stringer bell

I have been watching the game, but not checking out TD. Any comment on Diaz as the home plate ump? To me, he has been as good any anybody calling balls and strikes. Good zone, good consistency.

I am a bit disappointed that Pinto isn't catching today. Putting Mastro in right and using CC at DH would work.

They promoted him to the major league roster, including 40-man roster, just before Opening Day, as they did for Kubel. He would have to pass through waivers to be outrighted, although it is a virtual certainty that no one would claim him.

When reading discussions of aces, I think of Halliday as an example of a guy without high strikeouts who went on to become an legit ace. He was a IIRC well-regarded coming up, but not thought to be an ace, but evolved into an unquestioned top of the rotation guy on World Series teams. Maybe Gibson can get there, probably not. I agree that he needs to show more command, work ahead, and put more batters away quicker.

No room on the 40-man. Two spots after Parm and Diamond were demoted, filled by Nuñez and Mastroianni.

Brian Dozier is tied for the AL lead with four homers. My observation is that almost all of his long balls make it over the fence by only a row or two and usually are pulled. It seems to me that Dozier has learned how to hit 360 ft. home runs. I can remember guys like Cuddyer and Hunter hitting a lot of 380-400 ft. drives to the deep parts of their stadiums and settling for long outs or doubles. Dozier seems to turn well on inside pitches I'm guessing teams will get the scouting report to be careful on middle-in pitches. I think it is quite possible, however that Dozier breaks his team record for homers by a second baseman. The next question would be where BD should hit in the order. Last year, his OBP was .312, so maybe he should hit lower in the order, at least against right handed pitchers. I also believe in using base stealing speed at the bottom of the order--and Dozier could help in that area as well.

Bartlett will rehab first at Ft. Myers, then in Rochester, so he won't be eligible to return for a few weeks. Tonkin might earn a spot on the staff, or not. Fien and Thielbar have options and if a starter goes down, Deduno could move to the rotation, making a spot for Tonkin . Mastro might be sent down again, although the club could really use a back up center fielder. I think the exchange would be Nuñez for Florimon. If the outfielders return, Herrmann is expendable because Kubel and Colabello will be the DHing more and Pinto won't be needed as much in that role.

Gibson is a guy I like. I think he can be very good, perhaps to ace level. I would expect that if he reached his ceiling, he would still get a lot of ground balls but that he would K a lot more hitters and walk almost no one. So far, he really hasn't consistently commanded his pitches, but he throws downhill and gets good movement.

As a Twin, yes. He started the nightcap of a split doubleheader for the Marlins against the Twins last April.

Steinbach goes with the same exact lineup two days in a row.

Dozier should have been the Twins' MVP for 2013. He is one of very few players on the Twins who is an asset in the field, on the bases and with a bat in his hands. He seems to be a really good guy and he likes playing here. I rank him as my favorite player on the current Twins team. That said, with the long period of team control in front of him and less than one year of good play behind him, now is not the time to extend him. The risks for the team would include injury and ineffectiveness, the reward would be if they signed him and then he "blew up" into an All-Star fixture. I do believe Dozier will continue to be a solid regular second baseman, but I doubt his improvement curve will put him in elite status. On the player side, Dozier would be interested in an extension for an immediate (earned) large pay raise and security for the next several years. The risk to Dozier would be if he signed an extremely undervalued contract. Again, I doubt this will happen. If BD continued his improvement next offseason will be the time to extend him. BTW, I think that projecting specific players into positions is risky and unwise. Even with top of the line prospects like Sano and Buxton, there has to be some caution. The guys that have been mentioned as possible replacements for Dozier at second aren't elite and there aren't any sure things.

Hose-meal shows some man muscles!

A couple of quote candidates: "What we have is a fail-yah to communicate" and "the truth! You can't handle the truth!"

Yes, yes, yes!

I was thinking about this when they announced that the transaction would be taking place. Tonkin belongs in Minneapolis and I'm not sure whether any of the position players in Rochester are logical call ups. Still, it is sad that there is some need for an extra arm because of the starters' ineffectiveness.

SS wasn't a strength for the Hardy year either. JJ only played 101 games, with 6 homers and a 96 OPS+. Certainly not a powerhouse. Too bad they didn't hold on to him another year, maybe it would have clicked here. Given their luck since 2010, probably not.

That would include Presley (OF), Pressly (P), Herrmann, Sulbaran, and Colabello? Sorry, couldn't resist. The "Herrmann promoted" thread had so many misspellings that I had to write something about it somewhere.

For some reason I thought Nuñez was older, but he is a bit younger than Florimon. As noted above, he's going to get a chance to play and if things shake out, he might become the regular shortstop. He would obviously be an upgrade over Florimon in the lineup, but his defense has won few admirers. Nuñez will be on the 40-man and Bartlett will do a rehab assignment. It sounds like he could be in Minnesota real soon. Hey I learned to type a tilde!

Dozier had a bad series in Chicago, but was very good in Cleveland. I'd like to see him hitting down in the order, but he has reached 33% of the time, so that isn't bad at all. I am interested and curious what happens to Hicks. Still not a fan of not having a true backup for him. Maybe it'll be Nyjer Morgan?

BBRef says Herrmann played 21 games right, three in left. No games in center field.

Herrmann's not a great hitter, he's serviceable both behind the plate and in the corner outfield spots and he hits left handed. He reminds me of Chris Gimenez who has bounced around the league for some time now. Gimenez has more power, less contact and probably poorer defense. To say Herrmann can play first or third is unproven. He played first for a couple innings and to my knowledge hasn't played third since college.

The Twins finished 3-3 in six road games. They lead the AL in runs scored and allowed. Six games prove one thing--don't trust Spring Training stats. Kubel has swung the bat well after being nearly unwatchable in the spring. Willingham has been okay after being dreadful. Meanwhile, the pitching has been very poor. They are allowing over six runs per game and oodles of baserunners. The ball is going over the fence with too much regularity and there have been plenty of walks and long counts. Five positives: 5) Kubel is hitting very well. He got some help from Kipnis this weekend, but .412 with a 1.033 OPS is more than luck. 4) Hitting from the catchers has been very good. Suzuki has played four games and is (like Kubel) above .400 with more and 1.000 OPS. Pinto has two pretty big hits in the two games he's played. 3) The club has (so far) been pretty efficient scoring runs. Despite a mediocre .722 team OPS, they are getting hits in bunches and big hits with runners in scoring position. 2) Trevor Plouffe has started out very well. He had by far his best road trip ever for a trip where he didn't hit a home run. He's working the count better, hitting much better with runners on, and actually seems more comfortable at third base. 1) Chris Colabello is getting his chance and thriving. He's driving the ball (even to his pull field) and has unloaded the bases twice with extra base hits. He isn't going to continue to hit .391, but if he can be a real threat as a DH, it changes the Twins' lineup considerably. Five negatives: 5) Home run differential--I believe the Twins lead the league in HRs allowed, despite conditions that would be better for slap shots than moonshots. The Twins have only three long balls--one each for Colabello, Pinto and Dozier. 4) Four starters are below the Mendoza line--Dozier (although he has a .333 OBP), Arcia, Florimon, and Hicks (who went 0 for Cleveland). 3) Leaky and poor fundamental defense. Even though they have only been charged with two errors, there have been plenty of screwed up plays, miscommunication and balls that should have been played falling in. 2) Bullpen--almost no one has been unscathed. Perkins blew a save, Deduno wild pitched and balked his way to a loss, Swarzak, Thielbar, and Fien have been touched up. 1) The free agent investment has thus far not been worth much. Nolasco, Hughes, and Pelfrey have neither eaten many innings nor pitched well in four total starts. Nolasco has been the main culprit in his two starts.

I agree Jokin. I don't think either Arcia or Willingham are all-clear. It happens to all teams that injuries are originally diagnosed as minor and then there are new diagnoses after the swelling subsides. Given the Twins luck lately, I wouldn't be surprised if both guys are out for some time.

After last season's bullpen "success", it makes sense that there isn't much room for Tonkin. However, it should be anticipated that there will be regression to the mean in this group. Because they aren't a really hard-throwing group, there isn't a lot of margin for error, because their peripherals were not as good, it should be expected they slip some, and then there is age--Perkins, Fien, Burton, Deduno, and Duensing are all over 30. I don't know if that makes them candidates to regress or candidates to be injured, but it will be tough to sustain above average performance. Swarzak, to me, represents a classic case for regression. He far outperformed expectations and projections and was used a ton last year. Tonkin will get his shot, probably sooner than later. I really liked what I saw of Guerra in the spring, as well. I hope he gets a chance.

I've never been on the bandwagon to sign Drew and I think the other 29 teams' inaction shows that there is a lot of skepticism about Drew, at least at the price that Boras has held out for. Florimon remains the best defender in the system at one of the top three most crucial defensive positions. His offense was bad last year and has been abysmal so far in five games, but that is way too short a time to give up on him for good. A month from now, perhaps, but not now. I would still rather see a young guy than a 30+ SS with a long injury history.