Category: General Blogging

This is a general blogging category.

Consternation in Twins land

consternation: a strong feeling of surprise or sudden disappointment that causes confusion

It is May 6 and the Minnesota Twins have a 8-20 record and find themselves in Chicago where they will play three games against the high-flying White Sox this week-end who are in first place in the AL Central division 10 1/2 games ahead of the Twins. Holy moley, 10 1/2 games back and it is not even Mother’s Day yet.

The Twins had a day off yesterday and the rumors started that the Twins have put pitchers Tommy Milone and Casey Fien on waivers. Supposedly catcher John Ryan Murphy is on his way to Rochester and 25-year-old catcher Juan Centeno is coming to Minnesota. The Twins also announced that pitchers Ryan O’Rourke and J.R. Graham were designated for assignment and outfielder Darin Mastroianni was brought up and Ervin Santana was brought back from the DL. That is a lot of changes to a baseball team in such a short window.

What is causing all this chaos?

Paul MolitorYesterday team owner Jim Pohlad said that it appears to be “total system failure” but at the same time he fully supports manager Paul Molitor and GM Terry Ryan. Talk about the kiss of death. It is easy to pile-on with the Twins playing so badly and I am not going to waste time here today listing all the characters from the players to the team president that are responsible for this mess. I do find it funny that the owner would say that the team does not want to give the “be patient” message to its fan base when they have been doing that since 2011.

Young teams are going to lose while they learn to play the game, just like all of us learned the tricks of the trade in our everyday jobs when we first were hired. Youth and potential are wonderful but they don’t make you a great team, you learn to win by playing and making mistakes. Do you remember 1982? The big mistake the Twins made over the last year or two was marketing their up and coming players as “stars” to be and making it sound like the Twins were playoff bound in 2016. Young players and teams take leaps forward but you have to also be prepared for the times when they fall backwards flat on their butts. Right now the Twins are looking up at the sky and wondering what the hell happened. I will tell you what happened, baseball happened, in baseball you never know what tomorrow will bring, that is what makes baseball so much fun.

What to do now?

Terry Ryan
Terry Ryan

As the old saying goes, when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to quit digging. First off don’t panic, you have a plan, review it and make the necessary changes to get the train back on the track. It takes time, let the players play and learn the game and forget about making the playoffs, realistically that was never in the cards to begin with so you have lost nothing there. Look for ways to improve by giving unproven and untested players a chance. Just because you are not a top pick does not mean you can’t play any more than being a top pick ensures that you will be a star in the big leagues.

What about manager Paul Molitor?

First off you have to understand I am not a fan of Molitor as the team’s manager, never have been and probably never will. Don’t get me wrong, Molitor is a very smart baseball man and a Hall of Fame player but that does not make him a good manager. As far as I am concerned the team can part ways with Molitor any time now. What has Molitor done to make the Twins a better team? The team is not hitting, running, or playing smart baseball, all things that Molitor was supposed to bring to the table. With a young team you have to be patient, I am not sure that Molitor does that by constantly benching players and looking for a hot bat. Pick your line-up, platoon if need be and stick with it.

Ron Gardenhire
Ron Gardenhire

Was it just a coincidence that Ron Gardenhire rejoined the organization a week or so ago? Maybe? Maybe not. Could the Twins be thinking of bring Gardy back? Maybe they told Gardy that Molitor was on a short leash and that they would name him as the interim manager for 2016 and that he then would be in the mix when they hunted for a full-time manager after the season ends? Lots of teams bring back managers they have fired previously.

Well, let’s see what tomorrow brings us in “As the Twins world turns”.

In 1982 the Minnesota Twins had their worst season ever in terms of win and losses when they finished 60-102. On May 6, 1982 they had a 10-18 record and were 7 1/2 games out of first. Scary!

Rain, rain go away

RainoutApril is a wet month in Minnesota but the sun is out this morning and I think it is the first time in almost a week. The Twins have been home and have not had any games rained out but the fans and the players have had to endure some rain and cool weather for most of the current home stand.

However; the weather here in 2016 is mild when you compare it to the Minnesota Twins troubles 50 years ago back in 1966.

  • April 16 – Lost to the Angels 3-2 at home
  • April 17 – Postponed against Angels at home
  • April 18 – Scheduled day off
  • April 19 – Lost to Kansas City A’s 3-2 on the road
  • April 20 – Postponed due to cold weather
  • April 21 – Scheduled day off
  • April 22 – Lost to the Angels 2-1 on the road
  • April 23 – Lost to the Angels 4-3
  • April 24 – Beat the Angels on the road 5-3
  • April 25 – Lost to the Tigers 3-0 on the road
  • April 26 – Postponed in Detroit
  • April 27 – Postponed in Baltimore
  • April 28 –  Postponed in Baltimore
  • April 29 – Postponed in Washington DC
  • April 30 – Postponed in Washington DC
  • May 1 – Split a doubleheader with the Washington Senators on the road.

You can read more about this Twins streak of bad weather as well as several other interesting Twins articles dating back to 1966 in the Sporting News PDF below.

Sporting News 05141966 P11

 

Former Twins pitcher Bill Whitby passed away March 12, 2016

Bill Whitby
Bill Whitby

I found out just recently that former Minnesota Twins pitcher Bill Whitby had passed away on March 12, 2016 in Huntersville, North Carolina at the age of 72 from heart disease.

William Edward Whitby was born in Crewe, Virginia on July 29, 1943. Bill was a star athlete at Victoria High School (Virginia) and after his high school graduation signed as a 17-year-old amateur free agent with the Minnesota Twins for $10,000, a substantial bonus back then.

Bill WhitbyBill started his professional pitching career as a 17 year old in class D ball with the Wytheville Twins and played there with future Twins to be Jim Manning, Tony Oliva, Frank Quilici, and Ted Uhlaender. Whitby climbed the Twins minor league ladder quickly and found himself pitching for the AA Charlotte Hornets late in 1963. In 1964 Bill started the season in Charlotte again but got the call that all players wait for, the call to the big leagues. Bill Whitby made his big league debut at the age of 20 on June 17, 1964 at Cleveland Stadium in game 2 of a doubleheader in the 8th inning with two runners on and two out with the Twins trailing 4-0. He retired Indians second baseman Larry Brown for the final out but in the ninth inning he got the first batter out before giving up a home run (Pedro Ramos) and a single before retiring the final two batters. Whitby made three more relief appearances in a Twins uniform before being returned to Charlotte.

Sadly for Bill, it turned out that those four appearances for the Twins would be his only pitching opportunities in the big leagues. Bill started the 1965 season in Charlotte but after posting a 10-8 record with a 2.61 ERA (including pitching a no-hitter) he was promoted to AAA Denver where it turns out he spent the next four years. The Twins traded RHP Bill Whitby to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 1, 1969 and in return received 1B Bill Davis and RHP Mel Nelson. Bill pitched briefly in 1970 for AAA Denver which was then a Washington Senators affiliate before encountering some shoulder issues that prompted him to  hang up his baseball spikes for good at the age of 26.

Bill and his wife Donelle were married for over 50 years and actually met when Donelle was selected as “Miss Hornet” in 1964 and Bill who was playing for Charlotte at the time served as her escort. As part of being selected “Miss Hornet”, Donelle Ranson was also given a trip to spring training in Melbourne, Florida where she and Bill started dating and on February 12, 1966 they were married and went on to have two children, son’s Brian and Kevin.

After baseball was in his rear view mirror Bill and Donelle returned to their farming roots and bought a farm near Huntersville, North Carolina where they raised beef cattle and some crops. When I talked with Donelle she was very grateful to the Minnesota Twins because they provided the opportunity for her and Bill to meet and share a wonderful life together.

William Whitby Obit

Remembering Bill Whitby…

The Fleeting Baseball Memories of Bill Whitby

Bill’s son put together this  YouTube video about his Dad’s life

Sporting News August 28, 1965 P37

Sporting News March 26, 1966 P12

Our condolences to Bill Whitby’s family and friends and to Bill Whitby, thank you for the memories!

Swing and a miss – Twins high strikeout games

strikeoutTwins batters wore themselves out yesterday swinging and missing Tanner Roark pitches at Nationals Park when they whiffed 18 times and were shutout by the Washington Nationals 2-0 in 2 hours and 39 minutes. This is the second time in Twins history that they have struck out 18 times in a nine inning game. Their high water mark of striking out 19 times has been achieved three times in extra inning games.

The Minnesota Twins have struck out 15 or more times in a game on 46 occasions and their record in those games now stands at 10-36.

 Twins high strike out games

Rk Date Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H BB SO Attendance
1 2013-07-10 MIN TBR L 3-4 51 50 3 12 1 19 12,757
2 1968-07-03 MIN CLE L 0-1 36 35 0 6 0 19 21,135
3 1967-08-09 MIN WSA L 7-9 80 75 7 17 4 19 16,901
4 2016-04-23 MIN WSN L 0-2 33 29 0 2 4 18 35,974
5 1995-09-13 MIN SEA L 4-7 36 33 4 6 2 18 16,469
6 2014-09-13 (1) MIN CHW L 1-5 32 30 1 4 2 17
7 2013-09-23 MIN DET W 4-3 50 44 4 14 5 17 24,647
8 1993-08-31 MIN CLE W 5-4 85 78 5 17 7 17 17,968
9 1986-06-09 MIN TEX W 3-2 40 37 3 9 3 17 10,782
10 1972-09-30 MIN CAL L 2-3 35 32 2 5 3 17 5,901
11 1967-08-22 (2) MIN DET L 1-2 43 39 1 7 3 17 40,921
12 2015-10-03 MIN KCR L 1-5 36 32 1 6 4 16 30,181
13 2015-08-23 MIN BAL W 4-3 46 46 4 7 0 16 35,144
14 2015-05-10 MIN CLE L 2-8 31 29 2 2 2 16 13,769
15 2013-09-29 MIN CLE L 1-5 34 32 1 5 1 16 30,935
16 2013-08-07 MIN KCR L 2-5 39 35 2 10 4 16 20,198
17 2012-05-26 MIN DET L 3-6 34 34 3 8 0 16 37,360
18 2000-09-28 MIN CLE W 4-3 41 34 4 7 6 16 42,821
19 1999-08-24 MIN BOS L 1-7 31 30 1 5 1 16 12,332
20 1998-08-02 MIN TOR L 4-6 37 36 4 9 1 16 40,096
21 1997-09-27 (1) MIN CLE L 6-10 42 41 6 14 1 16 42,854
22 1997-08-23 MIN BAL L 4-5 39 35 4 8 3 16 48,263
23 1973-09-27 MIN CAL L 4-5 49 42 4 10 7 16 9,100
24 1972-08-10 MIN CAL L 1-3 36 32 1 5 4 16 7,865
25 1972-05-12 MIN MIL L 3-4 92 77 3 17 12 16 8,628
26 1968-09-09 MIN CLE L 1-6 35 32 1 5 3 16 7,042
27 2015-08-26 MIN TBR W 5-3 42 39 5 13 1 15 9,205
28 2014-09-21 MIN CLE L 2-7 35 34 2 7 1 15 24,451
29 2013-08-09 (1) MIN CHW W 7-5 42 34 7 7 8 15 17,439
30 2013-07-26 MIN SEA W 3-2 48 45 3 8 2 15 23,162
31 2013-05-06 MIN BOS L 5-6 49 42 5 10 6 15 31,088
32 2009-05-30 MIN TBR L 2-5 37 34 2 6 3 15 36,052
33 2003-05-15 MIN KCR L 5-9 60 49 5 12 9 15 17,219
34 2000-08-01 MIN BAL L 0-10 32 30 0 1 2 15 35,107
35 1997-05-10 MIN TOR L 4-6 37 35 4 10 1 15 20,932
36 1995-06-28 MIN CHW L 3-4 38 33 3 7 4 15 15,982
37 1995-06-18 MIN SEA L 1-2 37 31 1 5 5 15 24,707
38 1995-05-04 MIN KCR L 0-6 35 34 0 7 1 15 11,935
39 1993-05-22 MIN TOR L 0-7 36 33 0 6 2 15 50,510
40 1982-05-30 MIN NYY L 6-8 46 38 6 7 8 15 16,352
41 1980-08-07 MIN CAL L 2-4 63 58 2 16 4 15 24,195
42 1975-06-30 MIN CAL L 3-10 37 34 3 8 2 15 7,033
43 1974-09-28 MIN CAL L 0-4 35 27 0 0 8 15 10,872
44 1973-08-30 MIN TEX W 5-2 45 37 5 7 6 15 4,012
45 1965-06-20 (2) MIN NYY W 7-4 41 38 7 10 3 15 71,245
46 1964-10-01 MIN KCA L 4-5 54 46 4 13 6 15 2,728
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/24/2016.

UPDATE: So what happens the day I post this blog? Later that afternoon the Twins play the Washington Nationals and lose 6-5 in the 16th inning and they strike out 20 times, just a day after striking out 18 times. I watched the entire 5 hour and 56 minutes of the game on TV. Boxscore

On the road again..

Suitcase-with-Travel-StickersI don’t think that Willie Nelson and Jimmy Nelson are related but Jimmy made things tough for the Twins last night. Willie’s song “On the Road Again” should be added to all the Twins players listening lists so they can start to enjoy being on the road again.

The Twins are 0-7 on the road this season but that is a long ways from their longest losing streak that the team has encountered as road warriors. Back in 1961 the Minnesota Twins lost 14 road games in a row between May 16 and June 7 against the White Sox, Senators, Indians, Tigers and Yankees before finally breaking the road losing streak  with a 3-1 win over the Orioles in Baltimore. Road woes are nothing new to the Twins, over the years they have lost 8 or more consecutive games away from the home confines 19 times. Let’s hope that we don’t make it 20 today.

 

The Twins and their strikeouts – a look back

Twins K vs R charts
Twins strikeouts versus runs scored history. Feel free to click on the chart to make it larger and easier to see.


Our Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves both stand at 0-7 and the race is on to see can win a game first. It is tough when you have just played seven games into a new season and find yourself five games out of the division lead. Never-the-less, Paul Molitor‘s gang will try again tonight.

The Twins might have to consider changing their name to the Minnesota Flailers. Joe Mauer is hitting .375 and Eduardo Escobar is hitting .370 but the rest of the line-up is hitting between .125 and .192 with a combined team OBP of .290. Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Byung-ho Park have each struck out in 50% of their plate appearances.

OH! but the strikeouts. Needless to say the team is on a record pace and after seven games, admittedly a small sample size, they have struck out once every 3.29 PA’s and 11.29 times a game. It is hard to miss the ball that often. Their previous worst for strike-outs per PA was 4.34 in 2013, that same Twins team struck out an all-time franchise high of 1,430 times. But if you use the current running rate of 11.29 strike outs per game the 2016 Twins will strike out a record-breaking 1,829 times. I know that is unlikely to happen but right now that is exactly what is happening.

Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan have a huge mess on their hands but things can’t stay this bad for ever. Can they? Everything levels out so we all need to be patient and ride this storm out.

Let’s talk about strikeouts, how bad are they really? We could discuss the pro’s and con’s of strikeouts forever and cases can be argued that a strikeout by a batter is terrible and you could argue that there are worse things than a strikeout. Teams usually tolerate high strikeout rates if power is also involved but what if a batter has mediocre power and still strikes out frequently? What impact do strikeout really have on runs scored? After all, that is the object of the game isn’t it? Score more runs than the opponent and you win the game assuming your pitchers do their jobs.

Let’s take a look at the previous 55 seasons of Twins play. If you look at the numbers nothing really jumps out at you to tell you that strikeout are OK or horrendous. The Twins had an OK season by some standards last year and yet they still struck out 1,264 times and in 2002 they won 94 games and still struck out 1,089 times. On the other side of the coin the Twins only struck out 684 times in 1978 and still only won 73 games. Strikeouts in themselves will not determine if your team will win or not.

The Twins have only scored more runs than they have had strikeouts on four occasions in 55 seasons, in 1976 when they finished 85-77, in 1977 when they finished 84-77, in 1979 when they finished 82-80 and in their 1995 championship season when they were 95-67. Twins history seems to indicate that if you score more often than you strike out than you will have a winning season.

I think it is interesting to note here that Gene Mauch managed the Twins from 1976-1980, none of his team struck out more that 754 times. Just a coincidence or was it his managing style? Yet only three of those five years that Mauch managed the Twins, did they have a winning record and they never won more than 85 games under his leadership.

Strikeouts are obviously up across the board for a variety of reasons, since 2000 the Twins have played 15 seasons, during 11 of those they struck out over 1,000 times, the only other season they struck out of 1,000 times was in 1964.

During the Twins AL championship season of 1965 they struck out 969 times, in 1987 they struck out 898 times, and in 1991 they struck out only 749 times. The Twins have made the playoffs 11 times and they averaged 944 strikeouts during those years. Keep in mind too that six of those 11 playoff years were on this side of 2000.

Twins PA's per K charts

If you added in the running rate of strikeouts in 2016 after just seven games you would see a sharp dive of that blue line to 3.29.

 

What changes can you expect to find at Target Field

The Twins will open their seventh season in Target Field on Monday and the biggest changes are noted here.

Change coming large

Minnie & Paul’s

The newest renovation is the replacement of seating in the centerfield area, below the Minnie & Paul Celebration sign and above the “batters-eye”. The upper level (Club Level) will be named Minnie & Paul’s and will be open to all fans. Minnie & Paul’s, a Twins-themed pub will feature Minnesota-branded food options while serving as a stylish gathering space for fans of all ages.

CATCH

The lower tier (Mezzanine Level) will be known as CATCH, an intimate all-inclusive club with limited access for approximately 120 season ticket members. This new premium space will be all-inclusive with beverages and a variety of tapas-style foods included in the season ticket price.

Safety Netting

New safety netting to comply with Major League Baseball’s Fan Safety Recommendations. Target Field’s current backstop net is in compliance with the stated MLB recommendations, which call for netting to protect seats between the dugouts within 70-feet of home plate. In contrast to other MLB ballparks, Target Field’s dugouts are the closest to home plate of any in the league, because of the proximity of seats within the dugout box seating sections (sections 3 through 6 and sections 11 through 14), the Twins will add protective netting above the dugouts in advance of the 2016 season. This new safety netting will extend approximately seven-feet high and run the length of the first and third base dugouts.

Twins way-back machine looks at April 1963

1961 - 1969 primary logo
1961 – 1969 primary logo

It is fun to look back at the Sporting News and see what was up with the Minnesota Twins back in the day. The Twins started their 1963 season with a 9-10 record in April but went on to win 91 games. That however; only earned them third place (15 1/2 games back) in the AL standings behind the AL champ New York Yankees and 5 games behind the second place Chicago White Sox.

Kralick, Jack 2Jack Kralick had an “interesting” month of April, in his first three starts the Twins scored zero runs on his behalf but he also gave up 18 runs so he deserved his 0-3 start, but in his fourth start of the month he pitched a complete game 3-0 shutout of the Washington Senators. Little did he know but on May 2 the Twins would trade him to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jim Perry and the man that threw the Minnesota Twins first no-hitter was history.

1963 Twins roster

Sporting News April 13, 1963

By the way, there is a nice piece about Twins 2014 first round selection (and fifth over-all) shortstop Nick Gordon in the Ft. Meyers News-Press today that you should check out if you get a minute.

How will the Twins fare in 2016

I know I am a bit late with my Minnesota Twins prediction this year and I blame it on the Panama Canal cruise that I returned from yesterday. In the 2016 Minnesota Twins I see a fun young team but a team that takes a small step back this season. The good news however; is that the lessons the younger players learn this year will help them to become solid contenders in 2017 and beyond.

einstein 2016

The most pleasant surprise this year will be the hitting of Eduardo Escobar who has finally taken over the shortstop role on a full-time basis and turns out to be a much better hitter than most expected. The biggest disappointment of the year will be the back-end of the Twins bullpen with Glen Perkins and Kevin Jepsen not performing up to their abilities, Jepsen due to injury and Perkins more due to attitude than anything else. What most had viewed as a strength going into 2016 turns out to actually be a weakness.

How about the AL Central Division? Here is how I see them in the standings come early October.

  1. Royals
  2. Tigers
  3. White Sox
  4. Twins
  5. Indians

GO TWINS!

 

Looking forward to Opening Day 2016

Play BallWhen the umpires call “Play Ball” for the Twins/Orioles game on Monday it will Twins opening day number 56. No I have not attended all the openers but I usually watch them on TV or listen to them on the radio, this time I will be listening or watching on my computer in Cape Coral, Florida.

So who will be in the Twins opening day line-up this year? You can never know for sure until they run on the field but I think that it is a safe assumption that only four players that were in the 2015 season opening loss in Detroit will be in Paul Molitor‘s starting line-up for the start the 2016 season for Minnesota in Baltimore. Those player’s being Kurt Suzuki catching, Joe Mauer at 1B, Brian Dozier at 2B and Trevor Plouffe at 3B. You probably can’t even remember the Twins 2015 opening day line-up, can you?

Here is a chance for you to look back to the last 10 years worth of Twins opening day line-ups. Some players are obviously familiar and others you probably have forgotten even played for Minnesota and some younger fans may have never even heard of some of these guys. For me it is interesting to see how much baseball teams turn-over from year to year and what positions the Twins seem to have trouble with.

C1B2B3BSSLFCFRFDHSPYEAR
2015Kurt
Suzuki		Joe
Mauer		Brian
Dozier		Trevor
Plouffe		Danny
Santana		Oswaldo
Arcia		Jordan
Schafer		Torii
Hunter		Kennys
Vargas		Phil
Hughes		2015
2014Kurt
Suzuki		Joe
Mauer		Brian
Dozier		Trevor
Plouffe		Pedro
Florimon		Josh
Willingham		Aaron
Hicks		Oswaldo
Arcia		Chris
Colabello		Ricky
Nolasco		2014
2013Joe
Mauer		Justin
Morneau		Brian
Dozier		Trevor
Plouffe		Pedro
Florimon		Josh
Willingham		Aaron
Hicks		Chris
Parmelee		Ryan
Doumit		Vance
Worley		2013
2012Joe
Mauer		Chris
Parmelee		Alexi
Casilla		Danny
Valencia		Jamie
Carroll		Josh
Willingham		Denard
Span		Ryan
Doumit		Justin
Morneau		Carl
Pavano		2012
2011Joe
Mauer		Justin
Morneau		Tsuyoshi
Nishioka		Danny
Valencia		Alexi
Casilla		Delmon
Young		Denard
Span		Mike
Cuddyer		Jason
Kubel		Carl
Pavano		2011
2010Joe
Mauer		Justin
Morneau		Orlando
Hudson		Nick
Punto		J.J.
Hardy		Delmon
Young		Denard
Span		Mike
Cuddyer		Jason
Kubel		Scott
Baker		2010
2009Mike
Redmond		Justin
Morneau		Alexi
Casilla		Joe
Crede		Nick
Punto		Denard
Span		Carlos
Gomez		Mike
Cuddyer		Jason
Kubel		Francisco
Liriano		2009
2008Joe
Mauer		Justin
Morneau		Brendan
Harris		Mike
Lamb		Adam
Everett		Delmon
Young		Carlos
Gomez		Mike
Cuddyer		Craig
Monroe		Livan
Hernandez		2008
2007Joe
Mauer		Justin
Morneau		Luis
Castillo		Nick
Punto		Jason
Bartlett		Rondell
White		Torii
Hunter		Mike
Cuddyer		Jeff
Cirillo		Johan
Santana		2007
2006Joe
Mauer		Justin
Morneau		Luis
Castillo		Tony
Batista		Juan
Castro		Shannon
Stewart		Torii
Hunter		Jason
Kubel		Rondell
White		Johan
Santana		2006
C!B2B3BSSLFCFRFDHSP

I am writing this from the Norwegian Pearl as we cruise in the Caribbean Sea on our way to dock in Roatan, Honduras tomorrow morning after leaving Costa Rica last night. Then on to Belize City, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico before returning to Miami and Cape Coral Florida on Monday. Hot and humid here, I hope you have the same where ever you are when you attend a 2016 baseball season opener. I can’t wait for REAL baseball again.

I almost forgot to mention that while I am in the Caribbean stopping in places like Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico I have and will continue to be on the lookout for some potential ace pitchers that the Minnesota Twins can sign. But sadly, I must report that like most of the Twins scouts that have looked for good pitching for the last 56 years I too have struck out.