jokin

Uhh, I get downplaying this to a great extent- it's safe to say we don't have a revitalized wunderkind knocking on the door, but there aren't many pitchers at any level who could give "more" than the 23 straight scoreless innings, with all the Ks and good control. What he's accomplished since his demotion is a good example for everyone put into this situation- he's let his performances do his talking about wanting to get back where he belongs. Let's give the guy the props he deserves, even on the smaller stage.

Hu is dealing. 2 IP 1 K S/B 18/7

The Durham club is going to be pretty prickly after getting sliced and diced by crafty Tommy Milone yesterday evening. Provided they didn't drink away their sorrows and are severely hung over this morning, I have a feeling they will be in the mood for hunting bear. If Hu can make a minimum qualifying quality start- 6 IP 3 ER with decent control- or a little better, that would be a huge shot in the arm for his confidence, as well as his chances going forward (as well as a shot across the bow of all the other pitching prospects currently ranked ahead of him). One thing's for sure, the Twins felt confident enough to throw him in the deep end of the pool, life is full of opportunities, I hope Hu grabs it and starts to make believers out of the rest of us.

You've tuckpointed the germane issues quite nicely, and added in some important "mortar" work on how the Rosario situation might play out. All managers play favorites to some degree, Gardy did, and now we are seeing who one of Molitor's pets is. I was all in favor of pushing Rosario to AAA despite the gap in his resume, I can't recall if he was on your "push list" or not? But yeah, the longer his MLB debut continues, the more he's going to be exposed as a guy who a year ago to the day was still trying to get comfortable with AA pitching, there's a Twins prospect OF who clearly will benefit on his inevitable return to Rochester, as might also be the case of Oswaldo, perhaps on a rehab stint. In the case of Vargas, he has things to refine, but now was not the time for a trip to AAA. For a more humorous take on what the might have been the Twin FO thought-process on this matter, check this out.

Spot on. Geez Chief, you're already on your game, at what? 5:28 AM?

All Hail the new King of AAAA pitchers... Hail to thee O Tommy Mi-Lone-E!.. (At least until thee Fail in MLBee)

You've repeated your statement, and I still haven't seen anyone post here who thinks the world is coming to an end. Just a lot of commentary on a bad short-term decision that was made on behalf of a team that has actually shown pretenses to winning- in which case, maximizing the chances for winning every possible game becomes more paramount- especially when the bench is currently quite short of productive bats- and the fact that there is often at least one offensive liability in the starting lineup that might require a competent PH. Regarding Arcia, on this we agree, he's responded well to minor league "messages" sent his way in the past. But having both Arcia and Vargas down at the same time with a still-rusty Nunez and Robinson, and the hapless Hermann and Bernier, as your only viable bench offense was, and is, still a short-term blunder. There's a time and a place to send a message, this wasn't the right timing to message Vargas.

It's refreshing to see a guy go down in a close call, without pouting or sulking, and then dominating and kicking down doors.

Lots of things change over a long season, the Tribe has demonstrated a recent history of strong finishes. The Indians have 4 potentially good to very good SPs, including the defending Cy Young winner (particularly when compared to the Twins SPs), and now, old friend Shaun Marcum has resurrected his career and been called up after a strong showing in AAA. If he clicks along with the other 4 SPs, there won't be as many easy games against the Indians as there have been to this point. (Kluber just threw another no-decision gem tonight).

But true.

I hope Hu was watching and learning tonight, as well. Milone as Mentor, who would have guessed it?

I just hope that he paid close attention to Tommy Milone this evening, and made him his temporary mentor. Tommy, once again tonight, 9 IP, 13 Ks 0 BB 0 ER 85 strikes 30 balls, clearly, he must be the new King of AAAA starters.

He's coming off of a lost year, and hadn't played in over a year and half. Revisit the error issue in September, my guess is he will have improved dramatically on that still-rather-insignificant statistic.

This post isn't approved for general viewing, but since I did spend some time and thought composing it and trying to impart serious intent, I feel it does relate some more pretty cogent facts to the debate on the "Nunez back/Vargas optioned to AAA" thread. I thought that a blog-piece might be just the place for it. This post was made in response to a poster that felt that those opposed to the Vargas demotion were "shading" the truth of what the Twins brass was thinking on the matter, that Bernier occupying a spot and not playing, benefited the club, and the poster also went on to say that what Vargas currently has to offer in helping the Twins in their current situation for the week upcoming was "minimal, at best". Here's my response: That's pretty dismissive of a guy who has been one of the Twins top 3 producers since April 29. In truth, since Vargas had his time off, here's his slash- .347/.373/.510/(.883) OPS+ 148 In the spirit of the humorous vein intended..... I'm thinking that how the Twins FO got to the "shade that they're throwing" went something like this in Sunday's pregame personnel pow-wow- Jack Goin- "Hi TR. Hi Mr Molitor. Hey, I really have to give out big props to you and Bruno. Since you gave Kennys that time off, he's just a shade lower in production than our top of the order guys, Dozier and Hunter. He's making a ton more hard contact, he's cut his strikeout rate by over 20%... and I know you won't believe this, he's flipped his base-running numbers from negative to positive. And I don't want to shade this, but the timing couldn't be better, we go to PIttsburgh on Tuesday, and many of our other bats are either hurt, scuffling, or in the cases of Hicks and Rosario, still adjusting to major league pitching. And the best thing is, due to your recent playing patterns, Vargas is well-rested and ready.... perhaps Mauer has become a little fatigued and needs to clear his head, my back-tested numbers suggest that he could use a day off on this road trip---" Unnamed Twins Manager- "We leave tomorrow morning, gotta get Nunie back on the 25-man and make the corresponding move. Robinson is already back as the back-up OF, we certainly have plenty of depth in the OF.... Jack Goin- And may I suggest, great timing on this move, this morning, Sir...! SugaShane is a lifetime .323 BA/.758 OPS hitter in PNC Park! Of course, he's only hit .206/.570 as a PH, so it's sure a good thing that we can use Vargas in that role when he can't DH, having that power bat on the bench increases our chances of winning a close game by nearly 11%--- Unnamed Twins General Manager- --- I wasn't aware of Robbie's history at PNC, make a note, Rob... cc'd to Paul.... let's mark him down for some late inning PH duty. Now about that depth situation, 5 OF, adding Nunie into the mix makes it possibly 6 out there, plus we now have not one, not two, but THREE utility infielders! Well this is coming together quite nicely, and best of all, since Bernier "provides the benefit of not playing him", I think we have our 25-man roster set for the roadtrip. Jack Goin- Uhh, Skip, my current numbers indicate that the roster is still at 26.. or were you thinking about DLing Duensing.... my numbers indicate that currently, Duece can't get his own Grandmother ou-.....? Unnamed Twins General Manager- Thanks for your input Jack, I truly value your clear and honest background light-sabre analysis, and especially without the green eyeshade. Uhh, Rob, why don't you go ahead and make the travel arrangements for Vargas? And be sure to let Quade know that we take care of the affiliates in this organization... (Geez Louise! did we really give him both Vargas and Hu in the same week?)

Like Ortiz, Vargas is an unconventional baseball player, and he will have to force his way onto a roster. The good news is that unlike Ortiz, Vargas is a switch hitter, who has already showed this year he could adjust positively to the pitching adjustments, besides raising his LD% to 29.3% (only Dozier had a higher rate), he also has shown he can hit the ball to all fields- taking what the pitching is giving him. He's also shown in the minor leagues that like Ortiz, he sees the ball well, and will likely eventually be able to bolster his OBP with a decent BB/K rate. I just hope, as in the case of Ortiz, that it isn't Twins pitching that he ends up punishing- as of right now, with Arcia due back soon, he is a man without a position on this club. He is likely never going to get a chance at 1B for at least the next few years- if ever, and the Twins tend to shy away from employing a regular DH, and since Thome departed, aren't even in the market for a late-inning pinch slugger. His only recourse is to bash his way back onto the roster.

I'd still take that over cavilierly removing the CF evergreens, without any aesthetic consideration whatsoever.

Hopefully, as in successful changes/upgrades made in the past, they improve the amenities without destroying the living museum factor.

It's going to take quite a bit of doing on his part to make that happen, there are increasingly limited playing options for him already, and when Arcia gets back, it just gets harder to get him in there.

It's also fair to say that Wrigley, with all its warts and shortcomings to modern convention, never wears off for countless others. There was no intent on my part to shame any perceived slight towards Wrigley. I've just never been bothered by what others perceive as objections and inconveniences- if I still lived there, I'd still go to games- no matter if I froze or got sunburned, it is what it is. Just a different perspective, is all. The park is one of the last vestiges of a completely different Americana- the antithesis of the typical modern ball park. People who go there expecting some level of Chicago haute cuisine, have properly calibrated down their expectations to Old Style and a Chicago Red Hot Hot Dog. I've even enjoyed a few games on a roof across the street on Sheffield Avenue. And as old ball parks go, it's special in a way that Comiskey, a similarly aged park, could never match. As many games as I've attended, I still spend time staring at the workings of that oddly wonderful hand-operated CF scoreboard and I remember attending extra inning games without ballpark lights, and wondering how the players could possibly still see the ball.

It's already on.

I wasn't referring to the content, just the fact that Ortiz's time with Twins left him befuddled at what they wanted from him- (His 'best guess' turned out to be: "You want me to swing like a little girl? I'll swing like a little girl.")

Spot on, I researched the numbers and can confirm this. It looks like someone in a decision-making role didn't or just disregarded them.

The young man sounds a bit confused by a muddled management message, much like David Ortiz did at a similar stage in his own development while a member of the Twins.

I didn't see one post upthread that suggested the world was coming to an end- just that a head-scratching move that offers no obviously evidentiary immediate benefit to a team currently in the wild card hunt. And to be plain and simply accurate, he' already mashing the ball. Perhaps there will soon come a time to send Vargas down for more seasoning, based on what is known publicly, this was not the week to do so.

The warning signs were there for Gray in 2012, and they are there for Boyer in 2014 (his strikeout abilities are practically non-existent).