A bullpen rant

I know, you have probably heard it before on numerous websites, blogs, etc. It may seem like beating a dead horse, but if the Twins are going to continue with the same recipe that has landed them in 3rd place and given them their current 53-54 record, then it needs to be discussed.

What has to happen for the Twins and their ‘leader’ Bill Smith to make a change in their bullpen? Are they actually still fooled by the early success that guys like R.A. Dickey and Bobby Keppel had in their respective seasons?

Both Dickey and Keppel had excellent months of June - they posted ERA’s of 0.66 and 0.00 respectively ignoring the fact that Keppel threw just 6.1 innings in June. However, since their ‘honeymoon’ with the Twins, both Dickey and Keppel have been awful; absolutely awful.

In July, Dickey and Keppel posted ERA’s of 7.94 and 6.75 respectively and have followed that up by posting ERA’s of 8.10 and 7.36 respectively during the early portion of August. Sometimes when you dig beyond the ERA statistic, you find that a pitcher has been on the receiving end of some poor luck. However, don’t even both digging into Dickey and Keppel - because the ERA tells you everything you need to know.

Just unbelievable. Again, how are these guys holding their jobs? If you were that bad at your daily job, would you still hold your position? I know there are other factors involved when it comes to professional sports, but that is no excuse.

If not for dominant seasons from Joe Nathan and Matt Guerrier along with a very good season from Jose Mijares, the numbers regarding the Twins bullpen would look much, much worse. However, for some reason both Dickey and Keppel continue to hold their jobs in the Twins bullpen - stronger than one would expect actually.

Get this - in a 4-1 ballgame in which the Twins trailed the Indians last night, Manager Ron Gardenhire opted to bring in Dickey. Why? Well, he was not going to use someone like Mijares or Guerrier that early in the game and the Twins really have no other options beyond those guys. Don’t you view that as an issue?

I do - but I guess Bill Smith, Gardenhire, and rest of the decision makers do not.

I asked this on my Twitter last night, but would Anthony Slama (currently at AA) and Rob Delaney (currently at AAA) really be ANY worse than what Dickey and Keppel are giving the Twins? I mean, honestly? Could they not post the same terrible BB rates? Or K rates? Or current lack of success?

Even if those two were to struggle as often as Dickey and Keppel, which I would not see happening, would you not rather go to war with the guys who are going to be here beyond this year? Rather than two guys that should find themselves no where near the mound on what is considered a postseason ‘contender?’

If you were to ask the Twins why Slama and Delaney continue to sit in the minors, they would most likely feed you the same Twins bullshit about them needing to work on their leadership, their makeup, or that they don’t provide enough ‘veteran presence.’

Well, that is what is wrong with this organization. That is what has been wrong with this organization, and that is the main thought process and mentality that has landed the Twins in their current spot of 3rd place behind both the Tigers and White Sox.

It is just unfortunate that that mentality is not going to change quick enough for it to have an affect on this baseball team that seemingly has a ‘chance.’ It is just too bad the front office has failed to give this team that ‘chance.’

As for Francisco Liriano - ugh. Don’t get me started.

(This blog was originally posted at my new Twins blog, http://andwewillseeyoutomorrownight.blogspot.com/)

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by statfreak101 on 08/06 at 02:19 PM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #8 Jim Kaat, #9 Brad Radke

Brad Radke was the Jim Kaat of this decade for the Twins. Jim Kaat was the Brad Radke of the 1960s. Both of them had a tinge of Rodney Dangerfield to them as well.

When I was 10 or so, I introduced my dad, who spent the 1965 season working as an usher at Met Stadium as a high school student, to the latest craze at the time—a little video game called Baseball Stars. My dad generally hated video games, but he took a liking to this one and the little feature that allowed you to create your own team. He set out to build the Twins team from his youth complete with Rod Carew at second, Killebrew at third and Oliva in right. The game allowed for five pitchers. His five were Camilo Pascual, Dean Chance, Mudcat Grant, Dave Boswell and Al Worthington to close things out. Given what I knew about baseball came from the back of baseball cards, I asked him about Jin Kaat. He explained that Kaat was a good pitcher, but when those other guys took the mound, you always felt something special could happen.

In certain ways, he was right. Kaat spent 13 years in Minnesota and his name is all over the team record book for career stats. But he was never really the best pitcher on his staff, outside of 1966 when he would have won a Cy Young Award had it existed for both leagues at his time (granted, his ERA+ that year was a very good but not outstanding 131, Kaat’s highwater point for his career). From the time the Twins landed in Minnesota to 1964, the rotation was fronted by Camilo Pascual—a big Cuban with a blazing fastball and a knee-buckling curve. Pascual led the AL in strikeouts from 1961 to 1963 and finished runner up in 1964. Then his arm went out in 1965, and he was fairly mediocre for the rest of his career. Mudcat Grant stepped in with a big 1965, and then Kaat had his big year in 1966. But then a trade brought in Dean Chance, with his Hideo Nomo-esq delivery and live arm. Chance stepped into the ace position, and another youngster, Dave Boswell blossomed as well. Chance fronted the rotation the rotation in 1967 and 68. After he blew out his arm in 1969, Boswell stepped up and led the way. Boswell started having arm troubles in 1970, but fortunately the Twins had a 19-year-old kid down on the farm named Bert Blyleven to step into his place.

My dad was less complimentary toward Radke, calling him a junkballer throughout his career—an assessment that may not be fair. But Radke always had the same demons that Kaat had. When he came up in 1995, he was far from the most likely to lead the rotation for the next decade. That crown was worn by Frankie Rodriguez, with his big fastball and big bending slider. But after all the hard throwers flamed out, there was Radke winning 20 games in 1997 on a team that rivaled the worst Twins teams more than the best ones. Radke would continue to pitch well for the next decade, though his standing often waivered. Eric Milton replaced Radke as the Twins pitcher most likely to shut the opposition down in 1999. But he could never really stay healthy. Joe Mays then rode a power sinker to a big year in 2001, but arm troubles dinged him too. In 2003, finally a legitimate contender rose to take Radke’s place at the top of the rotation in Johan Santana . Then in 2006, Francisco Liriano pushed Radke back even further in the rotation, then Boof Bonser stepped into Liriano’s place after Liriano’s elbow blew out. Meanwhile, Brad Radke was busy pitching through a torn labrum, an injury that usually proves to be a death knell for pitchers. And while he was doing it, he was pretty much the same Brad Radke he had always been.

Though it doesn’t look it, the art of throwing a baseball is way more violent an act than a linebacker hurtling himself into a running back at 20 miles an hour. The human body just wasn’t made to stand up to the kind of motion it takes to do that. Jim Kaat and Brad Radke greatest strengths in many ways may have been that they didn’t have that ability. Both made up for it with smarts. Both pitchers were always near the league leaderboard in terms of fewest walks allowed. And while there were times when the opposing team would figure them out, they were very good for a long time. And there’s something to be said for that. The formula for winning a World Series may call for a fierce, hard throwing Jack Morris type. But having a Kevin Tapani behind him surely is nothing to sneeze at.

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5. Kent Hrbek
6. Bert Blyleven
7. Johan Santana
8. Jim Kaat
9. Brad Radke

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 08/06 at 11:26 AM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #7 Johan Santana

On February 2, 2008, the Twins parted ways with two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, sending him to the New York Mets for Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Philip Humber. Will this trade go down as the worst in Twins history? Probably not. In fact, with the way the Matt Garza/Jason Bartlett for Delmon Young trade is going down.

There’s not a lot that really needs to be said about Santana’s Twins legacy at this point. So here’s a look at the worst trades the Twins made by decade:

1960s:

Worst Trade:

December 10, 1969: The Minnesota Twins trade Graig Nettles, Dean Chance, Bob Miller and Ted Uhlaender to the Cleveland Indians for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.

Luis Tiant was two years removed from an ERA title in Cleveland, and was suppose to help make the Twins rotation nearly invincible as they looked to get past the Baltimore Orioles. Tiant started strong, with the Twins winning the first ten games Tiant started (with Tiant posting a 6-0 record) before he succumbed to injury. Tiant would later injury his elbow and it was feared he would never recover. The Twins released him before the 1971 season.

Of the four players traded by the Twins, only one had his best days ahead. Unfortunately, Nettles went on to be one of the better third baseman of the 70s and early 80s. He was widely considered one of the best gloves at third base in the decade and he hit with surprising pop. Bill James once argued that Nettles was the best position player in baseball ever to have a last name starting with “N.”

To add salt to the wound, Tiant was picked up by the Red Sox after the Twins released him. He struggled in 1971, but then found his past form and fronted the Red Sox rotation for the first half of the decade, helping lead the Sox to the World Series in 1975.

Runner Up

The 1960s were the golden era for Twins baseball, and as one would expect most of the moves the team made worked in their favor. The possible exception was a three-team trade in June, 1964 that sent Lenny Green to the Angels and Jerry Kindall to the Twins—if only because the 1965 Twins might have been better served with Green at second than Kindall in 1965. But that’s grasping at straws.

1970s
Worst Trade:

December 4, 1978: The Minnesota Twins trade “Disco” Dan Ford to the California Angels for Danny Goodwin and Ron Jackson.

The 1970s Twins were renown for trading off its talent when it got expensive, but surprisingly none of their big trades ever really netted them a big goose egg. Bert Blyleven went on to have some great seasons after leaving Minnesota, but Roy Smalley turned out to be one of (if not the) best shortstops in franchise history. Rod Carew had some great years after leaving Minnesota. But Kenny Landreux was fairly decent in return until he got too expensive and was shipped off to the Dodgers and Dave Engle who was (albeit one of the worst ever) an All Star. “Disco” Dan Ford never quite reached the heights that either of those players did, but he did earn MVP votes when he reunited with Carew to lead the Angels into contention. In return the Twins got Goodwin, who is notable for being one of (if not the) worst overall number 1 picks of all-time (twice, even) and Jackson, whose hitting and approach would have had late 70s Twins fans jealous of Scott Stahoviak had they glimpsed into a crystal ball and seen the future.

Runner Up:

The Twins traded catcher Rick Dempsey for Danny Walton in 1972. Walton had showed promise, but never really hit again. Dempsey was never great, but he carved out a nifty little career for nearly two decades, winning a ring with Baltimore in 1983.

1980s

Worst Trade:

December 4, 1988: The Minnesota Twins traded Mark Portugal to the Houston Astros for Todd McClure.

Mark Portugal always had great stuff. On September 21, 1986, he pitched his best game for the Twins, striking out 13 in a start against Texas (taking the hard-luck 2-1 loss while pitching a complete game). The problem was he could never seem to be healthy. His health improved when he went to Houston, though he still missed quite a few games. But he was an above-average starter for a couple of years, with his best season coming in 1993 when he went 18-4 with a 2.77 ERA. The Twins still have an ABP out on the whereabouts of Todd McClure.

Runner up:

There are a few contenders here, but the Tim Teufel and Pat Crosby for Billy Beane, Joe Klink and Bill Latham deal in 1985 begs the poetic question if Beane goes into the Hall of Fame, will he wear a Twins cap?

1990s

Worst Trade

July 7, 1995: The Minnesota Twins trade Scott Erickson to the Baltimore Orioles for Scott Klingenbeck and a player to be named later. The Baltimore Orioles sent Kimera Bartee (September 19, 1995) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.

Erickson was supposedly on his last legs when the Twins dealt him off to Baltimore. But Erickson, the consummate ground baller, adjusted well when he got away from the fast Metrodome turf. He improved enough to be a decent option at the end of the Orioles rotation, helping get the Orioles to the playoffs the first three years he pitched there. If Klingenbeck isn’t a code name among Twins scouts for a pitcher to avoid, it really should be.

Runner Up:

Paul Sorrento never got a chance to show what he could do at first base because Kent Hrbek was winding down his career at the position. The Twins traded him to Cleveland before the 1992 season, and he worked out pretty well in a Ryan Garko sort of way. The prize of the deal, Curt Leskanic, had a decent career as well, albeit after he went to the Rockies in the expansion draft following the season.

2000s

Worst Trade (so far):

July 15, 2000: The Minnesota Twins traded Todd Walker and Butch Huskey to the Colorado Rockies for Todd Sears and cash.
Yes. Walker was never going to play second base for the Twins again after his feud with Tom Kelly. But how nice would it have been to have him at second base in 2003 instead of Luis Rivas?

One, if not both, of the 2008 trades likely surpasses this one as the worst of the decade. Which one it is depends on whether or not its Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young or none of the above who lives up to his “potential.”

● To not completely slight Santana’s talents, the best five individual seasons by Twins pitchers (IMO):

Johan Santana, 2004
Johan Santana, 2006
Johan Santana, 2005
Frank Viola, 1988
Bert Blyleven, 1973

Santana’s 2007 season ranks in the top 10, easily as well. Not bad for a guy who really only had four full years as a starter in a Twins uniform

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5. Kent Hrbek
6. Bert Blyleven
7. Johan Santana

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 08/05 at 04:53 PM
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Community Twins Player Rankings: #6 Bert Blyleven

The modern love affair that most sportswriters have with “Wins” as a pitching stat is more modern than one would imagine. Cy Young is baseball’s all-time winningest pitcher, and the award that goes to the best pitcher in each league bears his name. One would think that is some kind of MLB sanction that makes him the greatest pitcher of all time. However, when baseball writers met in 1936, it was Walter Johnson and Christy Matthewson who were the first two pitchers elected to the Hall of Fame, with Young finishing a distant third with slightly less than 50% of the vote. The award itself was named for Cy Young shortly after his death in November 1955. Matthewson, the highest vote getter in the inaugural Hall election, passed in 1925 after complications from lung issues after being gassed in World War I. Johnson had passed a decade earlier after battling brain cancer. Who knows what the award would have been named had Kennesaw Mountain Landis or Happy Chandler had the idea to create an award for baseball’s best pitcher?

By the time the 1970s rolled around, however,  wins mattered. The case for why Bert Blyleven should be in the Hall of Fame has been made over and over again ad nausem.  It doesn’t need to be made here again. The case against Bert Blyleven for the Hall of Fame is two-fold. One, he doesn’t have 300 wins. Two, he didn’t have that “big season.” Had Blyleven stayed healthy in 1982 and 1983, odds are he would have cracked the 300 win mark, end of discussion. It didn’t quite work out that way, though. Similarly, the Cy Young Awards of the era tended to go to pitchers who won ballgames. 

In terms of 1970s pitchers, Tom Seaver wins the Richtoven Award for the Ace amongst Aces. Steve Carlton is clearly first runner up.  Jim Palmer and his three Cy Young Awards probably wins the American League Richtoven Award, though you can make a case for Blyleven being a better pitcher as he never had a defense anchored by Brooks Robinson and Mark Belanger to back him up. Nolan Ryan is in the Hall of Fame because he’s the MLB All-Time Strikeout Leader. He’s also the MLB All-Time Walk Leader and that undid his chances for true greatness in his era. Don Sutton is in the Hall-of-Fame. His best seasons are statistically equal to Blyleven’s in terms of ERAs and strikeouts. Then again, Don Sutton pitched on five teams that had overall losing records in a 23-year career. Blyleven wasn’t so lucky. Sutton won 324 games and is in the Hall-of-Fame. How many games would Blyleven have won had the two traded teams? Jim “Catfish” Hunter is in the Hall thanks to five straight 20-win years.  His ERA was only about 4% better than the league average when adjusted for ballpark and his career was shortened by injuries at 31. Blyleven also faced serious shoulder problems at 31, but came back and had a strong finish to his career.

Is there anything else that might be holding Blyleven back from the Hall of Fame? That’s hard to say. Blyleven was always popular with his teammates, but his outspokenness never made him popular among management. In 1976, he forced the Twins into a trade because he felt he wasn’t making enough money. In a pre-cursor to the “I fucked it up” incident, Blyleven flipped off fans at Metropolitan Stadium before his last start with the team. He was traded to Texas on June 1, 1976, and lasted two years there.  His next stop was Pittsburgh, where management accused him more of compiling stats than helping the club win. Blyleven threatened to retire if he wasn’t traded, and the Pirates were more than happy to oblige, sending him to Cleveland.  In 1985, Blyleven forced his way out of Cleveland, sick of playing on losing teams. Minnesota fans forgave him pretty easily, in part because Cal Griffith really was cheap.

Odds are, Blyleven will get into the Hall of Fame eventually. In the end, it’s just too hard to make the argument that the Phil Niekros and Early Wynns of the world were better pitchers, even if they are members of that elite 300 Win Club.

Twins’ Top Players Community Ranking Project results:
1.Harmon Killebrew
2. Kirby Puckett
3. Rod Carew
4. Tony Oliva
5. Kent Hrbek
6. Bert Blyleven  

Be sure to check out our BYTO forums for more discussion and information.

Posted by jewscott on 08/05 at 02:22 PM
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