TwinsRubes

I tried guys, I really did. Punto will never be the next Albert Pujols, poor guy. Red Sox may win the WS though - if they do I'm going to reevaluate this.

Original post from twinsrubes.blogspot.com. The following is dedicated specifically to baakre's mother-in-law, a.k.a. Nick Punto's #1 Fan. Having taken the winter off from even thinking much about the Twins after last season's 99-loss performance; I am just now getting around to racking my brain to figure out what happened between 2010 and 2011. This morning, the solution came to me: the Twins lost Nick Punto! Could it be? Is Punto a "winner"? Was he a significant piece of this roster for all those years and all those Central Division titles, so much so that it caused a first-to-worst debacle? Let me see if I can prove this idea true...or even close. http://tripleinthegap.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/punto.jpg First of all, the Twins with Nick Punto on the roster from 2004-2010 were 619-517 (.545 win percentage). During those 7 seasons, the Twins won 4 division titles. It's pretty hard to argue with that. Without Nick Punto last season, the Twins were 63-99 (.389), losing the 2nd most games in Twins history. That was good for last place in the division. Punto, meanwhile, played 63 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 while battling a few injuries. If you remember, the Cardinals did pretty decent last season. http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/cardinals-win-world-series-2011.jpg Punto hit a solid .278 in 166 plate appearances last season, with an impressive OPS of .809. He struck out only 21 times, drawing 25 walks, and posting a .388 OBP. Punto made only 3 errors in the field posting a .984 fielding percentage. If not for multiple injuries, which tend to be a pretty consistent issue for Punto, he was headed for a pretty solid season with the World Champs. Punto has played only 4 seasons where he appeared in more than 100 games. 2 of those 4 seasons were Central Division championship seasons for the Twins. Punto's replacements in the middle infield last year were mainly Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, and Trevor Plouffe. The combination of those 4 players hit for a .234 average (243/1037), with an on-base percentage under .300. Thanks for that Nishioka. They also combined for 41 errors and a fielding percentage of .963. This is about as extensive of research I needed to do to realize I was wasting my time trying to prove Nick Punto's worth. I never was a Punto-basher, but I wouldn't say I was a fan. I did appreciate him, though. I actually enjoyed watching him dive for ground balls, line drives, and 1st base. I always wanted him to be that player that every good team needs - a jack-of-all-trades 110% kind of player. The fact is, Nick Punto's absence was not the reason for 63-99. I wish I could have uncovered something here, but there just isn't that much difference between the guys we had and Punto. It's hard to compare statistics with Nick's lack of playing time last season. Could the Twins have used Punto last season? Absolutely. Would the Twins have won even 70 games with Punto? Probably not. I do miss Nick Punto a little, though. Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Original post from twinsrubes.blogspot.com. The following is dedicated specifically to baakre's mother-in-law, a.k.a. Nick Punto's #1 Fan. Having taken the winter off from even thinking much about the Twins after last season's 99-loss performance; I am just now getting around to racking my brain to figure out what happened between 2010 and 2011. This morning, the solution came to me: the Twins lost Nick Punto! Could it be? Is Punto a "winner"? Was he a significant piece of this roster for all those years and all those Central Division titles, so much so that it caused a first-to-worst debacle? Let me see if I can prove this idea true...or even close. http://tripleinthegap.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/punto.jpg First of all, the Twins with Nick Punto on the roster from 2004-2010 were 619-517 (.545 win percentage). During those 7 seasons, the Twins won 4 division titles. It's pretty hard to argue with that. Without Nick Punto last season, the Twins were 63-99 (.389), losing the 2nd most games in Twins history. That was good for last place in the division. Punto, meanwhile, played 63 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 while battling a few injuries. If you remember, the Cardinals did pretty decent last season. http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/cardinals-win-world-series-2011.jpg Punto hit a solid .278 in 166 plate appearances last season, with an impressive OPS of .809. He struck out only 21 times, drawing 25 walks, and posting a .388 OBP. Punto made only 3 errors in the field posting a .984 fielding percentage. If not for multiple injuries, which tend to be a pretty consistent issue for Punto, he was headed for a pretty solid season with the World Champs. Punto has played only 4 seasons where he appeared in more than 100 games. 2 of those 4 seasons were Central Division championship seasons for the Twins. Punto's replacements in the middle infield last year were mainly Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, and Trevor Plouffe. The combination of those 4 players hit for a .234 average (243/1037), with an on-base percentage under .300. Thanks for that Nishioka. They also combined for 41 errors and a fielding percentage of .963. This is about as extensive of research I needed to do to realize I was wasting my time trying to prove Nick Punto's worth. I never was a Punto-basher, but I wouldn't say I was a fan. I did appreciate him, though. I actually enjoyed watching him dive for ground balls, line drives, and 1st base. I always wanted him to be that player that every good team needs - a jack-of-all-trades 110% kind of player. The fact is, Nick Punto's absence was not the reason for 63-99. I wish I could have uncovered something here, but there just isn't that much difference between the guys we had and Punto. It's hard to compare statistics with Nick's lack of playing time last season. Could the Twins have used Punto last season? Absolutely. Would the Twins have won even 70 games with Punto? Probably not. I do miss Nick Punto a little, though. Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Original post from twinsrubes.blogspot.com. With the departures of Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jason Repko; the corner outfield positions are going to have a significantly different look in 2012. With the addition of Josh Willingham, the 3 outfield positions will most likely consist of some combination of Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Ben Revere, and Trevor Plouffe. Last week, we determined that it might be best defensively for Revere to play in center, moving Span to one of the corners. The question now becomes: Is Ben Revere even one of our best 3 outfielders? Span and Willingham are without a doubt the two best outfielders on the roster, so let's break down the competition between Plouffe and Revere for that last spot. Both Plouffe and Revere spent a small portion of 2010 with the Twins, as well as most of 2011. This will make for good comparison offensively. However, Plouffe has played only 91 innings in the outfield in his career, all coming last season. Revere has obviously played all 995 innings of his MLB career in the outfield, making the defensive comparison much more difficult to comprehend. Plouffe is a career .226 hitter in 327 at-bats. Plouffe has shown a little pop in his bat with 10 home runs and 19 doubles during that time for a slugging percentage of .382 (a career OPS of .668). At AAA Rochestor last season, Plouffe tore up the league for 15 home runs in only 192 at-bats for a slugging percentage of .635. He struggled to put the ball in play consistently last season striking out 71 times (compared to 25 walks) in only 81 games - 320 plate appearances. Revere has 478 career at-bats at the major league level, posting a career batting average of .262 - 36 points higher than Plouffe. Revere's power numbers are significantly weaker than Plouffe's, obviously, posting a career slugging percentage of .301 (81 points lower than Plouffe), and a career OPS at .606 (62 points lower than Plouffe). Revere only has 14 career extra base hits in 511 plate appearances, which to me is very disappointing considering his speed. Despite his lack of power, Revere can usually turn a single into a double by causing havoc on the basepaths stealing 34 bases in 43 attempts. Plouffe is a 3 for 6 career base-stealer. Revere has also been much more successful putting the ball in play so far in his short career (28 walks, 48 strikeouts, 511 plate appearances). Without too much experience in the outfield, it's pretty difficult to determine how good of an outfielder Trevor Plouffe will turn out to be. In 91 innings, 72 of them in right field, Plouffe has posted a -34.9 UZR/150, compared to Revere's 13.6 career UZR/150 (995 innings). Plouffe has shown an above average arm in the outfield (0.8 ARM) which is expectedly better than Revere's career -3.8 ARM. Plouffe's RngR is -3.6, while Revere has posted a solid career 15.9. This will be a fun competition to watch in spring training as Plouffe gets more and more experience consistently in the corner outfield spots. I like Revere's ability to put pressure on the defense on the base paths, but Plouffe is obviously more explosive in the batter's box. Another factor to consider is that Plouffe really struggled in the infield last year, which could have affected his ability to hit the way he hit in AAA. Taking some of the pressure off in the field by putting him out in RF or LF could very possibly loosen him up at the plate. No matter who wins the third outfielder spot between Plouffe and Revere, I still believe Willingham needs to be our left-fielder, that being virtually the only position he has played his entire career. That would create two possible lineups assuming everyone is healthy: from left to right, Willingham/Span/Plouffe, or Willingham/Revere/Span. This is going to be a tough decision for Gardenhire, but I think the addition of Willingham's power, I think Revere will be the more likely choice for Gardy. Revere is a "Twins-Way" type of player who causes distress both in the field and on the bases. It will be interesting to see what happens if Plouffe has a hot spring, here, starting today! Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Original post from twinsrubes.blogspot.com. With the departures of Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jason Repko; the corner outfield positions are going to have a significantly different look in 2012. With the addition of Josh Willingham, the 3 outfield positions will most likely consist of some combination of Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Ben Revere, and Trevor Plouffe. Last week, we determined that it might be best defensively for Revere to play in center, moving Span to one of the corners. The question now becomes: Is Ben Revere even one of our best 3 outfielders? Span and Willingham are without a doubt the two best outfielders on the roster, so let's break down the competition between Plouffe and Revere for that last spot. Both Plouffe and Revere spent a small portion of 2010 with the Twins, as well as most of 2011. This will make for good comparison offensively. However, Plouffe has played only 91 innings in the outfield in his career, all coming last season. Revere has obviously played all 995 innings of his MLB career in the outfield, making the defensive comparison much more difficult to comprehend. Plouffe is a career .226 hitter in 327 at-bats. Plouffe has shown a little pop in his bat with 10 home runs and 19 doubles during that time for a slugging percentage of .382 (a career OPS of .668). At AAA Rochestor last season, Plouffe tore up the league for 15 home runs in only 192 at-bats for a slugging percentage of .635. He struggled to put the ball in play consistently last season striking out 71 times (compared to 25 walks) in only 81 games - 320 plate appearances. Revere has 478 career at-bats at the major league level, posting a career batting average of .262 - 36 points higher than Plouffe. Revere's power numbers are significantly weaker than Plouffe's, obviously, posting a career slugging percentage of .301 (81 points lower than Plouffe), and a career OPS at .606 (62 points lower than Plouffe). Revere only has 14 career extra base hits in 511 plate appearances, which to me is very disappointing considering his speed. Despite his lack of power, Revere can usually turn a single into a double by causing havoc on the basepaths stealing 34 bases in 43 attempts. Plouffe is a 3 for 6 career base-stealer. Revere has also been much more successful putting the ball in play so far in his short career (28 walks, 48 strikeouts, 511 plate appearances). Without too much experience in the outfield, it's pretty difficult to determine how good of an outfielder Trevor Plouffe will turn out to be. In 91 innings, 72 of them in right field, Plouffe has posted a -34.9 UZR/150, compared to Revere's 13.6 career UZR/150 (995 innings). Plouffe has shown an above average arm in the outfield (0.8 ARM) which is expectedly better than Revere's career -3.8 ARM. Plouffe's RngR is -3.6, while Revere has posted a solid career 15.9. This will be a fun competition to watch in spring training as Plouffe gets more and more experience consistently in the corner outfield spots. I like Revere's ability to put pressure on the defense on the base paths, but Plouffe is obviously more explosive in the batter's box. Another factor to consider is that Plouffe really struggled in the infield last year, which could have affected his ability to hit the way he hit in AAA. Taking some of the pressure off in the field by putting him out in RF or LF could very possibly loosen him up at the plate. No matter who wins the third outfielder spot between Plouffe and Revere, I still believe Willingham needs to be our left-fielder, that being virtually the only position he has played his entire career. That would create two possible lineups assuming everyone is healthy: from left to right, Willingham/Span/Plouffe, or Willingham/Revere/Span. This is going to be a tough decision for Gardenhire, but I think the addition of Willingham's power, I think Revere will be the more likely choice for Gardy. Revere is a "Twins-Way" type of player who causes distress both in the field and on the bases. It will be interesting to see what happens if Plouffe has a hot spring, here, starting today! Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Original post from Twins Rubes. Newcomers are always a little intriguing around this time of the year - especially after a disappointing season like 2011. This year Josh Willingham, Joel Zumaya, Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis, and Jamey Carroll bear the newcomer flag into Target Field. With the shortstop position being such a desperate need after the fail that was Tsuyoshi Nishioka last season, Carroll is the one the Twins chose to jump out of the free agent pile and save the day this spring. Not knowing a whole lot about our new shortstop, I decided to dive in and see who exactly we are getting to shore up the 2012 middle infield. http://nbchardballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/jamey-carroll.jpg?w=320 First of all, Jamey Carroll is old. He was probably entering his sophomore or junior year in high school by the time I learned how to tie my own shoes! Carroll was drafted by the Montreal Expos (remember them?) in the 14th round of the 1996 draft. He spent nearly 7 full seasons in the minors before finally getting his shot with the Expos in 2002 at the age of 28. He just turned 38, actually, last Saturday, and will be starting his 10th full season in the big leagues when the season opener comes around this April. Carroll is a career .278 hitter, and has hit under .250 only one season in his career. Back in 2007, he hit a Nishi-like .225 in 227 at bats with the Rockies. In 2010 and 2011 with the Dodgers he hit a solid .291 and .290 respectively playing nearly every day. Carroll has only hit 12 home runs in his entire career, so the bullpen catchers need not worry about flying objects at Target Field. The one batting statistic that really stands out is his on-base percentage, which has consistently been in the .350 range his entire career. In addition to a solid OBP, Carroll walks nearly as much as he strikes out. In the past two seasons with the Dodgers, Carroll has struck out only once every 7.57 plate appearances - ideal for that #2 hitter the Twins so desperately need. For getting on base 180 times in 2011, however, Carroll only scored 52 runs. This is a bit concerning, but I don't know whether this is because of a lack of speed, or lack of clutch hitting behind him in the Dodger order. Knowing Matt Kemp put up MVP numbers last year and Carroll's age, I would tend to lean more toward a lack of baserunning ability. In the field Carroll has spent more than half of his time at 2B in his career, but in the 2 years with the Dodgers he played a majority at SS. In 135 games at SS in the last 2 years, Carroll made only 8 errors (4 throwing and 4 fielding) for a fielding percentage of .984; however, he also sported at RngR rating of -2.9 at SS during those seasons as well. I would expect his range to only continue declining at his age (sorry to keep picking on his age). Overall I would expect him to be solid, consistent, but not spectacular in the field. In fact solid, consistent, but not spectacular, and not flashy is what I expect from Carroll all around this season. Assuming no injuries, the shortstop position will be solidified with the acquisition of Jamey Carroll. As much as I would like to see Nishioka get a chance to play regularly and redeem himself from his performance last season, this was a good move by the Twins, and maybe Carroll can instill some consistency into Alexi Casilla's game over at 2B too.

Original post from Twins Rubes. Newcomers are always a little intriguing around this time of the year - especially after a disappointing season like 2011. This year Josh Willingham, Joel Zumaya, Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis, and Jamey Carroll bear the newcomer flag into Target Field. With the shortstop position being such a desperate need after the fail that was Tsuyoshi Nishioka last season, Carroll is the one the Twins chose to jump out of the free agent pile and save the day this spring. Not knowing a whole lot about our new shortstop, I decided to dive in and see who exactly we are getting to shore up the 2012 middle infield. http://nbchardballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/jamey-carroll.jpg?w=320 First of all, Jamey Carroll is old. He was probably entering his sophomore or junior year in high school by the time I learned how to tie my own shoes! Carroll was drafted by the Montreal Expos (remember them?) in the 14th round of the 1996 draft. He spent nearly 7 full seasons in the minors before finally getting his shot with the Expos in 2002 at the age of 28. He just turned 38, actually, last Saturday, and will be starting his 10th full season in the big leagues when the season opener comes around this April. Carroll is a career .278 hitter, and has hit under .250 only one season in his career. Back in 2007, he hit a Nishi-like .225 in 227 at bats with the Rockies. In 2010 and 2011 with the Dodgers he hit a solid .291 and .290 respectively playing nearly every day. Carroll has only hit 12 home runs in his entire career, so the bullpen catchers need not worry about flying objects at Target Field. The one batting statistic that really stands out is his on-base percentage, which has consistently been in the .350 range his entire career. In addition to a solid OBP, Carroll walks nearly as much as he strikes out. In the past two seasons with the Dodgers, Carroll has struck out only once every 7.57 plate appearances - ideal for that #2 hitter the Twins so desperately need. For getting on base 180 times in 2011, however, Carroll only scored 52 runs. This is a bit concerning, but I don't know whether this is because of a lack of speed, or lack of clutch hitting behind him in the Dodger order. Knowing Matt Kemp put up MVP numbers last year and Carroll's age, I would tend to lean more toward a lack of baserunning ability. In the field Carroll has spent more than half of his time at 2B in his career, but in the 2 years with the Dodgers he played a majority at SS. In 135 games at SS in the last 2 years, Carroll made only 8 errors (4 throwing and 4 fielding) for a fielding percentage of .984; however, he also sported at RngR rating of -2.9 at SS during those seasons as well. I would expect his range to only continue declining at his age (sorry to keep picking on his age). Overall I would expect him to be solid, consistent, but not spectacular in the field. In fact solid, consistent, but not spectacular, and not flashy is what I expect from Carroll all around this season. Assuming no injuries, the shortstop position will be solidified with the acquisition of Jamey Carroll. As much as I would like to see Nishioka get a chance to play regularly and redeem himself from his performance last season, this was a good move by the Twins, and maybe Carroll can instill some consistency into Alexi Casilla's game over at 2B too.

Original post from http://twinsrubes.blogspot.com. Two of my favorite current Minnesota Twins are Denard Span and Ben Revere. I've been a huge fan of Span since the day he stepped onto that Metrodome turf, and what's not to like about Revere? With the departures of Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jason Repko; the addition of Josh Willingham; and the seemingly complete return to health of Denard Span this spring; there has obviously been an enormous shake-up across the entire outfield looking ahead to 2012. Manager Ron Gardenhire has basically already named Denard Span his starting center fielder for opening day, but I like I'm sure many of you Twins fans would question that move if he indeed is in CF against the Orioles April 6th. Denard Span is the obvious "veteran" of the two, having started a total of 306 games out in CF over the last 4 years. 151 of those starts came in 2010, and every game Span has played in the last 2 years has been in center. Ben Revere, on the other hand, made his Twins debut in 2010, and has started 92 of his 117 career major league appearances in CF - 88 of those coming last year while Span was on the disabled list. These factors alone give Span the upper hand when it comes down to decision time for Gardenhire. Advantage: Span. From a visual standpoint, I think would be stating the obvious in saying that Revere is faster than Span - but not by a whole lot. At the same time, Span has a better arm than Revere - again, maybe not really by that much either. Basically, the two center fielders are the exact opposite of Vladamir Guerrero when it comes to running and throwing. Span, at times, can be more tentative than Revere out in CF, which I believe is Span's biggest downfall and biggest frustration out in the field. It's not too often we see Revere pull up for a fly ball in the gap, expecting the RF or LF to make the catch. It probably relates directly to Span's concussion issues, but maybe even a little before the concussion, we would see Span pull up when he starts running toward a teammate or the wall. Advantage: Revere. Now, forgive me if I interpret any of the following incorrectly, as I am still opening up to these stats you baseball junkies call "sabremetrics". According to Fangraphs, let's look at the last 2 seasons' worth of fielding metrics, 2010 and 2011. Player Innings ARM RngR ErrR UZR UZR/150 Span 1,935 -5.7 18.9 0.2 13.5 8.9 Revere 995 -3.8 15.9 -1.9 10.2 13.6 As we can see here, Span has the advantage with his arm (if you doubled Revere's innings his ARM would be -7.6). Revere holds a big advantage in his range (again, double Revere's innings and his RngR would be 31.8). Span looks to be a little better with the glove, but when you combine everything, Revere is a significantly better defender according to the stats (13.6 UZR/150 to 8.9). The main reason is because his range is so great. Advantage: Revere. When you think about a defensive center fielder, what's the first thing you think of? I want my CF to cover ground and take charge of the outfield. Revere's legs and personality seem to do that better than Span's do. Span has started 100 games in RF and 45 in LF in his career, so I don't think it would be a major adjustment to move him to one of the corners - I would put him in RF mainly because Josh Willingham has spent more than 95% of his time in the big leagues in LF. Let Revere run around like a crazy man in center, and this would maybe even take some pressure of Span all around as he fights through his comeback from his concussion. I think the Twins will be ok no matter what combination they use in the outfield, but I'd like to see it go: Willingham/Revere/Span, left to right. What do you think?

Original post from http://twinsrubes.blogspot.com. Two of my favorite current Minnesota Twins are Denard Span and Ben Revere. I've been a huge fan of Span since the day he stepped onto that Metrodome turf, and what's not to like about Revere? With the departures of Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jason Repko; the addition of Josh Willingham; and the seemingly complete return to health of Denard Span this spring; there has obviously been an enormous shake-up across the entire outfield looking ahead to 2012. Manager Ron Gardenhire has basically already named Denard Span his starting center fielder for opening day, but I like I'm sure many of you Twins fans would question that move if he indeed is in CF against the Orioles April 6th. Denard Span is the obvious "veteran" of the two, having started a total of 306 games out in CF over the last 4 years. 151 of those starts came in 2010, and every game Span has played in the last 2 years has been in center. Ben Revere, on the other hand, made his Twins debut in 2010, and has started 92 of his 117 career major league appearances in CF - 88 of those coming last year while Span was on the disabled list. These factors alone give Span the upper hand when it comes down to decision time for Gardenhire. Advantage: Span. From a visual standpoint, I think would be stating the obvious in saying that Revere is faster than Span - but not by a whole lot. At the same time, Span has a better arm than Revere - again, maybe not really by that much either. Basically, the two center fielders are the exact opposite of Vladamir Guerrero when it comes to running and throwing. Span, at times, can be more tentative than Revere out in CF, which I believe is Span's biggest downfall and biggest frustration out in the field. It's not too often we see Revere pull up for a fly ball in the gap, expecting the RF or LF to make the catch. It probably relates directly to Span's concussion issues, but maybe even a little before the concussion, we would see Span pull up when he starts running toward a teammate or the wall. Advantage: Revere. Now, forgive me if I interpret any of the following incorrectly, as I am still opening up to these stats you baseball junkies call "sabremetrics". According to Fangraphs, let's look at the last 2 seasons' worth of fielding metrics, 2010 and 2011. Player Innings ARM RngR ErrR UZR UZR/150 Span 1,935 -5.7 18.9 0.2 13.5 8.9 Revere 995 -3.8 15.9 -1.9 10.2 13.6 As we can see here, Span has the advantage with his arm (if you doubled Revere's innings his ARM would be -7.6). Revere holds a big advantage in his range (again, double Revere's innings and his RngR would be 31.8). Span looks to be a little better with the glove, but when you combine everything, Revere is a significantly better defender according to the stats (13.6 UZR/150 to 8.9). The main reason is because his range is so great. Advantage: Revere. When you think about a defensive center fielder, what's the first thing you think of? I want my CF to cover ground and take charge of the outfield. Revere's legs and personality seem to do that better than Span's do. Span has started 100 games in RF and 45 in LF in his career, so I don't think it would be a major adjustment to move him to one of the corners - I would put him in RF mainly because Josh Willingham has spent more than 95% of his time in the big leagues in LF. Let Revere run around like a crazy man in center, and this would maybe even take some pressure of Span all around as he fights through his comeback from his concussion. I think the Twins will be ok no matter what combination they use in the outfield, but I'd like to see it go: Willingham/Revere/Span, left to right. What do you think?