Tag: Liam Hendriks

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Parmelee, Benson, Hendriks, Faedo & Poepping

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins on September 6. Note that Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson and Liam Hendriks all debuted in the same game on the same day and all started. The Twins lost the game 3-0 at Target Field

Chris Parmelee (OF/1B) – September 6, 2011 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (20th) of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft. Debuted at first base hitting fifth. Parmelee had singles in his first two at bats and finished the day 2 for 4.

 

Joe Benson

Joe Benson (OF) – September 6, 2011 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft. Benson played center field and hit lead-off and finished the game 0 for 3 with a walk.

 

Liam Hendriks

Liam Hendriks (P) – September 6, 2011 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent on February 25, 2007. Debuted as the starting pitcher and went 7 innings (99 pitches) and allowed three runs on 4 hits, 3 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Lenny Faedo (SS) – September 6, 1980 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (16th pick) of the 1978 amateur draft. Debuted in Tiger Stadium at “short” hitting ninth and was 1 for 3 with a run scored in a Twins 4-0 win.

Mike Poepping (OF) – September 6, 1975 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1969. Debuted in White Sox Park in a Twins 5-2 loss as the starting right fielder and was 0 for 4.

You can check out other Major League Debuts as Twins that I have done by going here.

Historical look at Twins pitchers and home runs allowed

Minnesota Twins pitchers allowed 147 home runs in 2014. The fewest home runs allowed by a Twins pitching staff in a full season of 162 games occurred in 1976 when that pitching staff gave up just 89 round trippers to the opponents and the Twins went on to finish with an 85-77 record. On the opposite end of the spectrum the 1996 Twins pitching staff allowed a franchise record 233 home runs and finished the season with a 78-84 record. It only took one season for Ricky Nolasco to make the list but he can pitch his way off this list, the others can’t.

Twins career HR/9 with minimum of 120 innings pitched

Dave Stevens

Rk Player HR9 IP From To G GS W L W-L% SV ERA HR BA
1 Dave Stevens 1.88 191.2 1994 1997 135 6 14 12 .538 21 5.82 40 .296
2 Scott Aldred 1.81 199.1 1996 1997 42 32 8 15 .348 0 6.10 40 .298
3 Jose Parra 1.78 131.2 1995 1996 39 17 6 10 .375 0 6.77 26 .310
4 Liam Hendriks 1.73 156.0 2011 2013 30 28 2 13 .133 0 6.06 30 .313
5 Pat Mahomes 1.64 366.2 1992 1996 114 51 18 28 .391 3 5.82 67 .284
6 Jim Deshaies 1.63 297.2 1993 1994 52 52 17 25 .405 0 5.71 54 .285
7 Rick Reed 1.50 390.2 2001 2003 72 65 25 25 .500 0 4.47 65 .280
8 Kevin Slowey 1.42 532.2 2007 2011 100 90 39 29 .574 0 4.66 84 .285
9 Boof Bonser 1.40 391.2 2006 2008 96 60 18 25 .419 0 5.12 61 .281
10 Mark Portugal 1.40 238.2 1985 1988 72 26 11 19 .367 4 5.13 37 .280
11 Terry Felton 1.37 138.1 1979 1982 55 10 0 16 .000 3 5.53 21 .240
12 Eric Milton 1.36 987.1 1998 2003 166 165 57 51 .528 0 4.76 149 .259
13 Ray Moore 1.35 159.2 1961 1963 126 1 13 10 .565 25 4.90 24 .252
14 Dick Stigman 1.34 643.2 1962 1965 138 85 37 37 .500 7 3.69 96 .229
15 Pedro Ramos 1.33 264.1 1961 1961 42 34 11 20 .355 2 3.95 39 .258
16 David West 1.32 285.1 1989 1992 63 47 15 18 .455 0 5.33 42 .262
17 Charlie Lea 1.32 130.0 1988 1988 24 23 7 7 .500 0 4.85 19 .301
18 Mark Redman 1.31 213.0 1999 2001 46 34 15 13 .536 0 4.86 31 .283
19 Neal Heaton 1.30 124.1 1986 1986 21 17 4 9 .308 1 3.98 18 .273
20 Nick Blackburn 1.29 818.2 2007 2012 145 137 43 55 .439 0 4.85 117 .303
21 Eddie Guardado 1.28 704.2 1993 2008 648 25 37 48 .435 116 4.53 100 .253
22 Kyle Lohse 1.27 908.1 2001 2006 172 152 51 57 .472 0 4.88 128 .285
23 Bob Wells 1.26 300.1 1999 2002 265 0 18 16 .529 13 4.47 42 .268
24 Ricky Nolasco 1.25 159.0 2014 2014 27 27 6 12 .333 0 5.38 22 .316
25 Mike Trombley 1.25 645.2 1992 2002 365 36 30 34 .469 34 4.53 90 .266
26 Lee Stange 1.25 351.2 1961 1964 97 37 20 14 .588 3 3.61 49 .251
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/20/2014.

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The list below show The Twins pitching staff leader board of home runs allowed. Bert Blyleven loves to talk about how many home runs he has allowed but he is only third best or worst, depending on how you want to look at it.

Brad Radke
Brad Radke
Rk Player HR IP From To G GS CG SHO W L W-L% SV SO ERA BF
1 Brad Radke 326 2451.0 1995 2006 378 377 37 10 148 139 .516 0 1467 4.22 10244
2 Jim Kaat 270 2959.1 1961 1973 468 422 133 23 189 152 .554 6 1824 3.28 12385
3 Bert Blyleven 243 2566.2 1970 1988 348 345 141 29 149 138 .519 0 2035 3.28 10542
4 Frank Viola 213 1772.2 1982 1989 260 259 54 10 112 93 .546 0 1214 3.86 7450
5 Jim Perry 166 1883.1 1963 1972 376 249 61 17 128 90 .587 5 1025 3.15 7791
6 Eric Milton 149 987.1 1998 2003 166 165 10 4 57 51 .528 0 715 4.76 4196
7 Johan Santana 144 1308.2 2000 2007 251 175 6 4 93 44 .679 1 1381 3.22 5281
8 Kyle Lohse 128 908.1 2001 2006 172 152 4 3 51 57 .472 0 561 4.88 3982
9 Joe Mays 127 946.1 1999 2005 193 146 10 6 48 65 .425 0 487 4.85 4110
10 Scott Baker 123 958.0 2005 2011 163 159 4 2 63 48 .568 0 770 4.15 4004
11 Camilo Pascual 123 1284.2 1961 1966 184 179 72 18 88 57 .607 0 994 3.31 5362
12 Dave Goltz 119 1638.0 1972 1979 247 215 80 11 96 79 .549 3 887 3.48 6887
13 Nick Blackburn 117 818.2 2007 2012 145 137 5 0 43 55 .439 0 388 4.85 3577
14 Kevin Tapani 109 1171.1 1989 1995 181 180 19 6 75 63 .543 0 724 4.06 4897
15 Carlos Silva 106 773.2 2004 2007 129 124 5 2 47 45 .511 0 306 4.42 3277
16 Dave Boswell 106 1036.1 1964 1970 187 150 37 6 67 54 .554 0 865 3.49 4344
17 LaTroy Hawkins 105 818.0 1995 2003 366 98 2 0 44 57 .436 44 532 5.05 3614
18 Mike Smithson 103 816.0 1984 1987 128 126 26 5 47 48 .495 0 438 4.46 3509
19 Eddie Guardado 100 704.2 1993 2008 648 25 0 0 37 48 .435 116 610 4.53 3009
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/20/2014.

 

 

 

Vargas and Berrios 2014 minor league players of the year

Kennys Vargas the 24 year-old 1B/DH has been named the Twins Minor League Player of the Year (Sherry Robertson Award) and Jose Berrios a 20 year-old right-handed pitcher has been named as the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year (Jim Rantz Award).

Kennys Vargas
Kennys Vargas

Vargas was called up by the Twins on July 31 from New Britain and made his major league debut at U.S. Cellular Field on his 24th birthday on August 1 going 1 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI. Vargas has been with the Twins ever since and appears to be a fixture in the Twins line-up for years to come. Between New Britain and his stint in Minnesota Vargas as hit 26 home runs this season. The switch-hitting Vargas is probably going to get some games in at first base but his primary role with the Twins will be at DH.

Berrios is on the fast track to Minnesota, the 20 year-old started the season going 9-3 with a 1.96 ERA for the Ft. Myers Miracle before being bumped up to Double A New Britain where he was 3-4 with a 3.54 ERA. The Triple A Rochester club had an outside shot at making the playoffs late in the season and the Twins sent Berrios to Rochester where he started one game but came up the loser when he lasted just 3 innings and gave up 6 earned run. Berrios had a great season and the only fly in the ointment here is that he was pulled from a game late in the season with a sore arm. Berrios pitched after that episode but it is certainly something to keep an eye on. Berrios has all kinds of potential and I would hate to see some kind of an arm injury slow down his development and delay his arrival in a Twins uniform. I think that Berrios has as much or more potential than any pitcher the Twins have in their minor league system and I can’t wait to see him pitch at Target Field in as a Minnesota Twin.

Jose Berrios
Jose Berrios

I sure hope that winning the Jim Rantz award does not jinx Berrios. If Berrios checks out the previous Jim Rantz award winners, he might not show up in Minnesota in January to accept his award. Maybe the Twins should consider renaming the award instead of have it named for Jim Rantz a long time Twins executive but who was a career minor league pitcher from 1960-1964 and never got a taste of pitching in the major leagues.

Previous Jim Rantz award winners

2013 – Andrew Albers
2012 – B.J. Hermsen
2011 – Liam Hendriks
2010 – Kyle Gibson
2009 – David Bromberg
2008 – Anthony Slama
2007 – Kevin Slowey
2006 – Matt Garza
2005 – Francisco Liriano
2004 – Scott Baker
2003 – Jesse Crain
2002 – J.D. Durbin
 

Congratulations to both Kennys Vargas and Jose Berrios on their great season!

Some thoughts on recent Twins activities

Mike Pelfrey
Mike Pelfrey

According to a report by CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman the Twins have reached an agreement with Twins free agent pitcher Mike Pelfrey on a two-year $11MM. The report goes on to say that Pelfrey could also earn as much as $3.5 million in performance bonuses. In his first season since undergoing  TJ surgery, Pelfrey was 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA in 152.2 innings for Minnesota in 2013. One of the problems I had with the soon (January 14th) to be 30 year-old Pelfrey was that he averaged just 5.25 innings per start last season while throwing  an average of 87 pitches per outing. I enjoyed watching grass grow more than I did watching Pelfrey pitch, the man is too slow and deliberate for his own good. He is going to have to improve on that if he hopes to reach 200 innings under Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson.

Jason Kubel
Jason Kubel

The Twins also signed former Twins outfielder Jason Kubel to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old Kubel was originally a Twins 12th round pick in 2000 and played for Minnesota from 2004-2011 before signing with Arizona as a free agent. Kubel  missed the entire 2005 season due to injury. Interestingly some reports have Kubel passing on better offers because he is sure he can make the Twins team. GM Terry Ryan has stated that Kubel will have to show that he can still hit and play both corner outfield positions if he wants to wear the Twins colors this season. Kubel has four 20 home run seasons under his belt with the most recent coming in 2012. If Kubel proves he can still hit the long ball, I have no issue with Kubel being a fourth outfielder and a decent left-handed bat off the bench. The problem you have when you have to get down to 25 is that Kubel can’t play center and you need someone to back up center.

Twins season-ticket holders over the weekend received notices of prices for the July 15 All-Star Game at Target Field. One ticket strip will cost from $401 to $1,416 for Champions Club members. Each strip consists of single tickets for several events: FanFest, the Futures Game, the Legends and Celebrity Softball Game, the Home Run Derby and of course the All-Star Game itself.  As expected, it won’t be cheap to be part of the All-Star festivities.

Liam Hendriks
Liam Hendriks

The Chicago Cubs claimed RHP Liam Hendriks on waivers after the Twins designated him for assignment. I know Hendriks has struggled with the Twins and he has been in the organization for seven years but he is still only 24 years old, hate to see the Twins give up on him.

The Minnesota Twins passed on the Rule 5 draft this year for the fourth time (2009, 2007, 2003) since 2000. I find it interesting that a team that has been so bad for three years could not find a spot on the 40 man roster for a Rule 5 draft pick.

The recent 2014 spring training schedule that the Twins organization recently mailed out indicates that spring training tickets go on sale on January 11th. I find it funny that 6 out of their 16 home games are classified as “premium” games, seems to me that any spring training game called “premium” is an oxymoron.

UPDATE Decembe 17 – Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Kubel will earn $2 million if he makes the roster out of Spring Training and can earn another $1 million via incentives. Kubel will earn $150K for reaching 300 and 350 plate appearances, plus $200K for reaching 400 PAs. He also will receive $150K for spending 30 and 60 days on the Major League roster and another $200K if he reaches 90 days.

Twins to add Phil Hughes to pitching staff

Phil HughesIt appears that Twins fans have another present under the 2013 Christmas tree. Star Tribune writer LaVelle E. Neal III reported this past Saturday that the Twins have agreed on a three-year deal worth about $24 million with former New York Yankee RHP Phil Hughes. The deal apparently includes bonuses of up to $1MM per year for innings pitched. The Twins have not commented on the proposed deal as is normal for them until the player undergoes a physical.

The New York Yankees made Phil Hughes their first round selection (23rd over all) in 2004 out of high school and Hughes made his big league debut in April 2007. The 6’5″ Hughes goes about 240 and is only 27 but already has seven years of major league experience under his belt. During his Yankee career Hughes posted a 56-50 record with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP, not exactly stellar numbers but Yankee stadium isn’t exactly a pitcher’s park and a flyball pitcher like Hughes could and should have better success at Target Field.

The bigger concern with Hughes is his health as he has spent time on the DL four times. In 2007 he visited the 60 day DL with a hamstring issue, in 2008 he went on the DL with a stress rib fracture, in 2011 he spent time on the 60 day list again with right shoulder inflammation and he started the 2013 season on the DL with a back issue but he only missed four games.

Hughes throws a fastball that touches 92 or so to go along with a curveball, a change-up and a slider that he has started to throw while giving up on his cutter. Hughes is not exactly an innings eater having peaked at 191.1 innings and has only surpassed 145 innings in a season three times although all three of those took place during his last four seasons. As a Yankee, Hughes had a 7.6 SO/9 ratio but the bad news is that he has averaged less than 5 innings per start. The last thing the Twins need is more non quality starts.

Considering all the plusses and minuses I think that Phil Hughes will help the Twins and hopefully help to solidify the rotation. Who knows what getting out of the Bronx zoo and that ballpark will do for Hughes.

So now that the Twins have agreed to sign two additional starting pitchers it appears that it will add about $20 million to their 2014 payroll but in reality that is not the case. Keep in mind that the Twins reduced their payroll from last season by $23.5 million by not having to pay Justin Morneau $14 million, Nick Blackburn $5.5 million and Mike Pelfrey $4 million that they paid them last season. So at this point the Twins are still below their 2013 payroll. If they sign someone like catcher A.J. Pierzynski it is likely that Ryan Doumit may be traded and there is no assurance that Josh Willingham will be with Minnesota once they get to the trading deadline next year. I applaud the Twins for spending money on some starting pitching but don’t think that the Twins are spending money by the wheelbarrow here because they are not. Unless the Twins do something totally dramatic and unexpected, their 2014 payroll won’t be much different then it was in 2013. The Twins are not being big spenders, they are just reassigning their resources in a way that will help the team in the short run. In spite of that, the Twins are improving their team and making it a bit more watchable. It simply shows how over paid Justin Morneau was for the numbers he put up and how much the move of Joe Mauer to first base will help this team.

UPDATE December 5 – The Minnesota Twins announced that they have signed free agent right-handed pitcher Phil Hughes to a three-year, $24 million contract. It has been reported that just like Ricky Nolasco, Hughes also has a very limited (three teams he can say no to) no trade contract. The Minnesota Twins also announced that they have designated right-handed pitcher Liam Hendriks for release or assignment to free up space on the 40 man roster for Hughes. Hendriks was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2007.

What to do with Liam Hendriks

Liam Hendriks
Liam Hendriks

The Minnesota Twins signed the Australian born Liam Hendriks as an 18-year old in February 2007. Hendriks started his pro career in the Gulf Coast league in 2007 and did pretty well putting up a 4-2 record with a 2.08 ERA but in those 10 starts he only threw 44 innings. Hendriks missed the 2008 season with back surgery but ended up making the Australian team as their youngest player in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In 2009 Hendriks spent time in Elizabethton and Beloit and put up an unspectacular 5-5 record with a 3.51 ERA with 14 starts in 83.2 innings. Hendriks started the 2010 season in Beloit but after a strong start was moved up to Ft. Myers where he pitched well once again and was named to play in the 2010 Futures game but an appendicitis forced him to miss the game. Liam started the 2011 season in New Britain and was 8-2 when he was promoted to Rochester where he struggled going 4-4 with a 4.56 ERA which was a full run higher than he had ever experienced at any level in the Twins system. The Twins called Hendriks up for a September cup of coffee after the 2011 minor league season ended and gave him four starts in which he was 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA. After the 2011 season the Twins named Liam Hendriks their Minor League Pitcher of the Year. In 2012 Hendriks earned a starting job in spring training but just four poor starts later found himself in Rochester where he posted a very nice 2.20 ERA in 106+ innings. In 2013 Hendriks again found himself splitting time between Minnesota and Rochester but this time he had a poor season in AAA posting a 4.67 ERA in 98+ innings.

That brings us up todate on Hendriks career. The question is what should be done with Hendriks now. Let’s take a comparison look at how Hendriks compare to another former Twins starter that ended up with a 63-48 record in almost 1,000 innings in a Twins uni. Pitcher X is no longer with the Twins and he struggled pretty mightily as he tried to become a major league pitcher. I remember pitcher X early in his Twins career and after some of his bad outings I thought to myself that there is no hope for this guy and he has no business in the major leagues. The Twins organization however was more patient then I would have been and pitcher X turned out to be a pretty good albeit not great pitcher for the Twins before he left the organization. I am not saying that Hendriks and pitcher X have identical pitching styles because they don’t,  I am just comparing the stats of pitcher X after 26 starts in his first two big league seasons to the 30 starts that Hendriks has on his resume after his first three big league seasons. The comparisons are not that much different. Pitcher X was drafted out of college and Hendriks came from Australia where he had much less experience pitching against good hitting.

 

Hendriks Pitcher X
Age 24 24
W 2 8
L 13 11
W/L % .133 .421
ERA 5.95 5.19
G 29 26
GS 28 25
GF 1 0
CG 1 0
SHO 0 0
SV 0 0
IP 151.1 137
H 194 162
R 111 84
ER 100 79
HR 29 22
BB 44 30
SO 92 94
BF 681 594
WHIP 1.573 1.401
H/9 11.5 10.6
HR/9 1.7 1.4
BB/9 2.6 2.0
SO/9 5.5 6.2
SO/BB 2.09 3.13

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Looking at their career minor league stats, Hendriks has thrown  580.1 innings allowed  540 hits, a 2.99 ERA, a WHIP of 1.108 and 487 strike outs. The per 9 inning rates are 7.6 KO/9 and 8.4 H/9. The minor league stats for pitcher X are 524 innings with 477 hits allowed,  a 3.16 ERA, a WHIP of 1.116 and 431 strike outs which comes out to 7.4 KO/9 and 8.2 H/9. The numbers are fairly similar. So who is pitcher X? Pitcher X is Scott Baker.

So what would I do with Hendriks? In my old age I have learned to show a bit more patience then I would have in years past. There are no guarantees in life but when you sign a pitcher from Australia and you have had him in your system for seven years and he just turns 25 years of age when spring training opens, you would be a fool not to keep him and give him a solid shot at winning a spot in the 2014 pitching rotation. It’s not like the Twins will be fighting for a playoff spot in 2014 so this might well be the type of year that you throw this guy into the deep end and allow him to show us what he really is. Put him at the end of your rotation, keep the stress level down and maybe the Twins can add a home-grown pitcher to their starting rotation.

According to Elias

Liam Hendriks
Liam Hendriks

Liam Hendriks was the winning pitcher in the Twins’ come-from-behind victory at Texas, improving his record to 2-12 in 25 career starts. The last pitcher with two or fewer victories in his first 25 major-league starts was Jason Hammel (2-12 from 2006 to 2008).

April not kind to the Twins

baseball in the snowIt is too early to tell what kind of team the Twins have for 2013 but from what I have seen in the nine games they have played so far, it is a team that is playing better than what it has the last two seasons. I am not saying they are playoff bound but the team is at least entertaining to watch and I hope they can start to gel as a team over time. Yes, the Twins are 4-5 but you could argue that two of those wins were gifts when outfielders from the Tigers and Orioles let a ball drop between them and gave the Twins gift runs. Everybody was worried about the starting pitching going in to 2013 but it is the hitting so far that has been missing. Hicks has been terrible with the bat but he is not the total reason this team is not hitting well. So far this year the 3-5 hitters have scored 11 runs, hit 2 home runs,  and have 9 RBI’s.  That is just plain terrible, Gardy needs to do something to shake-up this line-up. What scares me is that they are not playing all that well in the field either and they keep making mistakes on the base paths that are just plain embarrassing. The Twins have played just 9 games so the sample size is very small but here are some stats comparing the Twins to the rest of the league in various categories.

The Twins are 4-5 and in fourth place in the AL Central 2 games behind the division leading Kansas City Royals. The Twins have lost 3 games in a row.

The team is hitting .232 (13th place) and have scored 33 runs. Only the White Sox with 31 and the Rays with 32 have scored less.

The Twins and the Oakland A’s hitters lead the league in walks with 35.

Only the Houston Astros with 101 have struck out more frequently than the Twins 79 strikeouts.

Twins pitchers have a 4.09 ERA, good for 6th best and have given up only 4 home runs, the fewest in the league. Who would have thought that could happen, even after just 9 games?

Twins pitchers have the fewest strikeouts in the league and opponents are hitting .284 off Twins and Blue Jays pitchers, only the Yankees pitchers who are getting hit at a .306 clip are worse.

Twins relievers have a 2.73 ERA (3rd best) and are holding opposing hitters to a .231 average.

The Twins and the Indians each have 7 errors and only the Angels, Blue Jays, and White Sox with 8 have committed more miscues.

Everyone knows that Aaron Hicks is striking out at a frightening pace of 16 KO’s in 35 at bats in the leadoff position. But have you noticed that Josh Willingham has struck out 13 times in 29 at bats and that Joe Mauer has struck out 10 times in 40 at bats. In Willingham’s defense he also has 9 walks but Mauer and Hicks have 2 walks apiece. You have to wonder what might be bothering Mauer, his catching seems sub par this year too. Mauer has let a number of balls get by him and his throws to second base shouldn’t scare any opposing baserunners.

We will get a better feel for how good or bad the Twins really are very soon as they will play at home over the next 2 weeks or so as 12 of their next 15 games will be played at Target Field. We should also know by the time April is over if Aaron Hicks can catch his breath and turn things around before he finds himself in Gardy’s doghouse and on his way to Rochester. I sure hope so because the Twins don’t currently have a good plan B for center field unless Joe Benson catches fire. Hicks not running out his pop-up on Wednesday was obvious to anyone who watched the game but I didn’t like Gardy being so public about how upset he was about the rookie’s mistake. The Twins veterans like Morneau, Mauer, or Willingham should be taking care of issues like this, Gardy should have not gone public with his thoughts.

The Twins starting pitching is still a huge question mark and it will be interesting to see what Scott Diamond looks like in 2013. Mike Pelfrey has shown less than what most people expected, Hendriks has pitched like………Hendriks, I think you need to keep sending him out there every five days for a while and see what you get. I have liked Kevin Correia since they signed him but I know he can’t keep pitching like he has. Hopefully Cole De Vries can get healthy and fight for a spot again. The biggest disappointment to me so far has been Vance Worley but it is still way too early to determine anything.

The Twins drew the short straw from MLB this year from a schedule perspective with all those April home games and Mother Nature has not been as kind to the Twins as it has in the past but it is what it is. Now Dave St. Peter and the Twins find themselves having to make a hard decision in a no win situation today trying to determine if they should play the New York Mets tonight when temperatures are expected to be in the low 30’s with snow flurries predicted. It sounds like the Twins had all the 6 inches or so of snow removed from the ballpark yesterday and last night. It is a tough call because the Mets will only make one trip to Minnesota this year and the weather prediction for the rest of the week-end is bad with possible rain on Sunday too. As a matter of fact the temps are not scheduled to get out of the 40’s for the next week. So it makes sense to try to get the game in tonight but what about the fans comfort? Heaters or not, it will be miserable at Target Field and today’s game is scheduled to be a night game. The Twins are having trouble drawing fans as it is and when you add in cold and or snowy and wet weather you have a perfect scenario for Twins fans staying home and watching the game on TV. No matter what choice the Twins make, lots of Twins fans will be unhappy. It is kind of perfect storm and the Twins seemed doomed to come out on the losing end. As I stated earlier, predicted temperatures for the next week are in the 40’s and this entire Twins home stand will not see a temperature above 50 and all three games against the Angels after the Mets leave town are night games. OUCH!

You add in the little dust-up the other day about the Twins charging $15 for a group of 60 fans to watch Twins take batting practice and then withdrawing the offer later in the day and you have a rough start to the 2013 season for the Minnesota Twins and their fans.

According to Elias

After a loss to the Athletics on Wednesday, Liam Hendriks is 0-8 in 13 major-league starts. No other player who came up with the Twins franchise lost his first eight decisions as a starter. The previous most is seven, by Paul Abbott and Terry Felton. (Felton finished his major-league career 0-16, as a starter and reliever, the most losses without a win in major-league history.)

Most career Twins starts with zero wins

Liam Hendriks

After yet another failed start yesterday the Twins sent Liam Hendriks back to Rochester and called up Cole DeVries to take his place in the starting rotation. The Twins staked Hendriks to a 6-1 lead in Detroit yesterday but he couldn’t hold the lead and manager Gardenhire was forced to pull Hendriks in the bottom of the fifth after he gave up a single, a walk, a double and a walk without retiring a batter.

Hendriks started four games in 2011 as a 22 year-old and eight games so far in 2012 and he is winless with a career mark of 0-7 and having given up 86 hits in 61.2 innings with a 6.71 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. Hendriks has pitched well in AAA Rochester but he can’t seem to transfer that success  to the big leagues.

No pitcher in team franchise history has started 12 games and not put up a “W” going back to 1901. Here are the pitchers that have had 5 or more career starts in a Twins uniform and have not been credited with a victory.

1. RHP Liam Hendriks signed as an amateur free agent in 2007 has pitched in 12 games, all starts for Minnesota in 2011 and 2012 and his record stands at 0-7.

2. RHP Terry Felton a Twins 2nd round pick in 1976 pitched for the Twins from 1979-1982 and appeared in 55 games with 10 starts and finished his big league career with a 0-16 record and 3 saves. Felton had a career ERA of 5.53 and a 1.52 WHIP. Felton never pitched in the big leagues again.

3. LHP Bryan Oelkers was the Twins first round pick (4th over all) in 1982 and he pitched in 10 games, starting 8 for the Twins in 1983 and he put up an 0-5 record to go with his 8.65 ERA and his 2.13 WHIP. Oelkers was eventually traded to Cleveland where he won 3 games.

4. RHP Greg W. Harris was signed by the Twins as a free agent in April of 1995 after 7 big league seasons in San Diego and Colorado and he pitched in 7 games for Minnesota with 6 starts. The Twins released him in August after Harris went 0-5 with a 8.82 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. Harris never pitched in the big leagues again.

5. RHP Shane Bowers was the Twins 21st round pick in 1993 and he pitched in Minnesota in 1997 starting all 5 games that he pitched in and posting an 0-3 record with a 8.05 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. Bowers never threw another inning in the big leagues.

6. LHP Brad Thomas was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1997 after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Thomas pitched for the Twins in 2001 and 2003-2004 pitching in 11 games, starting 5 and posting an 0-3 record with a 9.89 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP. Thomas went on to pitch for the Tigers in 2010-2011 and went 6-3 there.