Cody Christie

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2391[/ATTACH] In last night's loss to the New York Yankees, Matt Capps made his return to the field after missing almost the entire second half of the season. It was the first action for Capps after not appearing in a game since the middle of July. The season has been injury plagued for the 29-year old relief pitcher and his time with the Twins has been full of plenty of ups-and-downs. Fans seem to hold a grudge against Capps for his poor play in the last couple of years but some of this hatred might be better aimed at the front office for the Twins. The past decisions with Capps have left fans scratching their heads and it's tough to know what the next move will be from the front office. Back in 2010 when the Twins traded catching prospect Wilson Ramos for relief pitcher Matt Capps, there was plenty of uproar across Twins Territory. It was tough to see the Twins giving up on one of their best positional prospects for what looked like a mediocre relief pitcher. Capps would be under team control through 2011 so the team wasn't giving up a prospect for a couple months of a relief pitcher. The deal was still tough to swallow and it doesn't help that Ramos has looked good for the Nationals even though he suffered a season-ending injury earlier this year. It could go down as one of the worst trades in team history and it is one of the many things fans hold against former general manager Bill Smith. During last offseason, the Twins had the opportunity to part ways with Mr. Capps because the veteran relief pitcher was heading to free agency for the first time in his career. If the Twins had let Capps sign with another team, the organization would have been given a draft pick as compensation for him leaving the team. Instead, the Twins thought it was more important to sign him to a contract for 2012 and the scariest thing is the fact the team has an option for next season. The option is for $6 million with a low buyout of $250,000 so it seems tough to think the Twins won't buy him out but the team has made some surprise decisions with Capps in the past. Would the Twins ever consider bring back Capps on a one-year deal for $6 million? Some fans might shiver at the thought of Capps being back in a Twins uniform next year especially with how good the bullpen has looked in 2012. Glen Perkins is set-up to be the closer for the next handful of years and the Twins signed him to a cheap deal during last offseason. Jared Burton has burst onto the scene as another very good arm out of the bullpen and he has shown the ability to get some big outs in late-inning situations. Looking to the offseason, the bullpen seems to be the least of the worries for the Twins and the $6 million option for Capps could be better spent on starting pitching or help in the middle infield. It's hard to imagine what role Capps would serve if he was brought back for another season in Minnesota. Perkins and Burton seem to have the last couple innings of games under control so this would shift Capps to a set-up role in the 7th inning or earlier. The Twins have gotten a look at plenty of other options to fill-up the bullpen for next season and players like Alex Burnett, Anthony Swarzak, and Casey Fien will all come with a smaller price tag than Capps. There doesn't seem to be a place for him on the 2013 Twins but that doesn't mean he won't be back in Minnesota. The front office has made some surprising decisions surrounding Capps in the past such as trading for him in the first place and resigning him when they had a free draft pick sitting in front of them. So even though it seems unlikely, there is always a chance the front office surprises fans again and brings Capps back for next year. When the team signed him last offseason, there were a lot of comments about his attitude and make-up being one of the reasons the team wanted him back in a Twins uniform. After back-to-back poor seasons, his attitude might not be enough to get another multi-million dollar deal in Minnesota. Then again, I have been surprised with their decisions surrounding Capps in the past...

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]2385[/ATTACH] Over the weekend, the Twins got a first-hand look at one of the front-runners for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. Miguel Cabrera is trying his best to be the first Triple Crown winner in the American League since Carl Yastrzemski won it back in 1967. There are other deserving candidates in the American League and it looks like the main competition for Cabrera will come in the form of standout rookie Mike Trout. The debate has been swirling over the last couple of weeks as the end of the season is closing in and voters are going to have to decide between the outstanding seasons put together by the top two players in the American League. It seems to be a debate between fans that like the old-school statistics such as home runs and RBI versus new-school fans that turn to Sabermetrics for much of their statistical analysis. There have been plenty of opinions circling from writers, coaches, and other players. For voters in the Baseball Writers Association of America, the choice will be up to them and there are plenty of things for them to consider before they make their final choice. What weight do the Triple Crown categories hold? For Cabrera, it has been arguably his best offensive season in his outstanding career that has spanned the last decade. He sits at the top of all three Triple Crown categories with a .331 batting average, 42 home runs, and 133 RBI. If Cabrera ends up winning the first Triple Crown since the 1960s, there is a good chance the vote could swing his way. There are still plenty of older voters composing the electorate in the BBWAA and a push by these elder statesmen could put the trophy in the hands of Cabrera. A couple of weeks ago, it looked like Trout was going to run away with the batting title in the American League. The month of September hasn't been the best for the young Trout as he reaches the end of his rookie campaign. His recent late-season slump has dropped him from the top of the leader-board in batting average and it might be hard for him to reclaim the lead. He also isn't sitting high in the other Triple Crown categories because he missed the first month of the year while he was toiling in the minor leagues. Should defensive value be considered? When the Tigers signed Prince Fielder in the offseason, it meant Cabrera would need to move from first base back to his previous position at third base. There were many that thought his transition to third base would make for some terrible defensive line-ups for the Tigers but it hasn't been as bad as some thought it would be. He has 13 errors in 363 chances at third but when you look a little deeper things can get more dicey for his defense. By looking at the defensive runs saved statistic, he has cost the Tigers four runs over the course of the year and this translates to a negative defensive WAR for him. Trout is one of the best defensive players in the game with his ability to take away hits in center field. If you take a look at the numbers, his defensive runs saved total is an eye-popping 25 so far this year. According to Baseball Reference, this translates to a 2.6 WAR on the defensive side of the ball. His ability to take away home runs has been well chronicled in highlight reels across the country. He also plays a premium defensive position so his team can rely on him to track down balls in parks across the country. Does the MVP have to be in the playoffs? When the Tigers made the playoffs last year, their ace pitcher Justin Verlander was named MVP of the American League. There were other candidates for this award but Verlander put together a very good year on a team that would be competing in October. At this point, it seems the Tigers have a shot to make the playoffs out of the AL Central since they trail the White Sox by one game with a week and a half to go in the season. Some of the voters might consider the Tigers getting into the playoffs as their deciding factor in the vote for the MVP award. Jacoby Ellsbury had an outstanding final month of the season last year but his team was in the midst of one of the worst collapses in baseball history. When the last month of the season started, he looked like a clear-cut favorite for the MVP award. His team didn't make the playoffs and he didn't win the hardware so it's possible the same thing will happen to Trout. The Angels are currently 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot so they are left on the outside looking in at the Orioles and the A's playing in the new Wild Card game. His team's poor play in the first month of the year might cost him the MVP and he wasn't even on the team at that point. WAR, What is it good for? According to Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Cabrera is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his professional career. He currently sits at 6.6 rWAR and 6.9 fWAR depending on which site you turn to for your statistical analysis. The only season he had a higher WAR was last year and he would need to put together a decent final week to reach his total from last year. Obviously, his defensive numbers take away from his total WAR so this hurts him in the long run. His totals are still hard to ignore on a team fighting to get into postseason play. Some of the Sabermetric categories are in love with Trout and his magical season. His numbers at the plate combined with outstanding defense and his threatening speed on the base paths have him off the charts. He is the first player to compile a WAR of over 10 since Barry Bonds did it back in his heyday. The last center fielder to reach this mark was Willie Mays so Trout is in some good company with the season he has put together. Will recent play make a difference in the vote? The month of September has been very good for Cabrera as his team gets closer to the playoffs. He is hitting .356 since the calendar turned from August and he has nine home runs during that time. The voters can sometimes have long-term memory loss and they might look with favor at the hot streak by Cabrera over the last month. This could push the vote towards the Tigers slugger. It would be hard for any player to continue to perform at the level Trout was at earlier this year. So it's not too hard to believe he has come back down to earth for the final month of the season. His batting average has dipped to .256 in September but he has still shown good defensive ability and speed on the bases. If he could put together a good last week and a half of the season, voters might remember all of the good things he accomplished in 2012 Who should win versus who will win? In my opinion, the best player in the American League this season has been Mike Trout. His overall season is something baseball hasn't seen in quite awhile and it would be a shame if he wasn't honored for his historic year. His offense, defense, and speed make him one of the most exciting players in the game and he should win the award no matter how his team finishes the year. Cabrera has a shot to win the first Triple Crown in a long time and this might be hard for some of the older voters to ignore. It also helps for the Tigers to be so close to making the playoffs. There seems to be a late-season push for Cabrera to come out on top and it seems more likely for him to end up with his first MVP award in his very good career. Cabrera has been close in the past so it might be his turn to win and Trout could be left to win the award in another season.

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A couple of milestones happened for the Twins during the past week. The team won a series against the Indians but as part of that series, Josh Willingham crushed his 35 home run of the season and Liam Hendriks picked up his first victory at the big league level. These might not seem like very important numbers but the story behind those numbers gives a little bit more meaning to these milestones. For Willingham, he became the first Twins player to hit 35 home runs since Harmon Killebrew in 1970 to knock that many out of the park. Other players like Justin Morneau, Gary Gaetti, and Kent Hrbek have gotten to 34 home runs but the Hammer becomes the first player since Killer to reach this plateau. There is a chance for Willingham to reach the 40 home run mark and that would be a cool milestone to reach in a miserable season. For Hendriks, the first victory might not seem like that big of a deal. Every pitcher in baseball can usually get lucky and find some way to earn a victory as a starter or as a relief pitcher. It took Hendriks until his 18th MLB start to finally get his first win. That is quite the stretch of bad luck for Mr. Hendriks and it wasn't all related to his bad performance on the field. He pitched a complete game against Seattle at the end of last month and still got the loss by giving up a solo-home run. Going into last start, the Twins were only averaging 3.38 runs of support for Hendriks so it was nice for him to get his first victory out of the way. But enough about the milestones from the last week, let's jump into this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." The Twins might have scored a lucky break with the deep pitching market this offseason. Denard Span's last hurrah with the Twins could be taking place in the coming weeks. Cedar Rapids is going to be the new home of the Twins Low-A affiliate. Bye-bye Snappers. With one affiliate moving, it brought up questions of a Twins minor league team in St. Paul. Every team in baseball has at least one 35 home run hitter since the last time the Twins accomplished the feat. Would a contract extension with Josh Willingham make sense? His value has been outstanding in 2012. A deal with Scott Baker could make sense for the club. It was the Twins annual rookie dress-up as the team headed to Detroit. Check out Ben Revere's Twitter account for a bunch of pictures. Rene Rivera was not happy the Twins called up Chris Herrmann this week. Miguel Sano and Oswaldo Arcia were both named to the Baseball America 2012 Minor League All-Star Team. The Rochester Red Wings GM Dan Mason was named the International League Executive of the year. In a sad bit of news, former Twins player Jack Kralick passed away this week. Left-handed pitching prospect David Hulbut of the Twins joined Twitter so everyone should give him a follow. Joe Mauer is going to have a tough time going for the batting title if the umps aren't on his side. It doesn't matter what your flavor is, Mauer's is better. Ever wonder what the lowest-attended home game in Twins history... This photo from photographer Brace Hemmelgarn gives a look into Target Field at 4:03 in the morning. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2378[/ATTACH] A bird relieved itself on the cap of Tommy Hunter this week. It's new school versus old school in the race for the AL MVP. Will Miguel Cabrera and his Triple Crown stats over take the Trout's rookie year? Jim Leyland doesn't like Sabermetrics and he doesn't think they should be used in the MVP race. Baseball teams are going to be getting a lot more money because of the new TV deal. NBC took away a World Series Championship from the Cubs this week. It sounds like Jim Thome is close to returning to the line-up for the Orioles (but I've said that over the last couple weeks...) I guess Royals games are getting a little out of hand in the underage drinking department. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Pedro Florimon lining up to be Opening Day Starter Tuesday: Should Scott Diamond be shutdown? Wednesday: Joe Mauer racing for fourth batting title Thursday: Career of lost opportunities for Alexi Casilla Video of the Week: Trevor Plouffe had an odd moment the series finale with the Indians. He crushed a ball to deep center field and it looked like the outfielder was going to be able to make a play on the ball. It turns out the ball was well over his head but he faked out Plouffe in the process. Check out the video to see Plouffe's reaction to his "surprise" home run.

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]2371[/ATTACH] As the offeseason is approaching, there are plenty of decisions the Twins will have to make in the coming months. The team needs to address some gapping holes in the starting rotation, there are issues with the middle infield, and even the training staff might need to be replaced. There are plenty of things the Twins could do to make some subtle improvements for the 2013 campaign. It isn't like the club's revenue stream is going to allow them to go out and spend a ton of money on the open market for free agents. There will be tough choices that have to be made and one of those decisions could surround middle infielder Alexi Casilla. When he made his debut with the club back in 2006, the expectations weren't off the board for him but there was hope that he could develop into a decent regular for the team. He had only joined the Twins organization in 2005 after a trade with the Angels to get JC Romero out of town. Since that point, it has been a career of more downs than ups on his roller coaster ride. He has yet to appear in more than 100 games with the Twins and the most games he has started for the club was 94 contests back in 2008. There was hope at the beginning but it hasn't resulted into many positive performances on the field from Mr. Casilla. It's not like the Twins didn't give him plenty of chances over the years because the organization has turned to him on multiple occasions to earn a starting role with the club. Since 2009, Casilla has been in the Opening Day line-up at second base or shortstop in three out of the four seasons. The only year he didn't crack the Opening Day line-up was 2010 when Orlando Hudson started at second base and Nick Punto was the starting shortstop. So the Twins have wanted Casilla to show that he could be a starter but to say he hasn't performed up to expectations is an understatement. In his career, Casilla has hit .248/.303/.331 with 95 extra-base hits over the course of 1566 at-bats. He is a middle infielder so the lack of power can be expected but his low on-base percentage and his inability to hit for a higher average have hindered him in his career. The 2008 season was his best as he hit .281/.333/.374 with seven home runs and 15 doubles but he also had a career high 437 plate appearance that season. There is a good chance for Casilla to set a career-high in games played with the 97 appearances he has made in 2012. But he hasn't been at his best in the batter's box because he is hitting .228/.269/.305 with 18 extra-base hits as a 28-year old. One of the problems for the Twins organization has been their ability to develop middle infield talent over the course of much of the last decade. This has given Casilla more than one opportunity to prove his worth to the club but his time with the organization could be running out. He is currently in his second year of being arbitration eligible and that means he could still be under team control for next year. The earliest that he could reach free agency is 2014 but his paycheck most certainly would go up for next year. In 2012, he is making $1.382 million to be a below average at the plate and adequate in the field. Mr. Casilla could be looking at a deal between $1.5-$2.0 million for next season and that might be too much for a back-up role with the club. As the season is winding down, the Twins are getting a look at some of the other infield options that could have a place with the team in the future. Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar have gotten the opportunity to show they belong with this team next year and the price tag might be right for each player. These two players combined will be making less than Casilla would earn if the Twins went to arbitration with him. It seems that the team is becoming more comfortable with Florimon having the opportunity to earn a starting spot for next season and Escobar could back to serving in the utility role he had with the White Sox earlier this year. With the holes the Twins have to fill, it seems unlikely Casilla will make a return trip with the organization. Besides Florimon and Escobar, there are other options like Brian Dozier and Jamey Carroll to fit into the middle infield picture. There's always a chance the club would go out and sign a middle infielder but it looks to be a weak crop of free agents and hopefully the Twins aren't going to outbid other teams for the services of a mediocre player. It seems like the Twins middle infield picture is already overcrowded and Casilla might be the man pushed to the side. Casilla etched his place in Twins lore with his hit in Game 163 against the Tigers but the rest of his career was full of plenty of lost opportunities.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2368[/ATTACH] With last night's three hit performance, Joe Mauer continues to climb up the ladder for best batting average in the American League. There are still a couple of players for him to pass so it will be interesting to see if he is able to earn his fourth batting title in the last seven seasons. The other titles might come with more meaning since the Twins were fighting for the playoffs in each of those campaigns. It seems like Mauer is on a mission this season after an injury-plagued year in 2011 and his next stop could be the top of the American League batting race. Over the last week, Mauer has missed some time with back spasms and this could have crippled any chance of him catching the leaders in the AL. Since returning from the injury, he has two multi-hit games and he had two multi-hit games before his back started acting up. He is currently in the midst of a six game hitting streak and he has hits in nine of his last ten contests. With the season winding down, it seems like Mauer is getting stronger at the plate and that could mean trouble for the other hitters ahead of him in the standings. His opponents in the race for the batting crown are arguably the two top candidates for the American League Most Valuable Player. Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout are attempting to get each of their team's into the postseason so there is a lot of pressure on each of their at-bats. Here is a look at Mauer's competition over the coming weeks: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: .333 Batting Average The defending batting champion in the American League is in a prime position to take home the award again in 2012. He is hitting .373 so far in September and that number has only gone up with his .500 batting average in the last week. His schedule in the coming weeks looks pretty easy as he has six games left with the Twins and seven games left against pitchers from the Royals. He is currently facing Oakland's pitching staff but it only gets easier from that point. So far this season, he has hit .438 against the Twins so he is probably thrilled about the opportunity to play the Twins a couple of more times. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: .327 Batting Average A month ago, it looked like nothing would stop Trout from walking away with the batting title in his rookie season. In late August, Trout was still batting over .340 but he has less at-bats than most of the other contenders so a bad performance in one game hurts him more than others. So far in September, he is hitting .274 and it has been a rough week for Trout with a .227 average. Every game is important for his team and the Angels have five more games against a good staff in Texas and three games in Chicago. Trout has hit .370 versus the Rangers and .300 in limited action against the White Sox. There are six other games with the Mariners so that could mean facing Felix Hernandez twice in the last week. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: .325 Batting Average The month of September has been good to Mauer as he is hitting. 474 since the calendar turned from August. As far as the Twins schedule, Mauer has two games left with the Indians, six games left with Detroit, three games left with the Yankees, and three games left in Toronto. In 52 at-bats versus Tigers pitching this year, Mauer has a .346 batting average so facing that team could help him. He has also hit over .350 in a limited amount of action against the Yankees and the Blue Jays. The opportunity is there and he seems to be hitting his groove at the right time. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees: .323 Batting Average When comparing Jeter to Trout, it's hard to believe how many years separate these two. Jeter was a year away from being a first round pick when Trout was born. It has been a good September so far for Jeter as he is hitting .344 in the month. The last week hasn't been the greatest as he is batting a little under .300 as the Yankees push for the playoffs. For Jeter, there are some opponents that could help him move up in the standings. The Yankees face the Blue Jays seven more times, the Twins three times, and the Red Sox three times. He has hit over .340 against the Blue Jays and the Twins in 2012 so his average could rise in the home stretch. For Mauer, he would probably rather have the Twins in position to get a playoff spot but a batting title would be a nice consolation prize. The Twins face two of the three men on the list above in the coming weeks so fans in Twins Territory will get a first-hand look at the chase for the batting title. Mauer could also look to his pitching staff to help him to the title and pitch well against some of the best hitters in the league. There's a chance for another batting champion in Minnesota and that's something worth watching as the season comes to a close.

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]2362[/ATTACH] One of the best story lines for the Twins in 2012 has been the emergence of Scott Diamond as a stabilizing force in the starting rotation. In a season where the Twins have used 12 different starting pitchers, Diamond leads the way with 24 starts under his belt. During the first half of the season, it looked like Diamond could make the All-Star team because of his performance after being called up by the Twins. It has been a different story for Diamond in the last couple months as his performance has gradually declined to the point where his rotation spot might need to be called into question. A couple of weeks ago, this idea would be out of the question but recent starts from Diamond have showcased a mediocre pitcher with opposing teams hitting the ball all over the field against him. So the question to the front office of the Twins is, should Scott Diamond be shut down? Let's backtrack a few weeks to see how Diamond got to this point in the year. In the second half of August, Diamond put together a start against the Seattle Mariners that Twins fans had become accustom to seeing from him over the course of the year. He tossed 6.2 innings by surrendering two runs on nine hits and he got the no-decision as the Twins went on to lose the game by a run. His ERA dropped to 2.95 and things continued to look good for the left-handed hurler. The next outing for him would come against the Texas Rangers and this is when it seems like the season switched directions for Diamond. After Joe Mauer had been hit with a pitch in a previous inning, Diamond tried to stand-up for the Twins star catcher by throwing at Josh Hamilton of the Rangers. The pitch from Diamond got close to Hamilton but it was near the head of the slugger from Texas. Home plate umpire Wally Bell didn't like the pitch location from Diamond so he tossed him out of the game for throwing near the head of an opposing player. It was the shortest outing of the season for Diamond and it was the first time all year where he failed to pitch more than five innings. The Commissioner's Office would suspend Diamond for six games and things just haven't been the same since this point. He has made four starts since the infamous attempted bean ball near the head of Hamilton and it seems like something is missing from Diamond. In three of the four outings, he has been handed the loss and his performances haven't been up to the level fans were use to seeing from him. He has given up four or more runs in each appearance and he hasn't been able to pitch more than six frames in three of the four outings. The only win for Diamond during this stretch was when the offense exploded for 18 runs against the White Sox on September 4th. His last start on Sunday might have been his worst of the year as he gave up six earned runs on seven hits including two long balls. There just doesn't seem to be something right with Mr. Diamond. At this point in the season, there are plenty of players dealing with the aches and pains that accompany a grueling 162 game schedule. Diamond is in his first full season with the Twins and he is entering uncharted territory for his professional career. He started the year by throwing 34.2 innings with the Rochester Red Wings before poor play and injuries forced the Twins to turn to the minor leagues. If you combine his minor league innings with his MLB total, he has thrown 188.1 innings in 2012. The career high in innings for Diamond before this season was 162, a mark he reached in 2011 as a member of the Twins and Red Wings. By crossing this innings threshold, Diamond might have run into some fatigue issues and other problems with his arm mechanics. The Twins have been eliminated from playoff contention and one could argue that the team was never really in contention this year after their poor start to the season. Diamond's continued presence in the rotation is not entirely necessary over the last couple weeks of the year. He could be quietly shutdown and the team could continue to let other arms get the chance to showcase themselves against some of the tough opponents on the schedule for the rest of the month. It's terrible to think about Diamond suffering an arm injury in a meaningless September game when the club could use him in more meaningful games at the start of next season. Diamond hasn't exactly been helping the club to win in recent weeks and it's tough to know what the team wants to do with him for the rest of the year. It doesn't seem like he will be shutdown before his next start and I am sure the team would like to see how many inning he can pitch by the end of the campaign. The competitor inside of Diamond will want to go out on the mound for every opportunity he is given in the next couple weeks. It's just tough to watch him struggle at the end of what has been a breakout season for the 26-year old left-handed pitcher. The fans that are still watching are going to remember the struggles at the end of the year and not the positive signs from the majority of the season. It will also be tough for Diamond to enter the offseason on a sour note. In the next couple weeks, Diamond will most likely get to play out the rest of his 2012 season. He could rediscover himself from earlier this year or the performances could continue to go in the opposite direction. The innings are piling up and it's tough not to wonder if Diamond should be on the shelf for the remainder of the campaign.

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I will be interesting to see what Kepler can do in this kind of tournament. He had a very good season in 2012 and his stock is rising in the organization.

Fun idea. Not sure I would have all of these guys on the list but still an entertaining thread.

This was my thought exactly. The crowds have been sparse at Target Field at the end of this year. A minor league squad with up and coming talent might be more interesting even if they were losing.