Johan, Francisco, Ubaldo and my favorite TV show
Posted on May 16th, 2008 – 11:13 AMBy Joe Christensen
As La Velle heads to Colorado to cover the next Twins series, I’m home writing our Sunday baseball insider column. A few random thoughts heading into the weekend:
(*) The Mets held Johan Santana back to start tonight’s Subway Series opener at Yankee Stadium. The tension will be thick. The Mets are 20-19, and there are rumblings that manager Willie Randolph could be fired. The Yankees are in last place, with Hank Steinbrenner bristling about Brian Cashman’s decision not to trade for Santana, who is 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA. Phil Hughes (0-4, 9.00 ERA) and Ian Kennedy (0-3, 8.48) are not making that decision look very good.
(*) The Mets and Yankees will be on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” of course. I took some heat about this last year, but I’ll say it again: I like watching those telecasts, even if it’s a never-ending parade of Red Sox and Yankees games. I enjoy listening to Jon Miller, especially, and don’t mind Joe Morgan nearly as much as others. My wife’s favorite show is TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus Eight.” But she knows Sundays are reserved for “Jon & Joe Plus Nine.”
(*) Francisco Liriano had his best day yet on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery Thursday, holding Class AAA Columbus to three runs on seven hits and only one walk over eight innings. Here’s an excerpt from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:
Liriano, the International League rookie of the year in 2005, pitched his best game of the season. He worked eight always-in-control innings, allowing three runs.
“I’m very close,” Liriano said. “Everything is coming back together. I’m not too far away.”
Of the seven hits he allowed, six were singles and one was a double. He walked one and struck out four. Most impressive, though, was his strike-to-ball ratio. Of 93 pitches, 61 were strikes. That’s his best in five IL starts.
“Liriano keeps getting better and better,” Wings manager Stan Cliburn said. “His velocity is up. His command of the zone is better.”
The Frontier Field radar gun topped out at 93 mph and consistently registered 90 and 91.
“When he came back (from a short stint with the Twins), he was 86-87 and might have popped one at 90,” Cliburn said.
(*) Tonight, the Twins will face hard-throwing Rockies righthander Ubaldo Jimenez, who is 1-3 with a 5.53 ERA but fanned 11 batters in 6 2/3 innings on Saturday at San Diego. According to Fan Graphs, Jimenez’s average fastball has been clocked at 94 mph this year, a tick below the pitcher the Twins faced Thursday, Toronto’s Dustin McGowan (95.3 mph).
I explored Fan Graphs after seeing Aaron Gleeman’s post this week, which noted that Jesse Crain is throwing the Twins’ hardest fastball (94.2 mph) this year, with Livan Hernandez (84.1 mph) bringing up the rear.
119 Responses to "Johan, Francisco, Ubaldo and my favorite TV show"
mike wants wins says:
May 16th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Were Mauer or Morneau the worst hitters at their position in all of MLB in their second year?
The Hawk says:
May 16th, 2008 at 10:21 am
141g 490AB 62R 117H 23 2B 4 3B 22HR 79RBI 44BB 94SO .239AVE .304OBP .437SLG
I don’t think anyone was jumping up and down for Morneau’s 2005 numbers. But I seem to remember him rebounding the next year. Can you imagine a guy hitting .239 for this years team, wow, he’d have to be cut
The Hawk says:
May 16th, 2008 at 11:01 am
If you want to see something disgusting, look at the splits from 2005 for Morneau. Look at the monthly ones and see him with a .204 ave in August with 7 XBH’s. and most of the rest aren’t any better. Second half .211 hitter with 13 doubles and 11 homers after the break. Get that bum out of here
Justin Morneau says:
May 16th, 2008 at 11:02 am
People aren’t supposed to remember that year, don’t bring it up Hawk
I have to get this out of the way…
Here is the obvious solution to our favorite baseball team: Billy Smith needs to clean house of all managers and coaches (with the exception of Rick Anderson) with the big league club. Starting with Vavra, who has proven nothing. There needs to be a new mentality in the clubhouse and on the field. I would be willing to put Charles Barkley’s money on the fact that the coaches secretly do not want the team to hit a lot of HR’s or score many runs. Why? Because then they wouldn’t be the ‘little small market team that could.” I am not even going to mention all the errors and boneheaded plays in the field/on the bases this year. Oops..I guess I did. So not only are they the ‘little small market team that CAN’T”, they are also “the little small market team that doesn’t do the little things correctly”.
Jo i read about that Met’s pushing Johan back to start tonight. This is why the Met’s went after him and why they gave him that huge contract. I’m not saying this is a season ending series for them but if Johan doesn’t pitch great tonight you will hear a lot of grumblings in NY.
Good news on the franchise especially the walks. I hope he’s ready to go by the All Star break because I’m afraid thats when our rotation will start to show it’s true colors.
I hope the Twins don’t take this Rockies series as lightly as they did the Blue Jays. They maybe at the bottom of the AL west but this team can still play.
Through 24 games last season, they drew 652,612 fans, an average of 27,192 per game. They played their 24th home game of 2008 on Thursday, losing 3-2 to the Blue Jays in 11 innings in front of an announced 18,701. That put their attendance this year at 592,249, an average of 24,677.
That is a sign of the Twins fan base being upset at the budget and the team that the Twins brought to the table this year. I really think that the budget will go down even greater. I hope Pohlad will not try to sell the concept of come see the new stadium and not the team. The fans I think are just sick and tired of having a mediocre team this year and have pretty much given up and called it a wash. I know we are in second place. I will keep a possitive attitude regarding the team.
jimmy bee,
from the last thread, I think the NL has a shot to take the AL in interleague this year. A lot of the AL teams are off to slow starts and the NL has some teams playing good ball. Of course, it could all be a mirage and all the AL needs is to start beating up on the little leaguers
jimmy bee, it’s also a sign that the Twins had a home series with the Yankees by this time a year ago. Just sayin…
Hey Sid Jr… I have good news for you. The team of your dreams already exists. They’ve built their team around power and offense. They preach exactly what you hate Gardy, Vavra & Co. for not teaching.
Check ‘em out. They’re called the Texas Rangers. They haven’t won jack. Like, ever. But you’ll be entertained by plenty of majestic home runs and high scoring games! You’ll just lose them all.
Cool down, chief. They had one bad series. This team is overachieving thus far. Relax a little bit and take the bad with the good.
The 2 teams I would like to see win it from the NL would be the Dodger’s or the Phillies. If the Dodger’s win it would realy shut Hank and The Yanks up real quick. I would also like to see the Rays finish ahead of the Yanks. A combo deal like the Yanks finish behind the Ray’s and Torre and the Dodgers win it would be awesome. IF this were to happen George would fire Hank ha ha ha ha ha ha lololololol
Let us know when Liriano is striking out AAA hitters. Until then, he’s not ready.
Hawk who would you rather have at this point of the season right now. Ellsbnury or Gomez. I would still take Gomez personally. Also, when are we going to see Mulvey come up and has anyone heard how guerra is doing?
I agree with Freez the rangers formula for success isn’t working, hasn’t worked, and never will work. But if the Twins do want to improve the fundamental errors must stop and thats the coachs job.
Jimmy i like Gomez better, I think he’s got a lot more upside than Elsbury but both will be very solid players.
Are we now holding Liriano to Boof Bonser standards, where giving up 3 runs every game instead of 6 is an improvement? Don’t bring him back until he’s shutting them out in AAA.
BC speak of the hawk where is Andre Dawson these days. I remember him vividly
Phil Hughes (0-4, 9.00 ERA) and Ian Kennedy (0-3, 8.48) are not making that decision look very good.
Makes Smith look pretty good for not going ahead and making the move. Though I’ll admit I was one of the ones who wouldn’t have minded Hughes and Cabrera in Twins unis.
But that’s why he’s the one getting paid the big bucks to make the decisions instead of me.
I actually love the trade for Gomez and company and would be very open to the idea of seeing what Mulvey can do at the major league level. Has anyone heard more about Guerra? I hate what we got in return for Hunter though. I guess BS is +1 for the Santana trade in my book. -1 for what we got for Hunter. That is sort of yes BS fault and sort of TR’ fault.
Jon and Joe = Statler and Waldorf
The Hawk was a great player. He reminds me a little of a GoGomez/Strawberry type tall, skinny, but had pop in his bat and could run like a rabbit.
D Guerra at Ft Myers is 4-1 4.93 ERA with 23 Strike Outs
weird that we would judge the trade based on Hughes’ and Kennedy’s numbers, but aren’t allowed to judge Young and his start yet. just sayin.
Thanks for looking up the splits, I just didn’t have time. I remember Justin struggling. I’ve said repeatedly that Young needs to be given a chance, but I’ve also said you can’t ignore how bad he has been. People keep saying he’s fine, I just keep pointing out that he has been awful so far. That doesn’t mean he’ll be awful all year, though.
Joe, my heart goes out to you for enduring “Jon & Kate”. We have four kids of our own, and after they’re in bed, the last thing I want to do is watch another tired, stressed, bickering family in action. Yet, my beloved somehow enjoys the show so I endure.
Granted, Baseball Tonight could not possibly be much lower on my wife’s list of evening things to do.
ok so everyone lineup for tonight?
Gomez CF
Mauer C
Monroe LF
Morneau 1B
Cuddyer RF
Lamb 3B
Harris 2B
Casilla SS
Blackburn P
What do you think
CharlieMurphy says:
May 16th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
ok so everyone lineup for tonight?
Gomez CF
Mauer C
Monroe LF
Morneau 1B
Cuddyer RF
Lamb 3B
Harris 2B
Casilla SS
Blackburn P
What do you think
I would love to see this lineup in action. I think it would be veeeeery productive. Minus Casilla I think, but maybe not
This will be a high scoring series hopefully. Maybe this will be the series that ends the HR drought for the Twinkies. Colorado should provide possibly a spark for the Twins power numbers
Twin have such a small margin for error that when the team makes fundamental mental mistakes they can’t recover. TK would never have stood for the shoddy play, The entire coaching staff (except Rick Anderson the miracle worker) needs to be evaluated if indeed a change(s) is needed
CharlieMurphy,
I doubt that mr. nonchalant-I’ve-got-all-day-because-of-my-great-arm casilla will ever start another game for gardy. I would be very disappointed to see him out there tonight. He didn’t learn a thing in his return trip to the minors. Still looks like he has a bad attitude and still has no concept of hitting the ball from the left side.
Colorado seems like a good place for Delmon to get that first homer.
jimmy Colorado isn’t quite the launching pad it used to be since they started using a humidor for the baseballs. This lineup has never faced Jimenez so i’m thinking they will get shut down tonight because they don’t seem to fair well in these situations.
BC they seem to actually have that humidor thing down now I do agree. Anyone know if Colorado’s power #’s look, and where there stadium ranks as far as other teams going into Coors field and hitting HR’s
jimmy bee,
I’m a Gomez man. He has some real talents and if he is able to get a harness on them, he’ll be one of the Twins greats. When he is on, he lifts the whole team up and gets them all going. Not many guys have that effect. Ellsbury has some real talents and was a safer pick, but he only has 2 doubles and a .282 ave. Not too explosive
BC here is a link to a great article that shows HR’s and on an avg how many a game per Ball Park.
The Hawk I watched Ellsbury when we played Boston and Gomez is in a whole different league. If he can polish his endless skills he will be something special.
Also, I’m not as impressed with Lester or Masterson, who got rocked in AA yesterday and let Colon jump in front of him, as that M guy was last week on here.
It’s time for the Twins to give Boof the ultimatum: get your act together or hit the road. He looks like he doesn’t have a brain in his head when he’s out on the mound. He’s been around long enough that he should have a good idea what he’s doing out there, but he continues to make the same mistakes over and over again.
Which M guy would that be The Hawk? I just am salavating over bringing up Mulvey or Humber but I am more so leaning towards Mulvey.
The Hawk says:
May 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Also, I’m not as impressed with Lester or Masterson, who got rocked in AA yesterday and let Colon jump in front of him, as that M guy was last week on here.
I am starting to get concerned for the Boofer. I don’t think he would do good in the bullpen. I think Boof either has to be a starter or gone. Boof is sort of like Radke but clearly not as good. Both gave up runs in early innings, typically the first. Maybe I would be off a bit if I thought that Boof as a MR would not be popular if he gave up runs right away when he came into the game
Glad to hear Franchise has regained some confidence.
Joe Mays was sayin on TV the other day that the weird thing about Franchise’s recovery is that usually your velocity comes back first. I’m just afraid it won’t ever come back.
Hope we get to see mulvey and guerra soon.
Anyone no why Humbers struggleing so much?
Thats interesting you would think the homerdome would be higher on that list.
Boof is in alot of trouble if he can’t consistantly control his curve. Without it he’s the second coming of Lohse.
jimmy bee, just wondering why you would be assigning the blame to Smith on getting nothing for Hunter? Unless Smith was actually in charge prior to the trading deadline, he really can’t be assigned any blame for that decision, could he?
The Santana trade, in my mind was a must do, and right now, I am very happy with it, since Santana isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire over there.
The Garza trade looked like a even one for both teams at the time, but right now, it looks like the Rays are coming out on time. Granted, the season still is young, probably better to look at this at the end of the season.
Anyway, the only trades that can be attributed to Smith are Santana’s, Monroe, and of course Garza/Young.
Seems pluses for both Santana and Monroe, and minus for Garza, but that is just my opinion.
I think we should have kept Garza and Tyner for LF or at least for a fill in spot player. Tyner actually had a good stick. As for BS Ryan stepped down on Oct 1, 2007. He made everyone aware of his decision on Sept 13, 2007. Sept 19, 2007 was the last game of the season. That is a 6 day hole in which the Twins could have signed Hunter during which time BS should have done this before seasons end.
Jimmy Bee, you want to explain to me why you think that it would have been possible to sign Hunter in that 6 day hole? It would have been nuts for Hunter to sign an extension on the verge of free-agency. There is a reason that he was doing his talking about playing for other teams in the second half of last season. He had already made up his mind that he was going to test the market. I don’t recall with certainty, but I am almost certain the he had even said it after the deadline non-trades.
Me Too - Also didn’t BS work with TR before he resigned from the position. He should have talked to TR and figured out the Torii situation. Don’t get me wrong it is not like he is new to the Twin’s or something. If you want to blame someone also blame our cheapskate owner as well. It is hard to keep a player with our team with a wallet that seems to barely creeks open.
I for one actually feel sorry for BS and TR they work on a shoe string budget for a cheap miser of a boss and the fans are always, always, always on them. If you want you can look at past Blogs and I never make fun or criticise the job that TR did. The stress of working with Pohlad’s cheap ways finnaly made TR leave the game. Talk about a fall guy for one of the cheapest owners in all of baseball. Don’t even get nme started on Pohlad that would be a huuuuuuuuge mistake. If a team had someone like TR and had a good budget “Wheeew” look out.
i know it’s early in the young career of delmon young, but what would’ve happened had our boy bill smith traded garza for josh hamilton instead? same kind of baggage, quite a bit older, but still a stud. we then might have gotten to keep bartlett, and not created another gaping hole in a very unstable infield. the diamonbacks could’ve thrown some nice hitting prospects our way as well. i just hate that we now have another hole we have to plug with a scrub. it frustrates me more and more every day seeing everett or punto in the lineup
shameless,
It could be that part of what helped Liriano produce the speeds he did was his arm motions during delivery.
If he’s working with a new method of throwing, it’s possible he may not be able to generate that same velocity.
I don’t know what caused Joe Mays TJ surgery, but I don’t recall there being as much discussion of his throwing style when he was with the club.
Trav,
Was Josh Hamilton even available? And from what I’ve seen, Bartlett’s not exactly tearing it up down in Tampa.
Jimmy Bee, you might notice that Tyner was DFA’s for Cleveland today. Yeah, he had a great stick. I’m sure he has a much higher upside than Delmon Young or better hitter than Monroe or Kubel. You sound like a moron with comments like that–just trying to help ya out.
Sorry, jimmy, I wasn’t blaming anybody, YOU were. You stated that Smith was -1 on not getting anything for Hunter.
Saying that Ryan had abit to do with it is simply wrong. He was the guy in charge and manning the phones at the trade deadline. I remember reading an article about Gardy sitting in with Ryan during some of it.
I got the feeling at the time that Ryan was taking the sword when he did to try to quell the rage coming from the team for the non-trades. If the team had any hope of re-signing the players, I think that was the only hope.
Santana had publicly lambasted the team. Hunter was on his farewell tour, and we were below 500.
The 2008 team is actually better than I was expecting. Seems some scouts know more about the game than people like me and you. After the wailing that took place in the offseason, you would think that this team would be the bottom-feeder in the division, and probably baseball overall.
Money doesn’t buy championships very often, otherwise, explain to me why the 2 top salaries in baseball are below 500?
I think Hunter wanted to test free agency after he saw what Gary Matthews got paid. I know i would have if i was him.
Explain to my why one of the top salaries in Baseball has won 2 out of the last 3 championships. Blame has to be put somewhere if we didn’t get a single thing for Hunter. Can we honestly be told that no one screwed up by not getting a mlb ready player for the best CF in all of baseball. I can not think there wouldn’t be anyone to blame, can you.
B Dubz - Tyner for LF or at least for a fill in spot player
fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player fill in spot player
I like inter league play but there’s something that still bugs me about the fact that there’s more NL teams than AL teams. Obviously a NL team does not have to play as many inter league games as an AL team. I’m sure it all evens out somehow though.
Just a minor statement. With youth comes a lower salary. There is no way that a young team would have a really high salary. The thing about some of these teams like the Yankees, they have alot of age on it, so the injuries seem to be more prevalent. We have been bitten BAD by the injury bug, but imagine what it would be like if the players that were getting bitten were getting paid like ARod or even worse, if we put up the money for Santana that the Mets did, and he went down like our own Neshek?
Injuries are hard to predict, but they are more common with age. The older your roster is, the odds increase that the players break down.
I, for one, prefer the exuberance of youth over the plodding nature of experience.
I will take the good with the bad while I watch this group of players come together, just like I did with the last batch of players that brought us the last bunch of division titles.
BTW, considering their market share, the payroll really isn’t far out of line, especially when you consider the smaller salaries of the young potential stars.
Wow Jimmy, that was rather sophomoric. If you didn’t mean LF, then don’t type it.
B Dubz says:
May 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Wow Jimmy, that was rather sophomoric. If you didn’t mean LF, then don’t type it.
Sorry to much caffeine. Like a trigger happy jittering finger with tootoooototooto much Diet Dr Pepper. Soory aggagagaag I mean again.
If Gomez continues to improve, at the end of the year, do the Twins look to lock him up like Braun and Kazmir. They basically got them for two years past arbitration.
I think what jimmy bee is saying, is why didn’t we move hunter at the trade deadline if we had no plans on bringing him back. I think they knew he would be out of their league out on the market
But you can’t say they didn’t get something for Hunter until the draft comes and then see if they step up and draft a guy who can play, no matter what it’ll cost to sign him. Two years on that guy, it’s what it took Braun, Tulo, Ellsbury, and the rest of the 2005 guys to get ready to go.
The Hawk says:
May 16th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I think what jimmy bee is saying, is why didn’t we move hunter at the trade deadline if we had no plans on bringing him back. I think they knew he would be out of their league out on the market
Thank you Hawk, that is exactly and precisely what I am trying to say. Can someone please even think up an expanation that would shut me up regarding this subject
Come on Hawk do really think the Twins front office has any foresight? Hell I remember Hunter talking about how he wouldn’t mind playing for George Steinbrenner because he’s not afraid to cut the big checks. That was like 5 years ago.
BC, you got me confused here. I thought the Twins were never able to sign players due to their cheapskate ownership?
Well, I guess we are able to sign them to their first post-arbitration contract, but their second post-arbitration contract, well, we don’t do so well on that one. Guess we can’t sign players when they start getting old.
Jimmy the only explanation i can think of is they were still holding out hope they could do a repeat of what happened the second half of the 06 season. I thought the writing was on the wall before the trade deadline last year but maybe they are that blind.
jimmy bee says:
May 16th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
“Can someone please even think up an expanation that would shut me up regarding this subject”
Obviously not.
The problem with the second contract is that they don’t get around to it in time. When Santana was on the strech run to his second Cy Young, they should have been looking to hammer a deal out. Why play the wait and see approach with that guy. Should have signed Santana in 2006 for 5 years
“BC, you got me confused here. I thought the Twins were never able to sign players due to their cheapskate ownership?”
Well it’s part ownership being cheap and part greed. The Twins did offer him almost the same amount of money but it was the guaranteed years he wanted. Lets see how happy the angels are paying him that money in four years. Maybe you could blame it on the Twins “policy” of not negotiating with players during the regular season. You can’t tell me they didn’t know what he wanted before the deadline.
I guess thats’s the forethought part of it, huh, BC
Exactly Hawk and i always liked Torri but i’m not that upset he’s gone. I know jimmy won’t like this but the Twins can’t afford to hang onto overpaid veterans like the Yankees and Red Sox.
Torii nosedived in my book when I watched him blow game 1 of the Division series against the A’s in 06. Sitting behind the plate. There was no way that ball gets by him. You can’t have your best player and your Gold Glove winner suck all the momentum you have built since June with one bad angle and stupid dive.
Carlos G says:
May 16th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
jimmy bee says:
May 16th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
“Can someone please even think up an expanation that would shut me up regarding this subject”
Obviously not.
Thank Carlos G - you you answered my question with your “non answer” answer.
“The Twins can’t afford to hang onto overpaid veterans like the Yankees and Red Sox”.
and obviously they can’t afford to pay for equall value they would have received for Torii as well.
new subject
BC- Well it’s part ownership being cheap and part greed
This will shut me up. Thank you BC. Finally someone has honestly told me what I wanted to hear.
Ok here’s a new topic. How do they decide each teams interleague opponents? I know there’s the natural rivalry thing but why do the Twins play three AL west teams and then one NL east team the Nationals?
Okay jimmy, what exactly would have been the equal value that they would have gotten for Torri, a player in the last year of his contract, at the trading deadline? He was the dictionary meaning of “rent-a-player”.
I can’t honestly believe that we would have gotten anyone of equal value, unless your meaning of equal value means that we would have gotten a “rent-a-player” in return.
Exactly what would have that accomplished?
You know who looked great in that game Barry Zito. Last good game he ever pitched
Wonderfull question, I have no idea. Do you know the answer to that. On a side note BC is that real hair on Anthony LaPanta’ head
“rent-a-player” in return.
Good way of looking at it. Well I don’t know if it is true but I have heard in the past we could have received Ellsbury for him and that would have been pretty good I think. If we would have received Ellsbury in a Hunter trade that would have meant that the Santana trade would have been for purely pitching prospects instead of Gomez.
jimmy i would swear that Anthony LaPanta’s hair is actually the three months of hair i pulled out of my shower drain last week. He always sounds like he’s got a piece of candy in his mouth.
BC how do they figure out the NL teams each AL team faces. Here is a new one for you why do the Angels always face the Dodger’s and why do the Yank’s always play the Mets and why do the Twins always seem to rotate. It would be alot of fun if the Twins played the Dodgers again
BC of ND says:
May 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
jimmy i would swear that Anthony LaPanta’s hair is actually the three months of hair i pulled out of my shower drain last week. He always sounds like he’s got a piece of candy in his mouth.
How bout an olive pit in his mouth after a 6 pack of beer
I heard a rumor that the Rockies are shopping Holliday. Do you think they would take Kubel and Cuddyer in a trade?
jimmy the Twins always play the Brewers now it’s the whole rivalry thing. I understand playing three AL west teams this year but why the Nationals?
Where did you hear that Ellsbury was available for Hunter? That is a ridiculous trade senario. A “rent-a-player” for a top-ten prospect.
Yeah, if that would have been offered, I GUARANTEE that the Twins would have been all over it.
Didn’t the Twins play the Dodgers in 06?
on a different note - Dougie Baseball slugged a 2-run homer today in Chicago. he is playing 3rd base now so he´d better hit for power. and then the Pirates had Luis Rivas and his mighty .210 average pinch hitting in 9th inning.
yes, yes, yes, for sure yes, in a heart beat. Oh wait!! That is me wanting to make the trade. No they wouldn’t do it for the Kube’s and Cuddy unless we throw in Everett is what I hear
Why would they take Cuddyer? they are trying to lose salary and future salary.
Shawn in Binghamton says:
May 16th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Didn’t the Twins play the Dodgers in 06?
Yeah I was living back there when Hee Sop Choi had the best weekend of his whole career.
Need Everett in the trade, now that is funny.
Mauer went off in that series if i remember. But i might missremember.
Me Too says:
May 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Where did you hear that Ellsbury was available for Hunter? That is a ridiculous trade senario. A “rent-a-player” for a top-ten prospect.
Yeah, if that would have been offered, I GUARANTEE that the Twins would have been all over it.
Like I said before some people on the blog a while back were talking about it so like I said before I don’t know if there was any truth to that.
Hee Sop Choi, there is a power bat for our line up. Maybe we could have a reverse Ortiz situation and Choi becomes the masher he was supposed to be.
thats true Shawn i guess we have no chance then unless they take Delmon, Boof and a minor league pitcher.
Shawn in Binghamton says:
May 16th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Mauer went off in that series if i remember. But i might missremember.
yeah, they didn’t fair so well in that series. Everytime I was watching Hee Sop Choi up at bat it was always a HR. I think he had 2 or 3 in a game against Radke
Hawk to you remember when Hunter sent that letter to Radke singed by Choi asking him to pitch to him in the HR derby? that was classic.
The Twins still swept though didn’t they? they went 16-2 v the NL that year.
My bad, must have been 05. 2006 the Dodgers played in Minny.
We can’t get Holliday. But Atkins for Slowey, Span and 1 or 2 minor league pitchers could swing
Choi in ‘05 vs.MIN
6 HR in 3 games, one 3 hr game. Dodgers beat us by 1 twice, we got them by 2 once.
BC of ND says:
May 16th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Hawk to you remember when Hunter sent that letter to Radke singed by Choi asking him to pitch to him in the HR derby? that was classic.
That’s hillarious BC. I wish I would have heard about that sooner
All of Choi’s hits were homers.
looking at 2006 schedule. started 25-33 then went 21-2…. awe memories.
The Hawk says:
May 16th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
We can’t get Holliday. But Atkins for Slowey, Span and 1 or 2 minor league pitchers could swing
Choi in ‘05 vs.MIN
6 HR in 3 games, one 3 hr game. Dodgers beat us by 1 twice, we got them by 2 once.
Thanks for the stat line Hawk. I knew Hee Sop Choi did pretty good. He just has one of those fun names you like to say
Denard Span at Rochester:
AB-84 R-21 2B-5 3B-0 HR-3 RBI-9 BB-16 SO-17 SB-13 CS-3 OBP-.470 SLG-.536 AVG-.369 OPS-1.006
Span is starting to show a little more power, hitting 3 HR on 3 consecutive nights. He also has an additional 3 steals in major league play, for a total of 16, for the season. Check out that OBP!
Whether he can continue to perform at this level, and whether he could play anything like this on the major league level, is of course speculative. His play is at least encouraging.
That’s classic trade bait right there. Span sure looks like he could perform for somebody
I think Span is a Michael Bourne type of player. Just not quite good enough for an everyday role. the Phillies look to have made out alright getting Lidge in that deal. Does anyone know if they have extended him?
Keep it up Span. Keep it coming, keep it coming
“Span sure looks like he could perform for somebody”
Idea: THE TWINS!!!!
I think Gardy is perplexed over Harris’ inability to turn 2 and unreliable fielding, Lamb’s overall inept play, and Everett’s noodly arm.
I predict change is coming. How soon, I don’t know. 2-3 weeks, maybe.
Contracts:
Lamb:
3.5 mil 2008
3 mil 2009
3.5 mil 2010 or .1 mil buyout
6.6 mil guaranteed.
Everett
2.8 mil 2008
Free Agent 2009
2.8 mil guaranteed
The Houston Rejects:
9.4 mil guaranteed
Billy, Billy, Billy…….what were you thinking? What were you drinking? These guys are stinking.
just who is going to sit for Span?? I hope your not thinking Gomez. And with Revere coming along pretty quick, do we need two of that type of player. That is why Span is trade bait for one of our holes, which CF is not.
I guess we could have gotten Pedro Feliz and his .241 ave for twice as much as Lamb is getting.
Or maybe take a flyer on a Morgan Ensberg and hope he can rediscover the glory days. Oh well, he just signed a .280 career hitter that has hit double digit homers the last 4 years in part time duty. Hey, doesn’t Punto play a good third base?
The Twins have some OF depth now in the minors. Dustin Martin and Luke Hughes are probably ready to be called up to AAA.
The Twins could float Cuddyer’s name, and see if they could trade for some infield help. Delmon should probably be in RF, anyway. He’s over-matched by LF in the dome.
the Twins would have killed last year for a 3B who batted .289 with an OPS of .819. Or one that two years ago batted .309 with an OPS of .836.
As a hitter, I named Pedro Feliz, “Batista lite”. Feliz is far superior to Batista or Lamb with the glove. I wouldn’t want him, though.
The 3B currently hitting, .250 OBP, .277 SLG, .225 AVG, isn’t helping too much. Add no range, a shaky glove, and slow on the bases, and that’s some overpriced production.
The guy in the minors I have been watching is Ft. Myers 2B Brian Dinkelman.
I’ve only seen a little film of him, and read scouting reports, but he looks like a major league player, to me. He has a little speed, and a little power, and seems to know what to do with a bat in his hands.
Seth seems to also like him, and said he can also play 3B. I would love to hear what TK says about that young man. Maybe, I am way off base.
Brian Dinkelman:
148 AB, 19 BB, 14 SO, 7 SB, .422 OBP, .446 SLG, 324 AVG, .868 OPS
That’s in Ft Myers, high Class A. He’s been pretty consistent.
Alejandro Machado was scheduled to come off a second shoulder surgery, by the end of May or early June. Machado is an interesting player. He has a superior glove, good range and speed. He can play in the INF or OF. Most any position. He spent time in the Boston organization and knows how to draw a walk, though his bat is light. Could be a solid reserve.
adam everett is so underrated you guys, he s the best ss since cal ripken and luis aparacio- hes the best!!!
T, sure he was available. the reds traded him for volquez from the rangers. i did see that bartlett is struggling a bit though. it was nice that he provided a constant presence in the lineup though. he played good defense, had decent speed, and hit for a reasonable average. now it’s a revolving door of guys in and out, getting hurt…
