Twins Notes

• Twins fans can cross another name off their offseason wish list as 3rd baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff was dealt yesterday by the Padres to the Oakland Athletics as part of a four player trade. As most Twins fans have heard the Twins have been speculated as a home for Kouzmanoff the last couple years. This winter it was speculated that the Twins had made an offer to San Diego for Kouzmanoff. The reported offer is Kouzmanhoff and a minor leaguer for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham. That far outweighs the Twins reported offer of Glen Perkins straight up for Kouzmanoff. That leaves a couple questions that need to be answered. First, is Kevin Kouzmanoff worth all the hassle that teams are paying to him. In 2009 Kouzmanoff hit .255 with 18 homeruns and 88 rbi's in 141 games. He also added 31 doubles and a triple for a split of .302/.420/.722. Another factor is in 529 at bats he whiffed 106 times which is a staggering number. However, the reason I am glad the Twins did not acquire Kouz is in the last three years he has committed 36 errors at third base. Also his range is pretty much non existant so as a defensive third baseman he is no better than Brian Buscher. So at the end of the day I think the Twins did the right thing in passing on Kouzmanoff. Especially what it would of taken to acquire him would have been Glen Perkins and Alexi Casilla. Even though I am not real him on either one of them that still is to much for an average third baseman with no range.

• In another piece of news recently the Twins have been linked to Doug Davis. As most Twins fans know the Twins offered Jarrod Washburn a 1 year 5 million dollar deal which he promptly turned down. So that pretty much means they have five million to play with and for some reason the Twins feel they would rather spend that on a 5th starter than a Felipe Lopez or Orlando Hudson type. Even with all the options available in Francisco Liriano, Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, Anthony Swarzak, and Jeff Manship they still feel a need to go get another pitcher. With that being said Doug Davis is not a bad guy to look at if you want a 5th starter. In my opinion he is far more superior than Jarrod Washburn and his stats would support that assertion. In 2009 Davis went 9-14 with a 4.12 era in 34 starts. He worked 203 innings while giving up 203 hits along the way. His whip was not good in 2009 at 1.50 as he walked to many batters. For his career he has a 4.31 era and that is decent in todays game. He has average 33 starts a year so that shows he is versatile and if you are looking for a 5th starter that is going to go out there every game and give you a chance to win then I think Doug Davis is a good pitcher. He has thrown over 200 innings in 4 of the last 6 years so he is an innings eater that will help take pressure off a bullpen that was forced into too many early innings with all the injuries and ineffectivness that was prevelant on the 2009 staff. Don't get me wrong I would rather see the Twins spend their money on Felipe Lopez or Orlando Hudson, but I would rather see the Twins sign Doug Davis than Jarrod Washburn.
• If anyone has any comments or questions about this just leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Also I want to give everyone a heads up about my Travis Talks Weekly Minnesota Sports Podcast on Monday night. I have made a permanent change to the time as it will be at 9 pm central every monday night from here on out. This week I have a jam packed show as I will be having on Anthony of the Daily Norseman http://www.dailynorseman.com. If you will recall I had Gonzo on a couple weeks ago and it was my most highly listened to podcast so far. He will be on to talk about the Vikings-Cowboys playoff game and preview the NFC Championship game. Also if that wasn't enough I will have on Parker Hageman of Over the Baggy an awesome Twins blog. You can visit his site if you want some great Twins knowledge at http://overthebaggy.blogspot.com.