ThejacKmp

But there's always Randy Johnson! If I had a dollar for every time someone brought up Randy Johnson when discussing a slow developing prospect . . . I'd have just given myself a dollar.

I'm surprised to be saying this but I'd be happy with the Twins bringing back Gibson next year. He's going to get a raise but it won't be prohibitive and this year showed that starting pitching depth is always an issue. I'm fine with him competing for the #5 starter job in spring training. Does he have any options left? If he does, definitely in. If not, he can be a long man I guess. I don't think he'd be the worst bullpen arm - he's got swing and miss stuff when he puts it together.

They are #14 and #12 in AL OPS. Surprises me about Toronto, that lineup was still pretty intimidating last week -- though maybe that's just the names involved.

Chris Gimenez hasn't pitched in over two months. There hasn't been a need.

Will Mejia have another rehab start? Maybe a relief moment so he's lined up to take over for Gee? I don't mind one more Gee start but more might be playing with fire. Santana, Berrios, Mejia, Gibson and Colon isn't awful to carry us to the finish line. I feel great two nights and relatively hopeful the other three (if always hoping for massive run support). Also, speaking of run support, the Twins are down to a -16 run differential. A team that got blown out a lot in the first half has only lost by more than 4 runs twice since the second game after the break (both to the Indian). And won by more than 4 (randomly chosen number but not crazy since it's one swing?) 11 times since the break. What will the models that discount the Twins do if we get above the 0 mark?

A bad slide that works because the SS drops the ball is still a double. A double is not contingent on the quality of the slide or how well you hit the ball - it is defined by making it safely into 2B. That happened. Whatever happens after that should be immaterial, no matter if it happens two tenths of a seconds, two seconds or two minutes later. Yeah, hard to argue that Gibson shouldn't be starting. He's not great but he's been fine of late. I imagine that Dr. Jim was talking about Saturday when Gee is lined up. Gee might have reached the end of his very short rope.

This is kind of random but the White Sox Anderson slid into second and then went off the bag early in the game. He was only given a single. I don't understand that - to me, it's the same principle as if a guy was thrown out at 3B - he gets a double because he reached second safely. You could argue its because he was thrown out at 2B but it would still be a double if he rounded towards third, stopped halfway and got in a pickle and then came back to 2B where he was tagged out. Scoring rarely makes sense.

I'll say again this year what I said last year. I don't need the Twins to do anything fancy in free agency. I just want them to be proactive inking Rosario/Buxton/Sano/Kepler/Berrios/Polanco. They really wasted an opportunity to buy low on each of those guys last year. When guys are on the first or second year of their rookie wages, you can get them interested in advancing that pay day. Not so much as you go later. Other than that, I don't see any big holes. 1.) If you can trade Dozier for something great, do it. Otherwise I'm good letting him play out his deal and then getting a draft pick in compensation. He's a leader on this team and i don't know that anyone else is quite ready to step into those shoes. I'm not interested in the next contract but sometimes you just accept value, you don't try to deal it. 2.) You could go sign a thumper 1B/DH but man, the pickings look slim. Carlos Santana is going to get too many years and after that, I don't love anyone. I like the Twins internal options better - the committee design that gets ABs for the Garvers, Rookers and Escobars. 3.) Ink Joe to a two year extension for $15 mill. He wants to stay and he's a useful part of a 1B/DH platoon. If he were on the free agent market this year, he'd be a target for a lot of teams. Sometimes the best free agent at a position is the guy you already have. Let's avoid the drama of him in a contract year answering questions. And I gotta think your best chance at a bit of a hometown discount is after a year that the Twins are doing well. He'll want to be a part of this next stage. 4.) I'm okay signing a veteran bullpen arm or two but I don't wanna spend big money or commit lots of years. The Twins have a lot of guys coming back from injury, some intriguing arms in the pen already and a bevy of AAAA starters like Sledgers who may be ready to Taylor Rogers it. 5.) The rotation is the place you could add. If the Twins find the right top end starter at the right price (Arrieta?) I will be happy. I'd also be okay with a 1 year placeholder deal on a veteran who profiles as a back of the rotation starter. The Twins still have Santana and Berrios and between May, Mejia, Gonsalves, Romero, Jorge, Slegers and even Stewart, they can fill out a rotation well enough. 6.) Bring back Molly as long as there aren't huge issues behind the scene. He's gotten this team to overachieve and that makes 2 out of 3 years. That isn't entirely on him but give him a two to three year extension.

Maybe this makes me a bad person but I've just about entirely given up on them winning the AL Central and am pretty solely focused on the AL Wild Card. Let's overtake the stupid Yankees!

I still have hopes they'll bring in R.A. Dickey. He's on a reasonable deal for next year and I love me some R.A. Dickey. He's not amazing but they don't need amazing - they just need a guy who keeps you in games at the back of the rotation. Maybe none of their catchers can handle a knuckleballer though . . .

Also, I love looking at the splits for Shields. Lefty OPS is 1.025 this year. Nice the Twins have six lefties in the lineup.

Bored at work. Was looking at Santana's splits because I noticed the White Sox lineup has two switch hitters followed by seven righties. While Santana's career stats show a moderate platoon advantage against righties (.693 OPS vs. RHB and .758 OPS vs. LHB) that has flipped both this year (.703 vs. RHB and .649 vs. LHB) and last year (.697 vs. RHB and .667 vs. LHB.) That's no longer a small sample size as we come up on two years. Hard to understand why a guy would have this flip late in his career. It also may be indicative of why Santana has so outperformed expectations over the course of this contract. When you look at the numbers, the OPS vs. RHB stays about the same - it's against LH batters that he has drastically improved. I wonder if it's a new pitch or a new approach that has limited the damage inflicted by LH hitters. Perhaps someone smarter has an idea? Very weird.

I guess I worry that the AVG and OBP are being held up by a high BABIP but agreed, the strikeouts are not as worrisome in his first professional season. I'm excited to see what the AFL might do for him. It'd be aggressive to send him there but it might really accelerate him into AA next year.

Agree with the first half, not the second. Positional stereotypes should be outdated. 1B can be a place where you get power production but it doesn't need to be. Production is production. A team tries to put together the best lineup they can without screwing their defense. Outside of the Twins doing the unexpected and signing a top-end FA DH/1B, I don't see how Mauer isn't the Twins best option at 1B for the next few years. Yeah you can stick Rooker/Sano there full-time but you don't have to for either one. Plus, Mauer allows you to platoon them at 1B against lefties.

A 4th OF does not by definition play occasionally. You know how I know that? The Twins 4th OF this year was Grossman and he played almost every day. Rooker can be the 4th OF and play DH and 1B as well. No reason he can't be playing almost every day unless the Twins go out and get a big money 1B/DH type. That seems unlikely. Mauer will be resigned. He's going to give a hometown discount and the Twins don't have anyone who needs to play 1B every day (they have DH open and Rooker can play OF) in the pipeline. There's also no reason that 1B needs to be a run producer. That's outdated thinking. Guys are either MLB hitters or not. You try to put a lineup of the best hitters you can without screwing your defense. Mauer is an MLB hitter - who cares if his value is OBP instead of SLG? The Twins don't have a better player that they need to slot in at 1B.* * All of this can change if they dip into free agency at the position. I just don't see that happening - doesn't seem like a Pohlad thing or a Flavey/Lavine thing. Especially since with Garver and Vargas and Rooker and Sano they may want some flexibility to use the 1B/DH in a more committee fashion. But I could be wrong - maybe they go get someone.** ** I don't love a lot of names on the list though. Carlos Santana is interesting but in a weak group, the years may be longer than expected. Pedro Alvarez is interesting but he bats lefty and doesn't fit well. From there you're in one-year guys like Mike Napoli, Jayson Werth or Bautista. No thanks.

If he can play a decent corner OF, they should definitely keep him there. He'd be an ideal 4th OF with Kepler/Rosario in a way that Granite (a LH) can't be. And he can also play some DH and 1B to keep his bat in the lineup. You should almost never move a guy from OF to 1B unless you have to - or 3B to 1B. Or C to 1B.

Is Rochester's playoff run going to interfere with the Twins September call-ups? It seems like they shouldn't but with every level making the playoffs, it's hard to even move guys up a level to combat the personnel losses.

I hate when there's no baseball game. I know they need a day off but ugh.

Kyle Gibson is never pretty but if he can keep the Twins in games and eat some bullpen innings, that would be huge.

Softball is not the same thing but I've played guys who were so good that you just don't hit it their way. That really messes with your approach at the plate.

And if he bunts enough, he's going to drag in those corner infielders and get some balls going through down the lines. Those are triples.

AJ was universally hated around the league but that doesn't make him a bad teammate. And I don't buy 7 teams in six years as evidence either - lots of guys move around. The common thread is that they're a niche player. A left-handed reliever, a bench bat. That fits Danny V. - he works for your team in the interim but he's not someone you commit to long term. I looked around and didn't see anything too prominent about Danny Valencia being a bad teammate. The one big thing is a fight he got in with Billy Butler in Oakland. If you read about it, Danny V. doesn't seem crazy (and the story is hilarious): Danny V was talking with one of his sponsors about some non-sponsor cleats in his locker. He assured the rep that they were for practice and not games. Billy Butler jumped in and told the rep that Danny V was lying and that the rep should drop Valencia's deal ($10K to $20K per year, not chump change). Danny confronted Butler when the rep left, correctly saying that was a bogus move. Butler turned around and questioned Valencia's manhood. Valencia punched him and a fight broke out in which Butler was concussed. It's not good to punch people but if someone tried to take away a sponsorship from me and then told me I was a wuss and wouldn't do anything about it (you can strengthen the language yourself), I would almost certainly punch that person. Most A's players thought Butler was more in the wrong and it's not like Billy Butler is not Ghandi - he's got a rep as a bad teammate. KC players (Mike Sweeney and Hosmer) concurred after the fight, saying he was selfish and they weren't surprised he got punched. Most of the bad stuff about Valencia is actually similar - he's into his own stats over team success. That's obviously not great (and kind of jives with what I remember about him from his first tenure) That said, he'd be a bit player in a strong clubhouse and guys on one year deals who mash left handed pitching and can play 1B, 3B and OF don't grow on trees. I wouldn't dismiss him on reputation alone.

You're speaking my language. And we need to get over our ick of Valencia. We remember him when he couldn't figure out 3B or right handed pitching. He's not an amazing player but he does two things well and they both fit the Twins - he mashes left handed pitching and he's a very good defensive 1B who can play some 3B and OF as long as it isn't for too long a stretch. That's a nice fit for the Twins unless there's some personality thing that makes him toxic. He has moved around a lot but I imagine that has a lot to do with his skill set, which is not something you commit to long-term.

Agreed he's worth more. That said, Joe Mauer is not going to be on the open market. He's not going to sign somewhere random - he's got kids, family and a legacy in MN. I don't think you're bidding against the Washingtons, Chicagos or L.A.'s of the league. The only other places I could see him signing is Tampa Bay or Miami since he has a home in FL (and may decide to primarily live there long-term). Miami seems unlikely due to the NL aspect of it. Tampa seems like a better fit but it's still 2 hours from where Joe lives so I'm not sure it's better than MN. Maybe it goes up to 2 years $16 mill?

Yeah, something like a 2 year $12 million deal sounds just about right. Good guy in the clubhouse, not going to be threatened by the emergence of new stars, still a fan favorite and a really nice weapon against lefties. Would love to see him get hot and help carry this team into September.