He's Not So Bad

Every spring there's optimistic talk about individual players and the contribution fans are hoping they'll bring to the overall success of the team's season. Delmon Young is one of a few players that has been generating a lot of conversation the past few months. Delmon's weight loss during the offseason gave fans a lot to talk about (perhaps a bit too much). Is his weight loss a good sign of a renewed dedication to improving and will it cause him to have a better attitude in general? Will it improve his defensive skills - specifically, will it allow him to cover more ground? And even aside from the questions surrounding the "new Delmon", there were plenty of other questions being thrown around throughout the offseason. Will Delmon improve defensively? Will he begin to have better plate discipline? Was the power he flashed over the final weeks of the 2009 season for real? Will he play more now with Carlos Gomez having been traded? Will he play less with the addition of Jim Thome? It's easy to see why Delmon was one of the most talked about players in the offseason and during spring training.

So in the second month of the 2010 season, what do we know?

Delmon has shown improvement defensively, has had a few exciting plays in the field and appears to be slightly better at covering ground in left. However, I don't think his weight loss has drastically improved his mobility in the outfield to the extent that many people were hoping once the news broke about his slimmer physique; but a small improvement is better than none at all. The effort and discipline is what is more impressive, and for the first time in quite a while he really seems to be enjoying himself out there.

Many know that 2009 was a rough year for Delmon on and off the field. Off the field Delmon's mother passed away in late May. On the field Delmon's walk rate dropped to a career low at three percent (six percent lower than the league average). Now Delmon still swings at more pitches than most, but is currently holding respectable numbers at .267/.320./.444, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 8 BB, and only 10K's. Young walked only twelve times in 2009, so with eight walks already this year it's something to be happy about.

When Justin Morneau's season came to an early end last September, Delmon stepped up and hit .353 over the final 21 games, .524 in the final five games, and in the final series with Kansas City he hit three home runs and ten RBI's to help send the Twins to a tiebreaker game with Detroit. The hot streak had a lot of fans excited to see more. While his walk rate has improved a bit, his pitch recognition hasn't improved as much as one would have hoped. Simply put, Delmon's swing-happy style can only work if he's actually making contact so it's likely that pitchers will continue to challenge his eagerness with extending the strike zone - particularly on the first pitch.

Unlike many Twins fans, I have always liked Delmon. I've always wanted to see him do well - not just for the sake of the team, but I was and am always really happy for him when he has a good day. I know he has been judged pretty harshly for having a bad reputation and a bad attitude, but I also think he has been judged too harshly for simply being on the more quiet and reserved side. I think Delmon is ready to make some adjustments this year and there's reason to be optimistic for a better 2010. But it's now or never. The Twins will have a big decision to make this offseason so I am hoping he puts up some good numbers this year to make that decision a little easier.

2010 MLB Predictions

These are always fun. If I get even half of them correct I'll consider it a success!

AL MVP: Joe Mauer
NL MVP: Albert Pujols

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay

AL Rookie of the Year: Brian Matusz
NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward

AL West: Mariners
AL Central: Twins
AL East: Yankees
AL Wild Card: Red Sox

NL West: Rockies
NL Central: Cardinals
NL East: Phillies
NL Wild Card: Braves

AL Standings:
Twins 91-71
White Sox 88-74
Tigers 87-75
Indians 80-82
Royals 73-89

World Series: Cardinals over Yankees

Twins MVP: Joe Mauer
Twins Top Pitcher: Kevin Slowey
Twins Best Rookie: Anthony Slama
Twins Most Improved Player: Francisco Liriano
Bold Predictions: Jesse Crain will lead the team in saves, Delmon Young will hit more home runs than 2008 and 2009 combined and Gardy will win manager of the year
Three Keys to Success for the Twins: Health, improved defense and quality starts from the rotation

Slama For Good Luck

How do my picks look? (It's my first time playing, so keep that in mind).

SLOT PLAYER, TEAM POS
C Brian McCann, Atl C
1B Prince Fielder, Mil 1B
2B Ben Zobrist, TB 2B, OF
3B Evan Longoria, TB 3B
SS Jose Reyes, NYM SS
2B/SS Kelly Johnson, Ari 2B
1B/3B Adam LaRoche, Ari 1B
OF Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos OF
OF Michael Bourn, Hou OF
OF Nate McLouth, Atl OF
OF Corey Hart, Mil OF
OF Magglio Ordonez, Det OF, DH
UTIL Chris Iannetta, Col C
P Cole Hamels, Phi SP
P Ubaldo Jimenez, Col SP
P Chad Billingsley, LAD SP
P James Shields, TB SP
P Huston Street, Col RP
P Ted Lilly, ChC SP
P Carlos Marmol, ChC RP
P Bobby Jenks, CWS RP
P Daisuke Matsuzaka, Bos SP
Bench Everth Cabrera, SD SS
Bench Casey Blake, LAD 3B
Bench Anthony Slama, Min RP

Our Uninvited Tour of Target Field

Yesterday my friend, Ryan, called me and asked if I would want to go downtown and take a look around Target Field. We figured it would be mostly closed off but would see just how close we could get to peek at the new stadium. It turned out that it was pretty wide open. We walked right past the ticket office workers, past the workers unloading items from a truck and right through the main gate on the east side of the stadium. The only security guard near us was busy watching a crew filming so we probably could have taken that opportunity to take some pictures, but Ryan decided to ask him for permission. Of course he said no, so we walked around to the other side of the stadium to snap a few pictures before leaving. The sixth and seventh are pictures of our seats for twenty games this season.

Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em

Yesterday I was happy to be a part of Topper Anton's Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em series. You can check it out here. Make sure to check back to Topper's blog this week as he wraps up his series with Jeff from 108 Stitches, Pat Neshek and... himself!

Who Is It Going To Be?

For a few years I defended Nick Punto from the criticism of my friends and other Twins fans because for a while I did like him, I enjoyed watching him play and I did want to see him do well. He certainly possesses some skills that make him valuable. He's versatile, he's patient at the plate, he's a good defender, he's a great teammate and he hustles more than perhaps any other player on the team. My partiality for him continued through and beyond his pitiful 2007 season, but that all came to an end last year.

It's simply impossible to overlook the fact that Punto was pretty terrible last year. Despite his good glove work he's the kind of inconsistent offensive player that makes watching his at bats so frustrating. Going into the All-Star break last season he had a .201 average with a .234 slugging percentage. Look familiar? He hit .210 with a .217 slugging percentage in 2007. He managed to improve a little in the second half ending the season with a .228 average and a .284 slugging percentage, but adding that to his history of injuries and lack of any hitting power, there just isn't enough good to outweigh the bad.

Now I don't want to be TOO hard on Nick, because while he may not hit for a lot of power, he does make a lot of contact, draws a lot of walks, and it is certainly true that his offense last year was not as bad as his numbers would suggest. One could argue that Punto should regularly be in the lineup if not only for his skill in taking some pitches. But how long can that last? Without an ability to hit with some authority, there's no reason for pitchers to throw him anything other than strikes.

The real question is, is Punto's glove more needed than Harris' bat? I don't think so. And though I'm hearing a lot of fans saying batting Punto ninth in the lineup is less of a concern than Harris' defense, I completely disagree. Harris is far from perfect himself but defensively held his own last year and was undoubtedly the superior hitter of the two.

The problem here isn't Punto. He is who he is and despite his poor offense he continues to plug away, trying to compensate for his lack of offensive talent with drive and hustle. No, the real problem here is Ron Gardenhire. No matter how poorly Punto has performed, Gardenhire has allowed him to maintain a starting role and will continue to sing his praises all while inflating Punto's value to the team by describing him as "invaluable", "fantastic", and "irreplaceable", among many other over-the-top quotes in his appeal to suggest that Punto is merely undervalued.

Punto is an offensive liability, plain and simple. His glaring weaknesses should be a huge concern by now and need to be addressed if the Twins are going to go deep in October. He is just not one the Twins can count on to be consistently productive. I believe that any team that will give Punto 300+ plate appearances is in trouble. And while his hitting may not be bad enough to push the Twins out of playoff contention, I don't think that means that the Twins should give up this opportunity to return him to the utility role he's best suited for and give Harris a fair shake at third.

A New Year But Nothing Is New

(Disclaimer: These thoughts are not exactly new. I've been meaning to start this blog for a while now but wanted my first post to address the offseason trades and rumors. Also, this blog was written before the Washburn rumors showed signs of becoming more than just rumors. Fingers crossed).

Bill Smith and the Twins have been increasingly quiet as of late. Since the early November trading of Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy, the Twins have been quite motionless. The only significant news has been found in the trade that sent Boof Bonser to the Red Sox in exchange for a low-level pitching prospect and the acceptance of an arbitration offer to Carl Pavano.

But the lack of movement should not come as a surprise to Twins fans, for this has become typical during the Bill Smith era. The Winter Meetings have often been a week filled with rumors and speculation that ultimately leads to very little or nothing at all. But for many Twins fans, the fun is in the chatter. Will the Twins extend Joe Mauer’s contract? Will we add a starting pitcher to the rotation? Will the infield problems be repaired with a signing of a second or third baseman? I think we may have to wait just a little bit longer for these questions to be answered, but here are a couple of things we can think about in the meantime in regards to the starting pitching rotation.

With Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Carl Pavano, and Nick Blackburn set as the top four, there is only one spot left to fill. And although many Twins fans are pleading with Bill Smith to make some worthwhile changes to the starting pitching rotation during this offseason, I do not think we should get our hopes too high. With the lack of fiscal flexibility, I doubt it to be likely that we can expect to see the Twins land a high impact starting pitcher. I still believe that Glen Perkins will be moved during the offseason, so I am anticipating spring training to begin with Francisco Liriano and Brian Duensing contending for the fifth spot. Many see Duensing to be the likely choice, so I am probably in the minority on this, but I expect to see Liriano added to round out the roation.

Why should Liriano be considered for the fifth spot?
1. Liriano has some of the best pitches of any of the potential starters. If he is able to get his fastball back on track and maintain control of the strike zone, he will be an altogether different pitcher than the one we watched struggle so much last season.
2. He’s only 26, and when he is on he can be dynamic. If he can re-establish his skill set, his 2010 will quickly overshadow his unfortunate 2009.
3. It would be silly to think that Liriano can recapture the graundeur of his 2006 season. What we need from him right now is to give the team some efficient starts. With efficient starts, he will give the team a chance to win, and if given a spot in the starting rotation, I’ll be excited to watch him do just that.

Again, I am probably outnumbered in this debate, but I for one will not be surprised to see Liriano step it up to secure a spot in the rotation and give the Twins some quality starts. Hopefully I am right, and we don’t have to endure another disastrous season from him.