Brock Beauchamp

I like the general idea of this but will add the caveat that speedy, rangy middle infielders are marginalized if you don't build a pitching staff that puts the ball on the ground. I'm a big believer in focusing your defense on your pitching strengths and minimizing its weaknesses. Right now, the Twins are a pretty flyball-heavy staff and the OF defense should complement that attribute, not the opposite.

And that's why I'm neutral on an extension. Dozier isn't the type of guy you fall over yourself locking up out of fear that he'll become a $30m a year player in free agency. On the other hand, the Twins might save a few bucks extending him now... But personally, I'd give it one more year and reevaluate.

Indeed. This is what I find important about Dozier's second half: 1. BA was similar 2. K rate was similar 3. BB rate was similar 4. XBH per AB was similar, though they shifted from HR to 2B 5. LD/GB/FB rate was similar That's a consistent player and one that doesn't look to regress because the results weren't abnormal compared to what he's been doing for over 1100 consecutive plate appearances. That doesn't mean I believe Dozier needs to be extended but the continued questioning of his ability makes no sense. We have a pretty good idea who Brian Dozier is at this point. He's a slick fielding 2B who will post an OPS around .730-.770 and swipes a few bags.

There is so much more to offense than batting average. Would you rather have Brian Dozier or Ben Revere at the plate every ninth AB? After all, Ben's career BA is 50 points higher than Brian's.

You continue to equate power with home runs while ignoring that Dozier hit nearly the same amount of doubles in the second half as he did in the first half, only he did it in 150 fewer PAs. Homers aren't the only kind of power. Yeah, they're better than doubles but doubles count, too. Dozier's second half slugging percentage (.387) was still respectable for a middle infielder. And pitchers don't walk guys intentionally (unless they're walking them intentionally). Taking a base on balls is a hitting skill while avoiding the BB is a pitching skill. Dozier won't suddenly stop walking because he's not hitting home runs. His walks come from plate discipline and pitch recognition; they're not a gift from pitchers who are scared of him. After all, Jamey Carroll had a career OBP .075 higher than his BA and hit a whopping 13 HR in his career. If plate discipline isn't a hitting skill, his OBP should have been .0075 higher, not .075. There wasn't a pitcher in MLB who was frightened by the imposing stance of the 5'11", 180 lb, no power Jamey Carroll.

Dozier. I expect slight regression from Hughes, first base is rough competition for Mauer, and Arcia might get crowded out by other, more established, outfielders.

Bold statements. I see the "star slugger" part happening but I'm not sold on the "surprise contender" bit. If the Twins jump out early they might be a surprise contender for a few months but ultimately, I don't see them with a record much better than .500 in a full season. I'd be shocked if they have a win total in the mid-80s given this division. No team is dominant but they're all solid in their own right. I'd be perfectly happy with an 81-81 record in 2015 and would consider the season a success were that to happen.

It will be good for Twins Daily if the Twins start winning again. The site continues to grow year over year but it's hard not to see the fan apathy seeping into the community. Long-time posters have dropped out of the site and I think winning will bring some of them back into the fold. It's hard to see the same crap for 3-4 years in a row and not throw up your hands and go mow the lawn or something. Hell, just seeing Buxton and/or Sano should invigorate the fanbase quite a bit. That has been even more disappointing to me than the losses. We've seen some decent prospects come through the system but the big guns are still in the minors.

That's not a bad deal in a platoon role and occasional DH. If he can come close to his 2014 numbers - which is far from a given - he'll get 1/3 their DH appearances for $2.25m. That's a decent deal for the Orioles.

I'd hope the Twins have better options by that point, honestly. I don't think Dozier is the type of guy who will age well into his 30s - a personal opinion, nothing more - but hey, he might be a Michael Cuddyer type. Time will tell. I think Dozier is the type of guy you're excited to have on the team for 4-5 years. It would be my hope that any extension granted him would be used as trade bait as he crossed his age 30 season. If you can get him for ~$8m/year through his arb seasons plus one, that's not an awful risk, IMO.

I've said multiple times that I'm in no rush to extend Dozier. I'm mostly neutral on the subject. There's a risk to overpay a guy who might decline but there's a good chance you'll underpay a .750 OPS guy through his prime seasons. It's a risk but not necessarily a bad one.

Good players - and even bad players - do that over the course of a season. I'm not using one stat to argue Dozier's merits... Far from it. I believe you're too dependent on a few stats instead of looking at him as an overall player. Two things have remained constant with Dozier for the past ~800 PAs: he takes walks and hits for power, whether it is doubles or homers. He's good for 8-12 XBH most months. Those are the markings of a good, though not great, player. I'm not really sure what you expect out of the guy. If he took a walk every 20+ PAs and was Plouffian with his power (14 XBH one month, 3 the next), I might understand more of your concern. That simply isn't the case. Yeah, his BABIP fluctuates from month to month... That's pretty common with most players. Sure, his August BABIP skyrocketed... He also laced 12 doubles that month. Some of that was surely luck but some of it was probably due to him seeing the ball really well and lacing it (hard to hit double digit 2B in a month unless you're making solid contact). If his average jumped to .400 that month, you might have a point but he hit .280. The reason his BABIP was high is because he strikes out quite a bit and took an absurd 25 BB that month. In Dozier, we have a guy who has spent 1 1/2 seasons hitting around .250 with an OBP of .320-.330. He's good for 8-12 XBHs a month. He has shown consistency in the ways that matter: power, average, walks, strikeouts. Sometimes those XBH are homers, sometimes they're doubles. Dozier isn't a big guy; why should we find that surprising? If Dozier was more consistent, he'd be a great player, not a good one.

Oh, I'm not against an extension myself - though I'm not in a big rush to get it done either - but I can understand why some might have concern about a longterm extension to Dozier. Personally, I think he's done enough to prove that he's above average. Don't know if he's a great player but certainly above average.

I have an iPad Air 2. I'll make a dedicated effort to use the site for a week on the device. It's been a long time since I used the site extensively on an iPad; certainly before iOS 8 released.

Concern, sure... But it's a prett mild concern. The difference between a .730 and .780 OPS. If that's enough to make you cautious about an extension, I get that.

Again, you're using an extremely flawed system here. Dozier pre-AS break: 424 PAs Dozier post-AS break: 283 PAs Not to mention that home runs and stolen bases are not the only way a player brings value. Why are you so stuck on Dozier's SB/HR total when there are so many other metrics out there that give a better indication of his performance?

At this point, I wouldn't trade for Cole Hamels unless you can also dish off Nolasco and possibly another veteran like Pelfrey. And even then I probably wouldn't do it.

You're cherry-picking (not to mention that the second half of the MLB season is about 100 PAs shorter than the first half). Yeah, Dozier's power numbers slid - along with an accompanying slugging drop - but he actually posted a higher OBP (.352 vs. .340) in the second half and his overall OPS was still well above league average (.739 second half, .777 first half) due to the fact that he ripped 16 doubles in 283 PAs in the second half (compared to 17 2B in 424 PAs in the first half). It should also be noted that Dozier's best month came in August when he posted an .834 OPS while only hitting a single homerun. And this is why we use the entire stat set to evaluate a player and not two data points, people... Unless you're intentionally trying to skew the argument to fit a predetermined narrative. There are reasons to expect Dozier to not have another first half like he did in 2014... But we also wondered if he could repeat parts of his torrid 2013 campaign. He did. I think it's safe to say that at this point, Dozier is a .730-.770 second baseman who plays good defense and is a damned smart baserunner. That's worth a lot in today's game.

A few weeks back, I made some changes knowing that it might open the door to let in more spammers. Over the holiday break, I'm going to have to reevaluate the work and consider an alternative fix.

All of you are fantastic. Can't thank you enough for all the work you do to keep these forums running.

I'm guessing that Hughes is so in love with not getting booed mercilessly that he wants to live in the bowels of Target Field until he dies.

Not to mention that it's the second time they've done it in two years (Perkins).

I'd say the ideal is age 32-ish season but yeah, age 33 season ain't bad. The typical pitcher is probably in decline at that point but unless it's injury-related, the age 33 decline should be manageable in most cases.

Initial reports coming out that the three 2015 no-trade teams are: Yankees, Mets, Yankees

I think you just explained why the Twins signed this deal. Short of Hughes completely imploding, this is a great deal for the Twins.