Benson to AA Florimon to AAA

[Thrylos]

Was just announced by the Twins. Benson has not been hitting this season and Florimon is replacing Dozier.

[Gernzy]

Interesting. Hopefully Benson can turn it around. We may need him down the line if we're stupid enough to trade Span.

[roger]

I was hoping that Florimon would be moved up when I saw Dozier coming up to the Twins. He has been playing very well at New Britain. You can tell every time Benson comes to the plate that he is really struggling. Hopefully, this will have the same effect it did two years ago when he went back to Fort Myers for a couple weeks.

[Seth Stohs]

I can't even say I'm surprised by this move. The Red Wings have plenty of OF, and Benson has really, really been struggling. He is his own worst critic and was really fighting himself.

 

Florimon has been playing very well defensively and his bat is just decent for a middle infielder. I like the promotion.

[James]

I hope Benson can turn it around. I'm glad to see that they are rewarding Florimon for his great start.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

if we're stupid enough to trade Span.

Trading Span may be our best bet. To get quality players/prospects we have to trade assets. We dont have many tradeable assets--Mauer has a no-trade clause and a HUGE BURDENSOME contract, Willingham may be the worst defensive OF the Twins have ever had, Morneau is untradeable due to health concerns, Carroll is 38. Whats left--Valencia and Span and the future like Parmalee and Dozier. Revere and Benson can play CF--Span is our most tradeable asset that could bring us a good starter.

[SirLoin]

Willingham may be the worst defensive OF the Twins have ever had

Delmon Young and Jason Kubel may beg to differ. Otherwise I totally agree with everything else you wrote!

[Shane Wahl]

Revere and Benson can play CF. But can they hit?

 

Yet another person talking about Span who ignores his offensive production . . .

[jimbo92107]

I remember seeing Pedro Florimon earlier. Beautiful shortstop, and his batting stance looked great. I wasn't sure why he wasn't hitting, but maybe he just needed to find the right mental approach at the plate. Or it could be as simple as figuring out when to shift his weight.

 

Joe Benson may need to work on his approach too, but I wonder if he's just feeling the pressure of high expectations. This whole "professional" thing can take the fun out of the game.

 

In fact, this whole Twins team should sit down and watch a few Washington Nationals games. Young team, great talent, great pitching. But especially watch the wonder kid, Bryce Harper. He plays like a pirate hot on the trail of fresh booty. He runs hard, swings hard, throws hard, but most of all he thinks hard, always looking for a way to beat his opponent. First inning Sunday Cole Hammels hit Harper right in the back with a 93mph fastball. A couple minutes later, Harper's on third, with a runner on first. Hammels threw to first base--and Harper stole home, timing his move perfectly.

 

Some people thought that was somehow unfair, because Hammels had displayed remorse for hitting Harper. Well, guess what? Harper found something sweeter than an apology from Cole Hammels.

 

The Nationals lost the game, but it was a lot more fun to watch than any Twins game this year. My advice to Joe Benson would be, don't worry about your approach at the plate; just play the game like Bryce Harper. Play with the attitude of Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, and Willie Mays. Every game is like a fat treasure ship just waiting to be boarded. You be the pirate that figures out how to snatch the booty. There's always a way, matey.

[ashbury]

People who believed Tom Brunansky would work miracles as the hitting coach for AAA have some 'splaining to do regarding Benson.

[jimbo92107]

Revere and Benson can play CF. But can they hit?

 

Yet another person talking about Span who ignores his offensive production . . .

True dat. Span is the only guy on the team right now that's hitting the way he should.

[Seth Stohs]

Joe Benson may need to work on his approach too, but I wonder if he's just feeling the pressure of high expectations. This whole "professional" thing can take the fun out of the game.

He's been a "professional" for 6 years now... Hopefully he can figure out a way to relax and enjoy what he's doing!

[ashbury]

Joe Benson may need to work on his approach too, but I wonder if he's just feeling the pressure of high expectations. This whole "professional" thing can take the fun out of the game.

Hope this isn't any kind of explanation; picture Game 1 of any first-round playoff series in New York, Boston, anywhere. You don't want your center fielder puking on his shoes in the bottom of the first inning.

[Seth Stohs]

People who believed Tom Brunansky would work miracles as the hitting coach for AAA have some 'splaining to do regarding Benson.

And Dozier, who has hit .197 in his last 19 games in Rochester... the reality is, and I know people don't agree and choose to blame coaches, is that coaches can only do so much.

[Seth Stohs]

True dat. Span is the only guy on the team right now that's hitting the way he should.

Which again, is why he is the one tradeable commodity at this point. The twins aren't going to compete again until his contract runs out most likely, so it does make sense to see if you can get a great package for him. No one is saying to give him away.

[ashbury]

Delmon Young and Jason Kubel may beg to differ. Otherwise I totally agree with everything else you wrote!

Yeah, "ever" is a long time. The name Willie Norwood comes to mind. I'm sure old-timers can think up some more.

 

But, that said, it was clear during the winter that JWill was in the discussion when it comes to worst defensive outfielders. It was part of the package.

[Thrylos]

True dat. Span is the only guy on the team right now that's hitting the way he should.

Not quite... As a lead-off hitter he should be getting on base on a decent clip, steal bases and score runs, right?

 

so far:

Span: .361 OBP, .743 OPS. 3/5 in SB attempts. Scored 9 R runs in 119 PAs

Willingham, Mauer, Morneau have better OPS. Willingham and Mauer have better OBP as well... So there are at least 3 hitters who are better than him right now (or 2 with Morneau in the DL)

 

Casilla is 5/5 in SB attempts and scored 7 runs in 80 PAs and Doumit 8 runs in 80 PAs. Even Valencia scored 9 runs in 91 PAs and Morneau 9 in 83.

 

So others are stealing bases and scoring runs on a better rate than him.

 

Just too much Span love recently...

[Mike Sixel]

Not a fan of the demotion of Benson. At some point, you just gotta let people prove what they can and cannot do. Heck, sometimes you should trade them before they "prove" they can't be MLB players.....I am not surprised, but I am disappointed.

[ashbury]

No one is saying to give him away.

I'll feel better when I stop hearing rumors centering on Storen.

 

What we need is two divisional rivals both needing a CF/leadoff guy. The one more worried about the other, acquiring Span, may overpay. I'm not eager to see Span go for simply a good prospect, and normally a better-than-average but not stellar player like Span won't bring more. Trading good years now, for a potential of somewhat better years down the line, is the KC/Pittsburgh road to perpetual cellardom.

[stringer bell]

Not a fan of the demotion of Benson. At some point, you just gotta let people prove what they can and cannot do. Heck, sometimes you should trade them before they "prove" they can't be MLB players.....I am not surprised, but I am disappointed.

While I am a big fan of Benson's, this may be the right thing for him. He was demoted from New Britain to Ft. Myers as well IIRC. Joe B needs to get his confidence up. He is a talented guy with all the tools, but he can't be fighting both himself and opposing pitchers.

[stringer bell]

I liked what I saw of Florimon in ST. He's a bigger guy (6'2") who wouldn't be played shallow by all the outfielders like Revere, Carroll and a host of other middle infielders. Florimon's main problem has always been making good contact, so let's hope he fares well at Rochester.

[twinsnorth49]

Trading Span may be our best bet. To get quality players/prospects we have to trade assets. We dont have many tradeable assets--Mauer has a no-trade clause and a HUGE BURDENSOME contract, Willingham may be the worst defensive OF the Twins have ever had, Morneau is untradeable due to health concerns, Carroll is 38. Whats left--Valencia and Span and the future like Parmalee and Dozier. Revere and Benson can play CF--Span is our most tradeable asset that could bring us a good starter.

Revere maybe, and that's a BIG maybe, sure Benson can play CF but how do you replace Span's bat with a guy hitting .179 and strikes out an average of 100 times a year? I agree Span will bring the best return but I shudder to think what that does to an offense that already can't get a hit, let alone score a run.

[James Richter]

Not quite... As a lead-off hitter he should be getting on base on a decent clip, steal bases and score runs, right?

 

so far:

Span: .361 OBP, .743 OPS. 3/5 in SB attempts. Scored 9 R runs in 119 PAs

Average MLB leadoff hitter: .251/.315/.371 (.686 OPS), 70% SB success rate. In order for Span to score, somebody has to drive him in.

 

As for Benson, I know he's been struggling, but he has nothing left to prove at AA. Good for Florimon, though.

[CDog]

Average MLB leadoff hitter: .251/.315/.371 (.686 OPS), 70% SB success rate. In order for Span to score, somebody has to drive him in.

 

As for Benson, I know he's been struggling, but he has nothing left to prove at AA. Good for Florimon, though.

Perhaps there are things that can be done at AA other than proving something.

[Shane Wahl]

Not quite... As a lead-off hitter he should be getting on base on a decent clip, steal bases and score runs, right?

 

so far:

Span: .361 OBP, .743 OPS. 3/5 in SB attempts. Scored 9 R runs in 119 PAs

Willingham, Mauer, Morneau have better OPS. Willingham and Mauer have better OBP as well... So there are at least 3 hitters who are better than him right now (or 2 with Morneau in the DL)

 

Casilla is 5/5 in SB attempts and scored 7 runs in 80 PAs and Doumit 8 runs in 80 PAs. Even Valencia scored 9 runs in 91 PAs and Morneau 9 in 83.

 

So others are stealing bases and scoring runs on a better rate than him.

 

Just too much Span love recently...

Aside from homering or stealing home, how the hell is Span's run total not indicative of players batting behind when he is on? Good grief.

[Shane Wahl]

I promise, I am done talking about Span and trading him . . . .

 

With regard to Benson, this kind of thing is precisely why I like rational promotions late in the season. Benson belonged in AAA by late July last year. Maybe he wouldn't be struggling so much this year if he had 100 plate appearances there last year???? And Parmelee . . . oh my god. Ben Revere was harmed by not spending more time at Rochester, and I fear the same for Parmelee.

 

Good for Florimon. With Mastroianni and Ramirez, I really like some of the minor league signings . . .

[twinsnorth49]

Not quite... As a lead-off hitter he should be getting on base on a decent clip, steal bases and score runs, right?

 

so far:

Span: .361 OBP, .743 OPS. 3/5 in SB attempts. Scored 9 R runs in 119 PAs

Willingham, Mauer, Morneau have better OPS. Willingham and Mauer have better OBP as well... So there are at least 3 hitters who are better than him right now (or 2 with Morneau in the DL)

 

Casilla is 5/5 in SB attempts and scored 7 runs in 80 PAs and Doumit 8 runs in 80 PAs. Even Valencia scored 9 runs in 91 PAs and Morneau 9 in 83.

 

So others are stealing bases and scoring runs on a better rate than him.

 

Just too much Span love recently...

??????????????????WTF...too much misleading use of statistics to invent reasons to complain about Denard Span. Oranges are really apples if we just pretend that they are.

[peterb18]

I don't think Benson will be a solid big-leaguer--too out of control. I've made this analogy before: a great athlete who has a hard time with the game. Like a hockey player who is very skilled, can skate, shoot , etc.--but, when the game starts he has a hard time. Billy Beane is an example of this type of player. Hope I'm wrong!

[greengoblinrulz]

signing of Matt Carson & to a lesser extent Wilkin Ramirez to strengthen the minor leagues have blocked Benson. Now, he has done nothing in AAA to make his case but MN has screwed him by keeping him in AA for 2 seasons.

However, if there was a need for him.....AND he plays well in New Brit, they can call him up from there.

[Seth Stohs]

signing of Matt Carson & to a lesser extent Wilkin Ramirez to strengthen the minor leagues have blocked Benson. Now, he has done nothing in AAA to make his case but MN has screwed him by keeping him in AA for 2 seasons.

However, if there was a need for him.....AND he plays well in New Brit, they can call him up from there.

Believe me... Matt Carson, Wilkin Ramirez... No one... is blocking Joe Benson.