The Minnesota Twins’ 2-1 victory over the Pirates on last night was their first win this season when they scored two or fewer runs. That leaves the Detroit Tigers as the only team in the major leagues that has not won a game in which it scored either one or two runs.
Tag: Pirates
A chat with former catcher Matt Walbeck
Matthew Lovick Walbeck was born on October 2, 1969 in Sacramento, California and grew up playing a variety of sports but baseball was his passion. Walbeck was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th round of the 1987 amateur free agent draft out of Sacramento High School as a catcher and signed his first pro contract just a few days later fulfilling a lifetime dream to play professional baseball. Matt worked his way up the Cubs minor league ladder playing and ended up making the Cubs big league club out of spring training in 1993 as the teams 3rd catcher. Walbeck stayed with the Cubs for about a month before being sent down to AAA Iowa where he spent most of 1993 before being called up to the big club again in September.
In November of 1993 Walbeck was traded by the Cubs to the Minnesota Twins along with pitcher Dave Stevens for the Twins 1987 first round pick (3rd overall) pitcher Willie Banks. Walbeck was the Twins primary catcher in the Twins strike shortened 1994 season but the highlight of Matt’s big league career occurred on April 27th at the Metrodome when Matt caught Scott Erickson’s no-hitter, a 6-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In 1995 Walbeck played in a career high of 115 games and hit for a .257 average. In spring training of 1996 Matt had a sore wrist and a couple of days before the season started, Walbeck was diagnosed with a broken Hamate bone and had to undergo surgery. The recovery from the surgery was slower than expected and Walbeck did not play his first game in 1996 until June 18th. Former Oakland A’s catcher and Minnesota native Terry Steinbach signed with the Twins as a free agent in December of 1996 and just a few days later Walbeck was traded to the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher Brian Stentz. Stentz as it turned out never appeared in a big league ball game. Walbeck ended his Twins career having played in Minnesota for 3 years. During his time in Minnesota, Walbeck better known for his catching skills then his bat, caught in 275 games and had 1,008 plate appearances in which he hit 8 home runs, knocked in 103, stole 7 bases and posted a .230 batting average.
Walbeck played for the Detroit Tigers in 1997 before being traded to the Anaheim Angels where he played from 1998-2000. Walbeck then played in the minors for the Reds and the Phillies getting only one big league at bat with the Phillies in 2001 before finishing his career in Detroit in 2002-2003 at the age of 33 and 11 years of big league baseball.
Immediately after ending his playing career, Matt move into a manager role in the Tigers system in 2004 and managed their A ball team to two championships between 2004 and 2006. Walbeck then moved up to manage in AA ball where he again took the team to the playoffs and was rewarded by getting the 3rd base coaching job for the Texas Rangers and manager Ron Washington in 2008. Walbeck was let go after one season and returned to managing in the Pirates system in 2009 and by 2010 he had led his team to yet another championship season and was named manager of the year in the Eastern League but was let go by the Pirates. In 2011 Walbeck took over as manager for the A ball Rome Braves in the Atlanta organization but the team played poorly and Walbeck was fired mid season for philosophical differences.
Since then, Matt has started the Walbeck Baseball Academy in Sacramento, California where he gets to work with youngsters and their parents teaching some life skills and baseball while spending time at home with his wife and 3 children. I think that Matt is enjoying his life at home right now but who knows what the future may hold for this former catcher and proven minor league winning manager if another big league opportunity should present itself. In his free time, Matt enjoys coaching his son’s baseball team, exercising and doing some fly fishing.
Want to know how and why Matt became a switch-hitter? You can listen to Matt tell you by clicking here. Be sure to check out our other interviews with former Twins players by going to the Interview Archives page, there are 36 different interviews you can check out.
Pirates 17 – Twins 6
I took the family out to their first Twins spring training game of the year out at Hammond Stadium today and it might be difficult to persuade them to go to another Minnesota Twins game this year after watching the Twins debacle against the Pirates. Terry Doyle started for the Twins and he lasted just 2/3 of an inning as the Pirates battered him for 8 earned runs on 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Doyle told reporters after the game “that he could not locate his fastball” but I can tell you that the Pittsburgh Pirates hitters had no problem locating Doyle’s fastball. Finally Gardy had no choice but to take Doyle out and bring in Anthony Swarzak who was treated rather rudely himself as he gave up two more runs. So, after 38 minutes and before the Twins could even pick up a bat, the score was 10 to zip for the Pirates and the Twins walked off the field to a smattering of applause for finally getting the Pirates out.
One game does not a season make, particularly if it is a spring training game in the middle of March but I spent the afternoon wondering if I was at Target Field and it was 2011 all over again. When the final score was posted about 3 1/2 hours later, the scoreboard said Pirates 17 and the Twins 6. The Pirates out hit Minnesota 19 to 11 and the Twins had 3 errors to the Pirates 1. You will have to believe me when I tell you that the Twins had several other plays that could have easily been called errors if not for the generosity of a home town scorekeeper. Outfielders continue to throw to the wrong bases and infielders either can’t make a decent throw to first or end up throwing wildly to first when they should just hold on to the ball. The play of Aaron Bates and Mike Hollimon at 1B was just plain embarrassing and the Twins should do all they can to ensure that Hollimon does not play 1B for his own safety and the safety of the opposing base runners until he learns to play the position. Only Perkins, Capps and Luis Perdomo escaped the carnage on the mound as Doyle, Swarzak, Dumatrait, and Wise were hit around pretty good as each gave up 3 or more runs. It sure looks like Doyle will be wearing a White Sox minor league uniform again soon. I know the score was already 17-6 but Luis Perdomo looked pretty good in the ninth striking out two Pirates and throwing his fastball between 92-94 and then hitting them with a change-ups in the 81-83 range.
Bottom line, the game was just brutal from a Twins perspective and the play of some of the Twins today should make it a lot easier for Gardenhire and Terry Ryan to make some roster decisions when it comes time to decide who will play in AA or AAA this year. Tomorrow is another day.
Did you know?
- In addition to heavily scouting Australia, the Minnesota Twins also have the biggest presence of any team in Europe, so it was no surprise when they landed Max Kepler-Rozycki for $800,000, the largest bonus ever given to a European.
- That Max Kepler-Rozycki is the son of two members of the German Ballet?
- Joe Benson was committed to play running back for Purdue before he signed with the Twins?
- Fort Myers has had more World Series-winning franchises train in it than any other city either in Florida or Arizona, Five franchises have won it all after training in Fort Myers in the spring: Athletics, Pirates, Royals, Twins, and Red Sox.
- Target Field’s footprint is only 8.5 acres large, the smallest in major league baseball but it covers a total of 10.5 acres when looked at from above because portions of it extend over surrounding roadways.
- That the Twins charge $10 for parking for a spring training game at Hammond Stadium? The Twins are tied with the Yankees, Phillies, and Rays for the highest parking rates while all the other teams in Florida range from free to $9.
- The pen Joe Mauer used to sign his eight-year, $184 million contract belongs to Joel Lepel, the minor league field coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. Lepel was born and raised in Plato, Minn., and has worked for the Twins for 23 years, mostly as a scout. All of the amateur players he has signed, including Mauer, have used the same pen.
- That one time Twins player Andy Kosco replaced Mickey Mantle at 1B in Mick’s final game on September 28, 1968.
- Former Twins catcher Earl Battey who was not known for his speed was a star basketball player in high school and was offered a contract to play for the Harlem Globetrotters but he decided to play pro baseball instead.
- Former Twins infielder and now the Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington replaced Cal Ripken as the Orioles shortstop in the eighth inning of a Sept 14, 1987 game ending Cal Ripken’s record consecutive-innings streak of 8,243, spanning 904 games.
How the Morneau situation looks to me
As of today there was no sign of former MVP Justin Morneau at the Twins complex. Without Justin Morneau playing like he did between 2006 and 2009 the Minnesota Twins have no chance. None, nada, zippo, sure Joe Mauer can come back but without the play at first base and the power that Justin Morneau generates when healthy, Twins fans might as well prepare for a long season. Here is my take on what I see happening right now and keep in mind that I have nothing to base my opinion on here except what I see and hear taking place in Fort Myers right now. I have no inside information, I have heard no rumors, nothing, just my gut feel speaking here. I hope I am wrong and I know I am a “glass half-empty kind of guy” but it sure does not look good to me.
- Let’s start with what I think are facts we do know and can all agree on. Justin has had a habit when he was healthy of being an early training camp arrival earlier in his career but with his recent string of injuries starting in 2010, that has not been the case.
- The Twins have stated that Morneau is making good progress but has not been cleared by MLB to resume baseball activities, something that team GM Terry Ryan says will be rectified soon.
- At no point during this past off-season have I heard Morneau say in any interview that he is ready to play in 2012, all I have heard from him is that he is feeling better than he did last spring, that he feels he is making progress and that he is working hard to prepare for 2012.
I think that the Twins are between a rock and a hard spot, Morneau keeps telling them he hopes to be ready to play so the team does not want to display a lack of faith in Justin and possibly also waste salary dollars signing a free agent first baseman if Morneau is indeed ready to go. With season ticket renewal already down due to the teams bad play in 2011, the Twins surely do not want to make a public statement before their 2012 season tickets even go on sale that Justin Morneau will not be the Twins starting first baseman on opening day. If Morneau was indeed healthy, he would have been in Fort Myers a week ago or more, taking part in early drills with his teammates after a disastrous 63-99 season in 2011. A healthy player coming off a serious injury like Morneau is, wants his teammates and his fans to know he is back and 100% healthy.
We will all know a lot more about Justin Morneau’s real status over the next 7-10 days when we see how Morneau performs during spring drills and if he plays in the early exhibition games. My best guess is that Morneau is not ready to play and will not be in the near future and will start the 2012 season on the DL. I only hope we have not seen Morneau’s last big league ball game, but that is a totally different story. I think the Twins will first check out former Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Steve Pearce to see if he can handle the job since he is a natural first baseman. Sure the Twins could try to play Ryan Doumit there but he has no experience to speak of and Gardy has already christened him as the season opening DH. If Pearce can’t do the job than the Twins basically have no choice but to hand the job over to Chris Parmelee who they would dearly love to get more AAA time in Rochester. Luke Hughes is a possibility too but he hurt his shoulder in winter ball in Australia and is not doing any serous work in camp so far. Reports have it that Hughes had a cortisone shot on Wednesday but he still will not be able to workout until this week-end at the earliest so he starts out behind the eight-ball himself. The Twins also have 27 year-old Aaron Bates who has 5 games of major league experience but there is a reason why at 27 he has 5 big league games under his belt. The Twins no longer have Michael Cuddyer to come to the rescue and play first base. Sure the Twins could ask Joe Mauer to move to first full-time but Mauer would not do that on a full-time basis, he wants to catch. So you see, the Twins options are limited. GM Terry Ryan and manager Ron Gardenhire must go to bed each night praying for a miracle and that miracle is that Justin Morneau can not only come back to play first base but that he can play like he did before 2010. A miracle is described as: an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. Yep, that is what we need!
This Day in Twins History – January 5, 2011
Roberto Alomar, a 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winning second baseman, and Bert Blyleven, a 287-game winning pitcher who ranks fifth on the all-time strikeout list, were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Blyleven, who garnered 79.7% of the votes, pitched in 22 seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and California Angels and compiled a 287-250 record with a 3.31 ERA, 242 complete games, 60 shutouts and 3,701 strikeouts in 4,969 1/3 innings. The right-hander pitched a no-hitter on Sept. 22, 1977 for the Rangers against the Angels and shares the AL single-game record for the longest one-hit complete game of 10 innings June 21, 1976. He, too, was a key part of two World Series champions, the 1979 Pirates and the 1987 Twins.
How well did Twins rookies perform in 2011
The Twins finished the 2011 season with a 63-99 mark and lots of folks including the Twins management blamed the clubs poor finish or at least a big part of it on injuries and that is difficult to argue as the team used the DL list 27 times. The Twins often brought up rookies to fill these openings. How did these rookies perform?
This past season the Twins led all of baseball in games played by rookies with 493, followed by the Mets with 442 and the Mariners with 403. On the other end of the spectrum the rookies only played in 57 Brewers and 73 Rangers games and you know where these teams finished. If you look at rookie plate appearances, the Twins postion playing rookies had 1,805, way ahead of the team closest to them, the Mariners who sent 1,484 rookie batters to home plate. These Twins position rookies ranked in the middle of the pack in base on balls percentage at 6.9%, ranked seventh best in strikeout percentage at 18.2%, were in the middle of the pack with a .245 batting average, and if you look at WAR, the Twins number was 1.0 with the Nationals the highest at 5.8 and the Rockies the lowest at -1.6 .
Looking at the Twins rookie pitchers as compared to all of baseball , the team used fewer rookies there than most teams did this past season. Twins rookie pitchers appeared in 124 games putting them 11 fewest and Twins rookies threw 169.2 innings, only the rookie pitchers for the Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, Giants and Red Sox threw fewer innings. These Twins rookies finished with a 5-14 record with a BB/9 of 4.03 and 5.36 K/9, hardly something to shout about. On the other end of things, rookies threw 545.1 innings for the Royals, 527.1 for the Astros, 489 for the Mariners, and 426 for the Braves. These same Twins rookie pitchers posted an ERA of 5.15 trailing only the Giants at 6.40 and the 6.10 Red Sox. The Twins rookie pitchers did not pitch a lot but when they did pitch, they pitched poorly.
I took a look at the Twins rookies as compared to the rest of the American League rookies over the last 10 years and where the team finished and here is what I found.
| Year | Rookie plate appearances | AL rank | Rookie innings pitched | AL rank | Division finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,805 | 1 | 169.2 | 13 | 5th |
| 2010 | 631 | 7 | 88 | 12 | 1st |
| 2009 | 368 | 11 | 306.1 | 8 | 1st |
| 2008 | 1,512 | 2 | 491.2 | 2 | 2nd |
| 2007 | 520 | 8 | 222.1 | 9 | 3rd |
| 2006 | 305 | 10 | 376.1 | 7 | 1st |
| 2005 | 1,238 | 2 | 246 | 6 | 3rd |
| 2004 | 1,519 | 1 | 95.1 | 12 | 1st |
| 2003 | 426 | 9 | 130.1 | 10 | 1st |
| 2002 | 962 | 4 | 201 | 9 | 1st |
| AVG | 928.6 | 5.5 | 232.7 | 8.8 | 1.9 |
I am not sure you can reach any definitive conclusions from these numbers like rookies = trouble but they are still fun to look at. For example, the Twins finished last in 2011 when their rookie position players had more plate appearances than anyone but you compare that with 2004 when their rookie position players again led the league in PA’s but the team finished first.
But one thing that you can take away from this is that Gardy and pitching coach Rick Anderson are not big fans of young rookie pitchers based on the fact that the Twins rookie pitchers have been consisently in the bottom half of the division in innings pitched each year averaging just 232.7 innings and a ranking 9th of 14 teams. Twins rookie pitchers have only finished in the upper half of league innings pitched 3 three times in 10 seasons.
Twins sign Towles and Pearce to minor league deals
I don’t usually spend a lot of time blogging about Twins minor league free agent signings because most of the time these players are often signed as a favor to someone, or to fill some empty roster slots at a AAA level and because they will probably never put on a Twins uniform in a game that counts. However; the Twins signing of Burroughs yesterday and the two announced today have tweaked my interest.
The first is catcher J.R. Towles who will be 28 in February and has been in organized ball as a catcher since he was drafted by the Houston Astros back in the 20th round in 2004. Towles had a break-out season in A ball in 2006 when he hit .317 and slugged 12 home runs, knocked in 55 and stole 13 bases. In 2007 Towles started in A ball, moved up to AA, on to AAA and got called up for his first big league action with the Astros in September where he hit .374 in 14 games and had 8 RBI’s in one game. Playing at four different levels in one season is unusual. The right-handed hitting Towles then seemed to forget how to hit and only saw partial big league time with Houston between 2008 and 2011 because he hit .137, .188, .191, and .184. Now the Astros have a hot new catching prospect in Jason Castro and the Stro’s no longer have a need for Towles. I think this is a good addition for the Twins because Towles is only 28, he has 148 games of big league experience spread over five seasons and a change of scenery might be just the thing that gets J.R. Towles going again. I would not be a bit surprised if you see Towles wearing a Twins uniform at some point this season and possibly taking Drew Butera’s job as the back-up catcher. By the way, J.R. stands for Justin Richard.
The other interesting addition is 1B/outfielder Steve Pearce who has been in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization since they drafted him in the 8th round in 2005. Pearce has shown power in the minors hitting 25 or more home runs in both 2006 and 2007. Steve Pearce debuted with the Pirates in September of 2007 and has been with the big club off and on ever since but he has not been able to snag a full-time playing gig. So why should we care about a guy that will be 29 in April and can’t win a starting job with a team that has not been on the plus sign of .500 for 19 seasons? Again, Pearce is leaving his first organization and power hitters don’t grow on trees, at least they don’t in Twins territory. He will certainly start the season in Rochester who could use some help themselves but if things don’t pan out for Justin Morneau in his quest to get healthy and the Twins need a 1B, this man might just fight the bill, at least on a fill-in basis.
Both guys have invites to spring training and it will be interesting to see what these guys can show us. I like these moves Mr. Ryan! If nothing else, these moves will make Rochester a lot more competitive.
Welcome back Mr. Capps
Although the Twins have not officially announced the deal, the team apparently has agreed to sign free agent Matt Capps (pending a physical) to a one year $4.75 $4.5 million deal with an option for 2013 for $6 million with a $250,000 buyout. The Twins acquired Capps from the Washington Nationals in return for highly rated prospect catcher Wilson Ramos at the trade deadline in 2010 to solidify the closer role when Joe Nathan was out for the season with TJ surgery. Capps appeared in 27 games for the Twins in 2010 and posted a 2-0 record with 16 saves to go with his ERA of 2.00 and a 1.18 WHIP. Capps then started the 2011 season in the set-up role but when Joe Nathan struggled early on, Capps took over the closer role in mid April and had 15 saves before struggling in mid-July and giving the closer role back to Nathan. Capps finished the 2011 season with a 4.25 ERA and a 4-7 record with 15 saves. After the season ended both the Twins and Capps admitted that Capps was pitching with a sore forearm for a good part of the year. When Joe Nathan signed with Texas a week or so ago for 2 years for $14.5 million, the Twins needed a new closer.
A lot of people are going to hate this deal but I like it and I will tell you why. Matt Capps is only 28 and a proven closer who in the five seasons that he has been a closer has accumulated 123 career saves, that is 25 saves a season pitching for teams like the Pirates, Nationals and the Twins the last 1.5 years. If you take away his 5.80 ERA in 2009, Capps has posted ERA’s of 2.28 in 2007, 3.02, in 2008, and 2.47 in 2010. To you or me $4.75 million is a fortune but in the baseball closer world that is a good buy and I have no problem with it at all. I am not overly concerned about the $6 million for 2013 because it has a $250,000 buyout attached. The problem here is that most fans can’t get over the fact that the Twins gave up Wilson Ramos to get Capps but that is life and Twins fans and bloggers just need to move on.
With the Twins coming off a 99 loss season and questions about the health of Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and others, the Twins and Terry Ryan were smart to get an experienced closer for so little money. Plus, they know what they have in Capps and the man is a straight shooter, someone who is not afraid to stand up and accept responsibility for his actions. I was as frustrated with Capps as the next fan when he pitched poorly in 2011 but after finding out about the injury helps me better understand that situation. In addition, I give bonus points to any Twins player that WANTS to play given what many Twins players showed in 2011.
As for the lost supplemental draft choice? So what, draft choices are just that and how many draft picks realistically make the big league team? If you are lucky, 2-3 picks out of each years draft make it. Let’s also say for the moment that the Twins don’t sign Cuddyer and Kubel, how many supplemental picks is too many? How many supplemental picks can the Twins afford to sign? There is only so much money for draft picks each season. I always say, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.
So let’s check “closer” off the Twins needs list and move on to more pressing issues.
UPDATE December 7 – The Twins announced today that Capps has passed his physical and the deal is official.
GM Ryan busy, Twins sign Ryan Doumit
Holy Cow, GM Terry Ryan has been busy, on the job less than two weeks and he has signed Jamey Carroll and now today the Twins announced they have signed C/1B/OF Ryan Doumit to a $3 million one year deal pending a physical. The deal apparently has some incentives and that is a good thing because the switch-hitting Ryan Doumit comes to Minnesota with some baggage. Injury type of baggage, in the form of a concussion history and that is not a good thing for a catcher.
Doumit was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1999 June free agent draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a catcher and has been in the Pirates organization ever since. Doumit made his major league debut in June of 2005. Although not rated as a strong catcher defensively, in his 7 big league seasons Doumit has played in 521 games but he has caught in 426 games, played the OF in 60 and played 1B in 35 games. Injuries have limited Doumit’s time in the line-up and he has never had more than 465 plate appearances in any of his 7 big league seasons.
OK, Ryan Doumit has an injury history but he is still a very nice pick-up and worth the gamble as I see it. Doumit has suffered injuries such as a broken thumb, broken wrist, and a fractured ankle not to mention the concussion issues I brought up earlier. He can play three positions and is a switch-hitter and will be 31 when the season starts in April. He has a little pop in his bat as his 67 home runs in 611 games attest and he has a .271 career average although he did hit only .250 in 2009, and .251 in 2010 but he hit .303 in 77 games last year.
I like the signing but if you think this will send Drew Butera packing you need to think again. Doumit is weak defensively and his strength is offense so there is no way that Gardy keeps him on the bench strictly as a back-up catcher day in and day out. Doumit will be in the line-up some where most of the time so Gardy still needs to have a back-up catcher available and that man will probably be Butera or another catcher with some defensive skills. If Doumit is the DH, Gardy will not want to risk losing his DH if he would suddenly need Doumit to catch. Even if Butera fails to make the team, I see no way the Twins do not carry three catchers next year. In spite of needing to carry three catchers, I like this signing and I give GM Ryan a big thumbs up. Keep working those phones Mr. Ryan, a starting pitcher would be nice and the outfield is still a big question mark.
The Twins also announced they have signed yet another relief pitcher to a minor league deal, this time it is former Angel Jason Bulger. Jason is a right hander and stands 6’4″ and goes about 210 and will be 33 in a couple of weeks. Bulger has been in the big leagues off and on with the D-Backs and the Angels since 2005 but has only appeared in 125 games with a 7-2 record. Bulger is another of those relief pitchers with control issues as his career mark of 5.1 BB/9 will tell you.
Finally, the Twins also announced that they plan to add another bronze statue of a former player outside Target Field next year but as yet the player has yet to be publicly identified. He would join statues of Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and the late Twins owner Carl Pohlad and his wife Eloise. Who is it going to be? My guess would be Bert Blyleven and my dark horse choice would be Kent Hrbek. We will find out soon enough.
UPDATE November 23 – The Twins announced that they have officially signed free-agent catcher Ryan Doumit to a one-year deal worth $3 million.