Real as Radke

• Brad Radke will be inducted into Twins' Hall of Fame

It's not a big surprise that longtime fan-favorite RHP Brad Radke is going to be inducted into the Twins' Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony on July 11th. Radke was the anchor of the starting rotation for 12 seasons, and was really the only decent starter the Twins had for the longest time. Although he was never considered a big star by anyone outside of Minnesota, he did make one All-Star appearance in 1998 and finished third in Cy Young voting once in 1997 (behind Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson).  As a soft-tossing righty, Radke never really had what you would consider dominant stuff.  He was, however, famous for his circle changeup that changed speeds during its trajectory (and was once clocked at 56 mph). It was this changeup that he reportedly taught a young, struggling Johan Santana and, well, we all know how that story ends.

Radke had pretty decent stuff, though he never threw particularly hard ( I doubt he ever hit more than 90 mph on the radar gun).   He was mostly known for his excellent control, walking only 445 batters in his career.  Unfortunately, he also had a reputation for giving up the gopher ball, having surrendered 72 homers in his first two seasons (although he was much stingier later on, giving up a grand total of 326 in his career).  At one point there was even a commercial for a video game that proclaimed itself to be "real as Radke" that showed him watching one of his pitches leave the ballpark (I can't remember which game this was, nor can I find any video anywhere).

It's really too bad that the Twins were so awful for most of his career, and he had to retire without ever winning a championship.  Radke actually pitched well in most of his postseason starts, his overall record is 2-3 with a 3.60 ERA.  His final playoff appearance was in game 3 of the 2006 ALDS, when he gave up two 2-run homers in four innings.  The Twins went on to lose 8-3, and get swept by Oakland.  The 2006 season was one of the worst of Radke's career, and it's obvious that his shoulder was really bothering him.  He suffered a torn labum, and then a stress fracture, that had sidelined him for several weeks during the regular season.  Although he was still fairly young at the time (34), Radke decided to hang it up rather than undergo surgery to repair his shoulder.  He announced his retirement at a press conference on December 19, 2006.

• At least somebody is going to miss Dennys Reyes

Joe Christensen wrote a nice piece on former situational lefty Dennys Reyes, aka The Big Sweat.  I have to admit, I'm going to miss him, too.  Don't get me wrong, it makes sense for the Twins to let him go.  Craig Breslow and Jose Mijares could easily fill his spot in the bullpen, at a much lower price (probably more effectively, too).  Reyes has reportedly drawn interest from the A's, Mets, and Dodgers, so he'll probably get a fairly lucrative contract from somewhere.  Unfortunately for him, it'll likely only be half of the 3-year, $12 million he would command in a better market.

Reyes had been a journeyman pitcher until he signed a contract with the Twins prior to the 2006 season.  He had seen time as both a starter and relief pitcher, but struggled a lot and was bounced around between eight different teams in as many years.  It wasn't until he signed with the Twins that he found his niche as a lefty specialist, and has been a very effective one at that.  He's been very good against some of the toughest lefties in the American League, holding the likes of Bobby Abreu, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Jason Giambi to a tidy .202/.250/.287 line (except for Jim Thome, but few Twins pitchers have ever had much success against him. Hence the "I Hate You Jim Thome" tag).  He's starting to become more hittable, though, posting a 2.33 ERA with three blown saves last season, so the Twins are wise to let him sign elsewhere.

On a side note, Reyes kind of reminds me of Goldy the Gopher.  Perhaps they were separated at birth?