Brainstorm

Do the Twins ever trade players who both have a few years ahead of them and are not supposedly difficult to manage? Off the top of my head, I can think of the following players who have been traded and had value:

(J.J. Hardy? were there personality issues there? -- 0.3 fWAR and counting)
Carlos Gomez -- 2.0 fWAR and counting
Jason Bartlett -- 7.7 fWAR and counting
Matt Garza -- 10.2 fWAR and counting
Kyle Lohse -- 9.8 fWAR and counting
A.J. Pierzynski -- 12.9 fWAR and counting

Going back further, I suppose you could even add Chuck Knoblauch (6.9 fWAR) and Todd Walker (11.1 fWAR) to that list. Castillo was traded not that long ago, but his knees barely worked and I don't think anyone expected him to have a lot of productive seasons ahead of him. If Jim Mandelero is to be believed, Ramos was hard to manage and didn't get along with his teammates. The Twins arguably got along well enough with Pierzynski, but I can't help but think that if he had Michael Cuddyer's personality, Joe Mauer's road to the majors would have involved additional minor league stops.

Excepting J.J. Hardy perhaps (I'm not sure what the Twins thought of his personality) I think maybe the last guy the Twins traded away with much potential for a future but no personality issues was Bobby Kielty. At least, I don't remember any run-ins with management, and I do remember being peeved that the Twins traded him for Shannon Stewart. Kielty went on to do essentially nothing, and Stewart had a great 750 PA with the Twins until 2005 hit and he ran out of gas.

Anyway, this was motivated because this Slowey situation is a dead ringer for Lohse's 2006 Twins exit. In terms of age and value over the three seasons prior to their trade, it practically couldn't be closer:

Slowey, trade pending, age 27, last three seasons fWAR: 2.2, 1.4, 3.0
Lohse, traded age 27, last three seasons fWAR: 2.2, 1.8, 3.3

I can't really argue that most of these guys were easy to get along with. Bartlett and Garza didn't last in Tampa all that long, Lohse pitched well for the Reds and they let him go, the Giants lost their minds and let AJP go for nothing in return. For all I know, I couldn't stand being in the same room with them. Yet, personality is a really frustrating motivation for a trade from where this fan sits. I can't tell you anything with any degree of certainty about any Twins' personality. I'm sure there are some legitimately good guys, and I'm sure there are some pricks. But I don't feel I can rely on the media to make those judgements, so I generally don't. And at that point, I'm left looking at a move where the Twins traded away a useful player, sometimes a player I was pretty excited about.

Anyway, am I missing someone big here? Or is just about the only way to get out of the Twins' organization to become a free agent or get on someone's nerves?

And this invites the question, are the Twins building a team of nice guys, and as nice guys are they indeed destined to finish last?

2011 Game 46: Mariners at Twins

Another "tough weekend" in the rearview mirror.

Twins fans were a-twitter after a three-game run against Seattle and Oakland that seemed to signal that the end of the dark times was nigh, as predicted by the prophet Harold Camping. All those hopes foundered on the plain of Megiddo Maricopa, as the Righteous were denied three times by the serpents in the service of Kirk Gogson.

But the false prediction might not be so easily effaced from the lives of Twins followers. The L.A. Times writes that a 38-year-old tractor trailer driver took a road trip with his family to see the Twins before the world ended.

"With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, some wins would have been a relief," the paper writes.

But he is not angry at Camping for his false prediction. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see Baker and Liriano outhit their catchers," he told the paper. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

An east coast fan, who spent $140,000 of his life savings to advertise the Twins resurrection in New York, said he was dumbfounded when life went on as usual Saturday.

"I do not understand why ...," he told Reuters while awaiting the event in Times Square. "I do not understand why they just can't seem to get it done. I thought Morneau was out of his slump and that Dusty Hughes would make all the difference."

Fortunately, life and the season go on.

Seattle comes in on a roll, having won five straight since the Twins bested F-Her.
Pitching matchup:

Jason Vargas (3.39 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 3.78 xFIP, 110 tRA+, 41:14 K:BB, 4 HR in 58 1/3)
Pavanostache (5.30 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 4.65 xFIP, 85 tRA+, 20:14 K:BB, 5 HR in 54 1/3)

also, THOME TONIGHT!!!!!1111one1111!!!! (thanks, socal)

EEE & MMM – The Season’s Over

The 2010-11 Premier League season is over. So this will be the last EEE until the transfer window opens in July. From here on out, MLS all the way

Relevant EPL Results

  • Fulham 2 - 2 Arsenal
  • Aston Villa 1 - 1 Liverpool
  • Everton 1 - 0 Chelsea
  • Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Birmingham
  • Sunderland 3 - 0 West Ham United
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - 3 Blackburn Rovers

Relevant EPL Table

Position Club Games
Played
Points GD
2. Chelsea 38 71 +36
5. Spurs 38 62 +9
7. Everton 38 54 +6
8. Fulham 38 49 +6
9. Aston Villa 38 48 -11
10. Sunderland 37 47 -11
17. Wolves 38 40 -20

Continue reading EEE & MMM – The Season’s Over

Minor Details: Games of 5/22

Syracuse 9, Rochester 3 in Rochester.  The Chiefs built an 8-0 lead half-way through.  Ray Chang had two doubles and a single, raising his average to .324.  Matt Brown had two hits.  Eric Hacker surrendered eight runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks in four innings.  Carlos Gutierrez pitched two scoreless innings.

New Britain 6, New Hampshire 5 in New Britain (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings).  Joe Benson’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh won the game for the Rock Cats.  Steve Singleton singled and doubled and Chris Parmelee had two hits to raise his average to .322.  Deolis Guerra pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks.  Tyler Robertson allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in two innings but was credited with the win.

New Hampshire 4, New Britain 0 in New Britain (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  Chris Herrmann’s fifth-inning single was the only Rock Cats hit.  Herrmann was 1-for-1 with two walks.  Steve Hirschfeld struck out six in six innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.

Ft. Myers 6, Tampa 3 in Tampa.  The Miracle scored three in the third and never trailed.  Nick Romero had three hits.  Nate Hanson had two doubles.  Aaron Hicks and Jon Goncalves each doubled and singled.  Brian Dozier and Anderson Hidalgo each had two hits.  Logan Darnell got the win with 5.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks.  Andrew Albers struck out three in two scoreless innings of relief to get the save.

Kane County 4, Beloit 0 in Beloit.  The Snappers had only three hits.  Manuel Soliman allowed all four runs on six hits and three walks in five innings.  Blayne Weller struck our four in three shutout innings, walking none and giving up two hits.

Happy Birthday–May 23

Dummy Hoy (1862)
Deacon Phillippe (1872)
Zack Wheat (1888)
Arch McDonald (1901)
Willis Hudlin (1906)
Augie Galan (1912)
Lawrence Ritter (1922)
Clyde King (1924)
Skip Bertman (1938)
Tom Penders (1945)
Reggie Cleveland (1948)
Buck Showalter (1956)
Ricky Gutierrez (1970)

Some interesting names who were not major league players on the list today, including an early broadcaster (McDonald), an author (Ritter), a college baseball coach (Bertman), and a college basketball coach who played minor league baseball (Penders).  However, there do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Game #45: Diamondbacks 3, Twins 2

Twins record: 15-30
Fangraphs
MLB Game Wrap

If this were a season in which the Twins had lost fewer than two games for every game they've won, today's loss would probably be one of those Sunday roll-over games that doesn't sting too much. Heck, even this year, this is one of those that doesn't sting too much. From what I know of him, Dan Hudson has looked like a pretty good pitcher fairly consistently in his major league career so far, so it's not that shocking to see the Twins' bats shut down by him. And Liriano, while not as steady as last week in Seattle, was decent enough to be officially "Quality". Still, anyone who heard Alex Burnett was coming into a tie game in the seventh, and subsequently heard he'd given up the go-ahead run, should probably have responded with an "Of course, that happened."

Even after a weekend of disappointment and heartbreak, the Twins finished with a 3 and 4 road trip. Most years, you'd take a 3 and 4 road trip. Most weeks after you lose every game the previous week, you'd take a 3 and 4 road trip. If the Twins have any hope of being competitive at this point, though, 3 and 4 road trips probably need to turn into 4 and 3, 5 and 2, or maybe even more than that.

Hitter of the Week: I really want to be able to give this to a catcher again someday, so I'll just pick Rene Rivera.
Pitcher of the Week: Again, he wasn't his sharpest today, but he was okay, and he was great last week - Francisco Liriano had two quality starts, which was one more than anyone else.

Game 46: Twins at Diamondbacks

The Twins narrowly averted another tragedy late Saturday night when Hall of Fame inductee Bert Blyleven was hit in the head by a baseball thrown by Scott Baker but not seriously hurt. The motive behind the throw was not entirely clear, but Baker was heard to yell "Is that enough attitude for ya?" after the throw.

The baseball glanced off the top of Blyleven's head and knocked him to the ground. He did not lose consciousness and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. An emergency room physician was concerned that Blyleven was showing signs of a serious concussion before fellow television announcer Dick Bremer told the doctor, "No, that's the way he always talks." The doctor immediately admitted Blyleven into the hospital for observation and referred him to a specialist in dementia.

Baker was demoted to Triple-A Rochester immediately after the incident. The Twins did not say whether the demotion was a punishment for the incident or if the incident was just the last straw in their disappointment in Baker's inability to get the ball down.

The incident was just another bad moment in a season full of them for the Twins. However, they finally seem to have found their offense despite the absence of Joe Mauer and Jim Thome and have an opportunity to salvage a winning road trip with a victory today.

The Twins will send Francisco Liriano to the mound. He pitched the Twins to a 2-1 victory in his last start that ended a nine-game losing streak and will probably be asked to go as deep as possible in this one. The Diamondbacks will be sending former White Sox prospect Daniel Hudson, who has won four of his last five starts after losing his first four.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.