SB Nation - Corey Koskie

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:38:02 -0000

Craig Counsell slides right into the projected 2010 roster.

Some things to read while she digs for her phone.

It's finally time to back off the comments about Randy Wolf not wanting to be here. Wolf said all the right things in his introductory press conference yesterday, and now actually appears happy to be a Brewer. Jen Lada was also at the press conference, and tweeted four quotes giving a nice feel for Wolf and the organization's excitement to have him.

The Brewers also announced Craig Counsell's new deal yesterday (FanShot). Counsell will earn $2.1 million next season along with some playing time incentives. The Bucky Channel says moves like this one are "crucial when trying to make a smaller market team a contender." Fire Doug Melvin is fine with the move, as long as Counsell doesn't take playing time away from Mat Gamel.

With Wolf and Counsell officially on board and LaTroy Hawkins (physical on Wednesday) and Claudio Vargas (physical on Friday) expected to be added by the end of the week, Adam McCalvy notes that the Brewer 40 man roster is about to be full, which might mark the end of any major Brewer moves in free agency. Two notes on that:

If you're still waiting for the Brewers to sign another starting pitcher, odds are you'll be waiting for a while. Adam McCalvy said Doug Melvin probably regrets comments he made months ago suggesting the Brewers were looking to sign two starters.
Secondly, the 40 man roster may be full, but it's a "soft" full. Room could almost certainly be made by outrighting new acquisition Luis Cruz or Tim Dillard, who would most likely go unclaimed at a time of year when no one has many 40 man spots to spare.

The roster crunch was one of the reasons cited for non-tendering Mike Rivera. Brewed Sports isn't too happy with the decision, and also notes that non-tendering the team's lone returning catcher pokes a hole in arguments used to support starting Jason Kendall last season.

Speaking of crowded situations, you can add David Riske to the list of pitchers to pencil into a bullpen spot to start the season. Doug Melvin said Riske expects to be ready for spring training (FanShot). That's bad news for Chris Smith, Chris Narveson, Zach Braddock and Chuck Lofgren, among others, who now may be fighting for one roster spot. If Mark DiFelice hadn't gone down, they'd all come to Maryvale on the outside looking in. A lot can happen between now and then, of course.

And speaking of Chris Smith, Brewerfan.net asked someone from the Brewer organization to verify some of their option info, and discovered that Smith doesn't have any options left. Obviously, Smith wouldn't be a major loss, but it's possible someone would claim him if he were available.

Meanwhile, we reached the final conclusion of the Mike Cameron era in Milwaukee yesterday, as he agreed to a two year deal with the Red Sox (FanShot). Cameron's strikeouts and one memorable dropped fly ball made him a polarizing talent as a Brewer, but most advanced metrics seem to agree on his significant value, and you'll rarely hear anything negative said about him as a teammate and clubhouse presence. If you missed it last night, Jordan has a goodbye post for him.

How lucky are the Brewers to have Ryan Braun? I think we occasionally forget how rare it is for a player to have an impact as immediate as his in the major leagues. Braun hit the second most home runs of any major leaguer in their first 162 games, and also collected the tenth most hits, making him the only player to appear on both lists.

Speaking of luck, Braden Looper's 14 wins last season made him the most unlikely winner in major league history.

Another day, another new poll for our BCB All Decade Team. You have until 4 pm today to select a catcher, and until 4 pm tomorrow to select our final starting outfielder. So far Damian Miller and Geoff Jenkins are leading those votes, respectively.

After looking at the candidates at catcher, I'm starting to wish I had gone this route instead: Camden Chat has an All-Awful lineup for the 2000-2009 Orioles.

And actually, speaking of awful: Rob Neyer has a ranking of the Top 100 players of the 2000's, and while former Brewers CC Sabathia (#25), Mike Cameron (#36), Ray Durham (#71), Jose Valentin (#88) and Corey Koskie (#92) are on it, Prince Fielder is nowhere to be found.

Around baseball:

Angels: Signed Hideki Matsui to a one year, $6.5 million deal.
Astros: Re-signed outfielder Jason Michaels to a one year deal.
Blue Jays: Signed catcher Ramon Castro to a one year, $1 million deal.
Mariners: Signed catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to a minor league deal.
Marlins: Signed pitcher Clay Hensley to a minor league deal.

Of course, the biggest transaction "announced" yesterday appears to be far from done, and may take several days to be made official: A three way deal would send Roy Halladay to the Phillies, Cliff Lee to the Mariners and prospects to the Blue Jays. You might recognize this trade as one several bloggers mocked Ken Rosenthal for suggesting over the weekend. I guess he knows something after all.

Happy birthday today to 2005-2006 Brewer Rick Helling, who turns 39.

Drink up.

Should the Twins Bring Back Joe Crede?

Jesse — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:18:29 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Browse more photos »

Last February, Scott Boras client Joe Crede dropped his asking price enough for the Twins to sign him to an incentive-laden deal. He was exactly as advertised, from the glove to the power to the number of games he was healthy, but with the Twins going into 2010 with third base in essentially the same position it was at going into 2009, should the Twins double-dip on their experiment?

Okay, so the situation isn't exactly the same. Crede will be another year older with another injury-plagued season under his ~~back~~ belt, there are a pair of third base prospects that are nearly major league ready (Are they the next Casey Blake / Corey Koskie tandem? No? Right, then.) and the alternatives will be a bit more expensive. But in spite of all those things, the team is still in a similar position as they don't have the one sure answer that they need.

His '09 deal of $2.5 million base with playing time incentives ($50,000 for 400, 425, 450, 475, 500 and 525 plate appearances) and award incentives made his possible payout a reasonable $7,000,000. Suffice it to say he didn't reach any of those, so the Twins paid just the minimum. But according to the FanGraphs value scale, they still believe that Crede would have been worth $8.3 million on the open market for the performance he gave this past summer. How? Because of his defense and the position he plays, and did I mention his defense, Crede was worth 18.4 runs above replacement.

Among third basemen with at least 350 plate appearances, FanGraphs values Crede's defensive performance as fifth-best in all of baseball (behind Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman, Chone Figgins and Adrian Beltre) in terms of fielding runs above avearge. He also tallied the highest UZR/150 total among third basemen with more than 700 innings in the field.

Long story short? Crede plays some wicked defense. Arguably better than any third baseman on the free agent market.

Joe knows the Twins, and isn't opposed to returning to Minnesota next year. Would playing more regularly on a non-artificial surface play less havoc on his back and knees?

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Joe Crede	90	333	42	75	16	1	15	48	29	56	0	0	.225	.289	.414

We all know the risks involved with Crede, which means the game would be all about how to mitigate those risks to both the player and the club. That means possibly giving him scheduled days off to keep his body as fresh and healthy as possible, not to mention offering a contract that resembles the 2009 version that will pay for good health.

Other free agent options are likely to cost more than Crede. Internal options may not be the health risk, but none of them can flash the leather like Crede, either.

What would you rather do? A Brendan Harris/Matt Tolbert platoon would cost a little less, but not significantly less than a $2.5 million base. Another thought: when (not if) Daniel Valencia gets his callup in 2010, what kind of a player do you want available as a mentor?

There's merit in considering Crede's return, it would just have to meet the right criteria. Where do you sit?

Poll

If you were Bill Smith, would you try to re-sign Joe Crede?

Yes, given the right conditions

846 votes

No, I'd move in another direction

202 votes

1048 votes | Poll has closed

Saying Goodbye to the Metrodome: Top 5 Memories

Jesse — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:00:23 -0000

What are yours?

Barring a minor miracle, tomorrow night the Minnesota Twins will open their final series in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. 28 baseball seasons ago, on April 6 1982, the first baseball game was held as the Twins played host to the Seattle Mariners. In just a few hours the Kansas City Royals will be baseball's last visitors under teflon skies.

There are a lot of easy memories when you think back. Of course there's the unbelieveable run by the 1987 Twins, when they returned to Minneapolis down three games to two but still took down the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games; Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky and Frank Viola became household names over night while a 36-year old Bert Blyleven threw a now unthinkable 267 innings. Even more of you might choose the 1991 incarnation of the Twins, starring some of the same characters while also including franchise names like Rick Aguilera, Chili Davis, Brian Harper, Kevin Tapani, Shane Mack, Scott Erickson and Jack Morris; Puckett's homer in game six and ten innings of shutout baseball by Morris in game seven. Or maybe you were there for the alpha, for a 102-loss team with 22-year olds Herbie and Viola? How about the completion of one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the organization, when the team won the AL Central title after the final out of their season was recorded in 2006?

I'm too young for some of these, at least to remember them properly. My top five metrodome memories will all be from games where I was actually there; when I was actually sitting in those horribly placed seats, under a dirty yellow sky. Check out my top five after the jump, and then feel free to share your own.

Five

This one isn't even baseball. In high school I was lucky enough to be part of a team that made the state playoffs for football. Two consecutive seasons I got to play at least one game on the turf of the Dome, the same turf as Puck and Hrbek and Radke, the same turf as Anthony Carter and John Randle and Randall McDaniel, as a member of the Breckenridge Cowboys in November of '95 and '96.

Four

On June 22, 1992, my family made a trip to the Cities for a vacation away from Greater Minnesota, and I saw my first Twins game. The Angels were in town. We arrived early enough to watch the guys warm up in the outfield, and I can still remember how in awe of them I was. They were just a few feet from me, in the flesh--real, live people, not on television. Kent Hrbek wasn't in the lineup that day, but I still got to see Knobby and Kirby. Knoblauch singled in the first, stole second base and eventually would score on a Chili Davis single. In the seventh Brian Harper walked, Pedro Munoz doubled moving him to third, and two batters later Harper scored on a Greg Gagne sac fly to make it 2-0. That was the final score, the Twins winning my first ever game on the back of those two runs and 8.1 innings of scoreless ball thrown by John Smiley. Aggy got the save, of course.

Three

I went to a Twins - Blue Jays tilt with my friend Mike on June 22, 2007. There were four drunk Jays fans in front of us, and honestly I don't even remember what the score was, although I do know the Twins won. Why? Because all I can remember is this:

Why did I take this picture, you ask? Why wouldn't I take this picture. Nasty.

Two

I got goosebumps when I saw Johan Santana pick up his 1000th strikeout on June 13, 2006, as I went to a game to see myself in Dugout Splinters for the very first time and to catch a game with some friends a couple days before my birthday. But while Johan more than did his job, striking out 13 over eight innings while allowing just five hits, he couldn't hold the Boston Red Sox scoreless. Jason Varitek's line drive home run to center field put Boston up 1-0, and the Twins would only manage to tie the game on a Michael Cuddyer homer in the bottom half of the inning. Santana left the game tied, and it wasn't solved until Jason Kubel decided to make Julian Tavarez pay for intentionally walking Torii Hunter to get to him. With the bases loaded and the count full, Kubel took Tavarez deep for a walk-off grand slam home run. It. Was. Amazing.

One

On April 5, 2004, Opening Day, I watched as the Twins slowly sunk to a four-run deficit through six innings at the hands of the Cleveland Indians. Brad Radke struggled early, giving up a second inning homer to Travis Hafner and a third inning homer to Jody Gerut, before settling down for the next couple innings. He gave up another solo shot to Hafner in the top of the sixth, and there wasn't any life in the Twins' offense, which had managed just one hit (a single by Shannon Stewart to lead off the bottom of the first) off CC Sabathia over seven innings. But then came the bottom of the eighth.

Joe Mauer walked to lead things off, and Christian Guzman followed that up with a single before the top of the order cylced around and Stewart moved both runners up on a ground out. Cuddyer followed with a hard liner to center, scoring both runs, and was moved to third base on a Doug Mientkiewicz single. Corey Koskie was sitting dead red on a 2-2 pitch and drove it into the left-center gap for a ground-rule double, scoring Cuddyer to maker it 4-3, before Hunter singled to tie the game and finish the scoring for the inning. Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy struck out to end the rally.

Then all went silent once more.

via www.minorleagueballparks.com

J.C. Romero, Joe Nathan and Juan Rincon combined for three scoreless innings. Aaron Fultz and Joe Roa had already combined for two of their own, but those three bridge us to the bottom of the 11th. Jones struck out again, for the fourth time in four at-bats. LeCroy managed to squeeze out a walk, and was replaced on the bases by Nick Punto. Mauer pulled a hard shot into right field, allowing Punto to take third on the one out single. Guzman struck out for the second out of the inning. Alertly, Mauer took second base on defensive indifference with Stewart now at the dish, giving the Indians the option of intentionally walking Stewart to face Cuddyer. Chad Durbin and the Indians decided to go after him, and Shannon repaid them by smashing a line drive home run into the left field seats, about four rows in front of where I was sitting. The crowd went absolutely berserk, and I'm pretty sure Mike and I were already nomiating Stewart for MVP on the back of his strong showing with the Twins in 2003.

This, of course, was also Joe Mauer's very first game with the Minnesota Twins. I studied him closely before the game started, warming up with Brad Radke in the bullpen. There appeared nothing unusual, he wasn't wearing bling and he wasn't acting up and he didn't strut. He just squatted down, held out his glove and let Brad warm up. From moment one Joe was all business, even when his name was announced (hitting eighth, by the way) and the crowd rained down applause like they already knew he was Baby Joe Jesus. That in itself almost qualifies as another memory, seperate from the game, that I will always remember.

What about you?

Happy Birthday Corey Koskie

Tom Dakers — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:13:32 -0000

Haven't done one of these in a while but I couldn't pass this one up. Corey Koskie turns 36 today. Corey was born in Anola, Manitoba. I suppose it reinforces everything that Americans think about Canada, but I know people that knew Corey when he was young. He was drafted in the 26 round of the 1994 amateur draft, but he beat the odds and made it to the Twins in 1998. In 1999 he became a full time player.

Before the 2005 season the Jays signed him as a free agent. Unfortunately he had his one poor season of his career, injury plagued, it was the first time that he slugged under .400 in a full season in the majors and only season wear he had an OPS+ under 100. After the season the Jays traded for Troy Glaus, causing a logjam at third so they traded Koskie to the Brewers for Brian Wolfe.

In 2006 he suffered a concussion that ended his career. He tried to make a comeback this year, he was on the roster for Canada in the World Baseball Classic and was with Cubs during spring training. But he decided to retire, likely as much to set a good example for his son, who got a concussion this spring too.

Corey had a very good 9 year career, hitting 124 homers, driving in 506 run and finishing with a .275/.367/.458 batting line. I'm sure if we did a top 50 Candian born players he would be high up on the list. If, you know, I ever finish the top 50 Jays list.

Happy birthday Corey. Hope you have a good one.

2009 Twins On Pace to Become One of Franchise's Most Powerful

Jesse — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:00:59 -0000

The boys go boom.

With Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel each launching another long ball Friday afternoon, the Twins have now belted 68 home runs in 63 games. This puts them on a pace for 175 home runs, which is a number they could surpass if everyone stays healthy, but even that pace would give them seventh place in franchise history for home runs.

For your browsing pleasure, here are the top five bombers for each of the six teams in front of our projected '09 crew, as well as how our leaders project out after this afternoon's win over the Cubbies.

1963, 225 HR	1964, 221 HR	1986, 196 HR	1987, 196 HR	2004, 191 HR	1962, 185 HR	2009, 175
Harmon Killebrew, 45	Harmon Killebrew, 49	Gary Gaetti, 34	Kent Hrbek, 34	Corey Koskie, 25	Harmon Killebrew, 48	Joe Mauer, 46
Bob Allison, 35	Bob Allison, 32	Kirby Puckett, 31	Tom Brunansky, 32	Jaque Jones, 24	Bob Allison, 29	Justin Morneau, 41
Jimmie Hall, 33	Tony Oliva, 32	Kent Hrbek, 29	Gary Gaetti, 31	Torii Hunter, 23	Zoilo Versalles, 17	Joe Crede, 32
Earl Battey, 26	Jimmie Hall, 25	Tom Brunansky, 23	Kirby Puckett, 28	Justin Morneau, 19	Vic Power, 16	Jason Kubel, 28
Don Mincher, 17	Zoilo Versalles, 20	Roy Smalley, 20	Tim Laudner, 16	Lew Ford, 15	Rich Rollins, 16	Michael Cuddyer, 24

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With Each Team

TheJay — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:48:24 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

A long time ago, in a league 98 miles away, this guy was part of the Brewers' last trade with the Yankees.

Browse more photos »

One of my favorite parts of each year's team media guide is the page listing the Brewers' last trade with all the other major league teams. Maybe it's because it's so esoteric, maybe it's because of all the "some-team-wanted-him?" thoughts it prompts, or maybe it's the idea that for years Brewers and Mariners management had a bitter blood feud getting in the way of amicable trading. I don't know. Either way, let's take a trip down memory lane, transaction-style:

(note: PTBNL below stands for "Player to be Named Later," defined here)

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With...

Arizona Diamondbacks - 11/25/2006
Traded LHP Doug Davis, LHP Dana Eveland, and OF Dave Krynzel for C Johnny Estrada, RHP Claudio Vargas, and RHP Greg Aquino
Atlanta Braves - 12/7/2005
Traded RHP Wes Obermueller for RHP Dan Kolb
Chicago Cubs - 8/31/2004
Traded OF Ben Grieve for LHP Andy Pratt and cash
Cincinnati Reds - 1/14/2000
Traded OF Alex Ochoa for OF Mark Sweeney and a PTBNL (RHP Gene Altman)
Colorado Rockies - 12/13/2004
Traded RHP Marcos Carvajal in exchange for cash
Florida Marlins - 11/25/1996
Traded RHP Eddie Collins for LHP Joel Adamson
Houston Astros - 9/11/2007
Traded RHP Dennis Sarfate for cash
Los Angeles Dodgers - 3/26/2007
Traded OF Brady Clark and cash for RHP Elmer Dessens
New York Mets - 11/20/2007
Traded C Johnny Estrada for RHP Guillermo Mota
Philadelphia Phillies - 7/28/2006
Traded RHP Wilfrido Laureano for 3B David Bell
Pittsburgh Pirates - 12/7/2007
Traded RHP Marino Salas and RHP Kevin Roberts for RHP Salomon Torres
St. Louis Cardinals - 8/22/2003
Traded RHP Mike DeJean for two PTBNL (RHP Mike Crudale and RHP John Novinsky)
San Diego Padres - 7/25/2007
Traded LHP Joe Thatcher, RHP Will Inman, and LHP Steve Garrison for RHP Scott Linebrink
San Francisco Giants - 7/20/2008
Traded OF Darren Ford and LHP Steve Hammond for 2B Ray Durham
Washington Nationals - 9/4/2007
Traded a PTBNL (1B Andrew Lefave) for LHP Ray King

The AL teams are after the jump.

Baltimore Orioles - 7/16/1999
Traded a PTBNL (RHP Al Reyes) for RHP Rocky Coppinger
Boston Red Sox - 7/31/1998
Traded IF Eddy Diaz for RHP Joe Hudson
Chicago White Sox - 12/13/2004
Traded OF Scott Podsednik, RHP Luis Vizcaino and a PTBNL (IF Travis Hinton) for LF Carlos Lee
Cleveland Indians - 7/7/2008
Traded OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson, and a PTBNL (OF Michael Brantley) for LHP CC Sabathia
Detroit Tigers - 7/1/2007
Traded RHP Jose Capellan for LHP Chris Cody
Kansas City Royals - 3/27/2007
Traded RHP Ben Hendrickson for a Marxist Empire
LAnaheim Angels - 7/31/2002
Traded OF Alex Ochoa and C Sal Fasano for C Jorge Fabregas and 2 PTBNL (RHP Pedro Liriano and IF John Raburn)
Minnesota Twins - 11/15/2002
Traded RHP Gerry Oakes and RHP Matt Yeatman for RHP Matt Kinney and C Javier Valentin
New York Yankees - 8/23/1996
Traded IF Pat Listach and LHP Graeme Lloyd for OF Gerald Williams and RHP Bob Wickman
Oakland Athletics - 5/23/2007
Traded RHP Alec Zumwalt for cash.
Seattle Mariners - 5/19/2005
Traded C Pat Borders for cash.
Tampa Bay Rays - 4/22/2008
Traded OF Gabe Gross for RHP Josh Butler
Texas Rangers - 7/28/2006
Traded OF Carlos Lee and OF Nelson Cruz for RHP Francisco Cordero, LHP Julian Cordero, OF Kevin Mench, and OF Laynce Nix
Toronto Blue Jays - 1/6/2006
Traded RHP Brian Wolfe for 3B Corey Koskie

This information comes out of the Brewers' 2009 Media Guide. I believe all listed trades include someone on the 40-man roster for one of the teams. Any errors are mine in transcription or not diligently checking MLB's work.

Clever Headline Goes Here: Cubs vs. Diamondbacks, Wednesday 4/29, 2:40 CT

Al — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:30:10 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Here's another perfect "Make Up Your Own Caption" photo.

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Intersting stat note: Alfonso Soriano has seven homers in April. That's one short of the club record for the month (set by Sammy Sosa in 2000), with two games to go.

Bad news from that same link:

Sidelined since Friday because of a calf strain, third baseman Aramis Ramirez showed little improvement again Tuesday and could be facing the disabled list by the end of the week.

"He ran but couldn't accelerate at all," manager Lou Piniella said. "The plan is we're going to wait until Thursday and have him run again in Chicago, and if it's not any better then, we're going to have to weigh all our options. ... We don't have any infielders."

A-Ram is the Cubs' best all-around hitter and they miss his defense at 3B. If he has to be DL'd, they are going to have to go outside the organization, I think, to find someone to fill in -- having Mike Fontenot at 3B and Aaron Miles at 2B is not really something you'd want to do for any length of time. If only Jake Fox could play third base. But he can't. It's a real shame that Corey Koskie couldn't come back; he'd have been a perfect backup if healthy. So would have Mike Lamb, had he not just signed with the Mets.

Good news: Derrek Lee is expected back in the lineup this afternoon.

Go figure: Chad Gaudin, in his first start for the Padres, threw five scoreless innings. In Coors Field.

The roof at Chase Field was open for the two night games, but I'm guessing it will be closed this afternoon, as temperatures push past 90 and many D'backs pitchers prefer it closed; the ball doesn't seem to carry as well there with the roof closed.

In addition to making up a caption for the attached photo of Lou and Kosuke, perhaps you can come up with a clever headline for this game preview post. Sometimes the headlines write themselves; sometimes they come easily. Today, neither happened.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Ryan Dempster Cubs	vs.	Doug Davis Diamondbacks

1-0	W-L	1-3
4.88	ERA	3.67
21	SO	20
11	BB	7
3	HR	5
vs. Hou	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ryan Dempster	1-0	4	4	0	0	0	0	24.0	23	13	13	3	11	21	4.88	1.42

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Doug Davis	1-3	4	4	0	0	0	0	27.0	28	11	11	5	7	20	3.67	1.30

Doug Davis has handled the Cubs much better than most teams -- 7-6 lifetime with a 3.52 ERA, compared to his sub-.500, 4.22 career ERA. He keeps them off balance with junk. None of the current Cubs really hits him well -- Ryan Theriot is about the best at 4-for-9. Like a lot of Arizona's starters, they haven't hit during his starts, which is a big reason he's 1-3; the D'backs have scored a total of six runs in his four starts. So I wanted to mention Davis' major league debut on August 9, 1999 for the Rangers, in which he came in in relief with a manageable 6-3 deficit and by the time he was removed, he had given up 11 hits, 3 homers and 10 earned runs. May he have such a day today.

As I wrote last time he started, Ryan Dempster has got to stop walking so many hitters. Last year his success was, in part, due to the fact that he kept his walks down. He did a bit better in his last start, walking only one in six innings. Dempster is 1-4, 5.73 lifetime vs. the Diamondbacks, but most of that comes from several bad starts he made long before he was a Cub. Among current D'backs, only Felipe Lopez (4-for-23) has more than 6 career AB vs. Ryan, who threw six innings of three-hit, seven-K ball vs. Arizona in his only start against them in 2008 on May 10; the Cubs won, but Dempster got a no-decision that day.

Today's game is a cable extravaganza on CSN Chicago and FSN Arizona. For more see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Remembering Corey Koskie

Jesse — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:56:48 -0000

With his retirement over the weekend, it's the end of a career for one of the core guys that led the Minnesota Twins out of the dark ages.

It's hard for me to remember much of anything specific about Corey Koskie. I remember him making some great stops at third base, and I remember always wishing he'd put up offensive numbers like he did in 2002. So in honor of Justin Morneau's Canadian predecessor, here are Koskie's best offensive gems as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

#5: July 12, 2001
Twins 13, Brewers 5

Starting Lineup:
Matt Lawton, RF
Christian Guzman, SS
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Corey Koskie, 3B
Torii Hunter, CF
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Jacque Jones, LF
Luis Rivas, 2B
Kyle Lohse, P

In Milwaukee, Lohse was pitching well until the eighth inning...but by then the game was over. Koskie led off the top of the second with a double to center, and eventually scored on a Jones grand slam. The next inning Koskie followed (Mientkiewicz) and preceeded (Hunter) solo home runs with one of his own, putting the Twins up 7 - 0. He doubled in Guzman in the sixth and homered in the eighth to finish his role for the day.

Line: 4-for-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 2 HR

#4: July 5, 2001
Twins 12, White Sox 2

Starting Lineup:
Matt Lawton, RF
Christian Guzman, SS
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Corey Koskie, 3B
Chad Allen, DH
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Torii Hunter, CF
Jacque Jones, LF
Luis Rivas, 2B

Joe Mays threw off a rough start to give his offense a chance to take back the game, and they did in a big way. Koskie tripled to lead off the second inning and scored on an Allen fly to tie the game at one. In the third, Koskie doubled in Lawton and Guzman to give the Twins a three-run frame and give them the only lead they'd need. His three-run bomb in the fourth put the game out of reach.

Line: 3-for-5, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, 3B, HR

#3: April 8, 1999
Twins 11, Blue Jays 9

Starting Lineup:
Torii Hunter, CF
Denny Hocking, SS
Todd Walker, 2B
Marty Cordova, DH
Matt Lawton, RF
Chad Allen, LF
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Terry Steinbach, C
Corey Koskie, 3B

Joey Hamilton put the Jays in a big hole early before Eric Milton returned the favor, but in the end this one was an offensive slug-fest. Already leading 2 - 0 by the time he came to the plate for the first time, Koskie added to the score by singling in Mientkiewicz and later scoring on hit by Cordova. A two-run double in the third made in 7 - 1 Twins, and a 25-year old Koskie was having one of the best days of his career. In the fourth the Jays had closed the game to 7 - 6, but after manufacturing one run, Koskie plated two more on a single to left field. Minnesota hung on to win, with Rick Aguilera notching his first save of the season.

Line: 3-for-5, R, 5 RBI, 2B

#2: May 12, 2000
Twins 4, White Sox 3

Starting Lineup:
Christian Guzman, SS
Jay Canizaro, 2B
Matt Lawton, RF
Ron Coomer, 1B
Butch Huskey, DH
Corey Koskie, 3B
Matt LeCroy, C
Jacque Jones, LF
Torii Hunter, CF

Koskie gave the Twins an early lead after walking and then scoring on a Jones single. In the fourth he scored off of Jones again, this time after pulling a Jim Parque offering into right field, giving the Twins a 3 - 0 lead. With the game tied at three in the sixth he singled, reaching base for the third time in the game, but was stranded after Jones and Hunter struck out. In the eighth, with the game still knotted at three, Koskie singled again; he was then thrown out trying to steal second base. Finally, in the tenth, Coomer walked and David Ortiz singled for Huskey. Koskie came through again, singling and scoring Coomer to give Hector Carrasco the only support he'd need to nail down a save.

Line: 4-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB

Best Game: June 19, 2003
Twins 16, Royals 2

Starting Lineup:
Jacque Jones, LF
Christian Guzman, SS
Corey Koskie, 3B
Justin Morneau, DH
Torii Hunter, CF
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Dustan Mohr, RF
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Luis Rivas, 2B

This one was all Twins, with the offense chasing Kasas City starter Kyle Snyder after four innings; Mays went eight strong for the Twins. Koskie led off the scoring in the first by driving in Jones from second base. After getting called out on strikes in the third, Koskie put what would be another of many, many nails in the Royals' coffin by knocking in Guzman. A three-run homer in the fifth and a solo shot in the ninth would top off one hell of a day.

Line: 4-for-5, 3 R, 6 RBI, 2 HR, 1 BB

Thanks for the memories, Kos! It's a shame the concussions had as much of an effect on your career as they did, but you were a big part of this time for a handful of critical years.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:05:11 -0000

Some things to read while everyone else is writing about the same thing.

I banged my head on my desk a few times this morning after reading this post from Tom H. which acknowledges the possibility that Mike Lamb and Tony Gwynn Jr. could start the season on the roster while Casey McGehee (who still has an option) and Chris Duffy (in camp on a minor league deal) are sent to AAA.

I get the premise: Stockpiling talent is a good thing, throwing it away is to be avoided if possible. But neither Lamb nor Gwynn are exceptional talents. Gwynn was below average in AAA each of the last two seasons and Lamb has been little more than a below average corner infielder for years now. Keeping them on the roster in place of players who could perform the same duties with a higher upside is like walking past a dollar on the sidewalk because your pockets are already full of pennies.

Meanwhile, Trot Nixon is playing his way out of camp and the Brewers have let him know he may not have a job in AAA either. (Also noted in FanShot) Nixon has played in 20 games this spring, hitting .105/.227/.211 in 38 at bats.

Speaking of players who aren't showing much this spring, if Trevor Hoffman isn't ready to start the regular season, David Riske will not be his replacement. Seth McClung is the pick over at View From Bernie's Chalet. He thinks the Brewers should take this opportunity to see if McClung can close next season, when Hoffman will likely be gone.

Regardless of how McClung starts the season, at least he knows he'll get to play somewhat regularly. Tom H. has a profile of Mike Rivera, who discusses what it was like to sit on the bench for weeks on end, including the Brewers' last 34 games in 2008.

I'm sure some Brewer fans wish Jeff Suppan would sit for weeks on end, too, but they're bound to be disappointed. With the announcement that Braden Looper will start on Thursday, Ken Macha implied that Jeff Suppan will be on the mound when the Brewers open the regular season on April 7. (Also noted in FanShot) Keeping Suppan in the #1 spot would mean the Brewers will pitch Suppan, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra against the Giants, then Looper, Dave Bush and Suppan again against the Cubs.

Yovani Gallardo didn't have a great day on the mound yesterday, allowing six runs in five innings, but there is one encouraging note to pass along: Gallardo was scheduled for 90 pitches yesterday but threw 98, meaning he's pretty close to being fully stretched out.

On previews, rankings and projections:

Batter's Box Interactive has twelve questions about the NL Central, and wants to know what to expect from Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall and Jeff Suppan. Don't we all?
David Chalk of Bugs & Cranks has a Brewers/Rays comparison that likely isn't actually worth your time.
The Scores Report predicts the Brewers will finish third.
MLB Outsider ranks Ryan Braun as MLB's third best left fielder.

Jeremy Jeffress throws 100 mph and has quickly climbed the ladder to Huntsville in the Brewer farm system. He's also been suspended for smoking marijuana and has never thrown 100 innings in a season. As a result, it's probably no surprise that Jeffress is included in Dugout Central's list of hyped pitching prospects likely to fail.

Another day, another economics story: The Brewers have now filed three lawsuits in five days against businesses and suiteholders who owe them payments for the 2009 season.

In other camps:

Astros: Cecil Cooper thinks the Astros can win 90 games this season.
Dodgers: Shawn Estes will remain with the team and work to make the transition to the bullpen.
Giants: Returned West Bend native and Brewer killer Ryan Rohlinger to minor league camp.
Marlins: Cleared the final hurdle yesterday in securing financing for their new stadium, and could break ground yet this summer.
Padres: Signed Shawn Hill to a minor league deal.
Rays: Returned Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez to the White Sox. Also, B.J. Upton is unlikely to be ready to start the regular season after taking a pitch off his hand in a minor league game.
Reds: Released Daryle Ward and Aaron Fultz.

It's good news and bad news with Nate McLouth this spring. As The Book Blog notes, he appears to understand the sabermetrics of base stealing, but is completely lost on fielding metrics.

Can one get The Book on tape? If so, Alfonso Soriano and all of his neighbors could listen to it on his ridiculous car stereo.

Denard Span will have to settle for a smaller stereo after paying his fine for sloppy pants-wearing.

As we've mentioned previously, Corey Koskie retired this week, ending his attempted return from post concussion syndrome. Minor League Ball takes a look at his unlikely career.

Finally, despite the fact that he was 42 years old, hadn't pitched in over a year and was unsigned for 2009, it was big news yesterday when Curt Schilling announced his retirement. The news was so big, in fact, that ESPN didn't even have time to make sure they weren't showing a picture of Jose Canseco instead.

Drink up.

Spring Game Recap, Jays Lose To Reds

Tom Dakers — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:13:38 -0000

Jays 0 Reds 3

Ricky Romero, is suddenly back in the mix for one of the two open starting rotation jobs. Ricky didn't do too bad, going 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs and struck out 5. After the crappy start for Clement yesterday and Janssen's shoulder soreness, even a fairly average start for Ricky helps his chance. Brian Burres pitched 2 scoreless innings and Jeremy Accardo pitched 1 inning, gave up a single and triple and a run.

Offensively we did almost nothing: Aaron Hill was 2 for 3 and stole a base. Scott Rolen was 1 for 2 with a triple. Wells had a single in 3 times up and Raul Chavez was 1 for 2.

Notable ofers: Joe Inglett was 0 for 4 and is hitting .211, getting harder to make a case for him. Alex Rios was 0 for 2 with a walk. Johnny Mac was 0 for 2 and is hitting a big .143. Randy Ruiz and Aaron Matthews were 0 for 3 but then they aren't going to make the team anyway.

Tomorrow David Purcey starts as the Jays play the Phillies. Marco Scutaro is back from the WBC and will play tomorrow and Travis Snider who missed some time with a sore knee will play, The game is on Gameday audio tomorrow so we'll get to listen in.

In other news, Curt Schilling and Corey Koskie have each annouced their retirement. I'm sorry about Koskie, he apparently dove for a ball in a spring game and felt nauseous after. Add in that his 6 year old son suffered a concussion in football game and he figured it was a sign that he ought to quit. It is really too bad, I was just talking to someone that knew him from Manitoba a couple of weeks ago, saying what a great guy he is. At 34 he's too young to retire but he did have a good career.

SB Nation - Corey Koskie

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Should the Twins Bring Back Joe Crede?

If you were Bill Smith, would you try to re-sign Joe Crede?

Yes, given the right conditions

No, I'd move in another direction

Saying Goodbye to the Metrodome: Top 5 Memories

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

Happy Birthday Corey Koskie

2009 Twins On Pace to Become One of Franchise's Most Powerful

The boys go boom.

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With Each Team

Clever Headline Goes Here: Cubs vs. Diamondbacks, Wednesday 4/29, 2:40 CT

Remembering Corey Koskie

#5: July 12, 2001Twins 13, Brewers 5

#4: July 5, 2001Twins 12, White Sox 2

#3: April 8, 1999Twins 11, Blue Jays 9

#2: May 12, 2000Twins 4, White Sox 3

Best Game: June 19, 2003Twins 16, Royals 2

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Spring Game Recap, Jays Lose To Reds

#5: July 12, 2001
Twins 13, Brewers 5

#4: July 5, 2001
Twins 12, White Sox 2

#3: April 8, 1999
Twins 11, Blue Jays 9

#2: May 12, 2000
Twins 4, White Sox 3

Best Game: June 19, 2003
Twins 16, Royals 2