Tag: Los Angeles Dodgers

According to Elias

Quintana joins Sale to form big-strikeout duo for Sox

Jose Quintana struck out 13 Minnesota Twins in seven innings of the White Sox’ 5-1 victory in the first game of their doubleheader in Chicago. Quintana is the second left-handed pitcher this season to strike out 13 batters in a game for the Southsiders; Chris Sale fanned 13 Tigers on August 30. Only three other teams in the modern era (since 1900) have had two different southpaws record 13+ strikeouts in a game: The 1959 Dodgers (Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres), 1969 Tigers (Mickey Lolich and Mike Kilkenny), and 1971 Tigers (Lolich and Les Cain).

Jose Quintana is the second White Sox pitcher in 2014 to strike out at least a dozen Twins in a game. Chris Sale recorded 12 strikeouts at Target Field on July 26. It’s the third time that two different White Sox pitchers have registered a 12-strikeout game versus the same opponent in the same year. In 1954, Billy Pierce and Jack Harshman both struck out a dozen Tigers in a game. And in 1961, Pierce and Juan Pizarro each put up 12+ Ks in a game versus the Orioles.

A record-tying strikeout performance for Minnesota, Chicago

Twins and White Sox pitchers combined to strike out 45 batters in their doubleheader yesterday. That tied the modern major-league record for combined strikeouts by two teams over two nine-inning games in a day. Rockies and Marlins hurlers also fanned 45 in two games on August 16, 2009.

Twins hodgepodge

Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer

Seems to be some validity to the complaining that the Twins best paid player Joe Mauer isn’t hitting with runners on base. Joe Mauer had the go-ahead single in the ninth inning for Minnesota on Monday, after he entered the game hitting .171 (7 for 41) in Late Inning Pressure Situations. Over the past six seasons (2008-2013), Mauer hit .339 in LIPS, the highest in the major leagues among players with at least 100 plate appearances.

The Ft. Myers Miracle the Twins High-A team is now calling JetBlue Park their new home for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs as Hammond Stadium undergoes the second phase of their two-year remodeling effort. It will be interesting to see what Hammond Stadium will look like next spring.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels the Twins Low-A club and the Minnesota Twins extended their player-development contract (PDC) through the 2020 season. Another nail in the coffin for those that had hopes of St. Paul landing a Twins minor league affiliation in their new ballpark that is being built.

Minneapolis provided MLB with free rent and discounted services for the All-Star FanFest at the Minneapolis Convention Center when the Twins hosted the 2014 All-Star game.

Ron Davis - Twins pitcher from 1982 - 1986 (courtesy of the Minnesota Twins)
Ron Davis – Twins pitcher from 1982 – 1986 (courtesy of the Minnesota Twins)

Twenty eight years ago today the Twins traded closer Ron Davis along with minor league pitcher Dewayne Coleman to the Chicago Cubs for relievers George Frazier and Ray Fontenot and shortstop Julius McDougal. Davis was the Twins closer from 1982 until he was traded in 1986. Davis saved 108 games for the Twins but it was the games that he didn’t save that made Davis one of the biggest villans in Twins history. Here is a piece about Davis in the LA Times. The Twinstrivia  interview with Ron Davis can be found here.

In the last three weeks Terry Ryan and Rob Antony have been busy house-cleaning and they have cut about $8 million from the Twins payroll. First the Twins traded DH/1B Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners for RHP Stephen Pryor. Then they traded outfielder Sam Fuld to the Oakland A’s for LHP Tommy Milone. Then RHP Kevin Correia was sent out to La La land where he will pitch for the Dodgers and the Twins will receive a PTBNL or cash. Their latest trade has outfielder/DH Josh Willingham headed south to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league RHP Jason Adam. Here is what a KC blog site called Cover the Bases had to say about the deal. Are there still more trades on the horizon? You never know but if I was Jared Burton  I might not be too quick to send out my clothes to the dry cleaners. Joe Mauer is now the oldest position player on the team, Wow!

Jim Merritt
Jim Merritt

A lot is being made of King Felix Hernandez and his run of history making starts this season where he has pitched seven innings or more and allowed two runs or fewer. There is even talk of him as a serious MVP candidate. Have any Twins pitchers had a nice run like that? Turns out that Jim Merritt had 11 games in a row back in 1967. This is actually a pretty amazing run by Hernandez, since 1961 there have only been 10 pitchers that have had a streak of 10 games or more that fit this criteria. Check out the list, there are some pretty good pitchers here.

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 Streaks of seven innings pitched and two or fewer runs allowed since 1961

Rk Name Strk Start End Games W L GS CG SHO IP H R BB SO HR ERA Tm
1 Felix Hernandez 2014-05-18 2014-08-11 16 9 2 16 0 0 121.0 69 20 20 134 4 1.41 SEA
2 Tom Seaver 1971-07-17 1971-09-16 13 8 3 13 10 2 114.1 72 15 25 114 5 0.94 NYM
3 Mike Scott 1986-05-17 1986-07-07 12 6 3 12 2 1 96.1 58 16 19 99 4 1.40 HOU
4 Dwight Gooden 1985-09-06 1986-05-06 12 9 0 12 7 4 105.0 63 10 21 88 2 0.69 NYM
5 Gaylord Perry 1974-04-23 1974-06-12 11 10 0 11 10 2 98.1 56 14 35 61 3 0.92 CLE
6 Larry Dierker 1969-08-03 1969-09-17 11 7 2 11 6 1 94.2 50 14 16 79 5 1.33 HOU
7 Bob Gibson 1968-06-06 1968-07-30 11 11 0 11 11 8 99.0 56 3 13 83 0 0.27 STL
8 Jim Merritt 1967-06-25 1967-08-13 11 5 3 11 4 1 94.0 70 16 6 59 4 1.53 MIN
9 Johnny Cueto 2013-09-23 2014-05-15 10 4 2 10 3 2 79.0 36 12 21 81 8 1.25 CIN
10 Don Sutton 1976-08-10 1976-09-27 10 9 0 10 7 2 90.2 53 9 18 54 5 0.89 LAD
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/13/2014.

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Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson

Take a moment to check out Bob Gibson‘s numbers in the table above, they are absolutely incredible. His streak was 11 games long, his record was 11-0 and he had 11 complete games with 8 shutouts and a total of three runs allowed. No wonder Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said that Gibson was the luckiest pitcher ever, he only pitched when the other team was not hitting.

The Minnesota Twins are still on track to have over 2.3 million fans at Target Field this summer. I think as the cooler weather approaches, the state fair gets in full swing and school begins, the attendance will fall off and the Twins will be around the 2 million mark but that is still an amazing mark for a team that has played as badly as the Twins have for the last four years.

So what about Ron Gardenhire and his staff? I think they are history within a week of the season ending. Who will be the Twins new skipper, it won’t be anyone currently associated with the Minnesota Twins today. Who would I like it to be? I think the Twins should swing a deal with the Marlins and bring Mike Redmond in as the Twins manager in 2015. The man had done well with the players he has been given. Will it happen? Nooooooo

How rare is 4 XBH in a game?

In yesterday’s Minnesota Twins 6-5 loss to the New York Yankees at Target Field Yankee second baseman Brian Roberts went four for five with four extra base (three doubles and a triple) hits.

You don’t see that too often so it was time for me to see how often this feat has been done by a Twins player in a 9 inning game. Come to find out it has been done only six times by the Twins and the only player to do it twice was the late great Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.

Puckett 1987 Topps

Rk Player Date Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR XBH RBI Pos Summary
1 Michael Cuddyer 2005-09-21 OAK W 10-4 5 4 2 4 3 0 1 4 4 RF
2 Corey Koskie 2001-07-12 MIL W 13-5 5 5 3 4 2 0 2 4 3 3B
3 Rich Becker 1996-07-13 CLE L 11-19 6 6 3 4 1 1 2 4 6 CF
4 Kirby Puckett 1989-05-13 TOR W 10-8 5 5 1 4 4 0 0 4 3 CF
5 Kirby Puckett 1987-08-30 MIL W 10-6 6 6 4 6 2 0 2 4 4 CF
6 Cesar Tovar 1967-05-21 CAL W 12-3 6 6 3 4 2 0 2 4 4 2B CF
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/5/2014.

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The most XBH in a regulation nine inning game since 1961 stands at five. The players that accomplished this were Josh Hamilton (TEX) with four HR and a 2B in 2012, Shawn Green (LAD) with four HR and a 2B in 2002, Steve Garvey (LAD) with three 2B and 2 HR in 1977 and Willie Stargell (PIT) with three 2B and 2 HR in 1970. Catcher Kelly Shoppach (CLE) also had three doubles and a 2 HR in 2008 but it was in a 13 extra-inning game. As far as I can tell, no player has ever had more than five XBH in a game going back to 1914.

Former Twins pitcher Bobby Castillo passes away

Bobby Castillo who pitched for the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers died on June 30th in a Los Angeles hospital after a battle with cancer. The 5’10” right-handed pitching Castillo was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in round 6 of the Jaanuary 1974 amateur draft. The Los Angeles Dodgers purchased Castillo from the Royals in June of 1977 and Castillo pitched for the Dodgers from 1977-1981 posting a 13-14 record with a 3.42 ERA in 138 games primarily in relief.

Bobby CastilloThe Twins acquired Castillo along with outfielder Bobby Mitchell from the Dodgers in a January 1982 trade for pitcher Paul Voigt and utility man Scotti Madison. The Twins turned Castillo into a starter in 1982 and the man who had never pitched more than 99 innings in a season for the Dodgers had a career season going 13-11 with 3.66 ERA in 25 starts. Castillo also pitched 15 games in relief and when the Twins dismal 60-102 season finally ended, Castillo had pitched 218.2 innings. In 1983 Castillo was 8-12 in 25 starts with a 4.77 ERA and in 1984 he pitched sparingly for the Twins mostly in relief (just 10 games) and had a 2-1 record with a 1.78 ERA. Castillo became a free agent after the 1984 season and resigned with the Dodgers where he pitched his final big league season in 1985. Castillo, who attended Lincoln High School, finished with a career record of 38-40 with a 3.94 ERA in 250 games, making 59 starts. He pitched for LA in the 1981 National League Championship Series, the World Series that same year and the 1985 NLCS. After his big league career had ended, Castillo pitched for the Monterrey Sultanes and the Mexican League in 1986 and the Chunichi Dragons in the Japanese Central League in 1987.

Castillo, also affectionately known as “Babo,” has often been credited with teaching former Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela his infamous screwball. “I was very saddened to hear about Bobby’s passing this morning,” Castillo’s former teammate Fernando Valenzuela said.”“He was a great teammate and friend. I’ll always be grateful for his influence on my pitching. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”

Castillo has been dedicated member of the Dodger organization since his retirement, participating in events including hospital visits, autograph signings and kids holiday parties and baseball clinics.

He is survived by his mother, Nellie, daughters, Mellanie and Sara, son-in-law, Andrew Sanchez, son Robert III, and his sister, Lorraine, and her husband, Peter Gonzalez. Castillo had three nieces and nephews, nine grand nieces and nephews and two grandchildren, Jackson and Lila.

Bobby Castillo is the 65th former Minnesota Twins player to pass away. RIP Mr. Castillo and thank you for the memories!

It makes me wonder

 

Eddie Rosario
Eddie Rosario

What the heck was Eddie Rosario thinking after failing his first test and then doing whatever he did to fail a second test? The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced yesterday that Minnesota Twins Minor League second baseman Eddie Rosario has received a 50-game suspension without pay after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Rosario is one of the Twins top prospects and has a bright future in baseball and he does something like this just before possible making his major league debut with Minnesota in 2014? I know that youngsters make mistakes and I sure hope that this one wakes Rosario up and gets him thinking straight again.”It’s disappointing, but now he has to pay the consequences and be accountable,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. “Losing 50 games, that’s a huge setback. That’s a lot of development time, a lot of learning that he’ll miss. It sets back his progression [toward] going up to the big leagues. But young people make mistakes, and hopefully he learns from it.”

What the Minnesota Twins TV contract pays them and what is the length of the contract? According to recent reports the Philadelphia Phillies’ new deal with Comcast SportsNet is for 25 years, and the contract is worth $2.5 billion in addition to an equity stake and ad revenue. The rights fee will be paid out on a schedule that increases about 3 to 4% per year, averaging out to $100MM per season over the 25-year term. An average of $100MM per season? That is a good start on your annual payroll.

Lucrative television contracts for Major League Baseball teams are not new. The New York Yankees signed a 12-year, $486 million deal with the Madison Square Garden Network in 1988, a deal that propelled them to an improved financial situation. While teams were trying to improve finances through the“stadium boom”of the 199s and early 2000s, the Yankees were again striking gold with television money. They formed their own network in 2002, and immediately began reaping the benefits. The Yankees received an estimated $85 million per year from YES beginning with the 2013 season, a figure that could pay off 41 percent of their projected payroll of $207 million before selling a single ticket, hot dog or jersey. Prior to the 2010 season, the Texas Rangers signed a deal with Fox Sports Southwest worth $80 million per year. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim raised the bar for television contracts in December of 2011 when they reached a $3 billion, 20-year deal with Fox Sports. None, however, can come close to the level of the deal struck between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports late in 202. The deal will pay out an unprecedented $6-$7 billion over the next 25 years. That translates to $240-$280 million in revenue per year. But not all teams are on the same pay scale, the St. Louis Cardinals for example are stuck with a deal that pays out a paltry $14 million per year and does not expire until 2017. A number of small-market teams are locked into similar deals for under $20 million per year including the Florida Marlins ($18 million per year) and Pittsburgh Pirates ($18 million) that will certainly affect budgets for re-signing players and making bids on free agents.

Terry Ryan (courtesy of SI.com)
Terry Ryan (courtesy of SI.com)

If GM Terry Ryan is done tinkering with the Twins line-up. This off-season Ryan has stated repeatedly that the Twins needed starting pitching but that the Twins offense also needs help. Only the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox scored fewer runs in the AL then the Twins sad total of 614. The Red Sox led the AL in runs scored with 853, that is a difference of 239 runs or 1.48 runs per game when compared to the Twins. I sure hope that Ryan doesn’t think that bringing back Jason Kubel on a minor league make good deal solves that problem. At this time the Twins payroll sits around $70 million with 3 arbitration eligible players in Brian Duensing, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Swarzak that will probably get a total of $7 million or $8 million between them. After that most of the rest of the roster will not get much above league minimum so my guess is that the Twins will start the 2014 season with a payroll of about $85-$88 million, a jump of about $10-$13 million from the 2013 open day payroll. I was hoping for better coming off three miserable seasons in a row. I know that money does not buy you a pennant or happiness for that matter but I also know that you get what you pay for in the long run.

Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier

Why does 2B Brian Dozier get so little respect. Numerous fantasy baseball prognosticators have Dozier rated as one of MLB worst second baseman, rating him in the bottom 33% in all of baseball. I know he only hit .244 but he hit 18 home runs, scored 72 times, knocked in 66 runs and stole 16 bases. I know that fantasy baseball does not take defense into consideration and Dozier did pretty well with his glove but those are some pretty decent numbers for a middle infielder in spite of the low average. The Twins don’t seem to be doing anything to promote Dozier as an up and coming player either and you often hear that Rosario is the 2B of the future. Sometimes we just don’t appreciate what we have and keep thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. I say that Dozier will be better than you think and will become a leader on this Twins team that has no face to it.

Why shortstop Stephen Drew is still unsigned on the free agent market. I would love to see the Twins open their wallet and sign the 30-year-old Drew to a three-year deal for say $25 million. That is not cheap but I don’t see any shortstops in the Twins minor league system that are ready for the big leagues either.

Miguel Sano
Miguel Sano

What the date will be when Trevor Plouffe becomes Miguel Sano‘s caddie. Although I think that Miguel Sano will start the season in AAA Rochester, I see him in Minnesota as the Twins stating 3B before Memorial Day. I for one can’t wait to see Sano in Minnesota and Plouffe on the bench or with another team.

Just a few thoughts on a cold winter day in Minnesota when the high temperature today will stay below zero and the high temperature for tomorrow is predicted to be a -15 degrees. Holy Cow! I can’t wait to get down to Ft. Myers and catch some spring training action.

Not official but reports are that Ricky Nolasco is a Twin

Ricky NolascoThere have been reports circulating since Wednesday afternoon that the Twins and right-handed pitcher Carlos Enrique “Ricky” Nolasco have agreed on a four-year deal for $48 million deal that supposedly also has an option $13 million for a fifth season based on innings pitched in 2016-2017 or the Twins can buy out Nolasco after four years for $1 million. The financial specifics of this deal are not clear as yet and the Twins have had no comment on the reported signing. Regardless of how the final contract numbers come out, this is by far the most the Twins have ever paid a free agent to play in Minnesota.

The soon to be 31 year-old (December 31) Nolasco was a fourth round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2001 and worked his way up the Cubs chain before being traded to he Florida Marlins in a December 2005 trade for Juan Pierre. Nolasco debuted with the Marlins in 2006 and put up a 11-11 record in 22 starts. An arm injury limited to Nolasco to just four starts in 2007 but since then Nolasco has stayed relatively healthy and has had 26 or more starts each season for the Marlins until they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers this past July.

Nolasco reportedly throws six pitches: a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a splitter, a slider, a curveball along with a slow curveball. The 6’2″ 220 pounder apparently is not afraid to pitch inside as he hit 10 batters this past season and eight the year before. His consistency and experience should help the Twins pitching staff immensely. Nolasco has always worn the number 47 and that number was last worn by none other than Francisco Liriano. Kudos to the Twins organization for this addition.

Hopefully Terry Ryan has not yet put his checkbook into his back pocket and is still looking to add another starting pitcher through hook or crook and if I were to venture a guess I think it might come through a trade. One thing I hope the Twins do not do is spend money on the over-rated free agent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. For most of his career Salty was known for his hitting and his catching skills left a lot to be desired, not that he is a free agent all of a sudden he is reported to have good catching skills, I haven’t seen them. The Twins don’t need another catcher that can’t catch.

UPDATE December 3 – The Twins made it official today when they announced that they have signed free agent right-handed pitcher Ricky Nolasco to a four-year contract with a club option that could vest in 2018. Nolasco will earn a guaranteed $12 million salary in each year of the contract (2014-2017). There is a clause that states that if Nolasco pitches 400 innings between 2016 and 2017 he will earn another $13 million for 2018.

2013 MLB award winners according to Twins Trivia

At the conclusion of every season the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) are asked to submit their ballots for the top awards across baseball. Each of these awards is named in honor of a player that epitomized a similar role in Major League Baseball. When the BBA voting is completed, I will post the official announcements from the BBA.

 

Connie Mack Award (Top Manager) in the AL

Boston Red Sox Photo DayMy vote goes to John Farrell for leading the Boston Red Sox to the AL East title with a 97-65 record after the team finished dead last in that division in 2012 with 93 losses. An improvement of 28 games.

My second place vote goes to Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona for taking his team from 68 wins in 2012 to 92 wins in 2013 and finishing just one game behind the division winning Detroit Tigers.

My bronze vote goes to Oakland A’s skipper Bob Melvin. Nobody does more with less than Oakland does.

Connie Mack Award (Top Manager) in the NL

Clint Hurdle Easy choice for me here, Clint Hurdle leads the Pittsburgh Pirates to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years with 94 wins after finishing 79-83 in 2012. He is my NL Manager of the Year.

Second place vote stays in the same division with St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny right on Hurdle’s heels in this race after taking the division title over the second place Pirates.

The bronze vote might be a surprise to some but I am giving it to Florida Marlins skipper Mike Redmond for leading that motley crew to 62 wins. That is an amazing achievement!

 

Willie Mays Award (Top Rookie) in the AL

Wil MyersMy AL Rookie of the Year is outfielder Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays. This mid June call-up sparked the Rays offense and put up some very good numbers for roughly half a seasons work. Although he struck out 91 times, he did hit 13 home runs and had a .354 OBP.

My ROY runner-up is also with Tampa Bay, RHP Chris Archer. The 25-year-old Archer had a 9-7 record with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 128+ innings.

The third place vote goes to another outfielder, J.B. Shuck of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I am not sure his potential is as good as some other rookies since he is already 26 but never the less he had a good rookie season getting more at bats than any other AL rookie.

Willie Mays Award (Top Rookie) in the NL

Jose FernandezMy NL Rookie of the Year is Florida Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez. The 2011 first round pick (14th overall) went an astounding 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP in 172+ innings for a team that lost 100 games. A true Ace for years to come if he can stay healthy. I know he only plays every fifth day but what a pitcher he is.

My runner-up choice for the NL ROY is Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. The 22-year-old Cuban was called up in early June and took the league by storm by putting up a .925 OPS. He did strikeout 97 times but that is nitpicking.

The third place vote goes to power hitting 2B Jedd Gyorko of the San Diego Padres. Gyorko hit 23 home runs and knocked in 63 while hitting for a .249 average. I would expect Gyorko to cut down on his strikeouts and improve his average as his average in the minors was .301.

Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever) in the AL

Greg HollandThe top closer award in the AL this year goes Greg Holland of the Kansas City Royals. Holland had 47 saves in 50 chances with a 1.21 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. In 67 innings he struck out 103 while batters hit him at a .170 clip.

The runner-up this year is Joe Nathan of the Texas Rangers who had 43 saves in 46 chances. Batters hit only .162 and he posted an ERA of 1.39 and a 0.90 WHIP.

Mariano Rivera is third this year in his final season as he awaits induction into the Hall of Fame as the greatest closer in MLB history. The 43-year-old Rivera had 44 saves while putting up a 2.11 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP.

Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever) in the NL

Craig KimbrelThe top closer in the NL is an easy choice, just say Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and you said it all. The man is a machine, a league leading 50 saves in 54 chances with a 1.21 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP in 67 innings with 98 strikeouts. Batting average against was .166

The silver goes to Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman. In 63+ innings Chapman had 38 saves while striking out 112 and kept opposing batters to a .164 average. ERA was 2.54 and WHIP was 1.04.

I will give my third place vote to San Francisco Giants closer Sergio Romo who put 38 saves on the board to go along with his 2.54 ERA and his 1.08 WHIP.

 

Walter Johnson Award (Top Pitcher) in the AL

Max ScherzerMy AL  top pitcher award goes to the Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer who went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP with 240 strikeouts in 217+ innings. Opposing batters hit a measly .198 off him this season.

Second place vote goes to Seattle Mariners  pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma who managed to post a 14-6 record with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP for a team that won 67 games. Iwakuma threw 219+ innings and held opposing hitters to a .220 average while striking out 185.

My third place vote goes to Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish who threw 209+ innings and struck out 277 batters while holding opposing batters to a .194 average. Darvish had a slick 2.83 ERA to go along with a 1.07 WHIP.

 Walter Johnson Award (Top Pitcher) in the NL

Clayton KershawMy vote for the best pitcher in the NL goes to Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw who posted a 16-9 record with a league leading 1.83 ERA and a league leading 0.92 WHIP. For good measure he led the league in KO’s with 232 in 236 innings. The league managed to hit him at a .195 pace.

My second place vote goes Florida Marlins HP Jose Fernandez who in just his third year of pro ball goes 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA for a 62-100 team.

My third place vote goes to the big right hander from St. Louis, Adam Wainwright. Wainwright was 19-9 with a 2.94 ERA with starting a league leading 34 games and throwing a league leading 241.2 innings.

Stan Musial Award (Top Player) in the AL

Miguel CabreraOnce again this year my vote for the top player in the AL goes to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. I am not going to list a bunch of his stats here, if you want to see them just look them up. The 2012 Triple Crown winner won his third straight batting title in 2013 and finished second in home run and RBI’s. Cabrera has played for 11 years in the big leagues and is just 30 years old….

The runner-up again is the LA Angels outfielder Mike Trout. If there was no Cabrera in the AL this guy might be the winner two years running.

The third place vote goes to the surprising Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles who had a league leading 54 home runs and 138 RBI. An amazing season for a guy that only hit more than 21 home runs once and had 60 or more RBI just once.

Stan Musial Award (Top Player) in the NL

Paul GoldschmidtAlthough it was a tight race, the top player in the NL in 2013 should be Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Playing for a .500 team this first sacker appeared in 160 games hitting at a .302 clip while finishing first in RBI with 125, tied for first in home runs with 36 and scored 103 runs, good for third most in the NL.

Finishing a close second is outfielder Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although this talented player led his team to the playoffs for the first time in many years, he did not lead the NL in any of the hitting categories,

The third place vote goes to Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman. The 24-year-old had a very nice season with 23 home runs, 109 RBI and a .319 batting average.

 

There you have, the Twin Trivia 2013 MLB award winners. Congratulations to all the winners.

Thoughts on the Gardenhire extension and other things

Ron Gardenhire
Ron Gardenhire

Two days have past since Terry Ryan and the Twins announced that they have extended manager Ron Gardenhire‘s contract by two years and the sky has not fallen as yet. I was in favor of Gardenhire being kept on as the Twins skipper but I had the perception that I was in the minority based on what I was reading in numerous Twins blogs, the  local papers and what I was hearing on all the sports talks shows that allowed fans to call in and state their views. Now I am not so sure that fans are all that upset with Gardy staying on. I am curious why. Are Twins fans really happy with the extension or are Twins fans just apathetic about anything the Twins are doing now days? I would hate to see that Twins fans are getting indifferent to the home team and see no hope.

I am an old-timer so I can remember back to the 60’s when the Twins first called Minnesota home. The Twins won 102 games in 1965 and went on to lose the World Series in 7 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers and then followed it up with 89 wins and a second place finish in 1966. On June 9th of 1967 owner Calvin Griffith grew impatient with skipper Sam Mele and fired him bringing in Cal Ermer to take over the manager’s job and Ermer managed the Twins in one of the greatest AL pennant races ever only to lose out to the Boston Red Sox by losing their final two games in Beantown. The Twins had a down year in 1968 going 79-83 and Calvin fired Ermer for his efforts. Griffith then hired Billy Martin to bring the Twins back from the previous seasons seventh place finish and Martin did just that by leading the Twins to a 97-75 record and a trip to the playoffs where they unfortunately had to play the Baltimore Orioles and lost the ALCS three games to none. Shortly after the playoff loss, owner Calvin Griffith fired Martin and started a firestorm of fans reactions. How do you fire a manager that won 97 games and took the team to the playoffs? There are many possible reasons why that happened but the point here is that the Twins fan base went crazy and many people including myself were very upset about seeing Martin let go. I was so upset about it that I didn’t attend a Twins game in Met Stadium for two years. I know, it was silly when I look back on it but Griffith really ticked me off, I really liked the feisty Billy Martin as the Twins manager. I guess the point I am making is that the Twins fans now days don’t seem to be as agitated about the Gardenhire extension as Twins fans were with the Martin firing back in 1969 even though the team fan base is much larger now then it was back then.

I can’t imagine anything better than to see Twins fans engaged and expressing their feelings both positive and negative to the Minnesota Twins organization. Negative comments about the Twins are not necassily a bad thing, it just shows that they care and are passionate about their team. We need to see more passion about what the Twins are doing or not doing by having more fans pass on their thoughts to the Twins organization. The Twins have done a lot of good things over the years and they have done a lot of bad things but one of the things I really think is wonderful about the Twins organization is that they allow their fans to communicate with the front office. All you have to do is go to the Twins web site, click on Roster, then on Front Office and you are able to send an e-mail to pretty much anyone in the organization. I have looked at a number of other big league teams and believe me, this is not something that many MLB teams do. I am not saying the Twins will do what you want, I am just saying that they are willing to listen to what you have to say. Don’t just gripe in the comments on blog sites, send an e-mail to the Twins and let them know what you think.

I watched the Twins press conference on TV Monday afternoon and was really taken back when owner Jim Pohlad was asked a question about the organizations loyalty and what he was going to do to improve the Twins. His response was – “I think everybody knows that we value consistency and loyalty,” Twins owner Jim Pohlad said. “We did go with a two-year extension because we’re pretty sure that somewhere in those two years we can get Gardy’s 1,000th victory.” Apparently Pohlad was trying to be funny here but I have to wonder if anyone else associated with the Twins had said in front of Pohlad if they would still be collecting a Twins paycheck today. Then again maybe it was just me that did not see the humor in it.

Another item I took away from the press conference was about the Twins coaching staff. GM Ryan stated that the entire coaching staff has been invited back I still have not heard officially that they have all accepted and will be returning. I can’t help but wonder what is going on there. Oh, the Twins did say they are considering adding a seventh coach, I am thinking they should spend their money on a player versus hiring another coach.

GM Terry Ryan
GM Terry Ryan

The Twins had a call to season ticket holders on Tuesday and apparently Terry Ryan said that everyone is available for trade, including Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. I know that when you lose 90+ games three years in a row you are not exactly loaded with untouchables but Sano and Buxton are two players you just can’t trade under any circumstances. Who could any team possibly offer the Twins that has that much potential and will be under team control for as long as these two will be? If the Twins were contenders and needed a missing piece or two I could maybe understand it but the Twins ar far from contending and giving up players like this would be the worst move the Twins could possibly make. Then there is Joe Mauer who is sitting on a no-trade clause and he isn’t going anywhere either. I know Terry Ryan has to say what he said about everyone being available but there is no way that Mauer, Buxton, or Sano are going anywhere. I have a better chance of being the Twins GM than Ryan does in trading Mauer, Buxton or Sano.

Today the Twins assigned pitchers Cole De Vries, Shairon Martis, Josh Roenicke and outfielder Clete Thomas to AAA Rochester leaving the 40 man roster at 36. There are numerous other players on the 40 man roster that could easily be taken off in the near future. So the moves have begun.

 

This Day in Twins History – September 20, 1965

A Catfish whips a Mudcat, at least on this day

Catfish Hunter
Catfish Hunter

Just 537 fans paid to watch the Kansas City A’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter beat Jim “Mudcat” Grant 8-2 at Met Stadium in a makeup game in a cool 52 degree drizzle. Don Mincher hits two home runs. It is the smallest paid crowd to ever watch the Twins play at home. B-R shows paid attendance of 547 but Twins media guide states 537.

Mudcat Grant
Mudcat Grant

The Twins were up by 9.5 games going into this game and would clinch the 1965 AL pennant just 6 days later. The team went on to win 102 games in 1965 the most in Twins history and yet the Twins would finish 1965 with an attendance of just 1,463,268 in 77 home dates for an average of 19,003 fans per game. The Twins played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Twins first ever World Series and lost 4 games to 3.

How do you get a nicknames like Mudcat and Catfish? Legend has it that this is how it came to be. Jim Grant was with the Indians and was the roommate of his boyhood idol Larry Doby when he first came to Cleveland, and Doby dubbed him “Mudcat”, saying that he was “ugly as a Mississippi mudcat”. The nickname stuck. As for Jim Hunter, it was in 1965 that the PR-conscious Athletics’ owner Charles O. Finley that gave Hunter the nickname “Catfish” in an effort to pique fan interest. A story circulated that Hunter’s family gave him the nickname as a child when he went missing and was later found with a string of catfish but there seems to be no truth to that story.

A little of this and a little of that

When I listened to the Twins radio broadcast of their game against the Astros on Sunday while waterproofing my deck I found it amusing that Dan Gladden and Cory Provus seemed to be making fun of the Astros high strikeout total this season. I guess they both forgot that the Twins batters are no slouches themselves when it comes to not making bat contact. As of this morning Astros batters have struck out 1,034 times in 110 games, that averages out to 9.4 KO’s per game. The White Sox follow with 925 strike outs, the Red Sox have 909 strike outs and the Twins are next with 902 strike outs for an average of 8.4 per game. Had Willingham not gotten injured and Hicks played a full season in Minnesota the Twins might put up a serious challenge to Houston. Even without Willingham and Hicks the Twins are on pace to strikeout 1,356 times this season and blow away their previous team strikeout record of 1,121 that the 68-94 Twins of 1997 set.

On the good news side we have the Twins grounding into a total of only 60 double plays, the fewest in the league. The Orioles have the next fewest with 68.

Although the Twins seldom hit into double plays, stealing bases is not one of their strength’s as they have pilfered just 36 bases, only the Tigers with 29 and the Mariners with 35 have less.

The Twins OBP this season is .312. The Tigers and the Red Sox at .345 have the best OBP and as you might guess the Astros .299 trail the pack. The league average is .320. The Twins best ever OBP was .357 in 1996 while a .299 OBP in 1968 is the lowest full season OBP in Twins history.

Opposing batters have found Twins pitchers to be their league favorites as they have compiled a .278 batting average against Minnesota’s chuckers. Oddly enough, Twins pitchers have only given up 102 long balls ranking second best in that category behind the 86 given up by the Tigers.

Drew Butera
Drew Butera

There was a lot of speculation leading into the July 31 trading deadline that a number of Twins would be calling a new zip code home. When the trading deadline passed the Twins had made only one trade and he wasn’t even on the Twins 25 man roster at the time when GM Terry Ryan sent catcher Drew Butera to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash. The non-waiver Major League trading deadline has been July 31st since the 1986 season. Apparently that date is not necessarily circled in red on the Twins calendar of things to do. As a matter of fact, between 2000-2013 no team has made fewer trades in July then the Twins have. In the past 14 July’s the Minnesota Twins have consummated 15 trades.

July trade activity by club from 2000-2013

39 – Pirates, Padres
37 – Red Sox
36 – Cubs
35 – Dodgers
31 – Yankees
29 – White Sox, Indians, Rockies
28 – Royals
27 – Reds, Giants
26 – Orioles, Astros, Mets, Rangers
25 – Phillies
24 – Mariners
23 – Diamondbacks, Braves
21 – Marlins, Brewers, Cardinals
20 – Nationals/Expos
17 – Tigers, A’s, Blue Jays
16 – Rays
15 – Twins, Angels

Back on July 15 the Twins sent Oswaldo Arcia, Eduardo Escobar and Chris Parmelee down to Rochester and the next day called up catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Doug Bernier. Herrmann has been with the Twins off and on but it was a long-awaited return to the big leagues for Bernier who saw action in just two games in a brief stay with the

Doug Bernier
Doug Bernier

Colorado Rockies back in 2008. Bernier has been in the minors since 2002 and has over a 1,000 minor league games under his belt. Though his primary position is shortstop, Bernier has played all over the diamond including pitching a couple of times but he has not ever squatted behind the plate. Bernier has spent time in the Yankee and Pirates organizations before hooking up with the Twins this past February. Todate Bernier has appeared in 10 games for the Twins and is hitting .261. It appears that the Twins will be letting Jamey Carroll go after this season or possibly trading him in a waiver deal this month and are auditioning for a new utility infielder. So far Bernier appears to be able to handle the role and I am sure he will be much cheaper than Carroll not to mention 6 years younger.

 

Andrew Albers
Andrew Albers

The Twins also recalled 27-year-old left-handed starter Andrew Albers from Rochester. Albers was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2008 but shortly thereafter injured his elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery missing all of 2009 and then was released by the Padres. Albers spent 2010 pitching in an independent league in Canada and showed enough promise to be signed by Minnesota prior to the 2011 season. This year Albers was 11-5 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in Rochester. Albers has pitched 132.1 innings this year in 22 starts allowing 124 hits while striking out 116. Albers is expected to make his major league debut against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. It will be interesting to see what Albers can do in the big leagues, he has not had an ERA over 3.75 on any team he has pitched for. Albers will be wearing number 63.

Manager Ron Gardenhire needs 20 more Twins victories in the remaining 54 games to reach the 1,000 win plateau as the Twins skipper. With his position at risk, it would be a real shame if Gardy can’t get those 20 wins. I hope he gets those wins and many more as the Twins manager.

 

 Twins Minor League Standings as of August 5

AAA Rochester is 63-54 and in 1st place

AA New Britain is 54-60 and in 5th place 16.5 games out

High A Fort Myers is 67-41 and won first half title but is currently in 4th place in the second half at 22-19 but only 1.5 games out

Low A Cedar Rapids is 67-43 and won the first half title and is leading the second half with a 27-15 record.

Rookie Elizabethton is 19-23 and in fourth place 8.5 games behind

Rookie GCL Twins are 19-19 and in third place 2 games behind

DSL Twins are 27-26 and in fourth place 7.5 games behind