ashbury

I like them both so much that this is almost a Sophie's Choice kind of proposition. But because one is almost exactly one year younger than the other, and their (differing) accomplishments at bat are near on a par with one another, I give the slightest nod to Harrison. But, I hasten to add, I want to keep Walker too!

Why? His OPS is only .726 in AA. Oops, oh wait, that's his slugging average, alone.

Heh, http://mlbstartingnine.com/ lists Hicks as batting right. Also, if the above lineup is correct, Suzuki bats between Vargas and Escobar, breaking up the sequence.

... until his first o-fer.

Again. / "again"

They don't make a move without clearing it with the TD braintrust first.

Reminded me of someone else, and I looked him up and found this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqNXSWQR93s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk

It is instructive to bring a friend or colleague from another continent to a US sporting event, and find yourself in the position of being expected to defend the show of love for one's country to start the game.

Engelb Vielma has gotten off to a somewhat slow start at bat this season. In 126 plate appearances, his batting average is .204, he has only 5 walks, and he adds 3 merely extra base hits (one of each variety), for an OPS of only .490. He has used his speed to nab 8 bases, getting caught only 3 times. On the other side of the ball, he's been charged with 3 errors in 184 chances for a FA of .984, which is actually pretty good for the low minors, not that errors really tell you much anyway. I'm taking his defense for granted until some source tells me not to. All in all, not a start that will turn heads, but not so disastrous that, if he ups his production a bit, his season numbers can't still look good.

Engelb Vielma Born: June 22, 1994 (age 21 this season) Birthplace: Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela Signed as an international free agent 2011 Height: 5' 11" Weight: 150 Position: Shortstop Bats: Both Throws: Right Twitter handle: @Engelb22 http://www.milb.com/images/622713/t509/180x270/622713.jpg Engelb Vielma comes from the same home town as another pretty good-fielding shortstop, named Aparicio, many years ago, so baseball fans might pay attention to this young man for that reason alone. (Of course, it's a city of 2 million, so not everyone is somebody else's close cousin.) His glove could already be good enough to play in the majors. Like so many good shortstops, he will go as far as his bat takes him, namely if he can reach some minimal level of competence to sustain him against top-level pitching. His season at single-A Cedar Rapids in 2014 showed promise that he might be able to make the grade. He compiled a .266 batting average. He walked just enough to bring his on-base average above .300, and he hit just enough doubles to bring his slugging average up likewise. An OPS of .636 is nothing to write home about. But it must be remembered that he didn't turn 20 last season until June, making him the youngest batter on his team, and suggesting he still has quite a lot of room to grow yet - both physically by putting on just a bit more muscle, and in terms of the experience needed to become a good hitter. Vielma begins 2015 in high-A Ft. Myers as the everyday shortstop for the Miracle. http://kcweb.cdr.dc.publicus.com/storyimage/KC/20140514/SPORTS/140519893/AR/0/AR-140519893.jpg

Agreed. And as I consider it also a crime, I am taking Engelb Vielma

Attendance is something minor league teams care about, isn't it? I find it strange if they feel night games during the week would draw better than a Sunday afternoon game. Why would the two A level teams have an idle day in their schedule today?

Meyer's alternated good starts and bad starts, after beginning the year with 2 bad ones. Since his most recent good start was two starts ago, IF there is no injury issue to anyone's knowledge, I'm inclined to go several more starts before relegating him to the AAA bullpen. The upside of him harnessing major league stuff is too great to take a "safer" route yet.

Roman, natch.

Since he doesn't draw walks at any kind of special rate as it is, I'd take my chances with the potential for better power from a hitter with a bigger frame. And even if he did walk a lot at present, someone's offensive game that could be negated by an opposing pitcher saying "OK, big boy*, here it is," isn't my preference for long term success. But he's done the job, as a table setter or occasionally by driving in someone who's already put himself in scoring position. He's been asked to fill the 4th outfielder role, and done it well. *uttered with a straight face

PB&J. Not grilled.

And this should serve as another reminder, folks, that you can't jinx the other team's pitcher by mentioning he's on a roll or something. The most you'll do is jinx your own batters that way.

FTFY. That said, I do appreciate the under-appreciated contribution he's made in the first five weeks.

I know these things, but they pertain to the tools he's had since day 1. How have his routes been, in Rochester this year? Is he making the right throws to the right place? Etc. He looked lost in Ft Myers, for instance when weather conditions weren't optimal. I want a CF ready to rock and roll.

Don't do anything to jinx the Avengers. Hope they win.

RBI by Mauer. He's clutch!

Do we need any further proof of the importance of Plouffe in this lineup?

What we get is still a wintry mix. But we got probably 25% of a normal winter. And this is the worst of three poor ones in a row.

14 Twins strikeouts in 8 innings.