I listened to the last inning and a half of the Twins game last night on the way home from our fastpitch game in Steen. I expected to hear news about what the Twins did with Adam Everett, but heard nothing. I read today that they first designated him for assignment, then changed their minds when Casilla went on the DL with a torn tendon in his finger. I've read that its the same injury that Matt Tolbert suffered in May, and he's still not back. Hopefully its not as bad.
On many of the blogs I read, they have campaigns to "free" a player, or in other words, let them play in an everyday role. For example, Aaron Gleeman had a "Free Jason Kubel" campaign earlier this season (April 1). I've seen a couple others, but like an amateur writer/blogger, its not my job to remember everything, is it? Anyways, I am going to propose my own "Free" campaign..."Free Alejandro Machado!"
Machado was picked by the Twins in the 2006 Rule 5 draft, but tore his labrum during Spring Training in 2007, and was out for the entire season after surgery. Since coming back from the DL this season, he has hit .333 in 23 games with an OPS of .829. Although he hasn't showed it this season, he has averaged 22 SB's a season in his 9 minor league seasons.
I realize that the case study isn't that great, but using the Minor League Equivalency Factor, that gives him a line of .293/.301/.419. Now I'm no rocket scientist, but I know that those stats are far superior to Adam Everett's. I don't want to undermine the thinking of the one and only Bill Smith on this one...wait, yes I do...but Everett better be either picking up right where Casilla left off, hitting over .300 or be laying out for balls heading to Canada or he'll be calling Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for job-searching info.
Another update on the Five-Tool Performer's bid for $10k... After two days of play in the league playoffs, FTP holds an astonishing 52 point advantage over WWC. Biggest reason: the pitching staffs. My Rays hold a 31-4 point advantage over his White Sox.
If you made it through all those numbers and all those terms...don't you just feel the least bit more intelligent, a smidge smarter, even a little enlightened??
Maybe you just can't believe that this guy's going to be teaching a fantasy sports class to 8th graders this fall...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
If I were GM...
I see a note on ESPN that Buster Olney thinks that Adam Everett would be a good fit for the Dodgers at SS, now that Nomar is out for a bit. LA has a great bullpen...maybe we could get one of their five relievers with a sub 3.00 ERA? I'm thinking maybe Cory Wade is a possibility?
Another note worth watching...LaTroy Hawkins was released by the Yankees. The Twins need bullpen help...would he be a help?
Another note worth watching...LaTroy Hawkins was released by the Yankees. The Twins need bullpen help...would he be a help?
Notes: July 28
-The Iowa High School Baseball Tourney wrapped up last weekend. The only reason I bring this up is to mention the play of B.J. Hermsen, the 6th round pick of the Twins in this year's draft. Here's his line for West Delaware's 3A 13-0 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier:
CG 5 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 12 K
also...
3-4 R 5 RBI including a 3-run HR
He came in relief against Centerville in the semifinal round, throwing 1 1/3 IP, striking out 3, but West Delaware's season ended in a 2-0 loss.
-Shooter Hunt was promoted to Class A Beloit and started on the 26th against Wisconsin:
5 IP 3 H 1 ER 2 BB 9 K
He ended up on the short end of a 1-0 game, however, picking up his first minor league decision.
-I may need to apologize to Denard Span for reaching my earlier conclusion that he was the odd man out in the OF battle. He has now emerged to be more of an asset than Gomez, given Carlos' recent slump. Since June 30 when Span was called up, Gomez has hit .184 with a .282 on-base %. The speedy CF has also shown no signs of the early speed, having only gone 1-2 in SB attempts in that same time frame.
-Many people (hopefully more than just me) have had questions about why can't the Twins send down Boof to AAA and bring up Liriano, or why is Liriano's agent having a fit because Francisco is still in the minors. Well, I found this website that explains things pretty good, and its to the point as well. If anything doesn't make sense, feel free to ask me, not that I know the answers, but I'll definitely enjoy figuring it out.
-I found a page on the Rule 5 draft that takes place during the winter meetings. I thought it was interesting to see how some rules are put in place to maintain balance in the league. Basically the Rule 5 draft is in place to keep teams from hoarding minor league talent. In many cases, one team may have a stockpile of players that aren't quite as good as the guys ahead of them in the organization, but are good enough to play for another team. Take Johan Santana for example...he was a member of the Astros organization and was left off the 40-man roster at the end of the 1999 season, which opened the door for the Marlins to pick him in the '99 Rule 5 draft. They then traded him to the Twins, who, by law had to keep him on the 25-man roster (big-league team) all of 2000 in order to keep him. Although his stats that season were less than impressive (2-3, 6.49 ERA, 64/54 K/BB), by having him up all year gave the Twins complete rights to him, so they sent him to the minors for more seasoning. He was a huge contributer to the Twins 2003 success, going 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 169 K's in 158 1/3 IP.
-Today, the Twins need to decide what to do with Adam Everett, who's rehab assignment is done. They either need to re-evaluate him back to the DL, bring him up (releasing someone), or release him. Personally, I choose the latter of the three.
-Finally, a update on the Fantasy Season for Five-Tool Performer, my 2008 MLB.com Open team. A heartbreaking loss last week...didn't see it coming. I had a 20-point lead going into the last day. I check it this morning and I lost by 10. Somehow I was outscored by 30 points on the last day. As humiliating as it was, it didn't hurt my playoff chances. I made the postseason tournament as the wild-card team. If I put up the same stats as I did last week in my loss, I should be alright though. He's got Jose Reyes and Justin Morneau as his studs that I need to look out for, along with the ChiSox pitching staff. I'm countering with Ian Kinsler, Grady Sizemore and the Rays pitching staff. I like my chances. (Plus he won't get any points for having Matsui still on his lineup, as he's on the DL...shhhh!)
BRING ON YOUR BEST "WEWE'S CABBAGE"!!!
So long for now...
CG 5 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 12 K
also...
3-4 R 5 RBI including a 3-run HR
He came in relief against Centerville in the semifinal round, throwing 1 1/3 IP, striking out 3, but West Delaware's season ended in a 2-0 loss.
-Shooter Hunt was promoted to Class A Beloit and started on the 26th against Wisconsin:
5 IP 3 H 1 ER 2 BB 9 K
He ended up on the short end of a 1-0 game, however, picking up his first minor league decision.
-I may need to apologize to Denard Span for reaching my earlier conclusion that he was the odd man out in the OF battle. He has now emerged to be more of an asset than Gomez, given Carlos' recent slump. Since June 30 when Span was called up, Gomez has hit .184 with a .282 on-base %. The speedy CF has also shown no signs of the early speed, having only gone 1-2 in SB attempts in that same time frame.
-Many people (hopefully more than just me) have had questions about why can't the Twins send down Boof to AAA and bring up Liriano, or why is Liriano's agent having a fit because Francisco is still in the minors. Well, I found this website that explains things pretty good, and its to the point as well. If anything doesn't make sense, feel free to ask me, not that I know the answers, but I'll definitely enjoy figuring it out.
-I found a page on the Rule 5 draft that takes place during the winter meetings. I thought it was interesting to see how some rules are put in place to maintain balance in the league. Basically the Rule 5 draft is in place to keep teams from hoarding minor league talent. In many cases, one team may have a stockpile of players that aren't quite as good as the guys ahead of them in the organization, but are good enough to play for another team. Take Johan Santana for example...he was a member of the Astros organization and was left off the 40-man roster at the end of the 1999 season, which opened the door for the Marlins to pick him in the '99 Rule 5 draft. They then traded him to the Twins, who, by law had to keep him on the 25-man roster (big-league team) all of 2000 in order to keep him. Although his stats that season were less than impressive (2-3, 6.49 ERA, 64/54 K/BB), by having him up all year gave the Twins complete rights to him, so they sent him to the minors for more seasoning. He was a huge contributer to the Twins 2003 success, going 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 169 K's in 158 1/3 IP.
-Today, the Twins need to decide what to do with Adam Everett, who's rehab assignment is done. They either need to re-evaluate him back to the DL, bring him up (releasing someone), or release him. Personally, I choose the latter of the three.
-Finally, a update on the Fantasy Season for Five-Tool Performer, my 2008 MLB.com Open team. A heartbreaking loss last week...didn't see it coming. I had a 20-point lead going into the last day. I check it this morning and I lost by 10. Somehow I was outscored by 30 points on the last day. As humiliating as it was, it didn't hurt my playoff chances. I made the postseason tournament as the wild-card team. If I put up the same stats as I did last week in my loss, I should be alright though. He's got Jose Reyes and Justin Morneau as his studs that I need to look out for, along with the ChiSox pitching staff. I'm countering with Ian Kinsler, Grady Sizemore and the Rays pitching staff. I like my chances. (Plus he won't get any points for having Matsui still on his lineup, as he's on the DL...shhhh!)
BRING ON YOUR BEST "WEWE'S CABBAGE"!!!
So long for now...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Tidbits
I'm not sure what it is about Fantasy Baseball that gets me excited. I assume is somewhat similar to people who bet on games, races, or anything else under the sun. I think it makes it more exciting to watch, knowing that you have a (somewhat) personal connection to something you wouldn't normally have. For what other purpose would I daily watch the box scores of Yadier Molina and Ramon Hernandez, trying to squeeze every point I can from my catcher position? And why else would I be worried about having two pitching staffs from the same division (Blue Jays and Rays) because they'll both have to face the Yankees and Red Sox lineups down the stretch?
Only in Fantasy Baseball.
Normally I just compete in the Yahoo Sports leagues, but this year I decided to make an MLB.com Fantasy Open team. After not paying too much attention for the first half of the season, I've gotten into it a little more over the last month, especially when I realized that the grand prize is $10,000, and someone has to win it. Even the final 32 teams in the tournament get $100 to the MLB.com store, which I decided would go a long way in decorating the future Twins room in the house.
I'll probably keep updating my chances of coming out on top, but here's where I stand right now:
I'm 11-5 in my division, 1 game behind the 1st place team who I just beat last week, and tied with another team, who is my opponent this week. I have more points overall than any of the top three teams, so in the case of a tiebreaker, I win. This is the last week of competition, and I need to win and have the leader lose to gain a postseason playoff berth. If I don't get in that way, I still make it to the postseason because I already have the 2800 points needed to automatically qualify (I'm at 3417).
Not that most people care...I'm just a little excited.
Twins notes:
We went to the game on Saturday vs. the Rangers where the Twins dominated 14-2. I can't wait for the day when I go to a game and nothing goes wrong. The backup of traffic on 35 started earlier than I expected and we were in stop and go with 30 miles to the Dome. Thanks to some quick navigational skills, we made a slight detour only to find more construction. We made it to the HHH at the same time the downpour did, which thankfully scared off enough fans for us to still get our Delmon Young bobbleheads. After driving around through Minnesota's 10,001st lake, and our 3rd parking spot in the same lot, we swam through the newly formed sea 4 blocks back to the gate.
And what do you know...the game was right on time, even with all the rain. Who would've thought that a roof on a baseball stadium in Minnesota would be such a good idea?
For those of you who don't faithfully check the Twins minor league stats, I'll give you a bit of an update on some of this year's draft picks. Here are the stats of the players for Rounds 1-10:
Aaron Hicks: .317 AVG 1 HR 15 RBI .406 OBP
Carlos Gutierrez: 0-0 6.00 ERA 3 IP 2 K 1 BB
Shooter Hunt: 0-0 0.47 ERA 19 IP 34 K 6 BB
Tyler Ladendorf: .222 AVG 0 HR 7 RBI 5 SB
Bobby Lanigan: 2-2 3.00 ERA 27 IP 29 K 6 BB
Daniel Ortiz: .222 AVG 0 HR 15 RBI .602 OPS
Nicholas Romero: .241 AVG 4 HR 14 RBI .758 OPS
DJ Hermsen: Still playing HS ball in Iowa for #1 ranked West Delaware. He's currently 9-0 with a 0.70 ERA with 114 K and 9 BB in 63.1 IP. He's also hit for a .425 AVG with 23 HR and 71 RBI. Interesting note: He doesn't even have the most wins, best ERA, or most K's on his own TEAM! That would be fellow senior and teammate Garrett Linderwell, who's name wasn't called on draft day.
Daniel Osterbrock: 2-2 3.78 ERA 33.1 IP 40 K 3 BB
Jeff Lanning: .227 AVG 2 HR 4 RBI .775 OPS
Michael Gonzales: .393 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI 1.025 OPS
Evan Bigley: .286 AVG 4 HR 13 RBI .858 OPS
Now obviously no one's making predictions on how the rest of their professional careers will turn out, but it is interesting to see how HS and college stars make the transition to pro ball. In looking at these stats, Shooter Hunt obviously stands out above the rest of the pitchers, as does Michael Gonzales among the hitters.
NAIA news:
A couple of recent NAIA stars updates:
1st round (13th overall) draft pick in 2007 for the Indians, Beau Mills from Lewis & Clark State is at high A ball hitting .279 with 15 HR and 64 RBI...
13th round pick in 2006 Ben Jukich from Dakota Wesleyan was recently promoted to AAA in the Reds organization. He was 8-4 with a 3.57 ERA at AA...after one start at Louisville is 0-0 with a 8.31 ERA...
My buddy Mihai Burlea signed a contract with RCH MediaMonks of the Dutch Major League. He went 3-3 with a 1.99 ERA while striking out 53 in 45.1 innings. Too bad his team is 5-25 on the year and has a team batting average of .233...He left the team for a bit to pitch for Romania in the European championships. While there he went 1-1 with 2 CG. He left with an ERA of 1.42, striking out 22 and walking 5 in 19 innings. His highlight came when he faced heavily favored Ukraine and beat them 1-0 with a linescore of 10 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 13 K.
That's all for now...
Only in Fantasy Baseball.
Normally I just compete in the Yahoo Sports leagues, but this year I decided to make an MLB.com Fantasy Open team. After not paying too much attention for the first half of the season, I've gotten into it a little more over the last month, especially when I realized that the grand prize is $10,000, and someone has to win it. Even the final 32 teams in the tournament get $100 to the MLB.com store, which I decided would go a long way in decorating the future Twins room in the house.
I'll probably keep updating my chances of coming out on top, but here's where I stand right now:
I'm 11-5 in my division, 1 game behind the 1st place team who I just beat last week, and tied with another team, who is my opponent this week. I have more points overall than any of the top three teams, so in the case of a tiebreaker, I win. This is the last week of competition, and I need to win and have the leader lose to gain a postseason playoff berth. If I don't get in that way, I still make it to the postseason because I already have the 2800 points needed to automatically qualify (I'm at 3417).
Not that most people care...I'm just a little excited.
Twins notes:
We went to the game on Saturday vs. the Rangers where the Twins dominated 14-2. I can't wait for the day when I go to a game and nothing goes wrong. The backup of traffic on 35 started earlier than I expected and we were in stop and go with 30 miles to the Dome. Thanks to some quick navigational skills, we made a slight detour only to find more construction. We made it to the HHH at the same time the downpour did, which thankfully scared off enough fans for us to still get our Delmon Young bobbleheads. After driving around through Minnesota's 10,001st lake, and our 3rd parking spot in the same lot, we swam through the newly formed sea 4 blocks back to the gate.
And what do you know...the game was right on time, even with all the rain. Who would've thought that a roof on a baseball stadium in Minnesota would be such a good idea?
For those of you who don't faithfully check the Twins minor league stats, I'll give you a bit of an update on some of this year's draft picks. Here are the stats of the players for Rounds 1-10:
Aaron Hicks: .317 AVG 1 HR 15 RBI .406 OBP
Carlos Gutierrez: 0-0 6.00 ERA 3 IP 2 K 1 BB
Shooter Hunt: 0-0 0.47 ERA 19 IP 34 K 6 BB
Tyler Ladendorf: .222 AVG 0 HR 7 RBI 5 SB
Bobby Lanigan: 2-2 3.00 ERA 27 IP 29 K 6 BB
Daniel Ortiz: .222 AVG 0 HR 15 RBI .602 OPS
Nicholas Romero: .241 AVG 4 HR 14 RBI .758 OPS
DJ Hermsen: Still playing HS ball in Iowa for #1 ranked West Delaware. He's currently 9-0 with a 0.70 ERA with 114 K and 9 BB in 63.1 IP. He's also hit for a .425 AVG with 23 HR and 71 RBI. Interesting note: He doesn't even have the most wins, best ERA, or most K's on his own TEAM! That would be fellow senior and teammate Garrett Linderwell, who's name wasn't called on draft day.
Daniel Osterbrock: 2-2 3.78 ERA 33.1 IP 40 K 3 BB
Jeff Lanning: .227 AVG 2 HR 4 RBI .775 OPS
Michael Gonzales: .393 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI 1.025 OPS
Evan Bigley: .286 AVG 4 HR 13 RBI .858 OPS
Now obviously no one's making predictions on how the rest of their professional careers will turn out, but it is interesting to see how HS and college stars make the transition to pro ball. In looking at these stats, Shooter Hunt obviously stands out above the rest of the pitchers, as does Michael Gonzales among the hitters.
NAIA news:
A couple of recent NAIA stars updates:
1st round (13th overall) draft pick in 2007 for the Indians, Beau Mills from Lewis & Clark State is at high A ball hitting .279 with 15 HR and 64 RBI...
13th round pick in 2006 Ben Jukich from Dakota Wesleyan was recently promoted to AAA in the Reds organization. He was 8-4 with a 3.57 ERA at AA...after one start at Louisville is 0-0 with a 8.31 ERA...
My buddy Mihai Burlea signed a contract with RCH MediaMonks of the Dutch Major League. He went 3-3 with a 1.99 ERA while striking out 53 in 45.1 innings. Too bad his team is 5-25 on the year and has a team batting average of .233...He left the team for a bit to pitch for Romania in the European championships. While there he went 1-1 with 2 CG. He left with an ERA of 1.42, striking out 22 and walking 5 in 19 innings. His highlight came when he faced heavily favored Ukraine and beat them 1-0 with a linescore of 10 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 13 K.
That's all for now...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Kelly Thesier
Now, I'm not completely sure why, but when Kelly Thesier took over the job at the Twins beat writer for MLB.com, I find it really hard to enjoy reading articles on the Twins website. Maybe its the way everything is sugar-coated, no matter how bad the situation is. The Twins could be in the middle of a 3-33 slump, and the headline would read "Twins Persevering Through Troubled Times". Which I guess is true, they are still alive, they get their paycheck...but yeah, beyond that its the Great Depression out there. OK, so maybe its not that bad, and I realize you can't write negatively about the team on its own website, and I'm not asking her to write negatively or to criticize...just don't write straight up lies.
In her latest article on the Twins midterm report, I literally laughed out loud. Let's take a look...
1) Club MVP Joe Mauer...no argument here, best player on the team has been nothing short of dependable and durable the entire season.
2) Call him "Ace" Livan Hernandez (insert my laughing out loud). She notes that the Twins were looking for an innings-eater and a veteran to stabilize the rotation. Oh, but he has done more than that..."proving himself to be a mentor to the starting staff" (isn't that how to stabilize the starting rotation?) "and delivering better numbers on the mound than expected" (true, I honestly thought he would have an ERA in the mid-upper fives, a whip of 1.70, and a BAA of over.320...
...oh wait, he does...
I guess the number I didn't expect was the Twins scoring almost 6 1/2 runs/game when Livan starts.
3) Greatest strength..speed. Kelly, you should've stopped right there. She goes on to discuss the bullpen, which although good, I don't consider a strength to the team. Between losing Neshek and having Bonser and Bass piling up runs, you're down to less than a handful of guys you feel comfortable pitching with a lead.
4) Problem...injuries. Honestly, I dont' know if this is such a big one...Adam Everett going down is probably the only reason he's still on the team. Losing Neshek hurt badly, but the play of Castilla, Buscher, Macri, and Span is more than what was expected of the guys they replaced.
5) Suprise...Castilla. I will agree to some point on this one, but to me, the biggest has been the younger starting pitching (Perkins, Baker, Blackburn, and Slowey) They have a combined 25-15 record with a 3.90 ERA and a 4.7/1 K/BB ratio. What more could you have asked for without Santana, Silva, Liriano, and Bonser in the rotation?
6) Team needs...power hitter. Who doesn't need a power hitter at the deadline, honestly? I am worried about the condition of the pitchers arms though. The bullpen has thrown the 5th most innings in the AL, and may increase as the 2nd half of the season takes a toll on the arms of the younger starters who are typically not ready to throw 175-200 innings a season. Many people make the case for Liriano to come back in the 2nd half, but he has already logged 110+ innings this season, a year removed from Tommy John surgery. If he does come up soon after the break, don't expect the Twins to use him for more than 5 or 6 starts. In my opinion, the team could try and deal one of their excess OF's for either starting pitching or bullpen help to get them through a tough 2nd half schedule.
But that's just my fantasy two cents...
In her latest article on the Twins midterm report, I literally laughed out loud. Let's take a look...
1) Club MVP Joe Mauer...no argument here, best player on the team has been nothing short of dependable and durable the entire season.
2) Call him "Ace" Livan Hernandez (insert my laughing out loud). She notes that the Twins were looking for an innings-eater and a veteran to stabilize the rotation. Oh, but he has done more than that..."proving himself to be a mentor to the starting staff" (isn't that how to stabilize the starting rotation?) "and delivering better numbers on the mound than expected" (true, I honestly thought he would have an ERA in the mid-upper fives, a whip of 1.70, and a BAA of over.320...
...oh wait, he does...
I guess the number I didn't expect was the Twins scoring almost 6 1/2 runs/game when Livan starts.
3) Greatest strength..speed. Kelly, you should've stopped right there. She goes on to discuss the bullpen, which although good, I don't consider a strength to the team. Between losing Neshek and having Bonser and Bass piling up runs, you're down to less than a handful of guys you feel comfortable pitching with a lead.
4) Problem...injuries. Honestly, I dont' know if this is such a big one...Adam Everett going down is probably the only reason he's still on the team. Losing Neshek hurt badly, but the play of Castilla, Buscher, Macri, and Span is more than what was expected of the guys they replaced.
5) Suprise...Castilla. I will agree to some point on this one, but to me, the biggest has been the younger starting pitching (Perkins, Baker, Blackburn, and Slowey) They have a combined 25-15 record with a 3.90 ERA and a 4.7/1 K/BB ratio. What more could you have asked for without Santana, Silva, Liriano, and Bonser in the rotation?
6) Team needs...power hitter. Who doesn't need a power hitter at the deadline, honestly? I am worried about the condition of the pitchers arms though. The bullpen has thrown the 5th most innings in the AL, and may increase as the 2nd half of the season takes a toll on the arms of the younger starters who are typically not ready to throw 175-200 innings a season. Many people make the case for Liriano to come back in the 2nd half, but he has already logged 110+ innings this season, a year removed from Tommy John surgery. If he does come up soon after the break, don't expect the Twins to use him for more than 5 or 6 starts. In my opinion, the team could try and deal one of their excess OF's for either starting pitching or bullpen help to get them through a tough 2nd half schedule.
But that's just my fantasy two cents...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Trade Deadline Moves
As Aaron Gleeman discussed the Twins’ somewhat surprising pre-All Star game numbers in his blog, he took a look back at the Twins’ first-half records since 2001. With the exception of the 2001 season where the Twins took a second half plunge with a 30-45 record after the break, each of the seasons since have seen the team put up a winning second half record. Now if the Twins were your typical big market “stop-at-no-cost-to-win-now-even-if-it-means-depleting-our-farm-system” club, I might be spending this time and space talking about the great trades that then GM Terry Ryan made and how it helped push the club to the front of the AL Central race. Now don’t get me wrong, the Twins have made some trade-deadline moves in the past, such as bringing in Rick Reed and Shannon Stewart, among others. But more often than not, the Twins haven’t made that big last-minute midnight deal on July 31. Let’s recap each season and look at what moves the Twins made (or didn’t make) during the second half of the year.
2001: Traded for Todd Jones & Rick Reed. Claimed Casey Blake off waivers.
2002: No moves made, but made the playoffs for the first time since winning the 1991 World Series.
2003: Traded for Shannon Stewart and Jesse Orosco.
2004: Traded away Doug Mientkiewicz for minor leaguer Justin Jones, who is no longer with the organization.
2005: Received Bret Boone from Seattle on July 11 and was released on July 31st, never to play again.
2006: Released Ruben Sierra and Tony Batista. Traded away Juan Castro and Kyle Lohse for minor leaguers. Acquired Phil Nevin from Chicago Cubs.
2007: Traded away Luis Castillo for two minor leaguers. Traded away Ramon Ortiz for minor leaguer. Released Jeff Cirillo.
Now it’s 2008 and the Twins find themselves in the same situation they have faced in each of the past five seasons—staring at one of their rivals perched atop the standings. The next few weeks will be critical for the team as they spend much of the rest of the season on the road, where they haven’t fared nearly as well as they have at home. In addition to the tough schedule, players who had been on the DL, (Michael Cuddyer, Matt Tolbert, and Adam Everett) are scheduled to come back, and the players who initially took their place (Denard Span, Brian Buscher, and Alexi Castilla) have established themselves as everyday players in the lineup and on the field. Another issue that the team faces is the recent success of 2006 phenom Francisco Liriano following Tommy John surgery and an unsuccessful comeback attempt at the beginning of the season. Now normally this wouldn’t be such a problem, except that the Twins’ young hurlers (Scott Baker, Glen Perkins, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey) have no doubt met expectations so far this year.
Now I’m not completely sure if every Twins fan thinks about what move the brilliant Bill Smith is planning next, but I like to play fantasy GM whenever situations like this come up. If I was Bill Smith, here’s what I would do:
1) The first move I would make would be a page out of Terry Ryan’s book (see Chapter 10 : 2006 Minnesota Twins). Cut your losses and get rid of the players that aren’t helping your team. Mike Lamb is not part of the team’s future, even with his guaranteed $7.6 million salary. No one who hits for a .220 average on a team in need of a power third baseman deserves to stick around. (FYI: The salaries of Sierra & Batista only totaled about $1.5 million combined.)
2) Stop using the excuse that we haven’t seen the full potential of Adam Everett because of injury. What you see is what you got, and you ain’t got much.
3) As much as it pains me to say this…Craig Monroe, I don’t think there’s room for you either in Twinkie Town. After using you in the role that I had hoped you could fill (right-handed power off the bench) in the series against Boston before the break, you killed two rallies in two much needed road games.
4) Finally, when I call up Liriano towards the end of July, Livan Hernandez will be on his way out. Even though credited with 9 first-half wins, he did nothing to earn them, entering the break in either last or second to last in ERA, opponent's batting average, opponent's on-base percentage, opponent's slugging percentage, and opponent's OPS.
So to finally conclude…I wouldn’t make any outside moves. The rumors that the Twins may be interested in Adrian Beltre from Seattle or picking up Freddy Garcia via free agency is absurd. You can’t keep veteran players around if they simply aren’t producing when you have young guys proving they deserve a chance. There are enough guys on the team that have playoff experience (Cuddyer, Mauer, Morneau, Punto, Redmond) to guide the younger players through the second half of the season. The likelihood of the Twins dumping $17.4 million guaranteed is about as likely as Babe Ruth coming back to solidify the rotation and add some pop to the lineup. A more likely scenario could be to try and trade Hernandez to an NL team in need of starting pitching, Everett to a team in need of a late-inning defensive replacement, and Monroe to a team which needs a right-handed bat off the bench.
But that’s just my fantasy two cents…
2001: Traded for Todd Jones & Rick Reed. Claimed Casey Blake off waivers.
2002: No moves made, but made the playoffs for the first time since winning the 1991 World Series.
2003: Traded for Shannon Stewart and Jesse Orosco.
2004: Traded away Doug Mientkiewicz for minor leaguer Justin Jones, who is no longer with the organization.
2005: Received Bret Boone from Seattle on July 11 and was released on July 31st, never to play again.
2006: Released Ruben Sierra and Tony Batista. Traded away Juan Castro and Kyle Lohse for minor leaguers. Acquired Phil Nevin from Chicago Cubs.
2007: Traded away Luis Castillo for two minor leaguers. Traded away Ramon Ortiz for minor leaguer. Released Jeff Cirillo.
Now it’s 2008 and the Twins find themselves in the same situation they have faced in each of the past five seasons—staring at one of their rivals perched atop the standings. The next few weeks will be critical for the team as they spend much of the rest of the season on the road, where they haven’t fared nearly as well as they have at home. In addition to the tough schedule, players who had been on the DL, (Michael Cuddyer, Matt Tolbert, and Adam Everett) are scheduled to come back, and the players who initially took their place (Denard Span, Brian Buscher, and Alexi Castilla) have established themselves as everyday players in the lineup and on the field. Another issue that the team faces is the recent success of 2006 phenom Francisco Liriano following Tommy John surgery and an unsuccessful comeback attempt at the beginning of the season. Now normally this wouldn’t be such a problem, except that the Twins’ young hurlers (Scott Baker, Glen Perkins, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey) have no doubt met expectations so far this year.
Now I’m not completely sure if every Twins fan thinks about what move the brilliant Bill Smith is planning next, but I like to play fantasy GM whenever situations like this come up. If I was Bill Smith, here’s what I would do:
1) The first move I would make would be a page out of Terry Ryan’s book (see Chapter 10 : 2006 Minnesota Twins). Cut your losses and get rid of the players that aren’t helping your team. Mike Lamb is not part of the team’s future, even with his guaranteed $7.6 million salary. No one who hits for a .220 average on a team in need of a power third baseman deserves to stick around. (FYI: The salaries of Sierra & Batista only totaled about $1.5 million combined.)
2) Stop using the excuse that we haven’t seen the full potential of Adam Everett because of injury. What you see is what you got, and you ain’t got much.
3) As much as it pains me to say this…Craig Monroe, I don’t think there’s room for you either in Twinkie Town. After using you in the role that I had hoped you could fill (right-handed power off the bench) in the series against Boston before the break, you killed two rallies in two much needed road games.
4) Finally, when I call up Liriano towards the end of July, Livan Hernandez will be on his way out. Even though credited with 9 first-half wins, he did nothing to earn them, entering the break in either last or second to last in ERA, opponent's batting average, opponent's on-base percentage, opponent's slugging percentage, and opponent's OPS.
So to finally conclude…I wouldn’t make any outside moves. The rumors that the Twins may be interested in Adrian Beltre from Seattle or picking up Freddy Garcia via free agency is absurd. You can’t keep veteran players around if they simply aren’t producing when you have young guys proving they deserve a chance. There are enough guys on the team that have playoff experience (Cuddyer, Mauer, Morneau, Punto, Redmond) to guide the younger players through the second half of the season. The likelihood of the Twins dumping $17.4 million guaranteed is about as likely as Babe Ruth coming back to solidify the rotation and add some pop to the lineup. A more likely scenario could be to try and trade Hernandez to an NL team in need of starting pitching, Everett to a team in need of a late-inning defensive replacement, and Monroe to a team which needs a right-handed bat off the bench.
But that’s just my fantasy two cents…
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Twins Dilemma
Alright, its my turn to play fantasy GM again for the Twins. They will soon have a number of players returning from the DL, with no real clear options as to who's spot on the roster they will take. Let's assume that the Twins stay with 12 pitchers and 13 position players. Starting at the top with the most obvious to stay:
Keepers:
Joe Mauer: All-Star catcher would have to be dead to lose his spot on the team.
Justin Morneau: All-Star 1st baseman, 2006 AL MVP, not a chance.
Mike Redmond: Oldest player on the team, only 20 games played all year...may have the best job in baseball, backing up Mauer.
Alexi Casilla: Called up on May 11 and is 4th in RBI's this season while hitting a solid .318 through July 7. Even if he is unable to keep up this pace, he's done absolutely nothing to warrant being sent back to Rochester.
Jason Kubel: Finally coming back around after devastating knee injury in 2004. Tied for the team lead with 12 HR's while establishing himself as the team's DH.
Delmon Young: After slow start to the season (.264, 0, 15 through May 31) has come alive (.327, 3, 18 since June 1). Even though his K/BB ratio isn't getting any better (22 K/ 4 BB since June 1), he's still a solid hitter for his age.
Carlos Gomez: The speedy CF projected at 39 SB's by ESPN.com has played 83 games in CF providing a formidable replacement for departed CF Torii Hunter. He's on pace to set the team record for K's in a season (Bobby Darwin-145 in '72), which isn't ideal from a leadoff man.
Nick Punto: The Twins stuck with him last year through his hitting woes, and most certainly won't the piranha go this year after hitting over his career averages thus far. As long as he stays healthy after two stints on the DL already this year, he'll be in the lineup.
Brian Buscher: Saw action in only 2 games for his first call up, but was outstanding in the month of June during his second call up, putting up a line of .360, 1, 14 with an OPS of .810. Has cooled off as of late after splitting time at third with both Harris and Punto when facing left-handed pitching.
Brendan Harris: RH hitting infielder struggles to hit LH pitching (15-80) this season, and overall average is below career mark. Is currently switching between starts at 2B and SS with Punto and Casilla
Craig Monroe: Best AB/HR ratio on the team at 17.3. Also has 2 HR and 5 RBI in 10 PH AB's this season. Could have 20 HR potential if played everyday, but his .217 AVG is less than to be desired.
Denard Span: Was a solid replacement for Cuddyer in April, but has performed beyond expectations during 2nd call up hitting .350 in 7 games. His range is far greater than that of Cuddyer's as well, but Cuddy's arm is far superior.
Mike Lamb: Where do I start? You follow up a horrendous April (.197 BA) with an amazing May (.302 BA with a .747 OPS) only to slide back down to a dreadful June (.063 BA). Now with 6 AB's in the last 20 GAMES, the Twins appear that they're already beginning to eat your $3.5 million salary. But can they do that through next year and justify it? Beware when Everett and Tolbert come back...
So...where does that leave us??? With Cuddyer looking to be the first one to return, it would seem absurd to keep 6 OF on the squad. We all know that Kubel, Young, and Gomez aren't going anywhere. Monroe, as much as his .217 BA hurts, has been the RH pop off the bench all year, plus he's making $3.8 million this year. That again leaves Denard Span who, at least this time around may have some backing from Twins fans when he complains he got the raw end of the deal. Denard, we feel your pain, but until the Twins realize that its really not worth spending millions on chance FA's like Monroe, Lamb, and Everett, guys like you, Buscher, and Tolbert may be the odd men out.
Keepers:
Joe Mauer: All-Star catcher would have to be dead to lose his spot on the team.
Justin Morneau: All-Star 1st baseman, 2006 AL MVP, not a chance.
Mike Redmond: Oldest player on the team, only 20 games played all year...may have the best job in baseball, backing up Mauer.
Alexi Casilla: Called up on May 11 and is 4th in RBI's this season while hitting a solid .318 through July 7. Even if he is unable to keep up this pace, he's done absolutely nothing to warrant being sent back to Rochester.
Jason Kubel: Finally coming back around after devastating knee injury in 2004. Tied for the team lead with 12 HR's while establishing himself as the team's DH.
Delmon Young: After slow start to the season (.264, 0, 15 through May 31) has come alive (.327, 3, 18 since June 1). Even though his K/BB ratio isn't getting any better (22 K/ 4 BB since June 1), he's still a solid hitter for his age.
Carlos Gomez: The speedy CF projected at 39 SB's by ESPN.com has played 83 games in CF providing a formidable replacement for departed CF Torii Hunter. He's on pace to set the team record for K's in a season (Bobby Darwin-145 in '72), which isn't ideal from a leadoff man.
Nick Punto: The Twins stuck with him last year through his hitting woes, and most certainly won't the piranha go this year after hitting over his career averages thus far. As long as he stays healthy after two stints on the DL already this year, he'll be in the lineup.
Brian Buscher: Saw action in only 2 games for his first call up, but was outstanding in the month of June during his second call up, putting up a line of .360, 1, 14 with an OPS of .810. Has cooled off as of late after splitting time at third with both Harris and Punto when facing left-handed pitching.
Brendan Harris: RH hitting infielder struggles to hit LH pitching (15-80) this season, and overall average is below career mark. Is currently switching between starts at 2B and SS with Punto and Casilla
Craig Monroe: Best AB/HR ratio on the team at 17.3. Also has 2 HR and 5 RBI in 10 PH AB's this season. Could have 20 HR potential if played everyday, but his .217 AVG is less than to be desired.
Denard Span: Was a solid replacement for Cuddyer in April, but has performed beyond expectations during 2nd call up hitting .350 in 7 games. His range is far greater than that of Cuddyer's as well, but Cuddy's arm is far superior.
Mike Lamb: Where do I start? You follow up a horrendous April (.197 BA) with an amazing May (.302 BA with a .747 OPS) only to slide back down to a dreadful June (.063 BA). Now with 6 AB's in the last 20 GAMES, the Twins appear that they're already beginning to eat your $3.5 million salary. But can they do that through next year and justify it? Beware when Everett and Tolbert come back...
So...where does that leave us??? With Cuddyer looking to be the first one to return, it would seem absurd to keep 6 OF on the squad. We all know that Kubel, Young, and Gomez aren't going anywhere. Monroe, as much as his .217 BA hurts, has been the RH pop off the bench all year, plus he's making $3.8 million this year. That again leaves Denard Span who, at least this time around may have some backing from Twins fans when he complains he got the raw end of the deal. Denard, we feel your pain, but until the Twins realize that its really not worth spending millions on chance FA's like Monroe, Lamb, and Everett, guys like you, Buscher, and Tolbert may be the odd men out.
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