Brad Swanson

Aaron Hicks is still a future leadoff hitter, possibly as early as later this season. Mauer would be great in that spot too, but I won't write Hicks off yet.

You are very welcome!

Gotcha, that makes sense.

Fair enough, we just disagree on the timetable, and that is fine. Although, I always thought the criticism against the Twins and their farm system organization was that they moved players too slowly.

I am fine with giving Hicks the full season to figure things out, if that is what it takes. Reasonably, I think a month is almost necessary. If the Twins decide to demote him on May 1, I can understand that. I would not agree with it though. I'd definitely drop him in the batting order prior to sending him to AAA. As for contingency, I think the Twins assumed that one of Hicks, Mastro and Benson would be fine. They made their choice, it may not be working right now, but I still think it was the best choice. I fully expect Hicks to turn things around, so perhaps that is why I am on this side of the discussion. I may end up being wrong, but I'd like to get a good enough look at the guy before I admit that I am. I just have a hard time calling the front office dishonest or negligent, when I do not have all the information. They make decisions based on the information they have in front of them. I've said this before, you can argue with their methods and evaluations, but I don't think it is fair to accuse them of incompetence or conspiracy. I'd say their relatively successful track record with player development and roster construction is something we tend to forget about in the moment.

That is a fun read, but man that dweeb has too much time on his hands...

I also loved Pedro Munoz for some reason.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1550-Fun-with-Stizzles

Oh man, I take Todd Sears back in favor of Luis Rodriguez. I loved that guy.

This seems like a reasonable off-day topic: who is your guilty pleasure player? It can be someone current or from Twins' past. Who is that player you had an odd affinity for or that player that no one seems to like, but you enjoy their work? I'm sure everyone will take this seriously. I really liked Matt Walbeck and Todd Sears. I also like Joe Mauer.

My argument is that it doesn't make the team better.

Hicks has been one of the two worst hitters through those 8 games. That doesn't mean he will continue to be one of the two worst hitters for the remainder of the season. That is my point. Over a 162 game season, I think Hicks will outproduce Mastroianni, Thomas, Benson, Boggs, etc. If the Twins feel he is the best player at the position, they should keep playing him, regardless of how he performs in three series. If he has the best talent, he is the most likely to give the best performance. These are all projections based on a tiny sample of games. In addition, we have no idea where his confidence level is right now and we have no idea how frustrated he feels. I also think it is worth noting that if this 8 game stretch of games occurred in the middle of the season, we wouldn't be analyzing it this closely. I am also not saying he should never be sent down. I just think he needs to be given a lot more time before that decision is made.

To me, the Hicks debate comes down to why you want to demote him. If the reason is to somehow help his development, then I can understand. Although, I don't agree and I think the best thing for his development is to work through the struggles. However, that is beside the point and I at least understand this argument. Now, if the reason for demotion is to improve the team, then I don't understand that rationale. First off, there isn't a player capable of truly helping this team win more games, at least not in center field. Second, Hicks is still the best defensive player at the position that the Twins have and has the most offensive upside of the reasonable candidates. Sure, you could platoon Mastroianni and Clete Thomas, but does that platoon really figure to out-produce Hicks if given a full season? Finally, this is a bad team. I know the 4-2 start was fun, but the Twins aren't winning more than 70 games this season, so why not give Hicks these games when the stakes are relatively low? That way, in 2014, when the team might actually start to compete, they will have a better idea as to whether they have their long-term center fielder. He has played 8 games. If he earned the job in Spring Training, he has certainly earned more than three series to show his talent.

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!

Don't let facts get in the way of a good narrative.

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!

I'm a huge Perkins fan. He doesn't seem fazed by the situation and he attacks hitters. He's fun to watch.