The losing streak hit 12 Tuesday. Just think -- we have another month of this to endure.
Or at least the Twins have another month of this to endure. I know a lot of fans have checked out of this season. I'm pretty close to doing that, for cryin' out loud, and I never really stop paying attention to the Twins. But when Logan Schafer is suddenly the daily center fielder, when two rotation slots belong to Andrew Albers and Pat Dean, when the regular shortstop is a good prospect playing out of position -- there's not a lot of reason to think the decision makers give a hoot.
I can make a case for playing Jorge Polanco at shortstop this month and next. They might as well feed him at-bats, and they can't play both him and Brian Dozier at second base, and they are at least accumulating objective data about Polanco as a defensive shortstop for the next management team.
I refuse to try to rationalize Schafer's presence on the roster, much less in the lineup, or feeding starts and innings to Albers and Dean.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Out of indy ball
Logan Schafer made his Twins debut Monday evening. He became the 48th player used by the team this season, tying the Twins franchise record; considering the likelihood that at least one September callup will be making his major league debut, we probably should expect a new standard for roster churn.
Shuffling four dozen players through the active roster in five months is a sign of a bad team (as is the won-loss record, as is the current 11-game losing streak, as is ...).
Here's another one: Two of the 25 currently on the active roster were in independent ball earlier this season. Schafer and Andrew Albers -- today's starting pitcher -- both performed earlier this year for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League. (And Buddy Boshers, on the disabled list, was in the Atlantic League in 2015.)
Players wind up in the Atlantic League -- or the American Association of the St. Paul Saints -- when the 30 major league organizations see no purpose to having them on their minor league teams. That the Twins pulled two players out of that baseball limbo to help staff their high minors isn't exactly unique, but that they have given those two major league time is pretty much an indictment of the farm system.
I do not criticize players for playing; there is an honor and dignity in squeezing whatever one can out of the game and one's talent. My criticism is of the organization. Delving repeatedly into indy ball for players is the scouting equivalent of reopening an abandoned mine. The odds are very much against finding a fresh vein of high-grade ore.
Shuffling four dozen players through the active roster in five months is a sign of a bad team (as is the won-loss record, as is the current 11-game losing streak, as is ...).
Here's another one: Two of the 25 currently on the active roster were in independent ball earlier this season. Schafer and Andrew Albers -- today's starting pitcher -- both performed earlier this year for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League. (And Buddy Boshers, on the disabled list, was in the Atlantic League in 2015.)
Players wind up in the Atlantic League -- or the American Association of the St. Paul Saints -- when the 30 major league organizations see no purpose to having them on their minor league teams. That the Twins pulled two players out of that baseball limbo to help staff their high minors isn't exactly unique, but that they have given those two major league time is pretty much an indictment of the farm system.
I do not criticize players for playing; there is an honor and dignity in squeezing whatever one can out of the game and one's talent. My criticism is of the organization. Delving repeatedly into indy ball for players is the scouting equivalent of reopening an abandoned mine. The odds are very much against finding a fresh vein of high-grade ore.
Monday, August 29, 2016
It's gonna get worse
Man, that series in Toronto was was ugly. But it's been ugly for a while for the Twins.
The Monday print column is about the shoddy defense, with an emphasis on the errors this team has piled up. I wrote the thing Sunday morning. A few hours later, the Twins starting outfield consisted of Robbie Grossman (leads the American League in errors by a left fielder), Danny Santana (a shortstop) and Max Kepler (leads the American League in errors by a right fielder). And on the first play of the game, Grossman and Santana collided on the warning track, with Santana spraining his left shoulder.
The Twins after the game put Santana on the disabled list and called up the legendary Logan Schafer, who they plucked out of an independent league in June. Not Byron Buxton, who can at least make some plays in the outfield and just had a four-game home run streak at Rochester. Nor Adam Brett Walker or Daniel Palka, who've had impressive power numbers (admittedly, neither is a center fielder).
Seth Stohs:
I don't think the loss of 35 August at-bats matters a whit in terms of development. I think the Red Wings still have a chance of making the International League playoffs, and Twins are loathe to take a big piece of their lineup out to sit on the big league bench.
Which is, perhaps, part of why they still have their valued affiliation with Rochester. It sure does nothing to make the big league club more watchable or interesting.
In the last 18 games, the Twins are 3-15 with a -61 run differential.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 29, 2016
The Monday print column is about the shoddy defense, with an emphasis on the errors this team has piled up. I wrote the thing Sunday morning. A few hours later, the Twins starting outfield consisted of Robbie Grossman (leads the American League in errors by a left fielder), Danny Santana (a shortstop) and Max Kepler (leads the American League in errors by a right fielder). And on the first play of the game, Grossman and Santana collided on the warning track, with Santana spraining his left shoulder.
The Twins after the game put Santana on the disabled list and called up the legendary Logan Schafer, who they plucked out of an independent league in June. Not Byron Buxton, who can at least make some plays in the outfield and just had a four-game home run streak at Rochester. Nor Adam Brett Walker or Daniel Palka, who've had impressive power numbers (admittedly, neither is a center fielder).
Seth Stohs:
Between today and the end of the AAA season, Walker/Palka will each get 30-35 plate appearances. With Twins, they'd get 8 maybe.— Seth Stohs (@SethTweets) August 29, 2016
Calling up Logan Schafer is not exciting in any way, but I'm OK with him getting 2 games in 8 days while Walker/Palka keep playing daily.— Seth Stohs (@SethTweets) August 29, 2016
I don't think the loss of 35 August at-bats matters a whit in terms of development. I think the Red Wings still have a chance of making the International League playoffs, and Twins are loathe to take a big piece of their lineup out to sit on the big league bench.
Which is, perhaps, part of why they still have their valued affiliation with Rochester. It sure does nothing to make the big league club more watchable or interesting.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Pic of the Week
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| Matt Kemp strikes out. Matt Kemp breaks bat over his knee. |
Matt Kemp, on the other hand, has an on-base percentage under .300 and has been deemed by the Braves to be out of shape, so he might be permitted to blame the bat for his failure.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Affiliates current and former
One thing that has gone well for the Twins the past week-plus: They extended their Triple A affiliation with the Rochester Redwings.
There had been some speculation about that in the immediate wake of Terry Ryan's firing, especially considering that the New York Mets are a presumably better geographic fit for an upstate New York team, and the Mets want, for a variety of reasons, to get their affiliation out of Las Vegas.
This 2013 Wall Street Journal piece explains the odd Mets-Vegas pairing well:
Only a handful of team-affiliate agreements expire each year, and if one of them isn't renewed, it creates a game of musical chairs. Las Vegas is the chair no team wants.
And the Mets have become the fanny no chair wants.
"They're undesirable," said Dave Rosenfield, a longtime Norfolk (Va.) Tides executive. "Nobody wants them."
The story is more than three years old, but as far as I can tell, it's not dated. The Vegas stadium hasn't been replaced, the Wilpons still own the Mets, and Vegas is still in the desert.
The Redwings, incidentally, have had a pretty good season, even if they appear unlikely to make the International League playoffs. It has certainly been a hectic one for player movement. Earlier this summer the Wings' play-by-play announcer tweeted that there were only three position players left from the opening roster -- and no pitchers.
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Two years ago the Twins switched Double-A affiliations, leaving the New Britain RockCats (Eastern League) for Chattanooga (Southern League). This came as the RockCats ownership announced plans to abandon New Britain for nearby Hartford.
The team, now branded the Hartford Yard Goats, will spend the entire season on the road. The new stadium in Hartford is unfinished, and nothing as been done on it in months as the city wrangles with contractors and team, And this week, Baseball America reports, the Eastern League president said the Yard Goats may never play a game in Hartford.
The Twins got out of that mess just in time.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Rotation merry-go-round
Tyler Duffey had a poor start Wednesday night. Jose Berrios had a poor start Thursday afternoon.
And now both are back in the minors, with Andrew Albers and Alex Wimmers recalled.
Berrios has now made nine starts in the majors, and his ERA is just south of 9. His command is obviously not there. He clearly has stuff to work on. And Duffey has been effective in just two of his last seven starts. It's hard for Paul Molitor to keep trotting them out every fifth game.
That said, these two are a lot more likely to be important pitchers in the majors than Albers or Wimmers.
Berrios is the most talented pitcher Twins have, and the team is just throwing up its hands and saying "we have no idea how to handle him."— Matthew Pouliot (@matthewpouliot) August 25, 2016
I don't know that that's exactly fair, but ... Mike Berardino had a piece recently describing Berrios' side session. There was the pitching coach, the bullpen coach, the number one starter and the Hall of Fame pitcher/broadcaster all there offering the rookie advice. Nothing like overwhelming the kid, huh?
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Wimmers' callup isn't official, but it's been widely reported on the interwebs. His has been a torturous trip to the bigs: First round pick out of Ohio State in 2010, a rapid fall from grace the next year when he lost the strike zone, Tommy John surgery, seven seasons of grinding in the minors without ever having a true breakthrough season.
The Twins have twice exposed him to the Rule 5 draft. Nobody's taken him. Even this season hasn't been all that good -- ERA 4.04 at two levels.
Wimmers was described leading into the 2010 draft as a polished strike-throwing machine who likely wouldn't take long to make it to the majors. It sure hasn't worked out that way.
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I'm not sure what the starting rotation is now. Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson, sure. Supposedly Hector Santiago was going to be held back because of a sore thumb, and now Berrios and Duffey are out of the picture at least until sometime in September. So there are at least two, maybe three, immediate vacancies.
I'm guessing Albers and Pat Dean will fill two of those slots. The Twins don't have an off day again until Sept. 8, so if Santiago has to be skipped somebody else has to fill in. Wimmers hasn't started a game all season, but considering that Jorge Polanco didn't play shortstop at all in the minors and has been pretty much a fixture there for the past three weeks, maybe Molitor intends to do the same with Wimmers.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Park banged
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| Byung Ho Park turned 30 last month. |
His numbers, majors and minors, weren't good. How much of his struggles can be laid at his hand and wrist issues and how much at his ability/approach is uncertain. It's difficult to hit with a bad hand or wrist. Park, through his translator, downplays the injury factor in the linked story, but that may simply be a "no excuses" approach.
Excuse or reason, the injury (injuries?) make Park's 2016 deceptively difficult to evaluate. When he made contact, the ball went a long way. But he didn't make contact very often.
Park is signed through 2019, maybe 2020 (team option). Joe Mauer is signed through 2018. That's two for first base and designated hitter. Miguel Sano may not be any more a third baseman than he was a right fielder, so he may be a third for that mix. Then there's Kennys Vargas, who slugged .576 in his limited major league time. Four.
Meanwhile, Trevor Plouffe has seemingly been locked into both first base and the cleanup slot. There may be a universe in which that is optimal, but I don't think I'm inhabiting it.
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