Music to My Ears

Buried in this article on MLB.com about Jason Bartlett was a little blurb on Nick Punto.

As a reward for his inspired recent play, Nick Punto was back in the lineup Thursday at second base. Luis Rivas got a second consecutive day off.

"If a guy plays the way Nick has the last couple of days, I think he deserves to be back out there," Gardenhire said. "He has dropped down bunts, run the bases ... he's into the game out there and that's what we are looking for. I've said all along that Luis Rivas is my second baseman. I like Luis a lot. But right now, this guy (Punto) is playing better."

This is awesome. In the past, I have faulted Gardenhire for being too loyal to his players. Sticking with your guys through a slump is one thing, but when they are constantly underpreforming is another. I don't think Gardenhire is going to play Punto permanently. The club has too much interest in Rivas playing. They signed him to a $1.6 Million contract this offseason and they didn't give him that much to have him ride the pine. Punto is only making $325,000 this year.

One of the great things about this is how Punto came to be a Twin. Punto was traded from the Phillies in the deal that sent Milton to Philadelphia for Carlos Silva. It was kind of the trade where Terry Ryan said "Hey, can we have that little guy over there, too?" and the Phillies were like "Punto? Yeah, sure, he's all yours." At least that's how the converstion went in my head. Milton has since moved on to Cincinnati, while Silva is now the Twins #3 guy and Punto is contributing regularly. Another great move by the organization.

Good Idea, Bad Idea

Good Idea - The Twins activated Morneau and Silva today.
Bad Idea - The Twins sent Terry Tiffee to AAA to make room

I am still dumfounded by the Twins insistence on carrying 4 catchers. Furthermore, I'm angered that one of them is Corky Miller. There is no reason for Corky Miller to be on the roster. He has had 8 AB this season, and wound up with a whopping 0.000 EVERYTHING! The man has yet to reach base. Furthermore, thanks to my ETB Data, he has also failed to move any baserunners. You think he could hit something where someone could tag, or maybe a ground ball to third so the runner on second could move over, but no, nothing.

Tiffee, on the other hand, has been preforming very well. He is batting .280/.345/.520 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 6 RBI and 3 Walks. However, he has also grounded into 3 double plays, tied for the team lead with Jacque. A quick look at who Tiffee is currently hitting better than (Morneau excluded): Miller, Castro, Punto, Redmond, Ford, Rivas, Stewart, and Cuddyer. The first 4 are mostly role players who's main purpose is to give guys the day off. However, Tiffee is hitting better than 4 starters. Lew, Shannon, and Michael are all pretty comperable to Tiffee. Straight numbers, they are doing a little worse, but it's close and they have all played more. Tiffee's numbers would probably fall a little with more playing time. In the field, Tiffee has not made an error in 41 innings.

I know the club is still concerned about Mauer's knee. That is the only explaination for keeping Corky Miller around. The question then becomes: Are they being overly cautious or is there more to the story than what they are saying? As Aaron Gleeman pointed out, Mauer had the gear on 4 nights in a row counting staying in the game as a defensive replacement last year. To me this indicates that his knee is doing just fine. Gardenhire would not put in Mauer to replace Miller if he didn't think his knee would be fine. This leaves caution as the only explaination. At this point, the caution is becoming a hinderance. Last year, with Mauer's knee very much in doubt, this is the same caution which served very well last year to keep Mauer healthy for this year. At this point, Mr. Ryan is going to have to cut the cord and let Joe be Joe. And to hell with Corky!

The End of an Era

Tonight, Reggie Miller retired and an entire state mourned. Everyone wanted to be someone growing up. Ask anyone male aged 16-28 from Indiana, and there is a really good chance he wanted to be Reggie Miller at some point in his life. I know I did. I used to spot up for shots the same why Reggie did - toes pointed it, let it go way up high, and always from long range.

Every good story has a rivalry. The 90's Knicks-Pacers games were the best. They were in a constant battle to see who would get to be beaten by the Bulls. Personally, my favorite game was when Reggie scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds to beat the Knicks in New York. I remember thinking that the game was over. I went to the kitchen to get something to eat. Down by 6 with just under 20 seconds to play - there was no way anyone, not even Reggie, could pull this out. When he hit the first three, I still wasn't in the room. My friend Kyle, who's house we were at, yelled for me to come in there and quick. I made it just in time to see Reggie sprinting back to the three-point line for the second three. That tied it up. I was thinking overtime. Then came the part that no clip ever shows. After John Starks (Oh, back in the day I absolutely hated John Starks!) missed two free throws, the Knicks fouled Reggie. He stepped to the line and nailed both for points 7 and 8.

The next year, Reggie was named to the Olympic Team for the Atlanta Olympiad. The team went on sort of a barnstorming tour, and they stopped in Indianapolis to play the Greek team. We had tickets literally 3 rows from the top of the Hoosier Dome. We could hardly see anything. That big speck, that's Shaq. The little white one next to him was John Stockton. But there was no mistaking Reggie. He didn't start the game, but he ended it. The US Team was in clear control, hitting 100 points around the time the Greeks were getting to 50. The crowed started a deafening roar for "Reg-gie!" to be put in. It was the loudest crowed I'd ever heard. With time winding down, Reggie popped up for three from the top of the key, with the ball floating through the net as time expired. I wore my tshirt from that day until I couldn't fit in it any more. By now, my little brother has grown out of it as well, but Mom still keeps it around. I remember it had the "USA Basketball" logo on the front and "Our Dream, Your Nightmare - US Dream Team" on the back.

I got to see many things with Reggie over the years, the good with the bad. The only thing I regret is what I didn't see - Reggie with a Championship Trophy. The Pacers were solid all through the 90's, but they never made the Finals. The Bulls made sure of that. When Jordan retired the first time, I thought the Pacers would get theirs, but they didn't. First the Knicks, then the Magic, fell to Houston. Jordan came back, and with him came another 3-peat. He left again, and the Pacers made the Finals for the first time since the ABA days. Only this time, they would fall victim to another 3-peat in the making - Kobe, Shaq, and the rest of the Lakers. Rik Smits just wasn't cut out for guarding Shaq. The Pacers managed to win 2 games, but I think everyone knew deep down that this wasn't the Pacers' year. Unfortunately for Reggie, the year would never come.

I've always felt a sort of connection with Reggie. He was drafted the year I was born. He's quite the lanky guy, just like me. I grew up with him, almost to the point he was part of the family. But as they say, we'll always have the memories. Reggie provided many. I will miss him.

Best Baseball Names: Class of 2005

Who will be inducted into the Best Baseball Names club? This year, it's up to you. Email me or comment with your favorite names and why. Is it fun to say? Is it pure cool? A double entrendre, perhaps? Don't know why - you just like it. Nominees will then be voted on by you. The top 5 vote getters will receive their place in the pantheon of great baseball names.

Inaugural Class:

• Lew Ford
• Augie Ojeda
• Pokey Reese
• Razor Shines
• Mookie Wilson
• Tsuyoshi Shinjo
• Rocco Baldelli
• Wily Mo Pena
• Cool Papa Bell
• Stubby Clapp

JC, JC, JC. What are we gonna do with you?

Last night, JC Romero pitched 2/3 of an inning, gave up a hit, a walk, and a hit batsman all leading to the losing decision of a 2-1 game against Cleveland. To be fair, Cuddyer did make an error in the inning. But still, plunking a guy with the bases loaded! When I saw the highlights on TV, I let out quite a hearty "Son of a bitch!" It wasn't that we'd lost, it was that JC did it again.

I've seen JC pitch with everything clicking. I wouldn't want to be the poor bastard trying to hit that. But unfortunatly, we too often see the JC that doesn't quite hit his spots and doesn't have that little extra something on his pitches. During his team record 36 1/3 scoreless inning streak last year, he let 56.25% (9/16) of inherited runners score. It looks like this year he's being nice and inflating his ERA instead of the guy he relieved.

I'm convinced that this is all mental. JC has the physical makeup to be a dominating middle reliever. Something in that noggin of his just doesn't function when there are people in scoring position. Maybe all he needs is a smack upside the back of the head to knock everything into place. In reality, Gardy and Anderson just need to keep their faith in JC and hope he comes around. The organization being supportive is the only thing they can do anymore. He has a contract through 2006, with the team option for 2007, but don't be surprised if at some point in June or July he's trade bait.

Spring Training 2005 Index

Getting There
Game 1: D'Backs at Mariners
Game 2: Rangers at Brewers
Game 3: Cubs at Royals
Pictures

Game 3: Cubs at Royals 3/21/05

I know, I'm slacking. In other obvious news, the Pope is dead. What? Too soon? Here's the next game we went to in Arizona.

This game was at Surprise Stadium, the new joint venture with the Royals and Rangers. Attached to the stadium are 12 or 14 practice fields split between the teams. We parused the fields before hand to see what was kicking. Buck Showalter was in his golfcart, but I didn't realize it was him until too late or else I would have gotten a picture. On the way out, I ran out on to one of the fields and stole a ball. Now, everyone's favorite part, the notes:

The Game

• Matt Stairs (KC) hit a home run and the guy down from us caught it bare-handed. I could hear the smack. This was later on SportsCenter Top 10.
• Corey Patterson (CHC) - Bottom 2- Didn't plant to throw. Tsk-tsk. He later redeemed himself with a flat-footed no-hop strike to the plate.
  
• Bottom 2 - KC scores 5 with 0 out. Dempster pulled after 1 1/3 IP. Replaced by Steve Randolph. Randolph didn't give up any more runs in the inning.
• Henry Blanco (CHC) hits a triple - the second I've personally seen. (6th paragraph down)
• Hawk (CHC) pitched an OK inning with no pressure on him
• Gobble (KC) - hit hard, WP to score run, bad throw to 2B to not start 1-6-3 DP
• Cubs baserunning gaffe - Claussen hesitates on loose ball, doesn't run. Kelton, assuming Claussen is moving, gets stranded. All safe when KC catcher holds ball waaay to long
• #80 KC - good arm, didn't catch his name. Wilken Wooen or something like that
• #30 KC - slow transfer glove-to-hand on DP, still got the runner
• Sloppy play all around. Poorly played game
• Cubs' pitching was quite aweful
• Someone in the Cubs' bullpen doesn't like yellow Dots. They had been left everywhere. Thought you'd all like to know.

The Park

• Free Parking! I found this amazing. There is nothing else out there, no businesses or anything to park at, so they have you by the balls parking-wise. Yet they chose to let you park for free. Very nice
• The outfield was mowed in concentric circles, starting in CF. Very odd pattern and I wasn't a fan.
• Lawn seating, as always, is a nice thing. Nothing like sitting in the grass watching a game.
• You can't get from the Texas practice fields to the stadium without walking the long way around, which was quite the hike. If you are going to practice, go to KC, its right there to the right of the ticket office.

Adam's Thoughts
Check back in the morning, he's asleep

Ex-Twins
Hawk, Blanco - CHC
Denny Hocking - KC

ETB Data Revealed

Check out Stick and Ball Guy's post about his feelings on the best hitters for the Twins thus far. He asserts Jones, LeCroy, and Bartlett are doing well, while Lew and Cuddyer, ehhh, not so much. SBG uses OPS (On-base plus slugging) for his analysis. He went further to name Jones "Hot Hitter of the Week" and Cuddyer "Not". Let's start with these two. *All data is through 3 AM on 4/13/05.

First some abbreviation lessons. Stay with me, there's a lot.

ETB - The number of extended total bases
AB - At-bats
SLGE - Slugging Percentage calculated using ETB
H - Hits
ETB/H - Extended total bases per hit.
TB - Total bases
ETB-TB - Extended Total Bases minus Total Bases. This will show how many ETB were gained by moving men on the basepaths, not the batter himself.
GIDP - Grounded Into Double Play
RBI - Runs Batted In
HR - Home Runs
RBI-HR - RBI minus Home Runs. This is how many people the runners have scored that are not the batter
OBP - On-base Percentage
SLG - Slugging Percentage
OPS - On-base plus Slugging (Stat used by SBG)
OPSE - OPS calculated using SLGE
RC -Runs created. Created by Bill James. Calculated by TB*OBP
RCE - Runs created calculated using ETB

Player	ETB	AB	SLGE	H	ETB/H	TB	ETB-TB	GIDP	RBI	HR	RBI-HR	OBP	SLG	OPSE	RC	RCE
Cuddyer	11	26	0.423	5	2.200	9	2	1	1	1	0	0.192	0.346	0.615	1.728	2.112
Jones	24	20	1.200	7	3.429	12	12	1	5	1	4	0.409	0.600	1.609	4.908	9.816

By using ETB, we can see that Jones has more than twice the impact on the basepaths than Cuddyer. His SLGE is 3x higher. Jones is getting 1.2 ETB more per hit. His OPSE is actually a full 1.000 higher. He has also created more than 7 more runs than Cuddyer. All of this is in 6 less at bats.

What can we try to determine with this data. Jacque Jones is having a much bigger impact on the Twins' offense than Cuddyer.

The leader in each category, limited to those with 19 AB or higher.

Stat

ETB

AB

SLGE

H

ETB/H

TB

ETB-TB

GIDP

RBI

HR

RBI-HR

OBP

SLG

OPSE

RC

RCE

Leader

Hunter

Stewart

Jones

Stewart Hunter

LeCroy

Hunter

Hunter

Several

Hunter

Hunter

Hunter

Mauer

Jones Bartlett

Jones

Bartlett

Jones

Total

29

31

1.200

8

4.400

13

16

1

7

2

5

0.436

0.600

1.609

5.004

9.816

This chart would indicate that Hunter, and to a not quite as great extent Jones, is really helping the offense along. Hunter has not scored much, only 3 runs. With Ford and Cuddyer hitting right behind him, it's no wonder. However, looking the other way, Bartlett, hitting a few spots ahead of Hunter, leads the team in runs scored.

I'm not quite sure what else to do with this. I'm not really that big of a stat-head. However, if you would like to take a look at this yourself, please feel free to download an Excel sheet with all the data in it. I'm going to go ahead and keep tracking this. Adam Steven David is supposed to be tracking the Cubs for comparison, but I don't know how well he's keeping up. I'm looking for feedback here, good or critical, so please let me know what you think of my findings.

Twins Slow Start

What do you feel is the reason the Twins are off to a slow start?

What's been the biggest problem for the Twins thus far?
	Morneau's Concussion
	Radke's two losses
	Silva's ankle
	Having four catchers
	Lack of offense

Feel free to comment about your choice or if your choice isn't featured

Extended Total Bases Update

Awhile back, I introduced my idea for a new stat, Extended Total Bases. I've compiled data for the first two series of the season, Seattle and Chicago. I used the following guidelines:

1. You get 1 base for every base you get
2. You get 1 base for every base you move someone else as a result of your at-bat
3. Sacrifices, Walks, HPB and the like are all ways of increasing totals
4. Stealing a base will not increse your total
5. Fielder's Choice is worth 0
6. GIDP is worth -1 since you acutally took someone off the basepaths

Before I reveal the data, I want to run a blind test. Comment or email me with who you feel the 3 best and 3 worst preformers for the Twins have been through the two series. Then, I'll compare what everyone says with what my data says. I'll post the results in a few days.

Delayed Posts

I had a review of the Seattle series started, but now its a couple of days old so I'm not going to bother finishing it. If ever you are looking for a review of a game or series and I've been too lazy to write it, check out the "Twins/Baseball" links on the side of the page.

Inaugural Tourney Tourney Update

I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the Inagural Tourney Tourney. Leading most of the way, UNC cemented my victory. Please excuse me while I gloat a little bit. Whooooooo! OK, I'm done now. Click on the team name for the individual's website. The final results are:

Rank	Team	Points
1	The AJ's - Me	145
2	Hi Sox & Long Shorts - Dan Foley	115
3	Paul Katcher - Paul Katcher	105
4	Go IU - Adam Steven David	80
5	SethSpeaks Slugs - Seth Stohs	73
6	Baseball Savant - David	53

Catcher Situation

There is no easy way to say this, so I'll just come out and say it - the Twins have 4 catchers on the 25 man roster. That's almost a full 20% of the roster. There are Joe Mauer and Matty LeCroy left over from last year. This offseason, the Twins signed Corky Miller and Mike Redmond. Mauer is the only left-handed batter and they all throw right-handed, so we know it's not for lefty-righty balance. Does this mean the organization is still not telling us everything about Mauer's knee? Even if Mauer never catches again, that still leaves three catchers.

Only 3 other teams have more than 2 catchers as of today - Angels, Tigers, and Pirates. They all have 3 catchers. One caveat - The Tigers have 3 catchers, but 1 of them is Brandon Inge who started at 3rd base today and looks to be their everyday man over there. It is against the norm for teams to have more than two catchers at a time.

There are a few ways to look at this. LeCroy is going to DH most of the time, leaving Mauer and 2 backups. If this is the case, where is Lew Ford going? Another is that Mauer is not going to be able to catch much, so LeCroy will and Lew will DH, again leaving two backups. Varying from the previous, Redmond will catch, LeCroy will DH, Miller will be a backup and Lew will be left hanging.

Assuming Mauer is OK, as we are led to believe every step of the way, there is no need for 2 or 3 backup catchers. I personally feel that the organization needs to make a personnel change. The Twins are being overly cautious in this situation. Miller does not need to be on the active roster. In the last two years with Cincinatti, he played 13 and 14 games respectively. If LeCroy is to pretty much full-time DH, keep Redmond up. If LeCroy is going to backup and Lew is going to DH, there's no need for Redmond. Miller's spot could be used for Terry Tiffee. Tiffee hit .302 in 20 games this spring, and even hit a home run. Wishful thinking coming up - If Tiffee comes up, it frees Cuddyer to play 2B.

Number of Catchers per Team

New York Yankees	2
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	2
Boston Red Sox	2
Toronto Blue Jays	2
Baltimore Orioles	2
Minnesota Twins	4
Detroit Tigers	3
Chicago White Sox	2
Kansas City Royals	2
Cleveland Indians	2
Texas Rangers	2
Oakland Athletics	2
Seattle Mariners	2
Los Angeles Angels	3
Atlanta Braves	2
New York Mets	2
Washington Nationals	2
Philadelphia Phillies	2
Florida Marlins	2
Pittsburgh Pirates	3
Chicago Cubs	2
St. Louis Cardinals	2
Cincinnati Reds	2
Milwaukee Brewers	2
Houston Astros	2
Los Angeles Dodgers	2
San Diego Padres	2
San Francisco Giants	2
Colorado Rockies	2
Arizona Diamondbacks	2

A Great Day for Sports

Today could hardly be better. It is currently 79 degrees with a breeze. It's Opening Day. I am a firm believer that this should be a national holiday. I would have skipped class, but I had class at 10, so there was no reason. I have the Royals/Tigers on one channel, and with the press of the "Previous Channel" button I am viewing the Mets/Reds game. The Twins are on tonight. I got a free 2 day pass to MLBtv, so I can acutally watch the game. In honor of this Opening Day, I am wearing my Lew Ford jersey. Ken Griffey, for whom I was teased for drafting, led of his season with a solid double through the adjusted IF.

Tonight is the NCAA championship. In my pool, I am leading as of this moment. If UNC wins, so do I. If the Illini win, I get 2nd and Paul will win. In Paul's pool, I am third. Both people in front of me have Illinois. So if UNC wins, so do I. That'd be two pools this year, two more than I've ever won in my life.

Let the festivities begin.

2005 Fantasy Draft

We had our Fantasy Draft on Saturday. I forgot until it had been going for about 15 minutes. Then I had to download and install the Java plugin. I didn't get in until the 12th round. Here are my picks.

1. Pujols
2. Abreu
3. Beltre
4. Cabrera
5. Bonds
   
6. Rollins
   
7. Huff
8. Giles
9. Nathan
10. Cordero
11. Dotel
12. Radke----> My first pick as a person
    
13. Morneau
14. Livan Hernandez
15. Rincon
16. Colon
17. Graves
18. LoDuca
19. Rowand
20. Otsuka
21. Griffey, Jr.

By Team:

Yankees	13
Cubs	10
Marlins	9
White Sox	8
Red Sox	8
Cardinals	8
Twins	7
Padres	7
Braves	7
Angels	7
Phillies	7
Orioles	6
Mets	6
Mariners	6
A's	6
Tigers	5
Reds	5
Rangers	5
Nationals	5
Astros	5
Rays	4
Giants	4
Dodgers	4
Indians	3
Brewers	3
Pirates	2
D'Backs	2
Blue Jays	2
Royals	1
Rockies	1

Game 2: Rangers at Brewers 3/20/05

I went to this game with Adam, Chris, and Ruth - Adam's grandparents. This is the game where I got the best pictures. Back from the last section of seats in right is the door from the clubhouse down through the bullpen to the field. Everyone has to come out of that door eventually. That's where all the autograph seekers perch before the game. Now, my notes:

The Game

• Brady Clark had a good day in CF. He lead of the game by robbing Soriano of a hit in the gap.
• Ben Sheets - 4 pitch walk to Michael Young. Otherwise a good game, but still got hit well. Changeup was working well.
• Manny Alexander - 3 doubles on the day. On 2nd double, he took third on the throw home. Nicely done.
• Ricardo Rodriguez (SP-TEX) struck out the side in 2nd. Didn't make the active roster. Haircut makes him look like a Pedro wannabe
• Gary Glover (MIL) got hit pretty hard, but it didn't do much damage.
• Sandy Alomar, Jr. (TEX) passed ball in 6th to score a run.
• Jason Conti (TEX) Jacque Jones'ed it to the plate to let run score. Corey Hart (MIL) has no wheels whatsoever. It's a good thing Conti 4-hopped it or he would have been hosed by a mile.
• Dave Krynzel (MIL) picked off at first by Travis Hughes.
• SAUSAGE RACE!! My pick, the hot dog, smoked everyone to win by a length (longwise, not skinny wise)
  
• Travis Hughes (TEX) gave up 3R HR to Trent Durrington to take lead. Gave up a line drive single to next batter and was pulled for Augustin Moreno.
• Brewers take lead with back to back 3 run innings.
• Torres (TEX) stole 2B easily.
• Torres played a ball off the wall very well, held runner to double with strong throw
• V. Nunez (RP - TEX) did not look good
• Santana (MIL) closed with authority

The Park

• If you want any free stuff sit behind the Brewers' dugout
• Checkerboard IF, Diagonal OF grass
• Lawn seating was steeper than at Mariners. Would have been nice if it was dry.

Adam's Thoughts

"Junior Spivey is not good enough looking to have his own cheering section"

Ex-Twins
Pat Borders - Milwaukee