Brad Swanson

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Twins/Rays Recap Well, the end was certainly shocking. The Twins were shut out in the first two games against the Rays and were in the process of being shut out on Sunday, when they decided to score a bunch of runs in the 7th and 8th innings. The dagger was Josmil Pinto's three-run bomb with two outs in the 8th, which effectively decided the game. It's fitting that Pinto would provide the most exciting play of the series, as he's been one of the few players actually worth watching this September. The win was insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but did bring Ron Gardenhire within 4 wins of 1000. More on that... Ron Gardenhire's 1000 wins Back in October 2010, the Twins had just finished a 94-win season and celebrated a sixth division title during the past decade. Ron Gardenhire had lead the team to all six titles, in his nine years as manager. He had never won fewer than 79 games, and had averaged just over 89 wins per season. His 803 career wins put him in striking distance of that beautiful round number of 1000. If you had told me that Gardenhire would be the manager for the next three seasons, I would have guessed that he'd have obliterated the 1000 mark and had probably gotten within shootin' range of 1100 - the next beautiful round number. Instead, Gardenhire needs to go 4-10 in the Twins' last 14 games to reach the 1000-win milestone. The Twins were 6-8 in their past 14 games, so it seems likely that they can pull off this feat. While it seems likely he will get to the milestone, how did we even get to the point where that is in question? In 2010, 1000 wins seemed like a lock, so long as Gardenhire wanted to keep managing the Twins. Unfortunately, the team has fallen so dramatically that Gardenhire might not average the 66 wins per season that he would have needed back in 2010 to reach that round 1000 figure in 2013. Of course, back in 2010, there didn't seem to be a three-year endpoint. However, I'm quite certain that we've reached the point where these 14 games are his last 14 chances to get to 1000 wins. The Twins have three games in Chicago this week. Those are all winnable games. Their final eleven games after the Chicago series include seven against division leaders (four at Oakland and three at home against Detroit). Their final four games are at home against Cleveland, a team contending for one of the AL Wild Card slots. Those non-Chicago teams all have better talent and more reasons to play hard. The Twins might be fighting simply to reward their long-term manager with a round amount of wins during what appears to be his swansong season. If the Twins can manage a 4-10 record, Gardenhire will win his 1000 games, but it won't save his job. I don't blame the last three seasons on Gardenhire. He won as many games as anyone would have won with this roster. However, it seems his time has come. The Twins will change managers and move on from Gardenhire. When they get better in the next couple seasons (and they will), it won't be because they changed their manager. Ron Gardenhire proved that he can lead a talented team to a lot of wins. He also proved that he can't take an untalented roster and make magic. He has his strengths and he has his weaknesses, but overall, he is a good manager. Above all else, I know that I enjoyed the Gardenhire era. I'm not sure I can ask for much more as a fan. Ahhhhhhhh so much depression, time for fun and madness! Former Twin - Jamey Carroll I assumed that when the Royals bought Jamey Carroll from the Twins, he would propel them to a Championship. He still could, but it doesn't look good. He's posted a .097/.167/.161 triple slash in 37 PA. Of course, his -9 OPS+ would still be good for third on the Twins. Kidding! But for real, his career is probably over. He needs one more hit to get to 1000. Round! Fun with the number 1000! In honor of Gardenhire and Carroll aiming for their 1000 of something, here are some fun 1000 facts that I found. I was going to write 1000 fun facts, but I was busy photoshopping Twins player heads onto animal bodies (more on that below). Dee Fondy and Birdie Tebbetts each had exactly 1000 career hits! Darryl Strawberry ended his career with exactly 1000 career RBI. He's the only guy with that quantity!! Jorge Posada and Bucky Harris are the only players with exactly 1000 singles!!! No one has exactly 1000 career runs. No one!!!! On the pitching side, Tom Browning and Ralph Terry have exactly 1000 strikeouts!!!!! And finally, former Twin Jim Hoey ended his career with a 1000 ERA!!!!!! One of those statements is a lie. Baseball Card from the Past Look at how young Gardy looks: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UMSZRY7DUMA/UjYqx598IiI/AAAAAAAABBA/ZrgwY9RQCX8/s320/gardyyoung.jpg This was right after his rookie season in 1981. His hair is tremendous. If he was willing to grow his hair out like that right now, I'd extend him for 30 seasons. Facebook Question Q: Do we have to watch a nightmare happen its not as if the coach of the staff cares at this point. They Con MLB into having ALLSTAR game here. A: It appears this question was written by a malcontent robot Twins fan. As such, I will respond to his question in his native language: 0111100101101111011101010010000001110011011101010110001101101011 Poll Results/New Poll I took a screen grab this time! http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QIsn3mWGvwM/UjYq5D1k-rI/AAAAAAAABBI/rU6tMOZbCYE/s400/GM+Poll.PNG The Clete Thomas of GMs is vague. It depends on what you think of Clete Thomas, right? Those three people who thought they would be amazing as GMs are really confident. I voted for "bad." I'd be bad as a GM. I'd base far too many decisions on animal pun potential and hair length. I'll post a new poll at some point. When I do, please try to vote. Link to Something I wrote - Animals play baseball As I alluded to earlier, I photoshopped a bunch of Twins player heads on animal bodies. Here's one to get you interested: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hbiUsGvX1fQ/UjYrDXQQwQI/AAAAAAAABBQ/ZkSAqNUyYhY/s1600/Marty+Cordovelociraptor.jpg If you want to know why this exists, what context this falls into, and if your favorite Twin made the cut, just click here! You'll be somewhat glad you did. Parting thought - Jumping on a Bandwagon I'm running out of things to say about this team. They're bad. Yep, we know. One thing though - I'm officially in the shut Joe Mauer down camp. There's no sense in having him risk more brain damage to win a couple of meaningless games. The team is a lot less fun to watch with Mauer in the clubhouse or at home, but his long-term recovery is worth 14 additional boring games in late September. Have a great week, everyone!

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2332-Forgotten-Twin-John-Moses

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! My memories of John Moses John Moses was a more notable former Twin to me than to just about anyone else in the World. The reason why comes from my Grandmother. She thought I looked like him. I remember being told that as a child and it confused me as an adult. Of course, I looked back at some images of myself from childhood, and you be the judge: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-adyk2veuRmI/UjC_oIw1eXI/AAAAAAAABAg/_kL1wxvxUCQ/s320/twomoses.jpg Perhaps she had a point. As far as remembering John Moses as a player: who knows? He wasn't very good and he wasn't a Twin for very long. And, apparently I looked like him. Other than that, he was just some guy. Therefore, we need to research! Baseball Reference Wow, Moses played eleven seasons, three with the Twins! I thought he was just a one- or two-year wonder. I know squat. For his career, he posted a .254/.313/.333 triple slash, but in that awful 80s hitting era, that worked out to a 187 OPS+. Moses wasn't a show-off like some other players. He saved home runs for special occasions, hitting one per season, with a career high three in 1986 and 1987. He lead the AL in caught stealing in 1986 with 18. Black ink! Moses was a Twin from 1988-1990, narrowly missing out on Championships at both ends. What luck! Wikipedia Moses has one of those sweet, easy-to-read one paragraph Wikipedia pages. Again, not a show-off. Essentially, we can learn that Moses was in fact a former baseball player and that he did spend a lot of time coaching after playing. There was a lot more information about his coaching days, so that probably says a lot about his playing career. Not mentioned in the text of his page is the fact that he was a member of the 1980 Arizona Wildcats College World Series Champions. This was the biggest story in sports in 1980, so that's pretty cool. He played with Craig Lefferts, Casey Candaele and future MLB manager/chipmunk Terry Francona (who was MVP). Google Googling John Moses is like googling a bunch of random letters. There are results, but most are irrelevant or nonsense. I did find this blog though. The author was counting down the 81 most forgettable Twins. He stopped at 46. It's an interesting concept, but incomplete. If I start a Kickstarter to help this guy finish the list, who will contribute? I'll kick in 4 bucks. That's half of my net worth, so help out, others. For what it's worth, John Moses checked in at 74, right in front of Bernardo Brito (El Pupo) at 75. What a list! I just want to know who number 1 was going to be! Bing Bing is Google, so the results are exactly the same. However, I did find a John Moses who was the 22nd Governor of North Dakota and a John Moses, comedian. According to the comedian's website, he had "the one album from 2012 you should get by a comedian you probably never heard of." I can't decide if that's a backhanded compliment or not. A compliment is a compliment, as I have come to learn. Bing images brings back a lot of old dudes, many holding guns. There are quite a few mug shots too. There are very few images of our John Moses, but I did find this amazing notebook sketch that was probably drawn by a scout when Moses was a youngster. Amazing; such impressive detail! eBay Hmm, lots of assorted baseball cards. Some are autographed, some are not. This listing is pretty incredible. It's so odd because I was just thinking of going to eBay and looking for 3 baseball cards. I didn't care what year, what kind, who, anything, I just want three baseball cards. Lucky me. Wait, jackpot! I found an autographed John Moses card from when he was a coach with the Albuquerque Isotopes. It's just six bucks shipped. It's pretty much one of a kind. He looks really happy too. Side note: Wasn't Albuquerque the potential destination for the Springfield Isotopes? Isn't that why Homer went on his hunger strike? Was Homer's strike all for naught? Why does no one tell me these things?!? Facebook This John Moses has a Facebook page. He comes without exceptions. He seems to be incapable of looking at a camera. It's a disorder. John Moses the singer has 439 likes and John Moses the comedian has 227 likes. It's clear: singing > comedy. Our John Moses does not have a Facebook page. There is a Moses John who is from Minneapolis. Perhaps our John Moses was just too famous to have a Facebook page, so he flipped his name. Twitter John Moses the comedian has twitter. He's the only comedian on twitter. He doesn't tan, he roasts! See, roast has a double meaning. Here's a link to roast's definition. But seriously, he is very kind, as you'll see below. Sadly, for my purposes, he's getting in the way of real John Moses research. Luckily, this MN Twins Zealot has a fun John Moses Fact: John Moses pitched 3 times (twice in 1990), the most for a Twins position player: http://t.co/ggBmhvRF0N — MNTwinsZealot (@MNTwinsZealot) August 6, 2013 Black ink! Also, if you are interested, this guy is giving away a John Moses card: I'm giving away: 1989 Donruss #626 John Moses - Minnesota Twins. Check it out - http://t.co/PJCcmeZIiU — Stephen Kurnock (@StephenKurnock) May 29, 2013 I wonder if he's had any luck finding a taker... I'm giving away: 1989 Donruss #626 John Moses - Minnesota Twins + 4 Random Twins Cards. Check it out - http://t.co/cAP6fXDxxx — Stephen Kurnock (@StephenKurnock) September 11, 2013 Nope. Of course, it's only been about three and a half months, so give it time. Or, act fast. Actually, I'd give it time, you might be able to milk a few more cards out of the deal. YouTube YouTube is devoid of John Moses the baseball player. There are some party videos from John Moses, former Governor... There's more from John Moses, comedian and John Moses, singer, but nothing from John Moses, baseball player. Here's what I can't figure out. There are quite a few results for Ying Yang Twins songs when I search John Moses. Is this some sort of default setting on my account? Do I have the "if no results, then Ying Yang Twins" setting enabled? If so, can someone help me turn it off? It's not what I want. Random Person Who's more random than one of the other John Moses's? I sent him a Tweet, just to see if he was aware of his namesake. @bridman77 i am, i used to have his baseball card as a kid. 2nd base? — JohnMoses (@JohnMoses) September 11, 2013 Success! This should have been obvious to me. If there was a Brad Swanson in the Majors when I was a kid, I'd have heard of him and I'd have every single card. I'd have four of every card. I was a very self-involved child. Unfortunately, this was the only famous Brad Swanson. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tiPUmZz0uEc/UjDDUg_kcMI/AAAAAAAABAs/RYKi46yJ330/s1600/brad_swanson.jpg Not the same. Verdict John Moses has been forgotten by the vast majority of us. It's sad but true. John Moses the comedian and I might be the only people left who remembers John Moses the player. In reality, there isn't room in this world for all these John Moses's. There's a singer, a comedian, a former Governor and a former baseball player/coach. It's too much. However, if I ever wanted to start some form of Baseball Cabaret, I could do a lot worse than John Moses.

Yeah, you're almost certainly right.

Correia - Yep, not great, but not bad either. His certainly wasn't an exciting signing, but he's panned out about as well as could have been hoped. Hicks - That quote annoys me on a couple of levels. First, Berardino is right, the Twins rushed him. It's not as though Hicks just showed up on Opening Day and refused to leave. Second, what does Gardenhire mean by attitude? Quotes like those bother me so much. A follow-up question might have been warranted, but he probably wouldn't have explained what he meant very well either. Isn't it just fine to say that he needed more time in the Minors? Why put something about attitude out there? I'm reading into this far too much and I apologize for that.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2318-Monday-Morning-Madness-September-9-2013

I forfeit. A Doumit-Thomas staring contest needs to be on Pay-Per-View. Does that still exist?

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins revived a fun tradition and got swept by the Blue Jays late in the season. It wasn't the traditional stomping we're used to, but the same basic idea. The Twins have also lost a shocking 10 games in a row at home. Where's the home field advantage, Target Field? Maybe it's time to remove that Target dog from the batters' eye. It's very distracting. Punto's back? I got a random text from my mom earlier this week. All it said was "punto is back?!?" and I was confused. I then realized she meant "Pinto" and it all made sense. After a few texts back and forth, I was able to show my mom that Pinto and Punto are two different players. She was disappointed. Nick Punto was her favorite player. Josmil Pinto was my favorite player last week. It was really fun to see him get a lot of hits and earn more playing time. I'd start him every day until the end of the season and I'm at the point where I'd pencil him in to the everyday lineup in 2014. One week may not be enough time to get an accurate read, but I enjoy watching him hit and with this team, that's enough to make him a starter for me. Kevin Correia The Blue Jays shelled Correia in the first inning on Saturday and the Twins weren't able to overcome the early deficit. It was annoyed and it made me wish that I didn't have the knowledge that Correia would certainly be back in 2014. However, is it possible that Correia has been everything the Twins had hoped for? I made a chart that shows how his 2013 season compares with his 2009-2012 average season. Take a look: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 233] [/TD][TD]2013 2009-2012 (Avg) Wins 9 12 Innings 167.1 167 ERA 4.3 4.51 ERA+ 96 83 WHIP 1.41 1.362 K/9 5.1 5.7 BB/9 2.1 2.9 K/BB 2.41 1.99 HR/9 1.3 1.1 [/TABLE] He might be slightly better than he was the previous four seasons. He gets fewer strikeouts, but he's also walking fewer batters. His WHIP is higher, but his ERA is lower. He's almost a league-average pitcher, if you believe in ERA+. I'm not sure if the Correia signing was smart or not, but if the Twins wanted what Correia did from 2009-2012, they got it. Alex Presley When I analyzed the Justin Morneau trade last weekend, I referred to Presley as a Clete Thomas type and a potential DFA candidate at the end of the season. Clearly, the second part of that statement was borderline insane. The Twins wouldn't DFA the guy they got for Morneau. However, the first part seems incorrect too. Presley certainly looks like a better overall hitter. He makes more consistent contact and he appears to be more aggressive without racking up strikeouts. But, can we tether him to first base when he gets there? He's 19 for 34 in his career on stolen base attempts. Hopefully, the Twins can work with him on that element of his game, because he does seem to have good speed. In summary, the Twins now have 4 4th outfielders. See if you can name them all! Madness. Plug Michael Sack at Two Men On took a crack at predicting the Twins' 2014 lineup. Check it out! His projected lineup might be a bit ambitious on the youngster level, but I love the idea of a lineup that consists of Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton, Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Miguel Sano and Josmil Pinto. Those are six players who I would be genuinely excited to see at the plate a few times each game. Heck, even Brian Dozier is fun to watch now. I'm not sure about the likelihood of his lineup, but it would be a whole lot of fun to watch that team try to win 70-75 games. The Next Big Thing? Speaking of Pinto: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kjdvFdx_jlM/Uizn-G49kCI/AAAAAAAAA9M/EE9z8iryYwM/s320/PintoKing.jpg Yep, I'm calling it. It's the circle of life. Fun Stat Kevin Correia's 96 ERA+ is not very exciting. However, only 20 Twins pitchers have surpassed that figure in the last 10 seasons, while throwing at least 167 innings. It's shocking. Here's the list: Johan Santana and his Merry Band of Pitching Men If Correia gets to 190 innings with that same ERA+, the list of guys to match his feat will be even smaller. Scary stuff. For comparison sake, the Red Sox have had just 26 pitchers pass this new Correia Threshold. So, is Correia better than we think or is the Twins' pitching situation not as dire as we think? Interesting question. Answer to a Hypothetical Facebook Question Q: Why would I waste my time on the Twins. The Vikings rule this town. A: I'm not going to bother to point out the lack of a question mark and the fact that you are posting on the Twins' Facebook page. Also, which town are you referring to? Bird Island? Instead, I will earnestly answer your question with five legitimate reasons. Christian Ponder is not on the Twins, thus everyone's ankles are safe. The Twins have a lot of talent coming through the pipeline and it's going to be exciting to watch them play over the years. Target Field is built. Brian Dozier's face isn't covered by a football helmet. Baseball > Football What to watch for! Have you ever thought to yourself, "I wonder if a team of animals could beat a team of birds at baseball?" If so, you're gonna get your answer. I've put together a team of animals so powerful that those birds don't stand a chance. Oh, and watch out, both teams, because Torii Hunter has brought a couple of friends. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z1EjwtUCjaw/UizoaXkwenI/AAAAAAAAA9U/mmwrUd3Gk5k/s320/threehunters.jpg Parting Thought The Twins play the A's and the Rays this week, and that rhymes. It also showcases two teams who have built winning franchises despite financial and market problems. In fact, these might be the two worst markets in all of MLB. Even so, if the playoffs started today, both teams would be there and the Twins would not. Worrying too much about the team's market and baseball economics will get you into the situation the Twins are in right now. Figuring out a way to work around financial and market issues is a part of baseball. Cities aren't going to randomly increase in size. Fan bases won't shift. Players aren't going to suddenly become cheaper. The Twins will always have to deal with being a middle market (not small, that's a fallacy). Hopefully, the wave of talent on the horizon will inspire management to be more creative in the other areas of the game. If not, they'll waste the prime years of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, like they did with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Ugh, so sad, don't think about that. Just stop right now. Here's a guy in a silly hat: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RuPxBCDTCdg/UizoofJ7b_I/AAAAAAAAA9c/wkqc5sbqGLY/s320/silly+hat+guy.png Have a nice week, everyone!

Personally, I don't think baseball can be compared to other sports that use time as an endpoint. In baseball, it's about outs and not making outs. If the Twins didn't want Davis to steal, they should have held him on at first to give them a better chance to throw him out if he did try to steal. The Yankees were up 8-3 in the 7th on the Red Sox the prior evening and they lost 12-8. If you stop trying to score runs when ahead, what happens when you need runs later? I also dislike the concept of the unwritten rules because a violation is basically always "punished" with someone throwing a really hard, dangerous object at another human being. It's hard for me to rally around sportsmanship when that act is the penalty.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2304-September-Mailbag

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Everywhere I go these days, it seems that people have questions for me. What's that stain on your shirt? Did you do that to your hair on purpose? Can you please move back a couple steps? I figured, with so many questions to answer, the only reasonable response is to breakout the old mailbag and answer some of the more burning questions that ESPN, Fox Sports One and Telemundo refuse to answer. Here's some mailbag: On a recent TV broadcast, FS North asked Twitter who the Twins MVP was this year. The choices were Justin Morneau, Brian Dozier and Glen Perkins. I voted for Nader, but who would be your choice? Thanks! Brad S., St. Paul, MN This list seems incomplete. There's a specific guy who should really be included, but was omitted, likely due to an anti-Minnesota bias. Joe Mauer is clearly the team MVP. He leads the team in batting, OBP, slugging, WAR and babies born. Brian Dozier has been great since June and Glen Perkins is tremendous in a role that is rarely used by a terrible team, but Mauer is the team MVP. Dozier would be my choice from those three, because of the combo of his surprising power, excellent defense, and radiant hair [prior to his actual good play (balance)]. At the beginning of August, you said that you weren't surprised by the Twins and their lack of movement at the trade deadline. Were you surprised with the moves the Twins made in August? Thanks! Brad S., St. Paul, MN No, thank you! I was surprised. Since August 1, the Twins have optioned Aaron Hicks, Scott Diamond and Kyle Gibson to Rochester. I thought that all three of those guys would be providing value for the Twins until the end of the season. Diamond and Gibson seemed like solid pitchers who would be certainly better than the dregs that made up the rest of the staff. I thought Hicks would struggle early, adjust, and then be good down the stretch. I was wrong about the lot of them. I think they all bounce back next year, but it is surprising to see them in Rochester in September. The Morneau trade was surprising. I already wrote/cried about it, so I won't rehash it here. However, I didn't think the Twins had it in them to trade such a popular player for so little. I guess that extra cash is pretty nice though. I'd spend it on hard drugs, but that's just me. Are you excited for September call-ups?????????????!?!?!?!!??? Brad S., St. Paul, MN I am excited for Josmil Pinto, and he has delivered so far. Michael Tonkin seems cool. Otherwise, not really. I don't really care about Minor League veterans and re-treads. Seen 'em. Sorry to be so curt, but that's how I feel. But seriously, thank you for the question. It looks like Clete Thomas is the 4th outfielder now. At the very least, he doesn't seem like the full-time starter anymore. Are you happy, sir? You've ragged on this poor man for weeks and weeks and now he's out of the lineup. I hope you're satisfied. Brad S., St. Paul, MN I'm not. You'd think that after weeks of harping on his continued presence in the starting lineup, that I'd be elated when he was finally removed. Instead, I have some form of complainers' buyer's remorse. I was far too hard on Mr. Thomas. He's a fine ballplayer. If he and I engaged in some sort of one-on-one baseball match, he'd destroy me and probably freeze my dress clothes while I am in my baseball clothes, a la Mighty Ducks 3. In fact, Thomas would probably beat me in just about any athletic competition. If Thomas was back on the team in a bench role next year, I'd be fine with it. He's versatile. I want to challenge him to a staring contest. Did you see that article on ESPN.com regarding Max Scherzer and Jim Leyland's rant about pitching stats? Brad S., St. Paul, MN I did. It doesn't surprise me. What is Leyland supposed to say? "I agree, Scherzer probably isn't that great, his FIP is worse than his ERA and he's gotten too much run support." That would be surprising. Leyland also doesn't have to care an iota about advanced stats. He won a World Series without them. However, I don't really get the anger and hostility toward stats. If you don't want to use them, don't use them. If some dork chains Leyland to a wall and forces him to look through Excel spreadsheets, then I could see Leyland getting a bit agitated. In the context of this article, it seemed like an innocent enough question, if maybe a bit loaded. I don't get why anyone would refuse new stats altogether. More information is better than less. I can understand confusion or frustration, but hostility seems too extreme. That's just how I feel 95% of the time. Are you ready to give up give up on Aaron Hicks yet? A Hicks., Rochester, NY Not at all. I think Hicks is still destined for a productive career. I still see an All-Star appearance or two as well. He's so talented. He has speed, power, arm, defense, etc. He'll be 24 all next season and there isn't anyone blocking him from center field right now. Of course, he'll probably get leapfrogged by superfreak Byron Buxton sometime next season. To me, having to move Hicks to right is one of those "nice problems to have." His arm will play extremely well in right and his range in the outfield will really compliment Buxton in center. Those two humans in the same outfield is downright scary defensively. So, no, I am not ready to give up on him (you). Keep your head up, rook. Target Field has such exciting food options. What is your favorite ballpark fare? Brad S., St. Paul, MN That's easy. Empty a hot-water balloon. Fill it with beef stew. Cram it in your pant leg (shirt sleeve can work if you wear really tight t-shirts). Wait for the sun to do its part. Eat. If said beef stew doesn't have peas in it, it's not going to be good. Thanks for all the great questions, me. Enjoy your weekend!

Hi everyone, If you are interested in learning how Pirates fans felt about Alex Presley, I did some exhaustive and boring research on Twitter. This is what I found: Kevin Slowey was Framed!: Get to Know 'em: New Minnesota Twin Alex Presley

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I'm just going to admit that it is getting harder and harder to watch Twins baseball. First, the lineup and rotation are drab to say the least. With Mauer hurt and now Morneau traded, there isn't a lot of star power. Second, the season is so long and we don't even have the mirage of a possibly competitive team at this point. That being said, I do watch the games and I do enjoy them. There is plenty to look forward to in September, even if the team won't play a single meaningful game. Chris Colabello Trading Justin Morneau was sad, but probably necessary. I wrote all about how sad I was on Saturday already, so I won't get emotional here. Opening up a spot for Chris Colabello softens the blow for me. Colabello might be nothing. He could just be a AAAA guy who feasted on poor AAA pitching. Or, he could be a late bloomer with power who can hold down first base for the next few years. The only way to find out is to give him at bats. He should get those at bats now that the Twins have no other real first base options. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with consistent MLB playing time; I just hope he gets it. Josmil Pinto I'm extremely excited to watch Pinto over the next few weeks. You'll see why we shouldn't get too excited about Septembers a little later, but it will be very fun to see if Pinto can handle MLB pitching during this audition. While Pinto is not a top prospect, he has been an excellent Minor League hitter over the past two seasons. I'd love to see Pinto get some big hits, show some power and put himself in position to become the long-term answer at catcher/co-catcher with Joe Mauer. He had a nice debut on Sunday; hopefully he hits higher than 8th in the order. Darin Mastroianni Mastro totally blew it on Friday when he forced Trevor Plouffe to not slide into home, costing the Twins an insurance run. Sarcasm. Actually, I'm happy to see Mastro back in the lineup. He was a real pleasant surprise last year and I think he can be a good 4th outfielder on a good team. I hope he eventually takes over in center, but I'm not going to go into the real reason why I feel that way (abject, mean, unnecessary Clete Thomas hate). With Alex Presley now in the fold, Mastro might lose some playing time. I hope not. Mastro's hair is spectacular. AH, time for the Madness Former Twin Update - Jason Kubel Wow, Kubel really fell fast. I thought the Twins should have kept him, but I was clearly wrong. Last year, he was pretty great offensively. He posted a SLG higher than .500 and hit 30 home runs. He's been awful this year and he was DFAed by Arizona and then traded to Cleveland. He's still just 31 and could thrive in the AL where he can DH and give all the grass in the outfield a break. I always liked Kubel a lot and I hope he bounces back. Baseball Card from the Past - Mauer/Morneau http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s95bJQNlaGM/UiJjuqsFSqI/AAAAAAAAA5c/uQGUIbzT9Zw/s320/mauer-and-morneau-rookie-e1367790555290.jpg Aw, look at those young lads! Prospects was an understatement! The M&M boys, as they would be called, became a powerful duo for the Twins and helped lead them to multiple playoff appearances. They were humble, understated and talented. They fit in really well here in the Midwest, where we like humble and understated, and tolerate talented so long as they are humble and understated. They eventually roomed together, bought a lot of Jimmy Johns and each won an MVP. Now, they have been split apart at the seams. Sad. We can always remember these days. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q8NIg_8Isiw/UiJjurJOiRI/AAAAAAAAA5g/xES5CxJyLUY/s320/mauermorneaubreakup.jpg Just so sad. Random Photoshop/Twins Villain - Gary GaeYeti http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOCGg32YLzg/UiJj38YG7qI/AAAAAAAAA5o/j4pvyrQ_a-A/s320/garygaeyeti.jpg That makes me feel a bit better/scared. Random Top 5 - Best September OPS in Twins' history (min 40 PA) Jim Thome - 2010 - 1.338 Gary Ward - 1980 - 1.269 Mike Ryan - 2003 - 1.245 Chip Hale - 1993 - 1.209 Matt LeCroy - 2001 - 1.204 Holy Tho-moly! That list rocks. For what it's worth, Harmon Killebrew doesn't make the list, but does have 5 of the 16 best Septembers in Twins' history. Shane Mack has the 18th best and he did this: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1RJuPJg-4fI/UiJkF_j3m9I/AAAAAAAAA54/iFjmGsJkV7s/s320/shane_mack.jpg So, he's the real number one. Poll Results, New Poll I haven't had an active poll in weeks. It just hasn't felt right. Here are the results from my most recent poll about broadcasters: Which Broadcaster Adage Annoys You Most? - He plays the game the right way - 13 votes - the winner! Pitch Quickly; Pitch to Contact - 6 votes Keep the fielders engaged, no strikeouts! - 8 votes Anything related to showing up Umpires - 5 votes Bunt Constantly! Bunts for all! - 1 vote These don't annoy me, you annoy me - 3 votes For the record, I hate all the bunting, but I think the "plays the game the right way" adage is really annoying too. I don't like it because it can't be quantified and I am a nerd. Only about 10% of people find me annoying, which is far less than the percentage in real life. I must be less obnoxious in print. I posted a new poll, please take some time to vote. Link to Something I wrote - Morneau Trade, 20 Trades archive I wrote about the Morneau trade, and you can read it here. In fact, I've been writing about Twins trades for the past couple months. I'm all done now. If you missed any, I made a little archive here. How nice! Parting Thought - Favorite Morneau Memory I have a terrible memory. I remember certain things very well - names, dates, etc. Basically, if it's easy, I can remember it. Actual events are fuzzier. So, when I think of my favorite Justin Morneau memory, you will have to excuse the lack of specifics. During the 2006 season, the Twins were playing the Tigers (I believe). They were losing, runners were on base and Morneau was up. Morneau was an MVP candidate at that point, but I wasn't sold just yet. I said to myself, "ok Justin, if you really are the MVP, hit a home run right here." On the very next pitch, Morneau hit a ball about as high as you can hit a ball. It held in the air for what seemed like forever and eventually it dropped right in the opposing bullpen for a home run. The Twins took the lead, they won the game and Morneau won me over. My second favorite memory was the time he broke the light in the scoreboard at Miller Park. I remember that one clearly because I was there and I didn't stop talking about it for the next few days. Have a nice week, everyone!

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2280-20-Twins-Trades-Goodbye-JJ-Hardy

Oh yeah, he definitely was not bad. I could see where some would have been disappointed with his injury and lack of home run power, but those things would have evened out (and did).

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I also wrote about that Francisco Liriano trade from a million years ago, if you want to read about it. After the 2009 season, the Twins decided to make a smart move and deal from outfield depth to address a position that had been a weakness on the team for the better part of 20 years. Just one year later, the Twins decided, "meh, shortstops are for dorks" and traded that same player away for a couple of relievers. Buckle up folks, it's very hard to be even remotely positive about this trade. The Trade: BREAKDOWN! The Minnesota Twins traded J.J. Hardy and Brendan Harris and cash to the Baltimore Orioles for Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. Harris and Jacobson never played for their new teams, so we can just move past them. Hoey was one of the worst Twins relievers in recent memory. He only threw 24.2 innings for the Twins. In those innings, he posted a 5.47 ERA, which was actually a career low! He walked 13 batters and only struck out 14. He nearly posted a 2.0 WHIP. He was brutal. After a disappointing 2010 season with the Twins, Hardy bounced back in 2011. He hit 30 home runs for the Orioles and was worth 4.3 WAR. His offense slipped to an 82 OPS+ in 2012, but his defense and power helped make him a 3+ WAR player anyway. In 2013, He has been somewhere in between 2011 and 2012, but would still be much better than Pedro Florimon and Tsuyoshi Nishioka sharing a uniform and trying to use their four arms to their advantage. How did I feel at the time? Not pleased. I thought acquiring Hardy was a very smart move and I wasn't happy that the Twins gave up on him after a season. I was not on the Nishioka bandwagon at all and I didn't think that trading away a power-hitting shortstop is the kind of thing a good team does. I'm not going to state who was right or wrong. Why make the trade? That is a question that I can't really answer. Here's an ESPN.com article that tries it's best to make sense of the senseless. "We're looking for a little more offense to our regular shortstop position, and we're confident he can provide that," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "We also talked to other shortstop targets." I love it! Adding a great offensive shortstop is a great way to improve a team. We sure are lucky that MacPhail is back and making shrewd moves. Wait. This is what the Orioles did. Oops. Well, I'm guessing the Twins were targeting some high upside arms, right? Hoey and Jacobson are two hard-throwing minor leaguers who could eventually help replenish Minnesota's bullpen. Yeah! Hard throwing. Now I get it. Let's bring in some hard throwing relievers. They will certainly match the value of a good shortstop. They'll pitch like 60 innings apiece and all will be well. The question remains: who are these people? The 27-year-old Hoey was 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings at Triple-A Norfolk. He pitched for Baltimore in 2006-07, going 3-5 with an 8.13 ERA. Well that doesn't look promising. Although, there was nowhere to go but up, I suppose. What about the other guy? The 24-year-old Jacobson was 8-1 with one save and a 2.79 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 71 innings at Class A Frederick. The Orioles got him in August 2009 from Detroit in a trade for Aubrey Huff. Hmm. Not terrible. Of course, this ignores the fact that Jacobson was 24 and repeating A ball. Whatever, the Twins needed relievers, as they were about to lose Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier. Of course, the Orioles needed relievers too, as evidenced here: The Orioles also reached a preliminary agreement with pitcher Koji Uehara on a one-year contract for $3 million. The deal is pending a physical. The 35-year-old Japanese righty was 1-2 with 13 saves and a 2.86 ERA in 43 games for Baltimore last season. Three million was only slightly less than what the Twins were going to pay Nishioka. Uehara was only good as an MLB pitcher, not good as a class A pitcher. So, it just depends on which league you value more. Analysis If you want to even try to make sense of this move, then you are trying very hard to be positive. However, the logic behind the move must have gone like this: Nishioka is coming, Guerrier and Crain are gone, this will balance things out. Hardy wasn't great in 2010 and the relievers acquired were young. There is a hint of logic there. A hint. I'm not willing to go any further than that. The reality is that the Twins finally had a decent shortstop and they basically gave him away. They gave him away much like they gave Jason Bartlett away just a few years prior. It seems that the Twins aren't able to see a good defensive shortstop, unless it is very obvious. As I type this, Pedro Florimon is manning the Twins' shortstop position and he certainly is defense-only. However, Bartlett and Hardy might not make their defensive prowess as apparent as Florimon does. They were both extremely solid but maybe didn't always look the part. Whatever the issue was, the Twins let two very valuable players slip away. Of course, Hardy wasn't defense-only. He has great power at a premium defensive position. Hardy could bat 5th, play short and probably do so for another 3-4 years. He'd be around when the Twins get good again. Instead, the Twins will likely have a gaping hole at the position for the foreseeable future. That being said, he's not a superstar. True, the Twins let him get away, but he isn't without some major flaws. He's inconsistent and he doesn't get on-base at even an above-average rate. He's still a whole lot better than Nishioka, Hoey and Jacobson. Who won the WAR? Hoey with the Twins: -0.6 WAR Hardy with the Orioles: 10.9 WAR WAR won by the Orioles! One Sentence Summary Did anyone really think that the Orioles lost anything related to this trade?

It's pretty low, but Dozier's emergence these past couple months gives it a slight boost. Let's say 2.0. Solid, but he'll need to build on it to be part of the long-term plans.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2266-Monday-Morning-Madness-August-26-2013

I loved the dugout hugs. Baseball is too macho; the hugs balanced things out.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Since I am filled with useless snark, I stated back on August 12 that if the Twins could win 30-35 of their next 17 games, they could get back in the Central race. See, the joke is... Anyway, with three games remaining in that 17 game stretch, the Twins will win no more than seven games. Whatever. Perhaps the team isn't good enough to win two games every game. However, the Twins are still on a 72 win pace (actually 71.5 but I'm rounding up to get the fan vote). It's a small improvement, but improvement is always good. Unless it's Home Improvement. The show. Mike Pelfrey What if the Twins had signed Pelfrey to Kevin Correia's contract and Correia to Pelfrey's? I think that having Pelfrey around for a second year wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He's certainly better than Correia and he is younger too. However, there is simply no way that both guys can be in the rotation next year. The options outside of these two won't make you dance in your underpants, but they are worth giving starts to. Thus, Correia stays due to his contract and Pelfrey will almost certainly be gone. Anthony Swarzak One guy who was nowhere near my starting pitching radar is Anthony Swarzak. Starting pitching radar is a conspiracy theory; Swarzak would know. However, it's hard to look at Swarzak's performance this season and not have a slight inclination to see if he could put together some solid starts. I hesitate to move people from roles where they have found success, but long-man isn't exactly a hot commodity. If Swarzak got a few starts in September, I'd be cool with it. Brian Dozier As Twins Daily member stringer bell stated over the weekend, Brian Dozier is likely the biggest positive development from this season. Dozier looks great at second base and has started to produce surprising power at the plate. You'll see just how good Dozier is below, but needless to say, the Twins have found a solid second baseman. You should read stringer bell's recap, as it's much better and much more detailed. Time for Madness Fun stat - Twins 20/20 Guys No, not eyesight. 20 home runs and 20 steals. Now, we don't really talk about 20/20 guys because some dudes have hit 30/30 and 40/40. However, the Twins need to be graded on a curve. Small market, greedy owner, Metrodome, stuff like that. So, here are the guys in Twins history who have achieved this outstanding feat: Larry Hisle - 1977: 28 HR, 21 SB Kirby Puckett - 1986: 31 HR, 20 SB Marty Cordova - 1995: 24 HR, 20 SB Corey Koskie - 2001: 26 HR, 27 SB Torii Hunter - 2002: 29 HR, 23 SB Torii Hunter - 2004: 23 HR, 21 SB Could Brian Dozier join this group one day? Half-hearted Rant The Ryan Dempster/Alex Rodriguez situation worked up a rant in my brain. I'm more offended by someone throwing a baseball at someone than by someone taking illegal substances. If we are genuinely concerned with player safety when it comes to steroids, why aren't we worried when it comes to chucking baseballs at people. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm against both actions. I just find it odd that steroids = 50 game suspension, throwing a baseball at another human = one delayed start. For many, the issue comes down to "how do I explain this to my child(ren)?" Well, I find one of these instances to be a lot easier to explain than the other. Join me as I walk through two scenarios where I explain these issues to my daughter: Daughter: Why isn't Nelson Cruz playing tonight. After all, he is my favorite player. Me: Well, he took steroids, so he was suspended. Daughter: Why was he suspended for that? Me: Because steroids are against the rules and he took them anyway. He deserves to be punished. Daughter: Why are they against the rules? Me: Steroids make you better at baseball. Daughter: Isn't that a good thing? Me: Well, they also do bad things to your body and they hurt the competitive balance of the game. Daughter: I suppose that makes sense. Now, unless my small child is a tiny libertarian, she is probably fine with this exchange. Here's how I would explain the Dempster issue: Daughter: Why is Ryan Dempster, my second favorite player after Nelson Cruz, allowed to throw a baseball at Alex Rodriguez? Me: Well, A-Rod cheated so Dempster is getting back at him for ruining the integrity of baseball. Daughter: How does throwing a baseball at him accomplish that goal? Me: It's just how things have always been done. Daughter: Didn't we used to ride horses everywhere? Before that, we just walked around. Why don't you walk to work? Me: Well, I have a car. Daughter: But people haven't always had cars. Things change. Things evolve. To me, throwing a baseball at someone is vigilante justice. Shouldn't the police do the policing? Me: Go to bed. My daughter is two months old, so you have to take a bit of a leap here. I simply feel that one action is easier to explain but both actions have no place in baseball. To summarize, I am anti-steroids and anti-beanings. Random Photoshops I wrote about birds playing baseball a couple months ago. I'm not going to link to it because I've linked to it many times before and it's starting to look desperate. That being said, these two should have made the cut Rich Woodpecker http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ouksDoGVLPE/UhqYtZGn_PI/AAAAAAAAA48/-HGMWnzxucI/s1600/richwoodpecker.jpg Drew Bupterodactyl http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-slMKAPZpPLc/UhqYyCI3EHI/AAAAAAAAA5E/LbFKf6hgR-0/s320/drewpterodactyl.jpg The last one doesn't really count because everyone knows that Drew Butera is extinct. Random Top 10 Here are the top 10 second-year players in Twins history, sorted by rWAR: Tom Brunansky - 5.6 WAR Chuck Knoblauch - 5.3 WAR Lew Ford - 4.4 WAR John Castino - 4.4 WAR Jimmie Hall - 4.0 WAR Rich Rollins - 4.0 WAR Tim Teufel - 3.8 WAR Butch Wynegar - 3.8 WAR Denard Span - 3.7 WAR Kent Hrbek/Lyman Bostock - 3.6 WAR Brian Dozier is currently at 3.2 WAR. If he finishes the season as well as he has played in June-August, he'll reach 4.0 WAR at least. That puts him in the top five. He's having a great season. What's ahead? I have a few things in the works. It's the first week of school this week, so no promises. I am currently G-Chatting with my 9-year-old self. I think I might write about that. I'm also investigating a forgotten Twin named John Moses. Finally, I am looking at how I can tie Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development to the above scenarios involving Ryan Dempster and Alex Rodriguez. Crazy stuff; keep your eyes peeled. Parting Thought Are the Twins going to make any tradez? I am bored with this lack of trading. In my fantasy football league, we put in a mandate that every team has to make at least one trade. Everyone hates it. Maybe Major League Baseball should consider something like this. Every team needs to make one trade in July and one in August. That way, all fans get to talk trades. Win win. Have a nice week, everyone!