SirLoin

God I hate it when Revere can't get on base....Oh wait....

PJ....Don't think....Just throw!

Ok, well we'd keep him around for this season anyway....then let him go to be picked up by Pittsburgh!

What's gotten into Plouffe? Did he finally realize his roster spot was in jeopardy? Just hit .250 with 20 HR's and we'll keep you around!

So who takes Blackburn's spot in the rotation? Swarzak? Liriano?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]966[/ATTACH] Ben Revere needs to be on the Twins roster and starting in Right Field. Period. There....I said it. I know, Darin Mastroianni had that cute game the other night, and Komatsu is a Rule 5 player, but honestly what do these two players bring to the table that Ben Revere doesn't? Revere has proved capable every time he has been brought up, and has even provided some moments of excitement. Outside of Wilkin Ramirez and Pedro Florimon, Revere has been the hottest hitter in the Twins minor league system. He's currently hitting .322 and hasn't made any errors in the field to date. Now, I know he's outfield version of Luis Castillo, but last time I checked singles are still considered hits - something the Twins haven't produced lately. The other knock on him is his arm, which I feel is offset by his ability to turn potential extra base hits into outs due to his speed. Considering the assisted living unit of our starting rotation almost exclusively depends on the defense making plays, Revere fits into the equation. The corresponding move here would require the Twins making a decision on Mastroianni or Komatsu. Either one would be fine as the 4th outfielder. Sending Mastroianni down would be the easy move, as Komatsu would have to be returned to the Nationals. However, the powers that be could pick up the phone and see if there's a low level prospect the Nationals might be interested in. The Twins did the same thing last year with Scott Diamond, and at least so far it's paid a couple dividends. Basically, the Twins need to just pick one and go with it. Based on the above analysis, my "optimal" Twins lineup would look like this: Span (CF) Mauer (C/DH) Willingham (LF) Morneau (1B) Doumit (DH/C) Dozier (SS) Plouffe (3B) Carroll (2B) Revere (RF) I realize that leaves a bench of Mastroianni/Komastu, Butera and Casilla, but it's not like we've been getting much out of the bench anyway. If Wilkin Ramirez continues to destroy everything thrown at him, he'll quickly become an option for the 4th OF spot. Trevor Plouffe.....you're on the clock.

DeVries took the loss today, running his record to 0-4 (partially due to lack of run support). He cruised through the first 5 innings, giving up only 1 run. The wheels came off in the 6th, where he gave up three runs, including a solo home run. Inexplicably, he was sent out for the seventh, recorded one out, then gave up another solo shot followed by a double. Brendan Wise was kind enough to let the inherited runner score, leaving Cole's Line at 6.1 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 2 K's and 2 HR. Considering his performance through the first 5 innings, where at one point his strikes-to-balls ratio was absurd (something like 40 strikes/8 balls), combined with the fact that he didn't walk anybody makes him a viable bullpen option for the Twins. If the Twins have designs on moving Duensing into the rotation, bringing DeVries into the bullpen might make sense (see: lack of walks).

Key start today for DeVries, considering he got lit up like a Christmas Tree in his last start, and the rotation shuffles with the Twins, curious eyes will be watching to see if has the short memory to remain a potential option for the starting rotation. I have maintained that DeVries is more appealing as a bullpen option, but his abillty to pitch several innings effectively can only increase his stock. A quality performance today is critical to keep him on the short list for a big league roster spot, especially with arm issues beginning to pop up for Carl Pavano.

Hey Everyone - I wrote a blog about this very topic last week. Check it out.... http://twinsdaily.com/entry.php?920-Premature-Speculation

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

Great article Nick! I had so many comments that I just put it in blog form. http://twinsdaily.com/entry.php?964-Darkest-Before-the-Dawn

[ATTACH=CONFIG]885[/ATTACH] After reading (and wholeheartedly agreeing) with Nick Nelson's latest post "Dark Days in Minnesota", the title of this entry immediately weasled it's way into the forefront of my brain, wedging its way in-between my (hopefully irrational) fear that the Minnesota legislature is about to screw the pooch all the way to LA, and the YouTube video where Kate Upton does the Cat Daddy (whatever that is). After watching the last seven months or so of Twins regular-season baseball, what keeps me interested is the fact that sometimes crisis does breed opportunity. What my incoherent babbling and overuse of cliche means is that while the Twins are borderline unwatchable, there are some critical events coming up that, if executed properly, can bring the Twins back to relevance in a short period of time (let's say 2014). June 4 - 2012 MLB Draft This year's draft is probably the most important the Twins have had in recent memory. With the #2 pick, the Twins need to pick a player, regardless of position, that can move through the Minors quickly and make an impact. This is not the time to draft a "raw" player with five tool potential. Whoever they pick needs to be a cornerstore of the rebuilding effort along with Miguel Sano. Three players that look to fit that bill are college pitchers Kevin Gausman (LSU), Mark Appel (Stanford) and college catcher Mike Zunino (Florida). July 31 - Non-Waiver Trade Deadline Bring the kids down for free dogs and balloons, we will not be undersold! It's inventory clearance time at Target Field! We've got capable innings-eating 4th starters, perfect for your pennant chase! We've got a set-up man pretenting to be a closer! We've got leadoff hitting centerfielders! We've even got the body of a power-hitting first baseman and a left-handed starter with minor damage that's perfect for your restoration project! Bring your mlb-ready prospects! No reasonable offer refused! August 1 - The Future is Now Memo To: Chris Parmalee, Trever Plouffe, Scott Diamond, Brian Dozier, Ben Revere, Anthony Slama, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Delois Guerra, Cole DeVries, Joe Benson, Jeff Manship, New Guys Acquired Yesterday From: Terry Ryan, General Manager You have two months. Let's see what you've got. 6th day after completion of World Series Terry, I'm glad you enjoyed your first year back at the Pohlad's Scrooge McDuck Money Pool Party. But this year you have an agenda. It's your job to remind the Pohlads that there's a direct correlation between a shrinking payroll, shrinking attendance and shrinking wallets. So unless the Pohlads want to downgrade to one of those plastic turtle-shaped kiddie pools for next year's party, they must invest in at a bare minimum - A #1 or #2 starter, and a 3B with a solid glove and 100 RBI potential. Opening Day - 2013 Miguel Sano - Welcome to AA, keep up the good work and we'll see you in September. Kyle Gibson - How's the arm? Give us some good innings in AAA, and we'll see you in June. 2013 MLB Draft See "2012 MLB Draft". Except now we're picking first. So while we're in the perverbial abyss right now, there is hope Twins fans. As long as the front office doesn't drop the ball in the next 12 months. Did anyone else feel that chill?

That's like saying the fumes from David Wells' vodka-laced sweat distracted Twins hitters during his perfect game in 1998.

Not that I'm biased, because he's my adopt-a-prospect, but Cole DeVries absolutely deserves a chance to be called up. He has been solid all season. I'm not 100% sure about putting him in the rotation, as I think his make-up is better suited for the bullpen. Darin Mastroianni, Anthony Slama and Jeff Manship make a lot of sense as well. Mastroianni is already on the 40-man and has played some first base as well. In his place I would actually consider sending Parmalee down so he can play every day. Since you pretty much have to DFA Clete Thomas at this point, I would look at adding someone like Ray Chang to the 40-man and give him a chance at the major league level (Blyleven!). So essentially, my moves would look like this.... DFA Jeff Gray - Call up Anthony Slama DFA Matt Maloney - Call up Cole DeVries DFA Clete Thomas - Call up Ray Chang Demote Chris Parmalee - Call up Darin Mastroianni Demote Liam Hendriks - Call up Jeff Manship After the trade deadline, I would bring up as many of the top prospects as possible.

Cole took the loss tonight, but the offense didn't do him any favors in a 2-1 loss. The silver lining is that he had another quality start. As I watch Liam Hendricks get pulled in the third, down 5-0, I'm starting to wonder what he has to do to get the attention of the big club. [TABLE=class: pitching_data] [TR=class: hed] [TD=class: player_name]Player[/TD] IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA[/TR] [TD=class: player_name]Cole DeVries (L, 0-2)[/TD] 6.1 6 2 2 0 4 1 2.89 [/TABLE]

Oh for sure, my idea for the post was to look at potential options after the season ends. Shaking up the coaching staff during the season wouldn't do any good. That seems to only work in hockey. I was curious to see what options were out there should we have another poor season.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]840[/ATTACH] Coupled with the lousy start, the constant Jim Wacker-esque obscure positive spins and excuse making, there is a growing sentiment around the Twins fanbase that sweeping changes need to be made within the organization, starting with management. Short of Lou Brown rising from the grave to turn around the Twins season, it might be time to start thinking about putting Gardenhire and his staff out to pasture at season's end. While it's easy put the blame on the manager, it also begs the question of who could possibly be a viable replacement. Taking a look at some of the jobs that were available at the end of the season (Cubs, Red Sox, et al), and who were some of the finalists, there are some candidates that could inject some life into the organization and maybe generate some excitement in the fan base. The Old Guard: Terry Francona, Don Baylor Both Francona and Baylor are managers with significant amounts of experience, and in the case of Francona, a championship pedigree. If the Twins go into full-scale rebuilding mode, Baylor could be a good fit. He has some Twins ties from the 1987 championship season, and has had some success as a manager, winning NL Manager of the Year in 1995. While Baylor might not be a "sexy" pick in the eyes of Twins fans, he could be someone who could groom a future manager by bringing in someone like Matt LeCroy as a bench coach.If there's ever been a manager that could benefit from a change of scenery, it's Terry Francona. The two World Series championships speak for themselves, but in Boston, it's "what have you done for me lately"? Francona could thrive in a place like Minnesota where the scrutiny is nowhere near the level of the East Coast, and it's the perverbial "big name" that Minnesota sports fans can get excited about. "Young" Guns: Ryne Sandberg, Dave Martinez, Sandy Alomar, Jr. All three of these candidates have been finalists for other managerial positions in the past, and the one that stands out to me is Dave Martinez. As the bench coach for the Rays, he has learned under the tutelage of one of the top managers in the game today in Joe Maddon. Sandberg has been mentioned several times as a managerial candidate, particularly for the Cubs opening after last season. With Theo Epstein passing on him in favor of Dale Svuem, it would appear the Cubs ship has sailed. He has been managing in the minors since 2007, most recently with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs where he was awarded 2011 Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America. While another big name hire, the downfall here is that his name will likely come up every single time the Cubs job opens up, whether there is mutual interest or not, which is a headache the Minnesota sports fan doesn't need these days (see Smith, Tubby). As the bench coach with the Cleveland Indians, Alomar is certainly familiar with the AL Central. Plus, there's the old adage that former catchers make the best managers, a la Mike Scioscia. He has been on the short list for managerial positions with the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cubs. One has to wonder why he has been a finalist so many times and never been hired (see Fraizer, Leslie), but he is a well-known name with a significant about of baseball knowledge that could translate well to a young team. Long Shots: Tom Brunansky, Paul Molitor, Matt LeCroy Former Twin Matt LeCroy is currently the manager of the Eastern League’s Harrisburg Senators, a Washington Nationals farm club. LeCroy led the Single-A Potomac Nationals to the Carolina League playoffs last season, and he was manager of the Single-A Hagerstown Suns in 2008-2009. While well liked within the Twins organization, at age 36 he is likely too raw for a major league manager gig. However, I'd like to see him brought into the organization as a bench coach to learn under a more established manager.Molitor and Brunansky have never really expressed any interest in managing, so they're the real long shots. Both would be interesting candidates considering their obvious connections to the Twins. Bruno has enjoyed a lot of success as a hitting coach in the Twins organization, and that would likely be the best fit for him at the major league level. Molitor's name has been thrown around on several occasions for a myriad of job openings, but since he's never bitten on one to date, it's hard to imagine him going that route at this point, especially with no managerial experience. That being said, it would be worth the Twins while to make a run at him for a role within the coaching staff, perhaps as a 3rd base coach, or returning to the role of bench coach. Granted, it's premature speculation that Gardy would be relieved of his duties. But if the Twins continue at their current pace, it's at least intriguing to consider what options are out there.

Six and Sixteen. The worst record in Major League Baseball. Let that sink in for a second. Now.... We gave the Pohlads their precious stadium, and I can only imagine they've all developed Scoliosis from sitting on their cash-filled hands because they haven't done a thing to put an appealing product on the field in the last two years. They just sit back and light their cuban cigars with the $20 we plunked down for a hot dog and a beer at their monument to excess. We're quickly becoming part of the same class as the Pirates and Padres, the travel agents of the baseball world. The question is, what do we as fans do about it, short of toppling the statue of Carl and Eloise (a la Saddam Hussein)? I mean sure, I loved the mid 90's when I could buy an upper deck general admission ticket at the dome, tell the security guard I was going down to the Rally Room and go sit on the third base line, but you still had to sit through that glorious 1-2 punch of Butch Huskey and Chad Allen (...on steroids for God's sake). And this is the direction we're heading folks... If this keeps up, we as fans need to voice our displeasure by either not watching, not going to Target Field or if we do go, making sure our voices our heard. They need some tough love. Or maybe Trevor Plouffe just needs some Andro.....

Six and Sixteen. The worst record in Major League Baseball. Let that sink in for a second. Now.... We gave the Pohlads their precious stadium, and I can only imagine they've all developed Scoliosis from sitting on their cash-filled hands because they haven't done a thing to put an appealing product on the field in the last two years. They just sit back and light their cuban cigars with the $20 we plunked down for a hot dog and a beer at their monument to excess. We're quickly becoming part of the same class as the Pirates and Padres, the travel agents of the baseball world. The question is, what do we as fans do about it, short of toppling the statue of Carl and Eloise (a la Saddam Hussein)? I mean sure, I loved the mid 90's when I could buy an upper deck general admission ticket at the dome, tell the security guard I was going down to the Rally Room and go sit on the third base line, but you still had to sit through that glorious 1-2 punch of Butch Huskey and Chad Allen (...on steroids for God's sake). And this is the direction we're heading folks... If this keeps up, we as fans need to voice our displeasure by either not watching, not going to Target Field or if we do go, making sure our voices our heard. They need some tough love. Or maybe Trevor Plouffe just needs some Andro.....

I'll play armchair GM.... #1: Trade Span, Pavano and Capps to the Angels for Mark Trumbo and Garrett Richards #2: DFA Burroughs, Gray and Maloney to call up DeVries, Slama and Holliman #3: Make Perkins the closer Which would make the roster look like: Rotation: Marquis, Hendricks, Swarzak, Blackburn, Richards Bullpen: Duensing, Slama, Burton, Perkins, Liriano, Burnett, DeVries Catcher: Mauer, Doumit First Base: Parmalee, Doumit Second Base: Casilla Shortstop: Carroll Third Base: Valencia Outfield: Willingham, Revere, Trumbo DH: Morneau Bench: Thomas, Plouffe, Holliman Which would make the every day lineup: CF Revere SS Caroll C Mauer LF Willingham DH Morneau RF Trumbo 1B Doumit 3B Valencia 2B Casilla

Based on this start this season, he should be a couple more consistent performances away from becoming a viable long relief option for the Twins. At age 27, this has to be a make or break year for the Minnesota native, and thus far he's proving his worth. We'll have to see if anyone in the front office has taken notice.

DeVries had the start last night and threw six solid innings, ending up with a no decision. He gave up two runs on five hits, striking out 8 while walking two on 95 pitches. Said performance puts his current stat line as follows: [TABLE=width: 517] [TD=class: xl64, width: 25, bgcolor: transparent]W[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 19, bgcolor: transparent]L[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 44, bgcolor: transparent]ERA[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 21, bgcolor: transparent]G[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 32, bgcolor: transparent]GS[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 44, bgcolor: transparent]IP[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 29, bgcolor: transparent]H[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 21, bgcolor: transparent]R[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 31, bgcolor: transparent]ER[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 33, bgcolor: transparent]HR[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 31, bgcolor: transparent]BB[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 33, bgcolor: transparent]SO[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 56, bgcolor: transparent]WHIP[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 42, bgcolor: transparent]H/9[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 54, bgcolor: transparent]HR/9[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 52, bgcolor: transparent]BB/9[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 54, bgcolor: transparent]SO/9[/TD] [TD=class: xl64, width: 65, bgcolor: transparent]SO/BB[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 25, bgcolor: transparent]0[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 19, bgcolor: transparent]1[/TD] [TD=class: xl67, width: 44, bgcolor: transparent]2.91[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 21, bgcolor: transparent]4[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 32, bgcolor: transparent]4[/TD] [TD=class: xl66, width: 44, bgcolor: transparent]21.2[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 29, bgcolor: transparent]16[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 21, bgcolor: transparent]8[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 31, bgcolor: transparent]7[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 33, bgcolor: transparent]3[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 31, bgcolor: transparent]6[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 33, bgcolor: transparent]23[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 56, bgcolor: transparent]1.02[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 42, bgcolor: transparent]6.6[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 54, bgcolor: transparent]1.2[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 52, bgcolor: transparent]2.5[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 54, bgcolor: transparent]9.6[/TD] [TD=class: xl65, width: 65, bgcolor: transparent]3.83[/TD] [/TABLE]