Twins Bench Battle Dashboard; 3/10/12

I have been creating dashboards to look at the progression of the Spring Training battle for the 3 bullpen sports for the Twins (You can read about the rationale and details here.) I decided to create a dashboard for the 2-3 bench position battles. To quantify position players performance I am using another Bill James' measurement, the "Batting Game Score", as modified by Baseball Reference. I made 2 changes on the BR way of calculating Batting Game Score: I took away the bonus points for multi-HR games and for hitting for the cycle and I am adding a point for a catcher when he throws out a runner trying to steal a base.

Here is the way it is calculated (again, one needs a box-score and a calculator:)

Start with 0 points (unlike the pitching Game Score that starts with 50)
Add 1 point for each Run, RBI, 2B, SB, BB, and HBP recorded.
Add 2.5 for each hit, 3 for each 3B and 4 for each HR.
Subtract 1 for each CS and GIDP,
subtract 1 for each error,
for catchers add 1 for each CS
Subtract 0.2 for each SO and 0.5 for each AB.

Again, as in the Bullpen Battle Dashboard, the Bench Battle Dashboard is color coded based on average, above average and below average performances, where:

Average is Batting Game Score between 0 and 2
Above average is Batting Game Score higher than 2
Below average is Batting Game Score less than 0

Also the Dashboard, is broken down by catchers, infielders and outfielders

One comment before I present the Bench Battle Dashboard: Before Spring Training, I thought that Luke Hughes was a lock. However, based on his continuous below average performances (actually the worse by any position player in the team), I think that his position might be in jeopardy, so I am tracking his performance as well:

Here is what the Dashboard looks like after today's game against the Pirates:





And the rankings by position:

Catchers:

J.R. Towles 3
Rene Rivera 2.6
-----
Daniel Rohlfing 1.25
Chris Herrmann 0.433333333
Danny Lehmann 0.4
----
Drew Butera -0.4
Danny Rams -0.566666667

Infielders:

Chris Parmelee 3.65
Mike Hollimon 2.2
----
Ray Chang 1.5
Tsuyoshi Nishioka 1.466666667
Aaron Bates 0.95
Sean Burroughs 0.02
----
Brian Dinkelman -0.04
Brian Dozier -0.433333333
Pedro Florimon -0.55
Steve Pearce -0.733333333
Luke Hughes -1.525

Outfielders:

----
Wilkin Ramirez 0.95
Matt Carson 0.76
Darin Mastroianni 0.375
Rene Tosoni 0.35
----
Oswaldo Arcia -0.58
Joe Benson -0.04


I will be updating this daily and posting updates here close to daily. As always you can find all Spring Training coverage at The Tenth Inning Stretch here.

Updated Twins Bullpen Battle Dashboard; 3/10/2012

You can read the basic premise in detail behind this dashboard here. This is the most current iterration after yesterday's game vs the Cardinals:





Here is a ranking of the combatants based on average game score:

Terry Doyle 56
Matt Maloney 54.5
Jared Burton 53.5
Liam Hendriks 53.5
Aaron Thompson 53
Brendan Wise 53
Casey Fien 52.7
Jeff Manship 52.5
Carlos Gutierrez 52
Kyle Waldrop 52
P.J. Walters 52
Esmerling Vasquez 51.5
---
Daryl Thompson 50
Luis Perdomo 49.5
Tyler Robertson 49.5
---
Alex Burnett 48.5
Scott Diamond 47.5
Phil Dumatrait 46.7
Lester Oliveros 46
Jeff Gray 41
Deolis Guerra 37.5
Jason Bulger 25


Samuel Deduno DNP

I will be updating this daily and posting updates here close to daily. As always you can find all Spring Training coverage at The Tenth Inning Stretch here.

Updated Twins Bullpen Battle Dashboard; 3/9/2012

You can read the basic premise in detail behind this dashboard here. The summary is that I have created a visual dashboard that uses Bill James' Game Score to measure the performance of each pitcher who is vying for a spot on the Twins' 25-man roster (you can see their profiles here) and track their performance through spring training.

Performances are classified as "above average" (green color), "average (yellow), "below average" (red) with the Game Score numbers indicated for each performance. I also average all performances to day, list that average and color the pitcher's name accordingly. At the end, there is a ranking of all pitchers in the list based on their average game score this spring training. Game Scores of 49-51 are "average", everything higher than 51 "above average", and everything below 49 "below average".

Here is what the dashboard looks, including yesterday's game vs Tampa Bay:





Here is a ranking of the combatants based on average game score:

Terry Doyle 56
Matt Maloney 54.5
Jared Burton 53.5
Liam Hendriks 53.5
Tyler Robertson 53
Aaron Thompson 53
Brendan Wise 53
Casey Fien 52.5
Jeff Manship 52.5
Carlos Gutierrez 52
Kyle Waldrop 52
P.J. Walters 52
Esmerling Vasquez 51.5
---
Daryl Thompson 50
Luis Perdomo 49.5
---
Alex Burnett 48.5
Scott Diamond 47.5
Lester Oliveros 46
Phil Dumatrait 45
Jeff Gray 41
Jason Bulger 25
Deolis Guerra 21

Samuel Deduno DNP

I will be updating this daily and posting updates here close to daily. As always, you can find all Spring Training coverage in this site here

Breaking down Glen Perkins' contract extension with the Twins

Glen Perkins has signed a 3 year contract extension with the Twins, which will keep him with the team until 2015. The Twins have an option for 2016. The extension is for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons, so the 1 year, $1.55 million contract that Perkins has signed for 2012 still stands. The total value of the contract is for $10.3 million dollars, including the buy out of the 2016 option. There are additional incentives for games finished, which will pay Perkins more, if he assumes the closer role from 2013 on.

Glen has proven to be one of the most reliable relievers in the majors in 2011 and the Twins are getting a great bargain for 4 years of his service covering his age 29-32 seasons (2012-15) for a total of $11.85 million plus incentives.

His annual salaries are:

2012: $1.55 million
2013: $2.5 million
2014: $3.75 million
2015: $3.75 million
2016 (option) : $4.5 million with $300K buyout

Quantifying the Twins Spring Training bullpen battle: Bullpen Battle Dashboard

Here is the basic premise: The Twins have a whole bunch of relievers in their Spring Training Camp who are batting for 3 spots on the 25-man roster. I listed and analysed these players previously. Spring training is long and it is hard to track each appearance of each player, trying to have an objective view of how this battle might be ending (or at least trending,) especially, when the usual statistics fail with such a small sample size. Yesterday I created a dashboard to look at each pitcher's performance on a daily basis and use visual color clues to get the big picture at once. That was step one. But for some reason I was not really happy with it.

My major objection to that first iteration was that individual daily performances were subjective. "Average", "above average" and "below average" were determined by glances at boxscores and what I saw or heard in games. Not too good. Plus, there are various degrees of greatness or non-greatness, and those need to be separated. Thus the need for quantification and for an objective way to measure each pitcher's daily performance and I think that I found it: It is a measurement created by Bill James more than a decade ago called "Game Score". Truth of the matter is that James created that to measure starting pitcher performance, but I think that it is applicable here and will fit my purpose (albeit things will be a bit compressed on the top, but the middle and the bottom will differentiate nicely.) What is Game Score? Here is how it is determined: You start with 50 points for each pitcher. Add 1 point for each out. Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit. Subtract 4 points for each earned run. Subtract 2 points for each unearned run. Subtract 1 point for each walk. There is a point bonus for pitching more than 4 innings as well, adding 2 points for each IP after the 4th, but this is not too applicable here. All you need to calculate Game Score is a box score and a calculator. Done deal. However, there are no box scores for B games, and the caveat is I cannot include them (which might not be that bad in the big schema of things.)

I am ready to present the final version of the 2012 Spring Training Bullpen Battle Dashboard. I will update the dashboard and post it on a weekly basis. The next update will be early next week before the first cuts are made. Like the previous version, performances are classified as "above average" (green color), "average (yellow), "below average" (red). But now there are numbers there to tell how much bellow or above average each performance is. I also average all performances to day, list that average in the first column and color the pitcher's name accordingly as well. Following, there is a ranking of all pitchers in the list based on their average game score this spring training. Game Scored of 49-51 are "average", everything higher than 51 "above average", and everything below 49 "below average".

Here is what the dashboard looks, including yesterday's game at Baltimore:




And here is the ranking:

Terry Doyle 56
Carlos Gutierrez 55
Liam Hendriks 55
Matt Maloney 54.5
Jared Burton 53.5
Tyler Robertson 53
Aaron Thompson 53
Brendan Wise 53
Casey Fien 52.5
Kyle Waldrop 52
P.J. Walters 52
Esmerling Vasquez 51.5
---
Luis Perdomo 49.5
Jeff Manship 49
---
Alex Burnett 48.5
Daryl Thompson 48
Lester Oliveros 46
Phil Dumatrait 45
Scott Diamond 42
Jeff Gray 41
Jason Bulger 25
Deolis Guerra 21

Samuel Deduno DNP

Of course this is a small sample size at this point and will change during the next weeks, but I think that I have found a way to dashboard Twins' pitchers' performance this Spring. I am keeping track of the performances of the pitchers who I consider locks to make the team, but I will wait to publish for another week or so, because these players are not part of this discussion.

There are some pretty obvious outliers here, especially at the low end of performance, so it will be interesting to see how things will play out this weekend and early next week before the first cuts.

Keeping track of the Twins bullpen battles; version 1

Previously, I listed all the players who are battling for one of the 3 bullpen spots this Spring Training. Because they are so many, I decided to create a spreadsheet and keep track of their performance this Spring day by day, using color coding and symbols to get a quick visual. In other words, creating a dashboard of their performance.

Green (+) is better than average appearance that day, yellow (0) is average appearance that day, red (-) is below average appearance that day, uncolored (DNP) is did not play that day. As players get cut, their dashboard lines will be in italics.

I am also using the same conversion to color the players' names, to see overall performance the spring. I also think that looking at how often someone pitches is important, and as spring training progresses, looking at trends.

Here is the first version including all games (including B games) up to 3/6/12, without any comments. My comments about the bullpen battle can be found here (that was before yesterday's game) :




the next versions will be quantitative, in order to allow for more granularity and objectivity.

Notes and Thoughts from Today's Twins' Game

Not a game report by any means; just some random, stream of conscious type notes I took while I was watching the Twins' game on TV this afternoon:

• Jamey Carroll's strike zone is smaller than Ben Revere's. He really gets down in the box


• Doumit looks like Kubel. A lot


• Great double steal by Revere and Carroll in a botched pick-off move. Carroll seams a very astute base runner


• Baker's fastball at 86 mph to start the game, then up at 87-88 by the end of the 1st inning. Nice and easy first for Baker.


• Niemann really fooled Brian Dinkelman with a called strike 3 on a 57 mph curve to start the second inning. Did not realize he had that pitch to go with his 93 mph fastball


• Baker's fastball at 83-84 to start the second inning then up to 86-87. His change up sat at 78-79 and was very effective. Up to 88 with the FB


• Casilla was avoiding Nunez' heat (93-94) but waited on a change and pushed it nicely through the middle; then appropriately stole second on the next pitch. Then Revere sacrifice bunts to get him to 3rd with one out. Smart ball


• Interesting situation to see Carroll hit with one out and man on third. He was slapping every pitch. This guy can make contact. Takes ball four at shoelaces to walk. Then steals second on a ball in the dirt.


• Maloney started the bottom of the third. Hitting 86-89 with fastball and lots of movement with the slider. Strikes out the first pitcher he saw (that is 4 in a row for him), second one grounds out and the third one bleeds a single through the SS (Carroll's range was exposed). Another hit to left, Revere bobbles the ball and runners in the corners with Pena up. Twins are shifting the infield with 2 outs for Pena. Interesting Leftie-Leftie match up for Maloney. Got him to fly out. Pretty good performance by Maloney overall. He is a dark horse to make the team


• Steve Pearce seems to have problems making contact with breaking balls. Not sure if it is just early, or it is an issue


• Benson looks really over-matched at the plate


• Maloney in for a second inning. Gets the first batter to ground out to short on a cutter. Nice deceptive delivery and long arms and legs. Second and third batter flies out to center. Nice spotting of the fastball. He looks in a very good shape. Very impressed overall. Reminds me a bit of Matt Guerrier, in a lefty kind of way.


• Both Doumit and Carroll are taking many more pitches and working the count deeper than the men who they replaced (Kubel and Nishioka). This will be good for the Twins.


• Capps in for the bottom of 5th. FB starts at 91 with decent movement and get the first batter to fly out. The second batter gets a broken bat bloop. Capps' FB looks heavy. Up at 94 later in the inning. Overall a good performance


• Glen Perkins' fastball at 91-94 with good downward motion. Picked two K on a hard slider and a ground out to him on a 94 mph FB. Close to season form. He looks so there and ready to pick up from last season. Very impressive.


• Casilla is locked in


• Duensing's FB 90-92. Looks nice and loose but some command issues (it is early). Great defensive play by Benson to cut a double into single.


• Towles shows pretty good patience on the plate. Going 3-0 (and took ball 4 but was called a strike.) Then shows some speed by beating the throw on a tailor made double play ball. Then he was asked to steal second and was barely caught. So he's got an eye and wheels. Two things that Drew Butera lacks.


• Jeff Gray makes his first appearance this spring. Problems locating his fastball outside, then goes inside with a FB that goes into a double. That is not a good prescription for success... Major command issues. This reminds me of Marquis' second inning the other day minus the wild pitches


• Very windy out there, but if Mastroianni wants to make the team he better not drop those fly balls. That one hit the heel of his glove


• Oswaldo Arcia is build like a bull, but does not like the breaking ball


• Doumatrait in to close the 9th. Can locate his FB somewhat consistently, unless he is nitpicking at the corners, but breaking ball is either all over the place or the middle of the plate. I think that right now he is behing Maloney at the depth chart


• Perkins, Maloney, Capps, Revere, Carroll, Doumit and Towles impressed me today in various degrees. Good to see Perkins close to mid-season form and Maloney and Towles were happy surprises

Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits

Here is this week's installment (also heavily influenced by Spring Training) :

• Today is Spring Training Reporting day for the Twins' minor leaguers. You can find the full MiLB Spring Training Schedule here.


• And if you wonder what the Twins' minor leaguers feel about the off-season and Spring Training, you should read this article by Twins LHP prospect Tony Davis, this by fellow LHP prospect Ryan O'Rourke, this by RHP prospect Dakota Watts, and this from AJ Petersen, Twins' middle infield prospect, who are all reporting at the Lee County Sports Complex today


• Joel Zumaya will have Tommy John surgery with Dr Andrews. The Twins will pay for the surgery. He will try for a comeback next season, but will be a free agent, and I hope that the Twins get first dibs to sign him back. Still not clear whether they will keep him in the 60 day DL all season (and pay and extra $450K,) or release him. He has not been officially released.


• Weird concurrence number one on Sunday when the Twins had split squad games against Boston and Tampa Bay: Both Rene Rivera and Drew Butera got out at the same time to finish the inning in their respective games. Weird concurrence number 2: the Tampa Bay and the Boston pitchers struck out the side at the same time in their respective games. Weird concurrence number three: When Chris Parmelee hit his home run in the Rays' game, Luke Hughes missed one by two feet (knocked down by the wind) at the Boston game. You cannot make that stuff up.


• A former Twins' player has been unsuccessful in reaching Justin Morneau.


• Also, a Twins' hopeful, 1B Aaron Bates, started to blog at the Twins Daily site.


• Two former Twins are very vocal against Target Field. This is what one of them looks in his new uniform. Meanwhile, we learned that Joe Mauer has become an action figure; whereas Ryan Doumit showed a strong OF arm


• We also learned that Drew Butera has another career lined up if Baseball is not in his future.


• Twins' player tweet of the week goes to Ben Revere (again) with this one. This one from an ESPN analyst, should be posted on the walls of the Twins' clubhouse.


• Word of the Week is maladroit, as in "Jason Bulger's performance against the Red Sox (4 walks, a grand slam and a hit) was maladroit". Jason Marquis's second inning against the Red Sox last night was one of those, too.

The parting shot today is a video of the Twins' new twitter ad campaign featuring Joe Mauer and Ron Gardenhire

Breaking news: Twins 1st base coach Jerry White hospitalized

Twins first base coach Jerry White was rushed to the Hospital in Fort Myers to undergo tests. He will stay overnight. The symptoms were reported as "Stomach" and "Chest Tightness". My prayers are with Jerry and I will update as soon as I receive additional information.

Update on the Twins Spring Training roster battles

I have highligheted the four questions the Twins need to answer this Spring Training previously. With a couple weeks in the books in Spring Training, the Twins so far have played 4 games (3 official and a "B" game that does not count in the standings or in the players' statistics officially) so there are hints of light for some of those.

• The starting outfield: All indication seem that the Twins will go with Span at Center Field and Willingham at right field, whereas there will be a platoon of Ben Revere and Trevor Plouffe at left. This will happen, unless one of the two left fielders will have either a very impressive or very unimpressive season, which will result in bench relegation (or in Revere's case because, unlike Plouffe, he has options, in a trip to Rochester.) Another issue that needs to be resolved is how Willingham's defense is at RF. If he has problems and becomes the starting left fielder, the mix will need to be re-looked and Doumit also added to the equation. So far Willingham did not have problems in the single game he played on the field, and both Plouffe and Revere have been performing well with the bat (even though Revere has a gaffe on the base paths against Boston the other day. Also, Denard Span seems to be better as far as his concussion goes, since he had a couple of mishaps, including french-kissing the chain link fence at Center Field to save a home run, and he reportedly had no concussion issues. He also got two hits against the Rays


• The bench. As I speculated previously, Luke Hughes and Trevor Plouffe are virtual locks, since they are out of options, and this will likely leave 2 additional spots. If indeed there are 3 catchers in the roster, JR Towles (with an RBI single in the B game and a two-run home run against Tampa Bay, in three plate appearances) and Rene Rivera (with a runner thrown out and a single in two plate appearances, moved ahead of Drew Butera who has not reached base yet in 5 plate appearances this spring. Chris Herrmann has an RBI single in his only plate appearance, but he likely is not considered for the major league roster. From the other position players fighting for a spot, Aaron Bates and Chris Parmelee each hit a 2-run home run (Bates in the B game and Parmelee against Tampa Bay) and Mastroianni has been pretty efficient with a hit, a walk and a stolen base in three plate appearances. Burroughs is 2 for 4 (a double) with two walks, but participated with Nishioka in a very bad fielding play against Boston yesterday. Nishioka has 2 hits, including a triple, in 8 trips, so is still working on his swing. Brian Dozier, a fans' darling, who I do not think that has any chances to make the team, at least in April, went hitless in 2 trips against Boston yesterday and had an RBI single in the B game.


• The bullpen. I have previously introduced and analyzed the combatants for 3 spots here. Jason Bulger has put himself in a hole with a very bad (4BB, a single and a grand slam, a third of an inning) performance against Boston, which followed surrendering a run in the B game. I think that it will be very hard to crawl out of that hole. Carlos Gutierrez had an almost equally bad performance in the B game, getting 2 outs and surrendering 3 walks and a double for 2 runs. Phil Dumatrait allowed 2 runs in 2 hits and a walk against Boston. Jeff Manship, Brandon Wise, Deolis Guerra, Matt Maloney (he struck out the side vs Tampa), Alex Burnett, Aaron Thompson, Esmerling Vasquez, Kyle Waldrop and Jared Burton pitched a scoreless inning each. Terry Doyle and PJ Walters pitched 2 scoreless innings each. Doyles' performance was a no-hit performance, even though he hit a batter and walked another. Despite allowing a run in a solo home run, who was the only batter who reached against him, Luis Perdomo had an impressive performance against Tampa Bay, striking out 2 batters. At this point, Bulger, Gutierrez and Doumatrait seem to be behind the pack, whereas Maloney (if they carry 3 lefties in the pen), Doyle, Perdomo, Burton and Waldrop seem to be ahead of the pack. There still are a lot of games ahead, but the first cuts will be very soon, since the Minor League Camp is opening tomorrow

As always, you can find all the Spring Training news and analysis on this site here.

Transactions Involving Former Twins - February edition

This off-season I have been keeping track of former Twins who were signed by other teams. This is the final edition, since Spring Training has started. Here is the cumulative list of former Twins who are playing for new teams this season:

Arizona Diamondbacks:

C Henry Blanco (major league; free agent, November 2011)
LHP Craig Brelsow (traded by the Oakland Athletics with Trevor Cahill for Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill, December 2011)
OF Jason Kubel (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Atlanta Braves:

LHP Dusty Hughes (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Baltimore Orioles

SS Steve Tolleson (minor league; free agent, November 2011)
C Allan de San Miguel (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
LHP Dennys Reyes (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
RHP Pat Neshek (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
RHP Luis Ayala (major league; free agent, January 2012)

Boston Red Sox

IF Nick Punto (major league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Carlos Silva (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
OF Jason Repko (minor league; free agent, January 2012)

Chicago Cubs:

IF Matt Tolbert (minor league; free agent, January 2012)

Chicago White Sox:
-

Cincinnati Reds:

LHP Ron Mahay (minor league; free agent, January 2012)

Cleveland Indians:

RHP Kevin Slowey (traded by the Colorado Rockies for RHP Zach Putnam, January 2012)
SS Cristian Guzman (minor league; free agent, February 2012)

Colorado Rockies

IF Casey Blake (major league; free agent, December 2011)
IF/OF Michael Cuddyer (major league; free agent, December 2011)
IF Brendan Harris (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
OF Brandon Roberts (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
RHP Kevin Slowey (traded by the Twins for RHP Dan Turpen, December 2011)

Detroit Tigers:
-

Houston Astros:

RHP Livan Hernandez (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
C Jair Fernandez (minor league; free agent, January 2012)

Kansas City Royals:
LHP Jose Mijares (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Los Angeles Angels:

OF Doug Deeds (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
RHP Juan Rincon (minor league; free agent, February 2012)


Los Angeles Dodgers:

IF Adam Kennedy (major league; free agent, November 2011)


Miami Marlins:

RHP Rob Delaney (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
3B Terry Tiffee (minor league; free agent, January 2012)
3B Chase Lambin (minor league; free agent, February 2012)

Milwaukee Brewers:
-

New York Mets:

LHP Chuck James (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Jon Rauch (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Oakland Athletics:

OF Jason Pridie (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Philadelphia Phillies:

1B/PH Jim Thome (major league; free agent, November 2011)

Pittsburgh Pirates:

C Jose Morales (minor league; free agent, December 2011)

San Fransisco Giants

RHP Eric Hacker (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Boof Bonser (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Ramon Ortiz (minor league; free agent, February 2012)

Seattle Mariners:

RHP Matt Fox (minor league; free agent, November 2011)
LHP Sean Henn (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
SS Luis Rodriguez (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

St. Louis Cardinals:

RHP Shooter Hunt (drafted in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft, December 2011)
LHP JC Romero (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Texas Rangers:

RHP Joe Nathan (major league; free agent, November 2011)
IF/OF Yangervis Solarte (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
LHP Joe Beimel (minor league; free agent, February 2012)

Toronto Blue Jays:
RHP Sergio Santos (traded by the Chicago White Sox for Nestor Molina, December 2011)
RHP Jim Hoey (claimed off waivers, December 2011)

Washington Nationals:
-

So other than the Tigers and the White Sox, the Brewers and Nationals are the only teams that have not signed any former Twins this off-season.

Today's Twins B game recap

Today the Minnesota Twins played their first B game of the Spring Training (B-games are free to watch and do not count in the standing and the rules can be bent, and were bent today). The pitchers in order were: Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Liam Hendriks, Jeff Manship, Jason Bulger, Carlos Gutierrez, Tyler Robertson, Brendan Wise and Deolis Guerra will pitch an inning a piece. The Twins starting line up was:

LF- Ben Revere
3B- Ray Chang
RF- Rene Tosoni
CF- Joe Benson
DH Brian Dinkelman
1B- Aaron Bates
SS- Brian Dozier
C- J.R. Towles
2B- Pedro Florimon

here is a link to a picture of today's game.

1st Inning:

Scott Baker started the inning and allowed a HR to Lavarnway who was the only man to reach other than Jose Iglesias who led the game with a single on Baker's first pitch. 12 pitches 8 strikes for Baker.
Rene Tosoni hit a double of Alfredo Aceves after a Ben Revere single, who scored on Joe Benson's infield single. 1-1 after one inning

2nd Inning:

Nick Blackburn pitched a scoreless inning giving a lead off single to Red Sox' B Wil Middlebrooks and JR Towles caught him stealing second.
J.R. Towles hits a single off Daniel Bard to score Brian Dozier, who doubled earlier. 2-1 Twins

3rd Inning:
Jeff Manship pitched a scoreless inning

4th Inning:

Liam Hendriks pitched a scoreless inning.
Aaron Bates hit a two-run homer to dead center off lefty Jesse Carlson, former set up man for the Blue Jays, to make it 4-1 Twins

5th Inning:

Jason Bulger surrendered a run to the Red Sox. 4-2 Twins
Two-run double from Brian Dinkelman makes the score 6-2

6th Inning:

Nate Spears hits a 2 Run Triple for Boston off Carlos Gutierrez to make it 6-4 Twins. The inning was cut short, before 3 outs were made, because Gutierrez had reached his pitch limit. Walk, walk, double, walk was his day, with 2 outs in there. This can happen in a B game but not in an A game. A very bad outing for Gutierrez.

7th Inning:

Dan Butler hits a solo HR off Tyler Robertson. Robertson then picked a runner off first. 6-5 Twins.

8th Inning:

Brendan Wise pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

9th Inning:

Deolis Guerra pitched a scoreless 9th to get the save.
The Twins' batters are hitting at the bottom of the 9th so the Red Sox' pitcher is getting his work (another thing that happens only in B games.)

Unfortunately the coverage was not very good and twitter was pretty much the only source for game updates. And then you had professional journalists, who do not realize that the fans are interested in the first game of the Twins' season and it is their job to provide coverage, make asinine remarks like this.

As far as the hitters go: Aaron Bates hit a HR, Brian Dinkelman had 2 hits and 2 RBI, Brian Dozier and JR Towles an RBI single each, Brian Dozier two singles and Rene Tosoni a double. Joe Benson and Pedro Florimon stole a base a piece.

You can find all the spring training coverage in this site here

What have we learned so far in the Twins Spring Training

Tomorrow the Twins will play their first unofficial game, and there are already a few interesting observations in this very young Spring Training. As always, you can find all the Spring Training news and analysis on this site here.

First of all, as far as the "B" game (free to fans, BTW) tomorrow goes, the Twins have announced who is playing. All of: Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Liam Hendriks, Jeff Manship, Jason Bulger, Carlos Gutierrez, Tyler Robertson, Brendan Wise and Deolis Guerra will pitch an inning a piece. The line up will be: C- J.R. Towles, 1B- Aaron Bates, 2B- Pedro Florimon, 3B- Ray Chang, SS- Brian Dozier, LF- Ben Revere, CF- Joe Benson, RF- Rene Tosoni, DH Brian Dinkelman.

So what have we learned so far:

• The clubhouse atmosphere is upbeat and easy going and players like Ben Revere have been lighting up the atmosphere and bring in positive energy


• Joe Mauer did not miss a single workout, a single bullpen catching or a single batting practice. This is extremely encouraging.


• Justing Morneau did not miss a single workout and hit a double and a home run off Fransisco Liriano the other day, which means that he can time and turn a fastball this early in Spring Training and this is great news


• The Twins lost Joel Zumaya and someone from the organization will have to step up. My analysis about this is here, but several of these pitcher will be pitching tomorrow.


• Based on the starting lineup tomorrow, unless they reverse, Florimon is viewed as the second baseman and Dozier as the SS for the Red Wings. It Looks like the Twins will give Dozier many chances to win the short stop of the future label. As a matter of fact, that lineup, minus Revere, might be the Rochester Red Wings starting lineup.


• Ron Gardenhire is open with his outfield positions, especially now that Revere's arm is stronger


• Late edit, because it just came up in Phil Mackey's notebook. According to Joe Mauer, Carlos Gutierrez, Casey Fien and Fransisco Liriano have been the most impressive pitchers he caught in camp right now.

So the Twins are playing their first game tomorrow. Baseball is here. And this is incredible news!

Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits

Here is this week's installment (heavily influenced by Spring Training) :

• Wishing my best to Joel Zumaya, who's career with the Twins for all practical purposes ended last Sunday. Several media outlets have mentioned that he is considering retiring from baseball and becoming a professional fisherman. Terry Ryan indicated that the Twins most likely will replace Zumaya from within the organization, which opens another position in their pen. I looked at the potential possibilities here yesterday.


• In another interesting story from the Twins' camp, we learned that Doumit will not be part of the first base rotation, J.R. Towles has hopes on sticking with the big team, and that Luke Hughes might actually take batting practice today. Yesterday he took swings without a ball and felt good, according to himself. Meanwhile there are reports that Revere's arm has been stronger this offseason. Paul Molitor on ESPN 1500 mentioned that yesterday Revere threw over the head of the cut-off man (Nishioki) in practice. Interesting to see how this develops. Another thing we learn yesterday is that Ron Gardenhire opened his mind and the Revere LF- Span CF- Willingham RF he (almost) wrote on stone this offseason, might not be it, if it does not make sense. Good to hear.


• A former member of the Twins' World Championship teams, is selling Fish Tacos, while a current Twins' pitcher is clearing the Fort Myers seas from sharks


• A recently departed Twins, has already made his presense felt in his new team's clubhouse, while another of his former teammates who pitched last season with the Bridgeport Bluefish, is now an Angel


• I bet that you did not know that there is an annual MLB groundskeeper's convension and an MLB Groundskeepers Hall of Fame. I didn't. Now we all do.


• The Twins' player Tweet of the week award goes to Ben Revere with this one. When Ben retires from baseball, he has a bright future in fortune cookie script writing. Niko Goodrum gets second place with this advice. Also from the tweet deparment, Ben Revere thinks that a certain fast food joint, hold the secret to hitting home runs


• You absolutely have to read the transcript of the texting conversation that Ron Gardenhire had with Nick Punto after the Cardinals won the Worls Series.


• We have learned (from Drew Butera) that Jamey Carroll is "smooth as a baby's bottom". No comment.


• Word of the week: hypocorism. As in "with Spring Training starting, Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire would need to find hypocorisms for all his new players." I guess Carroll is already set "Jamey" and Marquis too, "Markey", but will we hear "Doumey" and "Willey"? Time will tell.


• Speaking of Gardy, he announced that the Twins will continue serving beer at the clubhouse. No word about fried chicken yet.

The parting shot today was inspired by this shot that Phil Mackey posted of Joe Mauer taking grounders at first base last Sunday on one of the Twins' practice field. Chainlink fence, trees, houses. Spring Training... The more things change, the more they say the same. So the parting shot is of Hall of Famer, then full time manager, part (10%) owner and ocassional pitcher of the Washington Senators, Clark Griffith, hitting grounders in the Washington Senators' spring training in Charlotesville, VA at 1913. 99 years ago. He was 43 then. Chainlink fence, trees, houses...

Who will replace Joel Zumaya for the Twins?

Joel Zumaya left the mount on Saturday with elbow discomfort, cutting his workout short. Terry Ryan announced on Sunday that an MRI showed that he has torn his UCL, will undergo Tommy John surgery and not pitch for a month. It is unclear whether the Twins released him yet, but at this point that is a technicality, because by releasing him they will save $450,000 and pay him only the guaranteed $400,000.

There are 32 remaining pitchers (64 arms) in the Twins' spring training camp. From those, I would argue that the following 9 are locks to make the team, leaving 23 players to fight for 3 open bullpen spots. Here is a list of my locks:

Rotation:
Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, Jason Marquis, Carl Pavano

Pen:
Matt Capps, Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, Anthony Swarzak (3 open spots)

Lets examine the remaining 23 pitchers a bit closer. The following is a list of the pitchers in the Twins' camp broken down by whether they are in the 40-man roster or not (there is a spot available now that Zumaya is not with the team) sorted alphabetically. I also list their age, whether they are left-handed or right-handed, whether they are starters or relieves, their 2011 MLB average fastball velocity (they do have to replace someone who touched triple digits), their career major league and minor league numbers and their off-season fall or winter league numbers. Here is the list:

On the 40-man roster:

Alex Burnett RHP, 24, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 93.3; reliever
MLB Career: 98.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.485 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 1.57 K/BB, 4.60 FIP, 4.64 xFIP
MiLB Career: 519.2 IP, 3.41 ERA, 1.201 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 2.97 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Scott Diamond LHP, 25, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 88.8; starter
MLB Career: 39 IP, 5.08 ERA, 1.744 WHIP, 4.4 K/9, 1.12 K/BB, 4.36 FIP, 4.87 xFIP
MiLB Career: 565.1 IP, 3.77 ERA, 1.415 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.46 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Terry Doyle RHP, 26, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : N/A; starter
MLB Career: N/A
MiLB Career: 422.2 IP, 2.94 ERA, 1.143 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3.93 K/BB
2012 Winter (AFL): 27.1 IP, 1.98 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, 5 BB, 22 K

Jeff Gray RHP, 30, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 92.9; reliever
MLB Career: 88.2 IP, 4.57 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 5.1 K/9, 1.61 K/BB, 4.47 FIP, 4.41 xFIP
MiLB Career: 409.2 IP, 3.56 ERA, 1.225 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.98 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Deolis Guerra RHP, 23, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : N/A; reliever
MLB Career: N/A
MiLB Career: 680 IP, 4.95 ERA, 1.413 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 1.94 K/BB
2012 Winter (VWL): 26.2 IP, 3.71 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 7 BB, 23 K

Carlos Gutierrez RHP, 25, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : N/A; reliever
MLB Career: N/A
MiLB Career: 321 IP, 4.07 ERA, 1.430 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 1.68 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Liam Hendriks RHP, 23, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 90; starter
MLB Career: 23.1 IP, 6.17 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 2.67 K/BB, 4.10 FIP, 3.66 xFIP
MiLB Career: 375.2 IP, 2.78 ERA, 1.089 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 5.72 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Matt Maloney LHP, 28, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 86.8; starter
MLB Career: 80 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.450 WHIP, 6.1 K/9, 3.18 K/BB, 5.48 FIP, 4.57 xFIP
MiLB Career: 890.1 IP, 3.27 ERA, 1.178 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 3.34 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Jeff Manship RHP, 27, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 90; starter
MLB Career: 64 IP, 5.63 ERA, 1.609 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 1.76 K/BB, 4.35 FIP, 4.57 xFIP
MiLB Career: 574 IP, 3.54 ERA, 1.268 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.24 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Lester Oliveros RHP, 24, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 93.9; Reliever
MLB Career: 21.1 IP, 4.64 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, 1.18 K/BB, 3.35 FIP, 4.71 xFIP
MiLB Career: 275.2 IP, 3.21 ERA, 1.288 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 2.84 K/BB
2012 Winter (VWL): 20.1 IP, 1.33 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 9 BB, 18 K

Tyler Robertson LHP, 24, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : N/A; starter/reliever
MLB Career: N/A
MiLB Career: 616.1 IP, 3.69 ERA, 1.379 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 2.47 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Kyle Waldrop RHP, 26, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 88.4; reliever
MLB Career: 11 IP, 5.73 ERA, 1.455 WHIP, 4.1 K/9, 0.83 K/BB, 4.93 FIP, 4.44 xFIP
MiLB Career: 779 IP, 3.63 ERA, 1.276 WHIP, 5.7 K/9, 2.91 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A



Not on the 40-man roster:

Jason Bulger RHP, 33, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 91.6; reliever
MLB Career: 133 IP, 4.33 ERA, 1.406 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 1.84 K/BB, 4.49 FIP, 4.17 xFIP
MiLB Career: 405 IP, 3.80 ERA, 1.398 WHIP, 10.9 K/9, 2.58 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Jared Burton RHP, 33, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 90.7; reliever
MLB Career: 169 IP, 3.41 ERA, 1.325 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 1.96 K/BB, 3.97 FIP, 4.39 xFIP
MiLB Career: 340.2 IP, 3.46 ERA, 1.253 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.56 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Samuel Deduno RHP, 28, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 89.2; reliever
MLB Career: 5.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 2.118 WHIP, 11.1 K/9, 1.75 K/BB, 4.99 FIP, 3.57 xFIP
MiLB Career: 738.1 IP, 4.29 ERA, 1.423 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 1.88 K/BB
2012 Winter (DWL): 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 4 BB, 13 K

Phil Dumatrait LHP, 28, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 91; reliever
MLB Career: 151 IP, 6.20 ERA, 1.781 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 1.08 K/BB, 5.76 FIP, 5.33 xFIP
MiLB Career: 883.1 IP, 3.66 ERA, 1.396 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 1.59 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Casey Fien RHP, 28, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 91.5 (2010) ; reliever
MLB Career: 14 IP, 8.36 ERA, 1.643 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 1.50 K/BB, 6.81 FIP, 5.41 xFIP
MiLB Career: 311 IP, 3.07 ERA, 1.125 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 4.43 K/BB
2012 Winter(DWL): 30.2 IP, 4.40 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 8 BB, 31K

Luis Perdomo RHP, 28, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 93.6; reliever
MLB Career: 61 IP, 4.87 ERA, 1.508 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 1.62 K/BB, 5.52 FIP, 4.12 xFIP
MiLB Career: 313 IP, 3.65 ERA, 1.310 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 2.06 K/BB
2012 Winter(DWL): 21.1 IP, 2.11 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 3 BB, 16K

Aaron Thompson LHP, 25, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 88.1; starter/reliever
MLB Career: 7.2 IP, 7.04 ERA, 2.478 WHIP, 1.2 K/9, 0.17 K/BB, 8.50 FIP, 7.08 xFIP
MiLB Career: 783 IP, 4.37 ERA, 1.483 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 2.15 K/BB
2012 Winter (DWL): 21.2 IP, 6.10 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 4 BB, 3 K

Daryl Thompson RHP, 26, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 91.2; starter/reliever
MLB Career: 17.1 IP, 8.31 ERA, 2.192 WHIP, 3.1 K/9, 0.50 K/BB, 6.92 FIP, 6.63 xFIP
MiLB Career: 711.1 IP, 3.73 ERA, 1.247 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 2.96 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Esmerling Vasquez RHP, 28, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 93.4; reliever
MLB Career: 137 IP, 4.66 ERA, 1.496 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 1.50 K/BB, 4.50 FIP, 4.90 xFIP
MiLB Career: 512.1 IP, 4.55 ERA, 1.440 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 1.73 K/BB
2012 Winter (DWL): 9 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 7 BB, 9 K

P.J. Walters RHP, 27, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : 88.8; starter/reliever
MLB Career: 51 IP, 7.24 ERA, 1.529 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 1.82 K/BB, 5.86 FIP, 4.40 xFIP
MiLB Career: 702 IP, 4.06 ERA, 1.345 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 2.73 K/BB
2012 Winter: N/A

Brendan Wise RHP, 26, 2011 MLB Average FB (PitchF/X) : N/A ; reliever
MLB Career: N/A
MiLB Career: 424.1 IP, 3.37 ERA, 1.317 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 1.77 K/BB
2012 Winter (ABL): 4 IP, 0 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3 BB, 2 K

So this is how it looks on paper... Who has a chance to make the team?

Clearly it will depend on spring training performance. With Terry Ryan mentioning Anthony Swarzak repeatedly during the last a couple of days as someone who now has to "step it", I suspect that Swarzak will be used later in ball games and not be the long man emergency starter he has been the past few seasons. So one of the starters in the group would need to replace him in that capacity. My pick is Terry Doyle because he is a rule 5 pick and has to be returned to the White Sox (or, very unlikely workout a trade for him) if he does not make the 25-man roster.

This leaves 2 spots. Swarzak's fastball average 92 mph last season, so ideally the Twins will have at least another righty who is throwing fast. Lester Oliveros(93.9 mph average FB 2011), Luis Perdomo (93.6 mph average FB 2011), Esmerling Vasquez (93.4 mph average FB 2011), Alex Burnett (93.4 mph average FB 2011), Jeff Gray (92.9 mph average FB 2011) will fight for at least one of these 2 spots. It is hard to tell who will win the battle, but Oliveros, Perdomo and Vasquez pitched in the winter leagues so they are a bit ahead of the competition early in the camp. Oliveros and Burnett are before their primes at 24 years old. Perdomo and Vasquez are at their primes at 28 and Gray is at the late part of his prime at 30. Vasquez (137 IP), Burnett (98.1 IP) and Gray (88.2 IP) have the most MLB experience. Oliveros and Perdomo miss the most bats. It is very hard to tell, but on paper, Burnett and Oliveros have the highest chance of being the two who make the team.

Any one else has any possibilities to make the team? I think that everyone on the list will be given a good look. Jason Bulger and Jared Burton are veteran arms. Carlos Gutierrez has developed a cutter and has always thought of having high potential. Jeff Manship has made the trip north twice from Spring Training. Kyle Waldrop ended the season with the Twins and a lot in the organization like his ground ball throwing abilities. Phil Dumatrait, even though his performance in 2011 was mediocre, was re-signed and praise through out 2011 by Ron Gardenhire.

It will all play on the spring training fields and the stadiums as well and the player who will step up and take that opportunity will be the ones who will go up to Baltimore with the team in April

Twins announce their Minor League Spring Training Schedule

The Minor League Spring Training Schedule for the Twins' organization has been official:

Tuesday, March 6 - All Players Report.
Thursday, March 8 - First full squad workout

At that point, players are split in AAA, AA and A camps and have games with the same opponent the same day. I have below the Red Wings' schedule, but the AA and A squads will play with the equivalent squads of the same organization the same day. Those 3 games are usually spit between the 2 teams sites, so when The Red Wings are playing the Pawtucket Red Sox in the Sox' camp site, at least one of the AA or the A team will play the equivalent Red Sox' squad at Lee County Sports Complex. All opposing teams are withing short driving distance (They only play the Red Sox, Rays and Orioles).

As far as the Twins' MLB Camp goes, expect the first round of cuts just before March 8th so cut players can join the Minor League Camp and the second round of cuts just before March 14th, so those squads are properly staffed for the games.

Here is the Red Wings' schedule, but you can infer about the other teams in the organization ("at Ft Myers" = at Red Sox' camp; home games indicated by "Lee County Sports Complex" ) :


Wednesday, March 14 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Ft. Myers
Thursday, March 15 - Red Wings vs. Durham (Tampa Bay Rays) at Lee County Sports Complex
Friday, March 16 - Red Wings vs. Durham (Tampa Bay Rays) at Port Charlotte
Saturday, March 17 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Lee County Sports Complex
Sunday, March 18 - Red Wings vs. Double A New Britain at Lee County Sports Complex
Monday, March 19 - Red Wings vs. Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles) at Lee County Sports Compex
Tuesday, March 20 - Red Wings vs. Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles) at Sarasota
Wednesday, March 21 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Ft. Myers
Thursday, March 22 - Red Wings vs. Durham (Tampa Bay Rays) at Lee County Sports Compex
Friday, March 23 - Red Wings vs. Durham (Tampa Bay Rays) at Port Charlotte
Saturday, March 24 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Lee County Sports Compex
Sunday, March 25 - Red Wings vs. Double A New Britain at Lee County Sports Compex
Monday, March 26 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Ft. Myers
Tuesday, March 27 - Red Wings vs Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles) at Sarasota
Wednesday, March 28 - Red Wings vs. Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles) at Lee County Sports Compex
Thursday, March 29 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Lee County Sports Compex
Friday, March 30 - Red Wings vs. Durham (Tampa Bay Rays) at Lee County Sports Compex
Saturday, March 31 - Red Wings vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) at Ft. Myers
Sunday, April 1 - Red Wings vs. Double A New Britain at Lee County Sports Compex

Joel Zumaya injury: what do we know

Update: Zumaya's MRI revealed a Torn UCL. Ligament replacement surgery next. Out for at least a year.

By now we all know that Zumaya left yesterday's bullpen session with pain/discomfort on "the inside of his elbow" after he threw 15 pitches to Chris Herrmann. According to the observers he was throwing very hard. Terry Ryan announced that there will be an MRI today and the results will be announced either late today or tomorrow.

Of course, the reaction of the Twins' Territory, especially in the light of the injury-filled , and disappointing 2011 season, was nothing short of "gloom and doom". Here, I am attempting to really go through all those reports and separate opinion from facts, look into quotes, reading between the lines and see what the story might be.

John Shipley wrote this report at Pioneer Press, Phil Mackey this update at ESPN 1500, La Velle Neal this piece at Star Tribune and Rhett Bollinger this one for MLB.com. There are some interesting direct quotes from Terry Ryan and other Twins' members. Let's examine them:

"It would be a little less concerning if we didn't have the history he's experienced in his career"

What I read into this, is that the injury/pain/discomfort is not that severe and if it were. let's say Carl Pavano, instead of Joel Zumaya, it might have been a different story about perceptions of severity. This is good news in my book, and is reinforced by this quote by Ron Gardenhire: "He's had some issues and had some arm injuries, and we want to protect him as much as we can". So this might be indeed something not extremely serious, but Zumaya and the Twins are playing it safe, because of his injury history.

A reference was made about the pain the Joe Nathan experience last season in Spring Training because of scar tissue being removed when pitching, a process that is helpful but painful. When Ryan was asked about that, he said "that would be ideal".

Again, it is a good possibility that this is the case. According to everyone he was throwing hard. The harder someone throws, the faster scar tissue breaks and the more painful it is. Danny Valencia is quoted by Phil Mackey saying "He was throwing gas, man,", Ryan said that "We may have to tone him down some."

It is entirely likely that Zumaya's discomfort is actually a good sign: scar tissue breakdown. I agree 100% with what Terry Ryan said, about Zumaya:

"Anytime a guy gets an MRI, there's got to be concern. But, I'm not going to overreact until the results come out. Let's hope it's not something serious."

2012 Twins' uniform numbers musical chairs

Every new season there are a lot of old faces who are not any longer with a team and a lot of new faces who are replacing them. Usually a new player is assigned one of the departed players' uniform numbers. Here are the matches between the old and the new uniform numbers. Three of them are unassigned and Chris Parmelee switched his number from 2011. Joel Zumaya and Darin Mastoianni have not been formally assigned numbers yet.

Left the team:

5 Michal Cuddyer, now: J.R. Towles
16 Jason Kubel, now: Josh Willingham
18 Jason Repko, now: Ryan Doumit
20 Matt Tolbert, now: Phil Doumatrait
21 Delmon Young, now: Jason Marquis
25 Jim Thome, now: -
27 Steve Holm, now: Chris Parmelee
36 Joe Nathan, now: -
37 Jim Hoey, now: Sean Burroughs
44 Chuck James, now: Matt Maloney
50 Jose Mijares, now: Jason Bulger
56 Dusty Hughes, now: Terry Doyle
59 Kevin Slowey, now: Esmerling Vasquez
61 Eric Hacker, now: Jared Burton

Changed Uniforms:

64 Chris Parmelee, now: Tyler Robertson

Exclusive: New Twins Promotion: the Gardy Bear

The Tampa Bays Rays have announced that they will give away The Don Zimmer Bear, a bear with the face of Don Zimmer. The mania of putting a chubby manager's face of a teddy bear and giving it away to kids in the ballpark has been virally spreading across the league.

The Twins today announced that they will join in the mania give away a Gardy Bear to the first 5,000 children on Friday April 13, when the Twins play against the Rangers at Target field.

We have secured an exclusive picture of the Gardy Bear:

What will Roy Oswalt announce today

This off-season I have been following the Roy Oswalt saga closely, since I was informed that he and the Twins have been having conversations.

Today, according to his agent, the pitcher will make an announcement. What will this announcement be?

I do not have any sources about this, but based on the movement around the league, I think that Roy Oswalt will announce that will take some time off baseball. Temporary retirement.

We will see whether I am correct shortly