John Bonnes

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview and write it up Seth. BTW, Moon Palace books is a great little indy book store in SE Mpls. You'll love that event if you visit this site. There are a few other interesting authors speaking as well. Sounds like Law isn't especially bullish on the Twins yet, and I don't blame him. But so far, so good.

Aaron and John talk about Jose Berrios' excellent return to the Twins' rotation, Danny Santana going to Atlanta, Michael Tonkin sticking around at Triple-A, over-working Brandon Kintzler because of a shaky setup corps, upgrading our wardrobe with Bombfell, John Bonnes and Miguel Sano both celebrating birthdays, and the state of superhero movies. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

The most entertaining thing about this move is why they Mets released Wilk: they had to make room for Tommy Milone. Who, of course is left-handed and started for the Twins. I cannot figure out why this team is so damn determined to keep Berrios in AAA.

Twins Daily is very happy to announce that Jeremy Nygaard will be providing occasional insider news/rumors on the Twins deliberations in the upcoming MLB Draft. The first was last Friday which we're copying below. But that won't often be the case; to be sure to get them sign up for the Twins Daily email list at the bottom of this story or in the upper-right hand corner of this page. As most national media publications have started to release their mock drafts, there’s been a lot of momentum in the direction of Brendan McKay from Louisville. That’s probably a fair place to be five weeks from the draft, but I’ve been told that the organization has “cast a wide net” in their search for the top overall selection. College first baseman Pavin Smith of Virginia and prep right-handed hurler Shane Baz of Texas remain in consideration as well as other prominent names such as Hunter Greene, Royce Lewis and Kyle Wright.McKay is an interesting case. At the beginning of the season, the preference for McKay was as a left-handed pitcher. A “bigger Ted Lilly” one scout called him, saying he’d be, at worst, a “solid #3” for a long time. McKay, who should win his third straight John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, has done nothing but raise expectations this season. As a pitcher, he’s thrown 67.0 innings and struck out 95. Opponents have hit only .172 and his WHIP is 0.84. While other top college throwers came out of the gates slowly, McKay had performed at a very high level all season until giving up nine earned runs over his last two starts. How much should be made of those two starts? McKay has still struck out more than a batter an inning and given up less than a hit and walk per inning pitched. If it’s me - and nothing alarming has happened with his velocity or delivery, and by all accounts, it hasn’t - I’m putting very little stock into two less-than-ideal starts. The thing that makes McKay so intriguing is that along with being arguably the best pitcher in college baseball, he is also arguably the best hitter in college baseball. Everyone knew he could hit - he hit .326 for the Collegiate National Team last summer and hit over .300 in both seasons at Louisville - but he took it to another level this spring. Currently slashing .390/.511/.747 (1.258), McKay has evaluators reconsidering what his long-term positional home should be. Sorry guys, it won’t be as a two-way player. But you’re not getting this exclusive newsletter in your email to tell you that. You’ve read national media that says they’d take McKay as a first baseman. Others say pitcher. It’s conceivable that the Twins select Brendan McKay next month as a “pitcher/first baseman” and truly mean it. You can bump McKay up as a pitcher because if that doesn’t work, he can be a big-league hitter. You can bump McKay up as a hitter because if that doesn’t work, he can be a big-league pitcher. Or as one Twins source told me, it’s “kind of like having a chip on red and black.” The Twins have long had a philosophy of trying to take the best player regardless of position. This is a case where Brendan McKay might just be the best player in the draft regardless of his position. If that’s what the organization truly decides, they will take Brendan McKay, best player available, and figure out the rest later. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about an up and down week for the Twins, pushing Kyle Gibson, Danny Santana, and Michael Tonkin off the roster, what the time is for Jose Berrios to get a chance, a new rumored name in the MLB draft, Joe Mauer's clutch hitting, how you can win a Michael Cuddyer autographed official baseball from PickAndShovelWear.com and to whom the Twins will turn next for their rotation. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' winning April, Miguel Sano's breakout season, Byron Buxton's small steps in the right direction, Joe Mauer's ongoing decline, the impact of a vastly improved defense, class-action concussion lawsuits with Tracy Tool and Bob Parsons of Bye, Goff and Rhode, recapping the first Tuesday Taproom Tour event, and putting J.T. Chargois call-up plans on hold, all presented by the Minnesota Corn Growers. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

It was great. Hopefully the podcast gives a sense of the how social the crowd was. They seemed to really have a good time and I think a lot of them met new people. The next one should be even better.

Aaron and John are joined by 100 listeners at Northgate Brewing to watch the Twins thump the Rangers, answer Twins questions and generally mess around. Whether you attended the event or just listened to the podcast, we would love your feedback on this episode. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

I'd lean toward putting him back into a starting role as soon as possible. It's far too early to be giving up on him as a starter. His performance last year was ... odd. A 1000+ OPS against right-handed hitters? If, by next year, it looks like starting pitching isn't working out, then bullpen. This year, he still has options, so the Twins can let him get back up to speed in AAA. You move a guy to the bullpen when you must, either for his sake or for the organization's, and not before.

Yes, Ugh. It was a typo. I've fixed it. It's $45.

Aaron tells me tickets are almost gone for this event and sales are cutting off soon! Join the TD and BP gang at a Twins game AND hear live from Twins GM Thad Levine right after the trade deadline! Baseball Prospectus is coming to Minneapolis! You're invited to join them and members of the Twins Daily community for a pregame Q&A with Twins GM Thad Levine, a meet-and-greet with Baseball Prospectus writers and then watch a Twins game with the whole gang. And tickets are on sale right now! Here are the details and everything that is included: The event is Saturday, August 5th. The game is at 6:05 but everyone will gather at 3:00 inside Target Field for the meet-and-greet and Q&A sessions.The Q&A session will be with members of the Minnesota Twins front office, including General Manager Thad Levine, followed by one with BP staff members, including editor (and Gleeman and the Geek host) Aaron Gleeman.Twins Daily members Parker Hageman and John Bonnes will also be part of the panel, and we hope we can get the whole gang there to chat Twins before and during the game.The "during the game" part means you also get a ticket to the Twins game that night in the right field grandstand.You'll also get a special coupon for $15 to be used toward a new Baseball Prospectus Premium or Super Premium subscription or your next Premium or Super Premium renewal.Finally, bring your kids because they qualify for a free back-to-school themed giveaway.The cost for everything - the ticket to the game, the $15 coupon plus the special event beforehand - is just $45. They went on sale at BP a week or so ago, so they're starting to run short, but they still have some available for the Twins Daily community, so I suggest you go grab them this week. The event is likely to sell out, and sales will need to be cut off soon regardless. There is no way to get these at the door, so this is your chance! Grab them here! Two of your favorite sites are coming together to celebrate the Twins at Target Field. How could you not be there? Click here to view the article

Aaron and John, courtesy of the Minnesota Corn Growers, console each other about Byron Buxton, wonder why Twins fans can't appreciate Miguel Sano, try Chef Jeff's Duck Pastrami at the Iron Door Pub, raise eyebrows at the Twins pitching (especially Phil Hughes), remind you to hang out with them and Thad Levine, detail some (not so) minor league injuries and rudely interrupt Bianca's date. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, or GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

It kind of blows my mind that this could happen. Official scorers calls are already the cause of so much (mostly faux) outrage. Can you imagine if it meant a team like Venezuela missed the WBC playoffs? Holy cow. It also is amazing to me that Mexico didn't advance because they didn't get one out before a walkoff hit. I had no idea.

I’ve often pointed out that official scorers affect only statistics, not the outcome of a game. However, recently official scorers were put in a position in which they could affect the outcome of the World Baseball Classic, when earned runs were used as a tiebreaker in deciding which team moved on to the next round. In the first two rounds of the World Baseball Classic, two teams advance to the next round. In the event of a tie for second, a tiebreaker game is played. However - with four teams playing round robin - the only tie for second place has to be a three-way tie. So a tiebreaker procedure is used to either anoint one team to move on and have the other two play it off (if the tied teams are 2-1) or to eliminate a team and have the other two play (if the tied teams are 1-2).The latter is what happened in Jalisco, Mexico. I was the official scorer. My wife, Brenda Himrich, made the press box announcements in Spanish. She was in the modified press box in the upper deck while I was in a room at the top of the first deck. I’d tell her my scoring decision via walkie-talkie, and she announced it to the press in Spanish. Brenda is obviously a lot smarter than I am. Not only can she speak Spanish, she was up on the tiebreaker procedures more than I was. As we walked into the stadium on Sunday, the final day of scheduled games, she told me that earned runs could be used as a criteria for the tiebreaker. “No way,” I thought, but it was “Way.” I was glad I wasn’t aware of that over the first three days. Official scorers try to ignore situations in which their call could have a bigger impact than just a player’s batting average (a hitting streak, no-hitter, league leadership, etc.). It’s hard to ignore these things sometimes. But for me, my ignorance over the first four games served the same purpose. At least earned runs weren’t the first step in the tiebreaker. The first was runs allowed per number of innings (including partial innings) played in the field. The runs allowed would be only in games against the other teams involved in the tiebreaker. I liked that it included innings in the field; otherwise, the team batting last more often than another team had was at a disadvantage. The next step was earned runs allowed per number of innings in the field. The next step was team batting average. If there were somehow a tie after this, the standings would be determined by the drawing of lots. In the first game on Sunday, Puerto Rico beat Italy to go 3-0. If Mexico beat Venezuela in the second game, the tiebreaker would have to be used to eliminate one of the teams. I calculated the situation at that point, which the MLB public-relations rep took in case it was needed. Here was the situation: Download attachment: stew 2017-04-13 graph 1.jpg It looked bad for Italy. Even if Venezuela lost to Mexico, Italy would lose out if Venezuela gave up 9 or fewer runs. If Venezuela lost and gave up 10 runs (and if they were all earned), Italy would prevail on the basis of fewer earned runs. If Venezuela gave up 10 runs but one were unearned, the teams would be tied for earned runs per inning, and it would come down to team batting average. Venezuela had an edge there, but a bad night at the plate and in the field could do them in. Venezuela fell behind 8-1 after four-and-a-half innings against Mexico, and I focused on how many runs it would give up. Mexico got another run in the top of the sixth and had runners at second and third with two out in the top of the seventh when Chris Roberson hit a grounder off Jose Altuve’s glove (clear hit) to score both runners and make the score 11-6. I figured Venezuela would have to win the game, and it almost did, making a series of comebacks that fell short and losing 11-9. Brenda called me on the walkie-talkie to report that the media, including MLB Network, were announcing that Mexico and Italy would play in the tiebreaker Monday night. I wasn’t needed in the meeting to confirm this, so we took off. (The Venezuela-Mexico game had gone 4 hours, 44 minutes and ended at 12:52 a.m.) Other officials hung around for the post-mortem, which wasn’t quick. The issue was that Mexico had put itself in a position of elimination by allowing 9 runs. The meeting went at least three hours and culminated with a call to Commissioner Rob Manfred. Mexico thought it was credited with 9 innings against Italy, but it was only 8 innings. The issue of the partial inning made the difference. Italy had allowed 1.05 runs per inning in the field, Venezuela 1.11, and Mexico 1.12. Had Mexico been credited with 9 innings against Italy, Mexico’s total would have been 1.06. Download attachment: stew 2017-04-13 graph 2.jpg By a thin margin, Mexico had the highest runs allowed per inning. Mexico protested that it should receive a partial inning against Italy; even 1/3 more of an inning would have been enough for them to move ahead of Venezuela. But innings are measured in outs, and Mexico didn’t record any outs in the ninth against Italy, so it did not get credit for a partial inning. Venezuela and Italy played the tiebreaker, a great game in which Miguel Cabrera tied the score with a home run in the top of the ninth. Venezuela scored two more runs and held on for a 4-3 win, eliminating Italy and sending Venezuela to the second round. In the post-game reception MLB had for us, we discussed other missed opportunities for Mexico. In the top of the ninth, Mexico had runners on first and second with no out. Another run for Mexico would mean another run against for Venezuela. However, pinch-runner Manny Rodriguez didn’t advance on a long fly to left-center. He did when the next batter flied out, but had he advanced on the former he would have scored on the latter. I was happy that I scored the first four games (from Thursday to Saturday) in blissful ignorance about the possible impact of one of my scoring decisions. But when we got home, I looked at the tally a little closer and also at the scoring decisions I had made. Two things stood out. First, we came really close to having earned runs per inning become a factor. If Mexico had given up fewer runs in its final game, it would have made it to the tiebreaker game. The tiebreaker steps would have been used to determine whether Italy or Venezuela was eliminated. And if Venezuela had given up just 10, instead of 11 runs, to Mexico, then Italy and Venezuela would have been tied in the first tiebreaker step, total runs allowed. This would have brought it to the second step, earned runs allowed per innings in the field. Italy would have prevailed by 1 run over Venezuela (had Venezuela would have given up only 10 runs to Mexico). Later I went over the scoring decisions I had made, and one stood out. In the Saturday game between Italy and Venezuela, I called what I would describe as a “tough” error on Italy shortstop Gavin Checchini on a hard grounder hit by Jose Altuve. Altuve scored, and, because of my decision, the run was unearned rather than earned. With just a couple of tweaks in the score of the Venezuela-Mexico game, this call could have been the determining factor. Teams have the right to appeal scoring decisions immediately after the game, and I was surprised that Venezuela did not appeal it. I thought they might appeal for the purpose of getting a hit for Altuve, the normal reason a player or team challenges a scoring decision. In this case, though, the stakes were greater. One of Venezuela’s competitors was getting off without an earned run, which could be, and nearly was decisive. All I could think of was that Venezuela hadn’t paid attention to the tiebreaker procedures. It seemed others had not, either, until it was time to do the final tally. The tiebreaker steps were different from the previous World Baseball Classic, in 2013. According to Society for American Baseball Research member Bob Timmerman, the first tiebreaker step used then was “Team Quality Balance,” which was runs scored per innings at bat minus runs allowed per innings pitched. This run-differential method was less likely to produce a tie and send it to the second step, whatever it was. However, in 2013 a brawl broke out in a Canada-Mexico game. Canada, with a large lead, broke one of those sacred unwritten rules by bunting, and the Mexico pitcher threw at the next batter, setting off a fight. Beyond that these unwritten rules are a load of crap, the World Baseball Classic organizers apparently switched the tiebreaker steps to discourage running up the score. However, that ignores that teams should still score as much as possible for the purpose of adding runs allowed to their competitors’ totals. However they do it, in my opinion, anything influenced by the official scorer should be out of it. Scoring decisions are subjective, and it shouldn’t come down to a 50-50 call being decided one way or another. The games were long but were exciting. It was a great tournament and experience. Stew Thornley is a baseball historian and one of the official scorers of the Minnesota Twins home games. You can find more of his research and writing at StewThornley.net. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' excellent first week, reunite at Tin Whiskers, rehash the decision to carry 13 pitchers, debate the logic and mysticism behind the Twins' batting order, detail the Baseball Prospectus event at Target Field, wonder about the struggles of Byron Buxton, talk way too much about Michael Tonkin, explain why Aaron bought another Casper mattress, evaluate the Twins' improved defense, and discuss college tours. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article

As a team, they're striking out nearly as much as they walk: 23 BB/25 K. And that's including Buxton's abysmal start. They supposedly brought in Castro for his leadership as much as his glove. Is it coincidence that just as he is being uber-patient at the plate, that the whole team is? (Probably. But still....)

The Twins made their final bullpen roster moves today, reassigning Nick Tepesch and Alex Wimmers to minor league camp. While the official roster is not set, those moves clarify the likely bullpen. It is not an impressive group. Brandon Kintzler will return as a closer. The 32-year-old took over the closer job for the Twins last year when Glen Perkins was injured and saved 17 games. He also struck out 5.8 guys per nine innings pitched, which puts him well below the average strikeout rate of a major league pitcher (which is 8.1 K/9), let alone a major league closer.Free agent signee Matt Belisle will be one of the right-handed setup men. He is 36 years old and this is his fourth team in the last four years. His strikeout rate last year was 6.8 K/9. He and Kintzler have been effective, but It is safe to posit that on many teams, they would be trusted to be seventh inning setup men, at best. Indeed, that was their role on their teams the year before they joined the Twins. The other right-handed setup men have a little more upside, but fewer results. Ryan Pressly is 28 years old and put up an average strikeout rate (8.0 K/9) and showed added velocity during spring training. Michael Tonkin is even younger (27 years old) and had an even higher strikeout rate (10.0 K/9), but was homer-prone last year (13 HR in 71.1 IP) and again in spring training (3 HR in 12.1 IP). He had a poor spring training and it is likely that being out of options (which means the Twins could lose him if he didn’t make the roster) is why he made the roster. The left-handed relievers have a similar "veteran/youngster" profile as the right-handers. The veteran is Craig Breslow, a 36-year-old who the Twins signed on a minor-league deal this offseason. The “youngster” is 26-year-old Taylor Rogers who is truly tough on lefties (547 OPS against in 2016) but is unlikely to expand that role due to his troubles against right-handed hitters (811 OPS against in 2016). Finally, the swingman will be 25-year-old Justin Haley, who is also likely on the roster due to his status as a Rule 5 pick. If he did not make the roster, the Twins would need to return him to the Red Sox. It’s not difficult to justify each of these players having a spot in a major league bullpen. And with the exception of the decision to demote JT Chargois, it’s probably the best group that could come north with the team. But this is a group of back-of-the-bullpen talents, some of which are going to be saddled with high-leverage bullpen roles. Twins manager Paul Molitor seems to understand this. “I think we’re going to have to do some mixing and matching towards the end,” said Molitor last week, “with Kintzler on the backside, so, we’ll see how it goes.” There is a scenario where this bullpen is successful. “My hope is that between the experience and the talent - some still developing - that it’s going to be better,” said Molitor. But there are a lot of scenarios where the opposite is true and the lack of tools that are at Molitor’s discretion is an organizational problem. The one thing a bad team should be able to do is find good relief arms; they have all the advantages in that area. They have the first pick in waivers. They have innings to invest. They have opportunities for under-the-radar free agents. They have higher draft picks. They can trade veterans for younger, still developing arms. The advantages go on and on. That the Twins have utterly failed in this area after six years of futility is the most damning indictment of the Terry Ryan front office. But just so we’re clear, the new leadership has not garnered immediate results either. The biggest change so far is adding the journeyman reliever Belisle. There were no obvious diamonds in the rough discovered in spring training this year that provide hope that 2017 will be any better than the previous six years. We'll see how it goes. The tension that Twins fans will feel at the end of ballgames is, for now, the same as the tension fans of the other 29 teams feel as their bullpen tries to nail down a win. But the feeling today - of skepticism after six years of cringing - is uniquely their own. Click here to view the article

The big purge has been delayed for at least one more day, leading to a day of anticipation or anxiety or purgatory or … living in the present, maybe? After all, it sounds like the decisions have been made. Tomorrow isn’t getting here any faster. There is a baseball game in the sunshine. Let’s travel the zen path and soak in what is in front of us today.Speaking Of Zen, Stay Calm We saw at least one possible version of the Twins lineup versus right-handed pitching, and as soon as I saw it, I knew what would freak people out: 1 - Dozier 2 - Kepler 3 - Buxton 4 - Mauer 5 - Sano 6 - Rosario 7 - Park 8 - Polanco 9 - Murphy If this ends up being the lineup the first week of the regular season (and it probably will), I can describe fans reactions in six words: OHMYGOD JOE MAUER IS BATTING CLEANUP. There is going to be a lot of freaking out. I think the thought process is as follows. First, this allows Molitor to bat two of his guys where he wants them: Dozier leads off and Buxton bats third. Also, batting Mauer after Buxton does the following: Gives Buxton a little protection.Puts a high OBP guy in front of SanoDivides to strikeout prone right-handers with a left-hander.And finally, it’s not like Buxton needs an extra-base hit to move around the bases.Postgame, regarding his lineup versus right-handers, Molitor said straight up “This is definitely an options I would consider in terms of the top five.” So we know which way he’s leaning right now. But I’ll predict it doesn’t last long, for the same reason we talked about on Monday: I can’t imagine Mauer feels comfortable with the expectations of being a cleanup hitter. In the meantime, enjoy this hanging curveball for snark. Also, while I do like the idea of someone breaking up Buxton and Sano, I’m also hesitant saddling Buxton with the expectations that come with hitting third. It may be that this is a work in progress all season. Again, stay tuned. Lord He’s Fun To Watch In the bottom of the first, Buxton hit a line drive to left field, towards the line. It was not in danger of getting past the outfielder, who raced over, fielded it cleanly and gunned it into the infield. And Buxton was STANDING on second base. There are very fast players who could hustle right out of the box and slide into second base beating that throw. But Buxton made it look routine. When he rounded first there was a gasp of anticipation from the crowd for his daring ploy. And then ... the tension just faded away. There was never really any question. It was so smooth as to be mundane. I’m sure there were casual fans who didn’t think there was anything unusual about the play. Meanwhile, in the press box, baseball writers are laughing and looking around at each other with that “Did you SEE that?” look on their face. It was the first topic that came up when talking to Molitor. "Don't watch the ball," Molitor advised us after a Buxton hit. He doesn't need to worry. Park vs Heat The Twins faced Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer today, who throws 97 miles per hour. I was most intrigued to see how ByungHo Park would fare against that kind of speed. I wouldn’t say he looked overmatched, but he did strike out swinging. He made up for it two at-bats later, albeit against a cutter from Austin Pruitt. It was the lone run of the game, which the Twins won. The Last Piece? Robbie Grossman played in a minor league game today and it sounds like everything went well. He should play versus Boston tomorrow. That might well be the last piece of the puzzle for the roster. If something changes and he isn’t healthy, the Twins could bring north JB Shuck as a backup outfielder, though with Danny Santana on the roster, that’s not a sure thing. With Ehire Adrianza battling an oblique strain (and Tommy Fields demoted today), I don’t see an infielder that would replace him. Which leaves the possibility of carrying 13 pitchers north. That sounds crazy, but it would allow the coaching staff and the front office to both get what they want. Alex Wimmers could make the team and still keep Michael Tonkin and Justin Haley in the organization. At the very least, it would allow the Twins to delay exposing Tonkin to waivers. I asked a scout with a front office background about whether that is really beneficial or not. Is a player even more likely to be claimed when there isn’t as much traffic on the waiver wire in a week or two? In general, he felt like it was easier to get a player through waivers then because of teams' mindset. The question becomes: “Is he that much better than the guy we got?” If there isn’t a clear cut difference, they’ll just stand pat. 40-Man Moves One challenge about carrying 13 pitchers is it would require another move to make room for Alex Wimmers on the 40-man roster. I don't think that's likely, so let’s wrap up this story with the candidates for the roster that are not on the 40-man and the probable moves: If ByungHo Park wins the DH job, the Twins can put left-handed reliever Glen Perkins on the 60-day DLIf Chris Gimenez wins the backup catcher job, they’ll need to drop someone. I expect that is left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers.If Alex Wimmers wins the bullpen job, it likely means Michael Tonkin does not. So he would need to be exposed to waivers because he’s out of options. That would open a spot.If Nick Tepesch wins the swingman role, it likely means Justin Haley does not. So as a Rule 5 pick, he would need to be offered back to his old team. That would open a spot.There will be more cuts tomorrow, but it sounds like final cuts might wait as long as Thursday. Still, Molitor said we’ll have some (maybe not all) clarification on final roles tomorrow. It was pointed out to me that the truck with players’ stuff left on Monday morning, when there were still around 40 guys left on the roster. So there are about 15 guys whose stuff is going to need to be shipped back. Click here to view the article