Monday Morning Madness: June 30, 2014

Weekend Recap

I wrote about Kyle Gibson's road struggles on Friday and then he totally redeemed himself by breaking the Twins' five-game losing streak with an excellent road effort.  The rest of the series was a real drag, although Jorge Polanco's triple in the ninth on Friday was pretty exciting.  In fact, Jorge Polanco's everything is pretty exciting.

Joe Mauer

Over the last ten games, Mauer has raised his average about 15 points.  If he maintains that pace, he'll be hitting over .400.  So yeah, pretty good.  That's probably not realistic, but it does seem that Mauer is getting his proverbial stuff together.  His line drive rate has been slowly climbing and it seems that he has been finding more holes on the field.  Maybe he is figuring out the "Mauer shift" or maybe his luck is evening out or maybe nothing is different at all. 

No one is happy that Mauer is having a bad season (even if it seems like some revel in it at times) and a productive Mauer is extremely important to the success of the Twins.  It seems that he could be on the path back to his old self.  I hope so.

Sam Fuld

So you know when you join a new website and you have to create a password?  If you don't set up a proper password, you get that red "x" next to your choice and you have to enter a new password.  I think baseball lineups should be entered in the same manner.

There are literally 11 better options than Fuld.  Fuld's OPS is better than only Kendrys Morales and Pedro Florimon.  One of those is a fluke and the other is a from a guy who probably shouldn't have a Major League job (more on that shortly!).  Fuld plays center, runs fast and is short.  Those three things alone should not overshadow that Fuld plays poorly, can't run when he isn't on base, and, well...I can't think of something that pairs with his height. 

It's almost as if the Twins are on a runaway bus that is set to explode if anyone thinks outside of the box.  Pop quiz hot shot:  Isn't it bad enough that the lineup options are so limited that Sam Fuld has to simply be in the lineup every day?  It doesn't mean he needs to be put in a position where he could bat upwards of five times in one game. 

How's that for a 20-year-old reference?

Pickles Dillhoefer

Oh my goodness.  I hate when people say "it was better in my day" or "they don't make things like they used to" because there's some serious confirmation bias working there.  However, it's a scientific fact that nicknames were better in the early 1900s.  I found Ol' Pickles up there because I was doing some Pedro Florimon research. 

Florimon is currently hitting under .100.  His OPS is just barely above .300.  If Florimon can somehow get to 100 plate appearances this season (and I think we all hope he doesn't), he'll be the first player since 1931 to hit under .100 and have an OPS under .300 with 100 or more PAs.  Unreal.  It wasn't Pickles, it was Ed Connolly, but Pickles did hit .126/.144/.158 in 104 plate appearances in 1917.  He's also went by "Pickles."  If Florimon starts going by "Pickles" Florimon, he'll become my favorite player, even with a .100 BA.    

Former Twin Update - Ryan Doumit

I think it's safe to say the Twins sold Doumit at the right time.  When they originally signed Doumit, I thought it was a safe, smart signing.  He performed well for the Twins to start the 2012 season and earned an extension.  However, he was always a comedy act in the field and his value as a batter was tied up in his power. 

The Twins unloaded Doumit for Sean Gilmartin this past December and if Gilmartin can simply perform as a sign post, he'll provide more value than Doumit has in 2014.  Doumit isn't playing very often, shocking considering his defense and the lack of a DH in the NL.  He currently has a strikeout-to-walk ratio over ten.  TEN!!!  He wore number 9 in his final season with the Twins, so I'd like to see that ratio dip just a tad in honor of his Twins' career. 

Random Top Ten List - BB/9 in a season since 1961

Rk	Player	BB9 ▴	Year	Age	Tm	GS	W	L	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	FIP	ERA+	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1	Carlos Silva	0.43	2005	26	MIN	27	9	8	188.1	212	72	9	71	3.44	4.18	130	.290	.300	.441	.741	93
2	Bret Saberhagen	0.66	1994	30	NYM	24	14	4	177.1	169	54	13	143	2.74	2.76	153	.254	.271	.389	.660	75
3	Cliff Lee	0.76	2010	31	TOT	28	12	9	212.1	195	75	18	185	3.18	2.58	133	.240	.255	.363	.618	66
4	Bob Tewksbury	0.77	1992	31	STL	32	16	5	233.0	217	56	20	91	2.16	3.13	158	.248	.265	.353	.618	81
5	Greg Maddux	0.77	1997	31	ATL	33	19	4	232.2	200	57	20	177	2.20	2.43	189	.236	.256	.311	.567	50
6	Bob Tewksbury	0.84	1993	32	STL	32	17	10	213.2	258	91	20	97	3.83	3.36	103	.301	.318	.412	.730	102
7	David Wells	0.85	2003	40	NYY	30	15	7	213.0	242	98	20	101	4.14	3.94	106	.286	.306	.442	.749	96
8	LaMarr Hoyt	0.86	1985	30	SDP	31	16	8	210.1	210	81	20	83	3.47	3.44	102	.261	.280	.386	.666	91
9	Phil Hughes	0.87	2014	28	MIN	16	8	4	103.0	110	41	10	88	3.58	2.60	112	.273	.289	.397	.686	91
10	Jon Lieber	0.92	2004	34	NYY	27	14	8	176.2	216	85	18	102	4.33	3.71	104	.301	.317	.442	.758	97
11	David Wells	0.92	2004	41	SDP	31	12	8	195.2	203	81	20	101	3.73	3.88	104	.266	.285	.410	.694	89
12	Greg Maddux	0.99	1995	29	ATL	28	19	2	209.2	147	38	23	181	1.63	2.26	260	.197	.224	.258	.482	29

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/29/2014.

Phil Hughes is doing something borderline historic this season.  Only eight pitchers have qualified for the ERA title and posted a lower BB/9 in a season (since 1961).  Obviously, this season is only roughly halfway over and Hughes has a lot of innings left to throw, but it's still crazy just how great he has been at limiting walks.  It's still shocking to see Carlos Silva at the top of that list.  Hughes already has more strikeouts this season than Silva had that season.  Wild.  Wait, no, not wild.  In control, but wild.  The other wild. 

Get Excited About a Prospect - Nate Roberts

Roberts is not a household name, like say, Coke or Tide, but he is a very intriguing baseball player.  He returned to action last week after missing roughly 45 seasons due to injury.  Roberts is so interesting because he's an absolute Minor League OBP Machine.  His career OBP is over .440, just a ridiculous number even for an older guy at lower levels.  Baseball karma owes this guy some good fortune, so I'm just going to hop headfirst onto his bandwagon.  Even if he makes his MLB debut at 50, I bet he'll walk in his first plate appearance. 

AIM Chat with 12-Year-Old Brad

 

    KPuckFan34123456:  Hey Future Brad.

    BSwanson0928:  Oh hey, I don't have a lot of time, I have to
    go to the Twins game.

    KPuckFan34123456:  Oh fun, lucky!  

    BSwanson0928:  Eh, I guess.

    KPuckFan34123456:  You aren't excited?

    BSwanson0928:  Well, it's a work night and traffic is awful

    and I'll have to walk from the ramp or pay a lot.

    KPuckFan34123456:  But you get to go to the game.

    BSwanson0928:  Well, yeah, but it's not that great.

    KPuckFan34123456:  Why not?  I love going to the Dome.  

    BSwanson0928:  Well, the Dome is gone, it was replaced with

    Target Field, an outdoor stadium.

    KPuckFan34123456:  Oh, even better!  Isn't it really nice 

    outside in June?

    BSwanson0928:  Eh, it's a little hot, sometimes buggy.  It

    might be a little too sunny too.

    KPuckFan34123456:  Sounds rough...

    BSwanson0928:  Are you being sarcastic?  Do 12-year-olds

    use sarcasm?  

    KPuckFan34123456:  It's just lame that you're being lame

    about going to a baseball game.  I wish I was going to a game

    tonight.  

    BSwanson0928:  You'll learn new adjectives soon.  Well, 

    it's different when you're older.

    KPuckFan34123456:  Why?  Do I start to not like baseball?

    BSwanson0928:  No, I still like baseball a lot.  I write about 

    it like three times a week.

    KPuckFan34123456:  You'd rather write about it than go to 

    a game.  You're weird.  I'm going to be weird.

    BSwanson0928:  I'm probably being a baby.  It will be fun

    once I get there.  It always is.  

    KPuckFan34123456:  Always, how often do you go?

    BSwanson0928:  4-5 games a year, although in college I went 

    to like 15-20 games a year.  

    KPuckFan34123456:  College sounds fun.  We had a math 

    test today.  It was easy.  

    BSwanson0928:  Math is cool.   

    KPuckFan34123456:  No it isn't.  I'm going to go now.  

    Have fun at the game.  

    BSwanson0928:  Thanks, I will.

Random Baseball Card from the Past - David Arias

I think I figured out why David Ortiz didn't become Big Papi with the Twins.

It's one thing to keep the bat on your shoulder, it's another thing to keep the bat near both shoulders.  Plus, that's a great way to break a finger.  This card is either shockingly expensive (like $30!), or I don't know how much cards are worth.  

Plugging My Way - Brian Dozier is interesting

Last week, I wrote about Brian Dozier and what a handso...I mean interesting man he is.  Statistically, he's having a good, but super weird season.  If you want more details, just click here.  Also, I may have uncovered the fact that Brian Dozier is Mike Schmidt.  This would be a pretty big discovery. 

Parting Thought

The Twins are awful on the road lately.  They return home for this week and I hope they can pick up a lot of wins.  The Royals have cooled off and the Yankees are hardly scary, but it's still two winning teams coming to town.  If the Twins have any ambition of being in the Wild Card race, they need to have a great week.  I hope you have a great week too!