stringer bell

I find both the exhibition games and watching the minor leaguers to be interesting. My brother has been my traveling companion for the three years we've gone to Fort Myers and he much prefers watching the prospects, even if it is just practice. With the diamonds adjacent to one another, a person can see two or three games at once, perhaps watching a big leaguer getting some extra work, or maybe seeing a top prospect strut his stuff. Personally, after watching Vargas take BP a couple of times last year, I was convinced he would be DHing for the Twins by September. I also saw a lot to like in Berrios.

Yeah, you mentioned when you would be there. Too bad, I probably would have sprung for a frosty beverage.

We rented a car last year and it was really expensive. It seemed like our choice was between a while Impala and a........white Impala. I just found out that I'm tentatively going back the week of St. Pat's Day, so I will have to remember the ins and outs of Ft. Myers and getting to Hammond.

Hicks' .250 in the last half is actually .250 in the last month, he didn't play in the majors from June until September 1. He had 60 at-bats plus 9 walks in that span. He hit for absolutely no power (3 doubles were his only extra-base hits). IIRC, most of his hits weren't hit hard, but were well placed. No, he wasn't an adequate hitter in September--the OPS he put up in that month is lower than any outfielder who qualified as a regular. If Hicks wants to be a regular outfielder, he has to take a big step forward. He has shown that spring training doesn't predict his progress, so he needs to go to AAA and master that level.

I think reality is somewhere in between. Hunter seems to be well-liked by his teammates, but better-liked by the media. Hunter is a big personality in the locker room and I think the Twins could benefit from that personality.

I can't remember seeing any buses going to Hammond. I saw a couple of people bike in to the stadium and met one who biked every day from her residence, but it isn't a short trip and I don't know if there are bike trails coming to the park. There aren't many bad seats and the ushers etc. are friendly and helpful. It is a nice experience. Many of the games I've gone to have been sold out or close.

Not disputing that, but with more experience I expect that Santana will hold his own defensively in center, if needed. The composite of the four guys I listed was horrendous, and they combined for more than a full season in the outfield.

Agreed. particularly in conjunction with a staff that allows an awful lot of contact, but I'll stand by a point I made earlier--that much of the defensive inefficiency was the result of playing guys who aren't in the Twins organization--Willingham, Parmelee, Colabello and Kubel--and while I disliked the Hunter signing, he won't be as bad as "the departed" and continuity will probably improve corner OF defense. I still am on board with acquiring a premium defensive center fielder (like Peter Bourjos) because I think the Twins need to take the approach that they can contend this year.

I believe 25-year old Aaron Hicks is still a prospect and can develop into a decent major league center fielder. However, IMHO, that is just more proof that he needs to be optioned to Rochester to start 2015. He's been something between a disappointment and a failure in two attempts to secure the center field spot. He can't do anything in the spring more than he did in '13 and '14 when both the team and observers were lauding his maturity as well as his performance. Hicks hasn't hit in the majors and he hasn't mastered AAA. The Twins have cost him two years of development by unwisely promoting him. If they keep him as a platoon or quasi-platoon, they probably get little value for their first-round choice and he'll be replaced by first Jordan Schafer and then either Byron Buxton or Eddie Rosario. Hicks needs to get his plate appearances from both sides of the plate, but he probably won't get them with the Twins--he needs to "get it" and his best chance to do that is AAA. I personally doubt that Hicks will ever hit enough to be a credible option as a corner OF and the (still) #1 prospect in baseball is a center fielder starting the season within range of promotion to the Twins. Let Hicks handle AAA, get recalled or increase his value enough to be traded for something of value. If he is going to start less than twice a week, I'd rather Shane Robinson fill that role until a prospect (Hicks, Rosario, Buxton) steps up to claim center.

The Twins didn't have prospects available to fill gaping holes. Veteran stopgaps like Doumit and Suzuki filled roles. We can argue whether they should have been flipped or whether they should have been extended, but the prospects weren't ready. I put Willingham in a different category and it would have been tough to trade him during or after his big first season. Unfortunately injuries ruined his last two years. They have developed a pretty good offense. It has been the rotation that has let them down. Maybe Neil Allen can change their fortunes.

Sacrilege! I thought OBP was the god we worshiped here at Twins Daily. Seriously, it can and will be said that Mauer is what he is, but that doesn't mean taking a walk in the late innings with a guy on deck who hasn't played a full season in the majors. I think Mauer has to produce more runs and he might need to make some adjustments to do so.

I agree with Reusse about Vargas to a point. It wasn't just the numbers against LH pitching, Vargas did not look good facing southpaws most of the time. Getting Pinto some extra starts against left handers makes sense for Pinto and really doesn't seal Vargas' fate. As a switch hitter, Vargas would face plenty of left handed relievers and start as the DH well over 2/3s of the time. If Vargas hits well against those lefty relievers, he'll get his starts against both.

Yup, that's probably the most likely scenario. I think the Twins owe it to their fans and the players to try. We certainly can debate whether the money was spent wisely, but going over $100M is competitive, and clubs with lesser salaries were contenders last year.

The Millers played one year at least at Metropolitan Stadium IIRC. The Met was built to be expanded to a major league park if the area got a franchise. Not sure about Midway. I would presume it was the successor to Lexington. Calvin did his best to involve both twin cities, naming the club "Minnesota Twins", but big brother Minneapolis remained big brother.

I believe Reusse is going on vacation, perhaps to Ft. Myers, but he wrote a pre-spring training look at the 2015 Twins before his absence. I mostly agree with Patrick's view on baseball and this column is no exception: http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/290167941.html It looks like there is a pretty good consensus on the 13 players who will go north and much agreement on who will start. My one difference with the position players listed is Aaron Hicks. I think he's enough of a prospect to not waste as a platoon center fielder starting less than twice a week. In that role, I would rather see non-prospect Shane Robinson, with the expectation that changes would occur before mid-season, ushering in Hicks, Rosario or maybe, just maybe, Byron Buxton. I guess I wouldn't go with Plouffe in the cleanup spot or bat Dozier so low, but I think that is quibbling. The bullpen is a true crapshoot to project. I guess performance in Florida will matter for several of those guys.

What was impressive about Hicks' second half? He handled AA, was about average (maybe a little better) in AAA in a SSS and then walked his way to a .657 OPS in September with the Twins. I watched enough of Hicks in September to ask, over and over, "when is he going to hit the ball hard?".

A lot of good comments here. I am trying not to cherry-pick stats, but I would like to point out some things that seem to be pushed under the rug--yes, Aaron Hicks will play this year at 25, Eduardo Escobar just turned 26, they are less than a year apart and Escobar has accomplished something as a major leaguer. I would also state that Schafer showed more in his short stint with the Twins than Hicks has in 538 plate appearances with the Twins. Hicks performance has been on a par with Robinson's in a roughly equivalent number of at-bats. If some are willing to platoon Hicks, I think they are giving up on Hicks as a prospect and making him a fourth outfielder/platoon player. A strict platoon would have Hicks "riding the pine" between 2/3 and 3/4 of the time. I'd rather have Robinson in that role and see if Hicks can master AAA. Yes, Danny Santana is a cover boy for "predicted regression" and most of us were surprised by Eduardo Escobar's hitting prowess last year. Again, their production last year happened as did Hicks' lack of production. The Twins should be cognizant of the percentages, but shouldn't ignore what happened between the lines. Let's also remember that the team that goes north won't be the team that we see after Memorial Day or the All-Star break. First of all, the Twins should proceed as if they were going to contend this year. That means sending the best 25 players north and the best nine on the field and in my book that means both Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar in the lineup. Addressing defense--Aaron Hicks isn't even above-average as a center fielder. He might be a bit better than Santana, but the difference could be marginal. Buxton likely won't be a gold glove guy when he is recalled, but he could be the best defender available in the Twins' system. If the Twins want premium defense in center, they should make a deal for Peter Bourjos. He is a proven top defender, still under 30 with a contract for less than $2M.

Why should Hicks' spring matter even a little bit? He looked very strong in 2013 and pretty good in 2014, but came out of the gate under .200 both years. I just can't see how Hicks should start the season with the Twins. Let the guy master AAA.

There are a lot of "ifs" that have to work out positively for the Twins to contend. It could happen, and they are due for a surge. A nice, long winning streak early could give them confidence, especially if much of the streak is against AL Central teams. The Twins also need to build a home-field advantage, winning 10-15% more games at home than they win on the road. That would mean that the team should fit the ballpark and have a bit of an edge when playing at Target Field.

I agree with Doc about 2015 and I would say that Santana progressed a long way last year from his early starts in center. Yes, I believe he was league average by the end of the season and I think that if he were out there this year, he would progress beyond that. Also, I think the jury is still out on both shortstops. Escobar had a fine year with the bat and played well in the field. I am not sure he will sustain the hitting. Santana played at an All-Star level as a hitter (for a SS), but we didn't get to see enough of him in the field to judge whether he could handle being a full-time SS. Both are candidates for offensive regression. This season should tell quite a bit.

One other thing, Hisle batted in the middle of the lineup, while Mack didn't IIRC, at least when the Twins were relevant.

Jason Kubel, Chris Parmelee, Chris Colabello and Josh Willingham played a lot of innings in the outfield last year. Danny Santana was shockingly green in the OF when he started his first games in center. The Twins won't have those problems, along with innings for the likes of Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Escobar. The most likely replacements for the guys penciled in are better outfielders than the guys who will start the season. My vote is the outfield defense will be marginally better if the Twins spend most of the year with Arcia and Hunter on the corners and will be markedly better if players like Schafer, Rosario, and Danny Ortiz are in the mix regularly at some point in the season.

I have been publicly predicting Eddie Rosario will make the club out of spring training. I really doubt that will happen, but I'm pulling for a long shot to happen. Rosario would have to be clearly better than his competition in center, not only Hicks, but also Schafer and the Twins would have to be wedded to having Santana as the shortstop. I see a better future for Rosario than Hicks, but left field is probably the position he will get most of his playing time.

I don't expect any I named to be playing beyond 2016.

Battey had one good season in Washington plus his seven seasons in Minnesota. For a catcher, that is pretty good longevity. He was a four-time All-Star. In my book, he deserved the Twins Hall of Fame honor.