Twinsoholic

Yikes! Rosario and Escobar K. Bad hitting. The cannot even catch a break on the wild pick off throw to first.

Yes, that will require scoring at least 3 runs. I guess I am foolishly optimistic. I am a Twins fan, after all.

Thankfully Gibson is outta there. Let's give The lefty a shot at winning the game.

Wow! Gibson is mediocre. Slow on the mound. Boring to watch. Some brutal results sandwiched around a few strikeouts.

Re: The Sano Blast. Hope that Dozier and Kepler both get hits just before that Earl Weaver homer. Where do you all think Mauer should be hitting in the batting order? I certainly don't think the 4 spot is optimal, but I hope to be proved wrong tonight.

Why is Mauer batting cleanup again?

I concur. Zander Wiel.

Add Baxendale to the list of guys who are doing well and deserve consideration of a ca,, up to the Twins. He was starting in AA, and has been doing very well out of the pen since being called up to Rochester.

Jeremy, Did the Twins sign anymore draft picks? By last count, they had signed 33 of 42 selections. Which are the players not signed?

I hope Ryan can trade E. Santana, Suzuki, Nunez and maybe Kintzler. The Twins have no chance to win a wild card spot. Trade Plouffe in August if possible. The future is, tautologically, in the future as far as competing for at least a wild card spot. Speaking of spots, there are bright ones on the current 25 man roster that orient some optimism: Sano, Kepler, Duffy, Rosario, even Vargas of late. Throw in Escobar and Tonkin and even the lefty reliever from the U of Kentucky whose name escapes me at the moment (Gibson and Dozier have value as well to revitalizing the Twins). There are bright spots in the minors that also suggest that the Twins could be a be a much better team in a couple years. By then, though, Santana and Suzuki will be in their mid-thirties and much less likely to help the Twins compete for at least a Wild Card spot, so move them now rather than counting on them to be productive over the next year or two.

This is nit-picking, I guess, but do Nordgren's numbers really surpass Brady Anderson's five hits, two runs, seven strikeouts in 4 innings of relief?

Where is left-handed pitched Jovani Moran, last year's #7 selection from Puerto Rico? Is he on the DL?

Does anyone know if John Sickels did his Twins shadow draft this year? If he did, can someone post the link?

I like the 2nd round selection. I bet we see one more before round 5.

Oh, well. Starting pitching, starting pitching, starting pitching.

My reaction: Meh! Would rather have a starting pitcher.

Clutterheart, I respectfully disagree with your response to Jimbo's comment about the misuse of the word "ironically" in Seth's report. Seth presents good information in his report, but he likely appreciates the editing feedback. I certainly would. I don't see Jimbo as "trying to show how fluent [he is] in English." Instead, I see him as pointing out a mistake--in baseball mistakes are ruled as errors. We all learn from our mistakes.

As spring training progressed, who thought that the Twins hitters except for Mauer and Escobar would be as horrible as they have been? I suspect that most people imagined that the 2016 Twins would be a pretty good team. These first 9 losses are a historical anomaly for the Twins (not for the Orioles, of course). Since baseball is a game of averages, the odds are good that the deathly offense will go from being offensive in once sense to offensive in another sense. Now there is always the possibility that the starting pitching will go South if the offense picks up. I agree that signing Murphy is not likely to help much. I don't see the upside to his joining the team unless it is to let Buxton go to AAA and mature more (assuming that Keplar can stay and play center and hit better than Buxton has. I hope the outfield is not Sano, Murphy, and Rosario, but who knows?) I agree with those who criticize the bullpen make up and the rotation make up. Ryan got into this fix with the long term contracts to Nolasco, Hughes, and Santana. Maybe he can trade Hughes or Santana this year. If we are lucky Nolasco pitches well enough for Ryan to trade him in or before July. I like Plouffe but would rather have Sano at 3rd. If there was not a huge return for Plouffe, then package him with a prospect or two to find a reasonable deal. Dozier, when he hits, hits like an outfielder. Why not try what the Royals did with Gordon. Put Dozier in a corner outfield position. Put Polanco at 2nd base. He is a better defender than Dozier. He is a major league-ready hitter. Dozier is going to play better outfield than Sano IMO. Dump Fien and bring up Chargois or Burdi when he comes off of the DL. Make sure Suzuki does not get enough plate appearances for his option to vest. The hitters need to practice patience, and their timing will come around, What we are seeing so far is an anomaly.

Stupidist move the Twins made. 2nd stupidist was trying to force him to hit singles to the opposite field. But then Tom Kelly never did anything wrong (he and Mauer are Saints who can do no wrong).

Twinssouth, Mauer has a full no trade clause. He's retiring in Minnesota as a Twin. Gopherman23, Yes, trade Plouffe, and I agree with Kab21. Trade Plouffe for the best prospect package you can get--unless there is a GM willing to swap Plouffe for either a really good ss or catcher (not likely).

No way do you trade Berrios for Swihart. In the off season, Ryan needs to focus on something like the following: 1. Trade Milone for a reliever and a short season prospect. This move frees up a starter slot, helps strengthen the pen, and adds a wild card prospect (David Arias, aka David Ortz was a short season wild card prospect the Twins got from the Mariners. 2. If any team will bite on E. Santana or Hughes, move either one--frees up a rotation slot and cash. 3. Look to sign either or both a free agent catcher and/or a free agent shortstop (unless you want to go with Escobar at short, which I am not opposed to doing). The free agent signing(s) should not require, as Santana did, giving up a draft pick. 4. Keep May in the pen with Perkins and Jepsen. A healthy Pressly should be there. 5. Select another Rule 5 starter to serve as long man in the pen. 6. Have a rotation of the following (assuming that you can get someone to take either E. Santana or Hughes (I assume that getting anyone to take Nolasco is a pipe dream although the Braves packaged Melvin Upton in a deal as a requirement for the other team receiving a top notch player in the trade). Gibson, Hughes or Santana (one gets traded), Berrios, Duffy, and Nolasco 7. Pen: Jepsen, Perkins, May, Pressley, Player X from Milone trade, (O'Rourke or Tonkin or Dean or Darnell or Achter) and Rule 5 selection -- 7 man pen 8. Do not resign Pelfrey, Hunter, and Nunez. 9. If you want to make a trade for either a catcher or ss rather than go the free agent route, then you could package some of the following players in some combination: Plouffe (will be a free agent in a couple of years), Hicks (sell high as he is having a really nice season); Rosario (as he is having a really nice season); Polanco, Santana (Infielder/Outfielder), Turner, Arcia, Vargas, Michael, Dean, Wheeler, Meyer, Baxendale, Wimmers. Starting with Polanco, this list includes A LOT of talent that would strengthen a lot of teams in terms of prospects in trades for veteran or major league ready players for the Twins. One or more of these guys could also be packaged with Milone and/or with Hughes or E. Santana. I would not trade both Hicks and Rosario. Keep one for sure with Buxton. I don't think Plouffe has the wheels, as KC's Alex Gordon does, to play Left Field or Right Field for the Twins. You could try him there, though, as you let Sano have 3rd base. 10. Finally, do not trade Berrios or Duffy. Do not trade Keplar and A. B. Walker II. Avoid trading Stewart and Gonsalves and Gordon.

Dear USMCTwin Thanks for sharing the information. I've searched for the draft thread and cannot find it. It is probably easy to find, bit I still cannot find it. Any pointers to it are much appreciated.

Any news on Kyle Cody, the Twins Competitive Balance selection between the 2nd and 3rd rounds? He is the only unsigned top10 Twins draft picks. Is there any talk that he won't sign?

Seth and Jeremy, What is the word on Kyle Cody, the Twins' Competitive balance pick between the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the draft? Isn't he their only top 10 pick not signed? He's a very hard thrower who has top of the rotation potential if he can consistently hit the strike zone.

Because concussions have always been a part of the grand game of baseball, it would be interesting to see if there is a comparison of Mauer with some stars from the 1970s or 1980s whose careers were reshaped by a concussion. Does anyone come to mind? Surely this had to happen, unfortunately, to some other outstanding players. There are examples, of course, of players being hit in the face with pitches and not being the same hitters they were, but what other players had concussions? Also, catchers in the 1970s and 1980s certainly experienced what Mauer did while he was catching. If anyone knows of any comparable players--players who had significant drop offs in their production following concussions--I would welcome hearing about them.