The Notebook Dump (04.02.09)

Game: Twins 1, Rays 2

Box Score

Recap

Record: 17-13 (5th in Grapefruit)

 

The Quote: "You hope that you sign with an organization that tells the truth, and you hope that you perform well enough to put the ball in their court, and I feel like I've done that." - R.A. Dickey

 

UPDATE: The Twins placed Scott Baker on the 15-day DL due to shoulder tightness.  Francisco Liriano will now assume the Opening Day duties.   With Baker on the DL, the Twins are looking at using R.A. Dickey as the 5th starter to face Chicago next Friday.  Baker's injury might explain why he had such a rough spring - in 23 2/3 innings, he struck out 16 and walked three while allowing nine home runs leading to a 6.85 ERA.  It was obvious that Baker's command was good, however, he was very hittable.  Though I cannot provide any evidence that his velocity was down this spring, shoulder injuries are usually a cause of that.  As I outlined in March, Baker's stuff is quite good, so the hope is that this is nothing more than "tightness". 

 

A lead-off home run by Gabe Gross was the difference as the Rays topped the Twins 2-1.  Battling for a spot in the bullpen, R.A. Dickey tossed four innings of three-hit ball, striking out three and walking one.  Dickey was relieved by Philip Humber whose three innings of work was marred by the Gross home run.  Humber's spring had been far more tumultuous than of Dickey's.  In 14 innings, Humber has posted a 8/2 K/BB ratio with a 5.14 ERA. Dickey, meanwhile, has pitched 17 2/3 innings this spring with a 18/4 K/BB ratio with a 2.04 ERA.   Even with the performance discrepancies, Humber should get the nod over Dickey to open the season since transitioning Humber to AAA requires the Twins to expose him to waivers. 

 

After being informed that he was going to be the temporary backstop while Joe Mauer is on the mend, Jose Morales wept openly in from of manager Ron Gardenhire, reports Phil Miller.  The selection of Morales over a superior defensive catcher in Drew Butera was justified by GM Bill Smith because of Morales's experience above AA and his offensive capabilities that exceed that of Butera's.  For his part, Morales immediately reassured everyone of this decision by promptly going 0-for-3 and allowing FIVE stolen bases against the Rays.

 

Injuries abound for the Twins as Brian Buscher, Delmon Young, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Crede all were suffering from various ailments.  None are serious, most likely wear-and-tear from the extended spring training season this year. 

 

 

In one of the more enlightened articles provided in the Star Tribune's print edition, Joe Christensen looks at the Twins defense through John Dewan's The Fielding Bible, Volume II and provides a decent primer to those that are unfamiliar with Dewan's defensive rating system.  In addition to that, Christensen slices up some more Twins defensivey goodness in his Around the Majors blog, particularly how bad Delmon Young's defense actually was outside the commonly accepted fielding statistics (RZR, UZR, fielding pct, etc). 

 

USA Today ranks the Twins 9th overall and looks at their outfield surplus. 

 

Geoff Baker reports that the Seattle Mariners returned Jose Lugo to the Twins.  Lugo, whom the Mariners acquired from Kansas City after the Royals selected Lugo in the Rule 5 draft, threw 7 1/3 innings, recording one strikeout, walked three and surrendered two earned runs for them this spring.  In 69 innings at Ft Myers in 2008, Lugo struck out 76 and issued 36 walks with a 4.43 Runs Allowed Average.  One year ago the two franchises were able to work out a deal as the Twins accepted catcher Jair Fernandez as compensation for R.A. Dickey under similar circumstances.  Unlike Dickey, who had MLB experience, the 24-year-old hard throwing reliever had yet to pitch above high-A so his return to the organization was expected.  The Twins have assigned Lugo to New Britain. 

 

David Brown over at Yahoo! Sports features a quirky Q&A with Twins closer Joe Nathan discussing non-topics such as the Twins commercials, other people named Joe Nathan, the facial hair habits of closers and encounters with UFOs. 

 

The Baggy will no long adorn the Dodge Ram emblem as it had the past several years.  In the Dome's final year, Stanley Works, a manufacturer of security systems, tools and other products, will have the rights to the advertising on the blue tarp.  In addition to the premium space, Stanley Works will sponsor the two Web cams that have been in use since 2007 which allows viewers to witness the construction of Target Field. 

 

Seth Stohs gives his Top 15 Baseball Movies in the event Twins fans need a weekend of DVD-watching to remind them baseball season is indeed upon us here in Minnesota despite what the weather suggests. 

At Baseball Digest, we're providing our candidates for Breakout Player of the Year.  Though his playing time is contingent on Joe Crede, how about Brian Buscher for a Breakout candidate?  So far this spring, Buscher has hit .380/.467/.500.  With Crede hitting .167/.245/.292 through spring, there is still the outside possibility that Buscher winds up being that left-handed platoon partner afterall. 

The Tao of Drew

With Drew Butera's addition to the Twins' Opening Day roster becoming more imminent not happening, we should take a closer inspection as to just who this catcher is.

 

In 2005, Drew Butera was selected by the New York Mets in the 5^th round (149^th overall) out of the University of Central Florida.  Butera had just completed a breakout junior season in which he improved leaps and bounds offensively from his sophomore season where he batted .282/.332/.331 with seven extra base hits in 181 at bats to hitting .325/.434/.481 with 20 extra base hits (5 home runs) in 208 at bats a year later. What’s more is that Butera demonstrated greater plate discipline, increasing his walks by 218% (from 11 to 35).   But the offensive contributions were a surprisingly pleasant icing as Butera had already earned the reputation as a great defensive catcher – throwing out 48% of potential base stealers in the Atlantic Sun Conference while posting a .993 fielding percentage.  “Drew is arguably the best catcher we have had at UCF,” said UCF's head coach Jay Bergman.  His stellar defense nearly earned him the Johnny Bench Award, an award presented to the nation’s top collegiate catcher.  In the end, Butera would remain a semifinalist and finished behind winner Jeff Clement, a top prospect in the Mariners organization who slugged over .600 at USC, and Taylor Teagarden, the Rangers top catching prospect.  Butera signed with the Mets for $175,000 and was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League. 

 

Butera’s introduction to professional pitching was not without its challenges.  In 55 games for the Cyclones, Butera batted just .217/.305/.297 with 11 extra base hits in 175 at bats (in a league which averages .255/.332/.368) while leading all catchers in the league with 12 errors.  Either way, the Mets were intrigued enough by their new catcher that they extended a non-roster spring training invite to him.  What the Mets found up close was a catching prospect cut from a different cloth.  While most players favor Pop, Hip-Hop, Country and Latin music, Butera showed passion for opera music, listening instead to Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti before games.  "This has been an outstanding experience," commented Butera on his first spring training, "You get to see the way the other players carry themselves. There's more maturity here than in college. They are real serious there. Here, you want to win but it seems like they have fun doing it.  I got to be around this a lot growing up with my dad. But to be able to experience it firsthand is amazing. I had to call him yesterday [Thursday] when I got everything set up and let him know what number [92] I was going to be. I told him I was a defensive back but still, everything is exciting."

 

Lack of knowledge concerning football numeration notwithstanding, the young catcher’s poise was touted by the ever-present scouts.

 

"I had a conversation with a few scouts about him last night," Former Twin and Drew’s dad Sal, who is a special assistant to the Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, told MiLB.com during the spring training period, "And I have to be careful because I am his father. But I think for a young receiver, he's the total package in terms of receiving the ball, accuracy, strength, blocking the ball, all of it. He just keeps getting better. Where the Mets took him in the draft, I'm glad [general manager] Omar [Minaya] and his staff had the wherewithal to grab him.  He's been around the game his whole life and that's an advantage in itself. If he goes to Port St. Lucie this season it will be a big jump. But I think he can handle it defensively. It's just a matter of how patient they want to be with his offense. But if you saw him when he was a freshman in college, you've already seen how much better he's gotten."

 

The Mets sent Butera to Hagerstown of the South Atlantic League (A) after his spring training stint.  Behind the plate Butera showed off his cannon arm, scratching out 47% of would-be base stealers, but next to it was a different story.  After spending time working with Lamar Johnson, a former White Sox star in the 1970s, in the Instructional League on trying to recognize pitches faster, Butera failed to bring the lessons with him to the Sally League.  In 295 at bats in 95 games, Butera hit .186/.297/.281 knocking 18 extra base hits while striking out 72 times and walking 42.  After the season, Butera was enlisted in the Hawaii Winter League where his plate troubles followed him (.232 average, rescued by a 5-for-14 streak the last five games), nevertheless, his reputation as a solid game-calling catcher preceded him.  "Drew Butera did a heck of a job behind the plate; the best catcher I've ever thrown to," said Joe Thatcher, Butera’s North Shore Honu battery mate and a Brewers pitching prospect.

 

In his third season within the Mets organization, he was assigned to Port St Lucie of the Florida State League (A+).  It was there that Butera made significant progress offensively.  In the first-half of the FSL season, Butera kept his average near .300, earning a place at the FSL All-Star game.  Though his average would slip as the season continued, Butera’s .258/.348/.418 with 19 extra base hits and a 24-to-29 walks-to-strikeouts ratio was by far his best composition of his young career, securing him a midseason promotion to Binghampton (AA).  Despite seeing his offensive number slip upon arrival to the Eastern League, Butera showed maturity beyond his years as the Binghampton receiver.  According to Scout.com, Butera made on-the-fly, in-game adjustments with Mets pitching prospect Brandon Nall, calling for more sliders earlier in the count that helps Nell locate his proper arm slot for his fastball.  A month later in the same publication, Butera exposed more insight to his comprehension of his pitchers saying “his slider helped him [pitcher Michael Devaney] helped him stay on top of the ball and stay through his pitches.”

 

A catcher who listens to opera and processes a pitcher’s game analytically? 

 

At the trade deadline in 2007, the Twins shipped Luis Castillo to the Mets in exchange for Butera and outfielder Dustin Martin.  While with the New Britain Rock Cats, Butera caught in 15 games, impressing the manager with his ability to control the game.   Offensively, Butera hit .260/.327/.360 with 4 extra base hits in 50 at bats.  After all the shuffling was said and done, Butera had hit .235/.301/.347 with 26 extra base hits with 31-to-55 walks-to-strikeouts in 349 at bats split between two levels and three teams.  "It's the same game [in New Britain], and I appreciate everything the Mets did for me," Butera told reporters while playing in the Arizona Fall League. "But I thank the Twins because they wanted me. It's another door that opened. And my dad was excited because he played for the Twins. He said it was another door opening, too, and that maybe it was a quicker way to the big leagues."

 

The Twins invited Butera to their 2008 spring training camp, hoping that the former Mets catcher would have some familiarity with some new faces acquired that past offseason from the Johan Santana trade.  Manager Ron Gardenhire gave Butera’s defense a resounding endorsement saying “I think we've all seen that Butera is a really good catch-and-throw guy.  He handles the pitching staff, blocks balls and that's fun to see. Offensively, he's not ready to play here, but I mean defensively, this guy could catch in the big leagues right now." 

After working with Tony Oliva and Rod Carew in the spring, Butera was placed back at New Britain and made subtle improvements at the plate.  "I think a lot of times when I've been inconsistent is when I try to hit the ball too far out in front," Butera self-diagnosed. "So I'm working on letting the ball travel to me and using the whole field."  Butera made small strides at the plate, increasing his walk rate (from 7.4% in 2007 to 9.9% in 2008) and providing a small nugget of pop (from 31.7% xbh% in 2007 to a 39.3% in 2008) while setting a new career home run high (7).  The Eastern League bestowed upon him the title of Best Defensive Catcher as he would post a 33% caught stealing rate. 

 

Butera entered camp this year with as much of a likelihood of seeing action behind the plate in the Twin Cities as his dad did.  But when Joe Mauer's injury forced the Twins into re-evaluating their catching situation, Butera's defensive prowess came to the forefront.  Yes, higher on the depth chart is Jose Morales - the switch-hitting catcher with a minor league career .283/.328/.377 - who has experience above the AA level, but by all indications, Butera is a far superior reciever and has the capability of being Joe Mauer's full-time caddy in 2010.  

 

The pitching staff will be so lucky.   

Twins Notes (03.30.09)

After losing to Boston 9-4 on Saturday, the Twins have officially lost the previous three Mayor's Cups.  Francisco Liriano gave up home runs to David Ortiz, Rocco Baldelli and Jason Bay as the Red Sox pitchers shut down the Twins.  Matt Tolbert hit his third home run of the spring off of Javier Lopez but the effort fell short and once again the Twins vacate Florida runners up to the Red Sox.  Hopefully Baltimore will be moving into the Red Sox's old spring training facility soon. 

 

On Sunday, after a brief interlude of rain the Twins downed the Cardinals, 5-3.  Kevin Slowey continued his dominance, adding two strikeouts of Albert Pujols to his already impressive spring resume.  In 20 1/3 spring innings, Slowey has compiled an impressive 20-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.  Carlos Gomez drove in two on a double in the second inning.  Backup catcher candidate Drew Butera added another RBI double in the eighth inning.   

 

Kelly Thesier reports that the Twins sent Charles Nolte to the Yankees solidifying Rule 5 draft pick Jason Jones as a member of the organization.  Nolte, a 23-year-old right-handed reliever, spent 2008 at Beloit (A) where he threw 70 1/3 innings, posting a 2.05 ERA and a 75-to-35 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.  Drafted in 2007, Nolte is an extreme groundball machine, possessing a career minor league groundball percentage of 71%.  This will undoubtedly erode somewhat as Nolte ascends the developmental ladder and his control is a bit un-Twin-like (4.39 BB/9), however, he was an intriguing prospect within the Twins system that combined a high-strikeout rate (9.26 K/9) with groundballs.  The 26-year-old Jones, who has worked 10 innings this spring striking out five and walking three, is described as major league ready but will start the season at Rochester (AAA). 

 

La Velle E. Neal writes that Joe Mauer is being inundated by fans offering various solutions to his sacroiliac joint inflammation.  The upside is that Mauer is feeling the best he has felt the entire spring.  The downside is that he has been taking nerve tonic which has now created an extreme case of gigantism. 

 

Nick Nelson summerizes the American League and provides a player-to-watch for each team. 

 

Erin Kathleen at Plunking Gomez looks at the career of the great Tony Oliva.  How good was Tony O?  As a 25-year-old rookie in 1964, Oliva would lead the American League in batting (.323), runs scored (109), total hits (217), total bases (374) and doubles (43).  His offensive on-slaught was so feared, that the following year in 1965, Oliva's intentional walk totals shot up to 12, fourth among league leaders (Don Mincher's 15 and Harmon Killebrew's 12 also headlined that list which tells you how fearsome that lineup truly was).  What is also amazing about that season in which Oliva won the Rookie of the Year was his ability to smash right-handed pitching (.341/.380/.616) all over the prairie ground of Bloomington, but saw his bat silenced versus same-sided pitching (.269/.299/.377). 

 

For further analysis on the Twins outfield situation, be sure to check out Josh Johnson's thoughts on the matter.

 

Interesting.  Former Twin Torii Hunter has a sinus infection, gets thwacked in the nose by a ball that caroms off the outfield wall then in subsequent X-rays, doctors inform him that his infection is cleared.  His nose is apparently Arthur Fonzarelli's jukebox.

 

Finally, the stable of Twins writers at Baseball Digest will be taking a crack at preseason predictions this week.  First up, the MVP awards.  Fifty percent of the writers picked a Twin.  Go figure. 

 

Where Does Nick Blackburn Go From Here?

Nick Blackburn is of that cut from utilitarian ilk, plodding, methodical and workmanlike.  He appears of the caliber that supplies thousands of man-hours with nary a thanks, nor the ingrained desire to recieve one.  He bridged the rotation from March until the last night in September, making the most starts of anyone in a Twins uniform (33) and working the most innings (193).  On top of that, he was given the start in the biggest of the 163 games played all year - a game in which he made just one mistake to Jim Thome, a player that has capitalized on Twins pitchers' mistakes for eons (hitting 55 career home runs so far).  Yet it is as if fans and analysts have already dismissed him; there's Baker, Liriano, Slowey, Perkins and The Other Guy.  When Blackburn's early spring training knee issue came to light recently, the matter took a backseat to the more popular media stories of Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan's respective shoulders, Joe Mauer's back and the OctoMom's fertilizer fluid donor.  It would seem that he would have trouble finding a shower if he were lit on fire.

 

Coming into spring training, the Twins starting pitchers have their careers well defined.  Scott Baker secured several years this past offseason with a long-term contract.  Francisco Liriano has been the golden child since 2006 and just needs that full season back to prove it before cashing in.  Kevin Slowey is next on the list obtain his tenured contract.  Glen Perkins has a solid minor league pedigree, a Minnesota birthright and a left-handed throwing arm.  Nick Blackburn is the odd-man out of the rotation.

 

To be blunt, his moderate success was somewhat hollow.  While Blackburn worked well enough to hold the rotation together for the duration of the 2008 season, internally, the front office began to look elsewhere at the trade deadline, specifically asking the Mariners about overpriced starter Jarrod Washburn in order to place Blackburn in the bullpen.  It wasn't that he was terrible in the second-half but his peripherals took a nasty left-turn.  In his 118 first-half innings, Blackburn possessed a 4.87 K/9 and a 1.37 BB/9 while giving up 0.91 HR/9.  His final 75 innings witnessed a significant drop in strikeouts (3.84 K/9) and a walks inflation (2.52 BB/9) and he began giving up an alarming amount of home runs (1.32 HR/9).  This was obviously the byproduct of pitching more innings in a single-season than he had in any other minor league year.  In addition to that digression midseason, his 4.04 ERA was controlled by the fact that he was not credited 15 runs due to shoddy defense. This was the second-most among pitchers who threw a minimum of 190 innings, trailing the White Sox Gavin Floyd who had 19.  With those runs debited to his account, Blackburn had a 4.75 RA.  Among that same group of pitchers that threw 190 innings, Blackburn was third from the bottom in K/9 with 4.47.  Unlike the aforementioned Perkins who had a low K/9 as well (4.41 K/9), Perkins had a solid 8.76 K/9 in 311 minor league innings while Blackburn managed a 4.90 K/9 in 450 innings.  Perkins's past provides opportunity for a rebound as Blackburn is probably destined to have one under 5.0.  

 

At 27 in 2009, Blackburn is as close to a finished product as you are going to get.  His repertoire does not feature any particular strikeout pitch (his two best WHIFF pitches - slider and change - he throws less than 16% of the time combined and even then they are both well-under .200 to be consider a true strikeout out-pitch).  His development pattern does not support the idea that his strikeout rate will spike either.  At this point in his career, he is what he is, a guy that doesn't issue free passes and is indebted to the play of the seven other guys behind him.     

 

So where does Blackburn project in the future?  The Twins once had the identical pitcher named Carlos Silva. Both Silva and Blackburn demonstrated excellent control, worked for groundball contact and chewed up innings.  If it were not for being delivered three years apart and on separate continents, you would suspect that they were fraternal twins.  Silva's career arc should be a strong message to Blackburn.  The Twins balked at paying Silva any more than his market value (and rightly so) when he reached free agency and the organization simply pulled the Chief from the Pitchers' Kleenex box, disposed of him and up popped Blackburn, a pitcher groomed with the identical skillset - all for a fraction of the price.  Because of this commonality, it is apparent that Nick Blackburn will suffer a similar fate as Silva: become a former Twin. 

 

Blackburn's current value should not be understated.  His contract is cheap and under control for two more seasons (he was worth $11.2 million while earning only $450,000).  His ability to alleviate usage of the bullpen is noteworthy as well as his miserly base-on-ball allowance.  The problem is, this is the type of performance that other organizations overvalue for the wrong reasons, and end up overexerting themselves financially to acquiring through free agency or through trades.  Fortunately, the Twins farm system is laden with control artists in waiting.  The 2009 Baseball Prospectus suggests in the players' comments that "[Kevin] Mulvey is waiting for one of the generic pitchers in front of him to yield a spot somewhere on the staff".  Rest assured that the unidentified generic pitcher BP speaks of is probably that of Nick Blackburn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twins Historical Player Profile: Doug Corbett

The Minnesota Twins finished the 1979 season smack-dab in the middle of the AL West at 82-80.  That season, the offense scored 4.71 runs per game led by shortstop Roy Smalley would provided 5.6 batting wins.  The pitching staff relied on the aging Jerry Koosman (20-13), Dave Goltz (14-13) and Geoff Zahn (13-7) and had a fairly supportive bullpen that possessed a cumulatively 3.42 ERA.  At the back-end of the relief staff the Twins had a workhorse in the 36-year-old Mike Marshall. 

 

Marshall, a former Cy Young winner in 1974, signed a two-year, $300,000 contract prior to the 1979 season and would make 90 relief appearances (most in the AL), throw over 140 innings, and save 32 games (most in the AL) that year.  The late innings specialist would grab 10 victories and post a 2.65 ERA but also led the team in losses with 15 while converting 76% of his save opportunities.  The surprising Twins found themselves in second-place in the AL West as late as August 15th, behind the division-leading California Angels by two games.  Marshall, however, would finish 0-6 in the final two months of the season as the Twins would tailspin to an 18-24 finish. 

 

The local ownership began to question Marshall's capabilities and began to look elsewhere for answers.  The front office identified an unprotected reliever in the Cincinnati Reds organization was intriguing enough to secure using a Rule 5 draft pick.  Doug Corbett, a former free agent signed by the Kansas City Royals out of the University of Florida, came equipped with a heavy sinker/slider combination and at the age of 27, the Twins felt that he was Major League-ready.   

 

Making 73 appearances in his belated rookie season, Corbett averaged 1.8 innings per outing, a trademark of manager Gene Mauch's usage of relief specialists.  Though the season was a disappointment for a team that had regressed from an 82-80 season in 1979 to 77-84, Corbett contributed 23 saves and posted an ERA+ of 220.  His 23 saves was a rookie record that stood until Baltimore's Gregg Olson topped that in 1989 as a 22-year-old rookie with 27 saves; it was an introductory performance garnered Corbett enough votes for third place in the AL Rookie of the Year award (Super Joe Carboneau for the Indians would go home with the hardware).  The Twins, smitten with their newest fireman, signed Corbett to a two-year, $500,000 contract. 

 

In the strike-segmented 1981 season, Corbett would pitch in 54 of the team's 109 total games finishing with 17 saves and a 2.57 ERA (ERA+ 154) while working an average of 1.6 innings per outing.  His save conversion rate would take a hit as he would save just 68% of his opportunities, a serious drop from his 76% in 1981.  As a team, the Twins took a turn for the worse as well.  The offense supplied the second-fewest runs per game (3.44) - leading only the anemic Toronto Blue Jays - a pitiful showing that less than 8,000 Twin Citians on average witnessed in person in the team's final season at Metropolitan Stadium.  Through all of the turmoil, Corbett was the Twins' only bright spot, earning the team's lone All Star representative berth. 

 

By 1982, the franchise had crash-landed in their new home in downtown Minneapolis - and so did Corbett.  In just ten games from April 7th to May 8th, opponents smashed him all over the field, hitting .300/.370/.467 in that time while blowing three saves.  Looking to employ the young, inexpensive talent, the Twins sent Corbett along with Rob Wilfong (28) to the California Angels in May for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters and $400,000.  On America's right coast, Corbett's fortitude would be questioned when he would be known for yelling "Look out!" after releasing high-and-tight fastballs. 

 

Corbett would have several successful seasons with California, helping the bullpen in the 1986 playoffs, but would struggle in Baltimore a year later and made his last Major League appearance on July 30th, 1987.  He would later pitch in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989 and 1990 and is now coaching in his home state of Florida. 

This article is also found at Baseball Digest.