Delmon Young strikes again

The Twins, undoubtedly, need a ton of work this offseason. There was some rumbling that the Atlanta Braves might have been interested in moving Martin Prado, a do everything player that, if maintained could potentially become another Michael Cuddyer. He was a disaster for the Braves last year, but had three years in which had an OPS+ well over a hundred, with an average over .300, all while playing 2nd, or 3rd or corner outfield spots. All of these are positions that need a ton of help at, and given Prado's off year in 2011, the Twins would be buying low.
/record scratches
But WAIT! The Tigers are going to make a move on Prado! According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, the Tigers are willing to part with Delmon Young if it means they get Prado in return. So, the Twins gave up on Young, have a pressing need, well, everywhere, a player that could help, well, anywhere, is available, and there is the chance that the player they gave up on to screw them out of a player they need. And then they will see him play in their division for all eternity. That. Is. Marvelous.
Let's say it goes through. The Twins then traded Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett for Young (I don't know why, but now seems like a good time to remind everyone that Garza and Bartlett were traded because, in part, they didn't get along with Gardenhire). Then, they traded Young for Spanish Jim Hoey. And now Young might be traded for Martin Prado. The Twins are awful. This is JJ Hardy all over again.

(My previous parenthetical aside, I think, is a forgotten element. The Twins couldn't convince Garza to pitch their way. The Twins couldn't convince Bartlett to play their way. How come Bill Smith takes the blame for trading them, and not Gardenhire or the staff for never getting through to them? Ooh, angry afternoon for me)

Something said about Delmon Young, not said about his former teammates

Delmon Young back in the lineup, hitting third, playing in left field. He'll be playing through the pain. - Buster Olney
"It didn't surprise Rangers manager Ron Washington that Young would try to gut through the pain." -Royal Oak Daily Tribune




Oh, an how about this tweet from the Detroit Free Press: "Delmon Young: "I really don't care how I did. We're trying to get a 'W' out here.""


But, you know, Young is soft and lazy and isn't much of a competitor. 

Just sayin'

Since he has gone to Detroit, Delmon Young is batting .312 with a slugging percentage of .462 and an OPS of .782. Fun fact: If this was kept up for a season, it would be his second highest total in his career. But hey, he had a crappy start to the season, right?
Hmm.
If you remove the two first, injury riddled months of the season, those same rate stats are .305/.436/.773. All of these would be his second highest rates in his career. Actually, no. Check that. That's the highest batting average in his career. But you know, he was injured for those two months, so he is a lazy, no good player.
Or you know, people were biased against him the whole time and looked for any excuse to crap all over him.
Just sayin'
(Also, this is before today's game, in which he hit another home run)

Reflections on the Delmon Young trade

I planned to post a well thought out, analytical post on the trade. I succeeded. The second half of this post, a reflection Young's tenure and treatment in Minnesota was not as successful. Prepare yourself for some extremely foul language.
First and foremost, it is obvious (and may have been stated already) that the Tigers claimed Young on waivers. This is the only reason Young was sent to Detroit, of all teams. Secondly, despite some claims, it seems as though the Twins may have had some interest in keeping Young next year. If not, if they had intended on non-tendering him, why not just let the Tigers make the claim? Instead, they nabbed two players for him, albeit mediocre minor league relievers. For the Twins, this makes next season's outfield situation a bit clearer. Span and Revere will likely play left and center, while, if the Twins are able to sign Kubel and Cuddyer, I suspect a rotation of Kubel, Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau will rotate through right field, first base and the DH spot. The Twins will probably finish 5th in the AL Central next year.
On an even more depressing level, the Twins have no turned Matt Garza AND Jason Bartlett into Jim Hoey and Lester Olivares, (as well as 2 other minor leaguers (Brendan Harris was moved to the Orioles with JJ Hardy, so that's why Hoey is included)). Fun fact: Lester Olivares is Spanish for Jim Hoey. I was a staunch supporter for the past few years, but I now have to say that Bill Smith is nothing if not terrible as a GM. Bad manager, bad management. Thank goodness for Terry Ryan leading up to this disastrous season. And next disastrous season.Which I have no doubt but that it will be unless there is a drastic, dramatic change within the organization.
Now for the part that children should probably refrain from reading.
I am extraordinarily troubled by the Delmon Young era in Minnesota. There are reasons from A) the inability for Ron Gardenhire to develop a right handed hitter, even one with immense potential (Michael Cuddyer is the ONLY exception) to B) how Young was completely and unabashedly hated in the Twin Cities, from bloggers like Nick Nelson to dumbfuck columnists like Jim Souhan. Even the Star Tribune decided to editorialize a little bit on his departure.
Through his career, Young had two really bleak stretches. When the Twins acquired him, he only had one year of Major League experience. 2008 could have easily been written off as a sophomore slump, were it anyone else, like, say Danny Valencia (this year, OPS+ 86, Young in '08 100), but in fact, Young had IMPROVED from his time in Tampa, and besides, Young is a big, scary, unsmiling black man with tattoos on his forearms.
In 2009, Young had his toughest stretch to date. Not in baseball, but in life. His mother passed away, and between visiting her during her dying days and then the certain emotional torment of a young man losing his mother, he struggled through the first two months of the season. Of course, instead of attributing his struggles to the psychological torment, he was branded a failure already. Despite limited playing time in June and July, he managed to rack up a batting average of .300 with 11 HR to finish the season.
2010 was really his only uninterrupted season. He was traded before '08, his mother passed away in the middle of '09 and this year, he was saddled for the first time with injuries. Young showed that he was improving in 2010. Without being disturbed in his seasonal arc, he overcame his typical slow start and ended up playing his way into a top 10 finish in MVP voting.
This year, he had another slow start, but this time he pulled an oblique, and was sent to the DL early. Still, despite what people might say, he came back extremely strong. Since that first injury, he has hit .306 with 13 doubles and 4 home runs. Hell, his OPS this month is .986.
But I am the only person you will here give Young the benefit of the doubt on anything. No, you have Souhan talking about how lazy he is. You have Nelson complaining about that one time he misplayed a ball in the field. You have Dave Schwartz suggesting that there has never been a good part of the Delmon Young experience. Why the fuck am I the only one who will ever stand up for him?
I never heard any problems with Young in the clubhouse. I never heard anyone from the Twins organization speak ill of his work ethic. And the Twins team is one, to their credit that will suss out lazy players. Why would the Twins put up with him for 4 goddamned years if he was lazy, or a bad presence in the clubhouse? I mean, they traded Garza for that reason. Kevin Slowey has been in Rochester for that reason. There is no tangible evidence that he has wrought problems in the Twins clubhouse. The only real evidence of his attitude is that he through a fucking bat one fucking time when he was a fucking teenager. If I was held accountable for everything I did when I was a teenager all the way through my 20s, I would be in rough fucking shape.
Why did Delmon NEVER get a pass? He was a better player than Cuddyer at the same age. He's a better player now than Danny Valencia. He's a much better overall player (right now) than Ben Revere. Is it all about his salary? Or is it something more sinister? I suspect something of a blend of the two, but I will leave it to your own interpretation.
Part of the reason I have always been on Young's bandwagon is the vitriol he received from others (the opposite reason -- undeserved praise -- is why I was so hard on guys like Nick Punto). But you won, you unrelenting shitbags. Your complete lack of patience and understanding won out. If there is any solace for me, it's that now, when Delmon Young strings together healthy, uninterrupted seasons and becomes the player he can be, you dumbasses will only hate him more. If anyone beats the Twins, I hope it's him. I hope it's the guy that everyone doubted.

Delmon Young and Danny Valencia ARE THE SAME PLAYER!!!!

To wit: OPS+ in the mid 80s, bad defense, a middling season a year after a break out. Both of these descriptors could be used to describe either Valencia or Young. There are subtle differences, of course. Valencia is a year older (!) and Young has 5 years of Major League experience (!). Valencia's struggles this year can be attributed to the enigmatic sophomore slump, while Young's can be attributed to the much more tangible trips to the DL for the first time in his career.
I bring this up for one reason, the perceived tone when dealing with both players. When Valencia and his problems are brought up, people worry about his development, and what will eventually come from the youngster. When Young and his problems this season are mentioned, the tone is that Young is a washed up has been that the Twins should divest themselves of immediately. Again: Young and Valencia are the same player in almost every way this year.
I don't understand. Is it simply the money? It has to be right? The two players are the same this year, but Young has a longer history of success. His lowest career batting average is .284, his lowest HR total is 10. He has 5 career seasons. His career average is .289, with an OPS of .748. Danny Valencia has onle one other year of experience, so this season should serve as a greater bit of evidence that he isn't quite cut out for the Majors (and if we apply the same standards to Valencia as we do to Young, Valencia should be replaced immediately). Valencia's career stats over the course of what amounts to about a season and a third, he is hitting .272 with an OPS of .724.
Young, this season, has been approximately the same player as Valencia, and the past 5 years should have shown us that he is the better overall player. Why doesn't anyone treat him that way.

I mean, besides me, of course.

Sweet Sassy Molassy, Jim Souhan

Good ol' Jim Souhan is always ready to bag on Delmon Young (as are many people, but Souhan writes his columns in the Star Tribune). It came up again in a column from Saturday's paper, found here.It mostly stated the obvious, that Trevor Plouffe and Delmon Young need to step up for the rest of the year.  That's when Souhan's lack of journalistic chops comes in. This is what bothers me about Delmon Young criticism: nobody ever does the leg work to back up their claims.

Last season, Young drove in 112 runs. This season, he's on pace to drive in about 38, and it's too late in the season for him to ask for more time to find his swing.

Ah, but of course. RBI are not the only mark of a man in baseball, and not even close to the best. They have a lot to do with what the batters ahead of you in the lineup do. According to my "clutch" stat on the perceived value spread sheet, Young simply doesn't have that many opportunities this year to drive in runners. His "clutch" rating is one of the highest on the team, which I don't mean to claim is any talent of Young's. I'm just stating that he doesn't have many RBI, but he hasn't had much opportunity either.
Ron Gardenhire also added a little fuel to the fire:
I wanted to give him 30, 40 at-bats. Normally, Delmon has stated it takes him 140, 150 at-bats. He's had 'em. Let's see you swing now
Between May and April, Young had 120 ABs, which, obviously, is less than 140 or 150. Through June, before this article was written, and before about 4 games worth of Young's return, Young had already hit .321 for the month. He found his swing, then he got hurt. Not "he needs to find his swing". Oh, and in July, Young's average is .348. Just throwing that fun little stat out there.
So, I mean, if you don't like Delmon Young, bring up some actual facts that are irrefutable. And try to have a little patience

Delmon Young isn't getting traded

This is a bit of a change of pace for me, I'm not going to break out a bunch of stats to show you why everyone is wrong about Young (Only 4 errors this season and a better zone rating than league average, his batting average is climbing after a .321 June, warming up in summer, just like always). No, I am here to explain why those calls to trade Delmon just won't go unanswered.
There are two reasons why someone would be traded off a major league roster: 1) as part of a prospect package for a big time player or 2) as the big time player in exchange for prospects.
He won't be exchanged as a prospect, because he makes too much money. That and he is arbitration eligible and will be gone after next year if traded to a crummy team, like, say, the Padres. Simply not a good investment. I like the guy, but he won't turn around a team in one year. Simple as that.
He won't be exchanged for prospects himself because of the way he has been dumped upon by his own fans. The perception is that he isn't very good, and for the first two months of the year, he hasn't been up to snuff. He will come around at the end of the season, of course, but if you are trading for what he has been this year, trading prospects isn't a good investment either.
Sorry, impatient, ignorant baseball fans (and writers... Souhan, et al) Delmon is a Twin at the end of the year.

More Amazing Delmon Young facts and figures

First, a quote from the man in question after last night's ankle wrecking collision with the wall.
"I don't know what it is this year, but it happens. None of us want to get hurt," Young said. "It's boring on the DL. It's boring rehabbing."

I have to say, that is the longest ever quote I have ever heard from him. Opening up to the media at long last! Anywho. Back to the stats that blew even me away. Me the ardent and unhealthy Delmon Young supporter. To wit:

I	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	ROE	BAbip	tOPS+
	April/March	103	98	406	377	46	93	16	1	6	45	12	5	23	71	.247	.288	.342	.630	129	16	1	0	5	0	7	.285	70
	May	111	103	442	404	49	103	18	3	7	49	4	2	30	90	.255	.308	.366	.674	148	11	3	0	5	3	5	.308	82
	June	117	114	464	451	55	141	28	0	10	71	5	3	9	78	.313	.325	.441	.767	199	18	1	0	3	1	3	.358	105
	July	88	85	364	340	42	124	28	2	9	60	5	2	12	52	.365	.393	.538	.931	183	5	7	0	5	2	3	.405	149
	August	108	103	445	417	56	112	21	0	13	62	2	1	16	75	.269	.300	.412	.712	172	17	5	1	6	4	4	.296	90
	Sept/Oct	133	131	560	529	61	155	34	2	16	77	6	6	20	102	.293	.323	.456	.779	241	15	6	0	5	5	4	.334	108

Holy Mackerel!If those numbers are a bit tough to decipher, they can be found at Baseball-Reference. They are his career splits from month to month. Through his career, he has always been awful in the first two months of his season. He improves dramatically later. Like, he becomes transcendent. A .365 CAREER batting average in July?! Kept down are his total games played because he was benched frequently his first two years here because he was given up on after those first two abysmal months.
Most of his home runs and RBI come late in the year too. His power stroke comes around in August and really takes off in September.
What am I trying to say? A little patience with Young goes a long way. I have always said that this team needs to get more right handed, and I hope he can stick around, and the team and fans can be patient with him. I will always cheer for him, and any team that has the patience to wait for his bat to come around, even if his days with the Twins are over.

(As for his fielding, no matter how it looks, he is INFINITELY better than Kubel and Cuddyer. Sure, he doesn't look that fast, but he IS much faster than both, especially Kubel. Let me ask you this. If a player gets to 10 more balls but drops 5 of them, doesn't he STILL make 5 more outs? Young is a better outfielder, plain and simple. Parenthesees over)

OK, I get it

Nobody likes Delmon Young. Every where you turn, there is someone lobbying to have him benched or traded or something. So, until the deadline passes, or I get bored, I am going to present you with a reason that Young should stick around. Today's reason? He is right handed.
Next season, Michael Cuddyer is off the roster (probably) which leave the Twins with a stable of righties that includes Danny Valencia and Delmon Young (if he is retained). The Twins aren't really big on signing free agents and certainly wouldn't sign one for the outfield, not with Ben Revere (another lefty) slotted to take over.
Target Field has pretty much shown that it is much easier for a right handed bat to be successful than a lefty. Why would we continue to stock up on lefties in power spots, where their power is squandered? It makes no sense to me.
Thoughts?

On Delmon Young's nascent beard

The Twins left fielder Delmon Young appears to be trying to grow a goatee of some sort. I am having issues with the internet and uploading images all day today, so I can't show you, bu it is looking a little ragged.
But it's still early in the season for Delmon's beard. Beards of this nature never start out well, and I hope that doesn't give everyone a biased opinion on the beard. I say be patient, and eventually the beard will look great. Of course, there will be some people that will only remember the beard in it's early stages and demand that the beard be let go or be demoted to a soul patch, but you just have to look at what the beard will be, not what the beard is. The beard is still young

The case for Delmon Young

I've long been a Delmon Young apologist, and I still think his acquisition was a good move, given the circumstances ( a glut of pitching prospects with a need for a right handed bat, especially one whose star was bright) even if, perhaps, some of the results haven't been so good. This year, just like every year, people are on his case, and would like to see him traded. Frankly, some of his failings are wearing on me too, and I can't help but be disappointed that someone I have vouched for so ardentlyhaving such a dreadful year.
Anyways, I wanted to dig a little deeper and see what Young's problem's are this year, and see if there is hope. Some of the most typically addressed problems with Young are A) his strikeouts and B) his play in the field. I looked first at those issues, using the objective Fangraphs.
First, the strikeouts. He is currently striking out at 22%, which is certainly higher than his breakout season last year, when it was at 14%, but really, it's only a shade higher than his career mark, just short of 19% of his at bats.  And really, it's only 131 at bats into the season, so the strikeout rate could fluctuate. What IS unusual is that his swing rate is down 6%. For those who are concerned with his aggression at the plate, it's actually lower this year. So he is striking out, yes, but I don't think that's the issue.
Second, the fielding. He has looked terrible and indifferent. I won't argue with that. The surprising thing, to me anyway, is that according to Fangraphs' UZR rating, is that, by far, this is his best fielding year in his career. He is an above average left fielder this year. Strictly speaking, the only problem with his glove is that he doesn't demonstrate any enthusiasm, which is not a statistically quantifiable measure. I think, then, that neither his strikeouts or his glove are problems. Or at least, they aren't bigger issues this year than any other year.
That said, I have come across a couple of problems. First, his infield fly rate is astronomical, at nearly 19% of his at bats, whereas 5% is typical. Furthermore, after a few seasons in which his home run rate per fly ball was 10%, it is way down at 2% this season. What does this mean? It means that when he does make contact, it is very poor contact. This cuts into his BABIP rate, his batting average for balls in play. If you have a more typical mix of line drives, fly balls and ground balls, it works out to .290ish for the league. Young usually hits a lot of line drives, and his career BABIP is .329. This year, it is .260. If he starts making better contact, just slightly better contract, his numbers are going to skyrocket.
The other issue is that Young almost always starts slowly. If you look at his career averages, he has never hit better than .247 in April, and last season was the first time he hit better than .264 in May. Keep in mind that Young missed a stretch of the season with an oblique injury, his first time on the DL in his entire career. Just like 2009 when his mother's untimely passing delayed his season start, it's probably taking a while for him to get going.
So, while everyone can be rightfully dismayed by his season to this point, I think it's important to realize that there are plenty of components available that can make the Twins a successful team next year, and Delmon Young is one of them. Part of being a good fan is optimism.

The Delmon Young play

I think we all know the play I am talking about. Yunel Escobar lined it over Young's head and it bounced past him. He then stopped and Denard Span had to run from center field to grab it. He was rightfully panned by commentators and fans alike.
The problem I have with the play (well, outside of the play itself) is that it was never addressed. Gardenhire was interviewed and said that it was addressed, and that was the end of it. Nobody pressed Gardenhire, nobody bothered to interview Young (or Span) on the topic. I mean, really, come on sports media. Let's probe at least a little bit before we continue to tear the young man down.
Gardenhire had him in the lineup the next day. Gardenhire is a stickler for effort, and has criticized Young for as much  during his first few years. The fact that he was in the lineup the next day told me that it was a non-issue in the Clubhouse. Instead when he was benched for two games, the calls for his head started again. Of course, today, Gardenhire said that he was benched because he kept striking out, not because of the play or effort.
So, yes, it was a bad play, an ugly display of baseball, but why don't journalists do a little journalism before letting a fan base jump down someone's throat?
Except Souhan. He'll always be a racist dick.

Jim Souhan, WTF

... is your problem with Delmon Young? I was all ready to piss and moan about the Twins, call Gardenhire a loser, all that, but then Jim Souhan presented his 6 things the Twins need to do to retool. Let me be the first to tell you, it is an unrelenting pile of....
Why don't I just break this down, FJM style? (but less funny and more angry)

They must alter their team chemistry and organizational philosophies to better enable them to compete against powerhouse teams in the playoffs

Sounds like Souhan wants the manager out! So long, Gardenhire!

Here are my point-by-point recommendations on how to react in the wake of the Twins' most embarrassing playoff loss in recent history:

I can't wait! We're already off to a good start!

1. DON'T BLAME THE MANAGER

Sh*t


If Gardenhire has a relevant flaw, it's that he is highly emotional and intense

And he's a poor tactician. And his teams come out flat in the playoffs. And he's a little overweight. Oh, sorry, that's not relevant.


Some of the greatest managers of all time enjoyed limited postseason success. Atlanta was right to revere Bobby Cox despite his team's playoff failures, and Minnesota should regard Gardenhire similarly.

Bobby Cox's postseason record: 65-63. Gardenhire: 6-21. Also, Cox has a World Series ring and 5 NL pennants, which is 1 more World Series ring and 5 more pennants than Gardenhire has. Cox has been to the World Series almost as many times as Gardenhire has won a postseason game. So, if Souhan means "Minnesota should regard Gardenhire similarly if they only care about how many times he gets ejected from baseball games," then I totally agree,

2. ACQUIRE POWER ARMS

Agreed.

The teams that have beaten the Yankees in the postseason -- the 2001 Diamondbacks with Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, the 2002 Angels with their power bullpen, the 2003 Marlins with Josh Beckett, the 2004 Red Sox with Schilling and Pedro Martinez, the 2006 Tigers with Justin Verlander, etc. -- were able to strike out the Yankees' best hitters in the biggest situations.

Wait, you aren't going to base all of your strategy on beating the Yankees in one series are you? You're not about to propose some sort of ass-minded trade in order to acquire a pitcher that would probably lead to the Twins not making the postseason, in the attempt to beat the Yankees IN the postseason, are you?

Delmon Young is at his highest value, and the organization is down on Kevin Slowey. Could they offer those two plus a prospect and swing a trade for Zack Greinke? 

Dammit.

That might not be possible, but it's the right way to think. 

Delmon Young is the best right handed hitter on the team that plays in a stadium that favors right handed hitters. Kevin Slowey, when healthy, is a serviceable back of the rotation pitcher . You could trade Delmon Young alone for Greinke... if the Royals would be willing to take on Young and his salary for one season. They certainly wouldn't tkae Young AND Slowey. They would LOVE those prospects, though. And besides, the Twins next year, and listen very closely, will be BETTER with Young and Slowey than they would without those two and with Greinke on the roster.
Young led the team in RBI (BS statistic, I know) but was the top HR hitter from the right side of the plate, and had an OPS of .826, (between Vlad Guerrerro and Carlos Quentin, btw), and is still under team control for another year or two. you, Jim Souhan, are the only person I know that thinks that Young should be traded, let alone as part of a package for Zack Greinke.
Slowey, on the other hand, is being plagued by a very high BAbip, which is indicative of bad luck, and WILL be better next year, no matter what your gut tells you.
So in summary, Mr. Souhan, no, trading Young Slowey and a prospect is decidedly NOT the way to think.


3. GET YOUNGER AND FASTER

The impression this offseason is that the Twins need to cut payroll, which means that the team will get younger. Faster? Who cares.

Facing a Yankee team with a weak-armed catcher in Jorge Posada, the Twins found themselves with only one starter who could run, center fielder Denard Span.

Oh right, rebuilding the entire team is focused exclusively on defeating the Yankees, never mind that with your plan, the Twins would be about 14 games behind the Royals, who now have Delmon Young and Kevin Slowey.

While Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy were comforting because of their sure hands and experience, by the end of the year neither had produced much offensively or shown range in the field. The Twins, who won't be able to afford bringing everyone back, should get younger, cheaper and faster up the middle.

Orlando Hudson is 32 and coming off a Gold Glove season. JJ Hardy is 28 (if that's old, then I'm screwed) and hit ,300 with 4 HRs over the last month of the season. But you know, facts.

One possibility is starting Alexi Casilla at short and Luke Hughes at second, with Trevor Plouffe and Matt Tolbert waiting their turn.

/Cough cough choke

Casilla would give them speed and range and would produce more runs than Hardy. Hughes would lack range but add pop to the lineup.

So wait, you are troubled by the lack of range, but want to add Hughes who you say would lack range? And his "pop" involves 10 home runs at triple A. And the whole "runs produced" idea that you cite with Casilla? Yeah, runs are essentially produced by the hitters behind you, since they have to, you know, drive you in. The only time you would have created a run solely by yourself is if you hit a home run, which Casilla doesn't do. Casilla would need someone with a big bat behind him to create a run, like Delmon Young.

Oh wait.

Hudson won't be back. Hardy will be only if he's willing to take a large pay cut.

This is from his 4th point, which is to be smart about free agents, and I generally agree with this. The only thing I have to say is that Hardy is arbitration eligible, so his salary is likely to be unchanged, or at the very least increase slightly. Anyways, no way he gets a pay cut.

5. BRING BACK JIM THOME

Yeah OK. You always start so good, but right now you have Luke Hughes starting at second and Delmon Young taking the Royals to the World Series.

The Twins might have to overspend to keep Jim Thome.

So so so so so.... wait a minute. Wait. Just a minute. Hold on. So.... You want to let go of JJ Hardy for nothing to get his payroll off the books even though he is an above average fielder and power from an unusual spot in the defensive outfield (AND HE BATS RIGHTY), but you advocate overpaying for Jim Thome? Jim "one of 15 lefties on the team" Thome? Jim "will have to split time with Jason Kubel" Thome? Oh right, Delmon Young is gone, so the all lefty line up can play all the time. You're right. No problems here!

6. CROSS YOUR FINGERS

.... and hope nobody listens to you.

I was right!

Enough of the boohooing and sadness about how the Twins are playing, I though I would say this one good thing about the Twins. And me. 

Right now, with Justin Morneau on the DL, Delmon Young leads active qualifying players in batting average and runs batted in. He IS a good player. I was right all along, and I was proven correct even before he was sent away. I'm not a know nothing blogger! I know at least one thing! 

Now, about moving him up in the order...

I guess everyeone ISN'T in love with Delmon Young

Of all the people who hate Delmon Young, there isn't anyone more blatant about it than Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune. Big Blue Monkey (I think that's actually his real name) at IDYFT alerted me to his piece of boobery BBM had many salient points on just what is wrong with Souhan's idiotic prose, like that Delmon Young is actually playing well this year, everyone seems to agree that the temper tantrum Young had last year was the fault of Jose Mijares and that comparing Young to Bobby Freaking Kielty is absurd. It was really a post after my own heart.
I would like to make a few other points that crossed my mind when the world found out that Cliff Lee was going to the Rangers. The first was that I wasn't terribly broken up because the way the team is playing right now, it's not like swapping out one player for another and still having 0 pitching depth was going to help us get to the promised land. It also wouldn't really benefit the team if Michael Cuddyer and his depressing .263 BA is our best right handed hitter.
Second, if we are going to turn it around, then why would we want to drop the same players that have turned things around? The Twins have added payroll like never before in their history, so there has never been a "win now" attitude in Minnesota like there should be this year. We shouldn't be sacrificing out major leaguers, especially if they are contributing to the success of this year's team. Gut the minors, don't give up someone like Delmon Young.
I used to be of the mind that we should give up Kubel if we were going to be adding Cliff Lee, because as a left handed bat, he is redundant in the lineup, but frankly there aren't any players out there that should demand that type of return. I just don't know if there is anyone out there that is worth breaking the bank for. If you want to trade Delmon Young for anyone, you probably just want to get rid of Delmon Young.
Jim Souhan is dumb.

The legend of the Knoblauch

Back in 1991, the Twins had a young rookie 2nd baseman that looked a little like Joe Pantoliano from The Fugitive (though the movie would come out a couple years later). He eventually won the Rookie of the Year award while helping guide the Twins to the World Series in 1991. That youngster, of course, was Chuck Knoblauch.
Eventually, he became discontented in Minnesota and was traded in the offseason before the 1998 season to the New York Yankees. To this day, the trade is impacting his former team, no matter what angry battery throwers may want to think. Let's follow the family tree from the Knobby trade.
DANIEL MOTA - Eh, nothing.
CRISTIAN GUZMAN - He was eventually a decent top of the order spark of energy that helped the Twins with their early 2000s turnaround. Eventually went to Washington via free agency.
ERIC MILTON - Milton threw a no no for the Twins and was eventually traded to the Phillies for pitchers Carlos Silva, Bobby Korecky and infielder Nick Punto. Silva was a decent enough #2 in the rotation for a while, as Milton had been, and Bobby Korecky even had a few good appearances as a reliever before being selected by the Diamondbacks on waivers. Punto, for better or worse, is still on the team as the starting 3b.
BRIAN BUCHANAN - This is perhaps the most curious inclusion. He wasn't terribly effective with the Twins, and was eventually traded to give more PT to Michael Cuddyer and Dustan Mohr. They acquired a young shortstop from the Padres named Jason Bartlett. After beginning to emerge with the Twins, Bartlett was eventually packaged with Matt Garza and Eduardo Morlan and sent to the Rays for Jason Pridie (now with the Mets), Brendan Harris, still doing yeoman's work as a utility infielder and Delmon Young, a former number one pick and one of the better right handed bats the Twins have.
So, the remaining legacy of Chuck Knoblauch is Nick Punto, Brendan Harris and Delmon Young. Not bad 12 years later. (By the way, Delmon Young was 5 years old when Knobby made his debut)

Happy Delmon Young Day!

I know, I'm writing a day early (or three weeks late--sorry, all!), but it's Delmon Young Day! The Victoria Times Minnesota writers may not agree on everything, but it seems Ryan and I have agreed on Delmon Young.

I don't know that I can write more than I have, or more than Ryan has. I think it comes down to this: people expected immediate results in Delmon Young, placed Joe Mauer expectations on him, and well, he wasn't. I think the big thing is that he was a major league player before he came to the Twins, therefore, the expectation was of a polished, professional player. Carlos Gomez came to the Twins, and his childlike exuberance endeared him to the fans. When he messed up, or wasn't hitting well, he was still a child. Should we mention here that Gomez is only three months younger than Young? When Young was in his first spring training with the Twins, a writer saw him sitting with some of the Twins minor league players--A and AA players, actually. The writer mentioned to Young how nice it was to hang out with the minor league players. Young looked surprised and matter-of-factly said that these guys were more his age. And the writer realized it was true. Most guys Young's age were in the middle minor league years. (In fact, it's quite possible in the draft in June of that year, the Twins drafted rookies younger than Young. I need to get ready for a ballgame, or I'd look it up.)

And, as I've likely stated before, Young gets the short end of the deal. He's young. But we've heard so much about him, we expect him to play like an older player. He's advanced for his age, yes. But he's not a once-in-a-lifetime player like Mauer or Pujols (which really, doesn't make them literally once in a lifetime, does it?). Delmon Young will be 24 for most of this year. Do you know what Justin Morneau's batting average was the year he turned 24? It was .239, in his first full season with the Twins. Many of us were disappointed in him, but we thought he needed more time in the minors, not a complete bust. Michael Cuddyer hit .245, and still hadn't had more than 120 at-bats in any year he'd played with the Twins (the next year he'd get 386).

So, let's give Delmon a little time to grow. It's a bit premature to call him a bust. He likely won't ever be a patient hitter. His on-base-percentage won't greatly exceed his batting average. But if his batting average does well, and his slugging percentage does well, he will be a good outfielder.

Incidentally, he's not great defensively. He's getting better, but may never be great. But remember, he's really a right fielder, and the Twins have Cuddyer and his deaf left ear in right field. (The deafness is important--it would likely be harder for Cuddy to play left field, as he'd have more trouble hearing the center fielder to his left for plays in the gap.)

So, celebrate Delmon Young Day. Do it by giving the guy a little slack--not in sloppy play, but in holding him to standards of a 24-year-old--an age a guy is often getting his first full year in the majors.

It's All Relative

Ryan wrote earlier this week about Delmon Young. I wrote a month ago regarding a column Minnesota Sports commentator Patrick Reusse wrote—before we knew Young lost 30 pounds over the winter (although ten of it was due to illness).

I thought about it, and I’ll expand a little bit on the comment that I made on Ryan’s article, so bear with me if this is a little bit of a repeat.

Let’s look at his first two seasons with the Twins. His first season, he was playing under the pressure of an attitude for a bad reputation. (Remember his altercations with former {Devil} Rays teammate Carl Crawford--which, in my opinion, Young came out looking more mature by only commenting mildly when forced to by the media?) He was on a new team, and likely felt pressure, knowing he was traded for a rather good pitcher. It would’ve been an adjustment year for the young man, learning a new team/system. In his second season, likely feeling the pressure of the first not-so-stellar year, he also had to deal with something no 23-year-old boy should: he knew his mother was dying. Mrs. Young had pancreatic cancer, which was just discovered prior to Spring Training. Delmon Young had to walk into the club house for Spring Training with the very real possibility he might never see his mother again. He had to face the first two months of the season knowing a phone call could come any day. (As it was, he was fortunate enough to be there just before she died. As I mentioned last month, his season did improve.

The year Justin Morneau won the MVP (2006), Twins fans—and apparently MVP voters—were willing to set aside Morneau’s April, wherein he batted an unimpressive .208/.274/.416 at age 25. Twins fans need to let Delmon Young’s age 24 season April (.241/.276/.315) and May (.236/.288/.236).

Second off, let me start with one of my favorite amusing stats. In 2008, Geovany Soto of the Cubs won the Rookie of the Year award. Soto was born January 30, 1983, so he was 25 years old his entire rookie year. He wasn’t particularly young as a rookie, but he wasn’t particularly old, either. A reasonable age for a rookie. That same year, Twins Joe Mauer brought home his second batting title, completing, technically, his fifth full year in the majors (fourth, if you don’t count the injury-riddled rookie season). Mauer didn’t turn 25 until a couple of weeks after the 2008 season started. You don’t often think of a kid winning Rookie of the Year being older than a two-time batting champion. Yet, there we are.

Twins fans have been waiting for a third baseman ever since Corey Koskie left the Twins after the 2004 season. After watching (in no particular order) Michael Cuddyer, Nick Punto, Mike Lamb, Brendan Harris, Tony Batista, and some other random guys whom I’m forgetting, the Twins fans were finally hanging their hats on minor-leaguer Danny Valencia. He’s the up-and-coming hot prospect. The fans don’t expect him to start this year, but the hope is he’ll come up this year, and be the full-time third baseman next year. The fans can accept the wait, because he’s still a young player and they don’t want him called up too early. (This is all arguably. Plenty of people thought he should’ve been a September call-up in hopes of him starting this year, but they’ve accepted the way things are for the moment.)

And then someone mentioned this spring that Valencia turned 25 last fall—September 19 is his birthday. Delmon Young turned 24 this fall—September 14. That’s when it became clear that Delmon Young, despite having been in the majors for three full seasons, was actually a year younger than the “kid” we were all hoping would take over third base. One of his first years with the Twins, in Spring Training, a reporter noted he was sitting with the minor leaguers. They commented on how cool that was, and Young shrugged and mentioned that these guys were his age.

People had a lot of expectations for Delmon Young that he didn’t live up to, and people weren’t willing to forgive. Delmon Young is still very young. There are guys older than him in the minor leagues who aren’t considered washed-up.

My point in this is answering exactly why Twins’ media (both professional and bloggers) seem to be higher on Delmon Young than they have in the past. There’s probably more to it as well (the weight loss—showing a sign of dedication to the game in the off-season—for one), but these two reasons, in my opinion, are a good start of the turn-around in feeling. I just hope the fans can stay calm if Delmon starts slow. After all, as stated earlier, Justin Morneau had a slow start in 2006, and it all turned out okay in the end.

Timberwolves update: They have a 0-4 record since I last reported. They’re now at 14-55, or a 20.3% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 7-61, reportedly on pace for a record year.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 34-29-6 record, for a 49.3% winning percentage. They’re not technically out of the playoff picture yet, but neither are the Baltimore Orioles.

So wait, now everyone loves Delmon Young?

For the past couple of seasons, Delmon Young has been the subject of scorn from Minnesota fans and writers, and the subject of snide remarks from the management. It was cheered when Jim Thome was signed, because many suspected that this meant Jason Kubel would be in the field (ugh) and Thome would be the every day DH (Thome hit .249 last year, so I can see the allure). Now that he is in camp, each of the Twin Cities' papers has run a glowing report on the young man, with statements from Ron Gardenhire and Justin Morneau.
What?!
In both articles (Pioneer Press here, Star Tribune here), they mention his dramatic weight loss in the off season, demonstrating his dedication. He does look like a whole new person, by the way. They also mention that he has been, historically, a slow starter, and that his mind was elsewhere for much of last year because he lost his mother to cancer early in the season. Gardenhire, Morneau and even Jim "trade Joe Mauer" Souhan believe that he's now a projected to have a big breakout season. They remind us that he is still young and extremely talented.
I've been saying all of those things (except for the weight loss thing) for months now. Still, I struggled to find support for my beliefs until this Spring Training. I have no idea what changed. Does anyone have any idea? Is Souhan reading my blog?

I just wanted to know

This is a week old, and I recognize that Patrick Reusse is an “old-school” sports reporter*, but I’m asking for clarification. Reusse wrote in column at the Star and Tribune that “…if Young were to show up with his hitter's mind as muddled as it was for nearly four months of last season”. I only ask this: what four months did Young show up with a hitter’s mind muddled?

* I’m a fan of old-school mostly. However, in this case, an old-school sports reporter is one who picks players he likes and doesn’t like, and will constantly see that player as great or horrible. There are many bloggers out there that do the same. Me? I tend to see all players as great. I recognize that the worst first baseman in the league is still a better first baseman than billions of people worldwide.

For sake of comparison, I’m going to compare Delmon Young to Michael Cuddyer. (Please note: I love Michael Cuddyer. I have loved him as a baseball player since, well, before he was declared to be the regular third baseman.) I’m going to presume Mr. Reusse would grudgingly accept that last year’s Twins’ home run leader is an okay guy. (Reusse fits the cranky old sports writer role to a tee. He will only admit a player is good when he’s phenomenal (see Mauer, Joe), and even then will point out any possible flaw in his character (“I don’t care if he’s leading the league in innings behind the plate for the last five years! He’s hurt too often!”)

Was Young’s mind muddled in April, when he’s a notorious “slow starter”? In April, Young didn’t hit well, but I wouldn’t say it was horrendous: .241/.276/.315 in 54 at-bats. Bear in mind something I don’t think the fans knew, but Young certainly did: at age 23, his mother was terminally ill, and he couldn’t be near her. So beyond his notorious poor starts, he was dealing with problems beyond baseball. And even if that was a poor performance, I don’t see Reuesse calling Michael Cuddyer to task for his “slow start”. Cuddyer’s April stats read a poor .224/.318/.316 in 76 at-bats (only beating Young in on-base percentage—and age). That’s one poor month for Delmon Young, and according to Reusse: three to go. Cuddyer: 0, Young: 1.

Now let’s look at May. Please recall that Young missed at least a week due to his mother’s death (remember, again, he’s a 23-year-old kid). In 55 at-bats, he hit .236/.288/.236. Cuddyer, on the other hand, dropped off his slow start and hit a stellar .312/.395/.651 in 109 at-bats. Of course, his mother wasn’t dying, either. That’s two poor months for Young, and by Reusse’s standards, two to go. Cuddyer: 1, Delmon: 1.

In June is when Young started to come around. With Span out with an ear infection, Young would’ve had more regular playing time. In 67 at-bats, he hit .284/.279/.388. That’s pretty good, in my opinion, for a 23-year-old not named Joe Mauer*. Cuddyer did just better than him, .278/.333/.481 in 79 at-bats. Young wins in the batting average, Cuddyer in the on-base and slugging percentage. I’ll give it to Cuddyer. Two poor months for Young, Reusse tells us there are two more coming. Cuddyer: 2, Young: 1.

* Joe Mauer, in his June at age 23, hit .452/.528/.624.

Now, onto July. Young hit a surprising .313/.343/.500 in 32 at-bats. Cuddyer, meanwhile, went .250/.318/.490 in 100 at-bats. That’s a clear-cut win for Young, leading in all three stats (including on-base percentage, which is usually Young’s weak point). Two poor months for Young, and Reusse tells us there are still two to go. Cuddyer: 2, Young: 2.

In August, Young fell back a little bit, to .262/.279/.476 in 84 at-bats (clearly, getting more playing time). Cuddyer improved a bit over July and in 102 at-bats, hit .294/.333/.520. This clearly gets handed to Cuddyer, but Young’s August was not poor. Sure, it wasn’t excellent, but it’s not like he challenged the Mendoza line. Two poor months for Young, two to go according to Ruesse. Cuddyer: 3, Young: 2.

September came along to the race to the playoffs. Delmon was up to the task, hitting .309/.326/.444 in 81 at-bats. Cuddyer was equal to the task, hitting .282/.321/.563 in 103 at-bats. This is a hard call and while my gut tells me Cuddyer won, Young did lead in two of the three stats we’re looking at, so I’ll give it to Young. Two poor months for Young, and according to Reusse, we still have two left, which is hard when there’s only one month left to play. Cuddyer: 3, Young: 3.

In October, in the few games played, Young hit .455/.500/.909 with 22 at-bats. These would’ve included the crucial games of the years while the Twins overtook the Tigers. Young was named MLB co-player of the week for the last week of the season for his performance. Cuddyer, meanwhile, was not slouching, and hit .263/.417/.684 in 19 at-bats. We can safely give this one to Young. That leaves us with Cuddyer: 3, Young: 4.

I’m not sure where Reusse got his “for nearly four months” from, because I’m only counting two. Maybe three, if you want to count August, although I’d call you crazy for that. In most months, he and Cuddyer were fairly close, stats-wise.

When it all comes down to it, Young ended his year with a .284/.308/.425 line, and Cuddyer ended the year with a .276/.342/.520 line. Cuddyer’s stat line reads better than Young’s. But Cuddyer is in what’s considered the “prime” years (27-32), and Young is young (23 for much of the year).

I know Ryan has argued in favor of Delmon Young, but it seems the guy gets the bad end of the deal so often, I think it’s time we defend him a bit. Speaking of defending, I’m not good at analyzing defense, so I have to trust the experts who’ve analyzed Young’s poor defense. But I also have to trust the experts who say that Cuddyer’s is nothing to write home about, either. Young is playing out of his natural position (right field), so we’ll give him a small break there, too.

In other words, you can believe what you want to believe about Young. But please remember that what you believe and the reality are two different things. Why, there are even some people who think that the Earth is ROUND. Crazy, crazy people out there.

Timberwolves update: They have a 2-0 record since I last reported (that’s right—they haven’t lost in a week!). They’re now at 11-38, or a 22.4% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 4-40.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 27-25-4 record, for a 48.2% winning percentage.