Mailbag: Can Redmond serve as DH?
02/20/2006
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Finally, it has arrived.
With the official start of Twins workouts beginning on Monday, baseball has finally returned once again. For me, it's been a much shorter offseason than any I can remember after covering through the World Series last year. But even though it feels that way to me, there is still an excitement in the air, knowing that Opening Day is about a month and a half away.
Though my golf game will once again begin to suffer due to the real start of the season, I, like many of you, am really ready to start discussing actual baseball rather than what a player may or may not look like.
Even as the offseason comes to an end, the chance to e-mail questions to me will not. The mailbag will continue to run each Monday through the end of Spring Training. So as you follow along with the Twins' daily workouts and Grapefruit League games, continue to send me your questions about anything that is going on down here in beautiful Fort Myers.
All right, before heading out to watch the pitchers get their first official throws of the year under way, let's get to those questions.
I was very impressed with Mike Redmond during the 2005 season. He not only was excellent behind the plate, but he had a good batting average and was successful hitting in clutch situations. With three catchers on the roster, why haven't the Twins used Redmond as a DH?-- Clark C., Beaumont, Texas
Redmond definitely impressed a lot of people in the 2005 season, including those in the Twins front office. With his solid glove and more than adequate bat that drove in 26 runs and hit an impressive .452 with runners in scoring position, Redmond more than earned the confidence of the club as the backup catcher for Joe Mauer.
But as for hitting in the DH spot, Redmond isn't exactly the offensive type of player needed to fill that spot. The 34-year-old veteran hit only one home run and nine doubles in 148 at-bats last year. Many of his other offensive numbers stood out, but there is the notion around the organization that Redmond overachieved a little offensively last season, and they don't expect those numbers to be quite so high once again.
The Twins have plenty of other options to consider for the role aside from Rondell White. Lew Ford, Mauer and non-roster invite Ruben Sierra have all filled the role before. Also, once the season begins, there will likely be only Redmond and Mauer as the two catchers on the club, so with the team wanting to keep Redmond available to catch at any time, it can be considered highly unlikely that you will see Redmond as a designated hitter.
With the right field position essentially up for grabs and the desire to improve the overall power in the lineup, is there any chance that the Twins would show interest in going after Sammy Sosa? He would act as a solid right fielder and be able to put up some good power numbers in the Metrodome. If the offer by Washington is any indication of his current value, he should be well within what the Twins could afford.-- Josh S., Owatonna, Minn.
This was by far the most common question from Twins fans this week. With Sosa's rejection of the Nationals' offer, it appears likely that the veteran slugger will retire, and soon. Many of the e-mails I received asked why the Twins wouldn't take a risk on such a power bat for so little money.
The problem is that while Sosa has proven to be a strong hitter in his career, last year was just another bad year in what has been a downward spiral for him. Sosa's batting average has dropped in each of the past four years, and with only 14 homers last season, it appears that his power is disappearing, too.
Sosa also has some questions around him as to what type of player he is in the clubhouse. Twins general manager Terry Ryan is known for finding players that he believes will fit the chemistry of his club and focus more on the team than the individual. Sosa hasn't done much of late to make himself worth the risk of what type of player he will be in the clubhouse, and after last season's bit of strife in the Twins locker room, it doesn't appear like a good idea to take on another possible problem case.
I noticed that Ron Gardenhire has chosen Shannon Stewart to bat leadoff and Luis Castillo to bat second. Wouldn't the lineup be more productive the other way around? It seems that Castillo would be able to steal more bases, and since Stewart has more pop in his bat, he would have a chance to bring in Castillo with a shot to the gap or a home run.-- Daren S., Minnetonka, Minn.
It may appear that way, but first, you must consider some of the facts. While Castillo became known as a base stealer early in his career, those numbers have drastically dwindled the past few years. Since nabbing 62 bases in 2000 with the Marlins, Castillo has come close to that number only once, with his 48 steals in 2002.
Injuries have limited Castillo's speed over the past few years, and running on the FieldTurf of the Metrodome likely won't help increase that, either. The Twins are looking at Castillo more as a steady on-base guy at the top of the order than one who will steal bases.
As for Stewart, he has seemed to take a liking to the leadoff role. While injuries have limited Stewart over the past few seasons, the addition of Castillo behind him may be just the type of threat that will give Stewart the confidence he needs to have a more productive season.
What is the possibility of Jason Tyner making the roster this year? Is he also competing for the right field job as well as Michael Cuddyer, Ford and Jason Kubel? Tyner has got some real speed, and I think that would be a great asset for the Twins to have more of.-- Ryan S., New Brighton, Minn.
There is a chance that you could see Tyner as a part of the Twins' roster this year. It's a very slight chance, but still a possibility. Tyner is at Spring Training with the Twins for the second straight year, and the 28-year-old showed the team last year in the 18 games he saw action that he could hit, with his .321 batting average and five RBIs.
The problem for Tyner is that the competition for right field is pretty tight already. He would have to make a pretty dominant impression to truly fight for the starting nod, but the one area where he may find a position on the squad is as a platoon outfielder. It's more likely, though, that role would go to a utility guy like Cuddyer or an all-purpose outfielder like Ford -- whoever doesn't earn the starting spot.
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Finally, it has arrived.
With the official start of Twins workouts beginning on Monday, baseball has finally returned once again. For me, it's been a much shorter offseason than any I can remember after covering through the World Series last year. But even though it feels that way to me, there is still an excitement in the air, knowing that Opening Day is about a month and a half away.
Though my golf game will once again begin to suffer due to the real start of the season, I, like many of you, am really ready to start discussing actual baseball rather than what a player may or may not look like.
Even as the offseason comes to an end, the chance to e-mail questions to me will not. The mailbag will continue to run each Monday through the end of Spring Training. So as you follow along with the Twins' daily workouts and Grapefruit League games, continue to send me your questions about anything that is going on down here in beautiful Fort Myers.
All right, before heading out to watch the pitchers get their first official throws of the year under way, let's get to those questions.
I was very impressed with Mike Redmond during the 2005 season. He not only was excellent behind the plate, but he had a good batting average and was successful hitting in clutch situations. With three catchers on the roster, why haven't the Twins used Redmond as a DH?-- Clark C., Beaumont, Texas
Redmond definitely impressed a lot of people in the 2005 season, including those in the Twins front office. With his solid glove and more than adequate bat that drove in 26 runs and hit an impressive .452 with runners in scoring position, Redmond more than earned the confidence of the club as the backup catcher for Joe Mauer.
But as for hitting in the DH spot, Redmond isn't exactly the offensive type of player needed to fill that spot. The 34-year-old veteran hit only one home run and nine doubles in 148 at-bats last year. Many of his other offensive numbers stood out, but there is the notion around the organization that Redmond overachieved a little offensively last season, and they don't expect those numbers to be quite so high once again.
The Twins have plenty of other options to consider for the role aside from Rondell White. Lew Ford, Mauer and non-roster invite Ruben Sierra have all filled the role before. Also, once the season begins, there will likely be only Redmond and Mauer as the two catchers on the club, so with the team wanting to keep Redmond available to catch at any time, it can be considered highly unlikely that you will see Redmond as a designated hitter.
With the right field position essentially up for grabs and the desire to improve the overall power in the lineup, is there any chance that the Twins would show interest in going after Sammy Sosa? He would act as a solid right fielder and be able to put up some good power numbers in the Metrodome. If the offer by Washington is any indication of his current value, he should be well within what the Twins could afford.-- Josh S., Owatonna, Minn.
This was by far the most common question from Twins fans this week. With Sosa's rejection of the Nationals' offer, it appears likely that the veteran slugger will retire, and soon. Many of the e-mails I received asked why the Twins wouldn't take a risk on such a power bat for so little money.
The problem is that while Sosa has proven to be a strong hitter in his career, last year was just another bad year in what has been a downward spiral for him. Sosa's batting average has dropped in each of the past four years, and with only 14 homers last season, it appears that his power is disappearing, too.
Sosa also has some questions around him as to what type of player he is in the clubhouse. Twins general manager Terry Ryan is known for finding players that he believes will fit the chemistry of his club and focus more on the team than the individual. Sosa hasn't done much of late to make himself worth the risk of what type of player he will be in the clubhouse, and after last season's bit of strife in the Twins locker room, it doesn't appear like a good idea to take on another possible problem case.
I noticed that Ron Gardenhire has chosen Shannon Stewart to bat leadoff and Luis Castillo to bat second. Wouldn't the lineup be more productive the other way around? It seems that Castillo would be able to steal more bases, and since Stewart has more pop in his bat, he would have a chance to bring in Castillo with a shot to the gap or a home run.-- Daren S., Minnetonka, Minn.
It may appear that way, but first, you must consider some of the facts. While Castillo became known as a base stealer early in his career, those numbers have drastically dwindled the past few years. Since nabbing 62 bases in 2000 with the Marlins, Castillo has come close to that number only once, with his 48 steals in 2002.
Injuries have limited Castillo's speed over the past few years, and running on the FieldTurf of the Metrodome likely won't help increase that, either. The Twins are looking at Castillo more as a steady on-base guy at the top of the order than one who will steal bases.
As for Stewart, he has seemed to take a liking to the leadoff role. While injuries have limited Stewart over the past few seasons, the addition of Castillo behind him may be just the type of threat that will give Stewart the confidence he needs to have a more productive season.
What is the possibility of Jason Tyner making the roster this year? Is he also competing for the right field job as well as Michael Cuddyer, Ford and Jason Kubel? Tyner has got some real speed, and I think that would be a great asset for the Twins to have more of.-- Ryan S., New Brighton, Minn.
There is a chance that you could see Tyner as a part of the Twins' roster this year. It's a very slight chance, but still a possibility. Tyner is at Spring Training with the Twins for the second straight year, and the 28-year-old showed the team last year in the 18 games he saw action that he could hit, with his .321 batting average and five RBIs.
The problem for Tyner is that the competition for right field is pretty tight already. He would have to make a pretty dominant impression to truly fight for the starting nod, but the one area where he may find a position on the squad is as a platoon outfielder. It's more likely, though, that role would go to a utility guy like Cuddyer or an all-purpose outfielder like Ford -- whoever doesn't earn the starting spot.
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
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