A Case for Kevin Slowey
by Jesse on Jul 31, 2011 8:16 AM EDT
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PrintYesterday, Kevin Slowey finally turned in the complete performance we've been waiting for. Over his first five starts with the Red Wings on this very much extended rehab stint, Slowey's performances were a grab bag of ups and downs. Mostly they were ups, but of the 13 runs he allowed over his first five starts 11 of them came in three innings. One big, bad inning for each of those last three outings.
But yesterday, the big inning didn't come. He pitched eight very strong innings, striking out eight against zero walks and five hits. Even late in the game, he stepped onto the mound and did his job. He's now posted a 3.55 ERA in six triple-A starts.
We've heard for weeks that the Twins are looking to trade Slowey, which I find to be immensely frustrating. Why is it that when the Twins want to trade someone, everyone magically finds out? And we don't just find out, we find out weeks in advance, virtually killing any chance of getting fair value in a trade. If letting it slip that the Twins wanted to deal Hardy didn't drive up competing offers, telling the whole world that you want to trade a pitcher who isn't in the Majors and who'd had bad press spun against him is going to guarantee you the value of a Big Mac and a bucket of golf balls.
All of that is a really easy way of saying this: Slowey has more value as a pitcher for the Twins than he would bring back in a trade. We've heard rumblings over the last few days that the Twins are interested in upgrading their rotation. We know for a fact that they're interested in upgrading their bullpen. If these tidbits are accepted as fact, then why would you possibly want to deal a Major League-ready pitcher?
As usual, we don't know the entire story here. Maybe the Twins have just had enough of Slowey, maybe Slowey has just had enough of the Twins. Sometimes parting ways just makes more sense than staying together. Relationships can defy logic, but that doesn't make it untrue.
But that's something that only the Twins and Kevin Slowey know for sure. The rest of us just see a guy who can help the Twins down the stretch. I'm ready to give him another shot.
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I can see this in two cases
1. The Twins decide to trade one of their starting pitchers
2. They demote one of their pitchers to be a reliever
I am not sure how Blackburn would do in a reliever situation, but going with him in long relief and putting Swarzak into more high leverage duties might be a way to go. Pavano might be the guy I would field offers for. Duensing probably is the wrong guy to demote after a 6.2 Inn 1 ER outing (even tho he allowed 7 runs in 4.2 the start before that). Baker is obviously out of the question and I don’t think Liriano is the one who should be left out.
by twinscrazy_german on Jul 31, 2011 8:43 AM EDT reply actions
+1
Obviously I’ve been harping on this imminent deal for weeks, but I’ll say it again: After the Twins trade Slowey for nothing, we will ultimately view the Ramos and Hardy trades as the good trades.
by AM. on Jul 31, 2011 8:46 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Slowey's track record
Slowey has had an up and down start to his career, that was seriously hampered by his wrist injury at a key point in his development. I encourage people to look at Slowey’s absolutely dominating minor league track record to remind themselves of how good he can be.
He’s 27 and hasn’t been given a single start in the MLB this year. The Twins are giving up on a guy at exactly the wrong time of his career.
by AM. on Jul 31, 2011 9:12 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Also
For a look at some of Slowey’s minor league stats and my comparison of him to Cliff Lee through their age 27 seasons (before Lee got demoted to AAA at age 28), see:
http://mobile.twinkietown.com/2011/7/17/2280420/giving-up-on-slowey-during-his-age-27-season
by AM. on Jul 31, 2011 9:18 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He has an unfortunate name for a pitcher
Just on that score, I’d take Josh Outman.
(Best pro athlete name? Vikings field-goal kicker Ryan Longwell.)
Steve Goodman lives.
Rusty Kuntz
I don't know, but I've been told it's hard to run with the weight of gold,
'the other hand, I've heard it said, it's just as hard with the weight of lead.
by montanatwinsfan on Jul 31, 2011 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions
except maybe Doug Fister,
Doug Fister beats Rusty Kuntz
I don't know, but I've been told it's hard to run with the weight of gold,
'the other hand, I've heard it said, it's just as hard with the weight of lead.
by montanatwinsfan on Jul 31, 2011 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions
maybe it should read like this
“Doug Fister beats Rusty Kuntz”
or
Doug Fister “beats” Rusty Kuntz
better?
I don't know, but I've been told it's hard to run with the weight of gold,
'the other hand, I've heard it said, it's just as hard with the weight of lead.
by montanatwinsfan on Jul 31, 2011 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
The best was when the Mariners traded Fister for Furbush
Headline: “Tigers consummate deal to get Fister for Furbush.”
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
On a political note
George Bush and Dick Cheyne had the best campaign slogan of all time. Transvestities for Dicka and Bush….
Doofenschmirtz Evil, INC.
Phineas and Ferb
by doofus on Jul 31, 2011 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Too bad
Randy Johnson retired. Besides his given name being an Austin Powers-worthy joke anyway, his nickname was priceless.
Steve Goodman lives.
Perkins was suppose to get traded.
I’m glad that never happened. I see Slowey as the same type of pitcher (right on the edge of the starting rotation) I’d look to trade Liriano (good value), Pavano ( good 4th or 5th on a team needing depth) or Duensing ( I don’t think he’s getting any better, I’d rather start Slowey)
Going into this season
I honestly felt like Baker and Slowey were primed to lead the rotation both posting 3-3.5 ERAs, 200 innings and 15 wins a piece. Of course that opportunity was never given.
It amazes me how skewed the perception of some of our top talent evaluators are.
Two simple decisions could have saved this team a lot of wins this year. Slowey in the roation with Duensing in the bullpen. Hardy not traded, playing SS with Nishioka at 2B and Casilla backing both up.
This organization may do a good job of playing things pretty close to the chest when it comes to trade rumors etc, but they do a very shitty job of using the media otherwise. Decresing Hardy’s value to almost nothing was a big mistake, and the handling of Slowey is another. So what. You had the kid pitch out of the bullpen 3 days in a row, he gets injured and expresses some doubt. Now all of a sudden he’s not a team player, he’s selfish blah blah blah. Whatever… Slowey was a 3rd best pitcher going into the season and now look. He’s worth peanuts come trade deadline.
Gardenhire's major league career: Banjo hitting, futility infielder who couldn't lick it.
Rick Anderson's major league career: Strikethrower who never made it happen with his sub 90's fastball.
Really gives a new definition to living vicariously through other people, don't it?
by caseintheface on Jul 31, 2011 10:56 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
+1...
Slowey should have had a rotation spot from the beginning, with either Blackburn traded for a decent reliever from an NL team, or Duensing at his rightful spot in the bullpen. Slowey’s better than both, is younger, and figures to be better than both longterm. He should have been starting all along.
It all starts with the Capps trade
If we had simply waited for Fuentes and kept Ramos, we would have been able to afford Hardy, and we would have had a capable catcher in Joe’s absence.
Slowey had a great spring, but Duensing earned his spot based on his play the previous year. Not all of Slowey’s ‘10 troubles can be pinned on his injury. Many of us on this site thought he would make a better reliever based on the numbers (first time, second time, third time through the order). It didn’t work. But I don’t blame the Twins for trying it.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
I just blame them for the way they handled it...
why is Blackburn given a spot over Baker and Slowey at the beginning of ST? How did he earn that? By being the worst starting pitcher in baseball in 2010?
And why, when you know he has trouble getting loose and needs to adjust, do you pitch him 3 out of 4 days to start the year?
and then you blame him for being a baby when he gets hurt.
just makes no sense.
I think there's plenty of blame to go around
Kevin didn’t handle it well either. Why has it taken nearly three months to heal from a strain? Obviously, it’s more serious than they claimed. But if so, why didn’t it show up on the imaging results? I’m not a fan of the medical staff, by any means. I’m probably their worst critic. But he did come off whiney, especially when he asked to be traded while on the DL.
As for Blackburn, he was s different pitcher after coming back form AAA last year, even with bone chips in his elbow that prevented him from throwing his slider. Then he got the chips removed in the offseason and got his slider back. So the hope was he would be a workhorse. It started out well. But one thing I’ve learned from sinker ball pitchers (Erickson, Silva, etc.). When they lose the feel for the sinker, they’re just awful. It’s a wonder that the organization is so enamored with sinker ball pitchers with all the bad experiences we’ve had.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
totally agree with the second paragraph....
on the first; do we know he demanded a trade? all i’ve heard is that statement to the media about: “the twins and i both agree that i’m a starter, be it here or elsewhere.”
and i don’t really have a problem with that; some guys just weren’t meant to be relief pitchers.
Sinkerballers
> When they lose the feel for the sinker, they’re just awful.
Makes me hesitant to depend on Gutierrez as a reliever.
ya...
but he’s got a great slider too doesn’t he?
His slider is his best pitch
And he hits 95, so he can also spot a four seamer when needed.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Latest on Denard Span on MLB Trade Rumors
9:43am: ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian tweets that the chances of a Storen/Span deal are less than 50/50. The Nationals are still in the mix for B.J. Upton.
7:59am: Nationals closer Drew Storen is in the Denard Span trade with the Twins, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the hangup is over the other players in the deal. Yesterday we heard names such as Roger Bernadina and Stephen Lombardozzi of the Nationals.
Looks like B.J. Upton will be going to Washington instead of Span. However, this might send Bill Smith into panic mode because of the wheeling and dealing by the Tigers and Indians over the past few days. If you ask me, this trade deadline has become a feeding frenzy. I don’t remember this much action, over the past few days, in any other year.
I'm a proud fan of the Minnesota Twins and Dallas Cowboys!
"Life is precious and time is a key element. Let’s make every moment count and help those who have a greater need than our own." – Harmon Killebrew
I dunno
Say what you will about Bill Smith and some of the moves he’s made, I think even he should be able to appreciate that there’s absolutely no need to trade Span now, and absolutely no need to panic if the Nats go another direction.
Maybe it turns out that all along this was just an attempt to see if the Nats would get desperate and overpay. Given how deadlocked the ongoing negotiations have become it almost starts to look like it. And if so, I think that’s a completely reasonable thing to do. Span is probably the last outfielder we should trade, but if someone comes knocking with especially high interest in him specifically, it makes sense to hear him out and see how far they will go.
by midwestmodeltrainenthusiast on Jul 31, 2011 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions
True
But for the longest time the Twins focused on sending Span to Washington while both Detroit and Cleveland got better. There is less than three hours until the trade deadline and Bill Smith and the Twins Front Office is in panic mode. They can only hope that the Ubaldo Jimenze deal falls apart or the A’s are willing to trade Trey Willingham for peanuts so Gardy can have another bat in the lineup. However that might involve giving up Kyle Gibson and I am worried about that.
I'm a proud fan of the Minnesota Twins and Dallas Cowboys!
"Life is precious and time is a key element. Let’s make every moment count and help those who have a greater need than our own." – Harmon Killebrew
Per Gleeman
“Since the beginning of last season Nick Blackburn has a 5.00 ERA and .302 opponents’ batting average in 291 innings.”
Given this I have no idea why we are apparently so set on trading Slowey. Gibson is not ready. Duensing is not what we had hoped as a starter. The glut of pitching that made it ‘reasonable’ to put Slowey in the pen and then virtually ignore him simply has not materialized.
by midwestmodeltrainenthusiast on Jul 31, 2011 11:09 AM EDT reply actions
Anyone but Blackburn
I’d be OK with Swarzak or Slowey.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
He had nothing last night
Just nothing. Couldn’t hit the corners.
He's lost the feel on his sinker
So he’s throwing four seamers with questionable secondary pitches. That’s not even going to get it done in AAA.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
That bad?
I didn’t see it. If a guy with his stuff is leaning on a straight fastball… wow..
by tobynotjason on Jul 31, 2011 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions
They should
Send Dumatrait or Burnett down
Then call up Slowey
Slot Blackburn to Swarzak’s job
Use Swarzak in higher leverage situations rather than mop up duty
This
Of the two, I’d say Burnett should go down and Swarzak should take his job.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Mijares is closer to being sent down the Dumatrait
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
No
Mijares will be traded to San Diego via waivers and they will overpay for him.
I'm a proud fan of the Minnesota Twins and Dallas Cowboys!
"Life is precious and time is a key element. Let’s make every moment count and help those who have a greater need than our own." – Harmon Killebrew
"Hi, I'm Jessy S and I just make stuff up."
by Jesse on Aug 1, 2011 6:02 AM EDT up reply actions 6 recs
Hahaha
Coming from you this is even funnier!
by twinscrazy_german on Aug 1, 2011 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Cyber bully!
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"God grab your neck but never choke" -Ozzie Guillen
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Aug 1, 2011 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions
With Blackburn in his annual funk
…and yes, he does this annually — he should be demoted and Slowey or Swarzak inserted asap. We are barely clinging to contention and absolutely cannot afford more of Blackburn’s poor starts. Even last season, when our record was considerably better, we had to demote him for a time, until he finally regained some stability by the last month of the season. Blackburn is also the starter we should try to move in the offseason.
Of course I don’t see this happening since Gardenhire seems to love Blackburn and seems to hate Slowey.
How is Slowey's situation different than Perkins'?
America is all about second chances. Glenn Perkins clearly burned his bridges in Minnesota. Through a combination of ineffective starts, vague injuries and bitching about being mishandled by management, Perkins was headed anywhere but here at about this time last year.
For some reason, the Twins didn’t just unload him for a sack of baseballs, which is what most fans thought he was worth. Perkins disappeared off the radar for several months, gradually healing up and regaining his form. Finally deciding that his best chance to make it in the majors was as a short reliever, Perkins starting firing his stuff a lot harder, not worrying about pacing himself. Today, he is a devastating relief pitcher with a mid-90’s fastball, sharp breaking slider, good curve, change, two-seamer, the works.
Kevin Slowey first suffered his wrist injury a couple years ago. Since then he has had inconsistent results as a starter, appearing to have vague injuries. He has bitched about being mishandled by management. He has pissed off fans. Everybody wants him gone, for a sack of baseballs.
Problem is, Nick Blackburn is worn out. Swarzak could fill in, but he has proved himself extremely valuable in the mixed relief role, including spot starter. What the team really needs right now is a healthy fifth starter to take Blackburn’s place for the last couple months of the season. A healthy Kevin Slowey could be just what the Twins need to stay in the race for a possible playoff spot. Best part is, he’s already paid for, no trade needed. At this point Slowey is highly motivated to prove himself, whether his future is with the Twins or elsewhere.
I don’t see much downside to sticking Slowey into the rotation right now. If he blows up, you’ve still got Swarzak as a backup plan. They could even call up Liam Hendricks to give the kid a taste, but I wouldn’t do that until after I saw what Kevin Slowey’s got at this point in his career.
Agreed
The problem is that the entire management inlcuding Ron Gardenhire is as stubborn as a mule. I don’t know what the living hell is the problem in Rochester right now, but the coaching staff (except for the pitching and hitting coaches) is a shambles right now. Yes the Red Wings posted a winning record last week, but they also started that week with Denard Span on their roster. There has to be fresh blood on that team next year. It would help if Gardy takes a clue from Joe Nathan, who gave up the closer role all by himself earlier this season, and resigns officially taking Bill Smith with him.
I'm a proud fan of the Minnesota Twins and Dallas Cowboys!
"Life is precious and time is a key element. Let’s make every moment count and help those who have a greater need than our own." – Harmon Killebrew
Blackburn says his sinker isn't sinking so he stopped throwing it!
“I have no idea at this point, obviously,” said Blackburn, when asked about the reasons why he’s struggled. “I’ve pretty much tried everything I can. I know it’s not mechanical, at this point. I just need to get everything down. My bullpens and everything in between my starts have been going great. But the game comes along, and I can’t throw anything below the knees.”
Blackburn, who was shelled in his previous outing when he gave up nine runs in just 2 2/3 innings against the Rangers on Monday, had trouble locating his pitches yet again.
He allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and a season-high five walks over 4 1/3 innings, and mostly abandoned his trademark sinker because he couldn’t keep it down in the zone.
“When it’s up, it’s worthless,” Blackburn said of his sinker. “So I wasn’t even throwing sinkers tonight most of the time. I was trying to stick with four-seamers I could get down. But it didn’t really matter. Anything that was down, they spit on, and just waited for something to be up.”
Why on Earth would you keep throwing a guy out there who says to the press that he can’t control his pitches, and whose results show he’s not lying? Do they seriously think Slowey would do worse???
Trade Pavano, trade Blackburn (good luck), trade Liriano … but Slowey??? Why on Earth would you do that?
I think it’s quite possible Slowey is the second best pitcher on the team right now!
kind of remind me of a Knuckle baller.
If he’s on great, if not, he gets shelled and you leave him in because its 9-0 after 3 innings and you’ve got no chance for a come back and don’t want to burn up the relief pitchers.
by b1 on Jul 31, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
We've seen this movie before and know how it ends...
with Carlos Silva. That’s what Blackburn is and always has been; a slightly worse version of Carlos Silva.
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