Tag: C.C. Sabathia

They weren’t what we expected them to be

With no outs in the bottom of the seventh, coach brings in a new pitcher.

The June amateur draft started in 1965 and the Minnesota Twins have had 72 first round selections including supplemental/compensation picks. Nine of those first round picks have been left-handed pitchers (eight were collegiate picks and one was from high school) with Tyler Jay being the most recent lefty being selected in the first round in 2015. So how have these pitchers fared for the Twins?

1973 – Eddie Bane – Drafted in round 1, 11th over-all out of Arizona State University and went straight to the big leagues making his debut on July 4, 1973 at Met Stadium in a start against the Kansas City Royals. The 5’9″ Bane didn’t figure in the decision but pitched well in a 5-4 loss to the Royals. Injuries hindered Bane’s career but Bane himself said that he just wasn’t good enough to be a big league pitcher. Bane’s big league career consisted of 44 games for the Twins with a 7-13 record and 4.66 ERA. Bane became a free agent in October 1977 but never saw big league action again. WAR with the Twins was a -1.0.

1982 – Bryan Oelkers – Drafted in round 1, 4th over-all (selected one pick earlier than the Mets selection of Dwight Gooden) out of Wichita State University. Oelkers was a 20th round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1979 but he chose not to sign.  Oelkers was only the second player born in Spain to reach the major leagues. Oelkers debuted in the big leagues with only 8 minor league games in his resume the following season on April 9, 1983 at the Kingdome in a start against the Mariners. Oelkers had a good start going 6.2 innings giving up only 3 hits and 2 earned runs but he came away with his first big league loss. Oelkers ended his first and only season with the Twins with an 0-5 record and a 8.65 while allowing 56 hits in 34.1 innings. In January of 1986 the Twins traded Bryan Oelkers and Ken Schrom to the Cleveland Indians for Ramon Romero and Roy Smith. Oelkers pitched for Cleveland in 1983 going 3-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 35 games. Oelkers pitched in the Expos, Cubs and Cardinals minor league systems  but never reached the big leagues again. WAR with the Twins was -1.3.

1992 – Dan Serafini – Was the Twins round 1 selection and 26th over-all out of Serra High School in San Mateo, California. In 1996 Baseball America had him rated as the 76th best prospect and the Twins called Dan Serafini up to pitch a game against the New York Yankees on June 25 at the Metrodome. Here is what Serafini had to say about that experience in a 2013 interview –

“It was not an easy team to pitch against for my first time playing in the big leagues, but it was a great memory. It was kind of funny. The Twins wouldn’t let me into the locker room before the game. They didn’t want any animosity in the locker room because they hadn’t sent anyone down (to Triple-A) yet. I had to stay in a hotel and then on game day I got to show up right before the game started so that I could get ready to play. It wasn’t the greatest experience, but it was still a good experience. I got to the big leagues!”

 You can see the entire interview here. Serafini’s start lasted 4.1 innings and he gave up 7 hits and 5 earned runs and was saddled with the loss in a Yankees 6-2 over Minnesota. That was the only game that Serafini pitched in a Twins uniform in 1996. Serafini spent portions of 1997 and 1998 in Minnesota but as spring training ended in 1999 the Twins sold Dan Serafini to the Chicago Cubs. Serafini career numbers with the Twins were  9-6 in 35 games with a 5.88 ERA. Serafini went on to pitch for the Cubs, Pirates, Reds and eventually the Rockies not to mention pitching in Japan, Mexico and Independent ball. Appears to have hung up his jock strap after the 2013 season. His WAR with Twins was a -0.6.

1994 – Travis Miller – Was a supplementary 1st round selection and 34th pick over-all from Kent State University for the Twins not being able to sign 1993 first round pick catcher Jason Varitek. Miller’s debut at the Metrodome on August 25, 1996 against the Rangers was one he would like to forget, one inning pitched with five hits and two walks including two home runs allowed and seven earned runs and he took the defeat in a 13-2 Twins loss. Miller however continued to pitch for the Twins albeit primarily in relief from 1996-2002 until the Twins released him in June of 2002 and he never pitched in the big leagues again. His Twins career lasted all or parts of seven seasons in which he appeared in 203 games winning 7 and losing 18 with a 5.05 ERA and a Twins WAR of 1.2.

1995 – Mark Redman – Was a Tigers 42 round pick in 1992 but did not sign and he went on to be the Twins first round selection in 1995 and 13th pick over-all. Debuted in a start against the Mariners at the Metrodome on July 24, 1999 and got a no decision for his efforts in which he lasted 4.2 innings and gave up 3 earned run on 4 hits and three walks. The Twins won the game 10-3. Redman was primarily a starter for Minnesota from 1999-2001 going 15-13 with a 4.86 ERA before being traded to the Tigers for closer Todd Jones. Redman was an All-Star with the Royals in 2006. Redman who pitched in the big leagues for 10 seasons with eight different teams posted a 3.6 WAR with the Twins.

 1998 – Ryan Mills – Was originally drafted in 1995 by the Yankees in round 13 but didn’t sign and the Twins scooped him up in round 1 with the 6th over-all pick out of Arizona State University and signed for a $2 million bonus. After seven seasons Mills had a 17-40 minor league record with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP before the Twins told him to look for other employment. Mills never put on a Twins uniform.

Glen Perkins 20152004 – Glen Perkins – Perkins was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the first round and 22nd over-all of the 2004 amateur draft out of the University of Minnesota as compensation for losing Eddie Guardado and signed for a $1.425 million bonus. His big league debut took place September 21, 2006 at Fenway Park as a reliever in a Twins 6-0 loss and he pitched 1.1 innings without allowing a hit. Perkins was originally a starter but after putting up an ERA of 5.89 in 2009 and 5.82 in 2010 the Twins put him in the bullpen where he has flourished as a closer when he is not injured. Perkins has been a Minnesota Twin for all or parts of 11 seasons and has a Twins WAR of 8.8 and has made the All-Star team three times.

2009 – Matt Bashore – Bashore was a first round and 46th over-all supplemental pick for the loss of Dennys Reyes. Injuries kept Bashore from achieving his dream and the Twins let him go after the 2011 season when he pitched in Elizabethton for the second time after sitting out 2010 due to injury. Never wore a Twins uniform and walked away with a $751,550 Twins signing bonus.

2015 – Tyler Jay – Twins first round selection and sixth player taken over-all from Illinois when he was the highest ever MLB draft choice and signed by Minnesota for $3.8 million. Jay was a reliever in college but the Twins are transitioning him to a starting role. Jay was promoted to Chattanooga (AA) in July but only appeared in 5 games there pitching 14 innings before being placed on the DL in early August with a neck/shoulder injury. Additional info on his injury can be found here, not exactly promising news.

So there you are, 57 years worth of LHP drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Twins, nine left-handed pitchers, eight out of college and one out of high school drafted by the Twins and what have we had to show for it? Glen Perkins has been the only one to really pan out and he didn’t come into his own until he was moved to the bullpen. You expect your first round picks to be All-Star caliber players and the Twins have had just two. You have to wonder, with their dismal track record why do the Twins even bother drafting LHP in round one? Why waste a first round pick on LHP?

Let’s look at the rest of the league

Continue reading They weren’t what we expected them to be

According to ELIAS

Santana gets back on track


Santana, Ervin 2016Ervin Santana was charged with two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings to earn the victory in the Twins’ 7-4 win over the Yankees at Target Field yesterday. Santana was coming off perhaps the worst five-start stretch of his major-league career (0-5 with a 7.71 ERA). He had never before lost five consecutive starts while producing an ERA that high. Santana also snapped his personal eight-game losing streak against the Yankees, which spanned 11 starts since September 2008 and was the longest current losing streak against the Bombers for any major-league pitcher entering play on Sunday. That distinction now belongs to CC Sabathia, who has lost his last seven decisions against his current team (2001 to 2008).

“Earning” the big bucks?

American dollar bills raining down According to the MLB Salary Rankings the following players earned pocketed the biggest salaries in 2015. Some earned their money and others did not but it is fun to be an arm-chair quarterback and review the results. You can argue that nobody deserves the kind of money that baseball players receive today but you would be shoveling sand against the tide. Owners are willing to pay these players the big bucks because in some cases they want to win at any cost and in other cases because (in my opinion) they are just plain stupid.

Here in Minnesota we have Minnesota born Joe Mauer earning $23 million a year and he still has three years on his contract. Fans have been all over Mauer for his performance or lack there of for a number of years now but the complaining has gotten louder and more vocal since Mauer threw away his catching gear and bought himself a first baseman’s mitt. It hasn’t helped that the team lost 90+ games each season from 2011 through 2014 before turning things around in 2015.

  1. The highest paid player was Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who pocketed a cool $32,571,428 in 2015. The Dodgers won their division with 92 wins but lost in the NLDS and they were done. Kershaw was the highest paid player in baseball in 2015 but an argument can be made that he was only the second best pitcher in the Dodgers starting rotation.  Kershaw has five more years remaining on his contract and each season will cost at least $34.5 million. Was Kershaw worth $32 million this year? I don’t think so, he had a good year but was not worth $32+ million.
  2. The second highest paid player in baseball this year was Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander at $28,000,000. Verlander will be 33 when he starts the 2016 season and he is guaranteed $28 million a year for four more seasons and then there is a $22 million vesting option for the following season (2020) if he finished in the top five in Cy Young voting in 2019. Did Verlander earn his keep in 2015? No way, he only started 20 games and won five of them, so the cost per win was $5.6 million. Ouch!
  3. The third spot on the big money list is a tie between pitchers Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke along with first baseman Ryan Howard at $25,000,000. Nobody won fewer games (63) than the hapless Phillies, the manager resigned, the GM was fired and Cliff Lee due to injuries contributed zero innings pitched to the Phillies cause. The Phillies have a team option on the 37 year-old Lee in 2016 for $27.5 million but more than likely will buy him out for $12.5 million. The soon to be 36 year-old Ryan Howard’s case for $25 million was darn just as bad. Howard hit .229 with a .227 OBP in 129 games. Howard has the Phillies on the hook for another $25 million in 2016 and a team option at $23 million in 2017 with a $10 million buyout. Howard should be arrested for “grand theft”. Lee was hurt but that is no excuse, he contributed zippo and hasn’t had double-digit wins since 2013. Dodger pitcher Zack Greinke had a very good season and if you argue that a good pitcher is worth $25 million a season then “the Donald” (Yes that is really his first name) is your guy based on his 19-3 record and 1.66 ERA.
  4. The next man up is King Felix, the ace of the Mariners staff. Felix Hernandez was 18-9 with a 3.53 ERA, it was his highest ERA since 2007 and he fell short of 200 strikeouts for the first time since 2008. However, he did all this for a team that won just 76 games. Hernandez who will only be 30 when the 2016 season begins earned his $24,857,000 salary in 2015 and will make between $25 million each season for the next four years. Oddly enough the team has a $1 million option on him in 2020 based on some injury stipulations.
  5. From  King Felix we go to Prince Albert Pujols the soon to be 36 year-old first baseman in the land of the Angels. Pujols who earned $24 million bounced back in 2015 with 40 round trippers and 95 RBI in 157 games but he hit only .244 and his OBP has been dropping like a rock since 2010. But Pujols has to love fantasy land because he will collect $25 million next season and then is guaranteed a million dollar raise each season through 2020. In 2021 when Pujols is 41 the Angels have a $30 million option and best of all, Pujols has a 10 year $10 million personal services deal with the team once he quits playing. We should change Pujols nickname from Prince Albert to Jesse James. Earth to Angels……..anybody there? This contract makes Joe Mauer’s deal look like child’s play. Next man up is another prince, Prince Fielder 1B and DH from the Texas Rangers. After missing most of 2014 due to injury the Prince bounced back this past season and was selected as the AL Come-Back player of the year. Keep in mind that Fielder has been in the big leagues for 10 full seasons and in nine of those seasons he played in 157 or more games and four times he played in 162 games. The man comes to play. The six-time All-Star hit .305 and had 23 home runs and 98 RBI also made $24 million this season and will continue to be paid at that rate for five more season’s. Only $18 million of the money is paid by the Rangers as the Tigers will chip in $6 million each year. Did Prince earn his money? You make the call, but I should tell you that 13 other major league players hit more than 23 home runs and knocked in more than 98 runs and did not make this kind of money. Let’s move on to the third of the $24 million dollar amigo’s, Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano has been in the big leagues for 11 season’s, nine of them with the Yankees. Cano is a very good player but at 33 years of age is on the decline. However, his salary is not as he is owed $192 million by the Mariners over the next 8 season’s and in his last season under this deal he will be 40 years old. Good luck with that deal!
  6. Next man up is Yankee 1B Mark Teixeira who earned $23,1215,000 this past season and is in the books to earn the same amount in his final year of his contract in 2016. Tex will be 36 early next season and last played a full season in 2011. Teixeira did hit .255 with 31 home runs this past year in that bandbox that they call Yankee Stadium. Can Tex look in the mirror and ask himself “Did I earned my pay?” I don’t think so, even in today’s world of inflated salaries you have to show up for work more than 69% of the time to make that kind of money.
  7. We move on to the fifth pitcher making this list, 35 year-old lefty CC Sabathia from the New York Yankees who made $23 million this past season. CC is guaranteed $25 million for 2016 and $25 million more in 2017 if he avoids a couple of injury stipulations. The man has made at least 28 starts a year in 14 of his 15 big league seasons, you have to give the big guy credit for that. Does he still pitch like a $23 million pitcher? No way!

This past post season only three of the teams mentioned above (Dodgers, Yankees and Rangers) made the playoffs and none of them advanced past the ALDS round. Just goes to show that money can’t buy you happiness. Let’s take a look at recent World Series winners and see how much money their highest paid player made.

2015 Royals – Alex Gordon at $12.5 million

2014 Giants – Matt Cain at $20 million (pitched total of 90 inning & did not appear in post season play)

2013 Red Sox – John Lackey at $15.25 million

2012 Giants – Barry Zito at $19 million (15-8 with a 4.15 ERA)

2011 Cardinal – Matt Holliday at $16.318 million

2010 Giants – Barry Zito at $18.5 million (9-14 with 4.15 ERA)

The fans keep pressuring team owners to sign their stars and acquire additional free agents to long-term deals. Just for discussion let’s assume a long-term deal is five years or longer. What percentage of long-term deals pays off for the team over the length of the contract? I don’t know of any study that has analyzed that but I believe that the percentage has to be low. Assuming that is the case, why sign players to these long terms?

I believe the main reason is that team owners feel they need to offer long-term deals to be competitive with the other teams competing for the same player. To me that seems just plain dumb. Offer the player a more lucrative deal for a shorter time frame and you will still get players to sign and you will save money and probably a roster spot. Another dumb move by team owners is the fact that they give players the option to bail out on a long-term deal after a certain number of years. Again, D-U-M-B! Why doesn’t the team get an option to terminate the deal after a few years if they wish to do so?

I am not trying to side with the owners here, I am looking to see how teams can avoid getting bogged down with a player or two on the roster making too high a percentage of the overall team payroll and thus making that team un-competitive because they can’t afford to pay the rest of their players.

On the other side of the coin star players draw fans and fans spend money, buy tickets, watch more games on TV and the teams revenue increases. But the excitement of signing a new player to a big deal is short-lived and then fans often turn on the player and the team for not performing based on the huge deal he signed. It appears to me that signing players to shorter deals lessens the owner risk and give the team the opportunity to sign another player and start the excitement all over again.

Joe Mauer 2015The Twins have a unique situation with the St. Paul born Joe Mauer. Mauer signed an eight year deal back in 2010 for $184 million with a full no trade clause. Now, Mauer who was a catcher at the time has moved to first base and his hitting no longer measures up. What do you do with a home born player making that much money, who will be 33 in April, hit 10 home runs and knocked in only 66 runs with a .265 batting average in 666 plate appearances primarily in the number three spot in your batting order? The Twins are not a team that can put a guy making $23 million on the bench and he has a full no trade deal. If you could trade him who would take him? The Twins would have to pay someone big bucks to take him but yet if you leave him in the line-up he is taking up a spot that is not producing as it should for a young team that is getting ready to make the playoffs. What kind of message does that send to the team and the fans? A heck of a dilemma, but have faith, all is not lost, baseball owners and GM’s have proven over the years that there is always somebody out there that is willing to take your deadwood off your hands because there is always a chance that he will have one more great season in him and that they can catch lightning in a bottle one more time.

According to ELIAS

Buehrle beats the Twins for the 30th time

Mark Buehrle 2015Mark Buehrle registered his 30th career win against the Twins with a victory in Toronto last night. That’s the most career wins by any active pitcher versus one major-league team. Buehrle notched his first 27 wins against Minnesota while pitching for the White Sox and the last three for the Blue Jays. In baseball’s expansion era (1961 to date), only five other American League pitchers have recorded 30 or more wins against a particular team: Bert Blyleven vs. the Royals (34); Jack Morris (32), Mickey Lolich (30) and Jim Kaat (30) vs. the Indians; and Jim Palmer vs. the Yankees (30). Source: ELIAS

The Twins have faced Mark Buehrle 53 times (51 starts), the 51 starts being the most vs. any pitcher in club history, ahead of Tommy John and Frank Tanana (each with 47). Torii Hunter has 97 career at-bats against Buehrle, the second most against him all-time, trailing only Michael Cuddyer (113). Joe Mauer has a career average of .206 (13-for-63) against Buehrle, marking his fifth-lowest against any pitcher for his career (C.J. Wilson – .129, Paul Byrd – .167, CC Sabathia – .171 and David Price – .176). Kurt Suzuki is hitting .387 (12-for-31) in his career off Buehrle. Source: Twins Game Notes

The four losses to the Blue Jays mark the first time that Toronto has ever swept a four game series from the lads from Minnesota.

According to Elias

Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander

Detroit Tigers hurler Justin Verlander went seven innings and earned the victory in the Tigers’ 4-1 win over the Twins, marking his eighth win in his last eight starts against Minnesota. Verlander is the first pitcher to be credited with wins in each of eight straight starts against the Twins since David Wells put together a nine-wins-in-nine-starts stretch from 1996 to 2000. Only one other active major-league pitcher has won his last eight starts against one opponent: New York Yankees CC Sabathia against Seattle.

According to Elias

New York Yankee pitcher CC Sabathia struck out Joe Mauer three times in yesterdays 8-2 loss at Target Field on a total of nine pitches. There have been only three other games this season in which a pitcher stuck out a batter three times, on nine total pitches: Hisashi Iwakuma against Brett Lawrie on July 30; James Shields versus Wilson Betemit on July 26; and Yu Darvish facing Bobby Wilson on June 2. Prior to Wednesday’s game, Mauer had struck out three times against the same pitcher in one game only twice, and Sabathia was one of them, on July 29, 2007. The other was Ryan Dempster earlier this season (June 10).

 

What I saw at Hammond Stadium yesterday

I wanted to check out the Twins “B” game against the Red Sox yesterday so I jumped in the Durango and took the 10 mile drive from Cape Coral to Fort Myers. When I arrived at Hammond Stadium there were plenty of free parking spaces and I took one fairly close to the main ballpark entrance. As I walked towards the stadium I saw Lavelle E. Neal III a couple of spots down from me get out of his rental car and prepare for another day of Star Tribune Twins coverage. He appeared to be in a hurry and was a bit late I think because as I walked into the stadium the Twins were taking the field at 10  AM for their encounter with those hated Red Sox. I looked to see where I wanted to sit and since there was probably less than 200 people in the park I had my choice of sitting in the shade down the right field line or behind home plate albeit in the sun and even at this early hour, the sun was beating down pretty hard. I know, it is a rough life…..I decided to sit behind home plate and took a seat across the isle for GM Terry Ryan and a host of other scouts. The first pitch Blackburn threw was wacked up the middle for a clean single that Blackburn just missed back-handing, but he got out of that inning unscored on and ended up pitching three scoreless innings. The Red Sox Jon Lester also kept the Twins off the board in his 3 innings of work although one inning ended with just two out because Lester had apparently reached his pitch count for the day. But that is how life is in these “B” games, you never know what you might see happen next. It was fun sitting next to Ryan and the other scouts and to listen to their banter back and forth after each pitch. You sprinkle in a few stories about the good old days and the “back in our day” players were a lot different discussions and it makes for some entertaining eavesdropping. It was obvious these guys all have spent a lot of time together on the road and enjoy each other company as they go about their work. I did not recognize any of the scouts but based on the way they talked it sounded as if a number of them had their time in the sun on the major league diamond.  It is funny watching the scouts because just as the pitcher is ready to deliver a pitch you see a sea of radar guns pop into position as the pitch is thrown. But you know what, in all the games I have ever attended and seen GM Ryan scout players, I have never ever seen him with a radar gun, a stop watch, sure, but never a radar gun. The man is old school and I would love to see what he writes for notes about the players he watches. Terry Ryan has to be the friendliest and most fan accessible GM in baseball. He will always say hello and talk baseball with whoever happens to walk up to or sit down next to him.

As I said, I only watched four innings of the game before I moved on to the minor league side to see what was going on there on their first full day of training camp but first I want to make note of a couple of things kind of stood out for me today as I watched the Twins and Red Sox play. Joe Mauer started at first base and he is looking pretty comfortable over there but he has a ways to go before he is a really good first baseman and understands the ins and outs of playing first. Justin Morneau is really, really thin, I wonder how much weight he has really lost and why. I for one am not convinced that Morneau is back to what he was when he was one of the most feared sluggers in the American league. Trevor Plouffe started in left field and called off his infielders on a pop up to left and then proceeded to dive and have the ball clank off his glove. I know that it was very windy today but still, if you call off your infielders, you had better make sure you make the catch. I for one want to see Plouffe win a starting outfield job because I think the man can hit but we have to keep in mind that he will not be a gold glover out there for some time.

I took the walk over to the minor league fields and all the fields were empty except for one and that field had all the Twins minor league players assembled on their first day as some players were still going through their physicals. The staff was getting the players separated by club, Fort Myers, Beloit, etc. and then they had each group of players listen to a short “here are our expectations” talk and then they had the players stretch for a bit, throw for a little while and then the main event of the day for each group was the mile run. I was a bit surprised at how some of these players were dreading the run. A mile is apparently four times around the perimeter of this particular playing field and as each group completed their run their individual times was recorded, I don’t know if the time means anything but never the less it was being tracked. I know I can’t run the mile in the times that these players were putting up but then again, some of them are 45 years younger than I am. The bottom line is that a lot of these players were really huffing and puffing to get their mile done and some were darn near walking. This mile run could not have been a total surprise to these players and I wonder why they have not gotten themselves in better shape and better prepared prior to spring training. Baseball is what they hope to make a living from and these guys come to spring training out of shape? What are these guys thinking? A number of these players look like they spent the off-season watching I Love Lucy reruns or playing video games. I guess that is why you never know about what the future holds when you draft these guys to be big league ball players but I can’t help but wonder how bad some of these guys really want to play pro ball on a big league level. I know these guys are the cream of the baseball crop and they have probably always been the stars of the teams they played for and have always had things handed to them but still, you have to take care of your body which in this case is your livelihood. Baseball is obviously no different that the real life business world, the young workers of today expect to be promoted quickly and paid well for their efforts even though their efforts may not measure up to what my generation may expect. I am not saying that all the young players are being lazy because many of them are working their butts off to get ahead but some of these minor league Twins players just don’t get it, I hope they catch on before it is too late for them and their Twins careers. Then again, I have not seen any of these guys hit or pitch a ball as yet, Babe Ruth and CC Sabathia aren’t the most athletic baseball players I have ever seen either.

As always, I managed to get a couple of pictures today that you can view in my 2102 Spring Training Pictures section.