2011 AL Central Catch-All Thread

[iamshack]

Yes, I've heard of him. Damn, they're about to sign him? KC ain't playin' around. They have a plan and they're sticking with it.

Yeah, it's actually referred to as "The Plan," too

[witesoxfan]

There's a good chance he's good and all, but that's like 4 years away at the minimum, and probably closer to 6-7 years away. I'm not worried about that at the moment.

[Cali]

Jeez even the MLB Network is jumping on the Twins Train... last I checked they're STILL double digit games under .500 right?

 

I'm pretty sure most people aren't believing the Sox are even in the race, yet the Twins are?

 

What in the past decade says the Twins can come back from so far under to win a division? They've never had to crawl out of the basement and now they have that same "on paper not as good as the White Sox/Tigers roster" they always used to win with and now they have to use that same roster to crawl back from 20 below .500... Color me skeptical until they crack the break even mark...

[kjshoe04]

Jeez even the MLB Network is jumping on the Twins Train... last I checked they're STILL double digit games under .500 right?

 

I'm pretty sure most people aren't believing the Sox are even in the race, yet the Twins are?

 

What in the past decade says the Twins can come back from so far under to win a division? They've never had to crawl out of the basement and now they have that same "on paper not as good as the White Sox/Tigers roster" they always used to win with and now they have to use that same roster to crawl back from 20 below .500... Color me skeptical until they crack the break even mark...

They were 11 games back on this date in 2006 and won the division.

[Cali]

They were 11 games back on this date in 2006 and won the division.

 

I stand corrected. Must have blanked out the 2006 season from my memory...haha

 

Is still don't buy the Twins this season...

[southsider2k5]

I stand corrected. Must have blanked out the 2006 season from my memory...haha

 

Is still don't buy the Twins this season...

 

I hate tempting fate, but they aren't nearly as talented. Mauer and Morneau have to quit hitting like Dunn and Rios and get healthy for that to happen.

[High Mileage]

Yeah, it's actually referred to as "The Plan," too

"The Process". Dayton Moore has been mocked for repeatedly saying "trust the process".

[flavum]

Uhhh...Verlander.....

[Cali]

When the Indians lose tonight, they will NEVER see first place again for the reason of the season. GUARANTEED.

[flavum]

When the Indians lose tonight, they will NEVER see first place again for the reason of the season. GUARANTEED.

 

So you're guaranteeing the Indians won't win tomorrow? Pretty ballsy.

[Brian]

Uhhh...Verlander.....

 

Sick

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

OCab just ended Verlander's no-hit bid in the 8th inning.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Tigers officially in first. Verlander, along with Weaver, are the top two AL CY candidates to this point.

[iamshack]

"The Process". Dayton Moore has been mocked for repeatedly saying "trust the process".

Ahh yes, "The Process." I always seem to get that mixed-up.

 

Regardless, The Process does seem to finally seem to be working, but I doubt it's through any help of Dayton Moore's.

 

I could be drafting these kids from where their draft position has been. I'm not really sure there are a whole lot of moves at the MLB level that Moore has made that really impress me.

 

Even the Greinke trade...I think Escobar is going to be a bust, and I have argued this before, I don't think he is anywhere close to where Elvis Andrus is (whom people seem to enjoy comparing him to).

[southsider2k5]

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basebal...n=recent_bullet

 

MINNEAPOLIS — Just as Joe Mauer and Tsuyoshi Nishioka are getting closer to returning to the Minnesota Twins, Justin Morneau is headed to the disabled list.

 

The Twins shelved their first baseman on Tuesday night with a strained left wrist, making the announcement a few minutes after their series opener against the Chicago White Sox was rained out. Morneau’s wrist will be immobilized for 10 days, but general manager Bill Smith said the team did not anticipate an extended stay on the DL.

 

Morneau was trying to avoid the disabled list, but the 2006 AL MVP hasn’t played since Friday, and a cortisone shot he received on Sunday had yet to take.

 

"We’ve waited about as long as we can," Smith said.

 

Morneau said the injury made him feel as if he was swinging one-handed. He met with a specialist on Tuesday afternoon, and doctors told him he needed rest, followed by a few days to regain his range of motion.

 

"No matter what I want to play," said Morneau, who talked his way out of a DL stint earlier this season when he had a sore neck. "But if it comes to the point where I’m not doing myself any good or anyone on the team any good ... If I’m able to play the way I want to play and the way everybody expects me to play that’s one thing, but I’m in pain and being, I wouldn’t say useless but not very good, I don’t think that does anyone on the team any good."

 

Morneau is hitting .225 with four home runs and 21 RBIs this season. He’s received cortisone shots in his neck and now in his hand, a frustrating season for him after missing the final three months of last year with a concussion.

 

Morneau joins Nishioka (broken leg), Mauer (leg and shoulder injuries), Jim Thome (strained left quadriceps), outfielder Jason Kubel (sprained left foot), reliever Joe Nathan (right elbow), outfielder Denard Span (concussion), reliever Glen Perkins (strained right oblique) and right-hander Kevin Slowey (abdominal strain) on an incredibly bloated disabled list.

 

Morneau said he wasn’t sure how he injured his wrist. He said he woke up one morning during the team’s previous homestand and it was sore.

 

"It was weird," he said. "I don’t know if I aggravated it on a throw up the line because it was a little sore before that. I know it was sometime in the last homestand."

 

The Twins did not immediately announce a makeup date for the rainout, which was the third at Target Field this season. A Twins spokesman said it would not happen during this series, and the White Sox come to town twice more this season, once in August and once in September.

 

On the bright side, Mauer and Nishioka appear to be close to returning from long absences.

 

Nishioka played in just six games before breaking his left leg against the New York Yankees. He was scheduled to play for Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday night and Smith said the Japanese infielder would travel to the Twin Cities on Wednesday assuming all goes well.

 

Perkins was slated to pitch for Rochester on Tuesday night and is scheduled to join Nishioka on the flight to Minneapolis.

 

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the team has yet to decide where Nishioka will play when he does return, but all signs point to him taking over at shortstop, with the improving Alexi Casilla moving to second base.

 

Mauer has played in only seven games due to various leg and shoulder injuries. He is scheduled to face Nathan in a batting practice session on Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla., and will be evaluated after that. It is possible the 2009 AL MVP could be back in a uniform by the weekend, but the Twins were not putting a timetable on that.

 

All the injuries have played a major role in the team’s stunningly poor start. The two-time defending AL Central champions started the season an MLB-worst 17-37 to fall 16½ games behind the division-leading Indians.

 

"We’re close to getting a lot of these guys back and that’s going to help this club," Smith said.

 

The short-handed Twins have turned things around over the last two weeks, winning nine of their previous 11 games to cut their deficit to nine games when the day began. Getting Nishioka, Mauer and Perkins, who had emerged as their best reliever before getting hurt, back in the big leagues should only help matters.

 

"We have people that we we’re counting on heavily and when we get all of our team back out there we expect it to be good," Gardenhire said. "Really good. I hope."

[chw42]

Ahh yes, "The Process." I always seem to get that mixed-up.

 

Regardless, The Process does seem to finally seem to be working, but I doubt it's through any help of Dayton Moore's.

 

I could be drafting these kids from where their draft position has been. I'm not really sure there are a whole lot of moves at the MLB level that Moore has made that really impress me.

 

Even the Greinke trade...I think Escobar is going to be a bust, and I have argued this before, I don't think he is anywhere close to where Elvis Andrus is (whom people seem to enjoy comparing him to).

 

Maybe being bad to get those picks is part of Moore's plan.

[caulfield12]

Looks like the Indians and Tigers will be tied again at 6 over.

 

Time to make up some ground.

 

Of course, the Twins are beating up the Padres at home and will only be 3 GB of the White Sox as we take the field.

 

Need to stop the bleeding, because if Hudson beats us, we'll never hear the end of it.

[High Mileage]

Even the Greinke trade...I think Escobar is going to be a bust, and I have argued this before, I don't think he is anywhere close to where Elvis Andrus is (whom people seem to enjoy comparing him to).

Sure a lot of GM's could've made those picks, but Moore has made those picks. He's also somehow got ownership to give him a book of blank checks for the Draft and IFA signings, no easy feat to say the least.

 

While his MLB moves have been less than impressive, you can't fault the guy for trying. He may have given Jose Guillen $36 million, but only after losing out on Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones. He's also went after Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal, among others.

 

He's made some pretty good moves though. How about Joakim Soria as a Rule V pick? Or Francoeur for $2.5M? Betemit for $1M?

 

I agree, at this point, I think comparing Escobar to Andrus is ridiculous. He has provided the team with consistent (and often spectacular) defense though, which is what we needed from him the most.

 

Over the last two weeks, Escobar has went from...

 

.204/.239/.239/.478

 

to...

 

.246/.279/.294/.573

 

20-for-51 (.392) in that 2-week stretch...

 

[LittleHurt05]

He's made some pretty good moves though. How about Joakim Soria as a Rule V pick? Or Francoeur for $2.5M? Betemit for $1M?

 

Really? Signing Jeff Francoeur is never a good move. As always, he looks good on his new team for a month or so, then remembers he is Jeff Francoeur and starts hitting like crap.

 

April OPS: .912

May OPS: .675

June OPS: .617

[High Mileage]

I'm not saying the guy is a superstar, he's obviously not, but for the money he's been a great pick-up. He's a filler type, meanwhile he's been a pleasant surprise and his arm has saved our asses on more than one occasion...

 

 

[iamshack]

Sure a lot of GM's could've made those picks, but Moore has made those picks. He's also somehow got ownership to give him a book of blank checks for the Draft and IFA signings, no easy feat to say the least.

 

While his MLB moves have been less than impressive, you can't fault the guy for trying. He may have given Jose Guillen $36 million, but only after losing out on Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones. He's also went after Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal, among others.

 

He's made some pretty good moves though. How about Joakim Soria as a Rule V pick? Or Francoeur for $2.5M? Betemit for $1M?

Well, as for the draft picks, I guess he should be credited with allocating the money necessary to sign those picks. As for the selections themselves, I could have made them. I do credit him with sticking with Alex Gordon though.

 

Othwerwise, Soria or not, Moore has been a massive failure. I laugh at how much people criticize KW and then praise a guy like Moore for using annual top 5 draft picks to build a strong system.

 

I am happy for you though, as well as all KC fans, that the Royals do look like they are going to be relevent again. KC is a great baseball town and a great town in general.

[Balta1701]

First atbat for Mauer, base hit, RBI.

[LittleHurt05]

I'm not saying the guy is a superstar, he's obviously not, but for the money he's been a great pick-up. He's a filler type, meanwhile he's been a pleasant surprise and his arm has saved our asses on more than one occasion...

 

I guess so man. For a team with the "best system in baseball" that is not competing, I don't know why you would waste $2.5 million on a guy that nobody else wants, who has proven to automatically decline after he spends a few months with a team. That's cool if you are happy with him, but there is no way that it can be considered a "good move" for Moore.

[caulfield12]

I guess so man. For a team with the "best system in baseball" that is not competing, I don't know why you would waste $2.5 million on a guy that nobody else wants, who has proven to automatically decline after he spends a few months with a team. That's cool if you are happy with him, but there is no way that it can be considered a "good move" for Moore.

 

 

We can debate the Gil Meche signing, but that was very important symbolically.

 

Of course, the problem has always been these "filler" contracts like Bloomquist, Pods, Ankiel, Callaspo/Betemit, Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, etc. The argument was that they had to put "legitimate" major league players out there on the field in order to bridge that time period from 60 win teams to competitive ones instead of rushing ALL their minor leaguers up prematurely. And the Royals have really struggled to develop outfielders internally since Damon, DeJesus, Beltran and Dye (via trade from ATL).

 

So you have to be credit with their seeming patience. Hosmer was actually brought up earlier than most projected because of that future Super 2/arbitration years concern. At the time, the Royals were in a much better position than the White Sox, Twins and Tigers.

 

But they've done a pretty good job transitioning from the Sweeney/DeJesus/Greinke era fwiw. At least to the fans, there's now a clear identity and direction for the first time since the early 90's.

Edited June 19, 2011 by caulfield12

[Balta1701]

Link

The Cleveland Indians' recent offensive slump has cost Jon Nunnally his job as hitting coach.

 

Nunnally has been replaced by Bruce Fields, the Indians announced before Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

The move did not sit well with outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, whose season-long struggles likely were a big part of management's decision.

 

"I don't know what's going on around here," said Choo, a .297 career hitter batting only .237.

 

"We're still in first place," Choo added. "Why is he fired? I am very disappointed because he helped me a lot. Not just me, everybody on the team."

 

The Indians were shut out six times in 18 games from May 27 to June 14. They went 5-13, twice winning by 1-0 scores. In 13 games from June 2-13, they were 7 for 75 (.093) with runners in scoring position.

 

"We've been scuffling for a while and I felt like we need a new voice," manager Manny Acta said. "Jon worked hard and I want to thank him, but we are confident Bruce, who is very familiar with our current players, will continue the work he has done developing hitters at every level."