Steven Buhr

I have to admit that there's a part of me that thinks Jake and Tommy will end up on a MLB staff together one day, but it won't be the Twins. I'm not sure that would necessarily be a bad thing. If they are in Minnesota, there will always be an uninformed, yet very vocal, segment of the fan base that will scream about it being a nepotism thing. It may be much easier for Jake to get credit for being good coaching/managing material on his own if he's out from under Joe's shadow. If that ever did happen, I think he'd try hard to recruit Tommy to go with him to whatever staff he ended up with. They seem to work well together.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels dropped an ugly 5-2 game to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers back on July 9 and Kernels manager Jake Mauer clearly was not a happy man afterward. His line up had left eight runners stranded in scoring position on the night and played some shoddy defense in a loss on a night when Kernels pitching combined to strike out 13 opposing hitters. “We’re going to have some changes,” Mauer promised that night, in a post-game interview. (This article originally was posted at Knuckleballsblog.com) Catcher Alex Swim went 1 for 4 as the team’s designated hitter in that loss and he has not DH’d since. Then again, he hasn’t done much catching, either. The next night, July 10, again against the Timber Rattlers, Swim was inserted as the Kernels’ right fielder. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Swim2014.jpg Alex Swim Maybe Mauer was just trying to give some of his regular outfield crew a wake-up call or maybe he knew something nobody else did, but Swim gunned down Rattler baserunner Omar Garcia at home in that game and he has been the starting right fielder for the Kernels on every line up card Mauer has filled out since. He’s put on the catcher’s gear for a game in that stretch only twice. Once to finish a rain shortened game in which he had started as the catcher (he played right field in the full game following the completion of the postponed contest) and he made one appearance at catcher late in a game after starting catcher Michael Quesada was removed for a pinch runner. Swim was already riding a six game hitting streak pieced together starting June 30 as he rotated between catching, DHing and taking his turn riding the pine as part of what was, for a time, a four-man catching rotation that included Mitch Garver and Bo Altobelli, along with Quesada and Swim. After being inserted in to the every day line up, Swim swatted hits in another eight consecutive games, making him the proud owner of a 14-game streak, the longest by a Kernels hitter this season, before the streak was snapped on July 21. On the season, Swim is batting .341 in the 26 games he’s suited up with the Kernels. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Swim2014d.jpg Alex Swim in the Kernels special “Duck Dynasty” camo jersey In an interview late last week, Swim said he played some outfield during his junior and senior years at Elon University in North Carolina, “just to get a little break from behind the plate.” Coming in to the season, though, he wasn’t expecting to see this much time on the outfield grass. “During (extended spring training), they asked me if I had an outfielder’s glove and I did. They said, ‘get a few reps out there just in case,’” Swim recalled. Acknowledging that he’s been out there every game lately, he added with a smile, “maybe (the Twins organization) gave me a position change and didn’t tell me, I don’t know.” He’s not complaining. “I’ll play anywhere,” he said. “I love throwing the ball and showing off the arm a little bit.” That’s a healthy approach to have for a player in Swim’s position with the Twins organization. Swim, Garver and the current catcher for the Class high-A Fort Myers Miracle, Stuart Turner, were all college catchers selected by the Twins in the same draft class a year ago. Turner was the Twins’ third round pick, Garver was picked in the 10th round and Swim in the 22nd. The Twins also selected a high school catcher, Brian Navarreto, in the sixth round. Navarreto is currently with the Twins’ Elizabethton short-season rookie level affiliate. As if that weren’t enough, the Twins drafted six more catchers in the 2014 draft, though none were higher than the 19th round and not all were inked by the Twins before the signing deadline on July 18. Still, Swim recognizes that he’s up against some tough competition as he tries to work his way up the organizational ladder, not only from other recent draftees, but from players with more professional experience, such as his Cedar Rapids teammate Quesada. “Obviously, I know who’s there,” Swim conceded. “But I think everyone is good in their own way. If you’re meant to keep going and playing, you’re going to get there. “I try to make it where I can play different positions to help me out. If you need a right fielder, I’ll play right field. If you need a first baseman, I’ll do that. Whatever they need.” In baseball, hitters can run hot and cold, but in his first month as a Kernel, Swim has definitely been hot with the bat. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Swim2014j.jpg Alex Swim “I feel pretty comfortable in the box and the ball does look a little bigger right now,” he admitted. Fellow Kernels catcher Garver hit three home runs in one game on Monday, but Swim doesn’t expect to be putting on that kind of power display any time soon. “Generally, with my swing, I’m not going to hit the ball out of the park or drive a bunch of balls in to gaps, so I just try to really stay up the middle and just stay short and sweet to the ball and just try to get on base.” Swim worked out with the Class A group during most of spring training, but when the time came to head north to start the season, he was left behind in extended spring training. That sort of thing can be disappointing to a player, of course, but Swim pointed out that there were some benefits, too, for a guy from Greensboro, North Carolina. “It’s not that big of a deal when you’re playing in 85 degree weather in the spring down in Florida, so that was the good part,” he recalled with a bit of a laugh. “I was texting a few of the guys and they were saying it was 30 degrees and they had four layers on. I was, like, I’m in a pair of shorts and sandals right now.” Swim had the opportunity to turn professional after his junior year of college when the St. Louis Cardinals made him there 36th round selection in the 2012 draft, but he opted to pass at the time. “Right around draft time my junior year, mom was sick, was in the hospital,” Swim explained. “I really didn’t know how that was going to affect her as far as what was going to happen. I didn’t want to push it by leaving at that time, so I decided to forgo the draft, stay at home, work a little bit, try to help out around the house and get things situated. “Honestly, I don’t have any regrets. I would do it the same way every time. She’s doing well right now. She’s getting healthy. She’s staying at home and listening to the games (over the internet).” Away from the ballpark, Swim escapes the daily grind of the game with a good book. “I like biographies and stuff like that,” he explained. “That kind of gets me away from the game and not thinking about anything really about baseball.”

Yes, Sad Burh definitely had his tongue planted firmly in cheek with that comment.

Great piece about one of the true good guys in the game, Seth.

I think you answered your own question right there at the end. Leading the league in everything EXCEPT merely 2nd in RBI. If he can get those RBI numbers up to where they're comparable to the rest of what he's doing, then maybe he'll get that promotion.

I wonder if the Twins won't wait until they know whether they'll be adding any significant minor league pieces before making much for promotions. Grapevine saying Larson now isn't as close to returning to CR as he was. Hammy re-tweaked maybe. He hasn't played a GCL rehab game in a few days. I don't think Garver goes up unless Turner does, as well. Garver is certainly ready for high-A, especially with the bat, but he's now catching all but a game or two per week in CR and he won't get that kind of work behind the plate if he's on the same team as Turner.

I know when Mientkiewicz was hired, it was important to him to be in Florida due to a family illness situation, I believe. Does anyone know whether that is still the case? By the way, I haven't watched Doug manage, but I wouldn't necessarily assume he has more "fire in his belly" than Jake Mauer does. Don't make the mistake of assuming that Jake has exactly the same temperment that little brother Joe does. There is definitely some fire there.

I did have that same thought. It's possible, I guess. The call seemed delayed a split second. Usually, though, the folks doing the official scoring come back to the press box after the game and they've spoken to the managers and umpires and let the media know about any official scoring items. Last night, they came up and let us know about the post-finish ejections, but said nothing about the safe call being for the catcher blocking the plate. Mediacom will be replaying the game a couple times this weekend on MC-22 locally. Maybe have a chance to get another look.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/3249-ASG-Weekend-Reflections

Heard after the Kernels game that both the Lake County catcher and either their manager or a coach were "ejected" by the plate umpire after the game. The catcher was a no-brainer. He immediately got in the umpire's face and was bumping him with his chest. Contact is a no-no. Swim's hitting streak was actually extended with a single in his second PA. The "double" Seth referred to (probably because that's what I initially Tweeted it was) turned out to have been scored a 3-base error on the CF (fixed-ed.). Swim hit a bloop in to RCF that the two OFs managed to miss. Maybe there was contact with the ball. I didn't think so, but I was in the stands getting some pictures at the time, so I was guessing that the call was a double with an advancing to 3B on an E8 (he had trouble picking up the ball, too). Once I got to the pressbox, I found Swim wasn't given a hit at all. Oh well, he singled in his next PA anyway. Gallant has been dominant since joining the Kernels after his suspension ended. The guy clearly should be pitching at a higher level somewhere. He's old for Class A and he's got the ability to pitch at a level more appropriate for his age.

You may be right, but I think we should be cautious about basing opinions on what the Twins' MO has been. What's their MO for potential superstars? Small sample size, because this FO has only had 1, but they got Mauer up as soon as he was deemed ready. The July-September estimate you give is quite possible and even likely, perhaps. But if it takes until that time frame, I believe it will be because they weren't ready - and that's not exactly an unlikely scenario, given where the two of them are at in terms of development right this minute.

Guess I have trouble imagining the Super-2 thing being an issue with Buxton's arrival. He's not going to be a guy you spend the pre-arbitration years wondering whether he's going to figure it all out or not. Have to figure the Twins will try to lock him up long term early and, unless he decides to retain Boras as his agent, I think he'll be open to a fair deal. But most of all, I just think the Twins are going to get Buxton and Sano to Minneapolis as soon as their play on the field makes it possible at this point. The whole organization, from front office to clubhouse to fan base, needs something to get excited about and they can't wait until June to get it just because of a Super-2 cut-off.

My problem, Nick, is we differ on the one basic premise that holds your suggestions together: That Pinto is the long term solution at catcher. I just see no evidence of that, either from Pinto when he's been behind the plate or from anything the front office has indicated about their thinking. If he has a future in Minnesota, it's probably at DH. If he's your DH in 2015, then you sure don't want Morales around keeping him from getting PAs. That also means you need a different answer at catcher and that makes the "NO DEAL" on Suzuki less definite. I'm all for seeing what the market for him is and if there's a good swap to be had, you do it and worry about catcher again this offseason. But basing your Suzuki decision on Pinto being your catcher is flawed thinking. Not re-signing Willingham is a no-brainer at this point. OF and DH are going to be very crowded even without him. With Dozier, I could be convinced either way, depending on the dollars he and his agent would command. If he's looking for really big bucks, you wait it out. Otherwise, there's little risk in an extension on a moderate contract that would be easy enough to trade, if necessary, and not debilitating to eat in a worst-case scenario.

No idea on the number of sliders. I had enough trouble keeping track of the number of $2 Thirsty Thursday beers I was having. He started the year not throwing any sliders, but for some time now it has been part of his arsenal. He isn't throwing it a ton, but that probably just makes it that much more effective when he does.

His groundball rate has been good all year and last night was no exception. 9 ground ball outs, 2 in the air. All 4 hits he gave up were singles, none of them stroked particularly impressively (one, I recall was a broken-bat variety that dropped weakly in to LCF). His last two starts, since that little incident a couple weeks ago when he got ejected in the third inning, have both been solid. His 5-inning starts are a factor of his continued pitch limit, nothing more.

Just a quick correction, Eric, on the Kernels paragraph. It was the Kernels' LF Jon Murphy who threw out the runner who rounded 2B too far to end the game. The runner was actually the Captains' Jorge Martinez. The box score won't show it, but the "triple" Boyd gave up (and which led to the run he gave up) in his inning on the mound was a fluke. Murphy, in LF, never saw the ball. He was standing in the middle of LF with that "where is it?" body language when the ball landed in the far LF corner. My inherent empathy for pitchers simply compels me to point things like that out when they happen.

The big All-Star bash in Minneapolis is behind us now and by most accounts, it was somewhere between very successful and close to perfect. I saw the Futures Game/Celebrity Softball Game in person on Sunday and watched the Home Run Derby and ASG on the tube. My conclusion is that, while I wouldn't say it was all perfectly staged and performed, the Twin Cities and those from MLB and the Twins who were involved all did themselves proud. It was the kind of event that could make us feel proud to call ourselves Twins fans (and there haven't been many events like that over the past few years). A list of the things I didn't like would be short. Too much Jeter (but we knew there would be) and too little Gwynn (none at all, really). I also really didn't like the special caps for the ASG. That just seems like an over-the-top money grab by MLB to sell more stuff. I'd rather see the players in some version of their regular uniforms, including the cap. (This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com) The rain delay at the HR Derby on Monday sucked. But the rainbow over the Plaza almost made the rain delay worthwhile in itself. I'm sure there were a few people moaning about the lack of a roof, but I think most of us stopped listening to those idiots years ago. The new HR Derby format didn't exactly work the way people thought (or hoped) it would. Oh well, try something different next time. I had some family with me this trip and that meant visits to the Mall of America on Friday night and Saturday. I know a lot of people roll their eyes at going to MOA, but I've never been too averse to it. Walking around the Mall brings back some memories of visits there when our kids were young and it was a bit of an adventure. I tire quicker these days, of course, but I've never had trouble finding an open bar stool for a rest and I rested at the Sky Deck Grille and Kokomos for quite a bit of my time at MOA. Sunday, the family got in some pool time at the hotel before we hopped on the light rail to Target Field for the Futures Game. It was my 11-month old grandson's first venture in to a swimming pool and his first time at a Big League ballpark. So that was cool. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Jack1-300x171.jpg grandson Jack in the hotel pool We pretty much took over the first row of Section C in the Legends Club for the Sunday activities. Getting through a full Futures Game, a half hour or more "intermission" and a six-inning softball game with various interviews slowing things down between innings was a bit much for me, so I have no idea how an 11-month old endured it, but he did. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Jack2.jpg My grandson's first trip to Target Field. Kind of gave "Futures Game" a different meaning to me. I enjoyed watching Kennys Vargas and Alex Meyer and I was really excited to see Jose Berrios start for the World team. When the Twins announced their affiliation with the Cedar Rapids Kernels starting in 2013, I started looking forward to being able to see guys I'd been watching in Kernels uniforms play in Target Field. Berrios was the first of the 2013 crop of Kernels I got to see there and it just has me even more anxious to see the arrival of a few of his Kernels teammates with the Twins in coming years. All three of the Twins prospects did just fine in the game. Nobody "starred," but that's OK. Let's not forget, these three guys aren't the organization's top 3 prospects, but they held their own (or better). The future is bright for the Twins, if I can just manage to live long enough to see it. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Berrios-FG-2.jpg Jose Berrios, former CR Kernel, future Minnesota Twin The cramped rail-ride back to Bloomington was probably the worst part of the day, but at least I could collapse at the hotel when it was over. Monday morning, we packed up and headed back to Cedar Rapids, getting there well before the HR Derby's scheduled start. Of course, it turned out the actual start was delayed about an hour by rain anyway. The ovations for Justin Morneau and Brian Dozier were terrific and I thought the crowd did a nice job of showing appreciation for all the participants. I felt a bit bad for Yasiel Puig. I'm not sure if he just was too amped up or what. And did nobody tell him he should enlist his favorite BP pitcher to throw to him? Odd. Anyway, I suspect he'll do better in a future Derby. If I'm being completely honest, I was just really glad it wasn't Morneau or Dozier that got shutout. I watched the first couple innings of the All-Star Game itself at my favorite local bar. They had music playing, so I was spared the need to mute the TV. Of course, that meant I missed what most seem to think was a pretty good National Anthem (though FOX totally blew off the Canadian Anthem, which I thought was tacky on their part). Looked like a great flyover, too. I love those. I guess I have to give my thoughts on the Jeter-fest. I'd like to get a real good case of Jeter-hate up, but I just can't. Yes, I hate the Yankees and that's largely because of Yankee fans, so it's usually pretty easy for me to really dislike individual Yankee players. But I reserve most of my dislike for the mercenaries who grab the Yankee dough after spending their best years elsewhere. Jeter didn't do that. And, at least at the ballpark, from what I can tell, he's conducted himself in a pretty honorable manner through the years. I can appreciate that, even in a Yankee. Is he over-rated? Oh yeah, definitely. But playing for the Yankees isn't always easy, as others have found out, so maybe a guy who plays there and plays very well for 20 years should get a little credit for that. That said, I would agree that his career warranted an ASG send off closer to the one Chipper Jones got. It just wasn't realistic to expect that would happen. So, I thought he, MLB, the Twins and the Target Field crowd did about the best job that could have been expected of balancing proper appreciation with he inevitable ESPN/FOX overkill of the situation. I admit, too, that I was pleasantly surprised that Mike Trout got the ASG MVP award, rather than Jeter. Again, some bias there at seeing another former Kernels player out-do the "face of baseball." By the way, that whole "face of baseball" thing is a crock. First, there IS no face of baseball. This isn't the NBA and we don't need hyped up media megastars to survive. Trout is the best player in the game and he's only 22 years old (for about another month), but the media will never allow him to reach the hype level of Jeter - because he's not a Yankee. It's really that simple. There will be no more "face of baseball" hype until the next time there's a Yankee with the pedigree to allow Yankee fans, MLB and ESPN to bang the drum loud enough to proclaim him as such. Hopefully, that will take a REALLY long time. Like forever. It was good to see Pat Neshek participating. You can't help but feel just how important this unimportant game was to him after all he's been through. Sure, there were more deserving pitchers that could have been selected (but not as many as some people think), but as long as you're going to give the ASG manager some latitude on picks, you're going to get some picks based on his emotions and if that's going to happen, I'd rather see it happen to guys like Neshek than some others. I did think he could have done without the bit of Twins front office-bashing he did to the media over the weekend, but he probably has good reason to feel the way he does. Heck, I really wish I could complain that letting Neshek go was the worst decision the Twins have made the last few years. It's too bad Neshek got saddled with the loss. His 3B (I don't even remember who it was) sure didn't do him any favors with his defense on Trout's double down the left field line. The game was at least interesting. Plenty of stars performed well under the spotlight. Some did not (I'm looking at you Robinson Cano). All in all, as I said, it was an event Twins fans can be proud of. I took a few pictures on Sunday, so I'll share some of them here. - JC http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ClydesdalesFG.jpg Best thing about Budweiser beer http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Meyer-FG-4.jpg Alex Meyer http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Oliva-FG-3.jpg Tony Oliva with the first pitch before Futures Game http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/OlivaVargasFG.jpg Tony Oliva threw out the first pitch to Kennys Vargas http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Vargas-FG-6.jpg Kennys Vargas http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BeerMachines.jpg The self serve beer machines seemed to really clog up the concourse. Not sure if it was the people using them or the people gawking at them. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Fingers-SB-1.jpg Rollie Fingers http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Fitzgerald-SB-1.jpg Larry Fitzgerald http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/HendersonPiazza-SB.jpg Mike Piazza and Ricky Henderson http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Parsise-SB-1.jpg Zach Parise http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Peterson-SB-1.jpg Adrian Peterson

Just thought I'd bump this thread up because these ads are back. Was drafting a blog post tonight and one kept running even when I'd "pause" it. I've had the same thing happening frequently lately on other pages lately.

Bryant is his #1 (think it's ok to post that here since that part of the article is not behind the "insiders only" curtain.

Really enjoyed the Futures Game, as well. You obviously can't read too much in to one inning of work each for Berrios and Meyer, or even a full game of ABs for Vargas. If one or more had laid an egg, it wouldn't have been cause for despair, so you can't get too overly excited just because they each performed relatively well. Still, it was fun to see them all have some success. And when you consider that the Twins have several other prospects that are projected to be even better than this trio, it just demonstrates that Twins fans have some legitimate reasons to be optimistice about the team's future over the second half of this decade.

Jose Bautista

I was at that 1985 ASG and went to the HR contest too. The game was a bit of a yawner but the HR contest was a lot of fun to watch.

Good to see the Kernels bats come through with some timely hitting. That's been an issue lately. And all 9 outs from Burdi via strikeout? Wow.