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.
The Quiet Before the Storm?
Well, the Twins just lost out on another middle-infield candidate. With Sanchez being traded to the giants, the only two serious options left are Orlando Cabrera and Marco Scutaro. Though it depends on what the Jays end up doing with Halladay: if they don’t end up trading him, Scutaro might not go anywhere (I don’t see why not though. He’s going to be a free agent anyway and they aren’t exactly in contention). Let’s hope that Billy Smith has something big up his sleeve for today or Friday because I’m sure there will be an uproar from fans and players if nothing is done to improve the team.
On that note, I’m hoping they don’t go and get Cabrera. He is a good ballplayer but he’s only a slight improvement over Harris and I don’t trust Gardy to go with a Cabrera-Harris combo in the infield. I also think that the Twins will end up overpaying for him; he’s a 34 year old short stop with diminishing range and power and I just have a bad feeling that the Twins will overpay in prospects. If they were going to give up prospects of any worth, I would have preferred Freddy Sanchez.
If the Twins are still looking for infield and bullpen help, should they now also be looking for a starting pitcher? Liriano was scratched last night due to “forearm inflammation”. The team and Cisco say that it’s nothing serious, but I’m not sure I’m buying it. Is it just me or has “forearm inflammation/tightness”, more often then not, led to a visit to Dr. Andrews? Considering Cisco’s history, I’m worried about him and the fact that they are having him throw again this weekend. Check out this series of events from 2006:
Liriano scratched from start with pain – “The Minnesota Twins are scratching pitcher Francisco Liriano from Wednesday’s start against the Rangers because of discomfort in his left forearm.”
Liriano injured as Twins fall to Tigers – “But this time, the pain returned in what Liriano deemed a different spot and it seems to be worse than before. It’s something that has even caused Liriano to be a bit scared of what may be causing the pain.”
Liriano to land on disabled list – “On Tuesday they took another precaution, as the club decided to place the left-hander on the 15-day disabled list due to the pain he has been experiencing near his left elbow.”
Spooky, huh? Lets hope the Twins are extra special careful with him. They had better not send him out to pitch Wednesday if he’s not 110%. I guess it is a good sign that Liriano isn’t too concerned with the situation. After all, he’s already been through this and he’d be the one who could tell if it was the same kind of discomfort as 2006. If the Twins lose Liriano and don’t pick up any more starting pitching, they could be toast. Even if they do pull off a playoff appearance, there is no way a shaky top three of Baker-Blackbern-Perkins goes very far. I was still waiting for Liriano to get back into 2008 form to carry the team during the second half, but I think that is a forgone conclusion now. If he came around, and Slowey was healthy, Baker-Slowey-Liriano would have been much more formidable. Who knows, maybe all the pitching injuries has the front office throwing in the towel. I guess we’ll find out by Friday.
I had fun looking up those old articles, so lets see what was going on one year ago today for the Twins:
Gomez getting back into groove – Gogo!
Two Years Ago:
Luis Castillo traded to the Mets – Ah yes, this one went over well with the team.
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