Tag: Brian Dozier

According to ELIAS – Dozier & no team scores more than 6 runs

Dozier’s late-inning thunder wins it for Twins

Dozier does damage

Brian Dozier hit a two-run, two-out homer as the first batter to face Rays reliever Tommy Hunter in the eighth inning, snapping a 2-2 tie and propelling the Twins to a 5-3 triumph at Target Field yesterday. It was just the seventh homer this season for Dozier, who belted 42 last year, but he’s actually ahead of last year’s schedule. He didn’t hit his seventh of last season until June 7 (and then didn’t hit his eighth until June 19). And he has a history with Hunter: The first walk off homer of Dozier’s big-league career was surrendered by Hunter (then with Baltimore) on July 6, 2015, also breaking a 2-2 tie.

 

Wild, wacky stuff happening in MLB

There were 16 major-league games played on Saturday (including one doubleheader), and here were the final scores of those games: 3-2, 3-1, 5-3, 3-0, 6-0, 4-3, 3-0, 6-1, 5-2, 5-2, 4-3, 5-0, 5-2, 5-4, 3-0 and 6-3. That’s right. No team scored more than six runs in any of Saturday’s 16 games. That marked the first time in major-league history, dating to 1876, that no team had scored more than six runs on a day on which at least 16 games were played. (If you’re wondering, Saturday, May 27, 2017 was the 703rd day in major-league history on which at least 16 games were played.)

This came on the heels of Elias’s discovery that Friday, May 26 marked the first day in major-league history on which at least 15 games were played and there were no sacrifice bunts. You had two triples, a grand-slam homer, even a batter awarded first base on catcher interference, but nary a sacrifice bunt. (There had been 2900 days on which at least 15 games were played through Friday, May 26.)

 

Archer is On Target

Chris Archer and the Rays defeated the Twins 5-2 at Target Field on Friday and Archer improved to 4-0 to go along with a 1.38 ERA in four career starts at the Twins’ home stadium. Archer’s 1.38 ERA at Target Field is the lowest for any pitcher with at least four starts there, below Ubaldo Jimenez (1.81) and Mark Buehrle (1.85).

 

Bonus: LEGENDS, SIMPSONS TEAM UP FOR MEMORABLE HALL OF CLASSIC

According to ELIAS – Brian Dozier

 

Dozier does damage

Brian Dozier’s three-run double provided all the runs the Twins would need in their 3–2 win over the Rangers on Monday. Dozier entered the game with a .122 batting average (5 for 41) with the bases loaded, with only one extra-base hit. The only active player with a lower bases-full batting average (minimum: 40 plate appearances) was Tyler Flowers (.111), although Dozier has now jumped ahead of Justin Smoak (.123).

By the way, lots of interesting things happened on this day in Twins history, stop by Today in Twins History page to learn more.

The 2017 Minnesota Twins have arrived

The season opener for your favorite team is always a special day and that day has arrived for my favorite team the Minnesota Twins. I won’t be at the game in person as I am still in Florida but you can bet your bippies that I will be watching the Twin take on the Royals.

I have high hopes for this team, no, not playoff type hopes but I want to see this team breakout and take a giants step forward and show all those baseball experts that they are a team that will need to be reckoned with in the near future. The team is due to hit on some players that they didn’t expect to be stars, it happens all the time but it hasn’t happened in Minnesota since Brian Dozier came on the scene.

The Twins have suffered some bad luck since they moved into Target Field and some folks still say it was those 13 trees that were removed from Target Field after the inaugural 2010 season that started the down hit slide. Maybe it was and maybe it wasn’t, but this spring like every spring brings new hope, even for us old-timers that got to go to Met Stadium and the HHH Metrodome to see the Killer, Carew, Puckett, Hrbek, and Santana take the Twins to heights that today’s fans can old dream about.

But our team this season is the 2017 version of the Minnesota Twins, how much do you know about these guys? I have put together a little quiz for you to test your knowledge about this years team and staff. Have fun and good luck.

Know your 2017 Twins

Here is a 25 question quiz to see how well you know your 2017 Minnesota Twins players and staff. The information is based on the Opening Day roster and includes players that start the season on the DL. Give it a shot, it is multiple choice so if nothing else you can always guess. Most of all have fun!

 

59 wins and yet no starting position player battles for jobs

What is going on here? L-R – Jim Pohlad, Michael Cuddyer, Derek Falvey, and ?

The Minnesota Twins find themselves in a strange position this spring. The team is coming off a record-setting 59-103 season and yet there are really no position battles waging in Ft. Myers this spring. All the starting position players are pretty much the same as last season except for the catcher Kurt Suzuki who left via free agency and the Twins signed free agent Jason Castro to replace him and handed him the starting job.

How often does that happen? Usually you lose 103 games and everyone is fighting for a job but that is not the case in the spring of 2017 at the CenturyLink Sports complex where the Twins are preparing for the 2017 season. As I watch the team go through its spring routines there doesn’t seem to be much urgency and the players are acting as if they are all veterans just waiting for the bell to ring in a new season. I can see the players going through the drills but I just don’t see that they are working hard to get better. This team is young, and talented but have they had enough sand kicked in their face yet to really want to win? I hope so.

I am still convinced that Joe Mauer playing first base limits the Twins from taking that next step. Mauer is the grey-beard among the position players at 33 and then Brian Dozier and Jason Castro follow at 29 and the rest of the starting line-up is 25 or under. 

If you look at the spring training stats and I know they don’t mean a hill of beans when the season starts BUT this team appears to be a team that can score some runs but will hit for a lower average than what fans might expect. Mauer’s .300 plus days are in his rear view mirror and I am not expecting Jason Castro, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, or Brian Dozier to hit .260 or above. I expect a higher average from Eddie Rosario this year but he too is still unproven.

In spite of what I have written this team should be fun to watch but you must be prepared for those “what the hell just happened” moments. This team will continue to improve as the season progresses and but so much will depend on the teams pitching staff both from the starters and the relievers. 

I was used to seeing GM Terry Ryan out next to the fields checking out the action but this year I have not seen Thad Levine at all and Derek Falvey just once and that was this morning. A different style I guess, particularly since all I heard early on about Falvey was how closely he worked with his manager. But you are right, it is still early.

After horrible starts to the season the last two years, how will the Twins leave the starting gate in 2017? Another bad start could would be a serious problem for Paul Molitor and his boys. 

What goes on back at the ballpark when there is a road game

I was back out at the ballpark to check on the Twins yesterday to see what the rest of the team was up to when the Twins had a game in Jupiter, Florida scheduled for that afternoon. Jupiter is almost due east of Ft. Myers across the state and although it is only about 140 miles it takes almost three hours to get there. Lake Okeechobee is between Ft. Myers and Jupiter so you end up going around it to the north as you head towards the Atlantic ocean.

Apparently skipper Paul Molitor felt that drive is way too much for most of the Minnesota Twins regulars so he sent the following line-up to play the game at Roger Dean Stadium.

  • Granite – RF
  • Santana – LF
  • Paulsen  – 1B
  • Hague – DH
  • Shuck – CF
  • Fields – 2B
  • Escobar – SS
  • Murphy – C
  • Adrianza – 3B
  • Gibson – P

Not exactly the 1965 Twins but they did manage to keep the game interesting until they allowed the Cards to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth in a 2-1 loss. Ticket prices for the game on the internet were between $46 and $180. Fans pay prices like this to see a spring training game and the Twins send zero starting position players. CRAZY! Both the Cardinals and the Twins should be embarrassed and MLB should start fining these teams for this kind of behavior.

Continue reading What goes on back at the ballpark when there is a road game

Sometimes it is hard to be a Minnesota Twins fan

I went out to the CenturyLink Sports Complex on Tuesday morning and it was pretty much what I expected with the team on the road in Port Charlotte to play the Rays in an exhibition game. The players that stayed behind went through some light workouts and I watched Jose Berrios and Trevor May throw in the bullpen for a short time. Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer stayed behind according to old baseball tradition they have earned the right not to have to travel to road games. Some things never change I guess. 

The one odd thing I noticed when I first drove into the complex was some guy flying a drone over the back fields where the minor league players who have not officially started camp yet were going through their paces. I wish I would have stopped and chatted with him to find out who he was and what he was doing but I didn’t. It did get me to thinking though about how long this kind of thing will be allowed. Who was this guy anyway? Maybe just a fan, maybe a Twins employee, maybe a reporter, or maybe a spy… We will never know unless he shows up again I guess.

Alex Kirilloff

Rhett Bollinger wrote this morning outfield prospect Alex Kirilloff, the Twins’ first-round pick in the 2016 draft suffered a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on March 8. Kirilloff is the second high Twins position player prospect in recent years to require Tommy John surgery. Miguel Sano missed the 2014 season due to the same procedure. Kirilloff was apparently injured at Elizabethton in late August and a platelet-rich plasma injection therapy was attempted but Kirilloff experienced pain again this spring. I know surgery is always a last resort but had he had the surgery right away, Kirilloff would be almost six months behind the surgery at this point. I know, easy to say now after the fact, but that is the beauty of doing this blog, it gives me the fredom to do so. Is this just a coincidence that the Twins have had two highly rated position players require TJ surgery in three years? This old guy does not believe in coincidences but I am not sure what to make of it, maybe it goes back to those trees being taken out of Target field back in 2010 when the Twins downward spiral began.

I was doing some painting yesterday at our condo and listening to the Twins play the Rays in Port Charlotte. I could not believe what I was hearing as the Rays ripped pretty much every pitcher the Twins sent to the mound. The Twins didn’t even get a hit until the 7th inning I believe. The game I was listening to was a Rays station so it was interesting to hear their perspective on things. Former player Dante Bichette who had a 14 year big league career was one of the announcers and he had some interesting thoughts and observations as the game went along, I enjoyed listening to him much more than I do to our guy Dan Gladden. But losing 19-0, how can you lose a spring training game 19 to zip and only get three hits yourself? That is dismal, actually it is pathetic, and to think the Twins had numerous Twins “regulars” playing. I am confident that the Twins will be a better team in 2017 than what they showed in 2016 but games like this won’t sell tickets and put fans in the seats. 

Manager Paul Molitor

In 2015 the Twins started the season 1-6 and last year they started 0-9 before putting a game in the “w” column. If the Twins get off to another miserable start in 2017, I am thinking that manager Paul Molitor will be looking for a new job before the end of April. The Twins can’t afford a third consecutive slow start and ticket sales certainly can’t handle that kind of stress. I find it interesting that nothing is being written about the Twins slow starts under Molitor and what happens if the same scenario takes place in 2017. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have no loyalty to Paul Molitor and his leash could be a short one.

Time for Eddie Rosario to step up and “be the man” out of the Twins 2010 draft

Eddie Rosario

The Minnesota Twins were 87-76 in 2009 and scored six runs in three games in the ALDS against the New York Yankees and were swept in three games. That earned them the right to pick 21st in the 2010 June Amateur draft. Yep, that is the year Bryce Harper was picked number one, Manny Machado was number three and Chris Sale was number 13. The Twins meanwhile selected Alex Wimmers at 21, Niko Goodrum at number 71, Pat Dean at 102, and Eddie Rosario with the 135th overall selection. 

Seven years later Rosario appears to be the plum of the Twins selections in that draft. There is still a chance that Goodrum or Ryan O’Rourke or Logan Darnell will suddenly blossom but it looks more and more unlikely.

The Twins drafted Rosario as an outfielder out of Rafael Lopez Landron High School in Guayama, Puerto Rico at the age of 18 and Rosario started his professional career as an outfielder in the Gulf Coast League. Rosario’s career took a brief turn in 2012 when the Minnesota Twins were desperate for a second baseman and decided that Eddie Rosario might be just the guy to fill that hole. In the Fall of 2013 the Twins sent Rosario to sharpen his skills in the AFL but Rosario struggled and hit just .238 in 80 at bats. History shows us that Brian Dozier stepped in and laid claim to the second base role in Minnesota in 2013 and so the Twins started planning to transition Rosario back to the outfield in 2014.

In January of 2014 Eddie Rosario who was then the Twins number 5 prospect, found himself suspended for 50 games for his second failed drug test according to MLB. The suspension was for an undisclosed “drug of abuse,” such as marijuana or cocaine, as distinct from a performance-enhancing drug. The Twins sent Rosario to the AFL again in the Fall of 2014 so he could make up some of the at bats he missed due to his suspension and this time Rosario had 33 hits in 100 at bats and stole 10 bases in the process.

After starting the 2015 season in AAA Rochester where he hit a mediocre .242 in 23 games Rosario finally got the call he had been waiting for and he was on his way to Target Field. On May 6, 2015 Rosario made his big league debut at Target Field against the Oakland A’s in right field hitting in the eight spot. In his first at bat, as a matter of fact his very first pitch, he hit a home run becoming just the 29th player in major league history to accomplish that rare feat. Rosario played well and finished the 2015 season hitting .267 with 13 home runs and a league leading 15 triples in 122 games. In addition, Rosario was second in the league in outfield assists with 16.

The future looked bright for Eddie but 2016 rolled around and Rosario struggled both in the field and with his bat and by mid May his average sat at .200, with the ballclub losing game after game Rosario found a one-way ticket to AAA Rochester waiting for him in his locker. Rosario hit well in Rochester and found himself back at Target Field in early July and seemed to have his swagger back by hitting .305 in his final 60 games.

The question going on to 2017 is what Eddie Rosario are we going to see, the good Rosario or the seemingly dis-interested Rosario? I think people are in for a pleasant surprise. That 2010 draft is just a distant memory now but if Eddie Rosario gets it together the Minnesota Twins will have gotten something out of the draft. Come on Eddie, the Twins and their fans are counting on you.

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Here are the Minnesota Twins top 10 second basemen based of the WAR numbers from Baseball-Reference.  To qualify a player must have played at least 51% of his games at second base. The results to I’m sure no ones surprise, is that Rod Carew comes out on top. The Twins current second baseman Brian Dozier comes in third.


Rk Player WAR/pos From To G AB R H HR RBI SB BA OPS
1 Rod Carew 63.7 1967 1978 1635 6235 950 2085 74 733 271 .334 .841
2 Chuck Knoblauch 37.9 1991 1997 1013 3939 713 1197 43 391 276 .304 .807
3 Brian Dozier 18.4 2012 2016 699 2715 422 668 117 346 74 .246 .762
4 Tim Teufel 5.5 1983 1985 316 1080 145 286 27 117 5 .265 .751
5 Rob Wilfong 5.3 1977 1982 554 1591 210 417 22 152 41 .262 .681
6 Steve Lombardozzi 4.0 1985 1988 423 1226 148 286 19 104 13 .233 .652
7 Bob Randall 3.8 1976 1980 460 1325 154 341 1 91 11 .257 .621
8 Luis Castillo 3.7 2006 2007 227 933 138 279 3 67 34 .299 .720
9 Alexi Casilla 3.5 2006 2012 515 1580 210 395 11 147 71 .250 .639
10 Bernie Allen 3.2 1962 1966 492 1595 195 392 32 163 3 .246 .682
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/2/2017.
Lou Whitaker

If you looked at the entire American League during this same time period (1961-current) the top three second basemen are Lou Whitaker at 74.9, Bobby Grich at 70.9, and at 62.4 the still active Robinson Cano. Carew did not make this list because he didn’t play second base most of his career. Yet, neither Whitaker nor Grich are in the Hall of Fame. Hmmm!

 

Twins Top 10 Catchers

Twins Top 10 First Baseman

Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Twins Top 10 Third Baseman

Twins Top 10 Shortstops

Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Top Twins DH

Time for Falvey and Levine to make a decision

Brian Dozier

The rumors of the Minnesota Twins trading their 29 year-old power hitting second baseman have been flying this entire off-season but here it is mid-January and Brian Dozier is still part of the Twins organization. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining that he has not been traded, right now Dozier is the heart and soul of the Minnesota Twins and I would hate to see him go unless the Twins can get major league ready players in return. I am getting real tired of all the talk about the future, I want to see some players that can play today. Prospects are nice but why trade an All-Star power hitting second baseman for more prospects. There is no guarantee with prospects, with Dozier you have a known commodity.

The problem I see here now is that the Twins have gone so far down the road with all this trade talk is the possible repercussions that may occur in not trading Dozier. No one likes to hear their name bandied about in trade talks and all this chatter about being traded may have negative impacts on Dozier’s play this season even if he tries to make it a non-issue. Dozier is no different from the rest of us, the more comfortable and happy you are in your work environment the better work you will perform.

Miguel Sano

I blame the Twins for Miguel Sano‘s poor season in 2016 by sending him to the outfield with little or no experience. Sano with just 80 games of big league experience all at third base or DH was forced to try to learn how to play the outfield while learning how to play in the big leagues. Sano did his best but the pressure of learning the outfield and playing in the big leagues was just too much for the then 22 year-old. 

I know that Dozier is more experienced but I can see a similar scenario playing out with Dozier. Starting the season with Minnesota but waiting for the hammer to drop in a trade deadline deal might just cause him to struggle and the more he struggles the worse it would get and then his value plummets. Will Brian Dozier hit 42 home runs again? No one knows the answer to that but he is at peak value now, either trade him or just say he will not be traded and move on. End this thing with the Dodgers once and for all, either they give us what we want or we move on, this limbo business helps no one. Personally I am not a fan of Jose De Leon so a deal for De Leon and another prospect doesn’t spin my wheels so moving on from the Dodgers would be a blessing in my eyes. Whats wrong with keeping Dozier and building around him?

The time has come for Derek Falvey and Thad Levine to make a decision, so let’s move on boys, spring training is just around the corner.

Dozier, Falvey and Levine need to talk

falvey-and-levine-11072016The new Minnesota Twins brain trust got some Twins fans a bit riled up when Brian Dozier was on the WCCO radio Sports Huddle show this past Sunday with Sid Hartman and Dave Mona. Mona asked Dozier if he has been in communication with Derek Falvey and Thad Levine and Dozier’s response was that he has not talked with either one since they were hired but he did his best to sugar-coat the fact that he was disappointed it hasn’t happened so far.

Dozier
Dozier

The rumors since the season ended have been that Brian Dozier will be traded. When I first heard the rumor I thought, that is a bunch of crap, why would they want to trade one of their best players? 

But let’s get back to Falvey and Levine not communicating with Dozier, to me that is just plain wrong. Here is my thinking, when new management takes over the first thing they should do is listen, listen to what your players and staff have to say. Management needs to get buy-in from everyone, I know it is a new regime but why create problems when you don’t have too. Dozier is a leader on this team and one of its best players, not to mention he still has a very reasonable contract for two more years. Why leave him in the dark even if you are looking to trade him? If a trade doesn’t happen then you have a player that was wronged and that doesn’t help anyone. This isn’t strike one on Falvey and Levine but it is a rookie mistake that they should rectify as soon as possible.

Brian Dozier is one of my favorite players to watch, he hustles and he wants to win, what more can you ask? The team needs a leader and Brian Dozier is the guy that fits that mold the best. I would hate to see Dozier traded but having said that, there is some logic in trading Dozier.

The team lost a team record 103 games and won only 59 times this past season after winning 83 games in 2015. That means they were 24 games worse in 2016 than they were in 2015. I think if you look over history in MLB you will see that it is not all that unusual for young teams to take a dive after taking a big leap forward before resuming their climb upwards. This Twins team still has a lot of holes, don’t get me wrong, but it is not a team that you totally dismantle and rebuild. Yes, the Twins organization is rebuilding the front office but that doesn’t mean a total rebuild is necessary on the field. This is a young team that I expect to be much better in 2017 even if there are no major changes made. They got sand kicked in their face and trampled on in 2016 and they will be out to prove they are not as bad as they appeared to be in 2016.

Since the Twins are really not rebuilding in the normal sense of the word, it is important to add quality players to the mix versus quantity that you might normally look for when trading for youngsters in a rebuilding mode. In rebuilding you want to get as many potential players you can in the hope that one or two hit it big but they are all a gamble for the future. In the current Twins situation if the Twins trade Dozier they are trading a relatively young proven power hitting second baseman who can handle a glove and still has two years left on a good contract and you must get proven big league talent in return. The Twins need players that can play at Target Field in 2017 and not potential players that might play in 2019 or 2020 or beyond. If the Twins trade Dozier for young talent 2 or 3 or more years away you might as will pack it in right now, Target Field will be a ghost town. The Twins have good young talent on the roster, they just haven’t figured out where they need to play to have a chance to be successful.

I know this team lost 103 games this past year but Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are in a good spot, they need to fine tune things, not blow things up.

If you want to listen to the Justin  Morneau and Brian Dozier interviews on Sports Huddle you can listen by going here. Listen to the 10 AM portion of the interview.