Doctor Gast

Looks like NYY is smart enough to be interested in Archer. Why couldn`t the Twins have taken advantage of the opportunity that was theirs for the taking? Archers up side is top of a rotation.Why do the Twins chase after these losers?

Thanks for the heads up. A real bummer

I always was pushing for trade over FA especially when we have a log jam at corner outfield & potential 40 man dilemma. Maeda isn`t my 1st choice but he`s a polished pitcher who we can`t depend on him to constantly pitch 7 innings per game. We can limit his pitch count per game but yet try to get him in the rotation more often. I`m not against Maeda but I didn`t like branding Graterol BP & then trading him for Maeda. Maeda contract is a more economical than any FA but he wasn`t cheap

Dang! They left Smeltzer in too long Is that how it`s done?

No, but would love to!

Also wish him well! Doesn`t sound good under those circumstances

Looks Hawaiian to me

There is no way the current trio could make me forget any trio w/ Johan Santana

Garver does a great job in conditioning which has kept him from any serious injury. But like you said catching is a demanding & wearing position. Avila is a fine back up & it`s nice to have Astudio as a 3rd. Jeffers & Rortvedt should be held on to no matter what for near future back ups

I see your concern but we aren`t famously strong in pitching. On the contrary, our starting rotation need a lot of support from our promising young arms as much as we can, especially w/ Baldelli `s philosophy of plenty of rest. Last year we had a pretty good BP but when Blake folded our whole BP folded & the effect was felt thru out the rotation because we didn`t have any ready young arms in waiting. We can`t depend on old come back pitchers to sustain us & there`s always a threat of injury. We have an excellent pitching development now so we need to develop our young pitchers to the max. not trade them away. Everybody wants & need young arms, I can`t see doing the Cubs or anyone else a favor by offering our young arms only ending up shooting ourselves in the foot. Celestino & even Lewis would be a much better solution in the near future

Thank you, for giving me the heads up. I`m new to this site. I`m just saying it`ll take time adjusting even into the season

You know when I 1st got married, I was looking at older homes, some were terrible but others had good foundations & well built to buy. I could look at a house & see the potential of that house. I knew a lot of friends that did fantastic jobs on old homes. I`d dream of little projects that could really make those houses great but all my wife could see was mess & dirt. Needless to say we never bought any old homes. The point I`d like to make is some are seers others are not. There are some who see things which I cannot, which I respect. I see Archer breaking out this year, if I were FO my 1st external deal would be call Sheldon & say let`s get this done.At that time some valued Severino as a trade for Archer ,now it`d take Rosario because more people are starting to see his potential. Some can look at some bad stats & say the player is broken & sometimes they are right but some can eye a player w/ bad stats & see some greatness just needs some work on mechanics,mindset or etc. I have faith in our pitching coach & staff hopefully they have a say in who they can get to work on so it`s up to them. But I still like to look at old houses

I don`t know if you guys are joking or just like to bash! It`ll take awhile before Maeda will adapt to a new team, new league & MN isn`t like LA or Japan

Happy for Celestino! I`m rooting for you!

It`s nice to have money like NYY to be able buy expensive, proven, developed, polished players. These exceptional players I will convey them as "diamonds". Most teams have to settle for what`s left over in FA or try to scout, draft, develop & trade for prospects that have great potential to become "diamonds" or what I`ll call "diamonds in the rough". They are & should be valued & hard to come by because teams don`t want to give them up. Some get lucky get a prospect which quickly shine & develop into stars other prospects need a lot of patience. Stars like Cruz & Donaldson developed later in life. When a "diamond in the rough" has a set back & develop slower some teams & fans are ready to devalue & dispense of them which normally proves regrettable. Of course a true evaluation is needed to determine if indeed you have a diamond or a lump of coal. But once it`s determined you have to be patient. I believe Romero could be a "diamond in the rough". Pertaining to pitching teams like Cleveland & LA have a system to eye & develop "diamonds in the rough". Cleveland like us are low market they never are buyers of "diamonds" but always sellers, which produces resources to obtain more "diamonds in the rough". LA & Cleveland hold onto their "diamond in the roughs". This is what I aspire for the Twins, w/ Wes Johnson to obtain & develop these "diamonds in the rough" where we have a steady influx of aces & cull out when needed.We need to hold onto our "diamonds in the rough" like LA so I was disappointed when we traded Graterol. LA really develop their pitchers so when you get a pitcher from them, they aren`t much up side for improvement. On the other hand a team like PIT does not, so a pitcher from them, there is a lot of up side for improvement. Therefore a pitcher like Archer I am very high on. He could have been very cheap but now his stock is constantly rising. People look at him & say look at his stats even at Tampa they weren`t that impressive. At Tampa, everyone saw his potential so PIT got him & couldn`t develop him. With new coaching at PIT, Archer will take off but not as much as if we had him here at MN, he should have been pursued. Jon Gray is another "diamond in the rough" which his stats don`t show his true value. At Colorado the ball really carrys so they stress GP% & pitchers are limited to that style. MN has a lot of very good pitching prospects but I featured Romero, Graterol, Archer & J Gray because they are under valued. Although I enjoy watching "diamonds" pitch, I get excited about "diamond in the rough" because that`s where the greatest value & opportunities lay.

Berrios & Odorizzi are the bright spots of our rotation! We expect a very good year from both of them

Buxton has so much potential! When he`s in the game things happen, we are a different team when he`s in the the game, a real impact player. I believe he`ll figure it all out & become that great player.

Our line up is definitely the best. Our biggest problem last year was the BP folding before midway, there they couldn`t support the starting rotation & became overtaxed. We shouldn`t have that problem this year, they should be one of the best. Defense has improved, how much? It`s yet to be determined but we`ll fall short comparatively to others. How we fare depends on how we click off the bat & maintain it.

Although ST games don`t count, they are still very meaningful. What we`ve seen so far are very promising!

This ST I had great expectancy. Donaldson would inspire young prospects, Sano masters 1B, Rosario gets serious on his defense, Astudillo finds plate discipline & Wes has a full ST to work his magic. I don`t know how much input Wes had w/ Romero last year but this ST I was hoping he would have valuable impact on him. I haven`t given up on Romero because he has a lot of potential but this definitely is a set back of attaining his goals.

I wasn`t too surprised by Garver`s rise last year, like you you stated it really started at the end of `18. Garver is mature & dedicated so I don`t expect a real decline this year. So I too was shock at Garver`s projections for this year.

I don`t think he necessarily drop the ball. Maybe it`s like Squirrel said, when he came here for Twins Fest on a tourist visa it short circuited the P1 process. You would have thought he would have been advised by the Twins or immigration if that was the problem. Any way no one can fault him for wanting to be here for Twins Fest

So sad! I`d have like him to have a good ST.

A prior article discussed a declining in Berrios overall velocity, where it was a concern. I thought to myself how could this be? Berrios is a strong young man ready to enter into his prime. But this article shed some light on the subject, where he was over conditioning. This deep massage & combination of rest should help a lot.

Has anyone heard the truth " a chain is only as strong as it`s weakest link"? That`s what this article is all about. It doesn`t matter how much you strengthen the strongest link. Even so I like very much Donaldson & can`t wait to see the effect he`ll have on the Twins but the chain will still break in the same place