The Rest
With Spring Training winding down (or gearing up, really), there are a couple roster spots left open:
- Fifth Starter
- Two bullpen slots (with Nathan out)
- Back-up Catcher
- Last bench spot
1 – Fifth Starter: As for the fifth starter, I think Francisco Liriano pretty much has the position locked up. I think I saw he had a 16/1 K/BB ratio in 10 spring innings, or something crazy like that. If “The Franchise” is really back to stay, I think the Twins are definitely the team to beat in the Central. Sure, the White Sox’s starting five are nasty, and the Tigers are hording young fire-ballers, but I think the Twins offer the most balanced attack. (I just realized how few batters the starting rotation is going to walk this season, even with Liriano’s potentially erratic fastball. Sick) Winner – Francisco Liriano
2- Bullpen: I’m counting two bullpen spots open right now since it seems the jury is still out on Neshek. His numbers so far this spring look pretty good, but it sounds like his velocity might be down a bit still and he’ll need a stint in extended spring training or AAA to work on arm strength. Personally, I’m hoping he’ll be in Rochester so I’ll get to see him pitch, but I bet he’s hopping to stay down where it’s warm.
Personally, I take Perkins and Anthony Slama up north with me. If Perkins is heathly, he’s a pretty decent pitcher. If he could miss a few more bats, I think he’d be a very useful second lefty out of the ‘pen. It would also 1) Be a goodwill gesture towards Glen and 2) showcase him at the MLB level for a trade. I’m pretty sure he’ll be a bit disgruntled if his final option year is used, and angry minor leaguers usually do not perform well enough to get traded.
Slama, surprisingly, is already 26-years old. Combine that with some excellent spring performances and a DISGUSTING 13.3 K/9 rate in the minors, I think he deserves a shot. Consider this: Joe Nathan had a 7.2 K/9 rate in the minors. Slama’s minor league K/BB ratio – 3.66. Joe Nathan’s? 1.58. I’m not saying Slama will immediately be equal to or better than Nathan, I just think the numbers predict that Slama will hold his own in the majors. (Disclaimer: the above comparison is misleading. Nathan was a failed starter in the minors, while Slama has been a closer the whole time. But still.)
Brian Duensing has shown he can pitch with the big boys, and he’s my pick for 6th starter down in AAA, or a replacement for Perkins if he’s traded. I think Manship and Swarzak should pitch every fifth day in the Red Wing’s starting rotation. The more starters, the better. I still have nightmares of the Red Wings’ 4-man pseudo-rotation from the end of last season. (They had the freshest bullpen arm starting every 5th day. It was a mess.) Winners – Anthony Slama, Glen Perkins
3-Mauer’s Caddy: I think most fans would like to see Wilson Ramos back up Joe Mauer until Jose Morales is healthy. Actually, I think Ron Gardenhire would like that too. However, as Patrick Reusse points out, the front office will most likely keep Ramos in AAA so that he can start every day and work on his defense. That leaves Gardy with a single option: Drew Butera. Rumor has it that Drew is an all-glove-no-bat catcher (and I guess pretty cute as well). What scares me though, besides his painful batting average and the fact I called another man cute, is that there were some whispered concerns about Butera’s handling this spring. If he can’t catch and can’t hit, I’d almost rather have Brendan Harris don the gear instead. Winner – Drew Butera (by default)
4-The 25th Man: Here is where things get dicey for me. I’d hate to lose Casilla’s upside (if there is any left. Perhaps athleticism is a better word?) for nothing, since he’s out of options. On the other hand, I vomit in my mouth a little bit every time I try to picture Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer or Jason Kubel in center. They just don’t have anyone on the 25 man roster to play center. Sure, they’ve been getting Punto and Casilla some innings out there, but I’d rather have someone who knows what they are doing manning on of the most difficult defensive positions. Jacques Jones is actually having a pretty nice spring and seems to be a great clubhouse guy and could probably play center. Ultimately, though, I do give the nod to Alexi. It sounded like Jones didn’t mind playing in AAA for a while, so the Twins can stash him there until they figure out what to do with Casilla, or if something terrible happens to Span. Winner – Alexi Casilla.
Winter Thoughts
I’ve been meaning to post something for most of the winter, but I’ve just been too busy. Adjusting to the 9-to-5 grind while planning a wedding takes a lot out of you!
Anyways, I guess I have a bit to write about. First things first: Joe Mauer. I started to type up a post about how a large Mauer contract might not be good for the Twins, and how they might be able to put together a better team overall by spending that money on other players. But then I became too depressed and didn’t finish it (actually, I just ran out of time and forgot about it). As of right now, it sounds like Joe and his agent are in deep talks with Bill Smith and something will be finalized before spring training starts. Sure, it might end up being a lot of years for a catcher, but I think Joe Mauer is special enough to warrant it.
And then we have the infield situation. As of right now, second base will be manned by Punto/Casilla and third base will be covered by Harris/Punto. Prospect Danny Valencia is rumored to be close to MLB ready, and we could see him after the all-star break. I’m not so sure I’m as high on him as other fans are: 1) his defense seems to be average-to-good, but reports are conflicting 2) He has terrible plate discipline in AAA and strikes out a bit. I fear that will translate to a dismal MLB hitting line. However, there isn’t much out there that constitutes as a long term fix for the position. Had the Twins been able to get Kevin Kouzmanoff from the Padres (he’s since been traded to the A’s), he could had been a decent solution. The more I think about it though, he seems to have a pretty similar skill set to Valencia, and is more expensive. For now, I’m okay with giving Harris a shot at starting. He’s not a terrible hitter and might benefit from regular at bats.
At second, the Twins have been tied to free agent Orlando Hudson. I’m an advocate of a short-term deal with him. He’s getting a little long in the tooth, but we have Nick Punto ready to go in case something happens to Hudson. If the Twins do sign Orlando, however, that would probably mean Casilla is as good as gone. Casilla had some great minor league numbers up to and including the AA level. However, something has been lost in translation from AA to AAA and the majors. It’s sad to see raw talent like that not pan out.
Francisco Liriano. I call him “Franchise” when he’s doing well, and “‘Cisco” when he’s not. He’s been ‘Cisco for a while now, but that could change this season. Reports were coming out of the Dominican Republic that he was “throwing the living fire out of the ball” (thanks Gardy). I’m usually pretty skeptical of third hand evaluations like that (wasn’t he throwing in the mid-90′s before last season too?!?!) but many other bloggers watched the championship game in which he pitched and the consensus is that his monster slider is back. I’m cautiously optimistic, but how awesome would it be to have Franchise back to, or near, 2006 form? Yes Please.
Wow
That title just about covers how I feel: wow. As everyone knows by now, the Twins won the American League Central Pennant last night by beating the Detroit Tigers in 12 innings. Almost everyone came up big for the Twins, considering they used 12 position players and eight pitchers.
Scott Baker survived his trademark big inning to turn in a quality start; Jon Rauch continued to impress me with his late inning performances; Bobby Keppel is my new hero; Alexi Casilla (or Sexi Lexi, as I lovingly call him) was clutch for us AGAIN; GoGo made things happen; O-Cab came up big with a go ahead homer and a game saving double play; Punto took great at-bats and got himself on base; Kubel’s moon shot (or Kubes Shot, as I call it); Tolbert’s clutch game tying hit; Nathans fireman work; Mahay’s ownage of Granderson; Cuddy’s good at bats and good defense (for a right fielder, he’s pretty good at getting the tag down when he’s pulled up off the bag); Mauer being Mauer; Delmon scaring them into walking him; Crain, though he gave up a run, pitched well and had great stuff; oh man, I could keep going.
One thing that leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth was the game had by home plate umpire Randy Marsh. He squeezed Matty G and Baker BAD: I counted 4-5 pitches that came in just below the waist and broke to about 3 inches above the knees, right in the center of the dish, called balls. Porcello was getting those, and Rodney’s pitches (even lower, I might add) were called strikes. I do have to say, though, Nathan did get a LOT of favorable calls which helped us greatly. However, the real source of the sourness was the missed “hit by pitch” call on Inge. Now, it just grazed his jersey and the bases were loaded: the umpire could have totally decided he wasn’t going to let the winning run score that way and that it was so close he could claim he missed it. I’m not saying that’s right, but it could have happened. More likely: it was so loud in the ‘Dome, he just couldn’t hear the hit. It happens, umps miss things like that, but I’m sure Tigers fans are still groaning about it today. And rightfully so.
Time to face the Yanks! With zero time to rest, the Comeback Twins must now find the energy to take on the monster that is the New York All-Star Tea… er.. Yankees. Sure, the Twins are 0-7 against them this year. Sure, the Yanks have the best offense money can buy. Sure, they also bought the two best pitchers available last winter. Who cares? This Twins team has been written off so many times, I can’t put anything past them anymore.
That being said, the pitching match-up isn’t very favorable: Duensing vs. Sabathia. We can only hope that Duensing can be craft enough to fool Yankees hitters who haven’t seen much of him and that Sabathia will continue to struggle in the playoffs. His TERRIBLE final start of the season either means he will have corrected his flaw and be tuned up for the post season, or that he’s fatigued and the Twins might be able to jump all over him. He has wrecked the Twins in the past, so we will have to see.
The Line-up for tonight’s game:
Span CF
Cabrera SS
Mauer C
Cuddyer 1B
Kubel RF
Young LF
Harris DH
Tolbert 3B
Punto 2B
I only have one problem with it: no Carlos Gomez. Jose Morales was schooled by Porcello last night (I think he swung and missed six times, striking out twice) so Harris will get the start instead. While that move by itself is rational and understandable, I would have rather seen Gomez in center, Span in left, Young in right and Kubel DHing. In my opinion, the benefit of having Gomez and Span in the outfield far outweighs the offensive bump obtained by having Harris DH. I shudder every time I think of Kubel and Young gimping and bumbling around at the corners. Gardy’s decisions have works so far, so LETS DO THIS!
I have to admit, it feels really weird to be here without Morneau in the line-up. It makes me a feel a little guilty: its pretty sad to see him sitting on the bench, unable to help his team. If the ‘Dome is going to crack the spine of our MVPs, maybe a couple rain outs will be tolerable after all.
Time for the Twins to Get Crazy
Up until today I applauded the Twins for refusing to blow their prospects on rent-a-players at the deadline; I didn’t want them to become a team that sacrificed the future to ‘win now’. Then I read LaVelle’s article this morning and I got scared. All Twins fans should be scared. Morneau, Nathan and Mauer all voiced their frustration with the front office for not getting them the “missing piece” at the trade deadline. What happens if these guys lose faith with the Twins and jump ship at the end of their contracts? Tell me, in this “future” we are protecting, who will be the next Joe Mauer? Justin Morneau? Joe Nathan? Sure, there are talented arms down on the farm that could develop into a dominant closer, and there are talented hitters down there, but there are no guaranteed successors to the Big Three. We do, however, have those guys playing for us right now and they need help. I also happen to think that this year is the perfect time to go all-in: Cuddyer, Kubel, Nathan, Mauer and Morneau are all having career years, yet the team still has some major holes to fill if they want to be a World Series caliber team. Can we guarantee that everyone performs like this next year? Remember 2006 when we had the same “perfect storm” of career-years but were knocked out in the first round by Oakland? The following season (2007) showed us we can’t count on something that special happening again, or for guys to stay healthy.
I’m going to get crazy here and propose a deadline move the Twins could make. Not only would it give the club a boost this season, but it would show our Core that management wants to win. Not to mention it will show the fans that the Twins will put a winning product on the field, encouraging them to brave the snow next season at the new stadium. This move is totally hypothetical, maybe even whimsical, but I don’t think it’s 100% impossible:
In my opinion (and don’t get me wrong, I am no expert) the Twins major holes are: Middle Infield, Relief Pitching, Starting Pitching. Perhaps even in that order, though the middle infield and bullpen have been equally atrocious at times. Actually, the Twins starting pitching had been pretty terrible lately as well. Here’s my idea: work out a trade with the Blue Jays. I know, I know: “Not another Halladay idea!” right? Hear me out though because I’m going to get much crazier than “Perkins and scrubs for Halladay”. Read more