stringer bell

Mauer still has four years left on his contract, correct?

Agree 100% on Gladden and besides that he's not a good announcer, especially on PBP. I didn't (and don't) have a problem with a Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career with the Twins getting his number retired, but the other side of it is I wouldn't have a problem if he didn't. Let's just hold off on Twins' HOF for a few years until Johan, Morneau, Torii, Cuddy and Radke can be inducted (Radke's not in yet is he?).

Sorry Senior Moment. Obviously I meant Escobar.

I hope this isn't hijacking the thread. There are many scenarios in which Santana gets at least some center field time: 1) All candidates for center field are deemed unqualified. 2) Santana deemed unacceptable defensively at shortstop. 3) Escobar forces himself into the lineup as a regular. 4) Injuries force the manager to move Santana back to center. Personally, I'm not convinced that Santana can be a regular shortstop. I think he's earned regular time to start 2015 due to his strong offense and he played well enough in center at the end of last year. If he hits and runs the bases like he did last year, the team will find a place for him to play.

The Twins changed the name of their team when they moved to Minnesota. The Dodgers stayed the Dodgers, the Giants stayed the Giants, so it kind of figures that they don't emphasize their Washington roots. Also, the Senators were perennial losers and when the Twins moved, they wanted to make a break from that history. When Calvin sold the club, the connection with Washington was pretty much severed. I agree that the Twins should recognize their Washington history, but it isn't easy to consider the first 60 years of the last century exactly the same as the last 54 years that they have been in Minnesota.

Regarding the relative value of Mack and Tovar, they played in different eras. Mack played in the early steroids era when home runs and offense soared. Whereas, Tovar played at the peak of a pitching era where Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain won 30 games. Five years vs. eight matters as well and the Twins of Tovar's era were contenders more often than not while the Twins had only two years of relevance during Mack's tenure. As a teenager, it seemed like Tovar was a Twin forever, as a grown-up and dad, it seemed like Mack was with the Twins a short time. Versatility does matter. I agree that the stunt of playing all nine positions shouldn't matter at all, but Pepé was versatile, playing a lot of third, some second and short and all three outfield positions. He also had personality, whereas Mack was among the quietest and most reserved players in his era.

From the PP: Tommy Milone had a "neck procedure". Much like Nolasco, perhaps Milone was limited by a nagging injury, which might account for his poor performance for the Twins.

While in my car, I listened to much of espn-1500's coverage of TwinsFest. Reusse, Gladden and Co. interviewed several current Twins concluding with an "interview" of Torii Hunter--"here's the mic, Torii, do your thing". Most takes were optimistic, of course, but talking baseball and baseball news on a warm, sunny January day made my travels enjoyable and entertaining. I attended the Twins Meltdown last night and talked baseball with a couple of new friends, but mostly listened to John, Nick and Aaron Gleeman interview Dave St. Peter and Jacque Jones. Again, optimism reigned, tempered by a bit of defensiveness from the Twins President. Here are some tidbits from what I heard about the Twins yesterday: Torii Hunter doesn't play center field. Brian Duensing signed, keeping the Twins streak of avoiding arbitration alive. The Twins are a middle-market team, their will be some progress made on blackouts, perhaps as soon as this year. Jacque Jones stays in touch daily with Hunter, Matt Lawton, LaTroy Hawkins, and Eddie Guardado. Season ticket sales are down, but considering all the factors, the Twins are well-supported. Changes to the amateur draft have worked well, it remains to be seen what will be effective as far as international signings. Terry Ryan isn't ready to name Danny Santana as the everyday shortstop, he likes the offense and thinks the acquisitions will improve the pitching staff. Here is my take: Financially, the Twins are taking a hit with lower attendance, but overall it hasn't stopped them from spending (what has?). Both Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones really like and respect LaTroy Hawkins (future Twins Coach?). On the field, the Twins are hoping, no one knows if prospects will reach their potential, if guys who turned in solid years last year can duplicate that or improve, or if disappointments last year perform at career norms. If all of those things come together in the positive, Paul Molitor will have a successful first year as a manager. If not, with the new strength of the AL Central, the Twins could find themselves looking up at everyone again this year. No one had a real answer as to why Molitor will be more successful than Gardenhire, but having someone new at the helm might help. Thanks to the hosts of Twins Meltdown. It is always nice to see other Twins fans and talk about my favorite sports team.

I hope Josmil keeps the facial hair. It should be a big year for Pinto, since I expect Suzuki to fall off quite a bit. Perhaps sometime this season we'll see a lineup with Santana, Sano, Rosario, Vargas, Pinto, and Escobar in it. Then we will know that the Latin invasion is here.

On attendance, certainly the Twins were due for a dip since they didn't have the "hook" of the All-Star game. Add to it that they have had four straight losing records and it makes sense that every portion of Twins fandom is down. MLB is easily the most affordable major sport to watch. Almost all the games are on TV and going to a game doesn't cost a week's pay. Every sport seems to target what I consider the wealthy, unfortunately.

The Laudner pick-off throw occurred on probably the only day I ever went to a bar to specifically watch a game. I don't think I ever screamed as loud (at least at a sporting event) as when G-Man slapped the tag on Evans. It is my #1 memory of Laudner's career.

Let's be realistic here. Neither Escobar or Santana is really proven and either or both could regress significantly and this whole discussion would be moot. That said, based on performance, both Escobar and Santana should be in the lineup and that means Santana in center field. To those who say Escobar will get his playing time, remember that he would be backing up the three best position players from last year and two of them hit from Esco's stronger side.

If the Twins are deciding by past performance, Escobar must be in the starting lineup from Day 1. He had a fine season with the bat and demonstrated consistency and a strong arm at short. Santana deserves to start somewhere and there is an XL hole in center field. It makes sense to me. Hicks hasn't performed well enough to garner a spot on the 25-man roster and we have seen two seasons in a row that his spring training performance is no predictor for his play when the games start. Defensively, I think Santana was approaching league-average by the end of the season. Put him out there for another 50 games and he will be average or better.

That was my first thought when mentioning Jones' career highlights. I remember about a year or two before he left, that someone mentioned that Jones could only slide one way and that limited his base stealing.

The Rockies have been looking at the Kevin Correia level on the free agent market. The Twins have a lot to offer at that level. The Rocks still have an excess of outfielders, but after his second half I don't think Blackmon is a good match with the Twins. My scenario remains trade for Bourjos or any other elite defense right handed hitting outfielder available. Schafer plays more if Bourjos struggles at the plate and less if he hits. Schafer gets several starts for Hunter vs. RH pitching and occasional starts for Arcia. Hicks goes to Rochester to compete for a recall.

I thought Mauer was shaky early at first, mostly on popups and ground balls hit to him (to flip or not flip) and he was unsure of himself positioning and cutting off balls. As the season wore on, he got more and more comfortable. He's pretty athletic and has a really long reach. He's probably more prone to win a Gold Glove than a Silver Slugger IMHO.

I shared the fear when the ball was hit to Plouffe, but by mid-season I was confident when the ball was hit to him by mid-season. I think we have seen Plouffe mature as a ballplayer after seeing Plouffe come into the league with major issues in his game.

Split the difference and get it over with. I am as big a fan of Schafer as almost everyone, and I thought it was questionable that he would even be offered arbitration. Apparently years of service matters quite a bit. I was looking at some of the numbers agreed to by arb eligible players and Casey McGehee is filing for more than Plouffe will be getting and in the same range as Josh Donaldson, even though Plouffe profiles better and Donaldson is an All-Star.

I'm with Brock on this and have learned to appreciate Plouffe for what he has done to become, by almost all measures, an above-average third baseman. In the Dozier thread there were comments about having 3-4 good players capable of having a great year. I would put both Plouffe and Dozier in that category. Their floors have gone up to capable or average and in good seasons could be in the top quartile at their position. Regarding the comments above, Plouffe isn't one to make many highlight film plays, but that shouldn't sully his defensive reputation. Making the plays that should be made is much more important than having Manny Machado throw out a guy from beyond the coaches box. Plouffe's (and Dozier's) improvement didn't make the Twins a contender in 2014, but having guys that can be counted on makes the climb to respectability and contention that much easier.

Dozier is the rare player on the team who is at least average offensively, defensively and on the bases. Having eight or nine players like him would be great. He is a fine player, but not a superstar. I think he'll be the second baseman the next time the Twins make the playoffs.

Santana is a skilled hurler, if he were 100% healthy, he still would be at least a better than average pitcher. However, it isn't whether he has enough stuff to pitch in the majors, it is that his arm is connected mostly by surgical thread. I sincerely doubt he could hold up more than a few weeks. Beyond that, some other part probably will fail him. Unless the Twins are convinced he has found a magical cure for his ailment, they shouldn't sign him. I do want to remind Mr. Pleiss that Bartlett signed a minor-league deal, the problem was that they let him make the team on attitude and experience rather than performance. Perhaps a new field management team would hold their veteran minor-league contracts to higher performance standards, I sure hope so.

I don't consider it sad and I do think Dozier has been the best position player the past two years by a decent margin. Dozier is a good player and I think he will continue to be underrated by many until batting average isn't the first thing considered for offensive performance.

To expand on that story, the leadoff HR was much more than "baseball is back". It came after the off-season of uncertainty as to whether the Twins would be contracted. It was an all-caps "BASEBALL IS BACK AND THE TWINS ARE PART OF IT!".

I'm in!

I liked Jimmer's comment, but I would point out that some pitchers consistently exceed their FIP, while others consistently fall short. Nolasco has consistently had a higher ERA than his FIP.