Jim Crikket

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I have no idea exactly why Twins GM Terry Ryan is in Cedar Rapids watching his organization’s Class A affiliate this weekend, but if he’s here to evaluate the Beloit Snappers’ pitching, he has to like what he’s seen in the first two games! http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ShibuyaSanoJune2012a.jpg Pitcher Tim Shibuya and 3B Miguel Sano The Snappers’ hitters provided plenty of support in Friday night’s 7-0 shutout, but Tim Shibuya wasn’t as fortunate on Saturday night. Like David Hurlbut the night before, Shibuya gave up just one hit before giving way to his bullpen. But Shibuya left after his six innings of work with the Snappers clinging to just a 1-0 lead as Kernels starting pitcher Austin Wood was having a pretty fair night on the mound, as well. In the end, that one run was enough for the Snappers to come away with a 1-0 win. The only run of the game was put on the board when Tyler Grimes worked a one-out walk in the third inning and came around to score on JD Williams’ RBI double down the left field line. Steve Liddle had a solid night at the plate with three singles, but nobody else had more than one hit. Shibuya managed only one strikeout in his six innings of work, but also only walked one hitter. Oddly, he hit as many batters (2) as he allowed hits and walks, combined. Clint Dempster relieved Shibuya to start the 7th inning and put together a couple of strong innings, striking out three Kernels in those innings. He came out for the 9th inning, as well, but couldn’t nail down the save. After a Miguel Sano error was erased by a double play, Dempster gave up back-to-back base hits, putting runners at the corners. Corey Williams came on at that point and claimed the save by inducing a game ending groundout to second baseman Nate Roberts. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/PerfectGameField2.jpg Over 5,000 fans at Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids It was Autism Awareness Night at the ballpark in Cedar Rapids and the Kernels wore special jerseys for the occasion, which were auctioned off during the game. Yes, I claimed one for myself, taking it off the back of Kernels relief pitcher Stephen Tromblee, who was good enough to autograph the jersey after the game. The game was a virtual sellout, with an announced attendance of 5,277 fans. Thanks to a fireworks show after the game (not to mention one heck of a pitchers’ duel), a significant percentage of the crowd stuck around for the whole game. The Snappers and Kernels wrap up their series with an afternoon game on Sunday, starting at 2:05. Let’s wrap up with a few more pictures from tonight’s game. - JC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/GonclavesJune2012c1.jpg CF Jhon Gonclaves and Kernels catcher Abel Baker http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/KochJune2012a1.jpg C Matt Koch and Kernels 1B Frazier Hall http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LeachmanJune2012b1.jpg 1B Drew Leachman http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ShibuyaJune2012a1.jpg Pitcher Tim Shibuya http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/WilliamsJune2012c1.jpg RF JD Williams following his RBI double, held on by Kernels SS Eric Stamets http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/KernelsAutismJersey2012Tromblee2.jpg My Autism Awareness Night jersey

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I have no idea exactly why Twins GM Terry Ryan is in Cedar Rapids watching his organization’s Class A affiliate this weekend, but if he’s here to evaluate the Beloit Snappers’ pitching, he has to like what he’s seen in the first two games! http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ShibuyaSanoJune2012a.jpg Pitcher Tim Shibuya and 3B Miguel Sano The Snappers’ hitters provided plenty of support in Friday night’s 7-0 shutout, but Tim Shibuya wasn’t as fortunate on Saturday night. Like David Hurlbut the night before, Shibuya gave up just one hit before giving way to his bullpen. But Shibuya left after his six innings of work with the Snappers clinging to just a 1-0 lead as Kernels starting pitcher Austin Wood was having a pretty fair night on the mound, as well. In the end, that one run was enough for the Snappers to come away with a 1-0 win. The only run of the game was put on the board when Tyler Grimes worked a one-out walk in the third inning and came around to score on JD Williams’ RBI double down the left field line. Steve Liddle had a solid night at the plate with three singles, but nobody else had more than one hit. Shibuya managed only one strikeout in his six innings of work, but also only walked one hitter. Oddly, he hit as many batters (2) as he allowed hits and walks, combined. Clint Dempster relieved Shibuya to start the 7th inning and put together a couple of strong innings, striking out three Kernels in those innings. He came out for the 9th inning, as well, but couldn’t nail down the save. After a Miguel Sano error was erased by a double play, Dempster gave up back-to-back base hits, putting runners at the corners. Corey Williams came on at that point and claimed the save by inducing a game ending groundout to second baseman Nate Roberts. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/PerfectGameField2.jpg Over 5,000 fans at Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids It was Autism Awareness Night at the ballpark in Cedar Rapids and the Kernels wore special jerseys for the occasion, which were auctioned off during the game. Yes, I claimed one for myself, taking it off the back of Kernels relief pitcher Stephen Tromblee, who was good enough to autograph the jersey after the game. The game was a virtual sellout, with an announced attendance of 5,277 fans. Thanks to a fireworks show after the game (not to mention one heck of a pitchers’ duel), a significant percentage of the crowd stuck around for the whole game. The Snappers and Kernels wrap up their series with an afternoon game on Sunday, starting at 2:05. Let’s wrap up with a few more pictures from tonight’s game. - JC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/GonclavesJune2012c1.jpg CF Jhon Gonclaves and Kernels catcher Abel Baker http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/KochJune2012a1.jpg C Matt Koch and Kernels 1B Frazier Hall http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LeachmanJune2012b1.jpg 1B Drew Leachman http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ShibuyaJune2012a1.jpg Pitcher Tim Shibuya http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/WilliamsJune2012c1.jpg RF JD Williams following his RBI double, held on by Kernels SS Eric Stamets http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/KernelsAutismJersey2012Tromblee2.jpg My Autism Awareness Night jersey

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?705-A-Snappers-Pitching-Gem

Great write-up, as usual. One note though... Beloit has one more game left in their series in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.

The following article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com While the Twins were winning the opening game of their series with the Reds Friday night, I was spending just about a perfect night watching minor league baseball. The Beloit Snappers (the Twins’ Midwest League affiliate) opened the second half of their season here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ScoutsJune2012b.jpg Close to 20 scouts were easy to spot behind home plate The temperature was right about 80 degrees with a slight breeze and there was a sizable crowd of a bit over 3,000 people in Memorial Stadium for the game. Among that crowd, I counted at least 18 scouts perched in seats directly behind home plate. It’s not at all unusual to see scouts at a MWL game, but I typically see 6-8 with their notebooks and radar guns, so seeing so many scouts in attendance is a bit unusual. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanJune2012a.jpg Terry Ryan (in the cap and white shirt) Among that group was one familiar face, as well. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan was pretty easy to spot as he shook hands with a scout wearing a shirt with a Yankees logo and sat in a nearby seat. The game itself was never at all competitive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting to watch. The Snappers scored a run in the first inning off of Kernels starting pitcher Cam Bedrosian (son of former MLB/Twins pitcher Steve Bedrosian). In fact, they scored a run off of Bedrosian in each of the first three innings and three more runs in the fourth inning. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/HurlbutJune2012b.jpg Pitcher David Hurlbut and first baseman Steven Liddle Snappers starting pitcher David Hurlbut gave up a single to the second Kernels batter he faced in the first inning… and that would turn out to be the final hit that a Snapper pitcher would give up all night. Hurlbut threw seven shutout innings, walked three hitters and struck out four. Tim Atherton and Corey Williams each added an inning of relief without giving up a hit, as well. Snappers hitters, on the other hand, racked up 11 hits on their way to a 7-0 win to start off the second half of their MWL season. The only extra base hits for the Snappers on the night were RBI doubles by Nate Hanson, Steve Liddle and Tyler Grimes. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano had a single in four ABs, with one walk and one strikeout on the night. In fact, the Snapper lineup avoided getting even their first strikeout through six innings. We’ll try to disregard the fact that once the first K got recorded, Kernel relief pitcher Carmine Giardina sat down five Snappers in just the 7th and 8th innings, alone. A sizable number of the fans in attendance were wearing Twins gear, as is usually the case when the Snappers come to town. I’m still holding out some hope that the Twins will strike an affiliate deal with the local ballclub starting next year. I continue to hear from pretty reliable local sources that there is some level of mutual interest, so we’ll see how that works out after the season. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanAutographScorecard.jpg Yes, I really did ask Terry Ryan for his autograph After the game, I did approach Terry Ryan just to have him sign the scorecard I’d been keeping of the game. I expected him to either decline or reluctantly sign and walk away, but instead he not only signed my scorecard but initiated a short conversation. He asked if I lived in Cedar Rapids and how I came to be a Twins fan. I told him about having grown up the son of a HS baseball coach in Albert Lea and that my picture is hanging in the Albert Lea Applebees restaurant to prove it. He laughed and said he’d have to stop there some time and check it out. It was just a brief chat, but he couldn’t have been more gracious. The Snappers will be back at it here on Saturday night and I’ll likely be there taking in the game, as well. The two teams were even accommodating enough to schedule an afternoon game on Sunday so I have a chance to watch that game, too, before I have to catch a flight to Florida Sunday evening. I’ll add a few more pictures I took at the game below, for your viewing pleasure. (Fellow bloggers, feel free to pilfer them to post in your blogs, as you may find cause to do.) - JC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/BryantJune2012a.jpg Second baseman Adam Bryant http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/GrimesJune2012a.jpg Shortstop Tyler Grimes http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/KochJune2012a.jpg Catcher Matt Koch http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LiddleJune2012a.jpg First baseman Steven Liddle http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LinJune2012a.jpg Rightfielder Wang-Wei Lin http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/RobertsJune2012b.jpg Leftfielder Nate Roberts http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/SanoJune2012b.jpg Third baseman Miguel Sano

The following article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com While the Twins were winning the opening game of their series with the Reds Friday night, I was spending just about a perfect night watching minor league baseball. The Beloit Snappers (the Twins’ Midwest League affiliate) opened the second half of their season here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ScoutsJune2012b.jpg Close to 20 scouts were easy to spot behind home plate The temperature was right about 80 degrees with a slight breeze and there was a sizable crowd of a bit over 3,000 people in Memorial Stadium for the game. Among that crowd, I counted at least 18 scouts perched in seats directly behind home plate. It’s not at all unusual to see scouts at a MWL game, but I typically see 6-8 with their notebooks and radar guns, so seeing so many scouts in attendance is a bit unusual. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanJune2012a.jpg Terry Ryan (in the cap and white shirt) Among that group was one familiar face, as well. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan was pretty easy to spot as he shook hands with a scout wearing a shirt with a Yankees logo and sat in a nearby seat. The game itself was never at all competitive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting to watch. The Snappers scored a run in the first inning off of Kernels starting pitcher Cam Bedrosian (son of former MLB/Twins pitcher Steve Bedrosian). In fact, they scored a run off of Bedrosian in each of the first three innings and three more runs in the fourth inning. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/HurlbutJune2012b.jpg Pitcher David Hurlbut and first baseman Steven Liddle Snappers starting pitcher David Hurlbut gave up a single to the second Kernels batter he faced in the first inning… and that would turn out to be the final hit that a Snapper pitcher would give up all night. Hurlbut threw seven shutout innings, walked three hitters and struck out four. Tim Atherton and Corey Williams each added an inning of relief without giving up a hit, as well. Snappers hitters, on the other hand, racked up 11 hits on their way to a 7-0 win to start off the second half of their MWL season. The only extra base hits for the Snappers on the night were RBI doubles by Nate Hanson, Steve Liddle and Tyler Grimes. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano had a single in four ABs, with one walk and one strikeout on the night. In fact, the Snapper lineup avoided getting even their first strikeout through six innings. We’ll try to disregard the fact that once the first K got recorded, Kernel relief pitcher Carmine Giardina sat down five Snappers in just the 7th and 8th innings, alone. A sizable number of the fans in attendance were wearing Twins gear, as is usually the case when the Snappers come to town. I’m still holding out some hope that the Twins will strike an affiliate deal with the local ballclub starting next year. I continue to hear from pretty reliable local sources that there is some level of mutual interest, so we’ll see how that works out after the season. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/TerryRyanAutographScorecard.jpg Yes, I really did ask Terry Ryan for his autograph After the game, I did approach Terry Ryan just to have him sign the scorecard I’d been keeping of the game. I expected him to either decline or reluctantly sign and walk away, but instead he not only signed my scorecard but initiated a short conversation. He asked if I lived in Cedar Rapids and how I came to be a Twins fan. I told him about having grown up the son of a HS baseball coach in Albert Lea and that my picture is hanging in the Albert Lea Applebees restaurant to prove it. He laughed and said he’d have to stop there some time and check it out. It was just a brief chat, but he couldn’t have been more gracious. The Snappers will be back at it here on Saturday night and I’ll likely be there taking in the game, as well. The two teams were even accommodating enough to schedule an afternoon game on Sunday so I have a chance to watch that game, too, before I have to catch a flight to Florida Sunday evening. I’ll add a few more pictures I took at the game below, for your viewing pleasure. (Fellow bloggers, feel free to pilfer them to post in your blogs, as you may find cause to do.) - JC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/BryantJune2012a.jpg Second baseman Adam Bryant http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/GrimesJune2012a.jpg Shortstop Tyler Grimes http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/KochJune2012a.jpg Catcher Matt Koch http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LiddleJune2012a.jpg First baseman Steven Liddle http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/LinJune2012a.jpg Rightfielder Wang-Wei Lin http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/RobertsJune2012b.jpg Leftfielder Nate Roberts http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/SanoJune2012b.jpg Third baseman Miguel Sano

James continues to be among the Rock Cats leading hitters, sporting a .286 batting average going in to Saturday night's game. He's also continued to make the plays in the field, still with only two errors (both on throws) on the year. I received an audio clip of a pre-game interview that Jeff Dooley did with James recently. I've been trying to figure out how to imbed it in to this post, but haven't had much luck yet. I'll keep trying!

There's a quick & dirty golossary of terms here: http://baseball.about.com/od/termstatglossar1/a/sabermetrics.htm To get a bit beyond that, I generally refer to Fangraphs. http://www.fangraphs.com/library/ (Click on the dropdown menus for Offense, Defense, Pitching, etc.) OK, honestly, if I need more than the basic explanation from a glossary, my eyes will usually glaze over and I'll lose interest. But occasionally, it's worth digging a bit deeper and Fangraphs is where I usually start, at least.

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I’m kinda confused. I am getting the overwhelming sense that far too many so-called Twins “fans” are actually rooting against the team right now. Why? Because they’re apparently afraid that if the Twins continue to win games at their recent rate, they’ll pull themselves up out of the AL Central Division cellar and perhaps even within shouting distance of whatever sorry excuse for a Division Leader happens to be sitting atop the Division as July nears. These “fans” think that might cause General Manager Terry Ryan to exercise undue restraint when other GMs come calling to inquire about the availability of current Twins players on the trade market. Yes, that’s right… a significant segment of the fanbase doesn’t want to see the Twins win TOO much because they think the Twins can get significantly better in 2013 or 2014 by trading veterans for prospects this summer and they don’t give a damn how bad the resulting product on the field is for the rest of 2012. My goodness, how things have changed in Twinsville. I could have sworn we all (both fans and Twins players, themselves) spent most of the early to middle part of the past decade complaining that the front office was always looking toward “next year” when it came to making mid-season deals. Does anyone else remember the reaction from fans and the clubhouse when Luis Castillo was dealt to the Mets in 2007 with the Twins only a handful of games out of the Division lead? The players and many fans believed Torii and Johan and the others still had another run in them, but Terry Ryan dealt the team’s leadoff hitter anyway. Many people felt Hunter and Santana eventually left via Free Agency after that season in part because they didn’t believe the Twins would ever play for “now.” With the limited revenue that the Twins’ Metrodome lease allowed, Terry Ryan always had to have one eye on the bottom line as he crafted his roster from one season to the next, but the promise of a new ballpark and the additional revenue streams that would come with it changed that perception. Finally, the Twins would be able to afford to pay for enough talent to make a run whenever they were on the edge of contention at mid-season. So here we are, mid-way through the third season in that new ballpark and fans want Terry Ryan to hold a fire sale? There are two reasons for teams to trade away veteran ballplayers at midseason. One is because someone who needs instant help this year is willing to give up prospects that the selling team believes will play key roles when they’re finally able to turn things around and contend themselves. The other is to shed payroll, which is often necessary because a bad team is not generating attendance and other revenue streams as had been hoped when the roster was built in the spring. I hope we can all agree that the latter simply is not an acceptable reason for the Twins to trade anyone. There’s no shortage of cash in the Twins checking account right now. They did their payroll slashing before the season even started and that economizing, rather than paying to bring on better starting pitching, is the main reason this team isn’t living up to hopes this season. That leaves the only reason for “selling” being to bring in high upside prospects that can play critical roles later. But how realistic is that, really? I’m afraid some of these people clamoring for the Twins to sell off parts are significantly overestimating what Ryan can get for those parts. Remember the return he got for what was still a very productive leadoff hitter and second baseman in 2007? Castillo was batting .304 with 9 stolen bases, 54 runs and a .356 on-base percentage when he was traded to the Mets… for Dustin Martin and Drew Butera. How do you think people are going to feel if THAT’S the kind of return the Twins get for Denard Span? I, for one, will be pissed! The Twins’ primary need, in their efforts to rebuild a competitive team, is starting pitching. Their hitting is fine. Their defense could be better, but it’s improved over last year. Their bullpen has been surprisingly solid. They need good starting pitching. Does anyone really believe there are contending teams out there with such a surplus of good starting pitchers that they’re going to be willing to trade one of them for a Denard Span, a Ryan Doumit, or even a Justin Morneau? I don’t believe it for a heartbeat. I also believe people are underestimating how competitive this team could be over the next year and a half. The biggest need is for better starting pitching and, unfortunately, that’s something that’s just not easy to come by. It’s certainly unlikely to be something acquired in a mid-season trade with a team looking to improve their ability to contend this season. That being the case, I simply do not believe that you tear down other areas of your roster when you’re unlikely to improve the area most in need of help… not when there’s no economic reason to do so. If there’s a GM out there willing to part with a high-ceiling starting pitcher that’s likely to contribute to the Twins at the Major League level in 2013 or at least by 2014, fine… see what it takes to get that player. But I don’t think it’s likely. More likely, potential trade partners will be offering up more of the Dustin Martin/Drew Butera level of prospect or simply offering to take on contracts without giving up any kind of prospects at all. If that’s the best Terry Ryan can do, I’d rather just keep watching the guys wearing Twins uniforms right now for the rest of the season and see what they can do if a couple of these young pitchers keep getting hitters out the way they have been lately. I know many fans disagree. But for those who are prevailing on the Twins to trade their veterans over the coming weeks , I have just a small bit of advice. Be careful what you wish for. Based on Terry Ryan’s history, you may just get it. - JC

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I’m kinda confused. I am getting the overwhelming sense that far too many so-called Twins “fans” are actually rooting against the team right now. Why? Because they’re apparently afraid that if the Twins continue to win games at their recent rate, they’ll pull themselves up out of the AL Central Division cellar and perhaps even within shouting distance of whatever sorry excuse for a Division Leader happens to be sitting atop the Division as July nears. These “fans” think that might cause General Manager Terry Ryan to exercise undue restraint when other GMs come calling to inquire about the availability of current Twins players on the trade market. Yes, that’s right… a significant segment of the fanbase doesn’t want to see the Twins win TOO much because they think the Twins can get significantly better in 2013 or 2014 by trading veterans for prospects this summer and they don’t give a damn how bad the resulting product on the field is for the rest of 2012. My goodness, how things have changed in Twinsville. I could have sworn we all (both fans and Twins players, themselves) spent most of the early to middle part of the past decade complaining that the front office was always looking toward “next year” when it came to making mid-season deals. Does anyone else remember the reaction from fans and the clubhouse when Luis Castillo was dealt to the Mets in 2007 with the Twins only a handful of games out of the Division lead? The players and many fans believed Torii and Johan and the others still had another run in them, but Terry Ryan dealt the team’s leadoff hitter anyway. Many people felt Hunter and Santana eventually left via Free Agency after that season in part because they didn’t believe the Twins would ever play for “now.” With the limited revenue that the Twins’ Metrodome lease allowed, Terry Ryan always had to have one eye on the bottom line as he crafted his roster from one season to the next, but the promise of a new ballpark and the additional revenue streams that would come with it changed that perception. Finally, the Twins would be able to afford to pay for enough talent to make a run whenever they were on the edge of contention at mid-season. So here we are, mid-way through the third season in that new ballpark and fans want Terry Ryan to hold a fire sale? There are two reasons for teams to trade away veteran ballplayers at midseason. One is because someone who needs instant help this year is willing to give up prospects that the selling team believes will play key roles when they’re finally able to turn things around and contend themselves. The other is to shed payroll, which is often necessary because a bad team is not generating attendance and other revenue streams as had been hoped when the roster was built in the spring. I hope we can all agree that the latter simply is not an acceptable reason for the Twins to trade anyone. There’s no shortage of cash in the Twins checking account right now. They did their payroll slashing before the season even started and that economizing, rather than paying to bring on better starting pitching, is the main reason this team isn’t living up to hopes this season. That leaves the only reason for “selling” being to bring in high upside prospects that can play critical roles later. But how realistic is that, really? I’m afraid some of these people clamoring for the Twins to sell off parts are significantly overestimating what Ryan can get for those parts. Remember the return he got for what was still a very productive leadoff hitter and second baseman in 2007? Castillo was batting .304 with 9 stolen bases, 54 runs and a .356 on-base percentage when he was traded to the Mets… for Dustin Martin and Drew Butera. How do you think people are going to feel if THAT’S the kind of return the Twins get for Denard Span? I, for one, will be pissed! The Twins’ primary need, in their efforts to rebuild a competitive team, is starting pitching. Their hitting is fine. Their defense could be better, but it’s improved over last year. Their bullpen has been surprisingly solid. They need good starting pitching. Does anyone really believe there are contending teams out there with such a surplus of good starting pitchers that they’re going to be willing to trade one of them for a Denard Span, a Ryan Doumit, or even a Justin Morneau? I don’t believe it for a heartbeat. I also believe people are underestimating how competitive this team could be over the next year and a half. The biggest need is for better starting pitching and, unfortunately, that’s something that’s just not easy to come by. It’s certainly unlikely to be something acquired in a mid-season trade with a team looking to improve their ability to contend this season. That being the case, I simply do not believe that you tear down other areas of your roster when you’re unlikely to improve the area most in need of help… not when there’s no economic reason to do so. If there’s a GM out there willing to part with a high-ceiling starting pitcher that’s likely to contribute to the Twins at the Major League level in 2013 or at least by 2014, fine… see what it takes to get that player. But I don’t think it’s likely. More likely, potential trade partners will be offering up more of the Dustin Martin/Drew Butera level of prospect or simply offering to take on contracts without giving up any kind of prospects at all. If that’s the best Terry Ryan can do, I’d rather just keep watching the guys wearing Twins uniforms right now for the rest of the season and see what they can do if a couple of these young pitchers keep getting hitters out the way they have been lately. I know many fans disagree. But for those who are prevailing on the Twins to trade their veterans over the coming weeks , I have just a small bit of advice. Be careful what you wish for. Based on Terry Ryan’s history, you may just get it. - JC

It kind of amazes me that people really believe that there are contending teams out there with "surplus" starting pitching prospects with top of the rotation potential that they're going to be willing to trade for anyone on the Twins current roster.

Yeah, double AND a triple Friday night... guess we've put that question to rest!

Let's be perfectly honest... it's not a particularly good sign for a team when the guy they have slotted most games as their #9 hitter in their order has the best batting average on their team. The Rock Cats are in that situation, at the moment, and that's probably one of the main reasons they've dropped a few games in a row and have dropped out of the top spot in their division standings. But this is not a Rock Cats thread, this is a James Beresford thread... so we're going to tout the fact that James' .282 batting average is the best on his team, among active players. The Cats have played five games thus far in June and after racking up 10 runs in their month opener on June 1, they've lost their last four games. Beresford has played in four of those five games (three at SS and one at 2B) this month, going 5 for 12 (.417) with a couple of runs scored and a couple of ribbies. Now, if only New Britain can get some of the rest of the bats going, there's still time for them to lay claim to the first-half division championship.

Then again... it might be kinda fun to have that job for a while, until people figured out how much I suck at it.

Do you think they'll have ended up missing on three top of the rotation starters or just three guys who end up on a MLB rotation somewhere? The latter is all but certain, but the former I'm not so sure of. Either way, even if it turns out to be true, the trick is knowing WHICH three guys they're missing on... and to figure it out now instead of with 20-20 hindsight. I'm just glad I'm not the guy whose job it is to do it.

6' 3" and 165#? Hell, I was 6' 1", 165 when I graduated from HS and I was downright scrawny (ah yes... those WERE the "good old days"). I sure as hell hope you're right about him being "still growing"!

I honestly don't distinguish much between the value of guys projected to top out at a back of the rotation starter and a good bullpen arm. Given that this draft supposedly had few, if any, projected top of the rotation pitchers (and virtually none after the top 4-5 guys), I guess I don't have a problem with picking hard throwing guys with less milage on their arms, regardless of what role some college or HS coach has slotted them in to.

I won't even pretend to know anything about any of these guys beyond what little I've read and that's a lot less than pretty much everyone else posting here, I'd imagine. That said, exactly who were the "high upside" arms the Twins have passed on? I believe they made the best choice with Buxton at #2, so the handful of SPs that were being discussed as being among the top half a dozen or so picks in the draft weren't really on the table. Even with those guys, while there were all sorts of opinions about how they measured up against one another, I don't recall much talk about any of them being really likely to turn out to be top-of-the-rotation guys. They were just the best of this class. I believe the Twins absolutely need top of the rotation pitching... but you can't draft what doesn't exist. It's frustrating to have all these picks but so few "high upside" arms to pick from. The Twins decided, apparently, that they would try to find high upside arms among college relievers, since they didn't see them among college starters. Maybe they're wrong. Maybe they're right. I'm not smart enough to know that.

Two things... One, they can't add extra high quality talent no matter how many picks they have at the top of the draft or how much money they're allowed to spend if the talent in the draft is mediocre. What they were, unfortunately, faced with this year was the opportunity to spend more than any other team to acquire mediocre talent. Two, while they won't have as many picks next year, it sure looks like they'll have another very early pick in the 2013 draft, so from that standpoint, it's not completely a one-time opportunity. It's just a damn shame this draft class looks so bad, relative to recent years.

No. Then again, based on conventional wisdom (which usually isn't all that wise in the end), this draft had very, very few guys in it that I WOULD feel at all strongly about being legit starters three years from now... and even fewer that projected as front of the rotation starting pitchers. That being the case, I'd probably look elsewhere (such as the international market) for my top starting pitching prospects.

People are calling them crazy this year, too. I'll go out on a limb and say they'll call them crazy next year, as well.

Well, you have to consider the fact that I'm just as full of **** as everyone else here, so don't let me influence you too much.

Maybe. Or maybe they'll have to figure out a way to pay them enough to get them signed and either pay less to someone else or pay the penalty for exceeding their allotted budget. I guess my point was just that, this being the first year of these rules, nobody really knows how easy or difficult it will be to sign HS players. They do have more leverage than many of the college relief pitchers, however. A good HS starter who's drafted in the 3rd or 4th round probably believes he's likely to be a 1st rounder after 3 years of college ball. A good college reliever drafted in the 3rd or 4th round probably doesn't see himself moving up enough by staying in college for his senior year to make risking getting hurt in that year a chance worth taking. I think different teams are implementing different strategies without knowing how the rules will really affect the resulting signings. Should make following up on who signs who more interesting anyway.

I agree it's not likely the only reason for what we're seeing, but when I see the way many big time college coaches rack up pitches on the arms of their starting pitchers, I can't help but think this plays in to the Twins' thinking and perhaps rightfully so. College relievers have matured in to their bodies and give scouts a decent idea of their ability to pitch, without suffering the abuse that their starting pitching peers do. I also wonder if the new bonus limits are part of this. Instead of drafting college relievers, a team might have drafted HS pitchers with upside in the past, knowing they'd have to pay a bit more in a bonus to keep them from going to college instead. Now that option is pretty much out. So if you're the Twins and you need pitching, but you see a pretty lousy draft class for starting pitching, what do you do? You take the best hitting prospect. You take a pass on college starting pitchers who aren't as good as they should be for the spots they're expecting to be drafted at, avoiding overpaying for mediocre quality and high injury risks due to overuse at the college level. You scout the hell out of hard throwing college relievers who haven't racked up enormous innings, but are already mature enough to move quickly through the system if they perform well and hope some of them can become starting pitchers. You ignore HS pitchers in the first few rounds because you probably can't pay them enough to keep them from choosing college as a route to getting big paydays in a future draft, instead looking to international options for adding young high-ceiling pitching arms. Seems like the strategy the Twins are taking and while there's no way to know yet whether it's the right strategy, it's not totally without logic.