Childhood Hazards

We all had a good chuckle (and by "chuckle," I mean "eye-roll") when we heard that Anthony Swarzak cracked a couple ribs when he and a teammate engaged in what the team officially calls "horseplay." Now, we're hearing that Scott Diamond's bone chips -- you know, the ones that required surgery in December -- occurred because he was jumping rope.

It makes one wonder whether players participating in common children's activities is perhaps unlucky.

Fortunately, I am not the only one who is concerned by this. We here at k-bro's baseball blog have been granted exclusive access to the following directive.*

To: All Minnesota Twins Players and Prospects
From: The Minnesota Twins Training and Medical Staff
Re: Off-field Hazards

It has come to our attention that some players are engaging in risky behavior which has potential to result in injury. In order to mitigate this risk, we have deemed it necessary to mandate that the following activities and items are forbidden unless properly supervised by a member of the coaching or training staff.

• Wrestling, tickling, tag, ghost in the graveyard, and other horseplay. It's all fun and games until someone cracks his ribs.
• Jump rope, double-dutch, hopscotch, dodge ball, may poles, and other playground equipment. Again, it's all fun and games until someone needs bone chips removed.
• LEGO® bricks, Hot Wheels® cars, Barbie® doll shoes, jacks, and other tiny items. You don't know true debilitating pain until have stepped on one of these items. Also, imagine the beat-down you'd get if Gardy stepped on one of these and found out you left it on the floor.
• Nerf guns, darts, Red Ryder BB guns, tracer guns, bows and arrows, and other means to launch projectiles. It's a sure thing that if you play with these, you'll shoot your eye out.
• Water balloons, squirt guns, water pistols, bubbles, super soakers, and other means to make the floors slippery (celebratory champagne exempted). Wet floors can cause slips and falls which endanger tailbones.
• Video games, hand-held game devices, and other practically useless devices. Nothing irritates tendons and ligaments like repetitive stress disorders.
• Paper airplanes, coloring books, paper dolls, and other things with sharp edges. These things can cause paper cuts that can get seriously infected. Besides, if you play with a paper doll of yourself, that means you're already injured.  

We here on the training staff are certain that these preventative measures will help ensure an injury-free season.

So there you have it.

*Special thanks to Betsy and Babs for their help in obtaining this information. :)

Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Quick and Dirty 2013 Spring Training Guide

In less than a week, the Twins will officially open Spring Training camp. As of now, 66 players are expected to be there: 34 pitchers, 9 catchers (a lot of catchers needed for a lot of pitchers), 13 infielders, and 10 outfielders. There are a lot of bodies (I imagine the locker room might be a tad crowded), but there are also a lot of holes from 2012 to be filled. By the end of it, there will be 25 men ready to head north and face the Tigers on April 1.

Now, if you're as tired as I am of this miserable winter, you're really looking forward to listening to the Spring Training games once they start on February 23 (you may be especially excited if you're in the Twin Cities area because now that the radio broadcasts will be on FM you can finally get radio reception at work). So I've wrote up this handy-dandy list of all the names you'll hear.

40-Man Roster:

These are the guys most likely to land on the big league club. And those who don't will likely be next in line in case of injury or ineffectiveness. A few guys are on the 40-man simply because the front office wants to protect their future with the team -- removing them from the 40-man roster would expose them to waivers.

Guys We Know and Love (Maybe)

• Alex Burnett. RHP. Age 25. 2012: 67 games for the Twins.
• Jared Burton. RHP. Age 31. 2012: 64 games for the Twins.
• Drew Butera. C. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings and 42 games for the Twins.
• Jamey Carroll. IF. Age 38. 2012: 138 games for the Twins.
• Scott Diamond. LHP. Age 26. 2012: Red Wings and 27 starts for the Twins.
• Ryan Doumit. C/DH. Age 31. 2012: 134 games for the Twins.
• Brian Dozier. IF. Age 25. 2012: Red Wings and 84 games for the Twins.
• Brian Duensing. LHP. Age 25. 2012: 55 games (11 starts) for the Twins.
• Joe Mauer. C. Age 29. 2012: 147 games for the Twins.
• Justin Morneau. 1B. Age 31. 2012: 134 games for the Twins.
• Glen Perkins. LHP. Age 29. 2012: 70 games for the Twins.
• Trevor Plouffe. 3B. Age 26. 2012: Red Wings and 119 games for the Twins.
• Anthony Swarzak. RHP. Age 27. 2012: 44 games (5 starts) for the Twins. Will miss time due to cracked ribs.
• Josh Willingham. LF. Age 33. 2012: 145 games for the Twins.

Guys We Kind of Know As Long As We Didn't Stop Paying Attention Last Season

• Cole DeVries. RHP. Age 27. 2012: Red Wings and 17 games (16 starts) for the Twins.
• Eduardo Escobar. SS. Age 24. 2012: Red Wings, 36 games for the White Sox, and 14 games for the Twins. Acquired in the Liriano trade.
• Casey Fien. RHP. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings and 35 games for the Twins.
• Pedro Florimon. SS. Age 26. 2012: Rock Cats, Red Wings, and 43 games for the Twins.
• Liam Hendriks. RHP. Age 23. 2012: Red Wings and 16 starts for the Twins.
• Chris Herrmann. C. Age 25. 2012: Rock Cats and 7 games for the Twins.
• Darin Mastroianni. OF. Age 27. 2012: Rock Cats, Red Wings, and 77 games for the Twins.
• Chris Parmelee. 1B/RF. Age 24. 2012: Red Wings and 64 games for the Twins.
• Tyler Robertson. LHP. Age 25. 2012: Red Wings and 40 games for the Twins.

Guys From The Twins Minors

• Oswaldo Arcia. OF. Age 21. 2012: Miracle and Rock Cats. #93 of MLB's top 100 prospects.
• Joe Benson. OF. Age 24. 2012: GCL Twins, Miracle, Rock Cats, Red Wings (rehabbing injuries much of the season).
• Kyle Gibson. RHP. Age 25. 2012: rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. #49 in MLB's top 100 prospects.
• B.J Hermsen. RHP. Age 23. 2012: Miracle and Rock Cats.
• Pedro Hernandez. LHP. Age 23. 2012: AA and AAA of the White Sox organization, Red Wings. Acquired in the Liriano trade.
• Aaron Hicks. OF. Age 23. 2012: Rock Cats. #98 in MLB's top 100 prospects.
• Josmil Pinto. C. Age 23. 2012: Miracle and Rock Cats.
• Daniel Santana. IF. Age 22. 2012: Miracle.
• Caleb Thielbar. LHP. Age 26. 2012: Miracle, Rock Cats, and Red Wings.
• Michael Tonkin. LHP. Age 23. 2012: Snappers and Miracle.

Guys We Know If We Paid Attention to Other Teams

• Kevin Correia. RHP. Age 32. 2012: 32 games (28 starts) for the Pirates. Signed as a free agent.
• Mike Pelfrey. RHP. Age 29. 2012: rehabbing from Tommy John surgery (with the Mets). Signed as a free agent.
• Vance Worley. RHP. Age 25. 2012: 23 games for the Phillies. Acquired in the Revere trade from the Phillies.

Guys We Probably Don't Know But We Want to Welcome to the Twins Organization

• Trevor May. RHP. Age 23. 2012: AA in Phillies system. Acquired in Revere trade from the Phillies.
• Ryan Pressly. RHP. Age 24. 2012: A+ and AA in Red Sox system. Rule 5 draft from the Red Sox.
• Josh Roenicke. RHP. Age 30. 2012: 63 games for the Rockies. Claimed off waivers from the Rockies.
• Tim Wood. RHP. Age 30. 2012: AAA or Pirates system. Signed as a minor-league free agent.

Non-Roster Invitees:

While it's more likely that 40-man guys will break camp with the big-league club, these guys have earned the right to try to impress the decision-makers. A quick paperwork effort would make any of these guys a Twin. I predict one or two of these guys will impress enough to make it -- Jared Burton did it last year.

Guys We Know and Love (Maybe)

• Nick Blackburn. RHP. Age 30. 2012: Red Wings and Twins. Will miss time due to wrist surgery.

Guys We Know If We Didn't Stop Paying Attention Last Season

• Samuel Deduno. RHP. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings and Twins.
• Lester Oliveros. RHP. Age 24. 2012: Rock Cats, Red Wings, and Twins.
• Luis Perdomo. RHP. Age 28. 2012: Rock Cats, Red Wings, and Twins.
• Clete Thomas. OF. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings and Twins.
• Esmerling Vasquez. RHP. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings and Twins.
• P.J. Walters. RHP. Age 27. 2012: Red Wings and Twins.

Guys From The Twins Minors

• James Beresford. IF. Age 24. 2012: Rock Cats.
• Chris Colabello. 1B. Age 29. 2012: Rock Cats.
• Brian Dinkelman. OF. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings.
• Deolis Guerra. RHP. Age 23. 2012: Rock Cats and Red Wings.
• Kyle Knudson. C. Age 25. 2012: Snappers and Miracle.
• Danny Lehmann. C. Age 27. 2012: Rock Cats and Red Wings.
• Shairon Martis. RHP. Age 25. 2012: AA and AAA between Pirates and Twins systems.
• Wilkin Ramirez. OF. Age 27. 2012: Miracle, Rock Cats, and Red Wings.
• Dan Rohlfing. C. Age 23. 2012: Miracle and Rock Cats.
• Deibinson Romero. 3B. Age 26. 2012: Rock Cats.
• Anthony Slama. RHP. Age 29. 2012: Red Wings.

Guys We Know If We Pay Attention to Other Teams

• Rich Harden. RHP. Age 31. 2012: Injured (A's). Signed as a minor-league free agent.

Guys We Probably Don't Know But We Want to Welcome to the Twins Organization

• Bryan Augenstein. RHP. Age 26. 2012: AAA of Rays system. Signed as a minor-league free agent.
• Brandon Boggs. LF. Age 30. 2012: AAA of Pirates system. Signed as a minor-league free agent.
• Jeff Clement. 1B. Age 29. 2012: AAA and Pirates. Signed as a minor-league free agent.
• Eric Fryer. C. Age 27. 2012: AAA and Pirates. Signed as a minor-league free agent.
• Alex Meyer. RHP. Age 23. 2012: A and A+ of Nationals system. Acquired in the Span trade from the Nationals. #40 in MLB's top 100 prospects.
• Ray Olmedo. 3B. Age 31. 2012: AAA of White Sox system. Signed as minor-league free agent.
• Mark Sobolewski. 3B. Age 26. 2012: AA and AAA in Blue Jays system. Rule 5 draft from Blue Jays.

Goners:

Don't be looking for these guys. They're not going to be there.

• Scott Baker. RHP. Signed with the Cubs.
• Matt Capps. RHP. Signed a minor-league deal with the Indians.
• Matt Carson. OF. Signed with the Indians.
• Alexi Casilla. IF. Claimed off waivers by Orioles.
• Carlos Gutierrez. RHP. Claimed off waivers by Cubs.
• Jeff Manship. RHP. Signed with the Rockies.
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka. IF. Granted unconditional release and signed with a team in Japan.
• Carl Pavano. RHP. Unsigned free agent. Recovering from a splenectomy.
• Ben Revere. OF. Traded to Phillies.
• Denard Span. OF. Traded to Nationals.
• Kyle Waldrop. RHP. Signed with the Phillies.

10 Things to Do and See at TwinsFest

The days are beginning to get noticeably longer. Football teams are being eliminated from the playoffs one-by-one. The Twins Caravan is in full swing. So it must be almost time for TwinsFest.

I know many fans enjoy going to TwinsFest yearly. Those folks already already know what they want to do. But, if you haven't been in a while, allow me to point out some of my TwinsFest traditions.

1. Make a plan: Be sure to visit the TwinsFest website to view the autograph and photo schedules. If you're in to these things, you'll want to plan your arrival at the optimum time to visit with your favorite players. Now is the time to gather or purchase the items (photos, baseballs, jerseys, etc.) that you want signed. Allow plenty of standing-in-line time.
2. Grab Seth's book: You've already ordered Seth Stohs' Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013, right? It's a must-have for all the cool Twins fans. A fun thing to do is have the prospects sign their entries in the Handbook. If you haven't ordered it, you should get on it (however, you might not get it in time if you opt for standard shipping; there are expedited shipping options). There is also an e-version available for a reduced price. Be warned that I don't recommend you have prospects sign their entries on the e-version of the book. It might ruin your device.
3. Decide whether you'll carry your coat, stash it, or do without: If history is any predictor, it's likely to be the coldest weather in a generation during TwinsFest. This makes it worth taking pause when you're deciding whether your awesome Twins sweatshirt will be warm enough to make the dash to the Dome from your parking spot. If you do wear your coat, try to score a plastic bag when you walk in (they give bags filled with coupons, ads, and other stuff at the doors). If you trust the masses to not steal it and want to stash it among the blue seats, please be considerate to the said masses and stick it somewhere where it isn't likely that some masses will want to place their asses (i.e.: away from the ESPN1500 radio area).
4. Score a grab bag: I love stadium giveaways. Who doesn't? And being the neat freaks that they are, the Twins clean out their closets of all the old giveaways and other treasures, bag them up, and sell them -- a couple years ago, they went for $15 for a large grocery bag. And sometimes, they'll throw in an autographed item. Be sure to get there early, though. They sell out quickly.
5. Get your (or your kids') pic taken with the best mascot in the bigs: There is no doubt that our friend TC Bear is a great mascot. He usually hangs out in the kids' area. And if you're the one getting your picture with him, don't be afraid to butt in line in front of all those kids waiting their turn. (Joking.)
6. Revisit the past: Make sure you take a stroll through the National Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit. They always put on an fascinating display of Twins and baseball heroes from past generations. Plus, you can say howdy to the two Twins World Series trophies.
7. Shop 'til you drop: TwinsFest features the area's largest gathering baseball card and memorabilia vendors. So if you're looking for that elusive 1972 Charlie Manuel card or that Twins-themed Hamm's beer can, you can look for it here. The Twins Pro-shops will also be there, so you can get yourself a sweet new shirsey.
8. Sing your heart out: They'll be holding auditions for singing the National Anthem and God Bless America for the season. So, you're at all musically inclined, you may as well give it a go. What do you have to lose? The worse they can do is point and laugh.
9. Take a load off: It's probably been a while since you've had some horrible stadium food, so grab yourself a Dome Dog and a pop, and take a seat in front of the ESPN1500 radio booth area and listen to what some players, coaches, and other Twins folks have to say. They'll be conducting interviews throughout the event, and it's kind of fun to sit there, rest up, and listen.
10. Get excited for BASEBALL!

See you Friday, January 25th through Sunday, January 27

Book Review: Out of My League

Dirk Hayhurst. Out of My League: A Rookie's Survival in the Bigs. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2012. ISBN 978-0-8065-3553-1

I loved The Bullpen Gospels, Dirk Hayhurst's first book, so much that I went out of my way to recommend it to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, I can't muster that much enthusiasm for his follow-up book Out of My League. In fact, I hesitate to recommend it at all.

While Gospels is primarily a humor book, League is not. I wouldn't expect him to be able to carry the accounts of minor-league baseball hijinks through a second book -- after all, locker room humor is just locker room humor no matter how many times one writes about it. However, I liked Hayhurst and his storytelling so much, I had high hopes for this story.

In Gospels, I really appreciated how he opened himself up and shared his self doubts and family struggles, and League focuses on that aspect of his life. Unfortunately however, this time he comes across as whiny and weak. As far as I can recall, the timeline of the two books is about the same. I understand that minor-league life is very difficult, especially for fringe-y talent players, but I found myself just wanting to scold him to buck up and do better. He didn't become sympathetic to me until the last few chapters.

This book lacked balance. He spent so much energy concentrating on his demons and fears, that his joys and successes seemed out of place and unappreciated. He does share his relationship with his girlfriend/fiancee, but he makes himself seem like such a jerk, I had a hard time believing they're really a happy couple.

I found this book very difficult to get through. My grade: C-.

Quick Notes - Dec. 17 and the WABAC Machine

It's been a while since I've updated, and addition to the Span and Revere trades that I did write about, there's been some activity I need to mention.

When I last did an update, it was right before the contract-tender deadline and the Winter Meetings. Let's go back in time three weeks to catch up.

Sherman, set the WABAC machine ...

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November 30, 2012
Contract-tender Day. This was the date when teams had to decide whether to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players, ensuring that the players stay with the team and likely get a pay raise.

The Twins tendered contracts to Brain Duensing, Jared Burton, and, to my surprise, Drew Butera. However, they declined to offer a contract to Lester Oliveros, who then became a free agent. But then he turned around and re-signed a minor-league contract with the Twins, so it's all good.

And, yes, I didn't even know Lester Oliveros was arbitration-eligible. I had done a fair amount of research, but apparently not enough.


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December 3, 2012

Fifth anniversary of this very blog. 

I remember one of the first posts was something about stressing over Bill Smith's first Winter Meetings where I expected Johan Santana was going to be traded. 

I also remember a few days later the Tigers acquiring Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

These things I remember. Where my cheater glasses are...not so much.

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December 6, 2012
Rule 5 Draft Day. The Twins select RHP Ryan Pressly from the Boston Red Sox.

He's 23 and most likely going to be in the bullpen. It's hard to get excited about Rule 5 draftees; there's a reason they weren't placed on their original team's 40-man roster. But he's young and seems kind of promising.

At any rate, he'll have to be on the Twins' active roster for the entire 2013 season. If the Twins want to take him off the active roster, they'll have to offer him back to the Red Sox or work out a trade.

No one takes any players away from the Twins.


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December 7-11, 2012
Twins sign a whole bunch of players I've never heard of, and Clete Thomas, to minor-league contracts.

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December 13, 2012
Twins sign free agent RHP Kevin Correia.

When I first saw this news, I thought, well, this probably isn't another another Jason Marquis situation. Then I did some research...strictly National League pitcher, in his 30s, beefy ERA, doesn't strike anyone out.

Yeah, it's another Jason Marquis situation.

Crossing fingers that it'll all turn out ok.

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Today
The Twins reportedly are in agreement to sign free agent RHP Mike Pelfrey, pending a physical.

Ok, the Twins may fool me once with signing Jason Marquis redux, but they're not going to fool me twice. This time, research before opinion.

Hmm...strictly National League pitcher, 28, beefy ERA, doesn't strike anyone out. Oh, and he's coming off Tommy John surgery.

Sigh.

Crossing toes now too.

Bye, Benny

In the span of one week, the Twins have traded two speedy centerfielders. And both times, I've had mixed feelings about the deals.

Just when Twins fans handed over the responsibilities of centerfielder, lead off hitter, and 'big brother' to the up-and-coming outfielders to Ben Revere, he was traded to the Phillies for two right-handed pitchers. And just when fans were getting past losing Denard Span, another fun-to-watch, popular player was torn away from us.

Once again, many fans are upset. But for the front office to take this shambles of a ball club somewhere close (or closer, at least) to contention is going to be risky, and messy, ... and painful. And necessary.

Sure, having popular players around puts a few butts in the seats. However, winning baseball games puts a lot more butts in the seats. And for the current state of the Twins, talented starting pitching is more useful to the organization than popularity.

I like the Revere trade more than the Span trade, merely because the Twins received more in return. The Twins received starting pitcher Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May.

Worley will be in the starting rotation right away. He recently had minor elbow clean-up surgery, but he claims he's already fully healed. He didn't have the greatest season in 2012, but he was actually outstanding in 2011. And his nickname is "Vanimal."

May is a highly-regarded prospect, although probably not quite as high as Alex Meyer, whom they got for Denard Span. He didn't have the best numbers in AA last season, so I can't really tell if he'll start 2013 in AAA or repeat AA for a bit.

It's still unclear who will be the centerfielder for the Twins now. The official corporate line is that Darin Mastroianni, Joe Benson, and Aaron Hicks will have opportunities to earn the spot in Spring Training.

I wish Ben all the best in Philly. And, of course, I hope his new fans take good care of him.

I guess I'm not as worried as I was about Ben's ability to get on base.

Adieu Denard

You've most likely heard by now that the Twins have traded center-fielder Denard Span to the Washington Nationals for RHP prospect Alex Meyer today.

Being a fan of a sports team has its downfalls. I wouldn't have much fun being a fan if I didn't get a little emotionally attached to some of the guys. The risk of that, of course, is that it's a bummer when they go away. I will certainly miss Denard.

All the things I've seen on Twitter and websites today about Alex Meyer has been positive. He's a top prospect with the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation guy. That's great for the Twins of 2015. He'll likely start 2013 in AA, and it should be fun to follow his progress. Terry Ryan stated that he still hasn't decided if he'll give Meyer an invitation to Spring Training.

Unfortunately, for casual fans who don't really follow the minor-leaguers, and maybe some hard-core fans who do, this move is less than satisfying. A popular and classy player is gone, and, so far, there hasn't been any desperately-needed improvement to the team for next season. This move kind of hurts for the time being.

Nationals fans should be pretty excited about acquiring Denard. All the national reporters are saying that he is a perfect fit into their lineup. They needed a good lead-off hitter and centerfielder (Bryce Harper will be moving to LF).

Denard should be pretty excited, too. He's now on a team that is a legitimate contender. They're a likable team that should be a factor in the playoffs for a while. I wish him all the best. Nationals fans had better take good care of him.

This apparently means the centerfield and lead-off reins are handed to Ben Revere. That's fine, I can live with that. In fact, I think he's more suited for center than left or right. But I do have an off-season assignment for him: get better at getting on base.