JB_Iowa

7-0, one out. Hope the Mets wanted to take BP today.

3-0 w/1 out in the 1st. EEK - Ricky digging a hole.

For the Mets. Lagares - CF Tejada, R - SS Duda - 1B Davis, I - DH Brown, A - LF Lutz, Z - 3B Nieuwenhuis - RF Teagarden - C Quintanilla - 2B Gee pitching.

I'll help out. For the Twins: Dozier - 2B Bartlett - SS Mauer - DH Kubel - RF Ramirez - LF Parmelee - 1B Pinto - C Escobar - 3B Presley - CF Nolasco pitching. I haven't found the Mets line-up yet (even though I'm watching them hit. Ugh).

I don't see any of this as a big problem -- Presley will be the 4th OUTFIELDER not just the backup Centerfielder. Arcia and Willingham aren't going to play in the field every game. The likelihood of Kubel spending a lot of time in the outfield isn't all that high. I think that both Hicks and Presley will get a chance to play.

Actually, I think he was very much saying what Aaron Hicks was saying. They have to do the work -- be conditioned, be prepared, do the work in the cages, develop a plan for AB's -- if they do that well, the hits will come. If they press for hits, they may overlook the other work that has to be done and that won't work in the long run.

Looking forward to seeing what he can do now that he is further removed from TJ and starting fresh at the beginning of the season. And Deduno seems like he could be a real weapon out of the pen.

I'm a little disappointed that we never got to see/experience the "Vanimal" part of his personality. Feels like just another in an endless stream of pitchers who are with the Twins for a month or two and then disappear only occasionally to be heard from again.

I'm not bashing him but I think that the clubhouse does reflect his personality and that, over the last couple of years, there haven't been other players who are veteran enough and respected enough to provide a counter balance. Although I believe that losing contributes in large part to that atmosphere, I can't help but think that the quietness of the clubhouse is a reflection of Mauer's personality. And I actually think that Twins management has some concern about it. Gardenhire has talked about the need for players to have fun (even in the midst of losing it is still a game). And I think that need for some attitude was a part of trying to sign A.J. It may be that this group of veteran pitchers can bring in a little life to the clubhouse -- Nolasco certainly seems to have a bit of a different personality. So I guess we'll see. But it was concerning that there wasn't any excitement or life last September when some of the rookies were called up. Losing still isn't fun but there should have been a bit of boisterousness just from several of them having a chance to realize a part of their major league dream. Quiet, cool, professionalism obviously works well for Joe Mauer. It doesn't necessarily work well for every player. Some signs of life would be appreciated (and I don't think this is all just Souhan complaining because he doesn't have an easy interview).

The Rays broadcast schedule for the entire month of March only shows an MLBN (delay) game @ Boston on 3/23 and Sun Sports broadcasts on 3/25 and 3/26. Really sparse coverage. Kind of goes along with their crowds at home. Do they not have regular coverage? Look at this: http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/schedule/broadcast/index.jsp?c_id=tb

Patrick Reusse ‏@1500ESPN_Reusse 17m Tonight's Twins lineup is a manager's cry for help.

Well, we should get a sneak preview tonight. Phil Miller ‏@MillerStrib 1h The entire projected regular-season lineup is taking the bus ride to Port Charlotte to play the Rays tonight: pic.twitter.com/TTHMILTxVs Dozier Suzuki Mauer Willingham Kubel Plouffe Arcia Hicks Florimon

I don't think there has been anything new on Rosario since this 3/8 Berardino column: http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/03/08/twinsights-eddie-rosario-dealing-with-personal-issues-agent-says/

But the fascinating part of the article to me was that people are actively working on trying to quantify it.

I think it was a really unfortunate choice of words with regard to Mauer. But actually seeing bilateral used in conjunction with tibial stress gives me a greater understanding of why the term "bilateral leg weakness" may have been used with Mauer. I would guess that a medical professional used it and then it was picked up by someone in Twins management who, unfortunately, uttered the phrase without elaborating until all blogosphere h*ll had broken loose. And I do think that someone will try to pinpoint how/why the stress fractures developed in both of Iglesias' legs. Diet and nutrition (maybe even in childhood)? Overtraining? Bad training?

That, too. Sorry Parker.

I have never regretted a comment more than the one I posted at 11:14. It totally detracts from the excellent article that Seth linked to about the Oakland A's.

MLB ‏@MLB 1h Tests on @tigers SS Jose Iglesias show bilateral tibial stress fractures, will be limited to non-weight bearing exercise for 4-6 months. Isn't "bilateral tibial stress fractures" limited to non-weight bearing exercise just a more severe form of "bilateral leg weakness"?

The difference was that I never had the audacity to bring a book to the table at Christmas dinner. This is a problem my friends and I discuss on a fairly regular basis -- perhaps because we are female we see it differently. But there is nothing more irritating to a woman than to have her daughter-in-law sitting at the table constantly posting to facebook or texting someone. (She'd be equally as irritated if it were her daughter but she'd be more assertive with the daughter about telling her to put the d*mn phone away).

Wow, just read the entire article you linked to, Parker, and it was fascinating. I was intrigued by the following quote: Oakland, out of necessity, signs players with limitations; out of necessity, the team sometimes asks them to fill holes they're not used to. That means plenty of platoons, which keeps egos in check, and players being asked to change positions: Donaldson is an infielder who was once a catcher; Brandon Moss is an infielder who was once an outfielder; Sean Doolittle is a reliever who was once an infielder. Overlapping roles, no cliques. Oakland trades its stars before they leave for free agency, so only four Athletics this summer were actually drafted and developed by the team. It's a culture of baseball immigrants, the AL's melting pot. Nobody owns the clubhouse. The music that plays there before game time reflects this shared ownership: Rather than the house, hip-hop or country booming out of most clubhouses, the A's usually listen to classic vinyl or VH1-style mom pop, inoffensive background music that nobody could really object to (or feel territorial about). It must be the only clubhouse that plays Jethro Tull. ​This brings me back to the "elephant in the room" question about the impact of Joe Mauer's personality. I don't think anyone would dispute that Mauer is quiet. Given the huge respect paid to him by the management and fans, isn't it reasonable to believe that his personality has an impact on that clubhouse? What rookie or young player is going to bring in liveliness in the face of his presence? In the "old days", he was the youngster coming up and there were others around him who could have as much of an influence -- Hunter, Redmond, Morneau, Cuddyer and others. But over the last three years, the Twins failed to re-sign Cuddyer. Morneau became a shell of his former self and seemingly had less impact before also not being re-signed and now even by perhaps adding Kubel and Bartlett, how much influence could they have while they are trying to reclaim some semblance of their former playing ability? While the Twins have brought in some veteran pitchers who might be able to change the clubhouse atmosphere, I've never thought of the pitching staff as having as much influence as position players. There is a possibility that some chemistry will be created by the likes of Perkins, Hughes and a few others who seem to share some bonds. (At least there seems to be some overlap there as talked about in the article). But, since the Twins seem to be averse to signing a group of veteran free agent position players, I would guess that the chemistry in the clubhouse isn't really going to change unless/until the prospects arrive as a group. (And frankly, that may be a reason to HAVE them arrive as a group). We've heard good things about the chemistry in Rochester last year. We'e also seen shared bonds among some of the Latin prospects. Maybe that will eventually change the clubhouse atmosphere. This is not a knock on Joe Mauer. Joe Mauer undoubtedly provides quiet leadership but I just don't see his personality as a catalyst for chemistry (and in fact, it may be a block). I remember Morneau talking about how Mauer spent much of his road trips by himself, in his room, studying batters. Would winning help create chemistry? Undoubtedly. But the point of the article is that chemistry can also be created in other ways and that it may, in fact, help contribute to winning. It's a formula the Twins are having a hard time finding.

I did find the "generational" point interesting -- as someone in their late 50's who doesn't use a smartphone, I find it very annoying, for example, when teens-20's spend most of Christmas Day texting, posting and searching rather than TALKING to live people. But aside from that, we discussed the "Target Field Library" extensively last fall: http://www.twinsdaily.com/showthread.php/9167-The-Target-Field-Library?highlight=Target+Field+Library It just looks like it moved south this winter. I have no doubt it will be opening again in the TC later this spring.

Thanks, Jeremy, for all the continuing work you put in on this. Incredible attention to detail.

Can't help pulling for him. He was so much fun to watch in 2007 and 2008. And he has always been fun to follow on Twitter -- such devotion to collecting (and to sharing). And congrats to him and his wife on the recent birth of their son.

Thanks for the article, Nick. I think we all felt like we knew what to expect from Nolasco -- someone who would come in and eat inning and provide some leadership and stability to the pitching staff. A solid #2 serving as a #1 with this team. And so far, the signs are good with him, too. But Hughes was (and is) always more of a question mark. It is good to see him starting off "on the right foot" and his potential upside always made it seem like his contract could be a bargain. The key for him (seemingly) is to trust in himself and not to keep tinkering and adjusting so much that he gets everything totally out of whack. We have yet to see how that will play out but I'd much rather see him starting well from the beginning than have to rediscover himself as ST goes along.

Interesting that its the ones "competing" for a job who got called out but nothing about some of the "regulars". I know that they are expected to perform to a certain level regardless of how they look in the spring. On the other hand, they could provide some leadership for the guys who are "in competition".