3rd Base for 2009

[bassislife]

I suppose with the way Buscher played third it would make Harris look better than he really is. I still think he should be an option though.

[Jim Uran]

Did I hear correctly this weekend, Ol Sid was wishing for us to sign Manny????? I know he isn't a 3rd baseman and it's off the subject but a free agent is a free agent.

[Scott K]

It would never happen!! Although he would be a great dh!

[CrappiesNCats]

Did I hear correctly this weekend, Ol Sid was wishing for us to sign Manny????? I know he isn't a 3rd baseman and it's off the subject but a free agent is a free agent.

hah. there is a reason he is nicknamed "Senile Sid"

[mr_jman]

Could we just combine the hitting of Buscher and the Defense of Harris and have one GOOD 3rd baseman? Personally I still think Buscher did an ok job. I was looking through the Twins top plays throughout the year and there are a fair amount of Brian Buscher plays listed... A nice throw to home to prevent a Padres run that was very important comes to mind! He also made some nice plays covering and fielding bunts barehanded!

Harris also made his fair share of nice plays there. A couple in that Chicago series come to mind at the least.

I would just put those two on a rotation based on how there batting! - Although some players can't take the inconsistent starts!

ANYWAYS, here is the current Q and A on the Twins site which addresses this issue and others....

MN TWINS

[greebs]

I think it comes down to how bad they want to win a world series as opposed to just qualifying for the playoffs with a wild card or maybe a division title if it's a down year in the division like this year. They can potentially do the second option with what they have but I really think that to seriously contend for ws they need a rh 3b that can get rbi's and 20+ home runs. Nobody on the team right now fits that mold. And that includes Cuddyer even if he could play 3b.

[zamboni]

Originally Posted By: leechbait

Did I hear correctly this weekend, Ol Sid was wishing for us to sign Manny????? I know he isn't a 3rd baseman and it's off the subject but a free agent is a free agent.

hah. there is a reason he is nicknamed "Senile Sid"

Listening to him in the morning on WCCO, he seems like the worlds grumpiest old man

[UdeLakeTom]

It's fun listening to him and then when he is done moving over to Ruesse. I knew where I have to be on the way to work when they come on.

[UdeLakeTom]

Somebody posted on the 20" box fan again....it is back in business.

[IFallsRon]

Don't be surprised if the twins deal a pitcher to Milwaukee for JJ Hardy. If that happens, they might be happy with the Buscher-Harris platoon at third. The Twins have more guys in the bullpen than they need and have a projected solid rotation.

Elsewise, Blake might be a good option for a two-year deal. He still lives in Iowa and likely would like to play close to home as he edges in on retirement. And he could be a deadline trade candidate, too, should the other guys improve dramatically.

[zamboni]

I have a feeling the Dodgers will re-sign Casey Blake

[Cicada]

Let's see, I see we want another aging infielder near the end of his career. How they been working out for us lately? Seem to remember seeing something about that being a bad idea last week.

Also see that we can't win without a power hitting third baseman. Hummm...I suppose 11 home runs and 56 rbi's would just be unacceptable. Too bad they didn't tell the Twins that in 1991 (Pags; 6hr, 36rbi and Leius; 5hr and 20 rbi).

For a comparison, Buscher hit .294, 42k's, and 19 walks with 10 errors at third base. We once had a guy who in his first full year hit .230, 107k's, and 37 walks with 15 errors at third base. Bet you all didn't want to give Gary Gaetti another year to grow. Glad you don't make too many important decisions.

Busher made some pretty good strides from last year to this year. I think I'd give him a chance to see if he can continue to improve to the next step next year. Geez, he has just over a year with the Twins. Last year he couldn't get the footwork right and who knew where the throws were going to go after he paniced. This year he looked like he had a clue and a gameplan. Next year...oh, forgot, we don't have time to plan for a future. Gotta win 146 now.

[bassislife]

Last year he couldn't get the footwork right and who knew where the throws were going to go after he paniced.

Nothing changed! He still panicked and threw the ball into the seats when he just had to make a routine throw to first. Plus, he can't field a ball without bobbling it first. His defense was terrible. Harris was much better at third than Buscher.

[soldoncass]

Cicada,

There you go again......making SENSE of things.....can't just let the negatives rant! ha

Thank-you for being sensible. I agree with you about Buscher making tremendous progress this year. He wasn't the liability at 3B like he was last year. I didn't think he had a chance of making it back then. Now I think he will be average, to above average defensively. Offensively he has to learn to handle the inside pitch a little better. A Harris, Buscher platoon will work just fine.

[zamboni]

I personally wouldn't mind giving Buscher another year, maybe two. If they want to do this, they need to go (all out) and let him play everyday, playing 2, sitting 3, then playing 3 then sitting 2 and so on and so forth isn't good. Sit him once every 2 weeks

[greebs]

The reason I feel we need a rh 3b who can hit with some power is because that's the one position where we really don't have someone established already where that kind of player can potentially be picked up from another team. I think they can have a shot at making the playoffs with the team they have but I don't think they have much of a chance of going all the way with this lineup based on recent history of playoff teams and world series matchups.

Consider this. The avg. # of home runs by the 8 playoff teams this season is 185. The Dodgers had the lowest of those 8 teams with 137. Do you think that if the Twins could have had 26 more home runs this season to match the Dodgers that there's a slight possibility that they could have made the playoffs? Who is the last team to play in the world series where the team home run total was 111?

The 1991 Twins team that won the series that Cicada referred to above had 140 home runs that season. They obviously didn't need a hr producer at 3b that year because they got it from other positions. We don't have that luxury right now and again I refer to my first paragraph of this post as to why I think they do need that kind of player at 3b next year unless someone can provide a different position where that power is going to come from.

I'm hopeful but does anybody seriously think that they can match the risp avg. that they had this year again next year? Minus that, there would have been no playoff race this year. Injecting one more bat with some pop is needed. With the current lineup it's too easy for opposing teams to pitch around Morneau and on occasion, Kubel. Let's face it, these are the only two batters in the lineup that opposing teams have reason to fear coming up to bat in a situation where a hr would be critical.

[Cicada]

Didn't find a World Series winner with a team total of 111. But...

1988 Dodgers, 99hr.

1982 Cardinals, 67hr.

1981 Dodgers, 82hr. and

1980 Phillies, 117hr. with Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.

That's all the farther I went back and I will admit they are all before the steriod era.

Since 2000, half the teams that won the World Series beat teams that had more regular season home runs.

*2000 Yankees, 205; Mets, 198

*2001 D-Backs, 208; Yankees, 203

2002 Angels, 152; Giants, 198

2003 Marlins, 157; Yankees, 230

*2004 Red Sox, 222; Cardinals, 214

*2005 White Sox, 200; Astros, 161

2006 Cardinals, 184; Tigers, 203

2007 Red Sox, 166; Rockies, 171

Good pitching can shut down good hitting.

Would more home runs help? Definately, yes. Is there more to putting a winner on the field than hitting home runs?

The Twins were an eye blink away from making the playoffs. Could it have been a tired bullpen?

A less than stellar defense?

A bad call here and there by an umpire?

A coin toss?

Home runs are nice. As Maddox said, "Chicks dig the long ball." So too, do the posters on this site.

[blue_healer_guy]

Cicada, 3rd basemen or not, your kidding yourself if you think this team next year doesnt need another power hitter.

[blue_healer_guy]

Just to add to this, if you have been watching the playoffs, homeruns have been the key for teams winning and losing.

[greebs]

The 1980's were a long time ago. I'll also point out that the lowest total of those world series teams listed going back 2000 is 152. Do you seriously think any of those 16 teams that battled for the title those years would have been there with 111 home runs?

Cicada, you mention how close the Twins were to the playoffs and reasons for missing. I agree the bullpen was tired. Who knows if 40 more home runs on the team might not have alleviated that somewhat? How is a less than stellar defense going to get better with the same lineup? A coin toss might have gotten us one more home game but then it would have required winning two series on the road to get to the WS.

I don't think anybody here is saying we need to replace the lineup with a team that will hit 200+ home runs. At least I'm not and all I'm saying is that I think it's going to require a pretty good upgrade from 111 hr's for this team to be a real threat to win it all. Playing in the central gives us a good shot at a division title if nobody really has a stellar season like this past season, but realistically, the Twins were probably about the 6th or 7th best AL team this season so they need to pass several teams to become the best in the AL. Leading the league in infield hits isn't going to cut it in my opinion.

I agree that good pitching can beat good hitting in the world series but you have to get there first. Let's face it. Stats don't lie and in the current MLB, it would definitely be a rare exception based on recent stats for a team with less than 150 dingers to even get the chance to play in the WS.

[BlueLundFishrman]

what about that one home run hit by the 1988 dodgers?!!! what a hit of the eck.

The Twins should get Barry Bonds for DH

[Cicada]

My main point is that the home run is a luxury and not a neccesity. If I remember correctly, you win games by scoring more runs than the other team. Twenty eight teams in the Major Leagues hit more home runs than the Twins, but the Twins were fourth in runs scored. Offensive procutivity was there. We pushed a bunch of runs accross without hitting too many long balls. Granted the clutch hitting was insane this year, but this team can be productive with small ball. Long ball hitters can slump and you get nothing. Small ball is built with speed and they say speed doesn't slump.

[greebs]

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree and I'm guessing your theory is what will be tested next season anyhow instead of what I'm hoping for.

My main point is that we can win with small ball against the weak teams in the AL and there's enough of them out there to produce a winning record. But I don't think it will stand up against the stronger teams in the AL who will all be standing in the way of a world series trip. Our winning % this year against AL teams with winning records was .425. What's your memory tell you about scoring more runs than the opposition when we played teams with winning records? Does it maybe tell you we don't match up well with those teams and hitting with power may have contributed to that?

Like I mentioned previously more than once, a division title isn't out of the question with their current lineup but I'm interested in them going somewhere's once they make the playoffs. I don't think that lineup is going to win two consecutive playoff series against the likes of the Red Sox, Angels, Rays, or even the Yankees, Whitesox, or Blue Jays for that matter.

[UdeLakeTom]

My guess is that the power hitting goes up a little next year. Buscher is a good hitter, the power will come. Same with Young and Span. Give Cuddy a normal year and he will hit at least 15...They won't be on the top next year, but more in the middle then at the tail end. The philosophy is hit to move the runner and if it results in a HR, then it is a bonus.

[koonie]

I'd like to see a power hitting third baseman. But the fact is we need quite a bit more than that to do anything other than just make the playoffs. Just making the playoffs isn't enough. It's like going to prom with an ugly girl.