Dantes929

I think I accept that about Hunter perhaps from your comments in the past. What does the fangraphs guy say about Willingham?. I just can't believe Hunter is slower than Willingham or that he takes worse routes. Mostly what I have been saying is that Hunter is an upgrade over Willingham. Perhaps this turns our really, really, really bad outfield into just a really, really bad outfield. Which would you rather have? Especially since Willingham had a pretty lousy offensive year also. Teams don't get better just by replacing lousy guys with all stars. They also get better by replacing guys with slightly better guys. None of this is to endorse the defensive outfield. I can live with Hunter OR Schaefer OR Arcia. Don't really care for any two of the three together much less all three but still prefer it to Willingham, Schaefer and Arcia.

I think his OPS against lefties is a symptom of his efforts to pull everything and pull it a long way. The 68 homers is not earth shattering but the .917 OPS kind of is. I didn't see a lot of him in the early years but the not so distant past I would have thought steroids likely. I would think if he made the same contact as he did in the minors the homer total would be a lot higher than 68 just because of his build and strength right now. Step toward the pitcher and go with the pitch. Does anyone think he can't hit it out of any part of the park with his swing and build?

I am hoping that the light bulb goes on that what he was doing in the minors worked better than what he has done in the majors and that he falls out of love with the tape measure shots and settles for 10 feet over the fence. .280 with OPS of .860. This is the guy I expect to have the greatest improvement over last year with possible exception of Mauer. If he can just tone down the swing a little bit I think he is a difference maker.

Defensively I don't think he will be better. I do believe Hunter is an upgrade defensively (and offensively) over last year's Willingham. That makes for a better but still very bad outfield defense which will not be changed until Buxton and or Rosario make their appearance. The good news is that the appearance of Buxton and Rosario if it ever happens can instantly transform that outfield from very bad to above average.

Except I think the Twins are improved I also think the White Sox definitely and maybe the Indians are improved while the Tigers and Royals lost some of their best players. In other words the top two from last year regress and the bottom three progress which makes for more balance and makes it more likely for the Twins to be relevant.

Twins used to be considered overachievers in winning divisions and now the worst is expected. I don't think it takes career years to compete but certainly we need more guys to have good years. Two players had career years if you want to call it that in Hughes and Santana. Hughes ended up with a .3.65 ERA which I do not consider unbeatable for him. Plouffe, Arcia, Mauer, Gibson, Nolasco, Vargas and Milone "should" improve. Teams can improve tremendously from players having good or even average years rather than bad years. Think what it could mean for Mauer, Nolasco and Milone, and E Santana just to have an average year. With young guys we don't know what average, good and career year means. I have no problem expecting Arcia, Gibson and Vargas to do well. I consider myself a realistic optimist. I think the Twins will be better this year. Realist part says they should be ranked where they are but optimistic, while still realist, says it won't be a miracle in my eyes to see them make good strides this year. I won't put a ceiling on that.

I don't like the blanket comments that our defense is lousy. I don't trust any metric that says our infield defense was anything but good. Our outfield defense is bad and concerns me more than the starting pitching, catcher framing and relief pitching. . BTW, I was mostly kidding about the comment above. Mostly because I would never give up on a team before the season began and while I can imagine a 90 loss season I can imagine things going well also.

EVERYONE!!!

I used to read only the strib pages and the negativity was just depressing. I found myself defending positions and players and coaches not because I thought they were good or great but because the criticism was so over the top. Besides which the bandwagon and hindsight was just sickening. If you look in the archives you would have found 99% of their readers demanding Mauer's contract be extended and later that Hicks be given the job in center after a good spring training. Two years later 99% of the posters were calling the Twins morons for extending Mauer's contract and for promoting Hicks too soon.. I came to TD because I wanted a different mood and have been happy to have found it. There is much more debate and consideration on these pages. it did get negative with the recent cuts and did see some of the Trib type comments but I get it By and large there was legitimate reasons for it even if I didn't agree with all of it. I get jay's comments because I have seen mob mentality with negativity where it starts getting contagious. I have had teammates that were just fine that became very negative and critical when that type of person joined the team and it was just depressing how it snowballed. Likewise with forums such as these.

Though I believe there have been a couple times the Giants would not even have made the playoffs if in the AL (including at least once the AL Central) I really enjoy a team that can win the WS a couple times with what appears to me to be smoke and mirrors. They rely on their pitching, throw average velocity fastballs and throw them less often than anyone which defies all current trends and beliefs and yet they make it work.

White Sox, hands down. Used to bother so many on the Trib pages that we were always losing to the Yankees but I always enjoyed beating the Sox more than I disliked losing to the Yankees. Kind of odd that I hate them because I really got a kick out of Ozzie, liked Crede and Thome when they were White Sox and loved them when they were Twins (Escobar is growing on me as well) and I thought Konerko was awesome.

I have no problem with saying that as long as there is reason for it. I would never give up on the season before it started and I believe there is reason for some optimism. But if it goes south I will look forward to next year.. I am in it for the long term and enjoy the process and know you do also in a similar if not identical way. NEXT year will eventually come just like it has in the past. KC was saying NEXT year for 28 years before it paid off. I don't think 4 losing seasons in a row are any reasons to think it will take that long for us.

I have no idea but would be interested. How often have the conditions on these variations been met? In 2012 who were the players that were burning it up in the minors that did not get promoted? As I pointed out we were promoting guys that were very so so in the minors just to get bodies due to injury or just to get poor performers out. It has been a significant turn of events that the last two years the guys that have been promoted have actually done well at the lower level. Last year I respected giving a shot to Pino because he deserved it. May could have been a couple weeks earlier. What is wrong with the sentence? It requires May, Berrios and Meyer to throw great. If May throws great I think May will be up in May, Meyer in June and Berrios in August. Its not like I am rubber stamping the Twins decision here. I have been for May all along. I just don't see a constant pervasive blockage of talent over the years..

For a period ending in 2010 the Twins had a pretty established veteran core. The only help they got from the minors that I can recall were Casilla, Valencia and Garza. There are probably more but I also don't recall any others that were banging the door down to get there. Then in 2011 and 2012 the Twins started promoting all sorts of people that were doing poorly in the minors. This makes me wonder about the timing and the criteria of the study you referenced. What has been encouraging to me the last year or two is that we have been promoting guys that have actually been doing well in the minors. Rosario did not have a great year after missing 50 games. I had no problem with the Pino promotion because he was pitching great. I think May would have been promoted earlier but for his calf injury. Meyer is the only one I thought has earned a promotion over the last several years that has not been promoted and that was more from the Twins being over protective of his arm. Who else has been pushing to get promoted? We had a horrible farm system in 2011 and that was transitioned to a great one in 2013 mostly in the lower levels and we have started to see the transition and hopefully will continue to do so from a great system to a great team. If Meyer, May and Berrios are all throwng great in July and the Twins rotation are all sitting at 4.5 plus I will share other fan's disgust.

OK, We can talk Meyer and May endlessly but I believe if May has a good month he will be back up. Probably take two good months for Meyer. Who else should be given time with the Twins? Polanco? in place of who? Sano and Buxton? After missing 2014 for all practical purposes I would not bring up either at this point and I don't think you would either. Rosario? Low average and zero walks this spring doesn't scream promotion to me but yes I would prefer him to what we have in center now. Fans act like the Twins never promote anyone but Gibson, Santana, Vargas, HIcks and Arcia were hardly slow tracked. I said all along that if they just included May in the rotation I would be happy and if they platooned Hicks and Schaefer I would be even happier. So essentially I am not happy but that is just one move. Not an all encompassing lack of moves.

Late start due to flu. Build up stamina, do well in the minors and he will be back up in May. This is not a road block. Its a speed bump.

I get the arguments against but they just don't speak to me. We need a 4th outfielder anyway so the non starter for the game either pinch hits for the other late in the game or moves to a corner to replace Arcia or Hunter for defense. It makes way more sense that the strict platoon at an infield spot. Hicks has shown very little competency from the left side (.185 career avg and .272 OBP. That's right. .272 OBP) and respectable numbers from the right side. (.410 OBP in 2014). Any spot in the batting order can expect to see between 200 and 250 plate appearances against left handed pitching but of course with pitching changes that will be reduced a bit in a platoon system. Sill, I see a lot of value in 200 at bats and late inning defense. I don't see a lot of value in sending him to the minors where he may or may not show enough competency to hit from he left side to be promoted and even if he does it will be on nearly the same time line we would want Rosario or Buxton to make the jump. Yes, Schaeffer and HIcks will both get some at bats from the other side but in a platoon you are maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. It seems like half the fans want to just give up on him and get rid of him for nothing and the other half want to send him to the minors with the assumption (imo, assuming way too much that he will prove he can hit from the left side in just a couple months. I just think there is middle ground here that is valuable. I hope I am wrong, that he comes north and has an all star career. If I am right he will fail again in the majors or go to the minors, not hit from the left side and they give up on him thereby losing what value he can give at a time they could use it.

I am not so down on this group. First of all 2011 was a freak year with injuries and we had a lousy farm system. 2012 was about finding the answers to all the question marks 2011 created. 2013 was the first true rebuilding year and if you look at the roster then compared to now it really is pretty different and but for some injuries that could happen to anyone we would likely be seeing Sano and Buxton by now also. I guess I just have patience especially when I see good things around the corner.. I continue to be confounded by no one else seeing the logic in a Hicks/Schaeffer platoon until Buxton and Rosario are ready. All it would take for me to be excited would be May making the rotation though as has been pointed out many times, the Opening Day roster will not be the roster set in stone for the rest of the year.

It sure looked to me like Mauer was trying to pull the ball more in the 1st half of the season and it sure looked to me like he was swinging harder. It also looked to me like he went back to his old ways in the 2nd half and hit the ball harder even with the shift and it looks to me like his stat splits support this. I'm not saying he should try to hit the ball to the opposite field but if that is where he has success he shouldn't shy away from it because of others perception of him.. Just like Morneau and many others I have seen, I hate when he tries to pull unpullable pitches. Dozier changed to his benefit because what he was doing wasn't working. What Mauer was doing was working and he changed to his detriment and fans want him to change even more in that direction? I guess his OBP was somewhat empty in 2012 and 2013 but that is largely a result of no one hitting ahead or behind him. Prior to 2011 and hopefully 2015 and beyond there is no such thing as an empty OBP. With guys getting on base before him and good hitters behind him having a great OBP is never empty but rather worth even more. Just my two cents. If he goes back to .320 with 49 doubles and .400 OBP I don't care if he never hits another home run in his life..

Regression by Santana is almost certain but don't see any reason Vargas can't put up those stats again. He was very hot and then very cold last year ending with stats below his career minor league numbers. Mauer and Arcia are reasonable progression candidate. How many games did the Twins play against above average pitching last year? I don't think opponent's pitching got magically better. Detroit and KC both lost top pitchers so if anything it probably got a little worse but mostly I am guessing the pitching they will have to face is not significantly better or worse than last year.

Out of all the bad years 2012 felt like the bottoming out. In 2013 it felt more like guys were earning promotions rather than just being the best of lousy options like in 12 and 11 so I guess I wouldn't have minded losing 5 or 6 more games since inning those extra 5 or 6 gave little pleasure. or reason for optimism.

I am not convinced Hicks will ever hit major league pitching from the left side. What would you consider necessary for him to hit as a lefty in the minors to call him up in June? Would hitting .280 convince you he is capable of hitting .260 in the majors? What if he only hits .250 as a lefty in the minors? I doubt that will convince anyone he can hit .250 in the majors and rightly so. If he does not bat .280 in the minors and next years outfield is Buxton, Rosario and Arcia then you have wasted his best commodity of platooning against lefties at the time of 2nd most need. #1 need MIGHT be in a pennant run where he comes in as a platoon guy but what are the odds of the Twins being in a pennant run and that is assuming that Rosario or Buxton don't already own the spot. Besides which the best odds of them being in a pennant race in the first place is for the players to be used optimally and I don't know how anyone can look at the splits and say the best short term answer for center is not a platoon of Schaeffer/Hicks.

Intuition says the more they pitch and the harder they throw the more likely they are to need it but it seems like the more sturdy guys like Hughes and May are a little less likely to need it. I don't know if it is supported by facts but it seems that those that have elbow or shoulder surgery don't require having it done again. That is why I commented tongue in cheek that they should have the surgeries as soon as they are drafted and just be done with it. It also seems the Twins have had their fair share of arm surgeries. Liriano, Baker, Pavano, Nathan, Neshek, and Pelfrey come to mind. I am sure I have missed a few but if they have been in the past few years they probably fall under the "who gives a rats behind" category. Is this worse luck than other teams experience, I wonder.

Sometimes I think they should require surgery as soon as they sign a pitcher. Kidding of course but doesn't Alex Meyer fit the profile of R and R working at least until this point? I was sure after being shut down in 2013 he would have had the surgery already. Mike, I don't really care for the logic of your last paragraph. Your position to not rely on a #1 farm system because it is betting on guys that have never made the majors may be a valid position though I am fine with that approach and consider it valid also. However, using arm surgery to support that position is untenable to me. Is Trevor May more likely to need arm surgery than Clayton Kershaw? Relying on any group of pitchers is a risk due to arm surgery. It is no more of a risk to rely on unproven pitchers due to the factor of arm surgery, imo.

I am intrigued by Pelfrey and his "new" arm. He is the same height as Meyer and Randy Johnson so the same issues about control and maturation should apply to him as well. I always thought he had plenty of stuff to succeed. I am intrigued by Milone but think his ceiling would be what his career has been which is decent for a 5th starter. Intrigued by those guys and will root for them if they start out the season but am excited about May and will hopefully root for him for most of the season. Anyone see Pelfrey pitch this year? I take it all back if he hasn't picked up the pace.