Kuzul

The Minnesota Twins are a halfway decent team in 2014. After three straight 90-loss seasons, that’ll do nicely for progress.

But who knows? Maybe halfway decent isn’t Minnesota’s ceiling in 2014. Perhaps the Twins can be better than that. Perhaps they can even be good enough to make some noise in an AL Central division that’s widely viewed as the playground of the Detroit Tigers.

Perhaps indeed. But the Twins are going to need a few things. What they have now doesn’t look like enough.

MLB Lead Writer Zachary D. Rymer is here with some thoughts on that. In his mind, the Twins’ list of needs starts with more power from their most expensive player, continues with more production from their outfield and ends with their perpetually struggling starting rotation.

Leave your comments and questions below if you have any, and you’re also welcome to follow Zachary on Twitter.

Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

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Any time you can incorporate a wine glass, maracas and a Hawaiian lei into your dance routine, you’re doing strong work. 

All of these essential components were found in the “Call Me Maybe” rendition that Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale put together.

TMZ found video of the lefty body-dropping to Carly Rae Jepsen at the wedding of a former teammate in 2012. To call Sale’s dance “art” wouldn’t quite cut it. This is a national treasure.

Jimmy Traina of Fox Sports believes Sale might’ve been overserved.

“We’re going to speculate that whatever is in the large glass Sale is holding may have something to do with his uninhibited performance, but it doesn’t matter,” Traina writes. “It’s still a thing of beauty.”

I don’t know what Sale was drinking, but I’ll have two. 

The White Sox lefty is leaving nothing but smoking earth on the mound, eating up batters for a 4-0 record and a 1.89 ERA this season. He pitched a perfect game all the way into the sixth inning against the New York Yankees earlier this month in his first game back from the disabled list (left flexor strain).

This video is only further proof that Sale is six-and-a-half feet of dance floor hustle and American muscle. He jumps offstage, falls at the word “fall” and steals maracas. And you go to hell if you can’t admit having rocked out to “Call Me Maybe.”

I’ve seen grown men in suits on the Las Vegas strip lose their minds to Carly Rae Jepsen. It happens to everyone, and it’ll happen to you.

The only question now is who rocks a party harder: Sale or New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara? 

Amukamara posted video over Memorial Day weekend from a wild bar mitzvah. It was like Ultra for tweens. 

I’d say it’s close.

As for Sale, the “Call Me Maybe” footage only confirms his life is in midseason form. When you’re 25, throwing untouchable stuff and immolating dance floors, you’re doing it right.

Now someone get this man another maraca so we can start a traveling band.

On the Twitters.

Follow @Dr_Carson_

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The Kansas City Royals experienced a scary moment over the weekend when Yordano Ventura left Monday’s start with elbow discomfort. The organization announced a setback to prospect Kyle Zimmer this morning. It has been a rough few days to be a Kansas City pitcher.

Ventura has been a huge positive in the rotation this year for the Royals. Despite his record of two wins and five losses, he has thrown very well in the early part of this season. Through 10 starts, he has notched more than 57 innings pitched, striking out 59 hitters while walking 19. His ERA hovers just below 3.50, and his WHIP stands at 1.256. All very impressive numbers for a young hurler who throws his fastball consistently around 100 miles per hour.

Brad Pinkerton of Sporting News obtained an update that offers the Royals a bit of encouragement:

Royals manager Ned Yost was assured by trainers that Ventura‘s injury was not to his ulnar collateral ligament. The discomfort was on the lateral (outside) part of the elbow. This is a sliver of positive news, but more will be known following the MRI later in the day.

The loss of Ventura opens up a potential spot in the rotation, at least on a temporary basis. While there are various options, fans would like to hear that Zimmer could be considered for an early audition.

Problem is, Zimmer hasn’t thrown an inning yet this season.

Zimmer was presumably healthy despite his inactivity. The team even said as much when talking with Jim Callis of MLB.com earlier in May. It was a strategic move to help the pitcher be ready to pitch at a high level late in the season. The Royals seemed to be taking a new approach in order to maximize Zimmer‘s potential immediately.

However, in a press release sent out by the team this morning, the Royals confirmed that Zimmer was experiencing lat pain and would be sidelined for six to eight weeks. The press release reads:

The Kansas City Royals announced today that right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer will miss additional time this season with a strain in his right latissimus dorsi muscle. Zimmer, the fifth overall selection in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, will begin playing catch again in six to eight weeks. 

With Zimmer on the shelf and Ventura likely headed there himself, the Royals are left with a decision to make in the next few days regarding their rotation. There are options in Omaha, the Triple-A affiliate of the Royals. Most of the staff there has pitched well this season, and any one of the starters would be worthy of a promotion.

To promote from Omaha would require a roster move, however. The Royals currently have a full 40-man roster. None of the starting pitchers in Omaha hold a spot on that roster.

The likely move will be to activate Bruce Chen from the disabled list. Chen, who threw a simulated game a little over a week ago, should be ready to return to the rotation in the near future.

The Royals need Ventura healthy if they want to continue winning this season.

Statistics courtesy of MLB.com and current as of May 27.

Bill Ivie is the founder of i70baseball.
Follow him on Twitter to discuss all things baseball all season long.

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There are two types of baseball fans: duckers and grabbers.

Eileen Depesa is a grabber, and her quick reflexes likely saved an infant from taking a bat to the head during Monday’s White Sox game.

Depesa was sitting in the stands near the left-field line when Tyler Flowers lost the handle on his bat and sent the article whipping toward her section.

It was no big deal for Depesa, however. The woman reached up and snagged the heavy, wooden missile with one hand. I repeat—she barehanded a flying baseball bat. Effortlessly.

Kamaya Thompson of MLB.com crafted a GIF of the spectacular catch, which only becomes more impressive when you notice the baby Depesa protected by grabbing the bat. 

Depesa wasn’t allowed to keep the bat but said she was just happy the child wasn’t injured.

“I was more concerned with protecting the baby seated behind me,” Depesa said.

The same cannot be said for her male companion, however. The man seated next to Depesa went into full air-raid-under-the-desk formation when the bat flew into the stands. He did everything but plug a finger in each ear. 

This is the difference between duckers and grabbers.

Where duckers look at a foul ball or flying bat and see their imminent demise, grabbers find glory (or a baseball to the incisors).

They are the vigilante heroes of the baseball world and the watchers on the wall. Anything coming their way is getting caught—for the good of the realm.

Congratulations and good work, Depesa. Let us know when your buddy comes out of his turtle shell. We’d like to have a word with him on duck-and-cover approach to fanship.

On the Twitters.

Follow @Dr_Carson_

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In 2013, the Detroit Tigers had many people convinced they might be baseball’s best team. Boasting arguably the game’s best pitcher (Max Scherzer) and inarguably its best hitter (Miguel Cabrera), they seemed to have the necessary weapons to dominate any opponent.

However, after qualifying for the playoffs for the third straight year, Detroit’s season ended again in disappointment. A superior Red Sox team dismantled the Tigers 4-2 in the ALCS. Something had to give.

The first step was a change in management. Jim Leyland retired, and Brad Ausmus was hired as manager. Second, subtle tinkering to the team roster—a trade here (Ian Kinsler) and a signing there (Rajai Davis)—has morphed it into a more versatile and successful unit in 2014. 

Detroit has begun this season in great style. Despite a four-game losing streak, the Tigers still maintain a stellar 4.5-game lead in the AL Central. With a record of 27-16, it is their best start to a season since the 1984 World Series-winning Tigers team.

ESPN’s Buster Olney commented on The Michael Kay Show this week about Detroit’s championship credentials: “Without a doubt the Tigers are the best team in baseball. Their lineup is so much more dynamic. They are settling their bullpen issues. That’s the team to beat.”

The following slides will list and describe the five main reasons why the Tigers’ title drought will end at 30 years.

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When baseball fans think of the Detroit Tigers, names like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera are quickly associated with one of baseball’s best teams. For some reason, designated hitter Victor Martinez is lost in the shuffle and allowed to quietly go about his business.

Over a 12-year career, Martinez has been in the business of hitting—and business has been good. Prior to the start of the 2014 season, the former Indians and Red Sox catcher owned 157 home runs and an OPS+ mark of 121. 

Thus far in 2014, the 35-year-old switch-hitter has taken his game to another level. In the process, Martinez has helped Detroit offset the trade of first baseman Prince Fielder. Through 40 games, the Tigers have scored 193 runs, good for an average of over 4.8 per game. Last year, the team scored 796 total runs, good for just over 4.9 per game.

Thanks to the efforts of Martinez, Detroit hasn’t missed a beat despite trading away one of baseball’s top sluggers in Prince Fielder.

After blasting his 11th home run of the season in a series-opening game with Cleveland, Martinez takes a .329/.379/.605 slash line into play on May 20. While an AL-leading slugging percentage should be enough to generate headlines in Detroit, another aspect of Martinez’s season is equally eye-opening and deserving of attention: strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Home runs and runs batted in will get the attention of casual baseball fans, but Martinez’s approach at the plate and throwback style should resonate across generations. After he hit his latest home run off Indians starter Corey Kluber, Martinez now has more home runs (11) than strikeouts (nine) for the season.  

Furthermore, Martinez has walked 14 times in 152 plate appearances, giving him five more walks than strikeouts for the season. Although the season is still young, it’s reached the quarter mark. With that comes merit and distinction for statistics.

According to ESPN’s updated projections, Martinez has established a pace that will yield the following 2014 statistics: 45 home runs, 57 walks, 36 strikeouts. Even if those kind of numbers look unsustainable, the baseline for special performance has been set by Detroit’s star early this season.

In the history of baseball, only seven individual seasons of 40-plus homers and 40 or fewer strikeouts have been recorded. With the rise in strikeouts across the years, not one of those seasons has occurred since 1955.  

Over the last 20 years (1994-2013), only two players—Barry Bonds and Moises Alou—posted seasons of 30-plus home runs and 45 or fewer strikeouts, per Baseball-Reference (subscription required). Barring an unlikely meteoric late-career rise, Martinez will never be mentioned in the same breath as Bonds, but parallels to the underrated Alou (career 128 OPS+) are fair.

To put Martinez’s season in perspective, consider that his current wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) of 160 was exceeded by only three hitters—Cabrera, Mike Trout and Chris Davis—over the course of the 2013 season. Martinez is raking like the top three finishers in the last AL MVP vote. 

Although an excellent career and special 2014 season has flown under the radar, one of baseball’s best and most visible players has noticed.

Cabrera, the AL’s reigning MVP, didn’t mince words when asked to describe the prowess of the hitter tasked with protecting him in the lineup, per Terry Foster of The Detroit News: “He is one of the best hitters I have ever seen in my life…He does not take anything for granted.”

Based on the first 40 games of this season and an underrated career since 2002, it’s hard to argue with Cabrera. Right now, Martinez is performing at a unique and special level. 

Martinez certainly has the talent to perform at a high level for an extended period. After all, he did just hit .330 in 540 at-bats in 2011. His ability to switch-hit will provide excellent protection for Cabrera, as teams cannot pitch around him with V-Mart crushing lefties this season.

If it continues, the Tigers will ride the coattails of a once-in-a-generation season all the way to October baseball and a shot at the World Series.

Agree? Disagree?

Comment, follow me on Twitter or “like” my Facebook page to talk about all things baseball.

Statistics are from Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster breakdowns via MLBDepthCharts.com.

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Jose Abreu’s battle with an ankle injury continues as the Chicago White Sox‘s star rookie hits at an amazing pace to start the 2014 season.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the White Sox will have to make do without their vaunted slugger for the time being. The ankle injury has become such an impediment that Abreu sounds likely to miss Sunday’s action against the Houston Astros, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com:

Abreu spoke to Merkin about the issue on Saturday:

That’s a major blow for the White Sox as they enter the rubber-band game in Houston before heading to Kansas City for three contests. The team will not return home until later in the week as they look to get out of fourth place in the AL Central.

Abreu has been on a historic clip to start the season (15 home runs and 42 RBI in 44 games), as ESPN Stats and Info illustrates:

Remember, this is the same ailment that hobbled Abreu early in the month and forced his transition to designated hitter. Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko certainly have the power to be firm stopgap solutions, but even they cannot be expected to replicate the wow-worthy numbers posted by the Cuban slugger.

For now it appears management is content to let Abreu rest rather than shelve him on the disabled list. That’s a worst-case scenario option, but this issue did start out as something that everyone involved thought would not last very long.

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A quarter of the way through the season, the 2014 American League Cy Young race isn’t lacking in participants. Masahiro Tanaka is one standout. So is Sonny Gray. And Mark Buehrle. And usual suspects Felix Hernandez and Yu Darvish.

But don’t sleep on the guy who won it last year. Or underestimate him.

In fact, it’s probably best if we all recognize that Max Scherzer is still the guy to beat.

The Detroit Tigers ace right-hander was at it again Friday night, taking on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Though the rains came and tried to cool Scherzer off after he opened with three hitless innings, he shook off a lengthy delay to ultimately make it through six scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked four and struck out seven.

Torii Hunter’s RBI single in the first proved to be enough, as four Detroit relievers combined to finish off what Scherzer started for a 1-0 Tigers victory.

Detroit is now 25-12 and, interestingly, holds both the best home record (13-8) and road record (12-4) in the American League.

According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck, this is not lost on the man of the hour:

Scherzer‘s actual performance, meanwhile, wasn’t the most dominant we’ve seen from him since he rose to prominence in 2013. It did, however, succeed in launching him to the top of some key AL categories.

After entering the game tied with Buehrle for the AL lead in ERA at 2.04, Scherzer‘s now all alone at the top with a 1.83 ERA.

As for what Scherzer‘s seven punchouts accomplished, the Tigers’ official Twitter feed can fill you in:

On a related note, Scherzer also leads the AL in strikeout rate with 11.14 strikeouts per nine innings. That’s quite the improvement over the 10.08 K/9 he posted on his way to the Cy Young in 2013.

For the more sabermetrically-inclined, one thing Scherzer isn’t leading the AL in like he did last year is FanGraphs WAR. He ranks fifth in fWAR, trailing Friday night opponent Jon Lester, Corey Kluber, Darvish and Hernandez.

But since FanGraphs WAR is based off of Fielding Independent Pitching, a metric that calculates what a pitcher’s ERA should be, it’s essentially WAR based on theoretical runs allowed. For WAR based on actual runs allowed, FanGraphs has RA-9 WAR (Runs Allowed per Nine WAR).

And there’s where we find Scherzer at the top of the AL, and by half a point over Tanaka to boot.

You get the idea. Just like in 2013, it’s becoming very easy to build a case for Scherzer as the best pitcher in the American League. If anything, it’s even easier this year.

There’s a good reason for that: Scherzer looking like a better pitcher can be traced to his efforts to become a better pitcher.

It’s not hard to classify Scherzer. He’s a guy with a mid-90s fastball, and any pitcher with one of those is a power pitcher. Check and mate.

But this leads us to something fascinating about Scherzer. Power pitcher though he is, it’s remarkable how his game is continually becoming less about power.

This graphic from Brooks Baseball can explain:

All you’re looking at is Scherzer‘s pitch selection over the years. What should stand out is the black dots that represent his fastball usage, and how the line connecting them is heading nowhere but down.

Ever so slowly, Scherzer the power pitcher has been trying more and more to craft himself into Scherzer the pitcher, with 2014 being just the latest step in that direction.

And yeah, it’s working pretty well.

In light of how Scherzer‘s been throwing a few extra sliders and changeups in 2014, it’s an awfully good look that the whiff rates on both pitches have gone up. Another benefit of the changeup in particular is that its extra usage has also helped Scherzer‘s ground-ball rate.

And while the less-than-awesome 3.05 BB/9 rate that Scherzer currently boasts suggests he’s having trouble finding the strike zone with this less fastball-heavy approach, that’s not entirely true.

FanGraphs says Scherzer actually entered his Friday start throwing 50.5 percent of his pitches in the strike zone. That ranked seventh in the AL, and is a huge improvement on how many of his pitches found the zone in 2013 (45.9 percent).

So those league-leading statistics we talked about earlier? Those are no fluke.

Scherzer was able to dominate American League hitters with more of a power-oriented approach in 2013. We shouldn’t be surprised that he’s dominating them even more with the use of a more nuanced approach that he has a good handle on in 2014.

That’s a guy who’s not likely to stop making fools of AL hitters. And as long as he’s doing so, he’s not going to make it easy for the competition to go toe-to-toe with him in the AL Cy Young race.

It’s almost as if Scherzer really wants to become the first pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000 to win two straight AL Cy Youngs.

Though, here’s guessing his upcoming free agency might also be a factor.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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There is perhaps no franchise outside of the Chicago Cubs that is more cursed than the Cleveland Indians. Most would agree that Cleveland as a sports city is the most cursed in the entire country. While the city has had small amounts of time in the spotlight, such as when LeBron James came to town for just under a decade. Before LeBron was even born, something much more important to Cleveland sports was brewing. 

The Indians haven’t won the World Series since 1948, the second longest drought in the sport, and between 1948 and the 1990s, the team was absolutely abysmal. However, through the tireless efforts of new owner Dick Jacobs, the team began to turn it around. 

George Christian Pappas’ new book “A Tribe Reborn” tells that story through many lenses as he recalls the Indians’ unlikely ascension to the top of baseball’s food chain. It began with Jacobs’ initial purchase of the team and then continued as the team adopted a completely new philosophy in many areas of business both on and off the field. 

Pappas goes on to explain how Jacobs, who loved the city and the team before he was even their owner, was the perfect man to turn around baseball in Cleveland. With the way Jacobs completely revolutionized the team’s scouting process, front office evaluation and locker room culture, it’s hard to disagree. 

With worse fortunes than the lovable losers themselves from the 1950s through the 1990s, the upswing the Indians’ experienced is really one of baseball’s underrated rebuilding efforts. Not a whole lot of people remember those teams, but they were great for the better part of a decade and sparked the imagination of a city. 

Interviewing star players like Mike Hargrove, John Hart, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel, Pappas really gets the whole story like nobody has before. In fact, nobody has bothered to write in depth on the topic when it was one of the more remarkable success stories in baseball history. Really, most of Jacobs’ efforts in turning around the team were very Moneyball-like in how unconventional they were for the time period. 

Even though the Indians never won a World Series during their run in the 1990s—and still haven’t won one since 1948—the team gave the city more than a title ever could. What they gave the city of Cleveland was hope, which is one of many reasons the city hosted a victory parade in a season the team didn’t win the World Series.

Through Pappas’ smooth reporting and story-telling, those who experienced the turnaround first-hand can relive the magic. 

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The Cleveland Indians haven’t gotten off to the best of starts here in 2014. Over the first quarter of the season, the team boasts an 18-20 record, good for third place in the American League Central.

The team’s pitching staff has been decent, but the bullpen has done most of the heavy lifting. The starting staff on the other hand, has been wildly inconsistent.

Offensively, the team has struggled, ranking in the league’s bottom third in runs, batting average, on-base percentage, OPS and total bases. The team has managed to keep themselves within six games of the division lead, however, and if the Tribe’s offense comes around at any point, they could be poised for a huge run at the top spot in the division.

Like the overall units they compose, some of the team’s players have been very inconsistent as well.

Over the next 12 slides, I’ll look at each individual offensive starter, as well as the team’s bench, their starting rotation and bullpen, grading each along the way. We’ll start with a breakout performer from the 2013 campaign, Yan Gomes.

All stats are current through play on May 12, 2014. Defensive stats courtesy of Fangraphs.com, and offensive stats come courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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