Steven Buhr

It's a technicality, perhaps, but Kane County would likely take exception to saying CR has clinched the 2nd half Division title, since the Cougars still have a 2 game lead over the Kernels in the standings. But CR did clinch a 1 seed in the playoffs by virtue of having the best record of any team that didn't clinch a spot in the 1st half. Kane County won the first half West title, so they automatically have a 1 seed locked up anyway. Of note, the Gazette's Jeff Johnson reported after the game that manager Jake Mauer said that Chih-Wei Hu would pitch game 1 on Sept 3 and that they are hoping Kohl Stewart will be activated before the end of the regular season.

Sounds like whoever released the full roster didn't get the word that the Twins were reconsidering Burdi.

Sorry, I did not drive down to the QC game. I don't believe the Kernels pitchers retaliate for every HBP their batters get. That said, if in fact the team believed that one or more of the two HBPs were intentional, then I absolutely believe it would be possible (perhaps even likely) that the Bandit was plunked intentionally. Nobody goes head-hunting, but yeah, I think they would send a message that you can't go gunning at their hitters without consequence.

Weekend Wrap Up: Kernels Clinch, Pub Crawl, MLB BlackoutsA lot of stuff has happened over the past few days. Kernels are Playoff bound First, the Cedar Rapids Kernels clinched a Midwest League playoff spot. Whether they did this Saturday or Sunday is a bit hazy, but what's certain is that the Kernels will be playing baseball beyond the scheduled end of the regular season on Labor Day. This makes the Kernels a perfect 2 for 2 qualifying for playoff work since affiliating with the Minnesota Twins. Going strictly by "magic number," the Kernels qualified for the playoffs on Sunday, when Peoria fell to Clinton. However, as Jim Ecker at MetroSportsReport.com pointed out, tie-breaking criteria favored the Kernels over Peoria, so in fact Cedar Rapids apears to have wrapped up their postseason spot late Saturday night. Most likely, the Kernels will open the playoffs with a best of three series against Burlington. They would host Burlington on September 3 and then travel to Burlington for games 2 and 3 (if necessary) on September 4 and 5, respectively. Unfortunately, I was not in attendance when the Kernels clinched, regardless of whether you consider that to have occurred Saturday or Sunday. "Touch 'em All" Instead, I joined 100 or so Twins fans taking part in the second "Touch 'em All Pub Crawl" sponsored by Twins Daily/Gleeman & the Geek. The "Crawl" involved stopping at several establishments along the Twin Cities' light rail line and ending with attendance at the Twins game Saturday night. It officially started at the Barrio Tequila Bar in St. Paul at noon, but since I was staying out in the southern 'burbs and wanted to eat breakfast downtown at Hell's Kitchen before getting started, I'd already spent at least 90 minutes on the rail before ever getting to the start of the official event over in St. Paul. It was a great time, offering opportunities to renew friendships from prior TwinsDaily events and to meet even more fellow Twins fans for the first time. I'm always surprised how many people at these things have read the stuff I contributed to Knuckleballs and to TwinsDaily. It was a great time with great people, all of whom just happen to be fans of a pretty poor baseball team. Despite that, the only real negative comment I heard was from Star Tribune Twins beat writer, Phil Miller, who thought the Kernels camo jersey I was wearing was ugly. Hey, you can't please everyone, right? And I enjoyed talking to Miller, once we moved away from fashion-related topics. It really was a good time and I appreciate the TwinsDaily guys and Aaron Gleeman going to the effort to put it together. I always enjoy the events they organize. Blackout News Finally, some of you that have been reading Knuckleballs for a while may recall one (or more) of my rants concerning MLB's TV blackout rules. Those rules result in Iowa residents being unable to watch games involving six diferent teams, the Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals and Royals, online via MLB.tv. Late last week, the Star Tribune posted a story quoting MLB's head of online business, Bob Bowman, as saying that baseball is nearing a solution that will allow people to watch their hometown teams online, if they are also subscribers to cable and/or satellite services. That's great for people in Minneapolis that want to watch the Twins on their mobile devices. I'm guessing it's still not good news for Iowans. As crazy as it sounds, what seems most likely to happen is that MLB will broker a deal to allow people who already have access to Twins games via their local cable company to also have access online. Meanwhile, those of us in areas where FSN is not even an option via cable will continue to be blacked out. I do understand the theory. We are supposed to individually get so up in arms over this that we all march on our local Mediacom office and demand that they pay FSN whatever they want for fees to get the regional sports channel added to our Eastern Iowa cable options. That hasn't happened yet, it's not happening now and it won't happen... ever. However, given that MLB and the teams let the regional sports networks set whatever they want as the "home market" geographic footprint (because, after all, those rights fees are pretty much the major thing propping up MLB teams' revenues), it's pretty clear that any relief from the bizarre and antiquated blackout rules for places like Iowa, Las Vegas and North Carolina, which several teams claim as part of their "home market," isn't likely happening either. Instead, what I expect is that we'll see MLB, under their new Commissioner, Rob Manfred, address the online issue for fans who could already watch their favorite teams on TV. Then, they'll claim they've "solved" this problem and ignore the fact that they've solved nothing for the fans in areas like Iowa. Maybe I'm wrong and there will indeed be a solution for the rest of us. But, given the selection of a Commissioner who got the gig basically by promising to be "Bud Light," I'm not expecting anything remotely close to real solutions to any of MLB's biggest challenges. I'd be really happy to be proven wrong, of course. Finally, a few pictures from Saturday's "Touch 'em All Pub Crawl." http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Barrio1.jpg The meeting spot, Barrio Tequila Bar, St. Paul http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Campus-Pizza2.jpg Campus Pizza, which will be on my list for a return if/when I journey up for Hawkeyes/Gophers in the future. Friendly service, good thin crust pizza. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BarZia1.jpg BarZia in downtown Minneapolis. Met a number of the hard working moderators of TwinsDaily's forum section. I'm not sure what possesses these people to put in the work being moderators, but I'm sure glad they do it. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Masons2.jpg Mason's, near Target Field, was the last stop. Gotta be honest, I wasn't impressed with Mason's this time. TD has used Mason's as a meeting place in prior events and I've always liked it. But this time, some of us got the sense from their people like we were imposing. They closed off two of their seating areas to us, requiring most in our group to stand. Not a big deal, perhaps, but I can tell you it cost them some food orders, not to mention general goodwill, among some of the people I was hanging with. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TargetField1.jpg The view from our Home Run Porch seats at Target Field were better than what this picture might indicate. First time I've watched a game from these left field seats and it really is not a bad place to watch a game from. (sorry, appears mabe there's some kind of limit as to how many pictures I can post over here, so the last one didn't go through. - SDB)

As someone who deals with the coaches regularly, I would gladly keep Jake, Tommy and either of the two pitching coaches the Twins have assigned here, Ivan Arteaga or Gary Lucas, for as long as the Twins might see fit to send them to CR. That said, just like players in the system, the coaches would like to do whatever they can to get positioned for a Major League assignment and I understand that. Also, as with players, the chances of the coaches getting assigned to higher levels is largely dependent on what happens with those already at the big league level. As for the AA group, somebody in the organization must feel Jeff Smith is doing something right if they selected him for an Arizona Fall League managing gig last year.

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Tuesday night's Cedar Rapids Kernels come-from-behind win over the Quad Cities River Bandits was bittersweet. On the one hand, they tallied three runs in the home half of the eighth inning and put away the Bandits for their eighth straight win. They swept three games in Beloit last week, three more from Peoria in Cedar Rapids over the weekend, and now the first two games of their series with the Bandits. The team also played to near-capacity home crowds on Friday and Saturday night.On the other hand, Kohl Stewart, the Twins' first round draft pick in 2013 and a key member of the Kernels' rotation all season long, left the game during the second inning with an as-yet-undetermined ailment. Regardless of the ultimate cause, it's a pretty safe bet Stewart has thrown his last pitch for this Cedar Rapids club in 2014. Stewart was one of the few bright spots for the Kernels during a challenging first half of the season. He notched a 2.44 ERA over the course of a dozen starts prior to the Midwest League's All-Star break in mid June. The Kernels finished sixth among the MWL Western Division's eight teams in the first half race with a 31-39 record, 14 games behind the first half West champion Kane County Cougars and 7.6 games behind second-place Burlington. The Midwest League breaks their schedule in to two halves, with the top two teams in each division, in each half of the season, qualifying for the postseason. The Kernels have certainly taken advantage of the split season arrangement by turning their season around 180 degrees in the second half. With 13 games to play following Tuesday night's win, the Kernels sit one game behind Kane County in the MWL West's second-half standings. Since the Cougars clinched their playoff spot in the first half, however, it doesn't matter how the Kernels fare with them. What matters is that they finish among the top two teams in their Division who have not already qualified in the first half. Going in to Wednesday's series finale with Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids holds a six game lead over third place Wisconsin and a nine game lead over fourth place Peoria. That means their "magic number" for qualifying for the playoffs sits at 5. How did this happen? How did a team go from a 31-39 first-half record to a 36-21 record, so far, in the second half? Certainly, not many fans gave the Kernels much chance of making the playoffs two months ago. Their manager, Jake Mauer, and coaches Tommy Watkins and Ivan Arteaga, gave their thoughts on the subject on Sunday, which was three Kernels wins (and three Peoria losses) ago. "Pitching is probably number 1," said Mauer. "We’ve shaved a whole run off our (team) ERA. Obviously we’re a little different at the back end of the bullpen than we were early on." It hasn't all been improved pitching, however. Mauer also was quick to mention some newcomers to the offense that have contributed. "Some of the additions, obviously Logan Wade and (Alex) Swim have been huge. Max Murphy’s been a good addition," added the manager. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8170025-2-600x443.jpg Max Murphy The Kernels have lost some very good players, as well, of course. Several pitchers and position players have earned promotions to high-A Fort Myers, which is what led to the new players arriving in Cedar Rapids. Players coming and going is just part of minor league life. Mauer pointed out another pretty major difference between his club's first and second half fortunes. "We’re keeping guys healthy, like (Mitch) Garver and (Engelb) Vielma and guys like that," observed Mauer. "I think that really is the reason why we’re where we’re at. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8170011-2-600x450.jpg Engelb Vielma "We went through a tough stretch there early. It seemed like somebody was going down every week. We’re still missing three of our top arms in our organization who are still down with surgery. Obviously, it gave a good opportunity to get up here to (Mat) Batts and (Chih-Wei) Hu and (Stephen) Gonsalves and (Lewis) Thorpe. They’ve really been holding down the majority of the big innings for us." Watkins, the Kernels hitting coach, echoes many of Mauer's thoughts. "I think we’ve stayed healthy, for the most part. It seemed like every other day we were losing somebody in the first half. But for the most part, outside of some minor bumps and bruises, we’ve been pretty healthy the second half." Watkins also sensed a change in the consistency of the team's performance. "In the beginning, we didn’t click on both sides. One day we would hit, we didn’t pitch. One day we would pitch, we didn’t hit," Watkins added. "Now it seems like we’re getting timely hitting, pitching. The defense is making some plays. "All the pitchers are doing well but we’ve got a few guys at the back end of that bullpen that have been pretty lights-out for us. We give those guys some leads and they’ve been pretty good lately." Watkins has seen a change in the clubhouse, as well as on the field. "I just think the overall confidence right now, the guys are a lot better. The guys are loose, they’re having fun with each other. We came in here the other day, they were doing Kangaroo Court with each other. They’re just having fun right now. They’re winning baseball games, so it’s been a lot of fun." There's little doubt that the biggest change in the Kernels' fortunes in the second half has come on the pitcher's mound. That being the case, it stands to reason that Arteaga, the Kernels pitching coach, would have a great deal of insight in to how those fortunes changed for the better in the season's second half. He summed up the reasons for the improvement in the club's pitching in two words, "Experience and chemistry." "They go hand in hand," he explained. "Early, we went through some growing pains, pitching wise." Arteaga noted that the team lost three highly rated young pitchers in the first half that the organization had been counting on to play big roles for the Kernels. Felix Jorge struggled and was sent back to extended spring training and, ultimately, to Elizabethton. Randy Rosario and Yorman Landa got hurt, ending their seasons. Pitchers that remained in Cedar Rapids also went through some rough patches early. "(Aaron) Slegers had a rough go for about a month," added the coach. "He was working on some stuff. (Ryan) Eades was learning a lot of things about the league and about himself. Our relievers went through some growing pains. We had Hudson Boyd - early, he was very good. He had a rough go for about three or four outings. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8170002-2-600x450.jpg Ryan Eades "So everybody’s learning. Like I said when I first got here, it is a process. They get to learn the league. They get to learn the hitters. They get to learn themselves. Work on a different pitch, work on the delivery. Work on some stuff. "It’s growing pains. Kids like Eades, you know, second round pick, he learned a lot this year. And you get a guy like Stewart - first round pick. He learned a lot this year. In the first half, you have a lot of learning to do. A lot of growing pains. "And we didn’t do that bad. Not what we wanted to, but we weren’t that bad." In the second half, though, the pitching went from, "not bad," to very, very good. "Then we got the new boys. We got Thorpe, we got Hu, we had Gonsalves, Batts, Burdi, Reed, Gallant. They brought a different mindset and obviously we’ve been doing very well." Arteaga also agrees with Watkins' observation that the success is reflected off the field as much as on. "I think that the learning, gaining some experience and at the same time, we’re winning. You see a different atmosphere in there ( the clubhouse). It’s a different environment. It’s chemistry. They like each other. They talk to each other. When you get that, which is chemistry, it shows on the field. "They come here every day with effort, with a purpose they have in mind. They know, they can feel the possibility of being in the playoffs - how great that’s going to be for the players to experience that. Some of them in their first year of full season. I hope that they actually embrace the possibility." If the players are excited about postseason possibilities, they aren't alone. Arteaga is right there with them. "Personally, I’m very excited by it because I went through a lot of things this year with these guys. To try to teach the pitchers the fundamentals of baseball, the fundamentals of pitching, pitch sequence, just the growing pains. And just the things you see, to me, it’s very rewarding. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8150251-2-600x449.jpg Stephen Gonsalves "I guarantee you that there’s not a better feeling than seeing these guys playing every day and understanding the moment. And going out and playing the way they played Peoria and the way they played on the road (in Beloit)." Of course, winning championships is great. But is winning really important for minor league affiliates? It's important, of course, to the local fans who want to see a winner. But some fans of the Major League affiliate see minor league games as little more than exhibition games, attaching little, if any, value to won-loss record. Arteaga clearly feels winning is important, but not necessarily the most important thing. "We (the Twins organization) have a philosophy. Basically, we want to develop winners. And the only way you can develop winners is by teaching the process, by teaching the fundamentals of baseball. "Now, we are very careful with the amount of innings, the activities that we do. Teaching the game the right way, the Twins way. "But one thing that we don’t do, is to go the extra mile to try to win. We want these guys to win, but I won’t pitch my guys two days in a row. I won’t pitch my guy 125 pitches because I want to win one game. We won’t do that. We have a program. That program works. It’s good. We stick to it. It is our job as coaches to teach these guys how to win. To motivate these guys every day." Make no mistake, though, talking about a playoff run brings a smile to the coach's face. "When you go to the postseason, there’s a difference," Arteaga concluded. "That’s what we want these guys to experience. When it’s only you. There’s nobody else playing, just you playing. (Others) going home. They’re going on American Airlines somewhere. You’re not. You’re still playing. That’s the beauty of postseason. You’re sending somebody else home and you’re playing. So that’s good." Click here to view the article

I would be shocked if Kernels playoff tickets weren't exactly the same price as regular season tickets. In my experience, minor league playoff tickets are abundantly available, During the season, x number of seats for every game are spoken for by season ticket holders, not that many of which step up for postseason tickets (especially mid week games). The result is plenty of availability of good seats.

Aw shucks thanks. BTW, on Saturday, with the Kernels in Burlington, my venue will be somewhere along the light rail Green Line during TDs pub crawl!

If you'll indulge a little self-promotion, the aforementioned new article is now posted both at Knuckleballsblog.com and here on TD.

Believe Alex Muren would be the 6th.

I agree and I think this entire discussion is about who the best option is at SS for the next 1-2 years, because I don't think many of the names here should be counted on to be a major league shortstop on a long-term basis. They just haven't shown the glove for it. If you want someone who "leads with their defense," keep an eye on Engelb Vielma. I know it sounds like hyperbole, but Vielma is the best shortstop I've seen on a professional infield at any level in a while. Defensively, he could play SS for a Major League team today. He's that smooth, that strong and that consistent. He was only 19 when he started the season in CR (only because Ryan Walker, expected to start the year as Class A SS, got hurt in ST) and for several very cold weeks, he looked totally lost at the plate (hitting .187 in April). That is no longer the case. He's been very productive at the plate and, since he just turned 20 in June, I expect him to only get stronger. Nick Gordon is coming up behind him on the organization ladder and I'm anxious to watch Gordon next summer, but I would not bet against Vielma. There's a lot of us talking about how strong the CR pitching has been, but I'd guarantee you that having Vielma at SS behind them is aiding their stats (and, not coincidentally, the team's W-L record).

"Close to fruition" of a rebuilt rotation may be stronger than I'd agree to, but it's certainly an improvement over where things stood a year ago. Hughes still looks like a strong addition, even if not a legit #1 starter. I believe Nolasco will be much improved next year if he gets/stays healthy. I'd say those are two potential #2 starters, which is 2 more than the Twins have had going in to any offseason in a while. In fact, you could make a case for Gibson being a stronger holdover than almost any other pitcher for the past couple years. Still, I don't think the rotation will reach "fruition" until you're seeing Meyer and Berrios among the 5 and that's perhaps another year away. A rotation headlined by healthy Hughes-Nolasco-Gibson, combined with two of the young arms on the doorstep, should be enough to get to .500 in 2015, however, if there's any improvement at all on offense.

We must not read the same comments. I haven't seen much evidence of commenters being "far too easy" on management. I bet if you polled people here, 9 of 10 would want Gardy gone by next year, if not immediately. Probably 8 of 10 would predict a change. About half would probably express a desire for a change in GM and, even among those who wouldn't argue for a change, there's no shortage of comments critical of Terry Ryan's decisions. I would agree that there's more balance in comments concerning management than you'd see in Strib comment sections, for example, but I don't think that's bad. Comments in the minor league section tend to be less critical of Ryan than those in the major league board, probably because Ryan has done a better job of restocking the minor league organization than he has of putting a competitive team together at Target Field. The money thing and the Pohlads gets plenty of mention, I think, during the offseason when the roster is being assembled for the following year. Once the roster is set, however, the payroll issue is kind of moot. I also think it's natural for payroll to drop during a rebuild, especially a rebuild being overseen by Terry Ryan. It's quite possible that Jim Pohlad would be fine with spending more money to be competitive, but that's just not how Ryan builds a team. EDIT: I would also add that the relative lack of organization bashing you see among comments at TD is in part due to the moderators having this pesky rule about keeping comments on topic and thus preventing every article/post from turning in to a "fire everyone" bashing.

Really an interesting discussion, guys. I'm not sure the Twins really need to keep a spot open this year. Do we really think they're going to be active on the waiver wire/free agent market this offseason? I don't. They won't (or shouldn't) be dipping their toes in the mediocre FA SP market again. Is there any other position that we think they're likely to try to fill with a legit front line starter? Outfield, maybe I could see if it weren't for the fact that they have young OFs knocking on the door that I think they're more likely to give spots to. On the off chance they did find themselves in a position to sign a true #1 SP (for example), they can always simply drop their 40th roster player. Guess my point is that I just don't see it likely that they'll be in the market this offseason to add players much, if any, more promising than the guys they'd be risking by leaving off the 40 man. Finally, a question: Are there players you think could be surprise additions? I was surprised somewhat that Kepler and Polanco were added after low-A seasons last offseason. I don't see that happening this year, but I'm curious what others think.

Tuesday night's Cedar Rapids Kernels come-from-behind win over the Quad Cities River Bandits was bittersweet. On the one hand, they tallied three runs in the home half of the eighth inning and put away the Bandits for their eighth straight win. They swept three games in Beloit last week, three more from Peoria in Cedar Rapids over the weekend, and now the first two games of their series with the Bandits. The team also played to near-capacity home crowds on Friday and Saturday night. On the other hand, Kohl Stewart, the Twins' first round draft pick in 2013 and a key member of the Kernels' rotation all season long, left the game during the second inning with an as-yet-undetermined ailment. Regardless of the ultimate cause, it's a pretty safe bet Stewart has thrown his last pitch for this Cedar Rapids club in 2014. Stewart was one of the few bright spots for the Kernels during a challenging first half of the season. He notched a 2.44 ERA over the course of a dozen starts prior to the Midwest League's All-Star break in mid June. The Kernels finished sixth among the MWL Western Division's eight teams in the first half race with a 31-39 record, 14 games behind the first half West champion Kane County Cougars and 7.6 games behind second-place Burlington. The Midwest League breaks their schedule in to two halves, with the top two teams in each division, in each half of the season, qualifying for the postseason. The Kernels have certainly taken advantage of the split season arrangement by turning their season around 180 degrees in the second half. With 13 games to play following Tuesday night's win, the Kernels sit one game behind Kane County in the MWL West's second-half standings. Since the Cougars clinched their playoff spot in the first half, however, it doesn't matter how the Kernels fare with them. What matters is that they finish among the top two teams in their Division who have not already qualified in the first half. Going in to Wednesday's series finale with Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids holds a six game lead over third place Wisconsin and a nine game lead over fourth place Peoria. That means their "magic number" for qualifying for the playoffs sits at 5. How did this happen? How did a team go from a 31-39 first-half record to a 36-21 record, so far, in the second half? Certainly, not many fans gave the Kernels much chance of making the playoffs two months ago. Their manager, Jake Mauer, and coaches Tommy Watkins and Ivan Arteaga, gave their thoughts on the subject on Sunday, which was three Kernels wins (and three Peoria losses) ago. "Pitching is probably number 1," said Mauer. "We’ve shaved a whole run off our (team) ERA. Obviously we’re a little different at the back end of the bullpen than we were early on." It hasn't all been improved pitching, however. Mauer also was quick to mention some newcomers to the offense that have contributed. "Some of the additions, obviously Logan Wade and (Alex) Swim have been huge. Max Murphy’s been a good addition," added the manager. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8170025-2-600x443.jpg Max Murphy The Kernels have lost some very good players, as well, of course. Several pitchers and position players have earned promotions to high-A Fort Myers, which is what led to the new players arriving in Cedar Rapids. Players coming and going is just part of minor league life. Mauer pointed out another pretty major difference between his club's first and second half fortunes. "We’re keeping guys healthy, like (Mitch) Garver and (Engelb) Vielma and guys like that," observed Mauer. "I think that really is the reason why we’re where we’re at. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8170011-2-600x450.jpg Engelb Vielma (1) "We went through a tough stretch there early. It seemed like somebody was going down every week. We’re still missing three of our top arms in our organization who are still down with surgery. Obviously, it gave a good opportunity to get up here to (Mat) Batts and (Chih-Wei) Hu and (Stephen) Gonsalves and (Lewis) Thorpe. They’ve really been holding down the majority of the big innings for us." Watkins, the Kernels hitting coach, echoes many of Mauer's thoughts. "I think we’ve stayed healthy, for the most part. It seemed like every other day we were losing somebody in the first half. But for the most part, outside of some minor bumps and bruises, we’ve been pretty healthy the second half." Watkins also sensed a change in the consistency of the team's performance. "In the beginning, we didn’t click on both sides. One day we would hit, we didn’t pitch. One day we would pitch, we didn’t hit," Watkins added. "Now it seems like we’re getting timely hitting, pitching. The defense is making some plays. "All the pitchers are doing well but we’ve got a few guys at the back end of that bullpen that have been pretty lights-out for us. We give those guys some leads and they’ve been pretty good lately." Watkins has seen a change in the clubhouse, as well as on the field. "I just think the overall confidence right now, the guys are a lot better. The guys are loose, they’re having fun with each other. We came in here the other day, they were doing Kangaroo Court with each other. They’re just having fun right now. They’re winning baseball games, so it’s been a lot of fun." There's little doubt that the biggest change in the Kernels' fortunes in the second half has come on the pitcher's mound. That being the case, it stands to reason that Arteaga, the Kernels pitching coach, would have a great deal of insight in to how those fortunes changed for the better in the season's second half. He summed up the reasons for the improvement in the club's pitching in two words, "Experience and chemistry." "They go hand in hand," he explained. "Early, we went through some growing pains, pitching wise." Arteaga noted that the team lost three highly rated young pitchers in the first half that the organization had been counting on to play big roles for the Kernels. Felix Jorge struggled and was sent back to extended spring training and, ultimately, to Elizabethton. Randy Rosario and Yorman Landa got hurt, ending their seasons. Pitchers that remained in Cedar Rapids also went through some rough patches early. "(Aaron) Slegers had a rough go for about a month," added the coach. "He was working on some stuff. (Ryan) Eades was learning a lot of things about the league and about himself. Our relievers went through some growing pains. We had Hudson Boyd - early, he was very good. He had a rough go for about three or four outings. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8170002-2-600x450.jpg Ryan Eades "So everybody’s learning. Like I said when I first got here, it is a process. They get to learn the league. They get to learn the hitters. They get to learn themselves. Work on a different pitch, work on the delivery. Work on some stuff. "It’s growing pains. Kids like Eades, you know, second round pick, he learned a lot this year. And you get a guy like Stewart - first round pick. He learned a lot this year. In the first half, you have a lot of learning to do. A lot of growing pains. "And we didn’t do that bad. Not what we wanted to, but we weren’t that bad." In the second half, though, the pitching went from, "not bad," to very, very good. "Then we got the new boys. We got Thorpe, we got Hu, we had Gonsalves, Batts, Burdi, Reed, Gallant. They brought a different mindset and obviously we’ve been doing very well." Arteaga also agrees with Watkins' observation that the success is reflected off the field as much as on. "I think that the learning, gaining some experience and at the same time, we’re winning. You see a different atmosphere in there ( the clubhouse). It’s a different environment. It’s chemistry. They like each other. They talk to each other. When you get that, which is chemistry, it shows on the field. "They come here every day with effort, with a purpose they have in mind. They know, they can feel the possibility of being in the playoffs - how great that’s going to be for the players to experience that. Some of them in their first year of full season. I hope that they actually embrace the possibility." If the players are excited about postseason possibilities, they aren't alone. Arteaga is right there with them. "Personally, I’m very excited by it because I went through a lot of things this year with these guys. To try to teach the pitchers the fundamentals of baseball, the fundamentals of pitching, pitch sequence, just the growing pains. And just the things you see, to me, it’s very rewarding. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/P8150251-2-600x449.jpg Stephen Gonsalves "I guarantee you that there’s not a better feeling than seeing these guys playing every day and understanding the moment. And going out and playing the way they played Peoria and the way they played on the road (in Beloit)." Of course, winning championships is great. But is winning really important for minor league affiliates? It's important, of course, to the local fans who want to see a winner. But some fans of the Major League affiliate see minor league games as little more than exhibition games, attaching little, if any, value to won-loss record. Arteaga clearly feels winning is important, but not necessarily the most important thing. "We (the Twins organization) have a philosophy. Basically, we want to develop winners. And the only way you can develop winners is by teaching the process, by teaching the fundamentals of baseball. "Now, we are very careful with the amount of innings, the activities that we do. Teaching the game the right way, the Twins way. "But one thing that we don’t do, is to go the extra mile to try to win. We want these guys to win, but I won’t pitch my guys two days in a row. I won’t pitch my guy 125 pitches because I want to win one game. We won’t do that. We have a program. That program works. It’s good. We stick to it. It is our job as coaches to teach these guys how to win. To motivate these guys every day." Make no mistake, though, talking about a playoff run brings a smile to the coach's face. "When you go to the postseason, there’s a difference," Arteaga concluded. "That’s what we want these guys to experience. When it’s only you. There’s nobody else playing, just you playing. (Others) going home. They’re going on American Airlines somewhere. You’re not. You’re still playing. That’s the beauty of postseason. You’re sending somebody else home and you’re playing. So that’s good."

Hu does throw low 90s anyway with the fastball, so he's no soft-tosser. But he's got like five pitches (at least) and everything he throws has movement. He's still just 20 years old and has plenty of room to grow, yet, so adding another couple ticks wouldn't be out of the question. Sometimes, though, adding velo means the fastball straightens out and he wouldn't want to see that, imo. His English is a work in progress, but he's clearly making an effort with the language. Jeff Johnson and I were able to interview him after last night's game and while we had to "interpret" a bit of what he said, he was able to communicate his thoughts to us in a way we could understand. I heard a while ago that he's supposedly sitting in on the English classes the Latino players take while they're here, which must be real interesting. We were interviewing him in a little hall between the players' locker area in the clubhouse and just outside the coaches' room where Tommy and Ivan are. While we were talking to Hu about the work he and Ivan Arteaga have been doing, Ivan stuck his head out of the door and just flashed his big smile. As Seth said, Arteaga is an excellent communicator. I'm working on a piece, which should be up on Knuckleballs and TD in the next day or so, which discusses the Kernels turnaround from a poor first half to, at this point, a near-certain playoff spot in the second half. All 3 coaches shared their thoughts on what went in to turning things around and Arteaga, as is often the case, went in to considerable depth with his response. As for what Arteaga's future is with the Twins organization, I've almost given up trying to figure out what the front office thinks about things like that, but absent a Kernels collapse in the next 2 weeks, this will be the 3rd straight season the team he was coaching makes the playoffs. Must be doing something right.

Jake told Jeff Johnson and I in his postgame interview that Ivan Arteaga has a new name for Hu.... Hu-dini. I like it. Think it could stick. The kid is unflappable.

An inning of video for each, Lewis Thorpe's 3rd inning (I think) and then Jake Reed's 9th with the 3 Ks.

Some video of Gonsalves on Friday night. One inning of work. The quality is even less than my normal substandard levels since I wasn't in my normal seats behind home plate and had to deal with a lot of folks moving up and down the aisle.

The money issue is a non-issue at this point and probably will remain so through 2018. The Twins lucked out in that regard, I suppose, if you consider it "luck" to have gone in to such a tailspin that it was wholly unnecessary to spend a bunch of money to retain other star-level players. As a result, even with the $23 mil going to Mauer every year, there's more than adequate money in the budget to add quality free agents and pay up and coming young talent. The problem, I believe, for many of us is that Mauer got his payday after what was really the only season he showed decent power. The "power tool" has been missing from his arsenal ever since (and yes, moving to Target Field certainly impacted that & that was not his "fault"). Even without the power tool, Mauer has been a heck of a hitter... until this season. If he bounces back and becomes a consistent .300+ hitter next year and beyond, I'll be satisfied. That said, I do think the time may be coming when some difficult decisions will need to be made concerning his defensive position. If Vargas and, eventually, Sano, turn out to be legit corner infielders, Mauer may have to be asked to change positions again, this time to a corner OF spot.

Sorry for not seeing the Q sooner. Frankly, the recurrence of the sound ads has resulted in me checking TD far less often during the day since I used to keep the window open pretty much all the time and now I close it out after each visit and do far less "browsing" of the comment sections. There's no radar gun readings posted on the scoreboard in Beloit, so I don't know what any of the pitchers were getting for velo. Almost all of Batts' Ks were of the swinging variety. In fact, he could have had a couple more called Ks, I think, if the umpires's strike zone hadn't been a bit tight on the outside corner (which was the case for both starting pitchers, I thought). While I wasn't taking notes on his pitch mix, my recollection is that most of those swinging 3rd strikes were off-speed pitches of one type or another.

No, thankfully I wasn't that close. Just heard about it from some folks I was talking to in the final innings of the game.

Peoria @ Beloit (6:35 CST) – Lewis Thorpe Beloit? sheesh!