Burning Bridges with Kevin Slowey

At this point, there seems to be little secret that Kevin Slowey has fallen out of favor with the Minnesota Twins. It seems that everybody within the general vicinity of Kevin Slowey hates Kevin Slowey. I have to admit ignorance on this one; he seems like a nice enough guy when he threatens to murder people. However, I can see how Slowey time traveling, kidnapping and then murdering the Lindbergh baby would not win him popularity points with anyone.

Twins Send Baker to the DL, Tolbert to Rochester, Call Up Two

When Scott Baker informed the Twins in his last outing that he had been experiencing some elbow discomfort they immediately removed him and skipped his following start the Sunday prior to the All-Star break. He had an MRI which showed no structural damage so the hope was that he could pick up his next start following the break.

Last night however Baker told the team that he still didn't feel well enough to start. Facing a double header against the Indians starting tomorrow - the first game of which Baker was expected to start - the team has choosen to send him to the disabled list and called up 25 year old lefty Scott Diamond, a Rule V selection who will start the second game of the twin bill.

Young, Plouffe Return for Twins

When the Twins decided to demote Trevor Plouffe earlier this season I, along with quite a few others in the blogosphere thought the move was a poor one. Plouffe was hardly an elite prospect entering the 2011 season, but his status as a former first round pick gave some credence to his scorching hot start for the Twins AAA affiliate.

Sadly the Twins decided to send Plouffe back to AAA despite him showing some glipses of his phenomenal power by hitting three home runs and five total extra base hits in his first 72 Major League plate appearances. The decision was made after Manager Ron Gardenhire repeatedly blasted the young infielder to the media following series of errors.

Denard Span Set To Begin Rehab Assignment

Despite missing the past month and a half with a concussion Denard Span has still been the Twins team leader in WAR. The fact that he was able to accumulate 2.7 WAR in just over two months of play was remarkable and meant that when he went down, the Twins were left with a massive void in center field to try and fill.

Thankfully for the Twins rookie Ben Revere stepped up and capably filled his shoes, posting a .275 batting average (empty though it may have been) while playing electrifying defense in center field, and causing havoc on the bases - showing why he's been such a highly regarded prospect for so long now.

Now Span is ready to begin a rehab assignment, and given that he's missed so much time it's likely the stint will be somewhat lengthy. Twins fans could expect him to play at least a week of games before actually returning to the team. Even then it's likely that he'll have some rust to shake off.

Regardless, getting a player of Span's caliber back at the top of the lineup where his .750 OPS and .361 OBP can help load the bases for Joe Mauer and Co..

What'll be interesting to see is precisely how Manager Ron Gardenhire decides to go about balancing both his bevy of outfielders, as well as his lineups. For now it would seem that the plan would be for Delmon Young, who is set to return tomorrow, to stay in left, Revere to remain in center, and for Span to slide over to right while Michael Cuddyer mans first base.

Who will bat second is still up in the air however. Alexi Casilla has a slightly better OBP than Revere, but Gardy seems to really like Revere's presence at the top of the order, and his elite contact skills would fit Gardy's small-ball style perfectly.

Plouffe Power

The emergence of Trevor Plouffe at AAA this year has been one of the most heavily discussed story lines amongst Twins bloggers during the 2011 season (behind only the cavalcade of injuries, and dramatic discussions of Joe Mauer's future). That level of interest is hardly surprising as the shortstop and former 2004 first round pick (20th overall) has turned the corner in a big, big way at AAA this season.

For most of his Minor League career, Plouffe has been known as both offensively and defensively deficient. A SoCal prep pick, Plouffe is in his 8th season of toiling away in the Twins Minor League system and understandably, Twins fans likely feel as though he's been there forever, yet he's still just 25 years old. As a team that tends to move players just one level per year, Plouffe didn't first reach AAA until 2008 and didn't spend his first full season there until 2009.

In His Own Words: Kyle Gibson

This interview was conducted by Nate Rowan, a recent graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead where he majored in Print Journalism and Communications, and did play by play work for Cobber athletics.


Kyle Gibson was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Missouri. In 2010, spending time at single-A Fort Myers, double-A New Britain and triple-A Rochester, Gibson was 11-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 26 starts including two complete games. He walked only 39 batters in 152 innings of work.

So far this season, Gibson is 3-7 with a 3.89 era in 14 starts. He was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 29. In that stretch, Gibson posted a 2-0 record with a 1.42 ERA in two starts while surrendering just seven hits in 12 2/3 innings.

Joe Mauer Returns, Twins Outright Brian Dinkelman

It's been a long season for the Minnesota Twins, who've suffered through injuries to essentially every key member of their team - and ineffectiveness even when healthy. But with the return of second baseman/shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and reliever Glen Perkins yesterday, the team put itself on a path to health that should continue for the next couple of weeks.

While those two returned yesterday, the Twins will get their best player back today as Joe Mauer makes his much awaited return to the Twins lineup. Since leaving the team with what was initially diagnosed as bi-lateral leg weakness, a neurological condition in which weakness in the legs is caused by misfirings in the brain, spinal cord, or nerves - there has been a massive amount of hand wringing, speculation, and misinformation - and a notable lack of information coming from either the organization or Mauer himself. Whatever the problems Mauer was having were, they were most certainly exacerbated by a prolonged bout with the flu which left Mauer (along with other members of the team) hospitalized and taking fluids.

Twins Roster Situation Getting Dire

The injuries the Twins have suffered early on in the 2011 season have destroyed essentially any chance of competitiveness that they had. Currently the team is playing without it's #2, 3, 5, and 6 hitters. Their cleanup hitter is batting below the Mendoza line with just one home run. As a whole the team is averaging just over three runs per game. It's a legitimate offensive nightmare scenario.

In the past when the Twins suffered injuries, it seemed as though the team could pull from an endless well of well prepared players from their Minor League system and they would adequately fill in for their counterpart. This year however the depth and breadth of the injuries have simply overwhelmed the system.

Twins Activate Kevin Slowey

It's been awhile but the Twins can finally welcome back Kevin Slowey to their bullpen. Before going to the DL, Slowey had easily been the Twins most effective reliever, albeit in an extremely abbreviated sample. Since being sent on a rehab stint, the team had been trying to stretch him out in order to potential take Francisco Liriano's place in the rotation. Of course, we all know how Liriano has delayed those plans.

Should Liriano falter again of course, that could put Slowey right back on track to rejoin the rotation. In the meantime, the team will utilize him out of the bullpen where he's been solid. In order to make room for Slowey, the team has optioned waiver pickup Dusty Hughes to AAA.

Max Ramirez Released

It doesn't feel like so long ago that Max Ramirez was a well regarded catching prospect. Signed by the Braves out of Venezuela back in 2002 as a 17 year old international free agent, Ramirez quickly made a name for himself as a good hitting catcher and became a much sought after commidity. In 2006, the Braves traded him to Cleveland for closer Bob Wickman. A year later he was sent to Texas to bring back long time Indians star Kenny Loften.

Though his defense was roundly regarded as poor, with an arm and release that both graded out as below average along with poor defensive instincts, he continued to be a desirable commodity. This off season after being placed on waivers by Rangers he was picked up by the Red Sox (who now sport another once highly regarded Texas catching prospect behind the plate), waived again, and picked up by the Cubs. Now, he's been released.

Central Arms On The Way Back

Yesterday the Tigers and reliever Joel Zumaya decided to go under the knife to try to determine why he was still experiencing pain in his surgically repaired elbow a month after the pain first manifested itself. But for other AL Central teams dealing with injuries to key arms, the news is better as those pitchers are getting close to returning.

In Toledo White Sox starter Jake Peavy made the last of his scheduled rehab starts today and will rejoin the team tomorrow. Elsewhere, Twins stater-turned-reliever Kevin Slowey, and Indians starter Carlos Carrasco are all nearing returns.

Twins Make a Bevy of Moves

Already wracked by injuries and under performance with three everyday players on the DL, and only two players batting over .227 entering this afternoons contest against the White Sox, the Twins have sent two more players to the disabled list, and demoted one other.

This time it's slugging DH Jim Thome, and 4th outfielder Jason Repko who will be placed on the 15 day DL, while backup catcher Steve Holm has been demoted. The players being called up are Ben Revere, shortstop Trevor Plouffe, and either Danny Lehmann or Rene Rivera.

Francisco Liriano Throws No Hitter

Well, that was unexpected.

Off to a terrible start to his 2011 season, and with his back against the wall and his job rumored to be on the line, Francisco Liriano responded last night by throwing the first no-hitter of the 2011 season.

One of baseballs best pitchers during the 2010 season, I had fully expected Liriano to take yet another step forward in the eyes of fans around the country this year. Instead, he arrived to spring training reportedly not having followed his off season conditioning program, and has been a mess since spring training. His velocity was down, he wasn't missing bats like he has throughout his career and his sometimes spotty command had deteriorated to the level of abysmal.

Twins Power Outage

The Twins slow start is among the more surprising storylines to the start of the season. This is a club that has won the AL Central six times in the last ten years and never finished lower than third place (2005 and 2007) during that same period. To put it mildly, the Twins have been about as wildly successful as any club can be (excluding the post season). However, the Twins find themselves in an unusual position, last place.

It is still very early in the season, so normally I would feel it is too early to panic. On the other hand, everything seems to be going wrong for the club. Franchise player, superstar catcher Joe Mauer is on the disabled list with “leg weakness”, an absolutely terrifying “condition” given he had knee surgery in the offseason and is signed to a hefty 184 million dollar deal that runs until 2018. Francisco Liriano is having a completely perplexing year pitching with 18 strike outs to 18 walks, 4 home runs and a downright awful ERA of 9.13. Finally Justin Morneau has started very slowly in April after having serious problems with a concussion last season. It just seems like a year where everything that can go wrong will go wrong for this organization.

Morning In The Central

Indians Links:

- Cleveland Indians Chatter: Choo and Santana Off To Slow Starts

- Let's Go Tribe: Farm Fresh

- The Tribe Daily: Just a Car Running on Fumes

  
Royals Links:

- Royals Authority: Catch Your Breath Monday

- Kings of Kauffman: Don't Mess With Texas

Tigers Links:

- Bless You Boys: An In Depth Look At Justin Verlander's 1000th Strikeout

- Detroit Tigers Scorecard: Ryan Raburn Raking

- Tiger Tales: Tigers Sweep White Sox

- Old English D: The Other Guys

Twins Links:

- The Bat Shatters: A Break In The Clouds

- Nick's Twins Blog: Three Bagger: Morneau, Nathan, Span

- North Dakota Twins Fan: Playoff Expansion and the Twins


White Sox Links:

- Beer Leaguer: Rancid Offense Reigns

- South Side Sox: Danks Will Have To Help Himself

Morning In The Central

Royals Links:

- Royals Authority: How Often Do Good Relievers Have Bad Outings?

- Kings of Kauffmann: More April Drama Leads to Royals Win

Tigers Links:

- Bless You Boys: Are Young Tigers Prospects In Over Their Heads?

- Detroit Tigers Scorecard: The Phil Coke Debate

Twins Links:

- Over The Baggy: Kubel's Early Adjustments Pay Offensive Dividends

- North Dakota Twins Fan: Thome's History of Slow Starts

- Twinkie Town: State Of Play


White Sox Links:

-Future Sox: Is Trayce Thompson Primed For a Breakout Year?

- South Side Sox: Teahan Making Plays, and a Play For Third

Morning In The Central

Indians Links:

- Indians Prospect Insider: Defense is Bartalone's Calling Card

- The Cleveland Fan: Core Building Exercises

Royals Links:

- Kings of Kauffman: Looking Forward to the Future: Don't Ignore the Present

- Royals Authority: Kyle Davies Is Historically Awful

- Royally Speaking: Royals Need To Move Kila

- 14 For 77: Making a Move

Tigers Links:

- Bless You Boys:

- Tiger Tales: A Positive Game From Porcello

Twins Links:

- Nick's Twins Blog: Return On Investment

- North Dakota Twins Fan: Top Five Twins Prospects So Far in 2011


White Sox Links:

- White Sox Observer: Peavy's Diagnosis Is Apparently the Best Case Scenario

Joe Mauer Headed To DL

When word came out that Joe Mauer was going to be taking his second day off in a row, it perked the curiosity of many of my fellow writers. Mauer getting games off is nothing new - every catcher gets games off. But it's quite rare that he gets two of in a row, even with Carl Pavano scheduled to pitch (Pavano usually is caught by Drew Butera).

When asked about the abscence during pregame interviews Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire would only say that Mauer was, "sore," and declined to offer any other details beyond that, saying only that they'd, "re-evaluate him tomorrow."

As it turns out, it wouldn't take that that long.

Examining the Struggles of Francisco Liriano

My how one year can change things.

In April of 2010, I was penning a post entitled, Is Liriano Back? that examined his stuff early last year vs where it had been in 2008 and 2009. Twelve months and one phenomenal season later, it feels like he might be right back to square one.

When Francisco Liriano is going well, he's s strike thrower who induces one of the highest swing-and-miss rates in the game. He'll pair a 93-94 fastball with excellent arm-side run with a wipeout slider that darts and dives and a parachute changeup that fades hard from righties. The first and last would qualify as legitimate plus pitches, and the slider is plus-plus - one of his generations best.

The Daily Report

The Twins are off to what could generously be described as a horrible start in 2011. They've won precisely three games, and frankly are fortunate to have won that many. They aren't pitching, they aren't hitting, and they aren't fielding. And now just this past week they've sent two players at positions where they were already perilously thin to the disabled list. To say the least, this isn't how they drew it up. While I could expound at length to the troubles the team has faced on an individual basis, lets instead sum it up by bullet point to save my poor fingers.

- They rank 2nd to last in all of baseball in: runs scored (24), runs per game (2.66), batting average (.214), on base percentage (.266), and slugging percentage (.288).

- Their combined .554 OPS was nearly as close to being like the average NL pitcher in 2010 (.351) as it was to the avergage catcher (.699).

- They have as many homeruns as a team (3) as Alex Avila.

- Their 4.38 team ERA is actually incredibly lucky - they have a 5.42 FIP. Again, 2nd worst in all of baseball.

- Startlingly, it's been their starting pitching (6.36 FIP) more than their relief pitching (3.65) which has been the culprit. The much fretted over bullpen actually has a 3.00 ERA. Go figure.

- The 7 errors they've committed thus far would put them on pace for 126 in 2011. A mark that would've been tied for, you guessed it, 2nd worst in baseball in 2010.