What to do with Wilson?
May 10, 2010
When Joe Mauer went down with a bruised left heel, the Twins placed Pat Neshek on the disabled list and called up Wilson Ramos from Triple-A to be their everyday catcher. Ramos made his debut with the club against the Cleveland Indians and had an impressive outing going 4-for-5 with two doubles. For an encore, Ramos went 3-for-4 against the Detroit Tigers the following night in front of the hometown crowd.
After seeing what Ramos was capable of, the masses began to ask questions about his future with the club. People began to wonder who this Mauer guy was and why he just signed an 8-year deal with the club. People also began to ask if Mauer can somehow make the transition to third base to make room for Ramos and vice versa. I mean, how can one club have this much talent behind the plate?
Since his hot start, Ramos has seen his luck change at the plate and has gone 1-for-18 with three strike outs and no walks. His average has dropped from .778 to a .296, which is still better than his average in Triple-A but more along the lines of an everyday player. With that said, though, batting .296 isn’t a bad average to have after a slump.
Slumps or not, it is plain to see that Ramos belongs behind the plate and should be an everyday player. With Mauer locked up for the foreseeable future, the question begs to be asked, what should be done with Wilson Ramos?
Even though he is 100 times the player Drew Butera is, Ramos will be the one to be sent back to Triple-A once Neshek returns from the disabled list. The reason behind this is simple – Butera is a backup catcher, Ramos is an everyday player. Although he seems to be ready, Ramos will need a little more time to develop as his time in the upper minors has been limited. From there it’s anyone’s guess.
My thoughts are that the Twins should continue to develop him in Rochester. Ramos surely caught the attention of many scouts with his impressive debut, and while he will not be as highly sought after as Joe Mauer would have been had he entered free agency, there is bound to be a few teams looking for an upgrade behind the plate. Ramos could be a prime target for a competitive team near the trade deadline, but I still feel the Twins should wait, at least a little while longer.
I highly doubt the Twins and/or Mauer would want to move their All-Star MVP catcher to another position, so, barring a career ending injury, the Twins could be able to move Ramos. The Twins seem to be pretty set with their roster this year, however, there are plenty of free agents that could be gone before the 2011 starts.
The infield could take a hit with Orlando Hudson and Nick Punto becoming free agents. Punto does have an option available, but I doubt the Twins would take on a $5MM contract for a utility player. Some power could be on the move as well as Jim Thome and Jason Kubel will be free agents after the end of this season. Like Punto, Kubel also has a option worth $5.25MM that the club may or may not pick up.
It’s the pitching staff, though, namely the bullpen, that could hurt the most for the Twins as far as free agents are concerned. Carl Pavano is the only starter that is set to be a free agent, but Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Ron Mahay will also be free agents. The Twins will likely make deals with some of the pitchers, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where all of them are brought back.
This is where Ramos comes in. The Twins could potentially trade Ramos to fill in any holes that is left by free agency in their bullpen. Another possibility is to bring in an outfielder or another quality starting pitcher, or both. Maybe even a third baseman if Danny Valencia doesn’t work out or isn’t even brought up to the majors.
It will be a hard choice for the Twins to make and one that fans won’t like to see, especially with the raw talent that Ramos seems to possess. On the other hand, though, you don’t want Ramos to whittle away in the minors when there is a roadblock named Joe Mauer in the way. Having two quality catchers is a nice situation for the Twins to be in, but one has to say that Ramos’ fate was sealed once Mauer signed the dotted line on March 21st.
Where’s the roof?
May 9, 2010
The first game at Target Field has been postponed due to rain and I can already hear the masses complaining about not having a roof over the new ballpark. You know, because Minnesota is the only state in the nation that has to deal with weather issues such as rain, snow and cold.
It may come as a huge surprise to some, but the game on Friday night between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians was called after four innings due to the weather. Imagine playing a few innings and having those records cleared out since there was not enough innings played to make it a complete game. Just ask Grady Sizemore of the Indians how it feels to have his first home run of the season taken away.
Aside from the pair of games on Friday, there have been two other games postponed due to rain and two more finished early due to rain. It was a rainy four days span recently as a game between the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies was postponed on April 23 and a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets was postponed on April 26.
The Mets also dealt with weather on April 25 in a rain-shortened game against the Atlanta Braves that lasted 5.5 innings. The New York Yankees have also played in a rain-shortened game this season. The Yankees finished only six innings of a game against the Texas Rangers on April 16th. I highly doubt, though, that the New York fans for either team have clamored as much as Minnesotans to have a roof put on their billion dollar stadiums.
Maybe it was nearly 30 years in the Metrodome that has made the fans in this area soft. I, for one, have no regrets about moving to an open air stadium instead of something of a monstrosity that is Miller Park. Fans have been living with postponements since the beginning of baseball and I give the Twins credit for calling the game so early, thus allowing fans living outside of the Twins Cities a chance to change their travel plans.
To all of the whiners and complainers, whether you like it or not, baseball will be played outdoors for years to come. Either get used to it or stop coming out to the wonderful ball park that is Target Field.
Poor Pavano
May 7, 2010
Francisco Liriano had quite a streak going for the Twins pitching staff. The AL Pitcher of the Month threw 23 consecutive scoreless innings of work before finally giving up a run. Carl Pavano also has a streak going, albeit one that isn’t held in such high regard. Pavano has thrown 18 consecutive innings without any run support and the streak is still going strong.
Pavano has tossed two eight inning games, one of which was an 8 inning complete game, without getting a single run from the offense. In those two games, Pavano has been solid on the mound giving up just five runs, four earned runs, off of 13 hits with 13 strike outs and five walks. Putting up numbers like this usually means one would see more wins in the win column, but Pavano and his streak of bad luck sits at 3-3 so far.
The last time Pavano has had any run support was in a 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on April 23. The Twins gave Pavano five runs to work with the last run being a solo home run from Jim Thome in the top of the fifth. Pavano pitched two more innings that game and was take out before the Twins score the final three runs of the game.
Much like their horrid bases loaded numbers, we can only hope that this streak will work itself out in the end. Ever since joining the club late last season, Pavano has been pitching solid and deserves better than a 3-3 record that he has this season. Let’s hope the bats awaken for Pavano’s next scheduled start against the White Sox next Wednesday.
April Thoughts
May 3, 2010
We are a month in on the baseball season and the Twins are already off to a hot start. As of this writing the Twins are sitting on a 16-9 record and are ahead of the Detroit Tigers by one game. The rest of the Central Division opponents are six or more games back of the Twins. With things going great for most parts, it is time to look back on the month of April.
The team did not look good in the first game of the season but immediately turned it around and won the next five games in a row and won six of the seven series matchups over the course of April. They also won their first series in the month of May by taking two of three against the Cleveland Indians, however, with all of the series wins, the Twins have yet to take a series sweep.
Surprisingly, the Twins are performing well on the road, which have usually been one of the rough areas for the team that was built for indoor ball at the Metrodome. The Twins are currently .625 on the road and are sporting a 10-6 record up against the likes of the Angels, White Sox, Tigers, Royals and Indians, with the Tigers being the only home team to defeat the Twins more than once. It took until June 12th for the Twins to earn 10 road victories last season.
While the team has looked good on the road, the Twins also have a winning record at their new home, Target Field. The Twins are 6-3 at home defeating such teams as the Red Sox, Royals and Indians while picking up two victories by shutout. What’s even more amazing about the nine games at Target Field, though, is that all games were played on time and had only minor issues with the weather. Not every April in Minnesota will go as smoothly for the club, but the weather was gorgeous for most of the nine game home stand.
When a team starts off with a winning record and is sitting on top of the division, it is easy to say that everything is going good. Of course, that isn’t always the case as the Twins are something like 3-for-1456 with the bases loaded this season, but that is a whole other issue. At any rate, there are a few bright spots on the roster throughout the month of April worth mentioning.
For starters, Francisco Liriano has been lighting up the competition and making them look like minor leaguers in the process. Liriano gave up three runs in his first outing before tossing 23 scoreless innings. Liriano’s streak finally broke in the first inning of Sunday’s game against the Indians, but he still threw 123 pitches and picked up his fourth victory of the season. Liriano is leading the Twins in innings pitched (36.0), ERA (1.50), strikeouts (36), and unfortunately, walks (13). Even with the high number of walks, Liriano is looking more like the pitcher of 2006 than the pitcher of 2009.
Sticking with pitchers, Jon Rauch has anchored the bullpen and performed admirably in the closer role. How Rauch would perform filling in for Joe Nathan was one of the big question marks on the season but Rauch has seemed to put most of that to rest for the time being. Rauch went 6-for-6 in his first six save opportunities before blowing a save against Kansas City. He would pick up the victory in the extra innings game and earn his seventh save on his next outing to bring his ERA down to 1.64.
Justin Morneau has had a hot start to the season and is currently sitting at a .349 batting average, which is four points higher than Joe Mauer. Morneau has had a few slumps at the plate and even sat on the bench with an upper back problem, but even that hasn’t stopped him from hitting a team leading six home runs with 18 RBI. Along with the six dingers, Morneau has seven doubles and he has legged out a triple. Morneau has quickly erased all concerns of his back that put him on the shelf at the end of last season.
Another bright spot at the plate has been Jim Thome. Thome has usually been used off the bench in pinch hitting situations and occasionally as a designated hitter, but that hasn’t stopped him from showing off his power, hitting five home runs in just 49 at bats. On Sunday, Thome tied Rafael Palmeiro for 11th place on the all-time home run leader board and is just four homers shy of tying Twins great Harmon Killebrew. Thus far Thome has been a great addition to the club and gives them a power hitting threat on the bench in times of need.
Finally, one player that has impressed me the most so far this year has been Delmon Young. While Young’s average hasn’t always looked the greatest, he has seemed to improve his game by leaps and bounds since last season. You can tell immediately by looking at his face that he has lost nearly 30 pounds, which seems to have given him a little more speed and he already has two stolen bases – which tied his total amount from last year. The biggest surprise, though, is the fact that he is showing more patience at the plate and is picking up more walks. Thus far Young has walked eight times compared to a dozen times all last year.
You cannot tell how the season is going to play out just by looking at the month of April, but the Twins are giving their fans a lot to talk about and a lot to cheer about. Let’s hope the team continues going down this path, and hopefully pick up a series sweep or two.
2010 Home Run predictions
April 5, 2010
Twins vs Rangers 2008
So last year was an exciting offensive season with the Twins hitting a lot of long balls (if only there weren’t so many solo shots).
Looking back on last years predictions, I can have the satisfaction of knowing I was fairly close on all of them. OK, that is a outright lie, but who knew Joe Mauer was going to become the power hitter last year.
So looking to the future, the Twins have probably the best line up in all of baseball. Unless there is bad spell of injuries, we can expect the number of home runs to increase once again this season.
Last season the Twins finished the season with 172 home runs. Although it was more then 70 home runs less then the World Series New York Yankees, it was a respectable number given the difference between the two ball parks.
The Twins head into a new ball park that was designed to be “hitter neutral”, but only time will tell if this is true of the ball park in the future.
With all that said, lets break down the numbers. Of course when I say that, we are not using any saber-metrics, but only our “gut” instincts.
Justin Morneau- Finishing the year about a month prematurely due to a fractured back, Morneau struggled in the last few weeks of the season. Even though he slumped before his injury, he was still on target to lead the team in home runs and RBI’s. Morneau finished last year with 30 HR’s and so far he has really struggled. Look for Morneau to recover to his old form within a months time. He is sure to get more rest this season, so we are going to give him a prediction of 32 home runs this year.
Joe Mauer- with almost a full month off due to an off season surgery, Joe Mauer surprised everyone with his dramatic change in becoming a home run hitter. Chastised most his career for generating a batting title with singles, Mauer showed everyone with his first at bat of 2009 that he is to be a home run threat in the future.
Mauer finished 2009 by almost tripling our expectations and has kept his form all through the off season. Look for a healthy Mauer to continue to slug out some runs in 2010. We are predicting about 30 home runs for the number 3 hitter.
Jason Kubel- was one of the best hitters that nobody but Twins fan knew about. He exceeded our wildest expectations with 28 home runs last year. We expect Kubel to continue to be a threat, but with more defense this year, his numbers might reflect negatively depending if his knees can hold up. He will also have to share some DH duties with newly signed Jim Thome occasionally. We are going to predict a small decline for the “Beast” in 2010 with only 26 home runs.
Michael Cuddyer- was the iron man of 2009 following an injury plagued 2008 season. The good season forced the Twins to pick up his option as he showed he was much more then just a right fielder after taking over first base for an injured Morneau. We expect more good thing from Cuddyer and although he may not reach 32 HR’s like in 2009, we are expecting at least 30 from the fan favorite.
Delmon Young- has long been touted as the hitter that belts the balls the farthest in pre-game, but that very rarely carried over to the game. Young came on strong after getting the regular starting nod last year and his renewed attitude and physical shape will hopefully be the start of a new Delmon Young. We are going to raise the bar on the young left fielder and predict he hits 8 HR’s better then last years 12 total.
Jim Thome- is a veteran ball player that has always given the Twins fits. Now it is his turn to help the Twins. Thome had 23 HR’s while with the White Sox, but failed to hit any home runs while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a strange move that never benefited the player or the organization. Look for Thome to continue to hit the long ball for the Twins. We will predict the slugger belts in two dozen home runs for the Twins before the end of the year.
Denard Span- has never really been known for his power, but he can still contribute in 2010. Span is the first Twin to hit a home run at Target Field (pre-season vs. the Cardinals) and we have hopes that the lead off man can hit almost a dozen in 2010.
JJ Hady- was picked up from the Brewer’s for CF Carlos Gomez right after the 2009 regular season. Although he is not an overpowering home run hitter, he is another player we are hoping hits about a dozen dingers in 2010.
Orlando Hudson is another great off season pickup and should hit about 9 home runs in 2010.
Thoughts on Target Field
April 4, 2010
I have watched the opening of Target Field from afar… which means from the comfort of my couch in 1080 HD. Even though I have yet to see the ballpark in person, I can safely say that I am in awe of what I have seen. Everything from the grass, the sky, the huge scoreboard is great to see in our own back yard.
I left work early on Friday just so I had time to make it home in time for the opening pitch of the Cardinals/Twins exhibition game. I know the weather wasn’t the greatest in Minneapolis on Friday, but you couldn’t tell by watching the game. A lot of thought went into putting the ballpark together to fit with the weather conditions in Minnesota and you could tell as the game went on without any problems even though it rained during the day.
If playing a game after a downpour wasn’t enough, the clear blue skies during Saturday’s afternoon game were quite the sight to see. This almost reminded me of the artist renderings of the field as it looked that beautiful outside. This is precisely the reason why the Twins do not need a roof over their heads, retractable or not. Sure, weather will cause some issues down the road, but that’s something that almost all teams have to deal with.
I have been to Miller Park in Milwaukee, I’m glad the Twins didn’t go with a retractable roof as it seems you are indoors, even with the roof open. Think of it as a car with a sunroof. It’s great to have it open, but you are still in a closed space. I’d hate to have the view of the downtown Minneapolis skyline be ruined by the structure of a retractable roof. Minnesotans have thick skins and, as I have heard elsewhere, it won’t matter what the weather is like in October if the Twins are still playing.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that the Twins lost what was the greatest home field advantage in baseball and that it will take some time to get used to the park, but judging by the two exhibition games, Target Field is looking like a hitters ballpark. Denard Span was the first player to go long with a home run on Friday night with a blast to right field. On Saturday, Joe Mauer sent one into the black spruce trees in center, a sight that I could get used to seeing, while Michael Cuddyer sent one into the left field home run porch. Three Cardinals (amazingly none named Albert Pujols) hit homers as well.
As for my personal viewing, I will be attending the first “official” home opener of Target Field when the Twins host the Boston Red Sox on April 12. After seeing their new home in high definition, I cannot wait to see it in person.
Outdoor baseball has finally returned to Minnesota.
2010 Season Predictions
April 3, 2010
The 2010 MLB season is upon us and there is an excitement and buzz around the Twins this year. Joe Mauer has been locked up with a long term contract. The front office was busy with trades and free agents. Their new home, Target Field, has been unveiled with a pair of games against the St. Louis Cardinals, which the teams split, and brought us to the end of Spring Training. From here on out, the games matter and are for real.
Unlike some of the recent seasons, the Twins have made several key moves throughout the offseason to help mold them into not only a division champion, but to also take the next step in the postseason. The team has shored up its middle infield problems by trading Carlos Gomez for JJ Hardy and signing free agent Orlando Hudson. The Twins also added power on the bench by signing Jim Thome.
Key parts missing from their once dominant pitching rotation have seemed to fall back in place. Kevin Slowey, who was off to a red hot start in 2009, is back after having season ending wrist surgery. Francisco Liriano also seemed to have regained his form before having Tommy John surgery and looks to be more of the feared phenom of 2006, rather than the lost pitcher of 2009.
With Liriano battling problems last season and Slowey on the shelf, the Twins had a patchwork rotation that consisted of starts from RA Dickey, Armando Gabino, Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing and Jeff Manship. Their rotation seems to be more solid this year with Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano being key cogs along with Liriano and Slowey. The same cannot be said, though, for the bullpen.
The bullpen, for the most part, seemed to be set fairly well until Joe Nathan tore his ulnar collateral ligament and needed season ending Tommy John surgery. In his absence, Jon Rauch has been named as the closer with Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Jose Mijares, Brian Duensing, a newly acquired Clay Condrey, and a returning Pat Neshek in the bullpen. The loss of Nathan, though, is a huge blow to the team.
Hopefully the bullpen won’t need to do too much work as the Twins have put together one of the better lineups in recent history. The meat of the lineup – Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Delmon Young – have been surrounded by great talent in the form of Denard Span, Orlando Hudson and JJ Hardy. Nick Punto or Brendan Harris will round out the order – an order that ESPN’s Buster Olney himself said was the best lineup in baseball today. Even better than the defending World Series Champion Yankees.
Olney, along with many others in the national media, have predicted the Twins to walk away with the AL Central. The Twins are no doubt the odds on favorite and it is their division to lose, but there are some that say the Chicago White Sox, with their strong pitching rotation, could surprise the league and win the title. Ozzie Guillen has seemed to take the Twins philosophy this season with a team that focuses on pitching and manufacturing runs, a vast difference from their power heavy teams in the past, so it will be interesting to see how well they fit in the piranha roles.
The Detroit Tigers could also be a dark horse team in the Central Division. The team looks a lot different than the team that almost won the division, but they still have some great arms in the rotation and I can see them hanging around in the standings. They have lost key players in Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco, but I wouldn’t quite count them out yet. Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello will still be tough to beat.
As for the other two teams in the division – the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals – both are in rebuilding mode and most likely won’t contend this year. I will say, though, that this will be the first time in a while that the Royals won’t finish in the bottom of the standings. The Indians will be down there this time.
As for the Twins, they may be my favorite team but I have a hard time picking against them, especially with the talent they are putting out on the field this year. For my personal predictions I have them in first followed by Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City and Cleveland. From there, I can only hope that the Twins can make it further in the postseason and on to the World Series.
Maybe, just maybe, we will see a new ballpark christened with a World Series Championship for the second year in a row. Whatever the case may be, hopefully we will not have to endure yet another game 163 for the third straight year in a row.
As for my other predictions, I pick the Yankees in the AL East and the Mariners in the AL West, with Tampa Bay picking up the Wild Card. In the National League I will take the Phillies in the East, the Cubs in the Central and the Giants in the West with the Dodgers taking the Wild Card.
A day of high and lows
March 21, 2010
Sunday morning didn’t start off too well as I awoke to read the news that Joe Nathan would be out for the season. The news wasn’t really surprising as it seemed to heading in that direction, it’s just that you do not want to hear something like that happen to the All-Star closer for the team you root for.
When Nathan’s injury was announced, and especially after the news broke that he would be out for 2010, it seemed that Twins fans suddenly became pessimistic about the season. Can one pitcher, a closer at that, mean so much to a team? Well, looking at the numbers, Nathan picked up 47 saves last season which accounted for more than half of the Twins victories and had a high 11.9 SO/9 average.
For the most part, Nathan is irreplaceable in such a short notice, but to say an entire season will be lost without him is a bit much. The Twins always seem to find the right people to put into situations like this, whether it is someone stepping up like Jon Rauch, someone sent over in a trade like Heath Bell, or from their farm system like Anthony Slama, the Twins should be able to at least find a serviceable fix in Nathan’s absence.
The loss of Joe Nathan is great but the Twins made huge strides in other areas to make up for it. The Twins upgraded their middle infield in the offseason with Orlando Hudson and JJ Hardy and added some potential power on the bench in Jim Thome. Plus, being in the AL Central, only two other teams stand out as potential threats – Chicago and Detroit.
My main concern with Nathan, though, is if he can come back after surgery. Nathan made a point to say that he doesn’t feel his age (35) and has used his arm a lot less than a regular pitcher, but it still worries me after seeing people like Francisco Liriano struggle after having Tommy John surgery. As a fan, all we can do is sit back and hope for the best when it comes to things like that.
Thankfully, the blow that came from losing Joe Nathan for the entire season was softened by another Joe, that being Joe Mauer, who signed an 8-year $184MM deal with the Twins.
Signing Joe Mauer to a long term deal was the top priority in the minds of almost every Twins fan this offseason. Fans sat back as the team signed and traded for several new players, and signed some current players to contract extensions, but the news on a deal for Mauer was light.
After seeing what the deal was for and the years that come with it, the only question I can ask is – what took so long?
I figured if the Twins signed Mauer to a deal it would be for $200 or more, and was surprised to see the deal below that figure. In all seriousness, though, I’m sure that a deal of this magnitude will take time to hammer out, but I am glad that the deal is done. In five years or so my outlook may change due to injuries or the like, but right now I am sharing in the feelings that are shared throughout most of Twins Nation, and that is of pure elation.
The Twins have signed a future Hall of Famer to a long term deal, and with a full no trade clause in his contract, Joe Mauer will most likely be a Minnesota Twin for his entire career. Not getting this deal done and seeing Mauer head to a larger market, especially ones in the east coast, could have been devastating to the club.
Sure, there will be naysayers who will overanalyze the fact that Mauer will make 25% of the payroll, but on the flipside, where would the payroll be without him? Would the Twins suddenly find themselves in fire sale mode like the Cleveland Indians or in perpetual rebuilding mode like the Kansas City Royals? Would the Twins sell out most of their tickets to Target Field to help keep the payroll at or near these record levels?
It may be a little premature to say so, but barring any major injury, Mauer could surpass the likes of Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kent Hrbek, and yes, even Kirby Puckett as the greatest player to ever play for the club. The Twins aren’t throwing money at some washed up player or at a young unproven star that had one great season. This is Joe Mauer we are talking about, the best catcher in baseball today and a player that has put up consistent league leading numbers year after year.
A lot has happened today as we are nearing the start of the regular season, but I feel the good has outweighed the bad. It is a great time to be a Twins fan.
Just stop it!
March 16, 2010
With the potential loss of Joe Nathan this 2010 season there has been a lot of crazy talk.
It is coming from people who are knowledgeable about baseball and the Minnesota Twins.
What is the crazy talk? The talk of moving Francisco Liriano to the closer position to replace Nathan this year.
Liriano
The Twins have been very high on Liriano’s progress this off season and one would have to believe that if the season started tomorrow that Liriano is the number five guy in the rotation. So why on earth would you want to stifle what has been a productive off season by moving Liriano to the closer position?
Moving Liriano into Nathan’s role causes a solid pitching rotation to suffer. Although Brian Duensing has been pitching well in the grapefruit league, the 27 year-old still has some time to mature more as a pitcher in the major leagues. Another option for that fifth spot in the rotation would be Glen Perkins, but he has struggled this preseason and will very likely be optioned to Triple A Rochester before the season starts.
Some people are pointing out that Jarrod Washburn is still without a team and although the Twins might be able to get him at a discount, he is still a gamble. What Washburn will show up? The Washburn that threw in Seattle and posted a 2.64 ERA or the Washburn that struggled in Detroit with a 7.33 ERA. Washburn has been a roller coaster ride his entire career and the idea that he is coming off a knee injury has to scare most clubs.
Another reason Liriano is not a good choice for Nathan role is his mental toughness. Lets face it, the kid gets rattled easily. Last year he was like a broken record. The first time through the opposing line up, he was incredible. The second time through the line up, he would struggle. And once the opposing team would start to get a few hits, he would seem to implode right in front of our eyes.
A closer needs to have an attitude of invincibility and although there is no doubt that Liriano has the skill set to be an incredible closer, his confidence is suspect.
Internally the Twins should take a hard look at moving Big Jon Rauch into the role. He has the confidence, experience and talent to fill the role and deserves a fair shot at the position. Rauch could be given a few months to fill in and if he is struggling the Twins could start to look at some players from outside of the organization.
If the Twins are sure that Rauch is not their closer, then externally Jason Frasor of the Toronto Blue Jays would be a good choice. Frasor is seasoned veteran that has experience with the role of closer. More importantly he comes with a relatively small price tag.
So going forward, let us not speak of this harebrained notion of moving your best option for a late rotation starter to the closer position and start looking at some realistic candidates for the role.
Justin Morneau another Canadian comedian
March 4, 2010
So there have been a lot of good comedians to come out of Canada. John Candy, Jim Carrey, Michael Meyers, Norm Macdonald, Rick Moranis and now Justin Morneau.
When number 33 hangs up the glove and bat, he could probably move right into a stand up gig in an upper midwest circuit.
Gardenhire was giving the slugger some grief recently after the Canadian mens hockey team lost to the US team at the Olympics. He shared his cell phone conversation with everyone-
Gardenhire: “Sorry, Charlie. What a hockey game.”
Morneau: “(Expletive) me.”
Gardenhire: ” Ah, Canada will play for the gold. Don’t worry about it.”
Morneau: “This is when it’s really hard to be married to an American.’”
Just the other day, Joe Christiensen arrived in Florida for coverage of Spring ball and he quoted another gem from Morneau. As one might expect, the fair skinned JoeC appeared even more pasty white in front of the regular crowd in Florida to which Justin Morneau shook his head and quipped “The sun’s free.”
There have been some other gems and maybe can aggregate them here in the future.
