SurroundedByTigers

Reed's numbers are looking pretty dynamite for CR: 1.29 ERA in 5 appearances w/10K, 1 bb. So far between Elizabethtown and CR, he has 0.69 ERA in 13IP with 18K, 1 BB. Also, when does Walker go up to AA? Vargas needs some friendly hitting competition - for the long ball, batting avg, etc.

I love all the arguments and points of contention here about Perkins and trade vs. keeping. I'm in the "keep" camp because we need reliability in the 9th inning. It's that sense of security that he provides that gives the Twins some confidence. What price do you put on that? When you get your guy in the 9th inning, you keep him for absolutely as long as you can. For comparison, I look at the Tigers - they have a really loaded team, great hitting and solid starting pitching, but their fans FREAK OUT when the ninth inning comes around because Nathan hasn't done the job, and the team now is searching for a new closer. Nathan may get it together but right now, Detroit is in FREAK-OUT mode when the ninth inning comes around. Twins don't need a taste of that level of insecurity. It would set the team back a decade by trading Perkins.

I can create a scenario next year where a lot of pieces fall into place for Twins, like May, Meyer, Berrios in starting rotation, and Sano, Buxton filling out lineup next year and contributing, if not starrring, along with a few more players raising their game a notch. So with that scenario, Perkins becomes very, very important player closing games. Sorry - trading Perkins is a bad idea.

Like it: Vargas, Rosario and Hicks (YES HICKS!! Finally, don't stop man - earn your way back to the Bigs) are doing damage at Double-A. Always a great way to begin the day. Gives me hope. And this Kvasnicka guy is a bonus.

What's the upside potential for Dereck Rodriguez after converting from outfielder to pitcher? Kid is 22 now. Looks like he did a great job for E-Twon with 3 scoreless innings.

Hicks has to be depressed. He puts up and O-fer(3), and gets pulled from the game on a night when the RockCats get 19 hits. Snap judgment: I don't see him back in Minnesota this year. Rosario and Vargas maybe, and both of them at Target Field before Hicks.

Reading these rankings, and the talent that seems to be coming through the pipeline, I'm wondering how the Twins decision-makers go about building the 2014 ML roster. Do they projection, by midseason, that guys like May, Meyer and Gibson will anchor the rotation, and guys like Sano, Rosario, Pinto, and more, will be regulars? If so, I'd like to see the Twins aggressively go into the pitching market for at least two arms who will help the team be somewhat competitive until young bats arrive to help turn this franchise around.

Just salivating over the possibilities after reading the hitters we have in the system. As a long-time Cabrera watcher, anything comparable to the Tigers 3B would be great for the Twins. So if Sano starts putting together more disciplined at-bats, and lets his power come out naturally, we are looking at one hellacious offensive talent waiting to step on Target Field. Add Buxton and Walker and Rosario and Vargas (my personal darkhouse for greatness) and we have the making of a juggernaut. I'm digging all of this.

I am not opposed to a managerial change if it makes the Twins better. That said, I don't think a new manager makes this current group of Twins better. We probably have at least one more season in Gardy before the Twins make a change. My call for the new mgr, a year out, when the next batch of good young prospects arrives, is probably somebody like Mientkieicwcykowskiovich, or however you spell his name. Anybody who brawls with the opposing mgr gets my vote, and certainly gets the attention of players. He can keep Sano, Rosario, et. al, in check. Have good day.

I want Sano up in the big leagues in September so he can stand on the same field and watch Miguel Cabrera hit and play 3B. Sano will learn more from watching Cabrera than any other player in baseball. Unless Sano is lights out, he starts next season at AAA and comes up midseason.

What's the upside on Reynaldo Rodriguez? He's putting up some decent numbers at AA, with like 17 HRs and 26 doubles.

Got to like it when we get solid starting pitching at AAA (Albers), AA (Pat Dean), High-A (Jason Wheeler) and GCL (Lewis Thorpe - wasn't this guy a swimmer or something in Australia?). And on top of that, all of them are lefties. Any of these guys got a shot of making it in the Majors? Wheeler is 8-4 with 4+ ERA and 1.53 WHIP. Dean 6-11, 4+ ERA, 1.34 WHIP, Thorpe 2-0, 2+ERA, .94 WHIP.

No freaking way do you hire Ozzie Guillen as manager. The guy's a walking timebomb and no way do you want him influencing any of the Latin players. ... Now then, as much as the Twins need guys like Sano, Arcia, Rosario in the lineup in the future, I would much prefer guys like Jack Morris or Puckett or even Dan Gladden who had that internal fire and tough as nails determination to win. You never saw Morris-Puck-Gladden pimping their ride on the field. They were all business and ready to rumble. Sano, Arcia, Rosario need to understand that aspect of the game.

What positions do these guys play anyway? Just simple facts would clarify this for the average Twins follower.

Living in Tigers' territory, I can say without reservation that the typical Detroit Tigers fans holds Gardenhire and the Twins organization in high regard. They also are somewhat terrified that the Twins might get their act together and sneak up on the Tigers and win the division. That said, people are never satisfied - Detroit fans are currently freaking out and would swap Gardy for Leyland in a minute. So, the moral here, if there is one, is be a fan, live and die with the team, but don't be a fanatic. There are more important things in life - like trying to make every day great.