Exchinghttp://exching.com/feed.xml2016-03-08T02:38:33.316000ZWerkzeugExching has shut down...http://exching.com/post/exching-has-shut-down2016-03-08T02:38:33.316000Z2016-03-08T02:35:49ZShawn Adrian<div>This site no longer exists, sorry! We created it way back in 2010, when buying and selling pre-loved fashions online was a unique idea, but we’ve been beat by some great alternative services who’ve put a lot more money, time, and effort into their products than we did with Exching. </div>
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At the End of the Day, Chris Colabello Believes He's a .300 Hitterhttp://exching.com/post/at-the-end-of-the-day-chris-colabello-believes-hes-a-300-hitter2015-03-05T10:14:43.845000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div><i>I don't want to get stuck there; I have a lot left to do. It's awesome to have a nice month or a nice week or whatever -- don't get me wrong -- but the season’s 162 games. You don't just play the month of April.</i></div>
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<div>-- Chris Colabello, April 26, 2014</div>
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<div>Chris Colabello often begins his sentences with the phrase, "At the end of the day" when he is trying to make a particularly important point. The sentence is often viewed as a verbal crutch, a meaningless idiom someone uses when they have trouble emphasizing a point, but for Colabello -- a well-spoken Economics major from Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. -- it symbolizes his philosophy on baseball. He believes that to succeed in a game that the 30-year-old has played professionally since age 21, he must conquer the moments that make up the larger timeline..</div>
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<div>On April 23, Colabello was hitting .346 with a .962 combined on-base and slugging percentage (OPS). Between then and the day he was sent down. May 25, he hit .110 with a .331 OPS. As Kurt Suzuki continued his hot streak and Chris Parmelee caught fire and was called up after being dumped from the 40-man roster, Colabello was not only removed from the cleanup spot, but from the lineup in general. So when Oswaldo Arcia and Josh Willingham came back from the disabled list, it was Colabello that was sent down to Rochester. And it was on that day that he delivered perhaps the most somber of his <i>at the end of the day</i> lines. "Playing", <a href="http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_25835047/twins-send-rbi-leader-chris-colabello-triple">he said</a> while standing outside his locker room, looking glum, "is what it's all about at the end of the day."</div>
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<div>There are a series of Colabello truisms, many of which he has punctuated with his patented phrase:</div>
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<div><i>At the end of the day, it comes back down to what I talk about all the time: It's the ability to go up and have a competitive at-bat regardless of the situation, regardless of if you're down 10-1 or up 10-1 or whatever the scoreboard says. It can't dictate the way you play the game.</i></div>
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<div><i>At the end of the day, you have to put yourself in a position as a hitter to execute when you get mistakes, and it's a combination of things. You hit balls hard, they get caught, all of a sudden you look up and, 'Well, I haven't gotten as many hits as I had before.’</i></div>
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<div><i>At the end of the day, you're trying to figure out what other guys did when they went through the same situation you did.</i></div>
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<div>These can all sound like platitudes heard in any locker room from any professional athlete: <i>You have to have competitive at-bats; you have to put yourself in a position to execute; you have to figure out what other guys did and learn from it.</i> But what separates Colabello from the average player is his knowledge of the game and his ability to relate complicated baseball concepts to those around him.</div>
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<div>Every at-bat is a battle with the ball, for example. It is not a battle with the pitcher or the pitch count or the conditions that day. It is with the ball. Because as soon as the leather leaves a pitcher's hands, he no longer has control over it, and it is in that moment where the ball is traveling from his hand to the plate that the hitter is in control. The ball has left the pitcher's hands. He can spin it, sink it or hurl it 95 mph -- it doesn't matter. If a hitter can conquer that moment, he can put that ball in play.</div>
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<div>Colabello had many memorable moments in the first month of the season, but none was more memorable than a home run he hit in Tampa Bay on April 23. <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/north/story/twins-colabello-enjoys-unbelievably-timed-home-run-042314">As Marney Gellner interviewed Colabello’s parents</a>, Silvana and Lou, in the outfield seats at Tropicana Field, he hit a ball past the 404-yard marker in center field, only a few feet away from where his parents were seated. The best part of all of this was that, well, it was his mother's birthday that day.</div>
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<div>You can't make that stuff up.</div>
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<div>But Colabello doesn't dwell on those moments. Asked only three days later if he has reflected on his season so far, especially that day, he said he had not. "Maybe I could have done more," he said. "If I start thinking about what I have done or what I have accomplished -- that's for the end of the season. That's for the last day, [then] you start thinking about what the numbers say."</div>
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<div>Immediately following his quote about trying to figure out what other players did when they were in his position -- in this case he specifically mentioned Twins coaches Tom Brunansky and Paul Molitor, two former players -- he dropped this mind-bender: "Rich said something to me early in my career, 'We're all just messengers in this game.' I'm not inventing anything new. I'm not creating a new formula. I'm just passing along information that somebody gave me." Rich, in this case, is former major leaguer Rich Gedman, his manager when he played for the Worcester Tornadoes in the independent Canadian-American League.</div>
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<div>Sure, Colabello acknowledges that sabermetrics have changed the way that people approach the game, and the economics major certainly has the mental horsepower to crunch the numbers, but he says that the Society for American Baseball Research has not fundamentally changed the game that Gedman played in the 80s and early 90s. "I've always been a numbers guy, but the more I'm around the game, the more I understand that it's not about the numbers as it is about individual moments that create numbers," he says. "Numbers are created over the course of individual moments."</div>
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<div><i>When you put yourself in search of a number, you start to create or force or expect or whatever. As a player, when you get caught doing that -- every time I got caught doing that in my life, I've failed. Miserably. You look up at the numbers, and they are what they are. You can't judge a guy on his numbers until the season's over.</i></div>
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<div>So at the end of the day, numbers don't matter to Colabello. He could be hitting .350, .250 or .150, but his goal the next morning is to beat the ball. He is going to capture the moment where the ball has left the pitcher's hand and capitalize on it. It is failure to execute that caused Colabello to go from the player he was in April to the one he was in May. He may have seen his batting average dip from around .300 to below .250, but at the time he was sent down, he was still leading the team in RBIs. At the end of the day, Colabello said, he stopped executing in that moment, that split second where he is in control and the pitcher is not. And make no mistake; the Twins had a tough time sending him down. "It sucked," manager Ron Gardenhire said a day after Colabello was reassigned.</div>
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<div><i>That's not fun because I like having him here in the first place. He had a heck of a first month, we all know he struggled, we know he’s had a hard time.</i></div>
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<div>"He's great for the ballclub, roots for everybody, cheers for everybody, but it's all about results, and he's been struggling lately."</div>
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<div>It's tough to send him down because his knowledge of Spanish allows him to be the clubhouse translator. It's tough to send him down because he never once complained about losing his spot in the lineup. It's tough to send him down because he was more than willing to share his knowledge of the game with anybody and everybody who would speak with him. "You've got to have people that [you can talk to], those outlets. You have to have outlets to eliminate frustration. People that help you get in the right frame of mind. For me, personally, that's what Rich Gedman was for me for a lot of years," Colabello says. "When you grow a personal attachment to someone over the course of time, you figure out who you are a little better, how to push the right buttons. Obviously you hope to do that with people here, and I think I have started to for sure."</div>
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<div>Colabello has formed a meaningful relationship with Aaron Hicks and has served as his mentor during his time in the major leagues. The great irony is that the center fielder is everything Colabello is not. Hicks is a great defensive player; Colabello is a below-average outfielder. Hicks is a first-rounder; Colabello went undrafted. Hicks skipped Triple-A; Colabello played seven years of independent ball. Hicks hails from the West Coast; Colabello is from the East Coast. And if a player is in his athletic prime from 26-32, Hicks is two years away from entering his physical peak, and Colabello has only two years left.</div>
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<div>"Hicks is a tremendous athlete and obviously his skillset speaks for itself," says Colabello. "Everybody in the room knows about his skillset, and I got to come up with Hicksy. The sky's the limit with him, and he's certainly making adjustments every day and working hard to get to the place he has to be."</div>
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<div>It was Colabello who Hicks turned to when he was contemplating going from a switch-hitter, something he had done his whole life, to exclusively hitting from the right side of the plate. "When I approached him with the decision that I made that I was going to become a right-handed hitter, he was like, 'Hey, you know what? If that's what you believe in your heart, then go ahead and do it.' He just said, 'Do you. Do you.'" Hicks said. "It definitely made my decision easier for me."</div>
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<div>Hicks was so confident in his decision that he pulled Gardenhire aside as he walked through the clubhouse on the morning of May 26, unsolicited, and told him he was going to hit right-handed from now on. His whole life, Hicks had been a switch-hitter, something his father had encouraged him to do growing up. That day he went 2-for-4 from the right side of the plate against Nick Tepesch of the Texas Rangers, a righty.</div>
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<div>Even early in the year, before Colabello broke Kirby Puckett's record for RBIs in April or gave his mother a souvenir on her birthday, Hicks raved about Colabello's leadership ability. "He's really outspoken," Hicks said. "A leader? I would say yeah because he's a guy that wants to win. He loves to compete, and those are the guys that you need in the clubhouse."</div>
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<div>Colabello loves to compete, but what separates him as a leader is his patience with others and willingness to get to know them. Hicks is one of the most misunderstood people in the Twins organization. At every level he says that his coaches thought he was "cadillacing," in his parlance, because his natural ability allowed him to run and swing the bat so effortlessly. "Yeah, I'm a relaxed player," he said. "Every time I have a new manager they always say it to me, but then the more games they see, it's just what it looks like. I'm making all the plays and doing everything right. What can you do?"</div>
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<div>It was Colabello who took the time to get to know Hicks during their tenure in Double-A and in the majors. The two eventually became roommates and say they had constant communication while they were together on the road. "He's a pretty quiet guy for the most part, not really emotional," Colabello says of Hicks. "He cares. He cares a lot. A lot of times, people don't necessarily" -- he pauses for a second -- "he's a tough guy to read."</div>
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<div>The two will be separated now that Colabello has been sent down to Rochester, and it is during this trying month that he has reminded himself of what Gedman told him years ago. "There's probably a range where guys belong, where guys fit into their whole lives," he says. "Rich used to say, 'Your range is anywhere between .270 and .330.' He said, 'You're going to find a way to be in there at the end of the year when it's all said and done. That's who you are.'"</div>
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<div>"I don't care what you play: Little League, Babe Ruth, high school, college, not many people hit .300 six years in a row. There's an art to it, an understanding of it," <a href="http://www.105theticket.com/common/page.php?pt=Colabello%3A+Thinking+Outside+the+Box&id=3433&is_corp=0">Gedman said</a> when asked about Colabello's stats in the Can-Am league. "Knowing how to do it, regardless of the level you're playing at, you're doing something that some people can do and other people can't, and he’s one of those kids."</div>
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<div>So yes, there will be times when Colabello leaves the ballpark, and the scoreboard shows a batting average lower than .300. But at the end of the day, he believes he's a .300 hitter. And if that is true, this isn't the last we’ve seen of Chris Colabello.</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Minnesota Twins Hoping Simplicity Will Unleash Aaron Hicks' Athleticismhttp://exching.com/post/minnesota-twins-hoping-simplicity-will-unleash-aaron-hicks-athleticism2015-03-05T10:14:44.183000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>The announcement that Aaron Hicks was no longer going to be a switch-hitter, a dramatic mid-season effort to increase his production at the plate, came as a surprise to manager Ron Gardenhire. According to Gardenhire, assistant general manager Rob Antony and Hicks himself, the manager was walking through the locker room on the morning of May 26 when Hicks pulled him aside and said that he was no longer going to hit from the left side of the plate against right-handed pitchers..<br/>
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"He's going to shelf his left-handed swing," Gardenhire announced, unsolicited, to the local media that morning, "[he] says he has no confidence in it, and he's worked at it with Bruno (hitting coach Tom Brunansky) trying to figure these things out this morning, and he said he wanted to hit right-handed."<br/>
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The thought process with this move is that if you make the game of baseball simpler, it will bring out Hicks' athleticism. More specifically, if he cuts down on the things that he has to do at the plate, and he won't think when he’s at-bat; he'll act without overthinking things. And when Hicks stops thinking, he should become that five-tool player the Minnesota Twins believe he can be.<br/>
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"That's something that I'm really going to need to do," says Hicks. "I need to simplify everything, I need to be able to do what I can to make hard, solid contact and pretty much go from there."<br/>
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"To simplify in his mind is to clear it and free it," says hitting coach Tom Brunansky. "As a switch-hitter, the hard thing about switch-hitting is that you’re never going to feel good on both sides. Every switch-hitter I've ever talked to always told me that."<br/>
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The decision came swiftly, but it does not mean that it was an easy one for Hicks. His father, Joseph Hicks Sr., encouraged him to hit from both sides of the plate growing up and only once allowed him to hit right-handed, his dominant side, against a right-handed pitcher -- during an All-Star game when he was 12 years old. It's not the first time that Hicks has deviated from his father's advice, he also <a href="http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110201&content_id=16544488&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb" target="_blank">wanted his son to pursue professional golf</a> instead of baseball (Hicks has hit <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/north/story/aaron-hicks-golf-game-includes-five-holes-in-one-072213" target="_blank">five holes-in-one</a>, his first at age 10), and Hicks maintains that his father is supportive of the decision.<br/>
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Simplifying the game goes farther than just dropping his left-handed swing, however. Hicks is also learning how to consume information and figure out what major league pitchers are doing to him in order to stay one step ahead of his opponents. And converting from a switch-hitter to a right-handed hitter in the middle of the season is not optimal, especially for a player that is currently hitting below the Mendoza Line.<br/>
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What it really comes down to, however, is whether or not Hicks is capable of becoming the player the Twins thought he could be when they promoted him directly from Double-A a year ago.<br/>
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<b>Simplifying things doesn't mean just dropping the left-handed swing</b><br/>
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It is too easy to conclude that dropping the left-handed swing is a panacea that will allow Hicks to increase his on-base percentage and allow him to hit for power. Hicks also needs to better process information and show that he is willing to do what he has to do in order to come to the ballpark prepared to face the opponent that day.<br/>
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This came to a head on May 14 when Gardenhire told the media that he and Hicks had a long talk about picking his game up. The Twins front office is aware that he was underperforming, and it was not the first time Hicks was told that he could not rely on his talent alone. Gardenhire also re-emphasized that it's all about the numbers at the major league level -- he didn't want to have to send shortstop Pedro Florimon down, but if you can't hit .200, you can't stay on a major league roster.<br/>
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"He needs to get some hits; that's the message," said Gardenhire. "You need to start -- if it's studying the game a little more, studying the pitchers a little bit more, a little extra work in the outfield doing drills and everything, improving your whole game and the way you come to the ballpark and your approach to the game."<br/>
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Antony went on to add that there were times when Hicks did not know who that day's starting pitcher was, and later that day, a card with that week's upcoming matchups could be seen in Hicks' locker after the game. "That's the preparation: When you show up at the ballpark knowing who you're facing, what you want to try and accomplish, what your approach is going to be, rather than walking in and looking at the board and asking who's pitching today," said the assistant general manager.<br/>
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Antony went on to say that Hicks gets preoccupied, and ultimately distracted, by some things in his game, and it causes him to lose focus at the plate. "I don't think he always has a plan: How that guy is going to pitch him, how he is going to be prepared for it," he said. "It's going to be more of a mentality of, 'I feel good, and I'm going to rake today.' Well that's great in high school or whatever, but it's a little more sophisticated, and there's a lot more preparation that goes into it."<br/>
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The Twins provide the necessary information -- how a pitcher approaches right-handed hitters, what he throws in 0-2 counts, if he has any tells in his delivery -- and all the accompanying film, but they can only go over what to study so much. Eventually, players must learn on their own what film they want to watch and how much detailed information they need. Some players prefer to watch hours of film and want to know which pitch is going to be thrown in a 1-2 count; others don't watch film of themselves at the plate unless they are dramatically changing their swing and only want to know which pitches the opposing pitcher will throw and how often he uses them.<br/>
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At this point, Hicks is still figuring out what information he needs on a daily basis and says he is looking at a lot more film than other players that have figured out their swing. Dropping one swing, ironically, has meant he's had to watch more film to figure out how to face right-handed pitchers from the right side of the plate.<br/>
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"There's actually a lot of information to learn," he says. "Some stuff you need, and some stuff you don't. Some stuff works for some guys and for me, it's more I like to focus on the small things -- percentages on fastballs and curveballs and all that stuff and then go from there to my game plan."<br/>
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Sometimes keeping it simple can be, well, kind of complicated.<br/>
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<b>Dropping switch-hitting mid-season is uncommon and suboptimal</b><br/>
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Gardenhire cannot think of any players that have stopped switch-hitting in the middle of a season, nor can Antony. Many players do it in the minors, and there are a couple examples of players that have done it during their major league careers, but it's hard to find somebody that did it mid-season. Still, J.T. Snow, Rico Petrocelli and Reggie Jefferson all dropped switch-hitting during their major league careers.<br/>
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Hicks is unfamiliar with those names, but teammate Eduardo Nunez dropped switch-hitting in the New York Yankees minor league system before he was traded to the Twins this season. Unlike in Hicks' case, it was team management who told Nunez to drop switch-hitting, but Nunez only sits a few lockers over from Hicks and can offer him advice on how to make the transition.<br/>
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Hicks says that the two have already spoken about the change, but it was not incredibly encouraging. "When I was thinking about it, we actually talked a little about it," he says. "He was talking to me about how he went, like, 1-for-50. I was like, uh, all right..."<br/>
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"If we were in a perfect world right now we would be able to send him down and do this at the Triple-A level, but we're not," acknowledged Gardenhire, knowing that Sam Fuld is out indefinitely with a lingering concussion and Danny Santana's natural position is shortstop. "That's just the way it has to happen."<br/>
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"He could go down to Triple-A -- we've talked about that -- it would be great to be able to send him down to Triple-A," echoes Antony. "I'm not sure he would face everything. Even if he goes down and hits fairly well down there, it's completely different. You go watch Triple-A ball for a week, and then come back and watch this, it's night and day."<br/>
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When asked if he'd rather go down to the minors or learn at the major league level, Hicks laughed and said that of course he'd like to stay in the majors. While that's understandable, it also means that Brunansky is delivering him a crash course on right-handed hitting. He sets up the pitching machine and has it throw him breaking balls over and over again. In one drill, Hicks never offers at them, all he'll do is sit and track them and decide if he should offer at them and at what point he wants to make contact. "A lot of the problems we see with breaking balls coming from a lefty, we want to go out here," he explains while extending his arms, pantomiming a swing at a breaking ball, "because we know it's going to come to us. With a right-hander, we can't do that because if we see a pitch out there, and we think we’re going to go get it, by the time it's supposed to be bat-to-ball contact, it's got to be a little deeper."<br/>
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Hicks is used to seeing fastballs from righties because there are no left-handed batting practice coaches. Therefore, pitches that may be dramatically different and difficult to hit from the right side – say, a fastball high and inside -- Hicks has already seen. "He gets that every day. He sees that in BP," explains Brunansky. "The biggest challenge is the ball that's going to be breaking away from him."<br/>
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There's also some thought that Hicks should play better from the right side even though he is used to hitting left-handed against righties. His left-handed swing is learned and did not come naturally to him. He is also noticeably more aggressive from the right side of the plate. What it comes down to is Hicks will have success with the transition if he is able to process information fast enough to stay one step ahead of pitchers.<br/>
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<b>Can he still reach his potential?</b><br/>
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Antony has no doubt that Hicks will become a great player one day. To him, it's a matter of when, not if. "I'd be extremely surprised and disappointed if he's not a solid everyday major league outfielder," he says. "It's a process; it’s going to take time. I'm not saying that's going to be the case overnight, but there's a lot of guys that have gone through the process, and he's got a lot of athletic ability, and he's shown all the tools now, so it's just a matter of when he's going to put it together."<br/>
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Gardenhire has already noticed a difference with Hicks. He believes that a weight has been lifted of his player's shoulders and that he's starting to display more confidence in the clubhouse and on the field. "I see him walking around here, he's actually kidding around, joking around a little bit more than ever," says the manager, "and you can tell he's a little more relaxed, there's no doubt about that."<br/>
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Not only that, but according to Gardenhire, there have been no more issues with his work ethic. He's been showing up to the field early, taking extra batting practice and knows who is pitching every day. "He's doing a lot of work, and I think he feels good about that so it all gets down to the performance on the field and putting it to use during the game," he added, "but he's definitely bumping around on people, throwing elbows at people. You can definitely see he's a little bit more relaxed."<br/>
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Hicks, for his part, has played everything pretty cool. He says that he has set a goal of hitting .250 and is not worried about doing anything too fancy. If he hits a home run, it's simply a ball he was trying to knock into a gap that carried a little further than it was supposed to. "I need to focus on just getting hits, not trying to hit home runs or trying to get doubles quite yet," he avers. "But just being able to step in the box and be comfortable in there is a step I needed to make."<br/>
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Brunansky just came out and said it: by simplifying the game, he's trying to bring out the athlete in Hicks. "That's the whole game plan," says Brunansky, standing in the clubhouse batting cages with a wide smile on his face. "You can't think, you can't think. You come in here, and everything we do is react -- trust what you see, and react to what you see."<br/>
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<div>See the ball and hit it. It's simple, as long as you don't think about it.</div>
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<div><i>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3" target="_blank">@tschreier3</a>.</i></div>
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</table>Is Shabazz Muhammad Going Down the Same Path as Derrick Williams?http://exching.com/post/is-shabazz-muhammad-going-down-the-same-path-as-derrick-williams2015-03-05T10:14:42.186000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>Before Shabazz Muhammad's 20-point outburst against the upstart Phoenix Suns, it would not have been crazy to think that the Minnesota Timberwolves forward would have spent most of his rookie season on the bench. The No. 14 pick out of UCLA had only played more than 20 minutes in one other game and only scored in double-digits once before Tuesday..</div>
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<div>Before the draft, Doug Gottleib had <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/general/writer/doug-gottlieb/22333162/nba-draft-buyer-beware-on-shabazz-muhammad">warned GMs against taking him</a>, saying that he was a "very average athlete" who was kind of small for a forwardand did not defend, rebound or pass the ball. There were off the court issues as well: The <i>Los Angeles Times</i> report that Muhammad's father, Ron Holmes, had <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/22/sports/la-sp-sn-shabazz-muhammad-age-20130322">fudged his age</a>, he was <a href="http://www.sportsgrid.com/ncaa-basketball/larry-drew-buzzer-beater-shabazz-muhammad-sulks/">caught sulking</a> when a teammate of his hit a game-winning shot. On top of that, Rick Adelman tends not to give rookies playing time right away.</div>
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<div>But there Muhammad was, scoring at will against Phoenix, a Western Conference team that the Wolves need to pass in order to make the playoffs this year: 24:20 minutes played, 8-13 from the field and 20 points. All were career highs.</div>
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<div>Adelman's hand was forced, of course, just as it had been with Derrick Williams a year ago. Last season, when a rash of injuries transformed the Wolves became basketball's version of <i>The Walking Dead</i>, Williams suddenly got a lot of playing time. Similarly, while Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio have dodged the injury bug this season, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic and now Ronny Turiaf are sitting courtside in a suit and tie and Muhammad is getting more minutes.</div>
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<div>Williams never found a role with Minnesota. He was too small to be a 4 in Adelman's system and didn't look natural at the 3 so hewas eventually shipped to the Sacramento Kings for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. It's easy to dismiss Williams as another failed draft pick, but he appears to be a fit in Sacramento where he's getting regular playing time and scoring with some regularity. Yes, it's easy to laugh at him when he misses a wide-open <i>NBA Street</i>-style off-the-backboard dunk, but it's harder to acknowledge that he scored 16 points when the Kings came to town and beat the Wolves in mid-January.</div>
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<div>The difference between Williams and Muhammad is that Williams was drafted at No. 14 and Williams was selected No. 2 overall. It's easy to look back now and ask why the Wolves didn’t nab Klay Thompson, a Morris brother or Kawhi Leonard that year, but all four of those players were selected outside of the top 10. Williams was the consensus No. 2 pick and the only player to make it to an All-Star Game is Kyrie Irving, who went first overall.</div>
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<div>Looking at the pick in context, there was no other viable option other than Williams unless the Wolves wanted to trade down. That's not the case with Muhammad: The Wolves chose to trade down in this case, dealing Trey Burke, the No. 9 pick, for picks No. 14 and No. 21. When a team selects a player later in the draft, they are looking for a fit and, <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20130717/shabazz-muhammad-minnesota-timberwolves/?sct=hp_wr_a1&eref=sihp">according to Chris Mannix of</a> <i><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20130717/shabazz-muhammad-minnesota-timberwolves/?sct=hp_wr_a1&eref=sihp">Sports Illustrated</a></i>, they were looking at Muhammad and Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk. When the Boston Celtics moved up to take Olynyk, Flip Saunders chose Muhammad.</div>
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<div>That's the other key here: <i>Saunders chose Muhammad</i>. This wasn't David Kahn; this was Saunders, the beloved former coach, and should be judged accordingly. Saunders may not have known that Martin, Pekovic and Turiaf were going to go down, but Muhammad was the guy he selected, Burke was the guy he traded, and this isn't going to look good if the Wolves trade away Muhammad for cents on the dollar as they did with Williams.</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>The Mike Pelfrey Conundrumhttp://exching.com/post/the-mike-pelfrey-conundrum2015-03-05T10:14:43.111000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>It's easy to hate the Mike Pelfrey signing right now. He started the season 0-3 with a 7.99 ERA, has lost velocity on his fastball, has been placed in the 15-day disabled list, doesn't know what is wrong with his arm and the Minnesota Twins offered him a two-year, $11 million contract last summer.</div>
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<div>Many Twins fans did not like the contract to begin with, expressing shock and disappointment when he signed because of his low strikeout rate, control issues and slow pace of play. Team management likes him because Pelfrey is a former first round pick that had two good seasons with the New York Mets in 2008 and 2010, has a positive presence in the clubhouse and is always accountable after his poor outings. That has done little to appease Twins fans that are fed up with poor pitching, however, especially when they were against the signing from the beginning..</div>
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<div>"That was weird," <a href="https://twitter.com/ParkerHageman/statuses/405436288519520256">tweeted</a> Parker Hageman, a blogger at <a href="http://twinsdaily.com/content.php">Twins Daily</a>, in response to the signing, which was initially <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/statuses/405435203901853697">reported</a> by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "The tweet by Heyman made it sound like the Twins made a 2-year deal to Mike Pelfrey. That can't be right." While Hageman appeared to be dumbfounded, Aaron Gleeman, who hosts the popular podcast Gleeman and the Geek with John Bonnes of <a href="http://twinsdaily.com/">TwinsDaily.com</a>, expressed frustration upon hearing the news. "If the Twins sign Mike Pelfrey to a two-year contract," he <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronGleeman/statuses/405442813073965056">tweeted</a>, "I quit."</div>
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<div>Although he had a 5-13 record with a 5.19 ERA last season, pitchers have traditionally thrown better a year removed from Tommy John surgery. By re-signing Pelfrey, they were hoping the 30-year-old veteran would have a Kyle Gibson like leap in production once the pitch count was removed and his mechanics returned to form.</div>
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<div>It should be noted that super agent Scott Boras, who also represents big-name players like Stephen Strasburg and Barry Zito, negotiated Pelfrey's contract. Strasburg famously received a record-breaking four-year, $15.1 million deal with the Washington Nationals as a rookie and Zito is much-maligned in San Francisco for signing a seven-year, $126 million contract, the highest for any pitcher at the time, and falling to the back end of the rotation and failing to live up to the money.</div>
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<div>Pelfrey got two years and now the Twins have a puzzle to figure out. Pelfrey went on the DL with a groin injury, but he says that that is not what is causing his velocity to drop. "My arm physically is fine," he said the morning it was announced he would be going on the disabled list, "if there was something wrong, at least it would give me an understanding of, 'Maybe this doesn't feel right. Maybe this is it.'"</div>
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<div>Pelfrey has insisted that he has been healthy since returning from Tommy John surgery earlier than expected last season, but the results have said otherwise. He is being hit hard on a regular basis and is hardly reminiscent of the player that was drafted No. 9 overall in 2005.</div>
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<div>It's also hard to tell when he is actually hurting. He's a 6'7", 250-pound man from the heartland that is willing to play through injury. When asked if he was going to go on the disabled list following his last outing, which came on May 1, he said that he hadn't even thought about going on the DL. This has led to speculation that his groin injury is simply a cover-up that will allow him to take time off and play in the minors while he tries to figure out what is wrong with him.</div>
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<div>The story has been consistent, however. While pitching to Dee Gordon, the first batter he faced against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 1, he went back to fix the mound by rubbing his cleats against the sand, slipped and pulled his groin. Both manager Ron Gardenhire and assistant general manager Rob Antony offered the same story to the media before Pelfrey spoke and Pelfrey said that he has pulled his groin before and experienced pain there during Spring Training.</div>
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<div>"It's been there," he said. "I've strained my groin a lot, but I'm fine. It's more sore today, a lot more tender today then it is usually is."</div>
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<div>Antony said that he was told the injury did not affect Pelfrey's performance, but just became more irritating over time and then stiffened up after he came out of the game. He also said that Pelfrey mentioned the injury to team trainer Dave Pruemer before throwing a bullpen session, indicating that the team was not initially going to put him on the DL.</div>
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<div>Even if you choose not to believe his story, it makes little sense for him to pitch through a groin injury while trying to figure out while his fastball has dropped to the high 80s and lower 90s when it is supposed to be around 93-95 MPH. He also said that it does not affect his stride or otherwise influence his pitching.</div>
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<div>It also makes little sense to put him in the bullpen. While Pelfrey's absence gives Samuel Deduno an opportunity to prove himself as a starter once again, it makes little sense to add another former starter to a bullpen that already carries Anthony Swarzak and Brian Duensing -- converted starters who now serve as relievers.</div>
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<div>The Twins do have the option of cutting Pelfrey and eating the $11 million he is owed, but that too creates a predicament. While there are myriad reasons why he struggled last year, which Gleeman sums up <a href="http://aarongleeman.com/2013/12/18/twins-notes-pelfrey-re-signs-kubel-returns-and-hendriks-relocates/">in this post</a>, and Twins fans would like to believe that Alex Meyer and Trevor May are going to come in and dominate immediately after being called up, most rookie pitchers have a steep learning curve before they can become part of the regular rotation. Even recent stars like Johan Santana, Matt Garza and Kyle Gibson struggled in their rookie seasons and took a year or two to find consistency at the major league level.</div>
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<div>By cutting Pelfrey right now, the Twins have essentially limited themselves to five starters: Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia, Sam Deduno and Gibson. Nolasco and Hughes signed long term contracts in the offseason, so they are not going anywhere, but Correia is on the final year of his deal and Deduno has control issues. Keeping Pelfrey around is wise, so long as he does not have serious issues that will prevent him from pitching in the future.</div>
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<div>There are a lot of consistencies here. Pelfrey has always been accountable and honest about his situation and people are not piling on -- those who were against the deal were against it from the very beginning. The Twins want players that take ownership of their play and are good influences in the clubhouse, and Pelfrey offers both, but they also know that he needs to produce in order to keep him on the big league roster.</div>
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<div>"Everyone roots for him," said Gardenhire, referring to the players in the locker room. "He's a great guy, a great guy in the clubhouse, but the big leagues is all about results. You have to get people out and you’ve got to give your team a chance."</div>
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<div>For Pelfrey to do that he’s got to figure out what is wrong with his arm and his pace of play needs to improve, especially with men on base. If he can do that, the Twins will look smart because they got a first-round pick with a first-class attitude at a value price. If not, there will be a lot of people tweeting "I told you so."</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>MLB: Instant Replay is Confusing Everyonehttp://exching.com/post/mlb-instant-replay-is-confusing-everyone2015-03-05T10:14:43.390000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>The Minnesota Twins would have liked to have replay back in 2009. It's a while ago now, but most baseball fans in the Twin Cities remember Game 2 of the AL Division Series that year against the New York Yankees when Joe Mauer hit a ball that was clearly fair and would have scored two runners with the bases loaded, only to have it called foul. ESPN's Dave Schoenfield called it one of the five worst umpiring calls in baseball history. Yes, they were wearing different uniforms, playing in a different stadium and, well, winning more games than they lost back then, but this memory is still fresh in the minds of many Twins fans..</div>
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<div>The fact that left field ump Phil Cuzzi, who was only standing a couple feet away from where the ball landed, blew the call was instantly visible to anyone watching the game that night. The ball was obviously fair and although it was at the top of the inning, it was unlikely that the Yankees would have won the game in the bottom frame.</div>
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<div>Although the ball was fair, it's difficult to whole-heartedly blame Cuzzi in this situation -- he's human. He may have been standing close to the action, but the ball dropped in an instant and Melky Cabrera may have blocked some of his vision. The bottom line is that it shouldn't have mattered: An instant replay would have shown the umpiring crew that the ball was foul almost immediately and he would have been overruled.</div>
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<div>Replay, at its core, is a necessity. If a fan sitting at home can tell that a ruling is incorrect, it should be overturned, preventing a blown call from ruining a perfect game or a team's chance of winning a playoff series. The problem is that replay can become cumbersome and start to affect the game in ways that should be prevented.</div>
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<div>While the Twins would have liked to have Mauer's opposite field hit replayed in 2009, the same review system has gotten in their way five years later. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia was pulled from a quality start against the Chicago White Sox because of instant replay in his first start this season. Manager Ron Gardenhire used his first challenge of the year to overturn a ruling on a catch by White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton and won it, but by the time the umpires were looking at the play, Correia was already cold and Gardenhire decided to remove him from the game.</div>
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<div>In his second start of the season, Correia was once again victim of instant replay when a ball originally called foul was replayed to see if it was a home run. It turned out it wasn't, and Correia and other Twins players, including Chris Colabello who was in right field that day, thought it was clearly foul. Biased? Maybe, but it looked foul all the way on television. It wasn't like the Mauer call where the announcers instantly knew the call was wrong. Correia was having a rough day anyway, but the replay didn't help his cause at all. "It would have been nice if it was a little quicker," says Correia, "but that wasn't even a new replay rule, that was one we had last year so it's just something we'll have to get used to." Gardenhire echoed his pitcher's sentiment, saying that while it's important to get things right, the whole process needs to speed up.</div>
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<div>"I don't like it stopping the game: That's two times we've been involved with it so I don't like that part of it," he says, "but the ultimate goal is to get it right. It's not working yet, as far as the quick part of it goes, but we're supposed to get it right."</div>
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<div>The most difficult part of it, at least for the manager, is figuring out which calls can be challenged and when he can just ask the umpires to take another look. After the sixth inning, managers are no longer able to challenge calls and the umpiring crew will initiate all replays. But managers are allowed to ask umpires to give a play a second look, just to be sure. This, of course, creates a difficult situation: managers want to reduce the amount of times they have to officially challenge a play because if they are wrong, they lose it, but at the same time they want to ensure that they are not victim of a bad call.</div>
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<div>It also creates confusion on plays that cannot be challenged, but are reviewable. For example, a foul-tip cannot be challenged, even if a catch in the field can. "It's not a reviewable play, [but] they can look at it," says Gardenhire of the foul-tip. "They can look at it. It's not challengeable, I don't think, but you can ask them to look at it and get help." So how is a catcher dropping a ball and a fielder dropping a ball any different? Well, managers find themselves confused there too.</div>
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<div>"Well, that's our argument," he says referring to a specific foul-tip on Wednesday. "He caught the ball, there was no play being made anywhere. He caught it in his glove, turned it back and then dropped it. He caught the ball. There was no play being made anywhere." He went on to explain that there are multiple plays that can and can't be challenged and there is a laminated sheet that he keeps at his desk in his office explaining the official rules, but there are many grey areas.</div>
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<div>Why, for example, can he not challenge a warning given by the umpires? When closer Glen Perkins got into it with Josh Donaldson of the Oakland Athletics and each bench was given a warning after each dugout cleared and entered the field, nobody actually got in a fight, everyone just danced around. Why was an official warning issued then? "Can I challenge that?" Gardenhire said of the incident, which took place Wednesday. "That's what I asked [the umpires], and I'm serious. Why would you throw a warning on that? Nothing happened." He couldn't use a challenge because the incident took place after the sixth inning and it wasn't a challengeable play anyways.</div>
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<div>That may seem trivial, but what about a situation with the new rules about collisions at the plate. When can he use a challenge? Can he avoid using a challenge by just asking the umpires to look at the replay? Does it matter if it takes place in the first inning or the ninth? "Plays at the plate, can you ask them, 'I think he blocked the plate?' Or do you ask them, 'I think he was safe, you called him out?'" pondered Gardenhire. If you ask one way, the umpires may think you are inquiring about subjectivity (Was the catcher blocking the plate?); asked another way, it may be interpreted as a question of where the tag was applied (Was the runner safe?). It's all semantics, but when a run is on the line, this becomes very important.</div>
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<div>"I thought the best part about [instant replay] was they were showing the replays on the big board," he says, referring to a rule that allows controversial calls to be replayed on the jumbotron while the umpires are communicating with New York. "The fans were all involved and they were oohing and aahing."</div>
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<div>In time this will work itself out. With a fan's ability to watch just about every game in high-definition and see replays over and over again, it makes no sense to allow an umpire's error to influence the outcome of a big situation. Everyone will have to be patient and allow this to work itself out, but in the mean time, confusion around replay can be frustrating. "Why do you think I've been thrown out of 67 games?" Gardenhire asked rhetorically. "There's a reason."</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Rob Antony Dishes on the Minnesota Twins Outfield Situationhttp://exching.com/post/rob-antony-dishes-on-the-minnesota-twins-outfield-situation2015-03-05T10:14:43.705000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>Much has been made of the Minnesota Twins' outfield situation this year. A pair of infielders, Eduardo Escobar and Eduardo Nunez, has seen time in the corners, centerfielders Aaron Hicks and Sam Fuld have suffered concussions and two power hitters Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia have been out for most of the season. With Hicks struggling at the plate, some are asking why the team let Alex Presley and Darin Mastroianni pass through waivers and get claimed.</div>
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<div>"Whenever you make decisions, everyone can look back in hindsight and say, 'We should have held on to Presley,'" said assistant general manager Rob Antony. "We ran Presley through [waivers], we ran Parmelee through, we ran Diamond through -- Presley got claimed.".</div>
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<div>Antony also does not want to give the impression that because the team likes Hicks, they are averse to providing competition for the second-year player. They still feel he has upside, but they understand the importance of depth at that position, especially if Hicks continues to hit below the Mendoza Line and has to be sent down. "I don't want to say, 'We've got Hicks, we don't need anyone else.' We looked at Mastroianni as an option, we brought him up when we needed a spot and we claimed Fuld."</div>
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<div>On the injury front, Antony says that Minnesota is looking into changing the padding on the centerfield wall. It could potentially be a difficult thing to do in-season, especially with the All-Star game coming up because he does not know how much time it would take, but when both Hicks and Fuld went down with injury, Antony says he got a call from ownership asking if there was anything that could be done about the outfield wall.</div>
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<div>"We're looking to see if there's any options of outfield walls we could possibly install," he said, adding that he has spoken to Matt Hoy, the team's senior vice president of operations, seriously about the matter. "They said that they are aware of one other type of wall that is a little more cushiony and we’re going to take a look at that and see if that's something that we want to do."</div>
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<div>The bottom line is that if the Twins are going to continue to play .500 baseball, or even try and have a winning record this year, they are going to have to shore up their outfield. Escobar, a utility infielder, made a critical error that led to a loss against the Cleveland Indians when he thought the outfield wall was closer to him than it was. Santana has speed, but the natural shortstop lacks experience at centerfield. And Jason Kubel, Chris Parmelee and Chris Colabello offer power at the plate, but are not known for their defense.</div>
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<div>"I'm not sure you're ever properly prepared for Willingham, Arcia, Hicks, Fuld -- all those guys being on the DL at the same time," said Antony. "As long as they have 40-man rosters, it's going to be hard to have four or five guys go down at the same time."</div>
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<div><i>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</i></div>What Trevor Plouffe Tells Us About the Minnesota Twins Player Developmenthttp://exching.com/post/what-trevor-plouffe-tells-us-about-the-minnesota-twins-player-development2015-03-05T10:14:42.039000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>The crazy thing about the whole Miguel Sano Tommy John surgery situation - other than that, well, an infield prospect is having Tommy John - is the fact that if there were an infielder on the roster that would be likely to have the procedure, it would be Trevor Plouffe..</div>
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<div>It's easy to forget that Plouffe was once considered to be a pitching prospect before he signed with the Twins in 2004. He went 13-1 with a 0.71 ERA during his senior year at Crespi Carmelite high school in Encino, Calif. and had he gone to the University of Southern California, Plouffe would have pitched and played an everyday position in college. "(USC coach) Mike Gillespie and I talked about me playing shortstop and then coming in to close games," <a href="http://www.sethspeaks.net/053006.htm">Plouffe told Seth Stohs</a>, now a blogger at Twins Daily, in 2006.</div>
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<div>There was a legitimate question as to whether or not Plouffe would pitch in the majors. In an article about whether or not Plouffe would decide to play at USC, a school he had grown up rooting for, or go pro, Eric Sondheimertold readers to take a step back and ponder what position Plouffe would play: "First, everyone must solve a pressing question: Is Plouffe a pitcher or a shortstop?" <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2004/feb/22/sports/sp-hssondcol22">he wrote in 2004</a>. "That provokes sharp debate and genuine disagreement among well-respected scouts."</div>
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<div>Sondheimer was not writing for <i>The Onion</i>; he was writing for the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>. "The pro guys are really split because he is a prospect as a shortstop and pitcher," Gillespie told the <i>Times</i>. "I’m a shortstop who pitches," Plouffe said at the time. "Ultimately, it’s up to whomever lets you play."</div>
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<div>Well, the Twins drafted him at No. 20 overall that year, offered him $1.5 million to sign and Plouffe went pro. "The decision to sign was very easy," he told Stohs. "You can’t pass up a chance to play pro ball with an organization like the Twins."</div>
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<div>But Plouffe became neither a shortstop nor a pitcher. When he got called up as a 24-year-oldin 2010, he split time between short and second and as a designated hitter. By 2011 the team had tried him as a corner outfielder and at first base. The next year he beat out Danny Valencia at third base while hitting .235/.301/.455 with 24 home runs.</div>
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<div>On Opening Day, Plouffe will have played every position except center field, catcher and... pitcher.</div>
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<div>The point of writing this is not to suggest that Plouffe should have been developed as a pitcher. The point is that it wasn't Tommy John that forced Plouffe from the mound to the field a la Rick Ankiel. Rather, it's a blue-chip third base product that is having the procedure and Plouffe is the one that is going to benefit from another year at the hot corner.</div>
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<div>There has been plenty of moaning and groaning among Twins fans hoping to see Sano who, along with Byron Buxton, is supposed to turn Minnesota around after three straight 90-loss seasons: Out with the old, in with the new. Except that Plouffe really isn't that old and should be capable of having a big season this year. He is in the middle of his prime and showed signs of progression last year before a calf injury and concussion slowed him down.</div>
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<div>He was beginning to hit home runs to opposite field and with runners on base - something he did not do during his breakout 2012 campaign - and raised his batting average to .254.</div>
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<div>If Plouffe can hit .260 to .280 with 25-plus homers, it's hard not to see him as an asset, even if his fielding is decidedly middle-of-the-pack compared to the rest of the league. He hit for power against righties (12 home runs) and average against lefties (.300), but hit only two home runs against lefties and .240 against righties while also continuing to show power to opposite field and produce with runners on base.</div>
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<div>This really shouldn't be too far-fetched. Plouffe hit .244/.300/.430 in Triple-A in 2010, right before he got called up for his major league debut, then hit .313/.384/.635 in 2011, essentially forcing the Twins to bring him up again and find a spot for him on the field. The improvement was astronomical: Plouffe had never hit above .262, save for his first season in rookie ball, and suddenly was crushing the ball.</div>
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<div>Babe Plouffe, as baseball nuts around the Twin Cities jokingly called him, had adjusted his batting stance and his swing and changed him from a <a href="http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/159151985.html">ground-ball hitter to a fly-ball hitter</a>. Still, the increase in production befuddled some of baseball's brightest minds. "Could anyone have predicted this?" <a href="http://www.baseballnation.com/2012/6/18/3094787/trevor-plouffe-minnesota-twins-home-runs">asked SB Nation’s Rob Neyer</a>. "Well, the Twins must have predicted something. Otherwise they wouldn't have drafted Plouffe in the first place, or stuck with him through all those seasons of minor-league mediocrity."</div>
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<div>Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports was even more critical about the Twins' development of Plouffe. "By promoting him so aggressively in the face of mediocre performances the Twins put Plouffe in an odd situation developmentally. He was a former first-round pick one step from the big leagues at age 22, yet he'd never actually shown anything to suggest that he was a top prospect," <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/sports/2012/06/trevor-plouffe-slugs-his-way-twins-plans">he wrote</a>. "In short, he looked like a bust."</div>
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<div>It's the Twins who chose to select him in the first round and give him $1.5 million to sign with them. It's the Twins who decided to promote him to Triple-A at age 22 despite the fact that he had never hit above .280 or 20 home runs at any level except in his rookie season. It's the Twins who turned him into a fly ball hitter and moved him all over the field.</div>
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<div>Some of these moves have worked out and some haven't.</div>
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<div>Look at Plouffe now: He's got the undistinguished honor of not being Miguel Sano. Some have written him off as a placeholder that they have no desire seeing once the Dominican blue-chipper arrives along and other big-name prospects hit their stride, but the Twins are making difficult decisions with all of their prospects right now. Players like Alex Meyer (No. 23, 2011), Kyle Gibson (No. 22, 2009)and Aaron Hicks (No. 14, 2008) are all supposed to develop into stars and supplement Buxton and Sano and bring a contending team back to the Twin Cities.</div>
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<div>But if Trevor Plouffe does not pan out, what's to say that the others will?</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Kevin Correia: There's No Trendshttp://exching.com/post/kevin-correia-theres-no-trends2015-03-05T10:14:42.638000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>Following an Opening Day loss to the Oakland Athletics where Minnesota Twins starter Kevin Correia gave up six runs in 5.2 innings, the Twins' revamped rotation only had one quality start in their last seven tries..</div>
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<div>Sportswriter John Lowe coined the term <i>quality start</i> while writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1985. He described it as a situation where a pitcher completes at least six innings and gives up only three runs. While it is not an all-encompassing statistic by any means, and it is not rooted in advanced metrics, when a rotation only produces one quality start in seven tries, it is enough to indicate that a team is having issues with its starting pitching.</div>
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<div>Minnesota spent $49 million on Ricky Nolasco, $24 million on Phil Hughes and $11 million on Mike Pelfrey in the off-season. Through two starts, Nolasco is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. Hughes and Pelfrey have only made one start, but the former owns a 7.20 ERA and the latter is sitting at 5.06 with a loss.</div>
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<div>So the $84 million question becomes: How much stock do you place on what has happened this season?</div>
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<div>Correia, the lone man with a quality start, which came in a 7-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox on April 2, feels that people should not be quick to judge. "The starters were supposed to be a big improvement and hopefully get off to a good start," he says. "We haven't been bad, we haven't pitched great, but it's so early. At this point in the year there's no trends, there's no way you can look ahead and see what's going to happen. It's just early."</div>
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<div>Kyle Gibson, a second-year player who is a year removed from Tommy John surgery, owns a 1.80 ERA and got the win in Cleveland on April 5, but did not get a quality start because he only pitched 5.0 innings against the Indians.</div>
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<div>Pelfrey, who is also a year removed from Tommy John, coasted through five innings against the Indians the day before, retiring 15 of the 16 batters he faced, but got hammered in the sixth inning and was removed after only getting one out.</div>
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<div>"[We're] thinking [he can go] seven, eight, nine innings here, maybe save our bullpen,' manager Ron Gardenhire told Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "But once the next inning started, he wasn't the same pitcher."</div>
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<div>"I was efficient. But the way it unraveled, who cares?" Pelfrey told Miller. "It kind of ruined the whole day."</div>
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<div>"Gibby had a great start when he pitched and Pelfrey was really close and I think my last start was a good one and this one wasn't," said Correia. "We're not going out there and getting beat up, I don't think, but we're just a few pitches away here and there from getting deep into games. It's so early. It's hard to judge. We're not even through the rotation twice so it's impossible to predict what's going to happen."</div>
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<div>Correia got hit around early in his start, giving up two runs in the second and three in the third, but then appeared to settle in. He retired eight straight batters before giving up a solo shot in the sixth that kept him from completing the inning.</div>
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<div>"I started pitching in a little more," he said. "They got almost all their hits on off-speed pitches that were down and away so I made the adjustment and I just threw a hanging breaking ball on the first pitch."</div>
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<div>Admittedly, the adjustment came too late, but the Twins scored a run in the second and two in the third, so they were only down 5-3 when Correia got the first two outs in the second inning. Derek Norris' homer in the sixth didn't help Minnesota's cause, but it was the two runs in the seventh, given up by reliever Samuel Deduno, that put the game out of reach.</div>
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<div>"I would have liked to get that guy out. There were two outs, nobody on, and the first pitch he just jumped on it," says Correia of Norris. "You learn every time you face a guy like that you've never faced before and you see what his tendencies are. They had a different sort of game plan against me the last time I faced them."</div>
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<div>While he says that it is too early to judge the pitching staff, Correia's underlying message is that things will get better. "You've got to get a couple starts under your belt and what I've noticed about a pitching staff is that they kind of get on a roll together," says Correia. "Once you start going, everyone feeds off each other and hopefully that's going to happen here real soon."</div>
<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>MLB Draft: Are the Minnesota Twins Moving Away from Pitch to Contact?http://exching.com/post/mlb-draft-are-the-minnesota-twins-moving-away-from-pitch-to-contact2015-03-05T10:14:44.791000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>With the way that the Minnesota Twins drafted this year, it looks like they are moving away from pitch to contact -- at least when it comes to relievers..</div>
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<div>Take away Nick Gordon, a shortstop with major league bloodlines that fills a need in the infield, and local guy Max Murphy, and eight of the Twins top ten draft picks this year were hard-throwing relief pitchers. Second-round pick Nick Burdi reportedly hit 103 mph on the radar gun while pitching at Louisville and Michael Cederoth came close to 100 mph at San Diego State. Both players are well built -- Burdi is 6 foot 4, 220 pounds; Cederoth is 6 foot 6, 220 pounds -- and many of the other players are of similar stature. All eight of them pitched in college, all eight are expected to sign and there may be one or two that get fast-tracked to the majors.</div>
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<div>Manager Ron Gardenhire said before the draft that he could care less who the team takes; he just wants players that are close to the majors, and his wish may be granted this year.</div>
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<div>"You always hope for something like that," says assistant general manager Rob Antony when asked if any of these pitchers could join the bullpen this season. "You don't want to count on it or expect it. It would be great, but at the same time you want to be realistic, and it doesn’t happen all that often."</div>
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<div>Burdi, for his part, says he's ready to join the Twins any time they are ready. "I've always been a confident player, and I believe in myself and that I'm just as good as anyone in this draft," he said immediately after being drafted. "If they make the decision to put me in the major leagues at some point in the next year or this summer, it would just be an honor."</div>
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<div>Of course Burdi wants to play in the majors, and yes, he will have to prove himself before he joins an already stocked bullpen, but a major change in philosophy is taking place at 1 Twins Way. For years, scouts simply saw pitchers as starters. Now Minnesota's scouts have started targeting relievers in an effort to get a hard-throwing player that should be more major league ready and have a fit as soon as he joins the team. "We were always taught as scouts that in the past that most big league relievers were former starters," says Twins scouting director Deron Johnson. "Things have changed a little bit now. Most bullpens, guys are throwing gas. That’s kind of the way it's trending."</div>
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<div>The Twins say that their approach with the draft is to take the best player on the board, and arguably they did that with Gordon, but the fact that they took so many hard-throwing relievers is no coincidence. "Are you guys excited about the velocity? No more pitch to contact?" Johnson asked the media with a wide smile on his face. "They got out pitches. They all pretty much have...pretty good out pitches."</div>
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<div>Fast-tracking players through the minors? Not forcing relievers to start? No more pitch to contact? <i>What the hell is going on here?</i></div>
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<div>Change is taking place at Target Field. Although the back-of-the-rotation starters will likely continue to practice pitch to contact -- which makes sense for a player without ace stuff that’s expected to throw 100 pitches once a week -- relievers will no longer be asked to rely solely on location.</div>
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<div>What this means is that for the incoming draft class, it becomes a war of attrition. Pitchers are going to get hurt -- a couple of these guys already have had Tommy John surgery -- and it's hard to know how many will actually make it to the majors. But that’s the thing about the draft: It's all about finding a couple stars. There are 40 selections, and not all will sign. For the pitchers, it comes down to who can stay healthy. "You can never, ever have too many [pitchers]," says Antony. "You know there’s going to be injuries. We're going through it right now with some of our guys in the minor leagues, and hopefully they'll be back here, if not this year, then some guys next year."</div>
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<div>Those that survive will make it to the Show, and they'll be expected to miss bats when they get there. Progress is being made at Target Field; embrace it.</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Chris Colabello: From the Worcester Tornadoes to the Minnesota Twinshttp://exching.com/post/chris-colabello-from-the-worcester-tornadoes-to-the-minnesota-twins2015-03-05T10:14:42.820000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>Paul Cantiani, the man that brought independent baseball to the city of Worcester, Mass., believes that Minnesota Twins first baseman Chris Colabello should wind up and hit a tree. Evergreen, birch, hickory or willow - it doesn't matter: He should just let loose and wail on some arbor. "I just want to punch him once in a while and say, why don't you get pissed off? Punch a tree or something," says Cantiani in an East Coast accent so thick he could be mistaken for a <i>Family Guy</i> character. "He just smiles back.".</div>
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<div>Cantiani is kidding of course. Colabello broke his hand while playing in his penultimate season for the Worcester Tornadoes, the Canadian-American independent league team that Cantiani brought to central Massachusetts. Even if he hadn't done that, it isn't smart for a person that wants to hit a ball 400 feet or throw a runner out at home to run around punching trees.</div>
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<div>Colabello would be justified if he let loose, however. He played his first MLB game at age 29 last year. He is also primarily a first baseman, a fungible defensive position where Joe Mauer will play next season, and a right fielder, where first round pick Chris Parmelee and blue-chipper Oswaldo Arcia play, and he hit below the Mendoza Line in 181 plate appearances as a rookie. That means that if he cannot get the bat going, he probably will not find a spot on a major league roster. He cannot play for the Tornadoes if he gets cut because they folded shortly after he entered the Twins system and he does not have much more to accomplish in the minor leagues after being named International League MVP and Rookie of the Year last season.</div>
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<div>None of that bothers Colabello, though, because he is just taking it one step at a time. "Every day my focus is on the task at hand and when I say that I mean it," he says. "If you get too caught up in where I'm going to be in a week or where I'm going to be in two weeks or what's going to happen in my next at-bat or all that stuff, it has a tendency to really detract from what you're trying to do as a player."</div>
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<div>"He doesn't feel pressure," says Cantiani. "He's acting no different in the major leagues than he did when he was [with] the Tornadoes. I'm not kidding you; the kid's wacky. You can tell him I said that too. If you talk to him about me, he'll tell you how much he loves me."</div>
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<div><b>Beloved in Worcester</b></div>
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<div>Everybody in this city took to him because he's just so personable. He'd stay after games and sign autographs for an hour or two hours and it was all for nothing. He's just a nice kid.</div>
<div>- Paul Cantiani, <a href="http://www.cantianiagency.com/">Cantiani Insurance Agency</a></div>
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<div>"The one thing I can say about Paul for sure is that he has a huge heart and he's a very straight shooter," says Colabello. "Until you get to know him, it's hard to see how big his heart is and what kind of guy he is." He calls Cantiani the Godfather of Worcester. "He's a guy that cared very deeply for a lot of players who played for the Worcester Tornadoes those years when I was playing and became like a surrogate dad to me."</div>
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<div>It was not as though Colabello needed a surrogate father, though: Both of his parents, Lou and Silvana, were supportive of his choice to pursue professional baseball despite his long odds and allowed him to live at home while he was playing for the Tornadoes. Lou, a high school physical education teacher and former pitcher, met Lou while he was playing professionally in Italy. "My mom and dad have the same passion for the game that I do," Colabello <a href="http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/57296340/the-kid-gets-his-chance">told</a> Sports On Earth's Pat Borzi. "A day on a baseball field is better than a day somewhere else. That's the way I looked at it."</div>
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<div>So while his parents were comfortable with him living at home until age 27, it was Cantiani that got in his ear about his pursuit of a career as a professional baseball player. "I was like, 'you're outta your goddamn mind!'" yelled Cantiani, adding that Colabello made enough money to live independently during that time. "Would you goddamn move out? He loves his mother and father."</div>
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<div>"They were more than happy to have me there," says Colabello, smiling. "I was an only child in an Italian family."</div>
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<div>"The problem I was having, personally at the end, I was saying, 'Chris, you're 27, you're 27 years old, stop bullshitting yourself. You've got to get out and get into the real world and find some kind of career,'" says Cantiani. "I used to think he was playing baseball because he was too lazy to get a job."</div>
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<div>The two used to get together every for lunch when Colabello was playing for the Tornadoes, but Cantiani would not allow Colabello to talk about baseball. "He knows I don't want to hear it," Cantiani says. "I want to talk about your life, I want to talk about your girlfriend: I want to make sure you don't knock her up."</div>
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<div>In the offseason Colabello taught baseball lessons and worked camps and clinics while also substitute teaching at local schools. Not only was it additional income for Colabello, who made between $800 and $2000 a month playing Indy ball, but it also allowed him to integrate with a community that he cared for greatly.</div>
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<div>He even went so far as to participate in an event called Dancing with the City, Worcester's play on the popular television show Dancing with the Stars. Colabello, who admittedly is a poor dancer, took Beth O'Brien, the wife of <a href="http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2014/01/mike_obrien_leaves_the_door_op.html">former City Manager Mike O'Brien</a>, to the event. He had to do countless lessons, in addition to playing baseball, in order to be competent enough to dance in front of other people. In three weeks he learned how to do the Cha Cha and the Limbo. "Why would a guy do that? He just respects the City Manager," says Cantiani. "And then he calls me up one time and says, 'We're going out with the City Manager's daughters for lunch.' So he takes me because he knows I'll pay - so he's not stupid."</div>
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<div><b>Leaving Worcester</b></div>
<div>In terms of Worcester, it couldn't have come at a better time, but you could have said that four or five years ago when he got traded or anything like that.</div>
<div>- Keith Beauregard, assistant coach at Santa Clara University</div>
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<div>While the daughters of the City Manager were not typical guests of Colabello and Cantiani when they sat down for lunch, Keith Beauregard was. Currently an assistant baseball coach at Santa Clara University in Northern California, Beauregard competed against Colabello in college and then was his teammate for three years with the Tornadoes. "He's one of my closest friends," Beauregard says of Colabello. "That's my boy right there."</div>
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<div>They both grew up near Massachusetts - Beauregard is from Leominster and Colabello is from Milford - and chose to play Division II baseball locally in the Northeast-10 Conference: Beauregard played for St. Anselm in Manchester, N.H. and Colabello played for Assumption College in Worcester. Because the baseball community in Massachusetts is smaller than it is in hardball hotbeds like California, Texas, and Florida, the two knew each other from playing summer ball and in high school. "We played against each other in the same conference, so it was one of those things: I wanted to beat him every time and he wanted to beat me," says Beauregard, "but when we got to Worcester we had mutual respect for one another."</div>
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<div>The two had lockers next to one another while playing for the Tornadoes and established a daily routine. They went to the cages with manager Rich Gedman, a major leaguer who played from 1980 to 1992 and spent 11 years with the Boston Red Sox, and hitting coach Barry Glinski, who coached at Assumption from 1981 to 1988. Both players say that it was the close bond they had with their team - a ragtag collection of players that had played all levels of the game ("You had guys from South America, guys from Australia, and then you had your Canadians," says Beauregard. "It was an extremely diverse culture.") - that allowed Worcester to win a Can-Am championship in 2005.</div>
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<div>But two years later Worcester was slumping and Colabello, hitting .300 in the heart of the order, was traded to the Nashua Pride in the middle of the season. Suddenly, Worcester's native son was hitting cleanup for a team in New Hampshire. The decision to deal Colabello took a toll on Gedman, who like Cantiani and Beauregard had become incredibly fond of him. "I was very, very close to him and we spent an awful lot of time together and maybe it was a fault of my own that I was so close," says Gedman, "but my thing was I felt he was better served by being traded than he would have by playing and going through what we were going through at the time."</div>
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<div>Colabello went on to win a championship with the Pride that year and returned to the Tornadoes in 2008. By that time, however, Beauregard had moved on. At age 25, he wanted to try his hand at real estate. He moved to New York, worked for Prudential Douglas from 2008-10, came back to the game in 2011 and played 11 games for Pittsfield and then went to work on Dan O'Brien's staff at Santa Clara two years later.</div>
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<div>Colabello was playing for Worcester in 2011, but the ground was falling beneath him. The team had trouble competing against all the baseball in the area - the Red Sox, Paw Sox, Lowell Spinners, legion, and high school - and found itself in financial trouble. The end was near when, after the 2011 season, the Minnesota Twins reached out to Colabello. In the Can-Am league, each team is only allowed five veteran players and was looking at signing Jose Conseco in order to draw a larger crowd and try to stay solvent. Colabello signed with the Twins that February and saw the team that he and Cantiani build go bankrupt and fold.</div>
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<div>"In terms of Worcester, it couldn't have come at a better time, but you could have said that four or five years ago when he got traded or anything like that," says Beauregard. "It came at the right time. It came at the right time for him. His maturity as a hitter has increased greatly and his ability to generate power not only to his pull side, but to the opposite field side, his understanding of pitch selection, pitch sequences is unbelievable right now."</div>
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<div>So Colabello dodged a bullet in some sense by signing with the Twins, but there was still the matter of going from Mickey Mouse baseball, as Cantiani called the Can-Am league, to Associated ball.</div>
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<div><b>Hitting Like Pujols and Cabrera</b></div>
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<div>The thing that made him ultimately give it a chance was I was showing him clips of Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, and Hanley Ramirez and when I showed him a clip of himself and it was the farthest hit ball that he's ever hit up to that point and he looked at it and the things that happened in that swing were completely different than his intent.</div>
<div>- Bobby Tewksbary, A.B. Athletic Development</div>
<div>"Chris always had this thing in his head, if he doesn't hit .300, he's a failure," says Cantiani. "That's why when is average goes down, he panics a little."</div>
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<div>Colabello hit .300 every year when he was with Worcester, including his rookie year in 2005 as a 21 year old, but this was different. With the Twins Double-A affiliate in New Britain, Conn. he was going to be playing 134 games; in the Can-Am league he played around 90. In New Britain he was affiliated with a major league team; in Worcester he did not. He was playing with major league prospects, Bonus Babies, in New Britain; in Worcester he was not.</div>
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<div>"I don't care what you play: Little League, Babe Ruth, high school, college -- not many people hit .300 six years in a row," says Gedman. "There's an art to it, an understanding of it. Knowing how to do it, regardless of what level you're playing at, you're doing something that some people can do and other people can't do and he's one of those kids."</div>
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<div>"Richey Gedman loves him," says Cantiani, adding that the two do regular hitting lessons together and also put on clinics for underprivileged children in Worcester. Colabello fell short of .300 for the first time in his professional career, however, when he hit .284/.358/.478 for in 134 games with the Rock Cats in 2012. He still was promoted to Triple-A last year and it was there that Colabello, at age 29, had perhaps one of the best single season turnarounds for a minor league veteran in baseball history.</div>
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<div>In 89 games with the Rochester Red Wings, Colabello hit .352/.427/.639 with 24 home runs. Never before in his professional baseball career had he hit above .350. Never before in his baseball career had he hit more than 20 home runs. Only in his final year with the Tornadoes did he have an OPS above 1.000 and yet, in his first year at Triple-A, Colabello's on-base plus slugging percentage totaled 1.066.</div>
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<div>How did that happen? It was a combination of instruction from the Twins, Gedman, and a friend named Bobby Tewksbary.</div>
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<div>Colabello met Tewksbary during the 2004 New England Collegiate Baseball All-Star Game during the summer between their junior and senior years of college and then played a year and a half together on the Tornadoes. Unlike Colabello and Beauregard, however, Tewksbary was never a .300 hitter in the Can-Am league. In fact, the Hudson, N.H. native never cracked .250 in the 72 games he split between Worcester and the North Shore Spirit in Lynn, Mass. But it was getting away from the game that allowed him to instruct hitters to do what he himself never could on a baseball diamond.</div>
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<div>"I went to New York City for a couple years, got away form baseball, and I started looking a the swing again, looking at video again," he says. He went out and bought a high-speed camera and went to the 2008 Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium and took footage of Josh Hamilton as the former Texas Rangers slugger hit 35 home runs at New York's old park. "The time away from the game allowed me to look at things in a different light," he says. "When you transition from playing to coaching, you teach what everyone taught you. I got away from it for a couple years and started seeing some things differently that what I always thought was happening."</div>
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<div>Colabello broke his left hand late in the 2010 season in a game against Les Capitales de Quebec. It was raining out at the time, but because the Can-Am league did not have a budget for makeup games, so the teams played on. Colabello caught a fastball in the left hand when the pitcher fell off the mound and missed the rest of the season with a non-displaced fracture. "At that point I was really starting to feel good about myself," says Colabello. "When I got hurt, I was still hungry. Going into the offseason, I decided that I was going to start hitting right away. I was going to do everything I could to be the best hitter that I could be that offseason. That was when I first really made that commitment to being the guy I am today."</div>
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<div>It was during the 2010 offseason that he began to work with Tewksbary. The mechanics Tewksbary teaches do not fall in line with conventional wisdom, which preaches short swings and few moving parts -- something the Twins preach to their hitters from the minors on up. Tewksbary, who studies film of great hitters so often he says its like he's conducting a C.S.I. investigation ("People talk about the 10-year, 10,000-hour rule," he says, "I've blown past 10,000 hours a long time ago."), has found that the best hitters in the game today, guys like Hamilton, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera, have large swings with multiple movable parts that all serve a purpose in the swing.</div>
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<div>Twins general manager Terry Ryan has openly expressed his concern regarding the moving parts in Colabello's swing, but Tewksbary insists that his method is the reason why Colabello went from being a .284 hitter in New Britain, to a .352 hitter with 24 home runs in Rochester. Asked about the moving parts in Colabello's swing, Tewksbary replied that "I want to be careful answering this question because I don't want to piss off Terry Ryan or get Chris in trouble, but I'll say that the movement of Chris' swing is not random.</div>
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<div>"We've spent a lot of time studying video, we've spent a lot of time adding and removing different components of his swing and the movement that exists in his swing has purpose," he continues. "It's in sync with what the pitcher is doing, it's in sync with his plan with how he is trying to be successful, there's nothing random about what he's doing in the batter's box."</div>
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<div>Twins hitting coordinator Bill Springman acknowledged via email that Tewksbary and Colabello have a relationship and said it is not an "instructional type of relationship," but offered no further comment. "I would definitely consider Chris a friend before I consider him to be a client just because of our history," says Tewksbary, "but he's a smart kid, he's very smart, he's very critical and objective and has very good questions." Colabello actively works with Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky during the season and hits in Tewksbary's Nashua, N.H. facility in the offseason.</div>
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<div>Two of the Twins best hitting prospects, Oswaldo Arcia and Josmil Pinto, have large swings and both players had success at the plate as rookies last season: Arcia hit .251/.304/.430 with 14 home runs in 97 games and Pinto hit .342/.398/.566 with 4 home runs in 21 games. During the past two seasons, Tewksbary has traveled to Ft. Myers, Fla. for Spring Training with Colabello and was impressed by both players.</div>
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<div>The first year he traveled down to Florida, he did not know many of the Twins prospects, so he walked around the complex and a left-handed hitter caught his eye. "I went over to the cage underneath the stadium and there was this lefty hitter just raking, mashing balls off of the iron mike and I took video and this guy has the best swing that I've seen here today," says Tewksbary, who had no idea who that player was, but had been informed by Colabello that there were two players that could hit: Arcia and Pinto. "So I'm going back to my video at the end of the year, looking up the big league camp roster and the lefty I saw was Arcia."</div>
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<div>Tewksbary got a chance to see Pinto when he was called up to Double-A. He was at home and he and Chris decided to see New Britain play when they visited the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire. "I was there watching batting practice and I see Pinto swing, I have no idea who he is, and as soon as I see him take one swing, I look at Chris and I'm like, 'Who's that?' and he slapped himself on the leg like 'I knew it, that's the guy I was telling you about.'</div>
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<div>"When you see the guys with these mechanics, it jumps out at you because it's different," Tewksbary continues. "The more you understand it, the more obvious it becomes. As far as I'm concerned, it's not really debatable that it exists because you can look at the video and it's pretty obvious once you know what to look for."</div>
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<div>Colabello initially rejected Tewksbary's advice, challenging repeatedly in verbal disagreements that often grew very loud, very quickly. "It was pretty funny, he would question me about specific hitters, he would question me about certain wording, and he was very adamant about emergency swings and how am I supposed to protect the plate? How am I supposed to hit the inside pitch or the outside pitch?" says Tewksbary. "He needed to understand the concept to understand there might be more to what he is capable of."</div>
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<div>"More than a player, he's a student of the game," says Beauregard, who acts as the hitting coach at Santa Clara. "He understands the game extremely well at one of the highest levels I've ever seen."</div>
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<div>Early on in the training process, Tewksbary would have Colabello try "something crazy" with three swings and then the two would yell for three hours. Then they would try something different, only to have another shouting match ensue. "It was hilarious because we're good friends and he's got some Italian in him." Eventually, though, Colabello gave in and began to see results, culminating in his Triple-A performance last season.</div>
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<div>"He showed up and he didn't have to show up," acknowledges Tewksbary, who says that Colabello is a friend first and a client second. "He could have been like, 'You know what? You're crazy, I don't need this. I'm as successful as I need right now, I'm comfortable with what I'm doing and I don't need it.'</div>
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<div>"Despite the confrontation that we used to have back and forth, he kept showing up, kept giving it a chance."</div>
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<div><b>Don't Label Him Quad-A</b></div>
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<div>More than anything else, what makes Chris special is the type of person that he is. He's a good teammate, a good person, and that's what makes him special. It's his perseverance, his desire to want to be one of the best, to overcome obstacles where most people would have given up - that's what makes him special.</div>
<div>- Rich Gedman, former major leaguer and manager of the Tornadoes</div>
<div>"Baseball likes to label people and create definitions of people and a lot of times its accurate,but people are really quick to throw that Quad-A label on players," says Tewksbary, "To know where he came from and to know where he's at, he's gonna battle, he's the type of kid that's going to do everything he can and challenge himself harder than anybody could challenge him to be a better player and to succeed."</div>
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<div>"His dream would be to die on the ball field," says Cantiani. "I ain't shittin' ya: Kid's wacky."</div>
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<div>"He played seven years of Independent ball and I bet you 99.9 percent of the population in America that knew him was like 'When is he going to hang it up?'" says Beauregard. "[He's] going to do all he can to make the Minnesota Twins the best possible team that they can be or whatever team he is a part of for the remainder of his career."</div>
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<div>Colabello himself says that he never once considered quitting because baseball meant so much to him. He said that he promised himself he would play as long as three things held up: 1) Physically he could do it, meaning he was capable physically, financially, and emotionally, 2) That he was still having fun playing the game, and 3) That he felt like he was getting better. "I felt that was the most important one and over the course of time, that just kept happening," he says. "More than anything, my hunger to get better grew."</div>
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<div>Colabello says the fraternity of players that have gone from Independent ball to the majors has welcomed him.</div>
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<div>"It's funny, when you're in Independent ball, you have a tendency to really keep an eye on the guys out there," he says. "You keep close tabs on those guys because you know what it took to endure over there and kind of get through it." Colabello speaks highly of players like John Lindsey and Steve Delabar, who made it to the Show after playing Indy ball and says he looks up to Daniel Nava, who has had success with the Red Sox.</div>
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<div>Gedman feels that Colabello has made a major impact on the Canadian-American league and the players playing in it. "New anybody who plays in Independent ball can go, 'If Chris Colabello can do it, why can't I?'" he says. "For whatever the reason or for however it happens, it gives that league a valid reason to be there. Yeah, you can get there from here. It might be a hard road, but if somebody gives you an opportunity, you never know. "That's what makes his story so special."</div>
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<div>For Colabello's part, he's just focused on the moment. His long-term goal, of course, is to play into his 40s, but right now it's about making the team and producing at age 30. "Hitting .300 has always meant the world to me, for whatever reason. From when I was a little kid, I understood what it meant to hit .300 and we have the epitome of that guy in this clubhouse every day," he says. "To watch Joe Mauer go about his business and be as steady as he is every day, he's so poised." Colabello says that he is at his best when he breaks down an at-bat into its most basic form form: a battle between a hitter and the pitch that is thrown. He knows he'll stay as long as he can produce at the plate, and he has proven he can hit at every level except the game's highest. In order to take his game to the next level, he will focus on each individual moment rather than the big picture.</div>
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<div>"A lot of times we catch ourselves focusing too much on the future instead of staying in the present," he says. "Aspirations of what you want to be down the road have to come from the individual moments."</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>For Minnesota Twins Pitcher Kyle Gibson, Tommy John Surgery Was a Learning Experiencehttp://exching.com/post/for-minnesota-twins-pitcher-kyle-gibson-tommy-john-surgery-was-a-learning-experience2015-03-05T10:14:43.611000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>Kyle Gibson is aware of the long list of pitchers this season that have undergone Tommy John surgery. The Minnesota Twins pitcher is happy that he is pitching well now that he is two years removed from the procedure, but he still laments that it is becoming routine for hurlers to have go under the knife.</div>
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<div>"As a pitcher, I wouldn't call it scary," he said. "Everybody knows it's part of the game. Unfortunately I see it become more and more part of the game. I have no idea why.".</div>
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<div>SB Nation has compiled a Tommy John "<a href="http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2014/4/30/5668068/mlb-tommy-john-surgeries-complete-list-2014">Kill Sheet</a>," and with names like Matt Harvey, Josh Johnson and Jose Fernandez recently joining that list, teams are left wondering what is at the root of this epidemic. "I don't know the reasons why all of a sudden now this elbow thing's coming up where I don't think anybody’s treating pitchers any differently," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "I don't think they are doing anything different in college or high school, I think it's just the violent motion of throwing a baseball."</div>
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<div>Gibson, who had the procedure done in November of 2011, has no solution to Tommy John surgery. Instead, he sees it as a learning experience. The rehabilitation he went through taught him new techniques he could use to strengthen and preserve his arm, and the year away reminded him of how much he loved baseball.</div>
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<div>He understands the importance of good mechanics and preserving the arm at a young age, but says that sometimes pitchers who were instructed by wise coaches still get injured. Gibson does not want to fundamentally change the game of baseball by having pitchers throw four innings or toss the ball from a lower mound, nor does he want to see young pitchers to see the surgery as a magical procedure that will help them reach the big leagues. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to learn techniques to stay healthy and throw harder following the surgery.</div>
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<div><b>It can happen to anyone</b></div>
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<div>When Joba Chamberlain and Stephen Strasburg underwent Tommy John, experts blamed the "Inverted W," a pitching technique both players implemented where they picked up both elbows above the shoulder during the cocking phase of the pitch. But Harvey, the Mets ace, had sound mechanics and also was sidelined due to a UCL tear.</div>
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<div>"You've got guys that are talking about mechanics and the inverted W, you've got guys that had Tommy John that don't do that so it could just be something where you throw for a long time, and you throw hard for long enough, and your arm just wears down," said Gibson. "You just try and stay on top of it as much as possible and keep your conditioning up, but some of it is luck," he continued. "I mean, who knows? Like Matt Harvey, who thought Matt Harvey, who has really good mechanics, is going to get hurt?"</div>
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<div>Tommy John himself <a href="http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2014/4/30/5668068/mlb-tommy-john-surgeries-complete-list-2014">came out and said</a> that he feels that the reason so many players are having the surgery named after him is because they specialize so young and play year round. Others blame high school and college coaches that emphasize winning over player health, often letting pitchers throw over 100 pitches if they continue to get players out in latter innings.</div>
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<div>Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony says that he looks into a player's history before drafting him, but will not be dissuaded from drafting a player that is considered Tommy John prone. "You look for arm action probably as much as anything. Some guys just have a little more risky arm action, but you gotta be careful," he said. "A lot of it major leagues clubs can't control because of what a player has done coming up in high school or if you went to college, how he was used, pitches that he threw, when he started throwing the ball, if he pitched year round.</div>
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<div>"There's so many factors you can't control. You get the pitcher at that stage of his career, and go from there."</div>
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<div>The Twins knew that Gibson may be injury prone coming out of the University of Missouri, but took him at No. 22 overall in 2009 and gave him a $1.8 million signing bonus. "When we drafted Gibson out of college, he had a stress fracture in his forearm, and a lot of people said that was a precursor to Tommy John, and we all knew that was a possibility," he said. "He ended up having Tommy John, but if that's behind him now, and he goes on and pitches the next seven years, we'll know the issues were well worth it."</div>
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<div>Gibson understands Tommy John's argument and does not discourage kids from playing other sports, but he also says that the only way to improve arm strength and pitching motion is to actually do it. He says it's like a runner: The only way to get better at sprinting is to go out and sprint. Yes, it may be a more natural motion, but it's the same basic concept in his mind.</div>
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<div>"The only way to throw harder is to break those muscles down and build them back up," he said. "It's kind of a double-edged sword: If you want to throw hard and you want to make your arm stronger, you've got to go out and throw. There is no magic exercise that's going to do that for you."</div>
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<div><b>Don't change the game</b></div>
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<div>As the number of pitchers undergoing Tommy John increases, baseball writers have begun mulling ways to reduce the amount of UCL injuries among starting pitchers. Esteemed <i>Sports Illustrated</i> scribe Tom Verducci wants to see the league <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20140513/jose-fernandez-miami-marlins-injury/">lower the mound</a> while Anthony Murray of <i>The Atlantic</i> suggested that teams <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/04/one-way-to-keep-mlb-pitchers-healthy-limit-starters-to-4-innings/361331/">limit MLB starters to four innings</a>. Both options have gained some traction, but neither is appealing to Gibson.</div>
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<div>"In general, it doesn't matter what athletic profession you're in. Your career is a short career," he said. "To take somebody that is just getting into the league and limiting them to four innings, maybe not ever seeing what they can do late in the game probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense."</div>
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<div>Besides being energized by their competitive nature, pitchers become accustomed to the mound being a certain height and pitching a certain amount of pitches. They develop habits early on that allow them to pitch accurately at a high velocity, and dramatic changes to the game could be detrimental both to their performance and to their health.</div>
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<div>He praises pitchers like Anthony Swarzak, a Twins reliever that is able to throw any amount of pitches in just about any setting. The former starter is used both in long relief and spot duty and has traditionally handled an inconsistent workload well since being moved to the bullpen (Swarzak only had 5 starts in 2012 against 39 relief appearances. In 2011, he had 11 starts and 16 relief appearances. You could probably say he's been close to full-time relief for at least two years prior to this; arguably three. That's why I nixed "last year.")</div>
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<div>"You've got to have the right mindset, and if you ask these guys, they're comfortable knowing their role and to do as good as they can in that inning or with one batter," he said. "To expect all of these guys to go out there and have their mindset open and say, 'I'm going to throw three innings today,' that’s going to be difficult for a lot of guys."</div>
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<div><b>It's not a magical procedure</b></div>
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<div>In May, Gregg Doyle, a national columnist for <a href="http://cbssports.com/">CBSSports.com</a>, wrote that Tommy John is becoming a <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/general/writer/gregg-doyel/24554338/growing-addiction-among-baseball-players-tommy-john-surgery">growing addiction</a> among young pitchers. Dr. James Andrews, a preeminent sports surgeon who has operated on Stephen Strasburg, Adam Wainwright and Joe Nathan, said that he has to turn away many adolescent players that want to get on the operating table before they enter college thinking it will help them improve their game.</div>
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<div>"The ones we have the most trouble with are high school players, sophomores and juniors," he told Doyle. "They're worried about their career and going to college, or worried about getting drafted out of high school, and their parents are pushing."</div>
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<div>Andrews said that he could have a player like that ready for surgery in 15 to 20 minutes, but refuses to do so because the surgery is not foolproof. The procedure entails holes being drilled into the bones of a pitcher's upper and lower arm and a tendon from the pitcher's arm or leg getting snaked through those holes in a figure-eight pattern to stabilize the elbow. It isn't a simple operation.</div>
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<div>"I wouldn't ever tell somebody to go get Tommy John just to throw harder," said Gibson, who has had two elbow surgeries. "I don't think you can really appreciate what the sport does for you until you're actually aware of it. You take a year off and you don't get to enjoy the fun and excitement of being on a team."</div>
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<div>Gibson says it is all about the rehabilitation. Growing up, he threw long toss as long as he could during the offseason to build up arm strength and made that part of his rehab, but he also learned new techniques to build up his arm and shoulder while staying on a strict regimen. It was the rehab, he says, more than the surgery that allowed him to have success after the operation.</div>
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<div>"Once you get to pro ball, it's a lot on yourself, and it's a lot of self-discipline," he said. "Even me this year, there's times when I don't really have my shoulder working, and when you're rehabbing you've guy a guy standing right next to you [giving instructions]. They keep on top of you because they understand how important that rehab process is.3</div>
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<div>"If I probably took that same diligence that I had for that 12 months and applied it to every day after Tommy John, I'd probably have a lot better chance of staying healthy. That's kind of the goal, is to take what you learned in the process and use it as part of your routine."</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Joe Mauer: Hometown Hero to Local Scapegoathttp://exching.com/post/joe-mauer-hometown-hero-to-local-scapegoat2015-03-05T10:14:45.279000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>Six-time All-Star Joe Mauer is going to miss the Midsummer Classic with an oblique injury this year. This would normally not be cause for alarm -- Mauer missed it in 2007 and 2011 as well -- except that the game is being played in Minneapolis, and Major League Baseball designated him the All-Star Ambassador in April, meaning that he will be hosting the event. The three-time AL batting champion, three-time Gold Glove winner and four-time Silver Slugger will have to glad-hand at the FanFest while knowing he is not on the All-Star team this season. “It’s been a trying year," Mauer admitted the morning after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. “It’s frustrating any time you go on the DL, but’s it’s even more frustrating when you feel like you’ve been playing pretty well lately, and it felt like things were going my way."</div>
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<div>The key phrase with Mauer this season has been “stick to the plan." Through all his early season struggles that have accompanied his move to first base and recovery from concussion, Mauer has been trying to do what has worked for him his whole career -- with mixed results.</div>
<div>“I’m feeling pretty good, actually, which is even more frustrating because I’m hitting a lot of balls hard and not having much to show for it," he said at the end of May. “Hopefully that turns here soon. I just have to try to have some good at-bats and keep having some good at-bats and hopefully they keep falling."</div>
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<div>“It is un-Mauer-like, but he’ll get going," general manager Terry Ryan assured the media following the press conference announcing the signing of Kendrys Morales. “His track record is too good, his health is too good, there is no reason he can’t string together four or five games quickly and, all of a sudden, it’s happening.</div>
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<div>“It’ll return. He’ll have a way of figuring things out."</div>
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<div>“My experience with Joe is when it’s all said and done his numbers are going to be there," offered Terry Steinbach, himself a Minnesotan and former catcher. “Sometimes he starts off quicker, sometimes he starts a little bit slower, but he’s a professional hitter, a great hitter, and just through the course of time, it’s gonna happen."</div>
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<div>“It doesn’t happen overnight," echoed Gardenhire back in May. “We’re only a month into the season. He’ll be fine."</div>
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<div>Mauer Apologists. That’s what anybody who has brushed off the former catcher’s sub-par numbers at the plate have been called. In reality what people are saying is: <i>He’ll get better.</i> And recently, he has. But still, .250, .260 or .270 doesn’t make you a major league All-Star, especially at first base.</div>
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<div>Maybe it’s that thought -- the insistence that he’ll get better as long as he trusts the process -- that results in Mauer taking the brunt of the blame for the Twins’ downfall since 2010. He is a microcosm of the Twins Way: Keep doing it the way it’s been done and results will follow. That’s not to say Minnesota has eschewed advanced statistics -- they hired Jack Goin <a href="http://www.twincities.com/ci_23098690/minnesota-twins-join-moneyball-era-behind-mystery-man">primarily as a stats guru</a> -- or that they are completely averse to change. But they believe in a system that works and tend to stick to it.</div>
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<div>Having said that, we’ve seen a little more frustration from Mauer than in years past. Typically laconic and reserved, Gentleman Joe has piped up recently, at least by his standards. When he says, “It’s funny, I feel I’ve had some bad pitches called on me," as he did in mid-April, he’s saying a lot. When he says, “I’m probably a lot more frustrated than those people who were booing," as he did at the end of May, he’s saying a lot. When he says, “It’s hard to deal with, All-Star Game or not," that’s big.</div>
<div>People confuse his stoic nature with indifference. He cares, and the losing wears on him.</div>
<div>He’s never going to have a Kevin Love moment where he tells a reporter that his team do not have a plan, even though the team has had three 90-loss seasons and only one winning season since he signed his eight-year, $184 million contract in 2010. He’s never going to get upset with the fans, even when they booed him for getting injured in 2011 and for slumping this year, even though he knows many of those same fans would have treated him like he was LeBron James if he had announced he was going to join the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or another big-market team before signing his blockbuster deal.</div>
<div>He’s never going to say it, but he’s probably not thrilled that he shoulders a lot of the blame for the team’s recent losing records. Twins fans got used to division titles. Twins fans got used to playoff appearances. Twins fans were expecting that with the opening of a new ballpark, the team would become the St. Louis Cardinals North. Instead, they became the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Milwaukee Brewers -- teams that got new parks and emptied them out with losing seasons.</div>
<div><b>Mauer has become the scapegoat for the Twins’ organizational issues</b></div>
<div>There’s a lot more people tweeting about Mauer’s inadequacies that those of the Twins front office. Sure, people talk about <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5421810">Ramos-for-Capps</a>, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3131988">Garza-for-Young</a> and <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5902767">Hardy-for-Hoey</a>, but Bill Smith is not scapegoated for the Twins’ failures like David Kahn is for the Minnesota Timberwolves woes.</div>
<div>Blame often falls squarely on Mauer’s shoulders even though it’s not his fault that the rotation combusted in 2011 and hasn’t fully recovered. There isn’t much thought given to the fact that Michael Cuddyer, Matt Garza, Francisco Liriano, J.J. Hardy, Carlos Gomez and Justin Morneau are all playing on different teams now. And few people mention that recent first round picks, Chris Parmelee (2006) and Aaron Hicks (2008), haven’t panned out so far and that a third, Trevor Plouffe (2004), has offered inconsistent production.</div>
<div>But Mauer is making $23 million and he doesn’t hit home runs, he’s been slumping this year and he plays every day -- so blame him. It’s simpler to blame one man than many. He’s Bill Buckner. He’s Steve Bartman.</div>
<div>Nobody talks about how the Red Sox were up two runs at the top of the 10th in 1986. Or how the New York Mets tied the game by hitting three straight two-out singles off of Calvin Schiraldi and coaxing a wild pitch from Bob Stanley. Or that the Boston Red Sox <i>were leading 3-0 in Game 7</i> and blew that lead.</div>
<div>All they talk about is the ball that rolled between Buckner’s legs.</div>
<div>Similarly, in the Bartman case, nobody talks about how Mark Prior walked Luis Castillo on a wild pitch following the incident, allowing Juan Pierre to advance to third. Or that Alex Gonzalez mishandled a routine double-play ball that would have gotten them out of the inning. Or that it was the <i>eighth inning and the team was leading 3-0 before Bartman reached over the outfield wall</i>. All they talk about is Bartman’s ill-advised attempt to catch a foul ball.</div>
<div>Yes, Twins fans are fed up with the organization. Once a model for how a small-market team should be run -- akin to the Oakland Athletics or Tampa Bay Rays -- Minnesota is creeping towards Seattle Mariners territory. Plouffe, Parmelee and Hicks are looking more and more like Dennis Ackley, Justin Smoak and Mike Zunino every day. They have been accused of fostering a “country club" culture, one that has refused to adapt to today’s game with platooning and advanced metrics.</div>
<div>Some of that is true, some of it isn’t. But the bottom line is Mauer is the one that gets pilloried. He’s Mr. Minnesota Twin. He advocated keeping manager Ron Gardenhire when his contract was up last season. He is quiet and patient, and he has never complained about the way things are done in Minnesota despite the recent losses that have piled up.</div>
<div>As a result, he’s been accused of being soft, greedy and complacent. People got mad when he took off time due to leg injuries and his concussion and other minor ailments. They can’t stand that he makes $23 million and hasn’t hit more than 20 home runs since his MVP season in 2009. And they don’t like that he doesn’t seem upset when he’s slumping.</div>
<div>The bottom line is Joe Mauer went from hometown hero to scapegoat since signing long-term with the Twins in 2010. The real question is: How did this happen?</div>
<div><b>He could have been Minnesota’s LeBron James</b></div>
<div>Think back to 2010. The Twins were in a much happier place: The team had just won its fifth Central Division title, had a strong core of players on the major league roster and were opening a new ballpark. Minnesota appeared to be on the cusp of breaking through against the New York Yankees -- eventually David had to slay Goliath -- and their homegrown catcher was going to lead the way.</div>
<div>Mauer was coming off of an MVP season, hitting .365/.444/.587 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs. No. 7 jerseys were flying off the shelf, and the Twins had to assure that they would sell out their new stadium, Target Field -- the House that Mauer Built. Had they not re-signed him, $184 million price tag or not, not only would the “new era of outdoor baseball" have been a tougher sell, but Mauer would have become public enemy No. 1 in Minnesota.</div>
<div>In the same year that LeBron James made “The Decision" to “Take his talents to South Beach," leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, it would have been yet another blow to die-hard, small-market fans. It may be harder to fathom now following the three straight 90-loss seasons, but Mauer would have been LeBron. Someone would have burnt a jersey. He would have been booed -- not for being injured or slumping, but for betraying the place where he was born and raised.</div>
<div>The basketball analogy is apt here too because had Mauer chosen basketball, and had the ability to be an NBA star, perhaps his scapegoating would have been a little more justified. LeBron was able to carry an undermanned Cavs team to the NBA Finals in 2007, but he was able to get them to the playoffs five years in a row before departing to join Miami. One player can drag a team to the playoffs in basketball, but the same cannot be said in baseball. Mauer can’t bat in the 3-, 4- and 5-hole. He can’t pitch in the rotation. He’s one of nine guys on the field; not one of five.</div>
<div>There are a few people that have disliked Mauer since the beginning -- not enough power, too quiet -- and, to be fair, they’ve remained consistent, even through his better seasons. At the same time, no matter how much you think of one player, he can only do so much. Joey Votto can’t turn the Cincinnati Reds into the Big Red Machine. Andrew McCutcheon can’t turn the Pirates into the We Are Family team of 1979. Mauer can’t turn the Twins into Cardinals North.</div>
<div>It can’t go without saying, though, that there are many people that held Mauer up to be a hometown hero, a baseball god, but as soon as he suffered knee and head injuries -- as soon as he became human -- he was treated like LeBron sans the jersey burning. LeBron left his hometown to chase a ring; Mauer decided to try to win one in Minnesota. He wants to win a championship for his hometown, and there’s something to be said about that.</div>
<div><b>Mauer might turn out to be Minnesota’s Tony Gwynn</b></div>
<div>Let’s start with the numbers. Mauer is hitting .320/.401/.461 lifetime with 107 home runs and 662 runs batted in. He is in his 11th season with the Twins and his wins above replacement (WAR) is 45.0. Gwynn played 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres (1982-2001), hit .338/.388/.459 with 135 HR and 1138 RBI. He owns a WAR of 68.8.</div>
<div>Mauer is 31; Gwynn retired at 41. The only year Gwynn hit below .300 was in his rookie season, 1982, and had four of his best seasons between 34 and 37, leading the league in average with video game numbers -- .394 (in the strike-shortened 1994 season), .368, .353, .372 -- and retired with a .324/.384/.461 line, which is about what Mauer hit last season (.324/.404/.476) when he won his fifth Silver Slugger Award.</div>
<div>In order to be Gwynn, however, Mauer has to keep hitting like he did in his 20s, which is no easy task. Even in his injury-riddled 2011 season he hit .287/.360/.368, but time will tell how much those injuries, combined with a concussion last season, will affect him in his 30s.</div>
<div>Some people have called into question how history will view Mauer. If Gwynn is any indication, a congenial player that stays with one team throughout his career will be received well. It wasn’t a large topic of discussion that some of those Padres teams Gwynn was on were undermanned or that he never took his talents north to try and win a World Series with the Dodgers or Angels -- or went to the East Coast for that matter.</div>
<div>It seems that people still value a player that wants to win in a certain location, especially if a player calls that place home.</div>
<div><b>He might not be worth $23 million anymore, but does it matter?</b></div>
<div>Mauer’s contract ends during his age 35 season, and he will likely take less money. This is more as a result of his change from a catcher to first baseman than to his production at the plate. Once a prolific offensive threat at the catcher’s position, his lack of power is more scrutinized now that he is at a position where home runs are expected. He still could command a hefty sum if he continues to hit as Gwynn did in his late 30s, but it is unlikely that Mauer will be worth $23 million. The sad truth is that as soon as Mauer sustained that concussion last season, his value dropped, even if he is worth more in Minnesota because of his roots and community outreach in the Twin Cities.</div>
<div>Keep in mind, however, that he was making less than $500,000 during his first three seasons and didn’t make seven figures until his MVP season in 2009. In some ways, by keeping him around, the Twins got good value out of him during the entirety of his career.</div>
<div>The Twins have been criticized for putting Mauer at first base -- as opposed to moving him to third or the outfield -- but Gardenhire counters by saying that it is a position where he is involved in just about every play. “I read somewhere somebody said we’re wasting his athletic ability at first base," said the skipper back in May. “Well, I have a hard time with that statement. The ball goes there as much as it did [when he was] the catcher."</div>
<div>Gardenhire says the Twins have tried Mauer at third, but that move doesn’t make a lot of sense. Trevor Plouffe has improved defensively since being moved from shortstop to the hot corner two years ago. He’s shown he’s capable of hitting for power (24 home runs in 2012) and is hitting more doubles this season, although he has yet to raise his average and still has to prove that he can stay healthy and replicate his power numbers from two years ago. They probably want to play Plouffe out, knowing he is in the prime of his career, could have some value, and was a former first round pick.</div>
<div>Another reason third base doesn’t make much sense is that blue-chip prospect Miguel Sano is projected to play there in the major leagues. This could become a predicament, however, if his arm does not recover fully from Tommy John surgery and he has to be moved to first base, or suffers further injury, creating an additional setback.</div>
<div>“We tried third base way back," Gardenhire says in regard to Mauer. “I got hit in the knees standing behind him, and we cancelled that one when he missed the ball and got me."</div>
<div>Gardenhire says that the team has considered the outfield with Mauer, but it was foreign to him. While Mauer played some other infield positions in Little League and high school -- shortstop, second, third -- he didn’t play much in the outfield. “Some guys profile out there as outfielders, and Joe could probably do that," he said. “He can run, he can probably run the ball down if he had done it his whole life, played the outfield, but I’m venturing to say that’s not something he was accustomed to."</div>
<div>“When I put him in right field, he told me that’s the most afraid he’s ever been on a baseball field," Gardenhire continued, chuckling. “That’s not a good statement. He could do it if you give him more time, but the ball doesn’t come there an awful lot. It comes to first base."</div>
<div>Even the outfield is getting kind of jammed. Byron Buxton is supposed to be the franchise center fielder, Oswaldo Arcia will be expected to play right and Aaron Hicks will play left -- assuming he can get his swing figured out. Chris Parmelee also can be used as a bench player in right.</div>
<div>Mauer is likely to be a first baseman for the rest of his career. The key will be making the adjustment at the plate as well as in the field. After moving out from behind the plate, Mauer has had some trouble tracking pitches because he is no longer catching. “There’s a reason why he’s a great hitter, “says Gardenhire. “He uses the catching part of it as tracking pitches too and seeing the ball, and I thought that was pretty good stuff. That’s not something that you think about too often, so that’s an adjustment for him."</div>
<div>While his numbers are more common among first basemen then they are among catchers, if he continues to hit .300 and drive in runs, even with a dearth of power, he’ll be worth spending money on. In the end, there are no salary caps in baseball, meaning that to an average fan, it really doesn’t matter how much the Twins spend on him. What does matter, however, is that Minnesota spends the money to put a good team around him -- something they haven’t been able to do since the mass exodus of talent in 2011.</div>
<div><b>Ultimately, the Twins have to put a team around Mauer</b></div>
<div>Since Mauer joined the Twins in 2004, Mauer has seen plenty of his talented teammates leave the organization. Gone are Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Francisco Liriano, Matt Garza, Kyle Lohse, Torii Hunter, J.J. Hardy, Carlos Gomez and many other All-Stars. Not all great players can stay within the organization, but that’s an awful lot of talent that has departed. Morneau’s departure hit Mauer the hardest and, back in 2010 when the M&M Boys were the showcase stars for the new ballpark, nobody thought he was going to end up somewhere else.</div>
<div>Minnesota is unlikely to go out and spend millions of dollars to create a makeshift team around Mauer, especially because that kind of spending doesn’t often work -- even for big-market teams. At their core, the Twins are still the draft-and-develop team they always have been, only now they should be able to keep their stars. For the Twins to win a championship with Mauer, they are going to have to work with what they’ve got.</div>
<div>Alex Meyer and Trevor May are going to have to come up and supplement a rotation that will include Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson. The core bullpen -- Glen Perkins, Casey Fien, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak and Caleb Thielbar -- has to stay intact and be supplemented. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano have to pan out. Aaron Hicks has to turn his career around. Brian Dozier needs to continue to play like a franchise player, and Josmil Pinto has to develop defensively behind the plate while maintaining his swing.</div>
<div>On top of that, the Twins still need a shortstop: Eduardo Escobar, Eduardo Nunez or someone from the outside. Chris Parmelee and Chris Colabello are wild cards that could find a spot in the lineup if they can produce consistently. And, of course, there will be free agent signings and call-ups.</div>
<div>In the end, the Twins need more superstars like Mauer, so it doesn’t make sense to chase him away.</div>
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<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>The Minnesota Timberwolves Need to Trade Kevin Love to Clevelandhttp://exching.com/post/the-minnesota-timberwolves-need-to-trade-kevin-love-to-cleveland2015-03-05T10:14:43.750000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>It's time for Kevin Love to go. He is a star player that has been put in a poor situation, was knocked around by management and deserves better. For the Wolves organization, it's time to turn the page, suck up the loss of another franchise player and move on..</div>
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<div>Hanging on to Love is a losing cause at this point. Yes, there's new management; yes, the team is spending money; and yes, they did improve last year, but the damage has been done, and both Love and the Wolves could benefit from a breakup.</div>
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<div>The best move for Minnesota right now is to trade Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They own the No. 1 pick (<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/cleveland-cavaliers-win-2014-nba-draft-lottery--will-make-no--1-overall-selection-for-2nd-straight-year--3rd-time-in-four-years-002914627.html">somehow</a>), and Minnesota could use another star to latch onto. In the past, it was not the cold weather or the size of the Twin Cities that put off Love, it was the mismanagement of the team and his mistreatment that upset him.</div>
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<div><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--kevin-love-remains-unsure-about-timberwolves--future-200009299.html">Dec. 11, 2012</a> was the day that the handwriting was placed on the wall. Love told esteemed NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski in a Yahoo! Sports Article that he was fed up with owner Glen Taylor, then-GM David Kahn and his less-than-max contract. While Taylor and Love seem to have made up, and Flip Saunders has replaced Kahn, the organization still put guys like Darko Milicic and Michael Beasley around Love and drafted Jonny Flynn and Wesley Johnson instead of Steph Curry and Paul George early in his career. That combined with the fact that he did not get a max contract seem to have caused irreversible harm to the organization's relationship with Love.</div>
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<div>Like the <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/north/story/latest-target-center-renderings-show-more-transparent-glassy-facility-051314">Target Center itself</a>, the Wolves need to be refurbished. It's time to send Love on his way, acquire the No. 1 overall pick Minnesota has somehow missed out on in 10 consecutive lottery appearances and build around a new superstar: Andrew Wiggins.</div>
<div>It is in Minnesota that Wiggins, a Canadian, can become Maple Jordan. Instead of putting him on a team with bare cupboards or where he is not a fit, he will be put into a situation where there is a need at small forward and veteran players around him that will take pressure off the 19-year-old Kansas University star.</div>
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<div>Here is how this will work: Using a trade <a href="http://nba.si.com/2014/05/21/kevin-love-trade-ideas-minnesota-timberwolves/?eref=sihp">suggested by Rob Mahoney</a> of <a href="http://si.com/">SI.com</a>, Minnesota will deal Kevin Love, J.J. Barea and Alexey Shved for Anderson Varejao, Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and the No. 1 overall pick. This unloads Love, who could leave as a free agent for nothing, Barea, who became notorious for pouting at the end of the bench and drawing technical fouls at the end of games last year, and Shved, who is a talented player that probably could use a change of scenery after spending most of last year on the bench.</div>
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<div>In turn, the Wolves get a franchise player in Wiggins when they draft him No. 1 overall, a veteran defender in Varejao who could be waived if it doesn't work out, former No. 1 overall pick Bennett for value, a rotation piece in Thompson and Waiters, who was a No. 4 overall selection in 2012.</div>
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<div>For the Cavaliers, they get a great package to offer LeBron James should he choose to leave Miami. Instead of playing with the suddenly aging Dwyane Wade and sometimes disappearing Chris Bosh, he'll get to play with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvwMsbgVNoY">Wes and Uncle Drew</a>. This will keep Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, woo LeBron back home and give another hapless franchise a chance to compete in the easier Eastern Conference.</div>
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<div>It's a win-win for both teams and, more importantly for the Wolves; a chance to start over once their new arena is ready. It's a much better solution than hoping Love stays around and seeing him leave for nothing or less value, which would make the team to wonder why they didn't trade him for the No. 1 overall pick when they had the chance.</div>
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<div><i>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</i></div>The Minnesota Twins Bullpen is a Social Experimenthttp://exching.com/post/the-minnesota-twins-bullpen-is-a-social-experiment2015-03-05T10:14:45.123000Z2014-12-18T02:10:44ZShawn Adrian<div>A quick glance at the Minnesota Twins bullpen will tell you that they have a social experiment going on in left-center field. It is a hodgepodge of characters that rely on one another to do a high-stress job that comes with little security -- no easy task..</div>
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<p>With the exception of closer Glen Perkins and veteran setup man Jared Burton, just about everyone else is making around the league minimum, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ah4PW47PiAi-dDNmdDZuOVhRTGZBSzhlTTYyaE9pREE&output=html">according to Cot’s Contracts</a>. Two converted starters, Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak, make more -- $2 million and $935,000, respectively -- but everyone except Perkins can become a free agent after next season (Burton has an option in 2015).</p>
<div>Yet, the core group has been together for a while. Perkins, Duensing and Swarzak all came through the system -- Perkins and Swarzak were drafted in 2004, Duensing in 2005 -- while Burton and Fien joined as free agents in 2012. Caleb Thielbar was promoted last season. Those six players comprise the heart of the bullpen.</div>
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<div>“It’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been a part of, and it’s been good, too, because we have the same four or five guys for this for the third straight year now," says Burton. “We all root for each other, we all kind of know how to keep each other going if you have a bad day or whatever, we know how to keep each other going."</div>
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<div>Every geographical area is covered, except for the East Coast. Perkins and Thielbar are from Minnesota. Duensing is from Nebraska. Fien is a SoCal kid; Burton and Swarzak are southern boys (South Carolina and South Florida, respectively).</div>
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<div>Some were drafted high, others passed over: Perkins (first round), Swarzak (second) and Duensing (third) were all drafted early, but Burton (eighth), Thielbar (18<sup>th</sup>) and Fien (20<sup>th</sup>) all came from the later rounds.</div>
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<p>Fien is emotional on the field; everyone else is even-keeled. Swarzak came right out of high school; the rest went to college. Perkins has a complete understanding of sabermetrics; Burton can’t stand them. And yet, despite all their differences, this group is extremely close. To understand how this works, it’s best to look at each personality individually first before observing the group dynamic as a whole.</p>
<p><strong>Casey Fien: The Emotional One</strong></p>
<p>Fien is the only player that expresses a lot of emotion on the field. Other players may be expressive in the locker room, but for the most part, all of them, by nature, stay even-keeled as much as possible. “Casey’s really the outlier as far as on-the-field emotion," says Perkins. “I wish I could be like that, but it’s just not my personality or my style."</p>
<p>Early on in his career, Fien, who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 20<sup>th</sup> round out of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., was occasionally told by his minor league coaches to calm things down a bit. But he says that his personality has been embraced in Minnesota, and it is part of the reason why he resurrected his career with the Twins after being released by both the Tigers and Houston Astros. “I was a little nervous with it in the beginning," he admits, “but then Andy (pitching coach Rick Anderson) told me, he goes, ‘It worries me when you don’t show emotion’ because that’s when I know you’re thinking too much. Just let it go, let it loose."</p>
<p>As a result, Fien can be seen pumping his fist violently when he strikes a batter out, leaping in the air when he gets out of an inning or yelling at himself when he gives up a lead.</p>
<p>These emotions are genuine and were not always part of his game, even when they weren’t suppressed. When he was coming up with the Tigers, he often performed mop-up duty when the game was out of hand. That meant he came into games where his team was up 10-1 or down 1-10; rarely did his pitching affect the outcome of the game. “It’s kind of like ehh…well, c’mon," he says, laughing, “but now that I’m pitching in bigger situations, the crowd is more into it. I just fuel off the fans pretty much."</p>
<p>He says that he has always been an emotional guy, but rarely shows it like he does now. He made his major league debut in 2009, but only pitched 11 games in his first two seasons with the Tigers, did not play in the major leagues in 2011 and spent that summer <a href="http://www.twincities.com/ci_23474222/twins-pitcher-casey-fiens-winter-mexico-is-one">playing in the Mexican league</a>. It wasn’t until he was in a Twins uniform that he regularly started playing in front of significant crowds on a regular basis. “I’ve always been an emotional guy, but I’ve usually never shown it like I do now," he says. “But when you’re in front of 35,000 fans, and you hear them roar, I mean, if you can’t get up for that, then you shouldn’t be playing baseball."</p>
<p><strong>Caleb Thielbar: The Everyman</strong></p>
<p>Thielbar was playing for the St. Paul Saints in 2011. The Milwaukee Brewers had released him two years after drafting him in the 18<sup>th</sup> round, and the former South Dakota State pitcher appeared to be out of the major leagues. He spent two years in rookie ball and never got past Class A.</p>
<p>Two years later, the Randolph, Minn., native went <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/north/story/scoreless-streak-put-rookie-caleb-thielbar-in-record-book-071013">19 2/3 innings without allowing a run</a> to begin his career with the Twins.</p>
<p>I covered his ascent from the Saints to the Twins <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1701481-from-the-st-paul-saints-to-the-minnesota-twins-the-caleb-thielbar-story">last year</a>. In my reporting, I found him to be unchanged by his instant success. Still to this day, he has remained humble about his play, “This year I haven’t been real impressive with my performance," he says. “I have been giving up a lot of hard hit balls, and right now they’re going at people, but it’s baseball and that’s not going to be the case all the time." This coming from a player that through his first 24.0 inning pitched had only given up nine runs, had a 19:6 strikeout to walk ratio and owns a WHIP of less than 1.00.</p>
<p>He was encouraged to continue pursuing his major league career by Tyler Walker, an eight-year veteran that was playing with the Saints at the time. Thielbar learned his slider from an up-and-coming prospect in Milwaukee named Jake Odorizzi and on May 20, 2013 became the first South Dakota State player to reach the major leagues.</p>
<p>His coach in Brookings, current Sacramento State skipper Reggie Christiansen, said he is the best athlete he ever coached at SDSU. Thielbar came to South Dakota State, a newly-minted Division I program, with the ability to do a 360-degree dunk on the basketball court. That’s impressive for anybody, but especially exceptional for a guy that is a stocky 6’0", 195 pounds.</p>
<p>It’s hard to know exactly how a guy from a relatively unknown school who was drafted in the 18<sup>th</sup> round and is two years removed from independent baseball has had so much success, but Glen Perkins, a fellow Minnesotan, has a theory. “I think he got healthy," says the closer, who grew up in Stillwater. “Obviously I never saw him throw a pitch until he came to camp with us two years ago, and I know we signed him…and obviously he had a pretty good run in career.</p>
<p>“Obviously the stuff he has now wouldn’t lead you to get released so I’m guessing that his stuff has gotten a lot better, he’s gotten healthier, whatever it might be, but he’s obviously a different pitcher than he was."</p>
<p>A different pitcher, maybe, but that’s about all that has changed. That much is obvious.</p>
<p><strong>Brian Duensing: The Self-Critic</strong></p>
<p>After famously starting against CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees in the 2009 ALDS and going 10-3 with a 2.62 ERA in 2010, there was perhaps some thought that Duensing, a third-round pick out of the University of Nebraska in 2005, would be a starter in Minnesota. His ERA spiked above 5.00 in subsequent seasons, however, and he was sent to the bullpen after 11 starts in 2012 where he was a better fit.</p>
<p>During his tenure as a starter, Duensing was notoriously tough on himself. He never made up excuses in post-game interviews and could be seen crestfallen while sitting in front of his stall in an empty locker room long after the game had ended.</p>
<p>He appears to be better suited, and more content, now that he is a reliever. He throws better from the stretch and has posted a career ERA more than a full run better out of the pen than in the rotation. “There’s times where I’ll have that drive to be a starter and feel like I can still do it," he says, “but there’s days when the bullpen thing is going really well and you think, ‘Things are going well, maybe I should stay in this role.’"</p>
<p>For the time being, it appears that he’ll remain there. He appears better able to handle the ups and downs of baseball as a reliever than he did as a starter, and in a game that relies heavily on a player’s mentality, that can be as important as anything. As far as personality goes, Duensing is closest to Thielbar. “Brian’s just a normal dude," says Perkins. “That’s the weird thing about him is that he just goes out and does his thing and doesn’t really expect much at any point."</p>
<p>Duensing might not have changed much as a person, but he seems to be more at ease now that he’s a reliever -- and that’s a good thing.</p>
<p><strong>Anthony Swarzak: The Goofball</strong></p>
<p>Within a few minutes of speaking with Swarzak, it’s easy to identify him as a little goofier than the rest of his fellow relievers. Although he offers a sincere, firm handshake, he can’t hold back a playful grin. When he’s with his teammates, he tends to keep things loose with a wisecrack or a clever phrase, and his mannerisms alone are enough to turn a downtrodden player’s mood around. But as soon as he gets the call from the bullpen, he becomes as serious as any other player in the game.</p>
<p>“That’s probably why he succeeded in that role," says Perkins, who has known Swarzak since the two players were drafted in 2004, “he can flip a switch, and he pays attention, and then he really zones in when the phone rings and they tell him to get up. He probably knows scouting reports on guys as well as anyone that I played with."</p>
<p>Swarzak’s role is difficult because he can get that call at just about any time during the game. Unlike other players in the bullpen that have a set role and tend to pitch the same amount of time during each outing, Swarzak will pitch in long relief as well as high-leverage situations. “He doesn’t know when he’s going to throw," explains starter Kyle Gibson. “He could throw four innings one day a month in long relief and one inning in short relief. I mean, that’s a tough role to be in. You’ve got to have the right mindset."</p>
<p>“The year he had last year was unbelievable considering he had to be focused from Pitch 1 to Pitch 100, and that’s not easy to do," echoes Perkins. “When you know you’re going to go in a game or have an idea when you’re going into a game, it’s a lot easier to prepare yourself and get yourself in the right mindset to get ready to go."</p>
<p>“The most impressive thing is him being able to bounce back," echoes Guerrier. “He throws two or three one day, he’s available the next day to pitch if need be. That’s the hardest part is going over the hump of saying, ‘Shoot, I threw three innings two days ago. Am I available today?’ and he puts himself in a good spot."</p>
<p>“Be prepared for anything," Swarzak says of his mindset. “Make sure you are warm and your body is in good shape in case the team needs you to pick up three or four innings, and also be ready to come in with your best stuff right out of the gate to get that big double play ball with runners on first and second, first and third, whatever it is."</p>
<p>This is easier said than done, of course, and while Swarzak appears to be settled into his role in the bullpen, he holds out hope to be a starter again one day -- something that differentiates himself from both Duensing and Perkins. “I would love to start," he says emphatically. “I would love the opportunity to start. I’m never going to get rid of the windup with nobody on. It’s just something that I won’t let go.</p>
<p>“I know I can do it, but I also know my value here is to help the team any way I can, and I’m willing to do whatever I can to put on a major league uniform every day."</p>
<p>Wanting to change his role with the team even though he’s mastered an extremely difficult one in the bullpen seems a little bit goofy. But for Swarzak, that might just be fitting.</p>
<p><strong>Michael Tonkin: The New Guy</strong></p>
<p>Tonkin could have easily felt excluded when he joined the Twins bullpen this season. Yes, he was called up last season and yes, he has good stuff, but he is also a quiet, 30<sup>th</sup>-round pick that few pundits felt would ever make it to the major leagues. Most players selected that late choose to go to college, and those that don’t often spend most of their careers in the minor leagues.</p>
<p>Tonkin had his brother-in-law Jason Kubel on the team during his stint in Minnesota this year, but it was Duensing and Burton who made him feel most at home in the major league clubhouse. “Both of them have been around for a while," says Tonkin. “It’s basically the guys with the most time that I feel comfortable asking questions. Pretty much it’s as simple as that, really."</p>
<p>This is a good sign, of course, because if the veterans in the bullpen were not approachable, younger players would feel less included. Younger players like Tonkin get sent up and down frequently and don’t always feel like they are part of the team because of that, but the ability to approach veteran relievers about anything that is on his mind has made Tonkin feel welcome. “The questions aren’t always about baseball or aren’t always about strategies or facing a batter," he says, “it’s more just what do I want to do right now and where do I want to be?"</p>
<p>“He came up a little bit last year and he was just one of those kids that didn’t say much and just always had a feel of the right and wrong thing," said Burton. “He would ask questions, this and that, and he’d surprise you with something funny, too."</p>
<p>Burton won’t reveal any specifics -- he says they will stay within the clubhouse -- but says Tonkin is one of the goofiest, most random people he has ever met. “He’d be sitting, not saying a word, and then all of sudden he’d say something, and the whole bullpen would be laughing at him."</p>
<p>“He’s a good kid," says Duensing. “He comes in and he keeps his mouth shut, really. If he has questions, he asks, and he works hard and wants to win as much as the rest of us."</p>
<p>Burton and Duensing, as well as Swarzak and Fien, have specifically said that they feel Tonkin has major league ready stuff and plenty of confidence to throw it in the strike zone. He’s also noticeably raw and relies heavily on his fastball, which he likes to use to blow by batters. That strategy works in the minor leagues, where many players are not able to get ahead of his pitches, but has hurt him at the game’s highest level.</p>
<p>“You can’t just live on a fastball up here," said manager Ron Gardenhire before the team sent Tonkin down in mid-May. “He doesn’t throw 98 mph. He throws 94-95 mph, and you’ve got to have a secondary pitch, you have to have something to get them out."</p>
<p>There’s reason to believe Tonkin will be back, however, if he improves his secondary pitches. And if he does get another call up, it is certain that he will be accepted as one of the guys once again. “Tonkin’s been fun to watch," says Swarzak. “He’s got a little ways to go early on here, but he’s got the mindset and the personality to be very, very effective in a major league bullpen."</p>
<p><strong>Matt Guerrier: The Prodigal Son</strong></p>
<p>On the opposite end of the spectrum, Guerrier is the wily old veteran who is extremely familiar with the organization. Only four pitchers have made more appearances in a Twins uniform than Guerrier: Eddie Guardado, Rick Aguilera, Jim Kaat and Joe Nathan. He, along with Kubel and Jason Bartlett, was part of a wave of old faces from the team’s glory years that are ostensibly finishing up their careers in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Guerrier took a little longer to join the team than others because he was coming off of surgery that had taken place in August to repair a flexor mass in his throwing arm, but he also appears to have the most staying power. Instead of being the setup man, as he was before he left in 2010, he has embraced being more of a utility guy. “I definitely feel like I’m kind of an interchangeable piece down there," he says. “I can go a couple innings if I have to and can fill in for guys if somebody needs a day off."</p>
<p>It can’t be ignored that he is also sort of a prodigal son. The Clevelander was drafted by the White Sox and debuted with Minnesota in 2004 at age 25, but left for Southern California to join the Los Angeles Dodgers and had a brief stint with the Cubs before returning to Minnesota this season. He somehow managed to play for the Twins during most of their peak years while watching the team self-destruct from the West Coast.</p>
<p>Yet, despite missing out on Mauer and Justin Morneau’s injury-plagued 2011, the Tsuyoshi Nishioka experiment and the implosion of the pitching rotation that resulted in three straight 90-loss seasons immediately after he left, he got a warm welcome in the Twins’ clubhouse as the team makes an attempt to get above .500 this season.</p>
<p>“It has to do with the guys," he says. “Guys like Duensing and Burton are really easy to get along with and Perk’s witty and fun to be around.</p>
<p>“That makes it easier when the veterans aren’t hard-nosed tough guys and not worried about someone taking their job or something. They embrace it with another guy coming in and you gotta make them feel comfortable so they can go out there and win some games for us."</p>
<p><strong>Jared Burton: The Old School Guy</strong></p>
<p>Ask any reliever in the Twins’ clubhouse and they will tell you that, without a doubt, Perkins and Burton are the leaders of the bullpen. “Perkins obviously has that closer, leader role aspect going and Burton is more like the voice of the bullpen," says Duensing. “We feed off of each other, and we’ll talk about things -- how we want things to go, get things done or whatever, and Burton is the kind of guy that will speak his mind about it for us as a whole."</p>
<p>“They’re the key to our success last year and [show] how to be a professional, how to go about your job and what the bullpen asks of you," adds Fien, who took over Burton’s role as the eighth inning setup man this season. “They just tell you and teach you how to prepare and how to get people out in the big leagues."</p>
<p>The funny thing is that Perkins and Burton couldn’t be more different. Perkins is a first-rounder that came up a starter; Burton is an eighth-rounder that has pitched in relief since A-ball. Perkins is witty and gregarious; Burton is relaxed and soft-spoken. Perkins loves advanced stats; Burton loathes them.</p>
<p>“I don’t care anything about that," he says, emphatically, when asked about sabermetrics. “I’m a traditional guy, and what happens on the field is sacred to me. All of that stuff, yes, it’s a way for people to assess players, assess the game, but I don’t even want to talk about it."</p>
<p>Burton says this with a thick southern drawl. He’s a Carolina guy who went from an eighth-rounder out of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., to Lights-Out Levi -- a nod to his given name -- at the major league level with the Cincinnati Reds before joining Minnesota. He’s a man who will offer a firm handshake, look you directly in the eye and ask your name twice to ensure he has it right. He also is not one to get uptight about things.</p>
<p>“There’s not a lot of high-strung guys that play this game," he says, smiling. “There are a few, but most guys have a laid back side to them. It’s just kind of the vibe of this game."</p>
<p>The one thing that will make him raise his voice in disdain is somebody who tries to take humanity out of the game. Suddenly his drawl is a little less pronounced and his vowels start rolling off the tongue a little quicker than usual.</p>
<p>“It don’t mean anything," he says of sabermetrics. “It don’t have anything to do with what’s inside of a guy when he’s in a tough situation, back against the wall. It has no idea how to rate that player. The human element is pretty irrelevant and most of those guys take a number and plug it in with what they think’s going to happen and it has nothing to do with whether somebody’s locked in for a couple days or if they’re slumping."</p>
<p>While some players may fall back on advanced statistics, Burton says that his success comes as a result of how much effort he puts into preparing for a game. “Confidence is huge in this game for any offense, defense, pitching, whatever, but I always feel like if I feel prepared, then I’m going to be confident," he says, adding that he watches video and has become familiar with most of the established major league hitters by now. “I just glance at the hitters and see what their natural swing is, and then it’s just down to executing pitches.</p>
<p>“In the pitcher’s meetings, you could say, ‘This guy hits fastballs in really well,’ but if your strength is throwing sinkers in, then I’m going to bet that I’m going to execute more than him so you’ve just got to stay with your stuff more times than not and be confident in it.</p>
<p>“And if his strength is your strength, then you’re gonna go, ‘Well, I’m better than you are, so here it is.’"</p>
<div>Simple as that.</div>
<div><strong><br/></strong></div>
<div><strong>Glen Perkins: The Sabermetrician</strong><br/></div>
<p>Just because Perkins knows FIP, BABIP and WHIP, doesn’t mean that he fails to acknowledge the human side of the game. “There’s multiple ways to look at it," he says. “Being someone that understands most or all of the numbers and also someone that’s in this clubhouse and on that mound and in that bullpen, I know there’s a human element."</p>
<p>The thing about Perkins is he doesn’t seem like a guy that would delve into advanced statistics: He once forgot to <a href="http://extramustard.si.com/2013/07/22/minnesota-twins-glen-perkins-has-wardrobe-malfunction/?sct=hp_bf3_a3&eref=sihp">zip his fly</a> during an outing, <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/north/story/this-rounds-on-me-glen-perkins-hooks-up-twins-fans-091413">bought a round of beers</a> for some hard-core fans during a rain delay and <a href="http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_25532082/twins-glen-perkins-and-josh-donaldson-bark-and">picked a fight</a> with Josh Donaldson of the Oakland Athletics to get his team fired up. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was some regular old guy from Stillwater that spends his nights sipping on a Lift Bridge seasonal at Rafters or The Freight House.</p>
<p>“Perk is Perk," says Fien.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that a person who is as human as Perkins is -- seriously, he left his zipper down in front of 40,000 people -- can’t ignore that element of the game when it comes to his preparation. “The hard-core sabermetricians want to throw that out because there’s no way to quantify it and they feel that everything should be quantified," he says. “And it can’t be; it’s not possible."</p>
<p>The stat that Perkins uses most is <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/pitching/fip/">Fielding Independent Pitching</a>, or FIP, which measures what a player’s ERA should have looked like over a given time period, assuming that performance on balls in play and timing were league average. “I have a 3.00 ERA, I have a FIP that’s 1.30," he says. “I know that the longer I keep doing what I’ve been doing so far for my first 22 innings this season, that the more innings I get, the closer my ERA is going to be to my FIP."</p>
<p>“The four hits against Boston," he adds, referencing a blown save against the Red Sox on May 15, “I know that those hits are going to happen and that they’re going to find holes and then things like the other night happen, and when I give up a leadoff triple and three balls in play get hit to fielders -- it evens out and your batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is going to be what it is."</p>
<p>It ultimately comes down to a search for confidence. For Burton, it is derived from his preparation; for Perkins it is in advanced metrics, although he does rely heavily on a unique routine to get ready for his outings.</p>
<p>Instead of staying in the bullpen, he will sit in the clubhouse for the first five or six innings and then join the rest of the relievers in the seventh. He knows that he won’t have to pitch until the ninth inning and likes to watch the hitters up close on the clubhouse monitors. At that point he could care less what an opposing hitter has done in the last few days, he’s concerned about how that guy is playing on that particular day. “There’s days where guys are on and days when guys are off and you can see that on TV that day," he says. “I want to know if a guy’s bat is slow one day because maybe he went out the night before and he’s dragging a little bit."</p>
<p>That’s the balance Perkins has struck: He knows when the stats matter and when they don’t. Stats will tell you if your ERA is too high or too low and what a player has done over a course of time, but when it comes down to getting three outs with your team ahead by less than four runs, you’ve just gotta know how well each batter is doing that day. “I want to see what a guy did that day, which is kind of opposite of what sabermetric thinking would be," he says. “It’s a small sample size, but that’s all that really matters to me (that day)."</p>
<p>Perhaps it takes a man who leaves his fly open to bring the sabermetricians and old school baseball thinkers together. At the very least, the Society for American Baseball Research should add another acronym to their collection, one specifically designed for Mr. Perkins: XYZ.</p>
<div><strong>Chemistry is built upon shared burdens</strong></div>
<p>The Twins bullpen has somehow made this work. Despite their different personalities, backgrounds and approaches to the game, there is a core group in Minnesota that has found a way to get the job done -- even when the rest of the team has been performing poorly. Some of it is finding their roles -- Perkins as the closer, Fien stepping in for Burton as the setup man, Swarzak as the long reliever, et cetera -- and some of it is just the nature of sitting around with the same group of guys for hours on end, especially when many of those guys played in the minors together. But some of it is just the way it is.</p>
<p>“I mean, I think it’s just how it works," says Perkins. “You want to do well, and when I was throwing earlier in games, when I was setting up and coming in with guys on base, you almost want to try harder in those situations to pick up the guy behind you and make sure that his runs don’t score.</p>
<p>“Part of it is you go in in a certain situation, and the next day you’re back down in the pen and you want to look the guy in the eye and know that you got him and that all reciprocates."</p>
<p>The fact that most of the guys in the bullpen have specific roles is big, according to many of the relievers. In situations where the closer and setup man, or even the long reliever, is not doing his job and everyone is competing to replace him, there can be conflict among the members of the bullpen that can lead to an overall drop in performance. “No one feels like they are stepping on each other’s toes or that they are competing with the next guy or anything like that," says Duensing. “We’re all out there for the same reason and that’s to pick up the starters and give our team a chance to win."</p>
<p>That means that when Fien was able to take over Burton’s job, it was huge that he still respected him as a leader. It also is important that Fien and Burton are both capable of doing Perkins’ job if he’s had multiple outings in a row or gotten injured. And because Duensing has experience as a starter, he can fill in for Swarzak if he’s pitched a lot of innings in a row over the course of a week.</p>
<p>What it comes down to, though, is that they all face the same burdens. They all get too much work during one month and then not enough the next. They all have to come in at odd times with men on base or in high-pressure situations. They all get no attention when they do their job, but become scapegoated when they give up even as many as one or two runs during a game.</p>
<p>“You approach the game the same way if you’re in the bullpen," says Burton. “You’re down there, you sit down there, you watch the game, you shoot the s*** for six, seven, eight innings every night together. Every guy we’ve had here we haven’t had any problems with whatsoever. Any young guy that comes here, they just immediately fit right in."</p>
<div>In some ways, it may be the differences in personalities that ultimately allow all the relievers to develop working relationships. “That’s kind of why it works," offers Guerrier. “If everybody was cut from the same mold, then we’d probably clash a little bit."</div>
<div><i><br/></i></div>
<div><em style="text-align: center;">Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter</em> <a href="https://twitter.com/tschreier3" style="text-align: center;"><em>@tschreier3</em></a><em style="text-align: center;">.</em></div>
<div><br/></div>Minnesota Twins Need to Go for It in Second Halfhttp://exching.com/post/minnesota-twins-need-to-go-for-it-in-second-half2015-03-05T10:14:46.003000Z2014-12-18T02:10:43ZShawn Adrian<div><i>We’re at a point in the season where there’s a lot of baseball left: Why not the Twins?</i></div>
<div><i>I’ve read there were a handful of clubs that were chasing Kendrys; we were ahead of many of those clubs in the standings.</i></div>
<div>-- General manager Terry Ryan at the Morales signing press conference (6/8/14)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The Minnesota Twins signed Kendrys Morales a day after beating the Houston Astros 8-0 and improving their record to 29-31. Ryan felt this was a move that would improve the team’s anemic offense while also infusing a rush of confidence to the clubhouse.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Later that day, Minnesota would get routed by Houston, 14-5, and there were mixed feelings in the clubhouse. Everyone was down because the team had just lost a series to a rebuilding Astros club, but there was still a feeling of excitement in the clubhouse because of the new addition. “That does a lot just for the guys in here for how they reward our play so far," said closer Glen Perkins. “We have a similar record to what we had last year, but we think we’re a lot better team, and making moves like that, taking chances on guys and making us better goes a long way here for guys’ confidence and that we’re all on the same page here."</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The Twins never reached .500 after signing Morales. In fact, they suffered two separate five-game losing streaks and stood at 44-50 entering the All-Star Break. Morales, a designated hitter and first baseman, entered the break hitting .229/.254/.582, worse numbers than his rookie year and far lower than his .277/.329/.471 career line. “Since I last talked you about that subject," said Ryan, nearly a month later, in regards to whether the Twins would be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, “we have gone the wrong way. We’ve lost too many games, and now we’re in a tough spot. Do you know whose shoulders that falls on?</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>“Mine."</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>That was on July 6, a day before Minnesota went on a seven-game road trip to Seattle and Colorado. Before the road trip, the Twins appeared to be in fire sale mode, but after going 5-2 against the Mariners and Rockies, the dynamic shifted. “We knew coming into this whole road trip, it was not necessarily make-or-break, but it was a huge test of what we’re going to do after the break, whether buy or sell, all that stuff," second baseman Brian Dozier <a href="http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/07/13/twinsights-i-want-to-contend-i-believe-we-can-brian-dozier-says/">told</a> Mike Berardino of the <i>Pioneer Press</i>. “I want to try to do everything to contend. In all our opinions, we think we’re good enough."</div>
<div>The Twins need to go for broke right now. There is no shame in aiming for the playoffs and ending up with a 75-win record. Shoot for the moon, land among the stars, as the say. It would be an improvement, but more importantly it tells you a lot about how much team management considers the fans in their decision. The bottom line is: This is a no brainer. The Twins need try and contend for a playoff spot because a) they don’t have much to sell, and b) a fire sale creates a culture of losing, which is already forming at Target Field.</div>
<div>The time to win is now.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Lack of tradable assets</b></div>
<div>The Twins basically have four trading chips: Morales, pitcher Kevin Correia, left fielder Josh Willingham and catcher Kurt Suzuki. Only one of those guys would get a decent return: Suzuki. Morales, who was signed to a prorated $8 million contract, will be sold for cents to the dollar right now. Correia was an All-Star in 2011, but has never pitched 200 innings in a season and owns a career 4.50 ERA. Willingham hit .260/.366/.524 with 35 home runs and 110 RBI in 2012, the first year of his 3-year, $21 million contract -- at the time, the biggest free agent contract in Twins history -- but the 35 year old has become inconsistent and isn’t hitting much better than his .208/.342/.368 line last season.</div>
<div>Suzuki earned his first All-Star appearance this season after a strong first half (.309/.365/.396) but had suffered from wear and tear in his previous three seasons, batting only .230 while battling wrist issues and other ailments as a member of the Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals. Not only will teams expect his production to regress over time, but he’s valuable to the Twins right now. Without Suzuki, the team is relying on career minor leaguer Eric Fryer and outfielder/catcher Chris Herrmann behind the plate. Josmil Pinto may take over at some point, but right now his defense needs a lot of work. A 2- or 3-year extension should be in order for Suzuki, 30, this offseason.</div>
<div>If the Twins are going to trade Morales, Correia or Willingham, it would be to create space on the field for their young players. Kennys Vargas is a 23 year old that is hitting .291/.364/.480 with 15 home runs at Double-A New Britain before the break. Like Morales, he is a designated hitter that can make spot starts at first base and has shown enough to get a shot in the majors sooner than later. Correia could be moved for top pitching prospects Alex Meyer or Trevor May, who are the future of the Twins rotation. By moving Willingham, Minnesota allows Chris Parmelee, Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia and perhaps Chris Colabello to audition for a spot on the major league roster next season.</div>
<div>In this case, the Twins aren’t selling in hopes of a big return -- none of those four players, even Suzuki, would merit a Top 100 prospect -- but rather to create room for their younger players to get major league experience or compete for a spot on next year’s roster. By moving Morales, Correia and Willingham, the focus would be on selling off spare parts, not trying to add new ones.</div>
<div><b>Reversing a culture of losing</b></div>
<div>Everyone was shocked when the Twins lost 99 games in 2011. ESPN and <i>Sports Illustrated</i> had Minnesota winning the AL Central again, and nobody could have predicted that the M&M Boys -- Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau -- would suffer from significant injuries that hampered their production that season or that the rotation -- Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker -- would have imploded.</div>
<div>In 2012 and 2013, poor management decisions from years past haunted the team. The lopsided J.J. Hardy trade and failed Tsuyoshi Nishioka experiment left the Twins without a major league caliber shortstop. Delmon Young’s attitude made fans wonder why the team traded away Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett for him when there was a need for quality pitching and a plug at short. And Aaron Hicks was not ready to make the leap from Double-A when Denard Span and Ben Revere were traded away.</div>
<div>As a result, the Twins, once a model small-market team that had won six division titles from 2002-2010, whose No. 1 concern was how they would beat the New York Yankees in a playoff series, suddenly had other issues to deal with. After christening Target Field with a 94-win season in 2010, the team had become cellar dwellers in Target Field. One losing season is an anomaly. Two is the start of a pattern. Three becomes a trend.</div>
<div>Fans went from wondering why Ron Gardenhire wasn’t annually given the Manager of the Year award -- he was a runner-up for five years before winning it in 2010 -- to wondering why he had a job. He joined Tom Kelly, the man who brought two World Series to the Twin Cities, in the 1000-win club in April of this year, but he will also hit 1000 losses this season. He would have been left hanging at 998 wins last year if he had not been offered a two-year extension shortly after the 2013 season concluded.</div>
<div>Gardenhire, who only had one losing season from 2002-2010, suddenly is faced with the realistic possibility of enduring four straight.</div>
<div>This is the year to establish a winning culture again. Even though it hasn’t worked out perfectly, ownership made an effort by signing Morales, and Ryan did so by speaking his infamous words: “Why not the Twins?" There is no reason to burn it down and wait for next year. Yes, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are supposedly on the way. So are Meyer and May. But none of those players will succeed when introduced to a losing culture.</div>
<div>Trading away players at the deadline can be an effort to lay down the foundation for a winning team years down the road, but retaining players to make a playoff push -- even if it proves fruitless in the end -- can have the same effect in the right circumstances. Right now, the Twins have to approach the second half of the season like they did all those years when they came out of nowhere to force Game 163: playoffs or bust.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Kurt Suzuki Was the Perfect Signing for the Minnesota Twinshttp://exching.com/post/kurt-suzuki-was-the-perfect-signing-for-the-minnesota-twins2015-03-05T10:14:45.783000Z2014-12-18T02:10:43ZShawn Adrian<div>Kurt Suzuki replaced Joe Mauer’s production this season. Just let that sink in.</div>
<div>For how much Minnesotans complain about their erstwhile hometown hero, Mauer’s production has been off the charts since he joined the Twins in 2004. His 2009 numbers (.365/.444/.587, 28 HR, 96 RBI) will be difficult to replicate, even for him, but what made them even more impressive was he did that while catching.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>His days of chasing .400 seem far away, but before his career-altering concussion the former Cretin-Derham Hall star was hitting .324/.404/.476, good enough for his fourth Silver Slugger Award. His head injury ultimately removed him from behind the plate, and the Twins, having traded Wilson Ramos in an <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5421810">ill-fated transaction</a> years earlier, needed somebody to fill in at catcher while Josmil Pinto developed.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Suzuki was that man.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The longtime Oakland A’s backstop was hardly unknown. He was a decent hitter and solid defensive player in the South Bay from 2007-11, but his numbers dropped as he split time with Oakland and the Washington Nationals in 2012 and 2013. After topping out as a .275 hitter in 2008 and 2009, his second and third years in the league, Suzuki hit .230 in the last three years before joining Minnesota.</div>
<div>The common thought was that he was worn down from frequent, aggressive play. In Oakland he was known to play upwards of 130 games a year. In 2008 and 2009 he played 148 and 147 games, respectively, but was held to 94 games last season. The 1-year, $2.75 million contract he received from the Twins hardly suggests they thought he was going to be the offensive force he became this season, but a combination of need, fit and the fact that it was a contract year created a perfect formula for Suzuki in Minnesota.</div>
<div>While the Hawaiian probably was not thrilled about playing in the cold early in the year, he instantly felt comfortable in the Twins’ clubhouse and was well received among the pitching staff and position players. “Those catchers, man, those catchers have those personalities where they kind of click with the pitching staff and the hitters," says reliever Casey Fien. “I mean, we’re kind of segregated, but with the catchers, they’re the neutral party so they need to be with everybody. Kurt has that personality of being able to click with everybody and having something in common."</div>
<div>The question is: How does he do it? How is he having his best year at age 30? How did he fit in with a team of people that he, for the most part, didn’t know?</div>
<div>And, ultimately: Will he stay?</div>
<div><b>Replacing Joe Mauer</b></div>
<div>Six-time All-Star; three-time batting champion; three-time Gold Glove Award winner; and</div>
<div>American League MVP.</div>
<div>Mauer received all those awards while catching for the Twins. He was the anomaly: the backstop that could hit. He was the first overall pick in the 2001 draft. Paul Molitor and Cal Ripken Jr. said that he had the best swing they had ever seen. And on top of that, he averaged more than 20 points per game as a guard at Cretin and was offered a football scholarship at Florida State University to play under Bobby Bowden.</div>
<div>He had a fall from grace in 2011, of course, when he suffered from bi-lateral leg weakness, but came back and hit well above .300 in 2012 and 2013. Had it not been for his concussion, Mauer still would be calling games and Suzuki probably would have signed with another team.</div>
<div>Suzuki doesn’t deny it: He knew that he would be compared with Mauer the day he signed with Minnesota. “I believe it, and rightfully so," he says. “I’ve got so much respect for Joe. I played against him when I was with Oakland and last year with Washington a little bit. That guy goes out, he wins batting titles, he’s an MVP while taking a beating back there, and that’s impressive.</div>
<div>“He’s definitely one of the guys that I respect probably most in this league. And to be able to be on his team now, I’ll take comparisons all day long if I get to suit up with Joe."</div>
<div>“I’m not going to get caught up comparing the two players," says Jared Burton, who played with Suzuki in Oakland’s farm system, “but he’s done better than anybody could have expected. I knew he would be utilized here, especially with the move we made with Joe. It’s been perfect. He slid right in and became a great catcher for us."</div>
<div><b>A perfect fit</b></div>
<div>Burton lobbied hard among the players to get Suzuki to join the team. He had played with him in Oakland’s minor league system in 2005 and 2006 and developed a strong relationship with him before being selected by the Reds organization in the <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/minorleagues/rule_5.jsp?mc=faq">minor league portion of the Rule 5 draf</a><u>t</u> in 2007. “Whenever we played the A’s last year, Burton always talked about how Kurt was an awesome guy, somebody he would love to throw to," says Fien. “We heard a lot of good things about him through Burt, and Burt doesn’t throw around comments like that very often."</div>
<div>“I can’t imagine there being a better fit for him, personality-wise, than this team," says Burton. “When we signed him this offseason, I was really happy for this organization and happy for him because I knew he would fit right in."</div>
<div>The Twins knew what they were getting when they signed Suzuki. Gardenhire says that he talked to other teams and knew he was an asset in the locker room as well as out of it. Twins general manager Terry Ryan echoed that same sentiment about the catcher, saying he had a track record and was a targeted player, even if the team had been aiming at A.J. Pierzynski and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the offseason as well. “He’s had a pretty good career already," says Ryan of Suzuki, “even before coming here. I’m glad we have him; he’s done a nice job here. He’s good in the clubhouse, he’s good in the community, he’s produced -- I don’t know what else I can tell you."</div>
<div>Suzuki says that having Burton in the locker room helped right away, even if he is outgoing and personable by nature. “Definitely knowing some guys makes it comfortable," he says. “Having played with Burty for a few years with Oakland definitely helped."</div>
<div>Instead of addressing him as Jared, Suzuki calls him Lights Out Levi, which is derived from Burton’s given name. “Everybody has heard me call him Levi, and I don’t know if anybody would call him that," says Suzuki, laughing. “They might have, but I’ve always called him Levi since we played together in A-ball."</div>
<div>“I knew his name was Levi," says Fien, a smirk developing across his face when asked about the moniker. “Actually, I heard [the nickname] this last road trip. Me and my wife were talking to him and my wife loves his name, Levi, so then he started talking nicknames, and so I kinda knew."</div>
<div>Stockton resident <a href="http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090209/A_NEWS/902090318&cid=sitesearch">Bill Richardson</a>, a local super fan of Oakland’s High-A farm team, gave Burton the name. “He would travel on the road sometimes, and then all of a sudden you’d just hear him yelling and you’d be like, ‘Oh, he’s there.’" says Burton, shaking his head. “I took over the closer role like halfway through the season that year and pitched really well and he would yell, ‘Lights Out Levi!’ and Kurt kind of took it, and that’s what he’d call me that year."</div>
<div>Ryan says that despite their relationship and the fact that Burton was lobbying among the players to sign Suzuki, he did not reach out to his reliever in his evaluation of the catcher. “I don’t talk to players too often about that because it could be one guy’s favorite," he says, “and it could be the other guy’s enemy."</div>
<div>In this case, that doesn’t look like it would be a problem. Everyone seems to like Suzuki.</div>
<div><b>A ‘red-ass’</b></div>
<div>Suzuki grew up in Hawaii, loves to surf and listens to reggae. Put him on the diamond, however, and he gets all fired up. “He’s a red-ass," says Gardenhire. “You can print that."</div>
<div>The same guy that leads pitcher’s meetings with the composure of a CEO and offers young hurlers the calming presence of a shrink also has the incendiary qualities of his manager. “He’s got a little fire in him, and that’s okay, I like that part of it too," continues Gardenhire. “He gets frustrated when we give up runs, and he’s got a little bit of that."</div>
<div>Gibson remembers a moment when he walked a guy on a 3-2 breaking ball earlier this year. He was about to get out of the inning, but suddenly found himself in a jam. As Suzuki walked out to the mound, Gibson knew what was coming. “I can’t say every word he said," offers Gibson, laughing, “but he comes out and said, ‘That was a stupid pitch, I let you get away with it, and don’t do it again! Let’s get this guy out.’"</div>
<div>Safe to say, Gibson got the next guy out.</div>
<div>“He’s not afraid to do that," continues Gibson. “He takes pride in what he’s doing. If I walk a guy or give up a run, he kind of takes it personally."</div>
<div>“He yells at himself in the dugout," says Gardenhire, chuckling. “He takes a lot of pride in not giving up runs."</div>
<div>“I hate losing, and I hate failing," admits Suzuki, “I’m pretty intense, but between the lines I try to be laid back. There’s certain times to be the ass and certain times to be calm, but I’m just competitive by nature, and I definitely hate losing."</div>
<div>Burton believes that Suzuki developed that attitude as a walk-on at Cal State Fullerton, one of the best college baseball programs in the country. “He’s just got that mentality that he’s never going to be satisfied," says Burton. “You take a guy that walked on at a program like Cal State Fullerton and turned himself into a second rounder, that’s pretty impressive. That lets you know what he’s all about."</div>
<div>“I’ve always had to be that guy that had to prove himself. Nothing was really given to me," says Suzuki. “Having to walk on at Fullerton, my mindset is always go out there and not just prove people wrong, but prove to myself that I can do it and be successful."</div>
<div>“I had to go out there and earn it, and I believe that’s how everything should be," he adds. “You should have to earn everything you’ve got."</div>
<div><b>A natural leader</b></div>
<div>Suzuki didn’t just develop an attitude at Fullerton; he also procured a strong work ethic. He played under three coaches there that ended up being head coaches at other programs shortly after he left. George Horton, who was the head coach at Fullerton from 1996-2007, is currently the head coach at the University of Oregon. Dave Serrano, who took over for him, is currently the head coach at Tennessee. And Rick Vanderhook, who is the current Fullerton coach, was an assistant while Suzuki was there.</div>
<div>“That’s just what kind of program you’ve got when you’ve got three leaders like that that you get ready to play for," he says. “I feel very fortunate for that, and it definitely helped lead me to where I am today."</div>
<div>“He still does the same things (he did at Fullerton), still prepares as much as anybody," says Burton. “He’s watching video at the beginning of each series; he’s leading the pitcher’s meetings because he knows exactly what these guys do."˙</div>
<div>“He’s got that assertive personality," says Gibson. “He’s not afraid to say something, step up and tell you when you’re wrong and admit when he’s wrong. But he knows what he’s talking about a lot of the time."</div>
<div>“He’s our leader," says Fien, emphatically. “He’s the guy everybody goes to if we have a problem. He’s also in with the coaches; the coaches love him here."</div>
<div>“He’s one of the chemistry guys," echoes Gardenhire, “but also a very good baseball player."</div>
<div>Here’s the crazy thing: Had the Twins got Pierzynski, ostensibly their first choice, they would have gotten a <a href="http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/266590221.html">clubhouse cancer</a> -- Pierzynski signed with the Boston Red Sox and was recently designated for assignment. With Suzuki, they got an instant leader.</div>
<div>What makes Suzuki special is that he offers both the comfort of a laid-back Hawaiian dude, and the jolt of reality from somebody that has that assertive personality and will get in your face. He’s relatable to the player that needs to calm down after a bad outing as well as the guy that needs to be told he’s underperforming. He’s also a missing link: guys like Mauer and Phil Hughes tend to lead by example, Trevor Plouffe has a fun, playful energy, Brian Dozier is cheerful and conversational and Josh Willingham just says it as it is. But nobody was the igniter until Suzuki showed up.</div>
<div>“There’s guys that lead by example. He leads by example well, but he’s also got that fireball personality that allows him to speak up well," says Gibson. “It just depends on the team you have. I mean, Joe’s always been the lead-by-example guy: You rarely see him get fired up or allow his emotions to take the best of him. You need guys like both of them, so it works out really good."</div>
<div>It’s not all personality, of course. For many players it is his preparation. Suzuki knows all the hitters, the strengths and weaknesses of his pitching staff and the repertoire of the starting pitcher he will face that day. It all goes back to his college days: He was the un-recruited high schooler that had to walk on to his college team and go the extra mile to stay on it. He has a drive to be one step ahead of everybody mentally in order to let his natural talents and assertive attitude manifest itself.</div>
<div>“That’s what you need with a guy behind the plate," says Burton. “You’re unsure about what to throw to a guy, then you’re going to be confident throwing whatever he puts down."</div>
<div><b>A ‘suggestion box’</b></div>
<div>Fien says that building a repertoire with Suzuki wasn’t difficult, and after a few outings, the two had established a sublime connection -- something that is common among all the pitchers and Suzuki. “A couple games is all you need to see what is working for me to get people out and what he sees," says Fien, “and once we’re on the same page, I’ll tell him what I want to do."</div>
<div>He pauses. “But sometimes he has a different idea."</div>
<div>During one of his first outings with Suzuki, Fien said that he wanted to go fastball in. Fien does not throw particularly hard, but locates the ball well and tends to use his fastball in and out to throw hitters off balance, while mixing in a steady diet of cutters to change speeds and create movement on the ball. At 30, he has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do on the mound, but that day Suzuki walked up to the mound and had a different plan in mind.</div>
<div>“I said I want to go fastball in and he goes, ‘No, we’re not going to go fastball in,’" says Fien, “and I go ‘Alright, let’s go fastball away.’" Unhappy with the selection, Suzuki told him, “No, let’s not go fastball away, let’s throw a cutter back door."</div>
<div>“And I was like, ‘Alright, let’s go cutter back door,’" Fien says, laughing as he recalled the story. “He knows the hitters, he knows what he wants, and I don’t know why he didn’t just come out and say it."</div>
<div>Among the staff, almost everybody says they have shaken Suzuki off at least once, but because the meetings are so thorough and he knows the pitchers so well, there’s often no reason to disagree with him. “He definitely gives you the freedom to shake," says Gibson. “The more I throw to him, I wouldn’t say I ever lacked confidence in him because from the get-go, you know his history, you know how long he’s been in the league and the job he’s done with other staffs, so he just makes you feel comfortable and allows you to throw any pitch with conviction."</div>
<div>“He’s not really one of those guys (that you can’t shake)," says Burton. “He knows as a bullpen guy, more often than not we’ll come in and face a guy one time [and] we’ll go with our strength. He may put something down that may suggest something he’s seen in the video room, but we want to go with something else, and we can both live with that."</div>
<div>“Listen, I’m a suggestion box, and if a guy shakes me off and he feels 100 percent convicted in throwing that pitch, throw it," says Suzuki, his fiery attitude slowly emerging as he speaks. “Obviously if he doesn’t throw it at the right spot, we’re going to have a little talk about it."</div>
<div>A little talk, mind you, that typically involves high decibels and a few choice words.</div>
<div>“I’m a suggestion box," he says, “with a strong suggestion."</div>
<div><b>Living on the edge</b></div>
<div>On July 1, while chasing a pop up in foul territory in a game against the Kansas City Royals, Suzuki ran into a pole near the dugout at full speed. His foot slid into a hole behind the pole and he took the brunt of the impact in the chest. This was only a few days after he was stunned for a few minutes by a foul-tip to the same region and another one that hit his facemask.</div>
<div>“He’s nuts," said Gardenhire after the game. He paused for a few seconds, put his face down and laughed to himself in front of all the cameras. “I don’t know what he’s -- he’s a psycho man running through that wall," he continued. “Everyone was saying, ‘No. No. No.’ And he just kept running, and then he said, ‘That really hurt.’"</div>
<div>Everyone laughed at that comment. “It sure looked like it did," concluded the manager. “Tough guy, you know."</div>
<div>Suzuki’s toughness appeared to have caught up with him in recent years, however. He’s a guy that likes to play every day, and wrist issues, as well as general wear and tear, had caused his production to drop in his last few seasons with Oakland and Washington.</div>
<div>When asked about why Suzuki’s production has increased this season, Twins general manager Terry Ryan immediately pointed to his health.</div>
<div>“Well, he’s 100 percent," Ryan said. “I know he had some wrist issues last year. But he’s been good since the first day, he’s really solidified some of that behind the plate, allowed us to pick and choose when we wanted to play Pinto and now bringing [Eric] Fryer -- he’s got the durability and stamina, he can play a lot so you don’t have to worry too much about that position."</div>
<div>The key for Suzuki, then, is to balance being a wild man and being an everyday player.</div>
<div><b>What’s next?</b></div>
<div>There are a lot of questions surrounding Suzuki in the second half of the season: Will he stay, or will the Twins trade him? Can he keep up his production after taking a beating night-in and night-out? Minnesota will also have to weigh the risks of re-signing a 30-year-old catcher based off of one good season who may want a long-term contract.</div>
<div>Those concerns can wait until later, however. For right now, let’s just focus on this: The Twins made a savvy pickup in the offseason, and Suzuki is a perfect fit in Minnesota.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>Minnesota Twins: The 10-Game Homestand In Their Own Wordshttp://exching.com/post/minnesota-twins-the-10-game-homestand-in-their-own-words2015-03-05T10:14:46.267000Z2014-12-18T02:10:43ZShawn Adrian<div><i>The Minnesota Twins entered the second half of the season on a 10-game homestand with hopes that they could keep their team together and compete for a Wild Card spot in the American Leagueafter going 5-2 on the road before the All-Star Break.</i></div>
<div><i>Quotes are edited for brevity and clarity..</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Game 1: Tampa Bay 6, Minnesota 2</b></div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><i><b><br/></b></i></div>
<div><b>Manager Ron Gardenhire:</b> We’re chasing, and it’s pretty easy to see: we can go one way or another. We need to pick up from where we left off, we had a nice road trip, but still we’re under .500 in the first half of the season. So we’ve got to work our way to .500 and go from there, and it starts right here at home.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>We got a nice 10-game homestand inside our division for seven of them, and that’s where it all starts. We’ve gotta start playing better at home and hopefully win on this homestand, and then go from there.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>General Manager Terry Ryan:</b> It’s pivotal. We’re already six games below .500 -- that’s a long way to .500 at this juncture of the season. I would say this is an important time.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>It isn’t going to make a season, but it certainly is going to affect the trade deadline.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>We can’t afford to keep dropping back. We’re at a point now where there’s a lot of ground to be made up, and we’ve got to start making up some ground here. We can’t keep going back.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> The players are talking about trying to keep this thing together. That’s a normal conversation after the All-Star Break for every team. They don’t want to lose their teammates, and they all know it goes to how we play on the field, and that’s the bottom line. Whether we’ve done good enough to make that happen or not, it’s only upstairs.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Yes, it’s great to want to go out and keep everyone here, they’re all good buddies and everything, but we’ve got to go out and win baseball games, and whatever it takes to get this organization in the right shape, in the right place, that’s what’s going to happen.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>All we can do is worry about going and playing. We’ve got to go play; we’ve got to go win baseball games. Normally it takes care of a lot of stuff if you just keep winning.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> I’m glad to hear that they’re saying that, that’s good, because they like what we’ve got in terms of talent, they think we’re heading in the right direction, it sounds like. But it’s not like it’s the front office [shakes hand high] and the players [shakes hand low] -- we’re in this together. We want to do what’s right. We all would like to be better, and we’d all like to have a better record, and we’d all like to be closer to the playoff teams, but we’re not right now, and we have to be if we expect to hold the group together.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Hopefully we do play well in the next 10 games and maybe string together (some wins). We did a nice job prior to the break. We had a nice little run, and we had a good road trip.</div>
<div><i>Trevor Plouffe’s two-run home run was all the offense Minnesota would get that night. Tampa Bay struck early with a three-run third and Gibson went 6 1/3 innings but gave up six runs for the second time in three starts.</i></div>
<div><i><br/></i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><i><b><br/></b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> [Gibson] hung in there. He had a couple big innings.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The first three runs, the tapper back to the mound, which is probably a double play if he doesn’t tip it, but instincts tell you to try and catch the ball. That ball was probably going to Doze [second baseman Brian Dozier] for a double play.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>And then he gets a ball up to Longoria off the wall, and there’s your first three points.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>And then Zobrist, he got behind him and threw a 2-1 slider and then tried to throw a fastball away, but he threw it right down the middle. And that’s a situation where he’s got a base open. He just misfired one and the guy hit it in the seats, and that’s his five runs, really.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>He hung in there, but two big innings got him.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson:</b> Really I got beat by three, four pitches tonight.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If I field my position there in the third inning, we get a double play. And it turns out if I let the ball go, Dozier’s right there up the middle on the shift, it’s a double play and defense gets me out of the inning. And then I leave a 2-0 fastball down the middle to Longoria. And then I ended up doing the same</div>
<div>thing to Zobrist later on: 3-1, good hitter, can’t leave a pitch right down the middle in that situation.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Game 2: Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 1</b></div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><i><b><br/></b></i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> Last night was disappointing. We only had six hits. We didn’t have good damage control; they put up the crooked number. It just was not a good game for us to start the second [half] right after the break.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>We have got to do a better job -- we just did not put many good at-bats together last night. Certainly Kyle had the guy driving the ball off the wall, and it just doesn’t work. So it gets right back to execution and taking advantage of situations and damage control and all that kind of stuff, and that’s what I look for.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Last night wasn’t good. It never seemed like we were in that game. We need to do better than that.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> The names are here (for the upcoming game). Hughesy had a great first half for us and is throwing well, and we all know Mr. Price (starting pitcher David Price). If they pitch up to their capabilities, it could be a tough night for the hitters. Hopefully we’ll find a way to scratch something off of him and Hughesy will give us a good opportunity.</div>
<div>We all know that you don’t want to give up too many runs early against a guy like [Price] because he can get a lead and run. But going in there, we’ve seen him before, and if you’re competitive, you like this sort of thing. You like to face the good pitchers, just not too many of them in a row, and he’s a good one.</div>
<div>We’ll see who executes. That’s what it comes down to tonight: If he executes his pitches, he’s really tough.</div>
<div><i>Hughes gave up five runs in seven innings, including three in the second. Price only gave up four hits, and no runs, in eight.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> Three points early and we all know that guy pitching, we want to stay even with that guy; you don’t want to give him runs, and you saw what he can do. Price was unbelievable. He had great stuff tonight with all of his pitches, and he pretty much dominated us.</div>
<div>Hughesy gave up three, but actually hung in there pretty good and gave us an opportunity to get back into the game; we just weren’t able to do it. He didn’t have much, it looked like, early in the game, but he found a way to get through some innings for us, which is very important. And he gave us an opportunity to get back in there, but of course Price didn’t give us much of a chance.</div>
<div><b>Starting pitcher Phil Hughes:</b> I battled as best I could.</div>
<div>I didn’t really have much to work with tonight and kinda had to make some pitches in some sequences in situations where I normally wouldn’t have done that because I knew right off the bat that I didn’t have much. Three-run second, you put yourself in a hole against one of the league’s best, so that was obviously the difference.</div>
<div>It’s tough. You come into a series after the break, and you want to get off on the right foot and a couple nights in a row where our starters didn’t do the job.</div>
<div><b>Third baseman Trevor Plouffe:</b> It’s two games, man. It’s two games against two tough pitchers. There’s nothing that we’re going to do different, we’re going to work as hard as we’ve been working, and just try to get more guys on and get those hits with runners in scoring position, good timely hitting. That’s all you can do.</div>
<div>It’s a long season, and we’ll come back and win this next game and then go into the next series against Cleveland and try to win that.</div>
<div><b>Game 3: Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 3</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> It’s not the way we would write it up. This hasn’t been good. We talked about Price and how important that game against [starting pitcher Alex] Cobb was, and we didn’t get that, and then we have to face Price, and this guy is no slouch today. He’s pretty good as well.</div>
<div>This hasn’t started out the way we had hoped or planned, but we’ve gotta regroup here and figure out a way to grind out a couple at-bats here. Our starting pitching gave up the long ball. That didn’t help any either. Once you get in a hole, like yesterday, you could feel that it just wasn’t a good feeling.</div>
<div>Yeah, this isn’t the way we had planned it.</div>
<div>We aren’t even .500; we’re a long way from .500 (44-52), frankly.</div>
<div>We have a fair idea of what we’re doing, where we’re at and who’s ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of clubs to jump through. Without coming out and saying it, until we get to .500, we’re not exactly where we want to be at this juncture in the season. We’re not at .500, in fact, we’re way below .500. That’s not a good spot to be in.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> I haven’t even looked at any of that (in reference to being at 999 career losses before the game). I don’t think it’s going to happen [in jest]. We’re gonna win the rest of our games.</div>
<div>I’m gonna say the same thing about 1000 wins as I will about 1000 losses, it means you’ve been managing a long time and you’re getting old.</div>
<div>I’ve been managing a long time.</div>
<div><i>Correia gives up four runs in the first three innings. A late charge proves fruitless and the Twins are suddenly nine games back with the July 31 non-waiver deadline looming.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> We all saw it: 90 pitches in four innings, and it was a hard 90, not an easy 90. He labored through it, kept the damage to a minimum. But he labored through it. He really didn’t have command of too much today, and he had to fight through everything, and there were men on base, and the game was really dragging with him.</div>
<div>I think he was probably worn out by the fourth inning.</div>
<div><b>Starting pitcher Kevin Correia:</b> I feel like I just didn’t get in a good rhythm with their approaches.</div>
<div>If you throw 90 pitches in four innings it’s not that easy, but I was fine. I could have kept going.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> You know you’re running into good pitching with these guys, they got some arms, and you’re gonna have that. Today was disappointing because we had opportunities to get runs in, and we didn’t get them in. We’re desperately needing those guys to pick up some of those runs and get us back in that game, and then we can ad-lib a little bit.</div>
<div>But we left too many out there. The chances we did have were good chances to score runs, and we didn’t take advantage of them and that’s frustrating.</div>
<div><b>Correia:</b> Obviously if you’re in a situation like this, you have to win and win a lot of games. You can’t go out there and lose two in a row, three in a row -- you’ve got to string long winning streaks together to get back in it. We’re not in an ideal position, we’re not in a position where we’re looking like, ‘Oh, we need a run and we’ll make the playoffs.’</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> I can’t worry about [the trade deadline]. We just gotta keep trying to win ballgames. That’s upstairs, and there’s conversation going on. We’ll have meetings, we always do at this time of the year, talk with the staff and Terry and Rob and see where they’re at and see what they want to do.</div>
<div>But we’re not supposed to worry about it in the clubhouse. We’ve got to play baseball, we have to win baseball games, we have to figure out ways to score runs and win baseball games. That’s what we have to do in here.</div>
<div><b>Closer Glen Perkins:</b> It’s frustrating. Our expectations are higher than that, and we need to play better. That’s all it comes down to. We had a chance to win in the last couple days, and we could have pitched better, obviously, and we had a chance at the end of the game that we didn’t find a way to win.</div>
<div>We didn’t make pitches early in the game and didn’t get the hits we needed late in the game.</div>
<div><b>Perkins:</b> I know that I’m not going anywhere. We need to play better or there are going to be new faces here, and that’s what it boils down to is that either we play better or we’re going to have a new look, and that’s just how the game goes. I’ve got 24 other friends in here that I wouldn’t like to see go, but that’s the way it goes.</div>
<div>That’s the way the game works and they’re trying to make this team better, and if it means trading guys, than that is what it is.</div>
<div><b>Game 4: Minnesota 4, Cleveland 3</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> [The sweep] wasn’t good because we had a lot of momentum coming out of the All-Star Break and all those festivities; everything went great. All of a sudden we come here and we had a beautiful crowd on Friday night, and I think there was 35,000 maybe on Friday, and we just never got into the game. It’s like the air was let out of this place.</div>
<div>And then Price sent us down; we didn’t have a chance in that game. Yesterday we had a couple chances, maybe more than a couple. We had opportunities there at the end. Certainly we were in the game, we just didn’t get the hit that we were looking for, and now we’re trying to gain the trust and the faith of the fans again.</div>
<div>It was disappointing; there’s no doubt about that. You don’t have to just ask me, I think that clubhouse in there have faith in their heads, they just never got anything going. The starting pitching never set the tone: we were down 2-0 or 3-0 every game. I don’t think too many people brought this up, but Tampa Bay’s record was worse than ours when they came in here. We had a better record.</div>
<div>We didn’t play like it.</div>
<div>It was just a deflating series. Taking two of three there would have been beautiful. Winning one of three after the first two games would have been okay if we salvaged one. It’s just not a good feeling walking out of the ballpark those three days. ‘We’re gonna be okay’: Nope. Right now, we’re not okay.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> We all know they’re talking about it, and everybody’s talking about it. If you go on TV and you watch all these shows, they’re talking about it. They’re talking about all these different moves; all kinds of names get thrown out there.</div>
<div>It’s the same way every year, and you just have to put it on the backburner. It’s easy for me to sit here and say that, but out there in the clubhouse, they all know what’s at stake and there’s a lot of players where names are getting thrown around, and who knows who started them?</div>
<div>You just have to live with it; it’s part of the game. It’s a fun part for some people and not so much fun for others. Our guys are trying to cope with it as best they possibly can.</div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> That’s a dangerous question (whether anyone is untradeable) because you don’t want to put anything out there that’s not accurate. I can easily say, ‘Well, we’re in a bad spot, almost anyone on this club would be available.’</div>
<div>There’s some guys that have no-trade rights, we honor that. There are some players that under no circumstances, unless you were really overwhelmed -- you’ve always gotta listen. There’s no question about that. You can’t, before you even hear a team start talking, you’ve always got to pick up the phone and you always should be listening, and you’ve got to at least be receptive to what somebody is saying.</div>
<div>There are players on this team that would be very difficult to trade, even in the situation we were in the last four years. We have talent on this ballclub. There would be interest in many, not just one.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> I’ve always said: If your name is involved in these things, you should be happy because somebody likes you, somebody might be thinking about getting you and bringing you over.</div>
<div>Honestly, it should be a compliment to guys. I know, like a [Josh] Willingham, I know he likes it here, his family’s here, the whole package, and I think their thoughts are more towards having to move their families and all those things moreso than anything else. And he’s been traded before, so it’s not a first for him, but they should look at it as a sign of respect. People are showing respect to you as a player, if they put your name out there, as being one of the guys somebody’s interested in.</div>
<div>Willy’s definitely one of those guys, I’m sure. A right-handed power guy, so it should be a sign of respect for them. I think they should take it as a compliment and try not to worry about it, but it happens. It’s part of it.</div>
<div>My name was not mentioned when I played. Well it was, but it was back to Double-A.</div>
<div><i>Willingham hits a go-ahead homer after Cleveland ties the game in the eighth…and remains in Minnesota for the rest of the homestand. Johnson does not get his first major league win, however, and is demoted after the game.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> The ballgame was another one of those games I thought [starter] Kris [Johnson] did fine; a lot of pitches again in five innings. He didn’t attack like we were hoping he would. First inning was good, and after that he kind of picked around the zone a little too much for us. But he competed, he gave us a chance, that’s all we ask -- give us a chance -- we scored some runs early.</div>
<div>[Set-up man] Casey [Fien], I think he just missed the zone. He was going away and got one over the inner part of the plate and guy’s swing was up the middle, but fortunately for us Hammer (outfielder Josh Willingham) put a really nice swing on a ball, and Perk came in and did a nice job, and a nice win for us, a really nice win.</div>
<div><b>Game 5: Cleveland 8, Minnesota 2</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> I told [Kris Johnson], I wished I could change places with him because he’s got all kinds of ability.</div>
<div>We’ve got to get him to the point up where it’s just he doesn’t have any worries other than to get people out. Forget the pitch count and all that stuff; just get people out as far as you can go, and we’ll handle the rest.</div>
<div>We could have given it another go, but I figured, ‘Alright, that was enough to give him another go.’ He needs to get better than that. He’s better than that.</div>
<div><i>Pino allows three runs in the second, and once again in the second Minnesota fails to drive in runs with the bases loaded. The Twins score a run in the seventh to make the game 4-2, but reliever Matt Guerrier gives up four runs in the top of the ninth.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> Pino battled, hung in there pretty doggone good, we just didn’t do much offensively. We had some chances again and misfired a couple times when we had some opportunities. And then the game got a little out of whack there at the end. Matty didn’t have a good night.</div>
<div><b>Second baseman Brian Dozier:</b> Everything is good. We know what’s around the corner and stuff. We try not to think about all that stuff, but at the same time, we feel like we’re still a good ball club and that we can win some games. We’ve just go to start pitching better, playing defense better and especially hitting better with men on base, that’s all.</div>
<div><b>Game 6: Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> When we got out there Matty said, ‘I’m fine.’ Which is kind of embarrassing.</div>
<div>I was embarrassed for going out there when he told me he’s fine, and I basically screamed at him. Told him he might as well get somebody else out.</div>
<div>So yeah, that wasn’t fun.</div>
<div><i>Long reliever Anthony Swarzak gives up only one run in a spot start, the lineup provided run support, and the Twins win the series against Cleveland. Guerrier, however, is designated for assignment following the game.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> A great win for our ballclub, winning a series, and a really tough moment here because Matty Guerrier (designated for assignment) means a lot to a lot of us in here in this organization and in this clubhouse. He’s a first class guy and a really tough moment here. It kind of takes away from a big win.</div>
<div><b>Game 7: White Sox 5, Minnesota 2</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> We’ve got a lot of history with [Guerrier], me especially. We claimed him off waivers from the White Sox way back when. (Guerrier was actually acquired from Pittsburgh in 2003, but Chicago originally drafted him). We brought him in on a claim, and all of a sudden we’re designating him. It’s not the way you like to see things go, but he’s a class guy and he’s been a great member of this organization for about a decade.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> It was brutal. That’s not fun at all. We had him when I first broke in as a manager. He was a big, huge part of our bullpen, a guy that just always got it done. You could give him the ball and never worry about him. He’d take the ball every day, it didn’t matter how many innings, he never complained. He’s one of the more likeable guys you’ll have in a uniform and a lot of fun to be around, so that was really hard for all of us -- Terry, myself, Andy (pitching coach Rick Anderson) and Scotty Ullger have been around him a really long time.</div>
<div><i>In addition to designating Guerrier, the Twins traded Kendrys Morales, a mid-season acquisition, to the Seattle Mariners for reliever Stephen Pryor.</i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> Well, we’re at that time of year. We aren’t doing well on the field, and we’re getting to the trade deadline here, and there was interest in Kendrys. We thought it was wise before we got to that free agent period later in the year, it made sense to see what we could get in return, so that’s the reason. Nothing more; nothing less. It’s that time of year.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> It’s always good for a player when a player is interested in you. Kendrys has been there before. I think he liked it here. His family was here and he enjoyed his time here, but we kind of put ourselves in a position where we’re at that spot where this is gonna happen and put him in the middle of a pennant race out there, which is fun for him.</div>
<div>And we’ve got a nice little pitcher back here. A big kid who can throw the baseball. We’ve seen him, and it’s gonna happen. I got the call this morning, and there you have it. Now we’ll see where we go from here.</div>
<div><i>Hughes is injured in the third inning when an Adam Dunn liner hits him in the shin and is forced to leave the game. Reliever Samuel Deduno gives up three runs in four innings and Chicago starter Hector Noesi goes 7.2 innings and gives up only two runs.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Starting pitcher Phil Hughes:</b> It’s tough. We come off that road trip where we played pretty well, and everyone thinks we have this great big homestand, and we have a chance to turn things around a little bit, and it obviously hasn’t been the case so far. But we just have to keep plugging away.</div>
<div>The nature of a guy like Morales who was a big addition when we got him, and then that’s kinda the situation you’re in. You have an opportunity to move a guy and get some prospects, and so that’s the way it goes. We know it’s our responsibility to play better, and then we won’t be in that situation.</div>
<div>We just need to keep plugging away, there’s no alternative.</div>
<div><b>Game 8: White Sox 9, Minnesota 5</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> We’re pretty thin out there. We need Kevin to pitch a little bit for us here. Definitely Swarzak and Deduno are out. Pressly threw a couple last night, he’ll probably say he can go, but the rest of them are one inning guys more than anything else.</div>
<div><i>Correia gives up 10 hits and seven runs in four innings. Logan Darnell is called up to start the next game, replacing the injured Ricky Nolasco.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Starting pitcher Kevin Correia:</b> I made my two worse pitches of the night to two of probably their best hitters: two hanging curveballs. Hanging back, it’s pretty much the only two pitches I’d like to have back.</div>
<div>Just overall it just didn’t go that well. We hit the ball decently at the end of the game, and at that point we were down too many runs.</div>
<div><b>Saturday’s starting pitcher Logan Darnell:</b> It’s probably the same emotion, close to it. It’s different this time because I actually know the game I’m throwing so it’s not that feeling of just waiting and waiting and waiting. This is a little better that I know when I’m going to start the game, but as far as going out there it’s the same mind frame as last time: just try to get each guy out and see how long I can do it for.</div>
<div><b>Game 9: White Sox 7, Minnesota 0</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> It’s that time of year. It’s about the toughest 10-day period for any GM is this time. This and the Winter Meetings, the Winter Meetings are like this -- people coming and going, a lot of rumors certainly.</div>
<div>It’s probably a seller’s market just because there’s so many teams still in contention for that second wild card. There’s a lot of teams four or five games out. Tampa Bay, a week ago we were talking about them…selling. They were about four-and-a-half out, so that should be past. They’ve got as good of a chance as anybody with that pitching staff.</div>
<div>Let’s say you put together a stellar August and September, all of a sudden you’ve got a chance to win the division.</div>
<div>We were nine back about this time six, seven, eight years ago, we won that thing going away. We had a good club. We had a good club and things didn’t go well, then all of a sudden we got even and we took off.</div>
<div>Nine games out. What are we? Twelve, 11 now?</div>
<div>Where we’re at right now feels a heck of a lot different than where we were then.</div>
<div><i>No additional trades are made. Darnell gives up seven runs in his first major league start, and Minnesota cannot scratch across a run against White Sox ace Chris Sale.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> He made some decent pitches.</div>
<div>He made enough pitches, but unfortunately it’s five innings again with a starter. We’re fortunate that Pressly came in and did a heck of a job, limited the number of pitches and then we got Perkins in, but we were pretty thin out there. We needed innings.</div>
<div><b>Game 10: Minnesota 4, White Sox 3</b></div>
<div><i><b>Pregame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> It’s frustrating for myself and my coaching staff because we go out there and do the routine every day, and yesterday was one of those days where the starting pitcher just ate us up. For this homestand, we had pretty big hopes on this homestand to do some good, and we really have not played well at all.</div>
<div>We wanted this 10-game homestand. We sure didn’t handle it very well. We talked about: This is a good chance to do things, and we just haven’t played well at home, which is just really disappointing.</div>
<div><b>Ryan:</b> We have to get back to competitive baseball. We haven’t been competitive here the last week or so. The White Sox have dominated us, and they aren’t all that far different from us with their record, but it doesn’t look like that right now. The guy, Sale, yesterday, all right: He dominated us, but so did Noesi, so we’ve got to get back to competitive baseball, giving ourselves a chance. We haven’t had much of a chance to win a game here for a while, since Cleveland for sure, so that’s where we need to go.</div>
<div>Yeah, it’s disappointing because we came out of the break, and, Tampa Bay, they weren’t much different than our record either. Well, that has changed. There are people going one way, and there are people going the other. We’re going the wrong way.</div>
<div><i>Pino gives up two runs in six innings, and Perkins loads the bases with one out and a one-run lead, but the Twins hang on to avoid a four-game sweep against their rivals, finishing the homestand at 3-7.</i></div>
<div><i><b>Postgame</b></i></div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> We needed a win. We said that. It’s fun shaking hands, it was very entertaining at the end with Perk out there. I think if you’re a player out there, you got two choices: Do I want the ball hit to me, or do I not want it hit to me? And I think a lot of our guys were iffy on that, but it was tense, it was really tense.</div>
<div><b>Outfielder Sam Fuld:</b> When that ball came out of the sun, it was a big sigh, yeah. It’s never easy.</div>
<div><b>Gardenhire:</b> It’s been really frustrating around here and we know we haven’t hit much, and we haven’t pitched very much in this homestand. It was a pretty disappointing homestand, but as I said before, to get the win today was huge. A lot of smiles out there, a lot of relief and you’ll talk to more than one guy out there, but they’ll all tell you the same thing -- that was probably as intense of a ninth inning that you can get.</div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><b>Perkins:</b> We’ve been inconsistent. I’ve said many times that we’re not a bad team; we’re just inconsistent. And that’s because we score runs one day, and we don’t the next day; we pitch good one day, and then we don’t pitch good the next day. That’s been the most frustrating part is that we’re just inconsistent.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Hopefully we’ll show up. Hopefully we’ll go to Kansas City and play the baseball that we’re capable of. And do it on offense and defense and with our pitching and everything.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Tom Schreier can be heard on The Michael Knight Show from 2-3:00 on weekdays. He has written for Bleacher Report and the Yahoo Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/tschreier3">@tschreier3</a>.</div>