Parker Hageman

What was interesting about Justin Morneau’s second home run of the game yesterday (and the walk-off winner which John Bonnes detailed here) is that it happened to be just his third home run he has hit which was thrown over 90 miles per hour this year. On his second homer of the year back on April 18, he turned on a 91.7 mile an hour Hiroki Kuroda fastball. On July 6, he redirected a 96-mile an hour Tanner Scheppers fastball into the Rangers Ballpark stands. Yesterday’s walk off that came on Vinnie Pestano’s 91 mile an hour fastball marked just the third time this year that he’s managed to put a 90+ fastball into the seats. In 2009, when Morneau was a sure-fire MVP candidate before missing the last month of the year, 14 of his 30 home runs came on fastballs over 90 miles an hour. In 2008, eight of his 23 came on fastballs over 90 miles an hour. Now, just three of his 19 home runs have touched that velocity. The tendency may be to associate this with his concussion, however, during the 2010 season Morneau hit just two of his 18 home runs on 90+ fastballs as well. Perhaps it is a byproduct of aging, or the injured wrist, shoulder or other ailment. Consider his hitting zone against the fastball in the first half compared to the second half of the year: [ATTACH=CONFIG]2315[/ATTACH] With the green-to-red colors representing the greater production, Morneau’s second-half performance (depicted on the right) shows that he has much better zone coverage against fastballs. Take note of the dramatic difference between his first-half production (left) when being thrown inside in comparison to the second-half (right), in which he was handling the inside fastball far better. Independent of what leaves the park, Morneau’s performance against fastballs overall has improved as the season has gone on.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2295[/ATTACH]When the Twins front office begins to renovate this mess of a house in the winter, at the top of the list the highest priority has to be fixing the starting rotation. It is the home’s crumbling foundation and that needs the most attention. Afterwards, item number two could be repairing the all-important middle infield position. Offensively, over the past two seasons the Twins shortstops have hit a combined .241/.303/.326. It was this kind of hitting that had forced the 2009 team into acquiring Orlando Cabrera and the 2010 team to land JJ Hardy. In terms of OPS, just three other American League teams have extracted less production out of the position since the end of the 2010 season: the Mariners, Rays and Athletics. The difference is, while those teams’ shortstops struggled at the dish, they were all good with the glove providing them with some value. What’s more is that two of those three teams either changed direction or will likely change in the near future. In the past two seasons, outside of a geriatric doctor in Sarasota performing physicals, nobody in this country picked up more balls than Seattle’s Brendan Ryan, so it is easy to exchange offense for his defense. Meanwhile, Elliot Johnson in Tampa has been solid, doing more on defense in 2010 over 2011, but he will likely give way to one of the two defensive stalwarts in Tim Beckham or Hak-Ju Lee in the coming future. Over in Oakland, Chad Pennington has been average in the field however his lack of offense encouraged the A’s to grab the equally struggling Stephen Drew, who has yet to rebound after leaving the hitting-haven of Arizona’s Chase Field. In theory, the Twins thought they were getting a strong defensive player in Tsuyoshi Nishioka but realized that the bar for a Gold Glove in Japan was apparently set ridiculously low. For their part, recognizing the lack of depth at the upper levels, the Twins have nabbed a few additional shortstops including Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar to go with the in-house Brian Dozier. Florimon, who has been up with the team for all of 19 games, comes equipped with plenty of range but an error-prone resume. We’ve seen some slick fielding plays thanks to his speed. Consider with a grain of salt based on the sample size yet according to Baseball Info Solution’s data in 158.1 innings he has made 11 out-of-zone plays at short. Compare that to Jamey Carroll - who had 150 more innings than him at short – and made just 18 out-of-zone plays. However, he’s been unable to make the plays within the standard zone. He’s had 42 balls hit into his zone and made just 27 plays (.643 revised zone rating). While Carroll could not touch Florimon’s speed, Carroll compensated by making the vast majority of plays that were hit near him (85 of 105 for a .810 revised zone rating). And although he has turned a corner and has made just 16 errors so far this year, the fewest E’s the 25-year-old shortstop has commitment was 21 in the low-A Sally League. If he does not find a way to harness all of his physical talent and smooth out his glove work, his minor league track record suggests will not contribute much offensively judging by his .249/.321/.354 batting line in just under 3,000 plate appearances. Escobar has proven to be a much more sure-handed individual over his development but does not necessarily project as a starting shortstop – more likely a second baseman or utility infielder. Even though the White Sox used him at third base, there is nothing in his minor league batting line of .267/.312/.348 that would be indicative of someone capable of hitting like a third baseman. Before they decided against recalling him in September, the accept belief was that Brian Dozier would be the frontrunner for the position in 2013 among all the internal options. For most of the year Dozier played decisively average defense. Compared to the rest of the league’s starting shortstops according to BIS, he made a less than average amount of plays in a shortstop’s zone. Some of that was blamed on lack of awareness of his competition. Upon his demotion, Ron Gardenhire questioned some of his positioning that allowed speedier guys like Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis and Kansas City’s Jarrod Dyson to reach on grounders. Improving his defense would require preparation and ability to position in the field to handle those types of situations. Then again, there are plenty of baseball minds who have believed Dozier to be more of a second baseman than a shortstop. And, offensively, he degraded into a Danny Valencia-like mess at the plate, chasing sliders out of the zone and putting a very high amount of those kinds of pitches in play (74% out of zone contact). To be sure, the gaggle of shortstops has improved the defense a smidge over the 2011 group. Last year the team had a .268 batting average on ground balls in play, well above the league average of .240. This year, that number has dropped to .258. Still on the high-side but an increase of grounders converted to outs, nonetheless. Based on what we know today, it would seem that none of these three players are close to becoming fixtures in the middle infield. They certainly all have skills and plenty of upside, although it is hard to envision a team interested in competing for a division title next year to roll forward with any of these three at the vital position. The point is, when the Twins brass sits down when the season ends on October 3, they should think critically about their plans for shortstop next year. Any one of these players may be able to get a team through a season and it is possible that one of these existing candidates figures things out either defensively or offensively. On the other hand, based on their prior experience, it is more likely that they do not and will leave the organization, once again, hunting for an answer at shortstop.

Concerns over Joe Mauer’s defense has grown exponentially as the number of opposing kleptomaniacs have continued to accumulate more and more bases. A one-time Florida State quarterback recruit, earlier in his career Mauer had thwarted over 30% of would-be base-stealers but has seen that number drop to league average as injuries and age have taken a toll on him. This year, however, that rate has dropped to a league-worst six percent – stopping just three runners with his own arm. What’s more is that the opposition’s appetite to motor on the basepaths has increased significantly too. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/MauerRunningGame.jpg Prior to yesterday afternoon’s matinee against the Mariners, Associated Press reporter Jon Krawczynski relayed on Twitter that manager Ron Gardenhire said that Mauer’s caught stealing decline had nothing to do with his arm, rather the source of his struggles had to do with his slow slidestep when positioning for a throw down to second. Meanwhile 1500ESPN.com’s Phil Mackey provided further details of what the manager was seeing in his All Star catcher: Reviewing the limited MLB.com archive video clips available of Mauer throwing down to second, there definitely is evidence of what Ron Gardenhire was speaking towards Mauer’s mechanics. The first clip is over Mauer attempting to throw out Maicer Izturis of the Angels. Liriano’s fastball is up in the zone and gives Mauer a good chance at nailing the trailing running in the double steal but the throw skips into center field when Alexi Casilla cannot handle the hop. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_4_12_12.gif The next clip is Mauer throwing out Detroit’s Brennan Boesch – one of three times he has done so in 2012. Now, Boesch is not much of a base-stealing threat so it is possible that Mauer was caught flat-footed because of that but, just like in the clip above, Mauer is on his heels and stands straight up then pivots his feet. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_7_2012.gif Now compare Mauer’s current form against a couple of examples from his past. This first clip is from 2010 in which Mauer nails the Royals’ Chris Getz in his attempted thievery. Note how he starts to slide his backside out before receiving the pitch, getting his body into the throwing position. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_9_6_10.gif Similarly, in this 2008 matchup between the Twins and Padres, Mauer nabs Jody Gerut at second and slides his backfoot/backside into a position while receiving the ball rather than waiting on the ball to come to him before getting into the throwing position. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_2008.gif Essentially, Mauer’s footwork is costing him valuable nanoseconds and, quite likely, some mustard on his throws down to two as well. And opposing teams and their stopwatches and scouts are clearly picking up on this – which is why they are averaging nearly a stolen base attempt in each of his games behind the plate. That is a huge increase from his younger days. With no clear-cut explanation for why he has been tardy with his footwork, it is hard to determine how this affects this Twins. Obviously, the injury to his knee -- which may have played a role in a slow start at the plate this season -- may still be lingering. In that case, it could be a financial disaster for the Twins who are paying him to be an elite up-the-middle defender in addition to his offensive contributions. Then again, it could simply be the rust of having not played catcher as regularly. Either way, as Gardenhire said, it will be almost impossible to get this repaired in-season.

Concerns over Joe Mauer’s defense has grown exponentially as the number of opposing kleptomaniacs have continued to accumulate more and more bases. A one-time Florida State quarterback recruit, earlier in his career Mauer had thwarted over 30% of would-be base-stealers but has seen that number drop to league average as injuries and age have taken a toll on him. This year, however, that rate has dropped to a league-worst six percent – stopping just three runners with his own arm. What’s more is that the opposition’s appetite to motor on the basepaths has increased significantly too. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/MauerRunningGame.jpg Prior to yesterday afternoon’s matinee against the Mariners, Associated Press reporter Jon Krawczynski relayed on Twitter that manager Ron Gardenhire said that Mauer’s caught stealing decline had nothing to do with his arm, rather the source of his struggles had to do with his slow slidestep when positioning for a throw down to second. Meanwhile 1500ESPN.com’s Phil Mackey provided further details of what the manager was seeing in his All Star catcher: Reviewing the limited MLB.com archive video clips available of Mauer throwing down to second, there definitely is evidence of what Ron Gardenhire was speaking towards Mauer’s mechanics. The first clip is over Mauer attempting to throw out Maicer Izturis of the Angels. Liriano’s fastball is up in the zone and gives Mauer a good chance at nailing the trailing running in the double steal but the throw skips into center field when Alexi Casilla cannot handle the hop. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_4_12_12.gif The next clip is Mauer throwing out Detroit’s Brennan Boesch – one of three times he has done so in 2012. Now, Boesch is not much of a base-stealing threat so it is possible that Mauer was caught flat-footed because of that but, just like in the clip above, Mauer is on his heels and stands straight up then pivots his feet. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_7_2012.gif Now compare Mauer’s current form against a couple of examples from his past. This first clip is from 2010 in which Mauer nails the Royals’ Chris Getz in his attempted thievery. Note how he starts to slide his backside out before receiving the pitch, getting his body into the throwing position. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_9_6_10.gif Similarly, in this 2008 matchup between the Twins and Padres, Mauer nabs Jody Gerut at second and slides his backfoot/backside into a position while receiving the ball rather than waiting on the ball to come to him before getting into the throwing position. http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/Mauer_2008.gif Essentially, Mauer’s footwork is costing him valuable nanoseconds and, quite likely, some mustard on his throws down to two as well. And opposing teams and their stopwatches and scouts are clearly picking up on this – which is why they are averaging nearly a stolen base attempt in each of his games behind the plate. That is a huge increase from his younger days. With no clear-cut explanation for why he has been tardy with his footwork, it is hard to determine how this affects this Twins. Obviously, the injury to his knee -- which may have played a role in a slow start at the plate this season -- may still be lingering. In that case, it could be a financial disaster for the Twins who are paying him to be an elite up-the-middle defender in addition to his offensive contributions. Then again, it could simply be the rust of having not played catcher as regularly. Either way, as Gardenhire said, it will be almost impossible to get this repaired in-season.

Great stuff Willihammer.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2182[/ATTACH]It was not more than a month or so ago that third baseman Trevor Plouffe was the hottest thing in the Twin Cities. Essentially, he was “Call Me Maybe” personified. Prior to taking a Luke Hochaver offering on the right thumb back on July 20, Plouffe was compiling decent number – including otherworldly stats in the power department such as 11 home runs in 26 games. However, since his return on August 20 he is now just 8-for-56 (.142) and has yet to hit for extra bases. The depressed performance has spurred a debate regarding Plouffe’s long-term starting viability and Twins GM Terry Ryan ‘challenged’ him to step up and win the starting third base job heading towards the season’s final month. Although his performance as of late has been lackluster, there are signs that this is just a temporary lull brought on by the extended time off and the injury to his thumb. For starters, his batted ball numbers have completely rearranged themselves since his hiatus. Since returning from the disabled list, the hitter who was once making it rain with fly balls at an over 50 percent as recently as the end of June, Plouffe has not elevated the ball recently and has seen his fly ball rate drop to 35 percent in August. While a reduction in flies has a tendency to whittle away one’s power numbers, the good news is that he’s actually hitting a higher percentage of line drives. Of course, the bad news is that those liners just are not becoming hits (as evidenced by his .142 average on the month). Then there is the fact that he’s seemed unbalanced when it comes to his pitch selection. Last night, after whiffing on Seattle Mariner Josh Kinney’s 79 mile per hour slurve, FSN analyst Roy Smalley remarked that “[He’s] out in front – badly – on a breaking ball. That’s an ‘I’m concerned about being beat on the fastball and I swing at the first thing I see.’” Though he is not necessarily getting beat outright on the slow stuff, Plouffe is swinging at more off-speed offerings since his return. For instance, heading into last night’s game Plouffe had swung at 13 of the 16 changeups (81%) he had seen. Before his injury, he was swinging at 41 of 82 (50%). This more or less speaks to Smalley’s critique and smacks of a hitter struggling with pitch recognition and leaving him with a swing that out in front of the pitch only to result in a weak grounder or infield pop-up (hence the decline in long fly balls). In theory, this will take some time getting re-acclimated to the competition. Finally, mechanically speaking, Plouffe is not turning his hips in the same violent manner in which he did while pulling the tar out of the ball in June and July. With the exception of the swing he put on Felix Hernandez’s fastball on Monday night, Plouffe’s swing system appears off-kilter -- likely due symptom of both timing and pitch recognition issues. Without the timely torque from his core, he has not been pulling the ball with as much vigor as he did pre-thumb injury. Ryan admitted that he may hold some blame for the numbers decline by not sending Plouffe out on a longer rehab assignment. After all, he only was granted two games and nine plate appearances in order to get by in the swing of things after missing time because of the bruised thumb. Ryan is correct in acknowledging that the Twins missed an opportunity to give Plouffe additional time to recalibrate prior to returning to the major league roster. What’s more is that this current output should not be entirely unexpected of Plouffe either. When he was sidelined throughout the majority of spring training he started the season extremely slow. In mid-May, he was hitting .133/.288/.217 and Ryan – at that time – went to the media to encourage his third baseman to step up. Plouffe responded and hit .296/.344/.618 with 18 home runs over his next 52 games. Plouffe has certainly not proven that he’s capable of providing sustained production for an entire season and that is cause of concern. Then again injuries have buttressed his season explaining why his offensive stats have been bookended by terrible numbers. Look for Plouffe to regain traction in September and reclaim his rightful place as the Twins starting third baseman in 2013.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2113[/ATTACH]On Thursday night, Denard Span played in his first game in 10 days since injuring his clavicle on a Jeff Keppinger line drive on August 12. Span’s absence triggered yet another debate amongst Twins fans and pundits alike who questioned the team’s inability to properly handle their disabled. Rather than place Span on the DL a day or two after the injury appeared to be more than simply a day-to-day situation and keep the dugout stocked with healthy bodies, the Twins allowed the situation to drag on for over a week – culminating in an MRI attempt that never happened because of Span’s claustrophobia. Of course, Span is not the Twins’ first encounter with a prolonged injury this year either. Prior to Span’s ordeal, it was Trevor Plouffe who had the extended time off. On July 20, Plouffe bruised his thumb on his throwing hand and left the game against the Royals early. The prognosis at the time was that it was originally thought of as day-to-day. It took seven days before he was placed on the DL only to finally return on August 13. Before Plouffe it was Justin Morneau who, at the end of April, re-injured his surgically repaired wrist. Morneau missed three games in May in addition to five calendar days before the Twins ultimately made the move to put him on the DL. At some point, these missed games add up. Clearly, I’m not a doctor. I diagnose most injuries regardless of the severity with Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) and a few (dozen) Grain Belt Premiums. The Twins, on the other hand, have (presumably) a well-paid, well-educated medical staff that should, by most accounts, identify and set out a clear path of recovery. Yet, somehow, these injuries and ailments – no matter how seemingly minor – continue to drag out and leave the team short-handed for extended periods of time. Truthfully, I have no idea on how the internal decision process is made to DL or not to DL but it appears that the team puts the onus on the players on these ostensibly innocuous injuries. It harkens back to 1993’s The Program, in which James Caan’s character asked one of his football players if he was hurt or injured; the difference being, if he was hurt, he could still play. In Span, Plouffe and Morneau’s case, the players communicated to the medical and coaching staff that they were simply hurt and that they could play in no time. The response from each was “I’ll be fine in a day or two.” For instance, the Star Tribune’s LaVelle Neal wrote that the team was counting on Span to let them know if or when he’s able to suit back up: Like Span, Plouffe told reporters and coaches that he would expect to miss “a day” at that time. Ron Gardenhire told reporters after the game that “We've all done that as a hitter -- you get a deep bone bruise right in there and it's pretty painful. So we'll give him a day or two with a little ice and treatment, and he should be back in there." Similarly, after the decision was made to send Morneau to the disabled list, then acting manager Scott Ullger told reporters that “It’s up to him to let us know when he can play.” This has become a crappy policy. After two seasons, it is obvious that the players cannot be counted on to do this kind of determination. They have machismo and often millions at stake. They certainly WANT to play, there’s no question there. To be fair, the players are the ones actually playing and feeling the pain so they should have an open dialogue with the coaching staff but, ultimately, should they be the influential factor when contemplating the well-being of the roster? Again, I’m not a doctor – if you needed the reminder. I am a baseball analyst who relies on statistics and data and I have little to no baseline to judge or rate the Twins organization’s methods against another. There is no Wins Above Replacement Level For Guys Your Just DL’ed found on Fangraphs.com. A measuring stick does not exist (it should and some enterprising researcher needs to take up the cause). What does seem obvious is that playing short-handed hinders the team to some degree. Now, whether or not summoning someone like Clete Thomas or Chris Parmelee would have changed the outcome is certainly debatable but it would seem that continuing down this path regularly puts a team in a deficit. Had this been a contending team, a few games lost because of the disabled list indecision could have cost them vital ground in the standings. The policy in the Twins clubhouse regarding injuries needs to be re-examined and return rehabilitated in 2013.

Good question and I don't have an answer as to why he received that label while being average-ish in that departmen. He always had a sinker and had high GB rates in AA and AAA (52%). What made him likely perceived as a ground ball pitcher is because he had so many well-played grounders in 2008 and 2009. In his first full season, he was second in the AL with 31 double plays and added 14 more in 2009.

Law's comment is very consistent with his view on Diamond when the Diamond/Bullock trade went down. He's incredulous that Diamond can have sustained success, which, given Diamond's strikeout rate is understandable. That said, what I wrote about recent (http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?903-Why-Minnesota-Twins-Scott-Diamond-Continues-to-Shine) shows that Diamond does have enough tools to continue to be a good pitcher. He's got the high release point which helps him change planes. He's got the effective velocity where his fastball/curve look very similar and fools hitters. He works quickly and out in front of the count avoiding walks. Those are all traits of someone able to be a good starter. Like everyone else here seems to be insinuating, it just depends on whose rotation Diamond is in whether or not he is a fifth starter. I don't see Blackburn's track record as a fair comparison for Diamond. Technically, Diamond's 4.9 K/9 is higher than Blackburn's 4.5 in '08 and 4.3 in '09 and Diamond's swinging strike rate is higher as well, not to mention, his ground ball rate (56%) is far better than Blackburn's (45% in both '08 & '09).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2086[/ATTACH] Word spread on Tuesday that Carl Pavano had been re-diagnosed with a bruise on his humerus bone. Pavano, who had made two appearances with the Fort Myers Miracle in hopes of rehabbing what was assumed to be a strained shoulder, told reporters that he’s frustrated that it took several months to get the diagnosis correct but is happy that it does not require surgery to heal. The Star Tribune’s La Velle Neal writes that the Twins medical staff should be exonerated in the case of Pavano’s missed diagnosis. The staff teamed with specialist Dr. David Altchek, who agreed with the original diagnosis of the strained shoulder capsule, conferred with the team’s doctors thorough his rehab and saw every MRI the Twins performed on Pavano. Said Twins Assistant GM Rob Antony: Considering it will take rest and that September is fast approaching, the likelihood Pavano is seen again in a Twins uniform in 2012 is almost non-existent. Speaking of injured pitchers, Pedro Henandez, one of two players acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade, left Tuesday night’s game one batter into the third inning. Through his four starts in the Twins organization, Hernandez has thrown 17.1 innings and posted an 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with opponents hitting .342 off of him. The Twins will be summoning pitcher Liam Hendriks from Rochester for the third time this season. Hendriks’ performance between the two levels could not be any more night and day. In his 8 games with the Twins this year, he’s 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA in 38.1 innings. In Rochester, he’s made 16 starts and is 9-3 with an International League-leading 2.20 ERA in 106.1 innings pitched. So what’s the biggest difference? It’s a variety of things, Hendriks explains in his interview with MinorLeagueBall.com’s John Sickels. One glaring statistical difference is that Hendriks has not allowed the ball to leave the park in AAA in comparison to his big league stints. While in Rochester, just 3% of fly balls have become home runs whereas 12% of flies with Minnesota have resulted in dingers. Twins second basemen are hitting .213/.270/.272 (542 OPS) collectively this year -- well below the baseball standard for the position of .254/.317/.380 (697 OPS) -- yet Ron Gardenhire is not willing to give Darin Mastroianni a trial at the keystone. Gardy told the PiPress’s John Shipley: Twins reliever Alex Burnett is the only qualified reliever in baseball to have more walks (23) than strikeouts (22) yet, somehow, he manages to have a respectable stat line including a 3.11 ERA – thanks in part to a 74.5% left-on-base rate and a .249 batting average on balls in play. Interestingly, just five of Burnett’s 62 fly balls allowed have become hits (.082 batting average vs .228 AL fly ball average) helping suppress that batting average on balls in play. Twins PR man, Dustin Morse, tweeted out that Ben Revere is just one stolen base shy of stealing 30 bags in consecutive seasons. If-slash-when Revere nabs his 30th of the year he will join Cesar Tovar, Rod Carew and Chuck Knoblauch as the only Twins to have accomplished that feat. Following an 0-for-3 night at the plate – in which one plate appearance included banging into a triple play – Trevor Plouffe is now 2-for-29 (.068). Even though he took the loss, Cole Devries left Tuesday’s game relatively unscathed considering his 2.24 home runs per nine innings was the highest rate among those with a minimum of 60 innings pitched this year. Of course, working in the O.co Coliseum whose three-year park factor for home runs is 80 (very pitcher-friendly), it takes some hard work to give up bombs in Oakland at night.

Word spread on Tuesday that Carl Pavano had been re-diagnosed with a bruise on his humerus bone. Pavano, who had made two appearances with the Fort Myers Miracle in hopes of rehabbing what was assumed to be a strained shoulder, told reporters that he’s frustrated that it took several months to get the diagnosis correct but is happy that it does not require surgery to heal. Considering it will take rest and that September is fast approaching, the likelihood Pavano is seen again in a Twins uniform in 2012 is almost non-existent. The Star Tribune’s La Velle Neal writes that the Twins medical staff should be exonerated in the case of Pavano’s missed diagnosis. The staff teamed with specialist Dr. David Altchek, who agreed with the original diagnosis of the strained shoulder capsule, conferred with the team’s doctors thorough his rehab and saw every MRI the Twins performed on Pavano. Said Assistant GM Rob Antony: Speaking of injured pitchers, Pedro Henandez, one of two players acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade, left Tuesday night’s game one batter into the third inning. Through his four starts in the Twins organization, Hernandez has thrown 17.1 innings and posted an 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with opponents hitting .342 off of him. The Twins will be summoning pitcher Liam Hendriks from Rochester for the third time this season. Hendriks’ performance between the two levels could not be any more night and day. In his 8 games with the Twins this year, he’s 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA in 38.1 innings. In Rochester, he’s made 16 starts and is 9-3 with an International League-leading 2.20 ERA in 106.1 innings pitched. So what’s the biggest difference? It’s a variety of things, Hendriks explains in his interview with MinorLeagueBall.com’s John Sickels. One glaring statistical difference is that Hendriks has not allowed the ball to leave the park in AAA in comparison to his big league stints. While in Rochester, just 3% of fly balls have become home runs whereas 12% of flies with Minnesota have resulted in dingers. Twins second basemen are hitting .213/.270/.272 (542 OPS) collectively this year -- well below the baseball standard for the position of .254/.317/.380 (697 OPS) -- yet Ron Gardenhire is not willing to give Darin Mastroianni a trial at the keystone. Gardy told the PiPress’s John Shipley: Twins reliever Alex Burnett is the only qualified reliever in baseball to have more walks (23) than strikeouts (22) yet, somehow, he manages to have a respectable stat line including a 3.11 ERA – thanks in part to a 74.5% left-on-base rate and a .249 batting average on balls in play. Interestingly, just five of Burnett’s 62 fly balls allowed have become hits (.082 batting average vs .228 AL fly ball average) helping suppress that batting average on balls in play. Twins PR man, Dustin Morse, tweeted out that Ben Revere is just one stolen base shy of stealing 30 bags in consecutive seasons. If-slash-when Revere nabs his 30th of the year he will join Cesar Tovar, Rod Carew and Chuck Knoblauch as the only Twins to have accomplished that feat. Following an 0-for-3 night at the plate – in which one plate appearance included banging into a triple play – Trevor Plouffe is now 2-for-29 (.068). Even though he took the loss, Cole Devries left Tuesday’s game relatively unscathed considering his 2.24 home runs per nine innings was the highest rate among those with a minimum of 60 innings pitched this year. Of course, working in the O.co Coliseum whose three-year park factor for home runs is 80 (very pitcher-friendly), it takes some hard work to give up bombs in Oakland at night.

Word spread on Tuesday that Carl Pavano had been re-diagnosed with a bruise on his humerus bone. Pavano, who had made two appearances with the Fort Myers Miracle in hopes of rehabbing what was assumed to be a strained shoulder, told reporters that he’s frustrated that it took several months to get the diagnosis correct but is happy that it does not require surgery to heal. Considering it will take rest and that September is fast approaching, the likelihood Pavano is seen again in a Twins uniform in 2012 is almost non-existent. The Star Tribune’s La Velle Neal writes that the Twins medical staff should be exonerated in the case of Pavano’s missed diagnosis. The staff teamed with specialist Dr. David Altchek, who agreed with the original diagnosis of the strained shoulder capsule, conferred with the team’s doctors thorough his rehab and saw every MRI the Twins performed on Pavano. Said Assistant GM Rob Antony: Speaking of injured pitchers, Pedro Henandez, one of two players acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade, left Tuesday night’s game one batter into the third inning. Through his four starts in the Twins organization, Hernandez has thrown 17.1 innings and posted an 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with opponents hitting .342 off of him. The Twins will be summoning pitcher Liam Hendriks from Rochester for the third time this season. Hendriks’ performance between the two levels could not be any more night and day. In his 8 games with the Twins this year, he’s 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA in 38.1 innings. In Rochester, he’s made 16 starts and is 9-3 with an International League-leading 2.20 ERA in 106.1 innings pitched. So what’s the biggest difference? It’s a variety of things, Hendriks explains in his interview with MinorLeagueBall.com’s John Sickels. One glaring statistical difference is that Hendriks has not allowed the ball to leave the park in AAA in comparison to his big league stints. While in Rochester, just 3% of fly balls have become home runs whereas 12% of flies with Minnesota have resulted in dingers. Twins second basemen are hitting .213/.270/.272 (542 OPS) collectively this year -- well below the baseball standard for the position of .254/.317/.380 (697 OPS) -- yet Ron Gardenhire is not willing to give Darin Mastroianni a trial at the keystone. Gardy told the PiPress’s John Shipley: Twins reliever Alex Burnett is the only qualified reliever in baseball to have more walks (23) than strikeouts (22) yet, somehow, he manages to have a respectable stat line including a 3.11 ERA – thanks in part to a 74.5% left-on-base rate and a .249 batting average on balls in play. Interestingly, just five of Burnett’s 62 fly balls allowed have become hits (.082 batting average vs .228 AL fly ball average) helping suppress that batting average on balls in play. Twins PR man, Dustin Morse, tweeted out that Ben Revere is just one stolen base shy of stealing 30 bags in consecutive seasons. If-slash-when Revere nabs his 30th of the year he will join Cesar Tovar, Rod Carew and Chuck Knoblauch as the only Twins to have accomplished that feat. Following an 0-for-3 night at the plate – in which one plate appearance included banging into a triple play – Trevor Plouffe is now 2-for-29 (.068). Even though he took the loss, Cole Devries left Tuesday’s game relatively unscathed considering his 2.24 home runs per nine innings was the highest rate among those with a minimum of 60 innings pitched this year. Of course, working in the O.co Coliseum whose three-year park factor for home runs is 80 (very pitcher-friendly), it takes some hard work to give up bombs in Oakland at night.