Shane Wahl

Not that this blog post was great, but really? Does no one even want to say "you're wrong, he can't handle the pressure"? I do think I am right, by the way. And hell, with a THIRTEEN-man bullpen, a Duensing-Burton/SLAMA-Liriano 8th (if the batters are L,R,L) seems possible.

The Twins record would be substantially different with better starting pitching, but that starting pitching has to average out at some point. That is hopeful, I know. Again this team is hampered by the immensely stupid contract handed out to Nick Blackburn. Like Nishioka, it is going to be time soon to cut the losses and try someone else. Marquis is better than Blackburn, but he is next.

Often times it is because they were shortstops who had to move to third, but at third you have to produce more offensively than the more common move from short, second base.

Well clearly the "access" media need to question the organization. They have trotted out chumps instead of Slama the past two years+. There is no excuse for this. There is no way that this consistent performance in the minors doesn't translate to the majors. No way.

He pairs well with Duensing then!

That's a speedy OF.

Blue Jays 1. Kelly Johnson, 2B 2. Yuniel Escobar, SS 3. Jose Bautista, RF 4. Edwin Encarnacion, DH 5. Eric Thames, LF 6. Brett Lawrie, 3B 7. Colby Rasmus, CF 8. Adam Lind, 1B 9. J.P. Arencibia, C Twins 1. Denard Span, CF 2. Brian Dozier, SS 3. Joe Mauer, 1B 4. Josh Willingham, DH 5. Ryan Doumit, C 6. Trevor Plouffe, 3B 7. Erik Komatsu, RF 8. Darin Mastroianni, LF 9. Alexi Casilla, 2B P Jason Marquis

Well neither one of those things are going to happen if he does well in meaningless innings and then goes back to sucking as a starter. Left-handed setup-type relief pitching is very valuable.

Wouldn't the BB problem really only be a problem if he was giving up more hits too? He has kept his WHIP very low even with all those walks. 1.213 is the highest WHIP in his career, and it isn't like those hits are a bunch of homers either. I would much rather have a least one pitcher who strikes out a lot of guys, even if he walks a bunch too. Giving up a walk is not as bad as giving up a hit.

Exactly. I have a VERY hard time believing that the Twins would be constructed this way if they were in the AL East. The situation is different. Is like listening to announcers all the time remark idiocies like "if that guy wouldn't have been caught stealing, that would have been a 2-run homer" which ignores that the situation would be changed if there were still a runner on. Or when people say after X player leaves the organization and gets hurt (like Santana) that it was a good thing he left . . . which ignores that the situation can be very different with different teams. Mark Prior is probably still pitching well today if Dusty Baker didn't run him in the ground on the mound, for instance.

Could be anywhere from 50-80 in the draft, probably.

I see Esmerling was allowed to pollute the game in the 8th . . . . and also that JOE THURSTON made a crucial fielding error in that inning. Vasquez and Thurston do not belong here.

1. Mastroianni is promoted instead of Revere. 2. So . . . they have to add somebody . . . . who would you like to add? 3. There is something to be said about rewarding people for performing well, you know.

Well, about three weeks after I called for it, Francisco Liriano is moving to the bullpen. Plenty of people like this move and yet they and others would seem to prefer Liriano be used only in a mop-up role or anything staying away from "high-leverage" situations. First, there must be some way for the 2012 Presidential candidates to work "high-leverage" into the political overused meme/slogan world like "change" and "family values" and "job creators." We know what these terms mean, but not who is actually suited to bring about, reinvigorate, or create, and with regard to high-leverage situations, the picture isn't really clear either. Sure, we can understand what constitutes such a situation--generally in the final three innings in very close games, especially with men on base. But do we really know who is best-suited to pitch in such situations? Well there seems to be widespread agreement that Liriano is not cut out for them because of certain beliefs people have about his mental make-up. He "can't handle the pressure" is perhaps the most commonly-shared belief. But, as is good practice with all commonly-shared beliefs, the important question to ask--"Is it true?"--hasn't really been asked. We've seen the breakdown happen, often in the second inning. Liriano gives up a walk and a hit, and then a big hit and things just spiral out of control as we see his body language change and his pitches start movin' on up. But is this a matter of not being able to handle the pressure? I think no. The alternative possibility is that when things start to crumble, Liriano looks around and says to himself "look, I messed (the expletive would actually be warranted here) this up again" and instead of anxiety taking over him, what he does is turn to "pout mode." Again, as is common in the political world, I will offer up anecdotal evidence that perhaps means nothing and is absolutely useless: I played with two pitchers as a kid and high schooler who Liriano makes me think of . . . not just because they were left-handed (maybe the real anecdotal truth is that pouting is more common in lefties?), but that they both: A. threw hard and B. were pouters when they started losing control or giving up hits. As soon as the pouting started, the best course of action was immediate removal. Now in the one case, the guy apparently figured it out because he went on to pitch for some years for the Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks after a very brief stint in Rookie ball in the Padres organization. And the vast majority of his appearances were starts. The other guy was a mess as a starter, but then in summer league baseball, our coach ended up using him in relief-only situations and he performed a lot better. Often times this pitcher came in with guys on base and proceeded to strike batters out. These were guys on base produced by another pitcher . . . there was no "I screwed this up" moment that caused the body language change and the total inability to be effective. Maybe Liriano just really is incapable of handling pressure, but maybe this alternative explanation for his breakdown has some merit. I think people will be surprised in how well he will perform if given the chance to do so in those high-leverage situations. Unfortunately, what is most likely to happen is that Liriano will pitch a few innings here and there in meaningless games in mop-up situations cleaning up someone else's mess after a poor start. Something totally beneath his talent level, but he will probably do pretty well and maybe in 3-4 weeks he will be re-inserted into the rotation where he will struggle again and the Twins and Liriano will be right back where they started.

Well, about three weeks after I called for it, Francisco Liriano is moving to the bullpen. Plenty of people like this move and yet they and others would seem to prefer Liriano be used only in a mop-up role or anything staying away from "high-leverage" situations. First, there must be some way for the 2012 Presidential candidates to work "high-leverage" into the political overused meme/slogan world like "change" and "family values" and "job creators." We know what these terms mean, but not who is actually suited to bring about, reinvigorate, or create, and with regard to high-leverage situations, the picture isn't really clear either. Sure, we can understand what constitutes such a situation--generally in the final three innings in very close games, especially with men on base. But do we really know who is best-suited to pitch in such situations? Well there seems to be widespread agreement that Liriano is not cut out for them because of certain beliefs people have about his mental make-up. He "can't handle the pressure" is perhaps the most commonly-shared belief. But, as is good practice with all commonly-shared beliefs, the important question to ask--"Is it true?"--hasn't really been asked. We've seen the breakdown happen, often in the second inning. Liriano gives up a walk and a hit, and then a big hit and things just spiral out of control as we see his body language change and his pitches start movin' on up. But is this a matter of not being able to handle the pressure? I think no. The alternative possibility is that when things start to crumble, Liriano looks around and says to himself "look, I messed (the expletive would actually be warranted here) this up again" and instead of anxiety taking over him, what he does is turn to "pout mode." Again, as is common in the political world, I will offer up anecdotal evidence that perhaps means nothing and is absolutely useless: I played with two pitchers as a kid and high schooler who Liriano makes me think of . . . not just because they were left-handed (maybe the real anecdotal truth is that pouting is more common in lefties?), but that they both: A. threw hard and B. were pouters when they started losing control or giving up hits. As soon as the pouting started, the best course of action was immediate removal. Now in the one case, the guy apparently figured it out because he went on to pitch for some years for the Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks after a very brief stint in Rookie ball in the Padres organization. And the vast majority of his appearances were starts. The other guy was a mess as a starter, but then in summer league baseball, our coach ended up using him in relief-only situations and he performed a lot better. Often times this pitcher came in with guys on base and proceeded to strike batters out. These were guys on base produced by another pitcher . . . there was no "I screwed this up" moment that caused the body language change and the total inability to be effective. Maybe Liriano just really is incapable of handling pressure, but maybe this alternative explanation for his breakdown has some merit. I think people will be surprised in how well he will perform if given the chance to do so in those high-leverage situations. Unfortunately, what is most likely to happen is that Liriano will pitch a few innings here and there in meaningless games in mop-up situations cleaning up someone else's mess after a poor start. Something totally beneath his talent level, but he will probably do pretty well and maybe in 3-4 weeks he will be re-inserted into the rotation where he will struggle again and the Twins and Liriano will be right back where they started.

1--Maloney is worse than Gray. At least Gray can evade bats a little bit. Maloney was getting pounded. Of course they both should be gone. Anthony Slama replacing Jeff Gray is the blatantly obvious move and the organization needs to be pressed on this issue by the media. 2--DeVries just pitched, otherwise it probably would have been him. 3--Liriano has been worse than Marquis. I am not sure how you think otherwise. And if we are talking about sending a guy to the bullpen, at least Liriano might be able to be effective in one inning stints. Marquis doesn't seem like a viable bullpen option other than to replace Anthony Swarzak. 4--Liriano's trade value will be decreased if the difference between his performance as starter and his performance as reliever are only slightly different. But if Liriano is good in his role as a reliever (and by this, I mean as a valid LOOGY or setup man), his value is going to be maximized vs. this starting nonsense. The most likely thing is that he is starting again in a month, and that is probably going to lead to a disaster. 5--A platoon at 3rd might have worked with Burroughs. Who knows if Burroughs couldn't have hit .250 or better if given such a chance. But now it is going to be Jamey Carroll and Trevor Plouffe manning third. Plouffe's turn to play and stay or suck and and duck (not sure what that means, but I was committed to the rhyme). 6--Yeah, the Komatsu signing was a bit odd to me, but they apparently want a left-handed bat in the OF. Mastroianni will be good for what they need him to do. Late-inning OF defense will be improved, he will steal bases when pinch-hitting and who knows . . . maybe he overperforms for a few weeks in some spot starts. I am not sure who else they should bring up (Chang?).

I would like to see Hirschfield move up now that Walters is gone from Rochester.

I really like Lance Ray's potential a great deal. He is not on the radar yet for most people, but he is someone to watch move up the system.

I just read this fantastic article and thought I would share it here. It's one of those stories that you would never get from anyone other than a friend of such an athlete. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7908766/a-rare-interview-former-no-1-overall-pick-greg-oden-injury-plagued-career

By the way, somewhere I recently called out Andy Leer as quite replaceable at 3B at Fort Myers. Granted, he was playing 1B tonight, but he hit two homers . . .

Seth, I think they probably have a different attitude towards players like Burton and players like Bailey (who was not terrible last year) and Lambin. Burton wasn't merely a AAA fill-in player--he was going to be given a chance to compete. And that was a good sign. And the other ones this year have been good signings as well. I didn't say that no such veterans should be signed, but rather that I would like the veterans-as-AAA-fill-ins only kept to a minimum. The Twins did a very good job in the off-season with players who were bound to start at Rochester or New Britain. But in-season they then turn to Clete Thomas for the Twins and Joe Thurston for Rochester. That's what I don't understand. I can agree about Sano and Rosario for now, yes.

Actually "braking" might be appropriate. As in, we are putting the brakes on this downward spiral disaster known as Danny Valencia, this joke AAA pitcher Maloney, and the crime against humanity known as Liriano-the-starter.

Good moves. Hopefully Walters starts and Liriano is sent to the 'pen.

Even though "over 90" was the question actually asked, a few of those guys can throw around 95.

EXACTLY. It's like teaching . . . applying universal standards and methods across all students will lead to a disaster.