Month: December 2013

Keep what you have or do you take what is behind this door?

2013 has just about come to a close and spring training is 41 days away and the MLB free agent list still has numerous serviceable players looking for work. The plums of the free agent market have pretty much been plucked but there are still a few decent players out there. The fact that Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was dangling in the wind probably has a lot to do with some of the top rated free agent starters still on the market not signing but now that he has been posted thing may start to break free. If you look at the available free agents you can see how some positions have been stripped bare and others still have innumerable free agents still in the unemployed corner. Strangely enough with everyone looking for starting pitching there seems to be plenty of arms still on the market, sure, they are not aces but they can certainly fill a spot in many teams rotations.

I thought it would be interesting to compare some of what I deem to be top free agents still looking for work to what might be the 2014 Twins team when they head to Chicago to open play in 2014. If you compare the free agent and the corresponding Twins player, who would you rather see in a Twins uniform? Don’t forget what it might cost to sign this free agent versus the player the Twins currently have because you don’t have an unlimited checkbook. This is just a fun little exercise to help you get through these cold snowy days in Minnesota as you wait the hear that “play ball” call once again. Are any of these free agents possible Twins in your eyes?

Position Free Agents Twins
Catcher John Buck Josmil Pinto
1B Mark Reynolds Joe Mauer
2B Chris Getz Brian Dozier
SS Stephen Drew Pedro Florimon
3B Michael Young Trevor Plouffe
LF Chris Coghlan Josh Willingham
CF Reed Johnson Aaron Hicks
RF Nelson Cruz Oswaldo Arcia
DH Kendrys Morales Chris Parmelee
SP Matt Garza Ricky Nolasco
SP Ervin Santana Phil Hughes
SP Masahiro Tanaka Kevin Correia
SP Ubaldo Jimenez Mike Pelfrey
SP Bronson Arroyo Sam Deduno
CL Grant Balfour Glen Perkins

Interactive Whiteboards by PolyVision

Stephan Drew
Stephan Drew

I don’t know how much it would take to sign Stephen Drew but I wouldn’t mind seeing him play some short here in Minnesota. I also would like to see Michael Young play some 3B instead of Trevor Plouffe while waiting for Miguel Sano to slide into that 3B position. Both probably looking for more than the Twins want to spend but if I was Mr. Ryan I would open my checkbook and get Drew’s John Henry on a Twins contract, he would be a huge upgrade and there is no prospect beating down the shortstop door in Minnesota. Tanaka would be a slick addition but I can’t see him wanting to play here plus the financial risk of paying that much for an unproven MLB player is more than I would like to do. There are a few relief pitchers that I did not include on this list that would be nice in the Twins bullpen too.

I used the ESPN MLB Free Agent tracker to determine who was still available, are there players on the list you would like to see in the home dugout at Target Field that I did not mention here?

THREE MAKE HOF CUT IN BBA VOTING

Maddux, Thomas, Glavine Recommended by Blogger Organization for Cooperstown

 

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance today recommends three players from the official Hall of Fame ballot to be inducted into Cooperstown this summer. Pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, most closely associated with the Atlanta Braves, and long-time Chicago White Sox first baseman/designated hitter Frank Thomas reached the 75% threshold when BBA members cast their ballots.

 

Greg Maddux
Greg Maddux

Maddux, a four-time Cy Young Award winner for the Braves, pitched from 1986 to 2008 and won 355 games while posting a 3.16 ERA and striking out over 3,300 batters. He had a career WHIP of 1.143 in just over 5,000 innings and an ERA+ of 132 over that span. His best season was 1995, when he fashioned a 19-2 record with a 1.63 ERA, good for a bWAR of 9.7 that year.

Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas

Thomas played from 1990 to 2008, all but the last three season on the south side of Chicago. He has a career slash line of .301/.419/.555 and fashioned an OPS+ of 156 during his playing days. He put up his highest single-season bWAR in 1997, when his 1.067 OPS and 35 home runs played a large role in his mark of 7.3.

 

Tom Glavine
Tom Glavine

Glavine’s career spanned roughly the same time frame as Maddux’s, with Glavine starting in 1987. He won the Cy Young in 1991 and 1998 and finished runner-up two other times. His career ERA was 3.54 and he won 305 games during his tenure with the Braves and the New York Mets. Glavine had a 1.314 WHIP for his career and an ERA+ of 118.

The voting of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance has often been close to what the baseball writers eventually decide, though the correlation is stronger with the year-end awards. A quick look at the past few years:

In 2010, no player reached the 75% mark in BBA voting, while the writers inducted only Andre Dawson.

In 2011, the BBA selected Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven and both were inducted into Cooperstown that summer.

In 2012, Barry Larkin and Jeff Bagwell were selected by the BBA, but the writers only took Larkin.

Last year, the bloggers again picked Bagwell, while the writers could not agree on anyone to honor.

Bagwell lost support in this year’s voting, coming up roughly 10% shy of recommendation. The final vote totals are as follows:

 

Greg Maddux 94.51%

Frank Thomas 80.22%

Tom Glavine 75.82%

Mike Piazza 72.53%

Craig Biggio 70.33%

Jeff Bagwell 64.84%

Barry Bonds 60.44%

Roger Clemens 59.34%

Tim Raines 54.95%

Edgar Martinez 41.76%

Curt Schilling 39.56%

Mike Mussina 32.97%

Alan Trammell 30.77%

Jack Morris 25.27%

Mark McGwire 21.98%

Larry Walker 17.58%

Jeff Kent 15.38%

Lee Smith 14.29%

Don Mattingly 9.89%

Fred McGriff 8.79%

Rafael Palmeiro 7.69%

Sammy Sosa 4.40%

Moises Alou 3.30%

Eric Gagne 2.20%

Luis Gonzalez 2.20%

Sean Casey 1.10%

Kenny Rogers 1.10%

Richie Sexson 1.10%

J.T. Snow 1.10%

Armando Benitez 0.00%

Ray Durham 0.00%

Jacque Jones 0.00%

Todd Jones 0.00%

Paul Lo Duca 0.00%

Hideo Nomo 0.00%

Mike Timlin 0.00%

 

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was established in the fall of 2009 for the purpose of fostering collaboration and communication among bloggers from across baseball. The BBA currently has approximately 240 blogs in its membership, including some of the most prominent blogs on the Internet, spanning all major league teams and various other general aspects of the game.

More information about the BBA can be found at their website, baseballbloggersalliance.wordpress.com, or by contacting the founder and administrator of the organization, Daniel Shoptaw, at baseballbloggersalliance@gmail.com.

Terry Ryan hires former teammate Sam Perlozzo

Sam Perlozzo with Philly in 2012
Sam Perlozzo with Philly in 2012

The Twins announced their Minor League managerial and coaching staffs this past Friday and there was only one major change from last season. Former Baltimore Orioles manager (2005-2007) Sam Perlozzo has been named Minnesota’s Minor League infield and base running coordinator. Perlozzo replaces Paul Molitor who was added to the Twins coaching staff for the 2014 season.

Perlozzo  was signed by the Twins as an amateur free agent in 1972 and was a teammate of GM Terry Ryan in Orlando in 1976. Perlozzo, a second baseman played 10 games for the Twins in September of 1977 but was released by Minnesota in March 1979.

I did an interview with Sam in the spring of 2012 when he was a coach with the Philadelphia Phillies that you can listen to at http://wp.me/P1YQUj-1ig .

Looking at the Twins SO/9 ratio

Minnesota Twins pitchers have finished dead last in the American League in strikeouts the last three years and you all know where the team has finished in the standing during that time frame. When the Twins came into existence in 1961 the SO/9 average in the American League was 5.2 SO/9 and it slowly climbed to 6.1 SO/9 in 1967 but then started sliding down to under 5.0 SO/9 from 1974 to 1983. Since then it started climbing and for the first time in 2012 it went above 7.0 went it hit 7.4 SO/9 and in 2013 it hit 7.7 SO/9 which is a new high water mark.

From 2006 through 2013 only one team in the AL has finished above the .500 mark in the standings when their pitching staff has had under 1,000 strikeouts and guess who that was? It was the 2008 Minnesota Twins team that finished second to the Chicago White Sox in 2008 when Gardy’s boys went 88-75 and lost game 163 in Chicago. When Twins pitchers have 1,000 or more strikeouts the team won less than 79 games only once and that was the 2000 Twins when they finished the season with a 69-93 mark. Twins pitchers have struck 1,000 or more batters only 10 times in 53 seasons and peaked with 1,164 KO’s in 2006 when the team had a franchise high 7.28 SO/9.

The Twins can spew all the “pitch to contact” babble they want but striking out hitters and winning games goes together like peanut butter and jelly. We can only wait and see what the new Twins pitchers can do. Ricky Nolasco has a career 7.4 SO/9 and Phil Hughes is 7.6 SO/9 so they should help improve the Twins sad 2013 6.11 SO/9 team mark.

So looking back all the way to 1961 what Twins pitchers have had the best SO/9 ratio in a given season? The table below shows the highest SO/9 ratio with a minimum of 50 innings. Not many starters on this list.

Joe Nathan
Joe Nathan
Rk Player SO/9 IP Year G GS W L SV SO ERA
1 Joe Nathan 12.51 68.1 2006 64 0 7 0 36 95 1.58
2 Joe Nathan 12.09 70.0 2005 69 0 7 4 43 94 2.70
3 Joe Nathan 11.67 68.2 2009 70 0 2 2 47 89 2.10
4 Juan Rincon 11.63 82.0 2004 77 0 11 6 2 106 2.63
5 Johan Santana 11.38 108.1 2002 27 14 8 6 1 137 2.99
6 Joe Nathan 11.07 72.1 2004 73 0 1 2 44 89 1.62
7 Glen Perkins 11.06 62.2 2013 61 0 2 0 36 77 2.30
8 Francisco Liriano 10.71 121.0 2006 28 16 12 3 1 144 2.16
9 Tom Hall 10.66 155.1 1970 52 11 11 6 4 184 2.55
10 Casey Fien 10.60 62.0 2013 73 0 5 2 0 73 3.92
11 Johan Santana 10.46 228.0 2004 34 34 20 6 0 265 2.61
12 Ron Davis 10.02 64.2 1985 57 0 2 6 25 72 3.48
13 Glen Perkins 9.98 70.1 2012 70 0 3 1 16 78 2.56
14 Joe Nathan 9.84 67.2 2008 68 0 1 2 39 74 1.33
15 Juan Rincon 9.82 77.0 2005 75 0 6 6 0 84 2.45
16 Francisco Liriano 9.81 100.0 2012 22 17 3 10 0 109 5.31
17 Joe Nathan 9.67 71.2 2007 68 0 4 2 37 77 1.88
18 Johan Santana 9.66 219.0 2007 33 33 15 13 0 235 3.33
19 Johan Santana 9.61 158.1 2003 45 18 12 3 0 169 3.07
20 Tom Hall 9.51 129.2 1971 48 11 4 7 9 137 3.33
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/26/2013.

 

Looking over the Twins history here the best Twins career SO/9 ratio’s with a minimum of 100 innings pitched. How many of these pitchers were originally signed by the Twins? That would be eight.

 

Rk Player SO/9 IP G GS W L W-L% SV SO ERA BA
1 Joe Nathan 10.90 463.1 460 0 24 13 .649 260 561 2.16 .186
2 Pat Neshek 10.48 129.2 132 0 11 6 .647 0 151 3.05 .189
3 Johan Santana 9.50 1308.2 251 175 93 44 .679 1 1381 3.22 .221
4 Francisco Liriano 9.05 783.1 156 130 50 52 .490 1 788 4.33 .247
5 Tom Hall 8.52 455.1 139 44 25 21 .543 13 431 3.00 .212
6 Juan Rincon 8.41 441.0 386 3 30 26 .536 3 412 3.69 .248
7 Ron Davis 8.24 381.1 286 0 19 40 .322 108 349 4.51 .264
8 Jared Burton 8.16 128.0 135 0 5 11 .313 7 116 3.02 .216
9 Juan Berenguer 8.15 418.1 211 7 33 13 .717 9 379 3.70 .231
10 Ray Moore 7.95 159.2 126 1 13 10 .565 25 141 4.90 .252
11 Gerry Arrigo 7.93 131.2 54 15 8 7 .533 1 116 4.31 .245
12 Eddie Guardado 7.79 704.2 648 25 37 48 .435 116 610 4.53 .253
13 Dennys Reyes 7.77 126.1 191 0 10 1 .909 0 109 2.14 .238
14 Rick Aguilera 7.60 694.0 490 30 40 47 .460 254 586 3.50 .243
15 Dan Naulty 7.60 111.1 97 0 4 5 .444 5 94 4.61 .234
16 Al Worthington 7.59 473.1 327 0 37 31 .544 88 399 2.62 .221
17 Dick Stigman 7.52 643.2 138 85 37 37 .500 7 538 3.69 .229
18 Dave Boswell 7.51 1036.1 187 150 67 54 .554 0 865 3.49 .217
19 J.C. Romero 7.42 407.2 327 22 25 20 .556 2 336 4.35 .256
20 Mike Trombley 7.36 645.2 365 36 30 34 .469 34 528 4.53 .266
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/26/2013.

Merry Christmas to all

Merry Christmas 2We at Twins Trivia want to wish each and every one of you a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thank you so much for stopping by our site again this year and we hope that you will make Twins Trivia a regular stop in the future. 2013 was the third bad year in a row for the Minnesota Twins so Santa Terry Ryan and his gang of elves are working very hard to bring the team back to respectability and from what I have seen so far this off-season they are well on their way. No, I don’t say a run at the playoffs is in the cards for 2014 but I do see a ballclub that has the potential to be a team that can be fun to watch and that is a huge step forward. Manager Gardy remains at the reigns of a team that has a number of good young players on the cusp of being big league ready so you can once again put your Twins cap on proudly and get ready to watch some baseball because good times are ahead for the Minnesota Twins. Hang in there Twins fans, the snow may be up to your ass knees and the temperatures may still be below zero but spring training is less than 2 months away. Merry Christmas to one and all!

Thank you again and we hope you all have a happy and healthy 2014.

Who can hit leadoff for Twins?

The Twins have not had a decent leadoff hitter since Denard Span was traded after the 2012 season and he was a good leadoff man, not a great one. This past season the hitters that Ron Gardenhire sent up to the plate to hit lead off for the Twins were just plain dismal.

Rk Player G OBP PA AB R H HR RBI SB BB SO BA
1 Darin Mastroianni 3 .357 14 12 2 3 0 0 1 2 2 .250
2 Alex Presley 27 .339 121 112 9 32 1 11 1 8 21 .286
3 Clete Thomas 17 .312 77 69 12 16 2 5 0 8 21 .232
4 Brian Dozier 74 .310 344 312 40 79 12 44 7 23 63 .253
5 Jamey Carroll 26 .252 120 110 13 21 0 3 1 9 19 .191
6 Eduardo Escobar 9 .182 33 30 4 3 0 1 0 3 4 .100
7 Aaron Hicks 10 .109 46 43 3 2 0 3 0 3 20 .047
8 Chris Parmelee 2 .000 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
9 Wilkin Ramirez 1 .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
10 Ryan Doumit 1 .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
11 Chris Herrmann 2 .000 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/22/2013.

 

Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier

The Twins could use Brian Dozier to hit lead off again but that is not his ideal spot in the batting order but yet Gardy might not have a choice. All things being equal, if you look a the projected Twins line-up the leadoff hitter should come from center field. But who will play center field for Minnesota in 2014? Unless something dramatic happens it looks like Darin Mastroianni, Alex Presley, and Aaron Hicks will battle it out this spring in Ft. Myers to see will open the season as the Twins center fielder.

Darin Mastroianni
Darin Mastroianni

Mastroianni spent most of 2013 on the DL and if you look at his major league OBP, it stands at .298 which is not very good but it is a small sample size of just 230 at bats. In the minor leagues Mastroianni had a .370 OBP but that is in the minors. Darin is 28 years old so he is not the Twins center fielder of the future by any means and is best suited in a back-up role but that doesn’t mean he might not start the season in center field.

Alex Presley
Alex Presley

Alex Presley who the Twins acquired from Pittsburgh last season in the Justin Morneau trade is also 28 and he was OK in that role at the tail end of last season but nothing in his past major league stats indicates that he could put up the same kind of numbers over a 162 game schedule. In the minors Presley had a .352 OBP but again, that is in the minors. He too has a shot at being the Twins center fielder on Opening Day but he too might just be a placeholder.

Aaron Hicks
Aaron Hicks

The ideal man for the job is 24 year-old Aaron Hicks but when the Twins gave him the job in 2013 he hit for a .047 average and his OBP was a microscopic .109 in the 46 plate appearances that Gardy gave him in that role. Hicks would like to get the 2013 season in his rear view mirror and start his major league anew in 2014 but who knows if the Twins brain trust will let him start the season with the Twins in Chicago. The Twins sent Hicks down to  prove he belongs in the big leagues after hitting .192 in 81 games and Hicks responded by hitting all of .222 in the 22 games he played in Rochester. The Twins sent Hicks a message by not recalling him in September and Hicks had better come to Florida with a chip on his shoulder and play like a man possessed if he want to be the Twins opening day center fielder because he has something to prove to Gardy and Terry Ryan. Then again, Hicks had a fantastic spring training in 2013 and yet when the season started Hicks flopped big time. Hicks could very well start the season in Rochester and have to beat the Twins door down to prove he belongs in the big leagues with Minnesota. Dozier did it in 2013 and Hicks can do it this year. This team needs Hicks as their center fielder.

Looking back in Twins history to see who the best Twins leadoff hitters have been from a OBP perspective you have to admit that Chuck Knoblauch was the best the Twins have ever had. I know that Knoblauch was a jerk at times and a stuck up snob much of the time but the man played some good baseball for the Twins and it is a joke that he is not in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.  Hopefully he will get voted in this year, remember that you are voting for him for what he did in a Twins uniform on the ball field, not how he choses to live his life. While you are voting, put a “X” down next to Cesar Tovar too, he also deserves to be in the Twins HOF.

 Best OBP hitting lead off with 100 games or more

Chuck Knoblauch

Rk Player Year G OBP PA AB R H HR RBI SB BB SO BA
1 Chuck Knoblauch 1996 151 .448 699 577 140 197 13 72 45 97 74 .341
2 Chuck Knoblauch 1995 134 .423 620 530 105 175 11 63 45 77 94 .330
3 Denard Span 2009 145 .392 676 578 97 180 8 68 23 70 89 .311
4 Chuck Knoblauch 1997 155 .390 712 608 116 178 9 58 62 84 84 .293
5 Kirby Puckett 1986 128 .375 592 558 103 189 25 77 15 26 74 .339
6 Lenny Green 1962 149 .367 713 609 96 165 14 62 8 87 36 .271
7 Cesar Tovar 1971 142 .364 653 598 90 191 1 41 18 41 34 .319
8 Otis Nixon 1998 107 .360 498 446 71 132 1 20 37 44 55 .296
9 Cesar Tovar 1970 156 .356 721 646 119 194 10 54 30 51 46 .300
10 Jacque Jones 2002 133 .346 606 558 92 169 25 81 6 37 123 .303
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/22/2013.

Trade a catcher and sign a catcher

Kurt Suzuki
Kurt Suzuki

According to a report by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle earlier today the Twins and catcher Kurt Suzuki have reached agreement on a one-year deal $2.75 million base salary that also includes some incentives just two days after sending catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit to Atlanta.

The 30-year-old Hawaiian was the Oakland A’s second round pick in 2004 and made his big league debut on June 12, 2007 against the Houston Astros. Suzuki took over the starting catching role in 2008 and kept the job until the 2012 season when the A’s started to platoon him more and more. In August 2012 the A’s traded him to the Washington Nationals after their catcher Willie Ramos was injured and he stayed there for a year before the Nats traded him back to Oakland in August 2013.

According to the MLB Rumors site,  “Suzuki has thrown out 26 percent of opposing base stealers throughout his career, though that number fell to only 12 percent in 2013. He was significantly better in 2012, when he picked off 30 percent of potential thieves. In 2013, he was above average in blocking pitches, per Fangraphs, and was average in terms of pitch-framing, per Matthew Carruth’s report at StatCorner.”

Suzuki’s best season may have been 2009 when he hit .274 with 15 home runs and 88 RBI. Since 2009 his average has fallen each season to .242 in 2010 then .237, then .235 and finally last season to .232. I have always liked Suzuki and I think he will be a very good fit in Minnesota as he backs up Josmil Pinto (assuming his shoulder woes get resolved) and teaches him what it takes to be a starting catcher in the big leagues. I remember a few years back when Suzuki was coming back off an injury and some baseball show was following his workout in a swimming pool. I was amazed when Suzuki was standing in the pool about waist deep and he jumped straight up and landed on his feet on the edge of the pool, that was pretty cool. I am looking forward to seeing Suzuki in a Twins uniform and I really think he will hit better than he has the last few years. I think the Twins made a very nice move here and the price was certainly right.

Twins trade Doumit

The Twins and GM Terry Ryan keep working to improve the team with Christmas just  around the corner and Spring Training just 50 or so days away. Yesterday the Twins announced that they had traded catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit to the Atlanta Braves for minor league LHP Sean Gilmartin.

Ryan Doumit
Ryan Doumit

The 32-year-old Doumit had spent the last two seasons with Minnesota with mixed results after the Twins signed him as a free agent in November 2011. Known more for his bat than his catching skills, the switch-hitting Doumit put up some nice numbers in 2012 when he hit .275 with 18 dingers and 75 RBI in 134 games however; in 2013 he appeared in 135 games but hit only .247 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI. Doumit suffered some concussion symptoms in 2013 and caught his last game in a Twins uniform on August 29th and was either in the outfield or used as a DH for the remainder of the season. There have been reports that Doumit is no longer interested in catching but those rumors must be false or the Braves are going to get a real surprise.

Sean Gilmartin
Sean Gilmartin

On the other side of the deal the Twins procured LHP Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin was first drafted in 2008 in round 31 by the San Diego Padres but chose not to sign and then became a first round pick (28th over all) of the Atlanta Braves in 2011 and signed for a reported $1,134,000 signing bonus. Gilmartin progressed through the Braves system rapidly and in just his second year in pro ball in 2012 started 7 games for AAA Gwinnett. 2013 was a tough year for Gilmartin who had shoulder problems and really struggled in 2013. In 20 starts Gilmartin put up a 5.06 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 105 innings at three minor league levels, including AAA Gwinnett but was still recently named the Braves’ tenth best prospect by Baseball America. “Gilmartin is a finesse pitcher who knows how to set up hitters and pitch to his strengths,” wrote the publication in its subscriber-only write-up, noting he projects as a No. 4 starter “His fastball has good movement while sitting in the 89-91 mph range, and he mixes it well with a plus change-up and a low-80s slider with a sharp, late break.” Here is what Mark Bradley at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had to say about the trade and why the Braves let Gilmartin go.

Danny Valencia
Danny Valencia

In some other news, former Twins 3B Danny Valencia is on the move again. This time he was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder David Lough and there is already talk of a platoon with 3B Mike Moustakas but I find that really hard to believe. Since leaving the Twins in 2012 Valencia has already seen action with the Red Sox and Orioles and now hopes to wear a Royals jersey.

Livan Hernandez
Livan Hernandez

Former (2008) Twins pitcher Livan Hernandez also made the news recently when he put up for auction some of his major league memorabilia including his 1997 World Series MVP trophy and World Series ring. Hernandez who last pitched in 2012 earned over $50 million during his 17 year big league career but must be a little short of cash now days. Kind of sad…..

Some thoughts on recent Twins activities

Mike Pelfrey
Mike Pelfrey

According to a report by CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman the Twins have reached an agreement with Twins free agent pitcher Mike Pelfrey on a two-year $11MM. The report goes on to say that Pelfrey could also earn as much as $3.5 million in performance bonuses. In his first season since undergoing  TJ surgery, Pelfrey was 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA in 152.2 innings for Minnesota in 2013. One of the problems I had with the soon (January 14th) to be 30 year-old Pelfrey was that he averaged just 5.25 innings per start last season while throwing  an average of 87 pitches per outing. I enjoyed watching grass grow more than I did watching Pelfrey pitch, the man is too slow and deliberate for his own good. He is going to have to improve on that if he hopes to reach 200 innings under Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson.

Jason Kubel
Jason Kubel

The Twins also signed former Twins outfielder Jason Kubel to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old Kubel was originally a Twins 12th round pick in 2000 and played for Minnesota from 2004-2011 before signing with Arizona as a free agent. Kubel  missed the entire 2005 season due to injury. Interestingly some reports have Kubel passing on better offers because he is sure he can make the Twins team. GM Terry Ryan has stated that Kubel will have to show that he can still hit and play both corner outfield positions if he wants to wear the Twins colors this season. Kubel has four 20 home run seasons under his belt with the most recent coming in 2012. If Kubel proves he can still hit the long ball, I have no issue with Kubel being a fourth outfielder and a decent left-handed bat off the bench. The problem you have when you have to get down to 25 is that Kubel can’t play center and you need someone to back up center.

Twins season-ticket holders over the weekend received notices of prices for the July 15 All-Star Game at Target Field. One ticket strip will cost from $401 to $1,416 for Champions Club members. Each strip consists of single tickets for several events: FanFest, the Futures Game, the Legends and Celebrity Softball Game, the Home Run Derby and of course the All-Star Game itself.  As expected, it won’t be cheap to be part of the All-Star festivities.

Liam Hendriks
Liam Hendriks

The Chicago Cubs claimed RHP Liam Hendriks on waivers after the Twins designated him for assignment. I know Hendriks has struggled with the Twins and he has been in the organization for seven years but he is still only 24 years old, hate to see the Twins give up on him.

The Minnesota Twins passed on the Rule 5 draft this year for the fourth time (2009, 2007, 2003) since 2000. I find it interesting that a team that has been so bad for three years could not find a spot on the 40 man roster for a Rule 5 draft pick.

The recent 2014 spring training schedule that the Twins organization recently mailed out indicates that spring training tickets go on sale on January 11th. I find it funny that 6 out of their 16 home games are classified as “premium” games, seems to me that any spring training game called “premium” is an oxymoron.

UPDATE Decembe 17 – Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Kubel will earn $2 million if he makes the roster out of Spring Training and can earn another $1 million via incentives. Kubel will earn $150K for reaching 300 and 350 plate appearances, plus $200K for reaching 400 PAs. He also will receive $150K for spending 30 and 60 days on the Major League roster and another $200K if he reaches 90 days.

This Day in Twins History – December 12, 1969

Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles

In a major deal the Minnesota Twins trade pitchers Dean Chance and Bob Miller, outfielder Ted Uhlaender, and 3B Graig Nettles to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.

The Twins were fresh off a 97-65 season but had lost the ALCS to the Baltimore Orioles 3 games to none in the first year that the ALCS was played. Owner Calvin Griffith fired his feisty manager Billy Martin shortly after the playoffs and hired veteran baseball manager Bill Rigney to take over.

The Twins gave up a lot to acquire Luis “El Tiante” Tiant and Stan “Big Daddy” Williams. The 33 year-old Williams had a phenomenal season in 1970 out of the pen when he went 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA in 68 games while pitching 113.1 innings. 1971 was anther story with Williams going 4-5 with a 4.15 ERA and the Twins traded hin to the Cardinals in September.

Luis Tiant
Luis Tiant

Tiant was only 9-20 in 1969 but he was 21-9 in 1968 and the Twins had high hopes for Tiant. He pitched very well at the start of the 1970 season, and by the end of May was 6-0 with a 3.12 ERA when he went on the disabled list with arm troubles. He came back in early August, but only won one more game the rest of the way and finished the season with a 7-3 record and a 3.40 ERA. Tiant’s arm problems only got worse in the off-season, and the Twins released him at the end of spring training in 1971. The Atlanta Braves signed Tiant but within a month they too let him go and Tiant signed with the Boston Red Sox in May of 1971. With his fastball apparently gone it appeared that Tiant was done. However; Tiant began a remarkable comeback in 1972, reinventing himself as a junkballer, throwing an incredible variety of pitches from all sorts of arm angles. All of these came off a bizarre motion that had him looking straight at second base in the middle of his wind-up. Between 1972-1978, Tiant put up a 121-74 record for the Red Sox with a 3.30 ERA while averaging 243 innings per year. After leaving the Red Sox, Tiant pitched for the Yankees, Pirates and the Angels and left the major leagues in his rear view mirror after the 1982 season and 19 seasons and went on to pitch in Mexico at the age of 42.

Probably not one of the Twins best trades if you consider the wonderful career that Graig Nettles went to have. You just never know for years sometimes how trades really turned out. There was a nice article done by the Cleveland Plain Dealer back in 2009 about Dean Chance that you might enjoy checking out here. I have been trying to get in touch with Chance for an interview for years with no luck what so ever.