CharacterGroove

Tough spot for Valencia - tough game in general. I hope he gets another chance, although it doesn't seem likely that it'll be in Minnesota.

It's a stretch to put Revere's year on Tom Brunansky. Revere's had success at every level he's played at professionally. His one mediocre year was his rookie year - not all that out of the ordinary. But I certainly hope that Hicks finds that next gear, and hopefully there's a hitting coach out there that can help.

Some fair points. My reply is that your conclusion is only demonstrable if you assume the destinies of Plouffe and Doumit and assume that Parmelee does not improve on his Spring 2012 form. You may be right. Going beyond this year, it also assumes the growth of our top outfield prospects. It's possible I'm just much more optimistic than you about our outfield options moving forward.

Being that we're prognosticating on future events, I'm comfortable making assumptions and statements based on belief. For instance, I'm assuming Span will not fall into a tailspin and end up with numbers like in 2010 and 2011 - mediocre at best. Projections go both ways. If you want to have a conversation void of assumptions and beliefs, and just stick to the hard numbers, start a thread about the 2011 Twins. I'm also not making any suggestion that we should "dump" Denard Span. I'm not even sure why that's a point of discussion. The entire point is about getting a great "return-of-trade" in the context of the Twins' strengths and weaknesses. It's my position - and apparently Souhan's - that the Twins have good outfield depth as it applies to their 40-man roster. What the Twins do not have is good starting pitching. As I mentioned, it's certainly debatable but I believe that Revere is good replacement for Span in centerfield and the combination of Plouffe/Doumit/Parmelee can adequately replace Revere in right. I do not think the Twins are better in the outfield without Denard Span, of course, but that's how trading works. The other team wants value too. The goal is to have a better team (either in the short or long term - or both), not a better outfield.

The sample size is much greater than 92 ABs. Without even looking at his impressive minor league numbers, he got 400+ ABs as a 23-year-old rookie. Now, the numbers weren't all that great, but they were certainly something that coaches expect to built upon. Which he's done so far.

I didn't read Souhan's article, but I agree with his premise as stated on this thread. The Twins do have good outfield depth to replace Denard Span. Of course, that statement makes certain assumptions that are certainly debatable. One, it assumes that Revere can replace Span's center field and lead off contributions. I firmly believe he can. Second, it assumes that right field will be at least as good without Revere. I think it can be. So, instead of: LF: Willingham/Plouffe/Parmalee CF: Span/Revere/Mastroianni RF: Revere/Doumit/Plouffe/Mastroianni The Twins would have: LF: Willingham/Plouffe/Parmalee CF: Revere/Mastroianni RF: Doumit/Plouffe/Mastroianni/[Arcia?]

I think he'd have to be doing a lot worse than he is to make that move.

I think somebody is confusing the MLB draft with those in the NFL and/or NBA.

Ben Revere

Doubtful. He plays better than his contract and is more productive than the reasonable potential of 95% of prospects. That said, anything's possible. A big market team could offer something too generous to turn down.

I wish him luck. He seemed like a good guy and had an awful thing happen to him this year. The Padres might be the spot.

I hate to sound skittish, but I don't trust him to throw a strike with the game on the line.

Sano is slumping so bad right now that he's giving the Twins an excuse to be the same old wait-and-see Twins. I actually kind of hope it's an old fashioned not-seeing-the-ball-well slump and not because he only sees crap pitches. That latter would suggest the Twins are doing him a disservice by keeping him in Beloit.

I'm surprised there's not already a MLB rule against carving personal messages in the dirt. If not, there should be. It could lead to unnecessary confrontation between opposing teams and, in the TV age, needless self-promotion. The merit behind the message shouldn't change anything - a blanket rule that doesn't doesn't discriminate. MLB baseball wouldn't be telling Walters (or anybody else) they couldn't mourn a tragic loss of life.

Seems about right. There have been some pretty good hitting teams in the park versus some very marginal pitching.

I don't think that's clear at all. But again, I seem to be a lot higher on Revere than many others.

When the outfield started getting loud and restless I assumed the wave as starting. I looked up the second time and saw the falcon release the bat, and then wrap around dive bomb on it again. It was a pretty remarkable scene. The TF cameras caught it during the stoppage of play. I don't remember why the game stopped but I don't think it had anything to do with the air show.

I don't think Morneau's and Parmalee's respective salaries should have any role in what position each of them play.

Well, that's not really an odd concept in Major League Baseball. Talent is often stored safely below in the spring (or entire year) while "placeholders" get the innings above. Of course it's debatable whether the Twins are in this situation. I cut the Twins organization some slack. The issue with Morneau, in particular, has been difficult - to say the least. He's a "build around" guy and for well over a year it's been one big question mark. Obviously Maurer is the other head scratcher whose struggles can change the complexion of an entire team. Also, our #1 starter and best starting pitching prospect both get Tommy John. While we can debate whether either of them deserve that classification, their injuries aren't on anybody. But there are other points that are not so easily dismissed. The infield is one steaming pile of proven mediocrity. The pitching staff probably more so. The organization has attempted incremental improvements with both through the past several years, only to replace mediocrity (or worse - see Nishioka), with more proven mediocrity. I give them credit for giving Parmalee at bats. I was fully expecting them to have 3 catchers and rotating Butera into the 1B/C mix. Of course, it seems that still might come to fruition. With the outfield, Willingham has been phenomenal this spring. The only problem is that we signed him to play RF and his inability to play RF has left us scrambling; and left one of our best young talents without a chair when the music stopped. So that means we hire another "placeholder" for a position that I'm not sure who he's holding if for - Benson, Hicks, and Revere have all been playing LF/CF. That leads me to Plouffe. I don't know what the plan is with him. It seems to me at some point you have to give him a role and see whether he's a viable option moving forward. But in the end, it always circles back to pitching. That's been been by far the most frustrating part. I don't criticize the team for giving Liriano chances despite his continuous struggles. He's our best talent. But despite our concerns with him and everybody else, our rotation did not improve whatsoever in the offseason. A notable exception perhaps being Liam Hendricks. We'll see if he can elevate himself above the Nick Blackburn line of Major League mediocrity. I don't have it in me to even discuss the bullpen.

I don't think the idea is to "move him today." If he continues to play well and stay healthy, he will have value for teams positioning themselves this summer. Particularly with your points #3 and #4. Of course, it may be that I have more confidence in Ben Revere than you and some others on this thread.

In the event the club is out of it in July, which is a legitimate possibility, I think trading Span should be a priority. It just makes the most sense. A player with his skillset has a lot of value and we've got an immediate replacement. I say that liking Span and everything he's done for the organization.