Brad Swanson

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2258-20-Twins-Trades-Ramos-for-a-Proven-Closer

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! If you want to read about the Carlos Gomez/JJ Hardy trade, just click here. Ok, let's all just try to be cool here. The Trade: BREAKDOWN! The Minnesota Twins traded Wilson Ramos, Joe Testa and cash to the Washington Nationals for Matt Capps. I'm not sure Twins fans remember this, but Capps was really good in 2010. He took over as closer and fired off 27 innings of 2 ERA. He saved 16 games down the stretch and helped the Twins make the playoffs. The problem was that he was declining already and the Twins didn't see it. He was much worse in 2011, seeing a huge drop in his strikeout rate. The Twins still didn't see it and signed him again for 2012. He was hurt and awful and hasn't pitched in the Majors since. Ramos is great when he's healthy. He has posted a 112 OPS+ with Washington, but he has only played 198 games in just over three seasons. I'd love to see what he could do in a full season. He's slugging almost .500 this year and is going to be a breakout candidate until he actually breaks out. Testa is playing independent ball now. The cash was reinvested into the organiz... Ha! I'm sorry, but that's just too funny to pass up. How did I feel at the time? I had mixed feelings. I actually liked Matt Capps. I "found" him back before he was a closer. In 2007, Salomon Torres was the Pirates' closer. I was a fantasy baseball player. We weren't a match. However, I knew Torres sucked, so I stashed this dude named Capps and hoped the Pirates would reach the same conclusion that I had. They did. However, I liked Ramos too. I did feel he was somewhat redundant with Joe Mauer signed forever and awesome. So, I liked the idea of getting value for Ramos and I liked Capps. I was wrong. Why make the trade? The Twins are a very traditional team. If there is a traditional role to fill, they will fill it. As such, the Twins needed a "proven closer" for the 2010 stretch run. Or at least, that is what this ESPN.com article indicates: "The motivation is that this makes us a better club," said general manager Bill Smith, whose Twins trail the Chicago White Sox by 1½ games in the AL Central. "This gives us more depth in the back of that bullpen. Matt Capps is an established, veteran closer who is going to give us a better chance to win our division and advance to the World Series." I can't imagine a world where Matt Capps makes a team a World Series contender. Jon Rauch had closed for the first half and had done a really nice job. There was really no need to trade for a closer. Any right-handed bullpen arm would have made the team stronger. Unfortunately, a "closer" carries more weight than a "good reliever who doesn't close." Thus, Ramos was sent away. Weak. "Jon Rauch stepped up and has been phenomenal for us," Smith said. "This gives us three quality, veteran guys late in the game. I can't say enough great things about what Jon Rauch has contributed to this club and we expect him to continue to be a huge contributor to our success." This quote doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If Rauch had been phenomenal, then it would stand to reason that trading a prized catching prospect to replace him falls in the "bad idea jeans" category. This is especially true when you consider... "He's a tremendous talent and he's got a bright future," Smith said. "Anytime you're going to get an All-Star closer, you have to give up a good player. It was a tough decision, but one we felt we had to make." I do agree that you have to get to give, but this give was too much for what they wanted to get. The addition of Ramos to a talented young core led by ace Stephen Strasburg gives the Nationals the flexibility to move slugging catcher Bryce Harper, the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft, into the outfield. Well now that just seems unfair. Analysis This is another trade that looks terrible on paper but the idea isn't completely insane. Deal from strength to improve the team. However, trading a 22-year-old catcher with big upside for one of the least impressive closers in baseball is just not worthwhile. Ramos is probably going to be providing Washington with value for the next 5-6 seasons. Even if he does remain injury prone, he'll be good when he can play. He'd be a perfect player in the Twins' Ryan Doumit role, but alas, it was not meant to be. This is the danger in worrying about a "proven closer." The title carries more weight than it should. If you put a good pitcher in the 9th inning, they will likely still be a good pitcher. If you take a pretty good pitcher and call them a "closer," they become more valuable than they really are as a player. Matt Capps isn't a proven closer any more than Jon Rauch, but if you give him enough save opportunities, he becomes one. I guess that's just how baseball works, but it certainly clouded the Twins' judgment in this case. Who won the WAR? Capps with the Twins: 2.0 WAR Ramos with the Nationals: 4.2 WAR WAR won by the Nationals! One Sentence Summary Fantasy baseball is a terrible way to learn about players.

Yeah, that's true. I tend to fixate on one player and loathe him regardless of what he actually accomplishes. It's a personality defect.

Thanks! Perhaps you would find this site more to your liking: http://smartpitcher.blogspot.com/

Blast! Although, most good rants ignore any semblance of reality, so it's cool.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2241-Monday-Morning-Madness-August-19-2013

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Over the past week, the Twins offense has been inconsistent, their starting pitching has been up and down and their bullpen has started blowing leads. It's almost like this isn't a very good team. This weekend, the Twins had a lot more trouble with the lowly White Sox at home. This would be troubling, but the last three seasons have been troubling so I'm not sure we can feasibly add any additional trouble at this point. On the plus side, the Twins play most of their games at 6pm or earlier this week, ensuring that I get to bed by 9pm like a good boy. Casey Fien So Casey Fien sucks now, right? In his last three appearances, Fien has given up seven earned runs, raising his ERA from 2.61 to 3.71. He's getting worked over by home runs, but he struck out more than a batter per inning and didn't issue a walk during that tiny sample. Basically, we can all chill out. Unless this home run problem persists for a couple weeks, this is just a blip on the ol' radar. If we thought Fien was good a week ago, we should still feel the same way right now. Chris Colabello .273/.415/.485. That was Chris Colabello's triple slash in August. That performance was apparently not good enough to keep an MLB job. Once again, the Twins seem more concerned with having a lot of mediocre to bad players on the bench, rather than having potentially productive players in the lineup. The Twins basically chose to keep Chris Herrmann as a third catcher/Andrew Albers caddy, Wilkin Ramirez as a backup centerfielder, and Clete Thomas as a human. I would bet a bajillion dollars that Colabello would out-produce those three scrubs from this point on. However, he doesn't produce some veiled positional flexibility, so he's out. This makes no sense on a bad team. No Sano in September? Terry Ryan was quoted this week basically saying that there is little-to-no chance that Miguel Sano gets a September call-up this season. I don't disagree with that decision, but why state it publicly? Wouldn't the anticipation of Sano's potential debut be something to keep fans engaged as this uneventful season winds down? Granted, come September 1 all the hope would die, but does this need to be ruled out in mid-August? It really doesn't matter a lot, but it seems like a bad PR move. What if Sano hits .450 with 10 home runs to end his season with New Britain? It's unlikely, but he could probably do it. Just odd to me. Clete Thomas Clete Thomas in August: .230/.309/..328. That's markedly better than his July, by the way. Question - Does this guy ever get a legitimate hit? Every time I see him actually make contact, it's some sort of blooper or he reaches his bat out and pokes it to left or he bunts and the ball hits his bat twice. I don't want to continually bag on Thomas, but I'm going to. Everyone has their whipping boy. Time for fun and madness instead of complaining and sadness. Half-hearted Mini-Rant I would like to present to you the newest feature in the Madness, a rant that I'm not really all that into: Why was Oswaldo Arcia on the bench on Friday and Saturday? Doesn't this kid need to play every day? Please don't tell me it was because he was facing "tough lefties" either. Chris Sale is tough, but Jose Quintana is not. How will he improve against lefties on the bench? Also, please don't tell me this is some concentrated ploy to keep Wilkin Ramirez fresh or to keep Clete Thomas' "hot bat" in the lineup. You can sit either one of those guys for 5 years straight and guess what, they'd be totally ready to come in and not produce. Trust me, when you need Clete Thomas to come in and go 0-4 with three Ks, he'll be ready. In fact, I created this flow chart to help the Twins make better decisions in this area: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G6O-NH45C_I/UhEa3uZusKI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/0PEa0_Mc3vw/s320/arciaflowchart.png It's not rocket science. End rant. Fun Stat - Most innings with no starts The Twins are about 75% through the season and Anthony Swarzak has thrown about 75 innings. That puts him on pace for 100 innings pitched. Math! Throwing that many innings in relief is a bit of a lost art. In fact, in this millennium, it has only been done six times, usually by guys named Scott or Scot. Here's the list of guys Swarzak could potentially join: Steve Sparks 2003 - 107.0 Scott Sullivan 2000 - 106.1 Scot Shields 2004 - 105.1 Guillermo Mota 2003 - 105.0 Scott Sullivan 2001 - 103.1 Scott Proctor 2006 - 102.1 Random Photoshop - Walk-off I've grown tired of traditional baseball celebrations. I find the "beat the holy hell out of the hero" celebration to be the worst. There's nothing more annoying that watching Clete Thomas try to throw rabbit punches at Chris Herrmann. To me, celebrations are stale and need to be revamped. Celebrations don't need to be huge productions. Sometimes, it is just a minor touch. Look how much better the famous Jim Thome walk-off celebration looks on silly hat night: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EKrvF3xdrjQ/UhEbNZh6sYI/AAAAAAAAA4g/WI6ZvTDBg4I/s320/walkoffhats.jpg Look how happy Joe Mauer is! Baseball Card from the Past Senior Photo! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZZhT-jcdSI/UhEbVOvwlXI/AAAAAAAAA4o/_2VbUxqy-1Q/s320/ledeecard.jpg Link to something I wrote - Anniversary I realized over the weekend that I had been maintaining this "blog" for a year now. As a blog-guy, it is my duty to celebrate milestones with posts that will generate more views. It's a snake eating itself really, but it's all in fun. I threw together a list of my five most OUTRAGEOUS posts from the past year and some fun pictures/photoshops as well. You can find it here. Parting Thought - Thanks TD To accompany the previous section, I wanted to give a huge thank you to Twins Daily for the past year. First, thank you to the site leaders who have put together a fantastic site where everyone can contribute. I appreciate it every time I see one of my posts on the front page, even if I don't always say it. Really, I appreciate just being able to have a blog here, even if nothing ever touched the front page. Without Twins Daily, I would have never written a word on the Twins. So, now you know who to blame if you've ever wished I'd shut up. Second, thank you to the whole Twins Daily community. I enjoy being a part of this community. I wish I could post more and comment more, but I read just about everything. People are very supportive of each others' ideas and thoughts and very encouraging when someone new arrives and weighs in. I've told just about every Twins fan I know about Twins Daily and I will continue to do so. End sap. Have a nice week, everyone!

100% agree. It was senseless timing.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2234-20-Twins-Trades-Goodbye-Johan

Personally, I'd DFA Clete Thomas and deal with the shoddy defense in center from Ramirez/Herrmann. But then, my answer to just about any question is "DFA Clete Thomas."

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I also wrote about the Carl Pavano mustache trade earlier this week. You can read it here. Ok, I'm going to need a second. It's just... it's hard to talk about this one. I mean... it's Johan. He was my favorite... PLAYER! BLAHAWAAWA! I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I can't do it! I'M JUST SO UPSET. I MEAN, HE'S JOHAN SANTANA, WHY DID THE TWINS HAVE TO TRADE HIM AWAY?!? ... YOU'RE CRYING! ... NO! JUST LEAVE ME... I DON'T NEED TO BLOW MY NOSE! OH JOHAN, WHY?!?!? The Trade: BREAKDOWN! The Minnesota Twins traded Johan Santana to the New York Mets for Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. Johan Santana is the greatest. Santana was fantastic for the Mets from 2008-2010. He was robbed of the Cy Young Award in 2008, much like he was robbed in 2005. He should really have four Cy Youngs. Four! There were some signs of decline in 2010 and then he missed all of 2011 with an injury. He returned last season but succumbed to another injury in 2013 and may need to retire at the age of 33. That makes me a sad panda. Carlos Gomez seemed like the kind of guy who might round the bases the wrong way, if you just let him do his thing. He was an exciting player though. He flashed power and speed and was always an excellent defender. Humber and Mulvey were nothing special and have done nothing special. Nope, neither guy has done anything special ever. Especially Humber. Nothing special. Guerra was viewed as the crown jewel of the trade, but has yet to pitch an MLB inning and it is looking more and more like he never will. So, that's all a bummer. How did I feel at the time? Awful. We all knew this trade was coming. In fact, it had been a long time coming. Santana was upset as far back as the second Luis Castillo trade, which was as hard to swallow as the second Bald Bull was to knock down. The rumors had been floating around for such a long time and so many different players were involved that it almost seemed like it would never actually happen. Of course, with Santana's contract running out, time was running out on getting value for one of the best pitchers in Twins' history. I felt awful, but I moved on. But man, sanding that Santana tattoo off of me hurt like crazy. Why make the trade? We all remember this trade and the hoopla vividly, so I'm not going to bombard you with quotes. I did find some good stuff from this ESPN.com article that was written just prior to the trade actually occurring: "If Santana agrees to a deal -- and it is thought he will seek a six-year, $150 million contract -- then he also would have to pass a physical. In return for Santana, the Twins would receive center fielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra -- a package which some talent evaluators believe could be the fourth-best offer that Minnesota received during this process." In the Wild Card era, the fourth-best team usually makes the playoffs. So there. In reality, the Twins delayed this process so much that some of their Johan suitors dropped out. Which is exactly what you want in a bidding war. Mets third baseman David Wright was ecstatic about Santana possibly joining the team "If it's true, obviously, you're getting arguably the best pitcher in the game," Wright said, according to AP. Is it possible that Bill Smith made this trade entirely with the focus on making David Wright happy? If so, that certainly changes my perception on how successful this trade was. David Wright aside, perhaps the other packages were filled with garbage: In early December, the Yankees had offered a package built around pitcher Phil Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera, and the Red Sox talked about two separate deals, one built around left-hander Jon Lester and the other around center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, with pitcher Justin Masterson and infielder Jed Lowrie prominently involved. Well, I've never heard of any of those players, so clearly this article is stupid. If we're going to be serious, the Twins should have taken the Lester package. He's been up and down, but he is also the closest to Santana that the Twins could have received in return. Hindsight is nice. So is opportunity: With Santana gone, there is a big opening in the Twins' rotation. Francisco Liriano is on track to return after missing last season following elbow surgery, but Carlos Silva signed with Seattle as a free agent, leaving youngsters Scott Baker, Boof Bonser and Kevin Slowey as the starters with the most experience. What we didn't know when this article was written is that the Twins were planning to sign Livan Hernandez to join those studs in the rotation. Of course, that signing directly lead to the Great Chocolate Bunny shortage of 2008, so it wasn't a total win. We've read about how this trade will affect the Twins' rotation, but how will it affect Joe Mauer? "Joe Mauer's job, and my job, just got a lot tougher," backup catcher Mike Redmond said. "We're going to have to work a lot harder to help these guys out the best we can." Upon completing this sentence, Redmond took his pants off, put his cup on his head like a tiny beret and went and took batting practice. Just like he did every day. Analysis Disgruntled superstar trades kind of suck. First, there is a limited market for such a devastating and therefore, expensive player. Second, the other team knows that the trading team is desperate to move the unhappy player and can make low-ball offers. Finally, unhappy players are often unhappy for legitimate reasons. In this case, Santana was upset that the Twins were cheap and only thought of the future. In some ways, he was right, although the Twins did offer him $20 million per season on a couple occasions. Therefore, the player packages were going to be prospect heavy and were going to come from just a few teams. The Yankees had some fun prospects, but apparently none that fully intrigued the Twins. The Red Sox had two elite prospects, but rightfully did not want to part with both. The Dodgers were offering Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, but the Twins passed. That's not true, but I definitely remember it that way and lie to people about it to this day. In the end, the Mets offered three starting pitching prospects, one with very high upside, and an outfielder who could "go get it." The package was reasonable, but the players didn't pan out at all. Very sad. The impact of the trade was felt immediately in 2008 as the Twins lost to the White Sox in Game 163, thus missing the playoffs by one game. You will never convince me that having Santana on that 2008 team wouldn't have added at least one win to the Twins' total. Never! Who won the WAR? Santana with the Mets: 15.2 WAR Gomez with the Twins: 2.6 WAR Mulvey with the Twins: 0.0 WAR Humber with the Twins: -0.1 WAR WAR won by the Mets! One Analogy Summary Say you have a hundred dollars and you want to cut down to smaller bills. One friend is going to give you two fifties. One friend is offering five twenties. Another friend is offering a fifty, a twenty and three tens. One friend is offering you a twenty, a used postage stamp, Kevin Mulvey and some sidewalk chalk. Which deal do you take? And yes, I am aware that Philip Humber pitched a perfect game. I like jokes.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2220-Monday-Morning-Madness-August-12-2013

Agreed. It's hard to remember, but Young was widely considered a potential .300/30Hr/100RBI hitter and some thought he would do that consistently for a decade. Obviously, many were very wrong about Young, but at the time, the trade made sense.

Depends on how much you love Bugs Bunny.

Monday Morning Madness - August 12, 2013 - Blogs - Minnesota Twins News & Rumors Forum Done

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Over the course of consecutive weekends, the Twins have proved that they can defeat teams of the quality of the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox. I'm not sure what that means, but I guess it could signify that the Twins have vacated their position within the dregs of the league; a position they had held for the prior two seasons. Whatever the wins mean in the cosmos, they are enjoyable for us fans no matter what. Why is there no baseball hump when teams improve slightly? Morneau's Power and Trade Value? Justin Morneau has had a hot August, boosting his slugging percentage up to almost .430 and adding a few dingers along the way. As a result, he may be boosting his trade value as well. Although, while he has had a recent power surge, he hasn't really hit all that much differently, as he hasn't raised his batting average or OBP. It's hard to imagine that a 2-3 week "hot stretch" would do much to his perceived value, but as a Twins fan, I guess I hope it has. It's somewhat sad that Morneau's Twins career has reached this stage, but getting value for Morneau is likely best for the Twins' future. Liam Hendriks Hendriks was recalled for the second game of Friday's doubleheader and I thought he looked pretty good. He gave up a couple solo home runs, but mostly avoided damage as he navigated a semi-decent White Sox lineup. The TV broadcasters seemed somewhat surprised with Hendriks' performance. I guess I was too. I was most surprised to see him actually pitching with the Twins. I hope he gets a few more starts this season as well. Hendriks isn't likely to be much different than he has been, but I still think he can become a fifth starter. That upside is higher than some of the other guys who have gotten starts this season, so why not? Would you pick up Correia's option? Obviously, Kevin Correia does not have an option, so this is a hypothetical. Correia pitched well on Sunday, but has been mostly awful since his solid April. If the Twins held a 2014 team option for Correia, at that same $5 million, would you pick it up? We know that he can give the team innings and we know that the Twins are unlikely to sign anyone better, so would Correia be worth another season, if the Twins had that choice? I'd probably bring him back, as much as I don't enjoy watching him pitch. If he could at least give the Twins a decent first half in 2014, he might be worth it. According to FanGraphs, Correia has been worth $4.5 million this season, even with some really poor performances in May and July. Madness? Fun Stat - Better than a cycle The cycle is a fun occurrence. When a player hits for the cycle, there is recognition and applause and praise and general excitement and then sometimes pies. However, there are non-cycles that are actually much more impressive and impactful than an actual cycle. We remember the cycles that we have seen: Kirby Puckett's, Jason Kubel's, Carlos Gomez's... Rod Carew, Michael Cuddyer, Larry Hisle, etc. However, do you remember Rich Becker's July 13, 1996 game? In that game, Becker went 4-6, had a double, triple and TWO home runs. He didn't hit a single, instead adding a second home run. So, which game was better? Which game is more rare? Rarity is certainly on Becker's side. There have been 10 cycles in Twins' history, but Becker's feat has never been replicated. Fun! WE HAVE A TRADE! Jamey Carroll was sent away on Sunday. He will join the Royals and he and Miguel Tejada can talk about how prohibition affected their lives. The Carroll trade will not be revisited in years to come, but it does show that the Twins are serious about getting money improving for the future. If nothing else, the team has a 40-man spot open and can finally get Nick Blackburn back onto the active roster without disrupting the rest of the team or losing a Joe Benson-type player. I can't really even tell if I am serious about anything Twins related anymore. Random Photoshop - Arcia Gnome There was a fun article on Twins Daily about possible promotions and giveaways that the Twins could employ. I agreed with all of the possible giveaways and hope the Twins will use some of the ideas. In the comments, John Bonnes requested an Oswaldo Arcia Garden Gnome. So, this is my thank you to John for all the articles that he has promoted on Twins Daily for me: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zjf49Ise18U/UgjpVWqnMaI/AAAAAAAAA3s/AFJiOyW1JxU/s320/gnomearciayellow.jpg Of course, he asked for someone with good photoshop skills, so that offer is still wide open. Former Twin Update - Tsuyoshi Nishioka Back in 2010, in Nishioka's final season with Chiba Lotte, he posted a .346/.423/.482 triple slash and earned a sweet contract from the Twins to come play in the Majors. We have all suppressed what happened next, but Nishioka returned to Japan for the 2013 season and many thought he would return to glory in the Japanese League. I think we broke him permanently. He currently has a .275/.340/.362 triple slash with no power and no speed. At least he will go down as a punch line in Twins' history. Random Top 5 List - Top 5 wRC+ (similar to OPS+ but better) in the last 30 days (100 is average) Brian Dozier - 129 Joe Mauer - 128 Chris Colabello - 117 Justin Morneau - 115 Ryan Doumit - 108 By the way - Trevor Plouffe - 14. Gross. Links to Something I wrote - HOF Stuff I wrote about current players who I think will one day be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. I looked at older and younger players and you can click those words to get to the posts. If you disagree with my thoughts, please give me a call. I can't keep getting away with terrible takes. Parting Thought This is a huge stretch for the Twins! 16 of their next 17 games are against Central opponents. If the Twins are going to get back into this thing, they need to win 30-35 of those 16 games. If the Twins can somehow pull off that feat, they will be right there with the leaders of this division. I'm confident. As they say, stranger things have happened. Have a nice week, everyone!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Over the course of consecutive weekends, the Twins have proved that they can defeat teams of the quality of the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox. I'm not sure what that means, but I guess it could signify that the Twins have vacated their position within the dregs of the league; a position they had held for the prior two seasons. Whatever the wins mean in the cosmos, they are enjoyable for us fans no matter what. Why is there no baseball hump when teams improve slightly? Morneau's Power and Trade Value? Justin Morneau has had a hot August, boosting his slugging percentage up to almost .430 and adding a few dingers along the way. As a result, he may be boosting his trade value as well. Although, while he has had a recent power surge, he hasn't really hit all that much differently, as he hasn't raised his batting average or OBP. It's hard to imagine that a 2-3 week "hot stretch" would do much to his perceived value, but as a Twins fan, I guess I hope it has. It's somewhat sad that Morneau's Twins career has reached this stage, but getting value for Morneau is likely best for the Twins' future. Liam Hendriks Hendriks was recalled for the second game of Friday's doubleheader and I thought he looked pretty good. He gave up a couple solo home runs, but mostly avoided damage as he navigated a semi-decent White Sox lineup. The TV broadcasters seemed somewhat surprised with Hendriks' performance. I guess I was too. I was most surprised to see him actually pitching with the Twins. I hope he gets a few more starts this season as well. Hendriks isn't likely to be much different than he has been, but I still think he can become a fifth starter. That upside is higher than some of the other guys who have gotten starts this season, so why not? Would you pick up Correia's option? Obviously, Kevin Correia does not have an option, so this is a hypothetical. Correia pitched well on Sunday, but has been mostly awful since his solid April. If the Twins held a 2014 team option for Correia, at that same $5 million, would you pick it up? We know that he can give the team innings and we know that the Twins are unlikely to sign anyone better, so would Correia be worth another season, if the Twins had that choice? I'd probably bring him back, as much as I don't enjoy watching him pitch. If he could at least give the Twins a decent first half in 2014, he might be worth it. According to FanGraphs, Correia has been worth $4.5 million this season, even with some really poor performances in May and July. Madness? Fun Stat - Better than a cycle The cycle is a fun occurrence. When a player hits for the cycle, there is recognition and applause and praise and general excitement and then sometimes pies. However, there are non-cycles that are actually much more impressive and impactful than an actual cycle. We remember the cycles that we have seen: Kirby Puckett's, Jason Kubel's, Carlos Gomez's... Rod Carew, Michael Cuddyer, Larry Hisle, etc. However, do you remember Rich Becker's July 13, 1996 game? In that game, Becker went 4-6, had a double, triple and TWO home runs. He didn't hit a single, instead adding a second home run. So, which game was better? Which game is more rare? Rarity is certainly on Becker's side. There have been 10 cycles in Twins' history, but Becker's feat has never been replicated. Fun! WE HAVE A TRADE! Jamey Carroll was sent away on Sunday. He will join the Royals and he and Miguel Tejada can talk about how prohibition affected their lives. The Carroll trade will not be revisited in years to come, but it does show that the Twins are serious about getting money improving for the future. If nothing else, the team has a 40-man spot open and can finally get Nick Blackburn back onto the active roster without disrupting the rest of the team or losing a Joe Benson-type player. I can't really even tell if I am serious about anything Twins related anymore. Random Photoshop - Arcia Gnome There was a fun article on Twins Daily about possible promotions and giveaways that the Twins could employ. I agreed with all of the possible giveaways and hope the Twins will use some of the ideas. In the comments, John Bonnes requested an Oswaldo Arcia Garden Gnome. So, this is my thank you to John for all the articles that he has promoted on Twins Daily for me: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zjf49Ise18U/UgjpVWqnMaI/AAAAAAAAA3s/AFJiOyW1JxU/s320/gnomearciayellow.jpg Of course, he asked for someone with good photoshop skills, so that offer is still wide open. Former Twin Update - Tsuyoshi Nishioka Back in 2010, in Nishioka's final season with Chiba Lotte, he posted a .346/.423/.482 triple slash and earned a sweet contract from the Twins to come play in the Majors. We have all suppressed what happened next, but Nishioka returned to Japan for the 2013 season and many thought he would return to glory in the Japanese League. I think we broke him permanently. He currently has a .275/.340/.362 triple slash with no power and no speed. At least he will go down as a punch line in Twins' history. Random Top 5 List - Top 5 wRC+ (similar to OPS+ but better) in the last 30 days (100 is average) Brian Dozier - 129 Joe Mauer - 128 Chris Colabello - 117 Justin Morneau - 115 Ryan Doumit - 108 By the way - Trevor Plouffe - 14. Gross. Links to Something I wrote - HOF Stuff I wrote about current players who I think will one day be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. I looked at older and younger players and you can click those words to get to the posts. If you disagree with my thoughts, please give me a call. I can't keep getting away with terrible takes. Parting Thought This is a huge stretch for the Twins! 16 of their next 17 games are against Central opponents. If the Twins are going to get back into this thing, they need to win 30-35 of those 16 games. If the Twins can somehow pull off that feat, they will be right there with the leaders of this division. I'm confident. As they say, stranger things have happened. Have a nice week, everyone!

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2208-20-Twins-Trades-Garza-and-Bartlett-for-Delmon-Young

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I also wrote about the J.C. Romero trade this week. Yep, that famous trade. If you ever wondered how much I despise Romero, it won't take you long to figure it out. ​It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Twins would trade a promising young starting pitcher for a young stud hitter. However, back in 2007, that very scenario played out. While the trade did not work out for the Twins, the idea may not have been completely off-base. Of course, if the jewel of the trade was able to get on-base more, that may have helped. The Trade: BREAKDOWN! The Minnesota Twins traded Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie. Young spent nearly four seasons with the Twins, posting a .287/.234/.429 triple slash. That works out to a 103 OPS. Not bad, but not what the Twins were looking for when they dealt Garza. Even in 2010, when Young provided good offensive value, that positive value was completely offset by putrid fielding. Harris was once labeled a "doubles machine" by a very stupid blogger/person writing this right now, but wasn't a very good player for a machine. Jason Pridie played 11 games for the Twins. Garza has been an average or better pitcher since he left the Twins. He gave the Rays two good seasons, one average season and then the Rays used him to acquire a package of prospects that included Chris Archer. Bartlett may have been the hidden jewel of the trade, providing the Rays with 10.0 WAR over the next three seasons. As the Rays are wont to do, they dispatched Bartlett once his value was used up. Morlan never reached the Majors. How did I feel at the time? I was furious. I loved Matt Garza. His debut was electric. He was young and seemed to represent a bit of a departure from the Twins' Radke-style pitchers of old. I loved Brad Radke too, don't get me wrong, but the Twins seemed hell-bent on replicating that success and finding a new Radke. Radke is rare, man. Garza was a fireballer and he was a spit-fire and he was other things related to flames as well. A flamethrower. Although, Delmon Young was on the cover of my 2005 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, so that soothed my fire. Not Garza's though. Why make the trade? All along, the Twins said that they wanted a clumsy outfielder who could get drunk and spout off bigoted remarks. Wait. This ESPN.com story explains it better: "Coming into the offseason our first priority was to improve our offense," new Twins general manager Bill Smith said. "We took a hit last week when Torii left, but Delmon Young has been the guy we've been targeting since the end of the season. We feel he is the best bat available, and we're excited to get him." It was not crazy at the time. It seemed reasonable that Young could replace Hunter's bat. The outfield defense was another story, but he was young and athletic. Well, when he stayed slim anyway. At least he was a good dude: Young, however, has a hotheaded history for a 22-year-old. The first overall pick in the 2003 draft famously flipped his bat into the chest of a Triple-A umpire in 2006 and received a 50-game suspension for that. He got a three-game ban in 2005 for bumping an umpire in Double-A. So... Of course, this was all very easy to explain: "He's got one bad incident on his record. He made a terrible mistake," Smith said. "We've done a lot of work on his makeup, and we've had an awful lot of people tell us he's a very good teammate, he's a fierce competitor, he wants to win, and he's the first one to arrive at the ballpark every day." I wonder how many umpires Smith talked to. The Rays were happy with their new toys: "He's a guy we project to get a lot better quickly," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "We feel like we strengthened two areas of need, shortstop and starting pitching." 18.5 combined WAR over three years would seem to qualify under the category of "strengthened." Plus, Garza and Bartlett were later traded for about 50 prospects. Friedman also noted an old adage: "The trade is about the present, not the future. We're a better ballclub because of this deal," Friedman said. "To get good young players you have to give up something good, and that's what we did." Upon reading this, Delmon Young immediately tripped over his shoes and fell in a swimming pool. Garza chimed in with a quote: "He's ready to roll. That's what I like to hear. He made me feel at home, and all I can feel is that things are pointed on the up and up," Garza said from his home in Fresno, Calif. "It'll be fun to see how it plays out." Well that's just a bunch of nonsense. Is that how they talk in Fresno? But wait, the Rays can't get all the credit for this trade: Friedman called the right-handed Morlan "one of the best young bullpen prospects out there." Ha! Nice scouting, idiot! You only traded Delmon Young and Brendan Harris for two good players, not three! What a maroon! See, the Rays aren't perfect. Analysis Again, I don't disagree with the premise behind this trade. The 2008 rotation could have been reasonably projected to include promising young starters like Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Matt Garza, Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins. Stop laughing; you stop laughing right now! The Twins offense wasn't great and was going to take a step backward with the midseason trade of Luis Castillo and then Torii Hunter's departure. Trading one of the young arms for a young bat was a logical idea. The players involved just weren't quite right. Garza was probably the best pitcher and possibly the best pitching prospect of the seven listed above. In addition, Garza has been the best pitcher since that trade, although that knowledge comes with the benefit of hindsight. Garza was also a bit of a loose cannon and may have been considered to be emotionally unstable (his recent Twitter rampage would back that idea up a bit). Delmon Young was considered a top notch hitting prospect. He was said to be a power/average guy with surprising speed. He did have surprising speed, I guess. The logic is there. The execution failed. What if we could substitute Ben Zobrist and Nick Blackburn for Young and Garza? What if we could invent a device that helps us travel back in time to stop ill-advised trades? What if we could make fuel out of ice cream? What if? Of course, there is the separate issue of the Twins not recognizing Jason Bartlett's value. Although, who is to say the Rays make this trade without Bartlett included? Who won the WAR? Garza for the Rays: 8.5 WAR Bartlett for the Rays: 10.0 WAR Young for the Twins: 0.9 WAR Harris for the Twins: -0.6 WAR Pridie for the Twins: -0.2 WAR WAR won by the Rays! Ouch. One Sentence Summary I mean, seriously, if we could fuel cars with ice cream, we could eat the fuel and solve the energy crisis at the same time.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I also wrote about the J.C. Romero trade this week. Yep, that famous trade. If you ever wondered how much I despise Romero, it won't take you long to figure it out. ​It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Twins would trade a promising young starting pitcher for a young stud hitter. However, back in 2007, that very scenario played out. While the trade did not work out for the Twins, the idea may not have been completely off-base. Of course, if the jewel of the trade was able to get on-base more, that may have helped. The Trade: BREAKDOWN! The Minnesota Twins traded Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie. Young spent nearly four seasons with the Twins, posting a .287/.234/.429 triple slash. That works out to a 103 OPS. Not bad, but not what the Twins were looking for when they dealt Garza. Even in 2010, when Young provided good offensive value, that positive value was completely offset by putrid fielding. Harris was once labeled a "doubles machine" by a very stupid blogger/person writing this right now, but wasn't a very good player for a machine. Jason Pridie played 11 games for the Twins. Garza has been an average or better pitcher since he left the Twins. He gave the Rays two good seasons, one average season and then the Rays used him to acquire a package of prospects that included Chris Archer. Bartlett may have been the hidden jewel of the trade, providing the Rays with 10.0 WAR over the next three seasons. As the Rays are wont to do, they dispatched Bartlett once his value was used up. Morlan never reached the Majors. How did I feel at the time? I was furious. I loved Matt Garza. His debut was electric. He was young and seemed to represent a bit of a departure from the Twins' Radke-style pitchers of old. I loved Brad Radke too, don't get me wrong, but the Twins seemed hell-bent on replicating that success and finding a new Radke. Radke is rare, man. Garza was a fireballer and he was a spit-fire and he was other things related to flames as well. A flamethrower. Although, Delmon Young was on the cover of my 2005 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, so that soothed my fire. Not Garza's though. Why make the trade? All along, the Twins said that they wanted a clumsy outfielder who could get drunk and spout off bigoted remarks. Wait. This ESPN.com story explains it better: "Coming into the offseason our first priority was to improve our offense," new Twins general manager Bill Smith said. "We took a hit last week when Torii left, but Delmon Young has been the guy we've been targeting since the end of the season. We feel he is the best bat available, and we're excited to get him." It was not crazy at the time. It seemed reasonable that Young could replace Hunter's bat. The outfield defense was another story, but he was young and athletic. Well, when he stayed slim anyway. At least he was a good dude: Young, however, has a hotheaded history for a 22-year-old. The first overall pick in the 2003 draft famously flipped his bat into the chest of a Triple-A umpire in 2006 and received a 50-game suspension for that. He got a three-game ban in 2005 for bumping an umpire in Double-A. So... Of course, this was all very easy to explain: "He's got one bad incident on his record. He made a terrible mistake," Smith said. "We've done a lot of work on his makeup, and we've had an awful lot of people tell us he's a very good teammate, he's a fierce competitor, he wants to win, and he's the first one to arrive at the ballpark every day." I wonder how many umpires Smith talked to. The Rays were happy with their new toys: "He's a guy we project to get a lot better quickly," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "We feel like we strengthened two areas of need, shortstop and starting pitching." 18.5 combined WAR over three years would seem to qualify under the category of "strengthened." Plus, Garza and Bartlett were later traded for about 50 prospects. Friedman also noted an old adage: "The trade is about the present, not the future. We're a better ballclub because of this deal," Friedman said. "To get good young players you have to give up something good, and that's what we did." Upon reading this, Delmon Young immediately tripped over his shoes and fell in a swimming pool. Garza chimed in with a quote: "He's ready to roll. That's what I like to hear. He made me feel at home, and all I can feel is that things are pointed on the up and up," Garza said from his home in Fresno, Calif. "It'll be fun to see how it plays out." Well that's just a bunch of nonsense. Is that how they talk in Fresno? But wait, the Rays can't get all the credit for this trade: Friedman called the right-handed Morlan "one of the best young bullpen prospects out there." Ha! Nice scouting, idiot! You only traded Delmon Young and Brendan Harris for two good players, not three! What a maroon! See, the Rays aren't perfect. Analysis Again, I don't disagree with the premise behind this trade. The 2008 rotation could have been reasonably projected to include promising young starters like Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Matt Garza, Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins. Stop laughing; you stop laughing right now! The Twins offense wasn't great and was going to take a step backward with the midseason trade of Luis Castillo and then Torii Hunter's departure. Trading one of the young arms for a young bat was a logical idea. The players involved just weren't quite right. Garza was probably the best pitcher and possibly the best pitching prospect of the seven listed above. In addition, Garza has been the best pitcher since that trade, although that knowledge comes with the benefit of hindsight. Garza was also a bit of a loose cannon and may have been considered to be emotionally unstable (his recent Twitter rampage would back that idea up a bit). Delmon Young was considered a top notch hitting prospect. He was said to be a power/average guy with surprising speed. He did have surprising speed, I guess. The logic is there. The execution failed. What if we could substitute Ben Zobrist and Nick Blackburn for Young and Garza? What if we could invent a device that helps us travel back in time to stop ill-advised trades? What if we could make fuel out of ice cream? What if? Of course, there is the separate issue of the Twins not recognizing Jason Bartlett's value. Although, who is to say the Rays make this trade without Bartlett included? Who won the WAR? Garza for the Rays: 8.5 WAR Bartlett for the Rays: 10.0 WAR Young for the Twins: 0.9 WAR Harris for the Twins: -0.6 WAR Pridie for the Twins: -0.2 WAR WAR won by the Rays! Ouch. One Sentence Summary I mean, seriously, if we could fuel cars with ice cream, we could eat the fuel and solve the energy crisis at the same time.