If you've got a few minutes, I strongly suggest checking out this story by Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan on Joe Mauer. Souhan spent quite some time on the piece, and it turned out very well, giving readers an inside look at the local superstar. Originally a Sunday print exclusive, the Strib has since put it online--a smart idea, in my opinion.
Also interesting about the article are some of Justin Morneau's comments in it regarding Mauer's contract situation and whether he will or won't stay a Twin. Take a look at the story and let me know what you think.
(And be sure to check out the photo gallery of Joe. There's some good ones from his younger days.)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Casilla recalled from AAA Rochester; Tolbert optioned
The Twins made a roster move just before the All-Star break. Read about it here.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Verducci's praise for Mauer continues
Not long after writing a Sports Illustrated cover story on Twins catcher Joe Mauer (see earlier blog post), SI writer Tom Verducci chose Mauer as his first-half AL MVP.
Mauer's chase for .400 has slowly gathered national attention, and Verducci has been at the forefront of national admirers. When Joe heads to St. Louis next week for the 2009 All Star game, he'll no doubt hear endless questions about whether or not he can hit .400. Asked about it after Sunday's announcement of the All Star roster, Mauer admitted he knows what he's in for.
As you can imagine, the uber-modest Mauer doesn't much care to talk about .400 and never brings it up unprovoked. I can only imagine how tired he'll get of hearing about it next week at Busch Stadium.
Mauer's chase for .400 has slowly gathered national attention, and Verducci has been at the forefront of national admirers. When Joe heads to St. Louis next week for the 2009 All Star game, he'll no doubt hear endless questions about whether or not he can hit .400. Asked about it after Sunday's announcement of the All Star roster, Mauer admitted he knows what he's in for.
As you can imagine, the uber-modest Mauer doesn't much care to talk about .400 and never brings it up unprovoked. I can only imagine how tired he'll get of hearing about it next week at Busch Stadium.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Hrbek honors Gehrig
Today marked the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech given to fans at Yankee Stadium near the end of Gehrig's battle with ALS. To honor Gehrig, and raise awareness for the disease (which still has no cure), each home MLB team had a reading of Gehrig's historical speech.
The choice seemed obvious for the Twins when it came time to select someone to read the speech: former first baseman Kent Hrbek, who not only played the same position as Gehrig but has devoted much of his life to raise money and awareness for ALS, which claimed his father's life in 1982. Before Minnesota's game against Detroit today, Hrbek stood near first base and read Gehrig's famous words.
I caught up with Hrbek afterwards to talk about what the day meant to him, and what he
thought about the ongoing search for a cure for ALS. Take a look at the link above for what he had to say.
I remember caddying in Hrbek's celebrity golf tournament many years ago at Bearpath Country Club, and the event brought out many Twins players and legends alike, including Harmon Killebrew and the late Kirby Puckett, among others. It's no secret Hrbek has done a lot of good in the Minnesota community to raise awareness for the disease that hits him so close to home. And as he said today at the Dome, more and more people are catching on and realizing the seriousness of this still incurable disease.
I tip my hat to Hrbek and others like him. Keep fighting the good fight, Herbie.
The choice seemed obvious for the Twins when it came time to select someone to read the speech: former first baseman Kent Hrbek, who not only played the same position as Gehrig but has devoted much of his life to raise money and awareness for ALS, which claimed his father's life in 1982. Before Minnesota's game against Detroit today, Hrbek stood near first base and read Gehrig's famous words.
I caught up with Hrbek afterwards to talk about what the day meant to him, and what he
thought about the ongoing search for a cure for ALS. Take a look at the link above for what he had to say.I remember caddying in Hrbek's celebrity golf tournament many years ago at Bearpath Country Club, and the event brought out many Twins players and legends alike, including Harmon Killebrew and the late Kirby Puckett, among others. It's no secret Hrbek has done a lot of good in the Minnesota community to raise awareness for the disease that hits him so close to home. And as he said today at the Dome, more and more people are catching on and realizing the seriousness of this still incurable disease.
I tip my hat to Hrbek and others like him. Keep fighting the good fight, Herbie.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Keppel solid since call to bullpen
Since getting called up to the Minnesota Twins to replace reliever Luis Ayala, Bobby Keppel has been sharp. Razor sharp.
Just a few days ago, Keppel made his Twins debut in a relief appearance after starting pitcher Kevin Slowey lasting just three innings in the mid-90s head. Slowey allowed five earned runs in arguably his worst outing of the year.
In stepped the St. Louis native Keppel, who grew up a Cardinals fan. All he did was pitch four scoreless innings in relief to keep the Twins in the game (they trailed 5-3 when he entered, and that ended up being the final thanks to an anemic Minnesota offense).
Keppel made his second appearance tonight against Kansas City and, while not as impressive as his debut, he threw two scoreless innings, striking out three and giving up just one hit. He came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings after Twins starter Scott Baker threw 111 pitches in just five.
FSN's Dick Bremer made the comment during tonight's broadcast that Keppel looks like a starter when he pitches. Part of what Bremer was referring to was how Keppel throws from the windup, doing away with the traditional stretch that most relievers choose. But his confidence
and the way he handles pressure situations has impressed me as well. Take the Saturday game against St. Louis, for example. Keppel issued a leadoff triple to Joe Thurston on his first pitch as a Twin, and then went on to work around the extra-base hit and escaped the inning without allowing a run.
When the Twins made the decision to call Keppel up from Triple-A Rochester, I spoke with Minnesota GM Bill Smith about the move. He said the time was right to bring Keppel up, as the youngster had made a few starts in the Red Wings rotation, both out of desire to start/pick up more innings and due to a need for starters at Rochester.
The fact that Keppel wanted to start tells me he's a guy who's looking to improve by throwing more innings at the highest level of minor league ball. After all, isn't that what the minors is all about?
Minnesota's bullpen still holds just six relievers (including closer Joe Nathan). Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares have solidified their spots as go-to guys. Sean Henn remains the one iffy spot in the pen. R.A. Dickey has proven to be the surprising (in a good way) pickup of the offseason, as he can step for 2-3 innings at a time if a starter has a rough outing.
Keppel is already establishing himself in just his second game, and is proving he belongs at the big league level. If things continue at this rate for the Twins pen, I wouldn't anticipate any shuffling of relievers any time soon. But if anyone (Henn seems to be the likely candidate at this point) falters, look for Minnesota to call up Anthony Swarzak, who made a handful of starts with the Twins in place of the injured Glen Perkins. Like Keppel, he possessed big league poise, something you just can't teach.
Oh, and as for Jesse Crain, he's got his work cut out for him if he ever wants to sniff the Twins bullpen again.
Just a few days ago, Keppel made his Twins debut in a relief appearance after starting pitcher Kevin Slowey lasting just three innings in the mid-90s head. Slowey allowed five earned runs in arguably his worst outing of the year.
In stepped the St. Louis native Keppel, who grew up a Cardinals fan. All he did was pitch four scoreless innings in relief to keep the Twins in the game (they trailed 5-3 when he entered, and that ended up being the final thanks to an anemic Minnesota offense).
Keppel made his second appearance tonight against Kansas City and, while not as impressive as his debut, he threw two scoreless innings, striking out three and giving up just one hit. He came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings after Twins starter Scott Baker threw 111 pitches in just five.
FSN's Dick Bremer made the comment during tonight's broadcast that Keppel looks like a starter when he pitches. Part of what Bremer was referring to was how Keppel throws from the windup, doing away with the traditional stretch that most relievers choose. But his confidence
and the way he handles pressure situations has impressed me as well. Take the Saturday game against St. Louis, for example. Keppel issued a leadoff triple to Joe Thurston on his first pitch as a Twin, and then went on to work around the extra-base hit and escaped the inning without allowing a run.When the Twins made the decision to call Keppel up from Triple-A Rochester, I spoke with Minnesota GM Bill Smith about the move. He said the time was right to bring Keppel up, as the youngster had made a few starts in the Red Wings rotation, both out of desire to start/pick up more innings and due to a need for starters at Rochester.
The fact that Keppel wanted to start tells me he's a guy who's looking to improve by throwing more innings at the highest level of minor league ball. After all, isn't that what the minors is all about?
Minnesota's bullpen still holds just six relievers (including closer Joe Nathan). Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares have solidified their spots as go-to guys. Sean Henn remains the one iffy spot in the pen. R.A. Dickey has proven to be the surprising (in a good way) pickup of the offseason, as he can step for 2-3 innings at a time if a starter has a rough outing.
Keppel is already establishing himself in just his second game, and is proving he belongs at the big league level. If things continue at this rate for the Twins pen, I wouldn't anticipate any shuffling of relievers any time soon. But if anyone (Henn seems to be the likely candidate at this point) falters, look for Minnesota to call up Anthony Swarzak, who made a handful of starts with the Twins in place of the injured Glen Perkins. Like Keppel, he possessed big league poise, something you just can't teach.
Oh, and as for Jesse Crain, he's got his work cut out for him if he ever wants to sniff the Twins bullpen again.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Mauer, Morneau best suited 2nd, 3rd in lineup
It's tough to say either Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau is slumping, considering the duo were hitting .394 and .309 entering Monday's game against Kansas City. As of right now (eighth inning), Mauer is 0-4 and Morneau is 1-3 with a home run. That's now two straight games with homers for Justin, but he still seems better suited at third in the Twins lineup.
After missing the entire month of April, Mauer was plugged into the third spot in the batting order, and started with a bang, hitting .397 with a .494 on-base percentage with seven homers in 18 games.
But he was just warming up.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire moved Mauer to the two-hole, and Mauer's numbers jumped: .430 BA, 24 RBIs and seven more homers in 27 games, all but four of those as the No. 2 hitter.
But then Gardy reverted back to a previous lineup, and Mauer made his way back to third in the order. An injury to leadoff hitter Denard Span (inner ear infection) and somewhat of a resurgence by Brendan Harris made for a revamped top of the Twins lineup over the past month or so, thus putting Mauer at No. 3.
Since then, Mauer has hit .240 with just one run batted in heading into Monday's contest in Kansas City. (His average after Monday has dropped to .386.)
After June 23--when Mauer returned to third and Morneau fourth--Justin hit .182 with five strikeouts and four runs batted in before Monday (as mentioned, he went 1-4 with a HR and 2 RBI against the Royals). Still, his numbers were clearly better when Mauer was getting on base ahead of him, and that happened more often when Joe was in the 2-spot.
Of all Gardenhire's curious managing decisions--the continuing use of Nick Punto at second base, Delmon Young in left, and (until recently) reliever Jesse Crain in close-game situations--the moving of Mauer and Morneau down a spot in the lineup doesn't add up.
The old, overused adage reminds to not fix things which aren't broken. The M&M Boys were just fine hitting second and third. For a team that hasn't climbed more than a game over .500 all season, it might be best to go back to what works.
Stadium comparisons
So on a recent road trip to Milwaukee (Miller Park) and St. Louis (Busch Stadium) to watch the Twins play, I came up with an analogy of the three teams' stadiums that I particularly like. Feel free to use it.
If the Metrodome is like a 1982 sedan,
...and Busch Stadium is like a brand-new convertible (with the top permanently down, as a friend noted)...
...then Miller Park is like a 2001 Hummer with a sunroof...
If you haven't been to Busch Stadium yet, check it out. It's a pretty nice park, and the fans their are equally friendly. Of the parks I've seen (it's a small list, but slowly growing), I'd rank it second behind Petco Park in San Diego. Miller Park, on the other hand, is just OK in my book. Sure, it's an "outdoor" stadium. But even with the roof and windows both open, the rest of the park is so big and overwhelming, you never feel truly outdoors.
Seeing more outdoor baseball made me even more excited for the opening of Target Field next year. From what I saw last month, it's shaping up nicely and is over 75% completed. It's going to be a very intimate park, as there wasn't a whole lot of space to fit it in on the site. But all the amenities and attention to detail should make for one of the best parks in all of baseball.
If the Metrodome is like a 1982 sedan,
...and Busch Stadium is like a brand-new convertible (with the top permanently down, as a friend noted)...
...then Miller Park is like a 2001 Hummer with a sunroof...
If you haven't been to Busch Stadium yet, check it out. It's a pretty nice park, and the fans their are equally friendly. Of the parks I've seen (it's a small list, but slowly growing), I'd rank it second behind Petco Park in San Diego. Miller Park, on the other hand, is just OK in my book. Sure, it's an "outdoor" stadium. But even with the roof and windows both open, the rest of the park is so big and overwhelming, you never feel truly outdoors.
Seeing more outdoor baseball made me even more excited for the opening of Target Field next year. From what I saw last month, it's shaping up nicely and is over 75% completed. It's going to be a very intimate park, as there wasn't a whole lot of space to fit it in on the site. But all the amenities and attention to detail should make for one of the best parks in all of baseball.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Mauer's SI story
Here it is.
For most Twins fans, not much in the article is groundbreaking. Still, nice to see Mauer get some national publicity.
I did find some of the comments from his teammates--Brendan Harris and Delmon Young--pretty interesting. Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think.
For most Twins fans, not much in the article is groundbreaking. Still, nice to see Mauer get some national publicity.
I did find some of the comments from his teammates--Brendan Harris and Delmon Young--pretty interesting. Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Mauer to grace SI cover...again
When Sports Illustrated hits news stands tomorrow, Twins fans will likely snatch them all up, as catcher Joe Mauer will be the cover boy for this week's issue.
Mauer was on the cover once before, so any talks of an SI cover jinx seem a bit silly, since he won two batting titles after that.
SI's Tom Verducci wrote the story. (I'm kind of surprised SI didn't contact me to write the story...) Saw him at the Dome for the Twins' first two games against the Pirates last week. He's one of the best baseball writers out there, so this should be a pretty nice story on Mr. Mauer.
From what I've heard, it sounds like a portion of the story will revolve around whether or not Mauer can hit .400 this season. The first game Verducci was there for against Pittsburgh, Joe went 4-for-4 with three singles and a double. Certainly didn't hurt his case to be on the cover.
It's a bit weird to see Mauer already grabbing his second cover, since he's the type of player (along with friend and teammate Justin Morneau) that try to stay as low-key as possible and never really clamor for the attention. But when you're as good as Mauer is, you can't help but find yourself surrounded by the hype.
Mauer was on the cover once before, so any talks of an SI cover jinx seem a bit silly, since he won two batting titles after that.
SI's Tom Verducci wrote the story. (I'm kind of surprised SI didn't contact me to write the story...) Saw him at the Dome for the Twins' first two games against the Pirates last week. He's one of the best baseball writers out there, so this should be a pretty nice story on Mr. Mauer.
From what I've heard, it sounds like a portion of the story will revolve around whether or not Mauer can hit .400 this season. The first game Verducci was there for against Pittsburgh, Joe went 4-for-4 with three singles and a double. Certainly didn't hurt his case to be on the cover.
It's a bit weird to see Mauer already grabbing his second cover, since he's the type of player (along with friend and teammate Justin Morneau) that try to stay as low-key as possible and never really clamor for the attention. But when you're as good as Mauer is, you can't help but find yourself surrounded by the hype.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Twins still look for June run
Seems like every year, the Twins put something together in June, right?
Not so much this year.
Read about it here or check it out at twinsbaseball.com.
Not so much this year.
Read about it here or check it out at twinsbaseball.com.
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