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Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could keep lies from conquering the minds of the weak. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part.
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Posts about Twins fans
TFD: Twins' prospects Buxton, Sano are the next Mike Trout and Bryce Harper
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: May 20, 2013 - 7:41 PM
A few people have pointed out this bit from a Baseball America mailbag. Sorry we couldn't get to it sooner -- a very important work-related golf outing kept us tied up this afternoon. In any event, Jim Callis from BA was asked about the top prospect duos in the minor leagues. Here is what he had to say:
On sheer upside, Buxton and Sano immediately jump to the forefront. Buxton is the best five-tool player in the minors, Sano is the top power-hitting prospect in the game and both are having monster seasons. When they hit their primes, the Twins will get a close approximation of what it would be like to have Mike Trout and Bryce Harper in the same lineup.
Whoa. Is Callis right? Who knows. But it does make you think a little ...
Monday (The end of Joe Mauer's remarkable streak) edition: Wha' Happened?
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: May 20, 2013 - 10:07 AM
But before we get too wrapped up in Mauer's strikeout pace -- basically one per game, way more than his career average -- we want to take a step back and acknowledge an amazing 15-game stretch that we might not ever see from Joe again because of the numbers it produced.
During a 15-game stretch starting April 30 against Detroit and ending Saturday against Boston, Mauer had:
*At least one hit in every game, giving him a 15-game hitting streak. That was one short of his career-long streak of 16. He has 11 career double-digit hitting streaks, it should be noted -- including two this season.
*At least one strikeout in every game. So yes, he had at least one hit and one strikeout in 15 consecutive games. His hitting streak ended Sunday, but he fanned three more times in that game to make it 16 consecutive games with at least one strikeout. His longest strikeout streak prior to that? Six consecutive games.
*His batting average during the streak was .443, which is impressive enough. But his batting average on balls in play was an astounding .659 (27 for 41). We tried to explain BABIP to the RandBall Better Half this weekend, and she wanted nothing of it. "So it's like when he does something good, he does something really good?" she questioned. "It makes no sense. Tell everyone in the baseball community they can't have Babip (pronounced as a word, not an acronym). They can only have regular batting average." But we digress. Basically two of every three times Mauer put the ball in play during the streak, he got a hit -- evidence of some luck, but also hitting the ball with authority. His career BABIP is .348. this year, it's almost 100 points higher (.447).
*He didn't homer during the streak, but he did have 12 doubles, helping him to a .639 slugging percentage (for perspective, he slugged .587 during his MVP year in 2009). In spite of hitting for pop, Mauer had only five runs batted in during his streak. As a result, the streak was wasted in some ways. The Twins, after all, only went 6-9 in those 15 games despite having their best hitter about as hot as he gets.
Stu's Hunt Down: Former Twins player Jeff Cirillo
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: May 16, 2013 - 12:17 PM
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The Hunt Down
Tuesday (Twins not squandering money on DL) edition: Wha' Happened?
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: May 14, 2013 - 9:24 AM
The impetus, we presume, was all of the Yankees injuries -- and the fact that the Bronx Bombers now have $100 million tied up in players who are on the DL right now (yes, that's more than the payroll of the Twins and the majority of MLB teams). Yes, nearly half the Yankees' payroll is being spent on injured players right now.
Of local note, though, is how relatively fortunate, at least in terms of dollars and cents, the Twins have been with injuries this year. In 2011, for example, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were hurt for substantial portions, eating up vast amounts for nothing.
This year? The Twins have just $1.7 million tied up in players on the DL, third-fewest in baseball. (One caveat: This likely only counts players on the 25-man roster, thus the injured Nick Blackburn and his $5.5 million are not counted. But even if Blackburn was added and the Twins jumped to $7.2 million, they would still be the seventh-lowest in MLB.
The Twins' payroll is roughly $14 million less than a year ago, and it was less in 2012 than in 2011. The margin for error is smaller. So keeping players healthy -- and getting huge performances from low-money guys like Aaron Hicks, who had an unbelievable stretch last night -- makes a ton of difference.
Monday (The Twins after 34 games) edition: Wha' Happened?
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: May 13, 2013 - 10:10 AM
Take it from someone who was 5-foot-1 as a high school sophomore and 5-foot-9 as a senior. Sometimes it feels good to be average.
Can the Twins keep going? Will we be 6-foot-5 someday? Maybe ... and no.
Here's a quick look at what has helped the Twins return to decency:
1) They are currently 15th in MLB in runs scored. That's squarely in the middle of the pack. Last year they were 16th. Two years ago, they were 25th. So as we know, the offense was OK last year. The pitching was horrendous. And this year, the offense has still been decent -- particularly in key spots, where the Twins are 10th in BA and 14th in slugging with RISP (as opposed to 14th and 23rd overall).
2) How much better is the pitching? Well, the Twins are still 24th in team ERA, but with a not-so-terrible 4.25 mark. It was 4.77 at the finish a year ago. Half an earned run per game means a ton. The troubling thing is Minnesota's starters are still very near the bottom of baseball with a 5.18 ERA after being next-to-last a year ago at 5.40. Much of that has to do with two-thirds of the revamped rotation (Vance Worley and Mike Pelfrey) having bloated ERAs. History suggests they will be better than they have been. History also suggests a comedown for Kevin Correia, but overall the Twins' starters should inch more toward the middle of the pack (or at least the low 20s) as the year goes on.
3) Thanks primarily to timely hits, Justin Morneau is on pace for 114 RBI. That figures to change since his power numbers aren't that great, but production from Morneau is huge. Ryan Doumit and Aaron Hicks figure to produce more than they have; Morneau and Oswaldo Arcia will likely dip. Nobody else is absurdly above or below a reasonable pace. Translation: the offense should be able to sustain middle-of-the-pack standards.
So if the offense is middle of the pack and the pitching starts moving closer to the middle of the pack -- with starters faring better and eating up more innings to spare an already taxed bullpen -- we're left with defense. The Twins have made 18 errors, sixth-fewest in the AL. They were a bottom-half team a year ago in terms of this simple metric, and at least that quick glance suggests the fielding is more like average than bad.
Decent offense, decent pitching, decent defense. It adds up to a decent record -- which, again, feels a lot better when you've been down than when you've been up.
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