Riverbrian

This is exactly what I personally wanted to hear. I have high hopes for the offense this year... I think the starting lineup can score some runs... Knock some balls out of the park... I think the offense will do very nicely even with our SS's and 2B options. However, Someone will have to be able to pinch hit for our lighter hitting options and we don't have that guy on our roster right now. It's our biggest offensive need in my opinion. It's odd I know... But... having someone to pinch hit for our SS and 2B spots is a bigger issue than having a SS or 2B who needs to be pinch hit for. They got to find someone... Thome... Derek or Carlos Lee... Vlad the Impaler... Jack Cust... Dallas MacPherson... Clement... Tie Domi... Someone with Power.

We asked that question last year when we were begging for decent 2B play. Someone presented an article that quoted Gardy as saying that Mastro takes infield a lot but isn't very good at it. I think Gardy's quote was something along the lines of... "Might as well put him the outfield because if he played 2nd base... The ball was going to end up in the outfield anyway".

I understand his pending arbitration situation and the role it played... And the bidding war afterwards stopped at 2.5 million. Needing pitching will inflate value of pitching. Most teams need pitching and his value stopped at 2.5 plus bonus. It speaks volumes to me as for his value. 30 teams 2.5 million. The GM's collectively don't seem to value Lannan as high as some of us do.

Thats a great point... Doesn't this speak volumes over his value. The Nationals could not complete a trade with anyone for Lannen. They had to DFA him and get nothing in return... I have no idea but it does seem to say something.

Over time... A lot of perfectally acceptable babies have been thrown out with the bath water.

lol... I stopped there... The Family and I were driving down the interstate with no plans to stop... And I just said "for Christ's sake" and I turned the car and made the off road trek to Wall Drug. I don't know why... I just did it... In North Dakota... Our Capital is Bismarck... Back in the 1970's... Bismarck was called "The Settlement". BTW... Interesting fact... 32% of all males in Bismarck are actually named Mark. 25% of the females are also named Mark. Oddly only 20% are named Biz.

Was it the income tax that brought you to South Dakota or the Weather? Us North Dakotans are jealous of both. The other thing about South Dakota that's great... Is... It's the only place to get fresh authentic South Dakota Rocks.

Thats true... Nothing is exclusive. In the end... Every player is getting bashed for something by someone somewhere and every player will have some waiting in line for an autograph. I wasn't trying to stereotype any particular baseball ilk. Stereotypes are very unfair... I don't believe the stereotype that all South Dakotans not only eat their food but they also eat the plates and silverware. I saw it in a restaurant in Brookings once but I'm sure it was just 6 isolated people at 3 different tables.

Yeah... Context is always a trump card. However... The only way that average pitching can work for a club is if everyone in the rotation is at least average. If starts are gobbled up by pitchers throwing up numbers like Blackburn and Marquis did last year. Any depth of potentially average pitchers that we have is marginalized. I'd hate to be the one to make that call... Who is just momentarily stumbling and who is in a deep i'm having issues funk. It's a thin line.

Very few doors get opened for players like Mastro... This may be his only door. You gotta pull for a guy in a situation like this... don't you? How do you not grip the bat tighter? His baseball future gets carved in the next few months. We often lose sight of these individual dramas. It means everything to a player.

Thats too bad... He would have been a great addition to the team... He could have rotated in... DH, 1B, OF and this would have provided a bench bat with some pop. Too bad... The price was cheap.

If anyone tanks... They should be placed in the bullpen or AAA or cut... It's that simple. I'm hoping that Gardy and Ryan don't try to complicate it by letting players work through the tankings.

The Twins just need to believe they can win. Yes... Baseball can be fantasyland that way. If the Pitching can keep them in games... They will win a few and they will believe they can win. If you think you have a chance... It's a whole new ball game. Its gonna come down to pitching.

The Fans will love him as much as Philly Fans can love players... There will be a few metric minded fans that will wring their hands over his power stats but for the most part... The fans will love him...

We all know that baseball is a streaky game... Players get hot and they get cold... The month of June that Plouffe had was more that just a streak and that is why I'm optimistic about Plouffe this year. I don't expect Trevor to duplicate that month ever again... It can only be viewed as an exception in my thinking. However... Anybody who can get that hot... Has something. What was he? .314 12 home runs... something like that. Thats off the charts. If you can do that... No matter if it was an isolated streak... If you can do that... You have a bench mark of something working right to go back to... You have video to look at... as a guide to work through slumps... In 2011 23 dingers AAA and MLB combined in 478 at bats... In 2013... If he stays healthy... He could pick up around 600 at bats... If you factor all that in... An expectation of 30 plus homers is not far fetched. I think Plouffe has arrived... It's all in his hands... I'm prepared to be ecstatic.

Health is my only concern about Plouffe... If healthy... I really think he will play an above average 3B... Hit .240 to .260 with around 35 homers. We will all be happy with that kind of production. No legitimate options to play third besides him. The eggs are in the Plouffe Basket.

For clarification... I'm not here to bury nor praise Drew Butera... I agree that we are attaching too much of the clubs woes on his shoulders. People do that... It is what it is... My point is mainly centered on the need for a 3rd catcher. I understand why Gardenhire requires a 3rd catcher and I accept it... I just don't see the acuteness of that need personally. Gardy requires it and if that's the case... I'm simply saying that I would take Clement over Butera. If those are my two choices and right now they are our two choices... 3 choices if you include Hermann. I'd take Clement because he can reach the seats and that need for some pop off the bench is much more acute in my opinion. I have no problem with Florimon starting at SS if he brings the leather but there will come a time when they are down a run with the bases empty and two outs in the ninth and Florimon or Carroll or Mastro or Castro at the plate. The current Twins don't have a one swing late inning option at this time. It doesn't help much to pinch hit Castro for Florimon. Gardy and I disagree on this issue... We need pop on the bench more than a 3rd catcher. Its just my opinion. Clement could be that guy... A .215 hitter who can park it. At the same time Clement can be catching insurance for the injury to Mauer while Doumit is DH'ing and vice versa. As for... Is Clement a catcher anymore... I don't know... The Pirates had moved him to 1B but he was a catcher for Seattle for 5 years and a Catcher at USC before that. He has more experience at Catcher than anywhere else. He can certainly strap on the tools of ignorance and finish up a game if an injury or ejection happens to Mauer or Doumit. That's all I'm asking for... Can someone just strap the pads on and finish a game so we don't need to carry a third catcher. Seth said that Butera is not a third catcher.... He is the backup... In concept that may be accurate... However... In 2012... Mauer caught 74 games... Doumit caught 59 games and Butera caught 41 games. None of the 3 catchers were call ups to fill in for an injured catcher in 2012. That makes Butera the third catcher... I really can't see it another way and the Twins are the only team that does it. I hope everyone understands that i'm not downplaying the importance of defense at the Catcher position... I think it's extremely important... I believe that Catchers on average are not very good hitters kinda proves that most clubs value defense at catcher over offense. That's why everyone has weaker hitting backup catchers in my opinion. In the end... Most clubs don't carry 3 catchers because it just weakens the offensive options off the bench cuz they are defensive specialists for the most part. I just believe that the third catcher shouldn't play that much so his defensive value to a club is questionable. That third catcher position would serve the club better if he can provide something we are missing... Like power off the bench or at least the ability to play another position. He just has to strap the pads on in an emergency. I'm also not here to praise Clement nor bury him... I just choose him over Butera and I'd take a Shoppach or a Fox over Clement.

I honestly don't know... But... The role is emergency catcher. If Doumit is DH and Mauer tweaks a hamstring. The third catcher can strap it on and finish the game. He wouldn't have too catch much or at all. Only the Twins seem to need this 3rd catcher... Might as well find someone who can pinch hit for Florimon when needed.

1st off... Correia didn't make 32 starts... He made 27 starts... He reached at least 6 innings in 19 of those starts. 2nd... Correia... Wasn't banished to the bullpen for a prospect... Wandy Rodriquez was the one who banished him and prior to that he was part of a rotation that was in contention for the NL Central and he was back into the rotation after 4 starts were given to someone else. Kevin Correia wasn't my first choice but do we really need to negatively mis represent what actually happened in 2012.

To me this is real simple. Butera is simply no longer necessary. In my opinion... We don't need a 3rd catcher... Period... If I could take one thing out of Gardy's head and toss it away... It would be his irrational fear of having to lose the DH spot for a game in the case of injury. However... Since Gardy has this fear... The Twins need a 3rd catcher. In my opinion... for that 3rd catcher role(that only the Twins need)... Butera is no longer necessary and here is why... We have Jeff Clement to play that role. Clement is most likely going nowhere so we don't have to worry about killing his development with no playing time but the thing that Clement has over Butera is that Clement can pinch hit for Florimon in the ninth when the team is down by a run because he has the ability to reach the seats. He can also fill in at 1B so that's an extra bonus. This is better economizing of the 25th spot on the roster. Clement has been a terrible hitter but he has been better than Drew. .648 Career OPS to Drew's .497. No doubt that Drew is the better defensive catcher and defense at the catcher position is very important in my mind. But... Defensive value is only valuable if he plays... He won't play enough for his defensive skill to truly help the team. That emergency catcher spot should go to someone who can park one and also strap on the pads in a pinch and only in a pinch. Defensive skill would be down on the list of priorities for that role in my opinion.

NASCAR is ok... I won't knock it but I think it would be better thru the courtesy of Fred Flintstones two feet.

Alright Team... Let's get something straight... There are people on Twins Daily who think that 2013 is a waste of time... The Press... the Fans... There are people who think that we are playing for 2014... What do you think? Do you think the organization is concerned about 2014 as we walk into spring training 2013. (Team shouts out NO WAY)... Let's make it clear... Yes we are... We are getting ready for 2014... We are playing for 2014... Everyone of you should be playing for 2014. You need to go out and compete and show us that you will be part of 2014. Show us that you are the type of player with a future and a player who will help us turn this ship around. If you don't... You won't be around in 2014... So yeah... We are all playing for 2014. Everyone of you... Except you Joe... You do what you want... For everyone else... You are going to prove that you are a MLB baseball player who can help us win... Everyone of you... If this team goes out and plays for 2014... 2013 is going to take care of itself and the wins will come because you showed us on the field that you are ready for 2014... and no one will say we are playing for 2014 anymore... . Even though that's exactly what we did. It all begins right now!!!

They are clearly the class of the division on paper. Although, (seemingly) every year a loaded squad like the Tigers fail. The Angels looked unbeatable on paper last year. I don't think the Tigers will win 100 games... I think the Royals, Indians and Twins are all improved from last year. I think the young Royals were starting to put things together at the end of 2012 and I think the Royals have a chance to walk out of the Central on top. I'm picking the Tigers but I wouldn't bet the house on it. Tigers win total for the year. 90 Bring on April!!!

As long as the Pitchers last name ends with EY... I'm good.

Purely a guess obviously... I think it was a combination of things. A. They needed more than one arm. Being forced to throw struggling pitchers because they lacked alternatives in 2012. Injuries... Poor performance had to be addressed for 2013... They needed quantity. B. The quality available didn't cut it or the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. Too much money for average results. C. They didn't value Marcum or players signed on the lower salary side as high as some of us did due to injury concerns or something we are not aware of. D. Meyer, Worley and May were get-able and had top of the rotation potential... James Shields and experienced arms were not. E. Terry Ryan probably knows that the playoffs in 2013 will be a hard thing to accomplish but he expects the team to compete like it can be accomplished to assess who can get it done in 2014. F. Terry Ryan has projections and a plan to get better. We don't know what it is and it isn't recognizeable at first second or third looks.