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Starting today I'll be checking in with each of our boys to see exactly where they're at.  In most instances of the offense, I'll also gloss over how I projected them to perform back in late January.  That'll be worth a laugh.

Today's installment will cover catchers and relief pitchers. 

I'll be grading on four factors for position players:  Overall offense and overall defense, which are pretty self-explanitory.  Then, a grade for baserunning, based off of both stolen bases and how intelligently base running decisions are made.  (Players who do not steal bases will not see their grade affected.)  Lastly, I'll grade on recent play, which can sometimes be glossed over by looking at yearly totals.

For pitchers, I'll be grading on overall performance, effectiveness, peripherals and recent play.

Catchers

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I like to give out good grades.  So it's easy to start with Joe.  He's been great, and seemingly has a positive contribution at the plate in every game.  Versus my clearly optimistic predictions he's holding up fairly well, except he isn't stealing any bases this year and he isn't on pace to match my homer-tastic longball totals.

Overall Offense:  A
Overall Defense:  A
Basepaths:  B
Recent Play:  A

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Thanks to both Mauer's successes on the field and his continued health, Redmond's playing time has been drastically reduced this season.  In spite of this he's still playing well, and for a guy who just turned 37 a couple of months ago it's nothing short of fantastic.  He continues to be one of the game's best backup catchers.

Overall Offense:  B+
Overall Defense:  A-
Basepaths:  A
Recent Play:  A

Relief Pitchers

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Still one of the game's premier closers and best relief pitchers, Nathan's services have been invaluable to a team who's out-performing every realistic projection from every baseball expert in the country.  If you're willing to assign a lot of value for the confidence a young starting staff has in its bullpen, then our Joe will be worth every penny of that brand new contract.

Overall Performance:  A
Effectiveness:  A
Peripherals:  A
Recent Play:  A

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Crain's return couldn't have come at a better time.  With Pat Neshek down and Juan Rincon imploding in upon himself, the Twins needed someone to shoulder some high-leverage innings, and so far he's been up for the challenge.  It's hard to believe, but this is already his fifth year spending time in Minnesota.

Overall Performance:  A-
Effectiveness:  B+
Peripherals:  B+
Recent Play:  B

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Guerrier hasn't been as wicked as he was last season, but he's still been pretty decent as a middle relief guy who can succeed in tough spots.  It's not his stuff that keeps him effective, it's his intelligence and ability to use what he has to the best of his ability.  He's reliable, and he's been around long enough now to know what it takes to get by in the bullpen.  It's been a good year for Guerrier...again.

Overall Performance:  B+
Effectiveness:  B
Peripherals:  B
Recent Play:  B

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For all the heat Reyes takes, he does his job just fine.  Nobody will ever confuse him with a pitcher with an imposing fastball or devastating stuff, but for the job he's been assigned he fits the bill.  He'll always be at his best when his exposure is limited to one or two hitters, which as far as I'm concerned is a waste of limited bullpen resources, but it's hard to argue with his results.

Overall Performance:  A-
Effectiveness:  B-
Peripherals:  B-
Recent Play:  A

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Breslow's been a pleasant surprise for middle relief.  He usually pitches a couple of times per week, and he's always done well with the Twins.  The problem is that even though he comes out of the bullpen two or three times a week (at least, he did in June), he's in and out of the game so quickly it's hard to notice him.  I guess that's what happens when your appearances are shortened because you don't allow any baserunners.

Overall Performance:  A
Effectiveness:  A
Peripherals:  A
Recent Play:  A

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Brian's role has changed slightly as the year's gone one, as he's gone from mop-up duty into a vague semblance of middle relief since Bonser was demoted.  As that happened his performance changed, and he's been more reliable.  He had a fantastic last half of June, and the Twins will certainly need him to continue to improve as the summer wears on.

Overall Performance:  C-
Effectiveness:  C
Peripherals:  C
Recent Play:  B+

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Oh my dear, sweet Boof.  It's been a rough year all around, and being moved into the bullpen hasn't done much for his ERA.  I'm not sure what's in his immediate future, but I still wish him success.  I just wish him more success with us, like he's had his last three times out.

Overall Performance:  F
Effectiveness:  F
Peripherals:  C+
Recent Play:  B

More grades to come, although I'm sure they'll be split into two more parts.  I'm hoping to get through them all by the end of the weekend.  See you tonight for the game!

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Is there a good one even available?

The easy answer there is that someone is always available...it just depends on whether the team doing the shopping is willing to pay the price and if the targeted player is actually an improvement.  After a bit of research, for your review I present what I believe to be the three best chances for the Twins to upgrade.

Jack Wilson, Pirates:

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Pittsburgh's like Kansas City in that they're proverbially in the hole.  They're actually right in the middle of the NL Central, but that still doesn't mean they're in any sort of hunt.

Wilson, 30, is having his best offensive year since '04, but spent most of April on May on the disabled list.  Since his return he's struggled to manage extra-base hits, and is yet to hit a home run on the season, but he rarely strikes out and is a pretty decent contact hitter.  While "another contact hitter" isn't an ideal pick up, he's still an upgrade over the Harris/Punto/Everett round table.  He hit .296/.350/.440 last season, and as you can see is holding up pretty well this season, too.

What makes Wilson a good idea is that he's signed through next year, and is far from a superstar at the plate, which is something that would inflate his price tag.  I think he's a better bottom-of-the-order hitter than top-of-the-order, but in an insane world I'd like to think Gardenhire could try Casilla/Wilson at the top of the order and slide Gomez into the 9-hole.

Ryan Theriot, Cubs:

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Theriot, 28, is having one hell of a season for the Cubs, and has been their starting shortstop for a majority of the games this year.  With Chicago bearing down on a division title, under realistic circumstances it'd be next to impossible to tear a starting shortstop away from a contending team.  Luckily for me, I can play Devil's Advocate.

Chicago's likely "shortstop of the future" could be Ronny Cedeno, 25, who's had his share of starts at both second base and short this year.  He's hitting .271/.343/.357 in 129 at-bats, which is still better than anything the Twins could throw out there.  Additionally, while Theriot certainly isn't a bad hitter, this would be a great situation for the Cubs to sell high:  He's a .286/.356/.374 career hitter.

But in spite of Theriot's profile, which suggests he probably wouldn't carry too high of a price tag, snagging him this season under his (and Chicago's) circumstances would mean he's near untouchable.  Even if he wasn't untouchable, the Twins wouldn't have any worthwhile major league talent to ship in exchange.  Also, just because Ryan would be easier to tear from the Cubs than Ronny, that doesn't mean it's realistic.

Oh well.  It sounded good in my head.

Brian Roberts, Orioles:

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I know, I know...Roberts isn't a shortstop.  That's why he would be our second baseman and Alexi Casilla would slide over to short.  And I know, I've been over this before.  But I still think it's a good idea.  In reality, whether Baltimore decides to foolishly turn into buyers or really commit to rebuilding an ancient team, we know that Roberts is for sale.  We know Andy MacPhail approached the Twins in the off-season.

Roberts, at 30, is in the prime of his career on both sides of the ball.  Not only is he a very good player, but he's signed through 2009 at a not unreasonable price, would give the Twins a great lead-off hitter, and as an added bonus has stolen more bases than Carlos Gomez.  And look at those extra-base hits:  31 doubles.  Playing the scenario on Roberts out to the end, the Twins would have a couple of options.  First, they could always trade him if the team isn't condending.  Second, they could let him walk after next season as he enters his likely declining years and collect a pair of draft picks from whoever signs him as a free agent.  Neither of those options sound daunting.

The real trick in getting him would be whether or not Bill Smith and the Twins would be willing to pay the price.  I believe Minnesota has what it would take to pry him out of Baltimore, and up to a certain point I think Roberts would be worth the risk.

Poll

What would you do about the Twins' shortstop situation?

• Jack Wilson sounds pragmatic
• The Ryan Theriot pipedream piques my interest
• I'm on board the Brian Roberts train
• None of the above, but someone else (state in comments)
• None of the above...I'm happy with what's in-house

  117 votes | Results

He'll be back.  But when?

There's no reason to rush anything.  With the starting rotation being generally impressive over the last three weeks, any  sense of urgency the Twins might have felt early in June has likely been dulled.  Livan Hernandez, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins have largely exceeded expectations on the whole, and with that luxury the organization is able to see Liriano's ups and downs in Rochester as simply part of a process...instead of worrying about how those ups and downs would translate to a performance with the Twins.

Nobody doubts how insanely not ready Liriano was at the start of the season, at least for the majors, and whether you believe that his three-game, 10-inning stint was good for him or not, there's one thing that's certain:  he's been able to benefit from his time in triple-A.  After a rough start in Rochester, where in four starts he logged 19.1 innings, allowed 17 hits, 10 earned runs and posted a 14:15 walk-to-strikeout ratio, he's vastly improved.  In fact, before getting roughed up in consecutive outings in late June, Liriano strung together six quality starts in seven appearances.  Now, coming off what could have been his best start for the Red Wings this season, it's easy to hope that he's back on track.

Liriano's Last 10 Starts

Date	IP	H	ER	BB	K
May 15	8.0	7	3	1	4
May 20	7.0	8	2	1	3
May 26	6.2	7	6	1	4
May 31	6.1	3	1	1	7
June 5	6.0	4	3	4	7
June 10	6.0	6	1	1	7
June 15	7.1	5	2	0	5
June 20	5.0	9	5	1	7
June 25	5.0	9	5	1	3
June 30	7.0	4	0	1	9

While the strikeouts aren't always what we remember them to be, it certainly appears that his control is coming back strong.  There aren't pitch totals, and I'm unfamiliar with how often Liriano was working into deep counts, but he's certainly stingy with the walks.  That's a good sign.  Additionally, he hasn't been knocked out before the fifth inning, and he's completed six innings eight out of ten times.

There are positive signs.  His 3.90 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 1.67 BB/9 and 7.93 K/9 over that 10-game stretch all hint at a very effective pitcher.  He's had decent stamina, no serious problems with his arm, and he's apparently working very hard at keeping himself focused in order to earn his promotion back to the Twins as soon as possible.

Unfortunately for him, and for some of us who are waiting for him, his return still isn't imminent.  None of the four young starters are performing so as to encourage a premature recall, and we all know how the Twins rely on veterans to provide stability and reliability if not leadership.  That role has been backed up again recently, as Hernandez has thrown 21 innings in his last three starts and allowed just six runs.  When you have strong support like Minnesota's had from their starters, it's easier to be patient.

Finally, with the Twins in contention it's unlikely that Livan gets traded.  It's been a fairly strong consensus that if Francisco were to return, it would be Hernandez's slot he's be taking over.  As much as we might like to see it happen, we know the history of this franchise and how unlikely that makes any deal involving a pitcher considering the team's success.

With five starting spots filled admirably, and with none of the roles in jeopardy in the immediate future barring an injury, this all means that Francisco Liriano is likely staying put.  At least for now.

Twins stay hot!

Another great game thread today, thanks to those who participated.  I wasn't able to catch the last three innings, but most of the action was over by that point anyway.

I know they do "3 Stars" for Twins radio broadcasts after the games, and so I'll rip them off this afternoon to point out a few things about what I saw.

Star 3:  Nick Punto.  Punto's play to end the top of the third inning was sick.  With runners on the corners and two away, Polanco hit a speedy grouder back up the middle, just to the left-field side of second base.  With Curtis Granderson and Alexi Casilla in a sprint for the bag, Punto dove and did the only thing he could to get the ball to Casilla in time:  flick it with his glove.  He might have been trying to actually flip the ball, but in any event what he managed to do was roll it.  Casilla's momentum carried him over the bag, but he gloved the ball and managed to keep his foot on the base just long enough to record the out and put another zero on the scoreboard for Blackburn.

Star 2:  Joe Mauer.  I know it's not true, but he seems to always get on base multiple times a game.  This afternoon he was 2-for-4 with a walk, and opened the scoring for Minnesota in the bottom of the third by scoring both Span and Gomez on a single.

Star 1:  Nick Blackburn.  Nick went seven innings and shut down the Tigers, allowing only a trio of hits (all singles) while striking out four and walking just one.  After getting touched a bit his last time out, it was nice to see him bounce back for one of his strongest performances of the season.  It constitutes Blackburn's 10th quality start of the summer.

Anyone else have anything to add?  Also, in case you missed it, I posted my American League All-Star selections this morning.  Does it match your ballot?