Cuddyer on a tear!

[SledNeck]

Quote:

Cuddyer leads the league in double plays grounded into with 12, and is currently on pace to shatter the all-time record of 36 set by Jim Rice back in 1984.

[hcmpls1]

Mauer has to be right up there too

[Big Dave2]

Might as well get rid of both of those guys too along with the ever growing list of players that people on this board want to send down to the minors or get rid of.

[mrklean]

haha not a stat you want to brag about

[fishyguy]

Sled,

So I am going to assume that you are using that stat to say that makes him a bad hitter. Bad swings rarely result in double plays. There is a reason Joe Mauer hits into so many DPs also.

Here is a list of recent players to lead their league in GIDP:

National

Miguel Tejada, Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Lee, Fred McGriff, Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Moises Alou, Mark Grace, Tony Gwynn, Vlad Guerrero, Dale Murphy

American

Delmon Young (Sled's Guy), Longoria, Vlad Guerrero, Ordonez, Tejada, Posada, Konerko, Olerud, Ivan Rodriquez, Cal Ripken, Kirby Puckett,Albert Bell, Paul O'neill

Go back a few more years and you get names like this:

Yaztremski, Boggs, Piniella, Brooks Robinson, Killebrew, Tony Perez, Ken Singleton, Jim Rice, Julio Franco, Willie McGee, Dave Parker, STeve Garvey, Concepcion, Al Oliver, Ray Knight, Gary Mathews Sr,

So what about hitting into a DP makes you a bad hitter? There are several batting titles and HOF plaques in that list. It seems like some of the best bats in the game led the league in DP. Cuddyer is not in same class as most of the guys mentioned but there is a reason a good hitter usually leads the league in GIDP.

PS....Cuddyer is batting .310 with men on and 2 outs. I will take that all season.

[SledNeck]

who said its about being a bad hitter, it was just an interesting stat

[SledNeck]

looks like the batting order is a little different today for some reason

[fishyguy]

who said its about being a bad hitter, it was just an interesting stat

Really?? With all the posts and statements you have made about Cuddyer you were just posting this as a discussion of a interesting stat? Come on Sled, it is o.k. that you did, but lets not pretend you would have made the same post if it was any other player.

I noticed you didn't mention that Billy Butler is also on the same pace to shatter the record or that Pudge Rodriquez is also on pace to break the record.

[fishyguy]

looks like the batting order is a little different today for some reason

Yep...Texas is was throwing a right hander who has been pitching well and it was an opportunity to get Thome some at bats while keeping Kubel's bat in the lineup while he he seems to be coming around. Otherwise you get another layer of rust on Thome or Kubel has to sit just as he is finding his swing. Same reason your boy Delmon sat.

[Quackaddict9]

the quote "cuddyer on tear" as sarcasm will transfer to your defintion bad hitting!!! Anyways Twins Win!

[SledNeck]

Yep...Texas is was throwing a right hander who has been pitching well and it was an opportunity to get Thome some at bats while keeping Kubel's bat in the lineup while he he seems to be coming around. Otherwise you get another layer of rust on Thome or Kubel has to sit just as he is finding his swing. Same reason your boy Delmon sat.

nothing gets by you does it?

Cuddy was dropped in the order

[fishyguy]

nothing gets by you does it?

Cuddy was dropped in the order

No not much. If there is a game I know and understand baseball would be it.

Yes...Cuddy was dropped in the order. You read a lineup card and made it fit your personal agenda against Cuddyer. Nice analysis. I read a lineup card, looked at who was pitching, who was inserted ahead of him, and knew Cuddyer was hitting over .300 in the previous 5 games. So tell me, why would have Gardy moved him down? It wasn't because, Thome was hot. Kubel hadn't completely proven he was back. So why was it?

[bassNspear]

hit another bomb tonight, and also playing second base.

[Mudcutter]

I have been a Cuddy basher for a long time, but his playing of 2nd has tempered that alot for the time being. Not many RF can do that. a true team player, and that goes a long way in my book. playing 2b is not rocket science, but probably the hardest pos to play with calls and all, (cutoff throws etc.) Plus the dude plays darn good at 1b. Cuddy scores one in my book, a player almost impossible to replace.

[soldoncass]

Gardenhire said ,on an interview, why he shifted the batting order for that game.....WAS NOT to demote Cuddy....contrary to some insinuations on here. It was to protect Morneau from the L-R match-ups.....the rher's were walking Morneau to get the R on R match-up with Cuddy. Morneau has been on a TEAR all season, WOW. OB % and AVG, look like he's playing against little league guys. Hope he can be rested enough to stay sharp late in the season this year.

Cuddy playing 2b surprised me last night, but I think Gardy wanted all the lefties playing, AND Cuddy's big bat against another good RHer. Good move!

[SledNeck]

Im thinking this might be Cuddys last season in Minnesota.

He has a 10.5 million option for 2011.

Do you think they will pick that up or give him a multi year deal?

Morneau is probably gonna command 22 mil a year assuming he keeps hitting like he does and the contract is likely to be done before the 2013 season.

[Scott K]

We do have some good talented outfielders in the minors that are almost ready for there chances in the big leagues. My guess, Cuddy's future is directly related to how ready our minor leaguers are.

[Getanet]

Cuddy is the modern day Tom Brunansky. Decent average, very good power and RBI numbers, solid team player and a fan favorite.

I know he can look bad at the plate from time to time, but so can anyone. I'm not sure how you can't like him or want him on the team.

[SledNeck]

Cuddy is the modern day Tom Brunansky. Decent average, very good power and RBI numbers, solid team player and a fan favorite.

I know he can look bad at the plate from time to time, but so can anyone. I'm not sure how you can't like him or want him on the team.

fan favorite?

[Getanet]

Yes, I'd say Cuddy is a fan favorite. He's not as popular as Mauer or Morneau, but I see plenty of Cuddy jerseys around town. He also is one of the go-to players for quotes and interviews. He's a leader in the clubhouse as well.

I'd say you have Mauer and Morneau as the most popular. Then Span, Cuddy and probably Liriano as the next most popular players - in some order.

It probably went Mauer, Morneau, Nathan before his arm troubles.

[soldoncass]

For the twins to move Cuddy out of town, there would have to be a "steal of a deal" from someone, that had an injury, he is too valuable to us. His "second career", as he slows down will be 1st base. He filled in for Morneau last year great, and he is the TWIN'S only viable back-up there. I haven't even heard of a firstbaseman in the minors....shows how UN-ready all of them are.

Revere played well in spring training for us, so I expect him to get some time in Sept. in the OF. Thome is on the way out....probably last year....so that puts Kubel fulltime DH, leaves room for a speedy OF to break in. I think Young has saved his position , for now, with his losing weight and hard work.

Tolbert and Harris, certainly DO NOT have any spaces locked up...very vulnerable, on the infield. Punto can play anywhere, so as a utilityman he is #1 yet. Twin's will probably give Valentia a look in Sept, but his #er's don't give much confidence.

Looks to me like the TWIN'S are great drafting/ developing OF, and pitchers......not so much infielders.

[DonBo]

He's a huge fan favorite with the women. It's the dimples. Or so I hear...

He also hits into so many double plays (in part) because the guys ahead of him are always on base. Can't fault him for that.

[SledNeck]

consider this

the twins will have 2 players (assuming morneau is playing at the same level at the time and he does get a huge extention) eating up 46 million a year of payroll. The other outfielders are young and relatively cheap (like span).. If you have to sign cuddy at 11 mil a year, thats already 56 mil on 3 players (47 mil with morneaus current contract). If Nathan's likely done with the Twins forever then we'll also be in need of a marquee closer. if Hudson continues to play execptionally well then he'll need to be resigned and if Valencia doesnt pan out, we'll definatley need a solid guy at 3rd all to actually win a playoff series.

[harvey lee]

I really do not see him leaving any time soon.

[greebs]

the team is going to have some hard decisions to make in the near future. with the $ they had to give to mauer, it leaves a limited amount of payroll for others with large contracts. I could see it being a case where at some point they have to decide on either morneau or cuddy as their first basemen and letting the other one go to save on payroll. I don't want to see it but believe Hudson is basically a one year player with the team and next year they will go with a young low priced player from the minors, possibly Hughes.

quite a few younger pitchers and others on the team that eventually will be able to get larger contracts in the open market so the team will need to plan wisely with any large contracts. I'm glad they retained Mauer but it really was somewhat of a lose/lose situation for the team. Either they lose him now or they pay him higher than what they really want to and have to deal with that a few years down the road if they wish to maintain their current payroll.

[SledNeck]

I dont see the twins not resigning morneau. He should be their next #1 priority. Hes gold glove level at 1st and if the season ended today, would be MVP.

[Harmonica Bear]

the team is going to have some hard decisions to make in the near future. with the $ they had to give to mauer, it leaves a limited amount of payroll for others with large contracts.

Couldn't agree more. They will to have to make some very tough decisions, there is no way they can keep everybody, not many teams can. Lets hope the farm system continues to develop quality players. No reason to think it shouldn't.

[DonBo]

Don't discount the 3 million+ fans in the stands this year along with all the added revenue from the many suites at the new ballpark. Building Target Field was the only way they could up the payroll to the point it is now. There's no reason to believe revenues will not be high enough to continue puting quality teams on the field.

[Getanet]

There was a pretty good article that analyzed teams that get a new stadium. The gist was these teams generally enjoy a 7-year period where the revenue from a new stadium allows them to be competitive.

So hopefully we have a nice window where we'll be able to afford our stars and better players. We'll never be the Yankees, and the front office will have to make some tough decisions, but hopefully we can sign our core guys.

I actually was pretty surprised Span signed the team-friendly contract he did. It's nice to have him locked up at an affordable price.

[SledNeck]

I actually was pretty surprised Span signed the team-friendly contract he did. It's nice to have him locked up at an affordable price.

agreed

spans contract was pretty low risk