greengoblinrulz

Why would they want to sign a swing & miss type pitcher.....goes against everything they've preached for years about 'pitch to contact'.

whatever base you want to give a pitcher with incentives, Id NEVER be hesitant to offer up an overly enticing package for the incentives. If Baker comes back next yr & gives ya 33 starts & 215 IP, Id have no problem with the overall package being 9/10/11m. If the go crazy & also resign Pavano (they will), Id do the same with him.....pay him ridiculous money ONLY IF he reaches the incentives.

Absolutely not....his innings are fine & he's not even @ 20% yet. He needs to build future arm strength for future & also figure out how to fight thru periods of bein hit hard. His velocity is there, showing his arm if fine & that he's just bein hit harder....not the first period this yr where thats happenned. He fought thru the first time. Im not really sure if he's a real pitcher for future or just had a good 3 months....wouldn't be the first guy to fool an organization. Scot's not 21/22 either....he needs to prove he's a future workhorse capable of 200innings a yr........its only 2 or 3 more starts

30yr old pitchers arent put on pitch counts.....esp on a 1 or 2 yr deal With a late april/early may surgery....Baker should be throwing seriously by late Feb/early march. He easily could be ready for start of season as most pitchers on tj recovery are throwing fully by 1 full yr. Even if its May 1st...thats fine. He's better than ANY picher Terry Ryan will seriously look at.....go for it

Also reiterates how MN keeps its top players in AA too long.....220+ games by the following despite good AA #s Hermann blocked by Rene Rivera/JR Towles Romero blocked by Sean Burroughs (not really as this was his best yr but is a fomer 40 man roster guy) Bigley promoted this year but had Clete Thomas ahead of him (not huge prospect I know) Parmelle blocked last yr @ 1B by Aaron Bates Benson blocked last yr in OF by Dustin Martin/Brandon Roberts & this yr by Clete Thomas Wouldnt bother me so much if they were blocked by anything important to the future of the organization

This shows that good teams have good shortstops & also bad teams have good shortstops (didnt say great)......MN has never even had a league average shortstop for almost a decade (since Guzzie left & that's the HIGH point of SS's the past 2 decades). Florimon is 26 already & has never even put up a solid minor league season. The Twins are playing him out of desparation OR are they trying to prove the scout who recommended him to MN correct ( is he the Gray/Nishi/Butera/etc scout??). Regardless of whether people like defensive metrics.....they arent skewed to go against Pedro only. His numbers are attrocious after his first 25 or so games.

Its long been said that the FSL is a notorious pitchers league (not evident by 2012 pitchers but...) and even the Twins have said that certain hitter numbers need to be looked upon differently when in Ft Myers. Several Twins have greatly improved their numbers/not dropped off when they get out of Florida, despite playing vs higher quality of players/older competition .........(Eastern Lg also not known for bein a hitters Lg either). Think most of these numbers are pretty intersting myself Recent players promoted Arcia 114 A+gms 420ABs .286/.338/.488.......69 AA gms 262ABs .328/.398/.557 Hicks 122 gms 443Bs .242/.354/.368...........129gms 472ABs .286/.384/.460 Pinto 157gms 570ABs .282/.340/.440.............12gms 47ABs .298/.365/.553 Hanson 162gms 611ABs .259/.325/.385.......161gms 553ABs .262/.303/.371 Dozier 142gms 530ABs .291/.377/.394...........78gms 311ABs .318/.384/.502 Hermann 131gms 443ABs .237/.329/.325.....224gms 827ABs .268/.362/.392 Romero 229gms 814ABs .238/.329/.340.......259gms 883ABs .262/.343/.427 Bigley 192gms 702ABs .271/.314/.375..........248gms 947ABs .268/.316/.421 Solarte 91gms 335ABs .287/.336/.400...........121gms 459ABs .329/.367/.466(New Brit numbers only) Benson 109gms 381ABs .289/.404/.451.........250gms 915ABs .256/.349/.479 Parmelee 145gms 502ABs .271/.370/.444......253gms 941ABs .282/.355/.416 Didnt nitpick.....all players over last 3 yrs who've moved up & played significantly Does this make you feel any better about some of the current Miracle players who have struggled and may move up...... Ft Myers numbers Angel Morales 218gms 745ABs .246/.325/.345 Danny Rams 160gms 551ABs .236/.327/.377 Add in Levi Michael who struggled somewhat, Daniel Santana who had a great yr (will he improve as much as most of the mentioned players???), as well as Daniel Ortiz bein guys who may move up next season......any hope for em???

Its not that these are personal attacks on Drew/Jeff Gray.....each bitch about 'them' is a direct shot at Gardy/Terry Ryan. The player cannot help it if they are not good enough.....they made the majors but are on the low side of talent in comparison. This is all WHY are they are on the roster.....good teams dont have these types of players on them

As much upside as Parmelee at 3b? Florimon as the starting SS for a winning major league baseball team is wishful thinking at best. Parmelee at 3b is wishful thinking. And good teams often have good glove/no hit shortstops There is no hit shortstops & then there is Florimon.......believe you're thinking about wrong decade Teams in contention (top 2 each division) AL--Jeter/Hardy/Ramirez/Peralta/Andrus/Drew....all hitters NL--Desmond/Simmons/Cozart/Furcal/Crawford/Ramirez----give ya Cozart & Crawford but they are both plus defenders (UZR)....something Florimon hasnt even shown yet 10 of 12 hitters of some degreee......losing teams have no hit shortstops

The only inaccuracy about this is that the Twins (since he was in an AL team) had the first cut at him and did not pass. So we do not know whether the other 28 teams (the O's did pass) would pass on him. We know they did.....MN outrighted him off the 40 man roster to ROC late this winter, so 29 teams passed on him.

Everyone on the site says spend every cent available on pitching. Im not saying we need an all-star or all star level middle infielder OR someone that makes alot of money but we need somebody better than Pedro Florimon or any pitching we acquire (doubt that they will anyways) will be a moot point. Twins lineup isnt stacked enough to be able to afford the type of player he is. Unfortuantely, its Gardy/Ryans MO that they loves weak hitting middle infielders as they havent had someone other than that in their tenure. The 2 legit middle infielder we had in 10 (Hardy/Hudson) were Bill Smith acquisitions. MN will issue some kind of quote about how 'they can get by with Florimon' as they think he's a slick fielder. There are many playes who are just as slick fielding as Pedro who wont cost too much or possibly any more. I personally think Florimon/Dozier should start the yr in AAA and MN should address this situation

most people arent surprised that Dozier would be moved to 2B, but if they start the season with Florimon as their SS they will again be one of the 5 worst teams in baseball since it signals the front office/managers philosiphy of 'we're good where we are' with an unproven 26 yr old SS that 29 other teams passed on less than a year ago.

It all comes down to expectations. Are you happy with 6 division titles followed by immediate flameouts.....fine. The Yanks canned Joe Torre because of expectaions. I just want this organization to have loftier hopes, not just sell 2.5m seats & 'play your butts off'. Guys that support Gardy will argue injuries in 11. Well they were healthy this year and just as bad. This year, its because of starting pitching supporters will say. Well, this was the rotation that Gardy/Ryan argued in 11 if he had back that they would contend. No fans were stunned that Blackburn/Liriano flamed out as that's what their career numbers predicted. Marquis, everyone saw that coming. Scot Baker & Pavano were due to Twins/Gardy's lame medical staff not diagnosing 2 pitchers who've battled injuries(some big/some minor) the past several yrs. The starting staff flameout IS due to Gardy/Andy choice of starters.

Diamond is guy who the team is counting on as their 'ace', as of now. Im not the biggest fan of his, in that regard, as I think he's more of a 3/4 guy at his highest. I wouldnt be stunned if he flames out next year. I see Gibson, DeVries, Blackburn, Hernandez (none of 4 'can' win a job in ST IMO) & probably Hermsen...tho with the Twins way of doin things, I could see BJ back in AA so they can sign a MiFA...or will Hendrix be in AAA? I question what they will do with Hendrix. I belive they will give him EVERY shot at winning a spot...as their best 'youngest' pitching prospect. Remember how bad Diamond was last yr....Liam can make that same kind of jump. Im not even sold that they wont package Liam for something. Deduno will be in competition with the AAA guys, but his 'out of options scholarship' will be invoked and will be given the spot. This leaves Baker and/or Pavano for a spot....probably Scot (who may have to start in minors for a month). If they dont sign both, then a FA/trade scenario comes up....but NO teams are looking to deal starters (esp for even deal, they want the steal). For the FA guys, I expect Joe Blanton/Jeremey Guthrie.....if they are looking to deal, Id love to see them sniff around TOR's Brandon Morrow

if we're fielding the best lineup vs a contender, as Gardy says, then why no Willingham? As of the last 10 yrs.....Gardy talks outta both sides of his mouth

Personally love Walker & his potential. Finally a true power hitter that was drafted by this organization. Hopefully they dont get him to cut down on his swing & hit it the other way. See him in Beloit next yr along with Keplar/Buxton.....all things considered, if he plays well, he should be the first promoted to Ft Myers due to being the oldest (that is, is he's not blocked by a Steve Liddle type )

LOVE Ben Revere in LF, which w/Aaron Hicks on horizon could be Ben's future position....tho he's outstanding himself as a CF.

Dont want JD Durbin and/or Michael Restovich to 'blow up' in another organization Only real prospect dealt woulda been Bobby Kielty & he was a solid MLB player by then, not prospect

Wonder how close the decision was to calling up Pinto instead of Hermann. Could have gotten a free look at him before the offseason. Got a feeling that MN views Pinto the same way they did Yangercis Solarte & will let him go (very much because they wont protect 5 C's & is there any shot they DFA Butera....no IMO)

Where does he fit in in your opinion. Stunned when I listen to pregame show & hear Roy Smalley (today), Tim Laudener (past) & 2 Twins analysts (Blyleven/Gladden) say he is absolutely better in the rotation & deserves a shot. Huh??? Ive always had the attitude that just because you're an ex-player, it doesnt mean you have a better opinion/understanding of what is goin on. Im actually a big Duensing fan & think he was incredibly underrated in the division winning seasons in 09/10 as a starter. However, these past 2 years as a starter have been horrific on a staff that has been one of the worst in baseball. His bullpen work has been outstanding, highlighted by his dominance against left handed hitting. Why would you weaken a big plus area (bullpen) to start him when he's been severely under average there??? As a starter 2009/10 22gms 12W 3L 2.93ERA .259BAA 138.1IP 136h 45er 84k 37bb 2011 28gms 9W 13L 5.24ERA .299BAA 156.1IP 187h 91er 112k 47bb 2012 11gms 2W 8L 6.92ERA ..336BAA 52IP 76h 40er 32k 12bb Reliever 2012 39gms 2W 2L 2.77ERA .229BAA 48.2IP 41h 15er 28k 13bb vs LHH 2009 82ABs .244/.311/.268 2010 142ABs .162/.217/.239 2011 175ABs .217/.242/.280 2012 145ABs .248/.293/.379 Career 544ABs .215/.260/.294 Seem that he is a prime LH RP, but MN cannot seem to grasp it......think he would be a dominant multi millionaire reliever if Joe Madden got ahead of him

Butera started season 9-25 over his first 8gms (7starts) w/3doubles for a .360/.385/.480 start & all the Butera lovers were sayin 'see, he's improved his hitting & is now a viable major league backup. Since then.....3 days short of 4 full months 32gms (23starts) 12/78 4runs 2doubles HR 5rbi 23k 8bb for a line of .154/.250/.218.......how is that capable of sustaining a job in the majors ? The .468OPS for these 4 months is LOWER than his career average of .499...he's hitting worse than he EVER has!!! How is playing him over Chris Hermann fielding a better lineup vs a contender???

LEN3 disagrees: "Hermann: Gardenhire said he's committed to playing catcher-outfielder Chris Hermann, who was called up because of the Mauer-Doumit situation. Gardenhire, however, is trying to put his best team on the field to face the contending White Sox and probably won't give Hermann a shot until they get to Cleveland." makes sense if it was due to Liriano/Sale but that was his quote.....quite possible he was talkin only about this series & I missed the first part....Gardy is famous for getting guys into lineup immediately, probably givin him a couple days to get some hitting in

Benson's struggles in ROC can also be traced....I believe....to frustration. He & Parmelee have played together at every level. Benson has been the better prospect, by ranking, but Chris outplayed him in Sept & made the team out of spring training. Surely that got his attention. Then the team completely admits they dont have a RFer in mind & never consider him once. They go throu Doumit, Revere (sent back), Komatsu (rule v), Mastoianni & Clete Thomas(waivers) in April but NEVER considered the former minor league player of the year. Mn has often called up a player who had been strugglin in AAA before (and they succeded in majors)...but never even had Joe in its sights & I think the frustration set in at ROC.

Gardy said pregame that he doesnt plan on playing Hermann alot since he hasnt played for 2wks & is afraid of getting him hurt

I kinda expect Gardy to sabatoge Hermann over the last 18gms or so ....playing him against tough lefties (Sabathia/Sale next trip etc) & limiting his possible success, so as protect his boy Drews #3 status!!!! Hermann thought he was done & now will make about 50K over the next 3wks.....not a bad gig!!!!