Miller: Put Them in Coach: These Twins are Ready to Play center field

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"It's all on their shoulders," Gardenhire said. "If we think Hicksie's ready or Benson's ready to do this, fine. Or if Mastroianni is ready to be an every-day center fielder, fine. They'll tell us. Players decide, they always have."

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There's your answer. It's Hicks.
Gardenhire is already calling him "Hicksie". Clearly, he's already a "Gardy guy". :p

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Originally Posted by John Bonnes

And I don't know why Benson is even in the discussion, to be honest. He certainly hasn't shown anything to suggest he's ready for the majors since August of 2011.

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Interestingly, I think it's precisely because Benson has been so terrible lately that he's in the discussion for a major league spot. Basically, he's fallen enough on the prospect list that his development path is no longer a vital concern, so he's not much different from the other warm bodies who could fill the spot until Hicks is ready.

Don't know if that's actually the case, though -- he's not out of options and he's only season removed from some solid minor league success (2011). His presence in the competition could just be lip-service, and he's ticketed for AA again or perhaps AAA to play a corner spot.

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Originally Posted by thrylos98

You know, it is about time that some of those Twins take some losses and bad happenings to the clubhouse wall, the gatorade tub, the chairs, the doors, something (just don't get hurt...)

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I agree. Joe Benson punched a wall in frustration and missed a lot of baseball a few years ago. That's just not smart. I'm sure the guys in the clubhouse don't like to lose, I'm just not sure we'd hear about it everytime somebody lost their cool... unless they got hurt or did it publicly... or went after the manager's door.

Who knows what happens with the 4th OF role. I'd guess eventually it's Mastroianni (when Hicks is ready), but Thomas as a month fill-in while Mastro starts and Hicks get AAA at-bats - while not a terribly good idea - is probably a likely scenario.

Benson came over and talked to me outside of the locker room at Twins Fest and we chatted for a good half-hour. He actually hurt his hamate bone late in spring training, but thought it was just a awkward feeling, maybe a muscle pull above his wrist or something. He struggled with it in Rochester for the few 3-4 weeks, and finally, on a swing and a miss, he actually lost the bat and was in incredible pain. It had finally given out and needed the surgery.

Then, when he hurt his knee, it wasn't the AA manager that noticed that something was wrong with Benson's knee. It was a former manager of Benson's who was in the opposite dugout, watched Benson play and said he wasn't right, something was wrong. That's what finally got Benson out of the lineup again.

He went in for surgery with the assumption it'd be cleaned up, he'd rehab right away and be ready for the Arizona Fall League in 4 weeks. When he got out of surgery, he was still more than half out of it. The doctor updated him on how the surgery went and that when they got in there, found out it was worse. The next day, Benson came in for his rehab, and the lady said that everything was looking good and that he should be ready to start working out fully in about 12 weeks. It was a new trainer at the hospital, and he thought she was just wrong. The next day, he met a different trainer, who again said everything looked good, and he should be good to go in 12 weeks. Again, Benson thought that he was just mistaken and maybe didn't know he was an athlete who could recover faster. The following day, he went in again and asked if the doctor that did the surgery was in. He was, and Joe had a chance to talk to him. At that time, the doctor said that he had told him that he had a microfracture right after surgery.

So, he was obviously disappointed, but he is very much anxious to be healthy and to get back on the field. He acknowledged that last year was incredibly frustrating and he's ready for 2013!

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Originally Posted by JB_Iowa

Gardenhire has got to go -- if only so I don't have to hear him call Aaron Hicks "Hicksie". This has got to be a new low.

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Agreed. This is going to be really hard to listen to.

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Originally Posted by DelawareTwinsFan

However, in Gardy's world, there unwritten law that your position dictates where you hit in the order. I know this as true when I saw Drew Butera hitting third when he replaced Mauer. (Ack).

1) CF
2) 2B
3) C
4) 1B
5) LF
6) DH
7) RF
8) 3B
9) SS

Fill in the blanks. Wierd isn't it?

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I bet there wasn't 10 games last year that had this order. Revere played rf and batted second most the season.

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Benson came over and talked to me outside of the locker room at Twins Fest and we chatted for a good half-hour. He actually hurt his hamate bone late in spring training, but thought it was just a awkward feeling, maybe a muscle pull above his wrist or something. He struggled with it in Rochester for the few 3-4 weeks, and finally, on a swing and a miss, he actually lost the bat and was in incredible pain. It had finally given out and needed the surgery.

Then, when he hurt his knee, it wasn't the AA manager that noticed that something was wrong with Benson's knee. It was a former manager of Benson's who was in the opposite dugout, watched Benson play and said he wasn't right, something was wrong. That's what finally got Benson out of the lineup again.

He went in for surgery with the assumption it'd be cleaned up, he'd rehab right away and be ready for the Arizona Fall League in 4 weeks. When he got out of surgery, he was still more than half out of it. The doctor updated him on how the surgery went and that when they got in there, found out it was worse. The next day, Benson came in for his rehab, and the lady said that everything was looking good and that he should be ready to start working out fully in about 12 weeks. It was a new trainer at the hospital, and he thought she was just wrong. The next day, he met a different trainer, who again said everything looked good, and he should be good to go in 12 weeks. Again, Benson thought that he was just mistaken and maybe didn't know he was an athlete who could recover faster. The following day, he went in again and asked if the doctor that did the surgery was in. He was, and Joe had a chance to talk to him. At that time, the doctor said that he had told him that he had a microfracture right after surgery.

So, he was obviously disappointed, but he is very much anxious to be healthy and to get back on the field. He acknowledged that last year was incredibly frustrating and he's ready for 2013!

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Thanks Seth, this is good stuff. Interesting that Jeff Smith was clueless, since he managed Benson in Fort Myers as well... Not sure how long he would last in the organization, esp after his record season with the Rock Cats last year...