jokin

Except for the Twins....I apologize in advance, but this one is going to be my cross to bear on behalf of the Twins this year. From the day of the Gardy re-signing, the FO said they were going to address the glaring needs of the club so baldly exposed in 2013. They did a very admirable job in shoring up the pitching, and getting a solid veteran and mentor behind the plate was the right move, even if/when Suzuki soon ceases his Buster Posey imitation at the plate. But checking out before Christmas (just like last year!) and not bringing in some better sticks and speed right after checking off the first two boxes on their offseason checklist is very disappointing, especially when they couldn't even go out of their way in picking up a waiver guy like Bonifacio, who wouldn't have cost you a precious draft pick, or a dangerous long-term contract for an aging veteran, or much else for that matter but an expendable minor leaguer. I assume their crack market research staff thought that signing familiar names from the past instead was a better business move, I respectfully disagree with that conclusion.

The man that wasn't good enough to be our 25th man is on a mission. He just got his 2nd hit of the day, 11th of the season, along with his 4th SB. He's already started at 2 positions and played 3 different positions in 3 games. Sure, he'll likely soon come back closer to his career averages, but it definitely was a major miss not getting him from KC as a Super Util guy who could lead off a couple games a week.

He had at least 3 good PH opportunities today for Florimon w/ RISP and one obvious one for Bartlett in the DH spot in the 8th.

And in the Nick Nelson-esque search for positive trends....this is 2 days now where Hicksie's hit total exceeded his K total.....and the hits just keep on coming....he gets to face lefty Quintana tomorrow....then 2 rainouts out of 3 games in Cleveland.....followed by lefty Kazimir on Monday. At his current pace Hicksie will easily eclipse his April 2013 hit total (8) by April 7. Oh, and continuing to seek the early positives, Kurt Suzuki is playing so well both at the plate and behind it, we likely won't see Pinto but once a week for at least the entire month of April, and perhaps even longer....Back-up Catchers being used as pinch hitters or DHing? Bah! Who needs em? Pedro Florimon was 0 for 3 with RISP today- Pinto couldn't have PH for Bartlett at the DH spot (WTH???) in the 8th or how about w/ RISP in the 6th, 7th or 9th for P-Flo? Really? Hey, I'm trying to keep the positive vibe flowing....upon reflection and a pummeling around his hairy head and shoulders, it just might occur to Gardy that he's got no choice but to use his other viable RH bench bat besides Colabello at the appropriate time for the likes of Barty and P-Flo.

C'mon, if we can just get through tomorrow, the Twins don't play the Whities again until June 19. Semien is bound to be at least viscous by then.

Dereck Rodriguez is being converted to a Relief Pitcher?

http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2014/04/yankees-designate-eduardo-nunez-for-assignment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BronxBaseballDaily+%28Bronx+Baseball+Daily%29 Apparently, Eduardo Nunez didn't take the idea of demotion from the Yankees too well, especially in favor of the likes of Solarte. The two sides have unexpectedly up and parted ways. If the Twins are looking for a fiery clubhouse presence from a MI UTIL with a decent bat and mediocre glove, but definitely with something to prove, is this the right time to put a claim in on the 26 year old Nunez?

Thanks GM. I guess we'll find out pretty quickly if Ibarra can continue finding his bottle full of lightning like he did last year. That's a good looking SP corp, which can be quickly reinforced with good AA arms should any get the call-up or go on the DL. Obviously, the RPs look a lot better with Tonkin on the roster, but still plenty of other guys who might be ready to step up like the aforementioned, Ibarra, Pressly, Guerra, Hoffman and Thompson.

See post immediately above for what the Twins need on the bench. 25th man, Ernesto Bonifacio goes 4 for 5 leading off for the Cubs against Pirates ace, Francisco Liriano, stealing a base, getting an outfield assist in CF, and finishing up at Second Base for the Cubs on opening day.

What? Which one is it? Marquis or Tyner coming out of retirement?

Based on the fairly rosy hitting scenarios above, replacing Kubel for Morales would be huge. The guy's always going to OPS around .800, and he has a career OPS w/RISP of .871 (2013 was .866 OPS w/RSIP). Having him in one of those middle spots changes the run producing dynamic of this team completely. Now you add a Drew lefty platoon bat batting up in the order in the 5th spot against RH pitchers ( ~.800 OPS) at SS/3B and then trade for a real 4th OF with either pop or speed (one example- .744 career OPS from De Aza) to leadoff close to half the games, and you have a team with chance to finish near or above the median AL in OPS (~.725-.735 vs .692 OPS in 2013) and finish above .500 in the W-L. They could still do this, but I understand that they won't, and that makes me a little sad, but a guy can still lobby to get better, can't he?

I think he will hit "remotely" like that left-handed, and the Twins have even less options to turn to in CF than last year, so yeah, he's "stayin'". Gotta help his confidence though, for the first time in his major league career, his Hit total is ahead of his K total (2-1). And it took him 6 games to get his 2nd hit a year ago. With Quintana pitching for the Sox on Thursday, Hicks could maybe already be up to half of his entire hit total for last April (8). I am hoping that Carew has taught him well on how to bunt from the left side and convinced him to try it at least once per game, or else he seems destined to be around the Mendoza line from that side for the forseeable future.

I wonder who provided more in-game and post-game "clubhouse chemistry" and dugout leadership today? De Aza's performance today added insult to the Twins (self-inflicted) injury when they settled for the Jasons instead of trading for or signing a real 4th OF and a more reliable stick. You kind of put it all in perspective Bombo, the Jasons have a fighting chance NOT to reach 1 WAR combined in 162 games.

It was a severe enough injury as to cause major calamity to Bartlett- to end his 2012 season soon after it started- and then to seemingly end his career in 2013 (that's how it was related by Bartlett himself).. He supposedly is healthy now, but, and this was the point of my original post, his career was already in decline by 2011, and there is little evidence he can even return to 2011 levels of play. And having Bartlett on the team instead of someone who might challenge for a starting position or offer more in the way of affecting outcomes of games through speed, hitting ability or outfield defensive ability, let alone being completely irrelevant to the future, just makes no sense, and yes the move is risky as well as head-scratching- since there were multiple other ways to proceed. The chances for Bartlett to miraculously resurrect his career to pre-2011 are extremely remote, regardless, this whole thing could never in any way be construed as a genius move- remember, at this moment, the team is trying to sell the idea of using the 25th spot as a washed up chemistry coach who is going to help guys through all the tough times ahead.

And why should the alternatives have been limited to just prospects within the organization and Ex-Twins coming back on sweetheart deals?

Good research on the history surrounding Solarte's departure, it always pains me too when MIs who show signs of life at the plate are summarily dismissed- as hitting talent seems in much shorter supply than fielding talent. And what was left in the upper minors for MIs in the aftermath of being let go???- besides signing many of the guys you listed above as minor league FAs? Literally as Solarte was being released and signing with Texas in December 2011, the Twins claimed a 6+ year minor leaguer in Florimon, and then traded for Escobar the following summer. Brian Dozier had a breakout year in A+ and AA in 2011- the same year as Solarte's breakout season, thus apparently convincing the Twins FO that they could live with only one bat out of 3 (4 actually, counting Carroll for 2012 and most of 2013) in the MIF by 2013. And yeah, your concluding sentence was what I was reflecting on given the current state of affairs with the Twins opening day roster. Twins management flatly said they needed to upgrade the offense the entire offseason, and then settled for giving spots to at least 2 guys who may be entirely washed up. And I think it's totally right what Seth said about the suspect areas of Solarte's talents in the field that might have given the Twins pause on choosing to protect him after 2011, but if Seth really rated him 6th best and above Arcia and Parmelee, well....ouch! I'm not sure who they chose to protect that year, instead, it certainly didn't need to be Dozier, only 3 years with the Twins farm system. But in the end, the promotion of someone as obscure as Solarte to the Yankees major league roster, says just as much, or more, about their own current situation.

I hear you on how unfortunate it is not having Puck and Harmon still around. Just to clarify above, Carew had 7 batting titles, Mauer has only 3.

I'm guessing that Las Vegas wouldn't even be able to set odds on virtual certainties....

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/yankees-pick-solarte-send-nunez-minors-article-1.1739292 Solarte beats out 4-year veteran Eduardo Nunez for a spot on the opening day roster. I'm not sure if this is a worse reflection on the condition of the Twins or the Yankees? Solarte was inexplicably waived outright by the Twins in 2011 at age 23, after slashing .329/.367/.466/.834 at New Britain. He followed that up with respectable years in AAA with the Rangers, OPSing at .745 and .727. He's been on fire this spring, playing in 24 games and slashing .424/.489/.571/.1067. Interesting quotes from Girardi....Solarte could have opted out if he didn't make the team, he apparently forced Girardi's hand, offering more flexibility and just plain beat out a 4 year Yankee for a spot.

Pretty good points with which I can respect, if not fully concur. However, it's important to point out the above-bolded area's inaccuracte characterizations and why the decision on Bartlett in particular is so questionable. In Bartlett's case, it was 2011 that was actually "near-disastrous" (WAR of -0.1/dWAR of -0.2) and 2012 which was calamitously awful enough to put an end to his career- in effect, you have a guy 2 years out of baseball and 4 years away from when he was an acceptable major league infielder. Kubel was acceptable in 2011 and 2012 with disturbing decrease in contact rate (career high 151 Ks in 2012) and the wheels came off the cart for him completely in 2013, causing his benching in Arizona. They made the team this spring strictly on the Twins slim hope that their chances of returning to major league form are higher than those they replaced of ever reaching major league form.

As do the fans, only the fans are even smarter than LEN and Souhan, putting Plouffe in LF and Willingham at DH.

Hmmm.....decisions, decisions.....Is there an Option 3 guy with 31 CF games played?

As will Gilmartin. Is Ibarra officially on the DL starting out?

It can't be weirder than having Suzuki bat in the two-hole.

Based on today's batting order? Nope. Maybe Gardy really does want to simplify things and have the #2 position player always bat "2" and the #3 position player always bat "3": [TABLE] Batters AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Dozier, 2B[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].232[/TD] 1- Michael, PR-2B[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].500[/TD] Suzuki, K, C[TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].200[/TD] 4- Pinto, C[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].286[/TD] Mauer, 1B[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].271[/TD] 2- Colabello, PR-1B[TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].349[/TD] Willingham, LF[TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center].068[/TD] Escobar, E, LF[TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].279[/TD] Kubel, DH[TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].196[/TD] 3- Harrison, PR-DH[TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].000[/TD] Plouffe, 3B[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].269[/TD] Pettersen, 3B[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].000[/TD] Arcia, O, RF[TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].250[/TD] Walker, RF[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1.000[/TD] Hicks, CF[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center].327[/TD] Bartlett, CF[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].093[/TD] Florimon, SS[TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center].185[/TD] Goodrum, SS[TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center].000[/TD] [TR=class: totals] Totals[TD=align: center]33[/TD] [TD=align: center]7[/TD] [TD=align: center]9[/TD] [TD=align: center]6[/TD] [TD=align: center]5[/TD] [TD=align: center]6[/TD] [TD=align: center]12[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]