Twins Fan From Afar

I am also in favor of the closer by committee idea. "Closers" (like Mariano Rivera, or Joe Nathan in his prime) are for winners. Unless this team pulls of about 12 wins in a row, I don't think it's necessary to use Capps, our most expensive bullpen arm, solely in 9th inning situations wherein the Twins have a lead (or are tied and at home, per Gardy's prediliction with that).

The Twins had a big victory tonight, 11-7, over the Tigers. Everyone except Erik Komatsu was involved in the hitting, and that's a great sign. It's tough not to be excited about Brian Dozier. True, it's a small sample size, but he has exceeded expectations so far, including a big 3-run home run early in tonight's game. But enough about the current Twins. Tonight's focus is about the Future Twins. All the minor league affiliates were in action tonight, and here's a recap of what transpired. Rochester 4, Louisville 1 Jeff Manship got the start for the Red Wings tonight, and pitched well. In 5 innings, he only gave up 3 hits, while striking out 2 and walking 3. He picked up the win, and is 3-1 on the year. Matt Maloney allowed an unearned run in 1 inning of work, and allowed 1 walk and struck out 1 batter. New Red Wing Lester Oliveros was excellent out of the bullpen, going 3 innings, picking up the save (his first), striking out 4 and walking 1. Wilkin Ramirez had a great day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Pedro Florimon had a single and an RBI, Ben Revere contributed 2 hits, and Danny Valencia, Rene Tosoni and Rene Rivera all had singles. Game 1: New Britain 0, New Hampshire 3 The story of the first game of this day on which the Rock Cats and Fisher Cats played two 7-inning double headers is that hits came at a premium for Hardware City. Chris Herrmann, playing left field today, was 1-for-3 with a double, his 11th of the season, and new Rock Cat Matt Rizzotti, demoted from AAA, had a single in 3 at-bats. That was it. 2 hits all afternoon. Steve Hirschfeld took the loss, and is now 2-4 on the season. But he pitched pretty well -- 6 innings, 3 runs, 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. He did, however, allow 8 hits and 2 solo home runs, which is what did him on this day when the offense couldn't muster anything. Blake Martin pitched a scoreless final inning. Game 2: New Britain 6, New Hampshire 3 The Rock Cats salvaged a split of the double header tonight. Logan Darnell was decent on the mound, going 6 innings, giving up 3 runs. Importantly, though, he walked 8 and struck out 1. He did allow 2 solo home runs. Daniel Turpen picked up the save, tossing a scoreless 7th, allowing no hits and walking 1. New Britain had only 5 hits in this night cap, and Estarlin De Los Santos did the most damage, with a 3 run home run and a double. Matt Rizzotti also had a double, and Nathan Hanson and James Berersford each had singles. Joe Benson was 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts and a walk, and Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3 with three Ks. Ft. Myers 1, Charlotte 3 The Miracle banged out 9 hits tonight, but it wasn't enough for a win. Jhon Garcia was charged with the loss tonight; he threw 5 innings, gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, struck out 4 and walked 4. Edgar Ibarra threw 3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out 2, and Matthew Hauser threw a scoreless 9th. Oswaldo Arcia and Daniel Rohlfing each had a double, and Jairo Perez drove in Angel Morales for the only Miracle run. Daniel Santana, Daniel Ortiz and Morales each had 2 hits, as well. Beloit 4, Quad Cities 2 Jason Wheeler had another solid start for the Snappers tonight, throwing 6 innings, and allowing only 2 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 5 and issuing no free passes. David Hurlbut picked up the win in relief, tossing scoreless 7th and 8th innings and striking out 2, and Ryan O'Rourke picked up his second save of the season allowing 1 hit and striking out 1 in the 9th. Beloit only had 5 hits tonight, but the Snappers made sure they counted. Catcher Matthew Koch hit a big 3 run home run in the 7th inning, and AJ Petterson of TwinsDaily (and, well, professional baseball) fame hit a solo shot in the 8th inning. It was the first home run of the season for both players. Congratulations! JaDamion Williams and Jonathan Goncalves each had singles, and Adam Bryant had a double. ----------------------- Minor League Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 16 Hitter of the Day: Estarlin De Los Santos [ATTACH=CONFIG]971[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day: Jason Wheeler [ATTACH=CONFIG]972[/ATTACH] ----------------------- On Deck: Thursday, May 17 Rochester vs. Louisville -- RHP Daryl Thompson New Britain vs. New Hampshire -- RHP David Bromberg Ft. Myers @ Brevard County -- RHP Marty Popham Beloit vs. Quad Cities -- RHP Matthew Summers ---------------------- If you have any questions, leave them here, and Seth will answer them (or I will attempt to).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-49w-eP93aWA/T7OkX-ftgpI/AAAAAAAAAVo/PoyyrOxcmPc/s1600/Dave.bmp [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] From the confines of his Target Field office this morning, Minnesota Twins President Dave St. Peter issued the following press release: "Twins Fans. It's been a rough start to 2012. We here at the Minnesota Twins are especially disappointed by the way this season has gone, especially after having sat through 2011. In 2011, when things were going bad, we took what we thought was every available measure to achieve baseball's worst record and secure the #1 overall draft pick for 2012: we made sure that Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were never at Target Field -- never even in Minnesota, in fact -- at the same time; we traded away Jim Thome, the only player that was able to hit home runs; we even gave Drew Butera 254 plate appearances. 254! We made you watch Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Rene Rivera, Steve Holm, Jim Hoey and Phil Dumatrait, and we put Matt Capps (Cappy, around here) into the rare games when we had a lead or were tied. In short, we did what we thought was necessary. We came close, but fell short. And that's not good enough around here. "I'm here today to announce that the Twins, as of today, are officially `All In' on achieving the worst record in baseball. We're off to a good start: 10-26. You might say that we're pretty much killing it! Our .278 winning percentage puts us squarely in first place with respect to achieving next year's 1st overall draft pick. San Diego is our closest competition right now, with a .351 winning percentage, but we think we have a winning plan in place, and I want to share that with you today. "First, Jason Marquis will stay with this team. What you saw him do yesterday is exactly what we want him to do all season long. His ERA, at 6.68 right now, is OK. To add what we here like to call the ol' `carrot and stick' situation, we have restructured his contract with certain performance incentives. If he finishes the season with an ERA over 7.5, that's an extra $1 million. For every start where he can't get out of the 4th inning, that's $50,000. You get the picture: these guys respond to money, and we know that. But that's not all. You saw that we brought Drew Butera back up. He's off to a fast start, batting .200, but we know he'll slow down. He should get at least 250 plate appearances this year, and there's a little something for Gardy on the side if that number creeps higher. "We're not limiting ourselves to current players, either. I was just in Aruba speaking with Sidney Ponson. You remember what he did for us in 2007, right? We here at the Twins think he can do it again. He's only 35. He's been doing a lot of fishing lately. He said that the casting motion has really kept his arm in shape, so we can only assume that he'd be ready to go. If Scott Diamond looks too dominant, Ponson might be making the flight up to Minneapolis. "When's the last time you have seen Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau play together? It's been a while, right? Coincidence? Maybe; maybe not. And yes, while Joe Mauer has been healthy enough to play, we've taken what you might call "measures" to ensure that he is not overly productive. I don't know if you've seen the movie Misery with Kathy Bates and James Caan, but let's just say that, in that back room behind the clubhouse -- that room that media doesn't have access to -- there's a little area set up to `regulate' Mauer's knees in the event that he starts hitting for too much power. We call it the `Hobbling Corner.' So far this season, it's mostly just served as a looming threat to Joe, but I think you'd agree that it has worked well to date. "Finally, we're going to be looking right within our own state for some homegrown talent. Twins fans know that, year in and year out, we scout the local high schools and colleges, and usually draft at least a few players from right here in Minnesota. Right now, we're looking specifically at at pitcher from the Staples Motley VFW baseball team. He gets it up there around 73 or 74 miles an hour, and has good control, which you know is what we look for. He's 15, so it might get a little sticky with those so-called "child labor laws" and what not. But we think that he could provide bullpen depth as the season goes on after we trade away Glen Perkins and anyone else with an ERA under 3.5. Most of our scouts have been assigned to watch this kid's starts, especially against teams like Peqout Lakes and Brainerd -- you know, where the competition is a little stiffer. Is it crazy to send a 15 year old kid right to Target Field? Maybe. But might it be `genius crazy?' We think so. "In closing, Twins fans, I know it's been a rough 13 months of Twins Baseball. We're trying to right the ship as best we can. And sometimes you have to think outside the box. The plan we have in place, though radical, will work. Give it a chance. In the meantime, keep coming out to Target Field this summer. You have literally no idea what you'll see on any given night."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-49w-eP93aWA/T7OkX-ftgpI/AAAAAAAAAVo/PoyyrOxcmPc/s1600/Dave.bmp [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] From the confines of his Target Field office this morning, Minnesota Twins President Dave St. Peter issued the following press release: "Twins Fans. It's been a rough start to 2012. We here at the Minnesota Twins are especially disappointed by the way this season has gone, especially after having sat through 2011. In 2011, when things were going bad, we took what we thought was every available measure to achieve baseball's worst record and secure the #1 overall draft pick for 2012: we made sure that Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were never at Target Field -- never even in Minnesota, in fact -- at the same time; we traded away Jim Thome, the only player that was able to hit home runs; we even gave Drew Butera 254 plate appearances. 254! We made you watch Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Rene Rivera, Steve Holm, Jim Hoey and Phil Dumatrait, and we put Matt Capps (Cappy, around here) into the rare games when we had a lead or were tied. In short, we did what we thought was necessary. We came close, but fell short. And that's not good enough around here. "I'm here today to announce that the Twins, as of today, are officially `All In' on achieving the worst record in baseball. We're off to a good start: 10-26. You might say that we're pretty much killing it! Our .278 winning percentage puts us squarely in first place with respect to achieving next year's 1st overall draft pick. San Diego is our closest competition right now, with a .351 winning percentage, but we think we have a winning plan in place, and I want to share that with you today. "First, Jason Marquis will stay with this team. What you saw him do yesterday is exactly what we want him to do all season long. His ERA, at 6.68 right now, is OK. To add what we here like to call the ol' `carrot and stick' situation, we have restructured his contract with certain performance incentives. If he finishes the season with an ERA over 7.5, that's an extra $1 million. For every start where he can't get out of the 4th inning, that's $50,000. You get the picture: these guys respond to money, and we know that. But that's not all. You saw that we brought Drew Butera back up. He's off to a fast start, batting .200, but we know he'll slow down. He should get at least 250 plate appearances this year, and there's a little something for Gardy on the side if that number creeps higher. "We're not limiting ourselves to current players, either. I was just in Aruba speaking with Sidney Ponson. You remember what he did for us in 2007, right? We here at the Twins think he can do it again. He's only 35. He's been doing a lot of fishing lately. He said that the casting motion has really kept his arm in shape, so we can only assume that he'd be ready to go. If Scott Diamond looks too dominant, Ponson might be making the flight up to Minneapolis. "When's the last time you have seen Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau play together? It's been a while, right? Coincidence? Maybe; maybe not. And yes, while Joe Mauer has been healthy enough to play, we've taken what you might call "measures" to ensure that he is not overly productive. I don't know if you've seen the movie Misery with Kathy Bates and James Caan, but let's just say that, in that back room behind the clubhouse -- that room that media doesn't have access to -- there's a little area set up to `regulate' Mauer's knees in the event that he starts hitting for too much power. We call it the `Hobbling Corner.' So far this season, it's mostly just served as a looming threat to Joe, but I think you'd agree that it has worked well to date. "Finally, we're going to be looking right within our own state for some homegrown talent. Twins fans know that, year in and year out, we scout the local high schools and colleges, and usually draft at least a few players from right here in Minnesota. Right now, we're looking specifically at at pitcher from the Staples Motley VFW baseball team. He gets it up there around 73 or 74 miles an hour, and has good control, which you know is what we look for. He's 15, so it might get a little sticky with those so-called "child labor laws" and what not. But we think that he could provide bullpen depth as the season goes on after we trade away Glen Perkins and anyone else with an ERA under 3.5. Most of our scouts have been assigned to watch this kid's starts, especially against teams like Peqout Lakes and Brainerd -- you know, where the competition is a little stiffer. Is it crazy to send a 15 year old kid right to Target Field? Maybe. But might it be `genius crazy?' We think so. "In closing, Twins fans, I know it's been a rough 13 months of Twins Baseball. We're trying to right the ship as best we can. And sometimes you have to think outside the box. The plan we have in place, though radical, will work. Give it a chance. In the meantime, keep coming out to Target Field this summer. You have literally no idea what you'll see on any given night."

Physically, he looked fine when I was there Thursday. Mentally, clearly something isn't right. 2 singles, 5 strikeouts and 1 walk in 21 at-bats is definitely alarming. Hopefully he can use today's day off to try to get a fresh start tomorrow.

Well, offensively he looks good, but defensively not so much. He already has 5 errors on the year, and a .937 fielding percentage in 2012 (incidentally, that was his exact fielding percentage in 2011 for New Britain). I have seen him commit both fielding errors (like a grounder through the legs) and throwing error (just last Thursday night he tried to hurry the throw on a relatively routine 5-3 double play grounder and tossed it down the right field line). He's 25 this year, so at some point, they need to either move him up to AAA and see if the hitting can continue and if the defense can improve, or just consider him minor league depth. It's a stretch to imagine him with the Twins this year. Maybe, best case, pressue to Valencia to improve??

[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQM4h8sazyM/T7EE54Ig61I/AAAAAAAAAVc/0dAydXE054E/s1600/Wilkin.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Wilkin Ramirez is not long for AA if he keeps up his 1.228 OPS [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Like their parent club, the Rock Cats split a 4-game series over the weekend against the Reading Phillies. I attended Thursday night's game, a 10-3 loss. You can find my game recap here. Apparently, I picked the one bad game to go to. The rest of the series was pretty evenly matched, and featured some excellent pitching performances. New Britain won 4-1 on Friday. In that game, hits were at a premium, with the teams combining for only 5 all night. David Bromberg, starting, and Lester Oliveros, out of the bullpen, were great for the Rock Cats. Chris Herrmann had a double, and Wilkin Ramirez hit his 3rd home run of the season for New Britain. The Rock Cats also won Saturday, 8-4. New Rock Cat starter BJ Hermsen was excellent, going 7 innings and giving up only 2 runs, striking out 3 and walking 2. He earned his first AA win. Wilkin Ramirez was a 1-man wrecking crew, hitting 2 triples and another home run. Aaron Hicks also contributed 2 doubles. He had 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases (9 on the season). Every starter except for Joe Benson and Estarlin De Los Santos had at least one hit. Sunday, New Britain wasn't as lucky. They lost 6-4, and were only 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Andrew Albers delivered a quality start, tossing 6 innings and giving up 3 runs, but took the loss. New Rock Cat Caleb Thielbar had a rough appearance, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in just 1 and 1/3 inning. You can't help but think that this is one game New Britain would like to have back: they had a chance to increase their division lead, but instead are now back in second place; they scored 4 runs, but only managed 4 hits (3 singles and a Chris Herrmann home run). As it stands, they are still doing well, sitting at 22-14, just 1/2 game back from Reading. They are off today, and then go back to work tomorrow with a double-header comprised of 2 7-inning games. Here are some current slash lines of players you might be keeping an eye on: Aaron Hicks: .258/.347/.414, 4 HR, 6 2B, 21 RBIs. Chris Herrmann: .246/.288/.415, 4 HR, 10 2B, 13 RBIs. Deibinson Romero: .264/.350/.430, 3 HR, 9 2B, 21 RBIs. Wilkin Ramirez (in 49 at-bats): .388/.412/.816, 4 HR, 3 3B, 3 2B, 7 RBIs. Joe Benson: (in 21 at-bats): .095/.174/.095, 2 RBIs.

[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQM4h8sazyM/T7EE54Ig61I/AAAAAAAAAVc/0dAydXE054E/s1600/Wilkin.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Wilkin Ramirez is not long for AA if he keeps up his 1.228 OPS [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Like their parent club, the Rock Cats split a 4-game series over the weekend against the Reading Phillies. I attended Thursday night's game, a 10-3 loss. You can find my game recap here. Apparently, I picked the one bad game to go to. The rest of the series was pretty evenly matched, and featured some excellent pitching performances. New Britain won 4-1 on Friday. In that game, hits were at a premium, with the teams combining for only 5 all night. David Bromberg, starting, and Lester Oliveros, out of the bullpen, were great for the Rock Cats. Chris Herrmann had a double, and Wilkin Ramirez hit his 3rd home run of the season for New Britain. The Rock Cats also won Saturday, 8-4. New Rock Cat starter BJ Hermsen was excellent, going 7 innings and giving up only 2 runs, striking out 3 and walking 2. He earned his first AA win. Wilkin Ramirez was a 1-man wrecking crew, hitting 2 triples and another home run. Aaron Hicks also contributed 2 doubles. He had 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases (9 on the season). Every starter except for Joe Benson and Estarlin De Los Santos had at least one hit. Sunday, New Britain wasn't as lucky. They lost 6-4, and were only 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Andrew Albers delivered a quality start, tossing 6 innings and giving up 3 runs, but took the loss. New Rock Cat Caleb Thielbar had a rough appearance, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in just 1 and 1/3 inning. You can't help but think that this is one game New Britain would like to have back: they had a chance to increase their division lead, but instead are now back in second place; they scored 4 runs, but only managed 4 hits (3 singles and a Chris Herrmann home run). As it stands, they are still doing well, sitting at 22-14, just 1/2 game back from Reading. They are off today, and then go back to work tomorrow with a double-header comprised of 2 7-inning games. Here are some current slash lines of players you might be keeping an eye on: Aaron Hicks: .258/.347/.414, 4 HR, 6 2B, 21 RBIs. Chris Herrmann: .246/.288/.415, 4 HR, 10 2B, 13 RBIs. Deibinson Romero: .264/.350/.430, 3 HR, 9 2B, 21 RBIs. Wilkin Ramirez (in 49 at-bats): .388/.412/.816, 4 HR, 3 3B, 3 2B, 7 RBIs. Joe Benson: (in 21 at-bats): .095/.174/.095, 2 RBIs.

I like this: "Correlation and causation? Oh I think so." Good post.

Han, I appreciate the compliment -- thanks!

[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The Rock Cats lost big last night, 10-3, against the Reading Phillies. You can read a good re-cap of the game by Seth Stohs here at TwinsDaily, and here at the Rock Cats' website, but I thought I'd try to provide you with a few things that won't show up in the box score, which you can check out here. [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B2uXA3aAKXk/T60E6sSjrSI/AAAAAAAAAVE/yRZAEjR_28g/s320/Benson.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Wearing #30 for New Britain, Joe Benson looked like a man on a mission at the plate [/TD] [/TABLE] Let's start with Joe Benson. He was just demoted a few days ago from AAA Rochester, and you can only imagine what a blow to his pride that was. Here's a guy that -- although he looked rough in his September call-up in 2011 -- was on most any short list for Twins outfield vacancies, and had fought for a position this Spring. Instead, he was placed in AAA and didn't hit at all. I was curious what his demeanor would be being relegated back to New Britain. I'll tell you, from everything that I witnessed, Benson seemed to be in good spirits. He was joking around with teammates and coaches just before the game started, and spoke to a few season ticket holders at the stadium that had developed a good relationship with him. The box score will tell you that Benson went 1-for-4 with a walk tonight. I'll tell you that 2 of his 3 outs were smashes to left field. 1/8 of an inch higher or lower on the bat, and we're looking at a rocket single that falls in front of the left fielder, or a double (or home run) to left field. Funny enough, his one hit to right field was probably his weakest contact of the night. That's just how baseball works, unfortunately. But from what I observed tonight, Benson put very, very good swings on the ball and, just as importantly, took good at-bats and appeared to be in a good place mentally. Logan Darnell had a really tough night. After cruising through the first two innings, Darnell got in trouble in the third. A walk, followed by consecutive singles, loaded the bases for Darin Ruf, who looks like a prototypical power hitter. He hit a no-doubt grand slam, and it was suddenly 4-0. I wasn't sure if Darnell, like many young pitchers, would become rattled, or would be able to shake it off. His pitch sequence to the next batter, lefty Steve Susdorf, was his best of the night. Darnell started Susdorf off with a called strike, then threw a great curve that buckled the batter. And on 0-2, Darnell threw a perfect change-up that looked (from where I was sitting) low and away, and Susdorf flailed helplessly at it. Unfortunately, the positives for Darnell were few and far between last night. His fastball was pretty consistent at 89, although he did hit 92 a couple times when trying for a strikeout pitch. I also want to mention Chris Herrmann. I'm one of the people that believes he's just about ready for the next step in his progression. But to do that, he needs to get that average up, and he made a step in the right direction last night, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run. The double was actually pretty close to a home run to right-center field, and Herrmann was robbed of another double in his first at-bat: he smashed a line drive down the third base line, but Reading's defender made a fantastic play on the ball. You could see the frustration on Herrmann's face as he was walking back to the dugout. Luckily, the negative result in the first at-bat didn't get him down, and he put together a nice game. Finally, there is a new Rock Cats player, Shawn Roof. I wouldn't have noticed it, but thanks to a couple friends at the ballpark, it was pointed out to me that a new and unfamiliar player was in uniform, wearing #5. After investigation, this person was revealed to be Roof. Here's a little more information on him. Roof can probably best be viewed as middle infield depth, which is something that New Britain needs right now after losing Pedro Florimon to Rochester. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sometimes on Fridays, I'll link to other great Twins blog posts from the week. This week, you'll find a few links, but to different material. I'm not sure if you have ever visited the UMPS Care Charity website, but it's pretty cool. In short, it's connected to MLB and was established by MLB umpires, and the proceeds from this charity provide sick or at-risk children with unique baseball experiences -- like on-the-field events and the opportunity to meet players. Not only does this just sound like a good charity, but it is relevant to Twins minor league fans, because right now there are 3 Twins-related auctions taking place for ticket packages. The first is 4 GA tickets to a Snappers game of your choosing, and the opening bid is $11. That's right, $11 for all 4 tickets. There's already one bid, so the tickets will go for more than the minimum, but it's still worth checking out if you're in that area of the country. If you're near Rochester, NY, then you're close to the AAA Red Wings. This auction is for 24 premium box seat tickets, and the opening bid is only $106. The tickets can be divided into groups of 4, so you could attend up to 6 games. I know Rochester is never great, but can you beat $4.42 for a baseball ticket? Also, Tsuyoshi Nishioka will strike out in front of you at least twice each game (it's in the fine print). Finally, the organization's rookie level Appalachian League team, the Elizabethton Twins, have a great package up for auction. They haven't started play yet, but when they do, for $60 you can bid on a skybox pizza party for 12 people, which includes tickets, pizza, popcorn and drinks. That comes out to just $5 per person. These auctions end Sunday, so if you have any interest, make sure you check out the links!

[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The Rock Cats lost big last night, 10-3, against the Reading Phillies. You can read a good re-cap of the game by Seth Stohs here at TwinsDaily, and here at the Rock Cats' website, but I thought I'd try to provide you with a few things that won't show up in the box score, which you can check out here. [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B2uXA3aAKXk/T60E6sSjrSI/AAAAAAAAAVE/yRZAEjR_28g/s320/Benson.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Wearing #30 for New Britain, Joe Benson looked like a man on a mission at the plate [/TD] [/TABLE] Let's start with Joe Benson. He was just demoted a few days ago from AAA Rochester, and you can only imagine what a blow to his pride that was. Here's a guy that -- although he looked rough in his September call-up in 2011 -- was on most any short list for Twins outfield vacancies, and had fought for a position this Spring. Instead, he was placed in AAA and didn't hit at all. I was curious what his demeanor would be being relegated back to New Britain. I'll tell you, from everything that I witnessed, Benson seemed to be in good spirits. He was joking around with teammates and coaches just before the game started, and spoke to a few season ticket holders at the stadium that had developed a good relationship with him. The box score will tell you that Benson went 1-for-4 with a walk tonight. I'll tell you that 2 of his 3 outs were smashes to left field. 1/8 of an inch higher or lower on the bat, and we're looking at a rocket single that falls in front of the left fielder, or a double (or home run) to left field. Funny enough, his one hit to right field was probably his weakest contact of the night. That's just how baseball works, unfortunately. But from what I observed tonight, Benson put very, very good swings on the ball and, just as importantly, took good at-bats and appeared to be in a good place mentally. Logan Darnell had a really tough night. After cruising through the first two innings, Darnell got in trouble in the third. A walk, followed by consecutive singles, loaded the bases for Darin Ruf, who looks like a prototypical power hitter. He hit a no-doubt grand slam, and it was suddenly 4-0. I wasn't sure if Darnell, like many young pitchers, would become rattled, or would be able to shake it off. His pitch sequence to the next batter, lefty Steve Susdorf, was his best of the night. Darnell started Susdorf off with a called strike, then threw a great curve that buckled the batter. And on 0-2, Darnell threw a perfect change-up that looked (from where I was sitting) low and away, and Susdorf flailed helplessly at it. Unfortunately, the positives for Darnell were few and far between last night. His fastball was pretty consistent at 89, although he did hit 92 a couple times when trying for a strikeout pitch. I also want to mention Chris Herrmann. I'm one of the people that believes he's just about ready for the next step in his progression. But to do that, he needs to get that average up, and he made a step in the right direction last night, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run. The double was actually pretty close to a home run to right-center field, and Herrmann was robbed of another double in his first at-bat: he smashed a line drive down the third base line, but Reading's defender made a fantastic play on the ball. You could see the frustration on Herrmann's face as he was walking back to the dugout. Luckily, the negative result in the first at-bat didn't get him down, and he put together a nice game. Finally, there is a new Rock Cats player, Shawn Roof. I wouldn't have noticed it, but thanks to a couple friends at the ballpark, it was pointed out to me that a new and unfamiliar player was in uniform, wearing #5. After investigation, this person was revealed to be Roof. Here's a little more information on him. Roof can probably best be viewed as middle infield depth, which is something that New Britain needs right now after losing Pedro Florimon to Rochester. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sometimes on Fridays, I'll link to other great Twins blog posts from the week. This week, you'll find a few links, but to different material. I'm not sure if you have ever visited the UMPS Care Charity website, but it's pretty cool. In short, it's connected to MLB and was established by MLB umpires, and the proceeds from this charity provide sick or at-risk children with unique baseball experiences -- like on-the-field events and the opportunity to meet players. Not only does this just sound like a good charity, but it is relevant to Twins minor league fans, because right now there are 3 Twins-related auctions taking place for ticket packages. The first is 4 GA tickets to a Snappers game of your choosing, and the opening bid is $11. That's right, $11 for all 4 tickets. There's already one bid, so the tickets will go for more than the minimum, but it's still worth checking out if you're in that area of the country. If you're near Rochester, NY, then you're close to the AAA Red Wings. This auction is for 24 premium box seat tickets, and the opening bid is only $106. The tickets can be divided into groups of 4, so you could attend up to 6 games. I know Rochester is never great, but can you beat $4.42 for a baseball ticket? Also, Tsuyoshi Nishioka will strike out in front of you at least twice each game (it's in the fine print). Finally, the organization's rookie level Appalachian League team, the Elizabethton Twins, have a great package up for auction. They haven't started play yet, but when they do, for $60 you can bid on a skybox pizza party for 12 people, which includes tickets, pizza, popcorn and drinks. That comes out to just $5 per person. These auctions end Sunday, so if you have any interest, make sure you check out the links!

The Twins lost again, 6-2 tonight. I had hope that they would win this series against the Angels, especially after impressive performances last night by Brian Dozier and Scott Diamond, but it was not to be. Josh Willingham, with a home run and a double, continues to swing the bat well, but with the offense mustering only 6 hits, the chances of victory were slim tonight. Here's a look at how the Twins' minor league affiliates fared Wednesday night. ROCHESTER 2, PAWTUCKET 5 Cole DeVries wasn't terribly effective for the Red Wings tonight. Lasting 4 and 1/3 innings, DeVries gave up 10 hits, 5 runs, struck out 2 and walked 1. On a positive note, the bullpen was better. Brendan Wise and Tyler Robertson each pitched a scoreless 1 and 1/3 innings; each struck out 1 batter, and Robertson walked 1. Anthony Slama pitched a scoreless 8th inning, striking out 2. His ERA is at 0.59 after 14 and 1/3 innings pitched. There wasn't much offense for the Red Wings tonight. The team amassed 9 hits, but was only 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Joe Thurston homered, his second of the season, and Clete Thomas had a double. Ray Chang, Ben Revere and new Red Wing Pedro Florimon each had 2 hits. Additionally, Rene Tosoni had a stolen base, his second on the year. The Red Wings are 14-18 on the year. NEW BRITAIN 5, BINGHAMTON 1 The Rock Cats continue to be the best Twins affiliate thus far, defeating the Mets' affiliate for the second consecutive night. Starter Steve Hirschfeld had a solid start for New Britain, tossing 6 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run, striking out 6 and walking 1 along the way. The bullpen -- which has been a bright spot for the Rock Cats -- again was solid tonight. Luis Perdomo picked up the win, throwing a scoreless 7th inning, walking 2 and striking out 1, and new Rock Cat Caleb Thielbar threw both the 8th and 9th innings, striking out 3, walking none, and allowing only 1 hit. The Rock Cats scattered 10 hits tonight. Newly promoted Wilkin Ramirez hit his first home run as a Rock Cat, Deibinson Romero, Danny Lehmann and Ramirez contributed doubles, and Joe Benson was 1-for-5 with a stolen base. New Britain was 3-for-9 tonight with runners in scoring position. In the end, Ramirez, with 3 hits and an RBI, and Lehmann, with 2 hits and 2 RBIs, led the way. FT. MYERS 7, DUNEDIN 5 Our high-A team defeated the Blue Jays' counterpart this evening in a game that featured 22 combined hits and 4 combined errors. Jhon Garcia got the start for the Miracle, and lasted 4 and 1/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and 5 runs (4 earned), but exhibited good control, striking out 2 and issuing no free passes. Miguel Munoz picked up the win in relief, throwing 3 and 2/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1 in the process. Righty Ricky Bowen earned his first save of the season, pitching a scoreless 9th and allowing 1 hit. It was a good offensive showing for Ft. Myers tonight. Lance Ray hit his 4th home run of the season, a 1st inning grand slam! Ray also had a single. Not to be outdone, first baseman Andy Leer hit 2 home runs, both solo shots. Daniel Santana, Levi Michael, Daniel Rohlfing and Jairo Perez also had hits for the Miracle. Santana also had his 4th stolen base of the season. But the baseball gods giveth and taketh away, because Santana was responsible for both Miracle errors -- both on throws. He has 9 errors on the season. BELOIT 2, PEORIA 1 Although the score doesn't suggest it, the teams combined for 18 hits tonight. Starter Steven Gruver for the Snappers picked up the win (now 2-3 on the season), going an impressive 7 and 2/3 innings, allowing 8 hits and 1 run, striking out 3 and walking none. His ERA fell to 3.67 on the season. A very solid performance from Gruver. A.J. Achter picked up the hold, throwing 1 scoreless inning, striking out 2. Corey Williams earned the save, his 5th on the season, tossing a scoreless 9th, also striking out 1. Wang-Wei Lin had a hit and an RBI, as did Adam Petterson, friend of and contributor to TwinsDaily. Rory Rhodes had 2 hits, and JaDamion Williams, Adam Bryant, Miguel Sano, Drew Leachman and Jonathan Goncalves also had singles for Beloit. Bad news for Beloit fans: Sano did not homer tonight. Sorry, it can't happen every game. Williams, though had his 8th stolen base of the season, and there were only 2 Snappers starters (Eddie Rosario and Kyle Knudson) that were hitless tonight. --------- Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Hitter of the Day -- Lance Ray [ATTACH=CONFIG]906[/ATTACH] Photo Credit JimCrikket Pitcher of the Day -- Steven Gruver [ATTACH=CONFIG]908[/ATTACH] ----------- A Look Ahead -- Thursday, May 10 Schedule Rochester @ Pawtucket -- LHP Lucas French New Britain vs. Reading -- LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers @ Dunedin -- RHP Adrian Salcedo Beloit @ Peoria -- RHP Tim Shibuya

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8uJ6DYO5p4/T6poCGsTiaI/AAAAAAAAAU4/qnONL6iZ2LU/s1600/Span.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]In exchange for Denard Span, should the Twins be targeting MLB-ready talent, or guys set to contribute in 2014 and beyond? [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] There has been a lot of fun and interesting talk lately about the Twins potentially trading away some veterans, such as Denard Span and Carl Pavano, to a contending team. This, unfortunately, is what losing teams do in order to re-stock. What's doubly unfortunate is that these discussions are taking place in the first part of May, 2012. The Twins' nice win last night notwithstanding, it seems like the stars have to align lately to get both a good pitching and hitting performance out of this team, and that feels unlikely to change. Naturally, fans (and hopefully the front office) begin to look toward the future. Last season, many in Twins Territory were hopeful that 2011 was an aberration -- that the Twins would be healthy and bounce back in 2012. We now know that 2012 is heading in a similar, or worse, direction as 2011, and that the Twins are in the midst of a rebuild, even if they haven't yet uttered that dirty word. Denard Span is our most tradeable asset: he is a good offensive player, a solid defender, and he is under a relatively team-friendly contract through 2014 with a club option for 2015. There have already been a couple notable outfield injuries in baseball this year, such as Jayson Werth of the Nationals. The Nationals, of course, were the team that had interest in Span last season and were dangling young reliever Drew Storen. The deal never happened, thankfully. But it got us all talking about what it would take to move Span. Because this team is rebuilding, every potential deal that the Twins consider this season must be made for the future. We have high hopes for players in the low levels of our farm system like Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. Even if you fast-track both of those players, and even if they exceed expectations, their ETA at Target Field for a permanent call-up is probably 2015. We have some good, yet unrefined, talent at AA New Britain in Aaron Hicks, and hopefully Joe Benson can find his swing again. And there isn't much to speak of at AAA right now after Brian Dozier's promotion. Kyle Gibson is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and top prospect Alex Wimmers might be next on the operating table, pushing back (what I had figured to be) a 2013 Target Field debut if he had a successful 2012 at New Britain and Rochester. These are just a few guys of dozens in the farm system, but you get my point: the best Twins' minor league talent is not yet close to knocking on Target Field's door. When the Twins consider offers for Span, or Pavano (or even Liriano if he could manage to string together 3 or 4 good games in a row), they need to think about acquiring young players that will be ready for 2014 at the earliest -- and that will be under team control for those years immediately thereafter. Drew Storen, the Nationals reliever, is an interesting study precisely for that reason. Notwithstanding the fact that I don't believe in trading Span, an every day player, for a relief pitcher that will throw around 60 total innings, let's examine it. Storen, a very good pitcher who would be an asset in pretty much any bullpen, will become a free agent in 2017. Yes, that sounds really far away. But it isn't. In 2017, this team could just be getting good again. Let's say Sano pans out -- he would be in his age 24 season, perhaps his 3rd or 4th season, and at his athletic peak -- and Rosario would be 26. Mauer would still be under contract, and who knows, he could still be a .330 hitter. Gibson, Wimmers and Hicks would still be under team control, too. In other words, a young, affordable nucleus. Does that sound familiar, Twins fans? It sounds to me like the teams of the early-to-mid 2000s. Yes, it's all speculation, but when your team is this bad now, I do think you have to look at the big, very distant picture, as you evaluate deals. What I'm getting at is that it might not be best, as many (including myself) have suggested, for the Twins to look for pitchers -- or other position players -- that are close to "major league ready" this season. If it's indeed going to be tough in Minnesota for a few years, why do I want a pitcher that, as an example, has Storen's current service time? Just so he can be ready for an expensive contract right when the new nucleus of the Twins is coming into its prime? Or so I can watch him pitch on losing teams for 2 or 3 years? Perhaps the best bet -- and it is indeed a gamble -- is to look for younger players. Make no mistake: I'm not talking about low round draft picks or anything like that, just young, high-ceiling players that have a distance to travel before they, too, are ready for Target Field.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8uJ6DYO5p4/T6poCGsTiaI/AAAAAAAAAU4/qnONL6iZ2LU/s1600/Span.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]In exchange for Denard Span, should the Twins be targeting MLB-ready talent, or guys set to contribute in 2014 and beyond? [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] There has been a lot of fun and interesting talk lately about the Twins potentially trading away some veterans, such as Denard Span and Carl Pavano, to a contending team. This, unfortunately, is what losing teams do in order to re-stock. What's doubly unfortunate is that these discussions are taking place in the first part of May, 2012. The Twins' nice win last night notwithstanding, it seems like the stars have to align lately to get both a good pitching and hitting performance out of this team, and that feels unlikely to change. Naturally, fans (and hopefully the front office) begin to look toward the future. Last season, many in Twins Territory were hopeful that 2011 was an aberration -- that the Twins would be healthy and bounce back in 2012. We now know that 2012 is heading in a similar, or worse, direction as 2011, and that the Twins are in the midst of a rebuild, even if they haven't yet uttered that dirty word. Denard Span is our most tradeable asset: he is a good offensive player, a solid defender, and he is under a relatively team-friendly contract through 2014 with a club option for 2015. There have already been a couple notable outfield injuries in baseball this year, such as Jayson Werth of the Nationals. The Nationals, of course, were the team that had interest in Span last season and were dangling young reliever Drew Storen. The deal never happened, thankfully. But it got us all talking about what it would take to move Span. Because this team is rebuilding, every potential deal that the Twins consider this season must be made for the future. We have high hopes for players in the low levels of our farm system like Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. Even if you fast-track both of those players, and even if they exceed expectations, their ETA at Target Field for a permanent call-up is probably 2015. We have some good, yet unrefined, talent at AA New Britain in Aaron Hicks, and hopefully Joe Benson can find his swing again. And there isn't much to speak of at AAA right now after Brian Dozier's promotion. Kyle Gibson is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and top prospect Alex Wimmers might be next on the operating table, pushing back (what I had figured to be) a 2013 Target Field debut if he had a successful 2012 at New Britain and Rochester. These are just a few guys of dozens in the farm system, but you get my point: the best Twins' minor league talent is not yet close to knocking on Target Field's door. When the Twins consider offers for Span, or Pavano (or even Liriano if he could manage to string together 3 or 4 good games in a row), they need to think about acquiring young players that will be ready for 2014 at the earliest -- and that will be under team control for those years immediately thereafter. Drew Storen, the Nationals reliever, is an interesting study precisely for that reason. Notwithstanding the fact that I don't believe in trading Span, an every day player, for a relief pitcher that will throw around 60 total innings, let's examine it. Storen, a very good pitcher who would be an asset in pretty much any bullpen, will become a free agent in 2017. Yes, that sounds really far away. But it isn't. In 2017, this team could just be getting good again. Let's say Sano pans out -- he would be in his age 24 season, perhaps his 3rd or 4th season, and at his athletic peak -- and Rosario would be 26. Mauer would still be under contract, and who knows, he could still be a .330 hitter. Gibson, Wimmers and Hicks would still be under team control, too. In other words, a young, affordable nucleus. Does that sound familiar, Twins fans? It sounds to me like the teams of the early-to-mid 2000s. Yes, it's all speculation, but when your team is this bad now, I do think you have to look at the big, very distant picture, as you evaluate deals. What I'm getting at is that it might not be best, as many (including myself) have suggested, for the Twins to look for pitchers -- or other position players -- that are close to "major league ready" this season. If it's indeed going to be tough in Minnesota for a few years, why do I want a pitcher that, as an example, has Storen's current service time? Just so he can be ready for an expensive contract right when the new nucleus of the Twins is coming into its prime? Or so I can watch him pitch on losing teams for 2 or 3 years? Perhaps the best bet -- and it is indeed a gamble -- is to look for younger players. Make no mistake: I'm not talking about low round draft picks or anything like that, just young, high-ceiling players that have a distance to travel before they, too, are ready for Target Field.

Benson played right field last night, with Hicks in center. Both were hitless. I'm excited to see the ground that they cover, though.

This made me laugh. And then cry. Good work, if that was your intention.

[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] New Britain had an unscheduled night off Monday, and maybe that was a good thing. At 18-12, the Rock Cats are just 1.5 games out of first place in their division, but are 5-5 over their last 10 games, and had lost 2 of 3 to the Portland Sea Dogs over the weekend before Monday evening's contest against the Binghamton Mets was rained out. So it's a good time to take notice of a few things. First, player movement. If you haven't read it here or elsewhere, Joe Benson, Twins outfield prospect who started the season in AAA after playing last September for the Twins, is a Rock Cat once again. His offensive line at Rochester wasn't where it needs to be. Benson played very well last season in New Britain, so hopefully he can get his swing back. Also, capable shortstop Pedro Florimon was promoted to Rochester to take the place of new Twin Brian Dozier. Great news for him. His defense was very sound at New Britain, and I hope that he can keep swinging the bat well in Rochester. Second, it was announced a couple days ago that top pitching prospect Alex Wimmers has a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), located in his elbow. This is definitely not good news. What was first an elbow strain has now been diagnosed as a "very slight tear." No surgery is scheduled right now, as the Twins are going to wait and see if the injury can be rehabbed. Unfortunately, though, Tommy John surgery is a common result for pitchers suffering this type of injury. Wimmers, having made just one start this season back in the first part of April, could use some good luck, but it's tough to be optimistic about this variety of injury. Finally, let's talk offense. For the first few weeks of the season, it seemed like the Rock Cats were scoring runs in bunches -- like 5, 6 or 7 runs a game. There was timely hitting, and plenty of power. As the weather has warmed, however, the bats have cooled. After the Rock Cats' 3-1 loss to Portland on Sunday, a good pitching battle during which the team had 7 hits but was 1-8 with runners in scoring position, manager Jeff Smith stated the following: "We had chances once again. Our bats are very poor with runners in scoring position. We're getting a lot of hits, what I call meaningless hits without any guys on base. We need to transfer those over and have better intensity with guys in scoring position." Does that sound familiar, Twins fans? Unlike with the Twins, however, New Britain's pitching has kept them in most games. New Rock Cat starter BJ Hermsen took the loss on Sunday, but had a quality start (3 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings). If the Rock Cats are going to continue their offensive success, some players are going to need to step up in crucial spots. I'll finish this morning with a few current slash lines for some of the players that you probably are keeping tabs on: Aaron Hicks: .278/.355/.444, 4 HR, 4 2B, 17 RBIs Deibinson Romero: .276/.358/.457, 3 HR, 8 2B, 18 RBIs Chris Herrmann: .236/.283/.396, 3 HR, 8 2B, 11 RBIs

[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] New Britain had an unscheduled night off Monday, and maybe that was a good thing. At 18-12, the Rock Cats are just 1.5 games out of first place in their division, but are 5-5 over their last 10 games, and had lost 2 of 3 to the Portland Sea Dogs over the weekend before Monday evening's contest against the Binghamton Mets was rained out. So it's a good time to take notice of a few things. First, player movement. If you haven't read it here or elsewhere, Joe Benson, Twins outfield prospect who started the season in AAA after playing last September for the Twins, is a Rock Cat once again. His offensive line at Rochester wasn't where it needs to be. Benson played very well last season in New Britain, so hopefully he can get his swing back. Also, capable shortstop Pedro Florimon was promoted to Rochester to take the place of new Twin Brian Dozier. Great news for him. His defense was very sound at New Britain, and I hope that he can keep swinging the bat well in Rochester. Second, it was announced a couple days ago that top pitching prospect Alex Wimmers has a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), located in his elbow. This is definitely not good news. What was first an elbow strain has now been diagnosed as a "very slight tear." No surgery is scheduled right now, as the Twins are going to wait and see if the injury can be rehabbed. Unfortunately, though, Tommy John surgery is a common result for pitchers suffering this type of injury. Wimmers, having made just one start this season back in the first part of April, could use some good luck, but it's tough to be optimistic about this variety of injury. Finally, let's talk offense. For the first few weeks of the season, it seemed like the Rock Cats were scoring runs in bunches -- like 5, 6 or 7 runs a game. There was timely hitting, and plenty of power. As the weather has warmed, however, the bats have cooled. After the Rock Cats' 3-1 loss to Portland on Sunday, a good pitching battle during which the team had 7 hits but was 1-8 with runners in scoring position, manager Jeff Smith stated the following: "We had chances once again. Our bats are very poor with runners in scoring position. We're getting a lot of hits, what I call meaningless hits without any guys on base. We need to transfer those over and have better intensity with guys in scoring position." Does that sound familiar, Twins fans? Unlike with the Twins, however, New Britain's pitching has kept them in most games. New Rock Cat starter BJ Hermsen took the loss on Sunday, but had a quality start (3 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings). If the Rock Cats are going to continue their offensive success, some players are going to need to step up in crucial spots. I'll finish this morning with a few current slash lines for some of the players that you probably are keeping tabs on: Aaron Hicks: .278/.355/.444, 4 HR, 4 2B, 17 RBIs Deibinson Romero: .276/.358/.457, 3 HR, 8 2B, 18 RBIs Chris Herrmann: .236/.283/.396, 3 HR, 8 2B, 11 RBIs

CDog, thanks for the clarification on that ground ball single -- like I said, I didn't see it, but was just going off of something one of the SEA or MIN writers had penned.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xtyQYSXbRKc/T6fBiL8aLDI/AAAAAAAAAUY/9XBCELyGchk/s320/JM2.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Since taking a foul tip to the knee last week, Joe Mauer hasn't been the same [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Since Joe Mauer dinged his knee taking a foul tip on April 29, he has not been the same player. Yes, he missed only one game, which is a testament to the fact that he is resolute in his desire to to play this season. That, especially when compared to the way Mauer and the organization dealt with his injuries last season, should be commended. But what about the product on the field? Last week, I wrote about Mauer's ground ball rate -- specifically, the fact that we should keep an eye on the frequency of his ground outs second base as a possible indicator of his health. To sum up that post: In Mauer's 2009 MVP season, he hit into the 4-3 putout 12.2 percent of the time; in 2011, when he was injured, but before being placed on the disabled list, that figure was 26.3 percent. And as of last Tuesday's game (when I wrote the post), that number was 18.2 percent. The last four games (since I wrote the post about the ground ball rate) have not been good offensively for Mauer, and that has me worried. Take a look at his Fangraphs game log, and tell me if you don't agree. In 16 plate appearances (14 at-bats because Mauer walked twice), Joe has 1 hit -- an infield single to shortstop. He has grounded out to second base 6 times in those 14 at-bats, including one double play grounder. Only 4 balls have left the infield -- all flyouts. And -- possibly the worst sign for Mauer -- not a single line drive. Horrible numbers from our former MVP and team leader. His percentage of at-bats that result in grounders to second is now at just under 21 percent on the season. I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill. In Mauer's defense, Jered Weaver and Felix Hernandez pitched 2 out of those 4 games, and they are, of course, very good pitchers. And the sample size is still small. But don't we expect more from Mauer against good pitchers (than we do, say, Drew Butera), and isn't that a fair expectation? Deep down, don't you think that something is wrong with Mauer -- i.e., that the knee is really plaguing him and that he's just grinding out at-bats? Admittedly, I didn't watch this weekend's games, but from what I listened to on the radio, they described Mauer as "cautious" when he was running. For those that are still stuck believing that Mauer's best -- or only -- value to this team is as the starting catcher for the next several years, this is what we have to look forward to. Yes, there are going to be weeks-long and months-long stretches of great baseball from Mauer, even if he remains at catcher forever. But there are also going to be stretches where his legs and knees are so banged up that he can't get any power into his swing. Aside from that "clutch" infield single (which I read could have been ruled an error), Mauer hasn't provided very much value to the Twins in the past week. This isn't my rally cry to move Mauer from catcher immediately and forever, as much as it is a recognition -- maybe the fifth or eighth or tenth recognition in the past several years -- that, as he ages, Mauer's best "value" to the Twins is being healthy and on the field, regardless of the position.