jokin

Or, if they had acknowledged the predictable deficiency and upgraded the position, they might be in first place.

Yeah, "consistency" and "progress" are a fickle thing, it appears that the standard for the best players is calibrated more towards "perfection"- I would think this kind of slow-play, should it continue, would invite scrutiny from the player's union. There's one thing like the Rays and Cardinals delaying calling up their top prospect for the Super 2 rule, heck, the rule was agreed upon by both sides in the CBA. But if Meyer ends up getting shut down before a call-up this year, followed by the fans not seeing Buxton or Sano until say, Super 2 date, 2016, then that says something else. And it also means that this team won't be competing for a pennant any time soon.

Straw man argument. I have not said that Meyer is going to the HOF- of course we don't know if he has a Johnson career ahead of him, but we do know that Johnson struggled to get established, not being a dominant ML pitcher until age 28- and Meyer's numbers are ahead of Johnson's, and yet it appears that Meyer will not be called up anytime soon even though Johnson was- and was allowed to struggle, develop and grow into a dominant pitcher at the major league level. In fact, I have said that their height, career backgrounds and electric stuff are nearly identical- except that Meyer evidentially appears to ahead of Johnson at the same point of development- and that is all I've said.

Why are we so focused on delaying calling up our best players until we're in a pennant race? By that logic, we may as well not call up Meyer, Buxton or Sano until about 2017 or perhaps never, because this team is just not likely going to be a legitimate contender without its best talents firmly ensconced in their major league careers. And you don't get there until you've put in the time at that level enough to get in your comfort zone and produce predictably. No. This is disappointing, because it means that Meyer's progression is being slow-played, which potentially delays him in starting the process- that can only be accomplished while at the major league level- ie, of reaching his ceiling potential sooner rather than later. I don't know about you, but I'd like 2015 to be the first year that we'll have been considered a legitimate contender in the last 5 years. This type of delaying move makes the likelihood of that happening much less likely. And the other guys pitching well in Rochester? Ask yourself honestly, which of these other guys in the rotation is going to be a difference maker, to a man, they project as anywhere from back-end rotation starters to depth filler (maybe May makes it somewhere between #3-4 starter status, but it's just as likely that he ends up as a reliever). You said I offered no "good reason" to bring up Meyer by this summer- to the contrary- in this post and my more extensive one at #36, I've offered multiple good reasons why the Twins should be moving forward with Meyer and a promotion no later than just after the Super 2 date. And then there's this last reason: by not promoting Meyer if he continues to pitch better than Randy Johnson did at the same point in their respective careers, the Twins invite all kinds of speculation that their motives are financially based- do they really want to go there with the paying public?

This point has been much debated over time- and it's highly debatable that when Gibson was called up last year proved anything. It is arguable that the Twins called up Gibson well after his TJ weakened arm was still live. And as in the case of Randy Johnson, Gibson has acknowledged that he learned from his time last year to come in with a better plan and approach this season. You can't get there until you are there.

His big SLG improvement, accelerating K% and falling year-over-year contact rates are warning signals suggesting he may not always be the best leadoff guy and the Twins should be proactive if someone else better fills the role. There's no doubt though, that both Dozier and Plouffe appear to have made sustainable upgrades in their games. The SB number for Dozier and the Doubles number for Plouffe really stand out and don't whatsoever appear to be flukes.

You answered the reasons for why "Dozier's not a perfect leadoff guy" in your second paragraph. Right now, there's no doubt that he's the Twins best leadoff guy. And his baserunning yesterday was nothing short of awesome. But his current BB% of 16.2% is exactly double his career rate of 8.1%. It sure doesn't seem sustainable.

Thanks Twinsfan46! Your eyewitness account is much appreciated and adds context to the dry stats. Would you say the wind was the deciding factor in the home run that Meyer surrendered?

Certain things are more predictable than others, and that comes with taking much less stock in small bits of data. What Florimon is doing at the plate has been solidly baked into the cake over a 9 year career in the minors. We all love what Suzuki is currently doing for the Twins, heck I've always liked the guy- just NOT for his hitting prowess. His current streak of plate expertise is a nice bonus, but his career stats suggest he'll eventually return to those levels. (Gardy let it slip in his post-game presser yesterday when asked about Suzuki's hitting, saying he's a nice veteran guy to have around for a year. He could very well be gone in July).

Perhaps we should go through the Baseball America minor league SS evaluations more comprehensively, and accept what they say as gospel. They appeared to have nailed their evaluation on P-Flo:

I'd have Flori trying out AA pitching instead.

No... but the clock is ticking on Guerrier's contract stipulations for call-up. They didn't sign him, only to lose him, to Free Agency.

Eric Rasmussen on Meyer's changeup: I sure would like to see the PitchF/X on this outing......

From Berardino on the new pitch: Sounds like a work in progress and providing the reasoning to slow-play his promotion to the Twins. Meyer struggling in his latest start adds ammunition to that argument, although it isn't clear if his bad start was due to a problem with the change-up or something else. But there's more that codifies what the "Twins development people" are thinking- about his development and the imposition of an innings limit: Translation and Predictions? It appears that "progress" has replaced "consistency" as the new watchword for slow-playing Meyer's promotion to the Twins. And that Meyer's health and apparent China Doll status has to be protected in a "controlled" setting away from the "intensity" of MLB. I'm now thinking, barring catastrophe in the Twins rotation, the Twins are inclined to not promote Meyer unless he forces their hand, and we definitely won't be seeing a September call-up for Meyer, as no matter where he pitches this year, his season will likely be done by September 1... I'm now looking for a 2015 big-club-for-good debut, and possibly not until after the Super 2 date in June of that year....in the aftermath of a grievance filed by Scott Boras. We saw with Johnson's appearance last Thursday, there's a reason why the 29-year-old Kris Johnson has been unable to ever stick at the major league level. And obviously, none of the other depth pitchers can offer the potential that Meyer brings to the table. But because of their roster status, they all will get their extended major league apprenticeships at the expense of Alex Meyer having to wait his turn. Disappointing, to say the least. You said this: I go back again to Randy Johnson, who is the closest prototype for what we have in Alex Meyer. Randy Johnson's AAA numbers just before his call-up to Montreal- and the beginning of his 3 year big league apprenticeship before he found pitching dominance: K/9: 8.7 BB/9: 5.6 SO/W: 1.58 ERA: 3.20 Alex Meyer's AAA numbers: K/9: 11.51 BB/9: 3.97 SO/W: 2.86 ERA: 3.45

He did well with 500+ PAs in High A, and is building on that this year. If the 3 position players on the DL take the spots of Hermann, Santana and an RP, while Nunez takes a spot from Florimon.....that leaves Vargas as the only viable depth position player on the 40-man to fill the DH/1stB role when the next injury/trade hits. Obviously, Parmelee would be first in line, but that's going to take more maneuvering- I would think that Parm is there to pick up when either Arcia or Kubel falter in the OF, or if Mauer goes to the DL. With a 12-man pitching staff and the departure of Willingham or the next DL guy, IMO, the way could be open for Vargas to be considered for a call-up as early as July in an expanded Thome role.- provided he continues to mash in NB or Roc., of course.

"Vargas is better than both Colabello and Parmelee" I don't think it's hit people yet in realizing the full potential of Vargas. While I'm not sure if Kennys would be better than Cola tomorrow, Vargas needs to be on the fastest track to the majors possible, perhaps commensurate with the success he might demonstrate while playing with higher quality prospects....re, the imminent promotion of Buxton and followed soon thereafter by the rest of the top A+ prospects in June. Mauer's withdrawal from the game today is a reminder of how quickly a chain reaction of events could occur should another major OF/DH/1B go to the DL. Parmelee for a look see, with Vargas to Roc.- perhaps for 30 games or so, until the decks are cleared in July? It's a scenario that could easily happen.

And especially since our current CF pothole situation looks more like this: http://sinkholes.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/cropped-171052_487763577554_649107554_6110014_2749211_o.jpg

Just "questionable"? Really? Taken as a whole, methinks these strange series of moves, or the lack thereof, show sufficient cause for the need of a Congressional investigation.

The starting pitchers just started their season a month late, is all. And the sooner "The Mechanic" goes back down to Roc. the better.....geez that could have been disastrous in the 9th inning- unaceptable. Can we now bury once and for all, the "fine corner outfielder" tag for him, pleez?

Did someone call for a "Mechanic"? (Jan-Michael Hermann) . http://www.movieactors.com/photos-stars-movie/jan-michael-vincent-themechanic-5.jpg Jan-Michael Vincent in THE MECHANIC (1972) http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/sites/tcdailyplanet.net/files/2012/February/%3F%3F.jpg

Excellent option....very serviceable and a legit Cfer. And with the Cards bats in the toilet, I'm shocked Taveras isn't already called up. Does Bourjos have an option left that might preclude a trade on the part of the Cards, though (just a guess on my part)?

Hicks. Fixed it. (Although Ortiz might still wake his bat up, as well- that suddenly would take New Britain from probably the least-feared to one of the most feared 1-7 batting orders in the EL).

He seems to be down to one more shot... should Arcia continue his struggles, it seems logical that Anthony keep his promise when he was demoted and give Parmelee a chance in RF. And in further good news, Nunez is 2 for 2 in his return today thus far, finally coming back from his oblique strain.

Pinto's current OPS is .735, not .900. And with all of the guys who need to come back onto the active roster......and with the starting pitching possibly getting straightened out, it's easy to see a 2-catcher alignment and only 12 pitchers. That would open up the "Thome spot" for someone like Vargas. I hope Vargas can bang the doors down....his cause (and bating numbers) will be aided when the reinforcements finally come up from Ft Myers.....Buxton obviously, but also possibly Rosario, Michael, Polanco, Walker, Hicks.

Conditioning and the weight issue? Just a guess. The fact that the Twins put him on the roster tells me that they had- and have even more now- strong faith in Vargas's potential from the day of his signing.