Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Monday, October 12, 2015

Souhan: A solution to the Twins' Joe Mauer problem. Star Tribune (Souhan) p. 1

The striking difference between Zach Parise and Joe Mauer. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 2

Obit: Dean Chance; won Cy Young with Angels, All-Star with Twins. Star Tribune (Walsh) p. 3

Dean Chance: baseball, carnies, boxing. He was worthy of a book. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 3

For Twins, improvement, yes - but winning division is true goal. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5

1964 Cy Young winner Dean Chance dies at 74. Associated Press p. 6

Twins GM believes Joe Mauer has more .300 seasons in his bat. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 6

Cy Young winner Chance dies at 74. MLB.com (Kruth) p. 7

Foundation set for Twins to compete in 2016. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 8

Buxton’s debut foreshadowed his year, but don’t write him off, GM says. 1500espn.com (Wetmore) p. 9

Paul Molitor among MLB’s best managers at challenging incorrect calls. 1500espn.com (Wetmore) p. 10

Glen Perkins opens up on the radio about his bad second half. 1500espn.com (Wetmore) p. 11

Eight big positives to take from the Twins’ half-full, half-empty season. Minnesota Post (Gleeman) p. 12

Souhan: A solution to the Twins’ Joe Mauer problem

Jim Souhan | Star Tribune | October 9, 2015

Paul Molitor, progeny of Cretin-Derham Hall, earned a nickname as a Hall of Fame player:

The Ignitor. (Baseball players are not always good spellors.)

Joe Mauer, progeny of Cretin-Derham Hall, deserves a new nickname as a player once headed to the Hall of Fame:

The Obstructor.

Once a franchise player, Mauer has become the bottleneck on the Twins’ talent highway.

Mauer not only is no longer what the Twins need him to be, he is the Luddite standing in the way of progress.

Mauer is a first baseman and No. 3 hitter. He is no longer good enough to be either. He isn’t just performing poorly. He is blocking the way of those who would perform better.

General Manager Terry Ryan said this week he is optimistic that Mauer can hit .300 again. This is based more on hope than logic. If Mauer was ever going to waken the echoes of his glory days, it logically would have happened in 2015.

He was healthy enough to play every day. He was relieved of the corrosive effects of catching. He performed like a journeyman.

In 2015, Mauer posted career lows in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. He was average at best as a fielder.

As his prime draws to a close, Mauer is the boat you buy when times are good and can’t get rid of when times are bad. He has a no-trade clause. His wife is from St. Paul. His extended family attends his games. He is as unmovable as a redwood.

If Mauer were merely performing poorly, he would be a problem. This particular problem is compounded by the Twins’ increasing depth and

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talent.

If the Twins were to draw up a lineup to win today, they would play Trevor Plouffe at third base and Miguel Sano at first. That would leave Mauer two places at which he could possible play: Designated hitter, where his offensive statistics would again make him a liability; or right field, where he would block the re-signing of Torii Hunter, the shifting of Aaron Hicks, or the ascension of Max Kepler, Adam Brett Walker or possibly even a revamped Oswaldo Arcia.

Mauer doesn’t fit in left field, where Eddie Rosario has earned a job, and the Twins can’t conscientiously move Mauer back to catcher after making the case that the position was bad for his long-term health.

To review: The Twins don’t have a position for him and can’t trade him. So what do they do?

My solution: Make Mauer what he is most suited to be, regardless of his remaining compensation. Make him a super-utility player. Tell him to bring every variety of glove to spring training. Have him prepare to play at third base, first base, left field, right field and DH. Also tell him to prepare to be a pinch hitter when he’s out of the lineup.

Keep Plouffe at third. Play Sano at first, which might be the best position for their best hitter long-term. Bring back Hunter for one more season. Trade Hicks, now or eventually, if you can get value for him, because there is still no guarantee that he knows what it takes to be a long-term success.

Play Mauer once or so a week at third, first, left, right and at DH. Bat him seventh, or maybe second, where long at-bats that lead to singles might be more productive.

Repurposing Mauer will allow him to fit more sensibly into the Twins’ roster plans for the next three years.

Repurposing Mauer will also place a firm cleat on his posterior.

Whether because of the franchise’s personality or because of necessity, the Twins have coddled Mauer. Telling him to bring multiple gloves to spring training might provide the incentive or warning he needs to break out of his career torpor.

The Twins might also want to suggest that a modern-era first baseman need to hit the weights and prepare himself to hit baseballs over walls, rather than at infielders.

Maybe the Twins can salvage something from Mauer’s contract. This much is certain: Wherever they play him, he can’t perform much worse.

The striking difference between Zach Parise and Joe Mauer

Michael Rand | Star Tribune | October 9, 2015

I promise that’s not just a cheap clickbait headline about the difference between Zach Parise and Joe Mauer. And I promise it’s not a cheap pile-on aimed at the latter. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about off and on for a while now.

Because I feel like on one hand, these two guys are leading parallel lives. They are tremendous athletes, sure, but they are also both Minnesota natives playing out the primes of their careers on massive contracts with their hometown teams (Parise’s is worth $98 million over 13 years, Mauer’s is worth $184 million over 8 years). Their Minnesota roots clearly mean a lot to both of them. Both of them are reasonably low-key and soft-spoken off the field/ice. Mauer married a woman he went to high school with; Parise married his college sweetheart. They even both have twins; Mauer’s were born in 2013, with Parise’s coming about 6 months later.

They are amazingly similar, with one stark exception: on their chosen surfaces of play, Parise exhibits the kind of fire, exuberance and all-out will to win to create an on-ice urgency that roughly 123 percent of Minnesota sports fans would say is their No. 1 priority in a star player. It’s one thing to be great. It’s another thing to care. It’s another thing yet to show exactly how much you care. Parise checks all of those boxes, and as a result fans are willing to forgive any holes in his game (such as, no matter how hard he works, he will never be a natural goal scorer — last night’s hat trick notwithstanding).

Mauer has not performed like a great player for a few years now. But even when he was great — peak Mauer was a three-time batting champ and an MVP, a more accomplished player than Parise — he did not exhibit the fire, exuberance and all-out will to win (at least not outwardly) that Minnesota fans crave.

As such, in terms of the public perception of the two, there is a massive divergence. Mauer has always had a host of vocal critics who wanted him to hit more home runs and show more grit. They grew louder once he signed his big contract. They grew more numerous when his numbers dipped into mediocrity. Parise is nearly universally lauded by fans, save for the handful of hysterics who are never satisfied and treat every goal-less game or bad pass like it’s the end of the world. It helps that he is still on top of his game, but it is only a fraction of the story.

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(You can find prime examples of this, by the way, in the comments sections of two of the top-read Star Tribune stories today: Jim Souhan’s column on Mauer and Michael Russo’s game story on the Wild comeback. Admittedly these are two very different types of stories and situations for the players, but it’s still apt).

I’m not saying any of this is right or wrong (except for the awful trolls. They’re wrong). Being a sports fan is often an irrational, emotional thing. As I’m fond of saying, the heart wants what it wants. If you see something in the way Parise plays and emotes that resonates with you while not finding the same connection with Mauer, it’s what your heart wants.

I just find it all very fascinating that two athletes who seem to be as similar as possible inspire such different emotions from their same home state fans.

Obit: Dean Chance; won Cy Young with Angels, All-Star with Twins

Paul Walsh | Star Tribune | October 12, 2015

Cy Young Award-winning righthander Dean Chance, who played three seasons for the Twins in the late 1960s and threw two no-hitters in the same month while with Minnesota, has died.

Chance was 74. Details about his death have yet to be officially disclosed, but former Twins teammate Jim Kaat said it appeared Chance died of a heart attack. A funeral home in Chance’s hometown of Wooster, Ohio, confirmed he died Sunday.

Chance won the Cy Young as baseball’s best pitcher in 1964 for the Los Angeles Angels — from 1956 to ’66, only one pitcher in the majors won the award each year. That season, he went 20-9, with a 1.65 ERA and 207 strikeouts. At the time, he was the youngest pitcher to win the award, at age 23.

Chance died two months after being at Angel Stadium in Anaheim for his induction into the Angels Hall of Fame.

The Angels traded Chance to the Twins in December 1966 in a deal that sent Pete Cimino, Jimmie Hall and Don Mincher to California. In his first season with the Twins, the righthander went 20-14 with a 2.73 ERA while striking out 220 batters in 283⅔ innings. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career.

On Aug. 6, 1967, Chance pitched five perfect innings in a 2-0, rain-shortened victory against Boston (baseball recognized non-nine inning no-hitters until 1991). Then on Aug. 25, he no-hit Cleveland and won 2-1.

He was 16-16 with a 2.53 ERA in 1968, then 5-4 with a 2.95 ERA in 20 appearances in an injury plagued 1969. After that season, the Twins sent him, Bob Miller, Graig Nettles and Ted Uhlaender to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.

Chance, who was signed by the Orioles in 1959 and made his big-league debut for the Angels in 1961 vs. the Twins, went 128-115 with a 2.92 ERA in 10 seasons with five teams, including the Mets and Detroit.

He was well known for his exploits off the field, too. With teammate Bo Belinsky, he would pal around Hollywood with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.

Dean Chance: baseball, carnies, boxing. He was worthy of a book

Patrick Reusse | Star Tribune | October 11, 2015

Bob Willis ran the Orlando Twins in the Class AA Southern League for years. When the big leaguers arrived for spring training, Willis would have to move out of the largest office in the small headquarters at Tinker Field to make room for the boss, Calvin Griffith.

There weren’t many days when I was covering spring training and the Twins were playing at Tinker that I failed to stop in to see Willy in his spring-time cubbyhole. He was one of the all-time irreverent characters that I have met in sports.

One morning, Willy started telling me stories about his friend Dean Chance, a pitcher for the Twins from 1967-69. There were so many laughs that I asked Willis for Chance’s phone number.

“He’s hard to get ahold of now,’’ Willis said. “He’s been spending time in Miami Beach, playing high-stakes gin rummy with old rich guys. I got the number for the card room where he usually plays, but the games aren’t exactly legal, so they are a bit cautious answering the phone.’’

I called the number a few times and final someone answered, with caution in his voice.

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I identified myself and explained that I was trying to get ahold of Dean Chance to “talk baseball’’ (not gin rummy).

“How did you get this number?’’ the gent asked.

“From a friend of Dean Chance’s,’’ I said.

“He’s not here,’’ the gent said.

“Could I ask that you take my number and give it to Dean if you see him?’’ I said.

The gent didn’t say yes or no. He simply hung up.

You’re right. I never heard from Dean that time. I did get a chance to talk with him three or four times, including at breakfast when he was in Minneapolis in January 2004 in his role as president (and founder) of the International Boxing Association.

“I’m the IBA, not the IBF,’’ Chance said. “People ask me what’s the difference? I say, ‘I’m the one who hasn’t been convicted of taking bribes.’ ‘’

Chance died on Sunday of an apparent heart attack at age 74 in his home area of Wooster, Ohio. He lived on a 300-acre farm there. He ran the IBA out of an office in the basement of the house.

Chance was a 6-foot-3 right-hander who threw extra-hard and often from the side. Righties would hang very loose in the batter’s box when facing him.

He had 17 no-hitters in high school. He also was an outstanding basketball player. There was no baseball draft in 1959, and he signed with Baltimore for $30,000.

The Orioles didn’t protect him in the expansion draft and Chance was taken by the Los Angeles Angels. Chance was 20 when he made his debut at the end of the Angels’ first season in 1961.

A lefthander named Bo Belinsky debuted for the Angels the next year. He gained notoriety for dating starlets such as Mamie Van Doren and for being a world-class carouser.

Often, Bo’s running-mate was Chance. The legend became that the Angels felt Belinsky was a bad influence on Chance and that’s why they got rid of Bo after the 1964 season. I got to know a couple of Angels from that era later and they said it might have been the other way around – that the kid from Wooster knew more about partying than Belinsky.

Chance was the Cy Young Award winner in 1964 – when there was only one awarded for both leagues. He was 20-9 with a 1.65 ERA and interrupted what would have been a four-year streak of Cy Youngs for the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965-66).

The Twins traded for Chance after the 1966 season, sending power hitters Don Mincher and Jimmie Hall to the Angels as the main pieces in the deal.

Chance was phenomenal for the Twins in 1967. He had two no-hitters that season: a 5-inning perfect game (that’s no longer an official no-hitter) and then a 2-1 no-hitter over Cleveland on Aug. 25.

He was not quite as good in 1968, and then ran into arm trouble and flamed out in 1969.

The Twins traded Chance to Cleveland in December 1969. The trade was lousy for the Twins, not because they gave up Chance but because a young Graig Nettles was in the deal. He would become a terrific third baseman and power hitter for Cleveland and the Yankees.

Chance was finished with baseball after the 1971 season. He wasn’t a 9-to-5 guy, unless it was 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

For years, he was in the carnival business, owning more than 100 of those “win-a-Teddy bear’’ games that were trucked all across the country.

Chance had gotten in boxing while still playing baseball – as a promoter for heavyweight Earnie Shavers in 1969. He also promoted a Jerry Quarry fight in St. Paul in August of that year. That fight got a lot of pub from Don Riley, the St. Paul columnist, as they tried to play up the Irish angle with Quarry for the local audience.

“I was a boxing promoter until I ran out of money,’’ Chance said when he was here in 2004.

Chance started the IBA as a sanctioning body in 1994. It still was going when he died this weekend. The top story on the IBA’s Website concerned the induction of Chance, Mike Witt and Tim Salmon into the Angels’ Hall of Fame on Sept. 24.

Boxing. Carnivals. Gin Rummy. A high school legend and a Cy Young winner.

Best I can tell, Dean Chance never was involved in writing a book. I’d say that’s unfortunate.

“He was a one-of-a-kind character,’’ was the message from his Twins’ teammate, Jim Kaat, on Sunday.

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For Twins, improvement, yes – but winning division is true goal

Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | October 12, 2015

On the surface, it might seem as if the Twins are knocking on the door, poised to resume the championship pursuit that consumed them for much of the prior decade.

That theory would be based on falling three games short of the Houston Astros in a season-long bid for the second wild-card spot in the American League.

In reality, that could be a dangerous approach to this pivotal offseason.

"I would be very guarded about just saying, 'Oh, we're in good shape,' " Twins general manager Terry Ryan said this week. "I don't have that opinion. We are in better shape than we have been, that's for sure, but there's still a lot of work to do here."

That's because, even after winning 83 games and posting the seventh-biggest turnaround in Twins franchise history, they enter the long, cold winter staring at a 12-win gulf separating second place and the AL Central champion Kansas City Royals.

No other second-place team must make up such a large difference this offseason. The San Francisco Giants, who finished eight games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, were next.

Merely grabbing another three to five wins probably won't be enough for the Twins to reach their desired destination in 2016.

"We should be pointing to win the division," Ryan said. "That's important, instead of playing that one (wild-card) game. Nobody likes that game. Well, the one way to get out of that is to win the division."

Including the season's final weekend, the Royals swept the final six games they played at Target Field, holding the Twins to a combined six runs. For the year, the Twins dropped 12 of 19 games with the Royals.

So, do the Twins have more work in front of them than it might otherwise appear?

"I don't know if we really look at it that way," second baseman Brian Dozier said. "The fact (the Royals) are one of the best teams in the American League says a lot, but within the game, you can ask anybody around here, I feel like we had just as good a team as they did.

"Obviously we came up a few wins short of what they had. If anyone had said we'd have 83 wins, I'm sure everybody in America would have said, 'Absolutely not,' but we feel like we could have won a lot more. You look at all the close ballgames."

Indeed, the Twins went 21-20 in one-run games and 6-8 in extra innings. The Royals, buoyed by the game's most-feared bullpen, went 23-17 in one-run games and 10-6 in extras.

Against the Twins, the Royals went 7-3 with two walk-off victories in games decided by two runs or less.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Royals position players produced a combined 25.6 wins above replacement (WAR), led by Lorenzo Cain (7.2), Mike Moustakas (4.4) and Eric Hosmer (3.6).

Third baseman Trevor Plouffe led the Twins with a WAR of just 2.5, and the team total (11.8) barely eclipsed what Bryce Harper (9.9) gave the Washington Nationals.

On the pitching side, the Royals' staff produced 16.4 WAR, by Baseball-Reference.com standards, with reliever Wade Davis (3.4) leading the way. The Twins, led by Kyle Gibson (3.2 WAR), were much closer on that side of the ball (16.1).

With a full season of Ervin Santana and Tyler Duffey, the Twins should hold their own against the Royals' pitching staff next year. A full year of Miguel Sano should help the position group, but there would appear to be more ground to make up there.

"I think your goal should be to win divisions," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Playoffs, getting in somehow, some way, would fall under that. It still would be a good goal for us trying to move forward."

And yet, the Twins must stay greedy, to use one of Molitor's favorite sayings. While he acknowledged the season as a "step up" from 90-loss campaigns the previous four years, Molitor added, "I also know that it's a step up, but if it wasn't for the second (wild-card) spot, our story line might be a little different."

Even winning the first wild-card spot and that one home game to open the postseason guarantees little.

Just ask the Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"First winning season in five years -- blah, blah, blah -- but it changes the dynamic of how people look at your season because of that new format," Molitor said. "I try to be realistic about that. There's a ways to go in terms of how you see the upper-echelon clubs and the games that

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they're winning and the amounts. We've moved in that direction, but I think you have to set your sights high."

1964 Cy Young winner Dean Chance dies at 74

Associated Press | October 11, 2015

WOOSTER, Ohio -- Dean Chance, who won the 1964 Cy Young Award and later pitched a no-hitter, died Sunday. He was 74.

The funeral home handling the arrangements near where he lived in Ohio confirmed Chance died. There were no details on the cause of death.

Chance threw a no-hitter for the Twins in August 1967. Earlier that month, he pitched a five-inning perfect game.

Chance died two months after being at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., for his induction into the Angels Hall of Fame.

In 1964, Chance went 20-9 with a 1.65 earned-run average for the Angels and won the Cy Young -- from 1956-66, only one pitcher in the majors won the award each year.

Chance went 128-115 with a 2.92 ERA in 10 seasons. He began with the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961 and also pitched for Minnesota, Cleveland, the Mets and Detroit.

The two-time all-star was well known for his exploits off the field, too. With teammate Bo Belinsky, he would pal around Hollywood with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.

Twins GM believes Joe Mauer has more .300 seasons in his bat

Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | October 12, 2015

Terry Ryan did not hesitate.

The question was about Joe Mauer and whether the Twins' general manager believes his first baseman remains capable of contending for a fourth career batting title, even after seeing his average plummet the past two seasons.

"Yeah, I do," Ryan said during his year-end media session. "He can really improve on his numbers."

Even while setting career bests for games played (158) and plate appearances (666), Mauer saw his career batting average drop to .313 (still third among active players) after hitting a career-low .265.

More troubling, his on-base percentage dropped to a career-low .338, nearly 60 points below his career mark.

Mauer reached base in 43 straight games from Aug. 7 through Sept. 24, breaking Bob Allison's 54-year-old Twins record, but his production was modest during that encouraging stretch: .270 average, .368 OBP and a .393 slugging percentage.

American League hitters managed a .255 collective average this year, down 12 points from Mauer's MVP season of 2009, but for a second straight year, Mauer was unable to even threaten .300.

He also set a career high with 112 strikeouts, fanning 16.8 percent of the time. That actually was a dip in his strikeout rate from the previous two years, but still well above his career norm of 12.4 percent.

According to StatCorner.com, Mauer swung at pitches outside the strike zone 28.2 percent of the time, well above his previous high (24. 6 percent in 2014) since the site began tracking such data in 2007. He also had 8.9 percent of pitches deemed outside the zone called strikes, tying him with Kennys Vargas for third-highest rate among Twins hitters.

As the strike zone has dropped lower and lower, Mauer has been forced to adjust.

"I know for a fact he's frustrated," Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky said late in the season. "He's frustrated over calls that he sees those are balls and they are being called strikes. With two strikes, he's not going to leave it up to the umpire to make a decision over his at-bat. It was that way last year, as well."

Mauer put the first pitch in play 33 times this season, hitting .281 and slugging .344 with just two extra-base hits (both doubles). In 2014, he went 15 for 26 (a .577 average) and slugged .846 when putting the first pitch in play.

"He certainly doesn't feel as comfortable with two strikes as he had in years prior," Brunansky said. "It's forcing him to expand the zone."

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As he enters his age-33 season, many wonder if Mauer is still capable of turning back the clock. Ryan is not among them.

"He struck out more than he ever had, and the shift might have got into him a little bit, but yeah, I believe that (he can improve)," Ryan said. "He's a career (.313) hitter. I believe that he can get back into the threes, yes. I might be out of whack saying (he can win) the batting title, but I don't want to put limits on Joe Mauer because that's the wrong thing."

Ryan shook his head. It's about more than batting average for Mauer, of course, as it must be for every player in the modern game.

"I'm looking more at some of those other numbers," Ryan said. "His strikeouts were high. His walks were lower. On-base percentage was lower. He can do better than that."

With three years and $69 million left on his contract, the Twins hope that another year past the career-altering concussion of 2013 -- and another offseason of Roger Erickson's stretching program -- will help restore some of Mauer's lost luster.

Mauer is upbeat as well after he was able to start all but eight games this season, including 135 at first base.

"That's one of my goals every year, to be on the field as much as I can," he said. "I was able to do that. That was a positive for me."

So was a .347 average with runners in scoring position, which ranked fourth in the league. His .463 OBP in 160 plate appearances with runners in scoring position ranked third, trailing only Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout, who have shared the past three (and maybe four) AL Most Valuable Player awards.

"I think you're always tweaking everything in this game; you're always trying to find ways to get better," Mauer said. "I'm going to do that same thing this offseason, in every aspect. I'm definitely happy with being out there every day on the field."

The Twins were pleased with that part of Mauer's season, as well.

While three-time all-star closer Glen Perkins, 32, and Opening Day starter Phil Hughes, 29, were sidelined by back injuries at various times over the final two months, Mauer kept answering the bell. He was able to do that while throwing his body around at first base on a near-nightly basis.

"There are a lot of players that, especially when they get deeper in their careers, they need to realize age is not going to end up being friendly to them," Ryan said. "It's as simple as that. As you age, you've got to do more work, and Joe this year, for instance, is a prime example.

"He's 32 years old. He played in more games this year than he ever has. I think with age, he's realized he has to do more. And every player on this team, as they age, is going to realize they're going to have to do more."

A six-time all-star, Mauer has missed the past two midsummer classics, another career first, although he was on the disabled list for the 2014 game at Target Field. Returning to that level of accomplishment could be difficult for a John Olerud-style first baseman in an era of heavy power production from that position, but Mauer will keep plugging away.

"It's a little tough to assess everything right now," he said on the season's final weekend. "I learned a lot of things to do and maybe not to do. I think it's an ongoing process until you decide to hang 'em up, I guess. Now, as a team, we can attack the offseason and try to put ourselves in another good position next year."

Cy Young winner Chance dies at 74

Cash Kruth | MLB.com | October 11, 2015

Former Cy Young Award winner Dean Chance died Sunday, the Angels announced. He was 74.

No details have been disclosed about Chance's death.

Chance was 20-9 with a 1.65 ERA and 207 strikeouts during his Cy Young Award-winning season in 1964.

On Aug. 6, 1967, Chance threw five perfect innings in a 2-0, rain-shortened victory against the Red Sox. On Aug. 25 of that year, he no-hit the Indians, winning, 2-1.

He was 128-115 with a 2.92 ERA over 11 seasons with the Angels (1961-66), Twins (1967-69), Indians ('70), Mets ('70) and Tigers ('71).

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Foundation set for Twins to compete in 2016

Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | October 8, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins exceeded outside expectations in 2015, getting eliminated from postseason contention on the second-to-last day of the season. Given the contributions from its young core, the club is positioned to remain competitive going forward.

Veteran Torii Hunter compared the experience to 2001, when the Twins had a surprising season that saw them come up just short of making the postseason after several down years, only to win the division in six of the next nine seasons.

"It definitely feels like '01, when we ended up losing, but guys really got a taste of winning and what it means to be a competitive Major League ballclub," Hunter said. "The next year we took off."

The Twins are certainly hoping for a similar run of success going forward, as they saw rookies like Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Tyler Duffey and Trevor May make major impacts, while still relying on a strong core that includes Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Kyle Gibson, Eduardo Escobar, Aaron Hicks, Joe Mauer, Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Glen Perkins and Kevin Jepsen.

Several of those stalwarts -- such as Dozier, Plouffe and Gibson -- played meaningful baseball late in the season for the first time, which first-year manager Paul Molitor said will be valuable experience going forward.

"The success is in progress," Molitor said. "The body of work was good. They left it out there, and we'll be better for it in the long run."

But like any club, the Twins still have plenty of question marks going into next season, and while Molitor was proud of his group, he noted they still have progress to make before becoming an elite team. Their 83 wins were their most since 2010 and 13 more than they won in '14, but Molitor is looking to set a higher standard.

"As much as there have a been a lot of positive things said about what we've done, and the fact we had a chance until the last weekend, I also know we won 83 games and it's a step up, but if it wasn't for the second [Wild Card] spot, our story might be a little bit different," Molitor said. "It changes the dynamic of your season because of the new format, so I try to be realistic about it. We have a ways to go."

Contract issues:

Free agents: OF Hunter, RHP Mike Pelfrey; LHP Brian Duensing; RHP Blaine Boyer, LHP Neal Cotts.

Eligible for arbitration: Plouffe, 3B; Jepsen, RHP; Tommy Milone LHP; Casey Fien RHP; Eduardo Nunez INF; Escobar SS; OF Shane Robinson

Where the 2015 roster stands going into 2016:

Catcher: Kurt Suzuki remains under contract and figures to return next season, but the Twins could look to acquire another catcher to split the duties with him. Suzuki was an All-Star in 2014, but the 32-year-old struggled offensively in '15. Chris Herrmann and Eric Fryer also didn't provide any offense as backup catchers. Josmil Pinto remains in the organization and has the bat to play in the Majors, but concussions derailed his season and he never saw time with the Twins in '15.

First base: Mauer stayed healthy for an entire season for the first time since 2012, playing in a career-high 158 games. But he had a down year offensively for a second straight season, hitting .265/.338/.380 with 10 homers and 66 RBIs. He remains under contract through 2018 and has a no-trade clause, so he'll be back at first base next season.

Second base: Dozier was an All-Star and hit a career-high 28 homers and 39 doubles in 157 games. His stats weren't as strong in the second half, but he's still one of the club's better players and is essentially a lock at second base. Infielder Jorge Polanco, ranked as the No. 75 overall prospect, split time at shortstop and second base at Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester, but seems more likely to be a second baseman in the future. The Twins will have an interesting decision to make with Polanco going forward, as he could be traded if he proves unable to handle shortstop.

Shortstop: After taking over as Minnesota's regular shortstop in late July, Escobar had a strong second half and is in place to be in the same position next season. Danny Santana followed a strong rookie year with a disappointing sophomore campaign and looks more like a utility infielder going forward. Backup infielder Nunez could be back if the Twins decide to tender him a contract.

Third base: It'll be intriguing to see what the Twins decide to do in the offseason. Plouffe has become a solid all-around third baseman and is under team control through 2017, but Sano emerged as one of the best rookies in the Majors despite playing mostly as a designated hitter. The Twins could decide to trade Plouffe and put Sano at third, or decide to keep Plouffe and rotate Mauer, Plouffe and Sano at DH.

Outfield: If Hunter decides to retire, the Twins could look to go with a young, athletic outfield consisting of its No. 1 overall prospect Byron Buxton, Hicks and Rosario. Max Kepler, the No. 96 overall prospect, also could be in the mix, but figures to open the year at Triple-A. If Hunter returns, he'd likely play in more of a reserve role than he did in '14, but he has indicated he doesn't want to be a part-time player, so it'll be interesting to see what he decides.

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Designated hitter: Sano made a major impact when he was called up to be the club's regular DH on July 2, but he's just 22 years old. The Twins don't want to lock him into being an everyday DH at such a young age, as they believe he can handle third base. Kennys Vargas could be an option if Sano plays in the field, but he struggled in the Majors after a strong rookie year in '14.

Rotation: The Twins have plenty of options as Hughes, Santana and Ricky Nolasco remain signed to long-term contracts while Gibson has established himself as a dependable starter. Lefty Milone had a solid season, and rookies Duffey and May also showed a lot of potential, with Duffey being one of their best starters down the stretch. Right-hander Jose Berrios, the No. 20 overall prospect, also figures to be in the mix. Pelfrey is a free agent and isn't likely to return as a starter.

Bullpen: Perkins was perfect in save situations in the first half en route to being named an All-Star for a third straight year, but struggled in the second half. Jepsen turned out to be a shrewd pickup at the non-waiver Trade Deadline and filled in capably for Perkins in the second half. Fien figures to return, while Boyer expressed interest in re-signing. Ryan Pressly missed the second half with a lat strain, but is likely to be in the mix. However, the Twins are expected to upgrade the bullpen via free agency or trade.

Buxton’s debut foreshadowed his year, but don’t write him off, GM says

Derek Wetmore | 1500espn.com | October 8, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS -- Byron Buxton debuted in the Majors on June 14, a moment many Twins had anticipated for a long time.

The team's top prospect went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in that game, but scored the winning run when he ran home from first base on a double.

As it turns out, that game served as a fair amount of foreshadowing.

Buxton's speed stood out that day -- and it never stopped standing out.

He also didn't offer much at the plate, which didn't change a whole lot, either.

Buxton got his first taste of the big leagues this summer, and he struggled to handle pitching at the top level of professional baseball. But Buxton did show throughout the year a couple reasons why he is so highly regarded in prospects circles, with this top-of-the-charts speed and his strong arm.

In fact, if you follow minor league prospect coverage, you'll be seeing Byron Buxton atop a lot of rankings this winter. That's because he finished just shy of the barrier that separates rookies from second-year players. Buxton had just 129 at-bats. One more and he would have exceeded MLB's definition of being a rookie. Buxton also did not rack up 45 days on the active roster (not including September, October and time spent on the disabled list), so he is still considered a rookie.

I suspect that the prospect rankers that I read regularly -- at ESPN, Baseball America and Fangraphs -- will consider him for these lists. Meanwhile, players like Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Carlos Correa, Miguel Sano and Francisco Lindor expired their rookie eligibility -- not that their respective teams are complaining.

Buxton hit just .209/.250/.326 with two home runs and six RBIs. That's a poor stat line for any position, even a great defender at a premium spot like center field. Another glaring concern on Buxton's stats page was his 44 strikeouts compared with just six walks. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, that strikeout-to-walk ratio would have been tied with Milwaukee's Jean Segura for the worst in all of baseball.

But Twins GM Terry Ryan warned to not write off the uber-prospect just because he struggled in the Majors at age 21.

"I had to rush him," Ryan said. "So don't evaluate him on what exactly took place. I had to rush him because I got stuck."

The Twins were playing with a 3-man bench at the time, and then Torii Hunter was suspended two games and Aaron Hicks was unavailable with an injury, so the Twins went looking for an outfielder. Buxton was dominating Double-A pitching at the time.

"I openly admit that his bat is behind the rest of his game, and I think that was apparent," Ryan said Tuesday.

Ryan said if the season had played out differently, he would have liked to keep Buxton in Triple-A Rochester for longer. He added that the MLB experience still was good for Buxton, a top prospect ever since he was drafted in 2012.

"He made progress. For me, he just looked so much more comfortable during the last couple weeks," Ryan said. "He's still got a lot of work to do."

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Paul Molitor among MLB’s best managers at challenging incorrect calls

Derek Wetmore | 1500espn.com | October 9, 2015

If first-year manager Paul Molitor saw a call he didn't like during a game this season, more often than not he'd resist the urge to run out of the dugout kicking and screaming to argue with a red-faced umpire.

Instead, Molitor would perch himself on or near the top step of the dugout and turn his head to face bench coach Joe Vavra. That was code to his players that he was considering challenging the previous play. So a pitcher would stand down off the mound, or a runner would loiter around the base at which he had just been called out.

Sometimes Molitor would quietly step back down into his dugout to allow the game to continue. Other times he would cup his hands around his ears mimicking a big pair of headphones and point to the umpires, asking them non-verbally to take another look at that play.

Despite being in his first year on the job, Molitor was better at this dance than most MLB managers.

Only Cubs manager Joe Maddon (28) and had more successful challenges overturn calls on the field than Molitor's 26. Seattle's Lloyd McClendon also successfully overturned 26 calls, and he did it with five fewer attempts, according to Baseball Reference.

Credit also goes to Twins video director, Sean Harlin, who works behind the scenes to give Molitor as much information as he can. Harlin watches the games on his monitors in the clubhouse, and when there's a questionable call, he's the one in charge of reviewing it.

Harlin gets on the phone with bench coach Joe Vavra, who is seated in the dugout and essentially acts as the middle man between Harlin's replays and Molitor's stalling tactics.

If Harlin says it's a winnable review, Vavra gives Molitor the thumbs up. If it's a close call and could go either way, Vavra passes on that information. If, say, the Twins runner had correctly been ruled out on the bases, Vavra can give Molitor a thumbs down signal and the game continues.

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Owen Watson took this information a step further for a post on FoxSports.com.

Watson looked at game situations when a manager challenged and found that no manager challenged in more important moments during a game, on average, than Kansas City's Ned Yost. In this regard, Molitor was more middle of the pack, Watson showed, 14th of the 30 MLB managers. (I'd suggest, as Watson does, that Molitor isn't always in control of when questionable calls happen during a game, so it's hard to hold this fact against him. Still, with Yost holding a comfortable lead in this category, I'm left to wonder if maybe Kansas City's mad scientist just recognizes crucial moments in games and challenges whether or not he thinks he can win.)

Watson then took it a step further. He combined the challenge winning percentage with the average gravity of the situation. He found that Maddon once again was atop the list, despite not always challenging in the most important times.

In theory, every manager would challenge more often than he did last year. In practice, there isn't always an opportunity and it isn't always relevant to the outcome of a game. There's no real penalty for burning a challenge (as Watson points out, other than the fact that you won't get another), and each challenge, because of the chance it might change a call in your favor, increases the theoretical probability of winning.

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Using Watson's method, Molitor (and Harlin) had the sixth-best challenging success, when accounting for overall successes and pivotal moments.

I like what Watson said about the best managers at challenging calls:

...there are two common traits that successful managers share with respect to replay: they challenge often, and they identify the most important moments to use their challenges. They can't control how often they find themselves in those crucial situations, but they can control how they choose to handle them when they arise.

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Glen Perkins opens up on the radio about his bad second half

Derek Wetmore | 1500espn.com | October 9, 2015 Glen Perkins set a new Twins record this season when he converted his first 28 save chances, which may seem like a distant memory given the way the second half of the season went for the three-time all-star.

Perkins blew his first save of the year on July 18 in Oakland, right after the all-star break, and from that point on, injury and ineffectiveness snowballed into a season Perkins might prefer to forget.

After the break, Perkins gave up 16 earned runs in 19 2/3 innings, and had a 7.32 ERA. Opponents hit .360/.394/.674 in those 22 games, which are huge jumps from what Perkins delivered before the break.

Perkins didn't exactly hide from the disastrous second half. On Monday, he joined 1500ESPN's Mackey & Judd show and addressed head-on some of the concerns from fans.

Here are some of the highlights:

On whether he'll have to earn his job back

GP: "Obviously, the second half -- we can beat that horse all winter if we want to -- it didn't go well. And Jep [Kevin Jepsen] came in, he did a great job."

"I think everyone would agree that I've earned a little bit of leeway in that respect, that my body of work over the past four seasons kind of shows more than what happened in a second half where I was obviously battling through some things."

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On whether he'll have to prepare any differently this offseason, physically or mentall

GP: "I'm fine mentally. I know what I was going through -- that I was pitching with diminished stuff. ... It was never a confidence thing. Watch. If I'm throwing 90 or 91 miles an hour, that's not 94 and 95. You don't blame it on that but at the same time I think anyone that watched, you would think, 'Man, what's wrong with him right now?'"

"It definitely wasn't my head. When I have good stuff I'm fine, confident, all those things. I was still confident going out there with the crap I was throwing for the past two months."

(Perkins added that he'll be doing rehab, back strengthening and core strengthening to alleviate pressure on the troublesome disc in his back.)

GP: "I rehabbed and came back from the arm thing I had last year so I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to do that with my back."

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On why he pitched hurt, possibly hurting the Twins' chances at the postseason

GP: "There's a difference between pitching hurt and pitching injured. ... I wasn't 100 percent but I don't have an injury; I have things that aren't exactly ideal but, like I said, there days that I was just fine. .. You don't just quit. You don't quit on your teammates, you don't quit on the fans. I have an obligation to go out and play. That's what I get paid to do and it would not sit well with me or my teammates or the coaching staff or anybody if you don't try to battle through things."

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On whether manager Paul Molitor asked him to lose weight this winter

GP: "I talked to Mollie [Paul Molitor] [Sunday] before the game. The main takeaway was obviously as you get older you have to do more, which is completely understandable, which I have done. With the stuff that I have, I do what I need to do to try to stay as healthy as I can. And when you don't, then you make adjustments off that. My preparation and all those things, I'm as prepared as anybody. He never gave me a thing like, 'You need to get in better shape.' It wasn't anything about that. Hell, I probably lost weight during the season."

"A back injury pops up. It's a degenerative thing, it's a chronic thing that I've had years. Whether it was being a little older, which I am, that's not a secret. The amount of stress I've put on my body over the last however many years, there's a lot of things that contribute to that thing finally getting to a point where it doesn't allow you to pitch."

"Will I do more this winter than I did last winter? Of course, and a lot of that's going to be rehab-based."

"I'm going to do everything I can. I mean I don't have too many years left, so I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I can play a whole season next year. Our expectation is to play in October so I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I'm ready to play, too."

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Eight big positives to take from the Twins’ half-full, half-empty season

Aaron Gleeman | Minnesota Post | October 8, 2015

There are half-full and half-empty ways to view the Twins' season. On the half-full side they won 83 games compared to a Las Vegas over/under of 72.5 and local optimism topping out around 78, emerging as a contender ahead of schedule. On the half-empty side they made plenty of decisions on playing time, player evaluation, and call-ups that seemed iffy at the time and now stand out as especially damaging within the context of missing out on a Wild Card spot by just three games.

Whichever side you lean toward from a team-wide perspective, there's no doubt that looking at the Twins’ season from a player-by-player view leads to an abundance of half-full glasses and a few that are overflowing. I've identified eight players whose 2015 performance stood out in a very positive way, both for this season and for the Twins' long-term plans. There are more, of course, but these eight made me feel the best about what happened this season on the way to 83-79.

• Miguel Sano: I've spent the past three months obsessively posting Sano statistical porn on Twitter, so I'll try to keep this #SanoPorn somewhat brief. Sano arrived from Double-A on July 2 as a fully formed middle-of-the-order monster and one of the most extreme Three True Outcomes bats of all time, hitting .269/.385/.530 with 18 homers, 17 doubles, 53 walks, and 119 strikeouts in 80 games at age 22. He was a revelation, shattering the typical Twins hitting mold.

He's not without flaws, including a strikeout rate that will make posting decent batting averages difficult, but Sano's power and patience are both 99th percentile skills and his debut was one of the best in Twins history. Actually, that's underselling it. Sano had the 12th-highest OPS (.915) in MLB history among 22-year-old right-handed hitters, taking his spot on the list directly after Hank Aaron (.923) and Alex Rodriguez (.919). His long-term potential is drool-inducing.

• Eddie Rosario: Despite little in his 2013 or 2014 performance to suggest he was ready for the majors Rosario was the first outfielder called up when reinforcements were needed in early May and never went back to the minors. He swung at everything on the way to 118 strikeouts and 15 walks in 122 games to match the idea that he wasn't ready, but Rosario also batted .267 with 46 extra-base hits and plus defense to show Paul Molitor was right to believe in his raw talent.

There's no doubting Rosario's tools, which include an extremely quick bat, very good speed on the bases and in the outfield, and a strong arm that killed 16 runners when stubborn teams refused to stop testing him. None of that will mean much if Rosario can't develop some semblance of strike zone control, but in terms of debuts for 23-year-olds there was a ton to like and even with the undisciplined approach at the plate he was an above-average player as a rookie.

• Trevor May: May was sent down to Triple-A at the end of spring training, but Ricky Nolasco immediately getting hurt opened up a rotation spot and he had the best strikeout rate, swinging strike rate, and xFIP among Twins starters through mid-July. And then the Twins moved May to the bullpen, where he took the unwanted and undeserved role change in stride and thrived as a reliever with a 2.87 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 31 innings.

Like most starters May's velocity and raw stuff went up a tick or two as a reliever, giving him the potential to be a late-inning setup man or closer. However, he's also shown enough as a starter to think he can help the Twins more logging 200 innings in the rotation instead of 70 innings in the bullpen and May has made it clear he wants to start. Whatever happens, May took a huge step forward this season at age 25 and gives the Twins' pitching staff a much-needed building block.

• Eduardo Escobar: For whatever reason the Twins were very hesitant to trust Escobar as their starting shortstop despite a strong 2014 in that role, first handing the Opening Day job to Danny Santana and then waiting three months to give it back to Escobar when Santana flopped. Escobar ended up starting 71 games at shortstop — along with way too many games miscast as a left fielder and designated hitter — and batted .262/.309/.445 with 12 homers and 47 total extra-base hits.

For his Twins career Escobar has started 187 games at shortstop and hit .281/.328/.480 in those games, which is the best shortstop production in team history and should be more than enough to make him the 2016 starter. Escobar is a free-swinger, but he's got rare power for the position and offers solid, sure-handed defense too. At age 26 he's under team control through 2018, so they may have stumbled into a shortstop solution after two decades of unsuccessful searching.

• Tyler Duffey: Entering the year as a mid-level prospect with questions about his durability and bat-missing ability, Duffey finished it as arguably the Twins' best starter. Called up in early August as a short-term rotation patch, Duffey got knocked around by the Blue Jays in his debut and then went 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 52/18 K/BB ratio in 56 innings over his final nine starts while giving up just two homers in 229 plate appearances.

Duffey was even stingier with the long ball in the minors this season, giving up just one homer in 138 innings and 559 plate appearances at

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Double-A and Triple-A before the call-up. Because he's not an extreme ground-ball pitcher those low homer totals figure to be somewhat of a fluke long term, but Duffey has good command of a low-90s fastball and his curveball is a swing-and-miss weapon. At age 25 he deserves a full-time shot in the Twins' rotation next season.

• Aaron Hicks: All but left for dead as a prospect after back-to-back awful seasons in the majors, Hicks earned his way back to Minnesota by dominating Triple-A for six weeks and finally showed the skills that made him a first-round draft pick and four-time Baseball America top-100 prospect. With a revamped approach at the plate that dialed up aggression and converted passiveness into patience, he hit .256/.323/.398 with 11 homers in 97 games.

Hicks also looked much better defensively in center field, making his usual assortment of standout plays without mixing in as much shaky route-running, and went 13-for-16 stealing bases too. He slumped down the stretch and it remains to be seen if the switch-hitting Hicks can handle right-handers well enough to thrive as an everyday player, but he was an above-average all-around center fielder at age 25 and that's a remarkable turnaround given how far his stock had fallen.

• Jose Berrios: Setting aside whether or not the Twins should have called up Berrios to the big leagues this season--in July or August would have been my preference--his performance while spending the entire year in the minors firmly established the 21-year-old right-hander as the organization's best pitching prospect since Matt Garza in 2006. Berrios began the season at Double-A, moved up to Triple-A in early July, and was one of the best pitchers in both leagues.

Overall he threw 166 innings with a 2.87 ERA and 175/38 K/BB ratio while limiting opponents to a .223 batting average and 12 homers. His handling may have been frustrating to Twins fans, but it was a fantastic season for an excellent prospect and one that would have gotten Berrios to the big leagues in most organizations. Pitching prospects fail at a remarkably high rate, but Berrios looks MLB-ready and projects as a potential front-line starter. His development in 2015 was impressive.

• Max Kepler: Prior to this season Kepler's prospect status was based more on his physical tools and youth than actual production, which was mostly mediocre thanks in part to a bunch of injuries keeping him off the field. That all changed in a huge way this year, as Kepler stayed healthy and crushed Double-A, hitting .322/.416/.531 with 54 extra-base hits, more walks (67) than strikeouts (63), and 18 steals to be named MVP of the Southern League at age 22.

Kepler is 6-foot-4 and significantly stronger than when the Twins signed him out of Germany as a 16-year-old in 2009, but still has enough range to occasionally play center field and figures to be a plus defender in a corner spot. Much like with Berrios, in most organizations Kepler likely would have been called up to the big leagues for more than a September cup of coffee, but regardless of that his season was a true breakout and thrusts him into the Twins' long-term plans.