Baseball: Past and Present is a wonderful blog site that writes about the national pastime and its history has published his second annual look at “the 50 best players that are not yet in the baseball Hall of Fame”. Due to a mix-up on my part, I did not get my votes submitted in time this year but I look forward to participating again next year. It is a fun look at the players that many of us have grown up watching and some that were “a bit before our time”. There are several former Minnesota Twins on the list and it is interesting to see how others view these former Twins as possible hall of famers. If you have a few minutes, check out Graham Womack’s (a fellow BBA member) work entitled “The 50 best players not on the Hall of Fame, version 2.0. I think you will find it worth your time.
If I was Michael Cuddyer
I can’t help but wonder what is going on with Michael Cuddyer. The winter meetings have wrapped up and the Twins still sit back and wait for a decision from Michael Cuddyer. Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire have made it pretty clear that they are chasing Cuddyer but apparently Cuddyer does not want to be caught. Yes, I know that his wife had twins earlier this week but are you telling me that they have not sat down and discussed a possible signing scenario before now?The numbers that are floating around that the Twins have supposedly offered the Twins former right-fielder are 3 years for $24 or $25 million. So I will put myself in Michael’s shoes and tell you what I may be thinking.
I have been in the Twins organization since 1998 and in the big leagues with the Twins since 2001. I will be 33 years old before the 2012 season kicks off and this just might be my last chance to sign a multi-year deal for significant dollars. Last year I made $10.5 million, $9.4 million in 2010, and $7.6 million in 2009. Between 2004 and 2011 (excluding my injury plagued year in 2008 when I only played in 71 games) I have averaged 141 games per year playing all over the field except catcher and shortstop and in 2011 I was the only Twins player selected to participate in the 2011 All-Star game. My wife and I work our butts off for the Twins Community Fund, I give up lots of my own personal time to interact with the fans, I never turn down an autograph request and I see myself as a leader in the Twins clubhouse. My team sucked in 2011 and a number of players were hurt but some of them didn’t work all that hard to get back on the field, others just plain quit playing and some of the youngsters the Twins brought up had no business being in the big leagues yet. I play hurt because I know that the team needs my right-handed bat in the line-up and because I want to win. The Twins lost 99 games and changes need to happen, I understand that and I am all for it. I know we had a payroll of $113 million last year and we almost became the second team in history to lose 100 games with a $100+ million payroll and now management expects revenue to drop in 2012 so payroll has to drop accordingly, I get that too. What I have a problem with is why I should I take a pay cut for a team that lost 99 games when I was out there day in and day out working my butt off. Why should I have to take a pay cut from $27.5 million the last three years to $25 million? At this stage of my career I want a ring, what are my chances of getting a ring in Minnesota in the next two or three years? I have to think they might be better somewhere else. At first, I thought that Philly was a nice landing spot but it appears that has fallen through but now I am hearing that the Rockies might come across with a 3 year deal that could trump Minnesota’s offer and hitting in Colorado might be fun, but can they win a ring for me? We love Minnesota and we are comfortable living and playing there but damn, I feel like the Twins and the Twins fans just don’t appreciate what I have done here. To many it is all about dollars and cents but I am a human being and I should be valued for what I have brought to the table. I always knew that baseball was a business, but it is a hard and cruel business at times. Albert Pujols just signed a huge $250 million 10-year deal and he will be 32 in a couple of weeks. Is Pujols being paid this princely sum for what he will do or what he did in the past? I know, I know, I am no Albert Pujols but the comparison is he same, should I be paid for what I have done for the Twins in the past or what I will do in the future? I would hope a little of both but right now I am not feeling the Twins love so let’s just hold on for a while and see what else shakes out. Maybe it is time for me to see if the Twins have as much flexibility as I have shown them in the past.
For many of us fans and bloggers it is all about wins, we tend to forget that the players are real people with real families and real problems of their own. We tend to think of them as an inanimate object that we can discard if we find something better. We pull a dollar figure out of out butts and we say that player X is worth X amount of dollars but then again we don’t have to pull out our own wallets and turn over cold hard cash to pay the player salaries. We sometimes get too enamoured with players we see less frequently and we see all the warts on the home town players just because we see them day in and day out.
Cuddyer was originally drafted as a shortstop by the Twins in the first round (ninth over all) of the June 1997 amateur draft and signed with the Twins shortly there after. Cuddyer worked his way up the minor league chain and made his big league debut with the Twins on September 23, 2001 as the DH at the Metrodome. Cuddyer has been with the Twins for 11 seasons now and has been a fixture in right field playing 670 games there but he has also played 210 games at 1B and 171 games at 3B not to mention 79 games at 2B and his lone relief appearance on the mound in 2011. The only positions Cuddy has not played is catcher and ironically shortstop, the position that he was drafted to play back in 1997. Although Cuddyer may not be a superstar, he has been a very valuable part of the Twins organization for a long time. When I think of Michael Cuddyer, I see him as a true professional, he does what ever it takes to win and he represents the Minnesota Twins as well as anyone ever has and that includes Harmon Killebrew. Cuddyer and his wife are also very active in the community and the Twins Community Fund. I have seen Cuddyer interact with baseball fans during spring training and no one does a better job at that than Michael does and he talks with everyone. The Twins organization and Twins fans will miss Michael Cuddyer if he choses to sign elsewhere, I know I will, but then again the money to pay Cuddy does not come out of my pocket.
UPDATE as of December 16 – The Colorado Rockies have agreed to sign Michael Cuddyer to a three-year, $31.5 million deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com
Albert Pujols becomes an Angel, but not in my eyes
It is all but official the way I see it, 1B Albert Pujols, soon be 32, has left the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals to sign a 10 year deal worth in excess of $250 million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As a long time fan of baseball I find this signing disgusting, I hate what baseball and baseball players have become, money hungry mercenaries. I know, I know that this is baseball in 2011 but that does not mean that I have to like it and as a baseball fan I have a right to express my feelings.
Pujols has been a Cardinal icon for 11 years and to see him forget his roots and take the Angels deal for a few million dollars more than the Cardinals were supposedly offering makes me sick. The man has banked over $104 million dollars in career earnings with the Cards and now he drops his allegiance like a hot potato. We have all heard it before, but how much money does a person really need? I have seen where Albert Pujols has done a lot of community work but actions speak louder than words and his decision to leave St. Louis, a great baseball city for a few dollars more shows me nothing but greed, straight out-and-out greed. How else can you explain it to me?
When you think of the Cardinals of the current era you think of Pujols, same as you think of Jeter or Mantle with the Yankees, Puckett with the Twins, Banks as a Cub, or Ripken with the Orioles, that is the way it should be. It killed me to see Harmon Killebrew as a Royal, Carew as an Angel, Wade Boggs as a Devil Ray or Steve Carlton as a Twin, that is just plain wrong and to me Pujols should have stayed a Cardinal. This is not a new problem, it has been going on for a long time but it seems to be getting worse.
Baseball should come up with something like a “franchise icon” label that will allow teams to keep a true icon player as a member of their organization during their entire playing career. I am not saying they should not be fairly compensated, I am sure something could be worked out that would be fair for everyone but come up with a plan that will allow teams to keep their icons where they belong. There are a lot of smart baseball people out there, come up with a plan that will allow fans to once again be allowed to grow old with their baseball heroes.
Slowey sent packing
The Twins have traded right-handed pitcher Kevin Slowey to the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named later. The 27-year-old Slowey was a Twins second round pick in 2005 and made his major league debut in Oakland against the A’s on June 1, 2007 in a no decision start.
Slowey has been with the Twins for 5 years and has appeared in 100 games, 90 of them starts and he has a career mark of 39-29 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Slowey has had good control as shown by his 84 bases on ball in 532 innings but he has also given up 84 long balls. Durability however; is not Slowey’s long suit as evidenced by his five trips to the DL in five years and he has never thrown as many as 161 innings in any big league season.
In the spring of 2011 Slowey lost out in the battle for the starting rotation and the Twins moved him to the bullpen. Between April 1st and May 20th Slowey appeared in relief 6 times and had a 4.91 ERA. Slowey complained publicly that he was not suited for the bullpen and that his arm hurt and the Twins sent him out to rehab and then farmed him out to Rochester. Slowey was recalled later in the season and made 8 starts for the Twins and was the losing pitcher each time, giving up 36 runs in 45.2 innings.
But is wasn’t his poor pitching that sent Slowey packing, it was his attitude. The word was that Slowey had a reputation as a “club house lawyer” and that he was convinced that he knew the best way to pitch which did not endear him either to pitching coach Rick Anderson or manager Gardenhire. I don’t know if these reports are true or not but I can tell you that Kevin Slowey was very standoffish whenever I saw him during the past few years during spring training visits and he certainly did not go out of his way to interact with Twins fans.
I think that Terry Ryan was smart this month in saying publicly that Slowey was in his starting rotation plans for 2012 regardless if that was true or not. Personally I think that Slowey had burned too many bridges and Ryan was just trying to get as much as he could for Slowey. I sure would have liked the Twins to do better than a PTBNL for trading Slowey to the Rockies who had also expressed interest in Slowey last summer at the trade deadline. At least the Twins will get something versus just non-tendering him. The rumor has it that the Rockies are looking to move 3B/2B Ian Stewart who has been a disappointment in Colorado and that they were looking to get a couple of minor league pitchers in return. You would think the Twins would have very little to lose to have swung a deal that included Slowey for the 26-year-old left-handed hitting Stewart with good pop in his bat even if the Twins had to kick in something to sweeten the pot. It will be interesting to see what Slowey can do in the National league in Colorado.
UPDATE December 9 – The Twins announced yesterday that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Daniel Turpen from the Rockies as the player to be named later in the Kevin Slowey trade.
Welcome back Mr. Capps
Although the Twins have not officially announced the deal, the team apparently has agreed to sign free agent Matt Capps (pending a physical) to a one year $4.75 $4.5 million deal with an option for 2013 for $6 million with a $250,000 buyout. The Twins acquired Capps from the Washington Nationals in return for highly rated prospect catcher Wilson Ramos at the trade deadline in 2010 to solidify the closer role when Joe Nathan was out for the season with TJ surgery. Capps appeared in 27 games for the Twins in 2010 and posted a 2-0 record with 16 saves to go with his ERA of 2.00 and a 1.18 WHIP. Capps then started the 2011 season in the set-up role but when Joe Nathan struggled early on, Capps took over the closer role in mid April and had 15 saves before struggling in mid-July and giving the closer role back to Nathan. Capps finished the 2011 season with a 4.25 ERA and a 4-7 record with 15 saves. After the season ended both the Twins and Capps admitted that Capps was pitching with a sore forearm for a good part of the year. When Joe Nathan signed with Texas a week or so ago for 2 years for $14.5 million, the Twins needed a new closer.
A lot of people are going to hate this deal but I like it and I will tell you why. Matt Capps is only 28 and a proven closer who in the five seasons that he has been a closer has accumulated 123 career saves, that is 25 saves a season pitching for teams like the Pirates, Nationals and the Twins the last 1.5 years. If you take away his 5.80 ERA in 2009, Capps has posted ERA’s of 2.28 in 2007, 3.02, in 2008, and 2.47 in 2010. To you or me $4.75 million is a fortune but in the baseball closer world that is a good buy and I have no problem with it at all. I am not overly concerned about the $6 million for 2013 because it has a $250,000 buyout attached. The problem here is that most fans can’t get over the fact that the Twins gave up Wilson Ramos to get Capps but that is life and Twins fans and bloggers just need to move on.
With the Twins coming off a 99 loss season and questions about the health of Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and others, the Twins and Terry Ryan were smart to get an experienced closer for so little money. Plus, they know what they have in Capps and the man is a straight shooter, someone who is not afraid to stand up and accept responsibility for his actions. I was as frustrated with Capps as the next fan when he pitched poorly in 2011 but after finding out about the injury helps me better understand that situation. In addition, I give bonus points to any Twins player that WANTS to play given what many Twins players showed in 2011.
As for the lost supplemental draft choice? So what, draft choices are just that and how many draft picks realistically make the big league team? If you are lucky, 2-3 picks out of each years draft make it. Let’s also say for the moment that the Twins don’t sign Cuddyer and Kubel, how many supplemental picks is too many? How many supplemental picks can the Twins afford to sign? There is only so much money for draft picks each season. I always say, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.
So let’s check “closer” off the Twins needs list and move on to more pressing issues.
UPDATE December 7 – The Twins announced today that Capps has passed his physical and the deal is official.
Money can’t buy us happiness
The Twins opening day payroll in 2011 was about $113 million and the Twins finished last in the AL Central with a 63-99 record. Now the Twins are saying the payroll in 2012 will be around the $100 million mark but my guess is that it will be a bit lower than that, maybe closer to $95 million. It is easy to say that the Twins have to spend their way out of fifth place in the Central division but money alone is not the answer. Sure the Twins have a beautiful new ballpark but the Twins are far from playing with the big boys like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and the Cubs and their huge revenue numbers, even the Chicago White Sox had more in the revenue stream than the Twins did in 2010 according to Forbes Magazine. I thought it would be interesting to look back over the last 10 years and see how the AL Central division compared from a salary perspective and here is what I found using the Cot’s Baseball Contract site as my source. The chart below is in millions of dollars.
| Year | Twins | Indians | Tigers | White Sox | Royals | Average | Div. Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $113.23 | $49.42 | $106.95 | $127.78 | $38.17 | $87.11 | Tigers |
| 2010 | $97.65 | $61.45 | $133.99 | $103.08 | $74.98 | $94.23 | Twins |
| 2009 | $65.29 | $81.57 | $115.08 | $96.06 | $70.51 | $85.70 | Twins |
| 2008 | $56.93 | $78.97 | $137.68 | $121.18 | $58.24 | $90.60 | White Sox |
| 2007 | $71.43 | $61.67 | $95.18 | $108.67 | $67.16 | $80.82 | Indians |
| 2006 | $63.39 | $56.03 | $82.61 | $102.75 | $47.29 | $70.41 | Twins |
| 2005 | $56.18 | $41.50 | $69.09 | $75.17 | $36.88 | $55.76 | White Sox |
| 2004 | $53.58 | $34.31 | $46.83 | $65.21 | $47.60 | $49.51 | Twins |
| 2003 | $55.50 | $48.58 | $49.16 | $51.01 | $40.51 | $48.95 | Twins |
| 2002 | $40.22 | $78.90 | $55.04 | $57.05 | $47.25 | $55.69 | Twins |
| TOTAL | $673.40 | $592.40 | $891.61 | $907.96 | $528.59 |
Since 2002, only one AL Central division team has advanced to the World Series and that was the 2005 Chicago White Sox team that beat the Houston Astros 4 games to zip. I know, you can’t win if you don’t spend money but it is all about how you use the money you do have. I guess I have not been paying too much attention to the dollars spent in the Central division and I was more than a little surprised to see that the Mighty Whitey’s have spent over $100 million in five of the last six years and that the Tigers have spent in excess of $106 million four years in a row. I find it interesting that the Twins spent more than the division average five times and less than the division average five times. You can find more Twins historical salary information on our Twins Salaries page.
It will be interesting to see how Mr. Ryan distributes the resources at his disposal in the next few weeks as the Hot Stove League heats up with the GM meetings taking place in a few days. I like free agents Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel as much as the next Twins fan but the Twins were 63-99 for a reason last year and changes obviously need to take place. I have no issue bringing back Cuddyer (although I don’t see it happening) for one year as insurance to cover for Morneau at 1B or to play RF but I don’t pay him more than $10 million. If you aren’t making changes than you are standing still and those moans and groans you heard at Target Field this past summer were the sounds of the other Central division teams blowing past us. It is easy to get complacent in baseball and think that all you need to do is throw your glove on the field and you will win without putting in the up-front work starting in Spring Training. I think a number of Twins players felt someone owed them the division title and 2011 was a hard lesson for everyone.
Twins Hall of Fame voting now open
Fan voting for the Twins Hall of Fame class of 2012 is now open and will remain open through midnight on January 4, 2012. The 2012 ballot has 18 former players. After the voting deadline has passed, votes will be counted and the top vote-getter with at least 50% of the ballot will be elected and honored during the 2012 season. If a second candidate receives 75% of the vote, there will be two candidates who will receive membership in the Twins Hall of Fame. Started back in 2000, the Twins Hall of Fame currently has 23 inductees that you can see on the “Twins Hall of Fame” page on this site. I would urge you to stop over at http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/fan_forum/hof_ballot.jsp and vote for the player or players that you think are worthy to admission into the Twins Hall of Fame.
I am lucky enough to have seen all of these players play in a Twins uniforms and that makes it a bit easier I think for me to vote than for some of the younger voters who can only go by statistics and what they have heard and read about the player(s) in question. Voting is conducted by a 54-member committee, which includes local and national baseball writers, Twins broadcasters, Twins Hall of Fame members, local TV and Radio members, select Twins front office personnel and the fans so I am not sure exactly how much say the fans really have in this vote. Sure it is a popularity thing, much like the All-Star game voting in that respect but still it is fun for the fans to vote and have their say in who deserves the honor of being a Twins Hall of Fame member.
I vote every year and this year my votes go to:
1. Camilo “Little Potato” Pascual a right-handed pitcher who pitched for the Senators/Twins franchise from 1954-1966. Pascual was known for having the best curveball in his era and in his 13 seasons with the franchise he posted a 145-141 record for a team that was often closer to the cellar than the penthouse. Camilo finished what he started and he led the AL in complete games in 1959, 1962 and 1963. He led the AL in strikeout for three consecutive seasons from 1961 to 1963 and he won 20 or more games in both 1962 and 1963. Camilo Pascual who I think has been a forgotten man by the Twins to this point is 77 now and no one deserves to be in the Twins Hall of Fame more than he does. It is a disgrace that this great pitcher has been left out of the Twins Hall of Fame for so long.
2. Allan “Red” Worthington was a right-handed reliever for the Twins from 1964-1969 and a strong case can be made that Al Worthington was the Twins first great closer. The man put up amazing numbers back when closers role did not really exist and relief pitchers pitched several innings at a crack. Look at these numbers and tell me how we would look at a closer today that put up numbers like this. In Worthington’s 6 seasons in Minnesota he was 37-31 with an ERA of 2.62 and a WHIP of 1.19 while having a 7.6 SO/9 ratio. Al Worthington, now 82, deserves your vote.
3. Cesar “Pepe” Tovar passed away at the age of 54 in 1994 and is no longer with us but memories of this wonderful little player are still with me. Tovar played for the Twins in a number of roles for 8 seasons from 1965-1972 after being acquired in a trade from Cincinnati. Pepe could play anywhere, as a matter of fact he played all nine positions in a game for the Twins back on September 22, 1968 and Tovar remains the only Twins position player to start a game on the pitcher’s mound. The 5’9″ 155 pound right-handed hitting Tovar spent most of his time in the outfield but he also played 3B, 2B, and Shortstop. 1970 was probably his best year and that year he played in 161 games, had 726 plate appearances, scored 120 runs, led the league in doubles (36) and triples (13), while hitting 10 home runs and knocking in 54 more to go with his .300 batting average. That doesn’t even count his 30 stolen bases.
One player I will probably never vote for the Twins Hall of Fame is former 2B and 1991 AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch. Don’t get me wrong, Knoblauch was a great player but his attitude stunk, his me first thinking, and his relationship with the fans left a lot to be desired so Knobby will not be getting a vote for the Twins Hall of Fame in the near future.
So PLEASE, get out there and vote!
2011 Turkey of the Year winner is Joe Mauer
It is time once again to announce the Twins Trivia Turkey of the Year award winner and this year it is none other than Minnesota native, former MVP, four-time All-Star and three-time AL batting champion Twins catcher Joseph Patrick Mauer.
The eight year veteran had a season he would like to forget but it was a season that many Twins fans will remember for a long time. It all started in spring training when Mauer once again seemed to prepare on his own schedule. I hung out at the Twins spring training complex on a fairly regular basis and I seldom saw Joe other than on a golf cart riding from the clubhouse to the minor league complex. Mauer only appeared in 8 spring training games and had a total of 20 at bats. Mauer started the season by playing in 9 out of the Twins first 10 games but then the injuries started when he went on the DL on Aril 14 with what was first termed a viral infection and then GM Bill Smith announced that it was “bilateral leg weakness”. There were reports that Joe had lost 15-20 pounds and then the rumors started that Mauer had a “serious” illness. The phrase “bilateral leg weakness” was new and confused everybody but there was no real clarification of Joe’s issues. Joe fianally reappeared on June 17 after missing 57 games. Joe played in his 82nd and final game in 2011 on September 14 and then went on the DL for the rest of the season with what was diagnosed at Mayo Clinic as pneumonia. Who goes to Mayo Clinic to be told he has pneumonia?
Joe played in just 82 games and started behind the plate just 47 times. In his 8 big league seasons, Mauer has started behind the plate 740 times for an average of 93 games per season. Yet, Joe has been hesitant to play else where on the diamond although he did finally consent to playing some 1B (18 times) and appeared in right field in one game this past season.
I know that catching is tough and you are going to need to take a day off now and then, but you need to do what is best for the team if you are pocketing $23 million a year. That means getting your butt in the line-up as frequently as possible no matter what position you play. When I look at Joe Mauer I see a player with Hall of Fame ability but lacking in the durability to get there. Joe has claimed on more that one occasion that no one wants to play more than he does but I only see lip service, show me you want to play Joe! I get the feeling that Joe holds himself to such a high standard that he does not want to play if he can’t play up to his perceived abilities but Mauer has to understand that he is better than most players if he plays at just 80% of his abilities.
Joe Mauer should be the leader and spokesman for this team but he has not filled that role and it does not appear that he will in the short-term unless he really changes his persona. If Joe can’t be the Twins leader in that fashion than he better lead by example, but the $23 million man is not doing that either. I was at several Twins games where the Twins home town hero was booed this past season and he deserved it. Let’s hope that Joe Mauer plays like he can next year and for many years to come because the Twins and we fans need him to step up and show what he is truly made of. In the mean time Joe, enjoy your Twins Trivia 2011 Turkey of the Year award.
Previous Twins Trivia Turkey of the Years awards went to Brendan Harris in 2010 and Glenn Perkins in 2009.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Joe Nathan signs with Texas Rangers
Former Twins closer Joe Nathan has signed a two-year deal $14.5 million with a team option for a third year ($500K buyout) with the Texas Rangers. The 37-year-old Houston born Nathan gets what he seemed to want the most, to pitch for a team with a chance to win it all. There are reports flying around that the Twins offered Joe “similar money” but with the Twins coming off a 99 loss season they apparently did not convince Joe that they can compete in 2012.
Nathan has pitched for the Twins since he was traded to Minnesota by the San Francisco Giants in November of 2003 along with pitchers Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for catcher AJ Pierzynski. Nathan has logged a team record 260 saves in 7 seasons in spite of sitting out the entire 2010 season recovering from TJ surgery. Joe had some tough appearances early in 2011 but got stronger as the season progressed.
I would have had no problem with the Twins paying Nathan $7 million on a one year deal but after that I get nervous. I will miss Nathan taking the mound for the Twins in the 9th inning but all good things must come to an end. Historically the Twins have “made their own” closers so I would be surprised if they actually spent free agent money to get one. I wish nothing but the best for Joe Nathan but I think that Joe will find it a bit different pitching in Ranger Ballpark versus pitching in Target Field.