Twins Trade Talk 2012: July 31: Deadline Edition

This continues the dialy trade talk updates for the Twins and of action around the league that influences the Twins trade moves, up until the deadline. You can find all the older updates here, in reverse chronological order. This is the last of the talk. Potential trade action will happen up till 3:00 PM today. I will post a Twins Trade Deadline Retrospect after the dust settles tonight or tomorrow (probably tomorrow because I want to look at potential reactions) and will pubish August waiver trade talk as it comes. Here is the Twins Trade Talk the past 24 hours or so:

• Jon Heyman indicates that the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Fransisco Giants are interested in Justin Morneau.
• Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal suggests that the Los Angeles Dodgers are out on Justin Monreau. because they have nothing suitable. He also suggests that the Twins are looking for a team to take his salary and want a young MLB-ready starting pitcher in return.
• Heyman also suggests that Jamey Carroll may be traded, without linking him to particular teams.
• Darren Wolfson tweets that the Toronto Blue Jays had plenty of scouts at the Twins' game last night.
• Jerry Crasnick reports that Glen Perkins is in "high demand".

Twins Trade Talk 2012: July 30

This continues the dialy trade talk updates for the Twins and of action around the league that influences the Twins trade moves, up until the deadline. You can find all the older updates here, in reverse chronological order. Here is the Twins Trade Talk the past 24 hours or so:

• Fransisco Liriano to the Chicago White Sox is old news. Here are profiles of the players the Twins received in return. Apparently the Twins did not even talk about an extension at this point. and the Boston Red Sox were finalists up to the trade time. I wonder what their offer was to make the Twins' interim GM, Terry Ryan, trade within the division...
• The last trade between the Twins and the White Sox was on September 3, 1986 when the Minnesota Twins traded Pete Filson to the Chicago White Sox for Kurt Walker. The last trade between the two teams that involved a decent player was on February 19, 1985 when the Twins traded Roch Scheer and Randy Johnson (Not THAT Randy Jonhson) to the White Sox for current TV analyst Roy Smalley. And both of those times, the White Sox were in a different division (AL East vs AL West.) The first ever trade between the two franchises was in June 13, 1903 when Ducky Holmes was traded by the Senators to the White Sox for a player to be named later and became Davey DUnkle a week afterwards.
• Meanwhile, Twins' players were disappointed by the Liriano trade and White Sox GM Kenny Williams apparently thinks that they see some flaws they can fix to improve Liriano. Here are some additional reactions of Twins' players and coaches. Liriano himself was surprised by the trade.
• On the Ron Gardenhire show on ESPN 1500 yesterday morning, Gardenhire said that there have been discussion about Justin Morneau and he really does not want Josh Willingham to leave the Twins.
• Bob Nightengale indicates that the Twins are talking to other teams about Denard Span, but unlike what Terry Ryan said (ie. that he is after single A prospects,) he is looking for an MLB-ready pitcher in return.
• This is a strange one (but very true) : The Seattle Mariners are interested in Josh Willingham. A package of Héctor Noesí and/or Erasmo Ramírez and maybe even Taijuan Walker could be in the works
• Justin Morneau, Matt Capps, Carl Pavano and Nick Blackburn all make Jon Heyman's list of players who can get traded via waiver trades after tomorrow's deadline. Nick Blackburn? That is hopeful.

Twins Trade Talk 2012: July 28

This continues the dialy trade talk updates for the Twins and of action around the league that influences the Twins trade moves, up until the deadline. You can find all the older updates here, in reverse chronological order. Here is the Twins Trade Talk the past 24 hours or so:

• Ben Goessling of the Pioneer Press reports that Twins' interim General Manager, Terry Ryan, "is making and taking calls". This is the first time that it was reported that Ryan is making calls, i.e. actively shopping Twins' players. In the same piece the names of the usual suspects (Justin Morneau, Fransisco Liriano, Josh Willingham and Denard Span) are mentioned without being linked to suitors. Also mentioned is that the Twins will be looking to get "hard-throwing arms" with a "high-upside" in return.
• Interesting article here in the Chicago Tribune from the Cubs' perspective, but suggests that it might starting to be a buyers' market for Starting Pitchers, which does not bode well for the Minnesota Twins and Fransisco Liriano. On the other hand, Chigaco's own Matt Garza is shut down with a triceps situation, which might take one pitcher off the market at the deadline.
• Phil Mackey connects the Atlanta Braves, who were shun by Ryan Dempster, with Fransisco Liriano. Over at the ESPN rumor central, they have Liriano linked to: St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles. In other words, half the league is after Liriano.
• Jim Bowden indicates that the Cincinnati Reds are "chasing" Denard Span, among others.
• Here is a name not mentioned before: Glen Perkins. John Morosi tweets that there have been "heavy interest" and that the Twins' price is "very high"
• Jason Start reiterates that Justin Morneau is available

Any of these guys will be still be wearing Twins' uniforms for the 7:10 PM CDT game on July 31st?

Twins Trade Talk 2012: July 26

This continues the dialy trade talk updates for the Twins and of action around the league that influences the TWins trade moves, up until the deadline. You can find all the older updates here, in reverse chronological order. Here is the Twins Trade Talk the past 24 hours or so:

• Add another team to the list of teams interested in Franscisco Liriano: the Arizona Diamondbacks. LEN3 writes that the scouted Liriano along with the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays last Tuesday. Cubs? Maybe they were scouting someone else.
• Some interesting bits from Jason Stark's latest. He says that the Twins are looking for "a young ready to go" starter for everyone they trade. Also he indicates that Fransisco Liriano is "guaranteed" to be traded, probably after his next start. He also ranks what the Twins want in return for their position players as: a. Josh Willingham ("so expensive, it made me laugh"), b. Denard Span ("more pricey") c. Justin Morneau ("pricey"). Also indicates that the Twins do not want to pay for any of the $19 Million Morneau is owed, in a trade. In the same piece, he indicates that the Los Angeles Dodgers have talked to the Twins about Morneau. Meanwhile, Bob Nightengale says that the Dodgers will add a bat and a starter.
• Ken Rosenthal mentions that the Cincinnati Reds have been looking at Denard Span, but the price seems to be high and they might have to look at rentals instead.

Twins Trade Talk 2012: July 24

Here is the Twins Trade Talk the past 24 hours or so:

• Ken Rosenthal suggests that the Carlos Quentin and Edwin Encarnacion contract extensions (for 3 years at about $10 million per with all incentives), make Josh Willingham more desirable (he still has 2+ years at just $7 million per) but he suggest that Twins will have a high price and "would want a major return". Jon Heyman reiterrates that the Twins are not in a hurry to trade him but also says that if they change their mind, there will be a "mile long" line of suitors. Jon Morosi also indicates that the "Twins have yet to put" him on the trade market
• With Ryan Dempster to the Atlanta Braves trade (which is still pending Dempster's approval), 3 things are happening that involve the Twins: a. The Atlanta Braves are no longer a suiter for Fransisco Liriano b. Fransisco Liriano will likely be the next Domino to fall in the SP market (according to Ken Davidoff who correctly reported before it happend that Dempster will be the first.) Given that one of the Braves' top pitching prospects, 22 year old Panamanian Randall Delgado, who pitched in the majors this season and last and was rated 46th top prospect in baseball this year and 35th last year by Baseball America, involved in the return package to the Cubs, expect a similar or better return for Liriano. And c. The Washington Nationals that are 3.5 games ahead of the Braves would like to improve also. The have been associated with Denard Span and Fransisco Liriano in the past.
• Speaking of returns on pitchers, the Miami Marlins trade Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers for 22 year old Jacob Turner RHSP #22 BA prospect, 22 year old C Rob Brantly with a .311/.359/.461 line in AA and now in AAA, and 22 year old LHSP Brian Flynn who just went to AA. They also swapped compensatory picks (a first in MLB). Sanchez and Infante is pretty much the equivalent of Fransisco Liriano and Alexi Cassila... Pretty good return.
• Heyman reports that the New York Yankees have talked to the Twins about Denard Span, but "did not like the price in prospects", so they went the Ichiro Suzuki way, which cost them the equivalent of Jeff Manship (D.J. Mitchell) and a guy they picked off waivers a couple weeks ago (Danny Farquhar; now try to pronounce that last name with a New York accent...)
• Jon Morosi reports that the Los Angeles Angels like Liriano and he is quoting former Twins' Centerfielder Torii Hunter, in support. Also lists Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves as teams looking for SP, without knowing whether they are interested in Liriano. You can cross the Braves off the list now.
• The Justin Morneau to the Los Angeles Dodgers rumours that started yesterday in LA, are rehashed in the Twin Cities today. Tim Brown writes that the Twins are having discussion about Morneau but they are asking the other teams for an existing major leaguer in return plus to take his full contract. Hard to believe that they would want a major leaguer in return, based on what Terry Ryan has been saying publicly.

Twins Trade Talk 2012: July 23

With the non-waiver trade deadline just 8 days or so away, I decided to have a pretty much daily look at the talk surrounding the Minnesota Twins' activity in the trade market.  To do this, I need to do establish a "baseline" of what is already been reported.  So I am listing (with public sources) the players who have been mentioned in trade talks and the teams linked to them.  From tomorrow on, the news will be posted as they come on a daily or so basis.  I am excluding players currently in the DL, even though they have been mentioned in trade talks, like Carl Pavano and Matt Capps.  Here is the list:

Denard Span: New York Yankees (apparently the Yankees have asked and think that the "Twins are asking too much" for Span. Also, in the same piece is listed that the Twins would rather trade Span than Willingham), Washington Nationals, Florida Marlins (mainly due to previous interest.) Cincinnati Reds (also the Nationals are mentioned in this Twins Cities' reference.) Also this Cincinnati reference mentions the Reds as suitors.

Fransisco Liriano: Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees (scouted him), New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds. Several of these teams listed here as "believed to have interest in him and here. Here says that there are "8-10" teams interested in him, without naming names.


Josh Willingham: Los Angeles Dodgers (reported that they "checked" on him)

Justin Morneau: Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays (most recently in this piece that also lists the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. 

Morneau and scientific facts about back fractures

Today Justin Morneau was reportedly diagnosed with a "stress fracture on his back", which will keep him out of the year.

There are not many details yet, but a fracture in the "back" is a fairly scary thing, and there is not such a diagnosis, btw, but I will try to give some medical and scientific context about it before we learn of more details:

A. What is a stress fracture:

A stress fracture, is a fracture (i.e. break, as in "sticks and stones will break my bones") caused by repetitive strenuous activity. These are hairline fractures (which means that they are "not all the way through" or there is no bone separation and there are no bone fragments around)

B. Anatomy of the spine



A fracture of "the back" does not mean anything... the assumption here is that Justin has a fracture in one of his vertebrae. As far as the seriousness goes, fractures on the Pedicles (the little protrusions that help the back bend but making it not bend so much so it doesn't put too much stress in the spine) are very easy to heal. Fractures on the Facet Joints that do what the Pedicles do plus hit the Pedicles above to keep the "back straight" are a little harder to heal, but still ok. On the other hand, fractures of the Verebral Bodies are much harder to heal and might cause things like slipped discs (which is really painful and that's what Joe Crede had; btw, Joe Mauer's condition was totally different, but this is another story).

Wishing the best for Justin and I will try to keep updated with information about exactly what's going on

Update 12:34 AM EDT:
Apparently the fracture is on L5 (or Lumbar 5) which is the lowest Lumber vertebra (the one where the Pedicle line points to on the right hand side of the above picture). Still no word of which part of the vertebra is affected.

2009 MLB draft and a couple of notes

The 2009 Amateur MLB draft is fast approaching. The Rule 4 Draft, or the First-Year Player Draft (all those 3 things are synonyms), includes players who are residents of the U.S., Canada and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Minor Outlying Islands. Residents of other countries are not subject to the Rule 4 Draft, but are signed as free agents either when they are young (the majority of Latin American, European, African and Australian players) or when are established (the majority of Japanese players.) Free agents have the ability to negotiate with each team and actually, depending on the perceived value of a player, induce a bidding war for their services. Thus, a lot of Cuban refugees do not take residence in the U.S. or a territory, so they will not be subjected to the amateur draft, but take residence in a Latin American country like Bolivia or Mexico. The minor league draft is a way for organizations to restock their systems.

The NFL Draft is widely publicized and followed, but this is not true for the MLB Draft. Regardless, there are mock 1st round MLB drafts out there from various sources. Here are the calls for the Twins 1st pick this weekend from various places:

mlb outsider: Bobby Borchering, HS (3B) (pick made by Seth Stohs)

Sports2debate: Bobby Borchering, HS (3B)

Flagrant Fouls Kentrail Davis, Tennessee (OF)

Project Prospect: Tyler Skaggs, HS (LHP)

Huffington Post: James Paxton, Kentucky (LHP)

Prospect Insider: Chad James, Kentucky (LHP)

MyMLBdraft.com: Joivanni Mier, HS, SS

Sporting News (M Huang): Jared Mitchell, LSU (OF)

Minor League Ball: Bobby Borchering, HS (3B)

Baseball Draft Report: Jared Mitchell, LSU (OF)

Morisato's Blog: Max Stassi, HS (C)

USCTrojans31: Jacob Turner, HS (RHP)

The Twins usually pick the best talent available, but I find it difficult for them to pick a catcher or an outfielder or a RHP, due to large organization depths in this area. There is some depth in corner infield (esp. on first base) and I think it might be unlikely to pick Bobby Borchering who projects more as a first baseman in the bigs. The needs of the Twins' system are in middle infield and Left hand starting pitching (there are only 9-10 LHS in the whole organization and all of them in all levels, excluding those in extending spring training, are struggling more or less this season). So I believe that their biggest need is a Left Handed Starting Pitcher. From the 94 total pitchers in the Twins' system (including all minor leagues, DSL and EST), there are only 19 LHP, counting both starters and relievers There are a couple of them listed in the above mock drafts, but here is a list of the top LHP in the draft according to Baseball Beginnings. The links on their names go to scouting reports about those pitchers and their overall potential grade from the same report is in parenthesis next to their names.

Tyler Matzek (54)

Andrew Oliver (53)

Tyler Skaggs (53)

Tyler Lyons (50)

You can find another report on Tyler Marzak as well as on Matt Purke (another LHP) here at Cyberscouting. They are both within their top 5 high school talent list. Another LHP who made their top 30 high school talent list is Beau Wright.

Other LHP of note include:

Mike Minor, a scouting report is here

Bryan Morgado, who looks like he is pitching well, a year after Tommy John surgery,

his teammate at Tennessee, Nick Hernandez (here is a video interview),

Brandon Belt who was selected in the 11th round of both 2007 (Boston) and 2008 (Atlanta) drafts, but elected to return to college here is a scouting report,

James Paxton, a Scott Boras' client,

Rex Brothers, a High School Senior from Ft. Myers, FL; scouting report here

Chad James; you can find an interview here

Matt Purke; you can find a scouting report here and another one here

Here is a breakdown of the four high school lefties (Tyler Matzek, Matt Purke, Chad James and Tyler Skaggs) by mlb.com with nice videos.

Additional LHP that probably belong to the later rounds and I assume that at least a couple will be wearing a Twins' unifrom include:

Paul Applebee
Buddy Baumann
Mike Belfore
Gavin Brooks
Jordan Cooper
Neal Davis
Jeff Dennis
Robbie Erlin
Lance Hoge
David Holmberg
Garrett Hughes
Jordan John
Brian Johnson
Donnie Joseph
Tyler Kehrer
Dallas Keuchel
Nick Kirk
Ian Krol
Justin Marks
Wes Musick
Matt Packer
John Pokomy
Miers Quigley (drafted in the 36th round of the 2008 draft by the Twins)
Brooks Raley
Steven Rodriquez
Chris Rusin
Patrick Schuster
Sam Selman
Joe Serafin
Kraig Sitton
Travis Smink
Josh Spence
Matt Way
Austin Woods
Mikey Walkusky

Will the Twins select one of the aforementioned with their first round pick? It is probable, and if not with their first pick, I expect one of these pitchers to become a Twin either with the supplemental pick or their 2nd round pick.

One another note and completely different subject, Cy Morong, of Cybermetrics, posted a great article yesterday suggesting that the Twins' M&M boys' May of 2009 was statistically better than the Mantle & Maris' July of 1961. A must read for any Twins' fan

On yet another note, Seth Stohs invited me to participate last night in his weekly podcast. You can listen online or download it here. Seth interviewed Twins' prospects Evan Bigley and Johnathan Walterbury and at the end, Seth and I talked Twins baseball, including the minors, Liriano, Twins' infield and outfield and such.

game notes

What an inept game management. The kid pitched his heart out in his first start in the majors. The idiot manager sends him in tired and now the best thing he could have hoped for is a no decision that never came (both Bass and Korecky were rested) Way to go Gardy. What a genius…

And not a drop of ink in the papers/internets about the "genius"

Twins lose, tied in 1st with the Sox.

Twins MVP: Morneau

Friday game notes

• Bobby Korecky has been called up from Rochester, Cuddyer has been activated and Span & Liriano have been optioned to Rochester. This is the first time Bobby, 28, is in the majors making him the 4th Twin to make his MLB debut this season (Bass, Tolbert, Span are the others). Good thing to see Liriano get some time in a less stressful situation to work the kinks out. This year the Twins have 5 other starters, so Fransisco's absence would be ok


• Gomez bunt hits at his first at bat, steals second (10 SB for the year). For some reason hit and run was on and Harris strikes out at the plate. Mauer walks. Morneau hits a single to the opposite field scoring Gomez. Cuddyer pops out in the infield. Kubel grounds out to second. Inning over. Twins up 1-0


• Great double play turned by Blackburn in the first. Quick 9 pitch 1st inning. Gomez makes a great catch in the second inning, then another. Where are the Chicago fan pundits who wanted him demoted now? He has another bunt single in the third. Almost stole second again, but the hit and run was on and Harris fouled it. Twice... What's up with the hit and run, Gardy? Fun to hear the TX announcers appreciate Gomez. They compared him to Rickey Henderson... Harris singles, Mauer walks and Morneau hits a grad slam. Nobody out. Cuddy singles. Millwood is really struggling against the Twins. The Rangers are coming back in the 3rd inning. Young has an error, Blackburn gets hit and its a tie game. Then a great double play, runner out at home (Cuddyer) and at third (Mauer). 9-6-2-5 double play. Game still tied. Blackburn strikes out the last hitter he faces. 47 total pitches for Blackburn vs 64 for Millwood.


• Punto up and strikes out in 3 pitches. Mercy. Gomez looks hurt after trying to bunt for a hit. Harris strikes out. No update about Gomez, but looks like a hamstring or calf cramp. Monroe subs in the field for him. Blackburn settles in for the next inning; still 5-5. Blackburn has an 1-2-3 5th. Harris strikes out for the 3rd time tonight and everyday Eddie is warming up in the Ranger's bullpen. Blackburn gets out of the 6th inning. Hard to play a team with a 7 game losing streak.


• Eddie Guardado in for the Rangers, Mauer singles, Morneau lines out to 3rd, Cuddyer flies out to center with the first pitch he sees, Kubel grounds our to second. Guerrier in for the bottom of the 7th, then Reyes. Monroe a great over the shoulder catch to end the inning. Still 5 up. Lamb reaches again. Punto hits into a double play... The Rangers' TV commentators are the best so far for the away teams. Lamb has a Billy Buckner moment in the bottom of the 8th, then makes a great play for an out. Double play Harris-Punto-Morneau next. Reyes is pitching way above expectations this year. Top of the ninth next with score tied.


• The Rangers bring in their closer C.J. Wilson in. Sidney Ponson will start for the Rangers tomorrow against Baker. Twins out at the ninth, tied game. Neshek in for the Twins. One out. Monroe looks great in the outfield. Rangers retired. Extra innings. Detroit loses, Cleveland wins, ChiSox are rained out, KC is winning big. Pithing change. Benoit in for the rangers, Morneau singles, Cuddyer pops up, Kubel flies out, Young flies out. Rincon in. One out, double, walk, strikeout, double. Game over. Twins lose.
  

Twins MVP: Morneau

Two series in the books

The Twins lost today 3-1 to the Royals and are 3-4 for the year. Some observations so far:

• The pitching, esp starting pitching has been performing well. Bill Madden, of the New York Daily news wrote an interesting article suggesting that the number of 7-inning performances by a teams' starting staff is a good indicator of a team's potential to make the playoffs. So far the Twins have 4 games where the starters when 7 or more, compared to 2 such games after 7 total games last season. This improvement, albeit predicted here, is generally surprising.


• Pitching has been the strength of this team, resulting in 6 out seven games this season being close (decided by 2 runs or less) vs only 2 close games in the first 7 games in 2007. This team scored 19 runs in the first 7 games of 2008 vs. 23 in those of 2007. The offense is lagging and some adjustments might need to be made.


• Cuddyer, Kubel, Lamb, Monroe and Young have been "slow starters" if you compare their performances in April vs those at the rest of the season for the span of their careers. Young has been hitting adequately for average but not been driving in runs. Lamb played only sparingly in the month of April, because he is a slow starter. With the emergence of Tolbert, it might be worthwhile to give Harris several starts in the 3B (that is his natural position), while keeping Lamb on the bench.


• The DH situation is a problem with the only visible solution to wait until Kubel or Monroe find their groove. The other observation is that the bench is flawed, because of the taxing with the 12-man pitching staff (that is probably unnecessary with the performance of the starters so far) and the presence of Nick Punto who with the emergence of Tolbert is reduced to a late inning defensive replacement that is probably a luxury in a team that has a power outage. The reduction of the pitching staff to 11 and moving Punto along with one of the current bullpen parts (Rincon?), might result in a much needed bat, as originally proposed.
  Alternatively, and even more importantly, what would it take to pry away a superstar in the making in his arbitration year from a team that cannot afford him, in a year where the Twins have excess in budget? What would it take to bring Hanley Ramirez from the Marlins? If Smith let the Marlins pick 5 or 6 people from the organization other than Gomez, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Slowey, Liriano, Baker, Blackburn, Crain, Hernandez, Guerrier and Reyes, I think that it might happen. In the worse case scenario, Kubel, Guerra, Casilla, Span, Revere and Swarzak will go to the Marlins. I think that its a price that the Twins should be willing to pay


• On other notes: Santana hit a double today, but lost to the Braves. Soria will be special for the Royals. Cleveland came back to win in Oakland. I'd be following the late AL Central game

Today's Twins MVP: Morneau

Saturday's game notes and thoughts

• Watching the KC telecast of the game via MLB.tv. Interesting to see that Mauer moved into the 3 hole. His performance behind Gomez has been exceptional that far...


• Livan makes his second start for the Twins this year. 1-2-3 inning (12 pitches) with a groundout to the Hernandez (great defensive play on a high chopper) and 2 flyouts to Gomez. Gomez strikes out, Tolbert grounds out to the SS, Mauer strikes out. 1-2-3 inning.


• Guillen grounds out to Tolbert, Butler stikes out on the slow curve, Gordon singles to right, Oliva forces out they runner Everett to Tolbert. No score, 27 total pitches for Hernandez. Morneau out to the SS, Young grounds out to the 2B, Kubel strikes out. End of 2, no score


• Gload singles down the middle, Hernandez balks him to second, Gallaspo sends him home with an RBI triple in right center. Gathright sacrifices him home in a play where Young clearly throws Gallaspo out at the plate. Umpire gift run. Out at Tolbert, but 2 runs are in. Monroe walks the count and takes a walk. Lamb flies out on shallow CF on the 1st pitch. Everett strikes out. Gomez takes the first 2 balls and then fouls out behind the plate to the catcher. End of 3, Royals 2-0. Pitch count: Hernandez 38, Meche 44


• Guillen pops up to Mauer, Butler singles to the left, trying for a double, Young throws him out. Assist for Delmon. Gordon flies out to Gomez with the next pitch. 1-2-3 inning. 45 total pitches for Livan after 4. Tolbert singles through the middle. Mauer takes the first 3 pitches for balls, mount conference for KC, Mauer walks. 1st and 2nd no outs. Meche hangs one, Morneau tatoos it on the upper deck for a 3 run homer. Young grounds out to second. Kubel fouls out to shallow left. Monroe grounds out to the SS. End of 4, Twins 3-2


• Olivo flies to Gomez in 2 pitches, ground out to Tolbert, ground out to Everett, 1-2-3 inning in 6 pitches, 51 total for Livan. Lamb grounds out to 2B, Everett pops to 2B, Gomez strikes out. After 5, 3-2 Twins


• Gathright fouls out a bunt to Mauer on the first pitch, 2 pitch ground out to Everett, pop out to Everett, 7 pitch 1-2-3 inning, 58 total for Livan. Tolbert has an infield hit to short. Mauer sacrifices Tolbert to second with a bunt. Morneau doubles Tolbert home to right center. Young grounds out to the pitcher, Morneau to 3rd. Kubel singles to right, Morneau in. Monroe singles, Kubel scores (catcher misses the tag at home), Monroe moves to second. Mahay in to pitch for the Royals. Lamb grounds out to him. End of 6, Twins 6-2. There is enough cushion and he has thrown few pitches so hopefully Livan would have the first complete game of the season.


• Single to the center, strike out with the slow curve, hit to the right 1st and 3rd one out. Guerrier up in the pen. 2-run double 6-4. Force out to Everett. Out at Tolbert. Long inning for Hernandez, 74 total pitches. Everett grounds out the SS, Gomez has his 3rd K of the game, Tolbert bunts for a hit to the 3rd base side (then changed to an error), Mauer pops up to third. End of inning, Twins 6-4


• Guerrier in to pitch in a save situation, Punto at 3B. Ground out to Everett, fly out to Gomez, infield single on a high chopper to Tolbert, Reyes up in the pen. Error by Everett, the tying runs on 1st and 2nd. Ground out to Everett. Royals out. Long inning. Yabuta in to pitch for the Royals. Morneau grounds out to first. Delmon singles to right, Kubel grounds into a double play. End of 8, Twins 6-4


• Nathan in. Ground out to Morneau, K, single through the middle, fly out to Gomez, game over. Nathan's 3rd save of the season. Twins win 6-4. Half a game from the 1st place in the AL Central.


• A couple season firsts on this game: Morneau's homer & Monroe's hit.

Twins MVP: Morneau

his HR swing:

Twins needs, wants and recent rumor analysis - part one: Santana

La Velle Neal just indicated that the Twins cleared up 2 positions on their 40 man roster, indicating that there is a potential acceleration of events regarding either a Johan Santana trade or a SoCal-initiated rumored trade that would bring Morneau to the Angels or even a Boston-globe remark regarding a straight up Coco Crisp trade.

In this segment I am commenting on the possible returns on a Santana trade.

The main needs of the Twins before this postseason were: 2B, 3B, DH with emphasis on power and right hand bats. After Hunter's signing with the Angels, there is an additional hole in CF. Also, after Castillo's departure, there is a need for a lead off hitter (and overall speed in the lineup) which apparently cannot be satisfied by Casilla at this point

The major want of the Twins brass is to keep the payroll within the 70-75 million dollar range, before the new stadium opens.

Given these parameters, a Santana trade better happen and a couple of additional trades could go long ways. Let me explain:

Johan is pretty much at the apex of his trading value (if not on its downside). A quick comparison of similar pitchers at his age reveals names such as John Candelaria, Bob Welch, Jack McDowell, Sid Fernandez, Kevin Millwood, Kevin Appier, and Mike Mussina. Good pitchers, sometimes great but certainly no Hall of Famers or pitchers who you should spent 30% of your payroll for. I realize that this is a projection and Johan right now is probably the best pitcher in baseball, but I think that the numbers make the point. If there is the potential for a deal with the Yankees (as rumored) including Robinson Cano as the centerpiece with Melky Cabrera and one of the Yankee pitching prospects added to the deal, it might make a lot of sense for the Twins.

My favorite Santana trade for the Twins would be with the Dodgers for Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, Johnathan Broxton and Clayton Kershaw. Kemp and LaRoche will plug the holes in the CF and 3B, bringing strong RH power and Broxton could be the closer (with Kershaw waiting in the wings developing in the minors) as soon as Nathan walks or is traded. Furthermore, the addition of Santana, might pull the Dodgers over the edge in a pretty balanced NL West and crown them Champions.

Still, this picture, even though it addresses the Twins' right hand power and 3B/CF needs, does not address the speed/lead off hitter and DH needs. Monroe hopefully is not the team's answer to the DH position. Hot off the press is a speculation that the Mets might be big players in the Santana sweepstakes, with Reyes as the centerpiece and probably a center fielder (Milledge/Gomez) and a pitcher or two added. This would be a steal for the Twins, since it would provide a great lead of hitter and solve the CF problem. This would probably require Bartlett to move to 2B, a position he played only twice in the minors... Additionally, the needs at 3B, DH and right hand power would need to be addressed.

A possible lineup with the Mets trade would look like this (ages as of 2007 in parenthesis):

SS Reyes (24)
2B Bartlett (27)/Punto (29)
C Mauer (24)
RF Cuddyer (28)
1B Morneau (26)
CF Milledge (22)/Gomez (21)
LF Kubel (25)/Monroe (30)
DH Monroe (30)/Kubel (25)/ G. Jones (26)
3B Buscher (26)/Punto (29)

additional bench: Tyner (30), Redmond (36), Casilla (22)

SP Liriano (23)
SP Slowley (23)
SP Garza (23)
SP Bonser (25)
SP Baker (25)/Blackburn (25)/Perkins (24)
RP Rincon (28)
RP Neshek (26)
RP Reyes (30)/ De Paula (24)
RP Guerrier (28)/ Crain (25)
CL Nathan (32)


Observations:

1. This is a young and fairly inexperienced team with a lot of potential upside and would probably entering its peak when the Twins enter the new ballpark. Would this team be able to contend before that?

2. A lot depends on the development of these players. Cuddyer, Morneau, Punto and Mauer had career years in 2006 then regressed in 2007, would they be able to improve in 2008? Bartlett and Kubel had good years in 2007 (esp. late), would they be able to repeat or improve in 2008?

3. Would Buscher hold the 3b job? (he is another left handed bat, his fielding percentage in the minors was .938; but his OPS was .897 in AAA)

4. Still with a Santana trade, there is a surplus in both starting and relieving pitching, with several others (Duensing, Pino, Manship, Delaney, Tippett) a year or two away, which makes additional trades possible or even necessary.