March 30, 2010
Twins Notes: Committees, Timetables, and Risky Girlfriends
We are a committee. Our closer role is a committee. We're going to try just about anything. I've never had to do it. It's going to be an experience trying to mix and match as best we can. But I've got some capable arms that we're going to rely on. I've seen committees work. It's not always the easiest thing in the world, but you just have to ad lib. When you lose your closer, it's a little different. That's how we're going to start, and we'll go from there.
Aside from steroids there's nothing the baseball media freaks out about more than a team without a so-called established closer, so expect plenty of logic-be-damned overreactions if the Twins blow a couple leads early on. In fact, expect some of those reactions right now. However, the odds of Gardenhire and the Twins sticking with a true committee approach to the ninth inning all year are very slim.
Gardenhire has said multiple times that he wants to find one man for the job, so mixing and matching Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain, and perhaps Pat Neshek early in the season will likely just be a way for him to determine the best fit for the role. I'd be surprised if a committee approach lasts longer than 3-4 weeks and, assuming the Twins don't trade for a veteran closer, would still bet on Rauch leading the team in saves.
In the meantime we're bound to hear how monumentally insane the Twins supposedly are for treating the ninth inning just like the seventh and eighth innings, which shows just how wrapped up everyone is in a role built around the save statistic. I don't think Gardenhire will go with a true closer-by-committee approach for long, if at all, but the Twins will be just fine if he does. Baseball existed without a one-inning closer for a hundred years or so.
For me, at 12 months there was no way I was ready to face hitters at that time. I don't know how guys come back quicker than that because it honestly was painful at that stage. Lots of scar tissue that would break up. I think they wrote my program to go slower so everything I did was set back a couple months, whereas a normal guy is around 12.
Plenty of pitchers have returned from the surgery within 12 months and been effective, but I'd be very surprised if Nathan is able to do so at age 35. Incidentally, if you weren't already a huge Neshek fan his answering my questions about elbow surgery via Twitter at midnight on a Tuesday should make you one.
Herrera received a $2 million signing bonus from the Pirates after defecting from Cuba as a 25-year-old in 2006, but has been mediocre in the minors and allowed 20 runs over 18.1 innings during his only major-league stint in 2008. They both seem destined for spots in the Rochester bullpen and are solid organizational depth, but Mahay is significantly more likely to see time in Minnesota this season.
I can't wait until I get my driver's license because I have to look for people who are 21 to get into my car and just go somewhere. I was thinking about getting a girlfriend who was 21, but that's kind of risky.
I initially imagined that quote being said in a thick German accent, but then hearing Kepler's nearly flawless English during a radio interview with Patrick Reusse ruined the fun.
How does one “officially” undergo surgery?
Comment by dirleton — March 30, 2010 @ 5:59 am
You’re much nicer in reporting on Sherman’s Span/Yankees bit than I was.
Comment by jesse — March 30, 2010 @ 7:58 am
Gotta love Neshek, he has to be one of the more accessible players in MLB. Glad he’s a Twin.
Comment by Adam — March 30, 2010 @ 8:40 am
After Monday’s performance I think you can forget about Mulvey being the D’backs 5th starter. His line is ugly:
IP 2, H 6, R 8, ER 3, BB 3, SO 0, HR 1, WP 1. Yes, he was (again) victimized by shoddy defense. But in this case some of that shoddy defense was his own. (He was slow covering first which resulted in a throwing error on the second baseman.) Beyond the numbers, he seemed totally lost on the mound, without any plan of attack. He tried nibbling around the corners, usually missing. Then he threw it right down the middle, with predictable results. His stuff is mediocre, but I’ve seen pitchers succeed with less. He doesn’t seem to have learned anything about pitching from his 3 different organizations. Or maybe he’s learned too much and doesn’t know what to believe.
Comment by James M. — March 30, 2010 @ 11:29 am
I am wondering how slama’s minor league “setbacks”/holdups compare to Neshek. He seems to have a similar “funky” (not sidearm, per see, but …) delivery/stuff and great minor league numbers but is being held back. Are the situations similar?
Comment by that guy — March 30, 2010 @ 11:34 am
Agree that closer role will be settled in amonth or so and that closer-by-committee is not something to get all worked up over.
Yoslan Herrera should probably know that renowned Cuban jazz pianist Nachito Herrera lives in the Twin Cities.
Comment by Jim Haas — March 30, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
I still don’t get it…Slama’s numbers are ridiculous in the minors, he was tough this spring, Gardy and Anderson seem to like him after this spring, and yet he is sent down when we have a large hole in EXACTLY his spot in the bullpen.
Why not give the rook the ball to start the season, and if he implodes, then figure it out from there. Seems like the current situation is going to mess with peoples roles more than anything. Closers are overrated, no doubt, but apparently having defined roles seems to help most relievers. So let everybody be in their comfortable role until Slama proves he doesn’t belong.
Comment by Breaker — March 30, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
This article is really interesting to me because this shows how twitter has made newspaper beat writers and newspapers themselves even more obsolete. Gleeman is able to ask Neshek very interesting and relevent questions from his basement and get an almost immediate response that can go into a blogger story.
The main advantage that newspapers have held in the sports world is access and quotes that bloggers are unable to attain.
However, with a new generation of players that are internet savvy. (Neshek being a prime example) These players understand that many of these bloggers are not just weirdos living in their parents’ basement and can provide excellent analysis.
Gleeman has the advantage of being associated with several reputable media organizations, but any blogger will be able to go to the growing number of athletes on twitter and get information straight from the source as opposed to getting quotes from a mainstream publications.
Really good article and I am excited to see more of it in the future.
Comment by Kyle — March 30, 2010 @ 1:02 pm
AG is right about how Gardy will approach this. In a month the Twins will have one closer. I’m thinking it will be Guerrier.
Sabremetricians can complain all they want about the overratedness of closers. Logically, they’re right. But I think players do benefit by having set roles and knowing what’s expected of them. Yes, oftentimes the biggest outs of a game are recorded in the seventh and eighth innings rather than the ninth, but as long as MLB puts value (read: money) on the position, and as long as we as fans pay more attention to games blown in the ninth inning than the sixth and seventh, there will be more pressure with the closer role. I probably haven’t stated this all that well, but it comes down to money and pressure.
If I ran MLB one thing I would assuredly change is the save rule. Eliminate save eligibility for pitchers who start the last inning with a three-run lead, and it would transform how relievers are used. I’m serious.
Comment by Neil — March 30, 2010 @ 8:04 pm
That reasoning is hideous but ole Yoslan still is more plugged in that Bob Sansevere.
Comment by Vulture — March 31, 2010 @ 8:17 am