tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83332499017291030232023-11-16T08:41:26.517-06:00TwinNationA blog dedicated to Minnesota Twins news & notesKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-8293567896045582172011-11-12T07:03:00.001-06:002011-11-12T07:05:29.969-06:00Bill Smith Out, Terry Ryan In<span style="font-size:95%;">  With the off-season underway, many Minnesota Twins fans were hoping the Twins would re-sign Michael Cuddyer and/or Joe Nathan and that would be a majority of the Twins off-season. Well that was quickly put on the back burner for a little bit. The more shocking news of the off-season was the firing of General Manager Bill Smith. I, like most Twins fan, had no idea their was disagreement within the Twins front office.
<br />   There were thoughts about some possible re-shuffling within the front office once the Twins told the Baltimore Orioles they weren’t allowed to interview Mike Radcliff for their General Manager vacancy. People quickly started to wonder if there was going to be a change sometime down the road or maybe that Radcliff would just be the next in line for the GM position.
<br />   Instead, former GM Terry Ryan will be in the interim GM until the Twins find a new, permanent GM. A time table has not been giving to find a replacement for Bill, so I expect for Terry to make smart baseball decisions and bring this team back to what it was two years ago. Terry was known for building from within the organization and acquiring players who fit the “Twins way”.
<br />   Terry has already said that he expects the Twins payroll to be around the $100 million mark, slightly down from last years payroll of $113 million. So I could see him signing some veteran players at a lesser price to fill the holes on this team. It also appears this could help the Twins re-sign Cuddyer, who was drafted under Ryan’s first reign as Twins GM and also signed him to the contract that recently ran out.
<br />   So as a Twins fans, I am very excited for a Twins off-season for the first time in a while as I expect some drastic changes to take place with the Twins roster. The first task for Terry is to sit down and talk with Cuddyer and Nathan along with their agents to discuss new contracts as well as to find an everyday shortstop. Terry has already said the current team doesn’t have a shortstop that is an everyday player, so I look forward to seeing what Terry can do in such a short amount of time.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-13794202666809069272011-10-20T22:30:00.005-05:002011-10-20T22:32:41.984-05:00Thoughts About Upcoming Contract Decisions<span style="font-size:95%;">  As I sit at home watching the World Series, I can only think of what kind of season the Twins could have had this year. In no way did I expect the Twins to make a playoff run or anything, but to end up losing 99 games, the 2nd most losses in a single season since arriving in 1961, was just shocking. Most people were predicting the Twins to contend for another AL Central title this year, but quickly realized this wasn’t going to be their year.<br />  Everything from very poor pitching to ongoing injuries, the Twins were behind the eight ball from the very beginning. Having a payroll over $100 million doesn’t necessarily mean that you will do well that season, as that was clearly evident with the Twins. For the first time in franchise history, they passed the $100 million payroll mark as they had a payroll of $113 million. Many people thought that since they had a high payroll, that they would do well and make a playoff run.<br />  But if you look at the breakdown of the team payroll, you have to realize that 52% of the $113 million were the contracts of Joe Mauer ($23 million), Justin Morneau ($15 million), Joe Nathan ($11.25 million) and Michael Cuddyer ($10.5 million). The only healthy player out of that group of four this year was Cuddyer. Mauer and Morneau have been dealing with injuries for the last several years and Nathan was entering his first full season since Tommy John Surgery, so they weren’t sure how he would respond. <br />  Either way, that is a lot of money to have tied up with four players. With Mauer entering the first year of his 8 year, $184 million contract this past year, the Twins were very limited to their off-season moves prior to the season and will likely be in the same situation this off-season. However, the Twins have a few things going for them. They were able to get rid of Delmon Young, who made $5.37 million this year and expecting to make more and more as gets closer to free agency. The Twins also have a few impending free agents in Matt Capps, Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer, plus the $12.5 million club option on Joe Nathan.<br />  I fully expect that Capps and Kubel will not be members of the 2012 Minnesota Twins, so that will free up $12.4 million to use towards possible free agent moves. Also, the tough decision whether or not to re-sign Cuddyer will be the biggest decision for General Manager Bill Smith. There are rumors that the Twins had an offer on the table for the last few weeks, which is a $16 million, two-year offer. I could see the Twins giving Cuddyer a two-year, $18 million deal with a possible third year team option. Not only is Cuddyer a clubhouse leader, but he has also been one of very few regular Twins to remain healthy the last few seasons.<br />  Then there is the case of Joe Nathan. He has a team option for $12.5 million that is all but sure to be voided by the Twins, which will cost them just $2 million to void. After the option is void, I expect the Twins to quickly give him a new deal to return as the full-time Twins closer. Heading into the 2011 season he was assigned as the set-up man to Capps, but that didn’t last very long. Capps was very inconsistent and was given multiple chances by manager Ron Gardenhire, but was later swapped with Nathan. Nathan eventually settled into the role and proved that he was meant to be the closer from day one. Look for Glen Perkins to be the new set-up man, assuming Bill Smith pleases the fans and lets Capps become a free agent this winter.<br />  With a few key players become free agents this winter, Bill Smith will have to put his thinking cap on and get that check book ready if he wants to sign some players that can fill those holes and allow the Twins to return to contending for the division title.</span>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-2337447031831809032011-08-19T17:22:00.010-05:002011-10-20T22:35:24.066-05:00Joe Nathan & Jim Thome Reach Milestones<span style="font-size:95%;">  Over the last week, there have been a few Twins items to note. First thing that might come to mind is the fact that Delmon Young was traded to the Detroit Tigers on August 15th. Don't get me wrong, that is important news as many Twins fans were happy the Twins got rid of Delmon, but during that same night, something happened at Comerica Park in Detroit.<br />  Sitting at 598 career home runs, Jim Thome stepped to the plate in the 6th inning and hit a 2-run homer to left field. Ironic that former Twin, Delmon Young was making his first start as a Tiger and watched 599 go over the fence? I don't think so. Just wait, it gets better. In the top of the 7th inning, Jim stepped up to the plate again. this time with two runners on base. On a 2-1 count, with Daniel Schlereth pitching, Jim launched historic home run number 600 to the same spot, left field.<br />  Immediately following the home run, Twins fans and Tigers fans all stood and gave Jim a well deserved standing ovation. Then from behind home plate, Jim's father, wife and two children came out to have a family moment after the historic feat. Jim is only the eighth player in Major League Baseball to eclipse the 600 home run mark. That number really should be five with Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds on that list, but that's not important at the moment.<br />  When showing the replay of the 600th homerun, I couldn't help but notice who was holding the ball, which landed in the Twins bullpen, which was none other than closer Joe Nathan. Joe also reached a very big milestone just a few days before Jim reached his. Joe Nathan became the Twins All-Times saves leader at 255 career saves as a Minnesota Twin. I actually had the opportunity to go to the August 10th game against the Boston Red Sox when Joe picked up his 255th career save as a Minnesota Twin.<br />  After being acquired in a trade after the 2003 season, Joe quickly became one of the best closers from 2004-2009, racking up a league-leading 246 saves during that span. Without Joe, the Twins probably would not have been able to win the four division titles since acquiring Joe. The Twins will have a very important decision to make following the 2011 season as Joe has a 12.5 million dollar team option that would need to be exercised in order to be a Twin in 2012.<br />  In my opinion, it is a no brainer to pick up the option and even look to extend Nathan for two or three more years to allow him to retire as a Minnesota Twin. So, despite the Twins having a challenging year with so many injuries and very inconsistent play, this has been an exciting few days for the Minnesota Twins and Twin Nation.</span>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-8287929311832438212011-07-31T17:14:00.004-05:002011-10-20T22:36:58.157-05:00Denard Still a Twin; At What Price Though?<span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XFus_23ffqJTSi2dhkwNeS5W_Qrq4wnV6CCgLmLXfrG9mC_eX4m2Ekd9ohsYsDpFrND3jS80Gdm2VV4dP0_4O6tAAJRCTxSdJA2owiLjfagefMtt0M9kHilQBh6Tus2GS-TzV05yO5g/s1600/Twins-sign-OF-Denard-Span-to-5-year-deal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XFus_23ffqJTSi2dhkwNeS5W_Qrq4wnV6CCgLmLXfrG9mC_eX4m2Ekd9ohsYsDpFrND3jS80Gdm2VV4dP0_4O6tAAJRCTxSdJA2owiLjfagefMtt0M9kHilQBh6Tus2GS-TzV05yO5g/s320/Twins-sign-OF-Denard-Span-to-5-year-deal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635643337166213330" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"><title></title><meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"><meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1138"><style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>  As the non-waiver trade deadline passed today at 4:00 eastern, the Twins didn’t make any moves, but sure created some buzz around a Denard Span deal. There had been talk about a trade with the Washington Nationals involving Denard Span for closer Drew Storen. In the end though, the teams just couldn’t agree on other players to include in the trade.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>  Despite not agreeing to a deal with the Nationals, it might have done more harm than good on the Twins front. It appears as though Denard was starting to get irritated with all the ongoing talks and can you blame him? He had waited a couple years behind Torii Hunter before he was able to get his shot at the center field job. Once Torii left, it was Denard’s job to lose. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>  Then over the past week or so, there had been talk about Denard being traded to make room for Ben Revere to be the full-time center fielder. I think there will be some tension in the Twins clubhouse once Denard rejoins the team. They can say that the Twins weren’t the ones to start the trade talks, but to continue to discuss trade possibilities with the Nationals won’t sit well with Denard. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Twins revisit a possible trade once the season ends.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>  I fully expect Span to retake his center field job back when he is activated from the disabled list and rejoins the Twins, hopefully later this week. But as we all saw and heard this week, anything can happen come the week of the trade deadline. I also expect the talks over the last week to light a fire under Denard and look for him to go out and prove that he should be and will be the center fielder for the next 5 years.</span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-82151293627759287662011-07-28T10:57:00.002-05:002011-07-28T10:57:43.479-05:00Denard On Way Out?<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1138"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>With the non-waiver trade deadline just 3 days away, there was a few major moves yesterday, but none involving the Minnesota Twins. There was very little expectation of the Twins making any trades before the deadline, but one name has surfaced a bit the last few days. Outfielder Denard Span, who is currently rehabbing in Triple-A Rochester has been the focus of a rumored trade to Washington. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Why trade Span? That is the question many Twins fans maybe asking themselves. I look at it like this. The Twins have a plethora of outfielders currently at the major league level and then a few good looking prospects that will be at the major league level within the next three years, hopefully. With Delmon Young going through the arbitration years, I expect the Twins to hold onto him. Michael Cuddyer will be re-signed after the season ends. It would be a mistake for the Twins to not re-sign him, but that discussion is for a different day. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>That brings me to Jason Kubel, who is also rehabbing at Triple-A. He will also be an impending free agent after the current season. I think the Twins will try to re-sign him, but signing him and Cuddyer could be an issue. The other outfielder on the current roster is Ben Revere. He appears to be set in the Twin Cities for a while. However, when Span comes back, where do you put Span or Revere? </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This then brings us to the potential trade to Washington. The player that keeps coming up on the Nationals side, is closer Drew Storen. This may bring flashbacks to the Matt Capps-Wilson Ramos trade, but this is not at all like that trade. I personally am in favor of this trade as the Twins need to really bolster the bullpen if they want to make any attempt of a 2nd half run towards another Central crown. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Storen will turn 24 years old in a couple of weeks and has really impressed me this year so far. He has a record of 5-2 with 25 saves (28 opportunities) along with a 2.68 ERA. He could essentially be the Twins closer post-Nathan. Nathan has a team option for the 2012 season worth 12.5 million with a 2 million buyout, so the Twins will need to start thinking about the future closer role. There isn’t really anyone in the minor league system that would be suitable, so I think the trade for Storen would be a good one for the Twins.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Toss in the fact that Storen hasn’t even been in the league for two full seasons yet, so he will be under team control for many years to come. You can also argue that same point with Span, but Span will start asking for more money in arbitration years soon. Don’t forget that Span is coming off a concussion and as the Twins have seen with Justin Morneau, it could really alter his career, so if we can get someone as good as Storen for Span, I say pull the trigger. </span></p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-32850282427715574012011-07-17T08:46:00.001-05:002011-07-17T08:46:36.296-05:00Trade Deadline Nears<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>With the trade deadline just two weeks away, there are thoughts of what the Twins will do come July 31st. Some people say they should look at improving their bullpen, while others think they should stay put and look to improve from within. The Twins are usually pretty quite at the trade deadline, but with the new stadium and more money, they could look to make moves. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>However, one name that won’t be moving is Michael Cuddyer. Just a few days ago, the Twins came out and said that they will not be trading Cuddyer at any point this season. I believe that is a very smart move to not move Cuddyer. Even though he might be overpaid at $10.5 million, he has been one of the most reliable and clutch players over the last few seasons. He is also one of very few position players that has remained quite healthy for the Twins, as we have seen multiple players go down in bunches. Also, toss in the fact that he is a huge fan favorite, so trading Cuddyer would make Twins fans question the motive of Bill Smith’s thinking. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Despite being dealing with injuries throughout the season, Kevin Slowey remains the one Twin that will most likely be traded before the July 31st deadline arrives. Heading into the season, Slowey and Scott Baker were battling for the 5th and final rotation spot. At the time, I thought Slowey should have gotten the nod, as he performed very well during Spring Training. Manager Ron Gardenhire proved me wrong as Baker has been pretty darn good this year. With that move, Slowey was originally going to pitch out of the bullpen, but had to go on the disabled list. Once healthy, he was sent to Triple-A Rochester to start in the rotation. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The Pirates and Rockies have recently been reported as being interested in acquiring Slowey to insert into their rotation. The Twins should really consider trading Slowey to the first team that gives them a quality deal. If they do trade Slowey, they should focus on getting more bullpen help. With the recent poor performance by Matt Capps, that leaves basically Glen Perkins and Joe Nathan as the only two quality arms in the bullpen. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>If the Twins want to make a push for another A.L. Central crown, they will need to upgrade their bullpen, as they don’t want to overwork Perkins and Nathan. A few names that come to mind when it comes to bullpen help are Heath Bell, Koji Uehera, Although it would take a lot to get Bell, it might be worth looking into. With Nathan returning to the closers role, the Twins may be reluctant to bring in another closer, as that might diminish the chances of Nathan hanging onto the closers role. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Whatever the Twins decide to do over the next two weeks, it should be interesting to see if not only the Twins make any moves, but any other team in the Central. Regardless, it appears that it will be another year where the winner won’t be decided until the last week, possibly the last day of the season. </span></p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-89829504155281084982011-07-09T17:02:00.002-05:002011-07-09T17:09:26.152-05:00Interview with Madison Boer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt4QP7OpdXZ9OgpFsHvHyN0L4UwCMnVz_SeUCB0uUcHuCLwm9q2ORF5W8rNJj4PA1Y6UhJB7Ef35sO2o1e04676oxwd1um83DjP_YjxFViCWc316yBvPlGqXV3GmD30OCNEbIVEq2Pdk/s1600/madison-boer-oregon.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt4QP7OpdXZ9OgpFsHvHyN0L4UwCMnVz_SeUCB0uUcHuCLwm9q2ORF5W8rNJj4PA1Y6UhJB7Ef35sO2o1e04676oxwd1um83DjP_YjxFViCWc316yBvPlGqXV3GmD30OCNEbIVEq2Pdk/s320/madison-boer-oregon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627476939407048354" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u>
<br /></u></span></div><meta charset="utf-8"><div><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Madison Boer was the Twins 2nd round pick (87th overall) in the June First-Year Player Draft. He is a right handed pitcher out of the University of Oregon. He has recently reported to the Elizabethton Twins, their Single-A Short Season team, to begin his pro career. He was kind enough to take some time to answer a few questions. </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></span></p><p></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); "><b>Kevin Lewis: </b></span></span></span>Madison, lets start with your younger days as a baseball player. What made you decide to follow baseball as your career path? Did you ever consider any other sports as you were growing up and heading towards high school and later Oregon?</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">Madison Boer:</b> </span></span></span>I knew my best shot at making it to the highest level was baseball because I genuinely enjoyed practicing and doing anything with baseball. I didn't have the football mentality, I don't get super amped up like that, i just wasn't wired that way.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b></span></span>Growing up, who was your inspiration and led you towards the baseball career? Who was your favorite team and player to follow?</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>MB:</b> </span></span></span>I used to watch Braves games on TBS all summer. When I was younger I played third base as well as pitching. My two favorite players were Greg Maddux and Chipper Jones. Greg Maddux and John Smoltz are my two favorite pitchers.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b></span></span>Walk us through the day you got drafted by the Minnesota Twins. Did you have any idea you were going to go in the 2nd round?</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>MB:</b></span></span></span> I was just watching the online feed at my girlfriend's parents house and my parents were there also. I started eating breakfast because I wasn't expecting to be taken for a whole round yet. All of a sudden, my parents started yelling and got all excited and I was still eating my pancakes when I asked what happened. They said, "the Twins picked you!!!! 2nd Round!" and we just started celebrating and my phone started blowing up.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b></span></span>Following up with the previous question. How much does it mean to be drafted by the Minnesota Twins, being that you grew up in Eden Prairie, a very athletic high school in Minnesota? </span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>MB</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span></span>I was wondering for a long time, most of my life, what it would feel like to put on a professional jersey and I couldn't have felt more comfortable than to put a Twins jersey on.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </b></span></span>You quickly signed with the Twins and reported to Elizabethton to begin your pro career and you quickly notched your first victory. You actually recorded your first victory in your first appearance. How much of a confidence builder was that and could you just describe the moment you were called in from the bullpen.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>MB</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span></span>I wasn't nervous but excited to get my feet wet. Pitching is what I do and it's what I want to do with my life so I just went out to the mound and pitched how I knew I could. Luckily, we took the lead the following half inning and I got a victory.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> </span></span>You throw a fastball that hits the high 80s and then also have a slider and curveball in our arsenal. If you were asked to give a scouting report on yourself, what would you say your strengths are and what could you improve upon as you make your way through the Twins system?</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>MB</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span></span>Well that’s what I threw in High School. I have dropped the curveball to focus on a change up, and I have the slider and fastball still. With the strength and conditioning program at Oregon along with just simply getting more physically mature I now sit in the low 90's and can touch the mid 90's. The most important thing in pro ball is getting better everyday. The minor leagues are a long process and at this level everybody is very good. The only way you can separate yourself is to come to the field everyday and get better at something.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> </span></span>The last thing I always ask players is that if you had the opportunity to talk to a group of young kids who aspire to become professional baseball players, what one piece of advice would you give them?</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>MB</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">:</b> </span></span>I would say that you have to think about whats important to you? If it’s baseball, are you going somewhere to hit everyday. Eden Prairie has an excellent year round hitting facility called "Players Only." It is a great place that offers much more than just batting cages and you can get instruction on hitting and pitching. The single most important thing is being able to sacrifice free time to go practice, because if you really want to be a ballplayer you have to know whats important and make the right decisions on and off the field.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> </span></span>I would like to thank Madison for taking time out of his busy life, as he begins his pro career, to answer a few questions about his journey to the draft and his future as a Twin. Hopefully one day we will see you back in Minnesota and on the mound at Target Field.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>MB</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span></span>Thank you, I appreciate it.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> </div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-44177037468020364712011-07-07T19:05:00.002-05:002011-07-07T19:29:48.697-05:00Interview With Angel Morales<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPHG3eywZSJwA02HETOygvZSeKm7dMNqWYAv2-3tqXsrqmWA2dIseJF1hwczTNRJcTyiYQxhGK6Y75mwuAjVVQwag944XC7xXa8Y6nPDMWhVAJTeefEOTQw1T3eqp9XQ8mehv9-Bb07k/s1600/4650352336_439b9169ec.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPHG3eywZSJwA02HETOygvZSeKm7dMNqWYAv2-3tqXsrqmWA2dIseJF1hwczTNRJcTyiYQxhGK6Y75mwuAjVVQwag944XC7xXa8Y6nPDMWhVAJTeefEOTQw1T3eqp9XQ8mehv9-Bb07k/s320/4650352336_439b9169ec.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626772031866417554" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div><meta charset="utf-8"><div><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="s1" >Angel Morales was the Twins 3rd round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. He attended the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy High School. He has since quickly moved through the Twins minor league system and is currently playing for the Ft. Myers Miracle, their Advanced Single-A affiliate. As Angel rehabs an elbow injury, he took some time to answer a few questions about his career.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); "><b>Kevin Lewis: </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Angel, lets start with the day you were drafted by the Twins. Did you expect to get drafted that soon? Was there any indication that the Twins were interested in taking you in the 3rd round?</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">Angel Morales:</b> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Well when I was a senior studying at a baseball academy in Puerto Rico more than half of my coaches were major league scouts, but none of them from the Twins. I knew some scouts were interested in me, but to be honest, I didn’t know how soon, or which team was going to pick me. I really thought the Marlins or Yankees were going to; just for the fact of how many tryouts they invited me to. Hector Otero, which is now not also the scout who drafted me, but a great friend of mine only saw me a couple of times before the draft occurred. </span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">If we were to go back to the 2007 draft and I was a fan interested in the Twins draft, what would your scouting report say about yourself?</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AM:</b> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "> Well I would say that Angel Morales is a five tool player with good speed and a plus arm with some unpolished skills, but with the correct personnel, he can improve them and be the best complete five tool player he can be.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">You have quickly moved through the Twins organization, spending a full season at each level. It appears the Twins want to have you in the Twin Cities within the next few years. However, there is quite the group of solid out fielders in the Twins organization (Aaron Hicks, Ben Revere, Joe Benson, Oswaldo Arcia), so it will be a battle for the outfield sports. What do you feel you have to improve upon to get the upper hand?</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>AM</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Yeah I think it’s going to be fun one day. All of us in a major league camp competing for the spot. We have a very solid and talented group of outfielders. We all get a long very well and we talk about that at time when we have a moment. It will be a fun, but a difficult challenge, but I’m looking forward to it. I can’t really compare to anyone of them. I rather just focus on my ability and just trying to get better. I think I should work on my overall performance, but I think my biggest weakness is striking out too much, so if I cut those down I’ll be fine.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">You have had shoulder/arm issues this season at Ft. Myers. At first there was thought you need to undergo Tommy John Surgery and would really set you back on your way to the majors. It was later determined that surgery was not necessary and just rest and rehab would heal the injury. After moving through the system so quick, how tough has it been to not be able to play this season at Ft. Myers?</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>AM</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Well just for the fact that I’m not having Tommy John Surgery I feel blessed. It has definitely been a tough time for me as an individual because I always set goals for myself and train so hard to accomplish them. Then the injury occurred and caught me off guard, but that’s part of the game. I just have to deal with it, stay positive, understand that this is a process that I have to go through. After that everything is going to be fine and I will be back to do what I love most, which is playing baseball.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Being down in Ft. Myers this year and recovering from your injury, you have seen quite a few players from the Twins active roster come through dealing with their own injuries. Did you get the opportunity to get tips and/or workout with the likes of Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, and Jason Kubel? </span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>AM</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Well it was really special. I would definitely prefer meeting them in a major league camp rather than seeing them rehab injuries of their own, but I definitely learn a lot of things from them just by watching the way they handle their situations. You know about being injured they always have a smile on their face. They are very outgoing if they see someone who they think they can help they will. I mean they are very humble and I understand that it’s all about being healthy again to help their team win.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Growing up as a young kid, was baseball always your sport and did you always know that you wanted to become a professional baseball player? Who was your baseball idol and favorite team growing up in Puerto Rico?</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>AM</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">When I was a teenager I just loved being active. I remember that I had my dad running all over the island traveling because I was involved with so many sports. I was on volleyball, track and field, basketball, softball, baseball, and even ping pong tournaments. I made my dad take me to tournaments of all sorts. But pretty much I knew baseball was meant for me because it was the sport that I enjoyed the most. I remember I always went crazy when I turned on the TV and watched Bernie Williams play. He was my favorite player and still is to this day. So every time the Yankees were on I always cheered for them because Bernie was on the team.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">The last question I always like to ask people is that if you had the opportunity to speak to a group of kids who one day want to play professional baseball, what one piece of advice would tell those kids?</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; "><b>AM</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Follow your dream and don't let nobody take it away from you!!</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">I would like to thank Angel for taking time as he rehabs his injury and wish him the best of luck the rest of the season and hopefully we will see you in the Twin Cities one day.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AM:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">Thanks for allowing me to share a little bit about my career as I make my way towards the Twin Cities. God Bless.</span></span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Arial} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> </div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-53378068131815358442011-06-29T08:41:00.002-05:002011-06-29T08:44:15.689-05:00What Will Twins Do With Cuddyer?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErPbmOlc_zjdZOCgy2CohxE42oXPYFUuMQE6MbzFvKXGICrjWiAwOasu38jOOE60pWDj1Oc3xtKnP7L0rCePd8CtA_bAOl0szsOY-fY1-yMbTVrVYHDr32R2g8B0F9HzS4C0SQxgg9WE/s1600/20100412_cuddyer_33.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErPbmOlc_zjdZOCgy2CohxE42oXPYFUuMQE6MbzFvKXGICrjWiAwOasu38jOOE60pWDj1Oc3xtKnP7L0rCePd8CtA_bAOl0szsOY-fY1-yMbTVrVYHDr32R2g8B0F9HzS4C0SQxgg9WE/s320/20100412_cuddyer_33.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623636456226182002" /></a>
<br /><div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.36"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>With the Twins fluctuating between winning streaks and losing streaks and not making up much ground over the last two weeks, there have been rumbling about possible moves around the trade deadline in July. One of the names that pops up is right fielder, Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer is in the last year of his contract that he signed back in 2008. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The average, everyday Twins fan would think it’s a no brainer that we re-sign Cuddyer and have him be our right fielder for a few more years. I don’t think it’s as clear cut as it may appear. You have to remember that he is getting paid 10.5 million dollars this year and is hitting .286 with 10 home runs and 30 runs batted in. Just two years ago, the last year at the Metrodome, he hit a career high 32 home runs. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>So the Twins have a tough decision on their hands as Cuddyer just might be the most well liked Twin not named Joe Mauer, so letting him walk via Free Agency or trading him could put a sour taste in the fans mouth. If I am the Twins, I would sit down as a collective group and really decide what they want to do with Cuddyer and how they see the future outfield panning out. The toughest thing is, the Twins have a few other guys who are either in Double-A or Triple-A that could fill Cuddyers spot, so it makes that tough on the Twins.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>If I am GM Bill Smith, I would look to trade Cuddyer come late July. There will more than likely be a contender or two that are looking for a hitter that can give them an offensive boost. Not to mention he can also fill in at first base as well. If the Twins decide to go the trade route, I would ask for bullpen arms in return. I don’t expect the Twins to spend much this coming off-season, so I would look for them to acquire an arm or two.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The other route the Twins could go with Cuddyer is to give him a multi-year deal in the 3 year range. Maybe even if they re-sign him to make him our starting first baseman as the Twins can’t afford to play the “wait-and-see” game with Justin Morneau and his health at first base. That is a very interesting thought as when he filled in for Morneau last year, he really picked it up and did a great job filling in for him. If you do re-sign Cuddyer though, how much do you give him? Making 10.5 million this season, he likely won’t take much of a hometown discount. I would maybe start by offering him 8-9 million per year making that 3rd year a team option. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Whether it’s a trade, re-signing him, or letting him test the free agent mark, I’m sure glad that I’m not in Bill Smith’s shoes. It will be a very tough decision deciding the future of Michael Cuddyer as a Minnesota Twin. </span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-89612182040236430842011-06-18T19:56:00.006-05:002011-06-18T20:25:52.660-05:00Interview With AJ Pettersen<span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BrRVj38rVTJfJIqEx9siAUdyFDQkVsSXBhtxPzkIpUqhOhkFc_2SU2kah3BRKjtjQ45ihoyqH9aS2K1mRhH9QhVYXXFg_9oruzPw4sJ3vA1EsF36X_i95cQsjkbVoNiPLW52t8g8AUw/s1600/NLGSAASDZJAMOCY.20090512145131.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BrRVj38rVTJfJIqEx9siAUdyFDQkVsSXBhtxPzkIpUqhOhkFc_2SU2kah3BRKjtjQ45ihoyqH9aS2K1mRhH9QhVYXXFg_9oruzPw4sJ3vA1EsF36X_i95cQsjkbVoNiPLW52t8g8AUw/s320/NLGSAASDZJAMOCY.20090512145131.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619729017442038434" /></a>
<br /></span><div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.s2 {letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #002e78} span.s3 {letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #bd1a0d} </style> <p class="p1"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">AJ Pettersen was the Twins 25th round (778th overall) pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. He played three seasons at the University of Minnesota after readshirting the 2008 season. He will start his minor league career at Elizabethton (Tennessee), one of the Twins rookie ball affiliates. AJ has been kind enough to answer a few questions before he heads off to Elizabethton.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); "><b>Kevin Lewis: </b></span>Not many Twins fans know much about AJ Pettersen. Could you give a little bio about your baseball career and what made you choose baseball as your career?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">AJ Pettersen:</b> </span>I played in 2006 and 2007 for Minnetonka High School and for Excelsior Legion, followed by 4 years at the University of Minnesota. I chose baseball because I quickly learned there wasn't a whole lot of room for a short, skinny kid in basketball. In all seriousness, baseball has been my passion for many years and I enjoy every aspect of it. For that reason, it was an easy choice. </span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b>While playing for the U of Minnesota during the 2009-2010 season, you guy were the first team to play a game at Target Field. How exciting was that experience?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AP:</b> </span>That was a pretty cool experience. It is definitely one of my most exciting baseball experiences. I think 37,000 fans showed up that day for the open house/baseball game and that more than tripled the highest attendance I had played for previously. The Twins have been very gracious to the Gophers for many years and getting that opportunity was pretty fantastic. </span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b>You had a great 2011 season, hitting .344 with 12 doubles and an on-base percentage of .394 for the Gophers. If I was a team interested in you, what would your scouting report tell me?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AP:</b> </span>It would probably say that I don't have any one tool that will wow you, but if you keep coming back you will see consistently good performances. I pride myself on playing all aspects of the game well and for helping my team win in any way I can. </span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></p> <meta charset="utf-8"><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </span></b>Being a hometown guy, playing at Minnetonka High School and then attending the University of Minnesota, what was it like being drafted by the Minnesota Twins?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AP:</b> </span>It is quite an honor that I got picked by the Twins. I have been a fan of the Twins my entire life and it's awesome to be part of the organization now. I couldn't think of a better organization to be a part of.</p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 184); ">KL: </b>Growing up as a young baseball player, who was your favorite team to follow as well as your favorite player?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"><b></b></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AP:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Like I said, I have always been a big Twins fan. I have also always been a big fan of the little guys across the league. I used to be a big David Eckstein fan for obvious reasons and I am now a real big fan of Dustin Pedroia. Both of those guys play the game the right way and it's fun to watch.</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> If you aren’t on the baseball field working on becoming a better player, what are you doing?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AP:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">If I am not playing ball I am probably hanging out with my fiance, my family and my friends. I like to play video games and just hang out and watch tv, movies, etc. </span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> If you were to speak to a group of young kids who dream to become pro baseball players, what one piece of advice would you give them?</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">AP:</b> Keep working hard. I know that sounds cliche, but if I hadn't spent hours upon hours in the batting cages in the freezing cold, or taking ground balls in the wee hours of the morning I never would have made it this far. I would also recommend that kids play games of wiffle ball, stickball, etc. These games develop the instincts that many kids today lack because they play too much organized baseball. These games put kids in situations that they might not see as much in real games and force kids to think on their toes and make quick decisions.</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 184); font-weight: bold; ">KL:</b> I would like to thank AJ for taking some time as he heads to Elizabethton tonight. I wish him nothing but the best and that one day he could maybe join Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins as a third hometown Twin.</span></p> <p class="p2" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); "><b>AP:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Thanks for giving me the chance to answer a few questions. Go Gophers and Go Twins!</span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; "></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-50547482525503816122011-06-14T23:01:00.003-05:002011-06-15T09:06:39.884-05:00Injury Updates: What Will Gardy Do?<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>As the Twins continue to win games and trim away at the A.L. Central lead, they also await the return of several all-star caliber players from their stay on the disabled list. Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Glen Perkins, Jason Kubel, Denard Span, Tsuyohsi Nishioka, and Kevin Slowey are all currently rehabbing and trying to get back to the Twins Cities soon. Some have taken longer than anticipated, but are nearing the completion of their rehab assignment. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>As they continue to return from the DL, manager Ron Gardenhire will have a couple of tough decisions to make as who to demote to Triple-A Rochester as the players return from the disabled list. Some decisions might be easier than others, but as a manager, telling someone they are being sent to Rochester is never an easy task. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Tsuyoshi Nishioka:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The first player that appears closest to making his return to the active roster is shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka. As soon as Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher slid into Nishioka as he broke up a double play, you knew something was wrong with Nishioka. It was later confirmed that it was a fractured left fibula and he would initially miss 6-8 weeks, but would end up taking longer. There were questions as to whether Nishioka would return as a second baseman or would move over to his more natural position of shortstop. It appears as though he will indeed move back to shortstop, which will force Alexi Casilla to play second. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>With Nishioka returning on Wednesday, I expect the Twins to send Luke Hughes back to Triple-A. It would be either Hughes or Matt Tolbert and I honestly don’t see Gardenhire sending out Tolbert as he is a Gardenhire favorite. There is also a very small, remote chance they could send Danny Valencia down as he hasn’t produced like last year, but like I said it’s a very small chance.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Glen Perkins:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In my opinion, Glen Perkins has been the biggest surprise thus far for the Twins bullpen. Over the last couple seasons he has been shifted back and forth between starter and reliever, but this year it was known he was going to be a relief pitcher, so I think that allowed him to get into the mindset of his role. He didn’t give up a run, earned or unearned, until April 28th against Tampa Bay. Perkins would continue his early success while making 22 appearances with a 1.59 ERA and 22 strike outs. However, he would be forced to leave the May 22nd game at Arizona due to a right oblique strain. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>It was an unfortunate time for the injury, although there is no good time, because Joe Nathan was also dealing with arm soreness. Having thought two guys out of the bullpen, you really have no stability. Perkins has made one rehab start at Triple-A Rochester and will pitch again tonight. If everything goes well, expect the Twins to bring him back up to the Twin Cities sometime this week. If I were the Twins I would send down Chuck James, who has gotten very little work while on the active roster. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Joe Nathan:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Joe Nathan is one of those guys that the Twins should rehab him very slowly and cautiously. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2009, he missed the entire 2010 season. Coming out of Spring Training, Nathan and Matt Capps were to split the closer role, but it appeared that Gardenhire was more confident in Nathan. I felt it was too quick to put him back into the closer role and his numbers backed that up. Before landing on the disabled list in late-May, he had an ERA of 7.63 over 15.1 innings with three saves. The Twins should slowly worked him back into the role and see how he would have handled non-close situations. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>We probably won’t see Nathan back until late-June or early-July as he is just starting to throw live batting practice. He will likely go on a rehab assignment and then return to the set-up role. The only way I would put Nathan back into the closers role this season is if Capps struggles or Nathan can get command of his pitches better and can handle the high pressure situations. Look for the Twins to send either Jim Hoey or Phil Dumatrait down to Rochester when Nathan returns. If you go by just numbers, I would send Hoey down as he seems to struggle every time he enters a game, as it’s shown with his 8.31 ERA over 13 innings.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Jason Kubel:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>If there was any Twin that was off to a hot start, it was Jason Kubel. As the Twins were very slow out of the gates to start the season, Kubel seemed to be the only one wanting to hit the baseball. Even though he hit just two home runs in the month of April, he had a .351 batting average. Kubel and Jim Thome usually split duties at DH, but with Thome having lingering back issues, Kubel got most of the appearances at DH. Like every other Twins player though, he due to end up on the disabled list. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After the May 30th game, Kubel was diagnosed with a left foot sprain and was later placed the DL. As of Saturday, he started taking bating practice, so I would expect him back sometime late next week, but the following week could be the best bet. I think without a doubt when he is the activated the Twins will likely send out Brian Dinkleman. <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Kevin Slowey:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After a battle with Scott Baker on who would be the fifth starter to start the season, Slowey was designated for the long-relief role. There were some questions about Slowey’s future as a Twin, but that was put on the back burner after a slow start for Slowey. Despite his 4.91 ERA through 14.2 innings pitched, there were still some whispers about whether the Twins would hold on to him or find a suitor and try to improve their bullpen. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After his May 15th appearance he went to the trainers and was later diagnosed with a mild strain of the abdomen. He has yet to begin a rehab assignment as he currently threw off the mound for the first time since being placed on the disabled list. Once Slowey is healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep him in Rochester to put him in the starter role, which would attract teams to think about trading for him. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Denard Span:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After years of waiting in the wings behind Torii Hunter, Denard finally has taken the reigns of center and has no signs of giving it up anytime soon. After an impressive 2009 season, Span slipped a little bit during the 2010 season by hitting .264 in the lead off spot. What he may lack at the plate he makes up in the outfield. Despite not having the strongest arm, he makes some of the same diving catches that Hunter would have made. Entering the 2011 season, Span needed to prove that he was worthy of being the lead off man for the Twins. He has done a good job so far hitting .294 with an on-base percentage of .361.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Last year Span experienced dizziness and was forced to make a trip to the DL. It took a few weeks, but he was able to return to action without any lingering side effects. Well that same injury has reoccured and has forced Span to make a trip the newly formed, 7-day concussion disabled list. Pretty much Span just has to rest up and hopefully can resume baseball activities sooner than later. When he comes off the DL, I expect Rene Tosoni to be sent back to Rochester. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s2"><b>Joe Mauer:</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Without a doubt Joe Mauer is the most followed and talked about Minnesota Twin whether he is healthy or not. Throughout his career, it has been thought that Mauer may be too tall to remain behind the plate as the Twins catcher. Toss in the continuing leg and back issues and there might be a legitimate reason to talk about moving him to a corner infield position. The Twins have quickly shot down the idea of moving Mauer to a different position as he is in the first year of his $184 million, 8 year contract. It’s so hard to find a franchise catcher, let alone a catcher who has half the ability that Mauer has, so I see no reason to move Mauer to a different position. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Mauer entered the 2011 season coming off minor knee surgery he had during the off-season. Some people were surprised that he had a minor knee procedure, but I think it could be an annual think, but obviously hope that’s not the case. Due to the off-season procedure, Mauer didn’t start in Spring Training until about half way through, but the Twins felt he was more than ready to break camp and start in Opening Day. Little did the Twins know that it was more than just his knees that caused him to be placed on the disabled list just 10 games in the season. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The Twins immediately had Mauer undergo testing to see what was causing the reported leg and back soreness. It was determined that Mauer had bilateral leg weakness. After resting and recovering from a viral infection as well, he was sent down to Ft. Myers to begin his rehab assignment. Rather than have him move from team to team throughout the minors, the Twins wanted him to stay near their Spring Training complex in Ft. Myers so they could keep a better tab on him and see how he was progressing. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>As of late Mauer has been able to catch more and more every game, with him recently catching a full nine inning game. That is the best news that Twins fans could have wished for. His bat isn’t quite up to speed yet, but that is the least of his worries as we all know Mauer will eventually end up hitting .300 or better. The most important thing is to make sure that Mauer is as close to 100% as he can get before they decide to bring him back to the Twin Cities and insert him into the everyday lineup again.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>It appears that Rene Rivera will be sent to Rochester when Mauer returns from the DL as Rivera has a minor league option. Keeping Drew Butera also allows Carl Pavano to have his personal catcher, Butera, when he makes his starts. It may not be a well received move, but I think it’s the right move to make rather than Pavano not feel comfortable when he makes his starts.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>With all the moves that will be made over the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see how quickly this team can gel and get into a groove before the All-Star break arrives. I feel that if the Twins can be within 5-6 games of the division league at the time of the All-Star break and everyone gets some much needed rest, it should shape for yet another exciting race for the AL Central title. </span></p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-19267210152017250672011-06-08T09:39:00.004-05:002011-06-08T09:46:40.610-05:00Could the Twins Have Something Special Unfolding?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp-1_u2oeO7ytRsm3RTI_-_TsH6HtblBQ1xQj2AlyvakEwgsqpJkFfa8iuWWYBfqCbm6VcM8XBJBEPfio6-64O4JPlaxUUmK9sd4a9bDbk0oBjaZn0Uy5mANheQsz7ifpSL3-S3wg2uI/s1600/Miguel-Sano300x450+%252710+MiLB+ST.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp-1_u2oeO7ytRsm3RTI_-_TsH6HtblBQ1xQj2AlyvakEwgsqpJkFfa8iuWWYBfqCbm6VcM8XBJBEPfio6-64O4JPlaxUUmK9sd4a9bDbk0oBjaZn0Uy5mANheQsz7ifpSL3-S3wg2uI/s320/Miguel-Sano300x450+%252710+MiLB+ST.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615859231242321522" /></a>
<br /><div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>As the 2011 First-Year Player Draft wraps up today, the Twins future appears to be bright. There is one prospect who made his debut last season and could be a future face of the franchise. The great thing is, he wasn't drafted, instead he was discovered not only by the Twins, but other teams as well. The Twins were lucky enough to land Dominican prospect, Miguel Sano. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Sano is an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic and was highly sought after by many teams when he announced his intentions on coming to the Major Leagues. There were rumors of the Twins having some interest, but many people didn’t think the Twins would spend the money to sign an international free agent. Were they ever wrong when October 2009 came, the Twins signed Sano to a 3.15 million dollar signing bonus and the Twins made a big splash. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>However, it wasn’t as easy as just signing a dotted line for Sano. As with every international free agent that signs with a Major League team, the commissioners office does a full identity check. There were multiple rumors that Sano was not infact 16 years old as he claimed he was, but after an investigation by Major League Baseball, he was given the okay to sign with the Twins. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After starting out by playing in the Dominican Summer League, Sano eventually made his way stateside and made his debut with the Twins Gulf Coast League and quickly proved why he was worth all the hype. In 41 games he hit .291 with four home runs and 19 runs batted in. Despite being a player who can play any infield position, I expect him to end up at third base or first base. There have been scouts saying that he could even outgrow the third base position and could end up in a corner outfield position or could be the the future cornerstone at first base. He has drawn comparisons to Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez when it comes to his physical size. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Even though the Twins would love to have him appear in the Twins Cities sooner rather than later, if I were them, I would move Sano through the system slowly. They can’t afford to rush Sano and blow their chance at having a very special player one day. So if there is a Twins prospect to keep your eye on when it comes to the offensive side of the ball, Miguel Sano could very well be that player. If he has a solid 2011 season in the Gulf Coast League, I could see him starting the 2012 season in Beloit. So hopefully he will appear in the Twin Cities around the 2015 season, but it’s tough to predict when a player will be ready for the majors, especially when a player is as young as Sano is. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>It will be very exciting to see him grow into his body and hopefully become the player that everyone predicts and hopes he will become. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-14909158772281849712011-06-05T08:23:00.003-05:002011-06-05T08:28:52.697-05:00The Future at Starting Pitcher: Kyle Gibson<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfN7Bju2w3m93LW5RVcsbr1aS7EfKfOX-j-XFcAv_vapQX5NqtKpLsOub5Xq4AdJREnbeoLTS4eOF-ha54WI59f5WyVYr5bUVPHidVdRvhhazMHkwwKOtLZRICuqXL_Cro3vxg7wda_A/s1600/WR8CWEkt.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfN7Bju2w3m93LW5RVcsbr1aS7EfKfOX-j-XFcAv_vapQX5NqtKpLsOub5Xq4AdJREnbeoLTS4eOF-ha54WI59f5WyVYr5bUVPHidVdRvhhazMHkwwKOtLZRICuqXL_Cro3vxg7wda_A/s320/WR8CWEkt.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614726292510706514" /></a><br /><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> With the way the Twins have been playing so far this season, there have been a lot of players being promoted and demoted from Rochester. As I was watching the game last night, I was joking with my brother, “Do you think the Triple-A Rochester squad could beat the Twins?”. There is only one problem with that. 9 of the 25 players on the active roster started the season in Rochester. Now a few of those players have been up and down quite a bit as there has been at least one injury per week for the Twins. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> However, there is one player that hasn’t been considered being called up. That player would be Kyle Gibson, a right handed pitcher that was drafted in the 1st round (22nd overall) in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. He has quickly moved through the minor league system and is in line for a late season call up if the Twins are completely out of the division race. He had a very impressive 2010 Minor League campaign going 11-6 with a 2.96 earned run average and 126 strikeouts as he pitched in Single-A Ft. Myers, Double-a New Britain and Triple-A Rochester. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Gibson has the potential to be a very good #2 starter for the Twins in 2012. Gibson is like any other current Twins starter, he is a ground ball pitcher. That is something the Twins have coveted for quite a few years now. If you look back at the Twins pitchers that came up through their system, you rarely see a hard throwing, strike out pitcher. So Gibson fits the mold perfectly. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> The most important thing about Gibson’s 2010 run through the minors was that he didn’t encounter any lingering side effects from a stress fracture that occurred during his junior year at the University of Missouri. There were some questions prior to the draft whether or not he would be able to fully recover and become the pitcher everyone knew him as while at Missouri. He quickly put the doubters in their spot. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> His velocity ranges from the high-80s to the low-90s, so he definitely won’t be a fast throwing, strike out machine, but his fastball has good movement on it and his slider is a good second pitch that causes all those ground ball outs. He has been working on improving his change-up, which will be crucial to get that down to be successful at the major league level. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Look for Gibson to make his debut at the Major League level sometime in late August or early September. There is absolutely no reason to rush him considering the Twins appear out of the race early in the season. They need to let him build more and more confidence and really get his pitches down before they call him up, hopefully so he stays at the major league level and doesn’t bounce around between Triple-A and the majors. Twins fans should be very excited for this young pitcher, so everyone keep an eye on him. </span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-69286367012728349172011-06-02T08:57:00.004-05:002011-06-02T09:03:35.509-05:00Will Joe Remain Twins Catcher?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfiGbFGa19se9bRIpBEv3ou4C2-BFnt0h29KeGDgLy2Bm8lxfDfE3zuzJWGiu4_nCzMnt9RlQVzfjc-vhuXTRPgOz_S2ilEbMP9Xn3sxt40pEpz3eZWej356TObToa5H2Re7AqgQ-5S0/s1600/RodriguezMauer452.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfiGbFGa19se9bRIpBEv3ou4C2-BFnt0h29KeGDgLy2Bm8lxfDfE3zuzJWGiu4_nCzMnt9RlQVzfjc-vhuXTRPgOz_S2ilEbMP9Xn3sxt40pEpz3eZWej356TObToa5H2Re7AqgQ-5S0/s320/RodriguezMauer452.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613622791163664626" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">
<br /></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>As the ongoing debate about whether catchers should block the plate when a runner is coming home and getting ready to take out the catcher, you continuously hear of one catcher that should be moved from behind the plate. That name would be Joe Mauer. All the outrage about the catcher blocking home plate started about a week ago when Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants broke his left fibula and severely strained some ligaments in his ankle. He will miss the remainder of the 2011 season. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Thus began the debate whether teams should put such valuable players behind the plate. My thought is to keep them behind the plate. You can’t move a catcher to a different position just because you are afraid he might get hurt on a play. If you did that then you wouldn’t have anyone playing defense, because then you could make the case that a second baseman could be taken out with a hard slide or whatever the situation is.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>During all this talk about Posey and the thought of moving players from behind the plate, you hear a lot about the Minnesota Twins possibly moving Mauer to a different position. I totally disagree with their opinion on that. Not only is Mauer one of the best catchers in the game right now, but where would put him? They have Justin Morneau at first base through the 2013 season and Danny Valencia at third base for the foreseeable future. Those would be the only two positions I would put Mauer at if I was the Twins. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>If you were to move Mauer, who would take over as the full-time, starting catcher? Drew Buetra? No thanks. Rene Rivera? No thanks. Steve Holm? Okay, you have to stop being funny. Wilson Ramos? Oh wait, the Twins traded him for Matt Capps. With the Twins payroll exceeding $100 million for the first time in franchise history, you wouldn’t have much wiggle room to go spend on a quality starting catcher, so that brings us back to keeping Mauer behind the plate. Also, don’t forget that Mauer is in the first year of his new 8 year, $184 million contract. So you can’t even think about moving him to a different position this early into his contract. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Twins manager Ron Gardenhire put it perfectly the other day when asked about the possibility of moving Mauer to a different position: <i>"He signed an eight-year deal to catch in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins," Gardenhire said. "So we're trying to get him back as a catcher. If it doesn't work out when he comes back, then we're going to have to figure somewhere else. And that's a lot harder than everybody makes it out to be, because we have some corner people that are pretty good baseball players.”</i></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I think the only way they move Mauer to a different position is if he continues to have knee issues during the off-season and into Spring Training. To me, the earliest you can think about moving him is after the 2013 season, but that would only work if the Twins don’t re-sign Morneau and then move Mauer to first base. That doesn’t mean I don’t want Morneau to stick around, as I certainly want him to stick around, but the Twins will have to really think about what is best for the organization.</span></p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-86663184501552330612011-05-23T09:42:00.001-05:002011-05-23T09:44:48.040-05:00Are the Twins Going to Trade Kevin Slowey?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTq5gG03_9WY-p6r2utZBWROexkaTaa093WlqM1yKYlzdQj-ZvIga-Blkl7x9gNEgWmiHD921724axgITdDKKKAbIKrxqRVQc6uqAXuAmn0yA6NhYKJzTGzsicEPxtSv203D2_d2Goss/s1600/Kevin-Slowey.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTq5gG03_9WY-p6r2utZBWROexkaTaa093WlqM1yKYlzdQj-ZvIga-Blkl7x9gNEgWmiHD921724axgITdDKKKAbIKrxqRVQc6uqAXuAmn0yA6NhYKJzTGzsicEPxtSv203D2_d2Goss/s320/Kevin-Slowey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609922133189668418" /></a><br /><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> After I read a report that the Twins are planning on sending Kevin Slowey down to Triple-A Rochester to get some starts, my initial reaction was that it was a smart move by the Twins as he hasn’t gotten into many games at the major league level. But the more I read into it and thought about it, my reaction was “They are probably trying to build his arm back up and eventually trade him”. It has been known since Spring Training that Slowey is the pitcher the Twins would trade, if they were to trade one of their pitchers. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> I have respect for Slowey as he has handled his move to the bullpen with grace and open arms. Some pitchers would fight the move, but he wanted to do what was best for the team. He has had some arm troubles this year and even made a trip the disabled list, but he is still working very hard at becoming a reliable bullpen arm. At the same time though, he rightfully deserves to be in the starting rotation. He has done all the Twins have asked of him and more. But he recently started to feel that maybe Minnesota isn’t the place to be, which is a shame as he is well liked here and a great clubhouse guy.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> After winning 10 or more games in each of the previous three seasons, many thought he would be the Twins 4th or 5th starter, but with the off-season re-signing of Carl Pavano, there was going to be competition. Slowey even had a better Spring Training than Scott Baker, but the Twins decided Slowey would be more effective coming out of the bullpen rather than send him down to Triple-A.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> It appears that he is going to end up in Rochester sooner than later to get him back into the routine of starting. This then brings up the question “Will the Twins eventually trade Slowey?”. I personally would like to see Slowey make a few starts at the major league level. I would move either Liriano or Duensing to the bullpen in the mean time. Especially now that Glen Perkins appears to be out for a few weeks, we need a solid lefty in the bullpen. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> One of the other reasons it would be smart for the Twins to keep Slowey is that he is under team control through the 2013 at a very cheap price. That could also help the Twins if they choose to trade him, but only time will tell. If they do trade him, they must get a good pitcher in return. Whether that is a starter or a bullpen, preferably a bullpen arm as it would defeat the purpose to trade him for another starter. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-6983926891765245732011-05-19T09:11:00.003-05:002011-05-19T09:13:38.134-05:00Bullpen Woes Hamper Twins<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY4Byjm0I5vrWWsbgbFhv87tZGqu6ikUTPjrFgWT6_3u9vY_FskkWWJXv7tkQbeN5QxU9kKZOMZH2cgLWSJCsJLBHmSzLsgHRKH37N46zpkbsmvwHwJTVQQn-2jK3ouPeECtTn58A7D0/s1600/Glen%252BPerkins%252BKansas%252BCity%252BRoyals%252Bv%252BMinnesota%252BCrQ_C-lEVQxl.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY4Byjm0I5vrWWsbgbFhv87tZGqu6ikUTPjrFgWT6_3u9vY_FskkWWJXv7tkQbeN5QxU9kKZOMZH2cgLWSJCsJLBHmSzLsgHRKH37N46zpkbsmvwHwJTVQQn-2jK3ouPeECtTn58A7D0/s320/Glen%252BPerkins%252BKansas%252BCity%252BRoyals%252Bv%252BMinnesota%252BCrQ_C-lEVQxl.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608429836312310690" /></a><br /><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Heading into the 2011 season, Twins fans were preparing for the worst when the late innings rolled around in games. After letting Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Brian Fuentes all test the free agent market, the Twins were in for a rude awaking. Not knowing how Joe Nathan would recover from Tommy John surgery the year before, or just having a good idea of who works better in certain situations and innings, it has made for some interesting decisions.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> After having combined earned run average of 3.49 for the 2010 season, many people thought at least two of the four named above would be back with the club in 2011 and would be named as one of the best bullpens in baseball. The Twins thought differently. They decided to let them test the market and would rebuild the bullpen from within, primarily Triple-A Rochester. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Heading into Spring Training, there were a few spots up for battle, but as we reach mid-May, it really didn’t matter who won the battles. The Twins have used 12 different relief pitchers, which only four have made more than 15 appearances. Some have found themselves on the disabled list, but the fact the Twins have already called and sent down several relief pitchers is not a good way to start the season. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> So, whether the Twins go out and sign a relief pitcher or trade for one, they need to get into a routine instead of calling up a new reliever every week. There has also been talk of moving Kevin Slowey into the rotation if Francisco Liriano or Brian Duensing continue to struggle. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Despite all the struggles in the bullpen this year, there has been a very pleasant surprise in the way of Glen Perkins. After transitioning back and forth between the rotation and bullpen, the Twins decided to make him a long-relief pitcher and sometimes the lefty specialist. Despite his 0-1 record, he has an uncharacteristic 0.82 ERA after 20 appearances. He had a scoreless streak that spanned 19 2/3 innings prior to allowing his first earned run in the May 14th game. The thing that has helped him the most this year is the fact that he knew he was only going to be used in the bullpen this year, so he was able to mentally prepare for that role.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> So as the season progresses more and more, it will be interesting to see if the Twins stick with the bullpen they have or if they will make any moves outside of the organization. I personally think they should stay within the organization at this point, but if they make a miraculous 2nd half come back, which isn’t a totally crazy thought, I could see them trade for a bullpen arm or two. </span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-81183841124061445662011-05-17T10:47:00.006-05:002011-05-17T21:57:58.420-05:00Twins Legend Harmon Killebrew Passes Away<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVlTJ-C3JNHv5aTaDA9QkWp39AP8cpFal90uKFIwZD3sAhOO9WweUSxudIjonX07uC7QnhvFBax-YXlfOPaeoBF1mVoaWGrXsVMnFJKOV6MhJPX6RoQRr04icuiYxxi-F_x3Xt0EUENw/s1600/P4080046.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVlTJ-C3JNHv5aTaDA9QkWp39AP8cpFal90uKFIwZD3sAhOO9WweUSxudIjonX07uC7QnhvFBax-YXlfOPaeoBF1mVoaWGrXsVMnFJKOV6MhJPX6RoQRr04icuiYxxi-F_x3Xt0EUENw/s320/P4080046.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607884428767097506" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> After a six month battle with esophageal cancer, Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew has passed away at the age of 74 today at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was one of the top Twins players, if not the top, of all-time. He currently sits 11th on the all-time career home run list with 573 home runs, 475 were hit in a Twins uniform. He drew so many fans during the Twins early days, that then owner, Calvin Griffith rewarded him by making him the first Twin player to make $100,000 in a season. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 after receiving 83.1% of the vote.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Not only was he a great baseball player, but he was even better off the field. Whether it was hosting a golf tournament to raise money for cancer research or just showing up at Twins Spring Training to help the current players become better and share tips. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> He was also known to be such a gentleman and everyone who worked with him, played with him, or just even said hi to him, he would take the time to talk to everyone and never worried about his own well being. Just this past weekend when manager Ron Gardenhire went to go visit him, Killebrew wanted to know how Gardenhire was holding up after a very slow start to the season. It was that kind of caring about others that made Killebrew such a fan favorite and he will be missed greatly.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> There will never be another player like Harmon Killebrew. So I end by sending my condolences to the Killebrew family and to the Twins organization as they mourn the loss of a true legend and an even better person.</div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-18005481227615369772011-05-13T11:50:00.003-05:002011-05-13T11:57:04.756-05:00What's Wrong With the Twins: Starting Pitching Is a Mess<p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> As the Twins continue to disappoint, the starting pitching is becoming one of the biggest question marks of the young season. It is known that the Twins don’t have the strongest rotation, but they weren’t expected to have one of the worst either. as we approach the weekend series at home against Toronto, the starting pitching needs to wake up and start pitching better. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> They have the 2nd worst earned run average amongst starters in the Majors with a combined 4.95 ERA, only ahead of the Chicago Cubs. They are also known the walk very few batters compared to the rest of the major league, but they have already walked 80 batters, compared to a total of 233 last year. Something needs to change quickly otherwise they will remain at the bottom of the MLB ranks.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> The most disappointing starting pitcher to me has to be Carl Pavano. Winning 17 games in 2010, he was re-signed by the Twins to a $16.5 million, 2 year contract. He was expected to be the ace of this staff entering 2011. So far in 2011 he is 2-4 with a 6.64 ERA in seven starts. This brings back memories of when he signed a four year contract with the New York Yankees back in 2005 after going 18-8 during the 2004 season with the Florida Marlins.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> He isn’t a strikeout pitcher, but to only have 17 strikeouts through seven starts is not a good sign. He really needs to go back and maybe look at film and find out what is going wrong. Whether its mechanic or just he is having a bad start to the season. If he is going to be the leader of this rotation, he needs to pitch like it.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> As you continue to go through the rotation, you ask yourself more and more question about whether this team has a pitcher that will win more than 10-11 games. Francisco Liriano is a perfect example of this situation. Ever since his Tommy John Surgery, people have been wondering if he will be the same pitcher we saw in 2006, when he went 12-3. He might have had too high of expectations when he was the #2 pitcher behind Johan Santana in 2006, so he might be trying too hard to live up to the hype. Everyone expected him to be the next Johan Santana, but we came to quickly realize he was not the same pitcher after the surgery. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> He shows flashes of brilliance, but then just as you get your hopes up, he goes out and gets shelled. The perfect example of this was just a couple of weeks ago. After lasting just three innings his April 27th start against Tampa Bay, giving up seven earned runs and walking four, his next start was in Chicago. Many people thought that this would be the start that would determine if he would stay in the rotation or not. Well he answered those critics by throwing a no-hitter against the rival White Sox. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> With just two more years, 2011 and 2012 season, left he needs to quickly prove to the Twins that he is worth keeping around. Otherwise he will find himself involved in a possible trade or even just let go and land in the free agent market. I personally think Liriano has the potential to be a solid #2 or #3 starter, but he has to figure out what he is doing wrong and work on it not only during the season, but also the off-season. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> So whether the problems within the rotation are mechanic related, psychological or just a run of bad pitching, the Twins need to figure this out and figure it out quickly. Otherwise, the Twins may be forced to look within the organization or do some shuffling around with the pitching. Whether that is re-inserting Kevin Slowey into the rotation or making a trade around the deadline. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> This could very well be pitching coach Rick Anderson’s toughest year on the job and he will need to show why is one of the better pitching coaches around. So it will be very interesting to see how this turns out.</span></p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-87918567733005600412011-05-13T11:49:00.003-05:002011-05-13T11:58:14.033-05:00What's Wrong With the Twins: Will Mauer Ever Be Healthy?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVX-FUs_qw18VzAL5xsHjSM-pXT10-ASskgbgx-QwAE-OXwVbqh3k1PdmAbF0Lap_lZkZxH-PXPsXe9hm82yCUKcB597SIYeK7GzivvzsEQqWOVcGkubuLsJ2V_oU7cwMTZ156liyl0Lc/s1600/111941049_crop_650x440.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVX-FUs_qw18VzAL5xsHjSM-pXT10-ASskgbgx-QwAE-OXwVbqh3k1PdmAbF0Lap_lZkZxH-PXPsXe9hm82yCUKcB597SIYeK7GzivvzsEQqWOVcGkubuLsJ2V_oU7cwMTZ156liyl0Lc/s320/111941049_crop_650x440.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606244024106049090" /></a><br /><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> When you ask people who the worst team in baseball is, you hear Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, Kansas City, or Cleveland. You never hear the Minnesota Twins come up in that discussion. Well that is how crazy the 2011 Major League Baseball season has been thus far. As we near the middle of May, the Minnesota Twins own the worst record in baseball at 12-23. They are eleven games back of the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> The Twins had trouble written all over them since Spring Training. Whether it was figuring out their pitching staff, dealing with the annual “Is Joe Mauer healthy?” question, or every fans favorite “Why didn’t the Twins make any major moves to match their division rivals?” question. I will spend the next few days discussing each of these issues and touch on a few other topics as well.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> The question that every Twins fan is asking is “When will Joe Mauer return?”. This is the $184 million dollar question, as Joe is in the first year of his new 8 year, $184 million dollar contract. Yet he has only played in 9 games out of the 35 played so far. His missed time is due to Bilateral leg weakness and a viral infection at the same time. The Twins believe the leg weakness was caused by his off-season knee surgery and the lack of preparation in Spring Training before the Regular Season started. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Both the Twins and Joe later admitted that he was not ready strength-wise to start the Regular Season. Then I only ask, “Why did he start the season if he wasn’t ready?”. Yes, I know he is the face of the franchise and was entering the first year of his new contract, the largest ever given to a Twins player, but you have to make sure he is as healthy as possible. This could be a very long 8 year contract for the Twins. If he continues to have knee issues, they will have to seriously consider moving him to a different position.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Everyone immediately says to move him to first base, but you have to remember that the Twins have Morneau under contract through the 2013 season and potentially longer if they choose to re-sign him. I think first base is truly the only position to consider moving Mauer to, so it would be 2014 season at the earliest. However, if you move Mauer to a different position, who goes behind the plate? Drew Butera? Steve Holms? The Twins will be lucky to find a catcher with half as much talent that Joe has, when he is healthy. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> If I’m the Twins, I would let Mauer take as much time as he needs this year to get healthy and slowly work him back into the lineup. Reports are saying he is still a few weeks away, but has been working out at Target Field and will likely go on a rehab assignment by the end of the month before he returns to the Twin Cities. So if you are planning on going a minor league game in late-May, be on the look out for those sideburns. </span></p></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-3338021395976657002011-05-01T15:36:00.003-05:002011-05-01T15:49:29.982-05:00Pat Dean Interview<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCI6uGKZhHbSSJKohlTWLuRnQMlgxiKPpyfDus9fif_ewjdwCPDPQfYdY9_iSpsuaODMCm15y7KlR_lLlaLLIYt9_Y_fFGN1oHPH6OZckEjcQOv0xzXQhBpn3u5bmndizORW6hMsefYo/s1600/dean.sized.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 203px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCI6uGKZhHbSSJKohlTWLuRnQMlgxiKPpyfDus9fif_ewjdwCPDPQfYdY9_iSpsuaODMCm15y7KlR_lLlaLLIYt9_Y_fFGN1oHPH6OZckEjcQOv0xzXQhBpn3u5bmndizORW6hMsefYo/s320/dean.sized.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601850818177968514" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;color:#333333;">Pat Dean, a left-handed pitcher out of Boston College, was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk about his time with the Twins so far and what the future holds for him.</span><br /><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kevin Lewis</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: You were selected in the 3rd round by the Minnesota Twins this past June. It must have been a great moment. What was your reaction like and how much does it mean to you being drafted by a team that has a good track record of developing pitchers?<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pat Dean</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: It was one of the biggest moments of my life, no doubt about that. I remember watching the computer with my family and girlfriend, anxiously waiting to hear my name called on the draft tracker. Once I heard that the Twins had selected me, I had all kinds of emotions going through me. Knowing that I would be playing professional baseball, and to be fortunate enough to be playing with a great organization that is well known for player development, it is a dream come true. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KL</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: If you were a scout before the draft, what would you scouting report say about Pat Dean?<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PD</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: My scouting about myself would most likely say that I am a hard-working, competitor. Location is how I find my success. I am a student of the game, always learning ways to make myself a better player.<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KL</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: You signed very quickly with the Twins after being drafted and then you were sent to the Twins rookie ball team, Elizabethton. Very similar to your Boston College days, you were put in the bullpen to start with, then made your way to the rotation. You had an astonishing 37-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. You have a track record of being a very accurate pitcher. What can you attribute to that?<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PD</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: That can be attributed to catch in the back yard with my father. When I was younger, any time I threw a ball that got past him, I would have to go chase after it. We live on a hill so the ball usually went pretty far. I eventually figured out the easiest way to not get exhausted is to throw strikes. I think that was the beginning to my accuracy.<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KL</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: As you get into the groove of things in the 2011 season, are there a few things, or maybe just one thing you feel you need to work on as you make your way through the minor league system?<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PD</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: To me, everything can always be better. No one is perfect, and I know none of my pitching skills are. So it is important for me to be constantly learning new ways to get better. My goal this season is to work on something or learn something new every day that will in turn make me a better pitcher.<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KL</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: Growing up as a young baseball player, who was you favorite player and what team did you grow up rooting for?<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PD</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: I grew up a Yankees fan, and always enjoyed watching Andy Pettite pitch.<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KL</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: I typically ask this question, but if you were to give the young baseball players of today a word of advice as they continue to improve, what would it be?<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PD</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: My word of advice would be to always work hard. It takes no talent to do that. If you have a goal or a dream, don’t let anyone stop you from achieving it. Anything can happen if you put the time and effort in.<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KL</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: I’d like to thank Pat Dean for taking time. Pat will be someone to keep an eye on this season as he hopefully makes his way through the system quick and we see him in the Twin Cities in a few years.</span></span></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-731356348307316052011-01-07T09:08:00.004-06:002011-01-07T09:30:10.771-06:002011 Starting Rotation Outlook With the lineup figured out, the Twins have to figure out what their rotation will look like come Spring Training. The biggest question is whether or not they will be re-signing Carl Pavano. Rumors say that the Twins and Pavano are very close in agreement on a two year deal. If that is the case then the Twins will enter the 2011 season with the same starting pitching as they had at the end of the 2010 season. Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey is the order I would go with if it was Opening Day.<br /><br /> Francisco Liriano had a very nice rebound year in 2010. He went 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA, walking 58 batters and striking out 201. Many people were skeptical about his strength and ability to recover form Tommy John surgery. There was talk of the Twins having to rebuild his delivery to avoid another serious injury, but they didn’t have to tweak it too much. Throughout the season he showed flashes of the Liriano of 2006, when he went 12-3. Expect him to feed of his 2010 season and become the true ace of this team.<br /><br /> Carl Pavano will likely be the #2 starter, assuming the reports are true and he re-signs with the Twins. If you would have told me that Pavano was going to win 17 games last season, I would have thought you were crazy. He has been known for having injury problems, the most notable was the car accident he was in that he didn’t feel he had to report to the New York Yankees during the 2006 season. He was able to put all that behind him and have a great season, while providing veteran leadership for the Twins young pitching staff. With a shaky bullpen, look for Pavano to be an innings eater, after pitching in 221 innings during 2010.<br /><br /> Brian Duensing may have been the biggest surprise of the Twins pitching staff. After starting the 2010 season in the bullpen, manager Ron Gardenhire moved him to the rotation in July after demoting Nick Blackburn to Triple-A Rochester. Duensing wasted no time proving Gardenhire made a good move. Ending the season with a 10-3 record and a 2.62 season EAR, he had a record of 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 13 starts once he entered the rotation. His most impressive game was on August 14th at home against Oakland. He pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only three hits. I expect him to build off a great second half of the season as a starter.<br /><br /> After having a good 2009 season, Scott Baker continued to give up the home run ball in 2010. Even though he went 12-9, he gave up 23 home runes, a year after giving up 28 in 2009. He had a better second half of the season going 5-1 with a 3.82 ERA as opposed to the first half of the season when he went 7-8 with a 4.87 ERA. He gave up half as many home runs in the second half than he did in the first half. I think he is a solid #4 starter, but he really needs to work on giving up the home run balls.<br /><br /> The last spot in the rotation belongs to Kevin Slowey, who came off season-ending wrist surgery in July 2009. He bounced back nicely from the injury and had a good 2010 season. He went 13-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 28 starts. Many people say Slowey reminds them of Twins great, Brad Radke. I am beginning to see more and more of this every time he makes a start. He is a great control pitcher, although he doesn’t strike out a lot of batters. In four seasons with the Twins he has a total of 79 walks. Considering that most pitchers average anywhere from 50-90 walks per season. Perhaps, Slowey’s best start of his career occurred on August 15th against the Oakland Athletics. He was in the midst of a no-hitter, but then Ron Gardenhire removed him from the game due to prevent possibly re-injuring his wrist. Whether it was a good move or not, I side with Gardenhire on the side of caution towards keeping him healthy. Look for Slowey to have another season like he had in 2010 and be a very nice fifth starter.<br /><br /> Aside from the five starters who work so hard on their off days to improve, the biggest praise has to go to pitching coach Rick Anderson. He has been the Twins pitching coach since the 2002 season. He has done wonders with very little all-star caliber talent. He has taught the pitchers to not worry about strike outs, but rather getting the hitters out anyway possible.<br /><br /> Look for the 2011 Twins rotation to again be underrated and talked about very little, but continue to make noise. They will continue to be a very disciplined pitching staff, as their starting rotation walked a league best 233 batters, 150 less than Boston who led the league with 383 walked batters. There is definite potential for the Twins to have two 15 game winners since the 2001 season when Joe Mays (17 wins), Brad Radke (15 wins) and Eric Milton (15 wins) all eclipsed the 15 win mark.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-87290122425857377902010-12-29T16:35:00.000-06:002010-12-31T16:35:46.747-06:00What Will The Bullpen Look Like? With the starting rotation pretty much set as the Twins look towards Spring Training, their biggest question has to be, “Who will be in our bullpen?”. The bullpen will have a different look in 2011 as the Twins let 4 key pitchers test the free agent market. Jesse Crain, along with Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch and Brian Fuentes, was probably the biggest name to decline arbitration and test the free agent market. So far, it has been kind to them. Crain signed a 13 million dollar, three year deal with the Chicago White Sox and Guerrier signed a 12 million dollar, three year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.<br /><br /> If you ask me, I would have given Crain 13 million over three years without hesitation. He was one of the hottest relief pitchers during the second half of the season as he had a 2.14 ERA with 15 walks and 33 strike outs in 33 2/3 innings pitched. The White Sox got a heck of a pitcher in Crain and I will continue to be a fan of Jesse, even though he will be playing for our biggest rival.<br /><br /> With those four guys gone, the Twins will almost have an open audition for the bullpen this Spring in Ft. Myers. Looking at a list of potential bullpen arms, I have Joe Nathan, Pat Neshek, Matt Capps and Jose Mijares as locks to be in the bullpen. This leaves three more open spots to complete the pitching staff. The three players that I think will get the last three spots in the Twins bullpen are Alex Burnett, Glen Perkins and Anthony Slama.<br /><br /> RHP Alex Burnett is at the top of my list of possible candidates to earn a spot in the bullpen. He made his Major League debut at the beginning of the 2010 season and had an okay season. He went 2-2 with a 5.29 ERA with 33 walks and 37 strike outs in 47.2 IP. That 5.29 ERA may worry some people, but he had a 3.60 ERA at the All-Star break. So he definitely showed signs of being a good relief pitcher. He would likely be the long relief pitcher when needed.<br /><br /> Another interesting candidate is Glen Perkins, a left hander who has been with the Twins since being drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 draft. He was originally drafted with the thought of being a starting pitcher. In 2008 he went 12-4 with a 4.41 ERA, but then was shifted to the bullpen and he hasn’t been the same since. He was a call-up during the summer last season, but that didn’t go too well. He had a very rough August giving up ten earned runs in ten innings. He was able to rebound in September by allowing four earned runs in 11 innings and earning his only win of the 2010 season. I expect Perkins to get a spot in the bullpen, possibly as a long-relief/emergency starter roll.<br /><br /> Unless the Twins sign a veteran bullpen arm, I believe Anthony Slama will be the last pitcher to round out the bullpen. Slama made his MLB debut in the middle of July last season. It didn’t last very long as he only pitched 4.1 innings before being sent back to Triple-A Rochester. Triple-A is where he has succeeded greatly the last two seasons. He has notched 21 of his 85 career minor league saves at the Triple-A level. After watching his brief stint at the major league level, some people may wonder if he is ready. You have to also ask, “Did he have enough time to prove himself?”. The answer to that is no. He only appeared in five games. He didn’t really get the chance to try and turn himself around. So hopefully having a very small bite of major league experience, he can go into Spring Training with the knowledge of what it will take. He is most suited for the 6th or 7th inning role.<br /><br /> Despite the competition for the three remaining spots, the biggest question to me is, “How will Joe Nathan bounce back from Tommy John surgery?”. He is on schedule to be ready for the 2011 season, but will likely start in the set-up role. I fully expect Matt Capps to be the Opening Day closer for the Twins. But anything can happen between now and Opening Day, so it will be very interesting to see how the bullpen turns out come April 1st in Toronto.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-31217816884426496932010-12-24T16:34:00.000-06:002010-12-31T16:35:12.925-06:00Meet Josiah Viera<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJp3wRBo9nVnLImZwiocFLqHhuX1JQoCjmXziIgX4_pm8llTkhTei8mq757Ufdt-mtm8rGJebIsh49r0FcrDrAN89johN6_vA1nBp9m2U6WU7n8_YSM4PaCYnsI3oCkVUC2B0IBmq_UA/s1600/com_101109e60_josiah_viera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJp3wRBo9nVnLImZwiocFLqHhuX1JQoCjmXziIgX4_pm8llTkhTei8mq757Ufdt-mtm8rGJebIsh49r0FcrDrAN89johN6_vA1nBp9m2U6WU7n8_YSM4PaCYnsI3oCkVUC2B0IBmq_UA/s320/com_101109e60_josiah_viera.jpg" border="0" height="180" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> I know this is supposed to be a blog about the Minnesota Twins and their season, but I wanted to share a quick story about a boy, Josiah Viera. I was just watching Outside The Lines on ESPN and they were sharing stories of kids with illnesses, disabilities, etc. Josiah Viera has genetic disease called Progeria.<br /><br /> Progeria is a condition where the symptoms resemble a rapidly aging body at a young age. It is so rare, that is occurs in only one-in-four million kids around the world. Josiah is one of those kids. However, this hasn’t stopped Josiah from living his life the way he wants to. Despite having to go to the hospital every day, he displays his love for baseball proudly.<br /><br /> He plays baseball whenever he can and he even bugs his sister and mother to play with him until they give in and go out and throw the baseball with him. But his one dream is to play baseball on a recreational team. Well that dream came true last year. He was able to play in the Tri-Valley Baseball League. He hit the ball in every at-bat and even had people from out of town come and watch him as word got out about him.<br /><br /> Since then, he has lived the celebrity life. He has gotten to meet a lot of athletes, but none was as special as his day with his favorite baseball player, Ryan Howard.<br /><br /> This may not mean a lot to some people, but the fact that he is able to continue to live his life and continue to play the game he loves, it just makes you stop and think about how fortunate we are all and that this could have be any of us.<br /><br /> Also, the fact that a multi-millionaire athlete like Ryan Howard will take the time and spend the day with Josiah is just so amazing.<br /><br /> Anyways, I just wanted to share the story of Josiah as we reach the holiday season and just how the simple game of baseball can touch and change a kids life.<br /><br /> To see more on Josiah, you can visit this link, <a href="http://search.espn.go.com/josiah-viera/videos/6%20">http://search.espn.go.com/josiah-viera/videos/6 </a>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-74015424239329694372010-12-17T16:33:00.001-06:002010-12-31T16:36:23.666-06:00Twins Sign Tsuyoshi Nishioka; Trade Morales<table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><br /><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JmPHgg0L4txCchDDTIXqLil3htjlLgc-GoStupdbSmTIsTHri8ervP_x2KkHuiy-xHnW1grkwHY15saEbIAKNlp6mXGNsKNkKjqysHBPu19NF-c-1hVkiaw3VF1Cg_FRm2BprgdCYIg/s1600/mla1012161831016-p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JmPHgg0L4txCchDDTIXqLil3htjlLgc-GoStupdbSmTIsTHri8ervP_x2KkHuiy-xHnW1grkwHY15saEbIAKNlp6mXGNsKNkKjqysHBPu19NF-c-1hVkiaw3VF1Cg_FRm2BprgdCYIg/s320/mla1012161831016-p1.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="283" /></a></td></tr><br /><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tsuyoshi Nishioka arrives at Japanese airport preparing to leave for Twin Cities</td></tr><br /></tbody></table><br />There are have been a few reports that the Minnesota Twins and Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka have come to an agreement on a three year deal worth $9-$10 million dollars, also including a fourth year option. If the contract is actually in the 9-10 million range, then the Twins very well. Reports are also saying that Nishioka will start at second base, but could eventually move to his natural shortstop position.<br /><br />In other Twins related news, the Twins have traded catcher Jose Morales to the Colorado Rockies for minor league pitcher, Paul Bargas. With Morales being traded, due to being out of minor league option years, the Twins will continue to have Drew Butera serve as Joe Mauer's backup.<br /><br />Bargas was drafted in the 13th round of the 2009 Amateur Draft. Last year at the Single-A level, he went 5-4 with a 3.59 ERA and collected five saves while striking out 65 and walking just 19 batters in 58 appearances. He is still a few years away from making any sort of impact for the Twins.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333249901729103023.post-45644604326171904142010-12-16T16:33:00.000-06:002010-12-31T16:33:49.587-06:002010 Off-Season Thoughts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqleH9_ME5v2zbkc8qYYKW9Wovu3NZO62qISjS0yfdmkra6o79adli_6OnL5l3sBm14gnb1gdiw0kKcrhbfzYf_GyPxPNkOin0JB_qC8YYDRtKg_lho3DgDJL0e2_rfndy0u-iKI_uV8/s1600/tsuyoshi-nishioka.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: black;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551287161103720162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqleH9_ME5v2zbkc8qYYKW9Wovu3NZO62qISjS0yfdmkra6o79adli_6OnL5l3sBm14gnb1gdiw0kKcrhbfzYf_GyPxPNkOin0JB_qC8YYDRtKg_lho3DgDJL0e2_rfndy0u-iKI_uV8/s320/tsuyoshi-nishioka.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 241px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /><span style="color: black;"> With the MLB off-season in full swing and some major signings that have already taken place, the Minnesota Twins are sitting still for the moment. After extending Joe Mauer’s contract last off-season and bringing in Jim Thome, just to name a few of the moves from 2009, you may be thinking, “wow, now the Twins are actually going to sign some well-known free agents due to all the money they will make from Target Field”. Well, thus far, the Twins haven’t done a whole lot, but that is just how the Twins work as an organization.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> The Twins have been known to wait until later in the off-season schedule to begin their activity, as they rarely attempt to sign the big name players at the start. On the other hand, over the last few years, the Twins have really showed the rest of the MLB that they will be players in the International Free Agent market for years to come. After signing SS Miguel Sano last year, they went out this year and bid on and won the rights to Japanese middle infielder, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">Nishioka</span><span style="color: black;"> led the Nippon Professional Baseball League with a .346 batting average and racked up 206 hits during the 2010 season. He is a switching hitter, one of very few switch hitters in Japanese professional baseball, which will help the Twin lineup as he will be in the lineup much more often then. Despite his strong 2010 season and being just 26 years old, there are questions about how he will adapt to Major League Baseball in the US. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> With the imminent signing of </span><span style="color: black;">Nishioka</span><span style="color: black;">, the Twins had a decision to make. Do they move </span><span style="color: black;">Nishioka </span><span style="color: black;">to second base or keep him at his natural position at short stop? Well if they want to keep him at short, then they will have to make a decision on J.J. Hardy. It didn’t take the Twins long to make their decision, as they traded J.J. Hardy and Brendan Harris to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. If this was the best that the Twins were able to get, then maybe there is something wrong with Hardy or that he needs to prove that he can stay healthy before other teams were to go after him. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> With the departures of Hardy and Harris, the Twins infield depth is very limited. As it looks, the Twins will start Alexi Casilla at second and </span><span style="color: black;">Nishioka </span><span style="color: black;">at short stop. This raises the question of “Who do we have to come off the bench?”. As of right now, the Twins would likely use Trevor Plouffe and/or Matt Tolbert. The Twins appear to be looking for infield depth over the next few weeks and heading towards Spring Training. So look for them to sign a less expensive option for the backup role.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> The main area the Twins need to address before pitchers and catchers report is the bullpen. With the loses of Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Brian Fuentes and Jon Rauch, there are some major holes in the Twins bullpen. Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain have signed with other teams within the last 36 hours, so you can forget about a potential return to the Twins. Right now, the bullpen consists of Joe Nathan, Matt Capps, Pat Neshek, Alex Burnett, Jose Mijares, and Glen Perkins. They have a few options at the Triple-A level in Anthony Slama, Rob Delany, Kyle Waldrop and Jeff Manship. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> Some free agent names that come to mind are Juan Cruz, Kevin Gregg, Chad Qualls, J.C. Romero. Now, would any of those names be affordable enough? Only one way to find out, but it is important that the Twins get their bullpen figured out, otherwise it could be a long season and long games come the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"> So, despite the Twins looking for bullpen help and infield help, I have full confidence that the Twins will get everything figured and will make a run at another American League Central crown despite what the White Sox and Tigers have done thus far this off-season; White Sox adding Adam Dunn and the Tigers adding Vic Martinez. It may be too soon to predict how the division race will end up, but this has the looks of another last day battle for the Central title. </span><br /><span style="color: black;"> </span>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388654054042476222noreply@blogger.com0