TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
Twins free agent signee LHP Aaron Thompson, 25, was suspended by MLB for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance. GM Terry Ryan confirmed that it was a “recreational” substance that triggered the positive result. Ryan stated that he was disappointed in Thompson but that the team planned to keep him. A few years back the released and ended the baseball career of 2005 first round pick and power hitting prospect Hank Sanchez after his 50 game suspension ended. Thompson had been reassigned to the Twins minor league camp earlier this month. Thompson is the third member of the Twins organization to be suspended for 50 games for positive drug tests this spring, earlier this month Twins’ Dominican league players Yeison Florentino and Ezequiel Zarzuela were both suspended as well for positive tests.
I don’t understand, why major league baseball is opening the 2012 baseball season in Japan? The Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners will open the season by playing two games in the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and because of the time difference if any A’s or Mariners fans want to watch their teams play the first two games of 2012 they have to tune in at Midnight on the west coast. Then, after playing a couple of games that count, both of these teams play several exhibition games in Japan and then come home and play more exhibition games before once again playing some games that count in the standings.
What is MLB thinking? Why deprive fans of Oakland or Seattle the right to open the season at home or for that matter why should baseball fans in general not get to watch the first games of the 2012 season unless they are willing to trade a nights sleep? Baseball is America’s pastime and opening the season after the long winter away from baseball in a foreign country is just plain wrong. This will be the fourth time that MLB has played the opener in Japan, following the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs (2000), the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay (2004), and Boston and Oakland (2008) and I can’t for the life of me figure why. I am sure there is some financial benefit to somebody but I don’t know who. Why in Japan, why not in the Dominican, Puerto Rico, Australia, or even Cuba. Is MLB looking to put a big league team in Tokyo? That is years away at best.
What is the point of sending two teams over 6,000 miles one way to Japan to show off Americ’a great game by sending teams like the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners who last year lost 183 games between them. I know Ichiro plays for Seattle but MLB has a number of players that are better than Ichiro is right now. If MLB tried to send the some contending teams to Japan on a schedule like this there would be all kinds of h*^# raised. Then after playing two games in Japan the rest of the MLB season does not open until April 4th, a week after Oakland plays Seattle in game one, how dumb is that?
MLB should be ashamed of themselves for not playing the first games of 2012 in the United States, this is America’s pastime for God’s sake and not playing that first game here is a major error on the part of MLB. I have scored it as E-CS, error on Commissioner Selig.
Here is an article in the Daily Yomiuri on how they look at the up-coming Mariners-A’s series.
It has been 11 days since I went out to the ballpark to watch spring training drills. I did take the family to a Twins/Pirates game a few days ago when the Twins got blown out but other that I have not been out to Hammond Stadium for 11 days because our son and his wife came down to Cape Coral for a visit and the time just wasn’t there.
I knew that the Twins were facing the New York Yankees in Tampa today and that I probably would see few if any of the actual Twins themselves but I wanted to see a little baseball on the minor league side. Not long after I arrived I watched as the Tampa Rays bus pulled up from Port Charlotte which is just 30-40 northwest of here and their advanced A Port Charlotte team and their A ball Bowling Green got off the bus and walked over to fields 2 and 3 for a 1:00 game against the Twins respective squads. At the same time, the Twins extended league players prepared for an inner squad game on field 1. The Twins New Britain and Rochester contingent had gone up to Port Charlotte to take on Tampa AA and AAA teams. As the Tampa teams took the field for warm-ups, the Twins teams were on their lunch break.
Mike Cubbage and one of Tampa's coaches
While I was waiting for the games to begin I was just sitting down jotting a few notes when who walks up but former Twins infielder and now Tampa Rays scout Mike Cubbage. I introduced myself and we chatted about the phone interview I had done with Mike back in February of 2010 and then we talked about the Twins and some of their players both in the majors and in the minors. I had a chance to chat with Mike off and on for over three hours and I really enjoyed it, he was both interesting, informative, and fun to talk with. I think our opinions of how the Twins will do this season are actually not that far apart and it was interesting to hear Mike tell me what the life of a scout is really like. Mike shared his schedule with me through the end of May and the man is on the road probably 25 days each month and it is not unusual for him to scout games in the afternoon and catch another one that same night. After Cubbage stepped away to talk with some of the Tampa players, I was joined at the table I was sitting at behind home plate of field 3 by Tampa pitcher Jeff Ames who was assigned chart duty on this day since he is scheduled to pitch tomorrow. Jeff was very nice and he told me what it was like to attend spring training for the first time since he was just drafted last year. I didn’t know it at the time and Jeff never mentioned it but my research indicates that Ames was drafted by Tampa last year in the 1st round as a compensatory pick (number 42 over-all) and according to scouting reports throws over 100 MPH on occasion. We talked a little about spring training and what the players do when they get some free time. According to Jeff, when he is not playing baseball or enjoying a little down time, you will find him and his friends at the local golf course. It just so happens that if you are a Rays ballplayer you get to golf free but that does not help me. A little bit later we were joined at the table by a Twins player I did not recognize. I introduced myself and the player turned out to be catcher Phillip Chapman, a Twins 35th round pick in 2011. Phillip explained that he was on the DL and that he hurt his knee working out just before camp opened and had arthroscopic surgery on his knee just a week ago. I asked Phillip when he expected he would be back on the field and his reply was “I really don’t know, it has been a week since my surgery and I can’t run yet”. The man obviously has high expectations for a quick recovery, I am sure I would not be expecting to be able to run just a week after knee surgery. It has got to be extra tough to get back when you are a catcher, I wished Phillip a speedy recovery.
Once the game started I wandered between the three fields since they are so close in proximity and I was able to watch all 3 games and take a bunch of pictures that I have uploaded to my 2012 Spring Training pictures that you can find on the right side of this page. Enjoy the pictures and I will label them as soon as I can. In one of the games Jamey Carroll and Danny Valencia batted 2nd and 3rd in every inning trying to get more at bats against live pitching. Valencia hit a nice double down the line but I never saw Carroll get the ball out of the infield. Valencia hung around for a few innings before calling it a day but Carroll was still going at it when I left. Earlier I was standing just behind the screen getting ready to take some pictures as Valencia was walking up to get in the on deck circle and he glanced at me as he walked by and then turned around and said to me, “it will help if you take your lens cap off first”. We both got a chuckle out of that one and then he walked up and proceeded to hit that double down the line.
All toll I spent about 5 hours at the ballpark today and I had a great time. Just wandering around and talking baseball with everyone at the ballpark during spring training is more fun than you should be allowed to have. I saw a couple that sat and diligently watched the extended players playing their inter squad game and I stopped by and asked if they were enjoying the game. They said they were and that they were excited about watching their grandson play. Naturally I asked who their grandson was and they told me it was Corey Kimes, a LHP that the Twins drafted from Illinois last year. All they hope for Corey is that he does the best he can do. Is that cool or what? For all you baseball fans back there that have never attended spring training here in Fort Myers, I feel bad for you because you are missing out one of life’s great pleasures.
Clark C. Griffith, 70, currently a Minneapolis lawyer at CCG, P.A. and sports-law expert and the son of former Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith has been charged with indecent exposure in Ramsey District Court. According to the charges, this past January Griffith allegedly unzipped his pants in front of a William Mitchell College of Law female student and asked her to touch his penis. At the time, Griffith was an adjunct professor at the school but has since resigned his position.
Before going into law, Clark Griffith was part owner and Treasurer of the Minnesota Twins with responsibilities for broadcasting, player development, scouting, and governmental relations. Griffith was also a lobbyist for the bill authorizing the building of the Metrodome and was instrumental in developing the agreements for the Twins use of the Metrodome and Met Stadium. Griffith also served as Chairman of the Board of Major League Baseball Properties, from 1975 to 1984.
Griffith has been summoned to appear in court June 12 for arraignment on the charge, a misdemeanor offense. He faces up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for the indecent exposure charge.
UPDATE as of June 13, 2012 – Clark Griffith entered an Alford plea of guilty on June 12th to an indecent-exposure charge stemming from an incident with a St. Paul law student earlier this year. Griffith’s attorney, Paul Engh, said that the plea deal negotiated with the city attorney’s office calls for no jail time and for the case to be dismissed in a year. The Alford plea to the misdemeanor charge came on the day of Griffith’s scheduled arraignment in Ramsey County District Court and allows him to maintain his innocence while acknowledging there was sufficient evidence to be found guilty.
UPDATE as of July 26, 2012 (Source – Minneapolis Star Tribune) – Clark Griffith, a Minneapolis attorney whose late father, Calvin, owned the Minnesota Twins, was ordered to undergo sex-offender counseling after exposing himself to a St. Paul law student who considered him a mentor. The Jan. 24 incident on St. Paul’s Victoria Street triggered panicked texts and phone calls from Griffith to the 24-year-old student imploring her to drop her complaints, the charges say. But on Thursday, Griffith, 70, stood for sentencing before Ramsey County District Judge George Stephenson, listening as prosecutor Steve Christie read a statement from the woman describing his actions as “one of the biggest betrayals of my young life.” Defense attorney Paul Engh told the judge that Griffith’s reputation had been damaged — that he had been “punished already.” He said that Griffith’s marriage was under stress and that his relationship with his two daughters — both about the same age as his accuser — now was strained. In his sentencing, Stephenson honored a plea deal calling for no jail time and for the potential dismissal of the case in a year. But he also criticized Griffith for a version of the events that the judge described as “ridiculous” and “possibly delusional.”
Update as of November 6, 2013 – Clark Griffith disciplined by Minnesota Supreme Court. You can read the Star Tribune story here.
As I listened to a Twins game on my PC the other day here in Cape Coral, Florida with Dan Gladden and Cory Provus announcing the action I was sitting out in the lanai next to the pool with a cold beer sitting next to me and my mind wandered back to my childhood when I first started following the Twins. I was 13 at the time and every evening we were out in the barn milking the cows when Twins baseball came on the air. Back then, if you wanted to listen to a Minnesota Twins game when the team first moved here from Washington D.C. in 1961 you had to turn your radio dial to 830 on the AM dial and listen to WCCO radio where Ray Scott, Bob Wolff, and Halsey Hall described the action for you. We had an old beat up radio in the barn that was turned on as soon as the lights were turned on and the radio was always tuned to 830 WCCO, as a matter of fact you couldn’t tune it to anything else because the station dial was missing. Back then, one of the Minnesota Twins main sponsors on radio and TV was Hamm’s beer. I can still here that Hamm’s jingle to this day. Hamm’s also was a sponsor for other baseball teams including the Cubs, White Sox and the Orioles. Back then some of the announcers actually worked for and were hired by the sponsors themselves and were not working for the baseball teams that they broadcast for. If my information is correct, HOF Twins broadcaster Herb Carneal worked for Hamm’s when he joined the Twins.
Hamm’s was established in 1865 when Theodore Hamm a German immigrant inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller. Keller had constructed his brewery over artesian wells in a section of the Phalen Creek valley in St. Paul, Minnesota known as Swede Hollow. Hamm hired Christopher Figg to be his masterbrewer, and by the 1880’s the Theo. Hamm Brewing Company was reported to be the second largest in Minnesota. Hamm’s also had a brewery in San Francisco, California from 1954 to 1972. Since then, the Hamm’s brand had changed hands several times but is still produced today by MillerCoors. Hamm’s beer was always known as a low-cost blue-collar beer and the name Hamm’s is probably more famous for its jingle and its mascot Sascha, the Hamm’s beer bear than it is for its product. The original jingle, with lyrics by Nelle Richmond Eberhart originated from a 1909 song called “From The Land of Sky-Blue Water.” It started with tom-tom drums, then a chorus intoned:
From the Land of Sky Blue Waters, From the land of pines’ lofty balsams, Comes the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Brewed where nature works her wonders, Aged for many moons, gently mellowed, Hamm’s the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. From across the rippling water, Through the whisp’ring pines and birches, Comes the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Comes a call to cool enchantment, Comes a call to cool refreshment, Hamm’s the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Hints of lakes and sunset breezes, Dance and sparkle in each glassful, Hamm’s the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Here is an example of one of the old Hamm’s beer TV spots. If this commercial brought back some fond memories, you can find a number of other old Hamm’s commercials by searching on YouTube.
Sascha, the Hamm’s beer mascot was created by Patrick DesJarlait, an Ojibwa, in 1952 for an advertising campaign produced by the Campbell-Mithun advertising agency but it was Ray Tollefson that actually drew the bear that Campbell-Mithun liked the best and the rest is history. Tollefson later he went on to create the little flame girl for Minnegasco and Albert & Stanley for Grain Belt Beer before passing away at the age of 91 in 2002. The Hamm’s Beer bear was featured in numerous signs and all kinds of merchandise including glasses, clocks, ashtrays and it became so well-known and tied to its Minnesota roots that in 2000, the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper named Sascha the Hamm’s bear as a runner-up in its list of “150 Influential Minnesotans of the Past 150 Years”. Rumor has it that the current Twins mascot, T.C. was “modeled” after Sascha. What do you think, you see a resemblence?
Sascha the Hamm’s beer bear
Sascha the Hamm’s bear remains as one of the most memorable icons of all-time and Frank Kelly Rich did a neat piece on what he considered the top 10 alcohol icons for Modern Drunkard Magazine. Here is what Frank wrote about Sascha.
The Hamm’s Bear
Perhaps a Little Too Happy?
Hamm’s Beer
The joyous bear haunting baby-boomers dreams was conceived by Ojibwa Indian Patrick DesJarlait in 1952. Though his name was never revealed on air, around the brewery he was called Sascha, after the brewery founder’s wife. Which must have thrilled her no end — what woman wouldn’t want to be the namesake of an obese male bear?
Being saddled with a chick name didn’t seem to bother Sascha much. He spent most of his time dancing and getting into weird adventures with the other animals of the forest, to the point one wonders if there was something other than fish in the “Sky Blue Waters.”
The wildly popular commercials employed plot devices ranging from good old-fashioned fun like pie fights and log-rolling to more risqué activities, such as train robbery, gunplay, arson, and gleeful wolf-abuse. The spots would saturate the airwaves for over 30 years, which is especially impressive when you consider Spuds MacKenzie lasted less than three.
Why It Worked: Most beer commercials of the day involved some shill bragging about how good their product was, while the Hamm’s spots came equipped with humor, plot and punch line. The occasional interaction between cartoons and real actors was ground breaking—Sascha beat Roger Rabbit to the punch by 40 years.
Evolution: Sascha’s appearance didn’t vary a great deal, aside from slicker graphics and the transition from B&W to color. He sired a cub at one point and eventually learned to speak (his sole utterance: “It bears repeating”). The only major mutation was the occasional Pinocchio-esque transformation into a real bear.
Sascha was eventually and inevitably slain by do-gooders who claimed he was hustling beer to children. The monstrous amount of Sascha-related ephemera cranked out during his long reign has become quite collectable, and the lovable mammal is still celebrated by The Hamm’s Club, which throws a yearly convention.
Dark Secret: Was probably a stoner. All the signs are there: perpetually goofy grin, impromptu hippie-style dancing at the sound of drums, and militant veganism (his single attempt to break his diet with a little fish concluded with him shooting a hole through the bottom of the boat.)
Claim to Fame: Sascha eventually reached such heights of popularity-inspired hubris that he felt compelled to step into the ring with undefeated boxing legend Rocky Marciano (Rocky remained undefeated at the end of the commercial.)
If you are inclined to read the entire story called “Ten Greatest Alcohol Icons of All Time” you can find it here.
“Ten Greatest Alcohol Icons of All Time” Reprinted with written permission from Modern Drunkard Magazine
TwinCities.com did a nice piece on Hamms back in October 2009 called “Remembering: Theo. Hamm Brewing Co.” that you might enjoy reading.
The Twins announced today that they had reassigned 12 players to their minor league teams. The biggest names were 2B/SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka and outfielder Rene Tosoni. Nishioka is guaranteed $3 million this season and next and he just has not shown that he is the player that the Twins thought they were getting when they paid $5.3 million just to gain his negotiation rights. Nishioka does not seem comfortable playing second or shortstop in the big leagues and the man who won a batting title in Japan has not shown anything to speak of with his bat. One of the main reasons for signing Nishioka last season was that Gardenhire wanted to add some speed to the team but all Nishioka could muster was two stolen bases in six attempts. Couple that with the perception that Nishioka appears to want to do things his way versus the Twins way and did not seem to fit in with the rest of his teammates and you have a player that will cost you $3 million for the next two seasons and if you are really honest, you would say that he does not even deserve to be in AAA Rochester with what he has shown the Twins in his year with the club. In my opinion, the Nishioka signing was one of the main reasons that Bill Smith was fired as the Twins GM, not the only reason, but it was a key contributor. If you spend $15 million of Pohlad money and make a “Nishioka” mistake, you had best be prepared to suffer the consequences. But why send Nishioka down about half way through spring training? It has to be a message that Ryan is sending to Nishioka and to the rest of the Twins team. The Twins are not exactly blessed with an abundance of infield prospects so sending Nishioka down should give players like Sean Burroughs, Pedro Florimon and Mike Hollimon some hope for a utility role with the big club. At this point the Twins have to look at Nishioka as sunk money and just want to move on without his distraction. I don’t see Nishioka as one of Ryan’s favorite players and Ryan really has no ties to Nishioka so sending him packing will not cause Ryan to lose any sleep at all. Besides, there is always the chance that Nishioka will be embarrassed by his demotion and ask the club for his release and that would be a win-win for all parties and would end a very sorry but hopefully short chapter in Twins history.
The numbers game has caught up with Rene Tosoni who is 25 and probably a career utility outfielder who is not talented enough to garner a starting role but would make an adequate 4th or 5th outfielder. However; with Willingham, Span, Revere, Plouffe, and Doumit a cinch to make the team and Joe Benson pushing hard, there is no room for Tosoni at this time.
The Twins spring training record through Friday, March 16th is 8-8. I think they are doing it with smoke, mirrors, and a little good pitching now and then. When you look at the Twins hitting and pitching this spring you have to wonder what the season holds in store. As a team, in 16 games and 528 at bats the Twins are hitting .237, slugging .322 and have a .319 OBP. The opposition is hitting .278, slugging .408 and have a .342 OBP. The Twins have hit 9 home runs and ground into 11 double plays and they haven’t even played a game in that cavernous Target Field where the Twins can’t seem to hit home runs. If you take the Twins 16 games played thus far and multiply it times 10, you get some scary numbers. I know, the Twins regulars aren’t playing all the time but let’s take a look at the numbers that the Twins proposed line-up for 2012 has put up thus far.
POS
Name
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
AVG
C
Mauer
23
1
7
0
0
0
4
.304
1B
Morneau
26
1
3
0
0
0
1
.115
2B
Casilla
25
5
9
1
0
0
0
.360
SS
Carroll
23
1
1
0
0
0
0
.043
3B
Valencia
24
4
9
2
0
3
7
.310
RF
Willingham
20
3
5
0
0
1
2
.250
CF
Span
24
3
10
0
0
0
1
.417
LF
Revere
25
2
8
0
0
0
2
.320
LF
Plouffe
25
2
6
1
0
0
2
.240
DH
Doumit
22
0
5
1
0
0
1
.227
Justin Morneau
How can you not be worried about Justin Morneau and his total lack of power? How about Jamey Carroll hitting less than one-third his weight? Questions abound. Have I mentioned that the Twins pitching staff this spring has a 4.28 ERA and the opposing pitchers have a 2.71 ERA against the Twins? Lots of questions and issues and we are half way through spring training with 16 games left to go. It will make for an interesting couple of weeks for sure, stay tuned.
I took the family out to their first Twins spring training game of the year out at Hammond Stadium today and it might be difficult to persuade them to go to another Minnesota Twins game this year after watching the Twins debacle against the Pirates. Terry Doyle started for the Twins and he lasted just 2/3 of an inning as the Pirates battered him for 8 earned runs on 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Doyle told reporters after the game “that he could not locate his fastball” but I can tell you that the Pittsburgh Pirates hitters had no problem locating Doyle’s fastball. Finally Gardy had no choice but to take Doyle out and bring in Anthony Swarzak who was treated rather rudely himself as he gave up two more runs. So, after 38 minutes and before the Twins could even pick up a bat, the score was 10 to zip for the Pirates and the Twins walked off the field to a smattering of applause for finally getting the Pirates out.
One game does not a season make, particularly if it is a spring training game in the middle of March but I spent the afternoon wondering if I was at Target Field and it was 2011 all over again. When the final score was posted about 3 1/2 hours later, the scoreboard said Pirates 17 and the Twins 6. The Pirates out hit Minnesota 19 to 11 and the Twins had 3 errors to the Pirates 1. You will have to believe me when I tell you that the Twins had several other plays that could have easily been called errors if not for the generosity of a home town scorekeeper. Outfielders continue to throw to the wrong bases and infielders either can’t make a decent throw to first or end up throwing wildly to first when they should just hold on to the ball. The play of Aaron Bates and Mike Hollimon at 1B was just plain embarrassing and the Twins should do all they can to ensure that Hollimon does not play 1B for his own safety and the safety of the opposing base runners until he learns to play the position. Only Perkins, Capps and Luis Perdomo escaped the carnage on the mound as Doyle, Swarzak, Dumatrait, and Wise were hit around pretty good as each gave up 3 or more runs. It sure looks like Doyle will be wearing a White Sox minor league uniform again soon. I know the score was already 17-6 but Luis Perdomo looked pretty good in the ninth striking out two Pirates and throwing his fastball between 92-94 and then hitting them with a change-ups in the 81-83 range.
Bottom line, the game was just brutal from a Twins perspective and the play of some of the Twins today should make it a lot easier for Gardenhire and Terry Ryan to make some roster decisions when it comes time to decide who will play in AA or AAA this year. Tomorrow is another day.
When I arrived at Hammond Stadium today there was not a lot going on the big league side with a lot of the Twins preparing to play Tampa at Port Charlotte today. A little BP for a couple of players, several pitchers were getting some throwing in and the rest of the pitchers that didn’t go to Port Charlotte were shagging fly balls during BP. I wandered of to the minor league side where all the fields were in use in one fashion or another and a couple of the lower level teams were bussed over to the old Red Sox complex so they could get there work in before coming back in the afternoon for a quick-lunch and a ball game this afternoon. I didn’t have the time to stay for the game but I did get some pictures of the minor leaguers that were there this morning.
Miguel Sano
On one of the fields coaches Tom Kelly and Paul Molitor were working with two infielders at a time teaching then the proper techniques for back handing a ball, flipping the ball to second and turning the double play etc. I saw Miguel Sano being put through his paces there, Adam Pettersen was there as well as several others. The attached picture of Sano fielding a ball at shortstop kind of says it all as to why he will not be a shortstop in the big leagues, he is just too big. I found it a bit more difficult shooting pictures today now that we are on EDT with the sun angle at this hour of the day. I found myself shooting into the sun all day and that is never a good thing.
So, not much for me to report today but I hope that you enjoy the pictures I took on the back fields. The first picture I took today is of Anthony Swarzak getting his throwing in, I am shocked at how much weight Swarzak has lost since last year. If you have not been checking out our “Today in Twins History” page, please stop by and check it out, there is a lot of cool stuff out there.
The Twins announced on March 8th that Stillwater, Minnesota native reliever Glen Perkins had signed a three-year extension for a guaranteed $10.3 million. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the 29-year-old Perkins will collect $2.5 million in 2013, and $3.75 million in both 2014 and 2015. The Twins also have an option in 2016 for $4.5 m with $300K buyout. Perkins is scheduled to make $1.55 million in 2012.
From a dollars perspective it seems like a good deal for the ballclub to lock down the lefty reliever for three more seasons with an option for a fourth for very reasonable amount. If Perkins should move into a closer role in Minnesota as some think is a possibility, he would be a bargain. Perkins as you might expect was very pleased with the deal that he feels gives him some peace of mind, who wouldn’t with a guaranteed $10.3 million coming his way.
I am not saying this is a bad deal for the Twins but there are some reasons you could look at this deal as premature. Perkins has been in the big leagues with Minnesota since 2006. Perkins pitched in just 23 games during 2006-2007, all in relief. The Twins made Perkins a starter in 2008 and Glen posted a 12-4 record with 4.41 ERA in 151 innings. A strong argument could be made that the Twins over used Perkins in 2008 jumping him to 151 innings after Perkins had thrown just 48 innings the year before between his time with the Twins and several minor league teams. Perkins is no stranger to the disabled list having been on the DL in 2007 with a muscle strain in his pitching shoulder and missing 100 games, in 2009 Perkins was on the DL twice, missing 26 games with elbow inflammation and 20 more games with shoulder tendonitis. This past season Perkins again visited the DL for 23 games with a right oblique strain. The two DL trips limited Perkins to 17 starts and 96 innings in 2009 and Glen had a 6-7 mark with a 5.89 ERA. After the 2009 season ended Perkins filed a service-time grievance and that started a very rocky relationship between Perkins and Twins management and coaching staff. I like many was convinced that Perkins would not get out of Gardy’s doghouse and that he had pitched in a Twins uniform for the last time. Perkins started the 2010 season in AAA Rochester and to say he pitched poorly would be an understatement, winning 4 and losing 9 with a 5.81 ERA. Never the less, the Twins who were desperate for pitching at the time called Perkins up in early August and he stayed with the team for the rest of the season. Perkins had a good spring in 2011 and made the team as a reliever and almost from the beginning of the season showed that he had found his niche and had a breakout season pitching in 65 games throwing nearly 62 innings with a 2.48 ERA with 2 saves and a 4-4 record. Perkins had a great season this past year for a horrendous team but it is after all just one season.
I don’t have to walk in GM Terry Ryan’s’ shoes but if I was him, I would not give Perkins or any pitcher for that matter a deal beyond 2 years. Pitchers are just to high a risk to get injured in my book to get a multi-year deal out of me. Terry Ryan himself will tell you that relievers are often inconsistent from year to year, that is why you don’t pay relievers big bucks in free agency, at least that has been the Twins position in the past. I like the Twins approach this season, bring in a bunch of experienced arms, let them battle it out and hopefully one of two will stick and pitch effectively. Look back over Twins history and you will find a slew of relievers that the Twins found on the scrap heap that went on to pitch very well out of the Twins bullpen over the years. Bottom line? I hope that Perkins pitches well in a Twins uniform for the next few years and earns his $10+ million but I think the odds are against it.
