Month: October 2011

Rotation Spending By Team

April 1, 2010 – Compiled by Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com and reprinted with their permission.

1 – Yankees – $63,157,650

2 – Cubs – $50,775,000

3 – Red Sox – $42,263,500

4 – Mets – $38,087,500

5 – White Sox – $36,200,000

6 – Cardinals – $35,925,000

7 – Giants – $33,850,000

8 – Tigers – $32,670,000

9 – Phillies – $31,805,000

10 – Braves – $31,467,000

11 – Angels – $29,965,000

12 – Royals – $25,110,000

13 – Reds – $24,700,000

14 – Astros – $23,916,000

15 – Rockies – $23,500,000

16 – Diamondbacks – $22,008,925

17 – Dodgers – $21,679,000

18 – Mariners – $20,550,000

19 – Brewers – $18,565,000

20 – Indians – $17,115,500

21 – Padres – $15,355,000

22 – Rangers – $14,181,090

23 – Orioles – $13,668,125

24 – Athletics – $13,210,000

25 – Twins – $12,790,000

26 – Nationals – $10,224,000

27 – Pirates – $10,013,500

28 – Marlins – $9,645,000

29 – Rays – $9,473,333

30 – Blue Jays – $4,085,000

Approximately $736MM will be spent on the 2010 salaries of the 150 projected members of Opening Day rotations. That’s an average of $4.9MM per pitcher.

  • On average, a team will spend $24.5MM on its rotation in 2010. The median figure is $22.8MM.
  • The White Sox, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Rockies, and Giants don’t have any projected starters earning less than $1MM.
  • The Blue Jays will pay more to Halladay in 2010 than they will pay their entire rotation.

Closer by Committee? What a Joke!

April 1, 2010 – You have got to be kidding. A closer by committee has not worked to any degree for any team in a long time. The only time that teams go to closer by committee is when they have no closer. Ideally the Twins would invest some of their Nathan insurance money and get a legitimate closer but if they foolishly choose not to go down that path, then the Twins should just pick their best closer candidate and put him in the closer role and leave him there until he proves he cannot handle the job. How is that better than closer by committee? It is a better option because then everyone has a defined role day in and day out. The relievers will not come to the ballpark wondering if they will be pitching the sixth, seventh, eighth or closing on any given day. The Twins had an outfield by committee last year and it hurt all their outfielders, you would think Gardy and the Twins brain trust would learn from that experience. I say name Matt Guerrier as your closer and give the man a shot. If Guerrier can’t do the job, I would send Crain out there next. The season starts Monday Gardy, do your team a favor and name a closer. What have you got to lose? Best case you find a closer and worst case is you find out who can’t close.

UPDATE April 2 – Twins manager Gardenhire has named Jon Rauch as the Twins closer and the Twins plan to go closer by committee is dead before it even started. Smart move Gardy!

Joe and Joe

March 23, 2010 – First of all, congratulations to the Minnesota Twins and Joe Mauer for getting a deal done, and in the nick of time too, because both the fans and the writers were all confident that a deal would get done and Joe would resign with Minnesota but lately some ugly rumors and discussions had started surfacing that maybe Mauer should be traded if he is not interested in signing for the “big” money that the Twins were offering. These kinds of stories could only cause ill will between all parties concerned and it is a good thing that both sides were able to get together and get a deal done before the ‘mud slinging” had a chance to really get going and things were said that would not be easily forgotten.

Now that everyone has had a chance to relax and take a deep sigh of relief after Joe Mauer signed an eight year extension for $184MM it is time for the Twins brain trust to get back to solving the next big issue, what to do about the closer problem. When Joe Nathan hurt his elbow back on March 6, he decided to take two weeks and see if he could pitch through the pain and the other day he decided at he couldn’t and now will undergo the infamous TJ or “Tommy John” surgery which has a minimum recovery time of 12 months.

Internally the names that have been discussed have been Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain, Pat Neshek, Anthony Slama, and Francisco Liriano but I don’t see any of these names as the answer. Let’s take a look at each one of these guys.

Jon Rauch has the most experience of the bunch with 26 career saves on the books but Gardy says that he wants a closer that can punch out a hitter when needed and Rauch’s strikeouts have dropped from 86, to 71, to 66 and 49 in the last 4 years. In addition, Rauch has given up 37 home runs in the last 4 years, I am not sure that I would like to see Rauch as my everyday closer.

Jesse Crain is also not strikeout pitcher and seems to be too inconsistent from one outing to another in my eyes to be sent out to shut the door on a team day in and day out. Having said that, Crain can be very effective for short periods of time but I would never let Crain pitch more than one inning in whatever role he is in.

Jose Mijares is the lone lefty in the group but he just lacks the experience at this stage of his career to carry the load as the teams closer. He has the stuff to do the job but his lack of experience and his questionable attitude will keep him in his current role.

Matt Guerrier probably has the right mental attitude to be a closer but I am not sure he has the “stuff” to get the job done. Matt gives up about 10 home runs a year on average and his strikeouts have dropped for the last 3 years in a row. Matt is one of the best set-up guys in the business and I would hate to weaken that spot to put him in a closer role where he might be less effective.

Pat Neshek is coming off an injury and did not pitch at all in 2009. Neshek’s funky delivery has served him well in the past but I don’t think that the Twins can thrust him into a closer role after such a long layoff. He meets Gardy’s requirement of having the “punch-out” ability and he for the most part can keep the ball in the ballpark but the recent injury is just more risk then the Twins will want to take at this time.

Francisco Liriano probably has the stuff to be the closer but his mentality will not allow him to fill that role. You have to be a “cool customer” to be a closer and not allow a bad call or runners on base to get to you and there is no way that Liriano can over come these obstacles at this point in his career. Plus you have to ask yourself, is Liriano really ready to jump back into the starter role? If he is, he is probably more valuable there then in the closer role.

How about Anthony Slama? Would you put a rookie driver in your Corvette? I think not.

So, there you have it, the Twins have a good bullpen but they have a missing piece and it is a key missing piece. The Twins don’t have the right spare part to fix their engine without going outside the organization. It won’t be a cheap fix and you have to give up something to get something but the Twins have no choice. The Twins $90+ million car has headed full speed into 2010 and right now the brakes are not working, they need to find the missing link that can slam on the brakes on the opposing team in the 9th inning of those close games when the Twins have the lead. The Twins cannot afford NOT to find a closer, and soon.

Former Twins 2B and ROY Chuck Knoblauch pleads guilty

March 16,2010 – Former Twins second baseman and 1991 AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch has pled guilty to misdemeanor assault on his common-law wife. According to the original criminal complaint, Knoblauch’s wife stated to police that Knoblauch hit her in the face and choked her last September. According to court records, Knoblauch entered his plea today in exchange for a deferred- adjudication probation. If Knoblauch completes his one-year probation successfully the conviction on the assault of a family member would be expunged from the record. Knoblauch was also fined $1,000.

Did you know?

March 12, 2010 – The Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators have held spring training in the following locations: Phoebus, Va. (1901); Washington, D.C. (1902-1904); Hampton, Va. (1905); Charlottesville, Va. (1906); Galveston, Texas (1907); Norfolk, Va. (1910); Atlanta (1911); Charlottesville, Va. (1912-1916); Atlanta (1917); Augusta, Ga. (1918-1919); Tampa (1920-1929); Biloxi, Miss. (1930-1935); Orlando (1936-1942); College Park, Md. (1943-1945); Orlando (1946-1990); Ft. Myers (1991-present).

Was the Twins Dome advantage just a fallacy?

 

Metrodome aerial view from what was considered the back (East side) of the Dome.

March 12, 2010 – For years opposing players and managers and writers across the country have complained about the huge home advantage that the HHH Metrodome provided for the Minnesota Twins. But when you look at the actual numbers, you will see that the Twins actually had a better winning percentage when they played at Metropolitan Stadium than they had at the Metrodome. It is also interesting to me that the Twins appeared to be a better road team when they played at Met Stadium then when they played at the Metrodome. Maybe calling the Dome home was a disadvantage when they went on the road? Another fun fact is that the Twins best decade was the 60’s. It will be interesting to see what Target Field has in store for the Twins in 2010 and beyond.

Twins wins/losses by the decade

Years Wins Losses Winning %
1961-1969 789 666 .542
1970-1979 812 794 .506
1980-1989 733 833 .468
1990-1999 718 833 .463
2000-2009 863 758 .502
Grand Total 3,915 3,884 .502

Twins wins/losses while playing at each stadium  

Stadium Year Wins Losses Winning %
Met Stadium 1961-1981 1,719 1,612 .516
HHH Metrodome 1982-2009 2,196 2,272 .491

Twins wins/losses at home versus on the road by stadium

Stadium Years Home wins Home losses Home win % Road wins Road losses Road win %
Met Stadium 1961-1981 910 759 .545 809 853 .487
HHH Metrodome 1982-2009 1,214 1,028 .541 982 1,244 .441

 Twins average wins/loses at home versus on the road by stadium

Stadium Years AVG home wins Avg home losses Avg road wins Avg road losses
Met Stadium 1961-1981 43.33 36.14 38.52 40.62
HHH Metrodome 1982-2009 43.36 36.71 35.07 44.43

 

Joe Nathan and the Twins

March 10, 2010 – It is all over the news, bad news for Joe Nathan, the Twins, and Twins fans everywhere. Joe Nathan has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow and right now the decision has been made to rest if for several weeks to see if that helps. No one seems to be holding out much hope that the rest will allow Nathan to pitch in 2010. You can understand the Twins point of view; they have a lot on the line so waiting two weeks or so seems a small price to pay in hoping for a miracle.

The Twins can pursue a trade for a proven closer or a closer in waiting. Word is that Jason Frasor who is currently with Toronto is available as are Heath Bell and Kerry Wood and all three have the necessary experience. Right now that seems like the best option but the price could be more than the Twins want to pay since everyone will be asking for the moon with the Twins in dire straits. If the Twins look internally to fill the void, that would present another problem because they would weaken another area to fill the closer role. But if the Twins choose that path, then I think that the pecking order for the closer role should be Rauch, Crain and Mijares. I think that Guerrier is too valuable in the role he is currently in to move to the closer position. Neshek is coming off TJ surgery himself and I can’t see the Twins putting him into the closer role at least during the first half of the season. The Twins don’t have anyone in the minors that they would trust in such a key role for a team expected to go deep in the playoffs. Whatever they do, the Twins must make a decision soon and get the bullpen calmed down with designated roles for everyone, and you don’t want the relievers to go day to day without knowing what their role will be on any given day.

I went to my first Twins spring training game of the season yesterday and saw the Twins beat the Cardinals 7-6 in an entertaining game. When we drove to the park it was crazy, traffic was backed up everywhere and I was sent driving all around the complex before they finally found a parking spot for me in right field of one of the complex’s softball fields. A five minute walk got me in the ballpark but it was the bottom of the first inning and the Twins were already down 2-0 and Adam Wainwright was starting for the Cardinals. It was a back and forth game and I think the Nathan situation was on some of the player’s minds. Nick Punto, playing 3B made two errors and just did not look like his head was in the game. There were some other fielding plays that could have been called errors but were not due to the generosity of the official scorer. Carl Pavano started for the Twins and looked OK but he did give up six hits in three innings. The big blow came in the bottom of the 8th inning with the score tied 6-6 and Danny Valencia came up to the plate for the first time and parked the ball over the left field fence for a home run. It was a nice ending to a fun day at the ballpark. Oh, why the traffic jam? I guess it was because the Twins drew their largest ever crowd to a spring training game at Hammond Stadium, 8,220 baseball starved fans got to see the Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

UPDATE March 21 – The Twins announced this morning that Joe Nathan will undergo “Tommy John” surgery sometime this week. The doctor and location are still to be determined.

Did you know?

March 6, 2010 – That the year 1977 marked the first time in their 17 year history that the Twins wore their names on the backs of their uniforms.

STRIKE THREE!

March 4, 2010 – The Minnesota Twins preach putting the bat on the ball and getting it in play because you never know what can happen next, but the Twins have had a number of players over the years that have taken that long walk to the bench after flailing away and missing. Strangely enough, when you look at the franchise top fifty strike-out leaders from a hitting perspective, 46 out of 50 are Twins players and only 4 are Washington Senators and both of them, Jim Lemon and Harmon Killebrew played for the Twins. You would think with the old-time pitchers accumulating so many strike-outs that you would see more Washington Senators on this list. The top Twins strikeout team was the 1997 team (68-94) with 1,121 KO’s and the top Senators strike-out team was the 1960 team (73-81) with 883 KO’s. The top man on the list is Bobby Darwin who led the AL in strikeouts between 1972-1974. Here are the seasonal top ten strike-out performances by Twins/Senators hitters:

Rank Name Strike outs Year
1 Bobby Darwin 145 1972
2 (tie) Carlos Gomez 142 2008
2 (tie) Harmon Killebrew 142 1962
4 Jim Lemon 138 1956
5 Bobby Darwin 137 1973
6 Harmon Killebrew 135 1964
7 (tie) Rich Becker 130 1997
7 (tie) Michael Cuddyer 130 2006
9 Jacques Jones 129 2002
10 Lary Hisle 128 1973

 

Radio Baseball Cards Podcasts

February 28, 2010 – To listen to some cool baseball clips with numerous baseball greats, please click on the Radio Baseball Cards icon. The great Don Drysdale does a very nice job in these quick short but interesting radio interviews. Several of these clips are with former Minnesota Twins players.