SB Nation - Mike Redmond

December Important Dates

Jon Marthaler — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:31 -0000

A quick rundown of the important dates for the Twins in December, which you may have noticed starts tomorrow. (The lack of November snow here in Minnesota has thrown us all off, so I don't blame you if you didn't notice.)

December 1 - Last day for teams to offer arbitration to free agents

The only person here affected is really Carl Pavano; he is a "Type B" free agent, and the Twins will get a supplemental draft pick if they offer arbitration and he signs somewhere else. Orlando Cabrera is Type A, but by the terms of his contract, the team can't offer him arbitration. Ron Mahay, Joe Crede, and Mike Redmond are also veteran free agents, but since none of the three qualified as Type A or B, the team has no compelling reason to offer arbitration to any of them.

December 7 - Last day for free agents to accept the offer of salary arbitration

If Pavano is offered arbitration, he likely will decline it; I suspect he'd rather take his chances on the open market.

December 7-10 - Winter meetings, Indianapolis, IN

This four-day period is the time in which we all go half-blind refreshing MLB Trade Rumors fifteen times an hour. We'll be updating Twinkie Town about as often, I suspect; this is the four days when the Hot Stove League is truly lava-hot.

December 10 - Rule V Draft

The team's 40-man roster is full to bursting at this point; if the Twins want to pluck a player from somebody else's system, they need to make a move in the next week and a half. Last year, the Twins took Jason Jones from the Yankees system, then ended up trading Charles Nolte to New York in order to keep Jones. Jones went 5-11 with a 5.75 ERA in Rochester last year; Nolte was 5-4 with a 5.29 ERA in A-ball with the Yankees. In other words, not exactly a blockbuster. (And yes, I know that Johan Santana was famously a Rule V pickup, but there are a hundred RA Dickeys for every Santana.)

December is usually the month with the most player movement, as free agents find employers and teams fill holes at the winter meetings. It'll be interesting to see if any of the 2010 free agents end up playing at Target Field next spring.

Five Hours and Counting

Jesse — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:06:18 -0000

Free agency looms. Will any of the Twins five free agents return?

It's been confirmed that the Twins have had opening talks with Carl Pavano's agent, but other than Ron Gardenhire saying he'd be interested in bringing back Orlando Cabrera as his second basemen there's been no news on the rest of Minnesota's remaining free agents.

Mike Redmond

#55 / Catcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 5-11

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 05, 1971

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Mike Redmond	45	135	9	32	5	1	0	7	11	19	0	0	.237	.299	.289

Redmond's had a distunguished career, and he's earned himself a reputation as a "gamer". He plays hard, he's a leader and he's a mentor. With Joe Mauer as the game's best catcher and Jose Morales getting his feet wet with some decent results, Redmond's time in Minnesota as a player is likely done. He'll be 39 next May, and NBP has done the expected and said he'd like to remain with the Twins.

During his five seasons in Minnesota Redmond hit .297/.339/.359 in 931 plate appearances, with 44 walks and 85 strikeouts. I'll remember him for the "Smell 'Em" bit, for hitting .341 in '06 and for being pretty much the best backup a team could ask for.

Odds for a return in 2010: Improbable

Ron Mahay

#37 / Pitcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-2

Weight: 195

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jun 28, 1971

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ron Mahay	1-0	16	0	0	0	0	0	9.0	7	3	2	1	3	8	2.00	1.11

The 38-year old southpaw pitched about as well as you could ask him to down the stretch for the Twins, and he helped to solidify the LOOGY role when Jose Mijares lost his mind and threw at Adam Everett. Over the course of his career he's been a pretty decent relief pitcher, succeeding as a middle relief guy especially when used as that lefty-one-out-guy. Mahay's struggled with his command for most of his career, and he's averaged 4.4 BB/9 across his last three years.

With fewer positions available than there are arms already it doesn't make sense to bring in a LOOGY when it's going to take seven digits to get him to commit, especially when Mijaries can do the job for a fraction of the cost. Thanks for the contributions sir, but I think it might be time to shake hands.

Odds for a return in 2010: Improbable

Joe Crede

#24 / Third Base / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-2

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 26, 1978

	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

He was excatly as advertised in 2009: great with the glove, some pop in his bat, can't get on base and can't stay on the field. At points over the last few weeks I've advocated the possibility of bringing Joe back on a similar contract to the one he signed last February, but the more I tihnk about it the worse of an idea it becomes. If you're going to shell out for a free agent, make sure it's a guy who has a good chance of playing. Don't pay millions for a guy who will require a contingency plan because he's almost a guarantee to miss stretches of time. Nick Nelson spells it out much better than I have.

Crede isn't opposed to returning, and I have to agree with Nick: if the Twins wait this out and try to make something happen at third base but can't by February, then sure, give Crede another shot. In reality, he might get another shot. But I won't be upset if he signs elsewhere, and I'm hoping that I can remember him as the guy who hit the grand slam to put us over the White Sox early in the year.

Odds for a return in 2010: Possible

Orlando Cabrera

#18 / Short Stop / Minnesota Twins

Height: 5-9

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Nov 02, 1974

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Orlando Cabrera	59	242	42	70	13	3	5	36	11	32	2	0	.289	.313	.430

O-Cab was a high-energy guy who brought a buzz to the team when they needed it. Like Crede he came up with some massive and memorable hits, but also like Crede his overall production doesn't warrant a whole lot of consideration for a return. He's already showing decline, and at 35 he's not going to get better.

Cabrera was great to have around and I'll remember him not just for his homer in game 163, but for his relationship with Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla, and for giving the club a shot of adrenaline. Unfortunately second base isn't going to make his millions any more palatable, particularly when there are so many second base upgrades on the free agent market.

Odds for a return in 2010: Possible

Carl Pavano

#48 / Pitcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-5

Weight: 240

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 08, 1976

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Carl Pavano	5-4	12	12	0	0	0	0	73.2	85	39	38	7	16	59	4.64	1.37

This season was a bit of a revival for Pavano, and he proved himself to be a big game pitcher for the Twins down the stretch. When he's healthy he's can strike a few guys out and has good command, and while he'll be 34 in January he's still young enough to have another good season or two to give.

Pavano has stated he'd like to return to the Twins, and naturally the prospect of playing for a competetive team like Minnesota will have some draw. Minnesota's interest is likely mutual, but Pavano's future here (unlike the rest of the guys on this list) will depend greatly on what kind of interest he draws from other clubs and how much they'll be willing to pay him next year.

I expect Pavano to get an offer from the Twins within the next couple of weeks.

Odds for a return in 2010: Realistic

Poll

Which free agent are the Twins most likely to bring back?

Mike Redmond

21 votes

Ron Mahay

4 votes

Joe Crede

65 votes

Orlando Cabrera

41 votes

Carl Pavano

572 votes

None of the above, actually

71 votes

774 votes | Poll has closed

GM Meetings Day 2: Open Thread

Jesse — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:34:55 -0000

Check back periodically for updates...

4:00 pm: Afternoon updates from Joe C.

Congrats to Joe Mauer, who wins his second Gold Glove. Well deserved.
Apparently the GM's are expected to discuss intant replay? I had no idea. At any rate it hasn't been discussed yet.
Bonser, Neshek and Slowey have been reinstated from the 60-day DL.
Joe promises more tonight.

12:45 pm: Some news from around the league

It sounds like Jason Varitek will pick up his part of the option to stay with the Red Sox, which will be a favor to teams across the American League if he continues to hit like he has the last two seasons. Which he probably will. In related news, Tim Wakefield is never going to stop pitching. NEVER.
If the Twins want to put together a package for Roy Halladay to really make a run with an Ace in hand for 2010, it will have to be a package of "quality over quantity". Sorry, Cmath.
Lunch time trade question: would you trade Jesse Crain and Delmon Young to the Royals for David DeJesus? Is it a realistic scenario?

9:30 am: Catching up on the highlights from yesterday

• Carl Pavano wouldn’t mind sticking with the Twins as long as the money is right. Quotes from his agent, Tom O’Connell, imply that Pavano won’t settle for another contract asking for his client to re-establish himself. If he’d still be willing to take an incentive-laden contract at a reasonable price (say something like one year, $5 million with $500K for reaching 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 innings) with an option for a second year, I’d do that. He’s a Type-B free agent, but I’m not sure he’d make more than that taking the arbitration route (which the Twins are sure to offer).
• Twins General Manager Bill Smith has mentioned there will be interest in free agent starting pitchers during the off-season. I have to believe that only three spots (Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey) are locked down.
• It sounds like Ron Gardenhire wouldn’t mind bringin back Orlando Cabrera as the team’s second baseman next season, but it seems highly unlikely the front office would follow through on that.
• The Orioles claimed Armando Gabino off waivers.
• Justin Huber cleared waivers, paving the way for his possible return to Rochester (or the Twins) in 2010.
• Juan Morillo has been added to the 40-man roster, bringing the current tally to 33 (not including 60-day DL guys Boof Bonser, Pat Neshek and Kevin Slowey, or impending free agents Ron Mahay, Mike Redmond, Joe Crede, Pavano and Cabrera).
• Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors has posted his yearly series where he guesses where the top 50 free agents will end up. He thinks Adrian Beltre (number nine on his list) will end up in Minnesota.
• Before the Twins snapped up J.J. Hardy, a number of other teams had been in contact with the Brewers, including the Red Sox, Reds and Blue Jays.

ALDS Pre-Game: Do Or Die...Again

Jesse — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:33:42 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

Browse more photos »

A common theme, I feel.

Joe Mauer will be catching today, playing with a "hip flexor", which basically causes pain any time you try to flex a leg upward; kicking, lifting a knee, that kind of thing. So, really, not idea for your catcher. I'm thinking maybe DH'ing Mauer today, for his own good, would be for the best. With a four-man bench, two of them catchers, I feel it's a move that's pretty much made to order. This is also the kind of game where I'd trust Mike Redmond to come up with a big hit.
Montanatwinsfan noted this earlier, but with Matt Tolbert out due to an oblique strain Brian Buscher is taking his place of the playoff roster. Brendan Harris will get the nod at third base, and hopefully he can make a play or two like he did back in New York on Friday.
Jason Kubel needs to show up today. Four strikeouts in game two, which is just unacceptable by any measurement of success, showed exactly how overmatched he was. The bad news is that it's southpaw veteran Andy Pettitte on the mound, which means Kubel's contributions will be harder to come by. The good news is that pretty much any contribution is better than what he's given the Twins so far.
It's a good thing that Carl Pavano is getting a nod at home in the Dome. I can't imagine what kind of horrible reception he'd get had he started in New York. Not that he couldn't handle it, because I'm sure he could, but no doubt pitching in front of a crowd that's got your back will be much easier. Nick Blackburn managed to largely neutralize that great Yankee offense, and Carl will need to do the same.
It's hard to look at this series thinking "the Twins have to win three in a row" or "the Twins can't lose". You still have to take it one day at a time, because it's no use looking to tomorrow until you've won today. So that's how I'm looking at it: win today. Just win today. Then think about winning tomorrow. One game at a time.
Michael Cuddyer has homered off of Pettitte this year, in Minnesota's one shot at him. Carlos Gomez and Brendan Harris picked up multi-hit days. Justin Morneau went 4-for-4, but for some reason I think he's unavailable tonight.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have already seen Pavano twice this season, both times when he was with the Cleveland Indians. Mark Teixeira is the only Yankee with a homer off him, while Derek Jeter is the only Yankee with more than one hit off him.
I like what Bill Smith had to say in Sid Hartman's column today. No excuses, but with a real understanding of the situation:

"We like our team, we like our players. Any success we have is going to be through scouting and player development. We know we have a great manager and great major league coaching staff. We have a lot of good young players who have come through our system."

This could be the swan song for the Metrodome, but I'd like to play at least one more. Let's take down the Yankees tonight.

Twins Continue Losing to Inferior Teams, Forcing Jesse To "Re-Think" His Concept of Inferior Teams

Jesse — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:10:13 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

3 months ago: Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer, center, slides home safe as Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki, right, fields the late throw during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Home plate umpire Scott Barry, left, watches the play to make the call.(AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

Browse more photos »

Twins 2, Athletics 4

Jeff Manship's 29-pitch second inning resulted in a pair of Oakland runs and a 0-2 deficit. He bounced back, retiring the A's in order in the third and fourth, and at that point had only thrown 69 pitches. Through four innings, okay, it's not ideal, but hey, Joe Mauer would double and score in the bottom half of the inning to knot the game at two (thanks for the sac flies, Justin Moreau and Jason Kubel!). So really, he was in pretty good shape. Right?

Well, Manship walked the #8 AND #9 hitters to kick off the fifth. His hook was slung. Jesse Crain actually retired the next three men, but sadly the first two managed to get off long fly balls and they each produced a run. That made the game 4-2, where we'd end things.

Mauer and Mike Redmond each managed to ground into double plays. It's a catcher thing. In fact, Mauer's double ensured that the 2-6 hitters didn't go hitless on the afternoon (1-for-17). What else can I share with you that was utterly and mind-retchingly frustrating from today? Oh yes, Brett Anderson owned us. Seven innings, a pair of runs, five hits. If you go back and read what I wrote in his scouting report for the game thread, well, he was exactly the pitcher I warned he's been since the end of June. Oakland closer Andrew Bailey may have walked Morneau in the ninth, but I'm pretty sure it was an accident. Because he mowed right through the other three guys he faced.

Orlando Cabrera did make a nice play in the first inning. He ranged back to shallows left field near the foul line in between Brendan Harris (two hits on the day) and Kubel, caught the ball over his shoulder, then doubled Adam Kennedy off of second base.

That's right my friends, today's highlight might have been the double play in the first inning.

It's become abundantly clear over the last few days that the offense is pressing, and putting a lot of pressure on itself. As necessary as that's been considering the type of starting pitching we've had this season, results in those circumstances are never good. You always hear about players being told "not to do too much", but it's pretty evident that on any given night there's at least one guy who is more in his own head than he is inside the batter's box. Or maybe that's just a completely subjective observation and I'm trying to rationalize how this offense continues to underwhelm when we need them the most.

Life is good when your team wins. Hopefully the Twins can win tomorrow. If not, you can always flip over to the Vikings. If they beat Cleveland by anything less than 21 points, I'll be surprised.

Stars
Brendan Harrs: A pair of hits! We'll always take multi-hit days...
Denard Span: One hit, and an RBI at that. We like Denard.
Jose Mijares: 1.2 innings, no runs and four strikeouts. I'm liking Jose, he's been a much needed reliable arm out of the 'pen most of the season.

I Love You But You Make Me Cry
Jeff Manship: It's not your fault really. You should be in the bullpen. It's pretty clear we shouldn't let you go past pitch number 70 yet. Abundantly clear.
Cabrera-Cuddyer-Redmond: A lot of guys didn't get hits today, but there was zero contributions from you guys.
Hope: Yes. My hope makes me cry.

Gardy's love of veterans

cmathewson — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:53:26 -0000

More photos » by Ann Heisenfelt - AP

3 months ago: Chicago White Sox' DeWayne Wise, bottom, scores the winning run on a single by Alexei Ramirez as Minnesota Twins catcher Mike Redmond, top left, bobbles the ball during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. The White Sox beat the Twins 4-2. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

Browse more photos »

It's no secret: Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire loves veteran players. We get that. But sometimes he uses youth and inexperience as an excuse to play veterans long after a younger, better player is ready to help his team win. He's at it again with his preference for Mike Redmond over Jose Morales. This trait is Gardenhire's Achilles heel. Unless he can change his ways, this team is unlikely to get over the hump.

I could cite chapter and verse of cases where Gardy had two options and preferred the slower, less talented veteran over the faster, more talented youngster. The paradigm case is Jason Bartlett. The kid had several years of 400+ OBPs in AAA. He had excellent range and a strong arm. He worked very hard. But, in 2006, Gardy preferred the veteran Juan Castro over Bartlett. Only after Castro stunk up the joint in his first starting opportunity in a 10-year career did the GM intervene and insist that Bartlett become the starter.

The Bartlett case didn't turn out too well, as is painfully obvious. Gardy's loathing for the kid filtered up to the front office (with a new GM), which deemed him expendable in the Delmon Young trade. Now he's the shortstop this team desperately needs. He's third in the league in hitting, leads all shortstops in OPS and is on the verge of winning a gold glove. He also has 24 stolen bases in 29 attempts. In short, he would be the perfect number two hitter to sandwich between Denard Span and Joe Mauer. He'd be the perfect complement to an organizational pitching philosophy that favors sinker balling control specialists. And he's making about $2 million in his first arbitration year.

His absence has created a huge hole up the middle for this team. To fill the hole, the Twins tried Adam Everett, Nick Punto, and Orlando Cabrera, all at a cost of $14 million over three years and the team's 2008 second-round draft choice. And there's nothing on the horizon in the organization to replace Cabrera, who's age is showing ever more every day. If they re-sign him, which I'm sure Gardy will argue for, it will be in the $6 million range per season, raising the cost of the shortstop position in 2010 to $10 million when you include Nick Punto's guaranteed salary. And nobody in their right mind would say Cabrera is anywhere near the hitter or fielder that Bartlett is, nor is he expected to be at the ripe old age of 36.

The Bartlett case is just the most obvious in a string of decisions Gardy makes that favor veterans. He seems to ignore veteran mistakes or lack of ability while simultaneously fixating on small deficiencies in the play of the younger, more talented players. The most obvious case right now is at catcher. Mike Redmond is really struggling and all Gardy can talk about is how Jose Morales needs to go to the Instructional League to work on his catching skills.

Here's an excerpt from the story by Kelsie Smith in the Pioneer Press, which demonstrates Gardy's loathing for youth:

"On Wednesday, the latest topic to whip Gardenhire into a mild frenzy was instructional league.

Asked if he'd like to see Jose Morales head to instructional league after the season is over to work on his catching (Morales, after all, did have a passed ball on a pitch-out this season), Gardenhire said of course, but that it's not likely to happen.

"I've argued that from Todd Walker to (Matt) Moses to all the way up, that if we could get these guys to learn how to play defense, go to instructional league like we used to ..." Gardenhire said. "It just doesn't happen. It's Arizona Fall League; it's a feather in the cap for the organization."

Reading between the lines, Gardy doesn't want to play Morales because he made a mistake in June, so he'd rather play Redmond, who makes mistakes every night. Never mind the fact that Morales started several games in April and didn't have a single passed ball the whole time, including a game when he caught knuckle baller R.A. Dickey's only start. Yesterday's mistakes by Redmond cost the Twins the game, and Gardy's still fixated on how Jose Morales made a mistake in June and so he can't trust him to start at catcher. This is reminiscent of the fateful spring training when Bartlett was hitting .500 and playing great. Then he lost one pop-up in the sun and got sent down for two months while Juan Castro played horribly.

The thing is, young guys make mistakes, old guys make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. Young guys tend to make more mistakes for two reasons: They still have a lot to learn and their skills put them in a position to make more plays, so the percentages dictate more mistakes for more talented guys. A shortstop who can't get to a ball can't make a mistake. A catcher who can't hit can't get caught in a rundown. Gardy's blind spot is to cut old guys slack for making mistakes and to fixate on every little mistake young guys make. A more balanced approach would be to look at the whole picture: Balance the mistakes against the contributions a guy makes to winning. Suppose Morales went 2-4 the night he had that passed ball. Perhaps he contributed two runs to the offense but gave up one run on defense. That's a positive contribution. Gardy's flaw is he allows mistakes to wipe out any contribution.

He also pays almost no attention to numbers when he evaluates young players against veterans. I don't have to remind this crowd that Morales' OPS is .834 while Redmond's is .623. Also, Redmond hasn't had an OPS over .700 in two years. Morales hit very well last year in AAA. with an OPS of .774. And of course, the elephant in the living room is that Redmond is 38 at a position when guys retire at 36. For any other manager, this would be an easy thing. Redmond becomes the cheer leader and Morales becomes the back-up, giving the Twins the option to play Jason Kubel in left and DH Mauer more often. The way Morales is hitting, he could be the primary DH with Kubel in left and Mauer catching.

This is a fatal flaw for a manager in this day and age. You have to develop young guys, be patient, accentuate the positive, work on the negative. A manager must help an organization develop its young talent. At the very least, he should not get in the way of young talent as it becomes available. In this case, it's high time Gardy start developing Morales for next year. And he just might find it helps him win a few ball games this year as well. This is a test to see if Gardy is the right manager for this team, which relies on a steady flow of young talent to win. If Gardy fails this test, I see years of being just competitive enough to draw fans without winning championships with Gardy at the helm.

Joe Nathan Blows the Sweep

Jesse — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:14:07 -0000

More photos » by Ann Heisenfelt - AP

3 months ago: Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Joe Nathan sits in the dugout after he was replaced by Matt Guerrier during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. Nathan gave up back-to-back home runs with two outs in the ninth inning in the Twins 4-2 loss. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

Browse more photos »

Two outs, two strikes. Twice.

Somehow, knowing that the Twins won the series doesn't make me feel any better. In fact, I feel sick. I was ready to write headlines like "Twins Eliminate Sox" or "Punto Wins Game With Head-First Slide Into First Base" or "Twins Say Goodbye To Sox In Style". But NO.

For seven innings Brian Duensing was brilliant. He retired seven on stikes and allowed just ~~four~~ five hits, walking two. Nobody scored. The double plays came at the right time, the strikeouts were huge, and as good as Mark Buehrle was, Duensing was just better. Even when Michael Cuddyer made a catch against the baggy and the umpires played Make Believe, pretending to have seen the ball hit the wall, Brian was able to cowboy up, settle in and retire the White Sox without surrendering a run in a four-out inning.

Buehrle cruised for a while, blowing through five innings and picking up steam before the Twins got to him in the sixth. Jason Kubel picked up a pair of hits off Buehrle tonight, the biggest coming with two outs and the bases loaded in said frame to score Denard Span and Joe Mauer and give the Twins their 2-0 lead. And for a short time, it looked like that would be it.

Fast-forward through a third double play turned against the Sox and Jason Kubel throwing Carlos Quentin out as he tried to stretch a single into a double, through Jon Rauch and another double play, through Joe Mauer (did he stare down Randy "Oops that fastball got away from me" Williams?) getting plunked, through Mark Kotsay and Scott Podsednik (wow did he suck tonight, is anyone surprised?) in the ninth inning.

With two outs, Nathan worked ahead of Gordon friggin' Beckham 0-2 before throwing three consecutive balls and then watching an inside fastball somehow end up in the home run porch. Paul Konerko also saw a two-strike count as Nathan was clearly struggling, and on pitch number seven of the at-bat Nathan's slider ended up about two feet higher than Span could jump in left field. Tie game.

Fast-forward through Jermaine Dye and Quentin walking and Nathan getting pulled. Fast-forward through Alexei Ramirez and his single, through Span's good throw and Mike Redmond being unable to A) block the plate and B) hold onto the ball, through a wild pitch (passed ball?) that got by Redmond. 4-2 Sox, all runs coming with two out, the first three runs coming with two strikes.

I take no joy in the fact that the Sox are still dead in the water, and it's of little comfort that the Twins took two of three. It was the last time the Twins and White Sox would face off in the Dome, the sweep was ours for the taking, and it was blown by the guy who is arguably the best closer in the game.

Here's hoping the Indians can do us a solid and take out the Tigers tonight. After today's game, we could use a favor. Well, another favor.

Stars of the Game
#3: Denard Span (3-for-4, R, .040 WPA)
#2: Jason Kubel (2-for-3, 2 RBI, .257 WPA)
#1: Brian Duensing (7 IP, 4 5 H, 7 K, 2 BB, 0 R, .436 WPA)

Teeth Gnashig and Shredding of Clothes
#1: Joe Nathan (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 HR, 2 BB, 4 R, 1 K, -.396 WPA)
#2: Matt Guerrier (0.1 IP, 1 H, -.429 WPA)
#3: Mike Redmond (0-for-3, ~~passed ball~~, dropped ball on play at the plate)

Twins Waiver Deadline Open Thread

Jesse — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:38:36 -0000

8:32 am -- Nothing deadline specific, but here's some fresh morning breakfast links...

Good ol' Charley Walters thinks that Delmon Young's recent success at the plate will make him easier to trade this winter, and says the Twins haven't approached Mike Redmond about returning next season. So, non-news. How does non-news get printed? And why do I insist on talking about non-news?
More rubbish: Sid Hartman says the Twins won't extend their impending free agents during the season. Sigh. Although this is related to both of these bullet points: Redmond wants to stay in Minnesota.
The Twins have picked up Bert Blyleven's option for 2010. In the broadcast booth, of course.
I'm just impatient. I want Rich Harden, as long as he gets an extension. It's a waste of talent otherwise.

7:38 am -- Deadline is in just over four hours, although last minute deals will probably be allowed to go through. Here's just a few updates since last night.

From LEN III's update late last night, he hasn't had any word from the Twins in regards to their alleged claims on Rich Harden or Brad Penny, but he does say this: "Indications on Sunday were that the Twins were looking into trades involving pitchers other than Penny and Harden."
This has been covered in the commets of our weekend notes, but Phil Rogers thinks Bill Smith will wake up this morning feelin' lucky.

That Was Exciting: Twins 5, Rangers 3

Jesse — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:41:05 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

3 months ago: Minnesota Twins' Brendan Harris, bottom, slides home safely on a squeeze play as Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriquez takes the throw during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, in Minneapolis. Minnesota won 5-3. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

Browse more photos »

Everyone okay?

Both teams had their share of headaches this afternoon. Hank Blalock running into Ivan Rodriguez in foul territory, Josh Hamilton dropping a ball in the gap, Nelson Cruz letting the ball get by him. Twice. Denard Span getting doubled off second base. Joe Nathan double-clutching to botch a double play. There were a lot of mistakes made; more than the fair share for one game.

The Twins still managed to pull it out.

Elvus Andrus singled to score Rodriguez in the third, but until the seventh inning it was the only damage Texas could land off of Scott Baker. Baker had a tight curve this afternoon, and mixing it in with some good movement on his fastball cruised through six innings. All six of Scott's strikeouts came between the second and the sixth, including a pair each for Blalock and Cruz. Even when he allowed base runners, Baker maintained control, and even though he tired in the seventh he gutted out seven great innings.

Jason Kubel had a great afternoon, including giving the Twins their first lead of the day on a frozen rope of a line drive into the right-center field gap that cleared the fence. It was Jason's 21st home run, scoring Justin Morneau who had doubled, and it gave the Twins a 2-1 lead. Oddly enough, Kubel's smash wasn't the highlight of the inning.

Now leading 2-1 and with two outs, Mike Redmond stepped up to the dish. Redmond, who has struggled for much of the season; Redmond, in twilight. Redmond, who until today, had not hit a triple since 2003.

A line drive into the left-center field gap snuck past Cruz just as Redmond rounded first, and as the ball trickled away along the base of the wall, Redmond treated 32,000 fans to something special. He was out of gas by the time he rounded first base, and by the time he turned the corner at second base you could see the mixture of pain and glory in those eyes. Six feet shy of third base Redmond ~~dove~~ belly flopped into the dirt to complete his triple. It energized the fans, it amused the Twins, and there's no doubt it's one of NBP's highlights of the year.

Baker had owned Cruz most of the game, but in the seventh there were some hard-hit balls. Ian Kinsler battled, earning a hard single on the ninth pitch of his plate appearance. Blalock smashed an inside fastball to right field, which Michael Cuddyer caught over his head. Then came Cruz, who homered into the same gap Kubel did, and gave the Rangers their second lead at 3-2.

Jon Rauch's debut was a successful one, giving up a two-out double to Marlon Byrd but logging a scoreless eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts. He did his job, and held the game where it was.

If you missed the bottom of the eighth inning after watching the rest of the game, I pity you. There are certain points in a season that seem pivotal, that are all at once beautiful and magical and perfect, and that's exactly what the bottom of the eighth inning was in today's game. With southpaw C.J. Wilson on the mound, Morneau led off the inning with a six-pitch walk. Gardy chose to leave Kubel in, in spite of his troubles against lefties, and Kubel rewarded his manager's faith with a solid single up the middle.

Cuddyer battled hard, but eventually went down swinging on a wicked slider. Brendan Harris, who had been hitless on the night, then took the first pitch he saw and singled through the hole on the left side of the field to tie the game. Redmond stepped in again, this time half-swinging on a chopper up the first base line. Blalock fielded the ball with no chance to get Redmond at first and went to the plate, where Carlos Gomez (pinch-running for Kubel) slid around the outside of the plate to give the Twins their second lead at 4-3. Nick Punto, who had doubled earlier, showed bunt the whole way and dropped down a brilliant one. No play was possible, Harris scored from third, and the Twins took a 5-3 lead.

It was a gorgeous inning, as entertaining as it was clutch, as it was perfect, and it could only be spoiled by Joe Nathan blowing it in the ninth. Which he nearly did.

Blalock walked and Cruz singled, but when Rodriguez hit a slow chopper right back to Nathan it looked like those mistakes were about to be erased. Nathan fielded, turned and had to double-clutch because nobody was yet covering second base. When he finally threw it was behind Punto, and just like that the bases were loaded with nobody out.

Then the game ended. If you blinked you missed it, but those 11 pitches seemed to take forever. Elvis Andrus down on three pitches; Julio Borbon flying out to Span (now in left); Michael Young grounding out.

This is a long, LONG recap, I know, but the game was over hours ago and I'm still excited by it. Rangers fans probably didn't enjoy the outcome, and it definitely wasn't the most fundamentaly sound contest but it was a great game to watch. The Tigers won, but the White Sox lost, meaning that for the moment our lead for second place in the division is slightly larger.

I could keep going. For now, I'm leaving it here.

Stars
Jason Kubel
Scott Baker
Nick Punto
Mike Redmond
Justin Morneau
Brendan Harris
Joe Nathan (in the end)

Mauer's 4 RBI Not Quite Enough, Twins Lose to Royals

Adam Peterson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:32:34 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

4 months ago: Minnesota Twins' Michael Cuddyer, right, talks with home plate umpire James Hoye after striking out against the Kansas City Royals to end the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, in Minneapolis. The Twins won 7-1. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Browse more photos »

Royals 5, Twins 4

When one hitter drives in four runs and the pitchers allow a total of five runs, one would figure a team has a pretty good chance of the other eight batters driving in at least one more run. Unfortunately, when we're talking about the 2009 Minnesota Twins, expectations go right out the window. This afternoon against the Kansas City Royals, Joe Mauer drive in four runs with a double and a 3-run homer. The rest of the Twins lineup? Other than a Nick Punto double to lead off the third inning, zilch. Four singles and seven walks, not a single run.

Out of the gate, Royals leadoff batter David DeJesus tripled up the right center field gap. After a Willie Bloomquist groundout, Kansas City was up 1-0 before many of us even realized the game had started. The Twins answered with a Mauer double, scoring Denard Span to tie the game. After a 1-2-3 second inning, Twins starter Carl Pavano appeared to get into a groove. Unfortunately, Carl had an 8.64 ERA against Kansas City in 2009 for a reason. In the third, the Royals went: walk, single, strikeout, single, double to plate three runs and go up 4-1. An Alex Gordon homer in the fourth put the Royals up 5-1. I don't know about the rest of you, but I was thinking "here we go again...".

Fortunately, Mr. Joe Mauer is still a Minnesota Twin. After two outs (Redmond and Punto, go figure), Denard Span walked and Orlando Cabrera singled. Mauer followed with a home run to right center (really, this one wasn't to left field) to bring the Twins to within one run. We were back in the game.

Pavano got through a scoreless sixth, bringing up the bottom of the Twins order. Then the Twins let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers. Royals starter Gil Meche had already thrown 83 pitches through five innings, and given his 90-100 pitch limit he was pulled for reliever Robinson Tejeda. Tejeda threw a total of six pitches, walking Joe Crede and falling behind Mike Redmond, 2-0. By this point, Trey Hillman had seen enough, so he brought in Jamey Wright, who walked Mike Redmond. First and second, no one out, down one, Nick Punto at the plate. An obvious sacrifice situation. Unfortunately, Ron Gardenhire forgot one simple fact. NICK PUNTO SUCKS AT BUNTING! LNP failed to get the bunt down, striking out after bunting the third strike foul. A wasted opportunity to move the runners over. Wright walked Span to load the bases, bringing up Orlando Cabrera in a hero situation. What did he do? Grounded into a double play to end the threat and let the Royals off the hook.

By this point, it was obvious that the air was out of the Twins' tires. Over the next three innings, against the worst bullpen in the American League, all the Twins could manage were two walks. Of course, some of this was due to Trey Hillman not being allergic to throwing his closer for more than one inning, as he put his most reliable bullpen arm, Joakim Soria out for both the 8th and 9th innings to close out the game. How about that, and old-time-baseball save. Ballgame.

Studs, duds and a few notes after the jump

Notes:

Many, including me, will highlight Punto's failed bunt attempt as a key to the Twins loss this afternoon. While I think this played a key role in deflating the team, one can make an argument the inning would have ended scoreless regardless. With runners on second and third and one out, I would not have been surprised to see Wright intentionally walk Span to load the bases, at which point an O-Cab GIDP would still have ended the inning. We'll never know...
Even though he gave up five runs, Pavano pitched a gutty seven innings. He only gave up five hits and 3 walks over the seven innings, which isn't too bad. His problem was that the Royals took full advantage of their run scoring opportunities, bunching 3 hits and a walk to score three runs in the third.
The Twins, on the other hand, had more baserunners (14 vs 11), including 7 walks. In what appears to be a disturbing trend, we live and die by the long ball.

Studs:

1. Joe Mauer: 2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI. His batting average is now at .370 and climbing. He's batting .429/.467/1.123 in August.

2. Joakim Soria: 2 IP, BB, 2 SO. Clutch two inning save. I guess he hasn't had too many save opportunities lately.

3. Jesse Crain: 1 IP, H, 3 SO. He struck out the side in the 9th to give the meat of the Twins order one last chance at Soria. Denard Span (1-3, 2 R, 2 BB) was also deserving, but I have to give kudos to Crain.

Duds:

1. Nick Punto: That failed bunt was a killer. He did have a double though.

2. Orlando Cabrera: 1-5, 0-2 with RISP, killer GIDP. Just about anything else would have tied up the game.

3. Michael Cuddyer: 0-4, 0-2 with RISP. So much for his career success against Meche.