Cuddy on the Bench

Changes are taking place this season. Tony Batista has been signed to play third base, Luis Castillo will man second base, and a reportedly fully-recovered Jason Kubel will take over right field duties (or, if he is not ready by the season-opener, probably Lew Ford). This indicates that Michael Cuddyer, who was the team's regular starter at third base last year, will be reduced to a bench role in 2006. After a pretty poor '05 campaign in which he embodied the team's offensive pitfalls (lack of power, poor hitting with runners aboard, grounding into double-plays), this demotion has to be seen as deserved.

The Twins were very high on Cuddyer a couple years ago. After posting a stunning .309/.379/.594 line in 83 games at Triple-A Edmonton in 2002, it was clear that Cuddy was tearing up the minor leagues and it looked like he was ready to be an impact hitter at the Major League level. At the outset of the 2003 season, the Twins had a vacancy in right field. The candidates to fill this job were Cuddyer, Dustan Mohr, and Bobby Kielty. Cuddy was handed the starting job, but couldn't hang on to it, and the Twins made a move to acquire Shannon Stewart mid-way through the season to fill the clear hole in the outfield beside Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones.

In 2005, Cuddyer was again handed a starting job; the third-base spot vacated by a departed Corey Koskie. Cuddyer had a great deal of experience at third-base from his minor league career, and in spring training he was the team's best hitter. There was reason to believe he would fill in admirably for the well-liked Koskie. Unfortunately, he did not play well enough to hold on to this job either, and Terry Ryan made it one of his top off-season priorities to upgrade at third base.

Recently, the Twins signed Cuddyer to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, and it appears his role this year will be fourth/fifth outfielder and backup first/third-baseman. There are a lot of reasons to think he will not be successful in this role:

1) Cuddyer has shown throughout his career that he is not particularly good defensively at any of the positions he can play. He is a complete hack-job at third base, an average outfielder at best, and inexperienced at first. He is a clear downgrade from any of the guys who will be starting over him at each position he plays.

2) Cuddyer might be one of the worst players I have ever seen under pressure. He can hit just fine when it doesn't really matter; his best month last year by far came in September when the Twins were effectively out of the division race and he was frequently facing minor-league call-ups. He hit a respectable .276/.341/.472 with 10 home runs last year with nobody on base, but with runners in scoring position he crumbled, hitting .204/.306/.269 with no home runs. Since, being a bench player, Cuddyer would often be used as a pinch-hitter, this does not bode well for him, as pinch-hitters are frequently used in late-game, high-pressure situations.

3) Cuddyer takes a while to get going. Last year, he hit an incredibly bad .205/.275/.288 in April before pulling himself together and putting up decent numbers for the rest of the year. The same trend can be seen throughout his career. In 2004, he had a .238/.273/.357 line in April, and in '03 it was .190/.266/.362. When you're only getting sporadic at-bats as a bench player, needing a month's worth of regular at-bats to get going doesn't really work too well.

Some will no doubt consider this unfair, but I have pretty much given up hope that Cuddyer can develop into a serviceable Major League regular. He strikes me as a guy who can feast on bad pitching (minor leagues, spring training, September call-ups), but when he has to face solid Major League hurlers, he is completely clueless at the plate. Very frequently, he has absolutely terrible at-bats, falling behind 0-2 or hacking a grounder on one of the first couple pitches. He grounds into double-plays at a higher frequency than any other guy on the team. He has never brandished the power that made him such an enticing prospect as a minor leaguer.

If Cuddyer can overcome these gaping problems in his game, he could be a relatively valuable bench-player. Without him, the bench would be comprised of Nick Punto, Juan Castro, Lew Ford, and Mike Redmond, leaving no power off the pine and also no one to backup third or first. One option would be to carry Glenn Williams, who looked great in his 14 game Major League debut last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He too has questions however, as he is already 30 years old and had been a mediocre minor league player up until 2004.

I hope Cuddyer can prove me wrong and produce as a backup for the Twins this year, but I don't think it's very likely. There are a lot of trends in Cuddyer's career that point to a probable lack of success in the role he will be in. If that is the case, it could mean big problems for the Twins' bench this year.

Weekend Notes

The dearth of Twins-related news lately has prevented this blog from being very active, but that will hopefully change in the next couple of months. In February and March, we will begin to break down the Twins as well as their competition and look at the transpirings of spring training. For now, a few notes:

*The Twins avoided arbitration with Michael Cuddyer by signing him to a one-year deal worth $1.3 million dollars. Those who frequent this blog are probably well-aware that I am not a big fan of Cuddyer, and I hope the Twins use him strictly as a backup this year. In that role, he has some value; he can fill in at third base, first base, and both of the corner outfield positions.

*While they were able to get a deal done with Cuddyer, it appears the Twins will be heading to the arbitrator for a second consecutive year with Kyle Lohse. Lohse filed at $3.95 million and the Twins have offered $3.5 million.

*The Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed former Twin Luis Rivas to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. To an un-knowing team, Rivas might seem like an attractive option: a speedy middle infielder with a lot of Major League experience who is only 26 years-old. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays' new manager Joe Maddon is very high on the signing. In the article, Maddon envisions Rivas a "super-utility guy" and compares him to the Angels' Chone Figgins. Those poor Tampa Bay fans, as if they don't have enough to be disappointed about already...

*On a note not relating to the Twins, the Orioles swapped reliever Jorge Julio and a prospect with the Mets for Kris Benson. This seems like kind of an odd move for the Orioles. While they need starting pitching, dealing Julio leaves them with no heir apparent to the closer role vacated by BJ Ryan. They have a few other guys who could conceivably step in and collect saves, but it looks like it is going to be an experiment. Things are not shaping up well for the Orioles this off-season; it's hard to imagine them finishing any better than fourth place in the AL East.

Central Predictions

A few random predictions as to how things will go down in the AL Central this season. Some of these are based on statistical analysis and off-season moves, others are based simply on gut feelings. In my opinion, this division is going to be a lot better this year, which is potentially bad news for the Twins. Feel free to comment with disagreements or additions to the list.

The White Sox will finish in third place.
... But will still have a pretty good record. I just think the Indians and Twins are going to be much improved, because both under-performed so much last year. The Indians might have lost some pitching, but their offense should be monstrous presuming Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner don't slump horribly over the first half of the season again. The Twins offensive additions along with the best pitching staff in the league should be enough to lock down at least second place. I can't imagine the White Sox' players will all repeat their performances of last season, and Jim Thome is a big question mark.

The Tigers will be respectable.
They might even contend. If Carlos Guillen and Mags Ordoñez stay healthy, they have a pretty good offense. Jeremy Bonderman provides them with a legitimate ace, and the addition of Kenny Rogers provides a solid veteran presence on a very young staff.

Javier Vazquez will struggle in Chicago.
The White Sox will live to regret the trade that brought Vazquez to the Windy City. Vazquez has had one stint in the AL, a season he spent with the Yankees, and it wasn't pretty. He is a fly-ball pitcher who allows a lot of home runs and he'll be pitching in a hitter's park in a division that features some pretty good power hitters. Could spell trouble.

Danny Graves will not last two months in the Indians' bullpen.
Graves had become unspeakably bad by the end of his stay in Cincinatti, posting a 7.36 ERA and a K:BB ratio of 8:12 as the team's closer before being cut last year. He claims that Cleveland will be a fresh start for him, but at 32 and after piecing together mostly bad career numbers (he's had one season that I would consider good, and that was 2000; in 2004 he had 41 saves but still posted a 3.95 ERA, very high for a closer), it's hard to see much changing. I think the Indians, who have a very good bullpen, will quickly tire of him.

The Royals' pitching staff will have the worst ERA in the American League.
Their "ace" is a 22 year-old whose ERA last year was nearly 6. Their off-season additions include Scott Elarton, Elmer Dessens, and Joe Mays. Things just seem hopeless for the poor Royals.

Paul Byrd will lead the Indians in wins.
He's not that great of a pitcher, but he always seems to do well when he has a good offense behind him. I think he'll surprise some people this year, although his ERA will still be in the high 3's.

Another Year of Waiting

As expected, Bert Blyleven once again missed the Hall of Fame in this year's balloting, with the lone new entry being former relief pitcher Bruce Sutter. While Bert was a lot closer to the necessary 75% vote that is needed to gain entry than he has been in the past, he is still pretty far off at 53.3%. This is disheartening, because despite Blyleven's great accomplishments it seems he will always be viewed as a borderline player whose stats were good but just not quite good enough. This seems fairly absurd to me because he is fifth all-time in strikeouts, has 287 career wins, and has more shutouts than Clemens and Pedro (HoF locks) combined. It really frustrates me that he didn't get in this year, especially with Jayson Stark, Jim Caple, and Bob Klapisch, among others, all writing well-publicized articles stating why they have changed their mind on Blyleven and voted for him after not voting for him in the past. I also heard Peter Gammons making the same claim on ESPN Radio this morning. With this many highly respectable baseball minds giving him endorsement, it is rather amazing to me that Bert was not able to gain entry and that some people are still so blind to his phenomenal career. No, Bert was not always the most consistent winner in his career, but that is only one aspect of his game. Was Ozzie Smith ever one of the league's best hitters? Was Cal Ripken ever one of the league's best sluggers? Blyleven was one of the most dominant pitchers in league history, he helped two teams capture World Series championships, and he is generally just a very nice and likable guy (which I think should be worth somthing).

There probably won't be much hope for Bert next year, as Ripken, Tony Gwynn and Mark McGwire will likely be making the biggest splash as first-timers. Fortunately, as Ken Rosenthal notes, the window for Bert will open again in 2008 and '09 as the first-time classes in both of those years will be fairly weak.

Meanwhile, Rob Neyer makes a pretty compelling argument as to why relievers should rightfully have a tougher time gaining entry to the Hall than starters or everyday players.

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Couple other things to note:

*The Twins signed left-hander Darrell May, who pitched for the Royals for three seasons and spent most of last year with the Padres, to a minor league deal. May, 33, has not had a very prolific career, and he doesn't have the dominant stuff that would indicate that he is a very good candidate for the left-handed relief spot. He has also never been a full-time reliever in his career. May's best season was in 2003, when he posted a 3.77 ERA for the Royals, but outside of that he has never had an ERA under 5 in a season. Still, Terry Ryan apparently thinks May will end up in the Twins bullpen.

"Ultimately, we're going to put him in the bullpen," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "I know he had a tough year last year, but he's always had some success against us."

Yeah, so has Steve Sparks but I don't think we need to go out and sign him to our 'pen.

*Having acquired Corey Koskie from the Blue Jays, the Brewers designated third baseman Russell Branyan for assignment. Branyan is nothing too special, but might be worth a look for the Twins as a contingency plan should Tony Batista fail to produce. He has only a .232 career average, but he's got decent power and also has experience at first base and in the outfield.

*The Twins are now trying to void their lease on the Metrodome. I agree with Stick and Ball Guy's take on this one. I'd love to see the Twins get a new stadium, but they need to stop whining and continue to develop new ideas for how to get it done.

Monday Notes

*A few days ago in the Star Tribune, Joe Christensen discussed the battle for the Twins' left-handed relief spot that will take place during spring training. The Twins seem to want an experienced vet filling this role, so you can probably do away with the possibility that Francisco Liriano or any other farmhand will get a stab at the job. The two main contenders appear to be Gabe White and Dennys Reyes, both mediocre vets recently signed to minor league contracts. I'd put my money on White to win the job. Whoever it is, they will not be successful if Ron Gardenhire tries to use them in the same way as he did JC Romero. Romero could not really be considered a lefty specialist because Gardy would often leave him in to face several batters, including right-handers, rather than just having him get the tough southpaw out and then handing the ball to one of the stronger right-handed relievers. If Reyes or White are used strictly as a LOOGY (Left-handed One Out GuY) who will be used in late game situations to take care of guys like Travis Hafner and Jim Thome, they could be very helpful.

*The Twins will be bringing 15 non-roster invitees to spring training. The two that interest me are Glen Perkins and Denard Span. Both of these guys will likely start the year in Double-A, but both are on the fast track and I don't think it will be too long before we see either of them playing in the Metrodome.

*Is anyone even remotely surprised that neither Manny Ramirez nor Miguel Tejada are going anywhere? I personally never thought either of these guys were going to be dealt one bit, but I was pretty surprised at how many totally implausible trade scenarios the media was able to concoct.

*Among the big leaguers participating in the upcoming World Baseball Classic with Twins ties: C Joe Mauer, RP Eddie Guardado, RP Todd Jones, for the USA team; RP Jesse Crain, 1B Justin Morneau, 3B Glenn Williams, and 3B Corey Koskie for the Canada team; 1B David Ortiz for the Dominican Republic; RP Tony Fiore for Italy; SS Juan Castro and RP Dennys Reyes for Mexico; and SP Johan Santana, SP Carlos Silva, and C Henry Blanco for Venezuela.

The favorite in this tournament has got to be the Dominican Republic, who will send hurlers Pedro Martinez and Bartolo Colon and have a formidable lineup featuring names like Ramirez, Ortiz, Tejada, Pujols, and Guerrero. Yikes.

Koskie to Brewers

Well, this is extremely disappointing. Corey Koskie was sent to the Brewers for next to nothing, in the form of minor league reliever Brian Wolfe. Not to mention picking up $7 million of Koskie's remaining contract and the discovery that his 2008 option only comes with 1200 PA in 2006 and 2007 combined (highly unlikely). This is a deal that Terry Ryan should have jumped at. Thats essentially covering all but $2 million a year.

If that meant dropping Tony Batista's $1.25 million in salary, big deal. What are we left with? A hole at third base again to start the season. We needed Koskie in order to complete a favorable off-season, but now, I rate the offseason as being unsuccessful in many ways.

Many will say that Pohlad's raising of the budget by over $10 million is a huge success. Indeed it is, as are the acquisitions of Rondell White and Luis Castillo. However, the Twins set out this offseason to improve three positions: 2B, 3B, and DH. They did very well on two of those, but Batista doesn't cut it. He's fine as a role player off the bench maybe, but he isn't much of an improvement over Michael Cuddyer at third base and he isn't going to get much better at age 33.

In Koskie, the Twins would have gotten a good team leader and a guy who would at least have an OPS over .800, which can't be said for Batista or Cuddyer. Not to mention the solid defense. If we had to turn around and trade Lohse for some good, young talent, so what? What is the loss in that? We need more infield and outfield depth anyways, as the Twins do not have a plurality of great minor league hitters waiting to hit the bigs right now.

All in all, its very disappointing to see the failure. It's an indiciation that indeed, we may have to put up with Batista at third base after all. That's really too bad. With all the moves of the White Sox and the Indians' young core, it was already going to be tough for the Twins to win the Central. Now, it will be harder because of what Koskie could have meant for a measly second-rate minor leaguer and $2 million a year or so, which is far less then we offered a year ago. Very disappointing.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Last March, a couple weeks before the opening of the 2005 season, my associate and I made our preseason predictions for the upcoming season. We selected our anticipated winners for each division as well as the major award winners for the AL and NL. Now, a look back to see how right or wrong (usually wrong) we were...

NL Cy Young
Nick M. picked: Roy Oswalt
Nick N. picked: Ben Sheets
Actual winner: Chris Carpenter

Oswalt was terrific but not even the best starter on his staff. Sheets pitched pretty well but couldn't stay healthy all year. No points for either of us here.


AL Cy Young
Nick M. picked: Johan Santana
Nick N. picked: Randy Johnson
Actual winner: Bartolo Colon (shudder)

Well, Mosvick should have been right here, but, alas, the Baseball Writers of America showed their true idiocy in handing this one to Colon. Johnson was plain and simply a disappointment. Again, no points for either of us.


NL MVP
Nick M. picked: Albert Pujols
Nick N. picked: Albert Pujols
Actual winner: Albert Pujols

Despite a ridiculous early-season run by Chicago's Derrek Lee, Pujols held it together all year long, posting a .330/.430/.609 line with 41 home runs and 117 RBI to finally capture his first much-deserved MVP award. 1 point each.


AL MVP
Nick M. picked: Vladimir Guerrero
Nick N. picked: Vladimir Guerrero
Actual winner: Alex Rodriguez

Vladie could have done it if he'd stayed healthy all season. He hit .317 with 32 dingers and 108 RBI. One thing that really impresses me about Guerrero is that, despite his free swinging tendencies, he has become a guy who will walk more than he strikes out. A-Rod's numbers were spectacular, and he was very deserving. Nelson 1, Mosvick 1.


NL Central
Nick M. picked: St. Louis
Nick N. picked: St. Louis
Actual winner: St. Louis

This one was never really in doubt. 2-2.


NL West
Nick M. picked: San Francisco
Nick N. picked: Los Angeles Dodgers
Actual winner: San Diego Padres

Well, one team had to win. It was basically just a mediocrity crap-shoot.


NL East
Nick M. picked: Florida
Nick N. picked: Florida
Actual winner: Atlanta

After some tremendous off-season pickups, Florida looked poised to take the National League by storm and easily capture an East Division title over several flawed clubs. This turned out to be the strongest division in baseball. Kudos to the Braves for somehow continuing their run of dominance. I can tell you one thing with a fair amount of confidence... neither of us will be picking Florida this year.


NL Wild Card
Nick M. picked: Chicago Cubs
Nick N. picked: Atlanta
Actual winner: Houston

Well, at least I knew that Braves would be in the playoffs. I just didn't expect them to win the division. The Cubbies, on the other hand, were a mess.


AL West
Nick M. picked: Los Angeles Angels
Nick N. picked: Los Angeles Angels
Actual winner: Los Angeles Angels

Another point each. This was a pretty easy pick. 3-3.


AL Central
Nick M. picked: Minnesota
Nick N. picked: Minnesota
Actual winner: Chicago White Sox

... Now let us never speak of this again.


AL East
Nick M. picked: Boston
Nick N. picked: Boston
Actual winner: New York

They had identical records, but the Yankees technically took the division. No fair.


AL Wild Card
Nick M. picked: New York
Nick N. picked: New York
Actual winner: Boston

We should get some points for having them both in, just in the wrong spots, shouldn't we? No? Okay.

Well, there you have it, a measly three points each. Hopefully we will have more success this year when we make our March preseason predictions

Is this bad news?

Now, I know that bloggers around here have given Kelly Thesier, the new Twins beat reporter for MLB.com, a tough time. And that's fair, considering she's very young and inexperienced. So its tough to know if she can be trusted the same way Mark Sheldon was. I say this, because in a recent article about the Twins' offseason, she put out this disturbing possible lineup:

LF	Shannon Stewart
2B	Luis Castillo
C	Joe Mauer
3B	Tony Batista
DH	Rondell White
CF	Torii Hunter
1B	Justin Morneau
RF	Michael Cuddyer
SS	Jason Bartlett

Now, I'm all in favor of moving Hunter down in the lineup, if only because he is much better suited for the sixth spot. However, for one, its important to split up the bats of our righties and lefties, something we couldn't do last year. And of course, what is Batista doing in the clean-up spot? Tell me that's a mistake....

Of the hitters on that list, White is the only candidate that makes sense. If only to keep things consistent, and get pitches for both Mauer and Morneau (and if we must have Batista in the lineup), it makes much more sense to have this lineup:

Stewart
Castillo
Mauer
White
Morneau
Hunter
Kubel (if he plays, another left-handed bat)/Cuddyer
Batista
Bartlett

That seems to be the most optimal lineup, though you could move Morneau since we can't really predict what will happen next year, though he should improve with Castillo, Mauer, and White ahead of him and hopefully a better Stewart in the one spot. Otherwise, expect Gardy to drop Stewart to the third spot, and put Castillo and Mauer on top. Either way, he should improve.

I say this now, because it appears that Gleeman was correct in his post on the Koskie trade. ESPN.com reports it dead as well, saying that Toronto did offer Koskie back for cheap but that the Twins did not want to move him for fear of having to trade Kyle Lohse and start the season with two rookies in the rotation. This feels problematic to me as well.

The issue is that going with two rookies, most like Scott Baker and Fransisco Liriano, should not be viewed as a poor baseball decision, especially for a small-market team. I don't want feign love for Billy Beane here, but look at what Oakland did last year to compete on a small budget. They traded away Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder and started the year with rookies Dan Haren and Joe Blanton in the rotation. Haren won 14 games and struck out 163, while Blanton won 12 with a 3.53 and competed for rookie of the year.

Now, I'm not suggesting Baker or Liriano will do this. But consider a standard season from Lohse (about 190 innings, a losing record, a 4.72 ERA, opponent batting averages of .305 and .299 the last two years) and the potential from these two starters. Baker has already shown himself to be a strong pitcher in the big leagues and Liriano is the top-rated pitching prospect in the game right now. Neither Blanton nor Haren could claim any of that before last year. Even if Lohse has an ERA close to last year's at 4.18, he'll be getting $4.5 to do it with a lot of complaining. And that's not something a small-market club should be doing or putting up with.

Baker and Liriano in the rotation is a better option, much the same way Koskie is over Batista or White is over Batista in the clean-up spot. (Though, that seems kind of obvious to me, unless you vastly overrate his RBI/HR stats) Even if one of them doesn't pan out (both of them burning out seems highly unlikely), its not like the Twins don't have options. They are knee deep in pitching. They have Boof Bonser, Willie Eyre, and J.D. Durbin waiting at Triple-A and many others working through the system.

Why Ryan refused this trade is confusing to me, because its a good move for a small-market club. A team like the Twins needs to sell tickets and get support. A guy like Koskie can do that, and not just because he's a big promoter of the Twin Cities, but because this team will be better with him. If we are serious about saving money, losing Lohse shouldn't be that bad. And I seriously hope that Batista isn't sitting in the 4th spot next year or I may have to skip town.

Trade for Koskie Heating Up

The Star Tribune ran a report today by Joe Christensen that suggests a trade for Koskie is more likely then we may have thought. Apparently, the Blue Jays are offering Koskie back to the Twins for essentially a bag of baseballs. Well, not exactly. The Jays have floated the idea of taking on $3 million of Koskie's remaining two-year, $11.5 million contract (essentially, what we offered Koskie in 2004, two years and $8.5 million) or even more. In return, they want a mid-level prospect, no one like Scott Baker, but a reasonable prospect with some potential. (Like Alexi Casilla, whom we got in the J.C. Romero trade)

Garrett Jones, Kevin West, J.D. Durbin, or Errol Simontisch all seem like reasonable prospects to give up for Koskie. Many have already suggested that Koskie and Batista can make a decent platoon. The issue there is, of course, that Gardy isn't very talented at using platoons and Batista doesn't exactly hit lefties much better than righties. But he'll give a guarantee if Koskie gets hurt and provide a decent back-up and bench player.

Trading for Koskie would, in a way, help to make sense of the Batista signing. $1.25 million is a lot for a bench player and it was too much to keep LeCroy around, when he hits lefties so solidly. But if Koskie's healthy, he has a strong bat and glove to alleviate the issues we have at the hot corner. That would make for a more solid line-up, even with one more lefty:

Stewart
Castillo
Mauer
White
Koskie
Hunter
Morneau
Kubel
Bartlett

That looks a lot stronger to me, as we may be able to string together some more run production. As Gleeman put it on his board recently, its not that the Twins need a great lineup, they just need some improvements to support the tremendous pitching staff they have.

A trade for Koskie might not work out, but it's reasonable enough with what seems to be in the workings. Yes, they may need to drop Batista's salary to clear up room, but no one is going to cry about that. And if they drag out the negotiations a little longer, they may get lucky and the Jays may pick up more of his salary. It would be a good fit for the Twins, as Koskie's clubhouse presence was important to the team before, it would be good again. And Morneau even admitted last year that he missed the big Canadian. Who knows? His presence might even turn Justin around.

Return of Koskie?

With the Blue Jays' glut of corner infielders, there has been much speculation about the possibility of a trade that would bring former Twins' third-baseman Corey Koskie back to Minnesota. After trading for first-baseman Lyle Overbay and third-baseman Troy Glaus this off-season, the Jays now have a collection of first and third-baseman that includes those two as well as Koskie, Shea Hillenbrand, and Eric Hinske. Toronto GM JP Ricciardi has stated that Overbay and Glaus will start at first and third, while Hinske will be moved to the outfield and Hillenbrand will probably DH. This leaves Koskie, who missed 85 games last year for the Jays due to injury, as the odd man out. The Twins have signed Tony Batista to play third, but his contract is non-guaranteed and he could be released at minimal cost if the Twins were able to acquire Koskie, who would be a clear upgrade.

I like the notion of a return to Minnesota for Koskie. He is a good guy, and a pretty good player. I don't really buy into the argument that he is a risky investment because he is "injury-prone"... he broke his hand sliding into second-base last year, that is a freak incident. To my knowledge he does not have any serious lingering injuries. He also has a .369 career OBP, which dwarfs Batista's .298, and he provides better defense as well as some solid pop with the bat.

Unfortunately, there are several obstacles standing in the way of a Koskie return to the state in which he spent his first seven big-league seasons.

The money is the biggest problem. The Twins cannot afford to pay his salary, especially if they can't dump Lohse in the deal. Yes, it would be lovely if Toronto would be willing to pick up most of Corey's salary, but I have a feeling there are other teams out there in need of help at third base that would be willing to pick up most of it (Cleveland, for instance?).

It'd be great if we could send Lohse to the Jays for Koskie, but I don't see why Toronto would want him. He's not better than any of the five guys currently slated to be in their rotation, and Ricciardi probably recognizes that he is going to be overpayed next year at $4.5 million (although with the contracts that he gave AJ Burnett and BJ Ryan, he would likely see Lohse's contract as a bargain). Short of that, who would we send to the Jays? I'm open to suggestions.

If Ryan can find a way around these issues - and I would be very pleasantly impressed if he can - I would welcome Koskie back. By no means is he a superstar, but there is no arguing the fact that he is a dramatic upgrade over any of the third base options we currently hold.

And Again...

We Twins fans have been preaching it for years and I'm sure we've heard it all before, but Jim Caple has put together a nice write-up on why Bert Blyleven belongs in the Hall of Fame. With no major players being introduced for the first time on the ballot this year, I think it might happen this time. I certainly hope so.

Garland Signs

The White Sox continued their off-season rampage yesterday by signing pitcher Jon Garland to a 3 year-deal for $29 million. Of course, the immediate reaction of most Twins fans will be to laugh and proclaim Sox GM Kenny Williams a fool. Almost ten million a year to a guy who has had one good season? The notion seems a little trigger-happy. And while I would love to leap atop the pile and heap criticism upon Chicago's management, I think it is necessary to take a moment and consider the possibility that this may have been a savvy move on the part of the White Sox.

I personally don't consider Garland to be all that great of a pitcher, and I think his success last year was probably a fluke to some extent. However, I will not rule out the possibility that Garland simply had a break-out year and will carry that success into the future. Let's look at this objectively. Garland had a tremendous season; 18-10, 3.50 ERA, .298 opponent OBP, and 3 complete game shutouts. His early success catapaulted the Sox into the dominant force they would become in the AL Central. And Garland is only 26 years old. It could be that he finally figured it out last year, and could even improve this year, which would be bad news for the Twins. Sure, the White Sox are giving him this gaudy contract after just one season of proven success, but didn't the Twins give Johan Santana a similar contract after just one half a season of dominance? And while you might make the argument that Santana has a more impressive history than Garland, let's not forget that Garland was a pretty highly touted prospect when he came up for the Sox and Santana was originally a Rule V draftee.

I don't mean to say that this was a good move on the part of the White Sox. I simply think that many Twins fans are far too quick to dismiss the possibility that this guy is for real, and unlike the 34 year-old Jose Contreras - who is almost guaranteed not to replicate his unexpected production of '05 next year - Garland is young and may have simply developed into the pitcher he is capable of being. I know that if Kyle Lohse, who is similar to Garland in many ways, had posted similar numbers last year, we Twins fans would be very optimistic about his future and would probably feel the same way about him that Sox fans do about Garland.

Then again, Garland could easily collapse next year and make the Sox look absolutely foolish for throwing all this money at him. I know that's what I'll be rooting for. Just don't be stunned if Garland remains one of the better pitchers in the American League next season.

Holiday Notes

Here we are, just a couple days before Christmas, and Terry Ryan seems to have gotten all his shopping done in a timely fashion. He came into the off-season with three glaring holes in this offense: 2B, 3B, and DH. By trading for Luis Castillo and signing Tony Batista and Rondell White, he has filled those positions with fairly big-name players and at relatively minimal cost. I have to give him some credit.

I think everyone has some questions about how well Batista and his dismally low OBP will fit with this offense, but the other two should undoubtedly be significant upgrades. Furthermore, Ryan has quietly kept the league's best pitching staff intact. I still believe Kyle Lohse and his potential $4.5 million salary should be dealt, because I think Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano are both ready to join this rotation, but we will have to wait and see what happens there.

Anyway, on to a few news items on the Twinkies...

*Charley Walters had some thoughts from Torii Hunter on the Rondell White signing in his column in the PioPress today. In the article, Hunter hinted that Lohse may yet be dealt, saying, "We also have Kyle Lohse, but you don't know what's going to happen — there's still a lot of winter left. Anything can happen." Hunter also, upon being asked what his opening day batting order would be if he were manager. Here was his lineup:

2B Castillo
C Mauer
LF Stewart
CF Hunter
1B Morneau
3B Batista
DH White
RF Kubel/Ford/Cuddyer
SS Bartlett

That's not a bad lineup. It is interesting that Hunter would place himself in the cleanup spot, as in the past he has supposedly been against the idea of hitting in that spot in the order. I don't know how much I like the idea of Mauer hitting second instead of third, unless Stewart can really bounce back. Granted, Mauer is going to be the team's best OBP guy, but he is also the best hitter with runners aboard and I think he would get more RBI opportunities behind Stewart and Castillo. I also don't think Morneau is going to see any decent pitches if he has Batista hitting behind him.

*One move that seems to have been almost completely overlooked by the media and the Twins blogging community is the Twins signing of left-handed reliever Dennys Reyes to a minor league contract for $550K. The 28 year-old Reyes is not exactly a stud, holding a 4.80 career ERA, but his .208/.306/.265 opponents' line against lefties last year indicates that he probably will be sufficient as a southpaw specialist. Playing in the same division against lefty sluggers like Travis Hafner and Jim Thome, he could be fairly important. It is useful to note that Reyes gets hammered by righties, to the tune of .359/.464/.508 last year, so hopefully Gardy will only be using him as a LOOGY.

*According to ESPN.com, the Blue Jays and D-Backs are very close to completing a deal that would send third-baseman Troy Glaus to Toronto. This is an interesting move for the Jays, who already have in abundance of corner infielders. By acquiring Glaus, he would join a group of first and third basemen that already includes Lyle Overbay, Shea Hillenbrand, Corey Koskie, Eric Hinske, and Aaron Hill. Even by playing one of those guys at DH, the Jays would still have a few extras. If the Glaus deal goes down, I would not be surprised to see the Twins make a move for Hillenbrand or Koskie.

Twins Add White

Just a couple days after the Cubs signed Jacque Jones, the Twins made a move today to replace his production in the lineup by signing former Tiger Rondell White. While it seems at this point that he has been signed to play designated hitter, it seems he may see some action in the outfield. He played 65 games last year in left field, and while he has also seen action in center field in his career, he has never started a game in right, Jones' vacant position.

White appears to be a pretty good fit for this team. While he doesn't carry the potential slugging upside of Mike Piazza or Frank Thomas, he doesn't carry as much downside either. White has had 500+ at-bats in a season only twice in his 13-year career, and he struggled with a shoulder injury last year. However, his contract for next season is completely dependent on how much he plays. He is guaranteed $2.5 million, but can make more by getting a full season's worth of at-bats. This is the type of contract the Twins needed for one of these injury-prone candidates, and probably one that Piazza and Thomas were un-willing to sign.

While White is a steady player, he's not really great in any category. With a full season's worth of at-bats, he'll probably hit about 25 home runs with 80 RBI, and that's being optimistic. On the surface, that's not much of an upgrade over Jones. Also, like Jones, he doesn't draw very many walks (17 last year in 374 ABs). However, unlike Jones, he didn't hit .249 last year. In fact, he has hit below .270 only once in his career since his rookie season. He also isn't going to post a nasty little .319 or .315 on-base percentage like Jones has put up the last two years.

Essentially, White looks a guy who, if healthy, will have about the same power numbers as Jones did while getting on base more often and striking out less. All that for for a couple million dollars less. It seems like Terry Ryan has done well here. White doesn't have the potential to hit 40 homers like Piazza or Thomas, but he's also less risky. He's cheaper, has less of an ego, and should fit well with this Minnesota club. If they Ron Gardenhire chooses to slot the right-handed White between lefties Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau next season, this is what the opening day lineup could potentially look like:

LF Stewart
2B Castillo
C Mauer
DH White
1B Morneau
CF Hunter
RF Kubel
3B Batista
SS Bartlett

And you have a pretty decent bench with Nick Punto, Juan Castro, Michael Cuddyer, Lew Ford, and Mike Redmond available. To me, this offense stands to be significantly improved over last year, especially if Stewart and Morneau bounce back from underwhelming efforts and Mauer and Bartlett continue to develop.

Damon to New York: Good Idea

One of the nice bonuses about running a blog with another knowledgable baseball mind it that occasionally you have disagreements and both can say their piece in a friendly debate. Much like we did a couple weeks ago with the JC Romero trade, Mr. Mosvick and I have differing opinions on the decision of Johnny Damon to sign with the Yankees. I think this is a good move for both parties and it is going to make that powerful bronx offense all the more formidable.

First of all, my associate makes the argument that Derek Jeter, who hit leadoff for the Yankees last year, is a better leadoff hitter than Damon. I guess this case could be made, although it's disputable. Jeter draws more walks and posts a higher on-base percentage, but Damon hit for higher average last year and is a superior base-stealer. Either way, the point is pretty much irrelevant. It's not like they're taking Jeter out of the lineup, their moving him down one spot in the order to the number 2 spot, one in which he has had plenty of success in his career. Whichever order the two are in, you're going to have two of the best OBP guys in the league setting the table for two of the best run-producers in the league in Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield. Throw in Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, and Robinson Cano, and this is going to be an absolutely monstrous lineup. The Yankees have filled their hole at center field with a great player in Johnny Damon, and he should complement this lineup very well.

Perhaps the most important thing the Yankees have done in making this move, however, is crippling their biggest division rivals. The Red Sox were making a concerted effort to bring back Damon, because they knew as well as anyone that they needed him. But the Yanks put the pressure on Damon and his agent Scott Boras, and pulled him to New York. Now the Red Sox have huge holes at shortstop and center field, and no one apparently ready to step into that leadoff spot and set the table for the big boys in the middle of the lineup.

I think Johnny Damon will do well in pinstripes, and the Yankees have made a major improvement in adding this excellent leadoff hitter. It's hard to imagine any other offense in the Majors even approaching what these guys will be capable of. Of course, they still need to add some pitching...

Damon to New York: Bad Idea

I just had to give my two cents on this signing. Now, a lot like former Twins reporter Jim Caple, I'm not upset because he left Boston. To me, Boston isn't much worse than the Evil Empire. They, after all, have the second biggest payroll, so its Boras had to be the big reason for this. Whatever he told Damon to get him to sign with New York (and betray the good legacy he had in Boston), it worked the way it did with A-Rod in 2000.

Damon isn't going to work out for the Yankees, though, for a few reasons. For one, he does address the center fielder issue, yes, but he is a highly overrated defender. He's got speed, yes, but he's like getting Bernie Williams circa 2000 or 2001. Some speed out there, but no arm and in Yankee Stadium, that could get ugly again.

More than that, he's displacing Derek Jeter as leadoff hitter on that team, or so the stories say. This is not a good idea. To begin, Damon is a worse leadoff hitter than Jeter. Now, in many ways, this isn't such a bad thing, because Damon is still a very good one on his own, but he isn't the future Hall-of-Famer Jeter is. For example, to look at a few key stats Jeter beats Damon on. For one, its known that Jeter performs better in that spot. He scores more runs then Damon (122 to 117 last year, 1154 to 1041 since 1996, including 2003 when Jeter was out for a time), more power (169 HR to 127 HR in that same time frame, although Damon has hit a few more doubles and nearly twice the triples), has posted a higher OPS (.847 to .784), and hits for a higher average (.314 to .290). All in all, Jeter has the edge in nearly all categories. Damon has slightly better speed, has stolen 59 more bases in that period, and has the edge in triples and doubles (albeit, by only seven).

But no one can take away Jeter's obvious leadership qualities. As many have already pointed out, Damon doesn't fit in with the New York crowd. The minute he shaves his beard, cuts his hair, and kills his personality, he'll end up much the same way Jason Giambi has. He won't be the same player. Sure, he'll be productive and its not to say he can't handle New York, but he won't the way Jeter does.

If the Yankees want Damon to really help their cause (and, based on their moves thus far, they still need a 1B and a lot more pitching), he needs to move to the second spot in front of A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, Matsui, Posoda, Cano, and whomever else. Damon will begin to regress and I think he'll lose his better aspects a lot quicker than Jeter will.

I don't love Derek Jeter and I certainly don't love the Yankees. But its clear that he is the superior leadoff hitter and leader on that Yankees team. He has to be number one in the order and to his teammates. After all, A-Rod and his $252 million contract didn't take his position away, so why should some "idiot" come in and take it from him?

A Couple Unexpected Signings

The Twins made a couple of moves to fill needs today, signing third baseman Tony Batista and DH candidate Shawn Wooten. Batista spent last year playing in Japan, and Wooten spent most of last year playing in Triple-A.

Batista, who is perhaps most well-known for having one of the most open batting stances in Major League history (he literally faces the pitcher) historically has had some pretty decent power numbers, but he is not overall a very good hitter, as indicated by his career .298 on-base percentage. He's not a patient hitter, he's not particularly fast, he's a relatively bad fielder, and he's 32. With all that said, I don't mind this pickup.

While the economics of the deal are not yet known, I can't imagine the Twins paying him all that much, and it's only a one-year deal so even if he fails to produce it won't kill them. Furthermore, while he is yet another guy who won't draw walks, he does have serious power potential. Batista slugged 41 home runs in 2000 with the Blue Jays (and still only had a .307 OBP... shudder), and while that was his biggest power season, it wasn't a major anomaly. He is a guy who can typically be counted on for 25-30 home runs, which the Twins could sorely use from the third base position. In 2004, his most recent season in the Majors, Batista hit 32 home runs and drove in 110 for the Expos, but he also posted only a miserable .272 on-base percentage, drawing just 26 walks in 606 at-bats.

All this indicates that Batista will be a fairly frustrating player to watch. But will he be more frustrating than Michael Cuddyer, who last year seemed to ground into a double play or strike out in almost every key situation he stepped to the plate in? That's difficult to conceive. And if he can put up 30 home runs and 100 RBI and show at least a little discipline at the plate, he would be a big addition to the lineup.

Wooten is a decidedly less important signing. The 33 year-old, who plays catcher and first base, was brought in on a minor-league contract today and may be candidate for the open designated hitter job. It's difficult to get a read on Wooten. I seem to recall him being a pretty decent player when he was the DH for the Angels a few years ago, but he really doesn't have a whole lot of Major League experience. At age 33, Wooten has little over one full season's worth of ML at-bats in his entire career. The most play-time he's gotten was in 2003 with the Angels when he appeared in 98 games. He hit .243/.303/.349 with 7 home runs and 32 RBI. We'll have to wait and see how he performs in the spring.

Technically, these signings address areas of major need for the Twins, but let's hope they aren't done yet. While Batista may fill the gap at third base and provide some bottom-of-the-lineup power, it's hard to imagine Wooten stepping in as a full-time DH.

Chicago Trades for Vazquez

The White Sox made another big move Wednesday, sending Orlando (El Duque) Hernandez, top outfield prospect Chris Young, and Luis Vizcaino to the Diamonbacks for starter Javier Vazquez. Vazquez's name will be added to a rotation including Mark Buerhle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, Jose Contreras, and Brandon McCarthy as backup. This seems quite the impressive move, but i'm not so certain it will work out as planned.

I'm not contending that Hernandez or Vizcaino are worth much. They aren't. Hernandez is nearing the end of his career, as despite a memorable appearance in the playoffs, he had a 9-9 record with a 5.12 ERA last year. Its doubtful much of the old "El Duque" will show up in Arizona, where hitters might feast on his finesse stuff. Vizcaino wasn't bad last year, with a 6-5 record and a 3.73 ERA as a middle-reliever, but he was far from the best in a very good bullpen last year. He'll probably do fine for Arizona, but its Young they should be concerned about. After trading Aaron Rowand to the Phillies, Young seemed to be the natural replacement for Rowand. Brian Anderson will be out there next year, but he won't be able to replace Rowand's defense and he doesn't have the future capabilities of Young. In that sense, this deal may hurt them.

But, for next year, it seems to help a lot. But I question the move simply because I'm not sold on Vazquez. Realistically, he's had three good seasons and they were all with Montreal, in an extremely low pressure situation. He was great in 2003, when he struck out 241 batters, but when he signed with New York following a trade in January 2004, he regressed. He was 14-10 in New York with a 4.91 ERA, but he'll be remembered there for his horrible second half and the grand slam he gave up to Johnny Damon in game 7 of the 2004 AL Championship series.

Last year, with Arizona, he was inconsistent. He had streaks of excellent pitching, but he was a dissapointment overall, going 11-15 with a 4.42 ERA and .266 opponent batting average. The reason those numbers should jump out is because Chicago plays in a hitter's park that may not be so friendly to Vazquez, who gave up 35 HRs last year. Those numbers should jump out. If anyone expects Vazquez to come up here and post the numbers he did with Montreal, they are in for a dissapointment. Vazquez doesn't seem to handle pressure well (and the White Sox have plenty of it with big expectations next year) and he hasn't really regained his form since 2004.

Its possible that he'll catch on fire because of a very good staff and follow suit the way Jose Contreras did late last year. But I don't think there are any guarantees that Don Cooper will get to him the way he did with Contreras. He just got Contreras to trust his fastball. Vazquez has a much broader repertoire that includes an outstanding change-up, but his mechanical issues and inconsistent delivery remain problematic.

He'll probably win 12-15 games and have an ERA around 4.50. That won't hurt the White Sox too much if the rest of the staff performs up to expectations. But, in many ways, I believe that last year won't be repeated. Career years for Garland, Contreras, and basically the entire bullpen carried them to the World Series. Its hard to believe all that success will be repeated when the White Sox sold off a key member of that group (Rowand) for a ticking time bomb in Thome and now their future center fielder for what is now another mediocre starting pitcher.

Maybe he'll be like Loiza and surprise everyone with a great year. Its very possible that Chicago will be better next eyar. But Vazquez, like Thome, brings no guarantees with him. But the Twins should be nervous anyways, because there is no marathon trade for Terry Ryan on the horizon and the White Sox may have gotten a lot better this offseason.

Twins Tidbits

*It should come as no surprise to anyone in Twinsland that Jacque Jones will be rejecting the Twins' arbitration offer. The Twins have made it clear since they signed Jones to a one-year deal before last season that he wasn't in the team's long-term plans. Now, with Jason Kubel hopefully returning from a major knee injury and the team still looking to sign a veteran hitter, it looks like Jacque's time with the Twins is done.

I have already discussed this topic at length in the past, but to reiterate, I will not miss Jones. During his time with the Twins, he has shown flashes, but generally I don't consider him to be a very good player. He cannot hit left-handed pitchers, he has no strike zone judgment, he is a boneheaded fielder, and he is not a good base-runner. To his credit, he is a nice guy and he has hit some very dramatic home runs and done some great things for this team, but I think it is best for all parties that he move on. In a lineup where he has some protection, he may very well put up some gaudy numbers (although if he ends up in Kansas City, one rumored destination, I wouldn't be suprised if we see him fall off the face of the earth).

*The cover story on ESPN.com's MLB page yesterday was a Jerry Crasnick article about the Twins and their incredible lack of power over the past couple decades (Insider account needed). I knew the Twins were one of the worst teams in baseball in this regard, but I hadn't realized quite how bad it was in relation to the league's other 29 teams. As most of us know, the Twins have not had a player hit 30 home runs since the 1987 season when Kent Hrbek, Tom Brunansky, and Gary Gaetti all did it. The next longest dry streak of any Major League team belongs to the Kansas City Royals, who have gone 5 years since Jermaine Dye clubbed 33 dingers in 2000. The Rockies have had 27 players hit 30+ homers since 1987, while the Twins have had zero.

What could be the cause of such a colossal lack of power? It's not like the Metrodome is a giant pitcher's park. Is it the scouting, the coaching, or simply the organizational philosophy? Whatever the case, the Twins will never be able to win a World Series without a decent power threat. Fans were hoping that last year Justin Morneau, who hit 19 dingers in about half a season's worth of at-bats in '04, would break the tragic streak, but unfortunately he regressed into one of the worst-hitting first basemen in the league. The Twins' current roster has several players capable of hitting 30 home runs - Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, Morneau, and perhaps Jason Kubel - but when will one or more of these players put it all together and become a consistent power threat? We can only hope it's soon.

*The Phillies a couple days ago sent pitcher Vicente Padilla to the Rangers in return for a player to be named later. This move negatively impacts the Twins in a few ways. For one thing, it fills a pitching need for the Rangers, reducing their desperation and thus making them less likely to deal Hank Blalock or Kevin Mench to us. Also, it tells us that Kyle Lohse's trade value is probably not as high as we would have liked to believe. As Aaron Gleeman notes, Padilla is similar to Lohse in a lot of ways, including age, salary, and career stats. The fact that he only garnered a PTBNL for the Phillies, the same thing the Twins gave up in the trade for the dreadful Bret Boone, is a pretty sobering fact.

It's hard to see the Twins making a trade in the near future. The trades occurring around the league are making it evident that the pieces they have to move are not particularly valuable at this point in time. I think Terry Ryan will probably wait until the spring to try to make a move, when needs of other teams become a little more urgent and values tend to rise a little bit. That said, I certainly hope he can make a move for a free agent hitter of some sort, any sort. I will be beside myself if the Twins go into training camp with Michael Cuddyer at DH and Glenn Williams or Juan Castro at third base.

Adios, JC

In a move that has been a long time coming, the Twins finally got rid of disgruntled lefty reliever JC Romero, sending him to the Angels in return for minor league infielder Alexi Casilla. With all due respect to my associate, who posted below with his analysis of the trade, I would like to voice my disagreement with his opinion that the Twins got the short end of this swap.

I'm happy with this move, if only because I was sick of Romero's despicable lack of control and almost amazing inability to hold inherited runners on base in any situation, not to mention the fact that he was taking up a couple million dollars of salary which could be used to sign a free agent DH.

It's true, Casilla doesn't appear to fill any immediate needs. He is a second baseman with good speed who still appears to be a couple years away from making an impact at the Major League level. He spent the first month and a half of last season in Double-A and Triple-A, putting up unimpressive numbers in both, before being knocked down to Single-A for the remainder of the year and doing pretty well. In 78 games there, he hit .325/.392/.409 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI. Perhaps most notably, he was 47/59 on stolen bases attempt, showing that this guy is a potential monster on the basepaths. He also looks to have some patience at the plate, something the Twins sorely need. In 366 at-bats last year (all levels combined), Casilla struck out only 40 times while walking 34 times.

At only 21 years old, Casilla can be taylored as the eventual replacement to recently acquired Luis Castillo. Keep in mind that, at age 30, Castillo isn't exactly young for an infielder whose game is based on speed. To me this looks like another heady move by Terry Ryan that will hopefully pay off down the road. It didn't look like such a smart manuever several years ago when he shipped Brian Buchanan to the Padres for mediocre infield prospect Jason Bartlett, but it was looking a lot smarter a couple years ago when Bartlett hit .330 in Triple-A and last year when he was the starting shortstop for the Twins on opening day, while Buchanan turned into a minor league castaway.

The problem with this move is that it opens up a hole in the Twins bullpen. There are no obvious candidates to fill the left-handed specialist role. There are a few decent, but old, options on the free agent market (35 year-old Alan Embree, 40 year-old Buddy Groom, 39 year-old Chris Hammond), and no lefty in the Twins' minor league system appears prepared to make the leap to handling the pressure associated with the role. With all that said, I'd say there is a strong possibility that we will see Francisco Liriano in the bullpen next season.

Romero jumps into an interesting situation in Anaheim. If he can put it together and eliminate the walks, and his problems last year were indeed the result of him being unhappy with his situation here as he says they were, the Angels will have a formidable bullpen, with Romero and Scot Shields setting up for stud closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Romero Traded

Well, scratch all the rumors about Hank Blalock for now. Unless, that is, we are going to trade Lohse and one of our prospects. The Twins traded J.C. Romero today for Alexi Casilla, a minor league infielder who ended last year at Triple-A. No big package or Brandon Wood or any of the Angels' best infield prospects. It is, seemingly, a bad trade for the Twins.

The Twins need help right now in their infielder. Are they planning on using Castilla right away? Casilla spent most of last year at Class-A Cedar Rapids, where he hit .325 with 47 stolen bases and a .392 OBP. However, with 3 HRs and 17 RBI only, he doesn't present the power option we need as well. So, was the trade purely a salary drop or the overwhelming desire to get rid of clubhouse cancer?

If so, I still believe we could have done better. After all the talks of various deals involving Romero, it makes little sense that Terry Ryan would take this deal. It doesn't really address any of the Twins needs and doesn't improve us for 2006. Romero to Texas or Boston in a deal to at least get a decent 3B option would have been better. And it seems the Angels have much better options to give us for Romero, when it appears he had at least a little value left on the market.

After a week of much talk and hard work from Ryan, this is not a very good result. Perhaps Casilla can help soon, but it seems doubtful. We still need a DH and a third baseman. Why would Ryan throw out one of the cards he has if he doesn't want to trade Baker or Liriano? I just hope this clears up money to sign Piazza or some bat. Cause we certainly need it.

Hank Blalock's Texas Cookin'

Rumor has it the Twins are very interested in Rangers' third baseman Hank Blalock, and GM Terry Ryan is dangling pitchers Scott Baker and JC Romero for him. The sentiment from Twins' fans is that this would be a bad deal, because Baker is a top prospect who has proven himself at the Major League level and Blalock can't hit outside of Texas. I would argue that both of these points are blown way out of proportion.

I think Baker will indeed be a very nice pitcher, but he's not untradable. He's a steady guy who throws strikes and gets outs, it's too early to say he would be a great full-time starter over the course of a season. If we traded Baker, we would hold on to Kyle Lohse. Lohse can be counted on for about a 4.50 ERA and 10 wins, and when we're talking about a guy who would be 5th in the rotation behind four potentially excellent pitchers, I think we can live with that. While I would rather send Lohse and Romero off, possibly along with another decent prospect like Boof Bonser or JD Durbin, I somehow doubt the Rangers will make the move unless it includes Baker. Personally, I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world.

Blalock hit .297/361/534 at home last year vs .231/.276/.335 on the road. Granted, that is a substantial difference, and would lead to the impression that Blalock can only get the job done in Texas' hitter-friendly stadium where he has spent his entire young career. However, I don't think everyone should be jumping to the conclusion that he will put up the latter numbers in the Metrodome. Players generally hit better at home than on the road, that is a simple fact. And while Texas does have a ballpark conducive to big offense numbers, this isn't Coors Field we're talking about.

Take Ivan Rodriguez for instance. His last year in Texas in 2002, he hit .354/.389/.660 at home, while putting up a line of only .270/.314/.413 on the road. Not as large a disparity as Blalock, sure, but a considerable one nonetheless. The next year, Pudge played for the Marlins in what is generally considered to be a pitcher's ballpark. His home numbers? .317/.403/.506. Not bad, and a significant improvement over his road numbers while in Texas. The next year, Rodriguez goes to Tiger Stadium, an even more pitcher-friendly ballpark. His home numbers there in '04? .354/.410/.514. So while his power numbers did decline a little bit, Rodriguez was still getting the job done after leaving Texas. Now, obviously, he and Blalock are very different players, but the point I'm trying to make is that he wasn't putting up unrealistic numbers all because of his ballpark.

The Twins need to make a move, and Blalock is a proven slugger, as well as a terrific defensive player, not to mention only 25 years old. Terry Ryan has already stated he does not want both Baker and Francisco Liriano in the Twins' rotation this year, and if that is the case, it doesn't make sense to leave one of them rotting away in the minors since both appear Major League ready. There are other pitchers in the Twins' minor league system who have the potential to be where Baker is currently at in just a year or two. I would not be opposed to this trade.

***

One other thing. This is a direct quote from the Twins' official website regarding our Rule V draftee OF Jason Pridie:

"Pridie garnered the attention of the Twins during this year's Arizona Fall League. Pridie batted .232 with one home run and 10 RBIs for the Phoenix Desert Dogs."

Uhhh...

A Few Musings

Just a couple thoughts on some off-season observations...

*Apparently Terry Ryan was in talks with the Baltimore Orioles at the winter meetings regarding Kyle Lohse. I wonder who the Twins would seek in such a trade. To me, the obvious candidate is third baseman Melvin Mora. Mora would be a solid acquisition for the Twins, as he hit .283/.348/.474 last year at a salary of only $3.8 million. He is not great defensively, but would be no worse than Michael Cuddyer was and would certainly provide more offense. Furthermore, the Orioles have a top minor league prospect at third base in Tripper Johnson.

*According to Peter Gammons, the Rangers and Dodgers are close to a deal that would send Alfonso Soriano to the LA in return for minor league pitcher Jonathan Broxton. As far as I can tell, Broxton is not exactly an amazing prospect; he posted a 3.12 ERA in Double-A last year and a 5.93 in 14 appearances at the Major League level. Why is this guy better than a package of Kyle Lohse and JC Romero?

*In an in the Pioneer Press, Twins beat-writer Jason Williams contemplates the notion that the Twins use Cuddyer as their DH next season. For a team with a lack of power and bad discipline problems, this seems like an absolutely awful idea. I am not at all convinced that the Twins are serious about signing Frank Thomas or Mike Piazza, but I do hope that they can find a veteran hitter somewhere with some pop who could fill in this role.

*According to LaVelle E. Neal, the Twins probably will not sign Bill Mueller, as the interest he has gained from the Dodgers, Giants, and Pirates will likely put him out of the Twins' price range. As Mueller was really the only free agent third baseman who would've provided a significant improvement, the impetus is now on Terry Ryan to work out a trade for a guy who can come in and fill this gaping hole for the team. Hank Blalock would be splendid, but Toronto's Shea Hillenbrand is also a viable option.

The Offseason So Far

After a few weeks of trading and big signings, the need for a little insight has come about. Needless to say, its been an offseason with more parallels to 2000 then 2004. At one point, we may have found ourselves complaining about Johnson contract or the Pedro signing. But no more. 4 years and 52 million doesn't seem all that excessive in the wake of recent signings. Here's a rundown of the most perplexing ones:

B.J. Ryan, 5 years, $47 million with the Toronto Blue Jays - Now I grant Ryan is a great talent. In the last three years, he has average a 2.88 ERA and has had over hundred Ks the last two years. His 12.8 Ks/nine innings this year was very impressive as was his .208 opponent batting average. But all those things don't add up to the highest-paid closer in history. He was only a full-closer last year and he was not under the pressure of a big contract. He isn't exactly Billy Wagner or Eric Gagne. He won't strike out nearly 15 hitters per nine innings anytime soon or hold them to a sub .180 average. So, therefore, its crazy to pay him like he is better than either Wagner or Gagne. By doing so, Toronto gives themselves a player that may help them now, but who will not live up to the contract given to him. And such contracts only hurt teams like the Twins in their pursuit of offseason options.

Estoban Loaiza, 3 years, $21 million with the Oakland Athletics - Loaiza has had exactly two good years in his long, journeyman career. In 2003, he went 21-9 with a 2.90 ERA with the White Sox, representing a career-year. The next year, he went from mediocre to awful when he was traded to the Yankees. Last year, he had a decent year under little pressure and in a pitcher's stadium playing for the Nationals. 12-10 with a 3.77 ERA isn't bad, but if Carl Pavano is any proof, there is no guarantee. Thats why it makes not sense that people in baseball believe that Oakland will now trade Barry Zito with Loaiza on board. Zito may not be an ace, but his numbers are far superior to Loaiza and Loaiza is getting too old to be consistent.

Paul Konerko, 5 years, $60 million with the Chicago White Sox - It seems like a good reasonable contract, but Konerko doesn't seem to breathe consistency to me. Konerko may also have an degenerative hip, so signs of Mo Vaughn do spring in the background. But, beyond that, 2005 was in many ways a career year. Konerko had his best OBP at .909 and and hit 40 HRs with 100 RBI. Along with 2004, when he hit 41 HRs and had 117 RBI, these have been his best years. However, for $12 million a year, Konerko isn't exactly Albert Pujols. He doesn't run well (as he has never scored 100 runs), is immobile on defense, and had an atrocious year in 2003. Its the same reason Pat Burrell has been a risk for the Phillies, but this wasn't the strangest signing this offseason. It was, instead, pretty predictable.

Rafael Furcal, 3 years, $39 million with the Los Angelos Dodgers - This one I don't get at all. The Dodgers certainly need offense, but this is overpaying big time. As Buster Olney put it, Furcal remains spectacularly inconsistent. I'd agree. Last season was a perfect example, as Furcal had a great second half but was awful in the first. Furcal has other issues as well. He has never hit over .300, which is troubling for a leadoff man, his career OBP is .348, and he has only begun now to realize his potential use of speed. Also, Furcal has a great arm, but he committed 31 errors last year, which is an awful lot for a Dodgers pitching staff with guys like Derek Lowe who need good infield defense. Understandibly, Furcal and Cesar Izturis, when he returns, can be a great combo. But he isn't worth $13 million. That's more than what Miguel Tejeda makes for being a superior offensive and defensive player. Furcal is more in Jimmy Rollins territory and Rollins is only getting $8 million. Thats a wide gap.

Scott Eyre, 3 years, $11 million with the Chicago Cubs - This is where my bigger concerns appear. Overpaying for relief pitchers escalates the market price for many free agents big time. Eyre had one good season last year amidst tons of mediocre relief performances. And he gets this contract? Same goes for Bob Howry. What are the Cubs thinking? They need support for Derek Lee, a new center fielder not named Corey Patterson, a corner outfielder, a shortstop, and a second baseman. They have far bigger concerns. Why throw some much money on what is clearly a bad invenstment.

Overall, so far it has been overpayment after overpayment. Contracts have been absurb nearly the way there were in 2000. Will Johnny Damon get seven years and $100 million and if so, why? There are very few players worth this kind of cash, but in a weak free-agent class, clubs decided to get competitive and offer out terrible contracts to unproven players. The point is this is bad news for the Twins. It destroys much of their hope to get a guy like Bill Mueller or Mike Piazza or especially Nomar Garciaparra. It seems now we can only hope for inconsistent guys like Rondell White and Tony Graffinino. Lets just Terry Ryan has a surprse for us this week.

Twins Get Castillo

It seems Terry Ryan was tired of idly sitting around and watching White Sox GM Kenny Williams make moves to improve his championship ballclub. Earlier today, Ryan pulled the trigger on a deal with the Florida Marlins to bring second baseman Luis Castillo to Minnesota. In return, the Twins shipped off pitching prospects Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler.

Bowyer had a phenomenal year in AAA last season, becoming one of the best prospective closers in baseball. He appeared in eight Major League games during a September call-up. He didn't look great, posting a 5.59 ERA and allowing three home runs in 9.2 innings, but there is little question that he is going to be a very good reliever and he could become Florida's closer as soon as next season. Tyler, on the other hand, is a low level prospect who is still a few years away.

The Twins, however, are in a position where they can afford to lose some good minor league pitchers, as they still have several pitching prospects waiting in the wings. Granted, Bowyer was the most polished and Major League-ready of these prospects, but it's hard to question the trade as Castillo fills several major areas of need for the Twins. He gets on base, he can run, and he hits lefties supremely well. These factors will make him a perfect candidate to wedge between Shannon Stewart and Joe Mauer at the top of the lineup. Castillo posted a .423/.467/.650 line against left-handed pitchers last year, meaning he'll nicely off-set Stewart's and Mauer's weakness against southpaws. He also posted a .391 on-base percentage, so he should nicely set the table for Mauer and whoever hits clean-up. On top of all that, Castillo is a reigning three-time Gold Glove winner with excellent range.

There are a few things to consider when looking at Castillo's transition to the Twins, the first Major League club other than the Marlins he will have played for. First of all, there is the transition to turf. Due to the dearth of National League indoor ballparks, Castillo has very little experience playing on artificial grass (he played only 3 games on turf last year). That said, there is no reason to think that his game will not translate well, as players have generally been complimentary of the Metrodome's new turf and Castillo has the type of game that usually excels on artificial turf.

One other factor of note with Castillo is his apparently dwindling base-stealing proficiency. He was once a supremely excellent base-stealer, swiping 50 bases on 67 attempts in 1999, 62 on 84 attempts in 2000, and 48 on 63 attempts in 2002. However, in 2003 he stole only 21 bases while being caught 19 times, and since then he just hasn't attempted to steal as much. Only 25 attempts in 2004 (successful 21 times) and only 17 attempts last year (successful on 10). The indication is that Castillo has lost some speed, or else perhaps it is a reflection of a change in the Marlins' style of play under Jack McKeon. Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see if the Twins run him aggressively on the bases and if he can gain back a little speed on the artificial turf.

With the Twins rumored to be very interested in former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, the starting lineup for 2006 is shaping up to be heavily improved over the meager group put out last season. If the Twins sign Thomas, and assuming Jason Kubel's knee is well enough for him to play the field by the start of the season, this is what the lineup might look like:

LF Stewart
2B Castillo
C Mauer
DH Thomas
1B Morneau
CF Hunter
RF Kubel
3B Cuddyer/Mueller?
SS Bartlett

Obviously there are some serious questions about this lineup. Thomas is getting old ans has had serious injury problems the past few years, Bartlett needs to improve on a disappointing rookie season, Morneau needs to be more consistent, and Terry Ryan has stated definitively that Cuddyer will not be starting at third base (though it's hard to visualize another option unless they sign a free agent like Bill Mueller or Joe Randa).

In any case, it is nice to see Ryan make a major move to show that the Twins will not bow down and hand the division over to Chicago. Right now, all signs point to this being a very good move for the Twins, and chances are they're not finished yet, as they still need to address third base and hopefully unload Kyle Lohse and JC Romero. We'll continue to keep you updated as the off-season progresses.

Jacque's Future

As most are undoubtedly aware, right-fielder Jacque Jones' contract with the Twins has expired and he will be a free agent this winter. With Jason Kubel hopefully being ready to return from a devastating knee injury next year and Lew Ford also showing the ability to be a possible starter, there is a lot of sentiment that the Twins will not make an effort to bring Jones back. And I couldn't be happier.

I have made no secret of my distaste for Jones on this blog. He puts up decent numbers and has a knack for the occasional dramatic home run, but in general his total inability to hit left-handed pitching and complete lack of any semblance of patience at the plate in his entire career, not to mention his poor base-running ability, have caused me to grow weary of him. The San Diego Union reports that the Padres have a great deal of interest in him. This makes sense, since Jones is a San Diego native and there is a very good chance the Padres will not re-sign their current right fielder, Brian Giles. There is also some speculation that the Mariners and Cardinals, among others.

I always felt that once Jacque's contract expired, some team was going to overpay him because he puts up decent power numbers and he has decent speed. From watching him on an everyday basis over his entire career, I can say that the only thing he can do consistently is ground out to second base, and I am more than ready for the Twins to go another direction in right field. I think I'd rather see Michael Cuddyer starting out there, to be totally honest.

Wherever Jones ends up, good luck to him. It should be interesting to see what type of contract he lands.

Thome may be back

Jim Thome might reenter the AL Central next year, but with the Chicago White Sox instead of the Cleveland Indians. Thome, who was injured most of last year while managing a pathetic .207 average with 7 HRs and 30 RBI. Thome is now 35 and looks like another familiar slugger (Mo Vaughn) who vanished after signing a big contract. Will a different scenario change things? Was it worth it to trade Aaron Rowand?

Rowand has emerged into a solid hitter with some speed and run-scoring abilities at the top of the lineup. 2005 was a bad year compared to his 2004 breakout season in which he hit .310 with 24 HRs, 69 RBIs, and scored 94 runs. He isn't a great center fielder, but a stable part of the world-champion's lineup.

Thome, on the other hand, seems to be fading away. After his career-year with the Indians in 2002, in which he hit 52 HRs, had 118 RBIs, batted .304, and owned a 1.122 OPS, Thome has slipped little by little with each season. He, of course, still has the potential to hit home-runs, but Thome looks like the stereotypical steroids user who now is readjusting. The worst-case scenario for the Twins seems fairly likely. Even if he is terrible, he'll probably show up at the Metrodome and cream homers off of our control pitchers the way he did for 12 years in Cleveland.

The deal is final, as the players need to take physicals first to complete it. But, if it goes through, it may be bad news for both the White Sox and the Twins. Thome probably will beat up on the Twins, but don't expect too much more than a .250 average (or even less) with 25 HRs and 80 RBIs. He'll be the new Carl Everett for the team, so he probably won't be a game-changing slugger the way he used to be. On the other hand, Cleveland will remain the rising star of the AL Central, even with this big trade.

Addressing the Outfield

This offseason is definitely one centered around offensive improvement. As Nelson pointed out yesterday, third-base is in desperate need of improvement. So is the outfield. Last year, we lost the "Soul Patrol" early and saw much more of Lew Ford out there when we need to. All he did was show 2004 was more of a fluke and that he is a better support guy then anything else. So what options do the Twins have for improvement?

The idea of trading Torii Hunter has been thrown around, but its a bad idea for this very reason. We already have issues in the outfield and its doubtful Hunter could allow the Twins to acquire a good player like Robinson Cano. Even if it did, we would then need another outfielder and Ryan would probably foolishly resign Jacque Jones. And we'd have an inadequate second baseman who would struggle on defense.

Hunter should, therefore, most certainly be our opening day center fielder. What about Stewart? Instead of getting rid of Hunter and his contract, Stewart seems to make more sense. $6 million is a lot for the Twins to shell out for a guy cleary nearing the twilight of his career. Stewart migth not be embarrassingly awful, but his lack of defensive prowess is showing and his power outage made him one of the worse leadoff men last year. If we could, trading Stewart would be a good option, if we could pick up a decent veteran infielder or an outfield prospect, which we are now short one.

Otherwise, there is Lew Ford. But last year, Ford showed us that he may not have the skills to compete everyday. His lapses in defense and base-running can be awful on a Manny-level and he lacks any consistent offense to make up for it. Jason Kubel seems geared to take one of the positions, but his knee is questionable and he may not be at full-speed when spring training starts. Of course, if he is, he's an excellent option. He can hit for average and some power and seems like an excellent replacement for Stewart's role on the team.

For free agent options, the Twins have had rumored interest in Reggie Sanders. Despite a postseason that started well, Sanders is getting old and has had a long career of injury problems. He isn't Juan Gonzalez, but he is no guarantee for 4 or 5 million. On the other hand, if healthy, Sanders could give the Twins the kind of year he gave the Pirates in 2003: 25-30 HRs, .270 average, 90 RBIs. That would certainly make the Twins far more potent for not too high of a price.

Brian Giles' name has also been floated around, but for a guy who managed a big contract before, its unlikely. Giles would be great, because he is a good hitter with lots of patience who has power (which was certainly hurt by San Diego's spacious park) and whose presence would help a swing-happy Twins lineup.

Rondell White is a possibility, but he's more of a DH and thats for a different discussion and time. White can provide good offense, but I don't think the Twins are willing to sign such a defensively-challenged player right now. Bobby Higginson is another free-agent from Detroit, but he doesn't look to have anything left in the tank. Juan Gonzalez, too, is an option, but it seems he'll never be fully healthy again. Juan Encarnacion, Preston Wilson, Jeremy Burnitz, and Jeff Conine are all also good options. Wilson and Encarnacion are unlikely because they'll demand high salaries and Burnitz doesn't seem likely to consider Minnesota in his options. Conine, though, seems realistic. He's a good, solid veteran who could give the Twins a patient hitter with some power left in his bat. (No signs of a Molitor-esque year at 40, but hey its worth a shot)

What, therefore, is the best course of action? Keep Hunter, hope Kubel is healthy, trade Stewart, and try to sign Conine or Sanders. If not, we'll probably end up with Jeffrey Hammonds and a crew of minor league castoffs. Lets hope Ryan does something at least a little above that.

Addressing Third Base

No doubt about it, the Michael Cuddyer experiment last season failed miserably. Cuddyer, who the Twins were relying on to provide offensively as a replacement for Corey Koskie, was awful at the plate last season and perhaps even worse in the field. He will not be starting at third next season, so it is back to the drawing board for the Twins as they look into other possibilities on the free agent market and in trades for the hot corner. Matt Moses is the only third baseman in their system who looks even close to ready to making a splash in the Majors, but he didn't exactly tear up the Arizona Fall League so there's no reason to think he'll be ready within the next year.

Monday, the Marlins traded Mike Lowell, a third baseman the Twins were rumored to be interested in, to the Red Sox along with Josh Beckett. I never thought Lowell was that great of an option, as he carries a hefty pricetag and was absolutely awful last year, but his glove would be nice and there is reason to think he could bounce back next season based on his history as a major offensive threat. There's no guarantee that the Red Sox will hold on to Lowell, as he basically just came stapled along with Beckett (who they really wanted) and they have a nice young third baseman in Kevin Youkilis who will likely start next year. That said, I don't see the Twins making a move for Lowell.

Another name the Twins are rumored to be interested in is Texas' Hank Blalock. Blalock has posted gaudy numbers in his young career with the Rangers and is a terrific defender, but a quick look at his stats away from the Rangers' friendly stadium quickly tell why acquiring him might not be the wisest idea. He hit .231 on the road last year with a .611 OPS, and only five of his 25 home runs came away from home. Now, I'm not a person who's going to say that Blalock will be a poor hitter whenever he leaves the Rangers; I have seen him hit on several occasions and I know that he is a great hitter who can drive the ball and bring home runners, but it wouldn't necessarily be wise to expect the same production from him in the Metrodome as he has had in Texas the past four years. Then again, it should also be noted that he made only $850K last year, although he will likely be demanding a raise next year.

Nomar Garciaparra is another name worth looking at. The Cubs' shortstop who has struggled with injuries the past few years is on the free agent market, and he probably won't be demanding an insane amount of money. He has some experience playing third base and has stated that he wouldn't mind playing there on a regular basis next year. I think Garciaparra would be a very nice option, but he would probably struggle on defense and he hasn't played much in the past couple years so he might have trouble returning to his old form.

Of course, the Twins have also expressed interest in former Red Sox 3B Bill Mueller, who is in free agency as well, but his age and lack of production on the road put up some immediate red flags. The previous three names would most certainly be better, albeit more expensive, options.

Reusse Speaks Again

Patrick Reusse wrote a blurb in his column today about Johan Santana's third-place Cy Young finish, which may or may not be in response to the e-mail I wrote him last week criticizing him. Here's what he said:

"Twins followers and statistical freaks continue to complain that Johan Santana was robbed in voting for another major award: AL's Cy Young.

These folks want Santana to receive full credit for going 6-2 with a 1.09 ERA in his final 10 starts -- domination that took place in garbage time of a lost season for the Twins.

It was in his previous 10 starts the Twins needed Santana to dominate. That's when they were going from 35-22 and 4 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central to 58-56 and 16 ½ games behind the Mighty Whities (and from 7 ahead to 4 behind Cleveland).

Santana was 3-4 with a humdrum 4.64 ERA in that decisive stretch of the season, making a third-place Cy Young finish a generous reward."

My response to Reusse:

On the surface, this is a valid point. However, there are several fallacies in the argument. For one thing, each and every game played on the 162-game schedule is of the exact same importance, it's not like you get more points for winning in August as opposed to winning in April. If you want to make the argument that pitching well "down the stretch" is of such utter importance, though, it is still difficult to craft a convincing argument in Bartolo Colon's favor. While Colon did have a great month of August, posting a 1.72 ERA and a 5-0 record, his ERA in September was 4.91 (at a time that the Angels had by no means clinched the AL West) and in July it was a ghastly 6.12. He still won six games over this stretch thanks to something called run support which Santana very rarely received. Santana, on the other hand, posted earned run averages of 3.45 in July, 1.75 in August, and 1.29 in September. Now you can make the argument that the Twins were already out of it by this point, but you seem to forget that he lead them on a hot streak that brought them within a few games of the Wild Card, highlighted by the dramatic pitcher's duel against Freddy Garcia and the White Sox where Johan pitched 8 innings without allowing a run and Jacque Jones' solo home run was enough for the Twins to garner a 1-0 victory.

Any way you look at it, Santana had the better season. What it all comes down to is run support. In the combined months of July, August and September, Santana clearly pitched better, posting a lower ERA each month and a significantly lower opponent's batting average in August and September. However, during that span Santana won a total of only 8 games while Colon won 11. How this makes the Colon the better pitcher, I will never understand.

Somebody Start a Petition

While it is clear that most members of the Baseball Writers' Association who vote for the Cy Young awards are fairly dumb, most of them do not decide to write entire articles in their publications spouting forth indefensible claptrap. Patrick Reusse, however, did so in the Star Trib. The following quote illustrates perfectly well all the reasons you need for why he should be stripped of his vote:

"Get this through your skulls here in Twinsland: Starting pitchers who win 16 games for mediocre teams do not win Cy Young Awards."

Why? Is it Santana's fault that his team was mediocre? He pitches one out of every five games, how could one possibly expect him to turn around the team's fortunes when they had no offense and every other starter was inconsistent at best? It boggles my mind that some of these select 28 people who actually have the privilege of being able to vote for this important award have no idea the critera on which it should be judged. This is not homerism opinion, this is common sense. The Cy Young award is designed to judge the BEST PITCHER in the league, and looking at one statistic that is really not even in their control is absolutely idiotic and amateurish.

His article about a month ago explaining his decision to vote for Colon ahead of Santana on his Cy Young ballot, which I just recently stumbled upon thanks to a commenter, frustrated me so much that I actually e-mailed him and told him straight-up that he should have his vote stripped. I'll let you know if I hear back.

Hell of a Shame

I would make a long post explaining my disappointment and frustration with the announcement today that the Angels' Bartolo Colon won the AL Cy Young award over Johan Santana, but ESPN.com analyst Jayson Stark has already stolen the words right out of my mouth.

The hardest I try, I still can't come up with any idea as to why a knowledgable baseball fan would give Colon a first place vote considering that two American League pitchers were CLEARLY better than him, without any shred of a doubt. But what really boils my blood is that Johan Santana, who was deserving of the award for reasons I have already exhaustively discussed, received only THREE first-place votes is absolutely appauling. The fact that he is on a small-market team like the Twins prevented the nation from really being able to grasp just what a phenomenal season he had, and that is one of the main problems with Major League Baseball. You would never see something like this happen in the NBA or NFL. If Randy Johnson had put up the same stats this year, he would have won the award, no question.

The Cy Young award has lost a great deal of its prestige, at least in my mind.

Just disguisting

You knew it would happen. So do I. But I certainly wasn't looking forward to it. Bartolo Colon won the AL Cy Young, grabbing 17 first place votes and 118 total points. The two men, Mariano Rivera and Johan Santana, who both were legitimate winners trailed with 68 points and 51 points respectively. Riveria had 8 first place votes and Santana had 3, with 12 third-place votes. Sadly, Colon won only because of his 21 wins, which don't show what a mediocre season he had in comparison to Santana, or Rivera.

Rivera is a Hall of Famer who had a career year, saving 43 games for the Yankees and posting a career-high 1.38 ERA. (Its the only number really close to Gagne's amazing 2003 season, but we are also talking about a man who may not have enough awards to show just how great he's been) Santana was by far the most dominanting starter in the majors. Giving Colon the Cy Young this year is like trying to give Daunte the MVP just because of his 110.9 passer rating. As many know now, that ignores all of his other mediocre traits and the factors that go into essentially making him look more talented than he is.

Santana struck out 81 more batters and lead the majors, had a .97 WHIP, a .210 OBA, a .594 opponent OPS (all which lead the AL), and a major-league high .250 opponent OBP. The only thing that held him back were his 16 wins, which is obviously due to the dissapointing Twins season and their ridiculously inept offense.

Johan was the AL Cy Young and in my mind, this was his second-straight. Its just another example of the national media ignoring Minnesota players when they deserve it most. He is the best starter in the AL and if you ask opposing players, I'm sure they'll agree. Colon isn't even close. The only thing he has more of is girth.

Hunter wins fifth straight Gold Glove

Torii Hunter, the much-discussed and nearly ousted Twins center-fielder, won his fifth straight Gold Glove, as the awards were announced today. Along with Hunter, Oakland 3B Eric Chavez and Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki also won their fifth straight. Some of the other winners were questionable. Vernon Wells from Toronto and Mark Teixiera from Texas. Teixiera seems like a strech to me and another case of winning the award for offense over anything else. (Although his .998 fielding percentage lead AL first baseman, Darin Erstad has a higher zone rating) That is to say, Paul Konerko also has a high fielding percentage, but he isn't exactly known to be a great first baseman. I say give it to Erstad, the highlight reel guy who isn't even close to an offensive force. Why not? He won't be winning the MVP anytime soon.

But, enough about those complaints. Hunter gets his award and his $100,000 bonus, but we haven't talked much on this sight yet about whether or not he is staying or going. Hunter is certainly great to have in the field, but I wonder if his issues are about his lack of leadership or a desire to be traded. Either way, he should be. There is no reason to keep a cancerous presence around the clubhouse for $10.75 million. Especially when that cancer doesn't do much leading with the bat. He'll be the biggest free-swinger in the lineup with Jacque Jones. Time to move on. Even if Joe Vavra gives me little hope that the Twins will do anything next year. Congrats, Torii. Hope New York treats you well.