twins/mlb
TwinsCentric was formed by Twins super-bloggers Seth Stohs, Nick Nelson, Parker Hageman and John Bonnes. Together they publish at TwinsDaily.com and have authored books, e-books and magazines that provide independent and in-depth coverage of the Minnesota Twins from a fan's perspective. You can contact them at TwinsCentric@gmail.com.
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Posts about Vikings
Still building from within
Posted by: Seth Stohs Updated: December 21, 2010 - 4:43 AM
Look back a decade: Torii Hunter spent a couple of seasons making people wonder about his skills before becoming a star. Look back a generation: Frank Viola spent two seasons with a five-plus ERA before blossoming. Tell me why Casilla is utterly hopeless?
Howard Sinker in his A Fan's View blog yesterday made a tremendous point. It is important to remain patient. Of course, in Viola's third year, he posted a 3.21 ERA over 257.2 innings. I think Alexi Casilla will be fine. I think that Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be just fine. Will either post a .730 OPS? Probably not, but that doesn't mean that they won't fill their roles adequately. I just don't think that offense will be the biggest issue for the Twins in 2011. Pitching, both starting and bullpen, is where there are question marks, but the cupboard is not empty.
What I would like to see is if 29-year-old Scott Baker, in his seventh season with the Twins, can hit 200 innings (or post a sub-4.20 ERA) for just the second time, and earn his $5 million salary. I'd like to see Kevin Slowey, in his fifth big league season, be 100% healthy, and see what he can do. He threw 199 innings in 2007 between Rochester and Minnesota. I'd like to see Nick Blackburn get back to going 11-11 with an ERA between 4.03 and 4.05 like he did in 2008 and 2009. As bad as portions of their 2010 seasons were, none of this is unrealistic. They have done it before. Along with that, maybe Brian Duensing can prove a lot of us wrong and put together another strong season in 2011, hopefully the full season as a starter. And, Francisco Liriano put himself back in discussion for best pitchers in the league (which is also helped by Cliff Lee moving to the NL). If healthy, he can still continue to improve.
So, if Carl Pavano leaves for greener pastures in places like Washington, D.C., or Pittsburgh, it really is not the end of the world. What are the odds that he could post a 3.75 ERA again or throw another 221 innings in a season? Not terribly good.
The Twins have a history of building from within, or giving opportunities to players who have come up through their system, and to stand behind them through struggles. We have seen it time and again. And for the most part over the last decade, it has paid off. The Twins have used free agents to complement their core of home-grown players. Last year, there wasn't a solid internal option at second base, so they signed Orlando Hudson.
Last week, the Twins lost Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier to free agency. It is likely that they will not bring back Brian Fuentes, Jon Rauch or Ron Mahay either. Fans, understandably, are up in arms about the lack of certainty in the Twins bullpen. There is no certainty that Joe Nathan will return to form in 2011. Jose Mijares is immensely talented, but he was up and down in 2010. Matt Capps is the given in the Twins bullpen, and he is what he is (a solid reliever). Beyond that, there are a lot of question marks.
Twins fans don't want to hear about someone like Glen Perkins being a bullpen option in 2011. There are also a lot of guys with little or no big league experience being mentioned as options. I understand that is scary. We want certainty in the bullpen, right? Certainty, in this case, would have been retaining Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier because they are veterans, right? But if I read the comments here at the StarTribune.com blogs or many Twins blogs, most blog commenters were not big fans of Jesse Crain. Most blog commenters were not exactly confident when Matt Guerrier would come into games. But aside from Rafael Soriano, Brian Fuentes and Type A free agent and former Twins pitcher Grant Balfour, few relievers have been more reliable than Crain and Guerrier. And you didn't want them back. So, who would be out there at this stage that could be counted on more? I am a proponent of signing RHP Jose Veras and LHP Hideki Okajima, but in each case, there are reasons that their 2010 team non-tendered them. Certainly not guarantees.
Simply stated, there are very few reliable relief pitchers from year to year. Most (or at least many) relief pitchers are failed starters. There are a lot of injuries. It is in the bullpen where you can find diamonds in the rough. It's where guys (like Guerrier) who are out of options to get an opportunity, and a few take advantage of it. Look at the Yankees' David Robertson. In 2009, he was a question mark. In 2010, he was getting put into some pretty big situations for the pinstripes.
With that said, there are a lot of options for breakout types in the Twins bullpen. Remember that they only need three or four of these guys to produce for the Twins in 2011:
- Anthony Slama - It amazes me that many Twins fans seem to think he can't contribute to the team. Are people really willing to say that a poor 4.2 inning debut in the big leagues tells us that he can't pitch up there? Really? His 1.95 ERA over four minor league seasons mean nothing? His 12.5 K/9 means nothing? His 1.06 WHIP? His 2.44 ERA in one-plus seasons at AAA mean nothing? Bloggers and blog commenters have been clamoring for Slama for a few years, and now they'll give up on him? Because of 4.2 bad innings? I think Slama can be a solid 7th inning guy.
- Alex Burnett - he has a chance to be really good. He came up as a starter, a successful starter, but in 2009, he moved to the bullpen. Despite not pitching in AAA, and only a short time in AA, he was on teh Twins Opening Day roster and spent most of the first half with the Twins. He struggled as the season went along, but he has great stuff and will definitely be back with the Twins, eventually pitching late innings.
- Pat Neshek - It amazes me how quickly some Twins fans turned on the sind-winding reliever. Yes, his velocity was down. I get that. But this year, he will get an actual offseason of working out and preparing, not an offseason of rehabilitation. Will he come back and be as incredible as he was in 2006 and 2007? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm willing to give him that opportunity.
- James Hoey - Similarly, there was a lot of excitement about Hoey with the Orioles in 2006 and 2007. The righty throws hard and was generally thought to be the closer of the future with Baltimore. And then he had shoulder surgery, and he worked his way back up the ladder. His velocity is back. The strikeouts are back. He will need to cut down walks, but he is a power arm that the Twins bullpen needs.
- Rob Delaney - Delaney was undrafted in 2006 and dominated the lower levels of the minor leagues, including AA. AAA has been more of a struggle, but consider that in 80 AAA innings, he walked just 23 and struck out 92. Sure, his one inning in the big leagues last September wasn't pretty. He looked nervous and gave up a homer, a single and a walk before getting the three outs. But again, I've heard some say that he can't handle the big leagues because of that one outing.
- Kyle Waldrop - It surprised a lot of people that the Twins didn't protece Waldrop after a terrific 2010 season with the Rochester Red Wings. Since returning from his shoulder surgery, he has been incredible out of the bullpen. After 20 games in Ft. Myers, he posted a 1.46 ERA in 31 New Britain games. He posted a 2.57 ERA in 2010 in Rochester, but his ERA was at ONE halfway through the 2010 season. Yes, he was not good in the Arizona Fall League, but he still has a chance to be a very good, groundball reliever.
- Glen Perkins - A left-hander who did succeed a few years ago as a starter, he looks to be a lefty reliever in 2010. Of course, he doesn't get left-handed batters out, so I just don't know how he can contribute, but stranger things have happened when players get opportunities.
- Eric Hacker, Yorman Bazardo, Jeff Manship, Anthony Swarzak, Chuck James - These guys could all get an opportunity for a long relief role. Manship filled the role toward the end of 2010 and could do so again, but the others are options.
- Carlos Gutierrez - In a podcast just last week, Gutierrez informed me that he wants to pitch out of the bullpen, that it is where he is 'at home.' However, he acknowledged that spending the last couple of years as a starter has been valuable in helping him develop secondary pitches. I'm frequently asked who could be the 2011 version of Danny Valencia. Kyle Gibson certainly could come up in June and contributed as a starter. Carlos Gutierrez could come up in June and really help out the Twins bullpen.
Are any of those big name acquisitions? No. They are internal options. Can any of them contribute to the Twins in 2011? Absolutely. Can three of four of them join Nathan, Capps and Mijares to form a solid bullpen? Defintely. Am I just trying to be positive here? Probably. But can the internal choices be equal or better than the external, high-cost free agents? Absolutely.
The Twins historically have relied upon their own players, on building from within. It's been a philosophy that has worked well for them. Even if their payroll has gone from $65 million to $100 million to $115 million, there is no reason to start spending foolishly on free agents or giving up the farm for players who might help. Can the Twins win the division with their current roster? I think so. It'd be tough, but I would not put it against them.
To be fair (and honest), I have been immensely frustrated with the Twins offseason. I expected them to wisely stay away from high-dollar free agents. I thought we might hear more about trades than we have. The Twins might soon spend a lot of money for two or three years on a guy who is already 35 years old. They could also give two years to a 40 year old one-dimensional player. I'm sure those moves will make a lot of fans happy. Maybe I'm strange. I figure there are six or seven weeks until pitchers and catchers report, so I still hold out that the team will add an impact player, the type of player who can make a difference without breaking the bank. But I don't know that the team is better. I also don't know what the Twins plans are, or their contingency plans are (if Pavano and/or Thome were to sign elsewhere). No one does because the Twins front office is great at not letting information leak We can't all be Jim Breen!
Finally, Twins fans need to remember one important thing... at least the Twins and their stability is a lot better than following the Vikings and their chaos this year!
So Close, So So Far
Posted by: John Bonnes Updated: October 7, 2010 - 10:51 AMBoy – it sure felt like a win. This was what you want. Actually, this is what you want any number of ways. Let’s count them, shall we?
- CC Sabathia’s up to his old tricks, hitting a prime target on the Twins to send a message. (Not just a prime target, by the way, but an ex-teammate.) And instead, it backfires, as a Twins team leader gets his pound of flesh – times two. Not that Jabbathia would miss a few pounds of flesh.
- Liriano messes up exactly the way he shouldn’t mess up – by walking the anemic-hitting Brett Gardner. Then, with Gardner running on the pitch, Jeter singles to left field but Gardner can’t advance to third because of the respect he needs to show to Delmon Young’s arm. Liriano induces three outs from the middle of the Yankees order as Target Field sways with … what exactly? Excitement? Passion? Those words capture the emotion, but not the force. I’m going to go with: Will. If Gardner takes the extra base, a run scores. Instead, the Yankees road gaffe saves the Twins a run.
- Because Jabbathia has trouble oozing all the way to first base, Orlando Hudson manages to go first to third on a ground out to first base. A few pitches later he scores on a wild pitch. Another run that sloppy baseball cost the Yankees. The Twins coast through innings four and five with a 3-0 lead.
- The second batter in the sixth inning, Mark Teixeira, doubles, but that’s what Teixeira is supposed to do against left-handers. The formula for survival is simple – take care of ARod, who is anemic against lefties. Then, limit the damage until you get to the latter half of the Yankees order. This is how any professional left-handed pitcher approaches this situation. It is nothing that the Twins ace cannot handle.
- The collar has tightened. The game is 3-2 on a hit by Jorge Posada that cleared Orlando Hudson’s glove by ¾ of an inch. But now Curtis Granderson and his .215 career batting average against left-handers is up against Liriano, the Twins ace left-hander. The bleeding will be stopped, and the bullpen should be able to hold it from there, right?
- The game is tied, the bases are loaded, and CC Sabathia has shown just how tired he is - throwing eight of his last nine pitches out of the strike zone. He’s facing a right-handed hitter that has hit .304 in the second half of the season, with a .363 on-base percentage. And of course, Target Field is as loud as it can get.
- The game is tied going into the last three innings, which means this game is going to be decided by the bullpens. Perfect. What’s more, the Twins best reliever also gets to face the top of the Yankees order, including two guys who have struggled against right-handers like him. That is exactly the matchup the Twins were hoping for.
- The Twins are down, but there are runners on first and second and Jim Thome strides to the plate – versus a right-handed pitcher? Yep. Because the Yankees had already used their only reliable left-hander, and because Young had singled off his the right-handed replacement, Thome was going to get his cuts against the Yankees third best right-handed reliever.
- Against, the Yankees eighth inning setup man Kerry Wood, the Twins draw a walk and then luck out on an infield hit. Mariano Rivera isn’t warmed up yet, and so JJ Hardy gets his chance with speed on the basepaths.
Twins Awards 2010
Posted by: Seth Stohs Updated: September 28, 2010 - 8:25 AMThe Twins regular season is nearing its completion, so it is time to start handing out some awards for the season. E-ballots were sent to many Twins bloggers and media types and they were asked to vote for Twins MVP, Twins Pitcher of the Year, and Twins Rookie of the Year. 24 responses were received. A huge Thank You to those who contributed to this:
| Total Points | Seth Stohs | John Bonnes | Parker Hageman | Nick Nelson | |
| Joe Mauer | 40 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Francisco Liriano | 25 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Carl Pavano | 23 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
| Delmon Young | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | |
| Jim Thome | 15 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Justin Morneau | 15 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
| Brian Duensing | 8 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Jesse Crain | 5 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Michael Cuddyer | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Orlando Hudson | 3 | 3 | |||
| JJ Hardy | 2 | 2 |
Here are all of the ballots:
|
|
Total Points
|
Seth Stohs
|
John Bonnes
|
Parker Hageman
|
Nick Nelson
|
Doogie Wolfson
|
Phil Mackey
|
Howard Sinker
|
Phil Miller
|
Anthony Maggio
|
Dan Hammer
|
Shawn Berg
|
Kirsten Brown
|
Cody Christie
|
Dan Wade
|
Betsy Bissen
|
John Meyer
|
Judd Spicer
|
Eric Johnson
|
Josh Johnson
|
Andrew Bryz-Gornia
|
Paul Allen
|
Topper Anton
|
Andrew Kneeland
|
Eric Olson
|
|
Joe Mauer
|
211
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
8
|
8
|
6
|
8
|
5
|
8
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
6
|
|
Delmon Young
|
145
|
8
|
5
|
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
8
|
5
|
8
|
4
|
1
|
8
|
8
|
6
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
8
|
5
|
8
|
4
|
|
4
|
|
Jim Thome
|
124
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
5
|
8
|
6
|
1
|
8
|
4
|
6
|
8
|
|
6
|
8
|
6
|
10
|
10
|
3
|
5
|
5
|
|
|
Francisco Liriano
|
103
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
5
|
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
1
|
|
Carl Pavano
|
91
|
6
|
8
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
|
6
|
6
|
|
8
|
4
|
|
4
|
|
6
|
4
|
5
|
|
|
|
4
|
6
|
4
|
5
|
|
Justin Morneau
|
70
|
2
|
2
|
8
|
3
|
1
|
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
|
6
|
6
|
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
|
1
|
6
|
6
|
2
|
|
6
|
8
|
|
Michael Cuddyer
|
44
|
1
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
6
|
|
5
|
5
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
3
|
|
|
|
Danny Valencia
|
35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
2
|
2
|
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|
|
2
|
2
|
|
Brian Duensing
|
33
|
4
|
4
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
1
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
10
|
|
Jesse Crain
|
23
|
|
3
|
|
2
|
3
|
|
|
|
3
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
Orlando Hudson
|
15
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
2
|
3
|
|
|
Jason Kubel
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
|
Denard Span
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
Jon Rauch
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JJ Hardy
|
3
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jason Repko
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total Points | Seth Stohs | John Bonnes | Parker Hageman | Nick Nelson | |
| Francisco Liriano | 19 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Carl Pavano | 17 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Brian Duensing | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Jesse Crain | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Kevin Slowey | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Jon Rauch | 1 | 1 | |||
| Nick Blackburn | 1 | 1 |
|
|
Total Points
|
Seth Stohs
|
Parker Hageman
|
Nick Nelson
|
Phil Mackey
|
Andrew Bryz-Gornia
|
Topper Anton
|
Phil Miller
|
Dan Wade
|
Anthony Maggio
|
Paul Allen
|
Andrew Kneeland
|
Shawn Berg
|
Kirsten Brown
|
Josh Johnson
|
Eric Johnson
|
Eric Olson
|
John Bonnes
|
Dan Hammer
|
John Meyer
|
Cody Christie
|
Judd Spicer
|
Howard Sinker
|
Betsy Bitsen
|
|
Francisco Liriano
|
106
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
|
Carl Pavano
|
93
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
|
Brian Duensing
|
66
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
|
Jesse Crain
|
51
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
Scott Baker
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jon Rauch
|
7
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
Kevin Slowey
|
7
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
2
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matt Guerrier
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Blackburn
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matt Capps
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brian Fuentes
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
| Total Points | Seth Stohs | John Bonnes | Parker Hageman | Nick Nelson | |
| Danny Valencia | 20 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Alex Burnett | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| Drew Butera | 6 | 3 | 3 | ||
| Matt Fox | 1 | 1 | |||
| Jeff Manship | 1 | 1 | |||
| Trevor Plouffe | 1 | 1 |
|
|
Total Points
|
Seth Stohs
|
John Bonnes
|
Parker Hageman
|
Nick Nelson
|
Doogie Wolfson
|
Phil Mackey
|
Andrew Bryz-Gornia
|
Topper Anton
|
Dan Hammer
|
Anthony Maggio
|
Paul Allen
|
Betsy Bissen
|
John Meyer
|
Judd Spicer
|
Andrew Kneeland
|
Shawn Berg
|
Kirsten Brown
|
Cody Christie
|
Josh Johnson
|
Eric Johnson
|
Eric Olson
|
Howard Sinker
|
Phil Miller
|
Dan Wade
|
|
Danny Valencia
|
120
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
|
Drew Butera
|
32
|
3
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
3
|
|
1
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
1
|
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3
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3
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|
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Alex Burnett
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18
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1
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3
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3
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|
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1
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1
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3
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3
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3
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Matt Fox
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14
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1
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3
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3
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3
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1
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1
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1
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1
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Jeff Manship
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6
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1
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1
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1
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3
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Wilson Ramos
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5
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1
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1
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3
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Luke Hughes
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2
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1
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1
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Trevor Plouffe
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1
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1
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_______________________________________
- At about 7:20 on Tuesday morning, John will be on The Power Trip morning show on KFAN.
- Yesterday, the Twins announced the Kyle Gibson was named the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and Joe Benson was named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. Both will be on tonight's SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast at 10:00 central time.
Morneau's head
Posted by: Nick Nelson Updated: August 3, 2010 - 11:31 PMThe whole sports world was aflutter yesterday after reports arose that Brett Favre has been informing his teammates that he won't be returning for this season. It's yet another chapter in a seemingly endless drama, but I'm confident that when it's all said and done, Favre will be starting for the Vikings against the Saints in their season opener.
The matter that is weighing on my mind is a far more ominous and immediate concern, and that's the continued absence of Justin Morneau from the Twins' lineup. The slugging first baseman sustained a concussion in early July against the Blue Jays, and a month later his return to the lineup still is not in sight.
Morneau was a human wrecking ball over the first three months of the season, posting a stellar .345/.437/.618 hitting line to go along with 18 home runs and 56 RBI. While the Twins offense slumped at times early in the season, Morneau did not, as he kept on pounding the ball while looking more comfortable and disciplined at the plate than ever before. It seemed as though this might finally be the year that Morneau kept on hitting through the end of the campaign and clearly established himself as the American League's most dangerous offensive first baseman.
Then, on that July 7 game in Toronto, Morneau suffered a seemingly innocuous injury when he hit his head against the knee of Blue Jays shortstop Alex Gonzalez while trying to break up a double play. The woozy Morneau initially expected only to miss a couple games, but days have stretched to weeks and those weeks have now stretched to a month. How much longer will it be? No one seems to know, but one can't help but be alarmed at today's report via MLB.com that Morneau "was not feeling as good Monday as he did Sunday following a light workout back in Minneapolis."
This tells us that Morneau is not particularly close to returning, perhaps confirming a report by USA Today's Bob Nightengale from a couple days ago that the first baseman is "still likely weeks away from returning."
Concussions are the most tricky of injuries. They can confound even the most respected of physicians, and there is generally no treatment capable of curing the effects of the injury. Either Morneau's headaches will go away with rest or they won't, but either way it's something that will largely have to happen on its own.
In seeing Morneau's post-concussion effects continue to linger on, one can't help but be reminded of another former Canadian Twins slugger, Corey Koskie. After spending several outstanding (and, in my opinion, often underrated) seasons in a Twins' uniform, Koskie signed with the Blue Jays following the 2004 campaign. After the '05 season, the Jays traded Koskie to Milwaukee, where he sustained his fateful concussion in a July game against the Reds.
At first glance, Koskie's injury was as minor as Morneau's. Patrick Reusse recounted the situation in a 2007 Star Tribune column:
Koskie was chasing a looping fly ball that day in Miller Park. "My only chance to catch it was to put my head down and run to the spot," he said. "When I got there and looked, the ball was behind me. So, I bent back and reached, caught the ball, and hit the ground."
Koskie crashed onto his back. His head didn't clearly slam to the ground, but his neck whiplashed. The ball popped from his glove and Bill Hall caught it for the half-inning's final out.
"I thought I was OK, but when I went up to hit, the pitcher was out there somewhere ... like he was behind a TV screen," Koskie said. "I felt nauseous. I was woozy. I slapped at a couple of pitches and fouled them. I got to a 3-2 count and remember thinking, 'What happens if I draw a walk here and have to run the bases? I won't be able to do it.'
"As it turned out, I struck out. And when I got the dugout, I told the trainer, 'This isn't going to work,' and left the game. I assumed I would be back in the lineup the next day."
But he wasn't. In fact, that ended up being the last regular-season major-league game that Koskie would ever play in. At the age of 33, the third baseman's career as a baseball player was effectively done. But the effects of the injury stretched far beyond Koskie's career. For years after the concussion, he regularly dealt with headaches and nausea. I recall reading stories suggesting that at times Koskie couldn't even manage to play with his young children. The story was heartbreaking.
Now, plenty of other baseball players have experienced concussions and bounced back without issue. In fact, Morneau himself took a pretty nasty hit to the head early in the 2005 season, and it's now a distant and oft-forgotten memory. But post-concussion syndrome is very real and as Koskie's situation proved the effects can be long-lasting and extremely serious.
Baseball is a secondary concern for Morneau right now, but it's going to be a real shame if the Twins are forced to play through the final months of the season without him for a second straight year. When he was healthy, his bat was easily the best in the lineup. Being without Morneau's outstanding (and expensive) bat for the remainder of the season would be devastating. I don't even want to think about the complications that could arise if the issues stretch beyond September.
Hopefully, Morneau can eventually put this injury behind him return to the lineup at full strength down the stretch. The Twins will need him.
But, however long the recovery takes, please (PLEASE) don't accuse the Twins' first baseman of being "soft." Concussions are nasty business.
K.A.O.
Posted by: Nick Nelson Updated: April 14, 2010 - 12:19 AMObservations from Opening Day
Posted by: Seth Stohs Updated: April 13, 2010 - 12:14 AMHow was your Target Field Opening Day? What did you do? Did you go to the game? Did you play hookie from work or school to watch? I would love to hear your thoughts and observations on what will be a day that Twins fans will remember for years to come. To get things started, here are my observations:
My Monday morning started just like every other Monday morning. I didn't want to wake up, didn't want to open my eyes, just didn't want to do much of anything, but I finally gave in. What causes me to grudgingly roll out of bed? The reminder that Fox Sports North was beginning their live coverage bright and early. I wore a Twins pullover. I dressed my three year old daughter in her Francisco Liriano jersey and took her to daycare. Once I got to work, I tried really, really hard to focus throughout the morning, and I was actually quite successful. But my first observation of the day, as it relates to baseball, was that I needed to take in not only the game, but the pregame festivities. When asked, I said that the historical side of this game made it work taking a few hours off. So that's just what I did. I left work and went home. Here are more observations that I made, and again, I would love to read any others that you had from the day, especially if you were there in person:
- Observation 1b.) Why didn't I think to get tickets in some way? It would have been an incredible experience to be at Target Field and on Target Plaza throughout the day.
- Observation 1c.) Even sitting at home on a couch, watching on TV, it was definitely worth taking the afternoon off of work.
- I could watch Batting Practice all day! The Twins batting practice was on TV, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've always enjoyed it though. Even at Metrodome, if I was going to a game, I wanted to get there as soon as the gates opened to be able to watch how players went about their business, what they were trying to accomplish, and if or how they were trying to overcome their struggles.
- $545 million can buy a lot of great stuff. As you know, I have been to Target Field three times and absolutely love it. I completely agree with the comment that you will be able to go there for a year and almost always come away having seen something that you hadn't noticed before. The design team deserves a ton of credit for all the nooks and crannies, the views from around the stadium, and all that went into making it the nicest stadium in baseball.
- The other thing that they did was highlighted an incredible amount of Twins history. It goes beyond the Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew statues. It goes beyond the Gates being named after (and today opened by) the greats of the team's history. The legends club level would be great for every Twins fan to see. Pictures highlight all of the Twins greats. It was evident again on Opening Day. Hrbek, Oliva, Carew and Killebrew presented first pitch baseballs. Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola, Jack Morris, Eddie Guardado, Shannon Stewart, Corey Koskie, Brad Radke and Al Newman were all on hand to raise flags from playoff teams.
- Arizona Cardinals wide receiver and Twin Cities native Larry Fitzgerald tweeted shortly before game time that he had just arrived at the stadium. Am I the only one who thought it would have been kind of neat for him to catch a first pitch?
- FS North has been touting this GB Leighton Twins Territory for the last month. I have this much to say about the song... it is light years better than that song Prince wrote for the Vikings. That doesn't mean it was good.
- Roy Smalley's hair. I just don't understand it. It's understandable when it is all over the place on a windy day outdoors, but when he is in studio, I just can't help but wonder if that's what he intends. On Monday, it was another fun Smalley hair day.
- We learned that three of the umpires in town for this series are Minnesota natives, led by Tim Tschida. My first thought was that it didn't quite seem right. But the more I thought about it, those guys all have very high integrity and have been major league umpires for a long time. Once you think of it that way, it has to be a tremendous honor for them.
- I always think that player introductions are fun. Seeing all the players tip their hats to the crowd is neat to me. Of course, the Red Sox didn't tip their caps. In fact, a couple of their players didn't even move. That was kind of annoying.
- On the flip side, Minnesota native and Twins reliever Pat Neshek waived to the crowd. I'm certain that the game meant a lot to him as well, that Joe Mauer was not the only Minnesota native that being in that game meant a lot to.
- How nice was it to see Joe Nathan introduced before the game. It seemed as though he got as loud an ovation as anyone. He clearly appreciated it. When seen later in the game, he had put the brace back on his surgically repaired elbow.
- I knew it was going to happen, but Scott Ullger getting booed in the pre-game was pretty unfortunate.
- The four Minnesota groups that sang the National Anthem were incredible. Arguably the most amazing thing about the day was that as they were finishing the song's final note, the F16s that flew down from Duluth flew over the stadium. Again, it happens at other sporting events, but as many times as we have seen that, it was impressive.
- By the way, how do they make the flags that basically cover the whole outfield??
- The early inning telecast could be defined by 'firsts.' Everything that happened was highlights as the first of Target Field. The first pitch was thrown by Carl Pavano. It was a ball. It was thrown out. The first hit was by the first batter, Marco Scutaro. It was followed by the first strange play at Target Field, Scutaro getting picked off. Denard Span had the first walk. Orlando Hudson had the first hit. Michael Cuddyer had the first RBI. David Ortiz was the first to strikeout. The first pork chop on a stick. The first beer sold. It almost got to be too much!
- By the way, the first broken belt was the belt of Nick Punto, who dove headfirst into second base only to realize that his belt came apart. I should specifically say that it was the first belt broken on the field. With all of the great food and drink around Target Field, it is possible that a belt of three may have already broken in the stands. (On a side Punto note, his defense has been incredible at 3B so far this season. Over the past two or three games, he has made no fewer than three plays that Brendan Harris would not have made.)
- Jason Kubel made a lot of people, including Yours Truly, look smart when he hit the first home run in Target Field history. Many thought Mauer, Morneau or Cuddyer. There was even a late push for Punto hitting the first long ball. but in the end, it was Jason Kubel, who went 3-4 on the day, by the way.
- A 13 year old kid caught the first home run ball and got some time on TV to talk about it. The big question became, how did the negotiations with the Twins go? Obviously the Twins really wanted that ball, so what was their initial offer? Maybe some tickets to a game? Here is a question for you. If you had caught that first HR ball, what would you have requested in return? I'm thinking I would start by asking for a bat signed by Span, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel and Young, along with a baseball signed by Kubel himself, and tickets for six to two games, preferably a Friday night/Saturday afternoon combination. Too much?
- Carl Pavano got the honor of making the start to open up Target Field. What did he show? He absolutely has ice in his vein. In fact, it visually looks like his calm borders on lethargy. Whatever it is, it has worked so far. He is throwing strikes and getting outs. He is eating innings. Is it possible that he has a little something left after missing all those years in New York?
- Delmon Young just looks completely different this year. The 30 pound weight loss is really just part of the story, although a big part because it shows that he had a sustained commitment to getting better. Sure, he'll still swing at some bad pitches or at the first pitch too much, and he's not the most nimble of outfielders. But there is something different this year. The smile is there. When his name was introduced, he had a huge smile. He looks like he's just having some fun, and that is very exciting. By the way, had he caught the ball on the warning track that David Ortiz hit, it would have been one of the best catches ever!
- Speaking of really good baseball players, I think it is fair to say that Joe Mauer fits into that category. Again today, he had three hits. The first was a double to left field. The last was a double to right field. The second hit was an RBI infield single that snuck past the pitcher and hit second base, altering its course so Scutaro couldn't make a play. My first thought... those are the types of hits that help a guy hit .400!
- Finally, this Twins team is pretty strong. They are now 6-2 through eight games. With four games against the Angels on the road and three games in Chicago against the White Sox, the schedule has not been easy. This Red Sox team should also be solid in the AL East. Over the course of 162 games, it will be hard to maintain the level of play the team has played at, and there will be a couple of rough patches, but it is also possible that this time might be even better than many thought.
- After starting the season with four games that started at 9:00 in the central time zone, afternoon games seem so early! That's not a bad thing. What I'm really uncertain about is what I am going to do on Tuesday, the Twins first off day of the year?!
Finally, condolences to John Gordon and his family on the loss of his 95-year old mother. Somehow Gordon was still able to call the game today.
What are your observations from Target Field's Opener? I would love to hear any an all thoughts whether you watched from home, listened on the radio or were at the game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some more TwinsCentric stories, articles and activities for you to peruse:
- Parker reviewed the Sunday afternoon play when JJ Hardy was easily thrown out at home.
- Twins rookie relief pitcher Alex Burnett joined Seth on Sunday night's SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. The two discussed how he found out he was heading to the big leagues, and heading to his home as a big leaguer. They discussed his big league debut and goals for the 2010 season.
- Seth will be a guest of Paul Allen on KFAN and KFAN.com at 9:20 on Tuesday morning.
- At 10:00 on Tuesday night, Seth and Travis Aune will be hosting Twins Minor League Weekly, a new podcast dedicated to the Twins minor league system.
- Seth continued his preview of the Twins minor league affilates by reviewing the Ft. Myers Miracle.
- If you are able to go to a Twins game and plan on buying some reading material, check out the 2010 Minnesota Twins Yearbook as the TwinsCentric guys whote some of the content.
- And you can follow TwinsCentric on Twitter. Click on the name and follow TwinsCentric, John, Nick, Parker and Seth.
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