Twins bring in Jim Thome to Clog Bases, Sock a Few Dingers

According to the Star Tribune, the Twins have signed left-handed future Hall of Fame designated hitter Jim Thome, who hit a respectable .249/.366/.481 last season with Chicago and Los Angeles. According to the Star Tribune’s Joe Christensen:

“The Twins have agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal with slugger Jim Thome, a person familiar with the negotiations said today, adding that the deal includes up to $700,000 in incentives.”

Thome is an old man, with nineteen seasons in the league, and should move Delmon Young to the bench against right-handed pitchers.

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by Klobs on 01/26 at 05:20 PM
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Trade Analysis: Twins Trade Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy

Wow. Somebody must have put some serious caffeine in Bill Smith’s cup. Where in recent years, the Twins would seemingly wait around for months to make their first off season move, Bill Smith struck quickly sending center fielder and Johan Santana trade centerpiece Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for former All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy.

Shortstop was a position that had been a major hole for the Twins since they sent Jason Bartlett to Tampa Bay as part of the Matt Garza for Delmon Young swap. Hardy, if he plays to form, has the ability to be the Twins best shortstop since Roy Smalley manned the position in the ‘70s. At the plate, Hardy game revolves around his power, hitting 24 and 26 homeruns in 2007 and 2008. He’s also coming off a major slump year where his batting average and power took a major hit. Hardy has a good reputation with the glove, though it’s more in a Jay Bell kind of way than an Ozzie Smith sort of way. He doesn’t have the great range most scouts want in a shortstop, but he positions himself well, has a great arm and doesn’t make errors. He won’t become a free agent until after the 2011 season, so if Hardy bounces back he won’t be a short-term rental.

Giving up Gomez is interesting, because Gomez is the Twins best defensive centerfielder. The problem is without improvement his bat makes him a fifth outfielder right now. Gomez has all the tools, and if he learns how to use them he could be something and grow up to be a Devo White or Torii Hunter type of centerfielder. But Denard Span can play centerfield in the short run and the Twins’ two best prospects—Ben Revere and Aaron Hicks—are centerfielders where the Twins best shortstop prospect is an open-ended debate question and not likely to be ranked in the top twenty.

The free agent market for shortstops was grim, filled with a bunch of thirty-somethings who either had a good glove or an ok bat, but never both of the two. Hardy’s biggest strength is that he just turned 27 and could be the Twins solution at shortstop for years to come. Or, he could continue to play like he did last season. Still, it was a risk worth taking for the Twins, and Bill Smith has to be commended for going out and pulling the trigger quickly.

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 11/06 at 12:13 PM
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Twins send Carlos Gomez to Milwaukee for James Jerry Hardy

According to multiple news outlets, the Minnesota Twins have acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez. There is no truth to the rumor that Kevin McHale infiltrated the Twins front office and managed to include a future first round draft pick in the deal, however.

Hardy struggled last season after strong showings in 2007 and 2008. His .229/.302/.357 line resulted in a demotion to Triple A Nashville.

Gomez, the centerpiece of the Johan Santana trade, doesn’t really know how to play baseball, but is really fast and has a strong handshake, which once caused manager Ron Gardenhire to “bow down.”

Minor league pitchers Philip Humber and Deolis Guerra are the remaining players acquired for Santana, as pitcher Kevin Mulvey was sent to Arizona to complete the Jon Rauch trade.

The move also indicates that shortstop Orlando Cabrera, acquired at the trade deadline for minor leaguer Tyler Ladendorf, will not be returning to the Twins.

Discuss this deal on BYTO!

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by Klobs on 11/06 at 11:46 AM
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BYTO’s Top Acquisition of 2009!

It’s difficult to single out the Twins’ best acquisition, mostly because none of the new Twins had a performance to separate themselves from the rest, aside, perhaps, from Jon Rauch.

As we’ve come to expect, the Twins’ offseason moves paid few dividends, as Joe Crede’s inability to hit baseballs and/or stay healthy, and Luis Ayala’s general terribleness helped keep the team chasing .500 for most of the season. The Twins four main in-season pickups, Orlando Cabrera, Ron Mahay,  Jon Rauch, and Carl Pavano each had a hand in the Twins run to the playoffs. Take away the contributions of any of them, and you’re looking at a 162 game season, and second or third place. Looking at most of their performances independently, that these four guys made such a difference is a tough pill to swallow, but in context, it’s a little easier.

Orlando Cabrera, while horribly misplaced in the second spot in the batting order, provided usable offensive numbers for a shortstop, and was not as damaging as the rest of the guys Gardy chose to “handle the bat,” i.e. “make outs,” in front of Joe Mauer. Defensively, Cabrera didn’t impress, but I’m sure that his positioning was top-notch.

Ron Mahay only pitched 10.2 innings with the Twins, including the playoffs, and did his job with little notice. He also sated Gardy’s need to have multiple southpaws in the bullpen, so he can do what good managers do to win ballgames.

Jon Rauch was able to use his incredible height, and resulting intimidating mound presence to get a few key outs, and become the Twins most reliable reliever down the stretch, taking some of the load from the most used reliever in baseball.

Finally, we come to Carl Pavano. Pavano’s numbers certainly won’t jump out at you, unless you are a connoisseur of nondescript starting pitching (and, as a Twins’ fan, you may just be). The real value of Pavano, ironically, was his ability to actually pitch, as the rest of the Twins rotation crumbled through injury and ineffectiveness. Does that make Pavano’s acquisition better than that of Jon Rauch? Well, that’s for you to decide, and you have. Congratulations to Carl Pavano, BYTO’s Top Acquisition of 2009! Yay!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by Klobs on 11/05 at 10:54 AM
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BYTO’s Top Defensive Plays of 2009!

In our second installment of BYTO’s Twins Greatest Hits, 2009 edition, we present the top ten defensive plays of the season, as voted on by BYTO members. Sadly, these plays wouldn’t be the breakthrough on your Twingo card you were hoping for.

10. Alexi Casilla Takes One Away from Billy Butler.
August 22 vs. Kansas City

4-3.

 

 

 

9. Denard Span Finds a Seat in the Bullpen.
August 24 vs. Baltimore

FO7.

 

 

 

8. Delmon Young Takes One Away from Carlos Gomez.
June 19 vs. Houston

F7.

 

 

 

7. Michael Cuddyer Goes Cheek Deep in the Baggie.
July 10 vs. Chicago

F9.

 

 

 

6. Carlos Gomez Brings Back a Grand Slam.
July 7 vs. New York

F8.

 

 

 

5. Brendan Harris Snags a Shot at the “Hot Corner.”
October 9 vs. New York

L5.

 

 

 

4. Nick Punto Tries to Break His Collarbone, Again.
October 7 vs. New York

4-3.

 

 

 

3. Denard Span saves Joe Nathan.
October 3 vs. Kansas City

F9.

 

 

 

1 (tie).  Alexi Casilla’s Ridiculous Flip to Second Base.
August 26 vs. Baltimore

4-6.

 

 

 

1 (tie). Joe Mauer Tags Out Brett Gardner at Home.
May 17 vs. New York

1-2.

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by Klobs on 11/02 at 05:29 PM
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BYTO’s Top Offensive Plays of 2009!

Recently, the fans at BYTO voted for the top offensive plays of the Twins’ 2009 season. In a season full of great moments and amazing plays, it was surprisingly easy to whittle the list down to ten, but we did it! Here’s the results of that voting!

 

10. Justin Morneau's Grand Slam.
May 24 vs. Milwaukee


Nothing more to see here than a huge shot to right field to open up this game against the Brewers.








9. Joe Mauer's Mammoth Upper Deck Shot.
May 24 vs. Milwaukee


Mauer takes a brief hiatus from his pansy opposite field home runs to hit one in real man's land.







8. Joe Mauer's RBI Single off Zach Greinke.
October 3 vs. Kansas City


Mauer takes the late season showdown between the presumptive MVP and Cy Young winners and plates the first run of the game for the Twins.








7. Michael Cuddyer's Triple to Finish off the Cycle.
May 22 vs. Milwaukee


Cuddy becomes the third Twin in two seasons to happen to hit for a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game after ripping a pitch into the Dome's left field corner.








6. Joe Crede's Walk-off Grand Slam.
May 14 vs. Detroit


Apparently Tiger fans feel Joe Crede treats them unfairly, and this walk of grand slam might be exhibit A.








5. Orlando Cabrera's Go Ahead Homer in Game 163.
October 6 vs. Detroit


Orlando Cabrera scrapes the wall to put the Twins ahead 2-1 in the seventh. Some think that this ball should have been caught, but they don't realize that Cabrera is a veteran winner, and knows how to handle the bat.








4. Joe Mauer's First at Bat Home Run.
May 1 vs. Kansas City


Joey's amazing season starts out with something that would become all too familiar, a home run just over the wall in left field.








3. Michael Cuddyer's Go ahead Shot in Game 161.
October 3 vs. Kansas City


After blowing the lead assembled against Greinke by Mauer and Young, Cuddyer continues to carry the team with this big solo homer putting the team back in front.








2. Alexi Casilla's Game 163 Winning Single.
October 6 vs. Detroit


Casilla's poor tag at third a few innings earlier had him set up to be the villian, but his single through the right side to put the Twins in the playoffs ended any thought of that.








1. Jason Kubel's Go Ahead Grand Slam to Complete the Cycle.
April 17 vs. California


What's to say? Jason Kubel announced his presence with authority by capping off an improbable cycle with this grand slam to give the Twins a two run lead.







Stay tuned for the Twins' top defensive plays of the 2009 season, as voted by the fans at BYTO!

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by Klobs on 10/30 at 11:29 AM
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The RBI Baseball School of Post Season Pitching Management

Here’s a token blog to piss off someone off and maybe explain a little bit why pitching needs to be a lot higher on the Twins offseason shopping list. In the arguments of why playoff baseball is won from the top of your rotation down, the following question was asked to me after I pointed out that the team that has led the American League in ERA during postseason play has been the league’s World Series representative.

Q: How many of those teams led the American League in ERA in the regular season play.

The answer is what he wanted to hear, but not for the reason he wants to hear. It doesn’t matter. The Yankees are the prime example of this. Currently, the Yankees led the AL in postseason ERA, and are one win away from being the AL representative in the World Series. Their team ERA of 1.91 is also significantly lower than their 4.26 ERA in the Regular Season. Is this proof that baseball’s playoffs is a crap shoot? Possibly. But then again, take a look at how the Yankees are using their pitchers in the postseason.

Three pitchers are getting the lion’s share of innings pitched—C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettite. To illustrate, here’s a chart showing how much more usage these three are getting:
Percentage of Innings Pitched by Sabathia, Burnett and Pettite
Regular Season: 44.3%
Post Season:  67.5%

Percentage of Starts Made by Sabathia, Burnett and Pettite
Regular Season: 61.1%
Post Season: 100%

Add one more pitcher to the list, and the point becomes even clearer:
Percentage of innings pitched by Sabathia, Burnett, Pettite and Mariano Rivera
Regular Season: 48.8%
Post Season: 79.8%

Throw in eight inning man Phil Hughes, and you take the percentage of innings thrown by the Yankees better pitchers to just a hair below 85%. If you just take Sabathia into account, the Yankees best starter, he’s gone from pitching roughly 16% of the Yankees regular season innings to pitching 32% of their post season innings so far. That will probably drop to 28.2% Thursday night barring extra innings. But if the Yankees win, it also sets Sabathia up to increase that percentage by a hefty margin when they skip Pettite and have him start Game 1 of the World Series.

This tactic isn’t as uncommon as one would think. The 1987 Twins gave the lion’s share of innings to five pitchers –Frank Viola, Bert Blyleven, Les Straker, Juan Berenger and Jeff Reardon. The team ranked 10th in the AL in ERA during the regular season, but the pitching was fine in the Playoffs simply because it didn’t have to throw the ghost of Joe Niekro or Steve Carlton during those games.

Are the playoffs a crapshoot? Sure, to an extent. But they’re a crapshoot where loaded dice are encouraged. A solid rotation 1 through 5 is a good thing in the regular season. It’s going to be at a serious disadvantage to a better 1 through 3 in the playoffs though, for the simple reason that who your #4 and #5 starter may be is kind of irrelevant. Who your number 1 starter is far more relevant, since he’s going to get far more innings than in the playoffs than anyone else, and be counted on to win a game 7 and keep your team alive if it comes to that.

Yes, the Twins have holes in the offense. Ignoring the hole at the top of the rotation though that’s been there ever since Santana left, however, could turn out to be way more disastorous if the goal is to put together a team that can win in the postseason.

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 10/21 at 10:04 AM
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Twins v. Tigers—One Game For All the Money

In the words of the immortal saint MC Hammer, we’ve got to pray just to make it today.

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 10/06 at 09:23 AM
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A bullpen rant

I know, you have probably heard it before on numerous websites, blogs, etc. It may seem like beating a dead horse, but if the Twins are going to continue with the same recipe that has landed them in 3rd place and given them their current 53-54 record, then it needs to be discussed.

What has to happen for the Twins and their ‘leader’ Bill Smith to make a change in their bullpen? Are they actually still fooled by the early success that guys like R.A. Dickey and Bobby Keppel had in their respective seasons?

Both Dickey and Keppel had excellent months of June - they posted ERA’s of 0.66 and 0.00 respectively ignoring the fact that Keppel threw just 6.1 innings in June. However, since their ‘honeymoon’ with the Twins, both Dickey and Keppel have been awful; absolutely awful.

In July, Dickey and Keppel posted ERA’s of 7.94 and 6.75 respectively and have followed that up by posting ERA’s of 8.10 and 7.36 respectively during the early portion of August. Sometimes when you dig beyond the ERA statistic, you find that a pitcher has been on the receiving end of some poor luck. However, don’t even both digging into Dickey and Keppel - because the ERA tells you everything you need to know.

Just unbelievable. Again, how are these guys holding their jobs? If you were that bad at your daily job, would you still hold your position? I know there are other factors involved when it comes to professional sports, but that is no excuse.

If not for dominant seasons from Joe Nathan and Matt Guerrier along with a very good season from Jose Mijares, the numbers regarding the Twins bullpen would look much, much worse. However, for some reason both Dickey and Keppel continue to hold their jobs in the Twins bullpen - stronger than one would expect actually.

Get this - in a 4-1 ballgame in which the Twins trailed the Indians last night, Manager Ron Gardenhire opted to bring in Dickey. Why? Well, he was not going to use someone like Mijares or Guerrier that early in the game and the Twins really have no other options beyond those guys. Don’t you view that as an issue?

I do - but I guess Bill Smith, Gardenhire, and rest of the decision makers do not.

I asked this on my Twitter last night, but would Anthony Slama (currently at AA) and Rob Delaney (currently at AAA) really be ANY worse than what Dickey and Keppel are giving the Twins? I mean, honestly? Could they not post the same terrible BB rates? Or K rates? Or current lack of success?

Even if those two were to struggle as often as Dickey and Keppel, which I would not see happening, would you not rather go to war with the guys who are going to be here beyond this year? Rather than two guys that should find themselves no where near the mound on what is considered a postseason ‘contender?’

If you were to ask the Twins why Slama and Delaney continue to sit in the minors, they would most likely feed you the same Twins bullshit about them needing to work on their leadership, their makeup, or that they don’t provide enough ‘veteran presence.’

Well, that is what is wrong with this organization. That is what has been wrong with this organization, and that is the main thought process and mentality that has landed the Twins in their current spot of 3rd place behind both the Tigers and White Sox.

It is just unfortunate that that mentality is not going to change quick enough for it to have an affect on this baseball team that seemingly has a ‘chance.’ It is just too bad the front office has failed to give this team that ‘chance.’

As for Francisco Liriano - ugh. Don’t get me started.

(This blog was originally posted at my new Twins blog, http://andwewillseeyoutomorrownight.blogspot.com/)

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by statfreak101 on 08/06 at 02:19 PM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #8 Jim Kaat, #9 Brad Radke

Brad Radke was the Jim Kaat of this decade for the Twins. Jim Kaat was the Brad Radke of the 1960s. Both of them had a tinge of Rodney Dangerfield to them as well.

When I was 10 or so, I introduced my dad, who spent the 1965 season working as an usher at Met Stadium as a high school student, to the latest craze at the time—a little video game called Baseball Stars. My dad generally hated video games, but he took a liking to this one and the little feature that allowed you to create your own team. He set out to build the Twins team from his youth complete with Rod Carew at second, Killebrew at third and Oliva in right. The game allowed for five pitchers. His five were Camilo Pascual, Dean Chance, Mudcat Grant, Dave Boswell and Al Worthington to close things out. Given what I knew about baseball came from the back of baseball cards, I asked him about Jin Kaat. He explained that Kaat was a good pitcher, but when those other guys took the mound, you always felt something special could happen.

In certain ways, he was right. Kaat spent 13 years in Minnesota and his name is all over the team record book for career stats. But he was never really the best pitcher on his staff, outside of 1966 when he would have won a Cy Young Award had it existed for both leagues at his time (granted, his ERA+ that year was a very good but not outstanding 131, Kaat’s highwater point for his career). From the time the Twins landed in Minnesota to 1964, the rotation was fronted by Camilo Pascual—a big Cuban with a blazing fastball and a knee-buckling curve. Pascual led the AL in strikeouts from 1961 to 1963 and finished runner up in 1964. Then his arm went out in 1965, and he was fairly mediocre for the rest of his career. Mudcat Grant stepped in with a big 1965, and then Kaat had his big year in 1966. But then a trade brought in Dean Chance, with his Hideo Nomo-esq delivery and live arm. Chance stepped into the ace position, and another youngster, Dave Boswell blossomed as well. Chance fronted the rotation the rotation in 1967 and 68. After he blew out his arm in 1969, Boswell stepped up and led the way. Boswell started having arm troubles in 1970, but fortunately the Twins had a 19-year-old kid down on the farm named Bert Blyleven to step into his place.

My dad was less complimentary toward Radke, calling him a junkballer throughout his career—an assessment that may not be fair. But Radke always had the same demons that Kaat had. When he came up in 1995, he was far from the most likely to lead the rotation for the next decade. That crown was worn by Frankie Rodriguez, with his big fastball and big bending slider. But after all the hard throwers flamed out, there was Radke winning 20 games in 1997 on a team that rivaled the worst Twins teams more than the best ones. Radke would continue to pitch well for the next decade, though his standing often waivered. Eric Milton replaced Radke as the Twins pitcher most likely to shut the opposition down in 1999. But he could never really stay healthy. Joe Mays then rode a power sinker to a big year in 2001, but arm troubles dinged him too. In 2003, finally a legitimate contender rose to take Radke’s place at the top of the rotation in Johan Santana . Then in 2006, Francisco Liriano pushed Radke back even further in the rotation, then Boof Bonser stepped into Liriano’s place after Liriano’s elbow blew out. Meanwhile, Brad Radke was busy pitching through a torn labrum, an injury that usually proves to be a death knell for pitchers. And while he was doing it, he was pretty much the same Brad Radke he had always been.

Though it doesn’t look it, the art of throwing a baseball is way more violent an act than a linebacker hurtling himself into a running back at 20 miles an hour. The human body just wasn’t made to stand up to the kind of motion it takes to do that. Jim Kaat and Brad Radke greatest strengths in many ways may have been that they didn’t have that ability. Both made up for it with smarts. Both pitchers were always near the league leaderboard in terms of fewest walks allowed. And while there were times when the opposing team would figure them out, they were very good for a long time. And there’s something to be said for that. The formula for winning a World Series may call for a fierce, hard throwing Jack Morris type. But having a Kevin Tapani behind him surely is nothing to sneeze at.

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5. Kent Hrbek
6. Bert Blyleven
7. Johan Santana
8. Jim Kaat
9. Brad Radke

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 08/06 at 11:26 AM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #7 Johan Santana

On February 2, 2008, the Twins parted ways with two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, sending him to the New York Mets for Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Philip Humber. Will this trade go down as the worst in Twins history? Probably not. In fact, with the way the Matt Garza/Jason Bartlett for Delmon Young trade is going down.

There’s not a lot that really needs to be said about Santana’s Twins legacy at this point. So here’s a look at the worst trades the Twins made by decade:

1960s:

Worst Trade:

December 10, 1969: The Minnesota Twins trade Graig Nettles, Dean Chance, Bob Miller and Ted Uhlaender to the Cleveland Indians for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.

Luis Tiant was two years removed from an ERA title in Cleveland, and was suppose to help make the Twins rotation nearly invincible as they looked to get past the Baltimore Orioles. Tiant started strong, with the Twins winning the first ten games Tiant started (with Tiant posting a 6-0 record) before he succumbed to injury. Tiant would later injury his elbow and it was feared he would never recover. The Twins released him before the 1971 season.

Of the four players traded by the Twins, only one had his best days ahead. Unfortunately, Nettles went on to be one of the better third baseman of the 70s and early 80s. He was widely considered one of the best gloves at third base in the decade and he hit with surprising pop. Bill James once argued that Nettles was the best position player in baseball ever to have a last name starting with “N.”

To add salt to the wound, Tiant was picked up by the Red Sox after the Twins released him. He struggled in 1971, but then found his past form and fronted the Red Sox rotation for the first half of the decade, helping lead the Sox to the World Series in 1975.

Runner Up

The 1960s were the golden era for Twins baseball, and as one would expect most of the moves the team made worked in their favor. The possible exception was a three-team trade in June, 1964 that sent Lenny Green to the Angels and Jerry Kindall to the Twins—if only because the 1965 Twins might have been better served with Green at second than Kindall in 1965. But that’s grasping at straws.

1970s
Worst Trade:

December 4, 1978: The Minnesota Twins trade “Disco” Dan Ford to the California Angels for Danny Goodwin and Ron Jackson.

The 1970s Twins were renown for trading off its talent when it got expensive, but surprisingly none of their big trades ever really netted them a big goose egg. Bert Blyleven went on to have some great seasons after leaving Minnesota, but Roy Smalley turned out to be one of (if not the) best shortstops in franchise history. Rod Carew had some great years after leaving Minnesota. But Kenny Landreux was fairly decent in return until he got too expensive and was shipped off to the Dodgers and Dave Engle who was (albeit one of the worst ever) an All Star. “Disco” Dan Ford never quite reached the heights that either of those players did, but he did earn MVP votes when he reunited with Carew to lead the Angels into contention. In return the Twins got Goodwin, who is notable for being one of (if not the) worst overall number 1 picks of all-time (twice, even) and Jackson, whose hitting and approach would have had late 70s Twins fans jealous of Scott Stahoviak had they glimpsed into a crystal ball and seen the future.

Runner Up:

The Twins traded catcher Rick Dempsey for Danny Walton in 1972. Walton had showed promise, but never really hit again. Dempsey was never great, but he carved out a nifty little career for nearly two decades, winning a ring with Baltimore in 1983.

1980s

Worst Trade:

December 4, 1988: The Minnesota Twins traded Mark Portugal to the Houston Astros for Todd McClure.

Mark Portugal always had great stuff. On September 21, 1986, he pitched his best game for the Twins, striking out 13 in a start against Texas (taking the hard-luck 2-1 loss while pitching a complete game). The problem was he could never seem to be healthy. His health improved when he went to Houston, though he still missed quite a few games. But he was an above-average starter for a couple of years, with his best season coming in 1993 when he went 18-4 with a 2.77 ERA. The Twins still have an ABP out on the whereabouts of Todd McClure.

Runner up:

There are a few contenders here, but the Tim Teufel and Pat Crosby for Billy Beane, Joe Klink and Bill Latham deal in 1985 begs the poetic question if Beane goes into the Hall of Fame, will he wear a Twins cap?

1990s

Worst Trade

July 7, 1995: The Minnesota Twins trade Scott Erickson to the Baltimore Orioles for Scott Klingenbeck and a player to be named later. The Baltimore Orioles sent Kimera Bartee (September 19, 1995) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.

Erickson was supposedly on his last legs when the Twins dealt him off to Baltimore. But Erickson, the consummate ground baller, adjusted well when he got away from the fast Metrodome turf. He improved enough to be a decent option at the end of the Orioles rotation, helping get the Orioles to the playoffs the first three years he pitched there. If Klingenbeck isn’t a code name among Twins scouts for a pitcher to avoid, it really should be.

Runner Up:

Paul Sorrento never got a chance to show what he could do at first base because Kent Hrbek was winding down his career at the position. The Twins traded him to Cleveland before the 1992 season, and he worked out pretty well in a Ryan Garko sort of way. The prize of the deal, Curt Leskanic, had a decent career as well, albeit after he went to the Rockies in the expansion draft following the season.

2000s

Worst Trade (so far):

July 15, 2000: The Minnesota Twins traded Todd Walker and Butch Huskey to the Colorado Rockies for Todd Sears and cash.
Yes. Walker was never going to play second base for the Twins again after his feud with Tom Kelly. But how nice would it have been to have him at second base in 2003 instead of Luis Rivas?

One, if not both, of the 2008 trades likely surpasses this one as the worst of the decade. Which one it is depends on whether or not its Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young or none of the above who lives up to his “potential.”

● To not completely slight Santana’s talents, the best five individual seasons by Twins pitchers (IMO):

Johan Santana, 2004
Johan Santana, 2006
Johan Santana, 2005
Frank Viola, 1988
Bert Blyleven, 1973

Santana’s 2007 season ranks in the top 10, easily as well. Not bad for a guy who really only had four full years as a starter in a Twins uniform

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5. Kent Hrbek
6. Bert Blyleven
7. Johan Santana

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 08/05 at 04:53 PM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #6 Bert Blyleven

The modern love affair that most sportswriters have with “Wins” as a pitching stat is more modern than one would imagine. Cy Young is baseball’s all-time winningest pitcher, and the award that goes to the best pitcher in each league bears his name. One would think that is some kind of MLB sanction that makes him the greatest pitcher of all time. However, when baseball writers met in 1936, it was Walter Johnson and Christy Matthewson who were the first two pitchers elected to the Hall of Fame, with Young finishing a distant third with slightly less than 50% of the vote. The award itself was named for Cy Young shortly after his death in November 1955. Matthewson, the highest vote getter in the inaugural Hall election, passed in 1925 after complications from lung issues after being gassed in World War I. Johnson had passed a decade earlier after battling brain cancer. Who knows what the award would have been named had Kennesaw Mountain Landis or Happy Chandler had the idea to create an award for baseball’s best pitcher?

By the time the 1970s rolled around, however,  wins mattered. The case for why Bert Blyleven should be in the Hall of Fame has been made over and over again ad nausem.  It doesn’t need to be made here again. The case against Bert Blyleven for the Hall of Fame is two-fold. One, he doesn’t have 300 wins. Two, he didn’t have that “big season.” Had Blyleven stayed healthy in 1982 and 1983, odds are he would have cracked the 300 win mark, end of discussion. It didn’t quite work out that way, though. Similarly, the Cy Young Awards of the era tended to go to pitchers who won ballgames. 

In terms of 1970s pitchers, Tom Seaver wins the Richtoven Award for the Ace amongst Aces. Steve Carlton is clearly first runner up.  Jim Palmer and his three Cy Young Awards probably wins the American League Richtoven Award, though you can make a case for Blyleven being a better pitcher as he never had a defense anchored by Brooks Robinson and Mark Belanger to back him up. Nolan Ryan is in the Hall of Fame because he’s the MLB All-Time Strikeout Leader. He’s also the MLB All-Time Walk Leader and that undid his chances for true greatness in his era. Don Sutton is in the Hall-of-Fame. His best seasons are statistically equal to Blyleven’s in terms of ERAs and strikeouts. Then again, Don Sutton pitched on five teams that had overall losing records in a 23-year career. Blyleven wasn’t so lucky. Sutton won 324 games and is in the Hall-of-Fame. How many games would Blyleven have won had the two traded teams? Jim “Catfish” Hunter is in the Hall thanks to five straight 20-win years.  His ERA was only about 4% better than the league average when adjusted for ballpark and his career was shortened by injuries at 31. Blyleven also faced serious shoulder problems at 31, but came back and had a strong finish to his career.

Is there anything else that might be holding Blyleven back from the Hall of Fame? That’s hard to say. Blyleven was always popular with his teammates, but his outspokenness never made him popular among management. In 1976, he forced the Twins into a trade because he felt he wasn’t making enough money. In a pre-cursor to the “I fucked it up” incident, Blyleven flipped off fans at Metropolitan Stadium before his last start with the team. He was traded to Texas on June 1, 1976, and lasted two years there.  His next stop was Pittsburgh, where management accused him more of compiling stats than helping the club win. Blyleven threatened to retire if he wasn’t traded, and the Pirates were more than happy to oblige, sending him to Cleveland.  In 1985, Blyleven forced his way out of Cleveland, sick of playing on losing teams. Minnesota fans forgave him pretty easily, in part because Cal Griffith really was cheap.

Odds are, Blyleven will get into the Hall of Fame eventually. In the end, it’s just too hard to make the argument that the Phil Niekros and Early Wynns of the world were better pitchers, even if they are members of that elite 300 Win Club.

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5. Kent Hrbek
6. Bert Blyleven  

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 08/05 at 02:22 PM
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The Myth of Shannon Stewart

On July 16, 2003, the Twins completed what is considered to be their best deadline move ever—swapping Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart. It was a trade most “experts,” myself included, knocked at the time. Kielty never went on to develop the kind of power expected of him though. Meanwhile, the Twins went on to go 46-23 the rest of the way home.

The Legend of Shannon Stewart was written into Twins lore during those three months. While the rest of his time with the Twins Stewart was merely a fair replacement for what Matt Lawton used to bring to the club, in July, August and September well it was another story. According to legend, Stewart crapped thunder, spat line shots out of his mouth like sunflower seeds and was automatically awarded first base anytime an opposing pitcher looked at him funny. He single-handedly picked the Twins up out of the morass they were in, 7.5 games behind the White Sox, and reversed the deficit single-handedly.  While most people will rightly call B.S. on the first part of the paragraph, the second part—widely accepted by sportswriters and Twins fans as universal truth—is just as much of a snow job.

Stewart definitely helped the Twins coming home. But in terms of factors that led to the comeback, he ranks at best as number three IMO. The first two, in no certain order, are:

• Joe Mays was doing his best Livan Hernandez prequel for the first three months of the season, His won-loss record of 8-7 belying the fact that his ERA was making fans long for the days of Sean Bergman. On July 11, the Twins finally had enough and banished him out of the rotation. His replacement went on to do okay. After dropping his first two decisions, he didn’t lose the rest of the year.  The next year he won his first Cy Young Award. It’s really amazing what Johan Santana could do.

• The Twins first series after the All-Star Break/Stewart trade was against Oakland. The White Sox was against Detroit. It marked the Twins’ last game against a playoff team during the regular season and the White Sox last game against a Detroit team that was trying to avoid losing more games than the 1962 Mets. The White Sox would hit every playoff team during the second half of the season, and the Twins had 13 games scheduled against the Tigers.

The last bullet point is the one to keep an eye on. Orlando Cabrera may be a step forward for the Twins, but it’s more one small step for man than one giant leap for mankind. At best, it might counteract the step back Anthony Swarzak represents from Kevin Slowey, which doesn’t take into account the unknown step backwards that Joe Crede’s shoulder potentially represents.  But assuming the Twins win the AL Central in 2009, this weekend’s series against the An gels represents the Twins’ last series against a playoff team in the regular season, where the Tigers and White Sox get a heaping helping of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays coming home.

The day isn’t over, but given the trading chits the Twins have the odds of making a move that is considered a big step is remote. Fortunately, the Twins still have a very good chance at winning the division this year.

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 07/31 at 02:40 PM
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Gruzielanek for Progress!

The Twins apparently signed Mark Grudzielanek this weekend to a minor league contract. One can see the thought process that went into making this decision. “Hey, look at how close his last name is to Mientkiewicz. He might have a magic glove. Sign him. Sign him. Sign him.” I could start naming the negatives on Grudzielanek pretty easily. He’s 39. You need to place him in bubble wrap between games to keep him healthy. He’s the definition of an empty .300 batting average lately and he still is pretty adept with the glove, but he’s 39 and the number of games he’s capable of playing is trending toward a negative number. With that said, this is a step toward progress for the organization.

The base instinct is to compare this to a Bret Boone move, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Yes, Grudzielanek may very well implode. But if he does, it’s Ft. Myers or New Britain’s problem, not the Twins.  This is how the Yankees and the Red Sox handle the situation of signing a veteran retread, instead of the usual Twins’ method of plugging him immediately into the hole and wondering why suddenly the bad production you were getting at second base took a dive. If he’s producing in the minors, on the other hand, why not give him a shot?

Sticking the veteran retread in the minors and letting them earn a roster spot. What a novel concept?

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 07/20 at 09:28 AM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #5 Kent Hrbek

It has been noted by many a writer that the baseball stars of the 1980s don’t get the proper respect that they’re due.  As they’ve come up for Hall of Fame voting, it has been argued that the number of votes don’t match up with how much they dominated their era. There’s bound to be something of a generation gap between kids who grew up watching Land of the Lost and those who grew up watching Barney and Friends. Why shouldn’t there be a generation gap between the players they grew up idolizing?

Kent Hrbek made his first plate appearance with the Twins on August 24, 1981. As a young prospect, his swing and approach at the plate was routinely compared to the great Ted Williams. From that aspect, Hrebek’s career can be considered a disappointment. At the same time, from 1982 to 1993, Hrbek had a pretty good decade. He was runner-up for the MVP award in 1984, in a year where he almost singlehanded propelled the Twins offense into contention. In 1987 and 1988, it could be argued that he was the best first baseman in the American League.  Outside of that, he was solidly above average, until 1992 when a decade worth of back injuries caught up with him in a hurry. It’s a story that isn’t that uncommon from that decade. The 1980s was known for its hard-drinking, chain-smoking first baseman like Steve Balboni, Mark Grace and so on.  Hrbek definitely fit that mold.

Hear me out on this one because it might be a stretch, but in many ways Hrbek was the bizarre Mark McGwire. Like Hrbek, McGwire fought injuries throughout much of his mid-20s to early-30s fighting back problems. After a great rookie year, McGwire fell off a bit. His numbers were pretty good, but not exactly world beating for a number of years.

The big difference between the two could very well be their choice of drugs. The 90s were the era of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, and certainly McGwire’s name has been tied to accusations about them. The big thing to note is that pro baseball players don’t take performance enhancing drugs to get bigger (it could be argued that Ken Griffey Jr.’s physique evolved in a similar manner to Barry Bonds’, and no one would accuse Griffey of being on the juice.)  The key benefit to steroids is that it helps you fight off the minor aches and pains that accumulate through a 162 game season. McGwire may or may not have taken steroids. But the fact that he was able to shake off major back problems in his mid-30s and produce record breaking seasons is fishy at best. In the 1980s, there were two completely different performance enhancing drugs of choice to block out the dings and aches caused by a 162 game schedule—cocaine and beer. Many 1980s players, notably Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, saw their careers completely destroyed by the former. Hrbek chose the latter. It didn’t completely destroy him, but it also didn’t really help his back either. And at an age when McGwire was suddenly getting healthy, Hrbek’s career was winding down.

I’m not saying that Hrbek should have gone out and done steroids. I’m just saying that Hrbek’s accomplishments should be judged by the era in which he played, kind of like McGwire’s career needs to be judged from the vantage point of being in an era when everybody was roided up (He’d have my HOF vote, if I had one).

Hrbek wouldn’t have my vote, but if there were a Hall-of-Pretty-Good, that’d be another story. He was an above-average bat and glove for a long period of time. I’d even argue that Hrbek did something that neither Puckett, Killebrew, Carew or Oliva did—he may have saved the franchise. In 1984, there was a very real possibility of then owner Calvin Griffith moving the club to Florida. If the team wasn’t in first place for most of the summer, it may have worked out that way. Where would that team have been without Hrbek’s bat in the middle of the line-up? It’s also a question that can be put in most years between 1982 and 1994. Yeah, he’s not a Hall-of-Famer. But his number is retired for good reason.

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5, Kent Hrbek

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 07/17 at 02:19 PM
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