JB_Iowa

Twinsights: Twins exec Rob Antony wishes somebody would do something to win a job http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/03/19/twinsights-twins-exec-rob-antony-wishes-somebody-would-do-something-to-win-a-job/ I'm sure we all wish they'd step up and earn a job, too. It seems to me that the lack of luster doesn't apply only to those mentioned in this article. Starting pitching aside (for now), the whole team has seemed pretty lackluster. edit by Brock Beauchamp: This thread is getting out of hand. If this tone continues, we're going to start issuing infractions and warnings. This thread is not an open invitation to start whipping the front office for the umpteenth time.

Welcome to the board. Gibson does look good today. The way we all hoped he'd look last summer. Hopefully he'll continue to look good and we'll get to see a lot of him with the Twins this season.

Florimon does look good in the field.

What is there to slump from when you start at 0 fer?

Even without the effects of the surgery, his timing is what? 3 or 4 weeks behind everybody else?

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino 12m Gardy says he's "a little leery of our offense." #MNTwins I hope Gardy just loves understatement.

Looks like Gibson plus Deduno, Thielbar, Hoffman, Tonkin (in some order on the last 4).

These two quotes from Anderson pretty much confirm what you're saying: Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino Rick Anderson on Worley: "He warmed up as well as I’ve ever seen him. All of a sudden, as soon as they said play ball, the ball elevated." Anderson on Worley: "The more he tried to impress, the more it elevated. It just wasn't the night."

I think it will be Pinto as the back-up and am encouraged by this quote from LEN3: "If Pinto makes the team, as seems likely, the club understands that he will need to play more than twice a week." http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/250903841.html And I'm also coming around to your position that Herrmann may need to be the 25th man. If that is what it takes to get Pinto additional AB's as DH, then maybe that's the price to pay. It's not as though there are options that are heads and shoulders above Herrmann so for the reasons you state, it may well make sense to make him the 25th man on the roster.

I'm slightly encouraged by this quote from a LEN3 article: "If Pinto makes the team, as seems likely, the club understands that he will need to play more than twice a week." But it is a bit of a dilemma. I don't know why Gardenhire can't stand the idea of pitchers getting a few AB's. Some of them could probably end up with a BA higher than some of the other starters.

Well, first of all, before you can have a back-up catcher, you need to have a catcher so I'd put Suzuki's name on there somewhere. Second, I'm thinking that it will be Pinto as the back-up. He may not get as many AB's as we'd like but he really needs to be learning major league hitters. And while I suspect Kubel will come north, I'm not in favor of it. I don't see them bringing Bartlett. Have to think about how my entire list would shake out.

Great column. Thank you so much for sharing with us. And as always, all the best on your journey.

Thanks for the info, Nick. Hope you get to see a little better game action over the rest of your stay than you saw tonight.

You forgot the 1 in front of the 3

I remember last year that someone (Philly fan) posted about how much we'd enjoy Worley (especially his personality) -- hasn't happened yet.

Thanks ChiTown. For those of us who don't like to read sideways: #MNTwins lineup tonight: Presley CF Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Willingham LF Kubel DH Plouffe 3B Arcia RF Suzuki C Florimon SS Worley SP Rays lineup vs. #mntwins Myers 9 Dejesus 7 Zobrist 4 Longoria 5 Loney 3 Joyce dh Jennings 8 Escobar 6 Molina 2 LHP Moore Thanks, respectively, to Twins Daily and Mike Berardino on Twitter.

I hope that he CAN be just another one of the guys out playing baseball and trying to work his way through the system. He does seem to have the work ethic and the tools to someday be a top tier player. I hope it works out that way for him. I've paid more attention this spring to what the Twins brass are saying about the process that the minor leaguers go through -- not just improving their baseball skills but learning to be away from home, learning English (for non-English speakers), learning to deal with the media, learning the proper way to take care of their bodies (for some). The Twins do seem to have a handle on this (and maybe it is their Midwestern sensibility that leads them to talk about it). It is just a lot to deal with. Some highly ranked prospects grab on and move up the ladder rapidly. Others crash and burn. Others move up in fits and starts. Some make their major league debuts and become stars. Others make their debuts and are steady but not spectacular. And still others burn brightly for a time but fade rapidly. And it has probably always been that way. It's just that with so much attention paid to the minor leagues, any failures or setbacks get much more scrutiny now. It gives me more appreciation for the work that Seth does in trying to spread the spotlight around a little. And more appreciation for pieces like the ones written by A.J. Pettersen because they give a little more insight into the whole picture. Trautman, I hope it works out the way you do for Buxton and I do agree that he is an important piece of the Twins' future. But there may be someone working his way through the system who will turn out to be just as important -- he just may not be in the bright spotlight yet.

This is really the type of post that makes me cringe. We put such high expectations on these young guys. While I hope that they meet and exceed them, I suspect that they put enough pressure on themselves without the media and fan base heaping even more upon them. It is one of my biggest problems with the scrutiny brought by the blogosphere and the internet sports world.

If Pinto's game calling and defensive skills improve over the spring/early summer AND if he continues to hit well AND if the Twins don't then gradually move from Suzuki as the primary starter to Pinto as the primary starter, THEN I think there will be room to complain. But to use a veteran as the primary starter in the spring? I just don't see it as reason to gripe (despite the fact that offensively Suzuki leaves a lot to be desired). Not being the primary starter takes an enormous burden off Pinto and allows him to ease into the primary starter role gradually. It allows him to learn Major League hitters, it allows him to learn more about the Twins pitchers. Give him the advantage that Aaron Hicks DIDN'T have last spring -- let him "earn" more starting time while still on the major league roster. There are plenty of games to go around -- especially when you are talking about the catcher position where injuries and being banged up are the norm. (And there is some merit in Hosken's suggestion of Herrmann as the 25th man so that Pinto could get some additional AB's as the DH. I see alot more future merit in that than in bringing Kubel north).

I'm more intrigued by what he said about leadership -- and the comparison to Torii Hunter. I think that's why they were interested in bringing back A.J.P. I'm not sure they knew they would be getting that with Suzuki but I can only see it as a positive. "There's no doubt in my mind (Suzuki) will be that this year. He has so much respect in this clubhouse already. He's not afraid to get in a pitcher's face. 'Hey, that ain't good. We've got to do better.'" That's really something you can't expect from a rookie catcher. I'm hoping this all works out for the best. That Suzuki can get the pitchers started on the right course, that he is willing to mentor Pinto and that Pinto really learns from Suzuki, Steinbach and Mauer. It could turn out to be the best thing that could happen to Pinto. It takes off some of the pressure of being starting catcher as a rookie -- and yet allows plenty of flexibility for Pinto to learn his craft. I would think that Pinto could learn a lot from sitting next to Steiny and watching Suzuki.

Thanks for pointing out this column. Really fascinating on the leadership and worth ethic angle. If Suzuki is willing to mentor Pinto, this could be a really good combination that could see playing time adjusted over the course of the season. (And how could I not like him when he's compared to Mike Redmond?)

Somehow it seems fitting to have Kent Hrbek day on a day when a lot of beer is consumed .... maybe his mama is Irish?

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino 13m Hicks needs to win the CF job to open year in majors, Rob Antony said. Presley could stay as 4th OF if Hicks starts. #mntwins

Second installment makes me think more about impact on clubs (small market v. larger market) more than about the disparate impact on players. Not sure what to think about all of this other than that it deserves more analysis as more impact data develops.

I don't disagree with this and I've long expressed the need for a #1 -- I'm just not sure exactly how it relates to the tradeability of Perkins. If Perkins continues to excel as a closer, at the time of any trade, what remains of 4/5 years of cost-control may get you more than what remains of 2/3 years. And the no-trade clause is only 2 teams per the Strib. I think the idea is for Perkins to remain in Minnesota but it is certainly not contractually guaranteed.