Jeff A

I agree with the overall premise of this article. There can be quibbling over the merits of individual moves, but the individual moves aren't the issue. The issue is that when you look at the totality of the moves, there's no evidence that the Twins have an overall plan for how they intend to build a winning team. This has been true for years now, really. All we can do now is wait and see if the new GM and/or director of baseball operations will change that.

Thank you.

This afternoon Josh Whetzel mentioned that Byungho Park is done for the year. What happened to him?

Is Dominic Blanco any relation to Henry Blanco?

I pretty much agree with what's said above. I don't know how Berrios will do in the majors, but he's learned all he can in AAA. At some point, the only way you learn how to get major league batters out is to pitch against major league batters. Let's get Berrios started doing that.

I note that Elizabethton used Robert Molina (1-for-33) as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. I'm sure there must have been a reason, but I'm curious as to what it might have been.

If the main requirement for the new GM is that he be lovable, I'd like to suggest T. C. Bear.

Is the Joe Cronin who plays for the GCL Twins any relation to THE Joe Cronin?

Any idea why Jorge was left in the game so long?

Sorry if you mentioned this and I missed it, but I see LaMonte Wade hasn't played much lately. Is he injured?

Why hasn't Luis Arraez been playing the last couple of days? Thanks.

Is something up with Nick Gordon or was he just given a day off?

In the Red Wings game story on milb.com, Andrew Albers is said to be tonight's starter.

Thanks, Seth.

Why did Cutura come out after two innings?

Maybe it's nobody's business, but is there anything more to the Alex Swim story? He hit .311 in Cedar Rapids in 2014 and did it again in Fort Myers in 2015. Granted that it was with few walks and little power, but still, .311 is .311.

Sorry if I missed this, but why hasn't LaMonte Wade been playing? Is he hurt?

Bill James apparently believes that, while strikeout pitchers are more effective than non-strikeout pitchers, strikeout batters are not less effective than non-strikeout batters. I don't have a subscription, so I can't read the article, but here's an article that references it: https://www.baseballmusings.com/?p=84350.

Download attachment: Morneau_uspw_6519778_600_321.jpg Scott Watkins (1970) Justin Morneau (1981) Brian Dozier (1987) Left-hander Scott Allen Watkins pitched for the Twins for about two months in 1995. He was born in Tulsa, went to high school in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1992. A reliever throughout his minor-league career, his numbers were not particularly impressive until 1995, when he posted a 2.80 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 20 saves, and 57 strikeouts in 54.2 innings (45 games) for AAA Salt Lake. [/hr] He was often used as a LOOGY; in nearly half of his 27 appearances, he faced only one or two batters. He was not particularly successful in that role, as in a small sample size left-handers hit him nearly as well as right-handers. For the last two months of 1995, Watkins had no decisions with an ERA of 5.40 and a WHIP of 1.52. He pitched 21.2 innings spread over 27 games. Watkins was back in AAA in 1996, but could not duplicate his success of the prior season. From there, he started moving around. He was in the minor league systems of Colorado and Kansas City in 1997, in the Texas organization in 1998, in the Cubs chain in 1999, and at AAA with Colorado again from 2000-2001. He had varying degrees of success, but did not make it back to the majors. His playing career ended after the 2001 season. It appears that Scott Watkins has gone back to his home town of Sand Springs, and is a high school teacher and assistant baseball coach there. ~~~ Also posted in wgom.org ~~~ First baseman Justin Morneau has been with the Twins since 2003. He was born and raised in New Westminster, British Columbia and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1999. He hit well throughout the minors, hitting over .300 in his first three professional seasons, but the Twins took their time with him: Morneau was in rookie ball for two years, was in Class A for all but ten games in 2001, and was in AA all of 2002. He began 2003 in AA, but was advanced to AAA after 20 games. He got his first chance at the majors in 2003 spelling Doug Mientkiewicz, which is not an easy thing to do. He was in the majors about half the season. He started 2004 in Rochester, but after he hit .306 with 22 home runs in half a season, Mientkiewicz was traded and Morneau became the Twins’ regular first baseman, a job he retains to this day. He struggled in 2005, but played well from 2006-2010. He was playing extremely well in 2010, hitting .345 with an OPS of 1.055, when he suffered a concussion in mid-July and missed the rest of the season. He struggled in 2011 due to a combination of a wrist injury and lingering concussion problems. He did better in 2012, but was still not the Justin Morneau of old. He is not off to a particularly good start in 2013, either. His best season to date is 2006, when he hit .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs, winning the Most Valuable Player award. He received MVP consideration the next two years as well, finishing second to Dustin Pedroia in 2008. He made the all-star team every year from 2007-2010 and has won two Silver Slugger awards. Justin Morneau turns 32 today. He may well have some productive seasons left in him, but it also may well be that his best years are behind him. ~~~ Infielder James Brian Dozier has been an infielder for the Twins since 2012. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, attended the University of Southern Mississippi, and was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 2009. He spent most of 2009 in Elizabethton, most of 2010 in Fort Myers, and most of 2011 in New Britain. He started to develop a little power in 2011, hitting 33 doubles, 12 triples, and 9 home runs. He split 2012 between Rochester and Minnesota, not batting particularly well in either place. He drew a decent number of walks in the lower minors, leading to solid on-base percentages. In 1,405 minor league at-bats, he hit .298/.370/.409, but in 200 plate appearances in AAA he hit .232/.286/.337. He had primarily been a shortstop until 2013, when the Twins moved him to second base. Dozier is twenty-six today, so while he still may improve he’s not exactly a kid. He may become a big league hitter, or he may have topped out at AA; time will tell. The Twins don’t have a lot of middle infield options, so it appears that Brian Dozier is going to get a good, long chance to show he can play in the major leagues. Click here to view the article

Why is Brett Lee still in Fort Myers? He's dominating there. I know he doesn't strike out a lot of guys, but I don't see how staying in Fort Myers is going to help him learn to do that. It's time to move him up and see how he does in New Britain.

Download attachment: Harmon_Killebrew_AP6303011347_620x350.jpg Harmon Killebrew (1936) Trey Hodges (1978) Dusty Hughes (1982) An original Twin, Harmon Clayton Killebrew was with the Twins through the 1974 season. Born and raised in Payette, Idaho, he was signed by Washington in 1954 under the “bonus baby” rules, which required him to be on the major league roster for two full years. While he obviously overcame it, one has to think that slowed his development, as he got only 93 at bats in his first two major league seasons. He got 34 more at bats through June of 1956, then his two years finally expired and he got regular playing time in the minors, coming back as a September call-up. He hit around .280 in the minors in 1957 and 1958, hitting a total of 48 home runs, and got brief time in the majors both years.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~ Also posted at wgom.org ~~~ Finally, in 1959, Killebrew reached the majors to stay. He had been exclusively a third baseman in the minors, and he was the regular third baseman for Washington in 1959. He responded by hitting 42 home runs, driving in 105 runs, making his first of eleven all-star teams, and finished fifteenth in MVP voting. He played both first and third in 1960, had another fine year, and came to Minnesota with the team in 1961 as its first star player. He played mostly first base in 1961, then moved to the outfield for 1962-1964. He kept hitting, belting between 45 and 49 homers each season, posting an OPS over .900 every year, finishing in the top eleven in MVP voting, and making the all-star team every year except 1962 (an odd omission, since he led the league in homers and RBI that year). He was injured part of 1965, when he was moved back to the infield, but still finished fifteenth in MVP balloting as he helped lead the Twins to the World Series. He bounced back to play in every game in 1966 and 1967, playing primarily at third in 1966 and almost exclusively at first in 1967. He hit a total of 83 homers with 234 walks in those seasons and finishing in the top four in MVP voting each year. In 1968, Killebrew was having a bad year when he was famously injured in the all-star game, not coming back until September. It was a bad year for Harmon, but he came back to play in every game in 1969, mostly at third but a substantial number at first, and leading the league in homers, RBIs, walks, and OBP and winning his only MVP award. He remained at third in 1970 and had another fine year. Shifted to first in 1971, Killebrew continued to play well, but signs of decline began to show; his OPS that season was the lowest of his career to that point other than in 1968. He slipped a little more in 1972 and became a part-time player after that. Killebrew became a free agent after the 1974 season. The Twins thought he was finished, but he thought he wasn’t, so he signed with Kansas City. Unfortunately, the Twins were right: Killebrew hit only .199 with fourteen homers as a Royal, and his playing career came to an end. It was a tremendous career, though. As a Twin/Senator, he hit .258/.278/.514, with 559 homers, giving him a total of 573 home runs for his career. He made eleven all-star teams, including nine in a row from 1963-1971. He was in the top ten in MVP voting seven times and in the top fifteen ten times. Harmon Killebrew was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984, the first Twin to be so honored. Also, despite denials from major league baseball, Killebrew is widely thought to be the model for the MLB logo. He was a television broadcaster for the Twins from 1976-1978, with Oakland from 1979-1982, with California in 1983, and back with the Twins from 1984-1988. Harmon Killebrew retired to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was the chair of the Harmon Killebrew Foundation, which is dedicated to enriching the quality of life by promoting positive and healthy participation in sports. He also founded the Danny Thompson memorial golf tournament, which has raised millions of dollars for leukemia research. Sadly, Harmon Killebrew passed away from esophageal cancer on May 17, 2011. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Izquierdo_Hank.jpg Catcher Enrique Roberto (Valdes) "Hank" Izquierdo was a reserve catcher for the Twins for only two months in 1967. But he stands out in the distinct path he took to the major leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~Also posted at wgom.org~~~ Born and raised in Matanzas, Cuba, he started playing in organized baseball in 1951. He spent three years playing for the Galveston White Caps, and independent team in the Class B Gulf Coast League. He went to independent Winston-Salem in 1954 before going to the Cleveland organization with Class B Keokuk in 1955. He hit .302 that year, his fifth in Class B, and also played at least one game at each position that season. When he moved higher, unfortunately, his hitting ability could not keep up. Minor league transaction records from the 1950s are not good, but Izquierdo moved to the Baltimore organization sometime in 1956 and to the Cincinnati organization in 1957. He spent five years in AAA for Cincinnati, playing in Havana and Jersey City. He hit .190 in 998 at-bats over that five-year period. He retired after the 1961 season to become the bullpen coach for Cleveland, but in 1963, he made a comeback with in the Twins' organization. He hit .297 playing in Class A at age 32. He spent the next two years at AA before once again reaching AAA at age 35 in 1966. Finally, Izquierdo got his turn. He was hitting .300 in 1967 at AAA Denver when, at age 36, Hank Izquierdo made his major league debut. Used as a reserve, he went 7-for-26 with two doubles and two RBIs in the major leagues. That would be the extent of his major league career, but not the end of his an interesting story. Izquierdo moved to the Houston organization, playing in AAA through 1969. After the 1968 season, he was driving a taxi in Miami during the off-season and was shot in the stomach during a robbery, nearly dying. His playing career ending in 1969 when he got into a fight with Ted Simmons in a AAA game and swung a bat at him, fortunately missing. After his playing career, Izquierdo managed in the Mexican League for several years and was a scout for the Twins in the 1980s. At last report, Hank Izquierdo was living in West Palm Beach, Florida. Click here to view the article

Also posted at wgom.org Scotti Madison (1959) Keith Hughes (1963) Luis Castillo (1975) Sean Burroughs (1980) Carmen Pignatiello (1982) Catcher Charles Scott “Scotti” Madison did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, he was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 1980 draft out of Vanderbilt. Madison was started at AA Orlando and did not do well, batting only .230. Dropped down to Class A Visalia in 1981, he hit much better, and was traded to the Dodgers that offseason with Paul Voight in a trade that brought Bobby Castillo and Bobby Mitchell to the Twins. Madison slumped again when promoted to AA and AAA in 1982, but did better after that, batting over .300 in a 1983 split between AA San Antonio and AAA Albuquerque. He was purchased by the Tigers organization during 1984 spring training, and after a solid season at AA Birmingham and a good 1985 split between Birmingham and AAA Nashville, Madison was given a brief callup by the Tigers. He got another brief chance with the Tigers in 1986, but then became a free agent and signed with the Royals. He was named the most popular player on the Omaha Royals in 1987, and got to Kansas City briefly in both 1987 and 1988, and became a free agent again, signing with Cincinnati. In 1989, he played in 40 games with the Reds, his longest stint in the big leagues, getting 108 at-bats. He played third base for Cincinnati, despite not having played there much in the minors. Madison’s career ended after that year: he had a career batting average of .163 in 166 at-bats. Now living in Georgia, Scotti Madison is the founder of RAPHA Products Group, an international sourcing company focused on locating and delivering innovative, quality products to the U.S. marketplace and selected foreign countries. The company’s flagship product is the Triggerlite flashlight. Outfielder Keith Wills Hughes did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 1992. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1981. He hit .329 with 15 homers in Class A in 1983, and in mid-1984 was traded to the Yankees in a deal that involved Shane Rawley. He hit .307 for the Yankees in AA in 1986. Hughes was with the Yankees briefly in 1987 but was traded back to Philadelphia in early June in a deal involving Mike Easler. He was with the Phillies for about two months that season, then was traded to Baltimore. He was with the Orioles the majority of the 1988 season, used mostly as a reserve right fielder. He was back in the minors in 1989, and after that season he was traded once again, this time to the Mets. He hit .309 in AAA and earned a September call-up, but was released after the season. He signed back with the Yankees for 1991, spent the season in AAA, and signed with Minnesota for 1992. He was in AAA Portland all year, hitting .271/.344/.416 in 221 at-bats. A free agent again after that season, he signed with Cincinnati, again spending most of the year in AAA but getting four at-bats in the majors. He was out of baseball in 1994, came back in 1995 to spend the season in AAA with the Royals, and then his playing career was over for good. As a major league player, he hit .204/.286/.284 in 201 at-bats. Keith Hughes now lives in Philadelphia and is a regional manager for EBC Carpet Services, a company which provides customized carpet maintenance programs for commercial businesses. Second baseman Luis Antonio (Donato) Castillo played for the Twins in 2006-2007. He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, went to high school in Humacao, Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Florida Marlins as a free agent in 1992 at age 16. He had a high batting average, although with almost no power, throughout the minor leagues, posting a career minor-league average of .303. He came up to the Marlins in 1996 as a part-time player, and did not get a full-time major league job until 1999, He made the most of it, hitting .302 and stealing 50 bases. Castillo remained the starting second baseman for the Marlins through 2005, hitting over .300 five times, making three all-star appearances, winning three gold gloves, and playing on two world championship teams. In the 2005-06 off-season, he was traded to the Twins for Scott Tyler and Travis Bowyer. Castillo was the starting second baseman for the Twins in 2006 and the first four months of 2007, and continued to hit as he had, batting .299/.357/.363 as a Twin. At the end of July, 2007, he was traded to the Mets for Drew Butera and Dustin Martin. Castillo hit poorly during an injury-plagued 2008, bounced back to hit .302 in 2009, but again hit poorly in an injury-plagued 2010. The Mets released him in spring training; he signed with Philadelphia, but was released again nine days later, bringing his major league career to an end. At last report, Luis Castillo was living in Caldwell, New Jersey. The son of big leaguer Jeff Burroughs, third baseman Sean Patrick Burroughs appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2012. He was born in Atlanta and attended high school in Long Beach. Along the way, he became a hero for a Long Beach team that twice won the Little League World Series. He was drafted by San Diego in the first round in 1998 and played for the U. S. Olympic gold medal team in 2000. He did not hit for much power in the minors but posted high batting averages. He reached AAA in 2001 and was the starting third baseman for the Padres in 2002 at the age of only 21. He started well, but slumped badly in May and was sent back to AAA, returning as a September call-up. He was back as the starter in 2003-2004 and posted solid batting averages, but had no speed and no power. He lost the starting job again in 2005, this time for good, and was traded to Tampa Bay at the end of the season. He did little for the Devil Rays and was released in August. He moved on to Seattle for 2007 but was released again in mid-June. He was then out of baseball for four years, which he attributes to a drinking problem. In 2011, he attempted a comeback with Arizona. Still only thirty, he tore up the Pacific Coast League and was called up to the Diamondbacks in mid-May, where he did fairly well as a bench player. He signed with Minnesota for 2012 and started the season in the majors, but got only seventeen at-bats in April, going 2-for-17, and was sent to Rochester, where he was decent but nothing more. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Dodgers, but hit only .220 in 52 games of AA ball. Sean Burroughs turns thirty-three today. He played in winter ball last year. If he does so again, and if he does really well, it’s possible that someone will give him another shot, but it seems unlikely. Left-hander Carmen Peter Pignatiello did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA with them for about a month in 2009. He was born in Hammond, Indiana, went to high school in Lenox, Illinois, and was drafted by the Cubs in the twentieth round in 2000. He was a starter for much of his minor league career, but began switching to relief in 2005. He did pretty well in that role in 2006 and 2007, spending about three weeks in the majors with the Cubs in 2007, pitching two innings in four games. He began 2008 in the majors, appearing in two more games and pitching two-thirds of an inning before being sent back to AAA. He had a bad year in AAA that season and became a free agent after the season was over. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Rochester, where he pitched seven innings in four games, posted an ERA of 14.14, and was released on May 1. He finished the year with Schaumberg of the independent Northern League; then his playing career came to and end. In his major league career, he appeared in six games, pitched 2.2 innings, and posted an ERA of 6.75. Carmen Pignatiello was the pitching coach for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League from 2011-2012. He currently owns a Nationwide Insurance agency in the Chicago area.

Also posted at wgom.org Len Whitehouse (1957) Riccardo Ingram (1966) Anthony Swarzak (1985) Left-hander Leonard Joseph Whitehouse played for the Twins from 1983-1985. He was born in Burlington, Vermont and was signed by the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 1976. He did not pitch very well in the minors, having only one season (1981 in AA Wichita) in which his ERA was under 4.00. He was left-handed, however, and so he got a September call-up with the Rangers in 1981, and after spending 1982 in AAA Denver he was traded to the Twins for John Pacella. Whitehouse was with the Twins for a little over two seasons, appearing in 60 games in 1983, 30 in 1984, and five in 1985. He actually seemed to pitch better in the big-leagues than he did in the minors: in his two full seasons with the Twins he was 9-3 with 3 saves and a 3.86 ERA. Whitehouse pitched poorly in 1985, however, both in his short stint with the Twins and in AAA Toledo, and was released. He pitched for AA Glens Falls in the Tigers organization in 1986 before calling it a career. At last report, Len Whitehouse was coaching high school and American Legion baseball in his home town of Burlington, Vermont. He also does furniture upholstery for Saint Michael’s College. He is one of only two Vermont high school baseball players to reach the major leagues. Outfielder Riccardo Benay Ingram got eight at-bats with the Twins in 1985. He was born in Douglas, Georgia, went to Georgia Tech, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round in 1987. Ingram spent two years in Class A and two more in AA. In this third year at AAA Toledo, 1994, he got a brief trial with the Tigers, going 5- for-23 (.217) with 2 RBIs. Ingram became a minor-league free agent and signed with the Twins organization for 1995. Ingram had his best season that year at AAA Salt Lake, batting .348 with 43 doubles and 12 home runs. He earned another short stint in the majors, going 1-for-8 in four games with the Twins. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Padres organization, spending 1996 in AAA Las Vegas. Since retiring as a player, Riccardo Ingram has been a coach and manager in the Twins’ organization, and was a coach for the GCL Twins in 2013. Riccardo Ingram is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, starring in both baseball and football while at the school. Right-hander Anthony Ray Swarzak pitched for the Twins in 2009 and from 2011 to the present. He was born in Ft. Lauderdale, went to high school in Davie, Florida, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2004. He pitched pretty well at every minor league stop with the exception of his stint in New Britain in 2008, where he went 3-8 with a 5.67 ERA; however, he redeemed himself by going 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts in Rochester. Swarzak was suspended for fifty games in 2007 for violating baseball’s drug policy–reportedly, he had used marijuana. Swarzak again pitched well in Rochester in 2009, and earned a trial in Minnesota. He did not do well there, going 3-7 with a 6.25 ERA in 59 innings. He had an awful season in Rochester in 2010, going 5-12, 6.21, 1.62 WHIP in 111.2 innings. He bounced back in 2011, doing reasonably well in Rochester and also reasonably well in Minnesota after being called up to the Twins in mid-May. 2012 was his first full season in the majors. He is having a fine year as a long reliever for the Twins in 2013. Overall in the majors, he is 11-22, 4.50, 1.38 WHIP at this writing. As a starter, he is 6-17, 5.79, 1.51 WHIP As a reliever, however, he is 5-5, 3.55, 1.28 WHIP. He turns twenty-eight today. There is talk of moving him back into the rotation, which appears to be more a result of the Twins starting pitcher options than of Swarzak’s abilities. If they keep him in the bullpen, however, he may well be a valuable pitcher for several years to come.

Also posted at wgom.org Jay Ward (1938) Alex Romero (1983) Utility player John Francis Ward played briefly for the Twins in 1963 and 1964. He was born in Brookfield, Missouri and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1956. He hit very well in the low minors, hitting exactly .300 in three years in Class D and C. He spent most of 1958 in the Washington organization, then was selected off waivers by the Kansas City Athletics. Ward was pretty average in AA and AAA, and was traded to the Dodgers after the 1961 season in a multi-player deal. He came to the Twins organization in July of 1962 in a trade for Bert Cueto. Ward was in the Twins’ organization through mid-1964, went to the Giants, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1965, went to Japan in 1966, went to Cleveland in 1967, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1968, went back to Cleveland for 1969, was with the Reds’ organization in 1970, and went to the Kansas City Royals’ organization in 1971. He got brief trials with the Twins in 1963 and 1964, batting .174/.283/.239 in 46 at-bats. Ward was also in the big leagues briefly in 1971 with Cincinnati, going 0-for-3. He showed some power in the minors, hitting 241 minor-league home runs, but never hit for a high average, and never got enough of a chance to see if he could have been a low-average slugger in the big leagues. After retiring as an active player, Jay Ward had a lengthy career as a minor league coach and manager. He then was the co-owner of a hitting school (with Wade Boggs) in Tampa, Florida, before retiring, first to Springfield, Missouri, then to Troy, Montana, where he enjoyed hunting and fishing. Jay Ward passed away in Troy on February 24, 2012. Outfielder Alexander Rafael (Galban) Romero did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for five seasons. He was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2002. He worked his way up the ladder one level at a time, playing rookie ball in 2002, low Class A in 2003, high Class A in 2004, and Class AA in 2005, hitting at or very near .300 at every stop. He slumped a little in 2006, batting .263 in a year split between AA and AAA, and the Twins placed him on waivers after the season. Romero was selected by the Diamondbacks. He hit very well in AAA Tucson in 2007, and split 2008 and 2009 between AA and Arizona. Romero hit well over .300 each year in AA, but in the majors hit .239/.279/.339 in 280 major league at-bats, with 2 homers and 30 RBIs, in sporadic playing time. He was a free agent after the 2009 season and signed with Atlanta, but was released in late June and was not picked up by anyone. After the season, however, he signed with Florida, and hit very well in a season split between AA and AAA. He became a free agent and was not signed, so he went to the Mexican League for 2012 and hit extremely well. In 2013 he moved on to Italy and had an awesome year there. He’s thirty now. He’s done very well everywhere he’s been, so he might have been able to help somebody in the majors if he’d been given the chance. He wasn’t, though, and most likely it’s too late now.