gmarais66

I always think it's a bit silly when people critique pitchers' performances their first time out in a spring game... Typically, veteran pitchers are working on specific aspects of pitching at this point in spring training... Maybe they're throwing mostly fastballs or are working on placement... They certainly aren't taking the same approach as they would in a regular season game... If someone is getting hit hard toward the end of March, that's a different story...

I know most people are dismissing Bartlett as nothing more than a possible utility player, but I seriously think he'll end up being the starting shortstop... Florimon is a horrible hitter, at best, and I don't see him making any significant improvement in that area this year... I think it's a good bet that Bartlett can hit much better than .221/.281/.330....

I read it... That's why I commented... Should they have? Could they have? It's pointless....

I really dislike articles like this... Second-guessing, just for the sake of trying to be controversial; luring people in to agreements over meaningless retrospect. You can go back and second guess just about anything in life, but what's the point? What do you gain by it? It's rubbish...

It's hard to give much credibility to a guy, whose analysis includes lauding the Twins for having one of the best catchers in the game, in Joe Mauer for 2014... "Wait... Are you telling me President Kennedy has been shot?"

It appears to be a player that has already been mentioned as someone the Twins are interested in: "Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN talked with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire yesterday and was told the team is circling back with one more notable free agent. "[Assistant GM] Rob [Antony] just called me the other day and told me they were gonna make another run at a guy, and I'm like, 'Wow that's pretty good,'" said Gardenhire. "So they did it, and whether it works out or not we'll see, and they're not done. ... They're after it. I know that." Wolfson's hunch is that Gardenhire is not referring to Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana, but rather a bat or Bronson Arroyo"

The bar really isn't set very high for Bartlett. If he can hit better than .221/.281/.330 (Florimon's 2013 numbers) he could definitely be the starter...

Ryan was interviewed on 1500 ESPN today and the way he talked Doumit was still in the mix for catching this season. I think the comment about him not wanting to catch anymore is nothing more than a rumor gone wild...

The Twins have signed relief pitcher Jon Velasquez to a minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training. From Rotoworld: "Velasquez was once a farmhand with the Phillies, but he has spent the past three seasons in independent ball. The 28-year-old pitched exclusively in relief this year with the Camden Riversharks, posting a 1.95 ERA and 82/26 K/BB ratio over 73 2/3 innings."

May has a sore arm (tendinitis)... He may not pitch the remainder of the AFL...

Alex Meyer pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk, while striking out three, to lead Glendale to a 4-0 win over Peoria on Wednesday, in Arizona Fall League action. Meyer improved to 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA. Eddie Rosario collected two hits and scored a run. He's hitting .314/.324/.667.

Eddie Rosario had a big night on Tuesday for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Rosario went 3/4 with a double and RBI in a 5-4 loss to Peoria. He's now hitting .429/.500/.929 in three Arizona Fall League games.

I think the Yankees will probably get Tanaka, but the Twins might have a better chance if the proposed changes to the posting process go into effect. Under the proposed new process, the Twins wouldn't have to have the top bid. Tanaka could choose from the top three teams.

Just a reminder that the Arizona Fall League begins play today. The Twins' players are on the Glendale team, which faces Mesa at 1:35 today. Twins players include Byron Buxton, A.J. Achter, Zack Jones, Trevor May, Alex Meyer, Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario. Meyer is the starting pitcher in today's game. You can follow the games at the AFL scoreboard page at Winter Leagues: Arizona Fall League: Scoreboard | MLB.com: Events

There's a lot of negativity directed at Gardy, which I understand, because people need someone to blame for three dreadful seasons. However, if we're honest, it wouldn't matter if Joe Madden, Tony La Russa or Casey Stengel, brought back from the grave, were the Twins' manager during the past three seasons. The results wouldn't be much different. No manager or coach on the planet can turn Liam Hendriks into Justin Verlander or Trevor Plouffe into Evan Longoria. A manager can only work with what he has and Gardy has been given nothing to work with, especially in terms of pitching. Despite the Twins' horrendous play, Gardy remains one of the most respected managers in the game, among his peers. His hands have been tied for three seasons and everyone understands that. Everyone also understands that Gardy led some marginal teams to the playoffs in the 2000s, which I think is much more revealing about his managerial skills than three seasons with no talent. I'd like to see him stay, because given some talent, I think he can lead the Twins back to the playoffs.

There is no chance in the universe that the Twins sign Ellsbury. There may be a miniscule chance that TR surprises us and signs a decent pitcher or two, but he is not going to sign a centerfielder, especially one as expensive and with as many injury concerns as Ellsbury. The Twins will begin the 2014 season with either Hicks or Presley starting in CF.

Wow... So much hostility on this site... Bitter, angry, hostile and frustrated people out there... I think some of you would find a way to complain if the Twins won the World Series.... I can just hear it now... "They should have won it in five games. Just the fact they won it in seven games, shows they didn't really deserve to win it." My point wasn't to say that Correia is going to win the Cy Young. It was more to say that he's been much better than expected and all those slamdunk free agents everyone wanted the Twins to sign, weren't signed for a reason.

All winter long I read posts on this site thrashing TR for signing Kevin Correia. All the armchair pitching experts also whipped Ryan for not signing a long list of free agent pitchers, including Marcum, McCarthy and Blanton. Well, here's a great reality check for those who were complaining all winter... Warne: It's early but investment in Kevin Correia looks like a good one - Minnesota Twins news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

At least Pelfrey has a legitimate excuse for struggling... Unfortunately, guys like Robertson, Duensing, Slama and Guerra have had the tar beat out of them in their early appearances, but have no medical excuses (that we know of)... Does that mean they are getting an even stronger dose of reality?

The Twins have reportedly signed pitcher Kyle Davies to a minor league contract. The signing apparently does not include an invitation to major league spring training. Davies started 13 games for the Royals in 2011 and posted a dismal 6.75 ERA.... He last pitched in AAA for the Blue Jays and didn't pitch last year. He's pretty much a minor league filler....

The Twins made a couple more minor league signings, adding outfielder Antoan Richardson and infielder Doug Bernier. These guys are nothing more than organizational depth, as far as I can see.

I'm saying that from what I've seen, Correia is a similar type of pitcher to Pavano. I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with the fact he's a .116 career hitter and he's frequently pulled for a pinch hitter.

You are completely missing the point, which is what most of you guys do, because you want to believe that the stats tell you everything you need to know about a player. I'm saying that Pavano is the type of pitcher, who players had confidence in to keep them in the game (whether he did it or not). More often than not he did do that. When he was on the mound, players knew they had a shot to win. Why? Because he's a tough, experienced pitcher who has that edge that he's not going to give up. You could see it in his face when he was out there on the mound. He hated losing and he wanted to succeed no matter what. Now, a guy like that gives your team confidence. You can't measure that with a stat. If you don't think that's valuable, contrast it with a guy like Liriano. You never know what he's going to do on the mound and when he gets in a jam, his confidence drains. Things compound and get ugly really fast. Over the course of time, players don't have a lot of confidence in a pitcher like that. It shows in their performance on the field. Why battle back, when Liriano will just give up another big inning? If you think this is bs, it's not. I played and coached the game for many years. There are many intangibles that aren't reflected in stats, which affect the outcome of a game and contribute to a player's value. My guess is that you never played the game and stats are all that you have to hold on to in understanding the game. If you had "hands on experience", you would understand there is so much more to baseball than stats. Also, you threw out all those wins and losses by Pavano, but you didn't say what the score was when he left the game. Was it close? Did the bullpen make a close game not so close? What about the games he kept them in that were 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, etc...?

I'm not saying Corriea is going to be great, but this is where all you guys that decide everything about players, by looking at stats, are missing the boat. Scouts and those who have experience playing/coaching baseball, know there can be much more value to a player than what's recorded on the stats sheet. From what I've seen of Corriea, he's a lot like Carl Pavano. Pavano put up similar numbers in his first two years with the Twins. They weren't impressive, but you knew, every time out that the Twins had a shot to win when Pavano was on the mound. Why? He'd get into tough situations (which contributed to his less than eye-popping numbers), but he knew how to get out of those situations. He looked ugly at times, but he could get guys out when he had to. He may give up five or six runs, but he kept his team in the game and gave the Twins a chance to win. It's cliche', but he was the bend, not break type of pitcher. You won't find any of this in the stats sheets, because there's no line for toughness or fortitude or instinct. I'm sure many will laugh at this, but it is true. Baseball isn't played on paper. It is a game of stats, but the stats don't always tell the whole story of what happens on the field.

Mastroianni should not be a candidate for the starting CF job, because he has a serious hole in his swing (the same one Valencia has) and it won't take teams long to figure it out and exploit it. Now, if he could adjust and close that hole, I'd be more inclinded to give him a shot... Overall though, I think Hicks is a better choice, because he's a switch hitter, he walks a lot and from all indications, he's a better outfielder than Mastroianni. I like Mastroianni as a fourth outfielder, because he can come in at the end of the game as a defensive upgrade or as a pinch runner and steal a base.