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.

Quick Notes - Nov. 27

The Admitting of Errors and Omissions:
The Twins haven't really erred or omitted -- as far as I can tell -- but I have. Specifically, I've omitted (although there's a better than even chance that I've erred as well, but I'm not aware of what it is yet).

Last time, I totally forgot to mention that Alexi Casilla was claimed off waivers by the Orioles. I not only forgot this event happened, but I also forgot Alexi Casilla existed. Not to be mean or anything, but I've always had a hard time remembering that he's on the team. It's not that I don't recognize him when I see him, or know the name when I hear it. I do. But when I was challenged to name the roster, I was pretty likely to leave him off the list. And this is a guy who was with the team for six years.

This is sort of fitting, I suppose. He always would come oh-so-close to being a respectable big leaguer, but he never amounted to anything to get excited about. Sure, he'd show flashes of awesome defense, and the few hits he did get seemed to come at highly clutch times, but he didn't really impress me much.

Best of luck to him.

The Tendering of Contracts:
Teams have until 11 pm Central Time November 30 to decide if they'll offer their arbitration-eligible players contracts. The Twins players are:

• Drew Butera
• Brian Duensing
• Jared Burton

I really can't envision keeping Drew Butera around with all the other catchers currently on the 40-man roster.  But it would be just like the Twins to keep him. I fully expect Burton and Duensing to be offered contracts. 

Anyone not tendered a contract will become a free agent.

The Meeting of General Managers in the Winter:

MLB's Winter Meetings will take place December 3-6 in Nashville. All the General Managers get together to talk shop, eat and drink, and maybe discuss trading players. And the media folk hang out in lobbies, hallways, elevators, and public restrooms to see if they can get a nugget of a hint of an inkling of a rumor.

In addition to the other shenanigans, the Rule 5 draft will take place on December 6. Any player who is not currently on a team's 40-man roster and who has been with his team for four or five years (depending on how old he was when he was drafted) is eligible to be drafted by other teams under Rule 5. And if a player is drafted under Rule 5, he must be on the new team's 25-man roster for the entire next season or be offered back to his original team -- or a trade could be worked out (that's what happened with Scott Diamond).

To prepare for the Rule 5 draft, the Twins added a bucket-load of players to the 40-man roster to protect them from being drafted:

• RHP Kyle Gibson
• RHP BJ Hermsen
• OF Aaron Hicks
• C Josmil Pinto
• IF Daniel Santana
• LHP Caleb Thielbar
• LHP Michael Tonkin
• RHP Tim Wood

That fills up the 40-man roster, so there's no room to add anyone should the Twins want to draft someone, unless, of course, one or more of the arbitration-eligible players above are non-tendered.

That's it for now. I think. Hmm...pretty sure I didn't forget anything. We'll see.

Quick Notes - Nov. 14

I've been out of blogging commission for a while; I've been laptopless (not to be confused with topless -- or lapless for that matter). That's been resolved, so here I am again. Not that there's much shocking news to write about, but here it is anyway.

New Guys
The Twins have added a few new players, but no one to get really excited about.

Infielder Tommy Field (yes, a fielder named Field) and right-handed pitcher Josh Roenicke were claimed off waivers. Relief pitcher Tim Wood and catcher Eric Fryer signed minor-league deals with invitations to Spring Training.

Field and Roenicke are currently on the 40-man roster, but they may be designated for assignment prior to the Rule 5 draft in December (they would have to go through waivers again in order to be assigned to AAA).

Current Guy
Samuel Deduno was outrighted to AAA. He was briefly a minor-league free agent, but he quickly re-signed a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

Old Guys
Free agent pitcher Scott Baker signed a 1-year deal with the Cubs for $5.5 million with another $1.5 million in incentives. Baker and the Twins had been interested in a contract reunion, but they weren't close enough to get it done. Joe Christensen of the StarTribune reported that the Twins wanted an option for 2014, but Baker wanted to be a free agent again next off season. It's not often when you see the team wants more years than the player. I also think the Cubs paid more than what the Twins should have paid. Anyway, best of luck to Scott.

Former Twin and Angel Torii Hunter is back in the AL Central. He signed a nice, fat contract with the Detroit Tigers for 2 years, $26 million. Wow. I know he's a good player and all, but he's not a youngster any more. I'd wish him the best of luck, but I don't want a division rival to have any luck.

Former Twin and new Marlins manager Mike Redmond will have an interesting first season with the team. The Marlins sent away a number of their star players to the Blue Jays for cheaper players. It was a 11-player affair. I have to believe that a deal this complicated takes a long time, and it was in the works when he interviewed for the job. At least, for his sake, I hope so. Best of luck to him.

Hearty congratulations to former Twin and current Met RA Dickey for winning the NL Cy Young award. Now before Twins fans get all in a snit about how we no longer have a guy who's good enough to win the Cy Young, remember that his knuckleball was still very much a works-in-progress back in those days. In fact, when he signed with the Mets, it was a minor-league deal. At any rate, he had a great season; best of luck for next season.

Quick Notes -- Nov. 1

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning the World Series. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was surprised that the Tigers weren't able to make a better series out it, especially after they mopped up the Yankees so handily. But it's just as well; the weather wouldn't have cooperated in Detroit for a game 5. Silly old Sandy.

~~~

Now that the World Series is over, players who qualify have become free agents. Friday at 11 pm Central time is the deadline for the former teams to have exclusive negotiating rights with free agents. After that time, the players may discuss contracts with any team.

Teams won't get an additional draft pick if their former players sign with other teams unless they offer a qualifying one-year deal first. The dollar amount for the qualifying deal is the average of the top 125 salaries in MLB. That wound up being higher than expected -- originally it was believed to be about $12.5 million; turns out it's something like $13 million. This qualifying offer thing doesn't affect the Twins at all.

The Twins free agents are Carl Pavano, Matt Capps, and Scott Baker.

Carl Pavano pitched in only 11 games in 2012 due to a bum shoulder. Too bad, too. Just when everyone started believing he could be durable (after two-plus solid years for the Twins), he's not any more. I haven't heard any indications that the Twins are interested in re-signing him. I did, however, see on some lame rumor site that "sports talkers in the Twin Cities have been speculating that Pavano is planning to hang up his glove this winter...." Ok, I had not heard that at all; I guess I don't listen to the right "sports talkers." While I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Pavano does retire, I'm not going to rely on some South Florida gossip monger to give me reliable baseball news. Here's the link to the site: http://gossipextra.com/2012/10/25/carl-pavano-florida-house-1952/

Matt Capps had a $6 million team option, but the Twins declined it and paid him a $250,000 buyout. Capps' 2 1/2 years in Minnesota didn't go as well as everyone had hoped due to injury and ineffectiveness. He's not a horrible pitcher, but he just isn't a good closer. He seemed like a really nice guy; I hope he hooks on with another team.

Scott Baker had a $9.25 million team option, but the Twins declined it. There was no buyout. However, the scuttlebutt around town is that both Baker and the Twins are interested in hashing out a deal that would be less money but a lot of incentives. Baker missed all of 2012 due to surprise Tommy John surgery (the surgery wasn't the surprise, the fact that it had to be ligament replacement was). I'd be cool with him coming back.

~~~

The Twins are preparing their 40-man roster for the off-season; a bunch of guys got outrighted right off of it. Matt Carson, Carlos Gutierrez,  Jeff Manship, Luis Perdomo, Esmerling Vasquez, Kyle Waldrop, and PJ Walters were designated for assignment to the minor leagues.

The players have to pass through waivers, and Gutierrez didn't clear; the Chicago Cubs claimed him. So he's gone.

Players with a certain amount of service time may decline the assignment, thereby becoming minor-league free agents. Walters did just that, but then he turned right around and re-signed a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. I don't really get why he declined a minor-league assignment just to re-sign a minor-league contract, but I guess the new deal is better somehow.

~~~

The Twins announced their 2012 Diamond Awards. Josh Willingham was named Twins MVP, Scott Diamond was named Pitcher of the Year and Outstanding Rookie, and Ben Revere was named Best Defensive Player and Most Improved. I figured that Joe Mauer was the more valuable player, but I don't have a problem with Willinghammer winning it. He had pretty good numbers, and I really like him. So, good for these guys for being the few bright spots in a dim season.

~~~

Hearty congratulations to our old friend Mike Redmond. He's just been hired as the manager of the Miami Marlins, replacing Ozzie Guillen. I'm so happy for Red-dog. I really miss his personality around the Twins team. I'm glad he can take his legendary "naked walkabout" to bigger and better clubhouses.

Way to go, Mike. Smell 'em.

Chicks Dig The Infield Fly Rule -- Somtimes

An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.
When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare Infield Fly for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare Infield Fly, if Fair.
The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul.
If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder, not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpires judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpires judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.
When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.

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I love the Infield Fly Rule. I love it because everyone knows about it, but no one really understands it. It's my go-to for smacking down knowledge on doofuses who don't believe that a chick can really understand baseball.

Whether you're a die-hard or casual fan, after Friday's Braves-Cardinals game, you've thought and heard more about the Infield Fly Rule than you ever expected. Probably more than you wanted.

Let's recap what happened: Braves had two runners on base with one out. The batter, Andrelton Simmons, lifted a pop up to short left field. Neither the Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma nor left fielder Matt Holliday caught the ball. Bases loaded with one out, right? Wrong! The Infield Fly Rule was called; batter's out and the runners go back to their original bases. Also, a fan riot ensues.

Infield Fly Rule?! In the outfield?! Really?!

Was it the right call? According to the rule, a ball "which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort" is called an Infield Fly. It specifically doesn't state where the ball should be caught, only that an infielder, or other player positioned in the infield, should be catching it -- as long as it's in fair territory. So, under the letter of the rule, it's not an incorrect call.

Did this call make a difference in the game? After I saw some replays, it looks to me like Kozma was camped under the ball, and when the umpire called the Infield Fly, Kozma believed Holliday was calling him off and he ducked away. If the umpire, Sam Holbrook, would have zipped his mouth, Kozma would have remained under the ball, and made the catch. Batter's out and the runners go back to their original bases. Just the same thing, without all the chaos afterward.

But (and it's a big but), with all that being said, I believe it was a bad ball. It wasn't necessary wrong, but it was poorly applied.

The spirit of the rule is to protect the base runners from the infielder intentionally dropping the ball and initiating a double play. That wasn't at all at risk of happening in Atlanta.

Also, what does "ordinary effort" really mean? Ordinary for whom? Even though the Kozma appeared to be camped under the ball at one point, I believe that it still took more than ordinary effort for him to get there. I'm not familiar with how he plays, but he seemed pretty speedy on that play.

Because this is an "umpire's discretion" call, no amount of appealing, or replaying, or robo-umpiring will change it. And it shouldn't. But the umpires need to make more sound decisions.

Boom Goes the Coaching Staff

The Twins front office and ownership really hate losing. And who doesn't. So they wasted no time setting into motion a bad day for a bunch of members of the Twins coaching staff (it couldn't have been a ton of fun for the Terry Ryan, Dave St. Peter, and Jim Pohlad either). No one technically got fired; their contracts were not renewed.

Bullpen coach Rick Stelmazsek, third-base coach Steve Liddle, first base coach Jerry White, and head athletic trainer Rick McWane are newly unemployed. Hitting coach Joe Vavra has been re-assigned as an infield instructor, and bench coach Scott Ullger has been re-assigned as an outfield and baserunner instructor.

Pitching coach Rick Anderson's job is still safe -- for now. Either they understood that he didn't have great pitchers to work with the last two seasons, or Gardy told Ryan "if he goes, I go."

Ron Gardenhire still has one more year on his contract, but he will not get an extension yet. He'll have a lot to prove in 2013, and he knows it.

All this may have implications for the AAA team as well. Rochester manager Gene Glynn, pitching coach Bobby Cuellar, and hitting coach Tom Brunanski are rumored to be in the running for the open positions.

So as brutal as all this was -- only one field coach, Al Newman, had previously been fired during Gardy's tenure -- I'm not convinced it'll help much. I understand that the coaches are responsible for much more than what fans see on the field. And we can all agree that many of the players weren't properly prepared for game days. But these guys were there for the good times, too. They didn't suddenly forget how to do their jobs.

The problem was talent, or lack-thereof, not coaching. None of this will mean anything, or matter much, if that fact isn't addressed this off-season.

I sincerely hope that these guys find new gigs or enjoy satisfying retirements, whichever they prefer.

I also sincerely hope that whoever is brought in is wildly successful.

The k-bro Twins Post-season Awards

As the Twins wrap up another disappointing season, it would be easy to just throw up my hands in a snit and curse them all. But Twins baseball is still better than no baseball. For all the complaining I've done about pitching and leaving men on base, I want to spend a blog post focusing on the good things these players did this season. So, for what it's worth, I'll present the k-bro baseball blog 2012 Twins Awards. Put on your fancy-dancy duds and let's have an awards show.

Twins Pitcher of the Year Award (if the League award is the "Cy Young Award", what is the Twins' version? The "Bert Blyleven Award"? The "Jim Kaat Award"? I vote for the "Brad Radke Award", but then, I would...)

This one should be pretty easy. It's pretty telling that every member of presumed starting rotation when Spring Training started -- Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn, Jason Marquis, and Francisco Liriano -- failed make it to September as a member of the Twins 40-man roster. So the Twins were forced to cobble together a rotation of not-ready-for-primetime players. Only one man showed anything resembling consistency and demonstrated that he can stay healthy. Congratulations to Scott Diamond.

Twins Rookie of the Year Award
Normally, I'm not a fan of giving one guy more than one award. I like to spread the love. Unless, of course, that one guy is really special. Not only did Scott Diamond provide stability in a sea of inexperienced pitching, he also gave fans some hope for the future. He didn't fade toward the end of the season which indicates to me that he'll only get better.

Twins Most Impressive Newbie
In his first off-season back in the GM chair, Terry Ryan made a number of impressive free-agent signings (well, except for that whole Jason Marquis thing). Jared Burton, Jamey Carroll, Ryan Doumit, and Josh Willingham have all exceeded my expectations for them when they signed. As upset as I was that the Twins did not re-sign Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer, this group helped me move on. But I'm especially having fun with having a legitimate right-handed home run threat. Congratulations to Josh Willingham...and his boom stick.

Twins Most Valuable Player
The definition of the term "valuable" has been hotly contested all over the papers, airwaves, and internet this season. Some regard hitting a lot of home runs and driving in a lot of runs as valuable. I tend to look at a player's all-around game. I believe defense and getting on base provide just as much value as the other things. Therefore, Joe Mauer is my enthusiastic choice. Denard Span did have a better WAR (wins above replacement) stat, but that's because he provided a lot of defensive value at center field with good, but not great, offensive value. However, I think Mauer's overall value was much better, and his offensive numbers were fantastic. Plus, he had to handle a struggling pitching staff. I never really understood the fans who booed him this season; what more do these people want?

~~~

Make Up Paper Doll
I have been remiss. The Twins made a DL move, and I didn't even notice. In my defense, I don't understand why they bothered to use the DL because they didn't call anyone up to fill the roster spot. But anyway...

On September 14, the Twins placed pitcher Cole De Vries on the disabled list, retroactive to September 9, with a cracked rib. A line drive off the bat of Cleveland Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera got De Vries right in the gut. He stayed in the game, and pitched well, but admitted he was pretty sore. Initial x-rays were negative, but a subsequent MRI revealed the crack.