Twins-Rockies: Sunday morning notes, plus lineups
Posted on May 18th, 2008 – 10:12 AMBy La Velle
Well, it looks like Danny Graves another good outing for Class AAA Rochester as he burns up the comeback trail. I’m sure the Twins are tracking his progress intently and thinking the former All-Star might be able to slide into the back of the bullpen if needed.
The only problem now is that the Twins’ 40-man roster is full, but that’s not really a problem because a team usually can find someone to sneak through waivers to make room for someone. As someone pointed out, they could always move Pat Neshek to the 60-day DL, which free up 40-man space.
Notice that Denard Span went 2 for 2 with THREE walks on Saturday. He’s batting .457 over his last ten games. Overall, he’s batting .378 with a .486 on base percentage.
You know, if Carlos Gomez’s wrist needs a few days to heal, the Twins may call Span back up, let Gomez get plenty of rest and see what Span can do in center. Why not? Gomez is the center fielder of the present and future, but there’s nothing wrong with having depth - or someone other teams may want to trade for.
Longtime baseball scribe Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News wrote about Justin Morneau finally facing fellow British Columbia native Jeff Francis today. Check it out.
Finally, props to all the Twins fans who came out for the series. You people were everywhere.
12:47 update: Wait till you see today’s lineup.
Gomez is not in the lineup again because of a sore right wrist. He’s working out before the game and could be a defensive option. But it hurts him to twist his wrist from right to left or dip his hand straight down. Indications are that he won’t swing a bat today.
Gomez, Gardy said a few minutes ago, has a couple days to get healthy. Or the Twins may be cautious, DL him and call up Span.
Mike Redmond is in the lineup instead of Mauer, which is normal for a day game after a night game. It’s hard for me to look at this lineup today without Mauer in it. Gardy pointed out that Mauer strained his neck on Friday and they are in a stretch of 40 games in 41 days. So he’s got to use Redmond when he can.
I understand that, but this team is struggling to score runs. Michael Cuddyer is batting .240. Howie Clark is in the lineup (again, wait till you see the lineup). Kevin Slowey is on his first date with a baseball bat. Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert, two hustle guys are on the DL. I might have gambled today.
Here’s the lineup. Sit down and count to ten before you read it. Then count to ten again. Remember, there are some injuries….
Twins (21-21): 1. Brendan Harris, 2B. 2. Delmon Young, LF. 3. Craig Monroe, CF. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Michael Cuddyer, RF. 6. Mike Redmond, C. 7. Howie Clark, 3B. 8. Adam Everett, SS. 9. Kevin Slowey, P.
Rockies (16-27): 1. Willy Taveras, CF. 2. Clint Barmes, SS. 3. Matt Holliday, LF. 4. Todd Helton, 1B. 5. Garrett Atkins, 3B. 6. Brad Hawpe, RF. 7. Jeff Baker, 2B. 8. Chris Iannetta, C. Jeff Francis, P.
1…2…3…4…,5….
161 Responses to "Twins-Rockies: Sunday morning notes, plus lineups"
I was watching the game last night on the Rockies feed. George Frazier needs to lay off the Cafe Latte’s. Two games at Coors Field and no home runs. Not a surprise with the Twins playing there but putting the baseballs in the same locker with the Cuban cigars has made the pitchers very happy in Denver.
You know, if Carlos Gomez’s wrist needs a few days to heal, the Twins may call Span back up, let Gomez get plenty of rest and see what Span can do in center. Why not?
because:
a. the Twins shaw what Span can do in the majors
b. Span would take at-bats from Monroe and I’d rather see Monroe than Span with the bat, since Monroe leads this team in slugging percentage in the majors
c. The last thing this team needs is another left hand bat off the bench
thrylos98
good points but you forgot that Span sucks and that should be reason enough.
The Rockies fans better enjoy the gift.
Am I the only one who thinks Gardy gave them the game yesterday?
Hernandez had no buisness throwing a single pitch after the 6th.
Why would you let him come out and pitch in the 7th with a 2-1 lead. He’s been great but that is a situation where you want someone who the league isn’t hitting over .300 against.
This game and Perkins game against the redsox stand out as two losses that are on Gardy’s head because now that neshek is gone it’s like he doesn’t trust the bullpen.
I agree that Gardy got out managed yesterday. It is going to happen over the course of 162, normally I like how he handles the staff. When he came out for the 8th in a tie game I was very disappointed. At the time I was hoping for a doulbe switch with Monroe/Gomez and brining in a lefty. Monroe had just hit so the pitcher could have had that spot and Go/GO would have been up in the pitchers spot. Plus, imo we don’t get behind in the 8th.
However, like I said early, Gardy is a damn good manager and you can’t always be right.
I agree with you shameless completely about hernandez being in there. Also, I cannot believe that he left Lamb in in there with his .056 batting average against Lefties to face Fuentes with the game on the line.
I am so tired of Gardy, its seriously time to fire him. Look what they did when Scotty Ulger was coaching. The question what happened to THAT team has been asked since then and its Gardy.
Fire Gardy? Uhh, ok. Now that we know Gomez was unavailable to hit last night, who did you propose Gardy swap Lamb out for?
Kubel? He too can’t hit LHP very well.
Alexi?
If they are going to bring anyone up, how about Buscher. He’s hitting .322
wow this will be a long day:
Harris
Young
Monroe
Morneau
Cuddyer
Redmond
Clark
Everett
Slowey
uhhhh…..?shut the hell up. Anyone but Lamb. He is 1-19 against lefties. Kubel isnt that bad. Howie Clark? This wasnt the first mistake Gardy has made….he has cost the Twins ball games numerous times this year with his reactionary managing.
LEN
Neshek still can go on the 60 day DL, so there’s room.So could Tolbert if he needs surgery on the thumb.
Korecky has made four appearances since being called up. Obviously, they don’t trust him. When Graves is brought up, hopefully he’ll be used to lessen the load on the others, since Korecky has not.
Is Mijares eligible for the 60-man DL?
Wish I knew someone in Vegas right now…
I guess it was the best line up possible for the the day considering the circumstances and the fact that there is a lefty on the hill for Colorado today.
I have no facts to support my opinion, but I see Red Dog getting 3 RBI today.
I completely agree with everyone who has stated that Gardy blew it last night. No reason Livan should have went back out there after the Twins got him the 2-1 lead. The Rockies were starting to his him. Time to turn it over to Rincon or Crain against Holiday and then Reyes against Helton.
That said, calling for Gardy’s job seems a tad extreme.
The injuries are not so much the problem as is the lack of organizational depth.
One other thought, what’s with Delmon in the 2-hole? I really like this kid and think the power is coming. He’s been starting to hit the ball hard the last couple series. So it would seem to me that now would be the time NOT to move him in the order.
I would rather have Clark at 3rd than Lambchop anyday, and Cassilla at Short over Adam “Im Batting under 200″ Everett.
really like Delmon in the 2 hole… finally!
Hope he stays there for the season.
This lineup is probably better than yesterday’s considering that Francis is a lefty.
And, yes, Gardy blew the game yesterday (like 4-5 this season) by (again) mishandling the pitching staff and having the weird conception that Mike Lamb is a #2 hitter… I just hope that someone in the TC media will actually say that Gardy blew the game or give him his share of blame for his mistakes… enough blaming the players only
I like Delmon batting 2nd too, but I’d like it more if he was batting in front of Mauer.
Speaking of Joe, these are the kinds of days when he needs to tell Gardy that he wants to play. This lineup would be great if it were spring training…
I heard a report that Mauer’s problem is the upper-back/neck area. So it’s easy for me to look at this lineup wihtout Mauer in it.
Right now, I’d bring up Span and give him RF for a while because Cuddy’s been looking like he’s nearing retirement.
And if Casilla isn’t going to get playing time, I’d send him down and get Harris up.
And PJS, Young’s been saying that he’ll heat up now that April and May are about over. Batting 2nd will serve to tweak him into making this prediction a reality.
With the way this lineup has performed, why not mix it up? I’m not a huge fan of it, but it is worth a shot. 7 right-handed batters against a left-handed pitcher, hopefully it works out.
I am getting sick of resting a .300 hitter! Wake-up Gardy. Another thing, it’s time you began managing and forget about TK. You don’t have to make the pitching changes the way TK taught you… do something on your own! If you keep treating Mauer like a ‘baby’ he will continue to be a baby. Yogi didn’t rest following a night game. He should play every day unless he is on the DL.
tsumsar
mauer needs his days off..catching is not an easy job.
I do believe if this was an american league game today, Gardy would have had no choice but to commit his biggest pet peave and have Mauer DH today
Shouldn’t Harris play 3B with Clark in the lineup? Maybe not with this lineup, but I would rather see Casilla at SS and Clark at 2B–which is what he’s been playing at Rochester–so you have two guys comfortable with each other already this year up the middle and turning two. Also, without Gomez don’t you have to put Alexi in there for some speed on the bases?
I just read the line-up…WHO?!
I wonder if Slowly will play like a pirhanta today.
fcmiefty
You are not listening. He could have played today, but Gardy is giving him a days rest. We need him in the lineup today. DH him when he gets back to AL only, but for the inter-league… play him, play him, play him. He is a big boy and does not need all the time off.
Redmond production has been dramatically decreasing this year… might be about time that the Twins get Morales up and send Redmond to AAA.
haha, thrylos98, send Redmond to the minors??? He’s played in like 6 games, get a grip.
Robert, he stunk up the place in those 6 (actually 7 with today’s) games, including not being able to drive a runner home from 3rd and no outs today… Slowey had a better AB than Redmond
and three other hitters failed to drive runners in today should we send them down too.
With respect to Lamb and Everett, isn’t it time to move forward with the youth movement and get these guys AB’s and put the the Houstonians on the bench. Not a bad lineup in my opinion. Not only for this year, but if they keep developing, the future as well.
CF Gomez (r)
C Mauer (l)
LF Young (r)
1B Morneau (l)
DH Kubel/Monroe (r)/(l)
RF Cuddyer (r)
2B Tolbert (s)
3B Busher/Harris (l)/(r)
SS Casilla (s)
Gardy is doing okay. Yes, he is too worried about whether his starter gets the win. He will leave his starter in too long. He’s done this his whole career, and it has cost the Twins some wins. Maybe he feels he needs to do this to keep his starters motivated. Who knows the reasoning. W-L records for individual pitchers may not mean much in reality, but they do mean something at contract negotiating time.
I’ll stand by my opinion that Mauer needs days off. I don’t care what guys like Yogi Berra did. That was 3 generations ago. The game is not the same now. I want to see a healthy Mauer in August and September. Red Dog needs to play too, and a day game with a lefty on the mound is the ideal time to play him
Wonderful lineup - must be averaging about .222 - how EMBARRASSING! Oh well, this is not about global warming, the economy or China. So why me worry?
For everyone wanting Mauer to bat 2nd, forget about it. Morneau wants Mauer batting right in front of him, and that’s where Mauer wants to be. Gardy wants them batting back-to-back. All are in agreement.
Even Souhan, who was a big early advocate of Mauer batting second, acknowledged it was a mistake to have Mauer bat 2nd. You don’t have a hitter like Mauer giving himself up, to help Gomez move along on the bases. That’s silly.
No, fc, the dolts on this board have it right. Play Mauer every day until he drops. Then that’ll give the same dolts another reason to whine about Mauer’s durability.
The only good thing about inter-league play is, when the Twins play in NL parks, there is no DH. Love it! Baseball without the DH. It doesn’t get any better than that.
I’m with Marcus!
Especially as regards Lamb. Its not working out and Buscher is MLB ready.
I keep remembering the one at bat I saw him get this year. Such a contrast with Lamb, Buscher looked confident and like he had a plan. He drew a hard earned walk. Anyone see Lamb do the same? Anyone else see his numbers from Rochester? Hes a 3b who actually hits home runs. And Jim Mandelaro wrote that his opinion is that Buscher is the best prospect at Rochester this year.
Buscher is ready now.
Maybe the defense is the question but its not like we’re going to win it this year anyway.
Perhaps, Craig, the silly part is the notion that whoever the Twins 2nd hitter is, he should regularly go up there with the idea of ‘giving himself up.’
That’s silly to me. This ain’t the 1950’s.
It’s nice to see heralded 3B prospect Howie “Howard” Clark finally get some at-bats. At the very least, it should help shorten the games.
Talk about a fish out of water, Craig Monroe playing CF and batting 3rd in the lineup.
By the way, the Twins situational hitting seems to be lacking. Granted, I’m just watching through mlb gameday, but even the little animated guys seem frustrated that they can’t move a runner over.
Gone
“Buscher is ready now.”
If Buscher could field, the Twins would have never signed Lamb. Lamb is a bad fielder, but he’s a gold glover in comparison to Buscher. Forget Buscher, he will never be a major league regular. The tools aren’t there.
situational hitting be damned. Just hit it real far.
Too bad we only got one guy who can hit it real far.
Get him out of there
People are upset about Cuddy’s recent fielding. I think it is because he isn’t hitting. Cuddy never was a good fielder. Cuddy is fielding like……….Cuddy.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Been doing errands while watching…but wow. I’m going to go ahead and say that the last pitch on that walk before the hit was most defiantely a strike.
But wow, the offense has looked like crap today. This game could easily be 5-3 or 6-3 with a few timely hits.
And Gardy’s gotta be pissed right now. Just had to get that third out and melts down. So now we’ve got to burn a pitcher for one out.
Slowey hit 95 MPH on his fastball against his last batter. He did a decent job today.
Slowey did a great job tonight, his velocity is back, so is his endurance. Unfortunately, Gardy didn’t take him out after Helton’s home run, or even bring in Reyes to face Helton with 2 outs… Give this one to Gardy…
Yea but it was right down the middle and the pitcher gets the hit. Come on, we can’t drop 2/3 to this garbage team
HOWIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We need to bunt him over and then get a hit here
Should have double-switched there, put Kubel in for Cuddyer and move the pitcher to hitting in the 5 spot. Then Gurrier could stay in.
Scissor me timbers!!!
thrylos, this one is on the offense. How many RISP rotted on the bases with less than 2 outs?
Okay, Kubes. You just need a sacfly.
There we go…get a sac fly now
howeda7,
that could have happened when Guerrier came to the game not later
Thrylos, that’s what I meant, when Gurrier was brought in, Kubel should have been as well.
I don’t know if you’d want Kubel in the field when he’s got to cover as much ground as would be needed here.
Will Brendan hit a fly ball, or will Brendan do what Brendan does best? Strikeout?
bunt. please
And that there is when you know the Gods don’t want you to win.
gosh darn it
I am convinced they are trying to lose this game.
I sincerely hope that Gardy lays into this team after the game and does not give us the usual “they battled hard out there” spiel
NTR: Gardy will lay into the team in the locker room. Where it belongs.
Calling them out publically ain’t gonna change anything.
Fly ball………..you hit a fly ball. How can they not score a run? Awful.
what a stupid play… why don’t square for a bunt to at least get the fist baseman off base, thus allowing Gomez to take a lead… For that matter, how many bunts did that team attempted today with runner at 3 and less than 2 outs (4 opportunities today)? Exactly 0. This is not player ineptness, but manager ineptness…
Why would Harris be bunting in that situation?
Perhaps earlier…but in THAT situation?
If Gardy is fired, who do we hire?
Why not? The call was 1-0. He should be squaring until he had 2 strikes…
Gardy wont lay into them,Hes to afraid to do that. He will praise Kevin Slowey for giving them a chance to win, Praise the team for really battling it out in Colorado. And say its tough losing 2/3 but we really battled, and we will get after it tomorrow night against Texas
Christ here we go… The wheels are falling off
Can’t be upset at the Twins for that half inning. Lead off double, gets moved over (even after failed bunt attempt). Kubel WALKS (how cool is that?) and then a hard hit ball that just happens to be at someone. That’s baseball.
Runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out, and you’re going to bunt the guy at 1st over?
When the Twins haven’t had a solid hit with men on all night (except for Morneau), you’re going to give up an out to advance the go ahead run instead of try and get the hit for the tie-ing run?
And crap, dropped ball…
I’d enjoy a little fire lit under this teams butt…just once
Scissor, what Gardy says in public is one thing.
What matters is what he says to the players in the locker room. That’s not our business.
Praise in public, criticize privately.
See what bunting does?
“Why would Harris be bunting in that situation?”
The only reason would be if he wanted to be released by the team. Ha.
T, that was guys on first and third with one out. You bunt the runner in from third.
“See what bunting does?”
And if he were to have bunted it in the air for a double play?
You don’t play to expect an error.
“T, that was guys on first and third with one out. You bunt the runner in from third.”
Pardon me, typo. I recognized the runners on first and third.
Long story short, it’s easy to complain after the fact.
joy
Juanny “The Fire-starter” Rincon
It’s too bad the offense couldn’t get a hit when they needed it back in the first few innings. This game could’ve easily been a lead at the momenth (Guerrier still in, Nathan available)
You kind of have to appreciate how they’re still switching pitchers like they’re in it to win this game. If only that were the case.
Not content to let the offense take all the blame, the bullpen decodes to step in and shoulder some responsibility.
If Crain doesn’t get the pitcher out, I’m flying to Colorado.
Oh you have got to be kidding me Crain…
I’m surprised Gardy’s able to walk with the ulcer likely building during this inning.
Wowie
Walking the bases loaded and then walking in a run is a sign of an efficient bullpen.
Most pathetic walk I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe Hurdle let him hit there, and Crain goes and makes him look like a genius. Time to get Danny Graves up here and see what he has left.
Rincon apparently was apparently upset he was unable to ruin the Garza/Young deal.
Must’ve made it his goal to ensure he has absolutely no trade value by June/July.
We call this the Romero/Lohse Strategy.
On the bright side (at least for Rincon) only one of the runs went against his ERA…
So following the tooth and nail battle vs. Boston, they just sorta…forgot?…how to play baseball?
T says:
May 18th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
“If Crain doesn’t get the pitcher out, I’m flying to Colorado.”
Fed up with low attendance at home games and lost revenue, a fed-up Uncle Carl sends T, his personal emissary and mouthpiece, to straighten out the problem of losing on the road.
That’s a plunking…
The Twins have no identity right now. On today’s telecast, Bert said something that made me think a little bit. He said “The Rockies are like the Twins that they build from within and all position players minus one are from the Rockies organization.” And I’m thinking…Young? Everett? Monroe? Lamb? Harris? What happened to our Twins?? We used to be the home grown team that plays the game the right way. Todays debacle made me realize this Twins team is just ho-hum hum-drum. Aka boorish. Maybe it IS time to send Gardy packing get an outside perspective. The Twins have always done things from within, and it obviously isn’t working. If you listen to Gardy on postgame, you can’t tell if the Twins won by 1 or lost by 40. “We battled our tails off and we just have to move on and forget about today. We have 40 games in 41 days and we just have to keep on battling.” The Twins have the talent to win, they proved it against the Red Sox and against AL Central teams. There is something internally wrong here.
Haha. Uncle Carl. So original.
Well ajpesh, sometimes fans get what they want…lots of us asked for the Twins to get rid of some pitching for offense (Garza/Young) and to get some offense into the lineup (what the signings of Harris and Lamb were for). You get what you asked for sometimes
excuse me, we also got Harris in the Garza trade
This is exactly what a young team is going to do. They’re going to be sporadic.
The main problems:
1) Young not producing as expected.
2) Cuddy not producing as expected.
3) Thusly, no actual #3 hitter (or cleanup hitter)
4) Baker and Neshek’s health. Liriano’s recovery.
5) Better production from 3B, but still not what would be expected.
6) Adam Everett showing his age.
7) Infield injuries costing us Tolbert and Punto (who would be a better bench option than Everett if Tolbert were healthy)
The team is still floating around .500 which is better than any of us expected, but they’re youth shows from time to time still.
The overall hitting approach is abysmal, but firing Vavra wouldn’t be close to enough. The team needs to recognize the approach is failing organizationally wide and find a way to bring in somebody with a new thought process. Not just somebody new who will teach the same thing “better”.
All in all, the staff needs a shake up (not Gardy, not yet), and the lineup needs a shake up.
The only downside is that as the Young trade demonstrated, they can go get a young bat that’s shown potential…but that won’t guarantee he’ll come in and hit the snot outta the ball instantly.
Young’s in a sophomore slump, he’ll recover. But this team wasn’t making the playoffs going into 2008…and they’ve shown nothing that has convinced me that will be otherwise. They haven’t played well on the road, and have shown struggles in situations they’ll need to succeed at to make it through the postseason.
If they make it to the playoffs…it’ll be because the division was busy beating up on its self, and somebody will HAVE to go.
Twins record:
Home: 14-10
Away: 7-12
Let’s all wish T, good luck, in getting this fixed. T, I’d be flying to Texas if I were you. It’s all over in Colorado. Good luck on your mission! When T speaks, everyone trembles. They know what he says comes from the top. Give ‘em hell, T.
I wasn’t going to Colorado to talk…but I remembered that physical threats (even in jest) aren’t the best thing to post in places like this.
“3) Thusly, no actual #3 hitter (or cleanup hitter)”
That should be: “No cleanup hitter if they go Mauer/Morneau 2/3″
I know Lamb is 1-19 against lefties, but on a day when you rest Mauer, why take a guy who is 4th on the team in the rbi’s out of the lineup as well?
Our 6th hitter today .190 (Redmond), our 7th hitter .000 (Clark-first game) 8th hitter (Everett).190 and 9th hitter .000 (Slowey). And you expect to win this game? Howard hit it on the head earlier this week, this team again this year IS NOT fundamentally
sound. How a team can get a 2-run homer, 3 doubles and 2 triples in the same game and score only 2 runs is
unbelievable!! The only good news this week is that Liriano had a decent start in Rochester. When Rincon comes in the game, they might as well let a hitter just go to first base and save the trouble because he’s going to walk someone during the inning.
What happened to Mauer hitting second in the line-up?? Gardy all spring training was blowing the horn about how Mauer will be the #2 hitter, and that lasted what…..5 games??? Cuddyer got hurt early, and Mauer went back into the 3-hole. Now Cuddyer is back…so is Gardy schizo or what?? What possibly has he seen in the Twins offense that justifies going against everything he said in Spring Training??
“The Twins have the talent to win, they proved it against the Red Sox and against AL Central teams.”
1) All teams have the talent to win.
2) All teams win games and series against superior teams.
3) Not all teams have the talent to win 90 (80?, 70?) games.
The Twins talent may fall short at some level in item#3.
Playoffs or not, here’s my take on what needs to be done to make 08 a productive season.
1) When Punto and Tolbert get healthy, cut Everett. Punto to bench, Tolbert to start.
2) Knock relentlessly on the Rockies door for Atkins. Be willing to offer a guy like Cuddyer or Kubel if the need be. The Rockies are potentially trading Matt Holiday, which means they’d need an OFer. The Twins have a surplus at the moment. Moving a guy like Cuddy may be unpopular, but if Monroe can produce at a consistent level he can take over LF and Young can move to RF. If they’ll take Kubel or Pridie/Span and some other peices…do it.
3) Move Mauer to #2 spot in the lineup. Put Monroe at the #3 spot, and leave him there until he either is released or Young starts showing some of his power. If Monroe fails to produce within a month of regular ABs, swap him for Cuddyer until Young is ready.
There’s some pitching moves I’d make, but I figure the above things may be enuogh to get some heated discussions going.
Twins Seasonal Run Totals:
689 - 2008 (Pace after 43 games, 26.5%)
718 - 2007
801 - 2006
688 - 2005
780 - 2004
801 - 2003
768 - 2002
The Twins finished 1st in their division in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006.
I know that the Twins have a big hitting prospect at the catcher position. Is that player Ramos or Morales?
Hmm, why would T fly to Texas? To join the Rangers as they fly to Minnesota?
At least Gardy sounded upset on the radio and didn’t give the standard, “we battled hard” crap. Today’s game was just pathetic and he stated that very clearly.
“…… it’s embarrassing for this organization and our fans………that’s enough, I don’t want to get too mad here, I really don’t” - Ron Gardenhire (KSTP post-game interview)
T,
Wow, you make some great points. I have always wanted Atkins to be a Minnesota Twin. This offseason I was hoping that IF we were going to trade Nathan, that we would get Atkins in return. Also this entire season I have stated (if any one recalls) that Cuddyer is overated. Do really think that Colorado would take Cuddyer though?
Continuing with the Atkins topic, doesn’t Colorado have another high ceiling IF prospect as well?
Also where do you hear that they might trade Holliday?
Like I keep saying…Gardy doesn’t have to yell at the press. They didn’t do anything.
Calling out players in pubilc doesn’t equal success. More often than not it just makes everybody mad for the wrong reasons.
Ramos
but Morales is doing ok in aaa
Shaun says:
May 18th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
“Hmm, why would T fly to Texas? To join the Rangers as they fly to Minnesota?”
Haha! Guess I blew that whole little gag. Thanks for pointing it out.
Tyler,
The Rox have Ian Stewart at 3B, and the talks are they’d rather trade Atkins than Stewart.
Matt Holiday’s name has been on the trade blocks in the national press. It’s come up more than once on Fox Sports and a couple of times on ESPN’s pages.
With Neshek’s injury, resigning Nathan has become a HUGE offseason move. Could you imagine having traded Nathan and then losing Neshek?
I think Cuddyer would fit well in Colorado. He’s got a cannon for an arm, which he showed off a few times. It’d be an asset in that huge outfield.
Twins signed Cuddyer to be that Righty between Morneau and Mauer…and he’s starting to show that won’t work.
He’s overrated locally, but he’s still a good hitter.
“…… it’s embarrassing for this organization and our fans………that’s enough, I don’t want to get too mad here, I really don’t”
Good quote. He’ll get mad in the locker room. If he hasn’t already.
T, where would Cuddyer play in Colorado? I don’t think the Rockies are unhappy with Brad Hawpe, are they?
T
Yea Ian Stewart, thats his name. Yea I would rather have Atkins anyway, he is the exact player the Twins need.
I think an OF of Young,Gomez,Monroe/Kubel/Span would be sufficient if we get Atkins.
While we are on the topic of Twins trades, what if we trade Livan at All Star Break. We would be selling him at a high value, and our young pitching has been tremoundous.
Our pitching rotation than could be:
1.Baker
2.Blackburn
3.Slowly
4.Perkins
5.Bonser
Thats a could be a very strong rotation. Especially when you have these pitchers in the Farm.
*With Liriano,Mulvey, and Humber ready next year.
* And Robertson, and Guerra ready in 2-3 years.
Livan could be a very good trade idea coming up in a few mounths. Lamb is not cutting it.
This team will do this all year. Play a good series, ala Boston, and then go in the tank. There are just not enough consistently good hitters to make this club a contender. Especially with young pitching that has no stud to lead the way. Our bullpen is so over rated. Outside of Nathan, there is no one who really steps out at you as a the real deal. Crain stinks, Rincon off juice stinks, We have two great players. Morneau and Maurer and cast of potentials and leftovers. Potentials are just that potentially good players. Leftovers just take up spots that potentials should have. Ex: Lamb vs. Buscher.
T,
Okay, I see where you stated Holliday could be traded, thus their need for Cuddyer.
I don’t know if the Rockies would want Cuddy’s contract.
I want to see Howie at 2B ….. Go HOWIE!
The twins bullpen is really overrated. Crain is not good. Reys is ok sometimes but doesnt really have that great of stuff. and dont even get me started on Rincon, possibly my least favorite twins player of all time.
yea you guys are mostly right with your evaluation of the bull pen. although Gueereer is good i think
Tyler, I think the Twins would only consider trading Livan if they were completely out of contention by the deadline.
And if Baker and Liriano can recover from their respective injury problems.
T
Why? Why not trade him if we could get a good 3B for him and maybe someone else? I think that Baker,Slowly, and Blackburn are all better than him. And that Perkins and Bonser can suffiently fill the back end. So again, why not trade him?
* Also, there is no question Baker will get better.
We Would be a better team if we got a strong 3B in return for him and someone else if necessary. I guess that is my only point.
With Neshek hurt, Rincon struggling, and Crain and Reyes being Crain and Reyes, they need Livan’s ability to go deep into games for as long as they can get it.
Plus, he’s Carlos Silva without Carlos Silva money.
See i understand that philosophy, and I understand that is why he is a valuable pitcher to have, but all of our young pitchers,(except Bonser and Liriano) have proved to be as good or better than Livan.
I say give it till the all star break, and if they continue to be as good and reliable, than you go ahead and trade Livan.
WE NEED A 3B!!
I say even trade Livan and get guys that could also strengthen the bull pen too
“What matters is what he says to the players in the locker room. That’s not our business.”
As long as we’re paying for these losers’ new stadium… yeah, it is our biz!
The Twins aren’t going to get a good 3B for Livan unless they give up a good prospect or two.
Jesse Crain should be traded.
Carlos Gomez is exciting and young and raw, but so far he has been about the dumbest player I’ve ever seen in a Twins uniform. You would think playing the game everyday at any level the past 4-5 years he would have better baseball sense.
No team is going to give the Twins a decent third baseman for just Livan. That would never happen ever. The Twins would have to throw in some other players with Livan for another team to even think about it.
Kevin, calling out the team publically in a fashion akin to Ozzie isn’t going to do anything.
If they here it in the locker room that’s all Gardy has to do. Like I said before, Leyland said it best after his tirade behind closed doors.
“If I wanted you to hear it, I’d have invited you into the locker room.”
Because what do you want Gardy to say to the media? Do you want him to go on a profanity laced tirade? Save it for the locker room. In there he can tear into guys without having to worry about sound bytes and an overanxious media.
I was just goin through MLB.com and checking on how all our minor leaguer’s were doin and had a name jump out at me that I had never heard before:
P Anthony Slama
0.37 ERA, 16 games, 24.1 IP, 37 K’s.
I know its only A-ball(Ft. Myers), but does anyone know anything about this guy? like where he’s from, drafted, etc…?
Ft. Myers starters seem to be doin all right:
-Jeff Manship, 5-1, 3.62 ERA, 51 Ks, 49.2 IP.
-Deolis Guerra, 4-1, 4.67 ERA
-Cole Devries, 2-4, 4.56 ERA
-Tyler Robertson, 1-2, 3.53 ERA, 45 Ks, 43.1 IP.
-Alex Burnett, 3-1, 2.97 ERA.
Your “g” key is broken
do we have another editor? GaL.
thats an acronym for Get A Life by the way.
and I count 8 “g’s” in my post. (Your Period (.) key is broken.
trying to edit blog posts: Asinine.
responding to said editor: Asinine.
talking baseball on baseball blog: Brilliant.
shameless-So Hernandez should not have been allowed to go out for the seventh,you say.Pretty easy to say after the fact.Hindsight is always 20-20.Gardy puts down the signs,it up to the players to produce.The players who after all are on the scene,seem to have faith in him.The true measure seems to be the opinions of veteran players coming over from other organizations,they seem to be pleasantly surprised by the way the Twins do things
keep,
Anthony Slama is from SoCal (Garden Grove, Ca.
Mater Dei H.S. (Santa Ana, Ca.)
University of San Diego.
Twins drafted him in 39th round in 2006.
I coached him in travel ball when he was 15/16 yrs old.
The amazing thing about him is that, as he advanced from USD-Freshman to USD sophomore to Rookie Ball to Low-A to High-A (now at Fort Myers), his stats have gotten better and better as the level has gotten tougher and tougher.
I don’t mean marginally better.
I mean significantly better every year and every jump in level.
keep,
For Anthony Slama’s stats:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Anthony-Slama.shtml
Hey Sane how’s it going over there in sunny SO-CAL. Cruddy as ever over here in the land of no sunshine.
jimmybee,
It was unseasonably hot this weekend.
We have a playoff game tomorrow in Valencia. (think Magic Mountain - hot)
If it doesn’t cool off, I may stay in the bus with the driver - and the A/C on. Let the kids handle the game themselves. Just kidding - I wish I could.
Sane this may be the first year we don’t get a summer since I moved here. Still thinking it is a bad idea for an outdoor stadium in Minny. Magic Mountain whew. The last time I went there it was prison release day or something. I was affraid of being stabbed or something. Be carefull out that way.
I realize that you could not get a decent 3B for just Livan, It was my suggestion that the Twins should pair Livan with someone else, maybe Cuddyer and a prospect to get a good 3B. The Twins do not need Livan or Cuddyer, but do need a 3B.
Hi Guys, I wonder if you guys wished you’ld made that trade for Lester, Crisp, Masterson and Lowrie now, huh?
scott,
“I wonder if you guys wished you’ld made that trade for Lester, Crisp, Masterson and Lowrie now”
Yesterday, never!
Today, yes!
Tomorrow, ????
God, the Twins just sucked on Sunday. There’s no other way to say it. (I’m very tired, otherwise I’d rant on).
On the flip side, a very important win for the Twins against Texas. If they’d lost, they would’ve lost 6 of 7- and 4 of those at home. A dramatic win can spark a team (but then again, so can Gomez). They need to pretty much sweep Texas (after all, can you present an argument as to why they shouldn’t?). They need to keep rolling, or they’ll quickly fall out of contention. If they come back and lose tonight, all of the sudden, last nights win was virtually meaningless. They go on to split, or lose 3 of 4 to Texas, and in a week they face the slumping Yankees. You know what happens when the Twins face a slumping team this year (Detriot; Texas; Rockies), we kick start them for at least a little while. Got to face the Yankees on a roll. Have to win tonight.
Last thing, trading Livan would be stupid. Every team is ALWAYS looking for pitching (starting pitching especially). You’ve don’t trade what you’ve got. If a team was ready to gut their team/farm system for Livan, trade him. But don’t count on that happening. The deal would have to be very lopsided to even consider it. Mie too scents.
Where would this team be without Gomez? I’ll bet they’d have 10 fewer wins right now if they’d never picked him up.
That said, still would’ve taken Span out of ST. I’ll keep standing by that until Span just does terrible. (Minor leauge player of the week- or something like that). He batted over .600!
Something needs to be done with the 5th spot in the lineup. Cuddy is hitting BAD and it is starting to impact Morneau’s at bats (he saw nothing good to hit last night). Even though Young is not “doing it” for many people in this blog, move him to 5th to at least try it. Can’t get worse to what happened last night. And give Monroe the heads up. If he keeps up those (very) lazy swings he has been taking, trade/release him and bring up Span.
