in 2007, pitching two innings in four games. He began 2008 in the majors, appearing in two more games and pitching two-thirds of an inning before being sent back to AAA. He had a bad year in AAA that season and became a free agent after the season was over. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Rochester, where he pitched seven innings in four games, posted an ERA of 14.14, and was released on May 1. He finished the year with Schaumberg of the independent Northern League; then his playing career came to and end. In his major league career, he appeared in six games, pitched 2.2 innings, and posted an ERA of 6.75. Carmen Pignatiello was the pitching coach for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League from 2011-2012. He currently owns a Nationwide Insurance agency in the Chicago area.

Also posted at wgom.org Len Whitehouse (1957) Riccardo Ingram (1966) Anthony Swarzak (1985) Left-hander Leonard Joseph Whitehouse played for the Twins from 1983-1985. He was born in Burlington, Vermont and was signed by the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 1976. He did not pitch very well in the minors, having only one season (1981 in AA Wichita) in which his ERA was under 4.00. He was left-handed, however, and so he got a September call-up with the Rangers in 1981, and after spending 1982 in AAA Denver he was traded to the Twins for John Pacella. Whitehouse was with the Twins for a little over two seasons, appearing in 60 games in 1983, 30 in 1984, and five in 1985. He actually seemed to pitch better in the big-leagues than he did in the minors: in his two full seasons with the Twins he was 9-3 with 3 saves and a 3.86 ERA. Whitehouse pitched poorly in 1985, however, both in his short stint with the Twins and in AAA Toledo, and was released. He pitched for AA Glens Falls in the Tigers organization in 1986 before calling it a career. At last report, Len Whitehouse was coaching high school and American Legion baseball in his home town of Burlington, Vermont. He also does furniture upholstery for Saint Michael’s College. He is one of only two Vermont high school baseball players to reach the major leagues. Outfielder Riccardo Benay Ingram got eight at-bats with the Twins in 1985. He was born in Douglas, Georgia, went to Georgia Tech, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round in 1987. Ingram spent two years in Class A and two more in AA. In this third year at AAA Toledo, 1994, he got a brief trial with the Tigers, going 5- for-23 (.217) with 2 RBIs. Ingram became a minor-league free agent and signed with the Twins organization for 1995. Ingram had his best season that year at AAA Salt Lake, batting .348 with 43 doubles and 12 home runs. He earned another short stint in the majors, going 1-for-8 in four games with the Twins. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Padres organization, spending 1996 in AAA Las Vegas. Since retiring as a player, Riccardo Ingram has been a coach and manager in the Twins’ organization, and was a coach for the GCL Twins in 2013. Riccardo Ingram is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, starring in both baseball and football while at the school. Right-hander Anthony Ray Swarzak pitched for the Twins in 2009 and from 2011 to the present. He was born in Ft. Lauderdale, went to high school in Davie, Florida, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2004. He pitched pretty well at every minor league stop with the exception of his stint in New Britain in 2008, where he went 3-8 with a 5.67 ERA; however, he redeemed himself by going 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts in Rochester. Swarzak was suspended for fifty games in 2007 for violating baseball’s drug policy–reportedly, he had used marijuana. Swarzak again pitched well in Rochester in 2009, and earned a trial in Minnesota. He did not do well there, going 3-7 with a 6.25 ERA in 59 innings. He had an awful season in Rochester in 2010, going 5-12, 6.21, 1.62 WHIP in 111.2 innings. He bounced back in 2011, doing reasonably well in Rochester and also reasonably well in Minnesota after being called up to the Twins in mid-May. 2012 was his first full season in the majors. He is having a fine year as a long reliever for the Twins in 2013. Overall in the majors, he is 11-22, 4.50, 1.38 WHIP at this writing. As a starter, he is 6-17, 5.79, 1.51 WHIP As a reliever, however, he is 5-5, 3.55, 1.28 WHIP. He turns twenty-eight today. There is talk of moving him back into the rotation, which appears to be more a result of the Twins starting pitcher options than of Swarzak’s abilities. If they keep him in the bullpen, however, he may well be a valuable pitcher for several years to come.

Twins starters don't often throw much more than five innings anyway. If nothing else, it'd look better if they called it a plan.

Also posted at wgom.org Jay Ward (1938) Alex Romero (1983) Utility player John Francis Ward played briefly for the Twins in 1963 and 1964. He was born in Brookfield, Missouri and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1956. He hit very well in the low minors, hitting exactly .300 in three years in Class D and C. He spent most of 1958 in the Washington organization, then was selected off waivers by the Kansas City Athletics. Ward was pretty average in AA and AAA, and was traded to the Dodgers after the 1961 season in a multi-player deal. He came to the Twins organization in July of 1962 in a trade for Bert Cueto. Ward was in the Twins’ organization through mid-1964, went to the Giants, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1965, went to Japan in 1966, went to Cleveland in 1967, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1968, went back to Cleveland for 1969, was with the Reds’ organization in 1970, and went to the Kansas City Royals’ organization in 1971. He got brief trials with the Twins in 1963 and 1964, batting .174/.283/.239 in 46 at-bats. Ward was also in the big leagues briefly in 1971 with Cincinnati, going 0-for-3. He showed some power in the minors, hitting 241 minor-league home runs, but never hit for a high average, and never got enough of a chance to see if he could have been a low-average slugger in the big leagues. After retiring as an active player, Jay Ward had a lengthy career as a minor league coach and manager. He then was the co-owner of a hitting school (with Wade Boggs) in Tampa, Florida, before retiring, first to Springfield, Missouri, then to Troy, Montana, where he enjoyed hunting and fishing. Jay Ward passed away in Troy on February 24, 2012. Outfielder Alexander Rafael (Galban) Romero did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for five seasons. He was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2002. He worked his way up the ladder one level at a time, playing rookie ball in 2002, low Class A in 2003, high Class A in 2004, and Class AA in 2005, hitting at or very near .300 at every stop. He slumped a little in 2006, batting .263 in a year split between AA and AAA, and the Twins placed him on waivers after the season. Romero was selected by the Diamondbacks. He hit very well in AAA Tucson in 2007, and split 2008 and 2009 between AA and Arizona. Romero hit well over .300 each year in AA, but in the majors hit .239/.279/.339 in 280 major league at-bats, with 2 homers and 30 RBIs, in sporadic playing time. He was a free agent after the 2009 season and signed with Atlanta, but was released in late June and was not picked up by anyone. After the season, however, he signed with Florida, and hit very well in a season split between AA and AAA. He became a free agent and was not signed, so he went to the Mexican League for 2012 and hit extremely well. In 2013 he moved on to Italy and had an awesome year there. He’s thirty now. He’s done very well everywhere he’s been, so he might have been able to help somebody in the majors if he’d been given the chance. He wasn’t, though, and most likely it’s too late now.

There appear to be no players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day.

Also posted at wgom.org Greg Olson (1960) Roy Smith (1961) Pat Meares (1968) Micheal Nakamura (1976) Catcher Gregory William Olson appeared in three games for the Twins in 1989. He was born in Marshall, Minnesota, went to high school in Edina, Minnesota, attended the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round in 1982. He should not be confused with pitcher Greggory William Olson, who also played for the Twins. The Olson we’re dealing with here had not caught in high school, but was converted to catcher in college. He spent six years in the Mets’ minor-league system, usually as a part-time player, putting up offensive numbers that were not awful but that would not catch anyone’s attention, either. Olson became a six-year minor league free agent, and the Twins signed him after the 1988 season. He was in Portland for 1989, and did not do much on offense there either, hitting .235 in 247 at-bats. He was with the Twins for about a week from the end of June through the fourth of July, appearing in three games and going 1-for-2. The Twins let Olson go after the season, and he was signed by the Braves. He was a semi-regular for the Braves for four years. His best year was 1990 when he hit .262 in 298 at-bats and somehow made the all-star team. Released after the 1993 campaign, Olson signed with the Mets, but did not make it out of spring training. After his playing career ended, he became a manager for some independent league teams. Later, he got a real estate license. At last report he was the general manager of Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was also a broker for Bearpath Realty. Right-hander LeRoy Purdy Smith pitched for the Twins from 1986-1990. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, he attended Fordham University and was drafted by Philadelphia in the 3rd round of the 1979 draft. He did well early, spending a year in rookie and A ball, but after repeating AA he was traded after the 1982 season with two other players to Cleveland for John Denny. Smith was in AAA Charleston in 1983, and then split the next two years between AAA Maine and the Indians. After the 1985 campaign, he was traded with Ramon Romero to Minnesota for Bryan Oelkers and Ken Schrom. Smith was in AAA for most of the next three seasons, getting a brief call-up with Minnesota each year, before getting two full years in the majors in 1989 and 1990. Smith was in the starting rotation most of the time in those years, doing fairly well in 1989 and not as well in 1990. He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 1991. Smith split that year between Baltimore and AAA Rochester, was apparently out of baseball in 1992, and pitched in the Pittsburgh organization in 1993 before calling it a career. As a Twin, Smith was 19-18 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 85 games, 54 of them starts. Roy Smith has spent time in the Dodgers’ and Pirates’ front office, and at last report was a scout for the New York Mets. Shortstop Patrick James Meares played for the Twins from 1983-1988. He was born in Salina, Kansas, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the 12th round by the Twins in 1990. He was rather up and down in his minor league career, but the Twins needed a shortstop after Greg Gagne became a free agent, and Meares got the job in 1993. His first three years, he somewhat shared the shortstop position with Jeff Reboulet, but he was the full-time regular for 1996-98. He did a solid job for the Twins, never making anyone’s all-star team but never being someone you looked to replace, either. He became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but had injury problems and never really panned out for them. His last game was in 2001; Meares was on the Pirates disabled list for two seasons after that. At one point, he filed a grievance, claiming that he was healthy enough to play, but the grievance was eventually dropped; by then, the Pirates apparently preferred to pay him to not play. As a Twin, Pat Meares batted .265/.301/.382 with 41 homers and 303 RBIs in 742 games. He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Pat Meares was living in Wichita, Kansas. Sidearming reliever Micheal Yoshihide Nakamura appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2003. He was born in Nara, Japan, went to high school in Melbourne, Australia, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1997. He apparently had some injury problems in the minors, as he had good numbers but not very many innings. He had a strong 2003 in Rochester and got a trial with the Twins that year, but did not do well in limited opportunities. He was with the Twins for nearly a month and went 0-0, 7.82, giving up 11 runs and 20 hits in 12.2 innings over 12 games. Nakamura was placed on waivers early in 2004 and was selected by Toronto with similar results: good numbers in AAA but no success in the majors. He left American baseball after the 2004 season for Japan, where he has pitched ever since. He spent three years with the Nippon Ham Fighters, moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2009, and is with the Seibu Lions this season. He has dual citizenship with Japan and Australia (his father is Japanese and his mother is Australian), and has played for the Australian Olympic and WBC teams. He seems to be doing well in Japan–he appears to have been injured in 2011, but pitched well for them in 2012. He did well enough in Japan that he might have been able to get another shot at the majors, but he appears to have not been interested, and retired from playing after the 2012 season. No information about what Mike Nakamura is doing now was readily available.

Also posted at wgom.org Randy Choate (1975) Jason Hart (1977) This is also the birthday of Karl Kuehl (1937), who was a coach for the Twins from 1977-1982. Left-handed reliever Randol Doyle Choate never actually played in a regular season game with the Twins, but he was in spring training with them in 2007. Born and raised in San Antonio, he attended Florida State and was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1977. He spent three years at Class A, but jumped to AAA in 2000 and rode the New York-Columbus shuttle from 2000-2003, appearing in 82 games for the Yankees over four seasons. The Yankees traded Choate to Montreal after the 2003 season, and the Expos traded him to Arizona at the end of 2004 spring training. He then started bouncing between Arizona and AAA Tucson, appearing in 114 games for the Diamondbacks from 2004-2007. After the 2006 season, Arizona released Choate and the Twins signed him, but Minnesota released him at the end of spring training and the Diamondbacks signed him again. Released by Arizona after 2007, he spent 2008 with AAA Nashville in the Milwaukee organization. Randy Choate signed with Tampa Bay for 2009. He was strictly a LOOGY for the Rays: over two seasons he appeared in 146 games but logged just 81 innings. He did well for them in that role, but was a free agent after the season and signed with Florida. He pitched very well for the Marlins for a year and a half, then was traded to the Dodgers in late July. After the season, he was a free agent again and signed with the Cardinals for 2013. He’s again having a fine year in his role. He has played in parts of thirteen major league seasons, but did not get a full season until 2010. He’s been a tremendous LOOGY, though, and while a LOOGY’s life is never stable, he may continue in the majors for several years to come. Outfielder Jason Wyatt Hart did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a couple of months. He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Fair Grove, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifth round in 1998. He had a couple of tremendous years in the low minors, hitting .326 with 30 homers at AA Midland in 2000. He stumbled when he reached AAA, however, hitting about .250 with around twenty homers a year over three seasons. Only one of those seasons was spent in the Athletics organization, as he was traded to Texas after the 2001 season in a multi-player deal. He was a September call-up for the Rangers in 2002, going 4-for-15 with 3 doubles in ten games. He was injured all of 2004, but there was no significant difference in his numbers when he came back in 2005. A free agent after the season, the Twins signed him for 2006 and sent him to Rochester. He hit .225/.267/.425 there in 80 at-bats, hitting four home runs and four doubles. On June 1, the Twins sent Hart back to Texas. He finished the season in AAA for them and then his playing career was over. He was the batting coach for the Rangers’ Arizona League affiliate in 2009, for the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers’ Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League in 2010-2011, and for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ AA affiliate in the Texas League, in 2012-2013.

Also posted at wgom.org Paul Jata (1949) Aaron Fultz (1973) Pat Neshek (1980) ​ Outfielder/first baseman Paul Jata did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1976. He was born in Astoria, New York, went to high school on Long Island, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 1967. His minor league numbers don’t stick out, but he was always very young for his league, reaching AA at age 20 and AAA at age 21. He made the Tigers out of spring training in 1972 at age 22 but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement, getting only 71 at-bats through July 19. At that point he was sent to the minors, coming back for three games as a September call-up. Given his age and his role, he didn’t do so badly: .230/.296/.257 in 74 at-bats. Unfortunately, those would be his major league career numbers. He split 1973 between AA and AAA and had what may have been his best year in the minors. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Jim Nettles. He did not play in either 1974 or 1975 for reasons that we could not find. He played in AA Orlando in 1976 but appeared in only 22 games, batting .242/.351/.306. His playing career ended after that. It’s kind of an odd career, and one wishes to know more about it. However, no further information about Paul Jata was readily available. Left-handed reliever Richard Aaron Fultz played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Munford, Tennessee, attended North Florida Community College, and was drafted by the Giants in 1992 in the sixth round. He pitched pretty well in rookie ball that year and in Class A in 1993, but was traded to the Twins in August of 1993 with Andres Duncan and Greg Brummett for Jim DeShaies. After just over two years (1994 and 1995) in the Twins system, Fultz was released, and he went back to the Giants. He generally had to repeat levels in the minors, with the result that he did not reach AAA until 1998. Fultz was not particularly impressive in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but made the Giants with a strong spring training in 2000. Fultz spent three years with the Giants as a middle reliever, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was allowed to become a free agent after 2002 and signed with Texas. He did not pitch particularly well for the Rangers, and was again allowed to become a free agent, signing with the Twins for the 2004 campaign. Fultz appeared in 55 games for the Twins, going 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 50 innings. The Twins placed him on waivers after the season, and he was selected by Philadelphia, for whom he had his best year in 2005, going 4-0 with a 2.24 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 72.1 innings. He did not repeat his success in 2006, and again became a free agent, signing with Cleveland for 2007. He did a good job for the Indians, going 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings, but was again released after the season. He has since played in the Detroit, Colorado, and Cincinnati organizations, as well as playing in Taiwan. Fultz played a little independent ball in 2009 before retiring in June. At last report, Aaron Fultz was the pitching coach for the Lakewood BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League. Right-handed reliever Patrick J. Neshek was with the Twins from 2006-2010. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, went to high school in Park Center, Minnesota, and was drafted in the 45th round out of high school by the Twins in 1999. He did not sign, choosing instead to go to Butler University. The Twins kept watching him, and drafted him again in 2002 in the sixth round. He spent roughly a year at each minor league level, and pitched well at all of them, posting a WHIP below 1.00 in each of his first two minor league seasons. He came up to the Twins in July of 2006, and continued to pitch very well, becoming the Twins’ top set-up man. In 2007, he was one of five players who was in the running for the final spot in the all-star game, losing to Hideki Okajima. Neshek then began to battle injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery, and missed most of 2008 and all of 2009. He came back in 2010, beginning and ending the season in Minnesota but spending most of it in Rochester, where he was decent but no more than that. The Twins waived him in March of 2011 and he was claimed by San Diego. He was up and down a few times in 2011; he’s was again decent but no more in AAA and not very good in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore for 2012 and pitched very well in AAA but did not get promoted. He was purchased by Oakland in early August and was awesome in 24 appearances, striking out sixteen in 19.2 innings while posting an ERA of 1.37 and a WHIP of 0.81. Unfortunately, he could not sustain it in 2013. He wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t particularly good, either, and was designated for assignment last week. As a Twin, Pat Neshek was 11-6, 3.05, 1.01 WHIP. He appeared in 132 games and pitched 129.2 innings. He turns 33 today. One suspects he will get another chance, but he may be approaching the time when the chances are running out.

Also posted at wgom.org Ced Landrum (1963) Matt Capps (1983) Outfielder Cedric Bernard Landrum did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their minor league system. He was born in Butler, Alabama, went to high school in Sweet Water, Alabama, attended the University of North Alabama, and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 1985. Standing a 5’9″ and weighing 165 pounds, he hit for a solid average in the minors, although with little to no power. He was hitting .336 at AAA Iowa in 1991 when he was brought up to the majors in late May. He was strictly a reserve, appearing in 56 games but getting only 86 at-bats. He was back in AAA in 1992 and hit .311, despite being traded to the Milwaukee in mid-season. A free agent after the 1992 season, the Twins signed him on February 23 and sent him to AAA Rochester. He played in four games, batted four times, and went 0-for-4 before being released on April 17. The Mets signed him about a month later, bringing him to the majors in mid-August. He was once again a reserve, getting 19 at-bats in 22 games. He was released after the season and was out of baseball in 1994. He made a comeback in 1995, playing in AAA Colorado Springs in the Rockies’ organization, but hit only .259 and his playing career came to an end. In 105 major league at-bats, he hit .238/.304/.286 with 27 stolen bases. After his playing days ended, he remained in baseball, coaching first with the Expos’ organization and then in the Orioles’ system. He was the batting coach for the Joliet Jackhammers in 2011. At last report, Ced Landrum was an instructor for Lone Star Baseball, an instructional baseball academy in Euless, Texas. Right-handed reliever Matthew Dicus Capps was with the Twins from 2010-2012. Born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia, he was drafted in the seventh round by Pittsburgh in 2002. He was a starter from 2003-2004, doing well in that role in rookie ball in 2003 but poorly at Class A in 2004. He became a full-time reliever in 2005 and advanced rapidly, starting the season in Class A and ending it in the major legaues. He never went back to the minors again, other than on a rehab assignment in 2008. He was a set-up man in 2006, took over as closer at mid-season in 2007, and has been a closer ever since. He has never put up big saves numbers, which seems to be at least partly a function of having played on bad teams most of his career. After one and a half successful years as the Pirates’ closer, he had a bad year in 2009, posting an ERA of 5.80 and a WHIP of 1.66. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Washington. He was having a fine season there when he was traded to Minnesota for Joe Testa and Wilson Ramos. He has set a personal record for saves in 2010 with forty-two, sixteen of them for Minnesota. He began 2011 as a set-up man for Joe Nathan, but became the closer when Nathan appeared not to be fully recovered from surgery. It did not go particularly well, and Capps lost the closer role to Nathan at mid-season. It was later reported that he was pitching with an injury much of 2011. He was injured again for much of 2012, but pitched well when he could pitch. He signed with Cleveland for 2013 but has again been injured nearly the entire season, appearing in only six games in AAA. As a Twin, Matt Capps was 7-11, 3.61, 1.17 WHIP. He appeared in 126 games and pitched 122 innings, saving 45 games. He’s 30 today and hasn’t had a healthy season since 2010. At this point, one has to think the chances of Matt Capps coming back to be a useful pitcher are no better than 50-50.

I've heard they might try Plouffe or Herrmann at first. To me, that would be a waste of time. Since we're not going anywhere, let's play Colabello there and see what we see.

Also posted at wgom.org Don Williams (1935) Jerry Crider (1941) Danny Goodwin (1953) Terry Jorgensen (1966) ​Right-hander Donald Reid Williams made three appearances for the Twins in 1963. He was born in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He pitched fairly well in Class D, but did not do particularly well after that. He missed all of the 1959 season and was traded to the White Sox in 1960. The White Sox sent him on to the Twins minor-league system in June of 1960 in an unknown transaction. Williams pitched reasonably well in three AAA seasons for the Twins, and spent two weeks with the big-league club in August of 1963, pitching 4.1 innings in three games. He gave up five runs on eight hits and six walks in 4.1 innings, getting no decisions and posting an ERA of 10.38. He was back in the minors in 1964, and pitched two AAA seasons in the Washington organization before calling it a career after the 1966 season. Don Williams passed away on December 20, 1991 in La Jolla, California. Right-hander Jerry Stephen Crider appeared in 21 games for the Twins in 1969. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD, he pitched on three state champion American Legion teams, being named player of the year in 1959, and pitched Humboldt, SD to its only state amateur baseball championship in 1961 before being signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962. He began to hit his stride in the minors in 1964, and after two good years at AAA Denver, he was called up to Minnesota in May of 1969. Crider pitched in 21 games for the Twins, working 28.2 innings with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 4.71 but a WHIP of 1.61. The next year, he was traded in May to the White Sox for Cotton Nash. Crider spent most of 1970 in Chicago, and did not do that badly, but it was his last year in the big leagues. He pitched a year and a half at AAA for the Padres and another year and a half at AAA for the Giants, and did okay for both organizations, but did not get another chance in the majors. After leaving baseball, Crider moved to Mexico and owned and operated a hunting and fishing business, helping to film programs for Bill Dance, Rowland Martin, and the American Sportsman shows. A member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, Jerry Crider passed away on April 4, 2008, after a long battle with emphysema. First baseman Danny Kay Goodwin played for the Twins from 1979-1981. He was born in St. Louis, went to high school in Peoria, and was drafted out of Southern University and A & M College by the California Angels with the first pick of the 1975 draft. He got 10 at-bats with the big club that year, going 1-for-10. Goodwin was drafted as a catcher, but a shoulder injury suffered early in his minor league career left him unable to throw out all but the slowest runners, and resulted in a move to first base. He hit well throughout the Angels minor-league system, hitting 25 home runs for AA El Paso in 1978. After brief trials with California in 1977 and 1978, he was traded after the 1978 season to the Twins with Ron Jackson for Dan Ford. He was a part-time player who was used mostly at DH for the Twins, never compiling more than 160 at-bats in a season. He had a good year in 1979, but hit poorly in 1980 and 1981 and was released after the 1981 season. He spent the next four years playing for AAA Tacoma in the Oakland system, making a brief appearance with the A’s in 1982. Danny Goodwin appeared in 172 games as a Twin, batting .242/.312/.372 with 8 home runs and 55 RBIs in 475 at-bats. Goodwin is the only player to have been twice chosen with the first pick in the draft, having been chosen but not signed by the White Sox in 1971. He is one of three players, along with David Clyde and Joe Mauer, to be chosen with the first pick by their home town team. After he retired, Danny Goodwin was the director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, developing programs for underprivileged children in Atlanta. At last report, he was the president of First Choice Management Services in the Atlanta area. He is a member of the Greater Peoria (IL) Sports Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame Corner infielder Terry Allen Jorgensen played for the Twins in 1989 and again from 1992-1993. He was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1987. He got a September call-up in 1989, getting twenty-three at-bats, but then did not make it back to the big leagues until 1992. Primarily a third baseman in the minors, Jorgensen was decent but unspectacular, batting around .300 in three seasons with AAA Portland with moderate power. After a second brief trial in 1992, he spent about half of 1993 with the Twins, but failed to impress. He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Marlins, playing in their minor-league system for two years. He played for Green Bay in the independent Prairie League in 1996 before his playing career came to an end. Terry Jorgensen played in 91 games as a Twin, batting .240/.292/.292 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs in 233 at-bats. He is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hall of Fame. His brother, Tim Jorgensen, was also primarily a third baseman and played for four years in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh organizations, getting as high as AA. At last report, Terry Jorgensen was a physical education instructor and high school baseball coach for Luxemburg-Casco, Wisconsin, which appears to be his alma mater.

Also posted at wgom.org Rob Wilfong (1953) David West (1964) Second baseman Robert Daniel Wilfong played for the Twins from 1977-1982. He was born in Pasadena, California, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted in the thirteenth round by the Twins in 1971. He had somewhat mixed results in the minors, but after hitting .305 with AAA Tacoma in 1976, he made his big-league debut with the Twins at the start of the 1977 season. He spent most of that season with the Twins, going back to AAA for a month or so, and then was in the big-leagues to stay. Wilfong was almost exclusively a second baseman. For much of his Twins career, he shared the position with Bobby Randall, but as a left-handed batter, Wilfong got the majority of the playing time. His best year was 1979, when he hit .313 and led the league in sacrifice bunts with twenty-five. He remained with the Twins until May of 1982, when he was traded to the Angels along with Doug Corbett for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000. Wilfong remained with the Angels as a part-time player through 1986. He was released just before the start of the 1987 season, and signed with the Giants. but played only two games for them before retiring. As a Twin, Wilfong played in 554 games, batting .262/.322/.360 with 22 home runs and 152 RBIs. At last report, Rob Wilfong was a scout for the Angels based in San Dimas, California. Left-hander David Lee West played for the Twins from 1989-1992. Born and raised in Memphis, he was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1983. It took him three years to get higher than Class A, but then he took off, having two excellent years in AAA Tidewater in 1987-88, during which he posted a combined ERA of 2.00 in 247 innings. He made his debut with the Mets in 1988, pitching six innings in a September callup. In July of 1989, West was traded to the Twins with Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond, and Jack Savage for Frank Viola. A highly touted prospect, West was immediately placed in the Twins’ rotation, but he never really panned out for them, and after spending part of 1992 in AAA he was traded to Philadelphia in the off-season for Mike Hartley. He pitched much better in Philadelphia when he was available, but battled injury problems much of his time there, and became a free agent after the 1996 season. He spent 1997 in Japan, playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, but was back in 1998, splitting the year in AAA for Houston and Boston and making his major league swan song by pitching two innings for the Red Sox. He pitched in eight games in the minors in 1999, and then his career was over. As a Twin, David West was 15-18 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 63 games, 47 of them starts. At last report, David West had returned to Memphis and was the director of pitching for the Memphis Baseball Academy.

Also posted at wgom.org Mike Hartley (1961) Pat Howell (1968) Tim Raines (1979) Armando Gabino (1983) Pitcher Michael Edward Hartley played for the Twins in 1993. He was born in Hawthorne, California, went to high school in El Cajon, California, attended East Carolina University, and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in 1981. He had a good year in rookie ball in 1982, but then spent the next four years at Class A before being drafted by the Dodgers in the minor league draft. They started him at Class A in 1987, but advanced him to AA and then pitched him in two games in AAA that year. Hartley split 1988 between AA and AAA. In 1989, after an excellent year at AAA Albuquerque, he earned a September call-up with the Dodgers, and had a fine year for them in 1990, pitching mostly in relief. The Dodgers traded Hartley to Philadelphia mid-way through the 1991 season, and after a year and a half there, he was traded to the Twins for David West. Hartley was not awful as a long reliever for the Twins in 1993, pitching in 53 games, all in relief, and going 1-2 with an ERA of 4.00 and a WHIP of 1.51 in 81 innings. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the Angels, but was sold to the Chiba Lotte Marines three days later. After pitching in Japan in 1994, Hartley returned to the United States and signed with the Red Sox organization, spending most of 1995 in the minors but making five appearances with Boston and three with Baltimore, who signed him after he was released by the Red Sox. He played independent ball in 1997, and later got into coaching. He was the pitching coach for the Reno Silver Sox from 2005-2007, making one appearance for them in 2005. From 2008-2009 Mike Hartley was a coach and part-time pitcher for a German professional team, the Heidenheim Heidekopfe, becoming the first former big-leaguer to play in Germany. He returned to Europe in 2012 as manager of Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League, and was still there at last report. Outfielder Patrick O’Neal Howell did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1991 and in their minor league system in 1993. He was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended high school in Prichard, Alabama, and was drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1987. A speedy outfielder with no power, he advanced slowly up the Mets’ system, playing in rookie ball for two years and Class A for two more. His best season at that point had been in Class A in 1989, when he hit .290 (with a .346 slugging percentage). The Twins thought they saw something in him, though, and took him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1990 season. The Twins clearly wanted to keep him, but simply could not justify leaving him on the major league roster, and on April 5 returned him to the Mets. He reached AA that season and AAA in 1992, and while he neither hit nor walked much he stole a lot of bases, including 64 of them in 1991. The Mets even called him up for about two months in 1992 and used him as a reserve outfielder. He did about what you’d expect from his minor league record: .187/.218/.200 in 75 at-bats. The Twins still liked him, though, and after the 1992 season they traded Darren Reed for him. They sent him to AAA Portland, and while he stole 36 bases he hit .209 with an OPS of .505, which was enough to finally convince the Twins that there was nothing there. He went back to the Mets for 1994, played in Mexico from 1995-1997, to Taiwan in 1998, and then played in independent leagues for eight seasons before finally ending his playing career after the 2004 season. At last report, Pat Howell had returned to the Mobile area and was working with baseball clinics there. The son of the all-star, outfielder Timothy Raines Jr. was in spring training with the Twins for a couple of weeks in 2006. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Sanford, Florida, and was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 1998. His minor league record is rather unimpressive, but after hitting .274 for three minor league teams in 2001 he got a September call-up and appeared in seven games. In 2003, still only twenty-three years old, he hit .304 in a season split between AA and AAA and was called up to the Orioles in late August, playing in twenty more games. He had three stints in the majors in 2004, totalling roughly half the season, hitting .255 in 94 at-bats. He had a down year in 2005 in AAA Ottawa, hitting .254, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with the Twins as a free agent on January 31, 2006, but was released on March 2. He bounced around after that, going to the Washington organization in 2006, Houston in 2007, Arizona in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009, spending time both in AA and AAA but never making it back to the majors. He also played briefly in Taiwan. He played in the Atlantic League in 2010 and moved to Newark of the Can-Am League for 2011, where he was managed by his father. Tim Raines, Jr. was a coach for Newark in 2012, with his father becoming director of player development, but neither appears to be with the team in 2013. No further information about Tim Raines, Jr. was readily available. Right-hander Armando Leisdeker (Garcia) Gabino made two appearances for the Twins in 2009. He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2001. He may have spent a couple of years in the Dominican Summer League or something, because his official minor league statistics do not begin until 2004, when he pitched five games in the Appalachian League. He came to the Twins organization the following year in the minor league draft. He had a poor 2005, but has pitched well in the minors since, posting a 2.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in AAA Rochester in 2009. He has been predominantly a relief pitcher in the minors, making only 13 starts in 176 minor-league appearances. He made one start and one relief appearance for the Twins, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits and five walks. The Twins placed Gabino on waivers after the season and he was claimed by Baltimore. He has spent most of the 2010 season at AAA Norfolk but made five appearances for the Orioles, again allowing seven runs on nine hits, but this time in 4.2 innings. He has had a fine year for Norfolk, however, posting a 2.09 ERA in 77.1 innings. He continued to pitch well in the minors for the Orioles in 2011, but did not gotten a shot back in the majors. He was a free agent after the season, but no major league team signed him. He did not give up, though, pitching in the Mexican League in 2012 and in the Atlantic League in 2013. He turns 30 today and it seems unlikely that he will get another shot, but teams are always desperate for pitching, so as we always say, you never know.

Also posted at wgom.org Roger Erickson (1986) Luis Rivas (1979) Right-hander Roger Farrell Erickson played for Minnesota from 1978-1982. He was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of New Orleans in the third round in 1977. He had an excellent year in AA Orlando, going 8-4 with a 1.98 ERA, and found himself in Minnesota at the start of the 1978 season. He went 14-13 that year with a 3.96 ERA in 256 innings, but could not replicate his success the following year, falling to 3-10 with a 5.63 ERA. The next two years he had good ERAs but poor won-loss records, and in May of 1982 he was traded to the Yankees with Butch Wynegar for Pete Filson, John Pacella, Larry Milbourne, and cash. Erickson was decent for the Yankees, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was sent to Columbus for part of the 1983 season and traded in the off-season with Steve Balboni to Kansas City for Duane Dewey and Mike Armstrong. He spent time in the Detroit and St. Louis organizations, but never did make it back to the big leagues, and retired following the 1989 season. Erickson is the nephew of former major league pitcher Don Erickson. As a Twin, Erickson appeared in 114 games, 106 of them starts. He was 31-47 with a 4.10 ERA in 712 innings. He was a pitching coach in the Cardinals organization for a couple of years in the early 1990s. At last report, Roger Erickson was working at a winery in Georgia. His nephew, Casey Erickson, is an assistant baseball coach at Benedictine University in Springfield. Infielder Luis Wilfredo Rivas played for the Twins from 2000-2005. Born and raised in LaGuaira. Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent at age 16. He came through the minors one level at a time, never hitting a lot until 2000, when he batted .318 at AAA Salt Lake in 41 games. That earned him a September call-up, and in 2001 Rivas became the Twins’ regular second baseman. He consistently posted batting averages in the .250s and .260s, not drawing a lot of walks and not hitting for much power. The Twins kept waiting for him to improve, but it did not happen, and in 2005 Rivas was sent to AAA Rochester for part of the season and was released after the season. He spent 2006 in the Tampa Bay organization, was with the Cleveland organization in 2007, appearing in four major-league games, was with Pittsburgh in 2008, and was with AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization in 2009. He became a free agent after the 2009 season, and does not appear to have signed with anyone, ending his major league career. Luis Rivas played 565 games as a Twin, batting .262/.307/.383 with 30 home runs and 177 RBIs in 1884 at-bats. He apparently was shot in the leg during a robbery while he was visiting his family in Venezuela. No information about what Luis Rivas is doing these days was readily available.