I went out to the CenturyLink Sports complex yesterday to check out the pitchers and catchers and to see new Twins acquisition Kenta Maeda in his Twins spring training workout debut. I didn’t see anything extraordinary out there but no question there were more Japanese photographers out there then I have seen since Tsuyoshi Nishioka made his grand appearance back in 2011. I am expecting better results from Maeda then we got from Nishioka.
Tag: Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Josh Donaldson coming to Minnesota
I was watching the MLB channel last night when they interrupted their programming with breaking news that the Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora had mutually agreed to part ways after the previous days bombshell of the “caught stealing” penalties dropped on the Houston Astros by MLB. Then just a few minutes into that, they had more breaking news, this time the report was that a source (turned out to be MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand) had reported that third baseman Josh Donaldson had agreed to accept a four-year deal with Minnesota for $92 million guaranteed, including an $8 million buyout of a $16 million club option for a fifth year.
Someone, please throw Falvey and Levine a life-line
What the heck? What is going on there in Twins territory? Just a year after signing Korean first baseman Byung Ho Park to a four-year, $12 million deal, the Twins decide to designate him for assignment. All this after paying a $12.85 million posting fee to win the rights to negotiate with him in December 2015. That is almost $25 million down the tube, owner Jim Pohlad must be proud of his organization.
With spring training starting in less than two weeks this story makes page 10 of the Star Tribune Sports section. WOW! Interest in Twins baseball is dropping faster than President Donald Trump’s approval rating.
Park appeared in just 62 games for the Twins in 2016 hitting just .191 but he did hit 12 home runs. The Twins ended up sending him to AAA Rochester where he played briefly before under-going tendon surgery on his right hand that ended his 2016 campaign.
The question I have to ask is why do this 10 days before pitchers and catchers report for spring training? What’s the point?
All this after the 2011-2012 fiasco with Tsuyoshi Nishioka, I know you can’t live in the past but you should be able to learn from history. Sadly, the Minnesota Twins are quickly becoming the laughing stock of MLB. The old term of doing it the “Twins Way” has a whole new meaning.
It’s starting to get exciting over at the ballpark
The weather has been cool, wet and windy here in SW Florida since the calendar rolled over to 2016 but the last few days have been sunny and in the mid 70’s here and the population of Twins players and Twins wannabees is growing by the day. I stopped by the CenturyLink Sports Complex again yesterday and was surprised at how many players had already shown up and how many fans were out watching the players go through their paces.
The players that show up this early come and go, some show up every day and others show up now and then. Miguel Sano was out here on my first visit but I have not seen him the last two times I have been out here. Yesterday I saw Max Kepler for the first time this spring and he said that he just arrived the day before. I was shocked when I first saw Max because he was not the baby-faced player I had gotten used to seeing, he was sporting a beard and mustache or maybe I should say he was trying to grow a beard.
Byung-ho Park is working out every day but he does not seem to have the same crowd of press members following him like Tsuyoshi Nishioka did when he first signed with Minnesota. Park and Nishioka appear to have taken totally different approaches to their integration into the Twins organization, when Nishioka was here and working out prior to spring training he worked out on his own with his interpreter and seldom if ever joined the rest of the players. Parker is just the opposite, he works out with the rest of the players and he is willing to spend time with the fans signing autographs, something Nishioka didn’t seem to be real excited about. I don’t know if Park will make the team but in my eyes he is already way ahead of Nishioka when he joined the Twins and spring training hasn’t even officially started.
I continue to be amazed at how many fans mention how great the CenturyLink Sports Complex and the Minnesota Twins organization is as compared to the Boston Red Sox and JetBlue Park, their spring training home. The Twins allow their fans to wander all over the grounds and inter-act with the players and the Red Sox are all about security and limit access to everything and everybody. It is not just the fans that have this opinion, it is members of the local press here also.
Pitchers and catchers report this week-end, I can’t wait. The Twins were much improved in 2015 so you would think that there would be fewer questions and fewer roster spots up for grabs this year but I don’t think that is the case and it all revolves around Miguel Sano. Can Sano play right field? If not, all kinds of options can come into play. I have all kinds of questions. Is Byung Ho Park ready for MLB? What if Byron Buxton does not win the CF spot? Do you buy he has to prove the job belongs to him or does he have to prove he can’t handle it? What about the bullpen? Are the Twins still looking for a proven left reliever? Is Glen Perkins healthy? Are Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana, and Kennys Vargas still in the Twins plans? Max Kepler and Adam Walker are coming fast, will they start to call Minneapolis home this summer? When will Jose Berrios join the Twins starting rotation? Did the Twins make a good move in giving up Aaron Hicks? So many questions and so little time to get them answered, you can bet that Twins spring training this year will be one of the most exiting ever.
When I was out at the ballpark I once again took some pictures that you view in the 2016 Spring Training pictures link on the right hand side of the page. I hope you enjoy them.
Twins switch-hitters from 1961-2015
One of the more frequent questions I get pertains to switch-hitters that played for the Minnesota Twins so I thought I would put together the entire list of Twins players both position players and pitchers that swung from both sides of the plate. In this case I ranked then in order of home runs hit. The list includes Twins pitchers as well as position players.
Rk | Player | HR | From | To | G | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | RBI | Pos | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roy Smalley | 110 | 1976 | 1987 | 1148 | 4676 | 3997 | 1046 | 184 | 21 | 485 | .262 | .750 | *6DH/53 |
2 | Chili Davis | 41 | 1991 | 1992 | 291 | 1163 | 978 | 276 | 61 | 3 | 159 | .282 | .862 | *D/H793 |
3 | Cristian Guzman | 39 | 1999 | 2004 | 841 | 3538 | 3277 | 871 | 142 | 61 | 289 | .266 | .685 | *6/HD |
4 | Butch Wynegar | 37 | 1976 | 1982 | 794 | 3188 | 2746 | 697 | 112 | 9 | 325 | .254 | .682 | *2/HD5 |
5 | Gene Larkin | 32 | 1987 | 1993 | 758 | 2670 | 2321 | 618 | 131 | 12 | 266 | .266 | .723 | 3D9H/754 |
6 | Ryan Doumit | 32 | 2012 | 2013 | 269 | 1066 | 969 | 253 | 62 | 2 | 130 | .261 | .745 | 2/D9H73 |
7 | Denny Hocking | 25 | 1993 | 2003 | 876 | 2455 | 2204 | 556 | 109 | 17 | 215 | .252 | .661 | 64H5/9738D |
8 | Bobby Kielty | 23 | 2001 | 2003 | 224 | 750 | 631 | 170 | 35 | 3 | 92 | .269 | .818 | 9/8HD73 |
9 | Eduardo Escobar | 21 | 2012 | 2015 | 340 | 1139 | 1051 | 275 | 71 | 8 | 111 | .262 | .710 | *6/574HD98 |
10 | Aaron Hicks | 20 | 2013 | 2015 | 247 | 928 | 819 | 184 | 30 | 6 | 78 | .225 | .655 | *8/97HD |
11 | Kennys Vargas | 14 | 2014 | 2015 | 111 | 418 | 390 | 101 | 14 | 1 | 55 | .259 | .707 | /*D3H |
12 | Dave Hollins | 13 | 1996 | 1996 | 121 | 503 | 422 | 102 | 26 | 0 | 53 | .242 | .760 | *5/HD6 |
13 | Nick Punto | 12 | 2004 | 2010 | 747 | 2707 | 2365 | 587 | 102 | 21 | 194 | .248 | .648 | 564/HD879 |
14 | Alexi Casilla | 11 | 2006 | 2012 | 515 | 1764 | 1580 | 395 | 72 | 14 | 147 | .250 | .639 | *4/6HD58 |
15 | Pedro Florimon | 10 | 2012 | 2014 | 210 | 682 | 616 | 126 | 23 | 3 | 55 | .205 | .567 | *6/HD |
16 | Matt Walbeck | 8 | 1994 | 1996 | 275 | 1008 | 946 | 218 | 40 | 1 | 103 | .230 | .571 | *2/HD |
17 | Javier Valentin | 8 | 1997 | 2002 | 141 | 435 | 391 | 90 | 19 | 2 | 46 | .230 | .638 | *2/HD |
18 | Danny Santana | 7 | 2014 | 2015 | 192 | 707 | 666 | 185 | 37 | 12 | 61 | .278 | .710 | *6/8HD9 |
19 | Brent Gates | 6 | 1998 | 1999 | 217 | 723 | 639 | 161 | 28 | 2 | 80 | .252 | .656 | *5/4H3D6 |
20 | Luis Rodriguez | 6 | 2005 | 2007 | 206 | 508 | 445 | 108 | 19 | 3 | 38 | .243 | .651 | /54H6D3 |
21 | Orlando Hudson | 6 | 2010 | 2010 | 126 | 559 | 497 | 133 | 24 | 5 | 37 | .268 | .710 | *4/D |
22 | Jim Perry | 5 | 1963 | 1972 | 380 | 681 | 613 | 117 | 17 | 2 | 46 | .191 | .478 | *1/H7 |
23 | Terry Tiffee | 5 | 2004 | 2006 | 91 | 256 | 239 | 54 | 13 | 1 | 29 | .226 | .625 | /5H3D |
24 | Orlando Merced | 5 | 1998 | 1998 | 63 | 223 | 204 | 59 | 12 | 0 | 33 | .289 | .767 | /*39DH |
25 | John Moses | 4 | 1988 | 1990 | 349 | 687 | 620 | 171 | 25 | 7 | 57 | .276 | .693 | 9H/78D31 |
26 | Matt Tolbert | 3 | 2008 | 2011 | 247 | 680 | 605 | 139 | 27 | 9 | 54 | .230 | .607 | 4/5H6D39 |
27 | Luis Castillo | 3 | 2006 | 2007 | 227 | 1036 | 933 | 279 | 33 | 9 | 67 | .299 | .720 | *4 |
28 | Pedro Ramos | 3 | 1961 | 1961 | 53 | 100 | 93 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 11 | .172 | .484 | /*1H |
29 | Marcus Jensen | 3 | 2000 | 2000 | 52 | 164 | 139 | 29 | 7 | 1 | 14 | .209 | .663 | /*2HD |
30 | Dave McKay | 2 | 1975 | 1976 | 78 | 290 | 263 | 60 | 6 | 1 | 24 | .228 | .562 | /*5H6D |
31 | Jose Offerman | 2 | 2004 | 2004 | 77 | 202 | 172 | 44 | 14 | 2 | 22 | .256 | .759 | /*DH34 |
32 | Augie Ojeda | 2 | 2004 | 2004 | 30 | 72 | 59 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 7 | .339 | .886 | /*46H5 |
33 | Darrell Brown | 1 | 1983 | 1984 | 186 | 602 | 569 | 155 | 15 | 5 | 41 | .272 | .624 | *8/H7D |
34 | Otis Nixon | 1 | 1998 | 1998 | 110 | 500 | 448 | 133 | 6 | 6 | 20 | .297 | .705 | *8/H |
35 | Wally Backman | 1 | 1989 | 1989 | 87 | 337 | 299 | 69 | 9 | 2 | 26 | .231 | .591 | /*4HD |
36 | Tom Herr | 1 | 1988 | 1988 | 86 | 345 | 304 | 80 | 16 | 0 | 21 | .263 | .674 | /*4HD6 |
37 | Chris Latham | 1 | 1997 | 1999 | 63 | 154 | 138 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 9 | .152 | .411 | /8H79 |
38 | Kendrys Morales | 1 | 2014 | 2014 | 39 | 162 | 154 | 36 | 11 | 0 | 18 | .234 | .584 | /*D3H |
39 | Rob Bowen | 1 | 2003 | 2004 | 24 | 43 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .108 | .380 | /*2HD |
40 | Al Newman | 0 | 1987 | 1991 | 618 | 1876 | 1647 | 380 | 59 | 7 | 135 | .231 | .581 | 465H/D738 |
41 | J.C. Romero | 0 | 1999 | 2005 | 327 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 1.000 | *1 |
42 | Joe Mays | 0 | 1999 | 2005 | 193 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .267 | .722 | *1 |
43 | Pat Neshek | 0 | 2006 | 2010 | 132 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *1 | ||
44 | Pete Filson | 0 | 1982 | 1986 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *1 | ||
45 | Darrell Jackson | 0 | 1978 | 1982 | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *1/HD | ||
46 | Jose Morales | 0 | 2007 | 2010 | 74 | 181 | 158 | 47 | 9 | 0 | 14 | .297 | .725 | /*2HD3 |
47 | Tsuyoshi Nishioka | 0 | 2011 | 2012 | 71 | 254 | 233 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 20 | .215 | .503 | /*64HD |
48 | Doug Baker | 0 | 1988 | 1990 | 57 | 100 | 86 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 9 | .267 | .696 | /*46HD5 |
49 | Sergio Ferrer | 0 | 1974 | 1975 | 56 | 157 | 138 | 36 | 3 | 3 | 2 | .261 | .648 | /*6H4D |
50 | Nelson Liriano | 0 | 1990 | 1990 | 53 | 211 | 185 | 47 | 5 | 7 | 13 | .254 | .688 | /*4HD6 |
51 | Marty Martinez | 0 | 1962 | 1962 | 37 | 24 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .167 | .563 | /*H65 |
52 | Dan Serafini | 0 | 1996 | 1998 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | /*1 |
53 | Larry Milbourne | 0 | 1982 | 1982 | 29 | 106 | 98 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .235 | .548 | /*4H |
54 | Donnie Hill | 0 | 1992 | 1992 | 25 | 59 | 51 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .294 | .721 | /6H459 |
55 | Chris Pittaro | 0 | 1986 | 1987 | 25 | 34 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .388 | /*4H6D |
56 | Quinton McCracken | 0 | 2001 | 2001 | 24 | 70 | 64 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .219 | .588 | /DH798 |
57 | Jason Ryan | 0 | 1999 | 2000 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /*1 | ||
58 | Tom Lundstedt | 0 | 1975 | 1975 | 18 | 32 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .107 | .326 | /*2HD |
59 | Ruben Sierra | 0 | 2006 | 2006 | 14 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .179 | .487 | /*H*D |
60 | Glenn Williams | 0 | 2005 | 2005 | 13 | 43 | 40 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .425 | .902 | /*5H |
61 | Stan Perzanowski | 0 | 1978 | 1978 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /*1 | ||
62 | Cleatus Davidson | 0 | 1999 | 1999 | 12 | 24 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .136 | .273 | /*46HD |
63 | Jorge Polanco | 0 | 2014 | 2015 | 9 | 20 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .313 | .950 | /*6H |
64 | David Lamb | 0 | 2002 | 2002 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .100 | .200 | /*6H45 |
65 | Mark Brown | 0 | 1985 | 1985 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /*1 | ||
66 | Luis Quinones | 0 | 1992 | 1992 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .367 | /*H6D5 |
67 | Eric Hacker | 0 | 2011 | 2011 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /*1 |
You can make a strong case that Mickey Mantle was the best switch-hitter in the AL as he hit .300 (with 500 or more PA’s) or more nine time and Victor Martinez who remains active today has hit. 300 eight times as has Bernie Williams. Roberto Alomar did it seven times.
The Twins have not had as much luck with their switch-hitters, the only Twin to hit .300 (.302) or better with at least 500 plate appearances was Cristian Guzman in 2001. It kind of makes you wonder if switch hitting is worth the effort. From 1901 to 1960 the Washington Senators never had a switch-hitter that hit .300 or better with at least 500 PA’s.
Former Twins OF Revere finally gets off the home run schneid
Ben Revere hit his first major-league home run in his 1466th at-bat in the Phillies’ home loss to the Rockies. That was the longest start-of-career homer-less streak by any player since the Pirates’ Frank Taveras connected for an inside-the park grand slam at Cincinnati on August 5, 1977 in his 1594th at-bat.
Twins batters with 100 or more at bats and zero home runs
Rk | Player | AB | HR | From | To | G | PA | H | 2B | 3B | RBI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Al Newman | 1647 | 0 | 1987 | 1991 | 618 | 1876 | 380 | 59 | 7 | 135 | .231 |
2 | Ben Revere | 989 | 0 | 2010 | 2012 | 254 | 1064 | 275 | 22 | 11 | 64 | .278 |
3 | Houston Jimenez | 384 | 0 | 1983 | 1984 | 144 | 409 | 75 | 16 | 2 | 28 | .195 |
4 | Luis Gomez | 362 | 0 | 1974 | 1977 | 241 | 403 | 72 | 6 | 2 | 22 | .199 |
5 | Junior Ortiz | 304 | 0 | 1990 | 1991 | 132 | 338 | 85 | 12 | 2 | 29 | .280 |
6 | Mudcat Grant | 263 | 0 | 1964 | 1967 | 151 | 298 | 45 | 10 | 2 | 23 | .171 |
7 | Bert Blyleven | 235 | 0 | 1970 | 1988 | 348 | 265 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 9 | .145 |
8 | Tsuyoshi Nishioka | 233 | 0 | 2011 | 2012 | 71 | 254 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 20 | .215 |
9 | Dick Stigman | 213 | 0 | 1962 | 1965 | 138 | 233 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 6 | .094 |
10 | Dean Chance | 209 | 0 | 1967 | 1969 | 104 | 246 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .043 |
11 | Jim Merritt | 206 | 0 | 1965 | 1968 | 122 | 236 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 7 | .131 |
12 | Nelson Liriano | 185 | 0 | 1990 | 1990 | 53 | 211 | 47 | 5 | 7 | 13 | .254 |
13 | Jose Morales | 158 | 0 | 2007 | 2010 | 74 | 181 | 47 | 9 | 0 | 14 | .297 |
14 | Sergio Ferrer | 138 | 0 | 1974 | 1975 | 56 | 157 | 36 | 3 | 3 | 2 | .261 |
15 | Dan Monzon | 131 | 0 | 1972 | 1973 | 94 | 154 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 9 | .244 |
16 | Tom Hall | 130 | 0 | 1968 | 1971 | 145 | 146 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .192 |
17 | Bruce Look | 118 | 0 | 1968 | 1968 | 59 | 139 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 9 | .246 |
18 | Dick Woodson | 117 | 0 | 1969 | 1974 | 129 | 129 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .077 |
Twins Turkey of the Year – 2012
The Minnesota Twins won 66 games in 2012, three more victories than they managed to put in the win column in 2011 and they again finished in last place in the American League Central division. Only three Twins teams have finished with worse records over the Twins 52 year existence in Minnesota, the 1982 team finished with a 60-102 record, the 2011 team finished 63-99, and the 1999 crew put up a 63-97 record. 2012 makes two years in a row with a finish of dead last in the division and only the second time in their history they have finished last two years in a row matching the 1981-1982 teams. Back in 1981 and 1982 everyone knew the Twins were a bad ballclub in full rebuilding mode but the current club does not see itself the same way. When the 2011 Twins team went 63-99 and barely dodged the 100 loss mark, team management wasted no time blaming it on all the injuries, truth be told, they did have a lot of injuries but still it seemed clear to me and many others that the Twins were in a dowward spiral. Twins starting pitching totally imploded in 2012 and the team used 12 different starting pitchers with only one getting more than 19 starts and that was Scott Diamond who started the season in AAA Rochester and still ended up starting 27 times.
When you look at some of the players on the 2012 team you can certainly find a number of deserving qualifiers for the 2012 Twins Turkey of the Year award. Lets take a look at some of candidates:
The fifth runner-up is starter Francisco Liraiano. After another frustrating start the Twins had seen enough and sent him packing to a division rival, the Chicago White Sox.
The fourth runner-up is starting pitcher Nick Blackburn. Blackie got off to a 1-4 start and then took a short trip to the DL from mid May to early June. Between June 6 and August 17 Blakburn returned to the rotation starting 12 games going 3-5 with 97 hits in 65.1 inning and a 6.89 ERA. The numbers were so bad that in spite of his $4.75 million salary the Twins sent him to AAA Rochester for the remainder of the season.
Third runner-up is another member of the starting rotation, recent free agent signee Jason Marquis. After personal issues delayed the start of his season, Marquis started 7 games between April 18 and May 20th allowing 52 hits in 34 innings going 2-4 with a 8.47 ERA and the Twins quickly released Marquis.
The second runner-up is starter Carl Pavano. With opening day in 2012 just around the corner reports surfaced that starter Pavano was facing a bizarre legal distraction. According to myrecordjournal.com, “police in Southington, Connecticut were investigating allegations that a high school classmate of Pavano’s, Christian Bedard, threatened to reveal an alleged homosexual relationship they had and to write a book about it unless Pavano apologized to him and bought him an SUV”. Pavano ended up making 11 starts going 2-5 and gave up 80 hits in 63 innings and posted a 6.00 ERA before going on the DL on June 4th and spending the rest of the season there. Another $8.5 million down the drain there.
This years Twins Turkey of the Year runner-up is Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka who was in the second year as a Minnesota Twin making $3 million and he played in a total of 3 games in a Twins uniform going 0 for 12 and committing two errors. In spite of the fact that Nishioka was not able to hit or field in the majors, he considered himself a star and during the two spring training’s that I watched him participate in you could usually find him and his interperter out in one of the back fields working out on his own instead of working out with his teammates. The Twins released him 2 years into a 3 year contract at his request but yet no one from the Twins organization has stepped forward and said who scouted him and how they arrived at the conclusion that Nishioka was a big league player. Former GM Bill Smith took the sword for that one but he should have not been the only one.
Jim Pohlad inherited the Minnesota Twins when his father Carl Pohlad passed away in January 2009. As has been stated many times, the Pohlad family has consistently followed a model of keeping the annual player payroll pegged to 50 percent of team revenue. The Twins have played in their spanking new Target Field ballpark since 2010 but their last two seasons there have been full blown disasters as far as the teams record is concerned. However; the Twins loyal fans kept pouring through the turnstiles although in 2012 attedance has seriously started to lag. As owner and CEO Jim Pohlad is ultimetly responsible for the entire operation. Pohlad, team president Dave St. Peter and GM Terry Ryan have all stated that everyone is doing everything possible to get the team back on the right track, but then again what else would you expect them to say. All three have stated at different times that it is not all about money and that money does not insure a winning team and they throw out examples of teams that have gone to the playoffs in the past with low payrolls. I understand that, but to win on a consistent basis like the team ownership states is their goal, you need to have good players and good players cost money. Over the years the Twins have done what they could with the revenue they had to work with and a couple of times they won it all and I congratulate them for that. The team has taken great pride in playing ball “the Twins way”, promoting from within and making a few trades now and then and that has worked for them in the past, but times have changed and their revenue situation has changed and the Twins management group is stuck in the same old ways of doing business. Back when arbitration and free agency came into play, team owner Calvin Griffith saw the writing on the wall but could not adapt to the new business model and was forced to sell the team to Carl Pohlad. The Twins have said over the years that signing free agents is not the way to the promised land and yet we have watched the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, the Detroit Tigers and numerous other teams buy their way into the playoffs. I know this team does not get the revenue that the Yankees and many other teams get but you have to pull your head out of the sand and accept that change is necessary and that the business model for your team needs to change if you want to be successful year in and year out. When I was a manager in the IT business world I had a budget to work with and when I first started managing I did whatever I could to stay within my budget thinking that the more I stayed under the budget the better a manager I was. I quickly was shown the error of my ways being told that the money I saved during the year was nice but had I spent the money I was allotted in my budget I probably could have improved the service to our existing customers and/or brought in new customers but that did not happen because I chose to play it safe and save a few dollars. You need to spend money to make money, with all the businesses that the Pohlad’s own and run as well as they do, why don’t they run their baseball team the same way? If Jim Pohlad really wanted to field a winning team, he would, but he would need to spend more money to do so but apparently he is satisified with his current rate of return and doesn’t feel the need to change the way the team is currently run.
Excluding the United States government, we all have budgets that we need to live with but a budget is just “an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.” Our family home has provided us with a safe and comfortable place to live for a number of years but it has only done so because we have budgeted a certain amount of money annually to keep the house in as good a condition as possible. We know that as time goes by that certain aspects of the home start to show some age and slowly start to deteriorate and need to be replaced. A baseball team is no different, you constantly need to spend money on parts that need to be replaced and we do that with money budgeted for that purpose. But now and then a time comes along in all home owners lives where a major problem arises, something totally out of the blue. Just when things were chugging along as you think they should a sudden storm arrives and high winds tear part of your roof off, the hail smashes gapping holes in your siding and a tree smashes your fence. What the heck is up with that? We sure didn’t plan on that happening and it is going to cost a lot of money to fix the home to make it leveable again but yet our budget does not allow for it. On the other hand, if we don’t fix the roof the rest of the home is going to be destroyed and a huge investment will be lost. The Twins suffered such a storm in 2011 but instead of taking the time to fix it properly they threw a tarp on the roof and told themselves that all is good with the world once again. Then in 2012 when they found that their roof was leaking like a sieve they tried some cheap do-it-yourself remedies that did not accomplish much. There is an old saying that goes something like this, “if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you need to do is to stop digging the hole deeper.” The Twins have to do what a logical home owner would do, they have to find and spend the money necesssary to fix their problem regardless if their current budget allows for it or not. You need to find the money to fix the roof and figure out how you can pay for it. It might mean selling something you can live without or you can take money that you has set aside for other purposes but you need to fix that roof or your investment is down the tubes. The Twins find themselves in such a dilema, their starting pitching staff needs to be replaced or the rest of their players are just wasting their time and soon the team will find fewer and fewer butts in the Target Field seats. It is time for this years Twins Turkey of the Year, Twins owner Jim Pohlad to step up and explain to president Dave St. Peter and GM Terry Ryan that he has their back with the necessary cash and they need to do whatever is necessary to fix the ailing Twins and put them back on the winning track or he will find someone else that can.
Previous Twins Turkey of the Year winners:
2011 – Joe Mauer
2010 – Brendan Harris
2009 – Glen Perkins
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Tsuyoshi Nishioka is history
A Minnesota Twins Press Release today states that Tsuyoshi Nishioka has been given his unconditional release as of today at his request. Nishioka’s release saves the Minnesota Twins $3.25 million in salary and buyout in 2013.
Nishioka who has been in the Twins organization for the last two seasons released the following statement. “I would like to thank the Twins organization for helping me fulfill my dream of playing in Major League Baseball. I take full responsibility for my performance which was below my own expectations. At this time, I have made the decision that it is time to part ways. I have no regrets and know that only through struggle can a person grow stronger. I appreciate all the support the team and the fans in Minnesota and Rochester have shown me. Arigatou gozaimasu.”
Nishioka was not able to achieve the expectations that the Minnesota Twins organization had for him when they purchased and signed him back on December 16, 2010 from the Japanese League Chiba Lotte Marines. Nishioka suffered a broken league on April 7, 2011 while playing second base in a game at Yankee Stadium II in just his sixth big league game. Nishioka played in just 71 games (68 in 2011 and 3 in 2012) for Minnesota and hit .215 in 254 plate appearances while scoring 14 runs, knocking in 20 and stealing 2 bases in 6 attempts. Nishioka spent most of 2012 in AAA Rochester where he hit .258 in 431 plate appearances.
Nishioka had his problems with the stick but he also looked bad in the field playing both 2B and shortstop. In observing Nishioka in spring training in 2011 and 2012 he seemed to spend most of his time working out on his own and did not seem to really take any interest in being a part of the team. The way I see it, the Twins lucked out when Nishioka asked for his release and I’m sure they wasted no time granting his release before Nishioka had time to change his mind. Now the Twins can put that money to a better use and also have a roster spot open for a player that has at least some chance to help the Twins organization down the line. The Tsuyoshi Nishioka signing will go down in Twins lore as one of the worst player decisions that the Twins organization has ever made. Bill Smith who was the GM at the time paid his dues for his part in his fiasco and the scout(s) that recommended this signing should also pay with their jobs. Loyalty is a good thing and people make mistakes but the Twins have gone out of their way to hide the names of the scouts involved in the Nishioka signing and it is about time that those involved take some responsiblity for their actions before the book is closed on this chapter for the final time.
Twins that have not jogged around the bases
The home run hitters of baseball have been idolized by baseball fans for years, but what about those “Punch-and-Judy” hitters that just have not been able to put one out over the fence and haven’t even been lucky enough to get an inside the park home run? These guys probably could not hit one out even if you let them stand on second base and hit. A Punch-and-Judy is said of a hitter who tends to hit well-placed but weakly-hit balls for singles. The first reference was made by former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Walter Alston when asked about a home run by Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants. “When he belts a home run, he does it with such authority it seems like an act of God. You can’t cry about it. He’s not a Punch and Judy belter.”
From what I can determine, the player with the most at bats in the big leagues without ever getting a home run is Bill Holbert. Holbert was a catcher who played a little outfield and infield in 1876 and 1878-1888 with six different teams. Holbert is credited with 2,335 official at bats without hitting a single round tripper. But that was a long time ago and if you look at more modern times, the record holder is Tom “Rebel” Oliver, an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox from 1930-1933 who had 1,931 official at bats and 534 hits but not a homer in the bunch.
So let’s see who among Twins position players going back to 1961 with 100 or more at bats were or are true “Punch-and-Judy” type hitters and who had the most official at bats without a four-bagger on their Minnesota Twins resume.
Number 1 on this list is Al Newman. Newman played 2B/SS/3B for the Twins from 1987-1991 when they played in the Metrodome and Al had 1,647 at bats in a Twins uniform and he failed to hit a single home run. Newman also played for Montreal in 1985-1986 and for Texas in 1992. Between those three teams Newman had 2,107 at bats and he had one home run. Newman’s only career home run took place on July 6, 1986 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium off Atlanta Braves starter Zane Smith.
Number 2 on the list is current Twins outfielder Ben Revere. Revere has been with the Twins off and on since 2010 and during those three season he has 809 at bats through August 12, 2012 without a home run to his credit but he has a ways to go to catch up with Al Newman.
Number 3 on the list is SS/2B Houston Jiminez. Jiminez played for Minnesota in 1983-1984 and had 384 at bats in a Twins uni without a single home run. Jiminez also played for the Pirates in 1987 and the Indians in 1988. Jiminez had 411 career at bats without a homer.
Fourth on the list is SS Luis Gomez. Gomez played for the Twins from 1974-1977 and had 362 official at bats without a long ball. Gomez went on to play for the Blue Jays in 1978-1979 and the Braves in 1980-1981 but when his career ended he had 1,251 major league at bats and a “0” in the home run column.
In the fifth spot on this list is another current Twins player, 2B/SS/3B Jamey Carroll. Through today Carroll has 352 Twins at bats and he still has not cleared the fences. Carroll is in his 11th big league season and is playing for his sixth team and he has hit 12 home runs in his 3,326 career big league at bats.
Number six on our list is catcher Junior Ortiz. Ortiz played in the big leagues for 13 seasons with 5 organizations and he did hit 5 home runs in 1,894 at bats but as a Twins catcher in 1990-1991 he had 304 at bats and not a single home run. Maybe that is why he wore the number “0” on his back as a Minnesota Twin?
Lucky number seven on the list is yet another current Minnesota Twins player, fan favorite (NOT) Tsuyoshi Nishioka who has played 2B and SS. Nishioka has 233 big league at bats to his credit and zero home runs.
Eighth on the list is a Liriano, no, not Francisco but 2B Nelson Liriano. Nelson Liriano has 25 home runs in his 11 seasons and 2,216 at bats in the bigs but as a Minnesota Twin in 1990 he came up empty in the home run column in 185 at bats
Ninth we have another catcher, Jose Morales. Morales was with the Twins parts of 2007, 2009-2010 and hit .297 in 158 at bats but none of the long ball variety. Morales spent 2011 in Colorado and had 60 AB’s there but again came away without a home run.
Number 10 on the Twins homerless list is SS/2B Sergio Ferrer. Ferrer had zero home runs in 138 at bats as a Twin in 1974-1975. Ferrer played for the Mets in part of 1978-1979 and had 40 more at bats there with zero long balls.
Eleventh on the Twins homerless list we have 2B/3B Dan Monzon who came up void of any home runs in his 131 career big league at bats in 1972-1973 with the Minnesota Twins.
Our twelfth and final Minnesota Twins position player with 100 or more at bats with zero home runs is catcher Bruce Look. Look spent all of his 118 big league at bats with the Twins in 1968 and he had no luck hitting one out of the park.
So between these 12 position players we have 4,821 Twins at bats and not a single home run in the group. Isn’t it strange that three players (numbers 2, 5, and 7) on this list are currently playing for the 2012 Twins? That completes a look at the position players with 100 or more at bats with zero home runs on their Twins resumes. The two Twins pitchers with the most at bats as Twins with zero home runs are Mudcat Grant who had 298 regular season at bats in a Twins uni with no homers. We all know about the Mudcat’s home run in-game 6 of the 1965 World Series against the Dodgers and Grant did hit 6 home runs in his 14 year big league career but he did not hit any for the Twins. The other pitcher is Bert Blyleven who had 451 career at bats with zero home runs and 235 of these at bats were as a Minnesota Twins pitcher.
UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 – Jamey Carroll homered against the Chicago White Sox pitcher Hector Santiago at US Cellular Field in the fifth inning of yesterdays game to end his Twins streak of 412 consecutive at bats without a home run. This streak of 412 homer less games moves him up to number 3 on the Twins list behind Al Newman and Ben Revere.
CORRECTION as of September 5, 2012 – It was brought to my attention that I missed outfielder Jason Tyner who had 442 Twins at bats before hitting a home run off Jake Westbrooke at Jacobs Field on July 28, 2007. Todate Jason Tyner career home run count stands at 1. This would put Tyner number 3 on the Twins list.
However; the original intent of my story was to list the Twins with the most at bats that had zero home runs on their entire Twins resume and not really to list the most consective Twins at bats without a homer, thus Jamey Carroll and Jason Tyner really would not belong on this list.
How they will finish in 2012
With the 2012 baseball season just around the corner, if you don’t count that stupid two game series that the A’s and Mariners played and split in Japan, it is time for us here in Twins Trivia to look into the crystal ball and see what is in store for us this season. They say that baseball is a simple game, all you need to do is hit the ball, pitch the ball and pick-up the ball but I thought I would run it by Mr. Einstein just to be sure.
East
1. Tampa Rays 2. New York Yankees 3. Toronto Blue Jays 4. Boston Red Sox 5. Baltimore OriolesWest
1. Los Angeles Angels 2. Texas Rangers 3. Seattle Mariners 4. Oakland A’sCentral
1. Detroit Tigers (91-71) 2. Cleveland Indians (82-80) 3. Minnesota Twins (78-84) 4. Kansas City Royals (76-86) 5. Chicago White Sox (70-92)The Detroit Tigers are far and way the best team in the division and should be up by 10 games at the All-Star break and have a cake walk the rest of the way. However; having picked the Tigers to win the AL Central, the team is certainly not without its problems. The Tigers defense if they continue to pursue going down the Miguel Cabrera at 3B path will be atrocious but I see manager Jim Leyland changing that plan before he gets out of April. But even after Leyland addresses the 3B situation, the Bengals still have defense problems at 1B, 2B, SS, and LF. It will be fun to watch the Tigers hit but when they are in the field it will be a totally different story. The Tiger bullpen is solid although there is no way in the world that closer Jose Valverde has another year in 2012 like he had in 2011. The Tigers other major issue is starting pitching where they have a reigning Cy Young award winner in Justin Verlander followed by Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and the Tigers just announced that Drew Smyly won the last starting spot. Who is Drew Smyly? Fister, and Scherzer are workable starters on a pennant contender but Porcello and who ever the Tigers have slotted for number 5 will not cut the mustard and the Tigers are going to have to make some moves to fill those holes.
The Cleveland Indians continue to improve albeit very slowly and the team has worked hard to try to improve its starting rotation that includes Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jiminez, Derek Lowe, Jeanmar Gomez, and Josh Tomlin. Twins cast-off Kevin Slowey could not make this starting rotation. Not a great starting rotation, but I have seen a lot worse. The Indians offense lost Gardy Sizemore to injury once again but Sizemore’s best days are now behind him anyway so that is not as great a loss as some may think. On offense the Indians need outfielder Shin-Soo Choo to bounce back after an injury plagued 2011, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to continue to show improvement after a breakout season last year, 2B Jason Kipnis to show that he is for real, Michael Brantley needs to prove he is a legit lead-off hitter, Lonnie Chisenhall to hit to his potential and to earn his way back as the Indians starting 3B, and for 35-year-old Travis Hafner to stay healthy and hit like he can as the teams DH.
I like the Kansas City Royals a lot because of the nice young players they have like Eric Hosmer at 1B, former 3B and now outfielder Alex Gordon, Billy Butler as the DH, Alcides Escobar at SS, and 3B Mike Moustakas. The Royals took a serious blow to the gut when closer Jokaim Soria went down with an elbow issue and will require TJ surgery but maybe the Royals dodged a bullet if free agent signee Jonathan Broxton can bounce back and become a workable closer once again, a long shot to be sure but still, a chance. The Royals starting pitching is what really needs to take a step forward if this team is to become a contender. Luke Hochevar anchors the rotation but he still young and is slowly improving. Jonathan Sanchez who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants has some potential and could become their number 2 starter. Veteran Bruce Chen continues to get his 10-12 wins each year although I don’t know how and Felipe Paulino slides in as the fourth starter although he could miss the first part of the season. Paulino has control issues but he can also strikeout some hitters. The fifth spot is open and the Royals would like to see youngster Danny Duffy lock up that spot. The Royals need to find a way to improve their starting pitching before they can be considered a serious challenger.
I pick the Chicago White Sox to finish in the Central Division basement. The mighty whities are a high-priced team that has under performed and is old to boot. White Sox GM Ken Williams has shown over the last few years that he doesn’t have a clue on how to be a big league general manager and the sooner he is fired the sooner the White Sox can once again can become a contender. The White Sox let Ozzie Guillen go as manager and hired the totally inexperienced former 3B Robin Ventura to manage this motley crew. The Sox have some proven starting pitching in John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Jake Peavy but Peavy is always hurt and you can’t count on him to be a solid contributor. Former Twins pitcher Philip Humber was a pleasant surprise for the Sox last season but he remains unproven. The Sox have moved the young fireballing Chris Sale out of the pen and into a starters role so his transition will be closely watched. Since the whities traded their closer Sergio Santos to Toronto during the off-season they are in need of a closer and it appears that Matt Thornton will start the season in that role but indications are that Addison Reed will take over the closers role before the 2012 season comes to a merciful end for the Chicago White Sox.
That bring us to the Minnesota Twins who unfortunately will finish third in this weak AL Central with a 78-84 record. 78 wins does not sound like much but it is a nice 15 win improvement after last years dismal showing. The Twins fired GM Bill Smith and put former GM Terry Ryan back in the driver’s seat but Ryan is driving a Chevy and Twins management is selling it as a BMW and this past off-season instead of going into a rebuilding mode after losing Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Joe Nathan and several others, the team decided to try to plug some leaks, drop their payroll by $15 million and see if they can regain their 2010 form. They signed 38 career utility player Jamey Carroll to be their starting shortstop, they signed Josh Willingham to provide some power as a corner outfielder and catcher Ryan Doumit to provide some pop as the back-up catcher. Last season catcher Joe Mauer had a horrible season hitting .287 and playing in just 82 games due to some mysterious injuries that still have not been explained but Mauer has worked hard this spring and you have to think he is back to being the All-Star catcher he should be. 1B Justin Morneau was even worse, hitting .227 with four home runs and playing in 69 games due to a variety of injuries but his major issue was the concussion he suffered in Toronto the previous season. Morneau started spring training playing 1B but midway through spring training he was hitting under .100 and the team decided that Morneau would be the primary DH this season although he would still see time at 1B but I would expect him playing first base less than 30 times this season. Morneau caught fire with his bat but still seldom makes an appearance at 1B in Florida. The Twins need Morneau to hit like he can and to stay healthy but that might be asking a lot based on what Justin has shown the past few years. The second baseman, often injured Alexi Casilla is in a make it or break it season and he has to prove he can play 150+ games, something he has never done. He has already missing games in spring training due to a sore knee. The leader of the Twins “fun bunch” is 3B Danny Valencia who is coming off a “sophomore slump” season in 2011 both with his bat and in the field. Valencia has to start to field at 3B like he cares and to hit more for average versus trying to be that dead pull hitter that he showed in 2011. A little humility by Valencia wouldn’t hurt either, Danny is not God’s gift to baseball even though he seems to think he is. Denard Span has to prove that he is over his own concussion and neck woes and that the Twins can count on him to play day in and day out in centerfield because he has a lot of ground to cover when Willingham is in left and Trevor Plouffe or Ryan Doumit is playing in right. Right field is probably a platoon between Plouffe, Doumit and maybe even Ben Revere who has a throwing arm like a pop gun. The Twins starting pitching is shaky at best and that is kind of funny because going back just a few years the Twins thought their starting pitching was a strength and some bloggers thought we had too much starting pitching but that was just before Kyle Gibson was deemed to need TJ surgery and Alex Wimmers had no clue where home plate was. Francisco Liriano has had a super spring and he is in his contract year but no Twins starter has shown as much “Jekyll and Hyde” personality as Francisco has. One day the man pitches a no-hitter and the next time out he can’t string two good innings together. Scott Baker can be really good but you can also count on Scott Baker to hit the DL at least once each season and this year he will start the season on the DL. I find Baker an interesting pitcher because he makes his living pitching high in the strike zone. What drives me crazy with Baker is that the man never shows any emotion. Get mad, slam your glove down, anything, just show me you are alive Scott. Carl Pavano is one of those guys that goes out and throws 200 innings and gives up 2225 hits but keeps his team in the game. This coming from a guy that had a huge contract with the Yankees between 2005-2008 and was hurt year after year while pitching in just 26 games. Nick Blackburn owns the Twins number 4 starting spot and the sinkerballing right hander is starting his fifth season in the Twins starting rotation. Blackburn, a pitch to contact guy has started at least 26 games each season although his innings pitched have decreased the last two years from a career high of 205 in 2009. Blackburn is one of those guys that gives hitters a comfortable collar but then there are other games when he gives up hit after hit. Blackburn has pitched a few big games for the Twins and has seems to rise to the occasion. The last spot in the starting rotation belongs to newly acquired Jason Marquis a 33-year-old right hander beginning his 13 big league season and is a lot like Pavano, gives up a lot of hits but keeps his team deep into games. Not a stellar rotation by any means but when they pitch well, the Twins have a chance as Gardy might tell you. How about the relievers? Who knows, the Twins resigned Matt Capps to be their closer after Joe Nathan hit the trail for Texas. Capps is not one of the elite closers in the league but does a team that is destined to finish under .500 need an elite closer? I don’t think so and I think Capps can be a good character on this team. Minnesota native lefty Glen Perkins had a breakout season both on the pitching front and out of Gardy’s doghouse. Perkins was outstanding last season and was the Twins best pitcher most of the year. Brian Duensing moves to the bullpen after a disappointing year in the starting rotation in 2011 and he should do a good job there based on what he has shown there previously. Matt Maloney and Jared Burton, both former Redlegs appear to have earned bullpen jobs. Anthony Swarzak is the long guy in the pen and sometimes starter and that role seems to fit him well. The final bullpen spot is still to be determined with Jeff Gray and Alex Burnett still battling it out as spring training winds down. Kyle Waldrop was in the running for the final spot too but he ended up taking a spot on the DL bench.
Ryan did what he could to get more offense on the field but in the process he sacrificed his defense, particularly in the outfield. The fact that the Twins will not have Justin Morneau at 1B will also hurt the other infielders who are used to having Morneau scoop their bad throws out of the dirt. The Twins have numerous holes but they do have some young players that are knocking on the door like Chris Parmelee at 1B, Brian Dozier at SS, Joe Benson in the outfield, Liam Hendriks as a starter and Carlos Gutierrez in the pen. It is starting pitching that the Twins crave but outside of Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers, their does not appear to be a lot there. If the youngsters do indeed turn out to be big leaguers, Ryan will have a core to build on. Deeper in the minors they have some players that could turn out to be stars in a few years. We as fans sometimes fall in love with our teams players and hate to see them go but baseball is like life, you have to keep moving forward and change is necessary, if you stand still, it means that someone is gaining on you. Change is good, we need to embrace change. Going into 2011 Gardy and Smith talked about the need to add speed, no one talks about speed this year….. I wrote all this and didn’t mention Tsuyoshi Nishioka until just now, see how easy it is to forget?
When the smoke clears, Twins fans should be dancing on Target Plaza if this team can somehow play .500 ball, I unfortunately don’t see it happening in 2012. I just hope that the Twins play some exciting baseball the way it should be played and hopefully fans will still keep coming to Target Field to watch them.
Division winners – Rays, Tigers, Angels
Wild Cards – Yankees, Rangers
Tampa Rays move on to represent the American League in the World Series