2009 First Year Draft Notes

June 14, 2009 – The 2009 draft is over and the Twins drafted 29 pitchers (including 17 collegiate arms) and 22 position players. The Twins used their first 4 picks to draft pitchers. The 22 position players were broken down as follows, 5 catchers, 8 infielders, and nice outfielders. Of the 51 players drafted, only 22 were not college players which seems to be a lower number than usual. I think it is nice to see the Twins taking college players that have proven they can play at the college level. Now we will see if the Twins can sign 30 or 35 of these players to contracts, particularly their top picks.

With their first four picks of the draft, the Twins took four college pitchers: Kyle Gibson of Missouri, Matthew Bashore from Indiana, Florida’s William Bullock and Benjamin Tootle out of Jacksonville State. The Twins top pick Gibson may turn out to be a low risk/high reward pick, but it all depends on Gibson’s arm which has been hurt and has limited his innings this year. There are a number of reports floating around on what Gibson’s problem was ranging from his shoulder to his elbow but the reports that the Twins want to believe are that he had a forearm issue and that it is not a serious problem and that all Gibson needs is rest. We will have to wait and see but it will be interesting to see if the Twins have Gibson pitch this year if they sign him in the near future or if they shut him down for 2009.

Drafting pitchers in the first round has not exactly been the Twins forte since the free agent draft started back in 1965. Let’s take a look at some stud pitchers the Twins have selected in the first round.

2008 – Collegiate RHP Carlos Gutierrez picked # 27 over all – Now a SP in A ball with Ft. Myers.

2005 – Collegiate RHP Matt Garza picked # 25 over all – Came up with the Twins in 2006 and since then was traded to Tampa Bay.

2004 – Collegiate LHP Glen Perkins picked # 22 over all – Has been with the Twins off an on since 2006.

2004 – High School RHP Kyle Waldrop picked # 25 over all – Now a RP in A ball with Ft. Myers.

2000 – Collegiate RHP Adam Johnson picked # 2 over all – Pitched a total of 9 major league games, all for the Twins in 2001 and 2003 and finished wih a career ERA of 10.25.

1998 – Collegiate LHP Ryan Mills picked # 6 over all – Never threw a major league pitch.

1995 – Collegiate LHP Mark Redman picked # 13 over all – Pitched for the Twins from 1999-2001 before moving on. Pitched in 219 major league games through 2008.

1992 – High School LHP Dan Serafini picked # 26 over all – Pitched for the Twins between 1996-1998 before moving on. Pitched in 104 major league games and finished career after 2007.

1990 – High School RHP Todd Ritchie picked # 12 over all – Pitched for the Twins in 1997-1998 before moving on. Pitched in 185 games and finished career in 2004.

1988 – Collegiate RHP Johnny Ard picked # 20 over all – Never pitched in the majors.

1987 – High School RHP Willie Banks picked # 3 over all – Pitched for the Twins in 1991-1993 before being traded. Pitched 181 major league games before career ended in 2002.

1985 – High School RHP Jeff Bumgarner picked # 13 over all – Never pitched in the majors.

1983 – Collegiate RHP Tim Belcher picked # 1 over all but Twins could not sign him.

1982 – Collegiate LHP Bryan Oelkers picked # 4 over all – Pitched for the Twin in 1984 and the Indians in 1986 and his big league career lasted 12 games.

1973 – Collegiate LHP Eddie Bane picked # 11 over all – Pitched for the Twins in 1973, 1975 and 1976 and finished his major league career after 44 games.

1972 – Collegiate RHP Dick Ruthven picked # 8 over all but would not sign with Minnesota.

So would you pay big bucks to a pitcher that you drafted in the first round? The Twins history of drafting pitchers in the first round is not exactly stellar but you never know if that next pick is going to be the next Cy Young.

Now let’s take a moment to review all of the Twins first round picks for the last 10 years.

2008 – High School OF Aaron Hicks # 14 over all – Currently with Gulf Coast Twins in Rookie league.

2008 – Collegiate RHP Carlos Gutierrez # 27 over all – Currently a SP for A ball Ft. Myers.

2007 – High School OF Ben Revere # 28 over all – Currently an OF for A ball Ft. Myers.

2006 – High School OF Chris Parmelee # 20 over all – Currently an OF for A ball Ft. Myers.

2005 – Collegiate RHP Matt Garza # 25 over all – Debuted with the Twins in 2006 and since traded to Tampa Bay.

2004 – High School SS Trevor Plouffe # 20 over all – Playing SS for AAA Rochester.

2004 – Collegiate LHP Glen Perkins # 22 over all – Debuted with Twins in 2006 and currently in starting rotation.

2004 – High School RHP Kyle Waldrop # 25 over all – Now a RP for A ball Ft. Myers.

2003 – High School 3B Matt Moses # 21 over all – Now playing OF for AA New Britain.

2002 – High School OF Denard Span # 20 over all – Starting OF for Twins and debuted in 2008.

2001 – High School C Joe Mauer # 1 over all – Catching for Twins since debut in 2004.

2000 – Collegiate RHP Adam Johnson # 2 over all – Is out of baseball after pitching for Twins in 2001 and 2003 with a career record of 1-3 in 9 games with a 10.25 ERA.

1999 – High School OF BJ Garbe # 5 over all – Released by Twins in 2005 and out of baseball in 2006.

The Cuban Senators

June 9, 2009 – A nice story written by Matt Welch a number of years ago for ESPN.com that I think is worth your read. The story is about the Washington Senators ties to Cuban ballplayers such as Julio Becquer, Pedro Ramos, Camilo Pascual, Tony Oliva and numerous others. The relationship of super Cuban scout Papa Joe Cambria and the numerous players he signed to major league contracts is also looked at. The story ends with a “feel good” moment that shows once again that Calvin Griffith was not the ogre that many made him out to be. Click here for the story.

Time for Gardenhire and the Twins to get serious

June 3, 2009 – So approximately 1/3 of the baseball season is behind us and the Twins record is 26-27, good enough for second place in the weak Central Division behind the Detroit Tigers. So what does the rest of the year look like for the Twins as they play their final season at the Metrodome? Can we expect to see some playoff baseball at the Dome come October?

In spite of the fact that Mauer and Morneau are hitting the cover off the ball, the team hitting overall is just middle of the pack in the AL. The Twins rank 6th in both home runs and average, 7th in runs scored, and 8th in total bases. Span is doing what a lead off hitter should but his OBP could stand some improvement. Cuddyer has come on strong but now he has another hand injury. Kubel is hitting over .300 but I would have expected more than 5 home runs from him after 2 months of baseball. Crede is doing what the Twins pay him to do, good in the field and flashes some nice power but strikes out frequently, exactly what I thought we would get when he was signed, a nice addition. That takes us to the weak spots, 2B, SS, and one of the outfield positions.

What about the pitching? As you may have suspected, not so good. In the 14 team AL, the Twins are 11th in ERA, 12th in strikeouts, have given up the 3rd most hits in the league, and only the Yankees and the Orioles pitchers have given up more long balls. On the plus side, the pitching staff as the fewest walks and is 4th in the league in WHIP. The Twins rank 1st in the league in fielding and have only committed 19 errors in 53 games.

So what do I think has to happen for the Twins to contend for a playoff spot? First and foremost I think that Gardy needs to do a better job at managing what he has. The way I see it and I think history supports me is that no team will get into the playoffs with platoons in 3 different positions. I am not a Delmon Young fan but you have to play the cards you are dealt and as much as it pains me to say this, Gardy needs to make Young his full-time left fielder and put Span in center field day in and day out. Gomez’s role is to come in and play defense for Delmon when the Twins have a lead in the late innings. Casilla needs to play 2B every day, either he becomes the player he should be or the Twins will have learned that he is not a regular 2B and they can pursue one in the off season. That leaves the shortstop hole and I have said many times on this site that Nick Punto should not be considered a regular and would lose his job by Memorial Day. Well, he is on the DL and he hasn’t hit a lick. The best the Twins can do at this stage is put Harris at short and let him play or they can trade for a shortstop that can field and hit. The pitching I think will improve, Baker should come around and Liriano is what he is. He is no longer the “franchise” as he was portrayed before his injury. Liriano will be good some days and bad others but he is a serviceable pitcher. Slowey and Blackburn are pitching well. Swarzak is still unproven after only two big league starts but if he can hold his own, I would move Perkins to the bullpen when he returns from his latest injury. The bullpen is not fantastic but is workable assuming that Crain can regain his form. I do think that Gardy has to quit using Crain for more than one inning at a time though. There is no better closer than Nathan.

Bottom line? This team needs some stability and some clear role definition before it gets better and this is the manager’s job. Gardy, (a utility player himself) has to quit “falling in love” with utility players like Punto and Tolbert and play his best players full time. Since we don’t live in a perfect world that means that you have to give up something to get something. In the case of the Twins, they need to give up some fielding to get some more hitting from 3 spots in the line-up that have contributed next to nothing with their bats so far this season.

As for GM Smith, he should be looking to find the Twins a shortstop and if that means giving up some prospects, so be it. The Twins haven’t exactly stolen players in their most recent deals with the Mets and the Rays so maybe Mr. Smith can swing a better deal for the Twins this time. Make it so Mr. Smith!

Sports Illustrated 1961 Pre-Season Twins Analysis

June 3, 2009 – Let’s go back in time, way back to April 10, 1961 and take a peek at the Sports Illustrated pre-season analysis of the new Minnesota Twins as the team prepares to expose the Minnesota and Midwest fans to major league baseball American league style. Click on the magazine cover to read the story.

The Twins first game – April 11, 1961

April 11, 2009 – The Twins played their first game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on April 11, 1961 in front of 14,607 fans on a nice 50 degree day. The Yankees were coming off another World Series season but had lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series in 7 games due to the famous Bill Mazeroski home run. The Twins on the other hand had just moved to Minnesota from Washington where they had finished 5th in the 8 team American league.

Cookie Lavagetto’s Twins had Pedro Ramos on the mound against the Yankee ace Whitey Ford. Zoilo Versalles the Twins shortstop led off the game with a ground ball to shortstop Tony Kubek who threw to Bill “Moose” Skowron for the Twins first out. Centerfielder Lenny Green also was out on a ground out and Harmon Killebrew was walked to become the Twins first base runner. Left Fielder Jim Lemon was the clean-up hitter but he ground out to Bobby Richardson at 2B and the Twins first inning was history. In the bottom of the first, Ramos retired Richardson and Hector Lopez before Yogi Berra batting in the 3 hole, got the first hit off a Twins pitcher, a single to right field. Ramos induced Mickey Mantle to ground out to 2B and future Twins manager Billy Gardner and after one inning it was 0-0. In the second inning Lemon committed the Twins first error but the Yankees could not take advantage of it and after two innings the game remained scoreless. Both the Twins and the Yankees went 1-2-3 in the 3rd and after 3 innings the game remained scoreless. The Killer led off the 4th inning with the Twins first hit, a single to center but Ford retired the next three batters again keeping the Twins from getting on the board. In the bottom of the 4th Ramos struck out Mantle and Maris back to back before allowing a single to Skowron but Kubek flied out to Green in center to end any possibility of a Yankee score. Billy Gardner singled off Ford in the 5th but Ford retired Ramos and Versalles to end that threat. In the bottom of the 5th Whitey Ford singled off Ramos with one out but Ramos got Richardson to hit into a 5-4-3 double play from Reno Bertoia to Gardner to Killebrew and after 5 the game was still 0-0. The 6th inning was uneventful as both sides went 1-2-3 and the Twins and Yankees were locked in a pitcher’s duel in the Twins first ever game. Ford must have started to tire in the 7th because Bob Allison led off with a long homerun to left, and in the process scored the Twins first run. Earl Battey followed with a double and Bertoia walked. Lavagetto then had Gardner sacrifice bunt the runners along and Ramos, a good hitting pitcher, singled to center scoring Battey and Bertoia and the Twins had a 3-0 lead. That turned out to be the final batter that Ford faced and Ralph Terry came on for the Yankees and Versalles greeted him with a single to center before Terry got Green on a fly out. Killebrew followed with another walk but Lemon ground out for the third out. But after 6 ½, the Twins were leading the hated Yankees 3-0. Ramos retired the Yankees 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning and after 7 the Twins were winning 3-0. Allison led off the 8th with a single of Terry, Battey hit a ground ball forcing Allison at 2B but Bertoia followed with his first homer and after 7 ½ the Twins were up 5 to nothing. Ramos again retired the Yanks 1-2-3 and after 8 the score was Minnesota 5 and New York 0. In the top of the 9th, Jim Coates came on to pitch for the Yankees and Versalles singled to left. Green popped out to Richardson. With Killebrew in the batter’s box, Versalles stole 2B and then stole 3B. Killebrew then hit a sac fly to left scoring Zoilo for the 6th and final run of the game. Dan Dobbek, who had replaced Lemon in left, was hit but a Coates pitch and proceeded to steal 2B while Allison was at bat but Bob ground out to shortstop to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th Ramos retired Hector Lopez, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle flew out to Allison in right and the Minnesota Twins had won their first game after 2 hours and 27 minutes of play in a 6-0 shutout over the Yankees.

Pedro Ramos would go on to pitch two other shutouts in 1961 but finished the season with an 11-20 record. The Twins would finish their first season with a 70-90 record and a seventh place finish, ahead of only the Angels, A’s, and Senators. But on this magical day after 1 day of play in 1961 the Minnesota Twins were 1-0 and tied for 1st place in the American league. Click on my “Twins Box Scores” page and you can see the actual box score for this game.

Twins split against the Mariners

April 10, 2009 – The main idea behind this web site is to write about Twins/Senators history but now and then I will continue to write a little about the present day Twins, I just mention that because I don’t want you to get upset with me that you don’t see me writing daily about how the Twins are doing. Having said that, I still want all of you to keep coming to www.Twinstrivia.com to check and see what might be new on the site today.

I obviously follow the Twins closely and attend about 20-25 games a year and we were out at the Dome on Wednesday and saw the Twins beat the Mariners 6-5 from our regular seats down the first baseline right next to the visitors bullpen. What seemed a little odd to us this year as we looked back towards the infield was how bright the lights seemed to be, I am not sure if they upgraded the wattage or just adjusted the lights but it can be painful looking towards the Twins dugout as the lights seem to shine directly in your eyes.

The Twins won the middle two games and lost the first and last game to what appears to be a bad Mariners team, and Seattle didn’t even have Ichiro in their line-up. When you consider how lucky the Twins were to win game 2 in the bottom of the ninth against Seattle closer Morrow who I think will become a very good closer, Twins management can’t be too happy with the Twins start at home in 2009.

I dislike having to play what I consider to be bad teams at the beginning of the season because these so called bad teams don’t think they are bad this early in the season and they play as if they can win. A bit later in the season these bad teams know they are bad and give up once they get a few runs down or wait for something bad to happen which will cause them to lose. On the other hand, if you play against the good teams early on, I think the opposite happens, they are nothing special right now but as the season progresses they gain confidence and know that they are good enough to come back against any deficit, it is just a matter of time before they take the lead and win the game.

Twins hitting after four games is below average with Morneau, Crede, Gomez, and Punto all hitting .200 and under and no Twins hitter has more than 4 hits. Cuddyer, Crede, and Gomez are striking out at a furious rate and to be honest I don’t expect that to improve very much. Crede I expect to strikeout a lot, some goes for Gomez as he learns to hit in the majors but I expect Cuddyer to do better than he has so far.

Twins pitching is about where I expect it to be at this point in the season with an ERA of 4.25. I think Liriano, Slowey, and Blackburn can all pitch better then they have so far, I think first game “jitters” hurt them all and I would expect better performances from them as we get to their second and third starts. The Twins miss Baker but hopefully they can get him back next week. Outside of Nathan the bullpen has been nothing to brag about but hopefully they too will pitch better in future outings.

I fear that the Twins outfield situation will be a constant source of irritation as Gardy tries to shuffle 4 or 5 outfielders and give them all playing time. You can already sense Gardy’s frustration when he is asked who is playing in the outfield “today”. I was absolutely sure that the Twins would trade Delmon Young before spring training ended but it didn’t happen and now I think the Twins will pay the price. An uncertain line-up causes problems, maybe not today, or tomorrow, or next week, but it will cause problems down the line, mark my words. The Twins are paying Cuddyer too much money to sit him plus he is a very good right fielder so he needs to play. Span is the lead-off hitter and he needs to play. Gomez is the exciting and talented center fielder that is the crown jewel in the Santana deal and why would you hinder his development, so he has to play. Now and then Gardy will put Kubel in left just so he remembers how to play outfield when it comes time for inter-league play. That leaves Delmon as the odd man out, sure, he is not complaining now, but the season is less than a week old and he is waiting and watching to see how things develop. Span had a terrible spring and that had to give Young hope for more playing time but now that the season has started, Span seems to have picked up his hitting and he is on the plus side of .300. As the days progress Young will become more and more disenchanted with his role on this team and he will let Twins management and the media know about his feelings about riding the bench. The problem the Twins and GM Bill Smith have is that the longer they wait and the more disenchanted Delmon becomes because of a lack of playing time the lower the return will be for this young outfielder that many feel still has great potential. The Twins and GM Smith put themselves in this box and they need to find a way to get something of value as quickly as possible for Delmon Young whom they had to part ways with Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett to acquire. Right about now I would take a top notch set-up man and a minor league pitcher to two for Delmon and send him on his way, there is such a thing as addition through subtraction.

Steve Cannon passes away at the age of 81

Steve Cannon and his many characters
Steve Cannon and his many characters

April 7, 2009 – Wow, what a shock this morning when I woke up and heard that former WCCO radio icon Steve Cannon had passed away at the age of 81 after a short battle with cancer. I listened to the “Cannon Mess” for many years as I drove home to Wayzata from downtown Minneapolis after a long days work at Norwest/Wells Fargo. The show was unique every day as you listened to Steve banter between 3-6 with his sidekicks Morgan Mundane, Lash LaRue, and of course the wonderful Ma Linger. Now and then he would tell us about Da Niece and Da Nephew and their escapades. A great Twins and Vikings fan, I think Cannon started the term “Viqueens” and his sports prognostications with Morgan Mundane were legendary. The man was blessed with a golden radio voice, the best I have ever heard, and when you listened to his show it was as if you were sitting across the table and listening to a family member tells you a story. I remember one day someone had asked him why he never took any calls on his show and his response was simple and straight forward, “I have earned the right to run my show the way I want, if you want to talk on the radio, get your own show”. Cannon always did it his way and that is one of the things that really impressed me about Steve Cannon. Steve is gone now but my memories of Steve Cannon will be with me forever. I am sure that when Steve appeared at the pearly gates St. Peter just said, Welcome Steve, the microphone is over there, what time slot would you like? Rest in peace Steve as you have earned it. My condolences go out to the Cannon family.

The Star Tribune did a nice story on Cannon that you can read here.

1997 Steve Cannon interview with Robyne Robinson part 1 (7 minute and 9 seconds KMSP video)

1997 Steve Cannon interview with Robyne Robinson part 2 (7 minutes and 52 seconds KMSP video)

WCCO-TV tribute to Steve Cannon

Damn Senators

March 18, 2009 – I had received a book called “Damn Senators” as a Christmas gift but had not gotten around to reading this book until a couple of days ago. I was so intrigued with the book once I started reading it that I read it in two afternoons as I sat out by the pool here in Cape Coral, Florida enjoying the warm and sunny weather that only Florida can provide at this time of the year. The book was written back in about 2003 by Mark Gauvreau Judge who wrote the book about his Grandfather, Joe Judge who played first base for the Washington Senators between 1915 and 1938 before wrapping up his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox in 1939 and 1940. Joe was not a power hitter as we see in first basemen today but instead was a slick fielder that hit for a career average of .298 and stole 213 bases along the way.

Although the book was written about Joe Judge and his wonderful career, its primary focus is on the 1924 Washington Senators World Championship season, the one only time that the Washington Senators were the world champions of baseball. The team was then owned by Clark Griffith and the book has some very interesting stories about Griffith and how he worked and to build that championship team. The book goes at great length to detail the Hall of Fame career of the great Walter Johnson who many say to this day was the greatest pitcher that ever threw a baseball in the major leagues. It talks about how Johnson was a very low key modest individual but who was a lion at heart once he took the mound. The relationship between he and Ty Cobb is outlined and it talks about the friendship and respect between the two even though these two individuals could not have been any more different.

It is very interesting too how it came to pass that the Senators beat the New York Giants in that 1924 World Series when all hope appeared to be lost. I could tell you more but I don’t want to ruin it for those of you that will go out and read this book. If you want to learn a little more about the history about the Washington Senators who became our Minnesota Twins in 1961, you should either buy a copy of this book or check it out from your local library, it is a fun and informative book that you will enjoy.

Just another day of practice

March 18, 2009 – I was out watching the Twins practice on Tuesday and to be honest there was not a lot of the regulars around, most of them had gone on down the road to City of Palms Park to play the Red Sox. But Gardy was around and he and Tom Kelly were out on one of the back fields hitting ground balls to Nick Punto who would field the ball and throw to Matt Tolbert who was learning to play 1B under the tutelage of TK. They worked Punto and Tolbert pretty hard and they were very positive with their comments but when it was all done, Tolbert mush have asked for an assessment of how he did at first and TK didn’t mince words when he said that he did OK but he still had a long ways to go to make all the plays and to play 1B the way it should be played, typical TK. I don’t think TK does it to be mean, he just tells it how it is.

I am surprised at how TK tries to interact with the fans that watch practice by joking with them and just talking to them. He asked one of the kids that were watching, maybe an 8 or 9 year old to join him on the field during the practice and when the boy walked up to him, TK asked how many of these baseballs laying here on the ground here at 1B can you pick up? The little boy was pretty shy and kind of indicated he didn’t know so TK said, pick up as many as you can and carry them over to Gardy over there. The little boy picked up about 6 balls and did as he was asked and when he got back to TK, he is told to grab another armful and again deliver them to Gardy. When the little boy comes back again, TK asks, are you good for one more trip? Again the little boy carries more baseballs over to Gardy. Apparently bored, the little boy then decides that he has had enough and walks off the field, without a baseball. I would have thought that for all that work he could have at least gotten a practice baseball; I guess you have to learn at a young age that life is not fair.

As Gardy walked off the field he stopped for some pictures and autographs and chatted with the fans, in no apparent rush. I got a good picture of Gardy that I will put on my picture site soon. After he finished up with everyone I walked with Gardy as he was leaving and I asked him if he could tell me who had surprised him with their play this spring. He said that Danny Valencia was hitting very well and had caught his eye and he said that outfielder Dustin Martin had played very well and was really running around out there before he hurt his shoulder here recently. Then Gardy said he had to hustle and get over to City of Palms to play the Sox.

Most of the AA and AAA players had gone to Port Charlotte to play Rays teams so there were not many high level minor leaguers around either. I did get a chance to watch Aaron Hicks, the Twins first round draft pick last year hit a little BP and he hit a few line drives but he is certainly not a power hitter, at least at this stage of his career. I also watched him running the bases a bit and he does appear to be very quick and pretty athletic.

What’s up with Joe?

March 10, 2009 – So what is ailing Joe Mauer? The situation with Joe has been handled very strangely this past off season. First Joe has kidney related surgery about 2 ½ months ago and everyone said no problem; Mauer will be ready to go when the season starts, no worries. Then as we get deeper and deeper into spring training Joe is still working on the back fields and once he starts to swing a bat and catch some bullpen the word is that Joe’s back is bothering him again and now he is scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday and Twins management is quickly backing off there “no concern” policy.

So let’s do the hypothetical thing here, what happens to the Twins line-up, bench and roster if Mauer starts the season on the DL? Who would be the starting catcher? Redmond? Mike could probably fill the slot for a couple of weeks but that is about it, he is not a young pup anymore. Even if that was true, who would the Twins use as the back-up catcher? Would it be Jose Morales who has had a taste of the big leagues, or would it be Wilson Ramos the young up and coming stud catcher who still has a lot to learn but who can hit circles around Redmond and Morales. That assumes that Drew Butera does not have a shot at the job and the way I see it and he shouldn’t. Some very interesting decisions would have to be made if Joe is out for any length of time. I am not even going to discuss who the Twins would have to put into the 3 hole in the batting order.

Too early to worry? I don’t think so, and everyone will be waiting for that medical report. Is it just me or does there seem to be something that happens to Joe to keep him from playing a full season every other year or so………. I sure hope I am wrong but I am afraid that where there is smoke there is usually fire.