Posted by John on June 28, 2010 under John | 
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My thoughts on the start of a big series tonight at Target Field. I’ll be at the stadium in section 219 if you want to stop by and say hello.
Posted by andrew on March 10, 2010 under Andrew | 4 Comments to Read
The 2010 Detroit Tigers are an odd blend of veterans and rookies. Plenty of young players will get their chance in the spotlight this year. Here are some of the more notable rookies that the Twins will need to keep their eyes on this season:
Austin Jackson, CF, 23 years old
Jackson was the key part of the trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees this offseason. Although he hasn’t garnered any major-league experience yet, he should receive significant time in center field for the Tigers in 2010. He may even be their primary lead-off hitter.
Originally an 8th-round selection of the Yankees in the 2005 draft, Jackson began his career as an 18-year old in the GCL. He hit .304/.374/.405 in forty games. Jackson spent 2006 in the Sally league, where he hit .260/.340/.346 while striking out 151 times. He did steal 37 bases, but his lack of power and patience was concerning.
The next year, 2007, saw an improved walk rate and a .120-point jump in slugging percentage. Tallying 13 home runs across three levels, Jackson stole 33 bases and raised his on-base percentage to an impressive .370. He showed the promise of a lead-off hitter with some pop in his bat.
Jackson spent the entirety of 2008 in Double-A, where he regressed in just about every area. Spending last season in Triple-A, Jackson hit .300/.354/.405 with a horrible strikeout rate.
Although he isn’t an “elite” prospect, Jackson still provides excellent athleticism, above-average arm strength, and great defensive ability at a key position. His PECOTA projection for 2010 is .271/.332/.411 with 18 stolen bases and lots of strikeouts. Sort of like Carlos Gomez, except with the ability to make contact at an acceptable clip.
The Twins should be aware that a lot of their hits to the gap this season will be caught by Jackson, who was recruited by Georgia Tech as a point guard. For Minnesota pitchers, though, retiring Jackson should require little more than painting the corners and hoping Jackson’s trigger-happy swing fails to make contact.
Due to Jackson’s speed, though, if the ball is put in play, all bets are off.
Scott Sizemore, 2B, 25 years old
Sizemore was drafted as a second baseman in the 5th round of the 2006 draft, and has steadily advanced through Detroit’s system. Coming out of Virginia Commonwealth University, Sizemore spend his first season in professional baseball in Low-A. He hit an impressive line of .327/.394/.435 in 70 games, and displayed a solid understanding of the strike zone.
Spending 2007 in the Midwest League, Sizemore hit .265/.376/.390 with 16 stolen bases and more walks than strikeouts. Sizemore was in the very pitcher-friendly Florida State League in 2008, and spent last year in both Double-A and Triple-A.
Throughout his minor-league career, Sizemore has accrued a line of .296/.383/.441 with a bunch of stolen bases and great strike-zone judgment. He is the leading candidate to replace Placido Polanco at second base this season, and will likely hit near the bottom of Detroit’s order.
Sizemore’s PECOTA projection for 2010 is .264/.345/.410. Better things have certainly emerged from the Tiger’s minor league system, but Sizemore is very polished and looks ready to begin a solid major-league career.
Daniel Schlereth, LHP, 23 years old
Part of the deal that sent Edwin Jackson to Arizona, Schlereth was drafted 26th overall in the 2008 draft, and dominated both the Pioneer and Midwest Leagues in his first season. This great relief pitching continued last season, where Schlereth pitched in both Double- and Triple-A, combining for an ERA of 0.98 through 27.2 innings.
Reaching the big leagues in 2009, Schlereth posted an excellent strikeout per nine innings number of 10.8, though he walked more than the Diamondbacks would have liked. His ERA of 5.89 in just over 18 innings left much to be desired, but there is little doubt that Schereth has the makings of a future All-Star closer.
According to Baseball America, Schlereth possesses a “93-96 mph fastball with riding life,” a “hard 82-84 mph curveball,” and “a changeup that dives and floats.” He will certainly be featured out of the Tiger’s bullpen in 2010, and could take over the 9th inning role very soon.
Alex Avila, C, 23 years old
Avila probably won’t receive significant playing time this season, as he will serve as Gerald Laird’s backup behind the plate. The young University of Alabama graduate has his sights set on the 2011 starting job, though, and he merits the Twins’ attention.
As a 21-year old in 2008, Avila hit .305/.383/.385 in 58 games in the Midwest League. Some semblance of power emerged last season, where Avila hit .264/.365/.450 with 12 home runs and a 52/77 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
His PECOTA projection for 2010 is .253/.339/.405 with 9 home runs, but I tend to think of this as very conservative. Avila should develop into a legitimate power threat with above-average defense from the catcher position.
Wilkin Ramirez, OF, 24 years old
Ramirez received some playing time in Detroit this past season — (hitting .364/.385/.818 in 15 games) — but likely won’t be on the Opening Day 25-man roster. He will spend another season in Triple-A Toledo working on his patience (or lack thereof), but could be a late-season call-up.
Originally signed by the Tigers out of the Dominican Republic in 2003, Ramirez played in 54 games in 2003 before going down with a shoulder injury that cost him all of 2004. He re-set in 2005 in West Michigan, where he hit .262/.317/.410 and a 35/143 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
That obscene strikeout total hasn’t left Ramirez in his six seasons of professional ball, and will certainly pose a problem at the major-league level. With these strikeouts, though, comes a very healthy power stroke. Ramirez has averaged just over 20 home runs per 162 games, and could supply the Tigers with a late-inning power threat this season.
Posted by John on October 1, 2009 under John | 4 Comments to Read
So the Twins set out to take three of four from the Tigers in Detroit, but left with a 2-2 split and a very slim hope for a playoff berth.
After a crazy split double-header on Tuesday the Twins suffered a tough loss Wednesday night and then saved their season today with a victory. It’s tough to dive deep into these games as there were so many big moments and varied emotions. I can’t call the series anything but a disappointment, but yet I’m not too surprised with the outcome.
The Twins played a tough game against Rick Porcello, ran into a dominating Justin Verlander, but the real killer was scoring just two runs against Eddie Bonine last night. The most unfortunate thing about last night’s loss was that the Twins looked like a team that just ran out of gas. They’ve shown so much fight and determination, but last night I felt like they played uninspired and defeated from the opening pitch.
On the bright side of things the Twins were able to make tomorrow night’s game at the Metrodome meaningful and give all of us Twins fans a reason to watch the scoreboards and become Chicago White Sox fans for the weekend. ESPN says no team in baseball history has ever made the playoffs down two games with just three to play, but we can hope right?
TARGET FIELD TICKET GIVEAWAY UPDATE
I created an Excel document to track all the entries for the Joe Mauer 2009 batting average contest. There were over 30 guesses submitted between TwinsMVB.com and YouTube. Unfortunately, some people guessed an average that had already been submitted, so those individuals are listed in the second and third columns. As of Thursday evening, Mauer leads the majors with a .367 average.
AVG.
.382 Betsy Bissen
.381 Kevin Kukowski
.379 Mike Kinsella, Melissa Holm
.378 Bryan Schumacher, Derek Shoden
.377 Nikole Muzzy, Lori Haugen
.376 Josh Raymond
.37572 Steph Sullivan
.37524 Topper Anton
.375 Megan Wellner
.374 Joey Almars
.3735 Brad Silber
.373 Greg Davis
.372 Lucas Severson
.371 Todd Rathbun, Rick Prescott, Lauren
.370 Andrew Kneeland, Ethan Morey
.369 Matt Taylor
.368 Dana Menard, Peter Ilten
.3673 Mark Varner
.367 Kellen Boerger, Kyle
.366 Kirk Meyer
.3654 Alan Johnson
.364 Steve
.362 Adam Taylor
Posted by John on September 29, 2009 under John | 2 Comments to Read
It’s the nightcap of the biggest day in the Twins 2009 season. After taking game one in dramatic fashion, the Twins have the opportunity to end the night tied for 1st place in the AL Central. Join the chatter!
If your browser isn’t working follow the live blogcast in a pop viewer window here: Click Here
Posted by John on September 24, 2009 under John | 2 Comments to Read
As up and down as this Twins 2009 season has been, Ron Gardenhire’s club is not going to go down without a fight. After taking two of three from the AL Central leading Tigers at home, the Twins went into Chicago and swept the White Sox basically putting the dagger into Chicago’s 2009 season.
Although Joe Nathan again made me sweat as he wrapped up his 44th save of the season, which ties a career high, you had to just know the Twins were going to win this ballgame. You look to the first baseline dugout and see Ron Gardenhire and a bench full of coaches and players locked in and ready to do whatever it takes to win. Look to the third baseline dugout and you see a frustrated Ozzie Guillen and a dejected bench of coaches and players.
The Twins want this more!
Today the Twins get a day off before they start their final 10 games of the season. The Detroit Tigers still have one more game against the Cleveland Indians which means the Twins will head to Kansas City as far as three games back or as little as two. The race is on!
Posted by John on July 2, 2009 under John | 2 Comments to Read
For the first time all season (yes, all season) the Twins are two games above .500. That sounds like I’m talking about a losing team that recently got on a little hot streak, but really the Twins have been a team that have hovered anywhere between three games under and one game over .500 for three months. Nonetheless, the club is just three games back of the 1st place Detroit Tigers and there couldn’t be a better time for the Twins to play good baseball.
The Twins turned their road woes around in the month of June going 10-6 away from home since June 8 and finishing the recent road trip to Milwaukee, St. Louis and Kansas City with a 6-3 record. Just like the bast four seasons a combination of a hot June and interleague play seem to be turning the season around for the Twins.
Today the Twins get a much deserved day off as they prepare for a big home series against the Detroit Tigers. This is undoubtedly the biggest series of the season thus far for the Twins and a potential sweep could send a strong message to who is the best team in the AL Central.
Minnesota has nine more games until the All-Star break, all at home, so now is time for our Twins to make a move.
* Speaking of the All-Star game, fans have until 10:59 pm central time tonight to cast their ballots online for the Midsummer Classic in St. Louis. Joe Mauer looks to be set to start his 2nd consecutive ASG and Justin Morneau will need a big push to pass Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis.
Posted by John on May 12, 2009 under John | Be the First to Comment
Remember for this entire series at the Metrodome you can find my work in the MN Gameday “Splints” program sold just outside of the Metrodome block. Here is the series preview I wrote for that publication…
Big Picture
The Tigers head to the Metrodome for the first three of nine games here
in Minneapolis. It’s no secret that last year Detroit was loaded with
expectations, yet they faltered early and finished last in the division.
This year the Tiger’s are far from the favorites but still find
themselves right in the middle of a crowded AL Central. Despite an aging
lineup the Tigers bring a scary offense capable of producing loads of
runs.
Across the field to the third baseline the hometown Twins continue to
hover right around the .500 line. The club seems rejuvenated with the
return of Joe Mauer but is still waiting to put together a series of
wins. Consistency will be the key as they push forward through the month
of May and into summer baseball.
What To Look For
Starting Rotation: Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Scott Baker are all
projected to make starts in this series. Despite early season struggles
for Slowey and Baker, look for strong starting pitching against the
Tigers. Slowey posts a career 4-0 record versus the Tigers in five
starts and Scott Baker really seems to be turning the corner to become
the ace of the staff as projected early on.
Posted by twinsmvb on September 29, 2008 under John | 2 Comments to Read
After both the White Sox and the Twins went 1-2 in their final season series, neither team was able to step up and win the division. The Twins had two ugly, uninspiring losses to Kansas City on Friday and Saturday, but thankfully took care of business Sunday at the Dome.
The final regular season game saw an amazing pitching performance from Scott Baker, a huge clutch hit from Delmon Young, sloppy defense from the Royals, and a possible 2nd AL Batting Title for Joe Mauer!
Unfortunately, Joe must wait before being crowned batting champ because there is potentially more baseball to be played. Which brings us to the Tigers…
The White Sox finished 1/2 game behind the Twins and thus need to play the rainout game against Detroit tomorrow night in Chicago. If Chicago loses the Twins clinch the division and are off to Tampa Bay for the first round of the playoffs. If Chicago wins the Twins fly to the Windy City for AL Central Tie Breaker at U.S. Cellular on Tuesday.
A tiebreaker in Chicago would be a tough win for the young Twins. I think this motivated club could handle the pressure, but I’d much rather have the day off and head to Florida to prepare for the playoffs. So that’s where for one day, just one day, all Twins fans and MVB readers are becoming Tiger’s fans for a day. I’m so excited to hang out with these people…
Tomorrow’s game is 1 pm CT on ESPN2. Tune in and Go Tigers!
Posted by twinsmvb on March 31, 2008 under John | 2 Comments to Read
It’s finally here, the moment we all (or I) have been waiting for. The day when every team (well except for the Atlanta Braves b/c of last night) is in first place! It’s Opening Day across America today which means the start of the Major League Baseball season.
I am heading to the game tonight in Minneapolis to see the Twins take the field and watch Hunter stroll out to centerfield, but wearing a different cap. I’m curious to see if there will be more cheers or boos for Hunter, I’m guessing cheers. Expect a Opening Day post later this week recapping the entire event.
In honor of Opening Day, the Twins MVB will be making his 1st annual Season Predictions. The division winners are in bold. Here goes…
NL East: New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Florida Marlins
NL Central: Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
Playoffs: Cubs over Phillies, Mets over Diamondbacks
Mets over Cubs
NL Pennant: Mets
AL East: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles
AL Central: Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox
AL West: Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland A’s, Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers
Playoffs: Tigers over Red Sox, Indians over Mariners
Tigers over Indians
AL Pennant: Tigers
National League Awards
MVP: David Wright, Mets
Cy Young: Johan Santana, Mets
Rookie of the Year: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
American League Awards
MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia, Indians
Rookie of the Year: Joba Chamberlain, Yankees
World Series: Tigers over Mets (6 games)
CHAMPS: Detroit Tigers
There you have it, let me know your thoughts of the predictions. Agree? Disagree? Now we wait for October, and until then…
PLAY BALL!
