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Greglw3

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Blog Entries posted by Greglw3

  1. Greglw3
    I’ve heard references to Cal Raleigh’s offensive season in 2025 being the greatest offensive season for a Catcher in Baseball History.
    I respectfully disagree.
    Cal Raleigh’s batting average, OBP, Slugging percentage and OPS were:
    Average- .247, OBP- .359, Slg - .589, OPS - .948
    26 year old Joe Mauer had the greatest offensive season of any catcher in baseball.
    Average - .365, OBP - .444 Slg - .587 OPS 1.031
    Despite all Raleigh’s Home Runs, Mauer lead in batting average by a staggering 118 points, his .365 was objectively the highest single season batting average for a catcher in baseball history.
    Moneyball, on base pct., that which makes Austin Martin the Twins best offensive player on April 29, 2026. Mauer again leads by an overwhelming 85 points in on base percentage.
    Slugging percentage is a virtual wash.
    And Mauer leads in OPS by a decisive 83 points.
    Joe Mauer had the greatest offensive season for a Catcher in major league history.
    Can someone find a pic of Joe Mauer to head this blog? I’m not sure how to  retrieve one from the Twins Daily library and don’t like to go fishing for a non-copyrighted photo on the internet. Thanks!
     
  2. Greglw3

    Lyman Bostock Deserves to be in the Twins Hall of Fame!

    By Greglw3,


    Twins Hall of Fame Nominations
    In my opinion, Lyman Bostock deserves to be in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. I just became aware that he isn’t and felt a wave of incredulity come over me when I first thought about it. 
    The only reason I can think of is that his career with the Twins was cut short by Calvin Griffith’s mind boggling penuriousness (he paid Bostock $20,000 in 1977 for what might had been an MVP season but for Rod Carew’s actual .388 MVP season). And another owner, Gene Autry, of the Angels signed him to a contract of around $500,000/yr for 5 years, 25 times what Griffith was paying him.
    One way to evaluate Bostock might be to conclude that he only played 4 seasons and to use SABR stats to evaluate him, which wouldn’t be fair. One thing I know, was that if Bostock could bring that 1977 season to the Twins now, they’d be a much better team!
    Bostock averaged .318 (.31755) for his Twins career.
    He lead off his Twins career with a .282 batting average, which wasn’t suggestive of the explosive hitter to come in the next two years in which he average, .323 and .336.
    I can’t prove it but I would ask other Twins fans who saw him play to chime in. I believe Bostock was very likely headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown before being tragically murdered after his 4th season.
    Imagine, this hitter, in the 3 hole for the 2025 Twins: .336 average with 36 doubles, 12 triples and 14 HRs with 90 RBIs. Add 660 plate appearances, 16 stolen bases, a .389 on base percentage and a .508 slugging percentage and you have one of the finest offensive seasons I’ve ever seen!
    I’m attaching the article I wrote for the Twins player project, which shows the very famous 19-12 win over the White Sox, which I listened to on the radio from my birthplace in Toledo, Ohio. Notice Bostock batted leadoff. in this days obviating the need for gaudy power stats.
    Bostock average 605 plate appearances for the last 3 years of his career, 2 with the Twins, 1 with the Angels.
    The mind blowing thing to consider is that Bostock put up that career .318 Twins average at the ages of 24, 25, and 26, before the advent of what is generally considered a baseball players prime year of 27. Bostock’s life was ended at 27 years old and he finished his career with a .311 average. 
    This is the Google AI overview commenting on Lyman Bostock’s defensive ability:
    "Lyman Bostock was known for his exceptional defensive skills, particularly in center field, being described as one of the finest defensive outfielders in baseball. He was a multi-faceted player with speed and strong defensive abilities"
    It’s time to put Lyman Bostock into the Twins baseball Hall of Fame, post haste!
    Greg Allen
     
  3. Greglw3

    Newly available players I’m interested for Twins.

    By Greglw3,


    Freshly available players for Twins.
    Here are some newly available players who would be low cost and could help the Twins.

    Recently non-tendered or released players I’d be interested in for the Twins: Austin Hays (previous 22 HR season), Ramon Laureano (hit .296 w > .500 SLG for Braves), Cal Quantrill and Cody Morris, who I saw pitch a dominant gem at Cleveland in person against the Twins and have never forgotten it!
    That being said, my nice tidy 129.xx million dollar blueprint for the Twins brings in Jurickson Profar at 3/45MM and Jesse Winker. I still think Laureano would be a cheap and good signing and Hays too. Twins have learned you can never have too much depth and the OF still has a lot of ???.
    Of course if Falvey wants to sign Teoscar Hernandez to a 3/71 contract as a Fangraphs writer floated and multiple articles were written about, I won’t complain!
    Credit for Feature photo: Baseball Reference
     
  4. Greglw3

    Further envisioning of Twins youth movement

    By Greglw3,


    Imagining a Big Offense with Further Twins Youth Movement
    With Julien, Wallner and Lewis breathing life into a listless offense recently, I thought ahead to the possibilities of even more help from St. Paul and a much more robust offense with several high on base guys mixed with power and potential high batting averages. Here’s what I came up with.
    2B Julien .OBP .386
    CF Martin OBP .377
    3B Lewis AVg. .343 OBP .380
    SS Correa All World Defense and 15 HR now is best I can do
    C Jeffers Protection for Correa
    RF Wallner OBP .341 SLG .523
    LF B. Lee Potential high average and X Base hits
    1B C Williams OBP .369 19 HR
    DH Prato Avg. .312 OBP .465 SLG .578
    What do you think?
  5. Greglw3
    I’ve been watching Tyler White and the way he has been used, such that he has the second most AB of any Twin. His average is rising and he hit a recent home run. He has 26  HR in 760 MLB appearances (a Willie Wilson season, almost!) to go along with 103 RBIs.
    The Twins need a first baseman, Kirilloff seems quite iffy now and White could slide right in and just in 550 AB, he would be expected to hit 19 HR with 75 RBIs.
    It might take an unlikely chain of events for White to be the first baseman but I have to think they’re giving him the 2nd most AB on the whole roster for a reason.
     
  7. Greglw3

    75 RBI or 75 RBIs?

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    Was the long-standing way of referring to 75 RBIs correct or is the new style 75 RBI correct?
    I think the first question that needs to be answered is what does RBI stand for? Runs Batted In or Run Batted in?
    I maintain that RBI stands for Run Batted in, the singular. You would never say that a player has 1 RBIs or 1 Runs Batted In. But you would say the player had 1 RBI (Run Batted In).
    That answers the question of what RBI stands for. Run Batted In. If that were not the case, and RBI stood for Runs Batted In, you could not use the singular. You wouldn’t say, Luis Arraez has 1 Runs Batted In after the season's first game. You would say Luis Arraez has 1 Run Batted In (RBI) after the first game.
    With that established, it’s pretty simple. 1 dog, 2 dogs. 1 balloon, 2 balloons. 1 Bicycle, 2 bicycles. And 1 RBI, 2 RBIs, 1 RBI, 50 RBIs, 1 RBI,  75 RBIs.
     
  8. Greglw3

    Twins Opening Day Lineup

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    I wouldn’t have done things this way. I would have tried for Canha or J.D. Davis or even Binentendi. but the FO didn’t do that.
    My opening day lineup breaks with the current conventional thinking but I honestly think the Twins will be better this way. That means Kepler moving to 4th OF and Sano a man without a position.
    Here’s how I’d start:
    LF Martin - I think Martin is ready and could hit .300 with a lot of doubles. 2nd would be Gordon as I think he will hit better than in 2021 and can steal bases at will, which would help the Twins have more ways to score, especially if Buxton is also stealing bases at will I think Martin could swipe a decent amount of bases as well. 3rd is Larnach and I do still think he’ll be a future star but when last we checked, he was overmatched in the majors and AAA both.
    CF Buxton
    RF Kirilloff
    3B Urshela
    SS Correa
    2B Polanco
    1b Miranda
    C Sanchez/Jeffers
    DH Conforto//Beckham/Sano/Martin/Gordon
    I think Beckham has earned a job.
    The rotation would be Gray, Bundy, Ober, Ryan, Winder.
    Note: I’m not at all satisfied with that rotation. It’s basically one proven starter and 4 "I hope they pitch up to their ceiling but truly they are question masks"
    I would still try to sign for Cueto and maybe send 6 years of Sands for 1 year of Manea.
     
     
     
     
  9. Greglw3
    I’ve been playing the Twins season while trading, signing free agents and auditioning the Twins best minor leaguers. The bad news is that the Twins started 1-11. The good news is that I continued to trade, sign free agents and give almost all the top prospects an audition. You might be surprised at which prospect emerged. I’ve played all games except maybe a total of 1 when the AI took off while I napped! I also do pitch by pitch, which is pretty exciting, especially using the CF camera for pitches.
    The Twins are currently 11-17, so 10-6 since the awful start.
    Highlights are the seeming permanent emergence of Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff flirting with superstardom. I’ll leave the SS surprise for the box score of game 28.  Jose Miranda has held down 3rd after I traded Donaldson mostly for payroll reasons. I traded for Josh Bell, who is having a monster season. Which means Sano is gone. Study the Box Score and guess where he went! 
    I started with no injuries checked but decided that wasn’t a fair measure of how I could cover a Buxton absence. SO I set injuries on and just 3 games later Buxton was injured with a chronic back issue for 4 weeks. Problem is that it’s been probably 5-6 weeks now and he wasn’t hitting at the start. Billy Hamilton and Gabriel Maciel have played most of the cf innings. I traded Ober along with Arraez to get Bassitt from Oakland, certainly my worst trade.
    Here’s the box score. If OOTP is a good predictor, there are some exciting things on the horizon for the Twins.


  10. Greglw3

    OOTP: Acting aggressively to rebuild Twins

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    Frustrated by Falvey and Levine’s approach the last two offseason and with the lockout in effect, I bought OOTP baseball for $4.99 in order to build the Twins my way using trades, free agent signings and keeping the up and coming pitching.
    I set the trade slider a little more to the hard side the the easy side.

    It seemed to carry over to free agent negotiations but I’m not sure. Prime example: I offered Byron Buxton basically the same deal the Twins signed him for and he came back and said, "I’m only entertaining serious offers"! It seemed he ignored the $8M per year for an MVP award and AB bonuses. He was so tough that to get him signed, I had to average over 20M yr. plus he wanted a 9 year deal. I got away with 8 but I had to have him.
    When trying for free agents or making trades, I eschewed any player that I knew had been signed in real life or traded to a new team. I got messages along the way from Jim Pohlad and at one point, he said that I was having such a good offseason that he was raising my allowance from $203M budget (all expenses, not just payroll). At a budget of $203, the player payroll was $160M but he raised the budget to $210M and a player payroll of $170M. He must have seen quickly that I was going to be very aggressive striving to build a 2022 contender.
    Some of the trades and signings saw me moving Max Kepler for Taijuan Walker.
    Signing Jose Iglesias, attempting to sign Michael Pineda and Danny Duffy over extended negotiations (especially with Pineda) only to be spurned by both.
    Trading Bailey Ober and Luis Arraez for Chris Bassit.
    Releasing Dylan Bundy.
    Signing Billy Hamilton to a very reasonable deal to be insurance for Byron Buxton.
    Signing Carlos Rodon, which went surprisingly smoothly. Yes, I did offer him a fair contract.
    Signing Ken Giles was exciting, knowing how it would solidify the bullpen.
    The toughest one was attempting to sign Kris Bryant. I think he had me up to $173M and strung me along, then said the Cubs had a better offer. I ended up cutting it off but after a decent period of time passed, he came back and I was able to sign him at a bargain $15M yr for 5 yrs.
    After spring training had ended, Johnny Cueto, having cut off negotiations, came back to me on the eve of the season opener and said he’d like to try again. I offered him more than he asked for 1 yr plus an option year and he signed in time for the season opener. After all the moves, I decided to promote Cole Sands to work out of the bullpen, a job he earned in OOTP baseball’s spring training.
    Here are some graphics on your new, shiny, division contending 2022 Minnesota Twins!





  11. Greglw3

    My Twins HOF vote

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    Here’s my Twins HOF vote, which at long last puts Cesar Tovar rightfully in (5 listed finishes in AL MVP voting)! Though Bostock’s time as a Twin was limited, what a great performance it was!

  12. Greglw3

    Danny Duffy for the Twins.

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    In case anybody missed it, here’s the update, credit MLB Trade Rumors, on Danny Duffy’s status.
    I would be strongly in favor of the Twins signing him to a 2 year deal, the first year at a minimum rate to pitch as a lefty out of the bullpen from sometime in July to the end of the season. Then a higher salary a/la Dylan Bundy in the second year for him to pitch out of the rotation.
    And sign Michael Pineda for sure plus trade for a pitcher, possibly from Oakland. Jon Gray would be okay too.
    With the pitching staff they’re going to have, they’ll have to beef up last year’s shaky offense. Castellanos would be be good and if both parties are amenable, Eddie Rosario would be my second choice. 
  13. Greglw3

    My 2022 Blueprint using TD Spreadsheet

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    Here’s my Twins 2022 roster. Like Nick’s plan, there are moving parts where Donaldson DHs a decent amount and Miranda plays 3B, 1B, DH. Kirilloff takes over for Max Kepler in RF. Kepler just hasn’t been able to change from an ineffective pull first approach. I see Kirilloff as a hitter who can use more of the field and still blossom into a very fine hitter.
    Hopefully the second-half Sano shows up next year. I’m optimistic about that.
    I chose Iglesias as the SS for good D and his .271 average, much better than Simmons but for the same price.
    I chose Mark Canha for LF, liking his prior 26, 17, and 16 HR seasons. And last year walking 77 times, stealing 12/14 bases, scoring 93 runs. Even with a .231 average, he had a .358 OBP. In any case, he should be much better than Cave, Larnach in 2021. 
    Like Nick I’m signing Byron Buxton with an escalating deal and incentives.
    I’m banking on Jose Miranda to log 500-550 ABs.
    I like the Saint’s Mark Contreras as the 4th OF with Jimmy Kerrigan as an alternative at AAA.
    For the rotation, I’m signing Robbie Ray as the ace with Danny Duffy as the #2 starter. That’s a significant part of my 142.1 million dollar payroll. I think Jim Pohlad will go for that. If they can’t get Ray, then Syndergaard and Verlander are other ace options. I’m bringing back the steady Michael Pineda, his 9-8 record and 3.62 ERA. Both sides want a reunion, so it’s just a great fit.
    Ober and Ryan start as #4 and #5 starter. I’m one who thinks Charlie Barnes will eventually be a solid major league pitcher but maybe not next year. Cole Sands could be another guy getting some starts for the Twins.  Duran has a lot to prove. He would be a bonus.
    I filled out the BP with some of the most talented AAA relievers and Ralph Garza Jr. who did a good job. Alcala’s continued growth will be a big and important factor.
    I really like Nick Gordon and hope Rocco steals with Buxton, Canha and Gordon so the offense is more balanced.
    Celestino also provides depth and could easily be up with the inevitable injuries. I like Kerrigan’s 19 HR and 10/12 SB.
    I also want to emphasize that I do think that once Rooker gets the requisite amount of ABs at the ML level, he should hit 30 HR with a .240 -.270 average. So, he’s in play also depending on injuries.

     
  14. Greglw3
    I wanted to relay my experience about what I consider to be the greatest Twins regular season game of them all. I was 21 and listened to the game from Toledo, Ohio on WMAQ in Chicago. I kept score and had the scoresheet for many years after!
    Harry Carey announced and possibly Jimmy Piersall. The game took place June 26, 1977 with what I consider to be the most talented Twins team ever with the Great tactician/strategist Gene Mauch as manager and his nephew, Roy Smalley playing SS. 
    The Twins didn't have much pitching that year but made up for it with the bats of Lyman Bostock (.336 avg, 14 triples), Rod Carew (.388, 30+ 2b, 16 triples, 14 homers) and Larry Hisle (119 RBIs).
    I’m pulling in the boxscore from Baseball Reference. Your eyes will pop out when you look at the Twins offensive performances.
    What stands out to you about this game after viewing the box score? By the way, with basically ONE starting pitcher, the Twins went 84-77, 4th in the AL West and Rod Carew’s season was so great that he won the MVP award!


     





  15. Greglw3
    Frank Viola had a very interesting tweet this morning. In a recent thread, I intimated that I felt the manager and Falvey and Levine should be dismissed. I’ve vacillated on it but since then, the team and outlook seems even worse. I just found this tweet by Frank Viola, one of the Twins greatest pitchers ever to be a confirmation of what I’ve felt this year. 
    Does what Viola says surprise you? Does it carry weight with you? Do you agree? It rings far too true to me.
    The last sentence of his Tweet is the most significant one "Wrong leadership equals no chance to succeed." That sounds like a call for change to me. I would argue that the failure of Falvey, Levine and Baldelli has been so spectacular that the Twins would be better off replacing Falvey, Levine and Baldelli with the best GM, Manager and and President of baseball operations that they can find. This is a judgement that is probably analogous to the Twins releasing a player that they really like as a person and had high hopes for. It’s a business and winning is the paramount goal.
    There are way too many baseball moves that they’ve butchered to mention but the sequence that lead to Cave playing a significant role and still starting as we approach September is perhaps the most egregious of all. Not acquiring a better option for Buxton’s backup and a better replacement for Rosario cost the Twins wins. Happ and Shoemaker didn’t help.
     
     

  18. Greglw3
    I’d like to present a vision for the Twins incorporating prospects, post 2021 free agents, a possible trade target, and a potential look for the Twins with a philosophical change for the Twins post trade deadline and looking to 2022.
    A primary component in my vision is adding speed. To that end, assuming Simmons is traded (which he should be IMO), I’d like to see Aaron Whitefield and his .304/.372/.410 slash line with 15/21 SB in CF until Buxton comes back. Secondly, I’d like to see Gordon given the full time 2nd base job as he’s hit at AAA and the majors this year and is 10/10 in SB combined. Ultimately, I think the combination of Buxton, Whitefield and Gordon could add a dynamic new speed element to the team and make the team’s offense more balanced.
    Next, I’d like to look at the prospects that I think can help, especially if the Twins sell well at the deadline. Part of the plan assumes that we have outfield prospects that implore the moving of the long slumping Max Kepler either to another team or as the 4th outfielder.
    Let’s look at two pitching prospects who I think might be able to help in 2021 and going forward.
    As a starter, Josh Winder has a 1.98 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and .208 BA allowed. He could possibly fill that 5th starting position with Pineda #3 and Ober #4. I’d like to see if he’s a better solution than Dobnak. It’s an open competition but it seems Winder deserves to be in it.
    As a reliever, Jovani Moran has totally dominated AA with a 1.98 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and .121 BA against in 15 relief appearances encompassing 27.1 IP.
    It doesn’t look like anybody is ready at AAA right now. At Cedar Rapids, Matt Canterino could come fast once back from injury with his 35 K in 18 IP.
    Then there are the two major pitching prospects Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic who, while neither seems ready, it’s still possible they could contribute in 2021.
    Next, I’ll look at the hitters ready to make an impact and how things might be juggled to make it happen. 
    I’d like to see three hitters currently at Wichita promoted to the Twins. Those would be the aforementioned Aaron Whitefield who when up with the Twins last year was purported to have world class speed. 
    Second would be Jose Miranda who has had a breakthrough season of stunning proportions slashing .349/.414/.586. I see Miranda as a cornerstone going forward. That could mean trading Josh Donaldson (whose trade value is increasing) for the best starting pitching prospect they could get. 
    Third is Ernie De La Trinidad who could spend time in RF with Kepler (.200/.293/.394) being moved to 4th OF or traded (as I mentioned earlier), at least until De La Trinidad has had a full chance to prove himself. De La Trinidad has earned his opportunity with his own breakthrough season, slashing .323/.406/.526.
    This would yield an OF of Larnach, Whitefield, De La Trinidad with Kepler 4th OF and when Buxton comes back Larnach, Buxton, Whitefield with Kepler and De La Trinidad as 4th and 5th outfielders or DH.
    With Simmons and Donaldson traded, the Twins can vault into the future with an infield of 3B Miranda, SS Polanco, 2B Gordon and 1B Kirilloff.
    I don’t envision the catching situation changing.
    At Designated Hitter, the Twins have a big decision to make. I feel torn because Nelson Cruz has added so much to the Twins franchise and is still an elite hitter, so part of me wants to see him retire as a Twin, possibly at the end of 2022. However, if the Twins can give such prospects as Winder, Moran, Miranda, De La Trinidad and Whitefield a long look and get maybe a pitching prospect in the 8-15 range for Donaldson and the 8-12 range for Cruz, then that might well be the way to go.
    So far, the elevation of Larnach, Kirilloff and Gordon has worked out very well. I’d like to think that adding Winder, Moran, Miranda, Whitefield and De La Trinidad would yield the Twins at least two more cornerstones to move forward with.
    Next, I have 5 free agents, one or more of whom I’d like to see the Twins be very aggressive in their pursuit, with a goal of landing one. The master plan would involve re-signing Michael Pineda and adding one of the following 5:
    Marcus Stroman 2.32 ERA 1.055 WHIP and .219 BA allowed.
    Kevin Gausman 1.49 ERA 0.766 WHIP and .157 BA allowed. 
    Robbie Ray 3.35 ERA 1. 1.165128 WHIP and .230 BA allowed. 
    Zack Greinke 3.56 ERA. 1.115 WHIP and .245 BA allowed.
    Lance Lynn 2.14 ERA 1.004 WHIP and .195 BA allowed.
    Last, I have a trade possibility in Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks. He has a 3.67 ERA 1.165 WHIP and .195 BA allowed. What do you think it would take to get Gallen in a trade?
     
     
     
     
  19. Greglw3

    Twins Way to the Top via Excellent Pitching

    By Greglw3,


    Greg Allen’s Blog
    I’d like to discuss the way I see forward for the Minnesota Twins to become a team ready for a deep playoff run or World Series victory. The focus will be on top quality pitching. I’ll use a couple of case studies of teams that had very deep and strong pitching and great success, those teams being the 1980 Baltimore Orioles and the 1972-1974 Oakland A’s.
    Then I’ll take a look at how the Twins can get to that level.
    First, how did I get to this point of believing pitching is more important than I originally thought?
    Although, a Twins fan since 1964, the media and options for following the Twins on a more comprehensive level only opened up to me in the 1970s. I lived in Toledo, Ohio but had discovered the Twins at Tinker Field in Orlando when my Dad took me to a game vs. the Cincinnati Reds. The Twins won and the rest was history for me!
    In the 1960s it was linescores in the newspaper and the occasional game of the week with Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek. 
    Then one glorious night in 1973, I thought to myself, "Wouldn’t it be great to be able to pick up Twins games on the radio." I had been twirling the station tuner knob that night pickng up any games I could. Seemingly miraculously, within 10-15 minutes I heard a new voice and paused to see what team(s) I had come across. Imagine my astonishment when I learned that it was the Twins broadcast from WHO in Des Moines, Iowa.
    I first heard the voice of Herb Carneal that night and stayed up late listening to Twins baseball as my recollection is that it was a doubleheader, possibly from the west coast. Herb became my constant companion for many years and my love for the Twins grew exponentially. 
    I remember annually thnking the the Twins were going to win the AL West this season and the next and the next but it never happened. Why? I couldn’t figure it out as they had such fine hitters as Jim Holt, Steve Braun, Rod Carew,  Bobby Darwin, Mike Cubbage, then Glenn Adams, Lyman Bostock and Larry Hisle. 
    The 1977 team brought things into clear focus. The offense, while maybe not as deep as 2019, was at the upper echelon - arguably the greatest offense in Twins history. On June 26, 1977 I listened to and scored from my basement in Ohio, a 19-12 Twins win over the White Sox, listening to Harey Carey from 670 WMAQ in Chicago.
    Alas, the Twins had a mediocre to poor pitching staff in 1977. That to go along with possibly the best hitting team in Twins history and, in my opinion, the greatest manager in Twins history - the brilliant tactician and innovator, Gene Mauch. Suffice to say, from 1977 on, I realized that only a team with very strong pitching could hope to be in the playoffs (back them it was only AL East vs. West, then the World Series) or win the World Series.
    Let’s take a look at the 1977 Twins. (courtesy of baseball-reference.com)
    Pos Name Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ C Butch Wynegar# 21 144 617 532 76 139 22 3 10 79 2 3 68 61 .261 .344 .370 .715 96 1B Rod Carew* 31 155 694 616 128 239 38 16 14 100 23 13 69 55 .388 .449 .570 1.019 178 2B Bob Randall 29 103 342 306 36 73 13 2 0 22 1 4 15 25 .239 .289 .294 .583 61 SS Roy Smalley# 24 150 680 584 93 135 21 5 6 56 5 5 74 89 .231 .316 .315 .631 74 3B Mike Cubbage* 26 129 464 417 60 110 16 5 9 55 1 4 37 49 .264 .321 .391 .712 94 LF Larry Hisle 30 141 620 546 95 165 36 3 28 119 21 10 56 106 .302 .369 .533 .902 144 CF Lyman Bostock* 26 153 660 593 104 199 36 12 14 90 16 7 51 59 .336 .389 .508 .897 144 RF Dan Ford 25 144 510 453 66 121 25 7 11 60 6 4 41 79 .267 .338 .426 .764 108 DH Craig Kusick 28 115 325 268 34 68 12 0 12 45 3 1 49 60 .254 .370 .433 .803 120 Pos Name Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ DH Rich Chiles* 27 108 295 261 31 69 16 1 3 36 0 1 23 17 .264 .323 .368 .691 89 DH Glenn Adams* 29 95 290 269 32 91 17 0 6 49 0 2 18 30 .338 .376 .468 .844 130 3B Jerry Terrell 30 93 235 214 32 48 6 0 1 20 10 4 11 21 .224 .263 .266 .530 46 2B Rob Wilfong* 23 73 193 171 22 42 1 1 1 13 10 4 17 26 .246 .321 .281 .602 67 LF Bob Gorinski 25 54 126 118 14 23 4 1 3 22 1 0 5 29 .195 .226 .322 .548 48 CF Willie Norwood 26 39 91 83 15 19 3 0 3 9 6 1 6 17 .229 .281 .373 .654 78 IF Luis Gomez 25 32 74 65 6 16 4 2 0 11 0 2 4 9 .246 .290 .369 .659 80 C Glenn Borgmann 27 17 54 43 12 11 1 0 2 7 0 0 11 9 .256 .407 .419 .826 128 C Bud Bulling 24 15 39 32 2 5 1 0 0 5 0 0 5 5 .156 .270 .188 .458 29 3B Larry Wolfe 24 8 27 25 3 6 1 0 0 6 0 0 1 0 .240 .269 .280 .549 51 2B Sam Perlozzo 26 10 27 24 6 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 .292 .346 .458 .804 119 DH Randy Bass* 23 9 19 19 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .105 .105 .105 .211 -42 Next the pitching staff that held the team to an 84-77 record.
    Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Team Totals 27.1 84 77 4.36 161 161 126 35 4 25 1442.0 1546 776 698 151 507 737 91 4.21 1.424   Rank in 14 AL teams   7 8 12       11 9 10 8  12 12 12 10 7 12       Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP SP Dave Goltz 28 20 11 3.36 39 39 0 19 2 0 303.0 284 129 113 23 91 186 119 3.42 1.238 SP Paul Thormodsgard 23 11 15 4.62 37 37 0 8 1 0 218.0 236 122 112 25 65 94 86 4.30 1.381 SP Geoff Zahn* 31 12 14 4.68 34 32 0 7 1 0 198.0 234 116 103 20 66 88 85 4.24 1.515 SP Pete Redfern 22 6 9 5.18 30 28 2 1 0 0 137.1 164 89 79 13 66 73 77 4.44 1.675 Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP CL Tom Johnson 26 16 7 3.13 71 0 54 0 0 15 146.2 152 57 51 11 47 87 128 3.59 1.357 RP Ron Schueler 29 8 7 4.41 52 7 21 0 0 3 134.2 131 74 66 16 61 77 91 4.63 1.426 RP Tom Burgmeier* 33 6 4 5.09 61 0 20 0 0 7 97.1 113 56 55 15 33 35 79 5.10 1.500 RP Dave Johnson 28 2 5 4.58 30 6 16 0 0 0 72.2 86 42 37 7 23 33 88 4.24 1.500 RP Jeff Holly* 24 2 3 6.89 18 5 6 0 0 0 48.1 57 37 37 8 12 32 58 4.37 1.428 Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Gary Serum 20 0 0 4.37 8 0 2 0 0 0 22.2 22 11 11 4 10 14 93 5.39 1.412   Bill Butler* 30 0 1 6.86 6 4 0 0 0 0 21.0 19 17 16 5 15 5 59 7.64 1.619   Mike Pazik* 27 1 0 2.50 3 3 0 0 0 0 18.0 18 5 5 1 6 6 163 3.79 1.333   Don Carrithers 27 0 1 6.91 7 0 3 0 0 0 14.1 16 13 11 2 6 3 59 5.60 1.535   Jim Shellenback* 33 0 0 7.94 5 0 0 0 0 0 5.2 10 7 5 1 5 3 54 6.62 2.647   Jim Hughes 25 0 0 2.08 2 0 2 0 0 0 4.1 4 1 1 0 1 1 209 2.97 1.154 Notice that the starting rotation was basically one pitcher deep, their ace, Dave Goltz, he of the knuckle-curve. The staff ERA was 4.36, which is not so much a reflection of the quality of the starting staff but of the superior work of two relievers who ate up 281.1 innings. Tom Johnson was the one most responsible for holding down the team ERA with his 3.13 ERA, 16-7 record and 146.2 innings as the closer! Amazingly, after the Twins had lost Bill Campbell and his 17-5 record in relief in 1976 to free-agency, they were able to plug in Johnson.
    It’s pretty plain to see that the top 9 pitchers listed, excepting Goltz and Johnson, are what held back this team with a juggernaut offense from a possible division championship or even World Series victory. Just one quality starter.
    Two other major factors influenced my thinking on the value of deep, quality pitching.
    The first was the astonishing success of the 1972-1974 Oakland A’s, who may have won 5-7 World Series in a row except for the advent of free-agency. Charley Finley waved the white flag of surrender just as much as Calvin Griffith did and the Oakland dynasty was destroyed. Take a look at the pitching staff of a World Champion three years running. The names changed slightly but the prioritization on pitching is the teachable lesson! (courtesy of baseball-reference.com)
    Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Team Totals 26.7 94 68 3.29 162 162 116 46 12 41 1457.1 1311 532 143 494 797 109 3.83 1.239   Rank in 12 AL teams   2 11 2       9 2 2 3  2 3 9 4 8       Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP SP Ken Holtzman* 27 21 13 2.97 40 40 0 16 4 0 297.1 275 98 22 66 157 120 3.18 1.147 SP Vida Blue* 23 20 9 3.28 37 37 0 13 4 0 263.2 214 96 26 105 158 109 3.89 1.210 SP Catfish Hunter 27 21 5 3.34 36 36 0 11 3 0 256.1 222 95 39 69 124 107 4.40 1.135 SP Blue Moon Odom 28 5 12 4.49 30 24 4 3 0 0 150.1 153 75 14 67 83 79 4.05 1.463 SP Dave Hamilton* 25 6 4 4.39 16 11 1 1 0 0 69.2 74 34 8 24 34 81 4.16 1.407 Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP CL Rollie Fingers 26 7 8 1.92 62 2 49 0 0 22 126.2 107 27 5 39 110 186 2.36 1.153 RP Darold Knowles* 31 6 8 3.09 52 5 26 1 1 9 99.0 87 34 7 49 46 116 4.13 1.374 RP Horacio Pina 28 6 3 2.76 47 0 24 0 0 8 88.0 58 27 8 34 41 129 4.25 1.045 RP Paul Lindblad* 31 1 5 3.69 36 3 11 0 0 2 78.0 89 32 8 28 33 97 4.25 1.500 Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Glenn Abbott 22 1 0 3.86 5 3 1 1 0 0 18.2 16 8 3 7 6 94 5.14 1.232   Rob Gardner* 28 0 0 4.91 3 0 0 0 0 0 7.1 10 4 2 4 2 77 7.20 1.909   Chuck Dobson 29 0 1 7.71 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.1 6 2 1 2 3 55 8.14 3.429 Second was playing table top baseball with a good friend who was an avid Orioles fan. We played my Twins team against his Orioles for many games, who while not having the offense of the Twins, kept running out a relentless rotation of Palmer, Flanagan, Dennis Martinez, Scott McGregor. I was defeated more often than not by this pitching staff and got used to being dominated. I was forever changed! This is the kind of staff I’d like to see the Twins aspire to! (courtesy of baseball-reference.com)
    Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Team Totals 26.8 90 71 3.56 161 161 96 65 14 33 1429.0 1340 566 107 509 754 99 3.60 1.294   Rank in 14 AL teams   5 10 5       1 2 2 11  2 4 4 7 5       Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP SP Jim Palmer 32 21 12 2.46 38 38 0 19 6 0 296.0 246 81 19 97 138 143 3.48 1.159 SP Mike Flanagan* 26 19 15 4.03 40 40 0 17 2 0 281.1 271 126 22 87 167 87 3.37 1.273 SP Dennis Martinez 24 16 11 3.52 40 38 0 15 2 0 276.1 257 108 20 93 142 100 3.54 1.267 SP Scott McGregor* 24 15 13 3.32 35 32 2 13 4 1 233.0 217 86 19 47 94 106 3.46 1.133 Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP CL Don Stanhouse 27 6 9 2.89 56 0 47 0 0 24 74.2 60 24 0 52 42 122 3.55 1.500 RP Joe Kerrigan 24 3 1 4.77 26 2 16 0 0 3 71.2 75 38 10 36 41 74 4.85 1.549 RP Tippy Martinez* 28 3 3 4.83 42 0 16 0 0 5 69.0 77 37 4 40 57 73 3.47 1.696 RP Nelson Briles 34 4 4 4.64 16 8 4 1 0 0 54.1 58 28 6 21 30 76 4.19 1.454 RP John Flinn 23 1 1 8.04 13 0 5 0 0 0 15.2 24 14 3 13 8 45 6.54 2.362 Pos Name Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Tim Stoddard 25 0 1 6.00 8 0 3 0 0 0 18.0 22 12 3 8 14 60 4.86 1.667   Dave Ford 21 1 0 0.00 2 1 1 0 0 0 15.0 10 0 0 2 5   2.32 0.800   Sammy Stewart 23 1 1 3.18 2 2 0 0 0 0 11.1 10 4 0 3 11 115 1.44 1.147   Earl Stephenson* 30 0 0 2.79 2 0 2 0 0 0 9.2 10 3 0 5 4 131 3.31 1.552   Elrod Hendricks 37 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.1 1 0 0 1 0   3.87 0.857   Larry Harlow* 26 0 0 67.50 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 2 5 1 4 1 9 37.09 9.000 Now, let’s compare this year’s Twins staff to, first the 1977 Twins, and then secondly to the 1973 A’s and the 1978 Orioles. (courtesy of baseball-reference.com)
    Pos Name Age W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Team Totals 30.4 29 41 .414 4.94 70 70 70 0 0 17 610.1 619 335 104 209 574 84 4.67 1.357   Rank in 15 AL teams   12 4   14       8 9 8 11  13 13 14 5 13       Pos Name Age W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP SP Jose Berrios 27 7 2 .778 3.56 14 14 0 0 0 0 83.1 70 33 10 21 87 115 3.58 1.092 SP J.A. Happ* 38 3 3 .500 6.12 12 12 0 0 0 0 60.1 69 41 11 18 44 67 5.13 1.442 SP Michael Pineda (10-day IL) 32 3 4 .429 3.70 11 11 0 0 0 0 56.0 49 23 10 15 51 111 4.48 1.143 SP Matt Shoemaker 34 2 8 .200 7.57 13 11 2 0 0 0 54.2 66 46 12 23 37 54 6.04 1.628 SP Kenta Maeda 33 2 2 .500 5.01 10 10 0 0 0 0 46.2 55 26 9 14 46 82 4.80 1.479 Pos Name Age W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP CL Taylor Rogers* 30 2 3 .400 2.73 28 0 11 0 0 7 29.2 26 9 3 5 41 152 2.23 1.045 RP Hansel Robles 30 3 3 .500 2.84 32 0 9 0 0 5 31.2 21 10 2 19 33 145 3.80 1.263 RP Jorge Alcala 25 1 1 .500 3.49 29 0 11 0 0 0 28.1 16 11 7 7 24 118 5.54 0.812 RP Tyler Duffey 30 0 2 .000 4.15 28 0 2 0 0 2 26.0 23 12 2 13 24 100 3.94 1.385 RP Alex Colome 32 2 4 .333 5.40 27 0 10 0 0 2 25.0 28 15 5 12 26 77 5.49 1.600 Pos Name Age W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP   Randy Dobnak 26 1 6 .143 7.83 13 5 3 0 0 1 43.2 60 38 11 12 25 53 6.19 1.649   Caleb Thielbar* 34 2 0 1.000 4.13 22 0 4 0 0 0 24.0 26 11 3 7 36 101 2.80 1.375   Bailey Ober 25 0 0   3.71 4 4 0 0 0 0 17.0 18 7 3 2 21 113 3.52 1.176   Cody Stashak (10-day IL) 27 0 0   6.89 15 0 1 0 0 0 15.2 16 12 2 10 26 61 3.62 1.660   Lewis Thorpe* (7-day IL) 25 0 2 .000 3.86 4 3 1 0 0 0 14.0 13 6 1 4 5 109 4.24 1.214   Luke Farrell 30 1 0 1.000 2.08 11 0 3 0 0 0 13.0 11 3 1 5 14 202 3.17 1.231   Shaun Anderson 26 0 0   9.35 4 0 0 0 0 0 8.2 13 9 1 5 8 46 4.90 2.077   Griffin Jax (40-man) 26 0 0   8.64 3 0 2 0 0 0 8.1 11 8 4 3 9 49 8.33 1.680   Derek Law 30 0 0   8.53 5 0 3 0 0 0 6.1 11 6 2 6 9 51 7.28 2.684   Juan Minaya 30 0 0   4.26 4 0 2 0 0 0 6.1 5 3 2 3 4 102 7.91 1.263   Devin Smeltzer* (10-day IL) 25 0 0   0.00 1 0 1 0 0 0 4.2 1 0 0 1 3   3.81 0.429   Brandon Waddell* 27 0 1 .000 11.25 4 0 2 0 0 0 4.0 10 5 2 3 1 40 11.42 3.250   Willians Astudillo (40-man) 29 0 0   3.00 3 0 3 0 0 0 3.0 1 1 1 1 0 153 8.51 0.667 Statistically, this is the worst pitching staff we’ve looked at. This rotation is basically a two man rotation out of 5 where the 1977 Twins were basically one. Staffs like the 1977 and 2021 Twins will never lead to a high quality team featuring one  and two viable starters type rotations. Obvious, right?
    My argument would be that Falvey and Levine should be trying to get that to 4 or 5 quality starters and not put resources to players like J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker, Alex Colome or even Josh Donaldson. Donaldson has good qualities but one thing he isn’t is a quality pitcher.
    What’s the way forward? I think, based on his 3.70 ERA so far and the virtual impossibility of signing 3 FA quality starters, that they need to re-sign Michael Pineda. They also need to re-sign Jose Berrios. That’s only 2 of 5 quality starters. We have to hope that Maeda rounds back into form. Further the FO is going to have to sign a quality free agent pitcher. Then we have to hope that Bailey Ober builds on what he as started so far. And hope that Barnes, Duran or Balazovic make a breakthrough. There are other good arms.
    I’ve pictured below the kinds of pitchers we need in at least 3 or 4 spots. It would be nice to have Christy Mathewson as a Twin but, alas, that’s not possible. He’s my favorite pitcher of all time.
    Let me know what you think. My motto is pitching, pitching and more pitching!!!
     
  20. Greglw3

    My Twins Shakeup

    By Greglw3,


    Immediate Twins Overhaul
    Someone posted here on Twins Daily about a sense of a Twins shakeup. I love the Twins too much not to contribute my ideas for an immediate shakeup.
    Here’s a basic lineup that would represent a shakeup. Of course, Buxton would take over CF when he’s available. I’ve got a keen eye on St. Paul and Wichita and there are myriad good prospects. Here’s a take on a new lineup and a fresh start:
    3B- Jose Miranda
    SS- Jorge Polanco
    2B-Nick Gordon
    1B-Josh Donaldson
    LF-Alex Kirilloff
    CF-Aaron Whitefield
    RF-Trevor Larnach
    C-make a trade
    DH-Cruz and Kepler
    Super Utility-Luis Arraez
    Release Jake Cave
    Starting pitching: Release Happ and Shoemaker and replace with Dobnak and Ober. Griffin Jax could be recalled as the next option.
    Bullpen: Bring up Thorpe, Vasquez, Farrell and Yennier Cano, consider Matt Canterino currently with 1.13 ERA in high A Cedar Rapids..
    Replace Falvey, Levine and Baldelli. Bring in a competent veteran baseball manager such as Jim Leyland. I think he would be Franconia-like in incisive in game decisions, which have been sorely lacking from Baldelli.
    Keep an eye on: Balazovic (currently injured), Duran (currently injured), Ernie De La Trinidad (OF, solid start at Wichita), Gilberto Celestino
    The idea here is to create a more balanced roster. My changes could allow a dynamic base stealing element with Gordon, Buxton and Whitefield. The extra speed could be used to garner the Twins some extra inning wins by pinch running Whitefield when Buxton returns. My overhaul also ushers in the era of what promise to be exciting big league careers for Kirilloff and Larnach!
    I see a very talented and exciting player in Nick Gordon. He had an electrifying debut with the Twins, stealing two bases! He also leads St. Paul in hitting with a small sample size. Plus his 2019 body of work was deceptively above average for a second baseman, with 29 doubles in 292 AB and he slashed .298/.342/.459. Current slash at St. Paul .333/.429/.611. Fun fact: Gordon’s OPS+ with the Twins is 246. Obviously mitigated by one game sample size.
    Miranda is off to a sizzling start at Wichita with a .370/.400/.652 slash line. Plus he’s only 22 years old. 
    Sano and Kepler would have to reclaim their jobs. They have had not helped the Twins. Kepler may have been resurgent before his injury, but I would go with my new outfield and find ways to use Kepler where he can actually help the team.
    Twins Daily is my go to place for information on the Twins. I hope my contribution here gets your juices flowing as a Twins fan. We definitely don’t want to tap into the definition of insanity: keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. WIN TWINS!!!
     
     
     
     
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