Nick Nelson

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4499[/ATTACH]Scott Diamond picked up a win in Thursday’s sweep-clinching victory over the White Sox, but his outing could hardly be described as a strong one. Facing arguably the league’s worst lineup, the lefty made it through five innings with only one run allowed but fell apart in the sixth, coughing up a single and back-to-back homers before getting yanked with one out. It marks the seventh time in his last eight outings that Diamond has failed to complete six innings. During that span, which dates back to May 7, he has a 6.86 ERA and an ugly 16-to-13 K/BB ratio in 42 innings. Diamond has never been anyone’s idea of a strikeout pitcher, but lately nothing has been working for him. His 48.2 percent grounder rate on the season is down significantly from last year’s elite 53.4 percent clip. His command has been noticeably less sharp. Parker noted on Twitter that opposing hitters are teeing off on Diamond’s curveball to the tune of .314/.310/.571, after last year hitting .239/.247/.368 against the heavily featured offering. He was far and away the best starter on Minnesota's staff in 2012, but right now Diamond isn't doing the things he needs to be successful, and that has been the case for weeks. The 26-year-old southpaw clearly isn't right. He's not locating like he was last year, and his pitches aren't moving like they were. Understandably, thoughts turn to his offseason surgery. In December, Diamond had bone chips removed from his left elbow after fading down the stretch. The operation was similar in nature to that of Vance Worley, who had "a loose body and bone spur" removed from his pitching elbow at the end of the season after, also, fading down the stretch. This year, Worley looked like a mere shadow of his former self for two months before being bumped to Rochester. The same has more or less been true of Diamond, who excelled in his first handful of starts but is approaching six weeks of ineffectiveness. A Twins team that has actively preached a "no scholarships" mantra now has Diamond -- with one quality start in his last eight tries -- and Mike Pelfrey -- with the worst ERA in the majors -- comprising two fifths of its rotation. Meanwhile, Kyle Gibson logged another brilliant outing in Rochester Thursday, allowing just one unearned run in seven innings. To quote Terry Ryan… "Are we trying to win, or what are we doing?"

I don't see him bringing back enough at this point. Maybe if he gets it going and has a nice second half you visit the idea again in the offseason. But I don't see him as "blocking" Sano, given that the Twins don't seem like Plouffe's defense at third and would probably prefer to move him to RF or 1B anyway.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm suggesting. And, as was clearly stated in the article, we're not talking about Slowey specifically because that ain't happening. But I like the idea of seeking out an undervalued under-30 pitcher with good peripherals in another organization who can be given an opportunity and -- if it works out -- potentially figure into the team's plans beyond this year without much expense. The rotation should be an auditioning ground in the second half, and the more viable candidates they can try out, the better. (Are guys like P.J. Walters, Cole De Vries and Andrew Albers viable long-term options? I don't really think so.)

Excuses? He's pitched well this year. No one's ever called him an ace but he's better than much of what the Twins have in their system (as is Francisco Liriano, BTW). They seem to have a habit of letting the wrong guys go, which has helped get them to this point. I don't think I've said otherwise. The K-rate and low hit totals are very impressive, but I've heard more than one scout-type express legit concern about his command issues. He's certainly not dominating in Double-A the way that a 23-year-old heralded as a top-of-rotation talent could be. And even with the clean test results, shoulder soreness is worrisome.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1915-Three-Bagger-Slowey-Gibson-May

* The Marlins announced this week that they've demoted Kevin Slowey to the bullpen to make room in their rotation for Nathan Eovaldi. Twins fans will recall how splendidly the last attempt to convert Slowey to a reliever turned out. On some level, unless you're one of the many local scribes who openly despises him, you've got to feel for Slowey. He has actually been pitching reasonably well this year; at least, as well as could be expected of him. He's had a few clunkers, especially lately, but his 4.10 ERA is respectable and his 64-to-14 K/BB ratio in 79 innings is rather impressive. Even with a 5.40 ERA over his last four starts, he has still managed 27 strikeouts with only two walks during that span. That his peripherals have remained so strong seems to suggest this stretch is more a bump in the road than an unraveling for the right-hander. Yet he can't even stick in the starting five for the worst team in baseball. He must really be an obnoxious dude, or something. Interestingly, the manager who demoted him this time is Mike Redmond, who caught Slowey for three years in Minnesota. If not for the bad blood, Slowey would be exactly the kind of guy the Twins should be targeting in trades as next month's deadline approaches. He's young enough to have upside, he's (arguably) undervalued and he wouldn't cost a whole lot to bring in. But of course, given the history there, the entire notion in this instance is laughable. * The case of Kyle Gibson is growing more and more peculiar. He continues to fire great innings in the International League, where he has posted a strong 3.26 ERA . For all the talk about a lack of "consistency," Gibson has earned a quality start in five of his last six outings, and seven of his last 10. He has completed six-plus innings in five straight outings. He is holding opponents to a .233 average and .297 slugging percentage. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4466[/ATTACH]That's dominant. Gibson is more than deserving of the big-league promotion he has been yearning for since he came so close two years ago, before all of this Tommy John business unfolded. He is proving, again and again, that he is fully recovered, and that he is beyond a shadow of doubt one of the five best pitchers in this organization. And yet, he's been surpassed for rotation spots by Liam Hendriks, Pedro Hernandez, P.J. Walters and Samuel Deduno. And now we're hearing rhetoric about how there's no room, because who could you possibly remove from this unstoppable group? Look, I understand that the starters have been performing better of late, but give me a break. Astonishingly, we're even receiving hints that 27-year-old journeyman Andrew Albers, who prior to this year was not a prospect, might be at the front of the line in Rochester. Possibly Gibson still has some things to learn and work on, but he has earned the chance to do so at the major-league level. It's hard to see an argument that his preparedness for next year wouldn't profit from some experience against MLB hitters and the opportunity to work with Rick Anderson. Instead, for whatever reason, the Twins appear content to let Gibson use up his limited innings facing inferior minor-leaguers. * While it's patently absurd to proclaim at this point that the Twins are "getting fleeced" certainly the returns on their big offseason trades haven't been especially favorable thus far. Vance Worley pitched horribly for two months before being bumped to Triple-A, where he's getting knocked around and averaging a pitiful 4.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Alex Meyer battled command issues before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. But Trevor May, the third pitcher yielded in the center fielder swaps, has been healthy and took another big step forward Tuesday night in New Britain. Facing the Erie SeaWolves, May pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine. The most encouraging sign: he threw 70 of 100 pitches for strikes and issued only one walk. That marks only the second time in 14 starts this year that May has not handed out multiple walks. Control has been the enduring hurdle for this talented 23-year-old, whose swing-and-miss stuff has helped him rack up 714 strikeouts in 595 minor-league innings. He entered last night's start with a 4.7 BB/9 rate that was identical to last year's disappointing figure, but if he can make even moderate ongoing improvements with his consistency and command, he could end up being the prize of this past winter's haul. As things stand, May holds a 3.56 ERA and with his recent run of success (1.74 ERA and 25/6 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings over his past three starts) he might be establishing himself as a candidate for a midseason promotion.

Nice writeup Seth. But I have to wonder how much less we'd be straining to find positives if Kyle Gibson had made Mike Pelfrey's last five starts.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1899-Those-Damn-Yankees-The-Cuzzi-Call

Love 'em or hate 'em, the Yankees are headed to down in the beginning of July. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first of three Twins postseason defeats at the hands of the Bronx Bombers, so we thought we'd take the opportunity to look back at what has been a lopsided -- but always entertaining and memorable -- rivalry between the two franchises. Over the next couple weeks leading up to the Yankees series at Target Field, various writers here at Twins Daily will look back at some of the Yankee moments that stick out in our minds. ~~~ It was a game filled with heartbreak. You can point to many culprits in Minnesota's 4-3, 11-inning loss to the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the 2009 American League Division Series: Carlos Gomez slipping on the bases in the fourth and getting tagged for the third out, preventing a run from scoring; The Twins offense stranding a whopping 17 base runners; Joe Nathan blowing a two-run lead in the ninth by leaving one up for Alex Rodriguez… Still, inevitably, it all comes back to Phil Cuzzi and The Call. Even with all their missteps, the Twins had been able to play neck-and-neck with the Yanks, threatening to level the series at a game apiece heading back to the Metrodome. In a best-of-five first-round series, the difference between heading home tied 1-1 and down 2-0 is monumental, so this was a pivotal contest for the Twins, who had sneaked into the postseason with an absurd September run. Joe Mauer, reigning MVP and key cog in Minnesota's miraculous late-season comeback, kicked off the top of the 11th by driving a pitch from Damaso Marte down the right field line. The ball hit off the glove of left fielder Melky Cabrera, then landed in fair territory by about a foot and bounced over the wall. A lead-off ground-rule double… except not. Phil Cuzzi, umping down the down the left field line as part of a six-man postseason crew, was staring directly at the play from about 10 feet away, and yet somehow still managed to completely botch the call, declaring it a foul ball. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4446[/ATTACH] An incredulous Mauer returned to the batter's box and ended up hitting a single. The Twins followed with two more singles, which should have given them the lead but instead loaded the bases with no outs before reliever David Robertson wriggled out of the jam unscathed. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4447[/ATTACH]The popular response was to label Cuzzi a bum who's terrible at his job, and I had my own fun with my Halloween costume later that month (see the picture on the right), but the truth is that he's a major-league umpire and has been for 13 years running, so clearly that's not the case. Cuzzi isn't even generally ranked among the worst umps in MLB; that's Angel Hernandez and Joe West territory. No, what happened was an otherwise competent umpire apparently suffering a moment of temporary blindness that completely screwed the Twins in a crucial moment at Yankee Stadium. It couldn't have fit the narrative more perfectly if it were conjured up by some hack sportswriter for the New York Post. Over the past 10 years, the Twins have gone 23-61 against the Yankees. A record that horrible goes beyond what would be expected with even the most lopsided talent differentials. No, there's something else at play here, as if the universe were conspiring to keep the poor little Midwestern Twins under the thumb the Evil Empire. Cuzzi's famously horrible call serves as a perfect example.

He was probably about due for that after putting up a .189 BABIP in April & May. And yes, the 6 HR's have helped. Why is that being presented as a mark against him?

Thomas isn't going anywhere until Hicks is healthy. It will be Herrmann and that's the right call. He's had a nice little run up here in 12 at-bats but that doesn't overshadow his sub-600 OPS in 170 PA at Triple-A beforehand.

Not sure I'd agree with that. Gibson's ranks in the International League: ERA: 10th WHIP: 6th FIP: 2nd Pretty good.

They've renegotiated since then, at least once, probably more. The biggest problems for the Twins with their TV deal are that MSP has an extremely low cable subscriber rate (relatively speaking) and there's no competition to drive up the price.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1876-Twin-Terrors-in-the-Twins-System

After it was announced on Sunday that he'd been promoted to Double-A, 20-year-old Miguel Sano became the center of attention in the Twins' farm system. That lasted less than 24 hours. On Monday afternoon, the Cedar Rapids Kernels -- Minnesota's Low-A Midwest League affiliate -- had their game televised on Fox Sports North. Although it was an off day for the Twins and the Kernels have numerous quality prospects on their roster, the real reason for this unusual occurrence was obvious. This was all about Byron Buxton, who was the topic of conversation for nearly the entire three-hour broadcast. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4402[/ATTACH] Playing under the brightest spotlight of his entire life, Buxton lived up to the hype and then some. He did so many incredible things in this one game that it's difficult to pick a highlight. There was the bases-loaded double, crushed off the wall in left-center, that plated three runs and broke the game open early on. Then there was the triple a few innings later, where Buxton reached out and -- seemingly without exerting much effort -- stroked a ball about 350 feet into right-center field, then sped around to third base in roughly half a second. Buxton's quickness between bags made it easy to see why the Star Tribune's Jim Souhan remarked, after studying the meteoric prospect last month for a column, "He goes from first to third like he knows a shortcut." Overshadowing Buxton's heroics at the plate and on the base paths were his efforts in center field -- particularly one diving catch at the warning track that was legitimately one of the finest you will see on a baseball field all year. On this particular day, all of the outfielder's vaunted five tools were on display. The ease with which he, as a teenager, is handling his first hack at full-season ball nearly defies belief. Buxton appeared to be on another level from his competition Monday, and his overall numbers reflect that. He leads the Midwest League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. He's among the top five in walks, stolen bases and RBI. He has scored 60 runs; the next highest total in the league is 42. We haven't seen this kind of utterly dominant performance in the minors since… Oh yeah, that Sano guy. He's no stranger to the spotlight, having been the subject of a popular documentary before taking American baseball by storm. Sano put forth an incredible performance in the Midwest League last year, bashing 28 homers with 100 RBI in 129 games. Now he has followed that up with a ridiculous showing over the first two months at Ft. Myers. Not only did his 1.079 OPS lead the Florida State League by more than 100 points, it was also higher than any mark that's been posted in the FSL since 1999. The prodigious Dominican was labeled a Top 10 prospect in the game prior to the season by Baseball America, and has only raised his stock with an historically amazing first half at High-A; now he becomes baseball's youngest player at the Double-A level. Yet, there seems to be a consensus that the more well rounded Buxton has surpassed him as a prospect. When Buck inevitably gets the call to Ft. Myers -- probably a matter of days, not weeks -- he'll once again steal away all the buzz. That doesn't exactly seem fair for Sano, who's doing everything right, but it's a sign of the times. The Twins currently feature two of the game's most spectacular young talents. In fact, rarely has any organization ever had two such players rising through its system simultaneously. By the end of the year Buxton and Sano have a legitimate chance to rank No. 1 and 2 on many national prospect lists. A rebuilding franchise could hardly ask for a better one-two punch than that.

Good, thoughtful answers from Molitor. Nice interview.

Well, as I pointed out in the thread jokin linked to, the Twins have been plagued by far fewer injuries and on-field gaffes this season. They didn't dig an inescapable hole in the first four weeks. Their bullpen has been very good, with Glen Perkins continuing to cement himself among baseball's elite relievers. Joe Mauer is having one of his best seasons. Chris Parmelee and Aaron Hicks are both looking much better after slow starts. Oswaldo Arcia showed some great signs during his stint and will surely be back soon. Pedro Florimon actually looks like he might be a decent stopgap, which I never would have expected. As far as the Twins' team record and team rankings in WAR, I don't really care a whole lot about that. I have no illusions about this team contending in 2013 so when I'm talking about positives, I'm looking more on an individual level as it relates to the organization's future.