Good morning! It is Friday, and as always, that is a good thing!
You may look at the title of today's posting and think that I have anything to say about the new Star Wars movie, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. I just wanted to use this title because it seems fairly timely! But there is no way I would actually spend good money just to watch this movie. I am not a Star Wars geek. If you're like me, you may want to check out this article. First, the whole series of movies really aren't that great. Second, there is no way I would sit in a line just to see the movie as so many have, even for days or weeks. Third, have you seen those morons who actually dress up like Star Wars characters and go to the movie? That is messed up! Fourth, maybe I'll rent it someday if I'm really bored and there aren't actually any good movies available some day. But again, I figured a fun play on the title of the movie would be a nice, timely title for today's entry.
NO RANT ZONE
Well, this afternoon when I saw the Twins lineup, I was fully expecting to write a full out rant. Yes, Juan Castro was the shortstop for the fifth straight game. My first reaction was that they might as well send Jason Bartlett down. I mean, what could possibly mess with a player's confidence more than losing your job to Juan Castro. That has to be demoralizing!
But I'm going to withhold the rant. I am not going to focus on the negative of Mr. Gardenhire's decision to play Castro instead of Bartlett. I am not going to ask why Castro got five consecutive starts and Bartlett never got more than three consecutive starts. I'm not going to point, as Aaron Gleeman did the other day, that Bartlett was actually performing about as well offensively and defensively as Cristian Guzman did last year, and how Gardy frequently discusses how good Guzman was. I'm not going to mention that Bartlett had just four errors in 206 innings at the position. I am not going to talk about the quality of plate appearance that Bartlett puts together or how Castro just pretty much swings at everything. I'm not going to talk about how Castro is 32 years old and Bartlett is just 25. I am not going to discuss how the decision to send Bartlett back to AAA completely shows the lack of a plan for the position. I won't even discuss how the Twins middle infield the past three games has been Castro and, because of Nick Punto's calf injury, Luis Rivas. That has to be the worst nightmare for Twins fans. Even worse, one of them is hitting second in the lineup! Nope, no rants for me today on any of those things. Today, I am going to focus on the positives!
To do that, I have to say a few positives about Juan Castro. First, I just really can't come up with anything positive about Castro offensively. He swings at everything and has never, at any point of his 10 year big league career, been able to hit. Sure, he'll have games like yesterday where he goes 2-3, but Twins fans also know that from time to time Luis Rivas has had good games as well.
However, after a horrible spring defensive performance, it is impossible to watch the Twins play, and Castro at SS, without needing to admit that he is truly a very good defensive shortstop. It is true what the Twins brass and representatives have said since they signed him. Juan Castro really can pick it. He is very smooth defensively. There is one statistic that I found very interesting when comparing Castro and Bartlett:
Bartlett 206 innings 101 Chances 4 Errors .960 FP RF - 4.41 ZR - .821
Castro 116 innings 70 Chances 0 Errors 1.000 FP RF - 5.43 ZR - .857
I have to wonder... why is it that Castro has one more chance per nine innings to make a play than Bartlett? I have to think that it is because Gardy may have been more strategic and had Castro play SS when pitchers like Carlos Silva and Joe Mays, sinker ball/ground ball pitchers. Whereas Brad Radke and Johan Santana are more fly ball pitchers, so the team could play Bartlett at SS. I really don't believe that Castro has more range than Bartlett, although I have been impressed with his range as well.
Remember when Todd Walker was the Twins 2B a number of years ago? Well, he was essentially blackballed by the Twins pitching staff because he was so terrible defensively. Because a number of the Twins pitchers went to Tom Kelly and said that they really didn't want Walker at 2B when they were pitching, Kelly obliged. Eventually Walker was sent to the minor leagues and things got ugly from there. Well, I bring that scenario up because I have to wonder if some of the Twins starters went to Gardy and made any comments on Bartlett's defense.
Does anyone have any thought on this? E-mail me.
THE BEST PART OF THIS - WELCOME LUIS RODRIGUEZ
You all may be surprised to know that I am able to find one positive out of the Twins decision to demote Jason Bartlett to Rochester, but I do have one thing that I am happy about. What is it, you ask? Well, I am absolutely thrilled that the Twins have decided to call up Luis Rodriguez from Rochester.
Now Rodriguez is not one of the Twins top prospects, at least from the standpoint of players whose names that we have heard over and over. But, I have been impressed by him the last couple of seasons and have frequently wondered why he was never really given a shot at the Twins second base job the last couple of years. Before the 2004 season, I ranked my Top 30 Twins prospects, and ranked Rodriguez #22. I added the following when discussing him with the help of Ben Jacobs, who now writes for The Hardball Times:
One of those players was Luis Rodriguez. Now, I have him further up my list than most ‘scouts’ seem to. I’m not sure why he isn’t considered a prospect. So, I asked Ben Jacobs who writes the Universal Baseball Blog. He lives in Rochester, NY, the home of the Twins AAA Affiliate, so I asked him why Rodriguez isn’t considered a prospect. Here’s his response:
For some reason, even though he's only 23 years old, Luis Rodriguez doesn't seem to be regarded as a prospect at all. At the beginning of last season, the Rochester Red Wings thought of him as a backup middle infielder behind minor league veterans David Lamb and Alex Prieto. He ended up winning the second base job and leading the team with a .295 average while posting a solid .354 OBP, but he showed very little power (1 HR, .376 SLG).
Frontier Field is a tough place for hitters, but that .376 SLG was actually the highest of his career so far, and I don't think he would show much power at all in the majors. Defensively, I get the impression that he's sure-handed (he only made 13 errors in 130 games on a very ragged field), but doesn't have much range.
I haven't seen him play that much, but I don't think he has the potential to be much more than a utility infielder at the major league level. The biggest thing in his favor, in my opinion, is that he's yet to have a season in which he struck out more than he walked. However, his walk rate has dropped significantly as he's moved up from Class A to AA to AAA, which isn't a real good sign.
Well, Rodriguez is now 24 years old and in his third season at AAA Rochester. He has never been spectacular, but he has always been very solid. Here is a little more about him, followed by some of his career statistics.
Luis Rodriguez will turn 25 at the end of June. He was born in San Carlos, Venezuela. The Twins signed him as a free agent in 1997. He is a small, 5-9, 180 pound middle infielder who has primarily played 2B throughout his minor league career. He is a switch-hitter.
1998 - Spent the season with the Gulf Coast League Twins. In 52 games, he hit .278/.360/.367 with 11 doubles, a triple, a home run, 15 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
1999 - Spent season at Low Class A Quad Cities. In 119 games, he hit .270/.353/.336 with 20 doubles, three homers, 50 RBI and 8 stolen bases.
2000 - Spent another year at Quad Cities. In 106 games, he hit .225/.311/.269 with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 28 RBI, and 4 steals.
2001 - Moved up to Fort Myers and played in 125 games. He hit .274/.387/.359 with 21 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, 64 RBI and 11 steals.
2002 - Moved up to AA New Britain. In 129 games, he hit .257/.349/.358 with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers, 40 RBI and just 3 stolen bases.
2003 - Another move up the ladder, to AAA Rochester. In 131 games, he hit .295/.354/.376 with 35 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 44 RBI and 6 steals.
2004 - Another season at Rochester, he played in 126 games. He hit .286/.354/.390 with 33 doubles, a triple, 5 homers, 51 RBI and 3 steals.
2005 - Started this season at Rochester and has played in 33 games. He is hitting .287/.359/.357 with 8 doubles and 15 RBI.
But to me, this is the most exciting thing about Luis Rodriguez, his strikeout rate:
1998 - 22 BB/17 K
1999 - 53 BB/49 K
2000 - 40 BB/29 K
2001 - 82 BB/42 K
2002 - 61 BB/44 K
2003 - 46 BB/46 K
2004 - 53 BB/49 K
2005 - 13 BB/14 K
Total - 370 BB/290 K
That
is really incredible! There just are not a lot of hitters that can
claim that strong a Walk to Strikeout ratio.
So, Rodriguez is up with the Twins for now, but what will his role be? Well, I think that for the short-term we will continue to see Juan Castro as the primary shortstop. Luis Rivas and Nick Punto (when healthy) will be the 2B with the other being a utility player. I think Rodriguez will be the second utility infielder. He has mainly played 2B, but can also play 2B and 3B if necessary. I really do not expect him to play a lot.
But again, that's not what is important. I think it is good for a player like Rodriguez to get a chance. I like when guys who have been in the system or organization for a number of years, and paid their dues, so to speak, get this kind of opportunity. Obviously Castro has a guaranteed deal and Jason Bartlett should still be the shortstop of the future. Bartlett will likely spend a couple of months at Rochester, so Rodriguez's stay with the Twins could be that long.
Do you have any thoughts on Castro, Bartlett, this situation or even Luis Rodriguez? Please e-mail me.