Written By Brandon Warne
Amidst all the talk of changeups coming over with pitching coach Neil Allen from the Tampa Bay organization, it was Tommy Milone’s cutter that was on display in his and the team’s first win of the season against the Chicago White Sox. According to BrooksBaseball.net, Milone’s cutter accounted for 28 percent of his pitches on the South Side, which definitely indicates a usage spike.
Of course, that could easily be a one-game sampling that could simply be thrown out, but Milone insists the pitch is a staple for him. “It’s been a pitch that’s been a part of my repertoire going back to High-A,” Milone noted. “That’s when I first learned it, and I immediately started throwing it a lot and getting results out of it.” Milone’s previous usage of the offering spiked in early 2012, when he was with the Oakland A’s on his way to a 13-win season in his first extended big league action. He threw a career-high 190 innings that season.
A big part of Milone’s game is based on feel, especially as more of a crafty lefty whose fastball rarely breaks 90 mph. On Friday in Chicago, it’s pretty clear Milone was feeling it with the cutter. “I think last game it was big on keeping it up near right-handed hitters’ hands. For lefties, it was keeping it away or down and away. I got a lot of swings, and maybe early in the count I knew they were going to be swinging, and thought maybe not keep it over the plate but up in on their hands to maybe jam them, or get a lazy swing.”
Whatever the plan, it was working for the left-hander, as he yielded a bunt single in the first inning to Micah Johnson before retiring the next 16 batters in a row, ultimately fanning seven while walking two. For a pitch-to-contact guy — his words — the cutter was simply the go-to pitch on that specific day.
But don’t expect Milone to put the changeup on the back burner, so to speak. “Well for me, it’s my pitch,” Milone said of Allen’s influence on him so far. “I think he came over and he might have done some research and noticed that I do throw a lot of changeups already, so he didn’t have to say anything to me.”
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Chris Herrmann’s versatility is certainly something that has made him more valuable to the Minnesota Twins in the past, but with just he and Kurt Suzuki on the roster as catchers, is he destined to stick behind the plate this year? It seems like a fair question to ask, considering he caught just one inning in the major leagues last year, while seeing 24 games and over 150 innings in the outfield.
“That’s a question I don’t really know how to answer,” Herrmann said. “When we broke camp Mollie told me I’d be the backup catcher and that we were carrying only two catchers, so I think I’m just going to stick at catcher for now.”
That doesn’t mean that Herrmann isn’t preparing himself for time in the outfield, or even at first base, though at this time it would seem like that would be on an emergency basis. “Maybe in a certain situation where we go to extra innings, and we’re doing a lot of player swaps, I could potentially see myself out there (at first base or the outfield),” Herrmann surmised.
Still, Herrmann routinely takes fly balls during batting practice before coming in to take grounders as part of his pregame preparation in addition to his catcher duties. He takes a lot of pride in that versatility, too. “I get compliments from other players who say ‘Wow, man, you play outfield and first base, too?’ You don’t see that very often, so I take pride in that.”
Herrmann insisted, however, that it doesn’t take time away from his preparation as a catcher, where he spends a fair amount of time shadowing Suzuki, who has assumed a role as a natural leader during hitter’s meetings. “I feel like I can go up to (Suzuki) and ask him any questions, and he’ll be there to help me,” Herrmann said. “He’s a very knowledgeable guy.”
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Even with the big league club scuffling a bit, the Twins have plenty to be excited about with how the minor league affiliates have played. Check out these records through Wednesday night’s efforts:
Triple-A Rochester: 5-1
Double- A Chattanooga: 5-1
High Single-A Fort Myers: 3-4
Low Single-A Cedar Rapids: 6-1
Add it all up and you’ll get a 19-7 record, and a .731 winning percentage. Of course, it’s still early in the season, but there’s plenty of help on the way, especially considering how good both the Double- and Triple-A teams have been.
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Rochester pulling off the win over Scranton-Wilkes Barre on Wednesday was no small feat, considering the hole dug by starter Alex Meyer. Meyer lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing seven hits and five earned runs with six strikeouts and five walks. All told, his ERA sits at 8.31. Meyer was relieved by Stephen Pryor, who combined with Caleb Thielbar and A.J. Achter to pitch the remaining 5.1 innings while allowing just one run on four hits. The trio fanned six batters and allowed a Red Wings offense spearheaded by some familiar faces to get back into the game considering the 5-2 hole Meyer left the team in. Josmil Pinto DH’d and was 4-for-5 and is now hitting .360/.440/.545, while GM Terry Ryan was complimentary of his defensive skills in his media availability. Other Red Wings with multiple hits included left fielder Danny Ortiz (2-for-5) and catcher Eric Fryer (4-for-5, 4 RBIs). Ryan hadn’t yet received a report on Meyer from Red Wings officials prior to his availability, but simply mentioned he had seen the line score and his immediate reaction was that it was — as an understatement — not too good.
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Twins starter Ricky Nolasco played long toss, and the plan is for him to do so again for the next couple days before he gets on a mound to throw a bullpen after that. Ryan declined to issue a timetable for the veteran righty, but at this point it appears a tidy 15 days on the disabled list is somewhat unlikely.