Anorthagen

With the Twin not having a win in over week, it was obvious there was a need for change. The first change came earlier this week with the long over due demotion of Pedro Hernandez to AAA. Only to bring up a iffy pitcher in Samuel Deduno who excelled in the WBC, while allowing one too many walks per 9 innings. The other change, came more as a surprise to me, coming yesterday on Wednesday, demoting Vance Worly to AAA. At first this move didn't make any sense, knowing that the Twins traded for this guy this past off-season, so they had to have had some faith in him, thinking he could excel in the American League. Going into the season I was thinking he was going to be the only reliable starter in the rotation, a side from Scott Diamond. Little did I know that it would be Kevin Correia being the next man up behind Scott Diamond. So with Worly now in the minor leagues and a now open spot in the rotation, who will fill it? And more importantly what does his demotion mean for the Twins? First off with the surprising move of promoting Samuel Deduno ,seemed to have closed the door for Kyle Gibson to get his Major League debut any time soon. And now it seems as if that door for his Major-League debut has opened once again. It looks like a no brainer -for me at least- for the Twins to promote Gibson now rather then later. Especially if they are going to be strict on that innings limit they put on him (120-130 innings) earlier this year. If Gibson is't going to get the call to the big leagues then it would either be P.J. Walters or Andrew Albers. Both pitcher well in AAA. Now as for where does this leaves the Twins for till possible mid-June. Well...in a word, desperate. Even more now. The Twins experiment with Worly has been put at a halt for now. Which makes the trade between the Twins and the Philles seem like a bust for both teams. Revere has been off to a slow start to the season. But it is a little to late to be saying that, after one-third of the season is over. So he has been under performing, if you will. As for the Twins, Worly and May are both now in the minors (May started in the AA this year, and a possible September call-up) and the Twins seem to find themselves in the same boat they found themselves in last year. In the bottom tier of ERA in the AL. In which they have to go the same route they went last year, where they brought up pitcher after pitcher. That just don't look ready to face a Major League hitter. If Pelfry gives up one or possibly two more bad starts you could see him join Worly and Hernandez in AAA. Only to be replaced by Gibson, Walters, Alber, or even Devires if he is ready by then. Anyway, it seems as if this year's rotation has only gotten a little better with Correia joining the team. But a sides from that, if Worly doesn't turn it around soon, the rotation will not be any better then last year's rotation. Putting not only the Front office but Gardenhire in in a rough position that could possibly only get worse by the minute. With the rotation continually getting worse. As seen on NorthagensBaseball.blogspot.com

Arica hit another home run raising his average to .263. And now 2ed in Home Runs for the team only behind willingham.

I the Twins have the opportunity a take a #1 starter in the draft they won't hesitate. No matter if it is the next mike trout up there

Arica has been a curical part to the Twins line up. Hitting just under .300 with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs. He has had less playing time lately, with the twins facing national league teams. But should start to get in the lineup more with ploffue now out with a concussion.

He is giving himself a knuckle-bump

This is so much to comprehend at one time.

What's wrong in today's Free agent market is that teams pay a player (Josh Hamilton) for their 20's but get there 30's.Which is usually worse.

Remember back in 2011 when the Twins didn't have Ryan Doumit? Or Kevin Correia? The good old days some would say....but not many. After that horrendous 2011 season for the Twins, Ryan Doumit finished had his career as a Pittsburgh Pirate and was looking for a possible new home. In that season he played 77 games (in 60 of those games he played catcher. The other we're a combination of RF/1B/PH) with a .303 AVG, 8 HRs, and 30 RBIs. Not that impressive. Kevin Correia on the other hand made 24 starts that season, going 12-11 with an ERA of 4.79 in 2011. Again not that impressive. And if memory serves correctly Doumit and Correia played together back in 2011. With Doumit catching for Correia in 7 out of his 24 starts that year. Which begs the question were they a good pitcher-catcher combination? Truthfully,they were so-so. Their first start together was surprisingly Opening Day 2011 against the Chicago Cubs. In that game Correia went 6 innings, allowed 7 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 Earned Runs, 1 Walk, with 3 Strikeouts and won the game 6-3. Their second game together was 5 days later against the soon to be World Series Champions St. Louis Cardinals. This game Correia proved to be crucial to the Pirates victory against the Cardinals. He went 7 strong innings, 5 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Runs, 2 Walks and 3 Strikeouts. Quite impressive if you ask me. After those two starts Correia went on to lose his next game. Then they wouldn't play together until May in which Correia went 2-1 and an ERA of 4.26. So basically his career averages. Once May had finished Doumit wouldn't catch for Corriea until August. Where Correia lost both of his starts and ended the year on a bad note. To sum it up, it started strong and faded as the season went along with a 4-2 record and an ERA of 3.69 Now as we fast forward 2 years to 2013 in Minnesota, Doumit and Correia are once again teammates except this time Mauer is doing all the catching and letting Doumit look around at beautiful Target Field. Which in my opinion is the right move by Gardy. By doing this, it not only gives each starter and reliever a gold glover behind the plate, but it keeps his MVP type like bat in the lineup. But now this is what is critical to every baseball fan, stats. In Correia's first start as a Twins and in the American League he faced the reigning AL Champions, the Detroit Tigers. For that game Mauer caught for him. In which Correia went 7 innings, 2 Earned runs, 2 Runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts while getting the Win as well. Not too shabby. Through Correia’s next 4 starts he lasted at least 7 innings for all of them (with one going into the 8th), going 4-1 and only giving up 9 Earned Runs while having an ERA of 2.22. Which in the Twin’s case is their best case scenario they were hoping for. Now as you probably remember last saturday (May 4), was Correia’s most recent start, against the Cleveland Indians, with Ryan Doumit catching instead of Mauer. Which as the stats tell you was a bad move by Gardy. In that game Correia pitched his shortest outing of the season (5 innings), gave up 2 Home Runs, and gave up the most Earned Runs he has given up in this young season (4 Earned Runs). All in the 7-3 loss to the Indians. Even though Doumit has only caught for Correia in one game this season, that stats argue that Correia should stick with Mauer as his full time catcher. And more importantly leave Doumit as the DH.

Remember back in 2011 when the Twins didn't have Ryan Doumit? Or Kevin Correia? The good old days some would say....but not many. After that horrendous 2011 season for the Twins, Ryan Doumit finished had his career as a Pittsburgh Pirate and was looking for a possible new home. In that season he played 77 games (in 60 of those games he played catcher. The other we're a combination of RF/1B/PH) with a .303 AVG, 8 HRs, and 30 RBIs. Not that impressive. Kevin Correia on the other hand made 24 starts that season, going 12-11 with an ERA of 4.79 in 2011. Again not that impressive. And if memory serves correctly Doumit and Correia played together back in 2011. With Doumit catching for Correia in 7 out of his 24 starts that year. Which begs the question were they a good pitcher-catcher combination? Truthfully,they were so-so. Their first start together was surprisingly Opening Day 2011 against the Chicago Cubs. In that game Correia went 6 innings, allowed 7 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 Earned Runs, 1 Walk, with 3 Strikeouts and won the game 6-3. Their second game together was 5 days later against the soon to be World Series Champions St. Louis Cardinals. This game Correia proved to be crucial to the Pirates victory against the Cardinals. He went 7 strong innings, 5 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Runs, 2 Walks and 3 Strikeouts. Quite impressive if you ask me. After those two starts Correia went on to lose his next game. Then they wouldn't play together until May in which Correia went 2-1 and an ERA of 4.26. So basically his career averages. Once May had finished Doumit wouldn't catch for Corriea until August. Where Correia lost both of his starts and ended the year on a bad note. To sum it up, it started strong and faded as the season went along with a 4-2 record and an ERA of 3.69 Now as we fast forward 2 years to 2013 in Minnesota, Doumit and Correia are once again teammates except this time Mauer is doing all the catching and letting Doumit look around at beautiful Target Field. Which in my opinion is the right move by Gardy. By doing this, it not only gives each starter and reliever a gold glover behind the plate, but it keeps his MVP type like bat in the lineup. But now this is what is critical to every baseball fan, stats. In Correia's first start as a Twins and in the American League he faced the reigning AL Champions, the Detroit Tigers. For that game Mauer caught for him. In which Correia went 7 innings, 2 Earned runs, 2 Runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts while getting the Win as well. Not too shabby. Through Correia’s next 4 starts he lasted at least 7 innings for all of them (with one going into the 8th), going 4-1 and only giving up 9 Earned Runs while having an ERA of 2.22. Which in the Twin’s case is their best case scenario they were hoping for. Now as you probably remember last saturday (May 4), was Correia’s most recent start, against the Cleveland Indians, with Ryan Doumit catching instead of Mauer. Which as the stats tell you was a bad move by Gardy. In that game Correia pitched his shortest outing of the season (5 innings), gave up 2 Home Runs, and gave up the most Earned Runs he has given up in this young season (4 Earned Runs). All in the 7-3 loss to the Indians. Even though Doumit has only caught for Correia in one game this season, that stats argue that Correia should stick with Mauer as his full time catcher. And more importantly leave Doumit as the DH.

Personally I disagree with your idea that organizations need to spend large sums of money in order to be competitive. Just look at the 2011 Red Soxs, they were picked to win the World Series, yet they didn't even make the playoffs. The Marlins last year spent millions of dollars on a new stadium with new and expensive players, which after one season find themselves at the doormat of the NL EAST, and those players gone. The Angels this and last season went on huge spending spheres in which they failed to make the playoffs and now they are the doormat of the AL WEST. Do I like spending big money to get big free agents? Yes. But do I like teams that give numerous players long and expensive contracts? No. Just because it doesn't work. It never has and it never will. Which is why the best way to win a Championship is to build up the farm system.

Doumit in my opinion is overrated, he gets out with runners in scoring position, he bad at framing, and fails to keep a high average. Either trade him or keep him as a power bat off the bench. Ramirez is only here because he has some pop in his bat so he can stay, but if Arcia is going to stay up here, ramirez might go down due to lack of playing time. Again IN MY OPINION sit Doumit and send down Ramirez.

The Star Tribune recently posted an article proclaiming that the Twins have always put a large amount of their payroll towards hitters, rather then pitchers. (Article here MLB Sunday Insider: Twins have a hitter-heavy payroll | StarTribune.com ) Which for the past decade has been true. With Mauer and Morneau making the most money, while everyone else is making under 10 million a year. It certainly makes sense, with the Twins inability to bring up strong pitching prospects while bringing up excellent hitting prospects such as Mauer, Mornaeu and soon Sano. In my opinion, ya the Twins are definatly an offensive minded team and their certainly payroll shows it.

On Bleacherreports.com there is an article that goes over each team and says what kind of free agent they should have pursued. It did give credit to Hicks for winning the starting CF job out of spring training, but it said we should have gone after a reliable CF, after Hcks slow start. But would the Twins really do that? Here's the article Free-Agent Moves Each MLB Team Should Have Made This Offseason | Bleacher Report

I always like to read a article that is positive about the Twins.

Oswaldo Arica is getting called back up to the Majors just after 1 game in AAA thanks to mastroanni going on the DL

As you have probably noticed Kevin Corriea has been a nice surprise in this year's rotation. In fact, so good that he is the only pitcher on the starting staff who has pitched into the 7th inning. Not only that but he leads the team in strikeouts (8), ERA (2.95), and WHIP (1.22). I know you might be reading this and saying WWWHHHHAAAATTT? Corriea did this? Believe me, I can't believe it myself. Coming into the season everyone was thinking "Waste of money" and "We could have gotten someone else for less money." I didn't want him either, especially after his less than sterling career in the National League. In the National League he had a win/loss record of 60-65, an ERA of 4.54, with 9.5 hits/walk. With this, how in the world would he be able to survive in the American League. And with the horrific pitching the Twins had last year, the last thing the team needed was another pitch to contact starter. But ,thankfully, he has surprised us all. He is being the one thing many Twins starters lacked, consistent. In every game he has pitched, the Twins have had a chance to win and finally last night against the Angels he earned his first American League win, against an team with a pretty impressive lineup. Though he has had only three starts and one win, a thing that is important is consistency. This might be the reason Terry Ryan signed him to two years, while we just looked at the stats. So is the real Kevin Corriea standing up? Or has he yet to reveal himself?

Name: Oswaldo Arcia Position: Right Field Height: 6"0" Weight: 220lbs Bats: Left Throws: Right Signed by the Minnesota Twins via non-drafted free agency on July,4,2007 Minor league career stats .333 Avg. 52 HRs 205 RBIs. 2013 season AAA .414 Avg. 3 HRs 8 RBIs MLB .333 Avg. 0 HRs. 0 RBIs Rated #41 in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects Rated #93 in MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects Ranked 3rd in the Minnestoa Twins orginization Ranked 4th on TwinsDaily.com

Oswaldo Arica

As I was watching the first of a three game series with the Mets, there was one thing that caught my eye in why the Mets were destroying in that particularly game. It seemed like no matter what Twins tryed to do the Mets were always one step ahead of them. But that thing wasn't how bad worly was pitching or how well the Mets hit agianst our bullpen, but it was rather their defense. Throughout the game Twins hit the ball hard and far all over the diamond, but each time it was recorded for an out. Willingham hit one to deep right center field that looked like a for sure double, Hicks showed some of his potential by driving a line drive to left-centerfield, Mauer hit a sharp line drive to third base, and all of these ended in the same result. Not a single one of these hits started a possible rally that could have provided some confidence for the teams and the fans. As for the real question to this writing is, is defense the key to ,not only winning games, but a championship as well. To help me with this I looked at the last three World Series Champions, along with the last time the Twins made the playoffs. ( WAR= Wins Above Replacement) (dWAR=defensive Wins Above Replacement) The 2010 San Francisco Giants World Series Starting Lineup Cf Torres (WAR 5.1) (dWAR 1.6) 2b F. Sanchez (WAR 1.6) (dWAR -.1) C. Posey (WAR 3.7). (dWAR .7) Lf. Burrell (WAR 2.0) (dWAR -.4) Rf. Ross (WAR .2) (dWAR -.1) 1b. Huff (WAR 5.4) (dWAR -.2) 3b Uribe (WAR 1.2) (dWAR .2) Ss Renitina (WAR .4) (dWAR .1) *The Giants also had the best overall defense in all of baseball, in 2010 2011 St. Louis Cardinals World Series lineup Ss Furcal (WAR .9) (dWAR -.3) Cf Jay (WAR 2.9) (dWAR .8) 1b Pujols (WAR 5.4) (dWAR .1) Rf Berkman (WAR 3.7) (dWAR -2.6) Lf Hoilday (WAR 4.0) (dWAR -.7) 3b Freese (WAR 1.8) (dWAR 0) C Molina (WAR 3.0) (dWAR .4) 2b Punto (WAR 1.5) (dWAR .5) * The Cardnials had the 27th Best Defense in all of Baseball. *The Twins had the 21st Best Defense in all of Baseball. 2012 San Fransciso Giants World Series lineup Cf Pagan (WAR 4.1) (dWAR -.3) 2b Scutaro (WAR 2.1) (dWAR 2.1) 3b Sandoval (WAR 2.2) (dWAR -.2) C Posey (WAR 7.4) (dWAR .5) Rf Pence (WAR .2) (dWar -.6) 1b Belt (WAR 1.8) (dWAR -.3) Lf Blanco (WAR 2.1) (dWAR .4) Ss Crawford (WAR 2.5) (dWAR .2) *The Giants had the 8th Best Defense in all of Baseball. *The Twins had the 15th Best Defense in all of Baseball. To put this into perspective, here is the Twins 2010 lineup for Game 1 against the Yankees in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Cf Span (WAR 1.5) (dWAR -.1) 2b Hudson (WAR 2.7) (dWAR .8) C Mauer (WAR 5.7) (dWAR .9) Lf Young (WAR 1.6) (dWAR -1.9) Dh Thome (never played defense) 1b Cuddyear (WAR .1) (dWAR-2.8) Rf Kubel (WAR -.4) (dWAR -1.8) 3b Valencia (WAR 1.9) (dWAR .5) Ss Hardy (WAR 1.9) (dWAR 0) *The Twins were Ranked the 6th Best Defense in the League. It's simply really, to win games a team must be good at hitting, pitching, and defense. But to win a championship you don't have to be the best defensive team to win it all (2011 Cardinals). Even though teams like the Giants have been in the top ten each year they won the World Series. So my answer to this question is that defense isn't the most influential aspect of the game. The pitchers still have to throw strikes, the hitters still have to home runs. Cause after all defense doesn't score runs.

As I was watching the first of a three game series with the Mets, there was one thing that caught my eye in why the Mets were destroying in that particularly game. It seemed like no matter what Twins tryed to do the Mets were always one step ahead of them. But that thing wasn't how bad worly was pitching or how well the Mets hit agianst our bullpen, but it was rather their defense. Throughout the game Twins hit the ball hard and far all over the diamond, but each time it was recorded for an out. Willingham hit one to deep right center field that looked like a for sure double, Hicks showed some of his potential by driving a line drive to left-centerfield, Mauer hit a sharp line drive to third base, and all of these ended in the same result. Not a single one of these hits started a possible rally that could have provided some confidence for the teams and the fans. As for the real question to this writing is, is defense the key to ,not only winning games, but a championship as well. To help me with this I looked at the last three World Series Champions, along with the last time the Twins made the playoffs. ( WAR= Wins Above Replacement) (dWAR=defensive Wins Above Replacement) The 2010 San Francisco Giants World Series Starting Lineup Cf Torres (WAR 5.1) (dWAR 1.6) 2b F. Sanchez (WAR 1.6) (dWAR -.1) C. Posey (WAR 3.7). (dWAR .7) Lf. Burrell (WAR 2.0) (dWAR -.4) Rf. Ross (WAR .2) (dWAR -.1) 1b. Huff (WAR 5.4) (dWAR -.2) 3b Uribe (WAR 1.2) (dWAR .2) Ss Renitina (WAR .4) (dWAR .1) *The Giants also had the best overall defense in all of baseball, in 2010 2011 St. Louis Cardinals World Series lineup Ss Furcal (WAR .9) (dWAR -.3) Cf Jay (WAR 2.9) (dWAR .8) 1b Pujols (WAR 5.4) (dWAR .1) Rf Berkman (WAR 3.7) (dWAR -2.6) Lf Hoilday (WAR 4.0) (dWAR -.7) 3b Freese (WAR 1.8) (dWAR 0) C Molina (WAR 3.0) (dWAR .4) 2b Punto (WAR 1.5) (dWAR .5) * The Cardnials had the 27th Best Defense in all of Baseball. *The Twins had the 21st Best Defense in all of Baseball. 2012 San Fransciso Giants World Series lineup Cf Pagan (WAR 4.1) (dWAR -.3) 2b Scutaro (WAR 2.1) (dWAR 2.1) 3b Sandoval (WAR 2.2) (dWAR -.2) C Posey (WAR 7.4) (dWAR .5) Rf Pence (WAR .2) (dWar -.6) 1b Belt (WAR 1.8) (dWAR -.3) Lf Blanco (WAR 2.1) (dWAR .4) Ss Crawford (WAR 2.5) (dWAR .2) *The Giants had the 8th Best Defense in all of Baseball. *The Twins had the 15th Best Defense in all of Baseball. To put this into perspective, here is the Twins 2010 lineup for Game 1 against the Yankees in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Cf Span (WAR 1.5) (dWAR -.1) 2b Hudson (WAR 2.7) (dWAR .8) C Mauer (WAR 5.7) (dWAR .9) Lf Young (WAR 1.6) (dWAR -1.9) Dh Thome (never played defense) 1b Cuddyear (WAR .1) (dWAR-2.8) Rf Kubel (WAR -.4) (dWAR -1.8) 3b Valencia (WAR 1.9) (dWAR .5) Ss Hardy (WAR 1.9) (dWAR 0) *The Twins were Ranked the 6th Best Defense in the League. It's simply really, to win games a team must be good at hitting, pitching, and defense. But to win a championship you don't have to be the best defensive team to win it all (2011 Cardinals). Even though teams like the Giants have been in the top ten each year they won the World Series. So my answer to this question is that defense isn't the most influential aspect of the game. The pitchers still have to throw strikes, the hitters still have to home runs. Cause after all defense doesn't score runs.

I too have seen the similarities for both the twins and the Vikings. So who knows maybe making this predicting by have the twins go into the playoffs will pay off with some major braging rights.

I think the twins can win today. But I think the only way we can is if corriea gets pulled early before the tigers put up a crooked number.

Hicks will be in the majors most likely for the entire season in my opinion. It is really too early for us to start saying he should be sent down to AAA. He's only played one game, where he had to face Justin verlander who is a former MVP. If I recall correctly a ball wasn't even hit to him in center. So please people give him time to adjust to major league pitching and the Target Field outfield. P.S. he is the only lead off hitter the twins have as long as they keep him in the lineup. If he gets a day off or a injury it will be mastroanni playing center and lead off.

I recently have been asked why do i watch baseball. Why do I find it enjoyable, While others say it is too boring to watch. But when I attempted to answer I couldn't come up with a legitimete answer. So I was hoping anyone could help me with this. Any way the question is why do you watch baseball.