Wednesday August 20, 2003

Deep, Dark Secrets

That’s the only conclusion I can come to.  How else can we explain Ron Gardenhire’s apparent infatuation with Dustan Mohr?  Mohr must have some really bad pictures or proof of something on Gardenhire.

Don’t get me wrong. I am sure Dustan Mohr is a great, fun guy to hang around. I think Dustan Mohr is a very solid baseball player. He’s a fairly good outfielder, and he occasionally goes on a hot streak offensively. As I’ve said before, Dustan Mohr would be a great 5^th outfielder for any major league organization.

I can also appreciate Gardenhire having some loyalty to the players on the team that played under Tom Kelly.  That’s nice, and it explains also why Chris Gomez didn’t take over the shortstop position at some point during the season.

But, what does Dustan Mohr have that the likes of Michael Cuddyer, Michael Restovich, Mike Ryan, Bobby Kielty or Lew Ford didn’t have? (Please feel free to answer this… send me an e-mail)

Last night after the Twins win, they made two roster moves. Here I’ll discuss the first. (click here for the second) The Twins optioned outfielder Michael Restovich to AAA and recalled catcher Rob Bowen.  I have no problem with them calling up Rob Bowen, and because Restovich has not had any consistent playing time in the last two weeks or so, it makes sense that Restovich gets sent down. But he must be asking himself what more he could have done in his brief playing time to warrant more playing time!

Because of how well Matthew Lecroy is playing, he needs to be in the lineup every day, and the Twins don’t want to have a situation where they would lose the DH (hence, making the pitcher bat) because of having both Lecroy and Pierzynski in the lineup.  So, don’t expect Bowen to play a lot, but he does allow them to keep AJ and Lecroy in the lineup every day. Plus, Bowen’s been hitting fairly well since his callup from AA.

But back to the subject at hand; Dustan Mohr always winning out in the battle of playing time in right field with top-notch prospects.  It happened the last two years with Bobby Kielty. It happened early this season with Michael Cuddyer. And again, it’s happened with Michael Restovich.  (This is a topic I have written about too frequently of late, so check out the archives to read some of the previous articles. But, here is the first time I ranted about this situation on this site)

Let’s look at the reasons that Gardenhire has used for not playing Restovich.  He says that he’s not as good a defensive outfielder as Mohr.  He has said that Restovich is being too patient at the plate.  Restovich has a tendency to strike out too much.

Defense - I will concede that Mohr is probably a better defensive outfielder than Restovich.  I couldn’t prove that statistically, although I know Mohr has 5 errors this year already.

Too patient - Why is this a problem?  Because he’s waiting for a good pitch to hit, rather than swinging at everything like Torii Hunter?  Because an on-base percentage of over .400 is a bad thing?  Dustan Mohr has 27 walks in 322 plate appearances.  Michael Restovich had 9 walks in 51 at bats.  Restovich’s OBP was over .400. Mohr’s is .329!

Strike out rates - Let’s take a look at the numbers. On the season, Dustan Mohr is averaging a strikeout every 3.39 at bats!  I acknowledge the Restovich’s numbers are in a significantly smaller sample size, but so far, he’s averaging a strikeout every 4.2 at bats.  Oh, and Restovich is hitting .310. Not exactly terrible output!!

I’ve talked about this subject so much that even I’m sick of it. I never get really upset, ever, but this issue is so infuriating!  The Twins had four players listed in this year’s Top 30 Baseball America prospects. 

Joe Mauer obviously is playing great in AA and proving he deserved the lofty ranking. I hope that the Twins don’t rush Mauer to the big leagues. I mean, the guy walks more than he strikes out.  Get him with Ron Gardenhire and Scott Ullger for a couple of weeks, and they could totally mess him up!

Michael Cuddyer should have been a rookie of the year candidate this year, but after about 50 at bats, he started losing playing time, before he became nothing more than a pinch hitting option, used every 3^rd game or so. 

Justin Morneau ripped up AA, then in a short time really destroyed AAA pitching before getting called up to the Twins.  He was the starting DH and cleanup hitter. He quickly showed power, hitting three early homers, but also showed a good swing hitting pitches to left field. But, after awhile, he too was relegated to playing every few days, and pinch hitting duties. Scott Ullger started “coaching” him and making adjustments for him, and Morneau really struggled before being sent back to AAA.  He has really struggled there now too.

Michael Restovich was struggling a little at AAA, but did have some decent power numbers before he was called up.  He started the first 8-10 games he was with the Twins and did well. But then, he again lost time to Mr. Mohr, while Mr. Ullger “tweaked” his swing.  Tweaked the swing that was powerful, but also was hitting over .300.

I could understand this if these guys were called up to play behind Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter and Shannon Stewart, but due to injuries, etc., that hasn’t been the case (and with the roster move, it looks like Jones will be back in left field).  Would you like to see an example of a player who is ranked as a Top 50 prospect gets treated by another organization?  Here you go:

On June 20^th, the Florida Marlins called up hitting prospect Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera is a prospect who is thought of around baseball as a prospect along the lines of the Twins named above.  Cabrera is a 20 year old 3B prospect.  He was hitting so well at AA, that the Marlins called him up, even though their third baseman, Mike Lowell, was putting up All-Star numbers.  They plugged Cabrera into the lineup in left field, a position he had never played before. Left field, where veteran Todd Hollandsworth had been starting all season. Todd Hollandsworth, who has certainly done more in his career than Dustan Mohr.

The Marlins played him every game from June 20-June 30. On June 30, he went 0-4 against the Braves to lower his average to .158.  What would the Twins do in that situation?  Probably sit him on the bench in favor of Mohr for a couple of weeks before sending him down.  What did the Marlins do? They put him in the starting lineup on July 1. That day, he went 4-6 against the Braves, with 2 doubles and 2 home runs. He started every game for the Marlins in July and was named National League Rookie of the Month for July (he hit .318 with 5 HR and 21 RBI), as his batting average jumped to .268.

On August 8^th, Cabrera went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts against the Milwaukee Brewers, and his average was back down to .243.  So, what did the Marlins do? Put him in the lineup the next day. He hit a double in 4 at bats, and he has hit in all 10 games since that day, including a triple last night. Justin Morneau struck out 4 times in a game, then didn’t play for 5 straight games with Ullger worked with him!

So, what is my point in all of this?  Even top prospects are going to struggle and have to make adjustments once they get to the major leagues. But, they are top prospects for a reason.  Every level they have played at, they have been allowed to play through their rough stretches.  As you can see, the Marlins have allowed Cabrera to struggle at times even in the major leagues, but keep putting him out in the outfield every game (a new position for him), and he is contributing mightily to the Marlins drive toward the NL Wild Card. And you know what… the Marlins are willing to give up a little defense to get Cabrera’s bat into the lineup!

Message to Jason Kubel, if you happen to be reading this: You could be next. If the Twins decide to call you up in the next couple of weeks… JUST SAY NO!!!!

Am I wrong? Am I completely off-base (pun fully intended, thank you) here?  I’d love to hear what you think about this situation?  Is it even a situation? Who’s to blame?  Ron Gardenhire for making the lineups?  (ever wonder what the Twins might be doing if Paul Molitor was the manager this year?) Scott Ullger for messing with the hitters?  Terry Ryan for calling them up to the situation?  E-mail me and let me know what you think.

The Other Transaction

The second Twins transaction following their 8-2 win over the Cleveland Indians was one that I think a lot of Twins fans can be, and should be, much more excited and happy about!

The Twins finally put Rick Reed on the Disabled List. To take his roster spot, the Twins purchased the contract of LHP Carlos Pulido.  For die-hard Twins fans, that name should be familiar! OK, you have to be a real die-hard to remember him!

Here is the Carlos Pulido story, in a nutshell.  Pulido is a 32 year old pitcher from Caracas, Venezuela. The reason Twins fans might recognize the name is because he actually pitched for the Twins briefly in 1994.  Here are his numbers from that season with the Twins:

In the eight seasons in between, Pulido was waived by the Twins, played some more in the minor leagues, played some in Japan, and some in Mexico in regular season, as well as Winter Leagues throughout Latin America.  He was in Venezuela this past winter, when a Twins scout happened to see him throw. He told the Twins that they had to check him out. After a tryout, they signed him. And, here are the numbers he has put up this season with the Rochester Redwings:

I’m sure I will get bashed for saying this, but I really like this call up. I do understand that it cost the Twins a spot on the 40 man roster, but with James Baldwin’s spot open, the spot was there.  The Twins need another left-hander in the bullpen. JC Romero isn’t doing the job, and Johan Santana is the Twins best starting pitcher.  Sure, Brad Thomas was on the 40 man roster already and could be a lefty in the ‘pen, but he’s still recovering from arm problems.

I think this is an exciting story for the Twins, Twins fans, and well, especially Carlos Pulido. I hope he does well.

For the record, the Twins also said that Joe Mays will be starting on Saturday in the place of Rick Reed.  That move, I’m not so happy with. Yes, he pitched 4 shutout innings in relief of Reed on Sunday, but I do think it would be good for him to stay in the bullpen for longer. I would prefer the Twins give Grant Balfour a start, or even Carlos Pulido.

OTHER TWINS THOUGHTS

The Twins beat the Indians last night!  Shouldn’t be a leading sentence to any section of any website, but it is today.  Why? Well, as has been well documented on this and other Twins-related sites, the Twins have really struggled against the Indians this year.  Here are some thoughts:

Johan Santana is amazing!  That’s not new news to anyone.  We all know how good he is.  In his previous two starts, Santana had given up no runs and just six hits in 16 innings.  Last night, he gave up two runs (on a homer to Casey Blake) in 8 innings.  He also struck out 10 Indian batters.  Twins fans have understood the reason why Brad Radke was assigned the title “ace” for the past 5 or more seasons (longevity, poise, had previously won 20 games in a season).  But now, it is apparent that, in Santana, the Twins may finally actually have a true “staff ace”.

Casey Blake’s performance warrants comment.  Last night, the former Twin went 4-4 against his former team. Two singles, a double, and that 2-run homer.  On the season, Blake is now hitting .270 with 15 homers and 54 RBI.

Matthew Lecroy hit a big 3 run homer to give the Twins a 4-2 lead in the 6^th inning. It was his 14^th home run on the year, which is good for second on the Twins team.  Lecroy was in the starting lineup at 1B. Doug Mientkiewicz was out again with the wrist injury. Lecroy has hit a couple of big home runs in the last week, and does deserve to be in the lineup every day. But where?  Ron Gardenhire has talked about playing Jacque Jones out in left field again. That would open up the DH spot for Lecroy.  With the Twins recalling Rob Bowen, Lecroy should be in the lineup almost every day.

Dustan Mohr hit an 8^th inning home run! See! I can say something positive about Mohr too!

RESULTS and STANDINGS

Here are last night’s AL Central scores and the up-to-the-minute standings in the division. It continues to stay close and probably will for the rest of the season.

Minnesota Twins 8, Cleveland Indians 2

New York Yankees 6, Kansas City Royals 3

Chicago White Sox 5, Anaheim Angels 2

So, there are some definite positives to talk about with the Twins. 1 ½ back with 37 games to go. A big 4-game series against the Royals coming up this weekend!  Think positive!  I will try to!  That’s why I won’t discuss Torii Hunter’s at bats last night! (he really needs to get over the Jason Davis thing!! It’s ridiculous!)

Any thoughts on today’s posting are welcomed.  Maybe you agree. Maybe you completely disagree and want to yell at me for not supporting Ron Gardenhire or Dustan Mohr.  Please e-mail me and let me know what you think.

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