Friday,
January 21, 2011
Twins Notes
It seems like it has been awhile since I’ve
thrown some Twins thoughts and opinions into a blog for readers to discuss. To
say things have been a bit busy would be a major understatement. But hey, it’s
supposed to be 30 degrees below zero tonight, so it’s not like I plan on going
anywhere. I do appreciate your continued
readership and support. Today, I am just going to talk a little bit about
several Twins topics and as always welcome your thoughts and comments on any of
the topics.
Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook –
2011
My intent is not to bombard you with sales
pitches for my Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2011. However, I will only
be taking pre-orders through the weekend (changed from Friday as I will place
the initial order on Monday). There have been a few pre-orders so far, and
again, I won’t put it all here, but if you want to know all about what is in
the book, scroll down on this page. To pre-order, you can send me money through
Paypal. If you don’t have Paypal,
send me an e-mail and we’ll come up with a plan to get you a book too.
$7.15 Million for
Matt Capps?
It’s OK for people to change their opinions
without being hypocritical, right? When the Twins acquired Matt Capps from the
Washington Nationals in exchange for Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa,
I did not like the move. Capps was terrible in 2009 and primarily he gave up a
lot of hits. Sure, he was a closer but Wilson Ramos was a guy I thought could
do a lot for the Twins. I laid out my plan many times here and on podcasts. I
said that Joe Mauer could catcher 110 or so games a year, and DH another 40-45. Ramos could have caught those 52
games that Mauer didn’t, plus he could be the
right-handed designated hitter and pinch hitter. Drew Butera
could still be the backup catcher to either of the starting catchers on a given
day, to take away the concern about playing both Ramos and Mauer.
With the Twins need for a right-handed bat in its lineup, I really wish Ramos
was part of the organization. But he’s not. He hasn’t been since July 31. That’s
five-and-a-half months ago, so it can’t factor in to decision making any more.
Now let’s just take the Ramos Factor out of
the equation… Matt Capps was terrible in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Despite 27 saves, he went 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Terrible, and
hence, the Pirates gave up on the then-25 year old and did not tender him a
contract.
Now, let’s get over the Bad 2009 Factor… Look
at the rest of his career. He was very good in 85 games as a 22 year old in his
first full-season in 2006. He was even better in 2007 when he posted a 2.28 ERA
and a 1.01 WHIP in 76 games. He became the closer during that season and in
2008, he posted a 3.02 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. So again, we’re removing the 2009
factor so we jump to 2010. He was an All-Star with the Washington Nationals in
2010. Yes, every team needs to be represented, but the Nationals also had Ryan
Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and even Stephen Strasburg who were considered for a spot.
Following the trade to the Twins, he was 2-0 with 16 saves in 27 games.
However… he isn’t a prototypical, Nathan-like
closer. Sure, that is true, but frankly, he has put up very good numbers in four
of his five full seasons. However, Capps only strikes out an average of seven
batters per nine innings. He also has a career WHIP of 1.20 which is good, but
it’s not dominant. I understand these concerns. But as the great Crash Davis
once so eloquently stated, “Strikeouts are boring!
Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.”
I 100% agree with Phil Mackey who said that,
although he may be making $1-2 million more than we’d like, there is a $115
million payroll, so, who cares? Secondly, take a look at his track record and
contract and compare it against Heath Bell or Brian Wilson, or even Bobby Jenks
and others. He got market value.
I know a lot of people are saying that they
could have brought back two relievers for the $7.15 million. Technically
yes, but in reality no. I was willing to give Jesse Crain three years
and $12 million. He got more than that, but there is a big difference between a
one year deal and a three year deal, especially among relief pitchers. Matt Guerrier got three years. Jon Rauch? Well, he wasn’t going
to come back anyway. Matt Capps’ only guarantee was one year. It’s a little
high. But he’s 26, and he can get better. The reality is that as well as all of
the Nathan reports have made it sound, he did have Tommy John surgery. Right
now, Matt Capps is the one sure-thing in the Twins bullpen.
‘Nuf said!
Carl Pavano
Signs
As I mentioned yesterday, I was at the Twins
Winter Caravan in Thief River Falls on Wednesday night when the news came out
on Twitter that Pavano and the Twins had reached an
agreement on a two year, $16.5 million. Early in the offseason, I often stated
that I would rather have two draft picks than bring back Pavano,
but that was when the assumption that he would either get three years or $10
million or more. The Twins ended up getting him for an average of $8.25 million
for two years. He will be 35 years old and then 36 years old. He has thrown 200
innings the last two years, and although I do not believe he’ll have an ERA under
4.20 again, I think that he can eat innings and be league average or so. There
is value in that. The Twins retain six starting pitchers instead of five. Depth
is a very good thing.
I really don’t have a lot to say about the Pavano signing because it is very fair. It’s a positive and
not very controversial at all.
DFA Updates
In the last couple of days, a couple of Twins
40 man roster guys have been designated for assignment by other teams. To make
room for Brian Fuentes, the Oakland A’s let go of Steve Tolleson
(who I would say is much better than Matt Tolbert!). The Mets signed Chris
Young, and to make room, OF Jason Pridie was
designated.
STRANGE
STAT
Yorman Bazardo was signed as a
minor league free agent last month. He’s young, but despite very good minor
league numbers, it has not transferred to the big leagues yet. He is pitching
for Aragua this winter. In 12 starts, he has gone 7-2 with a 2.38 ERA. In 72
innings, he has just 17 walks, and he has struck out 28. Twenty-eight.
How has he struck out so few and still been so good?
Have a great weekend!! If you would like, please
feel free to e-mail me or leave your
comments here.