Category: General Blogging

This is a general blogging category.

Pitchers that hated to walk batters

February 22, 2010 – With Twins pitchers and catchers working out for the first time today, it is a good time to take a look at the top control pitchers in franchise history. The Twins always preach to their pitchers that walks will kill. If you want to pitch for the Minnesota Twins you need to get your pitches over the plate and force the hitter to put the ball in play. This strategy has worked for the Twins in the past and I don’t see it changing in the future. So let’s take a look and see what Twins pitchers gave up the fewest walks per inning pitched and at the same time compare how Washington Senators pitchers in the past compared to their modern day counterparts.

Minnesota Twins

Carlos Silva

Rank Pitcher BB/9 Innings pitched
1 Carlos Silva 1.303 773
2 Brad Radke 1.634 2,451
3 Jim Merritt 1.769 686
4 Jim “Mudcat” Grant 1.879 780
5 Kevin Tapani 1.959 1,171
6 Scott Baker 2.054 653
7 John Butcher 2.148 502
8 Jim Kaat 2.177 3,014
9 Dean Chance 2.250 664
10 Allan Anderson 2.320 818

 Washington Senators

Al Orth
Al Orth
Rank Pitcher BB/9 Innings pitched
1 Al Orth 1.555 677
2 Watty Lee 1.794 526
3 Dutch Leonard 1.910 1,899
4 Waletr Johnson 2.074 5,914
5 Garland Braxton 2.115 583
6 Doc Ayers 2.301 1,122
7 George Mogridge 2.417 1,016
8 Casey Patten 2.430 2,059
9 Charlie Smith 2,240 822
10 Roger Wolff 2,442 527

Kent Hrbek and the 82 Twins

February 7, 2010 – The 2010 baseball season is just about upon us and we can’t wait to see what the Twins new ballpark, Target Field, will be like. But before that can happen, baseball fans all over Twins territory want to hear that local boy and AL MVP Joe Mauer will sign a long term deal to stay in a Minnesota Twins uniform. Twins fans love Joe Mauer and not only want him to stay but they expect him to stay and spend his entire career in Minnesota.

If you think back to 1982 there was another local boy by the name of Kent Hrbek that was just starting to make a name for himself in the Twins new stadium at the time, the HHH Metrodome. Hrbek also had the option to leave as a free agent later in his career but he chose to stay in Minnesota and play his entire career in front of his hometown fans. Back on July 5, 1982 Sports Illustrated published a very nice story about Kent Hrbek and the 1982 Twins and if you have a few minutes to spare, take the time to click on the SI cover and check out the story written by Steve Wulf, you won’t be sorry.

What “they” said about Bert in 1976

January 31, 2010 – An interesting story about Bert Blyleven written by Pat Jordan in the June 14, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. It is a fun read and I hope you enjoy it. I wonder what Bert would say about that story today? To read the story just click on the Sports Illustrated cover.

Twins sign Jim Thome, why?

Jim Thome

January 27, 2010 – The announced that they have signed 39 year old DH Jim Thome to a one year deal for $1.5 million with another $750,000 on the table as incentives based on at bats. Thome, a left handed hitter and a five time all-star will begin his 20th season in the big leagues in 2010 having played for the Indians, the Phillies, the White Sox, and last year he split time between the Sox and the Dodgers. The man has hit more home runs against the Twins than any other player, 57 I believe and his career home run count stands at 564. I have enjoyed watching Jim Thome play baseball over the years and I have read numerous articles stating how nice a guy he is and how he helps many a charity. But I have got to ask, why would Bill Smith and the Twins sign Jim Thome? Where do you play him?

The Twins already have a nice DH and part time outfielder in the left handed Jason Kubel. Everyone is in agreement that Kubel will remain the primary DH so what do you need Thome for? The man has not put on a glove in anger since 2007 so there is no chance of him playing in the field short of a major calamity. A pinch hitter off the bench you say, let’s look at what Jim Thome accomplished as a pinch hitter for the White Sox and the Dodgers last year. For the Sox, Thome had 9 plate appearances as a pinch hitter and had nothing but a walk to show for his efforts to go along with his 4 strikeouts. As a Dodger, Thome had 17 plate appearances in which he struck out 7 times and had 4 singles and 3 RBI’s. Yes, 4 singles, no doubles, no triples, and no home runs. I am not saying that Thome is washed up, but some players are not suited to getting off the bench and taking their hacks once a day or once every several days and Thome’s history albeit short does nothing to make me think he can fill the role as the big bopper of the bench. Let’s assume for a moment here that Thome does pinch hit and bloops a single down the right field line, you think Gardy is going to let him run and clog up the bases and kill a rally? No sir, Gardy is too smart for that so he will burn another bench player running for Thome. So to get this rally going we have burned at least two bench players. If you decide to play Thome as the DH then either Delmon Young or Kubel probably sits, what is the point of that? Carlos Gomez was traded to solve the crowded outfield problem and now here once again we have found a new way to keep Young from playing full time. If the Twins don’t think that Young can fill their outfield role full time, then they should just trade the guy and be done with it. Geez, enough is enough already.

Even by today’s standards $1.5 million is still a lot of money and I think Bill Smith just threw it out his Target Field window. Why not save that money and pool it with the money they still have to spend to fill either the 2B or 3B hole and get a player that can really help this team. Smith’s master plan for 2010 is obviously well beyond me because I just don’t get it. I am also amazed at how the local press and bloggers all seem to be in favor of this signing. Again, I ask why?

Top franchise home run teams

January 23, 2010 – The home run, the long ball, the big blast, or whatever you want to call it is fun to watch and it can put runs on the score board in a hurry. The home run is loved by most baseball fans (pitchers excluded of course) but it does not guarantee a winning season. The 1965 Twins hit 150, the 1987 Twins hit 196 and the 1991 Twins hit 140 home runs and all three teams played in a World Series. The Twins big slugger as we all know was Harmon Killebrew who hit 49 out of the park in 1964 and again in 1969. Matter of fact, the Killer holds the top nine Twins home run seasons, Bob Allison joins him in the top ten with 35 in 1963. The Twins least productive season from a home run perspective was the strike shortened season of 1981 when the Twins hit only 47 long balls in 109 games and Roy Smalley was the team leader with a total of 7. Their lowest full season home run output was 81 in 1976 when they finished third with an 85-77 record and Disco Danny Ford hit 20 round trippers.

Twins top 10 home run teams

  Year Home Runs Record Finish
1 1963 225 91-70 3
2 1964 221 79-83 6
3 1986 196 71-91 6
4 1987 196 85-77 1
5 2004 191 92-70 1
6 1962 185 91-71 2
7 2009 172 87-76 1
8 1961 167 70-90 7
9 2002 167 94-67 1
10 2001 164 85-77 2

The Senators top home run teams never even got a sniff of the top spot in their league as their top 10 home run teams never finished better than in fifth place. Their pennant winning teams of 1924, 1925, and 1933 hit 22, 56, and 60 home runs respectively. The Senators top sluggers were none other than the Twins big bopper, Harmon Killebrew who hit 42 as a Senator in 1959 and Roy Sievers who hit 42 out of the park for the 1957 Senators and hit 39 more in 1958.

Senators top 10 home run teams

  Year Home Runs Record Finish
1 1959 163 63-91 8
2 1960 147 73-81 5
3 1958 121 61-93 8
4 1956 112 59-95 7
5 1957 111 55-99 8
6 1938 85 75-76 5
7 1949 81 50-104 8
8 1954 81 66-88 6
9 1955 80 53-101 8
10 1950 76 67-87 5

 

Kouzmanoff traded to the A’s

January 16, 2010 – It has been reported that the San Diego Padres have traded 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Oakland A’s and now the door is quickly closing on any hopes of the Twins getting a major league caliber 3B. The free agent market at 3B is drying quickly up with Joe Crede, Melvin Mora, and Andy Kennedy as the last men standing and there are rumors out there that the Orioles are hot on the Crede trail. I am not sure that Mora is any improvement over what we currently have at playing third now and we certainly don’t want Adam Kennedy.

So what do the Twins do, they still have holes at 3B and 2B? The 2B free agent market still has Orlando Hudson who would be a great pick-up and Felipe Lopez who would also be a nice fit but after that it drops down to Ronnie Belliard and of course Adam Kennedy again.

It seems that the Joe Mauer salary negotiations are already impacting the team that the Twins can put on Target Field. The Twins need to sign Mauer but they find themselves between a rock and a hard spot because they have a pretty solid team but they have two major holes in their infield. If the team is going to seriously contend, the Twins need to bite the bullet and spend the money to fill at least one of the two holes and probably play Punto in the other position. If they do nothing, they still end up with a high salary team with diminished hopes of making the playoffs and you can already hear the “time to rebuild” chatter starting to gather momentum.

You can bring Danny Valencia up and play him at 3B but he is not ready. The sad part is that neither his hitting not his fielding is ready to play in the big leagues, if either his glove or his bat were ready, it would be easier to throw him in the fire and suffer with the other but that is not the case.

I guess that is why Mr. Smith makes the big bucks, to make these kinds of decisions, but here we are, about a month away from spring training and the Twins have two major holes in the infield and Mauer is still not signed for the long term. Do something Mr. Smith, show us you are breathing and that there is more going on at Target Field then just everyone “patting themselves on the back” for the great ballpark that will open in April. If nothing else, at least bring back Joe Crede, maybe he can play 3B at Target Field five days a week. I think the ball is in your court Mr. Smith, I know you have been working hard and that you have really been getting after it, but now it is time we see the fruits of your labor.

Twins sign Clay Condrey

January 7, 2010 – The Twins announced they signed relief pitcher Clay Condrey yesterday and put him on the 40 man roster replacing reliever Bobby Keppel who was given his release so he can sign with a team in Japan. Condrey is 34 years old, stands 6’3” and weighs 225. The right handed Condrey throws a sinker, cutter, curve ball, change up, and a four-seam fastball, that is a lot of pitches for a reliever. Condrey has pitched in the big leagues off and on since 2002 but he did spend all of 2004 and 2005 in the minors. 2008 is the only season that Condrey has spent the entire year in the majors.

When I look at his career stats, I see a journeyman pitcher who may or may not help the Twins. Condrey has appeared in 179 games and has an 18-12 record with an ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.470. He has struck out 143 in 250+ innings but what I don’t like is the 281 hits he has given up. The press talks about him filling a role in the pen while the team waits for Neshek to return from surgery but I see him more as a long guy, last man on the staff, filling the Keppel role. Time will tell I guess.

Slick

January 5, 2010 – I recently ran across a story about manager Billy Gardner and the 1984 Twins written by Ron Fimrite in the September 24, 1984 issue of Sport Illustrated that I really enjoyed and I bet you will too. Billy Gardner played in 1,150 minor league games and 1,034 major league games and that is not counting the games he coached or managed.

Billy signed with the New York Giants prior to the 1945 season and started his quest for the big leagues with class “D” Bristol. Gardner made his major league debut on April 22, 1954 at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field in a Giants 7-4 loss to the Pirates but Billy who came in to play 2B late in the game was 1 for 1 in his first big league game. After being sold by the Giants to the Orioles, Billy went on to play for the Senators, Twins, Yankees, and finally the Red Sox where he played in his final major league game in 1963. Billy played in the minors in 1964 before moving in to coaching and managing in the minors from 1965 through 1980.

In 1981 Calvin Griffith gave Billy a shot at managing the Minnesota Twins when he hired Gardner to replace Johnny Goryl. Slick managed some really poor Twins teams for several years before the 1984 team made a nice run at the title before finishing in second place. A poor start in 1985 ended Billy Gardner’s Twins managing career when he was fired and replaced by Ray Miller. Gardner finished his Twins managing career with a 268-353 record. Billy surfaced in the majors again in 1987 when he piloted the Kansas City Royals to a 62-63 record before being replaced by John Wathan. Billy Gardner was a player’s manager and it is hard to find any player who had bad things to say about the man they called Slick, Whitey, and Shotgun.

Twins managers playing careers

December 30, 2009 – The Minnesota Twins have had 12 managers since the team moved here from Washington after the 1960 season. I thought that it would be interesting to see how many games each of them had played at the major league and minor league level before they moved into “management” so to speak and to see if there is any correlation between playing experience and managing a team at the major league level. The games listed below are strictly games played and not coached or managed either in the minors or majors.

Name Major league positions played Major league games Minor league games
Cookie Lavagetto ** 3B, 2B, 1B, SS 1,043 523
Sam Mele OF, 1B 1,046 340
Cal Ermer 2B 1 904
Billy Martin * 2B, SS, 3B, OF 1,021 510
Bill Rigney * 2B, 3B, SS, 1B 654 641
Frank Quilici 2B, 3B, SS, 1B 405 715
Gene Mauch 2B, SS, 3B 304 1,061
John Goryl 2B, 3B, SS 276 1,266
Billy Gardner 2B, SS, 3B 1,034 1,150
Ray Miller P 0 371
Tom Kelly 1B, OF 49 1,143
Ron Gardenhire SS, 2B, 3B 285 659

* = made one All-star team

** = made four All-star teams
 

Bobby Darwin

December 26, 2009 – Arthur Bobby Lee Darwin, a 6’2” right handed pitcher was signed by the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent prior to the 1962 season. He started his career in 1962 in San Jose, playing “C” ball where he was 11-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 153 innings giving up only 123 hits, but control was not Bobby’s strong suit as he also walked 149 batters in those 153 innings. Never the less, the Angels called up Darwin to start a game late in 1962 against the Cleveland Indians. With only 26 games of minor league ball under his belt, Darwin started the second game of a double header at Cleveland stadium. It was a tough start for Bobby, he lasted just 3.1 innings giving up 8 hits, 4 walks, and 6 runs, 4 of them earned and he ended up taking the loss. Little did Darwin know at the time, but he would not step foot in another major league game for a long time. In 1963 Darwin was waived by the Angels and picked up by the Baltimore Orioles where he toiled in the minors from 1963 through 1968. In 1966 Darwin also had elbow surgery and he was never quite the same pitcher after that. The Los Angeles Dodgers however; still saw something they liked in Darwin and drafted him in the Rule 5 draft in December of 1968. Darwin started the 1969 season with the Dodgers but was ineffective and appeared in only 3 games before being sent back down to the minors. Ready to give baseball, Darwin was asked by a former manager to give up on pitching and to try his luck as a position player. So in 1970 at the age of 27 it was back to single “A” ball and Darwin was working to fight his way back to the major leagues, this time as a hitter. In 1971 the Dodgers called Darwin up for a month or so but he only appeared in 11 games getting 20 at bats while hitting .250 with one home run but the real problem was his 9 strikeouts so he was shipped back to the minors.

It was after the 1971 season that things looked up for Bobby, he found out that he had been traded by the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins who just happened to be managed at that time by Bill Rigney who was also the Angels manager when Darwin got his first taste of the big leagues, only back then, he was a pitcher. In his first year in Minnesota in 1972, Darwin wins a starting outfield job, hits 22 home runs, (second only to Harmon Killebrew) and he knocks in a team leading 80 RBI’s while hitting .267 but he strikes out a league leading 145 times. In 1973 Darwin hits 18 home runs, knocks in 90, while hitting .252 and again leading the league in strikeouts with 137. In 1974 he hits a career high 25 home runs and knocks in 94 more with an average of .264 but once again he leads the league in strikeouts with 127.The following season, 1975, Darwin struggles along with a .219 average with just 5 home runs in almost 200 at bats and the Twins decide that they have seen enough and they trade Darwin to the Milwaukee Brewers for Johnny Briggs. Darwin’s stay in Milwaukee lasts less than one year before they send him on his way to the Boston Red Sox. Bobby’s stay in Boston is less than a year before they too send him packing, this time to the Chicago Cubs. Darwin gets only a dozen at bats in Chicago before they release him and end Bobby Darwin’s big league career. During his 9 seasons in the majors, Darwin had a 0-1 record with a 10.29 ERA in 7 innings with 6 strikeouts. As a hitter, in 2,224 at bats, Darwin had 83 home runs, 328 RBI’s, 15 steals and a .241 batting average. Not Hall of Fame numbers to be sure but still some decent numbers for a player with an interesting career that started out as a pitcher and turned position player at the age of 27. The man could hit the ball a mile when he connected, but those dang pitchers kept throwing him that danged curve ball.