SB Nation User Blog: Jesse

Game 96: Rangers @ Twins

Jesse — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:52:55 -0000

Lineup

07/18/08 8:10 PM EDT

Texas Rangers	Minnesota Twins
Ian Kinsler - 2B	Carlos Gomez - CF
Michael Young - SS	Alexi Casilla - 2B
Josh Hamilton - CF	Joe Mauer - C
Milton Bradley - DH	Justin Morneau - 1B
Marlon Byrd - RF	Jason Kubel - DH
Hank Blalock - 3B	Delmon Young - LF
Brandon Boggs - LF	Brian Buscher - 3B
Chris Davis - 1B	Brendan Harris - SS
Taylor Teagarden - C	Denard Span - RF

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2008 - Glen Perkins	6-2	13	13	0	0	0	0	78.1	95	38	36	11	19	43	4.14	1.46

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2008 - Kevin Millwood	6-5	18	18	1	0	0	0	100.1	135	61	57	10	37	72	5.11	1.71

"I think I'm ready to go. I'm just taking care of business right now. It's not frustrating. I try...

Jesse — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:15:30 -0000

"I think I'm ready to go. I'm just taking care of business right now. It's not frustrating. I try to be patient and do my job. I just (want to) keep on doing what I'm doing now."

Francisco Liriano after his start Thursday night, sounding a bit more reasonable than his agent.

"We have a guy that has 18 homers in Double-A and his agent is going to start calling if we start...

Jesse — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:03:49 -0000

"We have a guy that has 18 homers in Double-A and his agent is going to start calling if we start letting all this happen ... You don't let other people dictate what we do."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, on how dangerous of a precedent this grievance could set.

Gardenhire Returns Fire

Jesse — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:35:05 -0000

Twins field manager won't let outside influences run his team.

"I just back into town and I hear all this stuff, and Buster Olney is making my team up now and [Genske] wants to tell me who is going to pitch here ... No one is going to tell us who to put on our team and no one on ESPN is going to tell us who should pitch for my team. They haven't been here all year. If they had been down there and seen the guy pitch, and then started talking, that's one thing. But to read stats, that's another thing. I recommend they go down there and watch him pitch, come back with a good report for me and walk into my office."

I have to admit, reading these quotes this morning gave me a little bit more respect for Ron Gardenhire. In today's game it's common for players and agents to discuss disatisfaction with decisions of the organization, just as it's common for the media to question and condemn decisions the team has made. I'm no exception to this rule, as I question something as minute as why a guy is hitting seventh instead of eighth.

There's little doubt that the Twins have made, and will continue to make, choices that baffle and frustrate us as fans. But the last thing we should really want them to do is to listen to every source that causes a fuss, and then pander to those critics. That's a dangerous and destructive path, because as informed and intelligent as some of our contrary beliefs are, allowing something as trivial as media unrest and player complaints to impact organizational decisions would be a demonstration of inadequacy, lack of vision and leadership.

Having the right to their own choice, and the fact that the team actually has a good choice or two to make, is a good thing. The team has already made good decisions on guys like Brian Buscher, Alexi Casilla and Denard Span. Holding back Francisco Liriano just for the sake of holding him back doesn't make any sense, whether you want to consider financial aspects, Liriano's track record in recent starts, or the team's track record in promoting young players from their system.

"He's pitching well, and he's trying to force the issue ... And what should all Minor Leaguers try to do? Try to force the issue. That's the greatest thing in the world. We have depth, now. We have a guy that is knocking on the door and trying to take someone's job. What is wrong with that? I don't get it."

The Minnesota Twins know how Francisco Liriano is doing in Rochester. They also understand pennant races, personnel decisions and how to move forward with their choice of direction. Buster Olney and Greg Genske's stances should mean absolutely nothing.

"[Liriano] was here earlier. How did he do? How did he do?"

For all of what Gardenhire had to say, check out Thor Nystrom's piece over at MLB.com.

Back to Work!

Jesse — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:54:12 -0000

Some odds and ends as we roll into the second half on Friday.

The All-Star Break

In case you missed it, Justin Morneau won the Home Run Derby on Monday night! As exciting as the exploits of Josh Hamilton were (and trust me...they were), watching Morneau take that trophy was a fantastic moment in Twins history.

As for the game itself, our boys represented. Joe Mauer started at catcher, going 1-for-1 with a single and a walk. After his single in the bottom of the fifth, Mauer was lifted for Ian Kinsler. In the top of the sixth, Morneau relieved Kevin Youkilis at first base, and he ended up impacting the American League's comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Leading off the inning, he doubled off of Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez (who's a friggin' stud by the way). Kinsler followed with a groundout before Volquez made Dioner Navarro look like a bitch. But J.D. Drew had Navarro's back, blasting the fourth pitch he saw on a frozen rope line drive into the right-field seats. Morneau scored along with Drew, and the AL squad was back in business. Of course, Justin wasn't done yet. Finally, Joe Nathan made his appearance in the top of the seventh, needing a mere eight pitches to dispatch Ryan Braun on a strike out, and both Nate McLouth and Russell Martin on fly balls to Grady Sizemore in center field.

Amazingly, the game went to 15 innings, and thankfully nobody declared the game a tie. Closers on both teams ran multiple innings, including Yankee great Mariano Rivera, who was respectfully used in a situation where he would be able to win the game for the AL All-Stars. The game outran him, however, and he finished both the ninth and tenth innings keeping the game knotted at three.

In the bottom of the 15th, once again, Morneau played a pivotal role. He led off against Brad Lidge and singled on a hard liner into center field. Kinsler lined out before Navarro singled and Drew walked, which loaded the bases for Michael Young. Young took Lidge's first offering, a fastball over the plate, and lofted it to right field. Morneau's toe crossed the plate mere moments prior to the tag, and we can thank right fielder Corey Hart for not getting behind the ball. Instead of lining himself up and getting a solid center of balance for his throw, he caught the ball over his head and went directly into a relay, which meant he didn't get as much on the throw as he could have, and he probably wasn't as accurate as he could have been, either. The throw was a couple of feet up the first base line, and because Brian McCann had to retrieve the ball and then turn to apply the tag, Morneau had a hair of extra time to touch the plate, and that's all he needed. He scored from third, and for the second time in as many nights the Twins and Rangers combined to highlight a victory for the American League. It was a great game, and a fitting farewell to Yankee Stadium.

The Beltre Conundrum

This stuff is popping up all over the place. Not only is the Pioneer Press throwing out me-like speculation, but our friend Andrew over at Twins Fix has a two-part special on the Mariner third baseman and what it would take for Minnesota to pick him up. We had a Facebook conversation the other night where we bounced around some ideas, and it looks like he took the best of both worlds and put them together. Even if you don't think it's going to happen, it's worth a read.

Personally, I believe the feasibility of this transaction would depend on a number of things that need to fall into place perfectly. A lot of my ideas on the subject, and Andrew's, have to do with publicized rumors; so if those rumors aren't true, the argument falls apart. All the same, this time of year is fun for this kind of speculation.

Interestingly enough, Will Carroll had this to say about the Twins and third base:

A lot more discussion of Adrian Beltre to the Twins has come up lately, though the Twins have also taken a hard look at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and even Casey Blake. The Twins have pitching to trade and seem willing to make a move as they chase the White Sox.

Trends

The Twins have been successful scoring runs, and therefore winning, based on one primary statistic: Hitting with runners in scoring position. And as beaten to death as that factoid has been, the insistance that the Twins mid-range numbers in team on-base and slugging percentages indicate a scoring decline has been hammered over our heads just as often.

That doesn't make it not true, of course. The Twins will need a great deal of luck to continue hitting as well as they have with runners in scoring position. But looking at how the Minnesota offense has done month-by-month, there is reason for optimism.

Split	OBP	MLB Rank	SLG	MLB Rank	Runs	MLB Rank
April	.302	28	.361	26	99	26
May	.341	8	.399	19	154	4
June	.335	15	.435	10	142	5
July	.387	2	.465	8	66	9
Season	.336	12	.407	17	464	6
AL Average	.332		.410		438

While we only have half of July under our belts, those are some encouraging numbers. More importantly, they're numbers that back up how the team has scored this month without resorting to "well, they're just benefactors of luck with RISP." The team on-base percentage the last three months has been more than adequate, and team slugging in June and July has been better than expected. Both months the Twins slugged in the top third of the league or better, and if those numbers are sustainable then there's no reason the Twins can't continue to be one of baseball's better run-scoring offenses.

Overall the team is still around league average in both on-base and slugging, but trends indicate that hitters are doing better on the whole. Some of this success can be attributed to contributions of Alexi Casilla, Denard Span and Brian Buscher, but it's not just those three. Jason Kubel is performing, Nick Punto has been a pleasant surprise and Delmon Young's numbers are up across the board. At the center of it all of course are the M&M boys, who are each having great years at the plate.

But it certainly is nice having production from the bottom of the order.

Liriano's Unrest

Apparently, Francisco Liriano is "frustrated" that he isn't with the Twins yet. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal apparently spoke with Cisco's agent, who's considering filing a grievance. While Liriano has certainly done well, the single largest factor keeping him from Minnesota is the presence of Livan Hernandez. Whether Hernandez really should still be with the team or not is up for debate, but with the Twins wanting to use the young southpaw out of the rotation there isn't any room for him until a move is made, and that is the ultimate stopping point.

I believe Liriano has a right to be disappointed, but the fact is that this isn't about the money; the Twins gave him a shot out of the gate in April. If it was about the money, that wouldn't have happened. Ultimately, it's a difficult situation for Francisco because he's subject to the decisions of the organization. Unfortunately he and his agent are handling the situation poorly. It sucks for them, and it sucks for some of us fans as well, but he'll have to wait until the Twins decide it's time to make a move on Hernandez.

That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow!

All-Star Game Thread: National League @ American League

Jesse — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:28:31 -0000

Game Time: 7pm CST

Lineup

National League All-Stars @ American League All-Stars

07/15/08 8:05 PM EDT

National League	American League
Hanley Ramirez - SS, Marlins	Ichiro Suzuki - RF, Mariners
Chase Utley - 2B, Phillies	Derek Jeter - SS, Yankees
Lance Berkman - 1B, Astros	Josh Hamilton - CF, Rangers
Albert Pujols - DH, Cardinals	Alex Rodriguez - 3B, Yankees
Chipper Jones - 3B, Braves	Manny Ramirez - LF, Red Sox
Matt Holiday - RF, Rockies	Milton Bradley - DH, Rangers
Ryan Braun - LF, Brewers	Kevin Youkilis - 1B, Red Sox
Kosuke Fukudome - CF, Cubs	Joe Mauer - C, Twins
Geovany Soto - C, Cubs	Dustin Pedroia - 2B, Red Sox

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Indians - Cliff Lee	12-2	18	18	1	1	0	0	124.2	109	34	32	5	20	106	2.31	1.03

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Brewers - Ben Sheets	10-3	18	18	3	1	0	0	123.0	109	40	39	13	28	108	2.85	1.11

Wait...."Jason" Morneau?

Jesse — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:54:30 -0000

Wait...."Jason" Morneau?

"I asked him a couple questions ... I just wanted to get some dirt on [catcher] Mike Redmond [who...

Jesse — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:10:27 -0000

"I asked him a couple questions ... I just wanted to get some dirt on [catcher] Mike Redmond [who played for Leyland in Florida]. I've got a couple more days to find some stories. I'm sure he's got some."

Joe Mauer, about talking with Tiger manager Jim Leylend on their flight to New York aboard Tigers owner Mike Ilitch's private jet.

Justin Morneau Wins Home Run Derby

Jesse — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:54:55 -0000

It may be an afterthought in the national spotlight thanks to Josh Hamilton's exploits, but in Twins Territory we're all about our Canadian first baseman.

In the first round of Monday's Home Run Derby, it was the Josh Hamilton show. Last to step to the dish in the field of eight contestants, he needed to hit seven home runs to move onto round two.

He hit 28.

Shattering the record set just a couple of summers ago by Bobby Abreu, sphere after sphere jumped off the bat of Hamilton, as he rained down a shower of balls into the right field seats. As his turn dragged on for over ten minutes, it wasn't boredom that set in throughout the stadium. It was awe. Fans and All-Stars alike took to their feet as one after another, baseballs disappeared into the New York night. Majestic, powerful and impressive arcs scorched the skies, and when all was said and done, the Ranger outfielder had written a place for himself in the history books.

With eight home runs in round one, which tied him for second most in the round with Lance Berkman, our own Justin Morneau made the cut to the final four. With totals from the first two rounds being combined, it meant there was only one spot available in the finals between Morneau, Berkman and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, who had hit seven in the first round. Josh Hamilton's 28 assured him a place in the finals.

Berkman managed another six before using his outs, meaning Justin had to hit seven in round two. He hit nine. This meant Braun would need 10 to tie and 11 to make it to the finals, but he fell a few short. Last to take to the plate in round two was Hamilton, who really didn't need to hit at all. But he did, and he dropped another four balls into the seats before calling it a round after just four outs. Justin Morneau was heading to the Derby finals with Josh Hamilton, who had just out-homered him nearly 2-to-1...with six fewer outs.

Justin went first, and managed to launch five, pacing himself over his ten outs. Because the final round numbers don't include totals from the first two rounds, it meant that Hamilton needed just six to take home the trophy. Watching the contest, while you hoped that he had worn himself out in the first round it wan't much comfort after seeing his display of power. But that's exactly what happened. Hamilton managed just one home run by the time he tallied three outs; two homers through five outs; and three homers by seven. After crushing the competition into oblivion in round one, Josh Hamilton could only manage three in the finals.

It was a fantastic contest, and if I'm honest, had a climax and finish that I did not expect. Morneau finished the night with 22 home runs, six fewer than Hamilton hit in just the first round, but it was enough to win him the trophy. Home Run Derby champions are few and far between for any franchise, and I'm proud to call Justin Morneau a Minnesota Twin.

Congratulations, Justin! You won tonight, and you earned it!

Pics of Justin from the Derby after the jump!

You wanna know what Boom feels like?

Boom feels like this, bitches. Justin Go BOOM!

Canadians only need one hand to hoist their trophies.

All pictures courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

Open Thread: Home Run Derby

Jesse — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:06:45 -0000

Welcome to the home run derby thread! We'll update as the derby goes along.

Winner: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

Justin Moreau Round 1: 8 HR (Advances to Round 2)
Josh Hamilton breaks Derby Record: 28 HR in round 1

Justin Morneau Round 2: 9 HR, 17 Total (Advances to FINALS)

Justin Morneau, Finals: 5 HR
Josh Hamilton, Finals: 3 HR

----------------------------

Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins
Bats: Right
Age: 28
Regular Season HR: 23
Slugging Percentage: .605
Isolated Power: .319
Round 1 HR: 6

Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians
Bats: Left
Age: 25
Regular Season HR: 23
Slugging Percentage: .539
Isolated Power: .266
Round 1 HR: 6

Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Bats: Right
Age: 22
Regular Season HR: 16
Slugging Percentage: .513
Isolated Power: .238
Round 1 HR: 3

Chase Utely, Philadelphia Phillies
Bats: Left
Age: 29
Regular Season HR: 25
Slugging Percentage: .582
Isolated Power: .291
Round 1 HR: 5

Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
Bats: Switch
Age: 32
Regular Season HR: 22
Slugging Percentage: .653
Isolated Power: .306
Round 1 HR: 8 Round 2 HR: 6

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
Bats: Left
Age: 27
Regular Season HR: 14
Slugging Percentage: 512
Isolated Power: .189
Round 1 HR: 8 Round 2 HR: 9 Finals: 5 HR

Ryan Bruan, Milwaukee Brewers
Bats: Right
Age: 24
Regular Season HR: 23
Slugging Percentage: .549
Isolated Power: .263
Round 1 HR: 7 Round 2 HR: 7

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Bats: Left
Age: 27
Regular Season HR: 21
Slugging Percentage: .552
Isolated Power: .242
Round 1 HR: 28 Round 2 HR: 4 (stopped after 4 outs) Finals: 3 HR

SB Nation User Blog: Jesse

Game 96: Rangers @ Twins

Lineup

"I think I'm ready to go. I'm just taking care of business right now. It's not frustrating. I try...

"We have a guy that has 18 homers in Double-A and his agent is going to start calling if we start...

Gardenhire Returns Fire

Back to Work!

The All-Star Break

The Beltre Conundrum

Trends

Liriano's Unrest

All-Star Game Thread: National League @ American League

Lineup

Wait...."Jason" Morneau?

"I asked him a couple questions ... I just wanted to get some dirt on [catcher] Mike Redmond [who...

Justin Morneau Wins Home Run Derby

Open Thread: Home Run Derby

Winner: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

Justin Moreau Round 1: 8 HR (Advances to Round 2)Josh Hamilton breaks Derby Record: 28 HR in round 1Justin Morneau Round 2: 9 HR, 17 Total (Advances to FINALS)Justin Morneau, Finals: 5 HRJosh Hamilton, Finals: 3 HR

----------------------------

Justin Moreau Round 1: 8 HR (Advances to Round 2)
Josh Hamilton breaks Derby Record: 28 HR in round 1

Justin Morneau Round 2: 9 HR, 17 Total (Advances to FINALS)

Justin Morneau, Finals: 5 HR
Josh Hamilton, Finals: 3 HR