Brad Swanson

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins split their four-game series with Texas this weekend. Unfortunately, I missed the Sunday game due to something called "Couples Shower." I was not aware of such thing, but have since decided that these should be outlawed completely. I won a game of Bingo where all the numbers were replaced with wedding terms. I was told I could pick any prize I wanted, so I chose "watching the Twins' game." This was met with laughter, which was followed by my sadness. Total abomination. Where were you on this one, James Madison? Anyway, I watched the other three games. Trevor Plouffe I've stressed patience with Aaron Hicks, but I'm losing patience with Trevor Plouffe. Check out his career lefty/righty splits: [TABLE=class: grid] [TD=align: center]I[/TD] [TD=align: left]Split[/TD] [TD=align: center]G[/TD] [TD=align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=align: center]PA[/TD] [TD=align: center]AB[/TD] [TD=align: center]R[/TD] [TD=align: center]H[/TD] [TD=align: center]2B[/TD] [TD=align: center]3B[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=align: center]RBI[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=align: center]BA[/TD] [TD=align: center]OBP[/TD] [TD=align: center]SLG[/TD] [TD=align: center]OPS[/TD] [TD=align: center]TB[/TD] [TD=align: center]GDP[/TD] [TD=align: center]BAbip[/TD] [TD=align: center]tOPS+[/TD] [/TD] vs RHP as RHB[TD=align: right]215 [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]659[/TD] [TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]129[/TD] [TD=align: right]27[/TD] [TD=align: right]2[/TD] [TD=align: right]23[/TD] [TD=align: right]64[/TD] [TD=align: right]47[/TD] [TD=align: right]147[/TD] [TD=align: right].217[/TD] [TD=align: right].281[/TD] [TD=align: right].386[/TD] [TD=align: right].667[/TD] [TD=align: right]229[/TD] [TD=align: right]10[/TD] [TD=align: right].247[/TD] [TD=align: right]86[/TD] [/TD] vs LHP as RHB[TD=align: right]110 [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]242[/TD] [TD=align: right]217[/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]58[/TD] [TD=align: right]14[/TD] [TD=align: right]1[/TD] [TD=align: right]13[/TD] [TD=align: right]32[/TD] [TD=align: right]20[/TD] [TD=align: right]42[/TD] [TD=align: right].267[/TD] [TD=align: right].335[/TD] [TD=align: right].521[/TD] [TD=align: right].855[/TD] [TD=align: right]113[/TD] [TD=align: right]7[/TD] [TD=align: right].274[/TD] [TD=align: right]137[/TD] [/TD] vs LH Starter[TD=align: right]69 [TD=align: right]62[/TD] [TD=align: right]268[/TD] [TD=align: right]247[/TD] [TD=align: right]32[/TD] [TD=align: right]59[/TD] [TD=align: right]15[/TD] [TD=align: right]1[/TD] [TD=align: right]14[/TD] [TD=align: right]36[/TD] [TD=align: right]19[/TD] [TD=align: right]52[/TD] [TD=align: right].239[/TD] [TD=align: right].296[/TD] [TD=align: right].478[/TD] [TD=align: right].774[/TD] [TD=align: right]118[/TD] [TD=align: right]7[/TD] [TD=align: right].249[/TD] [TD=align: right]113[/TD] [/TD] vs RH Starter[TD=align: right]171 [TD=align: right]148[/TD] [TD=align: right]633[/TD] [TD=align: right]564[/TD] [TD=align: right]86[/TD] [TD=align: right]128[/TD] [TD=align: right]26[/TD] [TD=align: right]2[/TD] [TD=align: right]22[/TD] [TD=align: right]60[/TD] [TD=align: right]48[/TD] [TD=align: right]137[/TD] [TD=align: right].227[/TD] [TD=align: right].296[/TD] [TD=align: right].397[/TD] [TD=align: right].693[/TD] [TD=align: right]224[/TD] [TD=align: right]10[/TD] [TD=align: right].257[/TD] [TD=align: right]94[/TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/28/2013. Is it possible that Plouffe is just a good platoon player, and nothing more? I still want to see Plouffe get about 550 at bats this season, but I'm not sure he will earn that chance. Eduardo Escobar is hot right now, and getting him some time against right-handed pitching might not be a bad idea. Plouffe has a full season's worth of plate appearances against right-handed pitching, and the results are not pretty. If you consider that his defense has been shaky and his throws are always adventurous, there are many reasons to be concerned. Aaron Hicks I vowed to not write about Hicks until there was something new to discuss, and I finally feel that Hicks is doing things that need to be discussed. He seems to be turning the corner, but I refuse to speculate about his confidence level or concentration level, as I am not inside his head. However, his competence level is up and that is something I can clearly see. He made a variety of impressive plays this weekend. The four most memorable plays were probably his delayed steal on Friday, his awesome diving catch on Saturday and his 2 RBI double on Saturday. He also showed off his strong, accurate arm in the second inning of Saturday's game, firing a laser to second to get Nelson Cruz trying to stretch a double. However, two other plays caught my eye, each with more subtle impact. The first play occurred in the second inning of Friday night's game, when Hicks played a ball perfectly off the wall and nailed the cut-off man. Pedro Florimon threw a rocket home to get Geovany Soto at the plate. Hitting the cut-off man is obviously important, but sometimes guys with big arms will try to throw too much, so to speak. Hicks is a flamethrower, but still seems to understand the importance of good, fundamental baseball. The second play was on Saturday and directly lead to the Twins' first run. Hicks was on first after reaching on an error. Eduardo Escobar hit a rocket to left, and Hicks read the play the whole way. He used his great speed to get to third without a throw. It was an aggressive and correct play and when Brian Dozier hit a long fly to center in the next at-bat, Hicks scored easily. These are two excellent examples of how Hicks' defense, baserunning and arm make him a more valuable player than his offensive stats may ever show. Brian Dozier So far, so good. This applies both to his move to the leadoff spot and his move to second base. He looks fluid at second and provides a decent amount of range. He doesn't seem to have any issues turning double plays. At the plate, Dozier has been great since moving to his new spot in the lineup. The type of hitter we (as fans) have to hope Dozier is (good plate discipline and good contact) is suited for that part of the order. I fully expect Hicks to return to the leadoff spot at some point, but having Dozier there for now makes sense. Eduardo Escobar Is Escobar the new Alexi Casilla? He's short, small, and plays excellent defense. He can play all infield positions. He's right handed and a switch hitter. He seems gregarious and seems to enjoy playing baseball. He's probably my favorite player and I'm not sure why. It all adds up. Let's just get some space between his front teeth and call it a day. I fully expect Escobar to cool off, but having a new, cheap Alexi Casilla isn't a bad thing. While on this topic, I wrote about Casilla's HOF candidacy on Saturday. Alex Meyer I think we have reached full "get excited" mode with Meyer. Here are his stats so far this season: [TABLE=class: grid] [TD=align: left]Year[/TD] [TD=align: center]Age[/TD] [TD=align: center]W[/TD] [TD=align: center]L[/TD] [TD=align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=align: center]G[/TD] [TD=align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H[/TD] [TD=align: center]R[/TD] [TD=align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=align: center]HBP[/TD] [TD=align: center]BF[/TD] [TD=align: center]WHIP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/BB[/TD] 2013[TD=align: right]23[/TD] [TD=align: right]2[/TD] [TD=align: right]0[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.64[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]22.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]21[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]0[/TD] [TD=align: right]8[/TD] [TD=align: right]26[/TD] [TD=align: right]1[/TD] [TD=align: right]94[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.318[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.6[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.3[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.6[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.25[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]2 Seasons[/TD] [TD=align: right]12[/TD] [TD=align: right]6[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.68[/TD] [TD=align: right]29[/TD] [TD=align: right]29[/TD] [TD=align: right]151.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]118[/TD] [TD=align: right]48[/TD] [TD=align: right]45[/TD] [TD=align: right]6[/TD] [TD=align: right]53[/TD] [TD=align: right]165[/TD] [TD=align: right]6[/TD] [TD=align: right]615[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.132[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.4[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.11[/TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/28/2013. Small samples aside, the strikeouts and walks are definitely encouraging. A slightly lower walk rate would be nice, but a K:BB ratio over three is always positive. If Meyer keeps this up, he'll probably be in Rochester at some point. I still think it's a stretch that he gets to Minnesota, but next season seems very likely. Twins' fans have longed for an "ace" since Johan Santana was traded away. Meyer has that potential. Get excited! Other MLB Thoughts Bryce Harper Good gravy. I picked Harper as my NL MVP prior to the season. I also predicted a 40-40 season, which is very unlikely because he doesn't need to steal bases anymore. The MVP part seems very reasonable. However, I called the power even earlier. Here is the first sentence that I wrote about Harper when I chose him as last seasons' NL Rookie of the Year: " I think Bryce Harper hits 40 home runs next year." You can click the quote if you want proof. I wish I hadn't written "I think" because I was sure of it. His power is insane. Just look at his swing: Can't embed, click here! The controlled violence he creates with that swing is unreal. If he doesn't hit 40 home runs this year, next year, the year after that, and every year going forward, it will be due to injury or a strike or the collapse of baseball as a sport. Otherwise, there's just no way. Matt Moore While I'm patting myself on the back, I called Matt Moore as an AL breakout player before the season. It was an easy call, as Moore has tons of talent and was considered a prospect on par with Mike Trout and Harper prior to last season. It's coming together for Moore and Tampa Bay this season. Check out these stats from April: [TABLE=class: grid] [TD=align: left]Year[/TD] [TD=align: center]Age[/TD] [TD=align: center]W[/TD] [TD=align: center]L[/TD] [TD=align: center]W-L%[/TD] [TD=align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=align: center]G[/TD] [TD=align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H[/TD] [TD=align: center]R[/TD] [TD=align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=align: center]ERA+[/TD] [TD=align: center]WHIP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/BB[/TD] [TD=align: left]2013[/TD] [TD=align: right]24[/TD] [TD=align: right]5[/TD] [TD=align: right]0[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.000[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.13[/TD] [TD=align: right]5[/TD] [TD=align: right]5[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]13[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]3[/TD] [TD=align: right]15[/TD] [TD=align: right]38[/TD] [TD=align: right]338[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.875[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.7[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.8[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.2[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.7[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.53[/TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/28/2013. Those stats? They're real, and they're spectacular. They also might be a bit lucky, but that doesn't change them one bit. St. Louis Cardinals Oh yeah, the Cardinals are pretty much always good. I thought Cincinnati would easily win that division and I figured San Francisco and Atlanta for the two Wild Cards. However, I failed to remember that St. Louis is always good. Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina are probably all Hall of Famers. Allen Craig, Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams are nice, young players, although Adams is hurt right now. However, St. Louis' pitching is what I am drawn to. Shelby Miller is having an excellent season, and showing why he was such a coveted prospect. Jamie Garcia and Lance Lynn have been great. Jake Westbrook has been lucky good, but that works for now. Adam Wainwright has a 37:1 K:BB ratio! The bullpen is excellent, lead by Edward Mujica (terribly underrated) and Trevor Rosenthal (terrifying fastball). The Cardinals are always balanced and always good. I always forget that too. Washington Nationals: The Nationals went through a bit of a swoon recently, but it is way too early to give up on them. ESPN should especially know better. Check out this screen grab I got on Friday: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9hXcK-enuP4/UX3aWuqoVEI/AAAAAAAAAm0/3xZycXMqlq8/s400/no+wash.PNG I think two Mets teams would be too much for Mets fans to handle. Have a nice week everyone!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins split their four-game series with Texas this weekend. Unfortunately, I missed the Sunday game due to something called "Couples Shower." I was not aware of such thing, but have since decided that these should be outlawed completely. I won a game of Bingo where all the numbers were replaced with wedding terms. I was told I could pick any prize I wanted, so I chose "watching the Twins' game." This was met with laughter, which was followed by my sadness. Total abomination. Where were you on this one, James Madison? Anyway, I watched the other three games. Trevor Plouffe I've stressed patience with Aaron Hicks, but I'm losing patience with Trevor Plouffe. Check out his career lefty/righty splits: [TABLE=class: grid] [TD=align: center]I[/TD] [TD=align: left]Split[/TD] [TD=align: center]G[/TD] [TD=align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=align: center]PA[/TD] [TD=align: center]AB[/TD] [TD=align: center]R[/TD] [TD=align: center]H[/TD] [TD=align: center]2B[/TD] [TD=align: center]3B[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=align: center]RBI[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=align: center]BA[/TD] [TD=align: center]OBP[/TD] [TD=align: center]SLG[/TD] [TD=align: center]OPS[/TD] [TD=align: center]TB[/TD] [TD=align: center]GDP[/TD] [TD=align: center]BAbip[/TD] [TD=align: center]tOPS+[/TD] [/TD] vs RHP as RHB[TD=align: right]215 [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]659[/TD] [TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]129[/TD] [TD=align: right]27[/TD] [TD=align: right]2[/TD] [TD=align: right]23[/TD] [TD=align: right]64[/TD] [TD=align: right]47[/TD] [TD=align: right]147[/TD] [TD=align: right].217[/TD] [TD=align: right].281[/TD] [TD=align: right].386[/TD] [TD=align: right].667[/TD] [TD=align: right]229[/TD] [TD=align: right]10[/TD] [TD=align: right].247[/TD] [TD=align: right]86[/TD] [/TD] vs LHP as RHB[TD=align: right]110 [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]242[/TD] [TD=align: right]217[/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right]58[/TD] [TD=align: right]14[/TD] [TD=align: right]1[/TD] [TD=align: right]13[/TD] [TD=align: right]32[/TD] [TD=align: right]20[/TD] [TD=align: right]42[/TD] [TD=align: right].267[/TD] [TD=align: right].335[/TD] [TD=align: right].521[/TD] [TD=align: right].855[/TD] [TD=align: right]113[/TD] [TD=align: right]7[/TD] [TD=align: right].274[/TD] [TD=align: right]137[/TD] [/TD] vs LH Starter[TD=align: right]69 [TD=align: right]62[/TD] [TD=align: right]268[/TD] [TD=align: right]247[/TD] [TD=align: right]32[/TD] [TD=align: right]59[/TD] [TD=align: right]15[/TD] [TD=align: right]1[/TD] [TD=align: right]14[/TD] [TD=align: right]36[/TD] [TD=align: right]19[/TD] [TD=align: right]52[/TD] [TD=align: right].239[/TD] [TD=align: right].296[/TD] [TD=align: right].478[/TD] [TD=align: right].774[/TD] [TD=align: right]118[/TD] [TD=align: right]7[/TD] [TD=align: right].249[/TD] [TD=align: right]113[/TD] [/TD] vs RH Starter[TD=align: right]171 [TD=align: right]148[/TD] [TD=align: right]633[/TD] [TD=align: right]564[/TD] [TD=align: right]86[/TD] [TD=align: right]128[/TD] [TD=align: right]26[/TD] [TD=align: right]2[/TD] [TD=align: right]22[/TD] [TD=align: right]60[/TD] [TD=align: right]48[/TD] [TD=align: right]137[/TD] [TD=align: right].227[/TD] [TD=align: right].296[/TD] [TD=align: right].397[/TD] [TD=align: right].693[/TD] [TD=align: right]224[/TD] [TD=align: right]10[/TD] [TD=align: right].257[/TD] [TD=align: right]94[/TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/28/2013. Is it possible that Plouffe is just a good platoon player, and nothing more? I still want to see Plouffe get about 550 at bats this season, but I'm not sure he will earn that chance. Eduardo Escobar is hot right now, and getting him some time against right-handed pitching might not be a bad idea. Plouffe has a full season's worth of plate appearances against right-handed pitching, and the results are not pretty. If you consider that his defense has been shaky and his throws are always adventurous, there are many reasons to be concerned. Aaron Hicks I vowed to not write about Hicks until there was something new to discuss, and I finally feel that Hicks is doing things that need to be discussed. He seems to be turning the corner, but I refuse to speculate about his confidence level or concentration level, as I am not inside his head. However, his competence level is up and that is something I can clearly see. He made a variety of impressive plays this weekend. The four most memorable plays were probably his delayed steal on Friday, his awesome diving catch on Saturday and his 2 RBI double on Saturday. He also showed off his strong, accurate arm in the second inning of Saturday's game, firing a laser to second to get Nelson Cruz trying to stretch a double. However, two other plays caught my eye, each with more subtle impact. The first play occurred in the second inning of Friday night's game, when Hicks played a ball perfectly off the wall and nailed the cut-off man. Pedro Florimon threw a rocket home to get Geovany Soto at the plate. Hitting the cut-off man is obviously important, but sometimes guys with big arms will try to throw too much, so to speak. Hicks is a flamethrower, but still seems to understand the importance of good, fundamental baseball. The second play was on Saturday and directly lead to the Twins' first run. Hicks was on first after reaching on an error. Eduardo Escobar hit a rocket to left, and Hicks read the play the whole way. He used his great speed to get to third without a throw. It was an aggressive and correct play and when Brian Dozier hit a long fly to center in the next at-bat, Hicks scored easily. These are two excellent examples of how Hicks' defense, baserunning and arm make him a more valuable player than his offensive stats may ever show. Brian Dozier So far, so good. This applies both to his move to the leadoff spot and his move to second base. He looks fluid at second and provides a decent amount of range. He doesn't seem to have any issues turning double plays. At the plate, Dozier has been great since moving to his new spot in the lineup. The type of hitter we (as fans) have to hope Dozier is (good plate discipline and good contact) is suited for that part of the order. I fully expect Hicks to return to the leadoff spot at some point, but having Dozier there for now makes sense. Eduardo Escobar Is Escobar the new Alexi Casilla? He's short, small, and plays excellent defense. He can play all infield positions. He's right handed and a switch hitter. He seems gregarious and seems to enjoy playing baseball. He's probably my favorite player and I'm not sure why. It all adds up. Let's just get some space between his front teeth and call it a day. I fully expect Escobar to cool off, but having a new, cheap Alexi Casilla isn't a bad thing. While on this topic, I wrote about Casilla's HOF candidacy on Saturday. Alex Meyer I think we have reached full "get excited" mode with Meyer. Here are his stats so far this season: [TABLE=class: grid] [TD=align: left]Year[/TD] [TD=align: center]Age[/TD] [TD=align: center]W[/TD] [TD=align: center]L[/TD] [TD=align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=align: center]G[/TD] [TD=align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H[/TD] [TD=align: center]R[/TD] [TD=align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=align: center]HBP[/TD] [TD=align: center]BF[/TD] [TD=align: center]WHIP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/BB[/TD] 2013[TD=align: right]23[/TD] [TD=align: right]2[/TD] [TD=align: right]0[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.64[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]22.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]21[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]0[/TD] [TD=align: right]8[/TD] [TD=align: right]26[/TD] [TD=align: right]1[/TD] [TD=align: right]94[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.318[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.6[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.3[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.6[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.25[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]2 Seasons[/TD] [TD=align: right]12[/TD] [TD=align: right]6[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.68[/TD] [TD=align: right]29[/TD] [TD=align: right]29[/TD] [TD=align: right]151.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]118[/TD] [TD=align: right]48[/TD] [TD=align: right]45[/TD] [TD=align: right]6[/TD] [TD=align: right]53[/TD] [TD=align: right]165[/TD] [TD=align: right]6[/TD] [TD=align: right]615[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.132[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.4[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.11[/TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/28/2013. Small samples aside, the strikeouts and walks are definitely encouraging. A slightly lower walk rate would be nice, but a K:BB ratio over three is always positive. If Meyer keeps this up, he'll probably be in Rochester at some point. I still think it's a stretch that he gets to Minnesota, but next season seems very likely. Twins' fans have longed for an "ace" since Johan Santana was traded away. Meyer has that potential. Get excited! Other MLB Thoughts Bryce Harper Good gravy. I picked Harper as my NL MVP prior to the season. I also predicted a 40-40 season, which is very unlikely because he doesn't need to steal bases anymore. The MVP part seems very reasonable. However, I called the power even earlier. Here is the first sentence that I wrote about Harper when I chose him as last seasons' NL Rookie of the Year: " I think Bryce Harper hits 40 home runs next year." You can click the quote if you want proof. I wish I hadn't written "I think" because I was sure of it. His power is insane. Just look at his swing: Can't embed, click here! The controlled violence he creates with that swing is unreal. If he doesn't hit 40 home runs this year, next year, the year after that, and every year going forward, it will be due to injury or a strike or the collapse of baseball as a sport. Otherwise, there's just no way. Matt Moore While I'm patting myself on the back, I called Matt Moore as an AL breakout player before the season. It was an easy call, as Moore has tons of talent and was considered a prospect on par with Mike Trout and Harper prior to last season. It's coming together for Moore and Tampa Bay this season. Check out these stats from April: [TABLE=class: grid] [TD=align: left]Year[/TD] [TD=align: center]Age[/TD] [TD=align: center]W[/TD] [TD=align: center]L[/TD] [TD=align: center]W-L%[/TD] [TD=align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=align: center]G[/TD] [TD=align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H[/TD] [TD=align: center]R[/TD] [TD=align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=align: center]ERA+[/TD] [TD=align: center]WHIP[/TD] [TD=align: center]H/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]HR/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]BB/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/9[/TD] [TD=align: center]SO/BB[/TD] [TD=align: left]2013[/TD] [TD=align: right]24[/TD] [TD=align: right]5[/TD] [TD=align: right]0[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.000[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.13[/TD] [TD=align: right]5[/TD] [TD=align: right]5[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.0[/TD] [TD=align: right]13[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]4[/TD] [TD=align: right]3[/TD] [TD=align: right]15[/TD] [TD=align: right]38[/TD] [TD=align: right]338[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.875[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.7[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.8[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.2[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.7[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.53[/TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/28/2013. Those stats? They're real, and they're spectacular. They also might be a bit lucky, but that doesn't change them one bit. St. Louis Cardinals Oh yeah, the Cardinals are pretty much always good. I thought Cincinnati would easily win that division and I figured San Francisco and Atlanta for the two Wild Cards. However, I failed to remember that St. Louis is always good. Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina are probably all Hall of Famers. Allen Craig, Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams are nice, young players, although Adams is hurt right now. However, St. Louis' pitching is what I am drawn to. Shelby Miller is having an excellent season, and showing why he was such a coveted prospect. Jamie Garcia and Lance Lynn have been great. Jake Westbrook has been lucky good, but that works for now. Adam Wainwright has a 37:1 K:BB ratio! The bullpen is excellent, lead by Edward Mujica (terribly underrated) and Trevor Rosenthal (terrifying fastball). The Cardinals are always balanced and always good. I always forget that too. Washington Nationals: The Nationals went through a bit of a swoon recently, but it is way too early to give up on them. ESPN should especially know better. Check out this screen grab I got on Friday: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9hXcK-enuP4/UX3aWuqoVEI/AAAAAAAAAm0/3xZycXMqlq8/s400/no+wash.PNG I think two Mets teams would be too much for Mets fans to handle. Have a nice week everyone!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Earlier this week, I wrote about Joe Mauer and his Hall of Fame career. I was really taken by just how well Mauer stacks up against catchers throughout history, players from this era and Hall of Famers in general. If you didn't read it, you can find it here. If you did read it, you can find it there too, but you probably shouldn't read it again. Read this instead. I thought, well, this is probably an exercise that I could complete for a lot of players, to see if anyone's greatness is being overlooked. Using Baseball Reference's amazing play reference, I shall set out on a journey to find an overlooked player and rightfully adjust everyone's attitudes on his playing career. If I can truly change the minds of the masses, then I will become the most powerful baseball blog-guy of all time. If I can do this successfully, my legacy will be cemented right next to that DIPS guy and whoever invented OPS. This is my one chance, and I cannot blow it. History awaits. Now, to pick the perfect candidate... Alexi Casilla seems like a good choice. Here are some Sexi Lexi facts: Casilla is a middle infielder Casilla debuted in 2006 at age 22 Casilla is 28 and in his eighth season Casilla is not a power hitter Casilla is not a good hitter Casilla's has two skills - baserunning (?) and throwing the ball while completely parallel to the ground Casilla has played exactly 500 games in his career. Round! How does Casilla compare to his contemporaries in the middle infield? Casilla has had 1794 plate appearances in his career. Between 1988 and 2912, there are 121 middle infielders with roughly that many or more plate appearances. Casilla ranks 100th in OPS+, right ahead of Pat Meares. We are not off to a good start here. He's 114th in home runs, 116th in RBI, 119th in hits, 94th in OBP, 104th in slugging percentage and 98th in batting average. This isn't going well. Well, this isn't Casilla's game. He's not a hitter, he's a speed guy! I'm guessing he'll be great in the speedy categories like doubles (114th), triples (95th), stolen bases (59th), and runs (114th). Hmm. He does have the second fewest at bats on this list, so it's pretty obvious that he just needs a chance to hit more, right? Is it possible that Casilla just stacks up better against everyone? Perhaps his skills do not compare favorably to other speedy infielders, but will look shockingly tremendous against plodding corner infielders and stupid outfielders. Let's see how Casilla ranks within a different sample: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, From 1961 to 2012, Played 85% of games at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF or DH, (requiring At least 1750 plate appearances), sorted by greatest Adjusted OPS+: Casilla ranks 1209 out of 1331 players. Crud. Oh oh, maybe stolen bases! Casilla ranks 498 out of 1331 players. Blast, then crud. So what? Casilla's young. I bet a lot of guys started their careers as bad hitters who offered little on the bases because you can't steal first and got hurt a lot or was just benched due to better options. The only way to know for certain is to check Casilla against other Hall of Famers, during their first eight seasons. Let's see how good they were before they hit their stride. There were 123 players in this sample: Batting Average - 3rd from last - ahead of Ozzie Smith! OBP - 10th from last - ahead of Ozzie Smith and Robin Yount! OPS+ - Last OPS - 3rd from last - ahead of Ozzie Smith! Was Ozzie Smith good? Fewest Strikeouts - 36th! - although in a LOT fewer at bats Walks - Last, but not that far behind Brooks Robinson and Roberto Clemente! Hits - Last, but strangely only 65 fewer than Harmon Killebrew Doubles - 2nd from last, ahead of Killebrew, although Killebrew played like no games in his first five seasons... Runs - Very last RBI - Super Last Home Runs - 4th from last, somehow Games played - 2nd last, 12 more than Killebrew WAR - Last, comically so Ok, so maybe Casilla was comparable to Smith, who still had about a 28 WAR advantage on Lexi. Killebrew was three years younger when he debuted, so he gets a pass. Although, I'm not ruling out Casilla hitting over 500 home runs now. Perhaps jumping to Hall of Famers was a bit premature. This really means nothing, when you think about it the exact way I am. Perhaps Casilla is a late bloomer. I bet lots of guys were. We need a more apt comparison to his current self, with the understanding that he is going to definitely explode as a player within the next few seasons. It stands to reason that if Casilla is working on a Hall of Fame career, his first eight seasons will compare favorably to other middle infielders after eight seasons. Most of the time, Hall of Famers are judged against their positional counterparts. When Casilla has his mid-career explosion, he will surpass his peers and cement his legacy. That makes perfect sense. Lots of prominent players will be low on this list, I bet. Alexi must be better than some notable players. So, let's find out! I am very optimistic. (Redacted) Look, I don't see why I need to include these stats at all. He's pretty much last in every counting stat and nearly last in all the rate stats. So what? Stats aren't everything. There's the eye test too, you know. Plus, I thought RBI didn't matter and batting average was all luck. What really matters is that Alexi has heart and hustle. He also has a pretty nice smile and I just don't feel you are respecting that. Respect his smile! You know, I'm not sure why I am even bothering with this anymore. I've clearly failed and will have to wait for another chance to establish myself in the realm of good blog-guys. Maybe when I write about 1987 Topps baseball cards later this week, no one ever does stuff like that. However, I do present to you one final stat, and a stat that no one can argue with. If this doesn't at least get you partially on my side, I'm not sure what will. In fact, I'll feel sorry for you. I said it. I even put it in a chart for the real stat-heads. [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] Rank Player Balls Thrown While Horizontal for outs 1 Alexi Casilla I think like 2 tie-2 Everyone Else Probably zero [/TABLE]

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Earlier this week, I wrote about Joe Mauer and his Hall of Fame career. I was really taken by just how well Mauer stacks up against catchers throughout history, players from this era and Hall of Famers in general. If you didn't read it, you can find it here. If you did read it, you can find it there too, but you probably shouldn't read it again. Read this instead. I thought, well, this is probably an exercise that I could complete for a lot of players, to see if anyone's greatness is being overlooked. Using Baseball Reference's amazing play reference, I shall set out on a journey to find an overlooked player and rightfully adjust everyone's attitudes on his playing career. If I can truly change the minds of the masses, then I will become the most powerful baseball blog-guy of all time. If I can do this successfully, my legacy will be cemented right next to that DIPS guy and whoever invented OPS. This is my one chance, and I cannot blow it. History awaits. Now, to pick the perfect candidate... Alexi Casilla seems like a good choice. Here are some Sexi Lexi facts: Casilla is a middle infielder Casilla debuted in 2006 at age 22 Casilla is 28 and in his eighth season Casilla is not a power hitter Casilla is not a good hitter Casilla's has two skills - baserunning (?) and throwing the ball while completely parallel to the ground Casilla has played exactly 500 games in his career. Round! How does Casilla compare to his contemporaries in the middle infield? Casilla has had 1794 plate appearances in his career. Between 1988 and 2912, there are 121 middle infielders with roughly that many or more plate appearances. Casilla ranks 100th in OPS+, right ahead of Pat Meares. We are not off to a good start here. He's 114th in home runs, 116th in RBI, 119th in hits, 94th in OBP, 104th in slugging percentage and 98th in batting average. This isn't going well. Well, this isn't Casilla's game. He's not a hitter, he's a speed guy! I'm guessing he'll be great in the speedy categories like doubles (114th), triples (95th), stolen bases (59th), and runs (114th). Hmm. He does have the second fewest at bats on this list, so it's pretty obvious that he just needs a chance to hit more, right? Is it possible that Casilla just stacks up better against everyone? Perhaps his skills do not compare favorably to other speedy infielders, but will look shockingly tremendous against plodding corner infielders and stupid outfielders. Let's see how Casilla ranks within a different sample: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, From 1961 to 2012, Played 85% of games at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF or DH, (requiring At least 1750 plate appearances), sorted by greatest Adjusted OPS+: Casilla ranks 1209 out of 1331 players. Crud. Oh oh, maybe stolen bases! Casilla ranks 498 out of 1331 players. Blast, then crud. So what? Casilla's young. I bet a lot of guys started their careers as bad hitters who offered little on the bases because you can't steal first and got hurt a lot or was just benched due to better options. The only way to know for certain is to check Casilla against other Hall of Famers, during their first eight seasons. Let's see how good they were before they hit their stride. There were 123 players in this sample: Batting Average - 3rd from last - ahead of Ozzie Smith! OBP - 10th from last - ahead of Ozzie Smith and Robin Yount! OPS+ - Last OPS - 3rd from last - ahead of Ozzie Smith! Was Ozzie Smith good? Fewest Strikeouts - 36th! - although in a LOT fewer at bats Walks - Last, but not that far behind Brooks Robinson and Roberto Clemente! Hits - Last, but strangely only 65 fewer than Harmon Killebrew Doubles - 2nd from last, ahead of Killebrew, although Killebrew played like no games in his first five seasons... Runs - Very last RBI - Super Last Home Runs - 4th from last, somehow Games played - 2nd last, 12 more than Killebrew WAR - Last, comically so Ok, so maybe Casilla was comparable to Smith, who still had about a 28 WAR advantage on Lexi. Killebrew was three years younger when he debuted, so he gets a pass. Although, I'm not ruling out Casilla hitting over 500 home runs now. Perhaps jumping to Hall of Famers was a bit premature. This really means nothing, when you think about it the exact way I am. Perhaps Casilla is a late bloomer. I bet lots of guys were. We need a more apt comparison to his current self, with the understanding that he is going to definitely explode as a player within the next few seasons. It stands to reason that if Casilla is working on a Hall of Fame career, his first eight seasons will compare favorably to other middle infielders after eight seasons. Most of the time, Hall of Famers are judged against their positional counterparts. When Casilla has his mid-career explosion, he will surpass his peers and cement his legacy. That makes perfect sense. Lots of prominent players will be low on this list, I bet. Alexi must be better than some notable players. So, let's find out! I am very optimistic. (Redacted) Look, I don't see why I need to include these stats at all. He's pretty much last in every counting stat and nearly last in all the rate stats. So what? Stats aren't everything. There's the eye test too, you know. Plus, I thought RBI didn't matter and batting average was all luck. What really matters is that Alexi has heart and hustle. He also has a pretty nice smile and I just don't feel you are respecting that. Respect his smile! You know, I'm not sure why I am even bothering with this anymore. I've clearly failed and will have to wait for another chance to establish myself in the realm of good blog-guys. Maybe when I write about 1987 Topps baseball cards later this week, no one ever does stuff like that. However, I do present to you one final stat, and a stat that no one can argue with. If this doesn't at least get you partially on my side, I'm not sure what will. In fact, I'll feel sorry for you. I said it. I even put it in a chart for the real stat-heads. [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] Rank Player Balls Thrown While Horizontal for outs 1 Alexi Casilla I think like 2 tie-2 Everyone Else Probably zero [/TABLE]

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! It seems that just about every Twins game is snowed or rained or winded out these days. When is MLB going to wake up and start banning weather from their games?!? If nothing else, the Twins should have no home games in April, just in case it snows. Then, they should have no home games in May because of melting. June would be out due to mosquitoes. September is probably pushing it when it comes to snow again. August can be quite sultry. The obvious solution: The Twins play all 81 home games in a row, immediately following the All-Star break. At roughly 3 hours per game, they could fit four games in per day. This means that in about 20 days, the Twins could get all their home games in, without the threat of snow, melt water, dangerous pests and sultry temperatures. If MLB ever got their act together and enacted a plan like this, maybe we wouldn't have to sit through these random days without baseball! Without baseball, I decided that it might be fun to cram as many gimmicky ideas as I can into one post. I love gimmicks. Slideshows, top ten lists, poems, bullet lists, other lists. Ok, maybe I just like lists. I still think I am on to something here. Just a bunch of gimmicks all put together. All it needs is a catchy title, and everyone will be hooked. I shall call it: Gimmick Post. Fasten your safety belts, it is going to be a wild ride. Random Top 5 List Here are the top 5 teams in the AL Central as of 4/22/2013: Royals Twins Tigers Indians White Sox That's right, your Minnesota Twins are in second place. My Minnesota Twins are also in second place. Fun Stat If Aaron Hicks walks another time in April (if the Twins ever play in April again, right? lol), he will set a Twins' rookie record for most walks in April by a first year player. He is currently tied with Jim Eisenreich, who added 23 hits that month. Hicks currently has 3. KWL Chart A KWL chart is an organizational tool that many teachers use with students to help them with a new topic. They can also be helpful with topics we want to explore further. K is what you know, W is what you want to know, and L is what you have learned. Here is a KWL chart that I made, with Brian Dozier as the subject: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6FD_ZTks9sM/UXWQOBfbPPI/AAAAAAAAAmk/A1u_5KMWJcM/s400/KWLDozier.png Pro-tip - Click on the image to make it bigger. I didn't learn much, but I am happy to know that Dozier has a friend in Josh Willingham. My answer to a hypothetical question posted on the Twins' Facebook page: Question: Why don't all you whiners take your precious retactable roof AND STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE! Answer: I feel there should be a question mark after your exclamation mark, but I'm just being a punctuation perfectionist. I'm not sure what a retactable roof is either. The irony of this question is that a retractable roof would conceivably be placed in an area where the sun does shine, thus blocking it out. In a sense, you are answering your own question. If the roof was where the sun does not shine, then we wouldn't be able to enjoy the sun anyway, thus making the retractable roof quite useful and not inhibiting to a person who wants to enjoy a nice, sunny day of baseball. That being said, your use of capital letters is very effective. Random Photoshop: Joe Mauer gets a lot of attention for his sideburns. What if he didn't have them? http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kg_xN8x313U/UXWQGeB5LYI/AAAAAAAAAmc/ckMOHi5XaHE/s320/mauernoburns.jpg Yeah, so maybe the sideburns work. A Link to something stupid I wrote: I transcribed my guttural reaction to Ben Revere's catch last week. You can read it here. Random Paint Image: Here is a picture I drew of Target Field, from these past few weeks. I tweeted this out earlier, but no one follows me on Twitter, so here it is again: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1JyDdYbik1M/UXWP75YZV1I/AAAAAAAAAmU/C0En47xQl4E/s320/target+field.png A Link to something not stupid I wrote: I wrote a screenplay a few weeks ago. It is both not stupid and stupid. I think it's satire. I'm not really sure. However, there are many puns. I punned Justin Morneau, Vance Worley, Brandon Boggs, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Slama. No one is spared! No one! Here it is. Parting Haiku No Twins game today The relentless winter weather is bearing down on us like an unstoppable force, berating us with constant barbs of snow and a biting wind that will chew all the way to our very soul Soon it will be May Perhaps that wasn't a Haiku. If you prefer accurate poetry, you can sub this line where you see fit: Winter weather will not leave. I like my version better.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! It seems that just about every Twins game is snowed or rained or winded out these days. When is MLB going to wake up and start banning weather from their games?!? If nothing else, the Twins should have no home games in April, just in case it snows. Then, they should have no home games in May because of melting. June would be out due to mosquitoes. September is probably pushing it when it comes to snow again. August can be quite sultry. The obvious solution: The Twins play all 81 home games in a row, immediately following the All-Star break. At roughly 3 hours per game, they could fit four games in per day. This means that in about 20 days, the Twins could get all their home games in, without the threat of snow, melt water, dangerous pests and sultry temperatures. If MLB ever got their act together and enacted a plan like this, maybe we wouldn't have to sit through these random days without baseball! Without baseball, I decided that it might be fun to cram as many gimmicky ideas as I can into one post. I love gimmicks. Slideshows, top ten lists, poems, bullet lists, other lists. Ok, maybe I just like lists. I still think I am on to something here. Just a bunch of gimmicks all put together. All it needs is a catchy title, and everyone will be hooked. I shall call it: Gimmick Post. Fasten your safety belts, it is going to be a wild ride. Random Top 5 List Here are the top 5 teams in the AL Central as of 4/22/2013: Royals Twins Tigers Indians White Sox That's right, your Minnesota Twins are in second place. My Minnesota Twins are also in second place. Fun Stat If Aaron Hicks walks another time in April (if the Twins ever play in April again, right? lol), he will set a Twins' rookie record for most walks in April by a first year player. He is currently tied with Jim Eisenreich, who added 23 hits that month. Hicks currently has 3. KWL Chart A KWL chart is an organizational tool that many teachers use with students to help them with a new topic. They can also be helpful with topics we want to explore further. K is what you know, W is what you want to know, and L is what you have learned. Here is a KWL chart that I made, with Brian Dozier as the subject: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6FD_ZTks9sM/UXWQOBfbPPI/AAAAAAAAAmk/A1u_5KMWJcM/s400/KWLDozier.png Pro-tip - Click on the image to make it bigger. I didn't learn much, but I am happy to know that Dozier has a friend in Josh Willingham. My answer to a hypothetical question posted on the Twins' Facebook page: Question: Why don't all you whiners take your precious retactable roof AND STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE! Answer: I feel there should be a question mark after your exclamation mark, but I'm just being a punctuation perfectionist. I'm not sure what a retactable roof is either. The irony of this question is that a retractable roof would conceivably be placed in an area where the sun does shine, thus blocking it out. In a sense, you are answering your own question. If the roof was where the sun does not shine, then we wouldn't be able to enjoy the sun anyway, thus making the retractable roof quite useful and not inhibiting to a person who wants to enjoy a nice, sunny day of baseball. That being said, your use of capital letters is very effective. Random Photoshop: Joe Mauer gets a lot of attention for his sideburns. What if he didn't have them? http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kg_xN8x313U/UXWQGeB5LYI/AAAAAAAAAmc/ckMOHi5XaHE/s320/mauernoburns.jpg Yeah, so maybe the sideburns work. A Link to something stupid I wrote: I transcribed my guttural reaction to Ben Revere's catch last week. You can read it here. Random Paint Image: Here is a picture I drew of Target Field, from these past few weeks. I tweeted this out earlier, but no one follows me on Twitter, so here it is again: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1JyDdYbik1M/UXWP75YZV1I/AAAAAAAAAmU/C0En47xQl4E/s320/target+field.png A Link to something not stupid I wrote: I wrote a screenplay a few weeks ago. It is both not stupid and stupid. I think it's satire. I'm not really sure. However, there are many puns. I punned Justin Morneau, Vance Worley, Brandon Boggs, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Slama. No one is spared! No one! Here it is. Parting Haiku No Twins game today The relentless winter weather is bearing down on us like an unstoppable force, berating us with constant barbs of snow and a biting wind that will chew all the way to our very soul Soon it will be May Perhaps that wasn't a Haiku. If you prefer accurate poetry, you can sub this line where you see fit: Winter weather will not leave. I like my version better.

Thanks! Yes, Diamond was great this weekend. Burton and Perkins are fantastic, and they really solidify the back of the bullpen. It's nice to have reliable guys like them in those roles.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins have swept two consecutive series, but due to crazy sucky weather, it only adds up to a four-game winning streak. The weather is still cold, but the Twins are hot right now. They sit in second place after beating the White Sox in two straight, and are only a half game behind the powerhouse Royals. This week, they received good enough starting pitching, solid offense, and great performances out of the bullpen. Is it sustainable? Perhaps. Thus far, the Twins have had a roughly average overall offense from their individual players. Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham have been great, with wRC+ of 186 and 150 respectively. Chris Parmelee, Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe all come in around 100 wRC+. The combo of Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar have averaged right around Mauer-level offense. Only Ryan Doumit, Brian Dozier and Aaron Hicks have been below average, although Hicks has been below zero, so that drags things down. I fully expect some regression from the shortstop combo and an increase in production from Doumit, Morneau and even Hicks. This could lead to an offense that produces at roughly this level all season. The bullpen has been solid, and many of the performances are sustainable. If the starting pitching can be decent, the Twins can keep this up. If the offense dips or the pitching falls apart, then... well let's just enjoy the ride we're on right now. Vance Worley Worley looked a lot better on Saturday. I mean, that is about as obvious a statement that one can make, but still true. Parts of his game have been good all season. Worley gave up his first home run of the season on Saturday, which surprised me. He has also limited walks all season long. The main difference on Saturday was that he racked up strikeouts. With fewer balls put in play, he gave up fewer hits. I had high hopes for Worley this season, and If he pitches like he did on Saturday, those hopes will be fulfilled. Oswaldo Arcia Arcia has struggled in his few MLB games, but that doesn't worry me at all. My worry is that he won't play every game while in Minnesota. He really shouldn't even spend one game on the bench, as every game is important in his development. However, the numbers game is one that Gardenhire needs to play carefully, as his veterans need at bats too. With Parmelee slightly banged up, everything is cool right now. When he feels better, the numbers game begins. Justin Morneau Morneau hasn't been very good this season. He has only five extra-base hits in 65 plate appearances and his wRC+ is at 96. Most of his numbers are in line with last season, but his power is down. There is plenty of time for Morneau to turn things around. If things don't turn around, the Twins are looking at a player with low trade value, diminishing power, advancing age and a long history with the franchise. That combination of realities does not add up well for the Twins. We'll just have to hope Morneau starts to mash again. Joe Mauer Joe Mauer is neat. This week was just a reminder of how neat he really is. Mauer reached base 14 times in 21 plate appearances this week. If that isn't neat, I don't know what is. Other MLB Notes Roy Halladay Halladay has bounced back with a couple of nice starts. I'm not sure I see anything crazy different about his peripheral stats that would explain these nice starts. I haven't seen anything that indicates his velocity is up, so that certainly doesn't help. I hope that he is improving in some way. Halladay is one of the best pitchers of this generation, and baseball is more fun when he is pitching well. He can't fight his age, but I still kind of hope he does. Joey Votto Votto: "The #Reds pay me to be good. I'm not going to worry about a homerless drought. There are different ways to be good". — Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) April 21, 2013 I kind of love Joey Votto. Baseball can be such a macho game. Home runs are the best way to show off how big and strong and powerful you are. If Votto understands that there are other ways to "be good" and give the team value, then more power to him. I respect his approach. He has lead the NL in OBP the last three seasons and is well on his way to adding a fourth season to that streak. He makes outs at an extremely low rate and that makes him "good." Kevin Slowey Slowey had his best start of the season on Friday night. He went six innings, gave up one run on four hits, walked one and struck out four. Everything I wrote about Slowey when he signed with Miami was true and still is true today. Much of what I wrote was meandering and self-serving, but true. Sadly, Slowey has still not won a game in over two years. The Twins miss Slowey in their short series this week, which is a shame. Although, not having to hear Dick and Bert discuss Slowey is almost worth not getting to see if he could stick it to his former team. Ok, I'm tapped out. Have a nice week everyone!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins have swept two consecutive series, but due to crazy sucky weather, it only adds up to a four-game winning streak. The weather is still cold, but the Twins are hot right now. They sit in second place after beating the White Sox in two straight, and are only a half game behind the powerhouse Royals. This week, they received good enough starting pitching, solid offense, and great performances out of the bullpen. Is it sustainable? Perhaps. Thus far, the Twins have had a roughly average overall offense from their individual players. Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham have been great, with wRC+ of 186 and 150 respectively. Chris Parmelee, Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe all come in around 100 wRC+. The combo of Pedro Florimon and Eduardo Escobar have averaged right around Mauer-level offense. Only Ryan Doumit, Brian Dozier and Aaron Hicks have been below average, although Hicks has been below zero, so that drags things down. I fully expect some regression from the shortstop combo and an increase in production from Doumit, Morneau and even Hicks. This could lead to an offense that produces at roughly this level all season. The bullpen has been solid, and many of the performances are sustainable. If the starting pitching can be decent, the Twins can keep this up. If the offense dips or the pitching falls apart, then... well let's just enjoy the ride we're on right now. Vance Worley Worley looked a lot better on Saturday. I mean, that is about as obvious a statement that one can make, but still true. Parts of his game have been good all season. Worley gave up his first home run of the season on Saturday, which surprised me. He has also limited walks all season long. The main difference on Saturday was that he racked up strikeouts. With fewer balls put in play, he gave up fewer hits. I had high hopes for Worley this season, and If he pitches like he did on Saturday, those hopes will be fulfilled. Oswaldo Arcia Arcia has struggled in his few MLB games, but that doesn't worry me at all. My worry is that he won't play every game while in Minnesota. He really shouldn't even spend one game on the bench, as every game is important in his development. However, the numbers game is one that Gardenhire needs to play carefully, as his veterans need at bats too. With Parmelee slightly banged up, everything is cool right now. When he feels better, the numbers game begins. Justin Morneau Morneau hasn't been very good this season. He has only five extra-base hits in 65 plate appearances and his wRC+ is at 96. Most of his numbers are in line with last season, but his power is down. There is plenty of time for Morneau to turn things around. If things don't turn around, the Twins are looking at a player with low trade value, diminishing power, advancing age and a long history with the franchise. That combination of realities does not add up well for the Twins. We'll just have to hope Morneau starts to mash again. Joe Mauer Joe Mauer is neat. This week was just a reminder of how neat he really is. Mauer reached base 14 times in 21 plate appearances this week. If that isn't neat, I don't know what is. Other MLB Notes Roy Halladay Halladay has bounced back with a couple of nice starts. I'm not sure I see anything crazy different about his peripheral stats that would explain these nice starts. I haven't seen anything that indicates his velocity is up, so that certainly doesn't help. I hope that he is improving in some way. Halladay is one of the best pitchers of this generation, and baseball is more fun when he is pitching well. He can't fight his age, but I still kind of hope he does. Joey Votto Votto: "The #Reds pay me to be good. I'm not going to worry about a homerless drought. There are different ways to be good". — Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) April 21, 2013 I kind of love Joey Votto. Baseball can be such a macho game. Home runs are the best way to show off how big and strong and powerful you are. If Votto understands that there are other ways to "be good" and give the team value, then more power to him. I respect his approach. He has lead the NL in OBP the last three seasons and is well on his way to adding a fourth season to that streak. He makes outs at an extremely low rate and that makes him "good." Kevin Slowey Slowey had his best start of the season on Friday night. He went six innings, gave up one run on four hits, walked one and struck out four. Everything I wrote about Slowey when he signed with Miami was true and still is true today. Much of what I wrote was meandering and self-serving, but true. Sadly, Slowey has still not won a game in over two years. The Twins miss Slowey in their short series this week, which is a shame. Although, not having to hear Dick and Bert discuss Slowey is almost worth not getting to see if he could stick it to his former team. Ok, I'm tapped out. Have a nice week everyone!

Thanks! My collection starts around 1988 and ends around 1994. Seems like 7 years might be about the length of an average collection.

I loved Mr. Baseball. Accept! Here is my top 5: 1. Field of Dreams 2. Major League 3. Moneyball 4. Little Big League 5. Eight Men Out Rookie of the Year is very watchable too. I also may be the only person on the planet who really enjoys Major League 2.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! with all the images in tact. Note: There is a 20 image limit in posts here, which is totally fair, but that is why a few of the original images were changed to links. When I close my eyes and think of baseball cards, I picture 1991 Score baseball cards. I'm not sure why, but this is the set that I picture when I dream of cards (which happens all the time). I distinctly remember that there were green, blue, white and black cards. I also remember there were some cards where dudes weren't wearing shirts, which is fine. Doesn't bother me. Come join me on a journey through these wonderful cards. I haven't looked at them in years, so I have no idea where this journey will take us, but I can tell you: IT WILL BE EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Or not, but I'll try. Let's open my utility room up and grab these cards. I have a lot of them because I think they were under a dollar per pack. That meant I could grab a whole mess of packs with my tiny hands. My mom was cool with them because she could get me a lot for a little. In a way, Score was the discount brand. I didn't care. I was nine and I just liked baseball cards. So, here are the many stacks of these treasures that I have. Do you see Pedro Munoz? I know I do. Here is what the individual cards look like: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fak9fzcjIws/UXMMz7OLfvI/AAAAAAAAAhc/GJnpeL_Y1jo/s320/IMG_0626.JPG Here is the back of a card: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZybzizV8TWg/UXMPteFZGzI/AAAAAAAAAic/BIoM02nd3Jg/s320/IMG_0625.JPG Ken Griffey, Jr, always smilin'! So, the blue and green cards are just players. The black cards are players but also some other types of cards that I will share later. The white cards are "rookie prospects," 1st round draft picks, and other subsets that I will also show you later. The term "rookie prospect" doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but as you can see, I have a lot of them: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XPQACh2G3Zk/UXMN0xNqsVI/AAAAAAAAAhs/5dQPYo5IgmQ/s320/IMG_0627.JPG I think we all know that Munoz goes on top. That's just how it goes. However, I don't think Score really knew what a "rookie prospect" was. Most of these players are just rookies, which is fine. Prospect has a different connotation and I would appreciate it if my baseball cards didn't tacitly endorse inferior players as prospects. It's just bad business. I might need to burn these or something. Anyway, here are the best "rookie prospects" that I could find: Mark Whiten, David Segui, Chris Hoiles, Jose Offerman and Mike Bordick. Here are your best "rookie prospects." So... Now, there were three Twins "rookie prospects" and here they are: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vn_TdoEYeZc/UXMPfXrcJQI/AAAAAAAAAiU/YA5f2VF2eCc/s320/IMG_0631.JPG Paul Abbott, Scott Leius and the aforementioned Munoz. Nice. There is a legitimately great 1st round pick card though: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBiblRY_0hs/UXMRnxRiLpI/AAAAAAAAAik/MwkKn7bP9dk/s320/IMG_0632.JPG Throughout his career, Mike Mussina improved in all areas of his game, including hat-wearing. I do believe his fingers were cold in this picture. This first round also produced an old Twins' favorite: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r4X0uCMba34/UXMSAlO9HBI/AAAAAAAAAis/ru2kWjpCoa4/s320/IMG_0633.JPG My favorite part of this card is Score's insistence that Rondell White's entire bat is shown. Rondell looked old when he was young and then looked really old when he was kind of old. I wonder what he will look like when he is actually old. Here are a few of the other white bordered subsets: The All-star cards depict each player as some sort of Coney Island caricature. These two made me laugh the most. Rickey Henderson just looks super weird and Sandy Alomar is smiling a lot considering the guy sliding into home is likely safe. Highlights and no-hitters are pretty self explanatory. No one will ever forget Melido Perez's no-hitter. Rifleman cards were for players with big arms, Master Blasters were big hitters and K-man were strikeout pitchers. Fun fact: Both Bonny Bonilla and Rob Dibble had notable clubhouse fights. So that's fun. Master Blaster was also a Nintendo game. Here are a few of the black bordered subsets: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M24T_BUHKjM/UXMWWUeXOcI/AAAAAAAAAkE/E-B-mo1tySs/s200/IMG_0644.JPGhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1s_VsoCk9k/UXMWGpyDuHI/AAAAAAAAAkA/4fl0N9DySNs/s200/IMG_0642.JPGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2qtoaX9XC4/UXMWGAb9iUI/AAAAAAAAAj4/v_Bz0F1OOLg/s200/IMG_0643.JPG The Reds won the 1990 World Series, so they get a special card to demonstrate proper pool/diving saftey. Lenny Dykstra looks like a future Car Wash owner in that picture. "The Franchise" was used to show franchise players, not necessarily players who would be unable to successfully run a franchise in the future. Ryne Sandberg was Man of the Year for his contributions on and off the field. I'm surprised I have this card as I thought I traded all my Sandberg cards to my friend for this Frank Thomas card that he had. Hmm. I promised you shirtless dudes: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Fp8e3-xwAg/UXMXHqrx1ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/RsA0tA1_i6U/s320/IMG_0640.JPG The Dream Team cards were pretty much all like this. Just great players showing off their pecks/lats/biceps. Speaking of old roidy, here is Jose Canseco and his brother Ozzie: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hmFpmiZt6Y/UXMXl_jGq0I/AAAAAAAAAkc/Xdk-sH5M9bE/s320/IMG_0629.JPG And here are Ken Griffeys: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpkJQP2Yh9w/UXMXmjFSDvI/AAAAAAAAAkk/iKUHRzIkvlI/s320/IMG_0647.JPG Which family do you like better? Please respond in the comments below. Here are a few fun cards, and a nice bullet list to accompany: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmarYLycow8/UXMYKOdpUgI/AAAAAAAAAk0/-RNTVGbYhz0/s200/IMG_0661.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4zdqwHf9a7c/UXMYQPaSTFI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Fc-eQ8Br2ac/s200/IMG_0670.JPGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qHQ-Y5OADA/UXMYGLwPdbI/AAAAAAAAAks/GEu8TPeuFGI/s200/IMG_0654.JPG http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPf12gH7C30/UXMYLjs4bpI/AAAAAAAAAk4/z0xf09PdrKk/s200/IMG_0663.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4M4-werFxJo/UXMYQD1WOUI/AAAAAAAAAlI/IYK0zzdc-LY/s200/IMG_0664.JPG Kirby Puckett - always the best card in the set. Shane Mack looks really cramped in this card. Oddibe McDowell - always limboing Here's Dave Henderson punching Greg Gagne in the nards. Mitch Williams - always giving up a home run/making me want to turn off MLB Network Packs of these cards also came with these weird mini-cards that had World Series trivia. I think the baseball card industry learned of the technology to have two images on one card and had no idea how to use it, so they would just make stuff like this. Whew. Most of these cards are from 1950 and earlier, and if there is one thing young collectors want it has to be history. When I looked at 1989 Donruss (click here if you missed it, and you probably missed it, like 30 people viewed it), I found lots of wild hairstyles and glasses and accessories. Just two years later, I found none of that. What a difference two years make! All the Score cards are action shots, so I did find a lot of great pitch and hit faces. I made a collage of each, for your enjoyment: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yxQrzPAKibI/UXMZ1XBtkPI/AAAAAAAAAlc/a2-Njkn8aME/s400/batters.gif http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyCEdQgxgKg/UXMZ4_YYOsI/AAAAAAAAAls/ICR8uFwlHBE/s400/Untitled.gif To fully appreciate these, click on the image and make it bigger. My personal favorite is Mark Portugal, although there is a subtle excellence in Gary Mielke's face. Look how calm Greg Maddux's pitch face is: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-psUSHFYHGK4/UXMdAx2wNII/AAAAAAAAAl8/idtPGlI1dZQ/s320/IMG_0676.JPG No wonder he was so good. As always, we end with a flower, from you to me, for reading through this nonsense. This one is made of "Hard-Hittin" Mark Whiten rookie cards. Te amo. Brad Swanson is an amateur photographer. The brown in the background around the cards is his couch. He also wrote about Ben Revere's catch, if you want to read about it.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! with all the images in tact. Note: There is a 20 image limit in posts here, which is totally fair, but that is why a few of the original images were changed to links. When I close my eyes and think of baseball cards, I picture 1991 Score baseball cards. I'm not sure why, but this is the set that I picture when I dream of cards (which happens all the time). I distinctly remember that there were green, blue, white and black cards. I also remember there were some cards where dudes weren't wearing shirts, which is fine. Doesn't bother me. Come join me on a journey through these wonderful cards. I haven't looked at them in years, so I have no idea where this journey will take us, but I can tell you: IT WILL BE EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Or not, but I'll try. Let's open my utility room up and grab these cards. I have a lot of them because I think they were under a dollar per pack. That meant I could grab a whole mess of packs with my tiny hands. My mom was cool with them because she could get me a lot for a little. In a way, Score was the discount brand. I didn't care. I was nine and I just liked baseball cards. So, here are the many stacks of these treasures that I have. Do you see Pedro Munoz? I know I do. Here is what the individual cards look like: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fak9fzcjIws/UXMMz7OLfvI/AAAAAAAAAhc/GJnpeL_Y1jo/s320/IMG_0626.JPG Here is the back of a card: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZybzizV8TWg/UXMPteFZGzI/AAAAAAAAAic/BIoM02nd3Jg/s320/IMG_0625.JPG Ken Griffey, Jr, always smilin'! So, the blue and green cards are just players. The black cards are players but also some other types of cards that I will share later. The white cards are "rookie prospects," 1st round draft picks, and other subsets that I will also show you later. The term "rookie prospect" doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but as you can see, I have a lot of them: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XPQACh2G3Zk/UXMN0xNqsVI/AAAAAAAAAhs/5dQPYo5IgmQ/s320/IMG_0627.JPG I think we all know that Munoz goes on top. That's just how it goes. However, I don't think Score really knew what a "rookie prospect" was. Most of these players are just rookies, which is fine. Prospect has a different connotation and I would appreciate it if my baseball cards didn't tacitly endorse inferior players as prospects. It's just bad business. I might need to burn these or something. Anyway, here are the best "rookie prospects" that I could find: Mark Whiten, David Segui, Chris Hoiles, Jose Offerman and Mike Bordick. Here are your best "rookie prospects." So... Now, there were three Twins "rookie prospects" and here they are: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vn_TdoEYeZc/UXMPfXrcJQI/AAAAAAAAAiU/YA5f2VF2eCc/s320/IMG_0631.JPG Paul Abbott, Scott Leius and the aforementioned Munoz. Nice. There is a legitimately great 1st round pick card though: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBiblRY_0hs/UXMRnxRiLpI/AAAAAAAAAik/MwkKn7bP9dk/s320/IMG_0632.JPG Throughout his career, Mike Mussina improved in all areas of his game, including hat-wearing. I do believe his fingers were cold in this picture. This first round also produced an old Twins' favorite: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r4X0uCMba34/UXMSAlO9HBI/AAAAAAAAAis/ru2kWjpCoa4/s320/IMG_0633.JPG My favorite part of this card is Score's insistence that Rondell White's entire bat is shown. Rondell looked old when he was young and then looked really old when he was kind of old. I wonder what he will look like when he is actually old. Here are a few of the other white bordered subsets: The All-star cards depict each player as some sort of Coney Island caricature. These two made me laugh the most. Rickey Henderson just looks super weird and Sandy Alomar is smiling a lot considering the guy sliding into home is likely safe. Highlights and no-hitters are pretty self explanatory. No one will ever forget Melido Perez's no-hitter. Rifleman cards were for players with big arms, Master Blasters were big hitters and K-man were strikeout pitchers. Fun fact: Both Bonny Bonilla and Rob Dibble had notable clubhouse fights. So that's fun. Master Blaster was also a Nintendo game. Here are a few of the black bordered subsets: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M24T_BUHKjM/UXMWWUeXOcI/AAAAAAAAAkE/E-B-mo1tySs/s200/IMG_0644.JPGhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1s_VsoCk9k/UXMWGpyDuHI/AAAAAAAAAkA/4fl0N9DySNs/s200/IMG_0642.JPGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2qtoaX9XC4/UXMWGAb9iUI/AAAAAAAAAj4/v_Bz0F1OOLg/s200/IMG_0643.JPG The Reds won the 1990 World Series, so they get a special card to demonstrate proper pool/diving saftey. Lenny Dykstra looks like a future Car Wash owner in that picture. "The Franchise" was used to show franchise players, not necessarily players who would be unable to successfully run a franchise in the future. Ryne Sandberg was Man of the Year for his contributions on and off the field. I'm surprised I have this card as I thought I traded all my Sandberg cards to my friend for this Frank Thomas card that he had. Hmm. I promised you shirtless dudes: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Fp8e3-xwAg/UXMXHqrx1ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/RsA0tA1_i6U/s320/IMG_0640.JPG The Dream Team cards were pretty much all like this. Just great players showing off their pecks/lats/biceps. Speaking of old roidy, here is Jose Canseco and his brother Ozzie: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hmFpmiZt6Y/UXMXl_jGq0I/AAAAAAAAAkc/Xdk-sH5M9bE/s320/IMG_0629.JPG And here are Ken Griffeys: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpkJQP2Yh9w/UXMXmjFSDvI/AAAAAAAAAkk/iKUHRzIkvlI/s320/IMG_0647.JPG Which family do you like better? Please respond in the comments below. Here are a few fun cards, and a nice bullet list to accompany: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmarYLycow8/UXMYKOdpUgI/AAAAAAAAAk0/-RNTVGbYhz0/s200/IMG_0661.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4zdqwHf9a7c/UXMYQPaSTFI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Fc-eQ8Br2ac/s200/IMG_0670.JPGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9qHQ-Y5OADA/UXMYGLwPdbI/AAAAAAAAAks/GEu8TPeuFGI/s200/IMG_0654.JPG http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPf12gH7C30/UXMYLjs4bpI/AAAAAAAAAk4/z0xf09PdrKk/s200/IMG_0663.JPGhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4M4-werFxJo/UXMYQD1WOUI/AAAAAAAAAlI/IYK0zzdc-LY/s200/IMG_0664.JPG Kirby Puckett - always the best card in the set. Shane Mack looks really cramped in this card. Oddibe McDowell - always limboing Here's Dave Henderson punching Greg Gagne in the nards. Mitch Williams - always giving up a home run/making me want to turn off MLB Network Packs of these cards also came with these weird mini-cards that had World Series trivia. I think the baseball card industry learned of the technology to have two images on one card and had no idea how to use it, so they would just make stuff like this. Whew. Most of these cards are from 1950 and earlier, and if there is one thing young collectors want it has to be history. When I looked at 1989 Donruss (click here if you missed it, and you probably missed it, like 30 people viewed it), I found lots of wild hairstyles and glasses and accessories. Just two years later, I found none of that. What a difference two years make! All the Score cards are action shots, so I did find a lot of great pitch and hit faces. I made a collage of each, for your enjoyment: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yxQrzPAKibI/UXMZ1XBtkPI/AAAAAAAAAlc/a2-Njkn8aME/s400/batters.gif http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyCEdQgxgKg/UXMZ4_YYOsI/AAAAAAAAAls/ICR8uFwlHBE/s400/Untitled.gif To fully appreciate these, click on the image and make it bigger. My personal favorite is Mark Portugal, although there is a subtle excellence in Gary Mielke's face. Look how calm Greg Maddux's pitch face is: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-psUSHFYHGK4/UXMdAx2wNII/AAAAAAAAAl8/idtPGlI1dZQ/s320/IMG_0676.JPG No wonder he was so good. As always, we end with a flower, from you to me, for reading through this nonsense. This one is made of "Hard-Hittin" Mark Whiten rookie cards. Te amo. Brad Swanson is an amateur photographer. The brown in the background around the cards is his couch. He also wrote about Ben Revere's catch, if you want to read about it.

Kwang the Ninja later became Savio Vega.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I just realized that my free trial of the Baseball Reference play index is going to expire on Monday. Very sad. Although, if you read this post, you already know that I am planning to purchase a subscription anyway. Happy times! Now that you can relax with this knowledge, let's find some fun stats and occurrences and seasons and whatever. Oh, and I apologize for the word "stizzles" in the title. It should read "stats" but you know how touchy autocorrect can be. Onward! Round Numbers Round numbers are excellent. Del Ennis is the only player in MLB history to have a season where with 10 triples, 20 home runs and 30 doubles. He also scored 90 runs. However, he ruined everything by driving in 107 runs. That kind of non-round numbering does not endear him to me. If he had ended with 7 fewer RBI, he'd be my favorite player of all time. Round! Roy Smalley had 80 walks and 80 strikeouts in 1979. This is fitting because he also has 80 hair. Round! In 1993, Mike Bordick had 10 stolen bases and was caught stealing 10 times, for a nice, terrible, round 50% success rate. He also scored 60 runs, walked 60 times, had 170 total bases and had 10 sacrifice bunts. His WAR that season was 2.0 and he ended his career with exactly 1500 hits, 500 walks and 800 strikeouts. He hit .260 for his career. Round! In 1973, Dick Woodson had 10 wins and posted a 100 ERA+. Round! Josh Collmenter went 10-10 with 100 strikeouts in 2011. How did I not know this? He also had zero complete games! Vida Blue posted the same numbers in 1986 and he also hit zero batters. Round! Ok, hold on, here comes the hotsteppa. In 1990 (round number), Jeffrey Leonard hit 10 home runs, 20 doubles, 0 triples, had 120 hits and as a result had 170 total bases. He also grounded into an astounding 20 double plays. But get this: he wore jersey number 00! 00!! 00!!! His WAR that season: --1.8. Perhaps round numbers aren't all that valuable. Round! The Greatest Blown Save of all-time On June 11, 1963, the Boston Red Sox played the Detroit Tigers. In the bottom of the 7th, Dick Radatz replaced Wilbur Wood with one out and a runner on first. The Red Sox were leading 3-2. Radatz struck out the first batter he faced, then issued a walk and a single, allowing his inherited runner to score. He got the next batter and the game went on. From there, Radatz pitched 8 more innings, giving up just 2 hits and striking out 11 total batters. The Red Sox hung four runs on the Tigers in the top of the 15th and Radatz was allowed to complete the game in the bottom of the inning. He ended the game with a blown save and a win. Not the way they drew it up, but not bad either. Goin' Streaking! Old School is 10 years old. Last season, Kris Medlen had a huge breakout. However, if you are a fan of odd streaks, you probably had already heard of him. Medlen had exactly 5 strikeouts in 5 straight games. This is a feat that has only been accomplished 8 times. Pete Harnisch did it twice. Kris Benson joins Kris Medlen as the two guys who accomplished this feat with a misspelled name. Back in 2000, Scott Williamson struck out exactly three batters in five straight save opportunities. He got four saves over that stretch, totally blowing the first game in this streak by issuing 5 walks in his appearance. In the other four, he only walked one. He went to Friendswood High School, which sounds friendly. Bob Gibson has the longest streak without a pickoff. He never had one in his career. So, his streak sits at 482 straight starts without a pickoff. The record stands and technically is still active, as he retired with the streak intact. If he could just come back for 18 more starts, it would be a nice, even 500 starts. Round! Ken Ray did not strike out a batter in his first 13 appearances, back in 1999. This is a record. Ray posted a robust 8.74 ERA in his rookie season and then did not play in the Majors again until 2006, when he resurfaced with the Braves as Kwang the Ninja. Carlos Quentin was hit by a pitch in a record six straight games. Quentin always seems to have a look on his face as though he'd been hit by a pitch, so this is fitting. F.P. Santangelo was hit by a pitch in four straight games and that was prior to anyone hearing him as an commentator. I kid. Julio Cruz Julio Cruz entered the lineup in the 9-hole on May 8, 1984. About a day later, he had completed 11 at bats, the most ever out of the 9 spot in the lineup. The game went 18 innings that night, then was suspended until the next day. After 7 more innings the following day, the game concluded when Harold Baines hit a walk-off home run. Cruz went 1-11 with 2 strikeouts. At least his team got the win. Other Fun Stuff I found something I am calling a xylophone game: 5IP, 4H, 3ER, 2K, 1BB, 0 HR. It's only happened four times. The last time was by Jimmy Jones on 9/24/1987. He lost that game 5-4. So... Wilkin Ramirez reached on catcher's interference during Sunday's game against Baltimore. This hadn't happened for a Twins player since 2008 when Brian Buscher reached in a September 16 game against the Angels. When these guys enter the Twins' Hall of Fame together, they should both tell their story of reaching base in the oddest way possible. No one walked more batters with the bases loaded than Nolan Ryan, who did so nine times. Mitch Williams walked a batter with the bases loaded seven times. I had the opportunity to look up how many innings each player pitched and found that Ryan threw 5386 innings and Williams threw 691.1 innings. If you extrapolate, Williams would have walked a batter with the bases loaded 54 times if he had pitched as long as Ryan. Or something like that. Cleatus Davidson stole a base in each of his first two MLB games. He never stole another base and only played in 10 more games. He ended his career with an OPS+ of -31. This seems like a good place to stop. The play index is entertaining. I hope you enjoyed the exact same things I enjoy. Brad Swanson is. Philosophy!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I just realized that my free trial of the Baseball Reference play index is going to expire on Monday. Very sad. Although, if you read this post, you already know that I am planning to purchase a subscription anyway. Happy times! Now that you can relax with this knowledge, let's find some fun stats and occurrences and seasons and whatever. Oh, and I apologize for the word "stizzles" in the title. It should read "stats" but you know how touchy autocorrect can be. Onward! Round Numbers Round numbers are excellent. Del Ennis is the only player in MLB history to have a season where with 10 triples, 20 home runs and 30 doubles. He also scored 90 runs. However, he ruined everything by driving in 107 runs. That kind of non-round numbering does not endear him to me. If he had ended with 7 fewer RBI, he'd be my favorite player of all time. Round! Roy Smalley had 80 walks and 80 strikeouts in 1979. This is fitting because he also has 80 hair. Round! In 1993, Mike Bordick had 10 stolen bases and was caught stealing 10 times, for a nice, terrible, round 50% success rate. He also scored 60 runs, walked 60 times, had 170 total bases and had 10 sacrifice bunts. His WAR that season was 2.0 and he ended his career with exactly 1500 hits, 500 walks and 800 strikeouts. He hit .260 for his career. Round! In 1973, Dick Woodson had 10 wins and posted a 100 ERA+. Round! Josh Collmenter went 10-10 with 100 strikeouts in 2011. How did I not know this? He also had zero complete games! Vida Blue posted the same numbers in 1986 and he also hit zero batters. Round! Ok, hold on, here comes the hotsteppa. In 1990 (round number), Jeffrey Leonard hit 10 home runs, 20 doubles, 0 triples, had 120 hits and as a result had 170 total bases. He also grounded into an astounding 20 double plays. But get this: he wore jersey number 00! 00!! 00!!! His WAR that season: --1.8. Perhaps round numbers aren't all that valuable. Round! The Greatest Blown Save of all-time On June 11, 1963, the Boston Red Sox played the Detroit Tigers. In the bottom of the 7th, Dick Radatz replaced Wilbur Wood with one out and a runner on first. The Red Sox were leading 3-2. Radatz struck out the first batter he faced, then issued a walk and a single, allowing his inherited runner to score. He got the next batter and the game went on. From there, Radatz pitched 8 more innings, giving up just 2 hits and striking out 11 total batters. The Red Sox hung four runs on the Tigers in the top of the 15th and Radatz was allowed to complete the game in the bottom of the inning. He ended the game with a blown save and a win. Not the way they drew it up, but not bad either. Goin' Streaking! Old School is 10 years old. Last season, Kris Medlen had a huge breakout. However, if you are a fan of odd streaks, you probably had already heard of him. Medlen had exactly 5 strikeouts in 5 straight games. This is a feat that has only been accomplished 8 times. Pete Harnisch did it twice. Kris Benson joins Kris Medlen as the two guys who accomplished this feat with a misspelled name. Back in 2000, Scott Williamson struck out exactly three batters in five straight save opportunities. He got four saves over that stretch, totally blowing the first game in this streak by issuing 5 walks in his appearance. In the other four, he only walked one. He went to Friendswood High School, which sounds friendly. Bob Gibson has the longest streak without a pickoff. He never had one in his career. So, his streak sits at 482 straight starts without a pickoff. The record stands and technically is still active, as he retired with the streak intact. If he could just come back for 18 more starts, it would be a nice, even 500 starts. Round! Ken Ray did not strike out a batter in his first 13 appearances, back in 1999. This is a record. Ray posted a robust 8.74 ERA in his rookie season and then did not play in the Majors again until 2006, when he resurfaced with the Braves as Kwang the Ninja. Carlos Quentin was hit by a pitch in a record six straight games. Quentin always seems to have a look on his face as though he'd been hit by a pitch, so this is fitting. F.P. Santangelo was hit by a pitch in four straight games and that was prior to anyone hearing him as an commentator. I kid. Julio Cruz Julio Cruz entered the lineup in the 9-hole on May 8, 1984. About a day later, he had completed 11 at bats, the most ever out of the 9 spot in the lineup. The game went 18 innings that night, then was suspended until the next day. After 7 more innings the following day, the game concluded when Harold Baines hit a walk-off home run. Cruz went 1-11 with 2 strikeouts. At least his team got the win. Other Fun Stuff I found something I am calling a xylophone game: 5IP, 4H, 3ER, 2K, 1BB, 0 HR. It's only happened four times. The last time was by Jimmy Jones on 9/24/1987. He lost that game 5-4. So... Wilkin Ramirez reached on catcher's interference during Sunday's game against Baltimore. This hadn't happened for a Twins player since 2008 when Brian Buscher reached in a September 16 game against the Angels. When these guys enter the Twins' Hall of Fame together, they should both tell their story of reaching base in the oddest way possible. No one walked more batters with the bases loaded than Nolan Ryan, who did so nine times. Mitch Williams walked a batter with the bases loaded seven times. I had the opportunity to look up how many innings each player pitched and found that Ryan threw 5386 innings and Williams threw 691.1 innings. If you extrapolate, Williams would have walked a batter with the bases loaded 54 times if he had pitched as long as Ryan. Or something like that. Cleatus Davidson stole a base in each of his first two MLB games. He never stole another base and only played in 10 more games. He ended his career with an OPS+ of -31. This seems like a good place to stop. The play index is entertaining. I hope you enjoyed the exact same things I enjoy. Brad Swanson is. Philosophy!

Hooray!

I'm certainly long-winded, but I can't write about everyone! Colabello has been very impressive so far. He doesn't have Arcia's track record, but has been great wherever he has played. I hope he makes it to Minnesota, it would be a great story.

From Mark Anderson: Scouting Report: Oswaldo Arcia (OF) | Baseball Prospect Nation

Hardy has always thrown like that, and he has an odd swing too. He is so slow. He seems like an oddly coordinated fellow.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins won the final two games of the weekend series and now sit at 4-2. They have won both series in this young season and now will head to Kansas City for three games. The starting pitching has been surprisingly good and the bullpen has been solid. The offense has produced some big hits. If everyone starts to hit consistently, the Twins' offense could be above-average. They have been fun to watch, which is not something I could have said honestly last season. Here are some other thoughts I have from the weekend: Aaron Hicks It seems that I have started each of my game thoughts about Hicks. I'm still not worried. Check this tweet from Jeremy Nygaard: Aaron Hicks started the year 2-for-40 with 13k's. No, not in 2013, that was 2010 for Beloit. Ended the season at .279. #MNTwins #patience — Jeremy Nygaard (@jeremynygaard) April 7, 2013 I have been saying for months that Hicks is known for getting off to slow starts and having issues adjusting to new levels. The jump from AA to MLB is the biggest jump he has faced, so some growing pains are to be expected. He looks a bit frustrated at the plate, but is also taking nice easy swings. On Sunday, in the 7th, he jumped on a first-pitch fastball and untied the game. It was a great at bat, even if it was only 1 pitch in length. It was probably my favorite moment from the game, as I want Hicks to break out so badly. Hicks after 6 games: .077/.143/.077 with 11 Ks and only 2 BBs. If this stretch had come in the middle of the season, and not the beginning, we'd probably hardly notice. The Twins should keep putting Hicks out there every day, in the leadoff spot and let him work through this rut. He has successfully adjusted to each new level, it just takes him some time. Pedro Florimon I'm quietly impressed with Pedro Florimon. He has an easy line-drive swing, good speed and great range at short. He's hitting .400 and drawing walks. While the sample is super small, his start has been encouraging. I wrote about Florimon's value a couple weeks ago. You can read it here. I maintain that if Florimon can even approach average offensive production, he will have much more value than we (as Twins fans) could have ever expected. Pedro Hernandez Hernandez made his Twins' debut on Sunday. He looked to be about what I was expecting. He doesn't throw hard, he tries to hit his spots and he pitches to contact. He did walk three batters, which is out of line with his Minor League production. If Hernandez can't post a very small walk rate, he pretty much has no chance for long-term success. He is just far too hittable and he doesn't miss many bats. Scott Diamond Scott Diamond threw his first and likely only rehab start in Fort Myers on Sunday. He went five innings, gave up six hits and four runs. He had three strikeouts and issued zero walks. He gave up a home run to Gregory Polanco, one of Pittsburgh's best prospects. All in all, I don't worry too much about results in a rehab start. Diamond needed a game to see if he was ready to join the Twins' rotation later this week and his healthy completion of the start is pretty much all I care about. Tyler Robertson On Friday, the Twins' brought Robertson in to face the white-hot Chris Davis, with the bases loaded and the game tied. Davis jumped on the first pitch and hit a grand slam that decided the game. Robertson was optioned to AAA the next day, but that move was more or less coming regardless of how Robertson pitched. Anthony Swarzak had recovered from his horseplay accident and was ready to join the bullpen. The pitch Robertson threw to Davis was located well, but had nothing on it. Robertson can work on getting his velocity back while down in AAA and likely will be back in Minnesota at some point. Oswaldo Arcia http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bVBRqlkpi34/UWHZW8BTI5I/AAAAAAAAAhM/VAH6bIM4muw/s320/OswaldoKing.jpg Need I say more? Other MLB thoughts Jose Fernandez Fernandez made his MLB debut on Sunday. The 20-year-old held the Mets to one run on three hits in five innings. He struck out eight while only issuing one walk. Fernandez has electric stuff and gets rave reviews for his makeup. He was extremely fun to watch on Sunday and should give Marlins fans a reason to tune in every five games. Tomorrow, Kevin Slowey starts for the Marlins. So... Clayton Kershaw I chose Stephen Strasburg as my NL Cy Young winner, just a couple weeks ago. I was wrong. For some reason, I forgot that Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the NL and might actually be the best pitcher in all of baseball. Through two starts, Kershaw hasn't given up a run in 16 innings pitched. He has only given up six hits and one walk. He has 16 strikeouts as well. We can ignore the small sample warnings with someone who has a track record like Kershaw's. Kershaw will win the NL Cy Young this year and I will be wrong. At least I figured it out quickly. Dexter Fowler I chose Wilson Ramos as the breakout player in the National League in that same post. He hit two home runs on Saturday, so not a bad choice. I really wanted to pick Dexter Fowler though. I just wasn't sure if he qualified as a breakout candidate. I have always thought he was a great player. Last season, Fowler posted a 123 wRC+. He posted a .300/.389/.474 triple slash, but he still seemed to fly under the radar. Perhaps it was the low home run totals? Well, he has three already this season. I'll wager that he hits 20-25 this season, posts another elite OBP and slugs close to .500. He's going to get more attention this season, so I guess that does make it a breakout. That's all I have for the weekend. Enjoy your week!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The Twins won the final two games of the weekend series and now sit at 4-2. They have won both series in this young season and now will head to Kansas City for three games. The starting pitching has been surprisingly good and the bullpen has been solid. The offense has produced some big hits. If everyone starts to hit consistently, the Twins' offense could be above-average. They have been fun to watch, which is not something I could have said honestly last season. Here are some other thoughts I have from the weekend: Aaron Hicks It seems that I have started each of my game thoughts about Hicks. I'm still not worried. Check this tweet from Jeremy Nygaard: Aaron Hicks started the year 2-for-40 with 13k's. No, not in 2013, that was 2010 for Beloit. Ended the season at .279. #MNTwins #patience — Jeremy Nygaard (@jeremynygaard) April 7, 2013 I have been saying for months that Hicks is known for getting off to slow starts and having issues adjusting to new levels. The jump from AA to MLB is the biggest jump he has faced, so some growing pains are to be expected. He looks a bit frustrated at the plate, but is also taking nice easy swings. On Sunday, in the 7th, he jumped on a first-pitch fastball and untied the game. It was a great at bat, even if it was only 1 pitch in length. It was probably my favorite moment from the game, as I want Hicks to break out so badly. Hicks after 6 games: .077/.143/.077 with 11 Ks and only 2 BBs. If this stretch had come in the middle of the season, and not the beginning, we'd probably hardly notice. The Twins should keep putting Hicks out there every day, in the leadoff spot and let him work through this rut. He has successfully adjusted to each new level, it just takes him some time. Pedro Florimon I'm quietly impressed with Pedro Florimon. He has an easy line-drive swing, good speed and great range at short. He's hitting .400 and drawing walks. While the sample is super small, his start has been encouraging. I wrote about Florimon's value a couple weeks ago. You can read it here. I maintain that if Florimon can even approach average offensive production, he will have much more value than we (as Twins fans) could have ever expected. Pedro Hernandez Hernandez made his Twins' debut on Sunday. He looked to be about what I was expecting. He doesn't throw hard, he tries to hit his spots and he pitches to contact. He did walk three batters, which is out of line with his Minor League production. If Hernandez can't post a very small walk rate, he pretty much has no chance for long-term success. He is just far too hittable and he doesn't miss many bats. Scott Diamond Scott Diamond threw his first and likely only rehab start in Fort Myers on Sunday. He went five innings, gave up six hits and four runs. He had three strikeouts and issued zero walks. He gave up a home run to Gregory Polanco, one of Pittsburgh's best prospects. All in all, I don't worry too much about results in a rehab start. Diamond needed a game to see if he was ready to join the Twins' rotation later this week and his healthy completion of the start is pretty much all I care about. Tyler Robertson On Friday, the Twins' brought Robertson in to face the white-hot Chris Davis, with the bases loaded and the game tied. Davis jumped on the first pitch and hit a grand slam that decided the game. Robertson was optioned to AAA the next day, but that move was more or less coming regardless of how Robertson pitched. Anthony Swarzak had recovered from his horseplay accident and was ready to join the bullpen. The pitch Robertson threw to Davis was located well, but had nothing on it. Robertson can work on getting his velocity back while down in AAA and likely will be back in Minnesota at some point. Oswaldo Arcia http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bVBRqlkpi34/UWHZW8BTI5I/AAAAAAAAAhM/VAH6bIM4muw/s320/OswaldoKing.jpg Need I say more? Other MLB thoughts Jose Fernandez Fernandez made his MLB debut on Sunday. The 20-year-old held the Mets to one run on three hits in five innings. He struck out eight while only issuing one walk. Fernandez has electric stuff and gets rave reviews for his makeup. He was extremely fun to watch on Sunday and should give Marlins fans a reason to tune in every five games. Tomorrow, Kevin Slowey starts for the Marlins. So... Clayton Kershaw I chose Stephen Strasburg as my NL Cy Young winner, just a couple weeks ago. I was wrong. For some reason, I forgot that Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the NL and might actually be the best pitcher in all of baseball. Through two starts, Kershaw hasn't given up a run in 16 innings pitched. He has only given up six hits and one walk. He has 16 strikeouts as well. We can ignore the small sample warnings with someone who has a track record like Kershaw's. Kershaw will win the NL Cy Young this year and I will be wrong. At least I figured it out quickly. Dexter Fowler I chose Wilson Ramos as the breakout player in the National League in that same post. He hit two home runs on Saturday, so not a bad choice. I really wanted to pick Dexter Fowler though. I just wasn't sure if he qualified as a breakout candidate. I have always thought he was a great player. Last season, Fowler posted a 123 wRC+. He posted a .300/.389/.474 triple slash, but he still seemed to fly under the radar. Perhaps it was the low home run totals? Well, he has three already this season. I'll wager that he hits 20-25 this season, posts another elite OBP and slugs close to .500. He's going to get more attention this season, so I guess that does make it a breakout. That's all I have for the weekend. Enjoy your week!