Notes from Rob Antony Interview with Pelissero and Souhan

Rob Antony was a guest on 1500espn's Sunday Morning Sports Talk with Tom Pelissero and Jim Souhan. Here are some notes:

• Morneau has had enough at bats to find his swing, and now he can ramp up.
• Morneau would prefer to play 1B, but if he's not, it'll get another bat in the lineup, and the way Parmelee has it, that might be OK.
• In his 25 years, he doesn't remember the Twins ever having a high ranking by Baseball America.
• Late bloomers, develop slowly... might be a reason why, but we're pleased with our prospects and progress they're making.
• Would like some more pitching prospects.
• A lot of guys who have a chance to be a top end guy, but guys who will play for awhile.
• Exception - Sano... has a chance to be a great hitter and fielder. Rosario, several of the guys they drafted last year.
• Get a lot of grief because of the records at Rochester and New Britain, but our prospects progressed appropriately and that's what matters.
• Don't want to blame injuries completely, but there were a lot of players where we did not want them.
• Francisco Liriano - best word to describe him is "inconsistent" but he's throwing the ball really well right now.
• To give him a multi-year deal: he would need to stay healthy, be consistent
• Bullpen: Capps, Perkins, Duensing and Swarzak are locked in. Maloney and Burton are probables. Manship, Burnett, Fien and Waldrop for one spot.
• Bench: Versatility makes things interesting.
• Parmelee is forcing his way on the team. Gives us options at 1B and OF.
• Hughes has versatility, could play SS for a day or two.
• Down to decision on 3rd catcher (Butera/Towles battling), Burroughs has a bat we'd love off the bench, Florimon has shown he can be a true utility guy (fields well, runs well)...
• Burroughs, Revere and Florimon battling for a spot. (Shocked that Revere is a question mark)
• Best thing to say about Joe Mauer is that no one is talking about him. He thinks we'll see a return to form!

Very interesting!

I typed those notes as I heard them, but a couple of things stood out:

1.) Maloney and Burton have separated themselves, so it's down to Manship, Burnett, Fien and Waldrop for ONE bullpen spot.
2.) Parmelee has forced his way onto the roster, so it's likely Butera, Towles, Burroughs, Florimon and Revere battling for TWO bench spots. Very interesting in that a.) 3rd catcher isn't a given, and b.) Revere is not a given.

So who backs up CF if Span cannot play? Plouffe? Can't see Revere not making the team, but if he does not, that impacts CF.

Gardy just announced that Josh Willingham will start in LEFT Field with Denard Span in CENTER Field... Right Field up for grabs between Revere, Plouffe and Parmelee.

I don't see an adequate CF back up without Revere. Is it important? They would have to call up Revere if Span were to miss a few days. If Parmelee wins a starting job, will there be enough at bats for Plouffe and Revere? If Parmelee was starting, I think I would send Revere to AAA.

I think Revere makes it as the 4th OF with Plouffe/Parmelee at RF (because Parmelee will likely also play some 1B).

Revere has a lot to add on the bench.

Very Interesting!!

I don't think the move of Willingham to LF has much to do with his defense. I think it's about getting the most offense out there. Parmelee earned his job of playing most days and he has only played RF. Gardy also likes Plouffe in RF. I also agree that Benson will be the CF at some point this season.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

I don't think the move of Willingham to LF has much to do with his defense. I think it's about getting the most offense out there. Parmelee earned his job of playing most days and he has only played RF. Gardy also likes Plouffe in RF. I also agree that Benson will be the CF at some point this season.

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I'm just curious what you mean about Benson. I agree that Benson should get some playing time this season, but I was wondering if you are implying that you think Span will be traded, or you're just saying that Benson will play due to injury?

I have no idea how or why Benson will be promoted. I just think that at some point he will be. Could be an injury, or hopefully it's just that he's playing so well that he forces his way into the big league lineup. Very possible especially now that the RF job is up for grabs.

I see Willingham's move to LF to simply be a result of Revere no longer being assumed to be in the starting OF. The only need to have Willingham switch to RF was because Revere doesn't have the arm to play there.

I agree that Revere is almost a sure thing to stay because he's the only guy who can give Span a rest occasionally in CF. But if they decide that's not important in April because of offdays or whatever, then it could be they think they need an extra infielder instead of an outfielder. Most likely I think they're just sending Revere a message that he doesn't have a spot guaranteed and he'd better work a little harder.

When Benson shows he can hit MLB pitching, I would look forward to seeing him side by side with Span in the OF.

Ok. I agree, I'm hoping that Benson forces his way into that outfield. My thought would be Benson in right, Span in center, Willingham in left, and Parmelee/Morneau at 1B/DH. I think Doumit's best role on this team is backup catcher, pinch hitter, and occasional matchups DH.

The hard part for me is that all this likely means significantly less time for Ryan Doumit, and that would be too bad. He's a proven veteran with a track record of hitting.

Jim Souhan just tweeted:

We had Twins asst gm Rob Antony on Sundaysportstalk. He said he forgot to mention Jeff Gray as prime bullpen candidate. Gray in contention.

Less playing time for Doumit is a good thing coming out of the gate. It means that the Twins have some depth if these young guys can continue to step up when the games really start to count. I think Doumit will still get his fair share of at-bats over the course of the season. Hopefully this all means that the Twins are better prepared to fill holes when injuries occur. But again, thats dependent upon the young guys stepping up when called upon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

The hard part for me is that all this likely means significantly less time for Ryan Doumit, and that would be too bad. He's a proven veteran with a track record of hitting.

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If he doesn't get a lot of at-bats, the best part about that is that it means Joe Mauer has stayed healthy all year. Otherwise, Doumit may have to play the super-utility role, where he plays someplace different every day, but even doing that, I think he'll get plenty of at-bats.

My question would be that since Parmelee is up, I'd be surprised to see a 3rd catcher, which to me at least means that Gardy won't want to have Doumit playing as much. I could be wrong. We have seen some things this spring that we hadn't seen much before, so who knows.

So Seth, assuming Hughes is our IF bench guy, Revere is our 4th OF, and Plouffe/Parmalee/Doumit/Morneau/Mauer fill C, 1b, RF, DH and one bench spot... who do you put as our 4th bench guy if not a 3rd catcher?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

My question would be that since Parmelee is up, I'd be surprised to see a 3rd catcher, which to me at least means that Gardy won't want to have Doumit playing as much. I could be wrong. We have seen some things this spring that we hadn't seen much before, so who knows.

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I don't think that's necessarily the case, Seth.

Gardy needs a 3rd catcher as a security blanket if he's going to use a catcher, be it Mauer or Doumit, regularly as a DH to protect against the unlikely event of his starting catcher getting nicked enough to leave a game, requiring the DH to catch and thus lose his DH for the rest of the game.

But if, for example, Morneau is going to be the full time DH, while Doumit and Mauer both play defensive positions, the catcher getting dinged just requires defensive adjustments, but doesn't cost Gardy the DH for the rest of the game.

If Mauer will be more likely to play 1B when he takes a day off from behind the plate than to DH, it's really not as big a deal to go with 2 catchers.