stringer bell

After a period of stability, the Twins have made a rash of moves. Many of the moves have been panned by the denizens of Twins Daily for being shortsighted, cheap, stupid or all of the above. Some are calling out the GM for saying the team was trying to compete when, in fact, they are rebuilding and focusing on next year or the year after. News flash! The team isn't going to contend this year. Ryan's "contention" talk was predicated on miraculous performances by pitchers who have been much less than miraculous. The hitters have been, on balance, disappointing and a couple teams in the AL Central are pretty good. No chance in 2013. Certainly, Ryan knew this could happen and the next step for Project 2013 is to prepare a nucleus for next year and 2015 and find out what he needs to acquire to make future teams viable in the division. There are a large number of question marks and several categories of players to be evaluated. Here's my take of the categories and the players in the categories for which Ryan must make decisions: Veterans--Morneau, Doumit, Willingham, Carroll, Perkins and Burton. These are established players with established roles and Ryan must decide whether hold on to them or trade them. Not established non-rookies--Hendriks, Robertson (both demoted early), Plouffe, Florimon, Dozier, and Parmelee. Several position players were new starters this April, none of them had started all year in 2012. This is a group that the Twins have to determine whether they should be starters going forward and if the Twins need to check out the minors of other teams. So far, the results have been mixed, at best. Dozier and Parmelee have been disappointments, Plouffe held his own until his injury and Florimon has exceeded very modest expectations. The two pitchers I mentioned didn't make it through April. Fringe guys--Hernandez, Walters, Deduno, Colabello, and Thielbar--These guys mostly are placeholders who get a chance to stay in the majors. None of them project to be long term Twins or stars, but they will get a chance to keep in the majors if they do their jobs. If any of these guys have to be demoted or ride the bench for a long period, so be it. If any of them can be a productive player in the coming years, it will be a bonus. Rookie Prospects--First of all, these are guys who the Twins are banking on to help them be a good team again. The team will do everything they can to help these guys become producers in the coming years. The players include Arcia, Hicks, and Gibson. The Twins approach seems to be different for each guy--they've stuck with Hicks despite his major struggles, they've sent Arcia down three times and much to many contributors' frustrations they have refused to promote Kyle Gibson despite the worst starting rotation in the major leagues. In discussing transactions, playing time, trades, or demotions, it is important to remember that everybody doesn't get treated the same, nor should they. Goal one is to do what is right to help the prospects succeed. We can argue with the plan, but we, the fan base, must support the idea of developing talented, young, and inexpensive players. For me, I would have sent Hicks down to secure his services for another year and build his confidence at Rochester. Gibson, IMHO, should have been promoted at least a week ago and I basically agree with the treatment of Arcia, although it hasn't been smooth for him. The unproven non-rookies need a longer leash than barely a quarter of the season. Since this is a non-competing year, the Twins need to find out about them. I think somewhere around midseason is a fair evaluation period. Some of the veterans need to be traded, some should stay as veteran preference for the improved teams fueled by a (now) top-notch farm system. The key component for the near future for the Twins is their starting staff. They need to develop/acquire enough talent to compete with the deep rotations in Detroit, Cleveland and several other AL cities. Let's see if Ryan's moves work out, particularly with the starting staff.

After a period of stability, the Twins have made a rash of moves. Many of the moves have been panned by the denizens of Twins Daily for being shortsighted, cheap, stupid or all of the above. Some are calling out the GM for saying the team was trying to compete when, in fact, they are rebuilding and focusing on next year or the year after. News flash! The team isn't going to contend this year. Ryan's "contention" talk was predicated on miraculous performances by pitchers who have been much less than miraculous. The hitters have been, on balance, disappointing and a couple teams in the AL Central are pretty good. No chance in 2013. Certainly, Ryan knew this could happen and the next step for Project 2013 is to prepare a nucleus for next year and 2015 and find out what he needs to acquire to make future teams viable in the division. There are a large number of question marks and several categories of players to be evaluated. Here's my take of the categories and the players in the categories for which Ryan must make decisions: Veterans--Morneau, Doumit, Willingham, Carroll, Perkins and Burton. These are established players with established roles and Ryan must decide whether hold on to them or trade them. Not established non-rookies--Hendriks, Robertson (both demoted early), Plouffe, Florimon, Dozier, and Parmelee. Several position players were new starters this April, none of them had started all year in 2012. This is a group that the Twins have to determine whether they should be starters going forward and if the Twins need to check out the minors of other teams. So far, the results have been mixed, at best. Dozier and Parmelee have been disappointments, Plouffe held his own until his injury and Florimon has exceeded very modest expectations. The two pitchers I mentioned didn't make it through April. Fringe guys--Hernandez, Walters, Deduno, Colabello, and Thielbar--These guys mostly are placeholders who get a chance to stay in the majors. None of them project to be long term Twins or stars, but they will get a chance to keep in the majors if they do their jobs. If any of these guys have to be demoted or ride the bench for a long period, so be it. If any of them can be a productive player in the coming years, it will be a bonus. Rookie Prospects--First of all, these are guys who the Twins are banking on to help them be a good team again. The team will do everything they can to help these guys become producers in the coming years. The players include Arcia, Hicks, and Gibson. The Twins approach seems to be different for each guy--they've stuck with Hicks despite his major struggles, they've sent Arcia down three times and much to many contributors' frustrations they have refused to promote Kyle Gibson despite the worst starting rotation in the major leagues. In discussing transactions, playing time, trades, or demotions, it is important to remember that everybody doesn't get treated the same, nor should they. Goal one is to do what is right to help the prospects succeed. We can argue with the plan, but we, the fan base, must support the idea of developing talented, young, and inexpensive players. For me, I would have sent Hicks down to secure his services for another year and build his confidence at Rochester. Gibson, IMHO, should have been promoted at least a week ago and I basically agree with the treatment of Arcia, although it hasn't been smooth for him. The unproven non-rookies need a longer leash than barely a quarter of the season. Since this is a non-competing year, the Twins need to find out about them. I think somewhere around midseason is a fair evaluation period. Some of the veterans need to be traded, some should stay as veteran preference for the improved teams fueled by a (now) top-notch farm system. The key component for the near future for the Twins is their starting staff. They need to develop/acquire enough talent to compete with the deep rotations in Detroit, Cleveland and several other AL cities. Let's see if Ryan's moves work out, particularly with the starting staff.

Buxton has been terrific, but it is probably the correct move to keep him at Cedar Rapids at least until midseason. How many MiLB teams have won 30 games. I'm guessing there aren't many in affiliated baseball.

Quick comment on ex-Twins: Three OFs off to fast starts--Torii, Cuddy, and Gomez. AJ has been solid, Span and Jones have been pretty good. Ramos and Kubel are on the DL. Delmon Young and Frankie Liriano are close to making their debuts after being disabled. Pitching: Despite no wins, Kevin Slowey has been very good for the Marlins. RA Dickey hasn't had Cy Young form, but I don't think many expected him to do that. Alex Burnett has ended up on the Orioles roster and Luis Ayala was traded, but is still in the majors. Struggling: Philip Humber 0-5 with a near 8 ERA and JJ Hardy under the Mendoza line.

Make it five candidates for the rotation--I forgot De Vries.

The Twins have hit the 20 game milestone and are a breakeven 10-10. Considering the pessimism going into the season, we Twins fans should be happy with the results. Some raw numbers: Run differential is -6. Team ERA is 3.92, the Twins have scored 83 runs despite only 13 homers and a league-worst slugging percentage. They are 5-2 in one-run games and have allowed only 11 homers, second best in the AL. Many of these stats can't be sustained--they will allow more homers and win fewer close games--but the team is improved. The team hasn't gotten much from several players--Aaron Hicks is off to a historically bad start to a career. Morneau, Plouffe, Doumit, and Parmelee (normal 4-7 hitters) have combined for 4 homers and 24 RBI in 294 plate appearances and Worley and Pelfrey have been much more bad than good in their starting turns. Escobar and Correia have far exceeded expectations, but they are really the only ones who are performing better than one might expect. The defense has been inconsistent, highlighted by SS Pedro Florimon. However, there have been many highlight defensive plays as well. Two players in new positions--Parmelee and Dozier--have seemed to be good fits to their new spots. I think the club is still a ways away from truly contending. The top end of the rotation is suspect, the hitting is inconsistent, and they have put pressure on a pretty good bullpen. The upcoming road trip will probably tell a lot about the present for the Twins. In looking at minor league performance and players returning from injury, it appears that the back end of the rotation has many candidates for few spots. Current #4 starter, Pelfrey hasn't had a quality start and has had two lousy outings and two okay starts, never finishing the sixth inning. Pedro Hernandez, the nominal #5, pitched only 5 innings today, but was effective. There are no less than four candidates--Gibson, Hendriks, Walters, Deduno,--for starting spots and at some point Rich Harden could also be considered for a spot. Add in the two off-season trade acquisitions in AA and that is quite a logjam of potential starters. In the bullpen, Tim Wood and Rafael Perez are nearing health with a full bullpen and 40-man roster. Tyler Roberton has also pitched well at Rochester, so there could soon be too many okay options for too few spots there. In the outfield and at first base, the Twins have service time considerations with rookies Hicks and Arcia. When Darin Mastroianni returns from the disabled list, one of those two would figure to be sent down to Rochester. There is a chance that Chris Parmelee could be sent down instead, but I think the Twins have seen enough of Parm raking at Rochester. The outfield/first base decision could be complicated by somebody catching fire at Rochester. Colabello has been outstanding so far and onetime top prospect Joe Benson has put together a few good games. Another week in the minors would delay 21 year old Arcia's free agency for another year. Hicks would need to be sent down for three weeks to delay free agency. As with most roster decisions, it probably doesn't make any sense to decide until you have to, injuries and ineffectiveness usually help to make the decision easier.

The Twins have hit the 20 game milestone and are a breakeven 10-10. Considering the pessimism going into the season, we Twins fans should be happy with the results. Some raw numbers: Run differential is -6. Team ERA is 3.92, the Twins have scored 83 runs despite only 13 homers and a league-worst slugging percentage. They are 5-2 in one-run games and have allowed only 11 homers, second best in the AL. Many of these stats can't be sustained--they will allow more homers and win fewer close games--but the team is improved. The team hasn't gotten much from several players--Aaron Hicks is off to a historically bad start to a career. Morneau, Plouffe, Doumit, and Parmelee (normal 4-7 hitters) have combined for 4 homers and 24 RBI in 294 plate appearances and Worley and Pelfrey have been much more bad than good in their starting turns. Escobar and Correia have far exceeded expectations, but they are really the only ones who are performing better than one might expect. The defense has been inconsistent, highlighted by SS Pedro Florimon. However, there have been many highlight defensive plays as well. Two players in new positions--Parmelee and Dozier--have seemed to be good fits to their new spots. I think the club is still a ways away from truly contending. The top end of the rotation is suspect, the hitting is inconsistent, and they have put pressure on a pretty good bullpen. The upcoming road trip will probably tell a lot about the present for the Twins. In looking at minor league performance and players returning from injury, it appears that the back end of the rotation has many candidates for few spots. Current #4 starter, Pelfrey hasn't had a quality start and has had two lousy outings and two okay starts, never finishing the sixth inning. Pedro Hernandez, the nominal #5, pitched only 5 innings today, but was effective. There are no less than four candidates--Gibson, Hendriks, Walters, Deduno,--for starting spots and at some point Rich Harden could also be considered for a spot. Add in the two off-season trade acquisitions in AA and that is quite a logjam of potential starters. In the bullpen, Tim Wood and Rafael Perez are nearing health with a full bullpen and 40-man roster. Tyler Roberton has also pitched well at Rochester, so there could soon be too many okay options for too few spots there. In the outfield and at first base, the Twins have service time considerations with rookies Hicks and Arcia. When Darin Mastroianni returns from the disabled list, one of those two would figure to be sent down to Rochester. There is a chance that Chris Parmelee could be sent down instead, but I think the Twins have seen enough of Parm raking at Rochester. The outfield/first base decision could be complicated by somebody catching fire at Rochester. Colabello has been outstanding so far and onetime top prospect Joe Benson has put together a few good games. Another week in the minors would delay 21 year old Arcia's free agency for another year. Hicks would need to be sent down for three weeks to delay free agency. As with most roster decisions, it probably doesn't make any sense to decide until you have to, injuries and ineffectiveness usually help to make the decision easier.

Rich Becker came up as a switch hitting lefthanded throwing outfielder. He was bad a a righthanded hitter and converted to being lefty-only at some point. I checked Baseball Reference and he quit hitting righthanded in 1996.

Arcia and Colabello for Doumit and Morneau by the end of the season, perhaps. Maybe Willingham will be gone in place of one of the two I listed. I see Colabello getting a chance to DH and play some first base for the Twins sometime this year. It is hard to say if he will be able to hit well in the big leagues, but it is a good story and he is demonstrating enough ability to be considered for a spot.

Since the Twins won last Sunday to go 4-2, they have lost five consecutive games and fallen to the basement of the AL Central. More to the point, they now have one of the worst run differentials in the AL and their offensive, defensive, and pitching stats are among the worst, as well. There haven't been many positive surprises and there have been disappointments throughout the roster. The #1 disappointment has to be Aaron Hicks, hitting a microscopic .057 with an OPS of .155. Vanimal has had three starts--one satisfactory, one substandard and one dreadful. Florimon has hit a little, but has been poor in the field, being charged with three errors and he should have been charged with one or two more, plus Morneau has saved him a couple more throwing errors. Liam Hendriks hasn't gotten over the hump and was demoted, Pelfrey had one poor start and Twins' lefthanded relievers have yielded two grand slams. The weather has been miserable for the Twins, with little hope for great improvement there for the next week or so. I doubt that there will be many sellouts for the rest of the season. It looks to me like a lot of changes are on the horizon. There is a full 40-man roster with several players not on the roster in line to be recalled--Colabello, Walters, Deduno, Perez, and Harden and perhaps an outfielder--while there is a lineup of pitchers to be tried in the rotation. I predict that Wilken Ramirez will be DFAed within a month, probably Pedro Florimon, as well. The starting rotation should remain unsettled with several equivalent hurlers trying to nail down a spot. Continuing losses likely will mean trades of players who are over 30 and have trade value, but probably not until close to the trading deadline. The Twins' two top farm teams have also been effected by weather, and also aren't winning much with exceptions being Colabello and Arcia at Rochester, and not much encouraging pitching at the top levels. The two A-league teams look stacked. There are a lot of prospects and so far a lot of winning has happened in Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers. It is still very early, but the signs aren't good. Maybe some wins and warmer weather will make the situation look less dire.

Since the Twins won last Sunday to go 4-2, they have lost five consecutive games and fallen to the basement of the AL Central. More to the point, they now have one of the worst run differentials in the AL and their offensive, defensive, and pitching stats are among the worst, as well. There haven't been many positive surprises and there have been disappointments throughout the roster. The #1 disappointment has to be Aaron Hicks, hitting a microscopic .057 with an OPS of .155. Vanimal has had three starts--one satisfactory, one substandard and one dreadful. Florimon has hit a little, but has been poor in the field, being charged with three errors and he should have been charged with one or two more, plus Morneau has saved him a couple more throwing errors. Liam Hendriks hasn't gotten over the hump and was demoted, Pelfrey had one poor start and Twins' lefthanded relievers have yielded two grand slams. The weather has been miserable for the Twins, with little hope for great improvement there for the next week or so. I doubt that there will be many sellouts for the rest of the season. It looks to me like a lot of changes are on the horizon. There is a full 40-man roster with several players not on the roster in line to be recalled--Colabello, Walters, Deduno, Perez, and Harden and perhaps an outfielder--while there is a lineup of pitchers to be tried in the rotation. I predict that Wilken Ramirez will be DFAed within a month, probably Pedro Florimon, as well. The starting rotation should remain unsettled with several equivalent hurlers trying to nail down a spot. Continuing losses likely will mean trades of players who are over 30 and have trade value, but probably not until close to the trading deadline. The Twins' two top farm teams have also been effected by weather, and also aren't winning much with exceptions being Colabello and Arcia at Rochester, and not much encouraging pitching at the top levels. The two A-league teams look stacked. There are a lot of prospects and so far a lot of winning has happened in Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers. It is still very early, but the signs aren't good. Maybe some wins and warmer weather will make the situation look less dire.

Six games is only the first step in a marathon, but the Twins have been more entertaining than I though they would be. I don't think any of the question marks have been answered, but they have managed to be in every game and managed to squeak out three one-run wins out of the first six games. I am not getting my hopes up, but there are a lot of things that make this club worth watching. In no particular order, here are some observations I have after one week of baseball. JJ Hardy--Is there something wrong with his arm? His throwing motion looks awkward and all of his throws looked like changeups. Also, is he that slow or was he not running out of the box on the slow roller to Florimon? Brian Dozier--He made the perfect sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, forcing Manny Machado to field the ball and guaranteeing the advance of both runners. Dozier's turns at second have been outstanding. He's played a tremendous second base. He needs a couple of multiple hit games to get the BA up. Pedro Hernandez--He is lefthanded and breathing. Actually, I think he has a chance to be okay. Too many walks today, but his minor league history suggests that shouldn't be a problem. His three strikeouts in five innings is the best of the starters, I believe. The Twins have allowed only two homers in six games. If that keeps up, they have a chance to win a lot more games. KC looks like they're swinging well, so the club will have to make a great effort to keep the HR number low. Maybe Aaron Hicks will warm up after getting a meaningful RBI single to help win the game today.

Six games is only the first step in a marathon, but the Twins have been more entertaining than I though they would be. I don't think any of the question marks have been answered, but they have managed to be in every game and managed to squeak out three one-run wins out of the first six games. I am not getting my hopes up, but there are a lot of things that make this club worth watching. In no particular order, here are some observations I have after one week of baseball. JJ Hardy--Is there something wrong with his arm? His throwing motion looks awkward and all of his throws looked like changeups. Also, is he that slow or was he not running out of the box on the slow roller to Florimon? Brian Dozier--He made the perfect sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, forcing Manny Machado to field the ball and guaranteeing the advance of both runners. Dozier's turns at second have been outstanding. He's played a tremendous second base. He needs a couple of multiple hit games to get the BA up. Pedro Hernandez--He is lefthanded and breathing. Actually, I think he has a chance to be okay. Too many walks today, but his minor league history suggests that shouldn't be a problem. His three strikeouts in five innings is the best of the starters, I believe. The Twins have allowed only two homers in six games. If that keeps up, they have a chance to win a lot more games. KC looks like they're swinging well, so the club will have to make a great effort to keep the HR number low. Maybe Aaron Hicks will warm up after getting a meaningful RBI single to help win the game today.

I noticed Christian at spring training. He is taller and whiter than almost all of the other middle infielders. He seems to have a pretty nice lefthanded stroke and runs pretty well. He picked the right organization if he wants to have a chance to move up.

Another topic for DickBert on Thursday was relievers throwing huge numbers of innings. Both Dick and Bert remembered Bill Campbell who threw over 162 innings for the Twins. Neither mentioned an ex-Twin who should have certainly been mentioned when talking about relievers pitching high numbers of innings--Mike Marshall. Marshall threw over 200 innings out of the bullpen in 1974 for the Dodgers and won the Cy Young award. He pitched two or three years for the Twins and threw over 140 innings in one season. I remember him as surly, opinionated and a freak of nature. He threw every day whether he got in the game or not and seemed to have a bionic arm. Campbell, OTOH, seemed to have his effectiveness diminished due to the heavy workload he endured while a member of the Twins and later with the Red Sox.

Yes, I heard the postgame show which pointed out the Twins were above .500 for the first time since 2010. I have seen the positive comments about the starting pitchers and their success so far this season. I do believe this team is improved and I think they are due for better luck after two disastrous seasons where any luck they had was bad luck. This is a club that will be hard-pressed to exceed 70 wins without more than one positive surprise. Three full games have yielded 17 strikeouts in 27 innings. That is the opposite of a collection of "power arms". The three games were played in cold conditions, with tough lighting (sun and shadows) and with a strong breeze. The conditions helped the pitchers on both sides, without a doubt. Of course, those same conditions hurt the Twins hitters. It would figure that they will do better with higher temperatures, lighter winds and more normal lighting. There are positive developments. The team has gotten production from their bench players. Justin Morneau appears to be healthy and should put up good numbers. There are other veterans who should again be productive. However, the team has many, many question marks and it is doubtful that each question will be answered positively. Some observations: 1) Spring training doesn't matter much at all. Worley, Correia, and Pelfrey all looked like they were pitching batting practice, but now that the games count we see they are big leaguers. 2) I do like a few "scrap heap" players that the Twins have picked up--last year Burton established himself, this year perhaps Pressly might prove that he can be a bullpen arm for this year and the future. Casey Fien did well last year and has pitched well in a couple of game situations. 3) Maybe it is the weather, but the defense needs to improve. Mauer let too many balls get by him and made a couple of tailing throws to second, Florimon booted a ball and made several poor throws. Several balls eluded Plouffe at third, and their range on the corners of the outfield is going to be limited. 4) This season still is going to be about players establishing themselves in the field--Plouffe, Parmelee, Hicks, Dozier, and Florimon (or maybe Escobar)--or on the mound (Hendriks, perhaps De Vries, Gibson, Meyer, May). Winning two out of three against the AL champs is nice, but the glow will fade quickly if the team plays poorly on the road. I am happy to see wins and competitive games.

Yes, I heard the postgame show which pointed out the Twins were above .500 for the first time since 2010. I have seen the positive comments about the starting pitchers and their success so far this season. I do believe this team is improved and I think they are due for better luck after two disastrous seasons where any luck they had was bad luck. This is a club that will be hard-pressed to exceed 70 wins without more than one positive surprise. Three full games have yielded 17 strikeouts in 27 innings. That is the opposite of a collection of "power arms". The three games were played in cold conditions, with tough lighting (sun and shadows) and with a strong breeze. The conditions helped the pitchers on both sides, without a doubt. Of course, those same conditions hurt the Twins hitters. It would figure that they will do better with higher temperatures, lighter winds and more normal lighting. There are positive developments. The team has gotten production from their bench players. Justin Morneau appears to be healthy and should put up good numbers. There are other veterans who should again be productive. However, the team has many, many question marks and it is doubtful that each question will be answered positively. Some observations: 1) Spring training doesn't matter much at all. Worley, Correia, and Pelfrey all looked like they were pitching batting practice, but now that the games count we see they are big leaguers. 2) I do like a few "scrap heap" players that the Twins have picked up--last year Burton established himself, this year perhaps Pressly might prove that he can be a bullpen arm for this year and the future. Casey Fien did well last year and has pitched well in a couple of game situations. 3) Maybe it is the weather, but the defense needs to improve. Mauer let too many balls get by him and made a couple of tailing throws to second, Florimon booted a ball and made several poor throws. Several balls eluded Plouffe at third, and their range on the corners of the outfield is going to be limited. 4) This season still is going to be about players establishing themselves in the field--Plouffe, Parmelee, Hicks, Dozier, and Florimon (or maybe Escobar)--or on the mound (Hendriks, perhaps De Vries, Gibson, Meyer, May). Winning two out of three against the AL champs is nice, but the glow will fade quickly if the team plays poorly on the road. I am happy to see wins and competitive games.

Or maybe Escobar is as good offensively as Carroll. Jamey is a sure thing, but what we're sure of is that he'll take good at-bats and hit for no power.

Mauer misplayed the pitch, no question. It cost the club a run as it turned out. The earlier wild pitch also cost the team a run. A couple of weakly hit balls also cost the team runs. Meanwhile, Mauer and Florimon combined to allow Jhonny Peralta to steal a key base, followed by a not-well-hit double by Prince. Of course, the Twins also had opportunities to score and failed. The most notable failure came from Plouffe and Parmelee with the bases loaded in the 7th.

I DVRed the game yesterday and watched most of it last night. While I didn't see some key events, I heard about them on the radio. The Twins had a chance to beat the Tigers but came up short in key at-bats. They also were hurt by bases advanced by the plodding Tigers. What went right: 1) Worley outlasted Verlander. Even though he was the losing pitcher he managed to go six innings and reached the threshold for a "Quality Start". 2) Fien struck out the side in the seventh and it was the top of the order. 3) The offensive approach allowed the Twins to only face Verlander for five innings. 4) Worley had the Tigers hitting the ball on the ground recording something like 15 ground ball outs, including one outstanding play from Florimon. What went wrong: 1) Four Twins came up in a game situation and only one (Doumit) brought in a run. Plouffe and Parmelee had a great chance to knot the game or put the Twins ahead in the 7th inning and failed. 2) Duensing and Roenicke combined to yield a key insurance run in the 8th, after the Twins had closed to within one run. 3) Defensive misplays and failure to make plays cost the Twins dearly--a) Peralta was a dead duck with a good throw and tag, Mauer's throw tailed and Florimon failed to catch the ball. Two wild pitches allowed runners to advanced and each scored as a result of that. Mauer blocked a low pitch, but couldn't locate it and Roenicke's went between the wickets. c) Florimon booted a fairly routine grounder and Dozier might have left too early on Torii's hit and run roller in the first inning. d) Worley allowed too many baserunners, which put pressure on the defense and it never allowed Vanimal to get in rhythm.

I DVRed the game yesterday and watched most of it last night. While I didn't see some key events, I heard about them on the radio. The Twins had a chance to beat the Tigers but came up short in key at-bats. They also were hurt by bases advanced by the plodding Tigers. What went right: 1) Worley outlasted Verlander. Even though he was the losing pitcher he managed to go six innings and reached the threshold for a "Quality Start". 2) Fien struck out the side in the seventh and it was the top of the order. 3) The offensive approach allowed the Twins to only face Verlander for five innings. 4) Worley had the Tigers hitting the ball on the ground recording something like 15 ground ball outs, including one outstanding play from Florimon. What went wrong: 1) Four Twins came up in a game situation and only one (Doumit) brought in a run. Plouffe and Parmelee had a great chance to knot the game or put the Twins ahead in the 7th inning and failed. 2) Duensing and Roenicke combined to yield a key insurance run in the 8th, after the Twins had closed to within one run. 3) Defensive misplays and failure to make plays cost the Twins dearly--a) Peralta was a dead duck with a good throw and tag, Mauer's throw tailed and Florimon failed to catch the ball. Two wild pitches allowed runners to advanced and each scored as a result of that. Mauer blocked a low pitch, but couldn't locate it and Roenicke's went between the wickets. c) Florimon booted a fairly routine grounder and Dozier might have left too early on Torii's hit and run roller in the first inning. d) Worley allowed too many baserunners, which put pressure on the defense and it never allowed Vanimal to get in rhythm.

Add Brendan Harris to the list. He is on the Dodger team listed as a third baseman, no doubt as a result of Hanley Ramirez' injury. Harris is on the Angel team, and with injuries to Aybar and Callaspo, he is seeing some playing time at short and third.

Here's my record breaker: stolen base percentage record holder is none other than Alexi Casilla, 21 for 22 last year with his only CS either being a pickoff or an overslide, I can't remember which.

Here is a list of ex-Twins who have made Opening Day rosters in the major leagues. Long on pitchers and outfielders, short on infielders and starting pitching quality. Sound familiar? Denard Span--Nationals Ben Revere--Phillies Jason Kubel--Diamondbacks Carlos Gomez--Brewers Torii Hunter--Tigers Michael Cuddyer--Rockies Garrett Jones--Pirates Alexi Casilla--Orioles JJ Hardy--Orioles Nick Punto--Dodgers Henry Blanco--Blue Jays AJ Pierzynski--Rangers Wilson Ramos--Nationals Jason Marquis--Padres RA Dickey--Blue Jays Kyle Lohse--Brewers Philip Humber--Astros Kevin Slowey--Marlins Grant Balfour--A's Pat Neshek--A's Luis Ayala--Orioles Jesse Crain--White Sox Jose Mijares--Giants Jon Rauch--Marlins Matt Guerrier--Dodgers Joe Nathan--Rangers LaTroy Hawkins--Mets Notable DLs--Santana, Ortiz, Young, Liriano, Breslow