Cody Christie

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3076[/ATTACH] At different points yesterday, Major League Baseball and the other countries that will be represented in the tournament announced the rosters for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. This will be the third time for the tournament being held and the United States has finished in fourth place in both other tournaments. The Japanese team has taken home the championship twice and some of the other rosters will look to dethrone the two-time defending champs in 2013. There are Twins and former Twins scattered throughout the line-ups of many of the teams in the tournament. This includes some high profile minor league prospects and some of the best players on the major league roster. When teams allow their players to participate in the tournament, it can be a little bit of a tough decision. There are plenty of top-notch pitchers like Justin Verlander, David Price, and Clayton Kershaw that are staying with their team for spring training instead of representing their country. So this raises the question, should Twins players compete in the WBC? Both of the team's former MVPs will be representing their respective countries in the WBC. Joe Mauer will be a catcher on Team USA and Justin Morneau will man first base for Team Canada. Last offseason, there would have been plenty of questions around them competing in this kind of event. But Mauer looked back to his old self last year and reports say that Morneau is having his first healthy offseason in multiple years. With the WBC coming during spring training, these players will have to get up to game speed more quickly than in a normal year. Mauer could be asked to catch nine innings faster than he would in the spring. Morneau will be taking hacks for the fences earlier with his surgically repaired wrist. This could compile into some bumps and bruises along the way. Lucky (or not lucky depending on how you look at it) for the Twins a couple of their starting pitchers are coming off of clean-up surgery so they won't be able to participate. Scott Diamond most certainly would have been on the Team Canada roster if not for his minor clean up. Liam Hendriks would likely have been asked to be on Team Australia but he also had an elbow surgery last fall. They will be able to participate in spring training workouts and get ready for what could be the first full season at the big league level for both of them. Twins closer Glen Perkins will be on the roster for Team USA. But since he will likely only be used in a relief role, there shouldn't be too much to worry about with him. He would be pitching in spring training games on a regular basis so this gives him a chance to compete against some tougher competition. Some pitchers will have to get a little more hyped up for the tournament so hopefully Perkins can handle this kind of stress earlier in the year. Two of the Twins top ten prospects, Eddie Rosario and JO Berrios will be on the roster of the Puerto Rican Team. Rosario could have a tough time getting into games with a deep outfield that includes Carlos Beltran, Jesus Feliciano, Angel Pagan, and Alex Rios. Berrios is the youngest member of the team by three years and he might be asked to pitch in some tight situations. The international experience should be good for both players. It can be scary to think about what could happen if Mauer or Morneau were to get injured in the WBC. The team has a lot of money invested in Mauer over most of the next decade. Morneau could be the team's best trade chip at the deadline but that is only if he can stay healthy for the rest of the year. Even a small injury in the WBC could have a big impact on the 2013 season and the future of the club. An injury to Perkins could make it tough for the Twins in the late innings of games. Jared Burton would most likely be asked to take over the closer's role and that could leave a hole in the late innings of games. Team USA and Team Canada will probably be relying more on Morneau and Mauer than Perkins will be relied on by his manager since the US has a deep bullpen. He still should have a smaller workload so he most likely has a better chance of staying healthy. For younger players like Rosario and Berrios, it is going to be a couple of seasons before they step on the field at the big league level. The experience could help them for the future and an injury won't debilitate the 2013 Twins. This is also their first chance to show off their talents to a large audience. Mauer, Morneau, and Perkins are expected to play a large role in trying to turn around the Twins next season and it's not exactly ideal for them to compete in this exhibition. Some of the younger prospects will get to rub elbows with very good players for a couple of weeks. Hopefully they can be a sponge and take in a lot of knowledge over the course of the tournament and bring that back to the Twins organization. What do you think? Should the Twins let some of their star players compete in the WBC? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

There have been plenty of great players in the history of the Twins franchise and there have also been plenty of duds. In my on-going offseason series, I have been taking a look at some of the worst players to ever wear a Twins uniform. There have been some bad players in recent memory but it can be fun to dig into the poor players of yesterday. So far, the series has covered Butch Huskey and Terry Felton. Huskey struggled as a designated hitter for the Twins and he provided an interesting career to follow. One of his most famous moments happened in the Metrodome but not in a Twins uniform. Terry Felton had a rough time pitching in Minnesota and he would finish his career without a big league win to his name. These are just two names in a long list of Twins futility. In the winter cold of the deep offseason, it can be entertaining to look back at the club's history. In the next few weeks, I will discuss some of the worst players to ever wear a Twins uniform. I won't try to rank these players because that could be quite the daunting task and it is wide open to interpretation. These will be simple profiles on some of the worst players in team history. Next on the list of all-time worst, Mr. Scott Klingenbeck... ---------- [ATTACH=CONFIG]3068[/ATTACH] The Baltimore Orioles drafted Scott Klingenbeck in the fifth round of the 1992 amateur draft. His college experience helped him to travel quickly through their farm system. He pitched well in the low minor leagues and he would make his debut during the 1994 season. In that game, he threw seven innings and allowed three earned runs to earn the victory. Klingenbeck would have a strong start to the 1995 season at the Triple-A level for the Orioles. He posted a 2.72 ERA and a 3-1 record. This left the club little choice but to call him up during the middle months of the season. There were a few bumps in the road on his return to the big leagues. His ERA would jump to 4.88 and he posted a 1.596 WHIP over five starts. This would only be the beginning of the bad. The Twins traded for Klingenbeck at the beginning of July in the deal that sent Scott Erickson to the Orioles. Erickson hadn't been able to regain his form from the first couple of years in the big leagues. He was only 27-years old but the Twins wanted to get some younger prospects for him. Klingenbeck had looked good during his minor league career but things would quickly go south in Minnesota. He would make 18 appearances with the Twins in 1995 including four starts for the club. His ERA was a hefty 8.57 with an ugly 1.924 WHIP. He didn’t exactly have control of his pitches as he walked 24 batters, hit four batters, and had five wild pitches over 48.1 innings. It was beginning to look like the Twins had given up a king’s ransom to acquire a not so great pitcher. For the start of the 1996 season, the Twins sent Klingenbeck back to the minor leagues to try and find himself. He improved by posting a 3.11 ERA and a 9-3 record over 22 starts. By the middle of the season, the Twins needed some help at the big league level and Klingenbeck was the guy. He struggled again with the transition and posted a 7.85 ERA and a 1.814 WHIP. This would be his last trip to the big leagues with the Twins. At the start of the next season, Klingenbeck would be sent back to the Triple-A level. The Twins would dump him on Cincinatti, his hometown team, as part of a conditional deal. He would get one more brief taste of the majors in 1998 and he looked a little better with an ERA close to 6.00 and a 1.456 WHIP. The next year would be his last in professional baseball before retiring in 1999. Klingenbeck's numbers in the minor leagues made it seem that he would be able to transition into at least a back of the rotation starter. That was one of the reasons the Twins traded for him but this would never happen. His time in the Twins organization translated to a 1-3 record, an 8.30 ERA, and a 1.883 WHIP. He also put together a -1.7 WAR in his Twins tenure. Following his professional baseball career, Klingenbeck would open a sports bar and grill in Cincinnati. That venue is no longer open but it sounds like it was a decent place to eat. In the end, Klingenbeck will be more remembered as the man the Twins got back for Scott Erickson because his time in a Twins uniform was very unmemorable... What other players should be featured in this series? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3062[/ATTACH] Earlier last week, I looked into some of the Twins possible candidates for the leadoff hitter role in 2013. With Denard Span and Ben Revere traded to the National League, there is some question about who will step up and earn the leadoff spot out of spring training. Aaron Hicks looks like the leadoff hitter of the future but that doesn't mean that he will star the year in Minnesota. This could leave a big hole in the first spot in the batting order. One of the names that I discussed as a possibility for the leadoff spot was catcher Joe Mauer. He consistently gets on base and this is a huge part of being the first batter in the order. In the end, I knew that the Twins most likely won't move their $23 million man to the leadoff role but he could still find success in that position. With Ron Gardenhire as manager, it seems most likely that Mauer will be penciled into the number three spot in the order for most of next season. That is where Mauer got the majority of his at-bats in 2012 and there is no reason to think that would be different in the coming year. For the Twins to find more success in 2013, I am offering up another option. Mauer should be moved to the number two spot in the order. This seems like a plan that plenty of fans could get behind and support. For too long, fans have become accustom to seeing the number two spot in the order being filled by a light hitting middle infielder or an outfielder that slaps the ball. It is time to take back the number two spot in the order! It could be tough enough to find a body for the first spot in the order on Opening Day. This could make it twice as hard to find someone for the number two spot. If Hicks is sent to Rochester for a little more experience, that would leave Darin Mastroianni or Jamey Carroll for the first couple spots in the order. These player might be able to find success there but having Mauer at number two would be much more beneficial. The Twins tried Carroll near the top of the order at the beginning of last season and it didn't work out so great. Over the course of the season, those numbers would even out a little but they still weren't the best. As a number two hitter, he batted .260/.330/.296 over 42 games. He was much more effective as bottom of the order hitter. Other options for the Twins for the number two spot are even scarier. Depending on who wins the starting middle infield jobs out of spring training, there could be a host of very light hitting players fighting for the number two spot. Besides Carroll, the other candidates are Pedro Florimon, Brian Dozier, and Eduardo Escobar. None of these three men have a career OBP of over .300 and it is hard to imagine them getting the opportunity to hit that early in the line-up. That leaves Mauer as the obvious choice to move up one spot in the batting order. As Twins fans know, Mauer isn't going to hit for a ton of power so it isn’t essential to have him in the middle of the order. He gets on base at an incredible rate and that skill should be utilized higher as the number two hitter. The number two hitter role isn't completely foreign to Mauer as he has started 73 games in this position during the course of his career. Besides the number three spot in the order, he has accumulated more at-bats in the number two spot than all of the other spots combined. It's a small sample size when compared to the rest of his career but he has a higher slugging percentage when he bats in this spot. As far as the rest of the batting order, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau would be able to slide up one spot to keep the middle of the line-up as a threat. Willingham is coming off the best season of his career and he could thrive as the number three hitter. Morneau will be entering next season after his first fully healthy offseason in multiple years. Overall, the Twins are going to need a lot of things to break right for them to find success next season. The rotation could be a mess and it doesn't look like there will be much help coming in 2013. Mauer moving to the number two spot in the line-up could be a small step to making the turn for the future. He seems to fit the mold of a number two hitter and this spot looks to be open on the current roster. It only seems natural to "Elect Mauer for the number two hitter!" [ATTACH=CONFIG]3063[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3050[/ATTACH] During the last couple of offseasons, there have been some question marks about the role of Glen Perkins. In 2008 and 2009, Perkins had struggled as a starter so the Twins needed to find some kind of role for him. The 2010 team didn't really have a role for Perkins and he spent most of the year as a starter in Rochester. He finally found his spot in the bullpen in 2011 and things have been on the upswing ever since that point. This offseason there is little doubt about his role for 2013; Perkins will be the closer for the Twins at the start of the year. It will be the first year that Perkins has started the season as the closer. Last year he served as set-up man before Matt Capps started dealing with injuries and poor play. One of the biggest strengths of last year's squad was the bullpen and Perkins hopes that continues in 2013. Over the last two seasons, Perkins has been one of the best relief pitchers in the American League. He has a low 2.52 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 143 SO over 132 innings pitched. As a relief pitcher, Perkins has been able to add a little velocity to his pitches and this has helped to make him more dominant. Last season was a career year as he saw his WHIP drop to 1.038 and he was able to increase his SO/9 rate to 10.0 for the first time in his career. Twins fans have become accustom to having shutdown closers for much of the last two decades. The lineage of closers goes back to Rick Aguilera and stretches down through Eddie Guardado, Joe Nathan, and now Mr. Perkins. With a dominant closer, there can be some question surrounding the use of this type of player. How should a manager use a dominant bullpen arm? With Ron Gardenhire as the manager, the Twins have followed the standard of limiting the closer to getting the last three outs of the game. There have been some exceptions to this rule but for the most part it has been true. Using a closer exclusively in the ninth inning is not necessarily a bad thing but there can be some advantages to thinking outside the box when it comes to the late innings of games. Last season when Matt Capps was dealing with some injury issues at the end of June, it looked like the Twins might be going with a two-pronged approach to finish off games. Minnesota seemed to be looking at the match-ups and trying to decided if the left-handed throwing Perkins would be the better option or if right-handed hurler Jared Burton would be the way to go. This didn't last long as Burton would pick up a handful of saves during the rest of the season but Perkins became the standard as the ninth inning man. The idea of using two different pitchers as closers seems like it could be intriguing to attempt especially on a team trying to rebuild after back-to-back 90 loss seasons. There could be situations where a left-handed pitcher would be better and other times where a right-handed man is needed. With how well Perkins and Burton were throwing last season, it seemed like a win-win situation. There are also going to be situations where the closer might be needed for more than one out. What if there is a tough string of batters due up in the eighth inning? Should a manager throw a lesser pitcher out there to face the heart of the order or put his best bet in the bullpen? It seems much more logical to have a team's best pitcher out there in a tougher situation. It might also be in the best interest of the team to let a closer get more than three outs to record a save. If trouble arises in the eighth inning, the closer should be able to come in and attempt to finish that inning and get the last three outs of the ninth. Out of Perkins 16 saves in 2012, only one of them was over one inning of work. In fact, he only recorded more than three outs in a game on four occasions last season. It doesn't seem like Gardenhire is going to allow his closer into the game early and maybe it doesn't matter with a last place team. Even if the Twins are building toward 2014, it would be nice to see a few more victories in 2013. The Twins had a great bullpen in 2012 and it could help to be a little more creative when it comes to finishing games. Perkins could turn out to be the best closer in franchise history but the team should still be smart about the way they use him. Getting more than three outs, using him earlier in the game, and having Burton pick up a save or two could help the team to find more success next year. What are your thoughts on using a closer earlier than the ninth inning? What about the two closer approach? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3033[/ATTACH] For the first time since 1996, the Baseball Writers' Association of America did not select anyone to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This was the eighth time that no one was selected by the writers but most onlookers could see this coming. The influx of suspected steroid users on the ballot makes it tough to judge players and there has been plenty of debate surrounding who should be elected in the coming years. Craig Biggio was the closest person to getting 75% of the vote needed to be enshrined but he only mustered 68.2% in his first year on the ballot. Twins World Series hero Jack Morris came in second with 67.7% of the vote in his 14th year on the ballot. Rounding out the rest of the top five were Jeff Bagwell (59.6%), Mike Piazza (57.8%), and Tim Raines (52.2%). In my ballot that I released last week, I hoped that Biggio and Bagwell would comprise the Class of 2013. I knew this was a long shot but it seemed fitting for two of the former "Killer B's" from the Astros. With so many other worthy candidates, I had a full ballot of 10 players but I divided them into different categories. Those categories included: "Future Inductions," "May Never Get In (But Still On My Ballot)," and the "Under-Appreciated Duo." Check out the entire piece to see the reasons I gave for each selection. For Morris, it was discouraging to see that he only made a small jump in the voting. In the 2012 voting, he finished in second place with 66.7% of the vote and it was looking like he could make the jump needed to get to 75%. His 1% increase this year doesn't bode well for the 57-year old former pitcher that will be on the ballot for one last time in 2013. As more players from the steroids era enter the ballot, the numbers for Morris look more likely that they won't stack up to the competition. The clock is ticking for Jack Morris since there will be some very strong first time candidates on next year's ballot. Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas will all have strong cases to be elected in their first time on the ballot. There will also be some strong returning candidates like Biggio, Bagwell, and Piazza. Morris will get one more chance but the odds are not exactly looking like they will be in his favor when it comes to election time next January. When compared to Glavine and Maddux, Morris doesn't seem to stand a chance on the 2014 ballot. Maddux has a career WAR of 101.6 and this should make him almost a lock to be a first ballot selection. Glavine has a very good 76.8 WAR, which isn't as high as Maddux but it is still very good. Morris is much further down the list with a 39.3 WAR and that would rank sixth among pitchers on next year's ballot. There are plenty of people on both sides of the debate surrounding Morris. Some writers have spoke out loudly to try and push for Morris to get in as he runs out of years on the ballot. Other's have compared Morris to other top pitchers and his numbers don't exactly stand out above the crowd. With one year left, the voices against Morris seem to be bringing down any momentum that he had building in the last couple of years. Twins fans saw Bert Blyleven get elected in his 14th year of eligibility so there were some that thought this might be the year for Morris. Blyleven had much better numbers for his career and his induction should have come much sooner than it did. The extra years on the ballot helped to build the narrative in favor of Blyleven. The problem for Morris has been the fact that the narrative has been building as much against him as it has been for him. Morris pitched one of the biggest games in World Series history and he happened to be wearing a Twins uniform when he did it. On my ballot, I voted for Morris because of the nostalgia involved with Game 7 from 1991. He was the last addition to my ballot so if I had to remove one player it would have probably been him. Does this mean that he probably doesn't deserve to be in the Hall? Most likely...

Last week, I kicked off an entertaining series to look at some of the players that performed at their worst while wearing a Twins uniform. In recent memory, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Jason Marquis come to mind as the poster boys for futility in Minnesota but there have been plenty of other names throughout the history of the franchise. My first player profile in the series was Butch Huskey. I didn't really have a reason for starting with Huskey but his story provided a good narrative for the post and he didn't really perform up to par after the Twins signed him. There are plenty of players that are worse than him but it was a good starting point. In the winter cold of the deep offseason, it can be entertaining to look back at the club's history. In the next few weeks, I will discuss some of the worst players to ever wear a Twins uniform. I won't try to rank these players because that could be quite the daunting task and it is wide open to interpretation. These will be simple profiles on some of the worst players in team history. In my post abour Mr. Huskey, I asked for some suggestions about who should be next in the series. I got plenty of good responses but decided to look into the career of Terry Felton. ---------- [ATTACH=CONFIG]3026[/ATTACH] Felton joined the Twins organization as a second round pick out of high school in the 1976 amateur draft. He would be sent to the rookie leagues for rest of that summer. On his way to the big leagues, he would post ERA marks in the mid-threes to the low-fours. As a 21-year old, he would make his debut in September with the big league club. His first taste of the big leagues would be brief as he was only asked to pitch in one game for a couple innings. The next year (1980) he made the team's rotation out of spring training but things went south from there. He had a quality start in his first outing by allowing three runs over seven innings. In his next start, he threw over five innings and still gave up three runs. The next three starts would be terrible as he allowed eight earned runs and never pitched more than 3.2 innings. In two of those last three starts, he pitched an inning or less. The Twins would keep him in Triple-A for the rest of the year. The starting pitcher role wasn't exactly working out for Felton and the club decided to go in a different direction with him. He would spilt time during the 1981 season as a relief pitcher and as starter in the minor leagues. Things didn't exactly transition smoothly as he posted a ERA over 4.00 in 131 innings pitched at Triple-A. The organization still gave him a taste of the big leagues in September and he proceeded to give up six runs in 1.1 inning on the mound. In 1982, Felton would be given plenty of opportunities to succeed at the big league level. He spent the entire year with the Twins and he ended up pitching 117.1 innings for the club. Most of this time was out of the bullpen but he was given the chance to start six games. He ended the year with a 4.99 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and a horrendous 0-13 record. Opponents only hit .230 against him but they managed to get on base 35% of the time. During one stretch from the end of June to the end of July, he threw 13.2 innings and had a 7.90 ERA. This included a 0-4 record, two blown saves, and another save that he happened to get because he pitched over three innings in a blowout. He gave up five home runs in this stretch but never more than one in an outing. It was tough for Mr. Felton to find success and the team had seen enough of him at the big league level. Felton would never make it back to the big leagues. He spent the entire 1983 campaign in the minor league system for the Twins by posting a 5.24 ERA and a 3-10 record over 115.0 innings. The Twins would part ways with him after that season and he latched on with the Dodgers system. They let him play in a handful of games at the Double-A level but it was rough going and the team decided to go in a different direction. Looking back on his career, it's tough not to look at the way the Twins switched him back and forth from being a starter to shoving him in the bullpen. Some players don't adjust well switching between these two roles. Felton ended his professional career without a major league win and a 5.53 ERA with a 1.518 WHIP. He combined for a career WAR of -2.1 across his four seasons of big league experience. Since the Twins took Felton in a high round of the draft, the team wanted to try and get the most they could out of him. Unfortunately, Felton's best just wasn't very good... What other players should be featured in this series? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3018[/ATTACH] Over the last two seasons, the two men that accounted for most of the at-bats in the leadoff spot for the Twins were Denard Span and Ben Revere. These two men have been traded away this offseason and this leaves a gaping hole at the top of the order (and in center field but that's a post for a different day). There will be a few different candidates to be the lead-off hitter and a lot of the decision will come down to who wins the vacancies in center field and in the middle infield positions. From reports out of the Twins Cities, it sounds like the Twins will turn over the starting to duties in center field to one of three men. Joe Benson, Aaron Hicks, and Darin Mastroianni will all get the chance to earn the starting role in spring training. The middle infield situation will also need to be sorted out in the spring and there are a few different candidates fighting for those spots. Out of the center field candidates, Mastroainni has the most big league experience and he offers some skills that would be helpful in a leadoff role. In only 77 games last season, he managed 21 steals, which ranked third on the team behind Revere and Alexi Casilla. He hit .252/.328/.345 last season with a limited amount of power. The Twins even penciled him into the first spot of the line-up for three different games last season but he only hit .133/.188/.333 in a small sample size of16 plate appearances. Hicks has been used as a lead-off hitter for most of his career in the minor leagues and he also has the skill set to be a very good top of the order hitter. He is one of the most patient hitters in the minor leagues by drawing over 75 walks in each of his three full seasons at multiple levels. His on-base percentage is .379 for his professional career and that even came with some lower batting averages in his first few seasons. His speed is also very good as he stole 32 bases last year and he combined for 32 doubles and triples. The Twins are going to need to see quite the performance from Benson to give him a starting job out of spring training. He was injured for most of last season and this caused his on-field performance to take a dive. Benson is still very athletic and he has shown a good ability to get on base when he is healthy. If Benson wins the starting job in center field, it might mean the Twins look to one of the other candidates to be the leadoff hitter. When looking at the infield candidates, Jamey Carroll played the most for the club in 2011. The 38-year old infielder had a rough start to last year but he found his swing through the course of the year. The Twins only used him as a leadoff hitter in one game last year so he might not be the likeliest candidate. He does know how to draw a walk and the Twins could use him at the top of the order until Hicks is ready to debut. The other candidates for the starting jobs in the middle infield are Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon, and Eduardo Escobar. These men aren't really leadoff hitter material since well... they don't really hit the ball. All three of these players struggled to hit for a high average last season and they would most likely be suited for spots lower in the batting order. Dozier showed some ability to steal bases with nine steals in 11 attempts but his other numbers were too low to consider him a threat as a lead-off man. If some of these other candidates don't look appealing, the dark horse for the leadoff spot could be the Twins highest paid player. Joe Mauer is the best hitter for average on the Twins and he has led the AL in on-base percentage in multiple seasons. He doesn't have a ton of speed but he is athletic enough that can steal a base on occasion. There really seems like no way Ron Gardenhire would put him in the lead-off spot but maybe there is a chance that he moves up to the number two spot. Clearly, Hicks is the Twins leadoff hitter of the future but the future might not be able to start the year in Minnesota. At this point, it seems most likely for Hicks to start at Triple-A with Mastroianni getting the job on Opening Day. Here is where I would rank the leadoff hitters at this point and the only reason Mauer is at the bottom is because there seems to be a very little chance that he will be moved from the middle of the order. Leadoff Hitter Rankings: 1. Aaron Hicks 2. Darin Mastroianni 3. Jamey Carroll 4. Joe Mauer If you were putting together the roster for 2013, who would be your leadoff man for Opening Day? How about at the halfway point of the season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3013[/ATTACH] The Twins have been busy adding mediocre arms to their starting rotation this offseason but off in the wings Scott Diamond is preparing for his second full seasons as a big league starter. Diamond burst onto the scene last season with a very impressive first half of the season. He would come back down to earth a little bit in the second half but he was still the best starter out of a very mediocre starting core. In his second full season as a starter, Diamond will have to find a way to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. There were a few different things that made Diamond successful in his first trip through the American League. Before the end of July, Diamond made 15 starts and posted a very good 2.88 ERA over 100 innings. Opponents hit .266/.299/.388 against him and he posted a very good 9-4 record. Most of his wins during that stretch, six of them, would come in the friendly confines of Target Field. In fact, over the course of the season Diamond would strike out batters at a higher rate at home and his WHIP was much better when pitching in Minnesota. From the beginning of August to the end of the season, Diamond ran into some struggles. He would lose two more games than he won during that stretch and his other numbers ballooned up a little. His ERA rose to 4.44 and opponents were able to hit .285/.320/.472 against him. Things would get worse after he was tossed out of a game in Texas for throwing at a batter. From that point on, his ERA jumped to 5.06 as his innings continued to mount. Entering last season, the most Diamond had pitched in the minor leagues was 162 innings back in 2011. Before being called-up to Minnesota in 2012, Diamond threw 34.2 innings in the minor leagues and he added that to 173 innings at the big league level. It was the first time he had thrown over 200 innings and there might have been a learning curve with his new workload. This could be the reason for some of his struggles down the stretch. Twins fans know that Diamond doesn't strikeout a ton of batters. He stays around the strike zone and this can cause some problems. Home runs became an Achilles heel for Diamond. Out of his 26 starts, he gave up a home run in 13 games and he gave up more than one home run in four games. In the games where Diamond gave up a home run, the Twins were one game under .500 and the team was 0-2 when he gave up more than one home run. One of the biggest areas of strength for Diamond is his ability to limit walks. He led the AL in BB/9 by averaging less than two walks per game. The most walks that he gave up in a game were three and both of those contests were in the last month of the year when Diamond might have been tiring. There were seven games when he didn't walk a single batter and he pitched over six innings in all of those starts. When giving up zero walks, Diamond had a 4-1 record and 1.07 ERA. Since Diamond is going to pound the strike zone, it is important to have a good defense behind him. The Twins will enter this spring with question marks at almost every up the middle position on the club. Joe Benson, Aaron Hicks, and Darin Mastroianni will be fighting for the starting job in center field. The middle infield is a complete question mark as the Twins are expected to have an open competition for shortstop and second base. It can tough for a pitcher to have consistency if there are different players behind him every time he takes the mound. Looking at all of these things, it is clear that there are a few areas for Diamond to concentrate on to find success in his second year. He needs to limit the amount of long balls that he gives up. It is also key for him to continue to manage the amount of walks that he allows. The defense behind Diamond will also be critical for the Twins and their starting staff. If the Twins and Diamond can find a way for all of these to come true, he might be set up to have an even better year in 2013.

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, we are asked to take part in a few different voting exercises throughout the year. We pick out the top players in each end of the year award category, we vote for the starters in the All-Star Game, and we submit a ballot for the Hall-of-Fame during each offseason. The calendar has turned from 2012 and that means it is getting close to the announcement of the Class of 2013 for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. With each of the other announcements, the BBA asks each member to post their ballot to their affiliated blog. The Hall-of-Fame vote is the only one for which this is not a requirement. I still feel like the Hall-of-Fame balloting should be posted with my reasons for selecting each candidate. I usually break my ballot into a few different categories because I know that not all of the player listed below will be making a speech in Cooperstown this summer: [ATTACH=CONFIG]3009[/ATTACH] Class of 2012 Craig Biggio (1st Ballot)- Houston Astros Accolades: 7-time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves, 5 Silver Sluggers BA: .281 H: 3,060 (21st) HR: 219 (144th) R: 1,844 (15th) RBI: 1,175 (162nd) SB: 414 (64th) OPS: .796 WAR: 62.1 (129th) Jeff Bagwell (2012 HOF Vote: 56.0%)- Houston Astros Accolades: 4-time All-Star, 1 Gold Glove, 3 Silver Sluggers, '94 NL MVP BA: .297 H: 2314 (140th) HR: 449 (36th) R: 1517 (63rd) RBI: 1529 (46th) SB: 202 OPS: .948 (22nd) WAR: 79.9 (59th) There have been whispers of PED use surrounding Bagwell but there hasn't been any real evidence against him. He was a power hitting first baseman in the middle of the steroids era and that is apparently enough to convict him. I think he gets the extra boost because some voters won't want to vote for the other players on the ballot. Biggio started his career as a catcher and he moved to second base after three seasons behind the plate. He reached the 3,000 hit mark and this helps him to be one of the best up the middle players in history. It seems only fitting that two of Houston's Killer B's would be elected in the same year. Future Inductions Mike Piazza (1st Ballot)- Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics Accolades: 12-time All-Star, 10 Silver Sluggers, '93 Rookie of the Year BA: .308 (122nd) H: 2,127 (210th) HR: 427 (44th) R: 1048 RBI: 1,335 (89th) OPS: .922 (50th) WAR: 56.1 (117th) Curt Schilling (1st Ballot)- Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox Accolades: 6-time All-Star, '93 NLCS MVP, '01 World Series MVP Wins: 216 (82nd) ERA: 3.46 WHIP: 1.137 (46th) K: 3,116 (15th) IP: 3,261.0 (95th) WAR for pitchers: 76.9 (26th) Shutouts: 20 (244th) Edgar Martinez (2012 HOF Vote: 36.5%)- Seattle Mariners Accolades: 7-time All-Star, 5 Silver Sluggers BA: .312 (96th) H: 2247 (161th) HR: 309 (123th) R: 1219 (161th) RBI: 1261 (124st) OPS: .933 (34th) WAR: 67.2 (108th) Piazza wasn't the best as a defensive catcher but he is the best hitting catcher of all-time. Like, Bagwell there have been PED rumors but again there is no evidence. Schilling might be the second best postseason pitcher behind Mariano Rivera and he was also a very good regular season pitcher as well. He probably won't get in on the first ballot but he should get in at some point in the next few years. Martinez had positive years as a third baseman before becoming the definition of the designated hitter. He is one of the best hitters of all-time and he should be recognized for his place in history. May Never Get In (But Still On My Ballot) Barry Bonds (1st Ballot)- Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants Accolades: 14-time All-Star, 8 Gold Gloves, 12 Silver Sluggers, 2-time Batting Champ, '90 NL MVP, '92 NL MVP, '93 NL MVP, '01 NL MVP, '02 NL MVP, '03 NL MVP, '04 NL MVP BA: .298 (235th) H: 2,935 (32nd) HR: 762 (1st) R: 2,227 (3rd) RBI: 1,996 (4th) OPS: 1.051 (4th) SB: 514 (33rd) BB: 2,558 (1st) WAR: 158.1 (3rd) Roger Clemens (1st Ballot)- Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros Accolades: 11-time All-Star, '86 AL MVP, '86 AL Cy Young, '87 AL Cy Young, '91 AL Cy Young, '97 AL Cy Young, '98 AL Cy Young, '01 AL Cy Young, '04 NL Cy Young Wins: 354 (9th) ERA: 3.12 (212th) WHIP: 1.173 (90th) K: 4,672 (3rd) IP: 4,916.6 (16th) WAR for pitchers: 133.1 (3rd) Shutouts: 46 (26th) Jack Morris (2012 HOF Vote: 66.7%)- Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians Accolades: 5-time All-Star, 1991 World Series MVP Wins: 254 (42nd) ERA: 3.90 WHIP: 1.296 K: 2478 (32nd) IP: 3824.0 (50th) WAR for pitchers: 39.3 (145th) Shutouts: 28 (134th) With the influx of big name players on this year's ballot, Morris might have missed out on his last best chance in 2012. He was the best pitcher of the 1980's but he was the last player that made my ballot. Bonds was a HOF player before his PED use and his numbers are unbelievable. He is in the argument for the best players of all-time but the steroid factor could keep him out. Much like Bonds, a cloud of PED speculation surrounds Clemens but he still ranks as one of the best pitchers ever. He was putting together a HOF career before he allegedly started using steroids. Under-Appreciated Duo Tim Raines (2012 HOF Vote: 48.7%)- Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins Accolades: 7-time All-Star, 1 Silver Slugger, 1 NL Batting Title BA: .294 H: 2,605 (77th) HR: 170 R: 1,571 (53rd) RBI: 980 OPS: .810 SB: 808 (5th) WAR: 66.2 (97th) Alan Trammell (2012 HOF Vote: 36.8%)- Detroit Tigers Accolades: 6-time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers, '84 World Series MVP BA: .285 H: 2,365 (124th) HR: 185 R: 1,231 (156th) RBI: 1,003 OPS: .767 SB: 236 WAR: 67.1 (91st) This is the first year that I am voting for Raines and Trammell and most of that is because I didn't fully appreciate their body of work. Raines ability to steal bases and get on base at a high rate might make him the second best leadoff hitter of all-time behind Ricky Henderson. Trammell was terrific on both sides of the ball and he has been under-appreciated by the BWAA. He is as good or better than Barry Larkin, last year's selection to the HOF. So who would make your ballot? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.