General Blogging Archives - Page 54 of 92

The June Free Agent Draft is just around the corner

The MLB First-Year Player Draft may not be as popular as the NFL draft but is is still a fun and entertaining event that many baseball fans wait for all year. In the NFL, the players drafted will be putting on that teams colors come Fall but in baseball a draftee might spend years in the minor leagues learning his craft before he ever gets a sniff of a big league clubhouse. There are web sites devoted strictly to the MLB draft and as draft day get closer and closer you can find “mock drafts” showing who your team will draft everywhere, 99.9% of them will be wrong but never the less it is still fun to look at them.

The first draft took place in 1965, it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top-level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market. Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986. Rick Monday became MLB’s first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics

MLB will hold day one of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on June 5th at MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Draft will be aired live on the MLB Network starting at 7:00 p.m. (ET). As is the case with most events of this type, the MLB talking heads will analyze the up-coming draft in a one hour pre-draft preview show.

The selection order of the First-Year Player Draft is determined by the reverse order
of finish at the close of the previous season. The Houston Astros will have the first overall selection of the 2014 Draft, marking the third consecutive year, and the fifth time in club history, that they hold the top selection (previous: 1976, 1992, 2012, 2013). It marks the first time ever that a club has the top pick in three consecutive years. In addition, the Astros are the third club in history to hold the top selection at least five times, joining the New York Mets and San Diego Padres (five each).

Six clubs, the Toronto Blue Jays (9th and 11th), the Kansas City Royals (17th and 28th), the Cincinnati Reds (19th and 29th), the Cleveland Indians (21st and 31st), the Boston Red Sox (26th and 33rd) and the St. Louis Cardinals (27th and 34th) have two selections in the first round. The Indians, Miami Marlins and Royals each have a league high four selections within the first 68 picks during the opening day of the Draft.

The Draft will once again feature Competitive Balance rounds, which were agreed upon as a part of the 2012-2016 Basic Agreement between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Competitive Balance rounds give clubs with the lowest revenues and in the smallest markets the opportunity to obtain additional draft picks through a lottery, which was held last July. The 10 clubs with the lowest revenues and the 10 clubs in the smallest markets were entered into a lottery for the six selections immediately following the first round of the First-Year Player Draft (picks 35-41; excluding pick 36, which Miami holds as compensation for an unsigned 2013 selection). The eligible clubs that did not receive one of the six selections after the first round, and all other payee clubs under the Revenue Sharing Plan, were entered into a second lottery for the six picks
immediately following the second round of the Draft (picks 69-74).

The Draft will have 40 rounds, and a club may pass on its selection in any round and not forfeit its right to participate in other rounds. Like each of the previous five years, the 2014 Draft will span three days. For day one on June 5th, MLB Network and MLB.com will provide live pick-by-pick coverage during the first round, Competitive Balance Round A, the second round and Competitive Balance Round B. The intervals between selections will last four and a half minutes during the first round and one minute during Competitive Balance Round A, the second round and Competitive Balance Round B. The Draft will resume at 1:05 p.m. (ET) on both June 6th and June 7th via conference call from MLB headquarters in New York City.

June 6th will cover rounds three through 10, and June 7th will cover rounds 11 through 40. Rounds three through 10 will have one minute between selections, and the remainder of the selections will be made without delays.

According to MLB, of the 853 players who were on 2014 Opening Day 25-man rosters,
disabled lists and restricted lists, a total of 650 players were selected in the MLB Draft. As ccould be expected, the earlier picks do in fact show the highest returns of Major League players, as the 143 players chosen in the top 30 selections amounted to 22.0% of the 650 Opening Day players who went through the Draft en route to the Major Leagues. Picks 31-60 generated 12.0% (78) of the players, and picks 61-90 turned out 10.0% (65), picks 91-120 generated 6.9% (46) and picks 121-159 generated 8.6% (56) players. Kansas City’s outfielder Jarrod Dyson is the latest draft pick in the Major Leagues on Opening Day rosters, he was chosen in round 50 of the 2006 Draft by the Royals.

The Twins have five picks in the top 140 owning the rights to the 5th, 46th, 79th, 110th and 140th selections.

Twins Draft History

The Minnesota Twins first selection ever (Round 1 – 9th over-all in 1965) was shortstop Eddie Leon from Arizona University but he chose not to sign with Minnesota. Leon went on to play for three big league teams but never hit it big playing in 601 games over 8 years hitting for a .236 batting average with 24 home runs.

The Twins have had the first pick over-all twice, in 1983 when they selected RHP Tim Belcher from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and again in 2001 when they selected catcher Joe Mauer from Cretin-Derham Hall High School. Tim Belcher chose not to sign with Minnesota but went on to have a long 14 year big-league career with 7 different teams putting up a 146-140 won/lost record. Joe Mauer has been with the Twins since 2004.

The current 25 man Minnesota roster has six players selected by the Twins in round one, RHP Kyle Gibson in 2009 was 21st over-all, outfielder Aaron Hicks in 2008 was 14th over-all, outfielder/Ib Chris Parmelee in 2006 was 20th over-all, 3B Trevor Plouffe in 2004 was 20th over-all, closer LHP Glen Perkins in 2004 was 22nd over-all, and 1B Joe Mauer who the Twins picked number one over-all in 2001.

A number of Twins first round picks have moved on such as outfielder Ben Revere who was 28th over-all in 2007, RHP Matt Garza who was picked in 2005 and the 25th over-all selection, outfielder Denard Span in 2002 number 20 over-all, outfielder Michael Cuddyer in 1997 was 9th over-all, and finally outfielder Torii Hunter who is still playing good ball with the Tigers was selected 20th over-all back in 1993. Hunter is playing in his 18th big league season at the age of 38. How time flies….

The first player to be drafted in the first round by Minnesota and make the Twins roster was outfielder Steve Brye who the Twins selected number one and 17th over-all in 1967. Brye debuted with Minnesota in September of 1970 and appeared in 697 games for the Twins between 1970 and 1978 hitting .258 with 30 home runs.

Five Years Ago – 2009 draft

The Twins selected Kyle Gibson number 1, catcher Chris Herrmann number 6, and 2B Brian Dozier number 8, all were picked after spending time in college. No other players drafted by Minnesota that year have made it to the big leagues.

Ten Years Ago – 2004 draft

The Twins selected Trevor Plouffe number 1-20, Glen Perkins number 1-22, RHP Kyle Waldrop 1-25, RHP Matt Fox 1s-35, RHP Anthony Swarzak in round 2, infielder Matt Tolbert in round 16, outfielder Rene Tosoni in round 34.

Travis Lee fiasco

Travis Lee was a Steve Boras client and was initially drafted as the second pick over-all in the 1996 Major League draft by the Minnesota Twins, but was declared a free agent by MLB through a loophole after the Twins failed to tender him a contract within fifteen days of the end of the draft. He then signed a four-year, $10 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lee did not turn out to be the super-star everyone expected him to be but he did play in the big leagues from 1998 to 2006 appearing in 1,099 games hitting .256 with 115 home runs.

Will this years Minnesota Twins first round pick be stud or a dud? It could be years before we know.

Terry “Bud” Bulling passes away

As I was doing some historical research for this site the other day I was saddened to find out that former Twins catcher Bud Bulling had passed away this past March 8th in Salem, Oregon at the age of 61.

Terry Charles “Bud” Bulling was born on December 15, 1952 in Lynwood, California and was drafted as a catcher by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the June 1974 amateur draft. Ironically the only other player drafted by Minnesota that year that went on to play for the Twins was another catcher that the Twins drafted in the second round, Butch Wynegar.

Bulling worked his way up through the Twins farm system and got his first call to the big leagues at the age of 24 to back up the Twins starting catcher who was none other than Butch Wynegar. Bulling made his big league debut on July 3, 1977 in the Twins 6-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. In his only at bat that day Bud struck out against knuckleballer Wilbur Wood. Bud spent the remainder of the 1977 with Minnesota as the back-up catcher and appeared in 15 games hitting .156 in 32 at bats while knocking in 5 RBI with his 5 hits. Bulling spent the 1978 season with AA Orlando. In March of 1979 Bulling was purchased from the Twins by the Seattle Mariners.

Bulling spent the 1979 and 1980 seasons in the minors with the Spokane Indians before returning to the bigs in 1981. He caught Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry‘s 300th win in the Kingdome on May 6, 1982 going 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI in the 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. After spending all of 1981 and 1982 with the Seattle Mariners Bud started the 1983 season hitless in 5 at-bats and was sent down to the AAA Salt Lake City Gulls where he played out his final season in pro ball. After leaving pro ball Bulling enjoyed spending time and traveling with his mother Iada.

Bud Bulling passed away on March 8, 2014 in Salem, Oregon at the age of 61 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was survived by his mother Iada Bulling, his son’s Casey and Joshua and his three mullions (nieces) Sheri, Kandi, and Kerri.

Thank you for the memories Bud Bulling and may you rest in peace. We at Twins Trivia and Twins fans everywhere would like to pass on our condolences to the Bud Bulling family and their friends.

I spent a few minutes today talking with Bud’s teammate Mike Cubbage and he shared a story about Bud with me that you can listen to here.

Bud Bulling Obit

Follow up – Mike Cubbage was kind enough to give his bat to the Bulling family so they can treasure it as a family keepsake. What a wonderful thing to do! Here is a nice photo after the family received the bat, the smiles tell you all you need to know.

Ft. Myers Miracle sold to New Jersey based SJS Beacon

The Ft. Myers news-press.com site is reporting that the Ft. Myers Miracle have been sold to a New Jersey based ownership group SJS Beacon. The president of SJS Beacon is Jason Hockberg. Marvin Goldklang, 71 and the principal owner of the Goldklang Group, which had owned the team since September of 1989, said the sale felt bittersweet.

Andrew Moon and experts from Forbes and Sports Business Journal estimated Class A baseball affiliates, depending on their location and attendance, to be worth in the $7 million to $10 million range.

The Twins have a 30-year lease agreement with Lee County of the sports complex. The Twins’ affiliation agreement with the Miracle expires after the 2018 season, but Hochberg said he expected the partnership to continue thereafter.

Read the entire news-press article here.

So what is Joe’s problem?

The Twins have played better than expected (12-11) in 2014 and the team is ranked third in the league in runs scored with 127 runs in 23 games for an average of 5.52 runs per game. Everyone is excited about the Twins offensive display this season but so far nobody is talking about the elephant in the room, Joe Mauer and his slow start as the teams new first baseman.

The Twins $23 million first baseman in 111 plate appearances is hitting .266 with two doubles, one home run and 6 RBI. On the plus side Mauer has scored 19 runs and appeared in every Twins game this season (20 games at 1B and 3 at DH).

So what ails Joe? With the Twins offense in high gear no one is complaining about Mauer’s poor start with the bat but the Twins are going to need production from their highest paid player as the season moves along. In his 11th big league season the 31-year-old Mauer has a career batting mark of .322 and he has struck out once every 8.76 plate appearances and walked once every 8.17 plate appearances. So far this season he is striking out once every 4.27 plate appearances and walking only once every 6.53 plate appearances. What I would like to know is why Mauer’s strikeouts have jumped so dramatically the last two seasons.

Joe Mauer’s strikeout rate over his career

YEAR	Plate Appearances per KO
2014	4.27
2013	5.71
2012	7.28
2011	8.76
2010	11.02
2009	9.62
2008	12.66
2007	7.96
2006	11.26
2005	8.66
2004	8.71

So why the ever-increasing strikeout rate? Are umpires treating Mauer differently? Is age catching up with Joe? Is Mauer’s eyesight becoming an issue? Does Mauer miss catching? Does he miss getting two days a week off? Is the cold wet weather bothering Mauer? Or is it that married life has taken Mauer’s focus off baseball?

The Twins are going to be paying Mauer $23 million a year through at least 2018 and the team and we fans have a right to expect a lot more from Mr. Mauer. At the rate Mauer is hitting in 2014 he will finish the season with 6 home runs, 12 doubles and 36 RBI, these are Pedro Florimon numbers or for that matter any batter that hits 8th or 9th in the batting order not for a guy hitting as high in the line-up as Mauer hits.

Odds are that Mauer will catch fire pretty soon and put up the numbers we expect from here every year but there will come a time when that doesn’t happen and I sure hope we aren’t looking at that time here and now.

Is MLB ready for Google Glass?

Did you order your Google Glass yesterday? Google was selling its $1,500 high-tech specs to anyone in the US but the deal was good for just one day. If you missed it, you are out of luck for the time being.

This one day sale of Google Glass got me to thinking. What if someone invented an app for Google Glass for major league baseball players. The possibilities of how this could help ball players seem endless. With historical information at their finger tips players in the field could position themselves to allow them the best opportunity to get the batter out. Pitchers could immediately “see” a video of their last pitch and see statistics on how to get the batter out based on the situation, position of his fielders and batter tendencies depending on the ball/strike count. But the batter wearing the Google Glass could learn pitcher/catcher tendencies, he could tell what type of pitch was coming as soon as it left the pitchers hand, the speed of the pitch and the proposed trajectory of the pitch. Maybe it could even tell him if the pitch was going to be a ball or a strike? Holy crap, where is this leading to? Will games be delayed because as peck of dirt is blocking the Google Glass camera or if a battery powering the device calls it a day? The umpires can use Google Glass too, instant replays will be at their disposal right on the spot without having to stop the game for an instant replay. The home plate umpire has a ball/strike assist device to help him make the proper call on each pitch.

The fans benefit too, the fans in the stands can queue up replays and see close-up action of any play or pitch they want when they want it. If a game gets out of hand like some Twins games do now and then fans at Target field can pretend to watch the game but really be watching the Yankees and Red Sox going at it in Fenway Park or they can relive the Twins glory days and watch game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

It seems like the possibilities of Google Glass are endless and is MLB ready for what Google Glass can do? Is there a rule on the books to prevent devices like Google Glass from becoming part of baseball? Players wear glasses to help their vision, is Google Glass any different?

I have also wondered about prosthetic devices and the technological advances they are making there. What if a player comes on the market one day and says that he can throw a baseball at 150 MPH and has a curve that will make your eyes bug out. All because he lost his arm in a farming accident and now his new prosthetic arm has opened up a whole new career for him. Can you pitch in the major leagues with a prosthetic arm?

With all the arm injuries to pitchers should humans pitch at all? Are we going down a track that before long a mechanical device will be placed on the mound and a pitching coach or manager will sit in the dugout and decide with his clicker what pitch should be thrown and at what speed? Are pitchers going to become obsolete and the big money will be paid to engineers who can make the best mechanical pitching device? I can hear it now, “now coming in to pitch for the Minnesota Twins is Google pitching device Mach 7.643 model B.” Yikes!

What’s wrong with me and why am I thinking such crazy thoughts? What a can of worms, it makes my head spin and gives me a headache. I think I will just go back to watching the Twins and Bluejays play tonight in the cold, rain and snow. Then again as I look out the window it is snowing harder than it has all day, there might not even be a game tonight. Maybe I should have ordered that Google Glass yesterday so that I could entertain myself when there is no baseball game to watch.

UPDATE – Looks like no game today (Wednesday), the Twins and Blue Jays game has already been postpond and rescheduled as a day/night double-header on Thursday.

Checking in at Hammond Stadium after Twins left town

I was going to head over to Hammond Stadium on Saturday but it was raining and the wind was blowing so I decided to wait until Sunday and catch the Rochester versus New Britain and Ft. Myers versus Cedar Rapids games. I got there a few minutes before the games started at Noon on a beautiful sunny Sunday in Ft. Myers. Hammond Stadium sat empty and the crowds at each minor league field were small and the players sitting in the stands that were not suited up for these games easily out numbered the fans.

The Twins left Kyle Gibson behind in Ft. Myers so he could pitch in one of these games and sure enough he was the starting pitcher for New Britain. The first two innings went smoothly for Gibson but in the third inning the Red Wings hit Gibson all over the field as he gave up 6 hits and 5 earned runs. In that inning it appeared that everything he threw to the plate was hit hard and Gibson would throw the pitch and high-tail it over to back up third base. To me Gibson looked really frustrated and appeared to have lost his composure. He calmed down after that but an inning or so later he took a hard shot off his left shin but chased the ball down only to throw it wildly to first base. After five innings it was decided that Gibson had enough and he left the game having given up 8 hits and 5 runs. Not exactly what Gibson or the Twins were looking for.

On the other field a player that caught my attention was outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Pineda who is scheduled to start the season with Cedar Rapids this year was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in August 2012 in the Danny Valencia trade. The 23-year-old Pineda is a 5-11, 175 pound switch-hitter from the Dominican Republic, signed by the Red Sox in 2011. I am not sure how much of a prospect Pineda really is but on this day he stood out because of his speed and hustle. I watched him hit a hard ground ball to third that he beat out easily because of speed and hustle although the third baseman might have made it a closer play had he not waited on the ball. Later in the game Pineda was on first base when the batter hit a routine double play ball just a few steps to the left of second. The shortstop decided to touch second and then complete the double play by throwing to first. Turns out that was easier said then done as Pineda beat the shortstop to the bag at second. Speed and hustle again and it brought a lot of comments and head shaking from both teams.

It was fun to watch these Twins minor league teams play and learn the game. One player who will remain nameless hit a grounder to third that he apparently thought was foul and he didn’t move out of the batters box, turns out it was fair and the third baseman made an easy throw to first for the out. As the batter sheepishly walked back to the dugout it was easy to hear his manager tell him, “it is Sunday today, we are running them all out today”.

I took a bunch of pictures again today and I hope to get them uploaded later today. Not sure if this is my last visit to Hammond Stadium this year or not but I have enjoyed every minute of spring training here in Ft. Myers., almost time to head for home.

The Twins Trivia Magic 8-Ball comes into focus

The Twins are in Chicago by now having left Florida and their spring training record of 9-16-3 in their wake. Earlier today the Twins won their final 2014 Grapefruit League outing by a score of 7-4. The Twins scored more than five runs in just five exhibition games and scored two or fewer runs on 10 occasions. The Twins ended spring training with a .360% winning percentage, the worst in the American league. All that being said, the team along with every other team in the American League stands at 0-0. With the regular season just around the corner, some teams have high expectations and others are left with hope and a prayer. The Twins who finished last season at 66-96 and booked their third straight 90+ loss season are part of that latter group and strangely enough this team does not have a single player on their opening day roster that qualifies as a rookie. How strange is that?

So how many games will the Twins win in 2014? I see the Twins improving this year in spite of what has been a horrendous spring going back to when Terry Ryan announced he had cancer, to Miguel Sano‘s injured elbow that needs surgery, all the way through the spring training season where Twins players acted as if it was a crime to get more than two hits in an inning or that they would be sent to prison if they attempted to steal a base. The Twins can brag up the 2014 All-Star game all they want but many Twins fans have jumped off the band wagon and others are mystified as to how a team this bad for so long has no rookies on the roster while players like Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett grace the roster. How about Chris Colabello who spent 2005-2011 playing in an independent league before the Twins gave him a shot? This team will improve as the season goes along but there are numerous players on this opening day roster that will not be wearing TWINS on their chest when the 2014 season comes to an end. I have no doubt in my mind that Byron Buxton will be playing centerfield in Target Field some time this summer and Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia will be his wingmen. So without further ado, here is what the Twins will do….

According to Mr. Einstein there will be no fourth straight 90+ loss season for the Twins. Although not a SABR member, the man knows his numbers. — According to Mr. Einstein there will be no fourth straight 90+ loss season for the Twins and that there will actually be an 11 game improvement. Although not a SABR member, the man knows his numbers.

The 2014 MLB season should be exciting once again and Twins Trivia has consulted with the experts, reviewed all the stats and more importantly shaken the old Magic 8-Ball and here is what will happen in 2014.

NL West

1. Dodgers

2. Giants (wild card)

3. Diamondbacks

4. Rockies

5. Padres

NL Central

1. Cardinals

2. Pirates (wild card)

3. Reds

4. Brewers

5. Cubs

NL East

1. Nationals

2. Braves

3. Mets

4. Phillies

5. Marlins

AL West

1. Rangers

2. A’s

3. Mariners

4. Angels

5. Astros

AL Central

1. Royals

2. Tigers (wild card)

3. Indians

4. Twins

5. White Sox

AL East

1. Rays

2. Red Sox (wild card)

3. Orioles

4. Yankees

5. Blue Jays

New blood in the Series folks! When the smoke and fog clears, the Magic 8-Ball and I see the Washington Nationals beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4 games to three in a very exciting World Series. (I know Twins fans don’t want to hear this but the 26-year-old Wilson Ramos will finally stay healthy all year and have a break-out season and become one of baseball’s top catchers)

Watching the Twins lose to the Pirates 2-1

We attended our final Twins spring training game yesterday as we watched the Twins lose 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a sunny day albeit only 60 degrees at game time with a stiff wind blowing to left field. Ricky Nolasco started for the home town nine and pitched a strong 4 innings giving up just one hit while striking out three in his tune-up for opening day against the White Sox in Chicago. It was a fast paced (2 hours and 24 minutes) game with little hitting but it still had some interest when a mini bean-ball war broke out. Pirates starter Brandon Cumpton threw a pitch that catcher Kurt Suzuki was just able to get his face out of the way of and that started the ball rolling. Not too longer after that Anthony Swarzak nailed Tony Sanchez and then Oswaldo Arcia took one in the back and both benches ended up with a warning.

Swarzak’s pitching line came to an end after two innings when a line drive off the bat of Travis Snider struck him in the forearm, but Swarzak grabbed the ricochet and threw the batter out. As he walked off the field, the Pirates were yelling something at Swarzak and he stopped to yell back. Things got a bit testy before Swarzak was pulled away. The Pirates who had brought a lot of players to Hammond Stadium were all on the top step of their dugout ready to mix it up with the Twins but it never came to that.

The old saying is that if you give the team a freebie like the Pirates did when catcher Tony Sanchez dropped Arcia’s easy pop up behind the plate it will come back to bite you and it certainly held true here when Arcia hit a rocket out to right-center field that just cleared the fence for a home run and gave the Twins a short-lived 1-0 lead. The lead did not last long however, as the Pirates loaded the bases with two-out and a ground ball was hit to first baseman Joe Mauer who knocked it down and then panicked trying to pick up the ball and by the time he had it under control the Pirates runner from second base was racing home with the winning run and Mauer’s throw to the plate was too late.

Shortstop Pedro Florimon who is just coming back from an appendectomy was his normal self, he made an error on an easy play and then made a very nice play later in the game. With the bat, Florimon seemed lost but that is really nothing new for Pedro. Manager Gardenhire said after the game that maybe Florimon’s bat is not ready yet and he may not be in the opening day line-up. On the plus side the Twins did turn two nice double plays.

There were 6,585 fans at the game but we had very little to cheer about and it was so quiet for most of the game that you could hear a pin drop. There is not a lot of excitement with this Twins team this spring and with an 8-14 record which is second worst in the AL there seems to be little hope for the up-coming season.

The Twins pitching is not that bad but their hitting this spring is a whole different story. Let’s take a quick look at the batting averages for the Twins starters –

C – Suzuki – .200

1B – Mauer – .300

2B – Dozier – .255

SS – Florimon – .150

3B – Plouffe – .239

LF – Willingham – .056

CF – Hicks – .318

RF – Arcia – .256

DH – Kubel – .195

Between them the leading home run hitter has 2 (Arcia) and the RBI leader has 6 (Arcia again). Both Eduardo Escobar (9) and Chris Colabello (8) have more RBI then any of the starters and they are not assured of even making this team. I just can’t see this current line-up staying intact for very deep into the season. If this team gets off to a bad start there will be changes galore in no time. Before spring training started I thought this team had a chance to finish at .500 with the improved pitching, now I am thinking they will still be better than last year but will fall short of the .500 mark. The hitting on this team this spring is just plain appalling, where is that great hitting coach Brunansky now when they need him. I have not heard Brunansky’s name mentioned in weeks, is he still part of the coaching staff? Then again the case could certainly be made that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear….

But in the end it is still spring training and no one but the Diamondbacks has lost a game yet so there is still hope that the hit fairy will bless the Twins bats and that they will come to life in Chicago. Come on Twins, give me a reason to watch you play ball every day this summer. Please!

Barely a week left in spring training and things are not looking good

The Twins announced yesterday that RHP Vance Worley, who posted a 13.50 ERA in spring training, was sent outright to Class AAA Rochester on Friday. In order to send Worley to AAA Rochester, Worley has to clear waivers, which he did. That means that every team in baseball passed on Worley, who finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2011 with the Phillies and was last year’s Opening Day starter for the Twins. Was does that tell you about the 26 year-old Worley if no team in baseball is willing to take a chance on the guy that was 3rd in ROY voting just a couple of years earlier when pitchers are in such demand? Are the Twins wasting a AAA roster spot and possibly delaying some others pitchers development by having Worley there? If I was the Twins I would have the “Vanimal” on a very short and tight leash.

Twins GM Bill Smith traded outfielder Ben Revere to the Phillies in order to acquire Worley and minor league pitcher Trevor May in December 2012. The only saving grace from this trade is if May becomes a decent starting pitcher for Minnesota in the near future.

We were at Tuesday’s game when Worley had his last start this spring for the Twins and it was a pitiful performance as the Tampa Rays pounded the Twins to a tune of 11-3. Worley lasted just 2 and 2/3 innings and gave up 11 hits (including 6 doubles) and walked 2 while giving up 7 earned runs. If I remember correctly there was not a blooper in the bunch, the Rays were crushing the ball. As I said earlier, the Twins lost that game 11-3 and we left after 7 innings with the Twins trailing 8-1 and we hardly ever leave games early. The Twins had 8 hits and 9 walks in that game and could only muster 3 runs, that is some bad baseball. When we attended a rained out game against the Cardinals earlier this month we were able to send in our $10 parking ticket for a refund, I wonder if I should send in my parking ticket for this game to Dave St. Peter and see if I can get a refund because of the Twins poor play that night? Maybe I will.

The other day acting GM Rob Antony made some strong comments about outfielders Aaron Hicks and Alex Presley not stepping up this spring to earn the centerfield starting job and the lack of hitting by free agent signees Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett. I applaud Mr. Antony for saying what is on his mind and being honest about the state of this ballclub and I wish more of the Twins organization were as honest. I really expected this team to play close to .500 ball this year (and I still think they can) but based on what I have seen todate the team and its fans could be in for a long season. We all know that spring training means next to nothing as far as team regular season wins are concerned but the Twins play does send a message to Twins fans on what they should expect this season. Spring training is winding down and has about a week to go, the Twins had better start playing some better baseball soon if they want to see fans butts in the Target field seats this year.

The team started off spring training full of optimism in spite of GM Terry Ryan’s cancer diagnosis but the Miguel Sano injury seemed to drain the life right out of this team and its staff. Now is the time for manager Ron Gardenhire to step up and show his stuff by playing what he thinks is his best line-up and getting this team ready for some real baseball. The Twins strategy should be simple, the best players get the jobs and if they don’t cut the mustard then it should be “next man up” until this team starts to show some life and energy. Twins fans deserve to watch a team that wants to play and to win!

Learn a bit about prospect Lewis Thorpe

Jake Seiner did a nice piece on MiLB.com a few days ago about Twins pitching prospect Lewis Thorpe that I thought you might enjoy reading and you can check out here. Thorpe pitched for the GLC Twins at the age of 17 last season and was 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.864 WHIP. In 44 innings he allowed only 32 hits while striking out 64 batters. It will be interesting to see how Thorpe does as he moves up the Twins minor league ladder. Thorpe who was given $500,000 to sign is expected to start the season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Category: General Blogging