Exactly nobody is surprised, as Mauer is about as good at the plate as any other two AL catchers combined.

This is Mauer's third Silver Slugger, and second in a row.  He still has a ways to go to catch Mike Piazza, though - Piazza leads all catchers with ten awards.

Joe Mauer

#7 / Catcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-5

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Apr 19, 1983

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	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Joe Mauer	138	523	94	191	30	1	28	96	76	63	4	1	.365	.444	.587

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The first report was from Brewers.com, via Twitter:

Brewers acquire CF Carlos Gomez from Minnesota in exchange for SS J.J. Hardy.

I did NOT see that coming.  It's been confirmed pretty much everywhere.

According to MLBTradeRumors, thanks to Hardy's midseason demotion in '09, he's under team control for 2010 and 2011.

Hardy had good seasons in 2007 and 2008 at the plate, putting up OPS+ numbers north of 100 both seasons, but was terrible last year (see stats below).  He's decent defensively, though.

J.J. Hardy

#7 / Short Stop / Milwaukee Brewers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 19, 1982

 

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	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - J.J. Hardy	115	414	53	95	16	2	11	47	43	85	0	1	.229	.302	.357

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What are yours?

Barring a minor miracle, tomorrow night the Minnesota Twins will open their final series in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.  28 baseball seasons ago, on April 6 1982, the first baseball game was held as the Twins played host to the Seattle Mariners.  In just a few hours the Kansas City Royals will be baseball's last visitors under teflon skies.

There are a lot of easy memories when you think back.  Of course there's the unbelieveable run by the 1987 Twins, when they returned to Minneapolis down three games to two but still took down the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games; Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky and Frank Viola became household names over night while a 36-year old Bert Blyleven threw a now unthinkable 267 innings.  Even more of you might choose the 1991 incarnation of the Twins, starring some of the same characters while also including franchise names like Rick Aguilera, Chili Davis, Brian Harper, Kevin Tapani, Shane Mack, Scott Erickson and Jack Morris; Puckett's homer in game six and ten innings of shutout baseball by Morris in game seven.  Or maybe you were there for the alpha, for a 102-loss team with 22-year olds Herbie and Viola?  How about the completion of one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the organization, when the team won the AL Central title after the final out of their season was recorded in 2006?

I'm too young for some of these, at least to remember them properly.  My top five metrodome memories will all be from games where I was actually there; when I was actually sitting in those horribly placed seats, under a dirty yellow sky.  Check out my top five after the jump, and then feel free to share your own.

Continue reading this post »

The Twins went 12-6 in interleague play this year, taking five of six from Milwaukee and winning series with Pittsburgh, Chicago, and St. Louis - and dropping a series to Houston.  Only Tampa Bay (13-5) and Anaheim (14-4) won as many games as the Twins.

Pretty good - but not quite like previous years.  Heck, the Twins only picked up two games on first-place Detroit over the interleague portion of the schedule, and depending on the result of a makeup game between the Chicago teams, Minnesota may finish dead even with the White Sox this year.

It's not like 2008, when the Twins were a major-league best 14-4.  Or 2006, when they were a ridiculous 16-2 (though they picked up just one game on Detroit, which put a 15-3 hurting on the National League as well.)

All-time, the Twins are 132-96 (.578) in interleague play.  Only the Yankees (133-95) have a better record since interleague play was introduced in 1997.

If you'll cast your mind back to late 1997, you might remember that Milwaukee wasn't the owners' first choice to switch from the American League to the National League.  Kansas City was offered the first option, but declined.  The Brewers were the second choice - but the Twins (who were also in danger of moving to North Carolina that fall) were third choice.

Seeing how they've fared since against the Senior Circuit, it does kind of make you wonder.

Continue reading this post »

This is the last of my reports on Twins competitors for the Central Division of the American League.

You can find the others elsewhere on the site:

Detroit
Chicago
Cleveland

Kansas City has had a dismal time of it this decade. They had a brief run in 2003, when Tony Pena showed to the whole world that he can't manage a pitching staff to save his life. Though they made a run at the division title, that year set the organization back three years, as several pitchers either ruined their careers or went under the knife afterwards, only to return a shell of their former selves.

The years since showed beyond a doubt that GM Allard Baird had no clue how to put a ballclub together. And last year, the organization finally made the move to replace him with Drayton Moore.

Baird made several questionable decisions in his tenure. But perhaps the beginning of the end happened last spring, when he ordering his manager--Buddy Bell--to send top pitching prospect Zach Greinke to AAA after an up-and down career with the Royals. Greinke had his now famous meltdown at that point and was out of baseball until midsummer. The result is a lost year for the team's most promising pitcher. And pitching has been this organization's Achilles heal, especially since Pena burned so many of them out in 2003.

The good news for the Royals this year is Greinke is back to  the form that made him perhaps the top pitching prospect in baseball. And Moore has added a lot of pitching to the mix that will make the Royals competitive in 2007. The team has also quietly developed some top quality position players who are ready to make an impact this year. I don't think they'll contend, but I would not be shocked if they finish with a .500 record, which is why I don't predict 90-plus wins for the top four teams in the division. I predict that only the Twins and Detroit will surpass the 90-win milestone, in part because the Royals will not be pushovers this year.

Starters

The highest profile move the Royals made was to spend a ridiculous sum of money on Gil Meche (5 years, $55 million). My favorite uncle is a huge Royals fan. So for his sake, I'm not fond of this move financially. But Meche will eat innings and save the Royals' bullpen as the season goes along. Moore overpaid for Meche, but he will help shore up the pitching staff.

The other addition to the starting staff was Odalis Perez, whom Moore acquired from the Dodgers last year. Like Meche, he won't light the world on fire. But he will eat innings, and he could repeat some of the good times he had in LA.

The stalwart of the staff will be Scott Elarton, who had some good years with Cleveland until the Indians no longer needed him with their superior depth. He's no ace, but he can be a solid solid number 3.

Fourth starter Luke Hudson, the team's ace last year, will continue to develop into a quality starter. But to say he was the staff ace last year with a 5 ERA says more about the staff than about Hudson.

The X factor is Greinke, who only threw a few pitches in the majors last year. And his last full year--2005--with the Royals was a carbon copy of Carlos Silva circa 2006. But he is still only 23 and has figured some things out. Also, when a guy puts up a 3.97 ERA as a 20 year old for the Royals, as he did in 2004, he's got potential. I expect him to become the ace of the staff and be the Comeback Player of the Year in 2007.

Bullpen

The biggest acquisition Moore made in the offseason was to sign Octavio Dotel to free agent contract as the team's new closer. Before having Tommy John surgery following the 2005 season, Dotel was a solid closer for Houston and Oakland. He's no sure thing, but he's better than anybody the Royals have had in that role since Mike McDougal's 2003 year.

Moore also added David Riske to set up Dotel. And Jimmy Gobble returns as the lefty set-up man. Joel Peralta will also setup Dotel. But the Royals will need some youth to step up here to have the kind of depth other teams in the division have in the bullpen.

Offense

The Royals don't have a solid 1-9 like the Twins or Tigers, but they do have a good young nucleus to build around. The offense will be led once again by David DeJesus at the top of the order and Mark Teahan and Mike Sweeney in the middle of the order. Moore also added Ryan Shealy last year, which added protection to the sluggers. And this year's phenom--Alex Gordon--will take the middle of the order to a new level. Gordon is my pick for Rookie of the Year, and I join just about every other pundit in that prediction. So you definitely did not hear that here first. The team will score some runs, but it won't outslug the other teams in the division. It will have to win its games with pitching and defense.

Defense

Defensively, the Royals will be improved. They have added Jason LaRue to the catching mix, which should help John Buck develop. And they have finally moved on with Angel Baroa, acquiring Tony Pena Jr. from the Braves to be their everyday shortstop. Gordon's presence at third will help as well, as the team moved Teahan to the outfield to make room for the superior gloveman. And DeJesus is underrated as a center fielder, making the team solid up the middle for the first time in recent memory, with Mark Grudzielanek capably manning second base again. Unlike previous years, the Royals won't give away as many outs, which should make their pitching better.

Overall

A lot of things have to come into place for this emerging team to make it back to .500. I'm predicting a 78-84 year, but I wouldn't be shocked if the team makes it back to .500 with the emergence of Gordon and the re-emergence of Greinke.

This is just a friendly community notice that TwinkieTown's lead writer Jesse, is off to England to wed a wonderful British vixen. His departure will be today, and will be getting married next week.

With that, I just want to take this opportunity to say congrats to Jesse. May your flight over be safe, and make sure to warm up your arm before we play that game of catch infront of the Ely Cathedral! Don't need the groom popping his shoulder out an hour before the ceremony!

Again, cheers Jesse! Congratulations, and see you in about a week.

I encourage all other TwinkieTowners to leave a comment of congratulations if you feel so inclined.

Alrighty kids...the first one is done...and they lost. Here comes the big "eh." I feel that it is hard to beat a team in their home opener. Especially when the Jays went shopping/spending this winter in the same fashion as Paris Hilton goes shopping for shoes and lame crap for her chihuahua. Regardless, there were things, both positive and negative, which I noticed. So, lets look at a 5 on 5, positives and negatives of opening day. Lets start with the negatives:

Negatives -

1. Batista's lack of range: This concerned me in the offseason, and it really made me cringe a bit yesterday. Now, I must admit, a few balls were scorched at him, but from the tv angle, they seems to be only 2-3 feet to his left. Come on Tony, gimme a little dive and let me see all that flub jiggle! Maybe he is still getting his sea legs under him, but if not, this will prove to be a very large problem.
2. J.MO's flailing bat: I hope this isn't act 2 of the bad play we saw last year...but man J.Mo sure looked tense at the plate, as we saw him for the majority of last year. Come to think of it, the only time I remember seeing him relaxed...was right after he got beaned. Can someone send a message to Towers that he may feel free to hit J.Mo in the Gord? Maybe then, we can see good solid swings from the big guy, instead of what we have become used to.
3. Castillo's slappy left-handed swing: As I write this, I look to my right, and see that someone else has already touched on this. I shall write no more about this.
4. The dictator looked better at the plate than anyone (besides Stewart): I am glad this was just one game, because if this were a long term truth, my tears would be dripping like rain. Honestly though, Castro looked ready, and solid at the dish. I hope everyone else decides to "come to class prepared" this evening.
5. Johan not quite sharp: It is weird, my friends and I have determined that Johan needs to say to himself "it is July 17th." Being from July on, he is unstoppable. He truly looked better than he has in other years, at least at the beginning of the year, but we know much better is on the horizon. How far on the horizon...that I don't know.

Positives -

1. Shannon Stewart: A great defensive play, 3 for 4 with a knock, and just a good plate presence. Frankly, I was skeptical about Shannon continuing to lead-off when Castillo is on the squad...but hey, if he feels like going 3 for 4 each game, I say leadoff mister stewart, leadoff.
2. Rinroid: Juanny looked good. A key strikeout against Wells (i think it was wells), and just a great outing. Very nice to see, especially since he is getting over an injury. And...to boot...he threw his innings while saying "look ma...no Roids!"
3. Kubel's knee...and arm: Well, if he can start on opening day, that must mean that the squad has a great deal of confidence in his health. Also, Kubel has a really good arm. Now if he can get a bit of Torii-esque accuracy...hitters will have to try and get the ball to Stewie for sac flys.
4. Torii's mobility: I was very concerned about this. Then, he flashed his speed, and ran all the way back on a ball and caught it. I sighed, probably with many fans, a sigh of relief. Thank you Torii for taking care of that ankle...we need it, and you for this season.
5. The eyes of Rondell and Castillo: The pitches that were called strikes on them were absolutely absurd. Especially Rondell's pitch. As was said by Dick, "Usually, when they end up in the dirt, they aren't strikes." So, the positive of this is the fact that they had the eyes to not swing at these pitches...which were called strikes.